Sabrina is getting into absolutely everything, and can lean far out of your grasp to grab anything that's not nailed down. When she starts crawling I'm going to freak out, man. Here she gives us a nice view of her slobbery chin. What a cutie.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Monday, May 29, 2006
The Look of Guilt
And by guilt I mean he's projecting it, not expressing it. You should feel guilty about not giving him treats, or rubbing his belly. Because his life is hard.
Actually, Ollie was very ill recently. On Mother's Day he started acting a little weird and unhappy, walking slowly and sort of hunched, and later he started shaking and straining. Later he threw up some and started dripping pee when he strained, and I took him to the emergency vet, where it was determined he had a urinary tract blockage of some sort, and that his bladder was many times its natural size. They catheterized him and gave him some painkiller and antibiotics, after which I suspect he passed whatever was blocking his peepee. The next day he still couldn't pee, but now it was because his urethra spasmed every time he tried, irritation from the two catheter sessions and passing some crystals I believe.
Finally he got put on a steroid that helped the irritation but made him a little incontinent, but frankly I was so happy he was peeing at all that I didn't mind that the stairs were soaked in some of the worst smelling dog pee I've ever imagined at 3 a.m., and luckily when he peed on the bed the next night, it was on top of a folded blanket and an old feather pillow, and never reached the bed itself. Thank God for small things.
All in all I think Ollie's earned the right to use his Guilt ray. Get all the goodness you can, Ollie, it's your best weapon.
Actually, Ollie was very ill recently. On Mother's Day he started acting a little weird and unhappy, walking slowly and sort of hunched, and later he started shaking and straining. Later he threw up some and started dripping pee when he strained, and I took him to the emergency vet, where it was determined he had a urinary tract blockage of some sort, and that his bladder was many times its natural size. They catheterized him and gave him some painkiller and antibiotics, after which I suspect he passed whatever was blocking his peepee. The next day he still couldn't pee, but now it was because his urethra spasmed every time he tried, irritation from the two catheter sessions and passing some crystals I believe.
Finally he got put on a steroid that helped the irritation but made him a little incontinent, but frankly I was so happy he was peeing at all that I didn't mind that the stairs were soaked in some of the worst smelling dog pee I've ever imagined at 3 a.m., and luckily when he peed on the bed the next night, it was on top of a folded blanket and an old feather pillow, and never reached the bed itself. Thank God for small things.
All in all I think Ollie's earned the right to use his Guilt ray. Get all the goodness you can, Ollie, it's your best weapon.
What's Going On Over There
Flemming Rose, the editor of Denmark's Jyllands-Posten, the newspaper that first printed the Mohammed cartoons, writes an interesting column here in which he discusses Europe's Islamic immigration:
I've written that very thing here before: the terrorists who have killed so many innocents in New York, Washington D.C., Madrid and London weren't poor Middle Easterners who learned to hate the West when their families were killed by imperialist American warmongers, they were relatively well-to-do immigrants to Europe who learned to hate the West from self-loathing Westerners. Link from Atlas.
The role of victim is very convenient because it frees the self-declared victim from any responsibility, while providing a posture of moral superiority. It also obscures certain inconvenient facts that might suggest a different explanation for the lagging integration of some immigrant groups -- such as the relatively high crime rates, the oppression of women, and a tradition of forced marriage.
Dictatorships in the Middle East and radical imams have adopted the jargon of the European left, calling the cartoons racist and Islamophobic. When Westerners criticize their lack of civil liberties and the oppression of women, they say we behave like imperialists. They have adopted the rhetoric and turned it against us.
These events are occurring against the disturbing backdrop of increasingly radicalized Muslims in Europe. Mohammed Atta, the 9/11 ringleader, became a born-again Muslim after he moved to Europe. So did the perpetrators behind the bombings in Madrid and London. The same goes for Mohammed Bouyeri, the young Muslim who slaughtered filmmaker Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam. Europe, not the Middle East, may now be the main breeding ground for Islamic terrorism. [emphasis mine]
I've written that very thing here before: the terrorists who have killed so many innocents in New York, Washington D.C., Madrid and London weren't poor Middle Easterners who learned to hate the West when their families were killed by imperialist American warmongers, they were relatively well-to-do immigrants to Europe who learned to hate the West from self-loathing Westerners. Link from Atlas.
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Too Cool
It took me forever to stop hating the feeling of sunglasses on my nose, and I didn't wear them with any frequency until college, but I'd really like Sabrina to wear them if Mommy and I can manage it. The sun really does seem stronger to me now, and even though I know that's an illusion brought on by old age and decrepitude, I'd rather err on the side of caution with my daughter's peepers if at all possible.
And judging from this picture, it's possible.
And judging from this picture, it's possible.
Saturday, May 27, 2006
DIY
Sabrina even fed herself a little at her first formal dinner. God she's such an amazing little girl.
Someone's a Big Girl Now
Sabrina just had her first little bowl of rice cereal and absolutely loved it. She also loves her fancy high chair, a gift from Mike S. and his lovely wife Annie. It's been a half hour and no spitup yet. None after the banana we gave her yesterday. Hey, this feeding thing ain't so hard . . .
Road Trip
Sabrina got to meet her non-blood cousin Sadie Rose today, the lovely daughter of David and Anita G. of Austin. Daddy forgot the camera was in the car, so you'll have to settle for a picture of Sabrina instead.
Now That's What I Call Jackass
Finish skydiver straps jet turbines to his legs while wearing a bat suit. Nutty.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
WTF?
Google, which I won't link because I hate it and everyone has it bookmarked anyway, has been misbehaving. I use Gigablast just to spite Google. I'm sure they've noticed and are begging me for forgiveness somewhere. Read:
Link via Riehl World View, whose proprietor has felt the sting of Google's discrimination.
Something frighteningly ominous has been happening on the Internet lately: Google, without any prior explanation or notice, has been terminating its News relationship with conservative e-zines and web journals.
At first blush, one can easily ignore such business decisions by the most powerful company on the Internet as being routine. However, on closer examination, such behavior could give one relatively small (when measured by the size of its workforce) technology corporation a degree of political might that frankly dwarfs even its current financial prowess.
Link via Riehl World View, whose proprietor has felt the sting of Google's discrimination.
Word
Varifrank finds something beautiful - a recent poem by Ray Bradbury. Yes, that Ray Bradbury, who I'm ashamed to admit I thought was dead.
Anyway, it's really quite good, and I love the theme. Here's a bit:
Anyway, it's really quite good, and I love the theme. Here's a bit:
We are the dream that other people dream.
The land where other people land
When late at night
They think on flight
And, flying, here arrive
Where we fools dumbly thrive ourselves.
Refuse to see
We be what all the world would like to be.
Because we hive within this scheme
The obvious dream is blind to us.
We do not mind the miracle we are,
So stop our mouths with curses.
While all the world rehearses
Coming here to stay.
We busily make plans to go away.
So Damn Sweet
Another unaccountable pleasure the internet has revealed: the collection of freaks and undesirables that is the pile of old promo shots found in a Venice alley by a friend of the proprietor of Sippican Cottage. Ol' Sippi is one of my favorite bloggers and has produced one of my favorite blog posts ever here, in which his friend has provided a slide show that may well entertain you as much as it did me.
Why I get such a kick out of '70s misfits in matching jumpsuits I'm not sure, but I think it's something about the era's unsinkable optimism that would lead such a large group of geeks, fatties and oddballs to believe they could make it in even the local LA music scene.
As Sippican writes, "Someone's got to play in the lounge at the Chinese restaurant." Ditch those other gimps, Jakki, quick!
Why I get such a kick out of '70s misfits in matching jumpsuits I'm not sure, but I think it's something about the era's unsinkable optimism that would lead such a large group of geeks, fatties and oddballs to believe they could make it in even the local LA music scene.
As Sippican writes, "Someone's got to play in the lounge at the Chinese restaurant." Ditch those other gimps, Jakki, quick!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Best Blog Ever
I run into some interesting sites from time to time, like Bibliodyssey, a place where the proprietor scans pages from rare and ancient books, producing some of the most interesting things I've ever seen on the internet, Music Thing, a blog about odd and interesting musical instruments are displayed and discussed, Optical Illusions, which is fairly self-explanatory but sometimes surprising, Patently Silly, which is run by a patent clerk who keeps an eye out for the more ridiculous inventions of our time, and of course TV in Japan, which as you might imagine presents the more bizarre Japanese TV fare in handy YouTube video segments. All of these are worth a weekly check, at least.
But all of them together can't equal the glorious goodness of the Athanasius Kircher Society, where fans of the late Kircher, sometimes called "the last Renaissance man," post about things they believe the great man himself would find interesting.
And interesting they are. Check the first ten or so posts and tell me you aren't fascinated.
But all of them together can't equal the glorious goodness of the Athanasius Kircher Society, where fans of the late Kircher, sometimes called "the last Renaissance man," post about things they believe the great man himself would find interesting.
And interesting they are. Check the first ten or so posts and tell me you aren't fascinated.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Conservation Schmonservation
Sure, pandas are endangered, but Sabrina's head was cold and it makes a nice hat. I can't wait until she's old enough to wear her ivory clogs.
Friday, May 19, 2006
So THAT's What Fascism Looks Like
Atlas links to something awful:
Hey, we practically drove them to it. Oh the dirty West and its imperialism!
UPDATE: There seems to be some doubt as to the veracity of the above story, but I agree with Atlas that it ain't exactly solid either way. I'll leave it up until better info arrives. In the meantime, check out this newer post on her blog about the increasing incidence of muslim immigrants raping local girls all over Europe, and the universally flaccid, cowardly and dishonest governmental response. Hey Europe: you're going the wrong way.
Human rights groups are raising alarms over a new law passed by the Iranian parliament that would require the country's Jews and Christians to wear coloured badges to identify them and other religious minorities as non-Muslims.
Hey, we practically drove them to it. Oh the dirty West and its imperialism!
UPDATE: There seems to be some doubt as to the veracity of the above story, but I agree with Atlas that it ain't exactly solid either way. I'll leave it up until better info arrives. In the meantime, check out this newer post on her blog about the increasing incidence of muslim immigrants raping local girls all over Europe, and the universally flaccid, cowardly and dishonest governmental response. Hey Europe: you're going the wrong way.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Inspiration
Boingboing posted something fun today, the Motivator, which is a way to generate your own motivational posters. Something tells me billions of man-hours of work are going to be undone because of it . . .
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
It's Official
This is by far the most horrifying survived accident I've ever seen. A cop car grazes a mobile home on the road and a 2x4, insulation, nails and other junk hit the guy, blasting a hole through him that takes his bulletproof vest and radio cord with it. Wow that must have hurt.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Mona Sabrina
I can't stop looking at this picture. She's just so mesmerizingly beautiful and has such a serene air about her that it's my favorite one we've ever taken.
Plus you can see how she got both Daddy's and Mommy's ears, Mommy's perfect little soft shell of cuteness on her right and Daddy's grotesque, inflexible, overcartilaginous freak ear on her left. I'm very happy about that - she's got a perfect movie star right side and a weird but perfectly-adapted-for-listening-for-prey-in-the-woods left. Best of both worlds, I say.
Plus you can see how she got both Daddy's and Mommy's ears, Mommy's perfect little soft shell of cuteness on her right and Daddy's grotesque, inflexible, overcartilaginous freak ear on her left. I'm very happy about that - she's got a perfect movie star right side and a weird but perfectly-adapted-for-listening-for-prey-in-the-woods left. Best of both worlds, I say.
I Should Be Embarrassed
About how excited I am to see tonight's American Idol, but I'm not. I love Elliott, I like Katharine a lot, and I'm starting to dig Captian Tightpants (SarahK's name for Taylor) since hearing his version of "In the Ghetto." They're doing three songs each tonight, one picked by them, one by Clive Davis, and one by the judges. Elliott's picked Bobby Caldwell's "What You Won't Do" for himself, one of my favorite songs of all time. I will undoubtedly wet myself then and have already put an old comforter on the couch for protection.
Just 26 minutes until it begins . . .
Just 26 minutes until it begins . . .
Monday, May 15, 2006
Smoochy
Sabrina seems to be introducing me like a Price is Right showcase here. I love her little hands, which have learned to grab, twist, rip and otherwise destroy things, but are surprisingly gentle when she touches your face. Mommy is forever trying to protect the dogs from her grasp, but I say that's why God gave them two eyes, so a baby can snatch one out but they won't lose their vision entirely.
Happy Girls
Mommy's been taking pictures of Sabrina in the bathroom mirror, which for some reason she loves to look at. I wonder what she thinks when she sees two mommies, one in front and one behind. It does not upset her, clearly.
What a great Mother's day it was, at least until our dog Oliver got sick and I had to take him to the emergency pet clinic at 10:30 p.m. Apparently he had some kind of urinary tract blockage (nothing on the Xray or in his catheterized pee output) and is now with our regular vet getting further tests. Poor little guy, it broke my heart to see him so miserable last night and this morning. Get well Ollie!
What a great Mother's day it was, at least until our dog Oliver got sick and I had to take him to the emergency pet clinic at 10:30 p.m. Apparently he had some kind of urinary tract blockage (nothing on the Xray or in his catheterized pee output) and is now with our regular vet getting further tests. Poor little guy, it broke my heart to see him so miserable last night and this morning. Get well Ollie!
Sunday, May 14, 2006
The Most Disgusting Thing You'll See this Month
Things like this make me regret the deaths from Operation Market-Garden all the more:
If you don't know about Aayan Hirsi Ali, you should. She's one of the bravest women ever to have lived, in my opinion. Emigrating to the Netherlands in 1992 to escape an arranged marriage, Ali has become a member of parliament and an outspoken critic of militant Islam and of the abuse of women throughout Islamic society. She and Theo Van Gogh collaborated to make Submission, a scathing indictment of Islamic misogyny, for which Van Gogh was murdered on a Dutch street in broad daylight. She's been living on borrowed time ever since under 24-hour police protection, has been evicted from her home due to neighbors' worries that reprisals against her may harm them, and now her fellow MPs are trying to get her deported for the same reason: appeasement. Didn't work the last time, did it? Pretty short memories around the Netherlands, I guess.
What has happened to the Dutch people we met in 1944? They're governed by cowards now, that's for sure. Aayan Hirsi Ali is a hero, and frankly the Dutch don't deserve her. Come to America, Aayan. We'd love to have you.
UPDATE: Ask and ye shall receive. Can't wait to see her on American TV talking some sense into senseless talking heads.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali-born Dutch legislator who has championed the rights of Muslim women, is returning from a book tour to a firestorm for lying on her asylum application when she fled to the Netherlands in 1992 to escape an arranged marriage.
Hirsi Ali, 36, said Saturday she was puzzled by the uproar since she publicly acknowledged the false refugee application when she stood for parliament in 2002.
"Have they all gone mad?" she said, accusing her rivals of a political vendetta.
"Yes, I did lie to get asylum in Holland. This is public knowledge since at least September 2002," she said in a telephone call from Hamburg, Germany.
If you don't know about Aayan Hirsi Ali, you should. She's one of the bravest women ever to have lived, in my opinion. Emigrating to the Netherlands in 1992 to escape an arranged marriage, Ali has become a member of parliament and an outspoken critic of militant Islam and of the abuse of women throughout Islamic society. She and Theo Van Gogh collaborated to make Submission, a scathing indictment of Islamic misogyny, for which Van Gogh was murdered on a Dutch street in broad daylight. She's been living on borrowed time ever since under 24-hour police protection, has been evicted from her home due to neighbors' worries that reprisals against her may harm them, and now her fellow MPs are trying to get her deported for the same reason: appeasement. Didn't work the last time, did it? Pretty short memories around the Netherlands, I guess.
What has happened to the Dutch people we met in 1944? They're governed by cowards now, that's for sure. Aayan Hirsi Ali is a hero, and frankly the Dutch don't deserve her. Come to America, Aayan. We'd love to have you.
UPDATE: Ask and ye shall receive. Can't wait to see her on American TV talking some sense into senseless talking heads.
Yup
Erik at No Pasaran links an interesting thingy from something called the Patriot Post (I am not a fan of calling yourself a patriot, but whatever) that caught my eye:
Word. And word to all the mothers out there on Mother's Day.
Americans who agree to answer public-opinion polls about political performance are not political analysts, national-security specialists, economists or policy experts. They are folks who hold common labor and professional jobs in order to support their families and make ends meet. They are the backbone of our nation. Unfortunately, a large measure of their perspective on politics, national security, the economy and public policy is not reality based, but shaped by the MSM.
What The Times and CBS, along with other MSM outlets, are really doing is polling on the media's effectiveness at indoctrinating readers and TV viewers with opinion-shaping propaganda -- or in The Patriot's parlance, "pollaganda."
Pollaganda is outcome-based opinion samples (polling instruments designed to generate a preferential outcome) based on prior-opinion indoctrination or cultivation by the media, the results of which are then used to manipulate public opinion further by advancing the perception that a particular opinion on an issue has majority support, and then presenting this "data" as if it were "news."
Word. And word to all the mothers out there on Mother's Day.
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