Milk, Milk, Lemonade!

Harvey Milk - a person who fought for what was right.

Thankfully this morning has a been a slow morning today and it looks like it will continue to be. I think the whole Independence Day weekend is going to be kind of quiet and relaxing. There's no basketball camp until Tuesday, Fabio's baseball regular season ended last night with a 10-9 victory (now we wait to hear where we sit in the play-offs),  there is no school again until Tuesday... I mowed the lawn Saturday and it sorta needs it again but it's going to be like 105 degrees today in the MIDDLEwest so if I mow it today it will probably turn brown so I will wait for a couple of days..."DON'T MOW THE BROWN GRASSid." I think I may make some of my neighborhood-famous sangria today!


I watched the movie (got the DVD from Netflix, of course) MILK last week. It stars Sean Penn and is the story of gay-rights activist and San Francisco politician Harvey Milk. Cha Cha wouldn't watch it with me because she is a hater...a Sean Penn hater. I think Penn, personally, may be a bit of a difficult person sometimes but he is a great actor. So, I watched this film alone. I was not really familiar with Harvey Milk but I had seen the previews when the movie was in the theaters and it somehow got stored in the back of my cobwebs. You know me, Mister Bleeding Heart, and how I always root for the under dogs. This was a really good movie. There were a few Brokeback moments when Penn and James Franco were making out that I am sure some people would have problems with but it made me pause to think. If, as an actor, you can go home to your wife or girlfriend or husband or partner or whoever you go home to and say "I had to kiss (fill in the hottest actor's name you can think of here) today but it meant nothing. It was just a passionate kiss for the movie/show/whatever" then you would have to be able to kiss a baboon's butt or someone of the same gender wouldn't you? If it's all acting for acting's sake you have to kiss whatever they throw at you right? I was bery young when all of the stuff in the movie was going on in San Francisco so I found myself reevaluating some of the things I thought I knew. As a boy I thought Anita Bryant was a nice, loving, caring person. I have a whole different perspective of her after watching this film. I know the times were different but she was a very intolerant person. She, like everyone, had her own agenda but I think her agenda was not the same as mine would have been in the same circumstances! We all choose what we think is the right way in everything but why is my way the right way for you? It probably isn't and visa versa. Harvey Milk seemed to me to be a remarkable person. If you get a chance I highly recommend this film. 

Why don't cannibals eat clowns?....Because they taste funny! (sorry)

I know I cross-promote the Dirty Laundry Podcast here often but I need your help (if you are so inclined). This weekend we have Illinois Ghost Hunters' founder and lead-investigator Willy Adkins on the show. We have lots to talk to him about but I thought it would be nice to let you ask some questions too if you wanted. Email me your questions (matthelser1@gmail.com) or post them on the Dirty Laundry (podcast) Facebook page. We are also going to be in a parade at the end of July and are looking for suggestions about that too - if you want to be in a parade let me know - there's always room for you.

Man, I could go for a glass of lemonade (I just wrote that so I could call this blog Milk, Milk, Lemonade without feeling guilty).

The NFL lockout is underway and now the NBA is gonna do the same thing? There's nothing I love more than one group of quadbazillionaires (professional sports ownership) fighting with a group of tribazillionaires (professional athletes) to get more money. I love sports. I have played and watched and thought about sports most of my life (sometimes I think about dirt and garbage but mostly I think about baseball - give it a second if you haven't already figured it out). But, as much as I love sports, I dislike greed and un-caring behavior even more. We in America have got to change our ways of thinking. Entertainment is escapism (professional sports, television, movies...). Maybe it's time we stop trying to escape and face our problems. It's a slippery slope as these sports franchises also bring hundreds and hundreds of jobs to their cities (food and beverage and souvenir vendors, parking attendants, cleaning staff, electricians, plumbers, retail sales...). I have to admit I have more fun watching my kids play sports than I ever have had watching a professional sporting event (and I have been to some pretty cool professional sporting events). The Washington Generals are looking for players...seriously - click that link and apply today! I wish I were taller because I would apply. Talk about a no pressure job - they haven't won a game since 1971. When they did win one of the players said, "the kids looked at us like we had just killed Santa Claus."

Have a nice day soaking in the summer sun by the pool or in your hammock or staying in the air conditioning - whatever floats your boat. Thank you for spending some time with me again...I do get lonely when you're not around. I believe I will be blogging tomorrow but I know it's the weekend of Independence Day so I'll understand if you aren't here. It will be waiting for you on Tuesday after all of the fireworks are over. TTTT...MITM (melting out).