HSD Rewind: The Oscars our Super Bowl

HSD Rewind: The Oscars, our Super Bowl.

Timely time to go into the vaults for today post.


Original Air Date : Feb 22 2009




My wife loves sports. She really does. She loves to play sports. She likes to see sports played by others live. What she does not love, or even like, is watching sports on t.v., listening to sports talk on the radio, and tracking statistics, magic numbers, and trade deadlines. So, we don't share the same enthusiasm for sports events like the Super Bowl.

Amy and I are movie people. Oscar night is our Super Bowl. The day the nominations come out we always say we have to see all these movies before the award show. We never get to all of them. I didn't see any of the best pictures noms this year. Amy saw a couple. Hello, 3 small children. I did see all the best animated noms. I saw Bolt 3 times. Don't ask.

This year was not the most rewarding of shows. We didn't realize until yesterday, that the show was today. We had a long day with church and visiting relatives and when we did watch the show, it was online while I finished our tax refund on the same computer. Amy is already in bed, and there are at least 5 major awards, a life time achievement award and my favorite, the "hey, look who died montage."

Amy, let's plan ahead next year and go to a Academy Award party or something. Cause watching the Academy Awards without you is as pleasing as watching the Super Bowl without commercials.

Meanwhile back in 2011:

We did not arrange to go to an Oscar party last year. However, as I type this post, I am sitting in my in-laws drive way (got to love wi-fi) waiting for puppy to wake up so I can go into a cousins 1st birthday party/Oscar viewing party. I am not sure if anyone besides Amy and I know it's an Oscar viewing party. But let's see them try to kick us out.

In preparation Amy and I have picked out who we think is going to win in all the categories. Puppy was upset to find out that Tangled only had 1 nomination (best song). That is one fine movie and our family liked it a lot better than Toy Story 3. But alas, we don't get to vote.

Six Word Saturday: Obvious to us edition!

I usually don't go ripped from the headlines here at HSD. But with all the rantings and ravings of one Charles Sheen. I thought my six words should be about what Amy and I and much of the Internet underground get that CBS and their viewership (It is the most popular show currently) don't get:

Two and a Half Men
Originally uploaded by dvdsetcollection_big_bang

Very Simply, the show's not funny!!!!!!!!!

I have watched it on many occasions and have not thought about the possibility of laughing on one occasion. All 3 of the principals have been funny before and( if Sheen can keep off the stuff) can all be funny again. A few years ago the Internet was all abuzz with how dumb a show "What About Jim" was. What about Jim was certainly no Mad About You. But Two and a Half Men isn't even Patridge Family level!

It is too bad that it had take substance abuse to for the network of All in The Family,Dick Van Dyke, M*A*S*H, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, etc ... to put two and a half men in the tank.

P.S. lest' you think that I think that there is no good comedy in prime time any more check out Hulu for the latest episode of Community. Community isn't even a show I watch every week. But this episode about a school election is a laugh riot from beginning to end.

For more Six Words click here.

That's Just Nutty

I was at Artic Blast with Spider Droid this past Sunday and Monday at Camp Timber-Lee in East Troy, Wisconsin. A full review is on it's way. Consider this a tease. The above picture is Pattertwig and me. (I'm the one that's not a squirrel.) Pattertwig (named after the squirrel from Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis.) just jumped right on me. He was on me long enough for me to hand my camera to the Timber-Lee Staff member who snapped this picture.

At our house Pattertwig would be named Nutty. All squirrels that Puppy sees are named Nutty. Unless of course there are two squirrels together. Than 1 is Nutty and the other is Puddles, Nutty's wife. If there are 3 squirrels: Nutty, Puddles and their son, Bob. If there are 4 Bob gets a sister named Sally. God in his providential wisdom has never let Puppy see more than 4 squirrels together at one time.

If there are 3 squirrels in our yard and two go away. Whatever squirrel remains is called Nutty, regardless of what we were calling it before. This special kind of naming has led to a joke in our house modeled after the Pete and Repeat jokes.

Q:Nutty and Puddles were on a boat. Nutty fell off. Who was left?

A: Nutty

Six Word Saturday.

I am a frequent contributor to Six Word Saturday from my main blog. In addition to the six I penned from HSD I have a sports related Six to share here:

Pitchers and Catchers report. Nuff' Said!

This past week spring training began for all major league baseball teams and the Royals and Nationals as well. (Just kidding K.C. and D.C.) It is one of my favorite times of the year. Each team can start afresh. There is a revitalization and renewal in the Arizona and Florida air. A "this could be the year." mentality percolates in the hearts and minds of fans, players, managers and owners alike.

The pitchers and catchers report in about a week earlier than the position players to start getting ready for the season. I am very excited about all the White Sox moves during the off season and am curious to see how they will gel in Spring Training. I was a little disappointed that Ryne Sandberg did not get the managerial gig on the North Side, But I am interested to see how Camp Quade will shake out.

Soon enough opening day will roll around, but lets enjoy the hopefulness that is Spring Training while we can. For more Six Word Saturday click here.

Six Word Saturday In Praise Of . . .

Here are my 6:

Why I Like Home Spun Juggling:

I have been a big fan of the Blog, Home Spun Juggling since I started blogging 2+ years ago. It may be because Christina (the blogs author) can do two things extremely well that I wish I could do at all. These are Juggling and Cartooning. I love cartoons but could not draw myself out of a paper sack. I spent most of 1997 in a paper sack as a result. (It's not something I am yet ready to talk about.) In the late 80's I produced a newsletter for some friends. One of the features was called "If I could draw, this would be a cartoon." I would describe a picture and then say what the dialogue or punch line would be.

Here is one I just thought of so I can give you an example . . .

Scene: A Tax Office. On one side is the tax consultant. He is looking rather put out. On the other side is his client who doesn't seem to like what He is being told.
The tax consultant says "No, Mr. Smith, "liking" your church on Facebook is not deductible."

But who needs to set up a scene when you can just draw one up like this . . .

If you click on the strip you will get to one of my favorite blogs: Home Spun Juggling. The cartoon and heartfelt post is an example of why Christina's artwork and writing is one of the gems of the homeschooling blog world.

Her beautiful explanation of the economic choices all families make to do what is important to them ends with a flourish:

"Can we afford it? I would think many of these families would say they can't
afford not to. We make it work, because we want it to. I'm thankful I made
the choice to homeschool. It's a tough job, and I know it's not for everyone, but
it was something I had to do."

I thought much about why we home school this week especially in light of driving to Springfield to protect our rights to do so. It is sometimes a sacrifice, an encumbrance, even an inconvenience. But in the end I I came to the same conclusion Christina did. Even if I do have to avoid paper sacks like the plague.

For more Six Word Saturday click here.