Also, this is a pretty big departure from my most recent submissions. It had started looking like I was going to be a one-trick pony with only bones in the repertoire. I decided to get this one out before submitting another anatomical piece.

…watching Obama’s luminous acceptance speech, hearing him say to all those who had bitterly fought his election what I could never have imagined Bush saying to me and my friends—“I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too”…Yes, I thought, magnanimous in victory: donuts for all. Seeing our first black president, that science-fiction trope for The Future, become a reality, I felt the way people must have felt the night men first walked on the moon.

“The Pain–When Will It End?” is a satirist web-column generally focused on political fodder and social follies. The artist, Tim Kreider, is well-known in his industry and a seasoned veteran of political cartoons. Seasoned with paprika and cumin, presumably; based upon his caustic wit. I’m a fan of the spices. I don’t always get the joke, but then I don’t put a lot of time into politics either.

I’m doing my best to ensure that I don’t lose sight of the treasures still to come in our first-born while our attention is diverted to this little girl. It can be a struggle keeping up with everything at home while still making time for me and Balthazar to play the games we used to play. Easing that, he’s recently really gotten into board games. I can keep an eye (and ear) on Sorscha while we play board games without being too distracted to give him my attention. It’s also easier to allocate this time, as our outside time has been cut short for the coming winter.

This experience of having our second child - some 5 years apart from our first - has given us new wisdom that I feel one can only gain through life.

One cannot fully appreciate what happens to the being at the birth of your first child. You undergo a transformation unlike anything before or after that moment. I remember seeing a baby born vaginally when I was an adolescent, and the experience gave me some spine-tingling chills that hinted at this fact. When we had our first child, the internal shift from my awareness of self: man, husband, child, protector, supplier, etc., went spiraling around and may have momentarily just been forgotten. It didn’t matter anymore. The thing I remember most - and perhaps something that sums up a great deal of this feeling - is that I lost my sense of invulnerability. Perhaps it’s passed on to the next generation - much to a parent’s chagrin.

Now at the birth of our second child, we see the real development of our first. Less of the initial surge of fatherhood that fills you, though a new awareness of everything that can’t be ignored.

I really mean to say that there are some lessons in life that we’re taught, but can never be appreciated until experienced. You were told that you’d one day look back at your school days and realize you were having the time of your life. You’re told that a child will change you. I’ve heard that time flies as you get older. “One day you’ll understand…” All of these things go unheeded as our elders press them into our heads. Being at the crossroads of naivety and understanding, I want to impart a sort of enlightenment to those behind me on the path. But who am I kidding? I’m just saying the same thing…

Sorscha Valkyrie Gradin weighed in at 6lbs. 11oz. and measured 20.5″ in length. She’s capable of thawing icebergs with a look, but has used her powers for good to warm the heart of every soul she meets.

Oh man, he’s going to have a real ball at Halloween this year!

Bottom line - I’m not out of the competition yet! This means my designs could still win. My scores weren’t the highest, to be sure, but I still have to hold out hope that they’re scored only marginally lower than the winners.

We’re all looking very much forward to meeting her. You might find yourself wondering what her name is going to be, but you will keep on doing so. So far, absolutely zero people in the known universe (besides Amy and I) are aware of her name. There’s a chance that an advanced race of telepaths may have already discovered our secret. It’s a game we played with Balthazar’s name as well. The reason is largely because we’re not interested in hearing anyone’s doubts, concerns, suggestions, or comments otherwise on our name choice(s). It’s hardest with family, which always has a certain lasting psychological and emotional consequence on the mind. While the name is very important, it is of little matter what that specific name is, really. Once a child’s name is set, it’s generally hard to imagine that child by any other name. That said, the name is nothing more than a parental choice - a right. It’s perhaps the first of many experiments that will imbue your legacy, because what are children if not the parents’ result from hypothesis and experiment.

No doubt many of you wait with bated breath. Still others dread the possibilities. Maybe in the end it will be no big surprise at all.

Anyway, I finished another Threadless submission - this one entitled “Seaside.” It went through several critiques and evolved to what you see here now. The original was classy. The finished version is less anatomical design, and more “killer t-shirt design.” The idea I’m conveying here is that pirates were the original gangsta’s. Bling, booty, and thugs; the seafaring cast had it all. If you want the oppressive land crab to hearken your love for the uneasy sea life, buck up and wear this old flag proud. Seaside forever!

Oh yeah, and you’re going to have to vote high to make this shirt a winner over at Threadless.com. There will probably be 1200 votes when the week’s over, so make sure you and your friends make up a big part of those in $5!

Vote on the Seaside Submission