Speaking of Birthdays

Dan and I went to New Jersey this weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. The big 7-0. Pete and Jen threw a barbecue in his honor. Many family members came (some who I haven't seen in ages) and as usual, there was plenty of eating. I made a carrot cake. It was good even though Dan refused a single bite. There were walnuts in it along with cream cheese frosting. Oh, the horror.

Happy Birthday, Dad!


Dad with his four children: Annette, my half-sister Jola, Pete and me.

For more pics, go here.

Gluttony

It was Jason's birthday again tonight. I mean, it's been a year since he treated a bunch of us to a fancy lunch for his 30th (it was the day of the USA-England World Cup match), but it's crazy how the time flies. Tonight, we all went out to Commerce. Yvonne and I had the fried chicken appetizer as a prelude to the porterhouse steak for two. (If there'd been a side of pulled pork, I probably would've said yes to that, too; make it a trifecta). The waiter kinda upsold us on the porterhouse. Said it was IN-SANE. It's like he knew exactly who he was talking to. For the record, it was pretty darn good, but I've had insaner.

Yvonne and I were totally full -- we didn't even finish our creamed spinach -- so when we saw that the "birthday cake" dessert (exactly what it sounds like) comes in truly ridiculous portions, our decision was easy. Yes, please!

Happy birthday, Jason!

The Weekend, Part 2

Yvonne and I just saw the new Woody Allen movie, Midnight in Paris. Probably the best thing we'll see this year. Really, perfect. Not just because I closely identified with Owen Wilson's character (a friend of mine actually referred to it in describing my worldview -- and not as a compliment), but the jokes are all spot-on.

Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali is pretty fantastic, too. Dali in movies reminded me of the screenplay he wrote for a Marx Brothers movie: Giraffes on Horseback Salad. I can't find it online anywhere, but I remember reading some lines when it was on display at MoMA a few years back, and it's as insane as you might imagine, yet also funny (even though Groucho apparently didn't think so). This gives you an impression.

Anyway, do yourself a favor and see Midnight in Paris.

The Weekend, Part 1

Saturday found me, along with Kayleen, Justin, Nien, Kim and a couple of Julien's friends from school, in Philly to watch Julien assistant-coach the Univ. of Texas rugby "7s" at a televised tournament. (Yvonne was at a baby shower. She missed out...)

First, a word about rugby. I don't really get it either. But it's pretty similar to what we used to call on the playground "smear the queer." Things were less politic then.

Sevens rugby is a much faster game than traditional rugby. Played by smaller, quicker guys, who still manage to destroy each other out there. And the games are only 14 minutes long, which no one could really explain, but helps keep things from getting boring. So we saw about eight matches in one afternoon, including a UT victory and a well-played loss against Arizona, one of the better teams in the nation, apparently. Two things came from all this:

1. I finally understand (mostly) how rugby is played; and
2. I've adopted Texas as my alter alma mater.

Lemme tell you, people love Texas. Tons of cats came up to talk to us in our Texas Rugby shirts, or flashed the "hook 'em" sign to us. I did not know about the love for Texas, but it's a thing. Even Yvonne knew. (?) And apparently Kayleen can't even wear UT gear in public because it gets too much attention from people on the street. Like a rock star. Anyway, I enjoyed the friendly attention, and having an alter-ego as a Longhorn. I can't wait to rock the burnt orange again.

Also, we got out drink on pretty good. Hey, it's a rugby tournament! Suffice it to say that on the way back to New York, I only made it as far as Justin's couch.

I told you Yvonne missed out.

Collect All Five!

I made a point to take a portrait of everyone this weekend in Minneapolis.



Emily, in her nifty $1 jacket she bought at a garage sale across the street from Courtney's apartment.


Brett, by a graffiti-ed wall he admired.


Courtney, in a rare quiet moment.


Dan, excited to be with Mary Tyler Moore.


Babs, the adorable source of my allergies.
The other cat, Gracie, was in the closet most of the weekend, so no picture for her. I'll get you next time!

Mini Stock

We can't call our weekend in Minneapolis an official 'Stock because we were minus the Reids (we missed you guys!), but the three days spent in the City of Lakes with Courtney, Brett and Emily were a total blast. We didn't do much sight-seeing, instead filling every minute of the trip with good conversation, laughs, FUN (and lots of food). Some highlights:


Dan and I get our own "Camp Jackson" pjs, handcrafted by Emily. (The other "Stockers" got theirs in a LA Mini-Stock we missed out on). In matching pjs, we all watched a scary Doctor Who episode that instructed that we "don't blink!" We didn't.


We attempted bike riding for about two seconds. Faulty public bikes and a tornado warning/rain storm kept us safe and sound in a bar instead.



Courtney hosted Scholasticus Intoxicus trivia.


Our team, the Raging Bonerzzz!!!!, came in third place. (Yes, we're really classy!).
Picture from Scholasticus Intoxicus.


There was lots of record shopping. Well, one person shopped, four kept company.


Courtney found her way in a dunk cage!


She was an extremely good heckler. We spent all of our cash trying to get her wet. Only Dan was successful!


Reenacting the moment (and Emily's cool yellow watch that I am obsessed with.)


This weekend was marked by abundant cheese consumption including fried cheese curds, Doritos, and cheese brats.


Last morning in downtown Minneapolis.

We miss you guys already! I wish we could have a 'Stock every weekend.

An Update from the Batting Cages

We told you that we were staying in a "family resort" hotel one night, right? With a full-on water park, MULTIPLE go-kart tracks, mini golf, and batting cages? No? Then I can only surmise that I was too full of anticipation to be able to blog coherently about it.

It's been many years since I swung a bat, so I wasted no time in getting into the cages, and selecting the fastest speed pitch they had, 70 mph. If that's really only 70, I can't imagine what 90 looks like. Needless to say, I was a little slow, a little rusty -- and I simply cannot hit the high heat. But after making a few Kevin Long-style adjustments to my swing and concentrating on keeping my eye on the ball (it sounds so simple!) I made more and more good contact with each round of balls. My hands, which are now pretty well torn up, are testament to my dedication in the cages. I could do this every day.



What else happened in Eau Claire? Ah, yes, for the first time in many months, I walked out of a record store with a veritable arm load of vinyl. Cool shop, just opened. Really cool owner. Hope he makes it. His place is everything an independent record store should be! Probably nothing too noteworthy in my purchases, except to say that I picked up Lulu's first record (she of "To Sir With Love" fame). I looked hard for it 8 or 9 years ago, then moved on to other obsessions and basically forgot about it. So when I found it at Revival Records, it felt like a discovery -- but I also wasn't sure I still cared. Billy the owner and I started talking about it; he brought up some online listings showing that it's a sought-after collector item that usually sells for a lot more than he was asking -- but he hates selling online. Now, it's always nice to buy a collector's item, but the music's still gotta deliver. So I had Billy put it on for me and was blown away by the amount of soul in the first song, and the purchase was made.

And finally, at the recommendation of my friend Andrew, who spent a good portion of 2004 working in northwest Wisconsin, we bellied up to the bar at this place called The Joynt. When Andrew was there, beers were 35 cents. Times are tough now, though, so they're all the way up to 75 cents (!!!). From the formica bar top to the posters on the wall and the prices of drinks, this place was basically frozen in time -- and it was awesome.

This is what the heartland is all about!