what about the plastic animals?

Dexterity

I tied my shoes today for the first time since July 19th.  Therapy this morning consisted of thrusting my hand into a vat of hot corn husks, wrangling the left pinkie finger, picking up wooden blocks and putting them in a box with the same finger, and mashing an industrial-sized blob of silicone polymer (commonly known as Silly Putty).  I was given a smaller blob so I could continue the mashing at home.

Vertical Stripes

From my hair to my fingers down to my stylish pants.  I wasn't feeling well earlier in the week, hence the lack of recent activity.  That, and I am paralyzed by having too many photos to choose from for the next Iowa event.

In other news my cast was removed on Monday.  The orthopaedist said the bone was healing well.  My fingers aren't very flexible so I have a few weeks of physical therapy to keep me busy.  After that I expect be able to play violin.

Hand Update

The orthopaedist took off the ER cast and molded a smaller splint to my hand last week.  Since then I have been diligently wiggling and curling my fingers as much as possible.  The fingers are still swollen and bruised but I can now touch my thumb to the index and middle fingers.  Despite the exercise the muscles in my forearm have atrophied pretty quickly.  On the plus side the break doesn't hurt much at all except when I twist the hand too much or try to catch something I've dropped.  I'll try to avoid doing just that for the next three weeks.

Humans Were Not Made for Flight

My pinkie finger isn't naturally that short!  It only became so after a brief attempt at flight off my bicycle came to a sudden end yesterday morning.  After a very long day at the Jacobi Medical Center, most of which was spent sitting in the waiting area, x-rays were taken, the bone was set, more x-rays were taken and I was sent home.  With luck the bone will heal properly, but I was told this type of fracture more often than not requires surgery.  For now, though, I'm quickly gaining speed on the one-handed typing.  

Going for the 'Gold

Ahh, it's summertime.  Time to sit back and enjoy a nice cold Rheingold beer.

Serious

When it came time for school pictures I was a serious, if dirty-faced, child.

Bike Helmet Hair

I may not have much hair on top but it shapes up nicely under a bike helmet.  Also, I'm trying to smile there while concentrating on the picture but it's not quite working.

Early Portrait

This is me!  I "sat" for a bunch of photos when I was a few months old.  There were twelve photos of a giant head resting on forearms.  Five of the pictures were used in a large collage.  This one of me stuffed under a towel is at the center of the collage.  Pictures one, two and ten have gone missing!  I am hoping they have simply been stored in a different box.

Musical diversion:  Two videos I can't get out of my head.

Great things have come out of Columbus, Ohio - Wendy's, White Castle, Dane, and The Ohio State University to name a few.  All of these pale in comparison to the crabcore stylings of Attack Attack!.

To clear your mind of the auto-tuned-death-metal-euro-disco assault here's Julia Nunes performing Build Me Up Buttercup.

Freezer Door

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the door to my freezer.

Sunday Morning Scene in Bowling Green

Sunday mornings in Bowling Green were usually spent right here, in the Grounds for Thought coffeehouse, reading either the Toledo Blade or the Cleveland Plain-Dealer as well as the Times.  Many papers were graded here as well.  Grounds for Thought opened a few months before I moved to town.  I found the store while hunting for an apartment and bought a used copy of Jane and Michael Stern's Roadfood on my first visit.  Since I was last there the used book section has expanded to fill another storefront.  On this trip I found a copy of New York Holiday by Eleanor Early, a 1950 travel guide filled with historical anecdotes.