Rat in the Grass

Rizzo always tends to get jealous when I spend too much time with Kermit. I figured I'd take him out for a little game of Grabble® this afternoon to cheer him up. He's not the party rat for nothing; we had a great time. And some serious words got played (OLYMPIAD!). He still has issues with that frog though.

This nice little sweater vest was gifted to me by one T-Schwenn when he left for the Big Apple last year. I don't know how I lived my life before I owned it but that life can only have a been a shadow of the life I live now. It's become a staple. A big heavy duty wood staple.

Tommy asked when this sweater would make it into a Sweater Thursday lineup a while ago; it was too early then, it feels so right now.

# of Frames: 8

To be fair, you were flagging a lot.

Did you know today's Leslie's birthday? She called me up last night while driving back to The 'Boo and vaguely intimated that she might come all the way to Madison instead. Which was all I needed to commit myself to getting drunk on a Tuesday night.

Leslie and I are friends because of that time we camped out for basketball tickets and decided to inoculate ourselves against awkwardness with alcohol. It worked perfectly, except for when she left me lying face down in the middle of University Avenue. Anyway, double-ordering a couple of times at Flip Night felt just about right.

So did practicing how to cross the street at 2 AM.

Although her first attempt was unsuccessful (wrong angle, not enough gusto), Leslie was soon crossing the street like an old pro.

It was nice to see we're not the only ones to make use of the flags though. I got my phone out just in time to catch the tail end of this flag-facilitated street-crossing event that occurred as I got home this afternoon.

WhitneyandME09

Does anyone want my secret admirer from Arkansas? I think I'll pass.

In the beginning there was a wool...

What do you think the evolutionary forces were that created this short-sleeve polo sweater? Why would a collar this wide ever increase its reproductive fitness? And that button that's just a little too low to be respectable‽ More importantly, what happened c. 1982 to make this phenotype so unsuccessful? I love this sweater, but I have so many questions!

The last time you saw this sweater I was pretending you weren't there.

# of Frames: 21

Truth

Welcome to BikeTub

[BikeTub at its most vulnerable]

Rumor is there's another Milwaukee bike gang out there looking to hone in on BikeTub's territory. Don't worry, they have a terrible name. And no sound system. Also, there's no way they have as many photographic moves as we do.


















Our arsenal:

[The Floating Yoga]

[The HamTub]

[The Karate Hammer]

And of course, the all out assault:

V-Ei Day

It finally happened.

Three months ago I bought a fake egg at the Iowa City Hobby Lobby. Since then my life has been consumed with plots, ploys, and poems; on Saturday morning, they all came to a delicious over-medium head.

In my latest attempt to get some white eggs into Martin's Deutsche Hände, I bought two dozens of them last week. Then claimed I had forgotten I had the 1st, and pawned off the 2nd to my egg-victim as an extra. As Saturday morning dawned, egg frying could be heard in the kitchen. Katie and I drifted in, feigning interest in the 4 eggs sizzling in Martin's pan. At this point I was crestfallen. I had been so sure he would finally get egg on his face, and yet no sign of the faux egg! Confusion reigned.

Then, on our way out the door, I ask: "Martin, how'd those eggs work out for you?".

Martin: "Oh, they were fine. Well, except for this one egg that wouldn't crack. I don't know, I tried hitting it really hard on the pan, but it must have been an unbreakable egg. So I threw it out."

[pregnant pause]

Whitney and Katie [with high five]: "Success!"

In Meiner Welt Nur Mit Dir Allein

How Much Do You Know?

Putting Out The Vibe

After the Ground Scrabble event on Friday it was time for the first Terrace-ing of the season. The sun really felt right. There were a couple of really satisfying chance occurrences while we hung around playing Apples To Apples over Miller Lite. And once the sun set over the lake we finished up with a few indie rounds of Flip Cup; then moved on with the rest of our Friday night activities.  It  didn't take very long though until we needed to go home, put "Don't Break My Stride" on repeat, and hangout with Kermie on my stoop. 

We threw out one more jump before leaving. Nothing was gonna slow us down!

 

Kermit doesn't seem to make it out of his rocking chair as often as he used to, but when he does, he really breaks it down.

[Look at that flipper to the face!]

I took him for a quick spin to relive old times. 

And here, Katie demonstrates the correct way to make a Frog Pie. It's all in the wrist. And the size of your frog.

 

I signaled Kermit's landing with 2 street flags. I'm going to admit that I've really begun to appreciate the designated neighborhood representative who refills our flagtub every couple of days. They do have their uses.

Unfortunately, Kermit only knows Japanese Semaphore, so he ended up with two broken eyes. Don't worry, I moonlight as an amphibious ocular surgeon on the weekends. He's fine now.

To finish of the night I took one giant midget stomp out of our tree. You don't want any of those things running around unsupervised. 

Ain't Nothing Gonna Break Our Sway

Did you know Milwaukee has lighthouses‽ Katie found this one last week. It's conveniently located 0.9 miles from her house.

Are you getting a load of that stark white background? Don't you wanna jump off it?

wEnvy

Just another E, tryin' to be a W.

Ain't Nobody Gonna Break MY Stride

Last night I had the strangest dream

I sailed away to China, in a little rowboat to find ya

And you said you had to get your laundry clean

Didn't want no one to hold you, what does that mean? And you said...

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride

Nobody gonna slow me down, oh no

I got to keep on moving

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride

I'm running and I won't touch ground, oh no

I got to keep on moving

You're on the road and now you pray you'll last

The road behind was rocky

But now you're feeling cocky

You look at me and you see your past

Is that the reason why you're running so fast? And she said...

{chorus}

Never let another girl like you whip me over

Never let another girl like you drag me under

If I meet another girl like you I will tell her

Never want another girl like you have to say - oh!

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride

Nobody gonna slow me down, oh no

I got to keep on moving

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride

I'm running and I won't touch ground, oh no

I got to keep on moving

Break My Stride - Unique II

Yes Ei Can

I do not like them, will.i.am. I do not like fake eggs and ham.

I tried to fry them in a pan, I tried to fry them on the sand.
I just don't like fake eggs and ham.

I should not, would not, put them in his hand.
I could not, should not, hide them by the Pam®.

I should try them in a box,
by the bread or by the lox.

If I hide one in the jam, will he need Diazapam?
Oh Shazzam!, should I make a hologram‽

Could I put one on a bar, could I hide it here or thar?
Would he try it at Iftar, should I send them to Qatar?
Or, just call the registrar?

I will not try them in a pan,
I will not fry them in the sand.
I will not put them in his hand,
I would not hide them in the jam.
I would not eat them at Iftar,
I would not eat them anywhar!

But Martin will.



# of frames: 30

The KKK U.S.P.S. took my Mailbox Away.

Last Saturday there was still a mailbox here, half a block from my backdoor. By Monday morning there was nothing left but this torn up ground and the ghost of his former blue self. We had a lot of good times together, or at least a lot of times in general. I wonder what he's up to now, and if I'll ever feel the same about that box up the street?

Do You Want to Live In Our Domicile?

Martin's moving out of our half-basement apartment at the end of the month. I'm not that picky about who he sublets his room to until our lease is up on August 1st, but there are a few things I'm really not ok with:

1. the elderly, or anyone else who has no reason living in a 2 bedroom with a 27 year old. Say a 52 y.o. single man.

2. religious types, or anyone who lists the BIBLE as their favorite book

3. adult film stars

Today Martin arranged for Kelley to come by and see the apartment. She had to cancel, which was good because Martin was starting to freak out about how to not offer her the spot. He apparently really doesn't like to disappoint people.

Ain't Nothing Gonna Break My Stride

Yesterday this screen read: You are not enrolled in any classes.


It's sort of a big deal.

Red Light, Blue Light

Rather than dye eggs like we did last Easter I watched Jesus Camp today instead. It's creepy, and not just because of the prominently featured rat-tail. I hope J.C. is down with me saying that on his big day. Some things I learned:

• The devil wants your PowerPoint to fail; praying may prevent this from happening.
• Nestlé packages The Water of God's Word in convenient 1/2 liter bottles.
• It sucks to look like Harry Potter at Jesus Camp.

Also, homeschooling is exactly how I always pictured it, as shown by this fun scene where the kid-preacher/rat-tail grower and his mom learn to explore creation with physical science together.

Homeschool Mom: "If you look at creationism, you'll realize it's the only possible answer to all the questions."

Rat-tail: "That's exactly what dad said."

HM: "It's the only possible answer to all the questions."

RT: "Oh, yeah."

HM: "Oh yeah. Did you get to the part on here where it says that science doesn't prove anything? It's really interesting when you look at it that way."

RT: "It is?" 

HM: "It is."

Luckily, I had some eggs-in-a-holes and the Sunday crossword to keep my spirits up. And when Jesus Crazy finished, V For Vendetta was on tv. Which was strange for two reasons: first, because eggs-in-a-holes/eggy-in-a-baskets are featured (vaguely) in the film. And secondly, because I noticed for the first time that the bug-jamming device in V is just a Snuggie booklight fitted with a creepy red light. Others got there before me.

Sweaters on The Van Hise Terrace

It was a beautiful sunny day today in Madison, WI. I ate lunch out on the terrace. Not The Terrace, but definitely a terrace. We worked on the crossword while we ate. One in green Le Pen, the other in a red Paper❤Mate FLAIR. It's true what they say, the FLAIR is great for editing documents and papers, I do all my grading with it now. Things did get a little tense around 24A: Bank (CAROM), because really, who's ever heard of a carom? And ATOZ didn't make any sense either, until we realized it was actually A to Z.

The last time you saw this sweater, the colors were all around you (and I was wearing the same shirt).

# of Frames: 36

Not Just In The Bathroom

In a story I reported on last fall, the German's have strange things in their bathrooms. Finally, mental_floss has picked up the story. Way to be on top of things.

Getting It Out There

Some weekends just have too much material for only one blog post, or 3.  I'm getting these pictures out there so I can move on with my life.

You've seen the Sways, now watch the jumps:

I know, we're getting really good.


And you won't want to miss this guy run:

See No Sway, Hear No Sway, Speak No Sway

For a good cross-reference on the history of The Sway, check out The Kee.

For The Love Of The Sway

One giant asterisk, 5 randomly spaced people: sway it up again.

Urban Shopping

Also, the answer's Panda Heads!

The Map Mahdi

Easiest map quiz yet.

Brutalism; Brakes

This afternoon Kermit, me, and I went for a quick jaunt around the neighborhood. Mostly we just circled the parking area looking for some cheap jollies, but we also found a couple of chumps hanging around by the carholes to pester. So that was fun. As is usual, whenever Kermit comes out into the open people want to talk to him, and now, two years after moving into this apartment, I finally know another tenant's name.

In a related note, the latest news out of The Kee is Jesse. I'm not going to bring my bike with me this time, but maybe we'll be able to steal somebody's tandem from outside of Wolski's.

The last time you saw this sweater it was raining, again. Which is appropriate, because it's raining again.

# of Frames: 71