Tuesday, March 31, 2015

The Continental Is Coming Back

After 13 years the Lincoln Continental is coming back. My neighbors had one when I was a kid. I loved riding in it. The quietest car that I've ever been in. Let's hope they bring it back in style.

Coco is back on the honor roll track for the third quarter. Not the high honor roll that we were getting accustomed to but still good. He played a little of his guitar for me after school. Very little but I smiled none the less. He's only had 2 lessons so far so I'm sure he will get better.

The 6 month lobster season comes to an end today in Key West. Overall, they say it was a pretty good season which should help the locals out quite a bit.

A big welcome to Argentina as they become the 32nd country to visit the blog! Thank you.

It's official. The Rolling Stones are coming to Milwaukee on June 23rd. They play at the Summerfest grounds the day before the big gig opens. It's their first Milwaukee appearance in 10 years and I did indeed see that show. It was more like a 70's type bare bones show and I loved it.

They are trying to crackdown on the panhandlers in Milwaukee complete with fining the panhandlers. Yes, that ought to solve the problem. There's a better chance that I buy a brand new Continental before the city collects those fines!

Later

Monday, March 30, 2015

The Adidas Miss

Michael Jordan badly wanted to sign with Adidas as he was approaching the NBA draft but they turned him down. They said he was too short, they only wanted centers and power forwards to wear their shoes. So he had to settle with Nike and the Air Jordans became the best selling shoe of all time. No word on whatever happened to the brilliant Adidas executive who made that move, but whatever, Phil Knight at Nike made a mint out of that blunder.

This was the same time that I received some money for my graduation and wanted to buy some Nike stock. My mom called a stockbroker who advised against it. He didn't think it would do anything. It quadrupled in less than a year. Maybe the stockbroker liked Adidas better but I never sought his useless advice again!

Coco is taking guitar lessons. It can't be any worse than the piano lessons I imagine.

I found my palm tree shower curtain in a basement box. Somehow it was misplaced in my last move over 8 years ago!

The snow is almost gone. The fountain at the Trocadero has a bit of ice still standing even though the fountain is working again.

The black and white cat made his first appearance in the backyard today. He's a large sucker who just hangs around in our yard all day when the weather is good.

Two more days until Jimmy Buffett plays his free concert in Key West. He's even having a big screen installed on Higgs Beach free to anybody who wants to watch. He's never forgotten the people who gave him his first break.

Later


Trocadero Fountain

Sunday, March 29, 2015

Final Four Is Set

Wisconsin, Michigan State, Duke and Kentucky will be in the Final Four next weekend. No real surprises here with all solid mainstay programs. I'm still picking Kentucky but it sure has been fun to watch the Badgers battle it out every game.

Thank you Taiwan as they become the 31st country to visit the blog. Thanks for the support.

It rained a little bit here today. We went grocery shopping on full bellies after Joanne's birthday dinner. The pork was tremendous!



The Birthday Girl

Saturday, March 28, 2015

Stuck In The Basement


It's been a terribly long day working in the basement for most of it. Still going thru boxes. We did put some stuff on EBay though.

I did stop long enough to make some chicken wings and check out part of the Badgers game. They won and will be advancing to the Final Four. They played very good in the second half. I still can't see anyone beating Kentucky though.

Spectre isn't being released until November 6th, but they've already released some trailers for the new James Bond movie which is wrapping up filming. No doubt it will be the biggest movie yet in the franchise. If only I could get 007 to help me with the basement now!

Later




At The Roman Coin


The Coin


Pretty Girl

Friday, March 27, 2015

The Paris Hilton Petition

It's hard to make people wake up in a bad mood on a friday. Unless you wake up to a light blanket of snow like we did. The mid 20's sun has melted most of it but just as you think we turn a corner the weather takes a dive. The next warm up starts monday.

A big welcome to Turkey as they become the 30th country to visit my blog. Thanks for the support.

Radio Shack is trying to sell their customer's contact information as they are under bankruptcy protection. It kind of makes you regret giving them your zip code when you made a simple battery purchase.

Paris Hilton has been named a side stage headliner as she will be performing some DJ show. There's actually an online petition to get Summerfest officials to drop her act. I've noticed that the two people behind the petition are from out of state so I'm not sure why it's any of their business unless they are coming in for the Fest. Actually, my beef isn't with Paris Hilton but it's the Disc Jockey part. Summerfest is a live music festival, the only canned music should be between shows at Jo Jo's Martini Stage. I'm not sure why they went this route. Even more puzzling is why nobody has started a petition to get rid of Weird Al Yankovic!

Krissy is home so me might go out for happy hour. Probably to the Roman Coin or the Standard where there isn't a chance of running into a disc jockey!

Later

Thursday, March 26, 2015

The Badgers Hang On

Boy, what a game as the Badgers beat a good a North Carolina team. The bars were packed early as people heading out to watch the game. I'm sure Saturday will be even bigger as they face the winner of Xavier and Arizona.

Speaking of North Carolina, late great North Carolina coach Dean Smith left 200 bucks to every letterman in his will for a dinner on him. He coached for 36 years so he had quite a few. Such a nice gesture to remember all of these players who brought a lot of joy and success into his life and vice versa. A legend in so many ways.

I picked up Coco and his sister Simone after school today. It's pretty hilarious when I see them together as they have a lot of the same mannerisms and sense of humor.

Shame on Congressman Aaron Schock for comparing himself to Abraham Lincoln, you little prick! Lincoln never ripped off and stole like you from the good people in his district. You were more interested in fame and magazine covers, Lincoln just wanted to help people. Plus, you took photos on the House Floor today which is against House rules. Ignorance of the rules is your modus operandi. Or, you just don't care. You'd rather be a Kardashian than a congressman. You lived 200 miles from where Abraham Lincoln grew up. I visited Graceland once. It doesn't make me Elvis asshole!

Later


Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Escape Room

The Escape Room is coming to Milwaukee and Wauwatosa. It's a big theme room that people pay 30 bucks to go into and find a way to escape. It started in a basement of a laser tag establishment in Des Moines, Iowa. It only started a few months ago last December and they have 611 of them already. It sounded kind of strange at first but they get rave reviews. It kind of sounds like a combination of an Agatha Christie novel and a video game.

Cold and windy today. I walked to the post office and to Coco's school today and it was bone chilling. 

Wells Fargo in Milwaukee is laying off over 1000 people and closing there facility here. I know about 10 of these people personally. Wells Fargo has been making billions of bucks not to mention help from the Federal Government when they needed it a few years back. Trickle down, some idiots still believe it works!

I took another look at the Summerfest sidestage schedule. I'm still not that impressed but there are a few bands I'm itching to see. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Buddy Guy, The Isley Brothers, Sheryl Crow and the Doobie Brothers who I saw a few years ago and it was a great show. Also, I plan on supporting the free stages this year as they have some wonderful musicians just playing for tips. They don't get no trickle down neither!

Later

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Arizona Photo Montage

Another mid 30's day but at least the sun was out. We got the computer back and it's much faster now!

The news is all over that plane crash. Within an hour of the crash they had the aviation experts on television talking about possible causes before they even found the crash site. It's like they are on standby waiting for the next crash and it goes on all day long!

The Bears had a big day signing 3 defensive players, Ray McDonald, Mason Foster and Jarvis Jenkins. All 3 of them can play so I'm liking it.

Finally uploaded a few of Krissy's Arizona pics. Look at  those grapefruits! 

Later

Krissy picked these lovely grapefruits and brought them home in her suitcase!

At the hotel relaxing w/ a tiny beer

spring training! 






Monday, March 23, 2015

Cruz Control

It was snowing when I picked up Krissy and Angela up at the airport. I had to park far away and Krissy was wearing open toed shoes in 28 degree weather. Yes, I heard about it. The snow flurries were minimal and it melted fast under the sun. Great to have her back and we had lunch at Bel Air after she unpacked. I'll post her photos tomorrow. She was missed by many including me. She's a legend!

Normal early spring weather is the forecast for the next ten days or so. We won't be unpacking the summer gear just yet.

Summerfest announced their 7th headliner leaving 4 more to go. A rapper by the name of Kendrick Lamar will be on the main stage. So far it seems like an overall weak lineup but the side stages will hopefully have some good bands.

A hideout was discovered deep in the Argentina jungle with 1940 German artifacts and coins. They believe it was setup to be a Nazi hideout but Argentina welcomed the Nazi's with open arms so it wasn't needed. It's so deep in the jungle that it was almost invisible with grown over foliage and vines. Imagine what else could be out there.

Ted Cruz announced his bid for the Presidency today at Liberty University. It was mandatory for the students to attend. So much for personal freedom I guess. A lot of students right behind the stage were visible wearing Rand Paul t-shirts. Maybe someone should revisit the mandatory requirement? After all, it's how the Nazis started.

Later


Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Dark Knight Rises

I watched it for the first time today and I must say Christian Bale portrays Batman quite a bit differently than Adam West. I grew up on that show and even had a Batman costume as a kid. Yes, I do own an adult black t-shirt with the yellow Batman symbol on it. Doesn't everyone? Quite a good movie though.

After the movie and my hungry man microwave dinner I went for a walk and was almost killed by a 4 pound rock. I was walking by the bus stop and the bus took off and somehow shot it onto the sidewalk like a missile about 3 feet high and it went 20 feet in distance right between me and another man. We both inspected the rock and agreed how lucky we were for the narrow miss.

I see where Key West has the highest amount of bartenders per capita in the United States. Is there anyone who wouldn't believe that? Maybe some folks in the Big Easy is all I could think of.

The Burma pythons are starting to migrate to the Everglades and the Keys. State workers actually killed one that had recently eaten a 76 pound deer. Now that's a snake!

Only 3 snow patches left in the neighborhood now. Actually they are more like mini icebergs at this point but the snow really melt fast this month.

We have a light switch that needs replacing as some metal piece on the inside broke off. It's a two person job actually as I tend to electrocute myself fixing stuff like that so I need someone on standby to call the paramedics. Krissy gets back tomorrow morning from Arizona. My electrocution will therefore be in the afternoon!

Later


Saturday, March 21, 2015

Steve McQueen

With Krissy in Arizona texting me photos of the desert and lounging by the pool, I've resorted to 1966 western movies on television. Actually, Nevada Smith with Steve McQueen was pretty good.  I was reading his biography and I'm amazed at how many great movies he was in despite dying at the age of 50. His only Oscar nomination was for The Sand Pebbles which I've never seen. My personal favorites are Bullitt, The Great Escape possibly the best war movie ever made and Papillon which was filmed in Jamaica on the very cliffs that I've stayed on. How he didn't win an Oscar for that I'll never know and it co starred Dustin Hoffman.

Add in The Getaway, the original Thomas Crown Affair, Towering Inferno and The Hunter and he's a box office smash for nearly 20 years. The Hunter was filmed partially in Chicago and was the last film he ever made. He was also an accomplished motorcycle racer with over 140 bikes at the time of his death. His car collection was almost as good and today anything he owned goes to auction with a 7 figure price tag.

Unfortunately he contracted cancer from asbestos exposure likely from his time in the service working on boats in tight quarters. The man was a true legend!

Have fun tonight.

Later

Friday, March 20, 2015

Key West Part 2

Our new book, Key West part 2 was delivered today along with some other stuff from Amazon. It's a sequel to Key West, Jon Breakfield's first book about moving to Key West and it's the funniest book I've ever read. I started reading the new one and it's just as funny. Hopefully someday we'll run into him and his wife. A truly spectacular book.

I'm still going slow and steady on my book. The first draft was much easier than the second one which is in progress. Hopefully this will make the final version better.

A pretty slow day overall. Besides eating my hungry man dinner, I ventured out to CVS and watched the war mongers on Fox News. Geez, the talking heads truly drive me nuts!

No happy hour for me tonight but don't let that stop you. I'm staying in to write but please be safe and have one for me!

Later

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Robin's Nest

Rumor has it that President Obama bought a new house in Hawaii. Rumor has it that it's Robin's Nest which was bought by a Chicago corporation with ties to the President. It was the house built in 1933 that every episode of Magnum P.I. was filmed at. One of my all time favorite shows.

March Madness starts today. Vegas is nuts this time of year as i've been out there 3 times for the tournament action. The oddsmakers are so good, most games within a point of the spread either way. Those casinos didn't build themselves!

Took Krissy and Angela to the airport at 4am this morning. They come back monday. I forgot how quiet it is that early.

I've been working on the second draft of my book. It's harder than I thought and taking a bit more time than I planned.

Still no confirmed date yet on jimmy Buffett. The rumor mill is next to nothing which has me concerned. Usually there's some good information out there but I'm just hearing August 22nd. That will work if that's it. Who am I kidding, any summer date works, it's Jimmy!

Later

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

The Wednesday After

Such a nice St. Patrick's Day yesterday. We started at the Roman Coin which was pretty quiet until 4pm. In fact, it was pretty quiet everywhere until late afternoon which is unusual compared to years past. The County Clare had the annual heated tent in their parking lot with bands all day long. The $5 entry fee all goes to Children's Hospital and not once have I heard anyone complain about. We actually ordered Chinese food when we got home last night.

Rest in peace Mr. Jack Haley who passed away at the age of 51. A heckuva nice guy who was a member of the 95-96 Chicago Bulls team which set the NBA record for wins going 72-10 which I predicted that year after the Bulls acquired Dennis Rodman. People called me crazy but they did it!

Coco is back at school after having some terrible asthma problems sunday and monday.

Chris Borland retired after 1 year of playing in the NFL. He was a star in the making and he wasn't hurt. But he was worried about getting hurt and his health was more important to him than millions of dollars. It seems to be a trend of players not playing as long as they used to. What I don't understand it the youth football craze with little grade schoolers playing all out tackle ball in pads. I truly believe the human body has only so many hits in it. Every human has a different number they can absorb so why waste it as a 4th grader. At least wait until high school.

Later

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

OUR FOURTH

What a great day. The snow is almost gone and I got to hang around Krissy all day. It's pretty special to us as we met 4 years ago at County Clare. Naturally, we go back every year and I point out where I first spotted her. I'm a blessed man!

Later


The Coffee Menu


The Drummer

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Another Selfie

Outdoor Bar

Monday, March 16, 2015

Bravo Oregon

Kudos to Oregon Governor Kate Brown for coming up with a noble idea that should please all the politicians. Everybody in the DMV database automatically becomes a registered voter if they are old enough. They also get a 21 day opt out period. No more long messy lines to register for voting. In these days of technology someone should have come up with this idea sooner to make sure every citizen has their constitutional right to vote instead of trying to take it away.

It's over 60 degrees here today and we went for a walk this afternoon. Krissy is icing her bad ankle while I'm making some ribs in the oven.

Oil is at a 6 year low at just over 42 bucks a barrel. it looks like it's going under 40 bucks for sure. Some big oil guys are really taking it in the shorts. Enjoy my friends as I have no love or respect for any of you gluttons!

The ice and snow is disappearing fairly fast. Check out the river photos.

Later



Sunday, March 15, 2015

A Long Short Walk Towards Bieberville

What a fantastic chicken and spicy sausage Krissy made for dinner. We went out for 'just' a walk around 1pm but stopped at the Y Not because we heard they remodeled the classic bar. Wow, the bar is like cut in half and pushed up against the wall and new coolers installed. Somehow, they forgot to clean the ceiling or the floors. We were at Nick's House on friday night which is affiliated with this bar and was featured on Bar Rescue. It has the same feel. I'm all for dive bars but a little soap and water once every 30 years might be nice people!

We ended up at the Roman Coin and took some photos of the many dogs. My favorite belongs to a couple going to Old San Juan Puerto Rico in a couple weeks. What a great place with the narrow streets, fabulous restaurants and the famous forts. They even have a rain forest if one wants to go inland.

John Mellencamp is coming to the Riverside Theatre on June 5th. Everyone I like is coming to Milwaukee this year, where last year was kind of slow. Spread it out a bit so I can afford it

please. I'm glad all the classic bands are coming though. I've seen close to 500 first rate shows at premium dollars in my lifetime. I expect that they will die soon and I will just quit going to any shows so I'm trying to get them all in. Seriously, music has changed a lot in my lifetime and I really don't see myself egging houses with Justin Bieber in 20 years. Sad really, not about egging the houses cause that's fun but the music will just suck!

Later
Pretty Dog On Bar Stool


My Muse

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Locked Out On Parade Day

We locked ourselves out of the house on the way to the grocery store this morning. The debacle doesn't end there. I'm reaching under our secret spot for our spare key and removed a piece of mud off of it with my bare hands. Except it was a water-logged animal turd of some sort. Then we get to the grocery store and I'm speaking to a girl scout selling cookies with my fly open. Geez.

We made it to the west side for the 3pm parade. A very nice event with decent 54 degree temperature. It's St. Patrick's Day every saturday this month with all the celebrations.

Bloodline is coming out on Netflix to rave critical reviews. It's an original series filmed in the Keys last summer and premiering March 20th. It's an all star cast featuring Sissy Spacek, Sam Shephard, Chloe Sevigny and Linda Cardellini.

I'm home now thinking about a nap. Krissy is still out at the Irish bars with friends as Coco and I came out.
Enjoy your evening and don't lock yourself out of your house. It wasn't pretty!

Later

Friday, March 13, 2015

Low On Coco Wheats

I'm almost out of Coco Wheats and I couldn't be happier. It's my winter breakfast only and when I run out it means that spring is here and warm weather is around the corner. It sounds kind of dorky but it's been my modus operandi for a lot of years!

It's going to be over 60 today and Krissy finished work early so we're heading down to North Avenue for Happy Hour. This weather is tough though because it's like one is in between coats. Too heavy is too warm and too light can be cold once the sun goes down. I'll just go with layers and peel stuff off. That's what Krissy's big purse is for, right?

A new documentary is coming out about Kurt Cobain on HBO on May 4th. I'm a bit of a documentary freak I must admit. It's hard to believe he's been gone 20 years. It's called the Montage of Heck and the early reviews are good.

Last year's Minor League Player of the Year, Kris Bryant is leading all of spring training with 4 home runs already. I can't wait for baseball season. This kid looks like the real deal. Stay safe.

Later


Thursday, March 12, 2015

Watch Out For The Whale

One would think finding a needle in a haystack would be easier than having a whale rise above water for air and hit a boat but it happened in Cabo San Lucas. It was a 25 foot boat and a tourist went overboard and died. I've always wanted to go to Cabo and had plans once for a trip but it fell through.

Strong rumor has the Rolling Stones coming to Miller Park June 22nd as part of the Sticky Fingers tour which was an album from 1971. All the radio stations are saying it's a done deal but no official confirmation yet. They are my all time favorite band so I will get tickets. It's a big venue so prices won't be as bad as Zac Brown today.

I was totally surprised that lawn tickets were over 60 bucks when I went on Ticketmaster today. I don't think we paid that much for the Eagles two years ago!

Coco went back to school today looking healthy and fine. Two bowls of cereal this morning so I was confident he was good to go.

Another American contracted Ebola and will be flown to a Baltimore hospital for treatment. Where's all the fear mongers telling us we're not safe? We're all going to die! It's awfully quiet out there. Oh yes, they moved on to Iran bombing us with nukes this month.

Later


Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Nik Walenda Is Coming

World famous Nik Walenda is bringing his famous high wire act to the Wisconsin State Fair on August 11th. He will be walking over the Milwaukee Mile Racetrack on a wire the width of a nickel. This is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for our area and I'm hoping to see it. I remember watching his grandfather Karl twice as he performed between games of baseball doubleheaders. That was on television though just like when I watched Nik cross over the canyon on a windy night on television. I can't wait to see this in person.

There's a solar power plane going around the world by two pilots. It's completely powered on solar. 

Coco was up sick with stomach problems last night and stayed home from school. It looks like he's finally feeling better though so hopefully he'll make it tomorrow.

Jazz in the Park just announced their 2015 lineup with a pretty mediocre lineup just like last year. Maybe the unknowns will be good, one never knows. It used to be a decent size event on thursday nights. The bands were great, you could bring dogs and your own booze. Now you can't bring dogs, security makes you buy booze from the vendors and sponsors but the talent level went way down. I'm smelling cash in someone's pocket and it isn't mine or the dogs!

Later

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

The Big Melt

Puddles everywhere but that's okay. This snow is melting fast in these near 60 days. It's supposed to be like this thru sunday so maybe we're in for the fastest melt ever.

I gotta new phone last night. Only took 40 minutes and a so so deal. We were close to Points East so stopped in and had wings for dinner. Easily among the top 3 places in the city for wings!

Krissy decided to update her phone when we got home. Something happened and now the phone doesn't work and hooking it up to the computer didn't help. She has an appointment to get it fixed tomorrow night. Never had this problem with flip phones!

The Saints traded Jimmy Graham to the Seahawks because they have salary cap issues. That's what happens when your quarterback insists on being paid the very top dollar. The team is mediocre but your quarterback is filthy rich.

Coco had a math team contest late this afternoon. It sure isn't much of a spectator sport but he had a good time. Plus he gets a free dinner at Gilles Custard Stand with his friends. You can't beat Gilles!

Later

Monday, March 9, 2015

Cell Phone Blues

Getting a new cell phone is almost as bad as buying a car. So many choices available and apparently my free upgrade disappeared with a new policy. I told the company that I didn't want to spend a dime on a phone. I've had it over 3 years as I keep all my phones somewhere between 3-4 years. It takes me that long to learn all the features, why would I switch phones after finally figuring them out.

Anyway, there was a large upfront cost or a more manageable monthly cost. I reminded them that I've been with the same company for like 12 years. Still no real deal to be had until I told them I was going phone shopping today and would just go with any carrier who gave me the cheapest deal.

Suddenly I can trade my phone in now and get a free phone. They never mentioned that until I decided to shop around. Everybody is always upselling. I get it. People work on commission and make very little unless they sell a lot.

NFL free agency announcements all over the place today. The Bears signed outside linebacker Pernell McPhee. It's a start anyways.

We watch the Ghost and Mrs. Muir last night. I love that film starring Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney the most beautiful actress of all time. Yes, she spells her name that way or did I should say. Krissy agrees, her and Miss Tierney look a lot a like!

Okay, getting ready to go to the phone store. I'm still transferring photos just in case something happens like last time!

Later

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Diehard Ice Fishing

We're at 45 degrees and Krissy took photos of some folks fishing on different sides of the dam. South of the dam a few brave souls were getting their last ice fishing in of the season. The forecast is sunny and 50's for most of the week so this will be their last opportunity. I've never had the desire to sit on a block of ice myself and fish but good luck to those out there today.

The time moved up last night. The only clocks that don't turn automatically is our microwave and stove. Everything else is automatic. I don't usually do well with the time changes and I'm a little groggy today after getting up early.

Last night we went to Van Burens which drew a good crowd and Hosed On Brady which was packed. Everybody got a free shot when the fire department
next door went out on a call and we toasted to their safe return. The herd started thinning a little early around 11pm. I expected that as those who took part in the annual St Patrick's pub crawl started at 10 am!


We watched Hawaii 5O to see Jimmy Buffett guest star and reprise his role of Frank Bama. I wish they would give him a bigger part. It's usually filmed in December when he's down there for the holidays and they write a small part for him. Still no news on the Alpine Valley concert date yet but I've been checking everyday!

Later
fishing north of the dam
Ice fishing south of the dam

Saturday, March 7, 2015

St. Patrick's Comes Early

The temperature hit 45 degrees just in time for people to enjoy the many pub crawls today. The streets were packed with huge groups of people in matching shirts participating in some St. Patrick's pub crawls. The last few years St. Patrick's Day in Milwaukee is celebrated as a two week event much like Mardi Gras!

They started early also as we were hitting the grocery store and they were out in abundance. Krissy and I are heading out soon so it will be interesting to see the carnage. I'm betting some people are still hitting it hard.

I saw where the Keys are having a particularly great Hogfish season. If you've never had it please try it. It's a meaty fish with a great taste and it actually looks like a pig in the facial features. Great eating.

I'm hitting the shower with a large Red Stripe and in a great mood. I finished the first draft of my book today. I started it June 24th. Now I'm going to read the whole thing, outline it to make sure the timeline makes sense then do some revisions. After that a third and hopefully final re-write. I'm going to be busy but I'm hoping I can complete it by May 1st. For now though I'm going to enjoy the moment!

Later

Friday, March 6, 2015

Where's Our Bacon Pizza

It's not always easy hitting a friday afternoon happy hour for two drinks. You see people you know or possibly know you. Two becomes four, maybe more and then you're home trying to order that bacon pizza you see on the commercial. Then, you're watching some old movie, fall asleep before ten and you're at the grocery store bright and early saturday morning. It wasn't planned that way but when you leave the house at 4pm on friday without a specific plan it's just the way it is! Moral of the story, plan a little bit please.

What a Bulls game last night. They were down double digits going into the fourth quarter and won on a last second shot. For some reason, they play so much better when they our down 3 good players. I'm looking forward to the May playoffs. Give no quarter just fight like hell!

The Bears traded Brandon Marshall today to the Jets for a 5th round draft choice. In 3 years he set so many receiving records. Tough player with a tough life who wore out his welcome. Still, 118 receptions in a year when everyone knew the ball was coming to him. Possibly the toughest receiver ever to play. No one ever wants to fight the perceived crazy guy in the room. You might get hurt.

Still no sign of the missing Malaysian Airliner after a year. All these conspiracy stories but I'll buy a drink for the first aviation expert who actually says they have no fricking idea where this plane is now and in twenty years from now!

A great jobs report today and the unemployment rate drops to 5.5%. Still a lot of grumbling. Jesus could rise and walk on water and some of these pundits wouldn't like how he was dressed! Please...........

Later




Thursday, March 5, 2015

Zac Brown Is Coming

The  Zac Brown Band was announced as the June 28th headliner at Summerfest. It's the Jekyll and Hyde Tour. Finally a show that we want to go see. It's on a sunday night two days before Krissy's birthday.

Kentucky is having a bit of a hard time as they received 21 inches of snow in 15 hours. Motorists are stranded and out of gas on I65. The aerial view showed vehicles for miles long. It had to be a brutal night for those poor souls.

No emails yet from Jimmy Buffett letting us know we won tickets to his Key West concert. This year will be his 40th tour and I've been to 22 of them. Nothing like a day with Parrotheads!

The Nomad on Brady Street is celebrating it's 20th anniversary this year. They bought the house next door and are in the process of adding an addition. To celebrate their march anniversary they are rolling their prices back to 1995 prices. I'm a firm believer that no one should celebrate an anniversary by themselves. An appearance is in order!

Later

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Paris Skeletons

It's been a cold hump day but the weekend warms up nicely with possible 50's next week. I'm hoping that was our last significant snow the other day. It's hard to imagine these snow piles melting by opening day. Last year it took until April 8th for the snow to finally disappear.

Shania Twain announced she is going on a farewell tour and she will never tour again! I haven't heard that name in ages. Of course she hasn't toured anywhere in 11 years so I'm sure it isn't for the money. 

It was 25 years ago that Hank Gathers died on a basketball court in front of thousands. An irregular heartbeat did him in. By all accounts even years later a tremendous young man who played some great ball!

They were building a supermarket in Paris when they unearthed at least 200 skeletons. The grounds used to be home to a hospital. The bones are at least 300 years old and perhaps older. They were neatly stacked probably at the same time and speculation is that they died from the small pox or something else. Too bad they didn't have vaccinations back then!

Later

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Breakfast Club Still Going Strong

I can't believe it's been 30 years since the Breakfast Club was a huge hit. It's been on one channel or another every other day for the last month. I'm pretty sure I saw it at a theater. Molly Ringwald was on the Today show this morning and is getting much more stunning with age. Her and Anthony Michael Hall were actually playing characters of the same age, thusly they had to go to school during daily breaks in the 3 month shoot. The rest of the actors were in their 20's.

A big morning snow made traffic a nightmare this morning. It was only 4-5 inches but it came down in about 90 minutes. I cleared the snow once and had to do it again 30 minutes later as you never would have guessed I had been out there.

The main streets were cleared up pretty good but a television crew was on our street for a live scoop on the sloppy side streets. We actually could see the front of our house on the 5pm news.

I forgot to mention we had an oven fire on sunday. Krissy was using the broiler and helping Coco with his homework on the counter when Coco casually mentioned the fire. We quickly got it out with some pan covers and salt. New rule, a timer must be used at all times!

Later

Monday, March 2, 2015

What Is A Caper Anyway's

I'm getting ready to go out and pick up some capers for Krissy. I'm not sure why we need them or what exactly they are. She usually puts them on some spicy lemon chicken so maybe that's why although I'm a good foot soldier and I know my place. In other words, as soon as I'm done with this blog I'm running to the Italian store for Capers!

Jimmy Butler of the Bulls will be out 3-6 weeks with a sprained elbow. It must be bad cause the Marquette kid is as tough as they get in the NBA.

The NFL franchise tags started today. Surprisingly, Reggie Cobb of the Packers didn't get tagged. The 25 year old just had a career year and he's as good as gone. Somebody will pay him obscene money on top of obscene money mark my words.

It's warmed up to 30 outside so I'm listening to a little Jimmy Buffett hoping I get an email in a couple days saying that I won concert tickets for his Key West show.

It's warming up so fast that I keep hearing the ice daggers crash to the sidewalk from the gutters. Some of them are huge and sharp and could cause some serious damage to somebody's skull. It's never easy when one goes on a caper run!

Later

Sunday, March 1, 2015

The Science Snowball

Another baseball legend passed away today in Minnie Minoso. His career actually spanned into 5 decades as Bill Veeck brought him back in 1980 to play a few games with the White Sox. A truly fun loving Cuban who would have played the game for free.

The Chicago Bulls lost a tough one today. They were in the game until the 4th quarter but playing without Rose and Gibson makes it tough. Then to make it worse Jimmy Butler hurt his arm in the second half and left for an MRI. It's one stinking injury after another this year.

Krissy is still upset over not getting Grateful Dead tickets yesterday. We had four computers trying for them. When we got home last night one of them was still on the ticket site telling us we were within a minute of getting tickets. That never materialized.

With all the troubles Congress has Senator James Inhofe from Oklahoma decided to bring scientific theory to the Senate floor. He brought in a snowball from outside and threw it inside the chamber to prove his theory on climate change. Maybe next time he should bring a Big Mac onto the Senate Floor and throw that at somebody to prove there's no world hunger!

Later