Category Archives: nothing special

As a parent, one of my raisons d’etre is to embarrass and discomfit my teenage children.  Talking about sex does not work — they’re modern kids, and are more or less comfortable with those sorts of discussions, as long as … Continue reading →

Unions have been much in the news lately.  The efforts of conservatives in places such as Wisconsin to dismantle worker protections — and the support with which those efforts are met — are another example of the very short historical … Continue reading →

Last night I saw one of my very favorite bands in the world, Great Big Sea*, in concert in Petaluma  It was amazing. Great Big Sea’s music, when listened to on CD is… okay.  Their renditions of traditional Newfoundland and … Continue reading →

I have a new external hard drive.  Jan is sort of back, but flaky, so I have been backing things up externally.  The external hard drive I had was named Francisco (after Goya, natch). It was a good drive… Up … Continue reading →

I haven’t forgotten you guys, really.  All, oh… six of you.  Although that’s not fair — I know more people who read me on RSS feed, which isn’t tracked on Sitemeter. Life is what is what it is.  Which means … Continue reading →

Every so often I stumble across something I should have heard years ago but somehow managed to miss. Like this morning… I love Weird Al.  I especially love some of his original works — nobody does a better breakup (or … Continue reading →

Conversation with the Red-Headed Menace, concerning his track coach, who in addition to being a former Olympian attended Stanford Law and graduated a couple of years ahead of me. RHM:  There are sports lawyers?!?!?Mom: Of course there are sports lawyers.  … Continue reading →

My two younger children are arguing about the ethics of assassinating leaders.  One is studying W.W. I, the other W.W. II. At least they are not discussing Halo or Pokemon.

So the 83rd Annual Academy Awards have come and gone.  Herewith, a few notes: Dear red-carpet commentator:  given the term’s origins, calling a 14-year-old girl a “nymphet” is not really a nice things to do. No egregiously bad dresses this … Continue reading →

The Supreme Court just handed down their decision in Snyder v. Phelps.  They got it exactly right. From John Roberts’ eloquent majority opinion: Westboro believes that America is morally flawed; many Americans might feel the same about Westboro. Westboro’s funeral … Continue reading →

I have a loaner laptop.  Huzzah! I may get around to actually posting things I’ve written over the past two weeks as I have been away. This weekend was “Psychotics in Media” weekend:  on Friday night the Rocket Scientist and … Continue reading →

“I’m a teenager.  Half of my motivation for anything is impressing girls.”  The Red Headed Menace (discussing why he’s doing track).

There is a reason I have not been posting the past few days.  I’ve had limited net access — the AirPort went kaput, so the only computer with access requires standing for a while, or sitting in painful (to me) … Continue reading →

I was going to write something for the anniversary of the Columbia disaster, or at least link to what I wrote at the time, but my friend Bill Gawne pointed me towards the best tribute to Columbia I’ve ever read.  … Continue reading →

When is it rape? That’s the question raised by a bill currently in committee in the House of Representatives, H.R. 3.  And the answer the bill gives is pernicious. The bill itself purports to be about eliminating “federal funding for … Continue reading →