Thursday, January 31, 2008

A Follow-Up

For those of you that have sent me emails asking what the status of my previous post is...

The "accused" is no longer accused… he is guilty… convicted late Wednesday afternoon of four counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of his former girlfriend “Nicole”, her 9-week-old son (who was named after him) and her friends “Brandon” and my cousin “Mary.”

It took the jury four hours to convict him, and 20 minutes to decide he was eligible for the death penalty… that part of the trial is slated to begin today…

Friday, January 25, 2008

He's very clean*

This is Frightening...


On the left is Sean Lennon and his girlfriend... on the right are his Mom and Dad, aka Yoko Ono & John Lennon...

Eep



*Know what movie this is from??

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Next time Kemp, write a god-damn memo

Following in Matthew’s inspired leadership; I have taken his post titles being song lyrics and tweaked it a tad... my titles will be quotes from movies… sometimes the quotes will be well-known and famous, sometimes obscure.

Am I stealing this from him? Technically yes, but I prefer to think of it as flattery of being copied...

This morning when I got into work I realized that I needed to ask my new media coordinator a question about the brand-spanking new marketing campaign I created. Needing to grab another cup of coffee from the breakroom I decided to walk down to her office and ask her in person (concept in this day and age).

As I turn the corner to her office I see her in the hallway... with her skirt hiked up... adjusting her underwear thong...

Next time Kemp, send a memo... or an email.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

After a sabbatical in the jungles of Peru, it is back… the return of Kemp’s Random Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon…


  • + Yahoo news headline; Women More Thick-headed than Men. Ahh, snark overload, snark overload...

  • + So sad Heath… so, so sad…

  • + Though not quite as sad a commentary on people as the fact that the current number 2 search term on Google is Keith Ledger…

  • + Matthew has a grudge, and rightfully so, towards Home Decorators stores and is telling the blogosphere “DO NOT SHOP AT HOME DECORATORS. Do not shop at the Home Decorators website: http://www.homedecorators.com/.” Done and done…

  • + Thanks to everyone who expressed their kind wishes following the Friday post about my cousin Mary. The trial has started…

  • + Proof that CNN is being run by morons; actual headline; “Sasquatchy image spotted in Mars picture” Sasquatchy… seriously???

  • + With the writers on strike, we can count on an influx of reality programming this season. I think everyone can share my reaction to that news when I say; AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!

  • + Recent search terms that have brought people to my corner of the blogoverse: “where is garth kemp”, “dennis hopper super bowl commercial”, “kemp’s blog”, “princess solstice ride on” (I assume they mean the car and NOT a porn movie of some kind), “ghosts, pemberton hall”, “big kids kemp” (Huh?), “Becky Kemp”, “poland mardi gras float”

  • + Who the hell is Garth Kemp? And why should I care?

Monday, January 21, 2008

An Open Cry for iPod Help

Knowing that I have the smartest blog-readers and blogmigos on the face of the planet, I thought I would float this question in the blogosphere before I do anything drastic.

For the last few weeks I've been having an issue with my iPod wherein my computer doesn't recognize it... If you've ever encountered this problem with your iPod, and know a good fix that doesn't involve doing a system restore (I've done that many times) or re-formatting my iPod (and thus losing everything) please email me at kempsblog at gmail dot com

If you don't have a quick fix and hear a loud, agonizing scream this Thursday coming from the Chicago area, have no fear; it will be me re-formatting my iPod and losing my 9,000 + songs, videos, movies, etc...

Thank you...

Thursday, January 17, 2008

A Non-humourous post

Warning, the following post contains words and descriptions that may be unsettling to some readers.

About 2 ½ years ago one of my second cousins, “Mary”, was brutally shot and killed, all because she was helping a friend in need.

Granted, I didn’t know “Mary” that well, but her Dad and I hung out a lot when I was younger and even though we have grown apart as our lives took divergent paths, we still kept in touch.


(He was one of my older cousins - all of them were older, that’s what happens when you’re the youngest of the youngest - and, like all my cousins, did things with my brother and I that are usually reserved for siblings… but that’s how my family is, and I love that about them.)


When my Dad called me to tell me what had happened, even though I didn’t know her that well, she’s family, and the news was a swift kick to the gut.

Some back-story: back in October of 2005, the “accused” broke into my cousin’s basement apartment in Belleville, Illinois, using his shotgun to break out the window. From outside he shot my cousin’s friend, “Nicole”, as she watched television in the living-room; he then crawled through the window and gunned down my cousin “Mary”, her friend “Brandon”, and Nicole’s 2-month old son… with a shotgun… at close range…

The son was named after his Dad… the “accused” gunman…



The “accused” was arrested hours after the attack and charged with four counts of first-degree murder.

Delay after delay, the trial is just now getting under way… and I have to tip my hat to my cousin and his wife… they have not only taken Mary’s son to raise, they have been living this personal hell for over 2 years now of not only losing their daughter, but of their grandson losing his mother… and it’s all about to be dredged up again in court…

The judge also ruled that jurors would be barred from hearing statements the "accused" allegedly made to police after his arrest.

The hatred one can have is a strong thing, and... while I am famously (or infamously) a Liberal, I do support the death penalty in certain cases…

This is one of those cases. Even putting personal feelings aside, this man not only shot and killed 3 people under the age of thirty, but also a 2-month old baby… a 2-month old baby that was strapped into his car seat when he was shot.

I hope the bastard gets what he deserves...

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

It worked, for a moment

It was over…the J had just sassed me for what felt like the hundredth time that night (truthfully it was more like 2 or 3) but I was not going to have any of it. Having already placed her in time-out, the next step was clear… but just as I was about to lower the boom, she said;

“I love you Daddy.”

Sigh… no fair…

Saturday, January 12, 2008

FLOOD

The Kankakee river is flooding, and it's yielding some incredible photos... like these that were taken by Honey Mustard today.


No, this isn't my house... but it's for sale if you want to buy it...









This is a park that we often take The PB & The J to... it's now partially under water










Needless to say, the water is not supposed to be that close to the bridge...







This gives you the best opportunity to see just how far up the river has come. It's expected to crest tonight and start dropping. Unless of course we get the rain/snow that is being forecast for tomorrow...

Thursday, January 10, 2008

So what are you waiting for?

Today, Thursday January 10, 2007 is National De-lurking day, a day where readers of blogs come out of the woodwork and leave a comment rather than stay in the shadows lurking (see what I did there?)

Feel free to say anything you want, even if it doesn’t make sense… something I’m guilty of doing A LOT.

You can thank Aimee of Greeblemonkey for the hilarious button and the permission to use said button and Chris at Rude Cactus for keeping the spirit alive and not letting National De-lurking day fade…

So De-lurk already!

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

How's about a joke?*

A NY City cop was on his horse waiting to cross the street when a little girl on her new shiny bike stopped beside him;

“Nice bike, did Santa bring it to you?”

“Yep, he sure did!” said the little girl.

The cop looked the bike over and handed the girl a $5 ticket for a safety violation, saying; “Next year tell Santa to put a reflector light on the back of it.”

The young girl looked up at the cop and said, “Nice horse you got there officer, did Santa bring it to you?”

The cop chuckled and said, “Yes, yes he did.”

The little girl looked up at the cop and said, “Next year tell Santa the dick goes underneath the horse, not on top.”

Thank you, I’m here all week. Try the veal, it’s lonely…


*Please note I did not ask how about a good joke...

Sunday, January 06, 2008

I'm a guest poster...

If you have time today, head on over to Deep Muck, Big Rake and check out my guest post. It's a moral imperative...