I enjoyed "Celeste and Jesse Forever." It was funny and it was real. And up until the end, I didn't agree with Ann Hornaday's critique, in which she lumped it with other films in which "women are punished for not accepting the man-children in their lives despite their torn-teddy-bear flaws." It's almost because the film hit so close to home, though not in the most direct way, that I see both sides of it. I'm glad Celeste starts to look inward, and I wouldn't say that the guy is exactly let off the hook, but the demise of the relationship is pinned squarely on her shoulders. I wanted to scream into the screen, "you could never have been happy with him. You're not the only one who would have had to work harder." Also, I could have done without the vegan-bashing. That goes for you, too, Wiley.
The relationship in the film also reminded me a bit of the one of which Lena Dunham just wrote in the New Yorker.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Sunday afternoon roundup
In Russia, corruption is a way of life. Check out the slideshow.
In Argentina, therapy is a way of life.
In Yemen, change is stalled.
Indonesia's ethnic Chineseare experiencing greater levels of assimilation.
Thank goodness EMTs happened to be in the area when this woman's helpers couldn't get through to 911. And let's hope she walks again.
The big flaw in the taxes=charity argument is that there are public goods that are not up to personal discretion, and if some of us have to pay for policies we disagree with, so should everyone else.
A small business owner gives credit where it's due.
Ritalin is probably not the answer.
In Argentina, therapy is a way of life.
In Yemen, change is stalled.
Indonesia's ethnic Chineseare experiencing greater levels of assimilation.
Thank goodness EMTs happened to be in the area when this woman's helpers couldn't get through to 911. And let's hope she walks again.
The big flaw in the taxes=charity argument is that there are public goods that are not up to personal discretion, and if some of us have to pay for policies we disagree with, so should everyone else.
A small business owner gives credit where it's due.
Ritalin is probably not the answer.
Friday, August 17, 2012
Friday morning roundup
Niger is at risk.
China brings its propaganda and censorship machines to Africa.
Someone wrote me to cite the Family Research Council shooting as an example of food identity in politics (see the Chick-fil-A in the backpack). I don't really see the connection; I can only see it as (1) the act of a deranged, confused man and (2) an unfortunate trend of addressing political disagreements with violence.
Rage Against the Machine is, unsurprisingly, not requiting Congressman Ryan's affections.
Here's your cute overload for the day:
China brings its propaganda and censorship machines to Africa.
Someone wrote me to cite the Family Research Council shooting as an example of food identity in politics (see the Chick-fil-A in the backpack). I don't really see the connection; I can only see it as (1) the act of a deranged, confused man and (2) an unfortunate trend of addressing political disagreements with violence.
Rage Against the Machine is, unsurprisingly, not requiting Congressman Ryan's affections.
Here's your cute overload for the day:
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Thursday afternoon roundup (I'll explain)
This man is brilliant! So rarely do I read a man whose writing resonates the way Ron Charles does:
You know that manliness crisis everyone's been writing about? Well, holy crap, it's reached unprecedented proportions.
***
You may be wondering why I'm here. Well, early this week, I started experiencing pain in the area of my left wisdom teeth. For years, various dentists have said, "keep an eye on those... we don't like them, but I guess if they don't bother you, you can leave them be." So I did. And then they really started to bother me. I realized it might be a while before I actually got an appointment, but I was still on the fence so I didn't go out of my way to do anything about it. On Monday, I tried to find my dental insurance information. On Tuesday, toward the end of a mostly crazy day, I managed to called my insurance company and got my info from them, and then looked up providers, of which there were not many. On Wednesday morning, which was crazy, I asked a couple of coworkers whether they'd had the procedure. They all made it sound very serious but manageable. That afternoon, I called the first group. It was 1:47, and they were out of the office for lunch until 2pm. I called the next office. Their oral surgeon was only in on Thursdays, but they just had a cancellation for 8am the next morning. Could I come in then? Why not?
I let my team know I'd be out of the office the next day, to which one colleague responded, "what, did you find someone with a new set of pliers??" He, and another, said they probably wouldn't let me leave the office on my own. But the receptionist didn't say anything about that. Still, I asked a friend who worked nearby if she'd be on call to collect me, and she graciously agreed. I didn't really know what was happening: was the surgery on, or just a consultation? What kind of anesthetic did they offer? Was I supposed to fast?
I knew nothing, so I took the necessary precautions, knowing I'd be unable to get another Thursday appointment for the next two weeks. I ate dinner but not breakfast, and had no fluids, either. I showed up at 8am, was seating 15 minutes later, was locally anesthetized another 15 minutes later, and got up with all four wisdom teeth pulled at 9:15. I texted my escort-on-standby to say I was about to walk out, e-mailed my colleagues to let them know I definitively wouldn't be in, and went to pick up my prescriptions. So I may have set a new record: Appointment made at 1:50pm the day before, appointment begun at 8am, out by 9:15, on the metro by 10ish and home before 10:30. Now the Novocaine is starting to wear off and I'm hoping the vicodin and motrin start to hit. The tea bags helped with the bleeding, but it comes back.
Even though I only got the localized anesthetic, which was my preference and theirs, I'm glad I didn't eat. It was good not to have to worry about bathroom breaks, etc. That said, I had to get food into my body so I could take the medications, and it was hard to consume anything (even coconut milk) without any feeling in my mouth.
Anyway, that's why I'm here. I'm going to catch up on newspapers and stuff, will let you know if I see anything good.
It’s distressing, of course, when a woman is right; when she’s witty, too, it’s intolerable. Fortunately, we can draw upon a reliable cache of special words to denigrate women’s speech, from “harping” to “bitching,” but until the waiters could shoo these harridans from the old boys club, we had to hear them nagging: When a man writes a novel about marriage and family, we call it “literature”; when a woman does it, we call it “women’s fiction.”and
Instead, “One Last Thing Before I Go” mopes along in that long line of “whiny man” books — stories about white guys who just can’t seem to figure out why their lives aren’t going better. If you write like Hemingway or Updike, the whiny man’s plight can be transcendent and profound. But without that kind of stylistic magic and psychological insight, it’s like being trapped at Denny’s with an old friend from high school who’s just moved back in with his parents.
You know that manliness crisis everyone's been writing about? Well, holy crap, it's reached unprecedented proportions.
***
You may be wondering why I'm here. Well, early this week, I started experiencing pain in the area of my left wisdom teeth. For years, various dentists have said, "keep an eye on those... we don't like them, but I guess if they don't bother you, you can leave them be." So I did. And then they really started to bother me. I realized it might be a while before I actually got an appointment, but I was still on the fence so I didn't go out of my way to do anything about it. On Monday, I tried to find my dental insurance information. On Tuesday, toward the end of a mostly crazy day, I managed to called my insurance company and got my info from them, and then looked up providers, of which there were not many. On Wednesday morning, which was crazy, I asked a couple of coworkers whether they'd had the procedure. They all made it sound very serious but manageable. That afternoon, I called the first group. It was 1:47, and they were out of the office for lunch until 2pm. I called the next office. Their oral surgeon was only in on Thursdays, but they just had a cancellation for 8am the next morning. Could I come in then? Why not?
I let my team know I'd be out of the office the next day, to which one colleague responded, "what, did you find someone with a new set of pliers??" He, and another, said they probably wouldn't let me leave the office on my own. But the receptionist didn't say anything about that. Still, I asked a friend who worked nearby if she'd be on call to collect me, and she graciously agreed. I didn't really know what was happening: was the surgery on, or just a consultation? What kind of anesthetic did they offer? Was I supposed to fast?
I knew nothing, so I took the necessary precautions, knowing I'd be unable to get another Thursday appointment for the next two weeks. I ate dinner but not breakfast, and had no fluids, either. I showed up at 8am, was seating 15 minutes later, was locally anesthetized another 15 minutes later, and got up with all four wisdom teeth pulled at 9:15. I texted my escort-on-standby to say I was about to walk out, e-mailed my colleagues to let them know I definitively wouldn't be in, and went to pick up my prescriptions. So I may have set a new record: Appointment made at 1:50pm the day before, appointment begun at 8am, out by 9:15, on the metro by 10ish and home before 10:30. Now the Novocaine is starting to wear off and I'm hoping the vicodin and motrin start to hit. The tea bags helped with the bleeding, but it comes back.
Even though I only got the localized anesthetic, which was my preference and theirs, I'm glad I didn't eat. It was good not to have to worry about bathroom breaks, etc. That said, I had to get food into my body so I could take the medications, and it was hard to consume anything (even coconut milk) without any feeling in my mouth.
Anyway, that's why I'm here. I'm going to catch up on newspapers and stuff, will let you know if I see anything good.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Wednesday evening roundup
Economic suicide is so tragic and yet so absurd. I'm not pretending to know what those people are going through, and I know privation is relative, but I also know that the economically worst-off European enjoys a quality of life that most of the world can only dream of. In other words, I'm in no position to pass judgment on the desperate, but we can agree that desperation is relative, and it's unbelievable to me that people can't find enough comfort in what they do have to choose to live.
I would like to nominate this guy for world's greatest dad, and though I never thought I'd wish the unleashing of the full force of the Saudi legal system on anyone, I'd like to see those haters get their @sses legally lashed.
Kathleen Parker pretends not to, but does, speak ill of the dead in her take down of Helen Gurley Brown. And misses the point.
Luxury foods are for poseurs.
This godsend of an article actually came out back when I was in a relationship with the very person it told me to run away from, i.e., he who was “great except...” It came to my attention again just now, and just in time, because I was getting so sick of the very advice it says to run away from, i.e., "straighten your hair, downplay your education." I cycle between fear that "they" are right--that it has to be work, that I have to fundamentally change--and resistance (in the positive, militant sense; not in the negative energetic sense), i.e., "f* it, this is who I am, and no it shouldn't have to be hard. It's not worth it if it's hard. It's not worth it if I have to become a different person." Which is true, but sometimes I need a blog post to reinforce it.
I would like to nominate this guy for world's greatest dad, and though I never thought I'd wish the unleashing of the full force of the Saudi legal system on anyone, I'd like to see those haters get their @sses legally lashed.
Kathleen Parker pretends not to, but does, speak ill of the dead in her take down of Helen Gurley Brown. And misses the point.
Luxury foods are for poseurs.
This godsend of an article actually came out back when I was in a relationship with the very person it told me to run away from, i.e., he who was “great except...” It came to my attention again just now, and just in time, because I was getting so sick of the very advice it says to run away from, i.e., "straighten your hair, downplay your education." I cycle between fear that "they" are right--that it has to be work, that I have to fundamentally change--and resistance (in the positive, militant sense; not in the negative energetic sense), i.e., "f* it, this is who I am, and no it shouldn't have to be hard. It's not worth it if it's hard. It's not worth it if I have to become a different person." Which is true, but sometimes I need a blog post to reinforce it.
Quick Wednesday morning roundup
Ooh, ooh, there's a vegetarian corn dog at the Iowa State Fair.
In Swaziland, cannabis keeps grandmothers and their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren afloat.
In Swaziland, cannabis keeps grandmothers and their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren afloat.
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Tuesday evening roundup
Tunisian women are having none of this "complementary" business.
You may have noticed that I've taken to introducing (ridiculous) excerpts from a certain New Yorker writer with a statement of my distaste for said writer. Well, if you found my distaste distasteful, know that I also give credit where it's due: there are also writers about whom I think, "wow, every article of his/hers is insightful and fascinating. Evan Osnos is one of those writers, and here is his excellent Letter from Rangoon.
Kids benefit from limits.
It's funny, someone was just telling me that vegetarians don't get enough iron. I told her I didn't have this problem (I didn't add, "because I eat food.") This same person--who had initiated the conversation about nutrition--got very defensive when the conversation turned to soda, and I--in response to her rant against high fructose corn syrup--added, offhand, that diet soda's not much better for you. She became not quite huffy, said, "well, we all eat well in general, and once in a while we need a treat." Which wasn't the point. I wasn't telling her not to drink soda, diet or other; I was simply making a statement about the lack of redeeming qualities in diet soda. More evidence that people struggle with having a conversation about nutrition--even one they started--without reading judgment into it. There's a difference between "this food is not great for you" and "you shouldn't eat this food, ever." Hell, I had a vegan quesadilla yesterday. It was delicious, but it's not the healthiest thing ever eaten, and I wouldn't have one every day. I don't need to pretend it's healthy to have it once in a while.
You may have noticed that I've taken to introducing (ridiculous) excerpts from a certain New Yorker writer with a statement of my distaste for said writer. Well, if you found my distaste distasteful, know that I also give credit where it's due: there are also writers about whom I think, "wow, every article of his/hers is insightful and fascinating. Evan Osnos is one of those writers, and here is his excellent Letter from Rangoon.
Kids benefit from limits.
It's funny, someone was just telling me that vegetarians don't get enough iron. I told her I didn't have this problem (I didn't add, "because I eat food.") This same person--who had initiated the conversation about nutrition--got very defensive when the conversation turned to soda, and I--in response to her rant against high fructose corn syrup--added, offhand, that diet soda's not much better for you. She became not quite huffy, said, "well, we all eat well in general, and once in a while we need a treat." Which wasn't the point. I wasn't telling her not to drink soda, diet or other; I was simply making a statement about the lack of redeeming qualities in diet soda. More evidence that people struggle with having a conversation about nutrition--even one they started--without reading judgment into it. There's a difference between "this food is not great for you" and "you shouldn't eat this food, ever." Hell, I had a vegan quesadilla yesterday. It was delicious, but it's not the healthiest thing ever eaten, and I wouldn't have one every day. I don't need to pretend it's healthy to have it once in a while.
Tuesday morning roundup
Two perspectives on intervention in Syria.
Concerns in India about preserving historical memory, and lakes.
Part of the problem with Verizon's response to the 911 outage was that they "treated it like a service complaint" rather than an emergency. Yes, yes, emergencies are a higher priority, but what does that statement say about Verizon's service ethic?
What? Metro deliberately won't "encourage" people to stand right/walk left on the escalators? How is it a safety issue to let people know to stand on one side?
Concerns in India about preserving historical memory, and lakes.
Part of the problem with Verizon's response to the 911 outage was that they "treated it like a service complaint" rather than an emergency. Yes, yes, emergencies are a higher priority, but what does that statement say about Verizon's service ethic?
What? Metro deliberately won't "encourage" people to stand right/walk left on the escalators? How is it a safety issue to let people know to stand on one side?
Monday, August 13, 2012
Monday night roundup and ramble
El Salvador's peace is holding.
Don't waste your money on diamonds. I've become a fan of moissanite.
I've not noticed Lonely Planet's apparent political bias perhaps because I don't spend a lot of time on the history/politics sections... although I did read the one for the Czech Republic, but the communist era was anything but glorified therein. Which is not to say I don't believe it. I struggled with this general frustration in Nicaragua--not related to the guidebook I had there, which was a Footprint guide, and I've since switched almost exclusively to LP because I find it much more user friendly than the others--but I was frustrated with liberals who lionized the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas were a murderous, abusive regime. Just because they replaced a murderous, abusive regime, doesn't mean they can take up the same tactics and be praised for it by people who should be concerned about human rights.
The Onion's latest "American Voices" is hilarious and, in terms of the middle response, spot-on. Does anyone ever ask women what body types they prefer? Maybe, but I haven't seen many studies on the matter. Check out my rant from a month or so ago that derided the idea that there's any one, fixed ideal of attractiveness.
I'm not saying physical appearance isn't important; I'm saying it's subjective. I have friends who are more attracted to chubby men; I just happen to be less attracted to them. I'm not saying I couldn't get over that if I met the right person who just happened to be chubby; I'm just saying, it doesn't instinctively appeal to me.
In fact, a few weeks ago, I went on a second date with a pretty chubby guy. I thought, after the first date, he's fun enough, I could grow attracted to him. I did my best to ignore the chubbiness, as well as the other thing that bothered me on the first date: his sloppiness. But the weird thing was, he kept drawing attention to both, and not entirely unintentionally. He asked me what else I was doing that weekend; I told him I was trying to coordinate with a friend who has family in Colombia, and whose mom would be traveling there shortly, to go through a couple of bags of clothes I'd set aside to give away, in case she wanted any for her relatives there. I was nonplussed at his response, which was, “with baggage fees these days, it’s probably not even worth it.” I had to think about it, maybe even overthink it (given that it was an offhand comment, but offhand comments can tell you a lot about a person’s worldview), and I ended up breaking it down into two parts: (1) this guy doesn’t dress very well, so it doesn’t occur to him that these might be nicer clothes, which are also more expensive in the developing world; and (2) this guy is on the larger side, so of course his clothes would take up more space per article. Keep in mind that I'd shrugged it off when he showed up to our first date looking kind of sloppy for a first date, but, as with the chubbiness, his comments were reinforcing exactly the things I was trying to look past (it didn’t help that, earlier, he had talked about not being able to shop at certain places because they didn’t make clothes in his size). Keep in mind that the reason I didn’t go on a third date was more substantive than either of these issues: I had decided against him upon hearing him curse, loudly, in front of a kid. An older kid, mind you (10-14, I’d guess), but still.
I don't know what my point is; I think it's that big can certainly be beautiful, but to some people it's just not, and the bigger issue is that we shouldn't cater to what any percentage or type of people do or don't find attractive. I'm not above being turned off by appearance, and I'm not suggesting anyone else should be. What I'm above is declaring that one manifestation of appearance is inherently more attractive than another.
***
M.--the first who was to look through the clothes--finally came by, yesterday, and it was worth the wait: she ended up taking almost the entire bag of warm-weather clothes (alas, I still have a bag of winter clothes to drop off, plus a blender and a couple pairs of shoes, to drop off at Goodwill). As she went through the clothes, she kept saying, “these are nice clothes! I can’t believe you’re giving this away.” To which my responses were, (1) if it weren’t nice, I’d just use it as a rag, wouldn’t try to foist it on you; and (2) it just doesn’t fit me anymore. I don't feel the need to keep it around in case I gain weight again; I don't see it happening, since where I am feels more normal than where I was for the three or four years that I was carrying extra.
Anyway, after M. took off, with her ‘Santa Claus’ bag in tow, I saw empty space in my office for the first time in ages and decided to clean it up. I got on a cleaning and purging spree (I’d cleaned the downstairs before her arrival, not because I was trying to impress someone who’s lived with me, but because I’d been meaning to, and her visit was as good an inspiration as any). Clutter just begets clutter—if there’s already a stack of newspapers on the dining room table, why not pile on some more—and my dining room table had gotten out of control. So had my office, so much so that I’d kind of forgotten about it as a room; it became one big pile of crap. So once I saw what a difference a little cleaning and clearing made, I kept going. It feels so good to have all this extra stuff out of my house (as good as it feels to have extra weight off of my body). Now I need to tackle the backyard; I the front yard passable, though not close to manicured. Still, the cleaning and clearing have already done wonders for my Feng Shui.
Don't waste your money on diamonds. I've become a fan of moissanite.
I've not noticed Lonely Planet's apparent political bias perhaps because I don't spend a lot of time on the history/politics sections... although I did read the one for the Czech Republic, but the communist era was anything but glorified therein. Which is not to say I don't believe it. I struggled with this general frustration in Nicaragua--not related to the guidebook I had there, which was a Footprint guide, and I've since switched almost exclusively to LP because I find it much more user friendly than the others--but I was frustrated with liberals who lionized the Sandinistas. The Sandinistas were a murderous, abusive regime. Just because they replaced a murderous, abusive regime, doesn't mean they can take up the same tactics and be praised for it by people who should be concerned about human rights.
The Onion's latest "American Voices" is hilarious and, in terms of the middle response, spot-on. Does anyone ever ask women what body types they prefer? Maybe, but I haven't seen many studies on the matter. Check out my rant from a month or so ago that derided the idea that there's any one, fixed ideal of attractiveness.
I'm not saying physical appearance isn't important; I'm saying it's subjective. I have friends who are more attracted to chubby men; I just happen to be less attracted to them. I'm not saying I couldn't get over that if I met the right person who just happened to be chubby; I'm just saying, it doesn't instinctively appeal to me.
In fact, a few weeks ago, I went on a second date with a pretty chubby guy. I thought, after the first date, he's fun enough, I could grow attracted to him. I did my best to ignore the chubbiness, as well as the other thing that bothered me on the first date: his sloppiness. But the weird thing was, he kept drawing attention to both, and not entirely unintentionally. He asked me what else I was doing that weekend; I told him I was trying to coordinate with a friend who has family in Colombia, and whose mom would be traveling there shortly, to go through a couple of bags of clothes I'd set aside to give away, in case she wanted any for her relatives there. I was nonplussed at his response, which was, “with baggage fees these days, it’s probably not even worth it.” I had to think about it, maybe even overthink it (given that it was an offhand comment, but offhand comments can tell you a lot about a person’s worldview), and I ended up breaking it down into two parts: (1) this guy doesn’t dress very well, so it doesn’t occur to him that these might be nicer clothes, which are also more expensive in the developing world; and (2) this guy is on the larger side, so of course his clothes would take up more space per article. Keep in mind that I'd shrugged it off when he showed up to our first date looking kind of sloppy for a first date, but, as with the chubbiness, his comments were reinforcing exactly the things I was trying to look past (it didn’t help that, earlier, he had talked about not being able to shop at certain places because they didn’t make clothes in his size). Keep in mind that the reason I didn’t go on a third date was more substantive than either of these issues: I had decided against him upon hearing him curse, loudly, in front of a kid. An older kid, mind you (10-14, I’d guess), but still.
I don't know what my point is; I think it's that big can certainly be beautiful, but to some people it's just not, and the bigger issue is that we shouldn't cater to what any percentage or type of people do or don't find attractive. I'm not above being turned off by appearance, and I'm not suggesting anyone else should be. What I'm above is declaring that one manifestation of appearance is inherently more attractive than another.
***
M.--the first who was to look through the clothes--finally came by, yesterday, and it was worth the wait: she ended up taking almost the entire bag of warm-weather clothes (alas, I still have a bag of winter clothes to drop off, plus a blender and a couple pairs of shoes, to drop off at Goodwill). As she went through the clothes, she kept saying, “these are nice clothes! I can’t believe you’re giving this away.” To which my responses were, (1) if it weren’t nice, I’d just use it as a rag, wouldn’t try to foist it on you; and (2) it just doesn’t fit me anymore. I don't feel the need to keep it around in case I gain weight again; I don't see it happening, since where I am feels more normal than where I was for the three or four years that I was carrying extra.
Anyway, after M. took off, with her ‘Santa Claus’ bag in tow, I saw empty space in my office for the first time in ages and decided to clean it up. I got on a cleaning and purging spree (I’d cleaned the downstairs before her arrival, not because I was trying to impress someone who’s lived with me, but because I’d been meaning to, and her visit was as good an inspiration as any). Clutter just begets clutter—if there’s already a stack of newspapers on the dining room table, why not pile on some more—and my dining room table had gotten out of control. So had my office, so much so that I’d kind of forgotten about it as a room; it became one big pile of crap. So once I saw what a difference a little cleaning and clearing made, I kept going. It feels so good to have all this extra stuff out of my house (as good as it feels to have extra weight off of my body). Now I need to tackle the backyard; I the front yard passable, though not close to manicured. Still, the cleaning and clearing have already done wonders for my Feng Shui.
Monday evening roundup
If you're going to listen to anyone on Syria, let it be Ken Pollack, who actually has ideas (and knows what he's talking about). Continue to ignore the bloviators, i.e., those saying "do something."
A recovered skinhead speaks. Meanwhile, Germany--especially the former East Germany--sees a resurgence of neo-Nazis.
An Israeli performance artist aims to commemorate the past to encourage looking forward without dread.
In "wait, what??" news, the Japanese men's soccer team flew first class while the far more successful women flew coach.
A recovered skinhead speaks. Meanwhile, Germany--especially the former East Germany--sees a resurgence of neo-Nazis.
An Israeli performance artist aims to commemorate the past to encourage looking forward without dread.
In "wait, what??" news, the Japanese men's soccer team flew first class while the far more successful women flew coach.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Satuerday afternoon roundup
Japan struggles with energy conservation.
This is not one of Petri's well-written columns, but her message is spot-on: celebrate female Olympic athletes for their sport; quit reducing them to their looks. I will give Petri credit for something else (you know I love a Venn diagram).
Who doesn't love looking at animal rescue story slides.
This is not one of Petri's well-written columns, but her message is spot-on: celebrate female Olympic athletes for their sport; quit reducing them to their looks. I will give Petri credit for something else (you know I love a Venn diagram).
Who doesn't love looking at animal rescue story slides.
Saturday morning roundup
Millennials aren't the only ones to despise the car-buying process; they just have more power because they're more willing to walk away. Will the process evolve as a result?
What? Why? He has enough brilliant ideas of his own, he doesn't need to lift stuff. Sigh.
Collins on campaign trackers.
There's now a way to protect yourself from parental oversharing off on Facebook. My question is, is there an app for that in real-life? Something like Dave Chappelle's wrap-it-up box, when acquaintances or even strangers start boring you about how brilliant their kid is?
What? Why? He has enough brilliant ideas of his own, he doesn't need to lift stuff. Sigh.
Collins on campaign trackers.
There's now a way to protect yourself from parental oversharing off on Facebook. My question is, is there an app for that in real-life? Something like Dave Chappelle's wrap-it-up box, when acquaintances or even strangers start boring you about how brilliant their kid is?
Unacceptable
Two weeks ago, I went (i.e., drove) to a friend's party. It took me twenty minutes from my house. That's about how much time it took me to walk there last night from my office. It took about four times that long to get home on the metro. Which is unacceptable. I can't ask for trains every few minutes late on a Friday night (hell, the Metro can barely provide that level of service during rush hour); the reason I left the gathering before 10pm was because I delusionally thought I could avoid the less regular service that comes after 10pm. On a Friday night. In the nation's capital.
First of all, there was nary an indication of when the next Franconia-bound train would arrive. I checked my phone--and that more user-friendly app is bugged-out so I had to contend with the useless DC Rider, which doesn't do trip planning (go figure), so I then had to go to the unoptimized-as-ever WMATA site. Which told me that the next Franconia train would be in more than thirty minutes. Are you f*ing kidding me? They weren't even single-tracking on that line. Is that even allowed? It appeared I could get home faster by getting to L'Enfant--I could be there in just over ten minutes, and there'd be a yellow line train not long after that. So I did, but there wasn't. Again, I waited over half an hour for a yellow line train, with no information--not on the platform, not elsewhere in the station, and not on the interwebs--about when the trains might be coming.
And that's just my situation. So I spent an extra hour waiting for trains that I could have spent with my friends. But how many people in those stations just wanted to get home from work? These aren't even the buses that the Post reported on a couple of weeks ago; this is the Metro, which is supposed to be more reliable. So much for that.
Friday, August 10, 2012
Friday morning roundup
Milbank on neo-McCarthyism.
American women at the Olympics have been doing very well.
The sweet spot: authoritarian parenting.
Ozersky, recoiling at the backlash against Meatless Mondays, tries Meatless Mondays.
American women at the Olympics have been doing very well.
The sweet spot: authoritarian parenting.
Ozersky, recoiling at the backlash against Meatless Mondays, tries Meatless Mondays.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Wednesday evening roundup
A Japanese company embraces English.
Is DC rent about to get less insane?
Android is whipping some Apple tail.
This is one stupid homophobe.
Don't sweat oven temperature because it really doesn't matter.
How rude were the second letter writer's guests? They sure wouldn't be invited to my house again.
Today is one of those rare days that I find Alexandra Petri hilarious and spot-on. Go figure--the topic is asparagus porn.
Is DC rent about to get less insane?
Android is whipping some Apple tail.
This is one stupid homophobe.
Don't sweat oven temperature because it really doesn't matter.
How rude were the second letter writer's guests? They sure wouldn't be invited to my house again.
Today is one of those rare days that I find Alexandra Petri hilarious and spot-on. Go figure--the topic is asparagus porn.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Tuesday evening roundup
Ethiopia's jailing of a dissident journalist doesn't get past the DC area's diaspora community.
Newsflash: non-mothers are not emotionally stunted or bankrupt.
Let Gabby Douglas just be the amazing athlete she is.
This may sound, on the surface, hypocritical given what I've written about Gabby Douglas, but being an actress isn't the same as being an athlete. Especially when you're out at events where it's about looking good, not acting. So I hate to say it, but I wish Rashida Jones would dress better. She's so smart, talented, and beautiful, but she tends to sabotage her look with her clothes.
Use your exclamation marks judiciously.
Newsflash: non-mothers are not emotionally stunted or bankrupt.
Let Gabby Douglas just be the amazing athlete she is.
This may sound, on the surface, hypocritical given what I've written about Gabby Douglas, but being an actress isn't the same as being an athlete. Especially when you're out at events where it's about looking good, not acting. So I hate to say it, but I wish Rashida Jones would dress better. She's so smart, talented, and beautiful, but she tends to sabotage her look with her clothes.
Use your exclamation marks judiciously.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Sunday morning roundup Part II
An article from just before the last election on the neurology of voting.
A different perspective (from last week's, written by Steve Pearlstein) on Glass-Steagall (by Barry Ritholtz).
I don't recall seeing evidence of genetically modified foods being shown to be bad for humans, but there are many reasons nonetheless to stick with organic soy products.
An insured man, above his coverage limit, fundraised for his own chemo.
Lots of wisdom in Carolyn's response to the second letter. Nobody owes donations to anyone, even in memory. Also, I liked what she wrote about (mis)directing out at those who are actually in a position to take it in.
As much as I agree theoretically with Amy's smackdown of the "shallow" letter-writer, part of me hears him, too. I have to admit that I have a hard time being attracted to chubbier men. I know this is not universal--I have friends who are more attracted to chubbier men--but I, personally, haven't managed to be. I went out with one, twice, recently, and even though it was other things (primarily, lack of class) that sunk any relationship potential, I found myself cringing whenever he referenced his large size. I imagine that if I'd really liked him anyway, I'd have gotten over it--once you decide whether to like or not like someone, you start piling evidence to support your decision--and in this case, it wasn't the deciding factor but it was a factor.
Kathleen Parker is a wise woman:
A different perspective (from last week's, written by Steve Pearlstein) on Glass-Steagall (by Barry Ritholtz).
I don't recall seeing evidence of genetically modified foods being shown to be bad for humans, but there are many reasons nonetheless to stick with organic soy products.
An insured man, above his coverage limit, fundraised for his own chemo.
Lots of wisdom in Carolyn's response to the second letter. Nobody owes donations to anyone, even in memory. Also, I liked what she wrote about (mis)directing out at those who are actually in a position to take it in.
As much as I agree theoretically with Amy's smackdown of the "shallow" letter-writer, part of me hears him, too. I have to admit that I have a hard time being attracted to chubbier men. I know this is not universal--I have friends who are more attracted to chubbier men--but I, personally, haven't managed to be. I went out with one, twice, recently, and even though it was other things (primarily, lack of class) that sunk any relationship potential, I found myself cringing whenever he referenced his large size. I imagine that if I'd really liked him anyway, I'd have gotten over it--once you decide whether to like or not like someone, you start piling evidence to support your decision--and in this case, it wasn't the deciding factor but it was a factor.
Kathleen Parker is a wise woman:
Begging to differ, there is nothing more important than food — how we raise it, how we distribute it and how we consume it. At a time of rampant obesity, especially among children, nutrition should be a national priority.
Sunday morning roundup Part I
It's very understandable to want revenge.
Closure "remains evasive" for Brazilian torture survivors, including the country's President. Meanwhile, the family of Peru's president is compared to the Addams Family.
Some of Washington's economic success can be attributed to the rent-seeking behavior of lobbyists and contractors, but the highly educated population is much more of a factor.
Oliver Burkeman makes excellent points and does so with humor, but I find myself saying, "yes, but..." to his dismissal of positive thinking. I don't know about Tony Robbins--I can only agree the technique in question is absurd--but few proponents of positive thinking also advocate dismissing the negative; they actually advocate doing exactly what Mr. Burkeman describes: acknowledging it non-judgmentally, but not focusing on it. I'm less concerned about exclusively positive thinkers than I am about the other extreme. Ironically, my mother is nominally a big proponent of all that--positive thinking, visualization, etc. And that's all great if you practice it: how many Olympic medal winners have recently talked about envisioning themselves winning? But I think back to when we were in China, in the Shenong Stream off the Yangtze River, surrounded by phenomenal beauty in every direction. All my mother could do was fume about how the woman sitting in front of her in the small rowboat had a huge head, and so she ruined mom's whole view. Um, there was beauty everywhere. "But I shouldn't have to turn my head!" Okay, fine, focus on how this whole experience is ruined for you--that's your right if you choose to exercise it. Your right doesn't extend to infringing, through your constant negativity, on my right to focus on the surrounding beauty, so please be quiet. All I'm saying is, in every experience, we have a choice of what to focus on. It doesn't mean dismissing the bad; it just means keeping your head above water by focusing on what's going right. Another example, from over a decade ago: Jay and I were hiking in the Blue Hills when a spry elderly man passed us going in the other direction. Jay sighed, said that guy must be at least 80 years old and he's in better shape than he is. I said, why don't you think of it as, I hope I'm in as good shape as he is when I'm that age; I have many years to get there. Just throwing that option out there.
Moving on to the quirks of autocorrect. I didn't appreciate the problem until I got a smartphone. Which, for example, rendered "Hedda Gabler" as "cheddar cobbler."
Sometimes it's wise to rename a company.
Closure "remains evasive" for Brazilian torture survivors, including the country's President. Meanwhile, the family of Peru's president is compared to the Addams Family.
Some of Washington's economic success can be attributed to the rent-seeking behavior of lobbyists and contractors, but the highly educated population is much more of a factor.
Oliver Burkeman makes excellent points and does so with humor, but I find myself saying, "yes, but..." to his dismissal of positive thinking. I don't know about Tony Robbins--I can only agree the technique in question is absurd--but few proponents of positive thinking also advocate dismissing the negative; they actually advocate doing exactly what Mr. Burkeman describes: acknowledging it non-judgmentally, but not focusing on it. I'm less concerned about exclusively positive thinkers than I am about the other extreme. Ironically, my mother is nominally a big proponent of all that--positive thinking, visualization, etc. And that's all great if you practice it: how many Olympic medal winners have recently talked about envisioning themselves winning? But I think back to when we were in China, in the Shenong Stream off the Yangtze River, surrounded by phenomenal beauty in every direction. All my mother could do was fume about how the woman sitting in front of her in the small rowboat had a huge head, and so she ruined mom's whole view. Um, there was beauty everywhere. "But I shouldn't have to turn my head!" Okay, fine, focus on how this whole experience is ruined for you--that's your right if you choose to exercise it. Your right doesn't extend to infringing, through your constant negativity, on my right to focus on the surrounding beauty, so please be quiet. All I'm saying is, in every experience, we have a choice of what to focus on. It doesn't mean dismissing the bad; it just means keeping your head above water by focusing on what's going right. Another example, from over a decade ago: Jay and I were hiking in the Blue Hills when a spry elderly man passed us going in the other direction. Jay sighed, said that guy must be at least 80 years old and he's in better shape than he is. I said, why don't you think of it as, I hope I'm in as good shape as he is when I'm that age; I have many years to get there. Just throwing that option out there.
Moving on to the quirks of autocorrect. I didn't appreciate the problem until I got a smartphone. Which, for example, rendered "Hedda Gabler" as "cheddar cobbler."
Sometimes it's wise to rename a company.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Saturday morning roundup
Syria's food crisis.
Acid attacks in Colombia are increasing.
A Mexican population takes back its town and its forest.
Jared Diamond responds (with regard to "iron ore," etc.).
Chinese women are taking sun protection to the next level: face masks at the beach.
I missed Philadelphia's awesome April Fool's joke at the time, but it's spot-on.
Michael Kahn's very polite smack-down of Peter Marks.
Kate Moss did something that makes me sad. At least we can hope that they don't get their pork at WalMart.
Check out Jack Ohman's editorial cartoon.
Look! Tofu recipes on the Well blog.
Acid attacks in Colombia are increasing.
A Mexican population takes back its town and its forest.
Jared Diamond responds (with regard to "iron ore," etc.).
Chinese women are taking sun protection to the next level: face masks at the beach.
I missed Philadelphia's awesome April Fool's joke at the time, but it's spot-on.
Michael Kahn's very polite smack-down of Peter Marks.
Kate Moss did something that makes me sad. At least we can hope that they don't get their pork at WalMart.
Check out Jack Ohman's editorial cartoon.
Look! Tofu recipes on the Well blog.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Friday evening roundup
Intolerance is not a victimless crime. See: Uganda.
Nostalgia for the good old days when snarky soundbites were backed by substance.
What can be said about culture?
I apologize for neither acknowledging, nor even realizing, the racial aspect of the Gabby Douglas hair debate when I blogged about it yesterday. It was an oversight, since it's an important element. But here's my question: as a white woman, am I still in a position to blog about how inane it is?
I'm not an authority on hair, much less black hair, so the above oversight doesn't undermine my credibility (if you're asking yourself, "what credibility," just roll with it for a minute). You've heard me question the credibility of writers who make incomprehensively ignorant statements (for example, Jennifer LaRue Huget advising her readers to ensure that half of their six servings of grains are refined). Well, Organic Gardening just joined the lost credibility crowd: they're advising their readers to make their hot dogs healthier by--wait for it--ditching the bun. Because that's the unhealthy thing about hot dogs. In later slides (slides, plural--not just one), they go on to dismiss potatoes. That's right, people: slim down by eating hot dogs and shirking potatoes. That kind of diet is just the brain food you'll need to one day write for Organic Gardening.
Read more about the environmental impact of meat here (actually, the entire Oxfam report is quite good) and watch a video about it here:
Apparently, most tattoos are not vegan.
Remember my post the other day about people assuming judgment from other people? See these comments where people insist that the letter writer's issue with a guest's diapers in her trash are a judgment on the guest's use of disposable diapers. I was once horrified when a friend changed a diaper on my coffee table. I was speechless--all I could do was let it go, and besides, she's not a frequent visitor so it wasn't a recurring issue (though, unsurprisingly, the last time she did visit, her now older kids were obnoxious and ill-behaved)--but I couldn't believe she thought it was totally normal. And it had nothing to do with the nature of the diaper.
Amy also has some advice for managing an overbearing mother-in-law.
Miss Manners has a wonderful column in the paper, but it's not online yet. Hopefully I'll be able to post it in the next few days.
Nostalgia for the good old days when snarky soundbites were backed by substance.
What can be said about culture?
I apologize for neither acknowledging, nor even realizing, the racial aspect of the Gabby Douglas hair debate when I blogged about it yesterday. It was an oversight, since it's an important element. But here's my question: as a white woman, am I still in a position to blog about how inane it is?
I'm not an authority on hair, much less black hair, so the above oversight doesn't undermine my credibility (if you're asking yourself, "what credibility," just roll with it for a minute). You've heard me question the credibility of writers who make incomprehensively ignorant statements (for example, Jennifer LaRue Huget advising her readers to ensure that half of their six servings of grains are refined). Well, Organic Gardening just joined the lost credibility crowd: they're advising their readers to make their hot dogs healthier by--wait for it--ditching the bun. Because that's the unhealthy thing about hot dogs. In later slides (slides, plural--not just one), they go on to dismiss potatoes. That's right, people: slim down by eating hot dogs and shirking potatoes. That kind of diet is just the brain food you'll need to one day write for Organic Gardening.
Read more about the environmental impact of meat here (actually, the entire Oxfam report is quite good) and watch a video about it here:
Apparently, most tattoos are not vegan.
Remember my post the other day about people assuming judgment from other people? See these comments where people insist that the letter writer's issue with a guest's diapers in her trash are a judgment on the guest's use of disposable diapers. I was once horrified when a friend changed a diaper on my coffee table. I was speechless--all I could do was let it go, and besides, she's not a frequent visitor so it wasn't a recurring issue (though, unsurprisingly, the last time she did visit, her now older kids were obnoxious and ill-behaved)--but I couldn't believe she thought it was totally normal. And it had nothing to do with the nature of the diaper.
Amy also has some advice for managing an overbearing mother-in-law.
Miss Manners has a wonderful column in the paper, but it's not online yet. Hopefully I'll be able to post it in the next few days.
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