Category: Family

up early

Up at 4:42
2005-05-05— Posted by: allegra

This is Jim P my double first cousin in common-law and a geoduck. Pronounced Gooeyduck. I have no idea why. Anyway, these are alleged to be mighty fine eating. Personally I like the facial expression.

Today is Nita’s 19th b-day. Have a wonderful time, doll!

attitude
2005-05-05— Posted by: allegra

This is a newborn Bengal Tiger from a zoo in Indonesia.

Who would do such a thing?
2005-05-05— Posted by: allegra

Liz…. WHAT is the meaning of this outrage. Pope Benedict is a kindly old guy who likely has an interesting range of prostate symptoms. He’s following after “My Charisma outshines my Three Tiered Crown Wojtyla” which ya gotta admit is not a fun place on the playbill AND St Ambrose’s prediction says Ben’ll be the third last pope before the world gets an enema so it’s like hurry up and get your sheep herded, boy, cause the lord’s branging down the storm soon.

And some louse of an Italian – a cockroach among humankind – puts a really badly scanned picture of his face into a mockup of a Nazi uniform. Look, I freaking well did what people told me when I was sixteen, and I tried to work faster if they were carrying guns. The Lord sent him a finger infection so he never had to fire a gun and he ran away, that last year of the war, as sensible lads in his situation would if they could get away with it. Personally nothing about his war record makes me unhappy with Ben.

It’s just a nasty picture, and I think sad thoughts about changing his ways at the “ritale” who did it. I am only posting it so you can see the kind of calumny the new Pope is being subjected to, and to let you know that the Italian government shut the site down.

Okay, if I was consistently playing anarchist I would at this point say “Screw the Pope” but there are several problems with this approach. I’m not happy with the Pope, but I don’t think he should be subjected to any more ridicule than I get from, say, my immediate family, which, were he to get it, would probably cause him to croak and necessitate another Election. On the other hand, what is the Italian government doing stifling art and free expression??? Not that this picture comes anywhere close to being art. I don’t know which side of this divide I should jump to. Should I go with the “Don’t Disrespect the Pope, he is the spiritual leader of one person in six on this planet”, or should I go with, “Why not have a little fun???”

The first gay marriage in the family data base

I love my mother
2005-05-01— Posted by: allegra

Yeah, I know, it’s kind of old news, but I have a new reason. My mother just emailed me, and I have to quote from it because it is SO beautiful and subtle….start quote

It's been interesting.  I have eaten too much, not slept enough, experienced the tail-end (one hopes) of a Saskatchewan winter, communed with four cats, been principle photographer at a wedding, spent a lot of time at a hospital.  I kept up with your blog and heard from David a lot but not enough.  I am collecting up Graeme's family history to put into the family data base.  He is now your first cousin once removed by marriage.

End Quote. So let the haters hate – I don’t care. My mother is placidly including a same sex marriage in the family annals / genealogy, and that’s exactly the way it should be. Welcome to the 21st C.

May day, May day
2005-05-01— Posted by: allegra

This is Samil the Tigron; the pic is copyright Agence France Presse and Michel Riopa took it. Agence France Presse sues people if they make money off their pictures; they whacked Google recently, which made me laugh, as half the cute animal pictures I’ve ever posted here were AFP. Sue me! I need the entertainment. They’re gonna have to repo Paul’s shoes if they want to find any boodle around here.

Anyhoo, I am currently in a Very Bad Mood. I am hoping a restorative cuppa and the prospect of Paul going to work within the next hour will return me to my normally cheerful, or at least neutral, state of mind. Then I’m off to pretend I am a member of the working class. It’s been bloody years since I marched in a May Day parade. And dratitall, none of my dyes are clean. Oh well.

One of my correspondents, who attended a recent U2 concert, informs me that when Bono asked the audience to call the PM’s office, the phone number that went up on the screen first was 615 instead of 613. (They did correct it). I am sure some manicurist in Tennessee is wondering why all these crazy Canucks are calling to yell at her about the 3rd world debt sitch. Technology is a fickle friend, folks. Sometimes the receiving end (think depleted uranium) isn’t much fun.

nowhere close to enough sleep

2004-08-28— Posted by: allegra

Random pic, taken somewhere close to home (2019 edit – by katie, at the skate park on Sixth at Eighth.) Had a great time at Jim and Carol’s last night. Saw the Otto-man, Jerome, Megan & Jenna & Sergei, Tom U., Brian C, Chari (who was in fine form on the subject of marriage), Sarah & Ian, Jim and Carol of course and their neighbour Heather who’s just back from a year in Europe. Mike bailed, no reason given.

Today the board retreat – was supposed to provide coffee and I bought some but of course I am not a decaf drinker so I had to phone Michael and ask him to ask Elaine to pack some, as it doesn’t occur to me to purchase it, shudder. Decaf. I spit at decaf!

Katie was home before we were, phoned up asking plaintively where we were. Nice to have the shoe leather on other foot sez I. Keith is going to try to make the Saturday Karate class. And ask a girl out. Wish him luck.

I hate
2004-08-28— Posted by: allegra

animated smiley faces in business f*cking email correspondence!!! Jumping Jiminy Crickets but that p*sses me right off. I KNOW people mean well, but grrrrr ……

Lexi if you’re reading this the link to the parody of Never Set the Cat on Fire (and there was a guy convicted of that today, fancy that!? found at Fark.com) is at http://www.speakeasy.org/~mamandel/filks/Darwin.html. I laughed until I cried the first time I tried to sing my way through that. Keith is inordinately fond of it as well.

I experienced the embarrassment of having my clothing disassemble as I was coming down the stairs to lunch today. Of all the stupid days NOT to wear a bra, there I am, gone SPUNG into space so I have to skate off into the bathroom clutching my chest. Managed to fix my zipper but I’m scared to breathe now. Watch it happen again at the party tonight, but I’ll be two beers gone and find it amusing instead of paralyzing. Hey Mike! My clothing flew apart and you weren’t there! Just kidding. I suppose it could be worse, I could have done that in front of a bunch of investors. On the other hand… no, let’s NOT go there.

I did phone Katie (it’s an item of clothing she frequently wears) and politely ask her if she’d booby-trapped it. So to speak. Every word of this is true, I have witnesses. Unfortunately, they are all too traumatized to corrugate my story at the moment. (Roger Rabbit reference, that wasn’t a typo.)

Musical evening

Musical evening
2004-08-01— Posted by: allegra

If I had a picture to post of last evening’s events it would be of Lexi, face ferocious, as she attempted to shake a pick out of her guitar. Attendees included (in the audience category) Lynn S, Jim P, Jan G, Unca Dave, and briefly, Katie, and in the participant category, me, Paul, John, Mike, Tom L., Peggy, Lexi, and briefly, Keith.

We covered Tom Waits, Indigo Girls, Bob Dylan, Willie P. Bennett, me, Dick Gaughan, Leslie Fish, Nate Bucklin, Leonard Cohen, the Eagles, Don Henley, Simon and Garfunkel, the Band, Cat Faber, Lyle Lovett, Spirit of the West (take me ho-o-o-o-o-me!) and narrowly missed Nick Cage. Not to mention traditional songs like Wild Mountain Thyme and a wide eyed parody of Will the Circle be Unbroken, in a which a turtle named Myrtle hurtles towards the ground, but the Turtle, was unbroken, bye and bye, Lord, bye and bye… etc. And we sang Never Set the Cat on Fire. INCLUDING (as Keith popped out of his room) the Darwin awards FILK of that tune, including such deathless lines as The Embarrassment would be intense/of dying of your flatulence.

Festivities ceased at precisely 2:09.

I am leaving July up for another couple of days in the hopes that the folks who haven’t read it yet get on the stick. Then it’s gonna go where all good blogs go.

Today the Pride parade. Looks to be a gorgeous day, and MUCH cooler.