The last post of 2006.

I am getting over this cold or flu or whatever it was. I still have a cough, but it is easing up some. Heck of a way to end the last week of the year.

BG and I are taking it easy and staying home for the night. We had dinner out, then came home and took BlogHound for a long walk and watched some of the fireworks that were being set off in and around the neighborhood of the BlogCave. We just now finished watching “The Goonies” DVD that BlogPrincess let us borrow. The last time I watched this was about 20 years ago when my kids were 9 and 11 and I remember enjoying it with them so much.

My favorite character was, of course, “Sloth” Fratelli, the disfigured son/brother of the bad guys who, when he removed his coat, was wearing a Superman shirt underneath. “Sloth” was portrayed by the late John “Tooz” Matuszak, a former football star turned actor who stood 6′8″ and weighed 280 pounds. BG loved the part when Sloth and Chunk yelled out “Hey you guys!” and then imitated the scene from Captain Blood by sticking a knife in the pirate ship sail and sliding down to the deck. Matuszak would pass away a short 4 years after filming “The Goonies” from heart failure, most likely brought on by his party lifestyle.

2006 has been a good year for me. I got to take the first overseas trip in my life and visited Scotland and the city of London, my government and writing careers are progressing along, I’ve watched my grandson make great progress in his life and seen my granddaughter grow from a month old infant in January to a 1 year old toddler (yes, she’s walking) today and, despite every good reason to do so, BG hasn’t divorced me…yet. All in all, I’ve been a happy Masked Blogger.

Here’s wishing you and your loved ones a happy, prosperous, full of joy and progress 2007. May all your wishes for the coming year be fulfilled.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I’m lying here in bed in the BlogCave coughing my lungs up (oops, one just landed on the keyboard. Give me a second here to put it back in). At least I’m not suffering from the sore throat that felt like I must have swallowed hydrochloric acid and a nose that basically became a mucus faucet stuck on “open”, as I was for the previous 3 days this crap has been in my body.

We took down the Christmas decorations and tree today and got everything put back in the attic or hauled to the curb. That took about 2 hours and I was completely worn out the rest of the day. Slept about 5 hours in the afternoon and don’t have much of an appetite (good start for the upcoming diet/exercise program), but I’m not as achy feeling as I have been.

The required bed rest has given me a chance to read one of my Christmas gift books, Wally’s World, and I may even get to finish one more other book before the end of 2006.

Some sort of morbid curiosity (my friend Jenn will know about that particular kind of curiosity) made me half-sit, half-lie on the couch last night at 10pm watching the circus on CNN regarding Saddam Hussein’s execution. Commentators made the statement that “Hussein and his two co-conspirators were being hanged for their role in the 1982 Dujail massacre, in which 148 Iraqis were killed”.

That got me to thinking…the shrub and his two co-conspirators, Donald and Dick, are responsible for the deaths of almost 3,000 American soldiers and the wounding of tens of thousands more. That doesn’t count American contractors, soldiers from countries in the “coalition of the willing” (or their civilians who are in the country) or even the hundreds of thousands of Iraqi citizens who have been killed.

Is anyone suggesting they face a hangman’s noose?

I didn’t think so.

After kids and grandkids left the BlogCave on Christmas morning, BlogGirl and I proceeded to clean up the living room and kitchen and to check online for movies to go see. BG decided she wasn’t really in the mood for “Rocky Balboa” and we eventually settled on “Eragon” which was showing in the early afternoon.

However, as the time to leave to go to the movie theater draws nearer, the weather worsens and just as we would normally be getting into the BlogMobile, thunderstorms blanket the Orlando and Central Florida area. We decide to forego the movie theater trip and instead stayed in the BlogCave to watch a DVD I had given to BG for Christmas, “The Lake House” starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock in a story of love crossing time.

Of course the storm blew through quickly and just as we would have been sitting in a darkened theater to watch “Eragon”, the skies were clear and the sun was peeking through the window. So, later in the afternoon we ventured out to see the movie and then enjoy a meal at Bennigan’s afterward. The movie was “ok”; not great and not horrible, but to be fair I had a headache and (for some reason) was sleepy. Of course, “Eragon” opened at number 6 across the country over the weekend, so maybe “ok” is an accurate review.

Here’s what BlogGirl gave The Masked Blogger for Christmas:

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete First Season. This has been on my Amazon Wishlist for years, lol, waiting for the price to come down. I used to have all 7 seasons on VHS video tape (homemade by me with commercials edited out), but when I put this (and the remaining 6 seasons) on my wishlist, I started taping over the shows because I knew that one day I’d be getting all 7 seasons on DVD. Granted, the first season is not this series’ best (Roddenberry was supplying recycled scripts that he originally planned to use years earlier when he wanted to bring back the original Star Trek series, which never happened), but ya gotta have that first season.

Star Trek The Next Generation - The Complete Second Season. Same comment as above, with the exception that, while the stories improved in this season (but wouldn’t really hit their stride until the third season) I hated the replacement of Dr. Crusher.

Amazing Marvel Universe. This is a cool book because it is more than a printed book, it is also an audio book. The book includes 50 of the top happenings within the Marvel Comics universe over the years, with the added bonus of 45 minutes of commentary by the creator of many of the Marvel Universe characters (as well as being the former editor and publisher), Stan Lee.

A MetroBlog Logo Black Tee Shirt. Since I write for Orlando MetroBlog, I thought it would be neat to have one of these and mentioned it to BG a couple of months ago…then promptly forgot about it, so I was surprised to open a box and find this in it. Even more surprising is that this shirt only has the “MB” logo on it, not the word “MetroBlogging”. That means if I want to I can tell everyone the initials stand for Masked Blogger!

Frommer’s Best RV and Tent Campgrounds in the U.S.A. This is a great addition to my library. It’s a book I can use personally for locating camping locations when I go tent camping and one that I can use as a reference professionally for my other writing job. This is almost 1200 pages of site reviews, amenities, fees, photos, directions and maps of almost 5,000 RV and Tent Campgrounds in the continental United States.

Marvel Heroes 2007 Calendar. Every year BG gives me a calendar to hang in my office next to my desk. They are usually either Star Trek, Comic Book or fantasy artist-themed. Sometimes I point out one I would like in the days before Christmas and sometimes she surprises me. This year she really surprised me because she didn’t give me one! That’s right, I didn’t get this gift until the day after Christmas when we were walking through an office supply store and I saw the calendar display and exclaimed, “Hey! You didn’t get me a calendar this year!” It completely slipped her mind. We laughed and she let me pick this one out.

SanDisk Sansa e250 2GB MP3 Player. My newest toy. This one was really a surprise. BlogGirl said, “I wanted to ask you if you wanted one, but I knew you’d say you wouldn’t use it if I did, so I just got it knowing you would use it if you had it”. That’s why she’s my wife, she knows me so well. I can play audio files, video files, listen to FM radio and use it as a digital voice recorder. This might be fun to listen to when I’m hiking, though I usually prefer to listen to the sounds of nature around me…we’ll see. I know I’ll use it when walking for exercise. At least now I can look like all the kids that work in my office. Ok, I won’t really look like them, but I can have this hanging around my neck with the earbuds stuck in my ears like them.

I think that concludes my list of Christmas gifts this year. Now I just need to carve out enough time to enjoy them.

The Christmas Tree is still up, the lights still twinkling, the garland still draped decoratively and the ornaments still hanging ornately; but underneath, the tree is as bare Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard (with the exception of a million or two dead droppings dotting the wrinkled white sheet that was placed there for the very purpose of catching the necrotic needles).

Christmas Eve night we joined family members in meeting at BlogGirl’s parents’ home at 6pm for a dinner of turkey and all the trimmings with the usual visiting and catching up on each others’ lives, followed by the exchanging and opening of gifts. All the kids under 18 get a gift from everyone, while the adults 18 and older chose names from a hat back at Thanksgiving so that each person only has one adult to exchange one gift with at a $30 limit. This year I drew my brother-in-law Ed’s name and my brother-in-law Steve drew mine.

If I’ve done things correctly with Google’s Picasa application, there should be an album of photos here.

After the party, Mikey went to the BlogCave with us to spend the night, while BlogPrincess, Jason and Heather spent the night at Jeremy’s. Mikey, Grandma and I scattered reindeer food on the front lawn, left low fat milk and Oreo Chocolate Mint cookies on a plate in the dining room for Santa and then put ourselves to bed to await the arrival of St. Nick. When we awoke the next morning the cookies were gone, the milk was gone, but we couldn’t tell if the reindeer had eaten any of the food we left for them (last year one of the reindeer, Vixen, I think, dropped her bow in our front yard. This year she was more careful) though we think they did.

Soon BlogPrincess, Jason, Heather, Jeremy and Amber arrived and we proceeded to attack the mound of gifts under the tree like a swarm of locusts. It wasn’t pretty.

If I’ve done things correctly with Google’s Picasa application, there should be an album of photos here.

Here’s a list of the goodies The Masked Blogger received:

From my friends Kirk and Laura I unwrapped Superman Returns: The Complete Shooting Script. Now I won’t have to memorize the script from repeatedly watching the DVD anymore (though I’ll still watch it repeatedly). Thanks guys, this is an excellent gift.

From my wonderful in-laws 3 books from my Amazon Wishlist; Wally’s World: The Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Wally Wood, the World’s 2nd Best Comic Book Artist, Photo-Journal Guide to Marvel Comics Volume IV K-Z and Ultimate Spider-Man, Vol. 6. I am excited to get them all, but especially the Wally Wood book. I have been a long-time admirer of the late Mr. Wood’s artwork and look forward to reading more about his life and work. Thank you both so much!

From my brother-in-law Steve I received a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble with which I bought (on the day after Christmas) You: On A Diet: The Owner’s Manual for Waist Management, because I saw the author on Oprah a couple of months ago and was impressed with his “back to basics” advice and because I am turning into The Masked Porker and need to knock some weight off, and The Freelance Writer’s Bible: Your Guide to a Profitable Writing Career Within One Year, which has a wealth of good advice and some helpful insights into a freelance writing career. Thanks Steve, for giving me something that allowed me to get the gifts I needed.

From my friend Rebecca I received a HUGE (3 pounds!) bag of Peanut M&M’s. They are my favorite candy. The trick will be either eating them all before I start my diet on January 1st, or eating a very limited amount of them each day after. Thanks for the good eats, Rebecca.

My friends George and Caroline also gave me a gift certificate to Barnes & Noble (everyone knows my weaknesses; books and candy) and I bought (on the day after Christmas), The Everything Get Published Book: All You Need to Know to Become a Successful Author, another book with lots of helpful advice for the budding writer. Like my gratitude to Steve above, thanks guys for giving me something that allowed me to get the gift I needed and could use.

From my beloved Grandson Mikey I received a gift I will always treasure (though I did tell BlogGirl this morning that if I should die before he grows up she is to give it back to him to remember me by, because it is the first Christmas gift that he actually picked out on his own for me and insisted his mother buy it for him to give to me) and I am in the process of working out how it will be placed in my office. It is a Superman plush pillow doll, about 36 inches high and even has a cape! Thank you so much Mikey, for the thoughtfulness of your gift from the heart. Granddad loves you very much!

From BlogPrincess and Jason I was given more gifts from my Amazon Wishlist; the Photo Journal Guide to Marvel Comics Volume III A-J (the companion to volume IV that my in-laws, as mentioned above, had given me), Against The Grain: Mad Artist Wallace Wood (a second book on the late Mr. Wood that I wanted to read) and a really cool image of Superman, his logo name and his “S” emblem, all on a 12″ by 18″ inch piece of metal and distressed to mimic the flaking, chipping and fading that takes place on comic book covers. I’ve already hung that on my office wall under a drawing of me in a superhero costume that BP had a caricaturist at Pointe Orlando do of me several years ago. Oh! And a box of my favorite Christmas-time candy; chocolate covered cherries. Thank you both very much.

Tomorrow I’ll list the fantastic gifts I received from BlogGirl. See you then.

‘Twas the day before Christmas and all through the blog,
The Masked Blogger was bloated from too much egg nog!

Sometimes I wish they would outlaw the stuff, because I have no willpower when it comes to that sweet nectar of the gods. I have an unopened half-gallon in the refrigerator right now, yet I almost bought another when I was at Publix earlier this morning, “just in case”. Frankly, the only thing that stopped me was that our refrigerator is so full of holiday food that there really is no room for a single egg with which to make the nog.

As has become the norm lately, my schedule has been hectic and full. I received one of those typical “promotions” at work; more responsibility, more workload, same money. Worse than that, it has necessitated leaving the department I have headed for 18 months and the wonderful staff (still the best in the branch, as far as I’m concerned) I had the pleasure of serving with. On the other hand, I am looking forward to the challenges my new position will bring and the broadening of my knowledge base.

There have been very few moments of rest at home either, what with my new writing assignments, wrapping gifts, cooking food for the family dinner tonight at BlogGirl’s parent’s home, getting the BlogCave prepared for tonight and tomorrow morning, running errands that must be completed and driving 2 hours each way yesterday to visit BlogMom who is in the hospital with a severe UTI and dangerously low (so much so that she passed out) blood sugar. The good news is she is due to be released today.

As is our tradition, tomorrow, after the family has left and we have cleaned up the gift wrap debris and the breakfast mess, BlogGirl and I will hop in the Blogmobile and go see a movie. This year we have many choices, which has made the decision making process difficult. The first Christmas Day movie we saw was a Sylvester Stallone movie, “Daylight”, so I (being the traditionalist that I am) would like to see “Rocky Balboa”, but there are other movies that look good too, so we’ll see what we feel like tomorrow.

If you are a “24″ fan, you should watch this cute little Christmas video.

By the way, “24″ will air its season premiere on Sunday, January 14th, 2007. I’ll be getting home from the weekend camping trip with my father-in-law and 3 brothers-in-law that afternoon, so it will be a great homecoming.

And this video is fun to watch, even moreso if you have ever done voice-over or audio narration (the latter which The Masked Blogger has done in the past). Boy, does that bring back memories, lol.

Don’t forget, you can track Santa’s progress at NORAD’s site. Did you know that NORAD (formerly CONAD) got the idea for offering such a service because of a 6 year old who dialed a wrong number looking for Santa? It’s true.

“The tradition began after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. store advertisement for children to call Santa on a special “hotline” included an inadvertently misprinted telephone number. Instead of Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations, Colonel Harry Shoup, received the first “Santa” call on Christmas Eve 1955.”

However you celebrate the season, from here in the BlogCave I’d like to wish you a Happy Holiday. Have fun, enjoy family and friends and above all, be safe out there.