Fail Video Game Bin Laden VS USA Hand Held Toy Review by Mike Mozart of JeepersMedia

Something totally distasteful for the Holidays. You really can not underestimate bad taste and the desire to make a buck.

I'll try to post something a bit more cheerful in the next couple of days, but I had to share this.

Guess what I got for my birthday present? Kristina surprised me with this yesterday, when Donna and I went over to help with Christmas decorating. First stop was for bagels, of course, and then later to pick up ornaments, lights and finally a six foot tree from Lowe's. The rest of the afternoon consisted of getting rid of the old plastic tree and decorating the new 'live' one. Finally, we all went out for sushi. A fine evening, but I should know better than to let The Child talk me into drinking two Saki Bombs. Glad Donna was as the designated driver. :-)

Oh, if you have to ask what the gift is, you really don't know me or my favorite movie very well.

Still trying to get things settled after our cruise. Some laundry remains to be done and the suitcases put back into storage. Possibly some Christmas decorations will be put up and the holiday cards just about ready to be sent out. If you haven't gotten yours yet, that's the reason. Unless, of course, we have decided NOT to send one to you since you haven't responded to our last several. You know who you are!!

Hey, is if just me (and it very well might) or is Blogger getting more and more spam replies to posts. There have been some in the past, but this past week (as I have been clearing out older e-mails) I have seen a large number of them posted to both my blogs. Some are for newer posts, but others for ones I put up months ago. The weirdest part is that most are in Chinese (or Japanese, since I can't decipher the type either way). Those in English (if you can call it that) tend to be made up mostly of links, so I expect the ones in foreign languages to be much the same. Annoying, but I can live with it. Trust me, at least they aren't downright nasty or threatening like the replies I get to my comments on YouTube. Those are some scary folks!!

Most of my regular readers tend to be on the East Coast, so I'm sure you have little sympathy for the lousy weather we are having, considering what you deal with. Still it sucks to have spend two weeks in beautiful, if sometimes very, humid, climate to get back and be faced by days of rain and cold. Okay..not cold compared to you guys, but we got rid of our heavy stuff a while ago. Actually, tempted to get out the stuff I bought in Alaska last year! Brrrr...

Baby did seem to survive her ordeal, but the rug and our comforter may never be the same!

Seriously, once Donna and I have a chance to fully unpack and get some domestic stuff done, I plan to download some of the photos I took during the cruise. Some of them look okay, viewed in the tiny view screen of the camera but I'm hoping the look pretty cool seen larger. I especially hope those I took of the crocodiles and the cliff divers come out okay. I really need to make the close-up of that Big Daddy croc my wallpaper at work! :-)

So tell me, did anything of note happen while we were away? Watching CNN International (about the only news you can get via the ship's TV) it appears that there were only four major stories. FIFA World Cup 2010 is being played in South Africa; Amanda Cox was found guilty (became the top story late in the cruise); Venice and much of England seem to be underwater and Tiger Woods appears to have had an accident. That pretty much it?

More about the cruise and other things when I have a chance! Glad to be back, even though we didn't expect the cold and rain. Brrr!! Two weeks of 80-90 degree weather can spoil a guy!

We're off tomorrow for Miami where we will stay overnight at the Embassy Suites. Then on Sunday we will board the Celebrity Constellation. Our home-away-from-home for the next fourteen days. This will be our longest cruise, so far. The previous one, also on Celebrity, was a mere 10-day Caribbean cruise.

Unfortunately, the shore excursion we had booked for Costa Rica was cancelled, so now we're looking for something similar. I was pretty psyched to be taking a boat down a river known for its large population of crocodiles. I mean, who wouldn't be?

We've decided to take along out laptop this time, since we aren't going to be able to use our cellphone most of the time. We hope to be checking our e-mail and I may be posting a bit on my Facebook account just to let folks know we're still safe.

This will be, more than likely, the last posting I do here until I return (Dec.6th), so I want to wish you all a very, Happy Thanksgiving! Take care!

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.