"Democracy demands that the religiously motivated translate their concerns into universal, rather than religion-specific, values. It requires that their proposals be subject to argument, and amenable to reason. I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all."
- Barack Obama
Sunday, November 2
Tuesday, August 26
Enter apathy.
INT. APARTMENT
Michael, who has to have virtually everything he owns packed up and moved to a corner of the apartment which he also has to clean before he goes to bed in less than twenty-four hours, sits on the couch perusing the same five useless web sites until his eyeballs begin to bleed.
MICHAEL: Meh.
Michael, who has to have virtually everything he owns packed up and moved to a corner of the apartment which he also has to clean before he goes to bed in less than twenty-four hours, sits on the couch perusing the same five useless web sites until his eyeballs begin to bleed.
MICHAEL: Meh.
Saturday, August 16
Warner Bros. gave me pink eye!
Surely by now you've heard the news.
For me, it's like hearing that Heath Ledger died. Or that Bush was elected for a second term.
And so I'm boycotting all Warner Brothers movies from now until Half-Blood Prince comes out on July 17, 2009. If they want to make more money by dicking over hot-blooded Harry Potter fans like me, then they'll have to wait until the movie comes out to get any more of my money. I know it's a pathetic and ultimately inconsequential protest I'm making, but I have my limits - and this makes Chris Columbus look like St. Peter. It's sad... I really had planned to see The Dark Knight a couple more times before it disappears into the Twilight, and I was looking forward to seeing Terminator Salvation on its May D-day. But those two films, like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, will just have to make their multi-millions without my $10.50 in their pockets.
I also plan to send a howler or two to the WB offices... and I think you should too.
In other news, I think I have pink-eye. Nice, right? ... this week just keeps getting better!
For me, it's like hearing that Heath Ledger died. Or that Bush was elected for a second term.
And so I'm boycotting all Warner Brothers movies from now until Half-Blood Prince comes out on July 17, 2009. If they want to make more money by dicking over hot-blooded Harry Potter fans like me, then they'll have to wait until the movie comes out to get any more of my money. I know it's a pathetic and ultimately inconsequential protest I'm making, but I have my limits - and this makes Chris Columbus look like St. Peter. It's sad... I really had planned to see The Dark Knight a couple more times before it disappears into the Twilight, and I was looking forward to seeing Terminator Salvation on its May D-day. But those two films, like Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, will just have to make their multi-millions without my $10.50 in their pockets.
I also plan to send a howler or two to the WB offices... and I think you should too.
In other news, I think I have pink-eye. Nice, right? ... this week just keeps getting better!
Sunday, July 27
Discovering the Art of Time Management
Tomorrow I start my second job. With the potential job at the magazine having seemingly fallen through - as did a potential apartment for the fall due to my strained financial situation - I decided it was time to put up or shut up. So, I got a job (disconcertingly easily) as a barista/cashier at McCaw Hall, home of the Seattle Opera and Ballet.
I worry that I might not be able to handle working a 70+ hour week; however, I know that I'm not able to continue living in expensive-ass Seattle on a mere $250 a week. And so, I'm suck it up, swallowing my pride, and putting my nose to the proverbial grindstone.
I keep thinking of ways I'm going to manage it: sneaking in naps anywhere I can, taking as many of the fringe benefits (free food, glimpses of gorgeous set pieces, overheard operas) - but I think the key (and most difficult) ingredient is that I'm going to have to truly find enjoyment in the work I'm doing... which sounds easy enough - until some bastard comes in and says that he ordered decaf (he didn't) and soy (he said nonfat) and it's your fault and he's going to write to TellTullys.com and tattle on you, because you people are being so rude to him and he just can't believe it.
Even if steaming milk isn't a highly creative pursuit (although it is more so than you'd think it would be) at least I find it vaguely theraputic...
I worry that I might not be able to handle working a 70+ hour week; however, I know that I'm not able to continue living in expensive-ass Seattle on a mere $250 a week. And so, I'm suck it up, swallowing my pride, and putting my nose to the proverbial grindstone.
I keep thinking of ways I'm going to manage it: sneaking in naps anywhere I can, taking as many of the fringe benefits (free food, glimpses of gorgeous set pieces, overheard operas) - but I think the key (and most difficult) ingredient is that I'm going to have to truly find enjoyment in the work I'm doing... which sounds easy enough - until some bastard comes in and says that he ordered decaf (he didn't) and soy (he said nonfat) and it's your fault and he's going to write to TellTullys.com and tattle on you, because you people are being so rude to him and he just can't believe it.
Even if steaming milk isn't a highly creative pursuit (although it is more so than you'd think it would be) at least I find it vaguely theraputic...
Tuesday, July 1
I'm writing a MySpace survey.
1. When was the last time you filled one of these out?
2. Did you feel as guilty then as you do now for wasting your time on it?
3. About how much time do you think you'll spend per question on this survey?
4. How does that compare to the amount of time you normally give surveys?
5. When you think about how much time you've spent filling these out cumulatively over the course of your life, how does that make you feel?
6. If I were to change tacks right now, how would you feel about that?
7. What topic would you like to answer questions about?
8. Why that topic?
9. I don't really know what you're talking about. On a scale from red to violet, how does that make you feel? (for bonus points, write your response in a haiku that evokes that hue.)
10. Who is your least favorite living celebrity?
11. How do your feelings for that celebrity compare to your feelings for John Malkovitch?
12. What is your favorite planet in the solar system?
13. Was this planet your favorite before or after it was decided that Pluto is not a planet?
14. What was the first Halloween costume you can remember wearing?
15. For what other occasions would you consider wearing a similar costume?
16. On average, how many times per day would you say you use acronyms (a.k.a. "cell phone speak") in lieu of more appropriate forms of communication (a.k.a. "proper English grammar")?
17. Can you spot the grammatical error in the previous question?
18. What is a comma splice?
19. What Web site did you use to help you answer the previous question?
20. Joe and Mary go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to bake cookies. Joe buys one pound of chocolate chips at $1.25/pound and one and three eighths pounds of flour and $0.79/pound. Mary buys six ounces of butter at $2.35/pound and six eggs at $3.00/dozen. Who loves who more?
21. How many magazines do you subscribe to? (if the answer is "0", skip to number 25)
25. What civil liberty would you be willing to give up if you knew that everyone else was giving one up, and that once everyone had done so, the environmental crisis would be solved?
26. Please list the past five movies you saw in theaters chronologically, alphabetically, and in ascending order based on their gross domestic box office.
27. Which of the three tasks in 26 would have annoyed you most to complete?
28. Does your response to 27 speak in any way to your upbringing, your genetics, or your primary education? How so?
29. Pick a winner in each of the following fights-to-the-death: A) The North American grizzly bear v. Your mom B) Your boss v. That loud guy who sells Oxy-clean C) Your least favorite celebrity v. Your least favorite animated character. Bonus: Of the three people and/or animals who are now dead, who will you miss the most and why?
30. What questions haven't I asked you that you'd like me to know the answers to?
2. Did you feel as guilty then as you do now for wasting your time on it?
3. About how much time do you think you'll spend per question on this survey?
4. How does that compare to the amount of time you normally give surveys?
5. When you think about how much time you've spent filling these out cumulatively over the course of your life, how does that make you feel?
6. If I were to change tacks right now, how would you feel about that?
7. What topic would you like to answer questions about?
8. Why that topic?
9. I don't really know what you're talking about. On a scale from red to violet, how does that make you feel? (for bonus points, write your response in a haiku that evokes that hue.)
10. Who is your least favorite living celebrity?
11. How do your feelings for that celebrity compare to your feelings for John Malkovitch?
12. What is your favorite planet in the solar system?
13. Was this planet your favorite before or after it was decided that Pluto is not a planet?
14. What was the first Halloween costume you can remember wearing?
15. For what other occasions would you consider wearing a similar costume?
16. On average, how many times per day would you say you use acronyms (a.k.a. "cell phone speak") in lieu of more appropriate forms of communication (a.k.a. "proper English grammar")?
17. Can you spot the grammatical error in the previous question?
18. What is a comma splice?
19. What Web site did you use to help you answer the previous question?
20. Joe and Mary go to the supermarket to buy ingredients to bake cookies. Joe buys one pound of chocolate chips at $1.25/pound and one and three eighths pounds of flour and $0.79/pound. Mary buys six ounces of butter at $2.35/pound and six eggs at $3.00/dozen. Who loves who more?
21. How many magazines do you subscribe to? (if the answer is "0", skip to number 25)
25. What civil liberty would you be willing to give up if you knew that everyone else was giving one up, and that once everyone had done so, the environmental crisis would be solved?
26. Please list the past five movies you saw in theaters chronologically, alphabetically, and in ascending order based on their gross domestic box office.
27. Which of the three tasks in 26 would have annoyed you most to complete?
28. Does your response to 27 speak in any way to your upbringing, your genetics, or your primary education? How so?
29. Pick a winner in each of the following fights-to-the-death: A) The North American grizzly bear v. Your mom B) Your boss v. That loud guy who sells Oxy-clean C) Your least favorite celebrity v. Your least favorite animated character. Bonus: Of the three people and/or animals who are now dead, who will you miss the most and why?
30. What questions haven't I asked you that you'd like me to know the answers to?
Monday, June 30
My social security number is 509-22-0546.
A long time ago, somebody told me, or maybe I read, that in lieu of using a paper shredder, one can simply tear personal documents into sixths and toss them into the recycling bin without worrying about identity theft. I don't know that I really believe that, but today I was tearing up a couple old credit card statements and NSF notices from my bank, struggling, as I always do, to make that third and final rip, when it suddenly occurred to me that to have my identity stolen might not be all that bad, what with my current financial status and all.
And so, I'm giving my fingers a rest and envisioning the triumph I would feel were I ever to see the look on the face of the douche bag who decides to try and buy a package of M&M's on my credit card - only to be declined.
Bring it on, you nefarious bottom-feeding folk. Identity-thieve away!
And so, I'm giving my fingers a rest and envisioning the triumph I would feel were I ever to see the look on the face of the douche bag who decides to try and buy a package of M&M's on my credit card - only to be declined.
Bring it on, you nefarious bottom-feeding folk. Identity-thieve away!
Sunday, June 29
Poverty: my new M.O.?
Sometimes I wonder what I'm doing here - why I continue to drag myself out of bed at ungodly hours in the morning to serve mediocre coffee to the ungrateful snobs of lower Capitol Hill day after day as though it's really making my life any better - or even serving the purpose of a job in the first place. After all, my meager paychecks (which continue to become more meager as our hours are cut as business dwindles due in no small part to the struggling economy) no longer manage cover the cost of my rent, student loan payments, car insurance, credit card bills, and fuel expenses... week after week I find myself hovering slightly above (or dipping well below) the zero-dollar mark in my bank account, and I find myself relying more and more upon the charity of friends and circumstantial occurrences of free food from work - I hate being that guy. But I haven't been able to afford a bona fide grocery shopping trip since early May.
I look for jobs daily - applying for many that I have little or no interest in only because I know, were I given the chance, that I could do well at them. But mostly I'm not given a chance; I don't hear anything back - jobs that once went to people fresh out of high school are now going to people with masters' degrees, and even at my level, with a bachelor's degree in English and no internship experience to speak of, the pickings are slim. Is this yet another indicator of the state of our economy? I' m tempted to say yes, but I could just be reading doom where I want to - making excuses for my own laziness. Maybe this is how one goes about becoming that guy on the street struggling to sell Real Change newspapers, by not seizing opportunity by the strings... by making a habit of waiting for the perfect life-course to slap itself in your face until one day, the unbounded limitless possibility of youth dwindles down into one sad square of pavement that, in all probability, belongs to someone - or, sadder yet, a society - who doesn't want you there.
In short: I can't afford Seattle in spite of the fact that with each new day I spend here it feels more like home.
I look for jobs daily - applying for many that I have little or no interest in only because I know, were I given the chance, that I could do well at them. But mostly I'm not given a chance; I don't hear anything back - jobs that once went to people fresh out of high school are now going to people with masters' degrees, and even at my level, with a bachelor's degree in English and no internship experience to speak of, the pickings are slim. Is this yet another indicator of the state of our economy? I' m tempted to say yes, but I could just be reading doom where I want to - making excuses for my own laziness. Maybe this is how one goes about becoming that guy on the street struggling to sell Real Change newspapers, by not seizing opportunity by the strings... by making a habit of waiting for the perfect life-course to slap itself in your face until one day, the unbounded limitless possibility of youth dwindles down into one sad square of pavement that, in all probability, belongs to someone - or, sadder yet, a society - who doesn't want you there.
In short: I can't afford Seattle in spite of the fact that with each new day I spend here it feels more like home.
Thursday, February 21
If I'd wanted this much sun, I'd have moved to California.
... or is Florida the "Sunshine State"? Because you couldn't pay me to live there. But I digress...
I was trying to count today how many days of sunshine we've had in a row, and it took both of my hands to do it, which makes me happy, because as much as I was starting to fancy myself a cave dwelling, darkness-loving, vampire type who could only properly function in a near total greyness, this near week's worth of sunshine has really done it's work and improved my spirits almost tenfold. I find myself motivated to look for jobs, anxious to explore Seattle, and able to encounter small children without my usual impulsive desire to cower in a corner until their cooing, gurgly presence is well outside of my sphere of consciousness. Which is a definite improvement.
I've also come to realize that, as blogging about my experiences wherever I am is about the only mode in which I truly write anymore, I ought to do it more often. Who knows if that means it'll actually happen or not. Let's find out... TOGETHER!
I was trying to count today how many days of sunshine we've had in a row, and it took both of my hands to do it, which makes me happy, because as much as I was starting to fancy myself a cave dwelling, darkness-loving, vampire type who could only properly function in a near total greyness, this near week's worth of sunshine has really done it's work and improved my spirits almost tenfold. I find myself motivated to look for jobs, anxious to explore Seattle, and able to encounter small children without my usual impulsive desire to cower in a corner until their cooing, gurgly presence is well outside of my sphere of consciousness. Which is a definite improvement.
I've also come to realize that, as blogging about my experiences wherever I am is about the only mode in which I truly write anymore, I ought to do it more often. Who knows if that means it'll actually happen or not. Let's find out... TOGETHER!
