Cold Spaghetti

Some have balked at my earlier comments about the role of poor, nonwhites left in New Orleans to weather hurricane Katrina, as I argue that their role was to perish. I stand by my assertion of modern genocide; that the government system wants nothing more than to rid itself of those whom they feel are undesireables. The mis-education and mis-information of a conservative society (which we are) promotes false ideology regarding wealth (that it is earned, not something gained from privilege), work (that if you work hard enough and play by the rules, no matter what your circumstance, you get ahead), reproduction (that early childbearing, wrongly understood as a problem among poor nonwhites, equals any number of ills), and poverty (that it is a self-supporting “culture,” not a socially induced position). In America, all of these untrue, unfounded, and misguided ideologies are connected to race, or more specifically, being black.

This ideology plays out in many ways. The comments by former education secretary, now conservative talk-show host, William J. Bennett, are an example. In Bennett’s words: “if you wanted to reduce crime, you could — if that were your sole purpose — you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.”

How is this okay? How is anyone okay with this?

Will rides his popper lawnmower (aka: the favorite 6am toy) while Granna pushes!  

The Scheib’s are in heaven over the love we’ve been bestowed from my Birds. (For those uninitiated, the Birds are my college girlfriends.)

Christie (and David) sent a huge Junior’s Cheesecake — right in time for my Dad’s birthday (today!) So, not only did she send a big piece of heaven, but also got me out of having to bake a cake!

Steph (and Mike) sent a package with tons of assorted fun: a beautiful maternity top, pedicure set, fun smellies, AND… Oat Fudge Bars. A recipe perfected by Julie, our usual connection to the OFB supply, and magically made by Steph. OFB, a staple dietary item in the life of any Bird, are simply the end-all be-all in ooey-gooey baking perfection.

My Mother, after getting a mouthful of complete bliss only described by the OFB experience, exclaimed: “It’s like being looked down on by angels!” “No, Mom,” I said, “Birds.”

I admit it. I sing Raffi to Will every night in the shower. I sing him the “Brush Your Teeth” song when I brush his teeth.

Yes, so I’ve let my guard down about Raffi. But I swear: NO BARNEY!

Paul loves Alton Brown, the popular Food Network chef who explains cooking through science (heat + food = cooking). Let me be clear. He. Loves. Alton. Brown.

Usually immune to the obsession of any chef not currently working in my kitchen, my heart has taken a turn in favor of Luis.

Luis is part of Noggin TV’s Hispanic Heritage Month. (Noggin is preschool programming on my parent’s cable system — we’ve just found it in the past month.) Little Luis, who tells us he’s from Guatemala and lives in Australia, enthusiastically whips up fun recipes for his friends — and sometimes does it all made to order outside for his classmates! The best part: his side comments. While greasing a baking dish for his Guatemalan Cheesecake, he stated very-matter-of-factly, “it’s just like fingerpainting with butter” and then proceeded to write his name in butter on the bottom of the pan. Why didn’t Julia Child ever think of that?

Watch out, Alton! Make room for Luis!

Will and Paul share a bedtime story. Oh — and check out Will’s new haircut! 

In honor of Will’s favorite new game “Everyone is Elmo,” where he happily calls everyone and everything “Elmo,” Mergerson has decided to make the next 317 posts to his highly entertaining and well-written blog, Elmo.

I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Entergy, our power provider in New Orleans, has filed bankruptcy. It seems like a strategic move on their part to get more money out of the feds, but has stalled our access to information about the state of our neighborhood. Still, the mayor says that power is “close” to being back in our zip code, the sewer is safe, and water is “almost usable”. Paul still has plans to return a week from today with Alex to check things out.

On the lighter side, you can get your “Make Levees, Not War” t-shirts and other Katrina survival gear here.

And if you’re into Magic (or been unwittingly exposed to it by a spouse) you’ll find these very funny.

Will has subtle ways of making us crazy. An example.

We are changing Will’s diaper, of the Pamper’s Baby Dry variety. These diapers feature Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Grover, and Big Bird in the center of the front band. Will knows all of these characters without question and loves to reach over into the nearby pile of diapers, take them out one by one, and name each face.

But this morning, he decided that they all were Elmo. We showed him Bert: “Will, who is this?”

“Elmo!”

“Will! This is Bert! You know Bert!”

“Elmo!”

And so on. Repeat for 3 minutes. Try Grover, Big Bird, and Ernie. Results are the same.

Then, just as he is finished getting changed, he picks up the same Bert-embossed diaper and says, quite clearly, “Bert.”

“Yes!” We say excitedly, “that’s Bert!”

He looks quizzically at us, looks back at the diaper, and with a sly smile breaking out on his little face, says, “No. Elmo.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I have the distinct feeling that my sanity is being tested…

I’ve resorted to ebay for maternity finds. I won three auctions tonight — all maternity pants — for a total of 9 pairs of pants for about $23. Even with the additional $12 or so in shipping (they were all from the same seller) I figure it’s a good deal. Fingers are crossed that they get here quickly and actually fit…