The Natural Habitats of Brittus Canadensis. Part un.

I see that Matt is kicking our collective virtual butts so I thought I'd better post something. As I have mentioned before, I sometimes find it fruitful to think of my wife as some sort of wild beast and, in fact, she shares many traits with wild beasts. Along with excessive consumption of nearly raw red meat, one trait in she shares is a natural inclination to loiter about in certain locales conducting whatever business she gets up to. I thought I would try to capture images of her in her natural habitat and discuss them so that Chris, Keiko and Katie, who have never had a chance to spend much time with her, can get a better image. So.
1) The Den.* You may have to peer closely at this picture but if you focus your efforts you'll be rewarded by a rare glimpse of Britt sleeping in her den. This is Britt's favorite habitat. Here she recharges for day of prowling, wanton slaughter and blatant use of French. Though the scene may look peaceful and calm, you are almost certainly in mortal peril if you are actually in this room. Much like Ursus Horribilis Britt can be vicious and foul-tempered if woken suddenly. Even under the best of circumstances, the morning temper that best describe Britt is "sullen and in dire need of silence and coffee". Not unlike Dad, really. Once actually asleep however, and if treated with care, Britt can be a surprisingly warm creature. She instinctively moves toward warmth, however plump and hairy it may be, and will engage what I like to call "The Anaconda" approach to sharing the bed. This will last until a requisite degree of bed warmth has been attained whereupon she will cast off the source of warmth, leap high into the air and rotate on her axis, coming down face first to spend the rest of her sleep in a face down position commonly found in day care centers.
2) The Couch.** This is perhaps Britt's second favorite place to habitate. Here engage in most of her end of the day activities. These can range from watching movies, to reading, to gazing adoringly at her dashingly handsome and multitalented husband as he prepares food on a level normally only found in the palaces of the oldest royal families. Here we see her reading some books in preparation for class. Note the distracted gnawing at the writing implement. Even when relaxed and fully awake, B. Canadensis radiates an air of casual violence. One shudders at the fate she has in store for her "students". Note the fluffy pig under her book. This is actually a hot water bottle that Britt clings to as if were a life raft. Courtesy of Matt and Keiko.
Of the other two habitats, one should be fairly easy to enter and photograph. This is the office, where B. Canadensis engages in much of her professional activity. The other, The Salon, is far more difficult to gain entry to. Capturing an image of Britt while in the Salon proper can invoke consequences even more dire than those of the Den images. I'll do my best.

* Special thanks goes out to the photographer. Literally seconds after the shutter sounded, B. Canadensis sprang from the covers, mauled the unfortunate boy and then dove back into the safety of the bed and began loudly demanding coffee. The intrepid photographer is in the critical conditions at St. Mary's. Considering the way things turned out, I wish he'd gone ahead and thrown caution to the wind and use the flash.
** This photographer survived. However it was implied that perhaps he was having a bit too much fun with the digital camera and would soon have it taken away.

Kindergarten Festival Day

Today was the school festival at Ema's kindergarten. Here are some photos.

We arrived a little after the gates opened, and Ema struck a few boxing poses for the camera in fromt of the school clock.

Ema took me to her classroom, decorated with paper cakes, candies, a house made of snack containers, and of course lots of crafts and pictures all over the place.

Including this one by Ema. She told me the disembodied head beaming down from over the princess's shoulder is me. Lately she's moved on a little from the fairie princess drawings, at least at home, so this one may be from a while ago.

Wandering around with Mommy.

Keiko had to go work one of the booths, so Ema and I stopped for juice and a tiny cup of coffee. The coffee was a total gip, hardly even a mouthful, and I was totally surrounded by three to six year olds who couldn't even finish their huge juice boxes. That really chapped.

Then upstairs, and into the Bouncy Castle. They wouldn't let me in. They'll pay. They'll pay.

See how much fun I would have been having? Oh, I'll have my fun, though. Just waiting for the perfect moment.

Next a bit of bowling. Ema made the spare, and...

got this cool medal and a piece of candy. But I didn't get a damned thing, for which someone will be heartily sorry, oh yes they will.

Another game I was not allowed to play. There were prizes. I didn't get one. Ema did, so I stole it from her. It's a little teddy bear. I named him Irving. It's a cool name, even though it's an anagram for virgin, which is kind of stupid.

A quick stop for cotton candy. Guess who didn't get any. Yep.

Looks good, doesn't it? But then, how the hell would I know? The halls will echo...

Then into the craft room to make this really cool origami shuriken, a folded paper ninja weapon that I was not actually invited to make myself, though I stood right there next to Ema with hope brimming on my face.

Then it was time for everyone but the Fat Man to make these awesome helicopter boomerangs out of paper cups and little cutout stars and stuff. I started to make one, but that chick in the blue striped shirt shot me one hell of a look. Whatever. Just biding my time.

And finally, we swung into this crazy room where all these craft objects were on display. There were tons of them, but do you think it's cool to just pick one you like and walk out with it? I'll tell you frankly, it's apparently not cool.

Anyway, that was the kindergarten festival. Lots of fun for some. Ema had a blast. Other people (and I won't name names) were just there to be nasty to the older, hairier kids. But you know, life has a funny way of coming full circle on you, like a wounded water buffalo with a list of parental addresses and phone numbers. See me coming? Don't think so, suckers.

Driving Miss Gail

Hello Guys and Gals,

Today I decided to escape the wee rut I’ve been in and so did a quick workout to Bonnie Tyler and got into Big Red and headed South. I was headed for Wickenburg, but forgot how far it is and after 40 miles decided to turn around at Yarnell after procuring some bad coffee and strange sweet from a bakery and take out barbecue for a stop along the road somewhere. I listened to Sirius Love in the car and as the mountains unfolded into rolling high mountain valleys I slowly relaxed. That’s what road trips do for me. I remember Matt coming to Prescott one time and asking if he could have the car for a solitary drive. And I so understood that. An open ribbon of high way, mountains, clouds, cows, horses, donkeys, hawks –I love it. I even discovered the name of a bird I’ve been seeing around of late by talking with the owners of a little gift shop in Yarnell—Western Meadowlark. Cool looking birds with a black v over bright yellow breasts.

As you can see the winter trees have a rather stark lonely look. Most of them are cottonwoods and they are magnificent in summer. Most of these pictures are out in Skull Valley which supposedly got its name from a massacre of the Yavapai tribe by a tribe down in the Phoenix area that followed the Yavapai from the Phoenix area all the way back to Skull Valley after the Yavapai had betrayed their good will. Egad what an awful sentence.

Just as I was about 4 miles outside the city limits of Prescott a javalina bolted out in front of me. Fortunately he was booking and I was dawdling and with quick braking he managed to survive another day. Unfortunately a pal of his I saw at the side of the road a few hundred yards further along did not.

It was a pleasant outing –a great big huge circle of 90 miles circumference with a tail out to one side. Ahhh a Q. Yep that’s exactly what it was.

Awaiting shapewear for my next installment.

Love you all,

Matriarch

Drizzling

Well, I thought I was going to get Andrew out here for spring break, but his time here would overlap with workdays for me, and he can stay longer if he comes in the summer, so summer it is. It'll be hot, but that's what beer and surprise buckets of ice water coming out of nowhere are for.

It's become the weirdest part of the working year. The tenth graders I teach have left for Australia, and the twelfth graders completely done with classes. The rest of the girls have, in their minds, already finished the year, so the fact that there are still several weeks of classes is just incredibly unfair.

Not a lot going on at the moment. I love karaoke, and believe that if the leaders of the world would team up for a rendition of 'Wichita Lineman' we'd all be a lot safer. But that won't happen, and I blame the Sikhs.

We went to Iwakuni today, with an old friend of Keiko's, and to the restaurant Sanzoku. I think you've all been, even mom and dad, so I won't spend a lot of time yammering about it. It was drizzling a bit when we got to Sanzoku, so we sat inside to eat. I'll put up some pictures from today. Anyone wanting me to add photos of the mysterious white snakes of the Nishiki River Valley, just ask.

Anybody Else Out There Smell Cheese?

I just love writing that. Chris, sorry to hear about your internet fun being curtailed. Dad, sorry to hear about the snow, I guess, but I love snow so I don't feel that sorry. Go make a snow angel.

Mom, my voice may not be on that site much longer. That was a really impromptu off the cuff thing, and it's getting a bit more focused now. I think it's going in all the wrong directions, but I've said as much several times now and the young guy who has hijacked the project doesn't seem to be listening, so I'm thinking now I'll just play the good freelancer and take my paychecks until the whole thing goes belly up. Naw, I'll push it once or twice more, I guess.

Not a whole lot going on here. Was amazed by the Power Yoga revelations, and the photo of Andrew on his very own Journey to Power. When I was in the UAE, Chris didn't share that book with me, or tell me anything that was going to 'change my life.' But looking back now I recall that, although Chris was still swaybacked and splayfooted, arranging his tummy fussily on his knees when he sat down to breathe heavily with that strange fluting sound he makes, that there was something, I don't know, different about him. I said as much to Keiko, and she agreed. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Keiko, have you noticed anything, well, different about Chrissums?

Keiko: You mean his Aura of Power?

Me: Well, I hadn't thought of it in precisely that way, but yes, I think that is what I mean.

Keiko: Yes, he is very round, and his thighs protest audibly when he walks, but...

Me: But despite that, there's something almost...

Keiko: Oceanic?

Matt: Mmmm, not graceful, but almost gracelike.

Keiko: Yes, I have seen it too. He is heavy in a light way.

Matt: It's as if he'd been on some sort of unfathomable Journey.

Keiko: Isn't everyone?

Matt: Well, yes, but not everyone is on A Journey To Power!

Keiko: Wow, when you spoke those words the air around you shimmered through the manifold hues of the double rainbow of Mahasthamaprapta.

Matt: Hold me. I'm frightened.

Keiko: Whatever.

Anyway, it was something like that. I think. Maybe not. Mmmm, shawarmas.

Somebody needs to come to Japan. Who will it be?

GENDER DIFFERENTIATED CHORES

Several people have asked me about sort of daily life in this place. Most of mine is spent dealing with government forms, inane faculty ego trips, and assorted other fun things. But of course that's not true of everyone. There are people here with regular lives, and with household chores.

One of the things that strikes me in fact is how much like the sort of normal stuff I remember as a kid goes on. Now I am not saying I had to fetch water from a village well like these little girls are doing or herd the animals to market like the boy below -- although I did walk 8 miles to school through raging hurricanes, uphill. Carrying my canoe for the trip home. in 100 degree heat. but that's another posting -- but if I had, then the differentiation of chores would probably have been very much the same as these kids have.

The younger male persons reading these postings were not raised this way, of course. For a great many reasons having to do with the wisdom and thoughtfulness of their parents, chores were distributed on a gender-neutral basis. Wood was chopped and large parcels hauled, to be sure, but floors were swept (well, occasionally) and meals cooked as well. I wonder if the daughters-in-law in the audience are fully appreciative of the effort and constant criticism form neighbors, family, and friends we endured in preparing these paragons among husbandry for their present places in the scheme of things?

We expect no reward! We demand no special services! But the occasional letter or email? Would it kill you to say hello every once in a while? Oh sorry, yet another post. No! No Rewards! But you do realize your old folks are piling up anniversaries at an astonishing rate, right? And that we are approaching one in a very few years that has lots of numbers in it, right? If someone(s) thought of doing something exceedingly special in recognition of that fact it would, I think, not be remiss.

Meanwhile we shall hum merrily along, waiting for more pictures of the brood to materialize. I do note with interest that Andrew has appeared a number of times, Matt once, and even Keiko once (after some badgering on my part, of course) but that we have no photos of Britt or Katie as yet. For shame!

National Geographic Goes to India!!!

Not long before I left the UAE I was visiting Chris in his apartment and he showed me a book that he claimed was going to "change my life". On the cover was a man doing a far better job at this pose, the "crow" pose than I am in this picture. The book was by a man with the unlikely name of Baron Baptiste and was named Journey into Power!!
I smiled and nodded and spent an agreeable afternoon imagining Chris contemplating his navel and didn't really think about the book for a long time.
Then, recently I began my Health Odyssey. I've been running and lifting for a few weeks now and it's been feeling great but I knew something was missing. According to finest physiological minds that Google has to offer, the third leg in any truly complete health Triad should include some stretching. I figured I'd look into power yoga which does plenty of stretching and adds some strength training along with it, and that's when I remembered Chris' book, which we happen to have in one of our enormous, temple-like libraries. I've been getting into it bit by bit for the last week and it really is actually nice. The stretching feels great and I actually feel like I'm getting a real workout, especially when I go through the whole 90 minute routine.
There is one problem however. Look carefully at the picture above and then mentally remove the subject and place him in a standard Big Ten college gymnasium ( now called health centers or RecFacs by the cool, irritatingly healthy kids). These gymnasiums admittedly have a broad array of people but the population is definately weighted toward hip hot 18-22 year olds who need every opportunity they can get to cling to the last shreds of innocence that they have. Even if you added a shirt to the above picture to help that process along, the mental and emotional scarring that would ensue dictates that I do my workout in the computer room, usually with the blinds down. I just thought that since the relatively suave picture of me lounging 007 style by the GC drew some pot shots, I'd really give my brothers something to enjoy. Until next time, Namaste.
A N Mangham Arch Yoga-ista

Duet for Two

Hello Me Darlings.

First I admit right out off that writing this is just an act of procrastination pure and simple. I have to write the script for a 2 hour how with all lighting cues, crew movement, plus organize the reception prior to show, the dance following the show, the concessions, the ticket sales, the ad sales, the program design, the ushers, writing articles for various publications, appear on 3 radio and 1 tv show, learn my lines, find $1500 more to cover expenses, call all artists and determine what they need, tell them how long they can perform and organize the rehearsal schedule.
I’m particularly sensitive to all this because last night I saw Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker of LA Law fame do their two person show and how challenging that was and they had a professional sound and lighting person there, but they still had to deal with the our ageing systems and this was just two actors and two musicians on stage.

By the way they had put together a show called Life is a Duet for Two that was really quite lovely. While I was ushering in the lobby a couple who had driven about 75 miles from a little town in Strawberry AZ walked up to me with a bottle of wine and card for Jill and Michael. It seems that in the pas year the two actors bought a place in Umbria Italy and these two people who also own a place nearby met them and became friends.

Their show began with a well know show tune sung in Italian and the making of a large subway that M. shared with some audience members.

It was a lovely evening all in all though fraught with tensions of the producer because only about 200 seats sold and discovered in the space of 48 hours all the problems of presenting at The Elks Opera House and wants a conference call with me and fellow board member Elisabeth. I tried to suggest that he would want a city of Prescott employee in on the conference call as our mandate was clearly defined a limited to fundraising for restoration and nothing else. He was not deterred assuming I think that E. and I have influence—an assumption I fear is woefully unwarranted—at least in my case.

Well luvs it is 8 degrees F. this am and I am going to get on with more procrastination through the form of domestic chores and working out and THEN I shall tackle the real work at hand.

PS just discovered while getting this pic of the two actors that Jill and I are the same age.

I love you all,
The Matriarch

Testing

Hello Everyone,

Il Papa spent what I know was a frustrating time trying to help the Matriarch figure out why she could not post pictures. It seems it can't be done through Netscape, so I am trying it on Explorer.

If a picture shows up below then I guess I've figured it out. I love you all. Well I see I still don't quite have it correct. But will try again another time. I love you all. Matriarch

Fourth Birthday!

Well, yesterday Ema became a four year old, which is a relief. She's big for a Japanese kid, and it was getting to be a real effort for people to keep the shock from registering on their faces when she said she was three. Maybe four will be a little more plausible, at least for the next few months till she's able to look some of the local old ladies straight in the eyes.

Mom, the phonics material looks great, and it all works on our equipment. I'll have her reading by her fifth birthday, and writing perfect pantoums and sestinas by her sixth.

She finally started feeling a little better about her birthday, and she asked one of Keiko's friends to come over. Sort of an aunt figure, I guess. She told Keiko she didn't want to grow up because shaving your legs looks like it hurts. I agree.

Bad news is that we just killed her hamster, Apple. The room got too cold, I think. I've told Ema that Apple is taking a long nap, and one of us will try to slip out and get an identical rodent before the 'long nap' scenario starts to strain even four year old credulity.

Suddenly busy again. Holidays are over. Of course, half the students I teach will disappear for either college or Australia in about two weeks. I'm putting up a few pictures.

Is it just me, or does this blog seem to have taken on a heavily food-oriented bias? Not to be outdone I include herewith a picture of the sideboard for "Christmas in Kabul" in preparation. There were of course several other dishes and a number of other things on the table -- tinned cranberry sauce, quince jelly, and so on. And none of it, needless to say, contained Spelt, Flax Seed, or other foodsubsitute items. And you guys always wondered why I secreted away ginger snaps and fig bars! I hesitate to wonder aloud why, exactly, the fixation in food. None of us appears to be terribly underfed!

Ah well. I am able to post this morning because of one of the phenomena of life in Afghanistan. The office is powered by a generator (actually there are three -- a primary, a back-up, and a teeny one to keep the computer room running at night). Everything was good. Until it got cold. And by cold, what I mean is that it has not reached 0 degrees (celsius) day or night in a couple of weeks. Of course one of the things that happened was that electrical heaters sprouted like mushrooms in the offices of the HEP. So far, okay, except..... Apparantly when the generators were sized and installed, the load calculations were based on June's weather conditions! So I am at the residence this morning while the generator folk come in to split circuits, move things around, and so on in hopes of dealing with small problems like dim lights, straining computers, and so on. One of the things I will quite enjoy on leaving here is the prospect of flipping a switch and having the glow of lights instantly at hand, without crossing my fingers and holding my breath every time! The other is working toilets, but let's not go there.

Matthew, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for having this idea. Food fixations aside, this is very nice. More photos of Ema please, and in the next batch kneel down and shoot upwards so we get the REST of Keiko in the picture!

Matriarch Debut

Well Il Papa (I do like that.) and Offspring, the bar has been set high and I did not expect less from all of you.

First let me say I want to eat at Andrew's house. Waking up to baguettes and brie sounds like heaven to me especially if accompanied by fab coffee. But alas I will stick to my rather strange but tasty and healthy bisocotti composed of spelt, flax meal, egg whites, choppied prunes and candied ginger, ground almonds, ground dark chocolate powder, orange juice and mooshed together and baked slowly, then cut into slices and baked again. Goes great with the morning coffee.

And on another culinary note I made a killer roast today. Peppered and garliced the meat, drenched in spelt flour, heated olive oil til hot, quickly seared the meat. Added a bit of water to iron pot and 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar, covered and cooked 2 1/2 hours in a 325 or so oven. Really delish.

I'm mostly spending my days running around begging for money in some form or another--cash from a real estate companies, banks, overnight stays at the Grand Canyon, biscotti from Costco, books from Barnes and Noble, ads, ads and more ads. I've raised about $4000 but need about two more. Got a haircut today and asked them to buy an ad and they agreed. I've begun to have no shame and No Fear.

Missing Picture

The other day I was driving back home down Prescott Lakes Parkway which at one point gives a view all the way to the San Francisco peaks and when I trundled over the hill I gasped at the scene before me. The mountains and hills and valleys were quite literally pink, pink with shadings of mauve to deep purple. It was so stunning I found I was holding my breath and wanted the car to hold as well so that I could drink it in, but alas people behind me would probably have not liked my stopping dead in the middle of the road to gape slack jawed at the wonders of an Arizona sunset. It's nice to be reminded in such a lovely way why I wanted to return to this part of the world.

The attached pic is not the sunset in question but one the Harpers and I chased up a hill to capture at Thanksgiving.

Missing Picture (Helllpppp!!!)
And the other picture is of course Number Three son bravely leaning against a bar with the majesty of the Grand Canyon behind him. What fun we had and to think I got to see all my sons in the space of just a few months. What a gift!!



And thus ends my first posting. Now if I can only publish it.

Well no luck with inserting photos. I'm really bummed.

I love you all,

Kitten, Mom, Nana, Gail
The Matriarch

How I Trick Britt Into Eating Vegetables

Not that many of you guys have had the chance to spend a lot of time around Britt, so you may not be aware that she is one of the most dangerous carnivores on earth. Entire herds of Alberta Cattle will faint dead away if they hear her name. Since this is the case, and since I am largely the one responsible for cooking in this particular slice of the family, it is incumbent on me to make sure the woman gets a reasonable amount of healthy carbohydrates and fiber. So admire the picture to above. Stuffed Peppers. If you look carefully at the artfully uncovered pepper in the lower left corner it looks like the pepper is almost entirely stuffed with meat.
Not So!
The predominant components of this meal are spinach, brown rice, green peas, zucchini and natures most precious herb: parsley. And yet she will tuck in thinking that she's gleefully destroying another Cow Family. Especially when it's smothered in delicious (Non-Fat!) yogurt sauce.

MUUUUWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!


At some point here I will have to post something other than a note about Britt's eating habits or she will *kill* me. Maybe next time I'll write about the scheme I'm developing to grow a bone-like amorphous material over steel implants so that they will be more readily accepted by the human body. And so we can make super soldiers. And tanks covered in bone. Wouldn't that freak you out?

boring old real name and all

I'm with dad, I'll have to find some flashy new name to work with this. I have no exciting or giggly things to say this morning. I just wanted to try this out. It's a very cool idea Matt, thanks. SOmetimes I feel pretty far away. Some notes:

Christmas was fun, thanks for all the goodies. The punching bag and ampanman ball are faves, and Kate uses here duck bag every day-it's the perfect size and shape for her work book bag. She really needed one.
Jack Black is my hero. I have seen more of this tenacious D stuff around, there must be a movie coming out. he is AWESOME and deserves our ADORATION. There are still scenes from school of rock where a facial expression or sentence has me rolling.
Speaking of rolling, I just say Borat. I don't know if any of you has seen this yet but-DAMN!!! It is the single most offensive and hilriaous thing I have ever seen. I have seen this guy before because of his British 'Ali G' show - also really funny and Borat started there as a side skit. I honestly couldn't believe soem of the stuf he was filming, and it's not easy to shock me with movie stuff. Recommend it- but you might hate it.

Well I am off to work now. More on that Fiasc-itic Comedy Adventure Later. Now it's up to Mom to post and we'll mostly be there. Is K-bone going to tell us a story?

BlogNameContest

Okay, clearly I have to get a better name for this thing. Da Matriarch? Arch-Chemist? K-Bone? sheesh. So for the least offensive to me and coolest sounding suggestion, I offer .... what? Remission of interest on all past loans from the first bank of dad? Not to worry-you think of the name I'll think of a prize.

Meanwhile let me just say that the remnants of Brie and Baquette look pretty tasty to me, as do the battered pork chops! Pork! YUM. And the cook is the best looking thing I've seen lately, I must say. Hiya Ema Girl.

More later, just thought I'd add in a photo of my favorite college chemistry storeroom. Located in scenic downtown Kandahar this fine facility includes several aging bottles of powdered materials labelled on Cyrillic along with the bottles of acid shown arranged along the back of the table. Note the use of paper towels as stoppers in the Hydrochloric and Sulfuric bottles.

And for those requiring some degree of assistance thinking of something, let me add one more picture that might spark your memory of dear old dad.

Snow in Hiroshima!

Well, not a lot of snow, but enough to scrape together for a modest snowman. Ema can sing mostof Frosty the Snowman now, and she was pretty happy to put this little guy together.

A lazy day, with classes starting again on Tuesday. Ema is saying that she doesn't want to have a birthday party, thatin fact she doesn't want to turn four at all. This is because she knows that she'll be back in kindergarten for her fourth birthday, and she doesn't want to go. She has lots of friends, and she always seems to enjoy her time there, even telling Keiko she doesn't want to go home at the end of the day, but for some reason the actual going is really stressful for her. So she's decided that by indefinitely forestalling turning four, she can also avoid going back to school when the winter holiday is over.

Anyway, the photo below is in the kitchen, making tonkatsu, or batter-fried pork chops. Healthiest diet in the world, here. I will occasionally post things other than news and pics of Ema, but frankly she's usually the big story around here.

Tenacious D

I know exactly how geeky it is to post a youtube video to a blog, but really, wouldn't we all like to be Jack Black for a day? Chris, ever seen this before?

Though She Mocks Me......

To the left you see the horrifying remnants of my wife's late night snacking. Though normally a dainty eater, not one prone to gorging of anykind, she goes nuts in the presence of brie and baguette. I found this on the counter this morning and decided to share the horror with you guys.
I think the blog thing is a great idea. Props, as they say in the "hood", to Keiko. Dad, publishing and uploading is pretty easy. When you login to the blog there should be a NewPost button at the top right of the page, click on that and get CRAZY!!! As you guys can tell, I now have a digital camera so this blog comes at a perfect time. Expect many high res pictures of my hairiness. We need SOMETHING to counteract the cuteness that Matt insists on slopping all over the internet.

First Post

This is the first post of Manghams Aloft! You should all have received e-mail invitations to become blog authors, and when everyone signs on we can limit blog-viewers to people we invite. It may take you a post or two to figure out how to use the blogger program, but it's actually extremely easy.

This was Keiko's idea, and I think it's a good one. I'm notoriously bad at e-mails, but here we can all post messages, photos, links, and other stuff we want to share. I'd like to use it to help you all keep closer tabs on Ema than we've been able to manage before, and you guys can put on messages, your favorite youtube finds, thesis drafts or high resolution photographs of your hairy asses.

The picture at the top of this first post is Ema on a hospital visit to see Joy and Paul Jarman-Walsh's new daughter Nia. Cuteness all over the damn place.