Blustery Day

It looks to be the first blustery day of Fall 2005 in Seattle. Walking in the wind, and picking blackberries, very exciting! I don't understand why people don't enjoy weather. I like weather. But I don't like blackberry seeds in my teeth.

Walking

In Switzerland, because of having to walk everywhere, Andrew and I started to keep a walking journal. Andrew was my "pedestrian pool." (instead of carpool, you see?)

Today, on my lunch walk, I thought I should again keep track of things that I notice while i am walking.
1. I picked up two very colorful leaves, and then later added two more. I have a collection pressed into the yellow pages on my bookshelf in my office.
2. The Blackberry bushes are laden. I ate a couple. I wasn't sure if there are pesticides on them, but I haven't felt any adverse side effects since lunch, so I think tomorrow I will take a container of some sort and pick some.

a. If there was some kind of disaster in Seattle, I would want it to happen at work, because of several factors. First, the large amount of blackberry bushes around the area. That would be a great form of sustenance. Next, My building is next to the caterer's building. This means that there would more than likely be food in this building and I could go over and....no....would i really do it? looting? Last, we have a lot of candy stashed at work. This would be able to be rationed out. I would even eat Hershey's if it came to that.

b. I was also thinking about how I would make a blackberry pie in case of a disaster. Here's how I thought it might work. Pick a lot of blackberries. Break open the vending machine at work, take out all the cookies, crunch them up into bits, make a little paste with some of the milk from the cooler. Put the crust into the bottom of the candy bowl, recently emptied of its contents by ravenous techs, and then put the berries on top. Then either try cooking it in the microwave or put it on top of the server. Or maybe make a big fire out back with pallets and cook it over an open fire. That would probably be the best idea.

3. It took me about 20 minutes to walk my circle.
4. The weather was absolute perfection.

"If only there were evil people somewhere , insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to seperate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?" --Alexandr Solzhenitsyn.

A good friend of mine made this comment on this post of mine from last week:
"Talking in the language of war could be easily misconstrued... "

This is an excellent point. Something that I have been thinking about, mainly because I have been reading a truckload of books on this topic, is media and how we communicate using it. In this specific instance, the use of the internet, there is something built into the way the internet works called html links. A reader, in a very postmodern way, can create his or her own text to read. It is difficult to direct a reader in a specific path. The internet user will choose to click on a certain link, but not on another. What does this mean? When there is a specific message that needs to be communicated and you are using language or a metaphor, such as war, to represent or mean something else, AND you are using the internet to communicate that, then there will be even a greater chance of miscommunication and misrepresentation than if you were engaged in a face to face conversation. And we all know how hard it is to even just communicate with people face to face. When considering using the internet, TV or other media like this, that has built into it, the ultimate choice for the audience, this point has to be understood.

This is just my humble opinion.

I don’t want to be a band-aid.
Can I be an envelope instead, a message inside,
licked seal, placed in a mail box—
addressed, stamped, postmarked?

I’d much rather become a packet of seeds,
taken out one by one, lined up all in a row
in the ground, covered, stomped on,
watered and waited upon.

Or a para-glider, with the whole world below,
carried on the winds down, all the way
to the ground, carrying you with me.

The problem with having too many blogs to post to, it that it can confuse the author. She writes something intended for one, but yet, it goes to another.

Time Management Issues

This weekend, I found an unlikely opponent--My Time. Wherever I turned, he was there waiting to punch me in the stomach, trip me or pull my hair. (Yah, he fights dirty). Now that I think about it, he may even had spit a few spitwads in my direction and thrown in a few wet towel snaps. OUCH.

So, I am going to make some changes. First, an experiment. How much time do I waste talking on IM? I will disengage for a week and see what happens. Oh, you will see me online, but I just won't respond.

We will see in a week how my homework level stands and reassess (That's a wierdly spelled word when looking at it too long).

Friday night before the big crash of Hurricane Rita on the Texas coast.

What will we wake up to tomorrow? With all the negative backlash about the slow response of the Federal, State and local governments after Hurrican Katrina, here's one group that has made a difference. We can't wait around for the government to solve our problems. When citizens take action, we see results!
For updates, prayer requests and action points for Hurricane Rita check out this site of a church in Dallas--click on the Hurricane Rita link.

I did not take this picture. I wish I had.

You know, it kind of feels good when people that I am close to make such an impact in a community that there is a backlash. I mean, when someone goes to all the trouble to make a website attacking what we hold dear, it makes me think that we are doing something right.

Vote today: Washington State Primary

I think I may have been the first person at the polling place this morning, as it took my election worker a few minutes to figure out how to turn on the machine and give me my voting card. I was a little dissapointed that I couldn't vote for the Bothell city council. I guess it is because I am registered in unincorporated Bothell.

I wonder what percentage of people in Washington will actually vote in the primary?

Autumn is approaching...

Did anyone see the moon this morning, about 7am? He just didn't want to go to bed. He was in full view, strong and bright.

I have been taking brisk walks at lunch and noticing the leaves changing color, a few are falling to the ground already. The blackberry bushes are laden with ripe berries. The air is getting descisively colder each morning. A few thoughts roll around in my brain: my skin is getting dry, I need to have my cousin Jared fix my heater before the first frost, I need to collect more leaves and make a collage for Mirjam, when can I start wearing leg-warmers again, it's been a year since I've been home, I miss Switzerland, and time for Gluehwine (mulled wine) and raclette!

I don't watch TV, but I'm addicted to the Internet.

"One of the more dangerous myths about television is that it is a wasteland appreciated only by the lazy and the illiterate." --Roderick P. Hart, Seducing America: How Television Charms the Modern Voter.

Speaking of a wasteland...

I sat upon the shore
Fishing, with the arid plain behind me
Shall I at least set my lands in order?
London Bridge is falling down falling down falling down
Poi s'ascose nel foco che gli affina
Quando fiam uti chelidon - O swallow swallow
Le Prince d'Aquitaine à la tour abolie
These fragments I have shored against my ruins
Why then Ile fit you. Hieronymo's mad againe.
Datta. Dayadhvam. Damyata.
Shantih shantih shantih

...kind of like a bunch of sound bytes, eh? A prophetic PoMo.

AND, speaking of voting, don't forget that next Tuesday, September 20th is the primary. VOTE.

if i could open my arms
and span the length of the isle of manhattan
i'd bring it to where you are
making a lake of the east river and hudson.
if i could open my mouth
wide enough for a marching band to march out
they would make your name sing
and bend through alleys and bounce off all the buildings.

"Marching Bands of Manhattan" --Death Cab for Cutie

In response to the "South Beach Diet" WE, my roomate and I, have decided to create a new diet.

The Viking Diet

1. Fresh Kill Only. The liver must be eaten first, preferably raw.
2. Foraged foods such as berries and roots are optional. Note: Roots of any sort make a good tea when boiled in water.
3. Fermented drinks only

Promises:
If you strictly follow The Viking Diet, you will see a drastic change in your weight, especially your abdominal area. Your hunting skills will increase greatly, especially the strength of your arms and hands as you will find the best method for the "Fresh Kill" is wringing or strangling.


PS: We do not apologize for our politically-UN-correct diet, as its benefits outweigh the offenses.

poem snippet

the moon moves out from behind
the clouds, peeking at me
the tears i saw on your face yesterday
lighting up the dark sky
for a moment
before moving back hiding again
so i grip the steering wheel
speed up a little
and scan the night hoping for one more view

In an attempt to record the last ten years or so of my life:

(this in no way, reflects my favorites, but rather my time allotment)

2005: Finding Neverland Soundtrack/Garden State Soundtrack
2004: Alles Fur Den Herrn (Xavier Naidoo)/A Rush of Blood to the Head (Coldplay)/Amelie Soundtrack
2003: The Hours Soundtrack/ Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (Wilco)
2002: Philadelphia (Mark Knopfler)/ Coldplay (Yellow)
2001: NPR
2000: NPR
1999: nothing
1998: nada
1997: nichts
1996: Delirious 3 & 4
1995: August and Everything After (Counting Crows)
1994: Silver (Starflyer 69)/Everybody Else is Doing it, So Why Can't We (Cranberries)
Pre 1994: U2 and The Wall (Pink Floyd)

Good Movie Title?

I read this morning that "tears are meant for an audience." Not only does this appeal to my poetic nature, (I began to think how to write a poem about this image without being too sappy. --but it's hard to write poems about tears, as tears in themselves have become cliche--) but I began to think practically, this is a true statement. What are tears, but a signal that something is wrong? We have something in our eye or we feel pain, physical and/or emotional.

So why is it that we try to hide our tears? Is is because we are ashamed of something? When we write a song or make a movie, do we hide them? No, because they are meant for an audience. How different would life be if we proudly displayed our tears, waving flags, blowing whistles and shouting to everyone, "Hey look! I'm crying!"?

"How stupid not to have thought of that!" --Thomas Huxley upon hearing of Darwin's theory of natural selection.

I take this short commercial break from my studies to promote my library.

note: I have not read Ulysses. Have you?

Across the Breakfast Table at I-155.

As we, in our household want to promote equal opportunity for all, Christy my 5'10" roomate always takes the low seat. (The UW camp chair) Of course, this means she has more fun as after prayer, she invariably finds her chin in her pancake.

Wanna sneak preview of Switchfoot's Nothing is Sound?

"Change depends on experiencing the character of God." --Larry Crabb

Myths. (of NO)

go to www.google.com

enter 'failure' into the search bar.

hit "im feeling lucky"

I'm sorry, but that's just WRONG.

Whatever happened to HONOR and RESPECT? I guess those aren't American values anymore.

Northwest Creativity

Here are some of the things that Northwesterners are responsible for creating:
The Happy Face (you know...Have a Nice Day)
Microsoft
Kwik-Lok plastic bag ties
Down Parkas
the Gas station
Hacky Sac
Slinky pull toy
Quick release ski binding
The electric guitar

Not only do we have the mountains and the sound, but we sure are a creative bunch of people!

Evil Super Powers

Usually, we want to be the super hero. But I wondered this evening, while wrapping miles of net cable, what would I be if I was an Evil Super Power.

--The Lemonater--
I would squirt lemon through my eyes at people to cause their own eyes to sting and burn, then they'd run away from me crying. I myself would be immune to citrus in the eyes.

Then I asked my two co-workers what TSG specific super power they would like and the consensus was: Jedi Mind Powers. Mark actually tried his mind tricks on our lead, (so we could go home) but failed miserably. Good try, Mark. I applaud your effort.

So, IF I was to write a poem about working at the MSCC, it would go something like this...

Here, in the small closet
I sit.


note: if you don't know what the MSCC is, don't worry about it.

Cooking Class #1

Mobile cooking....all you need is two cell phones and an egg cup to cook an egg.

Delicious!

There is a little metallic green martian named Whizby who shares my office with me. He's very small, so I am pretty sure most people have never noticed him. He lives inside of a "C" and doesn't make any noise, a perfect office mate. I like him a lot and would be so sad if he ever decided to leave. I wonder if Whizby has ever been anywhere else besides Building 126? I should invite him to go with me to Switzerland.

Give to The Salvation Army for Hurricane Katrina Relief
Check out Hurricane Katrina: Blog for Relief Weekend

Another great story from New Orleans...inside the Ritz...

The health care situation here has dramatically worsened overnight. Many people in the hotel are elderly and small children. Many other guests haveHave unusual diseases. They are unfortunately . 'We have better medical letter. There are ID physicians in at this hotel attending an HiV confection. We have commandered the world famous French Quarter Bar to turn into an makeshift clinic. There is a team of about 7 doctors and PA and pharmacists. We anticipate that this will be the major medical facility in the central business district and French Quarter.Our biggest adventure today was raiding the Walgreens on Canal under police escort. The pharmacy was dark and fool of water. We basically scooped the entire drug sets into gargace bags and removed them. All uner police excort. The looters had to be held back at gun point. After a dose of prophylactic Cipro I hope to be fine.In all we are faring well. We have set up a hospital in the the French Qarter bar in the hotel, and will start admitting patients today. Many with be from the hotel, but many with not. We are anticipating to dealing with multiple medical problems, medications and and acute injuries. Infection and perhaps even cholera are anticipated major problems. Food and water shortages are iminent.

Here, for the whole story

Audio Blogging from the Astrodome.

More good stuff.

Photos of the renegade bus.... They are truly amazing photographs.

A Great Story! ---And full of hope too!---

I Like President Bush.

I have been alternating between reading blogs about New Orleans and responding to my classmates in "discussion boards." I have found myself wishing that I could find people writing about hope in the midst of chaos. I KNOW there are miracle stories out there. I know that out of this, good will come, if not a reminder to all Americans just how fragile our safe and comfortable living can be. Its good to be shaken up a little, no, ALOT.

Its amazing the support and care that I do see on the blogs. People are so willing to give money and offer support.

Some interesting up to date blogging I have found:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/

http://neworleans.metblogs.com/