I am very ambivalent. A short while ago, I got a little bit shirty with certain columnists who preened about the intellectual merits of the literature they were reading and who looked down on grown-ups who read inappropriately juvenile fiction like “The Hunger Games.” Turns out, one of my partners had just lent me the trilogy, and I had started reading them myself. Needless to say, I’m not a great fan of being told by Joel Stein that I must ...
{ 66 comments }
Time Magazine deliberately started an uproar with its cover photo of a woman confrontationally breastfeeding (seriously, if you can breastfeed confrontationally, she’s doing it) a preschooler. And so the backlash against attachment parenting begins. The article is behind a pay wall, and I really don’t want to reinforce this kind of cover, so I haven’t read it. I don’t especially welcome this backlash. If someone wants to breastfeed her kid until he’s four, that’s seriously none of my business. It ...
{ 3 comments }
Not so long ago, commenter Kazzy shared a story in a comment thread so awesomely hilarious that it’s worth repeating. (Thanks for letting me share it again, Kazzy. It was truly one of the funniest things I’ve ever read.) Prelude: One of my cats is named Bustopher (More specifically, Professor Bustopher Jones IV*. There were no other Bustopher Joneses, professors or otherwise. This is not relevant to the story.) [Phone Rings] Vet: Hello. Is this Butt Stuffer’s owner? Wife: What? ...
{ 116 comments }
A few years ago, the New Republic published an essay demonstrating that David Sedaris had lied in many of his recounted stories of his own life, both in his books and on his appearances on This American Life. I remember at the time that there were a lot of comments on the article, almost entirely deriding the expose as ridiculous. (Oddly, there’s only one comment there now. Not sure if my memory is faulty or what.) The general line seemed ...
{ 26 comments }
As I mentioned recently, I have a tendency to yell at the television. This tendency is particularly pronounced during medical dramas, what with their rather casual connection to the world of facts. I generally avoid watching them because of this. Thus, I have never seen a full episode of “Grey’s Anatomy.” I’ve caught a few scenes here and there, enough to be glad that Sandra Oh is getting work and to find Ellen Pompeo’s character annoying. I know nothing of ...
{ 78 comments }
They said we shouldn’t grow broccoli and brussels sprouts from seed. Average last frost in this area is April 29th, they said, so keep plants indoors until then. Don’t just throw cut up supermarket strawberries under some dirt and expect them to grow, they said. Well. They were wrong, damn it! Check out part of the container garden that broke all the rules and re-invented how you play the game! Apparently, the last meal tradition for those condemned by the ...
{ 38 comments }
Next week is my kid’s Ridiculously Rare Syndrome Awareness Week (NB: not its real name). My guess: you probably still will not have heard of it after the week is over. But they have been doing a surprisingly good job of getting it covered by some news organizations. Recently I bought a bunch of car magnet ribbons to donate to the Ridiculously Rare Syndrome Support Group so that they could sell them and raise money. The design-your-own ribbon company default ...
{ 17 comments }
Some throat clearing: I’m pretty sure regular readers of this sub-blog are familiar with the fact that I fishin’ adore my disabled son. People who come to only this post might not be aware of it. So allow me to say right off the bat, I am writing about a different era. He’s now 2 1/2, and I love him with my whole heart, and if I believed in God, I would thank Him every day for letting me parent him ...
{ 23 comments }
First of all, I know that League chum Ryan has already discussed the ridiculous Michele Bachmann dual citizenship kerfuffle over at the main page. If you’re interested in a more thoughtful analysis of the issue, go there. Also, I really couldn’t possibly care less if Ms. Bachmann is a citizen of Switzerland. As a dual citizen of both my father’s country of birth and this great nation of ours (though I think I have to dust off some paperwork on ...
{ 12 comments }
I don’t have much more to say than that right now. I am immensely grateful for your support, and this is the most public way I have of saying so.
{ 1 comment }
Russell Saunders is a pediatrician in New England. He has a husband, son, cat and dog, though not in that order. He enjoys reading, running and cooking. He would have warned the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences that James Franco was a bad idea, if only someone had asked.
Rose Woodhouse is ABD in philosophy. She will totally get that dissertation done soon, really. She teaches and is mom to a few very young 'uns, one of whom is disabled. She loves TV as more than a friend.
