Because if I really think about - Obama fits the debonair, perhaps even shady (i.e. Chicacgo) kind of president that ended up in jail and increased his popularity with pseudo-promises of ideals that often wins elections for presidents of the Galaxy in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy; and McCain is undoubtedly the trigger-happy, showmen (i.e. Palin) who would use a gimmick to boost his odds and then a steal something with guns on it directly after being elected.
Heh, I know I know. I'm waaaaaaaaay off base, right?
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Gym
Sooooo... the lesson borne out of moving this past month... well... wait, lessons... were 1) Have less stuff. Just... you (I) mean really? Do I really need all that? Probably not. 2) Keep your (my) opportunism in check! Because it's just plain stupid to try and buy all your furniture at the same time as first and last month's rent AND a deposit AND utilities AND their frackin' deposits.
Which is why I need to stop justifying my desire to get a gym membership. I mean, it breaks down pretty easily: Can you afford it? No. Okay, case closed. (This is why I married the particular Matt that I did... he asks these questions and comes to these conclusions) But I keep thinking, well when CAN we afford it? Cuz technically if I give up food for the next month we could probably cover it. No, I really do have a realistic dilemma- that is when we have sufficient funds to start health care... what will that mean? And how important does working out rank on the scale of priorities? I figure, if I'm in shape, I won't get sick and if I don't get sick we won't need to see the doctor as much and that saves... But then again, instead of paying for a gym membership we could just get health care and then get sick and see the doctor and not pay for it anyway. Or... I could just go for a run instead of the gym and pay for health care. OR!!! My husband could be come a personal trainer at the gym and get a FREE membership and a family discount! AND we could pay for health care! There, that wasn't such a waste of space. I feel better.
But as for "interesting observation" I went back and forth between disgust and misty eyes with all the posters plastered around... In the women's locker room there was one that said "Karen got back down o her weight in high school!" but right outside was one that said "Joan use exercise to recover from brain surgery" and "Frank can tie his shoes again!" I was so torn between whether I wanted to work out to look better or avoid dying. Apparently both are sufficient marketing ploys. Damn the man! I'm doing to make my next four meals completely of lard and egg yolks. That will show them I don't care. Oh wait... isn't that Atkins?
Which is why I need to stop justifying my desire to get a gym membership. I mean, it breaks down pretty easily: Can you afford it? No. Okay, case closed. (This is why I married the particular Matt that I did... he asks these questions and comes to these conclusions) But I keep thinking, well when CAN we afford it? Cuz technically if I give up food for the next month we could probably cover it. No, I really do have a realistic dilemma- that is when we have sufficient funds to start health care... what will that mean? And how important does working out rank on the scale of priorities? I figure, if I'm in shape, I won't get sick and if I don't get sick we won't need to see the doctor as much and that saves... But then again, instead of paying for a gym membership we could just get health care and then get sick and see the doctor and not pay for it anyway. Or... I could just go for a run instead of the gym and pay for health care. OR!!! My husband could be come a personal trainer at the gym and get a FREE membership and a family discount! AND we could pay for health care! There, that wasn't such a waste of space. I feel better.
But as for "interesting observation" I went back and forth between disgust and misty eyes with all the posters plastered around... In the women's locker room there was one that said "Karen got back down o her weight in high school!" but right outside was one that said "Joan use exercise to recover from brain surgery" and "Frank can tie his shoes again!" I was so torn between whether I wanted to work out to look better or avoid dying. Apparently both are sufficient marketing ploys. Damn the man! I'm doing to make my next four meals completely of lard and egg yolks. That will show them I don't care. Oh wait... isn't that Atkins?
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Desertification
As I continue to educate myself on the woes of the world, I am compelled to journal/blog about it a little more.
You may see some added links at the bottom of this post throughout the day as I am finding many interesting articles.
I guess I ought to start by retracting that "woes of the world" statement... it's kind of silly to say that. And with the programs I've been reading about and the growing number of people becoming savvy to possibly ways of reversing issues such as deforestation, I am more hopeful and excited than ever before.
Today I read about the Billion Trees Campaign from Ten's Innovations. This kind of project could change the climate of an entire continent, for the better! Have you ever looked at the Google Earth pictures of Africa? Not all of that used to be sand colored.... I was actually trying to find the street I lived on last year in Shanghai and the satellite photos just weren't clear enough for me to navigate the city- it was too darn smoggy. Point being, we don't really have much excuse to claim ignorance to the changing face of our planet- there are images of the repercussion of our exploitation of land in other places is hardly invisible.
Forgive me, you adventurers who are glimpsing my blog, for embedding the very videos I may have shared with you on your own blogs not too long ago. I think this video is particularly good because we don't always understand how desertification happens and this breaks it down into bite size processing chunks:
Deforestation / Reforestation from Chronicle Project on Vimeo
More videos are available for this particular project at EdenProjects.org
I will be writing more. But I'm getting hungry... I'll be back, with more links to share with the blog world out there on the topics of desertification and reforestation.
You may see some added links at the bottom of this post throughout the day as I am finding many interesting articles.
I guess I ought to start by retracting that "woes of the world" statement... it's kind of silly to say that. And with the programs I've been reading about and the growing number of people becoming savvy to possibly ways of reversing issues such as deforestation, I am more hopeful and excited than ever before.
Today I read about the Billion Trees Campaign from Ten's Innovations. This kind of project could change the climate of an entire continent, for the better! Have you ever looked at the Google Earth pictures of Africa? Not all of that used to be sand colored.... I was actually trying to find the street I lived on last year in Shanghai and the satellite photos just weren't clear enough for me to navigate the city- it was too darn smoggy. Point being, we don't really have much excuse to claim ignorance to the changing face of our planet- there are images of the repercussion of our exploitation of land in other places is hardly invisible.
Forgive me, you adventurers who are glimpsing my blog, for embedding the very videos I may have shared with you on your own blogs not too long ago. I think this video is particularly good because we don't always understand how desertification happens and this breaks it down into bite size processing chunks:
Deforestation / Reforestation from Chronicle Project on Vimeo
More videos are available for this particular project at EdenProjects.org
I will be writing more. But I'm getting hungry... I'll be back, with more links to share with the blog world out there on the topics of desertification and reforestation.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Band Aids
I saw a guy with a band aid on his head, yesterday. He was Black and with a large group of homeless men of color. At first I saw the band aid on his head and thought he had cut himself and the raw skin was showing through- but then I realized it was one of this big H-shaped band aids you put on bigger cuts. It stuck out on his head- it was very obvious.
In a split second I came the conclusion that band aids were made for White people and that doesn't seem right. I cut the thought off thinking that was a little stupid and probably borne out of my tendency as a Sociology student to see race and class disparity in everything... but the logic of my conclusion stuck. I tried to explain it to Matt, just now, and here is what I came up with:
Band Aids are generally made to be "flesh colored" and it makes economic sense that the actual flesh-color chosen is that of more Caucasian tone, because Caucasians are the majority. Thus, Band Aids ARE made for white people. But is that wrong? I considered the reasoning for the flesh-color dye as opposed to a bleached white surface. I think that they are made to flesh-colored so that they blend in. But is this necessary? Only if there is an advantage to hiding your wounds- perhaps obvious injury is unsightly or offensive in some way; perhaps because it could mean you made a mistake and, thus, hurt yourself; maybe because you run the risk of being assessed as physically inadequate for... well, something. There is a social advantage to hiding, or at least avoiding unwanted attention to, an injury. At the very least we can say that this is true in the "white culture" because it is marketed that way.
But the fact that the majority of Band Aids are made this way still doesn't make a whole lot of sense because I think there is an argument to be made for the demographic that injuries actually occur to. Injuries happen when we face hazards, and, I speculate, the the majority of minority men work in semi-hazardous environments as opposed to the majority of White men. Now, it makes sense that the White men in hazardous jobs outnumber the men of color in hazardous jobs, but I don't think that's true... in fact, I'll do some research to verify that but I'm pretty sure that it was presented in a class I had last year that they are nearly even (if only white men versus all other men of color).
So... I'm just gonna end this post here, because it's been sitting in my draft section for a while. But it was an interesting observation I thought worth noting.
In a split second I came the conclusion that band aids were made for White people and that doesn't seem right. I cut the thought off thinking that was a little stupid and probably borne out of my tendency as a Sociology student to see race and class disparity in everything... but the logic of my conclusion stuck. I tried to explain it to Matt, just now, and here is what I came up with:
Band Aids are generally made to be "flesh colored" and it makes economic sense that the actual flesh-color chosen is that of more Caucasian tone, because Caucasians are the majority. Thus, Band Aids ARE made for white people. But is that wrong? I considered the reasoning for the flesh-color dye as opposed to a bleached white surface. I think that they are made to flesh-colored so that they blend in. But is this necessary? Only if there is an advantage to hiding your wounds- perhaps obvious injury is unsightly or offensive in some way; perhaps because it could mean you made a mistake and, thus, hurt yourself; maybe because you run the risk of being assessed as physically inadequate for... well, something. There is a social advantage to hiding, or at least avoiding unwanted attention to, an injury. At the very least we can say that this is true in the "white culture" because it is marketed that way.
But the fact that the majority of Band Aids are made this way still doesn't make a whole lot of sense because I think there is an argument to be made for the demographic that injuries actually occur to. Injuries happen when we face hazards, and, I speculate, the the majority of minority men work in semi-hazardous environments as opposed to the majority of White men. Now, it makes sense that the White men in hazardous jobs outnumber the men of color in hazardous jobs, but I don't think that's true... in fact, I'll do some research to verify that but I'm pretty sure that it was presented in a class I had last year that they are nearly even (if only white men versus all other men of color).
So... I'm just gonna end this post here, because it's been sitting in my draft section for a while. But it was an interesting observation I thought worth noting.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Shoot at URM today
I just have a few things to say very quickly, before I forget.
Today was an interesting day. We filmed some stories at Union Rescue Mission and it was my first time on Skid Row. Like most people who venture into that area of LA I was shocked by the juxtaposition of the districts. Literally a few hundred yards (if not less) from Little Tokyo, a popular tourist site, the edge of Skid Row begins. This is not necessarily marked by geographical border or particular street- the change happens abruptly. On your way in you see people walking with their satchels or purses; by the time you pass the Little Tokyo City Lofts people on the sidewalks are no longer walking. They are sitting or laying down with packed duffel bags or suitcases. You don't see shopping carts very often- apparently it's illegal to be walking around downtown LA with a cart larger than X by X feet (which, incidentally, qualifies all shopping carts, but not totes or dorky backpacks with wheels.) This seems to immobilize the population on the these streets even more... the sudden halt of motion on the sidewalks is a little jarring. But think about, being in motion is a sign of privilege- the speed at which we get from point A to point B is an indicator of our privilege (who is usually speeding on the highway... the chick in the BMW?), the amount of motion our bodies are capable of shows off our healthy state (we can afford doctors and preemptive check-ups), and the mode by which we exercise our motion puts us in another category altogether (who walks? who takes the bus? the train? their own car?)... I'm not saying this because we ought to feel guilty about our social location (-if you're reading this, I'd bet money you fall into middle class-); but I was definitely struck by amount of privilege I had in contrast to those that were lying down.
I have much more to say... but I just really wanted to jot down some things that I noticed about where I was. In Union Rescue Mission - every single person that walked by addressed me and said "hello". Not in a passing or out of politeness- they would stop, see me, and say things like, "How are you, miss?" "Hey, babygirl, how are you today?" "Hiya, Darlin', are you sitting here by yourseld?" "Are you going to be the cute girl they put in front of the camera, doin' all the talking?" I mean, in teh 10 minutes I sat in the hallway to "guard" out stuff, I had two dozen "hellos" like this.Each one acknowledging that I was in their presence, that they were in mine, that they saw me and noticed that I was a girl, I was alone, I was a new person, and even that I was cute! Why, of all places in the world, have I never experienced a reality like that? Over and over again, my presence and the importance of it was confirmed....
And another thing. This place, URM , it was filled with laughter. Every person walking down a hall, especially the ones who weren't in button-up shirts or blouses, laughed. They smiled when they saw other people, they found a reason to laugh and to get the other person laughing.
Scattered thoughts! Lots of work to get done. That's all for now.
Today was an interesting day. We filmed some stories at Union Rescue Mission and it was my first time on Skid Row. Like most people who venture into that area of LA I was shocked by the juxtaposition of the districts. Literally a few hundred yards (if not less) from Little Tokyo, a popular tourist site, the edge of Skid Row begins. This is not necessarily marked by geographical border or particular street- the change happens abruptly. On your way in you see people walking with their satchels or purses; by the time you pass the Little Tokyo City Lofts people on the sidewalks are no longer walking. They are sitting or laying down with packed duffel bags or suitcases. You don't see shopping carts very often- apparently it's illegal to be walking around downtown LA with a cart larger than X by X feet (which, incidentally, qualifies all shopping carts, but not totes or dorky backpacks with wheels.) This seems to immobilize the population on the these streets even more... the sudden halt of motion on the sidewalks is a little jarring. But think about, being in motion is a sign of privilege- the speed at which we get from point A to point B is an indicator of our privilege (who is usually speeding on the highway... the chick in the BMW?), the amount of motion our bodies are capable of shows off our healthy state (we can afford doctors and preemptive check-ups), and the mode by which we exercise our motion puts us in another category altogether (who walks? who takes the bus? the train? their own car?)... I'm not saying this because we ought to feel guilty about our social location (-if you're reading this, I'd bet money you fall into middle class-); but I was definitely struck by amount of privilege I had in contrast to those that were lying down.
I have much more to say... but I just really wanted to jot down some things that I noticed about where I was. In Union Rescue Mission - every single person that walked by addressed me and said "hello". Not in a passing or out of politeness- they would stop, see me, and say things like, "How are you, miss?" "Hey, babygirl, how are you today?" "Hiya, Darlin', are you sitting here by yourseld?" "Are you going to be the cute girl they put in front of the camera, doin' all the talking?" I mean, in teh 10 minutes I sat in the hallway to "guard" out stuff, I had two dozen "hellos" like this.Each one acknowledging that I was in their presence, that they were in mine, that they saw me and noticed that I was a girl, I was alone, I was a new person, and even that I was cute! Why, of all places in the world, have I never experienced a reality like that? Over and over again, my presence and the importance of it was confirmed....
And another thing. This place, URM , it was filled with laughter. Every person walking down a hall, especially the ones who weren't in button-up shirts or blouses, laughed. They smiled when they saw other people, they found a reason to laugh and to get the other person laughing.
Scattered thoughts! Lots of work to get done. That's all for now.
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