Face/Off

Dick Cheney is undergoing surgery AGAIN. It seemed they found an ounce of compassion which needs to be excised. Actually, it's an aneurysm in his knee - is that the same as a varicose vein, because I thought only old ladies got those?. Is he a rat leaving a sinking ship, and looking for a graceful exit to enjoy his vacation home?(That last link has the only picture I've ever seen of Cheney smiling, albeit with only half his face).

Who are these odious, entitled children?. When I was in school in Scotland, we called them Hooray Henries, and I thought it was a vestige of the British class system. But it seems there are plenty of them here, including the dynasty we are now being ruled by. Though I do enjoy the schadenfreude of a junior Bush mugshot. Even though you know he's still destined for a life of privilege, either ruling the nation or getting blown by anonymous prostitutes.

This is really mind-blowing, especially the fact that your transplanted face will look like your pre-trauma face. It's amazing to think how much bone structure, muscles and mannerisms have to do with what you look like, rather than your features, and that even if another face is transplanted onto you, it will still look like yours. It's interesting to think how meaningful having 'your' face is, beyond any concerns of vanity, but how it shapes people's opinions of you and your own self-image. And I can't imagine what it would feel like to lose your face to disfigurement, and to regain it. That has to be a huge psychological adjustment.

Speaking of facial changes, my son got braces this week. They make him look even more adorable in my book, even though it's one more bill I have to pay. He really is my anchor in bad times like these, and he doesn't even know it. It's a great thing to have to be good ol' mom and do all the mom things that are expected of you to keep your life feeling meaningful, even though this makes me sound like a clueless throwback.