"Ranting about Language" or "English Sucks..."

Just a quick ponder-this...

The English language is fairly well thought of as a troublesome and restrictive language, at least by those of us who give it a second thought and those of us who have studied, or dare I say grown up speaking, other languages.

So the question is - how does this impact the socio-political dynamic of the world that English has become the standard, if only by virtue of what country asserts its dominance on the world stage in terms of everything from pop culture to economics?

Ok - maybe i'll think on that and be more intellectual/articulate, within the confines of my language of greatest fluency, some other time. In the meantime, discuss amongst yourselves.

Weather Girl...

So what's up with people that make a habit of bemoaning the weather - no matter what kind of weather it is?

Here's what I mean - past couple days it's been raining and chilly. Not exactly freezing kinda chilly. But no black ice. No silver thaw in the am. Just rain. And lots of it. And clouds and more of those. Ok - but everyone and their mother had something negative to say about the rain. I can't wait for this rain to stop. I just can't stand the rain. It's so g/d wet and cold. Etcetera. You get the idea - maybe you are even one of these!

But um - let's see today's Tuesday and umm all weekend it was "gorgeous" if I recall correctly. And furthermore tomorrow and Th are slated to be "gorgeous" as well. Sun returned this afternoon no less.

So where's the problem? It can't rain once in a while?

And anyway - only a WEEK ago - we had a HUGE blizzard. LOL And by huge I mean 3-5 inches of snow. ROFL Get my drift? No matter what the weather is doing - somehow it aint' right. And this happens _every_ year. Every year spring rolls around according to the calendars anyway - and the sun comes out and dries up all the snow and it gets nice and warm and people start to chill out relax - thinking yay managed to get through that winter without buying snow tires after all or something similar - and then BAM last (or even second to last) snowstorm of the season hits and snow days abound. So why so much gnashing of teeth?

And is this a strictly New England type of phenom? I imagine tosome extent it is given that in Los Angeles for example, there's only so much complaining about the weather one can do..."can't wait for this smog to clear up" must get old real fast. of course - weather patterns all around the world do seem to be changing something awful. And if Bush and his cronies get their way with their Reclaim the Wilderness* and Clear Skies iniatives - then maybe just maybe everyone can get in on this bitching and moaning about the weather thing. Hmm. Guess I better get used to it:

I really am sick and tired of the mud on my shoes - can't it just dry up and be summer already? LOL

* because you all won't be needing it anyway now that we are finding new and improved ways to shorter the life spans of folks who can't really afford to go see the wilderness and lengthen them for folks who can go out and build their own wilderness in their backyards far away from much needed oil sources, and furthermore you're all on medications to allow you to adjust to your surroundings anyway so what does it matter what we do - you won't notice regardless...and if your not on medications, you oughta be but in the meantime, go check out the new tv shows and various banal movies, that oughta eat up any free thinking time you might have pretty nicely....etcetera etcetera

Wake Up and Smell The Clocky!

any normal person oversleeps for a class or work or whatever, makes sure to go bed earlier or have a friend wake you or set the alarm clock earlier or even set the alarm clock clear on the opposite side of the room but MIT students/researchers are apparently made from different star stuff:

Like Something Out of a Cartoon...

Wed Mar 23 10:26 AM ET - Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - Can't get out of bed in the morning?

Scientists at MIT's Media Lab in the United States have invented an alarm clock called Clocky to make even the doziest sleepers, who repeatedly hit the snooze button, leap out of bed.

After the snooze button is pressed, the clock, which is equipped with a set of wheels, rolls off the table to another part of the room.

"When the alarm sounds again, simply finding Clocky ought to be strenuous enough to prevent even the doziest owner from going back to sleep," New Scientist magazine said Tuesday.

It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over* (A Long Rant + Rave About Baseball)

Baseball - everyone's heard of the steroid mess right? the BALCO trial, Canseco's "book", Mac's not-so-surprising and yet to many reporters, "disturbing", silence about "the past"...etcetera etcetera.

But frankly I think it is, on the one hand, about time the nation's pasttime got shook up a bit, and on the other hand, not really what we are seeing here. A lot of fuss and new publicity with a few of the big names getting drug through the mud (no pun intended _of course) which in the end will not amount to a whole lot more than a few extra tales to tell over beers and peanuts in front of the big game ... say April 3rd (Yanks vs. Sox - now there's a rivalry worth watching again finally)...

And that really is what it all boils down to - baseball basically is just what your friends who "don't get it" say it is: a bunch of dudes running around with a ball or a stick playing catch in some strange chaotic way that makes no sense and lasts too long. But when you add on some layers, you get a rich experience that means a lot of different things to different people and yet brings them all together in a shared experience. Now that's pretty powerful stuff...For example, to me the stats is what makes the game itself exciting. I've only ever been to 1 major league game and 1 minor league game and a few softball matches in my backyard way back when...but have read numerous stats books, used to own a fairly decent card collection before the flood (long story), played fantasy baseball far too many times to count and held my own a few times (though I can only claim to have been a consistent expert at Monopoly or for a brief period of time, chess) both with my dad and brother with our own league rules etc and online.

To someone else, they are more enamored by the visual displays of power, perhaps finding themselves focusing in more on the power hitters, the homeruns. Another person has Derek Jeter plastered all over their themed bedroom – you know, the bedding, the bat shaped lamp, the t-ball trophies, the card collection under glass. LOL Someone else is into for the financial aspect of it all – and they can tell you exactly how Curt and Randy match up in terms of their salaries ($12 million vs. $16 million, respectively – and I had to look that up). And yet still another set of folks watch the games because some of the players “look nice in those uniforms”. Others just love the outdoors, family time appeal of attending a game. Others are more aggressive and love to have someone/something to root for and argue over and get rowdy about when it’s socially appropriate to do so. Others don’t need social appropriateness. Others just want an excuse to drink and hang out. Or just drink. There are fans of all walks of life from the hardcore gamers and the geeks to the bus driver, the bartender, the factory worker, the schoolteacher, the professor of Medieval English Literature, the cardiothoracic surgeon, etcetera etcetera etcetera.

But no matter what any of us thinks – it is still both a game and a business. In the times that we live in now, it should come as no surprise to anyone that the latter has come to dominate baseball’s raison d’etre, so to speak. But that is why the steroid “crisis” is really not such a big deal, and instead may even be simply a way to get people talking about baseball again on a broader scale, revive the general audience. Kinda the opposite of what they are doing with the Star Trek franchise. Star Trek lost its general appeal some time ago – to the extent that it ever had it, and now it is us diehard fans alone that keep what we can of it alive.

Baseball on the other hand, has also dwindled in popular appeal from what I can tell. Not exactly a scientific assessment mind you…But now that the impossible has in fact happened – and no I don’t need to specify what it was, if you don’t know that you probably haven’t understood a word I’ve said so far as it is and oh well – now that it has happened, the diehard fans feel rejuvenated even those that aren’t in the bluest of blue states and towing the local MLB party line. Yes, even some Yankees fans could breathe a sigh of relief last year. Because now we can, within the context of baseball as an enterprise, get back to the basics of baseball. No more talk of superstitions and curses and other assorted jabberwocky. Alice, stop wondering and play ball! Ok, admittedly a strange and possibly irrelevant reference but the truth is that baseball today really isn’t like Field of Dreams, it’s commercial, it’s big big salaries and big big egos (ok the latter hasn’t changed much but ya gotta admit there is a different undertone to it now).

And as such baseball is Alice. Wonderland is the changed times. And making the big $ is the thing, and that of course is the beautiful garden behind the keyhole. But what do you need to do to get through to the garden? Mind we aren’t concerned with going “home” (getting back to the days of thicker, heavier hickory bats perhaps?) – but with going somewhere that we believe would be better than where we are now. Somewhere nice. Over the rainbow. Ok – really mixing metaphors now. But check this – Alice, what does she do in that place of limbo as she hopes to find a way into the garden? She spies a bottle that says “drink me”(‘the clear’) and a cake that says “eat me” (‘the cream’). And now – we are in the garden, but the Queen wants our head: “OFF WITH HER HEAD!”, she shouts. And, of course we have the BALCO trial etc. Off with their heads. Only Alice doesn’t lose her head, and neither will baseball.

I have no idea if the steroid story will in fact boost ticket sales or anything else that equates to $-relevant renewed general interest in baseball, but I will say this – it can’t really hurt it at this point. The fans are too numerous and the game too culturally ingrained. So quit complaining about the steroid stories – quit watching them – and pay attention to spring training. Start wondering about the St. Louis Cardinals and if they’ve now got the pitching they need to stay on top in the National League Central…wonder about Carlos Beltran on the Mets, say goodbye to Roberto Alomar (thanks, man – you were fun to watch!), ponder the new owner of the Oakland A’s, setup your fantasy league if you are so inclined, and stock up on peanuts. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over*! Hockey on the other hand...

* borrowed from the fictional ball player Buck Bokai in Star Trek: Deep Space Nice "If Wishes Were Horses" which by the way is named after my favorite poem by Louis MacNiece "London Rain"

A brief disclaimer: my favorite sport to follow is actually not baseball and has always been soccer (futbol) but there are less opportunities to watch soccer matches, less of a social scene as far as my family is concerned (at least in the past) and friends (maybe I need new friends? J/K!). But who knows – maybe I will rant about soccer some day also! Stay tuned…

DJ Blogger or Mystery Song Theatre 3K

Song: 45
Artist: Shine Down

Lyrics - 1st Stanza:

Send away for a priceless gift
how 'bout a piece of gum from the underside of a garbage truck in Chicago? definitely price-less.
One not subtle, one not on the list
aint nothing subtle about garbage on a garbage truck, and i'd like to see the list if it's on one.
Send away for a perfect world
i'd settle for less-than perfect, probably cheaper and more likely to be in stock
One not simply, so absurd
In these times of doing what you're told
the revolution will not be televised - it's true.
You keep these feelings, no one knows
maybe you should have a long talk with no one - sounds like you two might share some things.
What ever happened to the young man's heart
also tasty with a nice Chianti and some fava beans...*slurp*
Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart
like i said...

Gathering...

and today we gathered more sap - a nice day to do it, not too cold.

and then J and I rode in the back of the farm truck back to the science building - what a cool ride that was. I felt like a dog must feel when they stick their heads out the car windows and let the wind blow over their faces. LOL Anyway - and J decided it would be cool to jump on top of the sap tank and ride it like a horse, screaming like a banshee. Kids. LOL

Just got back from the sugar shack...

Oo yeah baby - that's where it's at. The sap is coming down - this has been a delightfully warm week and the trees are a-bleedin'! And the sugar shack is steamin' away...

Having never seen one before - I must say I like that funky ole shack. It's like being in a sauna - a real sauna. Though maybe not quite _that_ hot n heavy.

And I learned about scum - the film that forms as the sap is boiled. It's the amino acids burning...amino acids, as in proteins, as in baby messengers in the tree blood sending signals all along the tree. Cool eh?

Well I am off to design lotions - a little side hobby and a workshop for the girls when they come in April for their "Girls Day In The Lab"....woo hoo!

Speaking of which - happy Women's History Month everyone. So when is Men's History Month exactly?

@($#@*! voicemail

"This message has not been heard..."

no kidding! That's why I pressed 1 twice like you told me to if I wanted to hear unheard messages. What the hell? Ya think I'm really that dumb? I, Robot? Try I, Voice Mail...of course it's more like Voice Female since they _never_ use a male voice for those things. And why is that anyway?

This is different from 'Why is the computer on the Enterprise female?' since the answer to that is easy: Majel Barrett = Gene Roddenberry's wife...duh. If he'd had a husband - he'd have been the voice instead. Obviously.

If You Can't Tell...

Which comment is semi-anonymously yours - well then just pick one and go with it. ;) LOL And if your letter is not there - well who said I used first names? Ahem - yeah - I could have used the 3rd letter of your middle name. You don't have a middle name? - well then you need one and I gave you one. So there. Now go do some work or something - you are clearly experiencing blog overload.

Breaking Themes Again

Ok so the other blog was going to be more personal thoughts and reflections and that last post really belongs there so I put it there with specific (though anonymous kinda) shout outs to some friends - you'll know who you are when you read the comments. But juggling two blogs is kinda goofy so I'll post it here too:

K - you give me strength to believe in what is right and honest and beautiful.
E - you remind me that cynicism is not a dying art and that twisted minds like ours need an outlet from time to time.
W - you share my intensity, dedication and devotion and you remind me not to take myself too seriously.
R - you remind me not to take myself too seriously also but you also remind me that i am beautiful.
T - you are my sister without the direct genetic link - you are me with lighter tones and faster jokes.
D - you remind me of where I am headed and where I have been.
M - you joke with me, laugh with me, fight with me, argue with me, and generally put up with my crazy self. and vice versa! :)
C - you remind to stay connected with community and stay active in the struggle to fight for what is right. And you remind me to not take myself even a little bit too seriously!
R - you are 100% present when we talk and you are the older brother i never had - cliched as that sounds.

Non-gratuitous hugs n kisses to all of you! Stay Real.

Warning: mushiness...

To a dear friend for sparking me back into my own creativity and helping me to understand myself better through sharing her own path of understanding herself.

I am in the unique position of knowing people with whom I can honestly say I share a very very keen connection - and each of you inspires in me a part of myself that otherwise might lie dormant. For y'all - I am eternally grateful.

Martha

You all want an obligatory post on the Queen of Dom(esticity) - you're going to have to wait until I feel like there is NOTHING else in the world to talk about...or until hell freezes over that is. And yesss - the # of souls descending to hell is greatly increased since 11/2 - but I still don't know if the person in that old joke/exam answer really did sleep with Theresa or whatever the chick's name was - after all if she was "screaming Oh my God" as I seem to recall she does at the end of most retellings, she is most undoubtedly faking it. And if she was faking it - did she really sleep with him (or her - can't assume ya know!) And...what is the real meaning of "is"? Or rather, in this case, "with"?

But I digress - point is - there are plenty of half-way decent Martha commentaries and cartoons out there. Maybe I'll send ya some....But I have bigger tofu-fish to fry. LOL

Fair Trade

Rykit said: "Fair trade is the exchange of goods or services of equal value. For example, a bunch of carrots for a bunch of bananas would be considered a fair trade. 150$ for a blow job would not be fair trade."

Allow me to address these items one at a time:

1) That situation of the carrot-banana swap can easily be set up in such a way as to benefit one party alone and maybe even go so far as to harm the other. For example, if i give you my bananas (are we still talking fruit here?) and you happen to like bananas but have no use for carrots which you give me in return then from your perspective, fair trade - but what if i have no use for carrots either and then later that afternoon i get asked to make my special banana bread. Suddenly the trade is not fair from my perspective ya see. A silly example to illustrate that it depends. The price of the items alone cannot tell you anything about the usefulness of either to a specific person(s).

2) the blow job - now don't make me go there. Just fill in these "items" in the example above. Hmmm. Banana bread...ahem.

Beautiful and highway can go together...

odd but true

a simple image really: another of those ubiquitous 18 wheelers, pulled over to the side of the road, with three of those red and orange triangles (no idea why I remember that there were three). And as I am pulling up closer to where the truck is, I recognize that I am seeing not only a man kneeling near the ground but some kind of bird...then man and bird reach skyward and the bird flies away. And the man looks after the bird with some kind of look - couldn't describe because I didn't see it but I knew he was looking at the bird as he kinda moseyed his way back toward the truck sorta. And that's probably when I noticed that there were three triangles because it occurred to me what must have happened. Short of the bird flying into the cab with the trucker - which would have likely ended in a far more common and far more tragic sight on the side of a highway (i.e. an accident) - I am guessing that somehow he noticed a hurt creature at the side of the road and pulled over, set up the warning triangles because he was sitting just a short ways from an on ramp...and did whatever was needed to allow the bird to be free again (trapped in something??). Don't know but it was quite a sight really. Not something you see every day!

Hiatus

Wow - it has been awhile, non? I could just say I've been busy and leave it at that but I think the truth is that little miss Nettie - who I suspect fell into me blog by pure freak accident - kinda rattle my cage without even knowing it most likely. For those of you sick of hearing about her - worry not - i'm not talkin about her at all. I'm talking about the fact that so many people seem to be not simply clueless but less than clueless - as in, they don't even realize there is a clue to be had let alone realize that they are not in possession of said clue. People worry me. And I recognize that living where I live, having been through the tragedy of November 2nd, and all the subsequent aftermath - colors my view, perhaps even makes me more cynical than I might otherwise be. However, allow me to assert once more for good measure, that Americans are sheep. Or lambs or some sort of fuzzy creature known for negative capacity for free thought and therefore ripe for the slaughterhouse of the dominant force(s).

Sigh. I'm clearly not in a good mood today eh? LOL On the contrary - I'm in a great f'n mood - because there's a heck of a lot less work for me to do once I've decided that there's no point in trying to save people! Something awfully freeing about that. But I'm only 1/3 joking - after all, what _is_ the point of "saving" people from themselves if they have no concept of the need to be saved in the first place? It's like doing a emergency rescue mission for someone dangling off of a cliff and they want to get into an argument with you once you get there, that they aren't on a cliff at all and all is peaches and cream. And meanwhile an avalanche is advancing but they don't want to talk about that either - bc it doesn't exist.

See this is the kind of delusional thinking that I see all around me - even here in so-called bluest of the blue states. I mean people here are so-called progressives but that just amounts to a whole lot of lip service to the latest catchphrases like "fair trade". What the heck is fair trade anyway? gotta jet - more later. :D Peace out!