It pays to Blog, sistas!

So check this out! Some of you people actually read this thing. I was at home here in Scarborough resting my weary lungs and I get a call on Thursday from my long time homey, Steve. I was like, "How the hell do you know I'm here!" and he said, my blog! Anyway, Steve invited James and I to the Raptor game for Friday night. We had such a great time. Of course, the seats were incredible and I could smell the very expensive sweat beading up on those tall, lean athletes. Donne Wahlberg was courtside hanging without his Funky Bunch.... oh wait a minute.... wrong Wahlberg. So a big thanks to Steve for a fabu night. And the Raptors won!

Back in the Hood

I woke up this morning and I was in my old room in Scarborough at my parent's house! Really! James was asked to come to Toronto for work and he was allowed to bring Jack and I along. Usually this would be no big deal except that all 3 of us are SICK! Jack has the croup, Jimmy has a bad cold and I have some combo of that plus asthma and a fever and some kind of sludge in my lungs. Yeah!

I honestly don't know how they let us on the flight. I'm sure that we looked like we had the avian flu. Jack was amazing on the flight. I don't think we could have survived if he had been the typical 2 year old.

In my feverish condition, I selected Jarhead from the list of movies on the plane. Mother of God! I think the movie was about war or sumthin but who could tell with yummy Mr. Gyllenhal's abs staring ya in the face for 2 hours. Hoo-ya!

Bob it then Lob it

The following story is courtesy of my friend, Wenners back in the Tdot. Good stuff! Just as an FYI, while I was trying to find an image for this story so I did a Google image search for the word, "penis". This is not recommended. It returned some home made pron stuff that was stomach churning. So enjoy.....

Man severs own penis, throws it at officers

Before cops threw the book at him, Jakub Fik threw something unusual at them -- his penis.

Fik, 33, cut off his own penis during a Northwest Side rampage Wednesday morning. When confronted by police, Fik hurled several knives and his severed organ at the officers, police said. Officers stunned him with a Taser and took him into custody.

"We took him out without any serious injury, with the exception of his own," said Chicago Police Sgt. Edward Dolan of the 16th District.

Doctors at Northwestern Memorial Hospital reattached Fik's penis Wednesday, sources said.

Fik is charged with two counts of aggravated assault and one count of criminal damage to property, said Officer Laura Kubiak. He told paramedics he was distraught over problems with his girlfriend in Poland, Dolan said. Fik was bleeding when the officers arrived and may have already cut off his organ, Dolan said.

"At that point, this guy came running out, naked, with a handful of knives . . . and started throwing knives at the police officers that were 10, 20, 30 feet away," Dolan said.

Fik threw his penis during the confrontation, too, Dolan said. He then went back into the house and re-emerged with "another handful of knives," Dolan said.

"About 10 feet from the front porch, right on the sidewalk, was his penis," Dolan said.

Dr. Greg Bales, associate professor of urology at the University of Chicago, said severed penises are uncommon but surgery usually works.

"As long as the penis is placed on ice and reattached within a few hours, the success is usually pretty good," Bales said.

Chicago Sun Times

I Don't Like Mondays

Zephyr has a "Daddy-is-home-and-I-just-can't-get-enough-of-him" hangover. We all slept like babies last night because Jimmy was home safe and sound from Singapore.

James showered us with gifts from Asia-Lite. I got an ipod Nano with all sorts of accessories, including a band so I can wear it on my arm while I work out. I also got a beautiful silk robe which I spent the whole day in yesterday.

And in other news, I found something in the drug store flyer that I think might help with my snoring. After bunking with Trevor and Sarah in Florida, I have come to realize that my snoring might not actually be a figment of James' imagination.

Fortune Cookie Nugget of the Day

This has been a rough week. James has been in Singapore. The weather has been rainy and cold. Jack has been waking up every 3 hours at night. And Zephyr appears to be in a funk because I haven't walked her enough. Ugh. But here is a picture of James eating something funky in Singapore. Enjoy.

So for inspiration, I started reading a book called, "Tao Te Ching" by Lao Tzu. I highly recommend it. Here is a quote that I think is particularly relevent today with the American situation in Iraq:

When the government is muddled
The people are simple;
When the government is alert
The people are cunning.
It is on disaster that good fortune perches;
It is beneath good fortune that disaster crouches.

Words Just Can't Describe It....

OK... I think I've seen the worst show in television history. And I am not proud to say it, but I watched the entire thing - hungry for more! Breaking Bonaduce is on VH1 (one of the 8 video/music channels I get here in A'Dam) .

Here is the synopsis from the VH1 site:

"A compelling, offbeat look inside the numerous issues that exist in the relationship between Danny Bonaduce, his wife, Gretchen, and their two children. For the first time ever in non-scripted television, a series will be told through a combination of couples therapy and reality.

After being married for fifteen years - (marrying seven hours into their first date,) Danny and Gretchen's story continues to teeter. They have survived addiction, infidelity, celebrity, Danny's "death wish" antics and a myriad of other issues - some relatable to an audience - some merely fascinating from a "train wreck" point of view."

I think when you have "train wreck" in the promotional material for the show you pretty much can guarantee that it's going to be bad... but bad in a oh-so-good kinda way. I really can't find the words to describe it. You gotta check this out.

Brokeback March of the Penguins

I don't want to seem anti-American but these 'red-state' folks are just too scary for words. I really don't know what is worse - that two homophobic people can convince a public library to remove a book from the children's section to the far off nether regions of the 'non-fiction' area or that the book might secretly, insidiously, devilishly "blindside" a reader.

How will all the gay penguins explain this to their offspring?

Penguin book moved from children's section
Parents complained about story depicting two male birds raising baby

March 4, 2006
SAVANNAH, Mo. - A children's book about two male penguins that raise a baby penguin has been moved to the nonfiction section of two public library branches after parents complained it had homosexual undertones.

The illustrated book, "And Tango Makes Three," is based on a true story of two male penguins, named Roy and Silo, who adopted an abandoned egg at New York City's Central Park Zoo in the late 1990s.

The book, written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, was moved from the children's section at two Rolling Hills Consolidated Library's branches in Savannah and St. Joseph in northwest Missouri.

Two parents had expressed concerns about the book last month.

Barbara Read, the Rolling Hills' director, said experts report that adoptions aren't unusual in the penguin world. However, moving the book to the nonfiction section would decrease the chance that it would 'blindside' readers, she said.

The Associated Press.

In Like a Lion

We finally got a little taste of winter here in Holland! It has snowed off and on since March 1st. Not much stays on the ground but it is nice, damp packing snow. Perfect for snowmen! I took Jack and Zephyr to the park for a little exercise and Jack and I built this snow/mud man. As soon as I put the finishing touches on it, Jack kicked it down. Mr. Destroyer.

In other news, Jack got accepted at the British School of Amsterdam for part-time afternoons. Yippeeeeee! Free at last!

Another Tequila Sunset

We’re back. We had the most amazing time in Florida. The weather was stellar – 2 weeks of sunshine and hot temps.

This is a picture from the condo balcony. We had tranquil vistas like this every night. We were so close to the water that we could watch the dolphins from here about an hour before sunset.

Jack and Thomas had such a great time together. They both learned to swim like fish and we couldn’t keep them out of the pool. The last couple of days that we were there, Jack decided to take off his water wings and swim on his own. He sank like a stone but it didn’t worry him too much – eventually one of us would have to fish him out and get him some air.

Crabby Bills is a crab shack a few blocks from where we stayed. It was dee-licious. I always ordered a cup of gumbo and a couple pounds of the local Stone Crab claws served with Slaw and drawn butter… and fries of course. And I did get carded at Crabby’s when I ordered the frozen Crabby Rita. In addition to the restaurant, they also have a gift shop and a take-away fresh fish monger. Trevor and I bought a fresh Red Grouper that was the size of my dog, and we grilled it up by the pool one night for dinner. IT was some of the best eatin’ ever.

Before the rest of the Binglers arrived, James and I took Jack to the Florida Aquarium in Tampa. This is a must see if you’re ever in the area. The aquarium has a recreated mangrove swamp and all the groupers and turtles are at eye level (for toddlers). There is an albino alligator, ‘Nemo’ fish, a ray petting tank, a ‘no-bones’ petting tank where you can touch all sorts of weird underwater stuff and the coolest shark tank ever. We watched a scuba diver as he cleaned the tank. We could have stayed for hours!

When the Thomas arrived, we took the greeblers to Busch Gardens. Thomas told off some annoying old people (they are everywhere in Florida) by saying, “Go away you old grandfathers!” Sarah bought a $2 pickle on a stick and ate the whole thing. Banky and James rode some crazy-ass coaster and then James felt a little green afterward.

We visited the Redington Pier, a place that we used to go to when Trevor and I were kids. The pier is full of crusty ol’ fisherman and an even crustier US Game & Fishing Warden. I had a blast talking to them. I told them that I was half ‘Newfie’ and fishing was in my blood. They thought that was pretty funny stuff.

Can’t wait for an invite for next year! How about it, Nanny & Papa?