There really isn't anything I can say about the shootings yesterday at Fort Hood and the one that took place in Orlando,Florida earlier today. One may turn out to be a political/religious action and the other the work of a former employee. I'll leave these to greater minds than mine. I will say however, that I would not be surprised if the attack yesterday did not in some way or other influence what happened today. The shooter in Florida was laid-off two years ago, his anger continued to build and it's possible that when he heard about the shooting on the Army base it gave him that 'final push' into an action he may have been contemplating already. I probably should not attempt to psychoanalyze the guy, but it is a possibility.

Sorry, to get all heavy but I can't help thinking about these two very, tragic situationns.

Hug your loved ones or get in touch, if they are far away. You never know what life is going to present to you. Peace!

The Chaput Duo did okay Bingo-wise this past weekend. Donna and I both hit for some nice jackpots. Sometimes the addiction pays off and other times not so much. :-)

To be honest not much else to report on at Chez Chaput. We continue to get things ironed, packed and readied for the cruise in a few weeks. Everything else is pretty much status quo, which is probably a good thing in today's world. The filters are back up at work, so while I can blog the Twitter & Facebook accounts are out of reach. The thing that is really ticking me off though is that I seem to be having trouble with Shelfari, where I actually get to discuss books and such.

Later, folks!

Time flies when you're having fun!
Just posted some comic book reviews over at Shot's Shack and noticed that in about a month I will have been doing SS for five years. In fact, I've been doing this blog since January of 2003, so we are coming up on the seven year mark just after the New Year. Man, where has the time gone?

Back then I had a couple of friends who had started blogging so decided to give it a try myself. To be honest I didn't know at the time if I would be sticking to it, and certainly would not have known that it would eventually morph into two distinct blogs. Not that I post there very often any more but I also contribute on occasion to a third blog, Poplitiko , that always has some nice stuff from much better writers.

Nothing to add or promote, as you can tell but was just sort of surprised by how long I'd been doing this kind of thing. In fact, to make this thing even scarier, i believe that next year will mark the 30th anniversary of my very first zine and my entrance into serious fandom. Somewhere, I think, I still have a copy of PART SHOT (or Cursed Earth, I can't remember which came first) lying around. I should dig it up and see if I was better back then. :-)

WWII Vet talks about Gay Marriage

I know I can be pretty cynical, but this moved me. I hope that you will watch it, think about it and share it.

Have a good day and hug the person you love.

Letter to America

Just some things to think about. I may be posting the second part after watching it myself.

Contact your members of Congress! We need a public option and we need it now!

I figured with the 'Preview Night' session already sold-out for next year's San Diego Comic-con I better not wait any longer to register. At this rate the four-day passes will be sold out easily by the end of the year, if not sooner. It's amazing how quickly this thing gets booked and it continues to attract more folks each year. It really is become almost too big the price of admission has increased to $100 for the four-days. Not including what you have to shell out for hotel rooms it may be becoming too much to attend every year, unless you are a pro.

Not saying that I didn't have a good time, since I did and it was great seeing folks I have not seen in a year or in some cases over a decade. Fingers crossed that a few other people I have not seen in a while can actually attend. I'm hoping that a former pro may be making an appearance and we'll have a chance to chat. There were also a couple of people that I wanted to see, but missed for one reason or another.

You know that I'll be talking more about SDCC, especially next year as it gets closer. Just wanted to give a head's up to the couple of folks I know who do read this and also attend. Of course, this year I'm on both Facebook & Twitter so will try to be keeping up with what is going on while it is still news.

On another topic: I do hate driving in the rain, especially during that first rainfall where the roads are slick.

Just want to thank all my "friends" who have called, e-mailed and posted on my Facebook account the last few days. I would never have known the score of any of those games if it hadn't been for you all letting me know. *sigh* When does Spring Training start?

Not sure if I'll be watching any of the WS games or not. Possibly if the Angels are playing, since I have a lot of friends out here who are fans. Of course, if the Yankees are playing it would be necessary to watch, just to root against them. :-)

We bought another large, suitcase yesterday for our cruise. No way could we get fourteen days worth of stuff in just two, even with a garment bag for my suits and Donna's gowns. We were going to borrow a bag from Kristina, but then she let us know that she'd be heading off to New Zealand for one of the weeks we'll be away. Quite a world traveler, that gal!

I think most of us were surprised to wake up this morning and find that President Obama had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Good for him! I admit that it may be a bit premature for the committee to have done so, but anything that will piss off the GOP, the Right and Mainstream Media can't be all bad. :-)

Matt Lauer, on the Today Show, asked the unbiased David Gregory if "he didn't get the award simply because he was not George Bush". Possible, but what one might consider leading. Gregory, who seems to have faded since Todd the Toad has taken up sitting under the rock at the White House, made it clear that we had to keep in mind that the Nobel Committee was a "Left-leaning, Euro-centric organization." Well put, sir! Noted Europeans such as Martti Ahtisaari, Wangari Maathai and that gang of Leftists Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres, and Yitzhak Rabin all prove Mr. Gregory's brilliant analysis once again.

So okay, I did wake up in a pissy mood this morning. What of it? Did you see that game last night? WHAT GAME!!!?!?!?! You know damn well what game, now just leave me alone!!

Oh..have a nice weekend...grumble, grumble...grubs again...

Republicans Oppose Al Franken's Law on Protecting Victims of Gang Rape

This is so disgusting it doesn't need any additional comment from me.

Happy Blasphemy Day!

As much as I enjoy playing Bingo a lot of the fun depends on the hall and the callers. Donna and I are regulars at the Irvine Saturday night event, but decided to give the new one in Hawaiian Gardens a try.

Called The Bingo Club, the new building is an improvement over the previous hall, near the casino, according to everybody who used to go there. It's clean with a separate closed-in section for smokers, so you don't have to breath in second-hand as you do in some halls. They also have a decent food & beverage stand, with free coffee, tea, water & ice. Unlike most halls, the play is continuous for ten hours or more. Rather than having the typical buy-in you buy each game for a dollar, by leaving a bill on the side for the next as you play the current game.

Anybody familiar with what is sometimes called 'speed bingo' will have a general idea of how the callers operate and how quickly each game progresses. Donna and I, along with our friend Jean, were there for around two and a half hours, during which over fifty games (plus some special pull-tab games) were called. I gave up after #40 and the ladies played another ten. After that we were all wiped out and it was time to head home. I think we'll be sticking to a more normally paced games for a while.

Mirror: The Truth Behind Public Option

People have to know the truth! We can still hope and work for this. Contact your representatives. E-mail and call them. Tell them that should they fail to support a 'public option' plan you will not support THEM in the next election.

Progressives and people who desire a true alternative to the big insurance companies have to do something or we get shafted again.

Something Is Really Wrong w/ Our Educational System

The sad thing is that I am confronted almost daily by not only students, but adults who do not have a general understanding of basic things. I know that I have been accused of being an educational snob, but COME ON!!!

One of the amusing things, if you think about it, is that if Leno did a segment of his "Jay Walking" bit in his studio audience I don't know how many would still be laughing.

Been a productive week and it's not over yet!

We renewed our lease, so we'll be staying in Ladera Ranch for the foreseeable future. Donna also made the final payment on the cruise, so all we have to do now is start getting our clothes and sundries together over the next couple of months. Also, decide what we'll be doing with Babie while we're gone.

The forecasters are predicting another hot spell, or a continuation of Summer. Not a bad thing, but we continue to need rain and that isn't coming our way. As much as I hate driving in bad weather, I'd be willing to put up with it for a few days if it would ease the chances of more fires.

I know I promised not to discuss politics and the like, but the way things are going I think you can expect me to start ranting over the next couple of weeks. Not that I know what I'm talking about (When has that stopped me before?), but I do love bitching and moaning. :-)

The good news is that my eyes have not gotten worse and I still do not have to have surgery for my cataracts. The bad news, not a big deal except to me, is that I have to start using eye drops at night as my eyes are not producing enough moisture. If you know you know that I hate eye drops or even eye wash. The big reason I would never consider contacts is the mere thought of sticking something into my eye makes me squeamish. No way!

The 'walk-in' clinic was out of the flu shot, so I'm going to have to try later this week when a limited number will be available at City Hall for city workers. According to the workers at the clinic they company supplying the vaccine had to stop production for some reason. I probably don't even want to know!

Anybody else happen to watch the first Jay Leno Show last night? Nothing special, to be honest. Jay being Jay and pretty much doing the Tonight Show under another name. It does look odd to have Jay sitting in a chair minus a desk, at least for interviews. Nice seeing Jay and Jerry having a good time, but other than that I don't think the show is something I'd tune in to see every night.

It seems impossible that is has been eight years since 9-11 took place. They said at the time that everything had changed, but perhaps not as we had thought at the time. I'm sure everybody else will have comments about where they were when they heard the news and what they did for the next several days. I've already spoken about much of that here so there is no need to repeat myself.

I turned on the television this morning to see several events taking place around the country and heard of others on the radio during my commute. As I arrived at work the school directly across the street from the Library was holding a memorial ceremony with the students standing beneath and around the flagpole. I'm sure tonight there will be more televised coverage.

Me, I'm just going to take a few moments to remember. Wondering again, if some of the people I worked with at the WTC were among those killed or injured. Unlikely since I had worked there in '86, but not impossible. Family members did lose friends and co-workers that day, so we grieve for them as well.

Despite all the talk going on about who is American and who is not; who is a 'patriot' and who is not; let us remember that for one day we really were united. On 9/12 it did change and we can't go back.

Pixel Shrooms

It's all true!

So Van Jones has to resign because of past affiliations and his signature on petitions. Schools around the country are preventing their students from hearing the President of the United States speak on education. The health care reform debate has become one about 'death panels' and the government killing 'granny'. Wackos are carrying loaded weapons to city hall meetings and there are apparently millions of people who believe that Barack Obama is not an American citizen. I have had enough of this. I can no longer watch the news or read a newspaper without getting upset. The campaign last year should have been enough notice to me that should the Democrats win the right-wing in this country was going to go on a rampage.

I quit! I'm dropping all the political sites from this blog and plan to write only about personal things that affect me, Donna and Kristina. I'll talk about the weather, fires, earthquakes and our vacations, but no more about politics. I'm sick and tired of it.

Let somebody else care from this point on!.

Auto-Tune the News #8 WITH T-PAIN!

Just because!

With Hurricane Jimena moving up Baja it's probably a good thing we didn't make plans for another weekend cruise. It was pretty tempting with a four-day weekend, but with the 14-day Panama Canal trip coming up I think that will fulfill our cruise quota for the year.

The day-by-day changes in the filtering system have not only blocked Facebook & Twitter, but KINGDOM OF LOATHING (for 'violence', no less). LOL! Yeah, keep folks away from stick figures with swords fighting mutant goldfish, but I can get into REQUIEM where realistic & semi-naked Sims-like elves and wizards kill each other. Brilliant!! (Btw, I don't play REQUIEM, but was curious to see if I could go there when I found KOL blocked.)

We are talking about moving again, but it hasn't gone much further than a discussion. Our lease is up at the end of October, so we do have a month or so to decide. For those keeping track or planning a visit I'll let you know if we pack up and change locations.