God's Own Suburb

Flag Football 2

2009-04-19T12:22:00.001-05:00

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Flag Football.

2009-04-19T12:07:00.001-05:00

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Finally, The Park.

2009-04-16T11:43:00.001-05:00

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Walking To School. Welcome Spring.

2009-03-16T08:30:00.001-05:00

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2009-03-16T00:01:00.005-05:00

So I finally got out to go see Watchmen tonight, and I gotta tell you, it's pretty damn good.

Based on the reviews, even the good ones, I was prepared for a struggle to get through it But my only real criticism was the musical choices. They strayed from very on-the-nose to distractingly inappropriate. Why does a filmmaker work so hard placing a movie in 1985, even going so far as to recreate a mid-80's apple monitor/mouse user interface, but can't come up with an 80's appropriate music choice for a funeral scene? "Sound of Silence?" Really? And as we spiral towards the climax, a crazy end to a crazy journey, the best you can do is "All Along The Watchtower?" O.k. I guess, if that's the depth of you imagination. Damn Freedom Rock will never go away.

But really, I, and most other longtime "Watchmen" fans, weren't asking, seeking or looking for imagination. All we wanted was to see this comic story we had grown up with on screen. Just gimme what I see and read on the page and I'll be happy. And I think that's what they did. And did it very well.

This got me thinking... What's the longest you can remember waiting for something to become a movie?

I know now a days, most books, comics, real life stories, etc. are all almost instantly turned into t.v. programing or films. When I first read "Watchmen" I don't think I was aware that I was waiting for a movie version, but I was soon enough. As soon as "Return of the Jedi" ended I was waiting for the next movies, though that isn't the same thing.

"Watchmen" might be the longest I've waited.

Rockin' The Mall On A Cold Day.

2009-03-11T10:13:00.001-05:00

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Off The Train, Heading Home.

2009-03-10T23:02:00.001-05:00

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Rain Smile.

2009-03-10T22:58:00.001-05:00

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Rain Fun.

2009-03-10T16:29:00.001-05:00

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Test #2

2009-03-09T01:56:00.002-05:00

It's like an abandoned Dahrma station in here.

May have found a good posting from phone system.

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Testing

2009-03-09T01:40:00.001-05:00

This is a test.

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Graduation Day

2008-06-13T08:32:00.005-05:00

My Big First Grader.

Yesterday, Philip had his last day of Kindergarten. My Little Guy isn't so little anymore. He grows and grows quickly.

There's been a core group of about five of us, parents, who live in the neighborhood and walk our kids to school. We all got a little choked up as our kids came out and we realized that they were done, and next year our babies were gonna be in school, First Grade, full-time.

It's been a good year. We all started off a bit scared and apprehensive about how the children would handle it.

Phil's Server Tip of the Day.

2008-06-11T08:32:00.006-05:00

To my customer on Saturday night who ordered a Patty Melt without the bread,

A Patty Melt with no bread isn't a Patty Melt. It's just a patty with cheese.

Yours,

Server Phil

Morning Picture Project

2008-06-11T08:28:00.007-05:00

My Daughter and I.

2008-06-10T09:44:00.002-05:00

So I've had this beard for about a year and a half. It's an alright beard. The best I've ever grown. I've been trying to grow a beard since I was old enough to grow hair on my chin. It hasn't always been pretty. But I've tried for acouple of reasons:

I hate to shave. Hate it. Dragging a razor across my face once a day just isn't any fun for me.
The wife likes it. Don't ask me why.
I guess there's only two.

But this really isn't about my beard.

What I really want to know is, by having a beard, am I insuring my daughter will always go for guys with beards?

Morning Picture Project

2008-06-10T07:33:00.004-05:00

Parental Philosophy: Questions and Answers.

2008-06-06T08:20:00.011-05:00

There was recently a big brouhaha in Seattle about a lesbian couple being asked to stop kissing at a Mariner's game. That's fine and all. Public displays of affection, by anyone, depending on the degree, would make any of us want to throw up. That isn't what struck me about the article. What struck me was peoples quoted reaction to the scenario.

"I'd have to explain what's going on to my kids."

That's the reason some people gave when asked why they might have a problem with two women kissing in public.

To them I say, "That's the job. You're parents."

One constant inquiry of my oldest is on the subject of death. We drive by a number of cemeteries out here in the 'Burbs. Philip will often comment, "That's Heaven. Right, Daddy?" Or, "That's where we go when we die. Right, Daddy?" I try to tell him that our soul goes up in the sky (I can't avoid my Catholic upbringing entirely) to heaven, and that the cemetery is where we put your body after you die. Not a great answer. Not the only answer, but the best I can do.

I also don't avoid the answer, "I don't know." This isn't much of an answer, but I want to encourage him to find the answers himself. These answers can often be found in books. Books contain the whole knowledge that we have accumulated as humans. If you have a question and no answer there is a good chance a book will have the answer you seek.

I haven't figured it all out, but it seems that avoiding subjects, within reason of course, is the wrong choice to make as a parent.

Morning Picture Project

2008-06-06T08:02:00.004-05:00

It's so hot and humid now, seating, without moving, you still sweat.

Sepia makes everyone look good.

Uncle Herbie, Patrick and Mary, Codename: Chubby Cheeks.

Morning Picture Project

2008-06-04T08:32:00.005-05:00

Morning Picture Project #3 (Or, Does Phil really wear that hat every day?)

2008-05-30T09:32:00.006-05:00

Mary was unavailable for this session as she was napping.

The answer to the above question is, yes.

Morning Picture Project #2

2008-05-29T09:07:00.005-05:00

Morning picture Project

2008-05-28T07:44:00.004-05:00

They grow up so fast. I'll take a picture everyday.

Happy Mother's Day, Mom's!!

2008-05-11T09:35:00.000-05:00

I should, at least, put some pics of the kids up...

2008-03-09T13:26:00.004-05:00

Cute? Ain't they?

Now look that way!!

What's In Your Diaper Bag?

2008-01-15T08:33:00.000-06:00

When I first became a parent I used to tell people who asked that running errands with a child was like going camping. You have a backpack, and/or car, full of stuff you may, or may not, need. Food, change of clothes, cleaning supplies, drinks, a stroller, toys, books, etc. That was when I had one kid. Now that I have three, I can't believe I ever thought one kid kept me "busy."

On Mon., Wed., and Fri. Patrick has class at the YMCA from 9-11 am. On Tues. and Thurs. Philip has a class at the same YMCA from 930-1130 am. Mon. through Fri. Philip has kindergarten from 1215-300 pm. All these classes at different times, in different buildings around town makes me feel like I'm in college again, but while camping.

On Wed. Patrick swims so he needs swim trunks and a towel. On Fri. he ice skates and needs extra layers of clothes and a helmet. Philip swims on both Tues. and Thurs. Between the classes at the Y and kindergarten we eat lunch. During the classes, the baby needs a bottle.

These days it feels like I'm going on an extended camping trip, while attending college, with three kids under the age of 6.

We try to pack as many supplies as we can from home so we don't have to buy food while out and about. We've done a pretty good job. Our kids don't beg for snacks or candy from the vending machine. Whenever they have asked I've always been able to pull something healthier from our diaper bag. It's a good system and I always feel good when I see another kid with a bag of Funyuns for lunch.

Contents of diaper bag on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The Supplies.

Two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
Tuber ware of plain cheerio's.
Tuber ware of string cheese, cereal bars (without high fructose corn syrup)
Diapers.
Wet wipes.
Two bottles of formula.
Two sippy-cups of 2% milk.

The Lunch.

Beverages. (Diet Pepsi not pictured.)

Off to school.

You know what else was alot easier when I only had one? Heck, when I had two even? I lived in Sherman Oaks, California where it rarely snowed. It's so cold today.

Seven Wonders Of Phil Hendricks...

2008-01-08T08:20:00.001-06:00

The BlogMother, Flannery Alden of Prone to Whimsy has tagged me. I must answer the call.

Seven things about me you my not know.

I was a Boy Scout for five years and achieved the rank of First Class. I liked Boy Scouts despite the cliche jokes their mention inspires. The best things Boy Scouts ever taught me was the Buddy System. Don't go anywhere without someone to go with you.
I used to have a spot of red hair behind my right ear. As a kid, I would proudly show it off to anyone I could. Now it is white.
My Grandfathers older brothers were the leaders of a west side Chicago gang in the '20's and '30's. In 1927 they were at war with Al Capone as he expanded his organization outward. The reports differ wether Capone was there or not, but one night he put a hit out on them. The gun fight that followed lead to the death of a Chicago District Attorney who was out drinking with my great uncles. (Wildly inaccurate Wikipedia entry.)
I love Diet Pepsi, and I'm thoroughly convinced that it has addictive properties. I drink about 10 cans a day.
I've never broken any bones. Must be something about my family because my brothers never have either.
I've been in the live audience of the Bozo show twice, but never got chosen for the Grand Prize Game.
I used to live in Bellwood, Illinois. Bellwood is known for it's huge land fill that recently was filled completely and for being the boyhood home of the last man to walk on the moon, Eugene Cernan.

Gay, You Say...

2007-10-22T10:33:00.001-05:00

So, J.K. Rowling came out this weekend at a fan convention and stated that Albus Dumbledore was gay.

Dave, over at BadArt has a good post on the subject.

I have a couple of thoughts on the subject:

1. I think it's debatable. Sure, she's the writer, and she created him, so it's largely her call. But she didn't include it in the text, so as the reader, I can make up whatever I want. I made this point over at Badart, if J.D. Salinger came out today and said Holden Caulfield's problems came from him being a closeted homosexual, I think that would be debated.

I've disagreed with artists on their own work before. George Lucas altered a moment in Star Wars 'A New Hope,' when, in the re-release, he had Han Solo firing second, in response to Greedo firing first, in the cantina scene. The original has Solo firing first, under the table, killing Greedo before he has a chance to fire. He stated that he never thought Solo would fire first, that was to cold-blooded for a character like Han Solo. First, Lucas contradicts himself within the movie. Han Solo plans to shoot down a Tie-Fight later, when the pilot has not fired on him. Second, he diminishes Solo's journey from scoundrel pirate to self sacrificing hero, betraying himself as an artist who may not understand his own work.

2. The actor playing Dumbledore has only now been given this information.
"In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair... [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, "Dumbledore's gay!"
An actor can waste alot of time trying to figure out what history a writer was thinking about for the character they are playing. I say waste because you can often never know. The actor must choose for themselves, and the best actors create a strong back story for themselves. What the writer intended may not always elicite the strongest performance from an actor. They change it to suit their performance. Sometimes this is called, personalizing your character. If Dumbledore being gay helps? Great, use it. If not, throw it out. At this point, other than specific script stuff, I'm not sure it matters at all to the actor who will play him.

3. If Dumbledore being gay is important, than why leave it out? Obviously, it would hurt books sales. Or, probably it wouldn't. But it would have created controversy, and maybe she just didn't want to deal with it. Anyway, she left it out, despite it's seeming importance. She has avoided a controversy, but she has also avoided the potential for making a rather significant, positive cultural impact. I fear that this indicates a weakness in her writing.

I believe that Sci-Fi and Fantasy can inform, influence, describe and positively affect us, just as any art form can. I'm pretty sure, the first interracial television kiss was on Star Trek. This had an impact, forcing viewers to think about the subject. The recent Marvel Comics story line, Civil War, which some of you may have heard of, led to the death of Captain America and the permanent unmasking of Spiderman. What I found most exciting , and enjoyed best, about the series is it examination of our post 9/11 world.

(Quickly, a fight between super people leads to an explosion and the death of over 600, normal men, women and children. This begins a movement to get superpeople to register with the government or be classified as illegal vigilantes, thrown in a prison outside the U.S., without trial.)

Civil War wasn't a unique idea, but given my description above and moments like Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four) placing an elongated hand on Iron Man shoulder and imploring him to, 'Stay the course,' it's comparisons and similarities to our current situation here and abroad is undeniable. And you know who is reading these comics, besides 33 year-old guys like me? Kids. Kids of all ages. Civil War takes a real, horrifying thing like 9/11 and the war in Iraq and places it into a form a child can access. Think about. Judge. Explore.

A book series as wildly popular as Harry Potter, creating and examining an openly gay character, could have introduced millions of children to the possibility that homosexuality isn't the plague it is sometimes made out to be. Those millions of kids would pass the book onto their children, as I will, and they would be given the opportunity to explore this subject.

It's to bad really. She's takes on classism, racism, death, murder, adolescence, adolescent sexuality, betrayal, the afterlife, school, the power of love and a few other worthy topics. Giving her young readers alot to mull over in their heads and chew on. It's unfortunate that she avoids this subject till it's to late to benefit them.

She may have sold less books, or gotten more crap from the extremists, but she also might have made an even bigger, more positive, difference by being brave enough to bring it up.

Parental Philosophy

2007-10-15T12:02:00.001-05:00

Most parents I know walk around most of the time with an extreme inner conflict. A question they keep repeating, silently, to themselves, 'Am I doing the right thing?' In almost all criticism, deep down inside of the critic, this question persists. In most parents criticism of other parents this question is loudest.

I recently received two compliments that indicate we might be doing some things right.

As I was walking home after dropping Philip off at kindergarten, one of the mother's who has a son in his class noticed that I didn't have Patrick with me. The Wife is still on maternity leave, I had left him and Mary Kate home with her, I told her. She said we seemed like a good team. That was nice to hear. You can only put so much stock in the perception of others when it comes to your marriage and the raising of your children, but it still made me mildly proud. We are a good team. We work at it and I'm glad it shows.

The second compliment came from another mother, later that week, with a girl in Philip's class. She had worked the class as a volunteer assistant. At the end of the day, she told me, Philip had come up to her and thanked her for coming and helping in class. I guess he was the only student to thank her. She wanted to let me know that I had a very polite son. This made me very proud. It's important to us that our children respect others and behave in a proper way around them. In my opinion, there is far to much inconsiderate behavior in all walks of life.

Like I said, ultimately, you keep you own counsel when it comes to raising your kids. Still though, I'm glad my son is picking up what we are laying down.

And now some pics of the baby.

Mary Katherine smiling in her sleep.

So, Mary Kate is doing well. She had had a horrifying diaper rash for a few weeks. It looks like someone had dragged her behind a car. Everything is better now. She's sleeping well, waking once, maybe twice, a night.

Kisses from big brother, Patrick.

The Boys continue to be attentive and gentle with Mary Kate. They can't wait to play with her. We caught Philip the other day holding her properly, just like we showed him. The problem was, he had picked her up out of her basket, carried her to the couch himself. Without supervision. Without asking us. She was fine, but she's still alittle fragile to be picked up by Philip. Still, no harm. No foul.

Boom Goes The Baby.

2007-09-07T20:17:00.001-05:00

Mary Katherine, Born Sept. 7th.
8 LBS. 14 OZ.

The Boys and their Little Sister. They seemed rather proud.

Mmmm..Delicious baby.

Patrick was the more interested and curious, not having gone through this before. Philip wants to help and hold her, but he understands that babies aren't much fun till they can do something.

The only unusual thing that occurred was when we arrived at the hospital the maternity ward was running on emergency power. We had a minor storm last night which might have caused the problem, but know one knew for sure. Anything plugged into a red outlet worked, this did not include the computers so the majority of the forms to be filled out was done on notebook paper. It also put the delivery in question. They could only perform 'necessary surgery,' and since our C-Section was considered 'elective,' we might have to wait.

I did make a mental note that the hospital would be a good place to hideout in case of a zombie outbreak, but that didn't really help the situation at hand. Luckily, it turned out to be no big deal.

It never gets any less amazing when they pull a person out of another person.

Well, I'm back to the hospital. I do recommend the cafeteria if you ever happen to be hungry in Elmhurst.

False Alarm.

2007-08-28T08:14:00.001-05:00

Dirty Laundry had requested a baby update but before I could get one up, she gave us an update of her own in the form of Braxton Hicks contractions and a trip to the hospital for some monitoring. The Wife has never progressed through labor so when she felt the tightening she wasn't completely sure what it was she was feeling. After going back and forth on the phone with our doctor it was decided we should stop by for them to check things out. She, the baby, did not like the monitor resting on her and violently kicked at it the whole time we were there.

Everything is fine and this is perfectly normal. If she had been dilated at all we would have had the baby last night. Currently our C-section is scheduled for Sept. 7th.

Things Fall Apart.

2007-08-26T10:07:00.000-05:00

The Storm.

As I'm sure most of you have heard, there was a brutal storm that swept through the Midwest last Thursday. The reason you haven't heard anything from me about it is we have been without power since then.

Lots of trees and power lines down in our yard and neighborhood, luckily none hit our house or garage. Sadly, it looks like the end of this tree. Poor old tree. I used to climb this one as a kid and had some vague hopes of building my own kids a tree house in it.

Another tree an ex next-door neighbor had planted years ago. Time to plant again.

The kids were fascinated by the whole thing. We had accidentally slept through it all and didn't realize what had happened till afterwards. I wonder what impression seeing the destruction and dealing with the lack of electricity for two days will have on them. We all learn eventually that there are powers beyond our parents control. Will this be a point in that development that they look on and realize just how small we are?

Things Fall Apart.

It's been a weird month. The list of things that have broken down around the Hendricks compound reads:

My car.
Our second car, an old used Lincoln we bought from my folks, shocks went out earlier in the week. It's undrivable and we got it towed to my brother's shop. We are down to borrowing my folks car full time. This week we plan to purchase a new van.
Our laundry machine broke early two weeks ago. It took acouple days to get a new one at which time the storm came and we lost power. For a house with six people living in it this becomes a problem very quickly.
We lost everything in our fridge. My precious ice cream.

I'm Not Feeling It.

2007-08-21T15:18:00.000-05:00

Some people get uptight when a book is adapted for the big screen and moments they feel are important are eliminated in the translation.

Some people will argue that records "sound better" than a CD.

Me? I get in a twist when a comic book, or Graphic Novel as the real uptight fanboy might insist, is adapted for film and the filmmakers alter important elements of characters.

In both of these pics from the new Batman film it appears as if the Joker is wearing make-up to create the white skin and green hair. I might be wrong, but...

Why?

Do they not understand that the Joker is insane largely because of the permanent change in his appearance? The Joker isn't an alter ego he has created. It isn't his Mr. Hyde. It isn't the Hulk to his Bruce Banner, but a part of him that was always there and that he gladly embraces. The disfigurement is a physical manifestation of who he truly is. Uncureable and unrepentant, he is totally changed. There is no prince hidden beneath the clown, he is wholly the Beast. Chaos. Batmans opposite.

I'm already skeptical.

Thanks to Tankboy for these images.

My Actor Friends

2007-08-21T08:06:00.000-05:00

My friend Chauntal got to play Lindsay Lohan in a spoof on Entertainment Tonight. Pretty Silly, but good to see Chauntal getting some work.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2007-08-20T09:23:00.001-05:00

Portrait of the Grandpa as a Young Man.

To all our good fortune, born on this day in the backseat of a car in Kentucky.

Weekly To-Do List

2007-08-20T09:03:00.000-05:00

MONDAY:

Get Philip's doctor/shots records.
Take records to elementary school and register Philip for kindergarten.
Test drive used car. (Possible purchase of two cars this week.)
Continue to prepare the boys room for wallpapering.
Lead cold reading workshop for GreenMan Theatre Troupe. (Miss Bears game. :()
Deposit weekend tips.
TBA

TUESDAY:

Pay student loan payment.
Get wallpapering started.
TBA

WEDNESDAY:

Take Philip to Dentisits appointment, 8 AM.
Schedule Dentist appointment for Patrick.
TBA

THURSDAY:

FRIDAY:

TBA
Arrange sitter for boys.
Work, 5:30 PM.

Not Sure What I Think About This.

2007-08-17T14:55:00.000-05:00

The Ballistic Bookbag

Pictured above is a product currently available for children and parents preparing for returning to school soon. It's the Ballistic Backpack and it cost $175. Why the high price tag? It's bulletproof. Made from a lightweight product similar to the vests worn by police and military, it's marketed as practical protection from guns and knifes for everyone, but especially your children. At school.

Since 1999 over 328 incidents have occurred, leaving 229 dead and 422 injured in school violence alone. That is an average of about 1 per week since the Columbine Tragedy. In almost 97% of these documented incidents, MJ Safety Solutions backpack could have provided the ballistic protection that could have saved lives.

I'm not sure I buy their claim of a potential 97% success rate, but I do admit, my first thought is, why not? Why not give your kid a bulletproof back pack? Why, effing-not? I mean, it can be crazy out there. How can I not do my best to protect them?

That isn't my only thought though. Other are: What long-term damage am I doing to myself and my children by succumbing to what is clearly a choice made from paranoia? Most schools, I assume, require you to leave your bag in your locker to help prevent this kind of violence. Likely, it wouldn't be available to protect you.

And when are we going to see people commit crimes with ten of these things hanging off of them. If logic leads criminals to duct tape their faces, their bound to use this soon. Given their high cost, when will they become a target of theft, leading to violence?

Also, when are kids going to start testing the bag themselves with their parents gun, Jackass style?

When are we going to get rid of the guns that make this type of product necessary?

My Writer Friends.

2007-08-16T09:28:00.001-05:00

One of the better friends I made while living out in L.A. was Marissa Giamo. Marissa had bounced around working on various crews in different capacities in New York and L.A. We met in Joe Palese's acting class, worked on some scenes, and grew close. She became a reliable emergency babysitter when Philip was born, and was a source of encouragement in what is a decidedly discouraging city.

As is often the case, we lost touch as she set out on a path back to NYC, and I back to Chicago. She dropped me a line recently to let me know she would be in the city for a wedding and wanted to get together. Cool. But what was even cooler was the success she has had since we last spoke. Marissa has written, illustrated, and managed to get published a children's book called, Spin The Globe Adventures: Australia. See her interview on The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet here.

I haven't read it yet, but I'm looking forward to showing it to the boys.

Congrats, Marissa!

This Is Pretty Funny.

2007-08-16T09:05:00.000-05:00

Philip's Fifth Birthday: Lord Of The Flies Edition.

2007-08-07T19:04:00.000-05:00

Philip turned five this past Monday. The Sunday before, we had his birthday party. I like throwing parties at home. We had an old school sprinkler party. Well, we didn't have a sprinkler going, but we had a kiddie pool and a slip-n-slide.

The Big Birthday Man.

We had, roughly, thirty people. Aunts, uncles, cousins, neighbors, friends, grandparents. Pizza and hot dogs were served and washed down with plenty of pop.

Water balloon fight.

You'd be amazed at how fast you can pop one hundred water balloons. It turns into a feeding frenzy pretty quick.

Those who choose not to water balloon.

Here you got Grandma, Great Grandma (Nana), Uncles Mort and Mike, plus Megan on the right. She is the creator/baker/fabricator of the SpongeBob cake.

Reverse. Those who choose not to water balloon.

All the redheads are on my wife's side. She's got five sisters. The cousins all love to get together.

Pinata time.

This was an interesting exercise, aside from me catching one tailor made for America's Funniest home Videos, this pinata wasn't meant to be beaten open. There are some fifteen ribbons hanging from the back of the pinata. You are supposed to have each kid pull one, and eventually you yank open a door and the candy comes spilling out. I figured, what the hell, we can beat it open anyway. Not so much. Remember that scene in Parenthood when Steve Martin has to saw a pinata open? Yeah, it was kinda like that. After each kid got about four attempts at it, we switched to pulling the ribbons. That did it. The sugar hit their bloodstream and the party really started rockin'.

More sugar.

Tarzan boy.

Time to open gifts.

Being that Philip is five, he is on the outer edge of the first memories he will have. Those vague images that float around your head from before you can even say. I'm never sure if I actually had the memory, or if some old picture has burned into my brain, fooling me into thinking I was there and remember it. Either way, I think we showed him a good time. I hope he remembers being surrounded by family and friends who love him. People who came to share an important moment with him and a time when all you needed was an inflatable pool, a back yard and some water balloons for a good time.

Stuff That Keeps Me From Blogging.

2007-07-31T21:44:00.000-05:00

My Kids.

Assembly Park beach.

Last week I took The Boys up to Delavan, Wisconsin. Delavan, once known for the Clown Hall of Fame within it, is about 15 miles from Geneva. My parents own a cottage in a place called, Assembly Park. We've owned since about 1990, but previously we had always rented a cottage for about two weeks in August dating back to '76. This was my summer place. Every year I would arrive, a year older, but the park remaining, largely, unchanged. My banner photo was taken at this beach ten years ago. Now, I bring my kids here. I find great comfort in these places.

My Car.

1999 Dodge Intrepid dead on the Kennedy.

Last week my car broke down. It was a Friday and I was on my way to work. It died in the center lane of the southbound Kennedy expressway, a major artery in and out of the city. A stopped car, in the center lane, in Friday rush hour traffic is not a good thing. I'm not sure how I did it, but channeling Homer Simpson in the episode when his car gets the boot, I restarted it and willed it to this exit ramp where it stopped for good. Triple A towed it to my brothers garage where it was pronounced dead. It's to bad, it was a good car. It got me around LA for a good 8 months and drove me back to my home today. Now we gotta go Minivan.

So long car.

Badarts' New Baby

Zelda Ivory Rain Brennan.

Beautiful, ain't she? She was born on July 27 in an unassisted, home birth. No doctor. No Midwife. Just Mom, Dad, Finn and eventually baby. Crazy, I know. So crazy it worked.

So we have been heading into the city, in a car I borrow from my Mom, and hanging out with Team Brennan. Meeting the baby, playing and visiting a water park. Good times.

Patrick and Finn hiding.

Shelto, Ava (pictured upside down) and Dave.

Finn, Patrick and Philip at waterpark.

Patrick sits.

Phil' Phuneral Mix.

2007-07-26T08:41:00.000-05:00

So the good folk over at Culture of Beer requested Funeral mixes from everyone. Personally, I don't really find this morbid. In fact, I find it binding and expect everyone close to me, who reads this, to follow instructions explicitly.

I made it eighteen because that is what I can usually fit on a disk I burn for someone. The order is unimportant.

Streets of Laredo, Johnny Cash

Amazing Grace. Preferably bagpipes.

Danny-Boy. Also bagpipes.

My Name Is Phil. Aaron this will be a special request for you. You'll have to perform it. Unless you die before me, in which case, I request you teach it to three other people. Those three other people will teach three other people, and so on. This way we'll have our bases covered. I got acouple ideas for lyrics, the first being, My Name Was Phil. We'll talk.

Long as I Can See The Light. Creedence.

Long Black Limousine, Elvis Presley.

Further On Down The Road, Taj Mahal.

Into the Mystic, Van Morrison.

The Sick Bed Of Cuchulainn, The Pogues.

Sally MacLennane, The Pogues.

Here Comes The Sun, the Beatles.

What Deener Was Talking About, Ween.

Sing It again, Beck.

Strangers, The Kinks.

Theologians, Wilco.

Over And Done With, The Proclaimers

No Expectations, The Rolling Stones.

As, Stevie Wonder.

This may turn into Phil's Phuneral Box Set. Kind of fun. The more details and instructions I give, the more power I have from the grave.

Phil's Server Tip Of The Day.

2007-07-21T10:41:00.000-05:00

Be honest about your mistakes.

I had a bad night last night.

I've talked about this before, but I'll do it again for the sake of this line of posts.

I was, as it's known in the restaurant community, 'weeded.' A server gets 'weeded' for all kinds of different reasons. The kitchen is 'weeded', causing you to become 'weeded.' Or, your tables just happen to be particular about their orders requiring extra steps to complete. Most of the time you have been given more tables at once than you can competently handle. When this happens, you have been 'slammed' with tables, and 'weeding' occurs. 'Slammed' and 'weeded' are often interchangeable terms.

Last night I got 'slammed' and 'weeded.' Not as fun as it might sound.

I made a number of mistakes I don't normally make. I delivered a beer that a woman had not ordered. I tried to drop off a crab stuffed shrimp appetizer to that same table when they had not ordered it, plus it took me another wrong table before I found the right table. The one I feel worst about was a group of nice regulars came in with a six-year-old and I forgot the straw they had asked for for him. He had a mohawk and was very well behaved. I also took an order for apple pie from them, discovered we were out, and had to go back and disappoint them.

Everyone has a bad day and mine was last night.

When this happens, I find the best way to deal with it is being upfront. Apologize, admit your mistake, correct it, thank them for their patience and work to make it up to them.

You don't want to be presumptuous and give the impression that mistakes are acceptable, but most people have been where you are.

If you have otherwise been polite and thorough, most customers will give you the benefit of the doubt. They understand and want to feel that you are aware, contrite and working on the problem.

Product Endorsement: The iPhone.

2007-07-18T07:47:00.000-05:00

The iPhone smells great, and tastes even better.

Label Me.

2007-07-15T10:38:00.001-05:00

My Liberal Identity:

You are a Reality-Based Intellectualist, also known as the liberal elite. You are a proud member of what’s known as the reality-based community, where science, reason, and non-Jesus-based thought reign supreme.

Take the quiz at www.FightConservatives.com

When I was 17, it was a very good year.

2007-07-13T06:32:00.000-05:00

1991 was a very good year, I had graduated from high school, the Bulls won their first Championship and I went off to college. Not only that, but a lot of very good albums were released that year.

Maybe the best and most influential album that came out in '91 was Nirvana's Nevermind.

Not only did it rock, it also had one of the greatest covers of any album ever.

Oh, yes. We all remember that little baby, swimming so happily, never knowing if he caught that dollar bill or not.

Well, last Monday, that baby turned 16.

Here he is now, entertain him.

Now let's rock likes 1991 again.

Thanks to IDYFT for the link.

Phil's Server Tip Of The Day.

2007-07-12T08:10:00.000-05:00

Be generous.

As a server, you are depending on your customers tips for your income. This is hard logic for some to understand. (See Steve Buschemi in Reservoir Dogs.) Often, customers see servers through a haze of suspicion. At best, viewing their every move as some attempt to increase their tip. At worst, they fear we have poisoned them. (See Fight Club.) Sure, I've known some mercenary, customer-hating servers in my day, but most, at the very least, just want you to enjoy your meal.

An excellent way to calm a customer, endear them to you, and help insure they return to give you their business is generosity. Buy them a drink. Whatever they are drinking, or a cup of coffee at the end of the meal. Buy their appetizer and start your relationship off with a sign of goodwill. Buy them a dessert and drop it at the table with a, "Thanks for dining with us, I hope you enjoy this pie. On me." Leaving them with a positive impression at the end of the meal.

Of course, there are restrictions depending on what kind of boss you have. Even if your restaurant has a strict policy against this kind of behavior you can usually find a way to do it. There's a couple things to remember: 1. As a server, you earn the bulk of your income from the tips your customers leave, making them your true "boss." Help them feel that way. 2. Your boss should always be reminded that return business is the best business. Spoiled customers come back, and they tell their friends about your generosity.

There are other ways to exercise generosity. Take your time at the table, indulging them in their questions. Refill drinks without being asked. Welcome them when they arrive. Thank them often for dining with you. Get creative and come up with some on your own.

There are many options, but I think the best way is through free stuff.

That's a "thank you" everyone understands.

Phil's Server Tip Of The Day

2007-07-11T08:32:00.000-05:00

Always repeat your customers order back to them.

Quite often as a waiter takes an order, the person ordering has just bit into a bread stick, or perhaps they are just a low talker. Sometimes they are neither, but insist on looking everywhere but the waiter that they are talking to while they are giving their order. This can lead to a misunderstanding and confusion about what they have ordered.

Repeating their order back to them gives you a chance to confirm what you have written down. A chance for them to correct you if you heard them wrong, heading off any mistakes that might happen. Taking this one extra step during the ordering processes can help prevent the appearance of sloppy service, and hopefully, improve your tip.

Why Was It That?

2007-07-10T08:53:00.000-05:00

That Boys and I were watching Toy Story last night. If you haven't seen it, or haven't seen it in awhile, it's great. Holds up very well after some ten years. We got to a point where Woody asks the magic 8 ball a question.

Philip says, "That's a bowling ball, right, Daddy."

You rarely want your kid to operate on incorrect information. You want them to have the proper knowledge when they observe the world.

That's not to say their imagination should be stifled. Two sticks can be an airplane. One stick can be a rocket. Our living room carpet can be water with our couch cushion acting as rafts. As of this moment, Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy are still real. That's all pretend, and very important and fine.

But there's a difference when it comes to them accurately trying to categorize the world around them. They do want, and need, to know that a fork is a fork sometimes.

"Well, not exactly. It's a funny toy called a magic 8 Ball."

"What is it?"

"Well... That's what it is... Uh, you ask it questions, and... It gives you some kind of answer..."

Philip saved me from having to explain what exactly is the use of this toy by repeating my own description, "It's a funny toy, Daddy."

"Yeah, it's a funny toy." I say, assuring him and smiling to myself.

But it got me thinking, why is it an 8-ball? Why not a 6-ball? Or a magic cue ball?

Some questions are unanswerable. It's a funny world.

Phil's Server Tip Of The Day.

2007-07-09T12:09:00.001-05:00

If a customer asks you what you like on the menu, mention the items you don't like first.

This gives you credibility in their eyes. They understand that you aren't just a shill for the restaurant. That you are actually interested in them enjoying their meal.

For example, the sangria at our place isn't very good. It comes from a box, and I don't like to serve it. If someone orders it, I tell them it comes from a box, and offer them a taste. If they like it fine, they can have it. But it does my tip no good serving items I don't like.

An Open Letter To My Mother.

2007-07-06T11:54:00.000-05:00

Dear Mom,

I went grocery shopping today. You don't need to pick up any milk, or ice cream, on your way home.

Love,

Philip

Movie Meme.

2007-07-05T17:53:00.001-05:00

I've been meaning to get to this meme that Valerie tagged me with awhile ago. I am to list my favorite movies, which is very hard to do, so I thought I'd spin it a bit. A common cliche often heard is, "The movie is never better than the book." I say, that isn't always true. These are movies I love that I think are better than the books they are based on, in no particular order.

The Godfather. Arguably the greatest movie ever made. The book? Not so much. Sure, it's not a bad read, but at no point do you feel that it is the grand, sweeping indictment of our capitalistic system. Never does the book aspire to the Shakespearean heights, the examination of American royalty that the film does. None of the characters within the book rise to the level that Pacino, Brando, Cann, Duvall and Keaton elevate them to.'

Favorite quote. Michael: Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.

Jaws. The book is a quality page turner, scary and compelling. The movie? A terrifying, modern retelling of Moby Dick. Utilizing the "less is more" Hitchcockian style of film making, Jaws dwells on the subject of revenge, and the struggle of man vs. nature. Still, when I look out on a large body of water, I think of this movie.

Favorite quote. Brody: You're gonna need a bigger boat.

Lonesome Dove. Probably the best book on my list, it won the 1986 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. In 1989 it was shown on CBS as a miniseries. Like I said, this book rocks. Historical fiction at it's best, it tells the story of the first cattle drive from south Texas to Montana.

What separates the film from the book for me? Two words, Robert Duvall. Duvall creates a character so rich and charismatic, even as an adult, I developed a strong emotional attachment to him. I didn't just wish I could meet him. I wish I could be him. There are many great characters like this in film history. R.P. McMurphy. 'Cool Hand' Luke. But I'd take Augustus MacRae over all of them.

Favorite quote. Gus: Here's to the sunny slopes of long ago.

The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. This is my favorite of the three film installments for the reason that it is my least favorite of the books. Most of the time I consider both a single thing. One book, one movie. But for the sake of this list I'll split them up. The film introduces us to a world so fully realized and beautiful, it's as if we have finally been given the gift of living and seeing the world Tolkien created. What is exposition in the book, and make no mistake I love it, is a visceral experience when watching the film.

Favorite quote. Gandalf: In the common tongue it reads "One Ring to Rule Them All. One Ring to Find Them. One Ring to Bring Them All and In The Darkness Bind Them."

Adaptation. I'll be honest with you, I haven't read the whole book. I've read parts, here and there, but not much. I couldn't get into it. I probably shouldn't compare them, the two being so different, but I think the film explores the pain of creation, the pain of being human at times, in a way the book doesn't. I also think this is another case of actors, at the top of their game, bringing us characters, people, living their lives in such a wonderful way with all the pain that that involves, that I'm not sure a book is capable of.

Favorite quote. Robert McKee: Nothing happens in the world? Are you out of your fucking mind? People are murdered every day. There's genocide, war, corruption. Every fucking day, somewhere in the world, somebody sacrifices his life to save someone else. Every fucking day, someone, somewhere makes a conscious decision to destroy someone else. People find love, people lose it. For Christ's sake, a child watches her mother beaten to death on the steps of a church. Someone goes hungry. Somebody else betrays his best friend for a woman. If you can't find that stuff in life, then you, my friend, don't know crap about life. And why the FUCK are you wasting my two precious hours with your movie? I don't have any use for it. I don't have any bloody use for it.

Charlie Kaufman: Ok, thank you.

What's that? You Say You Want More Pictures Of My Kids. Well. Alright.

2007-06-27T13:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday found us in Chicago at the Garfield Park Conservatory. I had never been there before, but Dave had recommended it and we want to get the kids together more often.

Finn and Philip

There are a number of huge colorful, sculptures on display in the garden by the artist Niki de Saint Phalle. The work is titled Niki In The Garden, and is meant to be played on and interacted with. Good times.

Finn and Ava

Trouble

Cranky Patrick with Ava in background

2007-06-26T19:10:00.000-05:00

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You Know You Love Pics Of My Kids.

2007-06-25T20:52:00.001-05:00

We purchased a Slip'n Slide this weekend and are happily destroying portions of our lawn.

Ava giving me the 'Stink-Eye.'

Philip, Patrick, Conner and Ava.

I thought this was a pretty good portrait of Conner. He's a good kid.

Another in the long list of amazing things you think, feel and witness raising a child is their boundless potential. There is the standard talk of your kid becoming President, or perhaps making a difference in the world. Curing cancer and what not. I'm often struck by a child's, and Philip's in particular, physical potential.

Philip has always been big. Our last doctors visit measured him at the size of your average six-year-old. He's big and strong, possessing a never ending supply of energy. Now, I know common sense tells me he has no chance of being a professional athlete, but, look at him, that four-year-old is shredded.

The potential that is held inside them draws a sharp contrast to my declining physical prowess. I'm not suggesting I'm jealous of my son, but rather excited and a little nostalgic. Excited to watch him grow up and discover what he is capable of doing. Nostalgic for the good times that trip will offer. His potential will lead him somewhere, and neither he, nor I know where.

Hot Fun In The Summertime.

2007-06-21T08:27:00.001-05:00

Morton Arboretum, 2007.

We have been busying ourselves with trips to Brookfield Zoo and The Morton Arboretum. The zoo is almost exactly as I remember it growing up as a kid. Shockingly so. The arboretum I had not gone to much growing up. It is very kid friendly and I believe they added the childrens garden recently.

More cicadas and a pond.

Though kids have the opportunity to wade through this pond, it is a living body of water, teeming with life. After a few trips I remembered one of my mother's motto's on all family day trips anywhere. Bring a change of clothes. It's priceless comedy to watch your son completely disrobe in front of a group of strangers.

While I was changing Patrick, I tried to brush some dirt off his feet, but it stuck to him. On closer investigation, a leech had stuck to his toe. I peeled it off and turned to ask a staff member if there were leeches in the pond. I have kind of a loud voice and luckily stopped myself before I caused a general panic amongst the kids and parents with, "Hey, are there leeches in the pond?" After quietly asking, he informed me there were. Cool.

Pond frog, Morton Arboretum, 2007.

The kids went crazy for this frog.

Patrick and Ava, Morton Arboretum, 2007.

Ava goes crazy for water in all it's forms. She loves the pond.

Philip at Xanadu, Morton Arboretum, 2007.

This is a sculpture called Xanadu, by Patrick Dougherty. It is made from various, large sticks all woven together. It took the artist fifteen days to sculpt, with help from volunteers. I wasn't blown away. The act of making it is impressive and the finished product was fun, but even so, I thought it would have been much cooler had it been grown and manipulated to this form, yet remained alive.

Ava, Goat and Patrick, Brookfield Zoo, 2007.

We didn't get to many pictures at the zoo, but this one of them brushing the goat turned out super cute.

Goat, Philip and Patrick, Brookfield Zoo, 2007.

Zoo lunch, Ava, Philip and Patrick, Brookfield Zoo, 2007.

Product Endorsement: ALPRO G500.

2007-06-14T08:08:00.001-05:00

I think I have mentioned before that I'm a waiter, or server if you prefer. My first server job was at a Denny's in Normal, Illinois back in 1993. Since then I've been employed as a server at various restaurants from Hollywood to Key West. The constant problem at every job I've had is, progressively worsening foot pain. The job requires you to stand for long periods of time and over the span of years this can lead to constant discomfort.

A few weeks ago, the bottom of my foot started to feel like it had been set on fire when I walked. I tried buying some new cross-trainer gym shoes, which helped, but when I took them off, the pain returned. On top of my career as a server, I'm also the stay-at-home parent of two very active boys. I couldn't be limping around after The Boys. The discomfort had to be addressed. So I went to my local Moccasins & More Leather Shop and ordered a pair of ALPRO G500 black leather clog/shoes. ALPRO is the professional division of Birkenstock, designing shoes for work environment.

I've been wearing the ALPRO G500 for less than a week now, and my pain has largely subsided. The molded cork/latex footbed is a dream come true, the shock absorbing soles a revelation. Plus, they aren't just comfortable and therapeutic, they are a pretty handsome shoe as you can see. Aside from the black leather, they also come in white, which I now have my eye on.

I had owned a pair of Birkenstocks in college, but after they fell apart, I never replaced them. That's never gonna happen again.

Thank you, ALPRO G500.

Here's To You.

2007-06-13T13:08:00.000-05:00

Alot of folks do a regular blogroll. They let everyone know when they add a link, or they highlight specific posts they found interesting. Chris wrote a particularly touching post, thanking everyone on his link list.

I wanted to give you all some credit for not attempting to mine a certain subject matter for any of your posts.

The subject I speak of, of course, is this:

So, thanks everyone.

Thanks for showing the restraint our major news stations do not.

If you don't read the blogs I link to, you should.

2007-06-07T18:11:00.001-05:00

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My Novelist Friends.

2007-06-07T08:03:00.000-05:00

I know actors, I know playwrights, I know photographers and painters. I know musicians and I know dancers. I even know an actress who was once an Olympic gymnast. But I don't know many novelists, at least not any who are published. Well, I can now scratch that off my list.

My buddy Andrew, pictured here, has had his Novel, 'To The Last Drop' accepted for publication. I'll let Andrew tell you alittle more.

"After 11 years & 6 novels & 150+ rejections, the door has finally been cracked open just a wee bit.

The novel is about a war over water between Texas and New Mexico, set in the present day. In the story, Texas invades New Mexico and occupies it for its trickle of water. An insurgency grows in the oppressed territory of "New Texas" and it's all brilliantly executed. If you're interested in learning more about the book, please copy & paste your way to: myspace.com/tothelastdropnovel

My novel will be published within the next 12 months by the press wing of a research institute in Boulder, CO called BAUU. They mostly publish hard science, social science, native American anthropology etc but, in their well-educated wisdom, they've decided to take a chance on my novel: "We believe that the book has merit and the topic is inventive and pertinent to today's times ... we are excited about working with you and bringing this book into production."

Congrats, Andrew!

For all of you aspiring novelists out there, keep it up. Successes like these could be your own.

Report From Cicada Station 60126

2007-06-06T09:49:00.000-05:00

Warning!! The following post contains pictures of cicadas.

With all the goings on around here, I haven't even mentioned the cicadas. There are alot of them. Not as many as I remember in '90, but still quite a few.

I was initially disappointed in them. Just another memory from childhood proven false, or at least diminished, I thought. Perhaps it was exaggerated in my mind, the cicadas of 1990. Or, maybe there were more 17 years ago. I didn't know, there just seemed to be less of them this time.

Those assumptions were proved an overreaction. There are plenty of cicadas here in 2007.

Some Cool News

2007-06-05T22:02:00.000-05:00

Awhile ago, I started a sports blog called Double-Nickel. It is dying a slow death and if anyone wants to join me there to write about sports please contact me. Write about anything you want really, or don't. If you are reading this blog, you probably have your own blog and could write about sports or anything you want anyway.

Anyway.

Double-Nickel gained the attention of some guys at another sports blog, Sweet Home Sports. (Which all Chicago sports fans should be reading.) They were looking for someone to cover Bears news exclusively. Cool. I like the sports blogging for the debate and discussions, this blog had more readership and more opportunities to chat sports.

A post I wrote yesterday got the attention of Deadspin. They gave it a mention and linked to the post. This is very cool. Deadspin is the Daily Kos of sports blogging. A site that gets 200,000 hits a day. Their link was much appreciated, and I'm feeling kinda good about it.

That is all.

Memorial Day At The Deely's.

2007-06-03T21:48:00.000-05:00

Back in college, I was lucky enough to meet my friend Anita. Over the years, I've gotten to know her whole family. Last week The Boy's and I, along with Shelto and his daughter Ava, hung-out at Grandma Deely's house with Keira, Sheila's daughter, and Brenden, Michael's son. It is a special pleasure to watch your children play with the children of such good friends.

Philip and Brenden watering Grandma Deely's flowers.

Little Keira. Cutey. She cried whenever I got close to her.

Daddy Shelto plays with The Boy's while Ava climbs horse.

Shelto, Ava, Keira and her mother Sheila.

Boys love to hit things.

Philip and Ava.

Brenden, Philip and Patrick.

Ava.

Flannery Alden Is Prone To Interview Me Whimsically.

2007-05-31T23:12:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite bloggers, Flannery Alden, between plotting the end of Mel Gibsons' career and conquering the world, has interviewed me.

If you aren't reading her blog, you probably should.

Flan: I've taken time out of my busy vacation schedule, which includes visiting the ducks and geese and their babies at the park and splashing around in the wading pool to interview the marvelous Phil!

Phil, you are an actor, what role have you always dreamed of playing and why?

Phil: That's an excellent question, Flannery. I suppose the standard answer is, Hamlet. In many circles it's considered the greatest piece of literary art ever written. It's also considered to be the great actor yardstick, almost like a marathon might be. A lot of actors want to test themselves against it. I don't pretend to understand it in it's entirety, but I do appreciate it's beauty and monstrous difficulty. Randle P. MacMurphy, in 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. He's the classic alpha male, never-say-die outlaw, an outsider to society, and leader of men who never stops fighting for his, and others freedom. Tom, from Tennessee Williams 'A Glass Menagerie.' Just a beautiful play.

Oh, and Spiderman.

Flan: You keep a close watch on local politics in your area. Imagine you are running for office in your community. What would be your main issue, your vision for change, and one skeleton you wouldn't want released from the closet?

Phil: That's an excellent question, Flannery. I think my main issue, as well as a vision for change, would be efficiency in government. The government does a lot for us that it doesn't get credit for, and I think it should be given credit. Our government is too often viewed negatively and this needs to change, but I think most would agree, the waste of time and money is criminal. I think it can do what it does better, plus offer more to the citizens it serves. If we can get government to work more efficiently, I believe those goals can be accomplished without an increase in taxes. Starting with improved health-care.

Locally, the goals would be the same. Improve existing services while increasing efficiency. The landscape of Elmhurst, Illinois has changed. Lot's of new businesses, condos and giant houses. On the surface it appears to be thriving, but property taxes seem to be pricing out people I might appreciate having in my community. Also, Elmhurst government, and I should know more about it, seems to apply Eminent Domain rather liberally. I'm not sure if it has always been to the benefit of the city and it's citizens. I'd be interested in exploring those issues in town.

Skeleton? Putting me on the hot seat aren't you? I have a few, when given an opportunity to embarrass myself, I usually take it. Since my Mom reads this blog, I'll go with the relatively harmless streaking incident at my college quad. Hey, it was the early '90's, everyone was doing it, right. Right?

Flan: I'm a bit of a picky eater and I don't really like foods that are exotic. What entree on the menu at the restaurant you work at would you recommend and why?

Phil: That's an excellent question, Flannery. Lucky for you, our menu caters directly to customers like yourself. Starting with our famous burgers, which have been featured in local Chicago news programs, as well as the National Geographic book, 'Ten Best Everything.' We have a wide selection of toppings and sides, I like Cheddar, avocado, no onions with fries, but the onion rings are pretty good too. If you feel like an entree, all our steaks are excellent, I like mine lean so I go for the fillet or Butt steak, but I sell more of the N.Y Strip.

Let me know if you have any other questions. Can I get you anything to drink while you look? We feature a number of nice imports on tap, plus the local Chicago brew Goose Island, which largely sucks. Since you came in on a Saturday, all our bottles of wine are discounted, some by as much as half off.

Don't forget to leave room for dessert, our Key Lime Pie is as good as I have had outside Key West.

Flan: If you were to hop on one of the trains that passes by your house, where would you go, what campfire song would be your signature song, and what would you pack in your hobo bag?

Phil: One of the magical things about riding in boxcars is the freedom from a destination. Giving yourself over to the rivers current. The excitement of not knowing. I would go wherever it took me.

My hobo bag would contain food. Cheese, bread. Probably a knife and perhaps a notebook.

My song would probably change, but my standard song was written by my friend Shelto. It goes alittle like this.

My name is Phil. This is my song.
My love is gone. Hit that bong.
My days are long. This is my song.
My name is Phil. This is my song.

I go home. I put on my robe.
I think I might die, I think I just might.
I'm Phil.

I like to drink. I do this all week.
When Sunday comes, I need to catch-up on sleep.
I'm Phil.

They turned off my lights.
They turned off my gas.
They turned off my phone, this is no kind of home.

I'm Phil. I'm Phil.
I'm Phil. I'm Phil.
My God, I'm still...

I know, my life, is wasted.
You try, I cry, I'm wasted.

And I'm going...
Home.

I go home.
I do so alone.
I hate the sky.
Fuck the sun.
I'm Phil.

No one can say, how I got this way.
No, I never knew, life would treat me so cruel.
I'm Phil.

It's cold, and it's grim.
When did all this begin?
My love is gone, and now I'm singing my song.
I'm Phil.

I'm Phil. I'm Phil.
I'm Phil. I'm Phil.
My God, I'm still...

Flan: Since you're His neighbor, how is God these days? What's He up to? What does He think of the political climate in the nation and the neighborhood?

Phil: That's an excellent question, Flannery. He seems well, mostly it's just small talk when we see one another. I get the impression He appreciates the respite from the various requests one gets when one is the Almighty. He's getting a new garage built, but I think He's having some trouble with local ordinances. Something about the proximity of the garage to His neighbors property line.

As far as the political climate in the nation, I think he has grown weary of having his name selectively invoked to support peoples actions and opinions. He did give us facts, logic and reason. I think He would like to see us employ them more often.

Within the neighborhood, politics is not often brought up. I live in a mainly Republican community, but there are no politics when our children are playing tag, or hide-and-seek. We are neighbors, when someone needs help we help them. It's the difference between the abstraction of political theory concerning the country and seeing someone in need right in front of you.

Thanks, Flannery.

2007-05-30T18:03:00.000-05:00

Today we buried The Wife's father, my sons grandfather, Gerald Alfred Bodmer.

I met Gerry in 1989. He was a quiet man who gave me a beautiful wife, which has lead to two beautiful sons and a daughter on the way. I will always be grateful and indebted to him.

As we went through pictures for the wake, stories and memories were relived by his six daughters. It is a happy oasis during a sad time.

It is said that those who die never leave us if we remember them, and keep them in our hearts. In my experience this is as true as anything. But do they live on as more? Can we find them in places other than our hearts and memories?

Like I said, my sons are his grandsons, perhaps as much of him, as me, lives within in them.

This is a picture Gerry had taken of his favorite hobby, model trains. He had hundreds of feet of track and dozens of engines, cars and cabooses. He loved them.

I've known of his love for trains since I met him, but looking at this picture, somethings paused inside me. Where had I seen this picture before?

This is a picture Philip had shot awhile back, I posted it on here. Philip loves trains as his grandfather did. I knew this, but the two pictures side by side struck me. Two men, my son and his grandfather, both love trains, and they both photograph them.

Gerry isn't gone as long as we remember him. He also lives on literally in my son. We will miss him, but time spent with Philip and his trains will offer us, only a moment perhaps, of sitting with Gerry when he was happiest, running his trains.

Things That Are Everywhere In Places I Live.

2007-05-14T20:32:00.000-05:00

Elmhurst Trains

This is a picture taken in my backyard last fall looking south. I'm not sure if I've ever mentioned it, but I live really frickin' close to busy train tracks.

We have a Metra stop in town, the eastern stop is in Chicago at Ogilvie Transportation Center and stops as far west as Elburn, Illinois. These tracks are also used by the Union Pacific/West Line.

There is a great line in The Blues Bothers, when Jake and Elwood arrive at Elwoods apartment ion the city. It is a single room, it's only window positioned about five feet from a passing 'L.' Jake questions how often the train goes by. Elwood responds, "So often you won't even notice."

That's pretty much how I live.

The mind shattering noise aside, I've always kinda liked living this close to the train. At an early age, before I could drive, I could travel to the city cheaply. Hit a museum, have lunch, or just wander around. What I did more often than not.

I think it's contributed to my travellin' bone and general curiosity about America. Watching so much move past me always left me curious as to where it was all going. And I do mean, America. I've always been much more interested in exploring this county than any other. Something about walking those tracks, fantasising about jumping in a boxcar and letting the flowing river of cargo take me wherever it might. Woody Guthrie and Jack Keruoac's America.

Speaking of filthy, homeless, boxcar riding bums. Three dudes, sporting some mighty dreads and carrying an inch of dirt over the entirety of their bodies, hopped off a car last Saturday in front of our house. They had a cute doggy, wearing his own backpack and bedroll, who frolicked in our yard with my brother's dog. They were walking east along First and when they saw my brother, stopped to get directions to the city. They were headed in the right direction, but thirteen miles is a long walk. they looked like they could do it, but they were just looking for the Metra stop. We pointed them back west, said it was a few blocks and they couldn't miss it.

The Many Faces Of Phil Hendricks Thank Grant Miller Media.

2007-05-11T07:39:00.000-05:00

I got 95 hits yesterday.
It's all thanks to Grant Miller Media and you.
Thanks for coming by and checking out the site.

And thanks to Grant for being such a good sport.

As you can see, I was NOT the captian of my football team.

I do think I win the award for largest glasses worn during the eighties.

The All Seeing Eye Of Grant Miller Media Shines Upon Me.

2007-05-09T07:52:00.000-05:00

My old friend Grant Miller and I put our differences aside for an email interview. If you don't already read Grant Miller Media, you probably should.

And now, to the interview.

You and I went to junior high and high school together. I remember the first time we met. What do you remember of our first encounter?

I have no memory of our first encounter. I'd love to hear what you remember. The earliest memory I have of Grant Miller is winning a bet we had made on the NCAA Championship in 1985. I think it was for a dollar. You took Goergetown, I took Villanova. Cha-Ching!!! Patrick Ewing earned all 75 cents. I recall that, lots of White Sox talk and a general admiration for Mick O'Dwyers' High-tops.

Does God love Elmhurst more than all other suburbs? More than Zion? More than Medinah? More than Saint Charles? More than Saint John, Indiana?

Yes. Clearly and irrefutably, He does.

But the title of my blog is not meant to imply that. What I mean is, He lives here. It's literally His Own suburb. He has a great fixed mortgage, making improvements to the house. He should really make a bundle when He decides to sell. Jesus, He's just got The One kid, stopped by the other day looking for the dentists office. Funny story that...

You're expecting another child. What's the dumbest parenting advice you've ever heard?

I'm not sure I have gotten any dumb advice. I rarely solicit advice. Some of the more ridiculous things I've seen or heard: I knew a woman convinced she could potty train her 13 month-old. I've heard mother's tell their kids to get better at something or the other kids would make fun of them at school. A mother once told me, that her doctor had told her, it was good that her son refused to share. He was expressing himself confidently, and shouldn't be discouraged. She's currently got said son in acupuncture to permanently cure his allergies.

When you pluck your nose hairs do your eyes tear automatically? Does that mean you're crying?

I use a nose and ear hair trimmer. Rather painless, unless you let the battery run down. IF I did? IF my eyes DID? I believe that would constitute crying.

Why should people read your blog?

I'm not sure they should.

Great Bits Of The Past. The Burb The Killed Him.

2007-05-08T10:13:00.000-05:00

Here's how it works. You let out a tremendous belch. After you finish, close your eyes and let your head fall, any direction is fine, drop anything you are holding, allow your hands to to go limp. Remain in this position until your straight man discovers you. When they do, they should cry out to the heavens, "Oh God, why!"

It can work pretty well with a sneeze too.

Here I am executing the bit at the southernmost point in the U.S. In this case it may have been, The Sunburn That Killed Him.

It's A Girl! We Think...

2007-05-06T11:28:00.000-05:00

This is the latest sonogram we had done yesterday. All indications are that the baby is perfectly healthy. Right now we think it is a girl. The top image is our evidence. It is difficult to be sure. It's easier to see something that is there than to see something that "isn't" there. In this case, a penis. How many times have you heard that guys?

Sonograms are a strange thing. Though I have no reason to think anything could be wrong, and I have been through this twice before, it can still be taxing emotionally. As the nurse works the scanner around my wife's tummy, she stops and moves, massages and works the angle of the sonogram to get different views to record the info she needs. They intentionally place the view screen out of the mothers view. If anything is wrong, they would rather the doctors see it before the mother does. This isn't the case for me. I see everything as she does it.

So every time she stops to focus on something particular, I freak out a bit. I don't know what she is looking at. I don't know what I'm looking at. It's what I don't know that gets to me. Every blob that I can't identify. Every collection of white in the image makes me pause. Why is the nurse spending so much time looking at that? Has her posture changed? Is her body language indicative of a person seeing something bad? It makes me want to scream.

Those feeling are juxtaposed against feeling of wonder and amazement. I can see the heart beating. The stomach is visible, this is because, as I learned with my first son, that the baby will swallow the fluid which aids in forming their internal organs. When you can see the stomach, she has a full belly of fluid. All this is going on in my wife's belly. It makes me want to cry.

It's crazy. I can't recommend it enough.

Me And Jesus. Jesus And Me.

2007-04-30T21:53:00.000-05:00

Chaylene has impregnated my blog with a meme and she didn't even touch me.

If Jesus came a knockin' on my door one day, what would you do?

Well, I suppose I'd ask Him what's up? He did knock on my door. I'd hope His answer would be that He's just looking to hang out. I'd be pretty disappointed if He needed to use my phone, or bathroom, but He might. I might be a tad suspicious. Those close to Him had a rough time of it. I'm not looking for any trouble.

I suppose I'd invite Him in, offer Him a diet pepsi, ask if He was hungry or anything.

Hopefully, he would have time to sit down and talk. We'd probably have alot in common. We're both white-guys, living with our Dads, in the suburbs.

I'd have some questions for him, like why is egg nog only sold during Xmas and Easter? Has He ever been to Utah? Are You the same being as God, or are you two different people? How He ended up being a man and not a woman? Who's living in purgatory now? Why couldn't the Bears have won the Superbowl? What's He got against the Cubs. If He was starting a basketball team and could choose any players from history, who would be His starting five. You know, the important stuff.

After all my questions had been answered, maybe we could go for a walk. Or take the kids to the park. Maybe He could do some babysitting for me.

Most likely He meant to go to 333 West First street (not 333 East First street) which is a dentists office down the street. It's a common mistake, and we get alot of their mail. But the directions can be tricky, First street becomes one-way heading east when you wanna go west, as you approach downtown Elmhurst. So you gotta take a right at York, left at Schiller, and another left on Addison which will lead you back to First and you can continue west. It will be on your right.

Bye, Jesus.

I thought I Had It Bad.

2007-04-27T11:59:00.000-05:00

This past Monday night I found myself in downtown Naperville at the Comedy Shrine. I was attending a general audition for the West Suburban Theatre Connection. These types of auditions happen all over the place, all the theatre companies in the WSTC get to send a representative and actors perform monologues, songs and various other pieces to as many companies as they can. I wasn't there to audition (thank, God) but as a rep. for Greenman Theatre Troupe of Elmhurst.

It's always interesting what people put on their resumes, but when it comes to acting resumes, pretty much anything goes. Actors will often list that they have a valid drivers license, adding that they can operate stick and automatic. Hey, there are lots of car commercials out there. You will also see a lot of horseback riding, juggling, various sporting abilities, foreign languages, etc. you never know what the role will require, might as well put it all on there.

One girl listed that she could squeal like a monkey. Guess what? One of the people attending asked her to do it. She did at proudly, which I give here props for. If you have it on your resume you better be able to do it and do it well.

I also saw something I had never seen before. One guy listed his college GPA. I know I said "anything goes," but rarely is a part given to the highest GPA. Plus, it was a 3.4 in a 4.0 system. Better than mine, but hardly worth calling attention to.

What really got me was this one poor guy. He had a solid list of credits in his resume and performed his monologue well, but his name was Jim Hendricks. Yeah, that's right, Jimmy Hendricks.

My last name is Hendricks. I can speak for every Hendricks on the planet when I say, the first time we heard the joke, "Any relation to Jimmy?" the joke was already old. But this Hendricks can't even laugh it off. I can't imagine how many times he has walked into an audition and had people make some joke like, "You don't look like what we expected." Or, "Can you play the guitar?"

I never got a chance to talk to him about it, but I feel a part of his pain.

Jim Hendricks

The Job. Summerteeth.

2007-04-23T12:33:00.000-05:00

The weather was beautiful in Chicago this weekend. Summer seems to have finally arrived and I love everything about it...except for one thing, we open up our patio at the restaurant.

We have twelve extra tables on a back patio and four on the sidewalk in front. Our sections grow and usually this means we add another server to the shift to cover the extra tables. Not on Sunday's though. Sundays are a tough day to predict. It could be slow, and a waste of time for that third server. Or insanely busy, to busy for just two servers.

This past Sunday was insanely busy.

Combine that, with the staff adjusting to the increased amount of tables and you can get what we call in the business "weeded," or "slammed."

The level of my service doesn't fall off to much, but I am the type of waiter that asks if you want lemon or lime for your water if that's all you have to drink. I suggest espresso and dessert, I like to go through the menu and describe the various entrees. But when I'm weeded, I can't do very much of that.

My haste almost cost a customer a tooth.

A two-top came in and sat down during this crazy rush and ordered a couple of club sodas. After I delivered them, they asked if they could have some lime wedges with them.

Sure, fine. Lime wedges coming up.

As I said, normally I would have asked if they wanted any citrus, but I was in give-them-what-they-ask-for mode, and not in my mind-reading mode. As a customer, this should tip you off. Be specific with your waiter. Ask questions about the items you might want to eat.

After I dropped off the lime, they ordered two salads. A Cobb with no blue cheese or olives, and a summer salad. The ingredients in the Cobb salad are listed in the menu, the summer salad is only partially listed but ends with a, "...and much more."

This would be my downfall.

The salads came up, I delivered them and asked if there was anything else I could bring. No? Great, enjoy your meal. I went back to running around.

I passed by the table a few minutes later and the summer salad guy stopped me.

"There are olives with pits in here. I almost broke a tooth."

"I'm very sorry, sir, can I get you something else?"

"No. Why didn't you tell me about the olive pits? I almost broke a tooth. I didn't know they were in there."

"There have always been kalamata olives, with pits, in the salad, sir. I'll be happy to get you something else if you don't care for it."

"I don't want anything else. I want to know why you didn't tell me about them. I could have broke a tooth."

I want to say, because I am really fucking busy, and I lost my ability to alter the past in a terrible home-mulching accident, otherwise I would change all this unpleasantness. I want to say, because you didn't ask what else was in the salad beside what is listed in the menu. I want to say, you are the first person to ever complain about it. I want to say, you are a grown man, ordering for yourself and feeding yourself, slow down when you chew and I think you will be alright. I can only be so responsible for what you choose to put in your mouth. Sorry.

But I can't, I'd get fired.

So I do the only thing I can do, smile and offer to bring him a free dessert adding, "Again, I'm sorry, it's never come up before. From now on, I will always mention the olive pits to everyone that orders this salad. Are you sure I can't bring you something else?"

"No. I don't want anything else. I'd like to talk to a manager. I could have broke a tooth."

Fine. Great. I'm beginning to wonder if I had told you, but only said it once, you might not have heard me, given how you seem to repeat yourself.

You talk to our manager. Oh wait, we don't have one.

"On Sundays the bartender is in charge, you can talk to him, or you can fill out a customer comment card which the owner will read when he comes in tomorrow."

"You don't have a manager?"

"No. The bartender is the default manager when the owner is out."

"Fine. We'll take the bill." They pay and tip five on twenty-five.

O.k., decent tip, I take back what I thought about you.

He walks straight for our hostess who is dressed the best out of all of us, so I assume he thinks she might be in charge. From across the room I can see his lips say "tooth" over and over.

Despite the tip, I don't like seeing customers leave unhappy, it reflects poorly on me and I take some pride in my work. But you can't fix every mistake.

He did give us a new bit. Every time we bring something to our mouth, we scream, "My tooth!" and complain of not being told there was (fill in the objects name) in there. It's a pretty good bit.

Alien Baby.

2007-04-09T19:07:00.000-05:00

So there it is. The new baby.

It's a little early to tell the sex, we have another sonogram scheduled in two weeks.

Cute the way it looks like it's resting its head on its hand.

Speedy Delivery.

2007-04-06T08:38:00.000-05:00

The mail usually gets to me house around 4 in the afternoon. Sometimes as late as 5 or 6 in the evening.

At 7:30 this morning as I made my way, bleary eyed, downstairs, squinting at the bright sun coming though my window, I noticed a full mailbox.

Wow. Our mailman wants to get the weekend started.

Or, yesterdays mail came at an impossibly late time and we just didn't notice.

I'll keep you informed.

(Administrators note: It would seem that it was yesterdays mail. We got more mail at around 3:30, right before I went to work. Our TIME magazine was there. This made me happy.)

What's My Congressperson Up To?

2007-04-04T17:21:00.000-05:00

This comes by way of Congress.org

April 2, 2007

Recent Congressional Votes -

Senate: U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act
House: Budget Resolution, FY2008

Upcoming Congressional Bills -

Senate: Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act
Senate: HOPE Act
House: DC House Voting Rights Act

Recent Senate Votes

U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act - Vote Passed (51-47, 2 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this $122 million emergency supplemental bill that provides funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Sen. Richard Durbin voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Barack Obama voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

Recent House Votes

Budget Resolution, FY2008 - Vote Passed (216-210, 7 Not Voting)

The House passed this $2.9 trillion budget plan setting spending priorities for the 2008 fiscal year.

Rep. Peter Roskam voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

Upcoming Votes

Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act - S.5

Following the Easter recess, the Senate is scheduled to take up this bill increasing funding for embryonic stem cell research.

HOPE Act - S.30

This Senate bill would increase funding for adult stem cell research.

DC House Voting Rights Act - H.R.1433

The House is scheduled to take up this bill after the recess that would give the District of Columbia a full vote in the U.S. House and add a new seat from the state of Utah.

Naked Bear.

2007-04-04T08:21:00.000-05:00

My kids enjoy the 'Little Bear' cartoon on Nickelodeon. I like them too. They are charming and fun.

My problem is, what's up with the clothes?

Father Bear has a three piece suit on. Mother Bear is fully clothed as well.

Little Bear? No clothes. Naked.

What's up with that?

We're Having A Baby.

2007-03-30T13:00:00.000-05:00

This is not our baby, but we have one just like it.

This will be baby number 3, due for release in September.

We don't know the sex yet, but if it's a girl, her name will be Mary Katherine. The Wife has always loved this name, but never had a chance to use it. If it's a boy, well, I'm not sure, I've run out of family names. Any suggestions are welcome.

Needless to say, we are very excited.

Not The Cos, Ned.

2007-03-28T23:21:00.001-05:00

Carlos Mencia Stealing Jokes From Cosby - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Bells On has more on Mencia stealing jokes.

There's A Party In My Mouth, And Everyone's Invited!

2007-03-26T21:18:00.000-05:00

Is your morning, tooth-brushing routine not as rockin' as you'd like?

I give you...

The Tooth Tunes tooth brush plays a song for two minutes (the recommended amount of time for brushing) when you touch the brush to your teeth.

NPR's Steve Inskeep loves it, maybe a bit too much.

A commercial, for a musical tooth-brush, that's clearly been influenced by an Apple commercial, that itself, was influenced by science fiction novels that explore fascism in the future, is a little weird.

What's My Congressperson Up To?

2007-03-25T20:43:00.000-05:00

This comes by way of Congress.org

March 26, 2007

Recent Congressional Votes -
* Senate: Budget Resolution, FY2008
* Senate: Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007
* House: Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act
* House: U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act

Upcoming Congressional Bills -
* Senate: U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act
* House: Budget Resolution, FY2008

Recent Senate Votes

Budget Resolution, FY2008 - Vote Agreed to (52-47, 1 Not Voting)

The Senate approved this $2.9 trillion budget resolution that sets spending priorities for the 2008 fiscal year.

Sen. Richard Durbin voted YES.
Sen. Barack Obama voted YES.

(Administrator's note: Only two Republicans voted Yea. No Democrat voted Nay. Anyone know what the Republicans problem is with this?)

Preserving United States Attorney Independence Act of 2007 - Vote Passed (94-2, 4 Not Voting)

The Senate passed this bill that would prohibit the attorney general from filling U.S. attorney vacancies for an indefinite time period.

Sen. Richard Durbin voted YES.
Sen. Barack Obama voted YES.

(Administrator's note: Those two Nays? Chuck Hagel (Interesting, considering the noise he's been making) and Christopher Bond. McCain and Biden, Not Voting. Pretty slick.)

Recent House Votes

Gulf Coast Hurricane Housing Recovery Act - Vote Passed (302-125, 6 Not Voting)

This House bill would require the government to replace public housing that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

Rep. Peter Roskam voted NO.

(Administrator's note: Again, only Republicans voted Nay.)

U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act - Vote Passed (218-212, 1 Present, 3 Not Voting)

The House passed this $124 million emergency supplemental bill that provides funds for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets a timetable for withdrawing troops from Iraq.

Rep. Peter Roskam voted NO.

(Administrator's note: Time lists $20 billion in Pork attached to this one. Nice. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about timetables, it would seem to be something easily dispensed with if things were bad enough.)

Upcoming Votes

U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health, and Iraq Accountability Act - H.R.1591

The Senate is scheduled to take up this emergency supplemental spending bill.

(Administrator's note: Time to chill in Senate for awhile Bill H.R. 1591)

Budget Resolution, FY2008 - H.Con.Res.__

The House is scheduled to take up this $2.9 trillion resolution setting budget priorities for the upcoming fiscal year.

(Administrator's note: Same resolution the Senate just "agreed to" above. I suppose the House must vote on it for passage, though that seems backwards... (struggling to remember U.S. Government class...)

To Undermine, Or Not To.

2007-03-25T12:10:00.000-05:00

Veep Cheney has been pounding this drum for quite some time. We are all aware of his selectivity when it comes to pronounceing something as 'undermining' the troops.

Lack of sufficient armour on both vehicles and body. Not undermining.
Voting Democrat? Undermining.
Failing to staff qualitfied civilians for Iraq reconstruction? Not undermining.
Debating, or critisizing, the Presidents war plan? Undermining. (Hell, Rummsfield would say that is akin to being a Nazi sympathiser.)

These are just acouple I can think of off the top of my head. The list goes on and on, much like, I fear, Cheney's evil undead soul will.

Here's a new one from today's Chicago Tribune, that probably falls in the, 'Not undermining' catagory.

When Lt. Dave Moore visited infantry units in the remote, rugged mountains of Afghanistan late last year, the Navy medical officer was surprised to hear from many soldiers and Marines that they had lost significant weight.

After conducting more than 150 interviews with medics, officers and troops on the ground, Moore concluded that the portable rations called "Meals, Ready-to-Eat"--long derided by troops, but valued by the Pentagon for their indestructibility--were not doing the job, causing the soldiers to shed pounds that they very much needed.
"The standard Meal, Ready to Eat (MRE) does not provide adequate nutrition for dismounted operations in this type of terrain," said an excerpt of Moore's classified report, which was released by the Marine Corps Center for Lessons Learned. "Many Marines and soldiers lost 20 to 40 pounds of bodyweight during their deployment. At least one soldier was evacuated due to malnutrition and a 60-pound weight loss."

Dr. Andrew Young, a researcher at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Environmental Medicine at Natick, said "The MRE is designed to provide the caloric needs of the largest percentage of war fighters," he said. "The issue is operational constraints that are imposed on the warriors that prevent them from consuming the optimal calories."

2007-03-22T07:42:00.000-05:00

R.I.P.

Tagged!! My Current Favorite Seven.

2007-03-21T16:08:00.000-05:00

I dared Flannery to tag me, and what does she do, she tags me!

Seven songs I've been into lately.

Victoria - The Kinks
Jesus, Etc. - Wilco
Simple Pages - Weezer
Pulled Up - Talking Heads
You Got Me (Featuring Jill Scott) - The Roots
Do You Realize - Beck and The Flaming Lips
Hung Up - Madonna
Good To See You - Neil young

Attention Cat Lover!

2007-03-19T20:13:00.000-05:00

Meow Meow, Kitty, Meow Meow.

My friend Heidi, a veterinarian student at Colorado State, has a cat that needs a home. I'll let her tell you about it.

Here's Loki. He's the cutest and sweetest cat in the world and needs a new home!

He was brought into CSU's CCU after having his jaw broken by a dog. Owners had no money and wanted to euthanize. They said he is a amazing cat but couldn't afford it. So they signed euth and relinquish papers. He's only 1! My friend Christa and I are on a quest to save him. The humane society let us put a wire in his jaw to stabilize it and I found a good foster home for him so he doesn't have to go to the shelter.

Even with a broken jaw he was loving on us. Now that it's fixed he's really showing his personality. He lives with another dog and cat at the foster home and seems to like both. Even after the dog attack! And his roommate is a Rhodesian so she's no small puppy. He's just one of those special ones I couldn't see losing and want someone to have an amazing friend in Loki.

Let me know if anyone is interested in this handsome boy.



If you are interested, I would be happy to forward contact info.
Thanks.

Ten Years After Tag.

2007-03-15T06:59:00.000-05:00

10 years ago------------------------------------

1.) How old were you? 23

2.) Where did you go to school? I was still an undergrad at I.S.U.

3) Where did you work? I think I was working at a men clothing store in a mall in Bloomington, Normal. J.Riggin's? Maybe? Those years were hard on my memory.

4.) Where did you live? A charming place called, The Bungalows. A four unit apartment complex dominated by I.S.U. theatre majors, in Normal, Illinois.

5) Where did you hang out? A bar called The Gallery. A coffee shop called The Koffee Kup. My porch.

6.) Did you wear glasses? If I wanted to live.

7.) Who were your best friends? Shelton, Dave, Tim, Quinn, Brendan, etc...

8.) Did you play any sports? Do theatre dept. softball games count?

9.) How many piercings did you have? Zero.

10.) What car did you drive? No car at this time.

11.) Had you been to a real party yet? Oh yeah, you don't get to your sixth year going to class.

12.) Had your heart broken? Yeah, but who's hadn't.

13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter: Single/bitter.

----------------5 years ago----------------------

1.) How old were you? 28

2.) Where did you go to school? I was taking an acting class.

3.) Where did you work? A truly terrible place called, The Transcription Company, in Burbank, Ca. We created scripts from unscripted interviews, transferred hard copies of scripts to computer, among other things. If you are familiar with the play, The Adding Machine, it was kinda like that.

4.) Where did you live? In a scummy apartment complex, just north of Hollywood Blvd, on Whitley, Hollywood, California. Not good times.

5.) Where did you hang out? A dive bar called Fuel on Wilcox in Hollywood, or on Hollywood Blvd. begging for change.

6.) Did you wear glasses? See answer to Part 1, #6.

7.) Who were your best friends? See answer to Part 1, #7.

8.) Who was your crush? My pregnant fiance.

9.) How many tattoos did you have? One. My mother's family crest.

10.) How many piercings did you have? Zero

11.) What car did you drive? 1990 Oldsmobile.

12.) Had you had your heart broken? No, life had made it quite unbreakable.

13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter? Engaged.

----------------------NOW------------------------

1.) How old are you? 33

2.) Where do you work? Jury's Bar in Chicago.

3.) Where do you live? Elmhurst, Illinois.

4.) Who are your best friends? See part 1, #7

5.) Where do you hang out? At home with the kids.

6.) Do you wear glasses? Yes, for the last time, I have to.

7.) Who is your crush? Just my kids.

8.) How many tattoos? One, see part 2, #9.

9.) What kind of car do you drive? 1999 Dodge Intrepid.

10.) Has your heart been broken? Not so much.

11.)Single/Taken/Married/Bitter? Married

Curious Phil

2007-03-14T07:47:00.000-05:00

Flannery's UberCute post, and Megan's curious post, flipped a slow switch in my head. I used to occasionally ask people questions, sometimes drunk at a bar too. You know, conversation starters (read: annoying), like, "If you could have written any song, what song would it be?" A buddy of mine once said, without even thinking about it, "Surrender, by Cheap Trick."

I thought that was a pretty good answer. Rockin' song, kinda wise and fairly punk, plus I had never heard that answer before.

Me? If I'm anything, I'm cliche, so I'd say, "A Day In The Life," by The Beatles. I'm no expert, but to me, it's the perfect pop song. Universal alienation, modern existentialism. It's catchy, and you can sing along with it.

What song would you want to have written?

Playtime 03/08/07

2007-03-08T14:07:00.000-06:00

We spent today at the Lake View Nature Center in Oak Brook Terrace. Philip had a field trip there, so I grabbed some literature and found out they are open to the public, for free, and they have animals. Kids love animals. I love free. Open to the public is obligatory or we couldn't go.

Philip and I took some pictures of our day.

Like his heart when discovering, broken.

Portrait of the Artists Little Brother #1.

I wonder if he was trying to get the distorted glasses seen through a bowling ball sized ashtray.

Family refrigerator, Artist's accomplishments.

Portrait of the Artists Little Brother #2.

Artist's dinner tray.

Portrait of the Artists Little Brother #3.

The current exhibit at the Nature Center is Sand. Sand, and the animals that live in it. Obviously, that includes these feral, suburban youths. There were a bunch of insect toys in the sand, and every once in a while a child would unearth one and surprise themselves. A few mad dashes out of the sandbox in terror at a millipede.

We were met there by our friend, Ava.

Sand everywhere!

George the rabbit and Patrick.

Parental Philosphy

2007-03-08T07:43:00.000-06:00

Pet Peeve 2000 Diana Ong

So, the comments for my post on kids and t.v. watching lit up like a Christmas tree. I think part, emphasis on 'part', of what made the subject attractive to comment on was the 'pet peeve' factor. I happened to stumble upon something that people feel strongly about, television. I am obviously less concerned about my children's t.v. consumption than others might be. But it got me thinking, what am I a hard ass about, with regards to my kids.

Or, more importantly, what are you a hard ass about? What are your pet peeves?

I'll stick with the subject of my kids for now, but feel free to add your own, in regards to my kids or not.

We do not believe children belong in restaurants. This has a lot to do with me being a career server and having to serve rude children, but I also don't think it is fair to ask children to behave themselves in a restaurant, and I think it is rude to the other people dinning to ask them to put up with my screaming child.

The Wife and I demand politeness from our children. (This also has a lot to do with me being a server.) We don't always get it, but nothing gets under my skin more than rudeness in children. We require, please, and thank you. We require, excuse me, and I'm sorry.

You got any you want to share?

Shhhh. You hear that?

2007-03-04T06:16:00.000-06:00

It's silence.

No kids.

My Uncle Herb and Aunt Mare took the kids last night.
I just woke up out of habit, I'm going back to bed.

See, I can do this.

2007-03-03T08:31:00.000-06:00

Though I'm the at-home-parent, The Wife usually handles this stuff. The joke always is, when Mom is away, no baths. This is solely to make her nervous.

The post bath tools for cleanliness.

That's a good boy.

Heart Of Darkness.

2007-03-01T07:50:00.000-06:00

So The Wife left for work yesterday morning. The difference, from any other day, is she didn't come home. No. She hasn't left me. But if you want to start a pool, I'd take sometime next year as her walk out date.

Kidding...I love you, Honey. And I know you would never leave me...never...ever...leave me...

The kids and I are on our own for four days.

Pray for me.

Me and Little Phil, A Sad Goodbye. Part 1

2007-02-24T09:48:00.000-06:00

(I teased this story, but I'm a slow writer and once given an assignment, I tend to shut down. So, I'll release it in parts.)

In January of 1999, I was finishing up my postgraduate studies in Slackology, with an emphasis in Beach-Bum lifestyles, down in Key West. To make ends meet I would wait tables on the breakfast/lunch shift at Blue Heaven.

Blue Heaven was my Harvard. An outrageously successful place that served good food in a "real" Key West atmosphere. The staff was made up of a variety of eccentric souls. Most had thrown up their hands in disgust at whatever life they had led before, preferring happier times on the island.

When I say "real" Key West atmosphere, one of the things I mean is, there will be chicken's everywhere.

One day, during some down time on my shift, I noticed a small chicken moving about on it's own. It was bigger than a newborn, having lost it's yellow feathers for brown, but what was unusual was that it was alone. Most baby chickens stick very close to their mother hens, especially one as small is this. The more I watched, the more its isolation became obvious. Chickens are violent animals, as this one approached other chicks, or chickens, it would receive a brutal peck to the head from any nearby adult. It would wander from hen to hen, looking for food or a place to cuddle for warmth, but each trip became more dangerous. It eventually sat down, alone, and chirped loudly. Sadly.

I went into the kitchen, grabbed a bowl of potatoes and some bread. At the first offering, it scampered off, so I left a few crumbs on the ground. After I had backed-up, putting myself between it, the food, and the yard full of chickens, it came over and had a bite. Must of us have gone through this dance. A bond is formed as trust sets in. After eating from my hand, it jumped into my lap as I sat there, turned twice, fluffed his feathers and sat down. Cute.

We weren't very busy, but I had some work to do, so I scooted it off me, stood up, and wandered out onto the floor. Nothing going on, everyone good. I drift into the server station. My colleague Jeff, a gay, violent drunk, in his mid forties, missing parts of three fingers and given to inappropriate physical come-ons, brought my attention to the floor at my feet.

"Looks like you got a friend."

The chick had followed me and was now nestled between my shoes.

"I guess I do."

Things that Are Everywhere In Places I have Lived.

2007-02-22T10:54:00.000-06:00

Key West Chickens.

The picture above was taken on the floor of my restaurant Ricky's Blue Heaven, in Key West. In the chairs are customers, dinning on their breakfast. You've got two roosters, one hen, and a little chick to the hen's left on the right of the picture. The photo isn't really accurate, there are a lot more of them, in the restaurant and all over the island. The chick is either, much faster than it's sibling's, or the lone survivor of a much larger group, which might also indicate it's speed.

I have two Phil specific stories of tragic relationships I shared with two chicks. One ending in a sad goodbye, the other in a violent goodbye.

Which would you like to hear?

Parental Philosophy.

2007-02-20T18:44:00.000-06:00

I watched a lot of t.v. growing up.

My kids watch quite a bit of t.v. I do not think that t.v. is intrinsically bad. As far as the programing for kids these days, I consider it far superior to the t.v. that I grew up on. I know we had Sesame street, 3-2-1 Contact, Mister Roger's Neighborhood, etc., but nowadays, everything is educational, and encourages child participation. If Malcolm Gladwell, in his book 'The Tipping Point', is to be believed, they are rigorously tested for maximum educational impact. Hannah/Barbera is garbage (despite Scooby-Doo's current popularity) compared to most Nickelodeon shows. Noggin', an all day preschool age kids programming schedule, breaks down the specific benefits of the show about to air, whether it be language skills, communication, shapes, numbers, and so on.

I try to subscribe to the philosophy, moderation in all things. Like I said, I don't mind them watching t.v., but how much is to much? I'd appreciate your feedback on this.

I'm not here to judge, so I'll go first. The Boy's probably average between 5-7 hours of t.v. a day, while awake and active for 12-13 hours a day. This is exclusively kids programming on PBS, Nickelodeon, Disney, and Noggin. That I'm writing this post tells you I think it might be too much, but it is also the middle of winter. I do think I do a good job of getting them out of the house 2-3 hours a day for specific kids activities (bookstore, friends house, library, school) outside of day-to-day errands. Plus, there is general playtime (fort building, toys, etc.), book-reading time, numbers, and alphabet work.

Anywho, let me know what you think.

Taking A Break.

2007-01-24T08:21:00.000-06:00

So this blog thing has been really cool. It has reacquainted me with old friends, and the writing of those I read is entertaining and often teaches me something.

So, thanks to ya!

I'm gonna take a break for awhile. I'm to busy, and I'm just gonna get busier over the next month.

If you happen to stumble across this blog, please check out my links. You might learn something, or find an old friend too.

See you all later this year.

Look What I Made.

2007-01-18T00:11:00.000-06:00

Two For Tuesday Tag!

2007-01-16T12:09:00.000-06:00

Let's get caught up on our tag/meme things.

1. Small town or big city? City, is preferable.

2. Do you have a favorite childhood memory, and if so, would you share it? I have alot of quality childhood memories. Road trips, which we called, 'Boy's vacations,' cause my Dad would load my brothers and I into the car for a week long road trip. Usually we would visit our relatives in Kentucky, take in Mammoth Cave and hit a Civil War battlefield as we got older. It was really Mom's vacation from us. I also always loved Christmas at my house, a tradition that still has momentum, we had twenty-five people sit down for dinner this year.

3. How do you calm down when something has really upset and/or angered you? Do you swallow it? Call a friend and rant? Go in the bathroom and cry? Punch a wall? Walk around muttering to yourself, complete with scary hand gestures? I just take it out on the kids. They could toughin' up a bit anyway.

4. What attracts you to memes? They are a good excuse for a post, and I'm naturally (nosey) curious.

5. How reliant are you on computers to get through your day? Very. More for contact and entertainment. I don't work in an office.

6. In a crisis, are you calm or do you panic? Calm, but inactive. My 'happy place' is never far away.

FIVE YOU"D RATHER NOT KNOW ABOUT ME.

1. A few years ago, my nose hairs become an issue I had to address. I pluck them regularly, but they have adapted by turning white, making them far more noticeable. I have to pluck them more often.

2. I was named Employee of the Quarter at Shaw's Crabhouse on Hubbard, in Chicago for the fourth quarter of 2000. It is the highest honor I have ever received from an employer.

3. I shave with aloe vera gel and cold water. No shaving lotion or foam. I got into this habit down in Key West. It's treats my skin very well, plus I can use the aloe gel to style my hair.

4. I won my fantasy football league championship this year. Suck it, guys.

5. Family legend says, when I was a kid I would only eat carrots. So many, that I got alittle beta-carotene poisoning and turned orange for awhile. By the way, my eyes suck, so that song and dance about carrots being good for your eyes? Bunk!

My Friends: Another Brennan.

2007-01-08T22:39:00.000-06:00

How amazing am I?

So my buddy Dave, over at BadArt, and Mom, at Team Brennan, are expecting another baby this year. Congrates to the whole family, Mom, Dave and Finn, who I'm sure will have his own blog to link to soon.

I've known Dave for, I think, twenty-five years. Most of those years we've spent as partners. One never being far from the other.

I swear, it's been quite a party.

When we were kids, we'd sit back and talk of life, death, and the future. And our own kids playing together. Having the party that we were having.

Add one to the guest list. Let the party rage on.

God's Own Suburban Smackdown, or New Emhurst Press Columnist Might Be A Jerk.

2007-01-06T13:27:00.000-06:00

Anyone who grew up in Elmhurst is probably familiar with the humorous, editorial column, "Loose Change." Written by Jack Zimmerman, "Loose Change" was often funny and insightful, never taking itself seriously, it had been a staple of The Elmhurst Press for twenty-three years. He just wrote his last column. I liked it and I'm gonna miss it.

So, let's rip the new guy...

Jeff Vrabel attempts to be funny, but borders on insulting, as he pokes fun at Time's Person of the Year(agreed, but alittle late), YouTube and the current state of the media and information.

You can read the article here. My biggest problem comes in the second paragraph.

"You were also plummeting music mag Spin's Artist of the Year, where Your crappy band and its MySpace page apparently exerted more oomph than anything by Bruce Springsteen or Bob Dylan or Lindsay Buckingham last year. They do not have MySpace pages or blogs, which apparently makes them a little less noteworthy than, say, Chicago band OK Go, who became very popular with a groundbreaking video, shot for $24, in which they run on treadmills for several consecutive minutes."

Here is the first point where he reveals his contempt for harmless modern popular music, among other things, while staking a claim of integrity by comparing it to unimpeachable classic rock icons (which he's obviously smarter for listening to), who are now, more or less, irrelevant.

That's all fine and good, but Jeff, you are writing for an Elmhurst newspaper. OK Go! isn't just a Chicago band. The drummer of OK Go! is York High graduate and former Elmhurst resident, Dan Konopka. Some who read this paper may know him. May have had class with him, or been helped out by him. Some may have worked with him, knee deep in the shit. Other's may have written, lovingly of him, despite his having only a vague memory of the writer.

So, I'll be damned if I let some columnist, who considers his tastes superior to mine, slam my former 16 Inchers teammate. A son of Elmhurst who rocked me out a time or two in this fair city.

Shape up, Jeff Vrabel. You're on notice.

Philip's Photo's

2007-01-02T09:28:00.000-06:00

So, Philip has become a little shutterbug. Here are a few of his recent works.

Portrait of the Artists Father.

Self portrait of the Artist.

Electric train set Thomas, his favorite toy.

Christmas tree at friends house.

The Dobbs's.
Could the distance between this couple inform us of a "distance" in their relationship, or is it merely the compositional tendencies of a four-year-old?

Philip's instructions to the subjects in these next photos, "Be silly."

Silly #1

Silly #2

Silly #3