I prefer the movie...

I hate when people are asked what their favorite book is and they reply with, "I prefer the movie." Drives me nuts. Sometimes I think America is deliberately becoming illiterate. Here are some books I love and would recommend to anyone. That is, unless you prefer the movie.

The Final Season by Tom Stanton. I just recently finished this book. It's about the final season at Tiger Stadium. In Detroit. Not Louisiana. There is a book about a season at LSU's Tiger Stadium. Completely different. This book was about more than baseball. It told the stories of many people who basically lived at Tiger Stadium as well as the author's relationship with the stadium, his father and his sons. Very good book.

Hate Mail From Cheerleaders by Rick Reilly. This guy is just funny. He used to be a columnist for Sports Illustrated, but has since moved to ESPN the Magazine. His columns are still great. The columns have sports as a backdrop but deal more with individuals. This book is a collection of his columns.

Luckiest Man by Jonathan Eig. This is Lou Gehrig's biography. This man was amazing. Even though I knew what happened at the end I was still feeling emotional when I got there. Just a great read.

Insomnia by Stephen King. This is not a horror book. Which is probably why I like it. Stephen King, while known as a horror writer, is a very good fantasy fiction writer. I don't remember a whole lot about this book other than it was good. I should probably read it again.

It by Stephen King. This is a horror book. Scared the bejeezus out of me. This book along with the movie made me afraid to take a shower for weeks. I showered, but it was probably the fastest shower I'd ever taken. The damn bad guy is a clown. Just creepy. And the only people who can see it are kids. Scary book. Read it.

The Eyes of the Dragon by Stephen King. This is another fantasy book. It's kind of wild coming from Stephen King. It has magic and dragons. I've read this book about four times. It has some ties to the Dark Tower saga by Stephen King. I would have added that one too, but the last three books were a major disappointment. Anyway, Eyes of the Dragon is a very quick and enjoyable read.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. Nothing needs to be said about this one. Classic.

The Chronicles of Prydain by Lloyd Alexander. This is where the Disney animated classic The Black Cauldron came from. The Black Cauldron is book two in the series but the movie takes things from three of the books. It's just a great fantasy adventure. Although written for kids, adults can easily get a kick out of it. It won't take too long to read and it's fun.

There are other books I like, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to everyone. If you want more, let me know what genre you like and I'll try to recommend some.

Are you all seated too comfortable, too square on your botty? Then I'll begin...

There has been some clamoring for more blog posts. So here goes.

I've been getting more comfortable with the kids at H Crizzle. They seem to like me. I've even decided to read a book and talk about it with one of the kids.

The subbing still hasn't started, but I'm not too worried. We'll see what happens with that. I will be subbing at H Crizzle in October. Here's some advice. When your phone is your alarm clock, make sure it's on ring, not vibrate. I missed a subbing opportunity last week because I had my phone on vibrate. I felt like a boob.

The Tigers are playing possibly their last game of the season today. It's been a disappointing season. They weren't even .500. I will now toot my own horn. Long before the season started I knew the Tigers would suck. There is no way you can bring in three new players, one of them old and two coming from the less talented National League, and expect to win. Dontrelle Willis' numbers were faltering in the NL (his walks were way up, as was his ERA). Miguel Cabrera had never played in the northern market at the beginning of the season, which is always frigid. And Edgar Renteria is just too old. And the pitching has just been horrendous. Todd Jones was his usual unpredictable self and when he was injured Fernando Rodney became the closer. It has always amazed me that the Tigers have any confidence in this guy. He's never had any control. Ever. He blew six saves this season. That's six potential wins for the Tigers. As of today before the game has ended the Tigers would be 80-80. Instead they are six games below .500. I know you can't win every game and I know you can't save every game, but it's ridiculous how Leyland continues to shower him with compliments. He needs to know the limitations of his team. That's his job.

In happier news, Leyland has named Brandon Inge his third baseman for 2009. I'm not going to get my hopes up too much because Leyland has a habit of contradicting himself. He often says one thing and does another. I could say more but I feel like I'm ranting.

Even more happy news, Matt Millen was fired and Todd Jones retired. A decent week for Detroit sports.

Alexa and I have met with two caterers. They both seemed pretty good. We'll have to talk about it some more. We should make a decision within the next couple of weeks.

What's your name again?

I've been learning the names of about 40 little children over the past two days. I know most of the names but I don't know what face they belong to. Working at a school can be difficult.

As a new staff member at Honey Creek I've come to realize that I'm not horrible with kids. Also, they don't scare me anymore. They just exhaust me. After only three hours of running around with them I feel like I'm about to collapse. I've really been enjoying it, though. Most of the kids seem like genuinely decent human beings. Hopefully they'll continue on that track.

I've also discovered the next great quarterback. This kid has the worst mechanics, but he can chuck the ball. It has a perfect spiral, some zip to it and it hits me right in the chest every time. I really hope he continues on that path and finds success. He's also a pretty decent soccer player. However, I know nothing about soccer and, frankly, I can't stand the sport. But this kid has some skills.

I don't know any of the parents yet. It's kind a struggle when the kids leave because I'm supposed to sign them out. If I don't know the kid's name how can I sign him/her out? I've employed the help of some of the kids. I've already found the really helpful ones.

I've also found a group of kids that love chasing me and telling me I need to shave my arms. I'm definitely not ready for children.

In other news, I'm still waiting for the substitute teaching company to contact me. I'm going to call them tomorrow, I think, to make sure nothing was lost. I'll also be subbing at Honey Creek, which is cool.

A friend of Alexa's turned me on to a different job opportunity recently, too. I'm going to apply, for sure. It's a science writing position at U of M. I would be writing and editing things for a newsletter about the Great Lakes and how their resources can be used. It's only part time, though. I'll probably be working about four jobs for the next several months until I'm married and I can figure out where the hell I'll end up. I could be freelancing for the Saline/Milan papers, subbing/after caring at Honey Creek, subbing for PESG (the subbing company), and writing science things for U of M. Hopefully that would take care of all my bills (which isn't much) and allow me to save some money for married life. I don't really like transition periods.

All in all, though, life is running fairly smoothly. Kids are a trip.

Patriot Day?

Where was I when the World Trade Center collapsed? I was in the Ypsilanti High School Library.

Did I make a comment after the second plane collided with the building? Of course I did.

What did I say? "It's been bombed before. It won't fall down."

Who did I say it to? Everyone.

Was I wrong? Yes.

Do I regret saying it? No. I think it's turned into a funny story. Not the planes colliding with the buildings. That's not funny.

P.S. My post about music is taking longer than I thought it would. It's coming. Don't worry.