Misc. comments 11

For some reason, I was moved to respond to one of papersky's posts in iambic pentameter, though I wouldn't call mine poetry:

Not a father's offerings, perhaps, but
an offering nonetheless. Little good
and little harm is not the worst we can
say, of parent or of chance-met stranger,
when the encounter or the years have passed.

(And yes, the last line limps; I should have stopped at four.)

---

To elusis, who has just discovered a fondness for whole-milk yogurt:

I'm not exactly living on full-fat yogurt, but it's my default breakfast. With fruit if I can--if there's suitable fresh fruit in the house, or if I have time to defrost some berries--or with jam, or a bit of vanilla extract, or honey and lime juice... It's quick and easy, and I can bear to eat it half an hour after I wake up, before dashing out the door to catch a train to work.

I think there are two quarts of yogurt in the fridge right now; when I open the last one, we'll buy two more. A quart of yogurt seems to be about 3.5 breakfasts.

I may have to try the full-fat plus Greek yogurt, next time I get out to Sahadi.

---

To therealjae, who linked to an interesting nostra culpa in the New York Times, admitting that they were far too credulous of Bush and neo-con claims before the attack on Iraq. Jae suggests that part of why Times reporters and editors were ready to believe such claims was that they were in New York, and traumatized by the 9/11 attacks:

It's not that simple.

A lot of us in New York saw through the claimed link between Iraq and the attacks on the World Trade Center immediately. Some of the people who opposed the war from the beginning did so because they did care about terrorism and Al-Qaeda, and didn't want to take resources away from the real problem so that Dubya could go after Saddam Hussein.

Part of the problem at the Times, I think, is that they fell for the oft-repeated lie that Bush could be trusted, and that never changing his mind on anything was a virtue. Another part, which they admit, is that dangers make for better headlines than "smoke but no fire". Also, the American right wing has the media so afraid of being called "liberal" that newspapers and television tend to report right-wing assertions uncritically and not even realize that they're presenting a biased viewpoint.

---

To ladysisyphus, who posted about exercise, weight, body image, and people's reactions to her:

I had someone this past weekend look at me and say "You've lost weight" in that cheerful/approving way. I smiled back and told the truth: "No I haven't, I've been turning it into muscle." I added that I don't need to lose weight, with low cholesterol and a blood pressure of 106/68.

I hang out in the weight room, all 5'3" 190 pounds of 40-year-old me. The only comments I get about my appearance are variants on "Nice tattoo!" I have no idea how typical this is, but at the gym I use, the other people in the weight room seem to assume that, because we're all in there, we're all doing compatible things.

Misc. comments 11

For some reason, I was moved to respond to one of papersky's posts in iambic pentameter, though I wouldn't call mine poetry:

Not a father's offerings, perhaps, but
an offering nonetheless. Little good
and little harm is not the worst we can
say, of parent or of chance-met stranger,
when the encounter or the years have passed.

(And yes, the last line limps; I should have stopped at four.)

---

To elusis, who has just discovered a fondness for whole-milk yogurt:

I'm not exactly living on full-fat yogurt, but it's my default breakfast. With fruit if I can--if there's suitable fresh fruit in the house, or if I have time to defrost some berries--or with jam, or a bit of vanilla extract, or honey and lime juice... It's quick and easy, and I can bear to eat it half an hour after I wake up, before dashing out the door to catch a train to work.

I think there are two quarts of yogurt in the fridge right now; when I open the last one, we'll buy two more. A quart of yogurt seems to be about 3.5 breakfasts.

I may have to try the full-fat plus Greek yogurt, next time I get out to Sahadi.

---

To therealjae, who linked to an interesting nostra culpa in the New York Times, admitting that they were far too credulous of Bush and neo-con claims before the attack on Iraq. Jae suggests that part of why Times reporters and editors were ready to believe such claims was that they were in New York, and traumatized by the 9/11 attacks:

It's not that simple.

A lot of us in New York saw through the claimed link between Iraq and the attacks on the World Trade Center immediately. Some of the people who opposed the war from the beginning did so because they did care about terrorism and Al-Qaeda, and didn't want to take resources away from the real problem so that Dubya could go after Saddam Hussein.

Part of the problem at the Times, I think, is that they fell for the oft-repeated lie that Bush could be trusted, and that never changing his mind on anything was a virtue. Another part, which they admit, is that dangers make for better headlines than "smoke but no fire". Also, the American right wing has the media so afraid of being called "liberal" that newspapers and television tend to report right-wing assertions uncritically and not even realize that they're presenting a biased viewpoint.

---

To ladysisyphus, who posted about exercise, weight, body image, and people's reactions to her:

I had someone this past weekend look at me and say "You've lost weight" in that cheerful/approving way. I smiled back and told the truth: "No I haven't, I've been turning it into muscle." I added that I don't need to lose weight, with low cholesterol and a blood pressure of 106/68.

I hang out in the weight room, all 5'3" 190 pounds of 40-year-old me. The only comments I get about my appearance are variants on "Nice tattoo!" I have no idea how typical this is, but at the gym I use, the other people in the weight room seem to assume that, because we're all in there, we're all doing compatible things.