a note to the pets, from wendy, the bassmaiden

Dear Beloved Pets: > > > > The dishes with the paw print are yours and contain your food. The other > > dishes are mine, and contain my food. Please note, placing a paw print in the > > middle of my plate of food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and > > dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest. > > > > The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack. Beating me > > to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help, because I fall > > faster than you can run. > > > > I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about > > this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your > > comfort. > > > > Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep.It is not > > necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent > > possible. I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues > > hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm. > > > > For the last time, there is not a "secret exit" from the bathroom. If by > > some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut,it is not > > necessary to claw, whine, bark, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under the > > edge and try to pull the door open. I must exit through the same door I > > entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline > > attendance is not mandatory. > > > > The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's butt. I > > cannot stress this enough!

> > > > To return the kindness of your obedience, my dear pets, I have posted the > > following on our front door, so visitors to our home know what the rules are > > here: > > > > Rules for Non-Pet Owners Who Visit and Like to Complain About Our Pets > > > > 1. They live here. You don't. > > > > 2. If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture. > > (That's why they call it "fur"niture.) > > > > 3. I like my pets a lot better than I like most people. > > > > 4. To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted children who are short, > > hairy and walk on all fours. Although they don't speak clearly, they > > communicate extremely well, better than most people! > > > > 5. Dogs and cats are better than kids. They eat less, don't ask for money > > all the time, are easier to train, usually come when called (this does not > > apply to cats), you can leave them unattended for a few hours and not be arrested > > for child endangerment or neglect, never drive your car, don't smoke or > > drink, don't hang out with drug-using friends, don't worry about having to buy > > the latest fashions, don't wear your clothes, and don't need a gazillion > > dollars for college. > > > > 6. Also, if they get pregnant, you can sell the children!

holocaust day is offensive????

rather than remove something of great importance to many, many people; why not create another way of recognizing or remembering events that affected various groups? will they feel better knowing that they have denied people their right to pay homage to events of importance to those people, more so than creating a way for the others to pay homage? where are the grown ups???

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1775068,00.html

9/11 blog from andrew sullivan

http://www.andrewsullivan.com/thewar.php

new orleans account from my father's friend

don't miss the part about the mounties arriving before FEMA!

Friends,We're back in the New Orleans area. We woke up early Wednesday morning and drove back to Metairie so my wife can go back to work. I'm living here at her work with her (in an office and sleeping on an inflatable mattress) until electricity is restored at my house. I'm cautiously optimistic that electricity will be restored soon--maybe this week.My house in Algiers did really well--we have one tree that is down in the back yard and a few shingles blown off of the roof. In fact, my house is messier on the inside than on the outside right now because of our hasty evacuation and cleaning out yucky refrigerators once we got back. However, I know of lots of people that have lost everything to flooding--for instance, I'm told that some houses here in Metairie have flooding up to their gutters.The damage is incredible to behold. Driving back through Mississippi revealed the real destructive power of the storm as there were more trees down than were standing. My church in Algiers (just a couple of miles away from my house) had the roof blown off of the two-story education building and it is a complete loss on the inside. I'm still getting paid for now, so I've been volunteering at a hospital here in Metairie to pass the time.

I got to talking to some of the DMAT folks here from Rhode Island and one lady said they received no direction from FEMA at all. The Rhode Island DMAT folks came down on their own and arrived in the area the night before the storm hit and rode out the storm in Baton Rouge. I heard the president of St. Bernard parish say on WWL radio that the Canadian Mounted Royal police showed up before FEMA. The storm was disaster enough, but FEMA's lack of response was a disaster as well. Don't blame New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin or Governor Blanco for the mess here--they were telling people to get out and they didn't listen. I talked to one lady that lived on an overpass for 5 days waiting to be rescued. Her story was incredible. Anyway, I asked her that if she had it to do over again, would she leave, and her response was an emphatic, "No."John SitaNew Orleans

the artwork of brian dennis

it can't be described with words. you are simply going to have to click here:

http://www.briandennis.co.uk/

Voice Lessons in San Jose!

By the way, if you live in the Bay area and need voice lessons, Erica is your gal!
http://home.comcast.net/~ericaolden/.

A few links to wedding pictures

Believe it or not we are still waiting for wedding pictures from our photographer. (Also formal thank-you's for gifts are waiting for them as well, sorry for the delay). In the mean time here are a few links to pictures that others have set up for us:

• http://homepage.mac.com/hawkw/Menu130.html
• http://www.phyast.pitt.edu/~jim/pics/Erica%20and%20Denvers%20Wedding/

CATS! CATS!

cool and informative slideshow about EVA ZEISEL

http://www.slate.com/?id=2125342&slideshow/2125395/));

across the pond...

i am curious about what our friends are hearing and thinking about george K bush and the handling of this disaster. so, first hand, what do people outside the country have to say?

and did people catch barbara bush's wonderful insight -

What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them. - under now is not the time to play the blame game - http://www.michaelberube.com/ .

it would make a good bumper sticker. i could put it next to "10,000 terrorists agree to not vote for Bush 2004".

tom wolfe is amazing

has anyone read the new one - "i am charlotte simmons"???

http://www.tomwolfe.com/index2.html

there aren't enough pics of d here.

denver needs his own thread. post comments below, please.

oops

well.......in case anyone is actually reading here, i am trying to figure out how to edit my profile. i wanted to use this picture (you can see why, right?) in my profile, but it somehow was sent here, instead. ok. i'll stick to the blog. what's the theme of this blog? i guess it's a little e-diary about the lives of denver, googl, yahoo cha cha cha and me. if you have an interest in that, great (i suppose?!?) if not - maybe we can find a more suitable blog for you. so far it has been fun.

expect color.

it's getting to be time for a trip to falafel's drive in, in SJ. perhaps this place need it's own blog. yes - falafel's and also rasputin's music store. today i only have time for falafel's, though, on my way to practicing and teaching in pAlO aLtO, or palo soprano if you are low note challenged.

someone PLEASE leave a comment. i will enter you in a drawing to WIN free falafel's, redeemable upon a trip to SJ.

banff bear attack

Jayadev and Susan's Wedding 9/3/05

Our brand new friends (Denver and I were Jim's guest) had a lovely wedding in a park in Berekely. Some Indian traditions were incorporated, making for a very memorable and beautiful afternoon. J and S exchanged strands of Jasmine and there was a dance performance by the remarkable (and soon to be world famous) Maya. I can't remember the last time I met so many friendly people! I hope to stay in touch with them and get to know them better, even if it is by way of cyberspace....

a visit from charm city

That would be baltimore, MD, of course! Jim came out our way and spent 3 fun filled, sunny days with us. Highlights included wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains; a small trek up the coastline, where we found kite surfers hanging loose; dinner with an old friend, Valan and his wife, Susan; and the wedding of Jayadev and Susan in the hills of Berekely (which you can read about on it's very own post)! SEE what yer missing if you haven't come for a visit!?!?!

a visit from atlanta

Gary and Elaine winged it over to san josie for a little over a week, which was WAY fun. The highlight of the trip was spending time in Yosemite Nat. Park, where we were greated by coyotes, shaded by spectacular sequoias, swept down stream through the valley on a raft and made to feel very tiny by gigantic cliffs and waterfalls.

We also made it into SF a few times for oysters, streetcars, irish coffees at the Buena Vista, the giants-vs-rockies and a GREAT cajun restaurant.

MARTA!

The next amazing thing to happen this summer was the arrival of Marta to our good friends, Radek and Kasia of Menlo Park! I think Marta needs to start her own blog soon, so we can keep up with her and her already impressive hat collection. I will try to convince her to do so. She is one hot little mama and after the doc took a look, he advised Radek to "get a bseball bat" to ward off the boys! How could she not be stunning? Look at the genes!

I will maintain our blog. I will maintain our blog. I will maintain our blog.

Well, I have decided to take a stab at THE BLOG! So here goes:

The wedding was fabulous - hot and humid pittsburgh weather, but we were "cooled" by the coolness exuding from all of our wonderful guests - family and friends, many of whom we had not seen for ages, and several of which I had yet met. The ceremony and reception music was exquisite - Michele, Steph, Andres, Doug, Mike and Preston played and sang amazingly and Azucar delighted us with their vibrant latin songs during the reception. The food was lovely and the cake was GONE. For me, though, the true highlight was seeing so many of my favorite people having such a great time. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience, and one I will cherish always. Thank you so much for coming and if you were not able, thanks for your thoughts and support. We will post a link to photos soon!!