The Eclectic Mix

Okay, some pretty hefty changes tonight behind the scenes here at Lathropworld.

First, on this page, you’ll notice a new set of links down the right side. Lathropworld links, which include links to our Twitter page (yeah, I’m still figuring out where I want that to go), Patrick’s page, and a new page called “The Miscellany Blog.”

The Miscellany Blog is meant to be my chance to share short things that I find throughout the day. Not necessarily stuff I want to post on Twitter, but things that I’d like to put somewhere. And here’s the added bonus: I’m going to want help posting things. So if you think you’ve got the chops to help populate that new page, drop me an e-mail and let me know.

Finally, and this is the biggie, I’m switching over the vast majority of the site to the same WordPress technology that runs this page. The advantage is that it will be mindbogglingly painless to update each page, and the easier it is for me, the more I think I’m apt to do it. Patrick’s page has been updated, and my hope is that it will be easy enough for him to make his own updates from time to time.

For now, though, you’ll find that all pages share the same design–this page design. Which is nice, but not quite what I want. So that’s the other big project for the site–taking all of the knowledge and tools I’ve found and working to cobble together a nice, coherent design for the entire site. Something that’s easily customizable, and features the graphic elements I really want.

So, for those of you who still come to this page as the entry page to the site, great! Just look for the new links down the right side, and it will help guide you to all the other fun stuff. Enjoy! Hopefully, there will be a couple more things coming by the end of the weekend.

See you tomorrow.

Plans aplenty in my head for the weekend…Plans for a couple of website projects, and a couple of tools secured to help aid in that task. Hopefully it will all fall into place by Sunday night.

The bonus, of course, is that I’ve got a three-day weekend. No firm plans yet for the first two days, just for Sunday. I’m sure that will change as things go along–they always do. But I’ll just go with the flow when that happens.

Otherwise, I have a handful of other projects on the burner that I want to try to get to. McSweeney’s is looking for columnists (and, they actually pay–Bonus!). I’ve got two weeks to submit an entry. The bummer here is that they’re just judging from one submission, and won’t consider any blogs, previous writing, or the like. But I’ve got my concept. Just need to run with it.

I’ve been away from the book for a while. Need to get back to that.

I’m also looking forward to some family time. Some unplanned, unstructured family time. Maybe some video games, maybe a park or something. Just some time with Jenni and the kids.

And finally, looking forward to Sunday: baseball and some time with Patrick and the Lathrop/McDonald end of the family.

I hope your weekend will be good for you.

See you tomorrow.

In the continuing quest to find odd new avenues of blog fodder, we present the following item: pre-digested news presented in quick hits with valid, insightful commentary. Enjoy!

Al Franken has finally won in the endless cavalcade of challenges to claim Minnesota’s second senate seat. Some deride him for his lack of political experience and his former career as a comic. But in reality, this positions him uniquely as the only senator with the experience needed to poke fun at his own legislative record. Ironically, though, there were 14 reporters covering this story locally, but with budget cuts, now that Franken heads to Washington, there will only be two reporters from any state news agency in D.C.

Hockey is now the official sport of the State of Minnesota. I know, big surprise. They might as well have gone on to say that Winter is the dominant season here. But, on the upside, it does enable us to say this: “Ya hear that, Brett Favre? Nobody cares about you. Or the Vikings.”

Michael Jackson is still dead. Continuous coverage on all cable news channels will continue unabated.

General Mills’ profit jumped 94% largely due to increased sales of Cheerios, as that’s all anyone can afford to feed their families anymore. Well, apparently that and Yoplait. Mmm…Yogurt and Cheerios, the breakfast of champions. And French babies.

Karl Malden died today. Known to one generation for his role in The Streets of San Francisco, and to another generation as “that American Express guy,” he always came across as one tough dude. Now in heaven, he’s looking at Michael Jackson and asking: “Who the hell are you?”

BBC News Magazine gives a 13-year-old a 30 year old walkman for him to review and compare to his MP3 player. Best line ever: “It took me three days to figure out that there was another side to the tape.” In another revelation, the kid learns that before WiFi, there used to be these things called modems and before that, newspapers.

As the economy continues it’s long slow decline, stories like these prepare us for the day when we might need to drive an old jalopy. Yes, how to drive a Model-T is vital information. Does it tell you how to tune the radio, too?

Breaking news: Steve Jobs has returned to work on a part-time basis following his liver transplant. Now when he wakes up, he hears the happy “bong” as it starts up. He’s living in constant fear of the “sad Mac” morning, though.

This just in from CNN: Michael Jackson is still dead, and will be our lead story until Obama either starts smoking in public again or orders someone shot. Honestly, can’t we move on? I mean, honestly, it’s not like there was a coup this week in Latin America or anything. Oh, wait…There was! But there still isn’t a single story about it on CNN’s front page.

Finally, most states have started new fiscal years today, and California leads the way into shaky financial territory by paying its debts in IOUs (post-dated checks). The Governator is ordering the meticulous shakedown of all couches in the state in search of spare change. They’re also seeking to sell Oakland and Fresno, but with the current real estate market, they can’t expect to get much more than pennies on the dollar for the fixer-uppers.

There you go, you’re all up-to-date on the news.

See you tomorrow.

(Sorry…I thought I’d posted this, but it was just sitting there in the draft folder, waving at me this morning)

Today has that other-worldly feel to it, but strangely, it seems oddly familiar.

Minnesota, having only half its constitutionally prescribed senatorial representation for about six months, suddenly has its second seat filled. And all it took was a couple of dozen pages of legal findings by the MN Supreme Court…Oh, and millions of dollars, and time, and anguish, and…Oh well. It’s over and done with, and now we have a comedian as our junior senator. A fine fit for a state that has had a wrestler as a governor.

In my e-mail today, I was informed not once, but three times by the Home Office in Great Britain that I have an unclaimed income tax refund coming to me. This is what I love about spam e-mails: Send out enough blanket e-mails and you’re bound to hit something that fits. Not only that, but a cursory search on George W. Bush’s interwebs reveals that the Home Office doesn’t seem to handle taxation for Her Majesty’s government. But perhaps I should pursue my waiting 256.82 pounds of tax refund.

Shortly after that in my e-mail bucket was the notice that my order of a case lot of Canadian Viagra was sitting at the border waiting for me to pay for it to clear customs. The case was free, but the customs fee would be $275, payable conveniently via PayPal. Now, I’m not sure how many of the little blue wonders are in a case, but I’m certain that I couldn’t possibly have a use for that much of any drug.

Tonight was softball night: the game ended in a 12-12 tie, which leaves you with kind of an empty feeling. When you lose, you know you either sucked or were beaten by a better team. When you win, it always feels better. But a tie…That just says that you ran out of your allotted time, and couldn’t squeeze in a seventh inning. I had a rough night…Lost track of the number of outs there were in one inning, when a fly ball almost had me doubled off first, and had one feeble foul pop to start the game…

Tired, exhausted, just coasting through the week to the holiday Friday, the official holiday on Saturday, and a Twins game with the males of the McDonald/Lathrop clan on Sunday. Should be fun. The 4th of July is kind of a strange holiday–stay up late for the ritualistic blowing up of stuff, only to return to reality the next day and not get another government-sanctioned day off until summer does it’s swan song on Labor Day.

But the 4th means that there’s only one month left in my 39th year on this rock. I need to get going and figure out what I want to do for my big 40th blowout. And I still don’t have any good ideas. The clock’s ticking, and I think I’m starting to stress about it. I want to do something low-stress, but need to have time to plan and invite people to it. I’d thought about doing a gathering at a bar–perhaps at my favorite watering hole, W.A. Frost’s. But I’d like to have a range of my favorite foods available–sushi, Greek, wine and cheeses…Don’t know how that would go over there. So I am of multiple minds on this one. Maybe I just need to wait to see which mind screams loudest.

So there you go, the state of the Paul right now. Enjoy.

See you tomorrow.

Jenni says…

Two weeks ago I helped out a friend by acting as the second female chaperone at a week-long confirmation camp. The camp is on an island and I had met several of the staff when I went to New Orleans earlier this year. I’ve never been to church camp and I’ve never chaperoned camp before, so I thought this would be a great learning opportunity. Well, I learned many things that week, but not quite what I expected. Here is my list of what I brought home from camp:

1. When one of the leaders tells you “Your cabin is great! You’re right on the shore with a dock just feet from your front door!” she really means “farthest from the bathroom.”
2. You really CAN sing too many songs about Jesus.
3. Don’t let the middle school girls play the, “Let me guess how old you are” game. It never ends well.
4. No one notices when you can’t figure out the words to a song and sing, “giddy-up, giddy-up, hot tonight” the whole week.
5. It really IS more fun to be a counselor.
6. A camp bunk mattress is a mattress in name only.
7. Loons are wicked animals and their only goal is to wake you up early.
8. Things to bring home from camp: Friendship bracelets are good, bronchitis is bad.
9. It’s a little disappointing to be on an island and not have some kind of mystery to solve before the sheriff can arrive from the mainland in two days.
10. It’s not that hard to get the concept of a “Jen-ocracy” to stick.