UPDATED: Now bigger and better.
Keep in mind this was taken after we completed the winless season.
And two, more sillier pics.
It's enough to make one wonder how much more happier we could have possibly been had we actually won a game.
I loved it. I was so ready to play the contrarian (although I suppose if I wanted to do that I shouldn't have gone and seen the movie in the first place) and absolutely pan all the hype, but it won me over. This movie is so good on so many levels that it needs to win multiple Oscars.
Of course, what struck me hardest about this film and makes me continue to think about it is that it is absolutely a film about the war against terrorism. There are thinly veiled references to torture of detainees, wiretapping, subverting the judicial process, and the public outcry against the war. Heck, The Joker is explicitly referred to as a terrorist probably just to make things clear to those unwilling to look past the veil.
Anyway, what I want to know is, did any of my cousins see the film through the same prism I did? If so, did it change your views or did it reinforce your views on how we should fight terrorism? Also, did your political bias (assuming you have one) make you hate the movie or make you love it?
I'm a little confused here, which day is the Fonacier Family Reunion 2008 on? I have it marked on the Family Calendar as it being on August 9. But after a talk with Melanie, I became confused as to whether or not I got the date right. So please clarify.
I heard a rumor that Faye was text messaging people her plans for Saturday night. I don't get text messages and perhaps I wasn't even invited. But anyone care to share the details?
Lindsey is asking for them over at her blog. So what are you waiting for? Go over there and start recommending away!
And while you're at it, you can either congratulate her on her grades or tell her you would have gotten straight A's yourself. Can you guess which I did?
Joni wants to go to the Sept. 25th game against the hated SF Giants. It's a Sunday 1:10pm game. It's also part of Fan Appreciation Week and she wants to sit in the all-you-can-eat seats in the right field pavilion for $25 which is $10 off the regular price.
So who's in?
In case you missed it, I know I did for awhile, Lindsey posted about her new blog the content of which comes all from her iPhone - I believe the kids these days call that mobile blogging or moblogging. Also, EJ has a blog over here which to my knowledge is produced the old fashioned way via laptop. A slightly more comprehensive list of family sites/blogs can always be found off in the sidebar.
Happy reading everyone and more importantly, happy posting to those who do.
The worst thing about The Dark Knight?
All the shitty Batman movies now being shown and taking up valuable programming space on cable.
Scene: Trader Joe'S
Little Girl: I want that Mommy!
Mommy: Who is going to finish the banana nut granola bars if you don't like them?
Little Girl: I will eat them all.
Mommy: But what if you don't like them, then who will finish eating them? Because I won't.
Littler Girl in Shopping Cart: I will!
(Mommy sighs in resignation)
Me: Wow, you just got double teamed on that one.
Mommy: I know, you see how they work?
The post you've all been eagerly anticipating. Ok, maybe not so much. A lot to share, and to jog from my memory, so instead of one big post that takes forever to write up as I struggle to remember, I'll be doing a "series of posts" by which I'll be updating this post. Enjoy and feel free to leave your own memories in the comments.
May 22, 2008
The ride out to Vegas was pleasant enough even if the kids were taken into consideration. EJ got the best of it as it was merely him and Annalynne in the back row of the rental. As for myself, I sandwiched Jayden with the baby in the middle row. But even with the talkative, curious 7 year-old next to me, I was able to nap through the first leg of the trip. After two quick stops (one to get gas, the other to clean up the kids), we arrived in Vegas and picked up EJ's woman at the airport. Lindsey was later picked up. 
We crashed our first night in Vegas at Jade's ex-sister-in-law's place. Lindsey and I crashed on the downstairs' sofas while everyone else made their bed upstairs with EJ's woman and EJ taking the princess themed bedroom. That was our ho-hum first night in Vegas. It was not a quiet ho-hum though as the night wind howled and the kids pitter-pattered upstairs throughout what was a cold Las Vegas night.
The only notable thing that night was that by happenstance - I swear Annette, it was by pure happenstance and not by any fault of my own or Lindsey's - Jayden learned where babies came from. Apparently, Jayden had sneaked his way downstairs while Lindsey and I are were watching Knocked Up and was watching - again, unbeknownst to the two adults who do know better - the birthing scene which made Lindsey remark on her disbelief that they would be so graphic.
Anyway, it's probably safe to assume that Jayden has a leg up on most other 7 year-olds when it comes to becoming a man and it saves Annette and Jade one instance from having to explain where babies come from. So in the end everyone wins out.
And that was our drive out there and our first night in Las Vegas. Not exactly a running start to a crazy Vegas weekend but as you'll soon read we were just pacing ourselves.
May 23, 2008
The day began with Eggo and rotten eggs. Not exactly the breakfast of champions, but considering none of us were champions it worked out ok.
We decided to make the early part of the day a day for the kids so we took them to Circus Circus. We first made our way to the Adventuredome.
Want a surefire to not lose a kid? Well EJ, Lindsey, and I placed bets on which of the kids we thought would be the first to get lost. That meant we each kept an eye out on the kids we didn't bet on so as not to lose. At least that was the theory. I'm happy to report that no kids were lost on this expedition.
Adventuredome was alright I suppose. I could see how it would appeal to the much younger set who can't partake in the other diversions that Vegas has to offer. The kids had a lot of fun as prizes were won, bungee trampoline was tried out by Annalynne, and Jayden climbed up a wall.
After Adventuredome, we made our way to the Midway. EJ continued to impress by winning even more prizes, including a purple acoustic guitar for Annette by knocking blocks off a pedestal with a bean bag. I on the other hand was less than impressive at that game as I tossed that bag three feet to the ground in front of me. Apparently the trick to that game is to have the blocks slide off the pedestal. After adding to the collection of prizes we caught one of the circus acts where we learned that hair is fairly strongly attached to one's scalp.
Seeing that we didn't have much of a breakfast (seriously, forget about a breakfast of champions, even losers need a decent one to start the day) we were very hungry and settled for what was there. What was there was a lackluster buffet. I think the baby corn was mentioned as being good and when baby corn is the best thing that can be said even mentioned about a buffet than you're either a vegetarian or it wasn't much of a buffet.
And that was our first morning in Las Vegas.
That afternoon we moved into the time share that Annette had reserved for us that weekend. The time share resort was nice. It was situated between the Strip and Hard Rock, a very walkable distance if one wanted to just hit the Strip or Hard Rock and nearby surroundings. The time share itself had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a jacuzzi, a fully equipped kitchen, a washer and dryer, and a dining area. Amenities included two pool areas (one for families with kids, the other an "Adult Pool Area" which didn't live up to the connotations I thought it had) and a shuttle service to and fro the Strip. Overall, a very pleasant place to stay.
The only quibble I had was that it was a time share so there weren't all that many similarly aged people there. However, along with that quibble came a not so minor gripe. As we were checking-in, Lindsey and I explored a little with the discovery of alcohol as the main objective of the exploration. We happened to find what looked like a bar. I say "looked like" because this supposed bar had no alcohol in it. We were then informed that they only served alcohol during Happy Hour (which had ended a mere 20 minutes before we began checking-in), with another restriction to be revealed to us only later on. The Happy Hour restriction made me think our titas and uncles had called the place ahead of time or at least Lindsey's parents had.
Shortly after checking in Lindsey got a call from her parents inviting everyone out to dinner. I guess I should backtrack a bit. On our way to Circus Circus, Lindsey got a call from her parents to see if she got into Vegas alright. At the end of that call, her dad said they'd be seeing her soon. Of course, Lindsey had no idea that her parents were planning on going to Vegas that weekend, so she kind of thought her parents were just joking so as to keep her on her toes.
When a reporter pressed him on why he hadn't initiated a large-scale government campaign to encourage energy conservation, the President said (and I paraphrase),Contrast that with the following.
"The American people are smart enough to figure it out. They know the price of gas.
They're already driving less and seeking smaller cars. I don't need to tell them; they can balance their checkbook."
After a brief bout of Obamamania, some Capitol Hill Democrats have begun to complain privately that Barack Obama’s presidential campaign is insular, uncooperative and inattentive to their hopes for a broad Democratic victory in November.
“They think they know what’s right and everyone else is wrong on everything,” groused one senior Senate Democratic aide. “They are kind of insufferable at this point.”
So I got the new iPhone so I decided to start a blog. So we shall see how it goes.
Http:/lfon.blogspot.com check it out. Follow me.
For those not reading the Reader.
Every human being on the planet can be adequately described using a three-digit number (i.e. area code). The first digit denotes the rating of how attractive the face is (0-9). The second digit describes whether you would sleep with that person or not (0=no, 1=yes). And finally, the third digit describes how attractive the person’s body is (0-9).So let's take this system out for a test drive.
So who is in for the upcoming season? We gotta break that losing streak sometime. I need to know soon and to collect fees ($30) if we're going to have a team.
So far the following have expressed interest in playing next season.
Austin
Wayne
Annette
Jade
Brian
Annie
Sara
Mehran
Karen
Louis
That gives us 6 guys and 4 girls interested in playing next season. Faye... Jason, you two interested in playing again?
Because of the rules of co-ed softball, I need to comprise a team that has only one less girl than a guy or equal amounts. That means I either have to find another girl or two or cut one of the guys.
Anyway, I need to know who's in and then get all the money in SOON, absolutely no later than Monday of next week.
Oh yeah, we also need a team name.
Pick your favorites in the comments and let me know if you think any show got left out.
COMEDY SERIES
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Entourage
The Office
30 Rock
Two and a Half Men
DRAMA SERIES
Boston Legal
Damages
Dexter
House
Lost
Mad Men
REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM
The Amazing Race
American Idol
Dancing With The Stars
Project Runway
Top Chef
REALITY SERIES
Antiques Roadshow
Dirty Jobs
Extreme Makeover
Intervention
Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List
VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
Late Show With David Letterman
Real Time With Bill Maher
Saturday Night Live
A funny thing happened over on the Barack Obama campaign website in the last few days.It's like a reverse Iranian Photoshop! No wonder he's so eager to meet with Iran. It's probably just so they can discuss on how best to hide the truth. And why would Obama want to hide the truth?
The parts that stressed his opposition to the 2007 troop surge and his statement that more troops would make no difference in a civil war have somehow disappeared.
At the time he first proposed his timetable, Mr. Obama argued -- wrongly, as it turned out -- that U.S. troops could not stop a sectarian civil war. He conceded that a withdrawal might be accompanied by a "spike" in violence. Now, he describes as "an achievable goal" that "we leave Iraq to a government that is taking responsibility for its future -- a government that prevents sectarian conflict and ensures that the al-Qaeda threat which has been beaten back by our troops does not reemerge." How will that "true success" be achieved? By the same pullout that Mr. Obama proposed when chaos in Iraq appeared to him inevitable.Really all Sen. Obama has to do is say his judgment regarding a timetable was wrong and give President Bush credit where credit is due for showing leadership by deciding for the surge despite strong opposition. I mean if Sen. Obama is all about change from ordinary politics that's what he should and would do right?
"What's missing in our debate," Mr. Obama said yesterday, "is a discussion of the strategic consequences of Iraq." Indeed: The message that the Democrat sends is that he is ultimately indifferent to the war's outcome -- that Iraq "distracts us from every threat we face" and thus must be speedily evacuated regardless of the consequences. That's an irrational and ahistorical way to view a country at the strategic center of the Middle East, with some of the world's largest oil reserves. Whether or not the war was a mistake, Iraq's future is a vital U.S. security interest. If he is elected president, Mr. Obama sooner or later will have to tailor his Iraq strategy to that reality.
Gilbert Arenas loves the Philippines. Yes, that Gilbert Arenas. So here's what he had to say about our ancestors' Motherland,
One thing I want to say about Filipinos: they’re very warm people, very good-hearted people. Like, everybody was nice. You know, you meet nice people, but a whole country of nice, genuine, warm-hearted people was unbelievable.....I'm pretty sure he's talking about actual bananas, but I could be wrong.
Everywhere I went it was just bananas.
I was stunned.Seeing that he's actually something "like an NBA star" I'm happy that the Filipinos got something right.
They made me feel like an NBA star.
Any NBA players out there: If you’re having a bad day, or you’re having a bad career, go to Manila. They’ll bring your spirits up, trust me.I can see the tourist slogan now; Manila: The Place Where NBA Players Come To Feel Like They're Having A Good NBA Career. Catchy.
Just remember people, if you want to feel like a king and feel like a star, you know where to go: Manila. So, Pauly Shore, after you finish reading this, you head to Manila to jumpstart your career, baby. You’ll be back in the business, baby. You’ll be doing Jury Duty 2 in no time.Gotta love Agent Zero.
I don't think I'll go as much into the rankings this time around. However, I will indicate whether there has been movement.
That of course is in reference to how many times I will have completed the 1500 mile span between Chatsworth and Plano by Thursday. By the #8, I will have officially averaged driving the equivalent of one way every other month. But its all worth it to see everyone soon :) Love y'all. See you guys soon.
