When making weekend plans with a classmate of Nefarious’s, they mentioned they were moving today. The good news is that they’re our new next door neighbors! In other five year old news we got some new books as a reward for her improvements in reading skill — The Woman Who Married a Bear was a big hit, and definitely a book I’d recommend for kids of her age or a little older. Tomorrow I think we’re off to see how the animals at the zoo are preparing for winter…
I mentioned in the previous entry how much I like Talk Talk‘s Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock, the so-called heroin albums, but I think that my current favorite album and top album of 2008 by a long shot has to be Spiritualized‘s Songs in A&E, which I’m sure has plenty of morphine and opiates influencing it as well… I hate to say it, because obviously heroin does so much damage to people’s lives, but in terms of its musical influence it’s easily my “favorite drug“. As to my personal preference? “No comment!”
Nefarious and I got fresh fish today, as in freshly killed. Got to watch the trout being smashed over the head with a giant hammer and twitch about while it was being cleaned, which she found completely fascinating. Later while we were at the pool (which was a good day because another kid her age was there too for her to play with) Caitlin started the meal so I’m looking forward to a delicious feast, and then an evening of entertainment, which I expect will be metaphorically similar to the fish killing we watched earlier.
…I could never forgive them for the death of my boy. It seems to me our mission to escort the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council to a peace summit is problematic at best. Spock says this could be an historic occasion, and I’d like to believe him, but how on earth can history get past people like me?
I watched a great pro-Obama union speech about racism, and from that followed a link to the video below, which makes the point that John McCain’s relatively unrepentant racist statements — ie. “I hate the gooks. I will hate them as long as I live.” — are deeply problematic, and more so than just the subtle (and overt) racism that’s a part of mainstream American culture.
It’s not just that he’s using a racist term… Gook isn’t a word like “nigger” (a derogatory word wrapped up in the subjugation of blacks by whites), but is a specific wartime slur that is directly associated with the concept of genocide. That is, it implies not just a prevalence for racist thinking, but a desire for racial genocide. At a time in America’s history where there is a pathological fear of Arab culture, this is definitely not the subconscious foundation that America’s foreign relations should be built on.
I almost got perfect on Simple Man, which is pretty easy to play, but still, one missed note off placed me at #343 in the world-wide rankings (which is pretty good) instead of the top ten. Next time, perfect. I don’t write about it much, but one of the reasons that I enjoy Rock Band and Guitar Hero is that because they require focus of a cross-section of brain areas is that they are pretty good at distracting from neuropathic pain, so when I’m a little more sore than usual, it’s really helpful on a therapeutic level.
I went swimming after school (as we do most days). We built a “canoe” by tying flotation noodles together, and then had underwater swimming races diving for my keys. Nefarious can swim very fast under water, and impressively far… We also found one of her school friends that can also swim, so hopefully they’ll be able to have a swimming play date soon. I fired up my rice cooker while we were in the pool and made a whole bunch of red cargo rice which has a really nice nutty flavor.
Sort of rambling aimlessly here — at first I didn’t like it, but I’ve gotten to really enjoy the zen of the earth visualization that the PS3 displays while it’s playing music (we listened to Talk Talk’s Spirit of Eden)… I wish it had full zoom, or better yet, live weather. Some sort of Google Earth type tool for the PS3 would be a real killer ap (and done right, educational).
Not that there aren’t an endless number of insane Palin clips, but that one is great, because she reveals that she has no idea where the Gaza Strip is or what Hamas is (or that Iran is a democracy). From an entertainment point of view I’d sort of like to see her become president, but I can’t imagine what a shocking trainwreck it would turn out to be.
Caitlin made me the richest most illness inducing (in a good way) cake I’ve ever had I think. It’s a chocolate cake using — I’m guessing — about two dozen Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups chopped up and stuck to the icing. Intense to say the least.
Seriously, damn!
That was yesterday. Today she had to work through supper, so I cooked a meal that Nefarious and I love, but Caitlin despises — OKRA. In this case, okra and shrimp and brown rice (and a few assorted veggies) in a fig sauce. I also cooked blueberry and currant muffins because I found out today that it’s my day to provide snacks at Nefarious’s school — I guess I’m one of the parents that they know they can pretty much always rely on for last minute tasks (which I don’t mind at all).
Time to relax now with some mindless TV… I watch far too much television I think, enjoying Terminator, Heroes, House, Survivor, and 90210, and when the seasons start, add Dexter and Big Brother (as well as The Daily Show and The Colbert Report of course)… If there’s a good show that’s not on that list, seriously, seriously, please don’t tell me. I’m better off blissfully ignorant.
That said, the TV that I’m most looking forward to this week is most definitely the Vice Presidential debates on Thursday. Please oh please let it be as hilarious a trainwreck as I think it will be. I’m sort of thinking though that they’re going to toss Palin off the ticket at the last moment and swap in Liberman or Romney and somehow pull a believable win out of their hats rigged voting machines.
