Monday September 29, 2003
****Conan the Governor?
I'm so torn about Arnold Schwarzenegger running for governor.
The logical and moral part of me doesn't want him to win. What has he done in life to deserve and prepare for such an endeavor? Gang-banging, smoking weed and starring in violent movies by day... studying public policy and economics at night.
Just ten years ago people were all bent out of shape about Clinton smoking a joint in college. That seems quaint!
But the other part of me, Swinish Meredith, was whispering during last week's debate "Terminate them, Arnold!" Everything he says is just so entertaining. He makes politics... dangerous!
"I oppose this decision and I call upon Governor Davis to immediately reconsider and reverse it," said Schwarzenegger here.
It's just like a movie!
Sunday September 28, 2003
****Escape from Boston
My boyfriend and I just got back from camping in the White Mountains with Eric's coworker and his charming girlfriend. We drove up yesterday afternoon and spent one night by Twin Mountain.
It was the most relaxing camping trip this year (no gunshots or loud forest rustling in the middle of the night). The weather was cool and the threat of rain seemed constant, but we built a big fire, ate dinner and drank wine.
After dinner, we walked to a large clearing not far away from the campsite. The sky cleared up, and revealed hundreds of stars and the occasion shooting star. All of us, so accustomed to Boston's light pollution, were stunned by how beautiful the sky was.
I slept better on the ground in our tent than I've slept all week, and woke up to the soothing sounds of strong winds battering thousands of trees. The famed New England foliage had not peaked in that area, but its beginnings were visible.
****Brits Toss Pig Parts
Today the World Black Pudding Throwing Championship was held in Manchester, UK, reports the BBC here.
"The aim of the annual tournament is for each competitor to try and knock some Yorkshire puddings off a wooden platform 20 feet up the pub wall with three throws of a black pudding... One legend says the event is based on a battle during the Wars of the Roses. Both armies are said to have ran out of ammunition and instead threw food at each other... Black pudding is made of cooked pigs' blood, fat and rusk, encased in a length of intestine. "
Awesome. I ate black pudding when I went to England as a teenager but never knew exactly what was in it.
Saturday September 27, 2003
****Look at Me
My photos from the Philadelphia Distance run are here.
Friday September 26, 2003
****Hell's Getting Crowded
Oh lord, why are you robbing us of all our heroes?
As if the devastating deaths of Johnny Cash and John Ritter weren't enough...
1. Robert Palmer... apparently the grim reaper found him simply irresistible. Actually, he had a heart attack. He was addicted... to cigarettes.
2. Edward Said passed away. Poor notable, celebrated intellectual! In the American media, Said's death is eclipsed by the death of Robert Palmer, a sub-par poppy English singer who became famous because his MTV music video had cloned women in miniskirts swaying to what would become the most distinctive yet annoying riff of the eighties.
I had to read Said in college. He had some interesting ideas, but it didn't make enough of an impression on me that I can recall any of them. "His writings have been translated into 26 languages and his most influential book, Orientalism (1978), was credited with forcing Westerners to reexamine their perceptions of the Islamic world."
Yeah, that was the one... Orientalism. It was a hoot. You know what's sad is that I actually took the time to read Orientalism in college. I'm sure 80% of the class didn't even bother to buy it, and most of them are probably making a lot more money than me. Coincidence?
3. George Plimpton is also gone. I've heard his name a few times, but never knew who he was until I read his obituary. Sounds like he had a nice, full life.
****Glory Days
Do you ever think back to your school days and think "Hey, I wonder what ever happened to So-and-So? Did they get married and have kids? Advance to the top of the corporate ladder? Become happy and fulfilled by their hobbies and activities?"
Well, maybe So-and-So did, but this kid, Jimmy Snook, who I went to school with, murdered his father and tried to murder his mother under the belief that he was fulfilling the Lord's wishes by "delivering my creator to the ultimate creator".
Yep, all this happened not even a mile away from where I grew up. My mom even tutored Jimmy Snook. You just never know how people are going to turn out, I guess.
Wednesday September 24, 2003
****Booty Bandit
Prison rape is an absolute horrific crime. I had to stop watching the HBO show Oz because it was such a troubling concept to me: Men being locked in cells and raped. It happens every day and no one really cares because it's criminals doing it to criminals.
This story caught my eye, admittedly, because the phrase "BOOTY BANDIT" just jumped right off the screen. Then I read the story. If you're feeling up to it, go to Human Rights Watch and read some of the case histories.
Tuesday September 23, 2003
****Whatever happened to Bowling?
This article in the Boston Globe discusses how women are using golf in order to advance their careers.
What is it about golf that makes it a pastime for corporate movers and shakers? The fact that it isn't very active, so even lazy slobs in suits have a chance, and there's lots of free time to network, and it requires lots of expensive equipment and garb with which to show off to others? Are people who make good businessmen/women predisposed to enjoy golf, or are they forcing themselves to conform?
Personally, I hate golf, have always hated golf, and would rather skinny-dip in the Boston Harbor than play golf.
It's boring to watch, due to the slow-moving pace and utter lack of action. I hate it when, on TV, the ball is hit and the camera pans out into the sky and you can't even see the ball. Everyone's clapping and the announcer is like "Good shot!" and I'm like "WHERE IS THE BALL? WHERE DID IT GO? IS IT NEAR THE HOLE?" Boring.
Some games that are boring to watch are fun to play (baseball and badminton come to mind). But golf isn't fun to play. It's frustrating and repetitive. Sure, it requires skill... but so do a lot of other pointless things. Tossing a banana into the air and catching it in your mouth requires skill, but I don't see that being a televised sport anytime soon.
****Australian's are, like, So Gay
Really, they are! The Gayest Country on Earth!
I love how this was under the Breaking News section. Like, Breaking News! Vietnam is the least gay country on Earth!
****Alive
Yesterday was the Philadelphia Distance Run. I ran 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 1 minute and 31 seconds. (That's a nine minute 16 second pace per mile, according to the results.) It's a "half-marathon" distance, but I abhor that term. It's not a half anything... it's a full 13.1 miles.
My co-worker asked me this morning: "Did you win?" Ha ha. Actually, I finished 4371th place.
I carried a disposable camera with me as I ran, and stopped to take pictures (which added a few minutes on my time). I will post pictures from my journey soon.
****Bored?
Spare the rod, spoil the child. I never understood if that was supposed to rhyme. Anyway, check out this site.
I can't figure out if it's a joke, which is scary. I thought it was but then I started reading it...
Friday September 19, 2003
****To Nadia
A nice but slightly miffed and rather condescending woman who wandered into my site (presumably from the Girl Wide Web section of www.bust.com) emailed me to take exception to some of my viewpoints, and told me to "clarify your politics to yourself and your readers."
I gathered she thought my viewpoints were contradictory. Yes, while I take a liberal stance on many issues, I don't necessarily follow the liberal formula. I don't think anyone should. Just because I think abortion should be legal doesn't mean I have to crusade for "fat acceptance" (what that entails I'm not exactly clear...) and the annihilation of Playboy.
I say what I feel like. I don't have a burning need to define my viewpoints, because the world is constantly in flux, new information is regularly discovered, and I'm not a political candidate, so why should anyone care what I think? I'm not making any laws. I'm just a woman with a web site.
****Meredith Fashion
Today I wore my new, really bright red DKNY blouse to work. It's possibly the loudest article of clothing I've ever worn.
Several people at work commented on it, but the only compliment I got was from a slightly-crazy looking but clean old man with shaved legs, who was ambling recklessly down the sidewalk (faster than me, even!) carrying a big plastic watering can in a cloth tote.
****Abortion
I've been a staunch pro-choice supporter all my life.
I do think abortion is an over-used medical procedure that wouldn't be necessary if birth control was free and accessible... and the idea of forced abortions is intellectually unsettling.
As a logical person, though, I see the two alternatives to legal abortion are: Unwanted children (born in most cases to young and/or unmarried women) and back-alley abortions.
I was a fervent pro-choice supporter in my teenaged years. I think many young women feel the need to proclaim ownership of their bodies by voicing their opinions about laws made regarding their bodies. I went to rallies and donated to NOW and everything.
The passion has waned in the past years. Maybe it's just me, but it's not a hot political topic anymore. It was one of those topics that would make or break a voter's support for a political candidate: "Sure, Jim Wasp has cut education and healthcare funding, raised taxes and done absolutely nothing to help the economy and environment! But Jim Wasp is pro-choice, ladies! That means he has the endorsement of every major women's group and you have to vote for him!" For sure, that was dangerous overkill. Unfortunately, with Bush (most likely) slated for another four years, more anti-choice legislation is sure to come.
This abortion apathy, perhaps a side effect of the Clinton years when legal abortion was not threatened and pro-choice militants relaxed and turned to other issues (gay marriage?), must end: "Partial-birth" abortion is on the verge of being outlawed very soon.
If you believe, like I do, that this is the first step to making abortion illegal... and if you, like me, think that this would not be a good thing... then click here to send a message to your congressperson and senators.
Wednesday September 17, 2003
****Movie Review: Lost in Translation
I saw Lost In Translation tonight at the Boston Common Loews. The three best things about it were: 1- Bill Murray 2-It takes place in Japan 3-The Music.
I didn't really like the Charlotte character. If I was in Tokyo and had unlimited amounts of money at my disposal and nothing to do, I'd be pretty darn happy, even if my husband was a cute, famous photographer who adored me (poor Charlotte! Boo hoo!)
It has its moments of hilarity (the water aerobics scene, or the photo shoots), but it's a very serious movie for Bill Murray, and a little bit sad.
Final verdict: Super-fantastic.
****Look at me
Our photos from camping are up. Click here.
I also put up some photos of the Zakim Bunker Hill bridge walk, many months ago. Click here.
Tuesday September 16, 2003
****Yow!
Finally, they got a real man to play Batman!
Funny that Christian Bale starred in American Psycho as Patrick Bateman... and now he's Batman.
Bateman and Batman are, like exact opposites. What range! What talent!
Monday September 15, 2003
****Escaped
I've been in the woods of New Hampshire, getting gnawed on by mosquitoes and finding my inner self.
My inner self likes mattresses and indoor plumbing.
****Bad Idea
Playboy, emboldened by their past 'Women of Enron' and 'Women of Starbucks' photo spreads, have decided thrown down the smut gauntlet to the Women... of Walmart: "Playboy.com wants Walmart's sexiest assets to roll back their clothes and pose nude."
Umm... has anyone who works for Playboy actually been in a Walmart? Let's breakdown the female workforce: 20% are over 60, 10% at any given time are pregnant, 40% are toothless, 80% are overweight, and 99.9% wouldn't be working at Walmart if they were hot enough to be in Playboy.
Obviously someone saw Jennifer Aniston's The Good Girl, in which she unconvincingly plays a cosmetics salesgirl at a rural Walmart-type store, and imagined thousands of hot babes just like Jennifer Aniston slaving away for minimum wage ("Always Low Prices. Always").
Or else Playboy, which has become irrelevant to the men in their 20s and 30s, wants free publicity by stirring up controversy, and targeted a company that would publicly take offense to the invitation.
A magazine that features a buck-naked Carnie Wilson is obviously catering to the curious in an effort to compete with the endless nudity supplied by the Internet... but how many men are curious to see nude Walmart workers? Would it add an element of excitement to their weekly runs to the super store?
Thursday September 11, 2003
****Reflections
I wanted to write a little thing about where I was two years ago, when the WTC was decimated by two airplanes flown by Islam terrorists, setting off a chain reaction of US military offensives against other human beings who had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks. I'll keep it short:
At the time I worked at IDX Systems corporation, next to the Prudential Tower in Boston. My boyfriend IM'ed me about it, and I immediately turned on Howard Stern because I knew his studio is in Manhattan. He actually gave good coverage of what was happening, but a lot of people called in rumors, like that 10 other planes were presently reported hijacked. In the shadow of the 2nd tallest building in Boston, I freaked out and left work.
I told people as I left work that the WTC had been hit, the Pentagon was under attack and I had to go home. I suggested being in the city was "dangerous."
I think that's funny now, because when they recall their 9/11 experience, I will be in their memories.
****Wacko 9/11 Sites
Interesting sites about 9/11... Check out:
Wednesday September 10, 2003
****Thin is In
Actually... thin has been in for awhile. To the point where, apparently, there are more thin characters on TV than fat characters, a new study says. Duh. Not only that...
Compared with smaller-size characters, they are more likely to be portrayed as unattractive, to be shown eating, and to be the butt of jokes. Bigger characters also are less likely to be depicted as helpful, to demonstrate physical affection, to date, and to have sex.
While I agree that it is unfair to have negative connotations such as these reflect upon overweight people, is this a surprise? TV thrives on stereotypes. Life thrives on stereotypes. I'm sure if studies were done on how TV depicts any other social group, we would see that fat people are not the only ones being stigmatized by TV.
And god forbid TV glamorous thinness! I mean, people might start working out and eating healthy to emulate these thin people! For shame, Hollywood!
And let me just say, anyone who develops Anorexia from watching Network TV had something else wrong with them, and would have probably ended up with some sort of disorder or addiction anyway. I'm serious and science will back me up.
Tuesday September 9, 2003
****Breaking News!
You know when the TV is on, and all of a sudden... "We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news!" and you get that feeling? It's almost... excitement. Something happened and it could be anything! Terrorist attack... Dick Cheney's dead... another NASA snafu... plane crash...
Well, today every channel in Boston interrupted a program to report that the Boston Archdiocese is settling over 552 clergy sex abuse cases for $85 million. CNN says...
Award amounts will be decided by a mediator, based on the type of molestation, the duration of the abuse, and the injury suffered.
Yow! That's kind of interesting, to prorate sexual abuse like that. Who gets that job? How is one type of molestation worthier of compensation than another?
...more than 1,000 children were likely victimized by more than 235 priests from 1940 to 2000 as church officials shifted priests around the archdiocese, rather than removing them from ministry.
I would like to see the church comment on why the clergy either attracts pedophiles, or why it turns people into pedophiles.
Would the Catholic church have this problem if women and married men were ordained? Check out The Ordination of Women, an "international website on the ordination of women ."
Monday September 8, 2003
****Aspirations
Who likes to cook?
I like to cook!
I'm one of those people who secretly dreams of dropping out of the rat race and going to a culinary arts academy, where my innovative cooking talent will be immediately discerned and I bypass lowly sous chef status to become a globally celebrated chef.
This will never happen though. I can't stand the humidity and would have to get out of the kitchen.
That’s okay. Because unlike my other dream jobs (blackjack dealer, space woman, trophy wife), I can be a chef every day at Chez Meredith Green, in my gorgeous new kitchen, for my appreciative boyfriend.
Break Eggs is for people who like to cook. The recipes are modern (Goat Cheese and Tomato Tart looks tasty... Curried Pumpkin Soup will finally get rid of the canned pumpkin in my pantry... Peanut Butter Bon Bons are perfect to take to work), and there is an excellent section on entertaining. The web design is clean and well done... I never get tired of kitschy pictures of 1950s housewives.
Sunday September 7, 2003
****Online Magazine Review: Grist
Are you like me? Do you care about the environment, but not in the sort of way that it takes over your life? Are you not consumed by the need to scream at strangers for throwing cans in the trash or berate meat-eating friends for over-consuming Earth's resources? Will you buy the $1.40/pound regular green peppers over the $3.50/pound organic ones? Do you reuse ziploc bags if they have crumbs in them, but draw the line at washing them out to reuse the same one on a daily basis?
Then you'll like Grist Magazine. It's laid-back but informative, humorous but serious environmental news for intelligent people who care about the environment, but not enough to get all nuts about it.
And if you're a factoid-freak like myself, you'll especially like Counter Culture (Click Counter Culture under News and Analysis). It's like Harper's Index without the irony.
****Hare Krishna
It's Sunday, so let's talk about religion, American-style!
In my high school, a small group of straight-edge hardcore boys thrived. My friend Amy dated one, but I thought them strange for their blind, fanatical devotion to a movement with vague ties to the Hare Krishna movement.
I could never articulate why the whole Hare Krishna thing repelled me... this article gives a nice summation of the Krishna Consciousness movement. Lawsuits over ritualistic child abuse! Parodies in Airplane! movies! And is it a coincidence that the two Beatles that dug Hare Krishna are both currently dead?
By the way, the group of straight-edge hardcore boys in my high school realized: Life is short and boring. Might as well crack open that beer and eat some dairy.
Saturday September 6, 2003
****Vegasland!
Some impressions here about my trip to Vegas (I wind up talking a lot about Rock Me Baby, the new UPN show).
****Bermuda, Now on Sale!
The weather world is abuzz about Hurricane Fabian, the most powerful tropical storm in 50 years, which ripped through Bermuda with certain havoc and destruction.
So, I get an e-saver email from US Airways this morning, offering round-trip tickets from Boston to Nassau for the low low price of $218! Wow, what a savings! It could truly be the vacation of a lifetime!
****Orthorexia Nervosa
People always say Americans have lots of psychological issues about sex, but I think we (women, at least) are much more neurotic about food and eating.
A new day, a new disorder: Orthorexia nervosa, the pathological need to eat healthy.
****Sheba
I read this article in the Washington Post about the questionable existence of the legendary Queen of Sheba, mentioned in both the Old Testament and the Koran as a powerful ruler who paid tribute to King Solomon. With no concrete evidence of her existence, is she a mere myth?
Interesting: The chief archaeological source of the article, Ricardo Eichmann, is the son of the notorious Adolf Eichmann. Ricardo seems to be far removed from his wretched roots, using his research as an archeaologist to eloquently sum up a very optimistic view of civilization:
"Today, I believe, to know more about the past is very important for a better management of the present," Eichmann said. "If you know more about the evolution of things such as, for example, environmental catastrophes and you have experience dealing with the past, you realize certain things. You don't say: Oh my God, this is the end. You have already registered that there were many disasters in the past and people survived. You don't just despair, but manage to look forward."
Thursday September 4, 2003
****Those Barmy Bulgers
John Bulger, brother of Whitey (fugitive!) and Billy (disgraced former UMASS president!) was sentenced to six months in prison for lying to two grand juries and trying to obtain fake identification for Whitey.
I don't know what the deal is with Ma and Pop Bulger, but I hope for their sake they're dead... cause otherwise the holidays are going to be real awkward this year.
Rosemary, fellow UMASS alumna, is of the opinion that Billy is next. She also shares this:
I shook Billy's hand once. He was at that English Department award ceremony I gave a speech at ... it struck just how short Billy is... I wonder if he really is short or it was just my imagination. I wonder if inmates like short men.
Yes, I think they do, Rose, cause short men are easier for big men to rape!
****Never Too Old or Drunk: Guided By Voices
I dragged my boyfriend to see Guided By Voices at the Paradise Rock Club last night. It was a good time and we got a good spot (center, balcony railing) because we got there early.
GBV came on stage with "Pink Room" from David Lynch's Fire Walk with Me soundtrack blaring. How cool is that!
I think Bob, the 45-year old singer, songwriter and soul of GBV, became a singer so people would listen to him talk. Crowds of people won't listen to drunks talk unless they stop every once in a while to play an excellent rock song.
Bob talked a lot. He's a good talker and an amazing singer, with his youthful voice holding steady despite the onstage consumption of 8-10 Coors Light (retrieved from a cooler onstage with a theatrical flip in the air, missing only once.) Every so often, Bob would kick up his left leg, and strut Mick Jagger-style with a drunken pout while twirling the microphone by its cord.
I love a band that looks like it's having fun, and GBV looked like kids in a Christmas pageant, fully delighted with themselves because they knew they were delighting the audience.
After bringing up the smoking ban in bars in Boston five or six times ("I'll obey your laws!" he sneered. Later, he lashed out "We'll send an 18-year old to war but won't let a 45-year old man smoke a cigarette!") during "Dirty Water" he finally caved, and he and the guitarist light up cigarettes, which the crowd cheered really loudly. Whatever.
A couple of songs later, two interesting things happened during the same song:
COOL STAGE JUMPER: I could see a man standing backstage the entire show. I'm betting the band thought he was with the club, and the club thought he was with the band, he was sort of ambiguous-looking like that. Suddenly, he grabbed a guitar and stood next to the bassist and one of the guitarists, and pantomimed playing an entire song with GBV. It was hysterical. At the end of the song, security roughly grabbed him and hauled him off the stage.
UNCOOL STAGE JUMPER: A girl lit a cigarette, climbed up on stage and tried to hold it to the mouths of different band members. She looked very drunk. Ladies, free tip: There is nothing more unattractive than a drunk woman on a stage chasing a 45-year old man around with a cigarette when he's looking for his beer and doesn't want to see you, and then being dragged out of the show by security while crying. The Paradise crowd is not the sort of crowd who will applaud you for waving a cigarette around and trying to look sexy.
All drama aside, I love GBV. Rock music, hard and tight! As Bob said "You don't want the B-52s, you want the Who!"
However, I wanted more songs from my favorite GBV, Alien Lanes... I only counted one (Game of Pricks).
****Bored and Like GBV?
Read "The Club is Open:" Robert Pollard and the Social Function of Music (it's amazing what people get college credit for writing about!)
Wednesday September 3, 2003
****Bored?
Read this inspired account of the Miss Teen USA 2003 pageant, won by Oregon's Tami Nichole Farrell (with a name like that, you know she was bred to be a beauty queen).
This image is unforgettable:
Miss New Jersey, a five-seven brunette beauty named Jacklyn Pezzotta, sports large hoop earrings appropriate to her state’s fashion sense. When she struts in the bathing suit competition, she ends with a pose not unlike gubernatorial candidate Schwarzenegger’s in that nude photo of him that’s making the rounds–shoulders back, hips out, cock flapping in the breeze.
****Too Late... and Too Little
Now that I'm off the B Line, the MBTA has announced that they are going to close five stops on the B Line, a move that would've sped up my commute... BEFORE I moved.
Riders of the B Line have been recommending this for years. What took so long? I always get the feeling that the MBTA is mired in bureaucracy and run by political appointees who have never rode public transportation in their lives.
Honestly, while eliminating 5 stops will marginally improve the B-Line commute, it won't do much to ease the maddening agony overall. BU students will still take the T two stops to get from their dorms to classes rather than walk 10-15 minutes. The trolley still has to stop at traffic lights. And the trolleys will always be way too small to accommodate the rush hour crowds.
But... I guess it's better than nothing.
****It's like the Devil's Birthday
September 1st: The Boston area is annually invaded by 250,000 college kids. The peaceful summer is over. Everything will be more crowded, everything will take more time, the roads will be filled with more cars, and I will be constantly reminded that I am aging. On the other hand, I'm sure they didn't forget their credit cards and checkbooks.
****e.e.-e.e.-o
Moving back to Cambridge inspired me to pick up some e.e. cummings at the library. e.e. was a native Cantabrigian (that's the official term for a citizen of Cambridge, I think it's Latin).
e.e. (or, as his friends called him ,"ee") didn't think much of Cambridge women (actually, he didn't think much of many women, especially the dozens he married and divorced).
This early poem (below), which he wrote shortly before moving to NYC, reveals his contempt for the women of Cambridge, whose "furnished souls"(that is, they're conformists to the core) and "comfortable" intellectual tendencies prevent them from seeing true beauty in the living and in nature (to them, the moon is like a leftover piece of candy) because they're too busy gossiping and being fashionably charitable.
Oh yeah, and they're ugly, too!
the Cambridge ladies
who live in furnished souls
are unbeautiful and have comfortable minds
also, with the church's protestant blessings
they believe in Christ and Longfellow, both dead,
are invariably interested in so many things --
at the present writing one still finds
delighted fingers knitting for the is it Poles?
perhaps. While permanent faces coyly bandy
scandal of Mrs. N and Professor D
. . . . the Cambridge
ladies do not care, above
Cambridge if sometimes in its box of
sky lavender and cornerless, the
moon rattles like a fragment of angry candy
-e.e.cummings