Prom Night

Matthew Graduates From Parkville Middle School

Matthew graduated from Parkville Middle School today. We could only get two tickets for the ceremony so only Natalie and I went. It was nice. We sat in the first row up in the balcony. Matthew was over to our right, Nelson and Jeremy were sitting right in front of us. And since Matthew was graduating from something it was incredibley hot - in the upper 90's, just like when he graduated from Elmwood. We went to Kobe's Japanese Steak House for dinner. The food was really good and so was the show. I really liked the onion ring volcano. Matthew also got Halo 3 for his graduation.

Poolside Fun

I'm Sorry

Natalie Turns 50!

We had a 50th birthday party for Natalie and her twin sister Leslie today. I think everybody had a good time, once they got here. The weather was terrible - thunderstorms, tornado watches. A lot of people lost power. We were actually lucky because it stopped raining while the party was going on and started again when it was over. I made hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and we got a bushel of crabs from Waterman's Pride up on Belair Rd. The crabs were really good. Natalie's sister Carol brought the birthday cake.

Click here for 50th Birthday Party Photos Online

Bengies - First Show Of 2008

Matthew, Jeremy and I went to our first show of the year at the Bengies today. The line-up was Speed Racer, Indiana Jones And The Crystal Skull and Iron Man. Pretty action-packed, much better than what they had for the all-night show last week. Veggie Tales? Give me a break! And this was an all-night show too, we didn't get in the car to leave until 3:50.
All three movie were good but my favorite was Speed Racer. Matthew said something about people who have seizures should not watch this movie and he was right. Lots of quick cuts and flashing colors. Iron Man was good too. The new Indiana Jones was the weakest of the bunch and that ending - they all lived happily ever after - was really sappy.

Natalie's Mom

Robert Rauschenberg

N.Y.Times article about the death of artist Robert Rauschenberg.

First Orioles Game of 2008

First Orioles game of the year tonight. Unfortunately, it was against Boston. On the plus side, it was Nick Markakis tee shirt night. Mike, Mom, Tommy and Matthew and their friend John and I were there. Bob Huber, Bunny and Bunny's uncle were there too, sitting in the next section over. It was an exciting game but the Orioles hung on to beat the Red Sox, 5 - 4.

Dan's Band

Here's the link to their myspace page.

Stated

Washington Nationals Game

I went to the Washington Nationals game at their new stadium in D.C. tonight. Bob Huber and Bunny had an extra ticket and asked me to go. I had a great time, but the Nationals didn't - they lost to the Florida Marlins, 11 - 0.

This was the first game I ever went to at another major league stadium. The outside is covered with shiny aluminum instead of brick. Inside, it's more bowl-shaped than Camden Yards. You can walk all the way around it without loosing sight of the field. We had great seats in the first row, just off the foul line in left field. Matt Treinor of the Marlins was stretching out right in front of us when we first sat down and started talking with us - "Hey, how ya doin? Nice weather tonight" How often does that happen. He seemed like a real nice guy.

I went for a walk around the place during the fourth inning. We came in on the land side but on the other side there is an entrance right on the Anacosta River . The beer selection was OK. I had two Home Run Ales by Leinenkugel. They didn't taste like ale to me. I didn't get any food but there was a Hard Times Cafe there. Natalie and I went to the one in Rockville and really liked it.

Scary Girls III

It's Bob's 50th Birthday And I Feel Fine

Just got back from Racer's Pub in Parkville. We went there to celebrate Bob Huber's 50th birthday. Bob, Bunny, Steve, Robbie, Crystal, Dave, Ken Qualiano, Mike, Natalie, and I were there . Ken had also just turned 50. A good time was had by all. I was drinking Hopacolypse from local brewer Clay Pipe - quite tasty. Natalie was drinking Resurrection Ale from Brewer's Art, another local brewer. She overdid it a little bit and wanted to leave before I did, which was very unusual. Robbie and Crystal used to live right down the street from Racer's on Clearview Avenue and she worked there for a couple of weeks. They are getting married on November 1st of this year.

Village of the Damned - Red Eye Correction at it's worst.

Yard Sale Finds

What 20 Bucks Buys

Met Mark Redfield at the last place we stopped today, the "Atomic" yard sale on Walther Boulevard. We seem to go there every year. I read about him in Fangoria and one of the local neighborhood papers. His film production company used to be in White Marsh but they're moving to the west side, Arbutus I think, where they are going to make some Westerns.

The "Other" Joe Fales

Result of "Joe Fales" Baltimore Google Search

Rock Run Landing's 1998 Fish Pictures

Joe Fales of Baltimore, MD, caught this citation Catfish, it was 6lb. 2oz. and 25.5" long.

Joe Fales of Baltimore, MD. caught this citation Largemouth Bass. It weighed 3lb.3oz. and was 18.5 inches long. Joe used the old stand by to catch his fish. "NIGHT CRAWLERS" that's right!

Weirdness "Revenge Of The Zombies"

A big rubber crocodile eats a village girl swimming in a pond, then a real crocodile is hooked, killed and gutted…. before the credits! Welcome to the demented sequel to Black Magic (75). Originally released as Black Magic 2, this has more good V evil spell casting, zombies with spikes in their heads, possession, potions, worms, open sores, voodoo, ghosts and a fair amount of blood and guts get thrown around in a dark tale that leaps between Hong Kong and Malaysia. Produced by Run Run Shaw, kung fu legend Ti Lung (in glasses) plays a doctor who don’t believe in black magic till a female friend has her blood stolen and she falls victim to a sexy curse that makes her whore around with Lo Lieh, an ancient witch doctor who stays young by drinking human milk. He also sticks nails in his face and casts spells to earn pocket money, using a zombie army to do his bidding. It never stops, has lots of odd rituals and if it don’t make your eyes pop out, it’ll certainly give you a hernia from laughing. See someone drink pubic hair, funny English dubbing, cool music, a zombie baby, maggots, melting faces, loud shirts, kung fu and a girl that gets smacked around with a (real) dead muskrat! Like all in the series, it’s a must see item. The (sort of) sequel Black Magic 3 is easier to find under the title Queen Of Black Magic (85).

Courtesy of Cinemageddon

Heels

Matthew's School Evacuated Today

Colleen called me today around 1:45 and said she heard there was a gas leak at Parkville Middle School - Nelson, Patrick and Matthew's school. She said some kid had told their mom and the mom called Colleen. She couldn't thru to Nelson or Patrick on their cell phones and there was no answer at the school's office. I got on the computer and the only thing I could find was a small breaking news blurb about a gas leak at the school on WMAR's website. I called Natalie and told her, probably a mistake, because her and Colleen were really worried. We finally heard from Nelson and Patrick, and Matthew's friend Jeremy that they were letting them back into the school to get their stuff for the bus ride home. Matthew was an hour late but he made it, safe and sound. It probably had something to do with the record-breaking pollen count today. It was the highest ever recorded. Below are some links to local news stories about the incident.

WBAL

WJZ

Shuffle Playlist On iPods

Make sure the iPod is set to shuffle. Navigate to your playlist but  DO NOT  go into the playlist on the iPod, just highlight the name. Then hit play. This will shuffle the playlist. Same thing applies to artists, albums, etc.

A little reminder to myself. I'm old, I'm confused!

HCC vs Dundalk

I went to Joc's game at Dundalk Community College today. It was a double-header. Mike, Rita and Mom and Dad went too. They split the games - Dundalk won the first game, 9 - 1, and HCC won the second, 6 - 4. Jocelyn went 1 for 2 with a single in the first game and 2 for 4 with two singles in the second game. Her batting average was .373 after this game. It was perfect baseball weather - about 75 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. The umpires were less than perfect. In the first game, they called a Harford base runner out at third who looked safe from where we were sitting. The umpire must have had an obstructed view. Or he's blind. Then Harford was hitting with two outs when the umpire suddenly called three outs. Apparently, the opposing coach had made a mistake filling out his line-up card, he swapped the numbers 6 and 9, and said that Harford had batted out of turn. I don't know what happened but it seemed like Harford was cheated out of an at bat. And then later, the other coach wanted the same batter called out ever time her turn at bat rolled around. That's when the crowd started getting restless. Anyway, the whole thing was bullshit. Jocelyn was not a happy camper.

Slideshow of photos from the game - HCC vs. Dundalk