That's Daddy's School

Just in time for the upcoming Notre Dame football season (39 days to kickoff and counting), Ava has figured out who she needs to be rooting for. Let me tell you a little story. Last week, I was loading Molly and Ava into my car to go to the store. I loaded Molly first, and as usual had Ava wait next to me before I loaded her. While loading Molly, I heard Ava clearly saying something that didn't register at first. Then I asked her what she just said. As clear as an adult she said "Go Irish!"

Not only did she say "Go Irish," she also did the standard fist pump cheer!!! I cannot tell you how amazed I was. Upon closer inspection, this wasn't just a spontaneous cheer. She saw my ND alumni sticker on the car window with the interlocking ND logo! She obviously recognized it and did her cheer!

First off, I am definitely not a crazy ND dad (yet). I have never tried to coerce Ava into saying Go Irish, or any other ND phrases. In fact, I don't ever recall ever saying that to her. Second, Ava has outgrown almost all of her ND gear (hint hint), so she doesn't see the logos much. Third, Ali also is amazed and obviously isn't practicing secret ND cheers! My best guess is that she notices my shirts and may have remembered some of the baby propaganda from last year (My First ND Book or the Baby ND DVD).

In any case, the proud ND papa now presents his daughter cheering for "Daddy's School." Please excuse the video being sideways. I couldn't figure out how to rotate it after I recorded on my still camera.

Simpsonize Me

Not that I want this to turn into a lame Hollywood blog, but I have another movie-themed post tonight. This time, it centers around the marketing genius around The Simpsons Movie. This long-anticipated movie comes out this month after yet another marketing blitz geared toward packing the theaters on opening weekend.

However, The Simpsons have one of the most ingenious schemes ever. You can simpsonize yourself online!!! Try this website, Simpsonize Me. Armed with a head shot of yourself, a quick upload will allow you to recreate yourself in true Simpsons form! Without further ado, I present to you...

Dr. Ted

Well done Burger King, well done!

More Than Meets The Eye

So this week opens yet another summer blockbuster. Michael Bay is unleashing Transformers upon us all! As a long-time Transformers fan, I felt compelled to make a brief blog post on this one. First, let me just say I am a huge Transformers fan. As a kid, I owned just about every Autobot they sold in stores. Conversely, Ian owned just about every Decepticon. We would still have them had someone not "lost them" (that's code for giving them away to some other kid without asking Ian or I).

This movie is going to be great! I plan on seeing this movie as soon as I am able. It is pretty tough these days getting to the movies with 2 youngsters! But before anyone goes, please get into the right frame of mind. It's Transformers - a movie about living robots from outer space who can mimic human machines. There really isn't anything beyond this very basic plot - TOTAL MAYHEM AND DESTRUCTION! That's why Bay was perfect for this movie! Please don't bash this movie for having no plot. It's not supposed to! Also, please don't bash this movie because it wasn't "true to the cartoon." You may not remember the cartoon clearly if you think it was all that great. I'll leave you with a little quote from a great website I read. This perfectly summarizes the old Transformers cartoon.

"Fans of the original television series will recall there were essentially two possible plots to any Transformers episode. Plot one involved the Decepticons discovering a new way to make Energon Cubes, forcing the Autobots to have to stop them. And plot two involved the Autobots finding a new way to generate Energon Cubes, causing the Decepticons to try and stop them, forcing the Autobots to have to stop them from stopping them. Each episode ended with a melee which involved the same recycled shots of Transformers seemingly floating in midair while their blasters fired repeatedly. The Decepticons would run off with their tails between their legs – and if for some reason the Autobots were having a hard time stopping them, they would turn to their new recruit, a Transformer we'd never seen or heard from before but was, fortunately for us, available in stores that very week, who would aid in chasing the Decepticons off with their tails between their legs. In a word, it was FUCKING AWESOME!"