the unlikely orange

before reading this post, hit the play button above.  it will be the soundtrack for what's below. here is shannon and quin, looking on from the dugout. and here is jackson, who will be on the mound tonight in yankee stadium, with his infamous and intimidating "smile over the glove."  here i am, making one of my patented moves, throwing out a speedy baserunner. and here is caedmon, who starred in his own children's movie about baseball, called "everyone's hero."  and without further ado, here are the authentically cute ones, featuring quinton as he gets pshyched for the playoffs.  enjoy!  and go yankees!  tame the tigers!

"the bribe" paper collage on hardcover bookboard september, 2011 gregory a. milinovich i haven't had much time/energy for collaging recently, but i recently carved out a little time just to glue some things together because my juxtapositional (is that a word?) creative energy was like a caged bird, singing for freedom.  so, i started cutting and gluing, and this is what happened.  i truly wish i had more time to do this stuff, as it really feeds a hunger inside me.  i suppose, like many other things, it is a discipline that i too often neglect, to my own detriment.  speaking of misplaced priorities, we watched an episode of the new show "new girl" this week, and i absolutely loved it.  i was laughing until my belly hurt.  i'm going to be watching more of that one.  the new nbc show "up all night" which has so much potential, just isn't getting it done.  the red sox did not make the playoffs.  this is kind of bittersweet...

switchfoot's new album "vice verses" came out yesterday, and i've been spinning it non-stop (is it really spinning in an ipod?) since i got it.  i don't know what it is about switchfoot albums that make me want to write reviews, but there's something there because their last studio album ("hello hurricane") inspired me to write a review , as well.  i suppose it comes down to the fact that i just really love this band, and that they keep making art that pleases my ears, feeds my faith, and resonates in my heart long after i push the stop button.  although i've only been listening for 24 hours, this album promises more of the same, as frontman jon foreman's lyrics so often feel like the poetry that lurks just inside my pen that never quite makes its way out.  he just keeps on writing the things i long to say and asking the questions i'm sometimes too scared to ask.  but switchfoot finds a way to say it and ask it and sing it in a way t...

a few weekends ago shannon and the boys traveled down to delaware to visit her brother and their awesome family.  uncle shawn took jack and cade fishing, and you can see here how they did.  it's a sad but true reality that if my boys want to go fishing they have to go with their uncle.  i can't catch a fish unless it's between two buns and covered in tartar sauce.  mmmmmmmm.....tartar sauce.  don't know why i'm really not into fishing.  i guess it's because it takes time and i'd rather be spending that time re-watching old steeler games for the 47th time.  plus, you have to either get in a boat, or stand on a muddy bank.  i guess if i could go fishing from the comfort of my own mancave, that'd be different.  additionally, fishing requires hooks and wires and something called lures and it all starts to sound a little too much like tools and manly macho stuff that makes me feel like i'd rather just curl up with some chocolate and a goo...

well, the steelers eeked out a win last night against the peyton manning-less, and then kerry collins-less, colts at the big dome in indy.  yes, the game was a great deal closer than what most people expected, but i had been telling people all week that while i felt like the steelers should get out of there with a win, i wouldn't be surprised if they lost.  i felt that the colts really had something to prove (everyone in the media is writing them off, as if peyton is the only player that matters on that team), and who better to prove it against than the reigning afc champs?  let's face it, the playing the steelers is everyone else's superbowl. the beginning of the game looked like the steelers would come out swinging and really dominate the game, but a slew of turnovers in the second quarter gave the colts reason to believe, and made it a brand new game.  it didn't help that the strength of the colts defense (defensive ends) corresponds with a glaring weakness on t...

just found out that switchfoot has a new album coming out at the end of this month.  switchfoot, a group of Christian guys san diego, first recorded an album back in 1997 (the legend of chin).  i bought that album that year, and thought i had something that no one else was listening to yet.  i was in college, and something about that album (which they say they just made for their friends, never thinking they'd experience much success), really connected with me.  it's hard for me to believe that was 14 years ago.  i've followed their career pretty closely over those 14 years, seeing them live several times and buying up all of their recordings.  later this month they will release their 8th studio album, 'vice verses.'  from the single they've released, and what i've read about the album, it seems that the band is going in a slightly new musical direction, handing the keys over to the rhythm section (drums and bass) instead of the guitar.  th...

-happy belated birthday to bilbo and frodo baggins, and a happy belated hobbit day to all of you (it was yesterday, 9/22, in case you were wondering. -huge congrats to the yankees who took advantage of an epic free fall by the red sox and wrapped up the division this week, making them the champions of the american league east.  also a big shout out to russell martin, the canadian catcher who is just wrapping up his first year as a yankee, for giving the press this amazing quote, "i hate the red sox."  couldn't have said it better myself. -congrats to me on my first fantasy football win of the season.  it is likely my only win of the season, as my team stinks, but it was nice to at least visit the win column once.  it's like a one-time vacation from my normal routine the loser land, where i'm forced sit around and chew my fingernails, hoping that my kicker will somehow kick 17 field goals in one game in order to get me the win.  -in retrospect, i wish...

its been a ridiculously busy week, but i thought you might enjoy a few pictures of the milinovich's in action this last week.  the picture of shannon and i above was taken by jackson at ard's farm, where we went with my parents this weekend.  the picture below of jack was also taken at ard's.  (by the way, if you are ever there for the breakfast buffet, get it.  seriously.  amazing.) this picture of cade was taken yesterday after shannon made brownies and cade got to lick the bowl or the beaters or something.  in any case he ended up with quite the chocolate goatee, which he wore as a badge of honor for the remainder of the afternoon (along with the heinz ketchup bottle and pickle pins you can see on his shirt).  okay, so this picture of quin and i wasn't taken this week, but i wish it was because i could use a nap.  we were honestly both sleeping here, and it was wonderful.  best.nap.ever. and finally, this is just a ...

this last sunday i preached a sermon about how big our God is: the power and preeminence of God.  it was a fun sermon to preach, but rather than share it here, i wanted to share another sermon that i heard given by a guy named louis giglio.  i've never done this here on the blog before, and i don't expect many of you to really watch it all, but if you do, i think you'll find it worth it.  i don't know much about louis giglio, and so i can't really speak to his overall theology, and i can't even say i agree with everything he says here, but the overall point about the magnificence of God, and the very cool way he makes that point, is well worth the view.  there are 5 videos here which together make up the whole sermon (almost 45 minutes, in total).  God is so amazing. 

i just want to stand up and give a hearty congratulations to mariano rivera.  yesterday he earned his 602nd save, the most of any baseball player ever.  rivera will never get the attention of a derek jeter or a-rod, and it seems pretty clear that he's perfectly happy with that.  and what's more, he is arguably way better at his job than they are at theirs.  certainly no one has ever closed out games with such dominance, longevity, forgetfulness (a very important quality), and, perhaps most of all, grace.  here's to you, mo.  i am proud to say you are a yankee.  keep up the good work. 

i'm super busy today, so if you were expecting a full review of the steelers game, sorry.  it ain't happenin.'  suffice to say that the steelers sufficiently showed that they are indeed, still alive, even if they have to play with wheelchairs and walkers.  they won definitively, shutting out the seahawks and not turning the ball over at all.  they better still be pretty embarassed about what happened in baltimore, because they still have a TON to work on, but it was nice to see them find the win column.  next week they've got the peyton manning-less colts who lost to the browns, so...um...yeah.  go steelers!

well, while it is technically not autumn yet, the weather doesn't seem to be aware of the calendar's restrictions, and we've been experiencing all the telltale signs of fall here in central pa: crisp morning air; leaves beginning to turn, and dunkin' donuts selling pumpkin coffee (it's exquisite, seriously).  fall is my favorite season. there's just something about the combination of that crunchy chill, cider and football that appeals to my soul in a very profound way.  and while i can be a pretty fun guy (not a mushroom), i am drawn to the melancholy of autumn in a way i can't quite explain.  and so for saturday song, i thought i would introduce you to one of my favorite musicians of melancholy, the legend nick drake.  drake was british, and died in 1974, tragically, at the age of 26.  while he had a basically comfortable life, it was clear that drake never really felt comfortable in his own skin as a performer and really struggled with that.  tha...

some of the things i love right now: jazz watching a movie on a thursday night the smell of a 6-week old's head catching up with an dear friend the anticipation of beginning a new book the crispness of the morning dunkin' donuts pumpkin coffee people in the media writing off the steelers singing loudly in the car the spicy smells of autumn sweater vests (in fact, a friend and i are conspiring to open a strictly sweater-vest clothing store, thinking of calling it "vested interest."  any investors out there want to take a chance on us?  our motto is: "you just show up, we'll take care of the vest."  you know you would shop there.) short blog posts aaaannnnndddd...... fridays.

random stuff.  you know you like it.  -just finished reading david sedaris' hilarious book "me talk pretty one day."  the expression LOL is not one i use, unless forced at gunpoint, but if it were ever appropriate, it would be in describing this book.  there were many moments where i literally guffawed (such a great word).  there were others were i was trying to hold it in, which simply resulted in the whole "santa-claus-bowl-full-of-jelly" thing that simply elicited disapproving stares from the others around me at the saturday night auction where i was reading it.  i would occasionally look up from my shaking book and bid on a box of star wars guys, before returning to sedaris' description of his dad's eating habits, LOLing all the way.  at one point i'm pretty sure the auctioneer interpreted a stray guffaw as a bid on a ceramic clown that, had i accidentally purchased it, would have given me night sweats for months.  -we talk a walk l...

anyone who has had children probably knows the law of deferred attention: how you - the parent - then become the least important person in the whole family system.  whereas before, when your parents used to come see you and give you a hug and find out what's new in your life, interactions with your parents are now limited to handing them the baby and them vaguely thanking you for giving them grandchildren (but not with eye contact: they wouldn't dare break their loving gaze/stare at chubby mcChubberson who just vomited breast milk all over grandmas arms and shirt, resulting in praise and admiration, "awwwww...he's SOOOOOO cute" and so forth).  this is true of blogs, as well.  i have a whole audience of readers who used to be interested in the actual words of the blog.  now, each entry is a complete and utter failure unless accompanied by pictures of quinton.  and the pictures are all that matter.  i could write a lengthy post about my ne...

we have a budding entymologist in our house.  everyday we wakes up and tells me in a semi-awake way, "today looks like a great day for bug collecting."  it doesn't matter if the sun is shining or you can't see 6 inches in front of your face for the fog: it's a good day for capturing insects.  actually, as it turns out, it's always a good time for others to catch bugs: parents, friends, brothers, etc.  still, he loves the idea of it, and so we've got containers with bugs in various states of ill-health stowed all around the garage.  morally, i feel like i should be going through some amount of remorse or at least pity for these little multi-legged creatures, but i can't say that i do.  i mean, they could get eaten by something much bigger than them, and end up as lining the inside of a spider's abdomen, or they could die intact and end up with a pin through them under the admiring gaze of a 6-year old.  if i were a beetle near the milinovich ho...

well, since the steelers decided to take their first game off, i dont' see why i shouldn't take today off from blogging.  seriously.  i just want to lie in bed, pull the covers over my head, and pout.  but that had better not be what the steelers are doing.  they better be busy eating their humble pie.  all of it.  every last bite.  and i hope it serves them well.  it appears that they really needed to taste it, and i hope they get  more than their bellies full of it. the only problem is that, at least to these eyes, it wasn't just that the steelers didn't seem to want it as much as the ravens (though that was clearly part of it), but that they just weren't as good at running, catching, blocking, tackling, coaching, and well, just about everything.  they weren't just out-willed.  they were plain out-played.  no amount of humble pie will fix that.  sigh.  at least it's monday.  well, at least there w...

i posted a version of this last year, but i thought it might be worth pulling out and dusting off since the season starts tomorrow and my level of amped-ness is approaching heights never before experienced by mere mortals.  i made a few changes from last year's poem.  enjoy! ‘Twas the night before kickoff and all through the “Nation,” not a Stiller fan was stirring, due to some healthy libation. The terrible towels were placed by the TVs with care, in hopes that HD images of victory soon would be there. The Steeler fans were sleeping, all snug in their beds, while visions of hypocycloids danced in their heads. And I in my black 86 jersey – Hines Ward -   had just settled down after a prayer to the Lord. When out in the family room, I heard such a noise, I could have sworn it sounded like Big Ben and the boys. I raced down the hall and into the den, and couldn’t believe what I discovered then.   There in th...

"six years later" paper collage on cardboard panel 2007 gregory a. milinovich tomorrow is, of course, the tenth anniversary of the terror attacks aimed at the united states and it's symbols of financial, military, and political power.  while i may have nothing new to add to the conversation about this tragic event, i am nonetheless compelled to say something, as this story is one that will not let me go.  each year i get out a file of news clippings and reread the stories, allowing myself to feel again the feelings that were so fresh after that tuesday in 2001.  this year, as in past years, as i walk my own personal journey of remembering, i have watched oliver stone's world trade center , as well as united 93 and a dvd featuring the cbs news coverage from september 11, 2001.  some may assume that my fascination is morbid, but it isn't.  i simply find this story - a story that represents the end of something in america and the begin...

and so it begins.  the 2011 nfl season isn't even 24 hours old yet and already we are in full swing.  here in steeler nation we call it 'ravens week' and it refers to the twice-a-year (sometimes three times!) divisional matchups between the good guys (the steelers) and the epitome of evil (the baltimore purple browns.  why do i call them the purple browns, you ask?  well, because they are purple, first of all.  and seconly, because they are the one-time cleveland brown franchise that art modell ripped from the fabric of cleveland, relocating them to the city of ugly birds).  these are no mere football games.  these are grudge matches.  these are everything-hangs-in-the-balance battles between hope and despair, right and wrong, hines ward and ray lewis.  as much as the steelers-cowboys rivalry of the 70's epitomized the blue-collar/white-collar divide in america, this rivalry has become something even more universal: good vs. evil....

i thought i would share some of the recent artwork of my boys, just to sort of document where they are in their development as budding artists and creators with color and lines and strange relationships.  for example, cade just drew a picture of me the other day with cherries and bananas on my head.  who knows?  these first two are by caedmon (he saws the bottom one is a car in the rain): these next two are by jackson, who loves filling every possible void with color, even on his worksheets at school.  he just can't seem to bear to leave an square centimeter of blank paper.  the second one is "a catfish eating a fish.  and that fish has blood coming out of it."  this last one is a list jackson made after taking inventory of all the candy he got at the 4th of july parade we go to every year in osceola mills, pa.  he did all the counting and writing himself!  he's growing up (and likely getting a mouthful of cavities!...