Amy and Nona are away so Mike will play

Yeah, Amy and Fiona are in Shamokin for a few days, (i am sure fiona will blog all about it), so i had two whole interrupted nights to play Risk on the computer.

I am practicing. Some day Zecchinelli and Dewey will be up for a game and I need to be prepared.

Here is a list of things I didn't do while Amy and Fiona were in Shamokin:
1. The laundry
2. The dishes
3. Cook for myself
4. Clean the car
5. Make the bed
6. Take out the trash
7. Take out the compost

I hate when I am home alone. I am wicked unproductive and I just feel like a lump on a log. I sit at work and make a list of things I need to do when I get home, like work on my calendar and get stuff ready for Fiona's b-day party. But instead, I get home, eat too much food, watch some tv, play Risk, eat some ice cream, and go to bed at like 11:30.

I am not faulting Amy and Fiona for going to Shamokin, I am actually happy that they go. Fiona loves seeing her MamMam and Aunt Sissy. It certainly is not their fault that I am lazy.

So Amy and Fiona will be home today. When I get home from work I will be back to normal. Hopefully I will be able to get some of my projects done.

peace

oh yeah... if anyone likes podcasts, i recommend The Monkey Box. It is wicked funny. Kind of reminds me of Dritsas's Bad Hair group. I feel like such a Gen-X loser when I recommend podcasts that I like. Like I am cool because I have an MP3 player and I don't think many of my friends do. So I am like that rich jackass from high school who always had the new gadgets 6 months before anyone else. That being said, i think MP3 players have been out for like 10 years, so instead of me feeling like a Gen-X loser for recommending a podcast, all you 24 - 38 somethings who are in the target market for electronic gizmos who DON'T have an MP3 player - perhaps it is you who is the losers.

Disclaimer: I don't actually mean that you are losers, I was just saying it to be sarcastic and/or funny. Please don't be insulted... unless you truly are a loser, in which case I might recommend some therapy or a Dr. Phil book.

Disclaimer 2 - i wrote this before work and didn't spell check.

Thank God For the Rain

In Taxi Driver, psychopathic self-righteous cabbie Travis Bickle says: "Thank God for the rain which has helped wash away the garbage and trash off the sidewalks."

Here in ScrappleDog, handsome and slender self-righteous idiot Michael Holland says "Thank God for the rain which has helped wash away the dust and pollen out of the air."

It is a beautiful Sunday Morning here in Lititz. It is beautiful because it is raining. As you know, we had a really really heavy storm at the end of June. Since then we have had extremely dry weather for about. The aforementioned storm gave all the plants and trees and flowers and other leaf, acorn, and pollen-producing entities all the juice it needed to do their best to agitate my allergies. And they are doing a great job at it. But they are not alone as the culprits in bothering my extraordinarily sensitive sinuses... I am as much to blame as they.

It's an algebra problem, really. A +B <> is the amount of pollen, dust, mold spores, dog hair, etc. B is how much time I voluntarily spend in the pollen, dust, etc. And C is an allergy reaction that will pretty much incapacitate me for the rest of the day.

The big thing here is NOT the amount of things in the air, it is how much time I spend out there. The things in the air are just doing their own thing. Their job is to create new life by spreading their spores all over the place. And the dust, it doesn't really have a job, it is a vacuous non-entity that just goes where it is told to go by the air currents that are it's masters. The big thing here is who on earth I think I can just go out there and work in the dust and pollen and get away with it. Let's look at the case studies, shall we:

The past 3 weekends have been marked by allergy attacks.

August 13: I spend the preceding 2 days and the morning of the 13th at the Buck Hollow Hunting Camp. There is a dirt road in front and near the camp and dump trucks working on the Lyman Run Dam project kick up an ass-load of dust all weekend long. Also, there are a lot of allergens in the air that my body is not used to, so I have very little immunity against those things. Result: After spending a day at Larry Land, riding in a covered wagon on a dirt road, sitting outside in the dusty air, and vacuuming the camp, the ride home was a very very long one with me sneezing and wiping my nose incessantly.

August 20: About 2,000,000 acorns have fallen off our oak tree. I decided it would be the perfect time to rake them. So I did. I over-exerted myself, did a fair amount of heavy breathing that brought in a lot of allergens and spent the next day at Charolotte's baptism and party sneezing and wiping my nose incessantly.

August 26: I replaced a few pieces of wood on the back porch. Again - outside, some physical exertion with heavy breathing, but more importantly: A whole lot of saw dust. I wore a bandana around my nose and mouth, but to no avail. My allergies started bothering me. Fiona and I then went to Mom and Dad's where Jackdog didn't help my allergy situation. I am not "allergic" to Jackdog, but because I am not around him too much, he does have the ability to assist in working my allergies. So I spent the balance of yesterday at my folks's place and up at Cabela's with dad sneezing and wiping my nose incessantly. The nice thing about yesterday was that it was a Saturday and I didn't have to work the next day... Therefore, I was able to treat my allergies not only with Fexofenodrine, but also with my favorite over-the-counter medicinal aide: Maker's Mark Whisky.

If I want to NOT have allergy attacks, then I need to stop over-doing it when I am outside. I can mow the lawn, but I shouldn't follow it by trimming the hedges and turning the compost. If I am going to fix the back porch, I need to subcontract the cutting of the wood to someone else, i.e. Dad, Christo, Jason, Amy, or Fiona. Doing projects is not the problem, the problem is that I am an idiot who needs to be doing projects in order to feel like I have accomplished something. Otherwise it is Monday morning and I get to work and Miranda says to me: "What did you do this weekend?" And I say "Nothing," and I feel like I wasted two days.

So the problem here is this: I do things that I shouldn't do that are going to bother me. But I can't spend the entire summer not mowing the lawn or getting chores done either. So what can I do? I can resign myself to fact that I have some problems that really bother me and I have to live with it. There are people in the world who have it a lot worse than me so I can't really complain too much about it. I think this attitude is the best thing to have because I can either sit around being incapacitate and being really pissed off about it, or I can say "hey, this is my body telling me to sit down and relax for a few hours. Have a tea-party with Fiona, watch Baby Einstein with Fiona, do the crosswords (which is kind of hard because I am sometimes out of it mentally and the crosswords are a lot harder that way), rent a movie, watch the Phillies on TV, play Risk on the computer, or take a nice long nap."

But, I can still be thankful that the rain is here and will hopefully keep some of the nasty allergens out of the air for a few days. And I can count down to November when the hard frost comes and kills off all the pollen producers.

Peace.

Not much going on

Nothing exciting in the world of MPH the past few days.

Our windows are going to be installed in a few days. I am stoked about that. Hopefully our gas bill will go down significantly in the near future.

I put up the birdhouse that dad made for us. That was fun. I hope we soon have birdies living in it.

I raked the acorns in the yard. It didn't take as long as I expected, but it was a gigantic pain in the thumb. I got a really nasty blister. Here is the kicker: I raked a few thousand acorns and there are about 20,000 more to rake over the next few weeks. They rain down and they hurt quite a bit if you get hit on the head. I am concerned that Nona's b-day party will be somewhat dampened if there is a downpour of acorns while everyone is sitting under the oak tree.

Sunday we went to Charolette Huck's baptism. It was nice to see Bayard and Emelie and get to hang out with them for an afternoon.

Peace.

Sorry so boring.

Weekend at Buck Hollow Hunting Club

This past weekend, Amy, Fiona, Cisco and I went up to the cabin with Kevin, Kara, Megan and Nate Kearney.

As you may or may not know, in May Kevin returned home from a year-long tour of duty in Iraq, so it was nice to be able to spend some time with him and his family.

We had a great time and the weather was perfect from begining to end.

We took a long walking tour of Larry Land, stopping to let Cisco swim in Long Pond. We went over to the new Christmas Trees that Larry and I planted last spring. We found Fiona's Christmas Tree and it looks healthy. After looking at Nona's tree, we hiked over to Pine Pond and Spring Pond. Along the way, we stopped and picked a whole lot of wild raspberries. They were very very tasty. Up at Spring Pond was a gigantic pile of Bear Poop. At one point Fiona was running straight for it and, while Amy was frozen with fear, I swooped in and lifted Fiona out of harm's way just in the nick of time.

After we left Larry Land, we went back to the cabin. That evening we sat around a campfire out back and talked. We saw a Big Mama Bear with two cubs.

On Saturday morning, Kara made pancakes with the wild raspberries we had picked.

Later, we went on a covered wagon ride along Pine Creek in the Grand Canyon of PA. It was pretty neat and Fiona, Megan and Nate really seemed to enjoy it. We then went to the Leonard Harrison State Park on the east rim of the Grand Canyon. Back at camp, we had dinner and smores and sat around the campfire. We saw only one bear, but it was a big one.

On sunday, we packed up and headed home. It was a great weekend to be at the cabin and we were very happy to be able to spend time with the Kearney Family.

SPICE WORLD, the Spice Girls Movie

Last weekend was Maureen's baby shower at my folks' house. Mark's sister, Erin was there and we were talking about movies that you wouldn't normally think were any good. For Instance: Maureen and mark, both of whom graduated from Lehigh and are generally considered pretty smart and to a certain degree "cultured," have an afinity for the movies Drumline and Bring It On, and Mean Girls.

I then said that one of my favorite movies that i am somewhat embarassed to admit i even watched was Spice World, the Spice Girls movie. Erin thought it was insane to even try to comprehend even thinking about even considering the feasibility of possibly watching such a movie.

THEREFORE, I want to try and make a case for Spice World. Here are a few facts I was unable to remember when I was telling Erin about the movie.
The Following People are in Spice World:

Elvis Costello (as himself)
Elton John
George 'Norm Peterson' Wendt*
Roger 'James Bond' Moore
Kevin McKinney of the Kids In The Hall
Meatloaf
Bob 'Boomtown Rats, Live Aid, Live 8' Geldolf **
Jools Holland
Bob Hoskins
Hugh 'House M.D.' Laurie
Richard O'Brien aka Riff Raff from the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

How can a movie with this many AWESOME people in it be bad? It can't.
If you rent this movie and you are not 100% completely satisfied, I will send you a full refund for whatever you paid to rent it (up to $4.50 u.s.)***

IF you are still not sold on Spice World, I might direct you to www.spiceworld.uk.com, a web site about spices and how to use them for cooking and/or medicinal purposes.

*As some of you may know, I made a complete ass of myself when I met him at a Basshead concert in New York.

**who also played the role of Pink in Pink Floyd's epic "the Wall" which Erin considers a rock opera... i do not think of it as a rock opera, more of a long-term psychological study of the effects of the trauma of war and instutionalized education on a young child's mind as told through a scattering array of musical vignets that are linked only by a common character. It relates only vague, but yet severe, hypotheticals that could have happened to any one of a number of young British boys who lost their father to a war he did not understand and then went on to become a international rock superstar during and in the immediate aftermath of World War II and had their lives forever changed negatively and is still searching for the answers that he knows he will never find. God, that could have been anyone... literally anyone. You, me, anyone.
An opera, in my ignorant opinion, is a story that is specific to one person and tells his story. I.e. Tommy, Jesus Christ, and Joseph and his Amazing Technocolored Dreamcoat.

Also - - - AND THIS IS IMPORTANT - - - Opera's are entirely sung. The Wall has several lines in it which are spoken. I.e. the operator on the telephone when Pink calls his wife - those lines are not spoken. Also the infamous "you can't have pudding if you don't eat your meat" dialog of the schoolmaster is spoken, not sung. Therefore - NOT an opera.

Of the rock operas - i list them thusly:
1. Jesus Christ Superstar
2. Tommy
3. Joseph and the Amazing Technocolored Dreamcoat

IF The Wall must be included in the list - i list them thusly
1. The Wall
2, Jesus Christ Superstar
3. Tommy
4. Joseph and the Amazing Technocolor Dreamcoat.

***This offer applies to Erin only.

Red Hot Chili Peppers & The Boss

So I've been listening to the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album. So far I like it. Usually when they have a new album out, I'm not so nuts about it, but then after listening to it a few times, I really get into it. This one I liked right off the bat. Chad Smith's drumming really snaps and Frusciante's guitar meanders seamlessly between delicate angelic grace and raging controlled pandemonium. Flea's bass is Flea's bass, always good. But not being a bass afficianado, I can not say if it is any better or more inventive that any other bass player out there. (The bass has always bored the crap out of me. I don't know why.)

There is one lyric on the album that really seemed to pop out at me. I still haven't figured out what the hell it means and if I should be happy or angry about it. Every time I hear it, I stunningly perplexed.

Here it is:
SHE'S GOT THAT MOOD RING
A LITTLE SISTER ROSE
THE SMELL OF SPRINGSTEEN
A PAIR OF PANTYHOSE

"The smell of Springsteen?"
Is that a shout-out?
Or an insult?
Is Keidis giving mad props to the boss, or is he deriding Bruce for what he might view as being something of a media whore?

On Californication, Keidis sez "Cobain can you hear the spheres/singing songs of off Station to Station." Now that is a clear cut example of how to praise both Kurt Cobain and David Bowie. Keidis's (and the RHCP in general) are more likely to be lined up with Nirvana and Bowie than with Bruce and I don't think a whole lot of RHCP's fans are also Bruce fans so maybe he thinks he is able to cut on Bruce.

But RHCP has never been about dissing people and Keidis certainly doesn't need any street-cred like a rapper who needs to put down his enemies to show that he is tough. RHCP and Bruce exist in mutually exclusive circles. Keidis doesn't need to rip on Bruce, unless, as I mentioned earlier, he thinks Bruce is selling out lately. (I.e. being on 60 Minutes, the Today Show, Sirius Satellite Radio, NPR's Fresh Air, BBC's Mastermind, BBC's Great Performances*, CMT, Conan O'Brien, etc. etc.) But I seriously doubt Keidis would openly dis Bruce like that, for two reasons: 1.) One of his good buddies, Eddie Vedder, freaking loves Bruce. And 2.) telling a group of stereotypical RHCP fans that Bruce Springsteen sucks would be like preaching to the choir.

And besides, RHCP has done their fair share of selling out:
1.) they have thier own Adidas Sneakers (I am not making fun of the RHPC for this... these shoes kick so much ass that I would go without lunch for ($209.99/$3.45**) days to get some of these.)
2.) they made a NIKE commercial with Andre Agasi in the early 90's.
3.) they are going to be in a NASCAR commercial.

While I think RHCP and Bruce are at opposite ends of the spectrum musically, i would have to say that with the exceptions of lots of tattoos, RHCP has very very very little in common with Nascar fans. (Oh yeah, maybe the fact that Keidis and Frusciante are recovering addicts... they might have that in common with some Nascar fans.)

Anyway, in writing this I have come to the conclusion that it is just a lyric. Nothing more. A word/name that fit the space. In the preceding verse he says "She doesn't like the Rolling Stones" as if that makes the girl a weirdo. I am not sure if i would be glad if he said "She doesn't like Springsteen." I guess I would... it would imply that he does like Springsteen.

I guess I might be thinking too much.

peace
mph


* what's up with the superlative titles of BBC shows? "Mastermind?" "Great Performances?" If you get invited to go on one of those shows, you better be prepared. You don't want to go on Mastermind and get the $100 question wrong. Or give a average-good performance on "Great Performances."

**the price of 2 Slices and a Coke at Nick's Pizzeria.

Movies

Part of me is looking forward to winter.
Winter is when the days get short and I start to spend more time in front of the tv. I usually start up Netflix and veg out for about 3 months. Here is my current list of movies I will put in my Netflix queue. (Not in any particular order)

Nacho Libre
Wordplay
Superman Returns
Good Night, Good Luck
Click
Night Shift
A Prarie Home Companion
Keeping Up with the Steins
The Benchwarmers
Thank You for Smoking
Strangers with Candy
Who Killed the Electric Car?
Scary Movie 2
Scary Movie 3
Scary Movie 4
Teen Movie 2
Teen Movie 3
Teen Movie 4
Friends with Money
Notorious Betty Paige
American Dreamz
Dave Chappelles Block Party
Madea's Family Reunion
The Pink Panther
Nanny McPhee
Wallace and Grommit: Curse of the WereRabbit
Around the World in 80 Days (The 1989 TV Miniseries version that featured Pierce Brosnin and Eric Idle.)
Talladega Nights: Ballad of Ricky Bobby

This list is banking on the hope that I will be seeing Cars and Pirates of the Caribbean in the theater.

Peace.

Shore Report 2k6

We just got home from our trip to Ocean City, New Jersey and we had a wonderful time.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Scrapple Sticks
• seeing Lucy the Elephant
• my dad and I playing with Fiona in the shallow water
• walking on the boardwalk
• Amy, Fiona, and I getting our pictures taken in one of those photo booths
• playing mini golf with Amy, Maureen, Mark, Nathaniel, and Neil
• Riding waves with Christo
• Hearing Reen and Dad make fun of Bruce Springsteen
• Watching Soccer with Mark
• Food (including but not limited to the following things: the aforementioned Scrapple Sticks, Chicken & Waffles, Waffles & Ice Cream, T.T.'s cake, Aunt Holly's Red Velvet Cake, Pot Pies, mint ice cream, Uncle Bill's Pancakes (mmmmm... stuffed French Toast.) Mack & Manco's Pizza, dutch-oven jambalaya, $3 Coconut Macaroons, Browns Cinnamon, Honey, Plain, and Powdered donuts, French Fries.)
• Hanging out with Dritsas on Sunday afternoon and dropping Mentos into a 2-litre bottle of Diet Coke
• Wonderland Pier
• digging in the sand
• riding a surrey bike with Amy and Fiona
• going to see Bruce Springsteen with Seamus
• going to see Bruce Sprignsteen with Amy, Maureen, and Mark

A FEW RANDOM NOTES ON THE SHORE TRIP

• Mark won the Miniature-Golf Tournament (If Reen would have had a three or less on the last hole of the last game, she would have won the tournament... she got a 6 on that hole.)
• I did not get sunburned at all.
• Amy, Fiona, and I sent a total of 18 post cards.
• I lost my St. Patrick/St. Brigid medallion in the ocean. My mom and dad got that for me when they went to Ireland in 2000.
• Mack & Manco's pizza is completely over-rated and over-priced.
• The Bruce Concert was awesome, but I was actually more excited about being there with Seamus, and Maureen and Mark then I was about seeing Bruce. And that makes me very very happy. I love Bruce, but he wasn't even close to being the best part of that evening.

A FEW FUNNY THINGS THAT WERE SAID AT THE SHORE

• While I was reading "Body Brokers," a book about the illegal sales of deceased human bodies for medical experiments, my cousin asked how much a human brain costs, and I responded "$600." My Dad then said: "Perhaps you (meaning me) should save up for a new one."
• While Bruce Springsteen was singing 'Maria's Bed' for the first time on the entire tour and I was singing along enthusiastically, Seamus came over to me and said: "What's for dinner?"
• While discussing Fiona's Strawberry Shortcake shoelaces and Amy's need for Fiona to like Strawberry Shortcake and my NEED for Fiona to like Scrapple, Mark and I both said some thing that ended with the words: "Scrapple Shoelaces." (I think if I ever have a band, it will be called "Scrapple Shoelaces.")
• After telling Caitlin that she should try to never get old, she said to me: "You're not old." I then said, "Thank you... how old do you think I am?" Caitlin then said: "Ummm... 46?"

FUN FACTS

• Mack and Manco's Pizza and my Uncle Tim are both 50 years old.
• Samantha and Sara's first solid food was Mack and Manco's pizza.
• The She Sharks beat the Sea Monkeys at Wiffle ball after Amy "Zimmy" Holland blasted a three-run homer over the head of her husband.
• Amy and I got some Christmas Shopping done.
• As for Ocean City license plates for bicycles, they did not have Fiona, Nona, Kellen, or Madison. They did, however, have Omar. (Incidentally, they did have SARA and SAMANTHA.)

If I remember more fun things, I will update them later.

OCNJ 2K6

Yeah, we are heading out to Ocean City N.J. bright and early tomorrow morning.

I am all packed, thanks to Amy. She packed all my clothes and whatnot and I have been put in charge of remembering to bring the Bruce Springsteen tickets.

I have already placed them in the suitcase, but knowing myself as well as I do, I will probably check the suitcase again tonight... then tomorrow morning before I put the suitcase in the car... and then after I put the suitcase in the car because you know there is a chance that they could have fallen out between our front door and the curb... i will also probably check when we get to the Frank S. Farley rest stop... and then again when we get to the apartment.

And then i will check again on saturday night, sunday morning, sunday night, monday morning, monday night, tuesday morning, tuesday afternoon, and tuesday before we leave for the show. I will then check again when we are about a block from the apartment, perhaps again 10 minutes later, again 30 minutes later and then when we get to the parking lot of the Tweeter Center. I will then walk to the gate with the tickets in my pocket and my hand on the tickets while they are in my pocket and when we finally arrive at the gate and I give Amy, Maureen, Mark, and Seamus their tickets, and then hand MY ticket to the ticket-taker... then I will relax about the tickets.

Then I will be able to enjoy the rest of my week, knowing that I have absolutely nothing else to worry about for the next 5 days... except losing at minigolf.

peace
mph

New Movies

MOVIES OUT NOW (OR COMING OUT SOON) THAT LOOK REALLY GOOD
1. Nacho Libre
2. Cars
3. Strangers With Candy
4. Superman Returns (I want to see this movie at an IMAX theater.)
5. The Break-Up

MOVIES OUT NOW THAT LOOK LIKE THEY TOTALLY SUCK
1. Garfield 2: The Tale of Two Kitties
2. The Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift

Peace
MPH

SUMMER OF MPH V2.0?

Could this be the Summer of Michael P. Holland Version 2.0?

Let's look at the summer so far:

I had a few warm up days in late spring with a Springsteen Concert and a trip to the cabin with Dad and Larry.

And then a trip to see the Phillies with Dad and Fiona.

And then Memorial Day was upon us and with it, we went to Vermont and Mass.

The next weekend, Fiona spent her first night away from home by herself, hanging out with MomMom and Pop-Pop, while Amy and I went out to eat and bowling with friends.

And coming up: a trip to the shore that will be punctuated with minature golf, playing in the ocean with Fiona, perhaps going to see Cars, and of course, Going To See BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN with Amy, Maureen, Mark, and Seamus. Dude, how cool is Seamus? Going to rock with the boss when he is only 5 years old?BONUS: Dritsas might be going, too.

The week after that is fourth of July. And beyond that... who knows? All I can say is life is good for MPH.

peace

Trip to Massachusetts

Well, we are home from our whirl-wind tour of New England. We arrived home last night and all slept really really well in our own beds.

Our three days in Massachusetts were great. We ate Lobster and went candle-pin bowling. We watched 4 episodes of The Office and went to a really cool garden that had a merry-go-round.

Amy painted a cow jumping over the moon on the wall of Maureen & Mark's nursery. Fiona got to play with her Auntie Maureen and Uncle Mark a whole lot.

We got to drive our new car a whole lot and it was fine.

Couple of Vermont/Massachusetts lists:
Number of Dunkin' Donuts we saw while we were there:
1.) Like a billion.

Number of DD's we ate at:
2.) Zero (we did have some at Joe & Tammy's house and we stopped at one in Rhode Island, but we did not actually eat at any in Vermont or Mass.)

Most annoying things about Massachusetts:
1.) The way people drive
2.) All those freaking Red Sox hats, t-shirts, sweatshirts, bumper stickers (or as they say up there 'bumpah stickahs'), liscense plates, banners, flags, clocks, etc etc etc

Number of Rotaries we needed to negotiate:
1.) about 10

Number of times the guy behind me was aggitated enough with my inability to pull the trigger and merge into the rotary that he was forced to honk his horn:
1.) only once

Number of days while we were in Mass that it rained:
1.) Zero

How long it rained on the day we had to drive home
1.) Over 7 hours.
2.) From Maureen's house striaght through to Hamburg PA

Number of diapers we had left when we arrived at my folks' house at the end of our drive:
1.) 1... the one that Fiona was wearing.

Number of times Amy got Punk'd by me and/or Maureen
1.) 2
a.) I made her believe that she had forgot to tell me that Fiona's clothes were packed in a different bag from ours and that that bag was still at home. Hilarious.
b.) Reen got Amy to believe that Dunkin Donuts in Massachusetts closed at 3:00 on Fridays so they could prepare for the Saturday rush.

What the guy at the candlepin bowling place entered into the automated scoring system when Maureen told him Amy's name
1.) Katie

How our names appeared on the automated scoring system thing:
1.) MIK
2.) KAT
3.) MAU
4.) MAR

Candlepin bowling results
1.) Mark
2.) Katie (Amy)
3.) Maureen
4.) Mike

Number of miles on our new car when we left Lititz:
1.) 84

Number of miles on our car when we arrived in Lititz:
1.) 1,446

Number of states Fiona was in for the first time:
1.) 6 (New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut.)

That is all for now.

Peace,
MPH

Vermont

I am checking in here from Massachusetts. Amy and I arrived yesterday after a real good time in Vermont. We did almost all the stuff we wanted to do. And we did all the stuff we really wanted to do like hang out with Joe and Tammy, and Tim, Nicole, Owen, and Marnie. We also went to Trattoria Delia, our Favorite Vermont Restaurant.
Here is what I had:
Scamorza alla Griglia Wood-grilled handmade smoked mozzarella served on a bed of arugula with grilled tomatoes, eggplant and zucchini drizzled with extra-virgin olive oil.

Spaghetti alla Pescatora Fresh baby clams, mussels, shrimp and calamari sauteed with olive oil, white wine, garlic, herbs and tomatoes.

Semifreddo alle Mandorle Literally translated, a “semi-frozen” vanilla mousse with a “Torrone” almond nougat, drizzled with a warm caramel sauce.

And a Coke.

The next day we went to Al's French Fries for lunch. I had a pizza burger, a sausage sandwich, some french fries. And a Coke. Fiona had a Hot Dog, and Amy had a Cheeseburger and some french fries.

On Tuesday, we went up to Stowe and ate at The Shed. Mmmmmmm... Shed Burger. I had a Shed Bacon-cheeseburger and fries. And a Mountain Ale Brew. Man alive it was really good. I do not consider myself much of a beer conniseur, but this beer was very good. It was light and very crisp and refreshing. I enjoyed it a great deal, but as I don't drink so much anymore, I did not buy a growler of it to take home with me. (Joe got me a case of Magic Hat's Fat Angel Ale, which is my favorite Vermont Beer.)


We then went on the touristy tour of Stowe/Waterbury. We went to the Cold Hollow Cider Mill where I worked when we first moved to Vermont. And we went to Cabot Cheese for some free cheese. My dad still holds the record for most free cheese eaten. His picture is on the wall. And we went to Ben & Jerry's. I bought some post cards and stamps. I asked for 9 stamps, but they accidentally gave me 11. I didn't realize the error until we were down the road a ways. Ha Ha, i got one over on Ben & Jerrys. I ripped them off for 48 cents!!! DOWN WITH THE CAPITALIST HIPPIES!!

Now we are here in Mass with Maureen and Mark and we are having fun. Amy is painting a mural on the nursery wall, Fiona is watching Sesame Street with her Auntie Reen, and I am relaxing! When Mark gets home we are going out for Lobster at the Lobster Trap. All is good!

Trip to Vermont/Massachusetts

In honor of our trip to Vermont, I am putting up this comic that features me and Joe and Nicole.

You can click on the comic and it will appear bigger.

We will be taking our brand new Saturn Vue on our trip north. Our Fordy Ford did not pass inspection as it was "Uninspectable due to rusted frame and unsafe to drive." I look forward to getting a new car, because i will finally get to drive my Subaru which we have been for Fiona for the past 21 months.



here is my list of stuff to do/stuff not to forget in preparation for my trip to Vermont and Massachusetts:

1.) Make tapes to listen to in car:
a. King of the Hill
b. Pete& Pete
c. So I Married An Ax-Murderer
d. NewsRadio

2.) MP3 Players
3.) FM Transmitter *
4.) Directions
5.) Mow Lawn
6.) Pay Bills
7.) Update Blog
8.) Fill up Mp3 Players (I have 2 MP3 players. I put the Rolling Stones 40 Licks, Shawn Colvin's A Few Small Repairs, & Natalie Merchant's Tigerlilly on the MP3 player Amy gave me for Father's Day last year and Bruce Springsteen's The Rising, Devils and Dust, and the Seeger Sessions, and Dar Williams' My Better Self on the MP3 player i won at work last month.)
9.) Addresses for Postcards
a. Madison
b. Connor
c. Molly
d. Seamus
e. T.T.
10.) Cell Charger
11.) Allergy Medication
12.) Mail Netflix Movie back (The Movie is "Therese: The Story of St. Therese of Lisieux." I liked it a lot. I cancelled Netflix and if i don't get it back to them by thursday, i will have to purchase the movie.)
13.) Cell Phone & Charger
14.) Wallet

There is a second list as well with stuff to take up to Joe and Tammy:
1.) Yuengling
2.) Miller's Hot Sausage
3.) Devils & Dust
4.) The Rising
5.) Seeger Sessions

I was going to get Joe some real scrapple, but I think it would go bad by the time we got to Vermont.

Restaurants I want to go to in Vermont:
1.) Trattorial Delia
2.) The Shed
3.) Al's
4.) Munchies

We don't have a list of anything to take to Mark and Maureen.
Here is what I want to to in Massachusetts:
1.) Candlepin Bowling
2.) Eat Lobster
3.) Watch the Office Marathon on NBC on Thursday Night. (They are showing the episode where Michael hooks up with Jan. It is the only episode i haven't seen. I missed it because I was rockin with with Boss.)

*I actually don't need the FM Transmitter since our new car has an MP3 player input jack! Hot Diggety!

Peace

6 years ago today.....

Today (May 20) is Amy and My 6th anniversary.
The traditional gift for 6 years is iron, so i was a bit limited in what i could give Amy for our anniversary. A frying pan and an iron. I am thinking she would probably hit me in the head with them and my head would take the shape of the object, like in the cartoons. The other option, i suppose, is a wraught-iron fence. Iron Chef on DVD. An Iron Maiden cd?

Thankfully, there is the "modern" anniversary list that makes it easy for me. The sixth anniversary gift is: candy.

Well, you all know me well enough to know that i didn't just get amy a box of chocolates.

I actually put some thought into it and made her a mixed cd of all candy and sugar songs.

The track list is as follows:
Sugar Sugar by The Archies
Candy Everybody Wants by 10000 Maniacs
Lips Like Sugar by Echo and the Bunnymen
Candy's Room by Bruce Springsteen
Candy Man by Ramblin' Jack Elliot
Candy by Morphine
Candy by Iggy Pop and Kate Pierson
Sugar Shack by Johnny Gilmare
Candy By the Pound by Elton John
Brown Sugar by The Rolling Stones
I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow

Some of the songs are pure pop - like Sugar Sugar, Sugar Shack, and I Want Candy. Some are a little blue, like Candy, and Candy. And I am pretty sure Ramblin' Jack is singing about a cocaine dealer. But I like the songs.

Songs that I left off and why:
Candy Store Rock by Led Zeppelin: it doesn't have the words 'candy' or 'sugar' in it at all.
Big Rock Candy Mountain by Burl Ives - i only have it on lp.
Sugar Baby by Bob Dylan - it is 6 minutes long and boring and slow.
Candyland by James McMurtry - it is not about candy or love... candyland is more of a methaphorical idea of a suburban landscape where everyone has what they think are good lives...but ultimately they are empty inside. (Incidentally, Candyland (the album) is my least favorite James McMurtry album. I highly recommend 1995's "Where'd You Hide the Body.")
Candyman by Sammy Davis Jr. - Sammy Davis always kind of creeped me out.
Candyman by The Grateful Dead - Dude, I hate the Grateful Dead.
Candy Shop by 50 Cent - yeah, that was kind of a no-brainer.
Good Shop Lollipop by Shirely Temple - i was going to put this on there to be ironic because the way Shirely Temple sings it really aggrivates Maureen. But I decided to not put a song on the album that i don't think Amy would like just to have an mildly amusing story to tell Maureen. And then when we listened to the album we might think less about our anniversary and more about Maureen's intense hatred of a little white girl who used her increadible tapdancing abilities to help the poor negores in the antebellum south make the best of their lot in life. "Sure, Mr. Bojangles, you don't have food, clothes, money, clean drinking water, an education, or even your freedom, but this song about a ocean liner made out of candy should take away all of your problems." (Fun fact about Shirley Temple: She is on the Sgt. Peppers album cover 3 times.)

I thought Lips Like Sugar was by the Cure, but it is not. A friend of mine in college, Steve Foland, once met Robert Smith of the Cure who said to him, "I just want to be treated like a normal person." Steve said he wished he had had the balls to say "Well then stop acting like such a freak."

Since the 6th anniversary is the Candy Anniversary, my wish list is as follows:
The Kids In The Hall movie Brain Candy on DVD.

My favorite fun fact about my wedding day: The last thing I ate as a bachelor was a piece of scrapple the size of a liscense plate.

MMMMM..... scrapple.

peace.

BRUUUUUUUCE!!!

T-minus 31 days until i see Bruce Springsteen with Amy, Maureen, and Mark.

2 Notes:
1.) Reen isn't fat, she's prego.
2.) It was actually a phone call, but I have a hard time drawing people talking on the phone.

Chewbacca Comic

(C) 2006 Michael P. Holland
Ducky Comics

Is Big Pete a Phillies Phan?

Awww, yeah.... Big Pete is rockin' what appears to be a Philadelphia Phillies hat in an episode titled "On Golden Pete."

What do the Phillies and Spinal Tap have in common???

A mullet and a kick-ass fu manchu.
Spinal Tap bassist, Derek Albion Smalls and Phillies catcher, Sal Fasano.

Weekend Plans

This weekend, Jan 27 - 29, I plan to do the following things:

Here are my chores:
I am going to clean the garage. I want to get all our tax stuff together. I want to burn some of the fallen branches and wood in the back yard. I need to repair two small floor boards on the second floor. Go to gym.

Fun stuff:
Play with Fiona. Work on my cigarbox ukulele. Blow through a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card. Watch some movies (Hotel Rwanda, National Treasure). Do a calendar drawing or two.

Holler.

Peace,
MPH