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wAug 16, 2006 | |
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If only I blogged when I had these thoughts, instead of gathering them like a packrat and then dumping them all at once At least now, my long posts are easy to navigate. Yesterday My father and I went down to see my Aunt Betty, or as he's been referring to her for the last 2 months for reasons known only to himself and God, "The Bead." Like every other trip down there, he takes care to jab his finger in front of my face, pointing to the abandoned schoolhouse where his grandfather went to school, his cousin's houses, and various other relatives. He also makes sure to point out "Pay Park," where the Indians of Poygan used to come and get paid by the U.S. government, before they were driven off the land for good so that people like my great great grandfather could bring shame to his Methodist family by marrying an Irish Catholic and winning his farm in a poker game. That was random. What else happened yesterday? I dined out with friends from church who I haven't been able to see very much this summer, and that was really nice. Isn't it weird, how there are people in your life you know so well? You only talk to them once every few months, but you can still swap stories like you've been talking every single day because you know each other so well that you can predict how they would react in new situations. Ryan, Jennifer, and I then had a bonfire in Ryan's backyard, and I bonded with his dog Ruger. Diary I try to figure out what it is I love so much about Chuck Palahniuk's writing (he is one of my all-time favorite authors), and for me, I think it's the rhythm of his words. A cadence made by staccatos and repeated words and phrases, but only ever repeated within one book. Different things are repated in different books - different choruses in different songs. I also enjoy the unashamed cynicism and sometimes hatred. For different reasons in every book, in every song, the narrator is pisssed and not sorry about it. Specific events in life have made them cynical, but not in a self-pitying way. Instead, their inner monologues are laced with biting social commentary on the absurdity of the different facades worn by the members of mainstream modern culture. That was random, but I've been reading Diary, as it was lent to me by Creighton, and thought I should let you know how freaking fabulous Chuck Palahniuk is. Halloween in Madison 2006 Madison is so weird. The UW is supposedly well-known for its activism and whatever, but most of the protests on campus are pretty half-assed, from what I've seen, especially for being the "liberal cesspool from Hell" that everyone from high school/adults (most of whom have not spent more than 36 hours in the place) say it is. But God helps us when the mayor tries to curtail its Halloween. You'll remember a few weeks ago, I posted about how the mayor has decided to fence off State Street on Saturday night and sell $5 tickets, limiting them to 50,000 (last year, 100,000 people were on State Street). There's already a Facebook group with over 4,000 members who want to move it to Langdon Street (one street over from State Street, lined with frats/sororities instead of stores). I think it would be even more of a mess to go on Langdon Street than on State Street. Since 90% of females decide that Halloween is a good opportunity to skank it up, putting them in the middle of a yellow brick road lined with frat houses while they happen to be wasted is probably not a good plan. There really isn't a good plan at all. Fencing off State Street is probably going to make things worse, though. The 50,000 people who paid can go in, but then at least 50,000 other people will show up already drunk and won't be inside of the well-lit, controlled space that State Street provides. The damage caused last year was pretty minimal, and at least if they keep it the same way, the police would know what to expect. This way, though, I think things would be pretty crazy. Oh, well. For at least part of the evening, I'll be in the bowels of the supposedly tank/riot-proof Humanities building for Anime Club, helping control the cosplay contest, haha. 1984 I did absolutely nothing Monday, and it was pretty awesome. Well, that's not entirely true. I watched some Monster with Ryan (we're through 50 now, and you were right Louise, Grimmer is pretty awesome, but that WTF moment with Johan was priceless!) and finished 1984. 1984 was one of the more interesting books I've read in a while. Usually, I can't really note changes in myself due to reading books. Sure, oftentimes I'll read a story and think to myself, "Wow, character X is pretty cool..." and if I admire the character for certain personality characteristics that are moral (I mean, sometimes the ones who kill people are pretty badass, but it's probably not okay to try to imitate them!), I might try to emulate them. While reading 1984, though, I could feel my opinions about some of the current state of government regulation inside the United States. Before reading the book, my opinion regarding domestic spying (or "terrorist surveillance," as the White House likes to call it) was basically this: I really don't give a shit if the government does wiretapping to trap terrorists so long as they're honest about it. Authorizing it without the consent of Congress is not okay, but the practice in general is fine if it's stopping people from flying planes into buildings. After reading the book, my opinions regarding domestic spying are this: Giving the government the authority to tap into whoever they want without needing evidence to do so is not okay. I concede the point that with their current capacity and set-up, there is no way they can monitor every conversation that takes place online or through telephone lines. I would also argue that, whatever you think of the current President Bush, I don't believe it's his intention to curtail people's freedoms or to spy on people just for fun. I truly think that he truly thinks he's doing what's best for America. However, you can't count on always having someone in charge who won't go beyond what is necessary simply because "he/she wouldn't do that." It won't always be that way. Also, the person at the top isn't capable of controlling everyone at the bottom, such as those who would actually be doing the surveillance. Case in point of inability to control minions would be Lynndie England. Anyway. A futuristic novel written in the 1940's changed my mind on a current political issue. How cool is that? My Battlestar Galactica credit card came in the mail on Saturday. I was extremely disappointed to see that it did not say "Galactica Fleet Member" beneath my name as it did on the promo page. :( ALSO, Ryan noted that for my name, it says Miss Jacqueline _________. But in the actual show, they refer to President Roslin and female members of the fleet as "Sir," just as they do the men. I think it would have been a lot cooler if my card said Sir Jacqueline _________. In fact, it would be badass. And even if it wasn't badass, it would totally be worth it to see the expression on the face of the clerk in every store in which I chose to use the card. Roommates and Grey's Anatomy I am excited to move in to our house in Madison, don't get me wrong, but this quote from Grey's Anatomy amuses me, and will probably sum up my feelings after a month of living with 3 other people: Meredith: They're everywhere. All the time. Izzie's all perky, and George does this...thing...where he's helpful and considerate. They share food, and they say things, and they move things, and they breathe. Ugh, they're, like, happy. Cristina: Kick them out. Meredith: I can't kick them out, they just moved in. I asked them to move in. Cristina: So what, you're just going to repress everything in some deep, dark, twisted place until one day you snap and you kill them? Meredith: Yep. Cristina: See, this is why we are friends. I miss Meredith's whiney voice and Alex's conflicted "but I'm nurturing!" asshole-ness, and George's adorable-ness and Izzie's deep attachment to every human being ever, and Bailey's badassness. Season 3 of Grey's needs to start soon! I know it's bad when I miss Meredith whining. Hopefully she won't be as whiney this season. Anyway. My goal today is to do something constructive, like burning some stuff off of my computer and putting stuff in the den that's going to school with me. Later this evening, Jennifer, Ryan, and I plan on watching Horatio Hornblower....YES, XD Current Music: Mom babbling about every single cleaning supply she wants to buy for our housescribbled mystickeeper at 11:30 PM  
3 comments 3 Comments:Sew...The topic of Halloween has come up several times in House Fellow training and several of the adults higher than me in the university hierarchy are positive that they will now be charging $20 to get on State Street. I hope this isn't true.
By $20, wtf! I vote we don't pay to get in - we can just walk around State State Street and see everybody anyway. I highly doubt they'll get 50,000 people to pay $20.
By
*laughs herself sick* happy, ugh!
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