NY transit strike

And so the screwage begins... Let's hope that the MTA, which has lied to us more than once about needing to raise fares due to budget deficits that turn out to be bullshit, deals with its own employees in better faith than it does with us, the customers.

btw...

Yeah, um, it's clear that I was disturbed by the overtly male chauvanistic attitude in The Sound of Music, right?

Strike quite, quite possible... totally screwed. Mom arrives at JFK on Wednesday... TOTALLY screwed.

a day at the movies

BebeMoche and I saw Pride and Prejudice today... what a disappointment. The sad thing is that had I not heard so much about it from before I might have enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, I heard such hype about the acting, the attractiveness of Mr. Darcy, the general splendor, from both reviews and people I know, that it ultimately was a let down. This has happened to me enough in the past that I generally avoid movies which more than two people recommend to me. At least the cinematography was amazing, there were scenes which were absolutely stunning to look at. Unfortunately the actors were several times placed in such obvious tableaux that it looked way too stagey. Other times the actors were actually upstaged by the paintings in the background. Sad, sad, sad. At least it provided us with a chance to laugh.

Tonight ABC is showing The Sound of Music which used to be one of my favorite Christmas time movies until I had a revelation about it. I was in Turkey, doing my archaeological work and was sorting pottery under the canvas shade with Laura and our conversation somehow ended up on the movie. Maybe it was because Larry and Naomi had been calling me Rolfe, after the little nazi in the movie, I don't know. Anyhow, I was wondering how anyone could sing a song like "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria" at her wedding when it hit me that the movie is answering the question for you. You solve a problem like Maria by marrying her off to a man. Before she gets married Maria is all "Oh! I.. uh... well... um..." and once she's married she's collected, composed and elegant, a pillar of wisdom and strength. Obviously, all Maria needs is dick. Anyhow, once I realized the movie's message I could never really enjoy it the same way again.

Sleepy the dwarf

Yesterday was one of the most pointless days at work ever. The threat of a transit strike had everyone staying up late to see what might happen so no one was at their best. Many kids didn't do their homework on the assumption that they wouldn't be able to make it to school the next day. The whole day seemed like a waste, made worse since the winter break starts next week. As we get closer to the holidays the kids start to vibrate with nearly uncontrollable excitement. (I'm just surprised that there have been no documented cases of spontaneous little-human combustion.) The end result of all this hoo-hah is that when I finally got home, worn out by the day, I dozed off within minutes. Then I woke up for a bit of pizza and watched the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, after which I went to the bedroom because I was still a bit sleepy. I fell asleep until 3am and by then just brushed my teeth and went to sleep. I woke up at 10am, finally having shaken off the sleep bug.

in praise of Alfredo

Just so the world knows, Alfredo is an artist. Despite all his protestations and claims to the contrary, I have met nor do I even know of anyone who is more accomplished an artist than he is. There is such a manifest grace and elegance in all he produces that, I must admit, there are times when I swear I've heard angels weeping. Of course, Alfredo's preferred medium is bullshit. Yes, Alfredo is a bullshit artist. It shows with just about every comment he has left on this blog. And I want the world to know that when I write back to him, it is with love and admiration, the sort of loving admiration existing in anyone who tries to emulate his or her idol. Sadly, I know that my artistry-- if I can so boldly refer to it as such-- pales in comparison to Alfredo's and that my comments have been misinterpreted as antagonistic. Thus, I am compelled to tell the world that my comments to Alfredo are sent in the same loving spirit as his have been left to me. Loving admiration and emulation... really... I mean it... anybody want a peanut?

By the way, if there's a transit strike tomorrow, I am TOTALLY screwed. I'll have to walk and walk and walk and it's going to rain like a mammajamma. Yuck.

ah, le France!

Alfredo's website has a link to an article (the same one I've linked to here) about France's move to create a nationally based news channel for the international market. It's a pet project of Chirac's and he hopes that it will be a rival to CNN and the BBC, broadcasting news from the French perspective and disseminating the French world view and values. The article is well written (but for one typo), though I'm not happy with where it ends up. The author, KA Dilday, acknowledges that it would be naive to think that any institution, public or private, could report the news without bias. However, D then assumes too much bias on the part of the French. D expects that the new station will be a quaint throwback to an antiquated idea of a national news source which broadcasts the government's view. But really, how antiquated is it when our own government has been broadcasting the Pentagon Channel throughtout the states since earlier this year? D links to the announcement posted on the London Times online as the primary source of information on the subject, which may be part of the problem. After all, the French never come off all that well in English media. In contrast, the story on Radio France's website quotes the minister of culture, Donnedieu de Vabres, as saying that the new station will in no way be the mouthpiece of the government. The French have voiced the awareness that bias cannot be avoided, hence their desire to put their own viewpoint out there, yet they are going to do what they can to minimize said bias. This is an important point which D misses. Also, D's assertion that the French can't criticize the US for Iraq when they have issues with the Muslims in their own country bugs. If such were the case then nobody anywhere would have the right to put forth a vision of a better world since we all have problems within our borders. Personally, I like the fact that the French want to put forth their own ideas about how the world should be. I think that diversity and discourse can only help in forming the future. (Cue swell of inspiring music)

Christmas Perils

Okay. So far, so good. I've done most of my Christmas shopping and things so far have been fine. I've been able to do it on the off hours so I've missed most of the crowds. However, there is the gnawing fear every time I enter into a store or turn on the radio at this time of year that I just might be aurally attacked by the ruinous Christmas carol catastrophe, We Wish You a Merry Christmas performed by dogs...it sends me into apoplectic shock. And yet, I'm sure that it could be worse... like screeched by howler monkeys or something.

Disappointed in Scientific American

You know, way back in August I wrote to Scientific American because they had a question on their daily trivia: How much does the Hubble Space Telescope weigh? The answer, according to them, was 11,110 kg and that it was the size of a school bus. When I first read the question I thought that it was a trick, a brain teaser, since things in space are weightless. I wrote in to the good people at Scientific American and have yet to hear back from them. Perhaps the question is just so much bigger than I understand and my ignorance is clearly so very, very vast--like the emptiness of space--that they can't bring themselves to answer what I think is a simple question. Ah well. I'll still read Scientific American. BTW, the site is sciam.com, and sciam is the subjunctive of "I know" in Latin, so one translation could be "Let me know!" Cool... so long as you're a mega-geek.

Brain-Deads 'R Us

This morning was taken up with a crack-of-dawn trip to a famous toy store in Times Square where it's nearly impossible to move around because people stop in the middle of the aisles to have lengthy conversations with their children about why they can't have the Bling Bling Booty Shaker Barbie. Or they stop at the top of the escalator to marvel at the life size, animated T Rex... and block the way for everyone coming off the escalator. Or they have HUGE arguments in front of the entire world about which lightsaber to buy which kid, full of tears, recriminations, and "You don't love him if you think he wants the blue one!" Ah, it's Christmas time in the city. It doesn't help that the store is staffed by the walking undead who could be outsmarted, outrun, and outcharmed by the zombies in Shaun of the Dead. Okay, maybe too much hyperbole... but only a bit. I thought I was being charged $40 for something marked $20, but it turned out that someone had put the wrong sign on the rack. The BF got charged twice for the most expensive item on his list as well as two other smaller items. In each case the reaction of the clerk was: big sigh... "Hey, Dan!" ..long pause... "Dan!" ..another long pause, bigger sigh... "Dan! Shawna! One of you!" at which point Dan looks over, does something (I don't know what) and finally comes over where the clerk explains "He got charged twice for this." which sounds like it's somehow my fault, not hers. Dan looks suitably annoyed at me, not Jannel, my clerk, sticks his key in the register, hits a button, and walks away with key. Then Jannel says, "$52.87" Whatever! I'm just glad I don't have kids of my own and so I don't have to go to this store all that often.

Back from the Midwest

The BF and I went to my brother's house for a big, fat, Greek Thanksgiving and had an amazing time! Mom flew in with one of my nieces from California, an added bonus, and it was wonderful to see everyone! My brother's in-laws are a great group of people and the BF made quite a hit. In fact, he spent nearly all of Thanksgiving evening surrounded by the locals who were fascinated by his every word. The trip wasn't perfect, however. We flew back Saturday morning, both of us suffering from food poisoning. (I'm sure that it was the sausage brought by one of the cousins.) It made for an uncomfortable flight back. When we got to Cincinnati, where we transfered to another plane, we decided to see if we could get put on an earlier flight. The minute we got off the plane the BF realized that he was too sick to carry his bags alone. He asked one of the agents for one of the wheelchairs sitting nearby. However, he opened with, "Um, I've been poisoned and..." at which point I interrupted and said, "FOOD poisoning! FOOD poisoning!" We wheeled the bags over to the service counter where, fortunately, the two gay boys on the job were very helpful. We arrived home and spent yesterday recovering. We're both feeling much better today and are just happy to be home instead of on the road. Despite the uggy-tummy I had a great time with the family. I really don't get to seen enough of them and don't have any immediate plans to see them again. Clearly, this is something I have to fix.

BebeMoche's Cupcakes Still Yummy, Even As Day-Olds!

Of course, the empty wrappers which the BF leaves on the kitchen counters better not last a day!

Speaking of the crazies...

Today I had one of those subway rides which remind me to never leave the apartment without my iPod. Coming home from my haircut (it's super cute, btw), I was sitting there reading the back of the advent calendars I'd bought my nephews. Some random guy comes in and squeezes in between me and the cute woman next to me. First he starts to try to talk with her, but she was smart enough to keep her iPod on full blast... either that or she pretended to be deaf or French or whatever. Anyhow, he turns to me and starts with "How you doin'?" Totally defenseless and giving anyone the benefit of the doubt, I tell him I'm good, how's he. He's fine, so I'm steering clear of the New York assholes? Well, I don't find that New York has an exceptional amount of assholes, really. Well, he feels sometimes like he's walking around with a neon sign that says "Fuck Me" on it. That's too bad, it shouldn't be like that, is he from New York? No, he's from Cleveland. Does he ever think of going back? Well, his whole family wants him back home, his mom, his aunt, his cousins, his brother... I have to interrupt and tell him that it's my stop. He hopes that God blesses me and I tell him to take it easy. I leave, even though it's really not my stop. The stop I normally take is one further on. But it's only an extra couple of blocks to walk it home, all the time thinking about how desperate this guy must be to spill out as he was beginning to to a complete stranger. Doesn't he have friends to talk to? Co-workers? A therapist? Has he alienated everyone around him? And yet, despite the fact that there is this part of me that wants to listen and make him feel better, the stronger and smarter part of me tells me to run as fast as possible. I don't know the rest of his story, but if experience has taught me anything, it's how to recognize an emotional black hole. I hope him the best, but I can't help him.

oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...

Gentle Readers,

BebeMoche has gone mad! Please write to her and help her understand that I only denied the baking of the cupcakes! I do so fear for her sanity. I believe the the fugly slut... I mean, the poor dear in need of support who steals her desk, has pushed her too far. Oh BebeMoche, I fear for you the deluge of comments you will soon be receiving on your blog! I hope it doesn't overwhelm your bandwidth!

Libel!

BebeMoche's story about me inspiring her malevolent poetry about her "coworker" this afternoon is nothing but a vicious lie! Okay, so maybe I WAS at her apartment this afternoon... and maybe I WAS present while stories about a certain "coworker" were being told... and maybe, just maybe I did let slip a word or two about the character of a type of person, in a global sense, who might be so misguided as to try to steal a chair or whatever. But the absolute truth of the matter, despite whatever BebeMoche might otherwise try to have you believe, is that I only WATCHED as SHE made the cupcakes! (And I got to lick the bowl! Yum!)

Busy Indeed!

I've been remiss in blogging lately, primarily since the last couple of weeks have been grading and parent/teacher conferencing. It's always an interesting time meeting the parents of my students. I form impressions about my students' personalities from the way they are in class and I know that I don't have the full picture. So it's always interesting to meet the parents and see just how much one student's eyes match his father's, how another acts just like her mother. Then again, sometimes it's not so much fun. I have one student in my ninth grade who takes some work. I taught him two years ago and he was intelligent, needing attention, already tall for his age, all of which added up to him being something of a smartass. I didn't teach him last year and this year he's mellowed quite a bit. He's still somewhat snarky, but he's also much like my brothers... I guess that I just get him. Anyhow, when last I met his parents his father kept implying that I was sugar-coating my summartion of his son's behavior and character, that I was somehow protecting him. I was as tactful as I possibly could be with him and said something along the lines of "I'm trying to give you an honest assessment, I don't think that it's the right thing to go looking for reasons to fault your son." I was trying to imply that he was looking only at the bad and not at the good, a point I think he got. This year we met a second time and, once again, my student's father was certain that I had given his son a better grade than he deserved. It bothered me some that he was implying that I'd lied, that my grading was dishonest and unfair. But what really bothers me is that my student's father has already decided that his son is horrible and worthless, no matter what anybody tells him. It disturbs me that this is the primary belief this man holds about his son, that this is what my student is going to have engraved on his psyche, that this is the picture he's forming/formed of himself. And then there's just the fact that the father's a fugly dick and I just don't like him. Fortunately, most of the parents were wonderful and it was overall a good experience.

I got home at almost eight in the evening exhausted. The BF completed a MAJOR milestone in his project so he felt like doing something fun. Turns out that the new Harry Potter film opened at midnight so we went for the showing. I wasn't crazy about the first two films, but I enjoy fantasy so I go to see them. They are spectacular visually and I love the way that they create an entire world. However, the plots and characters are mind-numbingly boring. The third was the first one I liked, really, and I went hoping that they were on a roll. No such luck. Also, the theater was packed with a strange-ass crowd. I mean, I realize that we went with the fanatics, but they clapped at the opening notes of the theme song! Seriously, I was blown away by their foolishness. At one point someone dies and during the eulogy someone near us was bawling. It wasn't even a really central or even a recurring character and they totally lost it! It's a freekin' guilty pleasure, not cinematic art! Anyhow, the Goblet of Fire is nothing special. Fun to look at, tragically lame otherwise. And I got only about three hours of sleep before I had to get up for the day-long faculty meeting and other excess bullshit for today. Ho hum.

OMG!

Okay, so it's been forever and a day since I last posted. Got kind of wrapped up in a bunch of other BS but this link has broken me out of the funk. Now, first of all, let me say that there is a part of me that sympathizes greatly with the young man involved, I remember a time when I would lip-synch to music myself... even perform in the shower. However, what follows is not for the weak of stomach. (I personally do not know how bad it gets, I shut the viewer window moments into the performance.) Enjoy!

Check this out!

Some seriously pee-your-pants-funny shit! Check out the Günther videos, they're the bomb!

Random comments

To date I've had only a couple of comments on this blog which isn't surprising since I've told only about three people about it. However, only one of the comments is from someone I know. Otherwise, very random people have left comments. The first was benign enough and I didn't think too much about it. The second, however, was from someone who apparently only wanted to make a nasty comment and never visit again, a drive-by. I never understand the behavior of such people. It's like those people who key cars of people they don't know or piss in elevators they'll never use again. I mean, why? Really, just like vandalism, it's stupid in the first place, but I can understand it better if it's motivated by something. What motivation can there be if you don't know the person and will never see the results of your action? It is simply senseless. However, today I have received what is likely the most ridiculous of all comments: junk mail. Check out the comment for the post titled "Corpse Bride" and you'll see that you too can earn low, low mortgage rates. Hurry! I don't think the offer will last! It's just too good to be true!

Vermont to New York

Last weekend the BF and I went up to Vermont for the weekend, which was lovely. I was a bit worried about the weekend before we left since my coworkers had warned me that traffic would be no picnic. The trip did take longer than normal and the rain on Friday knocked most of the turned leaves off of the trees, but any time in Vermont is good time. Being stuck in Manhattan can get you stir-crazy and sometimes you just need to get out. Also, we spent the weekend with the BF's parents who are always lots of fun. Needless to say, I returned recharged. And as a bonus, I got to see some cows! Now you do too.

Corpse Bride

Fun. But no Serenity.

Serenity

You must see Serenity. I'm just going to leave it at that. Normally, I would gush like a giddy school-girl about how amazing this show is, the cinematic incarnation of a wonderful series, Firefly, condemned to an all too brief run thanks to the ineptitude of those at the Fox Network. I won't go on and on about how this movie is so much better than the trailer would lead you to believe, how the characters blossom under the spotlight of a full two hours, how Joss Whedon's snappy and ironic dialogue is at its best, how the action sequences are, if not Crouching Tiger, at least damn close, and how the space sequences surpass just about anything else you may have seen. Nope. I'll just say that this is a movie you must see.

NBC's new series written potluck style!

NBC has a new series this season called "Surface" about extraterrestrial invasion, (but then what network doesn't have an ET theme in one of its shows?). On the show's splash page on the network's website they quote the LA Times as "It is a Spielberg pastiche through and through...an excellent one." I agree with the first part of the quote, it's definitely a pastiche. Let's see.. there's some Jaws, some Close Encounters, some E.T, possibly some Jurassic Park (we'll see what that thing was), some SeaQuest... then there's some Moby Dick and I'm sure that I'm missing some of the other sources from which they cribbed the script. So the show is most definitely a pastiche. However, I wouldn't call it an excellent one. It's not like a potluck featuring Daniel Boulud, Alice Waters and the Two Fat Ladies and organized by Martha Stewart. It's more like the potluck in your friend's church's basement where they brought food that was just weird like green jello with carrot shavings, chicken fried in frosted flakes and 18 types of potato salad. It's all LIKE food you know, but it just doesn't taste right. That's what Surface is like. Yeah.

Game Night a Success!

Despite a few very important no-shows, last night's Game Night went off well. The BF's "The Greatest Game Ever" was only slightly confusing, and everyone had an amazing time... well, except for one of our friends, but he was born under the sign of the curmudgeon, so the stars are against him.

My gym is the COOLEST!

So my gym plays the best music! Yesterday, like, oh my God! They totally played this song and it was, like, with this girl and she's totally with this flippy red hair and she's, like, talking in French like talk and saying stuff like "How do you say 'de-gorgeous?!' Bippidy bup bup bup BOP! How do you say 'Delight?" And then it goes into this totally cool bass line and the video's all cartoony like and she's all "Groove is in the heart!" over and over! The next song was the new one from Cher and she's all "Do you believe in life after love?" All this brand new, never-before-heard music! It was, like, unbelievable!

Seriously, the ipod is proof that God loves us.

JetBlue pulls through!

Holy Shizizizzle! I cannot imagine what it must have been like to have been on yesterday's JetBlue flight 292! If you've ever taken JetBlue then you know that each seat has its own satellite television. (A couple of years ago it had only lower tier cable channels, but now carries NBC and CNN Headline News, among others.) Those passengers were able to see the entire thing, clips of their plane circling with the landing gear highlighted, reports that the plane was circling to burn off fuel to prevent a fire ball, etc. Can you imagine what must have been going through their heads? I'm surprised to hear that things were as calm on board as they were. Then again, my experiences flying JetBlue have always been excellent. I used to fly them much more frequently to California, though in the last year or so their prices have been almost double what I find on orbitz.com, regardless of how far ahead I try book the flight. I simply can't remember a time when anybody from the ticket counter to the flight crew wasn't efficient and friendly. After the landing I'm happy not only for the passengers but also for JetBlue.

Of course, we were talking about the landing in the department office today. Others were saying how freaky it must have been and all that. My partiality for JetBlue expressed itself in an odd way. I said, "Well, thank God they were on JetBlue and not some other airline like Hooters Air! I mean, I'm sure that much of their maintenance money goes into better 'flotation devices.'" To this someone else replied, "I don't know... Hooters Air has never had an accident, have they?" She did have a point. And yeah, there really is a Hooters airline. They fly between places like Newark, Philly and Scranton to Orlando, Vegas and Ft. Lauderdale. Yeah.

Hooters Air, do we need any more evidence of an impending apocalypse?

Martha as Trump, yes, Martha as Oprah, eh!

Martha has two new shows, as you know, of course. Her morning show has been a tad soporific. How many times will she show a guest how to do that t-shirt fold thing? And the interview while cooking or whatever isn't entirely successful. The guest is too freaked out about getting the eggs right to give a completely coherent answer. Thank you, TiVo, but you can go back to sleeping in. However, I love her on the Apprentice! Despite the fact that Trump has defined the show, Martha takes over and makes it her own. The little touch at the firing, when Martha writes a personal note to the disappointed guest, is just so fucking Proper... and is definitionally Martha. She even comes off as personable, Wow!

And we're back.

huh, what? I'm sorry, where were we? Okay, um... yeah.. uh... Can I pass?

Welcome to the life of a teacher. My year is going to be an interesting one.

Picture Test

Yeah, that's me... sure.

"The Windies"

BebeMoche and I were on the phone the other day, talking about plans to get together for coffee and conversation. The time we'd arranged had become inconvenient for me so I'd called to see if we could meet up an hour or two later. It turned out that BebeMoche was having an upset stomach and was feeling like she'd stay in. I'd forgotten that she'd eaten fast food for lunch, an out-of-the-ordinary occurrence, and asked her whether or not she'd eaten something which could have caused her malady. Bebemoche responded, "I think it's the windies." Puzzled but thinking this was a quaint and euphemistic way of saying "I've got crazy gas and I'm ripping some nasty farts up in here," I asked her what caused it. She restated, "The Wendy's, you know, my lunch!" So we laughed at me being a fool and now a new phrase has been born... The Windies, what your grandmother might have called undue flatulence.

Welcome Anonymous Reader!

I, BuddyCrocker, have been shocked and awed to find a comment from a reader I don't know! This is more than a little puzzling since I've told all of three people about this blog and only one of them has posted a comment on it. Another referred to me as a bastard on her blog, but that's another story. (Scroll down the Tuesday the sixth for the comment.) Anyhow, the fact that somebody else has found my blog is boggling since I've actually searched actively for this blog on Google and have found nothing. I've been happily typing away thinking that I was sharing my thoughts only with those whom I've told about this blog. Your arrival was an unexpected surprise, Anonymous, but let me welcome you! Your daughter sounds amazingly dedicated and you sound rightly proud of her! (And HBO's Rome is very true to what the evidence tells us about ancient Rome. Consequently most would consider it too mature for high schoolers so your daughter's not missing out.) From this point on, out of consideration for the sensibilities of others who may be reading, I may watch my words... or maybe not.

I'm evolving as we speak, darling!

The New Scientist, a magazine I'm not too familiar with, has recently published an blurb regarding studies of the human brain indicating its ongoing evolution. Both studies were concerned with genes which regulate brain size. Each has a specific mutation present in only part of the human population. For one, the mutation is present in approximately 70% of the global population, for the other the mutation exists in about 25% of us. The more widespread mutation is present primarily in the European, North American and Middle Eastern populations, being less prevalent in the Sub-Saharan African population. The less common mutation is mostly found in the European and Middle Eastern populations. New Scientist states outright that there is no indication that these genes effect brain function.

The thing is I'm concerned with how some people will deal with this information. Outright racists will actively seize on this as "scientific support" for their prejudice. Then again, they really don't need reason to fuel their hate. Still, you know this world is filled with people who aren't actively racist, but will nevertheless not be satisfied with people being simply different. For them, one person being different from another means that one person is better than another. Also, we all have the capacity to be lazy thinkers on certain topics, especially the more complicated and the less relevant we think they are to us. Neurological development is clearly one of those things that most people aren't going to spend a lot of time on. Plenty of people will hear that these mutations are more common in people of European background than Africans, and in the hazy recesses of their minds they will make the vague connection that these genes explain European cultural dominance.

Perhaps I'm just being pessimistic about human nature. Perhaps there will be no bad reaction. Perhaps people really are evolving to the point where we can accept that we're just not all the same. And so what?

Conspiracy?

Is there some sort of plot to make everyone in the United States fat? Whenever and wherever I've been out to eat I've been blown away by the size of the portions served. One main dish alone is usually more than I need to eat in one sitting and generally an appetizer alone is enough. And though you see this in the city, it's worse in the suburbs. Visiting family always means eating out at least once at some restaurant (like Chevy's) which serves Carmine's size portions, but instead of being for the entire table the plate is for one person. Starbucks is in on it too, witness: the venti. Enablers of this insanity: clothing companies. Has anyone noticed that a small is no longer small? That a medium is often now too big? That clothing sizes can now go up to XXXXL? I feel as if the world is aligning against people who don't want to bloat.

At the gym.

Today, as I'm at the gym doing crunches someone from housekeeping decided to vacuum nearby. He was cleaning around the treadmills all of which were empty at the moment. Between two of them was an empty water bottle which had clearly fallen and been forgotten. He carefully vacuumed AROUND the bottle and moved on. It was beautiful.

I also spotted an amazing looking guy, perfect body, a face with just the right combination of rugged and pretty, dark and dreaming eyes... and all this in a four foot tall package. Seriously, Stuart Little could have taken him in a fight.

Unbelievable!

Senator Santorum has said that in light of the aftermath of Katrina they should perhaps consider exacting fines on those who ignore the order to leave a disaster area. I am simply baffled by the manifest insensitivity of these people who have made a livelihood out of their public persona. The fact that the people of Pennsylvania have elected and re-elected him makes my head spin.

Multa Roma!

I'm so glad that there's a glut of Rome shows on History, A&E, and HBO this week! It's like being presented with a 10 pound gift basket of Neuhaus chocolate! Yumina-yumina! Besides, as the Roman historian Livy said, engrossing yourself in the events of the past is a great way to escape the crap that's going on now. Well, I'm paraphrasing, but I'm sure that's what he would have said were he alive today... and my brother. I'm sure that's part of my interest in the past and in sci-fi, it gets my head out of the present. So thank God for diversion. And so, ignoring what our administration is allowing within our borders and what it's inflicting overseas...

This month is actually turning out to be a rather good one for me, personally. I'll have my dissertation in by the end of the month, which has been a long fucking time coming. Also, I've been put on the tenure track at work, which is just lush! Today was our first faculty meeting and things went well. We also had orientation for this year's seniors and juniors. Seeing the students back from summer was heartening. I really am thankful that I work where I do. The kids are sharp witted, fun, good-hearted. Even the ones that are a pain in the butt to have as students are still entertaining. Half the time when they say something smart-assed I have to stifle my laughter before I tell them to can it. Anyhow, I miss the fact that I won't be teaching some of them this year.

I read a few other blogs, mostly of homos that I've seen around Chelsea and the Castro but don't really know. I hope that doesn't make me a stalker on some minute level. Anyhow, the thing lately has been to list ten songs that you've been listening to a lot lately, so here goes:

1. You Got Me, Eskobar featuring Emma Daumas

2. Breathe, Kylie Minogue

3. Algo Tienes, Paulina Rubio

4. Unwritten, Natasha Bedenfield

5. Las de la Intuicion, Shakira

6. Masquerade, Berlin

7. Don't Stop Me Now, Queen

8. Walk Out to Winter, Aztec Camera

9. Light Years, Kylie (again)

10. Shocked 2000 remix, Kylie yet again

And now I'm supposed to nominate someone else to do the same... BebeMoche, you're it!

Katrina, New Orleans...

I haven't mentioned the hurricane and the devastation it's brought to New Orleans and elsewhere. Truly, I don't know what to think about it. Aside from donating to the Red Cross, there's a feeling of helplessness about the whole thing. I think I'm in a bit of a holding pattern. We've heard things about the city and the flooding, but I don't want to jump to conclusions. I've only visited New Orleans once so I don't have a strong emotional tie to it, but really, it's more than a city. There's such a mythological aura built up around it and that legend is what lives in all of our minds, not just in the hearts of those who have had the good fortune to get to know it personally. The idea that such a place could essentially no longer be is... a shift.

And then there's all the crap that this has brought to the surface about our society. The fact that so many people were evacuated to a safe place which became unsafe... so many people trapped with no help coming... frustration at our government... I don't know what to think. The response to the disaster has been slow, but I don't know how fast it could be. Is it realistic to think that everyone could be brought out the next day? No. Is it possible that those responsible in our government didn't think about the fact that these people were going to begin to starve in just days? Yes. And is it possible that those responsible didn't think about it specifically because most of those who would suffer were "disposable"? Yes. Yes. Yes. Still, I don't know what they were thinking. Were they making plans for food drops? Were they assembling a fleet of relief ships? Were they too busy making a new mix for their ipod and deciding whether to order Indian or Chinese? I don't know. There's a part of me that's so ashamed of the entire situation that I don't want to know. And the foolish comments of people like Dennis Hastert don't help. And the fact that Condoleeza Rice went to see a Broadway Show while the crisis was unfolding doesn't help. And the fact that Bush is looking forward to see how Trent Lott will rebuild doesn't help. And if Lott gets a beautiful new mansion built with federal funds, it won't help. If I see one single mention from some freak-show that this is God's punishment for New Orleans' wicked ways, it won't help.

Bebemoche blackout continues into eighth day!

ruminations on Rome and Prison Break

So, how about Rome? I LOVED it! HBO and the BBC really have it together! Ancient Greece and Rome are big interests of mine, but most television and movie representations leave me cold so I didn't have high hopes. I did like Gladiator despite its complete and utter deviation from documented history... but then I tend to like Ridley Scott's movies. Troy blew chunks. Chunks. And the recent mini-series on ABC, Empire, spewed chunks. Huge chunks! Part of the problem with depicting history, I think, is that you're dealing with a story which has a set plotline and ending. If you deviate from either (Gladiator, Empire, Troy) then you alienate people with genuine interest in history. With Rome HBO is avoiding this problem by depicting the personal stuff behind the dry (and often boring) facts. They're getting into the social interaction which is the locus of the real drama. It's also the less documented part of history which gives the writers a lot more room to fudge. Besides, the show is just really well thought out with excellent choices in direction. There's a scene where young Octavian is speaking with his mother and a slave girl, bringing in the base of a tripod, accidentally hits Octavian in the foot. Octavian grimaces and without hesitation smacks the girl on the head. It's done in a totally throw-away manner and perfectly illustrates how life in a slave culture dehumanizes everyone. Excellent!

I also saw Prison Break, which didn't wow me but I'm sure that it will be a success. It's gritty and violent so it has that "real" aura. It has all the things that make people think it's "thoughtful," e.g.: race relations, plot twists ad absurdum, conspiracy theory... basically it's like a grad school project on "what will work on American television." I've got to say, though, that the soccer-mom as the head of the conspiracy is hilarious and brilliant! THAT I loved. The only thing is, how are they going to work this out for an entire season?

BTW, Rush Limbaugh said something else idiotic and offensive today. I realize that people watch Rush and Ann and Kellyanne because people like clowns... and by clowns I mean people who get in front of a camera or crowd and say outrageous, excessive things. People like spectacle and that's what these media-hos offer.

ROME!!!

The series begins tonight on HBO! I'm insanely excited! (insert sound of me screaming like the Wild Man of Borneo)

What is wrong with these people?

Some freaky-thinkin' Christians obsessed with homosexuality believe that God is punishing the troops for defending a country which harbors homos. Now, doesn't the commander in chief take full responsibility? And wouldn't God know that our fine president is really the one to blame? I mean, what with the omniscience and all... And why would God stop at the US border? Other countries as well? Like Canada? Or Spain? Why would God care about arbitrary geopolitical boundaries? Why wouldn't God punish the planet for harboring homos? But wait! No, wait... if you believe in God and the Bible and all that, then didn't God create everything? I mean, He's responsible for the whole shebang, right? So isn't He harboring homos? Doesn't that mean that He would punish Himself for harboring homos? I mean, that's just what I get when I take those freaky-thinkin' Christians' line of "reasoning" to its logical conclusion... maybe I'm the freaky-thinkin' one.

And another thing... This happened in Smyrna, Tenn. I've noticed that a lot of cities in the south are named after ancient and modern cities of the Mediterranean, like Smyrna, Memphis, there's a Sardis, a Carthage, a Lebanon... I find that interesting.

What's with the annoying blond girls?

I’m not super political, I just want my country to live up to the ideals that we profess as our own. You know, that stuff about all of us being endowed with inalienable rights... not just those of us who go to a certain church or those of us who think or look a certain way, but all of us. Call me crazy, that’s just me. However, I probably won’t go off on the politics much in this blog, I’ll try to stay somewhat light. In such a vein, I turn to this last week’s episode of Real Time with Bill Maher with Asa Hutchinson, Chris Rock, Phyllis Schlafly, etc. Asa Hutchinson was fine. I don’t agree with his politics, but he gives a good interview. His very smooth in expressing himself, a true politician in the good sense of the word. Phyllis Schlafly was one of the two non-panel guests. Ms. Schlafly is one of these women who speak out against feminism, a condition which surprisingly does not cause fuse shortage in the human brain. I mean, if you're a woman and you're against feminism, then shouldn't you take off your shoes, go back to the kitchen and try to make a baby? If you (being a woman) really think that women should not have the same advantages as men, if you think that women shouldn't be taken seriously in the public arena, then, as a woman, you must shut up and live life according to the principles you declare. Susan Faludi pointed out long ago that women such as Ms. Schlafly avail themselves of the benefits of feminist progress while simultaneously fighting against it. Sadly, this incongruity of word and deed is a common affliction of those who make their livelihood in the political arena. Chris Rock was also on, but he didn’t get to say a whole lot... and that’s because there was Ms. "If I say the last word I win" Kellyanne Conway. She is such an idiot apologist for the Bush administration. She's insufferable. She's one of those people who won't budge a bit, even when the falacy of her argument is exposed. She seems to think that whatever comes out of her mouth is true simply by virtue of the fact that she is the one who said it. But what really bothered me was the fact that she always had to have the last word... always. So what recourse did I have other than to be completely catty and notice how she was wearing a completely unflattering outfit that made her look like she was suffering from hepatitis? Also, she needs to eat. I don't want to sound insensitive, but the girl needs a sandwich or something...

Die Brüder Grimm and space trivia

Two things: I just saw the movie "The Brothers Grimm" and would advise one and all to back off and stay far, far away from this catastrophe of a film, it's a utter and complete waste of celluloid. It is one seriously confused film that can't figure out what it wants to be. Truly, it wanders from genre to genre, never actually finding itself. Come to think of it, it's very much like this blog... hmmmm... Still, you should waste no money on this film. The only worthwhile moment is in the Ratskeller of Marbaden when the townspeople are telling the brothers to seek the help of the cursed one. That's a scene worthy of Monty Python or Time Bandits. The movie also has some rather uncomfortable moments which are truly hostile to the French. I suppose that at this moment in time it's been deemed acceptable to abandon the ideal that each person should be judged on their own merits and we can now resort to ethnic and/or national stereotypes to make fun of entire peoples. I mean, it's completely believable and funny to think that someone French would eat the gore of a kitten which has just been thrown into the gears of a torture machine and then comment "Mmm... au point!"

And another thing... I dropped by Scientific American's website (http://www.sciam.com/) and they have a trivia game, the first question of which is: "How much does the Hubble Space Telescope weigh?" The answer they give is: "Hubble weighs about 11,110 kilograms and is roughly the size of a big school bus." Now, I'm not a scientist... but since Hubble's in outer space doesn't that mean that it presently weighs nothing? I mean, weight is relative depending on where a thing is located. Things have different weight on the moon than they do here, than they do on Mars, than they do on Jupiter... etc. etc. Perhaps what Scientific American meant was "If the Hubble Space Telescope were on the Earth how much would it weigh?" You see, I do deal in language, so I can quibble about that.

Why am I hearing about her again?

Why does anybody pay any attention at all to Ann Coulter or Rush Limbaugh anymore? (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thenewswire/#a006277) I mean, both are clearly pointless people whose only interesting asset is the rabid fervor with which they express their maniacal and hypocritical opinions. I mean, even if you're a conservative, you have to be embarassed by the huge chasm between the standards by which Limbaugh so harshly judges the rest of the world and the way in which he lives his own life. As for Ann Coulter, she just comes off as a "Heather," spoiled, spiteful, sense of entitlement... She's the type for whom the Oompa Loompas sing a little morality song after something dreadful happens to her in Willy Wonka's factory. (BTW, check this out: http://www.nuclearblender.com/oompa/) Really, she's put out such bad stuff into the world that when it all comes around it going to be like Karmaggedon for her.

the SWEETest CHARITY thing

The boyfriend and I just got back from seeing Sweet Charity and it was fantastic! The half-price tickets were for the frickin' front row, damnit! I mean, we could see Ms. Applegate's unmentionables! (Who'd have thought she'd be a boxers girl?) Seriously, the show was really, really good... like, Hairspray good. She sings well, she can dance... she's just good all over. She came out using this voice for the character and I really expected her to lose it somewhere along the line... but she didn't. The rest of the cast was excellent as well. This one woman in chorus, Joyce Chittick, was hilarious and really made the most of her part(s). It was entirely enjoyable and I would totally recommend it for a good, musical-theater evening.

Before the show the BF and I went to Therapy for drinks and nosh. We walked in and BF was at first pleased. You don't know, getting him to go to a gay bar is a BIG acheivement. Then, he began wondering if it was where old homos go to die. I've only been a couple of times, and that was years ago, but the crowd certainly seems to have changed. Whatever. I only really go out when I go to SF and then it's usually only to the Eagle's beer bust. But I really have lost touch with the "in" gay crowd... not like I was ever "in" but at least I knew where the good clubs/bars were. Now I'm totally clueless. It really hit home when we were in a taxi going down 9th Ave and we passed 14th St., the corner of Hip and Happening... and yes, I'm using that snidely. I was shocked to see that the meat packing district looked like Disneyland! And I was just in Disneyland a couple of weeks ago, I'm sure it was the same scene! Ugh. I've been in New York long enough to develop that annoying "I remember when..." bullshit that I hate hearing from other people. Time to exit... stage left.

TKTS and Cheerios!

This morning I was heading out to the grocery store (we'd run out of Cheerios, a staple... no a necessity, really, who doesn't like Cheerios? They're yummy and healthy and they make you feel all cozy inside!) and decided that I'd stop by TKTS and see if I could buy tickets for Sweet Charity this evening. Christina Applegate's doing it and has apparently invested a lot of her personal stake in it. It's been out for something like a year already but I'd still like to see her in it. I've enjoyed her performances... the few which I've seen... so long as you skip over "Married... With Children"... whatever! I'm not going to think about it too much. The wait in line was about a half hour, which isn't that bad, really... especially since there are so many interesting people who use TKTS... lot's of tourists like Edna and Marvita in from Kansas City, blousey, middle-aged theater queens, oddly styled Europeans, everybody! So I'm going to surprise the boyfriend with the show tonight. He knows we're doing something, I just haven't told him what. Otherwise, I have to spend the day writing and then to the gym... Okay, so the boyfriend just came in and begged me to tell him what we're doing tonight. Turns out, he'd figured it out already which doesn't surprise me. I'll post again this evening with a review of the show.

First Time for Everything!

Yes, it's true. This is the first posting to this blog and you've found it. The kernel post from which all others will flow. No, it's not turtles all the way down!