Happy Halloween

The Wolfes, Harrises, and Hallajes.


Hello, my name a Borat. This my pumpkin head son and Luke Skywalker, Jedi.


A really cool composite of our pumpkins.

Happy Halloween!!

The Diary of John James Audubon

Eddie's performance of John James Audubon, reading from his diary:

For the hearing impaired, or those who wish to follow along at home:

Thoughts of an Estranged Republican

The following is an excerpt from the Sunday, October 29, 2006 edition of the Washington Post. Dick Armey is the former Republican House majority leader from 1995 to 2003.

Mr. Reagan, I wish you were here today to rescue us!

GOP Blues, Where We Went Wrong

By Dick Armey

Sunday, October 29, 2006; Page B01

Somewhere along the road to a "permanent majority," the Republican Revolution of 1994 went off track. For several years, we had confidence in our convictions and trusted that the American people would reward our efforts. And they did.

But today, my Republican friends in Congress stand on the precipice of an electoral rout. Even the best-case scenarios suggest wafer-thin majorities and a legislative agenda in disarray. With eight days before the election, House speaker-in-waiting Nancy Pelosi has already begun her transition planning.

Where did the revolution go astray? How did we go from the big ideas and vision of 1994 to the cheap political point-scoring on meaningless wedge issues of today -- from passing welfare reform and limited government to banning horsemeat and same-sex marriage?

The answer is simple: Republican lawmakers forgot the party's principles, became enamored with power and position, and began putting politics over policy. Now, the Democrats are reaping the rewards of our neglect -- and we have no one to blame but ourselves.

In 1989, Newt Gingrich rose to the number two leadership position in the House after a contentious three-way race pitting young backbench conservatives such as myself, Bob Walker, Joe Barton and others against old bulls such as Minority Leader Bob Michel and other ranking members. We thought they suffered from a minority party mindset and were too accommodating of the Democrats. Out of congressional power for nearly two generations, Republicans had become complacent. Senior members of the party were happy to accept the crumbs afforded by Democratic chairmen. Life was comfortable in the minority as long as you did not rock the boat. Members received their perks -- such as travel abroad and special banking privileges -- and enough pork projects for reelection. The entire Congress lived by the rule of parochial politics.

Gingrich and I and a handful of true believers in Ronald Reagan's conservative vision set the goal of retaking the House. The "Contract With America" outlined our platform of limited government. This vision appealed to both the social and economic wings of the conservative movement; equally important, it included institutional reforms for a Congress that had grown increasingly arrogant and corrupt. The contract nationalized the vision of the Republican Party in a way that unified our base and appealed to independents. We championed national issues, not local pork projects or the creature comforts of high office.

In 1994, this vision was validated when Republicans took 54 seats in the House, eight seats in the Senate and control of both houses of Congress.

Welfare reform in 1996 only affirmed the revolution. Bureaucrats, special interests and the White House all claimed that the sky would fall if we touched this failed Great Society program, but we held firm. When you take on a sacred cow, you must kill it completely -- tinkering on the margins is ineffective. In the end, the reform proved so successful and popular that President Bill Clinton (who rejected the original bill twice) considers it one of the best ideas his administration ever had.

At one point during the welfare reform debates, a member approached me and said, "Dick, I know this is the right thing to do, but my constituents just won't understand." I told him, "So you're telling me they are smart enough to vote for you but not smart enough to understand this?" He ended up voting to pass the bill.

Yet despite such successes, we didn't learn the right political lessons. A few months before the victory on welfare, we lost the battle over the federal government shutdown of 1995, when we were outmaneuvered by Clinton, a masterful political operator. After that fight, too many Republicans apparently concluded that America wanted bigger government. This misreading was the first step on the road away from the Reagan legacy.

We emerged as a wounded party; we stopped trusting the public; and we internalized the wrong lesson. Since the party won the majority in 1994, the GOP Conference had been consistent in requiring offsetting spending cuts for any new spending initiatives. (In fact, during the aftermath of a large Mississippi River flood, Rep. Jim Nussle even waited to find and approve offsets before moving the relief legislation for his own state of Iowa.) But by the summer of 1997, the appropriators -- rightly called the "third party" of Congress -- had begun to pass spending bills with Democrats. As soon as politics superseded policy and principle, the avalanche of earmarks that is crushing the party began.

Now spending is out of control. Rather than rolling back government, we have a new $1.2 trillion Medicare prescription drug benefit, and non-defense discretionary spending is growing twice as fast as it had in the Clinton administration. Meanwhile, Social Security is collapsing while rogue nations are going nuclear and the Middle East is more combustible than ever. Yet Republican lawmakers have taken up such issues as flag burning, Terri Schiavo and same-sex marriage.

They're fooling only themselves.

If Democrats take control of Congress on Nov. 7, they will form an accidental majority. They are not succeeding because of their principles or policy proposals, but simply because they have kept their heads down. Republicans, fearful of taking on big tasks and challenges, may be defeated next month by a party that offers nothing on the key issues of our day.

Pelosi says she would preside over a moderate Democratic majority, and has committed to raising taxes only as a last resort. But Democratic policy goals such as nationalized health care and low-interest student loans are expensive, and dozens of new spending "priorities" will crop up as soon as the election results are tallied. Democrats have promised that all new spending will be offset by tax increases, so will they raise taxes in the run-up to the 2008 race?

In essence, Pelosi will be forced to choose between a vocal base -- expecting immediate satisfaction on issues such as withdrawing from Iraq, legalizing same-sex marriage and the impeachment of President Bush -- or policies that are tolerable to a majority of Americans. That's quite a dilemma: appeasing a base that has been hungry for political revenge since 2000 and 2004, or alienating moderate and swing voters.

Pelosi has stated that House committee chairmen will be chosen by seniority. This could backfire on the Democrats, because members from the most consistently partisan districts are usually the ones who stick around the longest. Chairmen have the power of the subpoena; Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), the would-be judiciary chairman, has already drafted articles of impeachment for Bush, while others are calling for investigations on the war in Iraq and the federal reaction to Hurricane Katrina. A revenge-hungry Democratic majority, substituting political grudge matches for serious policy, will not remain a majority for long.

How can the Republicans respond?

The leadership must remember that the modern conservative movement is a fusion of social and fiscal conservatives united in their belief in limited government. The party must keep both in the fold. Republicans also need to get back to being the party of big ideas. The greatest threat to American prosperity today is a catastrophic fiscal meltdown resulting from long-term entitlements. Democrats have already lined up behind the solution of raising taxes and reducing benefits. But Americans want more freedom and choice in education, health care and retirement security. Republicans -- too busy dreaming up wedge issues to score cheap points against Democrats -- have lost sight of their broad national agenda.

The likely Republican losses in next week's elections will not constitute a repudiation of the conservative legacy that drove the Reagan presidency and created the Contract With America. To the contrary, it would represent a rejection of big government conservatism. When we get back to being the party of limited government, putting a national agenda ahead of parochial short-term politics, we will again be a party that the American voters will trust to deal with the serious challenges facing our nation.

The 2006 midterm elections will be a success for the Democrats. Republicans will have to manage their own disappointment. Fingers will be pointed, and various villains will be fashioned out of recent events. But the plain fact is that Republicans have been setting the stage for this outcome for nearly a decade, running from themselves and their own principles. We will not find ourselves by conforming to the status quo, but by returning to our Reagan roots.

When we act like us we win. When we act like them we lose. Let's win.

darmey@freedomworks.org

Dick Armey, the House majority leader from 1995 to 2003, is currently chairman of the think tank FreedomWorks.

Breakfast from Ha-Wie-Yuh

Thanks to Nana and Grandpa, we enjoyed a great breakfast of banana macadamia nut pancakes, with choices of guava syrup, coconut syrup, or pineapple syrup. I had some nice Kona coffee to go along with it all. Pretty delicious!

Thanks also for the clothing and other gifts! The boys liked their coins, Luke liked the spoon, and we listened to the Hawaiian tunes during breakfast!

Borat Movie

This film I must see!

Cat Massage

I don't normally like to post random stuff I get off the web to my blog, but this is one that I have mentioned to several folks, and it's really darn funny.

Anyhow, I will indulge for the moment and post it. I'm sure my Mom and a few others will get a real kick out of it:

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy birthday to Sandra Marie, born a mere <***censored***> years ago today! I do hope that today will be a great day for her! Like a fine Cabernet, she's getting better with every year that passes!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Recollections of Scotland, by Eddie

We just got one of Eddie's essays home from school. These are recollections of Scotland by Eddie--his "What I Did Last Summer" essay for school. I'm pretty impressed with his memory, even if his spelling isn't quite there yet. Actually, now that I look at it closer, I think he's purposefully spelled it in Olde Englysch to make it more awthyentick.

I Can't Forget Summer, Can You? by Eddie

Dinner with Sharon and Desi

Thank you, Sharon and Desi, for a great fun time last night. Becky and I really enjoyed the night out.

We double dated, last night, at the Yellow Brick Bank Restaurant in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Dinner was really good--appetizers of mussels, scallops, quail, and a salad, entrées of loin of lamb, Cornish game hen, and two hanger steaks, plus two bottles of Gary Farrell 2004 Pinot Noir. But the company we kept was better even than the dinner. We always have a great time when we go out with Desi and Sharon, and last night was no exception.

Sharon and Desi are open minded enough, and brave enough, not to mind me wearing my kilt to dinner. Indeed, Sharon encouraged me to do so. So before we went out, I snapped a quick photo for the blog. Afterward, I couldn't resist showing some of my Highland Dancing before we departed!

It was a chilly night, but not at all chilling in the kilt. The wool fabric really keeps your "nibblies" warm. When we arrived at the Yellow Brick Bank, as we were walking in, a patron just leaving the restaurant let out a loud wolf whistle.

"Hey, I got whistled at!" I proudly said to Becky.

"Excuse me, sir," she replied, "What makes you think he was whistling at you?"

"Right. Good point." I was getting a little full of myself.

After dinner, we enjoyed a couple cups of coffee, headed home, and closed out the night with a nip of Ardbeg for Desi and I.

I'd been looking forward to last night all week, and it was definitely worth the wait. Good times.

Lego Club, part deux

Here's another installment of Luke's Lego Club: The Deathonater. Definitely a cool name, even if I don't know what the creation is. To me, it looks like a Katamari Damacy™ creation.


And this next one is a shout out to Barry and James, who say I never post anything good on my blog. I was flipping through Becky's copy of Vanity Fair, and stumbled upon this juicy tidbit. Man, I'm old enough to be her uncle (or babysitter, perhaps).


I informed Luke that a woman like this is very nice to know, because she gives great hugs. Very soft. Oh, yeah!

Honestly, we only buy the magazine for the articles.

Luke's Frank

Luke brought home a sculpture from school. This is his first take-home art project from school. I think what I'm so proud of is that Luke had enough maturity and respect for accuracy that he put Frank's "business" on the sculpture. (And I'm sure Frank thanks him for that!)

Odds and Ends

This post will most likely resemble one of James', in that I am summarizing lots of various activities of the weekend, which are otherwise unrelated.

The weekend started out with my dumbass move of putting the weight bench through the basement wall. I was setting up to do my squats, and I had just placed 180 lbs on the bar, when the whole weight bench tipped up and over and into the wall. You're supposed to counterbalance the bench with weights on the other end. However, I was in a rush, and wasn't paying enough attention, and well, you can see the damage. I'll be doing more wallboard patching in the very near future.

After that on Saturday, we held a very successful yard sale. We netted $385. Not bad for getting rid of old junk. Most of the boys' toys we were just giving away for $0.25 each. But the big selling item was the old CD collection. I had about 300 CDs, which I sold for $1 each. Almost all of them sold, except for my jazz collection. What's left is a really good collection of jazz music, which is perhaps not too appreciated in P-ville, Virginia. Maybe a roadtrip to DC would be warranted in trying to sell the rest of it.

Luke also had a soccer game during the day, and his team won 9-1. I'm very proud of these kids. They really have "gotten it." In other words, they understand the strategy and tactics we've been teaching them, and they apply them in the games. Whereas most of the other teams are still playing some form of "ameoba ball," our kids are passing, setting each other up for goals, and scoring. It's fun to see someone in the family perform athletically. (Where in the hell did those genes come from?!)

Next morning was Sunday, and we had church as usual. Then, later that evening, Eddie and Becky and the rest of the choir at St. Pete's performed in the Evensong service. The music was beautiful, and in my opinion, sounded as good as anything one might here in a larger, more professional choir. Barbara Verdile is working wonders with these kids, and the adults too! The highlight was the Sizohamba Naye, a Swahili piece which really sounded rich:

After the service, it was a pot luck. Protestants sure do like their pot luck dinners. There's an old joke, how does a Methodist get into heaven? They bring a covered dish.

Totally unrelated, Luke asked me to post his picture of his "Emperior (sic) Star Destroyer" which he made in Lego Club (an after school activity). Very creative.

Finally, we learned that Mom and Dad, Uncle Bobby and Aunt Terry, all survived the earthquake in Hawaii this week. They definitely felt the tremors, and are now stranded there for a few more days because it has delayed their flights for some reason. At least they're okay.

Anyhow, it was a nice weekend, although busy. (When is it that one of my weekends isn't busy??)

Letters from Hawaii

Mom and Dad are in Hawaii with Aunt Terry and Uncle Bobby. I know they are having a great time, but Mom was complaining that the islands needed more development... only a two lane road around the whole island. (Gee, wouldn't paradise get ruined if a bunch of strip malls move in?)

Anyhow, I know they're having fun because my Mom has gotten herself tattooed. (Oy, vey!) I get this mental picture of my mom doing body shots off some Hawaiian guy in a grass skirt, or downing Jell-o shooters with Aunt Terry. (Meanwhile, Dad and Uncle Bobby are probably watching TV.) It is crazy scary when your mother and aunt are wilder and crazier than I was even when I was twenty.

My dad is notorious for taking his digital camera everywhere, and completely forgetting to ever use it. He never takes any pictures, and when he does, they're always posed shots, not candids. Anyhow, I was extremely excited when he sent me the following picture, as it was one of the first nature shots he ever took and it turned out incredibly well:


THEN, when I went to research the bird, the very first link I found on Google images was this:

Yes, my own father is trying to perpetrate a fraud upon me. For shame, dad, for shame!!!

Anyhow, it's a very nice photo, and the bird is a red crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata), a Brazilian import to Hawaii from about 1930.

Nice little whisky collection you got there

Since my trip to Scotland, I have amassed a nice little collection of fine single-malt Scotch whisky. So it was a neat coincidence, yesterday, when I notice the wikiHow tip of the day for How to Taste Single Malt Scotch. I mostly agree with the wikiHow, but since anybody can edit these things, there are recommendations in there that I would never recommend personally. For example, it is considered improper to put ice cubes in good whisky. It's a bit like putting ice cubes in wine or champagne. You can do it, but if you do, you may as well drink wine out of a box in the fridge. It's cheaper, and the end result will taste the same.

My collection now includes the following bottles, which I've placed in order from best to "bestest." (For they are all excellent!)

Benromach "Traditional" (aka 8 year) - This is a very good "starter" Speyside single malt scotch. The distillery had been shut down for a number of years, but has reopened recently and is producing some very nice scotch which they market heavily through Gordon and MacPhail's.








Glenmorangie 10 year - This is a very special whisky, brewed in the tallest distilling towers in Scotland. This means that only the lightest vapors pass into the whisky, yielding a very light, floral whisky which is not at all acidic or harsh. It stands in very sharp contrast to the Glenlivet. Both are good, mind you, just completely different.







Glenlivet 10 year - This is a very common scotch found in America, one of the most common "mid-high end" imports over here. It was once the defining Speyside malt whisky. It's a very full, earthy and robust scotch. This was my first single malt scotch.









Glen Moray 16 year - This is also one of my favorites. The Glen Moray distillery was such a fun experience, and this, one of their mid-level whiskies, is excellent. It is smooth, with hints of caramel, embers and fruit, and a bit of a barky aftertaste.







Aberlour 15 year - This is one of my favorites. I picked this one up after a tasting at Gordon and MacPhail's, and it has become much beloved. It is very smooth, easy drinking and reminds me of Cardhu.









Ardbeg 10 year - Ardbeg is one of my Campbell Clan's whiskies, the familial drink, so to speak. Made in Islay, its barley is fired and dried with peat, which imparts a very unique smokiness to this whisky. Just pouring the glasses at poker the other night, everybody at the table could smell this whisky. To nose it and then to drink it, your senses are transported to the side of a roaring campfire. Some will love this whisky, and others will not. For me, it's a good test whisky to see how much my guests really enjoy good whisky.

More Artwork from Eddie

Just when I thought there couldn't be anything cooler than Eddie's previous artwork [1] [2], he brings home this picture of a Harris Hawk that he did in school today.

This is the most realistic picture I've seen yet from him! I asked him if he copied it from a photograph, and he said, "No, it was just in my head."

Incredible. He remembered that this hawk is a desert dweller. And the detail in the log is pretty good, and the realism of the bird's body is really good too.

I think John James Audubon started this way. (Audubon and his birds are one of Eddie's favorite interests right now.)

Eddie's Calico Cat

Seven Kids on the Playground

That old playground is still getting a lot of use.

Lemon Harvest

The Meyer Lemons were harvested today. A perfect dozen lemons, very fragrant, all ready to be made into something delicious!

Those brown spots are just mineral residue from spraying water, organic pesticide (insecticidal soaps) and alcohol (to kill crawling pests). They will wash off, no problem.

If I had seven kids...

If I had seven kids, I'd be crazy. I'd be locked up in a lunatic asylum.

Tonight, these were my children:

Clockwise from top left: Eddie, Gabi, Mikey, Zach, Andrew, Luke and Megan

Pam and Phil went out on a date night, to celebrate their anniversary, so we took their kids. We decided it would be cool to cook some hot dogs on the fire-pit. Since Mikey and Megan were already here, Becky and I ended up hosting seven kids for dinner.

I like to do things like these to remind myself why I'm so glad that I only have two. (And will only ever have two!) Rule #1 is never have seven children. But if you find yourself unavoidably with this many children, Rule #2 is never let seven children into your home. I don't know what large Catholic or Mormon families do in the winter, but if I had seven children, they'd never set foot in my home, even in February.

"Outside!" I'd shout. "I want you all outside!"

They obey pretty well, as long as my voice is loud enough. The children swirled all over the yard, each of them like little four foot tall tornados, except much noisier. Then, when it was time for hot dogs, Andrew (aka, Mr. Streptococus Supergerm) felt queasy. This boy collects strept like some kids collect stamps.

So Becky took Andrew in the house to lie down, while I kept the other six kids from burning themselves in the fire. Andrew recovered of course, at least enough to come out and finish his hot dog and annoy his sister during story-time in front of the fire.

We told lots of stories by the fire: Gabi told the story about Adam and Eve (fresh from today's readings, almost word for word), and then followed it up with the story of Noah. I told a made-up story about Hamish McTool, the son of a Scottish miller, who had to battle a troll to cross a bridge with his father's new millstone. (There were three challenges that had to be won: spitting for distance, in which Trolls are very talented, tossing the caber for accuracy, in which the Scots have the advantage, and the arm wrestle. It was only by using his cunning intellect that Hamish was able to win that battle!) Then I followed up with the story of Samson and Delilah, as best as I could remember it, since the kids seemed interested in that. Luke and Andrew gave their rendition of "Yoda's Been Working on the Railroad," and it was as tuneful as you might expect.

All in all, it wasn't exactly a peaceful dinner, but I think the kids enjoyed the campfire experience.

Luke's Birthday Party

We had a fun day today celebrating Luke's birthday with ten of his friends. The bowling party was fun, and best of all, we didn't have to clean up!

This video is pretty fun to watch, and only lasts about 3 minutes and a half.

Luke and Master Hall

From Ronan's birthday party.

Self Portrait by Eddie

Eddie's Party

Eddie was invited to a birthday party tonight--for Mary, his friend down the street. Eddie and Mary are really close. They spend hours together drawing and writing books. They keep a special spot under the stairs which they use as their studio.

Of course, Mary wanted Eddie at her party. But in all other respects, Mary is a girly-girl, and so Eddie found himself the only boy at the party.

When I showed up at nine o'clock to pick him up, all the girls were running around the room squealing madly and being chased by Eddie. Eddie was roaring at them playfully, and yelling:

"I smell girl meat! I'm going to eat me some girls!"

Then he'd tackle one of them and announce, "Medium Rare! I like them Medium Rare!"

The girls would giggle with laughter until he let them go.

It was really too funny! When he's sixteen, he'll be mortified by this memory!

Happy Birthday, Luke

Our "little bean" turned seven this week. I can hardly believe that he's seven! Where have our babies gone? All that's left are these big boys.

The first video is about a minute long and shows Luke blowing out the candles on his cake. Please forgive the singing: Becky had a wicked cold, and it took me til the second stanza to find the key I wanted.

This second video highlights most of Luke's present opening. I have to apologize to Nana for not getting the "magic box" (as Luke calls it) on video. Luke adores his "magic box", and it really is quite beautiful! He's keeping his most coveted Star Wars Lego action figure heads in it. (Yeah, just the heads... go figure!) Plus, your monetary gift was happily received when we took a special trip to the bank. (Just wanted to make sure you didn't feel left out in the video!)

One More Kilt Photo

Here's a photo Luke took of me today... lounging around in my casual Scot's attire. This time, I'm done up properly with socks, flashes, the casual day sporran, the sgean dhu, and a nice sweater vest. It was really a very comfortable choice for lounging around the house all day.

I had intended only to get it on and get a picture or two, but then I remembered that I had to pick Eddie and Becky up from Choristers practice at church.

What the hell, I thought. I'll go get him in this.

Luke was too embarrassed to go inside with me, so he stayed in the car. I was pleased, however, upon entering, to get the wolf-whistles from most of the female members of the adult choir. (In a church, no less!)

Sophie-Ann informed me that there are actually three or four of the members of the church that wear their kilt from time to time. She encouraged me to wear it again some Sunday. I guess that's an Anglican church for you--not too uncomfortable with the whole Scottish thing.

Blessing of the Animals

Today, at St. Pete's, they had their annual blessing of the animals, a tradition tied back to St. Francis of Assisi. We held service outdoors, so that no animals left their mark upon the carpet in the church, and it was a lovely sunny morning for an outdoor service.

We saw animals of all kinds: horses, cats, dogs, goldfish, snakes, guinea pigs, hamsters, even a squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis).

The services was a fairly normal service, except that all the hymns were "animal" related. (As in: All God's Creatures (Got a Place in the Choir), etc.) After communion, they brought up the animals for the blessings.

As Eddie approached with his hamster, Fr. Tom asked him what her name was.

"Quon Yin," replied Eddie.

Tom remarked, "Ah, the goddess of compassion!"

I was impressed. This guy knows his world religion!

Frank also received some much needed, and very much overdue, blessings. That furry pig-dog can take all the blessings he can get!