JC B Day

It's a special day for The Blog Alliance. The founding member, JC, turns 27 years old today.

Have a great day Jon! We all know you have been working your arse off lately, but take some time to try and enjoy a little bit of this beautiful spring day.

Happy Birthday!

Fuc&*ng Ridiculousness!

A straight-A high school senior in Illinois was arrested for an essay that he wrote. The assignment was to, "write whatever comes to your mind. Do not judge or censor what you are writing". The essay described a joke about a dream, filled with sex, drugs, booze, and violence. Sounds like 90 percent of primetime TV in America. He is being charged with disorderly conduct and faces prison time of 30 days.

In the wake of the Virginia Tech tragedy, our nation has gone bonkers. A financial accounting professor at a Catholic college in Boston was fired for discussing scenarios and pointing at students and saying "pow" during the discussion.

Parents of Virginia Tech students are demanding the firing of Va. Tech's President and Campus Police Chief in light of the tragedy.

Wow! I am a sensitive person. I feel for every single person affected by what occurred in Blacksburg. Everyone is taking this way too far though. When free speech is muted, simply because something unspeakable happened, a new tragedy takes place. For the straight-A student. He took an open ended essay and wrote junk. The junk that he wrote was within the scope of the uncensored "anything" essay. He broke no laws. I will be interested to see what comes of it. I wish he would sue the police department for unlawful arrest.

For a teacher to be fired for demonstrating (not even in bad taste) reality is absurd. How many times did we see reenactments and diagrams and visual aides in the media. How can someone get so offended by a teacher when they have already seen worse for hours on end on the news? What is even more absurd is the demand to fire the university President and Police Chief. What parents wanted was an immediate lock down of the school. Hello, it is a large and open university with 40,000 students. You can NOT lock down a campus like that. I agree that protocol, whatever that is for a situation that involves a complete nut job with very VERY bad intentions, may not have been followed. Is blaming the President and Chief really going to vindicate what happened at Va. Tech? No.

Everyone mourns and searches for answers of how such an unthinkable thing could ever happen, in different ways. Instead of overreacting and denying people their basic freedoms, let's find a way to cope with the fact that this could happen anywhere and at anytime when someone is that ill-willed and murderous. To try to make an example out of someone just to make yourself feel better and to reassure your own false sense of security is absolutely the wrong thing to do.

Reaching out to one another and accepting people regardless of society's view or your own pretentiousness is a much better approach to prevention.

Seatlle's Biggest Fan - A Sports Blog - Sorta.

I remember a cloudy July morning. I turned on ESPN and watched some Sportscenter. They were doing a special piece called: "My Wish". It was narrated by Chris Connelly.

This particular piece (part of a 10 part series) was about a young girl named Katie Morris. She was 12 years old at the time and was suffering from a brain tumor. Katie was a very active young girl with an intense love for baseball. She was the only girl in her town that played on the little league team. After the tumor, obviously her life changed.

As part of the series, the Make-A-Wish Foundation granted her wish of seeing her favorite baseball team, the Seattle Mariners in action. It was a 150 mile trek to Seattle from her Oregon home. The Foundation was gracious enough to send her entire little league team with her to spend the day at the ballpark. In the video, once Katie stepped foot on the field, she knelt down and kissed the ground. With every player that she met, her eyes went wide with amazement and awe. In the biggest surprise of the day, Katie's best friend from her little league team, who had moved to the south with his family a few years previous, was also flown up for the day. The reunion was a sight like no other. Katie had the best day of her life, and she was truly Seattle's biggest fan.

It was a heart wrenching story that was beautifully done. I hope that I am not the only one to have seen it.

Katie celebrated her 13th birthday on the 19th of April. She passed away today. Sometimes stories stick with you and hearing this news today brought tears to my eyes and made me think. My problems are mundane and insignificant when the battle and struggle of a child such as Katie is taking place in this world. ESPN is airing replays of this My Wish segment at various times. It would be well worth it to catch it.

My thoughts go out to the family and friends of Seattle's biggest fan.

No Sports, but a Rant...Sorry

The raining always starts when you go away.

Okay, so no sports in this post. Here’s a little something for the ladies though…

Vagina junction, what’s your function? Taking in sperm and spitting out babies.

Or how about this: stop reading blogs and get back in the kitchen and make me some dinner. Dammit woman, I’m hungry.

No, I’m just kidding of course. Those are very sexist and insensitive comments. I was only teasing; I will try to be more receptive to other blogs and not just sports.

But I am hungry.

I hope things are going well for Chris and Emily as they continue through their hellish law school finals. Chris is just wrapping up his graduate training and Emily, well…she has a way to go, but hang in there. I can’t imagine having finals like they do. Good luck. Poor Brooke has to be getting close to finals too. I can understand her finals stress a little more since my med school finals were probably similar to what she has to endure. Hang in there, summer is almost here and you’ll be in Toledo for six weeks. Good luck to you too.

Everyone seems very busy at work. Jacob is working on Saturdays because he is doing so well at work and Jon was nice enough to cover for the tax folk at his work and now is playing catch-up on his normal stuff. (They really should be helping you now, Jon). Anyhoo, I’m lazy. I wish someone could be lazy with me besides Ozkar. Oh well.

The Daily Show was fantastic last night. The Old Bush v. New Bush debate was great with Old Bush giving a deadline for Saddam to leave Iraq and New Bush saying deadlines and timelines are not necessary and only aid the enemy. Old Bush said Iraq was a haven for terrorists and Saddam must be forced out, while New Bush said Iraq is so unstable now that the US cannot leave because it will be a safe haven for terrorists. Old Bush believed you could not have patience and wait for UN inspections; while New Bush has explained the US needs to be patient with the new strategy in Iraq. How about we all agree New and Old Bush are just ridiculously stubborn, ill informed and unintelligent.

Seriously though a deadline does not mean the troops need to be home on a given date. Why not set goals for the Iraqi government? They must meet certain goals at a given time and then we can withdrawal troops. If these goals are not meant then there will be repercussions. Shit, Bush and his neo-cons have had a greater assault on public schools that fail. If you don’t meet their stupid goals they will stop government funding. Why not take that badass approach in Iraq? The US does need a timeline and a better strategy in Iraq or the reports of nine GI deaths and 20 injured in one day will become a daily news report. It almost already is.

The US casualties in Iraq as of 4/23/07 were 3,333. The number wounded was 26,188 as of 4/23/07. And in April of 2007 1,298 Iraq civilians have been killed due to military action, http://icasualties.org/oif/). This is unacceptable. There has to be a better way and that begins with a debate about appropriate actions; not blindly accusing anyone who questions this inept administration’s policies as un-American and not supporting the troops. Where’s Bush’s resolve for the sanctity of human life in the Iraqi War? Or does that sanctity only matter with abortion?

Okay, sorry I’m a little worked up and I don’t mean to stir up anyone else’s emotions. All of this frustrates me. Feel free to disagree, but if you do I may call you a terrorist. (Joking of course.)

Hockey's Back, Enjoy

The Red Wings beat the Calgary Flames last night 2-1 in the second overtime to win the series 4-2 and advance to round two of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Is anyone really paying attention though?

If not, you should be.

I had forgotten how exciting hockey is. I didn’t boycott watching hockey because of the strike. I was not watching because I had become wrapped up in professional basketball and I won’t stand for a team from the south winning the Stanley Cup. Also, they went to wearing the dark uniforms at home. (Please go back to the white home uniforms for the '07-'08 season.)

This year I paid a little more attention to the NHL regular season and found myself enjoying it and wondering why I stopped watching every Red Wing game like I had while growing up. Then the Michigan State Spartans won the National Championship in dramatic fashion and the Wings wrapped up the regular season winning their division by overcoming the Nashville Predators.

I have watched the Wings playoff games this postseason and the 2-1 victory last night in a second overtime rejuvenated my love for hockey. It makes me want to strap on my roller blades and go play for endless hours like we all did when we were young. (There is a very nice roller hockey rink just down the street from my place…)

Anyhoo, DJ recently tried to say Detroit was a baseball town and not a hockey town. Then while in Detroit this past Saturday the entire town was clad in Red Wing jerseys, despite an intense Tigers/White Sox matinee, and he admitted his assessment was way off. “If you want to commit a crime in Detroit, just put on a Red Wings jersey. No one will be able to point you out,” he joked.

So the Wings will play either Dallas or San Jose later this week.

Hockey is alive and well. Take some time to enjoy it.

The Weekend Update (in reverse order)

I wish Amy Pohler would be here to do the update with me, but since that is not possible, I will carry on.

I want to crash and go to bed, but I also want to watch the Red Wings. I wish I could do both at the same time.

Today I worked 12 hours. The overtime pay is nice, but it was the nicest day of the year. I missed it entirely.

I woke up at 4:30 in the morning this morning with the worst calf cramp possibly known to mankind. I was in so much pain. I seriously thought my only option would be to amputate. (I still can't walk correctly, but had a lot of water today and attempted stretches.

Yesterday, I enjoyed the majority of my day out of doors. It went a little bit like this:

I got up bright and early and went to the gym. It was Caleb's birthday and we had a golf outing. I went and bought a new driver that I promptly nicknamed "Godzilla". It is weird, but I am convinced that I hit the ball far enough to warrant the use of English subtitles. Golf was fun. I wasn't that good. We had a group of 19 guys out there, but surprisingly it wasn't a cluster-f&$%.

We went back to the homestead. We purchased a plethora of Little Caesars Hot-N-Ready pizzas. It prompted the worst joke ever on multiple occasions. On everyone's first bite they said, "damn that's hot!", I couldn't resist chirping in, "And Ready!". That was due to the giddiness that is Oberon beginning its course through my blood provides. We drank and played with pellet guns. I am a good aim, as we were shooting at birthday balloons. The pellets didn't really hurt, unless you got shot at point blank range. (which happened a few times).

Off to the bar we were. The Post started off very cool. Eerily cool. Definitely too cool. There were a multitude of 90's rap and popular music tracks playing. There was Biz Markie, Boys II Men, BBD, Salt-N-Peppa, and even Arrested Development. Shots were being purchased for the birthday boy. It was like an evening of chilling with AZ and the boys. Seemingly everything was fun, but then it wasn't. I guess I had a moment. I was unhappy and took the walk from East Lansing to my house. My emotions ranged from anger to tears. If I could explain it, I would. Regardless, the journey is much better when it is nice outside. I made it home with limited incidence.

Friday after work, I gathered supplies to have a BBQ. The chicken and shrimp ended up transforming into delicious grilled treats. I watched Gray's Anatomy for the first time. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it was a television version of the spawn of Satan. I am not saying it was necessarily great, but it was not what I was expecting. Then I went to see Disturbia. I was quickly reminded of why it is a bad idea to go out to a movie on a Friday night. Sarah Roemer stole the show.....obviously. It was a very rough day in general, so I thought that it would be a good escape. It was, until I blew up on some people behind me. This row of 6 kids were going to be trouble from the start. They were loud and obnoxious throughout. Sadly, they directly contributed to the reasons that stereotypes still are so prevalent in America. I told them, in a polite manner exactly what I thought about their behavior. (Actually, I believe it was more like, "Would you shut the F*^% up?!.... I know you saved your $7 up all week to come to a movie, but seriously, shut the F&%^ up!"

Surprisingly, they did.

This is going to be a LONG week (but probably not as long as this post). I hope that everyone has a good one. My pillow is going to get my attention now. Word.

Take a moment

TheBlogAlliance would like to urge you to observe a moment of silence today.

We are thinking about Dave and his family a little more today than normal. Everyone affected by last year's tragedy will never forget how our lives were changed with the loss of a loved one. We all remember Chris in our own separate ways, but we ALL remember the happiness he infused into our lives and the smiles that he never failed to put on everyone's faces.

Thank You.

Windy, but It's Almost Thursday

We haven’t changed, we just feel a little strange. We haven’t changed; we’re just a little bit deranged.

Tomorrow is Thursday. Hooray for Thursday!

Delvon Roe is a Spartan. How many more times can I blog about a junior in high school? As many as I need to. This guy is the real deal. I’m not sure Michigan State has ever had such a versatile forward. If he stays more than two years, he will be one of the best ever to play for Michigan State basketball. He has great post moves, is an excellent rebounder, explosive to the hoop and has the ability to step back and hit a three pointer. Think about the Spartans in 2008-2009; Guards – Kalin Lucas, Travis Walton, Maurice Joseph (?), Chris Allen, Isaiah Dalhmen, Korie Loucious; Forwards – Raymar Morgan, Durrell Summers, Delvon Roe, Marquise Gray, Goran Suton, Austin Thorton; Centers – Idong Ibok, Tom Herzog. Yeah, the Spartans could go thirteen deep. Crazy. And again, the Final Four is in Detroit in 2009. Nice.

I think Southgate is the windiest city in the world. Maybe not, but prove me wrong…it’s probably not too hard.

The birthday blitz began with Brooke’s birthday on March 22. Followed by Emily on the 28th. My dad and brother on the first and fourth of April. Now Dave on the 26th and Jon on the 30th of April. Then Chris on May 2nd, he graduates from law school the next day, awesome and congrats and Jacob on May 11th. There is a slight break until June 16th when DJ gets to have a birthday celebration. Who am I missing? I’m sure I’m missing someone. Let me know. Happy Birthday to you all!

If there are two periods of Saved by the Bell I dislike, and there are, it’s the Miss Bliss years and when Tori entered the show for several episodes. They really make me angry. They shouldn’t, but they do.

Dave Carducci and the Wednesdees have some songs available to the public. Dave has always had songs on his myspace.com account, but now you can download Paper Knives from his website www.davecarducci.com. And you should download it. Also, The Wednesdees have uploaded their first original; It’s No Wonder, on their myspace.com account. Dave’s song slowly meanders through layered guitars and vocals giving Paper Knives a dreamy/relaxed but emotional feel while the Wednesdees song is classic sixties rock with powerful and driving back-up vocals in the chorus. Check these songs out.

What happened at Virginia Tech is a tragedy beyond words. The news outlets were quick to the scene and even quicker to start criticizing the local police officials. There will be plenty of time to dissect what occurred in Blacksburg, Virginia, but right now is time for morning and understanding of what exactly happened. If there were mistakes by the police, these issues can be discussed after the initial shock of this trauma has somewhat subsided. Katie Couric and Brian Williams were quick to start asking questions about why the police didn’t shut down the university sooner and NBC and CBS interviewed several upset students. Of course students are going to be upset; it’s a natural response in such a traumatic situation like this. However, emotions are high and the emotional response will not be as helpful as a rational discussion that can occur only after some time has passed to deaden the horror of the shootings. Likewise, I am a person who advocates for stricter gun laws, but I’m not going to start ranting about strengthening gun laws until there has been ample time to grieve. This country is so entrenched with violence and pointing blame that we don’t allow the proper time to grieve after tragedies like this.

Fell in Love With a Girl

Guess what? I got my haircut today. Do you know what that means? It means Jonny had a 80/20 chance of falling in love. I have always had a strong inclination for women who cut hair. Huh.......

This trip was no different. her name was Morgan. She was a girl, I promise. I also have a friend named Morgan. He is good people, so by taking the link between the names, she must also be.

She is not my "type" if I have one. I know that "Andy hot" exists and I have heard that "Jon hot" exists, but am not sure what that really entails. I digress...... I dug her 'tude and her few dainty little tattoos. A conversationalist she was. I also dug her earrings. That means something, right?

I have not laughed more than that in an hour and a half in a long long time. I left with a smile on my face, and it has persisted through a so-so post-haircut trip to Kroger.

I will most likely never see her again for the rest of my life. It is probably better that way.

When will it all end?

I am disgusted and taken back and the latest exhibition of senseless violence in our world. Today, the deadliest shooting in U.S. History occurred.

If somehow you haven't heard about it yet, check out the story on CNN.com

Or, there is an interesting timeline.

33 people died today in Blacksburg, VA on the campus of Va Tech in two shooting incidents about two hours apart. The first was in a dorm room. The second was in a lecture hall. It is disgusting.

Sadly, I think about how easily something like this could happen right here at MSU. It is a scary thought. Schools should be havens for learning and progress for our future, at all levels. Hopefully this trend of senseless violence reigning throughout our country will end soon. You can't make schools as secure as prisons, unless you are Monroe High. Regardless, you shouldn't have to.

My thoughts are with those affected by this tragedy.

Back to Life Back to Reality

This was a weird weekend.

Friday evening I went out with some co-workers to happy hour. After three black and tans, I went home. It was the last social interaction that I have had to date. Of course there were a few text messages, but as we all know, those don't count.

There are pros and cons of this. It wasn't necessarily a fun weekend, but (1) I saved money, (2) was not hung over, (3) because of (2) I spent four and a half quality hours at the gym (which I desperately need), (4) cleaned my room, (5) in the process of (4) found Renee's book that I really need to send her back, (6) due to (5) I re-read Renee's book because I enjoyed it very much, (7) watched the Tigers amazing come from behind victory (and remember it), (8) started reading another book (Mary would be proud).

Today I should go to work for a bit, but it is sunny outside. I think I am going to go hit some golf balls in an attempt to tune up for the golfing portion of C-Lib's birthday extravaganza next weekend. Then the Red Wings are on tap. Then it is dinner with Chris and Katherine.

By the way, Happy Birthday Katherine!!

Now, to ramble on some more....

I think I need a reality check. Maybe it was how disturbingly sober I was, but I couldn't help to think that Avril Lavigne was super hot on SNL last night. I am not speaking musically of course. Apparently, I am out of the loop on things like this, but holy cow. After utilizing the World Wide Web, I confirmed that I was in fact correct. When did this happen? (usually I use my sources to keep me informed on celebrity happenings. Heads will roll for not keeping me informed on this one, ha ha)





Oh by the way, I have a general disdain for Christian / Inspirational rock at the gym. So does everyone else. Why it was on is beyond me.

Again, Happy Birthday Katherine! I am looking forward to our little El Azteco feast later on!

Wolfie is the New Costanza

Whoa! Fuck the giving his girlfriend a raise and any unethical improprieties that may have occurred at the World Bank. Fuck all that.

How does Paul Wolfowitz have a girlfriend? Seriously.

So in short, ole Wolfie, the President of the World Bank, gave his girlfriend a huge raise and now folks are upset.

The New York Times reported, “The transfer and a subsequent raise eventually took her to a pay of $193,590 from $132,660, tax-free because of her status as a diplomat, and exceeding the salaries of cabinet members. “In hindsight, I wish I had trusted my original instincts and kept myself out of the negotiations,” Mr. Wolfowitz said.”

I guess power is a turn-on for women and especially Shaha Ali Riza, his girlfriend. These Bush cronies are obsessed with absolute power and have the balls to think they can get away with whatever they want; from lying the public into an un-winnable war in Iraq to revealing the identity of a spy because her husband disagreed with the administration to firing prosecutors for political reasons to giving girlfriends raises and promotions.

I wonder if Wolfowitz had a George Costanza moment and was getting it on in his office and just yelled, “I’m giving you a raise!” That would actually make me laugh; instead I’m just disgusted.

I’m disgusted by the utter disregard for law and the obsession with absolute power Wolfowitz and so many other Bush political friends have shown over the last seven years. But honestly, how does this dude have a girl?

Two in a Day?

Yup. That’s right. Two blogs in one day from good old me.

So, the recovery period of a heavy night of drinking on a work night has passed. I am feeling back up to the upper ninetieth percentile of health. Drinking a closing bar out of beer and drinks is a fun fun thing to do. You should try it if you get some time.

In the midst of my recovery and uselessness at work today, I got an email from Verizon Wireless. It appeared to be just like any other notification that my statement was ready and my billing amount.

(Now some of you may know that my phone got stolen a few Saturdays ago. If you didn’t know that, now you do).

I opened my email to check what I would have to pay at the beginning of May. Much to my surprise, the amount due was $454. I was taken back a bit and proceeded to find out why. It turns out that in the time that I was trying to recover my phone; some douche bag downloaded a million games and other various things on my cell phone that apparently costs a fortune.

I called Verizon and spoke to a young customer support girl. She feigned concern and sympathy for my problem. She promptly told me that I was responsible for all of the charges until I reported it stolen. I pointed out when the insurance claim was made, etc, etc. I spoke to her supervisor and made a concrete case, proving that fraud occurred. He didn’t seem to care too much. I spoke to his supervisor. Finally, I got a woman with a little bit of sense. By this time, my case was air-tight. I won her over and got a credit of $390 posted to my account.

Boo-Ya. My day is not ruined.

Have a good weekend.

Farewell

Goodbye Jimmy’s.

Last night we bid farewell to J’s P. It was a glorious event worthy of a little note on the bloggie blog. It all started with a small group of friends. Then it became something much more. If a bar could be an institution, it would be.

I am close to feeling like a real human being again. (an hour and a half into my workday)

Walking into a place that is so insanely busy is weird, but when it is Jimmy’s it is even weirder. We had to park in the lot next door.

There were all of the regulars that you would expect to see. Then there were others, like the darling little stripper girls. It was said that the place had to be breaking a fire code, since it was so packed. I commented that if the place went up in flames that we would all be screwed, since a cloud of herpes would certainly be looming.

I will give it to the blonde. Her stringy bleached hair was about as thin as her arms. She looked like she hadn’t eaten a real meal in weeks. To top it off, whatever she had eaten definitely was forcefully discarded from her system. Poor girl! I wish she would take just a few of those dollar bills and get something from a fast food dollar menu.

Anyways.

The hockey team showed up and shared their national championship trophy with everyone. It was nice of them. They are much better than the guys from the Lou and Harry’s fiasco a few years ago. Congrats again to them!

Now, I must find a new place to drink that provides the comforts of Jimmy’s and the company of such excellent people. It is a tough task, especially in this town, but hopefully things will fall into place.

Hopefully the J’s P email list will be utilized for happy reunions in the meantime.

And it Continues Again and Again and Again...

I’m wearing out my vocal cords, because I am alone and bored.

No I didn’t use uzzi as a pun for Uzi. I’m stupid, but if you all would like to think I did and say, “Wow Andy is smart and creative,” I ain’t gonna stop ya. (That sounded smart didn’t it).

Is anyone as bored of these Wednesday posts as I think they should be? I mean they pretty much all follow the same format: a comment about medicine, usually from the New York Times, something about how awful President Bush is, something about sports and maybe a witty comment or two (but usually not). I apologize for the Wednesday monotony.

I love the Wire. Have I ever mentioned that? I just watched the first season for the second time. It is more focused on the character development of the police and drug traffickers than the following seasons, but outstanding nonetheless. I wish I could talk like the characters in the Wire though. The cool thing about it is they have interviewed several drug dealers and some of the actors are former “players in the game” so the dialogue is very accurate of the Baltimore drug dialect. How fun would it be to say, “He gots to get got,”? Or “I might can do that,”? Or “She’s good police (said like poe-leese),”?

I would love to have some hush puppies and peppered Mahi Mahi from any one of the fine restaurants on Hilton Head Island.

So Dwyane Wade played for the first time in six weeks last Sunday; 3-9 from the field and 6-12 from the free throw line. He must have done something more than simply dislocating his non-shooting shoulder. Whatever, he still annoys me.

Check it out. On April 4, 2007 it was 63 degrees in Southgate, Mi. On April 5, 2007 it was 34 degrees with flurries. And since April 5, 2007 the high temp was 45 degrees, roughly 17 degrees below normal. Increase those greenhouse emissions folks; I’m fucking sick of the cold weather. Don’t really do that, but this weather is ridiculous.

Delvon Roe is going to make his decision where he will go to school next year this week. The 6’8’’ power forward, a Top 10 consensus player in the Class of 2008, will choose between Michigan State and North Carolina. His style of play fits in much better with the Spartans, but there are some indications he will choose the Tar Heels. However, UNC is up on two of the other top three power forward prospects in 2008 and already have a couple of strong power forwards in their line-up. If he commits to State, Izzo’s team will be stacked in ‘08 and ‘09.

Perhaps my dislike for Rick Comely is mildly displaced. The Spartan hockey team won their first National Championship since 1986 this past Saturday and Comely did an outstanding job. The entire tournament the Spartans won in dramatic fashion and the Championship game was no exception. It also helped renew my interest in hockey. I’m looking forward to the NHL playoffs and I have a good feeling about the Wings this year.

See, a little more sports this week, a little less politics and a ramble about the Wire. Sorry for the repetition and redundancy and writing the same post over and over and over and over again…

Good Friday for Drinking (Revisited) and Good Saturday for Winning a National Championship!!

Let me start out by saying congratulations to the Michigan State University hockey team on winning the 2007 National Championship. That feels much better than being a national runner-up. More on that later.


This could be either the best, or worst post ever made. It is your choice. Well, I guess it could be in the middle somewhere too.

You have heard AZ talking about revisiting the Good Friday for Drinking celebration. It turned out to be an excellent celebration, worthy of the prior and initial celebrations. Here is a taste of what you may have missed.


Laying the ground rules.



Before the Easter egg hunt.



After the Easter Egg hunt!



I think Morgan scared Jacob.



Does anyone like the music? (Biz Markie, Weezer, Madonna, and many many more)



Chris digs the jazzy tunes.



Emily likes the hot dog race.



AZ getting the dancing started.



Bringing down the house.



Refueling from the dancing.



This portion of the posting is brought to you by Bell's Oberon.



DJ playing with Jacob.



JC playing with Emily.



Kohler as the guest DJ.



After much rehearsal.



Jacob takes a turn.



Jacob's music did something to me.



Emily wanted a ride too.



Kirby is impressed, or confused.



Behind the scenes of one of the most obnoxious voicemails in the history of voicemails. I hope it at least made you chuckle.



Emily and Lindsay didn't think there was anything wrong with it.



and after a few more beers......



Emily wanted to ride again!



Jacob straight chillin'



AZ lost his shirt.....and pants.



Then became profoundly tired.



Morgan profoundly sober. I don't think I know what the word profoundly means.



My shirt tastes good.



Dirty Dancing anyone? (I owe it all to you)



Emily scared of the lift. (peer pressure rules)



And finally.....the family portrait.

Cherubs with Uzzis and Dislocated Shoulders

I’m so sorry. So sorry. I’m so terribly, terribly sorry.

That’s right I like that Youth Group song. Is that wrong? Maybe, but I like sappy pop music sometimes. Back off.

Many of my last several posts have just been mini-Wednesday posts.

That was a pointless sentence.

Is anyone else as sick of Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat as I am? ESPN loves them because they create the best drama. Shaq doesn’t play half the year because he is old and fat. Then when he comes back everyone talks about how great he is, but he can only score when his fat old ass fouls first. Then Wade gets injured with a dislocated shoulder and the media treats it as if his arm fell off. Hey Drew Stanton separated his shoulder, a far more ominous injury, and came back – thanks to a little osteopathic manipulative management – after three weeks. Usually that injury requires surgery. A dislocated shoulder is popped back into place on the spot. Happens all the time in football. Pat Riley leaves and then comes back and now looks excited about coaching again. The Heat were on the verge of not making the playoffs and now they are a three seed. They annoy me. I hate soap operas. I don’t care for Riley or Wade. But I do like Shaq. Regardless the Heat piss me off and annoy me to no end.

Speaking of shoulder dislocations. Here is a little trivia. The most common dislocation is in an anterior/inferior direction. However, posterior dislocations are seen in individuals who have been electrocuted. Ouch.

Happy Birthday Jeff. A belated blogging Happy Birthday to my Dad. The spring birthday blitz is officially upon us. Awesome.

The “Thad Five” seem to be following the same path as the “Fab Five.” Both teams loaded with freshman talent made it to the championship game only to get blown out by an experienced veteran team. The Ohio State lost to a junior/senior group at Florida and Michigan lost to a Duke team who was the last team to repeat until the Gators did it this year. I imagine the “Thad Five” will continue along the same path and eventually the Buckeye basketball program will be on probation.

I often discuss psych issues and write about how medications are over-used or are just more harmful than helpful. The New York Times ran an article earlier this week about how depression may be over-diagnosed by up to 25%. That’s nuts, especially considering many of those over-diagnosed patients will be put on anti-depressants and be subjected to all of their side-effects. It was an interesting article, I have not read the study closely yet, but maybe I will ramble about that later.

Should I get my haircut? I think I will.

My cat, Ozkar, has fallen into the toilet twice now.

I would appreciate it if Mother Nature could get it right. Kurt Cobain said it best, “Mother Nature is a whore.” And we all know how I feel about whores. I love them. No, I hate them.

I do that joke too much.

There is a car dealership I pass on my run almost everyday. He has a sign out front that I assume he is trying to use for inspirational quotes that usually have a religious tone. For example, “If you are too busy for God, then you are too busy.” And, “Love is nothing but the footprint of an angel.” “Those who fear guns, fear freedom.” That one wasn’t too religious. Yesterday was a little different as well. It read, “Don’t get stuck in stupid.” This jackass used car salesman seems to be stuck in stupid. I would like to kick him and leave a footprint and then tell him I’m a cherub who carries an Uzzi because I love freedom and God.

I told you all this would be long. I guess I didn’t warn you it was gonna be pointless too.

Ain't Nothing Better for the Down and the Out

I wanted to see the TV Set when I read about it in Rolling Stone several months ago.

I just saw a preview for it and my favorite Joel Plaskett song was playing in the background, “Television Set.” Good choice…I bet it’s a good movie too.

I too can write short posts apparently. But be ready for Wednesday, it's gonna be super long. Maybe not.