http://www.bootsandsabers.com en owen@bootsandsabers.com Copyright 2008 2008-08-28T11:55:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/ten_years1/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/ten_years1/#When:11:55:00Z 11 years ago today, I asked my Wendy to marry me.  Well, technically “I” didn’t ask her, but that’s a whole other story.  In any case, for reasons that I still don’t understand, she said “yes” and my life was forever changed for the better. 10 years ago today, I stood in a church in Wisconsin.  It was hot, but I wasn’t thinking about that.  My brother stood by my side as my Best Man.  The music kicked in, I turned to my left, and saw an angel floating up the aisle.  Then it struck me… “I’m going to marry that angel.” We said our vows, looked each other in the eyes, kissed, and were forever joined by God.  Since then we’ve moved several times, bought a home, brought children into that home, worked hard, loved deeply, and built a life together.  Wendy is my best friend.  She’s the person who I want to talk to when things happen to me – good or bad.  She’s the person with whom I want to spend my time.  I want to talk to her, listen to her, eat with her, play with her, go to football games with her, and everything else.  Wendy is the mother of my children.  She cares for them, mends their injuries, helps them with their homework, soothes their fears, shares their victories, and guides them through life with a loving hand.  I can see her love reflected in their faces. Wendy is my partner.  We take on the challenges of the world together.  We share ideas, discuss the future, debate alternatives, and make decisions about our lives.  We each have our responsibilities, and have to live up to them. Wendy is my wife.  I don’t like the word “wife.” It seems like such a short and gruff word for what it means.  But even if I don’t like the word “wife,” I love mine.  She’s a part of me.  We share a brain, a heart, a soul, a life, a past, and a future.  We are one being in two bodies.  Wendy is my one, my wife, my all.  And I love her more than should be possible for a mortal.  We have been blessed with 10 years of marriage, but I have been blessed with 11 years of Wendy.  For that, I am unworthy, but forever thankful.  Thank you, Wendy, for all that you have been, all that you are, and all that you will be.  I love you. Off-Duty 2008-08-28T11:55:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/obama_forgets_1993_2000/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/obama_forgets_1993_2000/#When:22:13:01Z Wow.  This is an Obama fund raising email.  This has been a convention of extraordinary moments. Ted Kennedy passing the torch to a new generation. Michelle Obama moving the crowd to tears. And tonight, Joe Biden will give the biggest speech of his life. Shouldn’t that torch have come from President Bill Clinton?  Politics, Politics - General 2008-08-27T22:13:01-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/27_year_old_teacher_gets_25_days_for_sexually_assaulting_14_year_old/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/27_year_old_teacher_gets_25_days_for_sexually_assaulting_14_year_old/#When:22:11:00Z This is a complete disgrace for the legal system in Wisconsin. A former St. Francis math teacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to having sexual contact with a 14-year-old student, and was sentenced to 25 days in jail and two years’ probation. Kelly Marie Sweet, 27, has also permanently relinquished her Wisconsin teaching license. She was ordered to register as a sex offender for the duration of her probation. Law, Politics, Politics - Wisconsin 2008-08-27T22:11:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/just_words_just_a_tiny_country/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/just_words_just_a_tiny_country/#When:22:04:00Z Politics, Politics - General 2008-08-27T22:04:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/reminder/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/reminder/#When:17:42:00Z CONGRESSMAN JIM SENSENBRENNER DEBATES JIM BURKEE in a public forum TONIGHT at 7 p.m. GERMANTOWN VILLAGE HALL Moderator: Owen Robinson Hat tip WISSUP. Politics, Politics - Wisconsin 2008-08-27T17:42:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/doyle_uses_taxpayer_funds_for_politics/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/doyle_uses_taxpayer_funds_for_politics/#When:02:36:00Z Um… how is it legal for Governor Doyle to use his taxpayer-funded official website to publish a press release about him addressing the Democrat convention?  Isn’t that a purely political event being advertised with taxpayer funds?  Hat tip Charlie Sykes. Politics, Politics - Wisconsin 2008-08-27T02:36:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/the_fly_goes_opera/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/the_fly_goes_opera/#When:02:02:00Z Like I said earlier… Um… OK.  “The Fly,” described as a classical re-imagining of the 1986 movie about an eccentric scientist who turns into a massive fly, will open the new season at Los Angeles Opera in September with LA Opera director Placido Domingo conducting the orchestra. But fans be warned. Although “The Fly” reunited the movie’s director, composer, costume designer and creature designer, this isn’t just a revered film set to classical music. “I didn’t want to remake the movie. I didn’t want to rewrite the screenplay again,” Cronenberg, 65, told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday. “This production has a power and charisma all its own.” Culture 2008-08-27T02:02:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/choices_choices/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/choices_choices/#When:00:24:00Z My options for the evening: On Discovery: Dirty Jobs.  Episode: Dirty Cow Midwife.  Mike visits and Indiana dairy farm where he learns how to milk a cow and clean her udders.  Also, how to artificially inseminate a cow and deliver calves. Hillary Clinton. Dirty Jobs it is. Politics, Politics - General 2008-08-27T00:24:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/barbie_clubs_bratz_and_takes_her_money/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/barbie_clubs_bratz_and_takes_her_money/#When:01:03:00Z Good decision.  A federal jury awarded Mattel Inc. $100 million in damages on Tuesday in a federal copyright lawsuit that pitted the house of Barbie against MGA Entertainment Inc., the maker of the saucy Bratz dolls. MGA and its chief executive officer, Isaac Larian, were told to pay a total of $90 million in three causes of action related to Mattel’s employment contract with designer Carter Bryant, who developed the Bratz concept. The jury also ordered MGA, Larian and subsidiary MGA Hong Kong to pay a total of $10 million for copyright infringement. Don’t worry about the folks at MGA.  Bratz net them $500 million a year.  Culture, Law 2008-08-27T01:03:00-06:00 http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/kid_rock_on_politicians_well_not_literally/ http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/kid_rock_on_politicians_well_not_literally/#When:00:24:01Z Cool. “I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics,” the rap-rock musician, 37, tells CMT Insider. “Because at the end of the day,” he goes on to say, “I’m good at writing songs and singing. What I’m not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for ... I think would be very irresponsible on my part.” Of the celebs who haven’t taken the same approach, Rock says, “I think celebrity endorsements hurt politicians. As soon as somebody comes out for a politician, especially in Hollywood, when they all go, ‘I’m voting for this guy!’ – I go, ‘That’s not who I’m voting for!’ “ UPDATE: Here’s a little Kid Rock for y’all: Only God Knows Why Cowboy Culture, Politics, Politics - General 2008-08-27T00:24:01-06:00