Mary took the boys out to the park to play some basketball this week and got some great photos of the boys working on their hoops skilz!

Will only grunted but we're pretty sure he was saying, "Holy four-fingered hand that rim is high!"...even if it is only an 8-foot rim.

Drew getting ready for his two and one-handed jump shots.

Check out Drew's jump shot and the air he's getting! He's already got the same vertical leaping ability of his father. And, look at that follow through...the kid's got potential. (Great camera work by Mama.)

Great Quotations III

The random quotes in the left-hand column have grown to twenty-seven. I previously posted the first thirteen and then the next eight, and below are the latest six (I count two on the superiority of a small government as one):

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."
- John Stewart Mill, British philosopher

"Opposition to the war in this country is the greatest single weapon working against the U.S."
- Richard Nixon, 1966

"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one."
- Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776
"That government is best which governs least."
- Thomas Jefferson - Thomas Paine

"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
- Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, 1776

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."
- Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, 1776

"If any group of citizens is uniquely unqualified to tell someone else how to vote, it’s those of us who live in the sheltered, privileged arena of celebrityhood...the idea of choosing the Leader of the Free World based on the advice of someone who lives in the cloistered world of stardom seems a bit loony to me."
- Pat Sajak, Wheel of Fortune Host, 2007

After all the Thanksgiving turkey, it was time to burn off some calories so we were off to play in the Chicago fall leaves!

Drew found himself a comfy spot in a pile of fall foliage.

After we were all done playing, Will drew the short straw and had to rake up.

For Thanksgiving the four of us drove to Chicago to be with Ma Danz and Aunt Donelda…11 hours, 15 minutes, there and 13 hours back.

Donelda out did herself with a flawless Thanksgiving dinner.

Aunt Donelda and Drew enjoying their pumpkin pie. Drew's not a big pumpkin pie fan, but he didn't let it get in the way of him enjoying the whip cream. Will, however, being the chow-hound that he is, downed a ton a pumpkin pie!

Grandma Danz with her grandsons Drew and Will. A picture of the main course after the jump.

The picture doesn't begin to show how delicious everything was. I could literally have the same meal forever and never get tired of it. Besides a fifteen pound turkey, Donelda fixed (clockwise), stuffing, bread (the only thing not from scratch), candied yams, corn casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans. There was also cranberries but which, in keeping with tradition, I passed on.

This is the third year in a row that I've posted a Thanksgiving cartoon, perhaps it is the start of tradition.

2006 - The Truth About Turducken
2005 - Sesame Street Surprise

Thanks to Uncle David, the Star Wars Celebration IV post is finally complete with 73 photos from the May '07 festivities (up from a mere 24).

It took a while, but it was a lot of work photoshopping the pics (my job) and researching all the characters and where they appeared (David's job). Thanks David!

100 years ago today, Oklahoma became a state. Happy birthday Oklahoma!

I had plans to do a more extensive post...but no time. Here's to another 100 years...maybe Drew or Will will be around to see it.

A new and improved version of "What American Accent Do You Have?" is out and now with result mapping. Last time my accent was described as "The Midland." This time, I'm "Neutral":

Having grown up in the Chicago suburbs, far enough away from Wisconsin not have a northern influence, I would say the quiz is still spot on and confirms the fact that I do not have an accent.

What American accent do you have?

[Update #1:] Mary scored a "Neutral" too, so maybe there's hope for the boys to not have too much of a southern drawl.

[Update #2:]

Donelda scored a "Northern - That could either be the Chicago/Detroit/Cleveland/Buffalo accent (easily recognizable) or the Western New England accent that news networks go for."

To everyone who has served...an unqualified, whole hearted, completely inadequate, thank you.

Today we all went to see the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricanes play the University of Houston Cougars at TU's Skelly Field/Chapman Stadium, the last game before a $20 million renovation begins. Coming into the game Tulsa was 6-3 (4-2 in league) while Houston was 6-3 (5-1 in league). Houston would have clinched the West Division of the Conference USA with a win today. But it was not to be.

It was Senior Day and Tulsa's senor quarterback, Paul Smith #12, had the game of his life in a 56-7 blowout of Houston. Smith threw for 313 passing yards with 5 touchdown throws and, on a 37 yard pass in the third quarter to Dion Toliver #15, Smith broke the single-season passing record with 3,496 yards, broke the career-passing record with 9,367 yards and tied the record for most touchdown passes in a single season with 34. Paul Smith left the field, his last home game for TU, with a standing ovation.

Tulsa held Houston scoreless 56-0 until late in the fourth quarter when Houston scored their only touchdown against Tulsa's 2nd sting.

Here you can see wide receiver Jesse Meyer #84 about to make a catch; running back Tarrion Adams #25 on the run; quarterback Paul Smith #12 making a handoff to running/defensive back Dillon Brumbugh #23; and punter Paul Jurado #48 holding for place kicker Jarod Tracy #29 who was a perfect 8 for 8 for the day (49 out of 50 for the season).

We even got to see a handsome young man propose to his cheerleading future bride...she said yes. One of the reasons we attended today was that Aunt Catherine is on the University of Tulsa Dance Team, but she is out with an injury and unable to perform.

Click "Continue reading" to see a multi-photo stop-motion breakdown of a successful play by TU.

Finally, at some point I put the camera on continuous shooting and caught a nice sequence of photos showing the anatomy of a football play. Click the photo for a larger popup showing the ball in the air on the snap, quarterback Paul Smith #12 fake handoff to running back Tarrion Adams #25, the handoff to running back Dillon Brumbugh#23 and his progress up the line behind some textbook blocking. It's interesting to focus on different players throughout the sequence to see how everyone carries out their own individual task and how it all comes together to accomplish a desired collective goal. Teamwork in action!

Ma, Pa, Aunt Catherine and Uncle David came over tonight to help celebrate Drew's fourth birthday.

After a homemade dinner prepared by Mary, Drew got to blow out the candles on his "4" cake.

There was plenty of cake and ice cream for everyone, including little Will.

After dessert, it was time to read cards and open presents! We were all so exhausted from work and parties and preparation that we completely forgot to take a group photo...AAARRRGH! We'll have to get a group shot next time we are all over at Ma and Pa's. Thank you to everyone who sent in gifts and helped to make Drew's birthday extra special.

Today Drew turned four!

After dinner, we had a small celebration at home, just the four of us, with a little cake Drew picked out by himself at the grocery store.

After cake and ice cream, we opened presents and Drew even got to chat with Aunt Donelda while he opened one of his presents.

While everyone was eating cake, Drew said that his brother Will was one and that he was four. I asked Drew how much 4 + 1 was and he responded with great authority that it was 5. I then followed up by asking what 2 + 2 + 0 was and Drew responded with a smile 4. Next, Drew counted backwards from 10, counted to 10 by 2s "that's easy," spelled "stop," spelled "Drew," spelled his bothers name, recited our phone number and Daddy's cell number and then proclaimed, "now I want to open presents." Video to be added later.

Tonight we belatedly celebrated Pa's 62nd birthday.

Drew and Will helped their Pa blow out his candles. Interestingly, the cake had a series of fingerprints in the icing almost as if some small fingered person kept tasting the sugary topping. But even under intense interrogation, no one cracked, it will forever remain a mystery who did it!

It was an absolutely perfect day today; 70 degrees, no wind, not a cloud in the sky. After lunch, we all headed out to the backyard for some t-ball.

Drew is just a week shy of 4 years and has mastered keeping his eye on the ball.

Will is just 15 months old and while Drew, mom and dad were distracted doing something else, Will picked up a bat, put a ball on the tee and whacked it right off. We grabbed the camera and got some video of him doing it again but, of course, it's never as good as the one you miss.

YouTube version after the jump.

The other day I was watching a "news" program on television with three liberal talking heads -- they didn't even bother to have a token conservative or independent. The three pundits were all mocking Hillary for taking both sides of every issue she confronts. They were joking and laughing and pointing out instance after instance where she said one thing and a few months or even just a few minutes later, said the exact opposite. The thing that amazes me, all three will likely vote for her in the primary and certainly vote for her in the general election. I just don't understand.

Click to enlarge - Michael Ramirez.

Throughout history candidates have always been weasely and avoided taking stands on issues. But, never in history has there been a candidate who has come down so solidly on one side, only to come down on the other side later on. To the people that support Hillary Clinton: do you know, I mean really truly know, what she stands for? I think deep down inside, without any external influences, she is a Marxist. But, I wouldn't bet the house on it. Again, to the people that support her, name something that you believe Hillary Clinton absolutely truly stands for, something that is at the core of her beliefs. Health care? Abortion? Whatever t