littlemissattila.new.mu.nu

November 17, 2005

I Write About Moral Reprobates

. . . too often. I'm starting to get looks in my writer's group. People blink a lot and gently suggest that I'm starting to lose the readers' sympathies. By which they mean that I've lost theirs.

Hm. I happen to find my monsters lovable as all get out. Second only to Maurice Sendak's.

Everyone's just mad that my characters have more sex than theirs. Hey! Could there be a song in that?

Posted by: Attila at 11:55 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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You Can Have My World Wide Web

. . . when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

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We Are Continuing Our Research

. . . into baby furniture and small layette items. Today we looked at cribs and changing tables.

We're starting to get an idea of what we want: it's just a question of finding it at the right price. Simple styling; sturdy and safe. Natural wood finish. Converts to a toddler bed.

With respect to things like onesies and diapers, I'll proably get a few of everything, but keep the receipts so everything can be exchanged if we get a one-year-old rather than a newborn, for instance.

But I'm flummoxed on bottles. Eventually I'll need a lot of them, since I probably won't attempt breatfeeding.

Plain old bottles, or one of those systems (e.g., Playtex) that keeps the baby from swallowing so much air? I'll make myself a sampler pack, I guess, and see what works.

Posted by: Attila at 02:44 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Yeah, skip the breatfeeding. I vote for the liners as opposed to the old-fashioned bottles. My advice--relax. it's nice to prepare, but no preparation is as important than the ability to pay attention to the child itself. i ;learned a lot of useful (rather than theoretical and sweeping) stuff from Brazleton. Just as my kiod was born, Parent's magazine had an article comparing having a child to being a member of a cult. You know, you're completely taken by a charismatic character upon whom you focus all your attention. You exist on little sleep, and your diet becomes hit and miss, while you spend everyday making sure that the cult figure gets the best diet and plenty of sleep. And so on. it turns out to be pretty accurate. You end up meeting with members of other cults comparing the the daily facts of life for those in these cults. You talk of little else but your cult figure. And you should be smiling a lot, when you are not to tired to turn up your lips. Soon after the baby comes home, have hubby let the baby sleep on his chest skin to skin. That way, he is sure to join you in the cult, and he will understand his loss of central position better. Studies have shown that well over half of all mothers have imprinted on Dreft. i suggest using it. One of the best lessons i ever had came from a friend. He was a very tactile person, having grwon up with twoblind parents. he had a child shortly before mine, and one day i was visiting him and his baby. At one point, he sniffed, smiled, and said, "Oh, boy, it's changing time. that's about the most fun time we have, at this age." He proceeded to get down on the blanket on the floor with the baby, and spend a long time interacting with his voice,his face, his hands. he took his time getting the job done, obviously making the baby the center rather than completion of some task. For me, not then a touchy-feely kind of person, it was a great lesson. I never had a problem with diapers at all. Don't worry about the bag. get the one you want, that does what you want. It doesn't matter if it has flowers and paisleys on it, your husband will gladly use it. And ignore anyone who dwells on negatives. Especially those who say things like, "sure, they're cute when they're babies, but just wait until...." You know, the terrible twos, when they are teenagers, whatever. Just remember that at an early age, thigs go by so fast that you should never put something off until later. take that picture now. Try to make the intellectual realization that once the baby time is over, you will miss it immensely somewhat visceral, and enjoy it as much as you can.\ Don't worry about the housework or the dishes, your makeup or whether the clothes are wrinkly. It doesn't matter to the cult leader. Babies don't need a lot of clothes. no baby needs a dress. If people insist on buying you clothes for the child, encourage them to buy larger sizes of functional clothes (we liked tees and Osk-Kosh Begosh overalls). that will help defray your costs when the child gets old enough to need clothes, basically, when the child starts to move on his own. Paper diapers work better than cloth. We learned this fact the hard way. They are expensive, start saving now. Repeat after me: the TV is not a babysitter. Repeat after me: it won't kill the kid if you use the TV to baby sit once in a while. Sorry this got long and preachy. mostly, just relax. Trust yourselves.

Posted by: Averroes at November 17, 2005 04:59 PM (jlOCy)

2 Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 17, 2005 10:43 PM (JZqY7)

3 Amen on the larger sizes Â– no two companies use the same size chart, and even average sized kids outgrow stuff way too fast. They sure donÂ’t care if you have to roll up sleeves or cuffs for a few months. As for Dreft Â– itÂ’s a waste of moneyÂ– all it is, is regular detergent watered down. I checked the patents (AG knows IÂ’m a chemist). You can water Tide down yourself at 25% of the cost. After the first few months, the kid gets used to regular detergent at regular strength anyway. I would have recommended Childcraft furniture after our first kid, but the stuff we got for my son a year ago was much lower quality Â– the drawers in the dresser stick in extremes of humidity Â– easily fixed, but for the money we paid, I expected better. The bedÂ’s pretty good, and converts into a toddler bed and then into a twin. On our new one they changed the wood design and itÂ’s easier for a babe learning to walk to find a place to grip and pull himself up. If they have a design like this http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=sc_pgb_r_12_0_3666481/602-4834144-5398234?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B0001UD18W that you like, itÂ’s a good crib. Our new crib does not have that curved piece on the top of front vertical slats, they replaced it with what is essentially a two inch diameter dowel. There is a gap between the end of the vertical slats and the dowel that the putz can put his hands in to pull himself up. The harder that is to do, the better.

Posted by: John at November 18, 2005 07:25 PM (YFWw+)

4 John, youmay be right about Dreft, but my recommendation is based on perfume. I was thinking about that recently. It seemed to me odd that Dreft is used almost universally. I thought about all those mothers imprinting. It seems easier somehow to always imprint on Drefft. But yur suggetion is certainly ok. Since you are so money concious, i'm surprised that you didn't reccomencd the store brand. Attila, when i made the comment about "breat" i was taking a crack at yur spelling--i feel i have the right since i can't get anythng typed right most times. But breast-feeding is great. if you can do it, you might try. But i will tell you this. When my wife had an infection about four months after our baby was born, and had to give up breast feeding while taking an antibiotic, the baby took hapilly to bottles, and refused to return to the breast when ist was later offered. We thought it might have to do with my wife's huge breasts. Seems the baby was happy handling the bottle on her own, and was reluctant to give up her new found control. She has always had a mind of her own.

Posted by: Averroes at November 18, 2005 07:57 PM (jlOCy)

5 Hey! Everyone knows I take off my "proofreader's helmet" when I blog! How funny. But I will have to do some bratfeeding . . . Actually, I've heard that statistically almost no adoptive mothers are successful at nursing, and I know formulae are more sophisticated these days, so I've just decided not to worry about what the La Leche League might say. I am going to look for unscented detergent. Lord knows I do now, because my allergies are so unpredictable (not bad like K's--but troublesome). Whether I'll be willing to spring for Dreft, I'm not sure. I'm pretty cheap. But sensitive to allergy issues . . . oh, the delicious agonizing I have ahead of me! (I might even play the "dad's a cosmetic chemist" card, and get him to find something unscented at the wholesale level. Or the "mom's a Costco junkie" card: "Mom? Could you pick up a drum of Dreft for the baby?") Thanks for the tip on crib design. That's exactly the sort of thing I'm looking for: cheap, sturdy, safe. I'm looking at the best cribs now, and I'll likely get something second-hand that I trust to stand up to a second child. (Meaning mine: Attila the Hub and I will likely only have this one.) Hey! This might even be fun!

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 18, 2005 10:40 PM (JZqY7)

6 For stuff to last for the second child, make sure it either has threaded brass inserts or barrel nuts to hold hex nuts into the wood. Wood screws placed directly into wood can't really be retightened when (not if) the kid's jostling loosens the structure. Personally, I've found barrel nuts to be better than the brass inserts. I tighten them about once per year, in October when the New England humidity swings from 90% to 20%.

Posted by: John at November 19, 2005 10:22 AM (YFWw+)

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Um, Mr. Fitzgerald?

It's over. You should pack up your things and go home now.

Posted by: Attila at 02:13 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Nice.

God hates shrimp.

Gays, He's easy-going about. (See "prostitutes, hanging out with.")

Shrimp, He hates.

Via Reynolds.

Posted by: Attila at 01:08 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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November 16, 2005

Dean

. . . is discussing table condiments such as ketchup, mustard, and salsa. High points: the comment thread under "Ketchup Fiends," and the referenced article regarding "Ketchup Evolution " by the always-absorbing intellectual strip-tease artist Malcolm Gladwell.

Posted by: Attila at 11:30 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Future

. . . began today. Kind of exciting, huh?

Posted by: Attila at 09:23 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Oh, Thank God.

He's back for real. Boy, is he back.

Posted by: Attila at 02:04 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The Spades Suit Is Open.

Personally, I was hoping Aaron would devote this suit to the Conservative Brotherhood, but probably only because I figured it would make a lot of people really mad.

I'm a brat; I know.

I would nominate the bluntest guy I know in the 'sphere, but he doesn't like awards and contests and whatnot. And since he got me a beautiful martini set for my last birthday, I don't want to piss him off.

So I'll go with Patterico.

Posted by: Attila at 01:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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November 15, 2005

Dear President Saleh,

We have our eyes on Jane. She's protected. We don't talk about it much, but a lot of us know people in the government, industry and the mainstream media. If anything happened to Jane a scream would go up that you would hear loudly on every continent.

So be careful. Do not mess with us.

Love,

The Blogosphere

P.S. How about a little free speech over there? With democracy for dessert? Yum.

Posted by: Attila at 10:38 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Live, From Sardinia . . .

it's the Cotillion Ball—European edition!

Posted by: Attila at 10:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Et tu, Kofi?

I think I'm going to cry.

Posted by: Attila at 10:09 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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More Comments!

Get to it, maggots!

Posted by: Attila at 09:44 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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Well?

Answer the question, Mr. Reynolds.

Posted by: Attila at 08:36 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A General Announcement to My Liberal Friends

I mean, everyone fought hard and all that. And you'll probably always make more money than I do—not to mention being taller and less absent-minded. So you have that to keep.

But it's over. Karl Rove has a blog.

Nice while it all lasted, though. I'll send you a bottle of Dewar's; keep a stiff upper lip.

Posted by: Attila at 08:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Oh, Well.

I didn't get any fewer votes than Wonkette. That's what matters. And I still have a five-point bonus coming.

Posted by: Attila at 09:51 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Armies of Liberation on Al-Jazeera!

The one and only Jane—who never tires of advocating on behalf of the Yemeni people—was on al-Jazeera, and has an update on the experience here. It's a sleep-deprived, dead-honest account of what it's like to be thrust onto television when you aren't used to it. But she makes her point there—just like she did on A-J—that the Yemenis deserve basic human rights.

Posted by: Attila at 09:38 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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A New Dispatch!

Over at Michael Yon's site.

Posted by: Attila at 09:25 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Who's Afraid of a Gang of Chinese Olympic Games Mascots?

Jeff Harrell is. Me, I think they're kind of cute.

Posted by: Attila at 01:12 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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November 14, 2005

Condi's Birthday is Today!

Stop by the Americans for Rice website and catch up on the news! Buy their new bumper sticker while you're there.

Posted by: Attila at 03:47 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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1 Thanks for the Birthday post, and she is working her sweet heart out in the Middle East to help settle some turmoil. CNN just reported today, Nov. 15, that is 10 days, all the paperwork and diplomatic efforts will be finalized for the Israel-Gaza deal. Now, would it shock the Democrats to see Condoleezza Rice win a Noble Peace Prize? You bet it would, and they would tear their hair out is distress to have Condi on the same playing field as that old coot Carter. I think Carter has become a tired old man, still trying to rebuild his tattered weak legacy as president, yet the more he speaks, the more he reminds all of us why he lost in 1980 to a stronger, vibrant and older man like Reagan. Age is not just a matter of years, it also an attitude, and Carter was old back in his days of being the president in 1976, so today, he is ancient history of pacifism, weakness, appeasement to our enemies, and witless in having a vision for the Democrats. So with Condi Rice to compare to the Democrats, she has the brainpower, the experience as our top dipolmat, and by 2008, she will have a record to run on from her years of services in the State Department. Our nation needs a strong leader with foreign policy experience, and a vision for our future. That is why I think Condi is our gift to the world, Rock ON CONDI, and I hope you win a Noble Peace Prize for your endearing efforts in the Middle East. You sure deserve it more than Arafat in 1993,.

Posted by: Crystal Dueker at November 15, 2005 10:59 AM (F69Ii)

2 THE NAACP has good news for Republicans. I found this item on Booker Rising, and it is such good news, I had to post it with my friend Miss Attila. I gives me such JOY to read good news like this. NAACP Chief Makes Switch To GOP For decades, Republicans have struggled to reach out to black Americans. But now in Orange County, Florida, the GOP has to reach no further than the NAACP. As of this week, Derrick Wallace, head of Orange County's NAACP, has switched parties. "I've thought about this for two years," said Mr. Wallace. "This is not a decision I made yesterday." Lew Oliver, head of the local GOP, described himself as "extraordinarily pleased," while Democratic leader Tim Shea said that he was disappointed. A construction-company exec, Mr. Wallace was candid about the fact that his business life was a big part of his decision to change. "It's purely a business decision. Ninety percent of those I do business with are Republicans," he said. "Opportunities that have come to my firm have been brought by Republicans." To that, Mr. Shea responded: "I'm a little confused. Are we talking about the National Association for the Advancement of Construction Professionals -- or Colored People?" Mr. Wallace elaborated that his "business" line of thought also referred to the NAACP. And he said he wants his organization to be part of that structure. Just as importantly, he said, he didn't want people to immediately brand -- or dismiss -- NAACP concerns as synonymous with those of liberal Democrats. "I want this branch to be respected," he said. Mr. Oliver said they already are, noting that all of the members of the GOP executive board joined the NAACP a few years back to show that they were serious about outreach. " Juliette Ochieng, a black conservative Republican blogger, writes: "Is Mr. WallaceÂ’s decision a result of the proverbial handout or hand-up? Possibly both. Few people of any persuasion or get anywhere without someone lending them a hand, even those who are highly talented and/or skilled. However, the perception may exist that the area Republicans 'bribed' Mr. Wallace into his conversion. The fact that he was honest about this was very shrewd; it takes some of the wind out of the Â‘sell-outÂ’ sails.....One must assume that Mr. WallaceÂ’s company is legitimate, in the black (so to speak), set to increase profits and has a reputation for quality work. If thatÂ’s so, then it would be likely that many a good capitalist would send business his way.....And, isnÂ’t this an example of minority outreach that many minority critics of the Republican Party have suggested? WeÂ’ll see how long it takes, however, for Mr. Wallace to magically get his Â‘brutha cardÂ’ yanked. It would be a nice surprise for 'never' to be the day."

Posted by: Crystal Dueker at November 18, 2005 07:53 AM (F69Ii)

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