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Category: …And Little E Makes 3
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Urpiness (adj.): feeling as though urping is imminent.
Ah, the joys of parenthood. It’s a wonder sometimes that the whole human race hasn’t been wiped out by germs and viruses – when we have a situation like we have now, where the three of us are handing illnesses around like hot potatoes, I really wonder how the species got this far. Evan’s had a second round of urpiness, Jan’s feeling urpy, and I’ve never really stopped feeling urpy. The only real unexpected part is really trying to figure out who will be the next to lose their lunch. Place your bets now. For breakfast this morning, Evan’s had a chopped-up banana and some Cheerios (minus milk) as finger food, and I’ve let him pace himself on how fast he wanted to put it down. So far, so good – I’m finding that in many cases, taking a bit of a zen approach and letting him choose his own pace is the key to figuring out what’s up with him. And I have yet to see him feed himself so fast that it comes right back up. I know it’ll happen someday, and that I can’t let him graze freely forever, but for right now it’s useful. Me, I’m still down to one meal a day – I just don’t feel like my stomach can handle any more than that. (I tried to eat twice on Saturday, and paid for it rather messily.) But I’ve got this perpetually dizzy/shaky thing going on that makes me suspect I need to be eating more – I feel really disoriented. I’ve been hitting the multivitamins for the first time in ages to compensate. Maybe I should try some banana slices and O’s…
Potentially more troublesome was my wife freaking out, after bringing Evan home from having his chickenpox shot on Tuesday, when I told her I don’t remember ever having chickenpox when I was little. Apparently this is a biggie, because the vaccine was after my time. Evan came home early from day care on Friday with a high fever, which apparently isn’t that uncommon; a few days after getting the shot, kids can run this little fever for 2-4 days. But if he’s got a fever, he’s contagious, and between not having had the vaccine at any point in my life, I’m the most likely target. And according to everything I’ve read, if I’m exposed while my immune system is already distressed (see above week-long bout of urpiness), I’m really screwed. But despite Jan’s efforts to keep me separated from Evan for a couple of days, in the end, if I’m really screwed, I’m already really screwed and we might as well buckle up for the ride (and the medical expenses).
I was watching the Disney Channel’s newfangled CGI-animated take on Winnie the Pooh – you know, the show where Pooh and Tigger are detectives and Christopher Robin is nowhere to be found (what’s up with that?) – and happened to notice in the end credits that the show’s music is by Andy Sturmer. Holy Jellyfish! Though now that I think about it, there is something very Jellyfish…ish…about the show’s music. In a “Bye Bye Bye” / “Ignorance Is Bliss” kind of way. I’m always glad to find out that one of the ex-Jellyfish guys has landed some sweet deal. Sturmer is kind of conspicuous by his absence from the ranks of Jellyfish alumni with burgeoning solo careers, aside from fleeting appearances on the L.E.O. album a few years ago (has it been that long already?), so it’s cool to hear what he’s been doing with his time: sounding like Pooh.
OK, Evan’s just dumped his last few O’s in the floor, put the empty plate on his head like a hat, and taken off into the rest of the house at a run. Looks like the zen approach worked again – I’m glad somebody’s feeling better.… Read more
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Meet Matt, the new meat…erm…new Doctor Who.
A few folks seem to be waiting for me to weigh in on the choice of relatively unknwon 26-year-old actor Matt Smith as the 11th Doctor, and I kinda wanted to wait until I’d seen the Doctor Who Confidential episode that introduced him. (By the way, if this episode of DWC doesn’t pull that particular show’s highest rating ever, I’m going to eat the nearest hat.) The interview with him on DWC doesn’t seem to have inspired much confidence in some quarters, but I really don’t think that interview is going to be the best display of what this guy’s bringing to the part. Look at it this way: after going for a dark-horse, one-in-a-zillion audition for one of the most prominent character roles in television, anywhere, you suddenly get the call that you’ve got the part, you get to sign a boatload of contracts (probably including more NDAs than anyone this side of a military covert op), and then you get rushed into a deer-in-the-headlights interview for inclusion in a mini-documentary that’s being slammed together at high speed so the BBC can beat the tabloids at their own game.
I wouldn’t expect to see Matt Smith – or anyone else for that matter – at his best in such a scenario. I do, however, remember seeing him in The Ruby In The Smoke with Billie Piper, and looking back, it may or may not comfort anyone reading this to know that I felt like he “read” older on the screen than he actually was when that was made. The same may also be true with Doctor Who. We just don’t know.
One very significant thing that I took away from the DWC episode is that Steven Moffat (the new showrunner, for whom this is a dream job that I don’t think he’s likely to rush into and screw up) talked at great length about wanting to hire a 40-something actor, and yet he and the other new producer were knocked out by this guy’s audition. If Smith’s audition performance was impressive enough to make an avowed Doctor Who traditionalist like Moffat do an about-face on his casting plans, then isn’t anyone the least bit curious as to what Smith might be bringing to the table? I’m curious to say the least.
It’s a really bold move for the BBC to reveal Smith over a year before we’re going to actually see him in the role; of course, Doctor Who fandom being Doctor Who fandom, this means there are more than 12 months worth of “emo Crispin Glover Doctor” gags to look forward to. Yay? If I had a dime for every time I was uncertain about a new incoming Doctor, or a Doctor I hadn’t seen before…I’d now officially have a dollar.
On a more humorous note, while I was bracing myself for the day when Doctor Who would be younger than me, I wasn’t quite ready for 10 years younger than me – when I was watching The Five Doctors, the eleventh Doctor was in diapers.
Speaking of guys in diapers, Evan spent so much time sleeping today that I was worried. I suppose he’s recovering from the fight his body had to put up against whatever stomach bug bit him on Thursday, but…yeah. I admit, I’d creep into his room and check to make sure he was still breathing. He was sleeping that much. Hopefully it’s all uphill from here; it’s not like him to be lethargic, and he was in a pissy mood all day – I could tell he was bothered by the absence of his own energy.… Read more
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So this is 2009
2009 has begun…with a barfing little boy. Hopefully this is just a 24 hour stomach bug or something that he caught at day care (which he started this week, doing part-days). The poor little guy has no energy at all. He’s breaking daddy’s heart. And making daddy do lots of laundry.
I’ve done a slight revamp of the front page of the site, including adding this little piece on where theLogBook.com gets off claiming to be 20 years old this year. I’ll admit, it’s a bit of a technicality – theLogBook.com is 10 years old this year, but the LogBook is 20. I gave up really making the distinction long ago, so there it is – my web site, or at least the material that led up to it, is two decades old. I’m not sure if it’s a cause for celebration or a cause for “dude, I would’ve given up on that ages ago”…but I’d rather deal with it as a celebration for obvious reasons!
I’m assuming that everyone who had any interest in doing so is still suffering through the podcast; I listened to a little bit of it late last night and kinda hated the sound of my voice. But that’s nothing new. Hopefully the decent music compensates for that! 😛
Have a good year; hopefully Evan will be feeling better soon.… Read more
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You could change your life, and never be the same
It’s two years today since a lot of stuff happened around here, but perhaps the best way to mark the occasion would be to celebrate Obi Day. Two years ago today, we adopted a fluffy little kitty guy who had been hanging out in our yard for about 48 hours or so. Unlike a lot of other stray kitties who had come and gone over the years, Oberon was laid back enough to pass muster with Othello…and of course, it didn’t take much for Olivia to decide he was a new friend. I’m going to hazard a guess that there are probably all of two months’ difference in Oberon and Olivia’s age. The rest litmus test, though, was always getting Othello’s approval. That was a rare and precious thing. Othello had readily accepted Olivia earlier that year, but she was a tiny kitten and it was pretty easy for him to establish dominance there; Oberon was bigger than Olivia and – more importantly – male, but Oberon never made an attempt to be the alpha male of the house. Even when challenged, he was laid back – he’d give ground. I’m sure that appealed to Othello in his old age. Obi had permission to stay. … Read more
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Ah great
Once again, Obi’s decided to run out the door full tilt and inspect the property. It upsets me when he does this, on behalf of Evan – he’s supposed to be my little boy’s cat, and ya know, it’s gotta do a real number on your self-esteem when your bestest furry buddy routinely runs away from you.
It’s just as well then that Evan’s spending tomorrow with other members of the family, mainly because his daddy’s sicker than a dog. I’ve taken so much Benadryl in the past 24 hours that I feel like I’ve been smothered with a blanket. Several times. I’m switching to a less ….debilitating antihistamine tonight, to deal with the chills, the fever, the aches and pains, and the fact that the hills are alive with the sound of mucus. And yeah, I know, I’m a real pansy if Benadryl knocks me out. Hey, I’m a square. I don’t drink or do drugs recreationally. It doesn’t take much. I didn’t go to the farm today – which is okay by me. I’m not sure I can handle a farm routine that Hannah isn’t a part of. I’d prefer feeling better to feeling like crap with a crapital crap, but I was relieved to not be at the farm today, as much as it might’ve inconvenienced everyone.
I did make the mistake today of watching some Sarah Jane Adventures; don’t get me wrong, it’s a great little show, and almost more like classic Doctor Who than the current Doctor Who is. It’s gotten a big boost this season from getting to cherry-pick from Who mythology as background info, as well as developing its own ongoing stories. But the two-parter I watched today was a slightly more convoluted take on the Doctor Who episode Father’s Day, with a nearly identical paradox. Benadryl-addled brain + temporal paradox = not my friend. But I kid SJA – it’s a great show, and so amazingly unlike anything that’d be rolled out for the early teen age group over here. In some respects it’s almost Buffy-esque in how it deals with “real life problems.” I’m glad it’s back for a full season in ’09, because with “light duty” for both Doctor Who and Torchwood, it’s gonna be a painful year.
Finally, a big shout-out to Jess Ragan for selling me a shiny new Mobilepro – well, okay, not new, and he keeps trying to warn me that it’s not especially shiny – but it’ll be a huge help to be able to stay connected while on the move. Evan’s entering the “stick everything in his mouth” stage, and as much as I’ve tried to keep hazardous objects out of reach, it stuns me what the little guy comes up with – he finds hazards that I didn’t know were there – and as such, sitting at the computer and merely listening isn’t an option. I either need to be close at hand, actively engaging him, or at least close at hand keeping an eye on him. Not having the means to walk around and do the wi-fi thing has been aggravating for the past month; I look forward to being “on the air” again.
Hopefully there’ll be an Obi cat at my feet while I’m doing it, too.… Read more
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The not-freezing-our-butts-off update
The one guy in the county who will bother to look at our apparently outdated furnace is unavailable until Monday. We’re on our own since then. Borrowed a couple of space heaters from “the fam,” despite my huge, huge, huge reservations about those things (especially in terms of putting one in Evan’s room – I think I finally stopped looking into his room every half hour at around 3am), and we’ve kept the bathroom heaters running full-tilt too. I’ve also been doing a heap of cooking – tuna casserole, chicken, brownies…today’s menu probably includes hamburger helper (with ostrich meat instead of beef – I’m aiming for a minimum of beef usage, or, if you like, keeping it all to a “beef min”) and some teriyaki yumminess. The oven heat vents mostly inside the house (have I ever gotten into how weirdly this house is wired/arranged?), though not all in one place, so there’s a method to the cooking madness.
Evan’s already got a snotty nose, so my race to keep him from getting cold was probably lost on Thursday night when the heat stopped working. He slept warmer last night, though it took him forever to get to sleep with the space heater in his room – it has a blower in it, which made plenty of noise. It was either that or have him sleep in the playpen, which is in the game room – lots of glowy lights generating heat, the Avid making about as much noise as the space heater’s blower…same difference really.
I’ve been trying to do some PDF II work while the Avid’s fired up, but I’m running low on inspiration at the moment. I’m urgently needing a bit of a vacation from the boy, as much as I love him, and you know, working my ass off on the farm on Sunday doesn’t really meet any of the prerequisites of being that vacation. I had to be reminded that yesterday was Friday – the day of the week is pretty meaningless when you’re “on” 24/7 regardless. In that context, weekday or weekend ceases to have any meaning.
Anyway, I’ll stop there before I start getting really grumpy.… Read more
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