Thursday, October 30, 2008

hope?

courtesy of smiller, life imitates art in the parallels between the current campaign and seasons 6 and 7 of the west wing. but, i mean, vinick was originally supposed to win until john spenser died and we were all so sad [or not - apparently this is one of those "the characters choose their own destiny" kind of things that margaret hates, according to the west wing writers. scroll up from the link].

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

rationality, appropriate vocabulary.

at trader joe's after school, talking to the trader joe's guy...

b: oh, don't let me ruin your thing. just chillin.
tjg: no, no problem.
b: i'm sorry, i teach high school. sometimes i say things like "chillin."
tjg: oh, i understand. i used to be a teacher.

i think i was trying to say, "don't let me disturb the lettuce display you're working on. i'm just looking around."

okay, as you may know, i try to teach my class without a political slant. it's really important to me. but here are some things obama mentioned in his special tonight that i definitely teach in my class:
1. the dignity of work.
2. taking a longer view.
3. moral obligations.
4. being our brothers' and sisters' keepers.

i mean, maybe i cried a little. seriously, HOW CAN YOU NOT VOTE FOR THIS MAN.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

1. has a feminist agenda.



from feministing, mccain on palin - "she is a direct counterpoint to the liberal feminist agenda for america." i mean - what? "vote for me, i'm against women's rights"? i know it's old news, but i canNOT get used to feminism being used as an insult.

also, if you really want to feel some impending doom, check out mccain's use of air quotes when he talks about women's health. i mean, he has a point that, if you're hardline anti-abortion, "health of the mother" is kind of a trap. perhaps people who are talking about the health of the mother might trick you into being secretly pro-choice in some cases. that is true. however, you can NOT AIR QUOTE things like women dying in childbirth. i would never air quote "military service," you know? it's a real thing that people go through. and also, you try getting pregnant, asshole.

okay, so then, the ad on the top of the page said, "your life is all over the place." i was like, WHAT? so you KNOW? then, it was all, "luckily, so are we." it was for a doctor's office. i looked them up, though, i'm not going to lie. might as well go to a doctor who KNOWS me.

i let a relative stranger listen to my ipod, and he was all, "hey, this is really loud." i wanted to be like, my LIFE is loud. i feel like i often can't really hear my ipod, even when it's turned up all the way. anyone think it's a metaphor for my life?

anyone got a pen?

oh, i do! i have seven red pens in my purse, one purple pen, and three black pens. also, for some reason, a glue stick.

[update: was finally going to join the parish i've been attending at mass tonight. didn't have a pen, because i took them out of my purse to count them for my blog. seriously, metaphor for life?]

"it's like college, with guns!"

"tell your friends about it! you were in the belly of the beast! where the man lives!"
- my brother, on our reactions to visiting him on the army base.

we did spend a lot of our time being like, huh. so this is the army. interesting.

there's a sign there that says "no hat, no salute." it took me a while, but apparently when you're in that particular covered walkway, you don't need to wear a hat, nor do you need to salute. it's not, like, you can't salute if you don't have a hat.

i recently discovered that you can take contact solution on the plane. like, a big bottle of it. did everyone know this? it's totally changing my life. and it bears on the rest of this story.

i got to the airport really early this morning, and i went up to the southwest counter and was like, "hey, would it be helpful if i got on an earlier flight? like, does someone need to be on my flight?" and i was about to tell them about all the grading i have to do, and how i could do it there or at home, and the lady goes, "um, you were supposed to fly out yesterday?" and i was like, oh. so, never mind that.

please ONLY fly southwest from now on, guys. they didn't charge me for missing my flight and having to get on another one. and i still got home earlier than i was supposed to.

but then, going through security:
b: [holding bottle] this is contact solution. is that going to be okay?
security guy: [all flirty] well, seeing that it's you, i guess it's okay this time...
b: aww, thanks!

wait a second. did i just flirt my way past the TSA? i don't think i'm okay with that.

[i'm not trying to be all, "ohhh, i'm super hot. even the TSA can't resist me." but really, it was weird.]

--

and, some things i've been saving up for you all.

"chivalry is merely mortally wounded."
- guy on plane, helping with bags.

"they have the best salad in the fucking WORLD."
- southwest guy, at potbelly.

thoughts on this last one:
1. well, he should know.
2. best salad in the FUCKING world? or the non-fucking world? i'm just asking.

Saturday, October 04, 2008

awww, the internet past.

courtesy of feministing:

google yourself in 2001!


this is fun. apparently i'm on the ROWING team.

Friday, October 03, 2008

liberal media! yayy!

LOOK what i got in the mail today! best gift ever, right?!

please enjoy www.democratic stuff.com... i could have a LOT of fun with the special interest buttons section...

Wednesday, October 01, 2008

pumpkins! scarves! beer! sarah palin!

beer store guy: ... and this breakfast stout is actually made with fair trade coffee beans.
b: get out! i'm a total sucker for fair trade. could you tell by my scarf?!

i think i might be getting a little too enthusiastic, in general. but - let's wear our cute fall clothes and enjoy the landlord's halloween decorations! wooo october!

i think of this onion story every time i get an email from obama. or michelle obama. or david pfloufffe [or whatever his name is]. or john kerry. or whoever's doing community organizing downstate. but the problem is, i think it's true. so i'm like, "even BARACK OBAMA deletes these emails." and then i'm like, oh yeah. the onion is mostly fiction.

but tina fey is totally messing with my concept of satire vs. reality....



i mean, right? anyone else? my roommate was showing the real interview, and then the skit, and i kept having to be like, wait a second...