What We Did Over Christmas Vacation

starbucks_2
Originally uploaded by doctorlizardo

This pretty much sums it up.

That's chocolate on his lip, not coffee.

You Can't Win

20070909-06
Originally uploaded by Wrappy

I still sometimes get mad at people who find breastfeeding photos porn@graphic. (Whether they like them or whether they are offended by them.) But I realize I'm more annoyed by those who are offended by them.

I guess there are a few individuals who are breastfeeding for purely exhibitionistic purposes. However, for the other 99.99% of us, we are doing it to feed our children, not to turn on some dumbass in the street. It seems about as sexy to me as a plate and spoon do. Literally!

Nevertheless, there are people who believe that uncovered always = lewd, and covered always = modest. I imagine they don't understand fetish from a sociological-psychological viewpoint. People can sexualize ANYthing. Breasts, back of neck, ankle, face, amputated limb, braces, whatever you have.

So even if you completely cover yourself from head to toe, there is somebody out there who is going to think you are doing THAT to be sexy just for him, because there are people who are turned on by that, too (see photo at left.)

What I'm trying to say is, it doesn't matter if women breastfeed or not, from a moralistic standpoint regarding being provocative. Someone is guaranteed to be in the wings fetishizing them regardless. So they might as well do what they want.

Winter Solstice

Winter Solstice
Originally uploaded by David G Kelly

Happy return of the light!

After tonight, of course, when there will be more darkness than ever.

Stay warm.

Come Back Baby...

Blog democracy never forgets.

Those of you--and there are a lot--who've been using that word verification on your blog comments forms, you can give it up now.

Really.

I've hardly had a robot spam in...I don't know how long. At least weeks, if not months. Years maybe. And when I have had the odd one or two, I just deleted it right away. Really no biggie.

Adding word verification to your comments form means that I am way less likely to comment on your blog, because a) the extra squinting, interpreting, and typing-in means less spontaneity (no condom jokes here, please) and b) now that Blogger and Google are linked, I have to re-sign in to Blogger every single time I want to comment. I don't know why I can't stay signed in, but there it is, on different computers, too. It never has worked to use the sign-in on the comments page.

So if you have word verification and I commented on your post, it means that I took the trouble to leave your page entirely and go sign in to Google/Blogger (Glogger?) and then return to your page, and then after commenting I did the WV-PITA-thing.

Truly spontaneity-sucking.

Non-sequitur:

Finally, if you hate every ape from chimpan-A to chimpan-Z: http://www.flickr.com/groups/26588725@N00/pool/

Curses!

We haven't been planning a big Christmas by any means.  We have limited means and limited space this year.  But I did want a few things for the holiday, which I ordered last weekend from Amazon (for example, a fireplace viedo and some pine incense in lieu of a fireplace, and a couple small items for hubby and baby).  I placed the order while watching Limelet and rushing back and forth between the office and the living room, in a hurry, of course.

 

A lot of the items were used, so the order was comprised of perhaps half a dozen items from half a dozen sellers.  Many of them were due to arrive today or tomorrow.  Last night right before bed I thought I'd entertain myself briefly by looking at the tracking status of some of them and anticipating their arrival today.  At which point I noticed what I had managed to overlook before: I had somehow had the entire order sent to our old address! 

 

Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!

 

Nearly all of the various packages are shipping via USPS, so they will be forwarded after all (according to the Post Office), but we'll get them probably mid-January, if my past forwarding experiences are any guide.

 

The one package shipping via UPS, however, I managed to have changed this morning even though it was already out for delivery, and UPS said we will probably get it tomorrow.  Around here they don't deliver on weekends, so if it's later, it'll be Monday.  Luckily, this is the one gift for Limelet that I really wanted to see him play with on Christmas (one of those little spiral ramps for toy cars), so that experience, at least, was salvaged. 

 

But I slept really tensely last night (uselessly) worrying about all this, and being furious at myself.

Interns

Interns
Originally uploaded by doctorlizardo

This photo was actually taken as a ruse to use our images in that thing that makes you into dancing elves.

Nevertheless, here we all are.

I look about as tired as I felt (which is constant), but it was very nice of the others to get me a birthday cake to distract from how much younger and less tired they look than me. I have great co-interns.

Hoover (California), Little Miss Sunshine (South Korea), NoFun (South Korea) , Capitalist Peeg or CP (Michigan, more or less).

Well, *I* Had Back Pain, Anyway.

Interesting research finds that men's and women's vertebrae and hips differ in a way that allows women to have other people growing in their abdomens, without falling over. (At least not all the time.)

I have to admit that they speculate correctly that being on all fours was a lot easier on my back. Just harder on the knees, and I couldn't go a lot of places in that posture.

Argotnaut Made Me Do It.

I know, it's a loathsome and vile thing to do, like eating whipped cream from the can--another activity I can't resist.




moar funny pictures

Link.

Forty and Mossy

Originally uploaded by Lemon2

That's me! Guess I'm not rolling much these days.

After looking through all the Flick'r images entitled "40", I chose this one, and only then discovered that it's an image from my husband's hometown. How odd.

I may post some others too, just 'cause I can.





I was glad to discover that the poet Rainer Maria Rilke shares my birthday, although he's some 91 years older than me, of course. (Wow, is that all?) I loved Letters to a Young Poet.

Perhaps unrelatedly, when I was small I thought I would be a poet, an artist, or a "ballet dancer" when I grew up. My mother heard me saying this to a friend and was worried because she thought I said "belly dancer".

Forty and Nautical

40
Originally uploaded by piggley

Not me, but I like the colors.

Forty: Route Cool

Route Cool
Originally uploaded by elkit

Where is route cool anyway?!

Food Network Ahoy

After watching some kind of Christmas cake competition (part of it, anyway), we have come up with the components sure to make a really well-received cake contest / reality show.

1. Theme: Star Wars
2. Obstacle course carrying the cake to the display table
3. Random paintballing of cake-carriers
4. On ice!

So get those Star Wars cake designs ready. I'm especially looking forward to those super-teetery ones.

On a related note, we received for our nearly-mutual birthday from Argot and Frinky the great present of a DVD of Ratatouille. Presumably because of the rats (for me), and probably also the cookery theme. We watched it several times over the weekend, and TheLimey has declared it his favorite animated film. (Frankly I think he covets the kitchen in the restaurant.) It inspired me to make cheesy spinach sauce over steamed barley, when we thought we had nothing in the place to eat.

So, thanks guys!

Scintillating!

I guess that I do, after all, get migraines sometimes, as my mother did and at least one sister does.

I always thought they were just plain ol' headaches because I have never been as debilitated as my mother was by them. Certainly hasn't been what I picture as "one of the world's most debilitating conditions". Also my headaches have historically been easily treated with aspirin (or aspirin + caffeine), and rest and/or yoga. Or massage.

As long as I manage my stress, then I just don't get them. However, sometimes I still will get a headache with nausea if I'm stressed, and also if I have been carrying something (or someone) in a way that tenses my shoulder/ neck muscles too long.

But the real clincher was this. I have always wondered what the heck those were. Sometimes I have gotten them with no headache, especially with lack of sleep. Huh.

But don't forget: as they say, all headaches are at some level stress headaches. I'm guessing that wouldn't include, like, brain tumors. (Or would it?...)

Yikes

I'm having the classic naked-without-your-homework dreams about my dissertation defense.

 

I dreamed that I was supposed to give my defense at (apparently) some kind of military installation, but my committee members were all late.  Which was okay, because I realized I had made absolutely no preparations at all.  I thought I'd try to at least read up on it before they got there, but I discovered that I didn't have any materials and had left my laptop at home.  In another town.  Then, the power went out.

 

I must be more anxious about it than I thought.