i thought i was someone else, someone good.

the importance of blue-collar sensibility.

Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:51:26 GMT

jobs:
consultant @ stacks
tutor @ kumon
barrista/cashier/serving wench/cleaning bitch @ the fountain

which means when stacks comes through, i'm working 70+ hours a week, and when it doesn't, i can't make rent. good times.

i think cleaning public restrooms is a kind of rite of passage. generally i have it easy -- single stalls, usually clean -- but i come into contact with the stray shit spatters and pubic hairs, and i feel there's some sort of life lesson or perspective only to be achieved when forced into the proximity of other people's feces. a deeply buried but inherent satisfaction in that humility-teaching, paying my dues, i cleaned other people's shit, so step the fuck off, bitch, kind of way.

i've always been obsessed with dichotomous natures, with the accumulation of viewpoints, and i was misleading in my previous post, because it's not just pure dreamers i'm after but those grounded by some measure of blue-collar sensibility, a balance i find much more meaningful.

yo freakajuanics, aren't you glad you signed up? all shit, all the time over here. what upp.

in 2006:

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 06:46:06 GMT

shows:
25 feb sat: animal collective @ logan square
05 mar sun: nada surf @ metro
10 mar fri: belle and sebastian / the new pornographers @ riviera
10 mar fri: of montreal @ metro*
01 apr sat: magic numbers / the elected @ double door*
06 apr thu: mates of state @ metro
13 apr thu: metric @ metro
21 apr fri: ladytron @ metro

books:
ask the dust, john fante
everything is illuminated, jonathan safran foer
feed, mt anderson
house of leaves, mark danielewski
isak dinesen: the life of a storyteller, judith thurman
the dogs bark: public people & private places, truman capote
conrad's fate, diana wynne jones
white noise, don delillo
philippine speculative fiction: volume 1, edited by dean francis alfar**

more tba.

*find replacement show
**courtesy of dreamlessness Y

123456.

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 22:56:25 GMT

i'm a contractor and when the work's steady, the money's good, but when it's not -- i'm pretty much fucked. i've only worked 33 hours this month, and i'm worried about making rent. i'm taking on another job at a cafe to help make ends meet, and i know it'll make me tired, that it'll mute my enjoyment of life, and sometimes i hate being mired in all these practicalities, the constant loom of money and lack thereof, even as i recognize their necessity.

i mostly live day to day with big dreams in sight, and most of the time that's ok, more than, but sometimes it's hard. i think i just want to know, to have, more dreamers in my life. to meet likeminded individuals, to be inspired by their thoughts and words, to lessen the constraints of reality until the day i can shake them completely.

If you are a dreamer, come in.
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in, come in!

-- Where the Sidewalk Ends, Shel Silverstein

offense before god.

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 21:20:24 GMT

offense before god?

clarence thomas and wife virginia

this is a kickass ad from the nbjc taking on alito and thomas on the gay marriage issue, citing that until 1967, thomas' marriage would have been illegal in 36 states.

Forty years ago, opponents of interracial marriage cited the Bible to justify their discrimination. Today, opponents of same-gender marriage cite the Bible to justify their discrimination. --dr. sylvia rhue, nbjc director of religious affairs

i'm not hopeful that, at this point, democrats can or will do anything about the alito nomination, especially given the reaction to the pro-marriage equality ruling in maryland. god, i hate this leadership that's so completely overtaken by fear.

and this has been making the rounds, but to pass along:

Ten Reasons Gay Marriage Is Wrong

1. Being gay is not natural. And as you know Americans have always rejected unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.

2. Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.

3. Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because, as you know, a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.

4. Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.

5. Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed. The sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.

6. Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.

7. Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.

8. Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.

9. Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.

10. Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans.

needlist --

Mon, 21 Nov 2005 06:53:54 GMT

+ $.02 stamps
+ glass 8" x 8" baking dish
+ set of measuring spoons
+ 2 knives (1 paring, 1 chef's)
+ can opener
+ vegetable peeler
+ colander
+ toaster oven
+ external hard drive
+ vcr
+ ipod remote
+ nano case
+ screens
+ bubbler
+ long-sleeved shirts
+ nikon d50/d70
+ snowboard, boots, bindings
+ tickets to amsterdam (by 12 feb)