i got to the show 40 minutes early because i left straight from work and didn’t have time to drive to my apartment and the doors weren’t open yet but there were two old ladies waiting with me and we talked about how excited we were and they finally let us in and this young guy next to me wanted to get a coke from the bar but they wouldn’t let him without an ID which i thought was funny and then 30 minutes later the show finally started and there was someone standing directly in front of me and i’ve been waiting 2 years and 5 months to see ben sollee so i picked up my chair and sat down in front of the person who had been standing directly in front of me and ben sollee smiled and played songs i can’t describe and songs i’ve never heard and there’s one called “hurting” that i really want to buy as soon as it releases and later the other artist casey driesson came out and he had a tail which is hard to explain but when the two of them played songs together another guy next to me started cussing it was so unbelievable i guess sometimes there just aren’t words and casey’s bass player is female and she’s the first female bass player i’ve ever liked because she didn’t dress or act like a man she wore a shirt with flowers and smiled a lot and was better than any bass player i think i’ve ever heard except for tony terusa but she didn’t have anything to prove and she still proved it and casey driesson played billie jean on his fiddle without words i don’t know why but it worked and i got a video of a song they played together so now i have my very own ben sollee video and i can’t get the music out of my head which is just fine with me.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
life abundant.
i should start out by reminding you that the Bible says not to covet your neighbor's ox, donkey, wife, or DAY.
because i had an amazing one.
it began with waiting in line 40 minutes for a book sale. one of the library branches here sold all their books. at least it seemed that way to me. i got 8 books for $5.25. hello.
and i did this with a friend from college/old roommate that i haven't seen in a long time. and had lunch with her in an abandoned mexican restaurant. at least it seemed to be before we walked in.
and then, well...
i went to a cemetery. to...well, to read. under a tree. on a blanket. with a friend. for 4 hours. this tree:
sunshine. breeze. butterflies. which made me pose the question: do butterflies get tired? they're so active.
and then,
dinner at an amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing turkish restaurant. with more friends. a couple friends from church, and some international students that make me laugh. and here's a fact:
children in thailand, apparently, grow up learning how to sing "old macdonald had a farm." in english.
fact. that's a fact.
and now i have time to read more of one of my new books. and here are the titles:
hugo chavez: oil, politics, and the challenge to the U.S.
inside out: a memoir of the blacklist (about the crazy communist frenzy back in the day...a lot like the terrorist frenzy these days)
kennedy and nixon: the rivalry that shaped postwar america
the hobbit
wired
othello
the living (about vietnam)
and one more i'm not going to post the title of, because it's a gift for someone.
~ the end ~
because i had an amazing one.
it began with waiting in line 40 minutes for a book sale. one of the library branches here sold all their books. at least it seemed that way to me. i got 8 books for $5.25. hello.
and i did this with a friend from college/old roommate that i haven't seen in a long time. and had lunch with her in an abandoned mexican restaurant. at least it seemed to be before we walked in.
and then, well...
i went to a cemetery. to...well, to read. under a tree. on a blanket. with a friend. for 4 hours. this tree:
sunshine. breeze. butterflies. which made me pose the question: do butterflies get tired? they're so active.
and then,
dinner at an amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing turkish restaurant. with more friends. a couple friends from church, and some international students that make me laugh. and here's a fact:
children in thailand, apparently, grow up learning how to sing "old macdonald had a farm." in english.
fact. that's a fact.
and now i have time to read more of one of my new books. and here are the titles:
hugo chavez: oil, politics, and the challenge to the U.S.
inside out: a memoir of the blacklist (about the crazy communist frenzy back in the day...a lot like the terrorist frenzy these days)
kennedy and nixon: the rivalry that shaped postwar america
the hobbit
wired
othello
the living (about vietnam)
and one more i'm not going to post the title of, because it's a gift for someone.
~ the end ~
Friday, April 8, 2011
america loses.
time to announce the winner of the quote game!
4th place is...
sarah with 3 right answers.
3rd place is....
leah with 4 right answers.
2nd place is...
beth with five right answers.
and the winner is...
my friend from high school, emily! with EIGHT answers right! amazing. her husband is in the navy. just thought i'd add that. she has a cooking blog, and an etsy with really cute jewelry and other crafts.
so here are the quotes, matched with my margin notes. and a brief explanation, if necessary.
"Before concluding our narrative, we offer a reminder, and an explanation, of the one period in which the government as a whole seemed to be acting in concert to deal with terrorism - the last weeks of December 1999 preceding the millennium." - quote
Y2K. come on. aren't we all kind of embarrassed by the frenzy/fear/irrational behavior that was displayed during that time? and it's being used as an example of how the government did something well. so...
"what a great example of how rational our government is" - note.
"In chapter 4, we mentioned officials worriedly discussing, in 1998, reports that Bin Ladin's associates thought their leader was intent on carrying out a 'Hiroshima.'" - report
"what incredible irony" - note
the terrorist was modeling his behavior after the united states government. read that a few times. just...think about that.
"Vague goals match an amorphous picture of the enemy. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are popularly described as being all over the world, adaptable, resilient, needing little higher-level organization, and capable of anything. The American people are thus given the picture of an omnipotent, unslayable hydra of destruction." - report
"and who painted that picture?" - note
i have not the words.
"...the administration, and the CIA in particular, was in the midst of intense scrutiny and criticism in May 1999 because faulty intelligence had just led the United States to mistakenly bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the NATO war against Serbia." - report
"? wow." - note
is it really that shocking that people in the world want to attack us?
this next one is painful.
"American foreign policy is part of the message. America's policy choices have consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world. That does not mean U.S. choices have been wrong." - report
"oh, so close" - note
any war against any enemy will be LOST if the diagnosis of the problem is incorrect. i was following the train of thought until that last line. this country does not rule the world. we have to consider what other nations think of our actions. we can't do whatever we want.
oh wait, this one is pretty painful too:
"...Berger recalled that to go to war, a president needs to be able to say that his senior intelligence and law enforcement officers have concluded who is responsible." - report
"YES" - note
berger recalled. berger RECALLED???????? as an afterthought? a fleeting thought?
oh he recalled that, did he.
seems.
sort of.
essential.
moving on.
"In the nearly three years since 9/11, Americans have become better protected against terrorist attack. Some of the changes are due to government action, such as new precautions to protect aircraft. A portion can be attributed to the sheer scale of spending and effort. Publicity and the vigilance of ordinary Americans also make a difference. But the President and other officials acknowledge that although Americans may be safer, they are not safe." - report
"this makes me want to puke in someone's face." - note
once again, in order to keep support for the wars going, people have to be made to be afraid. as long as people are afraid...they'll submit to anything. any TSA regulations. any kind of discrimination of people. profiling. etc. this makes me want to puke in someone's face.
"Officers at the CIA had worried that giving him a green light might cross the line into violation of the assassination ban." - report
"ahh, i miss the days when we frowned on assassinations." - note
because, if you didn't know, there are some u.s. citizens targeted for assassinations. without a trial. does it strike anyone else as odd that we'd deny our own citizens basic rights, while deeming it our responsibility to spread democracy to every corner of the earth?
"Allegations that the United States abused prisoners in its custody make it harder to build the diplomatic, political, and military alliances the government will need." - report
"to put it mildly." - note
sweet, humanitarian, moral leader of the world, united states government...abuser of prisoners...
huh?
"The United States should rebuild the scholarship, exchange, and library programs that reach out to young people and offer them knowledge and hope. Where such assistance is provided, it should be identified as coming from the citizens of the United States." - report
"for crying out loud, is this a PR campaign or a genuine desire for change?" - note
the end.
4th place is...
sarah with 3 right answers.
3rd place is....
leah with 4 right answers.
2nd place is...
beth with five right answers.
and the winner is...
my friend from high school, emily! with EIGHT answers right! amazing. her husband is in the navy. just thought i'd add that. she has a cooking blog, and an etsy with really cute jewelry and other crafts.
so here are the quotes, matched with my margin notes. and a brief explanation, if necessary.
"Before concluding our narrative, we offer a reminder, and an explanation, of the one period in which the government as a whole seemed to be acting in concert to deal with terrorism - the last weeks of December 1999 preceding the millennium." - quote
Y2K. come on. aren't we all kind of embarrassed by the frenzy/fear/irrational behavior that was displayed during that time? and it's being used as an example of how the government did something well. so...
"what a great example of how rational our government is" - note.
"In chapter 4, we mentioned officials worriedly discussing, in 1998, reports that Bin Ladin's associates thought their leader was intent on carrying out a 'Hiroshima.'" - report
"what incredible irony" - note
the terrorist was modeling his behavior after the united states government. read that a few times. just...think about that.
"Vague goals match an amorphous picture of the enemy. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are popularly described as being all over the world, adaptable, resilient, needing little higher-level organization, and capable of anything. The American people are thus given the picture of an omnipotent, unslayable hydra of destruction." - report
"and who painted that picture?" - note
i have not the words.
"...the administration, and the CIA in particular, was in the midst of intense scrutiny and criticism in May 1999 because faulty intelligence had just led the United States to mistakenly bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the NATO war against Serbia." - report
"? wow." - note
is it really that shocking that people in the world want to attack us?
this next one is painful.
"American foreign policy is part of the message. America's policy choices have consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world. That does not mean U.S. choices have been wrong." - report
"oh, so close" - note
any war against any enemy will be LOST if the diagnosis of the problem is incorrect. i was following the train of thought until that last line. this country does not rule the world. we have to consider what other nations think of our actions. we can't do whatever we want.
oh wait, this one is pretty painful too:
"...Berger recalled that to go to war, a president needs to be able to say that his senior intelligence and law enforcement officers have concluded who is responsible." - report
"YES" - note
berger recalled. berger RECALLED???????? as an afterthought? a fleeting thought?
oh he recalled that, did he.
seems.
sort of.
essential.
moving on.
"In the nearly three years since 9/11, Americans have become better protected against terrorist attack. Some of the changes are due to government action, such as new precautions to protect aircraft. A portion can be attributed to the sheer scale of spending and effort. Publicity and the vigilance of ordinary Americans also make a difference. But the President and other officials acknowledge that although Americans may be safer, they are not safe." - report
"this makes me want to puke in someone's face." - note
once again, in order to keep support for the wars going, people have to be made to be afraid. as long as people are afraid...they'll submit to anything. any TSA regulations. any kind of discrimination of people. profiling. etc. this makes me want to puke in someone's face.
"Officers at the CIA had worried that giving him a green light might cross the line into violation of the assassination ban." - report
"ahh, i miss the days when we frowned on assassinations." - note
because, if you didn't know, there are some u.s. citizens targeted for assassinations. without a trial. does it strike anyone else as odd that we'd deny our own citizens basic rights, while deeming it our responsibility to spread democracy to every corner of the earth?
"Allegations that the United States abused prisoners in its custody make it harder to build the diplomatic, political, and military alliances the government will need." - report
"to put it mildly." - note
sweet, humanitarian, moral leader of the world, united states government...abuser of prisoners...
huh?
"The United States should rebuild the scholarship, exchange, and library programs that reach out to young people and offer them knowledge and hope. Where such assistance is provided, it should be identified as coming from the citizens of the United States." - report
"for crying out loud, is this a PR campaign or a genuine desire for change?" - note
the end.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
this one's for you, mom.
today i was on the phone, and i received an instant message type thing from a male coworker, asking me to take a look at something.
in response, i typed:
SEX.
it was supposed to be "SEC"
.........
thankfully, i noticed before i hit "enter" and changed it.
phew.
world's most awkward moment avoided.
this was not a freudian slip. C and X are located right next to each other on the keyboard. i had only one free hand.
that'll be it for today.
in response, i typed:
SEX.
it was supposed to be "SEC"
.........
thankfully, i noticed before i hit "enter" and changed it.
phew.
world's most awkward moment avoided.
this was not a freudian slip. C and X are located right next to each other on the keyboard. i had only one free hand.
that'll be it for today.
Monday, April 4, 2011
we're all losers in this scenario.
i finished the 9/11 commission report. so now it's time to play a game. there will be an actual winner. with an actual prize.
i wrote a lot of things in the margins of this book. it started out with substantial criticism. toward the end of the book, i was so worn out and frustrated i started writing things like "UGH" instead of "this is a phrase used to justify new and creative ways of bending the constitution to the will of the executive."
so here's the game. can you match my vague margin note with the quote that inspired it? whoever wins gets to choose from this selection of prizes:
1) an edible american treat
2) a book on a political topic you'd like to learn more about but don't know where to start
3) a conversation with me about THIS book
if i was you, i'd pick number two. i tried to come up with a few options for different personality types. you have people that like to read. people that like to talk. and people that just like to win and want a treat. plus, i want to include those outside my baking radius.
let's play.
first, the margin notes:
1) ? wow.
2) ahh, i miss the days when we frowned on assassinations.
3) YES
4) what a great example of how rational our government is
5) and who painted that picture?
6) oh, so close
7) for crying out loud, is this a PR campaign or a genuine desire for change?
8) to put it mildly.
9) what incredible irony
10) this makes me want to puke in someone's face.
and the quotes to match them with...
A) "Before concluding our narrative, we offer a reminder, and an explanation, of the one period in which the government as a whole seemed to be acting in concert to deal with terrorism - the last weeks of December 1999 preceding the millennium."
B) "In chapter 4, we mentioned officials worriedly discussing, in 1998, reports that Bin Ladin's associates thought their leader was intent on carrying out a 'Hiroshima.'"
C) "Vague goals match an amorphous picture of the enemy. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are popularly described as being all over the world, adaptable, resilient, needing little higher-level organization, and capable of anything. The American people are thus given the picture of an omnipotent, unslayable hydra of destruction."
D) "...the administration, and the CIA in particular, was in the midst of intense scrutiny and criticism in May 1999 because faulty intelligence had just led the United States to mistakenly bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the NATO war against Serbia."
E) "American foreign policy is part of the message. America's policy choices have consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world. That does not mean U.S. choices have been wrong."
F) "...Berger recalled that to go to war, a president needs to be able to say that his senior intelligence and law enforcement officers have concluded who is responsible."
G) "In the nearly three years since 9/11, Americans have become better protected against terrorist attack. Some of the changes are due to government action, such as new precautions to protect aircraft. A portion can be attributed to the sheer scale of spending and effort. Publicity and the vigilance of ordinary Americans also make a difference. But the President and other officials acknowledge that although Americans may be safer, they are not safe."
H) "Officers at the CIA had worried that giving him a green light might cross the line into violation of the assassination ban."
I) "Allegations that the United States abused prisoners in its custody make it harder to build the diplomatic, political, and military alliances the government will need."
J) "The United States should rebuild the scholarship, exchange, and library programs that reach out to young people and offer them knowledge and hope. Where such assistance is provided, it should be identified as coming from the citizens of the United States."
isn't this so fun?
if people tie, whoever answered first wins.
i wrote a lot of things in the margins of this book. it started out with substantial criticism. toward the end of the book, i was so worn out and frustrated i started writing things like "UGH" instead of "this is a phrase used to justify new and creative ways of bending the constitution to the will of the executive."
so here's the game. can you match my vague margin note with the quote that inspired it? whoever wins gets to choose from this selection of prizes:
1) an edible american treat
2) a book on a political topic you'd like to learn more about but don't know where to start
3) a conversation with me about THIS book
if i was you, i'd pick number two. i tried to come up with a few options for different personality types. you have people that like to read. people that like to talk. and people that just like to win and want a treat. plus, i want to include those outside my baking radius.
let's play.
first, the margin notes:
1) ? wow.
2) ahh, i miss the days when we frowned on assassinations.
3) YES
4) what a great example of how rational our government is
5) and who painted that picture?
6) oh, so close
7) for crying out loud, is this a PR campaign or a genuine desire for change?
8) to put it mildly.
9) what incredible irony
10) this makes me want to puke in someone's face.
and the quotes to match them with...
A) "Before concluding our narrative, we offer a reminder, and an explanation, of the one period in which the government as a whole seemed to be acting in concert to deal with terrorism - the last weeks of December 1999 preceding the millennium."
B) "In chapter 4, we mentioned officials worriedly discussing, in 1998, reports that Bin Ladin's associates thought their leader was intent on carrying out a 'Hiroshima.'"
C) "Vague goals match an amorphous picture of the enemy. Al Qaeda and its affiliates are popularly described as being all over the world, adaptable, resilient, needing little higher-level organization, and capable of anything. The American people are thus given the picture of an omnipotent, unslayable hydra of destruction."
D) "...the administration, and the CIA in particular, was in the midst of intense scrutiny and criticism in May 1999 because faulty intelligence had just led the United States to mistakenly bomb the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during the NATO war against Serbia."
E) "American foreign policy is part of the message. America's policy choices have consequences. Right or wrong, it is simply a fact that American policy regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and American actions in Iraq are dominant staples of popular commentary across the Arab and Muslim world. That does not mean U.S. choices have been wrong."
F) "...Berger recalled that to go to war, a president needs to be able to say that his senior intelligence and law enforcement officers have concluded who is responsible."
G) "In the nearly three years since 9/11, Americans have become better protected against terrorist attack. Some of the changes are due to government action, such as new precautions to protect aircraft. A portion can be attributed to the sheer scale of spending and effort. Publicity and the vigilance of ordinary Americans also make a difference. But the President and other officials acknowledge that although Americans may be safer, they are not safe."
H) "Officers at the CIA had worried that giving him a green light might cross the line into violation of the assassination ban."
I) "Allegations that the United States abused prisoners in its custody make it harder to build the diplomatic, political, and military alliances the government will need."
J) "The United States should rebuild the scholarship, exchange, and library programs that reach out to young people and offer them knowledge and hope. Where such assistance is provided, it should be identified as coming from the citizens of the United States."
isn't this so fun?
if people tie, whoever answered first wins.
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