*Sigh* The West Wing is turning into ER now that John Wells has taken over. Seriously, none of the characters really resemble themselves anymore; it reminds me of the soapy habit ER has of having people randomly go bitchy or mean in order to further the plot: Leo has been playing Machiavelli to the point of jeopardizing his own staff, Toby (my lover) has been wandering around complaining and being ignored by everyone, and CJ has suddenly turned into a militant leftist. They all seem like caricatures of their most annoying traits. The humor is somewhat intact, which is its saving grace. Beyond that it's almost... vapid. They just create all kinds of conflict with no purpose and no resolution... it seems like "lowest common denominator" entertainment. At least on ER they pull off the character foibles with interesting plots. WW's plot seems to have gone AWOL.

/rant

Er... must take nap before halloween festivities.

An ode to Pete

Protection From Pornography Week, 2003

First, they protected us from gay people. Now from pr0n. Sadly, they won't pass a livable minimum wage, universal health care, or subsuduzed childcare -- all things that would protect children from REALISTIC threats.

So, in the tradition of marrying everyone you know during marriage protection week, go buy porn. Fight the power.

My halloween costume is hilarious. I look like... me, about ten years ago. Much with the funness.

Robert: I'd just be in the corner talking about inorganic nitrogen... or physical chemistry.
CJ: I'd pay a lot of money for some physical chemistry right now.
Robert: I tried that once. It's not that great.

Bah-dum ching. Thank you folks, we'll be here all week.

Damn song is STILL stuck in my head. I didn't even know all of the words, so I ran the ones that I did know through google, and I kept getting the WRONG SONG!!! After finally finding the right one, I realized that I do in fact own the record album, and could have listened to the thing.

Tiny Peewee aims for big time

SO CUTE.

Some things:
1) "It's a Hard Knock Life" was NOT originally a Jay-Z song.
2) Sadly, it WAS stuck in my head all fucking day (the original one... with tap dancers rather than turn tables).
3) Tap dancing in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt is moronic.
4) Apparently, I am a moron.
5) Even a moron should know better than to piss away hours on the computer when she has shooting pains in her wrists.
6) I'm getting off the computer now.

Sherman Austin was arrested for a link on his website and sentenced to a year in jail. The funniest part of his sentence? As a condition of probation, according to NION, he will not be allowed to associate with anyone who wants to "change the government in any way." So basically, he'll be forced to move into the oval office.

Shanna is not on fire, and all I really want is for all of my friends to be in one place again, damnit! I miss the Duluth days, when I knew that whatever dumbassed shit happened, it wasn't THAT bad, because I could go cuddle with Ryan and complain, especially if it meant whining about our mutual crap romantic lives. The telephone is no kind of substitute for hugs, I tell you. I feel disconnected (pun intended) by the tenuous, faceless connection forced by this lack of proximity.

It's not just my "old" friends I feel out of touch with. Living fifteen miles away from the center of my own waking life (read: school) it taking its toll. I may as well still live in Duluth, most days, I feel so far from everything. A whole hour of my day is devoted to driving my gas-chugging creature of the road back and forth from the 'burbs. If I think about it for too long, it makes me sick; I never wanted this life. I thrive when I live in areas where people congregate; instead, I sleep in a place where people come home to sleep. I may as well be homeless, for all this feels like a home. I don't know my neighbors, I can't walk to a grocer's for food if I need it, and I barely remember what the place looks like in daylight. But it's cheap and easy, so why the hell not, right? Sometimes I wonder whether being financially stable is worth the cost.

Anyway, I'm feeling homesick and homeless. Which is terribly self-centered of me, but then, you're reading my blog. If you were looking for something other than self-centered on a vanity page, we might have to have a little chat about how reality works. Right after I get done feeding my pet unicorn.

Why yes, his name IS really Cockburn.

BlogPulse Key People [BETA] - Automated Trend Discovery for Weblogs

I am not amused. My blog comes up under "Bill Clinton." Fuck you, stupid website that I don't understand. I'm unimpressed.

Emode.com - Emode's Original Inkblot Test - Your Results

"CJ, your subconscious mind is driven most by Sexuality

The world is a sexy place for you � your erotic self leads the way. Whether this is because you're presently in a great physical relationship or simply want one, you are much more aware of the sexual undertones in situations than most people.

This heightened focus, coupled with your vivid imagination, can make you more likely to have original � at times risqu� � interpretations of things that other people might see as innocuous.

Your subconscious is telling you that you are very much alive, and have a great deal of passion to bring to life."

My subconscious must feel highly frustrated, then.

Whatever.

UPDATE:

1) I now have "Hallelujah." Al rocks my socks.

2) The Date. Ugh. Next time you see something posted here that says "I'm going out with a 39-year-old guy whom I met whilst he was IN COSTUME" tie me to a chair and slap me until I realize how dumbass that idea truly is. In hindsight, the fact that I even considered it tells me I have crossed that 6-year line between "single because I'm too busy" and "pathetic and possibly desperate." This must end.

3) Tonight: should be much cooler. Am dragging Valerie to First Ave. for a show. Then going to Trina's for a party. But will be unable to ingest enough alcohol to implement its amnestic effects for the erasure of last night's events, as I am driving.

4) The movie "Mystic River" is the slowest motherfucker I've seen in awhile. 2 1/2 hours, from which thirty minutes to an hour could have been comfortably cut. Though it did give me plenty of time to fake-yawn my way to an exhaustion excuse for not doing anything afterward.

5) Must go find some clothes that don't make me look as overweight as I am. Wish me luck.

EDIT: Spellchecker wanted to replace "motherfucker" with "motorbike." It would have been a slow one of those, too.

Sob, Woe, and Pain. I have lost the soundtrack for Shrek. Quit laughing -- Rufus Wainwright's version of "Hallelujah" is on there (er... I thin Leonard Cohen did it originally). Worst part? iTunes doesn't have the damn song. WOE! Help me!!!!!

WTF?!?!?!

I go away from duluth for half a year, and this shit happens?!?! (Scroll down to the end of the article) THE NORSHORE HAS CLOSED! What the shit is this?

Here's the Duluth News Tribune article. Yes, there are other music venues in Duluth. But the Norshore was so... hometown. How could you possibly compare this dusty old relic with that monument to Coporate Hip (Pizza Luce) down the block? And where, oh dear friends, will Duluthians go to see movies that were made without a multi-billion dollar budget? All kidding aside, this seems to leave a gaping hole in the Duluth "scene." And it leaves me with an even greater regret that I'd only just become aware of Duluth music, etc. before I left.

Best. Commercial. Ever.

Jon is so right.

James Marsters

Is this right, Buffy fans? I've heard various DOBs for JM, but the IMDb one is... interesting. Unless my l33t math ski11z fail me, Spike just celebrated number 41. Guh?

� � � � Green You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

Hmmm... Well, it IS one of my favorite colors... The "calm" part is a bit funny, tho...
And when I check my second choices on everything, I get my other favotite color:

� � � � VIOLET You surround yourself with art and music and are constantly driven to express yourself. You often daydream. You prefer honesty in your relationships and belive strongly in your personal morals. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

Strangeness. This one seems more like it, tho... none of that "calm" nonsense.

I am sick of the University's stance on AFSCME workers' salary and health benefits complaints: "UPlan is better than state plan." What they're basically saying is "the substandard pay and benefits you'll receive here are better than those you'd receive elsewhere, therefore you shouldn't complain."

Here's the deal: it doesn't matter. If you can't make ends meet with the fruits of one job, you're not making enough. The above argument is the "Jimmy's mom hits harder than I do" brand of anti-union propaganda. You're not gonna be happy with your beating just because Jimmy gets it worse than you. This entire line of thought shows a supreme disregard for the real concerns that workers in this union -- many of whom are the sole breadwinner in their family -- have over putting food on the table.

You all know me, and my fanatical insistence on debating things in a way that refutes the other side directly, without creating a straw-man out of their arguments or side-stepping arguments altogether. The U's stance takes a giant step around both respectable debate strategy and taking responsibility for the probable effects of its proposed policies.

And really, how can we expect people to learn logic when public discourse shows such an outstanding lack of it?

Hello, my name is CJ, and I haven't the sense god gave a mule.

After deciding -- with Katherine's tolerant help -- that I was not going to date Fest Guy, I called him and neglected to make this clear. So, I am going to a movie with Fest Guy. It is not, technically, a date -- at least, no one has called it one. However, no one (who looks suspiciously like me) has stated that she doesn't really want to do more than chill right now, either.

I have no sense. Also no spine. If this ends badly, feel free to laugh at me.

Really Fucked Up Shit: When your father doesn't remember your birthday, but the random guy you've spoken to a whole three times does.

This complicates life in so many ways. I was all set for him not to call back, so that I wouldn't have to make any decisions about whether or not to see him. Now I'm right back to the old "he's kinda cute... but he's 39 years old!!!!" thing. This isn't just a random age hangup. It presents serious power issues, as I have a bad habit of associating age with authority.

Also, I hate dating.

Also... yeah, you all know about that. And that's a big "also." Possibly the deal-breaking also. I'm not exactly looking for twoo wuv, but it still seems unfair... eh, fuck it.

I'm no longer making any sense.

Moving on...

Had a great b-day evening, thanks to Trina, who wouldn't let me ignore it. Had yummy food and good company, then played Trivial Pursuit until one in the morning. Al's new name is Pearl, Greg is Ruby, and Chris is Dotty (short for Peridot). These gems courtesy of Trina misunderstanding my threat to make Al smell like a girl.

As for Trivial Pursuit, for once I was on the winning team -- they made me a team captain and let me choose first; how was I NOT gonna take Chris and Katherine for my team? Most interesting this evening was the sheer number of questions for which the answer was "Jose Conseco." Dude just pops up everywhere. (For those who did not attend: Al started it by deadpanning "Jose Conseco" as a fake answer to one of the questions that we got wrong. It was utterly ridiculous.).

Now, I must get my sad ass to bed. I stopped making sense about two hours ago.

Eminem judge raps out dismissal

I had every intention of making a smart-assed rapping-judge comment here, but it seemed superflous.

Also, I was laughing too fucking hard.

Am sitting at my kitchen table, dorking around on the 'net. Have absolutely no cords attached to computer. Have connection that is, I think, faster than the one at school. Happy birthday to me!

Mindless Crap - Budweiser Real American Heroes

Listen to "Mr. Edible Underwear Inventor" under Real Men of Genius. But not whilst consuming liquids.

Costumes... for that TWO-person party.

I am ridiculously entertained by Fredericks of Hollywood. Wish there had been one near when we had our underwear party in Duluth.

Quick takes again:
1) Cannot get the dam cable internet installed and authenticated because "Comcast servers are probably down right now. Please try again later." Grrr.

2)My mom is almost as bad as me, and determined to torment the fainthearted of my friends:
Mom: Why doesn't Chris [celebrate his birthday]?
Me: He's a dork.
Mom: Is that another religion?
Me: *groan*
Mom: Is that an Eastern religion?
Me: *sees where this is going; groans*
Mom: Eastern, like from NEW JERSEY?

3) Mom is really just still bitter because I wouldn't let her make NJ jokes when we had just cut the phone line to our house:
Me: *talking on phone with Chris, making fun my mom*
Mom: Is that Chris? [I swear, she's got radar.]
Me: Yes.
Mom: Don't tell me they never cut their phonelines in NEW JERSEY!
Me: Mom, we just CUT OUR OWN PHONELINE! You have no reason to be making fun of anyone else right now.
Chris: You MOM is making fun of me? [Witness: voice raised at least two octaves there.]

4) Trina is making a birthday for me! Twenty-five shall not go unacknowledged.

5) Went to bed at eleven. Fell asleep around midnight. Got up at four. Am going to bed now.

G'night!

Margaret Cho BLOGReally, go read the October 15th entry. The ending paragraphs propose a homophobia theme park. Not to be missed, I tell you. Go! Why are you still reading my drivel? Enjoy!

The Hobbit Name GeneratorSays that my Hobbit name is Rosie-Posie Hamwich of Buckleberry Fern. You can call me Rosie.

Dule Hill is a tap dancer. The West Wing just got that much cooler for me.

Hot guys who can dance... mmm...

Too much to do.

Quick notes from the past couple days:
1) BABY!!!
2) Some people relax by taking warm baths. I write letters to the editor.
3) Got cable internet and TV. May someday even have time to set it up.
4) Ordered wireless router. Will be able to sit in back yard and surf. Just in time for snow.
5) Talked to Ryan re: casting for Prisoner of Azkaban. He is woefully behind the times.
6) Quit grad school no fewer than five times.
7) Ran into someone I grew up with at St. Martin's Table. Being waited on makes me feel even guiltier when I know the waiter.
8) Passionately want to drop one of my classes. This would probably be political suicide. On the other hand, the course has the potential to be academic suicide. Bother.
9) Have created one half of a syllabus for a course that I will probably never get to teach. Bother.
10) Almost defenestrated the iBook today when it mysteriously shut itself off and WOULDN'T COME BACK ON!!!! Jon fixed it. Thank god for Jon.
11) There is no number eleven.

Gotta go grade papers, type field notes, read 300 pages, and write a paper.

What. The. Shit.

Letters to the editor - The Minnesota Daily

My Heterosexual Priviledge Protection Week letter made it in. I wonder if I'll get any wanky Christian Right rebuttal.

Edited to add: Hmm, do you think they'd give me a regular tuesday spot? This is getting to be a pattern...

Uh... just a dumb question... why are their points for dressing up for ren-fest on the goth test, but not on the geek test?

I am 40% Goth

Goth ny night, normal by day. Deep in my heart I know I am evil, but not on the company's time. I do need to eat.

Take the Goth Test at fuali.com

Slate's Democratic Debate Drinking Game - Get drunk on political discourse!

And how. I'd end up spending another night on my kitchen floor, no doubt.

BABY!!!

Abigail Grace was born at 7:45 this morning. She's adorable. Mom is resting.

I have another letter to the editor being published this week.

Good times, good times.

Off to catch up on the school work.

Best Friend is definately having a time of it. I got a call saying she was in hospital, but that things were progressing slowly (I'll not give details), so I should wait 'til they got "more exciting." A couple of hours later, I got another call: they kicked her our. Her doc said that this "phase" could last for hours, and she would be more comfortable in her own bed.

She has been in "this phase" (I know next to nothing of childbirth, short of what I looked up this morning) since 11 o'clock this morning. Her poor kid is gonna go through life with "I went through more than 24 hours of labor to bring you into this world" hanging over his/her head.

Letters to the editor - The Minnesota Daily

Hey look, someone built a straw man from my letter!!! I am forced to concede the "overwraught" bit (I'm a whore for publication, woo hoo!), but apart from that, his critique is one of the most hilarious examples of misconstruing someone else's argument for your own purposes I've seen since grading intro papers.

I debated a response, but it's really not worth trying with someone who can equate pulling a stranger onto your lap, holding her there, and squeezing her tits with plain old, unintimidating flirting. I'd like to see him try to say no from any face-to-face request made by Arnie, sexual or not.

And really, the man was woefully uninformed abour the sheer number of candidates in that race if he thinks I would ever have backed Arnie. Also, his definition of irony needs fine-tuning.

Props to Keith for pointing this out -- I nearly fell out of bed laughing.

Also, still no baby. Grrr.

Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Vatican: condoms don't stop Aids

"Scientific research by a group including the US National Institutes of Health and the WHO found 'intact condoms... are essentially impermeable to particles the size of STD pathogens including the smallest sexually transmitted virus... condoms provide a highly effective barrier to transmission of particles of similar size to those of the smallest STD viruses'.

The Vatican's Cardinal Trujillo said: 'They are wrong about that... this is an easily recognisable fact.'"



Dear Catholic Church Poo-bahs:

Kindly cage your cardinals. They know not whereof they speak.

Thanks,
CJ

Call from Chris:

Chris: I'm calling to apologize for waking you this morning.
CJ: You didn't wake me.
Chris: Yes I did.
CJ: I wasn't asleep.
Chris: Yes you were. I'm sorry I woke you.
CJ: YOU DIDN'T WAKE ME! *walks into dryer door, creates giant ruckus* See, I'm gonna wreck my house in exasperation -- You didn't wake me.
Chris: Yes I did. I'm sorry.

Really, this is just an excerpt. The whole thing went on for at least five minutes. For the record, I was not asleep when he called this morning. I was disoriented for a number of reasons:
1) Had not slept well, as The Best Friend has been in the process of going into labor since last night. If there's a chance that I'll have to get up in the middle of the night, I don't sleep well. You should have seen me when I was on call for whole weeks at a time.
2) The Best Friend is HAVING A BABY! I have known her since forever. One moment it seems surreal, the next profound, the next it just seems like an ordinary day.
3) I was trying to determine the relative importance of making it to class (half an hour farther from where I'll need to be when Baby decides to come) and actually being there when Baby is born (I skipped class. Baby was not born. Likely, if I had not skipped class, Baby would have been born. Does this mean Best Friend can beat me up for prolonging her labor?).
4) I was also trying to get classwork done, to make up for the fact that I would likely be skipping class today. Got a fair chunk accomplished. Nyah.
5) I was confused as to why my phone told me that Trina was calling, yet I was hearing Chris's voice (Jon will find this juxtaposition especially funny, given our voice discussion in the office yesterday.

So, no, I was NOT ASLEEP at ten o'clock on a weekday. My alarm had gone off at 4:30. So there. I have been going quietly crazy all day. I cannot imagine how insane I would be if I were the one having the kid *loves the Kelly*. Can't wait to meet the little bugger.

Shut up, Jon and Katherine.


Toby Ziegler


Who is your West Wing boyfriend?
brought to you by Quizilla

The Political Compass

In case anyone was left unsure, I'm a lefty.

My scores:
Economic Left/Right: -8.38
Libertarian/Authoritarian: -8.05

Anyone still surprised, I laugh at you.

12 Action Ideas To Promote "Marriage Equality
Week"...

In case you're inclined to act, and because I Like "marriage Equality Week" better.

And yeah, I know, funny that someone who doesn't ever want to get married is this crazy about the whole thing. But really, I'm a woman; the prerogative to change my mind is important to me, no matter the gender of my partner.

What. The. Fuck.

Letters to the editor - The Minnesota Daily

Look! Jon got published too! We OWN the daily, man. Own it!

The Marriage Resolution

Not sure if I'm all about the "basic human right" thing, unless you go with the whole "pursuit of happiness" theme, but it's a damn sight better than the Marriage Country Club (we only let people we like in) Resolution.

Marriage Protection Week - Purpose

Not to drag this on, but I surfed onto the actual "purpose" of Homophobia Protection Week. Favorite quote: "Their efforts are intended to force, by law, 97% of Americans to bow down to the desires of the approximately 3% who are homosexuals."

I love the inference that straight people have to somehow change their marrying ways, should gay folk be allowed to wed. Also that no straight person could possibly be in favor of gay marriage. This is not even thinly veiled homophobia anymore: this is honest-to-goodness, they're-coming-for-our-children paranoia. These people have clearly been misdirected: they were on their way to the state hospital for their intensive antipsychotic drug therapy when they took a wrong turn and ended up in Washington.

The only way three percent of the people are going to oppress 97% of the people is if they each have a few million dollars of disposable income and enough friends in high places who can be bought. Oh, wait...

I've donated to enetation, which means that I should be switched over to a dedicated server, which means Ryan and I should be able to post comments only once sometime in the near future.

Sheesh. This is getting silly.

Re: the stoopid marriage week thingy --

As someone elsewhere stated, it's not the majority that needs protecting. Commitment happens; in a fair majority of cases it happens between a man and a woman. This is a well-established pattern that doesn't look to be declining soon (unless you're talking about divorce rates, at which point I would expect Dubya to go after Hollywood and Congress). At the bare minimum, he has dedicated federal resources to a campaign intended to protect something that doesn't need protecting. At worst, he's using my tax money to defeat my own desire to be able to legally commit to whomever I want in an equitable, mutually enriching way.

This campaign is not about protecting marriage. It is about protecting the heterosexual hegemony of those who think that the only legitimate relationship is one that exists between a man and a woman.

The most frightening part? It looks so warm and cuddly in theory. "We're protecting family and saving the children." What about the children whose parents are gay? What does this do to them? By denying them a legal family, you ensure that they will nearly always have problems of guardianship (frequently, gay and lesbian parents are not allowed to legally co-parent; different states have different policies; mileage may vary...). You also ensure that depictions of same-sex parent families will always appear as "other." Children of divorce once went through the same thing: their successes were seen as being in spite of an "abnormal" upbringing, their failures as being because of it. Public perceptions may seem a little thing, but in this case they have far reaching consequences at both a societal and individual level.

This is some of the reason why I can't see this "Marriage Protection Week" campaign as no big thing. I'd like to think it was just a silly waste of time any money, but my knowledge and experience suggest to me something far more insidious.

Letters to the editor - The Minnesota Daily

I'll be damned. It got printed.

Spot the spin -- one part of this was toned down in an attempt to make it more likely to get printed. Guess which?

OK, now it's personal.

The man who occupies the office of the president of the United States of America has declared October 12-18th "Marriage Protection week."

I'm sorry, sir. October 18th is taken. It's my birthday, and I won't have it used for classist, sexist, heterosexist propaganda. Once you realize that marriage would be better protected as an institution by allowing anyone who wanted to commit him/her self to his/her partner in the eyes of the state, we'll talk.

So, what else is going on that week?

The Childhood Goat Trauma Foundation

Best. Site. Ever.

Grrr. For once, I decide on productive procrastination -- "hmmm, I don't feel like reading, so I'll work on getting my room in shape so that I can move out of the guest room." Great idea, except the mother has run down both the batteries for the cordless drill/screwdriver, without saying anything or taking the five seconds to plug in the charger. Bill to the rescue! He's bringing over his screwdriver. With any luck it'll work.

Dear University,

Thank you for providing me with the lovely dial-up connection with which to get my work done from home. I especially love the way that it disconnects me every time I try to connect to a university site. Also the way that, when it doesn't disconnect me, it takes about ten minutes to sign in. Such a wonderful, time-saving service you provide!

Insincerely,
CJ

*phones cable internet company*

President Bush pens a poem

Can't decide which is funnier -- the abysmal third stanza, or the fact that it made CNN. This, folks, is the definition of "slow news day."

I forgot to credit Esther last weekend for being the reason why my friend from fest could call me: she, in her infinite wisdom, returned after I had extracted his phone number from him and gave him mine, explaining that I would never have the guts too call him. It was just like we were back in junior high school again... sadly, I haven't changed much.

Hello again! It would appear that I have fixed most of my browser problems, so I am able to post again.

First, the note that I sent around this afternoon, after spending half an hour cracking up at my mom and her "whatever":

I knocked on my mom's door this morning, and Len answered. I sat on the bed to BS with them, and stayed with them for about half an hour. During this time, I heard/suffered threesome jokes, anal sex jokes, and the surprisingly vanilla definition of "indecent," which finally sent me away, claiming to be too young to joke like this with my mother. The definition? If it's long enough, hard enough, and in far enough, it's in decent.

Yes folks, I'm officially old: my mother was unphased by my presence in the room for all of this. Additionally, in reference to my lofted bed, Len commented: "well, she won't be screwing midgets." The mind boggles.

Other things that happened today:

1. I tried to find jeans at Old Navy. Again. I really think it would be easier to lose the weight it would take to get me into my old jeans than to find a 12 regular at any of their stores. Bugger.

2. On the up side, I got an email from the Minnesota Daily confirming a letter to the editor that I wrote, so it looks like I may be published again. In conjunction with the guy-related luck of yesterday, and the fact that one of my professors used my work as an exemplar in class on Thursday, this week has completely rocked my socks.

3. I went on an hour long walk with the mother in the lovely twilight. The temp was just perfect, and it felt good to be doing something that counts as exercise. Hopefully, making this a regular thing will make the strange buzzing sensation in my right leg go away -- and strengthen my legs so that I can start running again.

Not much else to report. I'll keep everyone posted on the Daily situation, and if they run my piece I'll link it (if not, I'll post it). An assignment, for when I do: spot the wording that was intended to get it published. That's right, folks: I toned down my argument to pander to a wider audience. As I said to some folks, I am so going to hell for this.

Off to do some proper work.

UPDATE #2:

I am the biggest geek alive, and he is too fucking funny. Had a great phone convo, ending with a plan for him calling me when he gets back from vacation, perhaps to go see a movie or something. The crux: he's 39 years old. Yes, that is 14 years older than I will be in two weeks, and well above my previously established "upper limit." Also, nefariousness. But still, highly fun person. Meh... he probably won't call, anyway.

UPDATE:

The guy from ren fest just called. We chatted just long enough for him to find out that I'm a grad student, then he had to go do something. Wanna place bets on whether or not "I'll call you right back" was guy code for "smart girl!!!! Get me AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"?

2003 Domestic Violence Awareness Month Calendar

I got so busy I forgot to post this. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. October also conveniently houses my birthday, so if you feel happy that I'm here to celebrate a quarter century on this planet, participate in something that takes a shot at making it a better place to live.

Or send chocolate. I'm not too picky.

OK, this is getting ridiculous. First Arnie sends the press once again into the land of public pornography (credit Jon for that one), now we hear tell that he's publicly espoused Hitler as a hero. Yes, it may have been a long time ago, but 1975 is by no means pre-WWII, or pre-Holocaust. At the very least, the man shows signs of verbal incontinence that would be inconvenient around sensitive information.

Hollywood director Kazan dies

I'm obviously a bit slow on the uptake, as this is from two days ago. "East of Eden" is one of my favorite movies ever, which always made me feel guilty, given Kazan's real-life canary act in front of Senator Joe. His son was my freshman roommate's godfather, which greyed the issue even further -- her family just didn't talk about the McCarthy era. I found this out while I was working on a paper about the impact of Kazan and Arthur Miller (and their work) on the events of the times. Yep, I was a drama major.

Random memory dump. Rest in peace, Mr. Kazan. Thanks for making me think.