Where the Love is at!
I’m home after oral surgery. Captain Jack Sparrow keeps me company. And when I bore of him, it’s Captain Jack Harkness’s turn. But no Captain Jack Morgan.
It’s so exciting to be American. I am proud to be American. When President Obama signs the healthcare bill into law in a couple of days, I can begin to stop worrying about keeping my family covered if I get laid off (again).
Yes, we can make America the greatest place to live. A place where everyone is free to pursue what makes them happy, and need not be shackled to a corporate identity for basic necessities.
I have been working on a series of images that involves a great deal of digital pen and ink work. Basically, I am trying to look at places around the world in a way that color is removed or at least shifted completely into values of light and dark. These drawing take time to complete, and are intended as a study to improve my photorealism, awareness of light while allowing me to not deal with composing the image. In someways, I equate this work to playing one of Beethoven’s Sonata’s on the piano, the composition is already there, it is the performer’s prerogative to supply the emotion and power to the piece.
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I finished cleaning my office area yesterday or the day before, as a direct result of that process, I unearthed a video camera. The camera had some clips from the summer on it, so I threw them together and thought I’d present that here. This is TheBubster having all sorts of fun in and area our house. TheWife was also midway through her pregnancy with LittleBud.
day of preschool for the Bubster tomorrow! We have her pillow, blanket, sheet, and change of clothes ready to go. She has been whinging about going to school for months; pretending to do homework, and eating from a lunchbox, so we’re sure she’s gonna love it.
okay dokey-
we are now in Perth. we had a flight in the middle of the night on Friday, i think it was Friday, and have been here at a friend’s house for two days, at least i think it has been two days. they have two little girls, one six months younger than TheBubster and the other seven months older than LittleBud. It has been a real joy staying here, if not completely draining, as the girls are even more independent of us now that they have a best mate to play with, eat with, dance with, be silly with and even bathe and sleep with. Basically they are together 24 hours, non-stop and are fast becoming best friends. The two youngest are obviously too young for all of this bonding stuff that is so fascinating for the eldest kids.
Today, there was a progressive dinner party in the neighborhood, and one of the guests of the party included another 3 year old girl. She was a complete whirlwind of physicality who had not had a nap and is not emotionally sophisticated enough to deal with that condition. The result was a couple of bruising exchanges between her and TheBubster where we got the short end of the crying stick. However, at the end of the party it was this dominating force of nature which cracked when she realized that she was the one who actually had to go home and give up all the ground she had gained while the other two girls were to remain quite comfortable in the final house of the dinner party.
I really am enjoying the amount of new experiences and learning which I am doing on this tour of Oz. I am particularly excited about the didjuridu which we purchased in Cairns before we left, and learning how to play it. I am concerned that these Aussies will find me tedious as I practice it, perhaps as if they may be over the instrument as they have had more exposure to it than I. Mostly I am enjoying learning this deceptively complex instrument- it is simple in construction but requires such great concentration and nuanced physical control to perform many of the sounds. Maybe while we are here, I can get some lessons from other didje players and learn a bit more. The guy in the shop where we bought it was extremely helpful and informative ad started me on the exploration process- now it would be really nice to come back with some more instructions.
Despite this wonderful experience, I am finding that there is a decrease in my schoolwork performance, thankfully there is only one class on my schedule- and I am also finding that my digital life is going through a doldrum as I am suffering from a severely cramped bandwidth restriction. But if that is the worst of my troubles then I am doing more than alright.Technorati Tags: didjuredu, dinner party, Perth, Australia
After a very stressful, busy month, I think we are on a downhill slope for a little while. Nathan passed his 3 classes, my class is over (still waiting for my grade), EJ is over her cold, and we are joining the rest of my co-workers for a getaway this weekend to Cape Cod that my agency is treating us too. Yay! That means I get 4 and a half days off. Woohoo.
1. McCain voted against securing equal pay for women: The Lily Ledbetter Bill was named after Ms Ledbetter, who worked for Goodyear Tires. She worked there for 19 years, and by the time she left, she made $9,500 dollars less then the lowest-paid male supervisor. The Supreme Court threw out her complaint, saying she had waited too long to sue. The bill seeks to counteract the time limit.
2. MCain voted in favor of legislation to amend the definition of those eligible for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) to include the unborn — while voting against legislation to expand SCHIP’s coverage to low-income children and pregnant women at least six times.
3. He opposed legislation requiring that abstinence-only programs be medically accurate and based in science.
4. He voted to abolish funding for birth control and gynecological care for low-income women.
5. He said “I have stated time after time after time that Roe v. Wade was a bad decision.” But then, In the 2000 primary, he was asked what he would do if his daughter Meghan, then 15, became pregnant. McCain said it would be a “family decision.”
“The final decision would be made by Meghan with our advice and counsel,” McCain said, referring to himself and his wife, Cindy. When reporters suggested that this view made him, in fact, pro-choice, McCain became irritated. “I don’t think it is the pro-choice position to say that my daughter and my wife and I will discuss something that is a family matter that we have to decide.”
Hmm, hypocritical or just stupid? Let’s see…
6. In March 2007, the New York Times’ Adam Nagourney asked McCain whether grants for sex education in the United States include instructions about using contraceptives, or if they should abide by Bush’s abstinence-only policy.
After a pause, McCain responded, “Ahhh. I think I support the president’s policy.”
Nagourney followed up: “So no contraception, no counseling on contraception? Just abstinence. Do you think contraceptives help stop the spread of HIV?”
After another pause, McCain replied, “You’ve stumped me.”
How is it acceptable for the leader of the free world to prevent women from taking good care of their own health and helping take care of their families?
And it’s not just a ‘party line’- In his 1992 Senate bid, McCain was joined on the campaign trail by his wife, Cindy, as well as campaign aide Doug Cole and consultant Wes Gullett. At one point, Cindy playfully twirled McCain’s hair and said, “You’re getting a little thin up there.” McCain’s face reddened, and he responded, “At least I don’t plaster on the makeup like a trollop, you cunt.” McCain’s excuse was that it had been a long day. If elected president of the United States, McCain would have many long days.
And recently he volunteered his wife for a beauty pageant that often features contestants topless — and, occasionally, without any decency — at the Sturgis, South Dakota, motorcycle rally.
I don’t want a man like that leading my daughter into her future.
“Never, do you hear me?! Never will I go to bed, never, ever, no more.”
It reminded me of Poe’s poem: The Raven.
Of course, she was asleep within 12 minutes. I guess she had exhausted her genius.
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