And the Swedish Chef only won twice...

Two reviews for a Monday - not a bad way to start the week. Locally, I went to the Capitol Hill Block Party on Saturday. The CHBP is your standard issue cool city outdoor fest in the summertime. 5 stages, none of which are denial or grief. My primary draw was The Hold Steady, who regular readers will recognize as one of my faves. But I gotta say, I'm sadly kinda over them after Saturday. They're still a great show. Fun anthems. Goofy, engaging band members who can play the crap out of a song. Especially the lead singer, Craig Finn. Who, by the way, I randomly saw walking down a bordering street 5 hours before his band's set began, looking like a dentist heading to Starbucks in the same shirt he wore on stage. I worked the crowd like a zen master to get a great vantage point for their set - back a half-dozen rows of people, front and center. They played basically everything everyone wanted to hear with glossy verve. But the thing that threw me was fully half of the people surrounding me and an equally well-schooled friend were obviously teenagers. I'm not saying that to be a grumpy old man. It's just that I can't imagine a 16-year-old kid with a $300 digital camera has any idea what they are talking about when it comes to careening, albeit hook-filled, audaciousness. My rating - a surprisingly bored B-minus.

One thing that isn't boring at all is the hunky new star of HBO's killer summer mini-series, "Generation Kill". His name is Alexander Skarsgard (son of the actor Stellan). He plays Sergeant Brady Colbert, based on a real soldier thanks to the reporting of Evan Wright who was embedded with his Marine unit. Skarsgard is actually Swedish (voted the five-time Sexiest Swede of the Year, beating my crown by an astonishing four). Yet his American accent is flawless. He will be a HUGE star. "Generation Kill" was written and produced by the same geniuses that did the same with "The Wire". Thus far we're 3 episodes into a 7 episode run. My interim rating - B-plus with an upward trajectory. Watch it. Even with the wall-to-wall military lingo, there's something special going on there.

Don't know what to say about last night's premiere of the second season of "Mad Men". I oozed praise constantly for the first season. But after this first date, I'm not thinking I'll go all the way this time.

Hope your own summer isn't spent in the desert scandalously shooting camels. Rock on.

Plus, Brett will arrive in a biofuel pickup truck running entirely on oil recovered from Bud Grant's illegal Idaho fry operation

A few supa quickies. The Brew Crew swept a four-game series in St. Louis last night with an heroic 9th inning homer by Ryan Braun. That young man possesses the sweetest swing ever to grace a Milwaukee uniform. Sorry, Stormin' Gorman. The Cubbies come to Beertown on Monday for a four game series. Before that we've got the Astros for a weekend of sure-to-be sellouts. Oh, how I love it when a plan comes together...

All sports' journalists are currently stumbling over the headline that Brett Favre is going to report to training camp in Green Bay on Sunday. Unless, of course, Big Cheddar steps into the fracas, ya know, and has him whacked. Yea, yea - it's the biggest football summer soap opera since Joe Montana and Roger Staubach shacked up in Mexico for a stolen month of passion way back in '79. Still, funnier than a bag full of cats getting dropped onto a dogfood assembly line. My prediction remains the same - the Pack screwed up royally and will rue the day that they didn't make every effort possible to get Brett back on the Reservation.

Big music weekend for us here in GrungeCity. Sarah's heading to the first night of the Capitol Hill Block Party tonite with a friend to see Vampire Weekend, among others. I'm making the same trip tomorrow to see The Hold Steady and DeVotchKa, among others. Expect copious reviews. Maybe a few pics. Hope your own tickets were pre-purchased and came with a free bobblehead. Rock on.

"Did I hit him or just Swift Boat him?"

This very morning on K Steet in DC, Robert Novak hit a pedestrian with his Black Corvette. I know, I know - stop laughing, America. Notice the buried lead in that reportage` - Robert Novak drives a BLACK CORVETTE. He claims to have done so since 1961. Decades before the invention of Viagra. The still-to-be-named victim purportedly had the crosswalk light and still hit the Dark Knight's windshield. I, for one, blame it on a long history of wanting to drive through a point that everyone else disagreed with.

Dubya gave a fundraiser speech that was surreptiously recorded in which he detailed his intention to relocate to Dallas. Thank Gawd. For years and years, Sarah and I have been debating whether or not we actually hated living there. Now, there is no remaining concession. Dallas sucks.

The Brew Crew took another in Saint Louie last night on late inning heroics by Bill Hall. CC Sabathia takes the mound tonite. As our friend visiting from Cleveland, Goldy, intoned this weekend (I'll paraphrase) - "I'm glad he went to a team I can appreciate." Damn straight, Michael. May your leadership in this national struggle toward finding a Nation to appreciate lead us to the promised land. And by us, it was totally a Brewers comment.

Hope your own Park Cities real estate tours take you through some really fine foreclosure opportunities today. Rock on.

First pitch on a stunning Sunday @ Safeco. The Mariners still suck (Cleveland won 6-2).

First pitch on a stunning Sunday @ Safeco. The Mariners still suck (Cleveland won 6-2).
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Gravitas comes from a joke about Tim Conway being cast in your role as a maverick?

Barack Obama hit the international road - today he's in eastern Afghanistan, close to the border with Pakistan. Great pick to get his rhetorical ball rolling. Last night John McCain went on Conan O'Brian to joke about his age. Not so great pick, even though he didn't totally embarrass himself. Obviously, what we'll be seeing in the months ahead are two campaigns in punch-counterpunch mode, as is always the case. But this time around, the Dems have the advantage of reach and endurance. Polls are worthless at this point. It's all about perception. And I predict that unless Obama makes a major gaffe (minor ones should be expected with as many stops as he's scheduled), he comes back home to the States with some major wind in the sails. Everyone dropped the story way too early that Obama outraised McCain by $30Million in just the month of June and has an unprecedented $72Million in the bank. Fundraising stories are the stuff of pre-primary punditry fluff, I suppose. But that advantage (McCain's got $27Million in his coffers) and a really well-choreographed foreign tour is just the sort of bump to shoot for as the nation turns its annual focus toward summer vacations. I believe that the constantly belabored "flip-flop" storyline is a dead end for both sides this cycle. That will forever be the albatross hung around John Kerry's massive head - inappropriately, I must add. So I imagine the endless stream of take-out food tastes much better in Obama headquarters these days for all those sleep-deprived 20somethings. And the after-hours hook-ups are probably a lot more fun, too. After all, that's why many of those folks play the game. The pay sucks, the hours are terrible, you live like a meth addict stuck in a cubicle. But you're surrounded by fellow addicts who are endless fun to hang out with when you stumble outdoors for a ray or two of sun.

Maya had her third ballet lesson this morning. I didn't stick around for the whole show as Sarah and I did the trade-off on watching from the window seats, but the routine for summer Saturdays seems pretty well set. Up early. Challah french toast. Extra syrup. Don the tutu. Get fired up. Hence the extra syrup. Play shy for a few minutes. Join in the gaggle of impossibly adorable girlie compatriots. Rock out, ballet style. Refuse to take off the outfit for hours. Collapse into an afternoon nap. Not a bad gig, for all concerned.

CC Sabathia pitched another complete game last night as the Brew Crew smoked the Giants in San Fran, 9-1. He's 3-0 as a Brewer. Yummy.

Hope your own Saturday features hours and hours of dancing. Rock on.

"I mean, it's not like I can tell people to power the internets with that passing wind power."

Dubya held a presser this morning - his first since the end of April. He was his usual petulent, winking, evasive persona. Yawn. But two things stuck out for me. One, the only time he sounded like he knew what he was peddling was when he was talking about off-shore drilling for "product" and the capital expenditure required to make it all happen. Far too little is made of what a failure he was as an "oil man" - aside from Joe Conason's seminal reporting way back in the run-up to the 2000 Election. But BOY was he trying to make it seem like he knew what he was talking about in that realm today. My prediction - his ex-Preziduncy will feature a victory lap similar to what Cheney exploited at Haliburton. Secondly, his dismissal of his obvious ability to encourage Americans to reduce their energy consumption was a dismal fraud. Instead, Dubya believes Americans are "smart enough" to choose how to conserve and that they can "balance their own checkbooks". Really? REALLY? This is the country that got seduced by adjustable-rate mortgages and Hummers. Unreal. Dubya couldn't be more out of touch if he were whiling away the last year of his disasterous reign listening to Ray Price 8-tracks echo around an empty basement White House bowling alley.

For my birthday today, the National League front office appropiately chose to give Ben Sheets the starting pitcher nod. They're so sweet. The first time ever for a Milwaukee Brewer, by the way. Hope your own home field World Series advantage gets nailed down today. Rock on.

The Great Grandkids with their really Great Grandmother

The Great Grandkids with their really Great Grandmother
Originally uploaded by emaggie

We've been in Santa Barbara for a few days with the extended family celebrating Maya's Great Grandma's 95th birthday. The weather was lovely, the company was charming and the kids were adorable. Of all generations. None moreso than Dorothy, of course.

Maya gives her new bud Cousin Luke a bruising hug and back pat.

Maya gives her new bud Cousin Luke a bruising hug and back pat.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Maya's purple butterfly shades. From the new Deep Purple/Jimi Hendrix/Iron Butterfly collection.

Maya's purple butterfly shades. From the new Deep Purple/Jimi Hendrix/Iron Butterfly collection. She's a huge fan of 60s early heavy metal.
Originally uploaded by emaggie

Morgan Freeman saying "M&%$^@f+?ker" adds at least a half-grade, in my book.

We're in Santa Barbara for a family weekend, which can guarantee only one thing. Movie Review Catch-ups!

Yesterday's matinee was "Wanted" with James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie. Solid, hilarious, bloody punches to a happy summertime face. My rating - big B-plus. Soooo close to an A-minus. But I caught the over-the-top Rooskie director seemingly cheating off the papers of his obvious influences - Tarantino, the sadly insane and discredited Wachowski Brothers, Danny Boyle. Nonetheless, we laughed with appreciation throughout. The train crash near the end is the most unintentionally hilarious disaster since Jamie Lynn Spears recently gave birth. But so much more easy to watch. I recommend that you watch a two-dollar theatre mid-week showing sometime later this summer. You will only be disappointed if you believe in physics.

Our beloved Milwaukee Brewers head into the weekend before the All-Star Break a mere 4 games back from the somewhat sputtering Cubbies. Who gave up 7 home-runs in a convincing loss last night. Corey Hart got the last slot on the National League All-Star Team yesterday, probably because he's a dead-ringer for a young Brett Favre. 6 weeks ago the Brew Crew were 4 games under .500. Now they're 10 games over. No cockiness, just pleasant surprise. Watching this young team get better is more fun than seeing Angelina Jolie's back torso tatoos glistening with dripping bath water as she seductively slinks away. Seriously. Well, maybe not SERIOUSLY...but I'm trying to belabor a point here.

Hope your own weekend matinee schedule includes a "Hellboy", some "Hancock" and maybe even an Edith Wharton adaption. Just kidding about that last one. Rock on.

Mine's on vibrate, Ted's getting the finger...

To continue the Wisconsin sports theme from yesterday (Brew Crew won last night in CC Sabathia's first start). Brett Favre. Is he indeed still retired? The jury's out. For those unaware, Brett's been playing a bit of a PR game the last handful of days testing the waters of what those of us who claim to know what's what expected all along - his retirement was premature. But the reaction from the Packers - specifically Ted Thompson, the single most tone-deaf major sport GM since George Steinbrenner got sent to Guantanomo Bay - is simply infuriating to this lifelong fan. If Brett Favre sent a text message to the Governor of Wisconsin and said he'd like to redraw the map of the State, we'd all be getting new almanacs in a week. If Brett Favre sent a text message to the Pope and said that he'd like to spitball a few ideas for a new Saint or two, the Vatican would be ordering in brats and searching for jambalaya recipes post-haste for the meet and greet. If Brett Favre...oh, you get the point. You don't just give the Heisman to one of the greatest players to ever put on the uniform because you're sipping a pinot noir with your dooshbag cousins on the Oregon Coast. Which is where I imagine Ted Thompson vacations. Stunning locale. But totally dooshy. Bring Brett back, Dooshy. If you don't, you'll be forever branded as the one person that denied Packer fans a final chance at Favreian grandiose disappointment/drama. And your house will be egged every day for what I estimate to be, oh about, the next 17 years.

Hope your own Hall of Fame legends at least merit a call back today. Rock on.

Don vs. Carsten - you decide who's a bigger deal

vs. ?

Greetings, Brewers Nation. I'm sure y'all are feeling pretty excited these days. For the handful of Americans not yet aware, the Brew Crew picked up a prized pitcher in a trade from the slightly-less lovable Cleveland Indians. Carsten Charles Sabathia. CC, for short. Last year's American League Cy Young winner. Big boy (6'7", 290). Surprisingly good hitter (.300 career average - almost unheard of for a pitcher). Huge strikeout master. More intimidating than a calculus pop quiz. On fire and ready to win so he can boost his free agency value after the season. I remember being excited when the '82 Brew Crew picked up Don Sutton in a well-timed trade. The trade for Sabathia makes that old school rap look like Barry Manilow. Kudos to my boys back in Milwaukee. Sabathia starts today for the first time as a Brewer. I think I just broke a sweat smiling.

Hope your own overly eager forecasts today roll all the way to the Series. Rock on.

"Happy Birthday America, from us bikers."

"Happy Birthday America, from us bikers."
Originally uploaded by emaggie

We had a fun Fourth in the 'hood. Some industrious neighbors got the kids on the block together for an impromptu parade. As you can see, Maya rode tall in the saddle. Hope your own fireworks were also homemade. Rock on.

A Hitch calls for a gettiup.

The stunner from today's media banquet is Christopher Hitchens' piece in the new issue of "Vanity Fair". And by stunner, I mean something that has been said a bazillion times but is still amazing to hear uttered by one of the most conservative defenders of the War on Terror and its tactics. The Hitch had himself waterboarded at the behest of his editor. Without irony, he broke like a candyglass mirror. His description of his conversion is chilling. I've always admired The Hitch's erudite style no matter how much I find his point of view to be utterly abhorrent. But since he now agrees in earnest with what I have always believed gives me limited hope for the debate over torture. Waterboarding is torture. If you think otherwise, you need to schedule a trip to North Carolina to test your theory.

Hope your own "simulated" torture is limited to watching anything remotely associated with "The Hills" today. Rock on.