The Modernish Father

I’m not really feeling very narrative-y, so we’ll stick with ol’ trusty bulleted list for today.  I just asked The Dog and she said that’s okay. I trust her judgment, even though she licks her own butt.

Here’s what we’ve been up to (more or less):

• The Boy missed a couple of days of school last week. He wasn’t that sick, but he had a fever and our local school district was worked up in a swine flu frenzy, so I didn’t want to push it. He has since made a full recovery.
• The Girl tried Spam. It didn’t meet with her approval. Fortunately, there’s always ice cream.
• Our back yard baby bunny continues to live. In fact, he’s gotten quite a bit bigger.
• The kids (and us) went to a birthday party at a local place called The Bounce – nothing but inflatable slides and bouncy castles. The Girl proved once again that she has no fear and she’s a tough little cookie. The also had a bubble machine that she really liked.
• I’ve seen Star Trek twice this week – once in a sold-out IMAX theater and then again in a regular old boring auditorium with like seven people in it. During the second viewing, there was a guy snoring very loudly throughout the entire movie. I’ve never understood how people can sleep through loud movies.
• The Girl has discovered coloring. She’s decided that it’s the best thing ever.
• The Boy and I have started playing a somewhat simplified version of Monopoly. The little guy has beaten me the last two times we played, which is no big surprise since I’m nor so good with the finances.
• The Girl has a new little dress that I think is just about the cutest thing ever. And of course, she hasn’t forgotten about the purses and shoes.
• This isn’t exactly breaking news, but The Dog has no shame.
• The Girl is a big fan of our new on-demand cable service, since it allows her to watch Blue’s Clues every single evening after dinner. I’m usually the one who has to watch it with her, but sometimes she’ll trap her mom, too.
• Teeball season is already nearly over, but The Boy has been busy hitting, fielding and running for the past couple of weeks. The Girl likes going to the games also, but she doesn’t always stay entirely focused on the game.

Movie reviews in ten words or less

Star Trek: Simply outstanding. Blew away my expectations.

Death Race: Horribly written, badly acted, incompetently directed. Avoid at all costs.

Street Fighter: Painfully bad. Raul Julia deserved a better swan song.

Lawrence of Arabia: One of the best films ever made.

Transporter 3: Above-average action film, minimal cheesy dialogue. Worth watching.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters: Fascinating, but ultimately sad portrait of classic gaming sub-culture.

Fries at the bottom of the bag

• You think your neighborhood is rough? Our community lives in fear of chicken pot pie bandits.
• One of the little towns around here is named Iola (with a captial “I”), but the folks at Google think it’s named after a Kinks song.