Baby
Neil's best friend and his wife had a baby this week. (on Monday night, I think) Neil's friend is the crazy type. In fact, my friends and I nicknamed him The Naked Sleeper, which we later learned was a misnomer, but still, it typifies him. He's a really wonderful person, just always a bit further to the wild side than most. Throughout the pregnancy, he has been calling Neil and blurting out bizarre baby facts. Usually they are along the lines of "Do you know they poop about 10 times a day!" So, I was a little concerned. But, Neil talked to him today and he said that having the baby is amazing. He held her for the first five minutes before his wife woke up (c-section) and the baby grabbed his finger and he said it was the coolest thing. I am really happy that he's so happy and I'm really excited for the Naked Sleeper, his wonderful wife and his new baby. I can't wait to meet her.
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Dumbed Down
So, McDonald's has an adult happy meal. When I first heard this I thought it was a joke, a news bit from The Onion or something. But, the adult happy meals are the real deal. They come with a salad and a water (but what nobody tells you is that if you ask for Coke instead, they'll give it to you.) The meals also come with your own "stepometer" so you can count your steps each day and know whether you've taken enough to work off that Big Mac.
O.K. what was wrong with the previous sentence? If you said the word "stepometer" you are correct. What they are actually called, those little things that count your steps for you, are pedometers. I guess McDonald's thought that the word pedometer was too complicated and instead of taking the opportunity to teach the world a new word, they decided to make up their own word. Adults may be smart enough to know they should eat salads, not burgers.. but there's no way they'll know what pedometer means. The worst part of all this is that it took me a while to realize that the corporate drones had dumbed down their happy meal prize. My co-worker showed me her stepometer and I found myself thinking, "Stepometer? Isn't it called something else? What is it called? Hmm... I guess it is a stepometer." Not only is McDonald's pandering to the small-vocabulary customers, but they're confusing the ones with bigger vocabularies. They are singlehandedly changing the English language with their stupid stepometers.
To top it off, the little contraptions don't work. They count two steps for every one you take. Come to think of it, this could be a ploy to keep Americans fat. Yes, I will admit that I had an adult happy meal last week and the cobb salad was pretty tasty. But now that I've been dumbed down by McDonald's, I won't be having another one.
So, McDonald's has an adult happy meal. When I first heard this I thought it was a joke, a news bit from The Onion or something. But, the adult happy meals are the real deal. They come with a salad and a water (but what nobody tells you is that if you ask for Coke instead, they'll give it to you.) The meals also come with your own "stepometer" so you can count your steps each day and know whether you've taken enough to work off that Big Mac.
O.K. what was wrong with the previous sentence? If you said the word "stepometer" you are correct. What they are actually called, those little things that count your steps for you, are pedometers. I guess McDonald's thought that the word pedometer was too complicated and instead of taking the opportunity to teach the world a new word, they decided to make up their own word. Adults may be smart enough to know they should eat salads, not burgers.. but there's no way they'll know what pedometer means. The worst part of all this is that it took me a while to realize that the corporate drones had dumbed down their happy meal prize. My co-worker showed me her stepometer and I found myself thinking, "Stepometer? Isn't it called something else? What is it called? Hmm... I guess it is a stepometer." Not only is McDonald's pandering to the small-vocabulary customers, but they're confusing the ones with bigger vocabularies. They are singlehandedly changing the English language with their stupid stepometers.
To top it off, the little contraptions don't work. They count two steps for every one you take. Come to think of it, this could be a ploy to keep Americans fat. Yes, I will admit that I had an adult happy meal last week and the cobb salad was pretty tasty. But now that I've been dumbed down by McDonald's, I won't be having another one.
Thursday, May 20, 2004
The Gas Station
Yesterday, my gas light came on. I had been doing my best to save gas in the hopes that the prices would go down and I could avoid wasting money feeding the Republican oil machine...but I had to break down and go to the gas station. I went to Chevron because it was on my way back to work after lunch. I got out, put my card in the card reader and started pumping when a loud noise blared at me from speakers in the gas pump. I jumped a foot in the air and whirled around to see that there was a little TV screen playing the news.
First thought: How cool that I can watch the news while pumping gas.
Realization: It's FOX news.
Next thought: Who owns Chevron and why are they shoving this conservative propaganda down my throat?
To make matters worse, a commercial for some glass cleaner came on almost instantly after my little TV turned on. As soon as the tank was full and the pump clicked off, the TV turned off so I didn't even get to finish watching the commercial. What if they had been in the middle of a really interesting news segment and it had clicked off? I think these little TVs are worse than no TV at all.
Oh, and then my gas bill was $22 and it used to cost around $14 to fill up my tank. Gotta love wars over oil.
Angel
Last night was the series finale of Angel. This is a bummer because that means next year I will end up watching something like The Bachelor religiously, having lost my favorite two shows (first Buffy and now Angel). I don't think I have ever been this into a television show since Doogie Houser.
The Angel finale was ok. But sort of disappointing because everything didn't wrap up perfectly. Everybody didn't live happily ever after and I don't like a whole lot of realism in my entertainment.
Yesterday, my gas light came on. I had been doing my best to save gas in the hopes that the prices would go down and I could avoid wasting money feeding the Republican oil machine...but I had to break down and go to the gas station. I went to Chevron because it was on my way back to work after lunch. I got out, put my card in the card reader and started pumping when a loud noise blared at me from speakers in the gas pump. I jumped a foot in the air and whirled around to see that there was a little TV screen playing the news.
First thought: How cool that I can watch the news while pumping gas.
Realization: It's FOX news.
Next thought: Who owns Chevron and why are they shoving this conservative propaganda down my throat?
To make matters worse, a commercial for some glass cleaner came on almost instantly after my little TV turned on. As soon as the tank was full and the pump clicked off, the TV turned off so I didn't even get to finish watching the commercial. What if they had been in the middle of a really interesting news segment and it had clicked off? I think these little TVs are worse than no TV at all.
Oh, and then my gas bill was $22 and it used to cost around $14 to fill up my tank. Gotta love wars over oil.
Angel
Last night was the series finale of Angel. This is a bummer because that means next year I will end up watching something like The Bachelor religiously, having lost my favorite two shows (first Buffy and now Angel). I don't think I have ever been this into a television show since Doogie Houser.
The Angel finale was ok. But sort of disappointing because everything didn't wrap up perfectly. Everybody didn't live happily ever after and I don't like a whole lot of realism in my entertainment.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
That guy who had his finger bitten off at the zoo
I was distraught last week when I couldn't link to the story about the zoo visitor whose finger was bitten off by a Jaguar at our zoo. Luckily, the story was so bizarre it made the CNN Offbeat News section. So, go here to read about it. Enjoy.
I was distraught last week when I couldn't link to the story about the zoo visitor whose finger was bitten off by a Jaguar at our zoo. Luckily, the story was so bizarre it made the CNN Offbeat News section. So, go here to read about it. Enjoy.
Iraq
I stumbled upon two Iraqi blogs recently. I think they're being kept by brothers, one of whom lives in Iraq and another, who seems to be living somewhere else in the middle east. Their mom is also keeping a blog, but it is in Arabic and my limited knowledge of Hebrew doesn't help me decipher it at all. Raed and Majid both seem like very intelligent individuals. They also seem like people I might be friends with. Majid's insights about the war and what is happening in his country are striking, especially since he's only 17.
Reading these blogs made me feel several ways. The overwhelming feeling I had was stregnthened conviction that the U.S. troops need to get out of Iraq as quickly as possible.
I also felt guilty that, while I think about the war quite a bit, it is not everpresent in my mind. I have only bloged about it once in a while. Raed and Majid are in the middle of war and they blog about it nearly every post. Another feeling I had while reading the blogs was sadness. Majid wrote about hearing tanks driving by his house in the middle of night and being terrified that he was about to be killed. He also wrote about a classmate who got up in the middle of an exam and asked why he was studying when he might be dead tomorrow. The fact is, the U.S. army, while they may not be trying to kill civilians, are killing and maiming far too many innocents. The country is too unstable and out of control for our army to be occupying it. We have provoked too much hatred to be successful leading the Iraqi people.
Majid wrote that the Iraqi people were going through an amazing time before the U.S. invasion, a renaissance of sorts, and they should have risen up against Saddam on their own. We can't know if and when the Iraqi people would have staged an uprising, but when you look at this war and realize it was not about WMD's and it wasn't about protecting the U.S. from terrorists and the only thing it could have been about was oil and Bush family revenge, it is even more depressing to realize that the one positive thing that could come of the war, a free Iraq without the Saddam dictatorship, is being shoved down the country's collective throat by people many of them view as bullies. We are not the knight on a white horse. Instead of peace and harmony, my country has brought instability to the country of Iraq and to the lives of its people. No wonder so many of them hate us.
It is so good to hear the voices of Iraqis without the filtering of the media. Iraqi blogs should be required reading for our foreign policy makers... (But not the president, he probably wouldn't read them since he doesn't even read the newspaper.)
Thanks Raed and Majid.
I stumbled upon two Iraqi blogs recently. I think they're being kept by brothers, one of whom lives in Iraq and another, who seems to be living somewhere else in the middle east. Their mom is also keeping a blog, but it is in Arabic and my limited knowledge of Hebrew doesn't help me decipher it at all. Raed and Majid both seem like very intelligent individuals. They also seem like people I might be friends with. Majid's insights about the war and what is happening in his country are striking, especially since he's only 17.
Reading these blogs made me feel several ways. The overwhelming feeling I had was stregnthened conviction that the U.S. troops need to get out of Iraq as quickly as possible.
I also felt guilty that, while I think about the war quite a bit, it is not everpresent in my mind. I have only bloged about it once in a while. Raed and Majid are in the middle of war and they blog about it nearly every post. Another feeling I had while reading the blogs was sadness. Majid wrote about hearing tanks driving by his house in the middle of night and being terrified that he was about to be killed. He also wrote about a classmate who got up in the middle of an exam and asked why he was studying when he might be dead tomorrow. The fact is, the U.S. army, while they may not be trying to kill civilians, are killing and maiming far too many innocents. The country is too unstable and out of control for our army to be occupying it. We have provoked too much hatred to be successful leading the Iraqi people.
Majid wrote that the Iraqi people were going through an amazing time before the U.S. invasion, a renaissance of sorts, and they should have risen up against Saddam on their own. We can't know if and when the Iraqi people would have staged an uprising, but when you look at this war and realize it was not about WMD's and it wasn't about protecting the U.S. from terrorists and the only thing it could have been about was oil and Bush family revenge, it is even more depressing to realize that the one positive thing that could come of the war, a free Iraq without the Saddam dictatorship, is being shoved down the country's collective throat by people many of them view as bullies. We are not the knight on a white horse. Instead of peace and harmony, my country has brought instability to the country of Iraq and to the lives of its people. No wonder so many of them hate us.
It is so good to hear the voices of Iraqis without the filtering of the media. Iraqi blogs should be required reading for our foreign policy makers... (But not the president, he probably wouldn't read them since he doesn't even read the newspaper.)
Thanks Raed and Majid.
Monday, May 17, 2004
Monday Again
How did it become Monday again so quickly? Do you ever want to push the pause button? I think I saw an after school special once about a girl who could slow time and walk around in the world while everyone else was frozen in place. In order to accomplish everything I want to, I would like to have that talent. Maybe it would come in a locket or a super high-tech car stereo and when I pressed mute everyone else would slow down...
The Weekend
Sort of a quiet weekend. Neil was gone on Saturday and I took the dogs to a groomer who shaved too much fur off their butts so now they look a tad funny. Grr.
Sunday, Neil and I decided we wanted to do lots of things together before he had to go to work, so we woke up relatively early and went to brunch at Copelands, my formerly new favorite restaurant. They have a jazz brunch and we wanted to try it... but we got there too early for the jazz. My eggs benedict was delicious and Neil's french toast was good except that they didn't have any maple syrup and expected him to eat it with strawberry syrup which he hates. (totally bizarre to serve french toast with no syrup in the entire restaurant right?) But then we got in the car to go home and found ourselves utterly exhausted. We went home, let the dogs outside and then put them in bed with us and proceeded to nap until about 10 minutes before 2 when Neil jumped out of bed and went to work. We were utterly powerless and had to surrender to sleep. We have decided that there were sleeping pills in the food and that we will refrain from brunching there again. It's back to Sunday morning smoothies for us.
Lesson: Beware of making plans for Sunday after brunch.
How did it become Monday again so quickly? Do you ever want to push the pause button? I think I saw an after school special once about a girl who could slow time and walk around in the world while everyone else was frozen in place. In order to accomplish everything I want to, I would like to have that talent. Maybe it would come in a locket or a super high-tech car stereo and when I pressed mute everyone else would slow down...
The Weekend
Sort of a quiet weekend. Neil was gone on Saturday and I took the dogs to a groomer who shaved too much fur off their butts so now they look a tad funny. Grr.
Sunday, Neil and I decided we wanted to do lots of things together before he had to go to work, so we woke up relatively early and went to brunch at Copelands, my formerly new favorite restaurant. They have a jazz brunch and we wanted to try it... but we got there too early for the jazz. My eggs benedict was delicious and Neil's french toast was good except that they didn't have any maple syrup and expected him to eat it with strawberry syrup which he hates. (totally bizarre to serve french toast with no syrup in the entire restaurant right?) But then we got in the car to go home and found ourselves utterly exhausted. We went home, let the dogs outside and then put them in bed with us and proceeded to nap until about 10 minutes before 2 when Neil jumped out of bed and went to work. We were utterly powerless and had to surrender to sleep. We have decided that there were sleeping pills in the food and that we will refrain from brunching there again. It's back to Sunday morning smoothies for us.
Lesson: Beware of making plans for Sunday after brunch.
Friday, May 14, 2004
Friday
It's Friday.
My friend Andy sent me a link today that made me a little sad. Basically it is a gossip column with an item about my old professor who is now dead. The item in the column is cute/funny and not at all offensive, but it reminded me of Lucy Grealy and what a fascinating/awe-inspiring/perfectly-imperfect person she was. It also reminded me of how sad it was to witness her falling apart from afar and how I wish I could have told her how she inspired me before she disappeared. Sometimes it's nice to feel a little sad about things worthy of sadness... if that makes any sense. (thanks for sending it Andy)
Disturbing things are afoot all over the world today. My ritual afternoon visit to cnn.com provided me with the following headlines: Castro leads huge anti-American march in Cuba; Running battles rage on the streets of Najaf; U.S. arrests dozens in child porn crackdown; Oil prices spurt to all-time high; British editor quits after abuse photos deemed fake
I was particularly struck by the Cuba article and the accompanying picture displaying Bush in a Hitler-style moustache next to signs with swastiks. What the hell is going on in this world?
To top off my day of bizarre news, the front page story on today's Albuquerque Journal has the following headline: Finger Found Near Zoo Cage. Apparently a man in his 50s who visits a jaguar everyday might have left a few digits behind. But he's denying it. WHY would you try to hide the fact that you got your hand eaten by a large zoo animal??? I think you may need a subscription to read this story, which is very unfortunate because it's really fascinating...
It's sunny and warm here and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I plan to avoid the news as much as possible.
It's Friday.
My friend Andy sent me a link today that made me a little sad. Basically it is a gossip column with an item about my old professor who is now dead. The item in the column is cute/funny and not at all offensive, but it reminded me of Lucy Grealy and what a fascinating/awe-inspiring/perfectly-imperfect person she was. It also reminded me of how sad it was to witness her falling apart from afar and how I wish I could have told her how she inspired me before she disappeared. Sometimes it's nice to feel a little sad about things worthy of sadness... if that makes any sense. (thanks for sending it Andy)
Disturbing things are afoot all over the world today. My ritual afternoon visit to cnn.com provided me with the following headlines: Castro leads huge anti-American march in Cuba; Running battles rage on the streets of Najaf; U.S. arrests dozens in child porn crackdown; Oil prices spurt to all-time high; British editor quits after abuse photos deemed fake
I was particularly struck by the Cuba article and the accompanying picture displaying Bush in a Hitler-style moustache next to signs with swastiks. What the hell is going on in this world?
To top off my day of bizarre news, the front page story on today's Albuquerque Journal has the following headline: Finger Found Near Zoo Cage. Apparently a man in his 50s who visits a jaguar everyday might have left a few digits behind. But he's denying it. WHY would you try to hide the fact that you got your hand eaten by a large zoo animal??? I think you may need a subscription to read this story, which is very unfortunate because it's really fascinating...
It's sunny and warm here and I'm looking forward to a relaxing weekend. I plan to avoid the news as much as possible.
.jpg)
Thursday, May 13, 2004
One of Those Days
Last night at 2:48 a.m. someone called Neil's cell phone. I didn't actually hear it ring, but I remember looking at the clock and hearing the dogs move around in their bed and wondering what was going on. For the rest of the night, I had restless sleep. I was worried that something else was going to wake me up, and thus, couldn't fall asleep.
At 7, my alarm went off and then I began the frenzy of taking dogs outside, hugging Neil, getting showered and dressed.... Right before I left, Barbie threw up outside which made me feel worried because this is the second time this week she's been sick in the morning. Ugh. I left with no breakfast and raced to work.
Then to top off the morning of calamity, Neil just called to tell me his sister was mugged last night at knifepoint which is absolutely terrifying and I really really really hope she's ok. Should I call her?
Aside from all the chaos, I'm still in a pretty good mood, the reason for which is beyond me...
Last night I watched the last ten minutes of American Idol (America clearly has hearing problems because they voted off the wrong girl, AGAIN) and the last 15 minutes of the Bachelor (such a spectacle...where do they find these girls???) and now I feel like I need to go read some Foucault to mend my brain cells... But maybe getting to work will help in that department...
Last night at 2:48 a.m. someone called Neil's cell phone. I didn't actually hear it ring, but I remember looking at the clock and hearing the dogs move around in their bed and wondering what was going on. For the rest of the night, I had restless sleep. I was worried that something else was going to wake me up, and thus, couldn't fall asleep.
At 7, my alarm went off and then I began the frenzy of taking dogs outside, hugging Neil, getting showered and dressed.... Right before I left, Barbie threw up outside which made me feel worried because this is the second time this week she's been sick in the morning. Ugh. I left with no breakfast and raced to work.
Then to top off the morning of calamity, Neil just called to tell me his sister was mugged last night at knifepoint which is absolutely terrifying and I really really really hope she's ok. Should I call her?
Aside from all the chaos, I'm still in a pretty good mood, the reason for which is beyond me...
Last night I watched the last ten minutes of American Idol (America clearly has hearing problems because they voted off the wrong girl, AGAIN) and the last 15 minutes of the Bachelor (such a spectacle...where do they find these girls???) and now I feel like I need to go read some Foucault to mend my brain cells... But maybe getting to work will help in that department...
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Map
create your own personalized map of the USA
I had a map posted here, but it was too big and messed up the rest of my template so it has been removed) This is a map of all the states I have been to. It is way more impressive than I thought it would be. I thought I was severely lagging on seeing the country. But apparently, I have only 18 states to go. Then, on to conquer the world...
Free Rent
There was this 20-something couple in NYC and they were having a contest to see who would get to live at their apartment for six months for free. Plus, the lucky person would get a $5,000 stipend to offset the cost of moving to the city. All entrants had to do was write a 350-word essay about why they wanted to move to New York and mail it along with $69!!! to the couple. The contest was only going to be carried out if the couple got 3,000 entries... This means that after the $5,000 prize to the winner, the couple would be clearing $200,000 in entry fees. What an amazing scam! I wish I'd thought of that the summer my college roommates and I had the subletters from HELL in our super-cool Evanston apartment..
Unfortunately, it seems as though something went awry, because the contest has been called off... I thought it was too good to be true... I also thought my friend Sean could have totally won... but oh well... he'll have to wait for some other crazy New Yorker to hold a contest to find subletters.
create your own personalized map of the USA
I had a map posted here, but it was too big and messed up the rest of my template so it has been removed) This is a map of all the states I have been to. It is way more impressive than I thought it would be. I thought I was severely lagging on seeing the country. But apparently, I have only 18 states to go. Then, on to conquer the world...
Free Rent
There was this 20-something couple in NYC and they were having a contest to see who would get to live at their apartment for six months for free. Plus, the lucky person would get a $5,000 stipend to offset the cost of moving to the city. All entrants had to do was write a 350-word essay about why they wanted to move to New York and mail it along with $69!!! to the couple. The contest was only going to be carried out if the couple got 3,000 entries... This means that after the $5,000 prize to the winner, the couple would be clearing $200,000 in entry fees. What an amazing scam! I wish I'd thought of that the summer my college roommates and I had the subletters from HELL in our super-cool Evanston apartment..
Unfortunately, it seems as though something went awry, because the contest has been called off... I thought it was too good to be true... I also thought my friend Sean could have totally won... but oh well... he'll have to wait for some other crazy New Yorker to hold a contest to find subletters.
Monday, May 10, 2004
The Bath
The weekend was good. Friday was an Isotopes game and we got free glow in the dark baseballs. Very cool. We also went to the game with our friends Ryan and Shea who are really really cool and it's nice to finally have a couple friend that we do things with fairly regularly. It's taken us a long time to become friends with them, but we really have a good time together. Maybe they'll be the Christina and Bobby of Albuquerque... (but never a Christina and Bobby replacement).
On Saturday, we took the dogs to visit my parents and grandma for an early mother's day. It was nice and relaxing, except for the 45 minutes during which my 6lb dogs decided it would be really fun to take on my parents' 75lb lab. They were so mean to him and he just put his tail between his legs because he didn't want to hurt them. My dad kept calling Wiley and Barbie terrorists and telling me that my "furry brother's" feelings were hurt, which made me feel sufficiently guilty.
Yesterday was a typical slow Sunday. Neil and I went to lunch and the server gave me a Mother's Day carnation...I didn't know if I should have taken it as a compliment or as an insult so I just took the flower home and put it in water.
Last night, I decided that the dogs needed a bath. After calling all over town and learning that groomers require you to leave your dog for four hours just for a bath and brushing, I determined that I would have to do it myself, so I went to Petsmart and bought shampoo for white dogs. Around nine I was finally finished with everything else I needed to do and I took the dogs in the bathroom with me, filled up the tub and did the bathing. First of all, the dogs looked like skinny rats when wet. Their hair went from white to see-through and their pink and brown spotted skin looked hilarious. In addition to looking funny, they were pissed. Also, I had no idea what I was doing. I read the grooming section in the Maltese magazine I bought a few weeks ago and tried following instructions, but it was a joke. Wiley jumped out of the tub at one point and shook all over the bathroom. I just sat there wondering what the hell I was doing with two dogs and furthermore, what possessed me to try to wash them. But once we got all the shampoo rinsed out and the two dogs started to dry off and forgive me for the ordeal, they turned into little white fluff balls. Their fur turned at least three shades lighter and four times fluffier. They must have been filthy. With their new clean coconut-scented coats, came really cheery attitudes and they started chasing me all over the house and jumping up and down. Then, magically, Wiley suddenly learned how to fetch the miniature tennis balls we got them a month ago. I had no idea how much joy watching a little dog learn to play catch could bring... or bathing a dog for that matter.
So the question is: Is my mothering instinct kicking in? Answer: maybe a little bit, but only for the dogs. No kids yet. I'm still a little too selfish for the next step.
The weekend was good. Friday was an Isotopes game and we got free glow in the dark baseballs. Very cool. We also went to the game with our friends Ryan and Shea who are really really cool and it's nice to finally have a couple friend that we do things with fairly regularly. It's taken us a long time to become friends with them, but we really have a good time together. Maybe they'll be the Christina and Bobby of Albuquerque... (but never a Christina and Bobby replacement).
On Saturday, we took the dogs to visit my parents and grandma for an early mother's day. It was nice and relaxing, except for the 45 minutes during which my 6lb dogs decided it would be really fun to take on my parents' 75lb lab. They were so mean to him and he just put his tail between his legs because he didn't want to hurt them. My dad kept calling Wiley and Barbie terrorists and telling me that my "furry brother's" feelings were hurt, which made me feel sufficiently guilty.
Yesterday was a typical slow Sunday. Neil and I went to lunch and the server gave me a Mother's Day carnation...I didn't know if I should have taken it as a compliment or as an insult so I just took the flower home and put it in water.
Last night, I decided that the dogs needed a bath. After calling all over town and learning that groomers require you to leave your dog for four hours just for a bath and brushing, I determined that I would have to do it myself, so I went to Petsmart and bought shampoo for white dogs. Around nine I was finally finished with everything else I needed to do and I took the dogs in the bathroom with me, filled up the tub and did the bathing. First of all, the dogs looked like skinny rats when wet. Their hair went from white to see-through and their pink and brown spotted skin looked hilarious. In addition to looking funny, they were pissed. Also, I had no idea what I was doing. I read the grooming section in the Maltese magazine I bought a few weeks ago and tried following instructions, but it was a joke. Wiley jumped out of the tub at one point and shook all over the bathroom. I just sat there wondering what the hell I was doing with two dogs and furthermore, what possessed me to try to wash them. But once we got all the shampoo rinsed out and the two dogs started to dry off and forgive me for the ordeal, they turned into little white fluff balls. Their fur turned at least three shades lighter and four times fluffier. They must have been filthy. With their new clean coconut-scented coats, came really cheery attitudes and they started chasing me all over the house and jumping up and down. Then, magically, Wiley suddenly learned how to fetch the miniature tennis balls we got them a month ago. I had no idea how much joy watching a little dog learn to play catch could bring... or bathing a dog for that matter.
So the question is: Is my mothering instinct kicking in? Answer: maybe a little bit, but only for the dogs. No kids yet. I'm still a little too selfish for the next step.
Jealousy
When I was a student at The Bennington Writing Seminars, I had a professor named George Packer. He was, for the most part, kind and wise. His critiques of my writing were gentle, yet helpful. He encouraged me to become the best writer I could be, and while I am not there yet, I am on the path in part, because of George.
At the end of my final semester in grad school, I got my evaluation from George and it said something about how I was a good writer and had shown progress, but perhaps I was too young to be in the program in the first place. This is, of course, an oversimplification, but at the time, I cried and he changed the final evaluation to not say anything about his belief that I was just a little kid who didn't belong in a graduate writing program. While I am certain that he didn't mean to destroy me the night before graduation, that is pretty much the impact he had.
It has been about a year and a half since graduation, and I thought I had forgiven George Packer. I had mainly good thoughts about him on the rare occasions I thought about him, usually while writing or thinking about reporting. But last week my copy of Mother Jones came in the mail and his name was on the cover next to a headline about blogs: The Revolution Will Not Be Blogged. Sensing that this article was going to say something negative about blogging, an activity I have been participating in more and more, I cringed slightly. I also felt an unexpected twinge of the green monster(aaak I can't believe I just used that cliche) of jealousy. So, I waited a day to read the article and then plopped on my couch one evening and opened the magazine in hopes of liking the article. But I didn't. It wasn't even that it was so good I was jealous. It just wasn't very good. In November, George wrote an amazing article about Iraq for the New Yorker that any writer would be awed by...But this Mother Jones story about blogging was really disappointing.
While it wasn't terrible, it just didn't say anything terribly new. Everyone knows that blogging can be very insulated and is often very introspective. Even political blogs are often about riding on the campaign bus, or some other less interesting event than going door to door or making a campaign stop. And certainly being in Iowa during the primaries would be better than reading about the primaries on political blogs, but I would argue that being there would be better than reading about the primaries in the New Yorker as well. A blogger who went to Iowa is definitely more qualified to then blog about Iowa, but there is nothing about the nature of blogging that makes blogging and good reportage mutually exclusive.
It seemed to me that George was trying his best to write about something happening in pop culture and political culture right now, but he couldn't really diss blogs because he likes them. I don't think the people at Wonkette are aspiring to win a Pulitzer... It's a different genre, with a different intent and that made George's point unnecessary, invalid even. The goal of a political blog is usually not to be like the Washington Post. But if that were the goal, I have no doubt that some of the more astute bloggers could pull it off.
Whatever the case, I will continue to be a fan of my friend George... And it was nice to see that he is human and not everything he puts on paper (or in national magazines) is awe-inspiring.
When I was a student at The Bennington Writing Seminars, I had a professor named George Packer. He was, for the most part, kind and wise. His critiques of my writing were gentle, yet helpful. He encouraged me to become the best writer I could be, and while I am not there yet, I am on the path in part, because of George.
At the end of my final semester in grad school, I got my evaluation from George and it said something about how I was a good writer and had shown progress, but perhaps I was too young to be in the program in the first place. This is, of course, an oversimplification, but at the time, I cried and he changed the final evaluation to not say anything about his belief that I was just a little kid who didn't belong in a graduate writing program. While I am certain that he didn't mean to destroy me the night before graduation, that is pretty much the impact he had.
It has been about a year and a half since graduation, and I thought I had forgiven George Packer. I had mainly good thoughts about him on the rare occasions I thought about him, usually while writing or thinking about reporting. But last week my copy of Mother Jones came in the mail and his name was on the cover next to a headline about blogs: The Revolution Will Not Be Blogged. Sensing that this article was going to say something negative about blogging, an activity I have been participating in more and more, I cringed slightly. I also felt an unexpected twinge of the green monster(aaak I can't believe I just used that cliche) of jealousy. So, I waited a day to read the article and then plopped on my couch one evening and opened the magazine in hopes of liking the article. But I didn't. It wasn't even that it was so good I was jealous. It just wasn't very good. In November, George wrote an amazing article about Iraq for the New Yorker that any writer would be awed by...But this Mother Jones story about blogging was really disappointing.
While it wasn't terrible, it just didn't say anything terribly new. Everyone knows that blogging can be very insulated and is often very introspective. Even political blogs are often about riding on the campaign bus, or some other less interesting event than going door to door or making a campaign stop. And certainly being in Iowa during the primaries would be better than reading about the primaries on political blogs, but I would argue that being there would be better than reading about the primaries in the New Yorker as well. A blogger who went to Iowa is definitely more qualified to then blog about Iowa, but there is nothing about the nature of blogging that makes blogging and good reportage mutually exclusive.
It seemed to me that George was trying his best to write about something happening in pop culture and political culture right now, but he couldn't really diss blogs because he likes them. I don't think the people at Wonkette are aspiring to win a Pulitzer... It's a different genre, with a different intent and that made George's point unnecessary, invalid even. The goal of a political blog is usually not to be like the Washington Post. But if that were the goal, I have no doubt that some of the more astute bloggers could pull it off.
Whatever the case, I will continue to be a fan of my friend George... And it was nice to see that he is human and not everything he puts on paper (or in national magazines) is awe-inspiring.
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Wires
I am wondering if going to the neighborhood park everyday and sitting underneath the power lines for five minutes with the dogs is going to come back to haunt me. The fact that I am wondering this is frustrating. Shouldn't we be able to live our lives without frequently fearing that whatever we are doing might eventually cause cancer?
I am wondering if going to the neighborhood park everyday and sitting underneath the power lines for five minutes with the dogs is going to come back to haunt me. The fact that I am wondering this is frustrating. Shouldn't we be able to live our lives without frequently fearing that whatever we are doing might eventually cause cancer?
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Shame
I am so ashamed. For the past several days, the pictures of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners have been everywhere. They scream out from newspaper pages and television screens. Last night it was while on the Precor at the gym that I was subjected to them. All I can feel when I think about that smug female soldier gamely posing for pictures that are now helping to cement her country's position as the enemy of the world is how ashamed I am to be an American.
It's not often that I allow myself to get swept up in nationalism or national sentiment. I don't usually feel anything as "an American". I feel things as Jodi, an individual who lives in the U.S. In fact, I am more apt to identify with being a New Mexican than and American. After the September 11 attacks, I was completely embarrassed when I found myself compelled to stop at Wal-Mart in the middle of the night to purchase an American flag...I had no idea that there was latent patriotism within me.
This doesn't mean that I don't love my country. I do. This also doesn't mean that I don't want to make my country better. I do. I follow politics avidly and vote regularly...I just don't often get sentimental about my nationality.
But right now, I feel ashamed and outraged as an American. It was bad enough that we were fighting a war that we started needlessly. It was bad enough that Americans and Iraqis were dying daily. But for stupid Americans to be committing war crimes and abusing prisoners while fighting an unjust war... and they took pictures!
How can we possibly expect to make friends with the Arab world if we behave like this? How can the president get on TV and preach about how inhumane terrorists are when some blond American chick is being shown on televisions across the world mocking naked prisoners of war? If we are also monsters, why should they cease to hate us?
Maybe those soldiers somehow believed that the prisoners represented all of the September 11 hijackers... maybe they thought that Arab men deserved to suffer humiliation because of what America has suffered. Maybe they're really nice people who got caught up in the ugliness of war. It is all possible, but I think that everyone responsible for the terrible acts in that prison should be held accountable not only for the acts themselves, but also for the severe damage those acts have done to the nation.
We went to Iraq with the "intention" of benevolently giving them a democracy and removing their evil leader. Yet, more than a year later, we are still in Iraq. We are killing people and, apparently, torturing prisoners. Some Iraqi citizens describe the American occupation as worse than living under Saddam. If this is how it's going to be, they say, they don't want democracy at all. (Did we even ask them if they wanted a democracy in the first place?)
Selfishly, I worry about what those torture pictures mean for me, an American and a Jew. Have I unwittingly become one of the most hated people in the world? Quite possibly. Should I pay for billboards in Arab countries to try to tell them that most of us don't hate them at all? (Americans and Jews) I want to tell them not to let a few bad apples shape their view of us. "Give us another chance," I want to say. But why should they?
We are in a dangerous time. We were already in a public relations quagmire just by being in this war. Now we are in quicksand and sinking rapidly. And as is so often the case, there is nothing I can do about it. But I can feel ashamed. And I do.
I am so ashamed. For the past several days, the pictures of American soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners have been everywhere. They scream out from newspaper pages and television screens. Last night it was while on the Precor at the gym that I was subjected to them. All I can feel when I think about that smug female soldier gamely posing for pictures that are now helping to cement her country's position as the enemy of the world is how ashamed I am to be an American.
It's not often that I allow myself to get swept up in nationalism or national sentiment. I don't usually feel anything as "an American". I feel things as Jodi, an individual who lives in the U.S. In fact, I am more apt to identify with being a New Mexican than and American. After the September 11 attacks, I was completely embarrassed when I found myself compelled to stop at Wal-Mart in the middle of the night to purchase an American flag...I had no idea that there was latent patriotism within me.
This doesn't mean that I don't love my country. I do. This also doesn't mean that I don't want to make my country better. I do. I follow politics avidly and vote regularly...I just don't often get sentimental about my nationality.
But right now, I feel ashamed and outraged as an American. It was bad enough that we were fighting a war that we started needlessly. It was bad enough that Americans and Iraqis were dying daily. But for stupid Americans to be committing war crimes and abusing prisoners while fighting an unjust war... and they took pictures!
How can we possibly expect to make friends with the Arab world if we behave like this? How can the president get on TV and preach about how inhumane terrorists are when some blond American chick is being shown on televisions across the world mocking naked prisoners of war? If we are also monsters, why should they cease to hate us?
Maybe those soldiers somehow believed that the prisoners represented all of the September 11 hijackers... maybe they thought that Arab men deserved to suffer humiliation because of what America has suffered. Maybe they're really nice people who got caught up in the ugliness of war. It is all possible, but I think that everyone responsible for the terrible acts in that prison should be held accountable not only for the acts themselves, but also for the severe damage those acts have done to the nation.
We went to Iraq with the "intention" of benevolently giving them a democracy and removing their evil leader. Yet, more than a year later, we are still in Iraq. We are killing people and, apparently, torturing prisoners. Some Iraqi citizens describe the American occupation as worse than living under Saddam. If this is how it's going to be, they say, they don't want democracy at all. (Did we even ask them if they wanted a democracy in the first place?)
Selfishly, I worry about what those torture pictures mean for me, an American and a Jew. Have I unwittingly become one of the most hated people in the world? Quite possibly. Should I pay for billboards in Arab countries to try to tell them that most of us don't hate them at all? (Americans and Jews) I want to tell them not to let a few bad apples shape their view of us. "Give us another chance," I want to say. But why should they?
We are in a dangerous time. We were already in a public relations quagmire just by being in this war. Now we are in quicksand and sinking rapidly. And as is so often the case, there is nothing I can do about it. But I can feel ashamed. And I do.
Monday, May 03, 2004
Half-Birthday
Happy half-birthday to me! Neil says it would be thrilling that today's my half-birthday if we celebrated half-birthdays... He may not celebrate them, but I do! So, I will go around feeling a little bit more special today because it's my half-birthday.
Camp Kamaji
A couple of weeks ago, the CEO and I were talking about something related to work when suddenly she mentioned her all-girls summer camp and I said:
"You didn't go to Camp Kamaji did you?"
To which she replied with a gaping mouth, wide eyes and a gasp.
She's probably the age of my parents, but yet we still have some very similar childhood memories of our camp and canoe trips in the Canadian Boundary Waters and the color tribes of Camp Kamaji.
Today, she brought in her sweater from camp with all the camp patches on it. By the time I was a camper there, patches had been phased out in favor of paper wallet-sized cards asserting that you had indeed passed on to the next level of sailing...
But how crazy is it that she grew up in the Midwest someplace and I in New Mexico and we both attended a girls camp in Minnesota!
It's always good to find commonalities with one's boss.
Commas
I hate commas. Not because I think they aren't useful, but because I can't seem to make myself learn how to use them. Sure, I have the basics down, but I often leave them out completely or put one too many when my sentences become more complicated... I have a journalism degree and an MFA in writing, but punctuation always manages to trip me up... so I was pleased this morning to learn that the nation's most hallowed newspaper ran this outstanding Op-Ed about how those punctuation sticklers should relax a little and let language change... ahh how refreshing..
Happy half-birthday to me! Neil says it would be thrilling that today's my half-birthday if we celebrated half-birthdays... He may not celebrate them, but I do! So, I will go around feeling a little bit more special today because it's my half-birthday.
Camp Kamaji
A couple of weeks ago, the CEO and I were talking about something related to work when suddenly she mentioned her all-girls summer camp and I said:
"You didn't go to Camp Kamaji did you?"
To which she replied with a gaping mouth, wide eyes and a gasp.
She's probably the age of my parents, but yet we still have some very similar childhood memories of our camp and canoe trips in the Canadian Boundary Waters and the color tribes of Camp Kamaji.
Today, she brought in her sweater from camp with all the camp patches on it. By the time I was a camper there, patches had been phased out in favor of paper wallet-sized cards asserting that you had indeed passed on to the next level of sailing...
But how crazy is it that she grew up in the Midwest someplace and I in New Mexico and we both attended a girls camp in Minnesota!
It's always good to find commonalities with one's boss.
Commas
I hate commas. Not because I think they aren't useful, but because I can't seem to make myself learn how to use them. Sure, I have the basics down, but I often leave them out completely or put one too many when my sentences become more complicated... I have a journalism degree and an MFA in writing, but punctuation always manages to trip me up... so I was pleased this morning to learn that the nation's most hallowed newspaper ran this outstanding Op-Ed about how those punctuation sticklers should relax a little and let language change... ahh how refreshing..
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)