Suffer the Little Reader

I managed to make it through one day without blogging about my cats and that will have to suffice for now, because I need to tell you that Gus is intent on doing me grievous bodily harm. Rewind to a few days ago. I'm sitting on the floor in my bedroom, obsessively picking cat litter off the carpet and tossing it into the wastebasket, whereupon said pieces of litter encounter a pretzel bag and make a little flk.

Because he has to be involved in everything at all times or the earth will spin off its axis, Gus strides over to investigate. I toss a few more pieces of litter, they hit the pretzel bag and flk startles Gus so badly he jumps straight up, the way kittens do, forcing my nose up into my frontal lobe. I hear a very definite crack, see stars and wail. In a few moments, however, my shnozz seems no worse for the wear and I go about my business.

Last night, I'm leaning over, putting in a DVD (Hot Fuzz). Gus, needing to check out the scene, walks under my nose. I bend down to kiss his back. The mmk kissing sound startles him so badly, he jumps straight up into my nose. I hear a very definite crack, see stars and wail. Only this time my nose hurts all night and all day today. And it hurts to wear glasses.

So reader, I ask you: did my kitten break my nose?


Innocent kitten or cold-blooded killer? You be the judge.

Major celebuspawn alerts for Gwen Stefani, maybe Angelina Jolie, and Katie Holmes. Has J.Lo birthed the babies? No one's saying for sure but it sure seems that way. Stay up to date with FameCrawler.

On a more serious note, two interesting articles today about one of favorite spleen-venting topics, the pharmaceutical industry. Though naturally not admitting any wrongding, Lilly is now in settlement talks with the federal government concerning its marketing of Zyprexa, an anti-psychotic and their best selling drug--$4.8 billion in 2007 alone. Apparently, Lilly created a marketing campaign aimed at primary care doctors to prescribe Zyprexa for age-related dementia, though the drug is not FDA approved for such use. If the case is settled for the reported $1 billion, it will be the largest settlement regarding promotion of a drug.

This one is a real corker. Apparently a doctor, not unlike this doctor, had his bread buttered on both sides and wasn't sure which side to let hit the floor. He was both a participant in a peer review for the New England Journal of Medicine and a paid consultant for GlaxoSmithKline, which put him in a bind when he was asked to review an article critical of the now black-boxed Glaxo diabetes drug Avandia. So this doctor participates in the peer review, but also faxes the article to Glaxo. Can I get an oy vey? Read the full article here.

And this dear reader is what Howard Brody, author of Hooked means by a firewall needed between science and industry.

Did You Know?

I'm told that ongoing posts about my cats are boring. Apologies, reader. Since this is certainly not one of the disparagingly named "mommy blogs" in which one may wax poetic about every antic of one's dependents, it's time to move on.

So, onward. Did you know that Hillary Clinton served on the board of Wal-Mart for six years? I didn't, and yes, this does change how I feel about her. I mean, gah, has she not seen The High Cost of Low Price? I don't know if she's addressed this issue in any of her campaigning and I'm frankly too lazy right now to go looking. The New York Times endorsed Hillary yesterday and while I didn't disagree with many of their reasons exactly, I still felt a little disappointed. I'm not even voting in the primary, as I'm not a registered Democrat and before I knew that I could still vote in the primary, I had already sent in my absentee ballot, giving my two cents on issues I really don't understand. Oh well.

My new issue of Budget Travel features an article about "poverty tourism," a new branch of the travel industry in which groups of presumably middle class or wealthy folks are taken into poor areas across the world. On the one hand, why not? Supports the local economy, broadens the horizons of folks. On the other hand ... icky. What do you think about this?

Check out links to the right. I've added a few and categorized so you can fritter away your workday in a more organized fashion. You're welcome.

Hurricane Gusephine Blows in From the North

This week's rough weather saw Hurricane Gusephine cutting a wide swath of destruction in the region.



Gus surveys the damage.



Josephine attempts to put CDs back in their cases without the benefit of opposable thumbs.



Gus looks online for a general contractor.


Clean-up is expected to take several weeks.

Nasal Membrane Update

I'm sure you're wondering how my allergies are now that I have two cats. Isn't it uncanny how I can read your minds? I know. Anyway, I 'm doing just fine, no allergy medication and I owe it all to the nasal enema. Read here for my journey to nasal washing. If you don't want to take my word for it (though I don't know why you wouldn't since I'm the world's foremost expert on everything), then check out this article in the New York Times about the surge in the shnozz-wash phenomenon. Check it out.

Weekend at Home

For ladies' brunch today I made this yummy frittata with onions, potatoes and Gorgonzola. It was easy and delicious though not terribly heart-smart. But does Gorgonzola cheese have anything to do with the Gorgon? Disturbing.

Medusa screams in horror as she contemplates her skyrocketing LDL.

Josie is back from the vet, sans girly parts. Here she is attempting to groom herself but succeeding only in licking her own funnel. Doesn't that sound dirty?



Poor Gus got booted out of the bedroom. Too much unpredictable pouncing near fresh sutures. Supervised naps are good for everyone, though.


Gus is a trooper for snuggling up with piece of plastic.

Professional Critic Recommends

Though I usually never buy these specific niche items, part of my grief process seems to involve shopping for things I don't need. I'm going with the flow and as a result am now the pleased owner of the Emjoi Automatic Tweezer. My 'stache can go from freshly-defuzzed to Agent Orange defiant in roughly three seconds. Usually I wax at home using those peel-off strip thingies which work pretty well but are kind of a pain. So I bought this on a whim at Walgreen's and can I just say? It works. I see the drugstore.com reviews are mixed but I had great success with my facial hair. I would not try to use this on the bikini line--certainly not on mine.



If I looked this good with a fuzzy upper lip I would have no need for the Emjoi.

Another thing I didn't need but am grooving on is the lavender body oil from Trader Joe's. The soothing scent and skin silkening almond oil on dry winter skin is a winning combination. It was $4.99. Get thee to a TJ's my friend.

Kitty Redux

Last week Gus was laid low by some kind of infection, prompting two visits to the vet, one at four in the morning. By the way, the emergency vet clinic in the middle of the night is hands down the best place for an anxious wreck of a person to be. Tell your friends. It was incredibly alarming to see this ricochet rabbit kitty who is just now attempting to tear up the carpet and eat it, plastered to the couch for days. But, a shot of penicillin and $300 later, Gus is as good as new. He's the blur below.



Here's Josephine.


I think I startled her when I took this picture. I find her adorable, but Jo has a touch of reactive attachment disorder and well, doesn't really want to be touched. It's so hard because I just want to grab her face and smooch her. On the lips.

We're working on a slow desensitization program wherein I pet her gently and she comes to realize I'm not trying to kill her. Unfortunately though I've only just succeeded in picking her up for a nanosecond before she starts to flail and get all Edward Scissorhands, I need to chuck her in a box tomorrow morning and take her to the vet to be spayed. Injuries are expected.

Back from Hiatus

I'm back after an unplanned break. My mom died unexpectedly on Christmas. While I was back east I was incredibly unsettled. I kept having the feeling that I was forgetting something but I couldn't put my finger on what. Then I realized it was my mom--we were all together, so she should have been there, too. Even as we were driving to the funeral home, I thought wait! We left without mom! Looking at her laying in the coffin we picked out thinking,This is ridiculous. Get up already, you big drama queen. Yesterday I reached for the phone to call her. I know from Nanny's death less than two years ago that this goes on for a long time, so I guess I'm settling in for the long haul of grief.

In the midst of life we are in death. Before, I only knew this as a line from the Smith's song Sweet and Tender Hooligan. It's actually from the Book of Common Prayer. You probably knew this but I'm an unschooled heathen in the ways of religion. These words struck especially true for me as two days before my mom died I brought these guys home from the animal shelter. Meet Josephine, on the left and Gus:

It helps to have these little nutcases running around my head and attacking my feet.