Month: October 2007

The Lydster, Part 43: Safe


One of the tricks of parenthood is to make sure that they’re not eating or touching things that will harm them, of course. My sister Leslie has been sending me the regular updates from the Consumer Product Safety Commission; I could go to the site, but she’s taken on the task. In one recall, there were several Dora the Explorer items recalled because of lead paint content. Lydia has a Dora doll that she adores, and naturally holds closely. Fortunately, I didn’t find that particular item on the list, but it was understandably disconcerting.

More recently, I’ve been baffled by the voluntary recall of children’s medicines that included:
Dimetapp(R) Decongestant Plus Cough Infant Drops,
Dimetapp(R) Decongestant Infant Drops,
Little Colds(R) Decongestant Plus Cough,
Little Colds(R) Multi-Symptom Cold Formula,
PEDIACARE(R) Infant Drops Decongestant (containing pseudoephedrine),
PEDIACARE(R) Infant Drops Decongestant & Cough (containing pseudoephedrine),
PEDIACARE(R) Infant Dropper Decongestant (containing phenylephrine),
PEDIACARE(R) Infant Dropper Long-Acting Cough,
PEDIACARE(R) Infant Dropper Decongestant & Cough (containing phenylephrine),
Robitussin(R) Infant Cough DM Drops,
Triaminic(R) Infant & Toddler Thin Strips(R) Decongestant,
Triaminic(R) Infant & Toddler Thin Strips(R) Decongestant Plus Cough,
TYLENOL(R) Concentrated Infants’ Drops Plus Cold,
TYLENOL(R) Concentrated Infants’ Drops Plus Cold & Cough.
Two of those specific items were in our medicine chest!
The basis of the concern, as I understand, is that children under 2 years have been overly medicated. I actually called my pharmacist, and he said that since my daughter’s over two, it would be OK. But then, a short time later, a panel of the Food and drug Administration concluded that “children under the age of 6 should not be using cold and cough medicines because they have not been proven to be effective or safe.” And since she’s under 6, and since she has a cold, I’m not sure what to do. And I hate that.

ROG

ROG

The Beckster

I’ve been looking through a particular photo album a lot recently; I have a couple dozen books, but this one seems to get the most play recently. The pictures are from 1980 to 1982. It contains pictures from my early FantaCo days, the “royal wedding“, and my old friend Deborah. It also has pictures of my niece Becky, the daughter of my sister Leslie:
These are rather tiny – though clicking on them should help – but the pose of her holding her doll is unmistakably familiar to me. I knew Lydia looked quite a bit like her at that age, but seeing these pictures was still a bit of a shock to the system.
Becky got married last year to Rico. She’s been busy with her singing career; among other gigs, she is the vocalist with with house band for Anthology, the new jazz club in the Little Italy section of San Diego. Plus, she’s going to school and dealing with real estate. She appeared on the cover of a San Diego-area magazine in the last month:

Her birthday is tomorrow. Happy birthday, eldest niece.
Love, Uncle Roger
***
Not so incidentally, Becky and Leslie appear to be safe from the raging California fires.
ROG

ROG

Can’t Keep Up with the News

I read and watch the news regularly. Yet it was only yesterday that I discovered Radiohead’s “In Rainbows”: Track-By-Track Preview, posted on October 1 by Rolling Stone magazine. As you may know, the new album has an unusual “pay what you will” pricing schedule.

I somehow missed the story about what’s her face suggesting that we’d better off if women were denied the vote in the United States. On the other hand, there’s a movement afoot to just ignore her, which, in fact, I usually do.

But mostly, I’m surprised that it wasn’t until yesterday that I discovered that we are in the midst of “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week“, reportedly on 200 college campuses, “to confront the two Big Lies of the political left: that George Bush created the war on terror and that Global Warming is a greater danger to Americans than the terrorist threat. Nothing could be more politically incorrect than to point this out. But nothing could be more important for American students to hear…Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week is a national effort to oppose these lies and to rally American students to defend their country.” The reaction against this can be found here and here and probably lots of places in ways better than I could.

And, yes, I’m one of those “liberals” who have trouble with the term Islamofascist. I think many people would balk a term such as Christofascist, which suggests, at least to me, that the faith is INHERENTLY fascistic, rather than an aberration of Christianity, expressed well in this story from three years ago about the Christian Right and the Rise of American Fascism by Chris Hedges, that I read recently.

ROG

ROG

Wildfire


I called my niece Becky last night. She and her husband Rico were over at my sister Leslie’s house in San Diego County, California, gathering materials in case they need to evacuate their homes because of the wildfires. Last year, the fires were close enough that Leslie could see, and taste, the smoke from the fires, but this year, the flames are much closer, and depending on the direction of the quirky Santa Ana winds, they may be required to leave at any time. So far, in the county, 500 homes and 100 businesses have already been destroyed by fire.

To that end, they are packing up their cars with necessary items. After the call, I found this site, which includes a list that would be useful in case of most any evacuation:
* A three-day supply of water (one gallon per person per day) and food that won’t spoil.
* One change of clothing and footwear per person and one blanket or sleeping bag per person.
* A first aid kit that includes your family’s prescription medications.
* Emergency tools including a battery-powered radio, flashlight, and plenty of extra batteries.
* An extra set of car keys and a credit card, cash, or traveler’s checks.
* Sanitation supplies.
* Special items for infant, elderly or disabled family members.
* An extra pair of eyeglasses.
* Keep important family documents in a waterproof container. Assemble a smaller version of your kit to keep in the trunk of your car.
In the latter category, we were talking about passports, driver’s licenses, and Social Security cards. I also suggested a deck of cards and a couple paperback books, to stave off possible boredom.

I discovered that, while she has my phone numbers programmed into her cell phone, she, probably like many others, don’t have my phone numbers or e-mail in an accessible place if the cell service is down (or the cell phone runs out of juice) and she doesn’t have access to a computer. (That’s probably true of me and phone numbers/e-mail addresses as well.)

So, keep a good thought.

ROG

ROG

Hello, it’s me

No idea where I found this:
Click to view my Personality Profile page
I told you I was shy. Why do so few people believe me?
***
Someone was complaining about my spelling of the word pierogi (as pierogy) recently, even though most sources cite both as correct. It’s in that spirit, and in honor of Dictionary Day last week (yes, I missed it, alas), that I share this piece about some other words where the standard spelling is changing:

***
Besides the last of the Rat Pack guy, whose late-night show I used to watch – Regis Philbin was his sidekick; and that From Here To Eternity woman – still a steamy sea scene a half century later; I noticed the death recently of Vernon Bellecourt, who led the “charge against Indians as sports mascots”. More than merely the nickname, the goofy image of the Indians logo has long given me pause. In any case, the Red Sox whomped Cleveland last night, so it’ll be Boston who I’ll be rooting for against Colorado.
***
I’m recommending you read Dan Van Riper’s October 14 piece on Yassin Aref, who was almost certainly convicted in a bogus FBI operation. On a lighter note, see how ADD discovers he’s not five years old anymore and how Scott answers questions posed by, among others, me.
ROG

ROG
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