He ain't blubber, he's my brother

My brother is a really funny guy, the sort of person who puts other people at ease with his sense of humor. He quotes from stupid movies, burps loudly in my face, and gets our grandma to say things like "Holla!" and "I'm not a playa, I just crush a lot" at Christmas. He combines his metrosexual tendencies (he owns a shoe rack; he once had a conversation with me about Contac-papering his new apartment) with boorish "regular guy" behavior (the crowning glory of that same apartment was the view of the TV from the toilet).

Many moons ago, my brother was a kid who wore t-shirts with dolphins on them, a kid who wrote "Vivisection kills!" on his notebooks. Not surprisingly, he has grown into a man who volunteers at his local marine mammal rescue program. Tonight he got some good news about the future of that organization, so he's been on my mind. In honor of his work at the stranding network (and in mockery of his tattoo), he will henceforth be known to readers of this weblog as Orca. Ahoy, Orca!