RIP MJ
I don’t remember much about the day Elvis died, August 16, 1977, except for what my mother has told me. We were on our way back from Orlando, Florida, having visited Walt Disney World for the first time. I was 5. It would be years later that I would discover and truly appreciate the King of Rock and Roll and his music.
Late Thursday afternoon, my manager had just given me my annual evaluation. When I returned to my desk, my coworker broke the news to me that Michael Jackson had died. I was shocked. But that was it. No tears, no real sadness. I watched a portion of Dateline’s special later that night. I read the updates that poured out of Twitter and Facebook, a mixture of sadness and mockery. Not wanting to get sucked in, I avoided it like any other media event Michael Jackson was involved in.
News of his death brought back memories of “Billie Jean”, the Moonwalk on the Motown 25 special, Eddie Van Halen playing on “Beat It”, the “Thriller” video. However, I steered clear of being a fan when the weirdness took over. I really thought he could put out a new album of great music, but I think he tried too hard to top himself instead of being himself. And the media circus always outdid what he put out from the studio. From the plastic surgeries to the accusations to the trial, I cared less about Michael Jackson.
After nearly 2 days since the announcement, the sadness is starting to kick in. I tried searching for my copies of Thriller and Bad but could not find them. Frustrated, I played disc 1 of HIStory, and I had forgotten how awesome his music is; my childhood has come back to me. He will be missed by millions, myself included. Rest in peace, Michael Jackson.
no CBS on Charter?
Charter will no longer carry KMOV-TV (Belleville News-Democrat)
[the comments on BND are pretty good]
St Louis television station and Charter at impasse (St Louis Post Dispatch)
This doesn’t really bother me all that much. We watch KSDK/NBC for our news. The only time we watch CBS is to catch Survivor or Amazing Race (although I’ve kinda watched How I Met Your Mother in recent months). So when it comes to time to catch these shows, I can pick it up over the air (using the new digital converters as of Feb 9, of course). Otherwise, not my loss. At least, not unless Charter caves to KMOV and starts charging an additional body part to the arm and a leg that I’m already paying for to get their services.
local birth webcast to Iraq
From metro-east to Mideast: Airman witnesses birth via Internet
Kudos to the network manager and network/security engineer of my IT department for putting this together and making it work for the family!
earthquake
Earthquake measuring 5.2 rattles St. Louis region
The house shook briefly at 4:37 am. Christine jumped out of bed to go take a look saying, “That can’t be good!” I was half-asleep, only recalling the windows rattle and the bed shaking. I thought nothing of it, thinking the bed moved because of Christine getting up. She could’ve sworn something hit the house, but saw nothing outside except several small tree limbs. I was so tired, I just figured it was “Bob” the possum running across our deck. It wasn’t until her mom called at 6:45 am to point out that it was an earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale. Wow! Everything’s ok with no major damage; it certainly has everyone talking this morning.
Uno
Congratulations to Uno on being the first beagle to win Best in Show at the Westminster Dog Show. I’m partial to beagles since Salem is part beagle (not to mention Uno is from Belleville).
Girl Gets Detention for Hugging her Friends
I remember seeing this headline on Digg and thinking how stupid this is. Then I heard it on the radio this morning on my way to work and realized it was a local school that made national headlines.
District Superintendent Sam McGowen said that he thinks the penalty is fair and that administrators in the school east of St. Louis were following policy in the student handbook. It states: “Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.â€
expecting the unexpected (revised)
Christine tells me that my version of the story in which she tells me she’s pregnant is inaccurate. This is how it went down:
“It’s a pregnancy test.”
I said nothing.
“It’s a positive pregnancy test,” she says.
“Is it yours?”
“Yes!”
“Are you serious?”
expecting the unexpected
One night, Christine came home from work. I was in the bedroom watching TV and working on the laptop.
“Close your eyes and put your hand out,” she says to me.
I do as I’m told. I’m expecting candy, chocolate, maybe a homemade cookie baked by a patient of hers. Whatever it was, it didn’t feel edible. It was made of plastic. My first thought was a handy dandy toothpick holder, a freebie from my employer, something I can probably pick up on my own from HR. I opened my eyes to see what looked like a white plastic letter opener. I sat there, quiet (only because I didn’t know what it was).
“That’s a pregnancy test,” she tells me.
“It is?”
“Yes. It’s positive.”
I’m pretty sure my mouth hung open as I stared at the test in my hand.
“Really?”
She nodded.
“You’re pregnant?”
“Yep!”
When we got married, Christine’s clock was ticking. But we couldn’t conceive, no matter what we tried. It got to the point where we both accepted the fact that it wasn’t gonna happen. I think we were both ok with that, but sometimes I wonder “what if”. Daniel is my stepson. I treat him as my own, but I constantly remind myself that he is not my child. When we picked up Salem from the pound, he helped fill that void. I spoil that dog rotten; he is my child, my son, my boy (even if he has four legs and a lot of fur).
Needless to say, Christine’s news was a pleasant surprise and wonderful to hear.
“Well, this changes everything!” I said.
“Yep!”
maybe 3rd time's a charm?
Van Halen & David Lee Roth announce tour
I don’t know. I said this before – maybe I would’ve been excited about this 10 years ago. I’ve seen VH in concert with Sammy Hagar on vocals, but I’ve never seen them perform live with Dave. However, I can’t fathom spending $50 for a nosebleed seat to watch a band who hasn’t performed together live in 22 years. And these days, I just don’t enjoy the same things I used to a decade ago. I will note the band seems happy together, and Eddie looks as healthy as he did in 1995. And the idea of a new album does give me goosebumps. But even if they survive this tour (and possibly endure Asia and Australia), we may not hear new stuff from VH until 2009.
D makes the local paper
Daniel’s teacher is retiring after 33 years. He is quoted twice in an article about her in the Sunday Magazine of the Belleville News Democrat.
Cards reliever killed in car crash
There will be no baseball played tonight in St Louis as the Cardinals mourn the passing of pitcher Josh Hancock.
10/365
Charlie Brown, as depicted on a birthday card from my coworkers. I’m late with this post. I celebrated my birthday on Monday, but it was also a day of sadness. I won’t say much about what happened at Virginia Tech. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those who lost their lives.
LaRussa charged with DUI
St Louis Post-Dispatch article
Why do public figures continue to put themselves in these situations?
global warming?
Wave of arctic cold grips Midwest, Northeast (MSNBC.com)
It’s currently 13 degrees here, feels like 3, and I think it’s snowing (I don’t have a window in my office, so I don’t really know).
Ownby found alive — along with missing Shawn Hornbeck
Ben Ownby, the 13-year-old Franklin County boy missing since Monday, has been found alive in suburban St. Louis — as well as Shawn Hornbeck, a boy from Washington County who has been missing since 2002, sources told the Post-Dispatch today.
more ice? no thanks!
Aside from the ice storm we had in Nov/Dec 06, it’s been a pretty mild winter. We’ve been hovering in the 40′s and 50′s. Now this …
Ice storm warning in effect for St Louis (KSDK.com)
Ice storm threatens chaos (CNN.com)
“This is a one-in-maybe-15- to 25-year event,” CNN severe weather expert Chad Myers said Friday of the forecast freezing rain, sleet and snow.
You’ve gotta be kidding me.
TIME Person of the Year: You
YOU were named TIME magazine ‘Person of the Year’ Saturday for the explosive growth and influence of user-generated Internet content such as ‘blogs’, video-file sharing site YouTube and social network MySpace… You. (more…)
James Kim’s body found
Distraught rescue crews come up just short
I remember watching James Kim on TechTV years ago. He will certainly be missed.
dangerous cities
Report finds St. Louis most dangerous U.S. city (MSNBC.com)
Go figure – two baseball towns who just competed in the World Series, and they happen to be labeled the “most dangerous cities” in the US.
‘back to school’ on Jeopardy!
Local boy competes on ‘Jeopardy!’ (Belleville News-Democrat)
I love ‘Jeopardy!’ I grew up watching it at the dinner table each night. A decade ago, on my late uncle’s advice, I applied to be on the show but was unavailable for testing in NYC because I was away at school. Since I moved to the Midwest, I haven’t watched the game show since they air it at 3:30 pm (I’m usually at work). I need to invest in TiVo; I’d love to watch Scottie and see how well he does.
'back to school' on Jeopardy!
Local boy competes on ‘Jeopardy!’ (Belleville News-Democrat)
I love ‘Jeopardy!’ I grew up watching it at the dinner table each night. A decade ago, on my late uncle’s advice, I applied to be on the show but was unavailable for testing in NYC because I was away at school. Since I moved to the Midwest, I haven’t watched the game show since they air it at 3:30 pm (I’m usually at work). I need to invest in TiVo; I’d love to watch Scottie and see how well he does.
