SHEER MANDAMONIUM

Perhaps I'm Back

2005-06-20T15:01:00.000-04:00

Well let's see.... I haven't written in this thing since 1982. I would apologize, but that would be pretty arrogant. Because that would assume people are actually reading this. On the off chance, I am sorry.

I hate my job a little less than I did a few months ago. That doesn't make me happy here, just less miserable. But definitely still in the miserable category. Its amazing what the human psyche can learn to put up with. Its like POW conditioning. I have become much more complacent. I used to rage about this, but now I'm like... eh. What are you gonna do? Life's a bitch. I think thats officially what they call the loss of innocence. The realization that you may not, in fact, be better than all this. I think that's how you become a company drone.

If you hate your job still and find life a little less than satisfactory and far from rewarding, you should see the movie, Joe vs. the Volcano. It is one of my favorite movies of all time, even though when I first saw it I absolutely hated it. I was 10 and very literal. I couldn’t deal with a fantastical movie- I thought it was cheesy and it lacked any sort of plausible plot. I was 10, I didnt need fantasy. When you're 10 your life is fantasy. How ironic that we grow old and want to escape the real world. That we wish we could quit our dumb jobs and sail off on a yacht to an island in the South Pacific. Well that’s what Joe does, after he finds out he has a brain cloud that’s gonna kill him. He quits his shit job under florescent lights and takes a leap. Of course he only does that because he thinks he is dying, but still. Its inspirational. Its true that you are only as stuck as you allow yourself to be.

So I recommend this movie to all those stuck in jobs they hate or who are beaten down by life. And don’t be turned off by the Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan pairing. Its no cheese ball Sleepless in Seattle or You’ve Got Mail crap. Its Meg Ryan before she became this PERSONA Meg Ryan. Its like her before she knew she was cute. And Tom Hanks is just his goofy self, the guy from Big, not the forlorn romantic from his date movies.

Deedee: "What's wrong, Joe?"
Joe: "I'm losin' my soul..."

Patricia: “My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement.”

After writing this I am busy plotting my escape. There is no reason to live in a concrete jungle right now. The city’s killing me.

I should also mention that it is a Christmas tradition in our house to decorate our Christmas tree while watching Joe vs. Volcano. I cannot remember where this bizarre tradition started, but it is a firmly implanted tradition now and so every year we decorate the tree while watching it. That's just how good it is.

We're Not Gonna Take It

2005-01-11T14:24:00.000-05:00

Protesters at the Inauguration in 2001

Hey- I know some of you who read this live in DC. Please find some way to boycott/protest the Inauguration. Its not about him winning…SUCKS … but what are you gonna do? He won. I have picked up the pieces of my shattered, heartbroken existence and moved on. But why do DC taxpayers have to pay for the inauguration?? So please, since some of you apparently get a half day on the 19th and the whole day off on Jan 20th – find something worthwhile to do with your time. Make some witty signs to protest this bullshit. Throw eggs if you feel the need. Hell, write a letter to the paper. It always makes me feel better. But you DC residents are getting SCREWED. I wouldn’t take it. And guess what? Want to know why you are getting screwed? Cause you dont have a representative to fight for you. And who EVER listens to Mayor Williams? He seems like a nice enough guy... but you need some asshole that's going to get in people's faces and fight. Otherwise you are just as powerful as Puerto Rico.

U.S. Tells D.C. to Pay Inaugural Expenses Other Security Projects Would Lose $11.9 Million
By Spencer S. HsuWashington Post Staff WriterTuesday, January 11, 2005; Page A01

D.C. officials said yesterday that the Bush administration is refusing to reimburse the District for most of the costs associated with next week's inauguration, breaking with precedent and forcing the city to divert $11.9 million from homeland security projects.
Federal officials have told the District that it should cover the expenses by using some of the $240 million in federal homeland security grants it has received in the past three years -- money awarded to the city because it is among the places at highest risk of a terrorist attack.
But that grant money is earmarked for other security needs, Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D) said in a Dec. 27 letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua B. Bolten and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. Williams's office released the letter yesterday.
Williams estimated that the city's costs for the inauguration will total $17.3 million, most of it related to security. City officials said they can use an unspent $5.4 million from an annual federal fund that reimburses the District for costs incurred because of its status as the capital. But that leaves $11.9 million not covered, they said.
"We want to make this the best possible event, but not at the expense of D.C. taxpayers and other homeland security priorities," said Gregory M. McCarthy, the mayor's deputy chief of staff. "This is the first time there hasn't been a direct appropriation for the inauguration."
A spokesman for Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, which oversees the District, agreed with the mayor's stance. He called the Bush administration's position "simply not acceptable."
"It's an unfunded mandate of the most odious kind. How can the District be asked to take funds from important homeland security projects to pay for this instead?" said Davis spokesman David Marin.
The region has earmarked federal homeland security funds for such priorities as increasing hospital capacity, equipping firefighters with protective gear and building transit system command centers.
OMB spokesman Chad Kolton said no additional appropriation is needed for the inauguration.
"We think that an appropriate balance of money from [the annual reimbursement] fund and from homeland security grants is the most effective way to cover the additional cost the city incurs," Kolton said. "We recognize the city has a special burden to bear for many of these events. . . . That's expressly why in the post-9/11 era we are providing additional resources."
The $17.3 million the city expects to spend on this inauguration marks a sharp increase from the $8 million it incurred for Bush's first.
According to Williams's letter, the District anticipates spending $8.8 million in overtime pay for about 2,000 D.C. police officers; $2.7 million to pay 1,000-plus officers being sent by other jurisdictions across the country; $3 million to construct reviewing stands; and $2.5 million to place public works, health, transportation, fire, emergency management and business services on emergency footing.
Congressional aides said the District sought unsuccessfully last year to boost the annual security reimbursement fund from $15 million to $25 million to pay for inauguration expenses. In contrast, New York City and Boston-area lawmakers were able to obtain $50 million from Congress for each of those two jurisdictions to cover local security costs for the national political conventions.
Inauguration officials said they plan to spend $40 million on the four-day celebration, which will include fireworks, the swearing-in, a parade and nine balls. Those expenses -- which do not include security and other public services -- are being funded by private donors.
OMB and DHS spokesmen said they could not provide an estimate of what the inauguration will cost the federal government.
Federal employees who work in the District, Montgomery, Prince George's, Fairfax and Arlington counties, Alexandria and Falls Church are entitled to a holiday on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, the Office of Personnel Management has announced. As of June, the cost of giving federal workers in the capital area a day off was about $66 million.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) asked OPM chief Kay Coles James yesterday to dismiss federal employees at noon or 1 p.m. Jan. 19 to avoid gridlock. The Secret Service plans to close an area bordered by Constitution Avenue and E, 15th and 17th streets NW at 3:45 p.m. that day to accommodate a ceremony at the White House Ellipse, Norton's office said.

Random Thoughts

2005-01-06T15:25:00.000-05:00

I would be terrified to live in California. Why?? Tsunamis? NO. Earthquakes? NO. Two words: Jury Duty. Sure being on a high profile case seems exciting. Until 6 months of your life is gone and you have to sit there day after day after day listening to a run down of the defendant's phone records that lasts for 2 weeks. The most gruesome, foul, insane cases are all in California. I know they have the biggest population, but come. California has the most sickos per capita than any state in the union. Michael Jackson jury selection begins soon (and come on, you are CRAZY if you want to be selected for that one), the Scott Peterson one just ended, Phil Spector, Robert Blake (and of course the trial that started it all, OJ). I don't know why celebrities that live in NYC seem to not have problems with killing or molesting. Just shady stock trades. I'll take that kind of shade any day. What does California do to a person? Or who is it that you attract? Someone should do a study. Too much sunshine is not, in fact, good for you.

On a side note, if you happen to read Wonkette, please stop. She sucks. I used to read her for fun, but now I dont even want to give her site the hit. Join me.

Tsunami Relief

2004-12-29T13:16:00.000-05:00

Tsunami Victims

Its been a LOOOONNGG time since I have written. I had the bubonic plague through Christmas and am just starting to feel better. I apologize for not sending holiday wishes sooner. I hope everyone had a nice Christmas or whatever you celebrate.

Obviously, this Christmas we were reminded to be thankful for everything we have. The pictures from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, and Thailand are devastating. Everyone has seen them. The death toll climbs each day and there are fears that disease could double the death toll. Its horrific....

“With relief officials warning of possible cholera epidemics and malaria, Dr. David Nabarro, head of crisis operations for the World Health Organization, has warned "we could have as many dying from communicable diseases as from the tsunami." Nabarro said the main threat to life now is communicable diseases associated with a lack of clean water and sanitation." The initial terror associated with the tsunamis and the earthquake itself may be dwarfed by the longer term suffering of the affected communities," he warned. Hospitals and health services already are overwhelmed and may not be able to cope with people who fall ill with disease, Nabarro said.”

We all have some money we can part with. I urge you to donate even $20 to a charity that is helping victims. I have gone through AmeriCares. I have known the CEO for a long time, he is a great guy. He just got back from Sudan actually. You can read his journal on their website. Thank God for organizations like this one. Sudan is a mess and we are completely ignoring it. But I digress… AmeriCares has already airlifted 30,000 lbs of medical supplies to Sri Lanka. More on their mission:

“The plane is carrying disaster relief supplies including antibiotics, analgesics, basic first aid supplies, and enough water treatment sachets to purify four million liters of water. Donations are urgently needed to continue to provide the means to deliver medicines to combat malaria, cholera, respiratory infections, diarrhea and other water-borne illnesses to the people most at risk in this crisis.”

DONATE!!! Everyone has some money they can spare. We are so lucky to have everything that we do. And yes, I am young and I feel like I barely make any money and have lots of bills… but I live beyond comfortably with my digital cable with dvr recording so I can tape shows that I might miss. Oh to have my stupid problems…. Which color do I want that JCrew sweater in?? I don’t have to worry about finding clean drinking water. And neither do you. So give a little. These people have lost their families, their homes, their lives.

Here is where you can donate to AmeriCares:
https://www.americares.org/donate/?id=South%20Asia%20Earthquake%20Relief%20Fund

If you don’t want to donate to AmeriCares, donate to the Red Cross or UNICEF or Save the Children. They all have funds for Tsunami Relief. But do something.

A Movie Roundup for the foulest of weather

2004-12-10T17:11:00.000-05:00

'Tis the season for movies. The painful summer/fall months of blockbusters with no plots and actors who couldn’t act themselves out of a box are over… yippee! Now is the time for people who like movies that are more than just eye-candy. If you liked Armageddon, The Day After Tomorrow, or “Spider-Man 2”, Stop. You don’t need to read this entry, or my blog for that matter. You’re not my kind of people. Sorry. If you are still with me, here’s movie roundup for your weekend of foul weather:

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou comes out TODAY, Dec 10, in NY and LA and Christmas for the rest of the world!! Go see it! Wes Andserson is a genius!

Ok, ok. This came out today and I havent seen it. But I ADORED the Royal Tenenbaums and am so excited another Wes Anderson movie has finally come! The rest of the movies I have actually seen:

The Motorcycle Diaries- See this before it leaves the theaters! The South American vistas should be seen on the big screen. They will not be as magical on your tv. Even if you aren’t that interested in the plot you should go just to see these beautiful scenes of South America. The cinematography is really quite breathtaking. This movie is about Che before he was revolutionary. Its great. Its apolitical, its just the story of two guys who do an amazing trek through South America and discover much about its people and themselves in the process. The goal is to get to Peru where they will volunteer in a Leper Colony. Gael García Bernal is just perfect as Che. Before he became a mythical figure, he was a skinny asthmatic with innocence and honorable ideals. His commitment to the people of Latin America starts here, but you aren’t hit over the head with earnest observations of the poor and downtrodden. You watch him discover a world he didn’t know existed and in the process learn a lot yourself. Oh and don’t go hung-over…its subtitled.

Finding Neverland- This is a whimsical movie that not everyone will love. I did though. If you like Johnny Depp, you will love watching him continue to deliver. He is so good now that its worth it just to watch him. Its just a charming movie about the man who wrote Peter Pan. The movie has all the magic of kids and their imagination. Warning- it’s a sad one though. Two out of three of us cried our eyes out. I wont tell you which one of us is dead inside. But I will tell you its not me. I sobbed.

Closer- If you are in a relationship, don’t go see this movie unless you are feeling particularly secure with yourself and your partner that day. If you are single… you will want to be, well, more so. This is a painful study of relationships with possibly the four most narcissistic people ever shown onscreen. There are moments of great truth. Its a movie consumed with sex and yet there is no sex onscreen. Mike Nichols does an amazing job de-beautifying Julia Roberts so that she can play a mere mortal, and does an even more amazing job making the beguiling Natalie Portman believable as a cold stripper. But it’s the men, Jude Law and Clive Owen, who steal this movie right out from under the beauties. They both give stellar performances- especially Clive Owen. This movie was adapted from a play, and you can very much feel that. The rhythm of the dialogue feels like it should be on a stage. But because they stuck so close to the original format the script didn’t lose any of its wittiness or its gravity. Go see this movie on a rainy day with a close friend- its not a date movie. And you will need to go for a drink afterwards to talk this one out.

Sideways- this movie has some very funny moments. The acting is great. The script is so-so. Two men go wine tasting before the irresponsible/childish one gets married. They meet two woman who work in wine country. Hilarity ensues. Not really. It’s a very thoughtful movie, but it sags with the wine descriptions and analysis. Even if you are interested in wine you get a little bored. The most painful moment is of course, the question… if you were a wine which one would you be? I cringed. It was like watching the old dating game shows when the host asks the bachelors if they were an animal… which one would they be? Well, he’s a damn pinot noir. Ugh. Dime store psychology. Anyway, I expected a bit more as I think “Election” (also by Alexander Payne) is one of the funniest movies ever. The acting is much more subtle in this movie, its not a black comedy really, so much as a frank look at a poor shlub’s life. As much trash as I have just talked, Paul Giamatti is fantastic as the poor shlub. I do hope he gets to play someone happy soon though.

The Incredibles- cute movie, a little too long for a frivolous cartoon, but there is a lot of great humor without any of the sentimentality of a typical, old-school Disney movie (you don’t feel as if you are being manipulated to cry for instance). Just a fun movie with AMAZING animation. Its astounding how much better animation gets with each movie they come out with. Jason Lee as the voice of the villain is hysterical.

Garden State dvd comes out Dec 28 – I HIGHLY recommend it. Its really a beautiful movie. I don’t get the show “Scrubs” at all- the humor, the characters, the point, etc- so I had my doubts about Zach Braff (who wrote, directed and starred in this movie). But he’s fab in it. Its just a quiet little movie about a guy who comes from a very fucked up family and who has fucked up friends (in VERY fucked up New Jersey). Its intelligent and its funny. The soundtrack is also painfully good. I’m listening to it right now.
If you have seen it and love it (or are crazy) like me, you can check out Zach’s blog. He’s (mostly) adorably self-effacing.
http://www2.foxsearchlight.com/gardenstate/blog/

Locusts: Just Like Walking Through Times Square

2004-12-07T17:14:00.000-05:00

Locusts Invade Mexico

Pobrecito! This little chico is trying to swat away all the locusts that have invaded Merida, Mexico. So, tomorrow I am taking off to help him. With my chopsticks of course. I am assuming it would be hard to buy chopsticks in Merida so I'll bring a set of my own. I'm off to a new rewarding career...where the advertising secret agents can't get to me (see below)...

Read this crazy article from the NY Times Magazine called “The Hidden (In Plain Sight) Persuaders”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/magazine/05BUZZ.html?oref=login

We are seriously the most manipulated people on the planet. I am not sure any thought I have is actually my own. Forget the subliminal messages hysteria of yore. These people VOLUNTEER for word of mouth marketing campaigns. Apparently they like to be “in the know”. They receive books or sausages or eye cream in the mail, try them (or read them) and then talk them up to friends. For instance for books, they are encouraged to read the books on mass transit with the cover showing, talk to their friends about them, write reviews on amazon.com, and call bookstores asking if they have that book in stock. Its not guerilla warfare. But when you think about how many 4th of July parties were secretly monitored for their use of Al Fresco chicken sausages, it becomes a bit creepy. These wacko volunteers brought the sausages, innocently enough, to 4th of July bbq’s all across the country and then wrote little reports about how well they were received. How many people they chatted to about the sausages. If they think their friends will buy the sausages:

''People could not believe they weren't pork!'' one agent related. ''I told everyone that they were low in fat and so much better than pork sausages.'' Another wrote, ''I handed out discount coupons to several people and made sure they knew which grocery stores carried them.'' Another noted that ''my dad will most likely buy the garlic'' flavor, before closing, ''I'll keep you posted.''

These people are your friends and family!

Of course these types of campaigns have also been very successful. These agents request that their local grocery store carry the sausages… and sales increase. By a lot. Apparently these new types of marketing campaigns are the result of the saturation we feel because of the constant advertising we are exposed to on a daily basis. People are tired of being bombarded by the jingles and the jazzy visuals. They tivo shows and don’t watch commercials. We are tired of Tic Tac ads on our gas pumps and the llooonnngg commercials we now have to endure before we even get to see the previews at the movie theater (incidentally the Beyonce ad for her new perfume, True Star, got the worst reception I have ever seen when I went to “Closer” last weekend- people laughed, threw popcorn). So marketing firms need new ways to reach people. They go undercover and sneak right into your living room on the heels of your best friend, aunt, classmate, etc.

I went to art school in Greece for a few months. Lived on a small island in a pedestrian town where no cars were allowed within it. No tv, no noise really. I went a little crazy at first. There was so much … silence. I was left all alone with just the thoughts in my head. A lot of its was the quiet, but a lot of it was the fact that there were no ads. Anywhere. No buses, no billboards, no commercials on tv. Do you know what its like to think without interruption?? Its NUTS. Sure I can be deep in thought walking down the street. But then I’ll spot a billboard with Sarah Jessica Parker hawking Gap clothes and it will lead me to another thought… oh shit I forgot to get my cousin a present for Christmas…or that blue scarf reminds me of my friend, Alia, and I forgot to call her back last night … or when on earth was the last time I did laundry??? You see? We are soooo manipulated. And now our friends and family have turned against us. Its just sad I suppose. But… what are you going to do? They just scientifically map us and manipulate us until they break us down and they know who to sell what to with which method of persuasion.

So take vacations in the woods. And don’t buy every new toilet brush they shake in your face. Even if your best friend tells you it’s the best thing she’s ever bought. You never know, she might be sleeping with the enemy.

20th Anniversary of the Bhopal Tragedy

2004-12-03T17:41:00.000-05:00

I know, its Friday. Make us laugh, you say. Tell us something cheery. Well sorry. Not today. The 5 day sprint is over, time to enjoy life for 2 days before it sucks again. I hate to end on a downer note… but I said I would talk about Bhopal. So while I do hope everyone has a great weekend, before you head out the door….

The story from www.bhopal.org:
“Shortly after midnight on Sunday 3rd December, poison gas began leaking from a factory in Bhopal, India, owned by the Union Carbide Corporation. There was no warning, none of the plant's safety systems were working. A thick cloud of gas rolled across the road and entered the narrow alleys on the other side. In the city people were sleeping, many in kuccha houses, which had no proper windows or doors. They woke in darkness to the sound of screams with the gases in their eyes, noses and mouths. It burned terribly, it felt like fire. They began retching and coughing up froth streaked with blood. Then there was panic. Entire communities ran out of their houses in whatever they were wearing, some wore nothing at all. As the gases ravaged their bodies, some went into convulsions and fell dead. People lost control of their bodies and ran with urine and feces flowing down their legs. Within hours, thousands of dead bodies lay in the streets.”

Disputed casualties:
http://www.thevictoriaadvocate.com/front/story/2384265p-2759446c.html
“Union Carbide - based in Danbury, Conn., and bought by Dow Chemical Co. of Midland, Mich., in 2001 - claims that 3,800 people were killed. Indian officials say 10,000 to 12,000 people were killed, while Bhopal activists and health workers say more than 20,000 people have died over the years due to gas-related illnesses, such as lung cancer, kidney failure and liver disease. Indian officials estimate that nearly 600,000 more have become ill or had babies born with congenital defects over the last 20 years.
Adil Bee, born seven years after the disaster, stopped growing after his third birthday. His neck never quite took form. His gnarled feet are turned inward, forcing him to scoot around on his knees. Thirteen-year-old Adil cannot speak; his mother can only cry when asked how long he is expected to live.

“The doctors told me not to expect anything from him," said Raisa Bee, 45, who received 25,000 rupees ($543) for Adil's medical care.”

“Dow maintains the case was resolved in 1989, when Union Carbide settled with the Indian government for $470 million. Though the 1989 deal dropped all charges against the company and then-chairman Warren Anderson, the Indian Supreme Court reinstated manslaughter charges against him in 1991. In July, the U.S. State Department rejected India's extradition request on technical grounds.”

Today marks the 20th Annviersary of this tragedy. Both the Indian and US government bear responsibility. The Indian government originally asked for a settlement of $3.3 billion- but took a measly $470 million (by comparison Exxon Valdez had to pay $5 billion for polluting the Alaskan coast). Throughout the years they have been less than aggressive pursuing charges against the company, for fear of scaring off and/or souring relationships with multinational corporations. They have also been horrible about distributing funds to victims. The US refuses to extradite Warren Anderson who apparently lives in a beach house in Florida, hiding from renegade Greenpeace activists. There are some who say the United States government should have intervened long ago.

Anyway, its just something to think about and read up on more. If you are so inclined, become involved. There really are teams of Greenpeace activists who stake out Warren Anderson. If you are in between jobs or something and could use a road trip to Florida. He also makes appearances in the Hamptons. But seriously, do something. Something like that is much, much less likely to happen here. Our government regulations (though paltry at times) do for the most part succeed in protecting us.

That was all really depressing. To cheer up, go to this site if you have speakers on your computer. Without sound, it ain’t worth it:
http://www.e-thug.net/
Thanks Austin

No Rave, Just Rant, Rant, Rant

2004-12-02T18:45:00.000-05:00

Today I hate my job more than yesterday. It really is surprising that just when you think you hate something as much as humanly possible, there’s always room for more.

So, in honor of my shit mood I am going to make a list of everything that pisses me off. Join me. Get mad. Here, in order from mild to severe in terms of crimes against humanity:

Ok, I have already shit on the New York Post. Why do I let it piss me off so much? I don’t know. Everyone knows its just a terrible paper. So is it even worth pointing out just how horrible it is? Probably not. But it really gets under my skin. People read this. LOTS of people. Sure the cheesy free papers they hand out in the subway have probably taken out a chunk of their readership (since it too is written at a 4th grade reading level). But you still see a lot of people on the subway reading it. This is a newspaper that when there was a rash of suicides at NYU last year, put a picture of a girl who had just jumped off a building (and was the 4th or 5th student to do so) ON THE COVER. I don’t know how they got this picture. I don’t know who had a camera and happened to be looking up the minute this girl decided to kill herself, but there it was, this little girl flying through the air. It was beyond tasteless. In true Unabomber form, I, of course, wrote them a stern letter. Then two days ago, they write a story about the poor Ebersol family. You know the NBC Sports Chief whose plane went down and he and one of his sons survived? It’s a dreadful story. I mean just horrible. The son who died, Edward Ebersol, was missing for at least a day. The post reported on the finding of his body with this considerate and tasteful title for their article: ”NBC JET KID DEAD”. WHAT? We are talking about a fourteen year old kid here who was just found UNDERNEATH a plane! And they call him NBC JET KID? How about, “Ebersol Family Grieves”, or even just “Edward Ebersol Found Dead”? I mean, that’s not even a super sensitive one, but its factual. The news isn’t pretty, and I’m not asking for anyone to sugarcoat anything to make us all feel better. That’s for you shrink, your mom, and Oprah to do. Love Oprah and her fluff, but there’s a reason she’s not in the news business. So don’t think I cant handle it. But when a fourteen year old boy dies, please tell me that there is a better headline to print with the story than that. Again, pointless crusade- this one I have against the Post. But it makes me mad. And so I tell you about it. Here’s the article:
http://www.nypost.com/seven/11302004/news/nationalnews/35493.htm

Another thing that pissed me off today was an Op-Ed piece in the NY Times by Thomas Friedman called “9/11 Bubble”. Read it. Its good. Or just read these snippets:

“In my lifetime we will have gone from the Greatest Generation to the Profligate Generation to the Bankrupt Generation. Yes, I'm talking to you 20-year-olds. President Bush has called for sacrifice - but not by his generation. He's passing the bill onto your generation.

“The very reason Mr. Bush had the luxury of launching a war of necessity in Afghanistan and a war of choice in Iraq, without a second thought, was because of the surpluses built up by the previous administration and Congress. Since then, the Bush team has been slashing taxes in the middle of two wars, weakening the dollar and amassing a huge debt burden - on the implicit assumption that nothing will go wrong in the future.
But what if there is another 9/11 or war of necessity? We're cooked. The tax revenue won't be there, so the only option will be more borrowing and a weaker dollar. But what happens if the Chinese and other foreigners, who now hold over 40 percent of our Treasury securities, decide they don't want to hold these depreciating dollars anymore, let alone buy more?
It is now clear to me that we have followed the dot-com bubble with the 9/11 bubble. Both bubbles made us stupid. The first was financed by reckless investors, and the second by a reckless administration and Congress. In the first case, the public was misled by Wall Street stock analysts, who told them the old rules didn't apply - that elephants can fly. In the second case, the public was misled by White House economists, peddling similar nonsense. The first ended in tears, and so will the second. Because, as the dot-com bubble proved, elephants can fly - "provided it is not very long."

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/02/opinion/02friedman.html?hp

Please President Bush, surprise us. Lets get rid of Treasury Secretary John Snow, who, according to the Washington Post, is being pushed out anyway… and let’s appoint someone who, oh I don’t know, may try to restore some sense of fiscal responsibility. I personally would do it cause its fun to prove everyone wrong. Come on, I dare you.

For the last and most heinous crime against humanity (and the only REAL crime against humanity on my list) that I have been thinking about today… I was going to add the 20th Anniversary of the Bhopal Gas tragedy… but I will do that tomorrow since the anniversary is actually tomorrow. Well, actually it was 5 minutes past midnight, so I am not sure when is appropriate…. But we’re talking about it tomorrow. Here’s a fun fact in the meantime:

Union Carbide and eight other companies paid US $ 4.2 billion as potential damages for Silicone Breast Implants to 650,000 claimants. This amount was 9 times more than what the Bhopal victims were given. With global assests of US $ 5 billion, the company would have gone bankrupt if it had to pay damages according to US laws. A quick look at the Indian Railways schedule for compensation (Death Rs.2,00,000 and a minimum of 40,000 for bodily injury), sharply contradicts Union Carbide's claims that the compensation was "more than generous by Indian standards. "
We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. Its really horrible. Corporations and corrupt governments suck. I know. Such a juvenile declaration. I may not shower for a while and become a hippie now. Fuck the Man.

Iraqi Homestays (with Prozac!)

2004-11-30T18:06:00.000-05:00

Freud

I am sorry I have been so MIA. Thanksgiving and then work sucking even more than usual. Which is shocking really. Just when you think it can’t get worse… it does.

But anyway, I read a silly little article in the New Yorker this week called “Flooding the Zone” by George Saunders, who is seriously brilliant (read his book, Pastoralia). He writes about how there are 12 Americans for every Iraqi and that we should go over there and take care of them, as a good will effort. Show them we aren’t all so bad. Of course everyone will have to go, and then each American will be responsible for one-twelfth of an Iraqi. So a family of five will be attended to by sixty Americans. He suggests we bring board games, food, luxuries like refrigerators and tvs. Then we will just all chill out. We will cook dinner for them and teach them how to play Monopoly. We'll all just hang out and bond. People will be so relaxed things will start to improve....

“Well, even the most energetic insurgent will have a hard time getting much done, saddled, as he will be with his twelve designated Americans. Imagine how hard it will be to sneak off with your insurgent friends, much less deploy a roadside bomb, when, every time you move, your twelve Americans leap up and ask if there’s anything you need. Say you are going out to assault a convoy. Good luck! You skulk into the night, and suddenly three Fitzsimmonses and the four Jacksons and the five elderly Peterkin brothers are walking along with you, asking where you are headed, wondering if that distinctive Iraqi hat has a name, asking if there’s anywhere to get a decent cup of decaf, telling an endless story about how hard it was to get a decent cup of decaf in Paris, for God’s sake.”

I applaud this idea, and also assert that we set up a serious National Crisis Center staffed with the best therapists we mentally incapacitated Americans have to offer. I know, such a New York/ neurotic Woody Allen solution. But can you imagine? They suffer Saddam, then they suffer us. And they suffer from some of their own. There are no jobs… unemployment is estimated as high as 50%. Sure, there are jobs with the coalition. And wouldn’t you just love to jump in line to sign up for the police force when the stations are car bombed daily? People want a job not a death sentence. Their lives SUCK. SUCK SUCK SUCK. Maybe things are better now than there were 2 years ago… I am certainly not able to evaluate that fairly. But it looks pretty damn bad. And even if its better, it still sucks. Sure, my job is better than a lot of other things I could be doing… like cleaning bathrooms at NJ Turnpike rest stops or being an anal wart researcher (YUP that’s a job)… but just because its in the realm of possibility for things to be worse, doesn’t mean it still doesn’t suck. There are lots of shades of gray. It doesn’t really matter if you are charcoal or oyster gray. Sucking is sucking. Anyway, I think a little therapy would help ease the tensions. Counseling is important to help the Iraqis deal with their anxiety and fear and can also be a tool to help us reach out to the insurgents. One might ask an insurgent, what were your parents like? Did you get along with your father? Who are you REALLY angry at here? And finally we can teach that when you hurt others, you really only hurt yourself (it, of course, begs the question… how DOES Bush sleep so well at night????) Well perhaps when the therapists are finished in Iraq and they have brought peace and harmony (along with the gift of psycho-babble, Dr. Phil shows, Ritalin, Prozac, Wellbutrin, etc etc) they will be able to move on to help those at the White House. That will be a long tour of duty though. Perhaps we'll have to call in Maureen Dowd to advise on W’s complexes with daddy dearest.

God (and therapy) help us all.

2004-11-23T18:28:00.000-05:00

Guernica

I just wanted to say thank you. There were lots of people that cheered me up. Yesterday I felt like shit and tried to be amusing and sarcastic about it, but truly I have existential angst about my lack of purpose and meaning. Its unfortunate that I feel this way about one of my first jobs out of college, but its not unusual or surprising, now is it? I think most are pointless and painful. I wish I could just relax and glide through life on a meaningless cloud and be happy. “One Crazy Summer”- the happy fuzzy bunny people. I’m just not that kind of girl. What does it mean? Where is it going? Why am I so insignificant? I think people invented religion to deal with these types of questions. Unfortunately I gave up on organized religion a while ago. Then people invented pharmaceuticals to deal. Must find other crutches…

There are great things in life, despite life’s sometimes tawdry and miserable nature. I think that’s why I love art. It elevates the mundane. You feel closer to the sublime, which liberates you from your tedious life. Isn’t that what I fear most? Monotony? Being bogged down by the ordinary, the routine, the commonplace? Everyone wants to be unique, original, special. But isn’t that the joy of being (that you are)? The human heart has such depths that surface at the most unexpected times. And if you really believe in people, you have to believe that everyone has capacity for all things. Its pretty miraculous. Pretty frightening. But despite this unfathomable uncertainty, we love. Against all reason and purpose. If you can love others unselfishly and let yourself be loved, you don’t really need anything else. Even if you have the most dreadful job. It what you do. Its not who you are.

Enough. Before I get all Dali Lama on your ass. I am going to go home, drink something alcoholic, and listen to my new U2 cd. As per the norm, Bono has reinvigorated my reasons for living.

My dad says… there is always something to look at, laugh with, and see through. I think that’s enough. Its sustenance. For now. For always.

Seriously, buy the new U2 cd.
“The more you know the less you feel
Some pray for others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel…luckily”

thanks ross

Reality Bites, and other non-original complaints...

2004-11-22T18:54:00.000-05:00

THE ACT OF CATCHING ALL THESE LOCUSTS, ONE BY ONE WITH CHOPSTICKS, WOULD BE MORE REWARDING THAN MY PRESENT JOB

I am sorry I haven’t written in a few days. Oh and thanks for complaining about it. As if I was unaware of my neglect. But here’s the thing....
I HATE MY JOB. Not a little. A LOT. I am suffering from intellectual anorexia. This job is sucking out not only my will to live but also any brain cells I might have left after college. And I wasn’t working with a lot after a year in that damn house. Some of you know what I mean. Anyway, I cannot stand the thought of coming back here tomorrow. And the tomorrow after that. Its just horrible.

In college they should have a SENIOR mandatory orientation class like that bullshit freshman year one (at GW you do important things like go on scavenger hunts with people who share the same first letter of your last name). I didn’t need help freshman year. I was actually ok then. I still had dignity and hope. I NEEDED ONE BEFORE I GRADUATED. To prepare me for a demeaning and depressing job of serving others for peanut pay. If someone could have just sat me down and said, “Yes, you are a smart girl and your whole life that has helped you and mattered. You worked hard in high school and got scholarships to go to your stupid college. We are happy for you. So this will be confusing and will hurt a lot. Its time to graduate and go off into the world, and we need to warn you that you will not be valued for your intellect for the next 10 years. You will work your way up the bullshit ladder and people with no brains and no humanity will get to tell you what to do because, well, they have been around longer. And that’s important.” If someone could have prepared me for this I really would have appreciated it.

I am soooo glad so much $ was thrown into my education for absolutely no good reason. Cause in New York what matters is who your dad is and who he plays golf with. You want an interview at JP Morgan or William Morris or The New Yorker? Those jobs are taken by the social elite network. Your stupid first job is gotten for you on the 8th hole. And listen, I know I am not one to talk. Both of my jobs since college I got through connections (though I PROMISE no golf courses were involved) But I don’t even want it that way. I benefit from this bullshit system and yet I hate hate hate it. Cause it means you can only get jobs that you have an in at. Which is severely limiting.

Anyway, I hope someone reads this and takes me away from here (top choices: Sevilla, Rome, island in Greece). Until then, lets all go home and play trivial pursuit or something. Remember that you are a thinking person. Cause here is the thing. I spend at least 45 hours a week at work. And on the weekends I am either drunk in a bar OR hungover. No intelligent conversations in bars, and hangovers mean lights out, aerobed blown up in the living room, watching bad movies and drinking yoo-hoo all day. So that’s not a brainy time. You could say its my fault. Why don’t I do something cultural? Well sometimes I do. One time I went to Staten Island to see a Tibetan museum. That’s mostly cause Nate made us go and you cant refuse a visitor’s requests. But still. I have my NYC cultural moments. I do. But don’t you see? As my threshold for pain is increased day after day month after month until they break me and finally make me realize that I am a human drone capable only of stapling…the medicinal qualities of yagger become more and more necessary. Happy job = reconciling with reality. Reconciling with reality = less hangover brain fog. If a=b, and b=c, then a=c. I’ve still got it!

Olympic Games + NYC = Sheer Heaven!

2004-11-17T18:26:00.000-05:00

Deputy mayor Daniel L. Doctoroff presented a 562-page bid book to the press today, unveiling many of the city’s specific plans to win over the IOC for the 2012 games. NYC will be competing for the games with Paris, London, Madrid, and Moscow.

I, for one, am campaigning hard for NYC and cant wait to see the games! Think of all the fun we’ll have. I mean I LOVE commuting every morning and being pressed up against people on the subway who may or may not: have showered in the last 2 weeks / be a serial killer / grab my ass / spill their coffee on me / recite passages from the Bible to themselves. I cant wait until our already overcrowded public transportation system is inundated with an extra 2 million visitors in the spirit of International Sportsmanship and Cooperation. Which brings me to what HASN’T been mentioned. Securing our quaint little city. I mean its not as if we live under constant threats of terrorism or anything! To secure us they would have to be such hard asses that entire countries wouldn’t be allowed to participate (that actually may depend on which way the wind is blowing at the White House in 2012).

Ok, ok. I wont go on and on about security. I am sure they have it under control. And besides, who can think about security when there are such great little perks to the games! The Olympic village will be “quiet and peaceful… athletes will appreciate the freshness of purified air and water, smart elevators in their spacious apartments, high speed internet connections in their rooms and... outside a free beauty salon staffed by some of New York’s top stylists.” First of all, there is no such thing as purified air in NYC. I don’t know what the hell a smart elevator is so I cant comment. But beauty salons?? That’s the reward we offer athletes who work their whole lives to get here? An over priced hair cut from some New York asshole stylist?? Who THINKS of these things? If we have to go the fluff route, how about offering massages for their freaking aching limbs and muscles? As you can see, the NYC PR machine will be in overdrive. Every night “the Olympic rings will be projected in the night sky, like the Batman signal.” Ahhh... pretty lights. Makes it all better. I wonder if that's to make up for the lack of visible stars in the sky.

Events in NYC:

Beach Volley Ball will be held in the new Williamsburg Waterfront Park where competitors will play against the “spectacular Manhattan skyline.” Though, like everything in NYC, there is a trade off for such views. The new Williamsburg Waterfront Park is to be built on the old Eastern District Rail Terminal, which admittedly “currently suffers from industrial contamination.” The New York Olympic Committee would like to advise players that it would be best to keep your actual contact with the sand to a minimum… unless the idea of growing a third eye seems interesting or fun to you.

Mountain biking in Staten Island. I’ve been there…yes, to Staten Island… and I am not sure world class athletes who have trained their entire lives to participate in the Olympics will be very happy about their trails. I mean NYC obviously cant offer the French Alps like the Tour de France, but I don’t think cyclists will be impressed biking around Nuevo Riche mafia houses with gaudy gold statues in their lawns, mapping their course through the hundreds of nail salons and strip clubs, and dodging the abundance of Camaro’s and IROC-Z’s on the road.

The Olympic sport of shooting will be held at the newly built “Pelham Bay Olympic Shooting Center” in the Bronx. And once the Olympics are over, the Bronx will have a state of the art shooting range! Because everyone in the Bronx could surely use some more target practice. Let’s make sure they hit their mark every time from now on. Thanks IOC! In exchange for this community service, NYC is prepared to offer guided tours of Hunts Point to any athletes that miss their spouse… or anyone that really loved the HBO special Hookers at the Point and Hookers at the Point II: Going Out Again, although we cant promise Angel, "the School Teacher", will be working.

So as you can see, the Olympics in NYC is obviously a great idea! I wish I could go to sleep, wake up and have it be 2012!! Cause I will have gotten as far away as possible from this Olympic infested city. God speed Paris, London, Madrid and Moscow. Please kick our ungrateful asses. You are more used to Eurotrash tourists anyway.

Rathergate: bloggers' inability to move on

2004-11-16T18:01:00.000-05:00

If you are very bored at work and like to write Unabomber letters like I do (I did a really good one to Chris Matthews about election night coverage and his shitty comments about how an 18 year old's vote shouldn't count the same as a 75 year old's- based on how long they have been reading and studying the news for. I love my grandma but you think she fully grasps the issues? Yes, says Mr. Matthews because she has been reading newspapers for 60 years. She has been "studying the issues" for 60 years while an 18 year old has only been reading the newspaper for one year at best. That's a great argument Mr. Matthews except that my studious grandmother STILL thinks Matt Lauer is a traitor for saying DOT.COM like all the other anchors on the news- she thinks "dot.com" is some chinese word that everyone understands but her. Say it fast and that will make more sense to you. I don't know what she makes of the "www", I am afraid to ask...But I digress...) please go to this website and tell these people how much they suck. Thanks.

http://rathergate.com/

Oh maybe you are the kind of people that require proof of suckage-
from the unenlightened at rathergate.com:

"So I'll go out on a limb and deliver W's victory speech for him:

Nice try, Dan Rather. Nice try, Mary Mapes. Enjoy my second term, as well as my party's gains in Congress. Enjoy hearings on your obvious partisan bias disguised as "news."

Nice try, leftist Hungarian billionaire George Soros. Thanks for spending a sizeable chunk of your fortune to defeat me. That's millions that you can no longer spend to legalize drugs in the United States and declare war on Judaism and Christianity.

Nice try, Mr. bin Laden. Hope the Special Forces that Sen. Kerry said are no good didn't notice your satellite dish perched outside the hole in which you're hiding. I'd say this on Fox, but you look like a CNN kind of guy to me.

Nice try, 527 groups. Enjoy your existence while it lasts, until John McCain and the newly-energized GOP fix the tax code and blast you all and Mr. Soros out of the national debate.

Nice try, Old Europe. Nice try, France and Germany. Keep looking down over your noses at us. To tell you the truth, we don't particularly care what you think. That's why we left for America in the first place.

Old Media, I hope you all savored this election. With the Internet and the ongoing communications revolution, the 2004 election will mark the last time in the history books that Old Media played a role in politics. There is no "scandal" you can fabricate on such short notice that will win this election for your man Kerry.
So savor it, old men. The metallic taste in your mouth is irrelevancy. Unless you all start blogs.

This is Rathergate, and we approved this message"

They are still stuck on "memogate/Rathergate" and even today posted punishments they would like to see CBS dole out. Get over it. Memogate (which never would have lasted so long if not for the need of 24 hour news channels to fill dead air) VS. Swift Boat Veterans for Bullshit? "There is no "scandal" you can fabricate on such short notice that will win this election for your man Kerry." Hi hypocrite! SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH?? A fully funded right wing smear campaign? The memos may have been false - we don't know. But at least we know where Kerry was during those years. Anyway get over it. Rather had his ass handed to him, ratings are still down, you won- and its just plain obnoxious to gloat and be so stupid at the same time. You may have gotten a little bit of internet fame but that doesn't mean you have anything worthy to contribute. Your 15 seconds are over. Say goodbye to your brief (and debatable) relevance.

2004-11-15T16:01:00.000-05:00

Of Prayer and Payback
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6479271/site/newsweek/
Highlights from the article:
“After years of frustrating Democratic rule followed by a gridlocked Congress under Bush, they now hold daily conference calls and meetings to review a long legislative wish list: conservative judicial appointments, a federal amendment banning gay marriage, abortion restrictions, tougher obscenity laws, school vouchers, a ban on all human cloning. And they're counting on Bush to deliver.”
"Bush's legacy can be easily neutralized if he's unable to change the courts," says American Values president Gary Bauer.
"We're not going to be trotted out every four years and then get kicked in the teeth afterwards," says the Free Congress Foundation's Paul Weyrich
“But controlling that kind of hydra could prove tricky even for Bush's vaunted strategist Karl Rove. Some religious supporters might scare off moderates Rove hopes to add to a permanent Republican majority. Bob Jones III, president of Bob Jones University, wasn't exactly conciliatory in his post-election letter to Bush, deeming the president's re-election "a reprieve from the agenda of paganism." Jones wrote: "You owe liberals nothing. They despise you because they despise your Christ."
“Since the election, Rove has reiterated Bush's desire for a federal amendment banning gay marriage. Though aides say it's not first on Bush's to-do list, Republicans want to keep the issue alive. After all, it's not too early to think about the congressional elections of 2006.”

Ok, one, Bob Jones III is INSANE. I was brought up as an Episcopalian… Sunday school, confirmation, church choir, the whole nine yards…. and my understanding is that God, Jesus, whoever teaches us to be BETTER people… to love, to forgive, to be sympathetic people and above all is to do good and be a decent human being. To wage war against liberals is completely hypocritical and I am starting to seriously resent the non-thinking religious leaders who just rant and rave about values and damnation. The reason we, as liberals, lose the battle is because they start teaching their beliefs as soon as you can walk into a Sunday school. And then they lecture at you from the pulpit using scare tactics. So you will accept that homosexuality is a sin. Abortion is a sin. The evil-doers are coming for you and you better be ready to fight the Crusade. I was brought up in the church, yet was taught to think for myself, draw my own conclusions. My church has a gay bishop though so maybe its just that I cant even begin to understand “people of God” being discriminatory and hateful.

I think that the important thing after losing the election is not to disappear into the woodwork. They have the advantage of solidarity. Liberals are liberal for thousands of reasons- while the religious right agrees with each other on pretty much everything. I liked Kerry, I thought he could help restore our international reputation which was one of the issues that mattered most to me, but my faith and hope in him didn’t involve thinking that he was doing God’s work. People believe that about Bush and its hard to argue with. You cant fight fire with logic.

So anyway, I just wanted to remind people to stay involved and to support whatever cause matters to you. The Supreme Court could become considerably more conservative in the next 4 years which is scarily a much more important fight than a presidential election. They serve for life. The midterm elections are sure to be riddled with more gay marriage issues so that they can turn out the conservative voters. Be educated and educate others. We lost a big battle, but that doesn’t mean that we can afford to sit around until 2008.

"To have faith in a time of religious fervor is a worry. And, you know, I do have faith, and I'm worried about even the subject because of the sort of fanaticism that is the next-door neighbor of faith. The trick in the next few years will not be to decry the religious instinct, but to accept that this is a hugely important part of people's lives. And at the same time to be very wary of people who believe that theirs is the only way. Unilateralism before God is dangerous." - Bono

2004-11-12T16:17:00.000-05:00

Peterson guilty of murder in the first degree for the killing of Laci and murder in the second for the killing of Connor. What a horrible, horrible person. As Ross says, may God have mercy on his soul.

Its raining, I feel shitty and the Peterson case has me feeling horrible for poor Laci. We should be afraid of the people you meet in a dark alley, not the person who lies next to you every night.

Thought to leave you with for the weekend from my wise friend Jeremy:
"That certainly is what a relationship is, I've realized. Watching others be... disappointing and mediocre."

Promise to be more upbeat on Monday.

Ok I posted the above and then felt so guilty about being so F-ing depressing that I couldnt just let it go like that for the rest of the weekend. So here is a beautiful quote from one of my favorite writers, Don DeLillo. Hes amazing. I recommend everything he has ever written, but especially Mao II and White Noise.
"There are times you do the simplest thing and it reaches you in a way you didnt think possible, in a way you'd once known but have long since forgotten. You eat a fig and there is something higher about this fig. The first fig. The prototype. The dawn of figs. (Laughing out) I feel I've known the particular clarity of this air and water, I've climbed these stony paths into the hills. Its eerie, this sense. Metempsychosis..... A greek word. Look straight up, the universe is pure possibility." Don DeLillo, The Names

I am not such a downer after all! Have a good one

2004-11-12T11:42:00.000-05:00

The NY Post does linguistic backflips

Continuing in its tradition of excellence and integrity, the NY Post's cover today is not only incredibly awkward... the "Arafat Lady"???? is that how she is normally referred to?.... but also an international special of its famed Page 6. The inside headline, "HE CHECKS OUT, SUHA CASHES IN" provides an article that details the settlement paid to her by the Palestinian Authority. Or course, in true NY Post fashion, they are merely re-reporting what was reported in 2 Italian newspapers... that estimates of Arafat's assets reach $4 billion in hidden accounts, and that in exchange for Suha telling the Palestinian Authority where the money is, she will receive a rumored $22 million per YEAR.
As in life, the circumstances surrounding Arafat's death are incredibly murky, with his personal physician in Ramallah requesting an autopsy while rumors swirl of a possible assassination attempt by rivals in the PLO, or that he had AIDS which is possibly why Suha lives in Paris. Or maybe she just doesn't like being shot at by Israeli tanks and recruiting suicide bombers. Paris... Ramallah? Paris... Ramallah? That is a tough call. And I would certainly choose the same. But I wouldn't suddenly attach myself to a husband I never see and block access to him, further distancing myself from the Palestinians and their cause. She is not in it for anybody else but herself. And I wonder if her deceased husband was any different. Perhaps, if they can control the chaos that might ensue in this vacuum of power, there might actually be a chance for statehood. Something Arafat claimed to fight for, but at the end did nothing but impede.

For a more thoughtful analysis of Arafat's death and the future of the Palestinians, read the King of Jordan's Op-Ed in the NY Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/12/opinion/12abdullah.html?hp

OC Roundup

2004-11-12T11:32:00.000-05:00

Ah, summer is ending in the OC, as if it matters because at the end of the summer you will still be tan all year round and you are still having way more fun than the average human being. Poor, poor Kirsten. Her one child leaves for the summer, completely freeing her of motherly duties, and she finds this unbearable. As a consolation prize, she gets to remodel the house. Kirsten got bored this summer...and dozens of ripped, shirtless men later... Its hard to be an OC mom. Its even harder to be an OC princess stuck in the tower of your new mansion where your summer activities include lying out by the pool, getting wasted at 10 am and sleeping with the gardener, who also aint bad to look at and coincidentally also never wears a shirt. It must be a union thing. Anyway, her trite alcoholism is getting awfully tiring I must admit. She either needs to show us she can booze or stop completely. No one is impressed when you drink at school anymore. That is so eighth grade. Blow us a line already Marissa.
Overall, slightly uneventful episode, we are still just getting little plot necessities out of the way- the REAL drama will start unfolding soon. Nonetheless, I still love me some Seth Cohen. I would never trade him for the WASP version as Summer chooses to. Say what you will ladies. I can already hear the jokes coming from Wall St and Astor Place.

Websites, stats and other propaganda

2004-11-11T14:56:00.000-05:00

http://www.fuckthesouth.com/ Personal highlight: “And the next time Florida gets hit by a hurricane you can come crying to us if you want to, but you're the ones who built on a fucking swamp. "Let the Spanish keep it, it’s a shithole," we said, but you had to have your fucking orange juice.”

check out the insane gallery at: http://www.sorryeverybody.com/, and check out the asinine republican response to sorryeverybody… notice their gun collections, ahhh to be a redneck: http://www.werenotsorry.com/

for interesting stats on each state’s average IQ and the man they voted for: http://chrisevans3d.com/files/iq.htm

Though the youth vote didn’t show up like I wanted it to… Michael Moore’s letter proves there is hope... “MORE young adults (18-29) voted in last week's election than in any other since 18-year-olds were given the right to vote in 1972”. Read the rest at:
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2004-11-07

And the Harper's Magazine guide to expatriating... options include starting your own nation, the obvious moves to Canada or Mexico, and for the Rockefeller's, purchasing an apartment on a residential cruise ship: http://www.harpers.org/ElectingToLeave.html

Stats from harpers.org:
Aid that U.S. leaflets dropped on Fallujah in July threatened to freeze if insurgent attacks continued : $102,000,000 [Coalition Press Center (Baghdad) ]

Number of insurgent attacks in Fallujah in the week before and after the leafletting, respectively : 21, 36 [Coalition Press Center (Baghdad) ]

Compensation the U.S. government has paid Iraqis for wrongful deaths, injuries, and property damage since 2002 : $4,475,643 [Coalition Press Center (Baghdad) ]

Total “death gratuities" the U.S. government has paid since then to survivors of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq : $11,436,000 [Air Force Personnel Center (Randolph AFB, Tex.)/Harper’s research ]

Total amount Ohio’s crime-victims compensation fund has paid the survivors of one U.S. soldier killed in Iraq: $5,656.77 [Ohio Attorney General (Columbus) ]

Average number of kidnappings per week in Iraq since March : 5 [The Brookings Institution (Washington) ]

Number of non-Iraqis detained there by U.S. forces in the last year : 400 [Coalition Press Center (Baghdad) ]

Ratio of the minimum number of beheadings by the Saudi government last year to those by Saudi terrorists so far this year : 50:1 [U.S. State Department/Amnesty International (N.Y.C.) ]

Projected lifespan in years of a Zimbabwean born in 1989 and one born in 2002, respectively : 60, 34 [U.N. Human Development Report Office (N.Y.C.) ]

Number of its international workers that Doctors Without Borders has lost to political violence in its 34-year history : 8 [Doctors Without Borders (N.Y.C.) ]

Number of them killed in Afghanistan in June : 3

On a lighter note…
Record number of skips achieved by a stone skipper: 40 [Guinness Book of World Records 2004]

Average handstands an adult male panda does daily: 8

Here comes the sass

2004-11-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

I am rather jittery from too much coffee, THE MAN prefers the dark roast which makes me jump and jive. So I will post again today, but don't you start thinkin that will be the norm.

On Politics:

OK, I could easily launch into an anti-Bush rant, maybe I will for a quick second... I am a northeastern liberal elitist and I love being one. I am also seriously geographically biased, despite Barack Obama's compelling speech to the contrary about one America, and after this election my biases only got worse. I don't like, no I hate the red states, I wish they wouldn't get to tell me who is best to defend us against terrorism when its my ass on the subway everyday in New York. As Jon Stewart says... the next al qaeda target is unlikely to be the Corn Palace in South Dakota, as lovely as it is (it is the only one of its kind.. if you don't believe me: http://www.cornpalace.org) Anyway, my point is maybe it should be noted that the two terrorist attacks on US soil were in New York and DC, which both overwhelmingly went for Kerry. Things that make you go hmmm....

As for the Iraq war, I strongly urge you to seek other sources of news. I highly recommend checking out Aljazeera online. Sometimes its a little graphic, they aren't afraid to show you civilian casualties. But I think its important to see that. We are so protected from scenes of bloodshed in this war. Check the NY Times and they will show picture after picture of casualties of car bombs in Iraq, but what about the civilians being killed by our bombs? Carefully omitted. And though Aljazeera definitely has its own agenda, all newspapers do on some level and I think the only way to understand something is to understand every point of view, whether you agree or not.
Check out this article and hopefully you will want to check in with Aljazeera for Iraq war coverage: http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/813419D5-CC95-4505-9367-05140111C618.htm

Good article from today, Frank Rich, "On 'Moral Values,' It's Blue in a Landslide":
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/14/arts/14rich.html?8hpib

Enough. Tomorrow is the OC roundup! I told you it would be a little bi-polar on this blog.

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself...

2004-11-11T04:34:00.000-05:00

So... the blog is up and running after much heeing and hawing about the damn name . Big ups to Ashley cause I was seriously struggling. And you even helped me out after my jabs at you about Princeton and JCrew argyle vests. You truly are the bigger person. Which is funny cause you are like 4 foot 2.

Ok, ok, back to the point. This blog will basically be an extensive and exhausting rant about anything and everything that matters. I meant to start it Nov 3, the dark stain on humanity, but again, was struggling with a name. Don't think this will be some wonkette rip off, because while I plan on covering politics extensively, I would like to think that I have a wider range, more depth and am generally much cooler than her, despite her constant claims of being a boozehound that loves dive bars. Move over girl, you don't know me on the yaggermonster.

So to acquaint you... there will be required reading sections of the day's best articles, strange websites, or one of the thousands of anti-Bush forwards that come along. I promise to only post the really really good ones. Every Friday will be an OC roundup with comments on the previous night's show. I cant be serious all the time people. And my roommates subscribe to US Weekly so you know if I see any earth shattering gossip I will be forced to include my commentary. Also, movies to watch and cds to listen to (or download, I am still a little old fashioned). Basically things that will enrich your life- an op-ed piece, a depressing Cold Play song, a great purse, the movie that changes your life, websites from people that hate the south (if you know the one I am talking about its a little nuts.. but we shall discuss that later). There will be an air of dictatorship to the blog. But you either already know that, or will learn to love me for it.

I will be your "go to girl" for politics and culture (both high and lowbrow). I would like to think you can be smart and frivolous. We shall see.