Work is a whole 'nother story, and last weekend is a tale unto itself. Still, better late than never, right? ( Four books total this week--two in English. )

That will be all.

music: psapp - hi tags: books, reading

...on the likelihood of there being a plague of locusts awaiting me when I returned from ze job this afternoon.

Well, no locusts (yet). What I have instead are massive, nickel-sized houseflies. And a faint, yet pungent smell of rot coming from somewhere in the vicinity of my bedroom. Methinks one of the MOUSES/rats/squirrels/neighbors has crawled into a wall somewhere to die.

Oh, Fastness. I think I'm due for a "character" level up any day now, and it's all thanks to you...

That will be all.

tags: subterranean fastness

Two (English-language) books, two days late. ( Read more... )

That will be all.

music: fainne oir ort/brendan mcmahon's - kevin burke & john williams tags: books, reading

And I'm the butt. Still, ( 勘弁してくれよ! )

That will be all.

music: cat power - naked, if i want to tags: character building, subterranean fastness

This is not pretty.

( Flashback: 1.5 weeks ago. ) I start carrying my phone with me at all times, sleeping with it in my bed.

( Interlude. )

( Fast forward to tonight. )

( Oh, but it gets *BETTER*. ) Awesome.

ETA: So the whole time I was talking to Drainpipe Feud Lady and Kul and his wife? Massive gobs of Clearasil all over my face. It doesn't get any sweeter.

That will be fucking all.

music: lab 4 - the witch tags: asshattery, character building, subterranean fastness

These police officers and school officials sure want you to do.

In case you don't have time to read the entire article, here's the bare bones:

One Monday, uniformed police officers traveled from classroom to classroom in a California high school to tell students that 26 of their classmates had been killed in drunk driving accidents over the weekend. The students were, very understandably, shocked and bereft.

Until two hours later, that is, when they were herded into an auditorium, where they found a wrecked car, and their 26 "dead" classmates, and learned that The Powers That Be had done it all for them, so that they'd truly understand how very serious drunk driving is.

Or, as one school guidance counselor, quoted in this article said, "They were traumatized, but we wanted them to be traumatized. That's how they get the message."

Really, because I got a completely different message from the whole ill-considered debacle, and I'm sure the grieving and traumatised students did as well. To whit: Don't respect authority figures. Authority figures lie to you. Authority figures fuck with your head.

Great message to be sending to high school students along with all the civics lessons in Gov 201.

That will be all.

music: d:fuse - indecision featuring blueletter (chill mix) tags: homeland security nation

The longer I live in Homeland Center, the more I come to understand that it, too, has a 梅雨. The past month or so has alternated between periods of intense heat and humidity, and even more intense thunderstorms.

As someone who spent a fair portion of the last decade in Asia, the former doesn't bother me as much as it does other H.C. transplants. After all, I've been dealing with it for years, and at least now I get to do so with air conditioning and insulated walls.

As for the latter, I have always loved storms. And with the landparents gone, I am free to observe them from the Upper Levels whenever I desire. I've seen some pretty excellent stuff, from a bunch of wrens waiting a truly torrential downpour under the front eaves and a mourning dove lifting alternate wings to the rain in order to bathe on the power lines behind the house.

Last week, I saw lightening strike a tree in the neighbor's yard. Today, I watched another storm blow that tree over. A bit frightening, but pretty amazing all the same.

That will be all.

music: the hold steady - crucifixion cruise tags: subterranean fastness

I read six books this week, but here are ( the four that were in English. )

That will be all.

music: nine inch nails - 28 ghosts iii tags: books, reading

Full text is here, because I do NOT want it archived on my lj.

The basic thrust of it is this: hymen reconstructions are becoming ever more prevalent in France, so that Muslim women can receive certificates of virginity to show their future husbands and in-laws. Of course, all of this is abetted by the greedy, immoral surgeons who make it possible.

I mean, oh wait. These medical "providers" really do have the patients' best interests at heart.

Those who perform the procedure say they are empowering patients by giving them a viable future and preventing them from being abused — or even killed — by their fathers or brothers.

“Who am I to judge?” asked Dr. Marc Abecassis, who restored the Montpellier student’s hymen. “I have colleagues in the United States whose patients do this as a Valentine’s present to their husbands. What I do is different. This is not for amusement. My patients don’t have a choice if they want to find serenity — and husbands.”

Oh, really. So you're doing it out of the good of your heart, to save lives.

Then why fuck are you charging $2,900 to the women whose lives you're "saving?" I mean, since your motivation is compassion in the face of this life-and-death scenario, and not anything base like personal profit.

I rest my case.

That will be all.

tags: asshattery, gender

This was a big reading week, despite starting the new job--I finished four books, ( one of which I highly suggest you read. )

That will be all.

music: muse - falling away with you tags: books, reading

I pay a hefty technology fee to AU. This technology fee goes toward things such as providing students with email access. Yesterday, my email was "migrated" from university servers to a "solution" hosted by none other than google.

Yup. I no longer have a university email account. I now have a gmail account that the university claims is still a university account. In other words, I am now paying several hundred dollars for the "privilege" of using a service available for free on the Internet. Above and beyond pointing out that this is like suddenly myself being forced to pay for the right to breathe air, it pisses me off in other ways. Namely, I do not like the fact that American University is forcing me to let third parties invade my privacy.

Don't get me wrong. I already have a gmail account and I love it. I'm fine with using it for things like mailing lists and sending pictures to friends, because it's amusing to get adverts for "Comfort with Style for Men & Women Shoes for the Otaku Generation!" every time someone sends me a squeemail about manga.

But I draw the line at my "official" email address. You know, the one I use for actual real life purposes. The one that knows everything about me, like what banks I use, what credit cards I own, what charities I give to, what classes I'm taking, and the contents of my communication with my bosses, both for the freelance work and the K Street gig.

Indeed, even though I have fewer than fifteen emails in my box at present, the gmail ads are already heavy on finance (my bank and credit card statements), and news (the K Street stuff). Also, I'm worried what will happen to the emails on the older server--those are my communications with profs, bosses, my bank, advisors, and the dual degree program.

NOT COOL, AU. NOT COOL.

That will be all.

music: the crystal method - broken glass tags: asshattery, grad school

Only two English-language books this week, because I spent most of it reading every volume of Saiyuki available in the house, after which I started in on some other random manga. (Feel free to blame metal_dog5 and fragilistikal for this, if you like.) But at any rate ( here's this week's English reading. )

That will be all.

music: nine inch nails - lights in the sky tags: books, reading

This week's reads are divided up by book because, being out of class, I have more time to write for enjoyment and thus they are much more comprehensive than usual.

( Book one. )

( Book Two. )

( Book Three. )

( Book Four. )



( Read more... )

music: asian kung-fu generation - night diving tags: books, reading

...glad to see I haven't lost my edge!

Your Vocabulary Score: A+

Congratulations on your multifarious vocabulary! You must be quite an erudite person.

That will be all.

music: the golden dogs - birdsong tags: memeage

...my father is apparently being treated in the Mayo Clinic, and has been there for several days already.

Gee,

THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE TO KNOW IN ADVANCE.

Ma Mere, who let the cat out of the bag as an aside when she called me earlier today (precipitating my Bwa-huh!?! moment of the century), is very optimistic about his progress, so I found out under the best possible circumstances barring actually having known from the get-go.

So that's good.

In other news, the regular painter has apparently invited his friends over for television, loud conversation, and even louder walking back and forth.

That will be all.

tags: ma famille, subterranean fastness

Birthdays and visits from old friends conspired to make this week's entry late. Still, I managed to squeeze in ( three books amidst all the socializing. )

That will be all.

music: simian mobile disco - wooden tags: books, reading

...is freakin' gracious. I love those guys.

That will be all.

tags: concerts

( ...Drumroll, please... )

That will be all.

music: ghostland observatory - piano man tags: character building, rants, subterranean fastness

( If you do not want to be confronted by gratuitous obscenity, do not click this. )

( And for the encore... )

That will be all.

tags: concerts

Posting early because of tonight's concert. ( Read more... )

That will be all.

music: of montreal - the past is a grotesque animal tags: books, reading