An Evening With Obama & Wilco

For those of you who know me, you are well aware of my love for the band Wilco and my admiration for the presidential candidate that I will be supporting this year, Barack Obama.

Well, this past Friday, I was able to experience both at the same venue! Quite a night, indeed. Joining me that night, were 3 of my cousins-in-law, Rob, Travis, & Gia. Good times were had by all.

Here are some pictures from the event:

The Marquee at the Riviera Theater The 44th President of the United States? The Obama/Wilco Supporters Speaking of Obama/Wilco, Travis thought that had a nice ring to it, so he shouted his nomination to Jeff Tweedy, the frontman of Wilco. The exchange is captured in this video:

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Recently, I took the kids to Iowa City. It was a surreal experience, watching the girls climb on and run through parts of the city where I stumbled across just 15 years earlier. I had a sense of calm and satisfaction that happens during certain moments in one's life. In my case, I think it happens during times when my life seems to come full circle by witnessing milestones in my children's lives.

Last night, another one of those moments occurred. I watched "A Charlie Brown Christmas". Not unlike every kid that grew up in the 70s & 80s, this movie, along with the various claymation movies (Frosty, Rudolph, etc.), was definitely an annual staple growing up. As a kid, I couldn't wait for those movies to air. Nowadays, it's kind of weird to hear of someone getting so excited for something on tv. With Tivo and 200+ channels, a kid is bound to come across these shows multiple times during the holiday season. Back in the day, when we only had 2, 5, 6, 9, and 32, we cherished the one and only showing of shows.

Anyways, when I saw "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was on, I Tivoed it for the kids. I told them to get their blankets and pillows to watch the movie. So they did and we watched. And you know what? I think they liked it!

Here are some of my observations:

1) Lucy = Mia. Lucy is kind of bossy and always has her hands on her hips yelling at someone "offering her opinion".

2) I could be wrong, but I think Chloe sort of senses the sentimental feelings I have towards the movie. During the movie, she kept asking me if Mommy and I used to watch this. when i said "yes", she hugged my arm.

3) Peanuts characters were assholes to Charlie. So the guy brought back a wilted Christmas tree. So what? Doesn't mean you have to call him 'stupid' and telling 'Stupid Charlie Brown" that he brought back a 'Stupid Christmas Tree'. Give the guy a break! He was feeling the holiday blues from the very start, and now you're ridiculing him? They came through in the end, but I'm afraid that it is a case of 'too little, too late'.

4) Speaking of 'stupid', Dawn and I kind of try to discourage the girls from using those words. Yeah, the "F" word and "S" word sometimes slips out, but that's besides the point. The point is that we try. Anyways, as we were watching this movie, the Peanuts kids throws out the word 'stupid' liberally, causing Chloe and Mia to look at me with a surprised look on their faces. At first, I cringed. Then I thought, "What's the big deal? I, along with millions of other kids, heard these words, and everyone turned out ok."

5) I love that the Charlie Brown cartoons don't dumb things down to kids. Schultz realized that kids aren't idiots and can figure out what's happening on the screen without the use of simple music, repetitious phrases, and childish themes. OK, Snoopy and Woodstock are a little goofy, but overall, it's a very mature cartoon that holds up well to time.

Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Today was Chicago's first winter storm of the season. What better time to put up the Christmas Tree than the first snow? So that's what we did. Let me tell ya, the whole thing is a minor pain in the asses for me and Dawn, but it's all worth it when you see how excited the girls get putting up ornaments, making garland, and putting out their stockings. They're young. They don't know any better. Soon enough, they will know the frustration of trying to find the ONE broken bulb in a string of lights, or dragging the Christmas tree out of storage.

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy looking at everything when it's up. It's just the setting up and tearing down that I hate! >:-(

Here are a few recent pictures of the Belbis' in full-blown holiday mode:

Chloe Vanilli

Good thing we don't give out awards here at the Belbis house. If that was the case, we would definitely have to take away Chloe's "Best Communicator" Award. The evidence of her misconduct occurs about 1/2 through this clip.

I Guess Owen Doesn't Like Soccer