Open Mind, Insert Thought

OK friends, how well do you know me? When Scott is left to do the dishes (as he was tonight) he:

a) washes them
b) cleanses them, trying yet again to clean marks that have been there through several washings
c) essentially sterilizes them
d) scrubs them as though they’ve come in contact with something capable of ending human existence

What’s your guess? Hint: I am not fast at doing the dishes.

Thinking it’s time to start writing some parody children’s songs (everybody needs a hobby). Not sure what the theme will be, but I’ve got my first one:

“Dragon, the Magic Puffer Fish”

Dragon, the magic puffer fish
Swam in the sea
And stunned his friends
With neurotoxins
Until he became sushi

Oh yeah, these’ll be big…

We were watching the tribute to The Who on Sunday morning. Pearl Jam was playing “Love, Reign o’er Me,” which prompted Dani to grab her ukulele. Apparently moved by the whole British Invasion thing that was happening on screen, she started playing with her teeth. Nice tip of the hat to Hendrix (who, yes, was American but was playing and living in the UK and by most accounts is included as part of the whole British Invasion phenomenon).

One of the many fun surprises about becoming a dad was the arrival of the Dr. Seuss book collection. My parents got a subscription for Dani early on, and she, her mother, and I all enjoy them quite a bit. I thought these were simply whimsical children’s books, but one in particular has made me realize that there might be way more to them than just the story.

One of Dani’s favorites is Ten Apples Up On Top, and I’m convinced it’s an allegory for nuclear proliferation and the concept of mutually-assured destruction as a way to create peace. A bit about the story:

A dog, a lion, and a tiger are showing off to one another about who can stack the most apples on top of his head. They also demonstrate that they can do other things (hop, roller skate, dance) while balancing the apples. The three of them end up in the house of a bear and start taking apples from the bear’s refrigerator (and drinking the bear’s milk, just to demonstrate that they can do it while keeping the apples balanced). The bear chases them outside and vows to make the apples fall. Once outside, with the bear still chasing the animals, birds come along and try to eat the balanced apples off of their heads. More bears and birds join the chase until everyone runs into an apple cart, sending apples everywhere. At the end, in the wreckage of the apple cart, everyone has ten apples on their heads. The lead bear, happy with the outcome, says “Look! Ten apples on us all! What fun! We will not let them fall.”

The characters, the pacing of the buildup, and the balanced outcome all spell nuclear arms race to me:

• The apples, obviously, are nuclear arms
• Who gets them first? The lion (Brittain), the dog (U.S.) and the tiger (India)
• Who wants them? The bear (USSR) and the bird (Japan?)
• When everyone finally has the same number of apples, even though things are a mess, everyone looks most peaceful

Granted, you might think I’m stretching here. But after a bit of research I’m not so sure. Theodore Geisel won an Academy Award for a film he made examining Japan’s culture before WWII, and it looks as though many of his books were modern-day fables dealing with consumerism, fascism, and, yes, the arms race.

If you haven’t read some Dr. Seuss in a while, take a look.

Jennifer, Dani and I went to see the Body Worlds 2 exhibit at the San Jose Tech Museum today.  It was every bit as fascinating as we’d hoped, probably a bit more.  I’d read about the plastination process prior to our visit, but was still amazed to see how perfect yet imperfect the preservation and presentation was.  Also surprising (to me) was the strict way that the displays were referred to as "plastinates" rather than "people," "donors," or "bodies."  A few of the many highlights from the show:

• A display where the muscles were removed from and standing next to the skeleton of one donor. The plastination process makes the muscles firm enough to stand on their own.
• The fact that the kneecaps were always with the muscles, never with the skeletons (they’re seriously embedded in the tendons and ligaments of the legs).
• An entire room devoted to embryo and fetal development, including a plastinate opened to reveal an embryo (as well as the black lung from smoking that, apparently, killed the pregnant donor).
• Embryos and fetuses at just about every stage of development
• The Exploded Man, which was a plastinate completely separated (individual organs, systems, etc.) and suspended and expanded to take up twice the normal space of a body.
• The various penises and vaginas (the latter both shaved and natural – don’t ask why I notice these things) on the plastinates.  Jenni, in a moment of humor, covered Dani’s eyes (the girl’s 6 months old – I don’t think I was warping her mind, dear).
• Incredibly thin slices of plastinates that made cross-sections (an entire body was shown in this way).
• And, in the center room, the brain itself.  Healthy brains, brains that had suffered from strokes and had blackened marks on them, and a brain ravaged by Alzheimer’s.

It was a truly stunning experience.  I would recommend that you go, but if you live in the Bay Area you might be out of luck as it’s closing at the Tech on January 26th.  If it comes to your city, take the time to attend.

Also would like it noted that Jenni and I are really pushing the boundaries of new parenthood.  I carried Dani around in a front-carrier the entire show, and she was a perfect angel.  She’s such a flirt, she definitely made a few friends and garnered more than her share of smiles.  Cheers to a fun day out and a grand adventure in having a baby and enjoying the world.

Quick shoutout – for the second time in as many weeks I ran into Geoff Ralston.  He was there with his son to attend the show, guess they were just leaving as we walked in.  Hope you guys enjoyed it as much as we did! 

Photo courtesy of Body Worlds

We’re heading to Colorado for the holidays, and even though Dani is fighting a cold (which she graciously shared with Jenni and me), I’m looking forward to it.  I love going back to Colorado.  I’m excited for friends I haven’t seen in a while to meet our little girl.  Also, Jenni and I get to enjoy another overnight – the grandparents get their baby fix and we spend an evening on the town, so everybody wins :).  Even the thought of security lines at San Jose Airport is not dampening my spirits, I’m ready to go!

I like to keep myself busy.  I’ve found I’m happiest when I have a pile of things to do and am working through them, ticking off little achievements to fill the day.  I make to do lists for everything and pretty much run my happiest days by them.  Days when I don’t have something to do are uncomfortable at best.

This is changing, I’m now realizing.  Little ones don’t live their days against a to-do list, they simply are.  Dani, for instance, has been an amazingly good sleeper for months.  Now, she is beginning to have a sleepless night every now and then.  And last night was my night to stay up with her until around 2:30 am.  She wasn’t necessarily fussy, she just wasn’t tired enough to go to sleep.  So we played, we snuggled, I fed her a little bit more formula (hate for an empty tummy to keep her awake), and we enjoyed living moment to moment for several late hours.

Ironically, I had pointed out to Jenni at 9:30 last night that our Saturday evenings used to be just *beginning* at that time rather than winding down.  I guess I got what I asked for!

Shortly after my pre-arranged "shift" ended, Dani fell asleep and stayed asleep until morning.  It may sound strange, but I’m very relieved that all night long I never felt put-upon or exasperated (which I’m likely to do if I spend time without feeling like I’m really *doing* something).  We really had fun being together. It was an evening where the right thing for me to do was to give myself over to being a parent, so I did.  Selflessness doesn’t come naturally to me, and it’s being fun to practice.  And having an adorable little girl who giggles as she’s falling asleep in your arms makes it just that much more fun.

My daughter, playing my bass (perhaps she needs a 3/4-size one?).  She gets the funk intensity in her eyes from her daddy :)  Rock on, sweetie!