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Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Getting a little erratic here
And I don't know who to trust
I guess they got a way of reading my mind
I guess I gotta adjust
Got my arms they flip flop flip flop flip
Got my head on a spring
Well I thought I got you on my side
I haven't got fucking anything
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even tryin' to stand out
I'm getting smaller and smaller and smaller
And I have nothing to say
It's all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid I am starting to fade away
Uh-huh
I cannot see through the cracks
When I'm pressed up on the wall
I'm not looking to stand up real high
I'd be happy to crawl
I think I'm losing my grip
But I can still make a fist
You know I still got my one good arm
That I can beat...
nnn, I can beat myself up with!
I'm just a face in the crowd
Nothing to worry about
Not even tryin' to stand out
I'm getting smaller
And smaller and smaller
And I have nothing to say
Its all been taken away
I just behave and obey
I'm afraid I am starting to fade away
And for what it is worth
I really used to believe
That maybe there's some great thing
That we could achieve
And now I cant tell the difference
Don't know what to feel
Between what I've been trying so hard to see
And what appears to be real
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
Fading away
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
(and thats ok)
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
My world is getting smaller everyday-yay-yay-yay-yay
(and thats ok)
Current mood: my world is getting smaller...
I found the name for the kitten's coat color pattern: "mackerel tabby." I should have remembered that name, from our long-ago cat-breeding days, because our Siamese breeding lines included a couple of Oriental Shorthairs, and Orientals come in every coat color pattern, even mackerel tabby!
I had a dream last night, all I can remember is what I have written down in my phone: "fake chinatown bus blowing up, hoax busline." I think I was in some sort of evil compound run by like a bond villain or something? Hank Scorpio style, like in the Simpsons.
oops, starting to get light out...
1:08AM
at any rate the boredom creativity spouting from insomnia is a last resort. soliloquies from unsummoned memories of hindsight regrets don't help, demons. at least all angles add up to just 360, a quantified cap for anything. i've enticed myself that booze is as useless as television so silence it is, chalk it up to novelty. lately i've come to accept an earthy senescence from the daily grind of repetition for the daily bread, spoonfed as it were, it's a miracle i'm still alive, that is i may have the facility for thinking ahead.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
As a Latino, I am going to answer to Sotomayor's ridiculous statement that "A wise latina will reach a better conclusion than a white man": A wise latina ... oh, I don't know, like LORENA BOBBIT?
To think that your race and your gender and not YOUR BRAIN qualify you already proves you aren't fit to be a judge, lady.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Ultimately I guess my issue with this "etiquette regarding couples" is that, to me, it seems "impolite" for people who are in a sexual relationship to show any kind of warmth towards each other in company. I feel like, if you sit next to your "partner" at a restaurant in front of a third person, you might as well just be having gentle, loving sex with your partner right on the table while the third person watches. But I guess other people don't feel this way, and I should respect this.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Do you ever get in stages in your life where you just feel like you're treading water? I know I have places to go and things to do, but I seem unable to move from where I'm at. I've been very preoccupied lately, mostly with things that don't matter, but I think they're covering up issues that do matter. I think the problem is that I don't know what to do about the latter, so I just fester in the menial instead.
I spent most of the afternoon in traffic. I went to the wake of my friend's brother who passed away unexpectedly. I didn't stay long - after all, I didn't know the brother and was mainly there to give support to my friend.
Wes and I had a discussion about this today, as he didn't attend the wake. He felt like having people who are not family (Wes and I are both technically co-workers of this friend) was more of a burden to the person than support, and that he didn't understand why people feel obligated to attend wakes. My argument was that, while you may find it draining at the time, to deal with all the people coming through and you just feel raw with emotion and unsure of how to deal with it, afterward, the difficulty and pain of that day fades and you remember, fondly, those who came to support you in your time of need.
As I said before, I've never personally lost someone very close to me, so I don't know how I would be at [that person's] wake/funeral, but knowing my personality, I feel that is how it would play out. I would probably be embarrassed at my inability to control my emotions that day, but afterward, would appreciate those who were there for me.
I'm so sorry about your losses, my friend. My prayers are with your family and hope that the healing of your hearts is not a long process!
Current mood:  contemplative
11:25PM
made the venusjoins.txt script trigger getting the Line function and trigger venus joining the party; made it so that you cannot talk to people not on your party; made it so that you cannot change to functions you do not have yet; made the lily pad trail wynand described in the script; made about a half of a room for the intro area (not really happy with the placement / variation of the rocks, it seems too samey to rely on like two rocks for all the walls, but i'm sure orchard will add more later)
Teacher: "Do you think government has the right to censor the internet?"
5 Chinese students: "Yes"
The one latino: "No!" (emphatically)
One chinese girl said that she saw Baron Cohen's "Bruno" and said that she was embarrassed to have seen it, that in China the government would have banned it- that it is too much for Chinese People! And she was saying this proudly.
She even said "In America you have this thing... is it 'freedom of speech'? We don't have that thing in China"
And I thought "It shows"
It reminded me of that Golden Girls episode where Magda, Stan's russian cousin comes to visit. She asks Dorothy at a bookstore "But... these many books, too many! How will people know what to think with so many opinions?"
I was so happy when Dorothy ripped her a new one later in the episode.
I hate Sacha Baron Cohen and his movies, but right now I feel tempted to go watch Bruno as a celebration of freedom of speech. Who could have ever thought that watching SBC shaving his legs could be considered an act of patriotism?
Here are two funny tidbits for you today:
This one happened to me: Funny stereotype galore. The teacher asked "How often do you use the internet?" to the students. The 6 Asians answered "Every day" and the one Latino answers "Once a week!"
And a second one, from a friend:
"One of my classmates was driving here to Texas from California. He stops in, I believe, New Mexico, at a gas station, and mentions he's a linguist. Fellow asks if he's there to listen to all those Arab terrorists. He says no, his language is Hebrew. Guy says, "Well, they're all al-Queda, right?"
The idea here is that when you are reading anything from Xinhua or other Chinese media, or the comments area on a western newspaper article that was probably targeted by the Golden Shield Project, you should take a swig whenever any of these things happen.
1. Someone is accused of trying to split China.
2. Someone is berated for intruding on internal Chinese affairs.
3. Drink twice if #2 is followed up by a call for other countries to recognize the Uyghur/Tibetan threat.
4. It is claimed that an act or statement from someone in the west has offended all 1.3 billion Chinese people.
5. Anti-government activity, whether violent or non-violent, is equated with terrorism.
6. The claim that China's government is oppressive in some way answered by saying other people do it too, so why can't we?
7. The Chinese government is portrayed in a positive light.
8. Opposing groups and ideologies are lumped together as unified forces out to hurt China, e.g. Rebiya Kadeer and the ETLM.
9. Groups and individuals outside of China are blamed for a problem in China.
10. John and Jane Doe's on the street are quoted approving of the government's policies. [Twice if the individuals are minorities or foreigners.]
11. The government is credited for creating prosperity.
12. Xinjiang, Tibet, Taiwan, the Spratley Islands, et al, have ALWAYS been inseparable and inalienable parts of China, or at least since the Triassic Era.
13. Uyghurs, Tibetans, and others are portrayed as ungrateful.
14. International human rights organizations who investigate China are guilty of "meddling" in internal affairs, even if they only gather information.
15. Other countries, including the US, are jealous of China's growth, prosperity and harmony.
16. Euphemisms for state executions are used, e.g., "severe punishment."
17. There are three united evil forces - separatism, terrorism and extremism - and that must be combated.
18. Foreigners who are critical of the PRC government are said to be racists and/or imperialists.
19. Internet censorship exists only to protect children from porn, and otherwise promote morality.
20. The Chinese media and/or government lacks an appreciation of humor.
21. The Chinese people are said to be unified.
22. Someone who said something not fitting the official government narrative is called a "liar."
23. One of the following propositions is implied: Freedom is slavery, War is peace, and/or Ignorance is strength.
Current mood: busy Current music: Placebo - Battle for the Sun
I'm not involved with this project myself, but the Organization for Transformative Works has started a GeoCities Rescue Project. This sounds like a very worthy undertaking to me.
Cross-posted from Dreamwidth
Current mood:  pleased
The enemies of bliss
love to boo and hiss
at love itself - annoyed
by living forms of joy.
Am I wrong to think there's something a little odd about this combination of headlines in Xinhua?
China urges int'l community for united stance on terrorism
BEIJING, July 9(Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang Thursday urged the international community to abide by a single standard in dealing with terrorism. Qin was speaking at a ministry press conference about the deadly riot in Urumqi, capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on Sunday, which left at least 156 people dead and more than 1,000 injured. Full story
China opposes Turkey's call for UN talks on Xinjiang
BEIJING, July 9 (Xinhua) -- China on Thursday dismissed Turkey's proposal of discussing Xinjiang's riots in the United Nations Security Council, saying the incident was a domestic issue. "The Chinese government has taken decisive measures according to the law. This is purely China's internal affair and doesn't demand a UN Security Council discussion," Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told the regular briefing. Full story
Okay... So we need to see terrorism, especially of the kind that created the Xinjiang riots, as an international issue. But the UN shouldn't talk about it, because it's purely an internal, domestic affair. Pardon me if I'm a little confused.
In other news, the drinking game is almost finished, and I should have that posted here momentarily.
Current mood:  amused Current music: Pia Fraus - After Summer
Quoth Qin Feng, in the Chinese government-controlled media outlet, Xinhua:
Media reports need to be objective and balanced. As reporters we should tell the truth instead of being driven by prejudice or sympathizing with those who sabotage social order.
Of course. Mr. Qin would probably know a thing or two about objectivity and balance. This explains why people the Chinese government hates are interviewed and asked for quotations so frequently in Chinese media. Coming soon - a Chinese media drinking game.
Current mood: amused Current music: Windy & Carl - Songs for the Broken Hearted
This was a comment I made in response to someone else's post, but I thought ye might find it interesting.
I drive from LA to Las Vegas approximately 3 times a year. There's a town about 25 miles outside of Vegas called Jean, that as far as I can tell consists of two big hotel/casinos and nothing else. (Not to be confused with Primm, the town right at the border, which consists of three hotel/casinos, an outlet mall, a lone store on the California side selling lotto tickets, and nothing else.)
Except two Vegas trips ago, I suddenly realized that Jean now consists of *one* hotel/casino. The other one had disappeared.
They had torn down the enormous building, hauled away all the rubble, poured dirt over the remains and parking lot, and planted trees and desert plants. The only way we knew there used to be anything there was our memories, and the one electronic sign (turned off) that they left by the side of the freeway.
I wasn't that shocked that one of the two casinos had closed down. But it was a bit weird they had erased all trace of it. I guess they thought leaving a hulking ruin would attract vagrants and liability issues. Or maybe they were following a mandate from the Nevada or Federal EPA. Or perhaps the casino on the other side of the freeway thought a hulking ruin across the way would hurt their profits and paid for the clean-up. (It's reasonably likely the two casinos had the same owner, so that would make sense.)
Wikipedia says the plan was to build a master plan community on the site. But given the real estate crash, I doubt that will happen. (And Wikipedia confirms both casinos were owned by MGM Mirage, which owns a whole bunch of Vegas casinos.)
Anyway, I thought that was interesting.
why are people complaining that Sonia Sotomayor comments on Hispanic women make better decisions that white men are such an issue. Much less what is it racist about it.
Isnt it racist to think that all people who speak spanish are mexican and eat hot sauce???
isnt it racist to confuse race with ethnicity?
isnt it racist to say that people are black if they have 1/8 black blood in them?
WTF????????
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