Tabishland

Good looking kids. Mr Most Dramatic 1978 named his son Ethan too, go figure.
 

Tim - thanks! Also, you should know the kids look even better in person!

Kim, thanks again for being such a wonderful and gracious hostess! And thanks again to Ethan and Rhys for playing so much with Philip. Hi to Carl too.

Folks should also know that Kim has a lovely house that reminded me of the mansion in Sound of Music - large and gorgous with all kinds of musical instruments all over.
 

BatPhil is scaring me a bit. He doesn't want to hurt me, does he?
 

Yes, he does. BatPhil kept trying on my kids' Halloween masks and really loved scaring everyone. His mother acted so scared that for a moment, I actually thought she WAS scared, I guess that acting talent is still there.

And yes, Eric's son is named Ethan, too, but mine came first, so as usual, Eric was just trying to be like me. You know, like he always does.
 

Guess what, this week is 2 for 1 week at UNC for hernia repairs for kids named Ethan. Any takers? I need to take a break from the blog and earn some $s to pay for my internet bill.
 

Kim--yeah, I remember Eric dressing up like a nun and singing "Do re mi" around Monticello. Those were the days.
 

It gets weirder - the name of that lamb puppet is Ethan.
 

Does he need hernia repair?
 

Okay, to take it one step further (because shouldn't we always take it one step further?) My son Ethan was GOING to be named "Ian," but we didn't want to name him after a famous person - Ian Anderson. Well, I mean, the last names are slightly different. And of course, we thought no one in his generation would know Ian Anderson anyway, but as it happens, all the kids today listen to classic rock. So it's just as well.
 

Can I have some hernia repair? I don't really need it, but I might enjoy it as a life experience.

Oh yeah, my name's Ian and I am a sock puppet.

group: "hello Ian"

Ian: I've been a sock puppet as long as I remember. It took me a long time to think of myself as a sock puppet. I always thought of myself as someone who occasionally acted like a puppet. Then, one day I hit rock bottom. I can't really go into the details, but it involved liquid latex, a Certified Public Accountant named Randall and the Jethro Tull song "Thick as a Brick."
 

You could have gone with Arther Andersen - that way both his first and last name would always be misspelled.

I sort of cotton to Jethro Tull Andersen. If you have another boy I'd strongly urge you to consider that name. If it's a girl, you could go with Jethrine Tull Andersen.

[I wonder if Max Baer Jr. has a tribute blog?]
 

Oh, I was originally going to name my lamb puppet Ian, but Ian already was a sock puppet, so I went with Ethan.
 

Max Baer is a seriously strange individual- as is Donna Douglass.

jesus. i just this second figured out that Jethro was the son of Boxer Max Baer Sr.
 

No more kids for me, thanks, (and oh, thank you for implying I'm not past my prime), but I do like "Jethro" and Jethrine" as names. Didn't Jethro have a cousin Jethrine? An amazingly large masculine cousin?

Anyway, to go from absurd to sublimely absurd, Karl wanted to name our first son "Anderson" so he'd be "Anderson Andersen." Needless to say, that was a battle lost. But we finally let him name one of the dogs Anderson. And then we all started calling the dog "Andy" and now "Andrew."

I have no sock puppets, sorry to say.
 

Yeah, I bet Max Jr. wasn't too tickled with the way his dad comes off in CINDERELLA MAN.

I gather, Ian, that you've met both Jethro and Ellie May? This has got to be an interesting story.

oh, Tim, the word verification for this post is "nkxjed". I think this so-called random letter sequences might be the key to the real life Da Vinci code.
 

Oh, and yes, Kim, Jethrine was Jethro's twin sister. Though identical cousins were definitely the flavor of the day back in the mid 1960s.

Anyone remember that Sharon Tate was a semi-regular on the Beverly Hillbillies? I don't remember the character's name but she's in several episodes where Jethro is a James Bond-like spy. Double Naught Seven or something like that.

Don't ask me why I know so much about the Beverly Hillbillies. I don't know myself. I also seem to know much more about Green Acres than anyone should be allowed by law. Not too good on Petticoat Junction for some reason.
 

My brothers and I watched those reruns endlessly as teen-agers....they were on channel 57. Petticoat Junction just - didn't have the same quality as the others and we didn't watch it as much. You probably found the same to be true.
 

Green Acres was the greatest show ever. Absurdist humor disguised as a 60's sit-com.
 

I loved Beverly Hillbillies. When we moved in here, I couldn't help thinking that now I had my own cee-ment pond.
 

Small but serious question, Kim: is your son's name pronounced "reese" or "rice". "I"an (not "E"an) and me are sensitive to these things. In fact, feel free to use the correct pronunciation of my name: "Winer" not "Weener", both are equally stupid and always invited insightful commentary in JrHigh.
 

Oh and Kim, while I'm on this Henry Higgins correct pronumciation riff: I think we established long ago that it's "Sendranians" not "Sendracians"-- which sounds like a JT Kirk nemesis. Try to keep up with the blog please and not crosswire your Trekkie memories with your Tabish memories. Nell, can you back me on this one?
 

Kim, I'm sorry but I must side with Tim on this one. I have been calling us "Sendranians" for well over 20 years (okay, much longer)and I just can't change now. Plus, Lisa coined the term with me. So, Sendranians it is! **The lesson here is to NEVER argue with Ferris Bueller, you can't win.**

About name mispronunciation, I'd get some of that myself. Nell rhymes with "bell", and should be simple enough to pronounce, right? Wrong. I can't tell you how many times I'd get "Neil" or even "Nail" which isn't even a proper name as far as I know. So, Winer and Eean you aren't alone.

Now, Kim, about your sons: Ethan looks just like you, esp. in the BatPhil photo. And Rhys is quite the teen hottie, but you've probably heard that.

And Joe, if you're out there, why oh why must we do this ridiculous "word" verification of groups of letters that aren't words?
 

The dreaded word verification: the reason for that is blogs are only second to your email address as a target for spam robots. The word verification is a way to make sure only a live human being is posting. More work for you and less for me. And we all know that , after Tim, it's all about me.
 

WAIT. Nell and Lisa said "Sendranians," the rest of us said "Sendracians." *I* was the one who said Sendranians sounded very Ster Trek!

But, I'm adaptable.

Rhys is pronounced "Reese," it's a Welsh name. We think he's a handsome boy, too! He doesn't have a clue. Ethan - everyone says he looks like Karl, so thanks, Nell I mean, Nail (!!!How could anyone get that). Ethan's a trip. At 12, he cares more about politics than most adults. Just came back from the bookstore with a book entitled, "101 people who are really screwing up America."

Tim, thanks for your sensitivity to this. Someone once thought up a horrific rhyme for my last name and used it on my cousin in 9th grade, I was so grateful it never caught on. No, I won't say what it was.

I sing in German a lot, so I can tell you that not only is it not "Weener," or even "Winer," but "Viner." But I know Americans who pronouce it "Winer" so I think you could have gone with that. I don't remember anyone making fun of your name, though, Tim. You were too cool.
 

I am going to call her Nail from now on.

Good looking kids, Kim.

Oh, I get it.. weener.

Jeff- i got nothing right now, but give me time.
 

Ian--I'm sure you can figure something out using the word "nose."

All--My word verification was Romanian for "notice how carefully the photo is blocked to give Kim focus."
 

"Sir, your nose is. . .hmm. . .it is. . .very big!"

- Edmond Rostand

"Big nose, big _______"

- famous axiom
 

Ian,
1. I actually asked BatPhil and he said no he doesn't want to hurt you, he just wants to scare you.

2. I've wondered what goes in the blank for if you're a woman?
 

Tissues?

I'm back at the "Big nose, big _______" for those that keep score.

If Ian gets to be Victor Buono, I get to be Ceasar Romero.

I'm on icons, for those that keep score.

Ginger has been awfully quiet since she went to see Ian. What's up with that?
 

Peen- it can't be that hard to find a Cesar Romero- or a Virginia Mayo for that matter.
 

He took my breath away
 

I'm still concerned about BatPhil.