On the way home from Vegas we passed over the Hoover Dam.
Darryll: Does anyone know what a dam is?
Paloma: A bad word.
Darryll: Okay, well besides that?
Kids: No clue, what is it?
Darryll: Well, its something built to restrict the passage of water.....in some cases its a way of capturing energy for other uses and beavers also build dams as part of their habitat.
Angela: Well how many beavers did it take to build this Hoover Dam?
Paloma and Angela spend the day on the couch as punishment. Yelling is limited to 10 cusswords and 4 sentences distributed at an aggravated level. Darryll does nothing because Sonia has shopped all the money away and I lost my spending money in Vegas, but I did try to eat my money's worth at various buffets. I currently weigh CLXXIII pounds.........doesn't look so bad in Roman Numerals.
UPDATE: By the way, in an attempt to get more responses, if you don't leave a comment about your resolutions I'll come up with a few for each of you. Do you really want that to happen?
Leave a comment telling everyone what your New Year's Resolutions are and maybe we can keep each other honest. I think a couple of mine are more than obvious to anyone:
I know my political posts here are probably going to fall on deaf ears considering most of you who read this site are either avowed Democrats or apolitical. But I'm going to post it anyway so feel free to skip - really, you won't be hurting my feelings - or consider something new for a change.
Seriously, how can you not vote for Fred Thompson after watching this video? I'd like to echo the following sentiment,
While the other contenders are frantically saturating the Iowa airwaves with 30- and 60-second attack ads... Thompson has sat himself down, looked into a camera, and spoken for a quarter of an hour, calmly and straightforwardly making his case. I myself find this impressive—in a way, moving. Thompson seems to have stepped out of the eighteenth century. He trusts voters to think. And if the comments on YouTube are at all representative, plenty of people agree.I'd like to emphasize that this video highlights how different of a political campaign Fred Thompson is running from the traditional campaigns that his opponents are running. It's that difference that I believe has led to the poor coverage of Fred's campaign. Coverage that I hope has led many of the talking heads on tv to underestimate Fred and his chances. And who knows, but if Fred were to be successful maybe this could be the start of getting more politics as they "really ought to be" and shouldn't that be reason enough to vote for Fred?
Politics as, from time to time at least, they really ought to be.
You know, when I'm asked which of the current group of Democratic candidates I prefer to run against, I always say it really doesn't matter…These days all those candidates, all the Democratic leaders, are one and the same. They’re all NEA-MoveOn.org-ACLU-Michael Moore Democrats. They’ve allowed these radicals to take control of their party and dictate their course.
So this election is important not just to enact our conservative principles. This election is important to salvage a once-great political party from the grip of extremism and shake it back to its senses. It's time to give not just Republicans but independents, and, yes, good Democrats a chance to call a halt to the leftward lurch of the once-proud party of working people.
So in seeking the nomination of my own party, I want to say something a little unusual. I am asking my fellow Republicans to vote for me not only for what I have to say to them, but for what I have to say to the members of the other party—the millions of Democrats who haven't left the Democratic party so much as their party's national leadership has left them.
Setting: Austin and I go to Guitar Center to buy new drumsticks for Rock Band. We become immediately overwhelmed by the sight of a wall cubby full of various drumsticks.
Guitar Center Dude (GCD): Can I help you guys?
Austin: We're just looking for some drumsticks.
GCD: What kind? 5A, 5B...?
Me: Uh... we're kinda new to this.
Austin: Yeah, what's the difference between 5A and 5B?
GCD: They refer to different sizes. You guys have any idea what you're looking for?
Me: Not yet, we're just going to look around.
GCD: Ok.
After looking around for about 10 minutes, Austin and I decide to go for the cheapest sticks.
Me: We'll just take the cheapest sticks you got.
GCD (Sensing he's dealing with completely lame posers.): The cheapest?
Me (Sensing what GCD is sensing.): Yeah, the cheapest ones, we're probably just going to break these also anyway and end up coming back for another pair.
GCD: That'll be $3.50. Are you guys getting these for a video game?
Me (Not sure how to respond to being called out for being completely lame.): Huh?
Austin (Also not wanting to look completly lame he decides to play the "act incredulous" card.): No, no, who does a thing like that?
GCD: We've had quite a few people doing that recently.
Ausin: That's lame.
Me (Following Austin's lead.): There's a video game out for drums?!
GCD (With a tone suggesting he's not buying our BS.): Yeah.
Austin: What's it called?
GCD: I think it's called Rock Band.
Austin: Never heard of it.
Me: Why don't they just learn to play real drums?
GCD: Here's your change. Have a good evening.
Me: Thanks, you too.
So my mom really wants to know who's coming to New Years Eve get together at my house. Comment if you can come or not... thanks!
As Annette commented, her pictures are now included in the Christmas 2007 set along with pictures from EJ's camera. Also from EJ, we have pictures from Tita Agnes' birthday celebration at Castaways and from Annalynne's Christmas party.
UPDATE: Pics from my dad's camera.
The Kinks - Father Christmas
Hope you all had fun last night, I know I did. If anyone has already uploaded pictures from last night to the internets please post the corresponding link in the comments. Thanks!
Again Happy Holidays!
Annette: Do you like everyone Jayden?
Jayden: Yeah, everyone except for Austin.
Annette: Why not Austin?
Jayden: Because he sucks at Rock Band... he can't sing!
Look who decided to get back into the swing of things. I guess we can now get back to our favorite pastime of checking that site regularly for not so regular postings. Does this mean less posting at this site from Austin? Probably. Does it mean that austin-web.com is going to have more posts than this site now? Probably not.
I don't know why Annette doesn't post things like this, because she certainly should, but in case anyone is in the mood to applaud/throw rotten tomatoes at Jayden, he will be performing in a Christmas show for St. John Eudes at 7pm tonight.
Just a heads up... I need to have the money collected by the 20th.. So either call me and bring it by or bring it to Mama's.. But please remind your parents as well. Lastly, who is in with the alcohol exchange? I need to get those wrapped up as well..
BTW: Anyone have big white boards for pictionary? And any suggestions on some gift card prizes or should we have it just cash prizes?
Setting: Getting ready to play Rock Band as Popes Gone Wild.
Lindsey: Wouldn't it be cool if there were an actual Pope band?
Me: Popes Gone Wild is that band.
Lindsey: No, I mean a real life band.
Me: Popes Gone Wild is real. Don't ruin this for me Lindsey.
Lindsey: But it would be awesome if there was a real Pope band.
Me: You mean a band made up of actual Popes?
Lindsey: Yeah, that would be so cool if Popes decided to get together to form a band.
Me: You know there's only one actual Pope at a given time since they serve until they die.
Lindsey: Well maybe it could be the Pope and his assistants that form the band.
Me: Like The Pope and The Bishops?
Lindsey: Yeah.
Me: Dork.
December 21: Arrive in Chatsworth, eat at In & Out, and proceed to challenge anyone in Rock Band. Also say hi to Mom, Dad, and Grandma.
December 22: More of the above.
December 23: Last minute Xmas shopping and them more of the above.
December 24: Partake in Xmas festivities.
December 25: Do some praying on the slopes.
December 26: See friends and more of the same.
December 27 & 28: Vegas.
December 29: Back to TX.
austin (12:05:11 AM): dodgers have everything they need... starting pitching bad ass from japan... a new bat... new manager... it's fucking word series season
austin (12:05:12 AM): i feel
Bruin7089 (12:05:09 AM): that guy is 33
Bruin7089 (12:05:16 AM): and no guarantee he will be good
austin (12:05:34 AM): he's good
Bruin7089 (12:05:22 AM): that new bat
Bruin7089 (12:05:28 AM): had the worst season of his career last year
austin (12:05:44 AM): jones is solid
Bruin7089 (12:05:53 AM): and the manager couldn't win with the most highly paid team in history
austin (12:06:24 AM): ny yankees were a bunch of over paid bitches
Bruin7089 (12:06:43 AM): a lot of people say that about the Dodgers
Bruin7089 (12:07:16 AM): there was a funny headline that read, "Girl hits man on the head with potato. Dodgers sign her for 15 million a year."
austin (12:07:39 AM): lies
I don't know about y'all (<----------- TX roots baby <----------- Scotty Nguyen influence) but I don't think my faith in Christianity is strong enough to skip out on a trip to Mt High on Xmas day. In fact, I'd probably do more worshipping flying off jumps praying I land intact. Someone please find the tickets deals and let's get trip going.
Lindsey: Tagalog is going to be the end of me.
Bruin7089: just keep studying
Bruin7089: I need someone to translate all the Tagalog gossip at our family gatherings
Lindsey: I can translate if they're introducing each others' names
Bruin7089: Dork
Lindsey: Or if they're talking about shapes and colors
Also from Lindsey's AIM:
Ano ang pangalan ko?
Ilang bagay ang berde?
Saan ka nakatira?
Taga-saan ka?
I don't really care...
No, this is not another Squishie and The Prophets post. Rather it's a Dodgers post. Go Dodgers!
All-Star center fielder Andruw Jones and the Los Angeles Dodgers reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday night on a two-year, $36.2 million contract, SI.com has confirmed.That's the great news, now for the "say it ain't so" part.
The Dodgers are expected to move Juan Pierre to left field, leaving Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier for right. The surplus of outfielders could make either Kemp or Ethier expendable.Are you serious!? Juan Pierre getting a spot ahead of Ethier or Kemp!? SAY IT AIN'T SO!
In my never ending quest to provide as much a steady stream of content as possible I've decided to include clips of shared items from my Google Reader. For those who don't know, Google Reader is described by Wiki as "a Web-based aggregator, capable of reading Atom and RSS feeds online or offline." Or more simply put by Google,
Stay up to dateI started using Google Reader only yesterday and I'm already in love with it.
Google Reader constantly checks your favorite news sites and blogs for new content. Whether a site updates daily or monthly, you can be sure that you won't miss a thing.
Simplify your reading experience
Google Reader shows you all of your favorite sites in one convenient place. It's like a personalized inbox for the entire web.
Bruin7089: are you really learning how to throw a ball?
lindsey: im doinga project on it
lindsey: for my kinesiology class
Bruin7089: so are you throwing a ball or what?
lindsey: no.
Bruin7089: are you going to be able to teach someone how to throw a ball?
lindsey: we're just talking about the mechanics and the phases it goes through. and the injuries
lindsey: yeah
Bruin7089: really?
lindsey: i researched step by step instructions on how to
Bruin7089: so you're going to know how to throw one and with practice you'll be good at it?
lindsey: possibly
Bruin7089: Could you teach your brother how to throw a ball?
lindsey: hahaha ill send him my project to read
ARE WE COOKING AGAIN????
Mama has been asking me if are going to be cooking again. Wayne suggested that who ever wants to cook, either cousins or Tita's would be better. So let me know which of you would like to contribute a dish for Christmas so I could let mama know.
This year rather than our $15 gift exchange, I will be collecting $15 dollars from everyone. Tita's, Tito's, Cousins and anyone who will be participating. So let your parents know. The money collected will be used for prizes for games played. This year I decided to do something different so we will be playing games like pictionary, karaoke, mad gab, possibly rock band or guitar hero, etc.. Let me know what other games we could play. But I would like to have all the money collected by Dec 20th so I could get some other stuff rather than just cash as prizes...
Last but not least I mentioned this idea to a couple cousins... The alcohol exchange amongst the cousins or any adults that would like to be included... Price range is 25 bucks of either alcohol and glasses or just alcohol. Just make sure its worth 25 bucks... Let me know whos in or out for this...Cause i know Joni already got hers...
Let me know asap about all three things....
From that list, I can recall playing six of them:
Contra
TMNT
Mike Tyson's Punch-Out
Friday The 13th
Ninja Gaiden
Mega Man
Of those six I remember finishing only Contra and Mike Tyson's Punch-Out. Mike Tyson was particularly frustrating and satisfying when finally finished. And I don't I would've passed Contra without the cheat code. As for the other games, I remember spending a lot of time with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on The Dam level. Such fond memories.
Outside of those games mentioned I didn't really come across any other frustratingly impossible games. It was perhaps because Darryll and I stuck mostly to sports games which weren't frustratingly difficult to beat. Unless it was me trying to beat Darryll in a basketball game that is.
A notable exception would be Smash TV and its neverending waves of swarming enemies, which Mehran has far fonder memories of than I do.
Mama’s House Correspondent: So Moses what do you have to say to those critics who say your performances are all style and no substance? That in effect, although your stage performance is amazing, your actual vocals suck.
Moses: For those that have seen the webcasts, will come to realize that it's not all about the vocals. It's about grace and the show. Let's take the wonderfully talented and beautiful Britney Spears. She has the best show on earth, like the past VMA performance. Her vocals may not have been all there... but the dance moves were amazing and thus put on a great show.
Mama’s House Correspondent: But because of your vocals, could the Squishies and The Prophets ever put out a quality album or is Squishie and The Prophets meant to be experienced live in concert only?
Moses: That's a good question, and even though the raw vocals may not be of the bestest quality, a studio re-edit of the raw data will fix the extremely minute imperfections in the vocal quality of the performance.
Mama’s House Correspondent: Fair enough. Why, if you're the band leader and lead vocalist, is the band called Squishie and The Prophets and not Moses and The Prophets?
Moses: In coming up with the band name, I was extremely intoxicated. Thus the decision was not made with a sane state of mind. I think this was done on purpose as Moses would not have agreed to such ludacrious bull shit. Squishies as a ho. No one likes her... she's like the anti-Gweyn Stefani
Mama’s House Correspondent: On that note, two questions remain. Any truth to the rumors that Metatron is being replaced as drummer for the band?
Moses: yes. First of all Metatron... what kind of bullshit name is that. It's like someone got hammered and couldn't full come up with the name of Megatron. Second of all, Metatron has no stage presence. Third, he may be the worst band name. Fourth, W-T-F kind of name is Metatron? ... seriously
Tropical Goodies or Goody or wahtever his name is... now that's a fucking name
Mama’s House Correspondent: Ok last question in three parts. All the fans of Squishie and The Prophets want to know if you're thinking of starting another band? Whether Squishie and The Prophets will ever perform together again? And if you should ever start a new band, why should current fans of Squishie and The Prophets come out to see the new band?
Moses: Yes, there is a new band being formed that is more Moses-centric becauses Moses knows what all the Moses groupies want ... and that's more Moses. As for whether or not squishie and the prophets performing again... we'll have to wait for Squishie and get back to me and whether or not she will stop hogging the stage and open it up for The Moses to rock out. Now as for the current fans of squishie.... We'll see more of Moses and Moses will be more drunk singing the tunes that squishie fans have come to expects.
Mama’s House Correspondent: Thanks for the time Moses. Any last words you would like to share?
Moses: no thank you, Mama's-fonaciers.blogspot.com has always been nice to Moses and has given Moses his first strike at fame
yaz: parents are weird and so damn overprotectiveFeel free to discuss. I'm particularly interested in knowing if any of the youngin's in our family is in danger of becoming one of these "pussy ass kids."
Bruin7089: yours are?
Bruin7089: or in general?
yaz: Not mine
yaz: New parents
Bruin7089: do you care to tell me why you're thinking this?
yaz: I am not saying anyone in specific
yaz: But they freak out abuot germs and shit
yaz: like my brother
yaz: if someone coughs it is like they go all michael jackson on the kids
yaz: Fucknig masks, sequester the kids
Bruin7089: maybe it's just one of those things we can't understand because we're not in that role
yaz: Bubble kids
yaz: Fuck that
yaz: I hope my kid gets every illness, besides the ones that kill you
yaz: Makes them stronger
yaz: we are really breading a generation of pussy ass kids
Bruin7089: well that's the thing
Bruin7089: how do you know it's not the illness that will kill the kid?
yaz: Seriously, it is getting out of hand
Bruin7089: it's your first kid
Bruin7089: i bet if your brother has a second kid
Bruin7089: He'll be less overbearing
Bruin7089: or protective
yaz: he has one
yaz: same damn thing
yaz: It is ridiculous
yaz: Has to be complete silence and darkness for the kids to sleep
yaz: I mean come on
Bruin7089: are you mad because you couldn't watch tv with them in the next room?
yaz: I want my kids to be able to sleep through a fucking train wreck
Bruin7089: did they interrupt your Gossip Girl time?
yaz: I am pissed because this country is going to hell in a pussy ass hand bag full of pussy ass kids
yaz: No spanking, organic baby food, no germs, no playing in the dirt, no getting sick, no going out in the rain, here's a fucking trophy when you lose
yaz: Dont run up the score, it hurts kids feelings
yaz: No strikeouts in baseball
Bruin7089: jesus
yaz: Rewards for doing what you are supossed to do
yaz: No chatter on the baseball diamond
Bruin7089: why don't you just go over to your brother's and hit the kid
yaz: My kids are going to hate me
Bruin7089: yeah right
Bruin7089: you talk tough now
yaz: My wife will divorce me for being mentally abusive to my kids
Bruin7089: she's supposed to divorce you because you're spending too much time at work alone with the hot secretary
yaz: Well that too
yaz: I hope
Bruin7089: so you're getting divorced on more than one ground
Bruin7089: nice
yaz: Well I mean if you are going to go, go big right?
Bruin7089: A future husband and father of the year in the making
yaz: I try my best
As you may or may not all know, I'm a bit of a political nerd - which happens to be just one type of nerd I am. So being the political nerd that I am the following strikes me as particularly amusing.
One of the few stories about Papa and Mama that will always stay with me is how they happened to choose their political affiliations here in the US. As some of you may not have known, Papa was a registered republican and Mama is a registered democrat. Having became aware of that fact I asked how that came to be. I don't know if it was the idealist or the romantic in me, but I more than expected a tale of passionate, intelligent political discourse followed by an agreement to respect one another's beliefs as they went their separate ways when registering to vote; and despite diverse political ideologies they were able to maintain a committed loving relationship. So that's what I wanted to believe.
Well here's the truth. I was told that they were at Fedco when they saw a pair of lines to register to vote. I don't know if they thought it was their duty as American citizens to register or what but they decided to get in line. Of course, in true filipino style, they decided to each go into separate lines to make the process of getting registered quicker. Turned out that the lines were distinctly separated for purposes of registering republicans in one line and registering democrats in the other line. So without giving a thought about their political beliefs and which party best represented those beliefs they got into separate lines hoping that the lines moved fast so that they could finally get out of Fedco.
So that is the tale of how Papa came to be a republican and how Mama came to be a democrat.
As requested by Uncle Arthur on the thread on Geni (yes I do read it)...
Here is a link to some Family Reunion pictures, some of which I took on my camera, and some that Lindsey or Austin took.
click me to see the pics
p.s. Please disregard the pictures from the L.A. County Fair at the end of the album haha
p.p.s. I also posted a link to Thanksgiving pictures in the comments section of an earlier post.
We will be live broadcasting the show on the internets tonight @ 8pm!
Here are some of my photos posted on Lindsey's flickr account. It was difficult this time around with the crappy lighting.
Well other than the untimeliness of some - it's ok, we're all filipinos - this year's Thanksgiving went really well. Nothing that made it on to this year's Thanksgiving table was offensive. In fact, it wouldn't be hyperbole to say that all the food was pretty damn good. Mike's candied yams were nice and sweet. Melanie's cheesy mac and EJ's mashed potatoes were gobbled - pun intended - up quickly. Mehran's enchilada casserole were good enough to have been ordered up again by my mom. Oliver's guacamole recipe was asked for. There's no more of Sara's fruit salad. Jason's Fayes's ham was moist and full of flavor. Annette's pansit didn't disappoint the filipinos. Vanessa's and Lindsey's pies tasted better than what anyone else in this family could bake. And lastly, I didn't burn the house down when cooking the turkey. It all made for a very successful Thanksgiving.
Thank you all for cooking! And again, happy Thanksgiving!
Joni: Balut
Tita Elma: Egg rolls
Along with Mehran's chicken enchiladas and Annette's pancit I would hardly consider this year's Thanksgiving to be a "white" Thanksgiving as Vanessa put it.
And can someone tell me exactly when and why Thanksgivings started being classified by race? Is that like some new affirmative action program I haven't heard of? If that's so, should I be considering (i.e. leaning towards) a more minority oriented Thanksgiving?
In case any of you are worried about how the turkey will end up, and you would be right to, I thought I'd make the occasional progress report to keep you all informed about what's happening with the big bird. By the way, if it sounds like anywhere in my preparations for the turkey that I'm in danger of giving anyone food poisoning or, as Faye puts it, mud butt, l strongly encourage you to give me a call.
Well I've been reading everywhere that it takes 24 hours for every 4-5 pounds of turkey to defrost it in the refrigerator. I've also read that it will keep in the fridge, after it has been defrosted, anywhere from 1 to 4 days. I bought about a 16 pound turkey and decided to be on the safer side of the 1 to 4 days. Given that I want to brine the turkey I started defrosting the turkey yesterday late afternoon. Now after over 12 hours of defrosting the turkey is still hard as a rock.
If all does not go so well in the refrigerator I suppose I could finish the defrosting process in the sink before I start to brine it. That's the backup plan anyway.
Here's what we have so far:
Annette: Pansit and snacks
Melanie: Mac and cheese and jams
EJ: Mashed potatoes
Faye: Ham dinner package
Mehran: Chicken enchiladas
Vanessa: Pie
Wayne: Turkey
That's a lot of food right there. I guess we could use another dessert and maybe a salad, but we definitely don't need anymore main course type of dishes and I think we're fine with the side dishes as well. However, we do need drinks and perhaps a bag of ice. Otherwise we're pretty much all set as far as the menu is concerned.
Make note that it's going to be at Mama's this year and that the turkey will be ready to serve at 12:30. It's pretty much going to be going on all day though so feel free to come early if you want, especially since I have the potential to burn down the house by deep frying the turkey, trust me you wouldn't want to miss that. And if you have significant other's families to visit that day too, then feel free to come early or late but if you're bringing food please drop it off first if you're going to be having dinner instead of lunch with us.
Also, let me get a head count of who is coming so that everyone can know how much food to prepare. Thanks!
I know it's been awhile since the last post. But there really isn't any family related news to post or at least I'm not privy to any, but if any of you do know what's going on with family or want to share anything that may interest the family, please do post. If not, you're going to have to suffer more and more of my non-family related posts like the one below.
I was watching NBC's Las Vegas - guilty pleasure of mine so don't judge - last night and I remarked to a friend how NBC's "Green Week" campaign was really annoying me to the point where I wanted to go out and hurt the earth. Don't get me wrong, I didn't aspire to nuke it or anything like that but more like go stomp on some flowers or leave an unnecessary light on. At the time I didn't know why it bothered me so much. I thought maybe it was that it turned my entertainment into a bully pulpit of sorts and the shows came off as being preachy in a sort of you must join our cult or suffer eternal damnation way. But that wasn't really it. So what was it? Well I think Jonah Goldberg explains it real well.
[Y]ou've seen the tyranny of Green even if you've never turned on NBC.So that's what pissed me off so much. Not that it was more liberal bullshit being stuffed down my throat. But it was the fact that it basically turned the shows I was watching into thinly veiled commercials and boy do I hate commercials. It was like NBC was tricking me into watching a 3:00 am infomercial in primetime. How fucking lame is that?
Green is everywhere. Every magazine feels compelled to do a special "green issue," but they feel so guilty about it, they ditch their glossy paper for pulp that gives it the feel of a hemp-commune newsletter that doubles as toilet paper. Food magazines have replaced "delicious" with "sustainable" as the highest praise....
Now, the predictable response to my caterwauling is that I just don't get it. Of course, Bob Costas' Dickensian studio lighting is just so much symbolism. But, they respond, NBC is "raising consciousness" and promoting "awareness."
We've heard this tone before, perhaps starting in high school, when we were told, "If we all work together, we can make this the best yearbook ever!"
And that's why, on top of all the other reasons, Green Week - and the Green Millennium it hopes to usher in - is so annoying. It plays us all for suckers.
First of all, you have enormously rich people at fantastically wealthy corporations seeking grace on the cheap with a few symbolic gestures that come at absolutely no cost and often-considerable profit....
Liberals and environmentalists love to whine about special breaks for corporations, and they work themselves into paroxysms of paranoia about how big corporations propagandize against action on climate change. The reality is exactly the opposite: GE, DuPont, British Petroleum and countless other big corporations routinely propagandize in the other direction, largely to win governmental support they don't need.
I'm a little late in posting this actually but I'm not the only one - I'm looking at you Annette.
Mehran's homecoming got pushed up and he made his return yesterday. Those in the know say he looked much better upon his return than he did on departure.
So everyone, be sure to give Mehran a warm Mama's House welcome back home. How do you give a warm Mama's House welcome? With lots of cheese.
UPDATE: Annette, ignoring my wishes for a traditional Thanksgiving menu, has said she will make pansit palabok and Jade said he would make BBQ. I suppose the bbq can serve as a main dish alternative to the turkey - and seeing that I could totally screw up the turkey, that might not be such a bad thing to have - and I suppose the pansit can be some sort of side dish or stuffing alternative.
Not a bad start to the Thanksgiving menu.
So apparently I've been charged with making Thanksgiving happen. Actually, I more or less said us cousins could handle it. Now I know what you're all thinking, it probably ranges from, "Goddamnit Wayne!" to "What the fuck were you thinking Wayne?" Now before you all get upset over this, let me remind all of you that we pretty much pulled off Christmas last year when many of the titas and uncles were away. This is going to be a lot like that Christmas but with a lot more food and hopefully less of those terrible jello-shots that were made.
First things first in planning this year's Thanksgiving, the food. Of course, we gotta have turkey and since Joni got me this turkey deep fryer last Christmas, I'll be making the turkey. Yep, that's right, deep fried turkey. Doesn't this sound like it's going to be the most awesomest Thanksgiving already?
Outside of the turkey the only things we absolutely need to have are side dishes, stuffing, dessert, and drinks. Now I want to try to keep this a more traditional Thanksgiving. That means instead of dinuguan, maybe mashed potatoes. And really nobody has to cook anything if they don't want to, but remember what Robert Rodriguez has to say about cooking, "Not knowing to cook, is like not knowing how to fuck." And it would be nice if we could pull this off, seeing that we are old enough to pull something like this off. Also, you could just buy this stuff instead of cooking it yourself.
Anyway, so what would you people like to have for this Thanksgiving and what are you willing to cook or buy precooked for the meal?
Well according to this article Roland, myself, Darryll, Mehran, Austin, EJ, and Oliver would probably do best not to. Not that the article knows the aforementioned would probably produce some fucked up offspring - I kid because I love - but on other grounds.
Sonja Hastings of Fathers-4-Equality says that “no matter how decent, hardworking, and caring you may be as a father, that in the event of separation, you will more than likely not get custody of your child, you will lose up to 80% of all of your assets, you will have to pay up to five times the cost of raising a child, and most importantly you could never see your child again.”Combined with the divorce rate it's not surprising that there's been a bit of a movement that we males from the Fonacier clan might be wise to consider.
There is mounting evidence that as men discover the terms of marriage and divorce today, they are engaging in a marriage boycott or marriage “strike”: refusing to marry or start families, knowing they can be criminalized if their wife walks out and how attractive the divorce industry has made it easy for her to do so.... In Britain a fathers’ rights group tours university campuses warning young men not to start families. Even one attorney writes a book concluding that the only effective protection for men to avoid losing their children is not to start a family in the first place.Now the article goes on to state that men should enter marriage with complete knowledge of how screwed over they could be if things go bad and to do so with a prenuptial agreement. She also elicits advice that others would give to young men considering marriage and here are a few responses I found illuminating. First, the uncertainty of marriage.
Don't do it fellas.And because of that uncertainty I wholeheartedly agree that one should take the precaution of a prenuptial agreement. Too jaded you say? Setting up the marriage for failure or even a sign that one shouldn't get married? Well,
I'm married, and happily so, but the more I see, the more I feel like a guy who played a slot machine while walking through the airport in Vegas, and just happened to hit the jackpot on the first try. Marriage is exactly like gambling. Yes, you're going to see a few winners, and the fact that they exist encourages a lot of other people to gamble, but that doesn't mean gambling is a good investment strategy.
Also, bear in mind that marriage isn't just one gamble. You're not going to be the same person in ten years, and she isn't either. Particularly if you have kids, an event that can significantly change your outlook on life. What are the odds that the people you'll be in a decade will get along with each other?
Find a girlfriend, treat her well, but don't ever let her take you for granted.
Finding the right mate is someting you strive for, knowing that the is no surefire way of doing it... people change suddenly or over time. Sometimes people hide some things, and sometimes you deny them. This isn't a "New" thing. So what to do?Still not convinced that a prenup is the way to go? Well maybe Kanye can convince you. You ain't no punk are you?
I boils down to this: If everyone chose their mate wisely, If everyone knew everything there is to know about their mate, we wouldn't be having this conversation, would we? Both genders can change, and some do, because they don't have to try anymore.
So? Protecting yourselves legally is a reasonable fallback. Accepting the risk after knowing what it might be, is only prudent on the part of both parties.
I'm a happily married man, because I was lucky enough to find the right woman. So marriage has been a great blessing in my life.Okay, are you still sure you want to get married? I mean seriously, you've got to be damned sure. So you're absolutely certain as certain as 2+2=4 that you want get married but want to know if you've found the right girl? Here's some advice on that,
But I realize I'm extremely lucky, because I know my happiness is unusual. I know many men who are unhappy with their marriages, and i know many men who've been victimized by the legal system in the process of their divorce.
I have a son, and my advice to him is this: When you consider marriage, know what you are risking.... Consider that carefully, and know that you are placing your hope for happiness in the hands of another. You are rolling the dice. If you are still sure, still confident you found the right woman, and willing to approach it a lifetime, irrevocable commitment - no matter what - then by all means do so. Thinking of it this way may give you the certainty you need to make the right choice.
Good sex is not a reason to get married. How do you know when you've found the right one? Ask two questions: 1) Do I care more about her needs than my own? 2) Does she care more about my needs than my own?There's tons more advice given about whether men should marry in the first place and how you know when you've found the right woman and I suggest all of you guys go read it. There's a lot of experience that can be learned from.
Good advice for men and women: When you are courting, pat attention to how your potential mate treats people with less power than them. Do they treat waitresses, cleaning ladies, and handymen with dignity and respect or are they dismissive and callous? Because that's how you'll be treating as the power relationship changes during your life.
My personal advice to men contemplating marriage is this: ask yourself if she would stay with you if she had to support you. Based on the notion that we're all supposed to marry our best friend, whomever makes the money shouldn't be the basis for the marriage. Yes, money isn't the reason for a marriage, but most divorces sure have money at their roots.
With Halloween upcoming I was wondering what everyone's favorite candy bar is? As for me, I really like Crunch, Twix, and the always satisfying Snickers but my all-time favorite has to be Kit Kat.
It was brought up yesterday by Melanie and Tita Evie that Papa was missed. It prompted me then to ask them to share a story about Papa. Instead, Melanie thought it better that I solicit from all of you to either post or comment a favorite story or memory of Papa. I'll be expecting those posts.
For me, it's difficult to recall with the detail needed to retell a specific story about Papa. I don't know if it's simply the passing of time that fades my memory or the more bothersome idea that memorable events with him merely didn't even occur.
Notwithstanding, I can remember an oft said phrase of Papa's, "Nothing doing." This phrase would oftentimes be said while he watched the Dodgers. He would say, "Nothing doing Dodgers," damn near every time they failed to score in an inning. He would say it in such a way that it was generally expected that a MLB team was to score every single inning and that the Dodgers let him down every time they didn't. He would do the same thing with the Lakers when they didn't score on every possession. And I remember how it would greatly annoy me to no end. I don't know if I was annoyed because as a youthful fan I took any perceived slights against my teams personally; or maybe I thought it showed he didn't quite understand the game fully; or perhaps him saying, "Nothing doing Dodgers," only highlighted how terrible they were doing; but at times it would get so annoying that I would have to leave the room and stop watching with him.
So come to think of it, Papa was a lot more annoying than I wish to remember him.
USC lost, yay! The food was good, yay! It stayed mostly dry, yay! Meka killed some bad guys in Halo 3 on Legendary, yay! DJ Tropical Goodies made a pre-debut warmup, yay!
I wouldn't bet against this blog making it onto next year's list.
A recent Carnegie Mellon study used higher mathematics to answer the question: if you want to be informed about what the entire blogospohere is talking about, but you can only read 100 blogs (out of the millions available), which blogs should you read?The blogs I'm familiar with on the list are: Instapundit, Michelle Malkin, Boing Boing, Pajamas Media, LAist, and The Volokh Conspiracy.
No need to worry anymore. Lindsey is safe.
I know all of you have been worried about me considering the numerous fires taking place in San Diego. I have been sitting inside my non-airconditioned apartment for the past 2 days doing sudoku puzzles and watching the television. So far my roomate Tiffany and I have been lucky enough to not have to evacuate our apartment. However, the air quality out here is absolutely disgusting. I can't even see the mountains around me considering the fact that all the fires are surrounding us.
I will be coming back to Simi Valley tomorrow to sit at home because of the Ventura fire, until I go to Santa Barbara this weekend for Halloween and to visit Tiffany's sister, Natasha.
For those who want to keep up with what's going on here's a google map I found on Daily News.
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UPDATE: Here's a map of the San Diego fire.
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And here's a link for all the up-to-date information.
So the powers that be are meeting up tomorrow to discuss what went right and wrong this past Fonacier family reunion and to begin preparations for the 2008 version, rumored to be held on August 9.
If you're not one of the powers that be but still want to be heard, you can sound off here. So feel free to say whatever you want - that's what anonymous commenting is for, you cowards - about what you liked and disliked about this year's reunion, what you would like to see happen at next year's, or any other thoughts. Disappointed that there weren't any t-shirts? Loved the selection and want to see the same menu for next year? Happy that we changed locations last minute to stay dry? Found some of the name tags inappropriate? Not enough hot chicks we weren't related to there - always a problem? Thought the neighbor was going to run us all over and thus prevent any need for further family reunions?
Anyway, if you want to see improvements and have a more enjoyable experience next year, speak up and be heard.
As for me, the last minute change of location was disappointing because I had looked so forward to spending the day at the park. So making sure weather is not a concern next time would be nice. I supposed that can be done by either having it on certain days when you know it won't rain or by having it indoors. Regarding this year's location, it was nice that someone opened up their home to all of us, especially at the last minute, so that we could stay dry. But I think that maybe having it at a house is not conducive to getting a large group of people to know each other. It was much too easy for one part of the family to dominate a room at the exclusion of other family members. There were certainly those social butterflies that moved easily from one room to the next, meeting new family members, but on the whole that was limited. So perhaps the answer is to hold it in a place without so many walls so that people can't so easily section themselves off. As for the food, the only things I ate were chips, a hot dog, and a hamburger. And that was more than enough to satisfy just me.
All in all, the first Fonacier Family Reunion went well, very well considering it was our first and the weather did not cooperate. It went well enough that I won't be skipping the next one, especially considering that it was our first and that it can be and should be even better next year.
I asked Jayden what he wanted to be for Halloween and decided to ask him what other people should be for Halloween, his answers were:
Himself: Spiderman
Annalynne: Princess
Angelynne: Princess
Mom: Dolly (I'm pretty sure he means a doll and not Ms. Parton)
Dad: Butt (said he could wear it on his head)
Roland: Cat
Faye: Cat
Vanessa: Cat
Roland is flying into town today for one of his best friend's wedding that is happening this Saturday. Annette is picking him up this afternoon. That's the excuse I'm being given anyway as to why I have to pick up Jayden.
So if Roland owes any of you money, now is your chance to collect.... Or I suppose you could just say hi to him or something.
For all you little kiddies planning on doing some trick-or-treating at the end of the month, you best prepare your route.
So who is dressing up this year and as what?
Lindsey's last comment makes me curious. What's everyone's homepage? And if the answer isn't this webpage, why not this webpage?
As for me, I use iGoogle as my homepage. Why not this site as my homepage? My iGoogle updates more often.
4 of the 9 visits to this site today have come from San Diego by a person using a Mac. Don't we all know a certain someone from there who has midterms all week long? I guess the 1 am visit shows that she was up late, perhaps doing some late night cramming.
Good luck on those tests.
Can anyone answer my question regarding one of the photos of Mama's and Papa's 50th Anniversary? I know it's a long shot that anyone could possibly remember what was so funny at that moment - thankfully captured - so long ago, but you never know.
Heck, maybe it's better that I don't know and imagine that Papa told a witty and hilarious anecdote that upon further reflection imparted some wise lesson about life and love. You know, the kind of story that puts Papa in a very admirable and favorable light and in the ranks of George Washington, Mister Rogers, and Papa Smurf. Of course, my limited and crude imagination only leads me to believe that Papa leaned over and let out a big one.
So if you know, please be kind and leave a response. Or feel free to speculate.
TO: The guy air drumming on the treadmill in front of me at the gym
FROM: WFS
DATE: 14, October 2007
SUBJECT: Air drumming while on the treadmill at a public gym
Though you almost inspired me to get on the treadmill next to you and do some air guitar, but for fear of getting my ass kicked, you're obviously in need of some help. May I make a suggestion?
I'll start off by saying it was good times celebrating Uncle's 50th, with that said, I'll probably most remember Uncle's 50th for a couple of reasons.
First, the service was terrible. So it was dim sum and the ladies with the carts came by. As usual with dim sum, maybe more so this time because we had a section of the restaurant to ourselves consisting of six tables and all of the ladies coming at one time, it was chaotic. For the most part they did their job right by asking the table if we wanted any of the dishes they were pushing around.
After it seemed like we were settled in with the several dishes we ordered, a few more dishes started popping up onto our table. Our table was only about half seated when service started and it was the empty half of the table began to fill up with dishes. Noticing this, I asked if any one at the table had actually ordered any of those dishes being set down. Everyone said no and so we asked the ladies to remove the dishes we had not ordered.
All they did was ignorantly smile and move on. Granted, they may actually not have known any english and we may have initially asked those who had not set down those dishes to take them away, which I can understand they can't do. So we pretty much had to figure out who set what dishes down and practically hand them back. Now the thing was, we were sure those who had gave us those dishes had stamped our order sheet/tab. We counted up the dishes on our table and the stamps on our tab and figured out that there were two extra stamps. When we asked the ladies to cancel those orders, we got the same ignorant smiles.
We then explained to the guy in charge what had happened and he was very reluctant to correct the situation. I mean considering we were a small part of a party of close to 40 why would we try to get a couple of dishes for free? And what happened to the customer always being right? It was understood that the stamps were for different dishes categorized by "A, B, C, D, E" for pricing purposes so it was not so easy to see what we were being charged for that was not on the table. But I even offered that he could just remove two marks from the least expensive category. In the end, he went over with us with what was on the table and each correlating stamp on the tab and couldn't explain what one of the stamps was for and even then he seemed unwilling to make a concession. Finally, he removed that stamp from the "C" category and after all that hassle we probably ended up "saving" $3.00.
The second thing I will remember is Lindsey's friend Brian. Before he arrived, he was described as someone who perpetually looked and sounded stoned. And when he did arrive sporting a Rasta style hat, he did not disappoint. Seriously, his retelling of his weekend so far that included a trip to Red Robin sounded like the sequel to a classic, I half-expected him to tell me that Doogie stole something of his.
Not so memorable moments but still notable:
I guess from now on we should call him DJ Tropical Goodies.
DJ Tropical Goodies: 3
DJ E Mar: 2
DJ Funky Fonacier: 1
DJ Tropical Goodie: 1
DJ EJ, DJ Keen, DJ Keen 1, DJ E Slick, DJ Matrix: 0
For all of you girl cousins and whatever other female readers this blog may have. What are the 5 essential things a girl must carry in her purse? A question strictly out of curiosity of course.'
By the way, what are the odds that only Faye answers this question?
Instead of BJ's, Yankee Doodles in Woodland Hills.
Details::
4-7 Happy Hour
5-9 Karaoke
Closes at 2am
Seeing no objections, the next cousin meetup over drinks will be at BJ's in Woodland Hills on October 19th. Now the question is what time exactly. They close at 1, I don't know when happy hour is, but I'm guessing it doesn't matter because most of you won't be able to make it at that time. I suppose as early as possible is always best so those who want to do something afterwards can, though I'm more than willing to make BJ's my entire Friday night so late is an option for me.
Any thoughts and suggestions as we make this official?
Not much family news going on at the moment so expect a lot more non-family posts to go up. I guess I should point out that EJ is currently training in Oregon until tomorrow, his parents are on a cruise until Friday, Tita Agnes is now working in Rhode Island, and Roland still hasn't received all of his furniture and clothes.
Faye says:
LETS PLAN A COUSIN HALLOWEEN HAUNT THING. Either going to Universal Studios, Knotts, Disneyland, or other local haunted houses.........Let's see who is a scared Biatch haha.I'll be the first to admit that I'm a scared biatch. So the rest of you should plan away.
Saw the word Filipino here and naturally came across this bit of news:
We are writing to express concern and hurt about a racially-discriminatory comment made in an episode of Desperate Housewives on 9/30/07. In a scene in which Susan was told by her gynecologist that she might be hitting menopause, she replied, “Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines."Filipino blogger responses can be found here.
Had the line been mentioned matter-of-factly in a news or documentary program, our protest would have been valid. But lest we forget, Desperate Housewives is a dramedy — a drama AND a comedy. Everything said there should not be taken seriously. For one, Susan Mayer was definitely in character — insensitive, arrogant, and stupid — when she delivered the line.So let me get this straight. A racist remark is made by a tv character portrayed as insensitive, arrogant, and stupid. Sounds like a pretty damn accurate portrayal of a racist to me. If anything, we filipinos should be thanking the show for its accurate portrayal of those who would say anything derogatory about our med school graduates. Heck, if I were of a different minority I would be calling for equal time and demand that this Susan Mayer make racist remarks about my people.
Chicago vs. Arizona: Arizona in 5
Colorado vs. Philadelphia: Colorado in 5
New York vs. Cleveland: Cleveland in 4
Anaheim vs. Boston: Boston in 5
How good are these predictions? Well seeing that I don't want the Yankees, Angels, Red Sox, or the Cubs to win the whole thing, my biases probably outweigh my better judgment.
Per EJ's request. I added the name DJ Tropical Goodie - I think it's better just because it's not such a short leap to thinking about his balls. If you have any other suggestions, leave a comment.
Yes, yes it is.
Please, no jokes about sending pics of a certain cousin of ours - too easy of a joke.
BJ's it is - the one in Woodland Hills I suppose. What's a good day for everyone? I figure an early Friday night as usual. Keep in mind that we have Uncle Wilson's birthday the weekend after this and Joni's birthday is the weekend after that.
The summer heat is gone. The new tv season is beginning. There's football. Postseason baseball is underway. And Monops starts today!
(pic linked above is of me with legendary DJ's Yoga Frog and DJ Q-Bert)
I suggest a new poll to vote for the cousins' favorite DJ names for me.
so far...
DJ EJ (self-explanatory
DJ Tropical Goodies (from a halo halo menu description) <- Austin liked this 1
DJ Funky Fonacier (from the family reunion)
DJ Keen (from childhood screen name)
DJ Keen 1 (same as above)
Here's a lil something I did awhile back...
~4 min scratch session
Please feel free to download it. More mixes on the way. I'd also appreciate any suggestions for songs to put into a mix or themes for mixes (i.e. i'm working on a bay area/hyphy/nor cal mix for my friends up in berkeley). Thanks!
The details are:
October 13th 11:30am
Dim Sum @ Empress Harbor Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park
RSVP by 10/6 @ Uncle Wilson's email address
I think we all know in our heart of hearts that Oktoberfest is the inspiration for Green Day's hit song. Apparently the real Oktoberfest starts in late September and ends on October 10, but the commercialization celebration of Oktoberfest runs for pretty much the entire month of October.
It was pretty much decided by Austin and I that our next family bar night should take the opportunity presented by Oktoberfest so instead of meeting up at Los Toros we thought it best that we do it a place that celebrates Oktoberfest. Here are a few ideas. If you have a preference, comment away. And do tell when would be a good time for you.
*Seriously, we need a better name for our cousin meetups.
Mehran visited last week. He says he will be done with his program - or as Tita Evie(sp?) puts it "graduating" - November 7. I told him that we cousins like together from time to time and he said he wanted to catch up with all of us when he's done with the program. And although Thanksgiving would be just around the corner from then it might be nice if we all meet up some time before that. Tita Evie suggested something about meeting up at a Dave and Buster's. If anyone has any ideas please share.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's been awhile. Anyway, this family seems to be full of funny people as evidenced by the last poll.
Which College Football Team Is Going To Have The Better Season?
UC Riverside: 3
Cal: 2
San Diego State: 1
UCLA: 1
UC Irvine: 0
CSUN: 0
Pictures have been served on Lindsey's pro flickr account. They can be found here. I still have a few more pictures to upload. A select few can be found below. 
For those who asked, "What the fuck is Romper Room?"
Each program would consist of the hostess and her group of children embarking on an hour of games, songs and moral lessons. The Romper Room tried to teach its young charges to be polite.Awwww... bittersweet memories.
A recurring character was Mr. Do Bee, an oversized bumblebee who came to teach the children how to be well-behaved; he was noted for always starting his sentence with "Do Bee," as in the imperative "Do be"; for example, "Do Bee good boys and girls for your parents!" There was also a Mr. Don't Bee to show children exactly what they should not do.
The show used the then-popular Mattel Jack-in-the-box for its opening and closing titles, with its Pop Goes the Weasel theme song.
At the end of each broadcast, the hostess would look through a "magic mirror" (in reality, a face-sized open hoop with a handle) and name the children she saw in "televisionland."
She would begin with the rhyme: "Romper, bomper, stomper boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic mirror, tell me today. Have all my friends had fun at play?" She would then lead into "I can see Scotty and Kimberly and Julie and Jimmy and Marcie and all of you boys and girls out there!"
Apparently Mother Nature won and the park is too wet to have the family reunion at. So instead of the wide open spaces promised earlier the reunion will be held in the cozy confines of a relative's home. The home is really close to the park where this thing was first intended to be held, just click on the link to get your directions.
Anyway, not only has the rain literally put a damper on things, but the resulting change of location has put a bit of a figurative damper on the family reunion for me. I was looking forward to a day of outdoor activities with old family and new family. And really, outside of baseball players and golfers, who changes plans just because it rains? Not football players. And it's not even raining, it's just wet. Too wet.
Well I suppose one good thing comes of this. Unlike the park, I'm pretty sure alcohol is allowed at the new family reunion location.
Apparently there's some concern about the weather on the day of the reunion. Well fear not, I've got it from two sources that says the rain (a light rain at that) will fall the day before and that the day of will be partly cloudy (alternating between sunny and cloudy). Highs in the mid 70s are also forecast for that day. So expect a clean, crisp autumn day as the rain the day before washes all the crap away.
Today is the day Roland makes his move out to Jacksonville, FL. We wish him well and no diarrhea.
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At last count, over 80 people have been confirmed as attending - that's not including the little ones apparently.
And if like Annette, you're looking for a place to stay for the night you can click the map below for surrounding hotels:
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Just wondering if anyone wants to go to KnottsBerry Farm the Sunday after the Family Reunion? Were planning on staying the night. Possibly go to Downtown Disney or D&B on Saturday evening.
Everyone please set aside October 13th as it is my Father's birthday and the event is to tbd. We are leaning toward a lunch or dinner. Details will be posted as they come. Wayne, please add this to the google calendar.
Shocked. That's how I felt when I viewed these rankings. I mean how can you leave off the Dillon Panthers? They were state champs of Texas, they're returning three of their best players in the awesome backfield trio of Smash, Riggins, and Saracen - I don't care if none of those guys made Grady Hunt's list of 100, Voodoo Tatum has nothing on them - and they have the best team chant of, "Clear eyes, Full Hearts, Can't lose!"
Sure they lost one of the best up-and-coming coaches in Coach Taylor to the collegiate level but coach's wife and daughter are still in town, that has to count for something right? Without those two, who knows if Saracen would have coped as well without Julie with all that happened to him last season, caring for a demented grandma, father in Iraq, having to step in for the nation's top rated qb prospect; and who knows if Riggins would even have been academically eligible for the team; a big thanks to Lance for that too, although he definitely needs to disband Crucifictorious. The team also came up with more than its fair share of miracle wins but who's to say this same group of miracle workers can't perform those tasks yet again?
Fact is, this is not only a talented, experienced team but a team that came out on top in one of the most emotionally draining seasons no team should be asked to endure.
Ok, so I wasn't shocked, but I was clearly disappointed. Anyway, maybe this year's squad could use the rankings snub as motivation. I can't wait for the Friday Night Lights to come and the new season to kick off on October 5, hope you're as excited as I am.
