We have a plant lady here at Triumph D.
I have asked her, everytime she's in on her weekly watering/pruning, if she could please get me an aloe plant for my office space, and everytime she says yes.
This has been going on for,
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm,
5 months.
The aloe plant is not that important.
I mean, yes, it's an important plant,
but no it's not important for me to have one right this second goddammit.
But, I mean, come on, Jan. Your only job is to go to offices, water their plants, and successfully fulfill new-plant orders.
And I understand if it's not aloe season.
It could very well be the exact opposite time of year in which aloe and aloe plants are harvested. Also could just simply not available to the community as a whole at this current time.
I also understand if you keep forgetting the aloe plant.
I'm sure you see a lot of people whose flora needs are above those of mine.
I also understand if you hate me because I slept with your husband and then stuffed your kitty in the laundry chute.
But still.
It's your job.
31.5.05
17.5.05
readership poll
hey there, blog-readin' buds!
as the 6-month anniversary of em approaches, I've been wondering a few things:
-does anyone care what I'm talking about
-if so, how many people
Thus I have a small favor to ask you, special friend. It's like REALLY small considering all the 'hard work' I put in to possibly entertaining/amusing you (or boring, or angering...).
So, if you read this, please leave a comment with:
-your initials
-when you think going commando is appropriate, if at all.
I will take a blogging break as the results trickle in (probably very slowly).
Cheers,
-egc
-personally, I'm without undies most of the time. except never (OK, rarely) with skirts and never-ever if I'm riding my robotic stegosaurus-camel, Buckwheat II.
And never-ever-ever during that 'time.'
ps-I'm not worried about the results of this poll b/c it's not like I'm racking in the comments anyway
as the 6-month anniversary of em approaches, I've been wondering a few things:
-does anyone care what I'm talking about
-if so, how many people
Thus I have a small favor to ask you, special friend. It's like REALLY small considering all the 'hard work' I put in to possibly entertaining/amusing you (or boring, or angering...).
So, if you read this, please leave a comment with:
-your initials
-when you think going commando is appropriate, if at all.
I will take a blogging break as the results trickle in (probably very slowly).
Cheers,
-egc
-personally, I'm without undies most of the time. except never (OK, rarely) with skirts and never-ever if I'm riding my robotic stegosaurus-camel, Buckwheat II.
And never-ever-ever during that 'time.'
ps-I'm not worried about the results of this poll b/c it's not like I'm racking in the comments anyway
16.5.05
triple play
In my series of baseball firsts, this weekend marked my first series and, consequentially, a further realization of just how applicable and exemplary baseball truly is to my (and any American's) life.
How can I feel a connection to a team I never knew? To a sport that, on the surface, seems so different from my actual existence? And, perhaps more important, what made me think that Bud Lite is worth $6 a bottle?
I'll probably expand on these questions more throughout the season, but for now the answer, I'm finding, is simple:
it's fun.
And unlike any other fun I've ever had.
How can I feel a connection to a team I never knew? To a sport that, on the surface, seems so different from my actual existence? And, perhaps more important, what made me think that Bud Lite is worth $6 a bottle?
I'll probably expand on these questions more throughout the season, but for now the answer, I'm finding, is simple:
it's fun.
And unlike any other fun I've ever had.
11.5.05
misc. wednesday
This will update as the day continues...
-After 10 years of wanting to do so, last night I finally got to tell Emily Saliers 'thank you.' She is my personal hero.
-The Golden Rule rarely works for me. If it did, I'd see more respect and compassion from others.
-However, I will still treat those others with respect and compassion until the day I die.
-I am so happy Uchenna and Joyce (husband and wife) won The Amazing Race! Not only because Boston Rob and Amber are schmucks and Ron and Kelley are just plain idiots, but because U & J kept a positive mindset during the whole thing, and it's good to see that pay off.
$1 million to be exact.
-I think I would win The Amazing Race, no matter who my partner was.
-Sometimes I really miss driving. I love driving and singing.
-I'm glad I'm not petrol-dependent right now.
-Arianna Huffington has a blog now. It's not as good as ours, though. In fact, I think it kind of sucks.
If I'm going to read some lady's take on things, I'd rather it be Ann Coulter's. At least it's interesting.
-The Mountain Goats recently came to town. I passed up the opportunity to see them.
Not because I don't like their music; actually, I've yet to hear them.
It's just that knew it I wouldn't be able to enjoy it at this time. I know my limits.
-I've found that adding goat cheese and/or avocado to any meal will make it 6-7 times better, depending on what the meal is in the first place.
-I hate the terms "chick rock" and "bleeding vagina music."
Not only is the latter offensive (see: genital mutilation), but
if you were part of a population who had been marginalized for centuries and you finally found widespread liberty of creative power and voice, only to still be marginalized by
male-dominated social thought, you'd be a little angry, too.
Then only to have your anger be written off by the nomenclature above...
Sheesh, give the gals a break.
I'm not sayin' it's all good music or that it can't be joked about, but there's a reason for it and it's OK to understand that.
Plus, it just takes a little weeding through to find the good stuff.
-On a similar note, I know some guys who could definitely work on getting in touch with their feminine side.
Yes, you have one.
-I've had no reason to complain about anything in quite a while now.
-The Ford Foundation is going to give millions of dollars to NPR and PBS in the next year.
That makes NPR's biggest recent funders McDonald's and Ford Motors. Hmmm...
I guess that's OK.
-I have somehow managed to get the best people as my friends. For that I am truly bless-ed.
-A friend recently told me "I'd love to be a vegetarian; it's just that I hate vegetables."
I think you could fill in 'vegetarian' and 'vegetables' with any other two related things and this statement could be one way of explaining human nature:
fear/hatred of what we could be.*
-I believe understanding one's feelings is fundamental to clear decision making and, ultimately, understanding one's self. Dan thinks there's no need to understand one's feelings because he believes they are fleeting and distractionary apparitions. Perhaps they are fleeting (not distractionary), but I still think I'm right about what to do with them.
-I'm looking very forward to Friday's happy hour and Nats game! $4 pitchers of ML & seeing the home team...what could be better?
Oh yeah, respect and compassion from others.
-It's a beautiful day!
*This doesn't apply to everyone, myself included. It's just one possiblity of many.
-After 10 years of wanting to do so, last night I finally got to tell Emily Saliers 'thank you.' She is my personal hero.
-The Golden Rule rarely works for me. If it did, I'd see more respect and compassion from others.
-However, I will still treat those others with respect and compassion until the day I die.
-I am so happy Uchenna and Joyce (husband and wife) won The Amazing Race! Not only because Boston Rob and Amber are schmucks and Ron and Kelley are just plain idiots, but because U & J kept a positive mindset during the whole thing, and it's good to see that pay off.
$1 million to be exact.
-I think I would win The Amazing Race, no matter who my partner was.
-Sometimes I really miss driving. I love driving and singing.
-I'm glad I'm not petrol-dependent right now.
-Arianna Huffington has a blog now. It's not as good as ours, though. In fact, I think it kind of sucks.
If I'm going to read some lady's take on things, I'd rather it be Ann Coulter's. At least it's interesting.
-The Mountain Goats recently came to town. I passed up the opportunity to see them.
Not because I don't like their music; actually, I've yet to hear them.
It's just that knew it I wouldn't be able to enjoy it at this time. I know my limits.
-I've found that adding goat cheese and/or avocado to any meal will make it 6-7 times better, depending on what the meal is in the first place.
-I hate the terms "chick rock" and "bleeding vagina music."
Not only is the latter offensive (see: genital mutilation), but
if you were part of a population who had been marginalized for centuries and you finally found widespread liberty of creative power and voice, only to still be marginalized by
male-dominated social thought, you'd be a little angry, too.
Then only to have your anger be written off by the nomenclature above...
Sheesh, give the gals a break.
I'm not sayin' it's all good music or that it can't be joked about, but there's a reason for it and it's OK to understand that.
Plus, it just takes a little weeding through to find the good stuff.
-On a similar note, I know some guys who could definitely work on getting in touch with their feminine side.
Yes, you have one.
-I've had no reason to complain about anything in quite a while now.
-The Ford Foundation is going to give millions of dollars to NPR and PBS in the next year.
That makes NPR's biggest recent funders McDonald's and Ford Motors. Hmmm...
I guess that's OK.
-I have somehow managed to get the best people as my friends. For that I am truly bless-ed.
-A friend recently told me "I'd love to be a vegetarian; it's just that I hate vegetables."
I think you could fill in 'vegetarian' and 'vegetables' with any other two related things and this statement could be one way of explaining human nature:
fear/hatred of what we could be.*
-I believe understanding one's feelings is fundamental to clear decision making and, ultimately, understanding one's self. Dan thinks there's no need to understand one's feelings because he believes they are fleeting and distractionary apparitions. Perhaps they are fleeting (not distractionary), but I still think I'm right about what to do with them.
-I'm looking very forward to Friday's happy hour and Nats game! $4 pitchers of ML & seeing the home team...what could be better?
Oh yeah, respect and compassion from others.
-It's a beautiful day!
*This doesn't apply to everyone, myself included. It's just one possiblity of many.
9.5.05
'cemb'rists
1). the concert. watching a group of dorks on stage playing their melodies, singing their tales, living their lives, I felt that energy they exuded-- confirming within me that I, too, can take my life anywhere I want it to go.
...excepting fate's mighty gusts, which may very well lead me into a belly of a whale.
It would be scary, but I think I'd make it out OK.
I mean, I've made it this far.
2). Colin Meloy and I are friendster friends
...excepting fate's mighty gusts, which may very well lead me into a belly of a whale.
It would be scary, but I think I'd make it out OK.
I mean, I've made it this far.
2). Colin Meloy and I are friendster friends
4.5.05
media pt.2
From my comment in the below post, media, which I've chosen to add as a new post...
Let's break this down.
News is supposed to be "what's going on right now."
What people decide to report is where the bias factor comes in, because choice/discretion is involved. For example, and like Michael Moore pointed out in "Bowling for Columbine," the Canadian news reports on things like potholes or new community gardens.
Perhaps more "positive" than crime, fires and death, it's still "biased" towards what those news directors believe is newsworthy.
Obviously when the news is "tied" to the free market, it has to produce a successful "product" if it wants to earn those advertising revenue dollars. Even if it's "public" radio or TV it has to appease what its supporters (the listener/viewer) want to be covered.
You (Spooner) asked in your comment:
"How plausible is it to attempt to provide news for both sides, or do we abandon that idea entirely?"
Not only is this a leading question (it makes the answer have to be either 'plausible' or an admission that we've 'abandoned the idea'), but a good one. I think it's completely plausible for news to cover both sides, if that's what the listener/viewer wants.
"Is it better to know the leanings of your media source than have them hide it?"
Obviously it's better, but who's going to admit "Our media is liberal" or "Our news covers conservative goings-on in a positive manner"?
I ask:
Should a news organization's "leanings" be defined by that organization, or by outside organizations, like it is now?
What makes a media outlet "liberal" or "conservative" in the first place?
Using traditional definitions of the terms, "liberal" media would be covering a vastly wide array of topics with an equally-as-vast range of angles, sources, commentary and such. "Conservative" media would cover the basics using only strictly-factual information.
In this light, every news media I've seen is by nature "liberal."
Getting back to the issues at hand (also prompted by your comment), the yeomanification of media and information makes it ironically possible for
A) many more perspectives to be added to our daily choice
and, at the same time,
B) the prospect that people could become even more narrow-minded
My solution, like everything, lies in personal choice. And don't get me wrong, I've wrestled with the devil's-advocate query of "but how can uneducated people tell the difference? Aren't they being manipulated/taken advantage of? They don't really have a choice"
Perhaps, but in a sense that's not my problem. My problem is producing good news or being a good teacher and hope that my good/educational programming reaches out to a thirsty mind somewhere. Of course what I think is "good" or "educational" is, in essence, biased, and that's why you can either listen to it or not.
I've reached a point here in this comment where my original post began:
the "media" is such an interesting concept. It's just regular ol' people "informing" other regular ol' people about some thing or another.
The way this is happening is changing, and I think it's completely fascinating.
Might I also add here that all of this is why, in my mind, spelling, punctuation and grammar are so very important, even in personal web logs. Contrary to some's opinion, by attempting to correct these things I'm not trying to be annoying or nitpicky. Perhaps it has to do a little with my inherited eye for detail (not my fault).
But more importantly, it just keeps some sort of 'standard' running through the ba-gillions of data out here in bloggerland.
Let's break this down.
News is supposed to be "what's going on right now."
What people decide to report is where the bias factor comes in, because choice/discretion is involved. For example, and like Michael Moore pointed out in "Bowling for Columbine," the Canadian news reports on things like potholes or new community gardens.
Perhaps more "positive" than crime, fires and death, it's still "biased" towards what those news directors believe is newsworthy.
Obviously when the news is "tied" to the free market, it has to produce a successful "product" if it wants to earn those advertising revenue dollars. Even if it's "public" radio or TV it has to appease what its supporters (the listener/viewer) want to be covered.
You (Spooner) asked in your comment:
"How plausible is it to attempt to provide news for both sides, or do we abandon that idea entirely?"
Not only is this a leading question (it makes the answer have to be either 'plausible' or an admission that we've 'abandoned the idea'), but a good one. I think it's completely plausible for news to cover both sides, if that's what the listener/viewer wants.
"Is it better to know the leanings of your media source than have them hide it?"
Obviously it's better, but who's going to admit "Our media is liberal" or "Our news covers conservative goings-on in a positive manner"?
I ask:
Should a news organization's "leanings" be defined by that organization, or by outside organizations, like it is now?
What makes a media outlet "liberal" or "conservative" in the first place?
Using traditional definitions of the terms, "liberal" media would be covering a vastly wide array of topics with an equally-as-vast range of angles, sources, commentary and such. "Conservative" media would cover the basics using only strictly-factual information.
In this light, every news media I've seen is by nature "liberal."
Getting back to the issues at hand (also prompted by your comment), the yeomanification of media and information makes it ironically possible for
A) many more perspectives to be added to our daily choice
and, at the same time,
B) the prospect that people could become even more narrow-minded
My solution, like everything, lies in personal choice. And don't get me wrong, I've wrestled with the devil's-advocate query of "but how can uneducated people tell the difference? Aren't they being manipulated/taken advantage of? They don't really have a choice"
Perhaps, but in a sense that's not my problem. My problem is producing good news or being a good teacher and hope that my good/educational programming reaches out to a thirsty mind somewhere. Of course what I think is "good" or "educational" is, in essence, biased, and that's why you can either listen to it or not.
I've reached a point here in this comment where my original post began:
the "media" is such an interesting concept. It's just regular ol' people "informing" other regular ol' people about some thing or another.
The way this is happening is changing, and I think it's completely fascinating.
Might I also add here that all of this is why, in my mind, spelling, punctuation and grammar are so very important, even in personal web logs. Contrary to some's opinion, by attempting to correct these things I'm not trying to be annoying or nitpicky. Perhaps it has to do a little with my inherited eye for detail (not my fault).
But more importantly, it just keeps some sort of 'standard' running through the ba-gillions of data out here in bloggerland.
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