Archives: November 2004
Monday, November 29, 2004
Thanksgiving was cool, a small intimate affair. PreZ's aunt, cousin and her kids had decided to go to the Thanksgiving parade in NYC, so we were off the hook for the usual family duty for this Thanksgiving. With the weather that was forecast for the day, you couldn't pay me to go to that parade. Then there's the matter of it being too early in the day for my liking, and way too many people. Hopefully they had fun though.
So, instead of the family thing, we invited Kit and Kreestof over for dinner, and had most of the usual trappings. This year though I decided that I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, and only got a turkey breast instead. Even that was more than enough with some left for snack sandwiches. Mashed potatos, stuffing, gravy, green beans, cauliflower, apple and pumpkin pies with whipped topping... yum.
We watched a dvd as well as a bunch of the cheesy Bond marathon on Spike, and just hung out and talked. Good times.
@ 02:36 AM EST
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Roger Ebert's reviews are such wonderful things to read sometimes. His review for League of Extraordinary Gentlemen had me laughing with tears rolling down my face.
A gem, and also the closing line, from his review of the new Nicholas Cage movie, National Treasure:
"National Treasure" is so silly that the Monty Python version could use the same screenplay, line for line.
Find the whole thing here:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/...
@ 05:16 PM EST
Last Monday's karate class was interesting. When I saw shihan* walking around in his gi in the office I groaned inwardly, because his classes are usually quite vigourous. And if things aren't done satisfactorily, like loud enough 'kiai', then you get to do stuff over, or extra push-ups.
Then again, by Zach's account the friday class he went to with senpai Sergio was more punishing than any class I've had... 500 kicks. 200 mae geri (front kick), 300 mawashi geri (roundhouse kick). Eek.
But, instead of shihan teaching, we had a special guest. 8th dan sensei Peter Chong, one of the International Karate Organisation's committee members for Asia-Pacific, and Singapore branch chief. Apparantly he was in town for business for a day, and took time out of his schedule to come in and teach a class.
I always enjoy when we have a different teacher, because they all have a different approach and will do different things after kihon (basic training), though even the senpais we have regularly do this too. No one class is ever the same, which keeps things fresh and interesting. And every 6 months or so some of our senpais get exchanged with new ones, just as senpai Eduardo went back to Brazil, and senpai Sergio replaced him, who'll be going back to Brazil mid-December. We currently also have senpai Slawic from Poland, not sure how long he's staying though, if he's here for 6 months too, I'm guessing he'll depart not too long after Sergio does as he's been here for a while already.
Last Wednesday's class was by Sergio, who had us doing quite vigourous stuff. No 500 kicks, but 200, 100 each of mae geri and mawashi geri. 200 was more than enough.
We forfeited this Monday night's session, mostly because PreZ worked from home, and I had to bow out of Wednesday's class because I wasn't feeling too well.
And so karate class continues on... 9 months and counting.
* 5th dan blackbelt who runs our dojo.
@ 05:16 PM EST
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Autumn is at times a depressing enough season for me as it is, mostly because it means we're edging way too close to winter, way too fast for my liking. Especially when it's wet and miserable that can get to me. To compound that, the neighbours are at it again. Those same neighbours that deprived PreZ and I of sleep most weekend mornings for 2 summers running last year and the year before.
So as I sit here at my computer, every few minutes I see a large chunk of tree sailing past and hitting the ground with a large thunk. The neighbours already got rid of a couple of trees back when they were 'landscaping' their yard during those two summers, and at the time they had already emasculated this particular tree to a degree, cutting off a lot of its lower side branches until all I could see of it from the window was a branchless trunk going up out of my view.
Right now the poor thing is about 12 feet tall >_<
I don't know what their problem with this tree was, or any of them. They're on the edge of the property, between this house and the neighbour's, they're not in the way or anything. Okay, from a more thorough glance out of the window, I guess this tree was too close to the terrace things they built in the side of the hill, but the other two weren't. Here's hoping they'll leave the one at the top of the hill near the street alone.
And so there goes a(nother) tree that was at least 50 or so years old. I'm just guessing it's age though, but as the trunk was at least 2 feet wide it would be a pretty decent guess I think.
I hate human beings sometimes.
@ 02:27 AM EST
Reading a "Best Movies" thread on the GN forums, and realising that the vast majority of kiddies haven't listed any movie not made in the last 2 years. With the notable exceptions of The Nightmare Before Christmas, Edward Scissorhands, the original Star Wars trilogy and The Matrix (which is still way recent as far as I'm concerned).
And most of what they list is all blockbuster fodder too. Which isn't to say that there aren't good blockbusters, but it's just sad to think that most of those kids probably haven't been exposed to something that's really fucking great, but didn't necessarily make a gazillion bucks, or something that's a classic, cult or otherwise. Or foreign.
@ 02:27 AM EST
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
Whilst on our domain name registrar's page I noticed the following notice, which is applicable to anyone who owns a registered domain:
We are sending customers an email regarding a new ICANN-enforced domain name transfer policy, effective 11-12-04. It dictates that IF WE RECEIVE A TRANSFER REQUEST (and your domain names are not locked) we must honor the transfer, even if you do not confirm it. You can eliminate ANY chance of your domain names being transferred away without your permission by locking your domains.
Our registrar, godaddy.com, provides a way for us to lock the domain, which does the following according to their site:
Locking your domain prevents changes to contacts and name servers. It also prevents the domain name from being transferred to another registrar. You may lock or unlock your domain at any time by using this page.
Those of you who have domains registered elsewhere, you might want to see if your registrar has emailed you about this change, and whether or not they have a similar measure in place to disallow transferral of your domain without your verification. ICANN's measures are global, and not just limited to any one country or registrar.
Thanks again ICANN, assholes.
@ 04:07 PM EST
Friday, November 12, 2004
Assuming I live long enough that this is at least introduced as a method of processing one's dead body (and with Australia and the Netherlands both having inquired after the process, that might be the case), sign me up.
http://www.promessa.se/index_en.asp
Sounds perfect. None of that embalming formaldehyde crap, no expensive caskets with useless satin lining and padding for that comfort I no longer need, no charring my remains and have my brain explode a hole in my skull in the process, no taking up a useless slot of space in a cemetery, no polluting the ground water or air with either process. And one can finally go back to the earth as was intended.
And for the symbolism, one can live on in the plant or tree which gets planted with you.
@ 06:31 PM EST
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Stiff - The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers
Mary Roach
W.W. Norton (May 2004)
Ppb. 304 pages
$13.95
If you've ever found yourself fascinated by forensics programs, or have had your interest piqued by the mention of body farms, or enjoy watching the, sometimes gruesome, cgi recreations of bullet tracks and injuries in CSI, then Stiff is probably the book for you. Also, if you've ever wondered what might happen when a body is donated to medical science, then one of the possible uses is likely to be documented here.
Stiff is a book that illustrates the various uses of human cadavers in today's world, as well as what history has done with them. And it does so in an often surprisingly humourous way, whilst remaining respectful of the subject matter.
This is definitely not a book for the squeamish though. If your stomach is one to flip and roll at the sight of blood and televised operations, descriptions about decomposition, and some of the other things a cadaver might be put through, then I would suggest you read something else. Whilst a fascinating book, I doubt one would enjoy reading it if if one felt queasy doing so.
Mary Roach's book documents the use of cadavers over the ages, from the very first anatomical dissections, to the roles they now play in aiding forensics, furthering surgery, gathering accident and crash impact data, and other, sometimes much weirder, experiments and research.
She also looks at the history of cadaver donation, including the graverobbing of the 19th century, and the history and possible future of how we dispose of our remains.
I found this book incredibly fascinating, describing uses for cadavers that I had never even considered, and which often go unmentioned to the world at large because of the reactions some people might have, even though the service these cadavers provide is immeasurable and helps us in so many different aspects of our daily lives. Cadavers provide a priceless service to us all, and do so quietly and humbly, and we have much to thank those people for, those who are willing to donate themselves to this purpose.
@ 03:29 PM EST
While the very enlightened views morder was espousing are something to cry about, and it's only pasted as some background to what induced this post, there was one thing he said that made me laugh my ass off, and then despair about the education system and even more about his waning intelligence.
[morder] why don't they just line the border with fucking mines, when a mexican tries to cross *BAM*
[Kharnedge] morder, you believe in murder, then?
[Lilith] morder: why don't you just go chew on a mine
[Try2DV8] I live 50 miles from said fence...it ant much compared to the fence in your heart morder
[morder] we could just put signs saying, danger: mine field, stay back or risk your life
[morder] and then if they crossed it's their own fault
[morder] except in spanish of course
[cAtdraco] morder, you are a fucking genius.
[morder] TY
[cAtdraco] No, really, don't thank me.
[morder] and if hose died, i'm sure manwell and all his friends wouldn't dare cross
Yep, Manwell and Hose.
Dear $deity, please deliver me from such stupidity.
@ 03:11 AM EST
Luna provided me with a link to the BookSlut link of Caitlín R. Kiernan's interview which then led me to browse the rest of the site.
Whilst browsing around on the site I ran into an article about challenged/banned books, especially in schools by parents who seem to feel that trying to avoid the real world is the best way of teaching ones children. Funnily enough in a roundabout way it also tied into something that Karen posted in her livejournal yesterday, about a doll (Feral Cheryl) that comes with a realistic figure and pubic hair, which one parent found inappropriate. Because we all know that things that pretty much every adult on the planet has is inappropriate *rolls eyes*.
Reading challenged/banned book lists just make me want to go out and buy or read the books in question. Especially as the reasons for the challenges are usually so completely ridiculous.
Each year the American Library Association has it's banned books week and has a list of the top 10 most challenged books as well as the 100 most frequently challenged books of 1990-2000.
http://www.forbiddenlibrary.com/ is a site that also lists books that have been challenged, including William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, which was removed from a Merrimack, N.H. high school English class (1996) because of a policy that bans instruction which has "the effect of encouraging or supporting homosexuality as a positive lifestyle alternative.". I'm sure Willy would have been proud that hundreds of years later his work still incites strong reactions. Also nice to know that representing homosexuality in a positive light is so completely repulsive to be taught in schools. We're so much better off with bigotry, hatred and ignorance after all.
One book on the Bookslut list was King & King, a kids book for the 4-8 crowd penned by Dutch authors, in which a Prince is told by his mother that he won't ascend to the crown until he is married. He seeks out numerous princesses who leave him cold, and then falls in love with another prince, and they marry and the last page even shows them kissing. Needless to say that though this book was only published in 2002 in the US, it was already in the top 10 banned/challenged books list of the American Library Association the next year.
One parents reaction: "For those who are unfamiliar with this book," she wrote, "it promotes things like a prince marrying another prince and being married more then once is OK. To put icing on the cake, the last page in the book shows both of the princes kissing."
While I wouldn't say divorce was okay, the current divorce rate, which is pretty staggering, shows that it's definitely a frequent occurance. It's not like seeing divorce in a book is going to make kids grow up and want one, any less than reading a story about 2 princes falling in love is going to make children decide to be gay. Discussing something is not the same thing as promoting it as a behaviour that one must follow. I'm sure the children would much sooner walk away with a more accepting attitude towards homosexuality rather than seeing the book as an advertisement to be so. But most parents/people are not that tolerant themselves, and I guess they don't want to risk their children being tolerant towards such things. Alas.
But I guess that's always been the crux of the problem, all too often I've noticed that (often religiously conservative, or ignorant) people seem to think that you choose to be gay, or that hanging around gay people might turn you gay. Which completely negates the fact that most gay people come from straight families, as well as the fact that I doubt any one of us has ever chosen whom we fall in love, or lust, with, regardless of gender. And I doubt one would ever choose to become gay when you consider the current hostile attitude to people of alternative sexuality. Yeah, let me just sign up for bigotry and hatred and prejudice... sounds like loads of fun.
And this isn't the only subject on which some parents can be complete morons...
Judy Blume's Deenie got challenged because it made reference to masturbation, Linda Jaivin's Eat Me was deemed obscene by one parent because it referenced women and their sexuality, and one grandfather wanted Glenn Murray's Walter The Farting Dog removed from the library stacks because it contained the word 'fart' 24 times. Yes, really.
While the farting dog thing is sadly amusing, in regards to the other two and books like them, the only thing any of this will ever really accomplish is more ignorance regarding sexuality, as well as more shame or (body) issues. I don't think anyone was ever helped by being made to feel that a natural human behaviour and a natural bodily function and need was shameful and nasty and such.
Oh yes, and one parent challenged a book about horses, because it supported the theory of evolution. Their request to remove the book from the library was withdrawn, but they subsequently requested that the library retain a book about creationism. I'm not even going to get into that one...
In Stockton, CA, Mayor Gary Podesto called on the city council to make area libraries safer for children after an 11-year-old checked out a book for adults about child abuse. He called it a "how-to book for pedophiles.".
I love that... so if it's for adults it's an informational book, but when in the hands of kids it all of a sudden becomes a hand book for pedophilia? Unless he feels that it becomes a handbook for such to anyone? That's like saying that a book on physics is a handbook for nuclear bombmakers or some crap. Any knowledge gained from somewhere has the potential to be used for a particular evil, does this mean we just need to stop teaching people anything at all? for fear that one day that knowledge might be used for ill?
Ugh.
The bookslut list, which is October's "Banned Bookslut" column you can find here: http://www.bookslut.com/banned_bookslut/2004_10_003480.php, which opens thus:
The holiday season is fast approaching, and if you're looking for a great way to corrupt any impressionable youth you may be related to, here's a small list of books (and a movie) that were challenged this past year in the United States due to concerns about their content.
Which I think is a mighty fine idea ;)
"An idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea at all."
-- Oscar Wilde
@ 12:34 AM EST
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Halloween was a bit of a let down this year. For that matter, many of them have been since we've been here. The notable exception being last year when we went to Philadelphia for the private Crüxshadows concert, which had The Last Dance opening, and which veritably rocked.
The major downer usually is the complete lack of trick-or-treaters, both here and in Elmsford before. Our grand total the year before last was something like 4 or 5 or so. This year we got 2, and that's counting Dylan, the kid from upstairs. The frustrating thing is that we live in suburbia, one would expect plenty of kids, and we definitely make sure that the path to our door is well lit, so that people know we exist. So this was another Halloween that made me a tad sad. I wasn't even home for our second trick-or-treater, a ninja turtle, I'd gone to pick up food at the local Chinese/Japanese restaurant, and saw him and his father walking away just as I got back.
Our annual Halloween party was postponed to the week after Halloween, mostly because the week before Halloween we were in Washington D.C. and the actual Halloween weekend was packed for pretty much all our friends. So this Saturday was our little shindig. Karen, unfortunately, couldn't make it because she wasn't feeling well. Tom brought Audrey along, and Kit and Kreestof came as well. A small group, but I had a good time. We ended up watching a bunch of movies and talking, as well as eating.
We'd mandated costumes this year, and for the most part that was successful. Tom wasn't feeling too good either, so he didn't dress up. Kreestof came in some kind of evil monk/Star Wars emperor dark hooded cloak get-up, Audrey was a character from Inuyasha and Kit came in ratty clothing, signifying the state of the nation's democracy. Even though I'd worked on it a lot, I'd not managed to finish our costumes. I did get PreZ's Beetlejuice pants to a wearable state, so he had those on, with a white shirt, black tie and the requisite make-up and hair colourings. It looked good.
I wore my costume only for a short period of time. Because of the fact that I'd run out of time, I'd not had time to hem the skirt and permanently take in the petticoat, so everything was safety pinned. After almost tripping on the skirt hem a number of times, I changed back into my pants and shirt again. My red tie also hadn't arrived on time, which was a key element in my costume. The costume in question was Mina Murray (Harker) from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie. The movie itself isn't too great, though up until the Venice scene it's pretty good, but there are some great costumes in it. The one I was going for was Mina in a long black skirt, a white blouse, with a burgundy red scarf or tie, and a double breasted long coat.
The coat never made it out of the mock-up stage, but I did finish most of the petticoat and skirt, the blouse I bought, though I think eventually I want to either buy or make a nicer one to fit the outfit. One day hopefully I'll also find burgundy red silk velvet for the scarf as well, but the two times Kit and I went to the fashion district they were out.
@ 12:27 AM EST