Althouse: Photo-free "café" post...

May 6, 2012

Photo-free "café" post...

... for Lyssa... and everybody.

We don't want Lyssa to burst!

("Café" is Althouse blog code for open thread.)

36 comments:

pm317 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/6/12, 8:46 AM
edutcher said...: Well, self-expression is what we all do here anyway, but no one wants the lovely redhead Lyssa to come to any harm.

Ann Althouse said...

Sorry, I have a new computer and I can't remember my Flickr sign-in!

An IT guy told you that you needed a "strong" password, right?

It's good thinking, but you need to write that stuff down someplace.; 5/6/12, 8:48 AM
Lyssa said...: Yay! Now, for my cafe news:

We're having a baby! Our first, due in December.

I've been trying to catch a cafe post all week to say something.

Now I guess I can put off bursting for another few months :); 5/6/12, 8:50 AM
pm317 said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 5/6/12, 8:54 AM
pm317 said...: Congratulations, Lyssa!

Here is something to look forward to, from a different species though, but still very cute.
NYU baby hawks; 5/6/12, 8:56 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Congrats and good luck, Lyssa!

Professor, were you thinking Lyssa is expecting?; 5/6/12, 9:01 AM
edutcher said...: Lyssa said...

Yay! Now, for my cafe news:

We're having a baby! Our first, due in December.

I've been trying to catch a cafe post all week to say something.

Now I guess I can put off bursting for another few months :)

Definitely cafe-worthy news.

Many congrats!

And, by all means, don't burst until absolutely necessary.; 5/6/12, 9:05 AM
Anonymous said...: @Lyssa
We're having a baby! Our first, due in December.

Congratulations to you and your hubby!

wv: eckes mitsefic, which would make a fine name for a baby in this day and age.; 5/6/12, 9:09 AM
Ann Althouse said...: Congratulations!

Don't burst until it's time!; 5/6/12, 9:13 AM
Lyssa said...: Oh, and because I have to inject politics into this in some way, there were some irregularities in my cycle that meant that they had to give me one of those T-V ultrasounds (you know, the "rape wands" that were such a big deal a few weeks ago) right off the bat, to get an idea of how far along I am.

Not a big deal at all. Definitely less invasive then a pap smear. I don't know how an abortion is actually performed, but it's got to be a lot more invasive then that wand.

That said, I completely understand why pro-life folks would want would-be aborters to see them. Seeing my little blob, which looked absolutely nothing like a baby, but still just seeing it there, and, in particular, seeing and hearing its heartbeat, was a complete 180 from just seeing the lines on the stick. It really made a huge difference in how I felt about the whole thing, how real it was. It's definitely things like that, the constantly improving technology on these images, that makes me feel confident that abortion will become unacceptable within my lifetime.

Thanks for all of the congratulations!; 5/6/12, 9:27 AM
CWJ said...: Let me add another. Congratulations!; 5/6/12, 9:31 AM
edutcher said...: Lyssa, your take on the ultrasound confirms what I've been thinking for some time.

The whole "fetus" thing is going to be harder and harder to push as we go forward.; 5/6/12, 9:37 AM
MadisonMan said...: Congratulation on your news Lyssa! I hope you have a smooth pregnancy culminating in a healthy kid!

My sister is hinting that she'll be a grandma soon. I'm not sure what that means. Pregnant now, or just trying? Time will tell, I guess.; 5/6/12, 9:41 AM
ndspinelli said...: Congrats Lyssa, my prayers for a healthy child. Being born near Christmas myself, I know you'll be sensitive to the birthday issue.; 5/6/12, 9:51 AM
Paddy O said...: Congratulations, Lyssa!!!

(I know the feeling about waiting for cafe posts with news like that!); 5/6/12, 9:54 AM
Calypso Facto said...: Congratulations, Lyssa!

And nice tax-break timing. :); 5/6/12, 10:03 AM
Rusty said...: Lyssa said...
Yay! Now, for my cafe news:

We're having a baby! Our first, due in December.

I've been trying to catch a cafe post all week to say something.

Now I guess I can put off bursting for another few months :)

Oh. Good news. Congratulations!
Babies are the coolest things ever.; 5/6/12, 10:05 AM
nana said...: Lyssa, I am feeling weepy today and your wonderful news made me cry. It is great news! I cried because because it reminded me of my ultra sound over 30 years ago when I found out I was having twins. It was different then, not as detailed as today but I still remember the heartbeats. I pray that all goes well.; 5/6/12, 10:11 AM
Carnifex said...: @Lyssa

Congratulations on the good news. The only ones luckier than you are the soon to be grandparents.

I was going to tell of marble shooting here in Kentucky, but in honor of Lyssa and her cafe news...I give you, "My Birth".

Back in the day, when Mom and Dad were recently married, they had my sister. She was born in Louisiana. Because of this, there was no family support for her during her "time".

2 months after my sisters birth, they moved back to Kentucky, were 2 months later, my mom goes crying to her mom, that she's pregnant again, and didn't want to be. Especially with summer coming on. My grandmother had little sympathy for my mom though. She told her, "You've been married for almost a year and a half, you know how babies are made. You got no one to blame but yourself."(Grammy was Scottish you can see).

Anyway, that put the due date sometime around the middle of September. Also around the time of the Kentucky State Fair. A much more sensible date than currently, which is in August, and much to hot to enjoy unless it's night time.(summers in Kentucky can be brutal with the heat, and humidity)

So Mom suffered through that long hot summer, sweating under her boobs, and getting those little black bits that accumulate under your arms, if you don't have adequate ventilation. But otherwise, it was a very easy pregnancy(I like to think).

So the State Fair arrived but I hadn't. The temperature was moderating, and Mom and Dad were bored. Mom not feeling like doing anything all summer long. So the get into the car that night and go to the fair. And Lawdy Be! The circus was there too! Not just any podunk circus either, this was Ringling Brothers!

At the Fair then as today they had wheelchairs for rent for handicapped people(I show my age by using that expression). Mom's ankles were swollen for some mysterious reason, and her feet hurt so she wished to ride. But alas, they were just starting out, and lacked the funds to rent one. Especially if they wanted to see the circus! Which Dad, and not Mom, did.

**I must say in full disclosure that I wasn't there(not yet), so all these details come 2nd, and sometimes 3rd hand.(or maybe I was?) But it sometimes does resemble the truth...in passing. In that I have spoken the truth with this mouth sometimes, so the words passed through the same opening**; 5/6/12, 10:16 AM
Carnifex said...: My Dad marches Mom(and me, but I'm not walking) around until it's time for the circus to start.(I've just thought that my Dad seems a bit uncaring in this story. He did care, just not a lot) marches Mom around until the "Greatest Show on Earth" started. Now I don't know about "Earth!", but it surely was on that night for "in Louisville!"

There were clowns, and elephants, and clowns, and acrobats, and jugglers, and..and..clowns!(Later in life I was to inadvertantly give my nephew a phobia of clowns. "Cat's in the Craddle" indeed) My parents were watching with wide eyes as the plethora of amazing things passed before their eyes, while Mom massaged her feet.

Suddenly, like a maniacal painted shark, blood red mouth, wild swept back hair, and skin white as a deadmans, he appeared before my Mom. And threw a bucket of confetti on her.

Mom startled, flinched, convulsed, and maybe, just maybe, I felt her fear. Maybe the rush of horomones reached my little body and it caused me to startle, flinch, convulse. Or maybe it was just time, but either way, Moms water broke. All over he bleacher seats.

Everything was kinda chaotic then. Well actually no, it wasn't. The clown was very solicitous. He even got Mom a wheelchair..for free! So Mom sat in the wheelchair telling Dad to get her to the hospital. Maybe begging, I don't remember. But he wouldn't go. Not yet anyway. There was time(in retrospect, there was), and besides, the elephants were going to perform next.(this part did happen)

After leaving the Fair, Mom and Dad drove to St. Joe's hospital, which was just a few blocks away from the Fairgrounds. Not so close that there wasn't a White Castle on the way, Were Dad got himself 4 to go in the Takhomasak.(if you remember those) Afew hours later, with the assistance of Dr. Billman, who I hope was a better doctor then, as compared to what I remember as a child...no he had to be better then, he didn't castrate me when I was circumcised.

So when I tell you I was born at night, but not last night, you can take that to the bank. And when I tell explain to people that I have a weird sense of humor because my Mom was scared by a clown...that's the truth too...maybe...I wasn't there till, the end.; 5/6/12, 10:16 AM
ndspinelli said...: Calypso Facto, Bingo on the "tax break." My mother wanted a New Years baby but my old man wanted a tax deduction. A classic male/female difference. My old man won by 30 minutes.; 5/6/12, 10:18 AM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Congratulation Lyssa.

I had been hoping for a café post on Friday so that I could wish everyone a Happy Thtar-Warth day. ( and May the Fourth Be with You! )

Compared to Lyssa's news, that seems pretty pathetic.

Oh, and happy Cinco de Mayo too!; 5/6/12, 10:36 AM
Ipso Fatso said...: Whatever happened to Carol Herman?; 5/6/12, 11:57 AM
Christy said...: Congrats, Lyssa! Exciting news indeed.

Yesterday was a baby shower for a cousin. Both she and her husband are EMTs. She swears she didn't realize until her Mom wanted to monogram a gift that the chosen name yeilds C.P.R.; 5/6/12, 12:21 PM
Saint Croix said...: hey Lyssa, yay!; 5/6/12, 12:28 PM
Saint Croix said...: Does anybody hear know anybody who’s a Hollywood agent? Or do you know somebody who knows somebody? I need a rep to help me market my right-self into the liberal colossus that is Hollywood. I think they’re going to have to smuggle me in. I might have to go Commie just to get a meeting.

Anyway, my pro-life screenplay that’s going to upset everybody and probably get me shot is here. You can watch my really fun Hitchcock thriller in animatic form here. And my movie book is here.; 5/6/12, 12:33 PM
Deb said...: Congratulations, Lyssa. Good times ahead. Enjoy every minute. Here's wishing you an easy pregnancy and labor. Here are my words of advice, and there are only four of them: "I want my epidural."; 5/6/12, 12:41 PM
Saint Croix said...: The 9 opens in the middle of a sex scandal in the office of a Supreme Court Justice. You kinda have to imagine JFK or Bill Clinton on the Supreme Court. And before you say "that can't happen!" let me remind you that William Doublas married a 23-year-old law clerk when he was 65. A few years after that he divorced her and married a 22-year-old.

Anyway, we open with a sex scandal in the Supreme Court. And to really get a sense of the blasphemy, we cut to photographs of the meanest, most judgmental judges I could find. I wanted some real disapproval of all this wanton sexuality.

So I went with John Marshall Harlan. (This one is pretty good, too. He just doesn't look happy). Also Felix Frankfurter has an uptight vibe. I believe his portrait gets smacked a few times in the middle of an orgasm. (Not a fan of the Felix). Also, Charles Evans Hughes, who's actually my favorite Chief. But he really does have a scowl thing going on.

Clearly they do not approve!

And I really did have a lot of fun putting a sex scandal in the Supreme Court. They wear those sexless black robes to a) appear mystical, like they are issuing orders from God and b) so they seem like they are above us and have no earthly desires.

I also have a scene where they pee.

Any feedback on any of my work would be huge and greatly appreciated.; 5/6/12, 12:58 PM
wyo sis said...: Congratulations to Lyssa. And, to St Croix I liked your thriller. The music is great.; 5/6/12, 1:10 PM
Saint Croix said...: And, to St Croix I liked your thriller. The music is great.

hey, wyo sis, thanks!

I'm a huge fan of Hitchcock, my favorite filmmaker. So that's my attempt to make a movie like he would have made.

I wrote my thesis paper on voyeurism, Hitchcock, and Rear Window. Fans of his work might get a kick out of it.; 5/6/12, 1:41 PM
MayBee said...: Lyssa!!!!!!!!!!

Oh yay yay yay!; 5/6/12, 2:16 PM
yashu said...: Yay Lyssa, congratulations! ¡Felicitaciones y enhorabuena!; 5/6/12, 3:06 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: We're having a baby! Our first, due in December.

Hooray! Enthusiastic congratulations!; 5/6/12, 3:37 PM
campy said...: Congrats, Lyssa!

Suggestion: The 5th is a good day for a December b'day.; 5/6/12, 3:37 PM
Jose_K said...: Who would think this about Hanoi Jane:
http://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/televisione/articoli/1045038/janea-letto-mi-piace-stare-sotto.shtml; 5/6/12, 6:47 PM
traditionalguy said...: Lyssa ...Can we be digital God Parents? Your news makes me very happy.; 5/6/12, 7:48 PM