"Really, I think that cat should be able to reproduce if it wants to!"
Is there a survey for that?
. . .
Context. Oy, context.
* * * * *
Speaking of Facebook (what? I wasn't? Please, just tell me that when you read the above you didn't immediately expect that it would show up as a status update somewhere), I finally reach my limit and "un"friend a guy who has fairly definitively demonstrated his LACK of interest in me (plus I'm sick of seeing his updates and "pining", urgh) - and the very next day he texts me and starts getting chatty. Is it my bad timing striking again, or is this just guy-typical?!? I give up.
September 29, 2009
September 25, 2009
You Are What You Think You Are
I need to be reminded of this. Like, every five minutes or so.
I wonder if we can do something about it - you know how they say men think about sex every seven minutes or thirty seconds or whatever... Maybe we women could train ourselves so that every time we see a man (or a woman, or a dog, or an ad of some kind, etc...) we automatically think: "You know, I really look pretty good today. The End." or "I've got a terrific smile. I'll try it out on him/her/the dog." or "Perfect is overrated. I'm doing just fine with FABULOUS." Just imagine all the positive reinforcement we'd be getting all day long... and think about what it would be like if we knew most/all of the women we were interacting with all day long were also getting that positive reinforcement.
Seriously. Go read that column again. And then comment with your suggestions here!
I wonder if we can do something about it - you know how they say men think about sex every seven minutes or thirty seconds or whatever... Maybe we women could train ourselves so that every time we see a man (or a woman, or a dog, or an ad of some kind, etc...) we automatically think: "You know, I really look pretty good today. The End." or "I've got a terrific smile. I'll try it out on him/her/the dog." or "Perfect is overrated. I'm doing just fine with FABULOUS." Just imagine all the positive reinforcement we'd be getting all day long... and think about what it would be like if we knew most/all of the women we were interacting with all day long were also getting that positive reinforcement.
Seriously. Go read that column again. And then comment with your suggestions here!
September 24, 2009
My Timing is Broken
Also, I have discovered a heretofore unrealized (though previously hinted at) ability to really tick people off. It may have something to do with the title of this post.
And: Current work project - The TeePee.
These are two of the side panels for the tear-away teepee - with my brushes and perfectionistic intensity I'm like the most artistically determined kindergartener EVER. I seriously get all Rembrandt-y with my color saturation and precise lines and layering and such, and then I step back and go, "Right. It's a CARTOON."
And: Current work project - The TeePee.
These are two of the side panels for the tear-away teepee - with my brushes and perfectionistic intensity I'm like the most artistically determined kindergartener EVER. I seriously get all Rembrandt-y with my color saturation and precise lines and layering and such, and then I step back and go, "Right. It's a CARTOON."
Still the greatest job. I know. Finding a home has been tricky, though - I've now been kicked out of two spaces and am currently doing finishing details (with glitter glue and sequins, natch) on 8-foot panels in the props closet. *Sigh* Well, there had to be SOME downside, right?
* * * * *
It's almost 7 in the morning in the UK. A week and a half ago I was planning to be waking up there right about... now. One year to go.
September 20, 2009
The News RE: Me
I'm sick. Darn these end-of-summer colds, anyway!
I auditioned and got a callback for a Christmas show, even with the above nasal and bronchial (???) problems. Score!
I can see some of you now, going "Huh? Christmas show? In the UK?"
I'm not going to grad school this fall. Yes, the plane leaves Wednesday. No, I won't be on it.
(a pause to absorb)
I auditioned and got a callback for a Christmas show, even with the above nasal and bronchial (???) problems. Score!
I can see some of you now, going "Huh? Christmas show? In the UK?"
I'm not going to grad school this fall. Yes, the plane leaves Wednesday. No, I won't be on it.
(a pause to absorb)
Now, this isn't bad news, it's not good news, it's just news (well, maybe it's good-and-bad news, or "disappointing-with-a-postive-side" news... ANYWAY) so no need to panic or get overly excited. (No engagement or death in the family or anything like that.) It's a weird feeling, knowing I'm not going now - but I'm OK. Here's what happened: It was a fairly bumpy process just getting into the grad school - I started really late, and didn't know anything about how to go about it. I had a wonderful cousin who did a lot of legwork for me (or I wouldn't have gotten accepted at all, I'm sure) but the Student Visa process was a confusing headache, the finances required all kinds of juggling, and I wasn't able to get on-campus housing (or any private housing, even with help from the local - UK - bishop).
This past week I got two emails from the school - one from Admin, saying, "You don't have a visa (although that did show up the next day), you don't have housing, are you sure you're coming? Please defer until next year." The other was from the Drama Department with an agenda concerning the pre-session seminars they hold for the post-grads that included course descriptions, and as I read them over I realized they had nothing to do with anything I was interested in. I called the school and found out I had been accepted into the wrong program. (Yes, I felt like a major idiot for figuring that out so late, and the lady I was talking to, though still very polite, confirmed that impression.) I emailed the program (or, "programme") director and he described for me the Drama Research program, which is the one I'd originally applied for. He agreed to let me switch programs - and mentioned that if I did, I'd be the only student in the program. Oy. And even then, Drama Research is still not specifically the work I want to be doing in theater.
So - I decided that what I should do is to take the next year and A) get into the program I really want, the Dramaturgy Masters Degree, B) get other people to pay for this degree, since I now know where to apply for grants and scholarships (it was way too late to apply for any of them this year), and C) find housing much further in advance than say, three weeks before I arrive. I plan to work like crazy this year to build up savings, hit up local theatres to work on shows to build up experience, and do fun new things with friends and good things for other people to keep me from getting discouraged or bored.*
This past week I got two emails from the school - one from Admin, saying, "You don't have a visa (although that did show up the next day), you don't have housing, are you sure you're coming? Please defer until next year." The other was from the Drama Department with an agenda concerning the pre-session seminars they hold for the post-grads that included course descriptions, and as I read them over I realized they had nothing to do with anything I was interested in. I called the school and found out I had been accepted into the wrong program. (Yes, I felt like a major idiot for figuring that out so late, and the lady I was talking to, though still very polite, confirmed that impression.) I emailed the program (or, "programme") director and he described for me the Drama Research program, which is the one I'd originally applied for. He agreed to let me switch programs - and mentioned that if I did, I'd be the only student in the program. Oy. And even then, Drama Research is still not specifically the work I want to be doing in theater.
So - I decided that what I should do is to take the next year and A) get into the program I really want, the Dramaturgy Masters Degree, B) get other people to pay for this degree, since I now know where to apply for grants and scholarships (it was way too late to apply for any of them this year), and C) find housing much further in advance than say, three weeks before I arrive. I plan to work like crazy this year to build up savings, hit up local theatres to work on shows to build up experience, and do fun new things with friends and good things for other people to keep me from getting discouraged or bored.*
Thanks so much to everyone who has been so supportive and excited for me! It's still going to happen - there'll just be a detour first!
* For example, some friends and I went to the British Tea Shoppe in Salt Lake for a going-away party that turned into a Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day" Party but was really just an excuse to hang out, and it was delicious. Then we strolled around the neighborhood for a while and checked out houses, explored this funky little sculpture park, and ended up eating some really fantastic Thai food. See? Fun! New! Totally not boring!
September 10, 2009
Randomosity
Today at work I made a prototype Tear-Away Teepee. (Not kidding.) There's a porno joke in there somewhere, but I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to even begin looking.
... [And] I'm sticking to it.
* * * * *
Pop Culture Relevance Counter: 1
- Last night I was watching a recent episode of NCIS, and one of the characters referenced the story of Aeschylus (he pronounced it "Ay-skee-lus") with the bird (in this telling a vulture) dropping a rock on the unsuspecting man's head... followed immediately by another character finishing up with, "The Father of Greek Tragedy". I felt so hip.
* * * * *
The good news is: I'm not the only international post-grad student still looking for someplace to live for the upcoming school year. I feel less stupid, more validated as a person and part of a larger group.
The bad news is: I'm not the only international post-grad student still looking for someplace to live for the upcoming school year. Options are getting reeeeally slim, and I sorta wish I were there already to claw the others out of the way. Every student for himself/herself!
In two weeks I will have been in England for a few hours, and hopefully will be unpacking a few things someplace cozy and liveable. (Let us pray.)
* * * * *
I found another North and South fan today. They're everywhere. (Also, it's entirely possible that, thanks to yet another member of the N&S rabid fan base, I might have found a version of the completely unavailable soundtrack. *whistles nonchalantly*)
* * * * *
There will be no political commentary in today's post. Unless you add it in the comments, of course - but that's up to you. No pressure.
... [And] I'm sticking to it.
* * * * *
Pop Culture Relevance Counter: 1
- Last night I was watching a recent episode of NCIS, and one of the characters referenced the story of Aeschylus (he pronounced it "Ay-skee-lus") with the bird (in this telling a vulture) dropping a rock on the unsuspecting man's head... followed immediately by another character finishing up with, "The Father of Greek Tragedy". I felt so hip.
* * * * *
The good news is: I'm not the only international post-grad student still looking for someplace to live for the upcoming school year. I feel less stupid, more validated as a person and part of a larger group.
The bad news is: I'm not the only international post-grad student still looking for someplace to live for the upcoming school year. Options are getting reeeeally slim, and I sorta wish I were there already to claw the others out of the way. Every student for himself/herself!
In two weeks I will have been in England for a few hours, and hopefully will be unpacking a few things someplace cozy and liveable. (Let us pray.)
* * * * *
I found another North and South fan today. They're everywhere. (Also, it's entirely possible that, thanks to yet another member of the N&S rabid fan base, I might have found a version of the completely unavailable soundtrack. *whistles nonchalantly*)
* * * * *
There will be no political commentary in today's post. Unless you add it in the comments, of course - but that's up to you. No pressure.
September 09, 2009
The "New" American President
By now, we all know that President Obama did not, in fact, attempt to "indoctrinate" 3rd-graders, unless by "indoctrinate" we mean "encourage to work hard, stay in school, take responsibility, and make something of themselves (paraphrased)", which we don't. No one can honestly take much exception to the speech itself... and yet the debate continues.
This morning I was reading an online newspaper article about the speech and which schools showed it, kids and parents that opted out, etc... I was browsing through the user comments when I came across one that really surprised me. I quote:
"I'm offended that people tell me I should make my kids listen to Obama and then deprogram them later. I don't make them watch pornography to teach them purity, and I don't make them smoke to teach them about the word of wisdom. Greatfully, my kids were in the Nebo school district where they didn't have to watch. And I don't need to watch it either to know it's ill effects. There are plenty of people on the media who have dissected it for me so that I know that it was simply a media ploy to get to our children."
There were ridiculous comments from people complaining about what the President SHOULD have said, comments about the health care program, issues with BUSH, all kinds of crap - this one jumped out at me as one particular pinnacle of irony. I'm fairly certain that one of the President's points was taking personal responsibility, right? This parent is raising his/her children by way of the MEDIA, instead of doing it himself/herself. Excuse me, but WTH? I'm not sure I see the parallel between listening to a brief speech for school-age children with pornography and smoking. It sounds to me like this is one of those people who expect everyone else to raise his (whatever - call it generic) children. It's like assuming that one can blithely send the kids off to school each day knowing that they'll be perfectly safe while the parent goes about their business, and that there is no real need to discuss or explain (er, "deprogram") much of anything at all with said kids. How can any parent possibly assume that children are "safe", that the local neighborhood is no kind of place that requires deprogramming?
I have a sister who lives on a blueberry farm in a rural area in the Northwest. Her young children come home from school with all kinds of questions about things they heard from their friends, topics that I wasn't even aware existed until high school or even college. Fortunately, this parent has created an atmosphere in which children feel welcome to question and discuss, and they understand that if they hear anything that makes them curious or uncomfortable they are free to talk to their parents first - and that they will recieve a non-condescending answer appropriate to their level of understanding (which, if I may remind all of us, is much more developed than it was in my day. Get off my lawn, whippersnappers!). Another family I know has children so repressed and sheltered that they don't even know what questions to ASK, let alone how to discuss current topics.
I taught high school for a few months recently, and I saw that the lack of parental responsibility was rampant - translating into a lack of student responsibility. Parents, stop giving your kids what you think they want, and start giving them what they need!
OK, sorry, something of a tangent. I see that the main problem buried in the furor over the President's School speech is not his message, or even really his potential message, it is the fact that we, as a collective people, no longer trust the office of the President of the United States. It's a loss that has been eroding for quite some time now, with major motivating force powered by Nixon and getting a healthy boost from Clinton (yes, Reagan wasn't perfect, and yes, issues have been had by many with both Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.), and culminating with a current President who started off with extraordinarily high expectations and falling rapidly through major economic difficulties and public perception problems. Guess what? It's not Obama's fault. He needs to take responsibility and make changes, YES, but...
... SO DO WE.
In a way, I'm pleased that so many people have gotten so up-in-arms about this relatively small issue of the President's School speech - maybe now they'll pay attention to the larger issues at hand, educate themselves (by reading and listening to more than just one talk-show host or talk-radio station), encourage and expect the President and our other elected officials to take responsibility for their actions, and translate that behavior into taking responsibility for themselves and their children. As American citizens, it's the least we can do.
Really.
* * * * *
In a not-really-related-but-sorta sidenote, I watched the season finale of "10 Things I Hate About You" on ABC Family (the TV series, not the movie - don't be "judgy") and the main character, Kat, led a school protest of uniforms and civil rights violations. Eventually, the protest ended with her father coming to her: "suspension", "college", "stop it and go to class." She didn't like it, but she did decide to concede for the "big picture" and because her father told her to. The thing I thought was interesting was that as she explained to the last two protesters that she was calling off the fight she didn't tell them her dad made her stop (which was the truth). She took responsibility for leading the protest and she took responsibility for calling it off. (Later, she also took responsibility for sticking with her principles anyway, but that's a different point.) Taking responsibility... what a concept.
Ethan Peck, grandson of Gregory Peck - "Patrick" from 10 Things. Yeah. Good show. It's entirely possible I would vote for EP if HE ran for President... I'd listen to his State of the Union Address like it was a Top 40 radio hit. Seriously. Just LISTEN to his voice!
Ahem.
This morning I was reading an online newspaper article about the speech and which schools showed it, kids and parents that opted out, etc... I was browsing through the user comments when I came across one that really surprised me. I quote:
"I'm offended that people tell me I should make my kids listen to Obama and then deprogram them later. I don't make them watch pornography to teach them purity, and I don't make them smoke to teach them about the word of wisdom. Greatfully, my kids were in the Nebo school district where they didn't have to watch. And I don't need to watch it either to know it's ill effects. There are plenty of people on the media who have dissected it for me so that I know that it was simply a media ploy to get to our children."
There were ridiculous comments from people complaining about what the President SHOULD have said, comments about the health care program, issues with BUSH, all kinds of crap - this one jumped out at me as one particular pinnacle of irony. I'm fairly certain that one of the President's points was taking personal responsibility, right? This parent is raising his/her children by way of the MEDIA, instead of doing it himself/herself. Excuse me, but WTH? I'm not sure I see the parallel between listening to a brief speech for school-age children with pornography and smoking. It sounds to me like this is one of those people who expect everyone else to raise his (whatever - call it generic) children. It's like assuming that one can blithely send the kids off to school each day knowing that they'll be perfectly safe while the parent goes about their business, and that there is no real need to discuss or explain (er, "deprogram") much of anything at all with said kids. How can any parent possibly assume that children are "safe", that the local neighborhood is no kind of place that requires deprogramming?
I have a sister who lives on a blueberry farm in a rural area in the Northwest. Her young children come home from school with all kinds of questions about things they heard from their friends, topics that I wasn't even aware existed until high school or even college. Fortunately, this parent has created an atmosphere in which children feel welcome to question and discuss, and they understand that if they hear anything that makes them curious or uncomfortable they are free to talk to their parents first - and that they will recieve a non-condescending answer appropriate to their level of understanding (which, if I may remind all of us, is much more developed than it was in my day. Get off my lawn, whippersnappers!). Another family I know has children so repressed and sheltered that they don't even know what questions to ASK, let alone how to discuss current topics.
I taught high school for a few months recently, and I saw that the lack of parental responsibility was rampant - translating into a lack of student responsibility. Parents, stop giving your kids what you think they want, and start giving them what they need!
OK, sorry, something of a tangent. I see that the main problem buried in the furor over the President's School speech is not his message, or even really his potential message, it is the fact that we, as a collective people, no longer trust the office of the President of the United States. It's a loss that has been eroding for quite some time now, with major motivating force powered by Nixon and getting a healthy boost from Clinton (yes, Reagan wasn't perfect, and yes, issues have been had by many with both Bush Sr. and Bush Jr.), and culminating with a current President who started off with extraordinarily high expectations and falling rapidly through major economic difficulties and public perception problems. Guess what? It's not Obama's fault. He needs to take responsibility and make changes, YES, but...
... SO DO WE.
In a way, I'm pleased that so many people have gotten so up-in-arms about this relatively small issue of the President's School speech - maybe now they'll pay attention to the larger issues at hand, educate themselves (by reading and listening to more than just one talk-show host or talk-radio station), encourage and expect the President and our other elected officials to take responsibility for their actions, and translate that behavior into taking responsibility for themselves and their children. As American citizens, it's the least we can do.
Really.
* * * * *
In a not-really-related-but-sorta sidenote, I watched the season finale of "10 Things I Hate About You" on ABC Family (the TV series, not the movie - don't be "judgy") and the main character, Kat, led a school protest of uniforms and civil rights violations. Eventually, the protest ended with her father coming to her: "suspension", "college", "stop it and go to class." She didn't like it, but she did decide to concede for the "big picture" and because her father told her to. The thing I thought was interesting was that as she explained to the last two protesters that she was calling off the fight she didn't tell them her dad made her stop (which was the truth). She took responsibility for leading the protest and she took responsibility for calling it off. (Later, she also took responsibility for sticking with her principles anyway, but that's a different point.) Taking responsibility... what a concept.
Ethan Peck, grandson of Gregory Peck - "Patrick" from 10 Things. Yeah. Good show. It's entirely possible I would vote for EP if HE ran for President... I'd listen to his State of the Union Address like it was a Top 40 radio hit. Seriously. Just LISTEN to his voice!Ahem.
September 07, 2009
Sarcasm Font Needed
These are both random AND completely awesome.
Thank you, Facebook friends, for giving me something to link from my blog once more!
Thank you, Facebook friends, for giving me something to link from my blog once more!
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