Old friends visit!

jengabevisit
Originally uploaded by Xose.

This weekend we were very happy to play host to some good friends from our days in San Francisco, Jen and Gabe.

Jen was in town for a book expo in the D.C. Convention Center, so they made the trek up to Silver Spring on Metro for a cookout in the back yard. Sylvia was excited to meet them, and Jenny and I were very psyched to hang out with such fun people again.

I worked with Jen at CMP while in S.F., and she and Gabe made the cross-country move about a year before Jenny and I did (we're all part of the great exodus of post-dot-com talent from the ultra-expensive Bay Area).

We had fun catching up and marveling at how much we know about each others' recent lives due to reading each other's blogs. It's amazing that the Internet allows you to keep up with family and friends all over the world. In my opinion, this is one of the best things about the Internet: the capability to bring people together, even if they are far apart geographically.

Anyway, we had a great time with Gabe and Jen, and hope to see them again soon! Thanks for coming down guys!

The quagmire deepens....

The depths to which Iraq has sunk since our illegal invasion are ever more harrowing. According to a new report in today's San Francisco Chronicle, Iraqis are fleeing Baghdad in droves to escape the rampant murders taking place every hour of every day with no end in sight.

Are these people better off now than when Saddam was in power?

"With only six hours of electricity a day and shortages of essentials such as gasoline, Iraqis exchange horror stories of unspeakable violence, which cannot be independently confirmed and might or might not be true.

Someone said a Sunni woman was shot in Amariya this week because she was driving. Someone else said a neighbor who had disappeared last month died of a heart attack in captivity. Women share these stories during short, rare trips to the few grocery shops that are still open.

'Everybody is scared,' said one woman in Amariya. 'No one can protect us.'"

Not that anyone could have seen this coming before we invaded, right? Geez.

Studio time on no sleep

First, our apologies for the non-postings as of late. Sylvie has been bent on a parental sleep-deprivation study, and has reduced us to quivering masses of jelly in little more than a week of zero good night's sleep. At least her thesis will pretty much write itself, now.

I was in the studio with my band, MyLOH (My Life on Hold), this weekend recording three songs for our upcoming demo CD. Sounded really good, and I can't wait to hear the final mixdown. I'll post here when links are available. Now to get a gig somewhere....

The best kiss ever

Sorry Joe but I have to say, I received the best kiss ever last night.
It happened about 330a. Yes, 330a in the wee hours of the morning.
Poor Sylvia suddenly got this weird dry cough (kinda allergies) and unfortunately it's one of those trigger-spasm coughs that scares her and wakes her up. So needless to say, she and I and Joe were up all night.
It was so sad b/c at 3a, I tried to give her to Joe for a sec while I washed bottles for her and that did not work AT ALL. She was completely freaking out, crying...which of course made her cough worse...OY. I think we have a bit of separation anxiety starting. So, I got her from Joe and she and I sat on the couch and I sang her the Sylvia song that I only sing her when she's upset. It's something I made up when she was very little and she was having a bad night and I just basically hug her really tight and sing it to her. Last night, she calmed down and just stared up at me with these big, saucer eyes - it was one of those moments where even though you are so tired you could puke, you don't care because it's the best, just to be in that moment where you are able to soothe your child. I was giving her kisses to chill her out and then went I put my cheek next to hers, all of a sudden I felt a "smooch!" She kissed me!
I am telling you, the BEST!

More curtain detail photos

I can only post 5 pics per post, so here's the detail for Sylvia's room and also the pattern for the great room valences (it's a very subtle plaid):

Curtain mania

Joe's mom made us four sets of curtains while she was visiting this past weekend.

We now have curtains for the bathroom, the kitchen, the great room*** and the baby's room.
What a task!!!

I am not crafty at all so I mostly did the shopping portion of the project.
I picked out the fabric and then Joe's mom sewed and sewed and sewed.

*** Valances only, in the great room but still no small task, as each window is 106" in length.

Thanks so much Patsy!

Here are some photos:

Nana & Home improvement central

My mom visited last week and had a great time hanging out with Sylvia. We went to Brookside Gardens and also did some retail therapy. Sylvia got some cool music toys from nana and also her very own boombox. Sylvia's been listening to jazz, classical and pop tunes.

My mom got us a runner for our hallway -- which was much needed as our 50 year old wood floors creak SO loudly and the new rug helps to muffle the sound. I really appreciate having the rug as the snapping and creaking of the floors was making me nuts!
Mom was also going to help me make curtains but we decided to wait as we'd have to mail the cloth back and forth.

Joe's parents are here right now and Patsy's been a curtain making machine...more on that later.

The kid's got good taste!

She thinks that the guys on the back of the record cover are the funniest thing around, and she screamed bloody murder (in the rue morgue) when we took the CD away from her.... Sylvie. All metal. All the time.

Jenny's mom coming to town

Jennifer's mother is coming to visit later tonight, so Sylvie will get some grandma time in for the next few days. Dad will get some much-needed time in the ampworks to try to fix one of his old builds that keeps squealing like a stuck pig.

We're also in the middle of trying to figure out what the hell to do with our lawn/garden. I think Jenny and her mom are gonna hit the greenhouse circuit this weekend, as we're in the market for flowers and a dogwood tree to plant for Sylvie in the front yard.

And then there's the matter that our entire backyard has turned to moss. Do the chores ever end? Uh...no.

Don't ban the bonfires!

I read with dismay a story posted on the SFGate.com site this morning about an impending ban on Ocean Beach bonfires.

The bonfire tradition is special to Jenny and I because that's where we met: at a bonfire on Ocean Beach. It would be a real shame if other folks couldn't have the same opportunity to gather, meet, and fall in love that we did.

The ocean is so cold in S.F., that really, bonfires are one of the only good ways to enjoy the Pacific. And while I understand the problems faced by the SFPD, the Park Service, and the local residents, I don't think banning the fires is the way to go. I hope that volunteer clean-up crews will step up to the plate to save this wonderful San Francisco tradition. [photo taken from sfgate.com/Kim Komenich]

Randy Freaking Rhoades

My mom must have heard me trying to master this riff about 18 million times. Sorry mom! When I was in middle/high school, I wanted to be this guy SO bad...

Randy Rhoades was from outer space, people. He redefined the instrument, IMHO.

Blindness freaking sucks

Sweet mother of crimeny.

I went to the opthamologist yesterday for a check up and to get my new prescription. I need new glasses because my little daughter has this game she calls "grab the specs." Last week she expanded the game to "...and break them in half." :-( Alas, my spec-tacular Scandanavian glasses are no more.

Soooo....I headed up to the opthamologist to get my examination. During the exam, he puts these crazy pupil-dilation drops in my eyes. I have never had this done before and I was not thrilled when I discovered that it renders you unable to focus on anything less than 10 feet away. Oh, and it also makes any sunlight burn your eyeballs right out of your skull.

Not able to drive home after the appointment, I stumbled into the Army surplus store next door and bought the cheapest sunglasses they had ($12). Couldn't read the tag, so I hope the guy didn't rip me off TOO bad.

Then I squinted my way to Bethesda's famous Rock Bottom Brewery to kill time until I could see well enough to drive again. Couldn't read the menu, and had to ask some girl sitting next to me to find Jason's number on my cell phone. Jason thought this would be a good pick up line; he may try it. If it works, look for him to be sporting shades and a white cane in the near future.

It took a full seven hours for the dilation to wear off, and I felt weird and queasy for the whole time. Not fun.

Spring is here!

Spring is definitely here in DC and every day it gets prettier as more trees and flowers begin to bloom. But along with the blooming are also our raging allergies...

We had a great weekend and Joe did a bunch of house stuff. He scrubbed the algae/green stuff off the house and the shed, he began to paint the kitchen cabinets (we're going to look for a different color, so it's on hold), he put on some screens so we can open the sunroom windows (YAH!), he weeded my peonies so they would not get choked, he repotted my new plant by the front door, he painted/removed rust from our front porch railing, he raked up old leaves and weeded this very overgrown spot in the backyard, he took out the patio furniture, last weekend he went to the dump to get rid of all this junk/wood that the previous owners of our house left here, he also babysat for me so I could get some time away both on Saturday and Sunday! PHEW. I am tired just from writing this.
Thanks Joe!

Do we know what really happened on 9-11?

First, let me say that I shudder to think that any government entity had any foreshadowing of the horrible events of 9-11, much less had an active part in planning and executing it. But, I will also say that there are many unresolved mysteries surrounding the event that make me think that, at the least, we are not getting the full story.

Some of the many questions that bug me:

1. Why did both towers fall down after burning only less than 2 hrs? A skyscraper in Venezuela burned for 17 hrs and still stood. One in Madrid burned for 24 hours and still stood. And, in fact, there are only three documented cases of buildings collapsing because of fire. They are WTC 1, WTC 2, and WTC 7 (which wasn't even hit by an airplane, btw).

2. Steel melts at approx. 2000 degrees F. Jet fuel burns at approx. 1300 degrees F. You do the math.

3. How were all four black boxes on the WTC planes completely incinerated, yet the intact passport of a terrorist, made of paper was found intact?

4. Why has the government not released the surveillance tapes of the plane hitting the Pentagon?

5. Why did the wings of the Pentagon plane "disintegrate" without breaking out the window frames on either side of the impact area? Where was the tail section wreckage? The engine wreckage?

There are many more, but I won't go on here. And lest you think I've turned into some crackpot nutcase, I'm in pretty elite company:

Here's San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford's column on the subject.

And here is New York magazine's take on it.

Finally, here is an excellent video documentary called 9/11 Loose Change that brings up a host of troubling questions surrounding the events of 9/11 and how the facts don't seem to jibe with the official storyline. Please watch this before thinking that it's all bullcrap.

The point here? We deserve a more thorough examination of the events surrounding the most heinous terrorist act in the nation's history. The victims deserve it, and so do we, the Vox Populi.

Fabu

Check me out...I SO have to recreate this outfit for Sylvia. I love it!
Also, I think Sylvia has my body, what do you all think? :O)
That's me at the beach w. my uncle feeding me some food.
Thanks Mom for getting me copies of these photos; they're the BEST!

Holy overtones, Batman!

So pretty much everyone reads comics as a kid, right? Well, the folks over at Superdickery.com decided that it would be fun to go back as adults and take a second look. What they found was interesting:

1. Superman is a total dick. The guy is constantly killing Batman, Jimmy Olsen, Wonder Woman, and even his beloved (or is she?) Lois Lane...again and again.

2. The guys drawing these comics back in the day were either really naïve or really naughty. After viewing some of the "unintended sexual meanings" cartoons, you MUST come to the conclusion that they were the latter. If you need examples, you can look here. But, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS SACRED, DO NOT LOOK AT THIS ONE. (I'm serious, don't look.)

3. Batman and Robin were gay. Look, this disturbs me as much as it does the next red-blooded American male, but the proof is in the pudding, folks. Read these comics! The truth will horribly reveal itself!

4. The guys that drew Wonder Woman just wanted an excuse to draw sexy girls in bondage. I mean, week after week, issue after issue, Wonder Woman is bound with chains, with ropes, with her own frickin' golden lasso. It's amazing, really, that she ever got out of the house.

Great weekend!

My Mom and Dad came up this weekend to babysit so Jenny and I could have a couple "nights on the town."

On Friday, we went to a fabu St. Patrick's Day party hosted by our friend Ed in D.C. The party was PACKED (at least 100 people in his two bedroom condo), and we lots of really nice folks.

During the party folks were giving out stickers for the benefit of single folks, gold stars for gay singles, and American flags for straight singles. Married folks like us were out of luck, alas. Of course, as usual, I was instantly asked if I wanted a star, since I looked so obviously gay. It's got to be the glasses.

On Saturday we went back into D.C. to Dukem, our newest favorite Ethiopian restaurant with two more new friends that Jenny knows from the neighborhood. The food and conversation were both excellent. Man I love Wats.

It was, of course, great to spend more time with my Mom and Dad, and the baby was LOVING her extended granmagrampa time.

To round things off, we planted some shrubs, bulbs, and seeds, and I hauled a crapload of junk from behind my shed to the bed of my truck. Looks like a trip to the dump is in order. The Spring cleaning frenzy starts now, people.

Comment problems fixed!

Hi everyone!

I was just alerted that when people have been trying to comment on our blog, it wasn't working properly....

I've fixed the problem now, I think, so please comment away!!!

J,J, & S

Future pianist?

We went down to Joe's parents' house this past weekend and Sylvia indicated that she'd like to play the organ. So, here she is, playing her debut piece, "Minuet in Geeh:"

Generation Make

It seems that DIY is quite the rage these days. The hipster culture has embraced everything from quilting to cooking to wine making to guitar amp building, and personally I think that's pretty freaking cool.

I learned my DIY skills from my dad and mom. My dad always taught me to break down problems into component parts and solve the bits to make the whole work. My mom was DIY when DIY wasn't cool, teaching herself to speak Spanish, quilt, paint, refinish furniture, etc.

I've refinished an old guitar, built a handful of amps of my own design (or based loosely on previous designs), made my own soccer goals, and done a few other neat projects.

If you haven't made anything with your own two hands, you should give it a try. It's a very rewarding feeling to use something that you have personally crafted.

Try these links on for size to get started building, cooking, knitting, whatever....

AX84: Build your own guitar amps!
Make Magazine
Indestructables: Millions of cool projects here
ReadyMade Magazine