Emmett is still not a homicidal maniac.

He's hell with a Louisville Slugger, though. As is right and proper.

my brother and I had squirt guns.

We had squirt guns and Nerf guns and those guns that shoot the discs you find behind the furniture FOREVER, and cap guns and a Nintendo system (it was the early 90s) with the guns to play Duck Hunt. And my dad had a BB gun we shot tin cans off the fence with.

And yet, to date, I'm not overly fond of guns, and have not gone all Scarface on anyone. My brother has a lot of guns, but he's a Vermonter. And so far all he's shot is a lot of clay pigeons that had it coming.

t edit None of which is to say parents must let their kids play with toy guns of any sort. That's not a parenting decision I have any quarrel with. (As long as they give their kids crossbows.)

We had the guns with the discs. But we never had enough discs to stack, and it wasn't like you could buy toys in Jamaica during our childhood--it was one and done with everything, bringing it in from foreign. Ah, well.

A light story from a heavy political battle. As you may or may not know the main Presbyterian denomination was considering at their main meeting (Held every two years) divesting from Caterpillar because they make military bulldozers that are sold to the West Bank to bulldoze Palestinian homes and businesses. [link] (Ultimately they decided against this very limited divestment.) But, as you would guess there was huge Jewish attendance at the meeting in Florida. The Jewish organizations with younger members, such as Jewish Voices For Peace were there urging support. The Jewish groups with older members were there opposing it.

And security was, of course, hired locally in Miami. One person from the more liberal Jewish side got into a conversation with a very bored security guard. (Not a ton for a security guard to do in a Presbyterian meeting.) So the security guard asked the attendee a question that had been puzzling him: "What are Presbyterians anyway? Is that some kind of Jewish sect?"

None of which is to say parents must let their kids play with toy guns of any sort. That's not a parenting decision I have any quarrel with. (As long as they give their kids crossbows.)

Between Brave's Merida and The Avengers' Hawkeye, Matilda has been lobbying for a serious bow and arrow something fierce.

Typo, BWAH!

I've seen tons of flip flops at weddings in recent years. I can't argue the choice, given how much I can't manage actual shoes.

Today has been a real...something.

I'd love to get some feedback from the migraine sufferers among us.

I've experienced atypical migraines for about the last 5 years. The spooky kind that don't hurt much, but feature blurry vision, olfactory hallucinations, speech difficulties and on and on.

The symptoms creep up on me over a period of 3 or 4 days and I don't generally notice them until I start throwing up.

This morning, at 5am, I woke up feeling pretty good. I stretched really hard and BANG, all of a sudden, the room was spinning so hard, I nearly pitched off the bed. Thank god I was lying down. If that weren't the case, I really don't know what would have become of me.

The next 9 hours featured almost constant vomiting, spinning and fear . No lie, at one point I began to wonder if I'd had some sort of stroke or thrown a clot in my brain...totally irrational thinking. I was so out of control, I could not think straight.

The migraines are thankfully infrequent but when they come, they COME. Does anyone have an idea of what to do once you are in the grip of one of these? I don't want to take prophylactic medication, if I can avoid it.

I have zero migraine advice, bonny, but I hope someone else's (unfortunate) experience can help you to feel better.

ION: I'm not a wine drinker or a wine buyer, so I have no idea if this woot! is a good deal (or a good wine), but I thought it's name and look would interest a few here...

[link] eta: note - this deal will only be there until 9pm Pacific.

bonny,

have you tried acupuncture?

That is next on my list, le nubian. I've got a good friend that I'm going to consult tomorrow to see if he can treat me.

I've just felt so sick today, I could not do it today.

I tried drinking boiled ginger this morning for my stomach, but it had zero effect.

Good grief, bonny, I have no advice, but sympathy in droves. That has to be terrifying. I hope you find an answer soon.

Sorry, no advice for migraines.

WRT squirt guns. We had them all. plastic color ones, ones that looked like guns. Super soakers. hoses connected to the main water supply. And we had water bottles that you use for cleaning (kinda like this: [link] ) that we would fill, and put to stream, and shoot halfway across the living room. Ah, those water battles. Only thing that made hazy, hot, & humid days passable in NY. And I'm a pacifist. Of course, i do own guns, but I don't think it's because of the squirt guns thing.