| The Obliette |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|08:39 pm] |
From The Nation:
"If you don't have enough evidence to charge someone criminally but you think he's illegal, we can make him disappear." Those chilling words were spoken by James Pendergraph, then executive director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Office of State and Local Coordination, at a conference of police and sheriffs in August 2008. Also present was Amnesty International's Sarnata Reynolds, who wrote about the incident in the 2009 report "Jailed Without Justice" and said in an interview, "It was almost surreal being there, particularly being someone from an organization that has worked on disappearances for decades in other countries. I couldn't believe he would say it so boldly, as though it weren't anything wrong."
Pendergraph knew that ICE could disappear people, because he knew that in addition to the publicly listed field offices and detention sites, ICE is also confining people in 186 unlisted and unmarked subfield offices, many in suburban office parks or commercial spaces revealing no information about their ICE tenants--nary a sign, a marked car or even a US flag. (Presumably there is a flag at the Veterans Affairs Complex in Castle Point, New York, but no one would associate it with the Criminal Alien Program ICE is running out of Building 7.) Designed for confining individuals in transit, with no beds or showers, subfield offices are not subject to ICE Detention Standards. The subfield office network was mentioned in an October report by Dora Schriro, then special adviser to Janet Napolitano, secretary of Homeland Security, but no locations were provided.
Link thanks to Constance Ash.
I'm not sure what can be done about this sort of thing-- there's contributing to Amnesty International and Southern Poverty Law.
I post about these outrages, but I have no idea how to convince people who don't see them as outrages, and I don't see how they can be ended (or mostly ended) unless the general public is revolted by them. Maybe I'm looking for too much of a magic bullet, and it's at least as much of a long hard slog as making slavery illegal.
I should probably read more about Abolitionism (especially in the countries that used the law-- I don't think a civil war about the justice system is feasible or desirable) and see how much of it was "we aren't the kind of people who do that sort of thing" even when we obviously are, and how much was "we need to do better than we have been". |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|08:35 pm] |
My winter gallery is at
http://loveking.smugmug.com/Weather/snow09/snow-2/744794645_49kHK-M.jpg
Once you go to the gallery, you can click thumbnails to see the bigger version, and then mouse over that to get to a bigger still version, or to vote thumbs up for the ones you like. Gimme some votes!
I have recently started using the lightroom version 3 beta. It has plugins that allow me to publish directly to smugmug and facebook, without even making a local version.
( One more ) |
|
|
| Bava Batra 121 – Prohibition to Marry Outside the Tribe Ends |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|07:24 pm] |
 Israel had no days as festive as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur, for on those days the maidens of Jerusalem would go out dressed in white garments that were borrowed (so as not to embarrass those that had none), dance in the vineyards, and matches between them and eligible men were arranged.
One can understand Yom Kippur, since it is the day of forgiveness, but what is the significance of the 15th of Av? On that day
* The tribes were allowed to intermarry with each other;
* The tribes of Benjamin was allowed to marry to the rest of the tribes;
* Those destined to die in the Wilderness ceased to die;
* Jews were allowed to go on the pilgrimage festivals;
* The slain of Bethar were afforded burial;
* They stopped chopping trees for the Altar.
Art: John White Alexander - Repose
( ПО-РУССКИ ) |
|
|
| New York and Somerville |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|08:19 pm] |
Thursday evening, ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) beowabbit and I did a very quick trip to New York. It was a business trip for him, and a leisure trip for me. He got us a very nice hotel room for $95 on Priceline that included a much better than average complimentary breakfast. After we ate, he headed to his meetings, and I hit the subway and headed to the Rose Space Center for some fun astronomy geeking. The Rose is very much worth a visit and I'm glad I went, though it turns out it's really geared for school kids (I don't really know why I expected it not to be, now that I think about it). I saw the planetarium show, which is a nice intro to astronomy and the universe. The galleries are somewhat sparse, but certainly worth a stroll. After that, I had some time to kill before meeting up with Wabbit, so I wandered the garment district near our hotel, and was lucky enough to stumble upon Ben's Kosher Deli, which is actually a sit-down restaurant, where I had a late lunch. Three words: Nom, nom, NOM. It was so good that I brought Wabbit back there for dinner. Then a Greyhound home. The mini-trip was a success for both of us.
Back in Somerville on Saturday, surrealestate called to invite me to be her tour guide helper on the Illuminations Tour. For those not local, Somerville is known for (among less positive things) the festive Christmas light displays that people create on their houses. Mock-trolley buses take viewers all around to view the lights. It was lovely, and I had fun helping surrealestate as she narrated the ride and led viewers in holiday songs (she took the navigation job away from me pretty quickly, which was probably the smartest thing to do!). I'm glad there's still something nice left for me to like about Somerville, given that it feels like it's turning into a police state with all the new ticketing and fines for parking, not shoveling in time, trash cans without lids, etc. The Illuminations tour made me feel a bit better about this city. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|06:56 pm] |
|
Well, Polish police found the Auschwitz sign. I know we're all shocked that young people were involved. Whether they're part of an organized anti-Semitic movement, an organized Semitic movement, or a drunken fraternity remains to be seen, but I'm really not surprised at the age group in question as this pretty well stank of "not thinking things all the way through." |
|
|
| Beef Stew |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|07:40 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | cooking, food | ] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | home | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  hungry | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Ellis Paul | ] |
I make an excellent beef stew, when it's cold out! With lamb stock and port wine and everything. :) |
|
|
| Recipe: "Egyptian Leg of Lamb" |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|06:13 pm] |
This was the main dish at our Yule feast yesterday. We had eight people, and just enough lamb left over to make a nice shepherd's pie later. (I'm still tinkering with the recipe for that one.)
Egyptian Leg of Lamb Ingredients:
3-5 lb. boneless leg of lamb For marinade:
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin seed
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
pinch fennel seed
1/2 cup red wine vinegar For coating:
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Directions:
In a mortar and pestle, combine 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt, 1/4 teaspoon cumin seed, 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander, and a pinch of fennel seed. Grind coarsely. Pour the combined spices into a gallon ziplock bag.
Add 1/2 cup red wine vinegar to the bag. Shake to distribute spices. Rinse the leg of lamb, then shake off excess water. Place the lamb inside the bag. Squeeze out as much air as possible, then seal. Turn and squeeze the bag to distribute the marinade and spices evenly around the meat. Place the sealed bag in the refrigerator for 2-5 hours. Rotate it several times so that all parts of the lamb are evenly exposed to the marinade. Preheat oven to “rotisserie” setting (about 450ºF) for 10 minutes. Remove lamb from bag. Rinse briefly; don't worry about getting all the spices off. Set the lamb on a plate or cutting board. In a small bowl, combine 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin. Stir spices together. Sprinkle spice blend evenly over all surfaces of the lamb. Insert rotisserie rod through center of lamb. Fasten the rotisserie forks into the ends of the meat. Insert the rod into the oven. Place an oven rack in the lowest position with a shallow pan to catch the drippings. Set the oven to the “rotisserie” function and turn it on. Set the timer to allow 20-30 minutes per pound of meat. So for a 3 lb. leg of lamb, 60-90 minutes; for a 5-lb. leg, 100-150 minutes. (20 minutes per pound leaves the meat quite rare, 25 should leave it medium, and 30 leaves most of it well done with just a few pink spots.) Lamb should register at least 145ºF when done. Remove from oven. Remove rotisserie forks and rod. Set the lamb on a serving platter and cover with aluminum foil. Allow lamb to rest for 5-10 minutes before carving.
Notes:
Lamb is a tender and delicate meat with a rich flavor. It benefits from rotisserie cooking, as this allows the fat to melt nicely into the meat and develop a tasty crust with the herbs. This recipe uses many traditional Egyptian spices, and lamb is a classic feast food in Egyptian culture. The flavor is quite different from the more common Greek recipes using leafy herbs. Ideally, the marinade should be made with all whole spices, freshly ground in a mortar and pestle. I used ground coriander because I couldn't find whole coriander seed. If you don't have sea salt, ordinary table salt will do. The vinegar needs to be robust in order to complement the flavor of the meat; if you can't find red wine vinegar, a dark apple cider vinegar will work. Don't use plain white vinegar. |
|
|
| That Magical Christmas Music |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|03:36 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | video | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| | Mmm, I do love me a tasty money burrito | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Ambient Noise | ] |
This is a fine, touching, beautiful rendition of Oh Holy Night
|
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:21 pm] |
Yes, I am annoyed. Why do you ask?
Every time I want to RP, and you agree, you somehow manage to find a way to get busy. Even when we both say we are bored and have nothing to do. I make a post for us and you post a few times, then go off and RP elsewhere. I don't care about your other RPs, but why would you ask me to RP with you and then go off and ignore me? Taking an hour to tag me back, yet holding a running conversation with someone else kinda hurts.
And then you have the balls to ask what's wrong when I get upset? Dude, it's not like it's rocket science. Why ask me to RP in the first place? Do you feel bad for me?
And sometimes, when I post to your new topics, you still take forever to tag me back. It's never to the extend you post with everyone else. Yet, you always say I'm your favorite RPer. You love to RP with me. Blah, blah, blah. You never show it, anymore. What happened? I've bent over backwards to do stuff for you, and you just brush my things over like it's second rate. If you don't want to RP, then say so. |
|
|
| Writer's Block: New lease on life |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:19 pm] |
Only one? My priorities changed a lot when my first husband left me alone, with two small children and pregnant with a third.
They changed a huge amount when the doctor looked at me and told me that my 4 year old daughter had cancer.
The last big change was 3 years ago today, when that same 21 year old daughter died from the cancer she had fought nearly her whole life. |
|
|
| Now, THAT'S an adventure!!! |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:48 pm] |
Ok, so yesterday we had a tremendous blizzard here in DE. It also happened to be the day my niece & nephew were appearing in their yearly Nutcracker presentation at the DuPont Theatre. I had to go pick up my mother, which was a driving adventure in itself, then go back past my house and into town for the show.
My windshield wipers caked up with ice and I was looking through a pinhole of clear windshield by the time we made it into the parking garage. Can you say "stress", anyone? :)
Fortunately, we were not part of any of the accidents we saw while we were on the road. Thanks the Gods for that!!
Unfortunately, I left my phone in the truck, so at intermission, I had to go back and get it. I knew Jim-IB was on the road and I was freaking out because I didn't know where he was. Meanwhile, he had called me several times and was freaking out because he didn't know where I was. And for some reason, the wind was in my face (so was the ice/snow) both on the way to the truck, and on the way back. Go figure.
I called him while I was still in the parking garage and found out that the government had finally declared a state of emergency while we were in the show. Jim-IB was home, having not made it quite as far as I had (plus he had gotten a phone call from our friend/brother Ray about the state of emergency - so he turned around and went back home).
After the show, we visited for a bit with my sister and the kids, while we wandered out to the lobby (the Theatre is in the Hotel). I took one look out of the windows and thought "I do NOT want to go back out in this!!".
The usually quiet nagging voice in the back of my head was saying - DON'T GO!!!! Ok - I'm listening.
I asked my Mom if she had enough meds until the morning and she did. So I went over to the registration desk to see if they had any rooms available and how many limbs I would have to sacrifice to stay there. :)
The Hotel DuPont is not exactly a cheap dive. :) I was guessing their "cheap" rooms ran about $300 a night (and I was right - looked it up when I got home). But because my family was in the show and we were in the middle of a blizzard (plus the state of emergency thing - which means it was technically illegal of me to be on the road), they gave me the "cheap" rate. ($99) WOW.
That took a huge load off my mind. Told my Mom we were staying and tried to get my sister & kids to stay too, but her husband was already on his way to pick them up (the second show had been canceled). Lots of miscommunication going on there, so by the time they left, my Mom and I went to the only open restaurant in the hotel - The Green Room. Oooooh, I cannot begin to tell you how delicious that was. :)
The downside is, that dinner cost more than the room!! :) But, it was good.
The room itself is almost as big as my house. I'm just sayin'. :)
At some point during dinner, I leaned over to my Mom and said - All emergencies should end like this. :)
I've had some emergencies that involved blood, but I much prefer the ones that deliver me to the land of opulence. :)
Can you blame me?
Of course, I'll be paying this off for the next several years. :)
Thank the Gods for that "available credit" left on my card. :)
And the storm was all gone this morning, so the drive home was a pleasure after yesterday's hellish trip. |
|
|
| Some highlights of Na’vi |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:48 pm] |
Many of my LJ friends are enthusiastic about the movie Avatar (which I haven't yet seen). I've been reading a fair bit of discussion about the language, Na'vi, that Paul Frommer invented for the movie, and I thought some of you might be interested. Be warned: he's writing for an audience of linguists!
Some highlights of Na’vi
[Ben Zimmer is a regular contributor to Language Log. Here's his intro to Paul's description:] James Cameron's sci-fi blockbuster Avatar is opening this weekend with much fanfare. As has been widely reported, Cameron enlisted a linguist, Paul Frommer of USC's Marshall School of Business, to create the Na’vi language, spoken by the inhabitants of the alien world Pandora. We first heard about the development of Na’vi nearly three years ago, when Cameron was hyping the as-yet-unnamed language of Pandora as one that would "out-Klingon Klingon." (See my post, " Advances in cinematic xenolinguistics," Jan. 29, 2007.) When I decided to write about Na’vi and other alien tongues of the silver screen for the New York Times Magazine On Language column, I finally got to learn the real story of the language's construction from Paul Frommer himself (" Skxawng!," NYT, Dec. 6, 2009). Paul generously shared a great deal of material describing Na’vi's phonetics, phonology, morphology, and syntax, hardly any of which found a place in my On Language column. But since there is already tremendous interest in the language, and some less-than-accurate information about it is currently floating around online, I asked Paul if he could write up a formal description of Na’vi as a Language Log guest post. He wasn't able to reveal everything about the language, but what he has sketched out should whet the appetite of even the most diehard xenolinguistics buffs.
[click headline for full post] |
|
|
| Maia's Frozen Lemon Cheesecake Pie |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|04:12 pm] |
Last night my daughter Maia asked me for the recipe for a simple cheesecake pie I used to make for her when she was small. It's an adaptation of the recipe that used to be on the label of Borden's Condensed Milk:
1 8-oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 8-inch prepared graham cracker crust
The cream cheese should be at room temperature (if it isn't, you'll just have to beat it longer). Beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Beat in the sweetened condensed milk: use a rubber spatula to get all of it out of the can, beat at low speed until it's well-enough incorporated that it won't splash, then beat at high speed for two minutes or until there are no more chunks of cream cheese.
Add the vanilla and the lemon juice. Beat just until smooth, do not overbeat at this point! (You don't want air bubbles in the pie.)
Immediately pour into the pie crust. Cover pie and put in freezer to set.
Nice to serve garnished with mint leaves.
Note: If you want to top this pie with cherry pie filling or other goodies, use a 9-inch crust instead.
This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/36476.html. Please comment there using OpenID. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:18 pm] |
I just saw the movie Avatar.
I've got the contacts. I've got the teeth. I've got the blacklight reactive warpaint. I've got the weapons. I have a bottle of temporary tattoo ink and a lot of exposed flesh.
Please tell me someone at Arisia has an airbrush and a little time on Saturday morning.
Please. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|04:15 pm] |
Home from the hospital, with penicillin and vicodin. BP was 170/104, sugar was 111. I have an infection and the doctor (who was in and out in less than a minute) told me to see a dentist. Yeah lady, Christmas week, I'll get right on that.
Anyway, I'm home, I've taken pills and I'm getting something to eat. |
|
|
| Asking Dr. LJ |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:05 pm] |
What sources do you use to research whether a given retailer is socially responsible? |
|
|
| Bava Batra 120 – Not to Intermarry between Tribes |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|03:49 pm] |
 Upon their entry into the Land of Israel, the Jews were commanded to marry only within tribes: “...Any daughter who inherit a legacy shall become the wife of someone from a family of her father's tribe...”
This was true, however, only for the first generation after entry, because it is introduced with “..this is the thing that God has commanded...”, which teaches that this "thing" applies only in this generation. The reason was to encourage the Jews who entered the Land to conquer all of it from the Canaanite inhabitants – and not get it through intermarriage.
The daughters of Tzelophchad were given the same commandment, but for them it was just good advice – because they were wise, expounders of the Torah, and righteous. Nevertheless, they followed it. Moreover, a miracle happened to them: they were rejuvenated and married righteous, fitting husbands.
( ПО-РУССКИ ) |
|
|
| Funding Social Programs That Work |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|03:32 pm] |
I'm not a fan of throwing money at problems without making sure the solution actually works. So I'm really intrigued by this article about the White House seeking to identify social programs that show measurable improvements so that they can be funded and expanded. If you know of a local or regional program in your area that is working, consider tipping them to this.
White House Embraces Social Innovation We all know that our nation is currently struggling with serious social problems ranging from increasing homelessness, to worsening public health, to failing schools. However, there's tremendous hope in the capacity of social innovators to address these far-reaching problems. It's in this spirit that the White House just launched new regulations for the Social Innovation Fund, which aims to identify some of the most promising, results-oriented nonprofit programs and to expand their reach throughout the country. Policy strategist Tom Sheridan – the man that The Hill newspaper has dubbed "A powerbroker for those without a voice" - writes for Change.org this week that this Social Innovation Fund has the power to radically shift the way Washington addresses social problems. http://socialentrepreneurship.change.org/blog/view/white_house_embraces_social_innovation Rather than continuing to attempt to solve community problems in a top-down way from Washington, the Social Innovation Fund will invest in programs run by social innovators already showing measurable results on the ground in their communities. This makes the Social Innovation Fund one of the most promising new vehicles for scaling social change in the country, and one of the most important steps the Obama administration has taken thus far to support innovative nonprofit solutions to the problems Americans faces. It's also why we'll continue reporting on its progress at Change.org in the weeks and months ahead. As always, visit www.change.org for all the top stories across the world of Change. |
|
|
| more proxy shoveling |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|04:31 pm] |
| [ | Tags | | | house, weather | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  awake | ] |
| [ | Current Music |
| | Le Show from upstairs | ] |
Started to shovel our car out of the driveway. Saw three young fellows shoveling a car out across the street and gave a shout. The oldest of them (17? 19?) and a man closer to my age came over.
"They're shoveling mine now." "You want us to do yours when we're done with his?"
"If you would. That red one. Clear the way up the driveway to the alley, and clear this part of the alley so I can drive it out onto the street."
(Young man considers.) "Twenty dollars?"
"It's a deal."
"About 20 minutes we'll be done with his, then we'll do yours."
"Great."
They did a nice job. I threw in $3 more, $1 apiece. Considering what it would have cost me physically to do it, a fair price. For the work they put into it, a fair price. Win-win. |
|
|
| Yule Event Report |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|02:57 pm] |
We had fun with our Yule event yesterday. A lot of people arrived late, but we managed to juggle the schedule so that everything got done and we didn't run too much overtime. We sang holiday carols, exchanged gifts, and shared stories about holiday traditions. The feast included Egyptian leg of lamb, couscous, eggplant mousaka, rice pudding, pomegranate punch, and spice cake. We also had a couple of birds carved from apples -- very cute!
The main ritual was done entirely by candlelight. We started out with a few altar candles and then lit many more candles around the room. This ritual had an Egyptian theme, working with Isis, Ma'at, and Horus. We even had some myrrh resin burning on charcoal.
Today was the cookie exchange, and we just got home from that. I'm looking forward to sampling the results. |
|
|
| Cat update |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|11:34 am] |
I know you are all desperate to hear more. The kitten came home yesterday and is as happy and bouncy as ever; he prefers to be in the same room with us and is purring and demanding to be given things to chase. His Horner's syndrome is much better; he's not lopsided, his third eyelid hardly shows (my daughter claimed that he was doing it on purpose to emulate Bowie), and he's not batting at his ear. He doesn't seem to mind his stitches; we'll keep an eye through the itchy period.
He has a shaven chest and neck, as well as a bare left foreleg where the IV went in. He's a brindle-grey tabby and his shaven skin is brindle-grey, too, very pretty and soft. I think that Sphynx cats would be much more compelling if they were brindle-grey instead of pink.
After all that, he did not have a polyp this time; what he had was a middle ear solidly packed with pus. That knowledge makes it absolutely certain that the surgery was essential -- untreated middle-ear infection moves inexorably into the brain. That's why he had to stay in the hospital for four days: the drain was getting flushed 5 times a day to get the goo out of his head. He didn't have to undergo the arduous polyp-extirpation process, which is why he doesn't have Horner's now.
I missed him; half an hour's purring cat makes me feel much more at peace.
This entry was originally posted at http://jonquil.dreamwidth.org/908852.html.  comment(s) on that entry. |
|
|
| Still Snowy! |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|02:30 pm] |
|
So, will the whole winter be like this? |
|
|
| News from the Net |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|11:01 am] |
I was wandering around Wikipedia last night, as one does, and followed link to link concering the vexed subject of the German national anthem; as ![[personal profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png) oursin says, it's always more complicated. The starting point, if you're curious, was rewatching Casablanca, hearing the Germans sing what turned out to be Die Wacht am Rhein, and wanting to know what it was about. National anthems are v. complicated because they express, or intend to, national aspirations, and are necessary for, e.g., cheering on a sports team(!). Germany has had a succession of national aspirations with matching anthems, some of which were hastily discarded for obvious reasons. Which brings me to Die Wacht am Rhein. It stems from the Rhine Crisis in 1840, of which I know nothing, in which the French PM announced that the Rhine should be France's "natural Eastern border". The Germans weren't amused. An exchange of poems followed, eventually leading to Die Wacht, whose theme is that all Germans should rush to defend the Rhein. The song was immensely popular during both world wars; after WWII it was suppressed for awhile. Wikipedia says today it is rarely sung, not only because of its associations, but because few Germans spend much time on the threat of French invasion.
A competing (and currently victorious) national song is Das Deutschlandlied, known to some English speakers (me) as "Deutschland Über Alles", which is ironic because the first verse is explicitly not part of the current national anthem. The music was written by Haydn for the birthday of the Austrian Emperor Francis II. Again in the 1840s, a German revolutionary wrote lyrics supporting the German unification revolutionary movement. The Weimar Republic chose Deutschlandlied for the national anthem; Hitler followed suit. In reaction, the song was banned for some years; between 1949 and 1952 West Germany had no national anthem. In 1952 West Germany re-adopted the song, but only the third verse; it has continued to be the German national anthem after reunification.
The bit that interests me, and the reason I called you here today, is that Das Deutschlandlied called for German unification, listing the then-current boundaries of the German-speaking people. Wikipedia thoughtfully provides a map. "From the Meuse River to the Memel River, From the Adige River to the Little Belt." The eastern half of that territory was lopped off by the Legion of Nations, re-absorbed by Hitler, and permanently (one never knows) severed and attached to Lithuania by the Russians after WWII, when the German speakers were systematically suppressed and expelled.
Anthems are full of ghosts. My German-speaking and German-heritage friends can now tell me how badly I've gotten it wrong; I will listen with interest and update my head.
This entry was originally posted at http://jonquil.dreamwidth.org/908631.html.  comment(s) on that entry. |
|
|
| AKICOLJ/DW |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|06:43 pm] |
|
Okay, folks, here's a challenge for you: define the difference for me, between being gratified and being grateful. |
|
|
| Merry Christmas |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|01:45 pm] |
Just a reminder of what the season is really about - Merry Christmas from me:
And the Kinks, via OK Go...
And last but not least:
|
|
|
| Sunday Afternoon |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|01:33 pm] |
It's been an amazingly busy weekend: I've just spent six hours putting together a 20 page e-book for marketing purposes (well, writing the text, after TPTB put their stamp on it, it should be closer to 50) and that's been about it for the day. Yesterday, however, I cleaned the play room, did 9 or 10 loads of laundry, wrote a column, crocheted half a scarf for my MIL's handmade gift (Can we say Thank you, oh inventors of Tunisian stitch? Oh yes, we can. We also can thank my yarn stash o' doom, and even if I do actually get my house organized, I'm going to keep on acting like I'm byrne and hoard yarn like a mad yarn hoarding thing, as sometimes you need to make people presents and it might be a while before you leave the house to go after fixings) swept the kitchen, swept the living room and cursed out the vacuum cleaner for not spontaneously growing a replacement belt (It knows it needs one. Starfish grow limbs, for christ's sake, and they have to flail around and crack oysters and shit. I just need the belt to go around and around and around...) and watched Bacall on Bogart, which is beautiful and breaks my heart, and did the dishes, and read with Nadia, and helped Harmony research Lil Wayne's impending stint inside (and the discussion about why she cares about this took more time than one might hope)
I can't decide if all this activity makes me feel better or just keeps me moving. But I figure that Thursday and Friday will be spent not working and not house-wifing, so might as well make hay while the sun's not shining.
Did you know how they cut horns off of cows? If you don't, don't research it. The farmer I was talking to about it said, "Of course it hurts 'em. How'd you like it if your dick got cut off?" Then he cocked his head, and said, "Well, if you had a dick. And they don't, neither, causen they're heifers, but you know what I mean." Then he assured me that horns were much like fingernails, and you only bleed a little bit, and it took every ounce of my self-control not to ask how that compared with self-castration, but I managed.
And now my poor Harmony, who has been woefully deprived of computer time whilst I was working, is now dancing around like a deprived child staring up into the FAO Schwartz window (well, actually, not, since they're closed, but you get the point) so I'll go. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|12:02 pm] |
You the First:
I'm not sure why you insist on linking to TV Tropes in both your IC and OOC posts. OOC, I can understand, but I feel almost like you're trying to show off. While talking about your character, you link her name to the Meaningful Name trope. You mention having to "break" her (in order to make her a 3D character - leaving me wondering how I can possibly be a deep person since I have, thankfully, never had a terrible experience like the many you want to heap on this character) and link to Break the Cutie. When you discuss her powers, you link "magic" to Applied Phlebotinum. The first few times you did this, I chuckled and figured you were just a kid with a new toy. Now I wonder. Especially because it's showing up in IC posts. Um. Why? This world doesn't even their very own version of the internets. Please stop. I thought it was funny the first few times; now it seems almost pretentious.
You the Second: Please stop playing My Dick is Bigger than Your Dick with our characters. No, really. I don't know about you, but I'm not a prepubescent boy in a locker room, and if I was I don't think I'd whip my schlong out, wag it around, and tell everyone how awesome it is. Hell, do boys even do that? I have no idea, but you do, and you do it with roleplay characters. I don't mind when there's a character that's pretty pimped out, especially when he's the villain. I'm playing a character like that right now, and I'm doing it because the leader trusts me not to muck it up terribly, and I know that if I start to, she'll smack me upside the head. He is ridiculously powerful. He has no moral compunctions. But, clearly, your girl is oh so much more powerful even though she's sixteen and mine, who is somewhere around five hundred, has a lot more experience.
Erm.
And then, when I mention he's not interested at all in sex of any kind (someone made a joke about him being secretly gay because he's not banging any of his hot underlings; it started going too far, so I lol'd and said he's just not interested), you have to point out that there's no way he wouldn't be interested in your girl. And, if he wasn't, she could so totally seduce him. Um. Are we talking about the same character? Mine is a megalomaniacal elitist who thinks the best way to fix the world's problems is mass genocide. He's far too involved with his "master plan" to take time out to bang your chick. Who is on the other side. Who is also a member of one of the (many) races he has decided to destroy. Please start using Earth-logic again.
ETA: Sorry about the wall of text, guys. My browser has decided to default to HTML instead of text rich for some reason, and I keep failing to catch it. |
|
|
| Mouse Wars |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|11:52 am] |
This morning there was one dead mouse in a glue trap.
The glue traps are sold with the reassurance that the glue contains an anesthetic so the mice won't suffer. Drat. I sort of hoped that the shrieks of pain and horror from the dying mouse would scare off the rest of them, so they'd leave my house without me having to kill them all.
This entry was originally posted at http://beckyzoole.dreamwidth.org/36288.html. Please comment there using OpenID. |
|
|
| Use Force! |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|09:51 am] |
A steam catapult accelerates a 20,000 kg fighter to 266 kph in 2 seconds. That's 739 kilonewtons, combining the catapult and the fighter's engines on full burn. Assuming the F/A 18C's 79.2 * 2 Kn engines, the catapult is producing 580 Kn over two seconds.
A Schweizer SGS 2-32 has a max launch mass of 608 kg. That catapult, assuming the SGS were modified to accept 65.2 tons of force on the tow hook, would accelerate the glider to a speed of 957 kph over the space of .27 seconds. The pilot would experience 97 g's during that .27 seconds.
Starbuck eat your heart out. |
|
|
| Why I oppose the health care reform bill as it stands |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|12:47 pm] |
In Dreaming The Dark, Starhawk writes about how those who have power try to keep it. One of the ways they do it is to try to put those over whom they have power at each other's throats. In the case she described, a group of protesters in jail for protesting were told there was a privilege that could only be extended to so many of the prisoners, and they would have to decide which of them received the privilege and which of them went without. The expected outcome, successful far too many times, is that the prisoners lose all cohesion because everyone wants the privilege. The outcome in the incident Starhawk describes was different: the prisoners stood together, refused the poison pill, and suffered together.
Another trick along these lines is the one where the Fed says something like "we have x million dollars for women's rights, black rights, and gay rights -- you figure out how to split it up and get back to us."
As it stands, this health care bill is one of these. If you don't see it, let me translate the message of the Stupak and Nelson coathanger amendments for you. More importantly, let me translate President Obama, Senator Reid, and Speaker Pelosi's stunning lack of leadership around the coathanger amendments:
"You have to chose between health care for women and healthcare for the uninsured -- let us know."
Angry Black Bitch says everything that has to be said about that.
Unlike ABB, I'm a white man. Like her, I have several preexisting conditions. Like her, should I lose my job I would lose coverage and be locked out of getting coverage in the open market. If you think my employer has not used that fact to ensure that I have to take their contracts instead of anyone else's, even though I'm only paid when I'm on a contract, think again.
Like her, I say this from a place of vulnerability -- even if not exactly the same one she occupies:
"There must be a line ... a wall to hit ... or the struggle for reproductive justice is merely a suggestion."
This bill is fucked up six ways to Sunday, and it is as fucked up as it is because Senator Reid and President Obama either don't actually want to pass real health care reform, or because they're a couple of punks who simply don't know how to fight for what they want. Frankly, I no longer care which -- intention matters far less than impact.
But even if this bill was everything I wanted it to be, but the catch was that we had to include a Coathanger Amendment, it's unacceptable. I cannot obtain healthcare for myself, my in-laws, my friends, or anyone else at the expense of women's reproductive rights. Not if it's all women, like Stupak wants; not if it's women in only some states, like Nelson wants.
And shame on anyone for suggesting that we should. Shame on anyone for suggesting that it's acceptable that we would.
Don't tell me about the nice things that Reid and Obama managed not to give away in the Senate Bill -- giving out table scraps and expecting gratitude from the people who don't have a seat at the table is another old trick.
Don't tell me President Obama's playing 11-dimensional chess; or that he's a gentle soul, and that stepping up and fighting for his agenda just isn't his style. Last year you were telling me to shut up about President Obama's shameful lack of leadership around LGBT rights because he needed to reserve that political capital for health care. Are you that gullible, or are you just hoping I am?
I said all along that the only reason a progressive should vote for Obama is that we're much better off fighting President Obama than fighting President McCain. So now I'm fighting President Obama. |
|
|
| Avatar |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|11:46 am] |
I have not seen it; as far as I know, no one in this family has. I don't know whether any of us will see it.
I am puzzled by two things in the essays and reviews I have read:
(1) the idea that the essay in question contains "spoilers"; I haven't read a single thing in any essay that isn't revealed by, or I couldn't have guessed from, the trailers;
(2) the idea that outsider-as-savior is some kind of white trope, that only white people tell stories of the sympathetic member of the oppressive/conquering/enemy society becoming a leader of the other side.
Related: From seeing the trailers our younger son (22) did a very funny summation of it, which played on "we've seen this before." Interestingly, my son, who is NOT white, did not mention race at all. His version sees the main character's turning point as falling in love with the native woman. I suspect he believes that love has more power than race, and I don't think I want to disabuse him of that idea. |
|
|
| AKICOLJ: Home repair |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|11:33 am] |
| [ | Tags | | | akicolj | ] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  stressed | ] |
What next? There is a spot in the carpet in the finished basement that is wet. This is far from any exterior wall, and unlike the water-in-the-basement problem we've had toward spring, it doesn't continue over to an exterior wall. We noticed it night before last, then yesterday it didn't spread at all and seemed to dry up somewhat, and now there's another small patch near it.
We are clueless. (We probably shouldn't even own a house.) Do water pipes run under the concrete basement floor? Does this indicate that some water pipe under the concrete floor under the carpet has sprung a leak, and there is a crack in the concrete through which water is seeping?
Whom would we call about such a situation? a plumber?
Does this indicate an emergency, or should we wait and see what happens?
Gaaaaaaahhhhh. |
|
|
| Why Not Knit a Blue's Creatures Creature this Winter? |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|05:14 pm] |
| [ | Current Mood |
| |  crazy | ] |
A bit cheeky this, but anyone looking for a last-minute small gift for a knitting friend (or themselves) might appreciate a pattern for one of my weird and wonderful Blue's Creatures.
There's the flat cat, the funky llama, the ever-popular zombie bear (so cute), the turtangle and the child-friendly garterpillar to choose from, and the patterns get delivered direct by email once the order and Paypal monies hit my inbox.
Great value at just 5 of your green and shiny American dollars each (or whatever colour virtual money sent through the ether turns out to be, purple would be nice..)
:)
|
|
|
| Today's Arisia Corporate Meeting Canceled |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|12:10 pm] |
From Samatha Dings, Arisia President:
"With three supporting votes on the EBoard, the Corporate Meeting scheduled for December 20th at 2 pm is cancelled. The next Corporate Meeting will take place at Arisia 2010, on Sunday, January 17th at 5 pm in the Paul Revere 'A' room at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge."
For info about other meetings, please see http://corp.arisia.org/calendar |
|
|
| FYI |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|04:43 pm] |
|
Something on my flist has broken the margins of my flist, reducing its readability by a lot. |
|
|
| (no subject) |
[Dec. 20th, 2009|06:49 am] |
6:50am, and I"ve had a good Morning Meeting with Zack. Next: Exercise, shower, eat, brush, and go to the Fellowship for the morning. Afternoon, finish my 'Response to two stimuli and adding a third' post here, and respond to that third stimuli (thank you, tahkleet ). Then apply for jobs, plan out the week, and fall over.
Issue to address: Excessive tightness of scheduling and the need for slack. |
|
|
| navigation |
| [ |
viewing |
| |
most recent entries |
] |
| [ |
go |
| |
earlier |
] |
| |
|
|
Israel had no days as festive as the 15th of Av and Yom Kippur, for on those days the maidens of Jerusalem would go out dressed in white garments that were borrowed (so as not to embarrass those that had none), dance in the vineyards, and matches between them and eligible men were arranged.
accomplished
thankful
busy
0 (0.0%)
busy
amused
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}