Musings and Meanderings

This Blog will be on hiatus untill July 13th. At that time it will be back to daily posts. Be good Mike

Fathers Day! Unusual morning, as the Troop had our Father's Day Pancake Breakfast this am. I overslept and didn't get there till 8am, but Alex and I stayed till it was over. I'm running on about 3 hrs of sleep today. The pics are HERE. I did not sleep at all well last night. But I held off taking a nap so I could definitly fall asleep tonight. Otherwise I took it easy today, didn't have to do anything! Alex gave me a professional card and one he made himself, as well as a nice black "3D" or Embossed Raider mug. Liza gave me gift pack for the movies so we can all go to see a movie together. I played Starfleet Command. Read. Lounged around. Prepared a calendar for Alex's summer activities so I can keep it all on track. He gets out this Thursday. So Happy Father's Day to all the Dads. etc etc.

A True Story The only Random meeting I have ever had with a Musician of importance was in SF when I was in my mid 20's. I was living in San Francisco in the mid 80's, splitting time btw my Mom's and my GF's place. I would grab a bus on Van Ness (I think) that took me back to the Sunset district so I could be there when my GF got out of work (she worked 4D/3N straight at a home for abused children). As I walked up to grab my bus I passed a Hispanic gentleman sitting at a different bus stop with a BGP satin jacket on. As I passed him in the space of a few seconds this conversation went on in my head. Gosh that looks like Carlos Santana OMG that is Carlos Santana Just keep walking Mike, leave the poor man alone. Noooo you will always regret walking by and not saying Hi. So I turned around and stopped. I stuck out my hand and said first that I apologized for disturbing him and that I was a big fan, had just seen him at the Greek, and thanked him...

Primal meanderings You may notice that the occurrences of my musings (which are the political commentary) are kind of cyclical. I honestly cannot explain how I will go one week posting musings nearly every day and then go a week or two with nothing but meanderings (the more mundane life commentary). Sometimes I just feel empty inside and don't feel like, nor in fact even think of, posting. And sometimes I just have a fire in my belly. Then sometimes there is not enough for just one day, and so if you check in regularly you will notice that there are blog's appearing where you didn't see them before. I call this Back-Blogging. So the missed days do serve a function I suppose. I'm sure that part of it is the job issue. It is an energy level issue as well however. Believe it or not some of those missives take a great deal of energy to produce. I do suppose that if I disciplined myself I could come up with something cogent on a daily basis. But then aga...

Surprise Visit Got a call from D&K as they were driving home from Ohio, saying they were coming by our town. So we met at friendlies and Alex, Dad and I had banana splits. Just one of the many benefits of having them just 90 miles away.

Passing of a Legend After watching Smarty Jones loose to the Saratoga NY Horse last evening we found out that President Ronald Regan had passed. An ignominious end for a vibrant Human Being, but I didn't realize he had lived 93 yrs. I guess I always forgot he was one of our older sitting President's when he was in office. Now I never liked the man as a Domestic President. His Trickle Down theory of Economics struck this Econ major as missing half the equation.... (umm supply = demand). Of course his contribution to Foreign Affairs cannot be understated. His agressive pushing of the Arms Race bankrupted the USSR and eventually led to it's dissolution. Whether this is a good or bad thing in the very long run is way to early to tell. In the short run for most of the world it is a good thing. However one thing struck me strongly is how much his Party has changed over the 20 yrs since he was President. I was watching the Headline News piece and saw how 17 days ...

Van Helsing Alex had a 1/4 day for school today. Because he came home early yesterday I didn't push the issue that he wasn't feeling well in the am still. In fact he went back to bed in and slept so I do believe it did him a world of good. So we went to the last "cheap matinee" of Van Helsing today. This movie should have done a hell of a lot better than it did. It is an homage to the great horror movies of the 50's, while taking the ideas in a new angle. The Frankenstein Monster was really well cast, as was Dwakcura (sic). Kate B is a babe and kicks arse. She has a thing for Werewolves (no! there wolf.......... there castle.......) and (why are we talking like that? Oh I thought you wanted to) Vampires apparently. (She starred in Underworld as a Vampire who fights Wherewolves) Funny in interviews she has this tiny little voice. Loved Igor.. sorry Egor. That actor was of course the Mummy's buddy in the first Mummy movie, I do like that acto...

Last Samurai I watched this movie today while I folded laundry, cleaned some rooms with DVD players in them and did some paperwork for Alex's school next year. Cruise is amazing in this. So is the lead Samurai, who I loved in Black Rain. I won't "spoil" this movie if you have not seen it. I just wanted to mention that I have a soft spot for "honor". Anyway the end made me cry. It was extremely moving and well shot. I give it five stars.

Field Day There are very few positive things about being out of work. One of them is extra time with the children, or child in my case. So this am Alex reminded me that it was his Elementary School's "Field Day" in which they go to the track at the High School and run events. Alex ran in the 440 relay and his team/homeroom came in second. I didn't get a good pic of him running but the one below will have to suffice. He is wearing a red Tshirt.