A Imbalance of the Humours: 7 Quick Takes X

by | May 3, 2013 | 7 Quick Takes, Doctor Who, Photography, Pop Culture, Pope Francis, Pregnancy | 19 comments

 

— 1 —
 
 
 
You Can Never Go Down the Drain
 
You can never go down
Can never go down
Can never go down the drain.
You can never go down
Can never go down
Can never go down the drain.
You’re bigger than the water.
You’re bigger than the soap.
You’re much bigger than all the bubbles.
And bigger than your telescope
So you see…
You can never go down
Can never go down
Can never go down the drain.
You can never go down
Can never go down
Can never go down the drain.
The rain may go down,
But you can’t go down.
You’re bigger than any bathroom drain.
You can never go down
Can never go down
You can never go down the drain.
 
 
 

Gladys Where Are You Going? 

 
Gladys, where are you going?
Upstairs to take a bath.
Gladys, with legs like toothpicks
and a neck like a gir rafe rafe rafe rafe.
Glayds, stepped into the bathtub…
pulled out the plug.
Oh my goodness, oh my soul,
there goes Gladys down the hole…
Glub Glub Glub Glub

Sooooooo . . . which IS it?  Can I go down the drain or not?

 

— 2 —
 

Speaking of bathing, I had this conversation with my seven-year-old this week . . . 

 

Me: Time to take a shower, you’re filthy.
Bobby: But I don’t have to take a shower, I just have to wash my feet.
Me: Says who?
Bobby: Jesus.  It’s in the Bible.  I just have to wash my feet and I’ll be clean all over.
Me: Excellent work Bob, but you’re still taking a shower.

 

— 3 —

I finally called my OB this week.  I figured that at ten weeks along I wouldn’t have to do the bloodwork and the, um, special kind of ultrasound.

Well, so far, I think I managed to fend off the ultrasound.  But I still had to do the blood test (but only one not two, woo hoo!).  I know my dates, and I’m not going to let them induce me anyway, but the gal at reception was very uncomfortable with the idea of me not doing the blood test.  So I decided to not make a big stink about it.  I don’t care about getting blood drawn, I just don’t want to drive all the way out there so they can do it.  It interferes with my responsible homeschooling and/or Doctor Who watching.

And I’m starting to suspect that OBs all think that what actually ails us is an imbalance of the humours that can be cleared up if they could just collect enough of our blood and urine.

 

— 4 —

Hey, speaking of Doctor Who, did I really make it all the way to my fourth take without mentioning the Doctor yet?  How’s THAT for extraordinary self-restraint?

But here goes . . . 

I am now well into Season 4, and please do not try to figure out how many hours of Netflix that is in one week.  In my defense, my husband was out of town.

Anyway, everyone was right about the Tenth Doctor, he has grown on me.  But I still like the Ninth Doctor much better, mostly because I found his relationship with Rose very endearing.  As amusing as Mr. Tennant’s narcissistic take on the Doctor is, I grow weary of all the ladies “fancy-ing” him and him fake-pining away after Rose who I never for a minute believed that he loved (whew, deep breath, I’m okay).

Also, this must be a full-time job:

 

Because . . . Doctor hair^

Hamlet hair:

 

Same hair.

Wow, is he ever amazing in Hamlet.  I’ve just watched clips so far.  But as soon as my, um, schedule clears up (read: I finish Doctor Who) I’m so watching all three hours for free online.  Thanks for the tip, Chris.

And, I have learned from watching Doctor Who that the people of Great Britain are involved almost exclusively in interracial relationships.  I don’t have any sort of an issue with it, but I do find it noticeable.  So there you have it.

And since I don’t actually think that 80-90% of relationships in the UK are interracial it makes me curious . . . 

— 5 —

Speaking of geeky stuff . . . 

 

I enjoyed this post (Do We Need a New Word For Geek?) over at Epbot, one of the two blogs I used to read BIHMOB (Before I Had My Own Blog), I also enjoyed the comments.

I don’t personally care what word they use since I never really considered myself a “geek.” I more identify as just kind of contrary, so I’ve never minded liking something even if “most” people don’t.  I think that makes it easier for me to handle being in public with more kids than the average bear.  (In case you missed it, here’s my take on how to respond to “You’ve sure got your hands full.”)

But I loved this quote from John Scalzi that a reader left in the comments:

 

“Many people believe geekdom is defined by a love of a thing, but I think — and my experience of geekdom bears on this thinking — that the true sign of a geek is a delight in sharing a thing. It’s the major difference between a geek and a hipster, you know: When a hipster sees someone else grooving on the thing they love, their reaction is to say “Oh, crap, now the wrong people like the thing I love.” When a geek sees someone else grooving on the thing they love, their reaction is to say “ZOMG YOU LOVE WHAT I LOVE COME WITH ME AND LET US LOVE IT TOGETHER.” Any jerk can love a thing. It’s the sharing that makes geekdom awesome.” 

So, I would like to officially rescind liking Hipster Jesus.  Because Jesus and I are not Hipsters.  I think we’re both just, ya know, Catholic (big C and little c). . . and geeks are welcome to come love some stuff over here with us anytime.

 

— 6 —

I’m a San Diego native, and I have San Diego facebook friends.  So after Manti Te’o was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, I was treated to a bunch of stuff like this:

 

SERIOUSLY, what gives?  This is a kid who was the victim of a fraud.  A kid who was literally an Eagle Scout, who was taken advantage of by someone who actually knew him and tricked him.  How can people possibly be so cruel?

And, less importantly, Charger fans: Do you WANT him to fail?  How could he possibly succeed in such a hostile environment?  You’d expect him to get it from opposing fans, but that comic appeared in his new-hometown newspaper.  Do you WANT him to go down in flames?  Have we forgotten Ryan Leaf so soon?

 

You stay classy, San Diego.
 

 

— 7 —  

I’ve had my new camera for a month or so now, and I’m quite happy with it.  Or I was until I decided to take it and my old camera to Gus’ tee-ball game this afternoon for a showdown.  Now I’m not so sure.

My new camera is a Nikon 1 J1 with 10-30mm Lens, it’s not an SLR camera — it’s completely digital, but it has changeable lenses.  It fits nicely in my purse and isn’t too heavy to wear around my neck, but it’s certainly much more bulky than a pocket camera.  Mine was $400 for the body and a 10-30 zoom lens, plus I bought an 18.5mm depth of field lens, to get those blurry back ground photos.  

My old camera is a Casio Exilim point and shoot.  It fits right in your pocket and is about $100 for the older version I have, newer versions seem to range from $200-$500.     I guess I should preface these shots with a disclaimer that I know pretty much nothing about lighting and staging photos and that with both cameras I just point them at the thing I want to take a picture of and push the button.

New camera on the left, old camera on the right.     Portraits:  

Action shots: 

So, people who are good at photography: Are the photos on the left better?  It’s hard for me to see much of a difference.  Is it worth it to have the bigger camera?   I was using the 10-30mm lens when I took all of the above photos.   I do really like being able to blur the background with my 18.5mm lens.  

I had figured out how to kind of fake it using the macro setting on the point and shoot:  

  But it’s not quite the same.  Anyway, I’m not likely to type this very often, but: Somebody tell me what to think about this.    We’re off to Northern California this weekend for the husband’s business school reunion.  Ten hours in the car (there and back) if we don’t hit traffic.  Wish us luck! For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

19 Comments

  1. Melody

    What a wonderful family photo at the top of your blog! And I greatly enjoyed reading these Quick Takes. Going to follow!

  2. Renee

    "I wouldn't have to do the bloodwork and the, um, special kind of ultrasound."

    I had one of those with my mother in the room, she wanted to see her grandchild.

  3. Sarah Marie

    I'm a San Diego native, too, and a Notre Dame fan by proxy (the husband is an alum) so I'm totally with you on #6… Good gosh, I feel bad for the guy. He's guilty only for being too open to love! Poor Manti.

  4. Stephanie

    I definitely think the photos from the new camera are better! All of the photos are good, of course, but the ones on the right don't have quite as good of exposure (sometimes the settings on your computer or the lighting may make it hard to distinguish between the two). I just have a "point and shoot" camera at the moment and my photos usually look like the ones you took on the right – and because of that, I feel the need to edit the exposure/shadows/highlighting on almost every photo I take. What a waste of time/pain in the butt! However, the ones you took on the left already have great exposure/shadows/highlighting and automatically look more professional in quality without you having to alter them one bit. The differences are subtle and it depends on whether or not you notice/care about a difference in the photos – but since you already have the new camera I would keep using it. Those pics look great! Plus, the lens that allows you to blur the background is really awesome. 🙂

    • Kendra Tierney

      That's an excellent point. I used to mess around with lots of filters and effects, and now with the new camera I almost never do. Okay, I'm sold!

  5. Lisa D.

    The answer to the question in number 1 is, of course you can, but not while you're pregnant.

    The answer to number 7 is, yes, the new camera takes better pictures.

    You're welcome.

    • Kendra Tierney

      Hah. I'm glad I wasn't drinking anything when I read this! Thanks for clearing all that up for me. Now I'm good.

  6. Cate Roberts

    Okay: How? HOW did I not know that David Tennant was in a version of Hamlet? I think my Doctor Who fan card AND my English degree are now in serious danger of being revoked!
    I'm glad to hear more good things about the Nikon 1. I'm seriously considering one for more active family outings because I get tired of lugging around my Nikon D70s and the iphone cam (while great for point and shoot) just doesn't cut it sometimes!

    • Kendra Tierney

      The narcissism, the constant soliloquy, the crazy glint in his eye . . . I'm thinking he's USUALLY Hamlet! But he is really great, you can see the to be or not to be speech on YouTube, I've never connected with it as much as I do now. He's really good.

  7. Katie

    #2 is so funny! I love when kids you scripture against us! I live under a rock . . . Dr Who is back?? I only rememer the 70's or 80's version that my brother LOVED! I had no idea.

    I may just have to check out Hamlet . . . I love that play!

    • Kendra Tierney

      They started it up again in 2005, and it's available steaming on netflix (among other places I'd imagine). If you like action and silliness and a tiny bit of romance and can handle sci fi I think you'd like it. I do anyway. And which I have found the innuendo too much to let my kids watch it, it's refreshing for me to get to watch something where I've never once had to cover my eyes or skip a scene for inappropriatness. Thank goodness for the Brits' sense of decency.

  8. Brienne

    When I saw the pic for number 2, I though of little Gus Tierney reciting:

    "There's too many kids in this tub. There's too many elbows to scrub…" haha! Love Anita's personal tub too!

    I couldn't agree with you more on the Manti front too. It upsets me and Pat so much that people are trying to tear this young guy down for having been the victim of fraud. I'll never understand it.

    • Kendra Tierney

      I just can't understand it. I think somehow he's gotten linked in people's minds with Lance Armstrong as a liar. I just have to hope that if people understood the real story they'd realize how monstrous they're being to someone who is by all accounts a nice person.

  9. Anonymous

    #2: perfect.

    #3: Exactly. My doctor keeps commenting on how great my blood pressure is, and I always want to say, "that's because you keep taking it out!"

  10. Rosie

    So… I avoided going to the OB for QUITE a while with my last pregnancy because I didn't see any point in that uncomfortable ultrasound… But from now on I'm getting that ultrasound because at least it'll confirm that there's only ONE baby at a time!!! Not that I'm trying to scare you into getting an ultrasound, but it's sometimes helpful to find out sooner rather than later 😛 Although I suppose the surprise makes a better story…

    • Kendra Tierney

      I do the twenty week one, isn't twenty weeks enough of a heads up? I've already got all the stuff for babies that could fit in my house. I figure I'll just live on the edge.

  11. Amelia

    I would say that your new camera definitely takes better pictures..the exposure does seem better.

    Geeks vs. Hipster…I love it

    In only 1 of my 4 pregnancies have I ever had a "special kind of u/s". I would just wait and I think by 12 weeks they can do the regular kind.

  12. Marquette

    #3: My sentiments exactly! And this is the first time around for me. 8 vials of blood and $1200 later they were able to tell me that I don't have all those diseases I told them I didn't have (living clean sure makes life easier). And, I never knew someone would be so eager to make a collection of my urine, lol. This has been a weird experience so far.

    #7: It is hard to see the differences between the old and new camera photos, but they are there. I think the new camera photos are quite a bit more crisp and the colors are more vibrant, which really makes those ones "pop" more. Keep playing with your lenses and the settings and you'll settle into your camera before long.

Submit a Comment

Hi! I’m Kendra.

For twenty years now, I’ve been using food, prayer, and conversation based around the liturgical calendar to share the lives of the saints and the beautiful truths and traditions of our Catholic faith. My own ten children, our friends and neighbors, and people just like you have been on this journey with me.

If you’d like to learn more about what Catholics believe and why, and to be inspired by saints from every era all over the world, you’ve come to the right place. If you’re feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of how to teach your kids about the faith in a way that’s true, engaging, and lasts a lifetime, we can help!

Contact me at helpdesk@catholicallyear.com

This blog contains affiliate links and sponsored posts, for which I receive a commission. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.