Picture Essay

This is how I feel when people talk about how bad SHSU is going to lose this weekend.

On a completely unrelated note, I saw a shirt today that said on the back, “Mom. Dad. I’m Gaelic.”

A hippopotumus is just a really cool opotumus.

I’ve come to the conclusion that I probably shouldn’t read my blog. Every time I do, I wonder why I write it. I used to do that with my diaries too. Like I need to impress myself with my diary.

Last night I watched some YouTube of Mitch Hedberg. I’d never really seen him or heard his stuff, but a lot of my friends love him and I now see why. Maybe you recognized his joke in the title line.

I’ve grown to have a love/hate relationship with this time of year. Here’s why:

The weather is beautiful. I still break a sweat walking to and from work, but it’s not the kind that soaks through my shirt and makes me feel like I’ve just been to the sauna. The wind is blowing cool air for a change, and even the squirrels and birds seem to be more chipper. Plus, it’s just a matter of time until I get to dress up in my Fall/Winter wardrobe. I probably shouldn’t call it a wardrobe so much as “the few sweaters and long sleeved shirts I own,” but it also includes my awesome collection of coats and jackets. Which I won’t need until…well, I probably won’t need any extra layers in Austin. Bummer.

But this time of year also means that almost all of the people around me are in school. Which means they have homework and exams. Which means they can’t just up and go to a Shostakovich recital with me. I’m not really complaining–I have something taking up my evenings these next few months as well. But it is sad to not have those carefree nights anymore.

I think a friend of mine is angry with me, but as she’s not returning my phone calls, I can’t be sure. Stinks.

I think a cold’s comin’

Really, I think I might be getting sick.

I want to upload my ACL pictures on Flickr, but I’m not at home right now (The horror! I’m at work!), so those will have to wait.

There’s some office drama going on right now, but thankfully I’m not involved in any way. I’m just a spectator. With ring-side seats.

The Science of Sleep is coming out tomorrow. The boyfriend doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to go with me to that movie. I don’t think he’s going to mind. I also want to see Jet Li’s “final martial arts epic” Fearless, but I have a feeling that’s one I’ll have to see on my own. By the by, has anyone heard why this is his “final martial arts epic?” I’m desperate to know. I dig the Jet Li.

The comic at the beginning of the post was just too good not to share.

Blogger Beta

I’ve finally begun work on this thing, and what do I find out? They can’t import my old posts from Blogger Beta. I’m torn as to what to do. Should I just copy and paste the posts so that I have them available here? That way I wouldn’t have to start all over, just continue the fun.

Or do I start from scratch? I kind of like my old posts. Ahh, the decisions.

Just go here

Bush v Bush

America, the treehouse

Just read a New York Times article about the debate of the army’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. To refresh, the Armed Forces won’t allow openly gay men and women to enlist. They will, however, allow high school dropouts and some convicted criminals. Am I missing something here? There are homosexuals trying to get into the Army, Isn’trying! And they’re being turned away for the alternative–someone who most likely doesn’t have the same drive or ambition.

The claim is that allowing openly gay individuals will cut into morale and ‘cohesion.’ One supporter of the ban says that “people should not have to expose themselves to other persons who are sexually attracted to them.” I’m sorry, but when were straight men and women not sexually attracted to the opposite sex? Aren’t they all in “conditions of forced intimacy”? If straight men and women can learn to keep their hands off each other, I think gay men and women can learn to do the same.

I also find it odd that a country that seems to support equal opportunity employment, punishing discrimination to the point where a person who makes a derogatory joke is ostrasized, is having trouble with discrimination in a field of work that arguably needs all the people it can get. And it has citizens volunteering, citizens it’s turning away because of a sexual preference.

Some people would tell me that if I hate things here (in America) so much I should just go somewhere else. But this isn’t a treehouse in a backyard. It seems like a lot of people think of this country as such–a treehouse with a sign that says “No foreigners, gays, or critics allowed.” Hey Bush administration, if you don’t have those, you don’t have a damn country to run into the ground. Remember that.

Sorry for politics again. I’ll be out cavorting with the masses the next three days. Whoo! I know you care, so I’ll tell you who I’ll probably be seeing (bolds are ones I’m dying for):

The Dears
Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
deadboy & the Elephantmen
Wolf Parade
Gnarls Barkley
Okkervil River
Cat Power & the Memphis Rhythm Band
Thievery Corporation
Ray Lamontagne
Van Morrison (let’s hope he plays some old songs)
Murder by Death
Ben Kweller
TV on the Radio
The Shins
Calexico
Aimee Mann
What Made Milwaukee Famous
String Cheese Incident
Kings of Leon
Iron and Wine
Willie Nelson
Kathleen Edwards
Jose Gonzalez
Buckwheat Zydeco
The New Pornographers
Son Volt
The Flaming Lips
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers

YAY!

ACL mothas!

I’m posting this entry mainly for my friend Marci who can’t seem to remember that I’ll be rocking my booty off this week at the festival whose babies I’d like to have. I realize that sentence went a little far, but I don’t care. I’m psyched.

Austin City Limits is this weekend, and I will be there. Every day. Until my limbs can no longer move and my ears can no longer hear. I will probably be blowing weird things out of my nose for a week afterwards, if the last two years are any indication. Again, too far. Sorry.

Please go here if you are interested (or want to tell me which bands to see for you): ACL Festival.

I realize this was full entry was full of gloating. To make sure I don’t seem like I’m totally self-centered, I’ll give you this as well, courtesy of Cute Overload:

Work & Play

Today we were finally able to drop students that did not meet a requirement of a particular class. There were only 4 total spots freed out of 5 sections. 4 spots. Over this last week and a half, we’ve had more than 4 people come in and call wanting to know if there were open seats. Now we wait and see if those people have given up on their quests or if they will persevere after all. Wish them luck.

Walking into work yesterday morning, I passed a group of four men who looked a lot like contractors. As I approached, I heard one say “Excuse me for what I’m about to say, but those guys are assholes.” I heard ‘assholes’ the moment I passed. There was a beat, then three other men said things like “That’s what I’ve heard” and “Well, I’m sure you know what you’re talking about.” There’s nothing extraordinary about this story, but I love (LOVE) that awkward moment after someone says something like “those guys are assholes” when everyone else is trying to figure out how they should react. Even when I’m in the same predicament and I feel incredibly nervous, I still get a rush. It’s when the listeners of the group are actually communicating through ESP. “What should we say? Who should speak first? Is he just saying this out of spite or does he know what he’s talking about?”

Yesterday afternoon I went to my old work building. It was odd, especially the difference in how I felt walking in there. I didn’t feel like there was a chance of me tearing my hair out at the thought of stepping onto the elevator.

UT plays Ohio State tomorrow. I don’t care who you are or where you graduated from, I think it’s almost impossible to live in Austin and not care even the tiniest bit about football season when it rolls around. Even if all you are concerned with is the lack of parking or the influx of outsiders, you’re still engaged in this mammoth thing most of us call heaven. I don’t have any tickets to games, but I do have a TV and a few bars within walking distance. I’m still a Bearkat at heart, but I can’t help but root for the hometown boys.

Political Fridays

OoooK. I admit I’m not a political scientist major, and I truly am not the most informed person in the world. Most of the time I don’t care very much about politics, but lately (with the high temperatures all over the world, the war that was ‘won’ but is still taking lives, the continued terrorist threats…) I’ve been thinking more and more about our government, it’s reputation, and it’s personal history.

Heading through my daily dose of blogs, I came across the following video on Blurbomat. The video was a reaction to this speech by Donald Rumsfeld.

Assuming you’ve skimmed the speech and watched the video: I looked up the term fascism just to better inform myself of it’s true definition. I find that since it’s more of an abstract description, it’s hard to pin down the true meaning.

I looked at Wikipedia:
“Fascism is also typified by totalitarian attempts to impose state control over all aspects of life: political, social, cultural, and economic. The fascist state regulates and controls (as opposed to nationalizing) the means of production. Fascism exalts the nation, state, or race as superior to the individuals, institutions, or groups composing it. Fascism uses explicit populist rhetoric; calls for a heroic mass effort to restore past greatness; and demands loyalty to a single leader, often to the point of a cult of personality.”

Dictionary.com:
“1.(sometimes initial capital letter) a governmental system led by a dictator having complete power, forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism, regimenting all industry, commerce, etc., and emphasizing an aggressive nationalism and often racism.
2.(sometimes initial capital letter) the philosophy, principles, or methods of fascism.
3.(initial capital letter) a fascist movement, esp. the one established by Mussolini in Italy 1922–43.”

Remember.org:
“Fascists particularly loathed the social theories of the French Revolution and its slogan: “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.”

*** Liberty from oppressive government intervention in the daily lives of its citizens, from illicit searches and seizures, from enforced religious values, from intimidation and arrest for dissenters; and liberty to cast a vote in a system in which the majority ruled but the minority retained certain inalienable rights.

*** Equality in the sense of civic equality, egalitarianism, the notion that while people differ, they all should stand equal in the eyes of the law.

*** Fraternity in the sense of the brotherhood of mankind. That all women and men, the old and the young, the infirm and the healthy, the rich and the poor, share a spark of humanity that must be cherished on a level above that of the law, and that binds us all together in a manner that continuously re-affirms and celebrates life.

This is what fascism as an ideology was reacting against_and its support came primarily from desperate people anxious and angry over their perception that their social and economic position was sinking and frustrated with the constant risk of chaos, uncertainty and inefficiency implicit in a modern democracy based on these principles. Fascism is the antithesis of democracy. We fought a war against it not half a century ago; millions perished as victims of fascism and champions of liberty.”

I know that’s a lot to read; apologies. But taking from those three places (I’m at work, so I can’t do a true library search), I’ve pretty much figured out what facism is. I guess the statement “fascism is the antithesis of democracy” speaks loudest.

I understand that our current administration believes that fascism is what we are fighting when we’re fighting the ‘War on Terror.’ But I find it increasingly hard to believe that the current administration doesn’t see that they themselves are giving off the aura of “forcibly suppressing opposition and criticism.” God forbid a newspaper or magazine criticize the government’s job; of course that means they (the newspaper) don’t have the nation’s best interest in mind. “Liberty from oppressive government intervention in the daily lives of its citizens, from illicit searches and seizures, from enforced religious values, from intimidation and arrest for dissenters.” By all means, Government, please tap whatever you’d like, and make sure you keep those crazy homosexuals from marrying–they can’t be serious anyway, since the Bible says it’s wrong.

I have several people in my life who are conservatives, and that’s great. An all liberal government can be just as harmful as a our current conservatively biased one. I think the answer is to get some moderates in power–at least they’re used to hearing both sides of a story before making a decision. I know I’m not the first to say any of this, so I know you may feel like you’ve heard it all before. But since I usually keep my mouth shut about these things, I thought I could snag a little air time.

You can probably tell that I’m not politically minded, but is that such a bad thing? I only speak up every once in a while; I’m more concerned with whether or not my Astros or Cowboys are winning.

I decided to post all of this mainly because Keith Obermann’s speech moved me–even when I had my ‘work’ face on.

I promise my next post will be more entertaining.