Trials and Trebulations

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:53:00 +0000

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a parent in possession of a C grade report card must be in want of easy excuses.

Look, dumbass, you can not contact me the day that grades are due and tell me that the reason your kid got C-‘s on his tests and turned his work in late is because he needs to be moved away from talkative students who would distract him. (Especially when you have forgotten, it seems, that you asked me to do the same exact thing three weeks ago, which I did, and moved him to the front of the room, in between two of the quietest children on campus).

You also can not email me at the 8th week of the semester to find out how you can get the homework list when you have skipped back-to-school night and five days of parent conferences where I clearly explained the available website, and meanwhile, returned the letter signed without reading it in which I clearly and boldly printed the website access address.

Jesus. The apples do not far very far from the trees, do they?!

Athletic Rehab: Where Old Jocks Go to Die

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:29:00 +0000

* My orthopaedic doctor prescribed three weeks of PT for me for my herniated disc. Which has been fine and I'm doing a lot better. The weird part of it is that this particular office is called the "Athletic Rehab Center" and it is clearly a place where the local high schools send all their football injuries for therapy. While there last week, for example, I listened to a 'team captain' beg and plead with his therapist to override an urgent care doc's diagnosis and prescription for three to six weeks rest so that he could play in Friday night's big game. I'm happy to say the PT refused and explained that he can not override a doctor's instructions.

Regardless, the place is comical. One of the head therapists is Sean, which could not be a more appropriate name if you could see this fireplug of a balding man. Every time he makes a request aloud, it sounds like we're all in the huddle with him. He also loves to make reference to the radio during his sessions:

"Alright! I need ice and stim, and hot pack stat! A little U2 for you here people... where the streets have no name!"

Last week, he was stretching a hamstring on a patient and treating us all to his rendition of "Old Time Rock n' Roll" and noting " a little Risky Business for you... Tom Cruise was awesome in that movie!"

Much of his banter begins with a double clap and "a little... , as in " a little Paparazzi for y'all!"

Yesterday I'm there laying on my hot pack while he's ringing a bell and yelling "Rotator Cuff! Rotator Cuff here! Rotator Cuff!"
Thank the Lord, he's not my personal therapist.

Instead I have the lovely Matt, who- I'm not sad to tell you- massages my back and sometimes rubs my glutes... okay, actually it's more like jams his elbow in my ass and presses so hard on the sciatic nerve that I want to poke an ice pick in his forehead, but nonetheless... when is the last time a cute man touched my butt? The sessions always end with ten minutes on the "stim" which is the contraption that sends electrical impulses into my back muscles while I lay on a hot clay pack to warm the muscles. I fall asleep almost every time. I think it's what they used to offer as an option for scoliosis treatment back in the day... it turned out not to work as effectively as bracing, but I'd much rather have had to sleep with the stim on nightly than wear that plastic mold from hell my parents opted for!!

Oh, and this one girl who I think was in a car accident and has some hip displacement gets to use the Wii. Yes, I said "Wii". I am so jealous that she gets to use her hips to have her character headbutt some soccer balls while I have to do squats on the Total Gym and do stretches on the table. Did I mention this table is just under a picture of the South Hills football team circa 2003 and there are former students watching me as well as the assistant coach who is that Matt dude from "American Idol" season 2, I believe? It's so surreal.

Yesterday's loud and mid-stretching discussion was all about how you shouldn't throw to a receiver when you're under ten yards and that the Vikings made a huge mistake- yadda yadda yadda- and good old "Brett" should know better. This from the 5 foot 4 inch, slightly overweight, balding, hand clapping, musical genius that is Sean. It's like watching Rudy. At any moment I expect him to jump up on the therapy table and give us a Knute Rockney speech.

Oh, Athletic Rehab Center. Your antics will be missed.

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:22:00 +0000

Wow... my blogging has gotten really scarce since FB!

Magpie got his costume last week- a $29.99 Werewolf mask, ripped flannel, and matching hairy gloves with claws. It was also priced at the specialty Halloween store for $59.99, so I guess I got a bargain.
This morning I’m reading a chapter of Freak the Mighty to my students- it’s chapter 19, I believe, when Killer Kane has kidnapped him and taken him to an apartment that “smells like old-lady perfume and cats” and the furniture is “all saggy and soft”- when I have a flashback to the old neighborhood at 3 Highland Avenue, Flourtown, PA.

Our neighbors at the time at 1 Highland, were Bob and Ruth Fritz, who were presumably in the 60’s at the time, which seemed incredibly old to us at ages 5-18, but I can distinctly remember a few things about them. One, they drove a black, circa 1968 VW Bug. Two, they had the weirdest driveway, sort of a miniature hill with a sharply high rise. They also had the sweetest smelling rosebushes against a white clapboard fence that were awesome because in Pennsylvania, no one took tending roses for granted like they do around these Pasadena-area parts. Their porch was shaded by humungous pine shrubs, so that you felt you were escaping into a foreign land when you passed behind them to the darkended patio to ring the doorbell.

Once inside, you were struck by the smell of old people, sort of mothball-y and sweet, the bright yellow walls of the dining room and the sun coming through the window with the matching shades, and inevitably you’d be asked to sit upon this old lady chair that had a firm high back with edges marked by studs and the textile material was textured but soft, almost as if it were green velour in a raised relief pattern, and you sank into it as if it had been sat upon for centuries by the kings of Fritzland. Next to you, was the glass candy dish in that frilly/bumpy pattern.. you know the one with the heavy lid that had to be raised to get to the cellophane wrapped unmarked mystery candy inside? Yep, that was the Fritz’s.
On Halloween, Mrs. Fritz would give us some homemade cookies wrapped in saran wrap, and Mr. Fritz would inevitably give us a dime to spend at Woolworth’s on our next trip. Those were they days, huh?

Across the street was the Kimballs. They had the best house on the street because it had been the farmhouse, I think, when the development didn’t exist. They also had a really deep back yard and an incredibly overgrown garden facing the street. Within the garden, old Harvey Kimball raised his bee colony, and he actually made and gave away his own honey to the neighbors.... before he got senile and started walking aimlessly around the neighborhood with his zipper down, that is. He rode around town in a puke green station wagon. Mrs. Kimball was very sweet before she began to suffer from what I now would guess is Alzheimer’s. She made homemade cupcakes for Halloween treats and it was a very sad day when people began to toss her baked goods out before they left the driveway due to media frenzies that led them to believe this poor old woman was going to bake a razor blade inside them.

I also recall going to down the street to the Karonci’s (sp?) house. They were the notoriously loud family on the street... I’m not sure if they were Italian or eastern European, but their house always scared me because it was so chaotic. Mr. Karonci would put you on the spot in the living room- from the comfort of his recliner- as to who you were, what stupid costume you chose, berating your choice and the ‘kids today’, then begrudgingly say something like “alright then, pick somethin’ outta here”, and point to a platter of candy bars while he went back to watching his television show which had been blaring the whole time and causing he and his wife to shout louder over the din to hear each other’s guesses at your identity.

My first costume, I believe was a cowgirl hand-me-down from my cousin. I can barely remember putting it on. I think I must have looked like Dale Evans, but I do recall my duel silver pistols. Those were sweet! After that, I got the ultra-awesome boxed Wonder Woman costume that came in the cardboard container with the cellophone window. Inside was that great mask that looked like Wonder Woman had chipmunks’ disease and the one elastic strap that broke and had to be restapled ten times before the big day. The ‘costume’ was a one piece plastic suit painted to look as if she was wearing her blue stars and red and white stripes, and you tied it in the back with plastic straps that also ripped easily, and under the fake flesh arms was your long sleeve shirt that mom made you wear to stay warm while you protested that Wonder Woman never wore long sleeves.

I miss those days. Today it is all greedy parents with their infants in strollers and some store-bought costume which guilts you into dropping expensive candy into the cheap plastic bag free from the L.A. Times, which the adults are carrying for the babies too small to eat candy. Kids want to dress like pimps and ho’s; Trunk-or-treat events take place of you getting to know your neighbors a little better and not being afraid to talk to them.

Waxing nostalgic, I wish I could return home, dump out my loot, and have a hot cocoa while Mom and Dad sorted out which candy was untampered with or contained needles.

Oh wait... maybe things haven’t changed all that much.

A Photo Essay on Nascar

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 13:40:00 +0000

The Real First Ladies of the G20

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 15:48:00 +0000

Barring any shenanigans by the OC blondies...this photo shows some powerful women. Yahoo! had a nice little slideshow of the unsung first ladies of the world. The South Korean leader's wife, for example, has multiple advanced degrees; the Australian first lady continues to run the multi-million dollar employment agency and collect a check while her hubby runs the island nation. Yeah for professional women!

And my goodness, Michelle is TALL!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:18:00 +0000

What's crazier than Muammar's outfits? Only his desire to break Switzerland up into bite size pieces.

Vote on your favorite Gaddafi outfit:
a) The "Edward James Olmos as MJ" Retro Ensemble
b) The Fifties Flight Attendant Banana Hat & Grey Cashmere Pashmina
c) The Arethawear Futuristic Mumu with Grace Jones Jacket
d) The Crab Boaters' Overall with Matching Sari & Coordinating Suede Vest in Swiss Milk Chocolate

Breaches

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:17:00 +0000

* I was watching "Real Time with Bill Mahr" today and they were discussing the border fence between the US and Mexico. I think they said it was costing something like 600 million to build it. There have already been 3300+ breaches of the fence and it costs $1300 dollar each time to fix it. WTF? How much bottled water do you suppose is being consumed at the federal level?

* A little update... the local Nazi/Health Care posters are the product of LarouchPAC. Here are some thoughts:

From the DNC:
"repeated use of Nazi symbolism at community meetings by the Republican-incited mob proves that these protests have nothing to do with health care, but rather that the Republican Party is willing to sink to the lowest, most despicable levels to accomplish their goal"

John McCormac said:
" To put it mildly, comparing your political opponents in America to Nazis is inappropriate–no matter if the comparison is made by Pelosi or left-wing talker Bill Press or Rush Limbaugh (in response to Pelosi’s “swastikas” statement) or Andrew Sullivan who routinely compares those who support harsh interrogations of al Qaeda members to the Gestapo."

Another quote:
" Rush Limbaugh talking about Obama “sending out his Brownshirts” is a pretty clear reference to Hitler "

I am all for you having a difference of opinion from mine, people.. but this imagery and language is dangerous. I just finished reading "Stories of the Holocaust" and to suggest that the health care plan, whatever faults it has right now, is the same as the agenda of the satanists in the Nazi Party or the SS is just not true. The posters are disgusting.

* Now, I realize that politicians must be careful with their words, but why the uproar over Obama saying that Kanye is a jackass? Is there a conservative or liberal out there who would disagree? Remember when he rendered Mike Myers speechless on the Katrina Telethon show by calling Bush out and saying he hated the black man? How soon we forget... jackass is a bit too mild for my taste.

Share your thoughts...

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 23:22:00 +0000

... if you can stand the irony of my boss handing out the "Are You an Educator or a Bully?" paper at our meeting today.

This is the second time in one year we, as a staff, have been handed this form created by Linda Starr in 2003. To me it is a slap in the face, because I do not believe I am a bully to my students, or that the standout colleagues I work with are bullies.. and yet there are people on campus who bully not only their kids, but their colleagues too on a daily basis. Those people should be dealt with by "privately counseling" and an adminstrator who can "diffuse disruptions with humor". Um, yeah. That would require that your leader actually not be a bully. Just because he isn't aggressive, doesn't mean he doesn't bully or manipulate people, and this whole thing is a shad hypocritical.

For my principal to hand this out with comments printed on it like "bullies humiliate" or "bullies make examples of those with bad behavior" really sticks in my craw. What kind of leader hands this out arbitrarily and makes some excuse that this is his "best example of what a good educator is"? Not to mention the best analogy he could come up with is that SCJ Douglas was asked to define "pornography" and he couldn't stating, "but I know it when I see it". Somehow the comparison was a bit off.

Really? What did he do, clean out his desk and find this form from year ago and think, "hey I'll copy this for today's meeting"... on unauthorized colored, one-sided printed paper, no less. Geez!

In the words of Judi Dench as QE1: "too late! too late!"

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 05:12:00 +0000

* At what point did apologies become the go-to speech of celebrities? Look Kanye... you have done little to promote any cause you have spoken about because you do not think before you speak; you are incapable of intelligent speech or of making an argument for your case. You can not spout your opinions without fact and ruin a young girl's moment in the spotlight and then blow out some half-assed sorry as if it excuses your lack of class.

Poor Taylor Swift. For the remainder of her life, a special moment in her personal history will be saddled with disappointment because of the lack of personal judgment shown by this one stupid individual. "I'm SOOOOOOOOOOO sorry?" How immature.

And you know what, I don't give a crap how much Hennessey you drank on the red carpet. Stop your excuses. Stop your misplaced self-importance. Stop your racially motivated attacks on other people because you feel that you represent an entire race of people and/or the music industry through your synthesized, computer enhanced vocals. You disgust me with your overblown ego. Whoa-ho Mr. "I'm the next Michael Jackson". Oh. Hell. No. For all of his bizarre antics, Jackson would never have treated someone in the manner you did last evening.

Kudos to Beyonce Knowles... you are a shining example of how to conduct yourself- publicly or personally. No one deserves the humiliation that Swift faced last night, and your grace in accepting your award and stepping aside to make way for someone coming up in your footsteps is admirable. You handled the moment with humility and charity, and have made me more of a fan for it.

I was not kidding about unsyncing you from my ipod, Kanye. Good riddance. How ironic that you wrote a song about someone being "heartless". Perhaps in your "time off" to reflect on how you can "improve" yourself, you can listen to your own lyrics and get some insight into how to behave like a human. What a douche.

Republicans are Crazy!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Okay, conservative republicans, like the head of the party in Florida, say that Barack Obama's speech to school kids is an attempt to "indoctrinate" them into the "cult of Obama".

Obama says in the speech to air tomorrow:
"What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future...You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment."

Truly horrifying to ask kids to learn in math and sciences, huh?

"You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nation more fair and more free."

Fair and free? No homeless? No crime? No discriminating? How dare he!?

"You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy."

Oh dear God!

"If you quit on school -- you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country."

For goodness sake, how could he... we all want a bunch of quitters!

"At the end of the day, the circumstances of your life -- what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home -- that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying."

You socialist! How could you ask kids to not be rude? To DO their work? To have a positive attitude and respect for teachers?! What? What?

Oh my... yes, he's clearly "indoctrinating" us into a culture that asks us to respect adults, work hard, be commited to a task, and focus on the possibilites of our future. Frightening, NO?!

Der.

Awk!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 01:24:00 +0000

A Yahoo! article stated:

SALT LAKE CITY – The next time the sky darkens with a flock of noisy unwelcome starlings, blame Shakespeare — or, better yet, a few of his strangest fans.

Had the Bard not mentioned the starling in the third scene of "Henry IV," arguably the most hated bird in North America might never have arrived. In the early 1890s, about 100 European starlings were released in New York City's Central Park by a group dedicated to bringing to America every bird ever mentioned by Shakespeare.

Personally, my most hated bird species are the wild parrots of Covina. Folklore abounds about where they came from; one such story goes that some dude in San Dimas years ago had his pet store catch on fire. He decided to simply start letting loose the animals to save them. The parrots flocked together, mated, and now are multiplying in numbers never seen. This appears to be untrue as the species has been documented in the Southern California region since the 1960's.

Worse yet, they fly over me while walking through the neighborhood, nest in the the trees of our local park, and squawk like a mass of death itself. Awful.. What can be done?

Here is a person's photo of a flock: PARROTS

And here is an article excerpt:
Haven in the asphalt savanna
By Emily Green, Times Staff Writer
February 09, 2006

"Most parrots are monogamous and strong believers in family hour before bedtime. When they return from foraging, they perch in street trees, calling for family and friends as they appear to be sorting themselves into clans. This is, indeed, noisy. Press Garrett and Mabb as to what the parrots are saying, and they will say, "The vocalizations are complex." There are begging calls from young, predator alerts, mating calls and hailing calls."

"Family hour?". This must be why I hear them in the large evergreens in the park at the time I go walking. They are SO obnoxious! And the one site I saw that says they are endangered? Buddy, you need to come to the Cov' to do some research gathering. They are everywhere!

Oh no! Not again! It can't be! Another exclamation point!!??

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 17:02:00 +0000

It is reported that F. Scott Fitzgerald said, "Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own jokes."

I am certainly guilty of abusing the use of them on FB and in other writing, but what is up with public companies using them in their logos?

Standard Practice is: "An exclamation mark or exclamation point is a punctuation mark: ! It is usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume, and often marks the end of a sentence."

Now in the case of Pic n' Save, [ which coincidentally should have been: Pic' 'n' Save ] which about five years ago changed its name to Big! Lots, and I was compelled every time I drove by it to yell "BIG!!!! lots" in the car, until finally, they properly changed the position of the exclamation point to the end and are now officially: Big Lots!

The trend continues, as I witnessed passing what used to be Smart & Final. At first they were just too lazy to write out "and", but now I see they have added to their title and have become Smart & Final extra! --which bothers me now because:

a) in title case the e should be capitalized

b) I don't understand what makes them more than they were

c) I now have the need to call them Smart & Final EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Please, can we just stop the overuse of the exclamation point in public already? And if you are going to use it, call it by its 17th century name, the "note of admiration". It is so much more sophisticated, no?

> PS: I published this post and I got the message Your blog post published successfully!

> PPS: My own overuse of the 'note of admiration' is evidenced in my last post, so hang in there as I try to reduce my use of it too! (oops!... oh damn... I can't stop!)

ALL I WANTED WAS A SANDWICH!!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:18:00 +0000

Today, I was out with the Magpie minding my own business at the italian market buying some pine nuts to make basil fresh from the garden, when I thought to myself, "hmmm, I'd really like a sandwich from Hi-Ho across the street." That's when all hell broke loose and my blood pressure flew off the charts so high that I nearly had an aneurism outside of the post office.

See the evidence below:

As you can observe, there appeared to be some type of desk with an Obama-like sign upon it by the "Recycler" container. Not having had my glasses along with me, I strolled in for a closer look:

WHAT IN THE HOLY NAME OF JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEPH IS THIS DOING OUTSIDE MY LOCAL POST OFFICE????!!!!!!!!!!!

Thoughts that ran through my mind included, "right or wrong on healthcare, those photos are unconscionable!", and "how closely can one legally protest outside of a federal post office?" , and "who the fuck could compare Obama to a person who slaughtered over 6 million people and be okay with that comparison?"

HOL-E-SHIT! Need I remind you peopl of this?

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

Unusual Suspect

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Healthcare Protests

I quote Nicholson's Joker when I say to you sincerely, my fellow Cov' residents: "this town needs an enema"!!

Woodranch BBQ- yeah for you!!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Okay, here's the menu:

An appetizer of this

then,

Babyback Ribs/Tri Tip Combo
Steamed Broccolli
Baked Potato

and a dessert of Oreo Cookie Crunch

The only downside was that my cookie crunch dessert looked a lot more like a cowpie. How did a scoop of 'hand-rolled' ice cream covered in oreo crumbs get so flat and wide? hmm.

Oh, not to be disappointed on my birthday...

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:28:00 +0000

Man pops the question to girlfriend at Wal-Mart

Posted: Aug 12, 2009 5:06 PM
Updated: Aug 12, 2009 8:55 PM

KXLY.COM

POST FALLS - You can find almost anything you're looking for at Wal-Mart and in Post Falls that apparently includes a wife after a Coeur d'Alene couple got engaged inside the Supercenter on Mullan Road.

A marriage proposal doesn't always have to be about finding the most romantic spot. Rick GreenSky proved it when he popped the question to Debby South in the jewelry section of this Wal-Mart.

I'm not sure that I'm laughing more at the fact that they got engaged in a checkout aisle, or that her name will be Debby South-Greensky, or that they already have 7 kids and have been dating 28 years. Ha hahahahahahaha!

THE ONION makes me laugh again... regarding Spokanistan

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:22:00 +0000

Each week I check updates from THE ONION, and it always amazes me how it can make me chuckle.
Here was a "National Headline News" brief for this week located in Spokompton--

SPOKANE, WA—Leslie Sherwood spent her 37th birthday the exact same way she spent her actual birthday:
naked and crying

Tomorrow I turn 38, and I may do the same.

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:43:00 +0000

* Had a great day at Disneyland yesterday with friends. It was our old babysitter's last chance to see the Magpie before heading off to college. Seeing as she has chosen a small school in Walla Walla, WA, she needed to see as many people as possible while she could. It was much fun, and something new occurred- we were evacuated from Winnie-the-Pooh! Which, due to the "honey spill" and a "sticky situation"... ha ha ha... required the poor worker to haul around a set of molded plastic stairs to every seat. No one was permitted to escape their honey car without the stairs, which took forever, and had this been some kind of beehive smoking incident, we'd have all died a horrible death while listening to Piglet's psychedelic voiceover "wake up... wake UP pooh!... wake up... wake UP pooh!" . It was extremely odd.

I did, however, get a sweet opportunity to ride Space Mountain twice in a row due to a swap off of the Magpie who refused to ride it. My friend gave up her seat to watch him, then got a bypass to the front o' the line and she took me the 2nd time so we enjoyed it very much and had quite a fast ride in the front seat of the car. WOW is that the best ride or what??!! Love it.

* Somehow I took my son and his friend to Utility Board Shop today to get what I was assured by the neighbor kid was 2 new trucks for $10.00, but, as It turns out, said trucks are 20 dollars PER TRUCK, and the Magpie's Target board was too small for real trucks and required a new deck [which the pretty cool dude gave us used and free], new trucks, and new bearings. All-in-all, it was a $49.00 out-of-pocket expense that I did not really need just now, and I just virtually used all my birthday money to be the 'cool mom' hanging out at the UBS skate shop. I should probably mention that the boy in front of me at the counter in line was one who in our 8th grade was expelled for beating the crap out of someone on a field trip, so I felt like the Magpie had some really good role models in there. Nice.

* Please note that the stipulations for insect sitting the Kindergarten teacher's stick bugs this summer were as follows:

a) feed rose bush leaves/stems once a day or so
b) spray with water daily to keep leaves and soil damp
c) remove eggs so no babies will hatch

This seemed so simple:

Adult Stick Bug

Oh. Crap.

Whoa! The Chair is Against the Wall! John has a Long Mustache!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 02:29:00 +0000

This is crazy news!

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Tom Cruise's son is among the newest Wolverines to join the remake of "Red Dawn," the 1984 action movie about a group of teenagers who form an insurgency when their town is invaded -- this time by Chinese and Russian soldiers.

Can a remake of The Outsiders be far behind???!!!

Things I Found Funny Today

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:41:00 +0000

1) "Autopsy: Cocaine contributed to Billy Mays' death". Great... the coroner confirms what we've all known for years. NOBODY is THAT excited about laundry!!!

2)

3)

I'm so proud of my little garden, I had to share!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 03:05:00 +0000

I planted this rose, and picked my very own home grown green beans today... and finally, look at my basil plants!! They are going crazy! I can't wait for margherita pizza made at home!! : )

The Horses are Approaching the Starting Gate....

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:55:00 +0000

JOCKEYS Season 2 premieres August 21 @ 10PM EST/PAC

Look for me, the Magpie, and Motorola in a few shots!

PREMIERING THIS MONTH!

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:43:00 +0000

OMG! I can not tell you my excitement over this. Figure Skating and Food? Flamboyantly gay men in San Francisco? Fantabulous! I am SO excited about this show.

"What Would Brian Boitano Make?" ...Tune in: Premieres Sunday, August 23, at 1pm/12c

Recovered from the Pretzel Stand Attack

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 18:17:00 +0000

* I think I'm finally past it.

* This morning, I took Magpie along on a walk of Brookside Park, which borders the Rose Bowl. I'm not sure how many miles it is around, but I'm guessing maybe 2. I walked with a colleague from work and then the Magpie pedaled along. It was nice, and I was proud of him for making it the whole way without complaint, and only a few random stops to observe the squirrels and wonder aloud at the German Shepherd who slobbered after him like a well-cooked steak.

Experiments in Cooking, and the Weirdo at the Pretzel Stand

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 20:42:00 +0000

* On "The Best Thing I Ever Ate-- Pizza" yesterday, I heard a chef talk about a pizza she'd had in NYC at Five Points Pizza. It was a yukon gold potato pizza with cheese and white truffle oil. I thought, "hmm... now this is a way to use the white truffle infused olive oil I have at home". So... above is the yukon gold with fontina, asiago, mozzarella, and romano, a bit of white truffle evoo, and voila! Yum! I bought a hand stretched pizza crust at our italian market, so it was very thin and very good. And only 7.5 WW points per 1/4 of the pizza! Yeh!

* I'm at the mall with the Magpie, when all of a sudden, he demands Wetzel Bits, which any mall hopper knows are pretzel dough cut into muti-bite size pieces and they give you far too many for one person. Undeterred, I acquire pretzel bits and being the new and improved Weight Watcher, I ask for the special "no butter" pretzel, which, the cashier informs me, will take a wait of 7 minutes. I'm inside in the air con and it is August in LA, so I'm cool with the wait. But then, this woman who is also waiting and blurting out things like "I hope that's not my pretzel I smell burnin'!" says to me:

"have you tried the Almond.. or the... oh what is it...yeah, almond with the glaze?"
Me: "Um, no I haven't heard of it."
Her: "Ooo girl! It's SO good!"
Me: "Well, uh, it sounds good, but I can't have the sugar on it. I'm going with the no butter pretzel."
Her: "Oh yeah, I been trying to lose weight forever. I drink this tea; I get it at the 99 cent store... diet tea."
Me: "Oh really? Is it green tea?"
Her: "No... it's diet tea... but it's in a green box."
Me: "Aha. Sounds inter...."
Her: "At the BIG 99 cent store though."
Me: "Oh, okay."
Her: "This tea makes you go the bathroom. So I take it when I get up, then I get ready for work,and by the time I leave, I'm done going to the bathroom. And you can see the fat! You can see it in the toilet!!"
Me: "ughhhhhhhh, ummmmmmmm...."
Her: "I lost it, but you know, I'm all flabby [holding stomach roll] and I got to exercise. By next summer I'll be, ya know, firm!"
Cashier: "Here's your no butter pretzel ma'am."
Me: "Thank you!"

-and then I ran away as fast as my feet could take me toward the parking lot!

Movie News

noreply@blogger.com (The Trebs) — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:14:00 +0000

* OMG. I’ve been told of two upcoming TV/Film related premieres that are very exciting to me:

1) “What Would Brian Boitano Make?” on Food Network. Figure Skating, flamboyantly gay men, and food. What could be better??

2) “Amelia” starring Hillary Swank as Earhardt comes out in October. So does “New Moon”. October is looking pretty good so far.

* I just read that Spielberg is remaking “Harvey”. Since I have yet to see it, I’m going to have to rent the orginal, and quickly.

* I’m reading about the “10 British Comedy Films” I should have seen, and note this one:
ind Hearts and Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949)
Everyone that recommends this classic satire of course begins by mentioning the performance(s) by Alec Guinness as eight separate characters, all members of the D’Ascoyne clan soon to be murdered off by a vengeful relative (Dennis Price)

What?! Obi-Wan? I must see this.