My parents and Mary's Mom, Grace, enjoyed (we hope!) an early holiday this past weekend at our home.
As you can see above, Dad read by the glow of our vintage 1965 Sears Roebuck and Co. seven-foot aluminum tree. Don't believe it glows? Check it out:
Wow! You probably now need sunglasses to continue to look at your computer screen! What makes it glow so? About 800 lights and a multitude of kitschy ornaments from our wacky, yet beloved, collection. Like these:
My parents basked in our tree's awesomeness:
Now, we have more pictures to share but many of the pictures feature gifts that are similar to gifts that have yet to arrive at other locations, so those pictures will be delayed for a week or so. Needless to say, in the great Sweetwood tradition, drinks were consumed (including champagne), feasts were prepared by Mary and cool gifts were exchanged.
I got this fantastic jacket:
Grace got some cool earrings:
We had a great time! It was terrific enjoying some early holiday cheer with the parents!
OK, Tuesday would have been a fun day to be editor of an Illinois newspaper, covering the fourth prison-bound governor of the past eight. And here is the way such an obscene story should be covered:
All of your old friends are there waiting for you there including "Hardrock, Coco and Joe," "Suzy Snowflake" and George Bailey and the entire "It's a Wonderful Life" gang.
Here he is from a couple months ago when he visited us in beautiful Ohio:
That's him hooking up with Batman's Lee Meriwether. We had an awesome weekend together with my great friend Brad Keefauver.
I can hardly believe it was five year's ago that Karen, Bud, Mary and I pulled off his surprise 40th birthday party at Fat Jack's in Bloomington, Ill. An amazing amount of changes have taken place in five years. Yikes.
I am extremely fortunate to have such a terrific brother and a friend like Eric. As we've grown up, we have developed as many similar interests as we have differences (he is finally mature enough to begin to admit that DC sucks and Marvel rules). We still spend a chunk of every Sunday on the phone during Bears games celebrating and/or sympathizing with each other. And we both like our beer.
More importantly, we both like to laugh and appreciate each other's sense of humor whenever we get together.
Have a great day, Eric! Maybe we'll throw you another party at 50!
Mary is almost done with the second bathroom renovation project here at our awesome new Boardman home.
When we first saw the house, it was hard not to be captivated by the basement bathroom. For one, it was a full bathroom and three full bathrooms seemed a bit much (although cool) for two people. Secondly, the wallpaper featured a newspaper motif. Now, even to two old newspaper fiends, this struck us as a bit over-the-top and shortly after we redid the master bathroom, Mary vowed to overhaul the basement bathroom
So, this:
OLD LOOK
Was replaced by this:
NEW LOOK
Mary redid everything from the walls to the ceiling to the floor. I was the chief financier and pounded in floor molding and did the electrical work (Mary even did the plumbing). She did an amazing job!
OLD VANITY AND SINK
NEW LIGHT AND SINK
I am so proud of her I even captured her plumbing:
MARY THE PLUMBER!
Now, I shot the sink area before we added the mirror so that you'd be able to see something other than me taking pictures of a new bathroom. The next project: The Orbit Room!
• Back⋅ward [bak-werd] –adverb Also, backwards. 1. toward the back or rear.
• For⋅ward [fawr-werd] –adverb Also, forwards. 1. toward or at a place, point, or time in advance; onward; ahead: to move forward; from this day forward; to look forward.
They are not the same.
More later,
Mark
P.S. Thanks to the fine folks at Dictionary.com for helping me help Devin.
While watching us watching the Bears watch Gus Frerotte throw a 99-yard pass past Charles "Toasted and Dry Roasted Peanuts" Tillman, Sammy crawled into the last remaining nook and/or cranny that he has yet to explore.
For the record, the hit on Frerotte from behind was just as clean as the hit out of bounds Kyle Orton sustained when he got his ankle sprain. Neither play resulted in a flag...
With the help of mother-in-law Grace, we transformed our mod house into a cool yule abode.
This year's decorating lessons: I learned how to use a masonry drill bit, how not to buy a wreath at Lowes and how not to throw a fit in Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts because no one thought to put the bows near the wreaths that you were forced to buy because the Lowes wreath was stupid.
Instead of making you imagine how the house will look during a fierce Ohio snow storm, I have taken the liberty to augment the photo below:
I am busy today helping crafty shoppers prepare for the big Black Friday shopping day tomorrow over at my blog at The Vindicator's web site. You can find it here:
Those handy reference guides to our most awkward eras.
Someplace in my vast collection of useless stuff, I have all of my old high school, yearbooks. Since the senior one is 30 years old, I don't see any reason to drag it out and get all depressed about wasted youth.
And hair. My long, lost, beautiful hair...
Sigh...
However, one funny Web site is allowing you to take any current picture of yourself or a friend (or enemy) and transform that picture into a very realistic (not to mention scary) yearbook photo from different eras.
Check it out:
ME IN THE 1950'S
I think I would have fit in with Wally and the Beaver.
ME IN 1976
I was a sophomore in high school in 1976 and I think my hair was a lot like this.
ME IN 1978
This was the year I graduated. My hair was not anything like this. It was more like Peter Brady's.
Our weekend spanned about 900 miles and four generations.
We traveled to visit family in Ottawa, Ill. where I grew up from 1969 until I left for college in 1978 (though I did a stint there after college from 1982 to 1984, too).
My parents had flown in from Florida to visit their great-grandson Kaleb Nimke, the five-month-old son of my niece Angela and her husband Fred. So, my brother Eric and his friend, Jen, came up from Normal, Ill. and Mary and I gave the Kia Sportage a 900-mile workout to join the family.
It was quite the whirl-wind trip: We departed at about 6 p.m. Friday and arrived at our hotel about seven hours later. Saturday we got to meet Kaleb in person and Saturday night my sister Karen and my brother-in-law Bud fed us a delicious ham dinner.
Like all families, we have a lot of fun whenever we get together and we laughed a lot. My sister, who demanded I take down the picture of her in cat-glasses that adorned this site a couple of weeks ago, is such a sweet person, and she always makes me laugh (usually, quite by accident).
It turns out, she still owned those cat-glasses! Though, because of the many, many years that have gone by since her youth, they were crumbling. That made us all laugh even harder.
Kaleb is pure joy. He is a happy little guy and full of smiles and hugs. And we finally got to see Angela and Fred's house that they are refurbishing. It is an amazing project and just as impressive as the sweat equity are the many wonderful pictures of both Kaleb and his older brother, Hunter throughout their home.
We got up early Sunday morning and shot back across Illinois, Indiana and Ohio to arrive at Jillian's in just five hours and 50 minutes. We missed just a bit of the first quarter of the Bears-Packers game, although it would have been fine if we had missed the whole thing, as it turned out.
Anyway, here are some pictures from our great weekend:
HERE ARE ANGELA, FRED AND KALEB.
THE ENTIRE GANG, SANS MARY THE PHOTOGRAPHER, GET READY TO DEVOUR HAM.
ANGELA AND KAELB...
...GREAT UNCLE MARK AND KALEB...
...GREAT-GRANDMA AND KALEB...
...GREAT GRANDPA AND KAELB...
...GREAT UNCLE ERIC AND KALEB...
...KAREN AND KALEB...
...MARK, MARY AND KALEB.
As it turned out, we took a lot of photos of Kaleb... It was a fun-but-exhausting weekend!
One more clip from Batman as my way to boast that between The Adam West/Batman event and politics, Mark's World has never had more visitors!
Plus, those old WWF(E) wrestlers are apparently on a world tour and every time someone googles "Honky Tonk Man" in Germany or China, they are showing up here to view the pics shot by yours truly.
October was a record month and the first week in November was equally impressive.
Thanks for stopping by! And a special shout out to those who return!
Editor Todd Franko used one of our nifty video cams to capture Election Night '08 behind the scenes in The Vindicator newsroom. Here's what it kinda looked like...
Our talented Designer Dan edited the video down to about six minutes (which still contains way too much of me). In watching it, I was struck once again by how many smart people work at the Vindy. A lot of talented people contribute to the print and online news efforts.
... to your offer to help bring credibility to journalists. Perhaps you should begin bringing credibility to politicians with a zeal for designer clothes.
This does make me laugh, however...
Please, Sarah, understand that you only served as a 60-odd-day joke that began "Two old miserable, conservatives named Limbaugh and Dobson walked into John McCain's campaign and warned him that if he picked Lieberman, Pawlenty or Ridge as his running mate there would be a floor fight at the Republican convention and that fracas would extend deep into the election season and end with conservatives staying home on election day..."
Ba-dum-bah.
Now, go back to Alaska and let us never hear from you again...
It was an exciting night in the newsroom as U.S. Sen. Barack Obama was elected the 44th president of the United States.
The Vindicator team was busy on both Web and print fronts and the results of our ambitious plan were pretty amazing. The night for the editors ended when we set and e-mailed the news assignments for the Wednesday day shift at about 2 a.m.
I went home, got caught up on some TV coverage, had a beer and am about to go to bed.
I am going in to work at about noon and I told Mary that I had no idea when on Wednesday morning I'd be home. The Vindicator has an ambitious game plan for print and Web featuring a couple of late press runs and video stand ups in the newsroom on top of the typical election fare. If you want to know how Ohio is going, check out:
Meanwhile, I do have some early election results for the great state of Ohio:
As you can see, it is too early to call...
Mary and I voted a couple of weeks ago. After hearing there could be problems for new voters in Ohio, we decided it was best to vote early. I'd rather try and resolve any issues 10-days out then on Election Day. As it turns out, it was a breeze.
So, regardless of how you vote today, just get out there and demonstrate that democracy works and vote!
If you see Karen Roth in the next day or two, ask her: What is 51 minus 48?
Three!
My three-year older sister hit the big 5-1 Sunday and she doesn't look at day over ... well, YOU be the judge:
It hardly seems like it was an entire year ago that we all conspired to surprise her as she celebrated her 50th birthday. This year, for her 51st, she celebrated it quietly with her daughter, Angela and the new grandbaby, Kaleb. It was not as grandiose as a year ago, but something tells me she enjoyed it just as much...
Me? I still remember her as a mixed up kid back in Kankakee, Ill.
Shameless plug: The Vindicator gives readers a taste today of how other media has portrayed the importance of Youngstown area voters in terms of the Campaign Trail '08 and you can find it right here:
A long clip from Wednesday's "The Daily Show" features the insipid "Joe the Plumber" and the his views on international affairs that will make you, at first, laugh, and then, tremble with fear that the McCain-Palin campaign has put such a dimwit on the campaign trail. Joe's views on Barack Obama are so incredibly wrong-headed that Fox News is forced to come to Obama's defense.
Fresh from his late-night appearance with Obama in Kissimmee, Bill Clinton hits town today for a campaign appearance. And our staff will provide pool coverage for John McCain's Youngstown appearance on "Good Morning America" Friday.
On Tuesday, Stephen Colbert interviewed Brian Moore, the Socialist Party candidate for president who, it turns out, does not back that "capitalist" Barack Obama. Shocking news (for the McCain campaign)!
Meanwhile in Youngstown, Ohio, the frenzy is getting whipped up as we hit the homestretch in Election '08. Tonight is the "Rock the Vote" concert featuring the Beastie Boys and Sheryl Crow and others at the Chevy Centre. Bill Clinton is here Thursday and John McCain will be live on Good Morning America a couple of blocks from The Vindicator office downtown Friday.
We know there will be more candidates and surrogates before Tuesday.
Well, it's a little dated (might be from last Halloween) but I hope you at least find the casting inspired in today's video
It's another ditty from the fine folks at Jib Jab who allow users to put various people's real heads into comical creations. For me, it's a perfect opportunity for all kinds of mischief...
Hence, this is my attempt to combine Election Week with Halloween, two of my most favorite times of the year...
We took advantage of the Bears bye week to tear out a toilet and take new pictures of Sammy. He seems to grow a couple of inches every day and he's already learned to beg for treats like his brothers/mentors Louie and Clyde. He's into EVERYTHING which makes it kinda fun ... for Mary.
Above, he's modeling for us in preparation for one of his many, famous, long naps. Below, we caught him in midst of one of his famous, long naps clutching one of his favorite toys.
That toy mouse has seen a lot of the house as Sammy carries him from room to room. Usually, he piles all of his toys on our bed, for reasons we cannot comprehend.
The other night he was upstairs with us in the bedroom when he decided he needed to use the litter box. So, he grabbed his mouse, ran downstairs, did whatever he had to do and then came back, still clutching the mouse. We presumed he had put the mouse down to use the litter box because to imagine anything else made us feel yucky.
Regardless of the politics, it's kind of fun watching Ron Howard dig deep into his acting roots to pull off reprisals of his "The Andy Griffith Show" and "Happy Days" roles. Of course he needed the help of Andy Griffith and Henry "The Fonz" Winkler. And both he and the Fonz needed the help of some wigs and makeup (although ol' Ang seems pretty au natural).
So, if you wanna catch up with Opie Taylor and Richie Cunningham, click above...
With all of the autographs we scored this weekend, we've augmented the old Celebrity Wall of Fame from the old Illinois Rat Pack Bar with cool new folks for a soon-to-be unveiled project.
Looking from left to right, from the top to the bottom, here's who is now featured for permanent display:
• Adam West and Yvonne Craig • Yvonne Craig • Burt Ward • Julie Newmar (in color) • Julie Newmar (in black and white) • Lee Meriwether • Malachi Throne • Noel Neill • Robert Vaughn • June Lockhart • Don Adams • Rose Marie (to block) • Steve Allen • Dawn Wells • Alan Young and Connie Hines
On hiatus are Jim Nabors, Robert Stack, Harry Morgan, Donna Douglass and Pat Priest.
Here's Adam "Batman" West discussing his role among 1960s icons during the Adam West Banquet which kicked off the Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention last weekend.
Of course, sadly, I missed shooting his "live" rendition of "The Adam West Song." Holy Amateur Videographer!
I found a couple of fan videos from this past weekend's Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention on YouTube.Com. Above, a group of Batmen pose for a picture with Catwoman. Below, the Batcopter takes off!
My sister Karen writes "I was really hoping for a photo of my 2 brothers reliving the good old days with bath towel capes safety-pinned around their necks!"
Well, here is the next best thing: Eric and I hanging out in the Rat Pack Tiki Bar after the Screaming Tiki event with our Bat-shirts on enjoying Bat-Tiki Punch.
Yes, that's me and Yvonne "Batgirl" Craig, during one of the many memorable moments from this weekend's Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention in nearby Niles, Ohio at the Eastwood Expo Center.
I am going to really let my geek flag fly today. This was my first-ever con (a fact that amazes long-time friend Brad who still maintains that I have done much weirder things) and I was literally a kid in a celebrity candy shop all day Saturday.
Some observations:
• Julie Newmar is wild! I could not tell whether she was in character or just a character in general. Unlike the other stars, she sat on her table and beckoned fans over. She even dared them. Here's the original Catwoman with Eric and me.
PURR-FECTLY PHOTOGENIC.
• Brad and I got to sit in the perfect recreation of the TV Batmobile. For $20, we also got a nice 8-by-10 of the moment that we pretended to drive the streets of Gotham City in search of evil-doers.
ATOMIC BATTERIES TO POWER! TURBINES TO SPEED!
• Adam West is funny and polite and accessible, which means he is everything that his manager Fred is not. Fred was the one person at the con who seemed to rub absolutely everyone the wrong way. Fans told me of how he interrupted conversations, of how he was rude to those taking pictures (including The Vindicator photographer), of his general kill-joy nature in general. But I will still always cherish the fun times with Adam.
WILD, WILD WEST
• The biggest bargain at the con was at Tiny Titans booth where genius artist Art Balthazar would do a drawing of you as any superhero for $1! He did me as the Incredible Mark Hulk, Eric as Batman and Brad as Kid Flash.
MARK SMASH!
Here are some other images from the day (many shot by Mary who, oddly, was not photographed at the event).
DANGER! DANGER! BRAD AND MARK MEET THE ROBOT!
BRAD MEETS MALACHI "FALSE FACE" THRONE ... OR DOES HE?
BRAD MEETS YVONNE "MARTA" CRAIG ... SECURING A STAR TREK AUTOGRAPH FOR HIS WIFE KATHY
ADAM TRIES TO KEEP UP WITH JULIE DURING A PANEL DISCUSSION
Actually, I have a snippet of video from the panel. Here, Julie has just complimented Adam as the best Batman ever and he returns the compliment...
Wow! Here's the Batmobile on the floor of the Eastwood Expo Center as the Screaming Tiki Comic and Pop Culture Convention is under way. We had a busy evening last night, so here are some pictures.
Brad, Eric, Mary and I attended the Adam West Banquet at the Avalon Inn Chop House. Here Adam is regaling the crowd with many of his stories, as Lee Meriwether looks on.
I got Adam West to sign "The Adam West Song!" The crowd went wild!
Back at the expo center, the Batcycle is on display...
...and the Batcopter was in front of stately Wayne Manor.
After dinner, I ran into Ms. Meriwether at the Superman 70th anniversary party...
...as well as the original, coolest and best Lois Lane, Noel Neill.
Were having a blast! There is a full day of fun ahead of us!
Even Keith Olbermann of MSNBC's "Countdown" has acknowledged this historic Bat-Week and on Wednesday he aired footage from Adam West's old "Batman" show which featured a debate between Batman and his arch-nemesis, The Penguin. Keith's point: Though about 40 years old, the clip sounded as if it could have plucked from debates today.
Worse, Burgess Meredith's Penguin sounds hauntingly like John McCain in recent weeks... "Wah!"
Anyway, Eric and Brad hit town today and will join Mary and me as we dine with Mr. West tonight. A full report will follow...
I finally found a version of "The Adam West Song" on YouTube.Com that won't get the producers of "Family Guy" all litigious.
But if Seth McFarland wants a piece of me, anyway, he can look me up... Bring it on, McFarland!
In a couple of days, I will get to hang out a bit with the guy who really was a big part of my early (and ongoing) childhood. The "Batman" television show was the first TV program that I remember having a big influence on Mark's World (along with the venerable Bozo's Circus). I was 6 years old in 1966 when the series launched and soon all the guys in the neighborhood were captivated. Moms pinned towel capes to our backs so we could run around like mini-superheroes before, during and after the show.
Batman posters covered the closets in my Kankakee, Ill. bedroom. I remember a fit in a store and crying that my Dad was a "cheapo" because he didn't buy me a GIANT Batman fan club button that I just HAD to have (of course, he HAD purchased it secretly and I feel like a heel for my fit to this day). I remember, too, a model of the Batmobile that my Dad and I built "together" (though I am guessing that he did the most work). I remember getting a set of Topps Batman cards when we were shopping at the grocery store. I was feeling the effects of the flu but I hung on without throwing up until we made the toy aisle and the cards were secured. Dad then had to clamp his large hand around my up-chucking mouth and carry me out of the store. I was sick the next day and home from school and my wonderful Mom served me 7-Up, saltines and let me spend the day enjoying those wonderful cards...
I still remember my first Batman comic book (Batman No. 194 from 1967, "The Blockbuster Goes Bat-Mad"). I remember the night Dad came home from work and presented me a Signet paperback featuring black-and-white reprints of the very first Batman comic book adventures from the 1940s. I read that book over and over even though my first- or second-grade brain could not process all of the words.
Now, the show was mostly fun for the fights and the improbable cliffhangers which forced us to wait one whole day to discover Batman and/or Robin would escape certain doom. Moms and Dads everywhere were kept mildly amused by the silliness, famous star villains and double-entendres. I am sure they also dreaded the marketing onslaught that carried over in every visit to nearly every store.
Batman was not just a TV show or a pop culture event or a marketing ploy, however. He epitomized goodness, valor, serving a purpose bigger than just mere existence. Bruce Wayne was a millionaire. He could do whatever he chose (or chose not) to do. He chose to try to make things better; to take a stand against very bad things.
I am sure that parents, the church, schools, Cub Scouts, etc., all wanted to impart that very lesson to me and my impressionable peers back in the mid/late-1960s. The problem is that the world was filled with other images of that era, like the Vietnam War, political assassinations, racial prejudice, etc.
Batman called out to our better natures. Sure, he'd throw a punch or two if provoked (especially in the seventh or eighth minute of the show or the 23rd or 24th minute) but he was also as inclined to solve mysteries with his mind or an innovative gadget.
He could out-smart you or out-fight you. But, he'd rarely raise his voice.
Speaking for Batman was Adam West who always was the image of calm resolve and effortless dignity, no matter the situation, even to the point of self-parody. Amazingly, that did not seem to bother him in the least. He appeared unflappable when called upon to involve himself in all kinds of silliness. Imagine that: A man in his 40's having all sorts of weird fun and taking it in stride...
I am sure the show was as much of an albatross as it was a blessing in terms of his acting career. But he, like Dad and Dick Butkus, was an early hero of mine and something compels me to meet him.
Maybe he enjoys appearing in places like Niles, Ohio or maybe he'll lash out at all the geeks and tell them (but, curiously, not me) to get lives a la William Shatner in that terrific Saturday Nigh Live parody. I have a feeling he has a terrific sense of humor and of himself, otherwise Seth McFarland would never have convinced him to take over as the mayor of Quahog.
And "The Adam West Song" would never have been sung...
The highlight of the show is a reunion of the stars from the old Batman TV show from the 1960's. Mr. West will be joined by Yvonne "Batgirl" Craig, Julie "Catwoman" Newmar, Lee "Movie Catwoman" Meriwether and a host of others.
Good friend Brad and brother Eric are driving in for the weekend which commences Friday with the "Adam West Banquet." We are hoping the people-watching and kitsch-buying will be sublime...
I wonder if he'll sing the Adam West song from "Family Guy" where he serves as mayor of Quahog?
As the week unwinds, I will regale you with tales of my infatuation with Batman while growing up. During the big weekend, video- and camera-willing, I hope to capture the fun during the convention when a frustrated Adam West slugs me for asking one-too-many times if I can borrow the keys to the Batmobile (which will be there along with the Batcycle and the Batcopter).
In case you missed Marty Booker's incredible catch from the Bears beat-down on the Detroit Lions Sunday, check this out:
We had a great time at Jillian's Sunday and capped the day off with some bowling! I haven't thrown a bowling ball for about 15-20 years (which my back and hips reminded me Monday morning). We really love this place! It's great place to watch the Bears ($2 for 23-ounce Buds and $3.99 for eight wings) and the staff is great.
On the homefront, the tree removal team showed up Tuesday to remove 11 trees. We spent last night stacking potential firewood (which my back and hips reminded me this morning) and it looks pretty bare out there but we are hopeful that the remaining trees (still about 20 overall on our property) will flourish.
I am just glad that the trees were taken out before the fall leaf bonanza!
A couple of e-mailers this past week wanted to know why I have not posted on the wonderful Chicago Cubs season and the prospects of a all-Chicago World Series...
Uhm, gentle readers, I have followed the Cubs since 1969...
Still, I know a source in Major League Baseball and he was kind enough to slide me some exclusive footage from Saturday nights Cubs-Dodgers game. Enjoy!
OK, that was kinda mean. But pretty predictable.
Me? Well, I had an interesting Friday. Todd Franko and I ducked out of work for about an hour to catch middleweight champ Kelly Pavlik spar in his gym as he prepares for his Oct. 18 bout against Bernard Hopkins in Atlantic City. Ever stand at ringside to watch a world champion spar just feet away? Me neither, until Friday. And with all due respect to the Cubbies, there's no comparison between the exhilaration of watching a champ prepare and watching the same athletic futility I've witnessed since I was 9 years old...
More later,
Mark
P.S. The fine folks at Jillian's convinced us Monday night to try them out for the Bears game, which is where we will be today...
