Soldier Ant 

This coming Monday will mark Kirby's 1-month anniversary in our home. We just took him in for his followup appointment with the vet earlier this week.

There was some good news (he's gained 3 lbs and his skin condition is clearing up), some bad news (the vet's worried that he might have a tumor in one of his testicles) and some.. well, just interesting news: Dr. Judy says that she thinks Kirby's probably 10 or 11 years old. (Which is about 2-3 years older than we'd previously thought.)

The tumor will come off in a couple of weeks (when the testicles do -- sorry, Kirbs. You know we love you, but them things've got to go.) Then they'll do a biopsy to see if it's malignant. If it is then there'll likely be some followup tests to see if it spread any beyond the.. um, removed artifacts. So I'm a little worried for the guy, but he'll be just fine, I'm sure of it.

The wife and I have picked up our year of Whedon again recently. We're heading into the home stretch: Buffy is done, we did a brief interlude into the world of Firefly, and we're now about half-way through the final season of Angel.

We never watched Angel Season 5 when it was originally broadcast (our cable package doesn't include the WB, is the easy excuse -- it turns out that they actually did broadcast Angel on the local UPN station back then as well, but - as I recall - it was a weird night and time, so we just gave up.) So far, we haven't been too impressed. It was nice to see Lindsey back for a spell, sad to see Cordelia's fate. Spike seems generally like an appendage, he probably should've passed with the end of Buffy. Something weird seemed to happen to the basic character of the show that season; perhaps it's just the 'working for Wolfram and Hart' conceit. It feels forced and more than a bit desperate.

But tonight, we saw the episode Smile Time and, I gotta say, All is Forgiven. Holy crap, what a good time. LeeAnn and I were literally howling with laughter at a couple of points. (Angel: "I got a lot of demon in me.")

Perhaps my favorite moment of the episode was Spike's (predictable) ridicule when he discovered stuffed-plush Angel. In the knock-down fight that ensues, you can just see James Marsters barely containing his glee at the absurdity of it all:

Another favorite moment for Marsters was the fifth season Angel episode in which the title character, played by David Boreanaz, is magically transformed into a puppet. One of the episode’s key scenes involved a throw-down between Spike and the all-too cuddly Angel puppet.

“It was fun fighting that puppet,” Marsters says. “They wired it to me and just said ‘go.’ Just totally low tech and let the actor do his thing.”

Does Wendy's new(ish) tagline strike anyone else as a bit odd? Do what tastes right shall be the whole of the law.

Coffee Does Grow on Trees, originally uploaded by soldierant.

LeeAnn has got our house looking warm, bright and cheery for the holidays. With ample help from me, of course, and almost no help from three dogs underfoot. Far from having the winter blahs (I'm sure those'll arrive in January) I am instead feeling full of appreciation for the good fortune and love that I enjoy in my life. Here's hoping you feel the same way this Christmas!

Hm. Who'da guessed it? Dwarfs commanded respect in ancient Egypt:

Pictorial sources of dwarfism in tomb and vase paintings, statues and other art forms are numerous and indicate that dwarfs were employed as personal attendants, overseers of linen, animal tenders, jewelers, dancers and entertainers.

For my brother Brian, here's the literary odd couple Stephen King and Martin Amis, on a panel together. (Once again, link via Robot Wisdom.)

From the Chicago Tribune, Pack of Angry Chihuahuas Attack Officer:

FREMONT, Calif. -- A pack of angry Chihuahuas attacked a police officer who was escorting a teenager home after a traffic stop, authorities said.

The officer suffered minor injuries, including bites to his ankle, Detective Bill Veteran said.

The five Chihuahuas escaped the 17-year-old boy's home and rushed the officer in the doorway Thursday, authorities said. The teenager had been detained after the traffic incident.

The officer was treated at a hospital and returned to work less than two hours later.