You do know that this post is more than 3 years old, right? In any case, I never claimed to have all the answers. But in a society in which same-sex couples can get married and also have civil unions (which people on both sides of the political spectrum support) then same-sex couples need to be treated with the same respect as couples during other times of transition in this country. Are you saying that you want to take your time in introducing your children to interracial couples too? Is that something that needs special explanation? Of course, you can simply change the channel if you don't want to watch the show. Why feel the need to silence it entirely? As for being pro-choice. I would love for this world to be one in which no woman ever has to go through an abortion. It's tough physically and emotionally. But we don't live in that world, so I prefer they have the choice, just as Governor Palin and her daughter did. As Governor Palin acknowledge in her statement about her daughter, that she made a choice. Governor Palin also supports abstinence-only education, something that has been shown not to work, including in her own home. Keep in mind, the same conservative talk-show hosts who blasted the Spears family for a teen aged mother want the world to leave the Palins alone. Governor Palin has said publically that the war in Iraq is a mission from God. Does that mean she is going to follow God's will when it comes to policy decisions? Whose God? Jesus? Jehovah? Buddha? Allah? They are all part of the American fabric, but they are also supposed to be separate from American policy decisions. Also, considering how you vote, am I correct in assuming that you were not going to vote for McCain because of his pro-choice stance, prior to him choosing Palin as his running mate? Since you have described yourself as a one-issue voter, how can you vote for McCain at all?

Thank you. It's nice to hear when people are reading and enjoying. Also, I'd love to hear what you have to say about Fuzhou, we know very little about the city and the area.

Hmmm.... a category for Demby? I never planned on writing about him enough, but I guess he deserves one.

I'm confused. One the one hand you praise Wilco for working with, and probably accepting money from, VW. Then you get on other artists for "crass commercialism." Where is the line between the two? Walk through any art museum and you'll see lots of great paintings of very rich people or paintings done specifically for the church. Why? That's where the money was. Why is music any different?

My brain only works in 6-month increments.

We've been inundated by Star Wars, so having something that isn't leading to the Dark Side is kind of nice. That said, when Ben got a light saber for his birthday, Shoshi and a friend her age picked up some wrapping paper roles and started doing battle too.

If I'm not mistaken, Warner used this model pretty successfully in tying music to most of the shows on its now-defunct WB network. Some may say that they pushed that envelope too hard, but for someone like me who doesn't follow music that closely, it was a nice way to get exposure to music I may not have heard before... or paid attention to.

Thanks everyone! And Kevin, good luck with your new baby. The screaming goes on for quite a while.

Ask is a loose term. It's more like a yell that wakes everyone but Alex. Our dog doesn't get walked as frequently as he probably needs, but the old boy is very good to us, he deserves better.

Thank you, we think so as well. In fact... all our children are above average :) Alex had a few answers for his brother. First, he says that the tooth fairy organizes the teeth, because that's what she told him in one of her earlier pieces of correspondence. Ben is convinced that the tooth fairy keeps the teeth in a store in Waltham down by the railroad tracks that has a large tooth on it. If nothing else, the place has a low overhead. As for God, Alex claims He doesn't have hands. I disagree, since we sometimes talk about "The hand of God." Must be a hand in there somewhere.

Only in the form of frequent flier miles... and the blackout dates on hers are horrible.

My wife does as well, and apparently so do a lot of other people! http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=sturgis+pretzel&m=text If anyone has pictues of themselves in that same pose, I'm happy to create a Flickr stream. Just email them to me.

Thank you! They do things every day that blow me away, but this one just left me awed. The greatest part is that when a poet writes they want to touch people and these poems obviously touched them.... even if the touching made them burp.

I tried taking one of the full exterior of Blue Ribbon, with that cool sign over the door, but I just couldn't get it right. I know there's some solution to my problem, but I don't have the time or desire to figure it out. So I just changed the picture. I also wanted to add some action to it, since there are so many photos that use the place just as a setting.

No, I've been looking into the Reconstructionist movement for some time. I like the egalitarian bent. So this wouldn't be the single issue, but a strong indication that my views diverge from those of Conservative Judaism.

No, he has not yet learned the joys of a bathroom read.

I'm not so sure I want to start at that point. Frankly, I doubt he remembers it, but also the more I think about it the more I think we need him to lead us where he needs to go. We can answer some questions, but some he'll just have to ask us. I have some pictures of ground zero that I took in December 2004, he's seen those without realizing what they are. At least those are familiar. We may be surprised, he may know more than we give him credit for.

I kind of feel the same way about China. After I showed the video from the trip a friend told me he assumed that when I said we paid "fees" to the Chinese government that I meant "bribes." But I honestly meant "fees," as that's what they are. The gifts we gave felt like a cultural thing, not a payment. As Ellen said at the time "how do you thank someone for taking care of your daughter for the first year of her life?" I think the point of the article is asking "how much of those fees are understandable and how much are over the top?" or "where is the line that fees end and exploitation begins?" Certainly not easy questions. I don't feel we crossed it, or even came close, during our experience.

Thank you! And Michael, nice to finally hear from you! She is now ours in the eyes of "The Man" in China, "The Man" in Washington and "The Man" in Mass. So... I guess... The Men?

I have no idea if they drop cookies, but if they do, you probably already have those anyway. This is the same Google ad technology that is already all over the Internet. I believe that it works by simply contextualizing both the content of the blog and your location (based on your IP address).

39 degrees would produce rain, not snow. Also, being an average it will occasionally dip lower and rise higher. So my original comment holds.

I'm not sure, but that's a good point. I should probably investigate that before investing in any new vehicle.

Quite the contrary! I'm quite happy to help! I hope our story can help everyone involved. I was more curious about what was posted than anything. Congratulations, good luck and I ohpe to read your stories soon.

This is a great point. How many times you have you said something like "remember the ad that...." and describe something terribly funny, and then have no idea what it was for? There are a number of great, but ineffective ads.

Surprisingly... YES! She does have all her hair. Frankly, I'm not sure she'd sit still enough for him to cut anything on her anyway. I'm more concerned about the dog.