January in Illinois

For our friends down south: Here's a little sample of the terrific weather we've experienced back in Illinois after attending my Grandma's funeral on Wednesday. It was 18 degress at 5:10 p.m. when I shot this scene from Route 23 overlooking Route 80 as snow cascaded upon us. It looks bad, but only accumulated an additional inch or so.

Below is my attempt to animate the scene:



Brrrrrrr!

More later,


Mark

He May Not Have Writers, But...

Jon Stewart showed his great wit and comedic timing (not to mention significant intelligence) when confronted last week by guest Jonah Goldberg, the National Review columnist and author of a book entitled "Liberal Facism."



More later,


Mark

Poor Brett Farve...

He hates when someone spells his name correctly. Here's some more Monday morning quarterback hatin' from the Internet...

A Welcome Diversion

Between getting work done in advance of the trip back to Illinois for the funeral and making travel plans, Mary and I have managed to focus on other things – except, of course, taking down the Christmas tree.

On Saturday, Hometown News was a sponsor of the kickoff of a new wrestling promotion, The World Wrestling Alliance. While Vince McMahon should not lose any sleep, the "Bash at the Ballpark" in Cocoa was a nice afternoon of fun. How can you beat wrestling, sun and beers? Featured were the likes of Tatanka, Scotty 2 Hotty, Buff Bagwell, Demolition Ax and Smash, the Honky Tonk Man and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. No-shows included "Sycho" Sid Vicious and Rowdy Roddy Piper.


Here, the Honky Tonk Man gets a traditional Japanese welcome.


Prior to the match, HTM favored us with a song!


Tatanka was on the receiving end of a vicious smack from Haku/Meng who was a last-minute substitute for the "Sycho" one. He was disguised as a security guy when he came to the ring and attacked Tatanka.


Tatanka was victorious!


The Living Legend Larry Zbyszko made a surprise appearance and took on some flake named "Snow" who resembled Shamu. Larry won, to our relief.


Scotty 2 Hotty was a huge fan favorite and he seems like a guy the WWE should reconsider for a another run (he recently appeared on the RAW 15th anniversary special).

More later,


Mark

Grandma Kuglich

My grandmother, Ann Kuglich, passed away Thursday. She lived to be 92 years old.

She was Mom to four children: My mom, Lois (pictured); Dan; Judy; and Kathy. And she was Grandma to 11 grandkids, of which I was No. 2.

Grandma truly enjoyed a life marked by her big family - and her elusive hunt for a big cash prize. Until her health prevented it, she enjoyed bingo and other games. She was also a vigorous card shark and I spent much time in the past 24 hours fondly recalling my early trips to Florida when Mom, Dad, Mary, Grandma, Aunt Judy and I would play King's Corners. I once had a streak of 11 wins in a row and Grandma was NOT a good loser.

Actually, none of us were good losers (although I normally did not lose) and the games would get so loud that one year the neighbors banged on the wall at the condo to get us to quiet down.

Grandma will be fondly recalled by many and missed by many more.

More later,


Mark

An Oldie But A Goodie

Howdy 2008!

Me and my woman just moseyed in to wish y'all a rip-snortin' New Year!

Yahoo!

More later,

Mark

P.S. Old Town. Drinks. Figure it out.