Sean Penn and a Donkey

The new Sean Penn movie, "All the King's Men," opened this past weekend. It was an early Oscar contender and Penn himself was seen as an early candidate for Best Actor. This was one of those period pieces that Oscar loves, with a flamboyant performance at the center.

As it turns out, the movie only made half of what it was expected to. The number one movie over the weekend? "Jackass, Number Two."

Insert your own "sad-commentary-on-the-state-of-America-when-a-movie-filled-with-hits-to-the-groin-outgrosses-a-serious-adult-intellectual-period-piece" comment here.

I personally like Sean Penn. Check out "Bad Boys," a very underrated prison flick from the early 80's(not the Will Smith/Martin Lawrence movie and featuring one of the all time great payback scenes, featuring a pillowcase and some cans of pop). He just needs to not take himself so darn seriously all the time. He should go on SNL and resurrect Spicoli. It would probably be the biggest sustained applause of all time for the show if he appeared as that character.

Another Losing Season for the Cards . . .Maybe

Once again, the Arizona Cardinals were the subject of all kinds of pre-season speculation that this could be the year they broke through. A new stadium, the signing of Edgerrin James. Everything seemed to be falling in place.

They started 1-1 and this past Sunday they hosted the Rams. They were losing 16-14 and the Rams just had to run out the clock. But, they fumbled at their own 30, giving the Cards a golden opportunity . . .which quarterback Kurt Warner (hmm, a former Ram's quarterback) fumbled away a couple plays later. So, now they are at 1-2, needing to do something to get back on track.

The answer? Get Matt Leinart in there now. So what if he's just out of college and hasn't taken a snap yet in the pros. He won the Heismann and won two national titles for USC. Let's give him a shot now and see if he turns out to be one of those Heismann winners that makes the transition well or goes the way of so many others before him.

Hmm, Someone's Worried about their Legacy.

Wow, did you see Bill Clinton go off on Chris Wallace on Sunday? Chris asked the simple question of did he do enough to catch Bin Laden. Clinton just went off, pointing his finger, reaching over and tapping on his notes, getting almost right in his face. Then, things got really strange as he launched into how this question and whole interview was some sort of conservative hit job and how Chris Wallace was doing the bidding of Fox News. Talked about how Wallace had this smirk on his face. Man, he was really upset.

Yo, Bill, it was a very legitimate question. You might want to stay out of the kitchen if you can't take that kind of heat. I also thought it strange that Clinton based his entire 8 years of combating terrorism solely on Richard Clarke's book. I don't know how many times he said, "Just read Clarke's book, it's all there." It was like watching a celebrity on Leno hawk his new movie.

He somewhat indicted himself when he said, "I tried 8 years and failed; they (Bush) had 8 months and couldn't do it." So, what you are saying is that Bush should have done in 8 months what you couldn't do in 8 years?

I've always felt, and the 9/11 Commission concurs, that there was plenty of blame to go around. Hindsight is so 20/20. Blame Bush I, blame Clinton, blame Bush II. Fact is, we just didn't think something like this would ever happen. We'll see if we learned or not. Some say we're safer, some say we're not, there's more terrorists now, there's less terrorists, yada yada yada.

Why did this get Clinton so riled? Does he truly believe all this right-wing conspiracy stuff that Hillary also liked to spout? It was strange seeing him reduced to a liberal version of Rush Limbaugh as he talked about how all the conservatives are out to get him. Sounds to me like someone is very worried about his legacy getting tarnished. If he truly didn't do enough and is feeling guilty about it, then an interview on Fox News should be the least of his worries.

Student beats the Teacher

Last night at the South Bend Table Tennis Club, a torch was passed. A.J. Brewer is the top rated 13-year old in the nation. He has been playing table tennis for years under the tutelage of Dan Seemiller, himself a former champion on the national and world stage.

A week earlier, Dan had told us that A.J. was training in China with some of the world's best. He indicated that when he gets back, he may have a hard time beating him. "I don't know if I'm ready to lose to a 13-year old, but that's how it is."

Well, last night was the first time A.J. ever beat his coach in match play. Although others were playing that night, all eyes fell on this contest to see if pupil would finally overtake his teacher. Dan is still nationally ranked at 24, so he's no slouch, even at age 52. He didn't exactly go lightly on A.J. It was obvious he wanted to win and played each point like he meant it. But on this night, A.J.'s youth and dedication won out.

The last time Dan lost to a youngster was to Mark Hazinski. Mark was also coached by Dan and he played on the 2004 Olympic team. So don't be surprised if by 2012, you'll see another Olympian from the South Bend Table Tennis Club.

Now, if Dan could just help me in returning those heavy spin serves . . .

The Saints Come Marching Back

There is a lot of hype over the New Orleans Saints' return to the Superdome on Monday night. They are undefeated, and the whole city waits in anticipation of this game, which will signal a rebirth of the city.

But does everyone see it that way? Do those that left after Katrina and never came back really care that much about this team? Our Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs grew up in New Orleans and he said his parents vowed to never, ever go back. Do those that are still waiting for FEMA money to rebuild their houses really care if the Saints win on Monday night? Maybe they wish some of the $185 million spent on repairing the Superdome had come their way.

A moment to watch on Monday night. The coin toss will be from George Bush, Sr. I wonder what the reaction will be and if fans will take out some of their frustration with W on his father. But then again, seeing how history illiterate many people are, maybe lots of people will hear the name George Bush and just assume it's W.

20 Seconds of Fame

As I began to leave the stadium after the conclusion of the Notre Dame v. Michigan game this past Saturday, I looked down and saw this woman running at full speed toward the tunnel, evidently chasing down a player. I thought, that sure looks like someone I know. Sure enough, it was Michelle, one of our former student workers at IU South Bend who has been interning with NBC Sports. She gets to roam the sidelines and hopes to someday be a sideline reporter. On this day, she was chasing down one of the Michigan players for an interview.

Michelle attends IU Bloomington now. I e-mailed her and asked her if she did indeed catch up to the player to pull him back for an interview. She said she did, although she said players were running everywhere and she was just praying that she didn't get run over. Her mom, who works here at IU South Bend, said that there was about 20 seconds on the NBC coverage where you could see Michelle running after the player.

By the way, Michelle is a big Steelers fan and she (and her mom) severely taunted me when they beat the Colts. I told her that I hope someday she ends up interning with the Colts and has to chase down Peyton Manning for an interview after they beat the Steelers.

Meanwhile, at Notre Dame stadium, I had my own "Rudy" moment. "Hey, I know her, that's Michelle! She's so little!"

Massacre at Notre Dame

In what has become a yearly event now, I get to take in a Notre Dame home football game once a year thanks to my former roommate Peter, a high school counselor in nearby Goshen, Indiana. This year, I was surprised when he asked me to go the Michigan game, which was already being built up as the game of the year. Notre Dame was ranked #2 and Michigan #11. These two teams have quite the history between them and not a whole lot of love to spread around either. Tickets on the street were going for $250.00 and sometimes more. In retrospect, Michigan fans who bought overpriced tickets got their money's worth. Notre Dame fans who did the same are wishing they had stayed home and mowed the lawn.

As with any Notre Dame home game, part of the excitement is just getting to the stadium. We parked at a shopping center lot a couple miles away and made the walk in (parking a couple miles away gives you free parking; parking closer to the stadium ranges from $20.00 - $40.00).

As you make your way to the stadium, you pass through "party row." Tailgaters all over the place and beer absolutely flowing like Niagra Falls. If you saw someone with a Pepsi can, they looked out of place. But there is quite the buzz level with so much activity going on outside the stadium. You also had some of your more creative vendors selling t-shirts not fit for family viewing (the nicest ones said "Muck Fichigan").

We hung around outside and watched the band march in. Hundreds of fans line the path leading to the stadium to watch them come in. We finally made our way to our seats and settled down for the game. This was quite possibly to be the year that Notre Dame would once again rise to the top and win the national championship. Quarterback Brady Quinn was also an early favorite for the Heisman Trophy. The crowd was absolutely pumped up leading up to kickoff. Then, an unfortunate thing happened. The game began.

At the forty second mark, Brady Quinn threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown. That set the tone. Brady's Heisman and Notre Dame's national title hopes were gone before people settled in to their seats. By the time it was over, Notre Dame had lost 47-21. That just doesn't happen in their home stadium and certainly wasn't supposed to happen this year.

Not a pleasant day for Notre Dame fans. One of the fans sitting behind us summed up the day nicely for the home crowd: "That was a big pile of suck."

Missing the Point in a Big Way

We attend a church of about 90. It's a Wesleyan church in South Bend right across the street from a very large church. But, we absolutely love it. It's the size we have been looking for, especially after spending too much time in borderline mega-churches.

Our kids love it too. There may be only 4 or 5 kids in their Sunday School class, but they don't mind it one bit. Lately, some friends of ours started coming. Marcie comes and brings her two daughters, Tatum and Caylin. They love it too. They had been attending a church but Marcie was disappointed at their lack of attention to kids programs. She brought this to the attention of the pastor and I thought his response was absolutely stunning.

He indicated that, yes, they used to have a kids program before, but it just turned out to be a babysitting club. They decided they would go after the parents first and then bring the kids in. Wow, what a backwards way of thinking. First of all, it's not babysitting if you are teaching unsaved kids about God. Of course, if all you are doing is just babysitting, then that's your own fault. Secondly, I don't know of any kids or youth program anywhere that doesn't have a great deal of kids whose parents do not attend that church. Kids and youth programs can be huge outreach ministries, and its through the kids that you can reach the parents. Sometimes vice versa, but not always.

In the church I grew up in, we had a fabulous Wednesday night program. But I'd say about 95% of the kids that came did not have parents that attended our church regularly (and that number may be conservative). But that didn't matter. We had the kids there, and we reached out to them in a big way. The church my brother attends in Fort Wayne does a huge outreach to youth in the area and probably 99.99% of those kids do not have parents that attend there. Imagine if their leadership decided that they didn't want to just "babysit" anymore? That would never happen but it just outlines how this other church in South Bend totally missed the point.

How sad that a church is basically writing off such a vital ministry. By the way, how did Marcie get interested in coming to our church? Our dinky little church put on a fabulous Vacation Bible School that her kids still talk about and that really impressed Marcie. She was surprised just how much the church cared about the kids. I'm so glad I attend a church that does indeed care about the little ones.

Fatherly Advice from Brad Pitt

Okay, I know. Brad and Angelina Jolie are not married, and Brad just said that they wouldn't get married until "everyone that wants to" can. In other words, when gay marriage is legalized. So what advice could be culled from this guy?

Well, I read part of an interview and one thing he said struck me as very true. He said how much he enjoys just being laid back and just letting the kids "be kids." He also said that you need to give kids a heads up before you jerk them out of something. You should always say "You have three more minutes." That part is very true.

When we are at a park, or a playground, or anything like that, our kids (like any kids) do not like it when it's time to leave. However, whenever we say "you got three more minutes," we leave without incident. No tears, no whining. Much more simple. Actually, we say "five minutes" but that's okay. What's wrong with doing that parents? Relax a litle, let your kids have a good time and then end it all on a good note. I always dislike it when I see parents march up to their kids that are having a blast at something and yank them away with no warning. I'm telling you, the five-minute warning works. In fact, if you say five minutes and take them away in two, it doesn't matter, there still is no fuss.

Good job, Mr. Pitt.

Democrat Christians?

Okay, I use that title in jest. Republicans and many evangelical churches would lead you to believe that Democrat and Christian are two words that just aren't compatible. I have never truly felt this way, but I've certainly heard it preached. This basically started in the 70's and gained huge momentum once Reagan was elected. The basic assumption was that if you were a Christian, you just had to be a Republican. No way around that. Like I said, I never bought into that and tend to get a little irritated by the Falwells, Robertsons, etc. that promulgate this notion. Even though I've never met a Christian that's also a Democrat. JUST KIDDING!!

Problem is, the Democrats have done an absolutely horrible job of convincing otherwise. They have gift-wrapped every morals-based issue and handed it to the Republicans. After the 2004 election when it turns out moral values was a key factor in how people voted, Democrats were stumbling over themselves trying to convince everyone that they too attended church and believed in God. They are always at the front and center when it's time to separate church from state, they are always at the front and center promoting gay marriage. They ridicule Dan Quayle and the whole "family values" way of thinking. Of course this would make people like Karl Rove giddy and they take advantage of this. Democrats don't even try to court the evangelical vote. They just write that whole population off (which to me has always been a colossal mistake).

This year, Democrats may finally be seeing the light. Criticize Howard Dean all you want, and maybe his motives are truly political, but he sees the advantage of the evangelical vote. So does Barack Obama. Both have taken flack for it.

But I think this year, more than ever, Christians are ripe to be swept up by the Democrats. BUT, and this is a BIG but, the Democrats on a national level have to want to go after them. They can't keep being scared to death to mention "God" in a public forum. This has always seemed particularly odd to me, why they continue to let themselves be run over by the Republicans on this issue.

Like I said, the Democrats have a huge opportunity. Let's see if they take advantage of it or not. Meanwhite, check out www.faithfuldemocrats.com, which is a website featuring blogs and commentary on the whole "Democrat Christian" ideal. Just launched today. I'm looking forward to reading more.

The County Fair

Last night on the CBS Nightly News, the last segment was on county fairs and how in some places they are a dying breed as competition from amusement parks and just other activities in general are causing attendance to dwindle. In addition, only 2% of Americans are farmers, so not many people are even involved as far as showing animals, etc.

This past weekend, we went to one of the old time county fairs, located in Van Wert, Ohio. The first time I was there was 1991. Fifteen years later, it looks exactly the same. I imagine that 15 years before 1991, it also looked the same, and maybe even 30 years before that. A few booths may have gotten moved around, but the Fiske Fries are probably in the exact location they've always been. I'd have to consult my mom, she'd know. I know the Rager's sausage sandwiches have probably never moved.

Nothing all that special about the fair from this city boy's perspective. But there is a certain nostalgic flair to it that is easy to appreciate. No matter what's happening in the rest of the world, the Van Wert County Fair will always stay the same.

Dorene and myself aren't really all that big of fans of this fair. Maybe it's because we didn't grow up going to it, so there's no connection that way. My parents weren't able to go with us this year, so maybe that's part of it, because we missed hearing my mom's stories of old when she attended.

Our kids enjoyed the fair quite a bit. I was surprised that they enjoyed climbing on the tractors as much as anything. They also enjoyed looking at all the animals. They didn't really care that much about the carnival rides, which was fine by us since these rides are put together in 5 minutes. But we were glad to not hear a constant refrain of "more rides" and "more food." The tractors were probably a highlight. On one tractor, Cameron started pulling all the buttons and levers and one time the tractor suddenly began to start. He looked at me and said, "oops" because he was surprised as all of us. He made Uncle Steve go on every last tractor, as did Anna (who I wouldn't have thought would have enjoyed this as much as she did).

Profanity and 9/11

CBS is rebroadcasting the documentary 9/11 this month. This is an excellent documentary and contains footage taken inside the south tower after it was hit as rescue workers moved in (and footage inside that tower as the other fell). One of the most hard-hitting images isn't an image, but a sound. You occasionally hear loud booms on the soundtrack. We're told this is not debris falling, but bodies of those that have jumped from the upper floors.

Well, the American Family Association is complaining to CBS that the documentary "contains a tremendous amount of hardcore profanity." They say it's a slap in the face to the FCC after the fines they levied in the Janet Jackson incident. The AFA states that if the documentary is allowed to be aired and there are no complaints, then the network will just keep pushing the envelope.

Perhaps the AFA should keep their focus elsewhere, such as the umpteenth boycott of Disney World. This isn't exactly manufactured profanity. It's real life.

I wasn't there in the midst of the chaos and horror of September 11, but if some people let loose with some profanity, I think I could understand that.

Katrina or Jon Benet?

I conducted my own independent survey this morning. I was curious what would be the lead story on all the morning news shows. Would it be Jon Benet or the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina? ABC, CBS and Fox all led off with Jon Benet. Only NBC on the Today show led off with a Katrina story.

I didn't bother to check Nancy Grace or Anderson Cooper that night, because I knew full well what their lead story would be.

Yes, I Still Watch Survivor

My wife and I have been devoted Survivor fans ever since season 2, when Tina beat out Colby in the Australian Outback. Yes, it's mindless reality t.v., but it's fun to watch. It's also fairly kid friendly so it's one we all can watch (like the other mindless entertainment, American Idol).

But after this past season, I was pretty much thinking I'd had enough. Then came yesterday's announcement about the new season. They will initially divide into four differen tribes along racial lines. One Black, one Latino, one White and one Asian tribe. I figured that would be an immediate lightning rod for controversy and sure enough, last night on one of the talk shows, it was already being discussed.

This will certainly give a spike in the ratings for Survivor. Yeah, I'll be there to tune in to see how it all pans out. Although, as a Survivor veteran, I know full well that how the tribes are divided initially does not stay that way for long. If one of the tribes gets decimated early on, they'll quickly mix things up. It has happened every time.

Enough is Enough!

This is just incredible! What kind of a world do we live in, where a man like Tom Cruise can be treated like this? This guy shouts from the mountaintops and couches of the world what a devoted family man he is. For Paramount Pictures to unceremoniously dump him is just an outrage. For the love of humanity, this man only makes $30 million per movie. How will he support his child that no one has ever seen?

I'm sorry, I just can't continue . . .talk amongst yourselves.

Okay, I'm Tired of This Already

The arrest in the Jon-Benet Ramsey case was interesting at first. This guy they arrested in Thailand is one creepy dude. But I think there is much more to the story. Unfortunately, we'll get wall to wall coverage of speculation for who knows how long. Every news channel is covering this as their lead story, from the usual culprits like Nancy Grace to the more so-called serious journalists like Anderson "the Hero of Katrina" Cooper.

You know how it's gonna be: "In other news, a terrorist plot to blow up planes was thwarted, the one-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina is coming up. But first, back to JON BENET . . ."

A Break from the Art-House Films

One of my former roommates before I got married is Peter McFarland. We have kept in touch over the years and frequently will go to movies. We have the same tastes so we tend to go to the more off beat types of films or those that typically play in South Bend for about a week before disappearing. More of the art-house type films, or documentaries and foreign films. We occasionally go to the big blockbusters too, because we aren't movie snobs, disdaining anything that makes gazillions of dollars.

But last night, we went to "Snakes on a Plane." This is a movie that promises nothing more than what the title delivers. Not a movie that we'll be seeing on the ballot at our Oscar party next spring. How was it? Well, not all that bad really. Some rather intense scenes at times, combined with some fairly good humor. Not quite the low budget, bad acting experience I was expecting. But no, it wasn't Shakespeare either. If you know anything about all the hype about this movie, then you know about Samuel L. Jackson's big line, that was suggested by internet bloggers and actually incorporated into the movie. He says something along the lines of wanting these darn snakes off the darn plane.

Hey, what can I say? Sometimes you are just in the mood for some silly fun at the movies.

Roller Skating and Wilbur the Pig

Last night after work, we all went to the local roller skating rink for the weekly Family Night skate, where admissions is only a dollar. This is the first time I've been skating in I don't know how long. Growing up in California, I made many, many trips to "Rollertowne" in Visalia, California with our church youth group and other outings. I was actually a pretty good skater. But after leaving California, that was pretty much it. I skated occasionally in college as we had skating outings there once in a while.

So last night, I laced on the skates and found out I could still move okay. Not quite as agile as I once was and no longer can do the triple-lutz jumps (okay, I never could do that). Dorene was a little less unsure, and even more unsure when a beginning backwards skater plowed into her.

Anna loves the skates. She gets on the floor and basically skates non-stop until the skating session is over. She stops once in a while for a drink and that's about it. Doesn't bug us to go to the snack bar or play the video games. She's there to skate!

Cameron went around the rink twice, which took just about a half hour. He's not too sure about this whole skating thing yet. He had a good time, even though he was on the floor most of the time. He was a good sport. When he fell, I'd laugh and he'd look up and grin too. Didn't get frustrated.

Afterwards we went to Famous Dave's BBQ, one of our favorite eating places. Even more so because on Monday and Tuesday nights, kids eat free. That's actually a pretty good savings, so Dorene and I can each get a nice meal and pay about the same as if all four of us ate at Arby's. On kids night, they bring out Wilbur the Pig. Tonight, since it was quite a bit later (after 8:00 p.m.), the pig had retired for the evening. We hadn't been to Famous Dave's for months, but Cameron remembered the pig and was watching out for him. Our waitress basically said he was gone but that she would check to see for sure.

Now, I'm sure the employee that was dressed up in the pig costume was going home for the night since it was late and any responsible parent would have had their kids in bed by this time. But lo and behold, the pig came out and Cameron just lit up. Whoever took the time to don the pig costume for a few extra minutes certainly made my little boy happy and I thank them for it. That's what's called going the extra mile in customer service and the next time we're there, you can be sure Cameron will be on "Wilbur Watch."

Still a Republican . . .

Last night at the St. Joseph County Fair, I was there to help Kevin Mitschelen in his campaign for State Representative of Indiana's 6th District (I'm the treasurer of the campaign). We passed out campaign literature and Kevin was there to meet and greet people. Kevin is very, very personable and not at all a "politician." He's up against B. Patrick Bauer, who has been in office since Nixon's first term. So, if we pull this one off, it'll be an upset of epic proportions.

Is this the year for Republicans to be pulling upsets? Yeah, I know, not too likely. But then again, Bush wasn't supposed to win in 2000, the Republicans weren't supposed to gain seats in 2002, Bush wasn't supposed to win in 2004 and there was no way the Republicans would recapture the Senate that same year. If Democrats believe everything they read and hear, then they should easily sweep every Republican out of office in November.

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised at all if that happens, nor do I think that's even a bad thing. But then again, the Democrats have a knack for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. If they don't regain either the House or Senate, it'll be one of the most botched campaigns since, well, since John Kerry ran for President.

Rep. Charles Rangel has said he'll quit if the Democrats aren't victorious. Kind of like when Alec Baldwin said he'd move out of the U.S. if Bush won reelection. Last I checked, Baldwin was still here and starring in blockbusters like "Thomas the Tank Engine and the Magic Railroad." I'm so glad he stuck around stateside to bring such joy to our lives.

I Do. I Do. Kiss the Bride . . .and They're Off!

We were in the town of Salt Lick, Kentucky (don’t even begin to say you know where this is at) on July 29 for the wedding of my niece Shon. It was probably appropriate the wedding took place in Kentucky because the length was not much more than that of the annual horse race in Louisville. A total of 12 lengths, I mean, minutes! Hey, end result was still the same for other weddings that take longer. They were still married.

Shon was marrying one Joseph Byrd. None of us up here in Indiana had the opportunity to meet him ahead of time. But he seems like a nice enough guy and I think he’ll take good care of Shon. He has a three year old daughter, Jayce, from a previous marriage, who he really adores and who adores Shon. So, we wish them the best.

While in town for the wedding, we had the opportunity to spend some time with Dorene’s brother, Robert, and his wife, Connie. They live out in the country in Kentucky where Robert has 6 horses. He currently is a truck driver, while not too long ago retiring from the National Guard. He just started the truck route and is really enjoying it.

We took the kids over and they cooked us dinner and then gave the kids rides on their horses. Anna rode Duke, the pony of the bunch. Cameron rode Duke and all the others, including BP, a very big horse. He didn’t want to go too fast because he said he didn’t have any cowboy boots. We rectified this problem the next day, although we weren’t able to return to the horses, so we’ll see if Cameron will still decide to go faster. Anna is city girl, Cameron is county boy, it’s as simple as that.

We stayed down the rode at the Journey’s End Lodge, a 16-room lodge located on a horse ranch. It was actually a very nice place, and cheap at only $65.00 a night. But it was well kept up, a nice pool, and the owners were very friendly. We’ll definitely be back.

After the wedding, we headed down to Lake Cumberland where Dorene’s parents have a cabin. We spent three days down there and Anna was surprised to no end by the appearance of one of her friends, Abigail. Abigail and her mom, Michelle and sister, Emma, visited from Tennessee. They at one time lived in South Bend but had since moved to Chicago, then Pennsylvania, and now Tennessee where Curt (the dad) works for Nissan. They drive a Ford minivan, but never mind. This is a wonderful family and we really miss them so it was really good to see them again, albeit for a very short time. We’ll have to make plans to visit them someday in Tennessee. They live just south of Nashville, so we can take in all the country music sites when we go there. Uh huh, yeah right. We’ll just go straight to their house.