Henry loves his butt rides so there was no way we could get around buying him a bike for his second (SECOND!) birthday, which is coming later this month. I scoured the internet and found a few that we liked and then came across this one parent's blog and there it was. The perfect bike. I ordered said perfect bike last week and it arrived today. I just finished putting it together. (I have three leftover washers so, um, I emailed the company to see if that was their intention or if I was supposed to use them when screwing the handlebars to the frame. Pardon me for not knowing if there is implied washer usage whenever you screw handlebars into frames.) Anyway, it's even more of a perfect bike in person than it appeared to be online. The true test, however, comes when Monsieur Henry gets on it for the maiden voyage.
Pies
On another note, after baking two pies with Cox's Orange Pippin apples, I can attest to this apple's superiority over other varieties when it comes to pie. I just learned that Darr prefers soft and mushy apple pie fillings - after nearly fifteen years together, people! How did I not know this? - so I modified the BHG Cook Book's apple pie recipe, well, I actually sort of merged that recipe with another, to achieve the desired result. This being, of course, the soft mushy apple pie innards. Want these results for yourself? Turn that oven down to 250˚ F and bake the pie for two and a half hours. If you want the crust nicely browned, pull it from the oven after two hours, lightly brush it with cream, and put it back in for the last half an hour upping the temperature to 350˚ F. Pie is good, people. Eat it.
Photography
I am convinced I need to upgrade our camera. And I'm convinced it needs to be the Nikon D700. (The camera Ken Rockwell says "wins for just about everything, especially action and taking pictures of your friends, family and kids.") But Darr makes a good point when he says I could probably get better results with our camera if I knew how to use it properly. Sometimes that Canadian fellow is so damn sensible. Imagine learning to use the camera I have before getting a new one with even more bells and whistles. Geez. The other day I happened to be perusing our wedding photographer's blog and she mentioned teaching a class locally at the Newspace Center for Photography. I love, love, love, love, love, love, love Jan's photos. (She's also the one we hire to get shots of Monsieur Henry once a year.) If she's teaching a class there, well, then, it's gotta be good. I signed up for their Level One class and am hoping to take the Level Two before grabbing one of their Photoshop classes so I can learn how to tweak all the photos I'm taking.
Roman Polanski
You know, part of me thinks the guy is in his 70s and his victim, Ms. Geimer, has requested the charges be withdrawn so maybe that makes the most sense given that the crime took place 30 years ago. And another part of me thinks he was in his 40s when he raped and sodomized a 13-year old girl. Then, after pleading guilty to lesser charges, upon hearing the judge might throw the book at him, he fled the country. Gifted director or not, no one is supposed to be above the law.
6 comments:
That bike looks awesome. I look forward to your review of it.
I agree no one should be above the law, and that plying a 13-year-old with alcohol and liquor and then raping and sodomizing her is wrong. However, the judge in Polanski's trial was clearly bonkers (at least if you watch the documentary about the case, it would appear that way). Given the victim in the case wants the charges dismissed, I think this whole pursuit of him is a giant waste of money.
From what I've heard (which isn't all that much until recently, I admit), there were so many crazy factors involved in the Polanski case. I was reading an article the other day that said her mother was there with her and apparently knew what was going on? Then add in the judge and I'm not sure justice can ever be served or the truth can ever come out. The fact that the victim has forgiven Polanski means nothing to me... one person forgiving another should have no bearing on the legal process. And the fact that people always bring up what a great director he is--what nonsense (to put it nicely). Who cares that he's good at his job? I think he needs to go to jail for a long time, and some more investigating probably needs to be done if that's possible after all these years.
I hadn't heard the girl's mom was present, although I read she knew the girl was with Polanski and that he was going to be photographing her. Who knows. I still believe, though, that wacky judge or not, Polanski had good if not great representation and that there are procedures in place for if the judge did anything illegally. (A judge can be wacky as long as he does it legally. Is it fair, no? But if he does something wrong, that can be grounds for a mistrial or an appeal, etc.)
I can't remember all the details of the movie, but I distinctly remember thinking that I, too, would run in that situation. Polanski deserved to get the maximum for his crimes, but both sides had basically come to an agreement; Polanski was set to check into jail; then the judge went loopy and screwed it all up. That said, I don't know how accurate the documentary was, but I know it didn't pretend like the crime was nothing, so it wasn't pro-Polanski in my opinion.
My problem with the pursuit of him and justice in this one case is that, when you look at this case specifically, it seems to a lay person like myself, that they're spending a lot of time and money on something that got all jacked up by a jacked up justice system. Both sides had come to agreement and it got jacked up.
So, yes, I do have a problem with our system continuing to spend money pursuing him at all when there are rape kits galore sitting on the shelves of the LAPD that have never - and probably never will be - tested. We have a justice system with limited resources. Sometimes you've got to take a loss for the greater good. We need to take a loss at getting justice for Polaski and attempt to get some justice for all those with backlogged rape kits who (likely) weren't raped by celebrities. And I do think that his victim is still saying to let it go should come into play at this point. It shouldn't have had a bearing on the original prosecution, but now we're just wasting resources that could be way better spent. Just the plane tickets alone in this case could probably clear out a large number of backlogged rape kits.
OMG, I am finally doing the happy happy joy dance.
Woohoo!!! Christie is getting serious about photography!!!
That bike looks great. It should really help when he's ready to pedal without training wheels.
I need to get myself in a photography class - wish I could just stumble upon one that I know would be good - not the local park district's "learn how to use your digital camera" - which I 'm sure will be thrilling.
TWO. Henry's going to be TWO. *sigh* two.
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