a flair for the macabre

I just read this article, about an exhibit of mummified corpses on display in Monterey, Mexico, and my immediate reaction was "cool! I want to go!" There's something weird and creepy and totally awesome about really old, inadvertently-mummified dead people. But upon reading the article, I noticed this statement:

"The collection is believed to be the largest in the Western Hemisphere. And the 23 corpses and head in Monterrey are the largest group from the museum to ever hit the road."

I run across this sort of statement a lot- such and such is "believed to be the largest collection in the world," or whatnot. "The collection of medieval torture devices at the Tower of London is believed to be the largest in the world." That sort of thing. What gets me is the "believed to be" part. It conjurs up images of some deranged, psychotic serial killer disguised as an innocent rich person, who secretly collects medieval torture devices, or in this case, mummified corpses, and it is only a matter of time before his collection is discovered and the collection previously thought to be the largest is outshone by some creepy guy's fetish. Is that why they put that phrase in these articles? So that if someone comes out and says "I HAVE A BIGGER COLLECTION OF DEAD GUYS, DON'T SELL ME SHORT," they don't have to deal with it?

Am I the only one who thinks about these things?

Probably.

i'd like to buy the world an Obama tshirt

Have I mentioned before how much I love Mark Morford? Oh, I have? Well I am mentioning it again.

Here is the latest reason why.

GO OBAMA!

things that would never happen at AFI

In going through old emails, I found one from a certain crooked-toothed professor at Northwestern, containing a scanned version of his signature. It was meant for me to forge and turn in on some document or other for some class I wanted to get into- if I remember correctly, my senior year independent study. The whole thing was so simple and so... not scandelous. Needless to say, the sort of thing that does not happen at AFI.


Just thought I'd remark on the awesomeness of the days when a teacher would encourage you to forge his signature.

Mr. Brayton, I presume

A sampling of the fruits of my most recent 2 1/2 hour conversation with Tim:

(1) SAT-style analogy: "The Apple: Beverly Hills Chihuahua :: Xanadu: Elizabeth: The Golden Age"

(1) pact to both buy and read Twilight within the next week.

(1) general wondering of how the world would be different had Jane Austen written lesbian erotica.


If that's not a good way to spend 2 1/2 hours, I don't know what is.

trial of the century

I was 12 when the (original) OJ Simpson verdict came through. We were in 7th grade English class with Ms. Busby at SF Day, and we stopped everything to watch. There were three black kids in my class, and I'm pretty sure two of them were in the other section, because the main thing I remember about the verdict was Aaron Robinson, the one black kid in the room, cheering when OJ was acquitted. It was the first time it had occurred to me that there were people who actually thought, or at least hoped, that OJ was innocent, and the first time I had been forced to think about it in terms of race. The "race card," as they call it nowadays, hadn't even crossed my mind.

Strange, that. Today it would probably be the first thing to cross my mind. Ah, the innocence of youth.

Randomely: remember that police chase with the white Bronco? I remember it SO CLEARLY it's kind of bizarre. Why would that have such an impact on me as an 11 year old? But it did, and apparently it did for everyone else in my generation too, the same way that September 11th did, or the way JFK's assassination did for my parent's generation. A police chase after a murderer who used to be a football hero. What the hell? But there it is in my mind, clear as day: Daniel Koplowitz was over hanging out with Taylor, and all of us, my parents included, sat in the tv room watching the chase. It was a very slow chase, if I recall correctly.

Anyway. Just random tangential reflections.

fall, sort of

I love fall, maybe more than any other season. I always think I love summer, too, and I do love summer, but summer obliges me to wear clothing that I am not comfortable in, ie bathing suits and shorts and other things to keep cool. Oh wait, in LA I have to do that in the fall anyway! And that is just one more reason why LA sucks. LA sucks hard these days- it's frickin' October, can we get a little cooler weather? PLEASE?

Today, we actually did get cooler weather, and it is welcome for however long it wants to stick around. It is lovely and cloudy and cold out and if you leave your window open it makes being in bed so much snugglier than it usually is. Huzzah. I have no idea why I live in this wretched place where I can count days like this that I have experienced here on one hand. Give me San Francisco fog and 65 degree days any time. I think it is time to go home.

I have been trying to learn to cook, which always seems like a good idea in the fall. Joey and Arielle are having a potluck sorta dinner next week, which is great because it's been almost a year, I think, since we had the last one, and I miss my NU friends. We're supposed to bring foods from a specific country. Any good ideas? This is good because all my old fallbacks are American (apple pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin pie, scalloped potatoes, etc), so it will force me to branch out. Fall makes me want to eat soup all the time, but soup is kinda hard to bring to a dinner party. So... any ideas?

Oh god, and now I am watching the Cal/Arizona game on tv and looking at Tightwad Hill above Memorial Stadium in the Berkeley Hills and HOLY CRAP I MISS HOME SO MUCH. I love college football season, even if I don't really know that much about football. It makes me think of school and Thanksgiving and home and Ryan Field at Northwestern- in short, all my favorite things. I can't believe I will never go to school again. That is so incredibly weird. I don't ever want to stop going to school! I will have to find some cheap community college classes to take or something. Not learning is not ok... it makes my brain go to mush.

Ok well I should stop writing and being sad, if I can, because it's not really helping. I am knitting a new scarf- it was going to be for someone else, but then I kinda messed it up so now it's going to be for me. I'll just sit here and knit and watch football and try to forget how much life sucks.

Later, maybe I'll tell you about the movie I saw last night.

MOST NERVEWRACKING DEBATE EVER

warning: this is a completely stream of consciouness, following-along-to-the-debate sort of post. were i a real political blogger, i would have done smart things like type the questions i was reacting to, or put in times, or at least given you something to go off of rather than purely passionate reactions, but i am not a real political blogger, so i'm sorry.

a) Sarah Palin: "I'm part of a team of mavericks..."

Isn't the definition of a maverick someone who operates alone? Isn't it? IT IS, according to dictionary.com: "a lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates."

somehow, to me, this does not define either Sarah Palin or John McCain.

b) if she says "you betcha" again, I might kill her. with my mind bullets.

c) Gwen Ifill reminds me of The Chief from Where in the World is Carmen San Diego.

d) Joe Biden: "If you don't understand the causes, it's virtually impossible to come up with the solution." OH SNAP.

e) I absolutely cannot stand another 4 years of listening to someone who cannot correctly pronounce the word "nuclear."

f) I don't understand wy people are so frickin' afraid of gay marriage. why, if people are willing to give gay people the same rights and priviledges as married people, can they not stand to actually call it "marriage"? what is it about that word?

g) SERIOUSLY STOP IT WITH THE MISPRONOUNCING NUCLEAR

h) As Julia pointed out to me (thank goodness for gchat), Palin keeps using the word "oversight" wrong. Does she mean "overhaul?"

i) Tina Fey's impersonation of Sarah Palin is truly uncanny. No, not just uncanny. It's PERFECT. Just sayin'.

j) YES, Joe Biden. Please keep saying the word "nuclear"-- it proves that you can! Awesome.

k) she sounds like the mom from Bobby's World

l) the little red and green lines go way up when Biden talks and... not when Palin talks. awesome.

m) nice question Gwen Ifill-- way to ask Sarah Palin if she knows how to govern the country, without actually asking Sarah Palin if she knows how to govern the country.

n) hey, teachers! god bless you! your reward is in heaven! DID SHE SERIOUSLY JUST TELL JOE BIDEN HIS WIFE'S REWARD FOR TEACHING IS IN HEAVEN? how is he not smacking her?

o) my mom just sent me an email, mid-debate, saying "I am so happy you both have a good education!!! And can speak well. Love, Mom." amazing.

p) Alaska is an energy-producing state?!?! Gee, I had no idea. Thank you so much, Sarah Palin, for reminding me of that SEVENTEEN MILLION TIMES.

q) YES Joe Biden did a bang-up job with the "what is your weakness?" question! He turned the whole "I know how to take care of children and I know what it's like to be poor" sentiment that this crazy prom queen is spouting out. BAM.

r) STOP SAYING MAVERICK. STOPPIT STOPPIT STOPPIT. DEATH.

s) Joe Biden looks a little bit like Guy Smiley from Sesame Street when he smiles. But better to look like a muppet than a... well, I won't say that. It's not nice.

t) how exactly is Sarah Palin's family diverse? Because her husband is like 1/billionth Native Alaskan? Because there are both boys and girls in her family? Wow!

u) "I like being able to answer these tough questions!" I bet you do! This is the first time you've ever done it! Good thing the McCain campaign made all those flashcards.

v) YAY I AM SO GLAD JOE BIDEN GOT THE LAST WORD.


Well, she did a lot better than I wanted her to, but it wasn't great. Biden was clearly the one who knew what he was doing. I'm so glad Biden called Cheney out as "one of the most dangerous poeple in the history of the United States."

RRRRRRGG I AM SO ANNOYED THAT THEY ARE JUST FOCUSING ON HER HOLDING HER BABY and patting him on the back. What a low dig. That kid is going to be so messed up-- he already has a disability, are you really going to go to Washington and practically abandon the kid for at least four years- arguably the most important four years- of his life? Really, Sarah Palin? Where are those family values you keep talking about?

Ok I'm not going to write any more. Thus ends my thoughts on the vice presidential debates. If I were you I would go read the thoughts of someone who actually knows what they're talking about.