Mid-Life Crisis

Nostalgia

"A wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period..."

Merriam-Webster Online

Greetings From MTK

There's not much to do out here on "The End" apart from looking at the sunset. It's quite a show though, is it not

I Finally Did Something Right

My life is a total disaster, but I find some comfort in the fact that my bra fits correctly.

I passed Oprah's Bra Fit Test.

It's About Time

Shields: Cruise gave 'heartfelt apology'

BURBANK, Calif. - Brooke Shields says Tom Cruise has apologized for publicly criticizing her use of antidepressants after the birth of her first daughter.

The two had a public beef last year after the "Mission: Impossible III" star, echoing the position of Scientology, said in an appearance on NBC's "Today" show that depression can be treated with exercise and vitamins rather than drugs.

The 41-year-old actress says Cruise apologized in person Thursday. (read more)

I was never a big Tom Cruise fan, in spite of the fact that I thought Risky Business was a really good movie.

Then I saw Jerry Maguire. Loved the movie, loved him in the movie.

Then I started watching The Rosie O'Donnell Show. Rosie loves Tom. She made me love him too.

Many moons passed, and then I saw him on Oprah. He jumped on her couch. Some people said he was crazy. All I saw was a man in the midst of a raging mid-life crisis. I can relate. (Please note the title of this blog.) If a hot young actor agreed to make out with me in public, I'd jump on Oprah's couch too.

Then I saw him on the Today Show and Access Hollywood. I believe he has a right to his own opinions, and the right to express them in public. However, since I'm pretty sure he's neither a) a doctor, or b) God, he had no right to judge and condem people who feel they need to take medications to function normally.

After that, he made my skin crawl. I could barely stand to look at him.

So now he's finally decided to be a man and apologize to Brooke Shield's for dragging her name through the mud.

He's moved up a notch in my book. A really small notch.

And on a related note:

Tomorrow, Vanity Fair debuts their "World Exclusive" cover featuring a beautiful Annie Leibovitz photo of Tom, wife Katie Holmes, and new baby Suri.

I have to say, that is one cute baby.

[See other coverage: "Baby Cruise unveiled"]

In the Pink

Here's a little something for my guest Susan. I just found out she broke her wrist. I hope this brightens her day a little bit!

Click here to see another view.

Surf's Up

In honor of Surfer Girl, who is currently the only one coming to this sad excuse for a blog, here are a few photos I took at the beach last weekend.

Kirk Park aka "Umbrella" Beach, Montauk, New York

Welcome to my new home!

As you can see, I haven't posted anything new. I'm gonna try to do that soon. In the meantime, check out my sidebars to see what I've been occupying myself with lately. That will also explain why I haven't posted anything new. I've become a complete couch potato.

Oh, and please post a comment so I know you found your way here.

So this guy walks into a bar...

I never intended on talking about anything too personal on this blog, but I'm making an exception this one time because the other day I found this:

Some friends of my parents gave my dad that poster for his birthday one year. I think it was his 65th. They chose this particular gift because: a) my dad was known to enjoy modern art, and b) the guy in the picture looks exactly like my dad. As I recall, he laughed his ass off when he saw it. My dad is gone now, and the poster is hanging in a place he would have found amusing...my brother's bathroom. I thought it was kind of freaky when I came across the graphic on the Internet. I think I was searching for black and white photos of New York. The Internet can be a scary place sometimes, but every now and then you find some interesting stuff.

The reason I felt compelled to share this with you today is that this would have been my dad's 76th birthday. My dad was a difficult man, who wrestled with a lot of demons. But in spite of all that, he had a great sense of humor, which he passed on to some degree to all of his children. He wasn't often in a good mood, but when he was, there was nobody funnier. He could tell a great joke, and he had a great appreciation for comedy, especially the old time comedians. His favorite was Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner doing their 2000 Year Old Man routine. He used to laugh until he cried when he listened to it. My dad had a very infectious laugh. When he told a joke he would laugh so hard that you'd end up laughing just listening to him laugh. The joke was almost besides the point.

It's nice to come across a memento like this every now and then. It reminds us that our parents passed on more than just the color of their eyes, or the shape of their nose. For better or for worse, they made us the people that we are. As time goes on, I find I'm able to put some of the negative memories behind me, and appreciate some of the good things my dad passed on to me. Through him I learned to love books, to appreciate all types of music, art, architecture, and decorating. I also learned to love humor. I love reading books written by humorists, and I love listening to and watching comedians. I can't tell a joke to save my life, but I have a pretty good sense of comic timing, and that came directly from my dad. He's been gone five years now, and I find that much to my surprise, I think about him most when I'm laughing. I know that would make him very happy.

I'm going to end this post with one of my dad's favorite jokes. It's a tired old classic now, but I had never heard it before he told it to us. You can find a hundred versions of it on the Internet, but I'll tell it to you the way he told it to me...

So this guy walks into a bar and orders a scotch, straight up. The bartender says, "bad day?" The guys says, "Yeah, I was playing golf, and my buddy had a heart attack on the ninth hole and died." So the bartender says, "Wow, that's rough!" So the guy says, "Tell me about it. For the rest of the day it was hit the ball, drag George, hit the ball, drag George...

Happy Birthday Dad. Believe it or not, I really do miss you.

It's good to share

I had a crappy day today. And when I have a crappy day, I try to look at something pleasant before I go to bed so I will have a peaceful sleep, and hopefully wake up in a better mood.

So here is the pleasant something I will ponder for a few minutes before retiring:

Victor Rasuk photographed by Susanna Howe for LatinaShopper.com

Have you seen this?

This is so cool...I could stare at it all day...

The Human Clock