Saturday, June 27, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
Pop-Culture Phenomena
So, some of you may have read the two articles on the latest subject of pop-culture criticism: marriage.
Essay #1: "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," by writer Sandra Tsing-Loh in The Atlantic
Essay #2: "A Vindication of Love", by essayist Christina Nehring
Essay number one does a fair amount of whining about the realities of a marriage that I am glad I wasn't a part of, and seems to come to a conclusion that some generalized requirements of modern married life are incompatible with marital bliss.
Essay number two compares literary romance across the ages with the reality of modern married life.
Both essays have gotten a lot of press in the various news/opinion sources I read, and I haven't linked to the articles because I am annoyed by them.
Essay number two annoys me because it seems to belong to the same argument that violent television/video games cause real life teen violence. As if modern men and women cannot separate dreams and fantasies from reality. I loathe the usage of this argument against anything; especially relating to adult behavior.
Essay number one: well, it reminds me of my beef with the book 'Eat, Pray, Love' or 'Wallow, Brainwash, Gluttony' (this may be unfair as I never even finished the 'Eat' part). Marriages work. Marriages fail. People can be assholes. People can be selfless, caring, supportive. Marriages can be working and failing and bliss and annoying all within the same 5 minutes (all this applies to parenthood too as far as I can tell in 9 months).
I guess I am just grumpy as these essays seem lazy, and whiny to me. And they seem to want to convince me that marriage can't work. While I can't see the future, and I have seen several of my friends' marriages end in divorce I am still a believer that even a failed marriage was worth the time and energy if only for a good story. And these two essays just aren't good enough stories.
Essay #1: "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off," by writer Sandra Tsing-Loh in The Atlantic
Essay #2: "A Vindication of Love", by essayist Christina Nehring
Essay number one does a fair amount of whining about the realities of a marriage that I am glad I wasn't a part of, and seems to come to a conclusion that some generalized requirements of modern married life are incompatible with marital bliss.
Essay number two compares literary romance across the ages with the reality of modern married life.
Both essays have gotten a lot of press in the various news/opinion sources I read, and I haven't linked to the articles because I am annoyed by them.
Essay number two annoys me because it seems to belong to the same argument that violent television/video games cause real life teen violence. As if modern men and women cannot separate dreams and fantasies from reality. I loathe the usage of this argument against anything; especially relating to adult behavior.
Essay number one: well, it reminds me of my beef with the book 'Eat, Pray, Love' or 'Wallow, Brainwash, Gluttony' (this may be unfair as I never even finished the 'Eat' part). Marriages work. Marriages fail. People can be assholes. People can be selfless, caring, supportive. Marriages can be working and failing and bliss and annoying all within the same 5 minutes (all this applies to parenthood too as far as I can tell in 9 months).
I guess I am just grumpy as these essays seem lazy, and whiny to me. And they seem to want to convince me that marriage can't work. While I can't see the future, and I have seen several of my friends' marriages end in divorce I am still a believer that even a failed marriage was worth the time and energy if only for a good story. And these two essays just aren't good enough stories.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
9 Month Harper Well Child Checkup
We had our 9 month dr appt. this morning. Dr. Grahm's opening statement is "she's been out as long as she was in." And yes she has. Amazing that she was 2 cells about 9 months ago.
Height: 28.5 inches (75%)
Weight: 20 lbs 1 oz (66%)
Head Circum: 17.76 inches (77%)
She has two lower front teeth, the ability to pull herself up. Still no real crawling, just pushing herself around and around in a circle on her belly. But we all had to start somewhere.
Height: 28.5 inches (75%)
Weight: 20 lbs 1 oz (66%)
Head Circum: 17.76 inches (77%)
She has two lower front teeth, the ability to pull herself up. Still no real crawling, just pushing herself around and around in a circle on her belly. But we all had to start somewhere.
Friday, June 12, 2009
Thursday, June 11, 2009
In case I get in an accident...
Apparently it only takes 3 minutes for me to pump out a pint of blood, so if I get cut, get me to the hospital!
I learned this today while donating blood.
Also, according to the Mayo Clinic, it takes 650 calories to produce a pint of blood, so I don't feel do bad about the doughnut and turtle bar I ate afterward!
I learned this today while donating blood.
Also, according to the Mayo Clinic, it takes 650 calories to produce a pint of blood, so I don't feel do bad about the doughnut and turtle bar I ate afterward!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Well, I was going to post an image but...
So I went in today to get a small cyst removed from the back of my lower neck. I had the option to have a dermatologist/plastic surgeon remove the cyst, but since it was small and not on my face I decided to just have my internist do it. After 20 minutes of him tugging around unable to remove what proved not to be a cyst, but a fairly stubborn and deep lipoma, he finally removed the small lump which now needs to go to the pathologist (totally harmless and I am not worried at all). I have 3 stiches and am a bit sore. I did a quick google images search on lipoma to find something, and, well, I can only recommend that you NOT do a google image search on lipoma. Yeah, I would even recommend searching for 'pink eye' before lipoma.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
10 Things We Have Learned About Harper: May 2009 Edition
1. She has a strawberry intolerance.
2. She has "breath holding spells."
3. She can charm the pants off a paramedic (see number 2).
4. Harper could care less about seeing movies at the theater.
5. She loves dumping movie-theater-size-large Sprite on her mommy.
6. Unless something changes she will probably walk before she ever crawls.
7. The nicknames "doodle" and "noodle" are the only ones that have stuck.
8. She loves the local baby pool.
9. She doesn't yet have the palate for quinoa.
10. She does better having a viral cold than mommy does.
2. She has "breath holding spells."
3. She can charm the pants off a paramedic (see number 2).
4. Harper could care less about seeing movies at the theater.
5. She loves dumping movie-theater-size-large Sprite on her mommy.
6. Unless something changes she will probably walk before she ever crawls.
7. The nicknames "doodle" and "noodle" are the only ones that have stuck.
8. She loves the local baby pool.
9. She doesn't yet have the palate for quinoa.
10. She does better having a viral cold than mommy does.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Just Donated To Planned Parenthood
I just made a small donation to Planned Parenthood because of my anger over the murder of Dr. George Tiller.
If you feel moved please do the same:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
If you feel moved please do the same:
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/
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