Friday, March 25, 2011
The Prequel to Episode 1 of the New Season of Doctor Who
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Captain America coming this summer
Now that the technology has made it possible to show just about anything on a movie screen and make it halfway believable if done correctly, they can finally make a descent Captain America movie. The first full trailer is out, and it looks good (and faithful to the comic origins!):
There’s a half-second shot of Red Skull unmasking in it, so of course I paused it and took a screen shot!
Ohh, creepy!
There’s a half-second shot of Red Skull unmasking in it, so of course I paused it and took a screen shot!
Ohh, creepy!Monday, March 21, 2011
Another week, another post...
Man, I've got to post more often than once a week! Hopefully things are relaxing a bit and I'll have more to say.
In the meantime though... here's another weekend recap!
Friday night the Caps beat the Devils 3-0, so that was awesome.
Saturday... Oh, I finally installed the room-darkening shades in the kid's room (so I hope he'll start sleeping in there soon!). I measured incorrectly on one of the windows and the shade was an inch too long! I went to the store with the receipt just in case and asked them to cut another inch off. The woman looked at it for a second, then grabbed a new one and cut it to the correct length, explaining that you can't make a straight second cut. But I wasn't charged for my stupidity, so yay!
Saturday for lunch we went to BGR. It was not inexpensive, but we've been wanting to try it, and L. said it was the best veggie burger she's ever had. High praise! I'd easily put the burger I had in the top 5 burgers I've ever had.
Saturday afternoon L. had to make a few dishes for a potluck she was attending at a friend's house, so the kid and I went out for a while. Saturday night kid and I hung out while wife went to her girls' night dinner party. Kid dropped off to sleep at 8:30 (and awakened at 10:30 screaming until I got him back to sleep), but I managed to do something I hadn't done since last September! Know what it was? Take a guess.
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I finished a book! Holy moly! I can't believe it! That was one relaxing evening. No TV, just me in a comfy chair with a book. And a dog or two and at least one cat stopping by now and then for pets.
Sunday we we went to a good Mexican restaurant for lunch, then all three of us took a nap. That was rare and much appreciated!
Sunday
In the meantime though... here's another weekend recap!
Friday night the Caps beat the Devils 3-0, so that was awesome.
Saturday... Oh, I finally installed the room-darkening shades in the kid's room (so I hope he'll start sleeping in there soon!). I measured incorrectly on one of the windows and the shade was an inch too long! I went to the store with the receipt just in case and asked them to cut another inch off. The woman looked at it for a second, then grabbed a new one and cut it to the correct length, explaining that you can't make a straight second cut. But I wasn't charged for my stupidity, so yay!
Saturday for lunch we went to BGR. It was not inexpensive, but we've been wanting to try it, and L. said it was the best veggie burger she's ever had. High praise! I'd easily put the burger I had in the top 5 burgers I've ever had.
Saturday afternoon L. had to make a few dishes for a potluck she was attending at a friend's house, so the kid and I went out for a while. Saturday night kid and I hung out while wife went to her girls' night dinner party. Kid dropped off to sleep at 8:30 (and awakened at 10:30 screaming until I got him back to sleep), but I managed to do something I hadn't done since last September! Know what it was? Take a guess.
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I finished a book! Holy moly! I can't believe it! That was one relaxing evening. No TV, just me in a comfy chair with a book. And a dog or two and at least one cat stopping by now and then for pets.
Sunday we we went to a good Mexican restaurant for lunch, then all three of us took a nap. That was rare and much appreciated!
Sunday
Monday, March 14, 2011
Weekend
Trying to remember this weekend. Hmmmm... Friday... Caps game on TV. They beat Carolina, keeping their streak going! Then we watched Fringe. L and I like the X-Files aspects of the show, and even the relationship between the FBI agent Olivia and the dude Peter is okay. But L finds the whole "Two universes are in danger of destroying each other" arc tedious. I hope it gets a fourth season, or there will be a LOT of story left to tell that will just get dropped.
Saturday morning we went to our first monthly "Giggles and Wiggles" play group, held at a church two blocks from our house. The second story of one of the church buildings is a HUGE open room with a gym-type floor. It's open for children age birth to five, and our boy was the youngest there by at least eight months. He can't even crawl yet, so there wasn't much chance for him to interact with the other kids (there were at least 20 other children, running around, riding bikes and pedal cars [I told you the room was HUGE]) but he loves to people watch anyway, so he had a great time observing all the kids, and many of the kids would stop and look at him too. He also had a good time with a Nerf ball and a toy truck.
Saturday morning we went to our first monthly "Giggles and Wiggles" play group, held at a church two blocks from our house. The second story of one of the church buildings is a HUGE open room with a gym-type floor. It's open for children age birth to five, and our boy was the youngest there by at least eight months. He can't even crawl yet, so there wasn't much chance for him to interact with the other kids (there were at least 20 other children, running around, riding bikes and pedal cars [I told you the room was HUGE]) but he loves to people watch anyway, so he had a great time observing all the kids, and many of the kids would stop and look at him too. He also had a good time with a Nerf ball and a toy truck.
After the play time (during which, oddly enough, none of the other parents spoke to us beyond "hello." I mean, I know the point is to let the children blow off some energy, but isn't that kind of strange? True, we were stuck in one place with a baby, so we couldn't approach other parents, but still, weird...) we went to get H some clothes. He's outgrown so many things that he's in 6-9 months clothes now.
He's showing so much personality now. For the first few months if he wasn't attached to a boob or sleeping I was changing his diaper. Well, I still change his diaper, but when I get home from work he looks toward me and smiles and starts flapping his arms. It's awesome.
Saturday night we watched The Spy Next Door, the latest inoffensive piece of family-friendly junk by Jackie Chan. I don't begrudge a former action star altering his M.O. as he ages, but I wish the scripts were better.
And then we lost an hour thanks to DST. The bonus for that is that the kid is sleeping an hour later and doesn't realize it. That won't last more than a few days, but it's nice.
Sunday I took the kid to Target (EXCITING) and got baby supplies. Then there was a 12:30 pm Caps game against the defending Stanley Cup champions the Chicago Blackhawks, and they beat them in overtime! The game included a sweet short-handed goal (meaning the Caps scored even with one fewer man on the ice!) so it was a great game. I held the boy in his sling and we watched the last period together standing in front of the TV.
Sunday night I went to pick up Chinese food for dinner and due to losing an hour the previous night it seems like Boom! All of a sudden it was bed time.
Bonus pic: Sitting up for over 30 minutes without falling over is tiring!
In between all these events I finished the laundry (and putting it away), washed the sheets and remade the bed, cleaned the kitchen, added items to my iPod, etc. There are still things on my "to do" list (like lopping off that giant tree limb that is hanging in the area between our and the neighbors' houses on the tree no one has made a claim to, but he's obviously never going to do anything about it, and install the room darkening shades in the baby's room) but I'm learning to live a bit and take time to spend with family and let the other things slide for now.
The hardest thing for me to adjust to with this kid is not being able to knock everything off the "to do" list as items come up. But the little guy needs my attention and in the long run he (and I) will remember the times we played more than any chore I completed. I'm learning to chill.
He's showing so much personality now. For the first few months if he wasn't attached to a boob or sleeping I was changing his diaper. Well, I still change his diaper, but when I get home from work he looks toward me and smiles and starts flapping his arms. It's awesome.
Saturday night we watched The Spy Next Door, the latest inoffensive piece of family-friendly junk by Jackie Chan. I don't begrudge a former action star altering his M.O. as he ages, but I wish the scripts were better.
And then we lost an hour thanks to DST. The bonus for that is that the kid is sleeping an hour later and doesn't realize it. That won't last more than a few days, but it's nice.
Sunday I took the kid to Target (EXCITING) and got baby supplies. Then there was a 12:30 pm Caps game against the defending Stanley Cup champions the Chicago Blackhawks, and they beat them in overtime! The game included a sweet short-handed goal (meaning the Caps scored even with one fewer man on the ice!) so it was a great game. I held the boy in his sling and we watched the last period together standing in front of the TV.
Sunday night I went to pick up Chinese food for dinner and due to losing an hour the previous night it seems like Boom! All of a sudden it was bed time.
Bonus pic: Sitting up for over 30 minutes without falling over is tiring!In between all these events I finished the laundry (and putting it away), washed the sheets and remade the bed, cleaned the kitchen, added items to my iPod, etc. There are still things on my "to do" list (like lopping off that giant tree limb that is hanging in the area between our and the neighbors' houses on the tree no one has made a claim to, but he's obviously never going to do anything about it, and install the room darkening shades in the baby's room) but I'm learning to live a bit and take time to spend with family and let the other things slide for now.
The hardest thing for me to adjust to with this kid is not being able to knock everything off the "to do" list as items come up. But the little guy needs my attention and in the long run he (and I) will remember the times we played more than any chore I completed. I'm learning to chill.
Sunday, March 06, 2011
POST 1,200!
Holy moly, this is my 1,200th post! Technically there were more, as I begin my blogging adventure on Mblog, I believe it was called, and they closed up their site over one weekend and offered to sell me my archives for $40. I passed. But that was where I ran into Grrface, so something good came out of it. That was in... 2004? Wow! We've been blog buds for over six years. And that led to Kate, who has a career in the editorial field as well. My interest in geeky things like action figures and comics led me to both De and Mock. They're all linked in my sidebar to the left as well. In fact, they may be the only people who ever read what I write, so it's like my blog is a cul-de-sac on the information superhighway. But it's a nice cul-de-sac, where the neighbors are friendly!
I feel like this should be a long, newsy post, but the kid is snoozing and I have a rare moment to organize stuff on my iTunes and I can't resist.
The kid is getting bigger all the time:
He loves this thing, and so do we because it keeps him happy and occupied!
The Washington Capitals game on Thursday was awesome. Big win for the team! And they played this afternoon in Florida and won as well, so they're on a four-game winning streak, and today they officially reclaimed the top spot in their division!
Oh, and to answer your question, Mock, my wife's sister and her husband came down with their SUV today and we went over and got the chair! It's in our house now. Meanwhile, the sofa that I dragged to the curb Saturday morning is now in the garage, because although I posted on Freecycle and our neighborhood listserv, not a single person wanted it. I had to move it alone, lifting one side and swinging it around, then moving to the other end and repeating the process 18 times. Sheesh! And of course it's been raining ever since last night! We went to Maggiano's for lunch after loading everything up. Very good Italian food.
Oh, and my wife's aunt also had a box of records she said I could take. I crossed my fingers and tossed it in the car. When I got home I sorted them. About 70% is going to Goodwill, but the others... well, that's a blog post in itself! I'll say this about two of them: One was a record released only in England, Austria, and Japan in 1966. Another is by The King of Rock-n-Roll and includes a lyric sheet in two languages... :-), though one of the languages is native to a country he never visited.
Now to sync my iPod, catch Chopped All-Stars, and try to get some sleep before the kid wakes up in the middle of the night (because he probably will!!!)
Have a great week everyone. Here's to the next 1,200!
I feel like this should be a long, newsy post, but the kid is snoozing and I have a rare moment to organize stuff on my iTunes and I can't resist.
The kid is getting bigger all the time:
He loves this thing, and so do we because it keeps him happy and occupied!The Washington Capitals game on Thursday was awesome. Big win for the team! And they played this afternoon in Florida and won as well, so they're on a four-game winning streak, and today they officially reclaimed the top spot in their division!
Oh, and to answer your question, Mock, my wife's sister and her husband came down with their SUV today and we went over and got the chair! It's in our house now. Meanwhile, the sofa that I dragged to the curb Saturday morning is now in the garage, because although I posted on Freecycle and our neighborhood listserv, not a single person wanted it. I had to move it alone, lifting one side and swinging it around, then moving to the other end and repeating the process 18 times. Sheesh! And of course it's been raining ever since last night! We went to Maggiano's for lunch after loading everything up. Very good Italian food.
Oh, and my wife's aunt also had a box of records she said I could take. I crossed my fingers and tossed it in the car. When I got home I sorted them. About 70% is going to Goodwill, but the others... well, that's a blog post in itself! I'll say this about two of them: One was a record released only in England, Austria, and Japan in 1966. Another is by The King of Rock-n-Roll and includes a lyric sheet in two languages... :-), though one of the languages is native to a country he never visited.
Now to sync my iPod, catch Chopped All-Stars, and try to get some sleep before the kid wakes up in the middle of the night (because he probably will!!!)
Have a great week everyone. Here's to the next 1,200!
Wednesday, March 02, 2011
Checking in from Deep 13.
Sarlacc Pit (ask Grrface).
This has been happening in my life:
This has been happening in my life:
- Kid simply will not sleep through the night. And he's not particularly grumpy about it! He cried last night at 3:30am and I picked him up and took him into the other room and he looked perfectly calm, like he was waiting for a bus. But he didn't look drowsy at all. I had to walk around with him for 30 minutes before he finally fell asleep. And then he was up with me at 6am.
- A friend asked if I wanted to go to a Caps game tomorrow night. Heck yes. That should be fun.
- We're meeting that same friend for dinner this Saturday night.
- My wife's aunt has a chair she offered to us, and my wife wants it. We are going to visit this aunt this afternoon after work. I said to the wife we could bring an old sheet and some rope and tie the chair to the rack on top of her car (It's certainly capable. I hauled a class-top patio table that way). She said "No, we have lots of family with SUVs. We'll borrow one sometime from them." Again, we are going to see this woman(and see the chair) this evening. Why make a second trip later (plus the time to go borrow and return an SUV from someone) to get this chair? Wife said I'm always in "Now, now now" mode. I said why do I want this chore hanging over me when I can knock it out today? I've always been that way. Let's get this crap done so we can relax later. Scratch it off the "to do" list, dammit!
- Charlie Sheen is like a slow motion bus crash. I can't look away. I never watched his show (and was shocked to learn it had such amazing ratings, and that he was the highest paid actor on television!), but his interviews are so bizarre. He's clearly on something but proclaims he's cured himself with his own mind; that dying is for losers; that he has tiger blood and Adonis DNA. It actually reminds me of an interview I watched once of Charles Manson (interviewed by Geraldo Rivera). I'm glad his kids are out of that house now, but I can't pretend to take the moral high ground and say I'm not going to watch or read about any weird ass things he does and says.I wish people on Facebook understood that by posting (and then having a 30-comment conversation) about how they wish Sheen would go away they're still having a discussion about Charlie Sheen. It's just wrapped in an annoyed pretext of "I'm better than that. I don't care to hear about such things."
