December 29th Greetings Everyone Welcome to the eve of the new Millennium! (Well, technically not; the new Millennium doesn't start till January 1st 2001, but hey, who's counting!) Many people are worried about Y2K and if Algerian terrorists will bomb their neighborhood. A lot of people have forgotten that this is supposed to be one of the happiest times of the year. Not to mention that we are about to come into the year 2000. Geez, my friends think about it-remember thinking when you were a kid, "Gosh, the year 2000; isn't that supposed to be when the Jetsons live? I'm going to be so old when the next century starts." Well, here I am, 32 and about to "boldly go where no one has gone before." (Well OK, in the Jewish calendar, it's already 5760 but again, hey, who's counting!) I'm extremely looking forward to all the changes that will take place in my lifetime and in William's. I know I'm not expecting to see flying cars or people living on other planets or such (it would be nice, but I'm not holding my breath). However, I do know that the changes that will happen will probably be advances that I can't even fathom. I have one little complaint, though-the media is not playing the living heck out of that damn Prince song "1999". I expected to hear so many different versions of that song come out this year. Gee, I guess there is hope for the next century.
The holidays have come and gone, and it was quite an experience all the way around. Thanksgiving came with a special visitor this year; my sister Cheryl came out to the West Coast for the first time to meet her brand-new nephew. It was great seeing the instant bond between Cheryl and William. Cheryl had a little trouble getting used to the time change, but she was still able to enjoy a lot of Seattle. I don't think we kept an area of the city untouched during the four days her visit. We did Thanksgiving dinner rather low-key this year, because the little guy (William) took up most of our attention. We actually cooked the smallest turkey that we have since Angela and I have been together. (Even though we had a smaller turkey, we still had leftovers for at least a week.) This year, Hanukkah came early (in the first week of December), so we decided to play it low-key also, and combine it with Christmas. We still lit the menorah and said the prayers, but most of the gift giving was saved for later in the month. William did get his first Hanukkah gift, however; it was a stuffed bear from "Bear and the Big Blue House". When Christmas finally rolled around, William had enough presents underneath our tree to make Toys R Us jealous. (Our tree didn't have anything religiously representing Christmas on it. Because Angela's parents still celebrate the holiday, it's only fair to have a tree since they live here too.) The kid basically made out like a bandit this year. He got stuff not only from all of us, but from relatives and friends around the country. I wonder how it's going to be next year, when he'll be excited by the experience of the holidays and being able to open the presents himself (probably with a little help from Mommy and Daddy, of course). For New Year's Eve, we are going to lay low this year, and just hang out at the house. Because William is going to experience his first New Year, we are going to spend it together. (In all truth, after last year's fiasco, I think it will be best to stay home with the family anyway!)
William has been getting bigger and bigger every day. It's hard to believe that, on New Year's Day, William will be three months old already. It seems like it was yesterday that I was in the hospital ICU (Intensive Care Unit) looking at this little sleeping fellow no bigger than my shoe. Now, he's already a little boy, not an infant anymore. He is constantly absorbing his surroundings, exploring everything through his big blue eyes. (I have no idea where those eyes came from, on either side of the family.) He's already moving his hands and feet, trying to simulate crawling. Last week, he discovered his left hand for the first time (he just stared at it, and moved it around for at least a half hour), and today he picked up his rattle for the first time. OK, I know I'm sounding like a proud papa, but I guess I am. Just seeing him smile at me is enough to make me melt. On the upcoming surgery front with him, we still don't really have any idea what's going on. We had a CAT scan done on William's cyst the second week of December, and now we are just waiting and waiting to hear something back from the doctors at Children's Hospital. As soon as I find out anything, you guys will be the next to find out-I don't hide much from you guys (well, OK, I won't ask you to change the baby's dirty diapers, but that's where I draw the line). The condition that is ailing William has been diagnosed as a Cystic Hygroma. It actually affects 1 in 5,000 babies, and is usually a lot more severe than in William's case (thank goodness). If you want to read about this condition, click here.
In the world around us, things are as nuts as always, but in some ways more so than normal. (I know-what's normal?) Here in Seattle had to go through the week of hell we locals like to call WTO. It was interesting watching areas in downtown Seattle become a war zone. It was quite odd to see shops and storefronts that, just the week before I had visited with my sister, become smashed in, spray-painted parodies of their former selves. I don't blame either the protesters or the police on the situation. As a whole, mostly peaceful, non-violent protesters were present; a small bunch of rebel raisers whose main purpose was to come to Seattle and wreck things were the ones who caused all the delinquency. Quite a few local people who weren't even involved with protesting WTO saw the crowd getting rowdy and decided to start looting and such. My two favorite instances of this during the looting and rioting-one, this idiot broke into a Radio Shack and stole a big screen TV and got into a waiting car right in front of a TV news reporter who got a full view of the moron's license plate. DUHH!!! The other instance involved rioters breaking into Starbucks downtown, also with a news crew filming the whole incident. One of the major instigators of the break-in was caught on tape smashing cases of coffee and throwing the coffee into the street. A few days later, her shocked and dismayed family called the police and turned her in. Just yesterday, the woman's bail hearing came up, and of course she plead "NOT GUILTY". I can't wait till her trial to see what her excuse will be. OY. Many more WTO stories exist, with which I could probably fill up an entire Web site dedicated to the rioters' sheer stupidity, but I won't put you through that kind of torture.
In the sports world, ESPN came out with the top 50 athletes of the past century, with Michael Jordan as #1. I don't really agree with that. Yes, Michael was a great basketball player and is the most recognizable athlete for the past 10 years (and don't get me started on what kind of baseball player he was, LOL), but I don't think he should have been ranked above such athletes as Babe Ruth, Joe Montana, Jessie Owens, Arnold Palmer, or Wilt Chamberlain. Hey, it's my Web page; I'm entitled to my opinion. However, this year's NFL season is turning out to be one of the best for the past decade or so. How so? You ask. Well, if you think about it, none of the BIG teams of the past 10 years or so (Denver, Dallas, Green Bay, San Francisco) are going to be in playoffs at all, which will make it a lot more interesting. I'm thrilled that the Seahawks are on their way to their first playoff bid since 1988, but I don't really think they will get to the Super Bowl. They are too young of a team. Give them a season or two of getting used to the playoff picture, and then I think they will be ready. My official prediction for this year's Super Bowl will be, from the NFC, the St. Louis Rams (who would have thought that this team, at the beginning of the season, would go 13-2 with a quarterback no one had ever heard about?) and from the AFC, the Indianapolis Colts. With the combination of Manning and James, you are looking at the makings of the next football dynasty. (Sorry, Cheryl and John, I can't pick the Jags!) You'll have to wait till my next update to find out whom I will pick to win the Super Bowl (laughing evilly) The Mariners are really stating to shape up for next season. I know-it's only December, and I'm talking baseball already. The M's have been quite aggressive in the off-season in signing a new first base man (John Olerud), a few utility players (Mark McLemore and Stan Javier), and bullpen help (Arthur Rhodes and Kazuhiro Sasaki). Now, all the M's need to do is get one more starting pitcher, and the team will be set. Oh yeah, and trade Ken Griffey Jr.; I don't really want to see Junior go, but it's obvious he doesn't want to play here in Seattle anymore, and wants to play in Cincinnati for the Reds. Don't get me started on his stupid trade demands, and then his retraction of eligible teams to just one team. As of today, he has no offers on the table, but I have a gut feeling that we will NOT see Griffey in a Mariner uniform on opening day of the 2000 season. I actually am looking forward to the 2000 season to see what kind of team the M's can put together, and hope the Yankees don't take it all AGAIN.

The movie review section will be on hold for awhile until we can start actually going out and seeing movies again (probably when William graduates from high school), but stating in next month's review, I will review videos that we have seen and think you would like to hear about. Thanks for understanding.

Otherwise, the world is turning and turning with the daily dose of floods, earthquakes, and political upheaval and such, but just remember that this upcoming millennium could be the beginning of something grand. The next 1,000 years could become a golden age for mankind if we just don't let our inner demons destroy us first. I hope you have spent the holidays with a special loved one, or at least someone who puts a grin on your face. Hopefully, we can all be together in the upcoming year. Wow, 2000 here we come; hope you're ready for us!

See Ya Next Year, Peace Mike

Go jump in the lake, go ride up the hill. Get out of this house. It's a house of your making, it's a house of ill will. Get out of this house.
Go listen to Buddha, go listen to Joe. Get out of this house. If anyone asks, you tell them you don't know. Get out of this house.
I spent eleven long years in a hot house zone. I spent twentynine more trying to get home. Well I never got home, but I did what I did, And I got myself this house and you can't come in
I'm the queen of my castle, I'm the king of my room. Get out of this house. I got more than I need, more than I ever could use. Get out of this house.
I spent seventeen years trying to save my soul. I spent twentythree more down in the hole Now my soul is alright but I might get found out. I got myself this house now and I can't get out
If I see you again it will be in my head at the end of a cloud. If you see me again it will be in your head telling you to get out.
You act like a baby, you talk like a fool. Get out of this house. Go back to your mama, go back to high school. Get out of this house
Go jump in the lake, go jump out the door. Get out of this house. I've had all I can stand and I can't stand no more. Get out of this house, Get out of this house - Shawn Colvin, 1996

The Difference Between Men And Women (in one paragraph)

A man is driving down a steep, narrow, mountain road. A woman is driving up the same road. As they pass each other, the woman leans out the window and yells, "PIG!!!" The man immediately leans out his window and replies, "WITCH!" They each continue on their way, and as the man rounds the next corner he crashes into a pig in the middle of the road.

Jewish Guilt

An old Jewish man in Florida, in his 80's, calls his son in New York.

The father says to the son, "I hate to tell you, but we've got some troubles here in the house. Your mother and I can't stand each other anymore, and we are divorcing. That's it!!! I want to live out the rest of my years in peace. I am telling you now, so you and your sister shouldn't go into shock later when I move out."

He hangs up, and the son immediately calls his sister in the Hamptons and tells her the news. The sister says, "I'll handle this."

She calls Florida and gets her father, on the phone. She pleads to her father, "Don't do ANYTHING till we get there! We will be there Friday night."

The father says, "All right, all right already." He hangs up the phone, and hollers to his wife, "Okay, they're coming for Rosh Hashanah. Now, what are we going to tell them for Passover?"

Famous Quotes From Famous People

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?
Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever. " -- Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest

"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that but not with all those flies and death and stuff. " -- Mariah Carey

"Researchers have discovered that chocolate produces some of the same reactions in the brain as marijuana. The researchers also discovered other similarities between the two, but can't remember what they are. " -- Matt Lauer on NBC's Today show, August 22

"I haven't committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law" -- David Dinkins, New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.

"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life." -- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for a federal anti-smoking campaign

"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body." -- Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward

"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country." -- Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, D.C.

"They're multipurpose. Not only do they put the clips on, but they take them off." -- Pratt & Whitney spokesperson explaining why the company charged the Air Force nearly $1000 for an ordinary pair of pliers.

"We're going to turn this team around 360 degrees." -- Jason Kidd, upon his drafting to the Dallas Mavericks

"I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president." -- Hillary Clinton commenting on the release of subpoenaed documents

"China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese." -- Former French President Charles DeGaulle

"That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it." -- A congressional candidate in Texas

"The government is not doing enough about cleaning up the environment. This is a good planet." -- Mr. New Jersey contestant when asked what he would do with a million dollars.

"When I have been asked during these last weeks who caused the riots and the killing in L.A., my answer has been direct and simple: Who is to blame for the riots? The rioters are to blame. Who is to blame for the killings? The killers are to blame." -- Former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle on the complex social issues behind the Los Angeles Riots

"I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land, and the Indians were selfishly trying to keep it for themselves." -- John Wayne

"Half this game is ninety percent mental."-- Philadelphia Phillies manager DannyOzark

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." -- Former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle

"Without censorship, things can get terribly confused in the public mind." -- General William Westmoreland

"What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is." -- Former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle at a fundraising event for the United Negro College Fund. (He was attempting to quote the line "a mind is a terrible thing to waste".)

"If you let that sort of thing go on, your bread and butter will be cut right out from under your feet." -- Former British foreign minister Ernest Bevin

"I love California. I practically grew up in Phoenix." -- Former U.S. Vice-President Dan Quayle

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