Faute de Mieux

The Strange Case of the Everywhere Girl

2005-10-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

Who knew Getty Images clip art could serve as a springboard to worldwide fame? The Everywhere Girl pops up in ads all over the world, but nobody seems to know her name.

Bill Bennett

2005-09-30T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm seeing red. The former Drug Czar and Secretary of Education said

if you wanted to reduce crime, you could -- if that were your sole purpose -- you could abort every black baby in this country, and your crime rate would go down.

WTF? As an American, I must respect my fellow citizens' right to free speech, but damn, I am angry and ashamed that such an ignorant bigot ever held a position in the federal government. And doesn't this guy belong to the party that's supposed to be for family values? How sad is it that the former Secretary of Education believes that race makes a person prone to criminal activity? Because it's not like poverty, hopelessness or oppression have anything to do with it. Good lord. Is it any wonder our society is so unequal when we've trusted people like Bill Bennett with positions of national authority over education and drugs?

How can we ever expect to raise people out of poverty, and give at-risk children better lives when the people with the power view skin color as a primary indication of criminality? When people with a national audience can dare to suggest genocide as a cure for social ills? The mere idea that he could even utter such words on national radio shows exactly how ignorant and biased Bennett is.

Bennett has since said that he was not actually suggesting genocide as a means to lower the crime rate. He falsely tried to blame his racist statement on an article in the book "Freakonomics" but one of the the authors has clearly stated that race plays no part in their theory on abortion and crime. (Also, see this article.) He doesn't seem to get that as bad as his supposedly hypothetical idea of forced abortion was, he also revealed his own racist bias that equates blacks with criminal behavior. So far, no apology for that.

Pray for New Orleans

2005-08-28T18:15:00.000-07:00

I just heard about the mandatory evacuation of New Orleans. Most of my family members have already evacuated, but thousands of people in the city don't have the means to leave. I don't think there's anything those of us outside the city can do right now but pray that Hurricaine Katrina loses some steam before it hits land, or pray it changes course.

The Summer of No AC

2005-08-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about summer is all the great frozen desserts. The heat makes Thrifty's Ice Cream, a cold Sworkachino, or a blue icee extra good. Recently, I have added two new frozen desserts to my arsenal of heat-fighting treats. The long-awaited Eagle Rock franchise Goldilocks Bakery has finally opened, meaning I can have halo-halo on hot days just like I used to when I was in high school in Cerritos (the sense of nostalgia warms my heart while all that shaved ice keeps me cool). Martin introduced us to Hui Lau Shan Healthy Dessert in San Gabriel. He first tried their great fruit-based desserts when he went to China, and now we're all hooked too!

Having no AC this summer has been rather uncomfortable, but, on the plus side it's kept me from sitting at home in front of the TV (leather couch + no AC = Eww!). And it's gotten me out and about. I have to keep looking at the positives here. The positives have got to last until fall.

Why Blogs, Jobs and the New York Times Don't Mix

2005-07-26T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's happened again. Another innocent blogger has gotten fired for her on-line musings. The only new detail is that this time the employer wrote a whiny piece in the New York Times Style section describing why she fired her children's nanny. The nanny wasn't fired because she was bad at her job. As near as I can figure from Helaine Olen's Times article and the nanny's excellent blogged rebuttal, the blogging nanny got fired because she had a life and was foolish enough to write about it.

Plenty of people have commented on how unjust the firing was. Plenty of people have commented on how unfair Helaine Olen's article was. I agree with them, but I also think that this whole incident - this includes the blog and the article - is yet another symptom of the erosion of private life. Tell-all talk shows and tabloids throw the details of other peoples' private lives at us all the time - and we treat it like it's something we've a need and a right to know. We don't need to know about Jude and Sienna or Brad and Jen, or anyone we don't know. And that goes quadruple for private citizens like the guy in the next cube over, the folks next door, or the nanny - they're not as pretty, they're way less interesting, and nosing into the private details of an acquaintance’s or an employee's life can have a direct negative effect on your life.

Helaine Olen wrote:

Not only were there things I didn't want to know about the person who was watching my children, it turned out her online revelations brought feelings of mine to the surface I'd just as soon not have to face as well.

Maybe it's time we started respecting other people's privacy, even when they don't seem to respect it themselves. If you don't want to know private details about someone don't read their blog. Simple, yet profound, huh? Ok, well, then, it's at least simple, right? In this age of information, overload we do not need to know everything - we do not need to consume every bit of data that comes our way. A good old fashioned set of boundaries is great protection against TMI. Oh, and firing someone for the mostly innocuous, perfectly legal things they do in their private lives is so not ok.

How hot is it? On life without AC

2005-07-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

1) It's hot, damn hot.
2) It's so hot... our cats have shed whole new cats. It's like the movie Gremlins.
3) It's so hot... I look forward to going to work for the air conditioning.
4) It's so hot... our hot water heater broke and we barely even noticed.
5) It's so hot...I can't even finish this blog entry...

Wish me patience, wish me luck. Wish me air conditioning!

I can blog...really!

2005-06-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

Just to prove I'm not a hoboblogger - Though, the very fact that I'm blogging to prove I'm not a hoboblogger probably makes me one.

What's New?
1. I'm temping at an office in Burbank.
2. I've been taking a bellydancing class (except for "snake arms", and zills, I'm lost)
3. I've been sewing like a fiend. I'll post pics in the dilettante diaries (Last post, June 2004. Eek! I can't deny, I've been hoboing it up over there.)
4. Shout out to Tiffy: I made Chicken Marsala for dinner last night. You're right, it's way easier than I thought it would be.
5. We went to the party at Hill House Saturday. Had a blast as always. Check out Kat's Pics.
6. Jared and I spent fathers day afternoon with my dad and sister eating spicy boiled crawfish and listening to zydeco and blues at Uncle Darrow's. It was really crowded, but I can't fault the crowd because Uncle Darrow's Father's Day festival is so good, in only two years, it's become a tradition.

Bootleg the Force

2005-05-23T00:49:00.000-07:00

I just saw Starwars Episode III. It sucked - but at least I got to paint my nails. "But wait," you say, "didn't Amanda swear she wasn't going to see Episode III unless she found a way to view the movie from which George Lucas could make absolutely no profit?" Why, yes, yes Amanda - I mean, I did say that. And, thanks to a certain bootleg-happy friend of ours, we did just that. I watched Episode III at home, on my very own television, 100% for free!

And it was worth every penny! The screenplay, acting, directing, dialog and visuals all sucked ass. And, not only did the movie not feature the voice of James Earl Jones, it ended with the Worst.Line.Ever. Spoiler...

Darth Vader: NOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Electronic Entertainment Expo

2005-05-23T00:32:00.000-07:00

E3 was incredibly underwhelming this year. There was a plethora of games to choose from, including sequels, "dark" versions of familiar characters, movie and TV tie-ins, and, uh, did I mention sequels?

I didn't get much in the way of swag this year. Outside the convention center, representatives of Bawls Energy Drink were distributing samples of their product. I tried Sugar Free Bawls. It tasted like ass. I picked up a few tchotchkes, and a demo for Sly Cooper 3 (in 3D!).

As for the games, well...The PSP was merely OK, and the long-awaited (by me) eye-toy Dance-Dance game proved confusing. Wacky critical fave Katamari Damacy was rather relaxing, but the only game I truly had fun playing at E3 was Ms Pac-Man on the multi-game arcade box at the Namco booth.

Pac Hat Attack!

2005-05-23T00:31:00.000-07:00

The Namco booth was also one of the few booths to clothe representatives of both genders in embarassing, uncomfortable uniforms. I didn't get this booth boy's name, but I salute his knowledge of Namco games for cellular phones, and the way he manages to look almost at home with a giant fuzzy Pac-Man devouring his head.

Field Trip: Disney Concert Hall

2005-05-16T01:08:00.000-07:00

My mother and I celebrated a belated Mother's Day. We rode the train/subway into downtown to take the audio tour of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. While we were on the Red Line in downtown, a man asked if we were mother and daughter. When we confirmed his guess, he then asked who had been the first to get their hair cut (we have highly similar styles). When my mother said that she'd had the haircut first, the man chided me for having the same hair cut as my retired mother. If I didn't feel old enough already...

The Concert Hall Garden

2005-05-16T01:04:00.000-07:00

These simple purple flowers looked beautiful against the stainless steel facade of the Walt Disney Concert Hall. Does liking the gardens best make me an architecture wuss?

Which Way is Up?

2005-05-16T01:02:00.000-07:00

When you look at pictures of the interior, it's sometimes difficult to tell which way is up. I think I rotated this one correctly.

Our Cat Meg

2005-05-16T00:17:00.000-07:00

This picture is for Tiffy, because we have already posted a picture of Jack, and she wanted to know what our other cat looked like. So, here is our Meg in all of her weird-eyed glory. I especially like her white whiskers - there's something dainty and charming about them. Meg is generally dainty and charming - except when she's bitey.

I know it is ruinous to play favorites with your children, but no one has ever studied the psychological effects of favoritism on cats. So, for the record: Meg is the cute one, and the smart one. And Jack is the one who tries to eat your hair.

29: For the First and Last Time

2005-04-29T11:08:00.000-07:00

I'm twenty-nine today, and I don't like it one bit. Twenty-nine the point at which many women deliberately stop counting birthdays, because, supposedly, thirty is "old". Personally, I ain't scared of thirty - it's twenty-nine that makes me nervous. My main dread of the age has been that when I tell people I'm twenty-nine, they'll think I'm lying, because so many women do lie about being twenty-nine, and I haven't got a babyface to lend credence to my claims. And it would suck if people thought I was lying because it's not as though I'm afraid of the big three-Oh. Not me. I think it will be grand not to be a "twentysomething" anymore. When I reach thirty, I will be fabulous. I will kick thirty's ass and make it work for me; I'll make thirty my bitch.

For a while, I thought I'd lie and tell people I was thirty-five, just so they would tell me how young I look. So I tried it last week, and, much to my embarasment, I recieved no expression of shock, and no declarations that I looked younger than thirty-five. Damnit! I guess I'll just be twenty-nine.

Old Ideas

2005-04-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to W's press conference. I'm ready to tear my hair out. His answer to a question about the threat that North Korea's professed nuclear capability poses to neighboring countries, like Japan, was Missile Defense.

In response to a question about partisan politics in Washington he claimed that "some people don't like me," and that his party was the "party of ideas". Sure, old ideas. Missile defense will protect Japan from North Korea, and Americans care more about Social Security than they do about the war of their diminishing local social services. He went on to discuss the good things he'd done for America like limiting the amount of money for which maimed Americans can sue the companies who maimed them, and allowing creditors to take the homes of Americans who have filed for bankruptcy.

I held my bile through most of that huckster's speil, but what really made me angry was when he claimed to be working for "what's important to the American people" when all he offered was old ideas, tiresome repetitions, and platitudes.

When Toads Explode: It's All Perfectly Natural

2005-04-28T14:14:00.000-07:00

Scientists have been trying to figure out why toads in a pond in Hamburg, Germany, have been exploding. There were many theories from disease, to fungus, to toad suicide. Testing and investigation of the so-called "death pond" yielded no easy answers, but the latest report from the AP news points to local crows as the culprit. Scientist's latest theory is that sneaky crows have been pecking out the toads' livers, and when the toads puff up a part of their natural defense mechanism, the crow-pecked holes in their bodies cause them to explode. Isn't nature beautiful?

Going Nucular & The Secret Language of Starbucks

2005-04-25T13:45:00.000-07:00

How much do I love Going Nucular: Language, Politics and Culture in Confrontational Times? I know it's been out for quite some time, but I just found it at the library last week. The book is a compilation of some of Geoffrey Nunberg's Fresh Air commentaries, and various print articles from 2001 - 2004. The great thing about this book is that Nunberg wrote articles about what he observed in modern language as it was happening. Many phrases and descriptions that are firmly entrenched in the vernacular of 2005 were just nascent little proto-memes when Nunberg wrote about them.

Going Nucular is more than just a book on modern language, it's a history of the buzzwords that will be in history textbooks twenty years from now. What do they mean? What did they mean? What are the political goals of the media barons and policy wonks who work so hard to put these words in the mouths of average Americans? Going Nucular is fascinating, entertaining and thought provoking.

And Now for Something Completely Trivial:
In the interests of doing my part to make language clearer to my fellow American, here's a guide to Starbucks' Coffee Drinks that I found at memepool.

A New Hairdo

2005-04-20T00:45:00.000-07:00

While Jenny Smith is debating whether or not to cut her hair, I went out and got mine all cut off again. It was about chin-length and it was really starting to bug me - especially since it's been so windy lately. The only reason I hadn't cut it before was that I'm unemployed, and quasi broke, and I couldn't afford to go to my regular hairdresser. I thought about downgrading to SuperCuts, but then I figured, why pay $12 for a bad haircut when I can have one for free simply by not cutting my hair? So I vowed not to get my hair cut unless I had a job interview. But the upside of this is, I have an interview today! Wish me good hair and good luck.

Go Fug Yourself

2005-04-13T10:23:00.000-07:00

Are you the sort of person who views time spent in line at the supermarket and Target as a chance to reaquainted with Star Magazine, US Weekly and all of your other tabloid friends? Are you the sort of person who is both sickened and sickly fascinated by our celebrity-obsessed culture? Are best/worst dressed lists your crack? If so, may I suggest you click on over to "Go Fug Yourself"* for a free hit of the good stuff.

*Warning: The site does occasionally feature Celebrity Wardrobe Malfunctions, so click at your own risk.

Plus, INCEST PUPPIES, y'all.

The Hills are Alive...

2005-04-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

...And corporate real estate agents want a slice of them. Would you believe that the Ritter Ranch Corporation is planning to put a master-planned community of some 7,200 cookie-cutter, tile-roofed commuter domiciles here? I guess you would believe it, but aren't you appalled? People have been fighting Ritter Ranch Corp. for twenty years. The only thing I can now do is enjoy Great American Open Spaces like this while they last. And they won't last long.

Oh, and for those of you wondering, the flowers pictured are Owl Clover (pink), California Poppies (orange), and Fiddleneck (front right corner). Fun fact - Fiddle Neck is toxic to horses when it's in bloom, so watch where your equine darlings graze this year.

Another thought: Not only am I lucky enough to see sights like those pictured above, but I get to actually learn things while I'm out twirling around singing selections from the Sound of Music on flower-covered hillsides. One thing I learned after I came back is that one shouldn't twirl around grassy, flower-covered hillsides. There are rattlesnakes about in plenty this year.

Something in the Air

2005-04-12T23:49:00.000-07:00

I went to Leona Valley last Wednesday to see the wildflowers. My mother and I went up into the hills on horseback, and except for the near-constant flatulence of my trusty steed, Oscar, the wonderfully fresh air was redolent with the sweet scent of wildflowers.

Unlike the stunning wildflower season of 2003 where there were acres and acres of brilliant orange poppies, this year, the hills boasted a more diverse and colorful array or rarer blooms . The pink flower in the center is called Owl's Clover, and is usually quite rare in the valley. The small purple flowers are miniature Lupine, and the familiar orange flower in the upper right is the beloved California Poppy.

As Popes Go...

2005-04-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

Everyone's talking about the pope, so I guess I should, too. And when I'm done, I'll find out which bridge everyone else is jumping from and consider doing likewise. Considering that half of my family is Catholic, and I've got a case of Catholic envy (love those saints) you might think I'd have a lot of good things to say about the pope. You'd be wrong.

The only good thing I have to say about the pope is that, as popes go, he wasn't bad. Admittedly, "as popes go" is a very limited comparison group, which includes di Medicis and Holocaust ignorers in its number. But John Paul did some good things. He gave the world an "Oops! Our bad" about Galileo - 400 years after the fact. There was also more openness, more consorting with other religions, more championing of the poor, and less slandering of the Jews.

But the thing I can't stop thinking about is the John Paul's aggressive, archconservative stance on birth control. How dare he tell poor and developing countries that both barrier and hormonal birth control are sins against God? How dare he sentence women in poor countries to have more children than they can afford, and to risk their lives repeatedly in childbirth? I don't disagree with the policy of abstinence as birth control - I just disagree with it being the only policy.

Women don't always have the right to say no. There are countries where spousal rape is not considered a crime, or where it simply isn't prosecuted. There are countries where unmarried women can't support themselves, and staying single isn't an option. Women bear all of the health risks of birth and nursing, they provide the majority of child care, and they are more likely than men to live in poverty - especially when they have children. Women shouldn't have to sacrifice their health, their lives, and their chance to rise out of poverty on the alter of outdated dogma.

Children are starving around the world, and the Catholic Church is telling women that limiting the number of children they conceive so that they can take better care of the ones they have is a sin. Meanwhile, Catholic faithful in developed countries routinely ignore the ban on birth control. Italy, home to the Vatican, has a falling birth rate, and I doubt its because they're all abstinent. The Catholic Church's birth control policy makes paupers of the faithful, and makes hypocrites of the rich. Admitting that the planets revolve around the sun was a step in the right direction, but the next pope might want to take some time out from gazing at the heavens and address the havoc certain policies have caused here on Earth.

Resist the Hype

2005-04-07T11:00:00.000-07:00

Star Wars Fans Line Up At Wrong Cinema. This came from the BBC, so now people all over the world know how dumb some of us Americans are. Wait, I guess they already knew that.

How much does LucasFilm pay these people? Because they can't really be that anxious to see the movie. Episode I was silly and dull, and Episode II made me fall asleep - this despite the over-loud sound effects. Each installment is worse than its predecessor, and, worse yet, not entertaining.

I'm taking a stand. I refuse to bow to the hype. I'm not going to pay one cent to watch this movie. If anyone ever offers me a bootleg DVD, or if I ever steal cable, then I might watch it for the pure joy of breaking the law and depriving that hack, George Lucas, of an infinitesimal bit of profit. But otherwise, no way. For those of you who are dying to know the plot of the upcoming film but don't care to endure the cinematic equivalent of a root canal, here's the movie spoiler.

What's Going On?

2005-03-30T15:19:00.000-08:00

I think unemployment disagrees with me. Not just the broke part, but also the lack of structure part. I've been rather anti-social. Perhaps people have wondered what I have been up to, whether I have fallen off the face of the earth or simply been sucked into the vortex of daytime television. Neither. I've been applying for jobs, going to the gym, reading a lot, and tormenting the cats.

It hasn't been all bad. I think I needed some time to decompress from five years of sitting in front of a computer every day. Hence my lack of posting and computer-related activities. I don't spend much more time than I have to at the computer, and I don't watch any daytime TV. I make dinner at home every night (healthy and economical), I'm in great shape, I've read about Influenza and the Plague (Next up: The Cosa Nostra and the IRS. See, I've got themes!), and the cats are now endearingly neurotic.

On the job front, I have received interested phone calls from three of four places in Orange County, which would be great if I weren't categorically unwilling to make that drive. At first, it was hard for me to admit it, but I am not a very good driver. I am easily distracted, and I tend to get sleepy on long drives - even when I'm the one doing the driving! Fortunately, I have a hearty instinct for self-preservation. No long drives for me! Which is why the calls from beyond the Orange Curtain have been so frustrating. I specified "Los Angeles" and "unwilling to relocate" in my Monster.com profile - Why must they torment me so? Also, someone from CalTech called me to tell me how bored I'd be with the job I had applied for. It's strange to have someone call you only to tell you that you don't want the job.

Things are looking up, though, as I've had some interest from local companies looking for contract work, and from a firm downtown that is hiring for a permanent position. After the Huntington's disappointing lack of interest, I know better than to get my hopes up, but I'll still keep my fingers crossed.

Now, it is a lovely day outside, and seventy-five degrees. It's the sort of day that would have made me shut my blinds at GNP so I wouldn't spend the whole day wishing I were outside. The upside of unemployment is, now that I've put in my time on the job search, I can go outside and get a little sunshine while I run my errands.