Today, in things that are fucked up...

Holy crap, I can't even believe this bullshit: Bill Gates has solved Africa!

Well, okay, he's figured out how to fix that whole problem they have of, like, starving all the time over there. They just need geneticaly modified seeds and lots and lots of agrichemicals (i.e., petrochemical fertilizer!). You know, so they can kick out bumper crops like farmers over here in the States do! 'Cause it's not like there are any negative consequences to that approach, especially not when rich corporations bring it to the tropics. Jeebus, Bill Gates, what is your deal?! Is it not bad enough that you sell buttloads of imperfect operating systems that bring blue screens and frustration* to people around the world....do you have to export crappy (environment-destroying) industrial farming, too?! (P.S. While it may be historically accurate, don't you think you could've found a better way to talk about the increase in crop yield due to petroleum-based mono-crop industrial agriculture than "Green Revolution"? 'Cause I dunno 'bout you, Bill, but I'm interested in a whole 'nother kinda Green Revolution these days...Plus, what the hell? USA, China, India, Africa: one of these things is not like the other.)

In fairness, though, this sentence in Bill's letter is spot fucking on:

It is interesting how often the impact of climate change is illustrated by talking about the problems the polar bears will face rather than the much greater number of poor people who will die unless significant investments are made to help them.

I totally agree, Bill. I'm not sure, though, that expanding industrial farming techniques to countries that don't use them now will actually help this situation. In fact, I'm pretty darn sure it won't. Now, organic and permaculture resources? Whole different story.

In other news of the wackadoo, apparently someone's printing out the Shared Items from their Google Reader, and calling it a newspaper?? I saw one on the el this morning, and literally turned to my roomie and said, "I think they missed the point." Don't get me wrong, I love the tactile experience of printed media; I will probably always keep a magazine subscription or two, and you'll pry my books from my cold, dead hands. But. It makes zero sense to me to compile a bunch of blogs and print it out like a newspaper. Also? STOP NEEDLESSLY KILLING TREES, YOU THOUGHTLESS FUCKS! Read it on your damn laptop!

Another thing fueling my rage today: TreeHugger's "Vegetarians We Love," which is a list of *dudes* who don't eat meat. 'Cause, apparently, it is totally girly to not eat meat. Don't get me wrong, TreeHugger, I get that y'all are trying to show other dudes that not-eating-meat can totally be manly, since Joaquin Phoenix is totally a vegan and all....but excellent work ignoring the fact that food choices (should) have FUCK ALL to do with gender. And that guys need some kind of extra special prize for not guzzling steak at three meals a day.

Finally, to round out the sad state of the good, green earth and some of her fucked up peoples, it seems that Americans don't really buy this whole "climate change" business, and that if those of us who do buy it and give a damn are going to convince them to change, we're gonna have to dumb it down a bit, 'cause all that science talk is just confusing, or something. I know not everybody wants to pore over charts and data and read scientific studies which are, admittedly, often a little on the dry side...but the evidence is ubiquitous enough these days that we've already boiled it down to stuff like the penguins will all die and global warming is irreversible....I dunno how much less "science-y" it gets than those really plain statements, but apparently Jane Six-Pack still somehow thinks that's not a big deal. Ugh.

Le sigh. Okay, some good stuff to get the brain churning a bit: BFP & Jess' collab called (re)Thinking Walking, which is really interesting food for thought; a manifesto from Jeremy Schlosberg at Fingertips, who I find one of the smartest, fairest and most ethical music bloggers on the web; also, this bit about racism in SF&F is delightfully blunt.

The world is a complicated place, and I rarely find enough time to wrap my brain around even a small piece of it. But I keep trying.

_____________________________
* Note: I detest Microsoft only marginally less than I detest anything Apple-related. Just in case you were thinking I was a Mac person or something. *shudder*

State of the Tari: Update.

So, you know, shit's going down and I'm dealing with it, more or less. I'm mostly just distracting myself, which is working for me at the moment. I'm sure it will quit....but I'm living the gospel of mmmmmmmmfuckit, for now, and I'm going to do so until it stops working.

I finished painting my bedroom over the weekend, which is unutterably awesome. It's the first time I've ever had a room without white or beige or pastel walls (they're orange and red and fabulous). I also read several books (I started the Sookie Stackhouse books...'cause for some reason I'm into vamps and werewolves lately - though not fucking Twilight thankyouverymuch) and watched half of Firefly (Malcolm Reynolds is good for my soul). I didn't drink myself into a stupor, though, so I count it a win.

I had planned to record some demo tracks over the weekend, in which endeavor I was thwarted by this random, unending, and mysterious beeping coming form the neighbor's apartment. This happens every now and then, the beeping, and it goes on and on and on...and I pretty much lose my mind trying to understand what the fuck it could be and why someone doesn't make it stop, for fuck's sake. This round, it lasted for hours, right during the time I had set aside for recording. So, not so much with the recording.

And hey, just to put it on your calendar, if it's not already there....I'm playing as part of an acoustic showcase at Silvie's on December 8th. I'll play some music (maybe even some holiday music?!), I'll drink some....a good time will be had by all. Including you, if you show up. Woo!

Pedantic Public Service Message

1. The phrase "wherefore art thou Romeo" from Romeo and Juliet does not mean "where are you, Romeo?" as it is so often misinterpreted. It means "WHY did you have to be Romeo," which is Juliet bemoaning the fact that the dude she's hot for is a Hatfield to her McCoy, and she can never get it together with him, 'cause her whole family would totally freak. When I was younger, and less intrepid with my Elizabethan English skills, I made the same misinterpretation, and in fact wrote an entire horrible poem around the concept....which apparently impressed the hell out of my elementary school teachers at the time, but is now pretty damn embarassing to me.

2. Say it with me now: it's an apostrophe for a contraction, but possession needs no apostrophe in its spelling.

3. Speaking of apostrophe usage...it's the '60s, '70s, and '80s - NOT the 60's, 70's, and 80's. For the same reason as the whole it's/its thing.

4. "Would've" is a contraction for "would have," NOT "would of." Seriously, where the hell does that even come from?

6. And my own personal top grammatical pet peeve: "a lot" is TWO words, not one. "Alot" is a B and an L short of the thing you cast in an election, and that's as close as it gets to being a word.

Speaking of which, did you vote yet?

I'd get back in the saddle.....if I could find the saddle....

Even though I'm feeling much better, I haven't been posting much these days. Mostly because all my brain can think up is "I'm feeling better, but still fucking exhausted and not quite back to full speed." Which, you know, is like talking about breakfast cereal on the excitement scale. Yawn.

I do seem to have, this afternoon, some spare brain space for thinking. It's not in-depth, or anything, but I've got some random thoughts to share....kind of a lightning round of what-the-fuck's-going-on-these-days. Enjoy!

* Tim Russert: Fucking shame. Hey, meainstream media wanks who purport to be his heartbroken and respectful colleagues: quit fucking talking about how he struggled with his weight and it eventually killed him; he worked out daily and ate reasonably well (or at least that's what his close friends keep saying) - what the fuck else is a normal human with a fucking life supposed to do? How about a little respect for the passing of a really amazing human being, a damn good journalist, and one of those lucky sons-of-bitches that finds his purpose in life? As usual, mainstream media, you can FUCK OFF.

* George Carlin: Another fucking shame. We shared the same birthday. We shared some political views and social criticisms. I loved the moment at the end of "Jersey Girl" where he says he doesn't want to die alone; it was some of the most poignant acting I've ever seen, even in such a relatively unimpressive movie. His books make me laugh every time I pick them up and re-read them. The world is less cool without him.

* Obama & FISA & public funding: I like Obama, and I think he's a great Senator, and will be a great President. But, like I've been saying to everyone I know who's got their starry-eyed idealistic blinders on, hoping he's a "change they can believe in," the man is a politician. He's not some naive tyro outsider - he's a Chicago pol who makes shrewd decisions based on walking the fine line between his beliefs, what's best for the country, and what's best for his own career. I think he's a damn sight better than a lot of the Dems out there carrying the party banner (ahem, Ms. Pelosi...), but I never forget that he's a politician. He's going to make a lot of compromises I don't like. This isn't a surprise.

* I recently subscribed to Yes! Magazine. I had stumbled on a few of their online articles, and really enjoyed them, and sent for a trial issue....and lo and behold, it's fabulous. There's a sense of activism and community and respect and this spirit of openness that I really like, and - with the exception of the one article on investments and banking bullshit (green your investments! put your money in a local credit union! pay yourself first!) - I really have enjoyed every article I've read. I was reading it at lunch the other day, when all of a sudden something really intense that I hadn't even noticed dawned on me: there were no ads. Not one advertisement. Not a single one! No product placement, no glossy photography, no objectification of human beings, no shilling for ANYTHING! I suddenly felt even better about paying my $20 for four issues a year - not only because it's writing untainted by advertiser interference, but also because it's printed on post-consumer recycled paper, with creative commons copyright licensing.

* Words I am thoroughly tired of hearing: "staycation" and the suffix "-bits." Please, media, we all fucking know gas prices suck; STOP talking about how everyone's taking a staycation to save money, as if you're so damn clever. Seriously, precocious smart-mouthed fifteen year olds, Stephen Colbert, and Joss Whedon make up witty new words...it's less cute when journalists pick it up as if they're equally trendy and cool. Not so much. Also, let's quit it with the bits! Girlybits, thinkybits, squickybits, bloggybits, snarkybits, snootybits, squishybits.....I am just fucking tired of all the little pieces of things! I want something in its unadulterated entirety, not bite size pieces. I'm a grown woman. I can handle it. Seriously.

* Musica: New albums I have picked up lately include Jason Mraz's new one (We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. This one doesn't wow me as much as the older acoustic stuff, but there are a couple tracks I cannot stop playing; and "Details in the Fabric" makes me tear up *every* time.), Alanis Morissette's new one (Flavors of Entanglement. Some of the tracks are a bit dance-ier than I'd like, and some are more maudlin than I'd like....but there are a couple priceless ones in there, too. I particularly dig "Incomplete," which features the line "I'll know God, and I'll be constantly one with Her night, dusk, and day."), and Alexi Murdoch's Time Without Consequences (an older album I had never heard of, but am loooooooooving....I could listen to "Orange Sky" on repeat forever!). I'm also enjoying some random tracks from Crooked Still, a "newgrass" group that brings really cool percussive strings (originally a contemporary of my fave fiddler - Casey Driessen - and now some other players doing similarly awesome stuff), banjo, and the gorgeous vocals of lead singer Aoife O'Donovan...it's tasty stuff I highly recommend if you dig folk music, bluegrass, or pretty voices. Also on my playlists lately: Duffy, Amos Lee, and (as always) Green Day, Dan Bern, and John Mayer.

* Miscellanea: In my continuing shift from cute shoes to sensible shoes (and possibly from young-and-hip to old-and-crotchety), I heart my Birkenstocks. I also heart summertime.....but not so much the crazy raining and humidity. My hair, in particular, could do without the humidity. The permaculture gardens in the backyard....well, let's just say that they're having some trouble with bugs; our backyard is like an insect smorgasbord - it's so bad, I actually can't go out there for more than a few minutes, even with bug spray. Yikes! I managed - though still not up to full energy - to assemble two cat playground thingies....the cats seem to be enjoying them, which bodes well. Next cat-related excitement: the cat genie, which costs a bundle, but basically means no litter and (most importantly) no scooping cat shit anymore! Woo hoo!

I knew it!

You are: Superman!



You are mild-mannered, good,
strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz


I knew it! Superman has always been my favorite superhero. And not just because Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain, and Tom Welling are all incredibly hot. Superman is humble, even though he fucking rocks the house....and that, my friends, is my favorite complimentary quality of awesomeness. Awesomeness + humility = ass-kicking.

That is all.

(Totally ganked from Shakesville.)

Mmmmm.....braaaaains.....

Zombie jokes aside, I love me some brains. (Not to ingest, although I have eaten brians before, and didn't really care for them. Like watered down liver-flavored jelly. I know, sounds good, right? Only not.) I am completely enthralled with how damn interesting brains are, and I consider neurology one of the most exciting frontiers of modern science.



Last year, TIME Magazine published a special series of articles on the brain and its anatomy and function. It examined both the anatomical and behavioral sides of studying the brain, as well as tackling the idea of consciousness and what modern brain science has to imply about the soul. Fascinating! (I recently went back to re-read it and have fallen in love with the issue all over again.)



My favorite article from that series is here. It's a little challenging in some ways, but thought-provoking in the extreme.

Miscellaneous.

1. I have long resisted the Firefox, because I'm one of those jerks who refuses to do what "everybody's doing" because what "everybody" does is usually a poor fit for me. However, for a couple reasons, I decided to download Firefox tonight, and holy cows, I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. So much better than IE, for so many reasons. (I still like IE - and will be forced to use it at work. But I think I will not at home much again.)

2. This. Fucking. Insane. Chicago. Weather. Is. Driving. Me. CRAZY. Seriously, 40 degrees, -10 degrees, 50 degrees, 2 degrees. How the fuck is a normal human body supposed to deal with these kinds of temperature shifts so quickly?! I feel like a human barometer! [/END RANT]

3. I started reading these books last weekend, and flew through them really quickly, because they're just that damn fun. I mean, ghosts, demons, the devil, vampires, and plasma guns!!! What the hell isn't to like? Seriously, if you like slightly sci-fi-flavored urban fantasy, and can handle a little bit of whiny-ness in a heroine...I recommend.

4. This set of maps (via TreeHugger) is really interesting. I especially like the "sustainable commerce" section, that looks at population density and installed renewable energy resources. The "Industrial Pollutants" map was also noteworthy. Really instructive - in terms of showing us how scary it is out there.

Dark matter, dark energy...now dark fluid!

For those who may be unaware of my deep and abiding love for advanced physics, please note that you may want to skip this post. I'm gonna ramble for awhile about science geekery.

"The highest form of Human Excellence is to question oneself and others."
- Socrates

I suck at chemistry. I have taken exactly one chem class in my life, and it was the ONLY topic in my entire life that I ever spent more than a few cursory minutes studying. I crammed for chemistry. I reviewed equations and proofs and read chapters over and over. I ran through practice questions until I was certain I knew exactly how things worked. And then I would try balancing a chemical equation, check my answer, and realize that I was fucking clueless. I thought I understood what I was doing, and I was wrong.

I was forced to admit that chemistry is beyond me. I don't know why. It shouldn't be; chemistry is about substances and forces that exist in nature and follow natural law, which is painstakingly bound by specific laws and rules - and yet I just don't get them.

Physics, on the other hand, is completely instinctive to me. I took physics class after physics class, and half the time didn't even crack a book. For some reason, I just intuitively understand physics. Physics makes sense to me intrinsically. I truly believe that someday, scientists will discover a Unifying Theory of Everything that ties all our understanding of the universe - string theory, chaos theory, gravity, relativity, space-time, matter and energy and how they interact, alternate dimensions - into one neatly wrapped package that will enable us to change the way we move through the universe.

Don't get me wrong - I don't think it's going to be some Magic Dust-fueled portal into another dimension from whence cometh all sin (a la The Golden Compass), or anything. I'm just saying we might be able to try intergalactic space travel, or possibly teleportation, or something cool like that.

Anyway. What sparked this little tangent today was this article, talking about the idea of "dark fluid" as a replacement and/or unifier for the dark matter and dark energy that physicists have hypothesized to explain certain features of the landscape of the universe. Fascinating!

First, I love how similar this is to the idea of light acting as both a wave and a particle. I really enjoy when aspects of the universe refuse to be bound by our definitions of them. (Hell, I live my life dedicated to that principle.) I also find it really cool that scientists have put together two of the mysteries of modern physics - dark matter that we assume somehow exists based on our observations of gravitational fields and which apparently makes up most of the mass of the universe (despite our not being able to see it or interact with it - it's kinda like God in that way); and dark energy, that thing we think is somehow speeding up the expansion of the universe and in fact makes up the majority of the energy contained in the universe (even though - again - we can't actually see it or interact with it: still like God!).

In that "the wise man knows that he knows nothing," the (obviously Socratic) philosopher in me adores the fact that we so readily acknowledge that we have no explanation or observation for most of the mass and energy of the universe. This is another area of science where the volume of what we don't know so greatly exceeds what we do, that there are still untouched shores to explore - still vast tracts of understanding waiting, untapped, for us to discover - still so fucking MUCH to learn. That is exciting.

I like the concept of dark fluid more than the individual components, not only because obviously it seems to fit more elegantly with the previously observed data, but also because it makes fewer assumptions about the nature of what we don't yet understand. We don't know what is behind the data we've observed. We don't know if there are two things behind the unexplained phenomena, or two hundred, and at this point, there's no way to figure that out. So, rather than create an equation with a determined number of variables, we simplify to the elegance of just one. Brilliant.

Geeks.

So Friday night, I had plans. Shit happened, they fell through. (Mercury is retrograde; I should've expected this kind of bullshit. AARGH!) So, I figure I'll hit Borders on my way home, grab a new book, and amuse myself generally.

As I'm wandering over to see if the latest Thursday Next is out in paperback yet...and start to comb through the ol' SF&F secton for something new that doesn't look like some cleverly marketed romance novel...I notice that, on a Friday night, it is asses and elbows in the Sci Fi. I said excuse me more times looking for a book than I do when trying to navigate through a rush hour train station. There were geeks leaning up against shelves, flipping through manga comics (er, graphic novels?) and discussing that long-standing Sci Fi debate: Star Trek versus Star Wars (which seems particularly silly when they're talking about the reams of glorified fan fic that masquerades as the "sontinuing sagas" or whatever). There were even some proto-geeks chasing each other through the crowded store, making me recognize how old I'm getting....'cause I wanted to reach out and cuff them and tell them to be quiet and respectful of others in a goddamn bookstore.

Don't get me wrong. I mean, I was fucking there myself, but still...maybe geeks have a rep for a reason?

Yikes. It's Picky About Words Day.

I love words. No, really, I read the dictionary for fun, 'cause I just love words. I worked as a copy reader for awhile, and have been called the Editor From Hell....all because I love words and how they can be assembled. I don't claim to be the bestest writer ever, but I can assemble a coherent sentence using precise verbiage to convey exactly what I'm trying to communicate. This is probably part of why I still can't escape the "smart girl" image, despite my efforts to bury it under gratuitous cursing and excessive shoe shopping.

One horrible side effect of my love of words is an overwhelming frustration with the way they are so often misused. Periodically, I feel the need to assemble a list of the most common verbal/written whoopsies I stumble across, and both explain why something about the usage is wrong....and generally vent my spleen at the misuse. Over the weekend, I was slapped a couple times with my least favorite of these English errors, and so, here's today's list.

Taut v. taunt
I'm not sure why this is so hard. These are two entirely different words, pronounced two entirely different ways. Taut means "pulled tight" or "tense," like a bowstring or a muscle or a shirt a couple sizes too small; I have found that this word is often used with a connotation of sexiness. Taunt is what jackasses do to caged tigers, and wind up getting munched.

Flustered v. frustrated.
Okay, what peeves me here is the combination of the two words into some wack-tastic power word: "flustrated." Now, i can see how such a word could be useful; flustered meaning "harried" or "stressed" and frustrated meaning "had it up to here" or "at wit's end" - these would combine to form "stressed to the point of wit's end" or something. I get that, but the problem is most people who use this pseudo-word aren't willfully twisting the English language, they're mistaking this for an actual word. Which it is not. To me, flustered has hints of blushes and stammering and possibly embarrassment; frustrated, to me, carries an edge of lost temper, of impending meltdown, or possibly of just a huge crying fit. These are two different shades of meaning, and they each deserve their due.

Lose v. loose.
This is another one that boggle my mind. These words are pronounced significantly differently - one has a hard Z sound, the other a sibilant. On top of that, to lose means something's gone missing, or maybe you just didn't win; loose is baggy or maybe that you just fired your bow or slingshot or maybe just a string of invective. Either way, two totally different ideas. I know it can be confusing, but - please, internets! - try?

Desert v. dessert.
I see why this one could be confusing. Sort of. I just find it hilarious these are both misused. Part of me just laughs when I see "dinner & desert" on some business correspondence or other, where someone should really know better. Another part of me goes totally nutso.

Alot.
IS TWO WORDS: A. LOT. If you really want to convey this with just one word, just say "lots" instead.

Its v. it's.
I get this one. It's tricky to keep track of the apostrophe usage for contractions and possessives. But it can be done. My trick? When I'm writing i-t-s, I always run through whether I'm saying it is or not - if I am, apostrophe, and if not....not.

3rd vs. 5th Wheel.
Okay, so this isn't precisely grammar or spelling, but this one drives me absolutely bonkers. 'Cause seriously, SOOOOOO many people talk about how they don't want to tag along and be a "third wheel." AAAAARGH!!! Let me spell it out: the purpose of this phrase is to exhibit how useless and superfluous something is. A third wheel is neither useless nor superfluous. A third wheel makes a trike. It's a fifth wheel that's superfluous. The phrase is "fifth wheel." I mean, come on, if a skeezy Elimidate knockoff can get it right, why does the general consciousness have such a freaking problem?!?

Hello from the Hub of Vacation Land!

So, here I am sitting in my mom's house while my sister's asleep on the couch, trying to sleep off a little of the hangover remnant from last night's Big Bash.


Amazing how often I find myself in this position - the only one awake in the whole house.


Yeah, anyway, the trip here was amazing, the party at my pop's was crazy, crazy, CRAZY fun, I'm expecting to spend some quality time with my sis and some old friends and....(fanfare please) my new cat.


Woo hooooooo!! I got a new cat!!!


He is 13 weeks old, he is all black with a tuft of white fur on between his collarbones, he has hazel eyes, he's freakin' adorable, and his name is Samwise. Because I am a big, fat Tolkein geek, and I wanted to name him Samwise. Actually, it took me a couple days to decide on something. Various members of my family made suggestions: Schmookie, Midnight, Henry, Wallace the Man-Cat (my sister's idea)....and I also had a few I sort of liked (El Pepino - it's from Veggie Tales and means "cucumber" - or Einstein or Johnny Cat in honor of the Man in Black....but then realized that Johnny Cat is a brand of litter), but this is the one I liked best, because I am a Tolkein geek. So, my cat is Samwise. He is sweet and precocious and I anticipate much happiness for both of us.


That's about it for me at the moment, but I know I'm forgetting something in amongst all this fun and frolic. More later, kids. RIght now, I think I need some sleep.