Mark's World - And Welcome to It

The In-Law Suite Is Done!

2012-01-06T17:17:00.013-05:00

In the grand scheme of things, the in-law suite for Mary's mom Grace is done and my sanity is – relatively – intact.

Don't look for me to be signing on to another big house project anytime soon, however.

The project got under way in July and the last official act was the carpeting which was installed last week. Really, I wanted the project left in 2011 so the New Year could start off on a more calm note. Many folks have observed that I am precisely the wrong personality type for this kind of project: The disruption, the delays, the typical contractor-owner-back-and-forth, etc. That's probably true.

And I learned a lot and am better prepared should I ever take on another one of these... I will be the next contractor's worst nightmare... Performance clauses and deadlines will be the rule.

But the addition is a beauty and we are very pleased with the results. Mary's mom gave a big thumbs up when she was here last month even before the project was completed.

So, here are some photos of the new digs:

Here is the kitchen shot from the living room. The table was placed there to give it some perspective. The kitchen is tiled and the carpet and hallway are carpeted.

Here is a closeup of the Kenmore appliances in the kitchen and the walnut cabinets and veneer counters.

Here s a view looking from the kitchen toward the living room. The hanging light gave me fits shooting that direction.

Right off of the living room is the laundry room featuring a new washer and dryer – and even a specially ordered washtub.

This is the hallway that leads to the bathroom and the bedroom.

The tiled bathroom is quite roomy and features a good-sized vanity and a walk-in shower with a seat.

Even the shower fixture is cool!

Across the hall from the bathroom is the bedroom which features two excellent windows and will easily house a queen bed, nightstands, dresser, etc.

And, of course a big closet!

Behind the bedroom is a mudroom that adjoins our basement and provides storage and even a freezer!

It's about 800 square feet in all and we'll be glad when this journey is complete and Mary's mom moves in later this year!

More later,

Mark

Our "Christmas Story" Adventure

2011-12-05T08:29:00.008-05:00

Mary and I have visited two historical homes in Ohio over the years: The Thurber House in Columbus and, now, the Cleveland house used in the holiday classic film "A Christmas Story."

In both cases, things didn't exactly go according to plan.

On Sunday at 10 a.m., we showed up at the doorstep of 3159 W 11th St. in Cleveland, Ralphie's home in the beloved movie. After spying the place on the Internet, we were convinced of this sound plan: Tour the house at 10 a.m. and hit the gift shop and be on the road by 11:30 a.m. and at Quench to watch the Bears by 1 p.m.

And, much like the case of the Thurber Treat-winning Thurber house tale previously spun here, the house was not visitor-friendly upon our arrival. A sign informed us the house was closed.

But wait, the website said… We were soon joined by a couple arriving from San Diego. They, too, were under the misguided notion that the house was to open at 10 a.m.

Across the street from the house are two associated buildings: The ticket office for the house and a museum. Both locked up tight, of course. And a sign on the ticket office indicated the house did not open until 12 p.m., which would shatter our 11:30 a.m. departure.

Then, through a fence behind the museum, we could see a guy who was cleaning up after his dog in the museum's backyard. At least the dog was eager to greet us.

THIS DOG WAS EAGER TO GREET US

Maybe this groundskeeper could help us, we thought. So, we started to explain through the fence that we were confused about why the house as closed when the website indicated it would be open at 10 a.m.

"It opens at noon," he said. "Want me to prove it to you?"

He went back into the museum and returned with his Apple laptop. He had browsed to the home's website. And, even though it was a bit confusing, the house apparently did not open until noon.

Oh! Skunked again…

"Do you work here?" Mary asked, already scheming to get us in despite the noon opening.

"No," he said. "I was in the cast."

Huh? And you are…?

"Ian Petrella. I played Randy."

Flabbergasted, I murmured something about taking his picture.

"Not in my pajamas!" he said.

Yes, Randy, in his pajamas, was explaining the hours of operation of the Christmas Story house. Wrap your head around that one…

So Randy, I mean, Ian, went in to change and came back with autograph pictures for us and the San Diego couple. He was a real nice guy. He was in town for personal appearances during the home's busy season. And he had a great dog.

I took some pics of him, the house, and even shot an image of the interior through the front window.

THIS PICTURE SHOT THROUGH THE LAMP LEG WINDOW
And soon we were off.

We HAD to get back for the Bears game.

The Chicago Bears. Terrors of the midway. More like the Chicago Chipmunks, if you ask me…

More later,

Mark

Mom and Dad Visit!

2011-11-02T20:44:00.011-05:00

My Mom and Dad are in town enjoying Indian Summer in beautiful Northeast Ohio. They arrived on Allegiant Air Sunday - three hours late. The barbecue slow cooked all day and made an ideal midnight snack, however.

Since they love cold rain AND Halloween so much, Monday's trick-or-treating was a rare treat. Here they are enjoying the great outdoors in our new pop-up tent that can be set up by two men in two minutes provided the two men are not me and my Dad.

In our defense, it took 30 minutes before we realized this was an 8-by-10-foot version (every other one I have bought was square) and there WAS a wrong way to put the top on...

Tuesday they toured Mill Creek Park with Mary and we all met up for a night on the town when I got off of work. Here we all are enjoying drinks at The Quench bar.

Santa made a surprise appearance Tuesday night and Mom and Dad were gifted with a family portrait by the talented Tom Wills, a co-worker at The Vindicator. Tom does amazing work and he can be found here: Tom Wills Productions

The star of the visit was Pal Joey. Of course, Sammy is always cute with company but this was the first time since Joey arrived that we have had guests and Joey cuddled up to the parents. Here he is with Dad:

And, of course, with Mom, who I believe adopted Joey as a new grandson:

Of course they had to contend with the ongoing construction project: Workers arriving and/or not arriving or showing up during dinner... My Dad was a great help as we picked out the appliances and he kept watch over the workers. My Mom tried to reassure me that this project will indeed someday be over. I will share some updated pictures of the house later this week.

It was great as always to see them! We had a terrific time!

More later,

Mark

Sweetness

2011-10-11T20:01:00.006-05:00

Did you ever open up a package, confident of the contents, only to be stunned?

I mean really, really, jaw-droppingly, life-in-slow-motioned stunned?

My MacBook Pro has eaten another battery so I ordered a new one of uncertain Asian origin on eBay last week. I arrived home tonight to find one of those oversized postal envelopes hanging out of the mailbox, which is a sure sign I'd be able to untether my Mac from an extension cord for more than 10 minutes by nightfall.

I threw the mailer with its brick-like contents onto my chair as I set to my nightly coming home ritual: free the cats from their holding pen (alas, construction continues), pick out tomorrow's wardrobe, change into shorts, arrange vitamins for the evening/morning doses, fill a giant glass with ice water, provide Sammy and Pal Joey treats to compensate for Mary not freeing them during her between-jobs break and then get to the mail.

Opening the mailer, I was, for lack of a better word (hence it's third use), stunned.

It was a copy of "Sweetness," the controversial, new Jeff Pearlman book about Walter Payton.

Now, I had just ordered a copy for my iPad, though I haven't gotten to it yet as I am engrossed in the new Christopher Hitchens collection, "Arguably."

My first thought: Did Amazon screw up somehow?

The return address, however, was revealing: It was from Jeff Pearlman!

I'd been found...

Now, when the book came out, Pearlman authored a blog that, frankly, I did not take kindly to. It was titled, "The Truth," and it was a plea, or as I called it, a "pity party" that fans read the entire book before judging it's merit. Most fans, me included, had only read the salacious details (drug addiction, depression, affairs, etc.) contained either in the Sports Illustrated cover story or in even more brief wire accounts of the Sports Illustrated story.

Pearlman wrote in part:

"I don’t care how you read Sweetness, but if you’re someone screaming and yelling, “How dare you! How dare you!” I encourage you to take in 460 pages, not seven. Go through the Columbia, Mississippi years; the Jackson State years; the down days in Chicago, when the Bears were a joke and Walter Payton was the only beacon of hope. If, after you’ve done that, you still think the book was a hit job, call me."

I pounded Pearlman in Twitter and in comments on his blog (which I signed). The argument that I posted:

"Uhm, the points in total are understood BUT Sports Illustrated obviously did not, either, choose to republish the entirety of the 460 pages. So, the most salacious accounts are republished, instead. Does THAT paint a full, fair picture of the entirety of the book? No. Hence your pity party here is, at best, odd. You accept the juicy morsels being spewed out there to juice the sale of your book, then cry that fans are not judging the entirety of your work. It seems to me that when bits and pieces are chosen that benefit your book’s sales, you are totally on board. Hmmm…"

After that, I moved on, but not before I Tweeted that I would probably read the book, which I bought last week, downloaded to my iPad and was next on my reading agenda.

Which brings us to today and this envelope with a book and a note…

Essentially, Jeff Pearlman tracked me down, found my blog and is probably penning my bio as I type this. I made that very last part up, but he did enjoy my blog and apparently read quite a lot of it. He even gave a shout-out to Pal Joey.

He then wrote, "Clearly, you don't like my reason or the idea of the Payton biography. However, I'm including a copy with the hope you at least read the first few chapters and see where I was heading."

He ended with a funny P.S.: "Feel free to keep ripping me. It's certainly NOT against the rules."

It was a very classy gesture, except that he also inscribed the book and now I can't re-gift it to my brother for Christmas and now I am stuck with two copies.

Just kidding: My struggle with classiness continues, as you can see.

I think, however, he misunderstood my original stance. I am not so much opposed to the idea of the Payton biography. I was opposed to the author/publisher/SI scheme to reduce it all to a series of agonizing bytes that inflicted pain on Walter's legacy, his family and his fans.

I cried the day Walter died. I own one of the last balls he ever signed which was a Christmas gift from my wife (and the fifth autograph of his added to my collection). Since he was a human, I presumed he had imperfect human qualities. However, nothing could or will ever impact my admiration for the man and his abilities and they way he faced life on and off of the field.

So, my feelings for Walter are very personal. And as I watched the digesting of the most salacious biography morsels and saw them spewed into the Internet and onto the airwaves to become fodder for those who did not love Walter, I took it very personally.

I've struggled for a way to convey this honestly in a way that might make some sense. This is the best I could come up with: Jeff, you know that wacky story that could be on the news tomorrow about the forgetful elderly lady who accidentally hits the gas instead of the breaks on her Buick speeding it into the doughnut shop, killing herself and crushing the cop? Well, as wacky as that might play on the cable news shows and on the Internet, there's still the reality that that woman was a mother and grandmother. And she had children and grandchildren. And her family loved her and as ironic and goofy a way that her life ended, that amounts to 1/100,000,000,000,000,000th of the life she lived on this planet. So what might seem like wacky fodder for many will be viewed very differently and very personally by those who actually knew her and loved her.

And that view will not be the view of the dispassionate journalist.

On top of that, I have grown very weary of biographies in general. Want me to sum up all biographies? Here: The person was born. He/she had unusual traits. Something remarkable happened. Here's what really happened as told after the fact. Maybe something remarkable happened again. Was it really remarkable? Then something bad happened. He/she had unusual habits. Here's what some people thought about those habits after the fact. The fall from grace continues augmented by revelations of those habits/traits. Now comes perseverance. Redemption! Then the person dies. Some people feel bad about the death. Is there a lesson here? The end.

We all, every one of us, has a habit or trait or personal affliction that any number of other people will find unusual - or at least claim they find unusual so that they can also claim to be more "normal" which is a state of existence that does not exist. I find those traits that we have in common are far more important that any differences we have as are share in this human condition. But there are lots of differences and some people can seize upon them for all sorts of agendas.

That said, I am stunned (four times!) by your kindness and generosity, Jeff. And so, writer-to-writer, I wanted to share this space to tell this story. As intended, I will read your book. And I will honestly review "Sweetness" in this space.

More later,

Mark

P.S. If I outlive Pearlman, I am writing his biography. I called dibs ...

It's Starting To Look Like a Home!

2011-09-08T07:11:00.005-05:00

We came home from work Wednesday to discover that siding has gone up on our new addition under construction for Mary's mom.

Suddenly, it looks more like a home!

Now, there re a lot of finishing touches needed inside and out, but as you can see, the construction crew has made great strides in the couple of weeks since we got home from Florida. The front door leading to the kitchen and living area is even on! What's amazing is how big this looks out back...

Looking from the back to the original house from the addition, you can see how they are working to fit the design to conform to our home's architecture.

The addition as seen from the other side of the deck and patio. The upstairs part of the addition will expand our master bedroom by another 300 square feet...

The crew is working hard to get the project done in the next two weeks! Gas and electric has been extended to the addition, which will feature a kitchen/living area, bedroom, bathroom and even laundry facilities.

More later,

Mark

Our Beloved Louie

2011-08-22T21:24:00.004-05:00

Louis J. Cat, our beloved Louie, 17, died suddenly today from complications caused by congestive heart failure.

He was a loving member of our family from the moment he was adopted in 2003. He was known for snuggling and voracious treat eating.

He lost his brother, 'Tude, in 2006, also to heart complications. Since then he moved with us to Florida, where he met his new brother Clyde, and then to Ohio, where he gained new brothers Sammy and, more recently, Pal Joey.

After his adopted brother Clyde passed in July, Louie began to mourn and never really recovered.

He will be greatly missed, never forgotten and always loved.

Mark & Mary

14 Years Ago Today...

2011-08-16T08:49:00.002-05:00

...I married the most spectacular woman in the world.

And Elvis was there, despite his "death" some 20 years earlier...

Happy Anniversary, honey!

Mark

Update on Grace's New Home

2011-08-07T21:04:00.007-05:00

Work has been continuing these past two weeks on the addition to our home, the future home of Mary's mom Grace.

It has been amazing to watch the progress. This is no small feat!

More than a week ago, the walls went up and the doorway was roughed out. Mary peers in through her mom's new front door here:

HI MARY!

Looking back from the backyard toward the door:

AWESOME VIEW!

Last week, work got underway in the area above Grace's place, which will extend our bedroom out a bit.

ESSENTIALLY, MARY'S FUTURE CLOSET.

This past weekend, workers began work on Grace's new roof ...

REALLY TAKING SHAPE.

The addition is moving along at a pretty swift pace. We are on target toward our fall completion which will mean Grace will be living here this winter.

More later,

Mark

Follow Me HERE!

2011-08-05T22:43:00.004-05:00

Hey Chicago Bears fans:

Follow me as I document Richard Dent's induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame here:

Richard Dent @DENTHOF

More later,

Mark

A New Addition (and it's NOT a cat this time!)

2011-07-24T15:01:00.008-05:00

So, as if we needed a theme, it turns out, 2011 is the summer of change...

Keeping up with that theme is the little project we have going on in the backyard.

Mary's mom, Grace, is making the biggest move since she left her native Italy and came to the United States: She's leaving Corning, N.Y. and moving in with us in beautiful Ohio.

The only hitch: She wanted her own space. Hence, the big project that has taken over our backyard.

Now, when many of you last saw our backyard, it was last summer when we added the gazebo and the landscaping. I posted a bunch of picture here. It sure was peaceful looking...

Note the balcony back there and all of the trees...

One year later and the trees look a little different...

Yikes. Well, one we did that, that beautiful cedar siding and deck just had to go...

Done and done. So, let the excavation begin!

It was at this point that I called up those peaceful images from last year. And cried. That did not deter the workers who began to build the foundation of the new in-law apartment...

After some Thursday/Friday/Saturday work, you can see the addition really beginning to take shape...

A bonus to the project is that our master bedroom is going to extend 12 feet which will allow us to actually make it into a modern master bedroom with a modern master bathroom, someday. Plus we are expanding the electrical box which will greenlight the future kitchen remodel...

The backdoor to the addition will actually incorporate some unused space in our lower level that will become a storage room for Grace. When complete she'll have a bedroom, back/walk-in shower, kitchen/living area and even her own laundry facilities.

As the six-week construction schedule goes on, the cats and Mary and I are holding up pretty well, although we are longing for the days of normal and peaceful again. When it is done, Grace will have an awesome place to call her own. In the meantime, I will continue to share pictures...

More later,

Mark

Pal Joey's Official Portrait

2011-07-18T21:19:00.003-05:00

OK, it's been a little cat-obsessive here as of late, I admit. But, here is Pal Joey's official portrait. Come on. Admit it: He's a handsome cat!

And if the Bear's season never starts, you can expect a lot more like this...

More later,

Mark

Pal Joey's First Night

2011-07-18T07:09:00.003-05:00

PAL JOEY REACHES OUT

Well, he survived his first night!

Pal Joey and I bunked last night as he continues to get used to his new surroundings. He has quite the purr! He is just such a loving little guy...

Lots of head butts and petting last night. He slept right next to me and even on me at one point.

By morning, he no longer scurried under the bed whenever Mary or I came into the room. He was a little concerned about the noise Sammy was making down the hall as he was being locked into the master bedroom, a new procedure during the in-law suite addition work. But he now peeks out from under the bed when called, so we're making process...

Speaking of the in-law suite project, I have pictures! I will share them later tonight.

Also, I have updated the look of the long-ignored blog... More changes are coming.

More later,

Mark

Meet our Pal Joey!

2011-07-17T20:12:00.001-05:00

OUR NEW PAL, JOEY

So, we are fairing pretty well, two weeks after Clyde's passing.

Clyde was such an integral part of our home, his sudden death from cancer at such a young age left many voids.

We were devastated, but so were the other cats.

Louie stopped eating during Clyde's last week. This was his second brother to die in his 17 years and he took it pretty hard. He spent much of the last days sitting quietly at Clyde's side. Louie is our cuddlier.

Sammy is just too young to really understand much of what's going on, other than his running buddy is gone. He now fetches his toy mice, bringing them to me for me to throw across the room. He still resents that old man Louie does not play with him like Clyde did. He's just out of sorts. Plus, he has no idea why Louie is trying to sleep next to him all of the time. He finds that annoying.

Now, we had decided not to bring another cat into the house until after our August vacation. Emotionally, we were drained. But it was clear that Sammy needed a playmate and Louie needed a new cuddlier.

Enter, our new Pal Joey.

Mary found him first, under his old name, "Patch." She was searching for Maine Coons - like Clyde and the late, great Ditka - which are great cats for cuddling and playing. Really, we can't imagine our house without a Maine Coon.

Here is how a website described his incredible rescue tale:

Patch Adams is a beautiful, sweet boy, with soulful eyes. This Maine Coon mix was abandoned at some point in his life, and was humanely trapped and removed from a low income housing development as a "raggedy nuisance cat." When brought in to the shelter for euthanasia, we realized that this rough looking cat with the beautiful face and eyes was not a feral cat. Patch had been merely coping in this strange world by going into "survival mode" those many months or years that he was forced to live outside as an abandoned pet. He was filthy, and had an enormous swath of hair down the center of his back that was matted tightly to his skin. We had to shave that off right away, and he has since been properly groomed, as you can see in his first photo. The last photo was taken within days of his arrival where it appears that other matted areas must have peeled off earlier, as hair was growing back. Poor Patch must have been quite cold out there all winter, the coldest winter yet in this part of Ohio!
Patch is not an aggressive cat and gets along quite well with the other foster cats and kittens in his foster home. He absolutely LOVES to play with the 10 week old kittens, and enjoys grooming them when they stop to snuggle with him. He makes happy, chirruppy noises when he is playing, which puts a smile on everyone's face.

Most visitors find Patch to be irresistible, and he has melted the hearts of the staunchest dog lovers when he stretches a paw up towards them, searching their face with those big, beautiful green eyes. Although he likes to look out the window now and then, he is not interested in returning to life outside. Patch is such a likeable fellow that you will find yourself wondering "Who could have abandoned such a sweet boy?" We are anxious to see him once his hair has all grown back in. He is going to be gorgeous! Of course, by then we expect he should be living in his new home.

Patch Adams has been tested for Feline AIDS and Feline Leukemia, is up to date on vaccinations, dewormer, flea treatment, has been neutered and microchipped.

Mary found this tale online first, but was not sure if I as ready for a new cat so soon, especially since Clyde was my cat (he had actually picked me). I happened across this story at work while researching a story that is running in Monday's paper about the fantastic Angels for Animals shelter. When I casually mentioned Patch's story in passing, Mary was elated and confessed she really wanted to check him out.

It seemed like fate.

So, we contacted Brenda, the wonderful person providing the foster home for Patch and net with her Sunday. We ended up taking him home! The speed of all of this surprised us, too!

We cleared out the Elvis bedroom and that will be his temporary home for a few days as he becomes acclimated to our household. Louie and Sammy saw him come home. Some hisses were exchanged (not from Louie) and he entered the bedroom and immediately went under the bed. We coaxed him out with a little milk.

By late in the afternoon, after his new name of "Pal Joey" was selected, he was purring up a storm and enjoying lots of attention. He has such a wonderful personality! He's about 5 years old and he does seem like a Clyde/Ditka combo, although that is a lot of pressure to put on him on his first day here… His brothers have spent some time outside his door, trying to figure out exactly what's going on…

We'll keep everyone posted on how this all works out…

More later,

Mark

Our buddy Clyde 2007-2011

2011-07-01T07:39:00.002-05:00

CLYDE AND ME FROM THIS WEEK

Clyde passed peacefully at 8:15 a.m. this morning.

We would like to thank everyone for the kind words and thoughts during these past two weeks.

Mark and Mary

Clyde and the Great Outdoors

2011-06-26T22:41:00.002-05:00

CLYDE ON MY LAP OUTSIDE SUNDAY NIGHT

Clyde our cat continues to have good days and bad days.

Today was a good day, and so he decided to go for a walk.

In the teeter-totter between lymphoma and the steroid therapy, Clyde, our 5-year-old cat, has days that convince us we are really going to make that final trip to the vet and other days when we could swear there is little wrong.

Like today. We have been coaxing him to keep his strength up by alternating water and milk and small meals of chicken and cat treats.

When Clyde feels up to it, he takes in each in small quantities and you can usually see him perk up. Always present is his 2000 decibel purr…

Sunday, Mary and I spent the evening out collecting party supplies or our Fourth of July celebration (i.e. couponing at Phantom Fireworks) and came home for dinner out back under our gazebo. It was a beautiful night and Mary headed in for a bit to check on Clyde.

She came back and we birdwatched and rabbitwatched and soon I headed in and was shocked at who was greeting me inside the sliding door that leads into the house.

Clyde.

Mary had left the door to our bedroom open and, somehow, Clyde had made it down the stairs from our second floor and was looking up at me through the sliding door. Now, two weeks ago, this would have been completely normal. In the new normal, it was completely jarring.

And a really pleasant surprise.

Our cats are all indoor cats. They never get to go outside and, frankly, as much as they enjoy looking out the windows, open doors scare them. But Clyde really looked like he wanted to join us outside.

What the hell, I figured. An adventure of a lifetime.

So, I picked him up and he spent 20 minutes on my lap, watching the birds, enjoying the breeze and cocking his ears at every sound. It was as much of a treat for me as it was for him. Soon, he got restless.

Even a bit weaker as he is these days, he was determined to get down to explore. I didn't want to risk any more adventure than he could handle and so back we went inside where his brother Louie wanted to hang with him in the bedroom.

It was a remarkable event as we end Day 10 of this chapter that challenges cat and owners alike. Clyde may not have very many adventures left to share, but I would not count him out just yet…

More later,

Mark

A Short Update on Clyde

2011-06-23T07:46:00.002-05:00

ME AND CLYDE LAST NIGHT

After deciding that we would take no extreme measures in confronting the lymphoma that Clyde is battling, we sought measures to provide for his comfort.

Clyde had eaten very little from last Thursday through Monday. To boost his appetite and help his body heal from all of the recent trauma, his vet put him on a steroid. As a result, Clyde has regained some strength and is very alert. He is eating, grooming, using the litterbox. He wants to be in bed with us, per usual.

He had been spending all of his time in recent days on the floor.

Now, he is still weak and his mobility has begun to fail. He tires easily. He sleeps a lot. But he is not suffering and, in fact, is showing many of the old signs of Clyde that have been absent since he was rushed to the emergency vet last Thursday and placed on oxygen.

As anyone who's ever taken steroids for therapeutic purposes knows, there is a law of diminishing returns, here. At first you feel like Superman and then there is the gradual return to reality.

Steroids don't cure cancer.

But as long as Clyde is in there fighting, we'll be right beside him. His appetite has returned and that is amazing given where were we Sunday night and Monday when we were saying our goodbyes.

Also, Clyde is kind of being Clyde again. He has a few annoying attention-getters that he would employ in the wee hours to wake us for the morning feeding. He would paw loudly at the air grate in the floor. He would walk on us. He would sharpen his claws on the box spring under the bed.

This morning, he was scratching away at the box spring just like he would have done a week ago before all of this madness began. It reverberates in the bedroom and makes a loud rat-a-tat which wakes us.

It did. And this time we laughed. We haven't been doing a lot of laughing lately. He greedily ate his breakfast.

Thanks to all for your warm comments and prayers and other kindnesses. We truly appreciate the support. We know this ends sooner than we want but knowing that so many people out there are pulling for Clyde makes this whole episode a little easier to bear.

More later,

Mark

Clyde

2011-06-20T22:52:00.002-05:00

There are many parts to the silent covenant that is agreed to when a pet and an owner bond.

The owner agrees to love, feed, groom, clean, care, entertain and indulge.

The pet agrees to accept.

In actuality, the pet reciprocates in ways large and small. He's there to amaze with tricks, endure one-sided conversations, demand attention at the most inopportune times and always look at his owner enduringly no matter the owner's mood or worthiness.

Life's demands can make bad pet owners out of the best of us. Recently, Clyde the cat had taken to climbing up on my lap and situating his big, hairy beast body between me and my omnipresent laptop.

He would look at me adoringly with those big green eyes, rumble his 2000 decibel purr and demand my attention.

Even if I was annoyed, how could I resist?

In our relationship, Clyde actually picked me.

Mary and I had visited the Brevard County Animal Shelter during Adopt-A-Cat Week in June 2007. That place was a mess: It smelled, it was noisy and most of the animals had some sort of kennel cough.

We had been through the aisles a few times before I spied Clyde in his cage. He was a brown-striped Maine Coon, which was exactly what we were looking for. He was a bargain at $29.

I picked him up from the cage and he dug into my chest, burrowed into me and clung tight. At that precise moment, a loud dog barked and I could feel him tighten. He looked up at me as if to say, "Pay them the $29. Get me the hell out of here. Leave me in the bushes out front, I do not care. Just get me out of this place."

The shelter folks told us they thought Clyde was 2 years old. Our vet later confirmed he was probably closer to six months old. We first bonded in the guest bathroom where he spent much of his first month, quarantined from Louis J. Cat, first because of a bad cold, then because of conjunctivitis, then because he had passed his bad cold and conjunctivitis to Louie as they sniffed and pawed each other under the bathroom door

Our $29 adoption ended up costing us $1,000 between the two cats.

But in that bathroom, Clyde was king. It was much bigger than the cage. He had a lot of new toys. He loved the running water. Really, is a weird way, he was very content. Then, when we we turned him loose into the totality of our Florida condo, Clyde thought he was king of the world.

Such a loving cat. He was a non-stop purring wonder. Even when he acted up – roughhousing too much or annoying his brothers Louie or Sammy – when you yelled at him and approached him, he would immediately fall prone into a submissive position and then purr. All 2000 decibels.

He enjoyed life. Clyde loved to patrol the house, loved to watch birds and squirrels from his various perches, loved chasing treats. When Mary got the grooming brush out, he was in heaven.

Our cats trained us to observe and respect "Treat Time." When I came home from work, the cats would wait for me to change and then follow me downstairs and line up for the treat ceremony which always began with me asking "Who was the best kitty of the day?" Clyde would also get up on two legs, put his front paws on my knee as if to say "Me!"

Every night. Without fail.

This was life as we knew it through last Tuesday. On Wednesday, Clyde seemed off. He didn't finish his treats during the second "Treat Time," the nightly toll I paid to go to bed. I couldn't sleep and went looking for him in the middle of the night and found him sitting on the carpet in the basement. I picked him up and he just wanted down and to be left alone.

Very un-Clyde-like.

I got home from work Thursday night and he was hiding in the sub basement. I could tell he was either in a lot of pain or having trouble breathing. I rushed him to the after-hours animal hospital and they told me, "You got him here just in time. We had to put him on oxygen."

From that moment, normal ceased to exist.

They removed 300cc's of liquid from his chest cavity; liquid that threatened to suffocate him. Another vet visit and more tests came Friday. We were promised results Saturday that never came and Clyde spent the weekend on the bedroom floor. Drinking, but not eating. Listless.

The change from just days before was and remains impossible to for us to comprehend. The once-healthy, active Clyde now was content to lay on the floor and sleep. And purr.

To say we were unprepared for this turn of events is to belabor the obvious. We are not cat novices. Thurber the cat lived to 20. The beloved Ditka made 19. Even 'Tude with the bad heart made it to lucky 13.

Clyde is barely 5.

The call came Monday morning and I made a token effort to complain to the vet that we would have appreciated a call Saturday, if only to say the results were not back yet. In truth, in the quiet of the night as I type the truth and brush back a few tears, he could have kept his damned, inevitable truth for a few more days.

The truth is that Clyde suffers from a lymphoma. It's affecting the chest area and has infected his lymph nodes.

Cancer. How common is it for a 5-year-old cat to have cancer, I asked.

"It's almost unheard of," the doctor said, clear resignation in his voice. He listed the obligatory medical calculations: Akron specialists, chemo, a chest tube. In any case, we are talking days or months. And, no matter the choice, all that lies ahead are pain and confusion for a cat who's only life expectations are to watch birds, chase treats and wrestle with his brother Sammy.

We had all planned for him to do that for another decade or so …

So, the other part of that covenant – the part I purposely did not mention at the top – sweeps upon us at this moment. As pet owners we also agree that when a beloved pet gets to this point, that no matter the selfish interest in keeping them at our side, that we agree to help them face the end in the most humane and respectful way possible.

That's far easier to type than it is to face. This is killing us. But we cannot allow Clyde to suffer much more. And so Mary and I sit together and we cry and we curse the unfairness. And we laugh at the stories and we are grateful for the pure joy that Clyde brought to our home.

And we know what we must do.

To be continued…

Mark

TONIGHT'S SPECIAL COMMENT: "Words"

2011-01-24T20:50:00.006-05:00

Keith Olbermann has the night off.
As promised earlier, here is tonight's Special Comment on words:

All this backtracking today about Jay Cutler's heart and/or toughness would not be necessary if folks on Twitter, Facebook, et al, all had editors.
Hi. I'm Mark. I'm an editor.
We live in an age of social media, I am told. And so now everyone can "publish" whatever fool thing pops into their heads and they can spew it all over everyone everywhere all of the time.
They do so because they can. What they should be considering is whether they should.
And this is not aimed just at the Cutler haters out there. We see this from all sorts of amateur communicators. Take Sarah Palin, please. You know the type: They use "targets" and talk about "reloading" and all sorts of colorful imagery to influence you.
And then you call them on their invective. And they squirm.
God help me, I love the squirm. It arouses me.
A relative forwards a crazy e-mail about President Obama. You call him on it. Send him to Snopes.com. He writes back, squirming.
The ill-informed spew their ill-informed bile on a newspaper website. You call them on it. They squirm.
(My favorite squirm line? "Well, I am not a professional like you..." As if that is excuse enough to lie or spread unfounded rumors.)
A person on Twitter gets caught up in the heat of a moment and fires off a shot about, oh, I dunno, say, Jay Cutler. You call her on it. Strained logic and denials is the reply. Her followers attack you. And late at night, those Tweets are quietly scrubbed away.
Arousal.
See, in the newsroom, what an editor does much of the time is to edit stories. We work with reporters to make sure what is reported is fair, or as fair as it can be. It is not a perfect science. But rarely, even in this Internet age, are all stories spewed out immediately from brain to computer to audience without editing.
They are vetted. Vetting takes time. Time equals thoughtful consideration.
Can we? Sure. Should we? Let's discuss. What are the ramifications?
What many amateur communicators share in this Internet age is a queer quackery about the impact of their words.
Palin last week argued simultaneously that her own words had no influence but that the words of others aimed at her had much influence.
Huh?
People, especially politicians, choose words carefully. As social animals in a social media age, we all practice the art of influence. We choose words to influence other social animals.
Yet when you corner amateur communicators, especially politicians, with an unfortunate choice of words, they will likely tell you their words have no influence whatsoever.
Until the next time they want to influence you on "Obamacare" or "death panels" or the "death tax."
Trust me, as someone who has studied and used words all of his life, words have meaning.
And with that meaning comes accountability.
So often, when I confront an amateur communicator blathering some nonsense, I will get a defensive response like: "I am entitled to ReTweet and Tweet whatever I please."
Feel free. But remember, there's a covenant shared between us social animals: You put it out there, we get to hold you accountable.
So, when you call Jay Cutler a quitter, or you ReTweet someone calling him a quitter or you agree with someone calling him a quitter, you are responsible for those words.
And you should expect someone like me to call you on it.
Because, that's the other thing amateur communicators ought to learn from a crusty old pro like me: There is no hiding from the responsibility of words.
That's why editors spend hours editing reporters. You see, when those words are published, we understand there is an audience at the other end. And that audience – your customers – are likely to pounce on you if you are not careful or responsible or truthful or accurate.
The same goes for you and your Tweets.
So, my friends in Twitterland, be responsible. Understand that the Internet is a powerful way to spread your words. Therefore, as Peter Parker learned, "With great power comes great responsibility."
Words influence. Words hurt. Words can build up. Words can tear down.
Words are powerful and we are all – every single one of us – responsible for what we say.
I hope the wildly inaccurate, hurtful, mean-spirited attacks on Jay Cutler in the aftermath of Sunday's Chicago Bears loss represents a watershed moment when many people paused to consider the impact of their words.
Jay is not a quitter. Those who characterized him as such did, for a time, quit their sensibilities.
I hope they've gotten them back. And learned a lesson.
If not, I am out there. I will find you. I will make you squirm.

More later,

Mark

Scenes From A Wedding

2010-10-31T19:58:00.001-05:00

We just flew - by car - back from my brother Eric and his bride Jen's wedding in Illinois. It was an event to remember! We had a blast and it was a jam-packed three-day weekend.

In fact, between Mary and I, we shot hundreds of pictures. I have nine to share before I collapse into bed...

Here's the happy couple fleeing church to their getaway car (as best man, I was the driver).

Mary and I in front of the church. What a well-dressed, dignified couple!

Did I mention the Halloween-eve reception had a costume theme?

Even Dad and Mom got in to the act.

Mary bares her fangs. I see this image a lot, believe it or not!

Velcome to the party. I vant to drink your Jack Daniels.

My favorite sister Karen and her awesome husband Bud.

Karen, Eric and I mug for the camera.

And they lived happily ever after...

More picture to come! More later,

Mark

And The Answer Is...

2010-10-12T07:04:00.002-05:00

Well, WHAT was it?

Some Wheaties cereal? A sponge? Cliff Ward's brain on drugs?

No, no and no!

Early yesterday, that other brainiac Rob Shelburne nailed it on Facebook: A kidney stone.

Yes, I recently battled another kidney stone and received another bout of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy.

Fun! As a result of the shocks, a 3-4mm piece of what doctors thought was a 7+mm stone made a splash on Saturday night after a few Miller Lites.

I carefully recovered the stone and doctors will analyze it next week to determine what in my diet is causing the stones. The decided to magnify and shoot the stone and post it online was clearly a non-medical decision.

My pain is your laugh-track!

Thanks, all, for playing!

More later,

Mark

Can You Guess What This Is?

2010-10-10T22:09:00.002-05:00

Send your guesses to marksweetwood@aol.com or on Twitter at @sobeditor or take a guess on Facebook.

More later,

Mark

Monday Night Wallpaper

2010-09-26T18:51:00.005-05:00

I know what you are thinking: What a nice, old black-and-white photo of Dick Butkus that Mark has put on his long-ignored blog as part of his anti-Packer, pre-Monday Night Football frenzy.

Not so quick...

As I discovered when I lived in upstate New York, sometimes the best place to be a Chicago Bears fan is far away from Chicago.

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, those Starting Lineup action figures of Bears players were the rage. At an Illinois Toys R Us, those babies would be snatched up before even reaching the shelves. In New York? I could find them in the discount bins...

On Sunday, I was in Target and saw a group of the much-cooler McFarlane NFL figures. A couple of things: First, there were no Cleveland Browns figures for any Target employee to snatch up, should or she be so inclined. Secondly, way in the back, I found a McFarlane Toys NFL Sports Picks Legends Series 6 Dick Butkus Action Figure!

Try to find one of those at an Illinois Target...

These figures are amazingly life-like. In fact, I posed mine in front of my laptop thusly ...

... in front of a turf background and then took a series of photos with my trusty Kodak. I then manipulated one of the pictures a bit in iPhoto to give it a grainy, black-and-white looks and – VOILA! That's the picture at top.

So, it looks like a vintage picture of the greatest Chicago Bears defensive player ever (who my Dad and I met 41 years ago this month at Father and Son night at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Kankakee, Ill.), but it's just a cool reproduction.

I can tell you for a fact that it makes a cool computer wallpaper. So, my gift to Bears fans all geared up for the Monday night blow out of that Green Bay team is this:

Dick Butkus Wallpaper

Click that link and get your very own!

Go Bears!

More later,

Mark

It's Apple-Picking Time!

2010-08-21T17:46:00.002-05:00

These are busy days at the Sweetwood Orchard. Mary and I spend part of the morning tending to our apples.

The previous owners clustered four trees together down the hill in the back 40 providing us, neighbors, groundhogs, deer, birds and worms with both red delicious apples and granny green apples. There might even be some macintosh.

Last year they ripened when we were in Florida and by the time we got to them, they were in bad shape. It was a sad harvest. With an earlier vacation this year, we spied some ripening apples and harvested a few pounds today.

Those VERY red things in the basket are actually tomatoes from the neighbors who were nice enough to bring us some of THEIR harvest. We sent them home with a bag of apples!

Mary plans to make both applesauce and apple pie this year!

The downside: With vacation over, apples ripening, football training camp over and schools opening everywhere, reality is starting to set in. Summer is nearly over! Sigh...

More later,

Mark

How I Shot Our Summer Vacation

2010-08-18T07:12:00.003-05:00

Mary and I got back from Florida Sunday and we had a terrific time! The weather was awesome, the Americano Beach Resort was fabulous as always and we had a blast with Mom and Dad.

I also shot some of my best Florida pictures ever. Here are a few:

This storm cloud spawned a tornado warning one afternoon. We watched and watched for a tornado or water spout, to no avail.

One morning, we spied this boat during sunrise.

Shot from our beach-front room, I captured this sunset one night.

Shot from the pool deck at the Americano, a nice late-day walk along the beach.

Another game of volleyball at one of our favorite haunts, the Ocean Deck.

The area near the Main Street Pier has been spiffed up and new ride have been added.

More later!

Mark

Uncle Keith

2010-08-03T23:29:00.002-05:00

My Uncle Keith was memorialized in a service in Colorado Tuesday. He died July 27 after post-surgical complications.

Here is a nice tribute his family put together:

The Obituary of Retired SFC Keith William Sweetwood

Reading the obit, I was struck by the reference to his wedding to Aunt Linda which was in Elwood, Ill. way back in 1967. My Dad, brother Eric and sister Karen and I all had roles. I had to try and light candles which involved fire and what seemed to be a large crowd. My Dad rescued my attempts, as I recall.

My grandma had earlier chronicled his Vietnam service in a poem, "An Undeclared War" which is somewhere in my vast collection of everything. It was published in the Joliet newspaper and was a pretty good bit of writing. I knew I got it from somewhere...

Three years later after that wedding, my grandma was gone and things were just never the same. Looking back, 1967 seems like such an innocent time. Or maybe I was just a more innocent me.

More later,

Mark

Thank You. Thank You Very Much!

2010-07-28T18:19:00.001-05:00

ELVIS BACK ON THE BIG SCREEN THURSDAY!

2010-07-27T18:30:00.001-05:00

EXCLUSIVE: Three Deer!

2010-07-18T19:56:00.004-05:00

Just before dusk, the deer returned. This time, we got to see more the entire family: Mama Deer was joined by two baby deer.

Forgive me for fawning...

I was looking out the porch door when I noticed what appeared to be a deer way up the hill and headed toward neighbor Joe's backyard right next to his house. Mary grabbed the camera and as I slid out the screen door TWO little ones ran back down the hill where Mom kept watch.

In this first shot: Mama Deer stares at me from underneath the apple trees...

In this rather fuzzy shot (let's call it "artsy") the two siblings take off toward the safety of the woods behind neighbor Tony's yard!

Still no sight of the buck. But the herd is growing!

More later,

Mark

Happy Birthday, Grace!

2010-07-12T18:02:00.003-05:00

Mary and her Mom, Grace, get ready to blow out the sparklers on Grace's Boston Cream Pie during our birthday celebration Sunday night. We had salad, pasta and sauce, steak and the delicious dessert. All Grace had to make for her own party was the salads and the sauce...

:)

More later,

Mark

More Patio Pictures!

2010-07-11T18:29:00.008-05:00

Since Memorial Day weekend's gazebo project, we've been busy augmenting the patio area (and enjoying it a little, too!).

Plants, rocks, solor lights, statues ... It's really looking nice...

Here are some new pics...

The Fu Dogs and solar lights are courtesy of the clearance bin at Target; the plants were from the local flea market; the cement statues were from a local cement figure store; and neighbor Joe planted the tomato plant (Mary added the cage).

This HEAVY cement guy is from their Easter Island collection, though Mary thinks it looks a little like me ...

... I think I am more like this peaceful Buddha, surrounded by flowers in quiet contemplation.

This angle shows off the Fu dogs and the lights. I lined up a dozen of these lights starting from the deck and wrapping around the patio.

Although the surface of the deck we re-stained last summer has not exactly held up to the harsh winter and a couple of deck washings, we are covering that up with a couple of new lounge chairs and a cool cooler/table Mary found at Sam's Club.

It's been a fun transformation. To put it all in perspective, here's a (small) picture showing a glimpse of the area which is now covered by the patio from right before we bought the house:

More later,

Mark

Getting All Caught Up!

2010-07-11T15:38:00.002-05:00

OK, I am WAY behind on the blog. So, here is a photo essay to let you know what's been going on lately.

That's Mary and her Mom, Grace, in front of the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel near Salamanca, N.Y. We picked up Grace during the Fourth of July weekend and she's been staying with us and having a good time ordering her son-in-law around (kidding!). The casino is our comfort break stop of choice. Today is Grace's birthday, by the way!

That's Jon Moffett. He's a sports writer at The Vindicator who bet me that LeBron James would not be leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers. The loser of the bet, Jon, had to supply doughnuts to the staff. I also won ice cream, dinner and free pop from other die-hard Cavaliers fans, er, suckers.

That's a deer. It's been hanging around our backyard. It gets more brave and less afraid of us with each visit. Our trees have apples and the neighbors have a salt lick. I'll be having salty, applely venison chili in the fall...

That's my Dad hanging with great nephew Kaleb during Kaleb's second birthday in June. Boy, he's growing up fast (Kaleb, not Dad)! We missed the party but ...

... that's Kaleb on the new tractor Mary and I sent him. Kaleb is fascinated by tractors and trucks of all types and he looks like he's ready to get to work!

More later,

Mark

More Humiliating For Me or Her?

2010-06-15T23:41:00.003-05:00

Because some cool Tweeps – @dskolnick and @DazzlingRayn – were encouraging me to dance last night, I created this:

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Yes, very disturbing indeed. Please God, this can't be Tweet of the Day...

More later,

Mark

Happy Birthday, Kaleb!

2010-06-15T20:01:00.002-05:00

ONE COOL DUDE!

Our great – and awesome – nephew Kaleb just turned 2!

While Mary and I couldn't join the big bash back in Illinois in person, we were there in spirit. His mom, also awesome niece Angela, sent this picture of Kaleb riding the cycle we sent him at Christmas.

Hmmmmm... Born to be wild!?!

We know he had a great birthday and we can't wait to see him this fall when the family gathers for brother Eric and soon-to-be-sister-in-law Jen's wedding!

More later,

Mark

Keith Awards Me "Tweet of the Day!"

2010-06-10T20:50:00.003-05:00

Just when you thought it was safe to navigate both the Internet AND your cable channels, Mark's World collides with Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC.

I will relate more of the story later, but for now, here's what television history looked like on Thursday evening:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

UPDATE:

The esteemed Mr. Olbermann and I actually first traded tweets a week ago. He had asked the Twitterverse if anyone knew of any James Thurber-related baseball stories for his "Friday Night Thurber" segment.

Most people know I am a true-blue Thurberian (it was just about a year ago when I journeyed to the Thurber House in Columbus to receive the Thurber Treat honor) and I immediately thought of the story "You Could Look It Up." In that one, originally published in the Saturday Evening Post in 1941, James tells of a midget baseball player. In my memory, that story had influenced White Sox owner Bill Veeck to send a small person out to pinch hit in 1951.

Keith set me straight, tweeting back at me: "Sadly, no. A very small comedian named Jerry Sullivan played a few games as a stunt in the minors circa 1904. Thurber said THAT was his inspiration. Bill Veeck said the Sullivan story was HIS inspiration, too."

Now, I should have known better than to tamper in Keith's domain: He is a renowned baseball expert. Who better to set me straight? Anyway, it was great to learn that while Keith might be relatively new to Twitter, he actually spends the time to read what people send his way and even respond.

Now, I have made a habit out of snarking at Sarah Palin via Twitter. I think she is a shrill, disingenuous, obnoxious opportunist. That's as nice as I can make it.

But I don't go looking for trouble. :) At work I use TweetDeck as one of the tools to keep abreast of the news and various people like the ex-governor.

When E-online served up this softball – "Did Sarah Palin Get New Boobs?" – I figured I would be one of many who would knock it out of the ballpark with a response like "No, I am pretty sure she still has the same followers."

I noticed it got a few retweets, one of them being, ironicially, Johnny DiLoretto, the Columbus TV personality who handed me the Thurber Treat honor last June. So, I figured i would send it along to Keith for his consideration and, really, forgot about it.

Flash forward to about 8:30 p.m. We had "Countdown" on per usual and Mary was getting dinner together. When Keith introduced "Tweet of the Day," it quickly became clear it was about the Palin tweet from E-online. Even then it did not register that my Tweet was going to be featured. When my little pic and the punchline filled the screen, I said "Oh. My. God!" and Mary almost dropped the salads as she rushed back into the room to catch a glimpse of the screen. I think she got there in time for. "Well played, sobeditor."

So, that's the backstory, such as it is. We've enjoyed Keith since his ESPN days and his original news shows. The addition of Thurber on Countdown is, to coin a phrase, a treat. To be included in a small segment Thursday was awesome and I will be insufferable for a couple more days. Many have commented that he should have caught on to the "S.O.B.-editor" nature of my Twitter ID, but, as I said on Facebook, I guess you have to KNOW me to get the S.O.B.-part right... Still, reveling in the moment was a great way to spend the evening.

Now, the pressure is on. I picked up a few more Twitter followers who probably expect me to be funny and left-leaning all of the time. By my 300th Chicago Bears post, they will likely move on. But they all seem to have very interesting views and I enjoyed trading a bit with a couple of them, especially @pinkearmuffs and @Bubbe5000. I pledge to continue to take on The Alaskan Quitter Twitterer. Someone has to...

More later,

Mark

Great Speech, Kid!

2010-06-09T23:22:00.000-05:00

Your World Champion Chicago Blackhawks!

More later,

Mark

A Little Something For The Blackhawks

2010-06-08T21:55:00.000-05:00

More later,

Mark

Those BP Bastards...

2010-06-02T07:13:00.001-05:00

Damn.

More later,

Mark

Memorial Day Marked By Battle of the Bees

2010-05-31T21:23:00.005-05:00

THE BACKYARD IS STARTING TO TAKE SHAPE!

The Sweetwoods spent Memorial Day building their new patio gazebo. The reviews on this metal and canvas beauty warned that this was a two-person, two-hour project.

And that would have been accurate except: Bees.

Not just any bees, mind you. Carpenter bees.

FROM WIKIPEDIA

Ever heard of carpenter bees? Neither had we. Until, as we were organizing the parts for the gazebo construction, a giant bee bumbled its way over the patio and went through a small, heretofore unknown hole in the door that leads to the garage!

Carpenter bees are often mistaken for bumble bees or yellow jackets. The key difference, explained the guy at Home Depot where we had fled both for safety and for advice, was that carpenter bees are harder to kill.

Awesome.

ANOTHER WIKIPEDIA IMAGE

He sold us a bottle of industrial-strength bug destroyer which was so powerful, you only mix one tablespoon per gallon of water. He also sold us one of those pump sprayers that also had to be put together, not that the instructions were any help. To get an idea of how much the Chinese truly hate us, build something from their instructions.

I decided to use a lot more that the recommended tablespoon of bee killer and then sprayed down the door and even sprayed two suspicious holes near the garage roof. It should be noted that this bee invasion could have gone on unnoticed forever as this door is never used and is blocked by the tractor mower on the inside of the garage and the grill-that-can't-be-used-because-a-part-fell-off-during-one-of-the-moves on the outside.

We then set about our original task: Building a gazebo. This set of Chinese instructions, frankly, was quite good and the gazebo – a killer Target deal – was soon under construction. However, we barely had the first set of screws in when a couple of the bees returned.

I sprayed them directly. One fell to the ground and got stomped for his trespassing. And then the pattern was set: Attach some screws; scan for incoming bees; Mark would flee off of the top of the ladder screaming like a girl; grab the sprayer; kill bees.

I hate bees, especially large bees that can easily bore through wood. Gnawing an entire arm off would be easy for these satan spawns...

Soon, despite much screaming, the gazebo was done.

THE GAZEBO AND ITS AWESOMENESS...

We added the outdoor bar set we bought way back in Crystal Lake and a couple of chairs so we can gaze out over the Back 40...

Note the bricks stacked on the gazebo side panels. This model had cool little built-in ledges, probably for flowers or some other decor. Our second trip to the hardware store of the day yielded a dozen pavers, my ingenious idea for making sure the gazebo was not going anywhere anytime soon...

AWESOME VIEW...

We have been slowly but surely transforming the backyard. We took out nine trees and added the patio shortly after moving in. Mary landscaped around the patio and the side of the garage last year and added new plants. We resealed the deck last summer, too. This spring, I used the Preen with plant food additive around the entire perimeter of the house (I usually just use the plain Preen to ward off weeds). One of the unintended consequences was that some dormant rose bushes exploded back into life for the first time since we moved here in 2008.

WE HAVE ROSES!

It was a busy day. But we triumphed over bees and the gazebo sure looks great. We celebrated with a couple of frosty pints.

More later,

Mark

Goodbye, LeBron James ©

2010-05-13T21:07:00.008-05:00

Goodbye, LeBron James ©

(With apologies to Elton John/Bernie Taupin's "Candle in the Wind.")

Goodbye LeBron James
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to slam dunk the ball
While those around you stared.

They made you a Cavalier
And they surrounded you with stiffs.
They set you up to fail
And then they dared give you the blame.

[chorus]
And it seems to me you spent this time
Like a king without a throne.
Never trusting who to pass to
When the lane wasn't clear.
And who are they to judge you?
You're just a local kid
Who's talent looms much larger than
A city's desire to win.

Shaq was all used up
Everybody but Cleveland saw it.
Mo, Anderson and West can't hack it
And you can't win games alone.

And when you failed
Oh the press really hounded you.
All that Pluto had to say
Was Dan Gilbert did all he could.

[repeat chorus]

Goodbye LeBron James
Though I never knew you at all
You had the grace to slam dunk the ball
While those around you stared.

Goodbye LeBron James
All the fans in the other towns
Will see you as a team's nucleus
And not just a Q Arena draw.

[repeat chorus]

"That's Your Song, Youngstown!"

2010-05-02T09:28:00.008-05:00

ELTON JOHN, AS SEEN ON THE GIANT SCREEN AT THE COVELLI CENTER

Boy, we swore we'd never go to another concert after we were wowed by Green Day last July in Pittsburgh. Little did we know, Elton John would be coming to Youngstown.

Yes, THAT Sir Elton. In Youngstown. Ohio.

He's a legend. You have to go see a legend.

Well, we scored great seats and were among the lucky 7,000 or so fans who filled the Covelli Centre Saturday night as Elton performed his classic hits for nearly three hours.

Green Day? No. But I gotta tell you, that 63-year-old icon gave them a run for their money. He was absolutely the embodiment of Capt. Fantastic. We had heard he was performing two-and-a-half hour shows as he wound his was to Youngstown after stops in Grand Rapids, Mich. and Toledo. He was just nine minutes away from an even three hours when he finished in Youngstown.

I won't bore you with the set list – if you can think of a top Elton John hit, he probably played it. I was just happy to be there to watch this city come absolutely alive. We hung out a bit downtown before the show and it was, to borrow an express, hopping and bopping. This Valley, which has yet to battle back from the destruction of the steel industry back in the late 1970s, let alone the current economic mess, is in need of a boost and this year has seen some positive business developments: The home of the GM Cruze, a third shift, a growing business incubator, hundreds of call center jobs, a top ranking from Entrepreneur magazine, etc.

But while these developments help with the economic morass, the soul needs nourishment, too, and the Covelli Centre and Eric Ryan are working hard to improve our quality of life. Elton John, "Walking with Dinosaurs," the WWE, etc. It's going to be an interesting summer for the small arena.

I'll have some video later (that was not mine up top - that guy was a lost closer than me!) but here are some pics of a truly magical evening:

THE VIEW FROM OUR AWESOME SEATS!

WE ENDED UP SITTING NEXT TO THE FRANKOS THANKS TO TODD'S SCHEMING!

AFTER THE FINALE, THE CROWD WENT WILD>

THIS FAN GOT HER GIANT EYEGLASSES SIGN SIGNED BY ELTON.

During the encore, after a rousing rendition of "Your Song," Elton told the crowd, "That's your song, Youngstown!"

And it really felt that way! A special night, indeed!

More later,

Mark

Next Career: Sports Radio Talk Show Guy

2010-04-06T12:55:00.003-05:00

Hey: Tune into here:

ESPN 140 AM

Hit "Listen Live" at about 6 p.m. EST to hear me talk hockey, of all things...

More later,

Mark

Wrestlemania Moments!

2010-03-28T20:07:00.004-05:00

It's Wrestlemania time and I did not pay for tonight's PPV. A co-worker is texting me the results and I'm not missing much. It did remind me of one of my favorite pictures:

CHYNA, MARK AND TRIPLE H

That picture was taken right before Wrestlemania 13 which took place in 1997 at what-was the Rosemont Horizon (now the Allstate Arena) about 45 minutes from Crystal Lake. The WWF (now the WWE) sent Hunter Hearst Helmsley (now Triple H) and Chyna (now Chynna Doll) over to work the Northwest Herald (now nwherald.com) booth during the Greater Crystal Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and Industry For All (now Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce) Expo. I think Scott Dalzell (now a teacher) snapped this pic.

As you can see, eyeglasses were bigger in the 20th century. And Trip really has let himself go. After this picture was taken, Chyna had her way with me which is a lot less pleasant than it sounds...

More later,

Mark

Iron Man 2: Legal This Time

2010-03-08T08:06:00.002-05:00

Well, the Iron Man 2 trailer is on YouTube.Com. Allow me to post it without fear of reprisal from Marvel attorneys:

This looks to be another awesome Jon Favreau spectacular! Can't wait for May!

More later!

Mark

My TV Moment

2010-03-05T22:43:00.003-05:00

I'M MARK SWEETWOOD AND I APPROVE THIS MESSAGE!

Last week I shared a picture taken by the talented Bill Lewis as I was getting ready in the newsroom to be shot for a new commercial for The Vindicator. Well the commercial is done and I actually saw it last night in HD while watching Pam give birth on "The Office!"

Yikes!

In case you interested, here is what it looks like:

The ad is part of a series touting our new press and new look. We received BIG props from the readers this week. But, it was a long week and I have to be up early Saturday to join genius columnist Bertram de Souza on his radio show for a couple of hours so I am heading to bed early...

In theory...

More later,

Mark

A Happy 49.2!

2010-02-28T20:44:00.003-05:00

AARRGHH! THIS ROAST IS ON!!!

Well, dozens of friends, neighbors, relatives and co-workers showed up for the big 49.2 party Saturday night. The evening featured food, drinks and a roast, in which those brave souls here and others from afar shared a spirited ribbing..

At least I think it was all in jest ...

Anyway, I'll share some stories later, after I get some much needed sleep (and my rage quells). But since I grabbed Karen's and Angela's digital cards before they headed back home, I thought I would share a few pictures of a truly fantastic night...

MARY HAD THIS GIANT POSTER MADE, BASED ON THE OLD DEAN MARTIN "MAN OF THE HOUR" SHOW

WE MOVE A LOT OF FURNITURE TO THE BASEMENT TO CREATE THE ROAST SET ...

... THEN ADDED SOME PEOPLE LIKE DAVE AND DARCY SUTTON, MY DAD, ERNIE BROWN, AND MY BROTHER ERIC.

MY DAD ALSO SERVED AS MASTER OF CEREMONIES.

MY SISTER KAREN WEAVES A FANTASTIC TALE THAT INVOLVES HOW SOMEONE BORN IN 1957 IS NOT THREE YEARS OLDER THAN SOMEONE BORN IN 1960...

MY BROTHER AND I SHARE AN INTIMATE MOMENT.

YES, I THOUGHT MY MOM WAS COMING AFTER ME...

LOOK: MARY IS DOING HER BEST MARK IMPERSONATION ...

... NOT TO BE OUT-DONE BY ERNIE WHO STRIKES A FAMILIAR POSE.

I'M HELPING TODD KEEP HIS STORY STRAIGHT.

MARY AND I ALSO CELEBRATED (BELATEDLY) FAVORITE NIECE ANGELA'S 30TH BIRTHDAY. FAVORITE NEPHEW MATT'S (BELATED) PRESENT WILL BE MAILED THIS WEEK.

It was a great night and I had a terrific time. Thanks to all who made my 49.2 birthday extra special. A special thanks to the roasters from afar including Brad Keefauver, Neil Hopp, Ryun Patterson, Fred and Elise Zwicky, Rob Shelburne, Kathy Oliveira and Jackie and Chris Birks.

More later.

Mark

A Day of Contrasts

2010-02-24T19:21:00.005-05:00

Wednesday morning was just plain weird and probably something worthy of documenting.

I am just not sure exactly what it all means.

On Wednesday, I was in my newsroom "double-wide" cubicle attempting to maintain attention on the work at hand: Revamping the daily news budgets for the big press launch/redesign next week.

My cubicle compadre Ernie Brown, one of The Vindicator's three regional editors, was across from me, spewing lines as the production crew filmed him for the next commercial touting our $10 million press launch and redesign which goes live next week.

I knew I was next in line for commercialization. I had already had my mug shot for the forthcoming return to columnizing. And as I tried to ignore the odd surroundings, my e-mail became another distraction.

Folks back in Illinois – and elsewhere – were sharing the news: The Shaw Newspapers in suburban Chicago – my old stomping grounds – were shuttering their press operations and turning over that part of their production to the Arlington Heights-based Daily Herald.

The newspapers would no longer operate their own presses? Instead, they would job-out production work to their once-foe?

Many immediately thought of me and my decade-plus-long battles with the DH on behalf of Shaw properties both in McHenry and Kane counties. Two e-mailers thought enough of me to independently suggest that had I been already dead, the announcement would have caused me to spin in my grave...

Michael Miner had documented some back and forth between yours truly and Daily Herald Editor John Lampinen back in the day and for some reason Google tells me you can still read all about it here:

Liar! Liar!

LOL! It's still funny... Miner is a great writer.

This is a different era. Heck, Lampinen and I are Facebook friends and I really have a lot of respect for the way the Daily Herald has kept it's act together, especially in these difficult days for the printed medium. Lampinen and Publisher Doug Ray have a lot to be proud of and taking over the printing operations of smaller newspapers is a good step to maintain their dominance in the suburban market and keep their own staffs gainfully employed.

Another sign of the times? The days of little weeklies and smaller dailies working to cut deals with newsprint companies and keeping their operations afloat while maintaining full press and mailrooms are probably gone, especially in a crowded market like suburban Chicago. At one time – in a radius of less than 25 miles from Elgin to DeKalb to Geneva to Crystal Lake – you could find a full, independent press operation in each of those newspaper operations.

By March, that will be a distant memory.

While the revenue metrics of the traditional news media has changed, what hasn't changed is that while print advertising revenue is in decline, it still makes up the vast majority of the revenue in those soon-to-be press-less operations. Fun fact: In 2000, the average newspaper received less than 1 percent of its advertising revenue from the Internet. Ten years later, the average newspaper can expect to collect less than 10 percent of its advertising revenue from the Web.

Which means 90 percent of what you have left is still manufactured for distribution via a printing press.

Smells like newspaper spirit.

This dichotomy is being played out at newspapers across the country, especially those toying with the notion of abandoning the printing press for the digital future. Unless you have a working model to move revenue aggressively in a digital direction – which means you've cracked the atom and know something the rest of us don't – you are still largely a newspaper with a Web site that doesn't collect enough revenue to pay for the New Media team, let alone much of the content.

The smaller your circulation, the smaller your footprint on the Web to start with. The more you cut staff, especially editorial staff members, the less local unique content and the more you decrease your Web traffic. The more you gravitate toward paid content for your diminished Web site with diminished traffic, the more you sacrifice even more audience. As a result, your Internet footprint becomes even smaller.

Quite literally, more and more newspapers resemble a snake feasting on its own tail.

There is a lot of uncertainty out there. The one thing we do know is that newspapers that don't invest locally in their operations face a special peril. So, the irony struck me, as I sat there with the commercial crew feeding me lines for my big TV moment, that five years after leaving Shaw, I found myself once again at a news operation making the brave leap of a multi-million press investment, a redesign, and a commitment to the future, whatever that future turns out to be. Heck, as aggressive as this press launch appears, our Web operation is just as aggressive.

Things have certainly changed in the media world since I became enamored with the notion of knowing the news and being the first to deliver it to others when I was but a teen. More than three decades later, I am watching the digital evolution, but I am less prone to impulsive decision-making and know-it-allism than I was even a few years ago.

Nearly every prediction about what the "New Media" would be since the early 1990's has been wrong. Theories and companies and "best practices" have risen and fallen.

So what's real? Here's what I know: Next Tuesday night, the switch will be thrown on a new press and a new era of The Vindicator will be launched.

More later,

Mark

Welcome to 49.2!

2010-02-24T08:02:00.003-05:00

THIS IS WHAT 49.2 LOOKS LIKE!

Age once was a vexing thing.

When you are young, you can't wait to be older. With age comes a drivers license, the right to vote and beers without sneaking into the woods.

That is followed by, in quick succession, career responsibilities, marriage, mortgages and, ironically, old age.

Your entire life is made up of age rules. You have to be of a certain age to watch a movie, rent a car and create a criminal disturbance without gaining the requisite criminal record. It doesn't end there. Want to collect on what's left of your 401k, qualify for Medicare or retire? You gotta be of age.

Worse, you only get one shot at key ages: The 16th year is pretty major, yet you have the same 365 days to master it as you have with 11 or 37. And 21 is pretty important but you are expected to treat it the same as 22. And what about 1? All you have to do that year is learn to walk and talk. And you have exactly the same amount of time to learn all of that as 19 when, really, all you have to learn at 19 is the difference a beer bong and a bong (hint: one one requires a lighter).

Phooey. I have a new solution.

I am done playing by the man's age rules. I've played it his way for the first 49 years and I've decided it doesn't work for me any more. Heck, I've enjoyed being 49, but the man expects me to stop being 49 Thursday. Why? Because some calendar mass-produced in China featuring cats or ducks says so?

Really? Really? Have the Chinese calendar makers won?

Here's what I am doing instead: 49.2.

It's modeled after production rollouts for technology advances. I am simply augmenting my age with an indicator that I've decided again to upgrade 49 with another go-round. Anyone can do this: if you are, say, 38 and you are comfortable with it but would like the opportunity to continue on and maybe even improve on 38, augment 38.1 with a 38.2. Maybe it goes to 38.3.

The key is, your happiness and your comfort level with the age you currently inhabit.

The old fogies out there – the conformists – will insist that I cannot do this. They'll use negative language (words like "fifty") to make the case that simply because they have bought in to the whole age-thing, that I must conform, too.

That's the old way of thinking. I'm still young. I'm 49.2.

More later,

Mark

I Give 1800flowers The Last Word

2010-02-17T21:18:00.003-05:00

Now, you should know there was a whole other confusing exchange in the last 24 hours that led to another confusing chain of events (namely overstating the amount of my refund by $14.99 leading me to wonder what I had actually been charged).

But I think 1800flowers and I have reached détente: I am getting a full refund and a $20 coupon and they just saw me eliminate all financial data and their permission to market to me from their Web site.

In the end, the last word will go to Betty who took the time to respond to yesterday's response to her e-mail:

Mark,

The complaint that I responded to was the one that you stated you had chatted with an agent and had been assured that this would be delivered on Saturday. You had also stated that your order had been canceled at no knowledge to you. I apologize for all the confusion.

Sincerely,

Betty Ellis
HAN Priority Unit Specialist

OK, I WAS tempted to write back and ask what "HAN" stands for... "Hosed Another Numbskull?"

But, for now, I consider the matter closed. All you 1800flowers employees who have visited Mark's World these past few days can move on to new anti-1800flowers rants...

More later,

Mark

1800flowers.com Responds! (Boycott Continues)

2010-02-16T19:45:00.005-05:00

Well, I finally have AN answer from 1800flowers.com and it seems a tad revisionist and convenient to me. Guess what: They blame the local florist!

In the interests of fairness, here is what I got:

Dear Mark,

Thank you for contacting us.

I apologize that your gift was not delivered as requested. I have reviewed your
order and it never was canceled for any reason. The order was transmitted to
the shop and never were we informed that there was anything wrong with it that
would cause a delay. If we had known there was a problem we would have been
more then happy to rectify the situation. Again, I apologize for disappointing
you.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact
us at the address listed below.

Sincerely,

Betty Ellis
Han Priority Unit Specialist
bellis@1800flowers.com

My response:

Betty:

Which complaint was this response directed to? The Friday night chat? The Saturday morning e-mail? Any of the Saturday calls? I just need you to pick one so I can further respond to: "The order was transmitted to the shop and never were we informed that there was anything wrong with it that would cause a delay. If we had known there was a problem we would have been more then happy to rectify the situation."

The flowers were supposed to arrive Friday. They did not. I tried to call. You said you were too busy. I did an online chat Friday night. Your rep promised they would be redelivered Saturday. I followed up Saturday morning with both a phone call and an e-mail. A rep promised again they would be delivered Saturday. By 8 p.m., still no flowers and they were supposed to be delivered before 7 p.m. Despite this effort, I had to make at least three more phone calls to get my flowers delivered after 9 p.m.

How many notifications of a problem do you normally require?

Finally, your Filipino representative put me on hold for a while Saturday night to "call" the local florist and then told me she couldn't get through, I made it in two calls (the first was a busy signal). And I arranged for the flowers to be delivered (I think she went on to other problem cases). If I didn't make that call, this would have gone to Sunday. And then more phone calls, e-mail, etc. You and your company have, since Friday, done nothing to respond, other than to send me an e-mail today that raises as many questions as it answers.

Why don't you try apologizing again? This one didn't work.

Sheesh.

More later,

Mark

Boycott 1800flowers.com!

2010-02-14T23:25:00.003-05:00

HOW MANY CALLS, E-MAILS, THREATS DID IT TAKE TO GET THIS DELIVERED?

So, last Sunday morning – Super Bowl Sunday – I jumped online and hit slickdeals.net and read about a great way to score cheap Valentine's Day candy and flowers. It seems Walgreen's had $9.99 heart-shaped boxes of Harry London chocolates on sale for $4.98. On the box was a $20 coupon for 1800flowers.com, where I have an account since I order all of my flowers from there.

Plus, I already had a $20 "Fresh Flowers" program credit. So, for $4.98, I could pretty much secure both flowers and candy for my funny valentine (Mary).

Going to 1800flowers.com, I picked out a bouquet that was normally about $70, on sale. Plus, I got free shipping by choosing Friday delivery (perfect, as Mary was off Friday). After my coupons, including tax, I paid about $24.

Fast forward to Friday: On my way home that night, I called my wife and asked if anything had been delivered. No, she said. So I called 1800flowers.com but was told that because of "heavy volume" my call could not be answered. When I got home, I hit the online site and used the online chat system to talk with a "live person" who assured me that the flowers would be "redelivered" Saturday. Neither the robot I spoke with nor the Web site gave me a clue about the coming apocalypse.

Saturday morning, I got up and hit slickdeals.net again only to find a link to this story:

1-800-Flowers.com canceling deliveries, breaking hearts

The story states:

This year, the company put peel-off stickers on Harry London chocolate boxes, with discounts of up to $20 on a 1-800-Flowers order. It was a savvy offer for customers who were already at CVS or Walgreens to buy chocolate and might be pondering which flower company to use for Valentine's Day. A coupon might tip the scales.

Company vice president Joe Pititto says, "Unfortunately, some people were going to a CVS or another store, peeling all the stickers off boxes – not buying them – and then using the codes online." Worse, some people were going online and selling those codes to other people."

So, 1800flowers.com decided to cancel many orders, including, apparently, mine. Some people got e-mails stating this. Others, like me, found out when the orders did not show up.

Although I had done that online chat Friday night, I called 1800flowers and got a rep and we went through this mess. I made her look up my account to give her an idea of what would be lost if the flowers did not arrive. To settle me down, she said the company would not only make sure the flowers were delivered but half of my $24 fee would be refunded and I would be issued a new $20 coupon...

I expressed my dismay that the online chat and the company's own Web site was less-than-forthcoming about the problem and she promised the flowers would arrive to my satisfaction. Just to be safe: I emphasized that bad things would happen to 1800flowers if the flowers were not delivered Saturday in a follow-up e-mail after the phone call.

All day Saturday, I waited. Mary went to work. I ran errands. She came home and we hit Greek Fest and Los Gallos (around the world in 20 miles). We got home at about 8 p.m. to discover: No flowers.

I went nuts. I got a 1800flowers rep on the phone. She was in the Philippines. As I told her, I have nothing against the Philippines, but I had ordered American flowers delivered by an American company to my American wife who lives at an American address and I was not about to deal with a whole other nation and our various difficulties comprehending each other's accents...

She tried to shift the blame to the American company that should have delivered the flowers by now. I went nuts again: This poor local company only got a last-minute order because stupid 1800flowers had canceled the original order the previous week without telling me!!! She did give me the name of the local company and while I was on hold waiting for her to figure out how to get flowers from Manila to Boardman, I called the local company.

Turns out, they were every bit as sick of 1800flowers as I was. And while they were out delivering and making up for 1800flowers mistakes, their driver got in an accident (we have had more than two feet of snow in the past week). But, she assured me the flowers would be delivered. And we shared some more jokes about 1800flowers.

At about 9 p.m., the flowers arrived. I marked the event by joining the Facebook boycott of 1800flowers.com. And forever more I will use the local florist.

1800flowers.com has lost this long-time customer and I am embarrassed to have ever given them business. To cancel a Valentine's Day order without so much as an e-mail and to consistently deceive people as to the reason why is just unforgivable. I am sorry you were not smart enough to make the coupons nonstackable, but if you make a bad deal, you live with it. You don't take out your stupidity on your most loyal customers or blame the poor local florist who is trying to deal with your mess.

But it is not just about me. Thousands of people got caught up in this mess and had their Valentine's Day marred.

I ask you, too, to avoid 1800flowers and 1800flowers.com. For more details on this scam, go to: BOYCOTT 1800flowers is on Facebook

More later,

Mark

Funny Human Tricks: I Can't Let Go of That Letterman Stunt

2010-02-07T23:47:00.004-05:00

OK, I know when I am obsessing.

And I am clearly obsessing about this surprise "Late Show" ad featuring David Letterman, Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno.

Frequent visitors know that I sided with Dave and Conan O'Brien over the weasle way Leno muscled "The Tonight Show" back from our fair Coco. And I am boycotting NBC's late-night because of Jay and the sleazy network execs.

Still, this is one FUNNY spot and the Chicago Tribune's Phil Rosenthal has a great piece about how it all went down. Read all about it here:

How Jay Leno, David Letterman and Oprah Winfrey's stunning Super Bowl ad came about

Rosenthal shares some interesting insight from Dave's long-time executive producer Rob Burnett. Burnett said the idea was all Letterman's.

“One of the things I admire greatly about Dave is he runs everything by a simple rule: If it’s funny, then we do it. As you can imagine, there were all kinds of internal conversations about whether this was a good thing to do ... from a PR standpoint. Were we helping Jay rehabilitate his image?" Burnett recalled. "All I can tell you is Dave has no interest in any of this. For him, it was: The network’s giving us 10 seconds on the Super Bowl, we’ve got to do something really funny and we believed this was a really funny thing to do.”

It was an amazing, seminal TV moment wedged in between a lot of mediocre ads and a great game.

I have watched it at least 20 times and I laugh every time. Jay mocking his down-trodden "Oprah" appearance. Dave mocking Jay's voice. Oprah just as she is every time she's with Dave: She plays "exasperated" very well.

Enjoy it again:

More later,

Mark

EXCLUSIVE: Manning Post-Game Interview

2010-02-07T21:51:00.001-05:00

Man, that just NEVER gets old...

:)

More later,

Mark

Coolest Super Bowl Ad Ever

2010-02-07T20:08:00.004-05:00

OK, I still think Jay Leno is a weasel and I still mourn for CoCo, but props to everyone for that ad for Dave Letterman's "Late Show."

Mark

P.S. The less said about the Boost Mobile Shuffle, the better for all...

Look What I Made!

2010-02-07T10:24:00.003-05:00

These are the 4-foot-plus mounds of snow leading to our front sidewalk...

The area is slowly recovering from the shock of weather forecasters being off by roughly 300 percent. They said 4-6 inches. We got locally heavy snow that was up to 20 inches in some spots as the massive storm that rocked Washington, D.C. combined with some lake affect fun from good, old Lake Erie.

Around these parts, I'd say 15 inches was a good estimate. The township plow finally came down our street overnight and screwed up the entrance to our driveway. When were were out recreating our entrance so we could get Mary to work, he came back again! I gave him that steely-eyed glare (you know the look) to keep him from doing it again....

Just five-and-a-half more weeks of this...

More later,

Mark

Please Rise For Our Bear Nation Anthem

2010-02-06T21:44:00.001-05:00

For Mary's Mom: What More Than a Foot of Snow Looks Like

2010-02-06T16:16:00.005-05:00

The weather forecasters said we should be prepared for 4-to-6 inches Friday-into-Saturday.

So, when we got home from the Youngstown Phantoms game Friday night, Mary and I worked to remove about 6 inches of snowy beauty from the driveway. Before I went to sleep at about 1 a.m., I checked: The snow had stopped!

She had to be at work this morning at 8 a.m. so we got up pretty early and it was dark but it appeared as if we had gotten more snow.

Maybe another seven inches or so. And it was still snowing.

The Kia took one look at the driveway and politely declined. So, once again we hacked at the snow and made a path to the street which, frankly, appeared to have had just one plow run overnight and all he did was block our driveway entrance.

Soon, we were en route for the less-than-one-mile trip to the mall which was, in a word, "treacherous." No sign of a plow on one of the main streets of the city. The only sign of professional services out in the snow was a cop pulling into the Dunkin Donuts. I am not making that up.

The mall was no better: One path plowed on the perimeter of the mall wide enough for one Kia. I got Mary to work and the employee entrance was not even shoveled. They DID give her a bonus for showing up. Me? I got stuck – twice – trying to leave the mall.

Anyway, here are some pictures of the beautiful images. It could be a 15-incher when all is said and done...

FROM THE FRONT DOOR: YOU CAN SORT OF SEE WHERE THE SIDEWALK ONCE WAS. LOOK FOR IT AGAIN IN MAY!

OOPS! LOOK WHO FORGOT TO PUT AWAY THE DECK FURNITURE!

WINTER'S MAJESTIC BEAUTY, ALSO KNOWN AS OUR BACKYARD.

More later,

Mark

Conan, We Have A Job For You!

2010-01-19T22:15:00.003-05:00

Monday night, Conan O'Brien, the beleaguered host of The Tonight Show, announced he was putting himself up for sale on Craigslist. The ad for his "services" reads:

TALL, SLENDER REDHEAD AVAILABLE FOR NIGHTTIME RECREATION

• 6'4", completely ripped, VERY Caucasian.
• Drapes match the carpet.
• Currently homeless, must meet at your place.
• Can go a whole hour (with scheduled breaks every 7-10 minutes).
• Fatties welcome
• Not afraid to take two people at once, and then a musical guest.
• NOTE: If you want me to perform after midnight, it'll cost you!

Now, as many of you are aware, Mary is planning a roast for my, uhm, second annual 49th birthday party in February. Now, with an all-star line-up of great roasters, wouldn't a slightly used, former TV host as emcee add a certain class to the affair? And so I answered the ad:

CoCo:

My wife is having a roast for my 50th birthday party Feb. 27 at 7 p.m. at our house and we need an MC. It's a two-hour event. We would expect:

• An opening monologue (Warning: my boss is also the owner of the Youngstown NBC affiliate so watch the Leno cracks).

• Intros to the dozen or so roasters. We'll write much of the stuff, but you might want to ad lib (i.e. my wife's drinking problem, etc.).

• A closing bit. Maybe a song like "There's No Business Like Show Business" but changing most of the words to be about me, as it is my 50th birthday party.

Now, for your services, we believe you deserve to be paid something, despite the whole "damaged goods" thing you've got going on. We are offering:

• Round-trip airfare (coach).

• Pickup and return to the Pittsburgh airport (we are hoping you aren't so tall that you can't fit easily into the back of my wife's Cavalier).

• Deluxe accommodations overnight in our Elvis-themed bedroom.

• All you can eat during the roast (we might ask you to help the catering staff, though).

• $250 cash.

• A $50 giftcard to The Olive Garden to use when you get back home (got it for Christmas and really hate The Olive Garden).

If it helps seal the deal, I am also kind of a fatty.

Let us know if this works for you. We need to know by Friday. The balloon clown, "Snurkles," our first choice, wants a deposit by then.

Mark

So, we are sitting back and waiting for the negotiations to get under way. Conan will have absolutely nothing to do by late February (I mean, how long can they draw this late night mess out? It's kinda played out already.).

I should also point out that Mary, as far as I know, doesn't really have a drinking problem. I added that for comic effect. Luckily, she's a VERY good sport. I snuck a little Jack Daniels into her coffee this morning, just like I do every morning, and she read my letter to Conan and laughed. And then fell asleep.

More later,

Mark

The Bears Visit Mark's World

2010-01-07T20:06:00.001-05:00

In my frustration as I watched the Chicago Bears huddle up with mediocrity by keeping the three architects of the current sorry state of affairs in place, I have been searching for a sign:

Please, just show me that you guys actually care about what fans – those who pay the bills – have to say.

I may have found a sign in the least likely of places.

On Monday night – some 19 hours before the odd spectacle of a news conference at Halas Hall featuring team president Ted Phillips, general manager Jerry Angelo and coach Lovie Smith – I posted a script of sorts as a best guess as to what the Bears MIGHT say. It was more hopeful than logical. I wanted Phillips to be more apologetic and take a harder line with Smith.

After all, this is the team that, in three years, managed only 12 wins against teams with winning records. Yet, somehow, Lovie has managed to conjure up emotional pleas for his teams to end each of the last three campaigns with 2-0 records; a masking agent aimed to dupe ownership that this was an organization on the rebound, not one in horrific and moribund decline.

Still, as to the coordinators, some of the tone, etc., the blog was more of a hit than a miss.

I tweeted the blog and featured it on Facebook, etc. and had more than a hundred hits which is good for my site these days these days.

Wednesday, I decided to see who all had visited my Web site in the past 48 hours. I was stunned to discover that Tuesday morning, several hours before the news conference, someone from Halas Hall had actually spent some time on my site.

Here's the detailed listing from my SiteMeter:

I obliterated the ISP info out of a courtesy and a respect for privacy.

The fact that on a busy Tuesday morning, someone in the Bears organization spent more than nine minutes taking in some fan's views is pretty interesting. I don't think it means much more than that, but maybe it is the hopeful sign I've been looking for.

The Bears are in serious trouble, even if Phillips in unable or unwilling to fully comprehend his situation. I am hoping that whomever took in my words returns some day to reflect on this mess. I'll keep posting ideas and I'll never stop being a Bears fan.

In any case, checking out Bears fans views is not the worst way to figure the direction of a franchise. I encourage ownership to continue to reach out.

More later,

Mark

No Joy In Being Right

2010-01-05T21:05:00.004-05:00

I had the SCORE on in the background at work today and I managed to listen to much of the Bears news conference. While the team did not exactly follow the script I had posted here some 19 hours in advance, I didn't get much wrong.

Much of what I heard, even if it seemed eerily familiar, was troubling. There was a pathological incoherence present in the discombobulated press affair with the top brass trundled to the podium individually to apologize, accept blame, rationalize their existence and then answer obvious questions for which there seemed to be no preparation.

And the logic! We're dissatisfied with the overall performance in the past three years so we are keeping the three main architects in place. We let Lovie fire Ron Rivera and bring in his own guy and then take over the defense himself and those missteps make him qualified to choose the next defensive coordinator. The defense was so bad we were out of many games before the first half was over, so we're firing all of the offensive coaches. We made many key personnel evaluation missteps and we're changing little about the evaluation process.

We trust Lovie.

My first reaction that I Tweeted: "OVERALL ASSESSMENT: The Bears sound lost."

Take one exchange: Here's GM Jerry Angelo on the defense:

"There were games this year that were over by halftime. A big part of it was our defense. I'm concerned about that. We have issues that we have to deal with on defense. Scheme, personnel, yes, we don't have as many dominating players on defense to do the things we did in past years."

Next up was Lovie Smith:

"A lot is being placed on the [defensive] scheme. Every team in the league plays Cover 2; we're basically all playing the same thing. It's gap control. That's what defense is. The (new defensive coordinator) coming in, I would like for him to have some of the similar beliefs that I have."

Why? Because your philosophy was so successful?

And what does this all say about any potential changes to come? Lovie is still playing out his debate with Rivera about defensive schemes. The problem? Rivera has moved on and will be coaching his team in the playoffs while Lovie just had to fire himself because he couldn't do Rivera's old job.

I learned everything I needed to know when Angelo basically admitted that the Bears final two wins of the season sealed Smith's return as coach. Hmmmm...

Here's something I've not seen noted anywhere else: The Bears finished each of their last three pathetic seasons exactly the same way: With a 2-0 run.

Lovie Smith is not playing for the fans or the organization. Lovie Smith is playing for Lovie Smith and doing just barely enough to get by to earn his next $11 million from the Bears. And a team of naive rookies who just want to play and lazy veterans who like the cushy atmosphere at Lake Forest these days are enabling this arrogant, stubborn stain on the Bears great tradition.

The more I write, the more enraged I become. Shame on the Bears owners for not holding the architects of the current mess – Ted Phillips, Angelo and Smith – truly accountable by firing one or all of them.

Bears fans deserve better than the sham of a pity party that was allowed to be amateurishly played out in the auditorium at Halas Hall today. We can only hope that when that auditorium is again filled with media 365 days and at least nine more regular season losses from now, it will be to watch the organization thank Phillips, Angelo and Smith with some sort of lovely parting gift.

More later,

Mark

What The Bears Will Announce Tuesday

2010-01-04T20:29:00.006-05:00

I am going to post my best guess some 19 hours before the 2 p.m. (3 p.m. EST) Chicago Bears news conference. It is based on my gut feelings, events of the past 24 hours, as well as other blogs and pundits I trust.

It is NOT what I wish will happen. That's easy: Lovie Smith SHOULD be fired.

Unfortunately, it is not going to be that easy or that clean.

Look at everything that has happened since the Bears ended the season by beating up on the hapless Detroit Lions:

• Bears records were set by Jay Cutler and special teams setting up, after the second consecutive meaningless win, an argument for an improvement in team performance.

• Bears players began to openly discuss what the absence of Brian Urlacher meant to the team.

• It was revealed that Matt Forte's spotty performance was due to a strained ACL/MCL.

• The team apologized to fans in two newspaper ads.

• Players began to openly, almost belligerently, back Lovie's return.

And keep in mind Jerry Angelo's comments last week about his "nucleus of young talent" on the team...

A well-orchestrated script is being cobbled together for the big show Tuesday. I think it will be delivered by Bears President Ted Phillips and look - or sound - a little something like this:

This was a tough year for Bears fans, players and owners. And we know we need an immediate turn-around. We think we made some good moves going into this season with Jay Cutler and younger players like Johnny Knox and Devin Aromashodu. But we made missteps, too. Lovie tried to be his own defensive coordinator. Our offensive plans were not focused which impacted the play of young players. Not every veteran measured up, especially on the offensive line.

Added to this were season-long injuries to the heart of our team like to Brian Urlacher and Matt Forte. Other players who filled in were also hurt and this exacerbated a bad situation.

In short, despite great anticipations, our luck in 2009 was made up of three kinds: bad, little and no.

We must field a team in 2010 that will make this city and Chicago Bears fans around the world proud. We want to be competitive in every game. We want to win the Super Bowl. These are the core goals of the Chicago Bears.

Sometimes bad luck just happens, as in the case of Brian Urlacher. But many times, experience has shown, you can control fate or luck if only you put yourself in the best possible situation. We did not do that enough in the past year.

Beginning right now, it is important for the entire Bears organization to understand that we will do whatever it takes to win the Super Bowl next year in Dallas. To this end, no position from the front office to the field will escape scrutiny.

In the front office, we believe Lovie Smith has many of the right attributes to be a successful head coach. It was just three years ago that we anticipated our first return to the Super Bowl in 20 years under his leadership. Unfortunately, Lovie did not exhibit his best attributes this past year. We met with Lovie yesterday and he agreed to stay on as head coach for the next season under these conditions:

• He will work with management to replace the offensive and defensive coordinators. We have also eliminated the "Assistant Head Coach" position. We need to find the best coaching minds out there; we are not interested in those who merely subscribe to current philosophies. Our team will only win when we build philosophies to match the players we have in the organization and not the other way around. All other coaching positions will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

• Lovie will work with the GM and scouts to create an improved, shared view of player assessment. There simply has to be more cohesion. There is no attempt to have a group coach of the Bears, but the coach cannot usurp the GM and scouts' roles, either. We need to attract the best athletes and then put them in the best positions to win.

• Players – and coaches – need to be evaluated week to week in practice to ensure we are fielding the best team possible. There are too many occasions in the past season of veteran players resting instead of practicing while new talent languished. Worse, this pattern clearly lead to our team simply being "unprepared," to use Lovie's term, for games. Chicago Bears players need to show up each day prepared to work hard. Otherwise, we will find new players who understand our Bear tradition.

That said, management needs to do a better job of evaluating our team and holding every person in the organization accountable. Jerry Angelo has also agreed to new working circumstances and has stepped up to shoulder his share of the burden for the past season.

In order to have him better focused on the many pressing tasks, his job has been divided and joining him in the GM role is Patrick McCaskey who will serve as a direct liaison to Virginia McCaskey who sets the tone and the vision of the Bears franchise. Patrick's role will be to maintain the big-picture duties of GM while Jerry can continue to focus on the many day-to-day needs.

This is not the complete road map to Dallas but it is the start of the plan. We believe we have many great players already in place. We trust the coaching skills of Lovie Smith. We know we have the best fans on the planet. We appreciate the understanding of our fans and share the anguish and outrage for what felt to almost everyone as a wasted opportunity.

Great teams learn from their mistakes and persevere. We are a great team and the 2010-11 season will be among our best and that pledge comes right from the top.

As we said Monday in our newspaper ad, "winning is, and will always be, our top priority and we will not rest until we bring a championship back to Chicago."

That's my view. What do you think will happen Tuesday? Post or send me an e-mail at marksweetwood@aol.com or Tweet me at SOBEDITOR On Twitter

More later,

Mark

Merry Christmas, Kaleb!

2009-12-23T20:54:00.002-05:00

Here's some cool holiday fun: Just minutes ago in Illinois our Great Nephew Kaleb opened a gift from Mary, Grace and me - stuffed Winnie the Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore.

His mom, Best Niece Angela, snapped a pic on her phone, sent it to my phone here in Ohio and I placed it on this page:

Christmas + technology = cool!

Have a Merry Christmas!

More later,

Mark

Uh-Oh: Santa Knows If I've Been Bad Or Good

2009-12-08T08:08:00.003-05:00

Breaking News from the North Pole: Santa Claus warns me I better shape up or I'm NOT going to be happy Christmas morning!

You can watch it here:

Santa's Message To Mark

If you want to make your own video message from jolly, yet judgmental, Ol' St. Nick, the fine folks at Portable North Pole have a very cool, free service here:

Portable North Pole

Enjoy!

More later,

Mark

We Went To A Fight And A Brawl Broke Out

2009-12-06T00:51:00.003-05:00

Mary had to work so her mom, Grace, and I went to check out the Youngstown Phantoms vs. Chicago Steel hockey game at the Covelli Centre Saturday night.

It was Toys-For-Tots night so we brought toys and some members of the U.S. Marines gave us ticket coupons. I like to sit in section 205 just behind the penalty box so I can exhort forward Rich Young during his brawls. He's fun to watch and plays with a lot of spirit and doesn't shy away from a fight. He usually doesn't need any egging on from me.

Saturday night was no exception.

Mid-way through the third period, Chicago began to get a little chippy and and full-out melee broke out. Luckily, I had a video camera with me. As you are about to see, there were fights all over the ice and the penalty boxes were filled on BOTH sides. Young even had to be restrained from making his way into the opponents' box.

Some wild stuff! The Phantoms won 3-1. I normally hate cheering against a Chicago team – especially one with a Chelios on the roster – but the Phantoms are my home team and a heckuva lot of fun to watch. And Young seems to be an up-and-comer...

More later,

Mark

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like, Uh ... Damn!

2009-11-27T15:22:00.003-05:00

Here is the scene that greeted us on the morning after the day after Thanksgiving:

Yikes! What's all this white stuff? What happened to the unseasonably warm, 50's/60's we've experienced for most of November? Can't it last a while longer?

Sadly, no.

Cruel, cruel winter is coming.

(Shakes fist at the sky.)

Winter!!!

More later,

Mark

Thanksgiving Is Hard Work!

2009-11-26T14:04:00.003-05:00

Louis J. Cat is having a very busy Thanksgiving.

"Busy," is, obviously, relative.

Happy Thanksgiving all! I hope your day is every bit as relaxing!

More later,

Mark

First Me, Now Costas Blocked By Jay

2009-11-21T20:59:00.004-05:00

I think I am sensing a pattern here...

First, Jay Cutler blocks me on Twitter. Then, he snubs Bob Costas...

Very little offense on the field, great defense off... Very defensive, in any case.

The Bears take the national stage yet again Sunday night. Mary, her mom and I get the enjoy the game in front of the home plasma. Well, maybe not "enjoy," but we'll make the best of it. However the Bears are not acting in a way befitting the national spotlight as they are not cooperating with NBC.

This is oh-so silly. I am embarrassed that the Chicago Bears franchise has been reduced to such pettiness. Not only is Cutler refusing to talk to NBC prior to the Sunday Night Football game, but so are Lovie Smith and Jerry Angelo.

Really? Way to keep it classy, Bears.

At least Bob Costas is a good sport. A good, tiny, little sport. Here are the details:

Costas: Bears' refusal not a personal snub

And I had such high hopes for this season. Now it's like a bad dream.

More later,

Mark

Mom and Dad Visit!

2009-11-21T19:54:00.003-05:00

Our November of special guest stars continued last weekend with my parents who arrived from Florida to brave the 70-degree Ohio November weather.

We had a great time enjoying the fabulous Orbit Room, dining at Caffe Capri, watching football at Jillians and more football in the Rat Pack Tiki Bar. My Mom is the world's biggest Peyton Manning fan so she was here to witness the big Sunday night game against the New England Patriots.

Well, she KIND OF witnessed it. Convinced Peyton's team was going to lose, she went to bed with a couple of minutes left... Dad went to get her after the miracle finish was under way.

Here they are during dinner:

MOM AND DAD

Dad and I went out to check out HD TVs since my parents are threatening to enter the digital age. Dad also got a little plumbing in when our utility sink decided to act up. He is far handier than me.

Despite the impromptu plumbing adventure, we really had a great time!

They left Monday. Mary's Mom arrived Friday as our third house guest in as many weeks. Grace is a good sport as as soon as Mary left for work Saturday, we got the outdoor decorating under way. I chose a return to a more classic theme this year:

A VERY BRADY CHRISTMAS

Our goal every year is to surprise Mary when she turns down our street after work. I am hoping she will be pleasantly surprised!

More later,

Mark

We Owe It To WHO?

2009-11-16T21:08:00.004-05:00

How do you tell when a football team has lost all focus and purpose?

It's easy. You talk to the players. You walk right up to one — say, the biggest, most trouble-making one who, perhaps, has under-performed thus making him more trouble than he's probably worth — and ask him a question.

So, on Monday, the media sidled up to good ol' No. 91. And Tommie Harris off the field is completely different from the Tommie Harris on the field: Off the field, he does not disappoint.

Harris says there is one big reason the Bears should win: They owe it to Lovie Smith.

I am not making that up.

"We owe it to him," Tommie Harris said. "That guy has been great to us from training camps to what he's done with the facilities. Different things that you see other coaches really don't care about, but this guy has come in and helped us out tremendously, and we owe it back to him."

So help me out here: You owe giving your best not to the franchise that employs you, the city for whom you play, the season ticket holders who spend thousands, the fans who spend millions, the league that provides a precious few athletes with a special opportunity to be a part of a special legacy ...

No, you owe your best to your coach cuz he's "been great to us." What? Lovie makes sure the facilities are swept up routinely?

I'll have to look up "Profiles in Courage" or "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" to find the chapter on: "He's Got Your Back (In Mediocrity) And You've Got His (In Mediocrity)."

Tommie: When all of those words tumbled from your brain into your mouth and off of your tongue, no red flags went off? No alarms or buzzers? Nothing said "Wait! Stop! This makes no sense! Even for a guy who got fined for punching out a helmet! Honest to god: You punched out an F'N helmet!"

Tommie Harris has not been known of late for acting on rational impulses. And "All for one and one for all" is the last refuge of someone bereft of any real answers, so, perhaps, it was unfair of the media to expect much more from Punchdown Tommie.

In any case, it is best that this addled logic is out in the open. This team LOVES LOVIE. They love the lack of contact tackling in practice. They love the low expectations. They love the lack of passion or emotion. They love the lack of initiative to, say, change schemes when "coaching philosophy" begins to Titanic. They love the unflagging support for bad play and the willingness of a mediocre coach to consistently take the blame for his mediocre team and his cadre of mediocre coaches.

These Bears are soft and they like their fluffy, marshmallow soft coach.

Even more of a reason to throw the bum out.

Lovie, I mean. But Tommie and everyone else on the Bears who's first name ends in an "ie" can go, too.

More later,

Mark

Which Demonstrates The Most Emotion?

2009-11-15T21:35:00.002-05:00

This:

Or this:

Just saying...

More later,

Mark

Jon Stewart Destroys The Lunatic Glenn Beck

2009-11-06T07:38:00.003-05:00

Got eight minutes or so? Take this is in as the sharp-witted host of The Daily Show, Jon Stewart, picks apart all of the faulty logic, red herrings, straw men and sacrificial goats that make up Glenn Beck's Looney Tunes "reality."

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart

Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c

The 11/3 Project

www.thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes

Political Humor

Health Care Crisis

Brilliant.

More later,

Mark

Holy Halloween, Batman!

2009-11-01T10:08:00.003-05:00

TRICK OR TREATS?

We celebrate Halloween big-time here in Ohio.

The pop-up pavilion goes into the driveway and full-sized candy bars fill a giant bin, stuffed crane-game winnings fill a basket, beers for thirsty dads fill a cooler and ghoulish sounds fill the air, courtesy of a CD player.

Now there was a chill in the air and the rain didn't end until mid-morning. Still, our Halloween spirit was not dampened. Adding to the fun, my brother Eric and his fiance Jen were here to add to the festivities.

While we were busy setting up the big show, Eric and Jen snuck away and when they returned we were stunned to find them replaced by Batman and Supergirl!

STRIKING A HEROIC POSE

The number of trick or treaters was way down from last year, but we had fun anyway. It's great to have Eric and Jen here to add to the fun. Halloween night movies were "Valentine's Day 3D" and "Bats."

Today: The Bears vs. Browns on the plasma!

More later,

Mark

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-30T18:20:00.000-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

More later,

Mark

Last-Minute Halloween Costume Idea!

2009-10-28T22:49:00.000-05:00

Found this one in the attic:

More later,

Mark

Jay, Ye Hardly Knew Me

2009-10-28T20:21:00.003-05:00

Turns out, Jay Cutler has more in common with Greg Olsen than having good ol' No. 85 as a dinner companion...

He has also blocked me on Twitter.

Wow. It feels kinda like one of those pussified Bert Favrerer chop blocks.

For the record, I jumped all over Ochocinco last week. He never blocked me. Perhaps he's the real pro here...

Ouch. THAT hurt.

Hey, it's not like I am the one who stunk up the field Sunday. I sat there in front of the home plasma in my Urlacher jersey with my assorted Bears good luck items, beers in my Bears cooler, drinking from my Bears frozen pilsner glass, tuned into the Bears team home call on WBBM-AM via the Bears Internet and cheered. Until I started ranting. But, at least I didn't call anyone names, at least as far as I recall.

I did question the, ah, pluck of Hunter Hillenmeyer who checked in for almost a half Sunday. What's he got? Six quarters so far this season?

The closest ribs as tender as these should get to the football field is out in the parking lot on someone's tailgate grill.

Or in bed next to Elizabeth Hasselbeck. Or, the IR list.

Just sayin' ...

So, what have we learned? Apparently fans are not supposed to quit players, but in this crazy New Media world players can quit fans. Really? If only it were that easy...

Jay, I'm still a proud Bears fan and I will still cheer for you, even if you need to learn a thing or two about what it means to both be a Bear and to be a Bears fan. I will continue to teach you. I'm kinda hard to ignore (perhaps you're better aware of this now). And I have confidence you'll come around.

Meanwhile, thanks to all who have checked out my blog or my Tweet feed in the past week! Go Bears!

More later,

Mark

The Bears First Block This Week? Me!

2009-10-27T22:09:00.003-05:00

I suspect there are very few more loyal, more emphatic, more true-blue Chicago Bears fans than me.

I became a true fan almost exactly 40 years ago, when my Dad took me to Father and Son night at St. Teresa Catholic Church in Kankakee, Ill. My 9-year-old eyes took in the enormous personality of Dick Butkus and I was hooked. My Dad wowed me by successfully answering Dick's trivia question – Q: Who put the hit on Gale Sayers to injure his knee? A: Kermit Alexander of the San Francisco 49'ers. – and a few weeks later a football arrived in the mail featuring the autographs of the 1969 team, including Brian Piccolo, et al.

That ball hangs this very day on a wall in my Bears room surrounded by 100's of pieces of memorabilia I've collected since that fateful night.

I think this is a point that many NFL players and coaches have a hard time grasping: We, the fans, are the constant. Players come and coaches go. We are forever. Our fandom pays the bills. You want great gobs of money? Great. With great gobs comes great responsibility...

So, when a team goes out and embarrasses the Bears nation like the Bears did Sunday and when the Bears coach admits he failed to get the team properly prepared for the second week in a row and a team with great potential falls to 3-3, fans get to have their say. We paid for it in money, time invested, fandom as well as in blood, sweat and tears.

You might be a Bear. But this is our team. Never, ever forget this.

This year, I started to follow some Bears players on Twitter. It's been interesting. But after the Sunday collapse, I sent a message to @ricknoach @alexbrown96 @JayCutler6 @D_Hest23 @gregolsen82 @chitownforte22 and @RealDeal91 (Tommie "Bad Attitude" Harris) explaining that it might be best to not Tweet this week. Save any messages for the field on game day.

I thought it was pretty good advice, especially for those guys who have not spent 40 years immersed in the Bears nation culture. We reward great play with never-ending support. We criticize overt stupidity very loudly (ask Wanny and Mauron). Our media coverage can be savage.

We are proud. We are loud. No B.S. is allowed.

So, the Bears players' Tweets were quiet, for the most part, this week. Alex Brown tried to post a feeble " :( that's a shame we have to play better than that" which was pounced on for its sheer insipidness of understatement. Matt Forte tried to share some awkwardly supportive tweets about "people who never played the game."

Lame. Those people are called "fans."

Tuesday night, Greg Olsen thought maybe we had all moved on and wanted to plug his latest sushi find. And Jay Cutler reminded us of his Web site. I gently reminded both it might be too early to Tweet.

Frankly, I thought this was smart coaching advice; perhaps something new in their Chicago experience.

Olsen, who I like enough to have on all four fantasy teams, responded by blocking me.

Really.

Is he going to block every upset fan? He couldn't even block against the Bengals.

Sorry. Cheap. But fun.

I used Twitter-speak to try to get him to understand my larger point:

"Not trying to be a jerk. Just letting u know: Nothing u could tweet in 140 words will make Sunday go away. Only better play."

In case that fails to get any traction, allow me to expand beyond 140 characters with some more advice for Jay, Greg and all the relatively new Bears players who do not have 40 years of Bears experience: Heed the friendly warnings.

When you suck, lay low. Re-earn your respect on the field; that's where you lost it, after all. Don't be surprised that we bleed Bear blue and orange. We wait all year for about 20 weeks of competition and entertainment. We spend the other 32 weeks dreaming of what might be to come. We understand that our expectations might be unreasonable at times. By the same token, we don't ever expect to have our heritage tarnished by the spectacle that unfolded this past Sunday.

Understand the game is bigger than you; that a team's legacy is built by an organization, players AND the fans. Fans are ultimately deserving of your best on-field – and off-field – performances. Failing that, our views deserve respect.

You might even learn something, especially if you waltz into town and don't even pause to consider why something like this was seen by many as so offensive even before the kickoff Sunday:

Bears don't consort with the enemy. We knock opponents in the teeth. Feel free to shake hands after the game, though.

Block me, Greg? I doubt it. You can't possibly understand the depths of the passion of Bears fans until you've been a Bear for a while. And you'll never learn anything along the way by blocking out that which you find a little harsh.

You have bigger things to worry about, in the end. Let's get it back together in time for the Browns Sunday.

More later,

Mark

Falcon Exposes Lie

2009-10-16T06:48:00.002-05:00

Most of the media spent Thursday worried about whether a 6-year-old boy was aboard a runaway balloon. Turns out, it was a ruse...

Out of the mouths of babes:

Mom and Dad are publicity-seeking, reality-show wannabes...

More later,

Mark

What Victory Tastes Like

2009-09-21T10:31:00.001-05:00

More later,

Mark

My Favorite Two Words: BEARS WIN!

2009-09-20T22:17:00.004-05:00

Ah...

Tomorrow at work I will devour orange-and-blue doughnuts, drink free Diet Pepsi and generally rejoice in all of the obnoxious splender associated with the Chicago Bears victory over that Pittsburgh team that cannot kick.

One cool fan-cam I found shows Johnny Knoxville's awesome touchdown catch:

Me and one fellow Bears fan held down Jillians until Mary got off work in the fourth quarter. Because of stupid scheduling – the Browns were the late game – there was NO Steelers coverage on local TV, putting all of the Pittsburgh fans in a bar with me (Bears cap, Forte jersey). Were we nervous after the Stupiders marched downfield on the opening drive and scored an easy touchdown against the Bears? Sure. In the end, however, there was much rejoicing in our little corner of the bar.

That image of the Squealers kicker looking like he was going to cry is something I will not soon forget. I hope he has a day job...

It was a low-scoring affair, something you don't normally associate with Ben Roethlisberger. Allegedly.

With the Slackers losing, this was HUGE victory and I could not be happier...

More later,

Mark

That Darned Kanye!

2009-09-16T19:24:00.003-05:00

Earlier today, I came to my site and wouldn't you know it but that kooky Kanye had to barge his way in...

It looked a lot like this:

Mark's World Interrupted

Someone has to get him under control!

Sheesh!

More later,

Mark

Obama Gives a Shout Out to The Vindicator

2009-09-15T13:03:00.002-05:00

We were all a little impressed that the president worked us into his speech today at the GM/Lordstown assembly complex. It looked a little like this:

More later,

Mark

Directing Conrad Brooks

2009-09-14T22:45:00.008-05:00

CONRAD BROOKS, LEFT, IN "PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE"

I was walking the Monroeville Exposition Center floor during Saturday's Pittsburgh Comicon when I saw a sign over a booth for "Conrad Brooks."

The name was familiar. Where did I know it from?

Turns out, it was THE Conrad Brooks, sole cast survivor from infamous movie director Ed Woods' classic bad film, "Plan 9 From Outer Space."

He portrayed "Patrolman Jamie," one of the two officers constantly dispatched to investigate the mysterious cemetery goings-on that somehow involved Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, Vampira and a chiropractor.

Just the previous weekend, in fact, Mary and I had enjoyed a copy of the recent RiffTrax send-up of "Plan 9," courtesy of co-worker Robert McFerren who learned of my love of truly bad movies. RiffTrax is made up of some of the cast of the old "Mystery Science Theater 3000" show who are famous for augmenting a movie's soundtrack with their own often outrageous commentary. The "Plan 9" riff was excellent.

Well, during my first visit to the booth, I obtained an autograph from Conrad and enjoyed talking to him for a bit. He's quite the character at 78 years old. And I promised to stop by later for a DVD. He has starred, it turns out, in quite a few productions since "Plan 9," and has even tried his hand at directing.

So, I returned three hours later, filled with the after-glow of meeting Stan Lee and Conrad had seemingly forgotten me in the interim. Heck, he's quite popular and the crowd was a fair size – and he's 78 – so I cut him a lot of slack.

What you will see next is the unedited video of that encounter. It turns out, the much-maligned Mr. Wood probably had his hands full, if the entire "Plan 9 From Outer Space"cast had a much energy – not to mention, technological skills – as Conrad.

He was attempting to say ...

ConradBrooks.Com

... but the camera stalled before he got it all out at the end.

Eerie, eh? If Criswell was still alive, he might remark, "My friend, you have seen this incident, based on sworn testimony. Can you prove that it didn't happen?"

That part you see when the camera moved early in the clip occurred when Conrad mistook the camera for, apparently, a tape recorder or something. Then he launches into a perfect Ed Wood spiel. Then promotes Mark's World. And then he sells me a DVD.

I found him to be endlessly entertaining to talk to and was glad that I had a chance to meet him. I kind of knew what to expect from the Stan Lee experience. Conrad was an unexpected, but fantastic, pleasure.

More later,

Mark

I (Kinda) Meet Stan Lee

2009-09-14T07:07:00.004-05:00

THE HOLY TRINITY: STAN, ME, SPIDERMAN

I was thinking about this over the weekend: Living in Ohio has given me the opportunity to meet many of my childhood heroes.

Last year, I met Gale Sayers and Dick Butkus during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction weekend in Canton and then had dinner with Adam West in Niles. Sayers and Butkus were the heart of the Chicago Bears team that first awed me when I was 9 year old; West starred on the TV show that captivated me when I was 6.

In many ways, that kid is still alive inside somewhere. Hence, less than a year after my dinner with Adam, the kid talked me into taking the opportunity to meet Stan Lee.

For the non-true-believers and the uninitiated, Stan is the creative genius behind Marvel Comics who, along with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Roy Thomas and others reinvented the comic book genre in the 1960s. Their impact is still felt on pop culture even more than 40 years later.

Don't read comics? OK. Have you been to the movies lately? Ever hear of Spiderman, Iron Man or the Fantastic Four? Stan the Man had a role in the genesis of all of them. And the X-Men. Daredevil. You get the idea.

He is an icon and he was booked for the Pittsburgh Comicon at the Monroeville Exposition Center. Mary and I had toyed with the idea of attending, but her work schedule got in the way.

The kid inside kept reminding me: "Stan is 86 years old and what are the odds we'll ever get another chance to meet him? It's only 70 miles..."

So, I decided to hit the convention solo, snatching up two of the remaining Stan Lee autograph passes ($40 each which I thought was a bargain) and a one-day pass for Saturday, though I eventually upgraded to a Sunday pass to when organizers talked me into staying for the Saturday night auction.

The convention was a hoot. It is not one of the huge, corporate deals like the San Diego Comic Con run by the fine Wizard folks. The Pittsburgh event is homegrown and has all of the pluses – and minuses – such efforts entail. I won't go into a blow-by-blow evaluation (Like: The floor was big and featured many cool booths – but there was no map or guide to what was where) but suffice to say I had a great time and hung out with fellow geeks of all ages.

And the place was a geeks dream: Scores of artists were on hand to talk to fans and sell their artwork; tens of thousand of comics were on sale; every superhero toy you ever sought as a kid was there for a price.

I spent the first couple of hours walking the floor, staking out claims and comparing deals. At about 12:30 p.m., they started lining us up for the afternoon signing. Tickets were numbered through the 800's; mine were in the mid-600's.

IT'S A LONG LINE

For the better part of the next two hours, I stood in line bonding with my fellow fanboys. There were all ages there. Directly in front of me was a high school student/football running back who had called off of work and now fretted about what to give Stan to sign (the convention folks could have done a better job letting folks in line know there were no items like 8-by-10 pictures of Stan available to get signed). I tried to talk him into getting his cool Avengers-themed hat signed; he chose a blank piece of paper to get framed.

Behind me was a Cortland resident who manages one of the big Mahoning County bar/eateries. He agreed to shoot a pic of me when I got to Stan and did an awesome job as you can see aboved.

Now, they sold 900 passes which meant poor Stan's hand was going to be hurting after the five-hour signing. The actual signing was a precision-like assembly line: Items were taken, slid across a long table to Stan, an aid told him which color of Sharpie to use, he signed, mumbled, you moved on.

I chose, from my comic collection, two books from Marvel's early era that were penned by Stan: "Tales of Suspense" No. 47 from 1963 (featuring the last appearance of Iron Man's clunky armor and "Amazing Spiderman" No. 40. featuring the second part of the epic battle with the Green Goblin.

Now, after the signing, you could stand in another line to get a "certificate of authenticity" for $3 a piece. After trolling the floor and snatching my brother's Christmas gift, I got into that line just as Stan's signing duties had wrapped up. As he was whisked into his awaiting car, he came by and I reached out and got to shake the great man's hand!

"Hey Stan," I said.

"Nice to see you," he said as he shook and moved quickly along.

It was awesome! Excelsior!

Now I have videos which I will put up tonight. All in all it was a great weekend. And while Stan Lee was awesome, someone else stoled the show...

More later,

Mark

I Am A Rock Star!

2009-09-07T10:12:00.003-05:00

Those who know me well know that I am a student of arcade/carnival games.

I like to watch the games, figure out the angles and excel. Hence we've won tons of watches, TV's, bikes and other items at the Mardi Gras on the Main Street Pier in Daytona Beach as a result of gaming during our many vacations. During our trip this past August, we snagged a power washer for my Dad.

We go, play and let the points accumulate. A couple of years ago, I picked up a Wii at Happy Days Arcade in Old Town in Kissimmee, where we celebrate our anniversary every year.

Plus, I am the Crane Master. Show me one of those prize cranes with stuffed animals and i will win. Every prize has a specific weight balance; a center.

All it takes to win arcade games, I often tell people, is patience and a total disregard for money.

So, last week, The Vindicator published a picture of an arcade game that caught my attention:

Michael Snyder, a vendor who runs a dart toss game at the Canfield Fair, waits for customers. © The Vindicator

If you look closely, you can see that if you play for $20, you can win an electric guitar. To me, the attraction was electric, frankly. And irresistible.

I sought out the booth after my Saturday morning shift at the Canfield Fair in The Vindicator booth. I snapped this picture of our cool booth during a rare lull in traffic:

I watched a few players at the game. You had to throw a dart and hit the colored section of a star with very thin points. Most players would aim for the star directly across from them; about a seven-foot throw. For some reason (Gimmicked? Too well-worn? Poor velocity?) the dart would stick in the white around the star and bounce off of the colored star. I decided that I would arc the darts up toward the top, gaining some velocity on the way down and choosing the stars less-often played.

I plunked $20 down and after three shots, I had perfectly and symmetrically surrounded a star. I hit no color. But all of the darts had stuck.

I plunked down another $20 and took better aim. The first landed well within the colored part of a star. Winner!

I still had two darts. Though the sign clearly limits players to just one prize per day, the guy running the game – who couldn't have been a nicer guy – let me continue on. The second shot: Winner! Other players took note. There was some amazement. The third just hit white.

So, I picked a black-and-white Crescent bass, that came with a gig bag, strap and accessory kit that includes a tuner and a pick. It looks like this:

You can find it for about $100 on eBay.com, so I figured $40 was a decent deal.

More importantly, I had won. And there were a few jealous stares as I walked through the fair, clutching the heavy, full-sized bass.

"Nice bass. Where did you get it?"

"I won it throwing darts."

"What? Really? Where?"

Now, I should point out I don't actually PLAY the bass. I have no musical talent whatsoever. None. But now I want an electric guitar to match...

More later,

Mark

Poor Sports In Denver

2009-08-30T23:18:00.002-05:00

As you can hear on this FanCam, some Denver Brokens fans are upset that their former quarterback landed on an actual pro team after being backstabbed by a newbie coach who will be lucky to win four games this season:

And to think, a year ago, the biggest problem in Denver was whether then-coach Mike Shanahan would be able to break his playoff jinx. Now? Playoffs?? Don't talk about playoffs! Are you kidding me?? Playoffs??

More later,

Mark

It Bears Noting...

2009-08-24T22:52:00.003-05:00

... the next four Bears games will enjoyed in front of the warm glow of the Rat Pack Tiki Bar's 42-inch plasma...

Ah, sit back and enjoy the colortinis, as Tom Snyder used to say...

On Sunday, we got back from Florida in time to watch the rerun of the Rev. Jay Cutler's spiritual revival and the dismantling of the New York Giants from Saturday night on the NFL Network. Eli Manning looked scared. Rich, but scared. The Bears looked awesome!

Some clips:

From here on, it's all live for the next month (sorry Jillians!).

Sunday night , the Bears stomp a mudhole in Kyle Orton and the Denver Brokens, I mean, Broncos on national TV. Really, I like Kyle, but I much prefer having a quarterback.

The following Thursday, the Bears close out the preseason against local punching bags, the Cleveland Browns. Local broadcast will be on the Browns network. Since the audio will be a joke, we will be watching the game but listening to the home team call from WBBM-AM via the NFL.com's Field Pass.

Then we have a 10-day break until the opening weekend when the Bears once again bask in the glow of the national spotlight Sept. 13 as they take on that Wisconsin team on the cheesy tundra of Moe, Larry and Curly Lambeau Field in the season opener of Sunday Night Football on NBC.

The week of Sept. 20? The Bears open at home to dethrone the soon-to-be former Super Bowl champs, the Pittsburgh Alleged-Whore-Chasers, I mean, Steelers. Since the game features another local team (really, no one in Ohio even watches the Browns including, oddly enough, people named "Brown" who's family members curiously had some relationship with the team) that game will light up the home plasma, too.

So, unless the Sept. 27 game against the Seattle Seahawks gets nationally telecast because swine flu wipes out the remaining NFL schedule, we will be soaking up beers at our favorite bar spot at Jillians. Ditto for the Oct. 4 blowout of Detroit. There's a bye week Oct. 11 and then we are back in front of the plasma for the Sunday night romp against Atlanta. Oct. 18.

The rest of the schedule:

• Oct. 25, outside chance to watch the Bengals game on the home plasma.
• Nov. 1, home plasma against the Browns, again.
• Nov. 8, Arizona, Jillians.
• Nov. 12, home plasma, Thursday night game against Mike Singletary's Youngstown-Debartolo-owned 49'ers.
• Nov. 22, home plasma, Eagles, Sunday Night Football.
• Nov. 29, Jillians, Viqueens.
• Dec. 6, Eric's birthday, St. Louis, Jillians.
• Dec. 13, Wisconsin team, Jillians.
• Dec. 20, the real Cleveland team, the Ravens, Jillians.
• Dec. 28, home plasma, Viqueens, Monday Night Football.
• Jan. 3, Detroit, Jillians.

Then we have the various playoff games, all nationally televised. And, finally, Super Bowl XLIV on Feb. 7, 2010 which, unfortunately, returns to the site and broadcast station of Super Bowl XLI: Miami and CBS.

But, wait, before you fuss: Maybe it's best to return to the scene of that unfortunate Rex Grossman flailing bad passes in the Purple Rain (Prince! Don't forget that horrible Prince!) if only to have the Rev. Jay Cutler exercise that demon from our souls.

Eh?

And the circle is complete...

Anyway, with the potential of 10 games in the comfort of our cool home, this season is gonna be great! Who knows: If the Bears get hot, with late-season flex scheduling, poor Jillians might go broke!

More later,

Mark

Last Day At The Beach

2009-08-22T08:03:00.003-05:00

On the evening of our last full day of the beach, we shot this little video:

This has been a truly wonderful week on the Atlantic Ocean. We had sun every day and spent a lot of time reading and relaxing on the resort deck. I finished two Grisham novels ("The Last Juror" and "The Broker") and mastered Madden '09 on the PSP. Now, I need Madden 10.

Many stories to tell, but we gotta hit the beach and then decide what to do with 120,000 points at the arcade...

More later,

Mark

Letting My Geek Flag Fly

2009-08-12T21:30:00.002-05:00

On Saturday, several hours before the whole Jon Favreau/"Iron Man 2" episode, my inner fanboy had a remarkable time as substitute guest/co-host of veteran Vindicator columnist Betram de Souza's Saturday morning radio show, The Valley's Talkin'.

Our topic was ostensibly about comic books' impact on popular culture, but we had a great guest, Youngstown's own talented artist and writer Chris Yambar.

Learn all about Chris here:

Yambar.Com

You can find Chris' work on the comic racks right now:

Bertram is terrific and a lot of fun to work with on Saturdays whenever his regular co-host, Doc Binning, takes a show off. However, he is not a comic book expert. I sent him home with "The Dark Night Returns" as homework.

The show was also captured on video by the talented Web genius Katie Libecco for Vindy.com. You can watch the video here:

More later,

Mark

Mr. Sweetwood, For The Defense

2009-08-10T18:53:00.003-05:00

My respectful letter in response to Marvel's attorney's cease and desist order:

Michael:

Thank you for your letter.

As a long-time customer and supporter of Marvel Entertainment, it certainly was not my intent to infringe upon Marvel's copyright. To the contrary, I think the various fan sites on the Internet do much to build Marvel's brand and keep it relevant and economically viable in the marketplace.

Certainly, marketing efforts, like the one prior to "Spiderman 3" in which Marvel Entertainment encouraged fans to build blogs and Web sites featuring preview clips from that film, introduced many of us to different ways to freely distribute popular film works via social networking.

The majority of the 9,500 views of the "Iron Man 2" trailer embedded on my site came directly as a result of the various retweeting of my original Twitter message to director Jon Favreau. His support of fan interest for this film is as innovative as it is absolutely admirable and I think it separates the Marvel brand from its competitors. Do what you must to protect your brand, but I would caution against doing so in ways that will negatively impact your core of loyal customers.

Per your request, the embedded clip of "Iron Man 2" that was shown at the San Diego Comic Con has been deactivated from www.marksweetwood.blogspot.com.

For your further information, my site's "Fair Use Policy" can be found here:
http://marksworlddisclaimer.blogspot.com

Please contact me if I can be of any additional service.

Very truly yours,

Mark

A fascinating 48 hours, for sure...

More later,

Mark

It's All Fun and Games Until The Lawyers Get Involved

2009-08-10T10:04:00.006-05:00

Not sharing director Jon Favreau's adventuresome excitement over Internet fan interest of "Iron Man 2" are the attorneys representing the Merry Marvel Marching Society (MMMS):

Sent Via E-Mail: Marksweetwood@aol.com

August 10, 2009

Attn: Mark Sweetwood

Re: NOTICE AND TAKE DOWN

Dear Mr. Sweetwood:

Marvel Entertainment, Inc. and its affiliates and subsidiaries (collectively, “Marvel”) are the owners of the copyrights, trademarks and other intellectual property rights to the Iron Man 2 movie, including its footage and characters, among other things, and such rights are protected under the law worldwide.

The Iron Man 2 movie trailer available on your website at:
(http://marksweetwood.blogspot.com/2009/08/iron-man-2-sneak-peek.html), contains video, audio, images and likenesses of the Iron Man 2 movie that are being used without Marvel’s consent and infringes upon Marvel’s copyrights and other intellectual property rights. Please remove this content from your website immediately.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter, my contact information is as follows:

Michael Sapherstein
Deputy General Counsel
Marvel Entertainment, Inc.
417 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Fax: (646) 403-3177
msapherstein@marvel.com

I have a good faith belief that use of the copyrighted materials described above is not authorized by Marvel, its agent or the law.

I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the above information in this notification is accurate and that I am, or am authorized to act on behalf of, the owner of the exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.

Please act expeditiously to remove the material identified and contact me at
msapherstein@marvel.com if you have any questions. Please also provide me with the number of downloads and/or plays this movie trailer received.

Marvel reserves the right to take all available remedies available at law and in equity to protect its interests, and nothing in this letter shall be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of any rights or remedies available to it.

Sincerely,

Michael Sapherstein

Animal Stories

2009-08-09T21:00:00.003-05:00

(Cue: wolf howl)

It's time once again for "Animal Stories" with me, your charming and delightful ol' Uncle Mark, and you, little snot-nosed reader.

Hello reader.

Saturday night we were on the phone with my sister, Karen when Mary noticed the cats were agitated by something they were watching from our large picture window off of the living room. That window faces our backyard.

She looked out the window and exclaimed something like "Oh my god, there's a deer right by the house!"

What a gut-wrenching nightmare, little reader. I grabbed the camera and that's when we noticed the second deer.

Now I shot this picture through the sheers that cover that window:

That's the fawn that the neighbors had told us about a few weeks ago, little reader. As we watched, the big doe emerged from the side of the house.

I began to slide open the screen door off the dining room to shoot (a picture of) momma, who had closed to within a few feet of our deck. As I got the door open, she stopped and stared at me.

She stomped the ground, snorted a warning and then she and the fawn took off to the woods near neighbor Tony's yard. It was an amazing adventure, little reader. Yes, I am sure the deer are going to be alright...

In other animal news, it appears the owl has moved on. Coincidentally, or not, I saw the first gopher in several weeks scampering away as I was mowing today.

That's gonna do it for today's "Animal Stories." For those who have no idea what "Animal Stories" used to be, I share this clip of the once-charming and delightful ol' Uncle Lar and his sidekick, little snot-nosed Tommy.

More later,

Mark

And Now, The Rest Of One Fanboy's Story...

2009-08-08T22:58:00.003-05:00

DIRECTOR JON FAVREAU AND TWO "IRON MAN" CAST LOOK-ALIKES

So, Saturday afternoon, I was waiting for Mary to get home from work and doing some Web surfing. At this site, I stumbled into something I have sought for weeks:

WorstPreviews.Com

Yes, the clips from "Iron Man 2" that director Jon Favreau and cast had shared at the recent San Diego Comic Con. Some cool fanboy had apparently captured most of it on a cell phone and it had finally found its way to the Internet

What's more, the site allowed me to embed the clip so within minutes it was a part of Mark's World.

It was pure happenstance, but at about that exact moment, from the TweetDeck, I could see that Favreau (@Jon_Favreau on Twitter) had just tweeted to his many followers (I am one).

"Thanks for filling me in about the leaked Comic Con trailer online. I'm told it's not up anymore. Did anyone see it? Thoughts?"

So, I took a chance that he would not be pissed off that I just embedded purloined images from his film that won't be released for another nine months and tweeted directly to him:

"@Jon_Favreau I was blown away, especially by (Garry) Shandling! It's gonna be a long nine months, man! Just embedded it: http://tinyurl.com/n9o9yr"

Now, what happened next must stand as some testament to the confidence of someone as talented as Favreau.

He retweeted my tweet to his 120,000-plus followers.

Boom. Mark's World was on fire.

The next thing I know, the counter on my blog goes crazy. I had more than 1.200 visits in the next hour. Almost as many in the next.

Now, in about four years, Mark's World had amassed – if such a term can even apply – a little more than 17,000 unique visits. In just a couple hours, we had about 6,000 more. Then e-mails started. And new Twitter followers joined. And more messages came in and were retweeted. Comments arrived at the Web site.

"Very cool that you embraced @sobeditor embedding it, Jon. VERY cool," one person tweeted. "Thanks for the embed @sobeditor," another followed.

It was amazing. There is so much positive energy for this movie and for the folks behind it.

On his Twitter page Favreau was getting a lot of feedback from those who had just viewed his work on Mark's World. Within a couple of hours, he posted:

"Thanks for all the encouraging feedback. Will let you know if/when official clean version goes up."

Now, this all has been a blast. But in surfing for a quality photo to use with this post, I came across this enlightening article from The Washington Post:

'Iron Man 2' Director Jon Favreau Shares Twitter Aims

The article explains: "Sure, Favreau's Twitter account has lots of intra-celeb chatter. But there are also the "Iron Man 2" responses that he says allow him pure, unfettered access to fans' thoughts and opinions."

There ya go: He's a smart guy and one heckuva director. And this fanboy is solidly in his corner and very appreciative that he allowed me to share in a small part of all of the "Iron Man 2" hoopla.

I cannot wait to see it. The next nine months are gonna take forever...

More later,

Mark

I Have Been Totally Ready For Some Football For Months!

2009-08-07T22:57:00.001-05:00

And just because you've been thinking about it, too:

Super Bowl Bound Bears!

More later,

Mark

MyMovieMoment.com

2009-08-07T22:20:00.002-05:00

Here's another clip from the fine folks at MyMovieMoment.com. It's me as "Robocop."

Enjoy!

More later,

Mark

A Wonderful Wedding

2009-08-07T21:59:00.004-05:00

Mary and I had a great time last weekend during a trip to the latest family wedding. First, we picked up her mom in Corning, N.Y. where I was able to score some great Market Street Bewing Co. beer. Then, the three of us headed to the Scranton, Pa. area for the wedding of Deanna DePietro and Chris Lemoncelli.

It was great seeing everyone again. Deanna has great taste: Chris is a Chicago Bears fan. The entire trip, whenever at least three guys got together, the talk was all about football... At Mary's godmother's house. At Mary's best friend's party. At the wedding...

Football season is coming...

Anyway, here are some of the photos we took (and Mary did an excellent job helping with the captions):

Amanda DePietro, maid of honor, comes down the aisle of St. Patrick's Church, Olyphant.

The newly married couple, Deanna and Chris, exit the church.

Mary and her Aunt Eliza (Isabella) at the reception.

Mary's cousins, Linda Walsh and Terri Valvano.

Aunt Eliza (foreground) shows the youngsters you are never too old to hit the dance floor.

Proud papa, Henry DePietro, dances with his daughter Amanda.

Cousin Frank Amato snapped this pic of me and Mary.

The aforementioned Frank Amato and his lovely wife Mary Ann.

Me and my favorite mother-in-law, Grace (Incoronata).

The reception was wonderful and featured that rarest of reception features these days: A live band! We were serenaded by classic rock hits all night long. A great time was had by all.

More later,

Mark

Turns Out...

2009-08-06T20:52:00.003-05:00

I was born in Kenya, too!

If you want to create your own fake Kenyan birth certificate, like some nutty "birther" broad tried to use to prove that President Obama was not born in Hawaii, just go here:

Kenyan Birth Certificate Generator

More later,

Mark

MyMovieMoments.com

2009-08-04T21:24:00.001-05:00

One More Nice Video From The Concert: Good Riddance!

2009-07-25T12:30:00.001-05:00

Mary found this on YouTube.com:

More later.

Mark

One More Pic!

2009-07-23T07:25:00.001-05:00

My best Green Day concert image that I e-mailed to myself late last night that for some Verizony reason didn't show up until after 8 a.m. Thursday morning....

More later,

Mark

The Reviews Are In!

2009-07-23T07:09:00.001-05:00

Check out what Pittsburgh's newspapers said about Green Day's performance at the Mellon Arena:

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

More later,

Mark

The Mellon Arena Set List

2009-07-23T06:56:00.002-05:00

Edit this setlist | More Green Day setlists

More later,

Mark