It ain't summer til you've heard this...

Best summer song ever. 
Click HERE.

Yes...some of these bathing beauties are related to us.  And yes...this would have been what you'd have
worn to the beach if you're a female and had been born a generation or two earlier.

If, on the other hand, you're male, you'd have been attired thusly...

Neither of these blokes is related to us, I can happily report.

HB to a Baltimore Original...

Hidden HackFester Cam Shot, JPM Enterprises, All Rights Reserved

circa 1987 - The multi-talented Birthday Boy Matty Boh Himself

(AKA, Matty O), seen here hydrating himself while practicing tightrope

 walking while pooping his Pampers.

Not many private citizens have their own logo.

Matt does.

All the Best on Your Big Day, Matty Boh!

HB Michael J!

circa 1962-3

On this festive occasion, it's time to examine two works of literary significance constructed by the Birthday Boy Himself.  The first (above) goes back about a half-century and is as cute as a litter of two-day-old kittens; the second one (below) was written about 30 years ago.  After perusing both pieces, I'd have to say that MJ was wise to turn to printing (vs.calligraphy), or that postcard would have been good for about 13 words.  And that the eventual introductions of spell-check** and grammar-check were, for him, absolute godsends....
All the Best on Your Big Day Mikey!
(And keep those cards and letters coming!)


**Curious that this recent college grad (with a degree in Geography no less) spelled "Mountains"
 M-o-u-n-t-i-a-n-s not once, not twice, but three times in a tiny 3x5 postcard.  (Actually, my bad... I wasn't around to edit.)

circa 1979-80, Euro backpacking tour with Donna

Ladies and Gentlemen...the Beatles...in Detroit!!!

Hard to believe that the Beatles performed in Detroit. Even

harder to believe that the tickets were a paltry $5.50. Hell,

with my cashier's job at Krogers, I could have bought a

whole row. Why didn't I know about this!!!???

(Maybe I did, and I had to work that night? Damn it.)

Scroll back up to the photo... Note the "Keener" radio van

parked in front of the venue (the long-since demolished

Olympia Stadium, former home of the Detroit Red Wings).

See the electric sign attached to the van's roof?

At the moment the shot was taken, it had PAUL

displayed on it.

Also check out the marquee and the next act on tap at

the stadium: The Grand Ole Opry. Missed that

performance too. (Thank god.)

And finally, the Shell gas station sign on the right

reminds us of the price of gas in 1966:  32 cents a gallon.

A buck's worth and you could drive around all night (the

radio tuned to WKNR, of course).

Backstage:  George and Ringo, removing lint from their matching coats which
will soon be covering their matching shirts.  That's show business.
 Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cheese Glorious Cheese...

Amira's friend Gabby brought this treat to Amira's birthday dinner
 along with an impudent bottle of Malbec.  It's Delice de Bourgogne,
 a triple cream cheese made from cow's milk in Burgundy, France. 

Get it if you can...it truly doesn't get any better than this.

Incidentally,Gabby bought it at Whole Foods, and I found it at a

 much-smaller local shop, Plum Market, so clearly the word is

spreading about this gem.  This means that even if you live in a

 backwater state such as New Jersey, Florida, or Maryand,
you can still probably find it.

 Best to let it sit out for 30 or 40 minutes and then to slather it
 on chunks of a very crispy baguette washed down with your
 favorite beverage (wine is preferred, but this stuff would taste
remarkable paired even with tap water).

Bon appetit!

UPDATE, 6/11/12:  Mavourneen texted that she found it at Trader
Joe's!  Amazing.  I'd never heard of it until May 21st.  Now I'm
learning that it's everywhere, it's everywhere....

RIP.

In memory of Pierre's mère, Annick Goven, who passed

 away late last week after a prolonged battle with cancer. 

A War Hero to Remember this Memorial Day...

Uncle Harry F. Kelly, circa 1917-1918
Note: Harry was married to Anne O'Brien, one of
Martha Marion's older sisters (along with Eleanor,
Kitty, and Margaret).


Found this letter to Harry's father after Harry was wounded in the
famous Battle of Chateau-Thierry.  To read it, click
HERE.

Millions were killed in WWI, during which tanks, the machine gun,
poison gas, long-range artillery, and aerial bombing were first used
to obliterate the enemy (which included noncombatants who happened
to get in the way, including women, children, the elderly) 

It was originally called The Great War because nobody in his right
mind could conceive of going through such hell ever again.  Unfortunately,
Hitler wasn't in his right mind....

The Perfect Birthday (or any other day) Drink...

Amira ordered up Grapefruit Margaritas for her recent party.  Highly recommended.


INGREDIENTS
(Note:  this makes 2-3 servings)

3 oz tequila

2 oz orange liqueur

2 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice (2 limes)

6 oz grapefruit juice

Salt for the rim

Grapefruit wedges (for garnishing)


INSTRUCTIONS

1.  Shake or mix together tequila, liqueur, lime juice.

2.  Rub grapefruit or lime rind around rims of glasses
 and then dip rims in salt.

3.  Fill each glass with ice and pour.

4.  Drink.

5.  Refill as needed.

HB, Amira!

Ann Arbor, MI, circa 1988


Ahhhh...Dreamland...all in a day's work for onesie-wearing, blankee-toting,
Gerbers-gobbling, Pampers-loading newbies. Protesting vehemently (as they
generally do) to being sequestered in their jail-cell-of-a-crib for the detested
naptime (and thus being ruthlessly removed from "all the action"), soon their
red-faced protestations have subsided, their tears have dried, their breathing
has steadied, and they are angelically out, refreshing themselves for yet
another energetic round of world exploration.

All the Best on Your Big Day, Amira!

And may you sleep just as soundly tonight in the wake of your celebration
(though I strongly suggest that you refrain from employing the sideways-on-mattress,
legs-up-on-wall approach).

HB, Richardo!

Photo copyright 2012, JPM /WOM Enterprises

The Birthday Boy, seen here last winter in Dr. Cornelius McGillicuddy's Amazing Golf Shot

Straightener Machine that he bought at a garage sale for $8.  This contraption was all

 the rage in 1906 but fell quickly out of favor after several inadvertent electrocutions.  It has

been called by some watchdog groups "almost as dangerous as jarts."  This is thought

  to be the only one remaining in the U.S.  (Two still exist in Scotland.)

Some guys will do anything to improve their game, especially RJ.  Let's

hope it works.  All the Best on Your Big Day Brother!

HB, Michelle!

It’s common knowledge that Michelle is a picky eater...

Still, we fervently hope that this isn’t how she got

  her reputation.

All the Best on your Big Day, young lady!

 

(But now that you’re a full-fledged, card-carrying

 adult, better go easy on the "finger foods.")

A Peek at Paris...

April 21, 2012 - Amira and I climbed the steep, twisting, very narrow staircase to the top of the
 north tower of Notre Dame Cathedral and were rewarded with this majestic view. 
Now we know why Quasimodo chose to live up there....

HB, M.E.!

Photo by Luigi Forentino, Vatican Enterprises.  All
rights reserved.

Now that this gem of a shot has been unearthed,

please be advised that henceforth, these are the only

approved cuss words that can be used in the presence

of Her Holiness while her application for sainthood

 is being processed by the church:**

Shoot

Poop

Dang

Doggone it

H-E-double hockey sticks

Frickin’

Flippin’
Freakin'

Fuddrucker

Heck
Son of a pup

Oh my gosh
Gosh darn
Goldurned

Crud
Jiminy Christmas

Arse

Dangit

For Pete's sake
For cryin' out loud
Golly
Gosh golly
Oh sugar
Stinkin'

Fudge

Fiddlesticks
For heaven's sake
What on earth...!
Dagnabit

Geeze

Geeze Louise (preferred)

______________________________

All the Very Frickin Best on Your Big Day,

Mary Ella! (Now get out there and have
gosh darned good time for heaven's sake!)

**(NOTE: This can sometimes take 2-3 centuries.)

For those who are stressing out about exercise...or your lack of it.

____________________________

Heard this woman on Fresh Air.

  I like the way she thinks.... 

Click HERE.

__________________________________________

HB, Julie!

The Birthday Girl at 6 with pensive younger brother (that would be me)

 looking on pensively. Not certain what she was so sweetly wishing for

 (maybe a Betsy Wetsy?  Another brother?  Or two?  Or three?).
But we feel quite confident that she got it....

(Ed. Note:  Today, in honor of our celebrant, we are using

Large Type, appropriately called Elder Font.)

It’s the perennial paradox. A mere

handful of candles for a child in the

bloom of youth with unlimited lung
 capacity and overwhelming eagerness
 to let loose.

  And, on the other hand,

 a virtual shitload of flickering flames contaminating the surface of the

 oxygen-deprived pensioner’s cake
(whose enthusiam for the occasion
is generally diametrically opposed to
her 6-year-old self's).

  If the flames or pulmonary and 

coronary exertions don't get her,

then the sugar just might.

But all that said, we won't let such
 concerns sully the occasion. Instead,
we wish you All the Best on your
 Big Day, Julie! (And still feel quite
 confident that your fondest wish
 is soon to be yours.)