60 Minutes

Well, actually it's only 13 minutes, but well worth watching. It kind-of glorifies Livni (who I don't trust as far as I can throw her, and I'm not as strong as I look) but otherwise presents a pretty good, if basic, picture of the situation in the West Bank. It even questions the almighty Two-State Solution, and gives some good interview time to Mustafa Barghouthi, whom I interviewed many times and have great respect for.

I highly recommend watching this - and, if you appreciate it, contacting CBS with your support! (Many of the comments allege reporting bias on the Palestinian side. Please.)


Watch CBS Videos Online

Change for Israel?

Someone "joked" recently that the only reason a black man is president is because no one else wanted the job. I think it's because he is the best person for the job. But that job is insanely difficult these days. Obama is inheriting the worse world economic mess in generations, a global image as a unilateralist bully, and an unparalleled deficit.

The funny thing is that I have the hope that he spoke about in his remarkable campaign -- at least about most of the challenges facing this country.

But I do not have optimism about an issue very close to my heart: the occupation of the Palestinian people and their land. I have started a dozen blog posts about Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip over the past three weeks. But my words have seemed pithy, insignificant and inadequate for the magnitude of the suffering of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza.

Obama's silence throughout the onslaught spoke volumes. Behind the excuse -- because that's what it is, an excuse -- that there is only one president at a time, Obama was telling us what his policy will be: continued blind support of Israel. I'm not the first to suggest that Israel's actions in Gaza were (and are) illegal, immoral, and dispicable, nor that its policy of occupation is reminiscent of the deplorable Apartheid regime in South Africa. It is often Israelis that criticize Israel most eloquently and truthfully. 

Politicians don't get re-elected if they are even the slightest bit critical of the state of Israel. I'm positive that Obama will not risk challenging this trend during his first term. But maybe his conscience will kick in during his second term. Hey, a girl can dream. 

Yes. We. Did.

New Site!

It's time the O'Zee go back to political musings and other random ramblings.  Ciaran has his own site now!  Please check out Ciaran's Adventures (and change your RSS feeds/bookmarks/links) . There are all sorts of photo albums, videos, and even a catalog of my old posts from this site. Enjoy -- and visit (both of these sites) soon!

Footsies!

Ciaran is quite the goof... not only did he discover his feet, he likes to be tickled with them!

Dad & Son

Yay for Playtime!

My Big Li'l Guy

Ciaran had his 4-month pediatrician appointment today. No big surprise: he's one big dude. Weighing in at 18 pounds, 5 ounces, he is 28 inches long -- 90th and 99th percentile, respectively.  The nurse said that I must be feeding him Miracle Gro. How did she know?

The Elephant

Ciaran has fallen in love with his ExerSaucer. (Thanks, Mathews Family!) There are so many toys, and when one squeaks or rattles, it just about blows his little mind.  

But the play-time thing can't be all fun and games. Ciaran decided to have a vendetta against Mr. Elephant (who is not to be confused with Herr Elephant on his bouncy seat -- they have a long-standing friendship). 

                   

First the stare-down... Then the grab...

               

Almost there... Gotcha!  Ha!

Ciaran - 1, Mr. Elephant - 0.

Stink face

Seriously,

How could you NOT fall in love with this little guy?

You talkin' to me?

Who, me? Nah, I'm just chillin'. 

Three Months Old!

To celebrate Ciaran's 3 month birthday we did a photo shoot -- as nunga punga as his unpredictable sprays would allow.  It's his favorite thing to get and be naked; when we change his diaper, but especially when we take off his shirt, he squeals in delight! In fact, it was getting naked that inspired his first giggle. 

 Who knew we'd have an exhibitionist for a son?  Enjoy it while it's still cute, kiddo!

Other than being irresistibly adorable, Ciaran is doing lots of fun things which lead us, as completely neutral observers, to conclude that he is absolutely brilliant. First, he's grasping at objects, and sometimes even pulling them to his mouth.  he loves his play mat, with the toys and mirror above him. And he's no match for his swing -- we put him in there, and it's lights out. Speaking of shut-eye, he's sleeping between 4 and 8 hours at night -- obviously still trying to figure out his schedule, and keeping us on our proverbial (and sleepy) toes.  He's still figuring out which part of his hand (and, for that matter, which hand!) he likes best to suck on (generally the pacifiers just don't do it for him). It's the cutest when he "finds" his thumb; but his three fingers (leaving the pinky out for effect) is a close second. As you can see, he's getting pudgy, and holding his head pretty steady, and smiling and talking all the time.  We have long conversations, mostly about his day but sometimes what he thinks on the issues. (At least that's how it goes in my head.) 

After 3 short months, it's hard to imagine life without him: he just belongs. Happy Birthday, Little Mister!

Hey, look what I did!

It all started like perfectly normal Tummy Time: lots of squirming, that fun baby doing exactly what I'm doing right in front of my face, and those rude attempts to put me on my back again. But then...

all of the sudden I was kind-of tipping in one direction. I figured I'd see what my arms and legs could do about this situation...

...and suddenly I was on my back -- only this time Mommy didn't push me. I did it all by myself!  I was a little startled...

...but Mom and Dad kept smiling and clapping, like it was the greatest thing on earth. So I smiled and went along with it, although I'm really not sure what the big deal is. It's not like I was about to do it again!

Atlanta

Congrats to Tom and Julie, SO'B's brother and now-sister-in-law, who tied the knot on November 1! The festivities were great fun. They got married at Callenwolde, the mansion of one of the Coke founder's sons. Gorgeous.

The rehearsal dinner afforded Ciaran the opportunity to dress up for Halloween (no candy yet, though...except second-hand!).

First: Up, up and away! (Thanks, Julie & Mark!)

Then, the giraffe (he is tall, after all...):

Ciaran loved hanging out with his Mimi...

...who cracked him up endlessly!

All the activity -- and the excitement of being universally adored -- sure did make him sleepy. He actually slept for a continuous 8 hours one night!


Thanks, Mimi & Pop, Dado & Mamo & the whole family for a great weekend.
And thanks to Gabi, Ann & Mary for wonderful pictures!

Dadó & Mamó

Ciaran met Sean's dad and stepmother for the first time in Atlanta last weekend!  They decided their grandparent names would be the Irish names for grandpa and grandma -- only we didn't know what they were... So a quick call to Sean's friend and colleague, who grew up speaking Irish, and John and Connie became Dado and Nano.  

Here is Dado: 

and Mamo: 

and the happy clan (with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Mary): 

This kid knows what he wants:

VOTE... 

Ciaran needs a change!

Looking forward to Halloween

Singing

Ciaran begin his illustrious musical career:

Conversations with Ciaran

Our conversations go something like this:
Me: "Hi, Ciaran"
Him: "Ah."
Me: "Oh, really?"
Him: "Ah-i."
Me: "What else?"
Him: "Ah-o."
Me: "You don't say..."
Him: "Ah. Ah-i."

It goes on like this, sometimes for minutes at a time. He's usually smiling the whole time, delighted to be communicating in such a sophisticated manner.

And--this is beyond cute--when I sing to him he sings too, ah-ing right along with me, occasionally even hitting a harmonic note.

They grow up so fast... before I know it he'll be in a garage band.

Smiley O'Brien

Here's the happy kid on his 2 month birthday! We went to the doctor on Tuesday, and he is 14 pounds, and just over 26 inches long (how about that, 98th percentile)! He's happy and healthy as can be, and we couldn't be more overjoyed.

In addition to being incredibly adorable, Ciaran (or as I have taken to calling him, "Little Mister") is holding his head up and steady like a champ, lifting his head and neck up almost upright while on his tummy, cooing, tracking objects by sound and sight, and making his parents super-proud all the time.

Mommy's gonna try for her first "run" today, too! I can't wait to hit the great outdoors.