the DronesClub	the smackdown	Fierce Creatures	Little Blenheim	Barmy in Wonderland	the dernier cri

The unpleasant, acrid smell of burnt poetry.
Young Men in Spats, 1936

June 2008	July 2008	Aug 2008	Sept 2008	Oct 2008	Nov 2008	Dec 2008
Jan 2009	Feb 2009	March 2009	April 2009	May 2009	June 2009	July 2009

 

July 31, 2008

Bat Manuel is Mayor of Gotham City!

9:14 p.m. - I've been listening to CDs while Jennifer naps. I haven't sat around listening to great Blues music like this in a long time. Muddy Water. Willie Dixon. Buddy Guy. Howlin' Wolf. Classics! And I've mixed it up with greats like Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, and a few out of left field like the King's Gravelands album and even Dick Dale and the Doors. It's all the music that Jennifer can't stand and will be quite glad to have missed.

Meanwhile. . . I just learned that the fellow who played the Mayor of Gotham City in The Dark Knight was none other than Nestor Carbonell. . . Bat Manuel. Talk about justice!

The dogs are still dead asleep. Jennifer got up a few moments ago and Gryffindor trotted out after her. He went ballistic, barking his wee head off at my shirt hanging on the window sill in the dark hallway, thinking it was a stranger in his home.

7:24 p.m. - The dogs went to the dentist this morning. I sure hated to leave them with the mean old Mr. Dentist for the day, but they did alright. Poor Arabella had to have two extractions for some teeth with exposed roots, so she's on pain killer and antibiotics. I gave them soft dog food, which they would normally fight each other to get, but Gryffindor barely ate his. And to add injustice to a long day for them, I let Percy and Arabella outside earlier, and forgot to let Arabella back in after dinner. Poor girl spent 30 minutes outside in a warm, humid evening wearing a fur coat. At least she's fast asleep now. All 3 dogs are past out right now. Gryffindor is with Jennifer, both sleeping in the cool guestroom right now.

July 30, 2008

10:09 p.m. - I filled up my gas tank on my way home from Lodge on Monday. Half a tank - or rather, just over 6 gallons - for $22. $3.59⁹/gallon. By God! It was like they were giving the stuff away at that price! It was like a veritable Renaissance around here. I almost had the gas-wallah fill up the swimming pool at that price. . . . Meanwhile, still no word from my insurance agent about a settlement for the windstorm. I am growing antsy, and want to begin the rehabilitation of the ol' homestead.

July 28, 2008

Ed has made new friends!

I already miss Jinxie!

9:55 p.m. - The Florence Lodge picnic was tonight. The usual guys were there and assorted significant others, but not J. She won't go to those things to save the earth from imminent disaster. I picked up a ton of fried chicken and potato salad, and everyone brought sides. We had a great evening in spite of obscene heat and humidity. We need to do this more often. I wish more people had come - that's what I get for not advertising it better online or the Masonic calendar - and I wound up giving away tons of soda, chicken, etc. We were at Cooper Farm for a good two hours or more, and its the perfect location for a picnic, in spite of the heat. Maybe I'll plan some kind of Christmas potluck as well for the Lodge. 

When I got home, I found that Jennifer had given Jinxie back to Jana and Jim. My sweet little doggie was gone! I was in tears when I found that my Jinxie was gone. My poor, playful Pekapoo went home, and now I only have three wonderful dogs. I already miss how she jumps on my lap for a tummy rub or stands on her hind legs and waves her paws.

 

July 27, 2008

10:24 p.m. - I was listening to a short interview with Matthew Weiner, the producer of Mad Men, and he said that since we've met the characters at Sterling Cooper in Season 1, we're going to "follow them home," and presumably learn a bit more about them. Perhaps that's so. The theme of the first episode was change - Don is at home with his wife, not catting around with Midge or Rachel. Peggy is doing well as a junior adman at Cooper Sterling. The company is changing, seeking younger writers to attract and retain new accounts. I was somewhat unimpressed with the first episode. I felt it was like little vignettes about the characters rather than their lives revolving around a unified theme for the episode. Think about the final episode of Season 1, where the events seem to circle around Draper's proposal for the Kodak carousel. Here, we see a few minutes here and there about Pete and Trudy Campbell, a moment about where to install the copy machine, a little bit about Joan getting felt up by her doctor boyfriend, and so on and so forth. I just didn't believe that the episode was cohesive. But I am supremely confident that the rest of the season will not disappoint. The final scene was Don Draper mailing Frank O'Hare's Meditations on an Emergency to some mystery person. Ah ha! That is what we've been expecting, and now we have to wait a week (or more) to find out to whom he was sending it!

8:39 p.m. - Quiet evening. We've been channel surfing and being generally lazy. I skipped dinner, and Jennifer is eating Ramen noodles. Yech. In twenty minutes, the first episode of Mad Men, season 2 starts on AMC. I can't wait! I've been waiting months for this!

Percy rolls around in the cool grass.

Jinxie enjoys the rawhide treats.

A feral Pekapoo defends the food bowl.

After a busy day, one very tired Pekapoo

7:08 p.m. - Yay Dark Knight!  Awesome movie. Heath Ledger's Joker is really deranged. I will give it my full attention in a later post, simply because I don't feel like writing a review on a scorching hot Sunday evening. We got home around 2:00ish, and Jennifer immediately went out for an hour with Julie to look at junk (um, I mean rare and beautiful treasures) at Goodwill. I spent the hour puttering around, doing some light straightening and playing with the dogs.

At 4:00, I took a 30 minute nap in the guest room, curled up with Arabella at my side. I spent the last hour watching the last episode of Ken Burns' Civil War documentary on PBS. Even after nearly 20 years, its still one of the best historical documentaries ever made. The dogs have been reasonably well-behaved this afternoon. Jinxie went on a growling fest while she was eating and Percy and Gryffindor watched from the sidelines. Earlier I gave Jinxie and Percy a rawhide, and they had a grand time chasing one another and taking the other's rawhide, and then starting over again to take the rawhide back from the other. At this moment, all 4 dogs are passed out on the floor upstairs.

Asterix, famed warrior of Gaul

8:03 a.m. - Jennifer is watching Rome on DVR, and remarked how they are constantly walking back and forth from Rome to Gaul or Germania. I would not have made a good Roman centurion unless I could take the Eurorail to conquer the Germanians. All this walking back and forth from Gaul to Rome and back to Spain or Gaul? No thanks.

Yesterday was uneventful. Jennifer went to the salon. I picked up my dry cleaning, drove all the way out to the Toyota dealer to have a fresh key cut since my car key and all the spares are so bent that you have to jiggle the key in the ignition for 5 minutes to get the car to start. Then I went to the pet store and spent way too much money on dog food for the pup pups and one of those obscenely expensive furminators, which is the best deshedding tool ever designed. Crookshanks loves getting groomed, and the furminator strips enough hair off that chunky gato to make a second or third cat out of the clippings.

Nothing of interest to report from Saturday evening. The town was not, sad to report, painted red. Jennifer left for work around 2:00, and I went down to the Scottish Rite at 4:00 to host a wedding. I got home at about 6:45, and Jennifer got home somewhat earlier. We ordered a pizza from Valentino's - tasty, but resulting in some evil, evil heartburn afterward - and then watched Friday's recorded episode of Doctor Who. I wish they'd put subtitles on the screen, because I honestly can't understand a word they say. We puttered around afterward, and then Jennifer went to lie down. Arabella and Jinxie got into a fight around 9:45, so I took Arabella into the other room with the intention of reading, but I think I immediately fell asleep for an hour with Arabella snoring at my side. I got up at a quarter 'til 11. Percy and Jinxie were fast asleep, so I took them out one more time and put them in their kennels, and then went back to bed.

 

Los Vecinos, repairing the cars in the yard. Charming.

July 26, 2008

9:18 a.m. - So. Last night we went over to Mom's house to watch The Bourne Ultimatum, which I always enjoy. I think I went to bed around midnight. Got up at 7:00 this morning to find that Jinxie had beshit her kennel and then smeared it all over. I suspect she ate some of our dogs' food, which disagreed with her wee stomach. I took them out, and while I was thus engaged, Crookshanks knocked over a mason jar full of water in the bedroom. Little beast! It took me a good twenty minutes to wipe her kennel clean and then take it outside to hose down.

I spent an hour this morning trimming that tree branch that fell last Sunday. It is humid, but not obscenely hot. In about another hour, it will be both hot and humid, so I figured I might as well cut that branch apart before it would be too uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Crookshanks used that time to throw up downstairs and Jinxie (I suspect) again befouled upstairs.

Right now I am catching my breath before embarking on the day's errands. The dogs are all playing quiet upstairs, with both Jinxie and Gryffindor at my feet.

 

July 25, 2008

4:45 p.m. - The dogs play outside after work. Gryffindor and Jinxie enjoy lying in the sun.

a) Jinxie loves long, leonine stretches. b) She and Gryffindor "catch some rays" c) She makes her self right at home!

Jinxie pounces on Arabella while the boys look on.

2:03 p.m. - Jinxie is a very affectionate girl, and loves jumping in my lap for a pet. When she gets excited, she'll stand on her hind legs and bat her paws in the air. Adorable! 

Percy and Gryffindor have been very good with her, but Arabella doesn't like having another hen in the coop. Arabella is probably 2 or 3 pounds bigger, but when when she growls at Jinxie, Jinxie fights back and Arabella runs and hides. I can't tell which dog instigates the fights between Jinxie and Arabella, but Jinxie is the clear winner. In this picture, Jinxie is the aggressor. They were fighting - not engaging in any other kind of illicit activity which you might be thinking of. And boys being boys, Gryffindor and Percy happily watch the girls fight. I hate having to separate the dogs, but to keep everyone safe, I've been keeping Jinxie in her kennel during the days when I'm at work.

 

July 24, 2008

4:15 p.m. - After a few days of triple digit growth, the ol' Dow took a nose dive, falling 283 points today. Scary, when a well-earned, comfortable retirement is so damn near.

10:11 a.m. - It's raining outside. The dogs are wet and muddy, squiggling and squirming around in the car on the way to the vet, and they all want to ride in Daddy's lap. And I'm wearing a freshly pressed white shirt. Or at least, I was wearing a freshly pressed white shirt. Now it has little brown doggy paw prints on it like some perverse 1960s-era printed wallpaper. Taking the dogs to the vet is like an endurance contest. They all want to sit on my lap and then they want to roam around sniffing, meeting, fighting with, or barking at the other dogs or cats there. Arabella keeps slipping out of her collar, and it's like trying to hold Cerberus at bay. They did really well with Dr. Cory. He is a prince among veterinarians, and relaxes the pets with his easy-going manner. All the puppies are healthy and have their shots. On the downside, it's $450 worth of shots and doctor's expertise - and another $500 for their dental cleaning next week. I was just getting used to being largely debt free. Sigh. . . I guess they are worth it. 

Jon Hamm as Don Draper on AMC's Mad Men

Meanwhile, we are watching Jinxie until next Tuesday. She has been very well behaved, and made it through the night without whining or crying. I thought she'd be a crier since she's in a new environment, but she did very well. I shall hate to give her back. Maybe I'll substitute Percy for her. 

Thus Sunday is the first episode of Mad Men, season 2. I can't wait. I read a pre-season review that they flash forward about two years to 1962. Maybe they'll reveal more about Don Draper and his mysterious past. 

Otherwise. . . nothing major of note. Still waiting for the insurance guys to settle up with me before I engage any contractors for painting and repair from the windstorm, last month. I can't believe it has been nearly a month. Apparently fast turnaround is not the insurance company's mantra, but I guess they are very busy with all the claims and storms. No matter. It will get done. I'm more frustrated that the fence company hasn't come by to repair the fence yet. 

July 23, 2008

Meet Jinxie, a very friendly, affectionate girl

8:52 p.m. - We are dog-sitting a friend's pekapoo Jinxie, and I am watching Percy, Arabella, and Jinxie. Except for a small amount of snapping between the dogs, they have been relatively well behaved. Arabella swings between snarling at Jinxie and fearing her (Jinxie is smaller than Arabella), and Gryffindor is more curious about this new dog, although he occasionally gets snappy and needs a time out. All in all, they are very well behaved. Jinxie is a very affectionate dog. Percy has his rawhide treat right now, so he could care less about any dogs in the room. I am afraid to leave them together all day, so I am going to crate Jinxie downstairs while Percy and Arabella remain in the room upstairs. Gryffindor usually curls up on his pillow downstairs, so he won't bother Jinxie.

Meanwhile, another evening. Jennifer has, of course, gone to bed already. She made me run to the store to get her chicken fingers. After dinner, she played on the computer while I watched an episode of Mad Men, and then she retired to bed to talk to a neighbor around 8:30. We used to sit out on the porch and play Chinese checkers on a nice evening like this. Who knew a quiet evening could become an obscenely boring one?

July 21, 2008

What a beautiful thing to wake up and find in one's backyard. Thanks, los Vecinos, for keeping your trees trimmed!

8:10 a.m. - I love waking up to surprises! I found another tree branch from my neighbor's tree had fallen on my fence. It amazes me that they seem to have an endless supply of money for beer (pardon me, cervesa), but they can't keep their damned tree trimmed whatsoever. I'll have to spend some $800 and have their goram tree trimmed myself to prevent more branches from falling into my yard, and becoming my problem, both de facto and de jure. Their last tree branch which fell during the June 27 windstorm will cost me $1,000 in repairs to my fence. How much more will their neglect cost me? 

Their yard is strewn with weeds, debris, litter, stray cats feasting on the garbage, overturned lawn furniture, and beer bottles. They park on their lawn and let their trash pile up. The damage from that fire last month and wind damage will never get repaired, and it looks disgusting. I suspect it will bring down my property value. I wonder if having a stern talk with them will do any good whatsoever?

 

July 20, 2008

7:58 p.m. - Still little to report, True Believers. It has been a hot, quiet weekend. We didn't do much Friday evening. On Saturday, I went down to Scottish Rite and helped dig a few ditches for a sprinkler system on the north side by the fountain. It didn't take too long, and for the amount of better labor already there than myself, I may as well have gone to the Gretna parade.

On Saturday, we wound up driving and driving and driving on a quest for a Chinese buffet. We didn't find what we were looking for until we found some place way out at 144th and Maple. I stopped by Office Depot and paid too much for a new keyboard for the computer since our old one crapped out on us sometime last week. Then we looked in on Tom's antiques and Jennifer fell immediately in love with a milk glass table that looked like it was from an ice cream parlor or a pharmacy. Tom had it in his office for 30 years, rejected tons of offers, and finally decided to part with it to clear some of his inventory. Perfect timing! Jennifer loved it, and we came back for it on Sunday. It was heavy as hell to move! We have it as a coffee table of sorts in the living room, and as soon as we get some chairs, we'll put them on either side of the table.

We've been pretty lazy today. We had an early lunch of grilled burgers. I took a short 20 minute nap and then we picked up the table from Tom's. After we got the table, we watched did a bit of cleaning upstairs, some laundry, and watched a TV show I recorded on Friday. I took another 30 minute nap and then grilled some of those awful tenderized steaks. I think the humidity has wiped me out - I have been exhausted all day. After dinner, I found that I had missing a Mad Men marathon on AMC, so I've been watching that since about 6:30 and Jennifer has been watching television in the other room.

July 17, 2008

10:03 p.m. - Yes, I know I haven't updated my 'blog in a few days. I haven't done anything of interest. Tonight we took Mom out to Ruby Tuesday. We would have gone to see Dark Knight, but Jennifer did not want to stay out late, drive through the rain, and deal with a movie-going crowd of fanboys and screaming toddlers. We'll go when the first night crowds have died down a bit. Still struggling through this cold, though its nowhere near as bad as it was last week.

July 11, 2008

9:14 p.m. - Jennifer is, again, not feeling well, and immediately went to bed after dinner, and I've been watching TV upstairs with the dogs. Still on Day 6 of sniffly, sneezing, and coughing. I'm bored out of my mind right now. Even Fridays are mind numbingly boring nowadays.

July 10, 2008

No, this isn't the kitchen of the restaurant!

7:23 p.m. - I am still sniffly, if not even more so. I think I've gone through 3 or 4 boxes of kleenex. Yech. We went out for Chinese for dinner this evening. It must be 90° outside, so Jennifer is cooling off by lying in bed, and I'm puttering around upstairs. Percy is working on his rawhide treat and Arabella is having a grand time playing with her rubber ball

July 9, 2008

7:22 a.m. - I slept much better last night (which is a relative term, since I toss and turn, and if properly diagnosed, probably have wicked sleep apnea), but I am still sniffly. At least my throat isn't as sore as it was Sunday and Monday.

July 8, 2008

7:35 p.m. - Still down among the wines and spirits. Sniffly. Sneezing. Coughing. Sore throat.

July 7, 2008

2:16 p.m. - Ugh. I still feel rotten today. Took the day off to rest. I didn't sleep a wink last night with this sore throat, and my own snoring kept waking me up. I have a runny nose, sore throat, headache, and all the trimmings of a nice summer cold. I watched some TV this morning and just took a nap. Unfortunately, sick or not, I have Lodge tonight and I have to be there to vote on the By Laws changes. And of course, I get some last minute questions that need answering or they could threaten to derail the vote. I can't wait to hand over the reins to the Lodge to someone else and retire to the noble mass of "past masters."

July 6, 2008

4:12 p.m. - I hate the end of a long weekend. I am feeling rotten today - sore throat, run down and tired. I think I have the beginnings of a cold brewing. It's been a quiet Sunday. Jennifer slept in and then went to work. I have been puttering around the house today, doing some cleaning here and there, a bit of vacuuming, sweeping, laundry, and general tidying up. For the first time in a while, I can sit at my desk without having to push aside a massive pile of detritus. At least its a fairly quiet afternoon - hot and humid outside. The dogs are all curled up in little furry balls, fast asleep.

July 5, 2008

9:02 a.m. - Happy Fourth of July! Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. It's so American! I love seeing the flag flapping in the breeze, enjoying the weather - and it couldn't have been more perfect yesterday - the fireworks, parades, and cooking out. We started the day with the Field Club parade around Woolworth Avenue, which is a lot of fun. I always enjoy picking up threads with friends and neighbors you run into, and the home made costumes and 'floats' are ingenious. I love watching the kids go around the block in decorated wagons or marching dressed as Uncle Sams or Statues of Liberty. We took Percy and he was very well behaved. Gryffindor wouldn't have been nearly as good, and Arabella would have been terrified. Jennifer's sinus infection is raging like a little Battle of Antietam in her head, but she went like a good trooper and I think she enjoyed watching the kids scramble for the candy they throw and all the other fun. She really wants a 1991 Nissan Figaro to ride in the parade next year. I put pictures up here.

I picked up some groceries at Baker's and grilled hotdogs for lunch. I'll grill burgers later today. After a huge lunch, we were really, really lazy. Jennifer played on the computer and I tried watching television. That lasted about 15 minutes. I went to read and nearly immediately fell asleep. Jennifer wound up taking a short nap herself.

Waste Allocation Load Lifter - Earth class. Or Wall-E for short.

We met Julie and Cindy at about 3:30 or 4:00 and went to see Wall-e at the AMC. I enjoyed the movie considerably, but I am not certain if it lived up to the rave reviews the critics gave it. It was enjoyable, had a great plot, and certainly proved that the people at Pixar have a greater imagination and extraordinary ability to tell the story. In their universe, the world has become a giant trash heap. Humans have left their mess behind to be cleaned up by robots, who have been building giant skyscrapers made out of crushed cubes of garbage. Wall-e is the last of these robots, who lives a lonely, solitary existence with a pet cockroach (so much for the days of Jiminy Cricket), while collecting and puzzling over trash from our past like zippo lighters and rubiks cubes. Humans live in on a giant cruise liner spaceship, but have become lazy, fat blobs who zip around on floating hover chairs, weighted on hand and foot by a comic assortment of robots. But as much as we enjoy the underlying message about our throwaway, disposable, sybaritic culture which has become dominated by a Wal-Mart clone called Buy-n-Large, I always want some good solid laughs for my gold, and pound for pound, I enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, or for that matter, the Incredibles, Ratatouille, and Shark Tales more.

Afterward, Jennifer, Julie, and Cindy went to China Palace for dinner. I wasn't hungry, so I stayed home and relaxed. Around 9:00, we went to Kennefick Park and watched the fireworks over Rosenblatt Stadium. Jennifer and I don't have many traditions, but this is one of my favorite things we do each year, and I shall be very sorry when the Rosenblatt fireworks move to the new stadium downtown in a few years.

Not much to report as of yet this Saturday morning. Jennifer is still fast asleep, and Percy and Arabella are both passed out like little bearskin rugs on the floor beside me. It's gray and overcast outside, and looks like - surprise! - rain.

July 2, 2008

Arabella is the spokesdog for Mugatu's new fashion line Derelict. Jennifer's motto: Arabella advocates recycling

8:53 p.m. - Small weather scare. Right as I was about to head home, the rain began pouring down with pea-sized hail. I thought it was going to be a repeat of last Friday night. Jennifer said the Gardens had a power outage. We still don't have groceries, so we ordered a Papa John pizza for dinner. Ech. Fortunately, Dad came by at 6:00 and brought us some of the foods he rescued from our freezer on Sunday, so we have real foods again. . . . Otherwise, quiet Wednesday evening. Jennifer watched Doctor Who on YouTube, and I watched a bit of television and then took a well-earned nap.

July 1, 2008

8:52 p.m. - Nothing new to add. Since we still have nothing in the fridge, I called for Chinese take-out, which was okay. Good, not great. If you were starving, that particular Chinese restaurant would be fantastic, but when you weren't as hungry as you thought you were, it's only so-so. Jennifer's sinuses are giving her the major elbow, so she went to bed early and I'm left puttering around, watching television, and generally loafing about the house this evening.

9:53 a.m. - Who'd've thunk it? The year is half over. Where has 2008 gone? Now that we have our beautiful, sweet, wonderful electricity back, we turned the air on to about 69° and basked in the sweet air conditioning. It was wonderful! This "roughing it" thing is definitely not for me. You really don't appreciate how great the wonders of the modern age are until you don't have it.

Late summer evenings sound good on paper, but when you don't have electric lights, it gets dark mighty fast, and no amount of candles provide the necessary light to read. Opening all the windows feels good, but when there is no breeze, it gets might hot and stuffy inside. And when you can only consume the kinds of food that don't spoil and don't require much for cooking, your choices are mighty limited. A Victorian house is nice, but thank goodness it has the modern amenities!

We're still waiting to hear from the insurance-wallah before we can begin making repairs, but hopefully by August, all this will be a distant memory.