*swoon* *applause* actually *jumping up and down clapping with huge smile on face*
Before I hit the oh my god I did not see that coming moment, I've realized that I think, strangely, part of the appeal of Glee to me is the potential from week to week that it will suck. I know, weird huh?
Every episode, on Monday I get happy its coming, but I also get anxious. What if it sucks? Thing is, there are always many stories, or little mini-stories going on at the same time. If the main story sucks but there's some major awesomeness in the B stories, the episode is still good. But you can also easily have an episode with, like one awesome moment. And you think wow that was great. And a half an hour later, you think, actually, most of that kind of sucked. But sometimes you get wonderful episodes where it seems everything is clicking. I think tonight's was one of those.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Language
Why do we use the language we use?
I would say words, since as far as the entire language goes most of us only have one or a couple to choose from, except I mean the entire style of language we use.
Its really very interesting if you think about it. When you listen to your own words in different situations, or think about how your use of them changes over time.
In general I know I have a tendency to use rather precise language. If I know a word that has all the proper connotations I'm looking for I will use it. I wouldn't say I use flowery language though, I just end up using words that don't necessarily come up frequently in conversation. That's my baseline.
I would say words, since as far as the entire language goes most of us only have one or a couple to choose from, except I mean the entire style of language we use.
Its really very interesting if you think about it. When you listen to your own words in different situations, or think about how your use of them changes over time.
In general I know I have a tendency to use rather precise language. If I know a word that has all the proper connotations I'm looking for I will use it. I wouldn't say I use flowery language though, I just end up using words that don't necessarily come up frequently in conversation. That's my baseline.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
A first. (Tim Part 2)
So I don't like to edit. I really don't. Which is why my posts tended to be filled with words blended together or the kind of wrong word issues that don't get picked up by Safari's spellcheck. What the hell did I do before browsers checked spelling. Well, my typing deteriorated and people had to deal with the fact that you just had to try to make some sense out of what I wrote. There are lots of extra spaces too. I do actually have some concern for aesthetics, so it bothers me if there are funny looking spaces at the beginning of a line. Or a random period which does not complete any sentence.
I do therefore occasionally go back and clean things up.
This however, is the first time I've ever changed the title of a post.
I glanced over it and realized I spent the entire post ranting about what I think and didn't even mention Tim until the last little bit. So, I decided, in a rather Minchinian way, to add brackets to the title. I'm sure there will be a Part 2 and 3 and etc. I realized as I was writing that I didn't really want to write anything too specific about his work, for the absurd reason that I didn't want to give it away. As though someone might come along and read this, follow that link and go on a youtube binge like I did.
And if someone were to do that, and they had already been told why it was that every song was funny, they would be annoyed, and think, well if I hadn't already heard that funny lyric it would be much more funny. Which reminds of movie trailers. You pretty much know that the funniest parts are in the trailer. You can always tell if a comedy is going to be stupid, or, just not up your alley. If you groan or roll your eyes during the trailer, don't ever see it. My opinion. Oh, and my original point was that when you do see the movie, the funny bits aren't at all funny cause you've already seen them potentially a hundred times depending on your level of media consumption.
Anyway, I realize no one is going to discover how awesome Minchin is through me, but, still I will hesitate to go on about how amazing his songs are.... except...
Today, when I was at work, I could not get '5 Poofs and 2 pianos' out of my head. I'm supposed to be doing at least theoretically serious work. I'm trying to get some analyses going, and I keep seeing Tim in my head, singing that song. And when he lands on that line '5 poofs and 2 pianos' there is something very home about that line in that song. I know I don't make any sense.
One amazing thing is that I found this song hilarious and lovely the first time I heard it, because, well, I had no background. Seen clips of Jonathan Ross, but never the whole show. Didn't know about 4 poofs and a piano. I'd never even heard poof mean anything other than sudden disappearance, or, sadly, thanks to Jersey Shore, a strange mountain of hair shoved up on the top of your head. Anyway, Tim's facial expressions are awesome. And writing a great random song with lyrics entirely specific not just to the Ross show, but also to that particular show is quite impressive (Jamie Cullum was there to make for the big lyric finale of 'make it a trio of pianos and a big gay half dozen') I love the idea of, well, if you preachers can switch gay to straight, then you must be able to flip it the other way too right? After all, the biggest impediment to 5 poofs and 2 pianos is that Tim, isn't a poof.
The second song that keeps sticking absurdly in my head, I'm not sure if it has a name. Again he did it on a TV show, and in the lead up its explained that other people on the show had had songs written about them, but one person hadn't. Alan Brough. So Tim says he's written him a song, but all he knows about him is that he's really big and he's from New Zealand. And he says that he wrote it that afternoon horribly jet-lagged. He seems to pretty much think his song is going to suck, but he has managed to come up with something so totally bizarre. I mean, I guess if you were free associating with New Zealand you might come up with Kiwi, and if your brain was strange enough it could meander through obsolete wings and water off a flightless bird's back, but all the way to 'they joke that his pokey proboscis, must get in the way when we kiss' is pretty far. I mean, if he wrote it that afternoon he really didn't have that much time, and with only New Zealand and tall to go on. That's getting pretty creative. And it happens to be totally adorable, a little love song. I still have no idea who Alan Brough is, but now will always know the name (its in the song).
So, I'm basically wandering around at work the whole day with '5 poofs and 2 pianos, yeah, it'll be ace' or 'my 6 foot 4 kiwi' solidly wedged into my brain. Listen. They're pretty catchy.
And see, Tim Minchin squeezed out of my subconsciousness and consciousness into another post. Hence, brackets (parentheses, whichever you call them in your neck of the woods, or side of the pond, or other horrible cliche for not from where I am, but from a place I'm inclined to like, have no fear of, and think while different, it probably isn't that different from where I am.)
I do therefore occasionally go back and clean things up.
This however, is the first time I've ever changed the title of a post.
I glanced over it and realized I spent the entire post ranting about what I think and didn't even mention Tim until the last little bit. So, I decided, in a rather Minchinian way, to add brackets to the title. I'm sure there will be a Part 2 and 3 and etc. I realized as I was writing that I didn't really want to write anything too specific about his work, for the absurd reason that I didn't want to give it away. As though someone might come along and read this, follow that link and go on a youtube binge like I did.
And if someone were to do that, and they had already been told why it was that every song was funny, they would be annoyed, and think, well if I hadn't already heard that funny lyric it would be much more funny. Which reminds of movie trailers. You pretty much know that the funniest parts are in the trailer. You can always tell if a comedy is going to be stupid, or, just not up your alley. If you groan or roll your eyes during the trailer, don't ever see it. My opinion. Oh, and my original point was that when you do see the movie, the funny bits aren't at all funny cause you've already seen them potentially a hundred times depending on your level of media consumption.
Anyway, I realize no one is going to discover how awesome Minchin is through me, but, still I will hesitate to go on about how amazing his songs are.... except...
Today, when I was at work, I could not get '5 Poofs and 2 pianos' out of my head. I'm supposed to be doing at least theoretically serious work. I'm trying to get some analyses going, and I keep seeing Tim in my head, singing that song. And when he lands on that line '5 poofs and 2 pianos' there is something very home about that line in that song. I know I don't make any sense.
One amazing thing is that I found this song hilarious and lovely the first time I heard it, because, well, I had no background. Seen clips of Jonathan Ross, but never the whole show. Didn't know about 4 poofs and a piano. I'd never even heard poof mean anything other than sudden disappearance, or, sadly, thanks to Jersey Shore, a strange mountain of hair shoved up on the top of your head. Anyway, Tim's facial expressions are awesome. And writing a great random song with lyrics entirely specific not just to the Ross show, but also to that particular show is quite impressive (Jamie Cullum was there to make for the big lyric finale of 'make it a trio of pianos and a big gay half dozen') I love the idea of, well, if you preachers can switch gay to straight, then you must be able to flip it the other way too right? After all, the biggest impediment to 5 poofs and 2 pianos is that Tim, isn't a poof.
The second song that keeps sticking absurdly in my head, I'm not sure if it has a name. Again he did it on a TV show, and in the lead up its explained that other people on the show had had songs written about them, but one person hadn't. Alan Brough. So Tim says he's written him a song, but all he knows about him is that he's really big and he's from New Zealand. And he says that he wrote it that afternoon horribly jet-lagged. He seems to pretty much think his song is going to suck, but he has managed to come up with something so totally bizarre. I mean, I guess if you were free associating with New Zealand you might come up with Kiwi, and if your brain was strange enough it could meander through obsolete wings and water off a flightless bird's back, but all the way to 'they joke that his pokey proboscis, must get in the way when we kiss' is pretty far. I mean, if he wrote it that afternoon he really didn't have that much time, and with only New Zealand and tall to go on. That's getting pretty creative. And it happens to be totally adorable, a little love song. I still have no idea who Alan Brough is, but now will always know the name (its in the song).
So, I'm basically wandering around at work the whole day with '5 poofs and 2 pianos, yeah, it'll be ace' or 'my 6 foot 4 kiwi' solidly wedged into my brain. Listen. They're pretty catchy.
And see, Tim Minchin squeezed out of my subconsciousness and consciousness into another post. Hence, brackets (parentheses, whichever you call them in your neck of the woods, or side of the pond, or other horrible cliche for not from where I am, but from a place I'm inclined to like, have no fear of, and think while different, it probably isn't that different from where I am.)
My New Idol (Tim Part 1)
So not too long ago one of my friends posted a certain video on facebook of a comedian of Australian origin. I laughed, a lot. And of course, being the type of person I am, I then set about viewing practically everything that has ever come out of this person's mouth. If I like something, I binge. And this I like.
Anyone in Australia or the UK may well know who I mean just from that. Most people in the US will have no clue.
If I add that he is an atheist, a brilliant piano player, and uses both the most complex and base ends of the spectrum of the English language with equal frequency and aplomb, I'm sure everyone in Australia and the UK would know who I mean.
And some of us Americans and Canadians have figured this out. Hundreds of thousands of youtube hits can't all becoming from across the pond. And the friend who posted is Canadian.
Anyone in Australia or the UK may well know who I mean just from that. Most people in the US will have no clue.
If I add that he is an atheist, a brilliant piano player, and uses both the most complex and base ends of the spectrum of the English language with equal frequency and aplomb, I'm sure everyone in Australia and the UK would know who I mean.
And some of us Americans and Canadians have figured this out. Hundreds of thousands of youtube hits can't all becoming from across the pond. And the friend who posted is Canadian.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
An observation
So, I am now accumulating half-written posts. This is probably common, except I'm not supposed to care. There is a commonality to all these discarded posts. I got interrupted in the middle of writing them. So I'm happily writing away, whatever I think of writing, and then I get a phone call, or I misjudged the time and I have to leave, or someone shows up who I actually have to pay attention to (just kidding, I pay attention to everyone who appears in front of me unless they are trying to get me to give money. I just don't think randomly accosting people on the street is the way to do that. No matter how good your cause. Also, being rather a bleeding heart liberal if I let you get too far into your cause there comes the chance that I will cough up the money. Luckily I pretty much never have cash and would never give someone my credit card number for such purpose, so, I'm pretty safe.)
Back to my sort of primary point if I have one. As I leave a trail of half-written posts on topics that I actually liked at the time I have decided not to write a post unless I am absolutely certain that I will have time to finish it.
Why don't I just finish the ones I started? Well, I do come back to it later, sometimes not that much later. The thing is that in order to get back into the post you have to read it and see what the hell you were talking about.
When I do this, I inevitably discover something interesting.
They're all crap
I can't finish something that's crap to begin with.
I know I'm not supposed to care what anyone else thinks, but this isn't about anyone else. This is me. If I decide something is total crap I just can't finish it. If I finish something and read it and decide it looks stupid I can push 'Publish Post' anyway. Who cares. But you can't do that if you've only written half of it.
This means many topics I would like to write about will get left in the dust that gets swept out of my short-term memory. That's better than writing half a post and being unable to finish it. At least if I never write about it to start with, there's a chance it could return later on. If I write and think it sucks, well it will suck forever more.
Edit: I just read the sucky ones, and they don't look so sucky anymore. Maybe I'll end up posting them
Back to my sort of primary point if I have one. As I leave a trail of half-written posts on topics that I actually liked at the time I have decided not to write a post unless I am absolutely certain that I will have time to finish it.
Why don't I just finish the ones I started? Well, I do come back to it later, sometimes not that much later. The thing is that in order to get back into the post you have to read it and see what the hell you were talking about.
When I do this, I inevitably discover something interesting.
They're all crap
I can't finish something that's crap to begin with.
I know I'm not supposed to care what anyone else thinks, but this isn't about anyone else. This is me. If I decide something is total crap I just can't finish it. If I finish something and read it and decide it looks stupid I can push 'Publish Post' anyway. Who cares. But you can't do that if you've only written half of it.
This means many topics I would like to write about will get left in the dust that gets swept out of my short-term memory. That's better than writing half a post and being unable to finish it. At least if I never write about it to start with, there's a chance it could return later on. If I write and think it sucks, well it will suck forever more.
Edit: I just read the sucky ones, and they don't look so sucky anymore. Maybe I'll end up posting them
Monday, November 1, 2010
Patriots-Vikings - Randy still loves the Pats
That's the New England Patriots. I think I wrote something about them earlier. I am a fan. I've sort of admired them for a long time, even pre-Bellichick era, but felt that being an all-out fan would be either hero-worship (Bledsoe or Brady) or just liking the best. Now I live here, I can truly adopt them as my team. Since returning from Iceland I don't really have one. Guess what, they don't watch American football in Iceland, I didn't keep up with the game.
So I am very happy now to have a team I can genuinely root for. I always liked football for the team aspect of it. More than any other sport I know it requires teamwork. Yes, the attention goes to the quarterback, the star receiver, the back who gets 1000yds a season. But, if you watch at all its not just that every person plays an important role on the team. Every person on the offense plays an integral role in every play on offense.
There's no war between pitcher and hitter and if pitcher wins no one else on his team matters for that bit. If pitcher loses, than one, maybe two other members of his team matter as they field the ball.
There's no possibility for the individual dominance of a single player as there is in basketball. I think basketball is quite fun to watch when they play as a team. But when one guy runs up the court, yells for the ball and then shoots, thats not interesting.
Let's see.. hockey... okay, I admit I haven't watched much hockey in my life, but despite surface, equipment and size of playing space it seems similar to soccer (football) in having lines. A line plays together, and probably improves as they play together. But, that's only three people. Anyway, I'll stop going on about sports that I know nothing about. I'm generally averse to other people talking about things they know jack about so I should try to avoid hypocrisy and stop myself from committing similar crimes.
I found myself writing a rather long e-mail about today's game to someone who probably cares a little, but really not all that much. Definitely not as much as I was going to write.
So guess what?
Yup, I decided to write here instead!
So I am very happy now to have a team I can genuinely root for. I always liked football for the team aspect of it. More than any other sport I know it requires teamwork. Yes, the attention goes to the quarterback, the star receiver, the back who gets 1000yds a season. But, if you watch at all its not just that every person plays an important role on the team. Every person on the offense plays an integral role in every play on offense.
There's no war between pitcher and hitter and if pitcher wins no one else on his team matters for that bit. If pitcher loses, than one, maybe two other members of his team matter as they field the ball.
There's no possibility for the individual dominance of a single player as there is in basketball. I think basketball is quite fun to watch when they play as a team. But when one guy runs up the court, yells for the ball and then shoots, thats not interesting.
Let's see.. hockey... okay, I admit I haven't watched much hockey in my life, but despite surface, equipment and size of playing space it seems similar to soccer (football) in having lines. A line plays together, and probably improves as they play together. But, that's only three people. Anyway, I'll stop going on about sports that I know nothing about. I'm generally averse to other people talking about things they know jack about so I should try to avoid hypocrisy and stop myself from committing similar crimes.
I found myself writing a rather long e-mail about today's game to someone who probably cares a little, but really not all that much. Definitely not as much as I was going to write.
So guess what?
Yup, I decided to write here instead!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Glee - Rocky Horror
I know,
anyone who cares about Glee has moved along to thinking abut the next episode, which spoilers and previews etc. seem to indicate will be very intriguing.
But I'm still back on Rocky Horror. And trying to figure out why I seem to have so little to say about a good episode. Its possible that I lost my sense of humor over the past week along with my ability to spell. If it weren't for Safari spellcheck this would already be a hopeless disaster.
But let's see. I wish I had stopped myself and not watched the Time Warp ahead of time. I don't know why I thought that would be okay. I am glad I resisted the idea to try to rewatch the original before the Glee version. That would have been a stupid thing to do. Then I would be whining about how different it was. Well duh.
However, it seems as you cruise around the internet on a weekly basis there are people whining about how a Glee version of something is a pathetic attempt to replicate the original. Clearly these people have utterly missed the point and I wish they would shut up or it would be possible to muzzle them to protect them from establishing their stupidity.
Anyway, any time its a theme they need a kick to get into it. The kick is always going to be silly (dentist leads to gas induced Britney hallucinations), but this time the silliness of the kick got out of the way fast. Yes it was absurd for Will to put on Rocky Horror because Emma likes it. But after that the adult story picked back up and blended in really, really well.
anyone who cares about Glee has moved along to thinking abut the next episode, which spoilers and previews etc. seem to indicate will be very intriguing.
But I'm still back on Rocky Horror. And trying to figure out why I seem to have so little to say about a good episode. Its possible that I lost my sense of humor over the past week along with my ability to spell. If it weren't for Safari spellcheck this would already be a hopeless disaster.
But let's see. I wish I had stopped myself and not watched the Time Warp ahead of time. I don't know why I thought that would be okay. I am glad I resisted the idea to try to rewatch the original before the Glee version. That would have been a stupid thing to do. Then I would be whining about how different it was. Well duh.
However, it seems as you cruise around the internet on a weekly basis there are people whining about how a Glee version of something is a pathetic attempt to replicate the original. Clearly these people have utterly missed the point and I wish they would shut up or it would be possible to muzzle them to protect them from establishing their stupidity.
Anyway, any time its a theme they need a kick to get into it. The kick is always going to be silly (dentist leads to gas induced Britney hallucinations), but this time the silliness of the kick got out of the way fast. Yes it was absurd for Will to put on Rocky Horror because Emma likes it. But after that the adult story picked back up and blended in really, really well.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Lions and Tigers and .... wait, what next? Bears? oh my!
So I saw the preview for Mac OS 10.whatever Lion. Well, I saw an ad for preview but didn't click on it. What's the point? I have kind of been buying new Macs at a rate that I think I only missed one (after entry into Mac market), and I got that from a friend. So I will buy it. I don't really need to know what's in it.
But my first thought was actually 'Lion? How do you go from Snow Leopards, which are really cool, to Lions which are kind of boring.'
Probably not the initial thought Mac OS developers were going for. That said, the cat naming thing has worked out very well for them. Nobody remembers what number comes after the 10. If you really have to know you you go to the apple icon. You know what cat you're running though.
It seems though that Apple wasn't really planning on using the cat names for the public, and this might have made for some problems long-term. Of course, in the meantime they've had years where they can bring out software updates which have something that makes them sound distinct without having to crawl all over themselves making up weird names and hoping people keep track.
The downside is, they're out of big cats. Seriously this is the last one. I mean, in the way that Snow Leopard was related to leopard, they could use Mountain Lion, but that would be cheating. Mountain Lion is the same thing as Puma and they already used that. Of course, they also used Panther. Unfortunately people seem to persist in the notion that a panther is a separate animal. It is a word with several useful purposes.
First, its the genus which all big cat species belong to. (Edit: Okay, I realize Panthera is not the genus for all the 'big cats' but it is for most of them. Looking at this the 'all' just bothered me. Making sweeping incorrect generalizations of any kind bothers me.) Second, it is then a convenient word to use for any big cat whom you can't identify. This would be due to primarily to distance and ignorance. Lions, tigers, and cheetahs, you'd have to oblivious and not care in the least to be unable to identify. I can see where leopards and jaguars could be a little tricky from a distance in a zoo, but really, they live on different continents. Mountain Lions live over such a huge range of the Americas that obviously people in South America did not get together with those in North America to decide on a common name. Not knowing what to call it at any given location, panther always works. The most common usage though, is for the black variants. Unless you get up close you can't see the spots so it looks like a totally different animal. I saw a young black leopard hanging out in a tree at a zoo, god was it a beautiful creature. So I guess its free game to call any large cat with no visible distinguishing markings a panther
But back to OS X, they're pretty much out of options. Snow Leopard was actually fine, its not a subspecies of Leopard its not that related. But now, all they have left to go to the Clouded Leopard. Which would be highly repetitive, difficult to explain, and rather anti-climcactic since they're the size of a medium-sized dog. Not particularly big cat-esque. They are very beautiful though. I can't see them moving to small cats. I mean the people who actually know what an ocelot is would probably find that amusing, the rest would be confused.
I noticed that the very first codename, before release, was Kodiak. In the context of animals rather than film, they could have meant the Kodiak bear, which opens the intriguing possibility of returning to bears. Unfortunately this becomes not at all intriguing very quickly when you consider the names of bears. They almost all end in 'bear' and the modifier is not descriptive enough to differentiate. I mean you could have Grizzly. Having established a pattern, people might know where you were going when you came up with Polar next. But after that, really, are you going to Spectacled? Mostly we just call them brown or black, depending, well, on whether they're brown or black. I mean the Glacier bear looks cool too, but same problem as Polar, even if they're not related. So what category of animal could they move to?
Or is it time for an OS XI and some totally different nomenclature.
I still wouldn't mind a Siberian Tiger even if it is a subspecies. They're just so cool.
But my first thought was actually 'Lion? How do you go from Snow Leopards, which are really cool, to Lions which are kind of boring.'
Probably not the initial thought Mac OS developers were going for. That said, the cat naming thing has worked out very well for them. Nobody remembers what number comes after the 10. If you really have to know you you go to the apple icon. You know what cat you're running though.
It seems though that Apple wasn't really planning on using the cat names for the public, and this might have made for some problems long-term. Of course, in the meantime they've had years where they can bring out software updates which have something that makes them sound distinct without having to crawl all over themselves making up weird names and hoping people keep track.
The downside is, they're out of big cats. Seriously this is the last one. I mean, in the way that Snow Leopard was related to leopard, they could use Mountain Lion, but that would be cheating. Mountain Lion is the same thing as Puma and they already used that. Of course, they also used Panther. Unfortunately people seem to persist in the notion that a panther is a separate animal. It is a word with several useful purposes.
First, its the genus which all big cat species belong to. (Edit: Okay, I realize Panthera is not the genus for all the 'big cats' but it is for most of them. Looking at this the 'all' just bothered me. Making sweeping incorrect generalizations of any kind bothers me.) Second, it is then a convenient word to use for any big cat whom you can't identify. This would be due to primarily to distance and ignorance. Lions, tigers, and cheetahs, you'd have to oblivious and not care in the least to be unable to identify. I can see where leopards and jaguars could be a little tricky from a distance in a zoo, but really, they live on different continents. Mountain Lions live over such a huge range of the Americas that obviously people in South America did not get together with those in North America to decide on a common name. Not knowing what to call it at any given location, panther always works. The most common usage though, is for the black variants. Unless you get up close you can't see the spots so it looks like a totally different animal. I saw a young black leopard hanging out in a tree at a zoo, god was it a beautiful creature. So I guess its free game to call any large cat with no visible distinguishing markings a panther
But back to OS X, they're pretty much out of options. Snow Leopard was actually fine, its not a subspecies of Leopard its not that related. But now, all they have left to go to the Clouded Leopard. Which would be highly repetitive, difficult to explain, and rather anti-climcactic since they're the size of a medium-sized dog. Not particularly big cat-esque. They are very beautiful though. I can't see them moving to small cats. I mean the people who actually know what an ocelot is would probably find that amusing, the rest would be confused.
I noticed that the very first codename, before release, was Kodiak. In the context of animals rather than film, they could have meant the Kodiak bear, which opens the intriguing possibility of returning to bears. Unfortunately this becomes not at all intriguing very quickly when you consider the names of bears. They almost all end in 'bear' and the modifier is not descriptive enough to differentiate. I mean you could have Grizzly. Having established a pattern, people might know where you were going when you came up with Polar next. But after that, really, are you going to Spectacled? Mostly we just call them brown or black, depending, well, on whether they're brown or black. I mean the Glacier bear looks cool too, but same problem as Polar, even if they're not related. So what category of animal could they move to?
Or is it time for an OS XI and some totally different nomenclature.
I still wouldn't mind a Siberian Tiger even if it is a subspecies. They're just so cool.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Eggs
I just read an article which annoyed me. Actually, take that back, I had absolutely no problem with the short little comment masquerading as an article. It was the comments. The sanctimonious comments made by people who are sure that they know all there is to know about nutrition and what one should and shouldn't eat and feel perfectly comfortable advising and judging their fellow humans on what they should be eating. And this was the least of it.
(For this post we are going to completely put aside the MD that sometimes lurks after my name and the fact that I am funded, sort of, by a school of public health)
The real fact? We don't know jack shit. The best argument I've heard is the one that works for almost everything in life. Moderation. (Almost anything because there is no such thing as a moderate amount of cocaine. Its just plain bad, sorry to any recreational crack users)
There are SO many theories about what one should and shouldn't eat. And some of them are so extreme that most people know they're ridiculous. Some of them, though, come with the stamp of medical studies. I will say right now I haven't read all of them. But, generally speaking, you ask a large number of people what they ate, you know, say, over the past 20 years how often did you eat x,y,z. And then they check a couple years later on how many had heart attacks, or what their cholesterol level is. You control for everything you can think of that might also influence your outcome, and you get a teeny tiny effect, which, since you asked 10,000 people turns out to be statistically significant. There is a difference, a big one, between statistically significant and biologically significant.
One is easy to measure p<0.05 (although many times across different disciplines the idea of correcting for multiple testing gets lost in the shuffle, and can be difficult to determine anyways because multiple researchers use the same dataset. Each time you probe that dataset its an independent test, but you don't know how many tests have been done on it, or will be done on it.
(For this post we are going to completely put aside the MD that sometimes lurks after my name and the fact that I am funded, sort of, by a school of public health)
The real fact? We don't know jack shit. The best argument I've heard is the one that works for almost everything in life. Moderation. (Almost anything because there is no such thing as a moderate amount of cocaine. Its just plain bad, sorry to any recreational crack users)
There are SO many theories about what one should and shouldn't eat. And some of them are so extreme that most people know they're ridiculous. Some of them, though, come with the stamp of medical studies. I will say right now I haven't read all of them. But, generally speaking, you ask a large number of people what they ate, you know, say, over the past 20 years how often did you eat x,y,z. And then they check a couple years later on how many had heart attacks, or what their cholesterol level is. You control for everything you can think of that might also influence your outcome, and you get a teeny tiny effect, which, since you asked 10,000 people turns out to be statistically significant. There is a difference, a big one, between statistically significant and biologically significant.
One is easy to measure p<0.05 (although many times across different disciplines the idea of correcting for multiple testing gets lost in the shuffle, and can be difficult to determine anyways because multiple researchers use the same dataset. Each time you probe that dataset its an independent test, but you don't know how many tests have been done on it, or will be done on it.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Sometimes You're not Crazy
So, I don't know about you (the metaphorical one), but I have a tendency to know very little about what is going on immediately around me. I have a good idea of what's going on in the world, like the big stuff. We're still at war, they saved the Chilean miners, the Tea Party candidates are chillingly moronic (I will resist the temptation to throw in a dig. Not because I'm kind but because there have been so many that its kind of pointless). The basics.
I know what is going on with my research. In a great level of detail. I had an interesting experience today in which I and another researcher had an entire conversation in which we were repeatedly using the same word. cluster. And we were using it to mean two completely different things. We're both doing genetics research. He's an economist/psychiatrist and I'm a neuroscientist/geneticist (neurogeneticist? is that a word yet? It seems we tack neuro on the front of everything so why not). You would think two people in the same general field of research could speak the same language, but no. He called a haplotype a vector and I seized up and couldn't hear anything he said afterwards. Indeed, a haplotype can be thought of as a vector, I just had never done so, or had any reason to do so because its much simpler to call it a haplotype. And good lord throw a computer scientist into the mix (and we do) and you can't understand half the words that leave their mouths.
So, I'm good on the micro level, above average on the macro level, and then there's in between. I suck. I never have any idea when there are events going on around me. I have a hard time remembering what day is trash day. Parades, festivals, concerts, they all fly right by me because I have no clue what's going on around me. However, today I observed two things. Admittedly I did not connect them at all, but I successfully logged them as unusual and thought to myself that something might be going on. I was right!
So, first, I noticed that there were a lot of rowing boats (like sculls) out on the Charles River this morning. While I assume Harvard and probably MIT have teams and have boathouses I had not regularly observed multiple boats out on the river in the morning, and it seemed very cold.
Then, as I was going from one hospital to the other (this is my life, not as a patient though) I noticed that there were frequent very large gatherings of people. This I do not see usually. Seeing at least 30 people standing around (still cold) multiple times, I found myself thinking: Did I miss something? The answer to which is obviously always yes, but not necessarily what I think I missed. Sometimes it turns out something I think is strange is completely normal and I just have no idea what normal is.
I don't remember where or why I saw the answer, but there is indeed the Head of the Charles Regatta happening this weekend! Apparently loads of people come and watch (extra people milling around not knowing what they're doing) and they come to watch boats, or the people rowing them. (extra boats out on water). Both abnormal data points explained in one and I actually have a clue what's going on just a few minutes from my home.
I know what is going on with my research. In a great level of detail. I had an interesting experience today in which I and another researcher had an entire conversation in which we were repeatedly using the same word. cluster. And we were using it to mean two completely different things. We're both doing genetics research. He's an economist/psychiatrist and I'm a neuroscientist/geneticist (neurogeneticist? is that a word yet? It seems we tack neuro on the front of everything so why not). You would think two people in the same general field of research could speak the same language, but no. He called a haplotype a vector and I seized up and couldn't hear anything he said afterwards. Indeed, a haplotype can be thought of as a vector, I just had never done so, or had any reason to do so because its much simpler to call it a haplotype. And good lord throw a computer scientist into the mix (and we do) and you can't understand half the words that leave their mouths.
So, I'm good on the micro level, above average on the macro level, and then there's in between. I suck. I never have any idea when there are events going on around me. I have a hard time remembering what day is trash day. Parades, festivals, concerts, they all fly right by me because I have no clue what's going on around me. However, today I observed two things. Admittedly I did not connect them at all, but I successfully logged them as unusual and thought to myself that something might be going on. I was right!
So, first, I noticed that there were a lot of rowing boats (like sculls) out on the Charles River this morning. While I assume Harvard and probably MIT have teams and have boathouses I had not regularly observed multiple boats out on the river in the morning, and it seemed very cold.
Then, as I was going from one hospital to the other (this is my life, not as a patient though) I noticed that there were frequent very large gatherings of people. This I do not see usually. Seeing at least 30 people standing around (still cold) multiple times, I found myself thinking: Did I miss something? The answer to which is obviously always yes, but not necessarily what I think I missed. Sometimes it turns out something I think is strange is completely normal and I just have no idea what normal is.
I don't remember where or why I saw the answer, but there is indeed the Head of the Charles Regatta happening this weekend! Apparently loads of people come and watch (extra people milling around not knowing what they're doing) and they come to watch boats, or the people rowing them. (extra boats out on water). Both abnormal data points explained in one and I actually have a clue what's going on just a few minutes from my home.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Too Many Things
I'm in that state I predicted would occur where there are 10 things happening in my brain that I would write about, except, I can't focus on one of them. Rather than giving up, I'm pushing through. And that means this could be the most disjointed thing I've ever written.
Where to start.
Netflix, Tim Minchin, Bear, Unix, Excessive Glee love, black clothes, ode to grey, Eeyore love, Karelia
Oops, I totally spaced out. I think those are all the things I've started to write about or have thought about. I could try to knock them off one at a time. In order? Some cross over though... Karelia and bear. Eeyore and grey. Separate but related.
I'm just gonna knock out Unix cause that one is easy (if not particularly interesting, which is another reason to hurry it along and shove it out of my brain.)
Why did I want to write about Unix? Because I turned a corner! A big one, but in a very small way.
I hate Unix. It drives me nuts that I have to do so much of my work on Unix, but I've been gradually getting used to it. I occasionally know what to put after gawk and grep. I have used vim. I think I kinda know what '{ -v -b $ are, but beyond that I get clueless fast. Its amazing how easily you can figure out how to do simple things with google.
But that's not really the point. Although its good that I kinda sorta sometimes know what I'm doing without hand-holding. My little eureka moment came when I needed to do something, and, being a Mac girl I considered doing it on my computer, but then I would have had to upload it on to the server. This doesn't sound like much but it made me go 'ugh' and then it occurred to me that I could do this simply and easily with Unix commands directly on the server, and promptly did so.
A choir of angels sang above my head and my smile was beaming. I actually thought 'That would be so much easier to just do in Unix.' And indeed it was.
A month ago, maybe 2 weeks ago, I would have said that such words would never, ever, enter my little brain. But it is stretching
Where to start.
Netflix, Tim Minchin, Bear, Unix, Excessive Glee love, black clothes, ode to grey, Eeyore love, Karelia
Oops, I totally spaced out. I think those are all the things I've started to write about or have thought about. I could try to knock them off one at a time. In order? Some cross over though... Karelia and bear. Eeyore and grey. Separate but related.
I'm just gonna knock out Unix cause that one is easy (if not particularly interesting, which is another reason to hurry it along and shove it out of my brain.)
Why did I want to write about Unix? Because I turned a corner! A big one, but in a very small way.
I hate Unix. It drives me nuts that I have to do so much of my work on Unix, but I've been gradually getting used to it. I occasionally know what to put after gawk and grep. I have used vim. I think I kinda know what '{ -v -b $ are, but beyond that I get clueless fast. Its amazing how easily you can figure out how to do simple things with google.
But that's not really the point. Although its good that I kinda sorta sometimes know what I'm doing without hand-holding. My little eureka moment came when I needed to do something, and, being a Mac girl I considered doing it on my computer, but then I would have had to upload it on to the server. This doesn't sound like much but it made me go 'ugh' and then it occurred to me that I could do this simply and easily with Unix commands directly on the server, and promptly did so.
A choir of angels sang above my head and my smile was beaming. I actually thought 'That would be so much easier to just do in Unix.' And indeed it was.
A month ago, maybe 2 weeks ago, I would have said that such words would never, ever, enter my little brain. But it is stretching
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Glee Episode 4-Duets
First of all - all kinds of happy noises which I will not attempt to reflect in typing in the interests of maintaining some dignity.
This episode was awesome! As usual on so many levels, and it will all come out in a big jumble.
Still not happy with spoilers and all the info that comes out about upcoming shows. And yet. I don't actively, aggressively hide from it any more. And so I know things. Like dear god that photo of Chris as Riff Raff is freaky. But I heard some of a clip of a song from tonight's episode but didn't much care because there was no context. Realized tonight that they release the songs on iTunes before the show airs! Why? I had to hit the back button fast so I wouldn't see the names of the songs on tonight's show. Okay, enough with the whining.
So what up with Puck? Juvi. Really? Just to make an odd number? This was one of those times where my brain went off into thoughts which took too long and hence I sort of missed what was actually going on (like the Billionaire thing in Episode 1 but on a smaller scale) So Puck is gone, he's in juvi, something about crashing car into something and an ATM and they were on to the next thing. Admittedly, I was watching on DVR, so I could have used that little rewind button but whatever. I always like Puck so he was missed.
This episode was awesome! As usual on so many levels, and it will all come out in a big jumble.
Still not happy with spoilers and all the info that comes out about upcoming shows. And yet. I don't actively, aggressively hide from it any more. And so I know things. Like dear god that photo of Chris as Riff Raff is freaky. But I heard some of a clip of a song from tonight's episode but didn't much care because there was no context. Realized tonight that they release the songs on iTunes before the show airs! Why? I had to hit the back button fast so I wouldn't see the names of the songs on tonight's show. Okay, enough with the whining.
So what up with Puck? Juvi. Really? Just to make an odd number? This was one of those times where my brain went off into thoughts which took too long and hence I sort of missed what was actually going on (like the Billionaire thing in Episode 1 but on a smaller scale) So Puck is gone, he's in juvi, something about crashing car into something and an ATM and they were on to the next thing. Admittedly, I was watching on DVR, so I could have used that little rewind button but whatever. I always like Puck so he was missed.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Preachiness
Yup, this is me being serious. After all the blog is my thoughts, and sometimes I do have a serious one.
I'm actually a tad ashamed of myself. I've been rather self-absorbed of late. So it took my obsession with Chris Colfer to jolt me from my complaisance and into thought. How? This PSA for the Trevor Project. (And by the way I've watched 'I want to Hold Your Hand at least 10 times. So beautiful.)
It had like 500k views when I saw it. Sadly, I saw a lot of horrible comments. You know, the kind of garbled, messed up English filled with all-caps comments about GOD and how homosexuality is evil. Those comments we brush off as being from idiots. And in another example of the silent majority the video has thousands of likes and a handful of dislikes.
I'm actually a tad ashamed of myself. I've been rather self-absorbed of late. So it took my obsession with Chris Colfer to jolt me from my complaisance and into thought. How? This PSA for the Trevor Project. (And by the way I've watched 'I want to Hold Your Hand at least 10 times. So beautiful.)
It had like 500k views when I saw it. Sadly, I saw a lot of horrible comments. You know, the kind of garbled, messed up English filled with all-caps comments about GOD and how homosexuality is evil. Those comments we brush off as being from idiots. And in another example of the silent majority the video has thousands of likes and a handful of dislikes.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Okay, the real reason
I decided to fess up, even though it will seriously hurt my nerd cred.
While I did indeed watch Lie to Me and Bones before Glee this week, that's not what I spent Friday watching. I was on YouTube catching up on...
Well, this requires some serious explanation in order to not have it look like I'm, well, just totally pathetic.
Way back when I was in high school I got hooked on a daytime soap. Why are daytime soaps worse than all the nighttime soaps? Well, mostly because they have no budget so their sets suck and there's a tendency towards bizarre stories, and nowadays, the writing is so god-awful atrocious you wonder how on earth these people keep their jobs. But really, I only know much about one. So I shouldn't speak for the others. And I don't know too much about the one I do know something about.
Okay, I'm getting myself all tangled up.
When I was in junior high and high school and beginning of college I would catch, when I could (which was pretty rare since I actually went to school and all that stuff) this show. And on this show there was a girl who was my age. She was very smart, known for being good, had dreams of college and a career as a doctor. Hmm.... in other words, she was me. With one big difference. That character was diagnosed with HIV and her boyfriend died of AIDS. And I watched her, in occasional glimpses go through that, and deal with her own diagnosis and learn to move on.
Until, that is, they went to some bat-shit crazy storyline that made no sense and had her running out of town after months of hell. That was, in, 1999? Right.
While I did indeed watch Lie to Me and Bones before Glee this week, that's not what I spent Friday watching. I was on YouTube catching up on...
Well, this requires some serious explanation in order to not have it look like I'm, well, just totally pathetic.
Way back when I was in high school I got hooked on a daytime soap. Why are daytime soaps worse than all the nighttime soaps? Well, mostly because they have no budget so their sets suck and there's a tendency towards bizarre stories, and nowadays, the writing is so god-awful atrocious you wonder how on earth these people keep their jobs. But really, I only know much about one. So I shouldn't speak for the others. And I don't know too much about the one I do know something about.
Okay, I'm getting myself all tangled up.
When I was in junior high and high school and beginning of college I would catch, when I could (which was pretty rare since I actually went to school and all that stuff) this show. And on this show there was a girl who was my age. She was very smart, known for being good, had dreams of college and a career as a doctor. Hmm.... in other words, she was me. With one big difference. That character was diagnosed with HIV and her boyfriend died of AIDS. And I watched her, in occasional glimpses go through that, and deal with her own diagnosis and learn to move on.
Until, that is, they went to some bat-shit crazy storyline that made no sense and had her running out of town after months of hell. That was, in, 1999? Right.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Glee Episode 3
For some reason I just watched Glee. I kinda watched my other TV shows from this week first. (Lie to Me and Bones. I seriously pray that other people see how totally awesome Lie to Me is and it doesn't get booted after this move to a higher profile spot. Meanwhile Bones doing Jersey Shore was totally hilarious. But onwards to Glee)
I think probably the reason I hesitated was that I wasn't too keen on the first 2 episodes and feared my favorite tv show would disappoint me again.
But no.
I cried. I actually cried. I can't remember when, if ever, I cried during a tv show, and its probably obvious when.
But this episode was also complicated. There was a lot going on with sometimes very short bits of dialogue explaining characters belief systems, so, I actually had to watch things again, and when I couldn't find the bits I wanted, look them up on the internet. Fun part of liking a show that's so popular, you can find out anything about it with google.
This is going to be a long one, so I'm just going to put the break here.
I think probably the reason I hesitated was that I wasn't too keen on the first 2 episodes and feared my favorite tv show would disappoint me again.
But no.
I cried. I actually cried. I can't remember when, if ever, I cried during a tv show, and its probably obvious when.
But this episode was also complicated. There was a lot going on with sometimes very short bits of dialogue explaining characters belief systems, so, I actually had to watch things again, and when I couldn't find the bits I wanted, look them up on the internet. Fun part of liking a show that's so popular, you can find out anything about it with google.
This is going to be a long one, so I'm just going to put the break here.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
I'm back!
I normally don't make severe edits, cause its kinda a stream of consciousness thing, but I totally forgot that I posted about how I was going. So, I'm back from where I went.
It was cold, it was kinda misty and rainy the whole time. I nearly got blown off a ferry during a particularly strong gust. But that's what you get for standing at the very front edge of a boat when trips are being cancelled because of the high winds/rough sea. Nonetheless, standing out there by myself with the wind strong in my face and the spray from the water made me very, very happy.
It also brought back a childhood dream of joining the Coast Guard. And now... I want to join the Coast Guard. The only problems, as I thought about it, are: I'm really not strong enough, to like, haul dying people out of the water. I think I'm kind of a weakling. But I guess some weightlifting ought to fix that. Then there was the fact that besides saving people the Coast Guard also protects borders. This would mean attempting to stop smugglers. Those people are dangerous. I'm not sure I want to be around people for whom guns are both key to self-image, and also treated like toys. (There's also the probably more significant problem that I doubt they would want me.)
I have hope that I have some good photos. I did some experimentation to see what effects would happen with extremes on aperture and shutter speed. I mean, the wind was so strong that even the fastest shutter speed I could use probably didn't avoid blurring, so we shall see what comes out. Probably a load of crap, and I suspect I got water in my lens. Not happy about that. But I'll stop whining
Go Patriots! It wasn't pretty but they beat the Dolphins on Monday. I used to like the Patriots but kinda kept my mouth shut, or underplayed it, because to me, you root for the team from the place you grew up in, or where you live. I don't really like fantasy football, because I think it kind of breaks down rooting for your home team in favor of rooting for an utterly imaginary team that lives only in your head and that of the people you know who also engage in this fantasy and have to play against you. Obviously I don't like fantasy football, but do like football. I've been watching all my life. Haven't really had a home team in a long time though. I was in Atlanta for two brief periods, and I wasn't really into the Falcons either time. Now I live in Boston I can unabashedly cheer for Brady, Bellichick, Welker,Moss, etc.
Tomorrow I will not be tired and cold and surrounded by the smell of mothballs (literally surrounding me on all sides, thank you mom). In the meantime, a friend posted a link to this lab video, and as a labrat I must share. (The idea being that I will have something, if not exactly meaningful, at least less mopey, to say tomorrow.)
That said, this is all wet lab, which I don't do anymore. Distinguishing feature between wet lab and dry lab? Wet lab people work at times with things that have moisture. Us dry labbers use our computers only.
I have however used everything featured in the video, being a former wet labber, with perhaps the exception of safety goggles which is pretty hilarious. I did use face shields, particularly for protection from UV lamps when reading gels. Unfortunately, the shield was so scratched up I couldn't see through it and had to try to peer around it to make sure everything was lined up. One time of severe UV burn of the eyes was all it took to stop that practice. Not fun. Had to pour stuff that's like jelly in my eyes several times a day for a few weeks.
I can't think of any other lab accidents though. I guess I maybe didn't spend enough time in wet lab to get the glass cuts, animal bites, chemical splashes that just tend to happen. After all, what's the worst thing that can happen to me? Electrocuted by my computer? Unlikely.
It was cold, it was kinda misty and rainy the whole time. I nearly got blown off a ferry during a particularly strong gust. But that's what you get for standing at the very front edge of a boat when trips are being cancelled because of the high winds/rough sea. Nonetheless, standing out there by myself with the wind strong in my face and the spray from the water made me very, very happy.
It also brought back a childhood dream of joining the Coast Guard. And now... I want to join the Coast Guard. The only problems, as I thought about it, are: I'm really not strong enough, to like, haul dying people out of the water. I think I'm kind of a weakling. But I guess some weightlifting ought to fix that. Then there was the fact that besides saving people the Coast Guard also protects borders. This would mean attempting to stop smugglers. Those people are dangerous. I'm not sure I want to be around people for whom guns are both key to self-image, and also treated like toys. (There's also the probably more significant problem that I doubt they would want me.)
I have hope that I have some good photos. I did some experimentation to see what effects would happen with extremes on aperture and shutter speed. I mean, the wind was so strong that even the fastest shutter speed I could use probably didn't avoid blurring, so we shall see what comes out. Probably a load of crap, and I suspect I got water in my lens. Not happy about that. But I'll stop whining
Go Patriots! It wasn't pretty but they beat the Dolphins on Monday. I used to like the Patriots but kinda kept my mouth shut, or underplayed it, because to me, you root for the team from the place you grew up in, or where you live. I don't really like fantasy football, because I think it kind of breaks down rooting for your home team in favor of rooting for an utterly imaginary team that lives only in your head and that of the people you know who also engage in this fantasy and have to play against you. Obviously I don't like fantasy football, but do like football. I've been watching all my life. Haven't really had a home team in a long time though. I was in Atlanta for two brief periods, and I wasn't really into the Falcons either time. Now I live in Boston I can unabashedly cheer for Brady, Bellichick, Welker,
Tomorrow I will not be tired and cold and surrounded by the smell of mothballs (literally surrounding me on all sides, thank you mom). In the meantime, a friend posted a link to this lab video, and as a labrat I must share. (The idea being that I will have something, if not exactly meaningful, at least less mopey, to say tomorrow.)
That said, this is all wet lab, which I don't do anymore. Distinguishing feature between wet lab and dry lab? Wet lab people work at times with things that have moisture. Us dry labbers use our computers only.
I have however used everything featured in the video, being a former wet labber, with perhaps the exception of safety goggles which is pretty hilarious. I did use face shields, particularly for protection from UV lamps when reading gels. Unfortunately, the shield was so scratched up I couldn't see through it and had to try to peer around it to make sure everything was lined up. One time of severe UV burn of the eyes was all it took to stop that practice. Not fun. Had to pour stuff that's like jelly in my eyes several times a day for a few weeks.
I can't think of any other lab accidents though. I guess I maybe didn't spend enough time in wet lab to get the glass cuts, animal bites, chemical splashes that just tend to happen. After all, what's the worst thing that can happen to me? Electrocuted by my computer? Unlikely.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Packing
So I'm going on a brief trip. I realize Cape Cod in October immediately post tropical storm related flooding doesn't seem ideal, but you take what you get. Hopefully I will have nice photos. I have my purple rainboots so I can get in the surf without getting soaking wet and cold.
Now, I was attempting to pack last night, at least most of it, and when I was done and climbed into bed I realized something interesting. I am going to Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod, generally sort of nature, pretty, slightly outdoorsy type places. The things that I was most stressed about making sure I packed were: camera (okay, that makes sense) Macbook Air, Nook, charger for Nook, iPod and iPhone. Then I realized that charger I preferred to bring for the latter two was at work, got upset with myself, and finally decided to deal with this by sending the following e-mail to my work account. 'Pack iPod/iPhone charger dumbass.' As if I would fail without that last admonition. When I arrived this morning and checked my e-mail, it was the first e-mail and I immediately packed charger. Otherwise, who knows.
But, ummmm, I'm totally just assuming that I threw enough shirts in there. Couple pairs of pants, whatever. However, I obsessively needed to make sure that every piece of gadgetry I own was packed (and had downloaded a couple books to the Nook, just in case.... nothing, there is nothing. I can buy books and download them if there is 3G, so, there is no way I could be without the capability of downloading books unless, perhaps, I wandered off into the African desert while I was on Cape Cod.)
And I also had to make sure that all chargers were packed.
Admittedly there have been some issues there in the past... I got to Barcelona with camera in hand, having put the battery to charge in the charger the previous night. Unfortunately I left charger and battery behind, and, therefore I have no photographs from Barcelona. I've left behind laptop chargers and made emergency Apple Store trip to acquire a new one (those things are damn expensive.)
So I guess there is some reason for this level of panic. But I was shocked at the level of gadgetry I feel it is necessary to bring with me for a few days trip. Also, I am female. Do I not care at all what I look like? Or whether or not I actually have clothes to wear? I mean guys should care too, but they seem more likely to just wear the same thing three days in a row. There is no makeup or jewelry packed. I even forgot to put on my usual jewelry this morning.
Now, I was all set for expected monsoon weather this morning. It did not appear. I became annoyed. I'm pretty sure that this expected downpour is going to end up occurring right when I leave to walk home and continue through my walk to the T completely soaking me and my non-waterproof duffel bag. But dry feet I will have! If I have to wear these rainboots the whole effing day I will do so! They are purple, shiny and warm. All positives. Maybe I am a girl after all.
Now, I was attempting to pack last night, at least most of it, and when I was done and climbed into bed I realized something interesting. I am going to Martha's Vineyard and Cape Cod, generally sort of nature, pretty, slightly outdoorsy type places. The things that I was most stressed about making sure I packed were: camera (okay, that makes sense) Macbook Air, Nook, charger for Nook, iPod and iPhone. Then I realized that charger I preferred to bring for the latter two was at work, got upset with myself, and finally decided to deal with this by sending the following e-mail to my work account. 'Pack iPod/iPhone charger dumbass.' As if I would fail without that last admonition. When I arrived this morning and checked my e-mail, it was the first e-mail and I immediately packed charger. Otherwise, who knows.
But, ummmm, I'm totally just assuming that I threw enough shirts in there. Couple pairs of pants, whatever. However, I obsessively needed to make sure that every piece of gadgetry I own was packed (and had downloaded a couple books to the Nook, just in case.... nothing, there is nothing. I can buy books and download them if there is 3G, so, there is no way I could be without the capability of downloading books unless, perhaps, I wandered off into the African desert while I was on Cape Cod.)
And I also had to make sure that all chargers were packed.
Admittedly there have been some issues there in the past... I got to Barcelona with camera in hand, having put the battery to charge in the charger the previous night. Unfortunately I left charger and battery behind, and, therefore I have no photographs from Barcelona. I've left behind laptop chargers and made emergency Apple Store trip to acquire a new one (those things are damn expensive.)
So I guess there is some reason for this level of panic. But I was shocked at the level of gadgetry I feel it is necessary to bring with me for a few days trip. Also, I am female. Do I not care at all what I look like? Or whether or not I actually have clothes to wear? I mean guys should care too, but they seem more likely to just wear the same thing three days in a row. There is no makeup or jewelry packed. I even forgot to put on my usual jewelry this morning.
Now, I was all set for expected monsoon weather this morning. It did not appear. I became annoyed. I'm pretty sure that this expected downpour is going to end up occurring right when I leave to walk home and continue through my walk to the T completely soaking me and my non-waterproof duffel bag. But dry feet I will have! If I have to wear these rainboots the whole effing day I will do so! They are purple, shiny and warm. All positives. Maybe I am a girl after all.
After the Jump!
Why have I added this generally sort of annoying feature to my blog? Well, some of the posts are long, like I'd take a look to check that there were no bizarre format things and I'd have to keep scrolling and scrolling. This seemed kind of annoying.
So, I was faced with 2 annoying things, cutting off the longer posts so you have to click to read the rest of it. Or continuing to have some mammoth long posts that you might not want to deal with. I'm not sure which is better, so I'll try the break thing for a while. Only on long posts.
Okay, I have to admit, there is a third option. I could edit my self and not write freakin ridiculously long posts. However, since that ain't happenin. Let's just stick with 1 and 2 which are actually viable options. By the way, if anyone actually has an opinion on this please share. I have no idea which is more annoying for people in general.
So, I was faced with 2 annoying things, cutting off the longer posts so you have to click to read the rest of it. Or continuing to have some mammoth long posts that you might not want to deal with. I'm not sure which is better, so I'll try the break thing for a while. Only on long posts.
Okay, I have to admit, there is a third option. I could edit my self and not write freakin ridiculously long posts. However, since that ain't happenin. Let's just stick with 1 and 2 which are actually viable options. By the way, if anyone actually has an opinion on this please share. I have no idea which is more annoying for people in general.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Fuzzy Alarm Clock Logic
Anyone else notice that morning logic, particularly the logic your brain spits out in the first 5 minutes after waking up is total crap? And yet, it seems perfectly good at the time.
I am the type of person who is awoken by alarm clocks just enough to find sneaky ways to get around them. Its a fine line. If an alarm clock is loud and buzzing and generally incredibly obnoxious I will turn that thing off so fast my sleep cycle is hardly interrupted at all.
On the other hand, if the alarm clock is sort of gentle, doesn't jar me too badly, then I will blissfully hit the snooze button, and then again...again...again.. you get the point. An alarm clock without a snooze button is scary. After all, you have total and utter failure, or you get up. There is no in between. So I guess you would need to work out the percentage of times when failure occurred, consider the consequences of failure, and determine whether you have an acceptable model. I think for most people the acceptable percentage of total failure is pretty low.
Obviously when I say total failure, I don't mean the alarm clock, I'm talking failure to get out of bed and get to required duties approximately at accepted time. I think the fraction of alarm clock failures due to actual alarm clock failure is very low. There is also human error in things like plugging in, charging, setting, etc. but those do not relate to the morning, those relate to whether your brain is functional at night. Mine generally does quite well at night, and if yours doesn't, and also doesn't in the morning, well, I think you have bigger problems than your alarm clock.
There are 4 sets of circumstances which have actually worked to get me out of bed in the morning in the past, say, 10 years.
I am the type of person who is awoken by alarm clocks just enough to find sneaky ways to get around them. Its a fine line. If an alarm clock is loud and buzzing and generally incredibly obnoxious I will turn that thing off so fast my sleep cycle is hardly interrupted at all.
On the other hand, if the alarm clock is sort of gentle, doesn't jar me too badly, then I will blissfully hit the snooze button, and then again...again...again.. you get the point. An alarm clock without a snooze button is scary. After all, you have total and utter failure, or you get up. There is no in between. So I guess you would need to work out the percentage of times when failure occurred, consider the consequences of failure, and determine whether you have an acceptable model. I think for most people the acceptable percentage of total failure is pretty low.
Obviously when I say total failure, I don't mean the alarm clock, I'm talking failure to get out of bed and get to required duties approximately at accepted time. I think the fraction of alarm clock failures due to actual alarm clock failure is very low. There is also human error in things like plugging in, charging, setting, etc. but those do not relate to the morning, those relate to whether your brain is functional at night. Mine generally does quite well at night, and if yours doesn't, and also doesn't in the morning, well, I think you have bigger problems than your alarm clock.
There are 4 sets of circumstances which have actually worked to get me out of bed in the morning in the past, say, 10 years.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
I can no longer use a pencil
Yes, strange but true.
I made that proud comment back aways about how I have escaped my heaps of paper by putting absolutely everything on an electronic storage device. (Like I know its horrible, if someone got my phone and actually figured out how stupid I am they could do some serious damage)
But there are unintended consequences.
The first sign I laughed about. You see, banking is amongst the things that had moved 100% online. Starting in Iceland (and I was happy) So, when I moved to Boston, I had to regress a bit.
I gave up being a stubborn mule and got a bank account with checks, and bought the stupid checks (and of course, now I have like a hundred when I will use 1 or 2 a month and therefore will have moved and be scratching out the address on them before I actually use them all. They have puppies and kittens on them though, so all good.) First check I write, I completely mess it up. I mean, its been 5 years! I'm supposed to remember how to fill out a stupid check (yes, as an adult one should be able to write a check, but of course me=adult is still under some question).
My roommate assured me it was salvagable by crossing out and initialing, and apparently it was. At the time I only had one check so I couldn't just rip it up. That little random descriptive bit is to assure you that I'm not stupid enough that I wouldn't just move on to the next check if there was one available.
Moving on, I also do not write at work. I have several pads of paper on my desk. I have a couple of pens, rollerball pens, I never use ballpoint pens. However, the paper mostly has doodles, and unintelligible scrawls, many with lines through them. These occasionally represent my thought processes. Aside from those pads there is no paper in my office. (There is a nice whiteboard, but the only thing on it is a fake greek mathematical equation my boss wrote on it) I gently mock my colleague for her paper accumulation skills, but clearly we are meant to balance one another out. She is also a frequent and adept user of pencils.
I made that proud comment back aways about how I have escaped my heaps of paper by putting absolutely everything on an electronic storage device. (Like I know its horrible, if someone got my phone and actually figured out how stupid I am they could do some serious damage)
But there are unintended consequences.
The first sign I laughed about. You see, banking is amongst the things that had moved 100% online. Starting in Iceland (and I was happy) So, when I moved to Boston, I had to regress a bit.
I gave up being a stubborn mule and got a bank account with checks, and bought the stupid checks (and of course, now I have like a hundred when I will use 1 or 2 a month and therefore will have moved and be scratching out the address on them before I actually use them all. They have puppies and kittens on them though, so all good.) First check I write, I completely mess it up. I mean, its been 5 years! I'm supposed to remember how to fill out a stupid check (yes, as an adult one should be able to write a check, but of course me=adult is still under some question).
My roommate assured me it was salvagable by crossing out and initialing, and apparently it was. At the time I only had one check so I couldn't just rip it up. That little random descriptive bit is to assure you that I'm not stupid enough that I wouldn't just move on to the next check if there was one available.
Moving on, I also do not write at work. I have several pads of paper on my desk. I have a couple of pens, rollerball pens, I never use ballpoint pens. However, the paper mostly has doodles, and unintelligible scrawls, many with lines through them. These occasionally represent my thought processes. Aside from those pads there is no paper in my office. (There is a nice whiteboard, but the only thing on it is a fake greek mathematical equation my boss wrote on it) I gently mock my colleague for her paper accumulation skills, but clearly we are meant to balance one another out. She is also a frequent and adept user of pencils.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Glee Episode 2
Okay, I should preface this by saying that, in general, like 95% of the time, I don't like Britney Spears.
And I don't mean, since she went all crazy, after that I had compassion for her. I mean pre-Justin break-up, pre-anything that people have used to diss the girl. Just not my style of music. the Hit me Baby video was kinda fun. Then there was the cycle to always reinvent herself by doing something more insane than the last time she got on stage. (*the big exception being that I absolutely love the song Everytime and am embarrassed that there is a Britney song that I love as much as I love that song. However, I knew they weren't gonna put that in the show.)
So anyway, my expectations were not high, but I thought Glee could pull it off, but, um, no. Not for me. There were cute moments, as always.
Painful as it was, Will actually had a story arc. It would be very strange in the world of how tv shows are made if Will and Emma didn't get a second shot, so I can't help thinking as much as I'd like to punch John Stamos, it isn't worth it cause he won't be there in the end. Also, Will deserves to suffer after he inexplicably made out with Idina Menzel's character a.k.a. Rachel's mom last season. Wonder if we'll ever get to see her and little Beth again. Probably awkward. This being Glee and not so much like every other tv show written, its possible they will never give Will and Emma another chance. Or of course they could hold out the tension so long that when they finally are a couple everyone yawns. Classic tv mistake I hope they don't make.
Umm, anyway, storyline, not so good. having storyline in the first place good
And Terri in a small dose is a good thing
By the way, I didn't think it was inappropriate for him to sing with the kids! It livens things up. I know its school not camp, but god knows when I was a counselor there was nothing the kids loved more than the staff talent show. Admittedly, it was a performing arts camp, and we tended to be, well, performers.
Rachel finally, at least temporarily, realizing that she doesn't need to put a choke collar on her boyfriend and singing him a cute song was good (Not Britney). There are honestly only a few moments in any given episode where Rachel and Finn make any sense at all, and this one had a lot of them.
And I don't mean, since she went all crazy, after that I had compassion for her. I mean pre-Justin break-up, pre-anything that people have used to diss the girl. Just not my style of music. the Hit me Baby video was kinda fun. Then there was the cycle to always reinvent herself by doing something more insane than the last time she got on stage. (*the big exception being that I absolutely love the song Everytime and am embarrassed that there is a Britney song that I love as much as I love that song. However, I knew they weren't gonna put that in the show.)
So anyway, my expectations were not high, but I thought Glee could pull it off, but, um, no. Not for me. There were cute moments, as always.
Painful as it was, Will actually had a story arc. It would be very strange in the world of how tv shows are made if Will and Emma didn't get a second shot, so I can't help thinking as much as I'd like to punch John Stamos, it isn't worth it cause he won't be there in the end. Also, Will deserves to suffer after he inexplicably made out with Idina Menzel's character a.k.a. Rachel's mom last season. Wonder if we'll ever get to see her and little Beth again. Probably awkward. This being Glee and not so much like every other tv show written, its possible they will never give Will and Emma another chance. Or of course they could hold out the tension so long that when they finally are a couple everyone yawns. Classic tv mistake I hope they don't make.
Umm, anyway, storyline, not so good. having storyline in the first place good
And Terri in a small dose is a good thing
By the way, I didn't think it was inappropriate for him to sing with the kids! It livens things up. I know its school not camp, but god knows when I was a counselor there was nothing the kids loved more than the staff talent show. Admittedly, it was a performing arts camp, and we tended to be, well, performers.
Rachel finally, at least temporarily, realizing that she doesn't need to put a choke collar on her boyfriend and singing him a cute song was good (Not Britney). There are honestly only a few moments in any given episode where Rachel and Finn make any sense at all, and this one had a lot of them.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Eeeeek!
Okay, I know an unintelligible shriek is not a good title, but here's what happened.
I read the post I put up yesterday, and discovered, that it was totally not funny. Like there were seeds in there of what might be amusing, but on the whole, no.
So I added a note and decided to consider deleting, no biggie right?
Wrong.
Because you see, then the thought started to bother me, if I thought that was going to be funny but on hindsight it isn't funny at all then what about every other post?
And I started reading my own blog. And nothing was funny. Nothing. No big deal if I was writing a blog on Civil War history or something, but I know perfectly well that there is no content whatsoever here. The only thing I thought I had going for me was that what I wrote was kind of funny.
Which made me wonder, why is anyone reading this? If you've never been terribly popular like me there is a strange tendency for 'They're all laughing at you.' to pop into your head. This would obviously be utterly pointless since I wouldn't know they were laughing. So, next option. There aren't actually people reading it. There is just an ever increasing number of people who randomly hit upon this page each day in their internet forays, but all of them think its stupid and never come back. Statistically improbable. (And don't ask me just what do you mean by statistically when you use it in that context cause that's the sort of annoying thing I would pull)
And eventually, I go back to Take 2, my reattempt to blog where I said the following:
Clearly I had a touch of omniscience.
So deep breaths and suck it up. Not everything that comes out of my brain is funny. A lot of it is just total crap
I read the post I put up yesterday, and discovered, that it was totally not funny. Like there were seeds in there of what might be amusing, but on the whole, no.
So I added a note and decided to consider deleting, no biggie right?
Wrong.
Because you see, then the thought started to bother me, if I thought that was going to be funny but on hindsight it isn't funny at all then what about every other post?
And I started reading my own blog. And nothing was funny. Nothing. No big deal if I was writing a blog on Civil War history or something, but I know perfectly well that there is no content whatsoever here. The only thing I thought I had going for me was that what I wrote was kind of funny.
Which made me wonder, why is anyone reading this? If you've never been terribly popular like me there is a strange tendency for 'They're all laughing at you.' to pop into your head. This would obviously be utterly pointless since I wouldn't know they were laughing. So, next option. There aren't actually people reading it. There is just an ever increasing number of people who randomly hit upon this page each day in their internet forays, but all of them think its stupid and never come back. Statistically improbable. (And don't ask me just what do you mean by statistically when you use it in that context cause that's the sort of annoying thing I would pull)
And eventually, I go back to Take 2, my reattempt to blog where I said the following:
The thing is, if I start thinking someone might read this, particularly someone I actually know, I might start censoring myself. And that would suck for me, and make for boring posts.
Clearly I had a touch of omniscience.
So deep breaths and suck it up. Not everything that comes out of my brain is funny. A lot of it is just total crap
Sunday, September 26, 2010
My earliest forays into writing
NOTE: Upon re-reading I am considering deleting this post due to lack of humor. I don't know what happened. In my head, a little girl writing stories about death, murder and mayhem seemed loaded with amusement. Perhaps it is lack of pictures. A drawing of little me with my perpetual blonde pigtails scrawling bad drawings of gruesome deaths with black crayons would have made it funny. I don't know. But I fear this post has failed, and as such may soon disappear.
NOTE 2: I don't give a damn
I don't know why these popped into my head today, but I randomly remembered my earliest writing style.
Okay, to be honest, the first I don't remember, it has been shared with me by my father. Apparently, when first requested to write something 'creative' (if the contents of a 4 year olds brain can actually be called creative) my thoughts were short and to the point.
I wrote: A girl walked into the forest. She died.
I am curious what my kindergarten teacher thought of this as a first effort. Given that it is accepted that you have to be about 7 to understand the true concept of death, I clearly didn't know what I was writing. Its not like I was exposed to TV that could have influenced my thoughts, because I was absolutely forbidden at that time from watching anything other than Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers if I was sick, and the national news (no local news) and Redskins and Celtics games (my father had some sense of the idea that hypocrisy would have been bad so we were allowed to watch anything he watched). On a side note this led to an early sense of being an outsider when the other kids discussed The Cosby Show and I was like, 'Who?'
I must have been reading something, but I didn't think my parent's were letting me read anything very gruesome. Then again, there's no way they could police with the quantity of reading I was doing, and after all you assume you can trust the school library.
Now, at least initially this seemed to be a one off thing. My writing soon grew prolific. We had that light green paper, which you turned sideways, and thereby had these gigantic lines to write on to encourage you to write in straight lines rather than scrawling illegibly all over the paper. I would fill 10, 20 of these pages. No big deal, right? Well, for parent's day, everyone's stories were stapled to the wall. Each sheet was stapled to the next and hung on the wall. Mine, ummmm, was fine for the first say 7 pages, but then the rest lay in a disordered heap on the floor. There really wasn't much to do. You could straighten up the heap, that's about it.
NOTE 2: I don't give a damn
I don't know why these popped into my head today, but I randomly remembered my earliest writing style.
Okay, to be honest, the first I don't remember, it has been shared with me by my father. Apparently, when first requested to write something 'creative' (if the contents of a 4 year olds brain can actually be called creative) my thoughts were short and to the point.
I wrote: A girl walked into the forest. She died.
I am curious what my kindergarten teacher thought of this as a first effort. Given that it is accepted that you have to be about 7 to understand the true concept of death, I clearly didn't know what I was writing. Its not like I was exposed to TV that could have influenced my thoughts, because I was absolutely forbidden at that time from watching anything other than Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers if I was sick, and the national news (no local news) and Redskins and Celtics games (my father had some sense of the idea that hypocrisy would have been bad so we were allowed to watch anything he watched). On a side note this led to an early sense of being an outsider when the other kids discussed The Cosby Show and I was like, 'Who?'
I must have been reading something, but I didn't think my parent's were letting me read anything very gruesome. Then again, there's no way they could police with the quantity of reading I was doing, and after all you assume you can trust the school library.
Now, at least initially this seemed to be a one off thing. My writing soon grew prolific. We had that light green paper, which you turned sideways, and thereby had these gigantic lines to write on to encourage you to write in straight lines rather than scrawling illegibly all over the paper. I would fill 10, 20 of these pages. No big deal, right? Well, for parent's day, everyone's stories were stapled to the wall. Each sheet was stapled to the next and hung on the wall. Mine, ummmm, was fine for the first say 7 pages, but then the rest lay in a disordered heap on the floor. There really wasn't much to do. You could straighten up the heap, that's about it.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Fiscal Irresponsibility
In general I consider myself to be pretty good about monetary issues. I used to always add 'for my age' when I would randomly decide to say that in my head to comfort myself. However, that is no longer possible. There is no 'for my age.' At my age you should have your shit together. But still, there's some evidence that I handle things fairly well.
I pay all my bills on time (Thank god for the internet, how on earth did people do this when it required stamps, checks and envelopes, as well as a pen? I mean, that's 4 items you have to gather in order to take care of a bill. In addition, of course, to the bill itself.) There have been times I have slipped into credit card debt. Living in New York City immediately after graduating college is just not supportable unless you sold out and went to work for a bank or a consulting company. (Sell out being the term that all people who don't make as much money as they'd like to use for anyone who is making as much money as they'd like to.)
Now I find myself again, with some, err, let's just say a balance on my credit card. Why? Moved, two months no salary, surviving on post-doc salary which makes one wonder what you went through 12 years of higher education for.
However, I will throw in here now, even though it doesn't belong, that I do have an IRA! Take that! (Yeah, I know there's jack shit in it. Oh to anyone who believed I would actually stick to that self-imposed language restraint. Ha!)
I have noticed though that in some ways I have money totally backwards. For example, had credit card balance, wanted new computer. Tacked 2000 onto credit card bill. Now, want 200 phone. Waiting to pay off credit card bill first. What!? Why am I doing this? What caused this seed to take root in my mind, caused me to think that this made any sense. And I don't mean that 5 years ago when I was an irresponsible child I decided that I just couldn't wait for 2000 computer. I mean last month I couldn't wait for the 2000 computer. But apparently I can wait like a good little fiscally responsible girl on a moral high horse until I've actually paid for the 2000 computer before buying the 200 phone. Order of magnitude difference here. Drop in bucket. I should buy the damn phone and enjoy it now! I swear that would be the actually sensible thing to do. But I don't. Instead I am confident that the bill will be gone in 5 weeks and I will have plenty of money for phone and to start saving for travel fund.
Apologies if anyone wants to see $ scattered all through out there. I can't be bothered.
Saving for travel fund? Since when do I do this? My approach is to decide I want to go somewhere, and it is high time I went somewhere, because I am sick to death of being wherever I happen to be, and pick a place and go. Actual funding sources do not usually come into play in this decision. It probably is a good idea though. Once I decide I must go somewhere, its not like I'll have the time to save for it. I'll be too busy figuring out what to take with me. Its hard to figure out what to expect of the weather halfway around the world.
I pay all my bills on time (Thank god for the internet, how on earth did people do this when it required stamps, checks and envelopes, as well as a pen? I mean, that's 4 items you have to gather in order to take care of a bill. In addition, of course, to the bill itself.) There have been times I have slipped into credit card debt. Living in New York City immediately after graduating college is just not supportable unless you sold out and went to work for a bank or a consulting company. (Sell out being the term that all people who don't make as much money as they'd like to use for anyone who is making as much money as they'd like to.)
Now I find myself again, with some, err, let's just say a balance on my credit card. Why? Moved, two months no salary, surviving on post-doc salary which makes one wonder what you went through 12 years of higher education for.
However, I will throw in here now, even though it doesn't belong, that I do have an IRA! Take that! (Yeah, I know there's jack shit in it. Oh to anyone who believed I would actually stick to that self-imposed language restraint. Ha!)
I have noticed though that in some ways I have money totally backwards. For example, had credit card balance, wanted new computer. Tacked 2000 onto credit card bill. Now, want 200 phone. Waiting to pay off credit card bill first. What!? Why am I doing this? What caused this seed to take root in my mind, caused me to think that this made any sense. And I don't mean that 5 years ago when I was an irresponsible child I decided that I just couldn't wait for 2000 computer. I mean last month I couldn't wait for the 2000 computer. But apparently I can wait like a good little fiscally responsible girl on a moral high horse until I've actually paid for the 2000 computer before buying the 200 phone. Order of magnitude difference here. Drop in bucket. I should buy the damn phone and enjoy it now! I swear that would be the actually sensible thing to do. But I don't. Instead I am confident that the bill will be gone in 5 weeks and I will have plenty of money for phone and to start saving for travel fund.
Apologies if anyone wants to see $ scattered all through out there. I can't be bothered.
Saving for travel fund? Since when do I do this? My approach is to decide I want to go somewhere, and it is high time I went somewhere, because I am sick to death of being wherever I happen to be, and pick a place and go. Actual funding sources do not usually come into play in this decision. It probably is a good idea though. Once I decide I must go somewhere, its not like I'll have the time to save for it. I'll be too busy figuring out what to take with me. Its hard to figure out what to expect of the weather halfway around the world.
Friday, September 24, 2010
I just discovered crack, I mean Reddit. I'm generally super slow and way behind the times on computer related things (hence stubborn refusal to learn things which would make this page look more unique.) So I just came across Reddit today.
And, ummm, hours later...
I can't think of an appropriate exclamation to express my emotion.
I tell it what I'm interested in, and it spits out tons and tons of things about what I'm interested in. And then, some of those have awesome comments. But I can't go past like 50 comments before I'm like, 'whatever, on to next topic' The comments either get REALLY repetitive. Or, they devolve into a two person invective. I can see some voyeur getting kicks out of seeing two people go at it with long emotional but still intellectual diatribes. Not me.
Of course, there are the posts that two comments in are proved to be some sort of hoax. So everyone thinks this piece is hilarious, which it is. Person hunts it down and finds it word for word posted in a forum in 2008, writing that that is the oldest one he can find. This clearly implies that if you copy out the whole thing and post it in Google you will come up with multiple hits and the earliest appeared to be from 2008. To me this indicates remarkable determination to get things right, damn it!
There's a special girl's area, which is sweet, cause it says basically, you're not allowed to be mean in there or you'll be banned. Apparently you can be mean in any unisex forums, and there doesn't seem to be a guys only one. That would probably be sexist. That said, I love the girl's section! And will probably be checking up on what's posted in there.
I also get my fix of science people. Obviously I am one. The thing is, there are science people, and then there are the science people who like to harp forever about how wonderful and perfect science is and how everyone who doesn't agree doesn't get it, and is stupid. You don't actually want to get involved in a conversation which could in any way be turned towards science with the latter. Which pretty much means don't talk to them, stay away.
And, ummm, hours later...
I can't think of an appropriate exclamation to express my emotion.
I tell it what I'm interested in, and it spits out tons and tons of things about what I'm interested in. And then, some of those have awesome comments. But I can't go past like 50 comments before I'm like, 'whatever, on to next topic' The comments either get REALLY repetitive. Or, they devolve into a two person invective. I can see some voyeur getting kicks out of seeing two people go at it with long emotional but still intellectual diatribes. Not me.
Of course, there are the posts that two comments in are proved to be some sort of hoax. So everyone thinks this piece is hilarious, which it is. Person hunts it down and finds it word for word posted in a forum in 2008, writing that that is the oldest one he can find. This clearly implies that if you copy out the whole thing and post it in Google you will come up with multiple hits and the earliest appeared to be from 2008. To me this indicates remarkable determination to get things right, damn it!
There's a special girl's area, which is sweet, cause it says basically, you're not allowed to be mean in there or you'll be banned. Apparently you can be mean in any unisex forums, and there doesn't seem to be a guys only one. That would probably be sexist. That said, I love the girl's section! And will probably be checking up on what's posted in there.
I also get my fix of science people. Obviously I am one. The thing is, there are science people, and then there are the science people who like to harp forever about how wonderful and perfect science is and how everyone who doesn't agree doesn't get it, and is stupid. You don't actually want to get involved in a conversation which could in any way be turned towards science with the latter. Which pretty much means don't talk to them, stay away.
Morning
What on earth possessed me to think, after putting all my towels in the dryer last night,
"Its okay, I'll just remember to pick one up on the way to the shower in the morning"
On what planet did I think this was going to happen? I mean, seriously, you stumble out of bed at 6:30 and shuffle over to the bathroom in your robe, and you're going to remember to detour to the laundry room to pick up a towel?
No, no, instead, you're going to take your shower in blissful peace, shut off the water, open the door, and stand there freezing as it dawns on you that all your freaking towels are in the dryer.
To extend the crazy morning, I have this stupid class to go to, which I repeatedly nodded off in, but just barely avoided actually putting my head down on the table, which I figured was just a tad too obvious. After that I have to book it to make a shuttle bus.
I'm sitting on the bus, and I swear, I think this guy walking towards me is walking a camel. We're in front of a hospital. I don't live in Egypt or somewhere else where camels might be a regular part of the landscape. But seriously, I thought it was a camel.
Now, he actually wasn't walking anything, not even a large dog. I mean, if you saw a Great Dane in the corner of your eye, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a camel. I mean, you'd still be kinda strange, but people would kinda look at you funny and go 'ooooh' instead of just laughing at you and saying 'wtf is wrong with you?' (Although, if anyone you know actually says 'wtf' they should be defriended. It's just not appropriate as a word to come out of your mouth rather than your keyboard.)
So, guy. It was a reflection. Some weird reflection that ended up looking like a camel. There was literally nothing there. I have no idea how something on the sidewalk in between 2 hospital buildings came out looking like a camel. But I reprimanded my brain and let it go.
"Its okay, I'll just remember to pick one up on the way to the shower in the morning"
On what planet did I think this was going to happen? I mean, seriously, you stumble out of bed at 6:30 and shuffle over to the bathroom in your robe, and you're going to remember to detour to the laundry room to pick up a towel?
No, no, instead, you're going to take your shower in blissful peace, shut off the water, open the door, and stand there freezing as it dawns on you that all your freaking towels are in the dryer.
To extend the crazy morning, I have this stupid class to go to, which I repeatedly nodded off in, but just barely avoided actually putting my head down on the table, which I figured was just a tad too obvious. After that I have to book it to make a shuttle bus.
I'm sitting on the bus, and I swear, I think this guy walking towards me is walking a camel. We're in front of a hospital. I don't live in Egypt or somewhere else where camels might be a regular part of the landscape. But seriously, I thought it was a camel.
Now, he actually wasn't walking anything, not even a large dog. I mean, if you saw a Great Dane in the corner of your eye, you could be forgiven for thinking it was a camel. I mean, you'd still be kinda strange, but people would kinda look at you funny and go 'ooooh' instead of just laughing at you and saying 'wtf is wrong with you?' (Although, if anyone you know actually says 'wtf' they should be defriended. It's just not appropriate as a word to come out of your mouth rather than your keyboard.)
So, guy. It was a reflection. Some weird reflection that ended up looking like a camel. There was literally nothing there. I have no idea how something on the sidewalk in between 2 hospital buildings came out looking like a camel. But I reprimanded my brain and let it go.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Glee Episode 1
Okay, so having gushed over Glee, I obviously can't let the first episode go by without comment. I'm sure 200 people at least have gone through the episode in detail somewhere on the web. I, however, did not sit there watching with a notebook. I watch for fun, its not a job. Therefore, I couldn't possibly tell you what happened in most of the show. I can tell you the hilarious and not hilarious, as determined by me. Also, quotes may not be perfect. I watched it once two days ago. If I remember an approximation of a quote it means it was either very good or very bad
Hilarious.
The opening bit. I was a little slow on the uptake and so I was a little like, huh, what are they doing? when the dweeb started interviewing them and I realized he was actually bringing up things said on the fan forums. The plea from fans not to have Will do any more rapping is the one I most whole-heartedly agree with. And Will's reaction, People don't like to see me rap? Awesome.
Now, I didn't hear the whole Kurt one, but there was definitely reference to autotune, which seems like a pretty personal jab at Chris himself so I'm surprised they'd go there. That said, I love and adore with hearts coming off the end Chris Colfer and would be irrationally protective of him if someone said he gave another person a splinter.
Kurt 'I don't suppose you could just cut out that last bit.'
Finn 'That was out loud, wasn't it?'
On a side note: I wonder what those slushies are made of because the cast doesn't flinch when one is coming at them. Its good because then we don't know its happening until its already happened, not realistic, but who cares about that, clearly not what the show is about so moving on. (Kurt got slushied by the way, if for some bizarre reason you didn't watch the show.)
Empire State of Mind. Yay! great number. Showed off Quinn, Santana, and Brittany's dancing skills (I know the dancing skills belong to the actresses, but I don't remember Santana's name, so for the sake of equality I'll use the characters' names. Naya or something?) Thank god they left Rachel out of the dancing. 'Bad Romance' made it clear that Lea Michele's dancing abilities ain't with her costars. Def better to have her stick to singing where she is obviously awesome. Loved Kurt's hair all ruffled and sticking up, so used to seeing it shelacked down. In general the cast seemed to be having so much fun with this one, so awesome
Finn's spazzy dancing at Cheerios' tryouts
'The Bieber cut has got to go.' I don't even know who got to say that, but it is SOOOO true and totally hilarious to throw that in there. (Tom Brady, you listening? If above 13 this haircut is wrong) Hopefully the blonde newbie will be given a new haircut soon.
Mike has a personality, and he's dating Tina! And they fell in love at Asian camp! Awesome
Not so hilarious
the beast, however its spelled. She just messes up the dynamic between Will and Sue. We all knew Will would cave and couldn't be mean for an entire episode. The character could be kind of interesting I guess, so maybe I should reserve judgement. Just, nothing about her was particularly funny or touching.
Honestly, the balls in the mouth line. I realize that this should be funny. However, its not up to glee standards. Here's why. Kurt (auditioning for the role of kicker), Brittany (cat's reading my diary) and Puck (Call the Vatican...) especially all have great one-liners. There isn't really a buildup, their lines just come out of nowhere and crack you up. Obviously there's a setup often, but you don't notice it. This line was obvious in its set-up. I mean, where else are you gonna go with a character saying 'You're mouth is huge, how many tennis balls can you fit in there?' Actually, that line left alone would be a good glee line. It would just make you go, huh? did they go there? but they had to go the obvious route and spell out the humor. Not necessary! Glee fans are smart, we can figure it out ourselves!
I am hating spoilers at this moment too. If I hadn't heard from all over the place that newbie (that's what I'm calling him until I can actually remember his name) is going to be a love interest for Kurt, would I have noticed the absence of Kurt when the rest of the boys listened to him sing? Probably not. I at least would not have spent that musical number thinking, "Hmmm, the writers must have in mind a specific way for Kurt and newbie to meet, so it makes an impact, that wouldn't happen if Kurt was here watching this song. So, does that mean the crush will be immediate?...." Its also possible that the song just wasn't that interesting and didn't hold my interest, but maybe it was good? I won't know until I watch it again.
So not hilarious
This Charice girl. So, I have no idea who she is. Given that she seems to go by one name I assume that I am unusual in having no idea who she is. If I cared I'd google her. Generally Glee's guest stars have been great (Neil Patrick Harris at his best, but I kinda od'ed on Kristen Chenoweth). This one was a disaster and I sincerely hope she never shows up again. She had, like, anti-charisma. I mean, the glee kids are basically annoying but manage to come off endearing in spite of it. Since everyone is off in the world of over the top characters and a certain level of obnoxious its all funny. That Charice girl made McKinley High seem the like the wacko place it is, but not in a good way. She was a normal person entering wacky land. I guess you could say she wasn't given enough character to work with, but please, an actor builds that. In her interactions with Rachel, it was like Lea Michele decided to double her craziness to make up for the zapping of it that Charice was doing, and therefore Rachel seemed like a total maniac. Classic glee stuff like the exchange student joke and the Asian community finding out just were not funny. On top of that, when she actually sang her song, it, um, was, nothing special
Special Added Note: In hindsight that looks kinda harsh. I'm sure she is very good at what she actually does, which I assume is singing. I just think she is not a good fit as a Glee guest star
In addition to the spoiler and guest star thing, I wish I didn't know about Britney, and I hope that's not a trainwreck. And I'm also not keen on knowing there's a Rocky Horror Picture show episode, but psyched to hear its directed by Adam Shankman who years of watching sytycd has made me want to hug.
I guess I was so actively spoiler-free last season that I'm a little overwhelmed now that my ears are open. Why can't we just have the show without knowing everything about it ahead of time?
Hilarious.
The opening bit. I was a little slow on the uptake and so I was a little like, huh, what are they doing? when the dweeb started interviewing them and I realized he was actually bringing up things said on the fan forums. The plea from fans not to have Will do any more rapping is the one I most whole-heartedly agree with. And Will's reaction, People don't like to see me rap? Awesome.
Now, I didn't hear the whole Kurt one, but there was definitely reference to autotune, which seems like a pretty personal jab at Chris himself so I'm surprised they'd go there. That said, I love and adore with hearts coming off the end Chris Colfer and would be irrationally protective of him if someone said he gave another person a splinter.
Kurt 'I don't suppose you could just cut out that last bit.'
Finn 'That was out loud, wasn't it?'
On a side note: I wonder what those slushies are made of because the cast doesn't flinch when one is coming at them. Its good because then we don't know its happening until its already happened, not realistic, but who cares about that, clearly not what the show is about so moving on. (Kurt got slushied by the way, if for some bizarre reason you didn't watch the show.)
Empire State of Mind. Yay! great number. Showed off Quinn, Santana, and Brittany's dancing skills (I know the dancing skills belong to the actresses, but I don't remember Santana's name, so for the sake of equality I'll use the characters' names. Naya or something?) Thank god they left Rachel out of the dancing. 'Bad Romance' made it clear that Lea Michele's dancing abilities ain't with her costars. Def better to have her stick to singing where she is obviously awesome. Loved Kurt's hair all ruffled and sticking up, so used to seeing it shelacked down. In general the cast seemed to be having so much fun with this one, so awesome
Finn's spazzy dancing at Cheerios' tryouts
'The Bieber cut has got to go.' I don't even know who got to say that, but it is SOOOO true and totally hilarious to throw that in there. (Tom Brady, you listening? If above 13 this haircut is wrong) Hopefully the blonde newbie will be given a new haircut soon.
Mike has a personality, and he's dating Tina! And they fell in love at Asian camp! Awesome
Not so hilarious
the beast, however its spelled. She just messes up the dynamic between Will and Sue. We all knew Will would cave and couldn't be mean for an entire episode. The character could be kind of interesting I guess, so maybe I should reserve judgement. Just, nothing about her was particularly funny or touching.
Honestly, the balls in the mouth line. I realize that this should be funny. However, its not up to glee standards. Here's why. Kurt (auditioning for the role of kicker), Brittany (cat's reading my diary) and Puck (Call the Vatican...) especially all have great one-liners. There isn't really a buildup, their lines just come out of nowhere and crack you up. Obviously there's a setup often, but you don't notice it. This line was obvious in its set-up. I mean, where else are you gonna go with a character saying 'You're mouth is huge, how many tennis balls can you fit in there?' Actually, that line left alone would be a good glee line. It would just make you go, huh? did they go there? but they had to go the obvious route and spell out the humor. Not necessary! Glee fans are smart, we can figure it out ourselves!
I am hating spoilers at this moment too. If I hadn't heard from all over the place that newbie (that's what I'm calling him until I can actually remember his name) is going to be a love interest for Kurt, would I have noticed the absence of Kurt when the rest of the boys listened to him sing? Probably not. I at least would not have spent that musical number thinking, "Hmmm, the writers must have in mind a specific way for Kurt and newbie to meet, so it makes an impact, that wouldn't happen if Kurt was here watching this song. So, does that mean the crush will be immediate?...." Its also possible that the song just wasn't that interesting and didn't hold my interest, but maybe it was good? I won't know until I watch it again.
So not hilarious
This Charice girl. So, I have no idea who she is. Given that she seems to go by one name I assume that I am unusual in having no idea who she is. If I cared I'd google her. Generally Glee's guest stars have been great (Neil Patrick Harris at his best, but I kinda od'ed on Kristen Chenoweth). This one was a disaster and I sincerely hope she never shows up again. She had, like, anti-charisma. I mean, the glee kids are basically annoying but manage to come off endearing in spite of it. Since everyone is off in the world of over the top characters and a certain level of obnoxious its all funny. That Charice girl made McKinley High seem the like the wacko place it is, but not in a good way. She was a normal person entering wacky land. I guess you could say she wasn't given enough character to work with, but please, an actor builds that. In her interactions with Rachel, it was like Lea Michele decided to double her craziness to make up for the zapping of it that Charice was doing, and therefore Rachel seemed like a total maniac. Classic glee stuff like the exchange student joke and the Asian community finding out just were not funny. On top of that, when she actually sang her song, it, um, was, nothing special
Special Added Note: In hindsight that looks kinda harsh. I'm sure she is very good at what she actually does, which I assume is singing. I just think she is not a good fit as a Glee guest star
In addition to the spoiler and guest star thing, I wish I didn't know about Britney, and I hope that's not a trainwreck. And I'm also not keen on knowing there's a Rocky Horror Picture show episode, but psyched to hear its directed by Adam Shankman who years of watching sytycd has made me want to hug.
I guess I was so actively spoiler-free last season that I'm a little overwhelmed now that my ears are open. Why can't we just have the show without knowing everything about it ahead of time?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Yay!
This is me:
because Glee starts tonight! I can't wait! Okay, well, obviously I can wait, but I'm still super excited.
However, this is also me:
because somehow I seem to have acquired a cold overnight. My head is stuffy and my throat hurts. But my seminar went pretty well. Ughh
Monday, September 20, 2010
Confessions
These are my confessions
Just when I thought I said all I can say
My chick on the side said she got one on the way
These are my confessions.
okay, no, sooooo, so, no. But I just had to go there, cause that damn song played so many freakin times that the word calls the tune to my head despite, well, something like hatred.
So, here's the deal.
I know I said I wrote this for me and me alone. That I just write the random stuff that comes into my head. But here's the thing. I noticed that a few people appear to read some of these things.
And you know what? I've realized that that is super cool. So I am totally reversing myself.
And I feel like a hypocrite.
It took what, like a couple of weeks for me to go from, no one is ever going to read this to yay! someone is reading this!
If anyone does read, feel free to comment, share your own stories or thoughts.
Or, you can remain silent.
Or, you can decide, that girl changed her tune pretty damn fast, she's full of crap, and go away and never read anything I write again.
Its all good.
Just when I thought I said all I can say
My chick on the side said she got one on the way
These are my confessions.
okay, no, sooooo, so, no. But I just had to go there, cause that damn song played so many freakin times that the word calls the tune to my head despite, well, something like hatred.
So, here's the deal.
I know I said I wrote this for me and me alone. That I just write the random stuff that comes into my head. But here's the thing. I noticed that a few people appear to read some of these things.
And you know what? I've realized that that is super cool. So I am totally reversing myself.
And I feel like a hypocrite.
It took what, like a couple of weeks for me to go from, no one is ever going to read this to yay! someone is reading this!
If anyone does read, feel free to comment, share your own stories or thoughts.
Or, you can remain silent.
Or, you can decide, that girl changed her tune pretty damn fast, she's full of crap, and go away and never read anything I write again.
Its all good.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
My up and down relationship with my hair
So, I have somewhat difficult hair. I envy those women with simple natural hair that grows past their shoulders and doesn't do any weird wonky stuff along the way.
Mine is super fine, and super frizzy. This means that at times it is capable of pretty waves, or even curls with a little product help. There have been a few glorious results when using a diffusor. (The rest of the times it looked god awful, and having no recourse at that point I gave up on the gamble.)
However, most of the time there are a few waves buried underneath, a few stick straight areas, and lots of damage. So the ends are all different lengths. Its also blonde by the way. Its naturally fairly blonde, but looks way better at that super blonde level. Unfortunately, when I get my hair done at salon it mostly ends up being, a. not that blonde, and b. totally fried. Sucks double.
So, my irrational deal is that I always, always want long blonde hair. I don't understand why this should not be possible. I just cannot get it into my head that it will not happen. Nope, never. The longest it will ever look decent is in the past.
So, I always think, I'll let it grow a little longer and then trim it. Just a little longer, and then when I trim it it will look good. Just a little longer and it will be past my shoulders when I trim it. (Above my shoulders and I get an inevitable and yet totally unpredictable J, where it looks like 3 inches of my hair has decided to swoosh out away from my face. I realize that some people aim for a similar style, but a. it looks stupid on me, and b. I haven't the slightest idea how to get that under control.)
So, I wait.... and I wait.... and my hair attempts to grow. But mostly it gives up and falls out. Enhancing the all different lengths at the end appearance. I start putting it in a ponytail every single day, because then I don't really notice what's become of it. If I never actually have to make it look good, I don't really know how god awful it actually is.
And then, inevitably something sets me off. Something makes me realize. I don't know if its a brief moment of irrational anger at the being that makes my hair so effing messed up, or if its a moment of clarity when I come to peace, ever so briefly, with the fact that I will never have long, flowing, blonde hair.
This moment occurs when I have finally gone to the salon to get that trim. They kind of eye my hair with horror, but try to conceal what a hot mess they think it is and ask me what I'd like to do. I start with the plan. Just trim it a little. I beg them to keep as much as possible. Explain how much I'd like to have long hair.
And as I'm sitting in the chair, looking at myself in the mirror. That switch happens. And I say 'You know what, cut it all off.' And a few minutes later my hair is jaw-length. The stylist will ask 'are you sure?' first. Because he/she doesn't want to have me screaming irrationally that I want my hair back afterward, but really they are happy. Hair stylists hate damaged hair. They just want to cut it all away. The problem is, then I would never have more than a few inches of hair. And I think I do prefer sporting hair.
For a couple of weeks I love the fact that I can blow-dry my hair and it looks good in 5 minutes. I'm ready to go in no time. Lack of pony-tails not a problem. And then, that wish sneaks back up on me. Damn it. I want long hair!
And so the cycle begins again. Knowing this cycle well, having been through it many times, I would guess that my long hair will be jaw-length in the not too distant future.
Mine is super fine, and super frizzy. This means that at times it is capable of pretty waves, or even curls with a little product help. There have been a few glorious results when using a diffusor. (The rest of the times it looked god awful, and having no recourse at that point I gave up on the gamble.)
However, most of the time there are a few waves buried underneath, a few stick straight areas, and lots of damage. So the ends are all different lengths. Its also blonde by the way. Its naturally fairly blonde, but looks way better at that super blonde level. Unfortunately, when I get my hair done at salon it mostly ends up being, a. not that blonde, and b. totally fried. Sucks double.
So, my irrational deal is that I always, always want long blonde hair. I don't understand why this should not be possible. I just cannot get it into my head that it will not happen. Nope, never. The longest it will ever look decent is in the past.
So, I always think, I'll let it grow a little longer and then trim it. Just a little longer, and then when I trim it it will look good. Just a little longer and it will be past my shoulders when I trim it. (Above my shoulders and I get an inevitable and yet totally unpredictable J, where it looks like 3 inches of my hair has decided to swoosh out away from my face. I realize that some people aim for a similar style, but a. it looks stupid on me, and b. I haven't the slightest idea how to get that under control.)
So, I wait.... and I wait.... and my hair attempts to grow. But mostly it gives up and falls out. Enhancing the all different lengths at the end appearance. I start putting it in a ponytail every single day, because then I don't really notice what's become of it. If I never actually have to make it look good, I don't really know how god awful it actually is.
And then, inevitably something sets me off. Something makes me realize. I don't know if its a brief moment of irrational anger at the being that makes my hair so effing messed up, or if its a moment of clarity when I come to peace, ever so briefly, with the fact that I will never have long, flowing, blonde hair.
This moment occurs when I have finally gone to the salon to get that trim. They kind of eye my hair with horror, but try to conceal what a hot mess they think it is and ask me what I'd like to do. I start with the plan. Just trim it a little. I beg them to keep as much as possible. Explain how much I'd like to have long hair.
And as I'm sitting in the chair, looking at myself in the mirror. That switch happens. And I say 'You know what, cut it all off.' And a few minutes later my hair is jaw-length. The stylist will ask 'are you sure?' first. Because he/she doesn't want to have me screaming irrationally that I want my hair back afterward, but really they are happy. Hair stylists hate damaged hair. They just want to cut it all away. The problem is, then I would never have more than a few inches of hair. And I think I do prefer sporting hair.
For a couple of weeks I love the fact that I can blow-dry my hair and it looks good in 5 minutes. I'm ready to go in no time. Lack of pony-tails not a problem. And then, that wish sneaks back up on me. Damn it. I want long hair!
And so the cycle begins again. Knowing this cycle well, having been through it many times, I would guess that my long hair will be jaw-length in the not too distant future.
How the car Actually got damaged
This story came up at work the other day, and it reminded me of several amusing factors to the story and I decided to type it out.
First of all, I hope my parents don't read this. Its possible that they have either totally forgotten this incident occurred, or at least the details. Also, this story happened when I was a teenager. I think parents of teenagers are a little smarter than teenagers give them credit for so its possible they got the truth and chose to not break us down on our lies. (This would be rather unlike my parents though. My father once berated me for lying that I had eaten something for breakfast when actually I hadn't.)
But I've gotten way ahead of myself. First I must explain, the we is me and my older brother. We have had a love-hate relationship all our lives, luckily solidly in the love side for the past 5 years. In high school though... we tipped to the hate, or at least the stay in separate corners. He punched me in the face, I kinda roundhouse whacked him on the temple. Really, separate corners was a good idea.
However, nothing galvanized the sibling relationship like parental disapproval.
My brother had the car and announced he was going to go to the mall. Now, I am/was a nerd, but still knew how to be a teenage girl and pretty much said 'ooh! I wanna come, please can I come? will you let me come? I promise I'll be good'
To which my mom pretty much replied something along the lines of 'no, no way, absolutely not, HELL no.'
Why? Such a violently negative reaction from my mom? Well, my brother does not drive in the same way you do. My mother is not American and so her idioms/metaphors can get a bit confused, but early in my brother's driving career she announced that she didn't want to put all her eggs in one basket. In this case, her eggs were her children, and the basket was the car. And when my brother was driving the basket there was a far too high a probability of the basket crashing, breaking the eggs in the process. In other words, if my brother was going to get himself killed at least he wouldn't take me with him. To this day it is completely understood within the family that my mother should never, ever be in a car while my brother is driving. I should mention here too that my brother has had 15 years driving experience, and is alive.
So, my brother's response to my mother's desperate pleading/ordering me not to go, was to suddenly decide, sure, he'd take his little sister to the mall with him.
Said trip was uneventful, but somewhat of a bonding moment, and upon return, I believe we even had a normal conversation with my mother in which all parties were calm, and then parents went off to bed and brother and I were left talking and watching TV.
Then, my brother suggested we go to a party. Now, we never actually had a curfew, but a curfew would have meant nothing to my brother, and I was never out past any time one would choose as a curfew (yes, sad little nerd. Actually my brother is as big a nerd as I am, maybe worse) So, while not technically breaking any rules, it was nonetheless certain that parents would not approve of departure from the house after midnight to go to a high school party. I was either 14 or 15 at the time too, so that would have been a problem.
Then, there was the fact that it was raining, not hard, but enough to ensure wet pavement. The party was near the park, and he just had to go over a certain bridge and show me what happened. So off we went. This is the part that my mom always feared. My brother was driving, well, a fair amount over the speed limit, through a dark park in the middle of the night. There was this particular bridge which he accelerated into and flew off the other side of. (Which is actually very fun to do. And sadly I have not repeated.) Then he told me he was going to go into controlled skids. Which he did, several long ones, I was dutifully impressed. And then he came out of the skid. And in a split second he had lost control. We were off the road, across the grass, plowing into the underbrush of the park until we lodged ourselves well onto a fallen tree trunk. I believe the first words out of my brother's mouth were 'Thank god the airbags didn't go off.' Then we were faced with, well past midnight, no streetlights, off in the forest, stuck on a tree. Which kinda sucks by the way.
After several good samaritans had stopped to help we got to the crux of getting ourselves dislodged. This involved several people endeavoring to lift and push the front end of the car off the tree while I did something in the car. What did I do? I have no idea. I had never driven a car. Clearly I had the basic concept under control, but was a little stressed by the situation and unclear as to my duty. My assumption is that it was to put the car in reverse and then push on the gas on the count of three while they pushed. I think.
Why, if I was this totally clueless was I nominated for this job? (which seemed absurdly important to me at the time) I believe it had to do with the fact that I was a 100 pound weakling who would have made no contribution whatsoever to the pushing effort going on. I'm not sure I got the car pedal thing right either. You'd have to ask my brother. Something worked however, and we were free! The evil tree defeated.
After much heartfelt gratitude to the kind passersby who stopped to pull our car off a tree, we were left with a mildly damaged car. There was a broken headlight and fog lamp. The frame on the front end was slightly bent.
Aside from this, admittedly difficult to see damage, the most striking evidence that something had gone wrong was that the car was now completely covered with wet leaves and branches of trees. We tried to remove some of them, but the wet made it very difficult to get all of them off. So we drove home. Our stress level rose from the 4-5 in anticipation of tomorrow's explanations to parents, to about 9 when we drove past a police car. We were terrified he would notice the blown headlight and stop us to ask about it. We didn't really know what would happen, but it seemed likely not to be good.
We were, of course, busy getting our story straight. The answer became clear. It was flimsy, but it would have to do. The agreement was that we would say that the 'accident' had occurred earlier in the night on the way back from the mall, but we didn't want to say anything so we avoided the subject.
So the next morning, when we got up for our Youth Orchestra rehearsal (yes, nerds all the way), my brother took on the task of explaining this to my father. I was called upon for corroboration and stuck to the story admirably. I was closely questioned about my brother's driving behavior of course. I explained that he might have been going a little fast, but really not very fast at all (lie) and that we were driving through the park (no mention of flying across bridges or skidding down the road), and firmly stated my belief that it was merely the combination of wet road, curvy road, and a little too much speed that led to the unfortunate incident. Probably had my brother had a similar event occur without me there to solidly corroborate and give my supportive version of events things would not have gone so well, but my word was accepted.
So, when we came home the previous night we were calm and normal kids, and had you looked out the window there would have been a nice little Neon sitting there. The next morning we were two jumpy stressed out kids and there was a car outside that looked like a tree had shed on top of it. We came through it all right though.
First of all, I hope my parents don't read this. Its possible that they have either totally forgotten this incident occurred, or at least the details. Also, this story happened when I was a teenager. I think parents of teenagers are a little smarter than teenagers give them credit for so its possible they got the truth and chose to not break us down on our lies. (This would be rather unlike my parents though. My father once berated me for lying that I had eaten something for breakfast when actually I hadn't.)
But I've gotten way ahead of myself. First I must explain, the we is me and my older brother. We have had a love-hate relationship all our lives, luckily solidly in the love side for the past 5 years. In high school though... we tipped to the hate, or at least the stay in separate corners. He punched me in the face, I kinda roundhouse whacked him on the temple. Really, separate corners was a good idea.
However, nothing galvanized the sibling relationship like parental disapproval.
My brother had the car and announced he was going to go to the mall. Now, I am/was a nerd, but still knew how to be a teenage girl and pretty much said 'ooh! I wanna come, please can I come? will you let me come? I promise I'll be good'
To which my mom pretty much replied something along the lines of 'no, no way, absolutely not, HELL no.'
Why? Such a violently negative reaction from my mom? Well, my brother does not drive in the same way you do. My mother is not American and so her idioms/metaphors can get a bit confused, but early in my brother's driving career she announced that she didn't want to put all her eggs in one basket. In this case, her eggs were her children, and the basket was the car. And when my brother was driving the basket there was a far too high a probability of the basket crashing, breaking the eggs in the process. In other words, if my brother was going to get himself killed at least he wouldn't take me with him. To this day it is completely understood within the family that my mother should never, ever be in a car while my brother is driving. I should mention here too that my brother has had 15 years driving experience, and is alive.
So, my brother's response to my mother's desperate pleading/ordering me not to go, was to suddenly decide, sure, he'd take his little sister to the mall with him.
Said trip was uneventful, but somewhat of a bonding moment, and upon return, I believe we even had a normal conversation with my mother in which all parties were calm, and then parents went off to bed and brother and I were left talking and watching TV.
Then, my brother suggested we go to a party. Now, we never actually had a curfew, but a curfew would have meant nothing to my brother, and I was never out past any time one would choose as a curfew (yes, sad little nerd. Actually my brother is as big a nerd as I am, maybe worse) So, while not technically breaking any rules, it was nonetheless certain that parents would not approve of departure from the house after midnight to go to a high school party. I was either 14 or 15 at the time too, so that would have been a problem.
Then, there was the fact that it was raining, not hard, but enough to ensure wet pavement. The party was near the park, and he just had to go over a certain bridge and show me what happened. So off we went. This is the part that my mom always feared. My brother was driving, well, a fair amount over the speed limit, through a dark park in the middle of the night. There was this particular bridge which he accelerated into and flew off the other side of. (Which is actually very fun to do. And sadly I have not repeated.) Then he told me he was going to go into controlled skids. Which he did, several long ones, I was dutifully impressed. And then he came out of the skid. And in a split second he had lost control. We were off the road, across the grass, plowing into the underbrush of the park until we lodged ourselves well onto a fallen tree trunk. I believe the first words out of my brother's mouth were 'Thank god the airbags didn't go off.' Then we were faced with, well past midnight, no streetlights, off in the forest, stuck on a tree. Which kinda sucks by the way.
After several good samaritans had stopped to help we got to the crux of getting ourselves dislodged. This involved several people endeavoring to lift and push the front end of the car off the tree while I did something in the car. What did I do? I have no idea. I had never driven a car. Clearly I had the basic concept under control, but was a little stressed by the situation and unclear as to my duty. My assumption is that it was to put the car in reverse and then push on the gas on the count of three while they pushed. I think.
Why, if I was this totally clueless was I nominated for this job? (which seemed absurdly important to me at the time) I believe it had to do with the fact that I was a 100 pound weakling who would have made no contribution whatsoever to the pushing effort going on. I'm not sure I got the car pedal thing right either. You'd have to ask my brother. Something worked however, and we were free! The evil tree defeated.
After much heartfelt gratitude to the kind passersby who stopped to pull our car off a tree, we were left with a mildly damaged car. There was a broken headlight and fog lamp. The frame on the front end was slightly bent.
Aside from this, admittedly difficult to see damage, the most striking evidence that something had gone wrong was that the car was now completely covered with wet leaves and branches of trees. We tried to remove some of them, but the wet made it very difficult to get all of them off. So we drove home. Our stress level rose from the 4-5 in anticipation of tomorrow's explanations to parents, to about 9 when we drove past a police car. We were terrified he would notice the blown headlight and stop us to ask about it. We didn't really know what would happen, but it seemed likely not to be good.
We were, of course, busy getting our story straight. The answer became clear. It was flimsy, but it would have to do. The agreement was that we would say that the 'accident' had occurred earlier in the night on the way back from the mall, but we didn't want to say anything so we avoided the subject.
So the next morning, when we got up for our Youth Orchestra rehearsal (yes, nerds all the way), my brother took on the task of explaining this to my father. I was called upon for corroboration and stuck to the story admirably. I was closely questioned about my brother's driving behavior of course. I explained that he might have been going a little fast, but really not very fast at all (lie) and that we were driving through the park (no mention of flying across bridges or skidding down the road), and firmly stated my belief that it was merely the combination of wet road, curvy road, and a little too much speed that led to the unfortunate incident. Probably had my brother had a similar event occur without me there to solidly corroborate and give my supportive version of events things would not have gone so well, but my word was accepted.
So, when we came home the previous night we were calm and normal kids, and had you looked out the window there would have been a nice little Neon sitting there. The next morning we were two jumpy stressed out kids and there was a car outside that looked like a tree had shed on top of it. We came through it all right though.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Damn it, this time I'm going to be random
So the whole point of this thing was an outlet for my pretty random thoughts, but for some inane reason I've been putting them in order instead.
Well, except Chris Colfer is a panda says Gail Collins, that one, in retrospect was a little bizarre.
So, yeah, the point is, things often pop into my head. They're generally pointless things, but I can write them down or I can have a conversation with myself in my head. The former is generally well accepted and titled journaling or blogging. The latter tends to alarm those around you, particularly if thoughts turn out to be amusing and you laugh or otherwise have facial expressions which fit very well with the conversation in your head, but not with the actual real world around you. Then it appears to be a symptom of mental illness. Which is not to say that I'm not mentally ill, or that there is anything wrong with being mentally ill. It sucks for people with psychiatric disorders, but the rest of the people ought to step off cause it doesn't affect them.
Oh, have I mentioned that I do psychiatry research? I don't think so.
I'm actually at work now, which means writing this is definitely not what I ought to be doing. I'm giving a seminar next week and I should be preparing for that. But, um, I'm seriously awesome at procrastination. Like, I'm not gonna say I take the title, because I do know one person who is better than me. But that's it. One, and he's related, so we got some serious procrastination genetics happening.
Have I mentioned that I study genetics?
Maybe I did. And a certain level of laziness prevents me from going back and reading previous posts to determine if I did or not.
I had to get up at a ridiculously early hour to get to a class. I, am WAY beyond the age of going to class. I got my degrees, I thought that was the end of it. (Seriously, too much school, too many degrees). I hate said class. To the point where afterwards I have to decompress by whining to colleagues who don't have to take the class right now, about how annoying it is, so they, basically, end up experiencing on some level the pain I experience by having to go to it. Technically I'm auditing it, but since I'm required to show up, and required to do homework every week, it doesn't seem like audit to me. Yes, homework. I am over 30 and I have to do homework every week. I wish I could draw you a pathetic little picture of me, but I suck at drawing and I don't think I'd do very well at those MS Paint cartoons either (particularly since I have a Mac and therefore no MS Paint).
Oh, must check e-mail. Since its my work e-mail its possible that it is important, or at least of interest. These days my gmail account mostly receives things which could be sent to Spam box except for some slight tug that tells me not to, because sometime, in the future, there's a chance (or a certainty) that I will receive an e-mail from that entity that I actually need to read. Example being ATT sending hey! get another line! offer e-mail, which I would love to hit spam on, except, then I might not get the e-mails that tell me that my statement is ready and its time to pay the phone bill. That would not make me happy.
Ah, just asking what degree I have, to which I sadly, though sometimes proudly, answer both. Despite the fact that I have both and MD and a PhD, I still have yet to decide if that was a good thing and I'm all happy and smiley about it, or if it was a ridiculously stupid way to spend years of my life and really I should have done one or neither. Problem with the one thing is I have no idea which one.
Now brain is blank due to the extreme neuronal activity required to keep the seminar out of my head. They are spent. They can only do so much, and avoidance is it.
And my PhD field was neuroscience.
As much as I can no longer type because I am now figuratively curled up in a little ball of guilt, this post has been quite revealing to those mythical people who might read it. Several of those pesky facts that you wish didn't make up your life but somehow seem to do so anyway.
Well, except Chris Colfer is a panda says Gail Collins, that one, in retrospect was a little bizarre.
So, yeah, the point is, things often pop into my head. They're generally pointless things, but I can write them down or I can have a conversation with myself in my head. The former is generally well accepted and titled journaling or blogging. The latter tends to alarm those around you, particularly if thoughts turn out to be amusing and you laugh or otherwise have facial expressions which fit very well with the conversation in your head, but not with the actual real world around you. Then it appears to be a symptom of mental illness. Which is not to say that I'm not mentally ill, or that there is anything wrong with being mentally ill. It sucks for people with psychiatric disorders, but the rest of the people ought to step off cause it doesn't affect them.
Oh, have I mentioned that I do psychiatry research? I don't think so.
I'm actually at work now, which means writing this is definitely not what I ought to be doing. I'm giving a seminar next week and I should be preparing for that. But, um, I'm seriously awesome at procrastination. Like, I'm not gonna say I take the title, because I do know one person who is better than me. But that's it. One, and he's related, so we got some serious procrastination genetics happening.
Have I mentioned that I study genetics?
Maybe I did. And a certain level of laziness prevents me from going back and reading previous posts to determine if I did or not.
I had to get up at a ridiculously early hour to get to a class. I, am WAY beyond the age of going to class. I got my degrees, I thought that was the end of it. (Seriously, too much school, too many degrees). I hate said class. To the point where afterwards I have to decompress by whining to colleagues who don't have to take the class right now, about how annoying it is, so they, basically, end up experiencing on some level the pain I experience by having to go to it. Technically I'm auditing it, but since I'm required to show up, and required to do homework every week, it doesn't seem like audit to me. Yes, homework. I am over 30 and I have to do homework every week. I wish I could draw you a pathetic little picture of me, but I suck at drawing and I don't think I'd do very well at those MS Paint cartoons either (particularly since I have a Mac and therefore no MS Paint).
Oh, must check e-mail. Since its my work e-mail its possible that it is important, or at least of interest. These days my gmail account mostly receives things which could be sent to Spam box except for some slight tug that tells me not to, because sometime, in the future, there's a chance (or a certainty) that I will receive an e-mail from that entity that I actually need to read. Example being ATT sending hey! get another line! offer e-mail, which I would love to hit spam on, except, then I might not get the e-mails that tell me that my statement is ready and its time to pay the phone bill. That would not make me happy.
Ah, just asking what degree I have, to which I sadly, though sometimes proudly, answer both. Despite the fact that I have both and MD and a PhD, I still have yet to decide if that was a good thing and I'm all happy and smiley about it, or if it was a ridiculously stupid way to spend years of my life and really I should have done one or neither. Problem with the one thing is I have no idea which one.
Now brain is blank due to the extreme neuronal activity required to keep the seminar out of my head. They are spent. They can only do so much, and avoidance is it.
And my PhD field was neuroscience.
As much as I can no longer type because I am now figuratively curled up in a little ball of guilt, this post has been quite revealing to those mythical people who might read it. Several of those pesky facts that you wish didn't make up your life but somehow seem to do so anyway.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
U2
This is going to be one hot mess.
I'm just gonna lay that out there. I'm tired.
But, I have also experienced a resurgence in my adoration of U2 of late, and I keep finding myself wanting to talk about it. Hence, blog. Not funny blog however, well funny in the sense that I can be laughed at for my gushing over 20 year old music.
It is now my opinion, that people, at least those who like music, have a point in their lives when they connect with some music. (At least if they're lucky, it would really suck to be musically inclined and pass through the critical period hearing nothing but crap.) I don't know if that time is always around junior high, but it probably is. That's when you first reach out to the world to see what parts of it are like you, instead of just either doing what you're told or saying 'NO' for the fun of it.
Once you hit junior high school the 'NO' usually has a reason.
When I hit the age of 12, my brother introduced me to Achtung Baby. Now, U2 did not turn out to be his music (he went through a couple stages and finally landed on techno when he was actually old enough to go to raves) but boy was it mine.
I was only 7 when Joshua Tree came out. At that time I was cruelly deprived and was basically only allowed to listen to classical music, but had begun to sneak in a few others. Car trips were tough because there aren't really classical stations outside cities, so my parents would go for country. Occasionally though, when running through the dial, a song would come up that we would beg and plead my parents to leave on. The big three from Joshua Tree always got that treatment. The names are so bloody long that I shorten to 'Streets' and 'Looking For.' 'With or Without You' has no good short version though.
That's a long-winded way to say that I had a lack of access issue and was too young to get it when Joshua Tree came out. Even though I am well aware that it is at least the best album in the last 30 years if not longer.
So, I fell in love with Achtung Baby. And as is my approach to anything, if I find something I like, I immediately go out and find everything I can by the same person/people. I bought EVERYTHING I could find. In no time flat I had every studio album they'd done, a couple live ones and EPs. Of course I have everything since as well.
So, I am a huge fan of U2.
I own cds, downloads, DVDs, books.
I do not, however, classify myself as an obsessive fan. I've only seen them live twice. I do not faint or cry. Well, I almost fainted the last time but that's because my temp was 102 and the stairs were steep and I kept feeling like if I stood up I would keel over on to the people in front of me. Also difficult to sing along when you have a raging sinus infection.
However, either obsessive or cunning was how I got there in the first place. I bought the tickets. Then I decided to move to Iceland. My advisors were trying to determine an appropriate trial run for the Iceland thing. I had it. I would pack up all my stuff, put it in storage, move to Iceland, come back just in time for the concert and then talk to advisors (sell, move belongings, etc.) It worked out very well except for the whole raging sinus infection thing which happened due to the trans-atlantic plane flight.
I may be a bit delusional. Perhaps my behavior qualifies as obsessive. However, the definition of an obsessive fan has certainly changed over the years. I've 'liked' them on Facebook obviously, so I get little updates. I don't do Twitter though, (don't know if they do either, but sometimes it seems like everyone does) so no attempting to follow every move of their lives.
However, part of me, will always be in love with Bono from Joshua Tree to Rattle and Hum. Even when Achtung Baby was out I watched the old videos and it was the earlier Bono who I adored in the adolescent crush way.
Now I'm old and I'm freakin intellectual about pretty much everything under the sun. So I got to thinking.
(Warning: massive tangent)
F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite author. I love all of his books, but I love The Beautiful and the Damned the most. In consideration of why, I have realized that This Side of Paradise is a little too naive. Gatsby is completely polished. The Beautiful and the Damned still had the raw energy of these two people and their crazy lives, but it had enough polish on it because he was an established writer and I'm sure had gained much more real life confidence (as opposed to the simple arrogance that makes people believe they can do great things with no supportive evidence).
So, back on topic. First up, Bono and his image, let's face it, has a lot to do with how U2 is perceived. The other three just shut up and stay in the background except for that brief moment when Adam Clayton was going to marry Naomi Cambpell but that's a total digression
U2 is like that. Boy, October - totally raw. War - sparks of greatness. Unforgettable Fire - beautiful full album. Then Joshua Tree hits and its like, holy cow these guys are the most amazing thing. I'm sure they knew, just look at the screaming fans and the photographers and everything that came with Joshua Tree. Bono in those videos and concert footage from Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum had achieved the outer validation of his own belief in his ability, and that changes a person. However, it was still new, unprocessed. By the time they got to Achtung Baby they had had to figure out how to deal with it (Otherwise their heads would probably have exploded.) And ever since they've been the greatest rock band of our generation.
But its that guy, just realizing his own stardom, understanding the world was his oyster. He is absolutely adorable.
So why do I love U2 so much? Maybe its a cop-out, but there's just that connection. You hear something and it really matters to you, it affects your perception of the world, it changes how you feel. Once a band does that and gets into your soul, I think they'd have to do something terrible to get kicked out. When I listen to U2 memories of my life come flooding back with each song. Certain ones in particular are inextricably linked with certain events. To choose a very public one - Walk On, with 9/11. I was living in Brooklyn at the time and needless to say it had a major impact. There are other songs that have personal meanings to me. In all the very worst times in my life a U2 album came out with at least one awesome song to see me through it. I hear those songs now and it reminds of those times, but the pain is mostly erased. Some of the songs make me laugh out loud for the memories I have of them. Its such a strange thing to say or even think, but they have really given me so much.
I'm just gonna lay that out there. I'm tired.
But, I have also experienced a resurgence in my adoration of U2 of late, and I keep finding myself wanting to talk about it. Hence, blog. Not funny blog however, well funny in the sense that I can be laughed at for my gushing over 20 year old music.
It is now my opinion, that people, at least those who like music, have a point in their lives when they connect with some music. (At least if they're lucky, it would really suck to be musically inclined and pass through the critical period hearing nothing but crap.) I don't know if that time is always around junior high, but it probably is. That's when you first reach out to the world to see what parts of it are like you, instead of just either doing what you're told or saying 'NO' for the fun of it.
Once you hit junior high school the 'NO' usually has a reason.
When I hit the age of 12, my brother introduced me to Achtung Baby. Now, U2 did not turn out to be his music (he went through a couple stages and finally landed on techno when he was actually old enough to go to raves) but boy was it mine.
I was only 7 when Joshua Tree came out. At that time I was cruelly deprived and was basically only allowed to listen to classical music, but had begun to sneak in a few others. Car trips were tough because there aren't really classical stations outside cities, so my parents would go for country. Occasionally though, when running through the dial, a song would come up that we would beg and plead my parents to leave on. The big three from Joshua Tree always got that treatment. The names are so bloody long that I shorten to 'Streets' and 'Looking For.' 'With or Without You' has no good short version though.
That's a long-winded way to say that I had a lack of access issue and was too young to get it when Joshua Tree came out. Even though I am well aware that it is at least the best album in the last 30 years if not longer.
So, I fell in love with Achtung Baby. And as is my approach to anything, if I find something I like, I immediately go out and find everything I can by the same person/people. I bought EVERYTHING I could find. In no time flat I had every studio album they'd done, a couple live ones and EPs. Of course I have everything since as well.
So, I am a huge fan of U2.
I own cds, downloads, DVDs, books.
I do not, however, classify myself as an obsessive fan. I've only seen them live twice. I do not faint or cry. Well, I almost fainted the last time but that's because my temp was 102 and the stairs were steep and I kept feeling like if I stood up I would keel over on to the people in front of me. Also difficult to sing along when you have a raging sinus infection.
However, either obsessive or cunning was how I got there in the first place. I bought the tickets. Then I decided to move to Iceland. My advisors were trying to determine an appropriate trial run for the Iceland thing. I had it. I would pack up all my stuff, put it in storage, move to Iceland, come back just in time for the concert and then talk to advisors (sell, move belongings, etc.) It worked out very well except for the whole raging sinus infection thing which happened due to the trans-atlantic plane flight.
I may be a bit delusional. Perhaps my behavior qualifies as obsessive. However, the definition of an obsessive fan has certainly changed over the years. I've 'liked' them on Facebook obviously, so I get little updates. I don't do Twitter though, (don't know if they do either, but sometimes it seems like everyone does) so no attempting to follow every move of their lives.
However, part of me, will always be in love with Bono from Joshua Tree to Rattle and Hum. Even when Achtung Baby was out I watched the old videos and it was the earlier Bono who I adored in the adolescent crush way.
Now I'm old and I'm freakin intellectual about pretty much everything under the sun. So I got to thinking.
(Warning: massive tangent)
F. Scott Fitzgerald is my favorite author. I love all of his books, but I love The Beautiful and the Damned the most. In consideration of why, I have realized that This Side of Paradise is a little too naive. Gatsby is completely polished. The Beautiful and the Damned still had the raw energy of these two people and their crazy lives, but it had enough polish on it because he was an established writer and I'm sure had gained much more real life confidence (as opposed to the simple arrogance that makes people believe they can do great things with no supportive evidence).
So, back on topic. First up, Bono and his image, let's face it, has a lot to do with how U2 is perceived. The other three just shut up and stay in the background except for that brief moment when Adam Clayton was going to marry Naomi Cambpell but that's a total digression
U2 is like that. Boy, October - totally raw. War - sparks of greatness. Unforgettable Fire - beautiful full album. Then Joshua Tree hits and its like, holy cow these guys are the most amazing thing. I'm sure they knew, just look at the screaming fans and the photographers and everything that came with Joshua Tree. Bono in those videos and concert footage from Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum had achieved the outer validation of his own belief in his ability, and that changes a person. However, it was still new, unprocessed. By the time they got to Achtung Baby they had had to figure out how to deal with it (Otherwise their heads would probably have exploded.) And ever since they've been the greatest rock band of our generation.
But its that guy, just realizing his own stardom, understanding the world was his oyster. He is absolutely adorable.
So why do I love U2 so much? Maybe its a cop-out, but there's just that connection. You hear something and it really matters to you, it affects your perception of the world, it changes how you feel. Once a band does that and gets into your soul, I think they'd have to do something terrible to get kicked out. When I listen to U2 memories of my life come flooding back with each song. Certain ones in particular are inextricably linked with certain events. To choose a very public one - Walk On, with 9/11. I was living in Brooklyn at the time and needless to say it had a major impact. There are other songs that have personal meanings to me. In all the very worst times in my life a U2 album came out with at least one awesome song to see me through it. I hear those songs now and it reminds of those times, but the pain is mostly erased. Some of the songs make me laugh out loud for the memories I have of them. Its such a strange thing to say or even think, but they have really given me so much.
Power
So I had this really (ridiculously) long post I was writing, and the damn power went out.
Computer cutoff, no lights.
I decided, of course, to take this as a sign from somewhere above me that it was time to stop my intellectual theorizing on rock bands and famous authors and the appeal of a certain rock star and go to bed so that I can make it to a couple of seminars tomorrow morning. One on the basics of population genetics (which god help me I better know everything in it or I will be irritated at myself) and the other on the 1000genomes project, which, I'm gonna say it, should be really cool. That is, cool in a totally, TOTALLY nerdy way.
Of course then the power came back on, but I think it would be a very bad idea to try to write that post over again.
The topic of U2 will be left to another day, very soon.
This is not really a post. Just a whine at how life enjoys slapping you in the face sometimes just to see how you react
Update: I am a moron. I cannot figure out how to work a little blog site. But I will endeavor to learn
Computer cutoff, no lights.
I decided, of course, to take this as a sign from somewhere above me that it was time to stop my intellectual theorizing on rock bands and famous authors and the appeal of a certain rock star and go to bed so that I can make it to a couple of seminars tomorrow morning. One on the basics of population genetics (which god help me I better know everything in it or I will be irritated at myself) and the other on the 1000genomes project, which, I'm gonna say it, should be really cool. That is, cool in a totally, TOTALLY nerdy way.
Of course then the power came back on, but I think it would be a very bad idea to try to write that post over again.
The topic of U2 will be left to another day, very soon.
This is not really a post. Just a whine at how life enjoys slapping you in the face sometimes just to see how you react
Update: I am a moron. I cannot figure out how to work a little blog site. But I will endeavor to learn
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Human version of Cuteness
I know this is starting to look like my thoughts are completely occupied by Glee, but that's because they are. Chris is the human equivalent of that panda bear. He is adorable. How could anyone not think so? And something else he shares with pandas. The sensible part of human society wants to hug a panda, and wants to hug Chris, and yet they know, this is not the right thing to do. (According to Gail Collins 5% of Americans are just bat-shit crazy, paraphrased.) Somewhere deep down lots of us would like to hug a panda bear, but something tells us not to break into the zoo and do it. Similarly, something about Chris may make us want to hug him, but (as far as I know) no one hunts him down to do so. If they do they are part of that 5%. And Gail Collins is absolutely awesome by the way. She always makes me laugh.
Actually do we still call it a panda bear even though we know they're not bears? Have I reverted to my childhood when they were still called that? I think we just go with panda now, but panda bear sounds more cuddly.
Well, we definitely call him Chris Colfer
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Crosswalks
Having become a relatively newly minted perpetual pedestrian I have a complaint. Why can't cars stay out of the effing crosswalks! Its not that hard. They're the white things on the road. They're like, totally covered with diagonal lines. They REALLY stand out. So, why, oh why, do people in their happy little cars treat them as just some extra feet they have to stick their little noses out in traffic so they can shoot across an intersection just as quickly as they possibly can. What the hell? Do they save a few seconds? No, not really. Are people so accustomed to seeing crosswalks that they have somehow become immune to them and no longer see them? I doubt it.
Drivers just have no respect whatsoever for the crosswalk or the people who use them. We are insignificant little gnats in their day. I cross a lot of crosswalks on my walk to work each day. And, most annoyingly 6 do not have any little red hands or green men to at least allow me a few moments of unmolested walking. On those intersections it is entirely up to the benevolence (generally nonexistent) of the drivers to allow me to pass during rush hour. Outside of rush hour I can generally wait and scoot across during an absence of traffic.
But two things annoy me most. One, the lesser of the two, is when someone drives up behind me, and then turns right directly in front of me. I want to slap the person upside the head when they do it when I have a little green man going for me too. I want to jump up and down like a four year old and point at the green man. But I also find it annoying when someone is turning off a larger road and rather than slow down and allow me to cross they zoom on ahead of me just as my foot hits the crosswalk. So I have to stand there and look at the oncoming traffic and decide who is going to turn on a blinker at the last second and nearly take my leg off.
More annoying is the blatant disregard for the crosswalk's existence. Where a whole stream of cars, when the opportunity arises, pulls up such that their car completely covers the crosswalk. Not just a little ways into the crosswalk, I mean completely covering the whole thing. And since their eyes are totally focused on the red light and traffic in front of them, I have no interest in taking my life (or at least limbs) in my hands by walking out in front of them. So, I take a circuitous route as I weave through the traffic, inhaling their exhaust and feeling the rush of heat when its already 90 outside. NOT FUN.
And, I have noticed, it is not pure ignorance. They do know what they are doing. How do I know? Two things. One, when it is raining, and you are standing on the corner huddled under a pathetic little umbrella, cars are much more likely to actually come to a complete stop and wave you across. Such a contrast! Of course, if they don't you can get sprayed in the face by a puddle.
The second reason I know is more specific. In the last month or so they have been doing a lot of construction around my tangle of crosswalks. They have closed some lanes, redirected some traffic. Most of the time when this occurs there is a policeman there, usually with a police car. As I walk across the bridge if I see the policeman's hat or the lights of his car I cheer inside. A smile lights up my face, I walk with a spring in my step. Because this means that the crosswalks will be completely devoid of cars, and the cars stopped at that intersection will always yield to me. On the other intersections nearby, cars no longer pull the bait and switch stunts of turning down the wrong road or from the wrong lane. All cars behave beautifully, and I have an easy walk, instead of the standard harrowing 4 hops across 7 lanes of traffic.
I love the policeman and his funny hat.
Actually, even the presence of the construction workers themselves makes the car people behave better. Perhaps its a hat thing and I should invest in a peculiar hat
Drivers just have no respect whatsoever for the crosswalk or the people who use them. We are insignificant little gnats in their day. I cross a lot of crosswalks on my walk to work each day. And, most annoyingly 6 do not have any little red hands or green men to at least allow me a few moments of unmolested walking. On those intersections it is entirely up to the benevolence (generally nonexistent) of the drivers to allow me to pass during rush hour. Outside of rush hour I can generally wait and scoot across during an absence of traffic.
But two things annoy me most. One, the lesser of the two, is when someone drives up behind me, and then turns right directly in front of me. I want to slap the person upside the head when they do it when I have a little green man going for me too. I want to jump up and down like a four year old and point at the green man. But I also find it annoying when someone is turning off a larger road and rather than slow down and allow me to cross they zoom on ahead of me just as my foot hits the crosswalk. So I have to stand there and look at the oncoming traffic and decide who is going to turn on a blinker at the last second and nearly take my leg off.
More annoying is the blatant disregard for the crosswalk's existence. Where a whole stream of cars, when the opportunity arises, pulls up such that their car completely covers the crosswalk. Not just a little ways into the crosswalk, I mean completely covering the whole thing. And since their eyes are totally focused on the red light and traffic in front of them, I have no interest in taking my life (or at least limbs) in my hands by walking out in front of them. So, I take a circuitous route as I weave through the traffic, inhaling their exhaust and feeling the rush of heat when its already 90 outside. NOT FUN.
And, I have noticed, it is not pure ignorance. They do know what they are doing. How do I know? Two things. One, when it is raining, and you are standing on the corner huddled under a pathetic little umbrella, cars are much more likely to actually come to a complete stop and wave you across. Such a contrast! Of course, if they don't you can get sprayed in the face by a puddle.
The second reason I know is more specific. In the last month or so they have been doing a lot of construction around my tangle of crosswalks. They have closed some lanes, redirected some traffic. Most of the time when this occurs there is a policeman there, usually with a police car. As I walk across the bridge if I see the policeman's hat or the lights of his car I cheer inside. A smile lights up my face, I walk with a spring in my step. Because this means that the crosswalks will be completely devoid of cars, and the cars stopped at that intersection will always yield to me. On the other intersections nearby, cars no longer pull the bait and switch stunts of turning down the wrong road or from the wrong lane. All cars behave beautifully, and I have an easy walk, instead of the standard harrowing 4 hops across 7 lanes of traffic.
I love the policeman and his funny hat.
Actually, even the presence of the construction workers themselves makes the car people behave better. Perhaps its a hat thing and I should invest in a peculiar hat
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