Social Media

A Vandermeme, some travel tips and a few super superlatives

  1. These 14 First World Problems from the ’90s made me laugh. Numbers 3 and 9 especially.

  2. Jessica at Momma’s Gone City shares some wonderful ideas at “Travel with Kids: Tips from a Semi-Expert.” It’s geared toward air travel, but several of the tips are applicable to road trips, too. I’m definitely going to be checking out some of her iPad app recommendations.

  3. I couldn’t care less about LeBron James or Kobe Bryant. (Matter of fact: I had to Google “current NBA stars” to come up with two names.) But Magic Johnson? Larry Bird? Karl Malone? Charles Barkley? I’ll read about them all day long. I was about to start high school in the summer of 1992, when the Dream Team played in the Olympics. I’d love to see the tape of “The Greatest Game Nobody Ever Saw.”

    The Dream Team flew into Nice at midnight on July 18 and made a crash landing at the Loews … about 20 miles away. During a security meeting before the team arrived, Henri Lorenzi, the legendary hotel manager, had complained about the number and the aggressiveness of the NBA’s security people. “Do you realize who is gambling in my casino right now?” Lorenzi said to the NBA’s international liaison, Kim Bohuny. Lorenzi ticked off the names of politicians, movie stars and even tennis immortal Björn Borg. “No one will care that much about this team,” he said.

    “Well, we’ll see,” replied Bohuny.

    When the team bus pulled up, there was such a rush of fans to see the players that some fans crashed through the glass doors at the entrance. “I get your point,” said Lorenzi.

  4. “The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever,” and there’s not much more to say about that. (via Unlikely Words)

    In the sixth frame, he had another loud, devastating strike. Then another. Then another. With each throw, he could tell it was a strike from the moment it left his hand. He’d watch as the pins were there one second, then gone the next. “It felt like driving and catching a green light, then the next one, then the next, then turning, and still catching every green light everywhere you go,” Fong says

Family matters

He still likes to bother the cat

I’m taking a break from blogging this month and sharing some words from friends, some posts from the past and other assorted bric-a-brac. This post was originally published on July 29, 2010 as “Evenings with Petey.” I can’t believe how much he’s grown in the last two years.

Pete wouldn’t go to bed? Here’s some more of the conversation we had before I finally got off my hindquarters and took Little Boyhim back upstairs.

Pete: Remember what happened when they fell down in that dark basement? Maybe that’s not good.

Me, somewhat alarmed: Who fell down in a dark basement?

Pete: Wonderpets did that. They fell down in dark basement. They won’t see anything down there. Remember what happened to that? I’ve never seen “Wonderpets All Began.” Can I put “Wonderpets All Began” on my wish list? Can I please?

Me: Yes.

Pete: Maybe we should get a new one. Maybe we should get a new one. Maybe we should get a neeeeewwww oooonnnneee.

Me: OK.

Pete: That’ll work. [turns attention to poor, long-suffering Marsha] I’m gonna get you kitty. A-poke poke pokey poke. [Marsha runs under couch; Pete gives chase] Down there? I’m all done taking naps. [He picks up a photo album.] Let me see this picture of this, Mama. Let me see this picture of this. Oh. Oh, there’s the cars. There’s Mater and McQueen and Dinoco McQueen. Oh there’s McQueen Dinoco Mcqueen, and there’s Petey and peas. There’s Petey and peas, Mama. There’s Poppy and Addison, and there’s bubble playing time, and there’s Mommy and Daddy, and there’s Lightening McQueen and Dinoco McQueen and that’s the pictures. Let’s look at them again. [rinse and repeat] Well, it’s time for me to wake up. I want to watch a cartoon.

Me: It’s time for bed, honey.

Petey: But I already take one, Mama.

Me: It’s time for night-night, all the way to morning. [Do I really talk that way? Sometimes. Whatevs.]

Petey: But it’s too late. But I was asleep. I wanna lay in Mommy and Daddy’s bed. I want to Mama. I really want to. Meow. Meoooooow. Meow meow.