First game at new Busch Stadium...

Wish I was there...

Shout-out

On this date in 1970, Paul McCartney announced that The Beatles, after a 10-year run that included 20 number-one Billboard songs (including occupying the first five slots of the Billboard Hot 100 on April 4, 1964 – a feat that has never been accomplished by anyone else) were breaking up.

The group had not performed in public since January 1969, when they gave their famous (and oft-imitated) impromptu concert on the roof of their Apple recording studios in London.

Their final album, Let it Be, was released shortly after the announcement.

Blogheadlines...

Like Sarah did with me the other day, I am blatantly stealing this from Becky at I’d Like to Buy a Vowel.

But when you get a nice line like this handed to you on a platter, you have to take it.

This is the best news headline I’ve seen in a while:

Bright blue ring circles Uranus

Ya know, that wouldn’t happen to people if they left Smurfette alone…

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon - Thursday Edition

A day late... but not a dollar short.

• Really NBC… is this really who you want hosting your morning “News” show… someone who moonlights as a game show host?? Why not just bring J. Fred Muggs back??
• Sarah asks if 11:40 in the morning is too early to drink. My response was; ‘not if you have twins.’
• How random can thoughts be if one has to think about them first?
  Does anyone else besides me want to smack the hell out of the duo from those annoying VW commercials?
• Are the two of them more or less annoying than the 80’s Energizer guy? That’s a tough call.
• I love my kids.
• I usually find her writing’s pushy and obnoxious, but the Chicago Tribune’s TV blogger nails it in her scathing comments about NBC today.
• Sad… very, very sad… Note to The PB & The J… don’t even think about dressing like that when you are 10…
• Random “The Simpsons” quote: “I wish we lived in a place more like the America of yesteryear that only exists in the brains of us Republicans.” – Ned Flanders
• I hate to admit it, but I thought Gene Pitney was already dead. RIP GP.
• The 2006 NFL schedule has been released… GO RAMS!!
• Here are some of the recent search phrases that have brought people to my little corner of the blogosphere: “lyrics "I once shot a man in Reno just to watch him die"”, “leprechaun the fugitive”, “nickname for wednesday=hump day”, “Cash Bash”, “Irish saint twins”, “simpsons quotes politics”, “sahd”, “monoamniotic pregnancy and yolk sac”, “fatherhood spanish”, “who provide the voice for Stewie Griffin twin” (actor/playwrite Wallace Shawn btw)
• Today’s gratuitous (and superfluous) attempt for the ‘craziest phrase used in a blatant attempt to trick people into visiting my site when they type it into Google’ is: ‘kwyjibo’
• Today’s gratuitous and spontaneous blog plug is: Mr. Big Dubya
• Today’s Mental iPod song of the day is ‘They Don’t Know’ by Tracey Ullman.

You've been around for such a long time now
Oh, maybe I could leave you but I don't know how
And why should I be lonely every night
When I could be with you, oh yes you make it right
And I don't listen to the guys who say
That you're bad for me and I should turn you away

Cause they don't know 'bout us
They've never heard of love

I get a feeling when I look at you
Wherever you go now I wanna be there too
They say we're crazy but I just don't care
And if they keep on talkin', still they get nowhere
So I don't mind if they don't understand
When I look at you and you hold my hand

Cause they don't know 'bout us
They've never heard of love

(do do-do-do)
Why should it matter to us if they don't approve
(do do-do-do)
We should just take our chances while we've got nothin' to lose

Baby

There's no need for living in the past
Now I've found a love, I'm gonna make it last
I tell the others don't bother me
Cause when they look at you they don't see what I see
No I don't listen to their wasted lines
Got my eyes wide open and I see the signs

Cause they don't know 'bout us
They've never heard of love

No I don't listen to their wasted lines
Got my eyes wide open and I see the signs

Cause they don't know 'bout us
They've never heard of love

Pottery & Leather

No random thoughts today as I am only working half a day. Why you ask?

Today is mine and Honey Mustard’s 9-Year Wedding Anniversary. (The traditional gift is pottery and the modern is leather… wait, I found another web site that says linen and lace respectively… wait, another says tin for both… and this one says… edible what!!?? Never mind...)

We are going out to lunch and a movie (with The Peanut Butter & The Jelly). She has school tonight and can’t miss class… lest she get a ‘F’ on her paper. (It’s also a bit of a contest as she is trying to match, or beat, my grad-school GPA of 3.9/4.0)

Our private celebration will be this Saturday.

So… be strong, for I shall return tomorrow to regale the blogosphere with my humorous and enlightening stories of life.....

Meanwhile...

I haven’t posted since last Wednesday. Why? I really have no idea… I just haven’t.

I could come up with some cleverly conceived lie and say I hadn’t posted lately because I was being held captive by a galloping and marauding group of... well... marauders...

Or I could say I was instantaneously and inexplicably transported to another time where I was elected King of the Universe and reigned supreme until I was overthrown by an army of Rachel Ray look-alikes...

Or that I was in a perpetual dream state where I kept having the same dream where I saw myself standing a sort of sun-god robe on a pyramid, with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at me...

But that would be a lie...

What I can say is that these last few days have been hectic.

Friday Honey Mustard had a “procedure” done where she had to lie still for 24 hours and not move her head (the procedure had to do with sinuses) that much.

What did that mean? That I had to drive her to and fro, take her home, put her to bed, pick up her pain medication, do laundry, pick up The PB & The J from daycare, tidy-up the house, tend to HoMu, check in with the office, make dinner, bathe the children, watch “Walk the Line” and put the children and HoMu to bed.

(Aside: if you haven’t seen “Walk the Line.” I highly recommend it. It was a very good flick with some phenomenal performances, and singing, by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Even if you aren’t a Johnny Cash fan, I am a JC fan btw; I still think it would be a good movie for ya.)

I had no problem doing any of that as that are responsibilities of a husband and father and I am more than happy to do it… it was just so damn tiring...

Continue to Saturday. HoMu was still laid up and couldn’t do much. So I got The PB & The J up, got them some breakfast, took them to music class, grabbed them some lunch, got them home for nap because, like Amy @ Savage Stories, we had a four-year old birthday party to attend (I understand the grammar in that sentence is off – the party itself was not 4 years old, the birthday girl herself was turning 4… but I’m too tired to fix it… and I realize the irony in the fact that I had enough time to point out that fact even though I said I didn’t have enough time to fix the grammatical error…)

Let me set the scene of the party for you: 35 adults and 814 children.

814 children running around, going up and down the stairs, to the playroom, to the bedrooms… outside for a piñata, inside for party games, back outside to roast marshmallows, back inside to open gifts, cut the cake and hand out treat bags (where did this policy start btw??? I don’t remember EVER getting a treat bag when I went to birthday parties in my youth…)

We got home around 10:00, put the kids to bed, changed the clocks and I went to play a game of Call of Duty on the computer while the wife went to sleep…

(Aside: I have to do a little shout-out here to the Poli-blog Scott and I run. We got our 10,000th visitor on Saturday after 6 short months of existence. Whoo-hoo!!)

Sunday was somewhat routine…

Church, a quick lunch, a visit with HoMu’s grandmother, then grocery shopping, home to house cleaning, made dinner, watched The Simpsons, put The PB & The J to bed, HoMu did some homework while I worked on my crossword, then we watched The West Wing I TiVo’ed (btw, the last 5 minutes was incredibly sad and emotional with the “discovery” of an unresponsive Leo…) and went to sleep.

Whew

I promise to write better tomorrow...

How Metrosexual of you...

Check out my new Poetry & Literature Corner blog where, from time to time, I will post excerpts from some of my favorite books and poems with an occasional book review thrown in for good measure.

So sit back, grab a cup o’ java, smoke ‘em if you got ‘em, and enjoy...

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday

• My brother and I are making a documentary on our family tradition of chorizo-making and have found some great old pictures of our family. Including a photo of one of our uncles from World War II, right before he walked out of a house and was shot by a sniper, earning himself a Purple Heart. I will post them in the coming days when I have time to scan them. They are a sight to see… I mean a sight to see.
• Stalag 17 has been released on DVD… I must buy it…
• A medical assessment said that Maryland sniping “suspect” John Allen Muhammad is Psychotic… well, duhhhhh.
• Apple vs. Apple 2. This time… it’s ridiculous.
• Random quote: “I’m used to people judging me without even knowing me, I’m in high school.” Wise-beyond-her-years, 16-year old golf phenom Michelle Wie, when asked by Time magazine about how she deals with the trash talking from LPGA Tour members twice her age. Nice quote Michelle, very nice.
• With Andrew Card resigning his post at the White House, can I now say we’ve seen a ‘reshuffling of the ‘Card’s’???
• I think I may be losing my perspicacity…
• I’ve accidentally elbowed Honey Mustard in my sleep… and I’ve accidentally pushed her out of the bed in my sleep… but divorcing?
• Today’s gratuitous blog plug: Dadcentric.
• Netflix rox!
• Note to self; don’t let Honey Mustard or The Peanut Butter or The Jelly drink too much water at the next Cardinals game we go to in the new Busch Stadium.
• Here are some of the recent search phrases that have brought people to my little corner of the blogosphere: ‘1643 Racine’, ‘clydesdales play ball 1996 budweiser’, ‘imdb eeffoc’, ‘ss edmund fitzgerald bodies’, ‘Mental IPod Best Life’, ‘1st year fatherhood’, ‘quote i'm here all week try the veal’
• Note to self; avoid flying out of O’Hare.
• Today’s gratuitous (and superfluous) attempt for the ‘craziest phrase used in a blatant attempt to trick people into visiting my site when they type it into Google’ is: ‘potty parity’
• Mental iPod Song of the Day: ‘I’m No Superman’ by Lazlo Bane, from the Scrubs Soundtrack:

Out the door just in time
Head down the 405
Gotta meet the new boss by 8 a.m.
The phone rings in the car
The wife is workin' hard
She's running late tonight again

Well I know what I've been told,
You got to work to feed the soul
But I can't do this all on my own
No, I know, I'm no Superman
I'm no Superman

You've got your love online
You think you're doing fine
But you're just plugged into the wall

And that deck of tarot cards
Won't get you very far
There ain't no hand to break your fall

Well I know what I've been told
You gotta know just when to fold
But I can't do this all on my own
No, I know, I'm no Superman
I'm no Superman

That's right

You've crossed the finish line
Won the race but lost your mind
Was it worth it after all

I need you here with me
Cause love is all we need
Just take a hold of the hand that breaks the fall

Well I know what I've been told
Gotta break free to break the mold
But I can't do this all on my own
No I can't do this all on my own
I know that I'm no Superman
I'm no Superman
I'm no Superman

Someday we'll be together
I'm no Superman
Someday
Someday we'll be together
Someday
I'm no Superman

The results are in...

It’s unanimous… and by unanimous I mean the wife liked this choice most.

Hundreds of you sent emails (actually, it was closer to 1 than 100, but who’s counting?) to help me select the new Kemp’s Blog Official Nickname for Kemp’s Wife.

It’s…

It’s…

42

Wait a minute, that’s not right; I stole that from “The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.”

Actually, her new nickname will be Honey Mustard, or HM for short. (She declined the other abbreviated nickname I derived from that: HoMu… though I have no idea why)

She loved the name… even more important was the fact that The Peanut Butter & The Jelly loved the name. They are now telling it to anyone who will listen… even if you aren’t listening, they’ll still tell you. That’s just their way.

She says the decision was neck and neck between Honey Mustard and the names that Croutonboy suggested last week in his comment: “You could also call her Smuckers or Skippy, since both produce Peanut Butter and Jelly. Or Jif...is she a choosy mother?”

Ultimately though, she went with Honey Mustard.

So let it be known and spread across the blogosphere, hence forth, my wifeth shall be knoweth by the moniker(eth) of Honey Mustard.

Spread the word…

Wow...

Croutonboy posted a comment in my post about my bracket’s implosion (thanks Dub) and voiced his thought that maybe 2 or 3 people in the country had this Final Four picked.

Actually, there are 4.

. . .

For those of you who are regular readers of my blog (or my Poli-Blog), you will know why this exchange between my wife and I from this morning made it as a post here.

I decided to wear a white dress shirt today. After getting dressed I walked downstairs and, upon seeing my white shirt, blue suit and the tie I had on, my wife remarked:

“You look like you’re going to a GOP fundraiser.”

Ouch.

Know much about history...

Who was George Mason?

Being a history minor (yeah, that was a decision that helped my career… PR major, history minor… what the fu** was I thinking??) I have actually heard of George Mason from some of my past history classes.

Years ago when my cousin started attending the college, I knew who he was so when people asked who he was, I could tell them. Well, lately the subject of who he was has come up again (wonder why?) and I have been able to impress some people lately who have asked the question “who the hell is he?”

• He was NOT president (he was asked to be VP, but he said no)
• He was the driving force behind the Bill of Rights (thank you, btw, for that Mr. Mason…)
• Thomas Jefferson once called Mason "the wisest man of his generation.”
• He was a neighbor of George Washington and Mason’s wife repeatedly refused Martha’s request to borrow a cup of sugar (ok, I made that last part up, but it sounded good didn’t it?)
• Was strongly opposed to the creation of a 10-mile federal district in Virginia. That would eventually become Washington DC.
• Was against ratifying the Constitution (before you get the tars and feathers ready, hear me out) because “there is no Declaration of Rights, and the laws of the general government being paramount to the laws and constitution of the several states, the Declaration of Rights in the separate states are no security.” Essentially his reasoning was because there was no Bill of Rights included.
• His long and deep friendship with Washington became fractured after that (though some historians point to the friendship ending because of Martha’s repeated attempts to borrow sugar from the Masons – ok, again, I made up that last part)

To learn more about George Mason, visit your local library and check out these books: “George Mason: Reluctant Statesman” by Robert Rutland, “George Mason, Constitutionalist” by Helen Hill Miller. Remember, the more you know…

. . .

I can think of only one word that can sum up my NCAA Tournament bracket...

D'OH!!!!!

It makes my head hurt

Want another example of why English is the hardest language to learn? I present to you this sentence: The bandage was wound around the wound.

Dadbloggers shout-out!

Shout out to let all of you steady-readers out there (I’m sure I have to have at least 1 or 2) that my monthly post is up at Dadbloggers.

It deals with my fears and plans for when (many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many, many years from now) that The Peanut Butter & The Jelly start dating.

Check it out… you know you want to. Please read it. If you do, I’ll send you a check for one dollar and nine cents.

Warning: Checks will not be valid.

An open call for assistance

Sarah asked this for her spouse a few weeks ago, though I am not sure if anything was decided.

My wife, while waiting for her class to start at Lewis University last night, checked out my blogs.

When she got home, she asked why I only refer to her as ‘the wife’ or ‘my wife’ on this blog.

I told her it was because I couldn’t think of a good nickname (you can sense what’s coming, can’t you?)

I had one that I stole from my brother, but my wife doesn’t like it; ‘the war department’

Since she does so much around the house and, essentially, keeps the damn thing running like a Swiss chee--, watch, I suggested; ‘Condi’, as in Condoleezza Rice… she really didn’t go for that.

So I ask all of you… my dear, intelligent readers, ‘what should my wife’s nickname be in blogland?’

Lines are now open… the 13th caller wins tickets to Supertramp.

Note: No one will win tickets to Supertramp.

Random Thoughts for a Wednesday Afternoon

Like Mr. Big Dubya, I've been suffering from some writer's block, or, as he called it, a "blogging funk". So here's the weekly random thoughts post. Enjoy.

• If I see that Applebee’s commercial during the next round of the NCAA Tournament, I am going to do one of two things. Throw a brick at the television, or fly to Hollywood, find these guys, and hit them over the head with their guitars… anyone who has been watching the tourney knows exactly what commercial I’m talking about.
• From the ‘give me a friggin’ break’ files. The song “Baa baa black sheep” has been changed to “Baa baa rainbow sheep” in the UK. Apparently there was a rash of Sheep raising hell about being stereotyped that no one told me about…
• Matthew is ridiculing me on his latest The Blogfathers post. Why? Because my NCAA Tournament picks suck… as if I didn’t already know that.
• My iPod rocks.
• Scott did a post on the Best Day of Your Life. I've been trying to think of one and can't. It's not that I don't have any, it's more so having to decide which one is "the best"
• Here are some of the recent search phrases that have brought people to my little corner of the blogosphere: “‘wednesday hump day’ + scrubs”, “mardi gras Made in china”, “vince coleman tarp”, “twins baby in lunar calendar”, “amani toomer's wife”, “fatherhood”, “ozzie smiths backflip”, “mccartney chaos and creation in the backyard”
• In honor of those, here is today’s gratuitous (and superfluous) attempt for the ‘craziest phrase used in a blatant attempt to lure people to my site when they type it into Google’ is: ’12 inch meat stick’ Tell your friends…
• Who would have guessed that this short post would garner me 17 comments. Well… considering the subject matter, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised…
• Gratuitous Blog Plug of the Day: Upside Up by Laurie. She’s a lurker who just recently de-lurked herself and left me a comment on my ‘Smack Down’ post. Welcome Laurie.
• Writer’s block sucks moose co**
• Mental iPod Song of the Day: How’s about an 80’s Flashback in honor of Sarah and Devra’s recent concert trip? Here’s “Africa” by Toto.

I hear the drums echoing tonight
But she hears only whispers of some quiet conversation
She’s coming in 12:30 flight
The moonlit wings reflect the stars that guide me towards salvation
I stopped an old man along the way
Hoping to find some long forgotten words or ancient melodies
He turned to me as if to say, hurry boy, it’s waiting there for you

Chorus
It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa
Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

The wild dogs cry out in the night
As they grow restless longing for some solitary company
I know that I must do what’s right
Sure as Kilaimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti
I seek to cure what’s deep inside, frightened of this thing that I’ve become

Chorus(instrumental break)

Hurry boy, she’s waiting there for you

It’s gonna take a lot to drag me away from you
There’s nothing that a hundred men or more could ever do
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa, I bless the rains down in Africa
I bless the rains down in Africa

Gonna take some time to do the things we never had

Sights seen...

Scott and I had dinner, smoked some cigars and drank scotch while watching the NCAA tournament Saturday at a pub in Orland Park, IL.

One of the items on the menu was "stuffed butt steak."

Insert your own sophomoric joke here...

St. Patrick's Day

Well… it’s become a bit of a tradition here at Kemp’s Blog; lively posts about holidays.

Today is Friday, March 17th… also known as St. Patrick’s Day. A day of celebrating the drinking of green beer…

While I have talked (at great lengths) about my Spanish ancestry, my other roots are British and Irish (my first name Kemp is an old Celtic name that means ‘warrior’ & ‘champion’)

And while I may not drone on and on about my Brit-Irish roots, I am proud of them and do celebrate them on St. Paddy’s Day. So without further ado, here’s my St. Patrick’s Day post… enjoy.

Historical background on St. Patrick’s Day

The person who was to become St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, was born in Wales about AD 385 with the given name of Maewyn. At the age of 16, Maewyn, who had considered himself a Pagan, was sold into slavery by a group of Irish marauders that had raided his village… it was at this time in captivity that he became closer to God and when he escaped from slavery after six years, he went to Gaul where he studied in the monastery under St. Germain (the Bishop of Auxerre) for a period of twelve years.

His wishes were to return to Ireland and to convert the native pagans to Christianity. Instead, his superiors appointed St. Palladius, who, two years later, was transferred to Scotland.

Patrick, having adopted that Christian name earlier, was then appointed as second bishop to Ireland.

Patrick proved himself to be very successful at winning converts, a fact that upset the Celts who had Patrick arrested several times… but saw him escape each and every time.

Patrick traveled throughout Ireland, establishing monasteries across the country and setting up schools and churches that would aid him in his conversion of the Irish country to Christianity.

His mission in Ireland lasted for thirty years after which Patrick retired to County Down where he died on March 17, 461 AD.

That day has been commemorated as St. Patrick's Day ever since.

The first St. Patrick's Day was publicly celebrated in the U.S. in 1737 in the city (and this should come as a surprise to no one) of Boston.

Much Irish folklore surrounds St. Patrick's Day with very little of it actually substantiated.

Originally a Catholic holy day, St. Patrick's Day has now evolved into more of a secular holiday.

Historical background of Leprechauns

The Leprechaun is an Irish fairy that looks like a little old man (“He’s very clean”) and is often dressed like a shoemaker, complete with cocked hat and leather apron.

Leprechauns have very little to actually do with St. Patrick's Day's.

In Irish legend, leprechauns are a far cry from their happy-go-lucky modern counterparts as they were generally seen as bad-tempered spirits that were capable of great mischief.

According to legend, leprechauns are aloof, unfriendly, live alone, and pass their time making shoes.

They also possess hidden pots of gold. In fact, treasure hunters can often track down a leprechaun by the sound of his shoemaker's hammer and, if caught, they can be forced (with the threat of bodily harm) to reveal the location of their treasure. But the captor must keep their eyes on him at every second for if the captor's eyes leave the leprechaun, they vanish and all hopes of finding the treasure are lost (d’oh!)

While they did have pots of gold that they would have to relinquish if a human caught them, the leprechaun was likely to come after you later to get revenge.

Legend has it that you can find the leprechaun, along with his pot of gold, at the end of a rainbow.

Inane St. Patrick’s Day trivia…

• The traditional shamrock icon came from an old Irish tale that told of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Holy Trinity, using it in his sermons to represent how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity.
• The shamrock is a type of small herb with leaves made up of three leaflets and is the common name for any of several types of three-leafed clovers that are native to Ireland.
• The Irish have considered shamrocks as good luck symbols for centuries and it has now become the national symbol of Ireland.
• St. Patrick didn’t drive any snakes out of Ireland, (mainly because no snakes were ever native to Ireland… but that’s besides the point) This is said to be a metaphor for his conversion of the pagans.
• Today, people celebrate the holiday with parades, wearing of the green, and drinking beer.

Did you know?

• that the song "When Irish Eyes are Smiling" isn't a popular Irish ballad? It was actually composed by an American?
• that during the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840’s, 75% of Irish immigrants landed in New York?
• that Corned beef and cabbage is not a favorite St. Patrick's Day dish in Ireland (they prefer ham or bacon) but rather in the U.S.?
• that St. Patrick's Day parades have a history that goes back hundreds of years, but they didn't originate in Ireland? The parade in Dublin has a scant 50-year history, while those in Montreal and New York City go back almost 200 and 300 years respectively.
• that close to 34 million U.S. residents claim some Irish ancestry?
• that a shillelagh (pronounced shah-lay-lee) is a stout walking stick?

Kemp’s Top 6 Irish Authors

1. James Joyce
2. George Bernard Shaw
3. Samuel Beckett
4. William Butler Yeats
5. Jonathan Swift
6. Oscar Wilde

Kemp’s Top Ten St. Patrick’s Day movies

10. The Magical Legend of the Leprechauns
09. St. Patrick's Day
08. The Matchmaker
07. The Secret of Roan Inish
06. St. Patrick: The Irish Legend
05. Luck of the Irish
04. The Fugitive (it has a scene during the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day parade, so it makes the cut)
03. Finnian’s Rainbow
02. Darby O’Gill & The Little People
01. The Quiet Man

Not listed in the Top 10 and for a damn good reason: ‘Leprechaun’, ‘Leprechaun 2’, ‘Leprechaun 3’, ‘Leprechaun 4 in Space’, ‘Leprechaun in the Hood’ and ‘Leprechaun: Back 2 da Hood’

Kemp’s Recipe for an Old Mr. Boston's Irish Shillelagh

• Juice from ½ lemon
• 1 ½ oz. Irish whiskey
• ½ oz. sloe gin
• ½ oz. rum

One ounce is equal to one shot of hard alcohol. In a mixer, combine the lemon juice, whiskey, sloe gin and rum. Shake the ingredients with crushed ice and strain into an old fashioned glass. Add fruit for garnish. Sliced peaches, raspberries or strawberries are recommended


Kemp’s Favorite Irish Blessings

Whatever your libation, you'll want to memorize a few standard Irish toasts for the occasion. Here are some of the more popular ones. Practice saying them with an Irish accent to impress your guests."May your glass be ever fullMay the roof over your head be always strongAnd may you be half an hour in heaven before the devil knows you're dead."

“May you have warm words on a cold evening,
A full moon on a dark night,
And the road downhill all the way to your door."

"May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
The sun shine warm upon your face,
The rain fall soft upon your fields,
And until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand."

"Health, and long life to you,
Land without rent to you,
The partner of your heart to you,
And when you die,
may your bones rest in Ireland!"

Kemp's Gratuitouos St. Patrick's Day pic.

This is an image of the Chicago River after it had been dyed green for the city's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade:

Random Thoughts for a Thursday Afternoon

Psst… buddy. Hey… do you know what today is?

It’s Thursday, which can only mean one thing… Random Thoughts for a Thursday Afternoon… spread the word.

Randomness… pure, unadulterated, unsullied and chaste randomness…

• Today’s post is brought to you by the number ‘42’. Extra credit points to anyone who knows the significance of the number 42. Anyone… anyone… Bueller? Bueller?
• Guys (and I suppose gals) if you’re getting sick of filling out NCAA Tournament brackets… try the NCTnA brackets. (Note: semi-safe for work)
• Last week’s number and letter sponsor was 28 IF. No one responded as to its significance… and frankly I’m a little bummed about that.
• Uh… Mr. Douglas… this is the kettle… you’re black.
• I don’t care how old you are… if you want to be a singer, how the HELL can you not know who Stevie Wonder is????
• I have to admit… I thought it was a blatant marketing/money-making scheme (which it is), but the World Baseball Classic has given us some great baseball… too bad the U.S. team sucks.
• Jeff King won his fourth Iditarod. I don’t know why I’m mentioning this… but I am.
• We had to re-arrange our Disney World trip to the first week of June. It will be 6 days/5 nights of all-Disney, all the time… insert own thought here
• Aw crap, this doesn’t bode well…seems a Supercomputer has built a virus… it starts…
• What's scarier? A movie version of the TV show ‘Dallas’, Ice Cube in a movie version of ‘Welcome Back Kotter’, or Ashton Kutcher & Kevin Costner doing a movie together?
• Matthew over at Childs Play x2 invited me to join his Blogging Daddies NCAA tournament bracket challenge. I said yes… I filled out my brackets… and now I await the first round of me getting my ass kicked and my head handed to me on a platter. SIU-C over West Virginia?? Bradley over Kansas?? George Mason over Michigan State?? Gonzaga & Villanova in the Championship Game?? Who am I kidding??
• Speaking of which, ‘Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia…’
• And ‘a glass of hot fat…’
• Here are some of the recent search phrases that have brought people to my little corner of the blogosphere: “Twin movie quotes”, “especially at night i worry over situations”, “eeffoc”, “blogs - on humanity and politics”, “ono-mono twin images”, “scrubs song list diving in to deep”, “Quotes on the banning Mardi Gras”, “francis slay cardinals arizona”, “Amani Toomer's siblings”, “michael shannon kemp”, “Whitey Herzog's Wife's Name”, and “effects after drinking whisky”
• In honor of those, here is today’s gratuitous (and superfluous) attempt for the ‘craziest phrase used in a blatant attempt to lure people to my site when they type it into Google’ is: ‘Banana Hammock.’ Tell your friends…
• Have I mentioned that I suck at NCAA Tournament selection-brackets?
• Gratuitous Quote of the Day: “I often quote myself. I find it adds spice to the conversation.” – George Bernard Shaw
• Gratuitous (you have to be asking yourself how many times I could use the word ‘gratuitous’ in one post…) Blog Plug of the Day: Scott’s Rant Spot
• Did I mention that I suck at NCAA Tournament selection-brackets?