Red Sox Weekend

Big weekend series for the Sox, a nice start tonight with a 5-3 win over the Spnakees. 5-3, Varitek homered.

Julia is now sick with a high temperature but Nicki is fine.

I am going to watch more episodes of Desperate Housewives now with Aga, we think it is a great show.

Library tomorrow to return books and borrow new ones, hopefully will be able to watch the Red Sox again.

Julia was very very sweet and cooperative tonight. Nicki started drinking bottled water from the big bottles (which typically are mine and Aga's) rather than her and Julia's smaller ones. It was cute!

It is getting cold out here, we turned on the heater for the first time tonight.

Desperate Housewives/Ishiguro Rave

Finally watched this show last night with Aga, the first four episodes.

Ironically enough, there was an interview with the cast on the E channel right after I put the twins to bed so I was watching it while Aga blow dried her hair. One of the actresses said "Our show is a cross between Twin Peaks, Stepford Wives and Six Feet Under".

Wow. SO there I sit thinking, "oh my God, two of my all time favorite shows- Twin Peaks and Six Feet Under, this is going to blow my mind watching Desperate Housewives".

While it is too early for me to catapult Desperate Housewvies into the hallowed stratosphere of Twin Peaks and Six Feet Under, I will confess it was well done and I enjoyed it, in fact it was one of those wonderfully blissful passive things that sucked me in and made me forget about anything else, a grand diversion of time in other words. I decided I love Terri Hatcher's character the best and no that is not because she got caught naked outside her house after fighting with her ex-husband. Another funny part is when the redhead is ranting and raving and she tells her husband "As the head of the household you should say something". Basically she wants his support in punishing/criticizing their son who is bitching about the dinner the Mom made. And the husband loooks up from his plate and says "PASS THE SALT". I thought that was wildly hysterical, Aga kinda did too I think.

So the more I type about the show the more I realize I really enjoyed it. The other shows, Twins Peaks and Six Feet Under have such a precious palce in my heart though.

Unfortunatley, Aga is going out with a friend tonight for dinner in Chicago and so I will not be able to watch the next 4 episodes with her. To be honest I have no idea what I will do after entertaining N & J and then putting them to bed. I might try and follow the end of the Red Sox game on my iBook or maybe start loading Aga's cds onto her iPod nano, not sure.

I am getting so sick of drinking water, and I have only eaten bread once since Sunday, a bit of pita bread yesterday. I bought tons of yogurt and south beach diet breakfast bars and jello yesterday at the grocery store so that I can be sure to have breakfasts. I had one jello, one breakfast bar (peanut butter flavor) and one lemon flavored yogurt today along with, yes you guessed it...water. I expect/hope to drop some weight before my sister's wedding, which is October 16th.

One thing I have to remember to do is find my Ishiguro "Remains of the Day" novel and be sure to finish it- I have read about a third of it and then life crept in and I put is aside. After reading "Never Let Me Go" I am again super enthused about Ishiguro, and all the literary criticisms I have read have decreed "Remains of the Day" his best to date. Though I again stress to all that they read "Never Let Me Go" it is certainly slow going at parts but the ultimate pay off is well transcendent when you finish the book and then spend some moments thinking about it.

Ishiguro

Here are the novels Ishiguro has written. I just finished Never Let Me Go last night and highly recommend it, the ending is an epiphany. Many of Ishiguro's main characters seem afflicted by some deep childhood wound or trauma that affects every aspect of their adult outlook and behavior. They typically betray similar feelings of sadness and regret. This sense of malaise has its roots in another long standing obsession of Ishiguro's - the strained relationships between parents and children, which is made much clearer in his last novel.

I loved When We Were Orphans though got more personally out of reading Never Let Me Go. I plan on finishing reading Remains of the Day next. In some odd manner,reading Ishiguro is the literary equivalent of watching an emotional and thought provoking episode of Six Feet Under.

A Pale View of Hills (1982)
An Artist of the Floating World (1986)
The Remains of the Day (1989)
The Unconsoled (1995)
When We Were Orphans (2000)
Never Let Me Go (2005)

Fever

Nicki has a fever of 101, the poor girl. When I arrived home yesterday I saw a green comforter drpaed over the couch and knew that Nicki was layin ghtere. She was all bundled up with blankets, and propped up on pillows, sipping on some apple juice, watching disney princess dvds. Julia, who is not ill, was doing the same thing on the other couch!

I believe Aga had a good birthday, she was in a good mood.

She got too more dining room chairs and some kind of ab workout thing on her own, she got a classical cd, a miniature tree ornament/decoration, an iPod nano and desperate housewives season one on dvd.

My left foot is really sore after running yesterday morning, so much so that I am wearing an "orthic" insert in it today that my Mom had shipped.

Banned Books Week

Today marks the start of banned books week, take the time to visit your local library and check out one or two of the books below for your reading pleasure!

I have read many of these and trust me, they are good!



The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–20001




“[I]t’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” — Judy Blume


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Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
Forever by Judy Blume
Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman
My Brother Sam is Dead by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
The Giver by Lois Lowry
It’s Perfectly Normal by Robie Harris
Goosebumps (Series) by R.L. Stine
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Sex by Madonna
Earth’s Children (Series) by Jean M. Auel
The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Go Ask Alice by Anonymous
Fallen Angels by Walter Dean Myers
In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak
The Stupids (Series) by Harry Allard
The Witches by Roald Dahl
The New Joy of Gay Sex by Charles Silverstein
Anastasia Krupnik (Series) by Lois Lowry
The Goats by Brock Cole
Kaffir Boy by Mark Mathabane
Blubber by Judy Blume
Killing Mr. Griffin by Lois Duncan
Halloween ABC by Eve Merriam
We All Fall Down by Robert Cormier
Final Exit by Derek Humphry
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Girls: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Daughters by Lynda Madaras
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Beloved by Toni Morrison
The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
The Pigman by Paul Zindel
Bumps in the Night by Harry Allard
Deenie by Judy Blume
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Annie on my Mind by Nancy Garden
The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar
Cross Your Fingers, Spit in Your Hat by Alvin Schwartz
A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Sleeping Beauty Trilogy by A.N. Roquelaure (Anne Rice)
Asking About Sex and Growing Up by Joanna Cole
Cujo by Stephen King
James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell
Boys and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
Ordinary People by Judith Guest
American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
What’s Happening to my Body? Book for Boys: A Growing-Up Guide for Parents & Sons by Lynda Madaras
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
Crazy Lady by Jane Conly
Athletic Shorts by Chris Crutcher
Fade by Robert Cormier
Guess What? by Mem Fox
The House of Spirits by Isabel Allende
The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline Cooney
Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Native Son by Richard Wright
Women on Top: How Real Life Has Changed Women’s Fantasies by Nancy Friday
Curses, Hexes and Spells by Daniel Cohen
Jack by A.M. Homes
Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo A. Anaya
Where Did I Come From? by Peter Mayle
Carrie by Stephen King
Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume
On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer
Arizona Kid by Ron Koertge
Family Secrets by Norma Klein
Mommy Laid An Egg by Babette Cole
The Dead Zone by Stephen King
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison
Always Running by Luis Rodriguez
Private Parts by Howard Stern
Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene
Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman
Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Running Loose by Chris Crutcher
Sex Education by Jenny Davis
The Drowning of Stephen Jones by Bette Greene
Girls and Sex by Wardell Pomeroy
How to Eat Fried Worms by Thomas Rockwell
View from the Cherry Tree by Willo Davis Roberts
The Headless Cupid by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The Terrorist by Caroline Cooney
Jump Ship to Freedom by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

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1Out of 6,364 challenges reported to or recorded by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, as compiled by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association. (See Background Information: 1990–2000 under The Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2000.) The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom does not claim comprehensiveness in recording challenges. Research suggests that for each challenge reported there are as many as four or five which go unreported.


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Links to non-ALA sites have been provided because these sites may have information of interest. Neither the American Library Association nor the Office for Intellectual Freedom necessarily endorses the views expressed or the facts presented on these sites; and furthermore, ALA and OIF do not endorse any commercial products that may be advertised or available on these sites.

Library Books

I am reading the new Ishiguro book "Never Let Me Go", it is about orphans in England, so far it is good, bit of a downer though interesting. N & J picked lots of books Saturday so we read some of them the last few nights.

Fantasy Football

A nice win for my team this week, lots of touchdowns by Chad Johnson!

DragonTales

Excellent show and N & J danced all night long! Truly a sight for sore eyes.


Still got U2 deeply on the brain!

Library today, reading the latest Ishiguro- it is his best, again dealing with orphans of course. How would I have turned out if I had been an orphan? Hmmm...

Disney Ice Princesses Show

The show was good though long for me, a bit over two hours and I still had not caught up on my sleep after the U2 show. Julia sat next to me and Nicki sat with Aga. Nicki of course was thrilled to see Ariel from Little Mermaid, Julia said she liked seeing Mulan. I thought Snow White and the Seven Dwarves were great. We had really great seats, 5 rows from the ice on the lower level, section 101 at Allstate Arena. One thing that is great about Allstate Arena is that it is 10 minutes tops from out hose so afterwards we were home quickly.

As usual I am relieved that it is Friday. Another long work week. My parents and sisters are all in Tucson Arizona so I miss them, wish I could be there too with them.

I am still thinking about the U2 show it was one of the better ones I ahve seen on this tour, the second show I saw in Boston remains the best I would say this last one in Chicago is the second best. Finally hearing "The First Time", "Miss Sarajevo" and "Wild Horses" really is cool. I think that "Pride", "Streets", "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Electric Co", and "With or Without You" also stood out this time and were played really well by the band. The beginning is really great with the confetti sprinkling down on them and Bono at the tip of the ellipse. Sometimes I wonder if getting in debt is worth it, in this instance I mean I would love to see U2 again in Boston in early December. Obviosuly I cannot afford the airfare or a scalped ticket, but I still would love to do it. Life is short. I just don't know. Decisions, decisions.

I am very excited about the gifts I got Aga for her birthday which is on Monday the 26th- hopefully she will like them. Desperate Housewives season one on dvd and a white apple iPod Nano.

Tonight is that DragonTales show also at Allstate Arena. Depeche Mode tickets go on sale tomorrow at 10 am, I am curious to see the pricing on those. As usual, I paln on taking N & J to the Des Plaines library in the morning.

U2 Setlist Last Night

September 21, 2005 / Chicago, IL

Venue: United Center

Opening Act(s): Dashboard Confessional

Main Set: City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, Elevation, The Electric Co., The Ocean, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Beautiful Day, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Yahweh, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One

Encore(s): Bad - The First Time, Original of the Species, With or Without You - Love Will Tear Us Apart, Fast Cars, All Because of You, 40

Comments: Bono sings the first verse of In a Little While in between Miracle Drug and Sometimes. He brings a female on stage to dance during Fast Cars. As he leaves the stage during 40, Bono hangs his cowboy hat over his mic stand. Minutes later, when the song is over, Larry approaches the mic stand, takes Bono's hat, puts it on and walks away.

Social Magnetism

This is really funny, it is awfully lengthy but worth the time if you have it:

:)


"THE WILLS" HAVE IT... AS DO DREW BARRYMORE, MADONNA, JULIA ROBERTS AND KELLY RIPA
~Among Celebrities, Men Named William Are the Biggest Social Magnets, According to Study~
NEW YORK, July 2005 — Men named William — Will Farrell, Will Smith and Bill Clinton — were identified as the biggest social magnets among male celebrities, while Madonna, Drew Barrymore, Julia Roberts and Kelly Ripa are the most magnetic among female stars, according to the Social Magnetism Study released today.

Respondents were asked to identify the celebrity who would most likely to be the center of attention in a group at a cocktail party. The stars were chosen among the fields of business, politics, music and entertainment. Among male celebrities:

Will Farrell dominated the conversation among Colin Farrell, George Clooney and Matthew McConaughey
Will Smith was the center of attention within a group including Jamie Fox, Bono, Mick Jagger and Regis Philbin
Bill Clinton outpolled fellow pols Arnold Schwarzenegger and George W. Bush and business titans Donald Trump and Bill Gates
Among female celebrities:

Drew Barrymore led the discussion among Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Hudson and Britney Spears
Madonna drew more attention than Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz
Kelly Ripa and Julia Roberts tied among the group of pretty women including Nicole Kidman, Halle Berry and Hillary Clinton.
The Tanqueray Social Magnetism Study investigated the attributes that make people gravitate to one person over another. It found that having a sense of humor, the ability to fit into many different social groups, and wit are the top three attributes of social magnetism. Conducted by Professor John Czepiel ["CHEP-yell"] of New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business, the survey of more than 1,000 men and women ages 21+ also revealed that intelligence and having a "refreshing sharp perspective" were key to being a social magnet.

"Will Farrell, Will Smith and Bill Clinton certainly are three celebrities who effectively use humor and have the ability to fit in with many different groups of people," said John Czepiel, Professor of Marketing, NYU Stern School of Business.

The survey found that social magnetism — that unique quality that makes someone a person who others want to be around, get advice from and have in their circle of friends — is not contingent on being technologically savvy, into sports or wealthy. Rather, the ability of a person to make others feel comfortable, valued and entertained is far more important, according to respondents. In fact, the characteristics least essential to social magnetism are wealth, being good at sports, having graduated from the "right school" and having the latest technology.

"We commissioned this study to learn what it is about the Tanqueray consumer that makes them so unique," said Jennifer Van Ness, Vice President of Gins, Diageo NA. "What we found is that they are individuals who really embody the essence of Tanqueray with their refreshingly sharp perspective, sense of humor, ability to mingle in any crowd, and most importantly, by drinking in moderation."

Height of Popularity
When respondents provided their ratings about elements of social magnetism, participants under-estimated the role that being tall plays. For instance, when asked about the importance of height, respondents said it was not strongly associated with social magnetism. However, when people were asked to describe someone they considered a social magnet, many indeed were tall.

Money and Looks
Wealth seemed to be more important to women in the survey than they realized. When asked about the importance of wealth, women didn't consider it a key trait of male social magnetism; however, when asked to name social magnets that they knew, most were wealthy. Conversely, for men, physical attractiveness seemed to be less important than they initially thought. Upon initial questioning, physical attractiveness was linked closely to female social magnetism, however, upon evaluating traits associated with known social magnets, physical attractiveness was less important than other characteristics.

A subset of MBA students at the Stern Business School were asked to identify the social magnet in their class. Not surprisingly, those individuals deemed a social magnet by their peers consider themselves to be extraverted and open to new experiences. They also noted that they themselves have quite good powers of intuition when it comes to understanding the emotions and motives of others, and have the ability to control the impression they give.

"Social magnetism is more than popularity," said Czepiel. "It is a complex series of factors that gives individuals an 'aura.' There is an element of openness and the ability to make people comfortable in a variety of situations that is essential to social magnetism; so it becomes less about the individual, and more about people's perception about how that individual can make them feel."

This study was conducted by Professor John Czepiel of New York University's Leonard N. Stern School of Business. There were 1,063 respondents, age 21 and over.

Red Sox tie Records Last Night

At the conclusion of five innings, the Nos. 3-6 hitters -- Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Trot Nixon, and Varitek -- were 15 for 16 with five home runs and a triple. Nixon singled in the seventh, for his fourth hit, marking just the sixth time in AL history that four teammates recorded four hits in the same game.

Ortiz homered twice (Nos. 45 and 46) and singled twice. Ramirez homered twice (Nos. 37 and 38) and singled twice as well. Nixon, after whiffing in the first, homered, singled, and tripled through five innings, leaving him a double shy of the cycle with half the game to go. He'd later single and fly to left. Varitek had singled four times, giving him as many hits in five innings as he had in his preceding 13 games.

From Bad to Good

I had a pretty terrible day yesterday. Someone I thought was a friend turned out not to be, and one of my best friends I annoyed by being stupid and not thinking. Took the girls out for dinner last night and after that had a nice run. During the run I let go of all the stupid stuff that happened during the day and all the hurtful stuff that was emailed to me during the day. So it's done, still not 100% over it, but getting there.

Of course U2 plays "The First Time" last night at the concert I sold the tickets for, and wouldn't you know, that is the absolute first time (pun intended) that they ever played that song live, I mean ever?/ Also played Miss Sarajevo, Walk On, and Discoteque, other than that all the songs were the same as what I saw before on this tour.

So I am going tonight with my friend Brian, who as I have mentioned, has not seen U2 before. I hope he will like it, he should, they remain the best live performance I have ever seen, and believe me I have seen many.

Water

Have been drinking so much water lately I think I am going to float away.

Bill Speaks

On the US budget, Clinton warned that the federal deficit may be coming untenable, driven by foreign wars, the post-hurricane recovery programme and tax cuts that benefitted just the richest one percent of the US population, himself included.

"What Americans need to understand is that ... every single day of the year, our government goes into the market and borrows money from other countries to finance Iraq,Afghanistan, Katrina, and our tax cuts," he said.

"We have never done this before. Never in the history of our republic have we ever financed a conflict, military conflict, by borrowing money from somewhere else."

Clinton added: "We depend on Japan, China, the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and Korea primarily to basically loan us money every day of the year to cover my tax cut and these conflicts and Katrina. I don't think it makes any sense."

U2 this Wednesday

Very excited, and have general admission tickets from the fanclub!

Lions, Tigers and Bears (oh my)

Went to the Lincoln Park Zoo today, we saw lions, bears, turtles, zebras, penguins, seals, camels, lizards, monkeys, gorillas, and flamingos. We might have seen other animals as well, I can't remember.

It seems the girls will no longer have their afternoon naps, they have outgrown them. No chance at all so far today to watch any football at all, I know Hines Ward scored twice for the Steelers and tnhat the Dolphins are losing, that's it.

in A Little While

One of my most favorite U2 songs of all time possibly solely because it is the only song I played to my wife's belly while she was pregnant with N & J, and I suppose on some level it makes me feel that I can have compassion for my family:

Oh and yes, U2 has started to add this track to their US concerts this time around ( I will be there next Wednesday night)

U2 - In A Little While Lyrics
In a little while
Surely you'll be back
In a little while I'll be there

In a little while
This hurt will hurt no more
I'll be home, love

When the night takes a deep breath
And the daylight has no end
If I crawl, if I come crawling home
WiIl you be there

In a little while
I will blow by every breeze
Friday night running
To Sunday on my knees

That girl, that girl
She's mine
And I've know her since

Since you were a little girl
With Spanish eyes
Oh, when I saw her
In a pram they pushed her by

My, how you've grown
Well it's been
It's been a little while

Slow down my beating heart
Man dreams one day to fly
A man takes a rocketship into the skys
He lives on starlets dying in the night
And follows in the trail
The scatter of light

Turn it on
Turn it on
You turn me on

Slow down my beating heart
Slowly, slowly love
Slow down my bleeding heart
Slowly, slowly love
Slow down my beating heart
Slowly, slowly love

the Denial Twist

If you think that a kiss is all in the lips
C'mon, you got it all wrong, man
And if you think that our dance was all in the hips
Oh well, then do the twist
If you think holding hands is all in the fingers
Grab hold of the soul where the memory lingers and
Make sure to never do it with the fingers
Cause I'll tell everyone in the world

But he was thinking about the girl
Ya, but he's thinking about the girl, oh

A lot of people get confused and they bruise
Real easy when it comes to love
They start putting on their shoes and walking out
And singing "boy, I think I had enough"

Just because she makes you feel wrong
She don't mean to be mean or hurt you on purpose, boy
Take a tip and do yourself a little service
Take a mountain turn it into a mole

Just by playing a different role
Ya, by playing a different role, oh

The boat ya you know she's rockin' it
And the truth well ya know there's no stoppin' it

The boat ya you know she's still rockin' it
The truth well you know there's no stoppin' it

So what, somebody left you in a rut
And wants to be the one who's in control
But the feeling that you're under can really make you wonder
How the hell she can be so cold

So now you're mad, denying the truth
And it's getting in the wisdom in the back of your tooth
Ya need ta spit it out, in a telephone booth
While ya call everyone that you know, and ask 'em

Where do you think she goes
Oh ya, where d'ya suppose she goes, oh

The truth well you know there's no stoppin' it
And the boat well ya know she's still rockin' it

The boat ya you know she's still rockin' it
And the truth ya you know there's no stoppin' it

You recognize with your back in the back?
That it's colder when she rocks the boat
But it's the cause hittin on the Cardinal Laws?
'bout the proper place to hang her coat

So to you, the truth is still hidden
And the soul plays the role of a lost little kitten but
You should know that the dark is one kitten?
She's been singing it all along

But you were hearin' a different song
Ya you were hearin' a different song
But you were hearin' a different song

Lukewarm

Well we went across the street to play with the neighbors girls, then went for a bicycle ride. Then watched a lil of Clone Wars dvd (Star Wars cartoon), and some backyard swings fun. The girls ask me so many questions about star wars and the red sox. It is really funny, while they were eating their lunch I asked them: "What are Daddy's four favorite things in life"?

Here are there answers:

1. Star Wars
2. Red Sox
3. U2
4. Running

I would say those answers are very good.

Julia seems a bit better though continues to carry tissues with her everywhere in order to blow her running nose.

Aga finally sold the U2 tix for Tuesday to someone at work, and Brian is going with me Wednesday for the fanclub general admission tickets. I think he never saw U2 before so he is of course in for a big treat. His favorite song on the last cd is "Love and Peace or Else". Mine is still Pride in the name of love, but streets live of course is the highlight, especially the end. Evidently they have added a few songs to this leg of the tour- "I Will Follow", "In a Little While", "Fast Cars", and "Miss Sarajevo"(though no Pavarotti this time!!!)

I wanted to do the aids walk with Brian this morning but had difficulties with the twins in getting ready so no luck this time.

We saw about 3 minutes of the Michigan football game today!

OK, all for now.

Cold

Julia has a cold so I gave her children's tylenol this morning. Both girls are dressed though I am not sure where to take them today since Julia is not feeling well.

Rare Nietzsche

In revenge and in love woman is more barbarous than man.
-- Friedrich Nietzsche

One Hundredth Post!

Hooray this is my 100th post! It is Friday so I am in a good mood. I did buy the new death cab for cutie cd, and I really love it, the song I posed the other day is definitely my favorite so far. I finished the Elizabeth Berg novel last night about the woman with breast cancer, it was good, better than the other one I read last week. The memorable thing was that when the main character dies, she tells her friend to keept alking to her, and that when she feels a breeze on her face ouside it will be her visiting her. This cancer was so drawn out, and the woman suffered so terribly. Reminded me of how prevalent cancer is in my own family. I suppose I need to start eating more tomatoes and vegetabales. Aren't tomatoes cancer fighting for men?

Finally watched "Sin City" and it had its moments but overall it was way too violent and very disturbing, some really sick, psychotic characters in it. Bruce Willis was good, and so was Brittany Murphy, that is about it.

N & J went for a bike ride even though it was raining and Aga went with us for the first time in at least a year if not longer. Unfortunatley Julia zipped through an intersection without stopping to look both ways, and so we had to go home as her "punishment". At home N & J got some crayons and envelopes and drew some "letters" for me. Nicki's had a little girl and a ladybug on it, Julia's had a snail and a "party". Sometimes when I ask them what they are drawing they tell me it is a "party".

I am glad it is finally raining out here in Illinois because our grass desperately needed it.

So I have walked evry day this week so far. Hopefully I can keep it up.

Beatles on iPod

Just wanted to mention I have been listening to a lot of the Beatles on my iPod during evening walks and also sometimes in bed before sleeping. "Sgt. Pepper's" mainly. I really love the song "Good Morning, Good Morning", especially John's lyric:

"I've got nothing to say but it's ok, good morning, good morning, good"

and also:

"Going to work, don't want to go, feeling low down"

and of course:

"Go to a show, you hope she goes"

I read in this health book Aga just got that I should walk a minimum of 1 hour every day, so i am trying to that Monday-Friday, that and drink lots and lots of water. I am all ready tired of the water drinking but the walking I enjoy, and I love being able to take the iPod with me.

Big Papi

Ortiz has hit three game-deciding home runs in the last nine days -- Sept. 6 vs. Los Angeles in the bottom of the ninth, Monday night vs. Toronto in the 11th, and last night in the eighth. All three came with the game tied. He homered four times in this three-game series and has homered 16 times in his last 30 games.

Of his 42 home runs -- a career high -- 18 have tied games or put the Sox ahead, nine of those in the seventh inning or later.

He has 18 game-winning RBIs. In the seventh inning and beyond, he's hit 17 home runs and knocked in 45 runs. Of his major-league leading 130 RBIs, 41 have tied games or put the Sox ahead.

In clutch situations (seventh inning on, one run ahead to two runs behind or representing at least the tying run), he's hitting .329 with 9 home runs and 26 RBIs.

Why does he so relish the pressure?

''It's not like I like it," Ortiz said. ''I've got no choice. I face the situation over and over and over. I've got to do something. It's not as easy as it looks."

new Death Cab for Cutie

I have only heard this song once on the radio, and I have not yet bought the new cd, it is really cool, read the lyrics, it's by Death Cab for Cutie:

Soul Meets Body


I want to live where soul meets body
And let the sun wrap its arms around me
And bathe my skin in water cool and cleansing
And feel, feel what its like to be new

Cause in my head there's a greyhound station
Where I send my thoughts to far off destinations
So they may have a chance of finding a place
where they're far more suited than here

I cannot guess what we'll discover
Between the dirt with our palms cut like shovels
But I know our filthy hand can wash one another's
And not one speck will remain

I do believe it's true
That there are roads left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body
Where soul meets body

I do believe it's true
That there are holes left in both of our shoes
If the silence takes you
Then I hope it takes me too
So brown eyes I hold you near
Cause you're the only song I want to hear
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere
A melody softly soaring through my atmosphere

New Orleans

Still finding it hard to believe so many people were killed in New Orleans. The news states that people died waiting for help that never arrived, Bush admitted he is to blame yesterday at a press conference. I wonder if the many Americans who re-elected him feel any shame at all?

Aga's says that may Poles are absolutely stunned that this happened in the United States, and that Bush waitied so long to help these suffering people. Waiting to be rescued for so long just boggles my mind.

I am especially bothered at the fact that there are so many missing or now parentless children. Kids are so innocent, it is just such a terrible, terrible tragedy. We donated some money and of coruse include those affected by Hurricane Katrina in our prayers, it just does not feel like enough. When I read that Al Gore went down there to help, I wished I could do so as well. Having to work at a mundane job that is ultimately so very pointless is difficult. I like to think I am compassiionate and altruistic, I suppose I need to prove that in other ways.

On another note entirey, Julia seems done with her afternoon naps now, which of course means she hits a wall around 630 pm where she gets very crabby and unresponsive to anything she is asked to do. Trying to eat at the table with the family for dinner is a perfect exmaple, it is just a bad scene for now. And Nicki is affected too because she does nt like to see Julia get in trouble. On a positive note, they really love school, they had a picnic Monday and 4th graders mingled with them. They 4th graders bewstowed wonderful "gummy worms" to the preschholers which evidently were red and yellow, and Julia loved eating them though Nicki did not.

I got the accord all fixed up, it needed new brakes and a new battery, as well as an oil change and tire rotation. What was fun for me was walking there after work, it was about 5 miles by my guess, so I felt great after getting there, really refreshed, and enjoyed stretching my legs.

Aga and I likely will cancel the appointment for the crv as it is another 500 dollars which we cannot afford presently.

N & J are very excited about my sister Jenney's upcoming wedding. I finally finished the track listing for disc two and I like it. Jen decied to give two cds to each wedding guest, the first cd is more serious, romantic songs, the second is more fun and dancey though still with the love/romantic them throughout.

Almost watched the "Sin City" dvd last night but instead went to bed- that and "Million Dollar Baby" need to be watched.

OK back to work now........

Sith

I found this interesting, about the Sith (ie. Darth Vader) from Star Wars:

Passion is a crucial element in the mythology of Force, as it could lead people astray into the Dark Side, organized under Sith. To better understand the Sith, one should know the Sith Code by which the Dark Side abides by, which states:

"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion I gain strength.
Through strength I gain power.
Through power I gain victory.
Through victory my chains are broken.
The Force shall set me free."

Expenditures

It is a rough week as far as expenditures go- both cars need servicing this week and that will be about 600 bucks. Ouch!

Fortunately I won at fantasy football week one so that feels good.

I keep looking at Julia's drawing, when I told her last night I love the picture of the bug she drew me, she told me "no daddy it's a snail". Yesterday Maddy from across the stret came over, she is 5, she played with N & J until abut 730pm.

I read about the new iPod nano, it is really cool. I wonder why my $50 refund from apple never arrived, I mailed it in way back in June! Oh well.

No big plans for tonight, next week is U2(Wednesday), Disney on ice(Thursday), and Dragon Tales(Friday).

Observation

Nicki really likes praise, it makes her smile and she is visibly happy to hear it. Julia, on the other hand, doesnot have much of a reaction when she is praised.

We had fun yesterday, I set up the sprinkler, which promptly broke, so I instead used the hose to make an arc that they ran under, they kept calling it their "rainbow", and sometimes "hurricane". I think they definitely picked up on the Hurricane Katrina from hearing Aga and I discuss it. Took them to GRandma Sally's for dinner Saturday and they drew me some great picture which I brought to work. Julia made a multi-colored bug, that is smiling. Nicki's picture is mainly pink, with some red, blue and green, it is just a pattern.

Nicki found a Star Wars figure, Boga from the most recent film, and she had Aga buy it for me, at a garage sale on Friday. Nicki told me that she knew I wanted it because I had been trying to collect two of each figure, and she knew I only had one of these.

Luckily nothing terrible happened yesterday, I do wonder if an act of terrorism will occur again on September 11th someday.

September 11th

Prayer day for those who lost their lives September 11th.

G Sales

After library this morning went to a few garage sales, or "g sales" as N & J call them. At the garage sales they selected two "my pretty pony" figures, a white cat candle, and oddly enough, a toy red and yellow hourglass, with blue and white bright sand inside.

Listened to some Wings on the car but they kept asking to hear the Yello cd. Borrowed another Elizabeth Berg novel because I finished the husband in the coma one, two Dean Koontz, including his latest, and "Freaky Deaky" by Elmore Leonard. Started reading the new Koontz and so far it is slow going.

The girls are eating their lunch now, this is the last weekend they will be in their high chars because the new dining room table arrives next week, and we will all eat our meals there.

I am hoping they both will nap, Julia rarely does any more. This afternoon I will likely set up the sprinkler in the backyard for them.

It is surprising sort of that football has started. Maybe I will have an opportunity to watch some of the games tomorrow if and when the girls nap.

Bible

Aga bought the twins a child's bible, and I read quite a bit of it to them tonight- Creation, Adam and EVe, Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babel.

Sunny

The sunny and hot weather continues in Illinois, today and through to the beginning of next week. I might set up the sprinkler in the backyard tomorrow for N & J again, they had so much fun the last time I did that.

The open house went very well, I met the kindergarten teacher, and was impressed with the computer facilities, library, and gymnasium at the school. What intrigued me the most is that the teacher mentioned that the kindergarteners have three reading assessment tests. Getting the kids learning how to read is a priority. Also, they were planning a trip to the Pumpkin Farm in October. We all went there last year, in addition to the colossal pumpkins, there are camel and horse rides. N & J loved it, we will go there this fall again. Bottom line is as parents we are comfortable sending the twins to this public school next year rather than Saint Zachary's. I think the preschool years have been good for them, though expensive. And the perpetual fund raising requests by Saint Zachary's are kind of stressful for us.

The Patriots played very well last night, they are off to a good start. From what I have read, the Miami Dolphins are expected to have another terrible season. I hope Chris Chambers does well for them, I still like him.

I am really glad the weekend is just about here, more than likely I will again take N & J to the library tomorrow, we need to return a lot of books, and they can play with the computers again.

Open House

I need to attend an open house at a public school tonight, we are thinking of sending the twins there next year, it is called Devonshire School. The little girl, across the street goes there and likes it. That way we can save the money for Catholic school into the tiwns college fund instead, which should help.

Ran 3 miles last night, still recovering from the race. Hoping that after the open house tonight I can go watch part of the Patriots/Raiders football game.

The girls were funny last night, Aga went out to visit a friend, and there was a thunderstorm, Nicki said she didn't like it and Julia was pretty nonplussed. Julia keeps playing with a collection of tiny beads she has. We had to pick them up for about half an hour, there were so many of them all over the carpet.

Looks like my sister Jen and Mom will travel to Arizona to visit my sister Liz. Unfortunately I am unable to go due to having no vacation time remaining. The time I have left I am using to go to Jen's wedding in October. Speaking of which, N & J are still very excited about being flower girls at their Auntie's wedding, they keep talking about it with me.

This morning Nicki tried to persuade me to take the Swedish Chef doll to work, I told her I want him to saty at home and "keep an eye on Momma".

:)

the Swedish Chef (MUPPETS)

Lots of meetings today at work so keeping busy. Still sore from the race, feeling the lingering effects, mainly in my quads now. I will try and run either tonight or tomorrow to try and remove the lactic acid. Had a fun bike ride with N & J last nght and then they played for about an hour with the children across the street. Ortiz hit a game ending winning homer last night, they played the Boston radio play-by-play announcer this morning on espn radio and I heard it, sounded great, really got me excited. I wish the Red Sox still had great pitching so they would again be a lock for the World Series. Their lineup offensively is obviosuly the best in the entire league yet again. Ortiz, Damon, and Varitek are having an incredible season.

The Swedish Chef from the Muppet show arrived in the mail yesterday, and Nicki promptly put him in her bicycle basket and rode off. I told my family he is for me to help me cook! I always liked the Swedish Chef yapping away while he was preparing delicacies to eat.

Gilligan is Dead

I used to watch Gilligan's Island all the time when I was a little boy, Bob Denver died.

LOS ANGELES - Bob Denver, whose portrayal of goofy first mate Gilligan on the 1960s television show "Gilligan's Island," made him an iconic figure to generations of TV viewers, has died, his agent confirmed Tuesday. He was 70.




Denver, who underwent quadruple heart bypass surgery earlier this year, died at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in North Carolina, according to agent Mike Eisenstadt. Denver's death was first reported by "Entertainment Tonight."

Labor Day

The 10 mile race was fun, the string quartet playing in the woods made it unique. A family was playing Vangelis's "Chariots of Fire" at Mile 9 and I told them if I close my eyes I can imagine running along the beach in Scotland. I spoke to my Mom later and she said she thought they were running along the beach in France in the beginning of that movie, so maybe I was wrong.

Aga bought a new dining room table and chairs, she took me and the girls to see it at the store when I returned home. The thing I did not like about the race was it was 49 miles from home out in a suburb called Park Forest. I got a medal and an outstanding race t-shirt so that's nice.

After their nap we all went out for caesar salads, and also got tiramisu. N & J were very crabby so we returned home to eat the tiramisu.

Seahorses

The dolphin show at Shedd Aquarium this morning was fun, but the crab exhibit and seeing the seashorses were especially good. N & J really loved the seahorses. Also, we had the opportunity to see the diver feed the fish, and also saw the fish from the "Finding Nemo" film.

Tomorrow morning I have a 10 mile race in a suburb called Park Forest, the first 4 miles are run through the woods, and there is an orchestra playing classical music at that time, I think there are additional bands playing throughout the race so it should be fun.

Weird Comments on my blog

Why do they keep occurring? I don't care for the spam, thanks.

Library

We had a blast at the library again. I finished all the books I mentioned earlier, except the new Harry Potter, that one I put on the back burner. The Hillary Clinton book was preposterous and unbelievable, the urban legend book was intriguing but freaky, A TRip to the Stars ended up not being as good as the first one hundred pages. I am finishing Nicholas Christopher's "Veronica" today, I read about half of it at the library while N & J played on the e-Macs.

I borrowed a Philip Glass cd, Daddy Day Care dvd(Eddie Murphy comedy), Range of Motion by Elizabeth Berg, about a husband in a coma, and the Univited by John Farris, a horror novel highly recommended by none other than Stephen King.

This afternoon someone is hopefully coming to the house to repair or replace the hot water heater. Unfortunately, I was told replacement will be 900 or 1000 dollars. Ouch.

New Orleans

I am saying a prayer for the many people killed in New Orleans these last few days. What a horrible tragedy. Supposedly many of these people are being moved to Texas.

It is hard to let go of some of the frightening and sad images I have seen so far.
And this is happening in the USA, where Americans are acting like barbarians.

I wonder if we have just destroyed the enovironment so badly that these are the repurcussions. Such an awfully hot summer, now floods.

Perhaps this would not have been as devastating, please read this:



http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20050901/cm_thenation/318631


In early 2004, as the cost of the conflict in Iraq soared,

President Bush proposed spending less than 20 percent of what the Corps said was needed for Lake Pontchartrain, according to a Feb. 16, 2004, article, in New Orleans CityBusiness.

September

Ah, autumn. Raking leaves and football season right around the corner. The twins are very pleased to be back in school, they made some nice birghtly colored paintings theire first day back for me. Tonight is my fantasy football league draft, I have won it 3 out of 4 years, hopefully my lucky streak remains intact.