a little color never hurt anyone

In case you didn't know, the iPod shuffle now comes in color! I think I'm buying myself an orange one for my birthday. It'll go with my desk chair.

long days just get longer

Today I woke up at 3:15 a.m. to finish a paper I had due at 8:45 a.m. I printed it at 7:50, threw my shit together, and flew out the door. And I just made it on time to class. Phew.

Yes, I'm decidedly a morning person. I just couldn't work last night so I went to bed early so I could wake up early and still get a solid 5-6 hours of sleep.

Then of course I had school all damn day. I managed to watch the very forgettable Unknown between classes. I left campus at 6:30, but didn't get home until 8:30. Yeah, two hours. And I know you're going to ask, but traffic wasn't bad at all.

I got a flat tire. I pulled over, called GEICO, and they dispatched someone to change it for the donut I have in my trunk. I get a call from the car people's dispatcher asking me to come out. Come out? I'm parked on the street. The damn people went to the wrong place. This is why it's insane that GEICO does all the arranging for you. So I had to wait. And I had to pee.

The guy came, fixed it, and I was on my way. But now I'm worried: the donut is low at the bottom. I drove maybe 2 miles on it (and I need to drive another 2 or so to get to Pep Boys to fix it). I didn't exceed the speed limit printed on the donut. Should I be worried?

this one's for you, brian

If you remember from an earlier post this week about The Broken West, I mentioned how the last time I blogged about them there were controversial results. Well, tonight we got some closure on that issue.

Anna had organized a show at Bordello on the edge of Little Tokyo for The Sheers CD release party. John Hoskinson opened and Eugene Edwards closed. Brian, of Broken West and "insufferable rudeness" fame, plays bass in both bands. Oh yes, he read the blog those many months ago. So after he greeted Anna, he came up to me and made mention of it, but he was totally cool about it. And apparently I'm one of the few people to praise the band without mentioning Wilco (shit, I just did). I still wouldn't make the comparison, because it just doesn't occur to me to do it. "So It Goes," "On the Bubble," and "Down in the Valley" are toe-tapping fabulous on their own. So I officially take it back: Brian is not insufferably rude. We may have to work on Dan, though (to be fair, he was not there tonight). Oh and Brian and Eugene were wearing matching outfits, which I actually really like (I'm big into "concept bands"). It's John who ruined that vibe.

rain, rain, go away, don't come back another day

It's amazing how used to the dry climate I am. Sure, my hair and especially skin hate the lack of moisture in the air, but my head loves it. It's been raining pretty much all day, and I've been totally sluggish with a mild headache (beats the migraines I used to get with every rainfall back east), and I feel like it should not be doing this today! Yeah, yeah, it's the rainy season, but it hasn't exactly been that rainy. What I don't get is that I saw rain less than a month ago when it rained everyday in Paris, but yet, this still feels alien to me. How am I ever going to return to an actual seasonal climate?

On the bright side, my car really needed to get pelted a bit today. Me, of all people, was actually on the verge of considering a car wash the damn thing was so filthy. Now I can keep my streak alive. Never been washed on my watch. Yes!

europe photos uploaded

In a fit of productivity, I finally downloaded my photos from my trip, and now I've uploaded some of them to my Picasa album. Click the link above to enjoy, but bear with me as I'm still a bit too lazy to put in all the captions as of right now.

mod house call

I know you were just dying for another blogging episode from me today, so I'm going to give it to you.

Click the above link for a cool photo essay on Modern architect-designed houses in L.A. Or click here to see my photos of the same kind of thing.

rom com feb

It's that time of year again. When I remind you that my birthday is in two weeks (that's February 8 for the calendar challenged). While I know some people will let their birthday pass and not tell anyone, I am not that person. I'm still young enough to be glad to add another year to my tree ring, and I'm obnoxious enough to want to draw attention to myself in such a way. Hey, at least I'm not in denial about that.

For the first time in years, I don't actually have school on my birthday. I'll have papers to grade, but those can wait until February 9. But this lack of school leaves me without structure for the day. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with myself. As a film fanatic, I want to go to the movies. I may even splurge and go Arclight! However, I have no idea if anything decent will be playing. January is a shit time for movies. February has some promising releases (see below), but they all come out after my birthday. There is the possibility of a free screening, though, since they tend to occur on Thursdays.

It appears that February will be romantic comedy month for me, when I will definitely see three flicks from my favorite genre. Yeah, I'm serious. I enjoy a good documentary, maybe a taught thriller, certainly a comedy of high-brow proportions, but I consistently watch romantic comedies of all stripes. Call it a fetish if you will, but I'm quite comfortable with my film kinks. It's a complicated relationship I have with these films, because I don't really want what the formula espouses, but it'd be nice to have a funny romantic interlude (without the miscommunication).

Ok, anyway, the three films are (in the order I found out about them): Music and Lyrics (Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore), Gray Matters (Heather Graham...this one is actually a bit of a twist on the formula), and I Could Never Be Your Woman (Michelle Pfeiffer and Paul Rudd). I mean, come on, like I can pass up a movie with Hugh Grant or Paul Rudd as the male romantic lead. And they both look so young. They are trying to pass Rudd off as 29 when he's going to be 38 in April, and it looks like it works (in the trailer anyway).

whose health do we insure?

The second I heard about Bush's health insurance tax plan on Monday I was incensed. I can only imagine him sitting there thinking, "How can we create a diversion for the skyrocketing cost of health care that looks like we're helping the uninsured but instead penalizes a lot of other people?" Of course I'm kidding, we know he couldn't construct that sentence (as rambling as it was), but some of his advisers might be able to help with it.

The last sentence in the article I've linked you to above sums it up:
"We're tilting the playing field toward this very flawed market," said Robert D. Reischauer, president of the Urban Institute.

If you tax people who receive health benefits from employers, you're undermining this very effective and generous system (relatively speaking). Considering this country is never going to give us affordable universal coverage (can you blame them when the private system makes dollars hands over fist and then gets to include these figures in the GDP?), all we've got is that firms offer these benefits to their workers. The plans that large firms can acquire from health insurance companies are so much better than anything anyone could buy individually (you'd think these capitalists would know that). Plus, if you work for a large enough firm, they cover you wholly at the same rate as everyone else in your firm, even if you have certain pre-existing conditions other insurance plans wouldn't allow (or you'd pay insanely high premiums). I'd basically be screwed if the employer-insurance system collapsed.

Read the article. It's the best thing I've seen yet against the plan.

dangerous jokes?

From this week's Savage Love:

What's the biggest difference between a gay and a straight marriage?

Straight Boy Wants To Know

The only really significant difference, SBWTK, is the likelihood of any given husband hearing these 11 magic words: "Honey, it's been way too long since we had a three-way."

I howled when I read that, but then it hit me that Savage's enemies won't get this is a joke. They'll just say, "See, we're right! They will degrade the institution of marriage."

You think that last observation is hyperbole? Then you should read this gem I learned about today in the class I TA: "Prole Models: America's Elites Take Their Cues from the Underclass." Charles Murray is absolutely insane, but sadly, probably also the pulse of conservative America.

how did the west break?

Last night I paid a visit to Sea Level Records in Echo Park for The Broken West's record release party. I've blogged about the band before (once with controversial results); they used to be known as The Brokedown, but apparently ran into legal trouble with the name. At first I wasn't crazy about them (too twangy), but in the intervening time they became incredibly poppy and catchy as hell. They're rising stars (if a record deal with Merge is any indication of such things these days). Merge is even touting them as influenced by Teenage Fanclub. While not incompatible music at all, I don't quite hear it. Nevermind, though, I fully endorse I Can't Go On, I'll Go On.

washington-gay-gate

The controversy over Isaiah Washington's comments on the set of Grey's Anatomy and then later denying them (while his costars contend he's lying) is getting out of control. The Bible's news reported today that ABC is reportedly considering firing him effective immediately even though his character will be featured in an upcoming storyline that has already been filmed. Then the industry news reports that some gay activists are pushing for his character to come out on the show, which isn't going to happen.

This kind of stuff is why conservative schmucks think us lefties are loons. This is identity politics run a muck. What Washington said was wrong, denying it only made it worse, and this whole affair has been blown out of proportion (but helping the show's already high ratings). The fact that we're having a public dialog about what's transpired is what is important. No matter how ignorant, insensitive, or inappropriate the comment was, it's not grounds for firing him. He's cooperating. Let's just get over it, learn from it, and hope this has lessened the use of the word.

for the arty types

I just found out about ArtScene (link above), which provides information on all the art happenings in Southern California.

I did get a little Modern Arted Out while in Europe, but that's wearing off. How is that possible, you ask? Yeah, yeah, yeah, in the land of Old Masters, I still chose to view mostly modern and contemporary art. It's just what I like. I couldn't even follow the damn signs to find the Mona Lisa at the Louvre.

bird snot

I was walking in Little Tokyo today, and a bird shat on me. It wasn't white or what I thought it would look like. Instead it looked like something that flew out of my nose. But it wasn't.

burger beef

I love a good burger and fries, but this is ridiculous. Fighting over who owns the title to the first burger isn't the worst part, the fact that some stupid congressperson in Texas is trying to pass a resolution in Congress about it is. You mean to tell me they don't have better things to do?! And hasn't Texas contributed enough stupid things to this country?

This is more embarrassing than the fact that the lead story on last night's 11:00 news on ABC was the revived controversy behind Grey's Anatomy. The lead story!

Back to burgers, my money's on Louis' Lunch. That's what I've known for years. But I could never eat there. You aren't allowed any ketchup. And anyone who has seen me eat a burger knows I can't do it without ketchup.

P.S. The New York Times is now hip to how annoying it is that their links used to expire within 14 days of publication, and now offer "permalinks" that remain available after the article enters the archive.

a snippet about edinburgh...

Edinburgh is unlike any city I've ever been to. You can feel how ancient it is, the castle is visible from everywhere, there are incredible cliffs (I think they call them craigs), it has dramatic topography (the city is built on seven hills, the castle occupying the highest point), and the architecture is beautiful and illustrative of the city's long history (as are the tiny steep alleys they call closes).

And the entire city smells like hot dogs.

What?!

Seriously, Allie and I were walking around and I kept remarking how good the hot dogs smelled, but of course we didn't see any hot dogs. What the hell could it be?

It's whiskey (yes, there's an "e" in Scotland). Never having tried whiskey, I didn't realize this. It smells like hot dogs. We tasted some whiskey at the castle gift shop. I couldn't handle even a fraction of the thimble-sized sample, but after my throat burned, I tasted hot dogs, er, smoky meat.

And then when we saw a movie (The Holiday, yeah, I know, but it was the only acceptable thing out...they don't watch British movies in Britain! Not even in London! And it was cute.) our last night in Edinburgh, there were ads for Jack Daniels whisky before the movie. Your city smells like whiskey, but you actually want that American stuff?

sex ed 101

It's always been a big mystery to me and others how I developed into such a progressive, outspoken person. Sure, there are clues here and there that string together a theory or two, but I can't point to a definitive list of events or structures that shaped me in such a way. But naturally place is central to my theory of who I am. And this article from today's Washington Post about how the overhaul of Montgomery County (Md.)'s school heath and sexuality curriculum is perhaps the leading edge in the nation (e.g. not only teaching about sexual orientation but also transgenderism) supports that claim. In other words, obviously I'm not going to benefit from this new, progressive program, but I was schooled in this kind of liberal environment that focused on providing information and stressed diversity (not just in this area, of course). I'm a huge proponent of thorough sexual education, because only moralist morons think that giving people information is akin to encouraging them to pursue only the "detestable" things they learn rather than arming them with tools to survive in and contribute to society.

It's also interesting to see how Montgomery County compares to the other suburban D.C. school districts. Some places do not address non-heteronormative activity, while one county in Virginia only brings it up in reference to STDs. What the hell is that about? No disease is dependent on sexual orientation. Of course there are certain correlations to disease and populations, but that is based on people's individual acts and risk taking, which isn't inherent to sexual orientation.

someone's in a writing mood

I don't know what has gotten into me, but I'm on a small writing rampage.

So I thought I'd take the opportunity to brag about the fact that the University of Maryland's American Studies department was recently ranked third in the nation, only behind Harvard and UT-Austin. I'm so proud to be part of that legacy!

I was contemplating some snide remarks about our competition, but then I thought better of it. I mean, hello, I will be looking for an academic job, perhaps in this field or these places, and god knows this digital stuff has an interminable lifespan.

But just think, if I had taken UT's offer of admission, right now I'd probably be in the early stages of researching my dissertation at the second-best American Studies program.

someone went to europe and has been slow to report on it...

I've become one lazy-ass blogger in the last six months or so, haven't I? I don't know what the problem is, but I'd rather provide you with (somewhat) amusing and insightful entries rather than self-serving bullshit about my boredom or whathaveyou, so I guess that means it's become more sporadic.

But geez, you'd think that someone so fucking excited about her first trip to Europe (3 long weeks!) would rush to recount her adventures, especially when she got to spend eight days in Paris (you know, that city and culture I put on a pedestal). But man, I've been back for ten days, and since the second I landed I've been in agony with severe sinus congestion. It won't go away! Help me, please! And about the only thing I can hear out of my right ear is my heartbeat. So that really zaps my interest in even telling my stories. Of course I've orally related this information to people, which is my preference anyway.

The crude outline of my trip: flew into London, took the tube to Euston Station where I caught a train to Lancaster in the northwest. Allie met me at the train station, and we spent the next couple of days in Lancaster as I adjusted to the time. We did Manchester as a day trip. Then we were off on our marathon: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, London, Paris, and back to London, where we parted. The whole time we were in Britain I think it rained one or two days (it was really sunny in the north). And yeah, we went through the Chunnel via Eurostar. It was not only my longest vacation, it is also the longest amount of time I've spent not riding in a car in my entire life. God that felt good.

I guess I'll just have to slowly reveal stuff as I feel like it. Sorry. But I will tell you that I absolutely loved Paris, even though it rained all the time, there were too many people, and I think that's where I got sick. There's so much more that I want to see there, but now that I've done the major tourist circuit I can relax and take more of the interesting details in. Oh how I'd love to live there. The next best stops were Edinburgh and Manchester.

I still need to download the photos I took and then I'll be adding some to my Picasa online photo album.

In the meantime, I'll be blowing my nose.