This special day marks the birthdate of my brother-in-law, Mike. Mike is married to my only little sister, Abby, and has been a welcome addition to the family. Prior to Mike the few boyfriends that my sister would bring to visit were nice, but seemed less than enthusiastic about spending time with us ‘older folks’. Then came Mike. He played with the nieces and nephews and actually appeared to enjoy having conversations with the rest of the family. We were sold immediately. They moved to the Kansas City area a few years ago and we are so happy to have them living in this area.
____________________

As far as history goes, Mike, August 25th, 1875 marks the day that merchant navy captain Matthew Webb became the first known person to swim the English Channel, arriving in France a mere 21 hours and 45 minutes after beginning. And in 1944 Paris was liberated from the Nazi’s by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U.S. 4th Infantry Division. Paris had been occupied by Nazi Germany since 1940.

You share your birthday with quirky director Tim Burton, supermodel Claudia Schiffer, Mr Millionaire himself Regis Philbin, devil-tongued Kiss rocker Gene Simmons, achy-breaky Billy Ray Cyrus, the consumate 007 Sean Connery, and the first Czar of Russia, Ivan the Terrible.

Today also marks what would’ve been the 100th birthday of famous silent screen actress Clara Bow.

Clara Bow dominated 1920’s silver screens and became known as the first “It” girl, the first actress to flaunt her sex appeal on screen and the model for actresses and performers who followed her.

And that’s just a small sampling of the famous people you share your birthday with Mike!

____________________

It was a bit of a worry wondering who my baby sister would pick out to share her life. I’m sure it was much more of a worry for our parents. Being the baby of the family and our only sister made it a no-win situation for any guy who came along and didn’t meet with our expectations. Mike, however, was great from the very beginning. He is a personable, kind, funny and friendly brother-in-law. And more than that he has become a very good friend. I am so happy that you are a part of our family, Mike, and enjoy the time that we spend together. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and want everyone to join me in wishing Mike a “Happy Birthday!”

We love you very much and are glad you are a part of our family!

Let me start off by saying that I am not among the group of people who bash the President. In fact, regardless of who the President is at any given time I may grumble and complain but I endeavor to respect the office of the President and am proud to be an American, yada, yada, I don’t like talking politics. Anyway, I spent part of my weekend reading The Complete Peanuts 1953-1954 and found the above cartoon extremely funny.

Especially in light of the fact that I had seen the following book on Friday at Barnes and Noble and just knew I had to post about it because I found the title and image quite funny in an unsettling/bizarre sort of way.

No offense, but she looks a bit scary so if I was her I’m not sure I would trust that either!

_________________________

Colin, the neighbor boy across the street, is approximately 10 years old. Over the years that we’ve lived in our current residence he has graduated from yelling “Hi Tori’s Dad!” to “Hi Carl” on the occasions when I see him. Our conversation rarely goes beyond that though I do recall talking briefly about Star Wars Episode I when it came out and also the first Spiderman movie. The other day he rode up on his bike while I was outside to ask if I had seen the movie Garden State. I confessed that I had not and he proceeded to give me a blow by blow of the first several minutes of the movie and ended with a comment about the main character making out with Natalie Portman.

“I like Natalie Portman”, Colin proclaimed, “She’s hot!”. Colin then expressed his great desire to see Closer, a movie I highly doubt is appropriate for a 10 year old. I saw Colin again yesterday and he yelled across the road that he had been looking at pictures of Natalie Portman on the internet the previous evening until his computer crashed. He then introduced me to his friend Gary.

It was all rather silly and fun and I felt the need to share. It also served to deepen my thankfulness that I have a daughter and not a son. Puberty issues and all.

_________________________

Lastly, if you are a Harry Potter fan and/or a fan of tattoos, I invite you to visit Janet at her site, Fond of Elves where you can see her newly acquired, self-designed, Harry Potter-inspired tattoo.

Happy Monday everyone!

My Precioussss….my love……the One Ring, the Ring of Power, “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.” The One Ring has been in my possession since my true precious, Mary, presented it to me as a Christmas gift in 2003. With it I’ve ruled over many…or at the very least been subject to their jeers and at the same time found comfort in the number of people I’ve run across who recognize, appreciate, and even possess a One Ring of their own.

My reign nearly came to a tragic end when I removed the One Ring to wash my hands after a session on the throne in the company washroom. Oblivious to the loss of my precious I went about my daily routine. Thankfully a fairy-god-coworker, Jamie, heard the call of the precious and ran to its rescue. Being of chaste and upright character she returned the One Ring to me and was somewhat merciful in her jesting. Ironically Jamie recently misplaced her own precious and I believe my words of comfort during the brief period of loss before she discovered it in the lining of her purse tempered her desire to laugh at my expense…I guess we’ll see if that is still true on the morrow.

This is one of my most cherised gifts from Mary. I’m truly thankful it wasn’t lost. Thank you so much Jamie, I owe you!

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.