Good News Found

Maybe because I work on a campus, the reporting on the recent shooting drew me in. Sometimes it's as if I belong to the Church of the Holy Fact. I still have this belief that if I just uncover the right fact, the key piece of data, then somehow everything will make sense and the problems of the world will become solveable. The more nonsensical the problem, the more this belief moves me to seek facts.

Anyway, this belief lead me to watch last night's NBC news special against my better judgement. They did everything that hateful maudlin TV journalism does except create a cheesy logo for the story (I guess they didn't have time). They replayed the same footage over and over. They compared the shooting to other shootings, assigning it the winning rank. They dragged out victims of similar crimes to ask what they felt. They almost got a police officer from another part of the country to say that the local police failed. The charismatic anchors said sensitive words of thanks to the EMS workers. Worst of all was the tracking beauty shot of the weapons that were probably used. It was enough to shake me out of the Church of the Holy Fact.

So I turned instead to another fact source, Edens Lost & Found. This program restored my belief that people can use facts to solve problems, at least some of the time.

Talk to the Ham

Because I scream real good, I was allowed to accompany the horror movie mavens (whose ability to scream has been destroyed by years of kill shots) to see Grindhouse.

Not only did I scream during the entertaining severed limb-a-thon. I claimed my blood right by actually talking to the movie! Some movies demand to be talked to, if not slapped upside the head, so I talked to Quentin Tarantino's half of the bill. If he'd have been there in person, I might have slapped him upside the head, if I didn't suspect that he'd enjoy it a little too much.

One Answer to the Noise

One of the more sensible responses to the recent radio controversy.

Her ambition runs amok! (contains yet another list)

Since the homeownership thing isn't going to happen any time soon (unless a certain local rumor is true), I'm looking for another inspiring life goal that's a bit more challenging than knitting another hat. Here are some possibilities:

Nice:
buying a computer
getting a fish

Exciting:
buying a digital camera
taking a vacation to a place where I have no known relatives

Gratifying:
adopting a dog
getting published

There are other more practical goals out there, but who wants to read about them? The goals that I've listed here are lackluster enough.

Less Arrgg

Knowledge is power. The truth shall set you free. Etc. Etc. I also found it helps to walk around for a long time.

Since I am considering homeownership, I walked to the sites of some properties in my projected price range and while I didn't love the locations at all, the excersise did me a lot of good and I now have a clearer picture of what I like to see in a residential area:

Things I have come to accept:
aluminum siding
overwhelming lawn and window decor
astro turf
living room on the porch
people yelling out the window at friends and neighbors

Signs of a potential bargain location:
children of immigrants
fruit truck
elderly people tending yards
imaculate boat-sized American cars form the late '70s/early '80s
neighbors joking with each other

Signs that the location will not be a "good investment":
more than one storefront church per block
more than one pair of athletic shoes dangling from the phone wires
young man on porch is already angry and it's only 10 am on Sunday morning

Signs that the area is already too expensive:
new yoga studio
more than one white person per block
anti-gentrification stickers