Friday, January 29, 2010

Speed.

So this girl on Megabus asks the driver how far away we are. The
driver goes, "Not far. About 30 miles." And the girl says, "Thirty
miles? So, about 15 minutes."

The driver laughed and was all, "A little more than that!" My seatmate
and I laughed and wondered if this is some sort of magic speed bus.

Sent from my iPhone

Thursday, January 28, 2010

reruns and re-captioned pictures.

It was unclear how her life had become so riddled with obvious metaphors.

yup. this site is going to be important to us. thanks to kris for the tipoff.

office rerun. i feel lachrymose. [every time, that line makes me HA.]

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

things i've been reading.

on the heavy side:
this and THIS call-out, regarding the US bishops and health care reform. [with a tip-off from this at dotCommonweal, of course.] i'm a little dsjklasjifhlera about this right now, so draw your own conclusions.

on the light side:
props to this mcsweeney's writer for both current snark and knowledge of the bsc.

in which FRB sort of liveblogs the SOTU.

drinking wine and watching the state of the union - or SOTU, which keeps accidentally reminding me of STFU.

[before you read this, please remember that i get most of my political knowledge from feminist blogs, the few catholic blogs i can stand, the west wing, and anything that seems relevant to teaching high school ethics. so, if my commentary seems overly snarky, naive, idealistic, one-sided, or approximately at a high-school level - well, it is.]

apparently michelle obama, nancy pelosi, and joe biden are wearing purple because it's symbolic of bringing both sides of the aisle together. [the few minutes before the president walks out are very red-carpety, at least on ABC.]

getting excited about us history! yeahhh. can't fail with this one.

banks banks banks. joke about how everyone hates the bank bailout. nice.

exports? i feel like i'm in a middle school social studies project.

STUDENT LOANS WOOOOT. PLEASE TAKE MY LOANS AWAYYYY. you'll note that i've called for this on my blog before. [okay, maybe that wasn't exactly a call to arms, but wouldn't it be cool if i were that kind of blogger?]

biden just fist-pumped and roommate started singing "living on a prayer." apparently obama is aware that he's living on a prayer, when it comes to health care reform. and he's getting a good laugh for saying it's not good politics, though.

ahhh, our philosopher-king. he's saying that it's his fault that he didn't explain the health care plan fully. that was the problem. he's out of the cave! we don't understand his new health care reality! super interesting angle - if i understand correctly, and he's going for the "if you really understood my reasoning, you would understand that my plan is right." is it just that i'm teaching plato, or is this interesting? [i think it was a small point for him, anyway.]

roommate is still waiting for someone to yell, "you lie!" i kind of appreciate obama's "if you have a better idea for health care reform, let me know" action. throw down.

so he wants to freeze spending except - military, medicare, and social security? i'd heard a rumor that he was going to freeze everything except military. this sounds better. because i'm apparently an obama-lover, though, i'm kind of convinced by his "like any family, we have to choose what's important." am i being tricked, somehow? becaues i'm pretty sure i like it when the government spends money on things we need.
Starting in 2011, we are prepared to freeze government spending for three years. Spending related to our national security, Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security will not be affected. But all other discretionary government programs will. Like any cash-strapped family, we will work within a budget to invest in what we need and sacrifice what we don't.
[ed: a little analysis on this, if you're looking for it.]

joke about change. hehehe. aaand we're over an hour.

okay, is it just me, or is biden texting? either way, he seems to have the most expressive face in the room. except for grumbly john boehner, of course.

janet napolitano has a weird clap.

yeah, the military guys don't like it when you tell them what to do. i've heard. but everyone likes it when you support veterans! yay.

so john f. kennedy and ronald reagan go into a bar... and talk about nuclear regulation? oh.

"our destiny is connected to those beyond our shores" + "because it is right" + "human dignity" = why don't you just teach my class, mr. president?

is that guy from haiti? i hope so, or else this is awkward racial profiling.

can i be mad about his "if you follow the laws" talk? i feel like people who have committed crimes still need to be protected by the law.

HOLLA SAYING THINGS ABOUT DON'T ASK DON'T TELL. HOLLA EQUAL PAY. HOLLA IMMIGRATION - oh, wait. "everyone who plays by the rules"? no, actually, i'm not okay with that language.

inspirational ending, here goes!

afterwards - did someone say he sounded like reagan? just checking.

bonus liveblog of the republican response...
thomas jefferson was right.
the government does too much.
we have the best health care system in the world - wait, what?
the republicans want our advice! on facebook and twitter!
and they want to use up the entire earth to lower my utility bills. yes, mine.
dad was right about education.
oops, i got distracted by the internet.
aaand i'm out! goodnight friends.

Monday, January 25, 2010

at CVS.

so i don't like CVS, since there's a walgreens across the street from school. that's the only reason. and the checkout people are all unfamiliar, not like the ones i love at walgreens. so today, at CVS, there was a checkout guy who was maybe 20 years old and maybe kind of a dudebro. and i got into awkwardness by accident. i swear.

cg: do you have an extra care card?
b: nope, but can i give you my number? [pause] i mean... for the card? to look it up?

then we laughed awkwardly. and i thought about how much more comfortable i would be if i had made that joke on purpose.

roommate and i are laughing at the 2012 commercial that calls it "the best disaster movie ever." i mean, since your movie is already a disaster, it might as well be a comparatively good disaster...

for something a little heavier and more professional...

let me direct your attention to a series my friend bill's been working on - inside and out, on WBEZ. [the website has sound, for those of you at work.] the first story about youth and prison is up today, and it continues with new stories all week.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Up to date, I think.

Okay, so all the text wasn't exactly making it into the pictures when I emailed them in.

I think everything's good now - read on, friends.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

This is why I rage.

spotted at target today...

i mean, whimsical cookie pans are one thing, but can we please avoid labeling them "girl" and "boy"?

if you're a boy, you're number one! you can fly a plane! you're on a team! if you're a girl, though, sit in that castle with the lipstick and the purse. we're sure your prince will be along soon.

i think it's the trophy that really gets me. like, that's a boy activity? getting PRIZES? really?

and for girls - well, to quote a lovely friend, these pans are here to tell you that your lips are the wrong color.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Your significant other is trying to steal your wallet.

This CTA ad says "snuggling or snatching?" under pictures of a couple all arms-around and someone getting their wallet stolen. Then it goes on to give some tips to avoid pickpocketing.

Can someone please tell me what this ad is about? The closest I've been able to figure out (through asking, you know, everyone I know, students included) is that if you're snuggling, you might be distracted. And someone else might take advantage of your snuggliness to steal from you. I guess.

I think it's just a bad ad, and whoever was supposed to approve it wasn't paying attention. "Snuggling or snatching? Sounds great! Put it in every train."

I think I love this guy.

Chances he's talking about an intentional faith community?

Monday, January 11, 2010

cam is so wise.

this is something that's going right up there with "there are many different ways to be a woman" - and it's from bones. yeah. in a conversation about dating and what women like, cam says, "'women' is not an acceptable generalization."

AHA. that's what i've been wanting to say.

"this is something that we take incredibly serious."

is everyone watching the bachelor right now? i'm pretty much liveblogging.

first, a woman is getting kicked off for having a relationship with a staffer. apparently the producers decided that this will keep her from "having a meaningful relationship with jake." jake, you know, who is currently dating fifteen women. i don't get how everyone's all, "well, this is extremely serious and evil and important. she must leave in shame." HE HAS A HAREM. jdksalhjlfdsa.

second, she says, "i don't think my personal life is anyone's business." hahaaaaaaa. reality TV's a bitch, huh?

also, ADVERBS. HONESTLY. you're on TV, people. [although i did feel slightly uncomfortable watching chris give the teacher-style discipline lecture. do i sound that awkward? yes.]

ooooh, now the ROSE is DYING. okay, i have to stop. i've already been yelling at the TV for about an hour. okay, one more thing. can we stop calling them "girls"? thanks.