theparkerfamily.org

Month: August 2010

  • week forty-six

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    photo of the week // week forty-six

  • humanity, pt 2

    Favorite bit of coverage from the Glenn Beck-apalooza being held on the National Mall as we speak:

    In a rather curious and confused way, some white people are starting almost to think like a minority, even like a persecuted one.

    What does it take to believe that Christianity is an endangered religion in America or that the name of Jesus is insufficiently spoken or appreciated? Who wakes up believing that there is no appreciation for our veterans and our armed forces and that without a noisy speech from Sarah Palin, their sacrifice would be scorned?

    It’s not unfair to say that such grievances are purely and simply imaginary, which in turn leads one to ask what the real ones can be. The clue, surely, is furnished by the remainder of the speeches, which deny racial feeling so monotonously and vehemently as to draw attention.

    CREDITS: Excerpt from Christopher Hitchens’ White Fright, via Slate; Photo © Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post.

  • dc state fair

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    See All the Photos on Flickr:
    dc state fair, columbia heights, washington, dc

  • sparklet vs. cat

    ECPA20100827_4877 by [ecpark] ECPA20100827_4906 by [ecpark]
    ECPA20100827_4882 by [ecpark] ECPA20100827_4905 by [ecpark]
    ECPA20100827_4897 by [ecpark] ECPA20100827_4907 by [ecpark]
    ECPA20100827_4909 by [ecpark] ECPA20100827_4912 by [ecpark]
    ECPA20100827_4915 by [ecpark] ECPA20100827_4904 by [ecpark]

  • mommy should drink at work more often

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    the lady sparkler’s office had an early happy hour this afternoon, which meant that (a) she got home early, and (b) that she was really “happy” when she got home — and by “happy” i mean swerving the stroller around like it was a roller coaster.

    sparklet was MUCH impressed.

  • “let me in!”

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    things have fundamentally changed now that sparklet’s seen cows in the wild — being on the “wrong” side of the fence is simply no longer acceptable.

  • “we’ve got 800 channels — there’s got to be something on besides this.”

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    sparklet and i just watced the UEFA Champions League qualifier between Tottenham Hotspur (COYS!) and BSC Young Boys of switzerland, a match Tottenham won to put them through to the group stages of potentially the most prestigious competition on the planet.

    if sparklet ever figured out how to actually use that remote, i’m screwed.

  • chorizo and spinach tacos

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    this is based loosely on a breakfast taco that i love to get in texas. only, i’m not such a big fan of the egg — to i left that part out and made them dinner tacos instead. they’re super simple to make, but the result depends almost entirely on the quality of the ingredients.

    more after the jump …

    (more…)

  • guestbook: nancy

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    See All the Photos on Flickr:
    guestbook: nancy

  • hike: piedmont/gap run trails, sky meadows state park, virginia

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    damn, i’m out of shape.

    i haven’t looked it up yet, but the 2 mile trail we just did had enough altitude gain that it might as well been the north face of mount everest, as least as far as my frail body/flabby midsection was concerned.

    and, sparklet was unkind — providing very verbal feedback every 10 feet when her daddy/sherpa stopping to suck wind.

    the big news of the morning came on the way back down, when we ran smack into a herd of cows — animals, i should point out, that didn’t seem to be having a problem with the altitude.

    we ran into them right as we were coming over a blind rise, so by the time sparklet saw them they were maybe 10 feet away, and she was utterly confounded about how a whole pack of her friends from the petting zoo got up here (and how she got on the wrong side of the fence, i’d imagine).

    after about 10 minutes of staring (with a competition between sparklet’s eyes and her mouth for which could be open the widest) we finally said goodbye to the cows and continued on.

    sparklet wailed, until we turned back.

    after 5 more minutes of staring (and waving, and giggling) we once again said goodbye to the cows and continued on.

    sparklet wailed.

    it wasn’t until three more rounds of this that the cows were far enough away that sparklet finally lost interest in her first official “wildlife” sighting.

    and, being the out-of-shape/selfish nit that i am, the whole time i was wondering why we couldn’t have seen the cows on the way UP the mountain, when i could have used the excuse to stop.


    trail information:
    Trailhead: 38.992886,-77.967272 (Google Maps); Length: 2.1 total miles; Elevation Gain: 360 feet; Trail Type: Out-and-back; Skill Level: Moderate.

    See All the Photos on Flickr:
    sky meadows state park, delaplane, virginia