verbatim

Friday Fiver

Presenting:

1. What do you resent?

People who don't do what they're supposed to do when they're supposed to do it, thereby inconveniencing me.

2. What is your most recent occupation?

Still doing freelance editorial work part-time and momming full-time.

3. What are you presently wearing?

I'll give you three guesses, and the first two don't count. Did you say "jeans and a T-shirt"? Yep.

4. What presents have you bought?

That's a very good question, because I keep buying stuff for the kids and then just stuffing it all in the hall closet. On Monday I'll need to drag it all out and see whether I conveniently have exactly 24 gifts (3 kids x 8 nights of Hanukkah). And then wrap them. Sigh.

5. Whose presence would you enjoy tonight?

Andy's, especially since he was in New York last night.

Friday Random iPod Ten

1. Such A Night - David Bromberg
2. Long Black Veil (live) - Dave Matthews & Emmylou Harris
3. Don't You Fall - The Be Good Tanyas
4.  We Can Get Wild - Mark Knopfler
5. Streets of Baltimore (live) - Uncle Tupelo
6. You Can't Always Get What You Want - The Rolling Stones
7. 20 Million Things - Lowell George
8. Monday, Monday - The Mamas and the Papas
9. Satisfied Mind - Jeff Buckley
10. The Harder They Come - Keith Richards

My Word!

I'm hoping there's a Word guru out there. I did a document without forced page breaks, but one in which I made the page breaks come where I wanted them by adding extra space above and below headings, paragraphs, etc. It looked great on my screen, so I saved it. I then emailed it to a bunch of people, but when they printed it out they complained about the spacing and page breaks. Huh? So I printed it out, and sure enough: The spacing and page breaks are all crazy! They do not match what I see on my screen. Can anyone help me solve this mystery?

Family to Family

This fall someone in my neighborhood started a local chapter of Family to Family, an organization that "links families with more to families with much less." Each sponsor family is paired with a needy rural family; each month the sponsor family ships a box of nonperishable food to "their" family based on a shopping list provided at the web site. I joined because I thought that this would be an excellent activity to get involved with for the kids—we could go shopping together and learn about both economics and nutrition while doing a good deed. Our chapter was paired with a chapter somewhere in upstate New York.

The first month's shipment was due, wouldn't you know it, during that hellish week when everyone was sick and Gram was in the hospital. My plan to take the kids to the supermarket suddenly wasn't feasible, so I went myself, packed up the box, and left it at our group leader's house to be shipped out via Fed Ex. Steph wrote a letter and drew some pictures for "our" family, which I enclosed.

I think this is a great organization, but one big drawback has surfaced. We were given the option of sending a check instead of a box of food, but we all (the other members of the chapter and I) rejected that idea because we all wanted to get our kids involved. As I've said before, I think that kids need tangible evidence of their charitable work; a check in an envelope doesn't mean as much as food given to a hungry person. But now we're thinking that a check would mean that the families could buy fresh produce, which we obviously can't send. And, moreover, we wouldn't be wasting all the money and fuel on Fed Ex either. I'm torn.

More Mommyitis

Poor Julie is really having a tough time separating from me lately! After Monday's incident, we talked about it, and she said she knows that her tummy ache was just because she was sad and not because she was going to throw up. Tuesday (a short day) she was fine, but then she got sad in the evening because, she said, she was already thinking about Wednesday (a long day). I asked her loads of questions about the long days—wondering whether there was something about lunchtime or rest time or whatever that was a problem, or if someone had said or done something that bothered her—but she said no. Yesterday she made it all day, but the teacher said she was weepy all morning, crying at each transition. The teacher asked her if she wanted a hug, if she wanted to draw a picture to give me later, if she wanted to keep a family photo in her cubby, etc., but nothing sounded right to her. She somehow managed to get herself out of the funk each time, though, and interestingly enough, she was fine in the afternoon, which is when she'd had trouble on Monday. Last night and this morning she was a little teary again because she was just thinking about her next long day! So today was another short day and went well other than the specter of next Monday looming over her.

You may recall that she went through a few bad weeks in preschool where she'd have a hard time at drop-off, but I thought we were done with that. It breaks my heart, it really does.

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Jackpot!

Nancy Campbell Cartwright (born November 10, 1959 in Kettering, Ohio) is an American voice actress. She is best known for providing the voices of Bart Simpson, Nelson Muntz, Todd Flanders and Ralph Wiggum on the animated television show The Simpsons. A graduate of Kettering Fairmont High School, Cartwright attended Ohio University before transferring to UCLA where she earned a degree in theatre. 

She was a student of Daws Butler (voice of Huckleberry Hound, Snagglepuss and many others), and in her autobiography cites Butler as being both her mentor and her friend.

Nancy has over two decades experience at the mic. In addition to her work on The Simpsons, she has lent her voice to characters on various other animated series, including Kim Possible, The Replacements, Richie Rich, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, My Little Pony, The Critic, God, The Devil and Bob, Mike, Lu & Og, Pound Puppies, The Snorks, Galaxy High as well as Chuck Jones' final work, Timberwolf.

Cartwright has also appeared on camera in numerous television series and movies, playing roles in Fame, Empty Nest, Cheers, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Flesh + Blood, and Godzilla as well as the lead in the TV movie Marian Rose White. Cartwright also appeared in a Season 6 episode of 24 as Jeannie Tyler, the woman Chloe O'Brian thinks is Morris O'Brian's current AA sponsor (filmed during the same season, Kiefer Sutherland and Mary Lynn Rajskub reprised their roles as Jack Bauer and Chloe O'Brian on the Simpsons episode "24 Minutes").

Cartwright is also the voice of Putt-Putt in the Putt-Putt computer game Putt-Putt Enters The Race. She was invited to perform the female voices for South Park, but declined, claiming the show was too offensive even for her standards. The role then went to Mary Kay Bergman. 

Her best-selling autobiography, My Life as a Ten-Year-Old Boy (Hyperion/Bloomsbury, 2001), offers a behind-the-scenes look at the phenomenon of The Simpsons. This book was converted into a stage show, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2004. She recorded an updated version of the autobiography, which was released as an audio book in 2004.

Cartwright received an Emmy Award and an Annie Award for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Voice-Over Performance as Bart Simpson, and Nelson Muntz. She has also received Emmys for Animaniacs and Elmyra, Pinky and The Brain; a People's Choice Award; and the Drama Logue Award for her one-woman play, "In Search of Fellini."...

Cartwright actively supports many nonprofit organizations that help children, including Famous Fone Friends, Make-a-Wish Foundation, The Way To Happiness Foundation and World Literacy Crusade. She is co-founder of "Happy House", a non-profit organization dedicated to building better families. She is a member of Women in Film, ASIFA , Women in Animation and The Chouinard Foundation. Recently, Cartwright has become a contributor to ASIFA-Hollywood's Animation Archive Project.

In 2005 , an incorrect news story circulated that Cartwright had entered politics and been elected mayor of Northridge, California. In fact, Cartwright had been honored with the ceremonial title of "Honorary Mayor" by the Northridge Chamber of Commerce. Northridge is a neighborhood of Los Angeles and has no office of mayor.

She is a member of the Church of Scientology, joining in 1989, becoming a Clear on October 1, 1991. Two of the organizations she supports, the Way to Happiness Foundation and the World Literary Crusade, are themselves linked to the Church of Scientology.

Cartwright married writer Warren Murphy in 1988. The couple had two children, Lucy Mae, the youngest, and Jackson Louis, the eldest, before divorcing in 2005.

Pick a President

Minnesota Public Radio has put together a survey* designed to help you figure out which presidential candidate's views come closest to your own. Some of the questions are very tricky; for instance, I had a great deal of trouble picking just one option for the education question. However, based on my responses, my top pick should be—get this—Bill Richardson! I never saw that one coming. Edwards and Kucinich were tied for second place, then Obama, then Hillary. I realize that I need to do a little more research on some of the finer points of these issues. Interesting, nonetheless.

*Update 11/29/07: The link worked fine yesterday but not today, so the link that's there now will take you to the main survey page, then click on "President."

Cowabunga!

What'd She Say?

Lingro is a cool web tool that lets you load any web page with every single word clickable with pop-up definitions! You can even choose to have the definitions given in Spanish, French, Italian, German, or Polish. Here's what Verbatim looks like in Lingro, 'cuz I sometimes, like, y'know, use lotsa big words 'n' stuff. (via Presurfer)

Movie Time

Have you noticed that I used to post several movie reviews each week, but I've posted only a handful this entire fall? Yes, we've been extra busy and tired, but the main reason is that Steph stays up later now—and sometimes Pete does too—so we can't begin watching anything "inappropriate" while they're still up. By the time they're in bed, we're often too tired to begin watching anything ourselves. Even if we do, it ends up taking us two or sometimes even three nights to finish watching a single movie. (Which is yet another reason we rent so many TV shows from Netflix: An episode is just about the right length for an evening's viewing.)

We are also trying much harder to eat together as a family several nights a week, so Andy and I haven't had as many opportunities to do our "big dinner with wine and a movie after the kids are in bed" thing either. We still do it sometimes; I think it's just as important to the harmony of this family that the parents get some quality time alone now and again as it is that we all share meals regularly. Our kids are still very picky eaters, so Andy and I don't get to eat lots of our favorite things anymore, and it's rarely practical to make two different meals at the same time. Ah well, it'll all work itself out.

In the meantime, we have seen some movies, to wit:

"From Hell" - As we continue our journey through the Johnny Depp oeuvre, we (read: I) remain thoroughly enchanted with his acting ability, his command of various accents, his eagerness to take risks, and his cheekbones. I was willing to sit through an unconscionable amount of gore for the pleasure of witnessing His Deppitude; here he plays the Scotland Yard investigator of Jack the Ripper, and little about the grisly murders is left to the imagination.

"Extras" - Oh man, this is every bit as wonderful as we'd hoped. We fell in love with Ricky Gervais when we watched the original BBC series of "The Office" and couldn't wait to see this series. Here he plays a guy who makes a living as an "extra" but still considers himself a "real actor" just biding his time until a real gig comes along. Each episode features a real star playing himself or herself but with a wild twist. Episode #1 had Kate Winslet doing a Holocaust movie solely because she thinks that'll be a shoo-in for an Oscar (in her nun's habit, she also gives off-air phone-sex tips to a costar). Episode #2 had Ben Stiller as an egomaniacal director losing touch and patience with his subject matter. Episode #3 had a Brit I didn't know, Ross Kemp, who challenges a national soccer champ and turns out to be not as tough as he seems. They were all hilarious, and I can't wait for the next installment.

"The Painted Veil" - I love a period piece as much as the next guy (or, in the case of Andy, way more than the next guy), but this one dragged a bit even for me. Edward Norton and Naomi Watts were both terrific, playing a couple who get married for the wrong reasons and then have to figure out how to make it work anyhow—amid a cholera epidemic in 1920s China, no less. The story is a good one (although I confess that I haven't read the Maugham novel on which it was based), but something didn't quite work for me. It's very possible that watching the second half several nights after the first half was my error; I just wasn't as caught up in it as I should have been.

"Celebrity" - This movie was great fun, my favorite kind of Woody Allen film: It's shot in gorgeous black and white, every actor in Hollywood has a role or at least a cameo, and nothing goes entirely the way you think it will. Kenneth Branagh plays the usual Woody Allen character—so well, in fact, that it was almost a distraction. He had every vocal and physical Woodyism down pat—really, quite remarkable, particularly for a Brit to even get the accent right. Judy Davis plays her usual neurotic role, Joe Mantegna is her knight in shining armor, Winona Ryder is Branagh's "obscure object of desire," and there are bit parts by everyone from Hank Azaria to Aida Turturro to Melanie Griffith to Leo Dicaprio to Charlize Theron and on and on and on. A really, really enjoyable riff on what it means to be a celebrity.

Mommyitis

When I dropped the kids at school today, I realized that it would be Julie's first long day in three weeks. Between the stomach bug, the kindergarten short days, the funeral, and the long Thanksgiving break, she had had quite a bit of Mommy time in November. So I guess I shouldn't have been too surprised when I got a call from the school nurse at 1:00 saying that Julie was there crying. Why? Because she missed me! She said she also had a little tummyache (probably figured it wouldn't hurt to throw that in since it worked a few times before), but that wasn't why she was sad. So the nurse let her talk to me on the phone, and I assured her that as soon as I finished at the dentist and went to Whole Foods, it would be dismissal time anyhow. When I picked her up, her teacher said she didn't know what triggered it—and would have called me herself if the nurse hadn't.

I guess I have to remember not to be so damn much fun or the kids can't bear to be apart from me! (Snort, snort, chortle, chortle)

I'm Famous!

Create Fake Magazine Covers with your own picture at MagMyPic.com
  Subscribe to Rolling Stone Magazine at an 86% discount!

There are other covers to choose from, but how could I resist top billing with the Boss?

I've Elfed Myself!

We've been having altogether too much fun with this little gizmo today.

More Music

This weekend has been gloriously relaxing—all the stress of the last few weeks has pretty much melted away, and Andy has been letting me sleep in, and even took the kids to the movies yesterday to give me time alone in the house. My next big freelance project isn't coming until Monday, so I don't even have that nagging feeling that I should be doing something.

One thing I did was to catch up on the first two issues of "No Depression" that had been collecting dust on the coffee table. Every page I turned had me exploring someone's web site or listening on Amazon (and adding stuff to my shopping cart and wish list, of course). I discovered a sale at Signature Sounds, so of course I had to take advantage of that (two CDs by Eilen Jewell are on their way, along with the first one from Crooked Still, which I had missed).

Before all this new music shows up, I figured I ought to get some old reviews out of the way:

1. Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, It's Not Big It's Large: If you like Lyle Lovett, you can't go wrong with this one (and yes, I love him). It's more country/folk/gospel and less big-band-ish than previous releases, but that works for me too. I just can't get enough of his voice. A highlight for me is the song "Up in Indiana," which he does twice: first electric and then acoustic, joined by Stuart Duncan, Sam Bush, Jerry Douglas, and Bela Fleck, among others. What could be bad?

2. Cat Power, The Covers Record: I heard Cat Power was coming out with another CD of covers, and I said "another"? Huh? So I had to get this one from 2000. To tell you the truth, it's a little underwhelming, particularly in comparison to The Greatest, which is one of my favorite CDs of all time. But you gotta love a version of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" that never actually utters those title words.

3. Vance Gilbert, Angels Castles Covers: This is another CD of covers, from one of my favorite underappreciated singer-songwriters. While he obviously doesn't get to showcase any of his songwriting talents here, Vance Gilbert's gorgeous voice gets plenty of opportunity to shine on some of these gems. I also highly recommend his earlier CD Edgewise, which is mostly original material and all beautiful.

4. The Everybodyfields, Nothings Is Okay: This is my favorite of the whole bunch. I first heard of them when I downloaded "Aeroplane" from the No Depression site. The curious combination of vocals from Jill Andrews and Sam Quinn just works for me. I don't know how to describe the sound of their music, other than the usual "folk rock" label, so I suggest you go listen for yourself at their site (and get a load of Quinn's sideburns while you're there—yikes).

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Froggie Went a-Courtin' - Bruce Springsteen
2. Twilight (live) - Rick Danko & Garth Hudson
3. Valentine's Day - Steve Earle
4. Candy (live) - Morphine
5. Come a Long Way - Michelle Shocked
6. All Around The World (or The Myth of Fingerprints) - Paul Simon 
7. Crossing Muddy Waters - John Hiatt
8. Return of the Grievous Angel - Lucinda Williams & David Crosby
9. Heart Full of Holes - Mark Knopfler
10. Take Me to the River (live) - Eva Cassidy

Thanksgiving Post-Mortem

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and I am happy but absolutely wiped out. All the dishes are washed and put away, the leftovers are snug in their Tupperware containers in the fridge, and the kids are of course asking for dinner now since they ate almost nothing that was served this afternoon. (No comment!)

Both turkeys came out exceptionally good—I'm not sure why, because I did exactly what I always do! I quadrupled the stuffing recipe and still had almost none left over, so I'll make a note to quintuple it next year. The gravy was as good as ever; I still maintain that gravy is the most important component of the whole Thanksgiving feast because it enhances the good and rescues the mediocre. I made half of the roasted root veggies yesterday and the rest this morning, and that worked out well; I just reheated them all together. They were just as delicious as always, and that one do-ahead trick saved me some hectic oven-shuffling today—I'll definitely do that from now on.

Other people brought squash, pumpkin bread, cranberry relish, cranberry Jell-O mold, and rolls; I also steamed some haricots verts and just served them plain.

Obviously, we were all acutely aware that this was the first Thanksgiving without Gram, but no one got weepy about it. We mostly told funny stories about her and smiled at the memories.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for my loving, happy family and our (generally) good health.

I am thankful for my comfortable home.

I am thankful for my friends, who support me and make me laugh.

I am thankful for peace in my corner of the planet.

I am thankful that I got to have Grandma Sophie in my life for more than 45 years.

I am thankful for all my cyber-pals, whose blogs—and comments on my blog—inspire me every day to think and to write.

Best wishes to all!

Tell It, Scotty

Here's a surprising excerpt from the forthcoming Scott McClellan book, What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and What's Wrong with Washington:

The most powerful leader in the world had called upon me to speak on his behalf and help restore credibility he lost amid the failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So I stood at the White house briefing room podium in front of the glare of the klieg lights for the better part of two weeks and publicly exonerated two of the senior-most aides in the White House: Karl Rove and Scooter Libby.

There was one problem.  It was not true.

I had unknowingly passed along false information. And five of the highest ranking officials in the administration were involved in my doing so: Rove, Libby, the vice President, the President's chief of staff, and the President himself.

Granted, he's a bit ambiguous (particularly the "were involved in my doing so" part—he doesn't come right out and say that those five knowingly let him unknowingly pass along false info), but still, I had pegged ol' Scotty as more of a taking-it-to-the-grave kinda guy. Go figure. (via Ze)

Gram on the Web!

For anyone who's interested, I only just discovered that Gram's photo is on the home page for the Jewish Community Center elderly housing where she lived for the last 15 years or so. She's the one all the way over to the right in the smart brown suit, with her coordinating scarf and earrings, and hair and makeup "just so." That was taken a few years ago, when she was "only" in her late 90s.

The JCC was an ideal place for her, because she got to live in her own apartment there but also had access to the many community services available (like a hairdresser who came to the building, and a van to take her to the supermarket after she wrecked her car a few years ago), plus there were movies, parties, exercise classes, bingo and card game nights, and so on. When she first moved in, we had to buy her an answering machine because she was never home! She even volunteered at the front desk in the lobby and was Queen Esther in the Purim play a few years ago. Ah, Gram....

Breaking News

Today I received a letter from the temple telling me that Steph's Bat Mitzvah date has been set for February 6, 2010. And I'm supposed to do exactly what with this information now?!

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

I got another music entry, and again someone I've never heard of:

Jill Jack is a singer-songwriter from Ferndale, Michigan. She has thus far put out 6 albums, ranging from soul to rock, to folk and country. She has been divorced once and has one daughter. She leads a band of the same name.

Her CD Moon and the Morning After won the 2006 Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Acoustic/Folk Recording.

Discography

1. Watch Over Me- Released (1997)
2. Too Close To The Sun (1998)
3. Live From Billy's Basement (1999)
4. The Love Hotel (2001)
5. Live and Unplugged (2004)
6. Moon and the Morning After (2006)

External link

• www.JillJack.com

I gave a listen over at her web site. Not bad.

Stalking You

This afternoon as I chopped celery for my stuffing, I noticed that the bag said it contained "1 stalk celery" but showed a picture of a whole bunch (or is it a head?) of celery.

Curious, I turned over the bag to see the nutrition information, which was given for a serving of "2 medium branches." Huh? Have you ever heard someone refer to a "branch" of celery? Of course not! One piece is a stalk, not a branch, and the whole bunch is not a stalk. What is wrong with these people?

Switching Gears

I am now officially out of funeral mode, except for the yarzheit candle that will burn in my living room for a whole week, the endless stream of phone calls, and the pile of prayer books and yarmulkes that the funeral home guys are supposed to pick up. Now I'm fully in Thanksgiving mode. I left out all the extra tables, chairs, tablecloths, ice bucket, etc. from the shiva; the giant box I filled with all the clutter of our kitchen and living room will remain out on the porch until Friday.

I picked up two beautiful turkeys at Whole Foods this morning. T1 is brining as I type this; it will air-dry in the fridge overnight and spend tomorrow afternoon in the oven. T2 will brine tomorrow and roast on Thursday morning. This afternoon I made all the stuffing and am about to make the preliminary gravy. I think I will do some of the roasted veggies tomorrow and the rest on Thursday. Haven't really decided what to do with the haricots verts yet. Other people are bringing squash, dinner rolls, pumpkin bread, and fresh fruit.

One of Lauren's friends was so thoughtful; she came to the shiva yesterday with a package containing her homemade cranberry relish! She said she wanted to bring something that would take a little pressure off of me for the week. So that's one thing I don't have to worry about! I also decided I'm not making any desserts, although I was dying to try a new cake from Dorie Greenspan. Instead, I'm going to serve the leftover pastry platters from the shiva, and a few people are bringing other desserts. I'm also not going to make any appetizers; we will make do with purchased cheese straws, olives, and the like. As much as I enjoy preparing all these things, it's just not possible this time around. I'm also not doing any experimenting at all with my tried-and-true Thanksgiving recipes; this is not the year for any more surprises.

Longest Day Ever

Today was Grandma's funeral, which we've all been dreading—and eagerly awaiting, just so it could be done with. I sent the kids to school until lunchtime so they wouldn't miss the annual "Turkey Trot" (kids donate a can or box of food to the local food bank and then run around the school a few times wearing turkey hats). I knew the rest of the day would be beyond tedious for them.

They are so awesome, though; they sat there like angels during the sad parts and the boring parts of the funeral and never made a peep. We had decided that this would be an ideal first funeral experience for them, because it was for someone who died at a very old age, and it wasn't even sudden. I'd never have taken them to a funeral for some tragic untimely death where people get absolutely hysterical. They were interested in the logistics of it all and asked very good questions.

A few people got up to speak, and everyone touched on the main points I would have made if I were the type to get up and speak at a funeral. Namely: Gram had the greatest sense of humor in the world; no one ever heard her raise or voice or speak sharply to anyone, not even once; she never asked for help but never hesitated to offer it; she made the best mandel bread, chicken soup, and chopped liver on the planet; her family meant everything in the world to her; and she always made everyone feel special. Two of the older great-grandchildren even wrote their college-entrance essays about her when asked to describe someone who is a hero. I guess we shouldn't have been surprised that so many people took time out of their busy Mondays to come to pay their respects. The guy at the funeral home said that if he'd known we'd have such a huge crowd, he would have sent us to a synagogue—we had no idea it would be standing room only.

The rabbi talked about how we have three chances in life to have a good name. First, we are given a name by our parents, so we carry on the legacy of our families. Second, we have the name we make for ourselves in the world, or the way the world sees us based on how we treat people. And finally, we have the name we make for ourselves with God, who knows everything we've been through, good and bad, and how we've dealt with it. Gram of course passed with flying colors.

From there we went to the graveside ceremony, which was blessedly short in this cold, raw weather, but there's still nothing like seeing that hole in the ground and the box being lowered into it. In Jewish tradition, the last good deed you can do for a person is to fill in the dirt over their grave (rather than let some anonymous guy with a bulldozer do it), so anyone who wanted to could throw in a shovelful, and then some of the stronger menfolk stuck around to finish the job.

I arrived back at my house to find it already full of people (I had ordered in sandwich platters and such), and people continued to stream in all afternoon and into the evening. It becomes a cliché at funerals, but we all found ourselves saying, "I haven't seen you in years! Why do we see one another only for a funeral?"

And now my kids are safe in bed, and although it was a sad day indeed, it was also just beautiful for me and Andy to be surrounded by so many relatives and dear friends, all celebrating the wonderful life of this wonderful woman we were all so lucky to have in our lives for so long.

In All My Glory

I think we can now put to rest any suggestion that I might be overly vain. I have now posted a photo of myself with crazy hair and dorky rhinestone-studded reading glasses—and, as if that weren't enough, made a ripply effect begin at my already prominent chin.

Google Google

First of all, Verbatim's search feature seems to be up and running again, so I can stop fretting about that. At first the TypePad folks kept claiming that it was indeed working even though I couldn't get it to work here; then they had me reload my blog (command-shift-R), and voilà!

Second, here's a puzzle for you: When I go to google.com on my MacBook Pro, I get the same old Google page that we've all come to know and love. However, when I go to google.com on my iMac, I get the new iGoogle page—which I can get on my MacBook only if I go to igoogle.com! I've restarted Firefox on the MacBook, but still nothing. What gives?

Two-fer Meme

Two names you go by:

1. Karen
2. Krin (family and some old friends)

Two things you are wearing right now:
1. jeans
2. striped long-sleeve T-shirt

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. read
2. cook

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. more vodka (Andy? Andy?!)
2. some kind of assurance that I'll sleep well tonight

Two favorite pets you have had/have:
1. Mr. Jones
2. George

Two things you ate today:
1. leftover Swingin' Sammy Williams' Mess
2. rye toast with butter

Two people you last talked to:
1. Mom
2. Lauren

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. finishing my Spanish project
2. de-cluttering the entire downstairs

Two favorite holidays:
1. Thanksgiving (well, maybe not this year, though...)
2. my wedding anniversary

Two favorite beverages:
1. Absolut Citron
2. PG Tips with milk

(via Florinda)

Friday Fiver

Falling out of a world of lies

1. What's the last thing you threw away?

A used tissue.

2. Have you ever been to Paris?

Yes, in 1982.

3. What do you stare at?

Androgynous people.

4. What do you hurry for?

Everything—can't bear to be late.

5. Friday fill-in: I could have been ___.

A librarian.

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. Paradise - John Prine
2. Another Nail In My Heart – Squeeze
3. Punish The Monkey - Mark Knopfler    
4. Homeless - Paul Simon
5. Old Dan Tucker - Bruce Springsteen
6. Man Out Of Time - Elvis Costello
7. 32 Flavors (live) - Ani DiFranco
8. Is Heaven Good Enough for You - Allison Moorer
9. Get Down River - Bottle Rockets
10. Be Miner - the everybodyfields

And In Other News

1. According to the doctor, Pete has an ear infection in one ear and a lifetime supply of wax in the other—either or both of which would explain why he can't hear a damn thing we're saying lately.

2. In order to save some time and sanity, I've decided I won't make any desserts for Thanksgiving; I'll ask people to bring them, or I'll buy them. I feel bad about it, because I love the opportunity to bake for company, since there's never much left over for me to gorge myself on afterward. When I bake just for our family, I end up eating (or throwing away) too much.

3. I have about 3 more hours left on this seemingly interminable Spanish project, and that seems doable by Thanksgiving.

All of this is by way of saying: Life goes on.

At Rest, At Last

Gram finally died early this morning. My aunt said that yesterday she really looked awful and they even had to give her some morphine because she was "laboring," so we figured it would be soon. The interesting thing about today is that it is the exact date that her son (my uncle) died in 1963—the one she had donated her kidney to. Some kind of karma going on there.

I guess not too surprisingly, it was much more upsetting to learn that Gram had had the stroke 2 weeks ago than it was to find out that she'd died today. We've been expecting it—and, yes, hoping for it—for all these days now, so it's really a relief to know that she's not suffering anymore. I don't know whether I believe in any kind of Heaven in the traditional sense, but I like to imagine Grandpa up there saying, "Sophie, vat took you so long?!" (He died in 1985.)

Tom and Ray's Excellent Adventure

"Next summer, PBS will be besmirching its good name by launching a prime-time, animated situation comedy based on Car Talk."

Tom and Ray Magliozzi need help naming their new show! Lots of people are going with "Car Toon" or the like. I don't think there's anything wrong with just plain "Click and Clack" or "The Tappet Brothers." I wonder if the show is going to be aimed at kids or adults. (via Away with Words)

So. Very. Tired.

I slept a total of two hours last night, first just thrashing about worrying and panicking about everything, then with a terrible stomach ache (but mark my words: I will not get this stomach bug!), and finally when Pete joined us, complaining that both his ears hurt. Which they still did in the morning, plus Steph had a headache and Julie was crying, and there's a chance I said "I don't care" to all of them, but I think it was just a very vivid fantasy. Reader, I sent them all to school.

Wiki Wednesday

Time to learn something!

1. Go to Wikipedia.
2. Click on "Random article" in the left-hand sidebar box.
3. Post it!

Oh swell, another type of dementia I'd never heard of:

Familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies (FENIB) is a progressive disorder of the nervous system that is characterized by a loss of intellectual functioning (dementia) and seizures. At first, affected individuals may have difficulty sustaining attention and concentrating. Their judgment, insight, and memory become impaired as the condition progresses. Over time, they lose the ability to perform the activities of daily living, and most people with this condition eventually require comprehensive care.

The signs and symptoms of familial encephalopathy with neuroserpin inclusion bodies vary in their severity and age of onset. In severe cases, the condition causes seizures and episodes of sudden, involuntary muscle jerking or twitching (myoclonus) in addition to dementia. These signs can appear as early as a person's teens. Less severe cases are characterized by a progressive decline in intellectual functioning beginning in a person's forties or fifties....

I'm enough of a hypochondriac as it is without learning about more diseases I might be carrying.

In Praise of School Nurses

Our beloved school nurse left at the end of last year, but it happened so suddenly (i.e., during the summer) that no one knew. (I heard she asked for more money and couldn't get it, so she's gone to work at a hospital.) She was so kind to us when Steph's colitis was first diagnosed, and Steph used to go up to her office for a pill every day after lunch, so they struck up quite a little relationship. Then there were a handful of other minor incidents with Steph or Pete, and I always appreciated her compassion and humor.

A bunch of the moms at school have gotten together to throw a belated farewell party for her, and it's going to be tomorrow afternoon. Someone wrote a really hilarious skit that we're all participating in. It consists mainly of a string of visitors to her office, starting with the everyday cuts and bruises and tummy aches from her "frequent fliers" (she really did call them that—the kids who managed to find a reason to come by for ice or a bandaid or 20 minutes on her couch at least once a day). The woman playing her in the skit has lines that show that she knew every family (“You have a fever, so I better call your mom. Let’s see, on Tuesdays she drops off your little sister at preschool and then goes to yoga but she usually stops for the dry cleaning first. Maybe I’ll still be able to catch her at Zoots.”) and how to fix everything ("Tell the janitor that the hydraulic converter on the chair lift is broken again. Lift up the cable, on the left under the electric panel, and see if that screw has popped off again."). Then comes a mom freaking out over her kids' headlice ("Don't worry, I'll come to your house tonight to help you shampoo them"), a kid (played by moi) who has a recurring nightmare (“Sometimes dreams can seem so real, can’t they? Freud believed that dreams were windows to our unconsciousness...."), a call from the superintendent unsure whether to call a snow day ("I did see some cirrus clouds while driving in this morning, and that’s usually an early signal that we’re in for some snow. I imagine we’ll have 4 to 6 inches, starting about 9:00 this Thursday. You should call for an early release that day."), and the art teacher fretting about how to explain Impressionism to fifth graders ("Well, we know that characteristics of Impressionist painting include visible brushstrokes, open composition, and emphasis on light in its changing qualities...."). Finally she takes a call from Dubya himself (“Hello, Mr. President. Yes, I’ve told you before that we can’t fight in Iraq and Afghanistan at the same time. Yes, I know its hard work...."). We've rehearsed three times, and it's really funny—and not so far off the truth! She was really one in a million.

Meanwhile, the new school nurse seems lovely too. And I should know, because I've seen her more times in the past 5 days than I had seen the previous one in 5 years. Every time one of my kids feels nauseous (or in fact throws up), she calls me. Yesterday Julie freaked out at drop-off time because she had a tummy ache, so I kept her home yet again. But I realized that she was so traumatized from having thrown up at school the previous week that even the slightest weird feeling in her tummy sent her into a panic. So we had a long talk about it, and off she went to school today. A few hours later, the nurse called to say Julie was in their with a tummy ache and a slight fever. So I went to pick her up, figuring that Murphy's Law would get me somehow: If I brought her home, she'd be fine; if I left here there, she'd hurl in the hallway again. When I got there, it suddenly occurred to me that the new nurse thinks that we're frequent fliers! I said to her, "I know you don't know us yet, but we're really not usually like this! We never get sick and leave school in the middle of the day! Really! You won't be seeing much of us again after this is over!" Blahblahblah, like she believed me too....

Hitting the Wall

I think all the stress and worry of the last 10 days or so—plus all the germs in my house—are finally catching up with me. I wouldn't exactly say that I'm sick (yet?), but I certainly don't feel 100% right. I told Andy I just want to close my eyes and open them on January 1.

Well, Gram surely can't hang on forever (although she's doing a good job of trying) and then somehow we'll manage all the shiva arrangements, and Andy is getting a little better every day and is even going to try to go to work for a few hours tomorrow, and there will be plenty of food for all at Thanksgiving as there always is, and I'll finish this big Spanish proyecto one way or another, and I'll somehow think of and find time to buy Hanukkah gifts for the kids and birthday gifts for Steph, and life will go on.

Waiting, Puzzling

Last night as we left for the ER, I grabbed the still-unread Sunday Times Magazine and Book Review. We had to wait so long (both before being seen and while the IV dripped) that I ended up having time to read both items cover to cover and to do both the acrostic and nearly all of the crossword puzzle, which I haven't done in many years.

I've probably mentioned that I used to do the puzzle faithfully every Sunday when Eugene T. Maleska was creating them; when Will Shortz took over in 1993, I began to lose interest because he tends to favor "gimmicky" clues and answers and lots of pop culture references, which I find too easy once you catch on to the theme of the puzzle. I wrote him a letter in 1994 to complain and got back a postcard typed on a real typewriter and addressed and signed in a real ballpoint pen, which I unearthed in the big office clean-out last month:

Something tells me he doesn't answer his own mail by hand anymore! In any event, I enjoyed doing the puzzle last night. I eventually gave up when I got to a few unfillable squares (you know, when you get a Swiss river going one way and a species of seal going the other). This morning I Googled or Wiki'd a few clues so that I could finish. (Anyone who thinks that's cheating can just kiss my butt, because otherwise I would have just put the thing down for good. This way, I got to finish up and learn a few more things. As long as I don't claim to have finished it all on my own, I see no harm in getting help when a dead end is reached.)

As for the acrostic, oh, did I love it! I used to look forward to Thomas H. Middleton's acrostic every other week back in the '80s and '90s. The nice thing about an acrostic is you almost never get permanently stuck because there are so many angles to work from. And then, when you're done, you get a quotation, along with its author and source! So clever—and infinitely more rewarding than just an all-filled-in crossword puzzle. Another great find in the big office clean-out was a stack of at least 100 of Middleton's last Times acrostics from the late '90s, which I dutifully clipped each week even though I knew I was too busy with my babies to ever get to them. I stopped clipping when Emily Cox and Henry Rathvon took over, whenever that was. So this was a doozy of a discovery, yellowed though they are!

(This has nothing to do with puzzles, but I just want to mention that while we were in the ER waiting room, the TV was tuned to "60 Minutes," and they were doing a story on MRSA. Can you think of a worse thing to be watching while sitting there in Germ Central with a bunch of strangers? No, there isn't anything.)

Search Party

Recently I've noticed a problem with searches for content in my Archives. Some time ago, TypePad switched from having an entire month's archives on one page to having them spill over onto a second (or, I suppose, even third) page. Ever since they did this, however, it seems that only content on the first page is searchable (via Google, Yahoo, Metasearch, etc.). I use my little Google search bar all the time to find old posts I want to reference or even just for my own personal interest (usually I'm trying to remember when a particular event happened). Not only is this annoying for me, but it means that, by definition, nearly half of my archived posts are not coming up in anyone's Google searches, which is how most people find Verbatim in the first place. I've alerted TypePad and will await their response; thanks for your patience if you've been frustrated trying to find something here (yeah, yeah, I know you all spend your free time trying to catch up on every little detail of my life).

Update (11/13/07): The TypePad folks assure me that as soon as Google re-indexes my blog, all will be well. I don't really understand their explanation, but I will wait a week and see for myself.

Dropping Like Flies

Andy started off yesterday feeling as if he were getting a little better, but as the day wore on, it became clear that he was instead getting much worse. The on-call doctor (why can't anyone in this family ever get sick during normal business hours?) said that it would be a good idea to head over to the ER for a chest x-ray and blood work, and possibly some fluids. Fortunately, Barbara and Jerry were available to come stay with the kids, so we headed over at about 6:30.

The chest x-ray did show some "fuzzy" spots that are likely to be signs of pneumonia, although the blood work came back normal. His oxygen saturation was low (I still think it's way cool that you can just stick your finger in that little thing and it tells how much oxygen is circulating through your body!) and he was quite feverish and dehydrated. So they gave him a liter of fluids via IV, along with a first dose of antibiotics. He also complained of nausea, so they added an anti-nausea drug. Not long after, he started puking anyhow—good timing for him to catch the kids' stomach bug, eh? But they determined he wasn't in any danger, so he didn't need to stay overnight. We agreed, because we knew he would be more comfortable in his own bed, so we went home about midnight.

They sent us home with some Percoset to help him sleep last night and instructions to stagger doses of acetaminophen and ibuprofen round the clock for the high fever. In addition, I have to go fill one prescription for the antibiotics, one for the anti-nausea drug, and another for some cough pills. I think the worst symptom for him, besides the feeling of being 100% wiped out, is the pain in his back when he coughs. He says it's like knives.

The Bionic Woman

Against all odds and predictions, Gram is still hanging on. I never would have believed it if you'd told me 9 days ago, when the stroke happened—and I still don't believe it now. She hasn't had anything to eat since a week ago Friday and hasn't had any fluids or meds of any kind since Tuesday or Wednesday, when they pulled out all the IVs and moved her to the hospice. I went to see her today for the first time since everyone in my house got sick, and she looks the same. Still clutches my hand, still opens and closes her eyes occasionally, still makes an audible sighing sound. I don't know where she gets the strength to carry on—although as I said to someone recently, you don't make it to 101 years old without a strong ticker anyhow. Oh, and did I ever tell you that in 1963 she gave a kidney to her son (my uncle)? He ended up dying less than a year later anyhow, but Gram continued on for another 44 years with just one kidney. Truly remarkable.

When I kissed her goodbye today, I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "You can let go, Gram! It's OK to leave us now."

I'm Affiliated

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm announcing here that I've just become an Amazon affiliate. All that means is that if you click through to Amazon via one of my links to a book or CD or whatever and then actually buy it, I get a few pennies. I already link to Amazon for these things, so it's not something you would have likely noticed.

I think Amazon is a good company, and I buy a lot from them (although now I won't be allowed to use my own links, which is actually OK because by definition I've already bought the things I'm reviewing here). The reason I've always linked to Amazon is so that anyone who wants more information on a book or CD can access it easily; it obviously has never mattered to me whether people end up buying those things—from Amazon or elsewhere. So now I guess it matters a little, but I have no fantasies of getting rich from this! And I still plan to never carry ads on my blog.

So... what say you, loyal Verbatim readers? Have I sold out? Can you still love me? If you are turned off by my decision, please tell me! Obviously you can always go to Amazon (or some other vendor) on your own without using my links, but I still would like to know if my readers find this whole idea distasteful.

Not Knopfler; Knopfler

I owe you about a dozen CD reviews, so let's see if I can knock off a couple today.

I'll start with Raising Sand, the new Robert Plant & Alison Krauss CD that I was so excited about. The reality is somewhat disappointing. There are a couple of songs that are OK, but nothing really knocks my socks off. I like both of their voices, and they sound good together, so I can't decide whether it's the choice of songs (it's all covers) or the arrangements that leave me lukewarm. Let's just say that the last time an aging Brit rocker dude paired up with a country-western sweetheart, I was considerably more impressed. (Like, so impressed I was nearly frothing at the mouth in my praise.)

Speaking of Mark Knopfler, his latest CD Kill to Get Crimson is quietly growing on me. It's by no means a rock album, although I wouldn't exactly call it folk because it's electric rather than acoustic. There's also a little bit of Celtic stuff going on on quite a few tracks, and you know I never mind hearing some good accordian or fiddle. Usually Knopfler does a rock album with a few quieter songs—this is like a whole album of just the quieter stuff. I like it. Then again, he would have to make a whole album of his fingernails scratching down a chalkboard while he coughed incessantly for me to complain.

I'll also just mention that this year's donation to my local PBS station entitled me to a wonderful gift: NPR Driveway Moments Collection, a boxed CD set containing Volumes 1, 2, and 3 of all those "radio stories that won't let you go." These are the stories that you sit in your car listening to even though you're already in your driveway. I can't wait to dig in.

LOLbatim

Verbatim gets LOLinated! Go here to see it; try your own here.

Friday Distraction

179 funny, cute, bizarre photos of animals

Friday iPod Random Ten

1. All Night Blue - John Prine
2. Goodnight Irene - Willie Nelson & Van Morrison
3. Avalon, My Home Town - Bruce Cockburn
4. Now She's Gone - Steve Earle
5. Who Will Take My Place - The Duhks
6. Rock and Roll Doctor (live) - Little Feat
7. The Boy In The Bubble - Paul Simon
8. Dallas - Paul Rishell
9. House Where Nobody Lives - Tom Waits
10. Righteously - Lucinda Williams

Friday's Feast

Appetizer: Which snack do you like to get when you go to the movies?

Popcorn with butter (at our favorite art-house cinema) or butter-flavored goo (at the chains).

Soup: What year did you start using the internet?

Hmm, that's a good question. I think I first got email at work at the tail end of the '80s or possibly very early '90s, but I can't really recall.

Salad: What is your first name in Pig Latin?

Aren-Kay. Andy and I used to use Pig Latin all the time when we didn't want the kids to understand us, but now they know it too.

Main Course: Name something you are picky about.

Word usage, spelling, punctuation (big surprise there, huh?).

Dessert: Fill in the blanks:  I ____  ____ yesterday and I ____  ____ today.

I felt fine yesterday and I feel fine today. (This is my mantra: I will not get sick! I will not get sick! I will not get sick!)

                 

More of the Same

As of yesterday afternoon, I had planned to keep Steph home from school today (she threw up again in the late afternoon) and send the other two. Then, just before bed, Pete got bad stomach pains again and kept thinking he was going to throw up, although he never did. So I decided not to send him. This morning, just as I was packing Julie's lunchbox, she said she had a tummy ache. That's it, they're all staying home. Andy's here too, and although he's positively useless when he's sick, I will leave the kids with him for an hour this morning so I can run out to the market and possibly go see Gram at the hospice—I just worry that I might be carrying around germs even if I haven't succumbed to any of them.

Good News, Bad News: Part Deux

Good news: Yay, Andy came home early from work!
Bad news: Oops, it's because he's sick, too.
Good news: He doesn't have the vomitrocious stomach bug that the kids all have.
Bad news: But he does have a fever, chills, body aches, sore throat, congestion, and headache.

That's it: I'm leaving town. I promise to drop you a postcard when I get settled somewhere.

Puke-Fest Chez Verbatim

I kept Julie home from school today even though she woke up (after sleeping 12+ hours!) feeling fine and dandy. You're not supposed to send a kid to school who's thrown up or had a fever in the previous 24 hours, so I don't. Steph said she had a tummy ache at breakfast, so I kept her home too. Then, mid-morning, I got a call from the school nurse saying that Pete was in there with a tummy ache, so I went to pick him up (the cleaning lady was here, so I left the girls here with her). When I got home, Steph threw up. Stay tuned for more action!

Score One for the Consumer

Today I received a $10 coupon from the Gap, along with a letter saying that because of a class-action suit, from now on they will credit rewards points back to customers' accounts on returned items! Maybe J. Jill will follow suit—they'd be wise to, as I still get tons of hits on my post about their lousy returns policy.