so Mary, climb in...

Bleh. I woke up sometime around 3 a.m. by the sound of water running--or rather, water spilling. It turns out one of my cats had knocked the fish bowl (which had been on top of my computer desk) over. Onto my keyboard, mind you. There was water everywhere, and I couldn't find the fish. I finally found him on the floor, gasping but miraculously still alive. I plopped him back into the bowl, which I'd half-filled with water. He's fine today, but my keyboard, alas, is no more. I now have a new one ($14.99 at Staples; I'm all about teh fancy).



patchfire has mentioned Babywise before, and today I decided to do some research on it. What I found was really, really scary. Apparently babies have been hospitalised using this method, which encourages rigid feeding/sleeping schedules and letting a baby "cry it out" and basically ignoring their needs. Here's an article about it, which shows how nuts these people really are. Here's an example, from the article:

"I have no intention of raising an out-of-control child, " says Franklin Stout, a 32-year-old father of two who is implementing "Babywise" methods with his young children. "My wife and I like having a guide to help us know how to respond to our sons' different behaviors. We believe that firm discipline in the first year or two will save us all a lot of grief later."

WTF? Discipline in the first year? Crazy stuff. And apparently these people claim that breastfeeding a baby too frequently decreases milk production (it doesnt--the more you nurse, the more milk you make.). The guy who wrote this book is either completely delusional or taking some really strange pills. The attitude seems to be that feeding on demand/giving in to your child's needs will spoil them for life. It sounds more like a recipe for autism to me. The babies DO become quieter, because they give up. According to this article, even the Christian Fundamentalists don't like these people. I feel like going out to all the bookstores and putting "THIS BOOK IS DANGEROUS" signs in all the copies. Eesh.

I'm staying home from work tonight, partly because I feel sort of yukky today, and partly because I can.

Also? You really haven't lived until you've seen this. It's a video, so it may download slowly, but it's worth it. Use the fullscreen feature, d00ds. Bruce/Melissa is so my musical OTP.


ETA: patchfire tells me that people actuall DO put bookmarks in the Babywise books about how dangerous the method is. I want some!

the ghost moon sails among the clouds, turns the rifles into silver on the border

As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up:

Yesterday I was at the laundromat, when in walked this woman. She was probably 22 or so, wearing a bright lemon-yellow top (one of those numbers that looked like it came right out of the Summer of Love, complete with spaghetti straps, low-cut bikini style, tunic length, all flowy), tight, tight denim or denim-like capris, metallic silver sandals with heels that were at least four inches high. She had long, bleach-blonde hair pulled back from her face. She also had a Tan (which in this climate in early May has to be from a tanning salon or a holiday in Florida). And to top it all off? Under her arm she carried a Pekinese. Yes, a little yippy dog. She proceeded to complain to the woman who worked at the laundromat that her clothes weren't done on time, in this snooty voice.


My Hannah says I'm just as judgemental as the people I get angry with for being judgemental (and she's probably right), but this woman just screamed Paris Hilton Wannabe (although I wouldn't actually recognise Paris Hilton if I fell over her). When I left the laundromat she was still inside. Parked outside was a Mitsubishi Eclipse, in a colour that is probably called "Blackberry" or something. Convertible, of course. You'd think she could have put the top up and left the dog in the car for the five or six minutes that it would take to complain about her laundry. But no, she was using the dog as a Fashion Statement. In the fecking laundromat.

In other news, someone just turned out of my parking lot with Derek and the Dominos' Layla blaring from their car. Two guys who looked to be under twenty. My heart is happy. :)

In even cooler other news, the UPS guy came to my door today and brought me this!. blondie1026 told me to expect something from all of my kids for Mother's day, but I never expected a television! *dances* Now I can watch my movies again. I heart my kids soverymuch. :) Now I just have to be unlazy enough to take it outta the box. I still feel a sort of icky. But I will do it, oh, yes, I will.

In conclusion, may I say that I want to be Jonathan Strahan liek, so bad?