Future cowboy?

Not until the hat fits.


Really, kudos to the photographer here, for taking the picture with one hand, and putting the hat on with the other, all at full Milo speed. The boy just won't stop walking. The hat, despite repeated attempts, never stayed on his head longer than a second.

Nice profile, though.

Milo loves mush

After all but refusing to eat anything he couldn't handle with his fingers, Milo likes eating mushy food again, provided he gets to be the spoonmaster.

Using a two-spoon approach, with a parent manning one spoon and Milo the other, he gets more food in his mouth than on his body. Sometimes, just barely.


I think in these pictures, he's eating squash. How appropriate, since it makes such a delightful noise when you bring your hand down on a dollop of it at full speed.

Good times on the weekend

First of all, in my last entry I posted a picture of Milo behind the wheel. It's really more impressive when you see what he's driving: Poppa's 1935 Chevy pickup that he rebuilt from the ground up. Here's Poppa and his creation.



On Friday we had a late afternoon shower just when I was finishing shopping. And when I got home, I took this picture while looking out my front door. Then I sat down and played "Rainbow Connection" on my guitar.



For Christmas last year my uncle Rod and aunt Lisa got Milo this fake fur blanket. He LOVES it. It's the thing that made him start rolling on the floor again -- something he really hasn't done since learning to walk. We really like it when he rolls on the floor. It's a good time to tickle him.



And Milo is 15 months old today! 1.25 years! Which means only three months until Christmas...

Milo is very happy

Aah, the rain has stopped here in Vancouver and the forecast calls for dry, relatively sunny fall days right through the weekend. Not bad for the first day of autumn!

(Well, what is traditionally the first day of autumn... this year, the precise instant the summer dies is 9:23 p.m. on September 22, local time. That's PDT for another month, if you were wondering.)

Moving on to more important news, last night, when Mom came into the bathroom to get Milo out of the bathtub, he actually clapped with joy when he saw her. The next step is to get him to clap with joy when he sees me!


Thanks to Gramma and Poppa, we have a couple additional photos from back when the weather was warm and sunny. Not like the rain that has befallen us lately.

Dang, that boy looks like he's having a good time.


And seriously, not many one year olds get to sit behind the wheel of a 1935 Chevy pickup truck that is this beautiful. At least he looks like he knows what to do!

Pirate Riddles for Sophisticates

Thanks to McSweeney's online archive, the Dread Pirate Robert is now reposting one of his favourite articles in honour of International Talk Like a Pirate Day.

Pirate Riddles for Sophisticates
by Kevin Shay

Q: What's a pirate's favorite aspect of computational linguistics?
A: PARRRsing sentences.

Q: Of which concept shared by Jungian psychology and Northrop Frye's literary theory are pirates especially fond?
A: ARRRchetype.

Q: Who's a pirate's favorite member of the creative team behind "32 Short Films About Glenn Gould"?
A: Don McKellARRR.

Q: Of all of Richard Harris's many achievements in the performing arts, which is a pirate's favorite?
A: "MacARRRthur PARRRk."

Q: What's a pirate's favorite alliance-creating diplomatic agreement from the Second World War?
A: The TripARRRtite Pact.

Q: Which ancient Greek lyric poet do pirates like the best?
A: PindARRR.

Q: If a pirate were to recite one of the Olympian odes by the aforementioned poet, which one would it be?
A: The XIth Nemean Ode, "To ARRRistagoras, the Prytanis of Tenedos, son of ARRRchesilaus."

Q: If that same pirate were then to recite a 20th-century poem about the nature of poetry, what would it be?
A: "ARRRs Poetica" by ARRRchibald MacLeish.

Q: What if he went on to recite a poem by Sir Walter Scott?
A: "LochinvARRR."

Q: Why does that pirate keep reciting poetry, anyway? Is he some sort of Nancy-boy?
A: Aye, 'tis a Nancy-boy he be. Arrr.

Q: Of the ghosts that appear to Ebenezer Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol," which do pirates prefer?
A: Jacob MARRRley.

Q: Can we replace that last one with something about Bob Marley, so we can have an additional gag about RastafARRRianism?
A: No.

Q: Whom did the pirate vote for in the Haitian election?
A: ARRRistide.

Q: Wait. Why did they let a pirate vote in the Haitian election?
A: Remember, the nation was taking its first halting steps toward democracy, and balloting procedures were rather chaotic. The pirate just slipped in somehow. Arrr.

Q: I don't buy it. Pirates care nothing for participating in the electoral process.
A: Look, can we finish this up soon? I'm having those phantom pains in my wooden leg.

Q: A phenomenon first described in the 17th century by which important contributor to the field of amputation surgery?
A: Oh, this is getting ridiculous.

Q: Just say it.
A: Ambroise PARRRé.

Q: You can go now.
A: Arrr. Nancy-boy.

It's Great to be a Pirate -- Song for International Talk Like a Pirate Day

It's Great to be a Pirate

"I and my friend, the composer Johnny Caruso, wrote this song in 1994 for a Disney sequel to Aladdin which did not get made except as a "book and tape without music" - (Welcome to Hollywood). We own all the rights to it but it's been just sitting in our files for all these long years occasionally causing great pangs of guilt that it is not being enjoyed by the vast pirate loving audience. So, today ... I'm just throwing caution to the wind and e-mailing a zip track and lyrics to all of you admirable pirates in the hopes that one of you will call and say, "Hey, can we use this?" and we shall let it set sail. If it is to your liking please e-mail back or even call ... Or pass it on to someone who will appreciate it. Or post it - Or sing it in the shower. For it needs to breathe the stormy seas and have its sails unfurled/ And let it play the pirate way /All around the world! ...Hey, I think I feel another song coming on." -- Richard Marcus


It's great to be a pirate
And live a life of pleasure
We fight with swords and swing from ropes
And hunt for buried treasure.
We make our prisoners walk the plank
Sharks love us when we feed `em.
We wear those patches on our eyes
When we don't even need `em.

CHORUS

It's great, it's great - It's great to be a pirate!
It's great, it's great - It's swell to be bum.
It's great, it's great - It's great to be a blackguard.
It's great, it's great - Its so delicious to be vicious
Thrilling to be scum.
It's great to conquer ships at sea
And steal what isn't ours
And smell like stinky sneakers
`Cause we never bathe or shower.
It's great to get shot at all the time
And lose an arm or leg.
And every morning get to choose
A stylish hook or peg

CHORUS

BRIDGE

We have one pirate golden rule
It's great to be a pirate.
Eat with your fingers And always drool!
It's great to be a pirate
There's a second pirate golden rule
It's great to be a pirate.
Be ruthless, scary, mean and hairy
And don't forget to drool.

ROUSING CHORUS

It's great, it's great
It's great, it's great
It's great, it's great,
It's great, it's great
It's great, It's great to be a pirate.
It's cool and swell and my oh my
It's hip and slick and fine and fly
It's great, it's great
It's great, it's great etc...

© Badda-Boom/Badda-Bing Music 1994
Lyrics by Richard Marcus, Music by Johnny Caruso

Download the mp3 version of "It's Great to be a Pirate" here!

Arr, tis a good day to be the Dread Pirate Robert!

Talk Like a Pirate Day!

I started to put together a pile of links for International Talk Like a Pirate Day but just as I started searching, Boingboing beat me to it. Man, I love that site. Not just for the amazing and useful info they provide, but for the hours of work it saves me. (I suppose that makes up for the hours of time I waste reading it and constantly checking for updates!)

Without further ado, a couple of my favourite pieces of random Pirate-themed flotsam and jetsam:

Arrrgyle socks -- pics and patterns

Talk Like a Pirate Day -- UK HQ (Link to US HQ at the top)

The essential Pirate Mac sticker

And here, so you can check them out for yourself, are Boingboing's links to Pirate info. Those guys are good -- their links to previous years' worth of pirate stuff is there too.



Happy Pirate Day everyone! May your lockers be overflowing with booty!

International Talk Like a Pirate Day 2006

Man, it seems like September 19, 2005 was only last year... but International Talk Like a Pirate Day is here again! Arr, ye, me mateys, 'Tis he-yarr again!

So far, my favourite must-have Pirate accessory is from JobbyRoger.com:



Now I REALLY need a new laptop from Apple, just so I can display this sticker the way it was meant to be seen. That's not the reason I added that "Donate via PayPal" button, but any port in a storm, as all Pirates would agree.

The People in my Cubicle Neighbourhood

I suppose this happens everywhere, but I love the people I work with.

At work we like to post interesting news articles along with snarky comments. On Friday we were treated to this story about booze:

Alcohol use helps boost income: study

WASHINGTON (AFP) - People who consume alcohol earn significantly more at their jobs than non-drinkers, according to a US study that highlighted "social capital" gained from drinking...

This made the rounds with a call for more beer in the communal fridge, for the good of the company's financial statements.

We also had this "good news" story:

FDA: E. coli linked to Natural Selection Foods

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A California natural foods company was linked Friday to a nationwide E. coli outbreak that has killed one person and sickened nearly 100 others...

Scholarly analysis? It is now officially healthier to eat deep-fried Mars™ bars than spinach.

What I learned this week:

1. To reduce your risk of illness and increase your earning potential, eat more fried Mars bars and drink more alcohol.

Hope you all had a healthy and profitable weekend, everybody.

(Thanks to Curtis, Simon, and Cijaye for the snark!)

And Pears Too

It's not just apples that he likes, either...


Happy Labour Day, everybody! We're off to the swimming pool.

(Thanks to Gramma for the picture!)