Visiting baby

In the continuing series of seasonal socializing, Otis and I went down to Beacon Hill yesterday to visit Ms. Matcha and Surfer-T. The happy couple just recently had a baby; well, to be specific, Ms. Matcha did the work (and a heckuva lotta work it was, too: thirty hours of labor was just the beginning). At any rate, baby Koa is happy and thriving with momma and poppa.





Things are still a little rough around the edges, but we expect to see the happy couple and baby-makes-three back in circulation soon.

Later on in the evening, we went to the Crest to catch Shut Up & Sing, the film about the whole Dixie Chicks vs. Red America kerfuffle that's been going on the past few years, almost precisely as long as the Iraq war as a matter of fact. It's a rather straightforward and unexceptional documentary, but the subject is still of interest in this country where dissent has started to become synonymous with disloyalty. The entertainers are interesting and sympathetic; Natalie Mains, who uttered the eleven words* that rocked the world, comes off as prickly, opinionated, brash, and filled with a genuine integrity and honesty. At the end of the day, it's hard to deny that the group sacrificed popularity and money for principle, and that's pretty admirable in my book. Oh, the movie is full of great music, too.

*"We're embarrassed the President of the United States is from Texas."

Personal note: Otis's grandmother, after a happy holiday, has fallen ill and is currently in hospital. Please keep a good thought for her.