I'm writing a paper on the "Slap Bet" episode of How I Met Your Mother and am trying to form (and prove) a thesis that refers to all kinds of power as fundamentally the same -- social capital, economic capital, phallic power -- in order to show why Barney ends up on the losing end of the slap bet contest (for the next several seasons), and why we think that's funny.
Any theorists anyone knows about who have used Marxist, feminist and psychoanalytic critiques all at the same time?
Or should I just stick to one type of "power"?
I feel a bit like Mr. Casaubon writing his Key to All Mythologies, but with an 8-page limit.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Dreams (and teeth)
I dreamed last night that several pieces of my teeth had fallen out again, including a whole molar. I can never prevent it in my dream, and it's always the result of clenching my jaw too hard.
The funny thing is, I was psyching myself up before I went to bed last night, telling myself I could never lose my teeth in real life because I'd never let my jaw stay clenched that long. I'd pry it open with my hands, or get to an ER where they could inject me with muscle relaxer or something.
Now I wonder if the truth is that I actually clench my jaw when I'm sleeping, and if I am, whether I'm doing it hard enough to actually crack my teeth.
I was probably thinking about this because a coworker went to the ER yesterday with an infection in her jaw and had to have four teeth pulled.
I really need to get to the dentist.
The funny thing is, I was psyching myself up before I went to bed last night, telling myself I could never lose my teeth in real life because I'd never let my jaw stay clenched that long. I'd pry it open with my hands, or get to an ER where they could inject me with muscle relaxer or something.
Now I wonder if the truth is that I actually clench my jaw when I'm sleeping, and if I am, whether I'm doing it hard enough to actually crack my teeth.
I was probably thinking about this because a coworker went to the ER yesterday with an infection in her jaw and had to have four teeth pulled.
I really need to get to the dentist.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
9/19/09 (in numbers)
Number of pages of Adorno and Horkheimer's "Dialectic of Enlightenment" read today, so far: 14
Households immediately adjacent to apartment holding tag sales today: 3
Number of hours spent reading pages of "Dialectic of Enlightenment": 2
Number of episodes of Big Bang Theory watched this weekend: 12
Number of pages of "Dialectic of Enlightenment" assigned for homework: 47
Approximate number of adults yelling back and forth throughout day between tag sale locations: 8
Minimum number of entire books assigned to be read for next week: 3
Minimum number of additional books needed for research paper due Sept. 30: 5
Number of episodes of Mad Men watched this weekend: 3
Number of papers due this week: 1
Number of pages for that paper: 5
Number of emails sent to professors inquiring about paper requirements: 2
Number of emails replied to by professors: 1
Number of those email replies relevant to paper due this week: 0
Number of fishsticks eaten for lunch: 5
Books completed for sake of research paper due Sept. 30: 1
Loads of laundry done and dried on clothesline: 2
Number of papers due next week: 2
Number of emails written tonight: 9
Age of youngest brother: 19
Calls made by me to say "happy birthday" to youngest brother: 1
Approximate ounces of coconut cake eaten by me: 5
Hours before driving back to Waltham: 20.5
Average number of hours it takes to drive between Connecticut and Waltham: 1.75
Approximate number of minutes of seeing P.C. today: 25
Estimated number of minutes of seeing P.C. tomorrow: 120
Minutes until bed-time: 28
Percent confidence in getting through even one more page of "Dialectic of Enlightenment" before bed-time: 12
Households immediately adjacent to apartment holding tag sales today: 3
Number of hours spent reading pages of "Dialectic of Enlightenment": 2
Number of episodes of Big Bang Theory watched this weekend: 12
Number of pages of "Dialectic of Enlightenment" assigned for homework: 47
Approximate number of adults yelling back and forth throughout day between tag sale locations: 8
Minimum number of entire books assigned to be read for next week: 3
Minimum number of additional books needed for research paper due Sept. 30: 5
Number of episodes of Mad Men watched this weekend: 3
Number of papers due this week: 1
Number of pages for that paper: 5
Number of emails sent to professors inquiring about paper requirements: 2
Number of emails replied to by professors: 1
Number of those email replies relevant to paper due this week: 0
Number of fishsticks eaten for lunch: 5
Books completed for sake of research paper due Sept. 30: 1
Loads of laundry done and dried on clothesline: 2
Number of papers due next week: 2
Number of emails written tonight: 9
Age of youngest brother: 19
Calls made by me to say "happy birthday" to youngest brother: 1
Approximate ounces of coconut cake eaten by me: 5
Hours before driving back to Waltham: 20.5
Average number of hours it takes to drive between Connecticut and Waltham: 1.75
Approximate number of minutes of seeing P.C. today: 25
Estimated number of minutes of seeing P.C. tomorrow: 120
Minutes until bed-time: 28
Percent confidence in getting through even one more page of "Dialectic of Enlightenment" before bed-time: 12
PSA: Memorializing Sept. 11
[As promised, here's something I wrote for class:]
I guess I feel the main problem with memorializing Sept. 11 is a narrative one: We're still in the middle of the story, for one thing. And it's shaping up to be the type of story that doesn't lend itself to grand narrative, for another.
If we (and I think we tend to) think of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as isolated, non-contextualized events, it should be easy to create a memorial. We could valorize the firefighters and other rescue workers who helped dig through the rubble of the towers, "remember" the individuals (Americans) who died in the towers and in the planes, and mythologize the individuals (enemies) who attacked "our way of life," "freedom," "democracy," or our most deeply held ideals (also mythologized).
It's interesting to me and instructive, I think, that we refer to the attacks as "September 11th." To me, this habit points to an (almost imperialist, or at least narcissistic) American co-opting of an entire calendar day, which appears every year, as a personal/national traumatic anniversary -- which makes it too wide a name, really, for the discrete occasion of the attacks in 2001 -- and at the same time, a flagrant decontextualizing of the attacks, without reference to any of the events that came before (or after), as though it was a one-day event without antecedent or precedent -- making "September 11th" a too-narrow term for what happened then.
So if we want to memorialize "September 11th," we may be able to do it. We may be able to create a physical space that does what calling it "September 11th" does, which is to cut us off from doubts about the purpose or history of the attacks (and possible critiques of, for instance, our foreign policy), and to formalize our personal/national grief so that we'll "never forget." (September 11 rolls around every year, after all -- it's hard to forget that.)
But I think even a memorial that manages to sing the praises of our heroes and vaguely condemn our vile enemies would call up too much doubt and too many questions in our current national environment. Anyone with any secret questions about what the terrorists were trying to accomplish, anyone with doubts about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq (which were connected rhetorically to Sept. 11th as though the attacks were a talisman that could justify any subsequent action), even anyone whose loved one died in the attacks, who has an alternate memory that contradicts the official "history" of 9/11, would find themselves dealing with those questions in contrast to the memorial in front of them.
Cutting out the context wouldn't necessarily help, yet, in other words, because we're living in the middle of the context.
But it's not possible to memorialize something we're living through, in part because of its complexity, and in part because it's still happening and can't yet be remembered.
I hope that ultimately, the Vietnam Memorial will be instructive for 9/11 memorial builders -- something mysterious, to which viewers bring their own meaning, and which allows for multiple interpretations and a complexity of thought (in viewers) made possible by the simplicity of form (in memorial content). I think this is why the personal grief shown in the countless items left at the wall by family members of the deceased is able to exist in the memorial space; I've never seen a bunch of flowers left at other war memorials (and I lived in DC for two years).
I hope that family members will be able to share similar moments in front of parapets surrounding 1-acre man-made waterfall basins (over the roar of the water).
Unfortunately, I suspect that the 9/11 memorial will read more like the WWII memorial put in between the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument: ostentatious, easy to decipher, and out of place.
I guess I feel the main problem with memorializing Sept. 11 is a narrative one: We're still in the middle of the story, for one thing. And it's shaping up to be the type of story that doesn't lend itself to grand narrative, for another.
If we (and I think we tend to) think of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, as isolated, non-contextualized events, it should be easy to create a memorial. We could valorize the firefighters and other rescue workers who helped dig through the rubble of the towers, "remember" the individuals (Americans) who died in the towers and in the planes, and mythologize the individuals (enemies) who attacked "our way of life," "freedom," "democracy," or our most deeply held ideals (also mythologized).
It's interesting to me and instructive, I think, that we refer to the attacks as "September 11th." To me, this habit points to an (almost imperialist, or at least narcissistic) American co-opting of an entire calendar day, which appears every year, as a personal/national traumatic anniversary -- which makes it too wide a name, really, for the discrete occasion of the attacks in 2001 -- and at the same time, a flagrant decontextualizing of the attacks, without reference to any of the events that came before (or after), as though it was a one-day event without antecedent or precedent -- making "September 11th" a too-narrow term for what happened then.
So if we want to memorialize "September 11th," we may be able to do it. We may be able to create a physical space that does what calling it "September 11th" does, which is to cut us off from doubts about the purpose or history of the attacks (and possible critiques of, for instance, our foreign policy), and to formalize our personal/national grief so that we'll "never forget." (September 11 rolls around every year, after all -- it's hard to forget that.)
But I think even a memorial that manages to sing the praises of our heroes and vaguely condemn our vile enemies would call up too much doubt and too many questions in our current national environment. Anyone with any secret questions about what the terrorists were trying to accomplish, anyone with doubts about the wars in Afghanistan or Iraq (which were connected rhetorically to Sept. 11th as though the attacks were a talisman that could justify any subsequent action), even anyone whose loved one died in the attacks, who has an alternate memory that contradicts the official "history" of 9/11, would find themselves dealing with those questions in contrast to the memorial in front of them.
Cutting out the context wouldn't necessarily help, yet, in other words, because we're living in the middle of the context.
But it's not possible to memorialize something we're living through, in part because of its complexity, and in part because it's still happening and can't yet be remembered.
I hope that ultimately, the Vietnam Memorial will be instructive for 9/11 memorial builders -- something mysterious, to which viewers bring their own meaning, and which allows for multiple interpretations and a complexity of thought (in viewers) made possible by the simplicity of form (in memorial content). I think this is why the personal grief shown in the countless items left at the wall by family members of the deceased is able to exist in the memorial space; I've never seen a bunch of flowers left at other war memorials (and I lived in DC for two years).
I hope that family members will be able to share similar moments in front of parapets surrounding 1-acre man-made waterfall basins (over the roar of the water).
Unfortunately, I suspect that the 9/11 memorial will read more like the WWII memorial put in between the reflecting pool and the Washington Monument: ostentatious, easy to decipher, and out of place.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Accusation XII
To the woman driving the black Avalon with MA plates, who drove up behind me in the left-hand lane so fast I didn't even see her coming in the rear-view mirror -- and I check it obsessively -- then flashed her brights at me when I didn't move over (into the car I was passing at 70 mph), then swung into the right-most lane and pulled back in front of the car I was passing and then in front of me, so that my front bumper was three feet from her back one, then slowed down to 65:
1. If you're able to slow down to 65 once you're in front of me, just to "teach a lesson," you didn't need to be going 80 to begin with.
2. You might feel entitled to drive like a jerk, but that doesn't make you the highway equivalent of a kindergarten teacher. It's not your job to "teach [me] a lesson."
3. Your lesson failed because it was stupid. I didn't learn how annoying it is to have someone driving "slowly" right in front of me because a) I didn't choose to drive up on your bumper; you chose to drive on (both of) mine and b) I was going 70, not the exaggeratedly "slow" 65 you decided to go when you "punished" me by driving dangerously.
Eventually, that kind of self-righteous, stupid punishment is going to get you in a car accident.
So here's the one possible silver lining to your "teaching" method: If when you get in that accident, you're going 55 to "teach [whoever] a lesson," instead of the 85 you wish you were going, you might actually survive.
1. If you're able to slow down to 65 once you're in front of me, just to "teach a lesson," you didn't need to be going 80 to begin with.
2. You might feel entitled to drive like a jerk, but that doesn't make you the highway equivalent of a kindergarten teacher. It's not your job to "teach [me] a lesson."
3. Your lesson failed because it was stupid. I didn't learn how annoying it is to have someone driving "slowly" right in front of me because a) I didn't choose to drive up on your bumper; you chose to drive on (both of) mine and b) I was going 70, not the exaggeratedly "slow" 65 you decided to go when you "punished" me by driving dangerously.
Eventually, that kind of self-righteous, stupid punishment is going to get you in a car accident.
So here's the one possible silver lining to your "teaching" method: If when you get in that accident, you're going 55 to "teach [whoever] a lesson," instead of the 85 you wish you were going, you might actually survive.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
PSA: Happiness is catching.
I'm happy, readers! It's a beautiful, sunny Sunday with just the right number and amount of cumulus clouds in the sky, I'm the new owner of a DVD collection of season 5 of The Office, I have great friends and an awesome boyfriend, it's verging on my favorite season, and I've been assigned massive amounts of reading for homework over the next few weeks. I can't wait to see what will happen in the next episode of season 2 of Dexter, or what I'll write my upcoming 2 papers on, and I've already paid my credit card bill for this month.
Now go about your days 9% happier.
Now go about your days 9% happier.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Think about this: If your name is "Dick Armey," you've got two career options:
1. Gigolo and exotic dancer at a gay bar
2. Majority leader of Republican Congress
2. Majority leader of Republican Congress
PSA: Obama health plan opponents don't even understand Batman.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for protesting. Go ahead and swarm the Capitol if you want -- we're a democracy, and the grass on the mall isn't a luxurious, healthy green anyway, so there's not much to ruin -- but if you do, just please, please, have some good arguments.
I don't even necessarily support Obama's health care plans, but at least I don't accuse them of being (Hitlerian) fascist, socialist and anarchist all at the same time.
According to the AP, "[Some] signs — reflecting the growing intensity of the health care debate — depicted President Barack Obama with the signature mustache of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Many referred to Obama as a socialist or communist, and another imposed his face on that of the villainous Joker from "Batman."
I've seen the photo of this sign with Obama's face made to look like Heath Ledger's from The Dark Knight; underneath the image appears to be written the single word "socialism."
Now that's just stupid. Everyone knows the Joker wasn't socialist. He was a malignant anarchist, intending to create and encourage chaos and entropy (of governmental order) wherever he went, which is the opposite of socialist.
This means that the creators of that sign not only don't understand socialism, or anarchism: They don't even understand BATMAN.
I'm a cultural studies student, so maybe I have an advantage over the masses, but I'd like to think it's well within range of average American human intelligence to understand the Batman movies. Then again, maybe it's not a problem with interpreting the movie; maybe the difference is that I know better than to think anything at all "bad" can be legitimately referred to as "socialism."
Or maybe it's because I'm a pinko commie that I've taken a second to think about the Joker's politics; maybe when people do things like that, the terrorists win.
Whatever the disconnect here, it's enough to make me not even want to know what these people think would be a better plan. I know better than to engage in dialogue with promiscuous Joker-image users, just like I know better than to make a sign like that when I'm headed off to protest.
Other, presumably more sedate protesters, dressed up in colonial garb to protest, but I also know better than to dress up like I'm fresh off the Mayflower and expect to be taken seriously. Here's a PSA, Sturbridge Village wannabes: The Pilgrims didn't need health care, socialized or otherwise, because they hadn't discovered germs yet.
I don't even necessarily support Obama's health care plans, but at least I don't accuse them of being (Hitlerian) fascist, socialist and anarchist all at the same time.
According to the AP, "[Some] signs — reflecting the growing intensity of the health care debate — depicted President Barack Obama with the signature mustache of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Many referred to Obama as a socialist or communist, and another imposed his face on that of the villainous Joker from "Batman."
I've seen the photo of this sign with Obama's face made to look like Heath Ledger's from The Dark Knight; underneath the image appears to be written the single word "socialism."
Now that's just stupid. Everyone knows the Joker wasn't socialist. He was a malignant anarchist, intending to create and encourage chaos and entropy (of governmental order) wherever he went, which is the opposite of socialist.
This means that the creators of that sign not only don't understand socialism, or anarchism: They don't even understand BATMAN.
I'm a cultural studies student, so maybe I have an advantage over the masses, but I'd like to think it's well within range of average American human intelligence to understand the Batman movies. Then again, maybe it's not a problem with interpreting the movie; maybe the difference is that I know better than to think anything at all "bad" can be legitimately referred to as "socialism."
Or maybe it's because I'm a pinko commie that I've taken a second to think about the Joker's politics; maybe when people do things like that, the terrorists win.
Whatever the disconnect here, it's enough to make me not even want to know what these people think would be a better plan. I know better than to engage in dialogue with promiscuous Joker-image users, just like I know better than to make a sign like that when I'm headed off to protest.
Other, presumably more sedate protesters, dressed up in colonial garb to protest, but I also know better than to dress up like I'm fresh off the Mayflower and expect to be taken seriously. Here's a PSA, Sturbridge Village wannabes: The Pilgrims didn't need health care, socialized or otherwise, because they hadn't discovered germs yet.
Friday, September 11, 2009
PSA, revised: TV shows with whiny protagonists that are saved by "side characters"
Ally McBeal
Grey's Anatomy
Scrubs
Sex and the City
Will & Grace
Grey's Anatomy
Scrubs
Sex and the City
Will & Grace
Thursday, September 10, 2009
New word: Tethichnician
n. a person who formulates moral rules or paradisms by strict logical criteria; neg., a person who makes decisions by rote formula and logic, heartlessly
PSA: L.A. wildfires
If there's anything I've learned from Deep Impact, it's that when you're staying behind instead of evacuating, you should make sure to have a motorcycle on hand.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
PSA: Dancing baby on DVD
Okay, so the "ooh-gha chaka" dancing baby was the worst part of Ally McBeal -- second in worstity perhaps to Ally's incessant whining and arguably third to the show's "third wave feminism" (in this case, tiny, tiny miniskirts and legs like toothpicks [Calista Flockhart was the Kate Moss of our generation]) -- and yes, the fifth season is total crap, but if you're like me, you're relieved to finally be (almost) able to own the series in the U.S.
Actually, if you're exactly like me, you already own two copies of the series in bootleg and copied-from-bootleg Chinese versions, so you're probably not going to rush to buy it at about $130 on October 6th.
But it's still good to know Vonda Shepard will be belting it out from official American TV sets across the nation again, soon.
Actually, if you're exactly like me, you already own two copies of the series in bootleg and copied-from-bootleg Chinese versions, so you're probably not going to rush to buy it at about $130 on October 6th.
But it's still good to know Vonda Shepard will be belting it out from official American TV sets across the nation again, soon.
Friday, September 4, 2009
PSA: You have the power.
The He-Man movie (yes, I think it is the same He-Man movie that led to some of us writing seminar people calling ourselves "the green light of jealousy" and "the yellow light of fighting," thanks to the use of obvious color-coding of scene types in this big-screen He-Man) is on sale on DVD at Amazon.com.
It is only $5.79.
But before you put your money where your blue light of dialogue is, consider the people in your company in the virtual line to make such a purchase. Read the reviews. One reviewer states, for instance, that "the true highlight of the movie is Frank Langella as Skeletor. He was made to play the role. He is very scarey and at most very evil in the movie."
The reviewer means, of course, that Frank Langella was born to play Skeletor, that he's perfect for the part -- which I realized about a minute after I assumed the first interpretation that popped into my mind, which was that he'd been forced, possibly at gunpoint, to play Skeletor, despite his objections.
The next most helpful reviewer explains why this version of He-Man is so weird to those of us who loved him in the 80's: This movie is actually based on a different comic book series, and uses He-Man characters the way a puppeteer might use Hansel and Gretel puppets to tell the story of Snow White.
It's no three wolves howling at the moon T-shirt, but it's not bad for ironic/camp purchase and review.
Consider adding your own voice to the masses'.
It is only $5.79.
But before you put your money where your blue light of dialogue is, consider the people in your company in the virtual line to make such a purchase. Read the reviews. One reviewer states, for instance, that "the true highlight of the movie is Frank Langella as Skeletor. He was made to play the role. He is very scarey and at most very evil in the movie."
The reviewer means, of course, that Frank Langella was born to play Skeletor, that he's perfect for the part -- which I realized about a minute after I assumed the first interpretation that popped into my mind, which was that he'd been forced, possibly at gunpoint, to play Skeletor, despite his objections.
The next most helpful reviewer explains why this version of He-Man is so weird to those of us who loved him in the 80's: This movie is actually based on a different comic book series, and uses He-Man characters the way a puppeteer might use Hansel and Gretel puppets to tell the story of Snow White.
It's no three wolves howling at the moon T-shirt, but it's not bad for ironic/camp purchase and review.
Consider adding your own voice to the masses'.
Confessions IXL
I'm not really sure that Roman numeral is accurate for this confessional, but I'm not going to bother looking it up.
I sometimes pretend I'm trying hard to accomplish something I don't really have to try hard at, in order to get more time to slack off, or to gain sympathy.
I sometimes choose to pretend to try hard instead of actually trying, because I'm really not that disciplined, and because then if I fail, it's not "really" my fault.
I sometimes pretend I'm trying hard to accomplish something I don't really have to try hard at, in order to get more time to slack off, or to gain sympathy.
I sometimes choose to pretend to try hard instead of actually trying, because I'm really not that disciplined, and because then if I fail, it's not "really" my fault.
PSA: Menu at Alicia's Fake Restaurant
Appetizers:
Chips and homemade salsa (black beans, corn, cilantro, etc.)
Wrap wheels
Soups:
Black bean
Tortilla (prepared by P.C.)
Salads:
Yard salad
Crab salad with ginger and watercress
Entrees:
Tuna sandwich on toasted wheat bread with potato chips on it
Black bean-sweet potato burritos
Fried chicken fingers
Gourmet Frito pie options: Choose one or more of each category. Extra ingredients cost $1 each.
Fritos: regular, Scoops, spicy
Chilis: Hormel chili with beans, Hormel chili without beans, homemade chili
Cheeses: Cheddar, Pepper-jack, Monterey Jack, Mexican blend
Desserts:
Cocoa Krispie treats
Sharon's vegan chocolate-tofu pie
Chocolate mousse pie
Chocolate covered fruit (variety)
Mini candy bar medley
Candy Rice -- mix-in options: coconut, fruit (fresh, seasonal), gummy bears, Heath bar, Hot Tamales, Milky Way, Nutella, pineapple bits, Twizzlers, Twix, various other candy bars as available
Chips and homemade salsa (black beans, corn, cilantro, etc.)
Wrap wheels
Soups:
Black bean
Tortilla (prepared by P.C.)
Salads:
Yard salad
Crab salad with ginger and watercress
Entrees:
Tuna sandwich on toasted wheat bread with potato chips on it
Black bean-sweet potato burritos
Fried chicken fingers
Gourmet Frito pie options: Choose one or more of each category. Extra ingredients cost $1 each.
Fritos: regular, Scoops, spicy
Chilis: Hormel chili with beans, Hormel chili without beans, homemade chili
Cheeses: Cheddar, Pepper-jack, Monterey Jack, Mexican blend
Desserts:
Cocoa Krispie treats
Sharon's vegan chocolate-tofu pie
Chocolate mousse pie
Chocolate covered fruit (variety)
Mini candy bar medley
Candy Rice -- mix-in options: coconut, fruit (fresh, seasonal), gummy bears, Heath bar, Hot Tamales, Milky Way, Nutella, pineapple bits, Twizzlers, Twix, various other candy bars as available
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Overnight girl: Tattooicidal with ideation
Overnight girl: "My mom treats me like a kid and won't let me do things, like get a real tattoo."
Me: "Oh my goodness. Why would you want a real tattoo?"
Girl: "It's fun!"
Me: "Well what would you get for a tattoo?"
Girl: "Big [indicates her entire left leg], or across my back, with 'I love Derek Jeter.'"
Me: "Well what if Derek Jeter gets old and is ugly? Then it will still be there."
Girl: [Laughs.]
Me: "Then it would be like getting a tattoo with 'I love old and ugly guy.' You should just get that."
Girl: [Laughs and walks away.]
Me: "Oh my goodness. Why would you want a real tattoo?"
Girl: "It's fun!"
Me: "Well what would you get for a tattoo?"
Girl: "Big [indicates her entire left leg], or across my back, with 'I love Derek Jeter.'"
Me: "Well what if Derek Jeter gets old and is ugly? Then it will still be there."
Girl: [Laughs.]
Me: "Then it would be like getting a tattoo with 'I love old and ugly guy.' You should just get that."
Girl: [Laughs and walks away.]
Friday, August 28, 2009
PSA: You go squish now!
Well, reader(s), I've officially started classes for an M.A. This means my time will be filled up with things like reading, writing, and occasionally and probably against my will, "producing culture."
If some of the culture I produce is blogable, I'll post it.
Otherwise, I'll likely have to cut back officially on the number of blog posts you can expect; I say "officially" because you've likely already made these mental alterations over the past few weeks, when I wasn't blogging on weekdays, or over the last several months, when I wasn't averaging two posts per day.
So from now on, I'll blog whatever I can think up for the week ahead with a goal of five posts per week, and post them (maybe in time-release form) on the weekends.
In other words, nothing, really, is going to change for you: I'll be blogging approximately the same amount and same content I have been -- I've just decided to stop feeling any guilt about not doing more.
Note: I haven't forgotten the offer to produce a flex-my-brain essay, probably on FNL's portrayal of masculinity, for CU...but since I haven't had a chance to watch the two seasons I have of Friday Night Lights yet, it will take awhile.
If some of the culture I produce is blogable, I'll post it.
Otherwise, I'll likely have to cut back officially on the number of blog posts you can expect; I say "officially" because you've likely already made these mental alterations over the past few weeks, when I wasn't blogging on weekdays, or over the last several months, when I wasn't averaging two posts per day.
So from now on, I'll blog whatever I can think up for the week ahead with a goal of five posts per week, and post them (maybe in time-release form) on the weekends.
In other words, nothing, really, is going to change for you: I'll be blogging approximately the same amount and same content I have been -- I've just decided to stop feeling any guilt about not doing more.
Note: I haven't forgotten the offer to produce a flex-my-brain essay, probably on FNL's portrayal of masculinity, for CU...but since I haven't had a chance to watch the two seasons I have of Friday Night Lights yet, it will take awhile.
Local Trivia: "Caffe" now a word.
The "Main Street Caffe" has replaced Greenwich Coffee in Cheshire, CT.
I haven't been in there yet, but if spelling's any indication, it won't be as awesome.
I haven't been in there yet, but if spelling's any indication, it won't be as awesome.
PSA: Reading Rainbow's last day
According to NPR, today is Reading Rainbow's last day. The program has run for 26 years -- so just long enough for me to have loved it from the beginning -- but now isn't being funded for a new season, in part because PBS research has shown that programs that teach children how to read are the way to go.
A spokesperson for PBS said Reading Rainbow was never "a show about how to read...it was about why to read."
They pointed out that probably everyone (or at least everyone listening to NPR at 8 a.m.) had the theme song locked away in their brain somewhere. I have an additional one: the 1984 "Teamwork" episode (where Levar dresses up in tights and dances with a ladder). And then there's the "Abiyoyo" song Tyler used to sing until I yelled at him in irritation.
I watched Reading Rainbow reruns during lunch break between classes senior year in college. It came on right after The Wonder Years, and it usually made me feel more nostalgic than Kevin's voiceover accounts of his relationship with Winnie.
I'll miss Reading Rainbow, even though I haven't seen it for years, and its end makes me wonder: When will it be out season-by-season on DVD?
And what will Levar Burton be doing now? Sci-fi conventions?
At least I've got all of TNG to console me.
A spokesperson for PBS said Reading Rainbow was never "a show about how to read...it was about why to read."
They pointed out that probably everyone (or at least everyone listening to NPR at 8 a.m.) had the theme song locked away in their brain somewhere. I have an additional one: the 1984 "Teamwork" episode (where Levar dresses up in tights and dances with a ladder). And then there's the "Abiyoyo" song Tyler used to sing until I yelled at him in irritation.
I watched Reading Rainbow reruns during lunch break between classes senior year in college. It came on right after The Wonder Years, and it usually made me feel more nostalgic than Kevin's voiceover accounts of his relationship with Winnie.
I'll miss Reading Rainbow, even though I haven't seen it for years, and its end makes me wonder: When will it be out season-by-season on DVD?
And what will Levar Burton be doing now? Sci-fi conventions?
At least I've got all of TNG to console me.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
PSA: Come on, lucky 28!
It seems 28 should be lucky. It's divisible by 7 and 4, which are both lucky numbers (except in Chinese, where 4 means "death").
But it pretty much just feels like nothing...there's just more "late" in the "mid-to-late-twentysomething." 29 is a prime number -- you're alone, independent, indivisible. But 28 seems friendly and inviting, able to be split by odd or even, a nice amalgamation of all influences and more basic premises (or numbers).
It's still a safe two years from 30, also...and it's not 30 itself that's the problem, I realized when I woke up this morning: It's 36 and 37 and 39. They're in there with the thirties. Some things in my life will be absolutely resolved by then. I'll be half-my-life old, at least.
But for now, 28 seems good.
But it pretty much just feels like nothing...there's just more "late" in the "mid-to-late-twentysomething." 29 is a prime number -- you're alone, independent, indivisible. But 28 seems friendly and inviting, able to be split by odd or even, a nice amalgamation of all influences and more basic premises (or numbers).
It's still a safe two years from 30, also...and it's not 30 itself that's the problem, I realized when I woke up this morning: It's 36 and 37 and 39. They're in there with the thirties. Some things in my life will be absolutely resolved by then. I'll be half-my-life old, at least.
But for now, 28 seems good.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
PSA: Boom. Registered.
Finally.
I'll be taking a class on the South Asian diaspora instead of the Chinese diaspora, but we're not looking for perfection, here.
We're just looking for mastery.
I'll be taking a class on the South Asian diaspora instead of the Chinese diaspora, but we're not looking for perfection, here.
We're just looking for mastery.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Universal Trivia: Engage.
I've just put in an order for a Region 0 version of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" the complete series. I can play it because of my Chinese DVD player, which will play anything except Region 1 discs that "The Man" reworked to play only on Region 1 players.
Every episode, including the ridiculous, stupid "The Naked Now" and the awesome, mind-blowing "The Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1-2," will be in it.
I know this because I already own it, on VHS. I got them from Freecycle in DC from a woman who I said "has either broken up with her boyfriend and is giving them away as revenge, or has upgraded to DVD." They'd upgraded.
Anyone who still has a VCR, a love for TNG and the ability to come pick them up, the VHS are yours.
Every episode, including the ridiculous, stupid "The Naked Now" and the awesome, mind-blowing "The Best of Both Worlds, Parts 1-2," will be in it.
I know this because I already own it, on VHS. I got them from Freecycle in DC from a woman who I said "has either broken up with her boyfriend and is giving them away as revenge, or has upgraded to DVD." They'd upgraded.
Anyone who still has a VCR, a love for TNG and the ability to come pick them up, the VHS are yours.
Local Trivia: What the health?
Well, there's still a health hold on my registration despite it being five days since I received notice that my forms were legible and complete.
I've put classes in my "add/drop shopping cart" (no kidding), but I'm unable to go through with registering for them.
Soon the case of nerves caused by this process is going to necessitate a psych evaluation.
And then I'll never get classes.
I've put classes in my "add/drop shopping cart" (no kidding), but I'm unable to go through with registering for them.
Soon the case of nerves caused by this process is going to necessitate a psych evaluation.
And then I'll never get classes.
Local Trivia: What the helicopter?
Observed, pulled over alongside a gas tanker truck on I-84 East between exits 32 and 33:
A helicopter sitting on a flatbed.
A helicopter sitting on a flatbed.
Monday, August 17, 2009
PSA: Bullseye.
Target has a bunch of TV-on-DVD on sale for "college 2009" -- all five seasons of Alias, all five seasons of Angel and all seven of Buffy, all three seasons of Arrested Development, the first two seasons of How I Met Your Mother, volumes 1 and 2 of Family Guy and Futurama, and others.
They're $12.99 each through the end of the month.
If you don't own Buffy or Alias, you should. The other shows are also very funny, and worth $13 per season.
I wouldn't PSA you if this wasn't the best price I'd ever seen.
Note: if you go to your Target and there are no little "Temporary Price Cut" signs near the TV in question, pick up the seasons you want anyway and take them to a price scanner. I found some of the Targets in my area didn't have special displays (check the "college" section of the store in addition to the TV/electronics section), and some didn't have the signs up indicating the sale.
They're $12.99 each through the end of the month.
If you don't own Buffy or Alias, you should. The other shows are also very funny, and worth $13 per season.
I wouldn't PSA you if this wasn't the best price I'd ever seen.
Note: if you go to your Target and there are no little "Temporary Price Cut" signs near the TV in question, pick up the seasons you want anyway and take them to a price scanner. I found some of the Targets in my area didn't have special displays (check the "college" section of the store in addition to the TV/electronics section), and some didn't have the signs up indicating the sale.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Quantifiable Living: Levels of trash
How it works: In a similar vein to the "Levels of Cleanliness" scale, the levels of trash scale indicates how gross a unit (bag, dumpsterload, heap) of trash is.
Unlike the "levels of cleanliness," the levels of trash uses a word-ranking scale rather than a number-ranking scale. This is the most efficient method for indicating all factors involved in determining a unit of trash's "grossness," which include sliminess, leakiness, smell and innate human revulsion (that is, the amount of natural disgust one feels at the trash's contents).
The appropriate words for describing trash will be listed from least to most offensive, with descriptions of sliminess (S), leakiness (L), smell (Sm) and innate human revulsion (IHR) to follow.
Rubbish: may be kept in a "bin"; may include such items as brightly colored candy wrappers or cake boxes; (S) contains no slimy items, (L) no leaky items, and therefore (Sm) does not smell and (IHR) does not provoke revulsion.
Paper waste: may be kept in a "waste basket"; may include all manner of papers; (S) contains no slimy items, (L) no leaky items, and therefore (Sm) does not smell; however, "paper waste" may contain distasteful photos of oneself or others, or evidence of fraud or embezzlement, each of which promote (IHR) and increase overall disgust.
Trash: must be kept in a "bag," which may be kept in a "container"; may include any item discarded by an individual or household, such as old broken toys and electronic equipment, clothes, leftover food from the fridge, and all paper waste and rubbish; on average, (S) will include old coffee grounds and perhaps a banana peel, (L) an old juice box drink and possibly leftover moldy meatloaf discarded still in its container, which will cause it to smell (Sm) approximately as bad as one's breath the morning after eating onions with dinner or a skunk spray from a mile away, all of which will increase revulsion (IHR) to the point of curling one's lip when asked to take the bag out.
Garbage: typically kept in a "bag," which may be kept in a "can" or "dumpster"; may include all manner of trash, with additional spoiled and leftover food contents such as chicken bones and innards, moldy yogurt three weeks past its expiration date, old tea bags, and failed stew experiments; on average, (S) will include items that ooze and cause one to immediately wash one's hands after contact, (L) will be barely contained by the bag and pool visibly at the bottom, causing one to run the bag to the curb "before it explodes," (Sm) will smell as bad as one's breath the morning after eating Doritos for dinner, or a dead skunk in the middle of the street in front of one's home. The revulsion (IHR) provoked by the sight of this discarded material will cause one to wince in physical pain.
Refuse: may be kept in a "can," "dumpster," or "container"; may include all garbage contents with the additional content of human bodily material such as vomit or items used to clean up vomit; (Sm) will smell as bad as one's breath the morning after bathing in garlic-parmesan sauce, or a dead squirrel slowly decaying in one's car engine. The innate human revulsion (IRH) in encountering these levels of slime, leakiness and smell will cause one to almost, but not quite, add to the waste content of the container.
Industrial-grade waste materials: must be kept in an industrial "drum," specialized "dumpster," "landfill" or "secret toxic waste dumpsite"; may include all manner of radioactive material, or, on the other end of the spectrum, all manner of animal offal, bones, parts and blood; (S) will cover part or all of one's body at some point in the disposal process; (L) will certainly leak, possibly in toxic quantities; (Sm) will cause one to physically lose the sense of smell, or else pass out, or both; will cause long-term madness in individuals with prolonged contact with the materials and blackouts in individuals with momentary contact. Repressed memories of such contact will resurface throughout one's life.
Elaborations: Special circumstances may also require the use of a word for discarded materials, from rubbish to refuse, that are not properly contained in garbage containers. There is a particular word for uncontained trash, which may or may not be repulsive ("litter"), described below.
Because seeing trash on the street increases IHR unnaturally, without increasing sliminess, leakiness or smelliness, the best way to measure litter's level of trash is to deposit it in an appropriate receptacle and then use the normal scale for levels of trash.
For your convenience, here is an addendum definition of "litter."
Litter: free-floating discarded items, ranging from receipts and musical theater ticket stubs to banana peels and dead scavenger animals (rats, pigeons). To be properly ranked, litter items must be placed in an appropriate trash receptacle.
Unlike the "levels of cleanliness," the levels of trash uses a word-ranking scale rather than a number-ranking scale. This is the most efficient method for indicating all factors involved in determining a unit of trash's "grossness," which include sliminess, leakiness, smell and innate human revulsion (that is, the amount of natural disgust one feels at the trash's contents).
The appropriate words for describing trash will be listed from least to most offensive, with descriptions of sliminess (S), leakiness (L), smell (Sm) and innate human revulsion (IHR) to follow.
Rubbish: may be kept in a "bin"; may include such items as brightly colored candy wrappers or cake boxes; (S) contains no slimy items, (L) no leaky items, and therefore (Sm) does not smell and (IHR) does not provoke revulsion.
Paper waste: may be kept in a "waste basket"; may include all manner of papers; (S) contains no slimy items, (L) no leaky items, and therefore (Sm) does not smell; however, "paper waste" may contain distasteful photos of oneself or others, or evidence of fraud or embezzlement, each of which promote (IHR) and increase overall disgust.
Trash: must be kept in a "bag," which may be kept in a "container"; may include any item discarded by an individual or household, such as old broken toys and electronic equipment, clothes, leftover food from the fridge, and all paper waste and rubbish; on average, (S) will include old coffee grounds and perhaps a banana peel, (L) an old juice box drink and possibly leftover moldy meatloaf discarded still in its container, which will cause it to smell (Sm) approximately as bad as one's breath the morning after eating onions with dinner or a skunk spray from a mile away, all of which will increase revulsion (IHR) to the point of curling one's lip when asked to take the bag out.
Garbage: typically kept in a "bag," which may be kept in a "can" or "dumpster"; may include all manner of trash, with additional spoiled and leftover food contents such as chicken bones and innards, moldy yogurt three weeks past its expiration date, old tea bags, and failed stew experiments; on average, (S) will include items that ooze and cause one to immediately wash one's hands after contact, (L) will be barely contained by the bag and pool visibly at the bottom, causing one to run the bag to the curb "before it explodes," (Sm) will smell as bad as one's breath the morning after eating Doritos for dinner, or a dead skunk in the middle of the street in front of one's home. The revulsion (IHR) provoked by the sight of this discarded material will cause one to wince in physical pain.
Refuse: may be kept in a "can," "dumpster," or "container"; may include all garbage contents with the additional content of human bodily material such as vomit or items used to clean up vomit; (Sm) will smell as bad as one's breath the morning after bathing in garlic-parmesan sauce, or a dead squirrel slowly decaying in one's car engine. The innate human revulsion (IRH) in encountering these levels of slime, leakiness and smell will cause one to almost, but not quite, add to the waste content of the container.
Industrial-grade waste materials: must be kept in an industrial "drum," specialized "dumpster," "landfill" or "secret toxic waste dumpsite"; may include all manner of radioactive material, or, on the other end of the spectrum, all manner of animal offal, bones, parts and blood; (S) will cover part or all of one's body at some point in the disposal process; (L) will certainly leak, possibly in toxic quantities; (Sm) will cause one to physically lose the sense of smell, or else pass out, or both; will cause long-term madness in individuals with prolonged contact with the materials and blackouts in individuals with momentary contact. Repressed memories of such contact will resurface throughout one's life.
Elaborations: Special circumstances may also require the use of a word for discarded materials, from rubbish to refuse, that are not properly contained in garbage containers. There is a particular word for uncontained trash, which may or may not be repulsive ("litter"), described below.
Because seeing trash on the street increases IHR unnaturally, without increasing sliminess, leakiness or smelliness, the best way to measure litter's level of trash is to deposit it in an appropriate receptacle and then use the normal scale for levels of trash.
For your convenience, here is an addendum definition of "litter."
Litter: free-floating discarded items, ranging from receipts and musical theater ticket stubs to banana peels and dead scavenger animals (rats, pigeons). To be properly ranked, litter items must be placed in an appropriate trash receptacle.
PSA: "Obama asks moms to return to school."
So does that mean Obama is asking me, returning to school, to become a mom?
I've seen this ad a hundred times and still haven't figured it out.
I've seen this ad a hundred times and still haven't figured it out.
PSA: Second Skin update.
Hulu has taken "Second Skin" down, or it's expired.
The website indicating where it may end up playing in theaters can be found here.
The website indicating where it may end up playing in theaters can be found here.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
PSA: Bud Light now flavored with lime, claims "superior drinkability."
Lye would have been more effective in covering up the "Bud Light" taste, but would have killed devotees slightly quicker.
It is also likely more difficult to drink.
It is also likely more difficult to drink.
TB or not TB -- that is the question.
I've been battling against the forces of the Health Center for two weeks now, at least, trying to prove with ink-and-paper that the memories I have of getting my MMR update right before camp in elementary school and of bursting into tears and clutching the purple dinosaur pillow I'd just finished making in home ec after getting the last adult dose of Hep B vaccine, are real.
It's not the Health Center's fault; it's Massachusetts State Law that I show proof of my immunizations or else face over $700 in tests and shot fees.
I started my quest with the doctor whose office my only America-side adult physician used to practice at. (Confused yet?) He had gone on to his own private practice and, when that failed, then went to work at a hospital, and I'd never officially transferred my patientship to the other doctor in his former-former practice, so I wasn't very hopeful.
The girl at the counter, who was very nice (though curt when she learned what I wanted), said they would have to order the records out of storage. I didn't believe she'd actually do it.
But she called me back three days later, after the weekend, to say that she had, and she had the file in front of her, and...actually, no, there was nothing at all in it, except a sheet describing the one office visit I'd ever made to the place.
I turned next to my pediatrician's office. They had called me five years ago insisting that since I was 23, I needed to have my records forwarded to an adult GP, and I'd given them the name of the doctor whose former-former office I'd already visited.
"They say they don't have my file with my immunization records," I told the receptionist on the phone.
"Oh, yes they do!" the girl said in what can only be described as a scornful tone.
I said they'd ordered the files from storage and whatever happened, they said they didn't have them -- so did my pediatrician's office have them?
Yes, the girl said, and they were ready for me right now. Then she insisted that since I am almost 28, I need to have my records forwarded to an adult GP -- a different one.
I went and picked up the records.
Then I went back through my emails to look over the requirements. I had the MMR and Hep B proof I needed -- but I hadn't had a Tetanus shot within the last 10 years, and I hadn't had a TB test since I came back from China...and living there for "more than a month" was what qualified me for new TB testing.
I called the Health Center and left a half-coherent message asking someone to just, please, call me back because I had questions about the immunization records requirement.
Then I wrote an email detailing my questions, to the same people: Could I get the shots I needed done at the Health Center, since my insurance would run out tomorrow (yesterday)? Would I have to get all the shots updated before I could register? Could I just send the files I had without getting a physician (since I didn't have one) to sign the immunization record paper? Should I have my pediatric file sent up to the Health Center?
I got a call back almost immediately, and most of the news was relieving. Yes, I could get the shots at the Health Center, but there would be a huge crowd on Monday and my registration would be blocked until I was cleared. I could just send the files I had, but I probably shouldn't have my pediatric files sent to a university Health Center.
I decided to pay out of pocket (because hey, having Aetna insurance basically means paying out of pocket anyway -- on top of the monthly expense of the Aetna insurance policy) for a Tetanus booster and a TB test at the walk-in clinic. I drove straight there.
I explained my needs to the women at the clinic, and after much deliberation, they decided I should be allowed a Tetanus and TB test without a full physical -- though I would have to pay $75 for "a small doctor's visit."
The "small doctor's visit" meant, apparently, that a doctor would come in, stop right in front of me as I sat on the exam room table, and ask "when were you in China?" I told him 2003-2005.
"Oh, yes," he said, "you need a TB test. And don't be surprised if it's positive."
"I hope it's not positive," I said, "cause then I'll need a chest X-ray."
"And six months of medication," he added, and left.
Left me in a panic, that is.
I spent the next two days (which is how long it takes to have a TB test done) obsessing over whether I had TB. I dreamed about having it. I saw red splotches on my arm, over the bruise left by the injection, and tried to figure out if they'd let me register before I got a chest X-ray, or if I'd have to drive it up there next week and already be on antibiotics.
P.C. was very patient with my worrying, and if it hadn't been for his playing "GTA: San Andreas," it would have been only immunization worries invading my dreams, minus the random CGI drive-arounds and sporadic shoot-'em-up missions.
But this morning I still couldn't sleep. I got up and drove past the clinic and when it wasn't open, I went to the Ocean State Job Lot to get more Amish barbeque sauce and wait the hour until it was.
When I got there, I told the receptionist I only needed to have my TB test looked at and get my paperwork back. She said she'd call the doctor, and I sat down. Ten seconds later, she called me back up.
"Which arm was it?" a different doctor asked.
"This one," I said. "There's a bruise where --"
"No, that's negative," he interrupted, and signed the paper and walked away.
I made them sign every sheet of paper I had.
(This afternoon I faxed the records to the helpful nurse at the Health Center. Tuesday, P.C.'s agreed to come up with me [again] to hand the copies in, in person, just in case.)
It's not the Health Center's fault; it's Massachusetts State Law that I show proof of my immunizations or else face over $700 in tests and shot fees.
I started my quest with the doctor whose office my only America-side adult physician used to practice at. (Confused yet?) He had gone on to his own private practice and, when that failed, then went to work at a hospital, and I'd never officially transferred my patientship to the other doctor in his former-former practice, so I wasn't very hopeful.
The girl at the counter, who was very nice (though curt when she learned what I wanted), said they would have to order the records out of storage. I didn't believe she'd actually do it.
But she called me back three days later, after the weekend, to say that she had, and she had the file in front of her, and...actually, no, there was nothing at all in it, except a sheet describing the one office visit I'd ever made to the place.
I turned next to my pediatrician's office. They had called me five years ago insisting that since I was 23, I needed to have my records forwarded to an adult GP, and I'd given them the name of the doctor whose former-former office I'd already visited.
"They say they don't have my file with my immunization records," I told the receptionist on the phone.
"Oh, yes they do!" the girl said in what can only be described as a scornful tone.
I said they'd ordered the files from storage and whatever happened, they said they didn't have them -- so did my pediatrician's office have them?
Yes, the girl said, and they were ready for me right now. Then she insisted that since I am almost 28, I need to have my records forwarded to an adult GP -- a different one.
I went and picked up the records.
Then I went back through my emails to look over the requirements. I had the MMR and Hep B proof I needed -- but I hadn't had a Tetanus shot within the last 10 years, and I hadn't had a TB test since I came back from China...and living there for "more than a month" was what qualified me for new TB testing.
I called the Health Center and left a half-coherent message asking someone to just, please, call me back because I had questions about the immunization records requirement.
Then I wrote an email detailing my questions, to the same people: Could I get the shots I needed done at the Health Center, since my insurance would run out tomorrow (yesterday)? Would I have to get all the shots updated before I could register? Could I just send the files I had without getting a physician (since I didn't have one) to sign the immunization record paper? Should I have my pediatric file sent up to the Health Center?
I got a call back almost immediately, and most of the news was relieving. Yes, I could get the shots at the Health Center, but there would be a huge crowd on Monday and my registration would be blocked until I was cleared. I could just send the files I had, but I probably shouldn't have my pediatric files sent to a university Health Center.
I decided to pay out of pocket (because hey, having Aetna insurance basically means paying out of pocket anyway -- on top of the monthly expense of the Aetna insurance policy) for a Tetanus booster and a TB test at the walk-in clinic. I drove straight there.
I explained my needs to the women at the clinic, and after much deliberation, they decided I should be allowed a Tetanus and TB test without a full physical -- though I would have to pay $75 for "a small doctor's visit."
The "small doctor's visit" meant, apparently, that a doctor would come in, stop right in front of me as I sat on the exam room table, and ask "when were you in China?" I told him 2003-2005.
"Oh, yes," he said, "you need a TB test. And don't be surprised if it's positive."
"I hope it's not positive," I said, "cause then I'll need a chest X-ray."
"And six months of medication," he added, and left.
Left me in a panic, that is.
I spent the next two days (which is how long it takes to have a TB test done) obsessing over whether I had TB. I dreamed about having it. I saw red splotches on my arm, over the bruise left by the injection, and tried to figure out if they'd let me register before I got a chest X-ray, or if I'd have to drive it up there next week and already be on antibiotics.
P.C. was very patient with my worrying, and if it hadn't been for his playing "GTA: San Andreas," it would have been only immunization worries invading my dreams, minus the random CGI drive-arounds and sporadic shoot-'em-up missions.
But this morning I still couldn't sleep. I got up and drove past the clinic and when it wasn't open, I went to the Ocean State Job Lot to get more Amish barbeque sauce and wait the hour until it was.
When I got there, I told the receptionist I only needed to have my TB test looked at and get my paperwork back. She said she'd call the doctor, and I sat down. Ten seconds later, she called me back up.
"Which arm was it?" a different doctor asked.
"This one," I said. "There's a bruise where --"
"No, that's negative," he interrupted, and signed the paper and walked away.
I made them sign every sheet of paper I had.
(This afternoon I faxed the records to the helpful nurse at the Health Center. Tuesday, P.C.'s agreed to come up with me [again] to hand the copies in, in person, just in case.)
Friday, August 14, 2009
Re-Yahoo
Well, today I paid for the seventh time the $10 it takes to keep my email account open per year -- I subscribed to Yahoo! Plus while I was in China. (We didn't check old email addresses while we were in-country.)
And today was the day that Yahoo! finally got me to write in my "new secret questions" -- just in case I forgot the password I've been using for every login since I got this email address ten years ago.
In case you're interested in hacking in and changing said password, my first secret question-and-answer was as follows:
I hope actual people have to read and approve of these questions before they go through, so someone actually knows what I think about this.
And today was the day that Yahoo! finally got me to write in my "new secret questions" -- just in case I forgot the password I've been using for every login since I got this email address ten years ago.
In case you're interested in hacking in and changing said password, my first secret question-and-answer was as follows:
"Seriously, is Yahoo going to make me ask a question? -- Apparently"I can't remember the second one, but I'm sure it was something like "Is Yahoo being stupid? Yess [the answer had to be four characters long]"
I hope actual people have to read and approve of these questions before they go through, so someone actually knows what I think about this.
Re-Betty
Well, Betty passed her emissions test last week, and now she's officially on her way to being re-registered in the state of Connecticut.
I did not bother to change "Geo Prizm" to "Geo Betty" on the form, as any corrections would necessitate my mailing in payment instead of paying online, but in honor of her good exhaust system (but strange, occasional dead-thing-like smell coming through the vents), P.C. changed her air filter a few days ago, and today I opened up a fresh little-tree air freshener, making her now compliant with our noses, as well as Connecticut emissions standards.
I did not bother to change "Geo Prizm" to "Geo Betty" on the form, as any corrections would necessitate my mailing in payment instead of paying online, but in honor of her good exhaust system (but strange, occasional dead-thing-like smell coming through the vents), P.C. changed her air filter a few days ago, and today I opened up a fresh little-tree air freshener, making her now compliant with our noses, as well as Connecticut emissions standards.
Monday, August 10, 2009
PSA: Watch this online, which is the most appropriate way to do so.
Hulu.com featured a documentary about online gamers (or at least those who play MMORPGs -- don't worry. That's explained in the movie -- and WOW in particular) over the weekend, and I decided to watch it. It's called "Second Skin," an obvious reference to the need (and desire) for avatars in online gaming.
If you're at all interested in online games, or know someone who is, or if you'd just been to a Doctor Who (the new series) marathon on Saturday and so were kind of primed for this sort of thing, you should watch it.
It's a well-built documentary, following several gamers from different parts of the country over at least a year, during which many of the gamers make significant changes in their lives -- or have significant changes thrust on them, like the new father of twins -- and it not only chronicles the changes in their gaming habits and the way they think about the games and games' place in their lives, but how they interact with each other and the outside world.
Some of the most powerful moments of the film -- and oddly, there are quite a few -- come towards the end, which is where they should be. It's rare that in a documentary you find such a pleasing narrative build, but this is a good one.
If you're at all interested in online games, or know someone who is, or if you'd just been to a Doctor Who (the new series) marathon on Saturday and so were kind of primed for this sort of thing, you should watch it.
It's a well-built documentary, following several gamers from different parts of the country over at least a year, during which many of the gamers make significant changes in their lives -- or have significant changes thrust on them, like the new father of twins -- and it not only chronicles the changes in their gaming habits and the way they think about the games and games' place in their lives, but how they interact with each other and the outside world.
Some of the most powerful moments of the film -- and oddly, there are quite a few -- come towards the end, which is where they should be. It's rare that in a documentary you find such a pleasing narrative build, but this is a good one.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
PSQ: Just [don't] do it.
I stumbled across an interesting post at random blog "The Phydeaux Speaks Experience" (which hasn't been updated in about two years) during my Georgia-Russia research this weekend. It raised some points I can't help but wonder about myself, and I thought you three CU readers might do the same.
For instance, why do we have ads about the dangers of drug use but not the dangers of rape or murder or other violent crimes?
The author of the "Phydeaux" blog gets down to business, suggesting we either start seeing ads telling us not to rape people, or stop seeing ads telling us not to use illegal drugs. He chalks it up, and rightly, I'd say, to government hypocrisy that we're seeing one kind of ad and not the other -- and he again rightly points out that the people most affected/incarcerated by the War on Drugs are disproportionately people of color, and that putting nonviolent drug offenders in jail means releasing more violent criminals to make room.
Good points, and I'd like to add to them.
I think part of the reason we don't see anti-rape ads is that the public doesn't want to hear about rape while watching reruns of Friends. It's distasteful to think about violent crimes during dinner, or primetime, when we're supposed to be thinking about consuming the goods that advertisers have paid TV stations to make us want. We're supposed to be thinking about the real commercials.
And maybe that's part of it, too -- drugs are seen as a product, something to be purchased and consumed (or, if you have a bathtub in the basement and no fear of fiery death, produced), while rape and murder are actions you take.
But I think the main difference here is that we already know murder and rape are wrong, in our hearts. We don't need ads telling us not to do these things, because they make us feel bad, and they make the people around us feel bad. Drugs often make people feel good (until they don't anymore -- I'm not advocating drug use, here), and it's not natural law telling us not to do them. It's the government.
What this means for legislation is beyond my expertise. But what do you think?
For instance, why do we have ads about the dangers of drug use but not the dangers of rape or murder or other violent crimes?
The author of the "Phydeaux" blog gets down to business, suggesting we either start seeing ads telling us not to rape people, or stop seeing ads telling us not to use illegal drugs. He chalks it up, and rightly, I'd say, to government hypocrisy that we're seeing one kind of ad and not the other -- and he again rightly points out that the people most affected/incarcerated by the War on Drugs are disproportionately people of color, and that putting nonviolent drug offenders in jail means releasing more violent criminals to make room.
Good points, and I'd like to add to them.
I think part of the reason we don't see anti-rape ads is that the public doesn't want to hear about rape while watching reruns of Friends. It's distasteful to think about violent crimes during dinner, or primetime, when we're supposed to be thinking about consuming the goods that advertisers have paid TV stations to make us want. We're supposed to be thinking about the real commercials.
And maybe that's part of it, too -- drugs are seen as a product, something to be purchased and consumed (or, if you have a bathtub in the basement and no fear of fiery death, produced), while rape and murder are actions you take.
But I think the main difference here is that we already know murder and rape are wrong, in our hearts. We don't need ads telling us not to do these things, because they make us feel bad, and they make the people around us feel bad. Drugs often make people feel good (until they don't anymore -- I'm not advocating drug use, here), and it's not natural law telling us not to do them. It's the government.
What this means for legislation is beyond my expertise. But what do you think?
New word: E-ttacked
v., adj. To attack an individual or an individual's avatar, guild or associated group online, personally and with harmful intent; to have been attacked or harmed online personally.
PSA: Twitter-hated
According to Yahoo!, a Twitter-blogger in the country of Georgia was e-ttacked by a bunch of hackers intending mischief -- though no one (or no one at Yahoo, anyway) knows why.
"Just who was behind these attacks is not yet clear, but the dispute was probably related to the ongoing political conflict between Russia and Georgia.Gomi said the attacking computers were located around the world and the source of the attacks was not known.
The attacks seemed to come in two waves.
The first was a spam campaign consisting of e-mails with links back to posts by Cyxymu. This drove some traffic to the blogger's postings on various social-networking sites, possibly to disparage him as the source of the spam.
The second and more destructive phase consisted of the denial-of-service attack, which attacked the sites' servers by sending it lots of junk requests — presumably to prevent people from reading his viewpoints."
Now if your immediate impulse is the same as mine, you're now looking up Cyxymu's Twitter blog (it's in Cyrillic Russian, guys), and possibly Googling "Georgia and Russia" in another tab. It's been almost exactly a year since the war between Georgia's David and Russia's Goliath (or Georgia's Vietnam and Russia's U.S.A.?), and I guess tensions are, as they often will, continuing to run high.
The Yahoo article is mostly about Twitter and how everyone who writes there was left serviceless thanks to this attack, which I find interesting. It's as though there had been a chemical bomb released somewhere in Asia, and America's first wave of news regarding this had been what kind of dispersion and effects the chemicals would have on American soil, rather than a report on what happened. Both are helpful and necessary, but typically they come together.
It seems from other articles that Cyxymu blames the Russian government for what happened, which would make for a very interesting story if it were true -- at the very least, it could be a made-for-TV movie.
Let's hope some web users figure out the details of what happened, and learn something about Georgia and Russia in the process. It's possible that in doing so, they'll come to defend one side or the other...at which point, the attack on Cyxymu will be finished off, or the counter-attack on whoever did this will begin.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Local Trivia: So the aliens know they're in the right place? Or the wrong one?
Observed, on Camp St. in Plainville, spelled large on the roof of a small white house, in Christmas lights: U. S. A.
Local Trivia: Knit note
Comment from "Knit or not?":
"JRT has left a new comment on your post "Local Trivia: Knit or not?":
Alicia... too funny! You are right. Bayberry Knitting's Grand Opening was a hoot! The place was overflowing with friends, customers and other guests, big shots and small shots...
I will let you in on a secret: the shop unfortunately is not open 24/7. There are periods when the store is closed. The shop hours are posted on its website bayberryknitting.com and checkout the blog while you're at it.
As to the store looking like it's completely empty, don't be tricked, Betty lowers a reflective shade in her storefront windows that blocks out the sun... taking a quick look from the outside, it probably will look empty but it is far from it. So, far the shop is a wild success..."
Well, this small shot is glad to hear it.
"JRT has left a new comment on your post "Local Trivia: Knit or not?":
Alicia... too funny! You are right. Bayberry Knitting's Grand Opening was a hoot! The place was overflowing with friends, customers and other guests, big shots and small shots...
I will let you in on a secret: the shop unfortunately is not open 24/7. There are periods when the store is closed. The shop hours are posted on its website bayberryknitting.com and checkout the blog while you're at it.
As to the store looking like it's completely empty, don't be tricked, Betty lowers a reflective shade in her storefront windows that blocks out the sun... taking a quick look from the outside, it probably will look empty but it is far from it. So, far the shop is a wild success..."
Well, this small shot is glad to hear it.
Friday, August 7, 2009
PSA: Owning three seasons of "The Shield" does not give anyone actual crime-solving skills.
And yet I still received an email today telling me I should "put your crime-solving skills to work and earn money!"
Then again, maybe it was the complete series of Veronica Mars that made me qualified.
Then again, maybe it was the complete series of Veronica Mars that made me qualified.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)