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NEW YEAR GERANIUMS C1880

I love New Year's Eve. All day I get to make really obvious, pathetic statements like when farewelling a phone caller with "see you next year". This morning I told Mr FD that if mowed the lawn today that he wouldn't have to do it again until next year.

And the fun goes on. Tomorrow I get to say classy things like: " haven't spoken to you since last year" or "I haven't eaten since last year". Minutes and minutes of fun.

You're really looking forward to the calibre of my postings next year now aren't you?

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I was an advocate of this even before the passage of California's Proposition 8.  This is an idea who's time has come, people!!!  We can preserve American marriages by banning divorce altogether.  Let's all do our share to make it happen in 2010!  Go to 2010 California Marriage Protection Act | Safeguarding Marriage From the Evils of Divorce and find out more!

I hate to do this because it feels like such a teenager-blogger/LiveJournal thing to do, but I'm afraid I'm about to post simply to vent/whine/relieve stress.  Feel free to ignore this post, it won't hurt my feelings.  (Although I'm sure if it did hurt my feelings, I'd probably go write a post about that, too.)

My typing at the moment is slowed by the fact that there's an toilet paper-filled Hello Kitty (stay tuned for the irony here) band-aid wrapped around my right index finger, making every "h" or "n" or "m" come out as "juhnmk."  (It's not that bad, but that's a funny looking word.)  My finger is bandaged because it is BLEEDING PROFUSELY ON TWO SIDES courtesy of poor little Fritz and his very, very, very sharp teeth and very, very, very strong jaws.  And the reason Fritz's teeth had any reason to interact with my finger at all is that for the third or so time, I attempted to give him a pill.

I have succeeded one time in giving Fritz a pill, and it was last night.  I use the word "succeed" loosely here, because how much of a success is it if you're bleeding afterward?  When the vet tried to show me how to give him this pill in November, even they couldn't get him to take it.  50% of why I didn't give him this intestinal-aimed antibiotic the first time was that it was almost impossible to give it to him; the other 50% was that they still hadn't actually diagnosed something, and I'm not super comfortable giving him meds for a mystery disorder.

I now know it actually is impossible to give him this crumbly, bitter ass pill even twice in a row, much less two times a day for 8 days.  That is not going to happen.  What I still do not know, unfortunately, is what the hell is even wrong with Fritz, and what other option I have besides the not-going-to-happen antibiotic.  And injected antibiotic (one not aimed specifically at the digestive tract) worked for a few days but has now worn off.  He doesn't have worms, he doesn't have giardia, I haven't changed his diet--we've now taken away even his treats, because maybe there's something in there upsetting his stomach, but it's been a day of treatlessness and no difference so far.  I picked up his cardboard floor scratcher 3 weeks ago because he eats the shavings off it.  We don't feed him people food; if he were getting into the garbage we'd know; all of our houseplants are in a locked room (and we didn't even get them until well after he'd started having an upset stomach).

I am completely out of ideas as to what is wrong here, unless the treat thing miraculously works out.  I suppose I'll have to change his diet next, but considering he's eaten the same food since we got him in April and this started up in October, I don't think it's the food.  I'm waiting to hear back from the vet today, and I'm sure it will involve adding to the $300+ bill I've already accrued with his last two unsuccessful visits.

In any event, I'm trying to keep this in perspective and just be glad he at least seems to feel fine.  But it is difficult when my hand's throbbing and we've now had to bathe him twice.  So I just wanted to whine a bit on Vox--sorry if you trudged through all this.  You get a pat on the head.  *pat pat pat*

Happy Holidays Vox Friends!

FD surface to surface intention

I've been doing nothing for weeks now.  I had a small flurry last week, preparing for Christmas, but mostly I have been aimless and lazy and languishing upon any comfortable surface. I haven't enjoyed it though. It made me feel aimless and lazy and dare I say, guilty . Tonight I decided that was going to change.

I hereby give myself permission to do nothing.

Ahhh that feels so much better.

Rod 2.0:Beta: Indiana Univ. Professor Don Belton Stabbed to Death in His Home

http://rodonline....

A friend who came to Belton's home in Bloomington on Monday found his body in the kitchen, authorities said. Police who were called to the scene found both doors unlocked and no signs of forced entry. Nothing was missing, said police Lt. David Drake....

Professor Belton was gay. it is relevant as the murder suspect is claiming 'gay panic'.

Pharyngula puts it this way:  The fact that he [Belton] was gay is going to be an unfortunate issue here, since the accused killer is offering as an excuse the claim that Belton had assaulted him.

Of course, Belton was killed in his own home. With a ten-inch long military knife, which I'm sure is a common accessory carried by visitors to professor's homes. And he was stabbed several times in the front and five or six times in the back, suggesting that he'd assaulted his killer by way of a back flip, trying to batter him with his shoulder blades…his horrifically gay shoulder blades.

Professor Belton was a recent arrival to Bloomington, since Fall 2008. he had  taught at U of Michigan and U Penn. Belton edited Speak My Name, an critically-acclaimed anthology of essays on black masculinity.

Bloomington is a charming liberal town; it is, as many other university towns in fly-over country, a bit of a liberal oasis as to its surroundings.  I can't imagine the sorrow of Professor Belton's family, friends, colleagues, and students. 

The Hangover is one of AFI's 10 Best movies for 2009.

I'd seen this before, and it was even funnier the second time (but definitely not for the easily offended).

Four friends head to Vegas for a bachelor party.  The next morning, there are three friends.  There's also a baby and a tiger.  And nobody can remember what happened the night before...

If I were in charge, I'd make it so that every movie had to have at least a cameo by Ed Helms.  And if he sings, so much the better.  (I'd also make it so that Jane Lynch had to be in every movie--but she's not in this one.)

The Hangover (Unrated Edition) [Blu-ray]

As the year draws to a close, I thought it would be fun to look back at the books I read in 2009 and share a list of my favorites. (Read, but not necessarily published in 2009.) I've finished 110 books to date and will probably read at least one more before New Year's Day. It was tough narrowing the list, but here they are:

FICTION - 5 STARS

City of Thieves by David Benioff

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson

Little Bee by Chris Cleave

Ghostwritten by David Mitchell

Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

Serena by Ron Rash

FICTION - 4 STARS

 A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz

The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

The Sparrow by Mary Russell Doria

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (sequel to The Hunger Games)

Sacred Hearts by Sarah Dunant

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Last Night in Montreal by Emily St. John Mandel

The Outlander by Gil Adamson

The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larsen

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan

NONFICTION

How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer

Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain

Microcosm: E. Coli and the New Science of Life by Carl Zimmer

Summers With Juliet by Bill Roorbach

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

What were your favorites this year? I hope you'll share a few in comments.