The Devil and The Clown

My nephew, Dashiell (aka 'The Devil') just turned 21 and this is what he's getting from me--a print of him and his sister Greer on Halloween, 1987.

Photographic Proof That We Exist

Exhibit A

Photos of the two of us together (or shall I say 3 of us?) are rare. Probably because one of us is always behind the camera.

Exhibit B

Slumbering Sandeep in the Co-Sleeper

Baby Paws

Flared

Another film ditty from the archives. This one was taken in the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle a few years back.

The traditionalists and purists say photographic lens flare is a no no, but judging from the plentitude of pro work out there with lens' a flaring I'm going to have to say its 'the thing.' based on the pro work out there flaring for effect. The above version was an error but this one from Forest Hills was not--I planned it and consequently my agency picked it up.
My Rule: Always Break The Rules :)

Plastination & You

Finally! Finally I say! Body Worlds is coming to Boston!

Von Hagens and his corpses have been creating controversy where ever they land, which surprises me because his people are the best looking dead people you'll see anywhere. Check out the Body Worlds site and if you're looking for a good read, check out 'Stiff' by Mary Roach, which features a section on von Hagens that's both informative and a crack-up, which is a good description for the entire book.

Getting Sushi's ashes this week reconfirmed my desire for an 'alternative' post-mortem process--a once 11 lb cat is now 1 cup of gravel. I want something more, something fabulous for my body when I'm gone and I'm in luck.

It turns out that von Hagens is accepting body donors--yes, I'm very healthy and don't plan to die anytime soon, but when I do, I hope I can be plastinated by von Hagens. If you want to be my friend in the end, maybe you'd like to join me at von Hagens Institute for Plastination.

Body Donation forms here.

Somewhere in Tunisia, 10 years ago

Long ago, in another life, I went to Tunisia on vacation. Here's a shot from somewhere in the Sahara which I scanned and converted to black and white. I quite like it.

Waiting & Other Bits

I'll technically be 'full-term' on Monday which means the little man could arrive at any point, although his ETA isn't until the 14th of August. I'm waiting to unplug the above phone because of punch-drunk-baby-induced-fatigue.

There's a theory that first timers are more likely to be overdue which is why I'm invoking the spirit responsible for The Natural Law of Wishes, wishes that don't come true.

The law: If you wish for something it's very very unlikely it will come true.

My wish: To be really overdue, 14 days in fact.

Now, since I'm far from lucky and The Great Spirit of Wishes will surely not grant me my 'supposed' wish, I'm hoping I've bypassed this law of nature. On the other hand, if my superstitious ways prove to be true, I probably just ruined it for myself by confessing that I'm trying to outwit 'the system.'

Other bits:
I submitted another lot of photos to my agency for potential sale--54 in total--we'll see which, if any, of them they want. It's sort of my last photography hurrah for a while since I doubt I'll have much time to do such things in the near future.

The weather is now fabulous--in the 70s and tolerable.

We picked up Sushi's ashes at the MSPCA today and well, there's not much left of him, about a cup of gravel really. I was dreading doing this and of course it created another breakdown but at least it's done. Something very weird: The various colored chunks of him--there's one pebble that's a robin's egg color.

The baby room is done, painted, set up and clean. I went against Dr. Nosey of Yumont Hardware's advice and exposed myself to paint. I'll post photos someday soon.

Bags for the hospital are almost packed.

*Badeee badeee, that's all folks!

Bainbridge to Seattle Ferry

See these people? These people are comfortable. It's about 70-75 degrees and they are not sweating like pigs. Oh how I wish I was there........

Rhubarb

Nothing much to report so have this pretty picture I took a year ago.
I'm officially on pregnancy 'confinement' as my mother terms it. What's pregnancy confinement? Think house arrest and what's arresting you is heat and discomfort. Only 32 days left before the little man is due to arrive.

She's On The Job!

KiKi, Retail SuperHero has made contact with the Nordstroms and all is well. Read about her selfless and amazing retail adventure which is making our material world a better place!

Galaxy In My Glass

Three Years Ago Today

July 5, 2003

Baby Knats

JP: The Center for Prenatal Advice and Predictions

Macho seems to be the consensus from the baby bump experts. Saturday, at the hardware store, while waiting for Alex I sat down to give my bear paw feet a rest. A very friendly woman from the Dominican Republic decided to join me, grope me, and give me her opinion on what I'm having. Her opinion: "Que macho!" Bingo, but she could have just asked me.

Although the above baby oracle is clearly knowledgeable about boy vs. girl bumps her declaration required groping whereas the man in a wheelchair, going top speed down Centre Street, who passed and yelled "You're having a boy!" Needed no hands-on time to make his judgment—he wins the blue ribbon.

The same hardware store with the groping lady also has a full time Dr.--call him Dr. Nosey. If you posses no medical care and need a quick consultation look no further than Yumont Hardware. Although I do have medical care I was totally oblivious to the dangers of paint. Did you know paint will melt your baby's brain? The hardware store doctor has personal experience with all sorts of brain damage-- "When my mother was pregnant with me she drank and now I have OCD." I wanted to add to his list of issues but wimped out and couldn't tell him to shut his trap and give me my paint so I could go home and guzzle some whiskey and bask in paint fumes.