Tuesday Morning, 5am

Clock radio pops on. The Beatle's Twist and Shout is the perfect song to wake up to when you really, really don't wanna get out of bed -- but it brings to mind what i'll be feeling if they forget the anesthesia.

"Woke up, got outta bed -- don't need no comb on my bald head" (with apologies to Paul McCartney).

Got all my meds and paperwork. Ariane is on her second cup of coffee. (She's like the Kinko's commercial guy that says, "Looks like it's gonna be an all-nighter" and chugs the pot of scalding hot coffee -- that is how the love of my life drinks coffee in the morning.) The dog and cats all advise me to watch my nuts while I'm in there -- they all had surgery and when they woke up, their nuts were gone.

Off we go . . . .

~~JD~~

It's On Again, Bay-BEE!

After months of waiting . . . after re-scheduling labs, Doctor's appointments, and re-dancing through the same hoops all over again . . . It's ON.

Report time 6:00 am, Surgery time 7:15 am.

No word on the fate of my twingle-dingle, but I'm especially not looking forward re-shaving my tummy again.

Yeesh.

I don't plan on blogging any immediately afterwards; but we'll see how I feel.

~~JD~~

True Story; Swear to God . . .

Bear with me here; this one takes a bit of explaining, but the punch line's worth it.

The cat pictured above is our cat Fluffy. He's a Norwegian Forest Cat breed. We've had him since Missouri, almost 15 years now, so he's probably 17 years old or so. Over the years he's developed this alter-ego persona called "Flurfy", whom I vocalize with a pseudo-Norwegian accent that sound something like the the Swedish Chef from the Muppet Show would sound like if he was drunk. Flurfy is a curmudgeon whose snarky, sarcastic comments frequently have us in stitches -- especially me, because I frequently have no idea what he's going to say, even though his biting sarcasm comes out of my mouth at the most inopportune times.

I wonder if Edgar Bergen or Paul Winchell had this problem?

So, anyway, suffice it to say Flurfy is a part of the family. So when Ariane got this message from Flurfy on her cell phone at work yesterday morning, she didn't bat an eye:

"Hello Dere - Flurfy Here. Da fat guy forgot his phone, y'know. What are da chances of getting me some Herring dere?"

(Herring is the natural prey of Norwegian Forest Cats, of course.)

So about 2pm when she called from work, she calls Julian's cell phone. Why? Because "I had forgot my cell phone at home" according to Flurfy.

Uhmmm . . . . according to whom?

It took her three hours to realize what she'd done. She was absolutely furious when she got home. (Heh.)

~~JD~~

Sunday Afternoon; 4.6 Miles

Spring in South Texas seems to bring out the prettiest roadside scenery. Lady Bird Johnson made it her life's work to have wildflowers planted along all Texas highway right- of- ways so that this time of year right after the winter rains are full of bluebonnets, marigolds, and Indian Paintbrushes.

Ariane, Samantha and I took the Northerly route this afternoon, but kept going past Walgreen's to the Regent Care Nursing Home 0.75 miles past. This adds 1.5 miles to our standard 3.1 mile trip. It was actually surprisingly easy one we got past Walgreen's, as the land becomes much flatter. We saw lots of squirrels -- red squirrels, grey squirrels, and even a black rock squirrel, all of which Samantha thinks would be very tasty parts of her balanced breakfast. Fortunately or the squirrels, it was after lunch, and Samantha's fuzzy doggy butt was dragging pretty low from this extended excursion.

One of the cooler things of our "walkies" is that we walk by and under the glide path for San Antonio International Airport. I always thought the coolest part of driving limousines to the Chicago airports was getting to sit in the Staging Parking Lot watching the planes land. Southwest is the primary service into and out of SA, so their colorful and different jets are always interesting. Today we got to watch a NASA T-38 fly in, as well as a Medevac Army UH-60, most likely from Fort Sam Houston. Brings back memories of my Grandma Glynn taking me to O'Hare to watch the airplanes take off and land back in the 60's when you could still walk up to the departure gates.

Good Stuff. Good Memories. Good Walkies!

~~JD~~

Another Great Moment in Male Nursing . . .

I'm sitting in the Break Room at work and my Supervisor comes in and says, "I understand you're having surgery" (referring to my impending Hernia surgery.) I said "sure" -- she asks "Sex Change?"

Another instance of NWM -- "Nursing while Male."

~~JD~~

Saturday Night; 3.1 Miles

Did our northerly route tonight to Walgreen's and back and even managed to drag Julian along, who took the nifty photo of me and my dog.

We had a fun philosophical discussion along the way. I set Julian up by offering that I thought the schools could make kids a lot healthier by banning sugar-sweetened soft drink machines and only allowing diet sodas or fruit juices and bottled water -- the rationalization being that by eliminating harmful eating habits and empty (non-nutritious) calories, the kids would be "exposed to healthy alternatives." Julian's counter-argument was that this was "forcing" the kids to accept something they didn't want, and that they shouldn't have to experience something they weren't used to.

My counter argument was that by "exposing" the kids this way, they would be able to make informed decisions for themselves later. Julian's response was that nobody should be "forced" to experience anything they didn't want to.

My response was, what about teaching people not to be intolerant of different lifestyles? Like teaching southern people not to be evil towards black people? Like teaching Iraqis not to hate each other, and to live in a democracy?

He had to think about that one for a while.

He's on his way to Colorado this week with the Orchestra to play some concerts for Middle schools there. We had to buy him some ski equipment (of all the things to shop for in South Texas!) He hasn't had a real winter coat in five years since he outgrew his last one; and it never gets cold enough here to buy another, really.

Tomorrow it'll be a variation of the Walgreen's route again, but with a 1.4 mile extension. My feet hurt bad enough right now that this seems impossible; but that's the fun of it, isn't it?

~~JD~~

Tuesday Evening, 2.75+ Miles

I have no idea how far we walked tonight. We started out on what I refer to as our "Southerly Route"; wherein we walk south 1.25 miles to the corner of two main thoroughfares; then over a little over a tenth of a mile to our Mail Drop and return. It works out to just over 2.75 miles.

However, Ariane is always pushing herself to walk farther and farther, so we made a little detour that pushed us well over 2.75. I won't know how far until I time it out on the car's odometer -- and Julian's out and about right now. I'd guess a bit over 2.9 by the way Samantha's tongue was hanging out. I usually don't see that until almost the end of our 3 mile walk (which we refer to as our "Walkies" -- Samantha starts drooling and leaping like a puppy when she hears the "Walkies" word.) That's the northern end of our southbound dog that's the black blob in the photo above as we walked the thouroughfare of choice tonight.

Morning glucose was right down where it should've been this morning at 64. (A blood glucose of 60-110 is considered normal.) The last four days had my morning blood glucoses in the triple digits, but the glyburide has fixed that fast.

Best news of the day: I wore a pair of shorts for this walk hat I grew out of last spring. Today they had room to spare. That right there is a great feeling money can't buy.

~~JD~~

Monday Night, 3.1 Miles

Sometime around Thanksgiving I started going for walks at night as a method of relieving the pain of my heel spurs. In a gross fit of irony, God saw fit to bequeath to me the same heel spurs my mom has. They started bothering me about two or three years ago, and I tried various methods to decrease or relieve the pain, from soaking my feet to elevating them to various creams, rubs, ointments, and pain relievers. Not much worked. The one thing that did work, oddly enough, was walking -- and walking a lot.

So I marked off three walking courses from the apartment and back. If I walk north along the street our apartment is on to the local Walgreen's and back it's 3.1 miles round trip, which was our trip tonight for me and Samantha the Dog. We like that route because it involves walking up a fairly steep graded hill about half a mile from the apartment (just enough distance to get a good stretch in the legs), then walking the next half mile uphill, then another 0.6 miles down the other side. When we reach Walgreen's, we turn around and re-ascend the hill for 0.6 miles, back down for half a mile again, and half a mile home. Tonight we ran most of that last half-mile, which Samantha particularly likes because she feels like a vicious wolf creature when she runs with her hair in the wind.

Or so I've heard.

The diabetes is fairly well under control. For some reason my pharmacy shorted me 75% of my glyburide medication to control my blood sugars, so I ran out last Thursday. I just got the replacements in the mail today -- during this last weekend my sugar was never higher than 174, and usually in the 130's to 140's in the morning, with normal (90's or so) reading before meals. I guess the "eating healthy" thing is working our pretty well. Ariane has lost almost 50 pounds since Thanksgiving and a good 2 inches from her waist -- and she tells me 2 whole sizes. I've lost about 10 pounds and 3+ inches from my waist.

The best part was buying a new, smaller belt today at Wal-Mart. (Deep sigh of satisfaction here.) What a great feeling.

Julian continues to be Julian. After his 1st-place performances at State (UIL) as an individual, his orchestra followed up with 1st-place performances just before Spring Break. He's pretty much assured 1st Chair next year, but he may not take Orchestra
to concentrate on his medical and language studies. (He's still going to take private lessons, though.) His pre-Spring Break trip to Mexico went very well. He managed to come back in one piece without Montezuma's Revenge (unlike a couple of his compatriots) and even named a few of the rats he met there.

Yeah, you read that right. He named the rats. Yup -- he's my boy.

~~JD~~

They Say It's Your Birthday . . . .

I've always been fascinated by what happened in history on my birthday. I guess everyone is, to some extent -- having that little thrill of recognition when you find out this or that happened on the date of your birth.

However, when you factor is (a) my love of History and (b) by OCD tendencies -- well, you get the picture . . . .

Just recently I've found several really great websites to encourage my prediliction for trivial minituae. As you might guess, The History Channel's Website is just invaluable with this kind of thing as well as detailed and encylopedic on any day you might want to research. Another good one is the Those Were The Days Website, but tries a bit too hard to make jokes -- be warned. But the site that overwhelms even my twisted sense of OCD-loving trivia is Any Day In History, which is curiously run by an electrical parts supplier. (Well, I guess the boss has to do something in his office all day, right?)

I would also like to point out that (a) I cannot be held responsible for any event happening before this day in 1958 -- I just plain wasn't here. So as much as you might like to blame me for the deaths of Jacques d'Auchy Walloon in 1559, Claude II of Lotharingen in 1573, or Philip van Egmont General/prince of Gavere, dying in battle in 1590, it's just a bit too early for me. Likewise, you can't blame me for Ferdinand I being appointed Holy Roman emperor in 1558; the Battle at Ivry in 1590; or Storm floods ravaging Gorinchem, Dordrecht & Woudrichem in the Netherlands in 1559. Neither can I claim credit for the death of Karl Marx, much as I might like to -- same reason.

I would also like to point out that though Fred J. Muggs (1952) and I share a birthday (as well as hairy arms), we do not share genetics. Ask my mom.

So without further ado, here's a 23-page list (Yeesh!) of what happened on my birthday -- March 14th, through the years. (Took me all morning to collate and edit the list.)

**************************************************************

840 AD Eginhard French nobleman/biographer (Vita Karoli Magni), dies at 69

1272 Re Enzo Italian poet/son of Emporer Frederik II von Hohenstaufen, dies

1298 Petrus Johannis Olivi South France theologist, dies

1490 Charles I Duke of Savoy, dies at 21

1558 Ferdinand I appointed Holy Roman emperor

1559 French-born Swiss reformer John Calvin wrote in a letter: "If your labors, where you now are, are sterile, and if here an abundant harvest awaits them, which is the most forcible tie? the one by which God draws you hither, or the one that detains you there?"

1559 Jacques d'Auchy Walloon baptist merchant, executed

1559 Storm floods ravage Gorinchem, Dordrecht & Woudrichem, Netherlands

1573 Claude II of Lotharingen, duke of Aumale/murdered Admiral Coligny, dies

1590 Battle at Ivry: French King Henri IV beats Catholic League

1590 Philip van Egmont General/prince of Gavere, dies in battle at 30

1612 Philip Galle Flemish engraver, dies at about 74

1623 Adam-Nicolas Gascon composer

1629 England granted a royal charter to Massachusetts Bay Colony

1644 England grants patent for Providence Plantations (now Rhode Island)

1647 Frederik Hendrik count of Nassau/prince of Orange, dies at 63

1653 Johan van Galen beats English fleet at Livorno

1681 Georg Philipp Telemann Magdeburg Germany, late baroque composer

1682 Jacob I van Ruysdael physician/landscape painter, dies at about 53

1689 Scotland dismisses Willem III & Mary Stuart as king & queen

1692 Peter Musschenbroek Dutch physician/physicist (Leyden jar)

1726 Josef Antonin Stepan composer

1727 Johann Gottlieb Goldberg composer

1734 Prince Willem KHF van Orange marries George II's daughter Mary Anne

1743 - The City of Boston conducted the first town meeting in Faneuil Hall. It became an idea that caught on quickly throughout New England.

1755 Pierre-Louis Couperin composer

1757 John Byng English Admiral (Minorca), executed at 52

1760 Anton Filtz composer, dies at 26

1768 Vigilio Blasio Faitello composer, dies at 58

1776 Alexander Hamilton is named captain of artillery company

1782 Thomas Hart Benton (Representative), "Old Bullion"

1794 Eli Whitney patented his cotton gin, making it possible to clean 50 pounds of cotton a day, compared to a pound a day before Whitney’s invention.

1795 Rubert Lucas Pearsall composer

1800 James Bogardus US inventor/builder (made cast-iron buildings)

1800 Luigi Chiaramonti crowned Pope Pius VII

1801 Christian Friedrich Penzel composer, dies at 63

1803 Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock German poet, dies at 78

1804 Johann Strauss the Elder Viennese violinist/composer (Radetzky March)

1808 Catharinus Putnam Buckingham Brigadier General (Union volunteers)

1811 August Henry Fitzroy English premier (1768-70), dies at 75

1812 War Bonds were authorized by the United States government for the first time. We presume they were in support of the War of 1812.

1815 Josephine Lang composer

1816 Second Bank of U.S. is established

1816 Montgomery Dent Corse Alexandria VA, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1895

1820 Victor Emmanuel II King of Sardinia (1849-61)/Italy (1861-78)

1821 African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church founded (New York)

1821 Jens Worsaae Denmark, archaeologist

1823 Roswell Sabine Ripley Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1887

1826 General Congress of South American States assembles at Panamá

1826 William Fisk Sherwin composer

1829 Charles Charlesworth England (dies at 7 of old age)

1831 Leon Leopold Lewandoski composer

1833 Lucy Hobbs Taylor, D.D.S. 1st woman to receive a degree in dentistry [1866]; died Oct 3, 1910

1833 John Sappington Marmaduke Major General (Confederate Army)

1835 Giovanni V Schiaparelli Italian astronomer (Mars)

1835 Manuel Fernandez Caballero composer

1836 HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin aboard leaves Australia

1837 Charles Ammi Cutter US librarian (Expansive classification/originated Cutter system)

1840 José Zorilla's "El Zapatero y el Rey" premieres in Madrid

1843 Boston conducts its 1st town meeting (Faneuil Hall)

1844 King Umberto I of Italy (1878-1900)

1845 -5.3ºF (-20.7ºC) in Groningen Germany

1847 Antonio de Castro Alves Brazilian poet (Espumas Flutuantes)

1854 - Paul Ehrlich 1908 Nobel Prize in Medicine; founded chemotherapy, discovered Salvarsan - a remedy for syphilis, developed antitoxin for diphtheria; died Aug 20, 1915

1854 Thomas Riley Marshall (D) 28th Vice President (1913-21)

1861 Abraham Louis Niedermeyer composer, dies at 58

1862 Battle of New Bern NC: General Burnside conquers New Bern

1862 Vilhelm FK Bjerknes Norwegian/US physicist/meteorology

1864 (John Luther) Casey Jones railroad engineer: subject of The Ballad of Casey Jones; killed in train crash Apr 30, 1900

1864 Rossini's "Petite Messe Solennelle" premieres in Paris France

1864 Union troops occupy Fort de Russy, Louisiana

1870 California legislature approves act making Golden Gate Park possible

1873 Joannes DJ Aengenent sociologist/bishop of Haarlem (1928-35)

1874 Anton F Philips President-Director of Philips College

1874 Mary Carr Philadelphia PA, actress (Forbidden Trail, Pack Up Your Troubles)

1875 Isadore Gilbert Mudge US, librarian/author/bibliographer (Thackeray Dictionary)

1875 Norman Houstoun O'Neill composer

1875 Smetana's "Vysehrad" premieres

1878 Carel T Scharten Dutch poet/writer (Forces of the Future)

1879 Albert Einstein born in Ulm, Germany -- Nobel Prize-winning physicist [1921]: developed the Theory of Relativity; died Apr 18, 1955

1880 Oscar (Bachigaloupi) Tourniaire actor/director (Pink Kate)

1883 Juan Manen composer

1883 Karl Marx German philosopher (Communist Manifesto), dies at 64

1884 Albert Egges van Giffen Dutch archaeologist

1884 Winter Haynes Watts composer

1885 Gilbert & Sullivan's opera "Mikado" premieres in London

1887 Sylvia Beach, bookstore owner and publisher of Ulysses, is born

1887 George Creten Belgian sculptor/painter

1887 Lawrence Collingwood composer

1888 2nd largest snowfall in New York City history (21")

1889 August Strindberg's "Froken Julie" premieres in Copenhagen

1891 John P Strijbos Dutch writer (Wandering through South-Africa)

1892 Olive Netta Parsons co-founder (Collet's Bookshop)

1894 Josef Schelb composer

1895 Frans Ganshof Belgian historian

1896 Sutro Baths (San Francisco) opens by Cliff House (closed Sept 1, 1952)

1899 Emile Erckmann French writer (Waterloo), dies at 76

1899 Stanley Cup: Montréal Shamrocks beat Winnipeg Victorias, 6-2

19-- Imhotep Gary Byrd radio personality (WLIB-NY)

19-- Tamara Tunie Bouquette Philadelphia PA, actress (Jessica-As the World Turns)

19-- Tim Rossovich Palo Alto CA, actor (When the Whistle Blows)

1900 Hugo de Vries rediscovers Mendel's laws of genetics

1900 US currency goes on gold standard

1901 1st performance of Anton Bruckner's 6th Symphony in A

1903 1st national bird reservation established in Sebastian FL

1903 Johannes H Weissenbruch Dutch landscape painter, dies at 88

1903 Molla Mustafa Barzani Iran, Kurd leader (KDP)

1903 Stanley Cup: Ottawa Silver 7 sweep Rat Portage Thisles in 2 games

1903 WB Yeats & Lady Gregory's "Hour-Glass" premieres in Dublin Ireland

1905 Raymond Aron French sociologist/political scientist

1906 Calgary City Rugby Football Club forms

1906 Ulvi Cemal Erkin composer

1907 Björn-Erik Höijer Swedish writer (Nu dansar Sara)

1908 Maurice (Jean Jacques) Merleau-Ponty French philosopher

1908 Nikolay Petrovich Rakov composer

1908 Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was chartered in Waco, Texas. Originally named Baylor Theological Seminary, the school campus relocated in 1910 to Fort Worth.

1908 Stanley Cup: Montréal Wanderers beat Toronto Trolley Leaguers, 6-4

1909 Amsterdam Social-Democratic Party (SDP) forms

1909 André Pieyre de Mandiargues French writer (Margin)

1911 Pete Piute [Morris Kaufman], New York NY, comedian (Village Barn)

1912 - Les Brown bandleader: Les Brown and His Band of Renown: Sentimental Journey My Dreams are Getting Better All the Time; Leap Frog, I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm; died Jan 4, 2001

1912 Death of Albert L. Peace, 68. One of the noted Scottish organists of his day, Peace composed many cantatas, organ pieces and hymn tunes, including the enduring St. MARGARET, to which the Church today sings George Matheson's "O Love That Will Not Let Me Go."

1912 King Vittorio Emanuel III of Rome injured during assassination attempt

1913 John D Rockefeller gives $100 million to Rockefeller Foundation

1913 Witold Rudzinski composer

1914 : Stock-car racer Lee Arnold Petty was born near Randleman, North Carolina, on this day. Now famous as the father of Richard Petty--the all-time "winningest" racer in NASCAR history

1914 Fiorenzo Marini Italy, épée (Olympics-gold-1960)

1914 Henry Ralph Carr soldier

1914 Jiri Reinberger composer

1914 Serbia & Turkey sign peace treaty

1915 German cruiser Dresden sinks

1915 Alexander Brott composer

1915 Carlos Surinach Barcelona Spain, composer (Monte Carlo)

1915 German cruiser Dresden blows itself up near coast of Chile

1915 Kenneth Rowntree painter

1916 Battle of Verdun: German attack on Mort-Homme ridge, West of Verdun

1917 Macha Louis Rosenthal critic/poet

1918 Dennis Patrick actor ( The Time Travelers, Choices, The Air Up There) killed in house fire Oct 13, 2002

1918 1st concrete ship to cross the Atlantic (Faith) is launched, San Francisco

1919 - Max Shulman novelist, playwright (Strictly for Laughs, The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis, I Was A Teenage Dwarf, The Tender Trap, Rally Round The Flag Boys) died Aug 28, 1988

1919 : Max Brand publishes his first novel

1919 Luther Henderson Jr Kansas City MO, orchestra leader (Polly Bergen Show)

1920 Hank Ketcham cartoonist: Dennis the Menace; died June 1, 2001

1920 Dorothy Tyler-Odam Great Britain, high jumper (Olympics-silver-1936, 1948)

1921 Lis Hartel Denmark, equestrian dressage (Olympics-silver-1952, 56)

1922 Colin Fletcher author (Walking Through Time)

1922 KGU-AM in Honolulu HI begins radio transmissions; also KSD-AM in Saint Louis MO begins transmissions as well as WGR-AM in Buffalo NY.

1922 Les Baxter US, singer/orchestra leader/composer (Born Again)

1923 U.S. President Warren G. Harding became the first Chief Executive to pay taxes and account for his income. Harding’s tax bill amounted to nearly $18,000.

1923 Allies accepts Vilnus taking East-Galicië in Poland

1923 Diane Arbus photographer/innovator

1923 German Supreme Court prohibits NSDAP (Nazi Party)

1925 John Barrington Wain England, novelist/poet (Hurry on Down)

1925 Walter Camp father of American football, dies at 65

1926 François d'Assise Morel composer

1927 Bill Rexford auto racer: NASCAR Winston Cup Champion [1950 at age 23]

1927 Joop F Wolff Dutch editor (Truth)/Dutch politician (CPN)

1928 Frank Borman Gary IN, astronaut (Gemini 7, Apollo 8)/CEO-Eastern Airlines

1929 - Bob Goalby golf: PGA champ: Greater Greensboro Open [1958], Coral Gables Open Invitational [1960], LA Open, St. Petersburg Open Invitational [1961], Insurance City Open Invitational, Denver Open Invitational [1962], San Diego Open Invitational [1967], Masters [1968], Robinson Open Golf Classic [1969], Heritage Golf Classic [1970], Bahamas National Open Championship [1971]; Senior PGA champ: Marlboro Classic [1981], Peter Jackson Champions [1982]

1929 Thomas Bell Jr race horse trainer

1930 Dieter Schnebel German vicar/composer

1930 Ray Flockton cricketer (prolific New South Wales batsman of 50's)

1931 Phil Phillips (Baptiste) singer (Sea of Love)

1931 The Trans-Lux Theater opens in Manhattan on this day in 1931; the First theater designed for rear projector

1931 Bob Goalby golfer (British Open-1968, Canadian Open-1968, New Zealand-1970)

1932 George Eastman US industrialist (Kodak-camera), suicide at 77

1933 Michael Caine (Maurice Micklewhite) Academy Award-winning actor (Hannah and Her Sisters [1986]; Sleuth, The Ipcress File, Alfie, Educating Rita, California Suite, Jack the Ripper, On Deadly Ground )

1933 Quincy Jones composer: film scores, TV show themes; bandleader; record producer; arranger; 25 Grammys, Grammy’s Trustees Award [1989], Grammy’s Legends Award [1990]; Musical Director for Mercury Records, then VP; established Qwest Records

1933 Civilian Conservation Corp begins tree conservation

1933 Winston Churchill wants to boost air defense

1934 - Eugene (Andrew) Cernan astronaut: pilot: Gemini 9 [June, 1966]; crew member: Apollo 17 [Dec, 1972] moon landing, spent three days exploring lunar surface [w/astronaut Harrison Schmitt], Cernan quote before departing for Earth, “As we leave the moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came and, God willing, as we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind. God speed the crew of Apollo 17.”

1934 Shirley Scott swinging, blues-oriented organist: recorded mostly with former husband Stanley Turrentine [they were married from 1961 to 1971]

1935 Shirley Temple leaves handprints at Grauman's

1935 Folsom becomes 1st line to use 1-man streetcars

1935 Jo van den Booren composer

1936 Bob Charles golf champion: British Open Champion from New Zealand [1963](1963 Houston Open)

1936 The U.S. government went into the magazine business on this day with the publication known today as The Federal Register.

1937 - Fred Allen and Jack Benny met on radio in one of the biggest publicity gags ever. It was called, “The Battle of the Century.” The two comedians locked horns in the ballroom of the Hotel Pierre, exchanging torrid insults that were heard by the second largest audience in the history of radio. The ‘feud’, incidentally, lasted for the next 12 years! This was probably the longest-running publicity stunt in history.

1937 English Bible expositor Arthur W. Pink wrote in a letter: "Neither the nearness nor the remoteness of Christ's return is a rule to regulate us in the ordering of our temporal affairs. Spiritual preparedness is the great matter."

1937 Peter van der Merwe cricketer (South African captain of mid-1960's)

1937 Pope Pius XI publishes anti-Nazi-encyclical Mit brennender Sorge

1938 Johnny Gleeson cricketer (mystery spinner for Australia 1966-72)

1939 Bertrand Blier Paris France, novelist/director (Going Places)

1939 England draw with South Africa at Durban on the 10th day

1939 Nazi Germany dissolves Republic of Czechoslovakia

1939 William Benjamin Lenoir Miami FL, astronaut (STS-5)

1940 27 killed, 15 injured when truck full of migrant workers collides with a train outside McAllen TX

1940 Eleanor Bron Stanmore Middlesex England, actress (Women in Love, Bedazzled)

1941 Years before Desi Arnaz would make the song Babalu popular on the I Love Lucy TV show, Xavier Cugat and his orchestra recorded it with Miguelito Valdes doing the vocal. The song was on Columbia Records, as was the Arnaz version years later.

1941 Nazi occupiers of Holland forbid Jewish owned companies

1941 Wolfgang Petersen Emden Germany, actor (Shattered, Enemy Mine)

1942 Rita Tushingham actress: Dr. Zhivago, A Taste of Honey, Trap

1942 Jerry Jeff Walker Oneonta NY, country singer (Mr Bojangles)

1942 John Whittaker English real estate developer (Peel Holdings)

1942 Rita Tushingham Liverpool England, actress (Green Eyes, Doctor Zhivago)

1943 German troops re-enter Kharkov, the second largest city in the Ukraine. A high-priority target for the Germans when they invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941, the city was a railroad and industrial center, and had coal and iron mines nearby. Among the most important industries for Stalin's war needs was the Kharkov Tanks Works, which he moved out of Kharkov in December 1941 into the Ural Mountains. In fact, Joseph Stalin was so desperate to protect Kharkov that he rendered a "no retreat" order to his troops, which produced massive casualties within the Red Army over time.

1943 Jim Pons Santa Monica CA, bassist (Turtles-Happy Together)

1944 - Clyde Lee basketball: Vanderbilt Univ [rebounds: 1,223: 1964-1966]; NBA: SF Warriors [rebounds: 7626: 1966-1967, 1975-1976]

1944 Pavel Grigor'yevich composer, dies at 66

1944 Peter Paul Zahl writer

1945 - Walter Parazaider musician: reeds: group: Chicago (If You Leave Me Now, 25 or 6 To 4, Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?, You’re the Inspiration, Hard to Say I’m Sorry)

1945 Herman[us J] van Veen Netherlands, cabareter/singer/composer/writer

1945 Michael Martin Murphey Dallas TX, country singer (Wildfire)

1945 RAF bomb cuts railway link Hannover-Hamm

1946 Belgian government of Spaak, forms

1946 Jasper Carrott English comedian (Jane & the Lost City, Detectives)

1946 Steve Kanaly Burbank CA, actor (Fleshburn, Ray Krebbs-Dallas)

1946 Wes Unseld NBA all-star (Baltimore Bullets, MVP 1969)

1947 Jan [AJ] te Veldhuis Dutch MP (VVD)

1947 Janis Schmitt St Louis MO, playmate (February, 1978)

1947 Jimmy O'Rourke rocker

1947 William Jefferson (Representative-Democrat-LA)

1948 Billy Crystal Long Beach NY, comedian (Soap, Saturday Night Live) Emmy Award for Best Individual Performance and Writer in a Variety or Music Program: 63rd Annual Oscars [1991]; Emmy Award-winning Writer for a Variety or Music Program (Midnight Train to Moscow [1990], 64th Annual Oscars [1992]; actor: City Slickers, Throw Mama from the Train, Soap, When Harry Met Sally)

1948 Freedom Train arrives in San Francisco

1950 Michael Ford son of U.S. President Gerald R. Ford and First Lady Betty Ford

1950 The FBI debuts its "10 Most Wanted" list

1951 During Korean War, US/UN forces recapture Seoul

1951 Earthquake at Euskirchen, Germany

1951 Rick Dees radio disc jock (KIIS Los Angeles)

1952 David Byrne guitarist/vocalist (Talking Heads-Burning Down the House)

1952 J Fred Muggs chimp (Today show)

1953 Klement Gottwald premier/President of Czechoslovakia, dies at 56

1953 KOLR TV channel 10 in Springfield MO (CBS) begins broadcasting

1953 Nikita Khrushchev succeeds Malenkov as Secretary of Communist Party

1953 Tim McKee US, 400 meter medley swimmer (Olympics-silver-1972)

1954 Adrian Zmed Chicago IL, actor (TJ Hooker, Dance Fever)

1954 Braves Henry Aaron homers in his 1st exhibition game

1954 David La Croix race horse trainer

1954 Jann Browne country singer (Mexican Wind)

1954 KDAL (now KDLH) TV channel 3 in Duluth-Superior MN (CBS) begins

1954 Louise Suggs wins LPGA Titleholders Golf Championship

1954 Ludomir Michal Rogowski composer, dies at 72

1954 NBA Baltimore Bullets end a 32 game road losing streak

1955 - Boon Gould musician: guitar: group: Level 42: The Chinese Way, The Sun Goes Down [Living It Up], Hot Water

1955 Prince Mahemdra becomes king of Nepal

1956 Natalya Dmitriyevna Kuleshova Russia, cosmonaut

1956 Satchel Paige signs with the Birmingham Black Barons (Negro League)

1956 Tessa Sanderson Kingston Jamaica, British javelin thrower (Olympics-gold-84)

1957 Indonesian government of Sastroamidjojo resigns

1958 Albert Alexandre Louis Pierre Prince of Monaco/bobsledder (Olympics-1988)

1958 Eugeen Van de Velde Flemish musicologist/critic/composer, dies at 64

1958 South Africa government disallows African National Congress.

1958 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site, while the USSR performs an atmospheric nuclear test.

1958 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified the first gold record. It was Perry Como’s Catch a Falling Star on RCA Victor Records. The tune became the first to win million-seller certification, though other songs dating as far back as the 1920s may have sold a million records or more.

1958 Alarmed by recent advances by the Soviet space program, the United States establishes NASA (the National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to coordinate its own efforts to reach space. America's first satellite is released this year.

1958 Charles de Gaulle is elected the first president of France's newly created Fifth Republic.

1958 Credit cards get a boost; charge card American Express debuts, and the forerunner of Visa, the BankAmericard, also appears.

1958 John Kenneth Galbraith pens The Affluent Society to criticize private consumption in American society and advocate greater spending on public resources.

1958 Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe publishes his novel about colonialism, Things Fall Apart.

1958 Nikita Khrushchev becomes premier of the U.S.S.R.

1958 Prince Charles, son of Elizabeth II and future husband of Diana, becomes the Prince of Wales.

1958 Robert Welch founds the right-wing John Birch Society to combat communism, which he believes has infiltrated the highest levels of government.

1958 The first atomic submarine, the Nautilus, built in 1954, travels under the North Pole.

1958 The National Defense Education Act places heavy emphasis on math, science, and language education.

1958 The play A Raisin in the Sun, by 29-year-old Lorraine Hansberry, is at tale of the modern African-American family.

1959 Elvis Presley made the album charts, but no one would have known by the title of the disk. For LP Fans Only was the first LP ever issued without the artist’s name to be found anywhere on the cover -- front or back.

1959 Patrick Dupond Paris France, dancer (La Bayadere)

1960 14 die in a train crash in Bakersfield CA

1960 George Horvath Sweden, pentathlete (Olympics-1980)

1960 Helen Hopkins Donneybrook Australia, golfer (Australian International 1983)

1960 Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia) sets NBA playoff record of 53 points

1961 Akiba Rubinstein Polish chess player (opening theorist), dies at 78

1961 Gary Dell'Abate Uniondale Long Island New York, producer (Howard Stern Show, Private Parts)

1961 George Weiss becomes president of New York Mets

1961 Grigoriy Kornev Russian speed walker (world record 5 km)

1961 Russell Todd actor (Jamie Frame-Another World)

1961 The New Testament of the New English Bible was simultaneously published by both the Oxford and Cambridge University Presses. (The complete Old & New Testament of the NEB was published in 1970.)

1962 Disarmament conference opens in Geneva without France

1962 Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) is 2nd NHLer to score 500 goals

1962 Kirby Puckett centerfielder (Minnesota Twins)

1963 Bruce Reid cricketer (brilliant left-arm Australia pace bowler 1985-92)

1963 Pedro Duque Madrid Spain, engineer/astronaut (STS 78 alternate, sk-95)

1963 San Francisco's Guy Rodgers ties NBA record with 28 assists

1964 "Girl Who Came to Supper" closes at Broadway NYC after 112 performances

1964 : Jack Ruby sentenced to death

1964 Dallas jury sentences Jack Ruby to death for Lee Harvey Oswald murder

1964 Donald Evans NFL defensive end/tackle (New York Jets)

1964 Richard Migliore jockey

1965 Allies launch second wave of Rolling Thunder

1965 Israeli cabinet approves diplomatic relations with West Germany

1965 John Stephenson cricketer (England opening bat in one Test vs Australia 1989)

1965 Kevin Brown Mcintyre GA, pitcher (Florida Marlins)

1966 Darcy Wakaluk Pincher Creek, NHL goalie (Dallas Stars)

1966 Tertius Bosch cricketer (South African pace bowler 1992)

1967 JFK’s body moved to permanent gravesite

1967 1st NFL-AFL common draft, Baltimore Colts pick Bubba Smith

1967 Edward M Fincke Pittsburgh PA, Captain USAF/astronaut

1967 JFK's body moved from temporary grave to a permanent memorial

1967 Melissa Brennan Reeves Eatontown NJ, actress (Jennifer-Days of our Lives)

1967 Vijay Yadav cricketer (Indian wicket-keeper between More & Mongia)

1968 - After two seasons on television, ABC-TV showed the last episode of Batman, starring Adam West and Burt Ward as Robin. The first Batman episode was Hi Diddle Riddle, shown on January 12, 1966. The pilot program for Batman cost $300,000 -- quite expensive by 1966 standards. Through the two seasons, the ‘Dynamic Duo’ welcomed these stars to the cast: Art Carney (The Archer), Tallulah Bankhead (Black Widow), Eartha Kitt (Catwoman), Julie Newmar (Catwoman), Lee Meriwether (Catwoman), Liberace (Chandell), Vincent Price (Egghead), Cesar Romero (The Joker), Rudy Vallee (Lord Phogg), Milton Berle (Louie the Lilac), Shelley Winters (Ma Parker), David Wayne (The Mad Hatter), Zsa Zsa Gabor (Minerva), Van Johnson (The Minstrel), Otto Preminger (Mr. Freeze), Burgess Meredith (The Penguin), John Astin (The Riddler), Frank Gorshin (The Riddler), Cliff Robertson (Shame), Joan Collins (The Siren) and Anne Baxter (Zelda the Great). Finally, a partial list of official Bat-Noises: Aargh!, Clash!, Crunch!, Klonk!, Pow!, Splat!, Clunk! Eee-Yow! Ooof!, Powie! Swoosh!, Biff!, Conck! Ouch!, Qunkk!, Thunk! Boff! Crash!, Uggh!, Zam!, Zap! and others. Wow!
1968 - Megan Follows actress: The Chase, Anne of Green Gables, Hockey Night, Second Chances, Domestic Life, The Baxters

1968 CBS TV suspends Radio Free Europe free advertising because RFE doesn't make it clear it is sponsored by the CIA

1968 Erwin Panofsky German/US art historian/iconologist, dies

1968 Megan Follows actress (Chase, Anne of Green Gables)

1968 POM performs atmospheric nuclear test at Maralinga Australia

1969 - Less than one month after winning her first horse race, Barbara Jo Rubin became the first woman jockey to win at Aqueduct Race Course in New York. She rode Brave Galaxy to victory and into the winner’s circle.

1969 Nixon discusses the possibility of U.S. troop withdrawals

1969 Barbara Jo Rubin becomes 1st woman jockey to win at Aqueduct

1969 Ben Shahn US painter, dies at 70

1969 Greg Biekert NFL linebacker (Oakland Raiders)

1969 Larry Johnson NBA forward (Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks)

1969 Laura Leighton actress (Sydney-Melrose Place, The Other Woman)

1969 Seymour Nurse scores 258 in his last Test Cricket innings, West Indies vs New Zealand

1969 Ty[rel] Bennion Seattle WA, rower (Olympics-1996)

1970 Meredith Salenger actress (Dream a Little Dream, The Kiss)

1970 Thomas McLemore NFL tight end (Indianapolis Colts)

1971 Barbra Streisand appears on "The Burt Bacharach Special" on CBS TV

1971 Ernie Brown CFL defensive tackle (Calgary Stampeders)

1971 South Vietnamese troops flee Laos

1971 The Rolling Stones leave England for France to escape taxes

1972 - The Cincinnati Royals announced plans to move the National Basketball Association franchise to Kansas City, MO. You may think that the Royals not only moved, but changed their sport ... to baseball. However, the Kansas City Royals baseball team was already in place, so the basketball team became the Kings.

1972 Antowain Smith running back (Buffalo Bills)

1972 Aris Brimanis Cleveland OH, NHL defenseman (Philadelphia Flyers)

1972 Clover Maitland Australian field hockey goal keeper (Olympics-96)

1972 NBA's Cincinnati Royals announce they are moving to Kansas City

1972 Tom Barndt NFL/WLAF guard (Kansas City Chiefs, Scottish Claymores)

1973 Chris Sullivan defensive end (New England Patriots)

1973 Liam Cosgrave appointed president of Ireland

1973 Murat B "Chic" Young US comic strip artist (Blondie), dies at 72

1974 Justine Joyce Australian rower (Olympics-96)

1975 Susan Hayward actress (Young & Willing), dies at 56

1976 : Busby Berkeley dies

1976 Alberta Franklin silent screen actress, dies at 79

1976 Busby Berkeley US choreographer/director (Strike Up the Band), dies at 80

1976 Jockey Bill Shoemaker wins his 7,000th race

1976 Martha Saalfeldt writer, dies

1976 Sarah Elizabeth Ulmer Auckland New Zealand, 3k independent pursuit cyclist (Olympics-96)

1976 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1978 Marines terminate Molukse action in Province house (1 dead)

1978 NFL permanently adds 7th official (side judge)

1980 A Polish Airlines flight, on a Soviet-built Ilyushin 62 jet, crashes while attempting to land in Warsaw, killing all 87 people on board, including 22 members of the United States boxing team, on this day in 1980.

1980 3rd Emmy Sports Awards presentation

1980 World Ice Dance Championship in Dortmund West Germany won by Krisztina Regoczy & Andras Sallay (Hungary); World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Dortmund won by Marina Cherkasova & Sergei Shakhrai (USSR) ; World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Dortmund won by Anett Potzsch ; World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Dortmund won by Jan Hoffmann (German Democratic Republic)

1981 Ken Barrington cricketer (82 Tests for England, 6806 runs), dies

1981 René Clair French director (It Happened Tomorrow), dies at 82?

1982 Kate Maberly actress (Secret Garden)

1982 Kirill Vladimirovich Molchanov composer, dies at 59

1982 Sally Little wins LPGA Olympia Gold Golf Classic

1982 Sidath Wettimuny scores Sri Lanka's 1st Test Cricket century

1983 Jordan Taylor Hanson Tulsa OK, singer-Hanson (MMMBop)

1983 Maurice Ronet actor (Circle of Love, Frantic, Sphinx), dies at 55

1983 OPEC cut oil prices for 1st time in 23 years

1984 Aurelio Peccei Italian businessman/CEO (Club Rome), dies at 75

1984 Space Shuttle Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 41-C mission

1985 Bill Cosby captured four People’s Choice Awards for The Cosby Show. The awards were earned from results of a nationwide Gallup Poll. Barbara Mandrell stunned the audience by announcing that she was pregnant while accepting her second award on the show. She talked about “the child here tonight in my tummy.” Bob Hope won the award as All-Time Entertainer beating Clint Eastwood and Frank Sinatra for the honor.

1985 11th People's Choice Awards: Bill Cosby wins 4 awards

1985 Michael Secrest (US) completes 24 hour ride of 516 miles, 427 yards

1986 Benno Ammann composer, dies at 81

1986 Edith Atwater Chicago IL, actress (Phyllis-Love on a Rooftop), dies at 74

1986 European Space Agency's Giotto flies by Halley's Comet (605 km)

1986 Jozef Kresanek composer, dies at 73

1986 Marlin Perkins TV host (Wild Kingdom) at 80

1987 New York Met Darryl Strawberry charges Red Sox pitcher Al Nipper during spring training exhibition game, causes bench clearing brawl

1987 Providence, with Billy Donovan's 25 points, beats Austin Peay 90-87

1987 Skier Piotr Fijas jumps record 194 meter

1989 Edward Abbey (environmental author) dies after surgery at 62

1989 Oliver Bernsen son of Corbin Bernsen & Amanda Pays

1989 Zita Empress of Austria/Queen of Hungary, dies at 96

1990 4th Soul Train Music Awards (Soul II Soul, Janet Jackson)

1990 Mikhail S Gorbachev becomes president of the Soviet Congress

1991 British authorities release the so-called "Birmingham Six," six Irish men who had been sent to prison 16 years earlier for the 1974 terrorist bombings of two Birmingham, England, pubs on November 21, 1974.

1991 British Court of Appeal frees "Birmingham 6" who had been unjustly sentenced in August 1975 to life imprisonment

1991 Emir of Kuwait returns to Kuwait City, after the Iraqis leave

1991 Howard Ashman song writer (Disney's Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast) dies of AIDs at 40

1991 Jef Houthuys Belgian union leader (ACV, 1968-87), dies at 68

1991 Jerome "Doc" Pomus lyricist (Save Last Dance for Me), dies at 65

1991 Robert Maroff dies at 57

1991 World Ice Dance Championship in Munich won by Isabel & Phil Duchesnay (France); World Ice Pairs Figure Skating Championship in Munich won by N Mishkutenok & A Dmitriev (USSR); World Ladies Figure Skating Championship in Munich won by Kristi Yamaguchi (USA); World Men's Figure Skating Championship in Munich won by Kurt Browning (Canada)

1992 C V Wood Jr theme park developer (Disneyland), dies of cancer at 71

1992 Farm Aid V

1992 Jean Poiret French actor/writer (La Cage aux Folles), dies at 65

1992 New York Mets Daryl Boston, Vince Coleman & Dwight Gooden accused of rape

1992 Ralph James actor (Orson-Mork & Mindy), dies at 67

1992 Soviet newspaper "Pravda" suspends publication

1992 Steven Brian Pennell executed -- 1st execution in Delaware in 45 years, at 34

1993 "Conversations with My Father" closes at Royale NYC after 462 performances

1993 "Face Value" closes at Cort Theater NYC after performances

1993 "Saint Joan" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 49 performances

1993 3,000th performance of "Nunsense"

1993 Johan Koss skates world record 5 km (6 :6.57)

1993 Meg Mallon wins LPGA Ping/Welch's Golf Championship

1993 Ricky Ponting hits twin tons for Tasmania aged 18 years 84 days

1994 Abdelkader Alloula Algerian playwright, murdered

1994 Mexican banker/billionaire Alfredo Harp Helu kidnapped

1994 Sally Mary Caroline Belfrage writer, dies at 57

1994 Soyuz TM-21 launches with V Dezyurov, G Strekalov & US astronaut Norman “Norm” Thagard to the Mir Space Station.

1995 1st time 13 people in space

1995 Gerard Thomas Victory composer, dies at 73

1995 Johan W "Jo" van Marle CEO (KNVB, 1980-93), dies at 70

1995 William A Fowler US nuclear/astro-physicist (Nobel 1983), dies at 83

1996 Australia beat West Indies by 5 runs in Cricket World Cup semi

1996 Crufts show at NEC Birmingham, (1995 winner, Joshua, an Irish setter)

1996 Dewi Lorwerth Ellis Bebb rugby international/journalist, dies at 57

1996 Nico Kiasashvii professor of English Literature, dies at 69

1996 Vic Marshall chemist, dies at 74

1997 68 year old Gordie Howe signs AHL contract with Syracuse Crunch

1997 Fred Zinnemann (director) dies of heart attack at 89

1997 Iranian military plane crashes, killing 80

1997 John Curtis Jr president/CEO (Luby's Cafes, Texas), commits suicide at 58

1997 Olympics gold medalist Michael Johnson wins 67th James E Sullivan Award

1997 President Clinton trips & tears up his knee requiring surgery

It's OFF!!!; A Study in Massive Incompetency

So, I'm sure you're wondering "what happened???"

Yeah, well, me too. I was there and I'm still not really sure. The "Mission Statement" of this particular hospital says "The mission . . . is to promote the good health of the community by providing the highest quality of care to both inpatients and outpatients . . ."

Heh. Heh-heh.heh. Ha! BWAH-HAH-HAH-HAH-HAAAA!!!! Heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. Oh, that's too damned funny. Really. Hee-hee-hee!

Let's start at the beginning. I've had this abdominal hernia for a couple years and finally decided to get it fixed last fall. So I got a referral from my physician and started the process of making the appoitments and such. The first two times I tried this they gave me arbitrary appointments during my work times that I couldn't make. (The first time they didn't even notify me until after the appointment had passed!)


So this was the third time I was trying to get this taken care of. At every step along the way I showed them both my insurances -- I have one from Ariane's work and one from my own. Since I was having my insurance through the System that support's Ariane's work they always took her insurance, but I paid my co-pays with the Medical savings account from my work.

So, at all points along the process they were well aware I had two insurances.

The day of the surgery we checked in at 9:45am right on time. They asked how we wanted to pay for the $100.00 co-pay, and I gave them my medical savings account card. The receptionist did a double-take, noting this wasn't from their hospital, and I told her it was from my own workplace. She asked if I had insurance, and I gave her both cards. Again.

She brought up her supervisor, who told me they had to get a referral for the surgery. What, now??? Yes, she said, my surgery had to go through my insurance and not Ariane's -- my insurance is primary, not Ariane's. Which means the referral process had been done through the wrong insurance network.

So, in short, they didn't have their receptionists trained to ask the right questions -- which means I have to start the process all over again from scratch.

I have appointments for next week. (Sigh)

Interesting side-note that may illustrate my anger at the congenital idiots that work at this hospital: the day I went for my pre-op labs they scheduled my appointment for 10:30am and i went fasting to get the right labs. I didn't actually get into the lab until 12:45 that morning, and as I'm sitting there in the lab the technician tells me the physician didn't fill out the lab slip properly, so I would have to go get it filled out correctly.

Now, I've been a nurse 26 years, and you can shoot me in the head the day I say something like this to a patient. I told the tech to call upstaits and get the orders herself (albeit much more politely than that.) Here I am -- diabetic, with a massive headache from not having eaten that morning, and she wants me to trot back up a flight a stairs and the length of the hospital to correct their mistake? Not bloodly likely!

When I got these labs back they had done only part of the labs necessary -- and my blood sugar was 57 -- dangerously low.

So, wrong appointment times, wrong insurance snafu, wrong labs, and endangered the patient -- which is somehow my fault. You can bet your sweet bippy I'm having the surgery at some other hospital. Ariane was absolutely furious -- she wanted to kick that self-righteous little supervisor's ass right there and then -- I had to grab her arm and lead her out.

God, how I love that woman.

So, I'll let you know.

~~JD~~

It's On, Baby!

Tomorrow -- Wednesday, February 7th, 2007. 9:45am call time; 11:45am surgery. Prayers are appreciated as always -- it's a scary thing, sure.

I'm still having trouble with that twingle-dingle thing, though. Yeesh!

~~JD~~

Max Lucado is just an incredible Preacher . . . .

One of the best things that's happened to us since we moved to San Antone has been the great churches we've attended. When we first arrived we attended the Northwest Church of Christ for about 3 years, which was about 300+ people and pretty active, which we liked. However, over time the distance (about 20 miles) got to be a bit tiresome, particularly as gas prices started to climb, so we started attending Oak Hills Church. Oak Hills is blessed with Max Lucado as their preacher - and he is just phenomenal.

Max has this knack for taking everyday concepts and making them into compelling sermons and studies. And here's a little secret: if Max has written a book about it, we've probably been hearing about it as a sermon series at Oak Hills about a year prior. His book you'll be seeing in about a year (and that we're in the middle of right now) is called Pure Sex. It's a bit unusual in that the sermon outlines are available online so that parent's can "preview" them before they get to worship -- no surprises for little Johnny or sister Susie. (They're also availabe as downloads of the sermons from iTunes as well.)


When's the last time you heard a sermon about Sex at your church? The sermon series we just finished on "John 3:16", where Max analyzes the passage word-by-word, the word "perish" lead to a study about Hell that was far from your usual fire-and-brimstone sermon -- the most scriptural and unusal sermon I think I've ever heard. Max is the master of gently spoon-feeding you little concept after little concept until suddenly you've got a tummy full of scripture and a mind hungering for more.

He's even had Hermie and Wormy co-star onstage with him during the sermons. It was Christmas, and Max got a tie with Hermie on it; Hermie got a tie with Max on it. (If you're not familiar with the characters, they're the stars of Max's children's books -- follow any one of the links.

Really good stuff. Go buy one already.

~~JD~~

Just Some Newsy Little Notes

Julian had his UIL performances today for violin. (I used to know what "UIL" stood for when I did it myself back in High School Choir; something like University Interscholastic League or something.) UIL is the group that puts on the music competitions at the High School level. Any individual or group wishing to perform selects a piece from the prescribed selections. Pieces are graded acoording to difficulty; so if you have a piece of moderate difficulty level and get a score of "1" (Perfect), you still didn't do as well as somebody who played a very difficult piece and got a "2" (Near Perfect.)

Julian played a moderate-level of difficulty piece last year and got a "1" for it. I think that's why he was selected as First chair for the JV band. He's been working really hard with a music tutor (who is a violin player for the San Antonio Symphony himself) all year. So when he chose a piece with a very high difficulty level, he started practicing over a month ago with a fervor rarely witnessed.

Didn't surprise me a bit when he received another "1", either. His mother remarked last week she couldn't tell the difference between the recording and Julian any more.

His mother is (again) in full swing at UT finishing up her Nursing pre-requisites. She's thinking about going to Physician's Assistant school too -- and she's got the grades for it. (All A's except for one "B" in Anatomy lab -- only onc credit, but you'd think the sky fell in. Yeesh!)

Me -- my surgery's on for Wednesday the 7th at Ariane's Hospital. I'm the last case of the day -- 12pm to 3pm; with Recovery from 3pm to 6pm; assuming all goes as planned. It just occurred to me the other day -- they'll do a couple of things as precautions before the surgery should anything go wrong, they can be prepared. It's pretty much standard procedure everywhere I've ever seen a surgery. They'll put an IV line in me (well, yeah -- I've seen enough surgeries to expect that.) They'll put a tube down my throat when I'm out to help me breathe (again, I expected that -- so there better be some ice cream in it for me!)

And . . . . they're gonna catheterize me.


You know -- put a tube up my pee-pee so I don't wet the Operating table.

Oddly enough, that is the thing (pardon the pun) that's bothering me the most. They'd better wait until I'm damned near unconscious to do that one to me. (Maybe I can just do it myself before I get on the gurney.) I really don't want anybody I don't know poking around my twingle-dingle, y'know?

I mean . . . MAN!

Gotta think about that one. Yeesh!

~~JD~~

P.S.: YEEEEESH!!!!!!

Movie Review: Pan's Labyrinth

Julian and I made one of our infrequent trips to the movie theatre again yesterday. Julain wanted to see a movie called Pan's Labyrinth, and since I knew it was by Guillermo del Toro (the director of Hellboy, I said Okay and off we went. The official movie description goes like this:

Set against the bloody backdrop of the Spanish civil war, 10-year-old Ofelia is sent to an isolated mansion with her heavily pregnant mother. Lonely and intimidated by her new stepfather, Ofelia discovers an overgrown labyrinth where she meets Pan, an ancient satyr. Fascinated by fairy tales, Ofelia is captivated by Pan and his stories of the fairy world. However, when her mother falls ill, Ofelia makes a pact with Pan in order to save her. In exchange, Ofelia must undertake three challenges to prove her worth. These challenges take her on a journey to another world.

The first surprise is that the movie is done completely in Spanish -- we had no idea of this when we entered the theatre. Fortunately, it's subtitled well into English, and having lived the last 18 years with a French wife who loves subtitled movies, I've learned to make-do with subtitles. But if you've never seen a sub-titled movie, this is the one to start this. The story line is so compelling you forget the sub-titles even exist fairly quicly. In fact, when I wrote the first draft of this review I had to be reminded of this by Julian -- I'd completely forgotten. The movie is alternately an ultra-realistic documentary of the brutality of the Spanish Civil War, as well as a beguiling fantasy on the level of The Lord of the Rings. (Well,okay -- I don't know if anything is quite on the level of LOTR; but it's realism and seamless imagery are certainly at that level.)

Ofelia is a young pre-pubescent girl who finds herself in the difficult position of having a new stepfather. The fact that the new stepfather is the captain of one of Franco's fascist brigades stationed far from the city where she grew up doesn't help matters; nor does the fact that he's a brutal, sadistic oppressor of the nationalist forces. There's a very brutal scene at the beginning of the movie where he shoots and bludgeons to death some rabbit hunters who happened to trespass into his area that very aptly demostrates this, but it's essential to showing just what an amoral bastard he truly is. While exploring this new "home" she discovers an ancient stone labyrinth behind the outpost where she meets Pan, an Faun who guards the labyrinth, awaiting the return of a lost princess.

Well, surprise -- Ofelia is the princess.

In order to be able to return to the kingdom of her father, she has to complete three tasks, including outwitting the monster pictured to the left, who has to be one of the creepiest things I've ever seen in a movie. Unfortunately, being a pre- teenage girl, she disobeys the instructions with tragic reults and loses her kingdom. At this point I almost despaired for Ofelia, seeing her condemned to live this tragic life with her cruel stepfather and dying mother. Yet Pan relents and gives her one more chance.

I won't reveal the ending, except to say that the Partisans attack; blood is drawn on both sides; the Captain is predictably cruel, and Ofelia gets her wish in the end, albeit in a particlarly tragic way. Yet I didn't feel sad at the movie's ending; just somewhere between numb and relieved the ordeal was finally over for Ofelia and that she was happy at last.

While a difficult movie to find (as of today it's only playing on 609 screens nationwide), it's a movie well worth seeing and well worth seeking out to see it. Interestingly, the movie is #6 at the Box Office this week with $4.8 million gross despite the low amount of screens. (The #5is The Pursuit of Happyness with 3,066 screens, and the #7 is Freedom Writers at 2,286 screens.) I have to give this my highest recommendation (A+), despite the limited release and foreign language content.

~~JD~~

Weather and Forecasts

We had a little excitement here last week in the form of an ice storm. South Texas seems to lose it's collective mind whenever cold weather comes calling, and this was no exception. The TV meteorologists immediately moved into Full Panic Mode, prompting native San Antonians to descend en masse on the local Wal-Mart to buy bottled water, fireplace logs, and canned goods. I personally was involved in a feeding-frenzy like furball of shoppers trying to get fireplace logs at our local Wal-Mart.

Naturally, Ariane and I pretty much ignored the doom-and gloom warnings. We've been through Chicago winters, after all. So when they started sending people home early Monday afternoon, I told them to send everyone else before me.

So they did, and I drove home at 5pm admiring the cars in the ditches, the backed up traffic, and the pretty red-and-blue lights lining the interstates. One thing about South Texas drivers; (a) they drive too fast, (b) they'd rather die than yield the right-of-way, and (c) they have no idea how to drive in inclement weather. The least little disruption from "clear skies and sunny" and there's accidents a-plenty!

So on my way home I stopped for the fireplace logs in the aforementioned "furball", and settled in for a long winter's nap. Ariane had to work Tuesday morning and they were already beginning to talk about closing the interstates overnight, so she went to stay with another employee who only lived a block away.

For the next two days I ended up being one of five employees (out of almost 40) who showed up for work. School was cancelled; the Interstates were closed; and I drove merrily to work, using the techniques I've learned over a lifetime of living in the North. By Thursday we were back to half-staff; and by Friday it was business as usual.

And, of course, today it's clear blue skies and beautiful weather; typical South Texas. (Sigh.)

***********************************************************

Meanwhile, it was confirmed Friday -- I'm having surgery Wednesday February 7th. I've got a small to moderate sized abdominal hernia that I seem to recall getting during one of our moves about 10-15 years ago. This is good in that most hernias are Inguinal (in the groin area) and more complicated) -- mine's relatively simple and straightforward.

I have my appointment with the anesthesiologist on January 30th to get final approval, but barring anything unexpected popping up, it's a done deal. I expect to be out of work that week and return to work the next Monday. It'll be my second surgery in my life if you count the Lasik on my eyes three years ago. However, it'll be the first time I've ever had actual General (completely out) anesthesia, so that's a little scary right there. And there's always the question of recovery times being as accurate as advertised, which is also scary. However, being stubborn as a damned mule is a great motivator, so that's in my favor.

I think.

~~JD~~

Why Fidel Castro is literally a Pain in the Ass

This is the latest as of today on Cuba's brutal communist dictator Fidel Castro; and one of the few articles that actually is specific enough to explain his recent appearance:

Cuban leader Fidel Castro in "very grave" condition- Spanish paper

El Pais said, "A grave infection in the large intestine, at least three failed operations and various complications have left the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, laid up with a very grave prognosis."

Ailing Cuban leader Fidel Castro is in "very grave" condition after three failed operations and complications from an intestinal infection known as diverticulitis, a Spanish newspaper said Tuesday.

The newspaper El Pais cited two unnamed sources from the Gregorio Marañon hospital in the Spanish capital of Madrid. The facility employs surgeon Jose Luis Garcia Sabrido, who flew to Cuba in December to treat the 80-year-old Castro.

In a report published on its Web site, El Pais said, "A grave infection in the large intestine, at least three failed operations and various complications have left the Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro, laid up with a very grave prognosis."

El Pais said that in December, when Garcia Sabrido visited, Castro had an abdominal wound that was leaking more than half a litre (1 pint) of fluids a day, causing "'a severe loss of nutrients." The Cuban leader was being fed intravenously, the report said.

On 26 July 2006, Castro celebrated Cuba's Revolution Day by attending a rally of party faithful. That was the last time Castro was seen in public.

Five days later, on July 31, 2006, Castro stunned the nation and the world when he announced he had undergone surgery and was provisionally ceding his powers as head of the government and the Communist Party to his brother Raul, five years younger, and for decades the nation's number 2.

At the end of that month, Castro underwent emergency intestinal surgery and his brother Raul Castro became acting leader of the country.

While Castro himself was not seen in public, video of him meeting his chief ally, Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, appeared on television while Chavez was on a trip to Havana for a meeting of the 14th Annual Non-Aligned Summit, which the Cuban leader was unable to attend. The then United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan also visited Castro at the leader's home in the capital.

By the end of October 2006 the Cuban leader appeared on national television looking particularly frail after having undergone surgery. In November, Castro was unable to attend his own five-day 80th birthday celebrations, which he himself had postponed from August 13 to give him time to recover from surgery.

Castro's actual medical condition was kept a state secret, fuelling internal and external speculation as to his precise physical state. El Pais' report, which could not immediately be confirmed, was a rare detailed description from a major media outlet about Castro's condition.

I've been a nurse for 26 years. Let's talk about diverticulitis.

Diverticulitis is an inflamation of the small intestine, and a chronic condition -- meaning it has been going on most likely for years. A member of my family had this condition all of her adult life. The "end result" (please pardon the pun) is that you end up having extremely painful bowel movements every time you go number two. The symptoms of this disease involve extreme pain, cramping, uncontrollable gas, and BMs that are composed of largely blood and pieces of your own flesh from the intestines.

So while Castro has been a pain in the ass for Cuba for years, he's been a pain in his own ass for even longer. This also explains why he looks so angry much of the time and never smiles.

Peritonitis is a common complication of diverticulitis in older people. At some point he stopped having BMs of small pieces of his intestines and crapped a large enough piece to perforate through to his abdominal cavity, and his feces (caca) caused a small, gradual infection of his peritoneal lining of his abdomen. If the pain and cramping of diverticulitis is bad, the pain of peritonitis is a whole quantum leap forward from there. If you've ever seen an old western where the sidekick was "gut-shot," he had peritonitis and was dying horribly and slowly. It was not uncommon to give such a person a pistol to shoot themselves and put themselves out of their misery.

In many ways this is a far worse fate than cancer, where you lose your faculties towards the end. Peritonitis keeps you lucid and in excruciating pain right up to the end. In some cases you don't actually die of the infection, but or starvation, as the peritoneal lining is what absorbs nutrients from the intestines into the bloodstream.

So any way you look at it, Castro is dying painfully, horribly, and slowly. Truly there is justice in the universe. And if you believe in God as I do, it only gets better when he soon burns in hell slowly. I'm not shedding any tears when this Loser dies.

~~JD~~

We want SAWIN! We Want SAWIN! WE WANT SAWIN!!!

Mike Sawin, I know you're out there! I can see you peeking in from the "St. Cloud MN" notes on the sidebar, buddy. I know your blog hasn't been decently updated since August, and barely touched since October.

You've got friends who are worried about you, Mike. Call me -- let me know how things are going. If you need anything let me know, buddy. I'm worried.

(For those of you whom are not Mike Sawin, his blog is to be found on the right sidebar under the LEGENDS! area.

~~JD~~

Whatever Happened to the "Queen of Nice"?

Just a rhetorical question question, mind you . . . not that I'm speaking about any real figures; either living or dead. Think of this as a cautionary morality play. (And just in case you're wondering who the heck I'm talking about, click the enclosed links for hints.)

So, once upon a time there was a girl named ROSIE. She started out as a comedian, then worked her way into some movies. After that, she branched out into a Talk Show in 1996. She modeled herself after Mike Douglas, a beloved TV Talk show host of the 1960's and 1970's who was often noted for his being nice to his guests. Rosie, she decided, would be the "Queen of Nice."

She left her talk show in 2002 after 6 years, and took over Rebook magazine, which almost immediately failed in 2003. Rosie was sued by the magazine's publisher, claiming the magazine went under due to Rosie's "uncooperative, rude and violent behavior within the magazine's offices." One former employee of the magazine and breast cancer survivor who testified that O'Donnell said to her on the phone that "people who lie die of cancer."

Since that time Rosie has been the object of considerable controversry. She came out of the closet and "married" her longtime companion and adopted four children. She's been very vocal in criticizing anyone even remotely thought to b homophobic, like the incident with Kelly Ripa and Clay Aiken in September ohttp://www.michellemalkin.com/archives/006506.htmf 2006. In December she mimicked Chinese speech, drawing the ire of commentators such as Michelle Malkin, an ethnic Filipino. Later that same month she criticized Donald Trump for giving Miss America Tara Reiud a second chance while she goes to Rehab for drinking underage -- leading to a currently ongoing fued that has been both ongoing, personal, and volatile.

Which makes me wonder . . . whatever happened to the "Queen of Nice"?

Rosie was never known for her manners or gentility even before her talk show -- yet she suddenly remodeled herself into a "Nice" person. And, obviously, she has been nothing like a "Nice" person since then, either.

So, where you being a hypocrite then, Rosie? Or are you being a hypocrite now?

"People who lie die of cancer," Rosie? I hope you have good insurance, then.

~~JD~~

Restaurant Recommendation

Here's something you don't see me do everyday -- recommend a restaurant. There's a lot of good restaurants I really like, but they tend to fall into one of two categories; individual restaurants (in which case I'm wasting the time of 99.9% of my audience), and chains, which frequently are good, but not good enough to wholeheartedly recommend. Red Lobster restaurants are consistently good enough to eat at anywhere you go, and to recommend. So are Carrabba's Italian restaurants -- best Italian -- Ever.

The Islamorada Fish Company Restaurants are my new favorite as of this morning. They currently have 10 locations across the U.S. in Bass Pro Shops, and are soon to open their newest location in . . . Portage Indiana! (So all you Valpo folks can go check out that new Bass Pro Shop in the Ameriplex this spring and have dinner at the Islamorada Fish Company Restaurant.

Based on the Snack Bar in the Florida Keys made famous by Ernest Hemingway's writings, the restaurant features the kind of stuff you'd expect from a "Fish Restaurant: -- fish, shrimp, oysters, and calamari. But they offer it fried, baked, and deep fried, as well as raw on the shell. Their portions are reasonable if not ample; and the prices reasonable as well.

The menu runs the gamut for the outdoorsman with some of the most exotic fare you'll find in a restaurant anywhere, and certainly exotic for any chain. Calamari Fritti is hard to find outside of Italian or seafood places and hard to find then (it's one of my favorite foods, so I know whereof I speak here). But breaded and pan-fried alligator is downright impossible outisde of a few rare places in Florida. And the only place I've ever seen Buffalo Burgers was in the famous Wall Drug in Wall, South Dakota. They open the meal with a loaf of "Bimini Bread", which is a freshly-baked loaf with a sugar crust and real butter. The waiter said it was the only reason he worked there, and it was an excellent reason. I had the Buffalo Burger and Calamari, while Julian had the Conch Chowder and Mahi-Mahi and Ariane had the Grouper, and everything was absolutely delicious. For dessert I had the Key Lime pie from an original recipe from the Keys -- which was a bit weird for my tastes, but still very good.

(Note to my cousin Jon if Florida: they have two of these places in Florida and a third under construction -- it's worth the trip. The fish tank in the middle of the restaurant should keep the kids entertained through the meal, too.)

~~JD~~

A Short Rant About the Movies . . .

WARNING -- ONCOMING RANT!!! BATTEN THE HATCHES! HIDE THE WOMMENFOLK!!! SHELTER THE CATS AND DOG!!! FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES

I just finished a post (below) about some of the movies I've seen over Christmas, and it got me to thinking. As I was typing up that post, the movie Munich by Steven Spielberg was on HBO. It's a good movie; and I remember reading and enjoying the book it was based on. So, generally speaking, I like the movie Munich.

However, the movie always sticks out in my mind for three reasons. First, there's a fairly graphic sex scene at the beginning of the movie. Second, the assasination of the Dutch hooker/assasin with the full frontal nudity it involves. Third and finally, the very graphic sex scene at the end of the movie.

Since when did seeing a "Spielberg Movie" involve full frontal nudity and graphic sex?

This seems to be the new trned in Hollywood, unfortunately. Viggo mortenson and John hurt, two of my favorite actors, were in the recent A History of Violence. It's an excellent movie in which Mortenson plays an ex-hitman who has "retired" to the rural life. This is another movie that needs Oscar consideration, in my opinion.

But I wouldn't recommend it to you unless you can stomach both a graphic oral sex scene in the beginning of the movie as well as an equally graphic rape scen 2/3rds of the way through the film.

I suppose that just goes to show how deperately out-of-touch the Hollywood types are. If they think graphic sex is a necessary indgredient for a hit movie, that's a sad commentary.

I expected better of Spielberg, though -- but with the potty-mouths on those kids in E.T., I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised.

End of Rant -- return to your regularly scheduled lives now.

~~JD~~