With all the talk about beer summits, which guy is drinking which beer and the politics inbetween, my thoughts stay focused on beer.

I think the Constitution should have said we have the right to bear beer instead of arms.  I love the idea of a beer summit, in fact, I may have come up with the idea during my college days.  Then again, those memories are a little fuzzy, so I won’t officially lay claim to the idea.

That reminds me.  How can you win Jimmy Buffett tickets and sample the coldest beer in Madison?  Easy.

Stop on by the grand opening of Legends Sports Bar on Saturday from 4-6pm.  Say hello (to my little friend), and register to win a pair of tickets to see Buffett at Alpine Valley on August 29th.  Legends also boasts the coldest beer in Madison.  Its from thier new Draft Pro System.  Not sure how it works, but I’m heading over there today for some research.

See you there.

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     Took Sam up to Noah’s Ark in the Dells yesterday, kind of an early birthday thing (he turns 7 Saturday).  He’d never been to a waterpark and it’s been years since I have.  Hit the wavepool several times, took The Plunge twice, watched that Spongebob 4-D movie (big hit with the boy) and we rode lots of raft rides as well. 

     All told, we were there for almost four hours but, boy, did time fly.  I actually think we could have gone round and round for a few more hours!  I only resisted the deep-fried Twinkies because the line was so long…next time those Twinkies are MINE.

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On the show this morning Heather, our resident fashionista, confirmed what this story portrays as the latest quizzical fashion trend- going eyebrow-less.

While the impact and lasting power of this new, expressionless look won’t be fully understood until some time in the future, I will gladly take credit for having been on the first wave of it. See the shocking photo for proof.

While there is no debate about this photo’s legitimacy, there is only the vaguest recollection of why I shaved my eyebrows back in September.

Isn’t that how all trends and fads begin, for no apparent reason other than whimsy or fun? I’ll take credit for that.

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My wife and I took our oldest child, Max, for college orientation yesterday;  he willl be a freshman in just a few weeks. Also in a few weeks, we might get an answer… the answer to the Big Unspoken Question of Parenthood.

Or, maybe,  we already have gotten the answer.

So what’s the Question? What is so Big and Unspoken that it needs Capital Letters?

At one of the many helpful sessions we attended, crafted just for parents of soon-to-be-freshmen, a wise and experienced campus psychologist suggested that the one question most parents ask, or at least wonder, is “will he be ok?” Or, “will it all turn out well for her?”

This question, however, is not the Big Unspoken Question of Parenthood. Rather, according to the wise psychologist, the real question, the underlying question that generates the “will he be ok?” question is this, the BIG UNSPOKEN QUESTION OF PARENTHOOD:

(drum roll)

“Have I done a good enough job as a parent?”

(crickets)

Yes, it is heavy, right?

The question is “have I done all the things I thought I should do and that I hoped I would do and that my mother and Dr. Spock and Oprah said I should  do so that my child becomes a well-adjusted, friendly, educated, sensitive, caring, productive person?!?

The psychologist said “this question should not be so BIG, and does not need to be UNSPOKEN, because there are only two possible answers: NO, and if that’s the answer well, we’re not going to go there, and YES, which of course you know is the answer.”

He went on to add assurances that there’s no way a kid could have made it through the college selection and admission process, with all the parental hair-pulling that accompanies it, without having been parented well.

And we saw how Max stepped into each of the orientation activities on his own,  at first with some hestitation but later with gusto, but always on his own- no push from mom or dad. And we knew the Big Unspoken Answer of Parenthood.

He’ll be ok.

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OK, what if somebody offered to buy you a free airplane ticket?

Doesn’t sound bad.  But what if they bought you the ticket so you would leave?

That’s the offer that New York City is offering homeless families, saying its cheaper to buy them a ticket out of town instead paying for assisting them for a year.  New York says they would have to have a host family where ever they are going, so its not quite like they’re sending them to Timbuktu.  Not quite.

I understand there’s a lot of work to be done in the area, but doesn’t that sound a little harsh.  Sounds like “don’t let the plane door hit you on the way out.”

Whatever happened to send us your tired, weary masses?

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     Finally.  We’ve hounded Sam all summer long about two-wheel bike riding.  We’ve cojoled; we’ve threatened.  We’ve tried everything under the sun.  Yesterday, something snapped and he got it.  He really got it.  A friend suggested riding downhill, another said to try riding on grass first.  Those tips together led to one happy, bike-riding, almost-seven-year-old! 

     I don’t remember learning to ride my bike.  I do remember summers of riding with my friends, from house to house and place to place.  That’s why I wanted Sam to learn to ride so very badly…I know the kind of memories he’ll make in the coming years, on his bike with his friends.

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Sunday I was enjoying a lovely bike ride on the Capital City Trail.  And while the scenery and the weather and the exercise was all good, I did reach a point where I felt the need to multi-task, so I decided to shoot some action video of myself.

Little did I realize the potential danger. Thankfully it all worked out, but maybe I should leave the phone at home next time…

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Here I am at the Duck Pond on Friday night. Pictured is My Brother, Jeff “The Dude” Dowd and myself (throwing up the bull horns).  He was pretty cool.  He signed my “Big Lebowski” DVD, and seemed quite glad to quote lines from it.

Seemed like a guy who has had adoring fans buy him drinks and give him high fives wherever he goes.  Not a bad life.

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Rated PG- 1h29 -

Think Mission: Impossible for kids, except that it’s boring, with hamsters as the stars.

G-Force is about a government team of specially trained spy guinea pigs (I know, not hamsters…but none of the characters are interesting enough for me to care enough to make the distinction.) Their branch gets shutdown, but it’s only after the rodents learn of a plot to take over the world, the three guinea pigs and a mole go rogue trying to prove their worth.

There are some Oscar winners (Nicholas Cage, Penelope Cruz) and other quality performers (John Favreau, Steve Buscemi) who voiced the animals, yet still the movie is bland and lacking depth.

The action is lacking, the dialogue is boring and human’s interactions with the CGI animals made me feel sad for the actors involved.

Bottom line is that kids MAY like this because producer Jerry Bruckheimer throws in those flashy effects you see while watching CSI. My guess is that most kids will get a chuckle or two, then forget about the film as soon as they walk out of the theater.

(Out of Four) Overall Rating:
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
Kid Friendly:

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Here’s a new rip-off video from the perfect-for-ripoff movie,  Downfall. Somebody seems to do a new one every few months. This one’s pretty good, but please note that there are some not-safe-for-work subtitles in this one.

After you watch, check out the one we did last fall after Halloween…

What other topics of today would make for a good new ripoff idea?

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