Sad people. Angry people.

I just changed the ability to post on the blog. No more anonymous posts. Some pathetic jackass posted nasty things about my kids and made a bunch of weird claims about how I dump on teachers (huh?) and that I need to follow the law of a certain unnamed TV personality.

Ah, the psychos ruin it for everyone.

Elvis, Jesus, and Sirius.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

My personal religious beliefs have me celebrating the birth of Jesus today. I think Jesus' most lasting gift (and by his own account, this is the case) was the Holy Spirit. And my goal for 2005 is to be more in touch with that.

The more I read the gospels, the more I think John wrote a Federalist Paper. It's so different than Matthew, Luke, and Mark... and my recent reading of the Gospel of Thomas... well... it has me thinking.

So: Sattelite radio. Sirius sattelite radio. Wowza. I got it for Maggie so she could hear NPR more clearly, but we've been listening to Elvis Radio. I've heard more "new" Elvis in an hour than I heard in the last decade.

Well: rock on, everyone.

Dancing and singing: Signs of Evil?

My oldest son is a lot like I was, only better. Or rather, he's smarter, better looking, and funnier than me. But he's also MORE energetic than I was, if that's possible. What's really interesting about him is that he behaves in ways that my parents referred to as "evil" when they applied to me. In fact, one of the side benefits of raising three children is that I realize, quite frequently, that the things my parents deemed "evil" (yes, that's the word they used. Ick.) are basically normal kid behavior.

An example, w/o exaggeration: My kids, especially my oldest, don't let my wife and I talk. Whenever we try and talk about something, he starts interrupting, singing, jumping, dancing, rolling, flipping, rapping, whatever. While this is somewhat annoying at times (although he's a fine singer, jumper, dancer, etc.), it's also normal kid behavior, albeit normal for a high-energy kid.

My parents' definition of the above was "He doesn't want us to communicate so can destroy the marriage."

Show me a kid who WANT their parent's marriage to dissolve, and I'll show you kid who has been heavily bribed.

Hell hath every fury.

It's important to remember that, in certain cases, being utterly selfish is a requirement. Unless we protect those things which keep us whole, everything is lost.

Barricades, baby. Barricades.

Ah, Church. You crazy thing.

I love Church. I'm a Holy Spirit freak. It's true. I'll admit that.

And there's SO much good in it. Today the parish loaded a huge truck with presents for poor parents in other counties. The amount of donated toys was just amazing. So that's good.

I just wish there was room for discussion... to bring the fact that the Christian Gospels were partially a result of politics... and that, like the Federalist Papers, people were writing to prove a point. I think everyone should read a bit of Elaine Pagels. She brings a discussion to the table that is wholly respectful... which makes it wonderful reading.

Off to my Aunt and Uncle's house.... cheerio.

The morning after.

One thing I love about having given up alcohol is that I can wake up early the day after a big party (we had a whole bunch of people over for a neighborhood party/Maggie's 38th birthday bash) and not be a big cranky bastard.

Just another series in small blessings.

Two children are awake, and so far, both seem not to be about to throw up. One more to go.

G5 + iSight --> iBook = BABY MONITOR???

Well, I spoke to soon. My daughter has thrown up again , but this time she didn't make it out of bed. Laundry time. Having tried to go to sleep a couple of times, only to have my daughter get sick... I've decided to continue cleaning the basement....

Being unable to find the baby monitor, I hooked up my various machines, am an now monitoring Isabel via the Mac network.

Crazy.

Are trolls real?

It's 3:16am. My daughter just called me into her room and asked: "Are trolls real?" I told her that they were not. She said "I feel nauseous." And then she ran to the bathroom and threw up mightily.

She feels better now.

I need to see a shrink.

My anxiety levels haven't been this high since the 80's. I don't know if it's my job, the fact that receivables are a little out of control, or that I've been sick and threw out my back... but I'm experiencing that same low-grade level of panic I had until I was 21.

After 14 years without it, it's a real drag to have it back.

ParTAY!

I overdid it at a client's party last night. FOUR club sodas. Four! I got K-RAZY!

Actually, it was nice to be off the cane, on my feet, and with all the folks I used to work with. I forgot how many people I liked at that company.

Still, it's always strange to be a non-drinking dude at a party with an open bar.

The Non-Disney Diet.

So I gained many pounds in Disney World. I was up to 182. I also threw out my back.

Without ANY excercise, by simply lying prone on the ground, and NOT being at Disney, I've lost three pounds.

That says something.

Disney World is the BEST - with bonuses!

For all you who mock Disney World as the epitome of capitalist excess, all I can say is: DUH.

But get beyond that, and you have a REALLY fun place to visit with children. It's clean, beautiful, and has TREMENDOUS art direction... really amazing work.

The biggest bonus is this: Here in New York, I'm a decent looking guy, but nothing amazing. In Disnew World, I AM A SCULPTED ADONIS.

My god, America is fat. I mean REALLY fat. It was upsetting to see SO MANY fat people. Is this the true America?

Anyway, more later. I've only been home for 12 hours, and I'm processing.