Ashyknees' Time Killer

The author is willing, but her punctuation is weak.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Thanksgiving on the Prairie

This year I flew home to see Mom and Dad. By flying in the Sunday before Thanksgiving, I saved a bit of money and a ton of travel stress. Would you believe no lines at the Philly airport security check?

On Monday, I spent a lovely morning with the Merland mother and her spunky tot. The guy sitting next to us at French Meadow complemented Mama on her parenting skills.

On Tuesday, Mom kindly agreed to take me to the Frida show at the Walker, even though bloody organs and untamed facial hair are not her cup of tea. The delightful Hubley cartoons had been replaced by Samadhi , a triptactular film from 1968, which brought to mother's mind the creation of the universe. Later, we stopped in a fancy yarn shop in the latest neighborhood to be touched by hipster angels.

On Wednesday, Mom, Dad and I enjoyed a movie made by MN homies, No Country for Old Men.

Thursday brought the feasting. I forgot to put sugar in the breakfast muffins. I tried to salvage them by making them into bread pudding, but I didn't use enough liquid. Other than that, all the foods were delicious.

Using the fancy yarn shop yarn, I managed to knit up a scarf for Mom before it was time to go.

On Friday, I flew back to Philly. Again, the airport was calm. I wish I'd packed more juicy meats and pies into my suitcase for the trip back to Philly, but I was afraid that they could be confiscated at airport security.

Black Friday Blues and Safety Orange

In previous years I had scoffed and the consumerist fools who lined up before dawn for day after Thanksgiving bargains. But this year I couldn't resist joining in. It was Best Buy's $229 laptop and printer bundle that got to me. It turns out that the only consumerist fool is a fool that returns to bed empty handed after dragging her ass out of a warm house at 3 a.m. only to find that she's about 2 hours too late to get her quarry. Speaking of quarry, there was one guy near the front of the line wearing safety orange winter hunting gear. I guess next time I do the Black Friday thing, I'll need to approach it with that safety orange mindset.

The good news of Black Friday, one that's a bit more familiar to someone who prefers black clothes to safety orange camo, is that I saw a fine film at the Ritz. Margo at the Wedding was the first artsy and not bloody movie I've seen in months. Although initially I was a little put off by the photography (at first I was like, is this a 70s flashback or more Hal Ashby wannabe madness?), I kind of got used to it and came to appreciate the available light thing since it fit with the familial themes. The whole cast was excellent, especially the children. That Nicole Kidman may look like a Barbie Doll on the red carpet, but when it comes to choosing interesting roles and bringing them to life, she makes other stars look like molded plastic.

After a major holiday, seeing a movie about a family that's way more screwed up than mine is a refreshing tonic. This is the kind of family comedy that would have me rolling on the floor with laughter if I didn't think people would look at me and go "God, if she thinks that's funny, her childhood must have been hell." I think the story kind of freaked out the woman sitting next to me.

During the post movie discussion--this movie should really get people talking--someone asked whether anyone knew any people who were as screwed up as some of the characters in this movie. Er, well...not quite.

Friday, November 16, 2007

The Bloody Obvious and Its Bleeding Interpretations

Here's a link to a refreshing article addressing that old chestnut, the liberal bias of university faculty.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2007/11/16/conservative

Perhaps there are fewer conservatives in higher education because conservatives are more attracted to fields that are lucrative and stable. Wow!

Sadly, the comments that follow it contain the same stale arguments on the issue. Particularly annoying are the people who complain that there are few conservatives in higher ed because the work done there isn't useful. Are these people upset about being excluded from doing useless things? That's like me criticizing a skeet shooting club for not knitting more socks and having more knitters as members.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Constitutional Fun

I have two copies of the Constitution of the United States of America and I'm not afraid to use them.

On days when I can't think of anything juicy to blog about, I plan to comment on the Law of the Land in my own inimitable layperson style, unencumbered by any extensive study of law, philosophy, history or that stuff.

Inspired by Qui and Ten's gun totin' weekend, I'll jump straight to the good part.

Amendment II

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep an bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

In some parts of the Constitution, such as the first amendment, it seems that the authors were doing their best to truly write for the ages. In other parts, the third amendment for instance, it's pretty obvious that the founders were focused on specific issues that they were dealing with at the time. (Like, you know how some people, I'm not naming names here, I'm just saying, like when some people have the nerve to quarter troops in my place? Whoa, that is not cool.) The second amendment seems to fall between these two poles. Unfortunately, when it comes to Amendment II, I don't know what the heck these guys' problem was. I suspect they wanted soldiering on the cheap, but that's just a guess. I am forced to do as my 11th grade English teacher instructed, that is, go to the text.

Apparently, a well regulated Militia was the order of the day, and of any day, so to make sure we have such a militia, the people get to keep and bear Arms. I can't say I'm unprejudiced here--living in a highly populated area with a rising murder rate and wanting to remain unshot--but since the part about a well regulated Militia comes first and that the right of the people stuff follows it and is not separated from it by an "and", I'm thinking that the well regulated Militia is really what it's all about. The stuff that comes after is exciting, but if it's not about getting at the well regulated Militia goodness, then you might not get to keep that rocket launcher on your porch, son. I know a rocket launcher is an Arm. I know it looks cool. It may make you a militia of one, but does it make you a well regulated Militia that is necessary to the security of a free State? I don't think so. If anyone wants to keep a rocket launcher someplace where they can't blow up their neighbors (eliminating one of the main selling points of such a toy), they can, but on my block, that's the kind of possession that needs to be infringed upon. The same goes for concealed weapons at the Wawa.

Earning My Keep

The last couple of weeks have been mad busy here at the office. While I didn't have time for blogging, I did enjoy some weekend activities.

A couple of weekends ago, I saw American Gangster with Trix. I guess I'm with the imdb goof squad on the Wu-Tang Clan tattoo that RZA (since I'm watching the same movies as my mom and otherwise turning into an old lady, I almost called him The RZA) was sporting in one scene. While I was watching the film, I thought, wow, maybe there was some kind of old school Wu Tang thing going on in the late 60s/early 70s, perhaps inspired by a martial arts movie or something, but after the movie had ended and my suspended disbelief had landed, I couldn't find anything to justify this anachronistic gaff. Russell Crowe's coiffure, however, was ruthlessly period accurate. Not since he shaved his head for Romper Stomper has he made such a hairstyle sacrifice. That's dedication.

I was in NY for a day last week and it was okay. I was happy to discover Miss Jessie's Curl Pudding at a Ricky's in(near?) Hell's Kitchen. I also discovered the pleasures of anchovy fried rice. Later I visited Miss Jessie's website and was inspired by their natural hair how-tos and before and after pictures. There is hope in a jar.

More discoveries, Chinese Radish and some kind of asian pear that begins with "v."

P.S. The Asian pear actually begins with a Y. It's the Yoinashi. That means good noshing.

This weekend, I visited a friend and her baby. I painted a picture of an acorn squash. It too was okay, for a beginner.