BOOK LIST II
Here are my short reviews for the next ten books I read for my George Bush 2009 Reading Challenge. I got way behind on my reading when my mother visited, so I will really have to hustle later. At this point, I am barely on track to beat Bush and clearly not able to beat Rove, but once my husband deploys, I think I can pick up the slack. Previous books are included at the bottom.
MAY
20) How To Break a Terrorist ("Matthew Alexander") Meh. That's really all I have to say about this book.
19) State of the Union (Brad Thor) AirForceWife introduced me to Brad Thor, and I mean that both figuratively and literally. She and I went to his book signing, and since she already knew him from her SpouseBUZZ Radio interview, she and ol' Brad were like BFF. I think he's in her five. Anyway, my true desire is to read The Last Patriot, but I decided not to start at the end of the series, so I began at the beginning. This was book three, which was as action-packed as the previous two, so now it's three more books until I can get to all the fatwa-goodness of The Last Patriot!
18) The Black Swan (Nassim Nicholas Taleb) This book had been on the card for a long time, but David Boxenhorn finally prompted me to read it. I found many fascinating new ways of looking at success. The more statistics-heavy parts of the book were a tad rougher for me to grasp: seeing as I don't measure anything in my own daily life against the Gaussian bell curve, I had a hard time truly grokking the superiority of the Mandelbrotian. But the first half of the book was definitely worth reading. Although the implication -- that success is quite often due to dumb luck -- is disquieting.
17) Bonk (Mary Roach) I have read several books in the past two years about sex and fertility in the hopes of learning something new that would give me one more piece of the puzzle as to why things weren't working out for us. I thought this was just another book like the others I'd read, but it completely wasn't. I loved this book. It reminded me of Assassination Vacation (without the Bush derangement) or a Bill Bryson book, only about the history of sex. It was laugh-out-loud funny in places. If you like Bill Bryson, you'd like this book.
APRIL
16) Hard Green (Peter Huber) This book contained some good examples of why the "green" movement isn't actually that much greener. I will have to use some of them on my eco-friend.
15) Is Your Body Baby Friendly?(Alan E. Beer) I started this right after the third miscarriage; it was a gift from CVG. It freaked me out pretty bad: it's a book about the theory that most miscarriages are caused by your immune system, and since my mother has Lupus, I was convinced that this was my problem. Turns out it wasn't, but the book was informative and worthwhile nonetheless.
MARCH
14) Survivor (Chuck Palahniuk) I had heard that this book wasn't as good as his others, but I still liked it just as well. (But I like everything: the third Matrix movie, The Lady In The Water, etc. I am pretty easy to please is something is sufficiently weird.) And I always love how Palahniuk describes minutia so vividly in the middle of big action, like the porn titles while Tender fights his brother or the details of the mobile homes while they're on the run. He's so good at that.
13) I Hope They Serve Beer In Hell (Tucker Max) This book had some funny moments, but I seriously think I am too old for it. I am sure I would've thought it was funnier ten years ago. And for me, the best parts were the parts where Tucker got his comeuppance.
12) Joseph McCarthy: Reexamining the Life and Legacy of America's Most Hated Senator (Arthur Herman) I really knew very little about the details of what happened concerning Joseph McCarthy. What I learned from this book was that "fake but accurate" didn't start with Bush's National Guard records. The press lied and distorted everything he said and all the charges against him. McCarthy was a blowhard and probably a very annoying man to be around. But his accusations were never as sensational as they were made out to be, no one ever lost his job or went to jail based on McCarthy's investigations, and above all, he was mostly right. The government was far too lax in its hiring and vetting processes. There were Communists everywhere, hardcore and "soft." McCarthy didn't deserve the bum rap he's been dealt by history.
11) The Reader (Bernhard Schlink) For whatever reason, I thought this book was just kinda meh. I also have no idea how they turned it into a movie. And, despite the fact that I love the book Lolita, I found the story abhorrent and chilling. So, hmm.
1
Better get a move on with Brad's books! His newest comes out June 30th. MacGyver's getting it for me for my birthday.
I'll have to update my list too. I"m reading...I'm just not updating. Whoops!
Posted by: HomefrontSix at May 30, 2009 03:57 AM (7Qxzl)
2
Well, Brad Thor is not in my five - but it's because he wasn't wearing socks at his book signing. I mean, really. For some reason that really got to me.
I wouldn't even give How to Break a Terrorist a "meh", though.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 30, 2009 07:47 AM (KBeca)
3
True, true. I probably ought to have said "gag" instead of "meh."
What does "in one's five" mean? (AFW could also answer this one.)
"[F]atwa-goodness"? Two words that I wouldn't put together. Do you have an ... alternative value system I don't know about?
The Black Swan wasn't so much "disquieting" for me as eye-opening. For years I couldn't figure out why people succeeded in spite of their obvious faults. And I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong. I wanted the world to be a simple realm of obvious cause-and-effect chains, even though I always said the world was a complex place. The answer was so obvious. The world really is complex. I just didn't want to believe it. There are so many factors that outcomes only look random to us. And as the world becomes even more complicated, the apparent randomness is only going to skyrocket. Understanding that almost makes up for the sadness of knowing that you can do you everything right and still fail. Almost.
Posted by: Amritas at May 30, 2009 09:26 AM (b3Ptv)
This week has been so busy, and I've barely been online at all. I have no idea what's been going on in the world. Did we pass the Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog legislation yet?
I'm off again today to Hill Air Force Base in Utah for another SpouseBUZZ Live event. It's another gulch convention, and I'm happy.
The lame part is that I return Sunday evening, while my husband leaves Sunday morning for another week of training. We said goodbye today until the following Saturday. It's his last week of pre-deployment training. Shortly thereafter, we go on block leave, and pretty soon the next round of deployment starts.
I am slowly figuring out the whole IVF/PGD issue. In a nutshell, my doctor told me too look into "probes." He said to call the IVF clinic and they could explain it. I called and they had no idea what he was talking about. Typical, right? The genetic counselor called and when I asked her what he meant, she just laughed. She said, "Sure, I know what that means, but why on earth did your doctor to tell you to figure this out? Isn't that his job?" Sigh. But I am finally figuring this out and trying to get our ducks in a row.
I know my problems don't amount to a hill of beans, but as Frank Drebin says, it's my hill and these are my beans.
And now AirForceWife is in my living room and I need to get moving to the airport!
1
I'm really starting to hate that guy (your dr. that is). But have a great time at SB!!
Posted by: dutchgirl at May 29, 2009 07:51 AM (2mwTw)
2
Your Anti-Dog-Eat-Dog comment made me laugh. I had to read Atlas Shrugged because you talk about it so much here, and I'm so glad I did! Have fun in Utah!
AMRITAS' VISIT
I asked Amritas to write a guest post about his weekend visit. He came through in spades, but trust me, we aren't nearly as cool as he makes us sound! In fact, I feel like a d-bag putting such gushing about me on the front page, so click after the jump to read about our most recent blogger meet-up... more...
DREAM JOBS AND NIGHTMARE JOBS
I realized my dream job yesterday. The yarn section at my work just got renovated, so I was hanging new signs, project sheets, and yarn swatches. Hanging in front of the yarn is a sample of knitting so that customers can test what the yarn looks and feels like, something like this:
I had the thought that someone has to make all these little 4"x4" samples. How fun would that be? Dream job.
(I realize they're probably made by machine. Humor me here.)
I also realized that my dream job is decidedly NOT to take all those little squares and sew them together into a big blanket.
Last November, our store collected rectangles for Warm-Up America. It was then my job to single crochet all 56 rectangles together. It took me forever to find the motivation, but the final product is pretty neat.
But definitely not my dream job. I'll make the squares all day long, but someone else can do the finishing.
The machines have taken your jerrrrb! Skynet knits!
I'd love to see all 56 rectangles in a single picture. Unfortunately, their textures wouldn't be distinguishable from a distance.
Posted by: Amritas at May 27, 2009 02:54 PM (+nV09)
2
Heck, I never realized they were machine-made, LOL... I always thought that'd be a fun/boring job, depending on the day, LOL!!! :-)
Posted by: kannie at May 27, 2009 03:45 PM (5XpA4)
3
I think I would actually have more fun arranging the swatches and crocheting them together. I tried making a blanket out of squares once, and got bored after about 4-5 squares. Which I think is usually why I end up doing stripes of some sort.
Posted by: Leofwende at May 27, 2009 11:30 PM (28CBm)
CHURCH SUITS
There's a junky strip mall I always pass on my way to work. There used to be a shop in it called Church Suits, a name that always made me smile. It was a tiny shop, one of the only ones still left in that strip, and I noticed recently that they too had closed down. I chalked it up to the economy and was saddened to think that I would no longer get to smile over the idea of Church Suits.
As I drove to work today, I was embiggened to see that Church Suits had not in fact closed; instead, it had expanded! They had apparently bought the bigger store next door to theirs and tripled in size.
And they changed their name: Sunday Best Suits. Still smile-worthy.
I don't think this story is a metaphor for economic upturn or anything. It just makes me happy to know that if one so desired, one could still fulfill all his church suit needs here in town.
1
I would have loved to photograph the store before and after its transformation. I wonder if it opened today, right after I left town! I love looking at junky strip malls. (Shopping at them? No.)
I was wondering if Church Suits was simply run by a family named Church, but their new name seems to indicate otherwise ... unless the Churches were bought out by the Sunday-Bests (imagine the marriage announcement!).
Sunday is an actual surname. howmanyofme.com estimates that "
here are 3,218 people in the U.S. with the last name Sunday." Type in your name and see how many of 'you' might exist.
Posted by: Amritas at May 26, 2009 04:54 PM (+nV09)
2
Mark is a big star wars collector, gundam model all around nerd and in FL near him is this place called Tate's that has all kinds of Mark friendly stuff. In the same strip mall is a place called JEWS FOR JESUS. Most civilized people probably don't find that as humorous as me but I totally took a picture cause it made me smile. Kinda like taking a picture with your stepdaughter under the sign for Nacho Mama.
Posted by: wifeunit at May 26, 2009 09:40 PM (jz1GG)
3
There is only one of me. I am unique! Only about 337 people with my last name...
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at May 26, 2009 09:54 PM (paOhf)
4
wifeunit, how long has your husband been into Gundam? I got into it in 1983 and tried to preach the Gundam gospel in 1984 with no results. Never imagined it'd ever be on Cartoon Network many years later!
I've seen Jews for Jesus ads in print for years, but I recall finally finding a Jews for Jesus office in LA during a recent trip there. I think I might have taken a picture, but it'd take me forever to sort through my thousands of shots.
Miss Ladybug, there's also only one of me, though I had a near-namesake at school (homophonous first name with different spelling). But of course ... there is only one Amritas, just as there is only one RuPaul. (Thanks to Sarah's husband for suggesting that other member of the One Name Club.)
Posted by: Amritas at May 26, 2009 11:26 PM (b3Ptv)
On Saturday, we went to the local military museum and listened to a presentation given by Chester Biggs, a WWII POW of the Japanese. The talk was very interesting, but I was disappointed that only a handful of people were there. And the majority of the people in the room were his comrades.
You know who does not need to hear the story of a POW? Other POWs.
At the end of his speech, after he had described four years in a POW camp as a PFC, someone asked him what he did after the war. He said he reenlisted and then subsequently fought in Korea. Later that night, my husband remarked that he was sure -- after hearing this apologetic man explain that he wasn't actually in WWII and had to learn about it later in history books -- that this man, a war prisoner, felt he hadn't done his fair share.
Mr. Biggs was one of the lucky ones to make it home...and allowed to collect his per diem of "$1 per day of imprisonment for failure to receive sufficient quantity and quality of food" under the War Claims Act.
Many of his comrades didn't make it home...
Today is a day to remember them. And to realize that we need to take advantage of any opportunity we are afforded to gain perspective from someone like Mr. Biggs.
1
We will be going to our local memorial service today. We are hoping to get my sisters, 3 of them live close by, and their husbands to join us. It is the least we can do. Both of our brothers were servicemen, one in the Korean war. But instead of moaning about what Obama is doing my husband decided we had better start being proactive, not just reactive, and show our colors in a more forward fashion. I agree. We do not live in town, we live in the wilderness, but it is not a hardship to go into town to the service.
Posted by: Ruth H at May 25, 2009 09:07 AM (4eLhB)
2
My 13 y.o. son and I attended a service at the local cemetary put on by the local VFW post (only a couple of miles away--didn't even have to go to town!).
It wasn't very long and involved, just a couple of short speeches, a prayer, raising the flag, 21 gun salute and singing God Bless America. What really got to me though, was a high school girl playing Taps. Every note drawn out, so pure and sweet. It choked me up so bad I couldn't even hardly sing GBA. I'm getting teary eyed just thinking of it now. Afterwards, we strolled through the cemetary looking at the stones, flags and flowers. I was surprised how many Civil War era ones there were--many deaths between 1860-64 of young men.
God Bless ALL those who serve and have served for US!
Posted by: MargeinMI at May 27, 2009 07:01 AM (G9kxK)
I wish I had made that caption up, but it actually came with the article Sobbing Kindergarteners Snubbed for Steelers?. I got a screenshot because I thought it was too funny to be true.
Keep it up, Obama. Keep making the people who voted for you mad.
3
While I find this story hilarious, I have to agree with TSO at This Ain't Hell about it: you just don't show up to the White House late.
You just don't.
Remember how early we left to make sure we got there in time? And then we had to wait at the gate for an hour or more.
Unfortunately, the President's day doesn't allow for late kids. HE can be late. And it's easier for him to be on time because he has his own helicopter and traffic has to stop for his motorcade. Plus he has a wicked awesome airplane.
But you just can't be late if you're visiting the White House.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 24, 2009 08:38 AM (NqbuI)
4
AFW -- I agree that late is late and don't really care about that aspect of the story. I just love that hoopleheads are mad at Obama over this, like the quote about how he should be for the middle class but instead chose millionaires over the kids. It's 100% schadenfreude for me here.
Posted by: Sarah at May 25, 2009 11:29 AM (TWet1)
5
Hoopleheads is the best word ever. I love it. I had to google it to see exactly what it meant, but even before I did that it described everything perfectly.
Best word. Totally.
Also, apparently I wasn't paying close enough attention when I watched Deadwood.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 25, 2009 09:37 PM (NqbuI)
'TIS THE SEASON FOR AWESOME ACTION FILMS
I'm looking forward to seeing Terminator Salvation soon, despite the fact that Cracked is right: it doesn't make any sense. I also loved their calling it "Terminator Salvation (aka Terminator With Batman and Transformers!)." Heh. Whatever, I am still watching it.
1
The theater within walking distance of our house does movies for 5$ every Tuesday (all movies, all day). So the boy is obsessed with "Five Dollar Tuesday."
We saw Wolverine this week (and he walked the entire way home jumping and running with three fingers extended). He saw the poster for T:S while we were there and now we can't get out of going next 5$ Tuesday.
Sometimes I wish I hadn't taught him to read.
I also wonder why he was only being Wolverine and didn't seem to be interested in Sabretooth. Or the Ryan Reynolds character, since he did a lot of jumping around, too. Or Cyclops. Boys are a mystery to me.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 21, 2009 12:35 PM (NqbuI)
2
I used to prefer the Cracked versions of movies to the actual movies. This was when Cracked was a comics magazine and not a website. John Severin had a knack for drawing exact likenesses of actors.
I always related to Cyclops and could never get into Wolverine. But even Wolverine was far more three-dimensional than Sabretooth who seemed to exist solely to be his nemesis in the comics. (Haven't seen the movie yet.)
Posted by: Amritas at May 21, 2009 02:28 PM (+nV09)
3
That's pretty much how Sabretooth is portrayed in the movie, too. Which disappointed me terribly, as I am a huge Liev Shreiber fan. He's way higher on the hawt scale than Hugh Jackman, I think.
I'll never get over watching Jackman dance on Broadway. It scarred me.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 21, 2009 02:53 PM (NqbuI)
4
AFW, seriously, would you rather be Wolverine or *Ryan Reynolds*? I still can't believe that the worst actor from Nickelodeon's Fifteen is now a mega-star married to Scarlet Johannson. His fame is a huge WTF for me.
Posted by: Sarah at May 21, 2009 04:08 PM (TWet1)
5
Definitely Wolverine. But I also didn't know enough about the characters to name any others and Reynolds was one of the few I recognized.
Any time I see him I think about the movie Waiting.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 21, 2009 06:51 PM (NqbuI)
6
I have never heard of Ryan Reynolds, but I ignored Fifteen. I was into DeGrassi, though.
Reynolds' movie character bears little resemblance to the masked original:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deadpool_(comics)
The logic is presumably that more people recognize Ryan Reynolds' face than Deadpool's mask.
Batman and Spider-Man get to keep their masks, probably only because their masks are well-known. Otherwise Hollywood wants to get its money's worth by showing off the faces of its high-priced stars: e.g., Sylvester Stallone didn't wear Judge Dredd's trademark helmet.
Posted by: Amritas at May 21, 2009 07:14 PM (Wxe3L)
7
I think Ryan Reynolds is sooo hawt...and I think Scarlett Johannson is obscenely hawt (although totally annoying for me...I mean, she is always just seems so "over " life in general...) But from a completely oh my God, let those two procreate and make lovely babies standpoint, I think their union is just great. Yeah...off topic comment, but I had to add that...
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at May 21, 2009 08:50 PM (irIko)
8
Ha, CVG, you're crazy. But I guess it's probably because this is my mental Ryan Reynolds... I watched that crappy show every week in middle school, and that's all I can picture when I see the adult Reynolds.
Posted by: Sarah at May 22, 2009 06:15 AM (TWet1)
9
I REALLY R-E-A-L-L-Y want to see this next weekend as well. Don't matter what you call it but Christian Bale makes it look so much better than any Arnold Schwatznager version. Yes, to many that was sacrilegious ... but come ON, they know I'm really right!
10
Indeed, The Mrs. and I saw this Sunday evening, and It was good, in that it was terminator+batman+transformers+Mad Max.
I thought is was interesting how they managed to squeeze time paradox in when this film included no time travel (most notably, when the computer explains the existence of Marcus to Marcus.)
But it was a good romp, exciting enough, although it could've used more killin'.
A GROKKING POST
I like when other bloggers write about their grokking process. Rachel Lucas is never embarrassed to say, "Hey, I finally get this," and I enjoy reading her for that very reason. She has a new post up about the differences between American and British government. It's a grokking-type post, and I liked it. The comments are worth reading too, I think.
Posted by: david foster at May 20, 2009 10:34 PM (ke+yX)
4
Sometimes, when you try to grok some things (like dark matter, string theory, people who don't believe in vaccinations, 9/11 troofers, or anything the fuschia farktards say) and you think you are starting to grok, you have to immediately roll a sanity check.
Posted by: Charles Ziegenfuss at May 21, 2009 03:48 PM (meX2d)
CELEBRATE HOMOGENY
I got an email from an old real-life friend about my Done Waffling post. This friend pointed out that we had a diverse friend group in school, to include Hindus and Muslims, and that exposure to diversity is beneficial for a growing mind. It's a fair point.
My response to that is that no one from our friend group supported honor killings or jihad or shariah.
Look, you all know me by now. You know that I am not really a person who "celebrates diversity." I married someone whose only difference from me is that he likes to sleep. I want to live in a gulch surrounded by people who all think exactly like I do. I don't know if that's an appropriate worldview, but that's who I am. I celebrate homogeny.
But these friends of mine, these other kids who helped make me who I am, they were Americans. Sure, they had a different religion than most of us and they did funny things like fast during Ramadan or not eat beef, but they weren't fundamentally different in value systems than the rest of us. Their families were in the US because they wanted to live under the freedoms and opportunities that the US had to offer, not because they were trying to subvert the system from within.
In short, I don't lump old-school American Muslims in with the ominous groups portrayed in that video.
You don't have to be a WASP to be part of my tribe. But we do have to have common ground: tolerance, respect for the Constitution and institutions of the United States, and an ability to live and let live. Those are decidedly not mainstream beliefs in the communities from whence Muslim immigrants are flooding Europe.
My goal is not to outbreed American Muslims. My husband and I are close friends with two Muslim families that are perfectly lovely, normal, non-terrorist people. My kids could play with their kids any day. And my hope is that their kids will also act as a counterbalance to the extreme Islamofascists' progeny. I consider their kids as part of our American birthrate, not the scary Muslim one depicted in the video.
My goal is to fill our gulch with more like-minded people, to pass on a love for our unique country and all she stands for, and to raise children who can recognize the fundamental difference between the cool brown-skinned kids in their class and the scary enemy.
1
I don't see "fill[ing] our gulch with more like-minded people" as a racial, ethnic, or even religious struggle. The real struggle is ideological. Muslim-Americans are outnumbered by the millions of Americans of all racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds who support Leftism. I fear the latter more than the former.
Posted by: Amritas at May 19, 2009 07:03 PM (Wxe3L)
2
When I lived in Berkeley, my dorm's Muslim resident assistant went out of his way to explain that he was not a terrorist. This was about 20 years ago. I thought it was unnecessary. The guy was obviously assimilated. He never freaked me out. I was far more disturbed by activists on the streets. And I still am.
Posted by: Amritas at May 19, 2009 07:07 PM (Wxe3L)
We all tend toward what is familiar to us. So it is no surprise that we feel this way. I like homegeny of spirit and belief also. Those people with the same belief systems make it easy to be ourselves.
Again, it's not about race or religion. For me it's about being a fellow American. Someone who understands the phrase "United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
Sometime ask your friends to “produce evidence of any mainstream Islamic sect or school of Islamic jurisprudence that teaches that Muslims must coexist with non-Muslims as equals on an indefinite basis without trying to subjugate them under Shariaâ€.
Simple enough, right? Please blog the answer sometime.
1
I love this! When I had a medical test recently, the film came back with 'area of concern' marked on it and I immediately thought of Rachel Lucas. She has left her mark on us all. And of course we all love Bibi too! I hope HE left his mark on Obama!
Posted by: Amy at May 19, 2009 09:37 PM (9fDOS)
2
Actually, they both look pretty goofy in that picture...
Funny thing, the unexpected happened in that meeting: nothing in particular.
CLEANING
No blogging today. Instead, I've been Facebook updating all day about my cleaning activities. I'm trying to get the house in order because there's a big Blog Meet-Up this weekend: Amritas is coming to visit us. I've known him now for nearly six years, but we've never met in person. It should be a hoot.
I had really let the house go, so a guest is good incentive to deep clean. I even scrubbed the top of the refrigerator...
Posted by: airforcewife at May 19, 2009 01:32 PM (NqbuI)
2
Uh, hate to break this to you, Sarah, but you just blogged. Bad girl! If there is one stray particle, just one, I will demand you pay my airfare back! And for a taxi, a sterile one. Who knows what neutrinos are in your car?
It's been my lifelong dream to eat atop a refrigerator. Make it happen or else.
Posted by: Amritas at May 19, 2009 01:58 PM (+nV09)
4
A top of the refrigerator tip. I am very short, down to 5' now, and it is not easy to see it let alone clean it. Long ago I realized I could cover it with plastic wrap and just change that for cleaning purposes. Yeah, so it isn't a save the planet plan but it works for me. It's quick and efficient and I know I got it all when I'm done. How often? about every three months.
Posted by: Ruth H at May 20, 2009 04:52 PM (4u82p)
5
The top of the fridge? I would also recommend not lifing up the microwave, dangerous times my friend. Dangerous.
What an upside down world we live in. Once upon a time, village elders
were revered because they had lived long enough to know a little bit
about life and propriety. Even in the era of democracy, seniority
systems abounded. It's hard to imagine Grover Cleveland campaigning for
the "youth vote." But today we're told that the least experienced
voters are the ones we should be listening to, even as we worship our
least experienced president.
1
I think it's the logical outcome of a culture that puts so much emphasis on celebrities. People are famous not for their abilities (lets face it, Britney Spears isn't really that great at singing, there are far better actors than Hilary Duff out there, and what on earth is it that Paris Hilton DOES anyway?) but for their looks and their antics. And their antics aren't anything to be proud of, but consist of pushing the envelope more and more and more.
It trickles down. And a bunch of people who are not aging well (mentally) are desperately trying to recapture their own youth, or refusing to give it up. They are idolizing those younger and "new" instead of gracefully entering the next stage in a life that they have earned.
It really kind of grosses me out. I would not want to repeat my twenties. And I don't want to go anywhere NEAR my teens again. I don't get this cultural Uncle Rico phenomenon. Seriously.
Posted by: airforcewife at May 19, 2009 09:09 AM (NqbuI)
3
It's like 1968's Wild in the Streets, maaaan! Saw it when I was 17 in 1988. Might see it for real when I'm 47 in 2018. I'll be too old to vote by then. Eventually Logan's Run will become a reality.
Posted by: Amritas at May 19, 2009 02:10 PM (+nV09)
4
The excessive emphasis on formal education and specifically on
educational credentials is very useful for inter-generational warfare,
as it tends to level the playing field between the relatively recent
grad and the person with years of experience.
Also, certain economic climates tend to negate the value of age and
experience. I'm currrently re-reading Sebastian Haffner's book about
growing up and living in Germany during WWI and between the wars. In
his view, the great inflation of 1923 utterly shredded the existing
relationship between generations--"safe," conservative investors, such
as older people tended to be, were destroyed, while youthful
speculators thrived.
Posted by: david foster at May 19, 2009 10:39 PM (ke+yX)
DONE WAFFLING
I spent all day yesterday waffling on the baby issue. Deep down, I don't feel that confident about going forward. I know you all say that babies are better than dogs, but I just don't know how to believe you. A year ago, I said this:
And I was never one of those women who loves babies or wanted to be a
kindergarten teacher her whole life. This may sound terrible, but
there's a part of me that's ready to throw in the towel because the
more elusive it gets, the less important it feels. The less
emotional it feels. I think human beings ought to procreate, and I
think that people with stable, loving homes like ours are a good place
for kids. (And Mark Steyn makes me think I need to have ten of them, to
shore up our numbers.) I was always fairly matter-of-fact about having
a baby anyway, and this year of over-thinking it hasn't helped any. My
husband re-convinces me every day to keep trying, because I'd love to
abandon hope and forget about it.
And now that even more time has passed, and we're looking at pain and money coming into the equation, I feel even less motivation. My husband says it's his job to force the issue and make it happen, because I keep changing my mind. He says doing IVF is my own personal deployment of sorts: no one truly wants to deploy, but they do it because it's the right thing to do and it's part of who they are and their value system.
This morning I found a video via Up North Mommy that stopped my waffling.
It reminded me of a major reason why I wanted to procreate in the first place: to create more humans with my value system. To make more Americans. I don't know how it sounds when I say things like that, but I mean it from the depth of everything I believe in. I'm not just being xenophobic or anti-Muslim; it's the loss of my own culture that motivates me. I'd like for there to be more people in this world like my husband and me, more people for my tribe, more people for our gulch.
And I'm now ready to spend $12,000 to make it happen.
1
Actually, that (the potential/impending loss of our culture) is one of the main reasons my husband wants us to have at least 4 or 5 kids in the long run. I think he actually showed me that very same video just last week. I have always wanted multiple kids so I have no serious objections, but I do have to agree with him that the thought of western civilization just fading and eventually disappearing due to demographic shift really saddens me.
Posted by: Leofwende at May 17, 2009 10:21 AM (28CBm)
Sarah's Uterus Reutilization Fund (SURF) Sarah and Russ' IVF Fund (SARIF) Walter's Reproductoin Is Starting Today (WRIST) Sarah's Big Belly Fund (SBBF) Sarah and Russ, IVF Now! (SARIN!) Please Help, Let's Everyone Give Her Maternity (PHLEGHM) Knocked Up For Our Life As We Know It (KUFOLAWKI) Put A Bun In Sarah's Oven (PABISO) Grokking Embryos Today So Our Mother Emerges (GETSOME) Motherhood Is Life's Flowering, And Sarah's Time Is Come! (MILFTASTIC!)
I'm sorry to do this in a post comment, but I'm looking for a working email address for Neil Prakash. I read all of hsi Armorgeddon Blog and I understand he's been promoted, isn't blogging any longer.
I just want to send him some "fanmail" and I can't, for the life of me, find an up-to-date email address for him.
Sorry to be "that guy".
T
Posted by: Tyler M at May 17, 2009 10:38 PM (QqVLv)
4
It could be worse financially. CPAC just declined to move my furniture and car back to the U.S., so I have the pleasure of spending a lot of money AND getting my same old furniture at the end. Can you say screwed by the system - again?
Posted by: Oda Mae at May 18, 2009 12:57 AM (9CCkr)
5
So I was thinking this fundraiser idea and then along comes Chuck. I sure can't top those acronyms. And I can't decide which is the funniest, but count me in for a little bit. Or helping with the babysitting if it's multiples. We all want to do our part for the culture;D
Posted by: Ruth H at May 18, 2009 11:26 AM (4u82p)
you made an excellent point! I was talking with my husband about this thing the other night and he said to just be prepared for when the boys go thru some sort of rebellion stage and instead of peircing something and wearing all black they end up turning ... dare I say it... liberal.
Really. I'm totally not ready for that. And dread the day.
Good luck with your next move making future yous (and your husband)
Posted by: the mrs. at May 18, 2009 02:58 PM (NJQf+)
Posted by: airforcewife at May 18, 2009 03:32 PM (NqbuI)
8
I vote for GETSOME or MILFTASTIC! I can make coozies!
Posted by: Lane at May 18, 2009 09:24 PM (W+Nqs)
9
I was thinking about this and it's estimated we'll spend what up to $250k on children to raise them through age 18. So although $12k does in isolation seem like a lot of money (because it is), in the grand scheme of how much you'll potentially spend on your child it probably is the greatest part you'll spend on them. It just means you're putting more of an investment into your child at the front end.
For some it just takes a pack of Camels from the local Speedway, peach schnapps and a prom night. For some of us it just takes a biiiiiit more. Plus, you can just have he/she/them work it off by walking Charlie a bunch.
Posted by: BigD78 at May 18, 2009 09:32 PM (g3z97)
I normally don't comment, but I just wanted to offer you some encouragement. A woman very close to my heart did IVF as that is the only way she could have children. She now has 3 beautiful daughters. She doesn't even think about the price tag anymore, and if she could do it again, she would. She did it twice. I won't say it wasn't a hellava roller coaster for her, but she doesn't regret it for one second.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: Tressa at May 18, 2009 11:00 PM (yY6P+)
[David Freddoso's book] has the fairly easy task of showing that Obama comes from a far more “left†milieu than any Democratic nominee
before him. I believe I could prove this by my own unaided efforts:
when Newsweek’s Jon Meacham asked both presidential candidates
for a sample of their reading matter, he got back a fairly strong list
from each. Obama gave John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle where someone else might have been content to put The Grapes of Wrath.
Whereas the latter is about suffering and stoicism, the former is about
how the field hands finally rebel, and how the “organizer†helps them
to do so.
1
In Dubious Battle is one of my favorite books too but either Hitchens never read the book or wanted so badly to illustrate a point as to grasp at straws. "The Party" in the book is only mentioned with dark shady language that implies some type of unseen evil. The organizers work in the shadows. Basically, Steinbeck presents the laborers as being equally explotied by the Land Owners (capitalist), that are more interested in profit than people, and the "Party" (communist), which are more concerned with the movement than the people. While I realize 10 different people can read a book and each see something different, how anyone could walk away thinking that Steinbeck's view was anything other than populist must be...well, Christopher Hitchens...
MOTHER FAIL
OK, this probably makes me a terrible person, but I think this is hilarious and if one of my nuttier readers got it for my kid, I would totally crack up and let him play with it. (I can see AWTM's husband or Chuck Z buying it.)
A fiscal conservative, who
was perceived as a fiscal conservative running against a fiscal
liberal, would win a landslide greater than any in the history of these
two political parties. A candidate perceived as both a social
conservative and a fiscal conservative would win one quarter of the
Democrat Party vote, if the Democrat was perceived as a liberal, and
sweep the nation easily.
I believe that could be true. I think Republicans lose because they try to out-Democrat their opponents. I think a real, true conservative who stayed on point and principle, who didn't try to beat Democrats at their own game and instead stopped granting them their premises, would take the nation by storm.
John McCain lost fairly narrowly, and do you know anyone who really wanted him as our candidate?
FROM CRUSHINGLY DOWN TO RELATIVELY ASSUAGED
When I first found out about my balanced translocation, I was so happy to have a reason. I felt this weight lifted, that now I finally knew why I was doomed to so much sadness. I was happy knowing that there was a plan and a way to solve our problem.
But today reality set in, and I feel despair.
I met with the doctor today to discuss IVF. As usual, this man channels my inner Mrs. White. And I left in a daze, not knowing whether I was more disturbed by the flames on the side of my face or by the lump forming in my throat.
Call me naive, but this process is going to cost far more than I anticipated.
All my initial ballpark figures I'd been working with, supplied by people who've done this here in town before and the genetics counselor, well...they doubled today. The PGD that I was told would be around $2000? Nope, it's $5000. Oh, and we have to pay to freeze sperm, since my husband will be deployed. And then we have to pay for the more expensive, extra special IVF that they have to do with frozen sperm. The numbers that I had in my mind of how much all this would cost was half of what it really will cost. And that's even with the sizable discount we're getting because we will be using a military doctor.
And that's per month.
The sick thing is, we have the money. We could pay cash tomorrow for this and not really blink (especially in this absurd economy, where money ain't worth the paper it's printed on). But that's the rub that makes the choice kinda rough.
The local clinic said that they've never had anyone do PGD. The receptionist said that the pricetag scares people away, so no one has ever taken them up on it. And if we didn't have the money either, we would have to resort to good old trial and error: keep on babymaking at home and hoping that we flip heads instead of tails one month. The choice would be made for us by the fact that we had no option to do the expensive treatment.
But it's a bit harder to have that choice to make. It's hard to know that you could just keep flipping that coin for free and eventually end up with a baby, and conversely to know that we could spend many thousands of dollars and still end up with nothing. There are so many ways this hinges on luck. The doctor said that he could probably get 15-20 eggs from me. He said usually about 80% will fertilize. So on the low end, that means 12. Statistically speaking, half my eggs should be duds, so if we could get six good ones, we'd do the first try with three. If we get pregnant, hooray. If we don't, we have three back-ups to try again another month (at a decent-sized repeat fee, of course).
But that's statistically speaking. Of all the eggs I was born with, half should be good. But all those eggs is a far bigger sample size than what they can extract. Heck, we've already flipped three tails in a row. A small sample size of 15 eggs is not necessarily going to break down 50/50, just like 15 coin tosses won't either. (To illustrate: my father is one of 13 children, 7 girls and 6 boys. But I also know of another 13-child family with 12 boys and 1 girl.)
What if we only get one good egg? And what if it doesn't take? What if we spend all this money and come out with nothing in the end? Could I live with that?
Could I live with not trying for it in the first place?
My husband got home from training while I was writing this post. I hurredly cashed today's chips and told him how stressed I was about the whole thing. My husband, the stingiest man on the planet, waved off concerns of money and said resolutely that we are going to go through with this.
Oh, but we can't even begin to get these ducks in a row until at least September. So I had asked the doctor about babymaking at home for the two months until my husband deploys. I asked: if we got pregnant and we had another miscarriage, would that prevent us from going ahead in September? It shouldn't.
So I asked my husband if he wanted to try to take the cheap way out, if he wanted to take another gamble at home and try for a healthy baby the old-fashioned way, to see if we could get away with not spending those many thousands of dollars. He vehemently declared that he is done with babymaking at home and does not want to spend our last weeks together fussing over basal thermometers and pregnancy tests.
My husband managed to take the edge off over this whole thing. I feel much less panicked now than I did when I sat down to start this post two hours ago. (He also said he doesn't want me stressing our for the next few months each time I want to buy a ball of yarn either, because he is the most fantastic husband on the planet.)
So I guess we're going to do this. I think. My husband said, "We paid $500 for that ol' dog, and look how much joy he brings us. The baby will be even better."
Someone with kids assure me that a child is 24 times better than a dog...
Lols...I am soooo cracking up at your DH's comment about Charlie costing $500, and bringing you so much joy.
You have a great partner, and I am glad that you two are co-navigating your way down this difficult road together....when you feel you may have lost your way, he brings you back on track. Good stuff.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at May 15, 2009 02:38 PM (irIko)
2
Sweet Jesus, YES! Babies and children are WAYYYY better than dogs. Trust the woman who has a 70-pound chocolate lab who has started counter surfing since the man of the house deployed.
Dogs are great, they really are. And, before I had M1 I literally thought I couldn't love a little person as much as I loved Oscar and then she came and that was that.
I, for one, think your husband has made a good argument & you should go with his gut.
Posted by: Guard Wife at May 15, 2009 02:54 PM (qk9Ip)
I've had dogs (and cats, and ferrets, and fish) and I've loved them all.
And I have children.
Even if my children had cost $500,000 they'd bring infinitely more joy than a dog.
This theoretical (at the moment) baby will be worth every single penny you spend on him/her. Before conception and after.
I still say we should hold some kind of internet fundraiser...
Posted by: HomefrontSix at May 15, 2009 03:49 PM (dhK7i)
5
I am just so tickled by your husband. He really knows what to say and when to say it. God bless him. A lot of people who have no problems wait till they can "afford" them. And still they can't. If I had waited till then, I would have no children. I had a hysterectomy at age 31. The cost is not the important thing, unless you don't have it. You do. Go for it.
Posted by: Ruth H at May 15, 2009 04:19 PM (hBAQy)
6
Money is nice. Babies are better. Money can be comforting. Children are joy. You can't take money with you. Children are a part of you that will continue.... You guys are awesome! If you didn't do it, you'd always wonder.... It's just money.
Posted by: Allison at May 15, 2009 07:09 PM (Ef9hL)
7
Looks like you both have been stingy for a reason....that is a blessing in disguise. You have gone without so much I know....
but a child....
they will draw pictures of cows pooping, and keep hair in a drawer so one day they can study their own DNA.
If you do not go ahead with this, you will not be able to live with yourself.
8
And when the kid turns teen and surly won't do their homework, you can threaten to take him back because you kept the receipt.
Posted by: deskmerc at May 16, 2009 01:37 AM (pYOXQ)
9
Sounds like you guys are making the best decision for the two of you. I'm so happy to hear it, and I'm keeping fingers crossed for you!!
Posted by: Courtney at May 16, 2009 04:46 AM (iYaQi)
10
Your husband is awesome - seriously. His comparison is too great!
Posted by: airforcewife at May 16, 2009 08:05 AM (NqbuI)
11
I am excited about your decision to move forward with this! It will be filled with chance and luck and who knows how it will play out, but we will hope for nine months from some future date you'll be welcoming a healthy child into the world. Or as close to nine months as said healthy child feels like incubating for should you have some people's luck. ;-)
Good luck with getting the ducks lined up and I'm hoping you guys make short work out of it...
Posted by: wifeunit at May 16, 2009 04:37 PM (t5K2U)
12
My husband said, "We paid $500 for that ol' dog, and look how much joy he brings us. The baby will be even better."
You have an awesome husband, and I'm so glad! What a funny, perfect, wonderful, loving thing to say under the circumstances. I'm so glad you two have each other as you go through all of this--and here's hoping for many more ups than downs in the months ahead.
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