Too true...

ARE WE NOT MEN?

How the fuck does this happen? Or, more to the point, why did it happen?

When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling 'I've been on line since yesterday morning,'" she said. "They kept shopping."

What the hell is wrong with people? Will Wal-Mart be held liable for putting their employees in harms' way, for whipping customers up into a frothing rage at the prospect of getting an $800 plasma TV, and then not having safeguards in place to protect their underpaid associates? Will the customers themselves be held liable? Or is this just the requisite blood offering for the God of Always Low Prices™?

Just remember: He is a cruel and vengeful God.

ADDED: Our friends at Get Off The Internet have a selection of thoughtful and appropriate responses to the tragedy from the NY Daily News website. It gave me a lot to consider; for instance, did you know that it's all Obama's fault that this happened?

It's shit like this that has me welcoming the Apocalypse of 2012 with open arms.

OMG SO ADICTIVE LOLZ!!!1

I want a dog. A chihuahua.

Streaming .TV shows by Ustream
When I get back to my small flat, I want to hear somebody bark.

Found In A Fortune Cookie Yesterday

"Discontent is the first step

in the progress of a man or a nation."

Electioning

So I was in line at my polling place at 6:00, in the rain, sans coat or umbrella. Thankfully, a nice young lady was willing to share her umbrella, and we chatted quite a bit.

I finally voted at 8:30, and when I left, the lines were just as long as when I first got there, spanning three blocks. I'm glad I went early.

A Dutch radio reporter interviewed the people I was standing with and me, asking whether we believed that Virginia was going to go blue. The other folks were pretty confident it is going to -- I am less so, but I kept that to myself. Then the guy asked whether a McCain supporter would be comfortable declaring who they were going to support, and we all agreed no, at least not the area we were in, an urban area with a population which tends to be heavily African-American and college kids, along with single professionals such as myself. The reporter was last seen searching for someone who was going to vote for McCain. And by searching, I mean wandering away while yelling "WHO HERE'S GONNA VOTE FOR MCCAIN??"

Hugging All the Babies, Kissing All the Ladies

I find myself longing for it to be Wednesday morning. I am not a fan of suspense.

While I am invested in a candidate (guess which one), I find myself skeptical that anything will really change, even if he wins. It's pervasive political pessimism -- I blame Nixon, because honestly, why not? In general, I try to approach elections like I approach dating: cautious, if optimistic. And after the last presidential election, I can't even muster the optimism. I am not a fan of disappointment, especially when the repercussions are so brutal and far-reaching.

In honor of tomorrow, I present what amounts to an Election Day carol:

David Bowie: "Somebody Up There Likes Me"

Sing it with the rest of the family as you're watching election returns tomorrow!

I actually presented it in 2004, but I still love the song. What I said then:

This song always reminded me specifically of Clinton at his most beatific, but it can be applied most generally to any politician doing everything (s)he can to be elected into office... It's an awesome song, though. It's off the Young Americans album, and has a sort of spacey Philly International vibe, with Luther Vandross providing stellar back-up vocals.

Yes.

Things That Make Me Happy

It's another edition of things that make me happy! Brought to you by the Natural Life Food Company, a division of ChemGrow, an Allyn-Crane Acquisition, a part of the Squimm Group . Their motto is simple: “We keep you alive."

The Pipettes' "Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me" : Thank heaven for the skanky ass of Amy Winehouse: her successful use of the early 60's girl group sound has made it safe for others to follow. The Pipettes play it much straighter; occasionally, you can forget you're listening to something recorded recently, save for the lyrical content. This song in particular is a winner, alternating between sassy and beautiful (during the chorus and towards the end especially), with a winning tempo that just makes me want to dance. In fact, I used this song to warm me up a couple weeks ago at my cousins wedding; I was listening to my iPod and shaking my ass in between directing people where to park. It got me into a dancing mood.

I've always been a fan of girl groups: I have a boxed set of Lesley Gore, The Shangri-Las greatest hits, and I consider One Kiss Can Lead to Another: Girl Group Sounds Lost and Found collection every bit as vital as Nuggets.

(The Pipettes' manifesto is pretty enlightening, as well.)


Scary Foreign Movies : I celebrated this Halloween by watching a passel of foreign films, via Netflix. Partly this is because a friend of mine let me borrow his TV for a while, a TV that is significantly larger than my previous one, so that now I can actually read the subtitles from across the room. I started with Akira Kurosawa's Throne of Blood -- not exactly a horror movie, but it definitely is creepy, and has some supernatural bits. Then I watched Suspiria (Christ, the soundtrack music was overwhelming! Also, this movie might define the limits of my Sirk-inspired love for artificiality and stylization in movies); Godzilla in the original Japanese (I cried at the end; I love you, Dr. Serizawa!); and Mario Bava's Tre volti della paura (which I enjoyed very much, particularly the epilogue). Tonight I watch The Innocents, and then The Host, which I've put off watching for quite a while now, and then James Whale's Frankenstein movies, a Halloween (or in this case, post-Halloween) perennial! In the Netflix queue are several Mario Bava movies. Yay!

You'll notice that most of these movies are decades-old; this is because of my abiding pussy-itude. Seriously, I have a low tolerance for horror, and an even lower tolerance for gore.


More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman : Holy crap, is this book a riot. I swear to Jeebus, yesterday I was reading it at lunch, and I actually had to stop because I was embarrassed that I was laughing so hard. You begin reading, assuming that he's just goofing on everything, right? But slowly you notice that he seems to be creating an alternate world, a world where Jimmy Carter's nickname was Nutsy McMalaise; where feral troubadours prowl the wilderness, looking for cats to kill; where Richmond, VA, is rained upon with human teeth; where the 51st state, Hohoq (also known as Ar), travels the country by unknown means; where furry old lobsters (which actually look like otters) were hunted to extinction and supplanted by the non-furry variety; and where there is an entire shadow history of the United States populated by hobos. It's like magic realism or fantasy, presented as a sort of almanac. It rules.

It helps that I have a crush on John Hodgman. Seriously, when I see those Apple commercials, he makes me want to buy a PC. I have a thing for doughy guys with glasses.

Back From My Cruise...

...And all I have for you is this filler quiz.

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Simple, Progressive, and Sensual

Ukiyo-e (浮世絵, Ukiyo-e), "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of Japaneseand paintings produced between the 17th and the 20th centuries. it mostly featured landscapes, historic tales, theatre, and pleasure. Ukiyo is a rather impetuous urban culture that has bloomed in popularity. Although the Japanese were more strict and had many prohibitions it did not affect the rising merchant class and therefore became a floating art form that did not bind itself to the normal ideals of society.

People that chose Ukiyo-e art tend to be more simplistic yet elegant. They don't care much about new style but are comfortable in creating their own. They like the idea of living for the moment and enjoy giving and receiving pleasure. They may be more agreeable than other people and do not like to argue. They do not mind following traditions but are not afraid to move forward to experience other ideas in life. They tend to enjoy nature and the outdoors. They do not mind being more adventurous in their sexual experiences. They enjoy being popular and like being noticed. They have their own unique style of dress and of presenting themselves. They may also tend to be more business oriented or at the very least interested in money making adventures. They might make good entrepreneurs. They are progressive and adaptable.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

Via.

It's too early for this.

I am so tired; I should not have stayed up all night watching The Wire. I'm at Richmond International Airport -- I have a 6 o'clock flight to Rochester, NY, to attend my cousin's wedding. I'm hungry and tired and grumpy.

Commie Kitty is Live

Go here and justify my love! (Also, buy me a t-shirt!)

And, for a closer view, thanks to my good friend Stephen: YOU MUST CONTINUE TO STRUGGLE, COMRADE!!


A thing of beauty, indeed!

And to reinforce the association of librarians and Communism: THE RED LENDING MENACE!

The increased use of the library has been something that we have been noticing for several months now. Especially in the evenings, the computers are all being used, the tables are all occupied with students doing homework and adults on their wireless. People plant themselves at one of the back tables with their laptop in the morning and work on it the entire day. The other day, a tutor and a student had to drag a couple of the comfy chairs together because there was no place else for them to go in the library. Even within the time that I have worked here, there has been a marked increase in use.

I, too, like vodka.

Remember: Better read than dead!

Bill, Bills, Bills

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 4 or fewer people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

I'm a little surprised, if only because of my uncommon last name.

Via.

Happy Anniversary, Clark and Morticia

So, I'm another year older -- AND DEEPER IN DEBT! Yesterday was my, *cough*, 35th birthday, and boy isn't that terrific.

Not that I have any complaints about the day itself -- everyone at work seemed to be wishing me happy birthday, I got a lot of best wishes from my scattered friends via Facebook and MySpace. Jolie even sent me a card with dogs on it! (Hi, Jolie!) I got cookies and Play-Doh and Tootsie rolls as presents from my co-workers.

After work, I went out for sushi (a traditional Bill birthday celebration) with my friend Stephen -- he paid. Yay! Afterwards, we went to his place to hang out, watch "How I Met Your Mother," and eat carrot cake, and he gave me my birthday present: a framed print of the famous Hang In There, Baby poster, done in the style of Soviet propaganda, like this...

...only kittier.

It was originally my idea, and I was the one who did the translation, ("Вы должны продолжить бороться, товарищ" : "You must continue to struggle, comrade"), although I make no claims to the accuracy of the translation. Thank you, Google translation tool! Nevertheless, it looks fantabulous, with the hammer and sickle and the yelling kitty in a Stalin hat. I wish I could put a copy online, but Stephen made it for me, and it's not my place to post it online. When he finally creates a Cafe Press shop to sell it on T-shirts, I will be sure to post the link. I have the picture hanging in my office.

This rivals the birthday coconut (which I still have) in terms of cool birthday presents.

Dali Only Wishes He Were This Weird

People In The City

On Belle Isle again. I'm interested in the way architecture and landscape have a more fluid boundery here (in Virginia) than any other place I've lived. Probably just a matter of age; you see a boulder on a hill, chances are good it was once part of a building.

I'll Be Doggone

Last night I had a dream that my mother lost the dog, and I just got so angry that I started yelling at her. It was weird, apropos of nothing, and I figured just a symptom of my loneliness -- I really do wish I had a dog.

Tonight mom calls and tells me that last night, while she took the dogs out, Zoe suddenly disappeared. She couldn't find her, the dog wasn't responding to being called (which is not a surprise). So eventually my mom went to bed. A train passed by sometime during the night and honked its horn, which is very rare, and my mom became convinced that Zoe had been struck by the train. So, after a sleepless night, my mom climbed the embankment to see if Zoe was actually up there, but instead she only saw six deer grazing in the forest.

At the same time, my father drove around the neighborhood, calling for the dog. No luck there, either.

When they came home, they found her at the back door, waiting to be let in.


I couldn't bring myself to get mad or lecture my mother; she just sounded so exhausted.