The Deaf

So last night I had one of those dreams that, well, disturbed me a bit. it wasn't scary or anything, just odd. My father-in-law was working as a bus driver for the deaf (and not really a bus, more like one of those airport transport thingies). He knew sign language and everything. He's pick up kids, grown-ups, anyone that was deaf and drive them around to do things. Odd.

I think I just have deaf people on my brain. Likely due to the fact that the deaf girl on Jericho was killed this week. Damn. Why her? She was so nice. Guess her brother will go on a rampage against the new government? I hope so. I really want to see that Ravenwood guy get his ass kicked, but I get this funny feeling that he's the stranger on Hawkins' phone.

And in other news, I think I finished my short story. I'll be sending to a few of you readers out there for your feedback. I know it stops abruptly, but that was kind of the idea (plus I wasn't sure where to go from there).

Pizza the Hutt

Eating lunch with a little girl that doesn't have a temperature anymore.

It's getting hot in here

So, yesterday the weather was nice at a balmy 67 degrees (give or take a few degrees). I, however, didn't get the chance to enjoy the sun as I had to stay home with William and Elizabeth. William was running a temp of 101 in the morning that eventually came down to about 99 before disappearing by this morning. I figure it was due to his three shots he got on Thursday.

And this morning, when all looked like it was getting back on the normal routine, Elizabeth looked a little green around the gills, didn't want her breakfast and barely touched her milk (despite being thirsty). Checked her temp, yep, 101.

So, Dad is watching Elizabeth today while William is at work. Hopefully she'll feel better watching Noggin on my nice, LCD, full HD, newly anchored to the wall, 47 inch television.

Weekenday Update-edited-

Yesterday was a weekenday for me. Yvonne was proctoring another SAT test (scary that kids these days can't write in cursive, even scarier that one fell asleep during her test). Which means I got to babysit. After getting the kids up, fed, and dressed we headed to the local Home and Craft show. Saw lot of jewelry, hand sewn bags, builders, and real estate agents. Way too many people for Elizabeth and I, but we survived. I snapped these on the way out.

After that, we headed home for a steady stream of Noggin while I worked on chores when William was napping. Once Yvonne was done, we headed to town to do some shopping. Nothing terribly exciting, but I did pick up Dead to Me by Anton Strout to add to my ever growing Reading List. We also ran into a former classmate/-edited- of mine. I actually went to high school and college with her before ending up as her -edited- for a few months. It was great to catch up on things and hear that she's doing well.

-edited-

The Fantasy Genre

Okay, okay, "fantasy" may be a bad stereotype. But that's what I want to deal with, stereotypes.

What stereotype? The fantasy one of course. To be more specific, the young hero that is taught by a wise old man before said old man leaves/dies so young hero can fulfill his fate/destiny/prophecy as a hero.

Where to start.....how about Kvothe, the young hero of Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I like Pat and his book, so I'll pick on him to start with. We see Kvothe as a young boy with a "wise old man," Abenthy, acting as his tutor. Ben teaches Kvothe, Ben leaves, Kvothe grows to be a hero. That's the stereotype right? How about we see where everyone measures up:

Name of the Wind
Young Hero - Kvothe
Wise Old Man - Abenthy (aka Ben)
Fate of Old Man - Leaves the troupe to resume living his own life
Fate of Hero - To be determined

Star Wars
Young Hero - Luke Skywalker
Wise Old Man - Obi-Wan Kenobi (aka Ben)
Fate of Old Man - Dies while fighting Luke's father, Darth Vader
Fate of Hero - Saves the galaxy from the evil clutches of the Empire

Wheel of Time
Young Hero - Rand al'Thor
Wise Old Man - Thom Merrilan or al'Lan Mandragoran
Fate of Old Man - I don't know, I haven't finished the series yet
Fate of Hero - I don't know, I haven't finished the series yet

Harry Potter
Young Hero - Harry Potter
Wise Old Man - Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore
Fate of Old Man - He dies in one book, but I still haven't read the last one to see if he comes back (shame on me, I know)
Fate of Hero - Yes, that's right, I haven't read the last book yet - just don't spoil it for me please

Feel free to chime in with your own - or to correct my errors.

Writing Contracts

Some wishful thinking here, I know, but I began wondering today about contracts for authors. I read a short story by a friend and saw the site had a contract that they essentially copied from SWFA.org. Which prompted this post.

So, what is in a contract? SWFA's simple web contract appears to be just that, simple. Their paperback contract by comparison is much more complex. But having studied law and code, I want to know what it means. For me, my big question lies in what the first sentence means.

AGREEMENT dated this day of [DATE] in which we, the publisher, [NAME], agree
with you, the author, [NAME}, that you grant us the nonexclusive right to
publish your work entitled [TITLE] on our World Wide Web site.

Specifically, the part about "nonexclusive rights to publish." So in an attempt to decipher the legal code, here's what I found.

- A great definition of Exclusive vs. Nonexclusive Rights.
- A listing of Types of Rights Commonly Sold by Freelancers.
- Some very old but interesting reading (for those of us in the tax industry) about Authors and the Internal Revenue Code.

For those of you readers who have actually published, feel free to chime in on your experiences (good or bad).

The new TV

So, this weekend's excitement was the new TV's arrival. Dad agreed to purchase it for us on a short term loan. Once the refund arrives, it'll get kicked over to Dad.

And since he was nice enough to help transport the I guess we'll have to let him watch it.

Anyway, here's the "old"setup.



And here's the "new" setup.



* Apologies for the poor photos. The first is Elizabeth's and the second is from my phone. But hey, I did the best I could. Both entertainment centers are roughly the same size. It's just the TV that's changed.

** Paul, the Wii is awesome on here. Played Order of the Phoenix last night and it was almost like being inside the movie. I think if I can get an HDMI cable for it, it might even be better.

The latest photo of Elizabeth

We had a fun morning coloring and putting stickers in her sticker book and playing checkers (she was pretty good for her age). It sure beat all the excitement I missed from the night before. Yes, last night was apparently so exciting at home, the cops came. Me? I was at work completely oblivious to it all. Short story is a couple came to the house needing the phone, guy left, girl came inside, cops come for a statement, yeah. Lots of fun.

But, everyone is safe and sound, Yvonne was pretty smart through it all, and I'm glad for both. But enough of that. Here's "Bizzy" being busy playing games on the computer.

Assassin's Apprentice

Finally finished. You can read my review via my Reading Log. It was good enough to keep me reading and I'm willing to keep with the series for now.

Up next, True Colors, the latest Republic Commando book.

Some choice search results

Amazing what people search for online. Even more amazing that they found my blog.

• les stroud hairy chest
• kvothe was raped
• blogspot nudist hairymen

There were also countless, countless searches on variations of "how much money does an author make," "hairy men," "lasik," and "pella storm doors."

For everyone that found my blog, I'm so glad I could be of service.

PS - that was just the last month.

Weather-edited-

I hate snow, ice, and cold. Maybe hate is a too-strong word, but I certainly have an extreme dislike of winter weather. It looks all nice and pretty, like sugar coated pine trees in a Courier and Ives print, but I'll be damned if I want to spend enough time in it to catch a chill, freeze my ninny-who-whos off, and try to drive with the insane people in it.

So I sit here at -edited- and watch the temperature hover at the freezing point with rain and ice and snow and sleet knocking on my door as I ponder my commute tomorrow afternoon and my intent to finally purchase the TV stand and TV Saturday.

If I'm lucky, I'll either make it to -edited-. But knowing how I trend toward attracting bad luck, it will likely be a sketchy drive to and from -edited- on to make up for those missing and a dash of no TV. Damn. I knew I should have checked the bank account before making that purchase....

Farseer Update

So I've progressed nicely in Assassin's Apprentice. Not as fast as I'd like, but considering the serious increase in my workload, my free time is much smaller.

Anyway, I've gotten far enough I should be able to start my next book soon and still be able to finish Fitz's story. I'm interested enough to buy the next book about Fitz, but I'm not sure how much I'll go beyond this particular trilogy. It's not that I don't like it, I do. I'm just not sure there's enough of a hook to keep me reading. Guess we'll see.

Norwegian Family Photos

Since I'm at a loss of what to write today, I'll be plugging my other blog, Unidentified Family Objects. If you are not familiar with it, it's essentially a place where I post photos of family heirlooms. Some of them I'm able to research and discover more information about them, others I'm not. There's also a fair bit of creative writing in some parts, so enjoy my dry wit if you can.

Today, well, yesterday really, I started a very long "special theme" of old photos I found in an old album. As you'll learn quickly, I know very little about the people in the photos. Anyway, enough blathering, enjoy the old photos if you're into that kind of thing.

Here's the first photo to entice you.....

William

As you can see in the first photo, William's cheeks have cleared up nicely. In the second photo, you'll see he likes to stare out the window instead of napping.

A Drow Child

Ever see pictures of one? We know they are evil as are all Dark Elves, but this little brochure tells you how to prevent them. What water has to do with the process, I'm not sure.


Yes, this is from a real Bumbo seat. No it has not been edited (other than that red box to get your attention). We have one for William, but other than giving a comfy seat to sit in, there's no way of keeping him there. He's such a Houdini at the moment and is days/weeks from crawling.

Weekenday Update

So yesterday was one of those rare days when you go to every store you want and accomplish nearly everything on your list. Wow. I'm pooped.

After the early morning wake-up from William, we headed out the door to do the following:

- buy water
- stop at the old pediatrician to pay for copies of paperwork to send to the new pediatrician
- meet Dad at BJ's to buy formula and get TV measurements
- stop at Good Wood Furniture to shop for entertainment center and shelves, buy entertainment center, get measurements on shelves to purchase later
- I shop at Costco (for gum and Pledge) while Yvonne shops at Belk (for makeup)
- lunch at Quiznos (our usual minus Elizabeth's order)
- I shop at Borders (bought I Am Legend and the 25th Anniversary of Thriller album) while Yvonne shops at Target (to return William's shoes)
- stop at Lowe's to buy new kitchen faucet (old one leaked)
- I shop at Best Buy (didn't find anything) while Yvonne shops at Kohls (new sunglasses and holiday socks)
- then Wal-Mart to get groceries

After all that, we made it home for dinner time and I even had time to replace the kitchen faucet (I like the new one a lot).

But the best part of all this? The trip to the Good Wood store. While we were looking at the bookshelves (we are such bibliophiles, it isn't even funny) the store employee guy was waiting behind us while we talked to each other about the design and measurements. So here's the little story of the day:

I hear her ask the guy "Is he wearing a gun?"
"I think so ma'am" he said.
So I turn around and the lady says to me "Are you a private citizen?"
"Yes ma'am" I replied.
"And you're allowed to carry a gun?" she asked pointing a gnarled finger in the general direction of my gun.
"Yes, Virginia has an open-carry law" I said. "But I also have a concealed weapons permit" I added with a smile on my face.
With a look of shock she muttered "Oh" under her breath a bit.
Yvonne and I returned to the counter at the front with the store employee to pay for the entertainment center. While he was writing things up he said "I'd like to apologize for that lady back there."
I kind of chuckled and said not to worry about it.

I didn't know what was funnier, the lady's reaction or the man's apology. Anyway, that's it from here. Entertainment center has been secured for pick-up next week. TV will be purchased after the refund arrives (which will be after the return is filed).

Sailors take warn

There was a red sky this morn:



And Elizabeth will be leaving with Grammy and Bapa Dave this morning. I hope they all have a fun time at Aunt Monica's!

History in HD

Shorpy, from the creators of Plan 59, turns a year old today. This is one of those sites that is both entertaining and educational. And the scans are amazing, especially those Kodak photos where the colors literally pop.

Anyway, the only other comment I can think of about today is the amazing chance that we might get something positive out of our President. Money. Maybe he'll actually end his term on a positive note. Well, in addition to him leaving being positive.

Rogue Jedi on the loose

That's right folks, our very own Fredericksburg, VA has a Jedi on the loose. And he's not afraid of showing off his lightsaber skills on the rooftops in the city.

You can read the article here.

My caucus is bigger than yours-edited-

Stealing a line from Erik Scott de Bie, I did some quick math this morning using the newspaper's election results and was pleasantly surprised to see the Democrats had roughly 400 more people voting on the blue side. Our county is usually Republican when it comes to voting and I wouldn't be surprised if McCain carries the state (or at least the immediate area) when it comes to the big election in November.

-edited-

And finally, let's all bow our heads in respect for those fans who put time into bringing Jericho back. Thank you. We bow in your almighty presence. Last night's show was great.

No Gym Today

I wanted to, but wanted to relax a bit at work. Seems like a rash of illness is going around work and that means those well enough to make it, get to pick up the extra slack. And it's tax season. Not a good combination.

But, if it makes me (or you) feel any better, I was inspired enough to write some of my story. Nothing fancy, clearly a rough draft, but it actually follows my outline, which is something new for me. Both the outline and following it. So, we'll see how it turns out. I'm looking to keep it a short story and non-fantasy. More crime or suspense. A bit odd, but the idea came and well, I have to get it out now before I crowd out everything else I need to keep in there.

Reading progress

With the end of the writer's trike looming, I fear I'll fall into my old TV habits. Curse you writers! You should demand more money!

This weekend I finished Triple Zero and Harry Potter IV. I'm hoping to start Potter V tomorrow but will wait a bit before I start another book (likely True Colors, another Republic Commando book). I'd like to concentrate on Assassin's Apprentice to get a better scope of the story, plot, characters, etc. before moving on.

And with that, I leave you for lunch.

3:10 to Yuma

So after a long day at work and before a long night trying to sleep, I rewarded myself with a Pay Per View movie (we have a bunch of coupons, so it was free). I never knew it was a remake, but shouldn't have been surprised. What I really enjoyed though was not the two main characters. They were pretty easy to read and very predictable.

Instead, I fell in love with Ben Foster's character. He literally exuded evil. He was awesome. Great. Brilliant. He was even in one of the greatest shows ever to be cancelled, Freaks and Geeks.


The rest of the movie? So-so. I'm glad it was free, but would have spent the $3.99 to watch it if I had to. Wouldn't pay for the DVD though.

Insert humorous title here-edited-

Ever have one of those days? Well, I think I'm having one today.

Things started out decent at home. Everyone seemed to be up earlier than normal, so we all got out the door earlier than normal. Cool. No problem. Harry Potter sees Cedric die after taking the Goblet of Fire as portkey to the graveyard. Sad, but exciting to listen to. Little to no traffic on the way. Even better. Things are looking borderline awesome. Had a nice mocha java thingy with breakfast. Wow. I must be King.

And then the King gets dumped on. I can only think of Kelly in her shower thinking the same thing because now things are swinging the other direction.

-edited-

Okay. I feel better now that I've vented some hot air. Now the real question is, will I be able to motivate myself to go to the gym in 3 minutes.

Mimi and Fitz watching TV-edited-

-edited-With that out of my head (-edited-), here's the latest thing on our shopping list.

Not necessarily an entertainment center or TV just like this, but you get the idea. First the table, then the TV. We'll keep you posted. Thank God Jericho is coming back soon!

Finally, I'm almost 100 pages into Assassin's Apprentice and, while not supremely impressed, I am enjoying it. It's a bit simple so far (meaning it doesn't require a lot of thought to read it), but I'm intrigued enough to keep reading.

Naughty Neil

No, that's not my porn name, I just feel like I've been a bad boy lately. I've skipped out of the gym four days in a row (well, one if count the number of days I've actually been at work to use the gym). So today I punished myself. I ran.

Well, it was more like a wheezing, loping jog-and-walk than a run, but I tried. I felt pretty good when I finished my shower and had a semi-healthy lunch. About an hour later I stood up and nearly cried. The punishment worked. My legs are sore. Honest Gym-Rat God, I'll do my best to workout tomorrow. Please don't give me cramps. Please don't make me sore tomorrow when I wake up.

Thursday, Saturday, Tuesday-edited-

I feel like I'm neglecting you all. Boohoo.

So, the Giants won. Yeah. Eat shit and die Bill Belichick. You're an ass.

Elizabeth will likely be traveling with Grammy and Bapa Dave to see Aunt Monica next week. Assuming there is no blizzard. Which meant we had to draft up a guardianship paper. Which reminds me we still need to do a will. Shame on us, I know. I started one, but never finished it. Guess I'll add that to my plate of things to do.

William is looking much better again. He had a bit of a relapse with the scrappy cheeks, but is back on his meds and looking good. We'll see how he holds up after his meds are gone. He's also doing pretty good at rolling over and at getting up on his knees. He scoots backwards most of the time but has been known to rock back and forth on his knees. He's also chowing down on half a jar of baby food at breakfast and dinner. Porker.

And Yvonne is doing fine. School is school. There's always drama of some sort. Always a teacher/student/administrator/parent rubbing people the wrong way or doing something great or who knows what. The bad news is the school system seems to be out of money, which means no spending for classroom supplies.

-edited-

And the van is fixed now. Dad's car is in the shop taking its turn at repairs.

And I'm seriously looking at the big screen TVs now. We should get a nice refund and it's already burning a hole in my pocket. We still need to do some shopping first, but things are looking good. And big.

-edited- Yippee! I skipped the gym today to read some more of Triple Zero. I'm right at that part in the middle where things get interesting. Keeping the troopers straight is insanely difficult but I'm managing. I also started Assassin's Apprentice this weekend. So far, it's keeping me interested. I'll keep you posted on that one.

5 minutes. The UFO blog took a hit in the crotch over the weekend. Everything should work out, but man, I hate it when people act stupid.

And with 2 minutes, I'm quitting. Don't want to be late for dinner!

Handy Kid

Saturday morning at Home Depot.

Baited Breath

As I'm sure all my fans out there have been waiting with baited breath, let me assure I am alive and well. I just took the day off yesterday since it made no sense to work a couple of hours before going to Richmond to pick up Dad. Sooo, to make a long story short. I'm back.

Here's a quick run down of things.

- Dad arrived safe and sound. It was a long trip (2 weeks) made only longer by the drama.
- I spent most of yesterday cleaning up around the house, thus no blogging.
- I did finish Knight of the Dove (review is here) and updated my Reading Log.
- I started reading Triple Zero.
- I have some mail and bills to catch up on. Yuck.
- William did have MRSA, but seems to be clearing up, only to have what looks like a recurrence of more eczema. Thanks to my Mom's side of the family, it appears to be in our genes. Guess I'll have to see what the doc can do about mine.
- Yvonne's van is nice and clean. Bumper has been fixed and repainted. Dad's car will go in for fixing Monday.
- Don't forget to print out your Bridget Moynahan mask and wear it during the Superbowl. Hopefully Brady will be too distracted to want to win.
- And since I have enough stuff to catch up on, I'll leave you with that mini-broadcast of the news.

Squish-edited-

What on earth did I just step into? I just did a quick update to my reading log and dear me. How things change when you realize how much you already have to read in your queue. Ten books. Ten whole books. At this rate, if I buy two more, that'll be enough for the year. Guess I need to re-evaluate where I stand and what's in queue before preceding on.

Okay, I reordered them a bit and have decided to put Name of the Wind down for a bit while I pick up another to read. I've already read NOTW and could use the extra space on my desk. With that filed away for awhile, I think I'll start a Star Wars book, the first I've read in some time.

Oi vey. Squish squish.

So how was your weekend (or weekenday)? And what do you call your "to be read" list? A stack? A pile? I think I'll stick with "The Queue" for mine. -edited- Why not another one at home!

Sunday Blogging-edited-

-edited- That's both great and painful at the same time.

Which brings us to this Sunday's blog post. I was recently contacted by a local author to review his book. I was on the brink of turning him down when I decided to give his book a the opportunity to redeem itself. After 100 pages of Knight of the Dove by William A. Kooiker, it's still a bit of a mixed bag. The first part of the book was, well, barely better than the horrid stuff I write. But I pushed through hoping to see improvement. And I did. While Kooiker is no Rothfuss or Abercrombie, there is some talent present. So right now, with another 160+ pages to go, I'd bet that Kooiker would benefit with another 5 years of practice and a mainstream publisher. Then he'll be able to hang with the big dogs.

It's not even 8 and

It's not even 8 and I feel like I've accomplished a ton on my weekenday. But it was hell buying so little in Borders.

2008 Review #3

The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. A great read. A moderate review. And an updated Reading List.
I go into more detail in the review, but to give you an overall impression of the book, it was good. Damn good. Likely in my Top 10 for this year.

So, read the review and let me know what you think.

Dangerously Close

• I'm dangerously close to being good at Wii bowling (I actually won a game last night).
• I'm dangerously close to not playing Wii boxing with Yvonne again (while I won the first fight in the second round, she TKO'd me in the second fight early in the first round).
• I'm dangerously close to leaving work (don't worry, I'm supposed to leave early today).
• I'm dangerously close to buying a big screen TV (I really want to spend that tax refund, but I also want to save it).
• I'm dangerously close to going ape-shit on Lance crackers (they're "cheese crackers" have peanuts in them!)
• I'm dangerously close to finishing The Blade Itself (yes, "dangerously close;" if you've read the book, you'll understand my desire to keep reading the story)
• I'm dangerously close to wanting to see The Blade Itself as a movie (while never a big fan of books-turned-movies, I really want to see Bayaz dripping wet and naked [note: for those that don't know, Bayaz is an old man, a wizard, but he's pretty damn powerful and I don't want to ruin the book so I won't tell you what he does])

Why I almost cried

So last night, after our evening routine of trying to pick up all the toys strewn about the abode by our three year old daughter, she asked about doing something today. I said I had to go to work, but she didn't.

"Why?" she asked.
"Because it's a holiday."
"What holiday is it?"

And this is where I tried to explain how Martin Luther King (I left off the "Jr." to avoid confusion) got a lot of people together to make sure everyone treated each other the same no matter what their skin color is. She grasped the concept fairly well (considering she's only three), but it was difficult to explain why today is celebrated and how important King was to our society.

Anyway, she got the idea of what he did. Kind of funny when she looked at my hand and then hers and said "My skin is the same color as yours. What color is Mommy's?" So she got the idea, but didn't know why we celebrated today. I explained that today was his birthday and because he did such a big, important thing, everyone celebrated his birthday.

So she said she wanted to make a birthday card for him.

And that, is why I love my little girl. You never know what she's going to do next. So if there's time, we'll have her make a birthday card for Martin Luther King today. I know her babysitter and her husband will get a kick out of it.

Case of the Mondays

Well, I have a mild case at least. The morning routine was slightly less frenetic than normal as Yvonne had the day off and everyone didn't have to run out the door by 7 am. And, I ran across this charming page of Olan Mills via one of my feeds. A little Monday morning humor to get you started.

As for the weekend, well, I spent damn near all day working Saturday. The overtime is nice, but I'd rather get my money without the effort. Sunday was the usual chores as well as the playoff games. While I was rooting for the Packers just to give them a chance at beating the Patriots, I'm more than happy to root for the Giants instead. As long as they beat the Patriots. That's the key.

And we also ran across the river (well drove, it's cold but not that cold) to Maryland to buy a new stroller. Yvonne had "one of those days" Saturday which involved a lot of crappity-crap. One being the stroller fell out of the van and broke. So here's the part that cost us about $150.

But at least the new one appears to work easier than the old one. Much lighter, smaller, and easier to fold up.

And that was my weekend. Work, work, and very little play. I did play a Wii bit more of Harry Potter (pretty neat to cast spells with the Wii-mote). And I did make some steady progress on The Blade Itself. I'm about 50 to 75 pages from the end and the guy just got beheaded (you'll have to read the book to find out who).

My list is better than yours

Since I'm a copy-cat, Paul and I think alike, and because it was a neat idea, here's where I stand on the AFI's Top 100 movies (this is the original 1998 list):

* bold I've seen, red italics I'd like to see

1 Citizen Kane
2 Casablanca
3 The Godfather
4 Gone with the Wind
5 Lawrence of Arabia
6 The Wizard of Oz
7 The Graduate
8 On the Waterfront
9 Schindler's List
10 Singin' in the Rain
11 It's a Wonderful Life
12 Sunset Boulevard
13 The Bridge on the River Kwai
14 Some Like It Hot
15 Star Wars
16 All About Eve
17 The African Queen
18 Psycho
19 Chinatown
20 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
21 The Grapes of Wrath
22 2001: A Space Odyssey
23 The Maltese Falcon
24 Raging Bull
25 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
26 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
27 Bonnie and Clyde
28 Apocalypse Now
29 Rosemary's Baby
30 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
31 Annie Hall
32 The Godfather Part II
33 High Noon
34 To Kill a Mockingbird
35 It Happened One Night
36 Midnight Cowboy
37 The Best Years of Our Lives
38 Double Indemnity
39 Doctor Zhivago
40 North by Northwest
41 West Side Story
42 Rear Window
43 King Kong
44 The Birth of a Nation
45 A Streetcar Named Desire
46 A Clockwork Orange
47 Taxi Driver
48 Jaws
49 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
50 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
51 The Philadelphia Story
52 From Here to Eternity
53 Amadeus
54 All Quiet on the Western Front
55 The Sound of Music
56 M*A*S*H
57 The Third Man
58 Fantasia
59 Rebel Without a Cause
60 Raiders of the Lost Ark
61 Vertigo
62 Tootsie
63 Stagecoach
64 Close Encounters of the Third Kind
65 The Silence of the Lambs
66 Network
67 The Manchurian Candidate
68 An American in Paris
69 Shane
70 The French Connection
71 Forrest Gump
72 Ben-Hur
73 Wuthering Heights
74 The Gold Rush
75 Dances with Wolves
76 City Lights
77 American Graffiti
78 Rocky
79 The Deer Hunter
80 The Wild Bunch
81 Modern Times
82 Giant
83 Platoon
84 Fargo
85 Duck Soup
86 Mutiny on the Bounty
87 Frankenstein
88 Easy Rider
89 Patton
90 The Jazz Singer
91 My Fair Lady
92 A Place in the Sun
93 The Apartment
94 Goodfellas
95 Pulp Fiction
96 The Searchers
97 Bringing Up Baby
98 Unforgiven
99 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
100 Yankee Doodle Dandy

Couple of Updates

Reading
I've recently started Goblet of Fire on audio. I've read the book before (was actually working in a major bookstore when it was released - that was fun!) but I've started from the beginning so I can catch up on all that I missed before reading the last one.

I've also been enjoying The Blade Itself (by Joe Abercrombie, not Marcus Sakey). But I'll keep you waiting for my review when I'm done.

Comics
As many of my readers know, I like comics. How do my readers know this? Because they're the ones drawing them. We have Paul's daily comic and Kelly's daily comic that I enjoy during the week. I also enjoy the Prometheus comic three times a week.

But, I'd also like to give a shout out to a weekly comic that I learned about from Lynn Johnston (of For Better of For Worse fame): Rabbit and Bear Paws.

And that's about it for now.

Rothfuss news

While many Rothfuss fans are crying in their pint of ale over the late publication date of book 2 (April 2009), The Wise Man's Fear, I'm crying about his quiting his job. Wow. Huge step to go from a full-time, steady job to the unsteady, overtime/no-time job of being a writer. I'm hoping his work won't suffer.

2008 Review #2

Some serious weak sauce here. Check out the 2008 Reading Log (there's a link inside for the full "review"). I don't even know if I'd a review, but you'll survive.

3 New Videos

Late, but better than never.

First, the "Griswold Lights" from Christmas. Just for you Paul.



Second, the Dora Dance Pad.



Finally, Christmas with Grandma Gayle (note Froggy is a decent piano player).

Weekend Flashback-edited-

Saturday
-edited- I tried to get here early enough to go for a walk beforehand, but other errands kept me too busy. -edited-

Sunday
Yesterday was busy with shopping, laundry, and dishes. I was lucky enough to find everything I needed (well, wanted) for the Wii; Wii Play (with extra Wii-mote), Wii Nunchuck, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. First impressions on Wii Play are, well, it's bizarre. i like that the Wii-mote comes with the cook grippy thing on it, but the games are just odd. Harry Potter is fun, but takes some getting used to casting spells. And by casting spells, I mean you actually cast them with the Wii-mote. Medal of Honor was fun in arcade mode but I'll need more time getting used to the controls in campaign mode to be any good.

Oh, and watching Yvonne bowl is fun. Looks like a kid again.

Flashback
Thought I'd share some "old" photos with everyone. First is our house around the time we bought it. I'm so glad we made some improvements.

The rest are from the Biltmore in Asheville, NC. I've mentioned that we want to go there for our 10th anniversary in 2010, so I thought it was only fitting to share some of my favorite photos from one of our trips there.

By one of the ponds:
From inside the hotel room:
The front of the main house:
The view from another hotel room (that's the main house in the distance):

100 Pages - The Blade Itself

Thought I'd give everyone a quick update on my reviews, starting with my impressions of The Blade Itself after 100 pages. Well, technically 110 pages, but close enough.

So, Joe Abercrombie makes his debut with, well, one great looking cover. I know, I know, "don't judge a book by its cover." Well, I do. And this one is nice. Kind of has that look of olde with the parchment papers but gives you some hints as to the action inside with the blood.

So far, it's a decent read and I've taken a liking to Loren (the man I'm assuming will be the main "hero" character) and Glotka (the toothless cripple who's mean as hell). Jezal is funny, but I'm not sure yet how much I like him. And Bayaz has only just been introduced, so I'm not sure about him at all.

That's all for now. I need to save some for when I finish.

Almond Joy-edited-

-edited-

And what's in store this weekend? I have no idea. Since I'm -edited-, I may or may not go shopping with Yvonne, all depends on when she goes. But there is an upside, I've picked two Wii games I'd like to buy. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Medal of Honor Heroes 2. Maybe I'll rate those with my new rating system. Speaking of which, I'm making some progress on The Blade Itself. It's a bit misleading as I was completely sucked into the book by the first chapter but have now slowed down to try to take in the cast of characters. But so far, so good.

La Grenouille-edited-

No, I'm not talking about the restaurant in midtown Manhattan.

I'm talking about this guy:



Who actually looks more like this:


So anyway, La Grenoille (pronounced "la grawn-we") was lucky enough to go with Yvonne to school on Monday and to work with me yesterday. I have no idea why or how we managed such an honor.


Let me back up a bit before you get lost. Froggy (as he's known in our house) has become the security blanket/favorite doll of choice. Froggy goes to bed, goes to work, goes everywhere (except inside stores when shopping) with Elizabeth. For whatever reason, he is "THE MAN!"

So, keeping that in mind, that is why we were both surprised when she agreed to let him leave her proximity for not one, but two days.

*Editor's note: This was written yesterday but posting was delayed -edited-

Hair!

No, not the Broadway show. I'm talking hair cut folks! And not mine either (don't have much to cut). Yesterday, Yvonne and Elizabeth went for a haircut so they could donate their clippings to Locks Of Love. This is the second time Yvonne has donated but the first for Elizabeth.

Well, I was in for a surprise when I got home!



You can go here to see the before and after shots of Elizabeth. She looks SOOO different. Of course Yvonne looks different too. And it took her until we were getting in bed last night to finally ask me "So do you like my hair?" "Well of course I do. But do you like it?"

it's more important to me that she likes it because if she doesn't, it isn't going to be pleasant. But I think it looks cute. And I'm a big fan of short hair.

The Fourth Notch

So over the past few days, I've noticed a disturbing trend. When I wear my belt, I'm able to use the fourth notch. When first purchased, I had to use the second or the third (if I sucked it in) notch. Then I gradually used the third notch all the time. This past weekend I graduated to the fourth notch.

Sounds encouraging, right? All that exercise and watching what I eat has helped, right? Well, I'm not sure. I have no hard data to back up any shrinkage (there's a scary word for men) occurring with my waist. My pants still fit the same. My gut still looks the same. But I have not used a scale or measuring tape to gather scientific data points in months, if not years. I did manage to step on a scale a few weeks back and it showed 248. Hard to believe since a week later it showed 235. I doubt I could have lost that much weight in a week. So I cannot rely on the scale for a solid answer. And I absolutely dread the tape measure. Always makes me feel inadequate.

So, I'll take my fourth notch and keep it. If I can make the fifth, then I know I'm either losing inches or my belt is suddenly elastic. And for those of you out there trying to watch what you eat, keep up the good work. Eating better is only half of the equation, but it's often the hardest.

More photos

I'm a little late in getting these up, but I've finally uploaded the remaining Christmas photos. Plenty to look at but I'd like to draw special attention to two photos for Paul. Here is the "normal" house we visited:



And here is the "Griswald" house across the street:



The photos don't really do it justice and I appear to have archived the videos prematurely. When I get the chance, I'll pull them off and upload them for your viewing pleasure.

And here's the link to the full gallery as well as Elizabeth's photos (from her camera - now those are funny).

The First Review of 2008

The Sunrise Lands by S. M. Stirling is the first book I'll be reviewing this year. I may not write a full review for everything I read this year, but I will take the time to give you a rating.

Which brings me to a little bit of an explanation of the rating system. I know some of you (well, one of you) have been eagerly awaiting my new, fresh idea behind rating books. So take some time now to read and understand my convoluted cerebral machinations.

So, take my review of Sunrise Lands. I've laid out all the details of the book that you may find relevant in my Reading Log. One of those columns is the Cost column. Next to it is the Value column. And next to that is the Net Worth (Cost/Value = Net Worth). So for the Sunrise Lands, the Cost is $24.95, the Value is $12.48, and the Net Worth is 50%. Now before you jump to any conclusions, 50% is actually pretty good. And since I could read the first half of the book for free, the number is a bit skewed (you can read more in the full review). Using the same system, Name of the Wind has a Net Worth of 133%. Why so high? Because I feel I would be willing to pay more than face value for the book. Sunrise Lands I'd only be willing to pay half face value of the hardback price. So that's why 50% is decent for a hardback.

I know, a little confusing to start with, especially since Sunrise Lands is a bit of a special case. But, I'm hoping as the year progresses, the rating system will make more sense. Maybe The Blade Itself will make more sense when I get to it.

Now, the Reading Log will also let you see what I'm reading now (or listening to on audio) and what I have in my queue (in the order I'll be reading them). Can you tell I'm a bit OCD with spreadsheets? Oh, and the Log also gives you the link to the full review, if there is one.

And if I don't make sense in this explanation, well, tough. You work on growing a brain and I'll work on growing intelligent words and clear thoughts.

My 2008 Reading Log (also available over there to your left as a link)
Sunrise Lands Review

Need a little help

Please let me know if you can or CANNOT view this document - http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=df6d5nq2_408f8cw4v34

Thanks!

Oh, and if you want to tell me what you think about the book or my review, that's fine too.

A week in review

It's already a week into the new year and I thought it would be a great idea to see where things are going so far (thanks to Kelly for the idea).

Reading
I'm nearly done with Sunrise Lands and hope to have the review/rating finished today for tomorrow's posting. My reading queue is full already and I still have books that need to be added to the list. But I'm going to make a solid effort to reduce the TV schedule and increase the book time.

UFO Project
Going well so far. Made a trip to Dad's yesterday and increased my pool of items to research. In the short term, I should have enough to keep me busy for a few months. Long term, I'd like to bring in outsiders to submit their items.

Family
Elizabeth will be four in April and William will be one in August (Mom and Dad's birthdays don't matter so much). My sister-in-law should graduate from Duke with her PhD this spring (assuming all goes well). And I'm betting my brother-in-law will get engaged towards the end of the year. Just a hunch.

Travel
No major travel plans that are firm. I'd like to go with my Dad to Nebraska this summer for at least a weekend. A week if I can swing it. Maybe a trip north to Pennsylvania during the summer.

Work
Tax season has been pushed back a week already (thank you Congress for screwing AMT again). But I hope to survive through mid-April and then some.

Genealogy
Still working on it when I can. Right now there's a lot of photos to go through and stuff of that nature. If I can get things organized just right, I'll try to add to it from the collection at Dad's house.

Writing
Quite likely this will end up on the back burner if not back in the fridge this year. War Wagon was a solid bust and is pretty much orphaned at the moment. I do have another great idea for a - get this - a comedic fantasy. Right now, it's more of a short story since I don't have a lot of material. But the idea can be expanded to novel length. And from past experience, I've learned I'll have a better shot at a short story.

Everything Else
- The Wii is in the house and in use already. Yvonne did a wonderful job of stomping me at bowling last night. But I returned the favor in tennis. I'm hoping this will add to our reduced TV schedule and more fun-time with each other (last night was great, even if she beat me).
- I'm also moderately trying to watch what I eat and increase my physical activities. I almost said "seriously trying" but that would be a lie.

So, how was your first week of the new year? Accomplish anything? Already drop a resolution? Any grandiose schemes to take over the world?

Answers to Rothfuss questions

So, I recently asked Patrick Rothfuss three questions. Here are his answers.

1. What are the days of the week?

"As for more particulars about the callendar [sic], keep an eye on the page. I'm going to post it up there before too long so you can see the days of the week and the months, etc."

2. How long is a span?

"A span is eleven days long."

3. If names are so important, then what is the name of the land you created?

"The name of the part of the world where the stories take place I generally think of as "The four corners." I'm undecided right now about the overall name..."

So there you have it. One solid answer, one "coming soon" answer, and one non-answer.

Ballerina

Elizabeth playing dress-up.

Wii hunt over

I have a Wii!

The Steelers lost last night.

The Steelers lost last night. Bummer. But it's 5:02 am and I appear to be first in line for a Wii.

Three open questions for Pat Rothfuss

Here be the three questions I've asked Pat Rothfuss. I'll keep you posted on his responses.

1. What are the days of the week?

2. How long is a span?

3. If names are so important, then what is the name of the land you created?

Wii hunt

Here's the situation
I went away on a vacation
I got to play with a Wii
And it really made me happy
So now I'm hunting one down
And I'm running all over town
But alas there isn't one to be found
As I run around and around
So pray for little old me
As I hunt a little old Wii

So yes, I'm officially on the bandwagon looking for a Wii. I've wanted one for some time, but never really had the motivation to go out and buy one. After playing my brother-in-law's, I now have motivation. It was a blast to bowl and play tennis. And I actually beat them (the in-laws) at baseball. Boxing was rough (as was dodge ball), but fun. Golf was hard as it was sensitive to how hard you swung. I could go on and on. Bottom line, I want one.

And in other news, I bought a slew of books that I'll be testing my new rating system on. Here's a little taste of what I have on deck:

The Name Of The Wind
Angels and Demons
The Sunrise Lands
The Blade Itself (The First Law: Book One)
Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, Book 1)
Fury (Legacy of the Force, Book 7)
True Colors (Republic Commando)
Twilight Falling (Erevis Cale Trilogy, Book 1)

I'm re-reading Name of the Wind and currently in the middle of Angels and Demons (on audio) and The Sunrise Lands. The Blade Itself, Assassin's Apprentice, and Twilight Falling are all virgin authors for me (meaning I haven't read their work before, not that they are so geeky they are still virgins). And if they suck too bad, then we'll make a virgin sacrifice with the rating system. And speaking of the rating system, well, you'll have to stay tuned to learn more. But if you're smart, you'll figure it out.

I also ordered two micro SD cards for each of our phones. Not sure how much we'll use them, but at least we can use them for something.

Work is picking up something fierce. Potty breaks are few, the calls many, and the escalated cases are growing like a patch of mold in your basement. But I'm still trying to find the time to exercise, shower, and eat during my lunch hour. And I'm trying to keep my books at home in an effort to force myself to read the Bible (for curiosity, not religion).

And my UFO project is due back Monday. I already have some things to talk about but I think I'll need to pay another visit to Dad's to get more material.

Patrick Rothfuss Article

Ran across this article thanks to Google Alerts. Love the picture and his quote about the book being "stupidly successful." It's so nice to see the good guy win a round.

http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007712270576

Snuffle huh wha?

It's a new year and I already feel like I'm behind schedule.

But hark! There's light ahead!

Yeah, that's the dawn of tomorrow you moron. Everything is pretty much "back to normal" after the holiday marathon. The Suburban is unpacked and returned to Dad. The Christmas decorations are back in the attic (except for one tote that's waiting for two towels to get washed). And the dishes are done. Laundry is done. Lunch boxes are our and ready for tomorrow. The floor has been vacuumed, some of the house has been dusted, and there's a new stack of books waiting to be read. I'm in Chapter 12 of The Sunrise Lands (more on that later). And there's even a new shower head awaiting installation.

And of course I get to go to work tomorrow. So, I should be back to a more normal schedule this week.

Finally made it home after

Finally made it home after being 'On the road again.' Can't wait to shower and sleep in my warm bed. Maybe the shoulder will be warm.

ETA 3 hours. -Neil

ETA 3 hours.
-Neil

I can't wait to be-edited-

I can't wait to be home tomorrow. And it's dangerously close to me wanting to be -edited-tomorrow.
-Neil

Fireside Photo

Sitting in front of the fire at Grandma Gayle's.
-Neil

We spent the evening at

We spent the evening at a family party that I didn't want to go to but ended up having a very good time and didn't want to leave.

Eating dinner

Elizabeth at the dinner table.
-Neil

Another day with my second

Another day with my second family and everything is going well. Can't wait to start reading my present (Sunrise Lands by SM Stirling).

We made it Pittsburgh safely

We made it Pittsburgh safely and enjoyed a second round of gifts. And since I left my laptop at home, I'll be blogging via phone.

Christmas Day

Plenty of photos for your viewing pleasure. First, check out the ones I took and make sure you read the comments from Elizabeth. She had quite a day. Then, check out these photos that Elizabeth took with her new camera. She's already a regular Ansel Adams, but tends to move too much and take too many photos. Which means I didn't upload all of the photos, but I did keep enough for you to get the idea.

Presents are open and photos

Presents are open and photos are downloading. They might be up before we leave. Hope everyone got what they wanted!
-Neil

It's 6am and I've had

It's 6am and I've had my shower, William has been fed (and might actually be full), and Elizabeth just woke up.
-Neil

Christmas Eve

Elizabeth playing with her Peoples on Christmas Eve.
-Neil

Dad and me

While the girls are away, William and Daddy play.
-Neil

The Airing of Grievances-edited-

Sienfield had that great episode with Festivus. And while I'm doing quite well in not airing my grievances about Yvonne backing into Dad's car, I feel there are a few things that simply must be said to those out there that need to hear it.

-edited-

To the trees on Caroline Street - Please stop shitting on my car. Your rotten-acorn-like droppings make my car look like it has skin cancer or something.

To the bastards at HBO - Please send me my replacement Deadwood DVD. If it doesn't arrive by the time I get back, I'm going to start sending you hate mail.

To the leftist punks - I can respect your religious preferences. But don't shit your pants when I say Merry Christmas.

-edited-

To the people in traffic on the way home tonight - You're already on vacation so move the hell over. My vacation just started and I want to get home.

To the people in traffic on the way to Pittsburgh - I'm sure somebody will piss me off. I don't know who, but if you're reading this - up yours!

If you open-carry your gun, is that brandishing?-edited-

-edited-

After talking for awhile, I realized that, while I was not brandishing my gun in the legal sense, I was wearing it in the open to make a statement. The statement being, "stay the hell away from me." I usually combine this with my evil stare (or a blank face of contempt) and large size (6 foot, 250 pounds) to keep the crazies away from me. So yes, in his line of thinking I might as well have been advertising I was packing heat.

But I've noticed that when I do open-carry, roughly 75% of the people do not notice. And if they do notice, I don't see any reaction. It's not like I'm wearing a tactical thigh holster or carrying a huge Tommy gun, but I'd expect people to pay more attention. They don't. Most assume it's a cell phone (that would be one hell of a phone call).

In the end, I can see how uncomfortable it may make people. Yet when it comes to my discomfort over not having one or your discomfort for seeing me wear one, I win.

So, that was today's deep thought. Hope you enjoyed my inner thoughts.

So I have a bit

So I have a bit of a surprise. I can now blog from anywhere with my phone!
-Neil (via mobile device)

5 Lessons You Can Live By

Respect and thank your barber - he holds a razor near your throat.

Never trust the scale in the bathroom - it lies.

Never look bored at work - you will soon be too busy to be bored.

Kids are smarter than they look - if you listen to them long enough, you might learn something.

Go visit Unidentified Family Objects - because I said so, that's why.

Christmas comes early

Saturday was a bit of a nightmare. With the big "storm" coming in, everyone, their brother, and their cousin decided to hit the grocery store. Well, we needed groceries too, which meant I got to give people the stink eye to keep them away. But that was thankfully the last stop of our day, so it was bearable.

Before that was a trip to Verizon where we upgraded to new phones, plans, and all sorts of stuff. Turns out we've had our $100 credit to pend since May, so we took advantage of it. Which meant we both got new phones (the LG enV - hers is orange and mine is silver). And since it has the fancy keyboard, we upgraded to include some texts. Lord knows Yvonne will be texting her thumbs numb now. And we combined our plans to save some money as well as added Dad as another line. Kind of funny to watch the salesman squirm with Dad twisting the screws.

Those were the highlights. Lowlights include laundry, dishes, another Steelers loss, and the fact that they will be closing the roads until about 1 pm today for the President's visit. Figures it's on a day when I'm leaving early (at 2 pm). For the curious, he'll be here around noon today (and no, that's not his limo in the bottom right).

So what did you do this weekend?

S l o w M o t i o n

This has got to be one of the sloooooooowest days ever. It's not like I didn't have enough to do at work, but I swear my clock has been going backwards since 2 this afternoon.

And thus ends my profoundness. Back to Kvothe.

Post 500

This is my 500th post to my blog. I started with my first post back in June of 2005. It was the weak and obligatory "this is my first" kind of post. Sad and pitiful. I've gone from reviews, to writing, to photos, to videos, and back again. I've had 7,634 visitors from 78 countries (do you know where Macao is?). And I've had over 11,000 page views. Those four readers out there must be hard at work. Or unemployed.

Some stats:

Average number of posts per month = 17
Month with most posts = January 2007 (34)
Post with most comments (not including my comments) = William Charles Richard (10 comments)
Most viewed post of all time = How Much Money Does An Author Make*
Most views in a day = 113 (May 14, 2007)**
Least Used Label = willvideoforfood (once) [which I'll likely be removing at some point along with the other rarely used labels]
5 Most Used Labels

1. tk42one (290)
2. photos (111)
3. Elizabeth (78)
4. review (78)
5. Neil (68)

Okay, I'm done pimping myself and my compulsive counting has been satisfied for the day. If I'm lucky, it won't rain while I walk outside to enjoy the 68 degree weather.

* Google Analytics was not used until July of 2006 making all data before then incomplete.
** As of midnight EST December 11, 2007.

Kvothe - Chapters 20-25

Chapter 20 – Bloody Hands Into Stinging Fists

The squash wagon arrives in Tarbean with Kvothe riding in the back. He runs from what could have easily been a good family to stay with, all because of his fear of remembering what happened to his own family. And he promptly meets a trio (there’s the number three again) of young street thugs that harass him, steal his lute, and beat him up. In the process the lute gets broken. Not really surprising, you can see it coming. And now there’s more mental anguish added to the physical pain of having the crap kicked out of him.

And the last line of the chapter? “That was the first night of nearly three years I spent in Tarbean.” There’s the number three again.

Chapter 21 – Basement, Bread and Bucket

Yet another short chapter, this one introducing Trapis, an old man who cares for the handicapped waifs who wonder off the streets of Tarbean. Trapis helps those he can with stale bread and water and only asks for those waifs taking his kindness to carry water for him. Not too bad a deal. Most interesting to me is the thought Kvothe mentions of a “hundred howling children” who would do anything to protect Trapis from harm.

Chapter 22 – A Time for Demons

Here we learn more about the city of Tarbean and about the midwinter festival surrounding high Mourning. One great paragraph was:

Waterside is where people are poor. That makes them beggars, thieves, and whores. Hillside is where people are rich. That makes them solicitors, politicians, and courtesans.

Such a classic and true comparison, even in today’s reality.

Part of the year-end festival of Mourning involves people dressing as demons and basically going crazy. Well, some demons helped Kvothe after he got the crap kicked out of him by a guard on the ritzy side of town. Begging from the upper crust didn’t pay off. He somehow made it back to his hiding spot on the roof with numerous injuries but food and drink as well.

Chapter 23 – The Burning Wheel

The majority of this chapter shows Tarpis telling the story of Encanis being defeated by Tehlu. The demon gets bound to iron and roasted over a pit of coals by the god.

Chapter 24 – Shadows Themselves

Another insanely short chapter. All of two pages, maybe a page if condensed. But we are introduced to an interesting sub-set of people in this unnamed land of Kvothe’s; sweet eaters. Essentially druggies that are easily identified by their white teeth. Makes you think twice about those whitening toothpastes on the market.

But even more interesting is the possibility that Kvothe was raped as a boy on the streets of Tarbean. He describes a scene where he sees a young boy be attacked by a group of larger, older boys. There’s not sexual deviancy mentioned, but I could see little other reason for attacking other than robbing him, raping him, or the simple pleasure of beating him.

Chapter 25 – Interlude – Eager for Reasons

Another short chapter that brings us back to the tavern and the Chronicler. Kvothe refreshes himself with a drink and, before going back to telling his story, he mentions the young boy in the alley and how he regretted not going to help him. He says he has regrets in his life that he distinctly remembers, but can’t remember how many times he’s been beaten.

--Read more about the detailed analysis here--

Morning Observations

- Seen while sitting in traffic this morning - A bumper sticker on a pest control truck: "Mosquitoes Suck"

- Seen while driving this morning - a driver not paying attention that nearly rear-ended the car next to me. Skidding tires and all.

- Determined while thinking in my "office" - men are lecherous.

- Heard on the radio - A fellow Edinboro alumni calling my favorite radio host a"Nancy." He has more hair on his back than I do. [send her an email telling her to stop]

The Predictor - 11 Heroes Predictions

Yvonne and I have a bit of a running joke that she's the "Predictor" of the house. It's a bit of a play on words from the TV show Pretender we'd watch in college. She got the reputation of being able to predict most of the "surprise" endings for shows we'd watch and thus, the name stuck.

Well, I stumbled upon one of my previous posts with predictions I made about Heroes. And since I'm short on material to write about today, so begins the discussion.

Prediction 1: Hiro will travel back in time to get his katana (sword) from ancient Japan. Think of the old Seven Samurai movie by Kurosawa.

Looks like I was right on this one. 10/10

Prediction 2: He [Matt] will confront Horn Rim Glasses Guy (HRGG) and get the information he needs. But it won't be pretty, the confrontation or the information.

Pretty much right on this one too. 9/10

Prediction 3: Claire now realizes what her father (HRGG) has done (or can do) and will run-away from home. I'm sure she'll end up in New York City, but will hitch a ride with either Hiro or someone else to get there. In NYC, she will use her power to heal Peter Petrelli of the combustible power he absorbed.

Almost right? She was going to run away and kind of did, but in the end I think she'll stay with the family. 7/10

Prediction 4: Micah helps dismantle a bomb. Don't ask where that came from, just a guess.

Well, he nearly got burned up in an arson, which exploded kind of like a bomb. 5/10

Prediction 5: The Haitian will "rescue" HRGG from The Cop. But he will give him the same treatment as Claire.

The Haitian rescues HRG from the Company, not Matt. And he did turn out to be nice. 6/10

Prediction 6: Isaac (the artist) - Continues to sketch and paint without being high and will provide Hiro with more clues as to the destiny of the group.

Way off base on Isaac. With his head sporting a new flip top lid, I doubt he'll be painting much. 0/10

Prediction 7: Simone - Her story line is pretty much dead.

Thankfully dead on with this one. 10/10

Prediction 8: Nathan Petrelli - He wins the election and turns out to be a typical politician, evil. Until he hurts his wife and decides to use his power for good.

Did he win? I don't remember. I'm pretty sure he did. But he turned out to be a good guy. And we never really saw much of his wife in Season 2. 3/10

Prediction 9: Mohinder - Will continue to attempt to warn those on "the list" and will garner the attention of the FBI lady and The Cop. They'll join forces to save the world.

The "List" was pretty much forgotten. So was the FBI lady. But he did join forces with Matt. 3/10

Prediction 10: Niki - Will turn herself in but escape prison to rejoin DL and Micah to do something.

She turned herself in to the Company and did rejoin DL and Micah. 6/10

Prediction 11: Peter Petrelli - Will become the combustible man but will not be the reason behind the blast in NYC.

He was the combustible man and was the reason behind the blast in NYC. But the blast never came about like we originally thought it would. 7/10

Total Score: 66/110 = 60%

Not too bad. Feel free to dispute my scoring. Or my predictions.

Videos and Spelling Bees

I'll save the Santa Train videos until last. First, I forgot to mention that Elizabeth was able to spell her name yesterday. She has a little magna-doodle-thing and wrote each letter all by herself. I only helped her with the letter "H" when she wrote it lower case and the letter "N" which she still struggles with. I know, there's no "N" in her name, but there is in her middle name (she spelled that too).

And I forgot to mention the lights at Wal-Mart. Next time you go inside, wait until you get to the checkout line. Then, turn around, look at the ceiling in the back of the store, and let your eyes go a little out of focus. See all those flickering lights? It's amazing there aren't more epileptic fits in that place. Probably waste more energy with the flickering bulb than a good one.

And finally, the videos:

Mega Holiday Weekend

Ever have one of those weekends where you just want to get back to work so you can take a break? Well, this weekend was almost one of those. If we had not accomplished so much, it would have been like that.

Saturday
The Santa Train (pictures are here and videos will be coming soon) went well. We arrived early (before 0900) and got to see the first train arrive late and leave. And there was a large line waiting to get to the station, which was nice to see. Guess 200+ kids running around train tracks isn't safe. The ride went from Fredericksburg up to Quantico and back. Got to see a few freight and passenger trains as well. Santa and Mrs. Claus were nice (they actually had two to walk in each direction on the train).

From there, we went to Goolrick's for lunch (a counter-style soda fountain where the ladies that run the operation are too young to know that calling them "soda jerks" would be a compliment). There was also several groups of Civil War reenactors roaming the town for the Irish Brigade campaign.

Then it was out to the mall where we waited to see Santa. While waiting, I looked at sunglasses that were too expensive and Yvonne got her necklace checked out. We also had a laugh at what would happen if teachers were caught shopping in Victoria's Secret by students. Pictures would be on MySpace with the lingerie in minutes.

And we made a Costco run for gas, Kleenex, and some other items before heading across the main drag to shop at Borders. Elizabeth slept while Yvonne fed William, so I did my shopping alone. Picked up Angels and Demons on audio and a Backyardigans book for Elizabeth (Daddy is getting a little tired of the Dora books).

Then it was Kohls where we finished up Christmas shopping with the last present and a pair of boots for the wonderful wife-with-so-many-shoes-they-don't-fit-in-her-closet. And since Elizabeth and William were sleeping, Yvonne did the grocery shopping alone (I tried to nap in the car but was entirely too entertained by the sheer number of idiots that drive the wrong way in the parking lot.

Then we capped off our day by having dinner at Ruby Tuesday. I got ribs and steak and the ribs were amazingly better than the steak. And just as our dessert arrived, William decided to wake up and scream. So I took him to the van and promptly got puked on. Did a decent number on my shirt but decided that my pants were too clean and got them next. It looked entirely too much like I had an accident.

Sunday
A much more sedate day. Sorted and washed the mounds of laundry. Changed sheets, towels, etc. And Yvonne made cookies (chocolate chip, sugar, and cut out). The cut out still have to be baked and iced, but the sugar and chocolate chip are good.

And of course the Steelers lost. Damn Patriots.

And Saturday our friend had her second baby, so Yvonne went last night to visit them (Kaleb with a K). I got a blue bubble gum cigar.

Woof. So, lots of stuff done, still a few more to do (like mail packages) but a very productive weekend.

Insert Creative Title Here

First, a translation of yesterday's rhyming post.

- William is back on Soy formula and appears to be happy. No throwing up, no expensive formula, and the scaly skin appears to be gone.
- Santa called Elizabeth and from the sounds of it, she loved it. He told her to make sure she took a nap during the day and she has everyday since.
- I found out that Benjamin Richard (my great-grandfather) may have donated some photos to the Nebraska State Historical Society. I'm working on getting samples of the photos and one potential photo of him.
- The nice girl in Norway that is translating the letters into English is still interested in translating more. She's slow, but frankly, I don't care. I'm just happy she's excited about translating.

And in other news, a neat video:



And of course we have the invasion of Pearl Harbor:

http://www.shorpy.com/node/2079?size=_original

And that's about it. I got paid today, tomorrow is the Santa Train, and Sunday is the Steeler game. Maybe somewhere in there I'll be able to clean the house some. It's a mess.