I shall return!

Because of the Olympics, my work schedule got all screwed up, so that's why I haven't been blogging.

And now I'm heading to Little Rock to visit my sister Sue, who is doing OK, considering everything. I was going to wait until Thanksgiving, but thought I should go now, especially since Cheryl and Val are going to be there, along with Sammy's brother Burt. I fly out tomorrow and return late Sunday night.

That also means I won't be going to the Gay World Series in Seattle. Bummed about that, but I can play softball anytime.

So when I return you can look forward to updates on the Cubs, Big Brother 10 (buh-bye Jessie, Libra and April), the new teams of The Amazing Race, and I guess I'll have to mention the Olympics (hello, Michael Phelps? Usain Bolt?)

In the meantime, have a good week and I'll see you all after Labor Day!

I love my iPhone

Granted, it's not the new 3G variety, but it's still a fabulous piece of work.

Since the 3G came out, Apple has provided an Apps Store where you can go and purchase downloads for the phone -- but there are plenty of free ones too. The ones I downloaded and like the best:

*The Star Wars phone saber. Yup. Shake your phone, point it at somebody and you get the sound of the saber from the movie. And it comes in different colors.

*Can you ever really have enough cowbell? Apparently not because I now have it on my phone, complete with my buddy Christopher Walken saying "I gotta have more cowbell!"

*SportsTap. From Major League Baseball to the NFL, NBA and NHL, from the NCAA to the PGA, sports updates are right at your fingertips.

*The Magic 8Ball. Just like the one you had as a kid. Ask a question, turn your phone over, and presto! The answer you've been waiting for. Or not.

*And, last but not least (I actually downloaded several more but these are my favorite), I can learn Spanish right on my phone. I ask the question and it gives it to me in Spanish, complete with a little woman inside the phone giving the correct pronunciation.

Don't have one yet? Then get out there and buy one. You'll be playing with it for hours.

Bye, bye Angie

Well, Jessie lives to see another day on Big Brother 10, but he's on the block again, so his stay could be short.

Angie and muscle boy Jessie were on the block last week, and by an 8-0 vote, Angie was evicted. But when April won HOH this week, she put Jessie back on the block along with Memphis. They are probably the strongest players in the game, but barring a Power of Veto victory, one of these two will be going home Thursday.

Speaking of Jessie: Dude, don't be such an ass. You might not be on the block again if you weren't so intimidating and arrogant. And, might you be hiding something?

A word of advice to Dan, who was selected America's Player: Subtlety works wonders. You were coasting along under the radar, but now that America wants you to do their dirty work, don't be so obvious. Libra and April have already figured out that something's wrong, with both of them wondering if Dan is indeed America's Player.

Should be an interesting week...

Weekend in New York

As I said in the previous post, Ed and I went to New York to visit his family. His grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday, and his grandfather, who has had both legs amputated because of circulation problems, was busted out of the rehab facility for the day on Saturday to celebrate the occasion.

I hope if and when I reach 90 that I'm still plugging along as well as those two are. Since I never really knew any of my grandparents, I consider Stanley and Jeannette my grandparents. They are definitely two peas in a pod, and it was good/fun to see them interact.

Ed's brother, sister-in-law and their two infant boys -- Jack and Sawyer -- came down for the weekend too. Jack is hell on wheels, but boy is he a cutie. He'll be a good big brother to Sawyer, who was just born in May.

We took Bailey along for the ride, leaving Dexter and Zoe behind with Josh to watch for the weekend. Having all three dogs would have been a nightmare, especially with the two youngsters (the dogs) being the crazies that they are. But I think Bailey had a great time, as the picture above shows. She loves to ride in the car and put her head out the window.

All in all, a great weekend.

On a roll

I was out of town visiting Ed's parents and grandparents in New York over the weekend, so I wasn't able to update my blog with the Cubs sweep of the Brew Crew last week in Milwaukee.

It was, in two words, total domination. Ryan Dempster and Rich Harden followed Ted Lilly and Carlos Zambrano in shutting down a potent Brewers offense. After the Cubs beat the Pirates yesterday 8-5 (thank God for Reed Johnson, who broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth with a two-run homer) and the Brewers' 5-0 loss to the Braves, the Cubs now own a 5-game lead on the Brewers and a 6-game lead on the Cardinals.

It's definitely a season to remember. If there ever was a year for the Cubs to win the National League pennant, this is it. The NL East is a crapshoot among the Mets, Phillies and Marlins, and the teams on top in the NL West are barely above .500. But watch out for the Dodgers. If Manny is Manny, he's going to bring a lot to that offense, which was definitely lacking. Ramirez had a huge opening weekend, hitting better than .600.

But we'll worry about that come late September and early October.

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Reed Johnson photo courtesy AP