No Strings Attached

Posted By Kathleen David on July 3, 2009

Next week Caroline’s summer camp starts up and she is looking forward to that. The village pool is now open so that gives us another place to take her during the summer. She is enjoying going to the gym with us but disappointed that she can’t have swim lessons because the pool is closed for a retro-fit of a new piece of safety equipment insisted on by the board of health. It has to do with an incident at a public pool were a child got caught in the suction of the drain and drowned which is a tragedy in any sense of the word. A few facts came out afterwards like the cover to the drain had been removed so the hole was much bigger and the kids were playing with the increased suction because it was “fun”. So this is a dead man’s switch in case all the things that happened in this case happen at our gym pool. The village pool opening was also delayed due to the installation of this gizmo.

I watched the match between Serena Williams and Elena Dementieva while walking on the treadmill at the gym. Some of the calls that went against Serena were over turned by this electronic system that can figure if the ball was in or out. In the old days, before computers and reviews of plays in tennis, Dementieva would have been the winner of the match. But with all this new fangled technology that allows everyone to second guess everyone else, Serena won. Her sister won as well which will lead to an interesting final match since they both know each other’s game so well. Right now Serena and Venus (the 4 seed) are battling Cara Black and Liezel Huber (the 1 seed) in women’s doubles semi-final play.

In baseball, I think we had the first game delay due to bees during the Astros vs. the Padres game. They took over left field. So we have had no-seeums, cats, squirrels, and seagulls affecting a game. Now we have bees. The bees were a hazard since a number of players had known allergies to bee stings more so than the rest of the animal kingdom that has crossed the field during a game.

Bowling went much better last night. We came together as a team and took all our points in the position round. It was close 2 out of three game with the first match coming down to the last frame. We won by 7 sticks. The middle game we had after our first bowler finished the 10th. The third was closer until Peter got up and threw 5 strikes at the end of the game which put it out of reach.

X-Factor 45 is getting some buzz in some new places on the Internet including the main AOL feed. Peter is quite proud of the stories he has been writing for this book and I recommend it highly. I know I don’t talk a lot about what of Peter’s books are coming out from week to week but I have to be careful because he lets me read the scripts so I am a couple issues ahead in the matter. But I do want to give the Buffy and Angel fans a heads up that the first issue of Fallen Angel with Illeria will be hitting the stands soon. It looks great.

Shoreleave is now a week away so if I go quiet here, y’all just assume I am up to my kister in fabric and sewing like mad to finish our costumes. Of course this means that I am going to type something every day as it comes to mind.

I am grateful for a good night of bowling and winning a little cash.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on July 2, 2009

I first encountered Ken at a ChattaCon. ChattaCon is held in the dead of winter and Ken was wearing these beat up cut-off shorts, a very worn t-shirt, and holding a glass with some amber beverage in it. He was a tall skinny man with a shock of grey hair. I met him the same weekend I met Bob Tucker. Ken was part of Southern Fandom and ran a very good convention called Kubla Khan in Nashville.

Ken, or Khen as he was called, had a number of passions in his life including trains, good booze, and art. He could tell you fantasy art and the history of fantasy art with such passion in his voice. He was the tour guide for one of my first art show tours. He could tell you all kinds of things about the paints and the artists. He would have us look at brush strokes and how the artist composed the painting. I thought for years he was an art teacher until I found out that his day job was working for the railroad. I always made time to go hear Khen talk about art.

The symbol for Kubla Khan was this loopy looking crow that looked like Khen. Various people did various interpretations of the character but it usually had a propeller beanie and a “cigarette” hanging from its mouth. The awards for the costume contest were these stuffed crows which were very much coveted by costumers to have in their collection.

I will miss Khen. I haven’t seen him in years but his name came up from time to time with various folk and we remembered him fondly.

I am grateful that I knew Khen and I learned so much about fantasy art from him.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on July 1, 2009

That’s my catch-all title on mornings that titles are not coming to mind. I do take pride in my titles. I think I have come up with some pretty clever ones over the years. I also take pride in that I rarely repeat a title, which is hard after 6 years of web logging.

Yesterday was the prep day for Mystery Trekkie Theater which is something that Bob Greenberger, Mike Freidman, and Peter have been doing for almost 20 years. We think it started in either 1991 or 1992 based on various people’s recollections. Timing was worked out and lines were give the green light or tossed based on the group’s sense of humor. It was a very pleasant afternoon.

Now I need to continue my prep for the convention. This is going to be the most complicated for me. San Diego is Peter’s most complicated but that’s how big San Diego has become. That and New York Comic Con are the big business conventions for him although some stuff came out of BEA this year.

I have been mulling about the latest blow-up in fanfic and have decided to keep my opinions to myself but I wish both sides could see that the other side does have a point. I also think that some individuals need to do a bit more reading before pulling the latest buzz words out of the air and using them incorrectly. I am also tired of the Internet created MDs who figure that they know all after reading a couple of articles from a couple of websites. It is not that simple.

Off to get the next project done.

I am grateful for good friends and bad puns

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 30, 2009

Yesterday was the last day of this session of the Supreme Court. They covered a number of issues that might affect us or have nothing to do with our lives at all. I agree with most of their rulings. There are a couple that I think are going to come around again to the court since all they did was kick it back down to the lower courts.

I am glad that the Arizona middle school student strip search was deemed illegal. The school did something stupid and then tried to cover up their bad move with lots of legal posturing. The facts of the case are rather horrible and I still feel sorry for Savana Redding. This will at least make school think about where the information is coming from and if this sort of search is really necessary.

Locally Cablevision had a win. Various movie studios and content providers were up in arms about Cablevision’s remote DVR service. Where, rather than having a DVR box on top of your set, you can save programs to a main server. Cheaper for Cablevision to provide and probably would be used if the price point was low enough. The howling came from the thought of more skipping commercials. The concern is the loss of ad revenue due to people using the DVR to get through the endless commercials. (side note: we tested this theory the other day with Merlin. We were watching the baseball game for about 20 mins and then started to watch Merlin while skipping the commercials. We caught up with the feed at 47 min into the show which gives you an idea how padded that show is) My suggestion, which some companies seem to already being doing, is create a commercial that can be watched in real time and in double time.

The situation in New Haven with the firefighters was New Haven’s own making between the test and the dumping of the test. They were going to get sued no matter what they did so they went with the group they figured wouldn’t win. And funny that, they did win. I don’t think that this is really going to have much of an impact in the long run especially since that sort of test has been phased out. I do think they made the right decision.

Then there was the DNA evidence ruling which stated that prisoners do not have a constitutional right to demand DNA testing of evidence that remains in police files which might prove their innocence or even guilt. They are leaving up to the states to decide where to draw the lines on this. I can’t say that I agree entirely with that. Especially in death penalty cases which really can’t be over turned if they are carried out. But I also think that prisoners, after conviction, should give a DNA sample to allow other cases to be sorted out.

I also don’t agree with a couple of rulings about pay equality which have put the burden even more on the employee to prove that the employer is in the wrong. Also putting a time limit is just wrong. What if you find out years later what happened or finally got the evidence you needed to prove your case?

Immigration issues got tabled a lot this session. They are going to look at the NFL and another exemption to anti-trust law next session.

What the Supreme Court does is probably just as important as what the congress or the president does. I keep an eye on it to see where our legal system is going and right now it is rather conservative in its rulings. It will be interesting what will happen once Obama gets a couple people in place.

I am grateful for being able to read about various rulings and the openness of our legal system.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 29, 2009

For the kids anyway. Caroline is already up at about her usual time and off to the gym with Peter. I don’t expect Ariel much before 9 and she will be getting a wake up call at 9:30 if she is not up.

I have all the laundry I didn’t do this weekend which needs to be done. I have a puppet to finish which is going to take a trip to the fabric store for a couple of things. I have some costumes that need finished and fixing for Shoreleave. I might even build myself my Barbossa coat since I have the hat. Call it Barbossa 1.0.

Yesterday Peter and I went to see “The Proposal” which is a fun romantic comedy with some real heart to it. It is a superb cast and a good script. I might be a little more partial to it than most since I have working in publishing and I know people like Margaret Tate. It was not far off from some editor in chiefs I have encountered. I recommend it as a good romantic comedy. I had a headache yesterday so Transformers wasn’t happening.

Some of those pies in the sky that I spoke about a while back seem to be landing. Not much I can say but this may be the make or break week on a couple of them. Your good thoughts and kind words have helped just cross your fingers for us as we try to get some luck rolling for us again in the right direction.

I am grateful that I took yesterday off.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 28, 2009

And I think everyone had a good time. Ariel’s friends stayed about an hour past when the party was over and were playing board games which I take as a good sign. Caroline had fun with her cousins and Ariel’s friends. I didn’t get to talk to as many people as I wanted to, or to those I did, as long as I wanted to but that is the role of uber hostess. I made sure that the party ran as smooth as possible so others could have fun.

Now it is time to gear up for Shoreleave which is a week closer than I thought it was. So I have two weeks to do what I was going to do in three. I can get it done. I kept it light because I had a feeling that things were going to be busy at the end of the school year. I am not doing the DragonCon Art show this year but it looks like I am going to be at D’Con. Taking a year off might not be a bad idea.

After Shoreleave, I have the rest of the summer to get a few projects done that I want to do before school starts again.

But today I see a nap in my future after I finish cleaning up the kitchen and the other rooms.

I am grateful that everyone had a good time especially Ariel.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 27, 2009

She has matriculated and is now officially a High School Graduate. I am proud of her right now.

Next the graduation party and playing the “what will be the weather” game. Think good thoughts for the weather this afternoon.

Off to get the party started…..

I am grateful that Ariel’s graduated.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 26, 2009

Hard to believe that a school year has passed. It seems that just the other day I was putting her on the bus for the first time. A lot has happened in that school year.

Caroline went in knowing her ABCs and left being able to read. She went in able to count to 100 and came out doing simple addition and subtraction. She has learned about following the rules and the playground politics that are just part of school. She has learned to write down the stories she has in her head. The spelling can be hard to figure out at times, but she has the concept of story writing down.

She dealt with her teacher going out on maternity leave and embraced the substitute as her teacher now. The teaching assistant was wonderful and helped Caroline with so many thing. She would go to the librarian and give him a topic and he would point her in the right direction. By the end of the year, she was finding her own books like a champ.

I had my own journey this year from having Caroline around all the time to having her off to school for the day. I joined the PTA and became a parent volunteer in the library. I made new friends among the teachers and staff at the school. By the end of field day every teacher knew who I was along with a number of the parents.

It has been a good year for both of us.

I am so grateful to the teachers and staff at Caroline’s elementary school for all their hard work with my daughter.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Caroline, Life | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 25, 2009

The end of Senior year can be a crowded one. Arial had prom last night and she will walk tomorrow. Saturday is her party and then she will be done with high school.

I’m sorting out the next couple of weeks which have a number of functions and other things I need to do. I have this strange feeling that it is going to be September way before I expect it to be. Time moves faster as you get older.

Today is all about the living room until that is done then it’s all about the dining room.

I promise I’ll be less boring after Sunday.

Caroline brought home a book she did which contained a page that her teachers wrote about her year. I was quite proud of what they wrote about her. They appreciated her enthusiasm and her happy attitude. She was, according to them, a bright light in the classroom.

I am grateful that Ariel had a good prom.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Caroline, Life | No Comments »
Tags:

Posted By Kathleen David on June 24, 2009

Well these are kicking antibiotics. I do have some of the crappy side effects including this weird metallic taste.

Today is Ariel’s senior prom so a lot of the day is about her.

This is also Caroline’s last full day of school. She has two half days and then she is done.

A lot of change in a couple of days. Even more next year as Ariel goes off to college and Caroline becomes an only child at home.

There are a lot of things going on right now at Casa David. It would be nice if a couple of pies in the sky right now would come to fruition. I can’t talk about any of it until I have the pie in hand but think good thoughts for us. We could use some good luck.

I am grateful for medicine that cures ills.

Powered by Bookmarkify™

Category: Caroline, Life, Peter David | No Comments »
Tags: