mostly pictures of the kids, maybe some links, and probably some music.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Mine Mine Mine




OK, the question should really be “What isn’t Jemima’s?” because according to her, everything is. No joke. “Mima’s chair”, “Mima’s keys”, “Mima’s car”, “Mima’s bed”, “Mima’s potty”, and on and on and on. It doesn’t matter if it is something you are using, if she gets her hands on it, it is hers. Even if you won’t let her have it, (like the red permanent sharpie marker this morning) she will stand there crying, insisting it is hers. We do our best, saying “ours” when she says “mine” and “share” when we hand her things. We are insisting on “please” and “thank-you”, and are trying to get the idea of turns across to her. She worked around that one fast enough; it is always her turn, whenever she wants something.

Enough with the motor vehicles already.



I have spent the last 3 days, morning ‘til night, close-cropping motorcycles and 4 wheelers for a new website. If I see one more dirt-bike I am going to squeal. I turned them all into tiny little navigation button images this morning, so hopefully the job is now out of my hands, and sitting happily with the flash developers. Who would have thought that spokes could raise the blood pressure so.

Toothpaste of the Month July 2007








Babool Toothpaste.

From the fine folks at Balsara Group who bring you the fine ayurvedic toothpaste Meswak comes July 2007s Toothpaste of the month. Babool. With the smiling happy nuclear family on the bright grean box, and the slogan “Begin a great day, the babool way” how could one possibly resist? According to the Balsara Group, Babool Toothpaste is

Babool Toothpaste is a natural toothpaste containing the ayurvedic and medicinal benefits of the Babul tree, 'Acacia Arabica'. The Babul herbal extract in Babool Toothpaste helps prevent swelling & bleeding of gums, keeping gums healthy and teeth strong.

I will concur with them on this. My gums haven’t been swelling or bleeding since I started using it, and I opened a really seized glue tube with my teeth last week and there was nary a broken one. This is a white, almost gel like paste with an upper-mid foaming level and a pleasant minty flavour. I don’t have to worry about medicine cabinet breath after using Babool, and being all white it doesn’t leave marks all over the wall and sink and mirror. (The teenager’s braces are bugging her so she has been using the Red Toothpowder and it looks as if the wall has broken out in acne.)

I can’t say my days have been any greater since using Babool, but they certainly haven’t been any worse. Please get yourself a tube, and give it a try. Like they say “Spreading Smiles Across the Miles”. Babool, July 2007s Toothpaste of the Month.

The Plane! The Plane!

We may live in an upper-income part of the city right now, but that doesn’t stop it being under the flight path that planes use while waiting to land at Pearson Airport. I think we are right at the bottom west edge of the path because during the day there is a plane banking to the north east over our heads about once every 3 minutes. I am not complaining about it, they aren’t that noisy (way up high), and it blends into the background pretty quickly. Compared to being in Parkdale during the airshow it is nothing. Nothing to grown-ups maybe, but to someone who is 19 month old and curious about everything, it is pretty cool. She doesn’t mention every plane, but certainly each one she can hear, "plane, plane" and she is always looking for them, even in the house. She also likes differentiating between cars and trucks simply by the sound. She won’t even look out the window, just be sitting there “truck” or “car” depending. I love her.

Make your ears bleed.

I have been visiting this blog called Blood Is Truth and they have tons and tons of music available. It is mostly of the Drone, Doom, Black, Noise kind, but then they go and throw some folky stuff in to mess you up. Today I went there and they had tons of Leonard Cohen up. I would rather listen to hours of hateful Japanese Noise Noise than even a minute of Leonard Cohen, but it takes all sorts I guess.

This person has almost too much free music. Blues, Country, Hillbilly, Rock-a-Billy, and on and on. Seriously, give it a look and see if there isn’t at least one thing you like.

If you dig complete-ism then this fellow is for you. If you think one album by a band is enough, try all of them. It is pretty impressive, and a little awe-inspiring that he puts so much up. Lots of 80s and 90s stuff. Make sure to check out the archives. I have grabbed the NOMEANSNO discography from here this week.