"But Daddy, if I smash it and kick over my amp, how do I get to play 'Old McDonald' or anything else?"

"But Daddy, if I smash it and kick over my amp, how do I get to play 'Old McDonald' or anything else?"
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Maya turned 2 years old today. She looks great for her age. Hope y'all can say the same. Rock on.

Cornbread and Birthday smiles @ Smokin' Pete's

Cornbread and Birthday smiles @ Smokin' Pete's
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

"Ah, this is comfy. But wait...where are my legs?"

"Ah, this is comfy. But wait...where are my legs?"
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Maya does her imitation of The Usual Suspects lineup. Give her a cigarette and you've got Benicio DelToro, for my money.

Maya does her imitation of The Usual Suspects lineup. Give her a cigarette and you've got Benicio DelToro, for my money.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

"If you'd read my rider, you'd know that on the Day after the Day after Oscar Sunday, I expect that you'll allow me to sleep in as late as possible."

"If you'd read my rider, you'd know that on the Day after the Day after Oscar Sunday, I expect that you'll allow me to sleep in as late as possible."
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Maya's got the angle but maybe notsomuch the orientation of putting on her own socks.

Maya's got the angle but maybe notsomuch the orientation of putting on her own socks.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Checking out the oxidation on the deYoung's copper exterior

Checking out the oxidation on the deYoung's copper exterior
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Saturday afternoon at Caffe Trieste in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.

Saturday afternoon at Caffe Trieste in San Francisco's North Beach neighborhood.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Maya showing off her flu pose. Delivered with equal parts disdain and rigormortis.

Maya showing off her flu pose. Delivered with equal parts disdain and rigormortis.
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Yoga Series #2 - Exuberance is key, in all stretches

Yoga Series #2 - Exuberance is key, in all stretches
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

Yoga Series #1 - Getting parallel with Auntie Katie

Yoga Series #1 - Getting parallel with Auntie Katie
Originally uploaded by emaggie.

A San Francisco drive-by, in a good way

Being back in San Francisco for the first time after 6 months in Seattle is delightfully entertaining. I'm on a tour of old haunts today, with Maya fully ensconsed in the welcome embrace of aunts and grandparents while Sarah's pleasantly tied up at a conference with collegues. Lower Haight, Cole Valley, Ocean Beach, past the Golden Gate on the way to North Beach, and more to go. One day of running a rental car raw through this amazing city's streets will scarcely be enough. But as I listen to an elderly Italian man sing with his regular Saturday back-up band of accordians and mandolins in Caffe Trieste, I'll take this without complaint. The weather is positively stunning. The blues and greens of the city are blinding. So I'm refueled and ready to hit the road again.

Hope your own background music today also features loads of accordian. Rock on.

"Where's that Gannon guy - sure could use one of them questions..."

Dubya just finished the strangest news conference I've seen in many moons. Part of it had to be that the vast field of tough problems and unbelievable missteps that naturally lead to a bazillion snarky White House Press Corps questions. But he's flubbin' and stumblin' more than ever. Including a repeated assertion about Iran's alleged link to weapons found in Iraq being bad even if the Iranian government didn't know about it. And an outright refusal to respond to my earlier planted question about Rove/Fleischer/Armitage's leaking of Valerie Plame's name. I look forward to how the chattering class battles over this moment in the life of the Administration. I think it's a low point. Let me know if you disagree.

For those looking up Maya's progress, it's been a solidish week of flu featuring a few days of hearty barfing. She dealt damn well considering everything, we did approximately 37 loads of laundry, the house got a bit manky, but we've dosed it all in kerosene so it's all just a sensory memory now. More importantly, Maya's back to about 97%. Good thing, too. Tomorrow nite we're heading back to San Francisco for a few days. Should be lovely to revisit some short-lived-but-loved haunts and see some cherished folk. Please check back for pics.

Hope your own follow-ups are unavoidable today. Rock on.

My bet - Cheney had Anna Nicole Smith whacked

While the entire chattering universe fixates on which pic of Anna Nicole Smith to use attached to the snarky eulogy, a Pentagon report is emerging that slays Douglas Feith and Rummy's intelligence shop. What does the report say? Only that the Iraq/Al Qaeda link was bullshite, and everyone who should know certainly knew it. But when you've got THE dead ex-stripper to end all dead ex-strippers to blather about...who cares about a War begun on false pretenses, right?

Hope you own hotel rooms are free of baggable evidence today. Rock on.

Operation When Will This End

Those that have been paying attention won't need to be reminded that as of today we've lost 5 helicopters in Iraq in the last 3 weeks. The first 4 were shot down, even though the military hated to admit it. This latest tragic downing carried 7 now lost Americans. Reports say it was shot down, too. Read about it - we all should be aware of how bad that mess is becoming. Personally, I've had trouble getting up the gumption to post anything regarding this debacle as of late. Bad news getting worse, day after day, is awfully hard to joke about. So when is enough truly enough? Dubya's "surge" is on display in these losses. And everyone says it will only worsen before it becomes less worse. Not better, but different. Oy. We need to invent a new category of screw-up to truly gauge what we're starting to tally herein.

Hope your own categories are expansive today. Rock on.