I don't know whether...
...to be more disheartened or more pissed off.
This op/ed article appeared in the NY Times this weekend:
Idealogy and AIDSAllowing drug users to trade used needles for clean ones gets dangerous needles off the street and minimizes needle sharing. A proven weapon against AIDS transmission, it has not been shown to increase drug use, and indeed may reduce drug addiction by providing a way to talk to drug users and lead them to treatment. It is endorsed by virtually every mainstream public health group.
...
Opponents of needle exchanges, mainly among the religious right, argue that the practice muddies the message that illegal drug use is unacceptable, and keeps drug abusers from suffering the consequences of their addiction. By this twisted logic, doctors should refuse to treat lung cancer in smokers. In any case, AIDS infections from sharing needles are not limited to drug users. They infect sexual partners, spreading the epidemic through societies.
Well, no more funding for comprehensive sex education, and now a potential loss of needle exchange programs? Apparently AIDS really must be a curse for the wicked, a punishment for sins, a scourge upon the unrighteous, as only those who agree to live by the neo-con, ueber-fundie, morally superior right's system of beliefs are worthy of being spared.
Brief follow-up
Here is an article that's a brief follow-up to the story I posted a couple of weeks ago about the baby hippo that bonded to a tortoise (
link).
Since I'm too dumb today to think of my own ideas...
I'm having one of those days. I can't type, can't speak, can't articulate points, can't work my computer, can't eat without spilling on myself (yes, yes, many of you are trying to figure out how this day is any different than a normal day for me, i know, i know...)...
I am currently eating an orange that has the most overstuffed slices I've ever seen. Each slice looks ready to burst. I almost fear picking them up, as even the slightest pressure might induce orange guts spraying everywhere (and in light of this day, that just might happen!). I bought this plumptastic orange from a schizophrenic at the Pop N Go, which happens to be my favorite place is this stupid, stupid building.
ANYWAY, on to something interesting...I snagged this from
Digital Digressions.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it:
1.Grab the nearest book.
2.Open the book to page 123.
3.Find the fifth full sentence.
4.Post the text of the sentence in your blog/journal along with these instructions.
5.Don’t search around and look for the “coolest” book you can find. Do what’s actually next to you.
(you can also post the sentence in the comments here, as I would be curious to see what others find).
So, here is mine. It's from Salman Rushdie's
The Ground Beneath Her Feet:
The music offered the tantalising possibility of being borne on the waves of sound through the curtain of maya that supposedly limits our knowing, through the gates of perception to the divine melody beyond.
Your turn.
Let me rant for a moment
I'm not sure why this has popped in my head today, as it was something that occurred to me (again) several nights ago while hanging out with some friends, but...here it is, and I feel the need to rant a moment.
I am now a person of some strong opinions. This has not always been the case, and it's something that I'm still relatively new at (in other words, I'm not one to voice them THAT often, unless I know that just about everyone agrees with me already).
I am person in a long-term relationship, and it can be said with certainty that Jon and I share MANY of the same opinions regarding movies, music, politics, literature, etc etc etc.
In general, Jon has stronger opinions about most things than I do (or is at least more likely to be vocal about his opinions). This is good for me, as often, he is being vocal for my opinions too.
HOWEVER, I find that most people - and I'm not just referring to people we've just met - tend to assume that his opinions are mine (and probably vice versa, which is worse for him than for me. after all, people will assume he likes Bon Jovi too).
THIS REALLY BUGS ME!!!!!!
It's not even that they're wrong. More often than not, it's a good assumption (and often when it's not, it's just that I don't have an opinion yet on the subject). And it's not that any of Jon's opinions are those that I would NOT want to have for some reason. I guess it's just that it's easier to assume, and people are lazy. I'm sure Jon gets the same thing from people who know him through me (such as my friends from college). They're likely to assume that he thinks what I think, to which I say to Jon, I'm sorry about that :).
Since living together, I naively assumed that this would be different; We no longer have lives separated by 4 hours in the car, where he has his friends, i have my friends, and the only overlap is us. I don't know if his experience is the same as mine (and I'm pretty certain that chances are, he doesn't care even if it is).
Anyway, as I said before, in most cases, it's safe to assume away, because probability states that you'll be right in assuming I agree in full with Jon. And I will continue to use his vastly superior ability to argue the opinions that he and I share, whilst I hone my mad skills at talking constantly without really saying anything at all, and everyone will be happy as usual. I just needed to vent for a brief moment.
For Sale...Again
I don't remember if I already mentioned this (and I'm too lazy to go back and figure it out now), but our landlords have decided to sell the house we live in. Suddenly, I'm experiencing a mad case of deja vu (pardon the lack of correct accents there..don't know how to type in french). On the plus side, we have a duplex, so one half of the place has to be rented out one way or another. As our upstairs neighbors are moving out, that gives us a chance of being able to just keep our lease with new landlords. This would be a good thing.
In the mean time...
The realitors are showing the place throughout the week, interrupting Jon's attempts to get work done and making Pancho even more neurotic than he already is. There is a lockbox on our front door now and a 'For Sale' sign in the front yard (as of yesterday).
When I got home and took Pancho out last night, the first thing he did was pee on it. Good dog. :) :)
big news of the day
Though most of you have probably already heard, I figured I would post the article anyway about the
Death of Hunter Thompson.
Thompson, whose works included "Hell's Angels," "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" and "Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72," which chronicled the race between Richard Nixon and George McGovern, was a well-known firearms aficionado who took frequent target practice in his backyard. In 2000, he slightly wounded an assistant while trying to shoot a bear on his property.
Soon to be fixed?
Well, being a mutant has not granted me any special powers. Perhaps it helped me to crest hte 5 foot mark in height, but other than that, all it has gotten me is two pinched nerves and several angry muscles in my back. GRRR!!!
However, in 3-4 weeks, I should be totally fixed! Well, at least according to my chiropractor. While I have high hopes, they're not quite THAT high. However, it's nice to have an enthusiastic doc for a change, and one who even talks to me like I'm a quasi-intelligent life form (read: is not patronizing!).
So, for the next 3-4 weeks it's ice twice a day and two visits a week to the back-cracking-enthuso-doc. Will keep you posted on whether back-cracking-enthuso-doc can deliver on his promises to have me 'as good as new'.
Tales of a Sunday Trek
I have now stood at the highest point in the state of Pennsylvania (technically, I have stood 50 feet ABOVE the highest NATURAL point on a rickety, rusty old tower, whose stability was in question, but which proved to be durable enough in the end).
This point would be
Mt. Davis, at the pinnacle of Negro Mountain (elevation 3213 feet). From this towering vantage point (is it just me, or does that seem low to be the highest point in a state that has mountains??? Isn't the Sears Tower that tall??), we could see into Maryland and across many miles of Pennsylvania.
Despite being able to drive right to the tower, we (myself and he who shall henceforth be known as "the white shadow') opted to park about a mile out and follow a trail (basically, a frozen over creek bed) through the treetops (an ice storm in 2002 knocked down the top halves of all the trees, so we really were walking through the treetops) and through varying depths of snow to our destination. By the time we go there, my pants were wet up to the knee from the snow, but it was a beautiful, sunny, not terribly cold day.
Being there made me think of all the cool little places that aren't well travelled. Sure, this was no Grand Canyon or Niagra Falls, but I've found that most of the best places to visit are the places that aren't that obvious.
So, anyone have any suggestions of other such areas to explore??
Post-hike, the white shadow and I continued on our way to other exotic and daring places (like Latrobe, PA and the Westmoreland Mall!!!). It's rare that I can wake up and be out the door by 8 am on a weekend and be able to say that it was definitely worth it.
Rated NC-17
I came across
this article today about actor Tom Sizemore failing a drug test. Okay, nothing terribly exciting. However, for reasons unbeknownst to me (seriously), I kept reading and the following part of the article intrigued me:
Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Robert Cha told Celebrity Justice that authorities had recovered from Sizemore a prosthetic penis attached to a pair of men's underwear holding a container filled with clean urine.
The device, sold on the Internet under the name "The Whizzinator," is often used to try and falsify drug test results. It retails for $150 and comes complete with dehydrated urine and heat packs designed to keep the sample at the proper temperature.
The Whizzinator???
So...I looked it up, and
here is the official website for The Whizzinator.
AND, a picture!!!
I love that it comes in many ethnic varieties (I could have been really lewd and said 'flavors'). There is a range of sking colors from
White:
to Black:
I wish I could say this was unbelievable, but sadly, I'm not terribly surprised.
There are no words...
Droopy-pants Bill Dropped in VA Senate
The bill, which would have slapped a $50 fine on people who wear their pants so low that their underwear is visible in "a lewd or indecent manner," passed the state House on Tuesday but was killed by a Senate committee two days later in a unanimous vote.
...
"If people in Florida can wear bikinis, a little underwear showing isn't going to hurt anybody," 17-year-old Elvyn Shaw said.
Stunning argument.
While in general I oppose laws of this nature, it still would have made me happy on some level. :)
Return of the Schna-di
I have returned from the lovely (note sarcasm) St. Louis. Highlights of the week:
- The conference was great and my poster session went very well. Woo hoo, go me!
- I ate and ate and ate........you get the idea. LOTS of good food, including Thai, pizza, burgers, Sushi (I'm addicted, I love it!), Slingers (mmm, slingers...*drool*), and probably a whole box of frozen thin mints (mmm, girl scouts....*drool*).
- I went to both the Tap Room AND Growlers, both in the same night. The beer at the Tap Room was rather tastey, but our waitress was really crabby and brought us our check before we even had a chance to order another round. Stupid waitress. SO, we went to Growlers where I proceeded to drink and eat some more.
- I got to play a video came which involved trying to produce the largest car accident possible in various situations. Crashing a fire truck into an intersection full of cars (or the side of a flammable tanker truck) is really more fun than it should be. :)
- Despite being on a "business trip", I had the chance to hang out with friends I don't get to see often enough, AND Jon was able to come out for the weekend too, so it was a micro-vacation for us.
And now for some news that is not about ME:
Florida Man Charged with Biting Head Off of Bird
Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said witnesses told deputies that the off-duty Coates was at a party early Sunday when he took the Quaker parrot, valued at $200, off someone else's shoulder, put the bird's head in his mouth and bit it off.
Oh the bad things that can happen at Super Bowl parties (or just in general when you mix stupid people with alcohol).
Speaking of mixing stupid people with alcohol...
Well, at Least He Won't Be Fathering More Fans...
LONDON (Reuters) - A Welsh rugby fan cut off his own testicles to celebrate Wales beating England at rugby, the Daily Mirror reported Tuesday.
Geoff Huish, 26, was so convinced England would win Saturday's match he told fellow drinkers at a social club, "If Wales win I'll cut my balls off," the paper said.
Friends at the club in Caerphilly, south Wales, thought he was joking.
But after the game Huish went home, severed his testicles with a knife, and walked 200 yards back to the bar with the testicles to show the shocked drinkers what he had done.
Huish was taken to hospital where he remained in serious condition, the paper said.
Wales's 11-9 victory over England at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was their first home win over England in 12 years.
News news news
Today is my last day in town until the evening of Jon's birthday (which is also Superbowl Sunday, but I don't care much about that really, now that the Steelers are out). ANYWAY...here are a smattering of news stories for your enjoyment:
WEIRD NEWS
Buffalo Roams Into Center's Dressing Room
RAPID CITY, S.D. - A buffalo that escaped from an auction ended up in a dressing room at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center where it spent a couple of hours staring into a mirror.
Animal rights activist auctions tattoo
The founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's biggest animal rights group, is auctioning off a lizard tattoo on her right arm -- with proceeds going to the charity.
*shudder* I find this rather disgusting.
"Ooh, what a lovely lizard purse that is."
"Oh yes, it's made from genuine tatooed old lady skin."
BASEBALL NEWS
Baseball Union OKs Sosa Trade to Orioles
Bye bye Sammy. My feelings on the Sosa trade are far from mixed. I think it's the best thing for the Cubs at this point. Sosa has never been my favorite player, and he has burned too many bridges with his manager, his team, and the fans. HOWEVER, I do recognize and appreciate what he has meant to the Cubs as a team. It's just his time to go and for the Cubs to move on to a new era, so to speak. I also think that Baltimore is getting a good thing in Sosa. He has some production left in him (and who knows what a new team will do - perhaps he'll have a great season), but more importantly, he is has star power. And with a new team moving into their market (the Expos moving to D.C.), the Orioles could really use a little star power to keep their fan base. So, in short, I think this trade is good for the Sosa, for the Orioles, and definitely for the Cubs. Fingers crossed that nothing happens in the next couple of days to stop it.
