Monthly Archives: December 2011

Establishing a demilitarized zone

My room has been traditionally Penwiper’s stalking ground, metaphorically speaking, especially my bed. (She likes to watch television.)  Either cat is allowed in here, though, and Pandora hides in my closet a lot. (It has lots of semi-open boxes for … Continue reading

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Oh, come on. Where’s your aesthetic sensibility?

Me: That’s a lovely shade of purple.The Red-Headed Menace: Not on a human foot, Mom.* *I broke my little toe.  It swelled, and the top of my foot turned this really lovely patchwork of purple, lilac and magenta. I have … Continue reading

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I know correlation is not causation.  I know that. However , it seems clear to me that a Vermont fraternity being suspended over a survey question which asked “who would you rape?” stems from the same societal forces that result … Continue reading

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Aftermath

Writing the last post was an intensely emotional experience.  Although tempted to do otherwise, I wrote it stone-cold sober, more or less stream-of-consciousness, in the form you read it.  I made a few changes to correct small grammatical errors, but … Continue reading

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What about the girls, Mr. President?

[Warning: rape/suicide triggers.] “As the father of two daughters,” Obama said. “I think it is important for us to make sure that we apply some common sense to various rules when it comes to over-the-counter medicine.” There was this girl.  … Continue reading

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I am pretty sure that I am preaching to the choir.  At least, I hope that I am. Another teenager, this time in Tennessee, killed himself in response to being bullied. It sounds terrible, but I am not particularly surprised. … Continue reading

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Politics

I really should end this hiatus from political blogging.  There are just too many important things out there that beg to be commented on. There is the Defense Authorization Bill.  A thorough post on that will come along at some … Continue reading

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Question of the day.

Do Tim-Tams from Australia actually taste better than the ones made in the U.S. by Pepperidge Farm?* Discuss amongst yourselves. *We’re talking regular Tim-Tams, which are great, but not Mint Tim-Tams which are the world’s best mass-produced cookie** (filling the … Continue reading

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That’s a good question.

The Red-Headed Menace, upon listening to Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D Minor”: “What inspired that? What sort of a bad day had he had?”

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Tuna Jerky: Yuck. Tuna Jerky Souffle: Yum.

Elizabeth Falkner is a very nice woman who makes really kick-ass souffles. I have just returned from spending the evening at Orson, her restaurant (which right now is only being used as an event space), where she was hosting a … Continue reading

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My current fave show

I have come to love Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef.  The first season it struck me as gimmicky, and I was severely disappointed that my favorite chef, John Besch, didn’t win.  (In fact, the second season my favorite chef, … Continue reading

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How to tell if a piece of legislation may be important…

No the only way, of course, but… When your college-junior son texts you to ask if you are as “genuinely terrified” (his words, not mine) about the defense authorization bill as he is, the bill in question really is significant. … Continue reading

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Orcs and Ents and Elves, oh my!

The Red-Headed Menace, Railfan and I were watching The Two Towers earlier, which led to some comments: “Do you guys have a LARP* today?” “No, we’re fulfilling our LARP duties by watching this movie.” “The Orcs had a legitimate grievance.  … Continue reading

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You can’t always get what you want.

It’s Sunday afternoon.  I am sitting in my favorite Starbucks so that I do not inflict violence on any one member — or any multiple members for that matter — of my household. There is a party going on that … Continue reading

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Um, sorry. Aka: everything’s okay. Really.

I am noticing that I got something on the order of 40 hits for my post titled “Phew” in three hours. Assuming these are not all ad-spam, I am wondering if people were concerned that something bad had happened, rather … Continue reading

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