Several random notes:

[wileypeter]

1.
I finished reading The Phantom Tollbooth to my wife tonight. Two things spring to mind. First, we now need another kid's book to read, as I doubt finishing this one lets me off the hook. (Any suggestions of a similar quality level are appreciated.) Second, Norton Juster not only authored The Phantom Tollbooth and The Dot and The Line but was an architect with his own firm. The firm is in Northampton, MA, and Juster has retired. Which means I can never work for him. This bums me out.

2.
The Environmental Protection Agency has decided there's no need to rid drinking water of a toxic rocket fuel ingredient that has fouled public water supplies around the country. One sentence that manages to completely sum up the last seven and a half years.

3.
I've always been politically interested, even before I was smart enough to apply a modicum of critical thinking to issues. I find myself reacting with particular vigor to the current political contest, though, and I suspect while some of it resides in seeing my country change over the last 3/4 of a decade, as much lies in the realization that my increasingly real progeny will have to live in a world shaped by those elected. None of my past choices would change. I doubt many of my future choices will. I've always tried to make decisions with which any child of mine could live. Now, though, I'm quicker to anger when I see long-term damage being done. See the above link for one example.

4.
The visit to Ashland planned for October will likely be the last extended one for quite some time. While I'm pretty much always thrilled to visit Ashland I have doubts about this trip. Morning sickness, fatigue, insomnia, sure, these will alter things, but add to them the idea of seeing three outdoor plays in Oregon in October? It might not be the carefree getaway we crave.

5.
What the hell is going on with the relative dearth of station wagons these days? We don't want a minivan. We don't want an SUV. We want a car large enough for us, the forthcoming kid, the attendant paraphernalia, groceries and the odd architectural model. A station wagon. At this point many car makers seem to have eliminated the station wagon from their offerings. Yes, we can always get a Subaru Outback. Honestly, it's the car I've wanted for the last fourteen years, and it seems like it's also the State Car here. Still, I didn't want to get one now. I wanted more of a starter car. Nuts.

6.
When he's awake he's a tired old dog. On rare occasions he'll get excited and skitter around a bit. But when he's asleep I can hear him chasing squirrels, his paws twitching like crazy and voice making muted "whrff" sounds.

7.
A coworker of mine at Books, Inc. tried to peg my "type." Since I had recently started dating my now-wife, she pegged "nice, friendly, cute" as my one and only type. I don't get that. Why in the world would anyone have a single "type?" Looking at my past relationships I can't really see a pattern. Well, maybe a past predisposition toward women destined to crush my spirit like a grape under a dirty combat boot, but what guy's not into that? Despite having hung out with a fairly libertine crowd I was always quite the wallflower, social but incredibly awkward when any real potential reared its head. (I believe you can verify most of this, lotusice.) Given that self-imposed handicap, why in the world would I limit what already limited prospects I had by focusing on a "type?" This is all academic now, of course. I do have a type, a select group of one. But the idea of being attracted to a strictly limited physical range? It just seems bizarre to me.

8.
I have to say, I'm still happy about that photo linked to above. 1996, maybe? TMax 3200 and I still managed to get a shallow depth of focus. Years later she wanted to get a nice print of it made for me as a gift. The photo lab lost the negative.

Comments

[outlaw-jesus.livejournal.com]

i haven't read the phantom tollbooth, but i did enjoy reading alice in wonderland and the land of oz to the boy when he was younger. a.a. milne's were a nice distraction, the fun part being making up the voices for the characters. :)

it's really really disturbing to find how well the citizens of this country are being taken care of and treated. i wish i could bury my head in the sand and wake up from this nightmare. what makes me sad also is to think how far many have come and have given of themselves, at risk of life and limb, in the middle of last century, to fight for civil rights ... it's all being pissed away in the blink of an eye under the guise of "fear and ignorance", a powerful tool being used against us by our government. is it just me, or does this country seem to resemble some sort of third world country?

i was going to suggest a volvo station wagon, but i don't even know if they make those anymore. of course, you could get a used one, but since they keep their value, you're likely to pay an arm and a leg anyway. anywhat, great cars, volvos. but i bet the cost to fix would be pricey.

lovely lovely photo :) too bad about the negative :(

[wileypeter]

Glad you like the photo. She was so scared to tell me about the negative. She felt like it was her fault. Not so much. Maybe she should have taken it to a place that did in-house printing, but they lost it. I had a friend make a high res scan of the best print, and that's what we have now.

Volvos are nice, but they're actually more expensive than the Subaru wagons are. Dunno what we'll do, but we may just need to wait a year or two.

Now McCain wants to deregulate the healthcare industry. You know, because it's worked so well for banks.

I may have to go classic. But then, I'd say The Phantom Tollbooth is a classic.

[toastiest.livejournal.com]

i've had the station wagon discussion with a few people over the years - where ARE they? i will say that i had a subaru outback for a few years (my dad gave his to my brother when he got a new car, brother gave it to me when he moved out of the country for awhile) and it was a fantastic car.

[wileypeter]

Maybe all the suburban moms and dads were so deep in denial that they all bought SUVs, killing the market. That's my guess.

I've wanted an Outback for well over a decade. I say because it's a practical, well-designed vehicle, but really it's also because they look like a Fisher-Price toy.

[snooks.livejournal.com]

2. Another sentence that's very descriptive of Our Time With Bush is "Show us your papers."

3. I felt the same sort of heightening of awareness when my sister had her son, and again when my best friends had one, too. I don't have that immediate gut punch of my own child to worry about, but I think I have some idea of what it's like, being an over-protective Uncle. It makes me want a better world, and a better me (a reason I don't have kids of my own is that I don't feel like I'm a good enough example, yet, for their hypothetical heads to follow).

5. My Chevy HHR is a bit of a hybrid between the station wagon and minivan forms, very handy for hauling tools and trafficking in black market architectural models. They're still a fairly new model though, so I don't know if there's a substantial discount in buying used, yet (if that's your market).

Otherwise I think you're right. It's minivans, SUVs, and subcompact hatchbacks. Wagons have been largely phased out, with a couple of behemoth exceptions (Chevy Caprice, Dodge Magnum).

7. Sounds like astrology. Vague enough to be right on a surface level, almost all the time. Who doesn't like "nice, friendly, cute"?

8. She is cute. Clearly, she did you a favor.

[wileypeter]

Cute as heck (as you can see), nice as heck (as you could guess) and terrible judgement (as she picked me).

Types. Phhtt. I think the discussion arose over an image of Elizabeth Montgomery. Apparently the coworker had only seen "Bewitched." I always preferred Montgomery as the beaten-up-but-proud, post-apocalyptic soldier in "The Twilight Zone." Also from TZ, Julie Newmar as the Devil.

We'll probably go Subaru. Solid, good in inclement weather, looks like a Fisher-Price toy. That's my list right there.

Bush...ugh. January.