A scene from "The House of Gennaula"

(At rise: Father enters dining room. Mother and son, Tommy, is seated at the dining room table. Tommy is playing his Gameboy DS and apparently not listening to the conversation. General small talk between Father and Mother until...)

Mother: ... and Tommy has been a very good boy.

Tommy: (Without looking up from his Gameboy DS) That's what SHE thinks.

(end of scene)

Walk on the Stone Arch Bridge

Wendy and I took a walk tonight on the Stone Arch Bridge. You can still see the wreckage of the 35W bridge. We stopped several times just to stare at it. Normally you could have heard the sound of the traffic from where we were.

But tonight you could just hear the water. The part of the channel that leads up to the lock and dams just above the Stone Arch Bridge was very green and foul smelling. They haven't been opening those locks so the water is very stagnant.

As we were looking for a place to park we actually got pretty close to what is left of the bridge on the north side. It is right next to a childcare center. Since it happened just after six we hope that most of the children were gone and didn't see anything. We think one of the girls that was in Tommy's class last year was on the bus that was on the bridge when it fell. Hope she's OK. We don't think she got hurt, but it must have been so scary.

Happy Sunday

We're having our week-before-labor-day Sunday steaks today. The weather is so great we're not even taking a chance that it will rain next weekend. Time to put those nice T-bones on the grill. Baked potatoes too. I'm marinating tomatoes right now as well to serve.

There is something so simple and elemental about a good steak dinner. We have no plans really for today.

Dolce vita!

Summer is almost over...

I hate August. I hate muggy weather. I'm ready for Fall to begin.

And September will soon be here!

bumper sticker

Saw this bumper sticker today while driving:

Frodo Failed. Bush has the ring.

Tonight we don't Fringe

Well the plan was to Fringe tonight--but both Wendy and I are dead beat! OY!!!

We've seen some really great theater. We also saw one show that was pretty bad. But in the interest of not creating "bad karma" I've decided that if I really don't like a show this year, I'm just going to not blog about it.

Wendy has about 4 reviews that she wants to get done tonight. I still have shows I want to write about. If les enfants cooperate, we might be able to do that.

Toys of my childhood

A KIM-1:

I’m pretty sure I programmed one of these at California State College (before it was a University) back in the late 70’s to play “Mary had a little lamb” (or something like that).

A PET:

I SO wanted one of these things!

Things that make me cringe...

I knew someone would say it!

St. Nick at it again... the agony of Molnau

Watched part of the news conference w/ Carol Molnau, Palwenty’s Lt. Governor and head of MN-DoT. She was very defensive about the questions dealing with whether cost was a factor in not doing the reinforcement work that was proposed for the 35W Bridge. She also got very defensive when the suggestion was made that the gas taxes should be raise to fund the new bridge.

So defensive…

She doth protest so much..

This morning Nick Coleman has a article about her.

Gee, I wonder if it was such a great idea to combine the offices of Lt. Governor and the head of MN-DoT in the first place?

Truth or Politics?

“For half a dozen years, the motto of state government and particularly that of Gov. Tim Pawlenty has been No New Taxes. It's been popular with a lot of voters and it has mostly prevailed. So much so that Pawlenty vetoed a 5-cent gas tax increase - the first in 20 years - last spring and millions were lost that might have gone to road repair. And yes, [the bridge] would have fallen even if the gas tax had gone through, because we are years behind a dangerous curve when it comes to the replacement of infrastructure that everyone but wingnuts in coonskin caps agree is one of the basic duties of government.”

--Nick Coleman

Nick Coleman is taking a lot of flack about this article. My unfortunately response is “the truth hurts.”

The slogan has been “No New Taxes.” I’ve lived permanently in MN since 1992. Actually, I first came up here in 1985. Up until Pawlenty I felt my tax dollars were being put to good use. (As someone born in Pennsylvania and who attended college in New York, this is high praise not given lightly.) When we found that our boys had autism we also found the state sponsored services that helped them and us. Then the services began to be cut. The taxes (or the doublespeak “fees”) went up.

Am I politicizing this tragedy? Is it politics to point out the mindset (that Progressives have been foretelling, like Cassandra) will lead to tragedy?

Our society is like a bridge. A bridge stands through the balance of forces thrust upon it. If a link in the bridge fails, it can fall. It is not enough if a section stands while the rest of the bridge falls.

“We need a new slogan and we needed it yesterday:

‘No More Collapses.’”

--Nick Coleman.

Learning about tragedy

An interesting analysis from the Star Tribune. Did Bush learn from Hurricane Katrina?

Bridge Down

I thought I’d be posting about the first night of the Fringe Festival.

So far it seems like all of our friends are accounted for. My manager was doing a roll-call yesterday morning just to make sure at work.

Neither Wendy nor I can remember the last time we were on the 35W Bridge. We’ve been avoiding the area because of construction. But Wendy drove over that bridge many times last winter to get to a rehearsal in Nordeast.

The inspection ratings for the other bridges in the area are on the web. The Franklin Ave. bridge actually has a slightly lower rating. I found a report on it and read it. They think although there are problems at the water line and below, it is basically safe because the piers are so massive. Still, I may find other ways to cross the Mississippi. The two bridges I use most often (the Mendota Bridge and the Ford Parkway Bridge) have both been rebuilt (Mendota bridge around 1992-3 and Ford just last year).

It’s so surreal to watch the video of the bridge going down. The west bank pier or truss seems to give out first. I’m not an expert, that’s just what it looks like. Today the WCCO website had video of an area of rust near the pier.

Thank God we’re safe. But you feel so much for the families that have been touched by this. It so easily could have been us.

Wendy's Blog

Is it cyber-voyeurism to read your wife's blog? I wonder.

TMR: Tommy's Monthly Review: August Review

[Guest-blogging tonight is Tommy]

Before we get to my review, I'll answer some questions that you may be asking.

What is 'Tommy's Monthly Review'?

In this section, I'll be reviewing movies that I saw. I will be grading the films that I see.

What are the grades?

Here are the grades of the section:

Thumb Grade: Thumbs up OR Thumbs down

Alphabet Grade: A through F (E not included in these grades). + and – can be added into the letter grade. That means that A+ is the best grade, and F- being the worst grade.

Star Grade: 1 to 5 stars. Halves like 3 and a half stars are included in these grades.
Percent Grade: 0.1% to 100.5%.

When will this section come out?

As the title of this section says, it will come out every month.

Now let's get to the review.

This month's review:

The Simpsons' Movie

Grades:

Thumbs Grade: Thumbs up

Alphabet Grade: A

Star Grade: 4 and a half

Percent Grade: 98.9%

The setup: Homer saves a pig who is about to get turned into pork and keeps him, and soon causes an environmental crisis.

What Works: The film is 98% funny.

What Doesn't Work: Plopper (the pig) (a.k.a. Spiderpig OR Harry Plopper) is one of the funniest characters of the film, but he doesn't appear much.

Great Scene/Line:

Scene: At the beginning of the film, during the 20^th Century Fox studio logo, Ralph Wiggum comes out and yells “Da Da Da Da (pause) Da Da Da Da (pause) Da Da Da Daaaaa!”

Line: A mob with everyone in Springfield (except the Simpsons) chants 'We Want Homer!' over and over again.

Rating: PG-13, for irreverent humor throughout.

In 1987, Matt Groening created 'The Simpsons' as a series of shorts for a show called 'The Tracy Ullman Show'. After three seasons of shorts, in 1989, a prime time series called by the same name, was made. The first episode was called 'Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire' which was (and I'm not kidding here) a Christmas special. After 18 seasons of the show, in 2007, their movie was released, and it's still playing in theaters. This film is what I'm going to review right now.

The film is goofy indeed, and charming in a silly way. There are a lot of gags in the movie, and nearly all of them might make you laugh. However, you may feel that the film's humor is going WAY overboard. (When I saw the film, I thought that didn't matter.)

Parents be warned: This film does contain a couple of nudity scenes. One of them includes a sequence in which Bart- you guessed it- skateboards naked. The part is funny- but it's also a reason to not bring little and some big kids to the movie.

As long as the show doesn't get canceled, get bad reviews, or have a series finale, the Simpsons- Homer, Marge, children Bart and Lisa, little baby Maggie, and all their friends and their show for years to come. Maybe they'll make a sequel to this great film!

All of this was written by:

Thomas 'Tommy' Nicholas Gennaula

Harry Potter Epilogue

It's true. In the end Harry Potter moves to NYC to become a yoga instructor. He is eventually adopted by Angelina Jolie....

(snicker... snicker...)

I finished the last Harry Potter book yesterday. As the NY Times said "good old fashion closure." They did NOT just sit at a table waiting for french fries and then fade to black.

Can't wait to see the movie!

Fun at Strong

Strong Museum of Rochester, NY makes it into WIRED via geekdad.

My kid gets deep on me...

"Dad, when we die, does God delete us?"

--Tommy Gennaula, 1:15pm

Oy Vey!

Just a balloon away from a Darwin award...

Although this stunt has not earned a real Darwin Award, it has gotten honorable mention before (for another guy).

Lawn chair man, lawn chair man
Flying high, you had a plan
You touched the sky, then touched the ground
Proving that your plan was sound
Pity that the chair got away

What you get

The other morning Wendy and I awoke to the sound of our wonderful sons screaming at each other... at the top of their lungs.

And my lovely wife turns to me and says: "I'm thinking about What do you get when you fall in love?... it isn't pretty."

Confessions at a coffee shop

A few nights ago Wendy and I had a free night (meaning we had childcare at home). None of the movies out really interested us so we ended up at the Riverview Coffee Shop where we could sit and read. I pulled out the book I was trying to finish up that night and started reading. During the course of the hour or so it took me to finish the book I had a few people come up to me and ask me if I liked the book--plus a couple of explanations (or confessions--take your pick) as to why they had read the book.

The book had been recommended to me by Wendy. It was a family tale that spanned several generations. Wendy is a fairly fast reader. Even with that, she read this one very quickly and told me about certain things in the book. But she was careful not to give away too much since she thought I should read it too. The book was Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. This is one of those books from the Oprah's Book Club.

Having now finished it I can say that it is a really good book. It definitely presents a point of view that not many people have. For me it was the family story that I found so interesting. Towards the beginning of the book many secrets of the family are explained. The fun is reading, waiting for these secrets to come out and see what effect they will have.

But back in the coffee shop I had fun with the two separate "explanations" (confessions) I got from 20-something guys. "Do you like it? Yeah, I read that book. My girlfriend made me read it. It was really good." I wondered why each guy had to add "my girlfriend made me read it." Was it the "Oprah" sticker on the front of the book? I also wondered why they felt they had to explain it to me? At a bit past 40 I look like Fred Flintstone with a goatee. Back in college I was told that I look like "a very intelligent truck driver." Was it something about the juxtaposition of Fred Flintstone reading an Oprah book that allowed to them to ask how I liked the book and then follow it by the confession?

Who knows. In any case, it is a good book that I would recommend.