Oireachtas! And Real Men of Genius.

All of my girls are in Dallas this weekend at the southern regional Irish Dance competition they call Oireachtas, hoping to qualify for "Worlds" -- the world competition in Ireland.

Yesterday Claudia's eight-hand reel finished sixth out of 16, and as of this writing they both have more figure and solo dances to perform. It's great that Maddie recovered in time to compete since both girls have logged hundreds of practice hours.

Laurette is also down there doing a solo dance of her own, managing wigs, dresses, makeup, hard shoes, soft shoes, socks, sock glue, and a couple of nervous and excited girls, all the while coping with a nausea-inducing migraine. I mean, what a woman.

Need I add that I am excessively proud of the women in my life? No, I probably don't need to, but there it is.

And Sam and I? How are we spending the weekend?

War of the Worlds on DVD. Trails End Popcorn. Tremors. Star Wars Battle Front II.

Plus we listened to all 32 "Real Men of Genius" Bud Light ads on Sam's iPod. All in one sitting, sharing the earbuds, laughing so hard we were spitting in each others faces.

If that's not male bonding, I don't know what is.