Sunday, February 22, 2009

classy.

b: i read in an etiquette book that a gentleman should get in the cab first and scootch over - you know, so the lady doesn't have to scootch over in a dress.
j: haha, yeah, but what if the guy leaves before the girl gets in?
b: well, then you know he's just not that into you.
everyone: [general merriment]
cab driver: you laugh, but that actually happens...

NICE. [i also like to preface things like this with, "if you're into gender roles..."]

at a recent fancypants dinner, i ordered a gin gimlet, which is delicious and very, very classy. then a guy in our group [who hadn't heard my order] said, "you know what drink is classy? the gimlet." i was like, yessss. fooled them again.

i've mentioned before that it's weird to read articles about things we do - including this one that calls us all out on our facebook habit.

you all know, though, that i ALWAYS agree with the pope. okay, not really, but i like to hear him out - especially this time. sure, facebook's not the best, but i think it's a representation of something good [our desire for human community] and not something bad [gossip, or whatever]. like any form of communication or community, it has a light and a dark side. right?

on the oscars:
i love marisa tomei's dress and amy adams' necklace.
cried a little at shirley maclain's intro of anne hathaway. what is WITH these intros? they're so sweet and heartfelt. i notice, for the first time this year, how much these people consider each other a community. i love how anne cried, and how happy she was when kate winslet won. she is a classy, classy girl. [betcha she drinks gimlets.]

"well, it's not a shampoo bottle now!" - kate winslet. omg, and getting her dad to whistle from the audience. [this is a little bit of a liveblog.]
sean penn DOES lose himself in every role. it's so true!

Thursday, February 19, 2009

faster! i demand it!

many of you know that i looooove the cta. really love it. but it's made me get used to taking a long time to get places. so i leave really early if it's important, or i carefully bustrack, or i plan on being late. and i bring a book. and my ipod. and a water bottle. and a map.

so, anyway, tonight i was waiting at the bus stop and realized i'd never make it home in time for grey's. and i took a cab. i'm not sorry. but, as is my wont, i was chatty. i breezily told the cab driver that i was taking a cab because i wanted to get home before grey's. and he was like, "i'll do my best!" then i remembered that i was paying him, just as he did some illegal driving maneuvers. and it was awkward, because i was like, "oh, it'll be fine! don't get in an accident, really." but i think he just thought i was being nice about the serious demands i make on my cab drivers.

i just saw a local political ad in which two kids are, supposedly, bickering like the candidates do. [i know, it's like - get it? politicians are childish?] then the local political candidate comes in and says, "i support this message, because as president obama said, it's time to put aside childish things." gratuitous obama-quoting aside, i say - do you know you're quoting THE BIBLE, there, local candidate?

some of you will be proud to know that tonight, i learned that it can be enjoyable to walk a dog. but i also narrated the entire walk, out loud, as if i were talking to a person.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

cool things.

i don't allow this in my class - but i'm going to go ahead and link to freakonomics' link to time's top 25 blogs. [i didn't make it, guys. next year.]

why am i not linking to time? because time is annoying and you have to keep clicking and things. i'm like, time magazine. get with the program. some of us like to SKIM.

but if you want to read about every single blog and click a lot, well, read time.

i have my ear pressed up next to the window a lot lately because, as you know, my phone has been giving me some troubs. tonight, as i was sitting by the window waiting for my phone to connect, someone walked by outside talking on his cellphone, going "...if x is infinite, and g(x) is positive, then the number of solutions..." now, how cool is that? i kind of want to be friends with this nerdy neighbor.

consumer reports.

had some nice consumer experiences tonight.

first, did everyone know that you can regular mail things from the ups store? changed my life. and i think the girl there was actually happy to be able to help me with it. i felt it.

cried a little walking along listening to this american life about these transgender kids. guys. they can't even SAY transgender because they are JUST BABIES. sigh.

trying out mike birbiglia on the blogroll, because i have now heard TWO the moth stories from him and they are BOTH excellent. that's all it takes, guys.

at the grocery store - don't you love it when stuff you were already going to buy is coincidentally on sale?

b: [awkwardly stands in the coffee aisle]
coffee grinding man: lots of choices, hmm?
b: no, i mean - coffee filters?
cgm: [points at "COFFEE FILTERS IN AISLE #6" sign above his head]
b: oh, haha, you're like, look at the sign! guess i wasn't the first one to be confused...
cgm: [shrug]

it's like he was going to be friendly, until he found out i was kind of an idiot.

then i had some hard times finding wheat germ. turns out it's in the cereal aisle. do people eat this stuff like cereal? or ON cereal? i needed it for a RECIPE, see.

okay, fine. i'm making my own granola. but all my clothes are still store-bought, guys.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

lots of posts, right?

right. but a lot of stuff happened!

the darwin post is below the grey's one. sorry. i wanted it to be date-appropriate. and i don't know how to do the "after the jump" thing.

also, i got twitter. i know, i know. but won't you be excited when i can post "omg omg guy with a crazy stache on the bus" FROM the bus instead of WAITING until i get HOME? i know. serious improvement in my quality of life, guys.

fame!

everyone, please check out claire's gawker artists page. she's a rockstar and has some interesting stuff about the female gaze - yeah. nice. she gets points [or whatever] for hits and comments, so click away!

the pope loves facebook!

how did i miss this? the pope has some stuff to say about technology! [there's also a tiny ap story, if you'd prefer.]
The desire for connectedness and the instinct for communication that are so obvious in contemporary culture are best understood as modern manifestations of the basic and enduring propensity of humans to reach beyond themselves and to seek communion with others. In reality, when we open ourselves to others, we are fulfilling our deepest need and becoming more fully human. Loving is, in fact, what we are designed for by our Creator.
yeah, that's right. using technology for good. this is right up my alley, obviously, so i'm a little mad i got it off huffpost instead of finding it myself.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

follow-up.

not coincidentally, in the past day or so:
1. pip posted about acting differently based on what she wears.
2. i was outraged about gender expectations.
3. some friends and i talked about the biggest loser and what not to wear. [a friend and i, years ago, used to say we wanted to be on "what to wear sometimes." like, my wardrobe isn't TERRIBLE... but it could certainly use $5,000 of designer clothes...]

what do the biggest loser and what not to wear have in common? that's right - people cry. and, on what not to wear, it always gets me. they're like, i never knew i could feel like this! these clothes have changed my life.

some of my less commercialistic friends [spellcheck thinks that's not a word] said no, i don't think my clothes say a lot about me. but here's my thing. think of someone whose style you hate. now, imagine having to go to work every day dressed like that person. wouldn't you feel different? might you act differently?

i think it's less about commercialism and more about identity. hmm?

grey's! crossover! drama!

so, you all already know that i love to liveblog. it makes me feel like a real blogger.

first, for those of you who haven't watched grey's since 2005, my official recap.
okay, so our favorite interns are now in charge of interns. mostly they are mean and the interns are stupid. you may have heard that izzie's been seeing (and having sex with) dead denny, because she's about to die. she sort of knows she's about to die, but now thinks she isn't, or whatever. george is the only one who notices, even though she's dating alex, who looooooves her. [sadly for me, because i love HIM. also sad for me that he's fictional, and probably not that good for me, in the end.] george has no other story lines, really. christina is dating this army doctor, and every time they look at each other there's this weird piano music because it's romantic or whatever, but another woman just showed up! dun dun DUNNN. derek is going to propose to meredith, and everyone knows it! except meredith, since this is the only piece of gossip that has ever stayed away from the person it's about. he almost [and by that i mean, abc hates me] did it last time, except addison called because her brother has a brain parasite and only derek can fix it [and abc loves me again, because i love addison]. also, if you didn't know, addison works with taye diggs, so there's that. and derek's going to have to go there and save a baby? whatever. meredith's little sister is an intern and broke sloan's penis while they were having sex in the on-call room [obvi], so they realized that they really like spending time together even when they're not having sex in the on-call room. he's better now. back on the horse. derek doesn't want them to date, but i kind of forgot because it's boring. also meredith has this weird friend who is also an intern. callie was dating hahn [the mean heart surgeon from another hospital, if you remember - burke hated her] and it was exciting, but then hahn left all of a sudden randomly, BUT now this peeds surgeon kissed her, so she's a lesbian again! yay. [we were worried that they were phasing the lesbian thing out. i'm just saying.] bailey still rocks at life, and the chief wants to promote her. she's emotionally involved with dying kids. also her marriage is over or something.
LET THE LIVEBLOG BEGIN. welcome to my living room, with very blogging-supportive friends.

yay! it's addison! ooooh, long hug there for derek. she's arrived with her brother, who needs surgery for his brain parasite. derek's the only one who can do it, obviously, because that's what happens on this show. no wonder he's arrogant, right?

heyyy, alex. thanks for the sleeveless shirt, costume people. friends and i wonder if he's gained weight... and izzie can't see, or whatever. the scissors are right in front of her, and she can't see them? a metaphor? [we're clever with the metaphors.]

scary music. addison is just jumping right into the stress.

yeah, you'd better be worried that addison's in the hospital, mere. apparently derek didn't let her know? we're all practicing saying "neurosystopsychosis" or whatever archer [addison's brother] has.

i don't believe derek didn't tell what'shername [addison's bff] that he's proposing to meredith. like, right away. he's told EVERYONE ELSE.

callie looks like she's gained weight, too. is there something wrong with my TV?

while i was getting the door, we found out that army doctor was previously engaged! sorry i missed it. i know you all care, a lot.

awww, talking about old times. addison's all crying and derek's all intense. it's kind of jarring, because there was no "previously on," addison's there and she and derek and the private practice people are all stressy, and everyone else is acting all normal. turns out it's because no one even knows anything's going on. everyone's all "addison's here? huh."

"does the blonde have no idea what's going on?" yeah, i don't know what's up with sadie. she is apparently stupid all of a sudden, instead of just - edgy, or whatever she was supposed to be before.

ooookay, so addison's all thinking about derek. not just her brother. shoot. [later edit: i think the thing that's bothering me about this whole storyline is i didn't think addison was still in love with derek. or hung up on him. or whatever. since she never thinks of him on her new spinoff show, right? pip, you watch it...]

taye diggs: "i don't even know why i'm here."
us: "because you're HOTT!"
ARE HE AND BAILEY GOING TO HOOK UP?! omg omg omg.

derek used to play the guitar, blah blah blah. i smell a guitar storyline. hahaha, "ask owen if he ever played the guitar!"

hahahaha, i loooove lexy. "maybe a little dirtily." hehe. she's cute.

army doctor's ex-fiancee is a teacher, if you couldn't tell by her cardiganish blazer and, like, head band. she's been praying for him to come home safely, becasue she thought he was still in iraq. well, your prayers worked, stereotypical teacher lady! army doctor's back!

addison never prays - or DOES SHE? ohhh, i LOVE the "i don't know how to pray" storyline. AND I LOVE CALLIE'S PRAYER. a friend comments that she's trying to tell addison to talk to God as a friend. nice!

more people saying that addison doesn't pray. hmm. derek uses the "miracle" word. taye diggs is the real miracle as he asks derek a kind of obvious question, yeah? i hate that. it's like, all you needed is an old friend to come in and say something completely normal to make you think outside the box! even though you're, like, a world-class neurosurgeon. blargh.

seriously, WHAT is with sadie? new storyline, eh?

this acting is all weird. i'm not ready for these dramatic shifts. DRAMAAAA. "you're a COWARD." way to call a dying man a coward, there, dere.

bailey, i love you. "well, i'm not GOING to smile right NOW." man, what must it be like to be flirted with by taye diggs? siiigh.

blah blah blah blah, elementary school teachers are so sensitive. whatever.

fancy surgery on archer, with a suction thingy. what if they suction out his brain? i'm just asking. derek's really eating up the attention from addison. hahaha, callie - "um, mark's good at talking about himself."

hey, teacher lady DOES have nice clothes. because she's spoiled, apparently. but i did notice.

this whole going straight from the patient almost dying to interns running down the hallway for a fun sparkly game is not awesome. i can't get behind it. and i'm so scared about izzie. she has no depth perception, or something?

oooh, teacher lady's all MAD NOW.

oh, i like this song. what is it? oh, ingrid michaelson - "winter song." oh, i already like this song. i think i already downloaded it. after hearing it on tv. oops.

is george seriously the first person to notice that sadie sucks? or that izzie's dying? yeah, you know who should have a blog? george. and he should call it "everyone's heading for disaster and i'm the only one who knows it."

oooooh, addison is going to blow this whole sloane/lexy story WIDE OPEN. [pause to watch.] OH SNAP, SLOANE! threw derek under the BUS! nice reflexes.

yeah, i'd agree with meredith. just because you don't want to sleep your way through europe doesn't exactly mean you've had the life sucked out of you, sadie. sheesh.

celebrating successful surgery by drinking at joe's. more old times. this is AWKWARD. don't sing the love song derek wrote for his ex-wife. don't. really, don't. friends add: "or until sloane sleeps with sheeeeeee." nice.

wow, nothing happened with all my favorite characters on grey's. and now they're going back to private practice. why are they getting drunk? and why aren't they with archer? why isn't meredith with derek? [oh, wait. we're still at seattle grace for the time being. don't worry.]

hahahaha, gratuitous recap. let's all talk about all our relationships and issues. in detail. in case you've never seen private practice before.

whatever, is there an epidemic of parents abandoning their children with what'shisname [nice doctor]? because this seriously happened LAST EPISODE. [oh, they found her. but still.]

yeah, addison. rockstar with the babies. she knows what's up. [this is referring to the pregnant woman with the brain aneurism. in seattle.]

i'm oddly interested in this crazy mom story [back in LA]. she's going a good job. the actress, i mean. i also feel like we read a lot of post-partum depression literature in high school. is that weird? but i digress.

OHHH, bailey. way to tell what'shername that archer's an ass. [later edit: i don't get why she's so pissy about this all of a sudden.]

is there something medically wrong with taye diggs? well, there's nothing medically wrong with your HOTNESS.

oh, i SO miss when addison and alex were working together. awww. talk to addison, alex! talk to her! be self-aware! joke about how you made out once! i would seriously watch a whole show of this. they're so good together.

back in LA, every time that baby comes on screen, i go "babababa!" or, whatever. it's hard to type. but the baby's cute as hell.

bailey is jeal-OUS. or something. seriously, why's she so pissy with what'shername?

okay, WHEN will these doctors stop suggesting random procedures in front of the patient. HONESTLY. it's a bad idea. it's always a bad idea. we all know this.

okay, is meredith not on the show anymore? we're just asking.

taye diggs, while you're lying there on oxygen, could you flex? thanks. [seriously, i think those were his directions.] "i'm a MAN! i'm a MAN with asthma. so HA!"

"this is not about you. this is not about us." wait - your patient's story directly mirrors your personal life? this is UNPRECEDENTED. oh, doctor shows.

archer: "i could die any minute."
my friends: "then DIE already." yeah, he's an extra-ass now.

oh, so bailey's actually still married. huh. so that's going to be okay, and all? too bad about not hooking up with taye diggs, though.

next time, on crossover 3 of 3:
mere's actually in it, apparently.
the wife or the baby. you must choose!
A CHAIN OF EVENTS NO ONE CAN STOP.
PUNCHING!!! YELLING!! and, some quiet mean talking.

no proposal? izzie not dying yet? wtf.

--

you all know that i'll defend grey's until the end. but i feel like the writing is... slipping... a little...

for a more pitiless review, try TWoP.

happy birthday, mr. darwin.

and, in your honor...
On the eve of the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth, a new Gallup Poll shows that only 39% of Americans say they "believe in the theory of evolution," while a quarter say they do not believe in the theory, and another 36% don't have an opinion either way. These attitudes are strongly related to education and, to an even greater degree, religiosity.
this from a moderately interesting gallup poll. let's talk a little bit about religiosity, gallup. i'd rather see the correlation between "belief" in evolution [this makes at least one of my science teacher friends very angry] and views about the bible. because not everyone who is religious thinks that the bible is factual, GUYS. ask my STUDENTS. they'll tell you.

this brilliant and awesome journalist started a blog today and kicks off with darwin and colbert - recommended and on the blogroll.

and even mcsweeney's shares the love.

in THESE ECONOMIC TIMES, all kinds of things are happening, people are writing about them, and we're making fun of it. irony survives.

this just in - did everyone know that darwin and lincoln were born on the same day?! BOTH on february 12, 1809? remarkable. [literally.]

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

genderize!

remember when i didn't want to get mad at freakonomics? right.

so they want to know whether mcdonalds asks you if you want a boy or girl toy.
How do you feel about these questions? McDonald’s has to balance giving detailed information about toy promotions that change every few weeks against the difficulties of training and wanting to keep the line moving. But the lawyer in me also notes that several states prohibit sex discrimination at public accommodations.
lots of comments. some of them upsetting. sigh. first of all, yes, you are discriminating if you define "girl toys" and "boy toys" [and it's easy not to], and the fact that there are girl and boy sections in toy stores and clothing stores doesn't prove non-discrimination. it proves that discrimination is pervasive.

sure, many girls want the doll and many boys want the hot wheels. but that's not all it is. i worked in the baby section of a department store, guys, and the only things that might pass for gender-neutral, even for INFANTS, were the winnie-the-pooh line of sleepers. so, people who shopped there were gender-izing their babies. probably not because the babies liked it. seriously, people would come in and be like, "umm. we don't know the sex of the baby yet." and i'd be like, "have you considered the winnie-the-pooh sleepers? otherwise, decide if your fetus likes flowers or trucks."

possible reasons for this: 1. people want strangers to know if their baby is a boy or a girl. 2. retailers want people to buy new clothes for their opposite-gender future babies. but still, how can you define what girls should be and what boys should be and then claim that you're not discriminating? how can you say that it's fine for you, or for your kids, and so it has to be fine for everyone?

sigh.

and, hey. speak from the i. and i will say, now, that i like to eat happy meals, and i've never been asked what kind of toy i want. as a child, i liked both barbies and ninja turtles, and mom usually asked for two different toys so brother and i wouldn't steal each other's... [that is, so i wouldn't steal his when mine broke. sigh.]

i'm also mad that people [again, commenters] think questions on the citizenship interview are funny. sigh. it's hard to get citizenship here, guys. and it's all so odd, anyway. it's easy to be born here [you know, for me] but hard to get in... it's easy to have a baby, but not so easy to adopt one...

anyway, i've worked out my issues. i'm mad at the commenters. freakonomics is apparently ready for all kinds of comments, but then, i guess that's the process...

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

it's no meat loaf. i know, i know.

new on the sidebar, and recommended...
i love you more than blank. got this in an email today, and - oooh. it's almost like my friends know what i like.
and maria finally started a blog! yay. it appears that she likes running and music and, you know, awesomeness. and i encourage you all to start blogs, too, so i can say nice things about you and also look like i have lots of blogfriends.

and in her honor here's a song that will take you, um, a long time to listen to. and THAT is how it starts.



don't think i listen to music this cool on my own. kevin knows. [see his comment.]

wouldn't trade one stupid decision for another five years of life, eh? i'll buy it.

[new tag cloud is making me want to have lots more tags. WATCH out.]

Saturday, February 07, 2009

AWESOME TAG CLOUD.

right?! thanks to this guy.

and you know what i need to take my blog into the big time? a kickass bacon recipe.

"in the he said, she said sometimes there's some poetry..."

"I didn't join Facebook, after all, to be anonymous, incurious or left alone." you know how i feel about the article that starts snarky and becomes poignant. yeah. it's something like blogging, too. or twittering. it's like, people are kind of scornful and all, "why would you want to read someone's random thoughts and activites?" but it's kind of beautiful, in the end, to see into people's lives. [i know, i know. sometimes.]

also, this:
b: anything happen while i was gone, except things on the internet?
k: hahaha, SO much on the internet! but not much else.

and also: "When you get out front with the "meta" what's left to say??" [says a commenter.]

today i got a good laugh by saying, "i will now use something a student said to tell a funny, poignant story with a point." do i do that too much?

saw he's just not that into you last night. didn't like it as much as i thought i would. everyone was very cute and mostly very funny. [except jennifer aniston was NOT rachel green. i thought i loved jen. i think i just love rachel.] i appreciated how some women were not that into men, too, and all this advice stuff happened, and some people ended up in relationships and some didn't. but i feel like it wasn't really long enough for all the stories they tried to put into it, and then it wrapped up really fast. so obviously it seemed unrealistic when people fell in and out of love in like thirty seconds.

but here's my real problem - TWO of the previews before the movie were about crazy obsessive women. i was not amused. one is with sandra bullock, and it's one of those "sandra bullock is awkward" movies, i guess? only she, like, follows this guy she's met once all across the country. then he finds out she's some kind of free spirit. i mean, an OBSESSIVE free spirit. and one is called "obsession" and is about this girl who's all going after her boss and then all this weird shit happens and it gets super, super scary.

Thursday, February 05, 2009

things that happened on the internet while i was on retreat with my students.

well, the main thing that happened was that kirsten sent me a lot of emails about important things i missed on the internet.

:)

kelly kapour has a blog [and a real name and personality] and it is awesome. it's what i wish this blog sounded like, only without the fashion and coolness. also, there's something about the format that i don't like. but i'm going to go ahead and say it's THE BEST BLOG I'VE EVER READ. there, i said it. like kelly kapour, i am edgy. ["today you read some really edgy stuff here on my blog."]

gawker wants to tell us about a self-proclaimed blogworthy product and then ironicalize about it. the word "ironicalize" is totally necessary, and that's totally what they're doing. count it!

my [nerdy and font-loving] friends all want to find out what fonts we are. so far, no one is satisfied with the results. i was all excited about it because it's all PBS and has nice graphics, but NO. i am not uglyfont party itc, and your descriptions are mean, font quiz.

this just in: teachers like to drink, but you need to find the right bar.

heard about this blog, that's now dead, but has a nicely poignant last post.

i dunno, you could put a beard on a picture of yourself for a good cause.

slog has a list of blogfriends and a list of blogenemies. nicely done. do i have enough enemies for that? they also have a nice "let's blog 5,000 times a day" policy.

i need to get this out - i'm annoyed by web addresses that make no sense. especially ones that have a lot of question marks and random numbers in them. youtube is just okay, because at least it's short. nytimes and gawker and jezebel and those guys have posts that have the name in them, which is nice. but i'm really oddly attracted by bartleby's number/number thing.

http://www.bartleby.com/142/180.html


see, wasn't that nice?

Sunday, February 01, 2009

wings = hope.

"sure they're messy, but so is democracy."

commonweal again, i know. but it's good. kaveny is brilliant and LOVES colbert.

this is like the rant i have about huck finn being the great american novel. it's a mess. it's a story about thinking your prejudices are right, and then being transformed - almost. it ends unrealistically happily, and as the reader you're like, "wait, that would never happen. nothing's that good." but we're trying...

yup, just in time for the super bowl. and all this talk about whether we like the super bowl [actually, kind of a sweet piece about sports and family, and even baseball] makes me think of a time we all sat down to watch the super bowl with a huuuuge bowl of delicious snack mix. the snack mix was gone before the first quarter was over - at which point my little brother [age 3] goes, "what happened to the SUPER BOWL?!"

priorities in order, folks. stay tuned for my favorite commercials as i root against the steelers.

jezebel keeps making my computer freeze up. WTF, jezebel and your multimedia.