| New Home Needed for a Sweet Dog |
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| 09:49pm 31/05/2012 |
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If any of you are in LA county, particularly the San Gabriel Valley, or know someone there, ![[info]](http://l-files.livejournal.net/userhead/318?v=1320913259) lickbrains is looking for a good home for her dear friend Boomer. (She has to move and her new appt. won't allow dogs.)
To quote:
"His name is Boomer, he's about a year old, a black terrier mix, timid at first but will become very playful (loves squeaky toys and playing fetch with squeaky balls) and chill as soon as he warms up to you, good with kids, doesn't bite and barely barks (only barks when he thinks someone is approaching the door; doesn't bark at sirens or loud noises), and very obedient. I have snacks, toys, flea spray/shampoo, and water/food bowls. He also has his bordatella vaccine, rabies shots, and DHLPP booster. I can give the new owner a copy of his records. Thank you."
Please help! |
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| 10:17pm 26/05/2012 |
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Home from CA! |
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| documentaries |
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| 10:29pm 17/05/2012 |
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So I realized recently that I can watch things on Netflix besides Thomas the Tank Engine, so I've been queuing up a bunch of documentaries. So, some quick reviews/reactions to my recent viewing:
March of the Penguins
You've probably already seen this one. So have I. But it was worth re-watching. Link spent a while asking for Pingu instead (a claymation series about a little penguin), but eventually got into the story.
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
People overcome obesity by eating very little.
So I am being a little flippant. It was actually an interesting story about a man (and the folks he inspired) who went on a juice fast (consuming nothing but juiced vegetables) for 60 days to lose a great deal of weight and cure an auto-immune disease he suffered from.
I thought it was well-done, though I am in no condition to fast, period; the take-home message for me is "Eat your vegetables. Don't eat refined crap."
How Stuff Works: Corn
This was fun (and occasionally frightening.) Link enjoyed it, too. We learned all about how corn is produced and what's produced from it.
This series has three more episodes I'm looking forward to.
How it's Made
This one is really Link's, because he freakin' loves this show, esp. the episode about making paintballs. The show has inspired more thoughts about the ethics of consuming products which are boring to make, vs. automation vs. skilled labor. I have no idea how many episodes I've watched of this show, but there are hundreds.
Mythbusters
Apparently we've watched everything available on Netflix, but I'm not sure I was awake for all of it.
The Story of 1
Narrated by Terry Jones. This was great! Link enjoyed it, too. It's all about the history of our number system, particularly one (and zero.)
Mighty Machines
You can also catch this one on Qubo if you're up early enough (at least in my time zone.) It's kind of a low-budget Thomas, with footage of trains and cranes and boats and so on, and narration pretending to be the machines talking about what they're doing. Link and Tron are much more into this one than I am. I've seen about 4 episodes or so.
Nova: How Smart are Animals?
I think I saw this one a long time ago. It was okay; some interesting parts, but not too fascinating.
Fresh
Ever wonder what Michael Pollan and Joe Salatin actually look like? Now you can find out!
This one is about food production. Obviously I enjoyed it. :)
Cosmos: ep 1
I've read about half the book; did not really get into the episode, but was distracted at the time. Most of the information I probably already know, so that doesn't help.
How Beer Saved the World
Cute. It occasionally over-reaches (eg, it claims that the agricultural revolution started when people accidentally invented beer and that the pyramid builder were paid in beer, when what we are actually talking about is more of a fermented porridge. (Bread as we know it is a luxury good which takes a lot of energy to grind and bake.) It may sound nit-picky, but if you ordered a beer and I handed you kefir and said, "Hey, it's got alcohol in it!" you'd probably get nit-picky, too. :)
The God who Wasn't There
Based on the book. There is some interesting information in this one, but I was disappointed that they strayed away from a discussion of the historical evidence for Jesus to focus on modern Christians and what they think. With which I am already plenty familiar.
Freakonomics
Based on the book. If you liked the book or think you might like it, you'll probably enjoy this. I was a little distracted at the time, but I've always found their economic analyses rather fun.
Lost Kingdoms of Africa: Nubia, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, W. Africa
I'm disappointed that there are only four episodes in this series, as we only spent a week or so on the continent back in school, and I was really hoping to learn more, but at least they were good.
1. Nubia is the area south of Egypt, which has its own pyramid tradition and empires and such; a good episode.
2. The episode on Ethiopia focused on the claim that the king of Ethiopia was descended from Bilqis (the Queen of Sheeba) and Solomon and that they have the lost Arc of the Covenant, which I found rather disappointing because 1. I'd rather learn about something real, not myths, and 2. I've already heard all about that stuff in GREAT detail. So disappointing.
3. Great Zimbabwe--we actually get to see the ruins of three (or was it 4?) cities which were once part of a trade network connecting East Africa with India, Arabia, China, Japan, etc. Liked this episode.
4. West Africa: the episode focused largely on Ghanian bronze casting; I felt like it over-reached a bit in trying to claim cultural continuity between different times and places, but the smelting bits were quite interesting, and Link likes anything w/smelting. Good. |
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| Hey Harvard Grads |
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| 10:06am 21/04/2012 |
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'And, frankly, if I had gone to Harvard and still live in a "across the street from a ghetto neighborhood," I would be too ashamed to admit that. Because, a person with powers to change the world doesn't admit being forced by the world to change residency.'
Well, I never went to Harvard. So I have to ask those who did:
How many of you have managed to transform a ghetto? I know a lot of you live in/near DC; is Anacostia still there? Have the NY folks managed to eliminate Harlem? Or maybe you've just revolutionized a city block, lifting it from poverty to something exciting, all in your spare time, while working another job or two?
And for those of you who didn't go to Harvard, how offensive is this? |
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| Life with Link |
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| 10:39pm 18/04/2012 |
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Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”
“Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house? But they did not understand what he was saying to them. --Luke 2:41-50
It's like that, only with the Macy's furniture dept. instead of the temple, and it only took about 15 min. to find him. |
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| Social exclusivity != White flight |
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| 09:33pm 18/04/2012 |
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So, thekinginyellow recently made a post comparing social exclusivity in an organization like HRSFA (the Harvard-Radcliffe Science Fiction Association) and "white flight". I'm not going to bother summarizing the post (you can read it yourself if you want,) but I do want to comment that I think this analogy doesn't work.
( Read more... ) |
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| 08:51pm 18/04/2012 |
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When it's been long enough, it becomes hard to tell the scars from the callouses.
It occurred to me today that I hadn't thought about my scars in ages--possibly over a year.
I can still find one on my arm, and there are a couple of tiny discolored spots. But most of them have faded away.
But that place where some kid bit me when I was a toddler in daycare? Still bright red. |
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| A Midwinter Night's Revolution |
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| 04:07pm 31/03/2012 |
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MY NOVEL IS DONE.
Who wants to read it? (72,387 words, so not too long by novel standards.)
(And do you prefer the regular or bowlderized version? [There's not that much sex.]) |
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| 11:24pm 29/03/2012 |
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10 days 'till my due date.
I think the fact that I can still chase the children up and down the stairs with Bre'er Bear and Bre'er Fox (most of the time) is good testament to my health. :) |
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| Hah |
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| 09:43am 17/03/2012 |
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Just realized that my due (April 8) date coincides with an ancient pagan fertility festival. |
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| Weird |
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| 08:54am 17/03/2012 |
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It's some sort of odd sign about how much I've changed since I was a young teen that I now find the American celebration of St. Patrick's day really random. It's not like we celebrate the patron saint of Poland... |
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| Grandmas |
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| 09:44am 06/03/2012 |
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Every time I hear about someone's racist grandma, I feel sad for them. 'Cuz my grandma is awesome.
She was born during the depression. Like many families of that era, they lost their farm, then moved to Oklahoma (okay, most families had the sense not to do that.)
Then she went to university and earned a PhD in topology and became a math professor.
She and her brother (my great-uncle) are the family's most vocal liberals. My uncle keeps emailing me articles about economic justice; my grandma complains bitterly about how much she hates the Republican candidates and what terrible people they are. (For her health I tell her to stop watching the debates.) In better days, she was extremely active with the local Democrats and worked with underprivileged and foster kids in her area. She's had a lot of health problems lately, though, so she surfs Facebook instead and tells me about all of the interesting new people she's met and how much she enjoys discussing things on the Amnesty International website and so on.
She is a strong, independent, won't listen to anyone sort of person; the day after having a big chunk of her side removed in pursuit of a bunch of cancerous lumps, my dad caught her carrying in wood for her fire. (The result, unfortunately, was that she was in too much pain the next day to do much more than read, which really frustrates her, because she is truly a moving and doing kind of person.)
She has already survived the depression, cancer, a heart attack, brain surgery, a broken back, shingles, an asshole husband of the 'will get shot if he shows up again' variety, and goodness knows what else, but she is always upbeat, strong, and complaining about some sort of social injustice. (Or talking about math.) Unfortunately her cancer has returned, and that is Not Good. She has an appt. at the doctor today--probably as I write this--to see if they can find any more cancers besides the ones they removed last week, and decide what they should do next. Chemo isn't easy on anyone, of course--much less an old lady with numerous other health problems. So it is safe to say that everyone in the family is quite worried for her, even the staunch conservatives (that is, most of 'em).
Of all my relatives, my grandma is definitely my favorite. (not counting spouse + kids, of course.) |
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| Shit ain't fair |
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| 09:43am 27/02/2012 |
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Clothes shopping, as much as I actually enjoy it, never ceases to make me sad. With two little boys in the house, I've never had to worry about treating them differently from each other. I just encourage them to be them, and they take care of it.
Luckily, most things are easy. Kiddo wants a train? Great. (Kiddo is screaming about a train? Different problem.) Kid wants a sparkly pony? No problem. But you get to clothes, and you enter a realm where your kid's choices start getting judged by other people.
Link, for example, wears sparkly light-up rainbow colored shoes. We looked at several stores. We showed him all of the light-up shoes they had. He was intrigued by the Spiderman shoes (he'd recently outgrown a pair he received as hand-me-downs from a neighbor,) but they ultimately just didn't satisfy in the Wow! It lights up! department.
Let's face it. "Boys' fashion" is LAME. It sucks. It's boring and ugly and the selection is pitiful. Why do girls get all of the nice, fun, interesting outfits, while boys get handed something brown? And if a kid wanted pink overalls, why ought anyone else give a crap?
So on the one hand, I'm happy that I'll be able to dress a kid in attractive looking clothes without drawing any social approbation on them--because it's not a little kid's job to go fighting social injustice every day--but I really do not want to get into a situation where I'm treating one kid differently from the others, sending the message "these clothes are *for* you, and those clothes *aren't*." 'Cuz that's bullshit. And yet, I don't want to limit what Iridium can wear just because society sucks.
So I'll just keep winging it :P We've survived the sparkly shoes and Tron's pink shoelaces. Hopefully we'll keep surviving. And it's not like they wouldn't have noticed gender norms sooner or later, anyway. But it's one thing to know that it happens, and another thing to see your parents doing it in your own house--and that's what worries me. |
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| Please Support Transgender Kids |
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| 09:09am 27/02/2012 |
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Rather than re-write the wheel, I think I'll just link to Quirk's already well-written post, Please Support Transgender Kids, and re-post my own response...
It always kind of disgusts me that people who know nothing more of a situation than a short little article or two think that somehow they know better how to raise a kid in an unusual situation than the parents who are actually raising the kid.
( Read more... ) |
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| The Stuff of our Lives: Baby Shit |
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| 02:34pm 26/02/2012 |
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Babies are another area of life where our obsessive penchant for STUFF is on embarrassing display. If you remember my post back a while ago, responding to the '100 reasons to be child-free' post, I commented several times on how our penchant for excessive baby stuff was cultural, not necessity.
(Don't get me wrong. Kids are expensive. But that's because they require an adult to spend TIME with them. Not because they need a bunch of stuff.)
Assuming you have one baby, what do you actually *need* to take care of them?
A few small blankets. A week's supply of clean clothes. A car seat, if you drive a car. Diapers, wipes, and milk. (You will save significant $$$ if you breastfeed and use reusable diapers and wipes. The former is obviously not physically possible for everyone, but the latter is.) Kiddo will also need some toys as they get older, but newborns really don't do much besides eat, poop, and sleep. If you're lucky.
That's it. You do not need a crib. (I'm about to have my third kid, and I still don't own one.) You don't need a bassinet. (My in-laws kept their first kid in a cardboard box with something soft in the bottom, and he turned out just fine.) You don't need a stroller, and you certainly don't need some fancy 200$ contraption that's cross-compatible with your carseat and bigger than a Tokyo hotel room. And if you are using your carseat as some sort of kid-hauling device outside of the car, then you are a bloody idiot. Not only are you not supposed to leave them in those things any longer than necessary because they're ergonomically bad for babies and can cut off their air supply, but they're HEAVY.
I bought a collapsible stroller when my first kid was 6 months old, and I had hurt my back. It cost 18$. I've replaced it once, so that's 38$ for two kids. Otherwise I've stuck to carrying (OMG Opposable Thumbs!) or using carriers (like my beloved Patapum--no more than 20$, on sale--and that's if you don't want to make one yourself, which is pretty trivial, considering most slings are little more than a strip of cloth.)
Changing tables? Are you kidding me? I change my kids on the floor/bed/sofa/car/wherever we happen to be. It doesn't take a table. Diaper bags? I just use a backpack if I need to carry extra supplies (snacks, milk, diapers, wipes, etc.,) but I've got two toddlers and a pregnant woman to feed. I really don't understand people who walk around with a month's supply of diapers on their arm. Srsly, how much does your kid poop? Baby bathtubs? Dude, you already have both a sink and a tub. You don't need another one.
And don't get me started on Diaper Genies. DO NOT BUY. These things turn into STINK FACTORIES. If you're using disposables, just save the plastic bags you get at the store/buy a box of doggie-poop bags and tie up the stinky ones (after shaking as much poop as possible into the toilet,) then toss 'em into the regular trash and take it out promptly.
Wipes warmers? Rub it against your leg for a moment if it's cold. Baby Bjorns? OW. Sure, get one if you enjoy back pain. Baby cages? Please.
You definitely don't need to run out and get a 4-bedroom, 3-car garage house in the suburbs with accompanying SUV to house and transport a baby. You can actually fit 5 people into a standard compact car, if you use all of the seatbelts, and your newborn isn't going to give a crap about the lovely wallpaper and matching furniture in their nursery. They probably won't even want to sleep there, since babies tend to like being with their parents.
Please note that this is not supposed to be a comment on other people's parenting. My point is that having this stuff or not having this stuff is completely irrelevant to the quality of your parenting. I know fabulous parents who use Diaper Genies. Fabulous parents whose kids preferred sleeping in cribs. Heck, I use strollers and disposables. If you've got the money and inclination, hey, go ahead. Whatever floats your boat. But let's try to keep in mind what we *need*, and not confuse it with what we *want*. |
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| Corporate Morality |
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| 11:47am 26/02/2012 |
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It is a mistake, I think, to attribute beneficence or malevolence to corporation. The wolf is not "good" when keeping an ecosystem in balance, and "bad" when it destroys livestock; the wolf is merely trying to eat, without which it will die. Likewise, the corporation exists to earn money for its stockholders; if it does not, it goes bankrupt and the managers can be held liable for misusing the owners' money. A corporation is not "good" when producing useful goods, and "bad" when evicting little old ladies from their homes. It is just trying to make money.
Just as it is our job to make sure that wolves can keep wild ecosystems healthy without coming into conflict with farmers, it is also our job--and the job of any body organized for the furthering of our interests, such as the gov't--to ensure that corporations act in the public interest. Sometimes this means leaving them alone--wolves need no help bringing down sick bison, and if they fail, they simply fail. Sometimes it means protection and supports, as with captive breeding programs or funding for scientific or medical research. And sometimes this means fences, barriers, and regulations. There are non-gov'tal options as well, of course--individuals can patronize companies which they believe act in their interests, and boycott ones which they dislike, for example.
But we must remember that, left to their own devices, corporations will merely eat. |
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| arg |
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| 01:02am 17/02/2012 |
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Which version (if any) sounds best:
She realized with a sinking feeling that she had dashed out in such a hurry, she had completely forgotten to brush [her hair].
She realized with a sinking feeling that she had completely forgotten to brush [her hair].
She realized with a sinking feeling that she had dashed out in such haste, she had completely forgotten to brush [her hair].
She realized with a sinking feeling that in her haste, she had completely forgotten to brush [her hair].
She realized with a sinking feeling that in her excitement, she had completely forgotten to brush [her hair].
Thanks. |
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| Hey people with kids/fetuses |
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| 10:09pm 15/02/2012 |
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Ever get asked if you're having twins? (You know, while pregnant.)
This is, like, the third time someone's asked me that. And I don't even think I look that big (for 7 months and all.) |
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| 01:36am 09/02/2012 |
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Completely re-wrote chapter. Ugh. Done with it. Exhausted. So silly to spend so long writing and have the word count barely change because you deleted a bunch first. :P Not that word count actually matters at all. But it's like some sort of record of what you've done, except when it isn't.
so tired. Sleep now. |
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