The Lounge

Spawn

The Shadow Council would like to formally welcome Gwendolynne Grace Scholl, 8 lbs., 11.5 oz., 22 in., born March 25, 2010, at 1:30 pm.

The Scholls are now parents.

It begins . . .

An Iowa SC Marriage

Let this serve as a brief note that Justin Betz and Ardith Hoyt have ceased to exist as separate entities and have become one.
Our joy for their union is great. Our support of their journey must be also.

An Engagement

I am again presented with the honor of announcing an engagement as another one of our own is getting ready to take the plunge.

We congratulate Justin and Ardith, wishing them all the best. Sadly, I think Justin will be participating in the arming of Ardith.

Given that this is Ardith's show, I will leave her to post all of the sordid details. All I have to say is that I have had the pleasure of getting to know Justin over the last year and change that I've lived and worked up here and I look forward to the rest of the Council getting the chance to meet him at some point, as he is a great guy.

May you both grow to love each other only more deeply as time goes by.

Changing Hosts

Due to some nonsense with Hosting Matters at points in the past combined with the fact that bluehost.com is a significantly less expensive and more professional operation, we are moving our hosting there. Most of you should experience little or no discomfort, but I would recommend not posting/commenting until I've advised you that the dns change has propagated through (24-48 hours, tops).

The Next Generation

Congratulations are in order for Emily and Aaron.

They have been blessed with 2 baby daughters, Wren and Kaylee (I think I spelled those right). The latest report was that they and their mother are doing well.

We look forward to supporting them as they begin on the biggest responsibility in life.

Its Spreading!

It has recently come to my attention that our very own Paige is soon to be wed!

In classic form, I shall repeat:

Let this serve as a brief note that Daniel Moreland and Paige Garner will soon cease to exist as separate entities and become one.
Our joy for their union is great. Our support of their journey must be also.

Many congratulations to you both!

The Great Address Hunt

Its been some time since we fanned out across the country, and as Sharon and I approach our wedding we are faced with a harder task then those of you who "hitched" in proximity to LeTU. Sharon and I are gathering addresses for a certain mass-mailing, so if you haven't already, if you could take the chance to shoot me an AIM message with the address we can reach you at within the month (and a current email address), it would be appreciated. If you don't... we'll start hunting you down. One by one.

Thanks, and hope to see you in July.

College student fights his own cancer

I came across this AP article today. I find it both terrifying and inspiring. By "inspiring," I mean it gave me an idea for making the world a slightly better place.

Chordoma - the cancer Josh learns he has - is a one-in-a million disease. Just 300 people get the terrible news each year, not even one per day. It strikes all ages, at different spots along the spinal column. The tumors can be removed, but the cancer is relentless. Chemotherapy doesn't work. Life expectancy is around seven years.

The MRI shows Josh's tumor is in a tough spot, in a bone inside his skull. It extends onto his brain stem and wraps around several arteries. There are two surgeries, then weeks of recovery in the hospital. He and [his mother] pass the time reading whatever they can about the disease.

[...]

It's an odd experience, trying to nurture cells to help others figure out how to kill them. As he learns more and more about chordoma, Josh tells his mom the science fascinates him. He just wishes it wasn't life and death.

Josh isn't the first person to work in a lab to find a cure or treatment for his own disease. A cystic fibrosis victim named Jeff Pinard has done work on the genetics of his affliction. A Tulane medical student named Andy Martin studied a cancer called sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma, which is even rarer than chordoma.

They're uplifting stories. But Josh sometimes worries they distract people from the urgent reality. Andy died in 2004. Josh has become friends with a local 12-year-old with advancing chordoma. He knows what the disease does.

"I guess the way I look at it is that there will be a time for every disease when one can in essence outrun their disease," Josh writes in a late-night e-mail to a reporter who had been spending time with him.

"For Andy his disease was too fast and the science too slow." For Jeff, "science has just barely outpaced his disease. I hope to be in Jeff's category rather than Andy's."

It seems to me that if we of the SC were to pull together to support any particular good cause, aiding a college student in studying his own disease would be a prime pick. The Chordoma Foundation (founded by the student in question) makes it easy to donate online or by mail. You can read about the research here, and you can make a donation here. I think this would be an excellent use of any spare resources we may have.

Additional notices of Josh Sommer's situation may be found here and here. Facebook users may be interested in the page here.

If you choose to donate to this cause, please consider posting (anonymously) the amount of your contribution in the comments section here, so that we can keep a combined total to cheer ourselves on. And please spread the word.

Dropping Like Flies

Again, we in the Shadow Council have the honor of announcing an engagement of the membership.

We congratulate Sharon and Moore, wishing them all the best. Surely, someone needs to be taking care of Moore.

We of the Council would prefer to receive some details sooner than later. Apparently Sharon tried to tell Rachel on Saturday and was simply too excited to explain fully. In either event, we wish them both well as they plan their wedding and hope that they receive several clocks so as to refrain from calling their friends before 9 am on Saturday mornings.

May you both grow to love each other only more deeply as time goes by.

Many pomps and cirumstances

Word has filtered up to Syracuse that Longview had a graduation on Saturday ... and now we have photographic evidence, thanks to Anna. I particularly recommend this rather frightening picture. (If you ask me, the gentleman in the Hawaiian shirt looks photoshopped. He's not supposed to be in Texas anymore!)

Three cheers for all of our friends upon their magnificent accomplishment. Godspeed as you open a new chapter in your lives.

Update: Martinez has posted pictures too.