Tori

Tori, 1993 (?) - 2006. Yes I am sentimental, but when you have had a pet who has been around through a lot of the good and bad in your life, is it such a surprise?
So this is a sample of what I will remember: Reh-rowrrr. 6 foot vertical leap. Push-push. Studying the birds. Hiding in a corner in new places. The ability to hear food before I took it out of the container. The playfulness of her youth and the gentleness when she got older. And in these last days, how strong she was in the face of her body turning against her.
All that our pets ever ask of us is that we love them, and I did.

Kitty update

Tori has a condition known as chronic renal failure. Basically, this is a gradual shutting down of the kidneys. There is no cure; all that can be done is to take steps to prolong the life of the cat. Aside from that, she has an infection. We'll go back to the vet tomorrow and get some medicine for the kidney infection; hopefully that stabilizes her to the point where her kidney deterioration is not imminently terminal. After that...I don't know. Tori will let me know how she feels and we'll decide from there. I will not impose any sort of long-term suffering on her for my sake, that much I know.

Kitty, etc.

Tori cat has been sick for the past several days. Actually, she has probably been getting there for a little while, but just started presenting with symptoms this weekend. Something seems to be wrong with one of her kidneys; I'll get test results back today. She finally ate a couple ounces of solid food last night, for the first time in three days; otherwise all I could get into her was milk and water, reluctantly. I'm waiting to see what the tests say before totally freaking out about my 13 year old "daughter".

Tom and Susi's little ones are doing okay. Normal preemie issues, but so far, so good.

I thought I had more to say when I started this, but whatever it was slipped away...

Favorite Charities

Mostly so I have them all in one spot, here are links to my favorite charitable organizations.

WalkNow (Autism)

Habitat for Humanity

3-Day (Breast Cancer walk)

Operation Freefall (RAINN/Sexual Assault)

Unicef

(Feel free to add other worthwhile organizations in the comments).

Millions of Aristocrats

Millions (2005) - Kid who exists in a fantasy world of saints in order to cope with the death of his mother is just hanging out in his cardboard fort in the British countryside when a bag of money gets chucked off a passing train and lands almost literally in his lap. Older brother wants to use the money to be king of the hill in their new town, but our young protagonist, in a quest to emulate his favourite saints, just wants to do good, charitable acts with the windfall. And that's just the setup. This is not the sort of disarmingly poignant film one would expect from Danny Boyle, the guy behind Trainspotting, but what it shares with his earlier work is a variation on the theme of redemption. Worth seeing.
Rating: full house.

The Aristocrats (2005) - So this family walks into a talent agent's office... You may get sick of the joke, you may be disgusted by the various grotesqueries on the way to the inscrutable punchline, but this ode to a comedy profession staple plays out like a dissection of a timeless jazz riff. The editing, which can come across as a bit scattered at first as they jump from one comic to the next, is the salvation of this movie. If you can appreciate a dirty joke and have some familiarity with the range of comedic talent in this collection, you'll probably enjoy it.
Rating: straight.

8 pounds of baby

The problem with being a petite, pregnant woman is that your body doesn't too much care for the notion of carrying around twins. So my friend Susi's babies conspired for an early release yesterday, weighing in at just under and over the 4 pound mark. A bit small, yes, but my understanding as of now is that they are all going to be okay, so that's good. But my question now is, will they forever get shamrock themed wrapping paper on their birthday presents? Anyway, welcome to the world Lilianna and Parker.

poems

A couple new poems are up. And the literary world yawns. But I finally cracked open one of my bottles of madeira, so at least something is right with the world.

Typical work week

Biblical wife hunting

15 Biblical ways to find a wife:

1. Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she's yours. -(Deuteronomy 21:11-13)

2. Find a prostitute and marry her. - (Hosea 1:1-3)

3. Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock - Moses (Exodus 2:16-21)

4. Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal. - Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)

5. Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife. - Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)

6. Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. Note: this will cost you. - Adam (Genesis 2:19-24)

7. Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman's hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That's right. Fourteen years of hard labor for a wife. - Jacob (Genesis 29:15-30)

8. Cut 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law's enemies and get his daughter for a wife. - David (I Samuel 18:27)

9. Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you'll definitely find someone. (It's all relative, of course.) - Cain (Genesis 4:16-17)

10. Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest. - Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)

11. When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, "I have seen a ... woman; now get her for me." If your parents question your decision, simply say, "Get her for me. She's the one for me." - Samson (Judges 14:1-3)

12. Kill any husband and take HIS wife (Prepare to lose four sons, though =). - David (2 Samuel 11)

13. Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It's not just a good idea; it's the law.) - Onan and Boaz (Deuteronomy or Leviticus, example in Ruth)

14. Don't be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity. - Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)

15. A wife?...NOT! - Paul (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)

Spring Cleaning

This morning I was suddenly seized with the urge to go through old files on my computer and start cleaning them out. I have almost 10 years worth of files that have survived from one machine to the next on here. Ancient iterations of web pages, old photos, complete and utter randomness abounds. So, I may be posting odds and ends here just for the hell of it.