This is cool. It’s video from a variety of different cameras following the ascent of a Space Shuttle launch.

Yeah, nerd city.

Just skip over the first two and a half minutes or so. It’s nothing but credits.

STS-129 Ascent Video Highlights from mike interbartolo on Vimeo.

So there was no Bruins game last night (there was a Patriots game and they got slaughtered by New Orleans) but there were a couple of interesting moments in the NHL.

First, there was Alex Ovechkin playing like an out of control lunatic… again. On at least one occasion this year there has been talk about suspending him. Of course he wasn’t because the NHL does not suspend it’s stars, never mind the game’s best player.

Last night though, he initiated a knee on knee hit on Tim Gleason of the Hurricanes. (was Gleason a Lock Monster? I don’t think so. I think he was a Monarch which is an unforgivable sin in my book) Cam Neely fans see hits like this and get really mad. Cam might still be on the ice (that’s a humongous stretch of the imagination, I know) instead of in the front office if not for a hit similar to this.

Take a look:

I don’t know what else to say about this one. How stupid can you get? The league has said that Ballard won’t be suspended… but something has to happen to him. If I were the Panther’s coach I’d bench him for… for… ever. If I were the GM I’d cut him. How can you keep a schmuck like this on your team? How?? The good news here is that Vokoun seems to be all right. He was taken from the ice on a stretcher and brought to a hospital, but it looks like the extent of his injury is a cut on his face. I hope he beats the living shit out of Ballard. I don’t like to condone violence or anything… but… but… Ballard totally has it coming.

Damn hockey is a fun game, isn’t it??

Don’t lie to me. You know you love the Superfriends. You can’t get enough either.

Invasion of the Fearians Pt1

Don’t you think they should all be four day weekends?

I am back at work and not happy about it.

Thursday was Thanksgiving of course. We got up early and started cleaning and cooking in preparation for both sets of parents coming over for dinner. The kids helped with the cleaning a lot, and I helped with the cooking a little, but the majority of the credit goes to my beautiful wife Jen. She whipped our house into shape and got everything ready. Dinner was great, the company was great, the day was great. Thanks to everyone who came, and thanks again to my love for being so wonderful.

Friday we hung out with the kids in the morning and generally had a much needed flake of a day. After we dropped the kids off at their father’s we went Christmas shopping and hit the mother lode. We’re not finished yet, but we’re close.

Saturday the love of my life, Jennifer the beautiful, had to work most of the day but we managed to watch a couple of flicks together while hanging out at the house. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is just as funny today as it was when we first saw it 200 years ago. All I can say is, “SQUIRREL!” We also watched Casino Royale on Blu-ray. James Bond has never been more lifelike. The high definition images are freakin’ outstanding.

Sunday was Thanksgiving Part Deux, which is a holiday we alone celebrate. My sister spends Thanksgiving with her husband’s family and my brother spends it with his wife’s family, so we have our own private little celebration a few days later where we get to all spend it together. This weekend the kids were with their father so we weren’t going to be able to take them with us. I was a pretty sad about that. I wanted them to join us so we could have all of the kids involved in the sort-of-holiday. As luck had it though, the kid’s dad had a scheduling conflict and asked if we could watch them for a couple of hours. Magically those hours matched up exactly with the turkey dinner at my sister’s. It was perfect, like an early Christmas present. We all got some major baby time. I hope the kids had as much fun as I did.

Because of the way the kid schedule works out, this coming weekend is the only good opportunity we have to put up our Christmas decorations. It’s a little earlier than I usually like to do it, but then again I usually like to wait until nearly the last minute. I’m one of those later-is-better-than-sooner Christmas decorators. However, this weekend is the weekend to do it for us.

It is also a busy weekend. We are baby sitting my niece on Saturday, and on Sunday we are going on the insensitively named Dead Relatives Tour, which is when we visit my grandparent’s graves with a pretty substantial group of relatives.

That means we will have to start decorating during the week. We have the kids from Wednesday through Sunday but Thursday night we have other plans. So… we will buy a tree on Wednesday, decorate on Friday, and then spend Saturday and Sunday with family. Sounds like a plan. All of the decorating materials (except the tree) have been moved from the basement to the kitchen and are just itching to be put up. The tree will once again go in the dining room, although we tried to figure out a way to get it into the living room. There just isn’t enough room. It was wonderful in the dining room last year, it will be again this year.

We had a wonderful busy week last week and we will have another wonderful busy week again this week. I can’t wait!

There is one other important bit of journal worthy news today. Six month ago today I married the woman of my dreams. I married Ms Right. I married Jen. Today is our 0.5 year anniversary, or our sixth monthiversary. What ever you call it, it’s a small milestone in the journey that is my marriage to Jen. The sweetest, kindest, smartest, charmingest, funniest, most beautiful, sexiest (oh yeah!), lovingest woman I have ever known.

I love you honey bunny. Here’s to about 100 more half years together.

Today is the Parker family Thanksgiving Part Deux. Circumstances just magically combined to let us take the kids even though it’s not our weekend! Woohoo!

Remember how all of the good Superfriends episodes were cliff hangers? Here’s the payoff, kids…

This was hands down my favorite Saturday morning cartoon. Nothing came close. It’s fitting given today’s television viewing habits.

The day before Thanksgiving is, as we know, the busiest travel day of the year. The day after Thanksgiving is, as we know, the busiest shopping day of the year.

It is very rare that I indulge in the day after commercial festivities. Last night, however, Jen and I took a stab at it. We weren’t numbered among the gazillions of people who went shopping before dawn. I’m crazy, but I ain’t that crazy.

No, we waited until the evening to hit the shops. Successfully too. We blew through our shopping agenda in record time. We are not done by any stretch, but we are extremely far along and it’s not even December yet. We are the dominate Christmas shoppers. Bask in the glow of our awesomeness. Bow to our skill!

The morning after Thanksgiving… and we are in full flake mode. The kids played computer games before breaking out the dominoes and settin’ ’em up and knockin’ ’em down on the kitchen floor.

I just watched the Mythbusters Moon landing episode whilst sneaking bites of Tewksbury Tweets.

Yesterday we had Jen’s mother and step father, my parents, and a priest from St Williams who came with my folks. My mother made turkey and stuffing. Jen made mashed potatoes and stuffing and veggies and stuffing. Jen’s mother made salad. For dessert we had Jen’s Tewksbury Tweets, apple and pumpkin pies, my mother’s cookies, and cranberry bread, Jen’s mother’s apple and four berry pie, and my brownies. After dinner the kid’s dad and soon-to-be-step-mother came with a chocolate/peanut butter/coconut dessert. In other words: We ate like pigs. It was a very happy Thanksgiving.

The brownies, which I made Monday night, somehow magically didn’t cause any food poisoning for anyone. I was really surprised.

Today we are hanging out with the kids until around 4pm when we have to take them to their dad’s. We are trying to figure out what to do for lunch as we speak. After we drop them off we are going to jump headlong into the Christmas season with a shopping spree.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving too.