Hope’s New Smile

It’s been a few days since Hope’s surgery and The Civee and I already can tell one thing about her new smile–it’s just as cute as her old smile.

Monday night going into Tuesday wasn’t as rough as we had feared.  The hospital let us feed her a little later than usual, which meant that Tuesday morning, pre-surgery wasn’t miserable for Hope or us.  In fact, in the pre-surgery room, she was very happy, not knowing what awaited her.  It was tough to give her to the nurse to take into surgery.  But as the nurse wheeled Hope into the surgery room, Hope rolled over onto her stomach and got up on her hands and knees, showing off her latest trick, and a round of laughter erupted from inside the surgery room- meaning either the doctors were sampling the laughing gas, or they found our daughter’s antics amusing.

The next few hours were anything but amusing.  Although the surgical waiting room at Childrens’ is pretty nice, Let’s Make a Deal and free Internet access (on IE 6, no less) wasn’t enough to make the few hours of Hope’s surgery go by any more quickly.  After what seemed like a day, but was more like two and a half hours, we met with the doctor, who told us he was pleased with how Hope’s surgery turned out.  Not only did he have to bring both sides of her lip together, he also had to separate her upper lip from her gum on both sides and attempt to straighten out her nose. All the taping that The Civee and I had done over the past few months helped, bringing the skin closer on its own.  Additionally, Hope had some excess tissue which made the surgery a lot easier for him (we were later told they might use her case at some sort of medical conference).  He also did a lot of extra work on her nose, helped by two nasal stents which he was able to use because he trusted The Civee and I with keeping them clean over the next few weeks.

After another hour or so, we finally got to see Hope, and despite the doctor’s good report, it was a little upsetting.  Hope was still under anesthesia, her eyes were closed, her face bloated and the sounds coming from her mouth told us that she was in pain.  She slowly woke up and by the end of the night, flashed a slight smile or two.  Until her post-surgery appointment sometime in September, she’ll be in arm restraints, which could be frustrating to a baby who wants to put everything she can grasp into her mouth.  The sensitivity of the nose and mouth also means that laying on her stomach is out, as we don’t want her rubbing her mouth or nose into the ground.

But since coming home Wednesday morning, Hope has been slowly getting back to normal.  Her face is still very sensitive, but each day, she has been smiling and talking more.  And she’s finally big enough to try something my mother’s been wanting to get for her grandchild for the last 32 years: a Johnny-Jump-Up.  Thanks the The Civee’s father, we were able to get the device mounted from one of our abnormally-wide doorways.  Even though Hope is still learning how to use it, we think she likes it:

Getting Ready for Hope’s Big Day

After four months, the medically inevitable is days away for Hope: her first surgery is Tuesday morning.

This surgery (the first of three, we’ve been told) will repair her lip and nose, bringing the two sides of her lip together and straightening out her nose.  It’s mostly cosmetic, while the second surgery, to repair the palate (hopefully sometime this fall) is more functional.

The Civee and I are looking forward to getting this out of the way.  It’s a routine surgery and the doctor who will be performing it has done good work in the past.  But we’re not looking forward to the night before or the few days after the surgery.

We’ve been told we won’t be able to feed her after midnight the day before the surgery, which is scheduled for around 8:00.  I have asked the hospital if we could drop her off at 1 that morning.  They said no, probably because they don’t want to deal with a crying, hungry baby any more than The Civee and I do.  To put it mildly, Monday night will be rough.

After the surgery is also looking to be challenging.  We have no idea how she’ll react to all the work she’s had done.  We hope it doesn’t mess with her feeding.  She’s usually a very happy baby and we don’t want her temperament to change for a long time.

Our other concern is something that’s surprised both of us.  Obviously, we love our daughter and want her to be healthy.  But we also love her appearance.  How are we going to react to seeing our baby looking very different?  Of course we’ll still love and accept her (and this surgery, even though it’s cosmetic, will have a great impact on her quality of life), but she’s just going to be a little different.  We’re sad about the prospect of saying goodbye to how she looks now.  But she’ll still be our Hope.

Over the past few weeks, she’s grown a lot.  At her last hospital visit (three weeks ago), she was 13.5 pounds.  She’s getting better at grabbing objects and moving them to her mouth (her success rate is 50 percent…the rest of the times, she usually hits the object against her forehead or cheek). She’s making different kinds of noises when you talk with her.  And, in a move that’s going to have us childproofing the house pretty soon, she’s able to get on her hands and knees and inchworm her way around.  She doesn’t make it that far, but here’s a short clip of her in action:

Weezer’s Hurley: Not A Concept Album, But It Could Be

So it’s official- Weezer’s upcoming eighth album, Hurley (due September 14) is named after the character from Lost and will have actor Jorge Garcia on the cover.

The cover news came out today, courtesy of Spinner, and lends credence to an item posted on the alt.music.weezer newsgroup back on July 30.  That item, posted by someone who claimed to have seen the cover, noted that Garcia would be on the cover (proven to be true as of today), also reported the album would be released on Epitaph records (confirmed last week) and had a tracklist, with several of the song titles being confirmed (also last week) by a Rolling Stone article.  The newsgroup post claims Hurley‘s tracklist is:

1. 1. Memories
   2. Ruling Me
   3. Trainwrecks
   4. Unspoken
   5. Where’s My Sex?
   6. Run Away
   7. Hang On
   8. Smart Girls
   9. Brave New World
   10. Time Flies

Nevermind the fact that these days, leaking news on a newsgroup is like the nations of the world coordinating the attack against the alien invaders by using Morse Code in Independence Day.  But enough of the other information in the post has ended up being correct, I’m willing to say this may be the tracklist too.

Over the weekend, Weezer released the first single off the album, Memories, a fast-paced, quasi-punk tune about what the band’s life was like when they were just starting out.  It’s a decent catchy tune, not their best single, but far from their worst.  The chorus, which goes “Memories make me want to go back there (back there)/(All the) memories make me want to go back there (back there)/(All the) memories, how can we make it back there (back there)/I want to be there again” got me thinking about a possible link to Lost.  The chorus sounds kind of like (Rivers, if you’re reading this, skip this next bit) Jack at the end of Season 3.

For a while, I was hoping that Hurley was a Lost-related concept album.  If Memories was about Jack, the other songs could be about other Lost characters and events.  Ruling Me could be about Juliet’s relationship with Ben.  Unspoken could be about all the questions the characters had that were never asked.  Time Flies could be about Faraday.  Smart Girls could be about….um…nevermind.

But unfortunately, Hurley‘s ties to Weezer end with the album title and cover.  Rivers told Spinner that he met Garcia recently and has only watched Lost through season two.  The band went with Hurley because, as Rivers told Spinner,

“Ultimately, we just went with some random word that doesn’t really have anything to do with anything. I just loved this photo of Jorge Garcia — it just had this amazing vibe. We didn’t want to do a fourth self-titled record and we knew people would refer to it as ‘the Hurley record’ even if left it without that title, so we just called it ‘Hurley.’ No words are on the cover because all we wanted was his amazing face.”

Even if it’s not about Lost, it’s a great album cover.

The New Man in Charge Will Only Answer One of Your Questions

For the past five years, after each new episode of Lost, I’ve written a little something about what went down on the Island.

Well, the series is over, but today, an official epilogue, The New Man in Charge, set for release on the official DVD set later this month, leaked.  You can find it online (and may want to start looking at Dark UFO’s spoilers section) and skip a few more weeks of waiting.

While not really taking place on the Island, you get an idea of what happens during Hurley’s time in charge: shutting down the DHARMA stations and bringing an old friend back to the Island.  Despite the fact that Hurley is the one in charge, the star is Ben.  And Lost never goes wrong when Ben is the center of attention.

While shutting down a DHARMA facility, Ben offers to answer one question each for the confused workers.  He shares a previously unseen orientation film (converted to video).  Ben and the film answer some of the lingering questions (but not all of them) about the Island and DHARMA.

Ben is surprisingly honest with his answers, even addressing more than one question from each worker.  From the facility, he visits an old friend at Hurley’s former mental institution.  This contains more character wrap-up (and also addresses one of the things I asked in “I Want Some Freakin’ Answers“) and gives a hint at who Hurley’s successor would be.

While The New Man in Charge is a nice little wrap up to the series, it would have been totally out of place in The End.  The series was about the Island and what happened once the survivors of Oceanic 815 arrived.  While I wouldn’t blame Disney/ABC for trying to milk the series for more cash and release expanded universe-type material in the future, the Lost story ended with the death of Jack Shepard.   The New Man in Charge is an official post script.

And for what it is, it’s pretty good.

Weezer Pays Homage To The New Dude In Charge

It’s looking like it will be a good fall for Weezer fans. Even with the Pinkerton Deluxe (no tracklist yet) retrospective, unreleased tunes compilation Odds and Ends (same here) and possibly another installment in the Alone Series (your guess is as good as mine) coming this fall, Weezer is releasing their eighth studio album on September 14.

Rolling Stone had some details about the upcoming album, entitled Hurley, hinting that its title may be inspired by one our favorite characters here at the Kingdom:

After parting ways with their longtime label Geffen/Interscope, Weezer will release Hurley — which may be named after the portly Lost character — through California-based punk label Epitaph.

Seems that like Raditude, this album will feature a few collaborations, but unlike Raditude, these collaborations will be with more rock-influenced artists, like Mac Davis, who wrote In The Ghetto for Elvis Presley (the other King).

As revealed on the Alone II album, much of Rivers’ early material was influenced by the pop sounds of the Beach Boys.  In a way, Hurley could represent a return to Rivers’ roots.  From RS:

Instead, Hurley will focus on the melodies and major chords of traditional ’60s pop. In addition to the planned first single “Memories,” other new tracks include “Ruling Me” and “Hang On,” another pop-rock track that “sounds like Frankie Valli but mixed with Metallica guitars.” There’s also “Smart Girls,” Cuomo’s ode to all the girls that proposition on him on Twitter. … “Smart Girls,” which Cuomo compares to the Beatles’ “Back in the U.S.S.R.” in the sense that it sounds like someone else writing a “cheesy Beach Boys type of song.”

In case you have to ask, yes, I’m looking forward to this.  Speaking of things I’m looking forward to, the Lost DVD set coming out later this month will have a look at what Island life is like under the Hugo Reyes regime.

Lying on the Floor

Hope, a mouse toy and a lot of drool…

Who Needs The Butter Cow When Weezer’s At The State Fair?

Ten years ago (technically, nine years and 11 months), I went to my first Weezer concert.  Today, I went to my tenth.

I’ve seen them in all sorts of places – small clubs (like at the first show), an outdoor amphitheater, arenas and now, at a state fair.  I’ve gone to different cities, but this show was held about two miles from my house.

During my first show, held in the reunion summer of 2000, the band played a variety of songs from their first two albums along with a handful of songs that were in contention for their third album, then a year away (interestingly, none of these songs made the third album, though one would make their fourth).  During tonight’s show, held nine years and five albums later, Weezer played their singles, a mash-up cover and that was pretty much it.

Not that there’s anything wrong with their singles- they’re great songs and they played them very well.  But I do miss the songs when you’d hear a song like Falling for You or Crab at a live Weezer show.

Nevertheless, Weezer had a lot of energy.  Rivers once again showed it was possible to play guitar and bounce on a trampoline at the same time.  Scott rocked a kilt.  Pat went back and forth between lead guitar and drums.  And Brian took the lead on a very interesting instrumental (one of two) in the middle of the set.

For the show, because it was held at a state fair, there was a sign language interpreter off to the side.  The interpreter who covered Weezer’s set was rocking out while interpreting.  During Troublemaker, Rivers left the stage and joined the interpreter in her little area and sang as she interpreted.

It was a fun show.  The crowd was an interesting mix of all ages (because it was at a state fair), with a lot of kids.  One girl was celebrating her ninth birthday.  Maybe in nine years I’ll be able to take Hope.

What’s Up With Hope

Saturday night, the girls and I went to dinner. The Civee and I wanted to go to this Indian place, and Hope didn’t really care where we ate.  When we go out to eat, as long as there’s room, we’ll put Hope’s carrier on the table angled where we both can see it.  Saturday night was no different- The Civee and I sat across from each other, with Hope on the table.  She fell asleep shortly after we got there.

The waiter came up and started to make small talk, saying his wife is pregnant and due later this year.  Then he asked “what’s up with her,” while pointing to Hope.

I quickly replied “she’s just sleeping,” not realizing he was asking about the bandage across her face.

I guess by this point, The Civee and I have gotten so used to Hope’s cleft lip that when someone’s trying to ask about it tactfully we don’t realize what they’re doing.

Before she was born, as The Civee and I were being told about what having a baby with a cleft lip and palate meant, we were concerned.  Everyone’s aware of the cosmetic issues cleft kids face- that wasn’t a big deal to us.  We were warned that she may not put on weight (because she wouldn’t be able to eat correctly) and that in a worst-case scenario, we’d have to take her to a hospital to have her fed through an IV.

Fortunately, Hope’s been growing.  A lot.  She’s already more than 11 pounds.  And she’s tall (I think I know where she gets that from) for a three-month old.  She’s developing her own little personality, and thanks to some do-it-yourself surgery prep, her cleft has already closed by more than half.

There are a few pre-surgical preparations that doctors like to use before a cleft lip or palate repair.  Some involve implanting devices into the baby’s mouth which, in addition to being painful, have to be adjusted by a doctor on a regular basis.  Our doctors like a nice, easy approach.  Basically, we take two band-aids, two orthodontic rubber bands and a piece of surgical tape, put it together and apply it to her face like you see in the picture above.  We’ve been doing this since she was two weeks old and at first, we didn’t think it was doing much.  But at each appointment with our cleft team, we’ve been told that the cleft is closing and should be easier to fix when it’s surgery time.

Unfortunately, a child with a cleft lip and palate may need at least three surgeries- one to repair the lip, a second to repair the palate and a third to repair the gumline.  Hope’s first surgery is scheduled for the middle of next month.  We’ve been told the second surgery will be in the winter.  And the third will be sometime after all her adult teeth have grown in, between the ages of eight and ten.

So in a month, Hope’s lip will be repaired.  And the next time a waiter asks us what’s up with our baby, we’ll be able to say “she’s asleep” and have that answer their question.

As I mentioned, Hope is developing.  Over the past few weeks, she’s discovered her hands and feet.  Now she’s learning what to do with them:

The Boss

A few years ago, for no reason at all, I sent George Steinbrenner a birthday card.

I wanted to thank him for giving Yankees fans a winning baseball team. At a time when most owners seemingly tool their profits and ran from their teams, Steinbrenner reinvested his earnings (and more), ensuring that the Yankees would always remain in contention.

I sent the card off adressed to George Steinbrenner, Yankee Stadium, The Bronx New York 10451. I was surprised a few weeks later when I got an envelope from Legends Field in Tampa Florida. It contained a thank you note signed by the Boss himself.

Earlier today, George Steinbrenner died of a heart attack (twenty-something years after declaring that he doesnt have heart attacks, he gives them). More than any other owner, he left his mark on his team. When Ihe purchased the Yankees in ’73, the team had not been to a World Series in nine years, played in a dilapitated building and lacked any real stars. Within five years the Yankees would host three straight World Series at a refurbished Yankee Stadium (although Mike Burke who ran the team for CBS did most of the work on that) and had a number of free agent and home grown superstars.

Yes, early on in his ownership and up to his second suspension in ’90 he was impatient and short-sighted. Upon his return in ’93, his demeanor was different, but he had the same goal- to put on the field a team Yankees fans could be proud of.

Some claimed that through his ways, Steinbrenner ruined baseball. In my view, the other owners who chose not to put money into their ballclubs ruined baseball. By not fielding competitive teams, the other owners hurt the game and their fans.  Meanwhile, Steinbrenner’s drive to win led him to bankroll several winning teams for his fans (to say nothing of the millions he paid in luxury taxes to bankroll those teams whose owners spent little.

Regardless of his methods, Yankees fans always knew Steinbrenner demanded excellence. But more importantly, around the time of his second suspension he gained another trait that would endear him to Yankees fans when he returned: a sense of humor.  This could be seen as early as the fall of 1990, when he hosted Saturday Night Live.  In one skit, he played a Carl, a convenience store manager who had personnel issues:

Carl: It’s just I can’t.. I can’t fire people, it’s not in my nature.

Pete: You can’t keep saying that. If an employee isn’t delivering what you expect of them, you have to fire them!

Carl: Why? Where is it written if you don’t get results right away, you fire people? What kind of asinine policy is that?

Pete: Carl! It’s just good business!

Carl: That’s where you’re wrong! It’s not good business! You can’t have people worried all the time that they’ll be fired if they make one mistake. That’s lunacy! Only a jackasswould run his business that way!

Pete: Carl, this is the way it works: an unsatisfied owner fires people!

Carl: A stupid owner! A stupid, arrogant, shortsighted owner. The kind of guy who blames everybody but himself! How would you like it everytime something went wrong, I just blamed you, the supervisor, huh? Let’s just fire the supervisor! Then I’ll hire some other guy, and something would go wrong and I’d fire him, and I’d probably rehire you!Then fire you again, bring in someone else, then fire him and rehire you again! Then fire and hire, back and forth until the whole thing’s just a big joke! Is that the kind of owner you want? Some yammering nincompoop in a fancy suit? No way you take that road, ’cause before you know it, you’ll probably be banned from running the entire company.

-from snltranscripts.jt.org

Through things like his SNL stint, the infamous Sports Illustrated cover (above) and other appearances in movies and television, George showed he had loosened up.  And even if he still had some issues with his managers in the ’90s, by now he was an owner that fans could embrace.  I mean how could you hate a guy who would do this for a Yankees commercial:

And if nothing else, George Steinbrenner kept George Costanza employed for more than four years.

Thanks again George.

The Voice

Back in the late nineties when I attended Yankees games on a quasi-regular basis, the Stadium took on the most peculiar echo during the reading of the Yankees’ starting lineup.  Bob Sheppard, who at that point had been the Stadium’s announcer for more than 40 years, would read the lineups.  During his pauses, most of the male fans in attendance (myself included) along with a few creative beer vendors would repeat the announcement, trying to mimic Sheppard’s distinctive voice and the specific order of each spot in the lineup (batting fourth, the Centerfielder, number fifty-one, Bernie Williams, number fifty-one).  But no matter how hard the crowd tried, there was only one Bob Sheppard.

Today, the Yankees announced that Bob Sheppard, who stopped announcing at the Stadium three years ago, died at home.  At the end, he announced games at the Stadium for 56 years, not to mention years as the PA announcer for the New York (football) Giants and several other NY-metro area sports teams.

In the last 10 years or so, announcers at minor league (and unfortunately) major league stadia have been going too over the top in their introductions, sounding more like they’re announcing the main event of WrestleMania than a baseball game.  But Sheppard didn’t follow the trend.  Sheppard announced each players’ name as the individual player wanted it to be announced.  Marty Noble has a great article on MLB.com about Sheppard’s fastidiousness and how he brought life to the words coming out of the speakers at Yankee Stadium.

All I can say is that when I went to the New Stadium last year for a game, the thing that bugged me the most about the new place was that Sheppard wasn’t there.  The team will still be the Yankees, and the new Stadium is their home.  But there was only one Bob Sheppard.