Rush

Going to bed. Shared some of the Gaslight Anthem stuff with Lisa as she wrapped gifts.

I can't get enough.

Discovering a new band. Getting caught up in it. It's like new love. A first kiss.

Well, not having any of those, so might as well dive back into the music.

If I have more time tomorrow, I'll write some about that new discovery.

Damn You

Damn you, Joel McHale. Damn you, Conan O'Brien. Damn you, Hulu.

I went to Hulu this AM to check out last night's Daily Show, as is my usual MO (it's on too late for these 45 year-old eyes). Then I saw that last night Conan had McHale (of The Soup) on as a guest. So I listened to it as I coded. And he introduced a new (at least to me) band: The Gaslight Anthem from Jersey...



Cool damn driving beat. Then the voice came out. At first, it felt like the guy from the Alarm, and I had to look. And they rocked. And so I check out their website. Then Napster. Liked the snippets I heard. Bought the CDs, listening to them now... I'll know more later if they are as cool as I hope they are (on half a listen). But for now, it's all good: that driving mix of Social D, a little Explosions in the Sky, and that booming voice... and now it hits me: THE REPLACEMENTS... yeah, that's it.

Gotta go... gotta code and rock out.

---------------------------------------

UPDATE: oh, yeah, it was worth it... they rock... and they will rock at the Key Club in LA for a benefit show on Sunday... hmmmmmm, if I wasn't such a geezer, I'd head on down...

Oh, yeah, and lots of Bruce references throughout the albums... that ol' Jersey connection, I guess (they're playing at the Stone Pony on the 28th... If I could take Lisa to Jersey for our anniversary, it would be... different).

In the meantime, I'll search out some samples for your perusal...

--------------------------------------

UPDATE AGAIN:

OK, founds some vids... mostly of that same song "The '59 Sound" they did on Conan.

A live club date from LA just after they finished recording the album... rocking hard...



And I checked for the lyrics. Holy Crap.

Well, I wonder which song they're gonna play when we go.
I hope it's something quiet and minor and peaceful and slow.
When we float out into the ether, into the Everlasting Arms,
I hope we don't hear Marley's chains we forged in life.
'Cause the chains I been hearing now for most of my life.

Did you hear the '59 Sound coming through on Grandmama's radio?
Did you hear the rattling chains in the hospital walls?
Did you hear the old gospel choir when they came to carry you over?
Did you hear your favorite song one last time?

And I wonder were you scared when the metal hit the glass?
See, I was playing a show down the road
When your spirit left your body.
And they told me on the front lawn.
I'm sorry I couldn't go,
But I still know the song and the words and her name and the reasons.
And I know 'cause we were kids and we used to hang.

[Chorus]

Young boys, young girls, ain't supposed to die on a Saturday night.

[Chorus]

While coding, I heard some of the references, but listening and reading at the same time, the sense of loss and guilt and loneliness just became overwhelming. I'm still crying. In 11 days, it'll be two years. Last night, Pa dreamt that his cell phone wasn't working as he tried to call Ma; he woke to fix his phone only to realize.

The reference to old Marley is so timely with Christmas around the corner... and the spirits...

The video drives the imagery home.



I'm starting to dry up now. Back to work, I guess.

------------------------------------

OK... so I went to the chiro, and now I'm back with absolutely NO motivation to work.

So here's some more vids of Gaslight Anthem... these might prove interesting to some of you who share my musical tastes...



and...



OK, I promise, I'll go to work now.

Maybe

-------------------------------------

maybe not...

here's an NPR story on the band...

Taking one for the team

Kyle needs to get 1984 tonight. So, I guess I'll take him to the bookstore where I can pick up that new issue of Vanity Fair with Tina Fey.



Suppose I can be the good dad...

It's Funny (and a little sad) because it's True

Saturday was a long day, too long to stay up... and so I missed this:



Obama, tread lightly...

Progress

Getting work done... at least some, Jim introduced Lisa to WordPaths on Facebook, and she introduced it to me... damn you all!!!! I do SO have an addictive personality.

[btw, Jim: "sidewinder"? really? seriously? how many points was that worth???]

Kyle took not making to team fairly well, especially as he reads that he still has a shot to make the A team before they go to either Florida in Feb or Hungary in July... but he realizes that he has to work hard to make the alternate slot (or better yet, beat out the number one guy). Of course, he forgot to wake up early this morning to start running (we all agree that his legs kept him from having a less than horrible tryout last week). So who knows how serious he is...

But he does make a dashing figure, doesn't he:


Yesterday, we put up the lights and took our holiday pic:



Yeah, we're Bruins... and check out the goalie cap on Kyle's Bruin...

Well...

Thank goodness that (football season) is over.

Bring on basketball.

I figure if our offense scores more than their defense, we should lose by less than 24

Guess I was on the money on that one.

Of course, our one TD came on a trick play. And the passer had one TD pass... more than our starting QB has had in the last five games combined.

So, yeah... glad it's over.

Self-medicating helped... though it wore off long before halftime. At least no hangover.

Don't have time for one. Need to decorate for the holidays, take a Christmas card pic, help Kyle with ideas on his Animal Farm essay, and probably do a little consoling (I got the email from the club coach... he didn't make the A team... ).

And tomorrow, back to work. Joy.

Nothing Can Go Wrong

Ignore my earlier posting... nothing can go wrong.



See?

Nightmares, future, present, past

Tomorrow is the UCLA/USC game. Begin self-medicating now. This is going to get brutal. We're 30 pt dogs, with an over/under @ 47.5 ... so Vegas is betting we'll lose around 38-7 or 38-9. The second one's more likely... unless we score a special teams or defensive touchdown. Even the vaunted Norm Chow can't do much with a porous OLine and Kevin "my middle name is erratic, no, it's foolhearty, no, it's 'I'll go get my ball" Craft at QB. I figure if our offense scores more than their defense, we should lose by less than 24 (my feeling is that under that circumstance we'll probably hang tough for the first 3 quarters, then the D--exhausted after being on the field 65% of the time--will be worn down). If their D scores more than our O... baby, 38-9 will seem like a wonderful thing.

Can we win? Sure. I'll never say we can't win (13-9, anyone?), but I can't say that we will. It would be wonderful to knock them out of the Rose Bowl, and end their string of BSC bowl appearances and Pac-10 titles... Just don't see it happening.

Last night was the second of two tryouts for Santa Barbara's A team. After, Kyle said, "That was the most horrible tryout I ever had." Couldn't argue much. Tuesday's tryout had some good things (despite having some issues stopping the ball, he distinguished himself from the others by calling a good game, the most vocal and leader-ly [I know, not a word] goalie of the 8 in attendance), and he had some hope at the end of it. Last night, not so much. While he still called the best game of any goalie, he still had issues making blocks (you know, which is the whole point of a goalie). The goalie coach coached him to NOT to tell defenders to foul the set D when he's on his back (that's a kick-out), and Kyle listened, responded with a "OK" and didn't do it again. So if coachability counts, he's got a shot. If calling a game and being a leader counts, he's got a shot. If it comes down to shot blocking, then he didn't make the A team. The coach told all the players that he'd be emailing the guys who made the A squad on Sunday. Don't think we'll be waiting by the computer, clicking "check mail" all day.

Even with my Bruins looking to die tomorrow, I'm looking forward to getting out of town today. Work has sucked this week. The project we've been working on is just about to go live, and the panicky MAJ has been asking for tweaks large and small all week long... and of course, not expecting it to affect the timeline. Ah, alcohol, my dear friend, I'll be seeing you soon...

Oh, yeah, and this morning I read this... sounds to me like some of the fridge have been self-medicating, too...

ooooh, baby

OK, we all know I've got a thing for Tina Fey. [though to be honest, in recent months, her all-too-close resemblance to Palin HAS given me pause]

And for Christmas, what does Vanity Fair give me (and just me, I'm sure):



All right, that wasn't just for me... that was for all of you.

But for me...



Yep, you betcha.

[Lisa, can you do that thing with your glasses? You bring the heels, I'll bring ... uh, me]

Bruce

Been a while. Bruce will be playing the Super Bowl. He's announced a new album Working on a Dream, out January 27. The studio version of the song is pretty cool... it still has that whistling thing in the break (a reference to Snow White's dwarves?), but it a better twangy tele solo now.

Yesterday saw the release of another song, My Lucky Day... which is pretty damn cool... in fact, I love it.


Last week, the trailer for the new Mickey Rourke movie, The Wrestler, was released, and it features a hidden track from the album as well.

Here's hoping for a spring Springsteen tour!

December

begins today.

As does Rivalry Week. I can hope all I want for a 13-9 type upset victory over the Trojies, but I don't think it will happen. And thus I plan to self-medicate in a major way before the game.

Kyle's grades are up (though with some difficulties), so tomorrow brings Santa Barbara's water polo team tryouts. (we ran into the head of his former club team at the UCLA water polo game on Saturday [a loss... to those damn Trojies], and let him know that we'll be heading up to SB for next season [since his RMHS teammates play up there])

Today should be one of my final chiro appts... should be because though my next is feeling better, my knee is pretty messed up. Went bowling with the family yesterday. Yep, I was injured bowling.

Old, fat, lazy, AND clumsy.

I fell and wrenched my knee (but I threw a STRIKE damnit), so I want the chiro to take a look at it.

Geek

Yeah, yeah... I know... three weeks.

I'll get around to updating... but for now



via videosift.com

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time (and I was at the Adobe developers conference last week!)

Working, not working

A little distracted today. I keep thinking of the momentous event that took place last night. And listening to that new Springsteen song he debuted a few days back in Ohio. According to Backstreets.com:

"Workin' on a Dream." The song has been recorded for the follow-up to Magic, which Springsteen has been working on this fall, an album expected to see release around the time of the Presidential Inauguration in January 2009.

Been listening so much, I got the lyrics down:

Workin' on a Dream

Out here, the nights are long
The days are lonely
I think of you and
I'm workin' on a dream
I'm workin' on a dream

Now the cards I've drawn
Is a rough hand, darlin'
I straighten my back and
I'm workin' on a dream
I'm workin' on a dream

I'm workin' on a dream
Though sometimes it feels so far away
I'm workin' on a dream
And I know it will be mine someday

The rain pouring down
I swing my hammer
My hands are rough from
Workin' on a dream
I'm workin' on a dream

I'm workin' on a dream
Though trouble can feel like it's here to stay
I'm workin' on a dream
Where our love can chase the trouble away

I'm workin' on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm workin' on a dream
Our love will make it real someday

The sun rises up
I climb the ladder
The new day breaks and
I'm workin' on a dream
I'm workin' on a dream

I'm workin' on a dream
I'm workin' on a dream

I'm workin' on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm workin' on a dream
Our love will make it real someday

I'm workin' on a dream
Though it can feel so far away
I'm workin' on a dream
And our love will make it real someday


Jeez, like I'm in high school again. Guess Hope and Change will do that to you.

(of course, it helps to still be in love with your high school sweetheart)

Happily Wrong

OK, so the Bradley Effect doesn't exist (or didn't rear its ugly racist head in this election). And I was wrong, wonderfully wrong.

Wrong about Florida (+27).
Wrong about Ohio (+20).
Wrong about New Hampshire (+4).
Wrong about Nevada (+5).

And I could still be wrong about North Carolina and Indiana (still too close to call).

(and it looks like I'll probably be right about Missouri... and if so, there goes your perfect record, Mo)

McCain was completely classy in his concession (though members of his crowd were not). I've said it before and I'll say it again right now: Obama should offer a cabinet post to McCain (DefSec, Senator?).

I thought Obama give a very good speech (not transcendent certainly, but solid).

What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night.

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were.

It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

...

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves -- if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment.

This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

I am hopeful. (and for me, the eternal pessimist... that's saying something)

A Prediction for Tonight

OK, so I've geeked out about tonight... and I'm still not confident... in fact, less so...

The full reasoning of my lack of confidence (despite the pundits) can be found here... but here's how I see it shaking out (by poll closing)...

Dem Votes	Dem Win	State	GOP Win	GOP Votes
0		Indiana	+ 11 (slow)	11
0		Kentucky	+ 8	19
0		Florida	+ 27 (slow)	46
0		Georgia	+ 15	61
0		South Carolina	+ 8	69
3	+ 3	Vermont		69
16	+ 13 (slow)	Virginia		69
16		Ohio	+ 20 (slow)	89
16		West Virginia	+ 5	94
23	+ 7	Connecticut		94
26	+ 3	Delaware		94
29	+ 3	District of Columbia		94
33	+ 4	Maine		94
43	+ 10	Maryland		94
55	+ 12	Massachusetts		94
55		New Hampshire	+ 4 (slow)	98
70	+ 15	New Jersey		98
91	+ 21 (slow)	Pennsylvania		98
91		Alabama	+ 9	107
112	+ 21	Illinois		107
112		Mississippi	+ 6	113
112		Missouri	+ 11 (slow)	124
112		Oklahoma	+ 7	131
112		South Dakota	+ 3	134
112		Tennessee	+ 11	143
112		North Carolina	+ 15 (slow)	158
112		Arkansas	+ 6	164
143	+ 31	New York		164
147	+ 4	Rhode Island		164
147		Louisiana	+ 9	173
164	+ 17	Michigan		173
164		Minnesota	+ 10 (slow)	183
174	+ 10	Wisconsin		183
174		Arizona	+ 10	193
183	+ 9 (slow)	Colorado		193
183		Nebraska	+ 5	198
188	+ 5 (slow)	New Mexico		198
188		South Dakota	+ 3	201
188		Texas	+ 34	235
188		Wyoming	+ 3	238
195	+ 7	Iowa		238
195		Kansas	+ 6	244
195		Montana	+ 3	247
195		Utah	+ 5	252
195		Nevada	+ 5 (slow)	257
195		North Dakota	+ 3 (slow)	260
250	+ 55	California		260
250		Idaho	+ 4	264
257	+ 7	Oregon		264
267	+ 11	Washington		264
271	+ 4	Hawaii		264
271		Alaska	+ 3	267

My (really depressing) prediction: Obama: 271, McCain: 267. Obama wins the Electoral College barely along with the popular vote.

Then again, what the hell do I know? The professionals all have Obama winning (from comfortable to big)... they should know more than I... I hope so.

And tomorrow we'll see how wrong (hopefully) I was, er, am.

The Price You Pay

As I listen to the last post's "This Land is Your Land," I'm a little disappointed, Bruce isn't singing the verse I heard him perform 24 years ago:

There was a big high wall there that tried to stop me;
Sign was painted, it said private property;
But on the back side it didn't say nothing;
That side was made for you and me.

I've always thought that was the real dangerous part of the song... one that meshed perfectly with 1980's The River's "The Price You Pay":

You make up your mind, you choose the chance you take
You ride to where the highway ends and the desert breaks
Out on to an open road you ride until the day
You learn to sleep at night with the price you pay

Now with their hands held high, they reached out for the open skies
And in one last breath they built the roads they'd ride to their death
Driving on through the night, unable to break away
From the restless pull of the price you pay

CHORUS
Oh, the price you pay, oh, the price you pay
Now you can't walk away from the price you pay

Now they'd come so far and they'd waited so long
Just to end up caught in a dream where everything goes wrong
Where the dark of night holds back the light of day
And you've gotta stand and fight for the price you pay

CHORUS

Little girl down on the strand
With that pretty little baby in your hands
Do you remember the story of the promised land
How he crossed the desert sands
And could not enter the chosen land
On the banks of the river he stayed
To face the price you pay

So let the games start, you better run you little wild heart
You can run through all the nights and all the days
But just across the county line, a stranger passing through put up a sign
That counts the men fallen away to the price you pay,
and girl before the end of the day,
I'm gonna tear it down and throw it away

... this is an alternate take of the studio version, with an alternate third verse (I'd love to have a live version, but since he hasn't performed it for like 28 years)...

Working on a Dream

So tomorrow is Election Day. Am I any more optimistic than three days ago? I don't know. I want to believe Obama can pull this off. But as a Democrat, I've watched my party snatch defeat from the jaws of victory too many times.

If the polls can be trusted, Obama will win (though at a much tighter margin... I've got him currently at 275). If not, it's going to be a long night Tuesday, and I will need some rum (worse case scenario at this point for me is 314-224).

For those trying to follow along, here are some great accessories:

electoral-vote.com

pollster.com

A great discussion of what to watch for tomorrow night from those guys at fivethirtyeight.com...

A map with the poll closing times

With a chance to make it good somehow
Hey what else can we do now

Had planned to stop there. But I found another clip, and then in the midst of watching and listening and crying a little... dad called up from the living room: Obama's grandmother has passed away. And the tears flow a whole lot easier.



If nothing else, we can cry together. And laugh together. And work together.

And win together?



Yes, we can.

Another week plus

Craziness. Vegas, politics, work, water polo.

I've become a political junkie, and have been spending much of my free time updating my Electoral College tracker.

And it's the Friday before the most important vote of my life... and my prediction is:

McCain.

Yep, I'm that pessimistic.

Why? The polls keep fluctuating. And lately, it trends toward McCain. I think it will be tight. I think Obama will win the popular vote... may even get to 51 or 52, but I think the electoral will break toward McCain.

Despite the coverage of the MSM, I have 209 solid for Obama, 24 pretty strong, and 35 leaning (and that's 268). On the McCain side, I have him with a total of 212. That's a toss-up 58... in those states (CO, NC, VA, and PA), Obama is ahead, but with enough undecideds to go with McCain (I figure the smears of the last week will add up to a 3- or 4- to-1 break of undecideds to McCain)... and that means PA goes to McCain, North Carolina goes to Obama, and Virginia and Colorado are dead heats.

I know, that gives Obama the victory, with 283. But that doesn't take into account the "Bradley Effect"... with it McCain takes it by a bundle, 312-226.

So what can I do? I'm making calls on Saturday night.

My vote's in the mail... so at least this can't come true:

What's your favorite TV Show?

Do you like:
a) Cash Cab
b) Deadliest Catch

Do you like:
a) Doctor Who
b) Tin Man

Do you like:
a) Bill Engvall Show
b) My Boys

Do you like:
a) South Park
b) Colbert Report

Do you like:
a) Damages
b) It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Do you like:
a) Battle 360
b) Ax Men

Do you like:
a) Rock of Love with Bret Michaels
b) I Love New York

According to Neilsen, if you answered mostly A, you're a Republican... B, Democrat.

I think I may need to switch allegiance to vote for McCain...


or maybe not...

sorry

long time, no write... I know

sorry... work, life, water polo, politics, college football, blah blah blah

Work has been crazy... Monday was an up till midnight day of work.... but today we finally got a development freeze... thank god

Life is crazy... nothing like prepping for Halloween (especially when we're going away for a weekend getaway to Vegas the weekend before Halloween... and man do we need it).

Kyle sat out the game two Thursdays ago for grade (just one game, but I think it made an impression... grades are up and he's back in the pool). Last Tuesday, he played the school he would have attended had we not gone cross-town. He only played the last quarter (the coach thought it a good idea to keep the pressure on... preaching to the converted here, coach), but played well and even scored on a last-second shot. Last Thursday he played another quarter (against a team that wouldn't challenge the team... and it would give the Frosh/Soph goalie some good game time). Yesterday, he played the whole game, and a good game it was. While he gave up eight goals, three were on man-down situations and one on a penalty shot. He had seven saves, two steals, and an assist, and the team fought back from behind to send the game to overtime. And they won their first overtime game of the season (they lost their other two OT games)... they're undefeated in league.

Politics have been on an interesting ride: Obama gets endorsements from Powell (hope he's willing to come on as Sec of State... and I'd hit up McCain as Sec of Def... but more on that--and not counting chickens, etc--later), Warren Buffet, Bernanke (of a sort), William F. Buckley's son, and 124 newspapers (to McCain's 46). It all looks good, kinda. Though the silly season is hitting hyperdrive.

We've jumped from "liberal" to "secret Muslim" to "palling around" with terrrorists (with constant references to his middle name)... to accusing Obama of smearing "Joe the Plumber"... to now GOP congresspeople hinting at Obama being "anti-American" to other accusations of Socialism, to discussion of areas of "real" America, to accusations of "communist" yesterday... where is this all heading? What's next? He's a pedophile? Necrophile? The anti-Christ?

--------------------------
UPDATE: 11:20am... it's worse: they're back to "academic" ... damn, that's hitting below the belt.
--------------------------


(of course, Biden doesn't help with his "testing" remark over the weekend, and Obama's pandering to both Philadelphia and Tampa's crowds over their baseball teams was just stupid)

Palin's appearance on SNL was pretty good (the open was great, the Weekend Update was idiotic)... she looked good... how much of that wardrobe was part of the 150K from the RNC? What would Joe the Plumber say if his wife (uh, ex-wife?) came back with a 150K bill on threads?

Even with all this, Obama's lead in popular vote seems to be growing, but I see his electoral vote dwindling to the point where his "on the face of it" victory is slim, and under the "Bradley Effect," he loses outright (though both margins are tightening as we get closer to election day).

My take is that when November 5 rolls around, we'll be looking at another Republican administration. Yeah, I'm a pessimist.

Anyway...

UCLA football won a great comeback victory... of course, yesterday we lost another offensive lineman... not good.

It's all crazy right now...

back to work... more chiro later this afternoon, maybe some more Halloween decorating... more work tomorrow, then off to Vegas for the weekend... man, am I looking forward to that...

Bradley Effect

OK, so I'm not the only one thinking of this...



of course, they're funnier...

quick hit

OK, so it looks like I'm a part of the minuscule minority who though McCain won last night's debate... well, at least the first half of it. He came out strong, finally looked Obama in the eye, and put forth really good arguments for his policies.

Then he got bogged down in the whole Ayers thing, and the rest of the debate was pretty much a draw in my eyes. Did McCain seem grumpy? Sure, at times... but at times Obama looked goofy, grinning too much. Did Obama seem steadier, less liable for emotional ups and downs. Absolutely, and that's what I think most people (at least those who saw him winning the debate) saw.

McCain seems like a guy who'd like a clean campaign... I would have loved it if one of them would have just held out his hand and said, "Let's make a pledge, right here, right now, to have NO negative ads for the remaining three weeks. No attack ads, no 'comparison' ads." It would have put the other is a horrible dilemma... and it would have been fun to watch (no matter what direction it was heading).

Then we could have been spared crap like this from the Sacramento GOP (who has since removed it from their site)...

What bullshit.

birthdays

are milestones
that with which we measure the passage of time
yesterday would have been ma's 76th birthday

the five of us went down to the harbor
with flowers
and thoughts
is that our buoy? pa asked
it might have been

a gull flew along the shore
into the wind
buffetting up and down, wings out
moving fast but going nowhere
until the effort was too much and it turned
and with a single flap
sped inland

our mums for mom
had problems going to sea
hugging the shore
lisa and the boys left messages for ma in the sand
with the wind and the high tide i'm sure they're gone now

birthdays are signposts
marking time
can't believe it's been almost two years, pa said
i can believe it
feels like forever
but only when thinking of ma

when thinking of the boys
time has flown
like the gull away from shore
for ma
like the gull into the wind

the pain is less
no tears, a little choke
big tightness in my chest
tightness around
the nothing

the pain is less
but the emptiness is still here
no amount of sushi after could fill it
no amount of green tea could warm it

i'm not depressed
i'm not that sad
just empty
but not all the time
just in moments

measured by
birthdays

updates

Not a typo in the online grade check: C on the Iliad paper... it's supposed to come home today, so we can triage and debrief. I'm feeling bad about all this... I've drawn a line in the sand that Kyle may not be able to cross. I'm considering an alternative: if he can raise the Science grade to a B (he's only two percentage points away), and we receive weekly reports from English that's he heading in the right direction (as opposed to holding steady or declining), we'll let him play. I'm torn. I've lowered my expectations already (from straight A's to a 3.5 [with no C's])... I hate to lower them again. On the flip side, I hate to see him out of the pool (though his team didn't need him yesterday, they will in coming weeks). But there's got to be consequences. I just don't know.

Meanwhile, I've been geeking out big-time over the political polls and my Electoral Map Tracker (with Bradley Effect discussion). I'm pretty happy with it... I hope to keep it updated daily.

The Political Landscape

(even beyond the stress over Kyle's grades, see below)

I've been thinking ALOT about the upcoming election.

I'm an Obama supporter. I find him inspirational at a time when we desperately need that. I used to like McCain (back when he really was a maverick... eight through six years ago)... but with his flip-flop on the Religious Right ("agents of intolerance" have become the base he courts with the pick of Palin) and his taking on more Rove-ian tactics, I've lost some respect for the guy. Can he lead? Probably (though being a POW is NOT a leadership resume point). But his age and temperament give me pause. His choice of Palin is the key here... it seems a reactionary choice (Hillary was a woman...), made too quickly. I do NOT like or respect Palin's views (what she has espoused/stated/parroted thus far), and the idea that she could become President (and no, I don't care that she was a governor of Alaska or once mayor of its second largest town) scares me. His choice to "suspend" his campaign (though I saw no evidence that he did) and to pull out of the first debate, only to jump back in, points to a certain erratic nature... not something I want in a Commander-in-Chief. The fact that he wouldn't even look at Obama in the first debate, and (it seemed to me) would look only in his direction (but not make actual eye contact) in the second (especially after the character attacks that had be issued over the weekend), also raises questions as to his temperament.

But all these I can take. But the stuff that his happening on the fringes of the campaign is what's getting me. The rise again of the "Hussein" stuff, the constant reference to Obama's "terrorist" friends, and yesterday's proclamation by Cindy McCain that Obama had personally insulted her by voting to "not support" the troops of which her son is one (when this claim is total bullshit and can be made of her husband as well). It has Rove's fingerprints all over it. And to think that McCain has aligned himself with the same slime-merchants that derailed his own campaign in 2000 (in the ugliest of fashions, filled with rumor and innuendo) just kills me. This insinuation that a vote for Obama is support for terrorism kills me. The underlying implication that Obama is actually a sleeper agent for the Islamic terrorists kills me.

Just remember, folks... the Manchurian Candidate was a former POW.

Anyway... got a little distracted there. Sorry.

So I've been thinking alot about the political landscape, and the impression that Obama leads in the polls and may actually win the election. And maybe I'm just a pessimist... but I'm not buying it. I worry too much about the Bradley effect (something only a few are talking about, and none with any statistical ripple effects). And so I put together a electoral poll viewer, complete with a Bradley effect component. You Can check it out here.

Unless the Bradley effect is worse than 5 percent, Obama looks to be in pretty good shape. But October is said to be filled with surprises... and with Rove's disciples pulling the strings at McCain's campaign, who knows what will pop up (can anyone say "gimme more Rezko and Wright"?)

grades and ripples

Had a hard time sleeping last night (and woke up with a wrenched neck... guess I'm off to the chiro today [Lisa needs an appt, too, for a sore shoulder]). Kyle's been having some high school grade adjustment issues. At Back-To-School night, we found that he had a D in Health, and C's in three other classes. He's been able to turn around Health to an A, and the C in Geometry to an A. I had given him two and a half weeks to bring the C's to B's, else I would sit him from games. Tuesday, the grade checks came back... still C's. So he sits.

But that's not the issue. His Science class has not turned in an assignment for a week... so it's difficult for him to raise the 78 percent to 80 (honestly, we weren't too impressed by the teacher at BTS night... and Lisa has a growing antipathy toward her [I know, unbelievable for Queen of Second Chances Lisa]). English looked to be tough, but doable. He had 75 percent, but had a major paper on the Iliad due last week. We helped him edit it, and it turned out well. Or so we thought... Looking at the online gradebook yesterday, (unless I'm reading it wrong) he received a 71 out of 100. Kyle doesn't know yet, but both Lisa and I are concerned. The paper was solid. Of course, now we're questioning ourselves. And wondering if (since we didn't see the actual essay prompt) Kyle missed something crucial... or if his thesis, that Achilles is NOT heroic, didn't pass muster with the teacher whose assignment was on discussing a hero in the Iliad. The title of the assignment is "Response to Literature" and he did. But Lisa says we shouldn't jump to conclusions about anything until we see the returned paper. We just know that he will be devastated. So this morning, after his shower, I'm going to prep him (since the papers are supposed to come back today).

So he misses his first game this afternoon. He want to go to the Homecoming Dance in a week and a half, but Lisa and I both agree that it's a no-go with C's. It's tough... it's a formal dance, so it can't be a last minute decision. This really stinks.

I know that in the larger scheme of things, this is nothing. But right now, fatherhood is not fun.

disturbing

OK, another week passes: work, life, waterpolo, Kyle's grades, the Veep debate, UCLA football/waterpolo, headaches, work... time passes.

Beyond the pretty fascinating Veep debate (Palin held her own... without answering squat, though Joe Six-Pack probably found that endearing; Biden reeled in his own propensity for off-the-wall tangents... most saw it as a tie, but with the polls the way they were, tie goes to the leader Obama), there's not much to discuss (though Bruce IS now set to perform the Super Bowl's halftime show), except for this disturbing issue:

Two and a half weeks ago, I jammed a pencil into my hand at a water polo game (note to self and anyone else who's listening: take the pencil out of your hand BEFORE you applaud a great play). Did the urgent care thing the next day, got antibiotics. Within a day of the meds running out, the wound got red and inflamed and a little white along the edges. Another urgent care visit: more meds, a culture to make sure it was that nasty staph infection, and instructions to soak my hand in hot water multiple times a day, to bring the meds to the infection and the lead, if it was still there, to the surface. By last Saturday, it was getting dark and swollen, making me believe that it was coming to the surface. Yesterday morning, it looked like a scab. Yesterday afternoon, the tip of the graphite broke the surface... I joked to Kyle that I could probably write with it. After dinner, I soaked, removed my hand, ran my finger in a circle around the lead, soaked and repeated for 15 minutes. I could see it growing...

After about 6 reps, I did the circular rub again... and it slid all the way out:


Now THAT's disturbing.

Adorable, Indeed

My gal Tina was back on SNL this week, riding that Sarah pony (which I figure they will continue to do until: a) election day (and just after for the concession speech); b) for the next 4-16 years (if victorious); or c) until she drops from the race.

Here are transcripts of Fey and Palin (answering Katie Couric). Which is the parody?

Like every American I'm speaking with, we're ill about this. We're saying, 'Hey, why bail out Fanny and Freddie and not me?'	That's why I say I, like every American I'm speaking with, were ill about this position that we have been put in where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out.
But ultimately what the bailout does is, help those that are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy to help...uh...	But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the health-care reform that is needed to help shore up our economy, helping the—
it's gotta be all about job creation, too. Also, too, shoring up our economy and putting Fannie and Freddy back on the right track and so healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reigning in spending...	it's got to be all about job creation, too, shoring up our economy and putting it back on the right track. So health-care reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans.
'cause Barack Obama, y'know...has got to accompany tax reductions and tax relief for Americans, also, having a dollar value meal at restaurants. That's gonna help.	And trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, scary thing. But one in five jobs being created in the trade sector today, we've got to look at that as more opportunity.
But one in five jobs being created today under the umbrella of job creation. That, you know...Also...	All those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that.

OK, that second to last row gave it away... didn't it?

Here are the vids:




Adorable.

---------------------------------------------

Oh, yeah... one last thing. Yesterday found this link on Google News...

But when you click on it, it's a missing link, a file not found. It's like it never existed. Given the story's title and the "balance" of FoxNews... I'm not surprised.

Got a second? Or 700 BILLION of them?

Just how much is 700,000,000,000 dollars?

If I gave you a dollar EVERY SECOND, of every hour, of every day, from here on...
Not only would I be dead, but so would my (take a deep breath)
great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- great- grandchildren.

At that rate, it would take over 22,196 years... and taking the generally accepted generation length of 20 years, that's 1109 generations.

That's how much.

Again, no wonder I'm having trouble sleeping...

Sorry, another week

Another week, more time passes.

More wins for our varsity (knocking off #1 Pasadena Poly in their pool and visiting San Marcos); more heartbreaking losses for Kyle's JV (one pointers to both those teams). Another Bruin loss... jeez, how demoralizing. [but that Trojie defeat last night? it wasn't 59-0 or anything, but they've got to be hanging their heads in shame... and the injury to that thug, Rey Maualuga... well, karma's a bitch, baby... headhunter, thug, "owner" of the LAPD, asshole... really, it couldn't happen to a nicer guy.... er, dirtier player]

Where was I? Oh, yeah. Sickness and injury.

Injury?

While at the Pasadena Poly game, I tried to applaud with my note-taking pencil still in my right hand... and jammed it into my palm. They tried to dig out the lead last Friday at Urgent Care (my doc being gone on Fridays) to no avail, and they gave me a tetanus shot and some antibiotics in case of infection. A week later and it looks like it's still there... and there's a slight ring of white around it... I'll probably go back later this afternoon. And that antibiotic? I think it's given me massive nausea (I barely got out of bed on Wednesday, and today it's baaaaack) and pretty bad constipation (I know, TMI... but you getting verbal diarrhea right now, so deal with it).

Work's been a bear. And life has been stressful... our bank is in the news this morning... largest bank failure in US history. Great.

No wonder I can't sleep at night.

Tomorrow's another Bruin game... sigh.

Am I rambling? Sure, but not as bad as this:

" . . . where it is the taxpayers looking to bail out. But ultimately, what the bailout does is help those who are concerned about the healthcare reform that is needed to help shore up our economy. Um, helping, oh -- it's got to be all about job creation too. Shoring up our economy, and putting it back on the right track. So healthcare reform and reducing taxes and reining in spending has got to accompany tax reductions, and tax relief for Americans, and trade, we've got to see trade as opportunity, not as a competitive, um, scary thing, but 1 in 5 jobs being created in the trade sector today. We've got to look at that as more opportunity. All of those things under the umbrella of job creation. This bailout is a part of that."
--LA TImes

That, my friends, could be our next President... if the old man is elected and he should (God help us all) kick the proverbial bucket... scary.

Guess Letterman thinks the Palin/McCain ticket is scary, or anger-inducing, too...

Bad

Sorry for the haitus: work, water polo, work, back-to-school night, water polo, work...

But I had to share this:

UCLA vs. Arizona at the Rose Bowl
Order By This Friday

We are excited to offer you a $10 ticket for this weekend’s game.

This Saturday at noon, see the UCLA Bruins take on the Arizona Wildcats at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena for 40% off. A limited number of general admission tickets are only $10. This is an incredible offer and is the lowest ticket price for a UCLA Football game in over 10 years, so these will go fast.

This offer is only good until this Friday afternoon at 4pm, and will NOT be available on gameday.

After the 59-0 debacle... they're having ticket sales issues... whodathunk?

Kyle's JV team won its first game against Oaks Christian (Kyle had a good game: seven saves against 6 goals allowed [two of which came on breakaway 1-on-1's, three on man-down situations], plus at least one assist [there were two other passes that led to goals... still need to find the official rule as to how an assist is defined in water polo... is it more like basketball, or more like hockey?])... varsity won as well... today we travel to play #1 Pasadena Poly... should be exciting.

Late.

----------------------

Got distracted... the video's bad, but the audio is great...

Sarah is not my gal... but you're right, Jim, she DOES look like Tina...

Friends, Fear and Football

Yesterday, between games, we were out eating dinner when Lisa got a call from a close friend of ours, Diana, who lives in Washington with her family (who had visited us back when this blog was just starting up in April). Her son TR plays football in up north. Diana called to tell us that he had been involved in a collision and both players had been placed on the boards and rushed to the hospital. Kyle kept in contact with Diana's daughter Melanie via text (she had gone in the ambulance with TR). She was very worried, needless to say. X-rays and MRI followed. Lisa called Diana just before the second game, and got to Diana who was by TR... he was conscious and able to talk. By the end of the game, the results had all come back negative. He was up and walking, but in pretty bad pain. We're waiting for more info this morning... hopefully, it'll all be good.

I love football, but at moments like these, I'm thrilled that Kyle is playing water polo.

Loss and more losses...

Sunday morning. Licking wounds.

Water polo lost the late Thursday game, again big (no one remembers the exact score), then we dropped two heart-breaking one-goal games yesterday (the first in sudden-death... er, -victory overtime).

So we're 0-4. Ouch. It reminds me of my JV football team back at HHS: we were 0-9. But it built character.

Right......

So there must be character building in Westwood right about now: Slick Rick's UCLA football squad flew into Utah for the game against BYU and came back with a brutalizing 59-0 defeat. Lisa couldn't listen to it on the radio (as we were heading to Kyle's games). I can't bear to talk about it now.

Whoever drank the koolaid two weeks ago must be throwing it up now...

And the season begins...

Just got back from Agoura and the first game of the junior varsity tournament... gone are the days of scrimmages (just two days ago, where RM fought Pacifica to an 8-8 tie)... now we're in real games... these don't count toward the league standings, but they tell us where we stand, er, tread water.

And where are we?

Sinking nowhere fast.

Westlake kicked our ass, 2-9. They outshot us 5-2 in the first quarter, and despite Kyle's three saves and a steal that period, we were down 0-1 at the first break. The second quarter was no better: outshot 7-2... Kyle had four saves and two steals that quarter, but we were down 0-4 at the half [in this quarter, Kyle made his only bad mistake of the game: he wasn't watching the shot clock, so he didn't call out to his team to dump the ball at the end, and the other team took the ball, drove to a breakaway 1-on-1 goal on Kyle... {two of the other goals that quarter came on another breakaway that left Kyle stranded and a lucky rebounded shot after a great save by Kyle}]. Even though the third quarter saw us shooting finally, matching them shot for shot, Kyle let four goals in (two of which came with the shooter unguarded, one on YET ANOTHER breakaway, and one in a man-down situation [outnumbered 6-5])... but he also had four saves and a steal in that quarter. The fourth quarter saw them outshooting us again, but at least we scored two goals... one on an assist from Kyle (a beautiful long bomb of a pass to an open Brenden, who without having to reach, took the ball off water, lifted it up, and shot it past the goalie). Kyle let in one last goal, but had another two saves.

At the end of the game, two moms came by and told me, "Thank God Kyle was playing... or they would have killed us." Nice praise. Then again, great game: 13 saves, four steals, and an assist. And while he gave up nine goals, one was extra-man, three were breakaways on a stranded Kyle and two more were with the shooter unguarded. A damn good game.

Our field needs to shoot more. They also need to pass better. And move. And play defense.

But it's not all their fault. The varsity coach has been assuming many of the duties while our JV coach works. Today was the first time the team saw him since school started. He doesn't know them as a team (as individuals, yes, but as a team, not so much)... and more importantly, the players don't know him as their coach. As another mom said, "We've got too many Indians (since we have enough players for both a frosh/soph AND a JV team, but we're only playing JV games), and no Chief." And one of the other moms said, "Yeah, and our Indians are teenage boys." And we know how well they listen.

Have to head off to Jack's back to school night... from what I hear all went well at school... Jack's with Grandma B... and I'll probably pick up Kyle later tonight after he returns to Rio after the second game.

The only plus side is that after this loss, we get to sleep in on Saturday (our games will be in the afternoon).

Not So Random

So today is the 7th anniversary of the first event in my memory that forces the question "Do you remember where you were/what you were doing when you hear [blank] happened?" (I was only 8 months old when JFK was killed, 5 years old when MLK was shot... don't remember those... I have memories of the moon landing in '69 [though not specific] and of '74's resignation [but that is mixed with so much of that summer's Watergate hearings]... [and yes, I have memories of '81 assassination attempt on Reagan... but that event didn't change the world])

I remember waking up early, as usual, to check email and news websites before going to work. The LA Times had a small bulletin in the upper left corner of its homepage, saying that one of the towers of the WTC was on fire. Hmmm. That's random. By the time, I was done and ready to shower, the page had updated to say that the fire had been caused by a plane hitting the building. Huh? That's bizarrely random.

At that point, I got up and turned on the TV in bedroom; Lisa was already in the shower. I told her, and the coverage was still on when she finished and I started my shower. Which was interrupted by Lisa coming in and saying that a second plane had just crashed into the second tower.

What the fuck? This is not random at all.

And the day went on. News got worse. A great boss sent all us home from work to be with our families. Just about every kids' parents showed up at Bard to pick up their kids.

And our world changed.

Today, the candidates were to make a joint appearance at Ground Zero. McCain, instead, bailed and showed up at the crash site of United 93... the politically cynical side of me says he chickened out of being on the same stage as Obama in a purely speech-making event (instead of a "town hall meeting" setting)... and maybe at this point I should watch my animal metaphors (given the outrage in the last couple of days over the "lipstick on a pig" remark). And, of course, this gives McCain the chance to show up at the site of the plane that had passengers who "fought" against the terrorists... since the old man wants us to believe that he will "fight" for change for us... sigh.

[my bad... they meet at GZ later today... but my cynicism remains]

More animal metaphors lately: old fish wrapped in a newspaper still stinks (this followed hot on the heels of the "lipstick on a pig" reference... and I actually heard a republican [on Fox, natch] say that not only was the pig a reference to Palin, but the "old" fish was a reference to McCain... though I'm shocked that talking head didn't say that the stinky fish wasn't a reference to Palin on so many socio- and physio- logical levels [sorry]). Oh, yeah... and don't forget "vetting" ... which originally meant to refer to veterinarians checking horses to be bought to ensure their health before purchase.

Now, back on the "world changing" front... is it just me, or did the reality ("YOU can be a star") shows really blossom (and note I didn't use an animal metaphor there) after 9/11. Maybe it was that people were so unsure of being alive tomorrow (as 3K+ people were snuffed out that day), that these shows preyed on those fears and allowed viewers to accelerate their fame collection. Maybe it was the glorification of the "everyman." I don't know.

But I do know Sarah Palin is our American Idol candidate... you, too, could be a heartbeat away from the White House (if only John McCain would have picked YOU)...

Randomness

Jack finally went back to school today (his temp hit 100.0 and hovered there for about an hour and a half yesterday, but he was cool this morning, so we sent him off). Whether he's able to stay the whole day is another matter, but we'll deal with that as we will. Had he missed today, he would have been absent twice as many days as he's attended... that would be bad.

Of course, his cough's worse (just like Kyle's when he was done).

Kyle's first scrimmage went well Tuesday... he plays the first games of a two-day tournament later today (though we'll miss the second game as I have to go to Jack's Back-to-School Night tonight.

Pa's sleep test came back... he passed it (as opposed to my failure)... he has sleep apnea and will get the CPAP machine... hopefully, it will help with his fatigue.

Oh, yeah... and yesterday something happened to Kyle.

This was Kyle back in June.


Then July


And yesterday


The seniors sheared him. He was for it (the hair was becoming a hassle).

He says he's faster in the water now...

Punched n the Gut

We're all tired and run-down. Pa's sleep test has come back with the sleep apnea diagnosis. Both Lisa and I are dragging. Kyle is tired as well.

And Jack's cough is much worse, an almost cackling, hacking affair.

And the fever's still here: 100.5 as I type.

So school tomorrow is out.

He's horribly disappointed.

Not Stereo

Jack's fever is still here.

We thought it broke Friday night, as his, er, our sheets were soaked with sweat. But sure enough, it was 100.2 on Saturday. Yesterday, much the same. Today, 101.2.

So we called in the doc. He said that the news was disappointing. Duh. It'll probably run its course in the next day or two.

So when should we get concerned again.

After 7-8 days.

From now? or from the beginning?

How long has he had the fever?

This is day nine.

Let's get some labwork done.

And so we went to the doc, picked up paperwork, went to the lab, did the blood test (with a little screaming), but couldn't do the urine test ... so we went out to lunch and returned for the cup job.

Results will take at least two days.

But the doc thinks it's mono.

Sigh.

A Bridge Too Far

OK, I love Jon Stewart. But last night's Daily Show went too far in its attack on Palin.

Look, I'm no fan of hers. I find her scary. But I thought his attacks last night bordering on crass and tasteless.

This one was about the only one I found both funny and on-target:



But his interview with Huckabee was awesome.



Huckabee's a funny guy... but just as scary as Palin.

Who Drank the Kool-Aid

OK, after posting the Jack entry, I looked over at the survey, just for fun.

Who drank the kool-aid? Who thinks we're heading for an 11-win season?

Leave a comment or drop me an email. Really, this scares me more than Jack's fever...

I know good therapist.

On Fire (differently)

Jack still sick. He's never sick this long. Never had a fever this high or this long.

It got so bad, that after Wed night, when he had complained of an earache (when we used the digital thermometer), we considered the possibility of an ear infection, and were ready to call our doc yesterday morning.

But when his fever was only 99 at 8am (following his 6am blast of motrin... 101+ at that point), we called off the call. At lunch, he complained of a "headache in his ear"... so Lisa took him in after school.

Chronis, our pedia, never gives out antibiotics... everything's always a virus. He took a throat culture (which did not go well... Lisa having to pin down his arms... sounds like me at 4 in Georgia when it took two orderlies to keep me down for shots)... but it didn't look like strep. The ear was fine. But the doc didn't like the sound of his cough or his lungs. So he sent Lisa off with a prescription. Huh? Really? That's weird.

Then when picking up the Amoxicillin, the pharmacist did a double take: the prescription was for the highest dose possible, 500Mg... when the usual dosage is half that.

So Jack's never been this sick. Chronis never gives antibiotics. The pharmacist rarely has seen this high a dosage for an 8 year-old.

So the level of concern is up. We're not worried yet (though his 101+ fever this morning, 8 hours after the first dosage isn't comforting)... through motrin the temp is back down to 99+/-... and certainly nowhere near panic level.

But we were supposed to go up north to our neighbors' parents' ranch... but I'm thinking that's a no-go, now...

On Fire

Wow... Jon Stewart was ON FIRE, last night:

Repubs

Last night, Palin hit it out of the park.

She will be a pitbull (in "lipstick") to run against.

Unless, of course, videos like this keep popping up:



Scary.

BTW, in the same address, she asked the ministry students to pray for a gas pipeline... would that be that "largest private-sector infrastructure project in North American history"?

How come none of this "task from God" stuff (or even pro-life (er, anti-abortion) stuff) didn't appear in last night's text? Oh, yeah... she couldn't bash (and lie about) Obama that way.

Here's hoping she doesn't have a prayer.

She's Palin by Comparison

Speech on Friday:

I championed reform to end the abuses of earmark spending by Congress.

Well, kinda...

Again, from the speech:

In fact, I told Congress -- I told Congress, "Thanks, but no thanks," on that bridge to nowhere.

Uh, not so fast.

Again, from the speech:

I signed major ethics reform.

And yet...


And there's more...

Answer on 2006 Gubernatorial Candidate Questionnaire

Will you support funding for abstinence-until-marriage education instead of for explicit sex-education programs, school-based clinics, and the distribution of contraceptives in schools?

Yes, the explicit sex-ed programs will not find my support.

Right... how's that working out for you?



But how about this one (again from the questionnaire):

Are you offended by the phrase "Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance? Why or why not?

Not on your life. If it was good enough for the founding fathers, its good enough for me and I’ll fight in defense of our Pledge of Allegiance.

"Founding Fathers"??? Uh, written in 1892: "I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all" ... In 1923 the National Flag Conference called for the words my Flag to be changed to the Flag of the United States. The reason given was to ensure that immigrants knew to which flag reference was being made. The words "of America" were added a year later... In New York City on April 22, 1951, the Board of Directors of the Knights of Columbus adopted a resolution to amend their recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance at the opening of each of the meetings of the 800 Fourth Degree Assemblies of the Knights of Columbus by addition of the words "under God" after the words "one nation." ... "under God" officially added in 1954 [Source: Wikipedia]

Wow, Founding Fathers... that's the kind of education you can only get at home:

(again from the questionnaire)

Will you support the right of parents to opt out their children from curricula, books, classes, or surveys, which parents consider privacy-invading or offensive to their religion or conscience?

Yes. Parents should have the ultimate control over what their children are taught.

Even if it's historically inaccurate, even if.

But the bigger question is: what does this say about McCain's judgment?

Uh, wow.

Back home. Yesterday was the season opener against Tennessee. Expected a fun time pregame, not so much during the game. And expectations were filled, but not the way I expected.

Pregame tailgating with friends from all over (Oxnard, the OC, near Pasadena) was wonderful and relaxing. Jack came down with a fever, though, and they took him to first aid during the second quarter.

We left just as the second half was beginning... and we weren't too sad to be leaving, as our new starting QB had tossed FOUR ints (including a pick-six) in the first half. And we had lost three offensive players (major skill guys at that, but more on that later). And we were down 14-7 (but luckily only that... it could have been WAY worse if the defense hadn't played really well).

So we left and listened to the game on the radio. And by the time we were back in the county, we had listened to our boys in blue make a wild comeback and stun the (probably really overrated) #18 Volunteers 27-24 in OT. Un. Believable.

So unlike the last few years. COACHING!
Special teams coach saw that the UT punter was taking his time with the ball, so he sent the house and we blocked a punt for a TD.
Craft throws four picks, all on the outside and in attempts to go behind (rather than under) the coverage. Chow alters the game plan throws under the coverage and in the seams in the second half to great effect.
Walker's already stalwart D, clamps down on the running game hard in the second half.

Flipside: UT Coach Fullmer is a prick:

"They were crying about the quarterback situation; I knew darn well they'd be ready for us," Fulmer said. "We made enough mistakes tonight to fill three or four games.

"We will play better teams than UCLA is, and I know we're a better team than we were tonight."

Ahhhh, it's good to be a Bruin today. Realistically, we're still probably only a .500 ball club, but I don't think we're going to be out of any game this year.

Jack's staying home today. Kyle has a sore throat but has already left for practice.

I'm exhausted, as is Lisa. But we're happy. The only downer are the injuries to Paulson (out 6-8 weeks with a broken foot), Bell (day to day, high ankle sprain), and Everrett (a couple of weeks, dislocated toe). And those are just the offensive injuries... more worrisome is Reggie Carter's knee tweak (and we won't know the severity of that until later today)... he's the QB of our defense... this isn't good.

But it's a great start to a NEU era.

Go Bruins!

Are you ready for some (college) Football???

Ah, the most wonderful time of the year (school starting, boys out of the house, my office to myself, and the beginning of the college football season).

This season will be rough, I do believe.

But while the present is dark, the future is bright:



and what was all that yakety-yak-yak about? This:

Politics

Obama gave a masterful speech last night, echoing Kennedy from 60, setting forth a new "moonshot" moment--defining the next national challenge as energy independence--continuing his inspirational directive, and hitting McCain hard ("He doesn't get it").... of course, the Reps complained later that he was going negative.

I was feeling pretty good about it.

Then McCain announce Palin as his Veep choice. A woman. Young. Unafraid to go against party elders. A mom. A wife. A shot at history for the Reps (who weren't about to let the Dems have the historic election). A shot of energy for the GOP. A nod to conservatives. And a woman (did I mention that?).

Was it a craven attempt to get the Hill supporters? Sure. Did it work? For many, maybe not, given Palin's views on social issues (choice, gay rights, etc). But for others... those embittered PUMAs, those who just want a woman in the white house (no matter who), and those who were just too uncomfortable voting for an African-American male... well, John McCain pulled off a masterstroke.

He may have just won the election.

But 67 days is a looooooong time, and only time will tell.

Talk to Me (Cheadle, McCarthy, and Obama)

Last night, I stayed up late and watched Talk to Me, the flick from last year with Don Cheadle playing Petey Greene, a influential Washington DC, DJ.

Cheadle, who stars in Traitor (out tomorrow) was incredible... as usual. Folks, if you've never seen Boogie Nights, do yourself a favor and check it out ... sure, subject matter is porn -- ostensibly -- but what it's really about is growing up and (re-) discovering family... and it has a simply beautiful performance by Cheadle: comic, dramatic, heartbreaking.

Talk to Me tanked at the box office (just over 4.5 million... which isn't even a good opening weekend), and didn't do anything at the major awards (it took home one Independent Spirit award for Chiwetel Ejiofor in the supporting role of Greene's friend, confidante, and later manager, Hughes (Cheadle was nominated for lead actor, but lost to Philip Seymour Hoffman [another Boogie Nights alumn] for The Savages]. But it is a solid film. It feels like a 70s or 80s biopic, with a cursory survey of the life with larger set-pieces on major moments in Greene's life (Lisa, in just passing by the TV on the way to bed, said it felt like an TV movie... a pretty apt description), and it has trouble in the last 20 minutes when the film skips over 10 years and momentarily focuses on the Hughes character. But if you're a Cheadle fan, and you want to see another great performance, check it out.

-----------------------------------

The Road continues to haunt me (as it did Lisa as she read it last week)... I feel like I need to read it again soon.

-----------------------------------

On a completely different subject, the Dem convention ends tonight. Hil's speech on Tuesday was about as good as we could expect (as I don't think she hides her feelings well), hitting most of the items of the pro-Obama checklist in her appeal to her voters to back Obama--though she left off "leadership," an omission that the Fox-olytes jumped on immediately. For a moment there yesterday, it felt like John Oliver of The Daily Show was right about the Dems being a circus clown car, armed with a self-destruct button, and the fun was just waiting for it to get pushed: the completely clumsy handling by Pelosi of the acclimation vote was pitiful (the embarassing part is at the very end of the 1 hour long clip... jump to the end). Thankfully, President Clinton was there to give a rousing speech, extolling Obama's leadership. His speech, too, was as great as we could expect from him (because he CAN had his feelings, masking them behind solid speech-ifying). And Biden... he was awesome, even with some Freudian slips.

So tonight, it's Obama. At Mile High Stadium, with 70,000 in attendance. The Republicans are sure to continue their completely childish Messianic criticisms, but we'll see if Obama can succeed in calling on the ghosts of great past leaders in inspiring the nation about the future: this is the 45th anniversay of MLK's "I have a dream" speech (and Obama will be framed on his stage's set by neo-Classical columns meant to evoke those of the Lincoln Memorial, before which MLK delivered the address);

and doing what JFK did in '60, moving from the indoor Dem convention to deliver his acceptance speech at the LA Coliseum. In that speech he began for the first time to discuss the "New Frontier" [a mainstay of his administration] and urged voters:

"I hope that no American, considering the really critical issues facing this country, will waste his franchise by voting either for me or against me solely on account of my religious affiliation. It is not relevant. I want to stress, what some other political or religious leader may have said on this subject. It is not relevant what abuses may have existed in other countries or in other times. It is not relevant what pressures, if any, might conceivably be brought to bear on me. I am telling you now what you are entitled to know: that my decisions on any public policy will be my own—as an American, a Democrat and a free man."

Let's hope his address is as successful, and that he doesn't end up like those two leaders.