We watched The Replacement Killers a couple days ago. Fairly decent Jet Li / Mira Sorvino vehicle with above average cinematography and score. Really noteworthy in my mind because the script featured a male and female lead with -0- romantic tension. Some "you're a good friend and I'll miss that" sort of lingering in the last scene but nothing more. It wasn't a great script or plot, but it was very unusual in its lack of standard Hollywood gender tropes.
Refreshing. I'd like to see more movies like that, where roles aren't cast based on tropes.
I haven't used soap on my skin in two weeks (except for certain strategic areas, you know what I mean). I don't smell bad. I shower daily under hot water -- hot enough to soften skin oil -- and just gently rub and towel off. There's no buildup of grime. I haven't broken out. My skin seems happier and healthier. My dermatitis is healing well, except when I eat something that triggers a reaction which seems to result in almost uncontrollable scratching.
Why am I posting about this on LJ? It's either "hey look a guy posting about health problems" or "hey look a guy posting about angst". At least the health problems might get better!
When they say "the heartbreak of psoriasis", man, they're not kidding. I'm still trying to find the right dietary combination that will get this stuff to go away. At least it covers up under the winter season's long clothing. I hope it's under control when the summer comes or I'm going to "go hermit". On the upside, everything ELSE about my body is great; no aches, no sniffles, no colds, no flu, vision, hearing, digestion, it's all great. But my skin is a WRECK.
If you don't know what psoriasis is, don't google it; just take my word that it's a non-life threatening auto-immune skin condition that looks bad and involves a lot of itching.
Things are pretty good otherwise. I've been super annoyed with "social media" lately so my presence elsewhere is thin on the ground. Happy weekend!
We watched Cat People tonight. I'd watched bits of it a long time ago but never all the way through. Nastassia Kinski: still beautiful, still misspelt. Malcolm Macdowell: still creepy, still underappreciated. Giorgio Moroder: still synthy, still cheesy. 80s hair: worse than I remember. David Bowie's theme song: phoned in. Overall: pretty good, except for the last 10 minutes. I was hoping for a Greek Tragedy ending and instead I got Soap Opera.
Of five stars, I give it three.
Jack's always been a snorter. And wheezy. And he'll snore even when he's not asleep. So that's not a new thing. What was new was the gack sound, and the deeper purr, and the logyness. All these new things made my cat illness radar start pinging a week ago.
So I'm imagining the worst. The worst, in my world, would be a [redacted, we don't need to go into this]. So I get very little sleep for a few days trying to balance my cat-daddy paranoia against wanting to continue to observe him.
Complicating this: a deep dissatisfaction with their veterinary clinic (not named here) which through direct experience with several of their partners seeming to basically dislike cats as well as fairly aggressively overcharge and upsell. And not wanting to take him there again. And finding that the cat-only clinic in town is so booked up they wouldn't even see him for an emergency visit. So not only do I not want to take him to the old, bad vet, I have to pick a new vet out of a pool of also-rans: I can't have the best one in town. When the cat may be oh my god terminally ill with death growths.
Not getting much sleep, then.
I tweeted a call for vet recommendations and balanced what I got back against an online vet review service and came down to two choices with two personal recommendations and several positive reviews: Mitchell on Gage, and Beechmount on Erb. After fretting about it for hours I finally called Beechmount and got him an appointment the following morning (this morning). I chose them rather than Mitchell because they have fewer vets (just two): I want continuity of care and a more personal approach.
Still really antsy this morning, in fact fighting back tears in the car[share], which is absurd, but in my mind I'm going to have to make horrible decisions in scant moments and I just don't know if I can deal with it alone and .... okay, relax, you're all grown up, you don't weep before the bad news, you wait and see what happens. Pull up, park the car, grit teeth, hoist carrier, go in.
Okay so I am pretty sure I picked the right place because there are three "clinic cats" roaming around; two on the counter on soft beds, and one just sort of hanging out on the floor. (I checked websites to see if they were putting dogs or cats on the home page, both of them do.) And while Jack doesn't like all the noises from the big dog in the next exam room, the voice of a vet taking time to explain things over there is calming me down. So that's king of reassuring.
Eventually he comes in like ten minutes late and it's this older guy who clearly could have retired even a decade ago but is quite bright eyed and friendly. I might even say kindly. So I explain everything above, except my paranoid fears because really no one needs those, and he looks at Jack and opens his mouth and listens to him breathing (perfectly normally, of course) and he says something like this:
"At this time of year, we often get lots of patients who come in with some breathing trouble because of the change of seasons. If you look at his eyes, you can see they're rather watery. His conjunctiva are quite inflamed, as are his tonsils. The swallowing/gacking is almost certainly post nasal drip; cats don't get runny noses so all that goop runs down their throat. That he's not coughing or sneezing is good, as is the fact of his reasonable appetite. I'm pretty sure what you've got here is a cat who's a bit asthmatic. Which is exacerbated by his weight. Really if you look at his paws, they're not very big and while 14lbs isn't a dangerous weight for this guy, he's maybe a 9 or 10lb cat by design. So I'm thinking the allergic reaction, combined with the extra flesh on his neck and elsewhere, is what's causing his trouble."
And then he says something like this:
"Now we could do some xrays and poke and probe him and say 'hmmmm' and 'that's interesting' but I think all we really need to do right now is give him a course of mild steroids that will reduce the allergic reaction. If his symptoms get better with the pills, then we've figured out what the problem is."
Actually he took a long time to say it, explaining every bit of his assumptions and thoughts. And showing me the conjunctiva and tonsils -- I didn't know cats had tonsils but by golly there they were, angry puffy red grains of rice in his throat -- so I could see how he got to his diagnosis.
And then he took ten minutes to explain to me how to calculate just how much food to reduce his diet by so he will lose weight safely.
In point of fact, he talked to us (me and Jack) for about half an hour. Which I think may be twice as long as any other vet has ever talked to me ever, even the one who was trying to convince me that Dog was doomed because his liver was failing (we didn't believe her and managed to bring Dog back from the brink ourselves).
And then he took a few more minutes to give me good tips on feeding pills to cats, and gave me half a bag of pill sliders, which is a sort of chicken flavoured substance that you can wrap pills in that gets really slippery in their mouths so they swallow them without horking them up later.
So it seems we picked a good vet, who is pretty sure that Jack's difficulty is just simple allergies that can be treated by an occasional course of prednisone should they act up again.
Also the bill was less than I thought it would be.
So that part of my day was much, much, much, much better than I was expecting!
Scale this morning said 199.4
This morning was the first time in probably thirty years that the first digit on the scale wasn't 2 or 3. I don't often weigh myself but all my Large Tall t-shirts are hanging on me rather awkwardly and I wanted an explanation. And there it was. I've been 220-ish for most of the past ten years, including last year's "crap my t-shirts are ugly I should buy some new ones" phase. Dammit.
I haven't been trying to lose weight. But the my allergy-restricted diet is really short on carbohydrates (except for the sweets I have in moderation) so it is only natural that my body is trending towards a lean equilibrium.
My winter jacket looks almost silly on me; I wore it today for the chilly rain we're having.
So, huh.
Mostly for my own reference, but also as something that can be pointed to when necessary, my dietary restrictions:
Definitely bad:
* Glutinous cereals. Includes wheat, rye, oat, barley, kamut, spelt.
* Nightshades. Includes tomatos and siblings, eggplants, potatoes, sweet & hot peppers, cayenne.
* Brassicaceae. Includes broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, cabbage, turnips, kale, rape (canola oil), mustard greens (but the seeds seem to be okay).
* Apples, pears and other pomes (rose family fruits).
Probably bad:
* Celery, carrots and related, except in small quantities e.g. dill-flavoured pickles or.
* Citrus fruits, even as a natural flavour in candies, seemingly.
* Wildflower honey could be a problem (don't eat that you don't know where it's bee'n).
Maybe bad (to be retested):
* Bacon (most likely to be a mistake)
* Eggs (probably a mistake)
* True nuts & peanuts (an early elimination to be retested).
* Aliums. Includes onion, garlic, leek. (Often accompanies nightshades so kind of circumstantial.)
* Olives. (I was originally suspecting the skin problems were due to the olive-oil soap.)
* Coconut. (Seems unlikely but just in case, until the skin condition is under control.)
Okay as far as I know:
* Fresh and preserved meats. (Provided no "contaminants" from my restricted list.)
* Milk & derivatives such as cheese, cream.
* Grains & pseudograins: rice, corn, sorghum, millet, amaranth, quinoa.
* Beans, including soy. (Mind the vapours.)
* Fresh and preserved fruits, including stone fruit. (Except as noted above.)
* Everything else not listed.
The reactions I get vary from sudden onset sneezing/runny nose, overly quick/loose digestion, or inflammation of the psoriasis spots I have on my back that get pissed off after a day or two. (My goal is to keep these spots from being inflamed without needing to apply the prescription steroidal cream on a daily basis. We're getting there slowly.)
This is why I haven't eaten at a restaurant, except an ice cream parlour, in months. And why if I come to your party/gathering/shindig/catered event I probably won't eat anything except cheese.
You know on the other hand, not eating all that stuff has some benefits besides the enormous savings of never dining out. I have no joint pain any longer, and my night vision is just fantastic.
I try and maintain a positive outlook. And I really do love cheese!
Spent all of the weekend (22 hours total) in an intensive motorcycle training course following by a written and riding test, the outcome of which in a month (due to vagaries of provincial licensing bureaucracy) I'll be admitted into the second tier of motorcycle driver licensing in Ontario.
I don't own a scooter or motorbike, and won't for some time (2012 at the earliest), but getting the training & license is a bucket item I can now strike. Getting the final upgrade into the full license tier will be some time in 2013-2016 after the mandated skill ripening time, and an intense road test.
Every generation has a story told to it when it's a little thing still playing in the nursery. That story becomes the dream of the adolescents. It becomes the aspiration of the graduates, the goal of the mid-career worker, and but for a successful few, the regret of the elderly.
( Read more... )
When green leafy things start growing out of pressure-treated lumber...
Our deck was installed, under a previous homeowner's watch, by idiots. There is no gap between the deck boards. This means that water pools on the deck rather than draining between. Which means, as mentioned above, rot. One board was rotten enough to be soft to the touch, two more were "step on this and you'll fall through".
I pried these boards out in disintegrating chunks yesterday, snarling at the choice of the previous builder to use 20d galvanized spiral nails, three per joist, to fasten them down. While it is true that the boards were sure as hell not going to lift on their own, it is also true that removing those nails was associated with a hell of a lot of swearing, sweating, and application of gross force. And in a couple cases, some "fuck it" hammering down.
The joists, 2x12 PT on 16" centers, are in very good shape. That's a relief, as we didn't have to just scrap the entire deck. It won't look awesome with a lot of old dingy boards and three new ones, but it will much less expensive than a new deck, and much more useful than no deck at all.
One of our "grab a carshare and do stuff" errands yesterday afternoon was to pick up some replacement deck boards and associated 1x2 edge moulding. We used the carshare's wagon with fold-down seats to pull into the Home Hardware lumber shed and obtained three replacement boards at 2x6x14' pressure treated to match what I pulled out. They fit reasonably well in the wagon, with a redflagged overhang. It's nice to have a variety of carshare vehicles to choose from. (The carshare's next vehicle will apparently be either a cargo van or a pickup. I bet it gets heavy use.)
I blithely forgot to pick up deck screws when we got the lumber, so after dropping things off at home and returning the car, I just walked back to the hardware store and bought a pound of green 9x3, then walked home.
This morning I cut off the short excess and hammered -- bashed, really -- the new boards into the spots where the old ones were. The fit was that tight. Then I screwed them down with one of my favourite tools, a screwgun with a depth-sensitive clutch.
Sadly, I didn't have any appropriate nails in stock to fasten the new edge moulding down, so that'll have to wait for another day, but it's just the work of a few minutes. Right now, at least, the deck is safe again. I also ran out of screws, but I mostly got everything fastened down and it will be just a dozen more to finish the job.
To keep any more boards from rotting, I'm going to run a circular saw with a wide blade down the deck between the boards so there's proper drainage. I'll devise some sort of jig that makes it easy to just follow the groove along the length of the deck so the cut will be nice and straight.
It feels good to do some "nest work" on the house. Still not sure if we're staying in it for the long haul, but making sure things are in good repair is necessary no matter what happens next.
What have you been working on lately, journal?
I find myself with occasional tears in contemplation of the death of Brett Summers of talk.bizarre.
I knew Brett not at all in person, though of late we'd built up a mutually pleasing acquaintance through LJ/FB. I wanted it to go further: to visit him, to have him visit. To talk with him at length, to make music, to share art. To parley with him on matters of consciousness and reality.
But more than anything, I wanted to him to keep writing the chapters of a life story of someone who knew what to do with the time he is given.
Over the past year he seemed to have turned a corner, been making changes, finding successes, being optimistic again, crafting an environment full of friends and love that would help him keep the demons at bay while still allowing him to harken to the calls of his angels.
But the book of his life has ended, terribly soon, and there will be no second edition.
These are selfishly indulgent thoughts of what might have been; mordant, almost pathetic.
And yet I weep without shame.
He struck me, ultimately, as someone who embraced life with less fear than most. So he got hurt more than most. He dealt with that pain in ways that slowly killed him. But with that pain came great joys and vibrant experiences. I'm reminded of Roy Batty in the rain.
Notwithstanding the damage he did to himself, I think the lesson Brett has for the rest of us is one of enthusiasm: take the life you are given and live the hell out of it.
...
Brett's musical voice continues to speak; here is his Sound Cloud account.
From the Secret Garden series....
Rippled
Click on the image for print info.
This is the last image in the Secret Garden series. I hope you've enjoyed it!
You can review all of the images at my gallery site.
From the Secret Garden series....
Stricture
Click on the image for print info.
From the Secret Garden series....
Curl
Click on the image for print info.
From the Secret Garden series....
Vines
Click on the image for print info.
From the Secret Garden series....
Morning Mists
Click on the image for print info.
From the Secret Garden series....
Molten
Click on the image for print pricing.
From the Secret Garden series....
Haze
Click on the image for print pricing.
From the Secret Garden series....
Blush
You've seen the "prints available" blurb like thirty times so I'll spare everyone the visual noise. Click on the image for pricing, etc!
From the Secret Garden series....
Layers
The remaining prints in this series are all 3:4 ratio rectangles.
Prints Available
All of the Secret Garden prints are available in several different sizes, including a very small open edition that is a good "accent". Larger prints are all limited edition up to the largest size print which is a monoprint -- only one will be made at that size. Prices vary with size of the print and edition size.
Acrylic Facemount Technique
These prints are all created using the acrylic facemount method that mounts the printed side of the image to the back of a crystal clear acrylic sheet. It's a brilliant, innovative and very contemporary style that really sets off these prints to their best. Learn more about facemount prints.
From the Secret Garden series....
Teasel
And the rectangular version...
Prints Available
All of the Secret Garden prints are available in several different sizes, including a very small open edition that is a good "accent". Larger prints are all limited edition up to the largest size print which is a monoprint -- only one will be made at that size. Prices vary with size of the print and edition size.
Acrylic Facemount Technique
These prints are all created using the acrylic facemount method that mounts the printed side of the image to the back of a crystal clear acrylic sheet. It's a brilliant, innovative and very contemporary style that really sets off these prints to their best. Learn more about facemount prints.
From the Secret Garden series....
Teasel
And the rectangular version...
Prints Available
All of the Secret Garden prints are available in several different sizes, including a very small open edition that is a good "accent". Larger prints are all limited edition up to the largest size print which is a monoprint -- only one will be made at that size. Prices vary with size of the print and edition size.
Acrylic Facemount Technique
These prints are all created using the acrylic facemount method that mounts the printed side of the image to the back of a crystal clear acrylic sheet. It's a brilliant, innovative and very contemporary style that really sets off these prints to their best. Learn more about facemount prints.
From the Secret Garden series....
Reeds
And the rectangular version...
Prints Available
All of the Secret Garden prints are available in several different sizes, including a very small open edition that is a good "accent". Larger prints are all limited edition up to the largest size print which is a monoprint -- only one will be made at that size. Prices vary with size of the print and edition size.
Acrylic Facemount Technique
These prints are all created using the acrylic facemount method that mounts the printed side of the image to the back of a crystal clear acrylic sheet. It's a brilliant, innovative and very contemporary style that really sets off these prints to their best. Learn more about facemount prints.
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