We're on the same level

Spitzberg Fine Art

While we're still waiting on Granny Franny's professional valuation, I bet she'll say it's in the neighborhood of priceless.

Bubbles!

72° and sunny. "Spring" in San Diego.

Thanks to TracyMarc for the bubble machine. More photos here.

Aloha!

Tragic Legacy

[T]oday I weep for my country. I have watched the events of recent months with a heavy, heavy heart. No more is the image of America one of strong, yet benevolent peacekeeper. The image of America has changed. Around the globe, our friends mistrust us, our word is disputed, our intentions are questioned...

We proclaim a new doctrine of preemption which is understood by few and feared by many. We say that the United States has the right to turn its firepower on any corner of the globe which might be suspect in the war on terrorism. We assert that right without the sanction of any international body. As a result, the world has become a much more dangerous place...

The case this Administration tries to make to justify its fixation with war is tainted by charges of falsified documents and circumstantial evidence. We cannot convince the world of the necessity of this war for one simple reason. This is a war of choice...

[T]his Administration has directed all of the anger, fear, and grief which emerged from the ashes of the twin towers and the twisted metal of the Pentagon towards a tangible villain, one we can see and hate and attack. And villain he is. But, he is the wrong villain. And this is the wrong war.

-- Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., March 19, 2003

Bring them home.

Vital Stats

"Stick out your tongue and say 'ahhh'."

Jenna had her 18-month doctor's appointment this week.

• 24lbs 10oz (50%)
• 31 1/2 inches tall (50%)
• 19 inches head circumference (90%)

The doctor says she's perfect.

(Joke/caption courtesy Laura. © ™ ® Used by permission.)

Happy Purim

Big Purim weekend. Yesterday we made hamantashens with our chavurah, and today was the Purim Carnival at the Temple. Photos are here, including these in which is Laura wearing Melanie's tutu on her head and Jenna gets into character as a pan-Asian geisha.





Update: Here's Melanie the ballerina-princess-fairy. The statue on the right still needs a costume.

Grandpa Book Club

Birth of a Salesman

Buckets

The new black.

Fully Dressed

Look-a-Likes

Am I crazy to think that in the photo below Helen Keller looks like an older version of Melanie?

This 1888 photo released by the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston shows Helen Keller when she was eight years old, left, holding hands with her teacher, Anne Sullivan, during a summer vacation to Brewster, Mass., on Cape Cod. A staff member at the society discovered the photograph in a large photography collection recently donated to the society. When Sullivan arrived at the Keller household to teach Helen, she gave her a doll as a present. Although Keller had many dolls throughout her childhood, this is believed to be the first known photograph of Helen Keller with one of her dolls. (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Thaxter P. Spencer Collection, R. Stanton Avery Special Collections, New England Historic Genealogical Society-Boston)

Daddy Book Club

One more scene from last night... Daddy Book Club. Laura had her monthly mommy version so we had our own for daddies and little girls. Our inaugural book was Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey.

Drunk on margarita and full of food

Okay, this is only tenuously related to the blog topic at hand - that being the girls - but what's the point of having a platform if you can't post this sort of thing?

I was looking for some music to play tonight as we got Jenna ready for bed and I thought that Poi Dog Pondering's first album would be perfect. Light, fun. I thought the girls might like it. And sure enough, Melanie tells me that this - "Living with the Dreaming Body", the album's opening track - is her favorite. Of course "Falling", the album's second song, was her favorite when we heard that too.

But the tin whistle opening... hearing it I'm just flooded with such joy. And that's what I wanted to share. We all have songs (or sounds, or smells) that take us back to a time or place, or that we associate with good things or bad things. For me, the Eagles will always remind me of the dentist's office. But this song, and particularly the opening, has such a positive, and truly a physiological, effect on me. It doesn't remind me of anything in particular, but is connected with so much of my life from probably junior year in high school on. Maybe it's just an image of being "drunk on margarita and full of food" (song lyrics) on a beautiful, warm Texas day, or something equally pleasing.

I just had to find a clip to put on the blog and amazingly I've found a video for the song. This is from PDP's Austin days and is supposedly directed by Richard Linklater who would later go on to direct films such as "Dazed and Confused" and "Before Sunrise". I hope it brings you a little bit of happiness as well.

PS. Poi Dog has a new album coming out April 1. No joke.

PPS. Sorry about the annoying pre-roll ad. Of course I wanted to use this YouTube clip, but SonyBMG only wants me to share the video from their site, no doubt because of said ad. Marc, can you do something about that? ;-)