Wrongness

I've heard of a lot of messed up things, but this takes the cake. Jesus, getting murdered because someone's backwoods religious beliefs in Bumf*ck China dictate they can't bury their unmarried son without a "Ghost Bride"? That has to rank among the most pointless deaths imaginable. There was no malice, the guy who did it was just filling an existing need. Horrible.

Shame

Is it weird to like this?



Because I do. People are drawn to those who have zero body awareness. She's like Jack Black not just in genre and general nuttiness but also in that way he has of glorifying in his own fat. Same deal with this Leslie Hall.

Indispensable Slackwear

This just says it all, doesn't it? Strangely that sort of self-deprecating humor is all the rage with the emo kids, and I wouldn't be surprised to know that depression is considered cool among them. Like having a fast car was for my generation, or getting laid at Spring Break.

I absolutely love Achewood. I want to live there. Screw Middle Earth, Achewood's the place for me.

A Voice that's Bigger than Life

Jennifer Hudson is an amazing singer, and should have won season 3 of American Idol. I was deeply disappointed when she got voted off the island in seventh place. Effing seventh. Maybe Elton John is right, I thought, America is too racist to let someone like her win. As someone who has watched every second of Idol ever broadcast, let me assure you it was because she's a big old weirdo, and most people aren't comfortable with that from a woman, especially a black woman. I don't know why that is, it just is. She acted a little wacky on the show a few times and got real quiet at times on the show when a few words, any non-psychotic words really, would have established a sympathetic part of her character that she hadn't really shown up to that point. I loved her from the first moment and didn't need her to do anything but sing her ass off every time, which is exactly what she did. But I have to admit I didn't vote for her very much during the week she got booted even though I knew very well she probably needed it, and I wonder if I didn't unconsciously assume she wouldn't care either way. Which she might not have, and if so she was exactly right. Winning is hardly the point of American Idol. Exposure is the whole kaboodle.

But my God Jennifer Hudson can sing. She could then



And she still can. I got her version of "And I am Telling You" and it's flawless and spine-tingling. She's a treasure and I'm so glad that cheesy show gave her the leg up she needed to get where she is today.

Oh Bother

Jeez
Originally uploaded by Uncle Mikey.

Another ice storm pic. Sabrina was lovely about the whole thing, really. Santa (still my parents, which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it) brought her a rainbow play mat, you remember the kind, sort of a tumbling mat thing. The thing's multitalented; it's a partition screen, it's a slide, it even makes julienne fries. I like to think we explored the hell out of that thing's possibilities, and many of them make my daughter scream with laughter.

Sabrina's a lovely girl. I can't remember if I wrote about this yet here, but if so I'm going to do it again: our neighbors to the North are a lovely couple with two sons, 2 and a half and five I believe, and the older one is in the stage where they growl at everything like little dinosaurs. In front of our house is a little ring of bushes with a break in the back, sort of a litle kiddie cave, and the boys spend a lot of time in there. Not too long ago Sabrina discovered it, and at first we weren't terribly happy about that. She's still falling over a fair bit and there were some sharp bits in there at eye level, so I did some trimming and we did our best to hold on to her in there. The second time she explored it she was having a lovely time and suddenly the older boy next door came outside and saw her in there, which you could tell drove him absolutely nuts. He grabbed his big Tonka dump truck, the one he holds on to the bed of while rocketing down the sidewalk, and rammed the cave a number of times, growling like mad.

There was no physical danger to Sabrina, and I've found that I always feel like a jerk after yelling at someone else's kid, so I just watched. His dad came out and told him to stop with the cave ramming, and he did, and then entered the cave. I sat near the entrance and watched Sabrina catch sight of him, ball up her little fists, and give him a bear mating call roar that froze him in his tracks. I was as shocked as he was, and for a moment we all sat there stunned until the kid's dad laughed and called him inside the house.

That's my girl. I'm sure I inflate the value of these magic moments, but it sure seems like she's the best little person I've ever known, sweeter, braver, more understanding, more generous, etc. I suppose that's what people mean when they say they learn from their children, at this point at least. The real teaching will begin when she starts talking. I'm ready, Sabrina. Drop that knowledge.

Let Me Out

Sorry honey pie, we're still not even sure which end the food goes in, much less how long is too long for a baby to be outside in nasty weather. Don't blame us, blame the doctor for letting us bring you home without an instruction manual.

Quality Craftsmanship

It's not that I blame the manufacturers of this clock for its inaccuracy; it blows off the wall outside a lot and hits the concrete patio out back because we live in a windy part of town (seriously, I've had to retrieve my BBQ grill from the corner of the yard, propane bottle still attached, more than once). But honestly, two inches of ice ought to bring the temp down to at least 40.

This picture was taken Wednesday late morning, after some of the ice had melted.

Silly Baby

Sweet babies get bored when it's very icy outside, and we never know how long is too long for her to be outside when it's 18 degrees of wind chill.

Which is why Sabrina has this look on her face, I guess.

Just Wow

If you're a music fan, and a jazz fan, and an electronics fan, you'll love this. Michael Brecker playing some electronic woodwind thingy that does just about anything, including accompany him. Stay with it, a little boring at first but it's worth it.

Self Defense Device

Tim Blair's got a link that might just come in handy one day.

RIP

I really liked James Brown and am sad to see him go. Of the many blog posts about the Godfather of Soul's recent death I've seen that contained Youtube clips of JB, this is my favorite. James is rocking a fro and sounds better than I've ever heard him, and says "Good God" just once, at the perfect moment. Magical.

I'm almost ashamed of how his death lends itself to awful jokes containing his song titles. Think about it.

Best Christmas Ever

I should add a picture to this, but I don't have any here at work so I'll have to do that later. I had the best Christmas of my life week before last, and it's all because of my lovely daughter Sabrina. On the Saturday morning before Christmas, she was sitting on Mommy's lap and reached for me, and then when I just gave her a kiss and didn't pick her up, she screamed until I did. That's the first time I've been preferred even for a second, and it's an amazing feeling. I've always known she would have a stronger bond with Mommy, maybe forever, but I had hoped she'd see me as a decent substitute, and to be picked first even for a minute is the best feeling I've ever experienced. I'm proud to say it's continued and we're getting closer every day.

I'm also very proud of my little angel because although she was very interested in the other kids at my parents' house, almost all of them were 4 years old or older, so they didn't really want to hang out with her or let her play with their toys, and were continually taking her toys away, knocking her over, hitting her or just generally not letting her join in their reindeer games. I kept waiting for her to cry or otherwise get unhappy about it all, but she never did. When another kid took a toy from her, she'd get another one and take it to him. When she got knocked over, she got up and kept trying to join the group. I couldn't decide whether to beat the other kids or weep at my child's innocence and spirit, so I mostly just watched in amazement.

I did, however, make an ass of myself at least twice when a certain nephew knocked her down a couple of times and didn't even look back. I found myself threatening the poor kid with similar treatment if he didn't take care not to crush her to the ground, and in retrospect it was obnoxious and overdone. In my defense I watched her get abused for days before I had anything to say about it, but it's still terrible behavior on my part. And I'll apologize to the little monster as soon as he has the capacity to understand any of it.