I want a brother in law who does taxidermy and, presumably, creates animal dioramas. How cool!

Yes. I consider myself lucky. And I've had some luck with health, too. I function better than I did a decade ago 'though not at the level I would if I didn't have MS. New meds the last few years have changed my life.

the novel is so interesting, isn't it? So, so dark are those Scandinavians.

I agree with you that it's a more honest approach to eating meat 'though people in most urban areas couldn't participate in the killing and slaughtering unless we significantly relaxed sanitation codes:)

i love you. so funny.

my friend's very cool and science-y kid has been collecting animal corpses and skeletons for years (tossing road kill/animal corpse into a slow cooker and boiling the meat off—smells terrible) because he's interested in anatomy and physiology. He's the gentlest 12-year old you will ever meet. I think he'll be a…

butchering is brutal (esp. pigs). I was a vegetarian for years after being scarred by various childhood hunting experiences (and helping my grandpa out at a slaughterhouse). I think if more people saw what it's like to kills and butcher an animal, fewer of us would eat meat (or eat less).

growing up with a quasi-survivalist father, I ate squirrel, rabbit, turtle, rattlesnake, antelope, elk, deer, rabbit, possum, pheasant, duck, goose, buffalo, dove, goat, frog, quail, you name it.

My favorite line is, "when my mom's squirrel died . . . yeah, she had about 5 of them"

or the initial dick amputation way back when . . .

I gave my partner an out when I was diagnosed with a chronic illness, and he wouldn't take it. For five years, on the anniversary of the diagnosis, I'd ask him again, letting him know I wouldn't think any worse of him if he wanted to split up and pursue a relationship with someone in better health. He's always said,…

I've heard of this thing called "chore-play"; maybe you could use allowance-alingus (oral for shoe money).

ouch. so sorry to hear about your situation. hopefully, your heart is (mostly) healed.

Thanks. She was maddening in some ways, but the older I get, the more and more I appreciate her approach to parenting. I credit her for my willingness to try and do stuff I'm not that good at and take pleasure in struggle (I struggle a lot, with a lot of things). Thanks, Mom!

sorry:( I just added it to the Netflix queue (here's another sign I'm retro and unhip—I actually like getting the physical DVDs so I can listen to the extras and extract and edit clips).

hmmm. I'll have to watch this (I haven't seen it), but I liked Stuart Townsend in the little-seen remake of Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

I am saving a tiny piece of the world by taking good care of my dog, partner, and students. Does this count?

that's because lady brains are different (aren't they?)

Agreed. Don't know if you ever venture into Talkhouse, but here's a blog post about Roeg's film.

am curious. which TV/film portrayal of Dorian Gray do you like? are any good?