Anyone can have a plan until you get punched in the mouth

Words to live by from Mike Tyson. Quotes. My head has been jerked around by quite a few since I've been down here in the Sunshine State. A favorite from the Onion: "Plan to straighten out entire life during weeklong vacation yields mixed reviews"

Just had dinner with the parental units. My father can find anything at all to complain about, but tonight, he really had to go far. The meal was outstanding, he was treated to dinner, he was with his family, but oh....oh, wait. "How was the soup, Dad?" "Annoying." Annoying???? Honestly, just because the cheese was a bit stringy. Good lord. As my brother says, "I've heard 'salty', 'cold' and 'not enough clams' but 'annoying'?"

We caught the premiere of Dancing with the Semi-Stars, although you really have to put Jerry Rice in the super star category and he did not disappoint. As one of the judges said, "I loved your cucarachas." Me too.

V. and I went to see "Memoirs of a Geisha" as a pallette cleanser after "Munich" which we saw with the entire population of Boca Raton. About Geisha, V and I read and loved the book and it was quite faithful and beautiful, but the lead, although stunning, could not act her way through a shogi screen. As for "Munich", we were all in agreement that Spielberg needs to find the edit button. He must be too big for people to tell him how overly long and indulgent some of his "dramatic crap" gets. I bet all the Hollywood suckups tell him how "powerful" those scenes are. Phooey. Stick to what you do best, surprising us with the good timing segments.

What else, what else? Well, my visit is quickly drawing to a close and I will miss the nice, cozy routine here hanging with J and V and catching occasional glimpses of my beautiful nephews. And the cat, Shmushie. I am a notorious cat-hater, never understanding why anyone would have them as pets. The cats that belong to my friends have grudingly grown on me as I spend time with them, but I have to say that Shmushie has won my heart. She is the prettiest cat I have ever seen, she does not make cat noises, she makes dog noises, and she smells like no other animal I've ever smelled. A great smell. The best is to watch her with my nephew, whom she adores. He walks around with her on his shoulder and she allows him the most liberties of anyone. He can kiss her for long periods of time without her moving, and throw her in the air, and she trusts him completely. I guess she knows he was the one that found her as a kitten wandering around during a hurricane, and he took her in. The rest of the family came around soon.

Non-sequitor endquote from the Onion: "Canada man acts like he is not cold"