Displaying 121 To 150 Of 960 Comments For Pepe and Great Lardini — Canada’s OTHER game and its long love affair with baseball HH We’d have had a lot more Canadian baseball players in the Big’s if you damn stubborn Canucks would make your kids wear helmets in hockey We lost Koskie, one very good player and now we are in danger of losing Morneau for good from one too many sticks upside their heads. Great players and esp in Justin’s case, one hell of a citizen and all around great man. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 19, 2011 @ 3:10 pm Cher I feel like a real heel because I actually went to a great public school. I grew up in Minneapolis and had a wonderful, if not terrifyingly boring educational experience. My older sister was a model student, me? Not so much. I was often dragged out of class to the Principals office where my IQ score and my sisters were waved under my nose as a pounding point (my ego taking the hits) of why she did so well when I was doing so average. I made the mistake of telling the Principal and the stern looking “Guidance Counselor” that I was bored and the curriculum wasn’t challenging me (I know, I never learned to keep my mouth shut). So in each and every class from 11th grade on I got “extra work” and even had to teach the portion of American history on the Civil War and WW II. I was shy and not terribly outgoing so I almost fainted having to present to my classmates and snickering, sniveling friends who coughed “bullshit” until the teacher threw them out. My children went to public school in St. Paul. Their elementary was a magnet that was quite varied in curriculum and actually spent so much time prepping them for Middle School they were both bored the first year. On to middle and high school they went to a school that was small in enrollment and “highly recommended” parent involvement with the result being it was one of the most highly sought schools in the city. They were challenged by enrolling in advanced coursework allowing them both to get accepted into two of the best colleges in the Midwest. Their friends from there were of the same outcome. Having said that I have looked at test scores in MN and both Minneapolis and St Paul have dropped a lot in the last few years. That means I was isolated from the reality because of my own children and their friends. What to do? Or more importantly, why have schools fallen away from their mission to educate our children? I used to think it was simple. Because “slower” children were mainstreamed did teachers simply teach down to the lowest common denominator? I asked my kids and they said they thought that was it because some of their courses were not College Placement and they were bored out of their skulls. Did we lose great teachers because the pay was low and the classroom size destroyed their motivation to teach? I read something on HP about how teachers were “not productive” for the economy so it justified not paying them better. As though output that’s measurable is the only criteria? I think this country is in serious shape in so many areas. Much of that comes from, IMHO, from the decline in education. It is much easier to brainwash people who lack education and the curiosity to learn more when confronted with information. Crazy…. Thanks for your post, awesome as always » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 3:17 pm Arianna’s Republican Hattrick (or Toyboy) I was just strolling around in the back of the room during the election of 2008. At least until the creature from the wasilla lagoon strode onto the stage in St Paul and proceeded to insult the people of MN with her stupid jingo talk taken almost directly from Frances McDormand’s amazing parody of the old northern MN folks in Fargo. When I got to HP it occurred to me she was a “liberal” but I didn’t feel good about it given her pretentiousness when she was interviewed a couple of places. I think she sensed a dem was going to win so my first take was she was for Hilary and then grudgingly went for Obama. I think he’s smarter than most people think and I doubt her politics or the way he was being treated on HP was lost on him. I prefer her politics be honest, she’s a neo-con and she should stay that way. Her site has become a mostly conservative comment since AOL. Why would we expect differently? » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 7:27 am Shit Dey, why did you tell me that? Now I’ll be over there seeing if it’s on instant and if it is my weekend’s shot [{ spit }] on principle » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 7:20 pm I was trying to be nice. It’s easier to blame it on David since he’s not here. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 7:18 pm My maternal grandfather was a watchmaker and clock repairman. My fondest memories of visiting in Indiana, aside from hand made donuts in the Griswold and Black bottom pie was the entire dining room was filled with chiming clocks. He’d shut them down at night but early morning he’d wind them and start em going. Still love the sound of the Westminster clocks. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:44 pm Oh Oh, looks like Huffpo {[spit]} is catching on. Dang Penner. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:39 pm As am I » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:36 pm Ecat, Her computer “skills” are legendary. She can get online and list stuff just fine. But she still uses AOL for mail and she has the capacity to get the strangest error messages I’ve ever seen. My son is the computer geek and he’ll trudge in, fix the computer even as “grandma” pleads innocence and come back to me shaking his head. She has stuff all over her house and lists about five to ten items a day. God, she’s wearing me out. My brother in law and I are convinced she’s going to work us both to death. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:35 pm Absolutely. It’s time you only get once » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:31 pm We are trying to save as much of her as we can. When my dad died his fourth wife threw out so many things, almost all the photos from my childhood are gone. She finally allowed me to go through what was left and I felt like I was going through the aftermath of a tornado. We got some things but thankfully my mom came through with some boxes she “meant” to throw out and we have created a pretty cool thing about her life. The only thing I found that made me blush was a series of photos of me and my first wife when I was 19. She was wearing a white leather mini dress with one of those Russian Cossack hats sort of like from Young Frankenstein. The dress hem was so short my friends told me when she kneeled at the altar she “mooned” the entire church. HAHA » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:29 pm Thanks Abby I do my best. She taught me a lot. How to still love my old man who did everything he could to make himself unlovable, took my sisters and I to museums, plays, the art institute and other cultural places. About ten years ago I started compiling her life. Her mom did the same thing with my cousin so we have a record of the women in the family back to 1893. My mom’s a pack rat (that apple did not fall far enough from the tree) and we found dozens of pieces of her art (she was a commercial artist during WW II) and have framed several things. She saved every letter my father wrote from WW II. Stuff like that. Reading my dad’s letters I could actually see where, when and why he descended into what we now call PTSD. It’s chilling. Their lives and times were so different. I do cherish her and think we would all do good to have them in our lives as long as we can. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:23 pm One day my son was doing some stuff for her, she was moving him around the house (three story Victorian – way more than she needs but she raised us all there so she stays til she’s gone). When he and I were eating our Friday night breakfast he looked at me and told me “I think grandma is laying in the weeds, she can do a lot more than we think” “Yep” I replied as I chewed my waffle in grudging admiration. He sat for a while then he looked at me and waved his fork “Don’t get any ideas, I’m on to you” » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 6:05 pm Pretty bad satire. I never found much humorous about that dude » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:55 pm And conversely, aside from The Graduate how many movies do we see that aren’t about cougars where the fifty year old woman is with a 30 year old guy? I know there are some but not nearly as many as male leads with young female hottie » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:53 pm Hell Dey, she carried me for nine months, almost miscarried (although the time she was on bed rest has gotten longer and longer over the years until it’s now approaching ten months), plus she raised my sorry ass, kept an abusive father at bay most of the time and generally has been the grandmother every kid needs to my two. What else can one do? Plus she’s a kick. Still works seven days a week. I got her to retire from her antique business and sell on ebay thinking she’d cut back but instead it’s WORSE. Sheesh, talk about being careful what you ask for » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:47 pm I thought you were related to Rod Carew, but I’m an old Twins fan so I think weirdly » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:43 pm I already walked into that one today so I wasn’t about to go there again. She’s definitely on a roll tonight » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:41 pm My mom is 87 and I am her primary care giver now. My son helps a lot too. She’s not as spry as she was but her damn mind is sharper than a carpet tack. And she’s a lot more capable of doing things than she lets on. I often find things she’s illegally hauled down from the attic. She sells on ebay and I swear she knows where every little thing is in her stuffed house. Makes me crazy when she can find a postcard she put away thirty years ago but can’t find the salad dressing in the fridge » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:39 pm When I studied film in college they interviewed one of the busty ones and she was talking about having “approved” bras, that was back when censorship was heavy. They would come into the dressing area and there was this one bra (Hard to imagine they actually shared bras back then) the early one would get to wear because it “lifted” things up better than the others. Now perhaps she was just making up a good story. But Sophia is one of those ageless beauties who does seem to look smashing no matter the decade she’s in. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:36 pm There were some good re-snarks over there 🙂 » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:30 pm Yikes, you are tough » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:27 pm Gosh, I almost miss those guys (I’d say gals but I know they have to be twenty something shut away dudes – dark basement, sitting in their underwear drinking Mountain Dew and eating Cheeto’s leaving the greasy cheese on their keyboards). I used to laugh when people would write that back to one of those creeps, heaping abuse on them. I recall one of them writing back and going into this grand multi-post explanation about being a hedge fund manager, blah, blah, blah and some one of our dear friends wrote back and dumped on them about hedge fund managers wouldn’t waste their time going on HP to snark. That was the last I ever saw of him. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:26 pm Hopefully in better condition than the mom in Psycho » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 5:21 pm I also noted the trolls often attacked or went into one of their condescending “there, there sweetie” schtick with obvious women – name and photo being the keys. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 4:59 pm I wasn’t surprised by your Moist Robot. I remember you well from HP. The Tom Nevers threw me because there is/was a very special baseball and hockey player who grew up a stone’s throw from me in a suburb stuck on the Southwest side of Minneapolis. God, I feel like a schlump at times. I’ve had this very plain name and pretty uninspiring avatar for a while now. Oh well, maybe another life » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 4:55 pm My daughters name is Sam (“don’t call me Samantha) so I am more sensitive most of the time, just ask ecat about my little flummox the other day and my crack about your wonderful avatar as well. I suppose we visualize people we write to. At least that’s my excuse. And there are some who use photos or renderings that suggest a gender. I had someone ask me once because I just use my initials – jd – and my state – mn and my birthday – 17 but the day I registered at HP I wasn’t feeling very brave or creative. And I use the blue table not as a hiding place as some trolls suggest. Rather it’s my livelihood and it’s as much as part of me as any photo of my old mug Your point however is well taken. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 10:53 am Between the time my daughter and son was born my ex miscarried a child. We never knew him/her but I put up a little wreath in my workshop. My ex got pregnant again right away so had that baby been born he would not have been conceived. When he was about six he asked about the wreath so I took a deep breath and sat him down and told him about it. He pondered that for a time and a few days later he came up and in his little voice asked if, when he was misbehaving (rarely), he might be able to blame it on the baby that wasn’t born because I told him he was carrying around part of the spirit of the child in him. One day he broke a glass and started crying. I asked him what was wrong and he said it was his fault and wanted me to not be mad at his “brother”. What could I do but hug him twice. We actually got into a little ritual about that as he came at night for his “two” hugs. He was and remains a sweetheart that way. When I moved he was the one who carried the wreath and put it in my new workshop. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 2:37 pm Having been back a few times to try to find friends, reading through the comments today compared to what I used to see I would say today that 90% of it is drivel. People take a story that lacks detail and begin to extrapolate from it making all kinds of assumptions from their own personal perspective. Entire threads of comments descend into name calling and snark about things that aren’t even in the original story. So glad I’m not leaning on it for my only contact with other thoughtful people. Hell, even the conservatives are pleasant here. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 12:51 pm Coveark Welcome again. I’m getting tired of talking to you through a mostly strung out thread we’ve each had to reload about two or three times on HP. » Posted By jdmn17 On February 18, 2011 @ 10:46 amComments Posted By jdmn17
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I’m with PW on the sunspot thing. I like that better as an explanation that some of Arianna’s goons coming by and raising hell.
Hope you stick around and since he didn’t offer them I’ll tell you if you are good PW will offer donuts 🙂
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