In Hoc Signo Vinces

Turns out, writing papers about French anti-Semetics and "sh*t" is a pretty good way to go.

Our Funny Valentine made dean's list this semester.

Her figure may be less than greek and her mouth a little weak but when she opens it speak, she's certainly smart.

Way to go, Smarty Pants!

Pomp and Circumstance

A big and hearty congratulations to my favorite professional student, the Cantabrigian.

Way to go on this your 3rd (? I kinda lost track around the end of your first year of law school) post-graduate degree.

Always a gentleman, perhaps no longer a scholar.

Now maybe you'll get a job like the rest of us.

Way to go, Smarty Pants.

Family Tradition

In the fall of 1970 my grandfather called my father, a senior in college, demanding to know just what he was doing up there and why he was, as Poppy put it, " pissing my money away."

I received a similar phone call from my father in the spring of 2001.

Yesterday, when asked how her term paper is going, my sister, a sophomore in college, responded thusly:

"Uh, I don't know. I am just comparing the two Jean-Claude Grumberg plays we read and then I was going to talk about how the French were actually pretty anti-Semitic and other sh*t"

I believe I can say without fear of successful contradiction that my sister will be on the receiving end of a similar phone call in the not too distant future.

Good to know she's keep the family tradition alive.

Now We Are 60

Today is my dad's 60th birthday.
If I were more with it and on the ball, I would have set this to post at 3:13 AM, the minute he was born. Frankly, if I were with it and on the I'd have his actual present finished and ready to go. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.

So now, without further ado, 6 things I love about my dad, 1 for each decade of awesomeness.

6) He calls me every year at the exact minute I was born and says the following:

"'Betty Bear was so excited she could hardly sleep. It was her birthday.' Happy Birthday Betty Bear!"

(Betty Bear's Birthday was my favorite book when I was very small. I don't even remember reading it but he still knows the whole thing by heart. )


5) He is at once ridiculously proper and totally irreverent.
He uses phrases like "daily ablutions" and "ladies foundation under garments," he stands when a lady enters a room or leaves the table and always carries an extra hankie.
Then there's the side of him that does things like turn to you in the middle of a family wedding and whisper:

"Your mother and I didn't light a unity candle. We used a Bowie knife and had a ritual blood letting on the altar."

And then, because he's so well mannered, he's able to turn away and watch the rest of the ceremony while you're sitting there biting your tongue, holding your breath and digging your nails into your thighs in a desperate attempt to keep from laughing.


4) He's a triple threat. He can sing, he can dance and he can act. He's amazing. And intimidating. He also knows more about music, dance, theater and film then you do. No. Really. He does.


3) He's got style. Serious style. People stop him on the street. Style, panache and charm. It takes a special kind of guy who can pull off shocking pink trousers with green elephants. My Philadelphia lawyer father is perhaps the only man who can them look dignified and understated.


2) He is the reason we got the Disney Channel as kids. It wasn't so we could watch it, it was because they played the old Zorro and Davy Crockett TV shows at night. He loves Zorro and Davy Crockett.


1) Five years ago, in a conversation that lasted one minute and 37 seconds that he probably doesn't remember and I'll never forget, he gave me the biggest vote of confidence I've ever received. It's his voice I hear now when I have to drown out the voices that say, "you're no good," "you can't do this," "who do you think you're fooling?"

Happy Birthday! I love you!

Snow!

Okay, I suppose it's technically a "wintery mix," but there are actual flakes in there with the rain.

But still! Snow!

Love it!

A Minor Quibble

Dear Google Spell Check,
As a reminder, turkeys are done, people are finished.
Please do not ask me if I am "done spell check." I am not done. I am finished.
Thank you,
Ryan

McFlipper

From Phil:
I just saw my reflection. I look like Billy Crystal playing a younger version of himself in When Harry Met Sally.

You've been making me laugh for nigh on 13 years and remain the only person who always gets all my jokes. A man among men, my friend.

Sha la la la

It Is The Way To Go

Indiom [in-dee-uhm] –noun (derived from the english word idiom)

a figure of speech or a colloquial term or phrase whose meaning cannot be deduced by the literal translation or arrangement of its words. An indiom can be a reordering of the words that make up recognized idioms; the use of several words to describe an existing word; the misuse of an idiom or word in a way that makes it mean something radically different and/or hilarious. Indioms are typically coined by Indian-born men over the age of 60.

For example, when discussing the death of Jack Kemp this spring, Dr Sharma had this to say,

"Well, he'd had cancer since yesterday."

Mr Brown

So, last night I was walking home down 5th Ave.
I spied a tall man in blue jeans with long, curly grey hair.
"Who does that guy think he is, Billy Connolly?"
Alas, it was!
Yes!
So, Billy Connolly! Strolled 6 blocks down 5th Ave, he and I.
Nice legs, Billy.
Oh Billy!