Then he looked at me.

Then he looked at the television.

So I asked him if he wanted to watch a program. He smiled, so I turned on Little Bear.

He began to cry. Curious, I changed it to Little Einsteins.

He smiled.

I handed him his water to drink and began to go back into the kitchen. He took a drink, got up, put his sippy cup on the coffee table, and then settled back into the couch.

Not a word was spoken, but he was able to tell me what he wanted, down to the t.v. program and the placement of his refreshment.

Cel mai interesant mi se pare ca atunci cand sunt indecisa daca sa cumpar ori ba o pereche de pantofei, vanzatoarea/vanzatorul incepe sa turuie despre cat de bun e calapodul pantofului. Nimic rau in asta, pana in ziua in care am constatat cu stupoare ca nu toti consilierii de vanzari stiu ce este acela un calapod (!).

Vara trecuta, cand vroiam sa achizitionez o pereche de sandalute sport cu talpa foarte subtire dintr-un plastic cauciucat, vanzatoarea mi le-a recomandat pentru ca aveau un calapod fooaarte bun.

Fireste ca daca pleci de la un argument de vanzare nul, nu vei convinge o clienta sa cumpere un produs care ii e fie un pic mare, fie un pic mic. Daca insa lucrurile s-ar petrece peste tot ca la Aldo, unde consilierii de vanzari iti asaza frumos pantofeii in picioare si iti ofera detalii despre componenta acestora, as avea mai multe perechi de pantofi care imi sunt prea mari sau prea mici. Desi, trebuie sa recunosc ca pantofii de la Aldo chiar nu au un calapod bun...

It’s funny how a different setting doesn’t change the person you are.  You may think it might, but you bring your habits with you.  Once the newness wears off a bit, you go back to doing things the way you always have; unless you make a conscious choice to change.

I’m a doer, and sometimes I am so busy doing that I forget to look at the world around me - even when it is so beautiful.  The other day, I was working in the front yard with Lyra.  “Mommy, let’s go look at the river,” she suggested.
“I’m trying to get this done, sweetheart.  Why don’t you go look?”  I said without looking up.
“No, I want you to come with me,” she insisted.  Finally, I did.  We sat on the edge of the bank behind our house, and looked at the river, at the color on the hills behind it.   We talked about going swimming in the summertime.  After a few minutes, we walked back to Dave and Sue’s house for lunch.  “Thanks for coming with me, Mom,” said Lyra.

In the spirit of Just Being, I packed a picnic lunch today and we took it down to the river.  It was so warm and beautiful, it would have been a sin to eat indoors.  Lyra and Marley took off their socks and shoes, and waded in a little pool.  We sat on a rock bar by a massive log jam.  After a while, the kids took their sandwiches and climbed the logpile, barefoot.  A movement on the other side of the river caught our eye; a little black creature was playing in the water, slipping in and out, and dashing along the shore with fluid movements.   It looked and moved just like a ferret - except ferrets despise water.  I think it must have been a young otter, though I’ve never seen a black one before.   The kids didn’t want to get down from the log jam which they were scaling like master explorers, but finally we got them headed back up the hill for home.  I’m glad we broke away from all the things clamoring to be done, to take a look at the river.

Click here to view more photos of Taking a Moment.

SUNY is like a giant squid stretching its arms across the towns and cities of New York, touching each of them with the infectious ink of college life. My favorite SUNY to visit is SUNY New Paltz, because it has a beautiful surrounding town that manages to be both artsy and truly local in ways which are, unfortunately, difficult to find around Ramapo.  

Climb some apple trees after the break...

When you first drive into New Paltz you may feel like switching your iPod to “American Beauty” or another Grateful Dead album, as it’s full of hippies playing Frisbee (sorry Ultimate kids, “disc”). College hippies. If there’s one thing I’ve learned to rely on about college hippies it’s that they always know where the best food around is. One thing they always love is fresh produce. With that knowledge I set out to a local apple orchard where I filled my bucket with Cortland, mackintosh, and golden delicious apples for an extremely minimal price. As I wandered through the fields picking apples I could really feel the connection to nature that agriculture brings a community. Even in the wet weather this weekend I was running around orchards catching frogs and picking perfect fruit off of trees. Capping off the apple adventure with fresh, unpasteurized apple cider and apple cider doughnuts,we set off to explore the town. On our way in, we almost picked up a wayward, dread locked hitchhiker, but that’s a story for another day.

Wandering through the rock climbing shops, the record stores, and the tye-dye boutiques, we eventually ran out of town. Hungry and noticing a restaurant full of people my age, we decided to check out The Gilded Otter. The Gilded Otter is a microbrewery, one which specializes in making sure everyone is happy, even those under 21 or who choose not to drink. They have not only beer on tap but also home made root beer.

Indeed, The Gilded Otter is a true college restaurant in a great deal of ways. Specializing in appetizers, fusion cuisine, and burgers, there’s something for nearly everyone. Even vegans could look forward to a vegan ravioli dish that I didn’t order. Not because I’m not vegan, because I had my eye on an adorably named appetizer—“If Otters had Wings”—that was most certainly not vegan.

These wings were one of the more unique plays on Buffalo wings I’ve ever had. If I was guessing the secret recipe, I would say that it was an equal amount of Frank’s Red Hot sauce and tamari, a Japanese soy sauce used extensively by natural foods types. This sauce is known for having an “umami” taste, which essentially makes anything it touches richer and meatier tasting. This led to some really awesome wings. They were served along with a blue cheese dressing that while chunky was a little too oniony for my taste; I could see onion lovers enjoying it quite a bit, however.

For my lunch I got a steak with a Madiera demi glace. A demi glace is essentially boiling down a flavor until it is thick, syrupy and the entire essence of a flavor. One can do it with stocks or broths or also with alcohols and juices. This was done with madiera wine and provided a rich accent to the beef. This beef was, I believe, grass fed or organic as it had the flavor of lamb or goat. In my opinion, the average meat one buys at the supermarket is inferior in flavor to meat raised in good health and compassion. It was a very New Paltz steak.

What really made this restaurant for me was not just the food but also the interior, which is a blonde-wood log cabin studded with outdoorsy ephemera like skis and rock climbing gear. Usually bars and restaurants influenced by drinking are dark, musty, and uninviting. The Gilded Otter was much different, seeming to want to let nature inside to visit. Between the food, shopping, and proximity to nature, New Paltz has been my favorite town to visit thus far. Depending on your interests, you can find almost anything there and definitely find a great time with friends.

Food: A

Service: A

Bathroom: A

Décor: A

Overall :A

All would have been well, except that his mother fell and broke her arm the day after he left, and I was stuck caring for a child and his mom, while studying for and taking my first ever law school exams. Hence, that trip will always be referred to in my mind as the trip of resentment.

This theme continues whenever he leaves town. Somehow the universe decided that I am to be tested when he is away. Okay, that is fairly egocentric of me, I am sure the universe has better things to do than test me. Clearly, the universe just has a really sick and perverse sense of humor, and I make for a good laugh.

When Lee left for the Rails Conference a few weeks after Otter's birth I had a heck of a time handling all the kids and pets on my own. The last time he left town for business I was in the middle of starting my own business and had to find sitters to watch the kids as I interviewed people. Oh yeah, and Monkey got sick.

SO... this time Lee is gone for four days, well, three and a half. Otter had been sick all week with Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease, courtesy of little Lily's daycare center. We thought he was better, all back to normal, until four hours after his Daddy left town. He yawned, and I saw blisters inside his little mouth.

Well.... fuck.

I promptly canceled all playdates and got some low acidity yogurt to tempt him with. Of course, all he wants to do is nurse. Now he has a racking cough, a crackly little voice, and sore blisters inside his mouth. His plaintive cry of "Mama" is heard constantly through my house. Monkey's nose began to run this morning and she claims to have been sneezing all night.

So, Murphy's law is "what can go wrong, will" and mine is "what can go wrong when your spouse is out of town and you are alone with the kids, will."

It sucks, but hey, I have my own law!!

We ended up getting a hotel room so that we could all hang out (and have a couple of beers) and spend a little more time with him before he goes back to Poland (we probably won't see him again until next year).

Anyway, I'm just using my blog to give Simon a shout out.

So "Do widzenia!" Hopefully, we'll see you soon!

(I'll let the otter tell you about how I made the girl at Taco bell cry...)

I feel drained (literally) and exhausted. I haven't slept much in the last two years, but I have barely slept at all in the last two weeks.

Any suggestions? I really don't want to give up co-sleeping yet, I have cut out almost all caffiene, and we are not ready to wean, but there has to be something we can go right?

Yawn

Right?

... Matt

I am about half way through all the classes, with one more this afternoon, and two more tomorrow. So how is it going I hear you ask? Hhhhmmmm...

Let me say I am not convinced I will have all of the last data I need. It is still early days, but it points out a major issue with data collection... getting eager participants.

Mine are coming from the student population. Since all is above board with Ethics, I ask the students if they would like to participate. As is completely fair, they all have a choice if they want to participate or not, and it is stressed that they don't have to. It is the right thing to do, but boy does it make data collection difficult! I wish I had a dollar for each person that asked "what do I get out of it?" or "yeah, but how will it help me?"!

Anyway, after canvassing students in lectures a few weeks ago, I got about 70 willing to participate which I was pretty happy with to be honest. I felt that with all the different kinds of data I was collecting I would get some good stuff. But then we come to the actual experiment.

Well, students have an interesting work ethic god bless 'em. Unfortunately it seems this week is turning out to be one of those "I have better things to do than go to programming labs" kind of weeks. So to say my numbers are low is a bit of an understatement. But we are not through it yet, so lets see how they all pan out. But I guess I am preparing for more data collection, however if the data turns out to be quite rich, then I may have enough to write up (taking into account I have done two other stages of data collection already).

I am not upset with the students... a bit disappointed maybe... but I guess it just highlights thinking of the best ways to get keen participants. I will see how I go and what I can come up with.

So fingers crossed for the rest of the week readers! Lets see how it all pans out.

... Matt

Would you kill it?

Sarah Palin would. With her bare hands.

Would you kill it?

You might think Sarah wouldn't, but guess what? she would....without blinking.

Would you kill it?

"They used to feed Christians to lions ya know?"

So yes, Sarah would shoot his little head off just to get even.

Would you kill it?

Sarah kills any animal that uses a tool. It reminds her about evolution and she hates that.

Would you kill it?

Of course Sarah Palin would, those camels aren't even married for god's sake.

Would you kill it?

Sarah would drill it to death!

Thanks for playing another round of "Would you kill it?"

Ein Fisch der nicht satt, sondern tot macht. Glück für den Otter, dass er den Fisch nicht essen kann.
Viel Spaß:

Mehr dramatische Tiere bei WeHype.

The only think that would have made it cooler would have been zombies.

Hurricane Ike migrated north and hit Ohio like...a hurricane. I was in Hartville, at a friends house, when the trees started falling. After the storm died, the otter and I made our way back home across the wastland of blackened streetlights and fallen trees. It was anarchy. Cars blew through the powerless traffic lights, and winds blue debris accross the roads.

We made it to a Giant Eagle for some things for my mother. Giant Eagle had left their doors open so that the glass wouldn't be blown out by the wind. Inside, several display standshad been knocked over, and leaves and branches were scattered on the floor. We went straight for the medicine aisle to get something for my mother, and was almost run into by a woman, buying ice cream, who did not seem to see me. She lumbered in front of me, and when I tried to go around her, she turned and almost hit me.

Perhaps the zombie apocalypse had begun.

Anyway, I got home, and my power was out. Fortunately, it came back on about 1am. Some of my friends won't have power for 4 or 5 days.

So...did you get hit by Ike? Comment below!

Heute Nacht hat es eines der Zootiere dahin gerafft. Ein schwerer Schlag, es war das einzige seiner Art. Im wahrsten Sinne hatte es wohl vor zu gehen, denn es ist aus seinem Gehege geflohen. Gestern, als wir eine Besuchertour gemacht haben, haben wir schon ein ungewöhnliches Verhalten bemerkt: er wirkte nachdenklich, war ganz ungewohnt ruhig und besucherdesinteressiert. Es handelt sich um das mit Abstand coolste Tier des Zoos: den Otter >> Foto hier <<, der durch seine freundliche, interessierte und aktive Art der Gefangenschaft zu trotzen schien und dadurch wohl, meiner Meinung nach, der geheimerHaupt-Publikumsmagnet war, ist bei seiner Flucht umgekommen. Nachts ist er ausgebüchst, das Problem bei der Sache: Auf dem Weg in die Freiheit war er gezwungen Krokodilgehege zu durchqueren. Rechts : eine große Anzahl von kleinen "Baby"-, links: Drei ausgewachsene Krokodile . Auf dem Weg durch das Terrain zur Linken hat es ihn dann erwischt.

Heute Morgen wunderte ich mich über das rege Treiben bei seinem Gehege, habe mich aber nicht weiter drum gekümmert. Später wurde ich angerufen, ich solle doch mit meiner Kamera zur besagten Stelle kommen. Dort erklärte mir der Chef, was passiert ist. Jetzt solle ich doch "schöne Fotos von dem Otter im Maul eines Krokodils machen" … Ein Pfleger stochert extra im Wasser rum, um die Krokodile erneut auf den noch im Wasser triebenden, leblosen Otterkörper, aufmerksam zumachen. Vergebens. Somit entstehen auch keine brauchbaren, "schönen" Fotos.

As it turns out, I had nothing to wory about. My room was away from all the other rooms, so no one knew it was there. Only 3 people (not including my boss and one of my co-wrokers) showed up. I was a little disappointed, but also relieved; we've been so busy at work that I've had no tiime to work on this. Plus, I've been sick all week (Thanks, otter!), so it's probably just as well that I didn't have a full house.

My presentation was on using a message board to coordinate staff, rather than flooding inboxes or having meeting after meeting.

Anyway, I'm back, though we'll see if work will let up enough to let me post on here.

1)The Weather. It rained on the way up, but by the time we got there, the sun was out. It stayed around 75 degrees with a slight breeze, and the sun stayed out all day. We couldn't have asked for better weather.

2)The Lines. There were none. We went on a sunday when they were only open for 8 hours. This means that there weren't many people in the park. The only lines we stood in all day were a 10 minute line for Dragster and a 45 minute line for Maverick. Other than that, we got right on to all the rides. (in fact, we rode the Raptor twice in 10 minutes, and six of those minutes were actually spent on the ride.)

3) Top Thrill Dragster. OK. This ride is on a hydraulic system that sends the cars from a standstill to 120 MPH on the straightaway, they sends you straight up for a while, then straight down. When it was built 5 years ago, it was the tallest, fastest coaster in the world. Let me tell you that I'm deathly afraid of heights, and I hate going fast when I'm not in control. This ride, therefore, is all my greatest fears combined. I had a panic attack before it took off, and I hyperventilated at the end. I don't think I've ever been that scared in my whole life. In retrospect, the ride doesn't feel as fast as it is, so I'd probably do it again.

I'm sure there are other high points too, but these are the ones that stand out. I'm sure the otter will chime in later with her own high points!

I have decided today to make a river otter. I found some really cool pieces of driftwood that I would like to use in my sculpts, and for some reason, an otter seemed like the best fit for a piece of wood I have.

I use several a good reference books depicting muscle/bone structures of my subject is invaluable for creating a good sculpture.

Do not start on details here, you just want general form until the entire sculpture is laid out.

At this point , I just want a rough shape of how I want Mr. Otter to look and fit on his peice of driftwood. Next, the hard part, after he has firmed up a bit, about 15 minutes depending on the clay body and how wet you work, the work need to be sliced in half.

The sculpture need to be hollowed out to a point where there is no more than 1/2 " thick of clay at any point. More than that will lead to cracking and blowing out of clay walls.The piece is scored which involves roughing up the clay surfaces which will be joined back together and adding a clay slip (really runny clay).

Then you put the two pieces back together by adding clay and slip as needed to the joints.

Once the entire sculpture is laid out, start on the main muscle masses of the sculpture. Do not finish any sections too soon, you will most likely have to change things as you go. For example - The head was too rounded and the back leg stretched out wrong.

Note - if the clay begins to dry out while your are sculpting, use a spray bottle to mist the clay and keep it pliable. Do not overspray the clay or it will sag. When the sculpture will not be worked on for a length of time (10 or more minutes) it is advisable to cover it with a plastic bag so it will not dry out.

This picture shows most of the facial details in tact. There are still areas of the sculpture that need to be modified, always consult your reference material when in doubt. A great help to me is working on a turntable so can easily view my sculpt from any angle.

I add and remove clay until until the otter comes to life for me, I know when it is time to add finishing details, when it just looks and feels right, by adding and subtracting clay from here and there.

The lumps of clay beneath the sculpture is used as a support until the work dries enough to support itself. Once the sculpture is completed and before it is allowed to dry out, you need to punch some holes through the sculpture to make sure there are no air pockets.

The colors a

Using the needle tool, punch holes in the thicker areas of your sculpture, making sure to reach the newspaper underneath. Do this on large muscle masses and anywhere else that the clay feels thick. You cannot be too cautious on this step, it is better to create too many holes than not enough. Even one tiny air pocket can damage are destroy your sculpture. Be sure to cover all punch holes and then wrap the sculpture in a plastic bag to dry VERY slowly. The worst mistake that people make is rushing the drying time, for a piece this size i will wait at least a month before it gets fired, if fired too soon, the work will break and it won't survive the firing. It should be dry when it no longer feels cool to the touch.

If you can see the slight changes in the clay color body, lighter under the chin and stomach, I use different colored clay bodies in my work, each color is worked into the clay body, not painted on after firing. The colors are achieved by using a technique called color inclusions, which mix chemical stains directly into the clay body. He has a blackish brown upper body and lighter cream color underneath. The clay won't show the true colors until the work has been fired and I use a clear glaze to seal and finish the work.

This album, which the otter introduced to me, was the one that got me listening to the likes of Camera Obscura and Belle and Sebastian. The Mayfair Set's 2000 album, They Ask No Questions, They Pass No Criticisms was, and I think still is, a twee masterpeice. It's actually hard to compare it to other works in the genre; it's more focused that B & S's Fold Your Hands Child, but more diverse than Camera Obscura's Let's Get Out Of This Country. There were no singles from They Ask No Questions, but any of the songs, especially 'Work Like a Dog" could have been. Singer Francis McFaeden lisps his way through 9 of these tracks, though Fiona Lassiter, the band's viola player, sings on "Believed to be Seen" and the heartbreaking "Like a Bubble." This album is a departure from the sparsely produced Too Few Human Beings, in that the band captures that "Wall of Sound" that McFaeden always claimed to aspire to in interviews but failed to deliver.

I noticed that this one has just been reissued on 180 gram vinyl. I HIGHLY reccomend it to anyone who reads my blog.

Photo Credit: _DP_