Ok so I shouldn't say these "reality" shows are new but new-ish to me. I also just find "reality" t.v. to be so not real and also so addictive. I end up really really getting addicted to the worst things and these are two of them. And yes I should be finishing my paper-but I needed a wittle break!
First Momma's Boys
The latest girl eliminated totally looks like my old college roommate, which is really funny. They kind of have the same personality, loving animals not really wanting children, being blond and a bit meek. But the show really sucks, one of the mothers is overtly racist and doesn't want her son interracially mixing with a woman of color. And most of the women of color have been eliminated. Many of the girls are unnaturally blonde with unnaturally large breasticles. And ugh do we really need another dating show where boys choose girls that they later dismiss and re-choose someone else.
Also...
Secret Lives of Women
This show actually bothers me because it really puts certain specific women on display for the voyeuristic pleasure of others and most likely for men. And it makes these women seem so exotic when most people have "secrets" and it turns the secret possessors into the others and the rest of us into the norm. I don't like the implications of such displays. Argh.
Also saw a hilarious commercial for Trojan Vibrating Touch-yes it was a real commercial.
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Hospitals
Warning: If you are easily sickened maybe you should not read this!
==
Today I had to go to the emergency room. First of all this is always a gloomy and expensive situation but the Estes Park ER is really quite dismal. While most of the people are friendly enough they didn't give me my own room-which when you go because you may have a case of giardia is not a pretty picture. The nurse who is a dude which is totally fine, I just didn't want to give the impression the nurse was female as is assumed of the profession nurse, fixes my I.V. digging around in my vein to get my blood out for tests and such. I have had a lot of blood taken and several I.V's put in-but this one was extremely painful still hurting even tonight. And I have a nurse in training watching the whole thing go down-Neat. It's cool you can watch me be sick and miserable. When the nurse tells me to stick out my tongue he makes a sort of "eww" sound and says, "That looks bad, like a helamonster dried out in the desert." I take that to be a bad thing. But what is to be expected when I haven't been able to drink much of anything for a week? Dry helamonster it is. It took three bags of fluid to rehydrate me to the point that I actually had to pee.
But worst of all the ER doc (who I have seen before and is a total a-hole) doesn't even really believe me when I am telling him my symptoms. "So you think this is like a diarrhea and vomiting thing then." I'm like well I'm not the doctor but since those are my symptoms I'm gonna have to say yes. I don't say this, but I do say yes I believe this is what I am experiencing. I explain to him that I am extremely dehydrated because this has been going on for a week and I can't keep anything down that that is why I came in. I feel I have to justify myself to him-justify the fact that I am ill. "And this isn't related to your endometriosis or interstitial cystitis?" "well it feels nothing like the pain or symptoms that come along with either of those issues so no." "And still there is no way you could be pregnant?" ARGH! "No," I respond, but my anger is muted by the fact that I am on anti-nausea medication. "So we can just give you some anti-nausea medication to take home and you can hydrate orally?" "If I can keep it down, I threw up all my medicine this morning." I don't actually say this I just think it and nod and smile. I want to punch him in the face for not believing me, want to explain to him that I would not go on this long painful venture to see his stupid ass if I didn't have too. But I nod and smile-home is really where I should be anyway-much more comfortable and he won't be there.
Lastly they made me take stool sample cups home to collect specimens. Awesome! I asked if they would give me some gloves, I change diapers for a living and I don't go anywhere near those kids' poop without them, why would I go that close to my own.
At least they are remodeling so if I ever have to go back it won't suck quite as much.
==
Today I had to go to the emergency room. First of all this is always a gloomy and expensive situation but the Estes Park ER is really quite dismal. While most of the people are friendly enough they didn't give me my own room-which when you go because you may have a case of giardia is not a pretty picture. The nurse who is a dude which is totally fine, I just didn't want to give the impression the nurse was female as is assumed of the profession nurse, fixes my I.V. digging around in my vein to get my blood out for tests and such. I have had a lot of blood taken and several I.V's put in-but this one was extremely painful still hurting even tonight. And I have a nurse in training watching the whole thing go down-Neat. It's cool you can watch me be sick and miserable. When the nurse tells me to stick out my tongue he makes a sort of "eww" sound and says, "That looks bad, like a helamonster dried out in the desert." I take that to be a bad thing. But what is to be expected when I haven't been able to drink much of anything for a week? Dry helamonster it is. It took three bags of fluid to rehydrate me to the point that I actually had to pee.
But worst of all the ER doc (who I have seen before and is a total a-hole) doesn't even really believe me when I am telling him my symptoms. "So you think this is like a diarrhea and vomiting thing then." I'm like well I'm not the doctor but since those are my symptoms I'm gonna have to say yes. I don't say this, but I do say yes I believe this is what I am experiencing. I explain to him that I am extremely dehydrated because this has been going on for a week and I can't keep anything down that that is why I came in. I feel I have to justify myself to him-justify the fact that I am ill. "And this isn't related to your endometriosis or interstitial cystitis?" "well it feels nothing like the pain or symptoms that come along with either of those issues so no." "And still there is no way you could be pregnant?" ARGH! "No," I respond, but my anger is muted by the fact that I am on anti-nausea medication. "So we can just give you some anti-nausea medication to take home and you can hydrate orally?" "If I can keep it down, I threw up all my medicine this morning." I don't actually say this I just think it and nod and smile. I want to punch him in the face for not believing me, want to explain to him that I would not go on this long painful venture to see his stupid ass if I didn't have too. But I nod and smile-home is really where I should be anyway-much more comfortable and he won't be there.
Lastly they made me take stool sample cups home to collect specimens. Awesome! I asked if they would give me some gloves, I change diapers for a living and I don't go anywhere near those kids' poop without them, why would I go that close to my own.
At least they are remodeling so if I ever have to go back it won't suck quite as much.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The reason i love the x files
so this is going to be a short post I don't really have the time to devote to it like I should but i want to get the ideas out there because they are important even if they are not new.
Last weekend I watched "X-Files: I Want to Believe," followed by the "Revelations" (yeah wrong order I know.) But I discovered this theme which I am sure was the intent about where T/truth/s lie (pun intended.) Since I never watched several episodes in a row of the show when it was on prime time and now it's on a bit late and scary for me to watch it too often watching them like this gave me a much different impression of the show.
As most people probably knew but I had never really caught on to, Dana Scully is the scientific skeptic of the whole operation-although I do remember her being fairly convinced during some episodes that paranormal phenomenon could exist. Scully, who especially in earlier episodes is reminiscent of the dearly beloved,Clarice Starling. While attractive, her clothing and hair leave a lot open for ways to have her body be read. She is a professional, wearing less mkeup, with androgynous hair except for the fluffy bangs which seemed more a way to hide her sex appeal then flatter it. Yet she is constantly (hetero)sexualized by the predators, psychics, killers, and even by Mulder, who questions her abilities at first because of her gender performance. What Scully really does for the show however, is provide the skeptic, the "I want to believe" but character, In her line of work she believes everything must posess a scientific empirical reason for its occurrence. Thus, even when faced with a situation with no possible scientific explanation, she is still reluctant to buy Mulder's belief that the explanation comes from the realm of the paranormal.
Enter Fox Mulder, the guy who believes anything and everything is possible and many things are unexplained. He is the man who offers up the possibility that not only do things happen out of the ordinary all the time but he believes them based on data which is primarily interview and narrative. He listens to the teller of the anomalous tale and asks Scully to listen and try to believe because the people doing the telling believe it to be true. This is really quite deep.
Onto talking about my favorite episode seen thus far, "Modern Day Prometheus." Talk about camp. Cher, queer characters, black and white, and the modern day Frankenstein. What could be better. More to come on this. However, this has been a lot of what I think about.
I also feel this ties in quite nicely to shifting identities of queerness and illness...more to come there too.
--
Last weekend I watched "X-Files: I Want to Believe," followed by the "Revelations" (yeah wrong order I know.) But I discovered this theme which I am sure was the intent about where T/truth/s lie (pun intended.) Since I never watched several episodes in a row of the show when it was on prime time and now it's on a bit late and scary for me to watch it too often watching them like this gave me a much different impression of the show.
As most people probably knew but I had never really caught on to, Dana Scully is the scientific skeptic of the whole operation-although I do remember her being fairly convinced during some episodes that paranormal phenomenon could exist. Scully, who especially in earlier episodes is reminiscent of the dearly beloved,Clarice Starling. While attractive, her clothing and hair leave a lot open for ways to have her body be read. She is a professional, wearing less mkeup, with androgynous hair except for the fluffy bangs which seemed more a way to hide her sex appeal then flatter it. Yet she is constantly (hetero)sexualized by the predators, psychics, killers, and even by Mulder, who questions her abilities at first because of her gender performance. What Scully really does for the show however, is provide the skeptic, the "I want to believe" but character, In her line of work she believes everything must posess a scientific empirical reason for its occurrence. Thus, even when faced with a situation with no possible scientific explanation, she is still reluctant to buy Mulder's belief that the explanation comes from the realm of the paranormal.
Enter Fox Mulder, the guy who believes anything and everything is possible and many things are unexplained. He is the man who offers up the possibility that not only do things happen out of the ordinary all the time but he believes them based on data which is primarily interview and narrative. He listens to the teller of the anomalous tale and asks Scully to listen and try to believe because the people doing the telling believe it to be true. This is really quite deep.
Onto talking about my favorite episode seen thus far, "Modern Day Prometheus." Talk about camp. Cher, queer characters, black and white, and the modern day Frankenstein. What could be better. More to come on this. However, this has been a lot of what I think about.
I also feel this ties in quite nicely to shifting identities of queerness and illness...more to come there too.
--
Monday, December 8, 2008
My First Christmas Without My Grandma...Imagine how hard this is...
Mistletoe, Colbie Caillat
--
Great
Fake plastic Mistletoe
Wrap me in a great big bow
And tear me apart
It's Christmas time
So open up the flood gates
Tell me that you'll be late
And rip me apart
Cause you say that, you say that things will be alright
But I've heard that, I've heard that so many times and I know that
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
And I'm still standing here three feet small
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time...
Cold
Icing on the walkways
Slip in to the games we play
We're falling apart
A great big house
That's made out of ginger bread
Crumbles to the ground
We're breaking apart
But you said that, you said that things would be alright
But I've heard that, I've heard that so many times and I know that
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
And I'm still standing here three feet small
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
And I've been waiting for you to come
And it's hard cause I feel so alone
And I just want you to come home
Waiting for you to come
And it's hard cause I feel so alone
And I just want you to come home
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
And I'm still standing here three feet small
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
You're not here to keep me safe and warm
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time again
And all your friends, all your friends
Are smiling
It's Christmas time
--
--
Mistletoe, Colbie Caillat
--
Great
Fake plastic Mistletoe
Wrap me in a great big bow
And tear me apart
It's Christmas time
So open up the flood gates
Tell me that you'll be late
And rip me apart
Cause you say that, you say that things will be alright
But I've heard that, I've heard that so many times and I know that
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
And I'm still standing here three feet small
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time...
Cold
Icing on the walkways
Slip in to the games we play
We're falling apart
A great big house
That's made out of ginger bread
Crumbles to the ground
We're breaking apart
But you said that, you said that things would be alright
But I've heard that, I've heard that so many times and I know that
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
And I'm still standing here three feet small
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
And I've been waiting for you to come
And it's hard cause I feel so alone
And I just want you to come home
Waiting for you to come
And it's hard cause I feel so alone
And I just want you to come home
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
And I'm still standing here three feet small
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
It's not Christmas if the snow don't fall
You're not here to keep me safe and warm
Lose our troubles because after all
It's Christmas time
It's Christmas time again
And all your friends, all your friends
Are smiling
It's Christmas time
--
--
Monday, November 24, 2008
strange proceedings
because I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis or irritation and break down of the wall of the bladder I am doing a test to have a permanent electrode placed in my bum. What is the most strange is that no one can tell me what the test is supposed to do because they are men and have never had one of these put in. I guess the wires are supposed to stimulate some area in the lower half of my body, it is supposed to tingle or flutter. No fluttering, no tingling-just a strange feeling of pressure on my sacrum. I honestly do not know if this whole test thing is even working right, and yet I have the permanent implant put in on Weds.
a buzzing
a fluttering
a tingling
none of the above
turn it to the left
dials to the right
nothing works
to make this pain go away
stand up
sit down
lie face down
drool on a pillow
pain on the back
stimulate the toe
perfect
perfect test
roll over
we'll explain
tingling
burning
pain in the uterus
vaginal area
your rectrum
this will help all of that
will it
will a machine make me better
will a machine change my life
will it
what will it do
it is hard to tell
from a simple
test
a buzzing
a fluttering
a tingling
none of the above
turn it to the left
dials to the right
nothing works
to make this pain go away
stand up
sit down
lie face down
drool on a pillow
pain on the back
stimulate the toe
perfect
perfect test
roll over
we'll explain
tingling
burning
pain in the uterus
vaginal area
your rectrum
this will help all of that
will it
will a machine make me better
will a machine change my life
will it
what will it do
it is hard to tell
from a simple
test
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Fuckety Fuck Fuck
Lately my life has been what I would call insanity-quite literally in fact. From Sept-now I have lost my self, lost my computer, made bad choices and tried to reclaim myself as a student and a human being. I am having an interstim implant put into my buttocks next week, found out I will have to have a hysterectomy. I feel that the negotiation between illness and school and work is one of those things that sometimes makes me ache more than anything else. At least I have people to lean on, people who care about me. But it's hard, it's hard to be sick and tired and not want to get out of bed but have to in order to compete in a prospering and blossoming field. It isn't fair, life isn't. But I am somewhat wishing for a miracle, maybe it will be the interstim-I have had good things. As you see I have few cohesive thoughts and this is what I have to put out right now. Not much but a bit of an update since I have been off the planet for a bit.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
changes
it's amazing how theory comes into praxis when I start considering the way my identities change over time. I feel like such a different person from when I was in high school, college, South Africa, Ohio, last year, last week even. I am amazed at how things change when we least expect them or how they stay the same when we try so hard to be different. It's amazing how desires change based on situations, based on trauma, based on pain-physical, mental, and emotional. I am amazed how much things change, how much I change, and how constant it is.
Monday, October 6, 2008
my life on twitter
so i joined twitter because I really do nothing else via internet to let people know what I am up to. Well twitter is hilarious because it is super micro, you can tell people your dreams for the future or the fact that maybe you just took a poo. I mean who would write that-but the point is that you could. Better yet it can get texted to people via their phone-even better. It i also the ultimate form of voyeurism, not only do you get to decide what people do and don't know about you but whoever is "following" you can see what you wrote at almost any moment. So both people or the multiple people participating are all engaged in this fetishistic voyeuristic game. And I love it. I wish people did it more so I could feel like I am even more connected-ok that was a joke but also sort of true-I would never think admit I like knowing what people are doing at any given moment but I guess that is what I am admitting to. So all of you out there please keep twittering with me so I can feel like I know you-like I really really know you. Or don't. Your choice.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Ack-I got soap in my eye
So the other day I went to Whole Foods-which is inevitably a place I do not belong. In Boulder (and most likely everywhere else) Whole Foods is like fly paper for dirty yuppies who feel that they need all natural organic food at outrageous prices. The parking lot is the size of a barbie condo and is even worse because it is under construction making my desire to run people over like ginormous and one. But I went to simply refill my freaking Dr. Bronner's bottles-which, apparently you have to take the bottles to customer service and weight the bottles, they don't trust you to do it yourself like at most smaller co-op stores. So I didn't do this because I didn't know that we were supposed to and continued to proceed back to the soap station. I was filling the lavender one and decided to also do it half baby mild because I love baby mild. When I went to pump the baby mild the pump was sort of broken and up on the higher shelf. I tried to kind of jimmie rig the thing by slamming the top of the pump down and holding it in place. As I was attempting to do this I slammed down on the pump trying to get it into my bottle and my hand slipped. The Baby Mild came shooting out and splashed into my face directly hitting my eye. Oh my goodness the pain of castille soap in the eyeball. And of course there is no water in that store anywhere close by. Luckily a very nice fish counter working man was walking by and was like come with me to the back to the eyewash station. He proceeded to hold my hand and guide me through the store, meanwhile I am cracking up laughing to keep from crying because it hurt so so badly. Then I used the eyewash station which I have never done before and the fish counter dude hadn't used it either but we figured it out mine with one eye closed and blurry. I was able to clean ot my eye, however my entire outfit and chest were still covered in Baby Mild soap and it wasn't until I got back to Estes that I was able to shower and wash it all off.
I would recommend not going to Whole Foods ever as it is a scary alternative universe. And just because the food is organic doesn't make it local, free range, or sustainably made. And they really should fix the pumps on those bottles...
I would recommend not going to Whole Foods ever as it is a scary alternative universe. And just because the food is organic doesn't make it local, free range, or sustainably made. And they really should fix the pumps on those bottles...
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Folks Festival
So this past weekend I made my way to folks festival which was a very good time. Despite the fact in rained all day Friday and most of the day Saturday we were all able to remain in good spirits except for Friday night, where I honestly thought I might freeze.
The music was definitely an amazing a beautiful thing. Friday I saw the likes of Shawn Mullins, Dar Williams, Patty Griffin, and Amos Lee. Although I did spend the majority of the day shivering and frozen. I have never in my life seen it rain so hard in Colorado. It rained and poured without end for a day and a half. Not only that but I was not prepared for it at all. I didn't really have any rain clothes and definitely not for such a dismal storm. Luckily my mother being nice as she is brought me bags of dry warm, waterproof, clothes on Saturday. But by the end of the day I was ina tank top and rolled up jeans. The weather in Colorado is such a funny and ironic thing. I often think it plays tricks on purpose.
Saturday was also fairly miserable until later in the afternoon. Some of the musical delights of Saturday were Sarah Sample the winner of last year's folks fest competition. Also Susan Werner who is like a pagan atheist social justice gospel singer was a wonderful morning act. Also that night day saw Todd Snider who is pretty great for a straight white guy. Then Greg Brown played and he has a very down-homey rustic roots sound. Plus he represents Iowa to me not only because he is from there but I saw him at Luther for a Co-op concert one summer. Also saw the Waifs a great Australian band fronted by two women. That was a great set and with the sun finally coming out just seemed perfect to jam out to Lighthouse Man.
Sunday we awoke to possible sunshine and a bunch of water and mud in the tent. For music a real treat was seeing Moira and VOCO a pretty much a'capella all female group that also did some rhythm sections resembling a ham bone. Melissa Ferrick was aso a treat as she was ina good mood and actually played Win Em' Over her semi Colorado song. However, she is like the most high maintenance musician ever! Fix this sound and that sound and turn up my guitar louder and louder-crazy! Then the most special part of my whole Festival experience was the surprise that Ellis, an amazing singer-songwriter from the Twin Cities was playing in the more intimate Wildflower Pavillion. She played a great set with some new really great songs and seeing her in Colorado for the first time was just so entirely magical. As many musicians noted, it's so great to play in Colorado, great place to recharge batteries to face the coming year. To close out the evening I saw Tim O'Brien a bluegrass legend or god! He was amazing-probably my new favorite from the festival. And he's actually kind of old, but he can pick an amazing banjo!
To finish the evening was KT Tunstall a not so Folkie ending to Folks Fest. In fact her show was all rock and pop but it was great fun and when she played Black Horse and a Cherry Tree it was hard to resist dancing. She really finished off the night in an upbeat and energetic way.
The festival should also be commended for its green initiatives. All food sold by vendors was in compostable or recyclable containers. Forks made of potatoes who knew? It was great, but I was surprised to not see more social justice booths and initiatives at the Festival. I was surprised to not see Planned Parenthood, HRC, or local LGBT and feminist organizations. It all seemed very strange to me. The Festival was also filled up with mostly white yuppies who tend to care more about wind energy and solar panels than ways to relinquish privilege. So that was a bit frustrating. And while I can never replace The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival as a space and time, Folks Fest was definitely a a good new and different experience and I actually felt myself in a more relaxed space in my head then I ever had been at Michigan...maybe it was my new shaved head and lack of showering. I tried to keep all my clothes on because it was so cold and not worry so much about superficial things like appearance. With that said I did deeply miss all womyn's space but it was good to be in an "all inclusive" space too.
The music was definitely an amazing a beautiful thing. Friday I saw the likes of Shawn Mullins, Dar Williams, Patty Griffin, and Amos Lee. Although I did spend the majority of the day shivering and frozen. I have never in my life seen it rain so hard in Colorado. It rained and poured without end for a day and a half. Not only that but I was not prepared for it at all. I didn't really have any rain clothes and definitely not for such a dismal storm. Luckily my mother being nice as she is brought me bags of dry warm, waterproof, clothes on Saturday. But by the end of the day I was ina tank top and rolled up jeans. The weather in Colorado is such a funny and ironic thing. I often think it plays tricks on purpose.
Saturday was also fairly miserable until later in the afternoon. Some of the musical delights of Saturday were Sarah Sample the winner of last year's folks fest competition. Also Susan Werner who is like a pagan atheist social justice gospel singer was a wonderful morning act. Also that night day saw Todd Snider who is pretty great for a straight white guy. Then Greg Brown played and he has a very down-homey rustic roots sound. Plus he represents Iowa to me not only because he is from there but I saw him at Luther for a Co-op concert one summer. Also saw the Waifs a great Australian band fronted by two women. That was a great set and with the sun finally coming out just seemed perfect to jam out to Lighthouse Man.
Sunday we awoke to possible sunshine and a bunch of water and mud in the tent. For music a real treat was seeing Moira and VOCO a pretty much a'capella all female group that also did some rhythm sections resembling a ham bone. Melissa Ferrick was aso a treat as she was ina good mood and actually played Win Em' Over her semi Colorado song. However, she is like the most high maintenance musician ever! Fix this sound and that sound and turn up my guitar louder and louder-crazy! Then the most special part of my whole Festival experience was the surprise that Ellis, an amazing singer-songwriter from the Twin Cities was playing in the more intimate Wildflower Pavillion. She played a great set with some new really great songs and seeing her in Colorado for the first time was just so entirely magical. As many musicians noted, it's so great to play in Colorado, great place to recharge batteries to face the coming year. To close out the evening I saw Tim O'Brien a bluegrass legend or god! He was amazing-probably my new favorite from the festival. And he's actually kind of old, but he can pick an amazing banjo!
To finish the evening was KT Tunstall a not so Folkie ending to Folks Fest. In fact her show was all rock and pop but it was great fun and when she played Black Horse and a Cherry Tree it was hard to resist dancing. She really finished off the night in an upbeat and energetic way.
The festival should also be commended for its green initiatives. All food sold by vendors was in compostable or recyclable containers. Forks made of potatoes who knew? It was great, but I was surprised to not see more social justice booths and initiatives at the Festival. I was surprised to not see Planned Parenthood, HRC, or local LGBT and feminist organizations. It all seemed very strange to me. The Festival was also filled up with mostly white yuppies who tend to care more about wind energy and solar panels than ways to relinquish privilege. So that was a bit frustrating. And while I can never replace The Michigan Womyn's Music Festival as a space and time, Folks Fest was definitely a a good new and different experience and I actually felt myself in a more relaxed space in my head then I ever had been at Michigan...maybe it was my new shaved head and lack of showering. I tried to keep all my clothes on because it was so cold and not worry so much about superficial things like appearance. With that said I did deeply miss all womyn's space but it was good to be in an "all inclusive" space too.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
can $15 change the course of history
I have been reading this novel called The Appeal by John Grisham, it was a best seller in say March-ish. It has been so interesting and inspiring that I donated $15 to the Obama '08 campaign. Now I don't think my $15 will change the course of history but I do see how money has the potential to run absolutely everything in a political race- and if my $15 donations can help secure that another white upper crust conservative will not get appointed to the oval office so be it then bring it on.
I don't want to give away the book, but it is basically about a small time law firm that wins a large case against a large chemical corporation that has been polluting the ravines of a small town in Mississippi. Think Erin Brockovich meets Michael Clayton. I mean a lot of issues are touched on, although race hasn't overtly factored in the fact that it is a small town of working class, supposed ignorant, southerners plays a significant role up against the designer suit wearing corporate, well-educated, business (men) putting forth a butt load of cash to change the guilty verdict during appeals.
The fact that a "crazy liberal wielding feminist" judge (who is actually moderate but opposes the death penalty) becomes the target of heated campaigns trying to elect the perfectly purchased opposing candidate with perfect family values.
But what this narrative has shown me is that candidates can be purchased with specific intentions of upholding certain laws, certain agendas, even to turn certain verdicts that are not in the interest of big corporate environmentally destructive business. And if this is the case I think Mccain is certainly someone bought and paid for by those "family values" folks being used to uphold the morally conservative way of life.
I was going to stay out of it-this whole election business until it came time to vote, but this book has really shown me how those people with resources (money) are able to win. The people with money are more likely to be white, middle class, hetero, men. Boo! The people with less money (generally speaking) are school teachers, working class people, and the people who often (though def. not always) support more liberal or progressive candidates. So while I may be a poor hippie student with little to give and debt up to my ears (thanks to getting sick and that lovely thing called education) I am donating my $15 in hopes that if anyone who supports can give what they can that we can change the "face" of this country to something new and different. It may be a stretch but one I have come to realize I kinda sorta have to make...
I don't want to give away the book, but it is basically about a small time law firm that wins a large case against a large chemical corporation that has been polluting the ravines of a small town in Mississippi. Think Erin Brockovich meets Michael Clayton. I mean a lot of issues are touched on, although race hasn't overtly factored in the fact that it is a small town of working class, supposed ignorant, southerners plays a significant role up against the designer suit wearing corporate, well-educated, business (men) putting forth a butt load of cash to change the guilty verdict during appeals.
The fact that a "crazy liberal wielding feminist" judge (who is actually moderate but opposes the death penalty) becomes the target of heated campaigns trying to elect the perfectly purchased opposing candidate with perfect family values.
But what this narrative has shown me is that candidates can be purchased with specific intentions of upholding certain laws, certain agendas, even to turn certain verdicts that are not in the interest of big corporate environmentally destructive business. And if this is the case I think Mccain is certainly someone bought and paid for by those "family values" folks being used to uphold the morally conservative way of life.
I was going to stay out of it-this whole election business until it came time to vote, but this book has really shown me how those people with resources (money) are able to win. The people with money are more likely to be white, middle class, hetero, men. Boo! The people with less money (generally speaking) are school teachers, working class people, and the people who often (though def. not always) support more liberal or progressive candidates. So while I may be a poor hippie student with little to give and debt up to my ears (thanks to getting sick and that lovely thing called education) I am donating my $15 in hopes that if anyone who supports can give what they can that we can change the "face" of this country to something new and different. It may be a stretch but one I have come to realize I kinda sorta have to make...
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
top moments of the trip to the midwest
This past week I traveled to the Midwest mostly for a wedding of one of the gentleman's friends. But along the way we made some awesome stops and had some very good times.
first highlight: I slept in my Subaru Outback for the first time at a rest stop in Nebraska during a huge horrible storm. We were going to camp but the weather became too yucky so we grabbed our pillows, sleeping bags, and my blankie and slept in the front seats of the car. I kept being for sure something bad was going to happen but we were fine. And I actually slept-a little.
second highlight: Stopping at a place I believe was called L.T.'s Organic Farm restaurant outside of Des Moines, Iowa. I was starving we couldn't figure out where to eat when all of a sudden we see a sign for this restaurant and we decide we can't pass it up. We pull up and the farm is being worked entirely by Indian people (yes Indian not Native American's). We ask if they are open because we are the only people there they say yes and take us inside the big farm building to the restaurant. The place is excellent because there is only one thing on the menu and you can have in vegetarian or not-we opted for not since we had just seen the chickens running around and knew they were free range and organically fed. It turned out that day the food was Indian although they do Caribbean, and Mediterranean as well. We ended up with one large plate of chicken masala, spinach sauteed with garlic, bean mixture in tomato and coconut milk broth, and rice. Oh my gosh it was some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life I would highly recommend it.
third highlight: Decorah specifically, camping a pulpit rock, visiting a couple of friends and meeting their new pup. I love Decorah in a bittersweet way, it holds very pleasant and very daunting memories for me. I stayed just long enough to see the river and wake up to its banks. Did eat some T-Bock's which I always love, especially those white cheddar cheese curds and local beef. Played with a cute and pretty well-mannered pup. Saw people I needed to see, and ate whippy dip and went to bed. It was probably the most well-rested I had been on
the whole trip.
fourth highlight: Viroqua, Wisconsin. we were going to stop here to get organic ice cream but the farm that makes Sibby's wasn't open yet so we opted for the Viroqua Co-op which sells Sibbys. It was a great find. We got organic no hormone cheese curds, breakfast which was delicious, and sweet potato chips, homemade hummus. Some really great car snack food which made the drive to the Dells that much better.
fifth highlight: Wizard Quest, Wisconsin Dells. It was a treat getting to see the Dells anyway, especially this year after the flooding when I wasn't sure we were going to be able to go at all. But we made it through some pretty severe road detours, we are assuming due to water damage, to Wizard Quest. It is an interactive fantasy game where you must enter the realms of fire, water, earth, and air. In these realms you have to answer questions in order to unlock and free the wizard of that realm. If you do it in an hour and a half you win. Well it was awesome although a little cheesy-but honestly it was so cool. And we were the only people there without children but oh well. At one point I had to crawl through a tunnel that was in a pit of balls and I honestly thought I was going to get stuck there and die. I finally made it through although I pulled a hip muscle in the process-but it was a blast and we won!
sixth highlight: Going to West Bend and meeting the gentleman's family. It was quite humorous. Meeting her niece and nephews was a trip, it was the epitome of "Look what I can do!" And they wanted to come to Colorado to live with us, which we weren't too sure about but we played a long so they would help us unload our stuff. I also had my first hard roll experience, which, wasn't as good as I thought but fun to try. Also went to a real Midwest Wedding, as one of two queer lesbians in attendance. That was a pretty interesting experience-talk about a place a person might feel like they don't belong. But it was fun and alcohol always eases those sorts of things. And the people there were very nice and they love the gentleman, they are her very good friends from high school and she was playing in music in the wedding-which was awesome. In the end her family sent us home with so much food we had to pack some extra sacks to take it with us and we were both a little sad to leave.
and with that we returned home to a life of chaos and craziness. Oh well it was good while it lasted!
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first highlight: I slept in my Subaru Outback for the first time at a rest stop in Nebraska during a huge horrible storm. We were going to camp but the weather became too yucky so we grabbed our pillows, sleeping bags, and my blankie and slept in the front seats of the car. I kept being for sure something bad was going to happen but we were fine. And I actually slept-a little.
second highlight: Stopping at a place I believe was called L.T.'s Organic Farm restaurant outside of Des Moines, Iowa. I was starving we couldn't figure out where to eat when all of a sudden we see a sign for this restaurant and we decide we can't pass it up. We pull up and the farm is being worked entirely by Indian people (yes Indian not Native American's). We ask if they are open because we are the only people there they say yes and take us inside the big farm building to the restaurant. The place is excellent because there is only one thing on the menu and you can have in vegetarian or not-we opted for not since we had just seen the chickens running around and knew they were free range and organically fed. It turned out that day the food was Indian although they do Caribbean, and Mediterranean as well. We ended up with one large plate of chicken masala, spinach sauteed with garlic, bean mixture in tomato and coconut milk broth, and rice. Oh my gosh it was some of the best food I have ever eaten in my life I would highly recommend it.
third highlight: Decorah specifically, camping a pulpit rock, visiting a couple of friends and meeting their new pup. I love Decorah in a bittersweet way, it holds very pleasant and very daunting memories for me. I stayed just long enough to see the river and wake up to its banks. Did eat some T-Bock's which I always love, especially those white cheddar cheese curds and local beef. Played with a cute and pretty well-mannered pup. Saw people I needed to see, and ate whippy dip and went to bed. It was probably the most well-rested I had been on
the whole trip.fourth highlight: Viroqua, Wisconsin. we were going to stop here to get organic ice cream but the farm that makes Sibby's wasn't open yet so we opted for the Viroqua Co-op which sells Sibbys. It was a great find. We got organic no hormone cheese curds, breakfast which was delicious, and sweet potato chips, homemade hummus. Some really great car snack food which made the drive to the Dells that much better.
fifth highlight: Wizard Quest, Wisconsin Dells. It was a treat getting to see the Dells anyway, especially this year after the flooding when I wasn't sure we were going to be able to go at all. But we made it through some pretty severe road detours, we are assuming due to water damage, to Wizard Quest. It is an interactive fantasy game where you must enter the realms of fire, water, earth, and air. In these realms you have to answer questions in order to unlock and free the wizard of that realm. If you do it in an hour and a half you win. Well it was awesome although a little cheesy-but honestly it was so cool. And we were the only people there without children but oh well. At one point I had to crawl through a tunnel that was in a pit of balls and I honestly thought I was going to get stuck there and die. I finally made it through although I pulled a hip muscle in the process-but it was a blast and we won!
sixth highlight: Going to West Bend and meeting the gentleman's family. It was quite humorous. Meeting her niece and nephews was a trip, it was the epitome of "Look what I can do!" And they wanted to come to Colorado to live with us, which we weren't too sure about but we played a long so they would help us unload our stuff. I also had my first hard roll experience, which, wasn't as good as I thought but fun to try. Also went to a real Midwest Wedding, as one of two queer lesbians in attendance. That was a pretty interesting experience-talk about a place a person might feel like they don't belong. But it was fun and alcohol always eases those sorts of things. And the people there were very nice and they love the gentleman, they are her very good friends from high school and she was playing in music in the wedding-which was awesome. In the end her family sent us home with so much food we had to pack some extra sacks to take it with us and we were both a little sad to leave.
and with that we returned home to a life of chaos and craziness. Oh well it was good while it lasted!
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Friday, July 11, 2008
dogitics...
Dogitics: The politics of dog behavior as socially constructed by their human pet owners.
In light of the fact that I recently got a dog, Indigo (I know how gay right) I have been noticing the crazy behavior of other people with dogs. I go to the dog park at least once a day, usually I take morning shift and the lady takes the afternoon. She never has any issues-which makes me think all the crazies must come out in the morning.
But first a little about Indigo, Indie, Muffin, Butt Head, my baby. She is a great dog. We rescued her from the one and only pet rescue in EP, The Pet Association. They rarely if ever have animals and we saw our sweetie being advertised in the paper. She had just given birth to puppies who had already all been adopted, which was fine because we wanted an older dog anyway. At seventeen months she is pretty much a puppy in her own right. And she is a blue heeler, Australian Shepherd (Aussie) mix. This means she is a herding dog. Her breeding and socialization makes her apt to play hard, and chest bump, or nip ankles of other dogs or people. Now I believe she could be broken of this, but why? There is no need. She plays hard, runs hard. The one thing she doesn't do is swim, she runs in the water and kind of floats but she doesn't really swim. She was given up because the family who previously owned her couldn't afford to feed her and trust me she gave everything she could to those puppies. Slightly emaciated we took her to our home, insisted on feeding her organic dog food, and spoiling the rotten shit out of her.
Come the dog park. When we first went she was skinny enough to squeeze through the bars to get into the lake. She is also obsessed with sprinklers so when they go on to water the fields she tries desperately to jump the fence and eat them. There are few dogs who keep up with her, and she loves little dogs. She doesn't hurt them or play too rough, but she is active. And most little dogs like her to run with their dogs and tire them out.
What I do not undertand-well there are many things, but some dog people are weird. They may take their dog to the dog park and then not allow them to play with any other dogs in the park. Impossible feat-but some try very hard. Other people keep their dogs on the leash the entire time at the park creating tension and anxiety for the dog. Yes the dog might be aggressive, but they need exercise (Hello Dog Whisperer anyone.) Many dog issues are caused by inadequate amounts of exercise. Keeping the dog on the leash does no one any good and potentially gets everyone else tied up.
And then there are little dog people. In Estes Park there are two sides to the dog park, one for smaller dogs with no access to the water and elements like tunnels etc. Sometimes bigger dogs go over there-usually if the owner wants to make sure the dog won't get into the water. Then there is the big dog side where there is more ball and Chuck-it throwing, and many of the dogs go swim or float as in my dogs case. But every once in a while you get a "Little Dog Person" who insists on bringing their little dog to the big side. I don't have a problem with this as long as they understand that my dog and all the other big dogs are in act going to try to play with the little dog.
Bringing me to yesterday and my idea of "Dogitics." Indigo was playing with her buddy Franklin who is a part lab, part whip-it mix. He is very energetic, he also likes to play hard. It is good these two dogs are friends-they can wear each other out. Then there was an older couple with their five poodles and huge German shepherd dog. Their large dog was insistent on tackling my dog, stealing her all etc. Do I care-NO! It's the dog park and dogs play at the DOG PARK. But when Franklin attempted to sniff and play with the little poodles the people flipped out. "No keep your dog away, he's too crazy. He's going to hurt my dog" Blah blah blah. Franklin's owner called him, but one of the poodles, Cassie, continued to try and play with him.
Then the people let Franklin in the lake without asking the owner. Now if this would have been my dog I would have been upset. This has happened before with kids, or mentally challenged adults at the dog park. Usually I just let it go-or go close the gate. But it was obvious the people had let Franklin into the water on purpose to keep him away from their dogs. Indigo is young and puppy-ish and her favorite thing to do is find a dead fish somewhere by the lake and roll in it. She also likes to run around the fence-ending up outside the dog park not in it. I don't usually take her to the water by myself because she doesn't have enough manners yet. But when it happens I let it go although I do find it frustrating. But the owners of Franklin said nothing although I could tell she was fuming.
Then as the older people began to leave Franklin again tried to play with the poodles. The man of the couple kicked Franklin out of the way and continued to shout at him. I was furious. I turned to them and said, "Why would you kick someone else's dog? Why would you kick anyone's dog? His owners are right there if you have a problem talk to them."
Of course this sent them into a tirade. "He has no manners and he's really going to hurt one of my dogs he almost broke her leg and blah blah ."
"But it's a dog park, the dogs are going to play with each other. If you are worried about your little dog getting hurt them take them to the other side. Dogs play with each other. And even my dog plays hard."
They then started talking about needing dogs to be under control. How my dog needed to be under control, which I told them she is. She is under control, she does listen and she doesn't hurt anyone-EVER!
Int he end they walked away saying "Give me a break" and such. But as they were leashing all six of their dogs little poodle Cassie continued to run up for more. The lady ran after her," Cassie come here. Come here Cassie." Screaming and screaming, but Cassie wanted to play with Indie and Franklin. Finally she went to her owner. And the scenario was called off.
But it made me think about people and dogs and how dogs are like their people. I understand that a big dog could definitely really hurt someone so they need to know manners. But is it ok to discipline someone else's dog? Would you do it to someone else's child? And little dog people versus big dog people-what does that say about someone? And should the dogs have to be separated? I would think not, unless you were worried of your dog being hurt by someone. For example once Indigo started kind of playing with a dog through the fence and I was asked by her owner through the fence before I got into the park, "Which side is your dog going on?" The one by the lake I replied. "Oh good, this dog has a bad hip and she isn't supposed to run on it." Why would you bring your dog to the park if she wasn't supposed to run, play, or get too excited. That's what people's homes and yards are for. I just don't get it...
--
In light of the fact that I recently got a dog, Indigo (I know how gay right) I have been noticing the crazy behavior of other people with dogs. I go to the dog park at least once a day, usually I take morning shift and the lady takes the afternoon. She never has any issues-which makes me think all the crazies must come out in the morning.
But first a little about Indigo, Indie, Muffin, Butt Head, my baby. She is a great dog. We rescued her from the one and only pet rescue in EP, The Pet Association. They rarely if ever have animals and we saw our sweetie being advertised in the paper. She had just given birth to puppies who had already all been adopted, which was fine because we wanted an older dog anyway. At seventeen months she is pretty much a puppy in her own right. And she is a blue heeler, Australian Shepherd (Aussie) mix. This means she is a herding dog. Her breeding and socialization makes her apt to play hard, and chest bump, or nip ankles of other dogs or people. Now I believe she could be broken of this, but why? There is no need. She plays hard, runs hard. The one thing she doesn't do is swim, she runs in the water and kind of floats but she doesn't really swim. She was given up because the family who previously owned her couldn't afford to feed her and trust me she gave everything she could to those puppies. Slightly emaciated we took her to our home, insisted on feeding her organic dog food, and spoiling the rotten shit out of her.
Come the dog park. When we first went she was skinny enough to squeeze through the bars to get into the lake. She is also obsessed with sprinklers so when they go on to water the fields she tries desperately to jump the fence and eat them. There are few dogs who keep up with her, and she loves little dogs. She doesn't hurt them or play too rough, but she is active. And most little dogs like her to run with their dogs and tire them out.
What I do not undertand-well there are many things, but some dog people are weird. They may take their dog to the dog park and then not allow them to play with any other dogs in the park. Impossible feat-but some try very hard. Other people keep their dogs on the leash the entire time at the park creating tension and anxiety for the dog. Yes the dog might be aggressive, but they need exercise (Hello Dog Whisperer anyone.) Many dog issues are caused by inadequate amounts of exercise. Keeping the dog on the leash does no one any good and potentially gets everyone else tied up.
And then there are little dog people. In Estes Park there are two sides to the dog park, one for smaller dogs with no access to the water and elements like tunnels etc. Sometimes bigger dogs go over there-usually if the owner wants to make sure the dog won't get into the water. Then there is the big dog side where there is more ball and Chuck-it throwing, and many of the dogs go swim or float as in my dogs case. But every once in a while you get a "Little Dog Person" who insists on bringing their little dog to the big side. I don't have a problem with this as long as they understand that my dog and all the other big dogs are in act going to try to play with the little dog.
Bringing me to yesterday and my idea of "Dogitics." Indigo was playing with her buddy Franklin who is a part lab, part whip-it mix. He is very energetic, he also likes to play hard. It is good these two dogs are friends-they can wear each other out. Then there was an older couple with their five poodles and huge German shepherd dog. Their large dog was insistent on tackling my dog, stealing her all etc. Do I care-NO! It's the dog park and dogs play at the DOG PARK. But when Franklin attempted to sniff and play with the little poodles the people flipped out. "No keep your dog away, he's too crazy. He's going to hurt my dog" Blah blah blah. Franklin's owner called him, but one of the poodles, Cassie, continued to try and play with him.
Then the people let Franklin in the lake without asking the owner. Now if this would have been my dog I would have been upset. This has happened before with kids, or mentally challenged adults at the dog park. Usually I just let it go-or go close the gate. But it was obvious the people had let Franklin into the water on purpose to keep him away from their dogs. Indigo is young and puppy-ish and her favorite thing to do is find a dead fish somewhere by the lake and roll in it. She also likes to run around the fence-ending up outside the dog park not in it. I don't usually take her to the water by myself because she doesn't have enough manners yet. But when it happens I let it go although I do find it frustrating. But the owners of Franklin said nothing although I could tell she was fuming.
Then as the older people began to leave Franklin again tried to play with the poodles. The man of the couple kicked Franklin out of the way and continued to shout at him. I was furious. I turned to them and said, "Why would you kick someone else's dog? Why would you kick anyone's dog? His owners are right there if you have a problem talk to them."
Of course this sent them into a tirade. "He has no manners and he's really going to hurt one of my dogs he almost broke her leg and blah blah ."
"But it's a dog park, the dogs are going to play with each other. If you are worried about your little dog getting hurt them take them to the other side. Dogs play with each other. And even my dog plays hard."
They then started talking about needing dogs to be under control. How my dog needed to be under control, which I told them she is. She is under control, she does listen and she doesn't hurt anyone-EVER!
Int he end they walked away saying "Give me a break" and such. But as they were leashing all six of their dogs little poodle Cassie continued to run up for more. The lady ran after her," Cassie come here. Come here Cassie." Screaming and screaming, but Cassie wanted to play with Indie and Franklin. Finally she went to her owner. And the scenario was called off.
But it made me think about people and dogs and how dogs are like their people. I understand that a big dog could definitely really hurt someone so they need to know manners. But is it ok to discipline someone else's dog? Would you do it to someone else's child? And little dog people versus big dog people-what does that say about someone? And should the dogs have to be separated? I would think not, unless you were worried of your dog being hurt by someone. For example once Indigo started kind of playing with a dog through the fence and I was asked by her owner through the fence before I got into the park, "Which side is your dog going on?" The one by the lake I replied. "Oh good, this dog has a bad hip and she isn't supposed to run on it." Why would you bring your dog to the park if she wasn't supposed to run, play, or get too excited. That's what people's homes and yards are for. I just don't get it...
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| dog |
Thursday, July 10, 2008
I'm not a vegetarian anymore...
I have been doing a lot of reading about diet since getting sick. You know supposedly diet is everything for my conditions-of course because I saw like 10 doctors they all gave me different advice. One doctor: You need a high fiber diet, more fiber than most people. Here take this pamphlet it will help you. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains. Two days later my gyno: You may have interstitial cystitis and there is no cure but often diet can help. Here's some information look it over and make your own decisions. Of course I look it over and it is like bland Sally bland diet-basically impossible to be a vegetarian on, involves eating chicken and rice and that's about all. Can only eat Blueberries and Honey Dew Melons for fruit and juice. My diet is also racist-NO ETHNIC FOOD! Do they realize who they are dealing with? So I am frustrated to say the least-of course I want to feel better but what to do.
Then I started reading about all the problems with soy and talking to my friend Becky, who's thyroid is all out of whack from her massive soy consumption throughout the years. Soy is just as much a GMO as any other plant and more so because now everyone and everything uses it as a filler in their products. It is also a producer of human-like mimicker hormones which, can cause severe cramps, PMS, and other menstrual issues for women. and they cause problems for men too, the manifestation just seems to be different. It mainly creates hormonal imbalances-which is also a contributor to acne and other skin and hair issues. As a person with somewhat bad skin I was really amazed to learn this was the case-I had always heard to stay away from Cow's milk because of the hormones that get pumped into the cows causing infection and pus infestation in milk. But I guess I will have to move onto rice milk or organic regular milk.
Doesn't it suck that we have to buy organic in order for our food to possibly be safe? And I don't even trust that organic means organic all of the time-so what do we do? Spend and spend and spend...that's my guess.
So on my quest to do what is best for me in this ego-centric world-I started eating meat again. I try to have it be organic and free range but I'm sure not all of it has been. And honestly I feel so much better. I have also eliminated most soy products from my diet as I have found it is the soy bean itself that produces the hormones that could be causing my endometriosis-not just the fact they are not organic and thus GMO's although I am sure that does me no good either. Sometimes I think doing what is best for oneself makes them more productive and able to do other good in the world. This doesn't mean not thinking about others or animals but it means finding a balance. I probably will go back to being a vegetarian eventually once I am not anemic and bleeding constantly-until then I am like Phoebe on FRIENDS when she is preggo-a meat eater.
Then I started reading about all the problems with soy and talking to my friend Becky, who's thyroid is all out of whack from her massive soy consumption throughout the years. Soy is just as much a GMO as any other plant and more so because now everyone and everything uses it as a filler in their products. It is also a producer of human-like mimicker hormones which, can cause severe cramps, PMS, and other menstrual issues for women. and they cause problems for men too, the manifestation just seems to be different. It mainly creates hormonal imbalances-which is also a contributor to acne and other skin and hair issues. As a person with somewhat bad skin I was really amazed to learn this was the case-I had always heard to stay away from Cow's milk because of the hormones that get pumped into the cows causing infection and pus infestation in milk. But I guess I will have to move onto rice milk or organic regular milk.
Doesn't it suck that we have to buy organic in order for our food to possibly be safe? And I don't even trust that organic means organic all of the time-so what do we do? Spend and spend and spend...that's my guess.
So on my quest to do what is best for me in this ego-centric world-I started eating meat again. I try to have it be organic and free range but I'm sure not all of it has been. And honestly I feel so much better. I have also eliminated most soy products from my diet as I have found it is the soy bean itself that produces the hormones that could be causing my endometriosis-not just the fact they are not organic and thus GMO's although I am sure that does me no good either. Sometimes I think doing what is best for oneself makes them more productive and able to do other good in the world. This doesn't mean not thinking about others or animals but it means finding a balance. I probably will go back to being a vegetarian eventually once I am not anemic and bleeding constantly-until then I am like Phoebe on FRIENDS when she is preggo-a meat eater.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Random thoughts...
So I have been ill and out of touch with most reality for some time now and then just started a new job at a different preschool. Here are some things about both of those things which make me laugh...
1.) Pudding in a Cone...is there anything funnier than that? Tomorrow for snack I have to make instant pudding and then put it into an ice cream cone so that it is like ice cream but instead pudding. Pudding! Ha! Do people still really make pudding? How does one go about actually making pudding...I guess I will find out tomorrow.
2.) Sex and the City-The series on DVD NOT THE MOVIE! I haven't seen the movie because I haven't been able to sit in the theater without being in pain. I tried to see Narnia and had to leave the movie theater because I was in pain. So Sex and the City has been helping me pass the time-not even while I was sick but directly after when I was weaning myself off pain killers and thankfully had Sex and the City to fall asleep too. I should really thank Law and Order (SVU) for getting me through my illness-mindless scary television A++!!
3.) Webkinz/webkinz.com So I didn't know about these fun furry little pets but because I couldn't do anything I was given a couple as a gift and wow do they ever help the time pass. It's like Sims or Secondlife but for kids. even better since I don't have a clue how to play Sims or Secondlife. So you buy a stuffed animal and then there is a code and you sign in on the website and pouff you are taken into the fun and exciting world of webkins. You get to make them a house and dress them and shit and you win money by doing trivia and playing games which I already like to do anyway! SCORE! Plus now I have a kangaroo named Blue and he is fly like whoa! Check it out:
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These are a few of my favorite things!
1.) Pudding in a Cone...is there anything funnier than that? Tomorrow for snack I have to make instant pudding and then put it into an ice cream cone so that it is like ice cream but instead pudding. Pudding! Ha! Do people still really make pudding? How does one go about actually making pudding...I guess I will find out tomorrow.
2.) Sex and the City-The series on DVD NOT THE MOVIE! I haven't seen the movie because I haven't been able to sit in the theater without being in pain. I tried to see Narnia and had to leave the movie theater because I was in pain. So Sex and the City has been helping me pass the time-not even while I was sick but directly after when I was weaning myself off pain killers and thankfully had Sex and the City to fall asleep too. I should really thank Law and Order (SVU) for getting me through my illness-mindless scary television A++!!
3.) Webkinz/webkinz.com So I didn't know about these fun furry little pets but because I couldn't do anything I was given a couple as a gift and wow do they ever help the time pass. It's like Sims or Secondlife but for kids. even better since I don't have a clue how to play Sims or Secondlife. So you buy a stuffed animal and then there is a code and you sign in on the website and pouff you are taken into the fun and exciting world of webkins. You get to make them a house and dress them and shit and you win money by doing trivia and playing games which I already like to do anyway! SCORE! Plus now I have a kangaroo named Blue and he is fly like whoa! Check it out:
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These are a few of my favorite things!
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
Top five things to do during my kids' nap time
disclaimer: my preschoolers-not my actual kids. I do believe this may have turned me off to wanting children EVER!
5.) Homework: Silly I know-but it tends to be a good hour and a half of quiet work time. Especially good for the amount of busy work I have this quarter. It is very good time to do my Learning Self Eval for the week or write my questions for class the next day. I appreciate this homework time because at least there is usually a decent story-on-tape playing or some nice homeworking-type music.
4.) Pretending to be doing homework. This is one of my favorite things to do because it makes me not have to do work things or converse with my boss on too much of a personal level. Hence I love pretending to be doing homework even when I am totally not.
3.) On-Line shopping. Maybe a faux pas to be doing at work but I am over it. I have bought cloth pads (really awesome ones), acne meds, a couple of clothing items-just really great things that shouldn't be done at work-but my work has no internet filter so-HAH!
2.) Reading children's books. We have a bunch of really great Eric Carle books (Hungry Caterpiller, Brown Bear Brown Bear etc...) and it allows me time to catch up on my children's lit and relive my childhood memories. I also love Disney storyteller tapes, they are awesome stories I once had as a child but got lost somewhere along the way. Now I get to listen to all of them as much as I want!
1.) Post top-five lists. I know I know I should not revel in this fact but I do really enjoy that I get some time to Blog for myself during nap time otherwise I might never ever have a chance.
disclaimer: my preschoolers-not my actual kids. I do believe this may have turned me off to wanting children EVER!
5.) Homework: Silly I know-but it tends to be a good hour and a half of quiet work time. Especially good for the amount of busy work I have this quarter. It is very good time to do my Learning Self Eval for the week or write my questions for class the next day. I appreciate this homework time because at least there is usually a decent story-on-tape playing or some nice homeworking-type music.
4.) Pretending to be doing homework. This is one of my favorite things to do because it makes me not have to do work things or converse with my boss on too much of a personal level. Hence I love pretending to be doing homework even when I am totally not.
3.) On-Line shopping. Maybe a faux pas to be doing at work but I am over it. I have bought cloth pads (really awesome ones), acne meds, a couple of clothing items-just really great things that shouldn't be done at work-but my work has no internet filter so-HAH!
2.) Reading children's books. We have a bunch of really great Eric Carle books (Hungry Caterpiller, Brown Bear Brown Bear etc...) and it allows me time to catch up on my children's lit and relive my childhood memories. I also love Disney storyteller tapes, they are awesome stories I once had as a child but got lost somewhere along the way. Now I get to listen to all of them as much as I want!
1.) Post top-five lists. I know I know I should not revel in this fact but I do really enjoy that I get some time to Blog for myself during nap time otherwise I might never ever have a chance.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
Intercultural Communication
So for my Intercultural Communication Class I have to do this on-line journal/portfolio thing. I thought I would post the link in case anyone wants to see how truly weird this class is and how weird the assignment is too. But in the end I sort of like it...sort of...
Intercultural Communication E-Portfolio
Intercultural Communication E-Portfolio
Monday, April 21, 2008
Please join in the discussion
Hi folks,
My friend started a Blog for folks who are into queering stuff. Come join in tell your coming out story (of any form) and join in the discussion on the word queer. The more voices the more deliberative the process!
My friend started a Blog for folks who are into queering stuff. Come join in tell your coming out story (of any form) and join in the discussion on the word queer. The more voices the more deliberative the process!
www.closetsnomore.blogspot.com
give your story, your input. Tell me that I am wrong!
give your story, your input. Tell me that I am wrong!
Friday, April 18, 2008
Top Five things to do in good weather in the town of EP and neighboring places
5.) Go to Meadow Mountain cafe although this is super duper fun in the snow too. But at least there is no risk of getting stuck in said place. It is also fun to stop at the spring and get some yummy water to drink too-and it doesn't matter as much if it spills all over because getting wet in the nice weather isn't a big deal.
4.) Southern Sun-yes most of these places will probably involve some element of eating but this place is super fun and a good place to sit outside and drink a homemade brew. Yes it is in Boulder but hey that is close enough.
3.) Take mountain walks. This could involve walking around Lake Estes, or Lilly Lake or something of the sort. But when the weather is nice it is fun to walk in such a beautiful location and look at the mountains.
2.) Chataqua Park, also located in Boulder. You can sit outside, go for short hikes/walks or eat at the restaurant there or catch a show. I saw the Indigo Girls and The Ditty Bops and it was a good time for sure. Except you can't drink except int he beer garden and it is super expensive.
1.) Oh gosh-I am going to say hike/walk to the Beaver Ponds at the YMCA. I did this in winter and it was cold and I couldn't see shit so I am hoping as the snow melts the potential of actually seeing a beaver is going to increase. Mmmm...beaver....This is actually really entertaining when you are walking with a former YMCA outdoor education instructor who knows everything about the area from teaching it so many times. "Hey Kathryn look at those rocks, those are blah blah blah blah. Hey Kathryn smell this tree-it smells like vanilla doesn't it?" "Fuck no it doesn't smell like vanilla and it is effing cold out here..." anyway...beaver ponds=good times...
4.) Southern Sun-yes most of these places will probably involve some element of eating but this place is super fun and a good place to sit outside and drink a homemade brew. Yes it is in Boulder but hey that is close enough.
3.) Take mountain walks. This could involve walking around Lake Estes, or Lilly Lake or something of the sort. But when the weather is nice it is fun to walk in such a beautiful location and look at the mountains.
2.) Chataqua Park, also located in Boulder. You can sit outside, go for short hikes/walks or eat at the restaurant there or catch a show. I saw the Indigo Girls and The Ditty Bops and it was a good time for sure. Except you can't drink except int he beer garden and it is super expensive.
1.) Oh gosh-I am going to say hike/walk to the Beaver Ponds at the YMCA. I did this in winter and it was cold and I couldn't see shit so I am hoping as the snow melts the potential of actually seeing a beaver is going to increase. Mmmm...beaver....This is actually really entertaining when you are walking with a former YMCA outdoor education instructor who knows everything about the area from teaching it so many times. "Hey Kathryn look at those rocks, those are blah blah blah blah. Hey Kathryn smell this tree-it smells like vanilla doesn't it?" "Fuck no it doesn't smell like vanilla and it is effing cold out here..." anyway...beaver ponds=good times...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Top Five Lesbian Movies
And the lists continue to pour in... some of these movies are specifically about lesbians some just have lesbian characters and some are just dyke cult classic movies
5.) Bend it Like Beckham: Gurinda Chadha. This movie isn't actually about lesbians but at one point I do believe they either think Keira Knightley's character is a boy or a lesbian. I don't know anyone who doesn't love this movie, lesbians included and it is all about women who kick ass in soccer (football.) And the rest of the cast is amazing too, especially Parminder Nagra-hott and amazing.
4.) Fire: Deepa Mehta. I wasn't sure about this movie at first I felt that the ending was too happy in some ways. But the more I have seen it and thought about it, when do you ever see two lesbians of color actually on screen together in a relationship? Very rarely. And when do they actually make their relationship work? Very rarely. And also the filming is beautiful even if over romanticizing the who lesbo thing.
3.) Chasing Amy: Kevin Smith. Many people would question my putting this movie on the list because it is about a lesbo who falls for a guy. I have a few reasons and here are the top ones. There are some great conversations filmed in this movie. The swing set where Joey Lauren Adams deconstructs "standard" notions of sex for Ben Afflex who thinks there has to be penis pentetration for sex to count as sex. Also when they are lying in bed and JLA is telling BA that the reason she began dating women was because she felt that she shouldn't cut women out of her population for dating and now she feels she should do the same for men. Reason number two-this movie is very honestly first and foremost about identity. JLA has a huge fit when she realizes that she will have to give up her whole life in order to date a man-oh how the tables have turned. And while we always think of hetero as a position of power, within lesbian circles I think there is a lot of pressure to be gay and when a person may choose to date someone hetero or trans they may fear losing their community. So I think this struggle is real and they portray it acurately with the women sitting around an apartment sipping wine discussing how they are losing another one to the land of the hets. Number three-JLA at the line "I loveyou Holden, I always will. Know that. But I am not your whore." SLAP!!
2.) If These Walls Could Talk 2: Jane Anderson, Martha Coolidge, Anne Heche. This movie which is an HBO television special takes us through three decades of lesbian drama starting in 1961 and ending in 2000. This movie has an all star cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Michelle Williams, Chloe Sevigny, Natasha Lyonne, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kathy Najimy. Although these stories all take place throughout time and are obviously historical and contextual they could all also happen right here in good old 2008. People are constantly denied access to their partner's hospital rooms because they are not real "family," butch lesbians and trans men tend to face more discrimination in general and trans people especially from lesbian communities, and getting pregnant and having children is something that is a constant battle for same-sex couples. I love this movie, despite the saddness-and there is some super hott sex scenes too.
1.) But I'm A Cheerleader: Jamie Babbit. This is my coming out movie for sure. I have seen it so many times I could probably recite the entire story. It is also great because the video store in Estes Park actually carries it (of course it is run by two dykes fo sho!) I like this movie and think it should be shown in entry level critical theory classes in colleges. Why? because it shows the ways in which gender and sexuality are so often conflated into one another. One is gay if they don't conform to stereotypical normative ways of doing femininity for females and masculinity for males. This is often miscontrued as not having normative sexuality. But as Jan proves you can play softball, have facial hair, and short buzzed hair cut and still want "a Big Fat Weiner." It is also so over the top that the point it makes is done in a comical and exaggerated fashion making it the fantasy of ture wo/man hood appear to be the huge phallacy that it is.
And there you have it my favorite lesbian movies (of the ones I have seen so far in my life...)
5.) Bend it Like Beckham: Gurinda Chadha. This movie isn't actually about lesbians but at one point I do believe they either think Keira Knightley's character is a boy or a lesbian. I don't know anyone who doesn't love this movie, lesbians included and it is all about women who kick ass in soccer (football.) And the rest of the cast is amazing too, especially Parminder Nagra-hott and amazing.
4.) Fire: Deepa Mehta. I wasn't sure about this movie at first I felt that the ending was too happy in some ways. But the more I have seen it and thought about it, when do you ever see two lesbians of color actually on screen together in a relationship? Very rarely. And when do they actually make their relationship work? Very rarely. And also the filming is beautiful even if over romanticizing the who lesbo thing.
3.) Chasing Amy: Kevin Smith. Many people would question my putting this movie on the list because it is about a lesbo who falls for a guy. I have a few reasons and here are the top ones. There are some great conversations filmed in this movie. The swing set where Joey Lauren Adams deconstructs "standard" notions of sex for Ben Afflex who thinks there has to be penis pentetration for sex to count as sex. Also when they are lying in bed and JLA is telling BA that the reason she began dating women was because she felt that she shouldn't cut women out of her population for dating and now she feels she should do the same for men. Reason number two-this movie is very honestly first and foremost about identity. JLA has a huge fit when she realizes that she will have to give up her whole life in order to date a man-oh how the tables have turned. And while we always think of hetero as a position of power, within lesbian circles I think there is a lot of pressure to be gay and when a person may choose to date someone hetero or trans they may fear losing their community. So I think this struggle is real and they portray it acurately with the women sitting around an apartment sipping wine discussing how they are losing another one to the land of the hets. Number three-JLA at the line "I loveyou Holden, I always will. Know that. But I am not your whore." SLAP!!
2.) If These Walls Could Talk 2: Jane Anderson, Martha Coolidge, Anne Heche. This movie which is an HBO television special takes us through three decades of lesbian drama starting in 1961 and ending in 2000. This movie has an all star cast including Vanessa Redgrave, Michelle Williams, Chloe Sevigny, Natasha Lyonne, Sharon Stone, Ellen DeGeneres, and Kathy Najimy. Although these stories all take place throughout time and are obviously historical and contextual they could all also happen right here in good old 2008. People are constantly denied access to their partner's hospital rooms because they are not real "family," butch lesbians and trans men tend to face more discrimination in general and trans people especially from lesbian communities, and getting pregnant and having children is something that is a constant battle for same-sex couples. I love this movie, despite the saddness-and there is some super hott sex scenes too.
1.) But I'm A Cheerleader: Jamie Babbit. This is my coming out movie for sure. I have seen it so many times I could probably recite the entire story. It is also great because the video store in Estes Park actually carries it (of course it is run by two dykes fo sho!) I like this movie and think it should be shown in entry level critical theory classes in colleges. Why? because it shows the ways in which gender and sexuality are so often conflated into one another. One is gay if they don't conform to stereotypical normative ways of doing femininity for females and masculinity for males. This is often miscontrued as not having normative sexuality. But as Jan proves you can play softball, have facial hair, and short buzzed hair cut and still want "a Big Fat Weiner." It is also so over the top that the point it makes is done in a comical and exaggerated fashion making it the fantasy of ture wo/man hood appear to be the huge phallacy that it is.
And there you have it my favorite lesbian movies (of the ones I have seen so far in my life...)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Top Five Pixar Disney Movies
Continuing with the List Making...
5.) Cars/Toystory: The Fifth place is a tie between Cars and Toystory. I know this means I should not have a number four but hey these are my lists and I am going to do them my own way so ha. Cars almost didn't make the list except that as I have watched it more I do like the story and the fact that there isn't really a bad guy. There's just Lightening against Lightening. And I like Mater as cliche and weird as that is. As a best friend Tow Truck his white lower class hillbilly antics seem to make sense and add some humor to the movie. Toystory. Well it was the first and while the animation was slow and not very developed I was still able to fall in love with the many different toys and the plot line of the movie. Plus it paved the way for Toy Story Two.
4.) Ratatouille: I love food and this movie has come out when things like Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen are at their peak. My only complaint with this film is that it seems to go on a bit too long, and it takes a while for some of the action to develop. But the stuff about food especially saffron-I just can't get enough. And once you get passed the whole rats cooking in the kitchen the movie seems to flow a lot better.
3.) Finding Nemo: Ellen as Dori the short term memory loss fish is simply hilarious. The story attempts to deal with disability (Nemo's short fin) and how you (people and fish should never give up). Plus surfing turtles...
2.) Toy Story Two: Why do I love this movie and it makes number 2? Jesse-nuf said.
1.) Monsters INC: This is by far the best and most creative of Pixar's Endeavors in the whole CG animation world. Not only is the story just good but you can actually "see" the animated fur on Sully, the shine on Mike's green skin. As I always said this movie made me want a pet child and I continue to want Boo to bereal whenever I watch this movie.
--
--
While I really like these movies, they are most definitely racist and sexist in that they tend to stereotype "characters" of color for instance in Cars making the low-rider a Chicano and never giving us a lead female role who isn't just a love interest or side kick think Dori, Jesse, etc...So I am still hoping for a hero on this one. Who knows maybe one day.
5.) Cars/Toystory: The Fifth place is a tie between Cars and Toystory. I know this means I should not have a number four but hey these are my lists and I am going to do them my own way so ha. Cars almost didn't make the list except that as I have watched it more I do like the story and the fact that there isn't really a bad guy. There's just Lightening against Lightening. And I like Mater as cliche and weird as that is. As a best friend Tow Truck his white lower class hillbilly antics seem to make sense and add some humor to the movie. Toystory. Well it was the first and while the animation was slow and not very developed I was still able to fall in love with the many different toys and the plot line of the movie. Plus it paved the way for Toy Story Two.
4.) Ratatouille: I love food and this movie has come out when things like Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen are at their peak. My only complaint with this film is that it seems to go on a bit too long, and it takes a while for some of the action to develop. But the stuff about food especially saffron-I just can't get enough. And once you get passed the whole rats cooking in the kitchen the movie seems to flow a lot better.
3.) Finding Nemo: Ellen as Dori the short term memory loss fish is simply hilarious. The story attempts to deal with disability (Nemo's short fin) and how you (people and fish should never give up). Plus surfing turtles...
2.) Toy Story Two: Why do I love this movie and it makes number 2? Jesse-nuf said.
1.) Monsters INC: This is by far the best and most creative of Pixar's Endeavors in the whole CG animation world. Not only is the story just good but you can actually "see" the animated fur on Sully, the shine on Mike's green skin. As I always said this movie made me want a pet child and I continue to want Boo to bereal whenever I watch this movie.
--
--
While I really like these movies, they are most definitely racist and sexist in that they tend to stereotype "characters" of color for instance in Cars making the low-rider a Chicano and never giving us a lead female role who isn't just a love interest or side kick think Dori, Jesse, etc...So I am still hoping for a hero on this one. Who knows maybe one day.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Dehlia Low, If That''s The Way You Feel
Dehlia Low, If That's The Way You Feel
So as I begin to write this I realize that knowing pretty much nothing about music really gives me no credibility or justification for thinking I can do this sort of writing, but I really liked this group and their music and feel that they deserve recognition. I saw Dehlia Low, out of Asheville, NC at The Rock Inn Mountain Tavern, a local restaurant/bar that has some amazing bluegrass music rolling through it's rustic wooden doors. DL combines traditional elements of roots music, with some country flair, while adding a contemporary twist to the music. As far as bluegrass/roots music is concerned as with most music it tends to be white male dominated making them a breath of fresh air.
And the women are fierce, between Anya Hinkle's haunting vocals and fiddle playing and Stacey Claude's guitar picking and amazing ability to harmonize making their songs sound as though they came straight out of Appalachia. Plus Hinkle likes to kick up her boots and isn't afraid to rock out to her own music which is really great and kind of funny to watch. There are also some dudes in the band that play the upright bass, mandolin and other traditional bluegrass instruments. No banjo which, makes my heart a little sad-but their sound is just so neat that in the end it really isn't necessary for all intensive purposes. This bluegrass band isn't one that makes you necessarily just get up, rock out, and dance til you drop, but they did make me want to sip wine and own their music, which, is perfect for my commute. It is just jazzy enough to keep the listener engaged without making you feel like if you don't dance you will miss out on the experience of "really being there" and getting that special feeling. They are also just fun enough to play an encore even though they were tired and sore winning them points in the minds of all drunk bluegrass fans at the show.
The specific song If That's The Way You Feel is sort of a melancholic love song about love and loss. The lyrics are simple, the harmonies spot on and the music in the background is soothing, yet makes you want to sing along. This is my favorite song although the entire album is really pretty amazing and I would highly recommend it as it is only $7 or so on itunes. You can actually also download their songs straight from Myspace and while there are no videos featuring them in concert or anything one couple did decide to make their anniversary video to one of their songs featured here:
So i am hoping that this gives DL some publicity and hopefully when they google themselves something other than Brent and Jen's anniversary video will pop-up!
So as I begin to write this I realize that knowing pretty much nothing about music really gives me no credibility or justification for thinking I can do this sort of writing, but I really liked this group and their music and feel that they deserve recognition. I saw Dehlia Low, out of Asheville, NC at The Rock Inn Mountain Tavern, a local restaurant/bar that has some amazing bluegrass music rolling through it's rustic wooden doors. DL combines traditional elements of roots music, with some country flair, while adding a contemporary twist to the music. As far as bluegrass/roots music is concerned as with most music it tends to be white male dominated making them a breath of fresh air.
And the women are fierce, between Anya Hinkle's haunting vocals and fiddle playing and Stacey Claude's guitar picking and amazing ability to harmonize making their songs sound as though they came straight out of Appalachia. Plus Hinkle likes to kick up her boots and isn't afraid to rock out to her own music which is really great and kind of funny to watch. There are also some dudes in the band that play the upright bass, mandolin and other traditional bluegrass instruments. No banjo which, makes my heart a little sad-but their sound is just so neat that in the end it really isn't necessary for all intensive purposes. This bluegrass band isn't one that makes you necessarily just get up, rock out, and dance til you drop, but they did make me want to sip wine and own their music, which, is perfect for my commute. It is just jazzy enough to keep the listener engaged without making you feel like if you don't dance you will miss out on the experience of "really being there" and getting that special feeling. They are also just fun enough to play an encore even though they were tired and sore winning them points in the minds of all drunk bluegrass fans at the show.
The specific song If That's The Way You Feel is sort of a melancholic love song about love and loss. The lyrics are simple, the harmonies spot on and the music in the background is soothing, yet makes you want to sing along. This is my favorite song although the entire album is really pretty amazing and I would highly recommend it as it is only $7 or so on itunes. You can actually also download their songs straight from Myspace and while there are no videos featuring them in concert or anything one couple did decide to make their anniversary video to one of their songs featured here:
So i am hoping that this gives DL some publicity and hopefully when they google themselves something other than Brent and Jen's anniversary video will pop-up!
Thursday, April 10, 2008
My Top Five Regularly Animated Disney Movies
Continuation from before
5.) Lady and the Tramp: The tail of two lovers destined to be together but drawn apart by class status. What could be better and I always, ALWAYS cry at the end when the old dog uses his nose to track down the Tramp and gets run over by the cart. So sad...but so happy at the end with all of those cute little puppies
4.) The Rescuers: Multi-culturalism, saving little kids from the perils of evil and Moonshine . What could be better? Oh yeah the bluegrass music of the background...that could make it better.
3.) The Little Mermaid: My all time childhood favorite. yes it is sexist but at least she does something on her own even if it is for a man. Plus she's some sorta sexy washed up on the shore all nekkid and stuff...ok maybe tat is wrong
2.) The Emperor's New Groove: Fucking Hilarious, Kuzco-Topia, David Spade and John Goodman. Classic
1.) The Lion King: So this may seem like a cliche and whatever, but this is a great story and a total rip off of the oral history story Sundiata. And the movie is beautiful the characters are unforgettable, funny, cute, and slightly neurotic at times. It teaches kids a neat-o lesson about the life cycle and deals with death, revenge, love etc. The opening sequence paired with the music of Elton John is just so memorable I can't even believe it. I love this story, movie and even though I don't want to watch it all of the time because it is kind of like Titanic in that it is just so emotional I just really enjoy it.
5.) Lady and the Tramp: The tail of two lovers destined to be together but drawn apart by class status. What could be better and I always, ALWAYS cry at the end when the old dog uses his nose to track down the Tramp and gets run over by the cart. So sad...but so happy at the end with all of those cute little puppies
4.) The Rescuers: Multi-culturalism, saving little kids from the perils of evil and Moonshine . What could be better? Oh yeah the bluegrass music of the background...that could make it better.
3.) The Little Mermaid: My all time childhood favorite. yes it is sexist but at least she does something on her own even if it is for a man. Plus she's some sorta sexy washed up on the shore all nekkid and stuff...ok maybe tat is wrong
2.) The Emperor's New Groove: Fucking Hilarious, Kuzco-Topia, David Spade and John Goodman. Classic
1.) The Lion King: So this may seem like a cliche and whatever, but this is a great story and a total rip off of the oral history story Sundiata. And the movie is beautiful the characters are unforgettable, funny, cute, and slightly neurotic at times. It teaches kids a neat-o lesson about the life cycle and deals with death, revenge, love etc. The opening sequence paired with the music of Elton John is just so memorable I can't even believe it. I love this story, movie and even though I don't want to watch it all of the time because it is kind of like Titanic in that it is just so emotional I just really enjoy it.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
In Honor of High Fidelity
In honor of the movie High Fidelity and Top Five Records I am starting a series of blogs on top five lists. The first is top five movies: genre music/musical
5.) Dream Girls: this movie makes the list because while the movie itself isn't the greatest and Beyonce could go eff herself-Jennifer Hudson is a freaking show stealer/stopper. She is honestly amazing as both a vocalist and an actress ad the movie world is lucky to have her in such a blah film.
4.) Hedwig and the Angry Inch: This movie is a cult classic much in the same vein as Rocky Horror Picture Show with more music and less dancing but equally insane plot lines and costumes.
3.) Almost Famous: Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer need I say more?
2.) High Fidelity: This story does not make number one simply because of the memories it evokes in me. As far as plot and soundtrack are concerned this movie is an A++. My absolute favorite scene is when Rob and love interest Laura are in the rain and she says "Rob have sex with me because I need to feel something different than this."
1.) And of course the list would not be complete without School of Rock. Jack Black equals all time hilarity and small kids in this battle of the bands. I love this movie, think it is amazing and while not beautiful or profound is somewhat touching and inspired that whole spin-off show so I salute it.
of course anything with Dolly Parton, The Beatles, and John Travolta could also make the list but there just wasn't room this time around.
5.) Dream Girls: this movie makes the list because while the movie itself isn't the greatest and Beyonce could go eff herself-Jennifer Hudson is a freaking show stealer/stopper. She is honestly amazing as both a vocalist and an actress ad the movie world is lucky to have her in such a blah film.
4.) Hedwig and the Angry Inch: This movie is a cult classic much in the same vein as Rocky Horror Picture Show with more music and less dancing but equally insane plot lines and costumes.
3.) Almost Famous: Hold Me Closer Tiny Dancer need I say more?
2.) High Fidelity: This story does not make number one simply because of the memories it evokes in me. As far as plot and soundtrack are concerned this movie is an A++. My absolute favorite scene is when Rob and love interest Laura are in the rain and she says "Rob have sex with me because I need to feel something different than this."
1.) And of course the list would not be complete without School of Rock. Jack Black equals all time hilarity and small kids in this battle of the bands. I love this movie, think it is amazing and while not beautiful or profound is somewhat touching and inspired that whole spin-off show so I salute it.
of course anything with Dolly Parton, The Beatles, and John Travolta could also make the list but there just wasn't room this time around.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Song for Today: Leather and Lace
I went to a wedding this weekend and it was actually really awesome. The people were all happy (may have had something to do with the open bar) but it was cute and very non-traditional (hello they invited Jill and I to attend as a couple and asked Jill to play Joni Mitchell for them...) but anyway, I hate weddings and really really enjoyed this one. The last song they played before Glentucky started to Funkdown was Leather and Lace, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley and it is just such an amazing song I have decided to make it my song of the day.
Leather and Lace, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley
Is love so fragile...
And the heart so hollow
Shatter with words...
Impossible to follow
Youre saying Im fragile...i try not to be
I search only...for something I cant see
I have my own life...and I am stronger
Than you know
But I carry this feeling
When you walked into my house
That you wont be walking out the door
Still I carry this feeling
When you walked into my house
That you wont be walking out the door
Lovers forever...face to face
My city, your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather...
Take from me...my lace
You in the moonlight
With your sleepy eyes
Could you ever love a man like me
And you were right
When I walked into your house
I knew Id never want to leave
Sometimes Im a strong man
Sometimes cold and scared
And sometimes I cry
But that time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow Id get by
First time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow I would get by
Lovers forever...face to face
My city, your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather
Take from me...my lace
Lovers forever...face to face
My city ,you mountains...stay with me stay
I need you to love me...i need you to stay
Give to me your leather
Take from me...my lace
Take from me...my lace
Take from me...my lace
--
--
Leather and Lace, Stevie Nicks and Don Henley
Is love so fragile...
And the heart so hollow
Shatter with words...
Impossible to follow
Youre saying Im fragile...i try not to be
I search only...for something I cant see
I have my own life...and I am stronger
Than you know
But I carry this feeling
When you walked into my house
That you wont be walking out the door
Still I carry this feeling
When you walked into my house
That you wont be walking out the door
Lovers forever...face to face
My city, your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather...
Take from me...my lace
You in the moonlight
With your sleepy eyes
Could you ever love a man like me
And you were right
When I walked into your house
I knew Id never want to leave
Sometimes Im a strong man
Sometimes cold and scared
And sometimes I cry
But that time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow Id get by
First time I saw you
I knew with you to light my nights
Somehow I would get by
Lovers forever...face to face
My city, your mountains
Stay with me stay
I need you to love me
I need you today
Give to me your leather
Take from me...my lace
Lovers forever...face to face
My city ,you mountains...stay with me stay
I need you to love me...i need you to stay
Give to me your leather
Take from me...my lace
Take from me...my lace
Take from me...my lace
--
--
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Estes Park finally getting a co-operative market
One of my largest complaints about living in Estes Park is that it has no cooperative market. After having left two places (Decorah and Columbus) which have great co-ops I was sad to learn that the EP had none. But finally after much avail and the flea market going out of business a co-op will hopefully be opening in Estes. They are still trying to get start-up capital through members and share holders which I am excited to eventually be a part of. This is kind of big news and I am so excited to see this project get off the ground. Yay progressive consumerist strategies!
Here is the link to what they have done so far...the Local Roots Co-Op
Here is the link to what they have done so far...the Local Roots Co-Op
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Stuff White PeopleLike
have people seen this? I think it is ridiculous and stereotypical. of course most of the comments on there ask people to just laugh it all off-but I am confused what am I supposed to laugh about. The stereotyping, the blatant disregard of power involved in relaionships between white people and people of color, or the fact that these supposed media are really just funny and not at all involved in he production and reification of inequality, oppression, pain, trauma etc? As some of the commenters do point out that this is more than a "white thing" this is a class thing, a sexuality thing, and a gender thing-but I guess that doesn't really seem to matter anyway since all white people apparently like the same shit anyway. huh-maybe I don't get it-just like No Country for Old Men. I am sufficiently annoyed for the day.
stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/
stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com/
Monday, March 24, 2008
Blog Number 2 FOLKS FEST
So I have always wanted to go to Folks Fest and this year when the line-up was announced and KT Tunstall, Patty Griffin, The Waifs, Greg Brown and Amos Lee were on it I knew that I had to go. So a bunch of fun people from the EP and I will be headed to Lyons, which is like 30 minutes from where I live to camp for the weekend and listen to amazing music.
Check it out!
Folks Fest at Planet Bluegrass!!
Check it out!
Folks Fest at Planet Bluegrass!!
Stronger Woman
I am not a huge fan of the beginning of this song but rather enjoy it as it moves along. I like that Jewel is going country-it really seems to suit her rather well although it is also a little weird given her multiple transitions throughout the years. Either way i am supportive of Jewel not being a sell-out trying to compete with Britney, Jessica, and X-Tina. I don't know if she got the memo that that was just never going to happen and that everyone was going to think it was weird that she was trying. Anyway, here's a newer song that makes me feel all joyous on the inside...
--
Stronger Woman, Jewel
I guess you could say I'm one of those girls
That's always been with one of those guys
You know the type
Like right now, he sleeps while I write
But it's better than crying
I'm worn out from trying
From loving a man who always makes it clear
I'm not welcome here
Just till he's horny and hungry
or needs something cleaned
And you know what I mean
But not tonight
'Cause come the morning light, oh
I'm gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can't see
The stronger woman in me
I'm going to be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
Won't lose myself again, never, no,
'Cause there's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman in me
Light bulbs buzz,
I get up
And head to my drawer
I wish there was more
I could say
Another fairytale fades to gray
I've lived on hope
Just like a child
Walking that mile
Faking that smile
All the while
Wishing my heart had wings
Well tonight, I'm going to be
The kind of woman I'd want my daughter to be, oh
I'm gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can't see
There's a stronger woman in me
I'm gonna be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
I won't lose myself again, never, no
'Cause there's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman
This is me, packing up my bags
And this is me, headed for the door
And this is me, the best you ever had
I'm going to love myself
More than anyone else
Believe in me even if someone cannot see
There's a stronger woman in me
I'm going to be my own best friend
Stay with me till the end
Won't lose myself again, never, no
'Cause there's a stronger woman
A stronger woman
There's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman in me,
Yeah...
--
--
Stronger Woman, Jewel
I guess you could say I'm one of those girls
That's always been with one of those guys
You know the type
Like right now, he sleeps while I write
But it's better than crying
I'm worn out from trying
From loving a man who always makes it clear
I'm not welcome here
Just till he's horny and hungry
or needs something cleaned
And you know what I mean
But not tonight
'Cause come the morning light, oh
I'm gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can't see
The stronger woman in me
I'm going to be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
Won't lose myself again, never, no,
'Cause there's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman in me
Light bulbs buzz,
I get up
And head to my drawer
I wish there was more
I could say
Another fairytale fades to gray
I've lived on hope
Just like a child
Walking that mile
Faking that smile
All the while
Wishing my heart had wings
Well tonight, I'm going to be
The kind of woman I'd want my daughter to be, oh
I'm gonna love myself more than anyone else
Believe in me, even if someone can't see
There's a stronger woman in me
I'm gonna be my own best friend
Stick with me till the end
I won't lose myself again, never, no
'Cause there's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman
This is me, packing up my bags
And this is me, headed for the door
And this is me, the best you ever had
I'm going to love myself
More than anyone else
Believe in me even if someone cannot see
There's a stronger woman in me
I'm going to be my own best friend
Stay with me till the end
Won't lose myself again, never, no
'Cause there's a stronger woman
A stronger woman
There's a stronger woman,
A stronger woman in me,
Yeah...
--
Sunday, March 23, 2008
VOMIT!
Yes this is a real song and yes it is gross, and disgusting but after it was brought to my attention I had to post about it...and then cry as I remember how sad some people are...
Brad Paisley, I'm Still a Guy
When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake you think picnics
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You're probably thinking that you're gonna change me
In some ways well maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up aww but no matter what
Remember, I'm still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk, naked girl
You think that ridin' a wild bull sounds crazy
And I'd like to give it a whirl
Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of
And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I'm still a guy
And I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
I can hear you now talkin' to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls he's come a long way"
From draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club
And buildin' a fire in a cave
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try
Well now, what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I'm still a guy
And I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
These days there's dudes gettin' facials
Manicured, waxed and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands
You can't grip a tacklebox
Yeah with all of these men linin' up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
I don't highlight my hair
I've still got a pair
Yeah honey, I'm still a guy
Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked
There's a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy
...gross...
Brad Paisley, I'm Still a Guy
When you see a deer you see Bambi
And I see antlers up on the wall
When you see a lake you think picnics
And I see a large mouth up under that log
You're probably thinking that you're gonna change me
In some ways well maybe you might
Scrub me down, dress me up aww but no matter what
Remember, I'm still a guy
When you see a priceless French painting
I see a drunk, naked girl
You think that ridin' a wild bull sounds crazy
And I'd like to give it a whirl
Well love makes a man do some things he ain't proud of
And in a weak moment I might walk your sissy dog, hold your purse at the mall
But remember, I'm still a guy
And I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
I can hear you now talkin' to your friends
Saying, "Yeah girls he's come a long way"
From draggin' his knuckles and carryin' a club
And buildin' a fire in a cave
But when you say a backrub means only a backrub
Then you swat my hand when I try
Well now, what can I say at the end of the day
Honey, I'm still a guy
And I'll pour out my heart
Hold your hand in the car
Write a love song that makes you cry
Then turn right around knock some jerk to the ground
'Cause he copped a feel as you walked by
These days there's dudes gettin' facials
Manicured, waxed and botoxed
With deep spray-on tans and creamy lotiony hands
You can't grip a tacklebox
Yeah with all of these men linin' up to get neutered
It's hip now to be feminized
I don't highlight my hair
I've still got a pair
Yeah honey, I'm still a guy
Oh my eyebrows ain't plucked
There's a gun in my truck
Oh thank God, I'm still a guy
...gross...
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Manatees
Yesterday my family and I for our last day in Florida took a boat trip through Tarpon Bay which is on the other side of the Island from which we are staying. We are staying on the Gulf side. The day before we took a tram in the same area and saw lots of birds, racoons, and some alligators. It is all part of the Ding Darling Preserve and Wildlife Refuge here on Sanibel. Staying on an Island for over a week has been kind of crazy. But yesterday on the boat was the coolest. They offer a night cruise which is an hour and a half boat ride to the end of the bay and back. Along the way we again saw many birds as they fly into the bay to rest on the weed-like trees that grow in the center. Ibis, egrets, osprey, pelicans feeding themselves and their babies. It was a very nice treat. As we turned around however, people began sighting dolphins, their sleek bodies rising out of the water for a millisecond of exhale and inhale and back under water. They proceeded to follow the boat-at a fairly safe distance for quite some time. After the dolphins people began to ask what the big brown things were poking up from the water. Our guide asked us to look to see if was snout and coconut like which, it was. She told us they were Manitees. Although we couldn't see them up close at one point they must have been scared because five or sick of them reared up out of the water and floated through the air, through mists of ocean for fifty yards or so, giving a good view of the outlines of their bodies. We also saw many noses/snouts and backs/bellies gliding through the water. It was so cool. And as the woman said since it is a refuge it's not as though they can guarantee sightings like those, not every tour sees manatees and dolphins, so we were lucky. She said if you want the sure thing go to Sea World, they lift curtain and show you the animal. So this was cool to see them just doing what they would normally do in a somewhat man-preserved bay. She also said there are sharks, and sting rays and sometimes gators although gator only feed in fresh water so they don't often swim into the bay which is packed full of salt. So while I don't like to rely on biology for explanations, it was really neat to see and hear about nature-I'm not sure how "natural" it really is, but it was very neat all the same.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Check it out
http://liminalities.net/4-1/16thstreet.htm
check it out, it is my qualitative methods professor and one of the doctoral students in my program at DU and it is all about downtown Denver. Is a very interesting read on consumerism culture and identity as performed on the 16th St. Mall.
Shout out to them!
check it out, it is my qualitative methods professor and one of the doctoral students in my program at DU and it is all about downtown Denver. Is a very interesting read on consumerism culture and identity as performed on the 16th St. Mall.
Shout out to them!
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Margot at the Wedding
Margot at the Wedding is a movie I watched while on my vacation. I don't know that I actually enjoyed this movie but I liked a few of the points it made and the way it connects to writing and Truth and connecting to intimate others.
I liked the scene especially well when Margot and her sister Pauline are in a hotel room. Margot who is a writer of books and magazine stories is sitting on the bed with her journal before her writing. Pauline accuses her of writing about her and the situation they are currently in. Apparently in the past Margot has written about Pauline's life and it ended up in tragedy. She rips the journal from Margot's hands and says, "The rights to this are not for sale."
I thought this made some great connections between writing biography, ethnography, autobiography and what are the ethical lines and limitations of writing about people we are intimately connected with. How as researchers should we be committed to ethically representing the people we are working with. I think we must be held to an utmost standard not of portraying accuracy, honesty, and the truth but of being fair, empathetic, and accountable. This means showing care and thinking about the way we
would like to be represented if the research were about us and even better talking about ourselves (the self) in the research so as to make one even more accountable to the process.
This also made me recall a conversation had in my qualitative methods II class about the woman who supposedly wrote a memoir about her life in a gang. It was later found that all of the things she wrote about were fabrications, that she had been dishonest about her past with just about everyone and written a book about it. I would never advocate that this is an ethical position to hold to premeditate fabrications and falsify stories but I also think we have to reconceptualize the Truth. Was it ethical-no but if it helped someone and served a larger purpose might the outcome be worth it? I don't know but these are questions I have to ask. Is the greater good of helping someone, calling people to action/social justice more important than complete and utter honesty which can never actually be achieved anyway? I think it might.
This reminds me of Testimonios written about mainly women in Central and South America. The women in these testimonies reveal their stories about having loved ones disappear in countries facing political turmoil. These women risk their lives to join activist groups in order to stand against the the government in solidarity. The testimonios are mainly written for an American audience so that they will be called to action to ask the U.S. government to send support to stop funding for corrupt governments that harm and torture Central and South American people. These testimonios are calls to action for people in the U.S. to realize what happens in other countries and how the U.S. contributes to these problems. However, what was later found was that the stories in the testimonios were sometimes part of a collective consciousness made because the society's of which these women took part were collective society's so what happened to a neighbor or relative felt like it was directly tied to the woman telling her story to the translator and using it though it were her own tragedy to tell-in a way it was. But is this being dishonest, using a clever strategy, or simply an act of story-telling? It is hard to say but I can't help but think that without these testimonios the words of these women might never be heard and if it can call one person's attentions (and it did because it drew mine)so even if it is not completely factual-it served a greater purpose.
This doesn't mean advocating lies or thinking it is ethical to falsify a complete story but in this sense the author of the gang memoir is villanized for not being truthful but stories like Into the Wild are valorized because they are supposed insights into the truth-but the story serves no purpose but to illustrate a white privileged kid deciding to give it all up to disconnect from society in the wilderness. What good does supposedly piecing his story together do for humanity? What does the attempt to retrace his steps, talk to people he knew, go to the place his body was found? This is not Truth, this is Krakauer's interpretation of truth as he figured it out. And he portrays McCandless as a hero and Krakauer is a hero for finding this uncovered story. Although I liked the movie, I think it failed to focus on the real culprit, mental and social dis-ease. No one knows what McCandless's story really is and the book even if it had been written by him himself would not be the accurate and real story behind his life.
So why do we value some stories, valorize them and glorify the writers and subjects and others we condemn and villianize. I understand the situations and circumstances are different-but not so much that no comparisons can be drawn. In the end I think it comes down to the bodies that are being represented and the narratives being told in each of these types of story. Into the Wild's main character is an upper-class white privileged kid from Virginia or something who goes Emory University and is on a quest "to Find Himself." This is a story I bet a lot of white middle class white men could relate to-not wanting to deal with life, wanting to be free from societal expectations etc and I say men not because women do not feel the same but the manifestations because of society tend to be different. Men are supposed to be removed nature (more feminine characteristic) and primal nature which is no longer socially acceptable o the ultimate release is for them to become in touch with these things. I know these are large sweeping generalizations but being raised by a step father who obviously wished for this life as well as an uncle who is still trying to live it I think it might be somewhat fair. In opposition In Love and Consequence is written by a white woman also middle class but supposedly about herself as a multi-racial Native American and white girl in and out of foster care. This is telling a harrowing tale of interacting with black people and dealing with gang violence. This is an unpleasant story to hear and tell and one that she should have probably prefaced as being a compilation of truth, fiction, and other people's stories but didn't. While the theory might not hold up in court I can't help but think it definitely has something to do with it. I am not on her side but I think things are always more complex then we would like to make them-boil everything down to black and white-Truth and lies. But everything is a representation and interpretation and those are all subjective. We can never get to the truth of experience no matter how hard we try so the point is to maybe think of the bigger picture, the purpose of the work. This is a challenge because most people in this society want real definitive answers or are only open to discourses of the unknown as they relate to Jesus and God. I would hope people would be open to empathy and accountability...I think I will be working on that for awhile
--
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING Trailer
I liked the scene especially well when Margot and her sister Pauline are in a hotel room. Margot who is a writer of books and magazine stories is sitting on the bed with her journal before her writing. Pauline accuses her of writing about her and the situation they are currently in. Apparently in the past Margot has written about Pauline's life and it ended up in tragedy. She rips the journal from Margot's hands and says, "The rights to this are not for sale."
I thought this made some great connections between writing biography, ethnography, autobiography and what are the ethical lines and limitations of writing about people we are intimately connected with. How as researchers should we be committed to ethically representing the people we are working with. I think we must be held to an utmost standard not of portraying accuracy, honesty, and the truth but of being fair, empathetic, and accountable. This means showing care and thinking about the way we
would like to be represented if the research were about us and even better talking about ourselves (the self) in the research so as to make one even more accountable to the process.
This also made me recall a conversation had in my qualitative methods II class about the woman who supposedly wrote a memoir about her life in a gang. It was later found that all of the things she wrote about were fabrications, that she had been dishonest about her past with just about everyone and written a book about it. I would never advocate that this is an ethical position to hold to premeditate fabrications and falsify stories but I also think we have to reconceptualize the Truth. Was it ethical-no but if it helped someone and served a larger purpose might the outcome be worth it? I don't know but these are questions I have to ask. Is the greater good of helping someone, calling people to action/social justice more important than complete and utter honesty which can never actually be achieved anyway? I think it might.
This reminds me of Testimonios written about mainly women in Central and South America. The women in these testimonies reveal their stories about having loved ones disappear in countries facing political turmoil. These women risk their lives to join activist groups in order to stand against the the government in solidarity. The testimonios are mainly written for an American audience so that they will be called to action to ask the U.S. government to send support to stop funding for corrupt governments that harm and torture Central and South American people. These testimonios are calls to action for people in the U.S. to realize what happens in other countries and how the U.S. contributes to these problems. However, what was later found was that the stories in the testimonios were sometimes part of a collective consciousness made because the society's of which these women took part were collective society's so what happened to a neighbor or relative felt like it was directly tied to the woman telling her story to the translator and using it though it were her own tragedy to tell-in a way it was. But is this being dishonest, using a clever strategy, or simply an act of story-telling? It is hard to say but I can't help but think that without these testimonios the words of these women might never be heard and if it can call one person's attentions (and it did because it drew mine)so even if it is not completely factual-it served a greater purpose.
This doesn't mean advocating lies or thinking it is ethical to falsify a complete story but in this sense the author of the gang memoir is villanized for not being truthful but stories like Into the Wild are valorized because they are supposed insights into the truth-but the story serves no purpose but to illustrate a white privileged kid deciding to give it all up to disconnect from society in the wilderness. What good does supposedly piecing his story together do for humanity? What does the attempt to retrace his steps, talk to people he knew, go to the place his body was found? This is not Truth, this is Krakauer's interpretation of truth as he figured it out. And he portrays McCandless as a hero and Krakauer is a hero for finding this uncovered story. Although I liked the movie, I think it failed to focus on the real culprit, mental and social dis-ease. No one knows what McCandless's story really is and the book even if it had been written by him himself would not be the accurate and real story behind his life.
So why do we value some stories, valorize them and glorify the writers and subjects and others we condemn and villianize. I understand the situations and circumstances are different-but not so much that no comparisons can be drawn. In the end I think it comes down to the bodies that are being represented and the narratives being told in each of these types of story. Into the Wild's main character is an upper-class white privileged kid from Virginia or something who goes Emory University and is on a quest "to Find Himself." This is a story I bet a lot of white middle class white men could relate to-not wanting to deal with life, wanting to be free from societal expectations etc and I say men not because women do not feel the same but the manifestations because of society tend to be different. Men are supposed to be removed nature (more feminine characteristic) and primal nature which is no longer socially acceptable o the ultimate release is for them to become in touch with these things. I know these are large sweeping generalizations but being raised by a step father who obviously wished for this life as well as an uncle who is still trying to live it I think it might be somewhat fair. In opposition In Love and Consequence is written by a white woman also middle class but supposedly about herself as a multi-racial Native American and white girl in and out of foster care. This is telling a harrowing tale of interacting with black people and dealing with gang violence. This is an unpleasant story to hear and tell and one that she should have probably prefaced as being a compilation of truth, fiction, and other people's stories but didn't. While the theory might not hold up in court I can't help but think it definitely has something to do with it. I am not on her side but I think things are always more complex then we would like to make them-boil everything down to black and white-Truth and lies. But everything is a representation and interpretation and those are all subjective. We can never get to the truth of experience no matter how hard we try so the point is to maybe think of the bigger picture, the purpose of the work. This is a challenge because most people in this society want real definitive answers or are only open to discourses of the unknown as they relate to Jesus and God. I would hope people would be open to empathy and accountability...I think I will be working on that for awhile
--
MARGOT AT THE WEDDING Trailer
Saturday, March 15, 2008
I'm in Florida
Hi everyone,
I am taking a hiatus from the land of computers starting after I finish my last paper due on Monday at noon. I am hoping to have it done even sooner and bid this POS adieu because I am in Florida on vacation. Not like crazy Daytona Beach spring break or anything like that but spring break on Sanibel Island which is basically like EP but by the ocean instead of in the mountains. The restaraunts instead of being mountain lodge themed are all themed like the marina, pirate ships, etc. Anyway, it is beautiful and sunny and I am hoping to come back relaxed and rested and even more tan then when I left. Hehe!!
peace from the beach
KHobs
I am taking a hiatus from the land of computers starting after I finish my last paper due on Monday at noon. I am hoping to have it done even sooner and bid this POS adieu because I am in Florida on vacation. Not like crazy Daytona Beach spring break or anything like that but spring break on Sanibel Island which is basically like EP but by the ocean instead of in the mountains. The restaraunts instead of being mountain lodge themed are all themed like the marina, pirate ships, etc. Anyway, it is beautiful and sunny and I am hoping to come back relaxed and rested and even more tan then when I left. Hehe!!
peace from the beach
KHobs
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
What did you learn in school today?
Yesterday while reading Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of The Oppressed (1993) (some light reading I know) I came across what at first I thought was a poem but later realized was a song by Tom Paxton. I really like it because it speaks exactly to what I am writing my current paper about introducing critical and feminist pedagogy into the preschool classroom. So while the concept of the song may be a bit above the heads of two year olds it does display what we usually think of as the "banking system" of education as described by Freire. In this system teachers are revered as the all knowing beings while students are empty vessels for knowledge to be deposited. While this relationship is reciprocal students give teachers this power by not questioning and engaging in their learning. This says that teaching is one of the ultimate modes of power since teachers have the ability to construct reality for students which often masks oppression and social injustices committed to the oppressed and marginalized students. I think this relates very specifically to performance in that one of the ultimate goals is to reconstruct epistemologies and subjugated knowledges to in order to empower those marginalized peoples who rely on this knowledge. This means that we must learn and understand that bodily knowledges are often undervalued and disregarded in terms of their ability to construct reality and valuable knowledge. I think if Freire would talk about reality as a bodily knowledge we would really be in business connecting performance and pedagogy together. i think other people do this, bell hooks in teaching to transgress, as black women's/women of color's scholarship tends to be tied to knowledge of the body and theories of the flesh, and Denzin in Performance Ethnography: Critical Pedagogy and the Politics of Knowledge, but I don't recall this connection being made explicitly. Anyway, here is the song...I love it!
What Did You Learn in School Today?
Words and Music by Tom Paxton
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that Washington never told a lie.
I learned that soldiers seldom die.
I learned that everybody's free.
And that's what the teacher said to me.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that policemen are my friends.
I learned that justice never ends.
I learned that murderers die for their crimes.
Even if we make a mistake sometimes.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned our government must be strong.
It's always right and never wrong.
Our leaders are the finest men.
And we elect them again and again.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
What did you learn in school today,
Dear little boy of mine?
I learned that war is not so bad.
I learned of the great ones we have had.
We fought in Germany and in France.
And some day I might get my chance.
That's what I learned in school today.
That's what I learned in school.
--
there is also a really good vid on utube linking the Iraq war to this song but it is unable to be embedded. I suggest checking it out!
--
here's one version done by Pete Seeger I think he and Tom are BFF
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Glentucky at Dead Guy Days
Eff Yeah!! And yes you will notice two people from Luther-or at least from the backside having a bit of a reunion (one a lovely nurse in denver and Me myself and I)!!
--
--
--
--
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Better Get To Livin, so says Dolly
So I love Dolly Parton like a gay man singin 9-5 in a gay bar and I am diggin' on the song/video Better Get To Livin, from her new album Backwoods Barbie! It's kind of one of those empowerment anthems you blare in you car during your commute like five times just because it makes you happy and smile. It also requires karaoke style singing complete with fake microphone etc...
Better Get To Livin Lyrics
--
People always comin' up to me and askin'
"Dolly, what's your secret?
With all you do, your attitude
Just seems to be so good
How do you keep it?"
Well, I'm not the Dalai Lama, but I'll try
To offer up a few words of advice.
Chorus:
You better get to livin', givin'
Don't forget to throw in a little forgivin'
And lovin' on the way
You better get to knowin', showin'
A little bit more concerned about where you're goin'
Just a word unto the wise
You better get to livin'.
A girlfriend came to my house
Started cryin' on my shoulder Sunday evening
She was spinnin' such a sad tale
I could not believe the yarn that she was weavin'
So negative the words she had to say
I said if I had a violin I'd play.
I said you'd better get to livin', givin'
Be willing and forgivin'
Cause all healing has to start with you
You better stop whining, pining
Get your dreams in line
And then just shine, design, refine
Until they come true
[Better Get To Livin' lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
And you better get to livin'.
Your life's a wreck, your house is mess
And your wardrobe way outdated
All your plans just keep on falling through
Overweight and under paid, under appreciated
I'm no guru, but I'll tell you
This I know is true.
You better get to livin', givin'
A little more thought about bein'
A little more willin' to make a better way
Don't sweat the small stuff
Keep your chin up
Just hang tough
And if it gets too rough
Fall on your knees and pray
And do that everyday
Then you'll get to livin'.
The day we're born we start to die
Don't waste one minute of this life
Get to livin'
Share your dreams and share your laughter
Make some points for the great hereafter.
Better start carin'
Better start sharin'
Better start tryin'
Better start smiling
And you better get to livin'...
--
Better Get To Livin Lyrics
--
People always comin' up to me and askin'
"Dolly, what's your secret?
With all you do, your attitude
Just seems to be so good
How do you keep it?"
Well, I'm not the Dalai Lama, but I'll try
To offer up a few words of advice.
Chorus:
You better get to livin', givin'
Don't forget to throw in a little forgivin'
And lovin' on the way
You better get to knowin', showin'
A little bit more concerned about where you're goin'
Just a word unto the wise
You better get to livin'.
A girlfriend came to my house
Started cryin' on my shoulder Sunday evening
She was spinnin' such a sad tale
I could not believe the yarn that she was weavin'
So negative the words she had to say
I said if I had a violin I'd play.
I said you'd better get to livin', givin'
Be willing and forgivin'
Cause all healing has to start with you
You better stop whining, pining
Get your dreams in line
And then just shine, design, refine
Until they come true
[Better Get To Livin' lyrics on http://www.metrolyrics.com]
And you better get to livin'.
Your life's a wreck, your house is mess
And your wardrobe way outdated
All your plans just keep on falling through
Overweight and under paid, under appreciated
I'm no guru, but I'll tell you
This I know is true.
You better get to livin', givin'
A little more thought about bein'
A little more willin' to make a better way
Don't sweat the small stuff
Keep your chin up
Just hang tough
And if it gets too rough
Fall on your knees and pray
And do that everyday
Then you'll get to livin'.
The day we're born we start to die
Don't waste one minute of this life
Get to livin'
Share your dreams and share your laughter
Make some points for the great hereafter.
Better start carin'
Better start sharin'
Better start tryin'
Better start smiling
And you better get to livin'...
--
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
FIERCE!...or something like it
So tonight was the finale of Project Runway and as predicted Christian Siriano was the one who won top prize for his innovative and outlandish style: http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/photos/uncategorized/2008/03/05/christian3.jpg. I like Christian, he is a queeny queer gay boy, who maybe, in some ways tends to reify stereotypes of gay men, but I think also manages to queer them. His over indulging self-confidence speaks volumes to this. Christian is not the poster child of politically correct gay-ness. His small body may not be intimidating but his attitude and model walk certainly are. That all having been said-I really wanted Jillian to win. I don't know exactly why I connected to her except that in her clothes I saw what Roland Barthes refers to in visual images as "punctum" an unexplainable subjective connection to her pieces. I don't think I would have worn anything but Rami's collection however odd the colorings were. If he is all about commercial appeal he will have help making better color choices in the future.
Above all I love BRAVO and their commitment to showing different aspects of gay and queer lives and different degrees of gayness. Although "we" have Logo it is really BRAVO that I think has a wider range of representations of gays really living their daily lives even if in a totally constructed reality show world.
Above all I love BRAVO and their commitment to showing different aspects of gay and queer lives and different degrees of gayness. Although "we" have Logo it is really BRAVO that I think has a wider range of representations of gays really living their daily lives even if in a totally constructed reality show world.
Monday, March 3, 2008
songs for the day
Good Happy Spring Time Songs
--
Kittery Tide, Girlyman
There are times when I want to pick up and say goodbye
To the oldest friends I've known
Jump in the car with no street map
No long sleeve shirts or shoes to pack
Just the sound of you and my guitar
Chorus: I can't wait 'til the day
You come running to say
Those summer nights are here to stay
We can run far away
Not tell a soul for a day
Carry me, oh freedom's delight
'cause I've spent times locked in grooves
Trapped in mama's old black shoes
Or my papa's, folks' and friends'
Always wanted a way just to have my own say
And walk the untrod path 'til the end
Chorus
As the map tore in two
I swore and vented like a fool
Watching miles tick, road signs fly
But I was running from myself
There was no one else
Who could know that better than I
Chorus
As the light changed to red
I wrapped the scarf tight round my head
I was cold as the Kittery tide
There was not much more to see
So I turned back quietly
And crossed back to the other side
Chorus
--
And Coo Coos Nest, Jeff Austin normally with Yonder Mountain String Band
--
--
Kittery Tide, Girlyman
There are times when I want to pick up and say goodbye
To the oldest friends I've known
Jump in the car with no street map
No long sleeve shirts or shoes to pack
Just the sound of you and my guitar
Chorus: I can't wait 'til the day
You come running to say
Those summer nights are here to stay
We can run far away
Not tell a soul for a day
Carry me, oh freedom's delight
'cause I've spent times locked in grooves
Trapped in mama's old black shoes
Or my papa's, folks' and friends'
Always wanted a way just to have my own say
And walk the untrod path 'til the end
Chorus
As the map tore in two
I swore and vented like a fool
Watching miles tick, road signs fly
But I was running from myself
There was no one else
Who could know that better than I
Chorus
As the light changed to red
I wrapped the scarf tight round my head
I was cold as the Kittery tide
There was not much more to see
So I turned back quietly
And crossed back to the other side
Chorus
--
And Coo Coos Nest, Jeff Austin normally with Yonder Mountain String Band
--
Southern Sun and Vox Rising
This weekend, especially Saturday was amazing. The weather was beautiful 75 degrees in Boulder and I decided to not take the day off but take advantage of the beautiful weather and get out of the house. Despite running a few errands, which included the surreal experience of returning a bathing suit to American Eagle. Does anyone notice that the demographic has changed so that instead of being a like 17-22 demographic (typically college) it is now like a middle school classroom when you walk in there. I basically clammed up and wanted to vomit. However, it was soon followed by drinking and eating The Southern Sun Pub and Brewery.: http://www.mountainsunpub.com/ so good my friends, and fun. The food is a delicious mix of vegetarian and organic vegetarian meat dishes. The hummus which, is flavored Indian style is awesome and you can get their home brewed beer to go in Mason Jars by the quart and the gallon. And it is pretty cheap. Despite the crowd of somewhat pretentious mountain boulder hippie-ites, just remember to bring cash or localchecks since they do not accepter credit cards-really? Who does that? Apparently this place and yet they don't seem to suffer one bit.
After dinner we hit up http://www.voxfeminista.org/VoxRisingSpring08.html a youth theatre performance about the children who are left behind, which was very moving, despite being problematic at times. Vox Rising is part of the larger Vox Feminista http://www.voxfeminista.org/ theatre organization, which is an interactive multi-media approach to performance. Let's just say it is a group I am interested in doing performance ethnography with-whoot! This is the kind of stuff I thought others would be interested in-especially if you live in Colorado, but if any of you come visit me we will definitely have to venture to these places! Yay happy weekend!
After dinner we hit up http://www.voxfeminista.org/VoxRisingSpring08.html a youth theatre performance about the children who are left behind, which was very moving, despite being problematic at times. Vox Rising is part of the larger Vox Feminista http://www.voxfeminista.org/ theatre organization, which is an interactive multi-media approach to performance. Let's just say it is a group I am interested in doing performance ethnography with-whoot! This is the kind of stuff I thought others would be interested in-especially if you live in Colorado, but if any of you come visit me we will definitely have to venture to these places! Yay happy weekend!
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Hey Mama Rock Me...
In light of my dream two nights ago...let's just say it was a war of the worlds lesbos versus bluegrass hillbillys I offer this tune...which I love :)!! Maybe one day we will all just get stoned and drunk and sit around "playing music" like the old days...
Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show
Headed down south to the land of the pines
And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
And pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me
Runnin' from the cold up in New England
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband
My baby plays the guitar
I pick a banjo now
Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now
Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain't a turnin' back
To livin' that old life no more
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me
Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly
Had a nice long toke
But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee
And I gotta get a move on fit for the sun
I hear my baby callin' my name
And I know that she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh
At least I will die free
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me
--
Wagon Wheel, Old Crow Medicine Show
Headed down south to the land of the pines
And I'm thumbin' my way into North Caroline
Starin' up the road
And pray to God I see headlights
I made it down the coast in seventeen hours
Pickin' me a bouquet of dogwood flowers
And I'm a hopin' for Raleigh
I can see my baby tonight
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me
Wagon Wheel lyrics are based on an original chorus by Bob Dylan, penned as Rock Me Mama in 1972 for the film soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
» Check out more Bob Dylan CDs in our Amazon store.
» Browse Old Crow Medicine Show CDs
» Check out more Bob Dylan CDs in our Amazon store.
» Browse Old Crow Medicine Show CDs
I was born to be a fiddler in an old-time stringband
My baby plays the guitar
I pick a banjo now
Oh, the North country winters keep a gettin' me now
Lost my money playin' poker so I had to up and leave
But I ain't a turnin' back
To livin' that old life no more
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me
Walkin' to the south out of Roanoke
I caught a trucker out of Philly
Had a nice long toke
But he's a headed west from the Cumberland Gap
To Johnson City, Tennessee
And I gotta get a move on fit for the sun
I hear my baby callin' my name
And I know that she's the only one
And if I die in Raleigh
At least I will die free
So rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama anyway you feel
Hey mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a south-bound train
Hey mama rock me
--
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