I just watched last night's Daily Show. I * heart * Calvin Trillin.

For me, it was almost an overwhelming confluence of sekrit boyfriends. Calvin Trillin is not only one of the funniest people ever, but one of the great reporters of our time. He is the man who said that Iraq I was called "Operations Desert Storm" because it's hard to sell "Restore Oppressive Monarchy." He's the man who coined the phrase "La Maison de la Casa House, Continental Cuisine" to describe the sort of restaurant recommended by Chambers of Commerce in rural America. Y'all don't actually want to hear all the Calvin Trillin phrases I quote all the time. He also had, for many years, the best job ever, which was to write about anything he wanted to for The New Yorker.

I am the compleat Calvin Trillin fangirl.

Bay Area people: Calvin Trillin is going to be at City Arts and Lectures with Mary Karr on October 11.

I've had my eye on it, but also like the sound of October 17: "The Rejection Collection: Cartoons you never saw and never will see, in the New Yorker."

Thanks for the ~ma, Sophia. Best of luck with your kitty hunt.

The vet's office has flyers of kittens free to good homes. You could try a few vetrenarians.

I read somewhere (maybe the elephant crying book) about how a lot of the "animals just don't..." comes from Christian theology rather than actual research and over time it dismissing anthrpomorphizing came to be accepted as fact. That doesn't mean animals DO X, Y and Z, but its certainly worth researching.

Msbelle, I'm getting irritated at one of the people on Lala. I know he's gotten the CD, because he told me he did, but he won't acknowledge in the system that he has.

Sarameg-- give her the cues (the lines directly before her line). If she gets a word wrong, correct her, AND MAKE HER START OVER FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE LINE. Do that every time, and she'll get them down. You can also prompt her if she forgets a line, first try feeidng the first word only, then a hint having to do with the meaning of the line: "You're shocked and furious" for "How dare you?" No matter how many mistakes she makes, be upbeat and tell her she'll get them before the show opens.

Actually, at this age, I would give most or all of the line before hers, since her classmates are likely to screw up, rather than just the last little bit.

I always liked making flashcards, with the cue line on one side, and mine on the other, but that's a solitary exercise.

And the getting lines exactly right, word for word, is, as Robin said, necessary. As the lore was passed to me (I say, after 4 tellings, it's lore), reciting lines should be like reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

Oooh, City Arts and Lectures. I've never been to that.

I read somewhere (maybe the elephant crying book) about how a lot of the "animals just don't..." comes from Christian theology rather than actual research and over time it dismissing anthrpomorphizing came to be accepted as fact. That doesn't mean animals DO X, Y and Z, but its certainly worth researching.

Yeah, it's a difficult area to research, because basically we can observe behaviour, and some brain wave stuff, and how do you prove or disprove emotion, intention or awareness from that? There are a fair few preconceived notions in every direction. I still love whatever we can find out, of course. And I still have ideological objections to eating octopus, and for that matter lynching monkeys as French spies.

That's an awesome story, Herah. Your daughter is six? That seems awfully old....

It is awfully old. This is my younger daughter -- she was a baby when I first posted here.

Tonight I caught her twin brother reading his tiny-print Bible by the nightlight. He said, "Mommy, what does it mean, the lips of an immoral woman drip with honey?" One of those questions parents love in the middle of the night.

My favorite Calvin Trillin quip is his nickname for the ubiquitous pundits of cable: Sabbath Gasbags, so called for their Sunday morning bloviations.