After traveling over 700 miles to Kent State, Penn State, and a number of places in between. And we haven’t been arrested.
We honor the Eleventh Commandment and keep it Wholly.
🙂
June 2003
Monthly Archive
June 22, 2003
June 22, 2003
I saw The Hulk today with Joe and Dad. I seemed to be the only one who liked it, to put it mildly. Perhaps it’s that I had expected a much worse movie.
Also though, I think it’s because I had no expectation that the movie would maintain any allegiance to the comic book storyline. I had a strong feeling that Ang Lee would make a movie based on the themes of the Hulk, and I was actually surprised that I saw as much of the comic in the movie as I did today.
You can find a good review of the movie that mirrors my reaction at this page. You can find another at this site–this review is by Peter David, who wrote the Hulk comic book for years and wrote the novelization of the new movie.
June 22, 2003
It’s true–Neil Gaiman has collaborated with a number of artists to produce a 160 page hardcover story about the Endless–the Sandman and his siblings Destiny, Death, Destruction, Desire, Despair, and Delirum/Delight. This is big news. The original Sandman series was praised by Clive Barker, Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, Dean Koontz, and Norman Mailer, among others.
You can read more about Neil here. The book comes out in September and should have a cover price of $24.95.
June 19, 2003
Brad says on Truetech that Simon and Garfunkel may be getting back together for a reunion tour.
I have a hard time believing that this will come together, knowing the past attempted failures. However, I’ll be first in line if this actually happens. Even to hear a 60 year old Garfunkel voice.
One of my few regrets is not going to Central Park to hear Simon and Garfunkel play their reunion concert in 1981. It was the day before I left for college in Florida and my mother felt that I should pack. I should have thrown things in my bags and then booked like mad for NYC–I only lived two and a half hours away. Oh well. I have the CD, right?
Right.
Nothing made me miss their reunion tour in 1983, though. We drove up the Jersey Turnpike (counting the cars, of course) to Giants Stadium up near NYC. It was awesome. At that point, Paul Simon was going to name his Hearts and Bones album Allergies and he played us “The Late Great Johnny Ace” and “Allergies” for one of the first times in public.
June 18, 2003
Updates have been light in the last week, and my brother Joe is here from Guam now, so the next few days will be light as well.
So all I can offer now are promises–but what promises they are! I will strive to get some killer war stories to grab you and not let go.
First up to bat in a few days–Joe and chocolate cake. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it? Well, Joe made a chocolate cake like no other you’ve ever heard of.
But you will.
At least, after Joe and I get back from Kent State on Sunday. Assuming we don’t get arrested. Be concerned. Be very concerned.
June 17, 2003
I’m not the only one noticing that the Hulk is waaaay overmerchandised. I’ve seen the Hulk on everything from pudding to candy to more. The pudding was at least green–the candy was simply bagged Hershey’s minibars with a picture of the Hulk on the bag. Try explaining that to a four year old who wants everything “Hulk.”
Check out a site that details this even more throroughly than I do.
June 16, 2003
I missed Saturday and Sunday postings. On Saturday I drove down to Philly to see my brother Joe–he’s in from Guam to visit us, and he’s in Philly until Wednesday. It’s difficult to articulate, but on Saturday I was treated to a full and joyful day of true Mancuso family life, from family bantering to Joe’s amazing demonstration of persuasion, intimidation, and sheer force of will to attain a five dollar discount on a DVD player (we were right, they were wrong, they gave us the five bucks off).
On Sunday we spent an exhausting but fun day with friends, the Stiles and the Williams families. I had a great time with each, and I just wish we could have spent more time with each of them (these were mutually exclusive activities). Joe and Laura Stiles’ little daughter was christened early in the morning, and things went flawlessly. I really enjoyed the church, and it was fun to let the Mass responses flow out of me almost subconsciously. There are little things that I forget about Catholicism, skills I never use as a Methodist, like the practiced flip of the foot to fold out the pew kneelers. Of course, my wife couldn’t follow the ceremony at all, so I had to squelch my push to convert back to Catholicism…
The picnic afterwards was a lot of fun–one of the last times we’ll see the Stiles up here–they’re moving away soon (no Brad, not because of me–I think). I have a feeling that we’ll stay in touch, though, and not just because of the awesome pizzelles that Joe had at the picnic. Actuallly, the pizzelles disturbed me greatly–they caused me to blow my diet big time. Eight times, in fact–I think I made a huge dent in the pizzelle supply there. Terrible, terrible.
We had to cut short the picnic to get to Mike’s surprise birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese. It was great to see Mike and the family, and the kids had a great time. Unfortunately, this place uncovered my wife’s shocking addiction to Skee Ball. Don’t worry, I’m looking for help for her. I really think that if she had unlimited tokens that she’d still be there now, rolling the balls.
June 13, 2003
Wow. President Bush fell off a Segway. That’s amazing. The thing is virtually impossble to fall from–it anticipates your movements and leanings with several gyroscopes. His name is George Bush, not Gerald Ford…
He got right back on though, and then cruised around successfully with George Bush, Sr. on another Segway. Two Segways to ride around. I’m jealous.
I guess sometimes it’s good to be the king.
June 13, 2003
Back on Memorial Day, we had a picnic with relatives. We offered my father in law a hot dog with sauerkraut. He looked at it and said “A dog with a skirt? Sure thing.”
I’m not extremely well-traveled, but still, I’ve never heard this one before. I wonder if it’s a PA Dutch term or just one I’ve missed?
At least I haven’t told my kids to “red up your room” yet (this apparently means “ready up your room” or make it ready, if I have my PA Dutch translation correct). I’m from Philly, where we drink glasses of “wood-er.”
And Mike, you can call it “Filthydelphia” all you want. They still make hoagies and cheese steaks that’ll kick your hometown’s sorry tail all over the place.
🙂
June 13, 2003
I’m using as one of my web browsers the program Safari (I use 5 browsers regularly–Internet Explorer, Safari, Mozilla, Camino, and Firebird). Unfortunately, several internal company builds of the Safari beta software have leaked out into the Internet. Dave Hyatt on his Safari weblog has asked that people not comment on the leaked builds, and people have in some cases reacted with hostility.
Personally, I’m surprised that Dave hasn’t been under pressure from his employers to yank this blog. I’m glad it’s here, but I don’t consider Dave under any obligation whatsoever to keep it up and running. I think that fact that it’s up at all is a tribute to openmindedness in the face of real world politics. Apple’s trade secrets are one of the only weapons it has to survive and prosper–I would expect no less of them than to enforce it vigorously. For anyone to expect anything else is naive at best.