Ultranormal

  • A Rebuke From The Past

    I’ve been haunted by an image this week. I read somewhere (unfortunately, I can’t remember where exactly) a comparison between our invasion of Iraq and the Spanish-American War. The author said that both were launched on fauly evidence (some say outright lies), and quoted some famous Americans who were against the Spanish-American War. There was one passage from an article written by Mark Twain that’s stuck with me, that I’m unable to forget or leave behind.

    And our flag — another pride of ours, our chiefest! We have worshipped it so; and when we have seen it in far lands — glimpsing it unexpectedly in that strange sky, waving its welcome and benediction to us — we have caught our breath, and uncovered our heads, and couldn’t speak, for a moment, for the thought of what it was to us and the great ideals it stood for…

    And as for a flag for the Philippine Province, it is easily managed. We can have a special one — our States do it: we can have just our usual flag, with the white stripes painted black and the stars replaced by the skull and cross-bones.

    Mark Twain — To The Person Sitting in Darkness

    The image of that flag, red and black stripes, with the skull & cross-bones in place of the stars. It’s chilling, and I can’t help thinking how unfortunately appropriate it is. Iraq is a mess, because we didn’t go in with a plan for getting out. Our soldiers have committed atrocities in our names, under our flag (and apparently under orders from the commanding officer in the region and possibly civilian leaders in the Pentagon, all of it vetted by the Justice Department). We’ve killed thousands of non-combatants, lost several hundred good young soldiers to combat and terrorism, allowed the few treasures of the country to be plundered and looted, and changed course more times than a ship lost in a gale. All of this done in the name of bringing “freedom” to the Middle East.

    I don’t know what the Administration’s true reason was for going into Iraq. I don’t know why the insisted on lying (or continue to keep lying, only to have a member of your own Administration contradict you) about Saddam’s connection to Al Qaeda. I don’t know why they relied on intelligence they knew was faulty… And now, with the abuse, we’ve given an excuse to every madman we go up against in the future to torture our soldiers the way we’ve tortured the Iraqis (most of who were either covered by the Geneva Conventions or later proven innocent). Our government even lied to us about the war on terror, and now has to “concede it made an error“. How does this happen? How did we get here?

    It’s time to drop partisanship and look deep down into our hearts. What has happened is wrong. There should be a Congressional investigation into the torture memos, see where they lead, and punish those responsible for ordering it – no matter how high it goes. Today, it looks like our government is guilty of war crimes. Are we going to do anything about it? Are we going to stand by and let this be carried out in our name, under our flag? I’m disgusted by my government. This has gone on long enough, and it’s time for the few honest people left in the Administration and in Congress to put a stop to it.

  • Must Try… HORCHATA!!!

    I love Horchata. That recipe will be attempted toute suite!!!

  • Redesign Commencing

    Redesign in progress… not done, still going. Colors may change (especially the green… looks good in the palette, not so sure on the site). Beware falling fonts.

    There, let’s try that for a little while and see what happens. I’m not sure about the fonts, but I think I can live with the colors for now. Sorry to all you folks who use newsreaders. Hopefully there will be no more rebuilds to muck with the feeds.

  • Like A Whole Other Country

    I knew Texas was like “A Whole Other Country”, but they’re running your’s. That’s why this is so chilling. The Texas Republicans are in charge of half the Legislative branch (Tom DeLay), the Executive Branch, and if W wins in November, have a real good chance of taking over the Judicial.

    I just don’t get it. This is the leadership of the Republican party, people. If you think centrists like John McCain, John Warner, Chuck Hagel and Olympia Snowe have any power, watch the Republican platform at the convention. I doubt highly that it will differ a whole lot from this.

    The separation of Church and State is there for a reason. It’s the same reason we have two houses in Congress. It’s the same reason we have checks and balances defined in the Constitution. The will of the many should never violate the rights of the few. If Christianity (and radical fundamentalist Christianity at that) becomes the basis for government, I fear for our country. This is not a platform based on faith, hope or charity. It’s a platform based on hate, fear and ignorance.

    If you vote for George W. Bush in November, you’re voting for it too. Oh, I know, that sounds crazy. It’s not. Let’s get the press to ask him to disavow the platform. Will he?

  • The Gardening Geek

    It all started so innocently. I took Max to the Farmer’s Market last summer, and I bought a basil plant (because every three year-old needs to learn about death, right?). We took it home, put it in a pot on the window sill, watered it religiously, and watched it grow. It lasted the rest of the summer and most of the fall. I decided my black thumb curse was over… It was actually kind of fun watching it grow and using it in my cooking. So, I started a little window sill garden, just a couple plants. Max and I bought a cilantro plant, an oregano plant and a sage plant (that met an untimely death while I was in France). We had an extra pot, and Max and I took some crushed red pepper seeds, a couple snap peas, some peppercorns and (I think) a couple others I don’t remember and planted them. Surprisingly, two plants sprouted!! I have no idea what they are, but they’re both getting a little unruly and I had to replant them. Of course, I was out of pots. So, off to Lowe’s for more pots…

    Now, it’s June, and I think I’ve officially gone over the cliff. I planted some roma tomato plants about a month ago, some new basil (the old one got old and feeble) and recently some rosemary and chives. I also moved our two gigantic plants and the tomatos to a big window box that’s still not outside. I even built a trellice… see for yourself:

    the left side...

    and the right

    Max helps me water them, and we check on them every day. Like I said, it all started so innocently.

  • Baby News and Pirates

    We took Brian to the doctor this week, and he’s doing great. He left the hospital at exactly nine pounds. A week and a half later, he’s up to nine pounds, fourteen ounces and has grown a quarter of an inch (up to 22.25″). He’s gorgeous, calm and an all-around great baby. We’ll be taking more pictures as we get some more sleep, and you can be sure they’ll be posted here.

    In other news, I’m a genius. No, really. I can’t tell you why I’m a genius, or how it’s been applied to my own devious ends, but I am, and I have. Unrelatedly (which I just made up), mission statements are evil. In my new group, we’re trying to come up with one. Why? I’m not sure. Mission statements are silly, if you ask me (I know you didn’t, but really, do I care if you did? Nope). They’re meaningless. No one reads them. No one actually tries to apply them. We spend days, hours, weeks trying to come up with the perfect profound sentance that sums up our purpose in our corporate lives. Everyone gets a say, a tweak here and there until it loses any meaning it might have had. To tweak a cliche: the road to hell is paved with mission statements.

    The only mission statement I’ve ever liked is Google’s. “Don’t be evil” should be every company’s mission statement. The problem is, again, no one actually lives by or follows their mission statement. It’s something to put on a plaque, in the little writeup on the corporate intranet, and give idle hands something to do.

    In an attempt to at least play along, I came up with some possibilities for my new group:

    • We’re pirates… ARGH!

    • We don’t believe in mission statements. We believe in ransom notes and manifestos.

    • We try, but usually fail, not to be evil. I mean, come on, look at us. Would you think us capable of not being evil?

    • We like pancakes and don’t believe in mission statements. We believe mission statements are meaningless pabulum that don’t do anyone any good.

    • We’re on a mission from God, much like Jake and Elwood Blues, to build scalable, maintainable, sleek and graceful web applications using the best technology for the job, good design, well-placed effort, our unmistakable talent, and irrepressable joi di vivre.

  • Pictures, Pictures of Kids and Babies, Rocks and Smiles

    We have more pictures! Of course, there’s nothing to say except they’re of my beautiful children and a couple have their funny lookin’ dad in them:

  • Two Kids, a House and a Yard

    Babies are fun. Toddlers are more fun, especially when they can talk and play games; but, babies are fun in their own way. Brian is 8 days old now, and he’s trying to lift his head, is really good at flailing his arms and kicking his blankets off. He still sleeps a lot, but is now spending more time awake and staring at us. I love it. His little eyes are focusing and moving in the same direction (no more cross eyes… at least most of the time).

    It’s fun finding out which body parts look like someone else in the family. In comparing baby pictures, Brian looks almost exactly like Max at the same age. Brian is a little longer, a little heavier and has (we think) a slightly bigger head. But, we’re probably going to have to start marking baby pictures so we know who’s who.

    We’re now a family of four. I have two kids. Ok, I think it’s sunk in now.

  • More Pictures!

    Come and get ’em!! Pictures from Wednesday and Thursday. Heather took a bunch of pictures yesterday, and I’ll let you know when they’re up.

  • Pictures from Day One

    We finally have the pictures up! Bask in the warm glow of brand new baby. I’m going to bed.