Ashyknees' Time Killer

The author is willing, but her punctuation is weak.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Racism Ruins Reruns

Last evening was a little different for me. Instead of watching Seinfeld, I wound up watching Are You Being Served. This wasn't some grand calculated boycott. The sponsors of this stand-by rerun didn't suddenly lose a potential customer (I doubt I'll ever call 1-800-MY-LEMON, or 588-2300 Empire, and if Taco Bell's inane "smunchy" commercials haven't turned me away from their cheap, fattening, and delicious products, perhaps nothing will.) I just didn't feel like watching one of my favorite shows after it had been tarnished by the recent ranting of one of its stars. To think, I almost bought a poster of the guy.

I see myself as one of the great celebrity sympathizers. But in these cases, as much as I understand how people can say horrid things under pressure or under the influence, things that they may not even agree with on a rational level, I just can't accept this type of behavior or excuse it. This was not some Sarah Silverman cultural provocation, or a private joke taken out of context. This was a guy out of his depth during a public performance, taking cheap shots at people by invoking some screwed up ideal of racial supremacy.

It is not dreaded political correctness to call bigotry by its name. Seinfeld, the show about nothing, made fun of both bigotry and political correctness as its self-centered main characters made their way through one of the most economically and culturally diverse cities in the world. That was one of the best things about the show, even if I didn't always agree with some of the sentiments expressed.

I've read snippets of Richard's apology. I think the timing is right. (Will Letterman become the future forum for such contrition? Will it become a running segment introduced by one of Paul's theme songs and some overblown motion graphics?). I hope for the sake of my future dinner time rerun viewing that the apology will prove to be genuine.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Harvest Lesson

This past weekend I joined the scrabble crew for a day in the country. There, I enjoyed eating harvest-themed foods, playing with a baby, and discussing the nature of physical pain. Thanks to the host family toddler, I learned what to do with the mad that I feel: stomp my feet.

It's great to be able to stop
When you've planned a thing that's wrong,
And be able to do something else instead
And think this song:

I can stop when I want to
Can stop when I wish.
I can stop, stop, stop any time.
And what a good feeling to feel like this
And know that the feeling is really mine.
Know that there's something deep inside
That helps us become what we can.
For a girl can be someday a woman
And a boy can be someday a man.

-Fred M. Rogers

The only disappointment of this weekend was the butternut squash I made. I should have let it roast at least 10 minutes longer. But enough regret. If only Mister Rogers had a song about regret.

PS.

I forgot to mention the thrill of seeing hunters on the road and hearing the crack of not so distant rifle fire. Who says rural life is dull?

Friday, November 10, 2006

Pissed Off by the Outrage

Sorry, readers, but I must release the steam that has been building up inside me.

Maybe I shouldn't give a damn, but all these people on the internet who claim that psychological and neurological disorders do not exist are pissing me off.

When people have conditions that effect their ability to function, then they have very real problems.

For example, I have astigmatism, a condition that effects my perceptions. Yes, doctors can look closely at my eye, and I suppose they can see physical evidence of this condition, but when I get fitted for lenses, the first thing my doctor does is ask me to read a bunch of letters on a chart. Later he tests a number of corrective lenses on me to see what prescription works best for me. In other words, he talks to me about what I perceive and whether or not my perceptions are distorted. Then he attempts to alter my perception artificially such that I can better navigate through the world.

Everyone seems to be cool with ophthalmology and optometry. I don't read any editorials railing against the evils of so called astigmatism, urging me to flush my contacts down the toilet and just be my natural squinty self, or to will distant road signs to come into focus. I don't even think the Church of Scientology has a website condemning the use of eye glasses and contact lenses. So why are people so hopping mad about psychology and psychiatric therapies? Why do they argue so vehemently against the existence of mental illnesses?

Is it the bad psychologist and psychiatrists making poor diagnoses? Surely there are bad optometrists, too, fitting patients with the wrong lenses. Poor medical practice doesn't negate the existence of vision problems or psychological problems.

Is it because psychiatrists decide what symptoms constitute a disorder or a disease by voting at meetings? I don't want to get all linguistic on everyone, but isn't this pretty much how everything gets named or defined? Maybe Pluto isn't a planet, maybe it is, but the labeling controversy has nothing to do with Pluto's existence.

Is it a critique of big, bad manipulative pharmaceutical companies? Often, the loudest critics of prescription drugs like ritalin and prozac are also selling something.

I don't know if I should bother trying to figure out what's behind all the anti-psychology outrage. The main thing is, it's not helping people deal with their very real problems. All this noise is interfering with my ability to figure out what I need to do. I have to tune it out.

Thursday, November 09, 2006

I Want What I Don't Need

Look at these gorgeous things from my homeland. There's a whole web site full of such pretties. Would they not convey my inner style? Would they not make charming gifts for charming friends?





But, oh, I do not need them and I should spend my money on food, rent and investments.

And I am now procrastinating to avoid a boring task that is only fit for robots.

Confound it.

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Ding Dong, Rick will be Gone

Ding Dong, Rick will be gone
Which old Rick?
The Looney Rick!
Ding Dong, the right wing Freak is done

He'll go where the wingnuts go
Perhaps to a Fox talk show

Ding dong, Santorum is done!

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Without a Hitch

Voting went very smoothly. Hopefully, avoiding all election coverage until tomorrow will be just as easy.