Reflecting on the Allergy Shots

So.  For the past 18 months, I have been getting allergy shots.  Every single week.  Just when I was getting to the point of "OMG I am so sick of this, I am going to quit", I had an appointment with my allergist and he told me that I was really close to maxing out the dosage and moving into Phase 2.  It took longer than usual because:

1. My awesome immune system changed its mind about which types of mold make it mad.  I had to start over.
2. During the Great Mold Infestation of 2009, I started reacting to the weekly shots and was held back on the dosages.

Phase two is "maintenance".  I stay at this dosage and only go in for shots every other week.  I have dropped one of the three daily prescriptions I'd been taking.  BCBS will be happy to hear both of these things.  I am happy that I can start sleeping late on Saturdays.  Some Saturdays.

In my doctor's office, all of the kids get their shots on Saturdays.  So if I don't get there by 8:30, right when the doors open, the office is packed.  To get to Highland Park by 8:30, I have to be out the door shortly after 8am.  In order to be up and dressed with contacts in and teeth brushed...to give Kiwi her fresh food and water and medicine (next recheck 12/18)....Well.  I get perhaps an extra hour of sleep over the average day in a workweek.  This is not the purpose of a Saturday.  Of course, taking quizzes is not the purpose of a Saturday, either.

OK, now I'm just complaining.  Weren't we talking about shopping?

Deep Lacquer

I was at Joann Fabrics today.  While I was waiting for them to call my number, (so that I could get a yard of fleece for Kay who is making a jacket for the dog) I saw some stackable plastic drawers.  I picked up three, thinking that I really must do something about the mess of cosmetics in my bathroom.  I have an old Caboodle's box - you know, the ones that were modeled on the things fishermen use - that is in seriously bad shape.

I really did have some old stuff in there.  The experimental green eyeshadow.  Gone.  Two pairs of earrings.  I'd been wondering where they went.  Clinique Deep Lacquer lipstick.

It was a deep red.  I didn't wear it every day..I wore it on "bad girl" days.  So, not all that often after college.   The last time I wore it was perhaps five years ago.  I put it on before work, just for fun.  My friend Nicholle told me it was freaking her out and I was to go to the bathroom to wash it off and never wear it again.

Would you believe that I did?

I don't wear much lipstick because I rather believe that a lady either accentuates her eyes or her lips but not both.  I choose the eyes.  Also, I no longer wear red nail polish because my mother has convinced me that it doesn't look right if you don't have long fingernails.  Which I will never have again.  Actually, my color was "Toast of New York" but nevermind.  Back in the day, I had a signature color and a signature scent.

I also stopped wearing perfume because I don't think it belongs in the workplace.   Too many people don't know how much is too much and I don't wish to contribute to the problem.  But one day last year when I happen to be going past an H20 store, I stopped in to consider buying my old scent in a lotion.  I remember taking a whiff and thinking, "Yes.  This is how I used to smell.  I don't smell like this anymore."  And I walked out of the store.

So instead of Deep Lacquer lipstick, Mariel perfume and Toast of New York, I am wearing Bigelow lip gloss, smelling like cranberry body butter and my fingernails are...(reaching over to look at the bottle)...Country Club Khaki. 

Wait.  Country Club Khaki?  I suddenly want to kill myself.

Anyway.  I kept the earrings.  Tossed the lipstick.

What I Learned During the Black Friday Shopping

1. Those awesome-looking wireless charging pads?   I went into Best Buy where they weren't even on sale and the sales lady made sure I understood that in addition to the $100 I'd be paying for the pad, I would be required to purchase these adapter thingies for each device I planned to use on the wireless charger.  $30 each, assuming they are even compatible.  Not so awesome.   Which leads to...
2. Now I am thinking I should buy the Wii Mario Brothers for Scott.  Which means there is a very real possibility that he and I might get each other the same gift for Christmas.  Again.
3. The cell phone lot at O'Hare is a myth.  There are rumors, but I couldn't find it.  Therefore, it does not exist.  I did, however, find the Starbucks at Baggage Claim in Terminal 3.  Starbucks is no myth.
4. If there is a silver lining to the H1N1 virus, I think it is that people are making honest attempts to not cough and/or sneeze on other people.  I didn't notice it until yesterday, but I appreciate the collective effort.
5. Between the retailers planning better, the shoppers having a sense of humor and the options to go online...I think we are getting pretty good at this nonsense.

So It Begins

I hadn't planned on doing Black Friday for real. But yesterday during the Lions game I was going through the paper and had an idea. And then I compared prices. And then I found one that was substantially better than the others. That could only be found before 1pm on Friday.

I was at Carson's by 7:30 this morning. Shopper's tip: the Rewards Card discount works on Door Busters. Ha ha!

I can't go into detail because people for whom I shop also read my stupid blog. But suffice it to say that I rocked the shopping today. In between getting my allergy shot, having lunch at Meatheads, and picking up my brother at the airport.

And I have three gifts wrapped. 

Night Castle, by Trans-Siberian Orchestra

I believe I mentioned that I had pre-ordered - on CD, no less - the new release from Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  It is a 2-disk rock opera called Night Castle.  TSO is best known for its Christmas-themed rock operas.  You know that commercial with the house and the holiday lights that rock out to music?  That was TSO.  You know that rock version of "Carol of the Bells"?  That was actually in an earlier rock opera called Dead Winter Dead.  I believe the song was called "Sarajevo 12/24", but anyway, that was them, too.  Although now that I am thinking about it, that might have been Savatage, Paul O'Neill's other band. 

Whatever.  You know what I am talking about and I am too lazy to check my iTunes right now.

So.  Night Castle.  Just before I started writing, I remembered that I hadn't finished reading the liner notes yet.  They contain the narrative of the story, in addition to the lyrics.  Then I decided that the music should stand on its own merits.  As if I really know anything about music.  A good story?  I know something about that.  Good music?  Not so much.

What has attracted me to TSO has been that they take old, familiar classical tunes and turn them into hard rock so that we hear it in a whole new way.  So I guess what they do is more "arranging" than "composing" but I sure don't care.  And I don't think Beethoven minds, either.  In fact, I am pretty sure that Beethoven would appreciate the new audience.

The instrumental arrangements were great, as usual.  I thought the vocals were rather hit-or-miss, though. 
And also, something about this piece sounded a bit...recycled.  TSO absolutely recycles its own stuff, and that's ok.  In fact, I am pretty sure "Sarajevo 12/24" is on one of the Christmas albums.  But I still felt like I have heard it all before, particularly with some of the cheesier lyrics.  "You are the star that is wished upon" is a good example.  I clicked into the reviews at Amazon.com to find out if I am all jaded or insane or just plain wrong.  Instead, there was some validation.

Bottom line:  not bad.  But not Beethoven's Last Night, either.

I should go finish reading the narrative now.

Volunteers are Cool.

Yesterday was my regular day at the Rescue.  My office closed early, so I figured I would take care of one room by myself and leave the others for the rest of the team, which would arrive between 4 and 5pm.  I asked the Karen, Volunteer Director how we were staffed for Thanksgiving Day.  She said that she would be there with one other person, Brett, who is a regular Thursday volunteer.

Unacceptable.

Back in the old days, two people could manage the daily chores.  Sort of.  If I remember the math correctly, we figured that one person could feed, water and clean the cages in 7 hours.  So two would be there for 3 1/2 hours.  Now the place is bigger and there are more birds.  I would say three people is really the minimum.  Four is decent.  Five is good.

Most of the time, though, if one extra person can put in an hour it helps a lot.  So I said I could put in an hour.  Which generally means I will be there for 1 1/2 hours or maybe two.  When I arrived at nine this morning, Karen said that Pat, Jose, Susanna and Bijan were all coming in addition to Brett.  Word got around, it seems.

So I opened all of the rooms.  Uncovering all of the cages, I now know, takes 20 minutes.  The morning meds were already done.  I pulled out all of the dirty water dishes, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.  I snuggled the killer lovebird in a towel so that Susanna could clean out her cage.  At some point I looked up and I had been there 90 minutes.  Four of the five other volunteers had arrived and were working at a pretty quick clip.

It's nice that no one had to be exhausted before hanging out with their families.

Awesome.

Billy has some flash-eye here, and apparently Picasa can't fix that the same way as it can fix red-eye. But I am putting it up here for two reasons:

1. Proof that Billy stepped up for me. Do you think I could get a grey on that hanging, swinging perch any other way?
2. To show you that awesome swing. $30 at Drs. Foster and Smith. There is another one with an additional tier for $10, but I was afraid it wouldn't fit in that corner. I was very pleased.

Simon's Cat

I had never heard of this before, but it was posted in USAToday.com's Pet section.  It might be the funniest thing I have ever seen. 

The Bookshelves

Since I had a dangerously high tower of unread books piled on the speaker next to my to-be-read bookcase, and since the Library's Used Book Sale is in a couple of weeks, I decided to cull.  As in Donating Books I Haven't Even Read Yet.

Who does that?

Well, I do.  Since most of the books I buy cost a dollar or two, it isn't all that much of a waste.  And really, I was never going to read that sequel to Pride & Prejudice, anyway.  And that biography of Charles Lindbergh?   I'm no longer excited by it. 

I nearly pulled out that Ellroy novel, because utter_scoundrel informed me that it was the second in a series.  I won't get to it for years.  First, I have to find the book that begins the series.  In a used book store for two dollars or less.  Then I have to decide that I am in the mood for Ellroy.  Then six more months will go by before I decide I am in the mood for more Ellroy.  Is it worth the space it will be taking up until then?  Eh.  I'll ask myself again before the summer sale.  There is also a non-fiction about the Lusitania that I nearly pulled out, but then I remembered I actually borrowed it from my friend Eric.  Eleven years ago when I was living in the old apartment.

I cheated and pulled out a book on Jefferson and Hamilton.  I know I'm not going to read it, but it is lovely older piece - 1926 printing - that I can't quite give away.  I shelved it in my real library and if anyone asks I will say, "I use it for reference purposes".

I did so well that I think I might have room for three more new books on my seven shelf to-be-read bookcase.  Maybe if I did more reading and less blogging about reading....

Holiday Travel

USAToday.com had a good article called, “Ten tips to ease the hassles of holiday flying”. It listed the usual stuff, but won me over with two gems.


First, “If you're planning to drive, remember that this is one of the busiest times of the year and that the parking facilities hit capacity at some airports. If you drive to the airport and find a full lot, that delay could cause you to miss your flight.”

That could so easily happen to me. While I am fully aware that there will be fools in the security line, I would be totally thrown if I couldn’t park in my usual spot.

And second, “If your flight gets canceled or you miss your connection, the only people that can help get you out of the airport work for the airline. So no matter how frazzled your nerves, smile and be pleasant. Even if you're sure the airline is at fault, a smile is more likely to fix your problem than snarky comments and a raised voice.”

Seriously, people. When you are disrespectful to the airline staff, you are making everyone miserable. Just don’t do it.

Thanks to Joy, who ran a meeting for me on Monday, I am not travelling on Thanksgiving week for the first time in…several years. I will give you my trick for surviving the travel day. It works for me every time and I am pretty sure that I am a less patient person than you. Are you ready? This is what I tell myself:

“As long as I get there today, I will be just fine.”

I can say this because I have never been stuck in an airport overnight, so I presume that my luck will hold. Once during a delay, I read two books and had to pay retail for a third. I once packed my iPod charger and had to buy a new one to keep my music going. I once had to talk to strangers because I was so bored. Whatever I have to do to get through the day without being part of the problem, I will do.

That’s what Thanksgiving is all about, Charlie Brown. Don’t be part of the problem.

A Thanksgiving Miracle

If I haven't mentioned it before, Drs. Foster and Smith rock.  They are located in Wisconsin, so Fed Ex Home delivers to my house overnight.  They have finally gone to $5.99 shipping (although that might explain why Kiwi's Nutriberries are $2 more expensive for a 3-pound bucket). They have almost all of the supplies I need for birds.  Many treats and toys for Shadow.  And now, they have found a glucosamine tablet that Spooky will eat.

When his vet said that it couldn't hurt to put him on the supplement, I was sure that I would be spending the rest of his life looking for something that he would take.  I started at Bentley's Corner Barkery, a boutique pet shop in Arlington Heights.  It is a very nice place with a great staff.  I consider it out of my price range for day-to-day supplies (although seriously, since all of our dog and cat food is now coming directly from the vet, it probably isn't much different), but on a such a mission for Picky Spooky, it was worth a try. 

They had some chewable glucosamine supplements, but they were chewy treats.  And Spooky only likes crunchy treats.  So I went online and ordered the cat version of the supplement that Shadow takes.  And...I hesitate to say it, because it has only been a week.  But he seems to like it.

The first time, I put a half-tablet in front of his paws as he was lying in his bed.  He turned up his nose.  I put some of his own treats with it and left him alone.  When I came back a couple of hours later, the cat and the treats were all gone.

I was convinced the dog had come in and eaten them.

The second time, he waited for me to leave and when I came back, he had gone back to sleep, but the treats were gone.  No way was the dog going to take treats from under the sleeping cat's nose.  He would be dead if he tried.

Third time, I didn't leave the room.  It took about 45 minutes, but he ate it when he thought I wasn't looking.  And tonight, he didn't wait for me to leave.

It was the first thing I tried! 


You cannot possibly understand how happy this makes me.

General Update Post

After four days on the road, I caught an early flight home on Friday.  I now have a standard for Friday afternoons off:

1. Go get allergy shot
2. Have lunch at Meatheads (they are doing serious business at lunchtime)
3. Go home and listen to this week's Live Classroom and prep for quiz on Saturday

I may or may not decide to do the grocery shopping before dinner.

Sad, sad life.

I broke it up this week by stopping by the Refuge on the way home and bringing home Billy, an African Grey.  Billy was a proverbial "dump and run" at the Niles Animal Hospital this past June.  Dr. Sakas said he seems to have been well cared for in his previous life.  He doesn't talk, and is pretty skittish, but he is a good eater and doesn't appear to be a feather picker.  Here he is.  I know.  You can't tell him apart from the rest of the Greys.  You could tell if you heard him.

He can do one particularly loud and annoying sound that I believe I have identified as the Brinks Home Security alarm.  He'd better quit that or he won't make it through the holidays at my house.

For the second year in a row, we have decided to have our Thanksgiving catered by the Fresh Market.  Meal for 4-6 people for $80.  The pick up is on Wednesday, so it does require actually using the stove.  It doesn't include dessert, which is fine because someone always brings dessert.  And it doesn't include green bean casserole, which is also ok because it is very easy to make and my secret recipe (read as: cream of chicken soup instead of cream of mushroom) rocks.

So now I am killing time before the Bears game, which could very well make for a late night.  Here's hoping for a quiet week at work.

One Step too Far

You know that I am in Washington DC a lot. I have stay so regularly at the Holiday Inn that I am fairly certain the room service staff recognizes me. The location is great, but it is a Holiday Inn not a Ritz Carlton and a few years ago there were a couple of instances of bed bugs in the guest rooms. Since then, the hotel has spent a bajillion dollars on renovations, trying to go upscale. The rooms have all been redone. The bathrooms look great (although I am still not entirely satisfied with the plumbing). The lobby has been made over. The linens look lovely. And they are charging my employer $30 more per room night than last year. Which was a good $20 per room night more than the year before.  And we are extremely good customers.

Yesterday, when I checked into my room, I looked at the bed and decided they are officially trying too hard.

This pillow is wrapped in a ribbon of fabric.  You probably can't read that little plastic sign, but it says "firm". There was another pillow with a similar ribbon that said "soft". They are spending money on these...things...and instructing the housekeeping staff to spend the extra time setting them up...and requiring me to take them off so that I can sleep. So they they can tell me which is the firm pillow?

Seriously?

Dear Holiday Inn: please skip the ribbons and spend the money dropping some Draino down in the shower.

Sometimes, There Is Good News

One year ago, a Double Yellow Amazon Parrot named Maxi came to the Rescue with an African Grey named Shadow.  They were both in rather small cages and Shadow was something of a feather plucker.  This is his intake picture.  You wouldn't recognize him now.  He is absolutely beautiful.

Maxi, you might remember, came home with me for a brief time.  I brought her back because she has some sinus issues that were freaking me out.  I didn't like the way her breathing sounded so I took her to the vet.  She had an infection and we are half convinced the sinus issues are chronic.  Karen, our Volunteer Director, has started giving her regular sinus rinses and Maxi looks (and sounds) much better.  That is, however, officially beyond my capacity with an Amazon.

Shadow is a lovely bird.  I seriously considered fostering him, except that he shares a name with the dog.  I am certain that would be too much for them both.  But Shadow is a friendly bird that likes attention.  Unless he doesn't.  And he can shred his toys with the best of the macaws.  We put him in a bigger cage with tons of things to destroy and magically, all of his feathers grew in and he is nothing but charming to friends and strangers alike.

I just received an e-mail from Pat, another volunteer, that today...  He found a home.

A full year he was with us.  A month ago, I would have bet money that a volunteer was going to adopt him before anyone else got the chance.   I am glad I was wrong.  Shadow has a family and we have an empty cage.  For about five minutes. 

That is what we call a good day.

Seducing the Boys Club, by Nina DiSesa

Book 42

I put down the Mailer book, good as it is, when I saw Seducing the Boys Club, by Nina DiSesa at the Library Used Book Store. I opened it to a random page in the middle, thinking it would be lame chick lit. But it was insightful. Damn.

DiSesa is a leader in the advertising industry, which I understand to be the worst of the cut-throat old boys' clubs. So there are some awesome and shocking stories of inappropriate behavior in the workplace. The foul language alone made me cringe. I am happy to say that there were few anecdotes that really hit home for me.

There is, however, some good advice to be had. The theme is that women should stop trying to be men and use their strengths. “Reading the room” is a great example. DiSesa tells a story about asking a team how a client meeting went. The men all thought it was fine. The women in the room knew that it wasn’t fine. The client was unhappy and extremely close to dropping them. The men had been listening to what the client was saying. The women were reading the body language. The women were right and they saved the business.

She defends the concepts of “seduction” and “manipulation”, saying that these are not bad words. They describe how to get people to do what you want them to do, which we all do every day. There are plenty of variations of the advice: “make them think it was their own idea”.

DiSesa has a line that she says we are to tattoo to our wrists:

“Men like women who like them”.

It is so simple and so true. [Note: My mother wants you all to know that people like people who like them. The insight should not be limited to gender roles.] And I am not good at pretending that I like people, so I really should get this tattoo.

There aren’t many revelations here, but DiSesa set out to write a business book that reads like a novel. She succeeded in that.

Silent Treatment

This is Spooky not speaking to me. I took him to the vet today.

He is coming up on 19 years old, and should be going in every six months just to check. He is generally very healthy, except for some seasonal skin irritation that compels him to lick his limbs until there are bald spots. He also scratched his forehead until it bled.

I recently noticed that he is sneezing. I particularly notice in the middle of the night when he does it in my face. Since we are coming up on his itchy season anyway, I took him in.

He's fine. He even sneezed while we were there, so the vet saw that it was water as opposed to mucus or blood(?!) and agreed that it was probably seasonal nothingness. But she reminded me that cat allergies generally show up in the skin and not the respiratory system, so I am not to screw around if it gets worse.

Actually, I think what I am paying for is for the vet to listen to me freaking out over all of the weird differences between dogs and cats. Like the arthritis. Clearly, the dog has it. We can tell because he is stiff and slow to get moving after a nap. Spooky isn't as active as he used to be, but that doesn't mean he is in pain. He used get his exercise by terrorizing the dog. He doesn't do that anymore, but maybe that is because the arthritic dog doesn't engage.

"Yeah. You should get a puppy." (Hear that, Mom? The Vet said Spooky needs a puppy!)

Anyway, since Spooky saunters everywhere, how would I even know if he is uncomfortable?

"He'll stop jumping up onto things."

Apparently it is just harder to tell with cats. He's still jumping onto things. I told her that not long ago, in the middle of the night he tried to jump from the floor to my pillow. Where my head was. At 2:24 a.m. He missed, and landed in the garbage. Then she said at his age, a glucosamine supplement was probably a good idea.

So we get home. I gently put Spooky down on the floor. The dog started following him around, sniffing. ("Wherewereyouwherewereyouwhydidn'tIgettogo?") I came thisclose to letting him get his ass kicked by an angry cat.

Maybe that's why Spooky isn't speaking to me.

Gamecast

Once a year, the Bears seem to have a Thursday night game. Thursday night, when I am at the library.


So I am sitting with my paper, due Sunday. But I have Internet, so I go to the gamecast at ESPN.com. You get a little picture of a football field. Wait, here is how they advertise it:

The screen refreshes and tells you what happened on the last play. Not the same as watching the action, but it is something. I have been known to watch it on my Blackberry during our Annual Convention, which is generally during the playoffs.

Then I remembered that the game is on the NFL network. So I Google it and find a webcast. Four guys in the studio. Oh – there’s the game. I grab my headphones and wonder how I am going to keep from screaming at the game in the library.  I needn't have worried.  They show 30 seconds of the game and then go back to the studio. And then talk to the guy on the sidelines. And go back to the studio to recap the first drive. What? “NFL.com LIVE” is mostly watching the cast in the studio talking about the two teams that are playing while they are playing. Instead of watching the actual game.

I left both windows open. And they were rarely in the same place at the same time. The good news there is that ESPN told me that Robbie Gould made that 50-yard field goal so I actually watched it.

I expected better of the NFL Network.

Arlington

I haven't been to Arlington National Cemetery in a long time, I am ashamed to say.  In fact, this picture - pulled from its website - is about a good a view as I have gotten in a few years.  Last night, I was watching Professor Blight on Academic Earth and he was telling the story of its origin..how the house belonged to General Lee.  He was kind enough to skip the part about tearing up Mrs. Lee's rose bushes so as to dig the graves on her front lawn.

Anyway. 

On this Veteran's Day, USA Today reviewed a book on the history of the Cemetery.  It is called On Hallowed Ground.  I am fairly certain there is a Bruce Catton book of that name in my library.  Professor Blight says to look at Lincoln's two biggest speeches, pick three words strung together and you will find at least one Civil War history book with that title.  It still appears to rock.  I am informing the Internet so that someone picks it up for me for Christmas.  Because that would be an excellent way to thank a veteran.

Thank you for your attention.

A Day with Alex and Ainslie

Yesterday, their parents were headed downtown to see a show, so we had Alex and Ainslie.  Alex played some good Wii and watched some good football and pet the dog all by himself.  This is most of what I saw of Ainslie:

She moves fast.  Oh yeah.  And this:

Yes, that is a paw print next to the cereal.  It is not mud.  It is a design on the fabric.  Ainslie chose to eat her snack on Shadow's bed.  Kids are exhausting.

POTUS and a Lightsaber

John Scalzi writes many funny things and many true things.  The other day, he wrote something that I just loved about the Sci Fi geeks that whine about when their obsession is going to go mainstream.  I am not a real Sci Fi geek.  I am a poser.  But personally, I think those people are morons.  I hate when the things I think are cool go mainstream.

Quick example, and excuse me while I date myself:

Remember Wayne's World?  There was a scene when Wayne, Garth and their friends are singing Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody in the car.  Mock serious, like total dorks.  My brother and I did that with our friends.  All.  The.  Time.  When we first saw the scene, we about died from the cool.  And then everyone was doing it and it was all over.  I had to find a new favorite Freddie Mercury song.

Anyway.  Scalzi.  This is what he said:

"When the goddamned President of the United States makes Vulcan salutes and is photographed quite unselfconsciously whipping a lightsaber about on the White House lawn, you have won."

With this pic:

The President has never looked so hot.  But that stance...a bit too much of the Hamlet and Laertes and not quite enough of the Obi Wan Kenobi.  If you ask me.

Something about a Parrot and a Stuffed Bunny

I have nothing interesting to say right now except:

Real rate = rr = [(1+rNOM)/(1+Inflation)] – 1.0

So you will have to settle for a birdie video that someone posted on the Parrot Lovers page on LJ:

I will not be teaching Kiwi the Grey to say “Peek a Boo”.

More about the Résumé

I am thinking that Career Builder is actually a decent resource for information, as well as searching the job posts. Through MSN, they had a “Test Your Résumé Readiness Quiz” that hits the nail on the head as far as I am concerned.


Tip of the day: I write the word “résumé” a lot. You’d think I have a macro, but I’m too lazy. Most of us HR types will forgive seeing “resume” instead of “résumé”, particularly in an e-mail, but it looks somewhat less polished.  I can’t quite live with writing it that way myself. Here’s my trick (in MS Word):

Type “resuma”. It will give you a red underline for a misspelled word. Then right-click to correct and you will find résumé on the list of choices.


Now take that quiz!

V: The New Scary Series

You all know I loved V back in the day. I was really jazzed to hear that they were planning a sequel. Even though they were re-writing the history so that the original creator could get his true vision to the screen or whatever. I read the book. I didn’t hate it. But denying the existence of Ham Tyler is unacceptable. Anyway.

Then I heard they scrapped the alternate-ending sequel and decided to re-tell the original story in the modern day. My friend Kris asked if I was planning to watch this revamped, updated, outside of the canon with none of the same characters version. My answer was No. I don’t have any room for a new TV show in my schedule and I was afraid it was going to be lame. But the Sci-Fi channel ran a marathon of the original today and it made me go look at the ABC website. Here is what they had:

Based on this trailer, I am less afraid that it will be flat-out lame and more afraid that it will be bloody terrifying in a way that will give me nightmares.

P.S. That song has been creeping me out for weeks on the radio.

The Payton Tribute

CBS, in its ultimate suckage, required the city of Chicago to watch its halftime game recap rather than the tribute to Walter Payton that was being held on the field.  I want it noted for the record that I called it - my mother said that she wouldn't watch it because the very idea made her tearful.  I told her not to worry because CBS would just send us to the studio at halftime like every other Sunday.  She did not believe me. 

Anyway, for those that care, the Tribune had a link to the Bears Tribute page with several videos including, I presume, the one played at halftime.  Here is the one least likely to make my mother cry.  Because Dan Hampton is not in it.