Monday, February 25, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
More Irreverence
This morning I awoke to snow. A ton of freaking snow. "I actually turned around on the highway and went home because the roads were so crappy" snow.
Upon my re-arrival, my father, with whom I share a residence, started talking about last night's democratic debate, and health care, but since I'd seen it, too, I tuned him out and checked my email. That's when I saw this:
Gimme a G
Strapless G string underwear. Now that's a confusing health care issue.
Upon my re-arrival, my father, with whom I share a residence, started talking about last night's democratic debate, and health care, but since I'd seen it, too, I tuned him out and checked my email. That's when I saw this:
Gimme a G
Strapless G string underwear. Now that's a confusing health care issue.
Monday, February 18, 2008
No One Is Ever Safe
Stop fooling yourself, nowhere is safe.
Take an extreme example, the "panic room". What happens if you can't get out? Not safe.
I read an article on the MSNBC site, Vulnerability exposed in today’s open campuses
Of course it's harder when you've just been through a tragedy. When you're nerves are rubbed raw by a terrible, violent outburst, nowhere seems safe.
I am reminded, though, of the book (and movie) "The World According to Garp". Garp and his wife are looking at houses with a real estate agent, when a small plane crashes into the home they're considering. Garp immediately declares that he'll take it, because it's been "pre-disastered".
It had a certain odd poetry to it - when something really bad has already happened there, what are the odds of it happening again? It's like lightning striking twice.
Do all the reasonable things that people do, and live a reasonable life, If your nerves are raw because of an unusual traumatic incident, get help. That's what psychologists, counselors and support groups are for.
We have to live our lives as a balance. We should not buy guns as presents from people who talk about how much fun it is to watch children and animals suffer. We should not stay locked indoors 24/7, having contact with the outside world only through our mothers, because mothers are the only people you can trust. We have to live our lives in the middle. Avoid things that are obviously dangerous, but continue to do things that should reasonably be safe. Don't take out a wad of cash and count it at night in a poorly-lit, poorly kept up neighborhood. Lock your door at night. Shop at the mall, go to the library, attend lectures. Take your children to the park, or to national monuments. Live your life, because nobody else can do that for you.
Take an extreme example, the "panic room". What happens if you can't get out? Not safe.
I read an article on the MSNBC site, Vulnerability exposed in today’s open campuses
Still, the freer environment of campuses also can pose security risks, said Ron Stephens, director of the National School Safety Center in California.See right there, that's a bad assumption. People don't have to have troubled or checkered pasts in order to crack up, they just don't. The human psyche isn't a perfect machine where you can take it in for a tune up and figure out what's wearing down, and then replace that part. The crux of the issue is that most of the time, you simply cannot tell. If people could tell, they'd try to fix the problem. They would. And location really matters not at all.
"For the most part, college and university campuses are much more wide open to the public," he said. "There's not a lot of screening done for students. There are probably few institutions that screen ... to see if someone coming on campus has a troubled or checkered past.
"People go crazy whether it's at a school or at a workplace. ... You can't live your life not going to class," said Barbara Coons, a 21-year-old junior at the University of Pennsylvania.See, Barbara Coons gets it.
That may be harder to say on a campus ripped raw by violence.
"My dad was saying last year, 'I'm really glad you go to Northern where stuff like that doesn't happen,'" said Bryce Lack, a 19-year-old NIU student, referring to the Virginia Tech massacre. "You look at everybody differently now."
Of course it's harder when you've just been through a tragedy. When you're nerves are rubbed raw by a terrible, violent outburst, nowhere seems safe.
I am reminded, though, of the book (and movie) "The World According to Garp". Garp and his wife are looking at houses with a real estate agent, when a small plane crashes into the home they're considering. Garp immediately declares that he'll take it, because it's been "pre-disastered".
It had a certain odd poetry to it - when something really bad has already happened there, what are the odds of it happening again? It's like lightning striking twice.
Do all the reasonable things that people do, and live a reasonable life, If your nerves are raw because of an unusual traumatic incident, get help. That's what psychologists, counselors and support groups are for.
We have to live our lives as a balance. We should not buy guns as presents from people who talk about how much fun it is to watch children and animals suffer. We should not stay locked indoors 24/7, having contact with the outside world only through our mothers, because mothers are the only people you can trust. We have to live our lives in the middle. Avoid things that are obviously dangerous, but continue to do things that should reasonably be safe. Don't take out a wad of cash and count it at night in a poorly-lit, poorly kept up neighborhood. Lock your door at night. Shop at the mall, go to the library, attend lectures. Take your children to the park, or to national monuments. Live your life, because nobody else can do that for you.
Friday, February 15, 2008
More About My Vacation
He had me with his first song, but with this second song, I knew I'd be looking for more Boothby Graffoe.
Thanks to Polyester Angel who took the video
Thanks to Polyester Angel who took the video
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I Know I'm Slow
I just got around to watching the "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" episode of Torchwood. OK, people were right, it was pretty hot. I really do like that show.
Also last night, I made Alton Brown's pomegranate lamb recipe.
It's the fourth time I've taken the time to make this, and it's always worth it. You have to be careful not to overcook the pomegranate molasses, though, one second it's heavenly deliciousness, and the next it's a bitter waste of time. I've learned a couple of things in making this recipe multiple times:
- 70 minutes isn't enough time to cook the molasses, but 3 hours is too much. Stop before it gets thick enough to be called real molasses.
- I like my lamb cooked to 145 degrees, not 130. I like rare meat, but that was so rare as to be chewy.
- When it's done, it's so incredibly tasty that it's worth whatever exorbitant price you had to pay for pomegranate juice and lamb.
OK, I suppose I could make the juice from scratch for less money, but holy cow, even I'm not that dedicated.
Going home sick makes for better dinner options. My original plan was to have a Healthy Choice frozen dinner.
Last night I was explaining how I'm tired of giving my political opinions. I've stated them all here, over and over, and it's not like they've changed. So today, you get TV and food. This is what it's like in my brain when I put the blinders on. I'll take them off, soon, though.
Also last night, I made Alton Brown's pomegranate lamb recipe.
It's the fourth time I've taken the time to make this, and it's always worth it. You have to be careful not to overcook the pomegranate molasses, though, one second it's heavenly deliciousness, and the next it's a bitter waste of time. I've learned a couple of things in making this recipe multiple times:
- 70 minutes isn't enough time to cook the molasses, but 3 hours is too much. Stop before it gets thick enough to be called real molasses.
- I like my lamb cooked to 145 degrees, not 130. I like rare meat, but that was so rare as to be chewy.
- When it's done, it's so incredibly tasty that it's worth whatever exorbitant price you had to pay for pomegranate juice and lamb.
OK, I suppose I could make the juice from scratch for less money, but holy cow, even I'm not that dedicated.
Going home sick makes for better dinner options. My original plan was to have a Healthy Choice frozen dinner.
Last night I was explaining how I'm tired of giving my political opinions. I've stated them all here, over and over, and it's not like they've changed. So today, you get TV and food. This is what it's like in my brain when I put the blinders on. I'll take them off, soon, though.
Monday, February 11, 2008
It's Going Around
Holy cow, there are a lot of people sick in my office. My boss told me that he's heard that flu shots only prevent the flu 50% of the time.
How come the flu evolves faster than we do?
How come the flu evolves faster than we do?
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Office Mates
Today one of my office mates suggested that Edwards would make a good Attorney General.
It was such a novel idea that I had to think about it for a while.
... an Attorney General that I *liked*...
huh.
For dinner the first night of the cruise, I had the rack of lamb.
It was such a novel idea that I had to think about it for a while.
... an Attorney General that I *liked*...
huh.
For dinner the first night of the cruise, I had the rack of lamb.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Just Say You Never Met Me
I love cruises. I do. I love music festivals. If you put the two together, I'm a very happy Tami. There's a group called Sixthman that has made me very happy, indeed. There were more shows than I could get to (or get in to). There was a constantly available view of the ocean. Even the weather cooperated 6 days out of 7.
The word is that Sixthman and Barenaked Ladies will be doing another cruise next year. I expect I'll sign on the day they start selling tickets.
I went to a Caribbean beach without getting sunburned, and I've renewed my enthusiasm for the band Harvey Danger.
The word is that Sixthman and Barenaked Ladies will be doing another cruise next year. I expect I'll sign on the day they start selling tickets.
I went to a Caribbean beach without getting sunburned, and I've renewed my enthusiasm for the band Harvey Danger.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Why Jazz Sucks
Jazz sucks because I got home yesterday. Even though this is true, I still love him like a guy who lives four hours away by car and has a wife that I love just as much. Maybe I love them like in-laws. Go figure.
Anyway, my vacation was the perfect nerd-rock-girl fantasy cruise.
Anyway, my vacation was the perfect nerd-rock-girl fantasy cruise.
Bad Jazz. No Biscuit
I come before you, hat in hand, to offer my most profuse apologies. And it's not just for carrying around this hat, which I never wear anyway. No... it is for the dereliction of my duties. You see, during this period when The One True Tami (blessed be Her name) is off on a well deserved vacation, being worshipped by bronze skinned young men in banana hammocks and eating banquets fit for Her status, I was supposed to be posting some my meandering thoughts to amuse you. In this, I have failed dismally. I could go into a variety of reasons and excuses, many plausible and some of them possibly even true, but the fact is that I fell asleep at the wheel. I should have been here for you, and I was not. For this I offer my sincere and humble apologies.
With that said, I do want to take a moment to speak to you about the pressing subject of the moment, and that is The High Holy Days.
Depending upon your personal beliefs and implications, you may hear that phrase and be thinking of Christmas, Easter, Passover, Chanukah, Ramadan or Yule. But not me. I'm talking about something more important. More sacred. More ... errr... important. I'm talking about Superbowl Sunday which is now upon us.
Trite, you may ask? Frivolous? Hardly. The importance of this day goes far beyond football. You see, this is a time which comes only once per year when America can put aside its many petty differences. It is a time to abandon the hate some of us may feel for others based on their religion. It's a time to set aside the hate which may consume us over the color of people's skin or the cut of their hair. It's a time to eschew the hatred we might harbor for our fellow man because they are a Democrat or a Republican - a conservative or a liberal - a male or a female.
In short, it's time for us to come together and hate each other for no other reason than whether or not we support the New England Patriots or the New York Giants. And that, my friends, is a hatred which I believe we can all come together on.
Oh... and if any of you support the godless Patriots, you all suck phallus flesh in the ninth circle of hell.
With that said, I do want to take a moment to speak to you about the pressing subject of the moment, and that is The High Holy Days.
Depending upon your personal beliefs and implications, you may hear that phrase and be thinking of Christmas, Easter, Passover, Chanukah, Ramadan or Yule. But not me. I'm talking about something more important. More sacred. More ... errr... important. I'm talking about Superbowl Sunday which is now upon us.
Trite, you may ask? Frivolous? Hardly. The importance of this day goes far beyond football. You see, this is a time which comes only once per year when America can put aside its many petty differences. It is a time to abandon the hate some of us may feel for others based on their religion. It's a time to set aside the hate which may consume us over the color of people's skin or the cut of their hair. It's a time to eschew the hatred we might harbor for our fellow man because they are a Democrat or a Republican - a conservative or a liberal - a male or a female.
In short, it's time for us to come together and hate each other for no other reason than whether or not we support the New England Patriots or the New York Giants. And that, my friends, is a hatred which I believe we can all come together on.
Oh... and if any of you support the godless Patriots, you all suck phallus flesh in the ninth circle of hell.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)