Dan & Nancy Erickson

sunday snow-mower

2012-01-30T00:56:00.000-05:00

this was right before i got dumped with snow by sophie's shovel...

the snow-mower

on the toboggan :)

it just keeps snowing...

2012-01-14T21:26:00.000-05:00

what's this guy doing?

oh, he was writing his name in the snow...

a fun week

2012-01-01T22:38:00.000-05:00

At the Critter Barn with Mom and Dad. We saw a Live Nativity and visited the animals.

Nice bunny.

She was so pleased with herself. It took her a few minutes before she

decided to pick up the little chick by herself.

And there was this guy :)

On the 23rd, cookies.

On the 24th, snow.

Christmas morning.

Headed to Granger. They couldn't wait.

Made it.

Snow in Granger.

The snow was really wet, perfect for building a Frosty and making snowballs.

Nice work Mom :)

Playing "Camp."

Sophie and Paulie had so much fun with these 3 :)

5 and 2

2011-12-11T21:15:00.000-05:00

the tree

2011-12-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

we opted for a blue spruce this year :)

:)

2011-12-02T20:37:00.000-05:00

birthday & thanksgiving

2011-12-02T00:13:00.000-05:00

Sophie had a few girl friends from school over for her 5th birthday, well, the day before. They made wands...out in the sun-room (there was a heater out there :)

She requested cupcakes and kazoos.

On her birthday we celebrated with cake :) Is she really 5 already? She was born just minutes before Thanksgiving in 06...so much to be thankful for. And still, we're so thankful.

Aunt Kelsey, these boots only come off when she sleeps, thanks!

They were wrestling, awaiting Grandma, Papa, and Aunt Amy on Thanksgiving morning.

He's amazing with puzzles!

We went bowling on Thanksgiving afternoon with the Triezenberg's. It was a hoot! By the end, Sophie was actually chucking the ball down the lane, however slow. Paulie pushed it down the lane, very slowly, with Grandma's help.

I think that's a 12lb. ball. That's what I was using.

Happy guy :)

cookie and minnie, yes, minnie again :)

2011-11-01T00:52:00.003-04:00

the design

done

paulie caught on quick. look for porch lights. ring door bell. get candy. he became one motivated cookie :)

we went camping this past weekend at pokagon sp. it was cold, really cold. but the weather never really seems to bother the kids. (they also slept in a heated camper...thanks mom and dad.) they had fun!

the october ritual.

drawing monsters

2011-10-25T21:23:00.000-04:00

paulie-style!

outside lately :)

2011-10-24T00:49:00.000-04:00

Maurice

2011-09-29T00:39:00.000-04:00

Meet Maurice, the friendly moose with small back-pack in tow who has been visiting us this past week. Evidently, Maurice likes Kindergarten a lot but he enjoys visiting Kindergartner's houses even more. Lucky Maurice, he got to come with us to Granger this past weekend.

riding

2011-09-21T01:05:00.000-04:00

more firsts

2011-09-16T00:46:00.000-04:00

the ham that i was holding :)

Kindergarten

2011-08-31T23:16:00.001-04:00

no idea what they were doing...

i gave paulie a hair cut while sophie was at school, can't do that every morning...better find some other activities :)

we missed her today but she had fun :)

stuff we do

2011-08-24T21:30:00.000-04:00

painting

splash pad down the street

drawing (kels this was for you and then it rained right before you came :)

more digging

thanks for visiting us aunt kelsey!

the zoo (spider monkey's, they were acting up :)

paulie trying out sophie's skates

play-dough

we celebrated dad's birthday in granger

silver beach (i looove this beach!)

sophie made a sand angel

so paulie had to give it a shot too :)

tennis, the fair, colder weather?

2011-07-30T22:04:00.000-04:00

on the tennis court, checking his messages from mickey...

funny guy. this was in mom and dad's camper a couple of weekends ago.

paulie being bob the builder.

at the st. joe county fair.

train ride together.

the carousel with aunt amy.

the car. she loooved the car.

dad won a 25cent game at the fair and let sophie pick the prize. i suppose you can't tell from the picture but it's essentially nemo in blue.

paulie, dreaming of the snow.

camping

2011-07-20T23:42:00.000-04:00

we went to a MI state park this past weekend. yep, it was toasty.

somehow the heat didn't/doesn't seem to bother the kiddos :) it did provide for some nice long naps.

so, we hiked.

mom was definitely not planning on forging this small stream on our hike.

it may look like a mo-hawk but paulie calls it his "dinosaur hair."

we played in the sand.

and in the lake.

this was today after supper. running through the sprinkler.

paulie felt the need to wear his helmet...

the weekend

2011-07-06T01:10:00.000-04:00

super fun new playground, check! this is all he did the entire time, dig...

we went to a parade in grandville. this is us waiting.

and waiting.

post-parade ice cream treat.

grand rapids

2011-06-28T23:33:00.000-04:00

dan is now very very old. we celebrated his birthday at our new place :)

there's a library down the street that we can walk to.

there's also a playground within walking distance, yay!

oh, yes, and there's an ice cream shop that we can walk to. every tuesday evening in the summer, the kiddos get a free book and ice cream. paulie chose the spider-man popsicle. this thing dripped allllllll over...but he loved it :)

father's day :)

Sugar & Spice

2011-05-26T22:02:00.000-04:00

Sophie right before the big dance recital. She was an absolute doll with her tap shoes :) Most importantly, she had fun!

She's the 2nd from the left.

Earlier today we went to the Curious Kids Museum in St. Joe.

Fun :)

Cincinnati

2011-05-21T22:47:00.000-04:00

my cheering crowd at graduation :)

i am actually doing a fist pump here...ha! i guess i enjoyed the woo-hooing :)

i loved this cake! well-done hon :)

the next day we went to the newport aquarium. the kids loved it. so did we :)

zoo day!

2011-05-05T22:02:00.000-04:00

peering at the river otters, so playful.

waiting for the train.

ah, the train! "chugga-chugga woo-woo!" in paulie's words :)

check out the ruffled peacock.

this was paulie's favorite and we even got to hear him "roarrrrr!"

our own little roar-er.

the weekend

2011-04-26T21:55:00.000-04:00

earth day :)

painting birdhouses

easter

March

2011-04-20T20:57:00.000-04:00

the kiddos with Cornerstone hoodies

this was right before we took a short trip to GR.

such a happy little guy outside...in the dirt.

just being Sophie=green stripey pants, piggies in her hair, george on her shirt, socks under her new flip-flops

another year for phoebo and another reason for us to make cupcakes.

a little demo of Sophie and her tap shoes. the big recital is in a few weeks...

other stuff we've been doing: playing outside (mostly in the dirt) when it's warm enough, coloring (a lot) when it's too cold and visiting the library, listening to paulie count to 10 (he must be a numbers guy, wonder where he gets that from...) and sing the alphabet (it's so sweet, time to get it on video), following sophie's many instructions re: games and forts, collecting sophie's many cards and letters that she writes us (she's very prolific and my file folder is stuffed,) collecting easter eggs at martin's (who knew a grocery store did this? it was tons of fun,) commuting to GR (mostly Dan,) beginning to pack for our move, finishing up my classes at Bethel (this session is looking a little rough...their final is tomorrow,) thinking about our time here in granger and anticipating with excitement this next move (wondering if the CU students will also think i'm a mere 25 or if instead they'll think i'm really old), oh, and there's more...our days are packed with silliness, looking forward to moving the sillies outside.

ladida

2011-03-29T21:53:00.001-04:00

just a short little diddy...

more 2

2011-03-12T21:38:00.001-05:00

2

2011-03-06T21:26:00.000-05:00

our little guy turned 2 last week...we had a day full of his favorites :)

krispy kreme

a train ride

chik-fil-a

free balloons from chik-fil-a

party time

the cake

pancake meal

hugs all around (love this one of him and amy)

bedtime, adorable paulie :)

snow days...

2011-02-02T23:35:00.000-05:00

Camping inside (the other day.)

Outside (today.)

Inside.

Outside.

Inside making cookies.

Decorating (it's important.)

Very important :)

Done.

Doing crafty things.

(Yes, the Minnie Mouse outfit.)

In his words, "Pauwie color."

It's been a good day :)

stuck

2011-01-08T23:10:00.000-05:00

paulie's word of the day, "stuck." poor guy could hardly move in the snow, between his gear and the inches :)

wintery things

2010-12-09T21:24:00.000-05:00

4

2010-11-22T21:47:00.000-05:00

October

2010-11-01T22:06:00.000-04:00

fishing at Pokagon SP

pumpkin hunting...

Lake James, Pokagon SP

camp chairs :)

PJ fun

train ride at the zoo

loving Uncle Mike

more pumpkin hunting

Brown County SP

her first ride :)

with Faith & Abby

no ride for this little guy yet, just a picture :)

painting pumpkins, still at Brown County SP

it's a tradition

dan?

there was a lot of this...

cookie decorating

cat and mouse

Paulie, are you there?

2010-10-03T21:06:00.002-04:00

scooter's away & sophie entertaining

2010-09-14T23:01:00.000-04:00

18 months

2010-09-11T20:51:00.000-04:00

a duet

2010-08-19T23:52:00.000-04:00

a preview

2010-08-16T22:22:00.000-04:00

more camping fun :)

2010-08-07T20:18:00.000-04:00

some things random

2010-08-03T22:04:00.001-04:00

washing the prius-who knew it was so much fun :)

one of hundreds of pictures we have of sophie's pooh bear, seems he's one of her favorite subjects

painting the dishwasher box

sophie's dance "happy birthday and love", self-titled

the lake

2010-07-13T23:00:00.000-04:00

the girls, sophie & rachael

sophie, rachael, jonah, and paulie

paulie hearts everything messy, sand being one of them

so sweet...wish rachael was a little closer :) but we so enjoyed the visit!

camping

2010-06-29T23:24:00.000-04:00

we went camping a couple of times this past month (@ pokagon sp). sophie experienced her first "early morning" fishing with dad. i woke her up, left her in her pj's, and we hiked to the lake. ah, memories :) she also developed a certain affection for the wax worms that we were fishing with, note the video below.

aunt amy was there, and buddy too :)

and sand...

one weekend the ohio dayton clan joined us-lee, abby, and faith.

Birthday Dance

2010-06-22T23:57:00.000-04:00

A late post since Dan's birthday was earlier this month...but we're still dancing over here.

hotter days...summer fun :)

2010-05-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

a meal with the little guy

2010-05-21T14:52:00.000-04:00

and this is only moderately messy...

a tower, a bird house, and friends

2010-05-19T23:08:00.000-04:00

Frankenstein

2010-05-19T22:55:00.000-04:00

Paulie started walking several weeks ago and this is how it started out...He's become a bit (!) more graceful since then :)

eight

2010-04-19T22:43:00.000-04:00

what can we say? we like parties! phoebo turned 8 this past week so we baked her a cake :)

i have no idea why sophie is wearing her swimsuit.

phoebo actually really likes frosting, go figure.

the cake monster himself.

gardening...in the sand

2010-04-14T21:50:00.001-04:00

beauty and the...cut-off shorts, black socks and white shoes, still wearing his work shirt gardener

planting peas

paulie loves this "sandbox" with his whole being

more one fun

2010-03-30T22:09:00.000-04:00

a few "one" pictures we took of Paulie this past week...and Sophie got in a couple too :)

painting and a show

2010-03-19T23:36:00.001-04:00

in her words, "painting my pinky room" :)

i took sophie to a disney show downtown. i really wasn't sure how she would respond but let's just say there was a lot of jaw-dropping, pointing, and smiling. :)

wagon weather :)

2010-03-15T22:17:00.000-04:00

one fun :)

2010-02-27T22:43:00.001-05:00

a song

2010-02-18T20:49:00.000-05:00

a new thing...(isaiah 43:19)

2010-02-12T22:01:00.012-05:00

and a little catching up...here's a start :)

a fire-woman & golf-club skier w/backpack?

pj's & pooh-bears

we had a little play-date party for sophie and well, it got out of hand :)

sophie & cosmo

some sort of smiley animal...

juicy lips

shark fin (& waving & saying "hi")

sweet indiana snow :)

minnie pumpkin

2009-10-31T22:22:00.008-04:00

brown county sp

2009-10-23T10:56:00.012-04:00

a push-up?

2009-10-13T22:11:00.011-04:00

paulie's been doing this funny little push-up for the last couple of weeks, balancing on his hands and feet/toes. evidently, sophie thinks it's fun too :)

a visit from grandparent's...thanks so much for coming!

playing in his drawer

this happened during nap-time a couple of weeks ago. right...and those piles on the floor are glitter.

swingin'

it's so hard to get a good picture of the two of them...

or a good one of the 4 of us :)

a few days later

2009-09-23T23:15:00.002-04:00

and, double-dunking :)

not where I left him

2009-09-18T20:49:00.007-04:00

he was in the middle of the living room floor.

and...pumpkin heads :)

to sophie & paulie's grandparents

2009-09-12T20:19:00.012-04:00

the lake

2009-08-26T10:00:00.016-04:00

we spent this past week with the dayton clan in michigan at a super cute house off of lake saddle, just outside south haven. we had a blast and it was a joy just to be together and especially to spend time with my brother and his family.

sophie caught her first fish while at the lake-thanks dad! and actually, she caught a ton of tiny little bluegill (just like her cousin timothy who couldn't get enough fishing :) i'm certain that she now thinks fishing is a cinch and that every time you drop your line in, you'll catch something. she and dan should have a talk...

here are some pics from our trip.ahh, the last bite at shermans :)

imagination

2009-08-26T09:51:00.004-04:00

sophie's imagination has taken off this past week. she's been pretend playing for a long time now but all of the sudden there are a couple of pink and purple bunnies living in our bathroom that occasionally hop into her shoes and imaginary party hats that we wear at supper time that somehow appeared out of my school bag...what's funny about it all is that now when she says something i have no clue if she's just making it up out of thin air or if maybe there really is a bunny living in our bathroom :)

firsts

2009-08-25T22:05:00.007-04:00

sophie went to her first day of preschool today (for 3 year old's.) it's a 3-day-a-week class that meets for a few hours in the morning. ahh, the first day of the rest of her life (or if she's like me at least until she's 30 :)

she did great, so i was told...the only moment that i shed a few tears (she shed a few as i left) was when i saw/heard the joy in her voice when she got back in the car, wanting to show me what was in her backpack and tell me what she did. i'm/we're very proud of our little girl:) and the after shot...

in other news, here's a clip of our little man wishing he could crawl. he's become a little frog hopper :)

the baby pool

2009-08-10T23:53:00.004-04:00

friends

2009-08-03T23:01:00.007-04:00

at the pool with cosmo

corrie and sophie having lunch

brother and sister(and this one's for molly-thanks friend, for all the cute clothes :)

more of lately

2009-07-26T21:58:00.009-04:00

a new bike

baby swing :)

pokagon sp

wrigley

paulie's baby dedication

mom's visit

Wiffle Ball

2009-07-25T20:20:00.001-04:00

singing

2009-07-14T23:09:00.002-04:00

sophie's been learning the song "jesus loves me." we usually sing it together at the piano, so here she is pointing at the paper saying "jesus" and starting to sing the song but then in usual sophie fashion, making up silly words and being goofy (she knows when she's on camera). the second clip is of a song she learned at the library story time with mom.

a belly laugh

2009-07-14T23:00:00.003-04:00

this clip is from a few weeks ago...trying to catch up on the latest :)

3 month paulie

2009-06-18T14:09:00.002-04:00

the office: making its first, second-time-around appearance

2009-06-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

What Being a Parent Has Done To Me

2009-06-08T11:21:00.002-04:00

A few minutes ago, a lady in the lobby said in a loud voice to one of her playing partners "Any time!"

I immediately and reflexively responded under my breath with:
"Any place. The super sleuths are on the case."

In my office. At the tennis club.

Today :)

2009-06-05T22:35:00.001-04:00

my chubby little guy :)

Birthday Bliss

2009-06-05T22:19:00.008-04:00

Dan turned the big 3-2 this past week! The kids (OK, I did it) got Dan a Transformer (Optimus Prime) for his birthday. I think it was hit, note:

the delight
the struggle (?)

truck-mode
& here he is eating supper with us...

granger

2009-06-05T22:03:00.005-04:00

strawberry picking (& eating) with papa
visiting grandpa brown with paulie and sophie

the last day of school for mom
kelsey drove back to lexington with us. thanks for your help kels! (oh, and nice sperry's, good thing i'm watching out for you.)

May: The Month of Entertainment That Was

2009-06-04T20:52:00.002-04:00

For better or worse, May has become the most competitive month in the entertainment landscape. More and more summer movies are pushing their release dates forward into May, competing both with each other and with sweeps month television. Oh, and there are NBA playoff games EVERY night, which is mind-blowingly awesome. Anyway, for whatever it's worth, here are my takes on what I was able to watch in May... (BTW, extra bonus points for anyone who actually reads this gazillion word monstrousity)

TV
The Office
This was a really up and down year for the office. I think some of the best moments in the series' history are in this season, as well as some of the worst. In fact, it almost felt like 4 separate seasons, with very little tying it all together. Someone needs to get their writing staff together and maybe think through the season as a whole a little better. With that said, the Michael Scott Paper Company saga might be the best stretch of episodes yet, and "Broke" may just be the best episode of the series. On the flip side, the Pam in art school story arc was a disaster not just for her, but from a writing perspective, and was torture for the viewers. Anyway, I felt like the season finale was a microcosm of the entire season. It felt rushed (it was the first season finale since the first season that was regular length), there were actions with virtually no consequences, Jim was poorly written (a theme this season if you ask me), and they wrote themselves into a corner (I hope they have a plan for this baby). All in all, the episode was, well, OK. I think that if you liked the Jim & Pam moment at the end, you probably liked the episode, and if you didn't, you didn't. I thought that moment, that one moment, was well written and well played, but it definitely has me concerned about the future of the show (it is generally a very BAD sign when they introduce a baby onto a show. But then again, they did this at the end of last season too).

24
What an interesting season this was. I'm very interested to see what they would have done with this season had it not been for the writer's strike. I mean, there is a very obvious "season finale" about halfway through the season, which I'm sure was put there in case the season didn't resume after the strike (there was an episode like that in Season 1 as well). And while the first half of the season was very tightly written and well thought out, the second half seemed very assembled on the fly from parts of other seasons. That is, until the season finale, which I thought was great, but felt to me to be a series finale, which I know it's not. There are so many interesting things going on at the end here. My mom asked me if Tony is a bad person now or a good person doing very bad things. I don't think it's either. I think Tony Almeida was we know him died in that explosion with Michelle. The person named Tony now is not a real person, but simply the embodiment of hurt and loss. You can't judge his actions as good or bad or anything else, as his actions are strictly a manifestation of hurt and loss. That is the ONLY thing that he is about. He is now built for one and only one purpose, and that is to avenge, even find "justice" for that hurt and loss. This makes for fascinating possibilities on a go-forward basis, as Tony is now a purpose driven person whose purpose no longer exists. How are they going to write him, if they continue to include him at all? I hope they do, because there is a lot of interesting character there to explore if they have it in them. And speaking of how are they going to write him, how on earth are they going to write Jack Bauer next year? I though it was going to be difficult to write Jack even this season after the way the pervious season ended. I thought the events of that season had changed him, and I think the way they started this season, and from the 24:Redemption show, that Jack had changed, or was trying to. But I think the writers just don't know how to write Jack as anything other than "Jack Bauer," who at this point is almost a charicature. Well, as far as I can tell, Jack Bauer died onto himself at the end of this season. He had a real and true spiritual experience, found forgiveness and healing, and died. From his perspective, it is only going to complicate things that he is going to, in fact, live. So how do they write him now? Surely he can't just go back to doing Jack Bauer things, right? But I can't imagine the show is going to turn into a 24 hour chronicling of a silent man living his days peacefully at a monestary washing dishes either. I am excited to see what they do and terrified of it at the same time. And on to terrifying, Agent Walker sure did turn into something terrifying there at the end. But the great question is what, if anything, did she do in that room? It seems obvious that there are other federal agents on their way to get that man, so whatever she was planning to do, she needed to do it fast. Was it torture? Did she just kill him and be done with it. Was she able to do anything at all before she got stopped or could she even go through with it? Alas, all of these questions remain tantalizingly unanswered.

Once again, I find myself very interested in how they wrote and are going to write her for a very convoluted reason. It was obvious from the very beginning of the season that they were writing Agent Walker as a potential next Jack Bauer in the making, but someone who fought against that side of herself, which did not appear to be something that Jack ever did. But as we learned in the finale, Jack did (and does) fight against that part of himself, but, as he indicated, when there are 15 people on a bus with a bomb, he will do ANYTHING to save them, even betraying his better values. In 7 years of this show, we have seen Jack do horrible things to save people, but we have never seen Jack do anything even remotely questionable in any context that does not involve a direct, imminent threat. This is where Agent Walker, in taking what was her first baby step into the world of horrible things, actually went farther than Jack ever has. When she went into that room to do whatever it was she was going to do, the imminent, direct threat was over. There weren't 15 people on a bus with a bomb. There was only a prisoner who seemed very sure he would be able to get out. She let her emotions carry her to a place that Jack Bauer never went- a scary thought indeed. So how are they going to write her? She better borrow a horcrux, because it seems as though she has rended her soul in two.

In all, a good season with a GREAT finale.

MOVIES
Star Trek
So let's just get to the brass tacks with this movie... was the time travel device used to reboot he series a good idea and well executed, or is it paramount to Star Trek blasphemy? To be sure, it was supremely clever. I can't think of any other way to fully acknowledge and honor the previous continuity while at the same time completely blowing it up and starting from scratch. I'm still not completely sure what I think. I can say for sure that I loved JJ Abrams' take and the way he imagined that universe and those characters. It most definitely breathed new life into that franchise, and I very much look forward to seeing more of That, whatever that was. But I think my biggest problem isn't that they are now in an alternate reality, but that they are different people, especially Kirk (and Spock, but for different reasons). The Kirk that was have spent the last 40 years with grew up with his father, but the Kirk in this movie was denied that relationship and it turned him into an even bigger rebel. So this is NOT the same person. It might as well be Jean-Luc Picard or Captain Ahab or someone named Billy-Bob, because the only thing they have as much in common with the old Kirk as this new Kirk does. Spock, on the other hand, is ostensibly the same person, inasmuch as his continuity does not appear to have been altered at all until he gets to Starfleet and meets Kirk (you could argue that until Kirk's trial Spock's continuity was completely unaltered from the original). Yet I find this Spock to be a radically different character. This Spock struggles with all the same things the old Spock did, like accepting his duality and learning to accept and control emotions, but he seems to have all of the old Spock's emotional life experience at a much younger age. In the original series and movies, Spock was learning about emotions very slowly and methodically. He was much more vulcan than human until after the events of Wrath of Khan. But this Spock seems to be emotionally out of control. His emotions are only just barely under the surface, and in many instances not under the surface at all. The movie wants you to believe that new Kirk and Spock will be able to grow together like old Kirk & Spock, but I don't see it. Old Spock was like Data in TNG, experiencing emotion one little bit at a time over many, many years. But new Spock has experienced more than his fair share of emotion, he just needs to learn what to do with it. To be sure, that can be an interesting take on that character, but it is radically different, when the story doesn't suggest any reason why it would be. Anyway, to wrap this up, I have to say that despite some of my problems with this movie, it was exceptionally well done and incredibly entertaining. If you are willing to throw out literally everything that has happened in the original series, the Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and the 10 movies that came before it and accept this movie on its own merits, then you will have a great time, and I really recommend it.

Terminator Salvation
I have a thing for killer robots. I have always loved the Terminator movies (even the seemingly ill-fated TV show which I really hope gets renewed for next year, but it doesn't look good), and have been a Transformers freak since I was a little kid (more on that later this month). I think that Terminator 2 is one of the finest films ever made, and the original Terminator is campy but relatively thoughtful and a lot of fun. Terminator 3 is seriously flawed (mostly in how they wrote John Connor) but I liked it anyway. I love the time travel elements and the absolute ridiculous stupidity of the super-intelligent killer robots. So I was REALLY excited about this movie. The previews looked incredible. Christian Bale as John Connor! Finally, an entire movie after Judgment Day! What could go wrong?

Meh.

Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of individual moments in this movie that I really liked, but this script is so bad that the movie just can't recover from it. I won't go into it here, but it is now well known that they had to radically change a potentially really interesting idea to accomodate the actor and the studio. They had a fully developed script that was the basis for this story, but had to have certain elements grafted onto it, and it really shows. And most people know of the leaked ending that was changed due to the leak. Now, I wouldn't have gone with the original ending either, but it at least made sense in the story and was gutsy (to say the least). This ending seems to have been obviously filmed AFTER principal photography ended and was apparently written by a four year old. They ignored the well established language of film. When someone has a metal bar penetrate through the middle of their chest and come out the other side, that person dies. Both in real life and in film. But not in this movie. Despite the fact that when they filmed that scene, I think they all thought he WAS going to die.

Anyway, the other Terminator movies had very appropriate and identifiable themes that persisted throughout the movie. These are themes of fate versus choice, free-will versus destiny. For three movies, they pounded out this theme, and it was this thematic element that set Terminator movies apart from other mindless sci-fi. But Terminator: Salvation goes in a different direction thematically, and I still cant' figure out how it makes sense. The there here was "what does it mean to be human," which is a potentially interesting question, I guess. But I'm not sure how that theme really fits into the series, and I can't even imagine how they can further develop that coherently in more films.

Still, I'm a fan. I enjoyed myself more than I should given the fact that I have many more problems with the movie than I even mentioned here, and I will undoubtedly add it to the collection. But I can't really say that I would recommend it as a quality movie.

Up
This movie is brilliant. I have more respect for the work they are doing over at Pixar than any other creative body. I love that they are not afraid to take chances with their material and that they don't underestimate the intelligence of their audiences. WALL-E is in my top 3 favorite movies ever, and it was probably the bravest movie I've ever seen (a Disney cartoon that was a blistering, scathing attack on American consumer culture and over-consumption set to the soundtrack from Hello Dolly... what could go wrong there?). With the possible exception of Cars, Pixar has aperfect track record of imaginative & fun, yet thoughtful movies that can be enjoyed, if not fully appreciated, by people of all ages.

Much like the first 30 minutes of WALL-E, the first 10 minutes of Up are largely silent and the story is showed, not told. I didn't think it was possible to grow so emotionally charged so fast in a cartoon, but I definitely did. How they transition from the raw emotions of those moments into the fantasy whirlwind that is to follow is quite an accomplishment.

I would love to go in depth about this movie, but it only just opened, so I will save spoilers for a later time (I have some interesting theories that I haven;t seen out there yet that I would love to discuss). Normally, I am all about spoilers, but I want people to see this movie unspoiled. So if you haven't seen Up, go see it. Bring a senior citizen and bring a kid. They'll both love it for completely different reasons.

I do have one small nit to pick. Steven Spielberg has often said that his biggest filmmaking regret is that in E.T., the police chasing Elliott and ET have guns drawn. In fact, in later versions of the film he has digitally changed those to flashlights. In Up, there is on scene near the end that briefly involves a gun, and while it fits perfectly in the story, I wonder if Pete Docter will eventually come to regret introducing a gun into this movie. I certainly noticed it and felt uncomfortable with its presence in this film, but I'm guessing most people didn't think anything of it. In any event, it certainly doesn't ruin the movie by any stretch, so go see it! I'm done writing, so get up and go see it!

I am officially disappointed in the world...

2009-06-03T14:40:00.001-04:00

Sophie & the Big Kids

2009-05-26T22:29:00.004-04:00

Sophie, Paulie, and I are in Granger this week, celebrating Mom Dayton's last week of teaching first grade. Mom is retiring her teaching hat but only kind of, she has five little grandkids that adore her and whom she'll continue to teach and inspire. We're so glad you'll be able to spend more time with us Mom!
Today, Mom took her class to the local park and the three of us met everyone there. Sophie had a blast with the big kids (& of course, with Grandma too.)

(Dan, aren't you pleased? She's playing with an abacus!)

Rainy day solutions

2009-05-13T22:32:00.003-04:00

Paulie & Eeyore

2009-05-13T21:12:00.002-04:00

On Manny & Rose

2009-05-08T08:37:00.003-04:00

In the wake of the Manny Ramirez steroid revelation yesterday, I had an interesting conversation with 2 coworkers regarding the various scandals in baseball. As we are in the heart of Reds country here, all scandal talk eventually comes back to Pete Rose and whether or not he belongs in the Hall of Fame and how what he did compares to the sins of more contemporary players. So I have some thoughts...

All of these conversations boil down to one basic question: Which is worse, gambling or taking performance enhancing drugs?

To be sure, they are both terrible blights on the sport and should be rooted out. It's not that one is good and one is bad- they are both bad. But with that in mind, I believe we can begin to discuss which of 2 bad things might be worse. And I believe that the worse offense is gambling.

Gambling by people involved in the game should have no part in any sport. There is absolutely NOTHING good that can come from gambling. I don't care how innocent you think gambling on 2 other teams is, the sport is so interconnected, that those results will eventually have some effect on you. It is impossible to separate yourself from the sport if you are a player or a manager or referee or executive. Once gambling allegations come to light, the only possible implication that can be made is that the games were somehow rigged. Sports can handle a lot of scandal, but they absolutely cannot handle the perception that games are predetermined or that players aren't trying to win. At that point, it's not a sport but a theater production of some kind. Gambling destroys the very fabric on which sports are based.

Performance enhancing drugs, on the other hand, actually play into what sports are all about. Is it cheating? Absolutely. But what it says is that players are making every effort to be better at what they are doing, which in turn will help the team win. The fact is, we will forgive people if we feel like what they are trying to get better and trying to win. True, it was more likely about personal stats and bigger contracts than about helping the team, but in baseball personal stats usually mean contributing to team wins. While gambling eventually leads to players making their team lose, PED's lead to players helping their teams win.

And we love the guy who does everything he can to help the team win, right? Isn't this obviously why we have looked the other way on steroids but never have on gambling?

Now, as it applies to the Hall of Fame, my take is that we should ignore all of these things altogether. I see the Hall of Fame as the Museum of Baseball History. You can't tell the story of baseball in the 70's & 80's without Pete Rose. So put him in the Hall of Fame, but put ALL of him in the Hall of Fame. Say how he had 4000 hits and say that he gambled on the game. Tell of the fans who loved him and how he broke their hearts. Tell the story of Pete Rose. It belongs in the museum of baseball. The same applies to the steroid era guys. Again, you can't tell the story of baseball from 1995-2005 (ish) without talking about steroids. So talk about it. Put Barry Bonds and his gaudy numbers in the Hall of Fame, because that's where they belong. And put his horribly ugly story right there next to the numbers. The story of arc of Roger Clemens career is amazing, and belongs in the Hall of Fame. But explain that all was not what it seemed.

And that brings us to Manny. Manny Ramirez, with the purest swing of any right-handed hitter of this generation. Manny Ramirez, the saviour of Boston's soul. Manny Ramirez, the weirdest goofball of a player to possibly ever step on a Major League Field. And now Manny Ramirez, steroid user and cheater. Manny Ramirez belongs in the Hall of Fame someday- ALL of Manny Ramirez.

Sibling Rivalry?

2009-05-01T14:17:00.006-04:00

Paulie is 24 inches and 13+ lbs. at two months.

Sophie was 25 inches and 14+ lbs. at four months.(This picture is a couple of weeks old but thought it was cute. He likes watching the fish go round and round. And Sophie likes counting them, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...there's no end, until the battery runs out :)

2 & 29 months

2009-04-26T20:31:00.007-04:00

Just Sophie

2009-04-17T15:22:00.003-04:00

Dan came home early today so just Sophie and I headed to the park for some Mommy & Me playtime. (With two now, going out and about with one seems so easy and I love being able to invest in one kiddo at a time :) We stopped for a snack on the way...Yes, that's cool whip and I think I have too many pictures like this. And here are a couple of short videos. Sophie can go up and down the ladders and slides like it's nobody's business.

Seriously?

2009-04-15T10:20:00.004-04:00

Apparently Jason Giambi left a game the other day because he was winded. Seriously? He got winded in a baseball game? Don't get me wrong, I love baseball and am not one of those guys who says that baseball players aren't athletes. But even I have to admit that getting winded in a baseball game is a bit of a stretch. Unless you are trying for an inside the park home run, which seems unlikely for Jason Giambi, and even then, I would think that a minute or two rest, and you should be good to go. This story ranks right up there with the guy a few years back who had to miss a game because of a video game injury.

Grandma; GG & PaPa Joe; Easter

2009-04-13T20:58:00.015-04:00

(Just being Paulie...)

(Sophie at the Lexington Explorium with Grandma.)

(Paulie's first big grin caught (by chance) on camera :) And BTW, this was at Coffee Times, you know, where I was Coffee Queen!

(Sophie sporting her new apron-made with love from Grandma.)

(The Erickson guys. Believe it or not they did not plan the CUBS thing.)

6 weeks

2009-04-08T21:25:00.003-04:00

(and happy passover/chag sameach :)

Mr. 1 Month

2009-03-28T21:30:00.004-04:00

tricycle time

2009-03-28T21:12:00.004-04:00

going nowhere

2009-03-22T21:44:00.000-04:00

paulie doing a little tummy time.

before/after

2009-03-22T21:27:00.010-04:00

i tried to take sophie to a barber shop yesterday morning but without success. so, i now cut hair (and sort of in a straight line.)

before

during
after
(don't worry, she loves the cut. the blatant look on her face is because she's staring off into the wonderful world of tigger and pooh...we had to entice her to sit still :)

do a little dance

2009-03-22T21:25:00.004-04:00

"The River Why" Movie

2009-03-16T09:11:00.002-04:00

They are making a movie based on one of my favorite books, The River Why, by my favorite author, David James Duncan. I have the following questions/thoughts...

1. How is it I only found out about this today???????
2. When is it coming out? Neither imdb.com nor the official site have a release date listed.
3. I understand this is a "low budget movie," but I sure hope this gets a theatrical release (and more importantly, actually plays here).
4. They have a surprisingly good cast put together.
5a. I am terrified of this movie. I can't imagine translating this book into a usable screenplay. I'm sure it will be shot quite beautifully, but you can't trade ideas for grandeur. With that said...
5b. I will be the first person in line to see this movie.
6. If a filmmaker wanted a real challenge, he would make The Brothers K. Although, that would be better suited to a mini-series, and that thought makes me want to wretch.

catching up

2009-03-14T20:25:00.008-04:00

we celebrated paulie's 1 week birthday last week at the park. ok, so he didn't really get to play (or even see what was going on) but sophie had a fun time. later that weekend, i took sophie out again to the park to play and...here's what dan was up to while i was gone. let's hope this little erickson will witness a new cubs era!
i "painted" sophie's nails with washable marker and she was quite pleased.
paulie at 2 weeks. this was taken just after his dr. appt. he's now well above his birth weight. the dr.'s other comments were that he had big hands and was really strong. she could hardly get him to loosen up to check his hips.
we caved and got a double-stroller. it's actually quite nice and though a bit heavy, super easier to maneuver and store. and sophie's in love with it, you'd think we bought it for her to push pooh around in.
and finally, a big thanks to mom e. for coming to visit us this past week, for making our meals and allowing me some much needed rest!

awake

2009-03-04T20:07:00.004-05:00

little man yesterday...

and a big huge thanks to mom for all her help this past week...playing with sophie and producing giggles, cuddling our new one, and making us lots of yummy cookies! thanks mom :)

Coming Home

2009-02-28T21:06:00.009-05:00

Paul at One Day

2009-02-27T19:16:00.008-05:00

I would post more pictures but the internet access here at the hospital is insanely slow.

Introducing...

2009-02-26T20:50:00.006-05:00

Paul William Erickson
February 26, 2009
8 lbs 1 oz
21 inches

Big cheeks just like his sister.
Fuzzy hair like his uncle Mike.

More pictures tomorrow:)

Inspired...

2009-02-18T20:20:00.002-05:00

by our friend Corrie, Sophie helps baby Gabby "slurp".

Faces

2009-02-18T19:59:00.008-05:00