(no subject)

[rivka]

I went in to wake Alex up this morning. I sat on the edge of her bed rubbing her back and saying soothing little nothings to help her transition to being awake.

Eventually she rolled over, looked up at me sleepily, and asked, "Am I viviparous?"

"...Yes," I said. That seemed to satisfy her. I asked her about it a little while later and she told me she had been dreaming about mammals.

What the hell are we going to do with this kid? Other than teach her to memorize Joanna Russ's "Useful Phrases for the Intergalactic Tourist," I mean.

Comments

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I, for one, welcome my our new Overlord, known as Alex :)

N.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

I hadn't seen that before and it completely cracked me up. I was giggling before, but for some reason I completely lost it at: "Please direct me to the nearest sentient mammal".

Also, Alex is awesome.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Yes, it really is quite wonderful. At times of stress, I have been known to murmur quietly, "This cannot be my room, because I do not breathe ammonia."

[fiction-theory.livejournal.com]

Your daughter is sort of kind of awesome. And really cute. That's the BEST QUESTION EVER. You must the most terrific mom ever.

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

What the hell are we going to do with this kid?

Take her to the library some more?

[carbonel]

ObPedant:

Unfortunately, that material at that link is a mix of Joanna Russ' original "Useful Phrases for the Tourist" and some of the poster's own material.

I wonder if he originally posted it without attribution (implying that it was his own work) and got caught out. In any case, even though he gives credit to the original work, I find the mish-mosh annoying, not to mention almost certainly an uncondoned copyright violation.

But it is what one find when one googles for the piece.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Ah! That's why parts of it read as "wrong" to me. (For example, I don't think Russ had "anatomically correct" and "anatomically incorrect" in her piece.)

The bit about "edited and slightly modified by" had indeed already made me nervous, yeah. Shouldn't have trusted the "slightly" part.

[kate_nepveu]

Thank you for the new word and the link!

And yes, she really is awesome.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

Dear Alex,

I was ten years older than you are now before I even knew what viviparous means. Let me know when you'd like to start on astrogation.

Uncle Bill

[beaq.livejournal.com]

thank goodness her parents can answer the question.

[redbird]

Knowing she's a viviparous mammal strikes me as useful in some circumstances and harmless in others.

[saffroncisco.livejournal.com]

mactavish said that I had to add you, and so I am. :)

Your daughter is fabulous!

Coincidentally, one from our house, from a couple of nights ago: http://twitter.com/juverna/status/1178693170 (The Alex I mention there is my partner, and Rachel is my 8 y.o. daughter.)

[aloha-moira.livejournal.com]

We'll have to get her together with my former boss's son, if this Facebook post is any indication: "Avital is wondering about the future prospects of a 5-year-old who starts sentences with "the food chain in the Devonian period...."

[namedphoenix.livejournal.com]

I STILL don't know what all that means...

[rivka.livejournal.com]

"Viviparous" means "gives birth to live young." As opposed to laying eggs. So presumably all of us are. :-)

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

SSSssssspeak for yourssssself, warmblood.

[dornbeast.livejournal.com]

What the hell are we going to do with this kid?

Try to keep up, make sure she has a library card, and hug her often?

Get an encyclopedia?

Take a moment every now and then to be awed?

Hope that when she conquers the world, she remembers you fondly?

I don't know myself, but it sounds like you're in for an interesting time. And I mean that in a good way.

[ex-serenejo.livejournal.com]

Hope that when she conquers the world, she remembers you fondly?

Yeah, that.