Some nights, bath time is the best time of the day. Maggie cannot wait to climb in, splash around, and lather up. She never wants to get out; the bath is the greatest thing in the world.

Then there are nights when she does not want a bath. Where she is kicking and screaming before we are even in the bathroom, and she tries to slap away any hands that approach her, threatening her with washcloths.

Last night was particularly bad. She screamed — literally screamed — through the entire bath, and fought me the whole time. Complicating matters was the layer of food plastered to her face that had to be removed. There was no light, brief washing option available. It had to be thorough.

Several painful minutes later, it was done. She was clean.

“If you want to get out, Maggie, just unplug the bath and put the plug away.”

Maggie does not stop crying. She does not stop screaming. But she immediately moves to the end of the bath, unplugs the bath, and carefully puts the plug to the side.

Still screaming, the plug is placed beside her bath duck.

The screaming stops.

“DUCK!”

The plug is taken back from its place on the side of the tub. The flow of water out of the tub is stemmed. The duck is brought into the water. A smile is on her face. “DUCK!”

Yes, a duck. And crocodile tears.

It’s Caturday! Let’s dance!

(found at Leilockheart)

Top photo is from National Geographic‘s Visions of Earth, by Jonathan and Angela Scott. Found at defgrip.
Bottom photo: Credit uncertain. Found at English Russia.
Webcomic is White Ninja by Bevan and Earle.

On November 26th — while the Big Bad Blog was unfortunately huddled in a dark, internet-free world — Christopher Hitchens and Tony Blair had some sort of free-for-all WWE-style smackdown in Toronto. While the details are hazy, as we were not in Toronto, and did not have Internet, some matters of faith were discussed.

Should you be interested in what might have been said in such a discussion, the transcript is here.

(by Sebastian Errazuriz)

Here is a long interview, with many photos, about vintage toy robots.

Given last week’s post about education cuts, you might think that the Big Bad Blog is sympathetic with student protesters. And you would be somewhat right — we sympathise with their cause. But whining about police tactics used at student protests is a bit much. The first protest was surprisingly violent. Police officers were hurt. Buildings were damaged. And the force was embarrassed.

If you were surprised, angry, or hurt by the police tactics employed during the following protests — and particularly if you chose to bring young children to them — you really need that education. Here at the Big Bad Blog, we have a hard time feeling bad for you, though we do feel a little sorry for your kids.