I have not written a Family Life Update in many months, and in that time, Kai went from a barely-talking toddler to a very-much-talking small kid with a TON of personality. I wrote down so many little snippets over the past eight months because when a child of mine is Kai’s age (now 2.5), I get A. dumbfounded by the cuteness, and B. I don’t have to worry about embarrassing him by writing down what he says. It doesn’t hurt that Kai is by far my healthiest and happiest offspring at the age of two (see Vitamin A Detox Diet Theories for more on why that might be so).

First, in honor of the few generous readers who don’t know me personally, a quick round of Two Truths and a Lie:

A. I didn’t vote for Trump.
B. I don’t ever plan to vote for Trump.
C. I think most people who voted for Trump are fascist, uneducated white supremacists, since there aren’t many other reasons for voting that way.

Part 1

“No pure form of totalitarian government has ever existed.”
— Anonymous Commenter on Quora.com

“When dividing a pie, first determine your fair share. Then, take less.”
— My mother

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Our road trip by the numbers:
13 - Days we were gone.
43 - Dear people we visited.
6 - Blueberry bushes delivered in pairs to garden beds in Maine, Arlington, and Northampton.
1742 - Miles Traveled, Approximately.
162 - Pounds of apples (mostly Winecrisp and Mutsu) picked in Ithaca.
4 - Enormous pumpkins purchased locally in Ithaca.
7 - Bags of awesome hand-me-downs received.
A Very Lot More - Amount of Total Stuff we returned home with as compared with how much we had when we left.

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September 14, 2022

To Whom it May Concern:

When I was a teenager, I didn’t realize that my epiphany was already a cliche: “Being a good friend means that you support someone when they’re having a hard time!”

Later, I thought it was sophisticated when a friend pointed out: “It’s obvious when someone’s crying that they need our support; but a good friend can laugh with you, too!” I updated my friendship ideology accordingly.

At the same time, being a Grown Up in our modern world was making clear something more mundane: a good friend can handle it when you disagree.

Toward a Sane Conversation About Science, Morality, and Why We All Should Care
By Sarabeth Matilsky

When people tell me that Things Are Back to Normal and Covid Is Over, I find this interesting. It’s a mildly valid perspective: it’s not like the insanity illustrated by the covid response is anything really new under the sun, and so one might conclude that the past two years were simply an acceleration of all that was already underway. …And now, on to the next thing!

What follows is a conversation between Michael Kane, grassroots organizer with Children’s Health Defense, Dr. Pierre Kory, and Dr. Paul Marik, who are discussing a new treatment protocol for the vaccine injured, sponsored by the Frontline Covid Critical Care alliance.

[Opinions expressed in this conversation are those of the individuals, and are not intended to diagnose or treat any disease, nor do they represent the views of the Children’s Health Defense. Interviews have been lightly edited for clarity.]

This weekend, I fell down a rabbit hole while investigating some economic theory. After listening to and reading the words of various pedantic and patronizing Money People, along with some depressing and non-patronizing ones, I found this conversation on “environmentalism” to be way more interesting, intelligent, and relevant to current policy rhetoric. I was struck by the similarities between the covid and climate change narratives.

(Peaceful Rally Against Mandates TODAY, April 28 at 11 AM, at the screen actors guild in Los Angeles.)

Voices from the stage and screen:
Aimee Villella McBride, interviewer
Heather Berman - dancer and actor from NYC, SAG-AFTRA member
Peter Antico - film maker, executive, SAG-AFTRA member