to read.

trying to keep The Team of People Assigned to Monitoring My Internet Activity busy, that's all.

"Early in the 1950s, Saadat Hasan Manto, arguably Pakistan's greatest prose writer, defined, almost inadvertently, a type of 'Ugly American' that the Cold War would fix in popular imaginations across Asia: the representative of the world's greatest superpower who, though superficially friendly and generous, pursues America's national interest at the expense of all other concerns; an often blundering figure who never ceases, while leaving destruction and chaos in his wake, to claim the highest virtue for his deeds. American cultural cold warriors, then clustered at a U.S. Information Services (USIS) offices, had approached Manto with a lucrative commission - write a short story for publication in an Urdu journal they subsidized - after he publicly ridiculed Pakistani camp followers of Stalin. Spurned by non-aligned India, the United States was trying to persuade Pakistan's generals, along with artists and writers, into joining its anti-Soviet crusade. The famously mercurial Manto insisted on taking less money than was offered by the Americans and then submitted, in place of the promised short story, a caustic 'Letter to Uncle Sam,' mocking America's claims to moral superiority over the Soviet Union."

"Dear Uncle," Manto wrote in one of the letters, "My admiration and respect for you are going up at about the same rate as your progress towards a decision to grant military aid to Pakistan."

from an article by Pankaj Mishra, titled "Dear Uncle Sam...Why do India and Pakistan see America in such opposite ways?"

to-do list.

- watch the last three republican debates.

- read the president's job speech.

- finish reading 1984.

- blog about how it IS 1984. try not to sound crazy, but then remember: "Perhaps a lunatic is simply a minority of one."

- finish this truly awful issue of a magazine, Foreign Policy. they tricked me by naming it after my favorite subject. they filled it with LIES.

- broaden my horizons.

- muster enough courage to kill the spider on the porch without my roommate noticing. she builds unhealthy relationships with them. but THEY build webs of destruction and try to kill you.

- watch a lot of gilmore girls. why?

lorelai: rory, stop studying before jess gets here. boys like 'em dumb, right jackson?
jackson: right. if you can navigate yourself around a tree, keep on walking!

lorelai: give me half of the danish, and some of your coffee.
rory: you can have the danish, but i'm keeping the coffee.
lorelai: what is a danish without coffee?
rory: the eternal question springs up again.
lorelai: sad danish. lonely danish. step-danish.

luke: there are no stupid questions.
lorelai: how does ink come out of pens??
luke: i take it back.

mr. gilmore: i'm still waiting for the inner workings of a frog's intestinal system to be of use to me in my work in the insurance industry.

what do you mean WHY?

- don't get the flu shot. or the flu. i'm probably at a higher risk now that i don't have children sneezing on me all the time. my immune system used to be k-i-l-l-e-r. i've weakened in my cubicle.

- embrace more technology. warily. the fact is i've had this desktop computer for 6 years. a laptop may be in order. but don't even talk to be about a mac or an ipad or this.

- be still, and know that He is God.

fleeting.

today i told a coworker he is easy prey for a tyrannical government. 8 hours later, and i'm still laughing about that. the things that come out of my mouth these days.

he is, though.

on my drive to work today i thought too much about the un-merits of school zones.

remember that experiment that was done on college students several decades ago? "they" created a fake jail and assigned some students to be pretend inmates, and some people to be pretend wardens. by the end of the experiment, the power had gone to the fake warden's heads and they were literally abusing the fake prisoners. it is the nature of man to react in such a corrupt way to power.

so it is with school zone guards.

give them a stop sign and a vest, and they think they can make you go 5mph. i'm sorry, but the cone clearly states 15mph. there aren't any children in sight. there's not even a school in sight. calm it down.

how about we teach the children not to run around in the streets. look both ways before crossing. is that not a lesson we teach children anymore? nobody ever ran over ME with a car.

i wonder what it will be like to be china's slaves.

another day in the life of America. observe.

our credit rating was downgraded by standard and poor's. because of our massive amount of debt. among other political problems.

so the most rational response:

accuse the people who downgraded our credit rating…of insider trading.

that’ll fix everything.

no one will think we’re arrogant bullies who can’t face their problems and be held accountable for our crumbling economic system. nooooo. everything’s fine. nothing to see here, folks. america is above reproach.

i hope my debt is paid off by the time america falls flat on its face, so it can’t take me down with it.

be warned.

sometimes i feel like i'm the only person who is aware that there are, wait for it...

other people in the world.

i'm the only one to stop dead in my tracks at the grocery store (or jump out of the way, swerve dangerously, etc) because of people barreling forward without a clue that they're about to run into someone. or they just expect everyone else to move?

and on the road it's even worse. people need into my lane, but expect me to adjust MY speed, so i slam on the brakes to make room for them.

or turn left in front of me on a road i'm already driving on. if i have to slow down for you to turn left, there wasn't enough time for you to turn left...and you should have waited. but you can't see me. i'm invisible. there are no other people in the world.

well i've made a decision.

when i'm old and i have lived a long, happy life...

i'm not getting out of the way.

you can crash into me at the grocery store. your eggs will fall the ground and break. your baby will cry.

and on my way home, i'm not getting out of your way on the road either. we'll collide. and i'll die. and you'll learn your lesson, because...

you just killed an old lady.

draught.

y'all seriously need to jump on the glenn greenwald bandwagon with me:

"There are reports this morning that a NATO airstrike killed (another) one of Gadaffi's sons in Libya, so we'll be able to have some collective celebration to keep our minds off little things like the collapsing economy. It is telling indeed how virtually all political good news -- all national celebrations -- now involve America's ability to kill the latest Bad Guy. One benefit of Endless War is that it distracts the citizens' attention away from what is being done to them at home and makes them cheer for the leaders who are doing it to them."

yes, please.

i went to a "music listening" party last night. everyone brings a song to share. this is the song i brought. it will seem like i picked it because it's political, but that is false. i like it for other reasons.


If you're going to lead my country,
If you're gonna say it's free
I'm gonna need
a little honesty

Just a few honest words
It shouldn't be that hard
Just a few honest words
Is all I need

I don't need no handshake
No firm look in the eye
Don't tell me what you think I,
I ought to hear

I don't need no high life
No fancy premiers
Just tell me what you really think
Without fear

Just a few honest words
It shouldn't be that hard
Just a few honest words
Is all I need

Love is a bitter food
You've learned to eat
You still don't know
Where it grows

And our love of freedom
Holds a veil over our eyes
Rights that are given
Can be taken away

Just a few honest words
It shouldn't be that hard
Just a few honest words
Is all I need

We don't choose our leaders
They choose themselves
Tell me again
About democracy