Halloween Pictures

Amy and I had our friend Dave over for dinner and to work the door for trick or treaters. We had a good time, enjoyed a good meal and we hung out front from 7 to about 8. We then went down to Winston's to play trivia with Dave and Charlie. We were in 6th place before the final bonus and we moved up to fourth. A lot of people dressed up at the bar and they had a costume contest that seemed like I was popular as a Ghostbuster, but I did not win. :(

Wordless Wednesday #29 - Pixel Revisited

Enough Already NBC

Ever have an opportunity to purchase something (a good or a service) and decide that you will NEVER buy it because the manufacturer/provider has committed SEVERE advertising overkill?

Have you turned on a TV to NBC in the past two weeks? We watch a few of their prime time shows, ER, Chuck, Las Vegas, Heroes. Do you remember Seinfeld? I never got into Seinfeld. The characters pretty-much annoyed me, so I have seen a few episodes here and there. It seemed like people watched it because they would not be cool if they didn't.

So, Jerry Seinfeld brought in a lot of money for NBC in ad revenue for his show. The show is over and he needs a push for his current project, a cartoon movie called Bee Movie.

Every other commercial break they are trying to plug the movie with longer-than-normal commercials, and they have graphic pop-ups all during their shows.

It is overkill. If I had any interest in the Bee Movie it is now gone (I never really did). Does anyone agree?

Speaking of French Toast

If you look at the next post down, you'll find a question regarding French Toast. I was thinking about it last night (the food, not just the question) and I decided I wanted to have some. So, on the way home from trivia, I stopped at the store to get some eggs and maple syrup. I knew we had adequate bread, but I suspected Amy had thrown out the syrup in the pantry because we use it so seldom and it was probably pretty old.

So I set the alarm this morning for 7:30, knowing that Amy would be home from work shortly after 7:30, and I set about making French Toast. I haven't made it in years, but honestly it is not hard at all, so I had it waiting when Amy got home and we enjoyed breakfast together before she went upstairs to take her nap.

While Amy slept I watched some recorded TV, last night's Chuck and Heroes, and the end of last week's Las Vegas. I knew Amy wanted to get up around 12:30-1, so I set about making us lunch. It really felt like a day for soup. It was in the mid-30's when we woke up this morning. I noticed some frost on the lawn and on the neighbor's house. So I made some soup for us and some grilled cheese sandwiches. Amy had no idea, so when she got downstairs I had lunch all laid out and we have now settled in for the afternoon watching Scream 3 (Halloween is tomorrow as you know).

Monday Trivia and a Logical Question

Amy had to work tonight, and though I was tired after working a turnaround closing shift Sunday and opening today, I went out to play today with our church small group.



We were in 6th place at the midpoint, and leading by 3 points at the end of regulation. We bid 0 on the final bonus and won 2nd place by 1 point. A team with 46 got all 15 and passed us for first.



The final bonus was this - According to the newly updated top 100 American films of all time (as ranked by the American Film Institute), two actors (male) each appear in 6 movies on the list. Name either of these two actors. Most of our team thought we had to name both, so we bet 0, had they known it was one fo the two we would have bet and won with Robert Deniro. The other answer was Jimmy Stewart. I have not looked for the AFI list, but I imagine the Deniro films are Godfather II, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, Raging Bull, and Taxi Driver. We discussed Stewart and had Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Rearr Window, and It's a Wonderful Life.



The fun question (which I got right for us) was on music videos. Name the top 10 song by Wham, for which the video was the first music video by a Western band to be shot in China.

Now for my general logical question, regarding French toast.



If you go to Paris and order toast, do they bring you the bread dipped in egg and grilled, or do they bring you toasted bread with butter and fruit spreads? If it's not the egg stuff, what do you call or request each one?

Prayers for Comfort

This week we have two friends who lost loved ones.

My friend Chris McClure lost his mother on Wednesday. Debra was 49 years old and had been struggling with poor health for as long as I've known Chris (we met at Chick-fil-a as co-workers in 2004). The funeral was this morning and fortunately my old boss from Chick-fil-a called me yesterday to tell me about the death. This morning I found the obituary online and realized I had time to make it to the other side of Atlanta and attend the service. Chris was genuinely surprised and seemed very grateful that I made the effort to attend. Sadly and coincidentally it was at the same funeral home that my brother's friend Hal's wife's funeral was back in 2004.

The other death to report was of my sister-in-law's grandfather. This is my brother's wife's mother's father. They knew that this death was imminent as well as he had recently had numerous cancers diagnosed and his prognosis had been reduced from Christmas to Thanksgiving, to any day .

So please lift up the McClure/Wright family and the Bradshaw family. Tim (my brother), Mery and Basil are traveling to Charleston today for the service tomorrow. They'll be making the return trip on Tuesday, so please pray for them as they travel (with a 2-year-old) and comfort for the loss.

Justice Served

Well, the court system finally got one right.

This afternoon a Georgia man, Genarlow Wilson, was freed from prison after the courts ruled his sentence for a 2003 "crime" was cruel and unusual.

Here are the basics.

New Year's Eve 2003 Wilson is at a hotel room party with a bunch of other teens. He is filmed receiving oral sex from a 15 year old girl. At the time, he is 17.

Based on a poorly-written Georgia law, he has committed the crime of Aggravated Child Molestation. They are two years apart in age. The girl involved consented to the act. Despite the consent, but because of the age difference, Genarlow is convicted and sentenced to a MINIMUM 10 year prison sentence.

10 years of his life, and his opportunity to go to college are gone because he received oral sex from a fellow teen.

The state representative who authored the original bill has come out saying it was a mistake in how it was written. The law has since been amended, but that change did not cover Wilson's conviction and sentence retroactively, so if the same thing were to happen today, the 17 year old would not face a minimum 10 years.

This young man is free, and hopefully his life will continue with a modicum of normalcy. For more on the story, visit www.ajc.com

Friday Flashback #48 - Time

Welcome back to the Friday Flashback! It's been a lot of time, a year in fact since I started doing the flashbcak, and today we're taking a look at time. Our favorite Canadian is back, Bryan Adams' early hit "This Time." Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" which is getting to be one of the most-covered songs from the 80's. Did you know it was actually written by the Hooters? Culture Club (making their first appearance on the Flashback) with Time (clock of the heart). And finally, the song handed down from God himself to the greatest band in the world (according to Jay)! Morris Day and the Time with "Jungle Love."

Bryan Adams - This Time

Culture Club - Time (Clock of the Heart)

Cyndi Lauper - Time after Time

Morris Day and the Time - Jungle Love

Friday Feast #26

Appetizer - Name a great website you would recommend to others.
http://www.valtool.blogspot.com okay, if not my own... http://www.lordsofpain.net
Soup - On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 as highest), how often do you dream at night?
1, but I do have several dreams/fantasies during the day.
Salad - Did you have a pet as a child? If so, what kind and what was its name?
Several, all cats, George, Telouise, Gloves, Mittens, Smokey
Main Course -If you had the chance to star in a commercial, what would you choose to advertise?
A sports car, with ME driving it, not a "professional driver on closed course"
Dessert -What is your favorite kind of hard candy?
I don't know the name, but they are strawberry candies with a liquid center, the wrapper looks like a strawberry.

Thursday Thirteen #31




Thirteen Things about Michael 13 Favorite Lines from Ghostbusters! The bonus edition because I listed 22! 1. Tell him about the Twinkie. What about the Twinkie? 2. We came, we saw, we kicked it's ____! 3. Everything was fine until ____less here turned off the power to the containment system. Is this true? Yes sir, it's true, that man has no ____. 4. Would you like some coffee? Would I? Yes, have some. Yes, have some. 5. Ray, When someone asks you if you're a god, you say YES! 6. Nobody steps on a church in MY town! 7. We've been going about this all wrong, this Mr. Stay Puft's okay, he's a sailor, he's in New York, we get this guy laid we won't have any trouble. 8. Mother puss bucket! 9. It's different in the private sector. They expect results. 10. What are you guys, some kind of kosmonauts? No, we're exterminators. Someone saw a cockroach up on 5. Must be some cockroach. It'll bite your head off. 11. If there's a steady paycheck involved, I'll believe anything you tell me. 12. Do you want this body? Is that a trick question? 13. Gozer the Gozerian... good evening. As a duly designated representative of the City, County and State of New York, I order you to cease any and all supernatural activity and return forthwith to your place of origin or to the nearest convenient parallel dimension. 14. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no job is too big, no fee is too big! 15. All right, this chick is TOAST! 16. (to NYPD at the door) Dropping off or picking up? 17. Maybe now you'll never slime a guy with a positron collider, huh? 18. She's not my girlfriend. I find her interesting because she's a client and because she sleeps above her covers... *four feet* above her covers. She barks, she drools, she claws! 19. I want you inside me. It sounds like you've got at least two or three people in there already. 20. I'll take Miss Barret back to her apartment and check her out. (pause) I'll go check out Miss Barret's apartment. OK? 21. As they say in T.V., I'm sure there's one big question on everybody's mind, and I imagine you are the man to answer that. How is Elvis, and have you seen him lately? 22. Where do the stairs go? They go up. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)




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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Wordless Wednesday #28

Still Believe in Blueland

I wore my Thrashers jersey for the first time this season last night when we went to play trivia. The Thrashers were off last night, but today they had the first game in a two week road trip, and they WON!

Final score 5-4 after a 4-4 tie at the end of regulation. Ilya Kovlchuk scored the winning goal in a shootout and the Thrashers are now 2-7 for the season.

I'll mention my other team (in baseball) the Phillies started their season 4-11 and won their division, so anything is possible.

What's Your Name MEME

RULES: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...they have to be real places, names, things...nothing made up! You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

What is your name? Michael
4 letter word: More
Vehicle: Mustang
TV Show: Mork & Mindy
City: Memphis
Boy Name: Matthew
Girl Name: Marie
Alcoholic Drink: Margarita
Occupation: Mediator
Something you wear: MLB gear (Phillies jersey)
Celebrity: Matthew Fox
Food: Meatball sandwich
Something found in a bathroom: Magazines
Reason for Being late: morons in traffic
Cartoon Character: Megatron
Something You Shout: Mother Puss Bucket (when losing at cards)

Welcome to college

UConn scored its first points on Larry Taylor's controversial 74-yard punt return. With the Huskies down 7-0 and 13 minutes left in the third quarter, Taylor settled under a 45-yard punt and appeared to call for a fair catch at the Connecticut 26. Replays showed Taylor putting up his right hand, and Louisville players stopped their pursuit as soon as he caught the ball. But Taylor sprinted left, then down the sideline and the referees didn't stop the play.

Louisville coach Steve Kragthorpe called a timeout before the extra point in an effort to get the officials to take another look, but after a consultation, they said a fair-catch signal isn't reviewable.

The official definition of a fair-catch signal in the rule book calls for a player to raise his hand above his head and wave it back and forth more than once, something Taylor didn't do.

``That wasn't no fair catch, that was a fair play out there,'' Taylor said. ``The referee didn't call anything, he said it was a fair play. I felt I didn't fair catch it anyway.''

I imagine if I felt REALLY bored I could find out what major and GPA this Taylor guy has, but it really is not worth the effort, My guess is his major is dredlock-growing.

So if you want, begin the debate over colleges using sports programs to bring money to the school, allowing individuals with no business on a campus of higher learning to "earn" a degree.

Friday Flashback #47 - Fruity

Warrant - Cherry Pie

Bananarama - Venus

Prince - Raspberry Beret

California Raisins - Heard it Through the Grapevine

Friday Feast #25

Appetizer - If you were a dog, what breed would you be, and why?

A bulldog, because despite being ugly, the ladies still flock to them.

Soup - What does the color purple make you think of?

Eggplant, McDonald's Grimace

Salad - Approximately how long does it take you to get ready each morning?

Ready for what? My morning routine, 45-60 minutes depending how long I spend checking email and reading the news online.

Main Course - How many cousins do you have, and are you close to them?

More than I can count, and no, I'm not close to any of them. Just from immediate family, first cousins you would call them, 8, and they have 7 kids, and being Southern and Greek we should count my father's first cousins as cousins of mine so then it just increases exponentially.

Dessert - Take your initials (first, middle, last) and come up with something else those letters could stand for. (Example: SFO = Sweet Funny Otter)

MJC - Mostly Juvenile Carnivore

Good Deed

This morning as I was leaving for work I noticed the neighbor's cat sitting in the garage entrance.

This was weird because both cars were gone (they are teachers and leave early) and the garage door was open, thus allowing the cat to sit there.

So, I called my neighbor (we exchanged phone numbers last year after a tree fell between our houses while they were at work one day). Dave figures the door did not close when his wife left, so he gave me the code to do the keypad and get it shut for them, and I drove to work happy to have helped a neighbor.

Also, pray for Dave, he has a 2 y/o and a 5 y/o and on Monday while coaching football (he's a HS teacher) he was blindsided by 2 players and has most-likely torn his ACL (bad knee injury).

Blueland!

It only took 7 games, but the Atlanta Thrashers have their first victory of the year!

It comes, one day after the coach was fired.

It comes, ten games since their last win (last year).

It comes, against the team they last saw last year in the playoffs, having been swept in three straight games.

Lehtohnen is out for a long time with a groin injury at goal, but Johan Hedburg (with the very cool helmet/mask is doing well.

Thursday Thirteen #30

Thirteen Things about Mike Things I remember from the 1980's 1. The space shuttle explosion in 1986. 2. Lionel Richie performing "All Night Long" at the closing ceremonies of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. 3. A road trip to Pennsylvania to see family and visit a college for my brother in 1985. During the trip the day of the simulcast of "We Are the World" on every radio station in the USA was held. (also learned there are a LOT of bridges in Pittsburgh). 4. Being in 4th grade and hearing about President Reagan being shot. 5. Going to see Ghostbusters in the Summer of 1984 and running into a friend from my football team. (BTW I am dressing up as a ghostbuster for Halloween). 6. Going door to door selling home delivery subscriptions for USA Today in metro-Atlanta in 1982-1983. 7. Going on a weekend retreat in December of my Senior year of HS and "It Takes Two" by MC Rob Base and DJ E Z Rock being the song being played all weekend. 8. Going to game 2 of the 1980 World Series to see the Phillies beat the Royals! 9. Selling Krispy Kreme donuts on the street corner on Saturday mornings as a fund-raiser for a band trip. I sold enough to pay for my entire trip to Panama City Beach, Fl and have spending money too. 10. Going to my first rock cancert (with my brother) in 1985 - Hall & Oates. 11. Riding our bikes to the community pool and usually going over to the 7-11 to play video games while we were there. 12. Getting my first real job, working as a bagger at Kroger in 1987. 13. Going on a July 4th vacation in the early 80's staying in a cabin at Unicoi State park in Georgia. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Wordless Wednesday #27

Here we GROW again!

Last night I called my brother to let him know about the new pictures of our house on the blog, figuring that nephew Basil would like them. We talked for a bit and I heard Basil say something about pumpkins and scarecrows. Basil is almost 27 months old and talks up a storm now.

So we had a nice casual talk with Tim, and when I had to go to the restroom, he continued talking to Amy and the next thing I know I overhear them talking about the fact I am going to be an UNCLE FIVE TIMES OVER this May.

It's way too early to know if it's a baby brother or sister for Basil, but I expect they'll know ahead of time. Tim and Mery cheat that way!

It was good news and it inspired an exciting dream last night in which I was becoming a daddy to a beautiful dark-haired baby girl (not LynnMarie, but a natural daughter!).

Our House...in the Middle of the Street

So yesterday we went to Ellijay, GA for the Georgia Apple Festival. Ellijay is in the mountains, kinda Northwest of Atlanta and straight up I-575 from our house. It's a lot of the same vendors every year, but it's nice to see what they have made, to go up into the mountains, and to enjoy the Fall Festival food. Amy will be posting some pictures on her blog and/or the family blog shortly and you'll see the funnel cakes and roasted corn that were both yummy.

While we were up there we bought a yard sign that we had personalized and you can see it below along with other pictures of the house decorated. As you'll see in the first one, we have some color coming onto the trees in the back. Also we got some hay bales at Lowe's, some pumpkins from the church pumpkin patches, and our scarecrows that we have accumulated over the years.

Amy in front of the house with Lucy.

Our next-door neighbors the Reason's, Holly and Dave with baby Reagan and Griffin.

Our Fall Decorations.

Our decorations with Lloyd (the baby) and Cheney (the dog)

who live across from us in the cul-de-sac.

Our personalized sign.

While we were outside we saw the Reason's coming home from walking the dog and the baby and other neighbors and neighborhood kids came around so we had a very nice time talking with everyone and a bunch of the kids took pictures with our decorations, so our house was a hit!

Friday Flashback #46 - Blue

Debbie Gibson - Out of the Blue

Icehouse - Electric Blue

Elton John - Blue Eyes

Elton John - I guess that's why they call it the blues

Friday Feast #24

Appetizer - When was the last time you were surprised?
Last Wednesday (9 days back). We were at trivia (after the game) and a waitress at the pub was there (off duty) at the bar and I saw her flash the bartender.

Soup - Fill in the blanks: My eyes are ________, but I wish they were __________.
My eyes are damaged, but I wish they were perfect.

Salad - If you were a Beanie Baby, what would you look like and what would your name be?
I refuse to answer this question on the grounds that it may incriminate me.

Main Course - Name two things you consistently do that you consider to be healthy habits.
Release pent-up gases from within my body and express myself with the horn in my truck.

Dessert - What brand of toothpaste are you using these days? Do you like it? Why or why not?
Typically Crest. I like it. It is the brand I grew up using. (when I brush my teeth)

wicked defying gravity

Just because Amy and I love this musical so much, sorry Frigga and anyone else who can't watch videos.

We Won!

Trivia Tonight - our team was DAMM (Dave, Amy, Michael and Melanie), we added Charlie but did not have a way to work his name into the team acronym.

We came in first place, only missing one major question, but we had a 2 point lead going into the final bonus and we got it right. The question, At 238 minutes, this movie is the longest movie to ever win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The answer, Gone With the Wind.

Our one downfall was on the 2nd round bonus, which was, created in 1946, which of these inventions is the newest. Ball point pen, color TV, computer, or helicopter. No team got it right and we lost 8 points (we had been perfect until that point).

We had a good time, and we like having a bigger team again (Dave came to us from the team called the Drug Dealers, and Charlie is a friend of the hostess, and Melanie is a co-worker of Amy's)

Grace and the Photo Lab

We started a couple new things at church today including a 5-week course in order to join the church and a new sermon series to explore the fruits of the Spirit.

The elements of the discussion in the membership class were focussed on Grace. It got me thinking of an analogy that ties in to my work.

As some of you know, I run the photo department in a pharmacy and for some reason I have a hard problem with accepting people wanting to go through their pictures before paying for them. Obviously the plan they have is to see what pictures they do not like and to try not to pay for them. You see, they bought their film, took the pictures and brought them to me to process. I then use the eqipment my employer bought and the products needed to process and print the film to process this roll for this guest. Now, in what way does it make sense for the guest to NOT be responsible for paying for all of the prints? They are the ones who aimed the camera at the floor, or shot the picture without a flash, or shot the picture with their finger over the lens....

There is an expectation that if you shoot a blurry or otherwise crappy picture then you do not have to pay for it. How is this possible?

If I were to go to an art supply store and buy some paint, brushes and a canvas, then go home and paint a picture tat I don't like because I suck at painting, should I be allowed to take all the material back to the store for a refund?

So here's the positive analogy. We were discussing grace and how to explain it to people and this is what I thought about today.

Imagine your life is a large role of pictures. When you die you are to be judged. The pictures of the times you messed up in life. When you slighted another person, dishonored your family, sinned in any way. Jesus is the guy at the photo counter. He not only will not charge you for those pictures, but he will pay for them himself. In doing so, you have an album of nothing but shots you can be proud of. He takes responsibility for your mistakes and you get the benefit.

This is Grace.

The only hitch is, it does not come entirely free. Sure there is no charge, but the cost of receiving grace is the submission to God and the request of his Son to take responsibility for your lousy photos. He will do it without reseration, but only if you ask.

This is Grace at the photo counter.

Atlanta Greek Festival

Amy and I spent about 4 and a half hours of our anniversary at the Atlanta Greek Festival at the Church of the Annunciation on Clairmont Road in Atlanta. It is held every year in October and has become a four day event drawing huge crowds (bussed in from a nearby office park) of all races and faiths. Orthodoxy, commonly called Eastern or Greek Orthodox (because it is the language of the service) is one of the three major Christian faiths along with Catholicism and Protestantism.

The really nice thing was as soon as we got there we got in line to buy food tickets and we found a bunch of family! We ran into my Uncle Gerry (my dad's next younger sibling), his wife Andie, their son Geoff with his girlfriend Kelly and their baby Hope and Geoff's sister Heather with her husband Matt and thier boys Jacob and A.J. (thier daughter Madelyn was off at a sleepover party). Pictures are below. We enjoyed the conversation, the food, the music, the shopping (which included buying a new piece for our curio cabinet) and the tour of the sanctuary.

The mosaic on the ceiling of the sanctuary (over a million tiles).

My crooked shot of the alter, Christ on the wall in the back, the virgin Mary and John the Baptist flanking the alter gate, on the left center the Annunciation and an angel, on the right center we think they said the Apostle Paul and another angel. Michael and Gabriel are on either side of God's throne at the top.

The crucifiction.

Another mosaic.

The Transfiguration with Moses and Elijah flanking Christ.

The hand-painted plate we bought for our Anniversary gift.

Hope Meadow Christopher, Geoff's baby girl.

Cousin Heather (Nikki) with baby A.J.

Uncle Gerry and Aunt Andie (Geoff and Heather's parents)

Nephew Jacob (A.J.'s big brother)

Happy Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to us, me and Amy.

On this day, six years ago, we became one.

We married late in the afternoon of Saturday, October 6, 2001, the day after Barry Bonds hit his 72nd home run of a single season, three and a half weeks after terrorists attacked the United States, fourteen months after we had started dating, and 26/30 years after we respectively entered this world.

We had a lot of things in common, which a lot of people say, but how about these...

We share the same birthday (four years apart).

Our mothers have the same maiden name (Cox).

We were both working in the medical field when we met (Amy's a nurse and I was in pharmaceuticals, plus her father is a hospital adminsitrater).

Her brother attended Temple University in Philadelphia which is where my father and one of his brothers went to college.

some other things....

We are both part of three sibling families.

I introduced Amy to Jimmy Buffett music and she is now a fan as well.

We love to travel, since marrying we have been to Florida and on cruises several times. We have been to Jackson, TN (her college town) twice, to Chattanooga, TN, Nashville, TN and Williamsburg, VA twice (our honeymoon and our 5th anniversary last year).

We both enjoy going to zoos and have visited the zoos in Atlanta, Nashville, Memphis, and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

I introduced Amy to musical theatre and we have together seen Cats, Rent, Les Miserables, and Wicked.

Friday Feast #23

Appetizer - On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how much do you look forward to your birthday? Eh, I guess a 5. Birthdays are not that big a deal for me, and no one has ever thrown me a party (at least since I was a child).

Soup - What is one word you don’t like the sound, spelling, or meaning of? their, they're, there - too many people don't know how/when to use each one.

Salad - Do you wear sunglasses when you’re outside? If so, what does your current pair look like? Yes, I don't have a current pair since my last ones broke in July, my favorites were Oakley Frogskins, though I am now looking at the Oakley Gascans

Main Course - If you were to write a book, to whom would you dedicate it? I have no idea, perhaps my grandmother.

Dessert - Name a beverage that you enjoy. Cherry Coke Zero, Iced Tea

Friday Flashback #45 - Never

I found five classics with a Never theme ranging from the awesome (Bon Jovi) to the cool (INXS) to the lame (Rick Astley), to the hot (Heart) and to the Canuck (Corey Hart) who wears his sunglasses at night.

INXS - Never Tear Us Apart

Corey Hart - Never Surrender

Bon Jovi - Never Say Goodbye

Heart - Never

Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up

Thursday Thirteen #29

Thirteen Classic Quotes from John Belushi Movies. 1. Your women. I want to buy your women. The little girl, your daughters... sell them to me. Sell me your children. 2. It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it. 3. Ma'am, would it make you feel any better if we told you that what we're asking Matthew to do is a holy thing? 4. SCMODS? State County Municipal Offender Data System. 5. Oh we have both kinds, country AND western! 6. They took the bar! The whole f***ing bar! 7. Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell no! 8. Kroger, your Delta Tau Chi name is Pinto. Pinto: Why "Pinto"? Bluto: [belches] Why not? 9. Who dropped a whole truckload of fizzies into the swim meet? Who delivered the medical school cadavers to the alumni dinner? Every Halloween, the trees are filled with underwear. Every spring, the toilets explode. 10. Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son. 11. Now, she should be good-looking, but we're willing to trade looks for a certain... morally casual attitude. 12. It's not gonna be an orgy! It's a toga party. 13. But you can't hold a whole fraternity responsible for the behavior of a few, sick twisted individuals. For if you do, then shouldn't we blame the whole fraternity system? And if the whole fraternity system is guilty, then isn't this an indictment of our educational institutions in general? I put it to you, Greg - isn't this an indictment of our entire American society? Well, you can do whatever you want to us, but we're not going to sit here and listen to you badmouth the United States of America. Gentlemen! Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Wordless Wednesday #26 (Greeks)

My Great-Grandfather and Great-Grandmother came to the United States from Greece in 1917. My Great-Grandfather, Costandino "Gust" Gianarris died when I was about four weeks old. My Great-Grandmother Acrivi "Vivian" Macris died about three months later. They were born in 1892 and 1900 respectively. Gust was honored by King Paul of Greece for his philanthropic efforts in helping his home village Neohoris and for encouraging other Greek immigrants in their effort to become naturalized US citizens. The mayor of Coatesville, PA, where he lived and died, praised him as an example of the hard-working immigrants who contribute to excellence of the USA and the pursuit of the American dream.

Who needs an outfielder?

The Atlanta Braves released Andruw Jones today, telling him his services will not be needed next year. If you are a Braves fan I can only hope this means they are planning to buy some pitchers.

Feelings

Since a recent thread here centered on how I feel about life and other people, I felt I could write about feelings today.

While at work today I helped a lady who works for a local paramedic service. She mentioned she is in a support role and not out in the field dealing with sick and injured people. She mentioned one of her crews lost a four month old child this week while on a call and she could not handle that element of the job.

This got me thinking about how and why we feel the way we do. Yesterday evening Amy and I were watching some of season 3 of Grey's Anatomy and they actually took a minute away from the standard sex stories to have a touching moment. A character came in for a broken wrist, having slipped in the shower. She was 8 months pregnant and she lost the baby. The doctors knew the situation and had to go in and tell the lady and her husband that the baby was dead and that they still had to induce labor and deliver the stillborn child.

How hard would that be in real life for the doctor?

How much harder would it be for the parents who had such great expectations for their child?

I know it was a fictional story, but the fact that it CAN actually happen was more than enough to make me tear up. This is part of why I answered a 7 on a 1-10 scale when asked how emotional I am a few weeks ago on the Friday Feast.

Whoa!

Someone's Not Playing Nice!

I was sitting here eating dinner tonight (a lovely chicken breast in creme sauce served over rice that Amy made in the crock pot) and watching TV shows I DVR'd last night.

I get to Chuck, the NBC comic/adventure/drama about a BestBuy Geek Squad kind of guy who has a ton of government secrets in his brain (unwanted). So last night we had him being tested by a government doctor and when they trigger some of the secrets, he starts reciting them.

One of them is this.... "Oceanic Flight 815 was shot down by surface to air..." and then it trailed off into another line.

Oceanic Flight 815 is the flight that the castaways on LOST over on ABC were on flying from Sydney to Los Angeles.

Networks don't play nice do they? BTW the only other reference to the fictitious Oceanic Airlines was in the movie Exuctive Decision with Kurt Russell, Oliver Platt, and Steven Segal.

Monday Trivia

Hello folks!

Amy had a rare Monday night off, in part due to a special schedule that allows her to have Friday-Sunday off to celebrate our wedding anniversary which is this coming Saturday.

We decided to join our new friends from church for trivia at Johnny's New York Pizza in Kennesaw. We had a group of eight including Amy and me, Ben and Erica (who was up past her bedtime), Matt and Emily and thier kids Mia and Jake. We did pretty well in a field of about 20 teams. We came in 2nd place overall and won $25 in house cash and we had a good time.

The only odd part of the night was driving home because there was a massive police action happening at the major intersection by the restaurant with the Cobb County Police, City of Kennesaw Police, and the Kennesaw State University Police all involved. I think we saw at least a dozen units involved in a roadblock and rapidly moving too and from the intersection with lights blazing.

As for questions....

The one that only one team got, was this, "What pitcher played for 12 different major league teams during his career between 1978 and 2002?" We had no idea. The answer is Mike Morgan. Drafted by the A's, he played for Oakland, NYY, the Bluejays, Mariners, Orioles, Dodgers, Cubs, Cardinals, Reds, Twins, Cubs again, Rangers and Diamondbacks. Career record 141-186 with almost 2800 innings pitched and a career ERA of 4.12, yet I have NEVER heard of the guy.

Our final bonus was to put these TV shows in order from first to last of their debut. Angel, 7th Heaven, Touched by an Angel, and Wings.

Also we had....

Has any NFL team played in the Superbowl in their home stadium?

What 1980's detective show had the air-headed office assistant Miss Dipesto?
Not a part of the question, but who played her love interest, detectives-assistant Mr. Viola?

In 1830 Belgium declared their independence from what country?

What is the Danish name for John?

Of Wheel of Fortune, The Newlywed Game, Greed, and Scrabble, which show did Chuck Woolery never host?

In Jerry Maguire, what office pet did he take with him when he quit his job?

What professional sports league had a player strike in 1981?

What 2004 Gwen Stefani song was the first to record 1 million song downloads?

Have fun with these, and thanks to our new small group for allowing us to come and contribute to the win.

14 Years in the Making