Bjork - Army of Me

There has be a medium through which I can move about gracefully

I tried going swimming this morning. It was more of a controlled drowning actually. The life guard took to pacing back and forth on my side of the pool. At some point she blew a whistle, I think it was to tell everyone else to clear the pool before the cyclone I was brewing pulled them all under.

Somehow, I'm okay doing a lap or two, and then I start to wonder what madness possesses a species with no gills or fins to get into the water of their own freewill. Then I lose all coordination and the flailing about commences.

Also, I have no upper body strength to speak off. My puny arms can't get me across the pool unless I wear flippers. The chlorine stings my eyes so I wear goggles. At some point I'm going to get a snorkel and complete the outfit. Then at least the lifeguard can sit down for a bit.

Rilo Kiley - A Man/Me/Then Jim

You Know You've Arrived...

When you find yourself eating Ramen noodles. Over the kitchen sink.

I need a wifey.

But aside from that, everything's peachy keen. I hope all you guys are doing well too, minus sobering moments of instant noodles. I'm just not around the PC much these days, so I can't even pretend to be planning to blog more. On the other hand, I expect everyone to be more consistent in updating because you just have no excuses you lazy bunch of no-gooders.

The Arcade Fire - Intervention

Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a hope
Hear the soldier groan
"We'll go it alone"
Hear the soldier groan "we'll go it alone".

Louis XIV - Finding Out True Love Is Blind

The Flaming Lips

Fight Test




Race For The Prize

Everyone has heard the saying...

"Give a man a fish and you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish and you have fed him for a lifetime".

Everyone has also heard of Grameen Bank by now, since its founder won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006. Well, imagine if everyone could do what Muhammad Yunus did, lent money to entrepreneurs in developing countries to start or expand a business. Kiva lets you do exactly that. I find the idea intriguing, and will give it a go.

Happy Relevant Patriotic Holiday to All

"How does one hate a country, or love one? I lack the trick of it. I know people, I know towns, farms, hills and rivers and rocks, I know how the sun at sunset in autumn falls on the side of a certain plowland in the hills; but what is the sense of giving a boundary to all that, of giving it a name and ceasing to love where the name ceases to apply? What is the love of one's country; is it the hate of one's uncountry? Then it's not a good thing. Is it simply self-love? That's a good thing, but one mustn't make a virtue of it, or a profession...Insofar as I love life, I love the hills...but that sort of love does not have a boundary-line of hate. And beyond that, I am ignorant, I hope." ~ Ursula K Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness

Reading Firefly's shout-out to her sisters reminded me of what happened at the drugstore today. I popped in after work to grab my favorite new snack (Scooby Doo rainbow sherbet push-up pops) and I was leaving when this man went through the door at the same instant I did. The anti-theft alarm thingy went off, and before I had a chance to even wonder if I'd forgotten to pay (again), the guy tossed "Enjoy" over his shoulder, ran to his bicycle and pedaled off! That's when I noticed the giant bag of drugstore goodies he was holding. I was so miffed I yelled, "In my country you'd have your hand chopped off!" He laughed, the onlookers behind me laughed, and I couldn't help chuckling--after I walked back into the store and then out again to show that I wasn't the culprit.

So you see, a vigilante is handy sometimes. Imagine if Firefly's big sister was standing in line in that store, instead of sheepish middle-aged middle class white folk who left their SUV's idling and didn't want to get involved. That man would've been brought to justice in the form of a flying tackle.

Modest Mouse - Missed The Boat

My favorite tune on their new album. This is a video made by a fan, I think it fits exactly.

It's a circus in there

You know when you've been in a fight with someone? Well, after the fight, does it sometimes seem like you reserved most of the arguments for yourself? Your own head can get so crowded with a thousand different voices. Every two minutes one voice jumps up, declares something and then urges you to act on it before it's too late. Just as you reach for the phone another voice sidles over and explains how the previous voice is now wearing a straitjacket and locked in a padded cell, and how no one in their right minds would do what you were about to do. Instead--uh uh, says voice #3, don't listen to that silly twit, when's the last time you got sound advice from it? Voice #4 muses out loud that it saw voice #3 on America's Most Wanted the other night, something about conning old people out of their pensions... obviously nothing good is going to come out of listening to those who harm the elderly. Wouldn't it be a better idea to just--oh please, drawls #5, that would be a good idea if humiliating failure was the goal. Just listen to me...

Really, I wish I could use all that vicious incisiveness on others instead of reserving it for my poor overcrowded brain.

Audioslave - Be Yourself

Facaaga ha ka harin.

That's what my aunt said to me. Apparently, it's time I settled down and started a family. To be honest I've been feeling a little left out lately, everyone I know and their younger siblings seem to have been bitten by the marriage (or at least cohabitation) bug. The few still standing are just waiting for Cupid to let loose his fatal arrow (how's that for purple prose?).

On the other hand, I feel like everyone is heading into dangerous territory without any preparation. On the other other hand, perhaps I'm just a worrywart and have prepared myself so thoroughly that I keep finding reasons to postpone the trip.

Anyhow, this isn't the first time an aunt has sagely advised me that I'll be a cajuuso any day now. It just hit a little closer to home because I've recently witnessed the very painful and destructive end of a 20-year marriage. I don't want to go through that. The best way to avoid it is to never get married, isn't it? So why do I want to get married? It just doesn't compute.

Tax Hell

I'm sure nearly everyone in the States is breathing a sigh of relief that April 17 is behind them. Why does the government make us do this every single damn year? Big Brother probably knows more about our finances than we do. Why doesn't the IRS stop pretend it needs us to send in all this paperwork? Just automatically withdraw the measly $3 I owe the state, and deposit the $14 the federal government owes me! Then I can buy my next two grande lattes at Starbucks knowing I'm only spending my tax refund money...

Oh, I forgot.

The reason I wanted to update in the first place: I saw K'Naan at the House of Blues in Cleveland, Ohio on March 30. He was opening for Stephen Marley and his brother Jr. Gong. The Marleys were alright.

K'NAAN, if you happen to be one of the three people reading this, you should know that I think you were awesome. I didn't think you were awesome before. I thought that your voice was grating, and your lyrics completely lacking in irony. But you sound way better live, and sometimes unironic, unselfconscious singing from the heart is moving. I nearly cried during "Blues 4 the Horn", (which has a theme similar to The Arcade Fire's "Haiti") and happily bopped my head with the audience of largely doped-out kids for every beat in "Smile". I'm sure "Soobax" will grow on me, since I bought the album and it's on heavy rotation at home, in my office and at the lab.

Thank you!

And thank you to the Somali cabdriver who wouldn't take my fare after the show. That was really sweet.

Ahem

It's not like I didn't know that this thing wouldn't get updated much. But still, four months? Holy cow. My sole excuse is that nothing much is happening in my life. Really. Aside from the occasional life-altering decision or three, I've had a blessedly mundane winter.

Speaking of life-altering decisions and cows (how is that for a segue?), I've been seriously considering becoming a vegetarian. I do experiments with mice, and we (that's to say, I) often have to kill them. It's the worse part of doing research, and I feel so guilty about taking innocent lives. So I came up with the brilliant idea of restoring some kind of karmic balance by not eating meat. Everyone I've told this to has at first acted surprised to discover I actually eat meat, and then predicted grimly that I will starve to death. I told my supervisor last week, and ever since he's been hounding me, telling me it's a terrible idea, that I will completely blow my future by being too weak to study or conduct proper scientific research. He's not heartless; really, he's a sweet, caring person. It's just that his priorities tend to be somewhat skewed occasionally.

Anywho, are there any vegetarians in the house? How difficult can it be to prepare a balanced meal without killing poor defenceless animals?