No Catchy Title

Hello there, it's been a while. Not much, how bout you? I'm not sure why I typed. I guess I really just wanted to write to you. Alright, seriously, what kind of man gets off work at 5 am, grabs a McSkillet burrito and then bastardizes the lyrics to a classic England Dan and John Ford Coley song? I'll tell you. It's the same guy who knows we could go walking through a windy park, or take a ride along the beach, or stay at home and watch TV, you see it really doesn't matter much to me. Do I have you singing along yet? Now that I've gotten that out of my system, maybe we can move on. I blame sleep deprivation and an unhealthy fixation with top 40 radio in the 70's for the previous sentences.

It seems like the Summer is flying by. "Daughter" came home from camp the other day, and while I was glad to see her, I must admit that I missed the solitude. As any parent knows, the Summer is not the relaxing time we remember from our youths. True, sometimes those memories are clouded by a Norman Rockwell image that never existed, but that's beside the point. I never sat on a stool at the soda fountain with a kindly police officer while wearing his hat backwards, but I'm sure I had some fun"back in the day". Now my only concern is filling "Daughter's" days so that I'm not bombarded with the kid stand by, "there's nothing to do." Sure there is. Keep yourself busy by avoiding me. That is a great idea. Spend your idle hours thinking of ways to not aggravate me. If I sound stressed, let's chalk that up to the same things that made me type song lyrics a few minutes ago.

"Wife" and I had a rare evening alone and took the opportunity to go see the latest Batman film The Dark Knight. We used to go to the movies all the time, but like most parents, now it's a luxury. We were going for a couple of reasons. First, we were as sucked into the hype machine as the millions of other people who forked over their $8.50 for a chance to see Batman battle a really freaky Joker. Second, we needed to check the movie's content and determine if "Daughter" could see it. We decided that since we don't want to spend every night for the next month waking up to a nightmare riddled child, "Daughter" should just catch another showing of Kung Fu Panda. She's putting up a fight, but I really enjoy my sleep and her sanity. We've been accused by some people of being too protective of what "Daughter" watches on TV and in movies. Those critics are usually tank top wearing mouth breathers who take their toddlers to see the Saw films and then wonder why their precious baby is torturing cats behind the garage. Why, you ask, are you hanging around those people and discussing your parenting techniques with them? So I have someone to mock. Duh.

The Dark Knight is fantastic. I'm no hoity toity film critic, but I really dug it. Heath Ledger is a wonderful, creepy, frightening and evil Joker. The action is edge of your seat kind of stuff and the story is good. It's violent as hell and there were a few instances where my hand flew to my mouth granny style as I gasped in shock and horror. Maybe that tells you something. I didn't care that I looked like an aging, frightened matron. I held my mud and made it through, which might not be the case with younger children or guys who aren't as tough as I am. Yeah, I'm tough all right. Just ask the kid sitting in front of me who's lap I nearly jumped into. There are some people who say this isn't a good movie. I say those are not good people. They may be communists, hippies or crack babies, I'm not sure, but they definitely have a screw loose. If I had a catchy way to endorse this film I would, but the "thumbs up" thing is trademarked. How about this? If you don't go see The Dark Knight, locusts will devour your crops and a dingo may take your baby. That's a strong recommendation right there.

This is a "three scoops of Brian" weekend on WGN. You may have missed the first scoop, but that's the part of the sundae with the crushed pineapple and who really likes that anyway? I'll be hosting the fine WGN Overnight programs Friday and Saturday nights. Sure I'm on late, (2-5 am Fri/Sat, and 1-5 am Sat/Sun) but you'll still be up talking about how great The Dark Knight is. Have a great weekend. Later...Brian