A Week Off

The kids were on Spring Break this week, so I took vacation days to stay at home with them. It's been a wonderful week.

On Monday and Tuesday, we went to Fort Wayne to spend a couple nights at mom and dad's house. On Monday evening, everyone but Benjamin was able to come over for the usual (but far from ever being old) dinner of mom's noodles and homemade rolls. It was a fun time having everyone over. Dorene's spring break isn't until the first full week in April, thus the reason she had to stay behind.

Tuesday evening I went with Steve to the Fort Wayne table tennis club. There's a big tournament this weekend in South Bend, so this served to give me some extra practice. I won some, lost some, but overall played pretty good.

The rest of the week was spent just hanging out with the kids, firing up the grill for dinner, and just taking it easy. If any monumental events took place in the world, I would have missed it because I pretty much ignored the news (except for the NCAA tourney).

The next couple months will be very busy for all of us, so the timing was good for the break, and I'm ready to get back in the swing of things on Monday.

BBQ for Lunch

Dorene had to stop by my office today during lunch. She asked if she wanted to bring me anything and I said, "surprise me." So, she brought in rib tips from Frankie's BBQ, the best joint in town. Located in the 'hood, the place ain't pretty, but it's got the best rib tips around.

But now, I'm really full and don't want to go back to work. Oh well, lunch hour is almost over, guess I gotta do what I gotta do.

NCAA Tournament - Dennie Family Predictions

It's tournament time again! Below are the Dennie family picks for this year's tourney:

Rick
Upset Specials - Western Kentucky over Gonzaga; Mississippi State over Washington.
Elite Eight - Louisville, Michigan State, Purdue, Missouri, Xavier, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona State
Final Four - Louisville, Missouri, Xavier, North Carolina
Finals - Louisville over Xavier
I, of course, conducted extensive analysis before filling out my bracket. In other words, making picks based on actual knowledge of the teams. But then again, I never win this thing either.

Cameron (age 6)
Upset Specials - Radford over North Carolina; Stephen F. Austin over Syracuse. For that second one, he just wasn't impressed with "Orangemen."
Elite Eight - Arizona, Dayton, Washington, California, Oklahoma State, Texas, Akron, Michigan
Final Four - Dayton, California, Oklahoma State, Michigan
Finals - Michigan over Dayon

Cameron made his picks based on the coolness of the mascot. He especially liked the Dayton Flyers, the California Golden Bears, and the Akron Zips. But nothing trumped the coolness of the WOLVERINES, due to the X-Men character.

Anna (age 10)
Upset Specials - Morgan State over Oklahoma; North Dakota State over Kansas. I mean, can a "Jayhawk" really beat a "Bison?"
Elite Eight - Arizona, Boston College, Washington, California, Pittsburgh, American, Butler, Arizona State.
Final Four - Arizona, Washington, American, Arizona State
Finals - American over Arizona

Anna made her picks based on her love of U.S. History, thus the picks of "Boston" and "American" and "Washington." She picked Pittsburgh because it's in Pennsylvania, which of course has a lot of history behind it. I think some of her other picks are based on her daddy's love of anything Arizona. Butler snuck in since they are the Bulldogs.

Dorene
Could really care less that the tournament is going on

DC Newsboys

One of the all-time great (and certainly one of my favorite) Christian bands is going through a major change. It was just announced that Newsboys lead singer, Peter Furler, will be stepping down and being replaced by . . .Michael Tait!? He is one of the three original members of DC Talk, along with Toby Mac and some other guy. Now, I really like DC Talk, but I'm trying to picture Michael Tait as lead singer of a band that has had a fairly distinct sound all these years (think Aussie accent). This could take some getting used to. Maybe they should have replaced him with Rebecca St. James and kept the Aussie accent thing going.

In Defense of AIG

Uh, I don't think so. Yeah, I know, they were contractually obligated to give these bonuses to keep the "best and brightest" among them, but are they paying attention to what's going on in the economy? Did they think there wouldn't be any outrage? Their defense was the same as Obama defending all the earmarks; it was a done deal by previous folks and there was nothing they could do about it.

But NEXT time things will be different. Uh huh, we'll see.

Early Morning Prayer

This past Saturday, our church held a special prayer service for Hope Ministries, a local homeless center that we've been involved with for several years. The organization was going to several churches in the area that were holding similar services.

It's a great organization and one of the highlights each year is we take our kids down there to perform the Christmas program we work on. Every other month we also serve a meal and conduct the chapel service.

We had a pretty good turnout for 7:00 a.m. on a Saturday. I've never been the type that could do the early morning prayer/Bible study thing. I'm just not awake enough and will often find myself drifting off to sleep during my prayer time. I'm much better during the midnight hour (isn't that a song?).

After the prayer service we had a breakfast then moved into a work day. Got a lot of stuff done, including cleaning out our balcony which had turned into a major storage/junk area. People can actually sit up there now. But of course, we kinda need to work on getting people into the seats on the main floor first.

Charming the First Grade Girls

Recently I was clearing out Cameron's backpack and found that he had three of his sweatshirts stuffed into it that he wears over his polo shirts. I asked him why he was stockpiling the shirts at school and he said, "Well, I get warm inside the school so I don't need to wear the sweatshirt once I'm there, but Lexy sometimes gets cold so I let her wear mine so she stays warm."

Quite the charmer.

Sign of the End Times?

Last weekend, there was a reunion concert in Orem, Utah that featured, drum roll please, MC HAMMER and VANILLA ICE!

The sad thing is, I actually remember when they were considered cool. Although, Vanilla Ice's coolness reign was a lot shorter.

Deep Theological Question

IU South Bend is an ACT testing site, so I often administer tests on the weekend. On Sunday, I'll be administering a test individually to someone that couldn't test at the regular time on Saturday. The reason they couldn't is because they are Jewish and Saturday is their Sabbath. Thus, I am skipping my Sabbath and will be making money so someone else didn't have to work on their Sabbath.

Am I going to burn for this?

You CAN Count the Stars in the Sky

On the way home from church tonight, Cameron told me that he counted the stars and that there are 21 of them.

As we pulled into the driveway, he evidently had found more, because he said, "Dad, actually there are 57 stars."

Trivia Champs

At work on Friday, we had a trivia challenge to raise money for the Tom Smith Memorial Scholarship. Tom was a colleague in our tech department that died suddenly of a heart attack just a couple months after getting married back in 2000. They had been attending Trinity Evangelical Free Church in South Bend, which is where Dorene and I used to attend. So I knew hi fairly well. He was a great guy and very much well-thought of at IU South Bend.

A scholarship was begun in his name and is used for full-time staff at IU to pay for books and other expenses they incur from taking classes. The trivia challenge was used to raise money for this scholarship fund.

The format was teams of 8-10. When a question came up, you discussed it amongst your group (quietly) and wrote the answer down. Each category had 5 questions, so the group with the most right after 10 categories was the winner. Our group consisted of student affairs staff, with a couple of our big guns (vice chancellor and associate vice chancellor). We had a very good mix of knowledge, with everyone chipping in one way or another. I came in handy when it was necessary to remember a detail from "Willy Wonka" or to identify a picture of Yosemite State Park.

We finished with 48/50 correct. It was especially sweet because we beat a couple groups comprised solely of faculty from the school of education and the college of arts and sciences (in other words, those groups had all Ph.D.'s in them.

Oscar Night

Last night, I went to my annual Oscar party with a few co-workers. Or, as Dorene would say, I went to a boring party with a lot of strange people that sit around and talk about movies that nobody in the country has gone to see. I take offense to that, WE saw the movies. Okay, she has a point, the combined grosses of contenders Frost/Nixon, The Reader, Milk, The Wrestler, and Vicky Christina Barcelona are still less than that of Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

The show was quite different than in past years, and at times it was a good thing and at times it wasn't.

• Host: Hugh Jackman started off good with a musical number similar to what Billy Crystal always did. Overall he did pretty good. Although the whole song and dance thing got a little old. Anne Hathaway can sing.
• Excellent bit with Tina Fey and Steve Martin. Also good was the piece with Seth Rogan and James Franco, where they bust up laughing at serious films like The Reader.
• That musical number with Beyonce was pretty lame and just kinda strange at times. Mixed a whole bunch of songs at the same time which just didn't really work.
• Bringing in 5 previous winners to talk about the current nominees? Okay at first, but it got kinda old. Besides, these were just acting awards, they weren't up for a Nobel Prize. Kinda overboard on showering each nominee with praise. I mean, it's not going to change the world that Marisa Tomei and Michael Shannon were nominated for movies no one saw.
• No real surprises with any of the awards.
• Will Smith gave out 4 Oscars. Let someone else help out.
• What was Sophia Loren saying in her tribute to Meryl Streep?
• Where was Jack Nicholson? Tom Hanks? Or last year's Best Actor winner Daniel Day-Lewis? Or last year's Best Actress (bet you can't name her, it took a few of us a while last night to remember).
• Jerry Lewis has been doing the "Jerry's Kids" thing much longer than I realized.
• No memorable acceptance speeches, except maybe when Phillipe Petit balanced the Oscar on his chin.
• Yawn, Sean Penn getting political. Points for making light of his gruff nature though.
• Certainly the moment everyone was waiting for was Heath Ledger winning, and his family coming up to accept on his behalf. That was a good moment.

I did miserably on the Oscar pool. Picked most of the major nominees correctly, but botched everything else. No one correctly guessed that "Smile Pinky" would win Best Live Action Short. I stood alone in picking "Slumdog Millionaire" to win Best Sound Mixing (yes, you should be in awe of me for that).

Did "Slumdog Millionaire" deserve to win Best Picture? Yes, absolutely. Much more deserving than last year's "No Country for Old Men." If you haven't seen Slumdog, I highly recommend it. Certainly one of the best movies I've seen in a while. It's well worth seeking out and needs to be seen on the big screen. Be sure not to hop right out of your chair when the movie ends.

Oscar Movie Review - "Slumdog Millionaire"

This is the third and last of the Best Picture nominees that I've seen. I am not curious at all about "Benjamin Button" and don't even have a 2% interest in seeing "Milk."

But back to "Slumdog." This was a wholly original movie that I highly recommend. To give a synopsis of it doesn't really do it justice, but here goes. A kid from the slums of Mumbai gets on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be Millionaire" and is one question away from winning a bunch of rupees. He's suspected of cheating (no "slumdog" could possibly know all the answers) so he's interrogated/tortured by police to confess. How he knew the answers sets the story in motion as it flashes back to his childhood and works it's way up to the present. Now, all this is put forth in the first few minutes, so I'm not giving anything away here.

The movie is fast-paced and has a kinetic visual style that keeps you interested, and an excellent soundtrack. It is all filmed on location in India and you definitely get a feel for the class warfare that goes on in that country and wonder how anyone could emerge from the widespread poverty there (which exists side by side to some extreme wealth and a fast growing middle class).

The three main characters are the "slumdog" Jamal, his brother Salim, and Latika, an orphan girl that Jamal befriends and spends the rest of the movie trying to get together with. The movie is rated R but it probably could have been a PG-13. There is no sex and no gory violence. There may have been a handful of swear words, but that was it. Much of the violence is directed at children, so that level of brutality probably gave it the rating (overall, the tone is pretty intense).

This is the front-runner for Best Picture and I hope it wins because it definitely deserves to. In a lot of ways, the underlying story is fairly traditional (rags to riches, boy gets girl), but the way it's told makes it seem totally original. It's probably a cliche to say you haven't seen a movie like this before, but the fact of the matter is, you haven't.

Final Justice, 20 Years Later

The Indiana Supreme Court just ruled today that the murder convictions of Jeff Pelley have been upheld. This brings final closure to a case that began in April of 1989 and that my family was very much intertwined with, since dad took over the church shortly after Jeff killed his minister father, stepmother and two stepsisters.

There had been an issue as to whether or not Jeff's right to a speedy trial was violated. Turns out, it was not, so he'll be spending the rest of his life in prison. I don't imagine he's much of a threat in prison and he'll now have a lot of time to think through how his life would have been different had he accepted his dad's punishment and not gone to the prom that night.

Anna @ 10

Yesterday was Anna's 10th birthday. Dorene and I took her out to celebrate minus Cameron and Allie. Anna got to choose where to eat and she chose Olive Garden (fine by us, we love it there).

For her birthday present, we didn't give her an actual present to unwrap. For Anna, the best gift you can give her is time, and that's what we gave her. Her present from Dorene will be a day trip to Chicago to meet up with her sister and go to a museum. Her present from me is a night out going to a movie. Anna said she much preferred getting that as opposed to a present (and she means it, she's very hard to shop for at Christmas time).

However, we still took her to Toys 'R Us and let her pick out a "Littlest Pet Shop" figurine that she collects and gave her a birthday card, which she loved, even though it wasn't like the kind she gets from grandma that has money in it.

We had a wonderful evening and my (first) little girl is quickly growing up on us. She is a true delight, quirky in many ways, and it's been 10 wonderful years with her (well, except maybe you need to talk to Dorene about when she turned 3).

Oscar Movie Review - "The Reader"

Hmm, not sure how to review this movie, the second of the Best Picture nominees I've seen. Parts of it are really good and parts of it are, well, kinda not so good (I'll get to that later).

The movie is primarily set in the late 50's and 60's in Germany, where a young man has an affair with an older woman, who has a secret past which he finds out about later in the movie. It's this later part that is really well done and the most compelling part of the movie. It deals a lot with how Germans have come to terms with their past and asks the question who was and who wasn't guilty during the Nazi regime. Very good stuff here.

However, the affair part during the first part of the movie is a little unsettling. You see, the "young man" is only 15. So, well, there you have it. There's quite a bit of nudity in this section (note to Pam, Kate Winslet is the new Susan Sarandon) and it is just a bit uncomfortable seeing a bedroom scene between characters that are supposed to be 15 and 30. I coulda done without that.

So, I can recommend the final 2/3 of the movie, but the first 1/3, not so much.

Ready for that Stimulus Check

Here's a viewpoint from a year ago that is now relevant to the stimulus checks we may soon be getting:

"You're getting $600 - what can you do with that? Not to be ungrateful or anything, but maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every month." The short-term, quick fix kinda stuff sounds good, and it may even feel good that first month when you get that check, and then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings."

Michelle Obama (7/11/2008)

Super Bowl: Final Notes

• Had the day off on Monday because baby Allie was sick. Spent a lot of time reading Super Bowl recaps. I always like reading columnists from the cities of the teams that played. Most of the articles in the Arizona papers were of the "Destiny Denied" variety while those in the Pittsburgh area were a little more upbeat.


• The consensus was that it was possibly the greatest Super Bowl of all time. I could care less, my team still lost! Yes, I will whine about it for a while.


• James Harrison, who made that play before the half, had barely made the team. As recently as 4 years ago, he had applied to be a bus driver. The Steelers gave him one last chance. I'd be just as happy had he been off driving a bus on Sunday. Still don't know how the Cardinals couldn't at least push him out of bounds on that play.


• Why was 50+ year-old Bruce Springsteen acting like he was in his 20's? Some of his moves looked kinda silly for his age. He started off kind of weak but came on strong towards the end with "Glory Days."


• Many years ago I worked for the State Bar of Arizona (which certifies applicants to practice law). One day a young man fresh out of law school stopped by to get some information on taking the bar exam. His name? Michael Bidwell, who is now President of the Cardinals and a prime reason the team has turned it around.


• The commercials were hit and miss. One of my favorites was one that you would have missed (literally) had you blinked. Miller beer did a 1-second commercial which consisted of their delivery guy saying, "Miller High Life" and that was it. That was clever. The Go-Daddy commercials were very risque for what is a large family viewing audience.


• The Steelers are now officially my arch-villain. They beat my Cowboys in two Super Bowls years ago, handed the Colts two very heartbreaking playoff losses, and now taken out the Cardinals.

Cardinals: Oh, the Agony
Oh my, what a heartbreaking loss this was, after what looked like a thrilling comeback. When Larry Fitzgerald broke through on that touchdown late in the 4th quarter, the room erupted (I was at our pastor's house, and everyone was rooting for the Cardinals). Although all of us were a little leary of giving the Steelers so much time left to score, which of course they did. I think had the Cardinals got blown away, it would have been much easier as it would have been simple to say they were outmatched. But doggone it, they could have won this thing. For Cinderella teams like this, you gotta close it out.

A bunch of "what ifs" on this one. What if the Steelers didn't score before halftime? That was huge. What if the Cardinals defense would have sacked Roethlesberger more? It seemed like he was always getting away when it looked like they had him cornered. Then that last drive. Where was the defense? They just got picked apart. However, that final touchdown pass was perfectly thrown and Holmes made an amazing catch, with 3 defenders around him.

I guess there's always next year and maybe this will finally bring the Cardinals into the fold as one of the league's top teams after being so down and out for so many years. We'll see if Warner comes back or not, I figured he may have retired had the Cards won. But boy oh boy this was a frustrating loss and Cardinals fans will have a hard time forgetting the image of Harrison rumbling and stumbling for that touchdown before halftime.

Oscar Movie Review - "Nixon/Frost"
This is the first of the 5 Best Picture nominees that I've seen. I imagine the title of this movie either intrigues people or they just keep on walking. The title says it all, this is indeed about the 1977 interviews between David Frost and President Nixon.

Your enjoyment of this movie would heavily depend on your interest in the subject matter. Although it begins with a short recap of what led to Nixon's resignation, it still assumes a lot of knowledge on the part of the audience. Since I've always been fascinated by anything and everything Nixon, I loved the movie, although I understand it probably has very limited widespread appeal.

Frank Langella, nominated for Best Actor, does a very good job embodying Nixon, even if he doesn't really look like him. But you never doubt for a minute that is Nixon. The actor playing Frost does a great job also. Very well done, and if you are interested in this place in time that took place over 30 years ago, I highly recommend it.

Obama v. Limbaugh

It's his choice, but I'm not sure why he is going up against this guy. I'm talking about Obama. Does he really think that blasting Rush publicly is going to make him go away? Think about it. The most powerful man in the world, who has a host of major problems to deal with in running this country, is instead talking about Rush Limbaugh. Perhaps there are other issues on Obama's plate he should be more concerned with?

How do you think this makes Rush feel? He is absolutely loving it. Clinton did the exact same thing and it only empowered Rush. I don't listen to Rush much anymore, although I do get daily email summaries of his show. It always amuses me when people spend so much time talking about how much they hate listening to him. But if you hate listening to him, WHY DO YOU KEEP LISTENING?!?

Reminds me of a story about Howard Stern's early days. His manager despised him and asked the marketing folks how long the average Stern fan listened. It was something like 2 hours. He then asked how long the average Stern hater listened. It was about 3 hours.

This is why Limbaugh is absolutely loving all this. Whether you love him or hate him, a ratings point is all the same if you are tuning in.

The Bush Legacy

Wow, does it seem like the Bush/Cheney years never happened? In just his first three days, Obama has pretty much done all he can to erase any memory of Bush being in office. Every executive order and other directives he has issued to this point have been aimed at making people forget Bush was even in office.

It has been said that history will not be kind to Bush and that he will quickly disappear as he left office with a dismal approval rating. But it's too early to write the history on Bush yet. I'm not convinced, even with all that went wrong, that he will be judged as harshly down the road.

As for his remaining years, Americans have a tendency to like their leaders, popular or not when they leave office. Carter was a disaster as a president, whose own party turned on him and paved the way for Reagan. But as an ex-President he's been considered one of the best. Look at Nixon. After resigning from office, in his later years he still commanded lots of respect for his foreign policy expertise. George H.W. Bush, unpopular in 1992, has remained quite popular in the years since leaving office. Bill Clinton's legacy was slightly tainted during Hillary's campaign but still can wow an audience.

As for W, I think the same will happen to him, even though right now you won't hear anyone giving any kind of favorable review of his adminstration. But time has a way of making people forget and rethink things. Although it may be hard to see it now, I think Bush will someday return in a favorable light as he now joins the popular club of our ex-Presidents.

Oscar Nominations

Okay, out of the 25 nominations for Best Picture, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress, I've seen one (Heath Ledger). As for the Best Picture of the Year, I have a hard time believing that a movie like "The Reader" or "Milk," even though I haven't seen it, can be considered a better movie than "The Dark Knight" and will stand the test of time.

For my annual Oscar party, I will go in only knowing all the animated features. I also got a jump on next year's nominations by seeing "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" last weekend.

Inaugural Notes

Watched the ceremony here at IU South Bend in a packed room with lots of faculty, staff and students. As recommended by my brother Steve, I also checked out the live blog on Swampland, which is often very funny. Some random observations:

• Barbara Bush looked the same now as she did back in 1988. Bush, Sr. was really looking old this time around (maybe it was the way he was walking).


• Image of the day? Cheney in a wheelchair! What a farewell shot of this guy. He has been called the worst vice-president of all time, the one who really ran the country and ran roughshod over the constitution and was despised by many. But here he was, confined to a wheelchair. Kinda reminds me of Mark Felt (aka Deep Throat). A guy that brought down Nixon we only remember as this 90 year-old with a walker.


• A little long on the prayer Mr. Warren, you could've cut it a bit short. One of the Swampland bloggers asked, "Why did Rick Warren say "Malia and Sasha" like he was introducing Siegfried & Roy?" Kudos for Obama for not replacing Warren after the criticism he received.


• Nice job by Aretha Franklin. She can still belt it out. But what was up with that hat?


• The music by Yo-Yo Ma, Itzhak Perlman, and those other two? Kinda strange and surprisingly downbeat for such an occasion. Don't think the younger generation really connected to that. Not that he needed Springsteen or Bono to come out and sing, but, well, maybe he should have.


• Lots of people in the room I was watching laughed when they saw the size of that Bible. The thing is huge!


• Another Swampland nugget: "Dorky constitutional question: after Biden takes the oath of office, is he, for however many minutes, technically George W. Bush's vice president?"


• Did Obama flub the oath or did Roberts? Will David Letterman add this to his "Great Moments in Presidential History?" A swampland blogger said, "I am registering www.obamaflubbedtheoathandthereforeisnotofficiallypresident.com".


• Obama's speech? Very anti-climactic. He's been trying to dial down expectations ever since election night and he seemed to be trying extra hard to do so with this speech. I was kinda lost at times at exactly what he was saying. I figured we'd see the Obama from the campaign trail, as this was the time to really inspire the audience. But much of it fell flat to me, but I imagine the analysis will say it was great. I also expected him to be interrupted multiple times with applause (like in a State of the Union speech), but that never really happened. Maybe it was just the hype, but overall a curiously downbeat speech. Lots of zingers thrown in at the Bush administration, though, as Bush sat right there beside him. Overall, the speech just seemed to be missing something.
  
• But the crowd! All this for a presidential inauguration? It was a sight to see. There's no way Obama will be able to keep up this fervor, but on this day, it was impressive to see everyone excited about the possibilities that lie ahead. Yes, Obama does make you feel good about America.
  
• Uh, why exactly did we need a poet there at the end?
  
• Was that a prayer or a speech by Lowery? I don't know, but it was good.
  
• Neat seeing the Obama's walk along the route back to the White House. They seemed most relaxed at this point. Is this the most photogenic first family or what?
  

Okay Obama, you got the Congress, Senate, and White House all to yourself. Your move.

Game Over, Ready to Exhale

Cardinals in the Super Bowl? You gotta be kidding. But it's happening. What a game. First half was great, 2nd half was nerve-wracking, and I was fairly convinced the Eagles would prevail. But Warner pulled them through.

I don't care who they play in the Super Bowl. Getting there's a great accomplishment. But you never know what can happen. Remember last year when the Patriots were a sure thing to go undefeated? Not so fast.

An Amazing Happy Ending

Not too long ago, I watched an episode of "When Weather Changed History" on the Weather Channel. The story was about the Air Florida jet in 1982 that crashed into the Potomac River in Washington, DC, killing just about everyone on board save a few passengers lucky enough to get out.

When I first got a "breaking news alert" on my computer about a jet going down in the Hudson River, I assumed the worst. When I watched the coverage I was astounded that everyone got out alive. This pilot, "Sully" is definitely a hero in the truest sense as his soft landing in the water without breaking the plane apart allowed everyone to get out as the plane never sunk. Also, there seemed to be very little panic inside the plane as everyone exited pretty calmly, which is incredible when you think about what had to be going through their minds knowing they crashed into water.

What a great story!

. . . .And Doggone it, People Like Him

Yikes, it looks like Al Franken is the next Senator from Minnesota, although this is going to be challenged in the courts for a while. Certainly shows how every vote counts. I'm just not a big fan of this guy. He was funny at one time, but most of his attempts at humor now just aren't even original.

Now someone like Michael Moore, who is extremely liberal like Franken, I'll go see his documentaries even though I disagree with a lot of what he says. But he can sure say it in an entertaining fashion. Franken titles his book, "Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot." Okay, and I'll write a book and call it"Keith Olberman is a Dork." I don' t mind insults, but make 'em at least partially unique.

So what kind of Senator will he be? Minnesota put up with Governor Jesse Ventura not long ago, so they are used to elected officials who kinda surprise themselves by getting in office. Franken is extremely critical and mean-spirited towards Christians, so I imagine it won't take him long to say something stupid. I would venture to guess that even Obama isn't all that impressed with him.

Good Answer

We've been having a lot of problems with Cameron (age 6) not asking permission to do something when he should be. In particular, when candy or other treats are involved. He'll sneak a piece of candy then have to hide his tracks, and, of course, get in trouble for doing so.

The other night, he brought Dorene a piece of candy and asked if he could have it. Dorene said, "Why should I say yes?" Cameron replied, "Because I actually asked."

He got the candy.

Cardinals 33, Panthers 13

OH YEAH, BABY!!!

Wow, can't believe how Arizona stuck it to this team. Warner was awesome, their receivers were incredible, and Jake Delhomme totally stunk it up for Carolina. That first half was so fun to watch.

Arizona going to the NFC Championship? Hard to believe. I'll be rooting for the Eagles tomorrow, because if they win, Arizona gets to host the game rather than travel to New York.

Twenty years after moving from St. Louis to Arizona, the Cardinals are one step away from the Super Bowl. Who would've thunk it?

Boring BCS Game

Not a very exciting game last night, although it's always good to see Oklahoma lose. Their vaunted offense that averaged 60 points a game during the season kinda got shut down.

I noticed that Florida QB Tebow had "John 3:16" imprinted on the eye glare he was wearing. He made a good impression when he proceeded to get an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the closing minute when the game was already decided.

Baby Allie at 3 months

Yep, Anna and Cameron like their new baby sister!

The Atlanta Braves of the NFL

For 14 consecutive years, the Atlanta Braves made the post-season, often with the best record in baseball and often-times with MVP winners or at least candidates. In all those years of getting to the post-season, they only had one championship to show for it.

Looks like the Colts are following suit. Things were looking good. They rolled into the post-season and were playing a team that had to win 4 games in a row at the end just to have a record of 8-8. But, like last year, the Chargers took the Colts out. Time may soon be running out on Peyton Manning to get that second trophy and for the Colts to make their mark as one of the all-time teams. Another frustrating post-season loss for them when everything seemed to be in place.

The bright spot? My Arizona Cardinals won their first home playoff game in 47 years! Kurt Warner is looking good. They are off to Carolina next weekend. Win that one and they are one game from the Super Bowl. I wonder if the fans in St. Louis are glad they let Warner go?

A Couple Good Movies

Caught up on some of the holiday releases the past couple days.

Valkyrie

I enjoyed this one a lot. Tom Cruise, despite all the negative publicity he's been getting, did just fine as Colonel Stauffenberg, the main instigator of the plot to assassinate Hitler. The movie manages to generate some suspense even though you know in the end that (spoiler alert) Hitler wasn't assassinated. Okay, if you didn't know that, then I can't help you. The movie made what was probably a wise decision in allowing the actors to keep their American accents so you didn't have them trying to speak in a fake German accent, which sometimes can border on parody. The movie didn't seem to play loose with the facts but kept everything historically accurate.

A nice companion movie to this one is the excellent "Downfall" from a few years ago. This one is subtitled but is far and away the best portrayal of Hitler's final days I've ever seen. The fact that it is in German gives it an extra layer of realism. If you ever see this, you'll recognize one of the co-conspirators from "Valkyrie" as one of the lead characters (don't know the actor's name, but it's the bald guy).

There was a preview to a movie called "Defiance," a fact-based story about Jewish resistance in WW II starring Daniel Craig. It looks like it will be really good.

Bedtime Stories

Took the whole family to see this one. Allie slept through the entire movie, much to the happiness of some movie-going folks like Steve and Pam who would have cringed at the sight of a baby carrier being brought into the theatre (as would I, but we timed it so she would have just eaten and it was nap time).

This one starred Adam Sandler who's going more the family-friendly route now. Basically, he has to watch his nephew and niece as his sister is out of town and the bedtime stories he tells them start coming true. It is all very well done and the kind of family movie I truly enjoy and not just tolerate. Nothing objectionable at all and we all enjoyed this one very much.

Allie Gets a Playmate

That is, in about 9 months Allie will be getting a playmate. Paula informed us on Saturday that her and Tom are expecting their first child. She will now be subject to 9 months of ruthless ribbing by her brothers about her weight gain (it already started that night).

Way to go Paula, we're all very excited for you!

Returning to the Scene of the Crime

Last March, we went to Pokagon State Park for the surprise announcement that Baby Allie was on the way. This was such a surprise for Anna that she screamed at us how we had "ruined her ENTIRE life."

Well, flash forward to this past weekend and we returned to Pokagon for an overnight stay. As you can see, it looks like Anna has come to terms with little sis. We do have her entire outburst on tape, although at this point, Anna still refuses to watch it.

We really enjoy Pokagon and plan on returning there every year December. The Potawatomi Inn is a great place to stay and has lots of activities for the kids. There's a refrigerated tobaggon run but the kids weren't into that this year. Give it time, they'll be wanting to go on it.

They instead spent most of their time in the pool, where Cameron was pretty much off by himself jumping into the pool about 5o times in the first 30 minutes (I was counting). As for Anna, given the same amount of time, she had basically met every kid in the pool and was organizing a game. I asked her later kind of sarcastically if she knew everyone in the pool and who all did she meet. She said, "I met two Olivias, a Cassidy, a Denae, a Megan, and lots of others." I imagine they are already planning their one-year marco-polo reunion.

A Family's Loss

Yesterday we received news that Brian Waterman, a very close friend of Stu & Joyce's family, was killed in a car accident Tuesday evening along with a co-worker. I didn't know Brian all that well, but I know he was around Stu & Joyce's house a lot, and he and Benjamin were particularly close (he accompanied Benjamin up to South Bend a couple times). He was certainly the kind of kid you'd want to have around and I was always very much impressed with him. He had recently completed college and was in many ways just starting out in life.

I can't imagine what his family is going through (I know how hard it is with Stu & Joyce). There will not be much holiday cheer around Brian's house this year, as his was a life cut way short.

It's easy to forget, but the holidays aren't always the happiest time for many. My sister-in-law lost her father a year ago, so this time of year brings back some sorrowful memories (of his passing, not of her father himself, whom she was very close with). I'm sure many are experiencing many raw emotions during this "festive" season.

Gymnastics

We have Cameron enrolled in gymnastics. Why you ask? For one, he really enjoys it (says he wants to be in the Olympics some day). Secondly, it keeps him from climbing the walls, literally, at home.

Where's Joe?

You know, as in Biden? Mr. Vice President Elect? When was the last confirmed sighting of him? He was chosen for his foreign policy expertise and has immediately gotten overshadowed by Hillary Clinton as the new Secretary of State. He has been invisible for quite a while. Wondering if he's thinking, "Hey, what about me?"

Not Considered a Holiday Classic, But Still a Good One

There's a pretty good chance you haven't heard of this movie, called "Joyeux Noel," but you may be familiar with the event that it is based on. In the early stages of World War I, French, Scottish and German troops laid down their weapons for a Christmas Eve truce. They came out of their trenches and shared food and drinks, played soccer, sang songs, exchanged pictures . . .then returned the next day and resumed the war.

The movie dramatizes these events and I'm sure probably fictionalizes them a bit, although from the actual accounts I've read, it's fairly accurate. It's mostly a subtitled movie (it's made in France) although many passages are in English in dealing with the Scottish troops.

You won't find this one playing non-stop during the holiday season like "A Christmas Story" or any of the others, but it's worth seeking out (if you don't mind subtitles). The scene where the troops tentatively come out of their trenches when they hear Christmas carols coming from the other side is particularly well done.

Fatherhood, Part 3

Yep, I'm cut out for this fatherhood thing at age 44!

Anyone Still Watching?

NBC announced that the final episode of E.R. will air in March. I don't know of anyone that actually still watches this show. We used to. It was one of our favorite shows and was very well done. The last season we watched was when Anthony Edwards' character died. After that, we just lost interest (Julianne Marguiles and Eriq LaSalle had also left). Besides, there was just getting to be too many "Tonight, on a very special E.R....." episodes. The only major character left was Carter, and he started to get a little annoying with his angst. So, when the series finale airs, I have absolutely no interest in tuning in, because I've completely lost track of who's who.

Cuttin' Down the Christmas Tree

This past weekend we went to Hensler's Tree Farm in Hamlet, Indiana to cut down our Christmas tree. We used to do this but then stopped for a couple years and used an artificial tree. But we missed going out and getting our own so we decided to return to this.

This isn't just a lot with a bunch of trees on it. It's quite the production. There's a large gift shop, real reindeer, snack shop that sold a lot of hot chocolate on this very cold day, a huge selection of handmade wreaths, petting zoo, and a little hut where Santa and Mrs. Claus hang out at. Cameron sat on Santa's lap and asked for some toy called "Spike the Dinosaur" (he's easily influenced by what he sees on TV).

At Hensler's, you can pick out a pre-cut Christmas tree, but that's no fun. What we like doing is getting on board the horse-drawn wagon and riding out to where the trees are still growing. From there, you grab a saw and have your choice of hundreds of trees. You pick it, you cut it, you haul it back to where you got the saw and some guys run it through a machine to shake out any dead brances and also to wrap it up with twine.

Below is a picture of Cameron dragging the tree with a little help from his sister, who has hold of a small branch and is being careful not to over-exert herself. This was a great family outing and we plan on continuing this tradition for many years and leaving our artificial tree in the garage.

My Least Favorite Meal of the Year

You know, I don't really care for the traditional Thanksgiving meal. Rattle off the main dishes: stuffing - don't like it; mashed potatoes and gravy - don't like it; cranberry sauce - don't like it; turkey - don't really care for it, only eat it once a year.

So, Thanksgiving Day is not my favorite meal of the year. However, my mom redeems everything with her homemade noodles and homemade rolls (and topping it off with homemade pumpkin and apple pie). Without that, I'd have to order a pizza. Thank you mom!

Ugh, It's United Way Time!

I really hate when this rolls around each year. Time again for us to give to our employer's United Way campaign. We have to be convinced each year how much good they do and that this year "let's break our previous giving record." Emails come at you hoping you'll give so that "we can say our department had 100% participation" in this year's campaign.

Well, my department will never have 100% participation, and that's all because of me. My feelings about United Way go back about 20 years when I was working in Arizona. While there, the pressure was enormous to give so we could get our 100% participation plaque to display in our conference room. Never mind if someone was basically coerced into giving, we still got our plaque. I indeed did give, because one was quite frankly bugged (i.e. harrassed) until they gave at least something. That's not charity to me, so when I left that job I vowed to never give again to this organization, and I haven't. Furthermore, it was implied that if you didn't give to United Way, you didn't give to any charity. Wrong again!

Does that mean I don't believe in what they do? No, they do a fine job. Although, I must say that the year I left Arizona was the same year the William Aramony scandal broke where it turned out the national chairperson was pilfering all those dollars for himself. That gave me even more reason not to give. Furthermore, I read United Way's campaign manual years ago and there was a specific reference in there about employee participation. United Way itself said that 100% participation was NOT a desired outcome, because that would mean some employees had likely been coerced into giving. But I don't think they exactly discouraged this from happening, because high-pressure campaign tactics have always been used everywhere I've worked.

So, here we are once again in the midst of a fundraising campaign and I'll probably have to fight off those emails about giving. I've had a couple run-ins with employees over the years pushing the issue, but I ain't backing down on this one.

By the way, I reread United Way's manual not too long ago. The part about discouraging 100% participation? No longer in there. Hmm.

Smokey, McGruff, and Stephanie

USA Today reported that the group behind Smokey the Bear and McGruff the Crime Dog have developed a new campaign to convince people of the need to go through inspections before boarding airplanes. Evidently, people aren't as compliant as they once were and are especially annoyed at having to remove their shoes. So, they are bringing in "Stephanie the airport screener" as part of their new campaign.

Back in 2001, I flew to Kansas City for a conference about 2 weeks after 9/11 (much to the dismay of Dorene). However, if ever you wanted to pick a safe time to fly, it would have been then. I remember going through the airport check points and no one had any complaints. Heck, I think you could have made people wait 2 hours per person and they wouldn't have minded. Check my luggage? Sure. Check my shoes? No problem. Leaving the plane, everyone was thanking the pilot and just being so polite overall. I was impressed how quickly the TSA was put together and how well everything seemed to work.

It's now been 7 years since 9/11, so it's easy to understand that people would return to getting more annoyed by the prospect of missing their flight than it being hijacked. Will there be another attack? Well, the two attacks on the World Trade Center took place 1 month and 9 months into a new President's administration. Hopefully Joe Biden is incorrect and something will not happen within 6 months of Obama being inaugurated to test him.

Back in My Son's Good Graces

Last spring when I returned home from a table tennis tournament without a trophy, Cameron was very disappointed. He asked if I was done forever playing table tennis. Guess he figured I was washed up if I couldn't bring home a trophy every time (the previous tournament I had brought home two).

So, this past Sunday, I played in the Highland Open tournament in northwest Indiana. Played well enough in one of the events to bring home a 2nd place trophy pictured above. Probably should have finished first, because the kid I lost to I regularly beat at the South Bend club. But he was on his game and I just couldn't get past him.

In fact, it seemed like I was playing kids all day. I skunked a couple of 10 or 11 year olds. I kinda felt like Kramer in the "Seinfeld" episode where he's taking karate lessons and beating up on kids. But then again, I also lost to this pipsqueak of an Asian girl that was rated one point higher than me and took my butt out 3 games to 0. Truth is, I let up. Okay, no I didn't, I was trying to take her out. Which does sound odd, I'm fighting for all I'm worth to beat this young girl that was probably in the 4th or 5th grade (tops).

I'm hoping I gained some rating points. I beat a guy almost 200 points higher than me, but the kid that beat me for the first place trophy was almost 200 points lower than me, so I probably broke even. Will try again next May at the annual tournament at IU South Bend.

Now I Know How Mom Felt

When we lived in Arizona, we went to the Grand Canyon. Mom has always said that going there was way too nerve wracking. You had these huge drops and virtually non-existant railings to keep little ones like me from going over the edge. Watching this video from CNN I think I now know why she felt this way.

$1.99 a Gallon

In North Liberty, the price of gas finally went under $2.00, by just a penny. Never thought I'd see that again. So, whose fault is this? Bush is still President, is he to blame? The oil companies again posted record profits, but prices went down. Are they to blame? I don't think I'll ever understand how gas prices are set. Just a month ago we were in this huge crisis and all the talk was energy independence. Now, everything's honky-dory. I just don't get it (not that I mind paying over $2.00 less than I was not too long ago).

An Acting Legend (?) Retires

Joaquin Phoenix announced he is giving up acting. His last 6 movies have been Reservation Road, We Own the Night, Walk the Line, Ladder 49, The Village, and one of the voices in Brother Bear.

Wow, first we lose Paul Newman, now Mr. Phoenix. I was really hoping for that Ladder 49 sequel.

Post-Election: Over and Out

It's finally over. The world woke up on Wednesday morning and . . . life went on. Funny how that happens. Some random thoughts:

• The result was much as I expected. Fairly large electoral win for Obama, although some of the states were extremely close. The popular vote total was pretty close for a while, then Obama pulled ahead. Won by almost 8 million popular votes, or 53% of the vote. Is that a mandate? I'm never quite sure what that means. Doesn't the winner usually have the mandate? They always talk about how the winner needs to be bi-partisan and reach acrosst the aisle and all that. But, in reality, they don't have to do jack squat for the loser. Hey, to the winner goes the spoils.


• McCain gave a very good concession speech. Coupled with his hilarious SNL performance the previous weekend, this was a John McCain that I think people would have preferred to see much more of. But he did choose to take the high road out and I applaud him for that.


• Note to the McCain staffers: Sarah Palin did not lose this election for you. Remember, it was her coming on board that made the election as close as it was. Picking someone like Lieberman, Romney et al would have completely bombed. You forget that Republicans were not enthused at all about McCain UNTIL he picked Palin. In addition, a Republican simply was not going to win this year.
  
• Obama's victory speech was very much subdued. He talked right away of how they may not get everything done in a year or a first term. It was like "Oh crap, I just won this thing and now we have complete control so anything bad that happens we are solely to blame now and since I promised everything to everybody I'd better dial down those expectations right now so people don't expect too much and therefore I am officially changing my slogan from Yes We Can to Yes We'll Try."
  
• Indiana was unique. Obama barely won the state, but Mitch Daniels easily won re-election, when reports had that race very close. Maybe people finally got over daylight savings time. Or maybe Jill Long-Thompson ran a horrible campaign (as my co-workers indicated).


• How did you like that great promotional video taking place in Grant Park on Tuesday night? Over 150,000 in downtown Chicago with no incidents. Think some people took note? You know, like those from the International Olympic Committee? I bet Chicago just jumped to the top of the list for the 2016 Summer Olympics. The favorites had been Tokyo or Brazil, but I have a feeling we'll have the Olympics. Up here in South Bend, we have an artificial whitewater course, where they might very well hold some events. Now that would be pretty cool.


• If there is justice, Norm Coleman will prevail in Minnesota. I can not stand Al Franken. Once upon a time on SNL he was quite funny ("I'm good enough, I'm smart enough . . .") but those days are long past.


• The city of Sacramento has a new mayor. Who is it? My all-time favorite NBA player. Yes, KEVIN JOHNSON, aka KJ, is the new mayor of California's capitol. If our last baby had been a boy instead of a girl, he was going to be named Kyle Joseph, and we would have called him KJ after, yep, you got it (Dorene liked the name KJ, but not for that reason).


• Joel Hunter, pastor of the megachurch in Florida, prayed with Obama just before his victory speech. On Sunday, he'll deliver a sermon and will mention the election. He gave a preview of his sermon: "If you pray, 'God, put who you want in the White House,' and you believe that God answers our prayers, then it is logical to assume that Barack Obama is God's answer to our prayers." Hunter is an interesting figure who is increasingly at odds with other evangelical leaders (especially after his ill-fated succession of the Christian Coalition).

I think I'm going to take a political fast for a while. All the pundits can keep talking, but I don't think I'll be listening much for a while. My hope is that Barack Obama becomes the greatest president in the history of the U.S. I know there are those that will be hoping to display a "Don't Blame Me, I voted for McCain" bumper sticker at some point. But why hope for failure? I want the best for my family and our country, so even though I didn't vote for him (and my vote was more against one-party rule than anything), here's hoping that this is the beginning of something great.

Hey, things are looking good for the Arizona Cardinals this season . . . .

Casting My Vote . . Still a Republican

It just would have been too easy. Everyone is railing against the Republican Party and jumping ship. Bashing Bush has become a national pastime. I've been a registered Republican for 24 years and seen some high points and low points. Tonight will be a very low point (and by 7:30 p.m. when polls have closed in Indiana, Ohio and Virginia, we'll have a good idea of what happens). The media will probably be "shocked and surprised" by what takes place. It'll be a Republican bloodbath, no doubt about it, but I've been expecting that all along.

But voting for Obama? I just couldn't do it. Yes, I understand his campaign for change and even I felt energized when I attended his rally back in the spring. I absolutely see why his campaign has resonated so much. But he still remains very much a mystery to me, more of a concept than a candidate.

I felt the Republicans needed to use this election to retool, and McCain is helping do just that. Like sports teams you stick with when they are down and out, I couldn't just abandon the party that I've identified with for so long. I've worked locally on a couple elections and will probably do so again in the future. The party will be back again, although it could be a while. But they have a lot of work to do repairing the Bush damage. So, for those Republicans that jumped ship for this election, "Y'all come back and see us sometime."

Election Eve Notes

So, we're almost done with all this. I read an article recently about "post-election blues" for those that read every last bit of election info there is. I'm basically in that category, although I think my life will continue just fine after the election.

Some thoughts before casting my vote tomorrow:

• Before the campaign started, I felt the Republicans needed to sit this one out and retool. In a lot of ways, I think that is what they've done. Yes, there may have been things McCain could have done differently, but he is being rejected for the same reason Hillary was rejected in the primary. He represents old-time Washington and the phenomena that is Obama just couldn't be stopped. Obama's campaign machine has been pretty remarkable. He's been steady the whole time and McCain has had to just launch attacks on the hour. At times I thought his strategy was poor, but being the huge underdog, not sure what else he could do.


• Many are wanting to blame Palin, but I think that is being overstated. Read the recaps of her appearances around the nation. She has rock star status. Maybe the pundits don't like her, but she has energized the party like no one else could have. I do believe she was mishandled at the outset. It will be interesting to see if this is it for her or if she comes back.


• Speaking of Hillary, I imagine no one is kicking themselves more than her. What if she had run in 2004? But no, she only had 2 years experience in the Senate at the time. Surely people wouldn't vote for someone with that little of experience. I still don't think the Clintons can quite believe they lost to this guy.


• A landslide is being predicted, although I'm not sure how that is defined anymore. The days of a Nixon or Reagan thrashing where the opponent only wins one state are long gone. There's always talk of cultural, economic, racial, etc. divisions in the nation. I think one of the biggest divides is simply party affiliation. There's just no way some people will ever cross over and vote the other side.


• Many of my co-workers are Black, and this election means much more to them than you can imagine. I think they are as equally scared of losing as they are of winning. Lose, and all the hopes they had over the past year go the drain. Win, and as Al Sharpton said last night on CNN, "We're in the pilot's seat and have to prove ourselves worthy of being given the seat in the first place." I don't even try to pretend to understand their stake in this election. I've told my colleagues repeatedly that they have nothing to worry about, but to no avail. They still fear some 2000 Florida scenario that snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.

Halloween Night

We don't do the trick or treat thing anymore with the kids. We have a church activity, called "trunk or treat" in which we pass out candy and hot dogs to the community. We probably had close to 200 people come through, as it keeps getting bigger every year. Our kids still got their fair share of candy, so they didn't feel they were missing out on anything.

In South Bend, trick or treat times are 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. I remember growing up when trick or treating didn't even start until 7:00 p.m. or later. You waited until it was dark, that was the point. Now you make sure you are all done before it gets dark. Parents accompany their kids. I remember going out without parents along. In fact, I remember riding my bike around Pixley, California BY MYSELF one year, and it was no big deal. Ain't no way that would be happening today.

Anna and Cameron had a party at their school today, North Liberty Christian School. Anna went as the "wordless book" (Dorene's creativity at work). Her hair was spray painted black and she had different color shirt, skirt and pants. Cameron wanted to go as Jesus carrying the cross. So, we dressed him accordingly, complete with cross, blood, and crown of thorns. Both won prizes for best costume. YESSS! Not that we were striving for that.

The Other Race: Mitch v. Jill

The Indiana governor's race has been largely overshadowed by the presidential election, but it is shaping up to be a very close one. Around IU, Mitch is the devil. Democrats dislike him with a passion. They are still upset about daylight savings time, although to me that's the biggest "GET OVER IT" issue I think I've ever heard. But mainly, his privatization of the toll road and desires to do more of this rankles them quite a bit (and not spending enough on education, tax cuts, and other things).

His opponent, Jill Long-Thompson, is on a losing streak. She lost to Mark Souder several years ago, then lost to Chris Chocola back in 2004. In the primary, she was shunned by the Democratic Party as they put all their money and resources into her challenger, whom she narrowly defeated. So, while I know Democrats want Mitch unseated, they haven't exactly welcomed Long-Thompson with open arms (in addition, she had zero t.v. ads for a 6-week stretch starting in September).

I happen to really like her, although that's because I've had a little bit more personal experience with her. For two of my graduate classes at IU South Bend, she was my professor. One of the classes was Public Finance, which she obviously knew a lot about and could relate much of the inner workings of Congress. She was very sharp and knew her stuff. Although interestingly, teaching wasn't necessarilyi her forte and she stumbled often in teaching the class. But I guess that made her all the more "human" and not as much of a political machine. Besides, she bought us all pizza a couple of times (that will always go over well with college students).

She seemed very much a downhome country girl from Indiana. Yes, kinda Palinesque. Seemed very much an outsider (although she wasn't) but I never felt like I was listening to a politician. I really enjoyed her as a professor and I'll be voting for her. Now, in my final exam in her class I said how much I enjoyed having her as a professor and that I'd vote for her. I guess that could either be interpreted as my thinking she's truly the best candidate or a lame attempt at a good grade.

Opening Night

On Friday night, Anna and a few of her friends went to a party hosted by our pastor's wife. The occasion? The premiere of "High School Musical 3." They went to the movie then back to their hourse for a sleepover. I can't quite imagine what the theatre would have been like packed with teen and pre-teen girls.

For the record, the High School Musical series is actually very good, very wholesome, with some great music. I'm glad to see it doing so well, because I have no qualms about my daughter seeing it. Maybe even Dobson would agree this is okay.

Catching Some Rays

As I usually do at this time of year, I actually watch major league baseball on t.v. For the 162 games that precede the playoffs, I ignore it. Both Chicago teams went down in flames, which left the best storyline to the Tampa Bay Rays, who before this year were the Devil Rays. So maybe getting rid of the devil helped them out.

Their series with the Red Sox was fun to watch. Tampa lost game 1, then thrashed the Sox in the next three games. Then, in game 5, they had a historic meltdown as they lost 8-7 after leading 7-0 with two outs in the 7th inning. They lost game 6 but then were able to win game 7 last night in a what was a very exciting game.

I saw a segment on ESPN about their owners. The primary owner is a 46-year old retired Goldman-Sachs financier. The team president, I believe is in his late 20's or early 30's and also came from Goldman-Sachs. They are definitely from the Mark Cuban school of executive sports management. Tampa Bay has been miserable in its support for the team, even this year as they went from worst to first. But the new owners have done a lot to get the fan base excited, starting with free parking at all games and making themselves very visible. I imagine their investment in the team is paying off big-time.

Now, it's off to the World Series to play the Phillies. I don't imagine this was the marquee match-up Fox was hoping for. Red Sox-Dodgers, Chicago-Chicago, anything but these two. It'll probably be the lowest rated World Series ever.

The Final Debate (final words)

In 2012, they need to just scuttle the debates or change the format. These are not really debates in any sense of the word, just a recitation of each candidate's talking points. That said, I guess last night's was a little better than the last snooze-fest, but overall, nothing spectacular. Some random notes:

• My wife enjoyed it because it helped put her to sleep.
• Bob Schiffer by far is the best moderator. He kept control and just never seemed very impressed by either of them.
• Had McCain left Joe the Plumber alone after the first couple times, it might have resonated a little more. But the constant repeat of that name soon got hilarious. There was just something unintentionally funny of a potential commander in chief of the world's superpower saying "Joe the Plumber" multiple times. No matter what happened in the rest of the debate, I knew that people at work today would be talking about Joe, and they were.
• As expected, Obama played his prevent defense and took absolutely no chances. He didn't need to, but it would be nice to see a little passion in there.
• Typically evasive answers on what programs the candidates would cut. Also, way to be evasive on being nice to each other the rest of the campaign.
• Okay Obama, taxes will be cut for 95% of Americans . . . .I get it already.
• The whole William Ayres thing? I don't know, I just don't see it resonating. I have more problems with Jeremiah Wright. That was a true mentor of Obama's for many years, but McCain left that one alone. I personally think it's fair game.
• I wonder if Soledad O'Brien of CNN is sick of meeting with the undecided voters in Ohio. I'm sure she just wakes up the morning of every debate so excited to do this and how it will advance her professional career. With apologies to my family members in the Buckeye State, JUST PICK SOMEONE ALREADY!
• McCain quickly squeezed in a comment about the Democrats having total control after the election. This is a huge issue to me and one he should have really pushed. I don't think Pelosi, Reid, Frank, Rangel, et al are going to "change" for Obama. Why should they if they are already in control? When Clinton took office in 1993, the Democrats controlled everything and it was a disaster. Same with the Republicans in the early part of this decade. One-party control is never good and the one party always self-destructs.
• Can't believe it took 3 debates before the Supreme Court got mentioned. This is a true legacy the next President will have. At least 1 and maybe up to 3 appointments could be forthcoming in just one 4-year term.
• "Senator Obama, I know George Bush. I served with George Bush. George Bush is a friend of mine. Senator, I'm no George Bush."

The Final Debate

Say want you want about who won, who lost, who had the best lines, etc., but I think it all comes down to this:

Tomorrow, across this great nation of ours, plumbers named Joe are going to be subjected to merciless ribbing from their friends, family, and co-workers.

Allison Diane Dennie

. . .And so here she is, introducing Allison Diane Dennie, born at 1:29 p.m. on October 8. For those that want to know, she weighed 8 pounds and was 20 inches long. Guys NEVER know this stuff, so I made sure I kept it memorized because people do ask, although I'm not really sure why.

Mom and baby "Allie" are doing just fine now, as they came home from the hospital on Saturday. As you can see from the picture above, big sister Anna kinda likes the little tyke, a far cry from the major freak-out episode when she first heard the news of her impending arrival. Cameron likes her too, and keeps volunteering to help with diapers. Whatever, he can do that all he wants.

Above is a picture of Allie at 2 days old with Aunt Dee Dee (real name Diane, which is where Allie's middle name comes from).

Mom and dad were here just a few hours ago. They were going to wait until after their vacation to see her, but couldn't wait that long. They brought along a bunch of sugar cookies, so we're glad they could come up (to see Allie of course).

McCain and Obama's Football Strategy

With less than a month to go before the election, things will get ratcheted up a notch. McCain has already announced he'll be taking things to a different level. Obama will stick to what's been working for the past several months.

McCain has definitely been the aggressor. If you have a football analogy for him, it's been a constant barage of Hail Mary passes and gadget plays designed to throw the opponent off balance. Very unpredictable play-calling and the rule book has basically gotten tossed. From picking Sarah Palin to shutting down his campaign, you just don't know exactly what this guy is going to do next. Plus, his campaign does a lot of trash talking for the opponents to post in their locker room to get them fired up.

For Obama, he has strictly been in a prevent defense for months and will remain so until the election. In other words he is not playing to win, but playing not to lose. Republicans are not scared of losing this election because they've been expecting to do so all along. Democrats are downright terrified to lose, so Obama is being careful not to stumble here at the end. This kind of defense typically works, although it drives fans crazy because the outcome tends to be closer than they think it should be and it keeps the opponent in the game longer than they are comfortable with.

Final score: Obama pulls out the victory as expected. McCain puts on a better show than many were expecting, but was just too overpowered to pull off the upset.

Baby Allie, Due in 3 Days

On Friday, Dorene went to the doctor to determine if she would carry through to term or schedule a C-section. She initially wanted to go for the natural delivery, but over the past week, decided to recant that wish. Not very comfortable, and not getting much sleep led her to tell the doctor, "Let's do this now" (she was serious, she told the doctor she'd go to surgery right then and there).

Well, not so fast. We still had to wait, but now it's set. The birth of our new baby girl will take place on Wednesday, October 8, at 1:00 p.m. Unless, of course, the ultrasound played a trick on us, in which case we'll have to come up quickly with a different name. Or, as Cameron asked in all seriousness, what if it comes out as half girl and half boy? Uh, next question.

Movie Review: Beverly Hills Chihuaha

Fall is the time when the studios roll out their more prestigious pictures. The summer blockbuster season is over, so it's time for the movies that will likely be up for many awards. Tonight, I got a start on an early Oscar contender with this epic and moving story about . . .okay, enough.

Read the title. This is a kids movie. Do I really have to explain what it's about? A pampered mutt from Beverly Hills gets lost in Mexico City, yada, yada, everything ends up fine in the end.

It actually wasn't half bad, in fact, quite a bit better than I was expecting. With the kids movies, you can get something that's fairly good and at least is guaranteed to have good content (Disney), very good (Pixar) or total manure (not any particular studio, but movies like "Underdog" come to mind).

We saw this at the drive-in, and about froze. I think there were about 20 cars total spread out amongst the three screens. It was really cold. Which reminds me. Did you hear about the two blondes that froze to death at the drive-in? They went to see "Closed for Winter."

Sarah Barracuda Comes Back

I wouldn't say Palin won the debate last night, but more importantly, she didn't lose either. In fact, I thought she did quite well. Now, whether that's because of the very low expectations, I don't know (her interview with Katie Couric was a little cringe-worthy at times). But she held her own just fine. For the final weeks, McCain just needs to let her loose. It's not like he's going to win anyway, so quit holding her back. She certainly has the folksy down-home appeal down pat. She kinda reminded me of Marge Gunderson from "Fargo" at times ("you betcha").

As for Biden, he got through just fine. David Gergen said it was Biden's best debate performance ever, and he was probably right. He is actually quite likeable and didn't seem so much on autopilot as Obama tends to be.

Our New Set of Wheels

We currently have two cars. A Buick Riviera with 155,000 miles on it and a Dodge Caravan witih 178,000. Yeah, kinda getting up there in miles. With baby #3 on the way, we were wanting to have a vehicle that could be a little more dependable, especially on longer trips. The other two, while still running okay, we don't know when they might just die on us.

So, we got ourselves a new mini-van. Actually, not brand new, but a used one with only 27,000 miles on it (over 150,000 less miles than our current mini-van). It's got power everything and a great feature in that all the seats fold into the floor, so you don' t have to unlatch seats and haul them into the garage when you need the extra space. Got a really good deal on it and hope to have it a long time.

For now, we're just going to park it and drive it sparingly. Actually, not only are we driving it sparingly right now, we're not driving it at all. I went to get the title done last night and discovered my license is suspended. Oops, forgot to pay that $25.00 seat belt violation from last summer. So yes, I am a fugitive.

We'll still keep the other vehicles. I mean, yes, I could possibly get $1.99 for the Buick, but it is cheap to drive and I'll keep driving it to work until it dies. Currently, it has no air conditioning, the back window stays down permanently, it makes a weird sound, and is leaking gas. But it's paid for and the annual license is about $35.00. Can't beat that.

Turning 44

My birthday was yesterday. No big occasion, just turned 44. Don't feel any different, although I can't say that I was expecting to have a baby daughter shortly after my 44th birthday.

My kids gave me several presents they all handpicked. They led me on a scavenger hunt throughout the house. Anna wrote up clues to lead me to various places (did a pretty good job on them too). I ended up with a couple bottles of Gatorade, and then some of my favorite snacks, many of which I can take to the hospital in a week or so when Dorene goes in. For the record, I got chocolate chip cookes, mini-Charleston Chews, Twizzlers, Bottle Caps, Cadbury chocolate, Reese's, football shaped Little Debbie brownies, and Dots. They did good!

For lunch, I had to cook my own meal. Actually, this was by design. We purchased a side of beef from one of our church members and the steaks are superb. No sense on paying for something like this in a restaurant. So I grilled ribeyes with Daddy Hinkles marinade (the best marinade ever . . . thank you Stu for introducing me to this one).

Later in the evening, our pastor called and we went out to dinner with him and his wife. Went to Chili's, which is one of our favorite restaurants. Our pastor's wife, Cheryl, commented that last year at this time, she was sure we couldn't have expected having a baby now. I said, "No, we were too busy laughing at you for having an unexpected one." (they had their own October surprise with child #8).

Debate #1

I had a fundraising event at my kids' school last night, so I did not watch any but literally the last question of the debate. Stayed up and listened to all the analysis. Shockingly enough, Democrat strategists thought Obama won and Republican strategists thought McCain won. I guess the bottom line is that it was pretty much a draw. Neither did extremely well or really bad.

I'll be more likely to tune in this week for the VP debate and see how Sarah Palin does as they bring her out of hiding (not completely sure of the strategy there).

Note to Saturday Night Live: Not Funny

When Tina Fey did her impersonation of Sarah Palin a week ago, I thought it was great. Very well done. Amy Poehler also does such a great Hillary, always ready to explode.

But this past Saturday night, the opening sketch featured John McCain giving voiceover approval to outrageous rumors about Obama. It wasn't clever, nor was it funny (nor did the audience seem to laugh). Another sketch implied Todd Palin was the father of Trig . . .and Bristol was the mom.

I'm all for good political humor and will laugh at any clever jabs at either side, but this was very mean spirited and seemed bent on destroying Palin. Saturday Night Live has a long history of great political sketches, but this night was not one of them.

Calm Before the Storm

Getting ready to leave work. Our pastor and his wife are going to a retreat this weekend, so we'll be watching their kids at our house for two nights . . . all 8 of them!

9/11 (sort of) Remembered

Yesterday, IU South Bend had a brief ceremony in memory of the events of 9/11. On a campus of over 7,500 students with an additional 1,500 faculty and staff, I expected a fairly large turnout. There were about 25 in attendance. I guess those events are beginning to drift further and further into history.

As I thought more about it, the college students beginning this year were only 10 or 11 when those events happened, so while they may be aware of them, they wouldn't have a "where were you" type experience to share. I imagine the next couple years will be fairly quiet in regard to remembrances then it will get more attention on the 10th year anniversary.

More Baby Talk

Watching Sarah Palin and the news surrounding her newborn baby has been interesting and has opened up a possibility that Dorene and I are certainly aware of, but don't talk about much.

Sarah Palin was 44 when she had baby Trig. The occurance of Downs Syndrome is much more prevalent the older the mom is. Dorene will be 39 this month. So, yes, she is in a category where this could happen. Palin had a test done which clearly tells you if the baby has Downs (as do many). We could have had the same test done, but have chosen not to. It's not like a huge percentage of older moms have Downs babies, but the chances are certainly higher.

Does it cross my mind that we could have a special needs child? Yes, it certainly does. Would it freak me out? Yeah, it probably would for a little bit, can't lie about that. But if every child is a gift from God, then what more can we do but just pray for the safe delivery of baby Allie. Yep, that's all we can do.

Awaiting Baby Allie

On Tuesday night, we took a tour of the childbirth unit at Memorial Hospital so Anna and Cameron could see where mommy would be at when it was time to deliver our new one. Both kids are getting more and more excited about this, even Anna, after her initial meltdown over the news. She even has gotten to the point where she said she might hold the baby. That's progress, believe me.

The official due date is October 12. But Anna and Cameron both came 3 weeks early. So, it could happen very soon. We might want to consider getting the house ready.

Babies and Football

Yesterday, we went our separate ways. Dorene took the kids to the church where they were having a baby shower for Allie. I went with my friend Peter to the Notre Dame game.

For the small size of our church, it was a great turnout for the shower. I think all but one or two of the women in the church were there, so that was nice. Dorene had a wonderful time and we ended up with lots of nice presents, including a new changing table and tons of diapers. Yeah, I said the word diapers, didn't think I'd be using that in my vocabularly ever again. If Dorene goes to term, baby Allie will be here in about 5 weeks. If she goes early like with Anna and Cameron, the baby will be here in about 2 weeks. Oh my, it's really getting close. Perhaps we should start setting up the baby furniture and things like that.

Dorene was at the doctor last week and she is in great health. No need to go on bed rest and the doctor expects her to go full term. That is great news, because Dorene was concerned about having to stay home for the final few weeks. But everything looks good.

I always enjoy going to Notre Dame games. Even with their pathetic season last year, the hype and hoopla surrounding a home gome never goes away. Besides, they were playing San Diego State, who were 21 point underdogs.

But they kept it very close. In fact, they should have one. They were up 13-7 midway into the fourth quarter. They had the ball on the Notre Dame 4. The running back was headed into the end zone but fumbled at what had to be the 1-foot line. Notre Dame recovered and within a few plays had gone all the way down for the go-ahead touchdown. They scored again and ended up winning 21-13. I imagine the San Diego State team had a long flight home, because this was their Super Bowl and they had victory in their grasp and let it get away. Charlie Weiss got away for now. He was getting booed fairly early in the game. The Irish lose this one, and he's in for along season. They played very badly and this was against a team that was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb.

In the NFL, I was pleased to see that the 37-year old quarterback looking for one more glorious season led his team to an opening day victory. I'm talking, of course, about . . . . Kurt Warner and the Arizona Cardinals.

Oh Yeah, McCain Gave a Speech

As I suspected, McCain's speech was a big comedown from Sara Palin's the night before. He didn't do badly, it just wasn't all that exciting of a speech to listen to. Palin easily overshadowed him.

However, parts of the speech were actually quite bold. He really surprised me by saying how the Republican Party let everyone down. He said they "went to change Washington, and Washington changed us." He gave some not so subtle jabs at Bush/Cheney (and I imagine in private he'd like to rip them to shreds and totally separate himself). Where was Cheney by the way? I read that he was somewhere in eastern Europe, far, far away. In fact, overall, you just don't see much of Cheney at all anymore. Not that I'm complaining.

I read a quote from Rush Limbaugh that said that even if the Republicans lose in November (which he completely expects), McCain has done a lot to bring about change in the party and give them a future. I agree. Picking Palin was a good step in the right direction to put a different face on the party. I've always felt they needed to sit this one out and retool.

Well, gotta go. Headed off to the promised land, er, that is, Notre Dame stadium for the season opener against that powerhouse from the west coast . . .San Diego State.

Back to School (thank goodness)

The kids went back to school this week. All the public schools began two weeks ago, but the private school they go to (North Liberty Christian School) doesn't start until after Labor Day.

The extra long break got a little too long. Anna and Cameron were ready to get back into a regular routine, and so were we. Their first week has been great, they love their teachers and are going to have a great year.

Cameron has surprised us with a very competitive spirit when it comes to grades. We figured he'd be our slacker. Turns out, he doesn't just want A's, he wants an A+ all the time, and is very motivated to do so. Anna gets good grades too, but doesn't really care all that much about it. She'll just simply get the good grades and that's that. Cameron, on the other hand, will probably consider himself a failure if he gets a C. Oh boy, here we go.

Sarah Barracuda

I think everyone in the Republican Party breathed a collective sigh of relief this morning after Palin's speech. I thought she did very well and rose to the occasion. She had some pretty good zingers and faced her critics head on. She will be a great campaigner and will draw big crowds. But her next big moment will be one on one against Biden. I'm anticipating that debate more than Obama v. McCain.

Palin seemed drained after the speech. She kinda stood there and wasn't smiling. Probably just an incredible sense of relief after having it over with. She finally lit up when her family came out. How can you not like that family and the picture of the little girl wetting down her hand to fix little Trig's hair? Many politicians try to say it, but Palin truly has a very common background and is an outsider in every sense of the word. Unlike Obama, I can see Palin going bowling and not looking so out of place.

Some quibbles about last night:

• I didn't care for Guilliani. His speech is why I'm glad he isn't president. It seemed a little over the top and overly mean-spirited. If Palin is the pit bull, then Guilliani is the rabid doberman.


• Guilliani's speech also went too long, so they had to cancel the video bio of Palin. I think that would have helped even more introducing her to those that hadn't been reading or watching news reports about her. Although, she certainly let her words do the talking, so maybe this wasn't that big of a deal.


• I cringed a bit when she basically made fun of community organizers. This won't go over well with those that work in the inner city, such as some of my colleagues. I know it was offering a comparison of experience, but community organizers are often low paid or volunteer people helping out those that need assistance the most.

But overall, she did a fabulous job. Seemed very natural on the big stage and she is someone you certainly want to listen to. It'll be impossible for McCain to top her speech, and I wouldn't be surprised if he even makes reference to that in his speech tonight. But in hindsight, a strategically brilliant move to bring her on board.

I still see Obama winning in November, but nonetheless, last night was an important step in the Republicans moving forward from the last 8 years. If Obama's star was born by his speech in 2004, then last night was just the beginning for Palin and we'll be hearing more from her. Which should be later but could be much sooner if the Democrats still figure a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. This campaign will be anything but boring for the next two months.

Republican Convention

I haven't watched any of the RNC yet. I guess I didn't really care to hear Bush, Lieberman or Thompson speak. But tonight, this is Sarah Palin's night and I'll definitely watch her speech. The campaign still has a long way to go and it'll be interesting to see if she keeps the election close or totally derails McCain (like some are saying). Tonight will be critical. One thing is for sure, she has made things much more interesting.

What are my female Democratic colleagues saying? One says McCain was brilliant for choosing her. The other says she shouldn't have been nominated with all those kids.

Rock, Paper, Scissors . . .Cameron Style

I watched Anna and Cameron playing "rock, paper, scissors" tonight at the dinner table. Neither were winning as each round ended up a tie. So, on the next round, Cameron changed things a bit. He went, "rock, paper . . .DINOSAUR!"

I think dinosaur pretty much kicks butt in this situation. Game over.