Musings From Upstate

Edinburgh III

2007-12-23T14:39:00.000-08:00

Edinburgh II

2007-12-23T14:28:00.001-08:00

Edinburgh I

2007-12-23T14:24:00.001-08:00

Amsterdam III

2007-12-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Amsterdam II

2007-12-23T08:31:00.001-08:00

Amsterdam I

2007-12-23T08:27:00.001-08:00

Nothing to Declare

2007-12-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to update my blog. I have nothing to say at this time.

I have been traveling a lot over the past month, and haven't had time to keep up with the blog. Will get around to some serious updating soon.

Pictures of Amsterdam and Edinburgh are forthcoming.

Currently, I'm sitting in my office killing time before a 1:00 p.m. meeting. Nothing to say. Nothing to declare.

jb

On Holiday

2007-11-17T15:44:00.000-08:00

Starting tomorrow, I will be on an official holiday. A. and I are flying to Amsterdam tomorrow night, and on Thursday we go to Scotland. We will return to New York on Monday Nov 26th. A. is doing some research in Amsterdam, and I'm going along for the ride. We have friends currently living in Scotland so we will pop over and see them in Edinburgh, and another friend from Minnesota (who now lives in London) is coming up from England to see us while we are there. Whew! Should be a whirlwind trip, but just what the doctor ordered.

jb

Taser Parties

2007-11-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

First there was pepper spray, now there are tasers, dammit! Saw a report on TV this morning that taser parties are the new women's tupperware parties, and these social events are spreading throughout the country. All over women are gathering at each other's homes learning how to use tasers to immobolize potential attackers.

Funny enough, one of the news anchors reporting the story (a male) seemed aghast by these social gatherings. He kept emphasizing the small number of deaths associated with tasers, and seemed positively horrified that some women would want to use them for protection. Another news item I read called it a "dubious trend."

I'm all for it. I am so sick of hearing about the violent deaths of women. Everyday there is a story in the news of a woman or girl being brutalized by men. It's a virtual holocaust, I'm convinced. Anyway, as long as this is the world in which we live, we should have the right to defend ourselves by any means necessary. And tasers seem much more effective than pepper spray!

jb

Watery Dreams

2007-11-06T12:01:00.000-08:00

Twice in the past week I have had a similar dream. In my dream, Anne and I live in an old, rickety house that I am uncomfortable in, and disapppointed that we own, like we made a mistake in buying it. This house has water leaks in the ceiling. Last night I dreamed I woke up to find standing water in 2-3 rooms of the old house. I was, of course, upset, wondering how we were going to fix the problem and prevent future leaks. The water in my dreams is clear, and leaking slowly, and not rapidly or overwhelming.

What the hell does this mean? I've read that water in dreams is quite common and can mean a number of things. Typically water represents emotion, and sometimes rebirth, renewal and creativity. But I don't know what it means when it's leaking slowly from the ceiling in a decrepit old house.

Big Bold Songs 2

2007-11-05T20:29:00.001-08:00

Simon and Garfunkel's "Hazy Shade of Winter," (as performed here by The Bangles ) permeates P.J.'s "Big Exit. Check it out in the previous post, people.

Big Bold Songs 1

2007-11-05T20:18:00.001-08:00

Note the similarites between P.J. 's "Big Exit" and the Simon and Garfunkel penned, "Hazy Shade of Winter, by the Bangles in the next recent post, Big Bold Songs 2

Wine Club

2007-11-04T09:04:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday we met a C's house for our monthly wine club meeting to taste some good Zinfandels. Zinfandels are only made in the U.S., and are created or patterned after Italian Primotivos. Here's a list of what we enjoyed:

1. Summers Zinfandel (2003) Napa Valley, California
2. Ridge (2003) Cupertino, Sonoma Valley, California. Pagani Ranch
3. Ridge (1994) Sonoma County, California. Monte Rosso
4. Ridge (1985) Howell MT, California.
5. Ridge (1984) Geyersville, California.

My favorite was the Ridge 1985. Good stuff.

Next month: Pinot Noir.

Sunday in November

2007-11-04T08:57:00.000-08:00

Most of the leaves have fallen, the chill is in the air, and the heat is on inside mi casa.

November is off to a good start. Celebrated Anne's 36th last Thursday with some friends. Yesterday drove to a nearby independent movie theatre to see Into the Wild with a friend. Today, I'm doing laundry, going to see a Korean film called Oldboy on campus later, and then I'm back to my couch to watch the Patriots/Colts game.

Novemver will be a busy month. Tuesday I leave for WV for 6-7 days. And in two weeks I will be flying to Amsterdam. Anne is doing some research there, and I'm going along for the ride, and all the fun that Amsterdam has to offer. On Thanksgiving we fly from Amsterdam to Scotland to see a few friends. It will be a fast and furious week, but should be a great adventure.

jb

Life is Good

2007-10-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Code Pink Confronts Condi

2007-10-24T20:40:00.001-07:00

this clip is hot. i would be very surprised if a mainstream news organization showed this or presented it as news. they do not like to cover dissent at CNN or MSNBC. Fox "news" might show it, but would only warp it with all their crazy, right wing propaganda.

I agree. Take her to the Hague, along with Bush, Cheney and Tony Blair.

Built Environments: The Madness of Dubai

2007-10-21T08:31:00.001-07:00

I can't get my head around the physical place and concept of Dubai, that excessive, growing metropolis in the United Arab Emirates. The ruler of Dubai is Sheikh Mohammed Al bin Rashid Maktoum, and he is hell bent on making this city the largest, richest place on earth. He wants to give Arabs what westerners have enjoyed for a long time: mega shopping centers, prime ocean front real estate, swank nightclubs, theme parks and all sorts of things one keep one entertained- especially the rich.

Construction began in Dubai in 2000, and what has been accomplished so far is simultaneusly astounding, and distrubing. I say astounding just because of the sheer creativity and magnitude of the projects, and the speed by which they are being developed. I say disturbing because this development is happening in the desert, and off shore, with major environmental repurcussions. It's almost like someone threw down the gauntlet to pressure people to create the uncreatable, to dream as big as you can and then make those dreams reality. I picture board rooms of Arab and Western men concocting development plans and schemes with assurances that both the money and the talent is in place to literally make these plans concrete. They probably ask themsevles "can we do this?" but never "should we do this"? And these developers prey on the poor to build their dreams. They ship desperate people in from all over the middle east (housing them in barracks outside of Dubai) forcing them to work long hours in the hot sun for $4.00 a day! Tremendous wealth is being built on the backs of the poor.

Currently, Dubai has the tallest building in the world - the Burj Dubai, the highest of the high rises. They are currently (everything is current in Dubai) making the largest shopping areas in the world, and also the biggest theme parks on the planet. But they strive to make connections between old culture and the new. For example, they still have camel races but instead of using children to steer the camels, the men in Dubai use electronic whips tied to the camel's back while they follow along in their SUVs operating the remote control devices. In short, Dubai sounds like Las Vegas, Orlando, and New York City all rolled into one. Terribly excessive in every way.

The place is being built with oil money and, of course, it serves the appetites of the very, very wealthy. Many westerners are buying vacation homes there, shopping in the finest stores, eating the best food, dancing at the swankiest clubs. You get the picture. And since space is at a premium, developers in Dubai have just started building offshore. That's right, housing developments and islands are being created by shipping in massive amounts of sand from nearby regions. These developments are intended to be vacation homes for the super rich, who will hardly spend any time there. People who actually live in Dubai pay no taxes, but it's very expensive to live there, and you have no citizenship no matter how long you are there.

Check out this promotional video about "the world" which is a series of man-made islands where everyone can have their dream home.

Strange Weather

2007-10-20T20:18:00.000-07:00

This week in upstate the temperture had been in the 60's and 70's. By Monday we are expected to reach 80. So far this fall it has never really cooled off. I feel like Im still in the final days of summer, although the leaves are falling from the trees.

Is there anyone on the right who still believes global warming isn't real, or just apocalyptic tales spun to strike fear in the population? Are there still conservative cranks who reject or manipulate the scientific evidence of global warming? Yes, there are. I caught the tale end of a Bush speech a couple of weeks ago, and he said we have to "reject the doomsday phrophicies" and work to make our environment better. So, he is one of those cranks who still resist the presence of global warming. To him, making the environment better means allowing business as usual while using the language of environmentalism to deny, obfuscate or manipulate the political and environmental realities.

As John Stewart says, everything this administration says they are, in fact, they are the opposite - "America doesn't torture." Uh, yes, it does. Ask some people in guantanomo. "We're gonna do what it takes to rebuild New Orleans." Uh, no. You have not and will not do that. Instead this administration turned the rebuilding of New Orleans over to the private sector, who is making millions off this disaster, and still the town looks like Katrina happened last week. "No child left behind." Ha. There are many children being left behind (in terms of healthcare) now thanks to the mean-spirited veto of the Schip legislation.

Anyway, back to global warming. I live in an area surrounded by lakes both big and small. I was told that these lakes are about 4 degress warmer than they should be this time of year, which means they are going to have difficulties freezing, which means we are gonna get clobbered by snow this year. Again.

My Favorite Graveyard

2007-10-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

I love graveyards. There are two graveyards in my town. One that has the "founding fathers" of Clinton, with remains of people born in the 1700"s and early 1800's. The other sits upon a hill and has old and fairly new graves. Last year I started a Halloween tradtion of walking through one of the graveyards at sunset. These pics I took last Halloween, right after dark.

Hillary Clinton's Bullshit

2007-10-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting, albeit brief, post about the candidacy of Hillary Clinton for president. Damn, it's hard to blog with a cat on your lap, but I digress. This post was written by Roseanne on her blog, roseanneworld. Since Roseanne is a long time feminist, some might conclude that she would automatically support Clinton. Apparantly this is not the case. In fact, she has stated that her dream ticket is Al Gore (Mr. nobel peace prize winner) and John Edwards (cutey with a $200 haricut.).

So, this democratic ticket is, indeed, very interesting and the most diverse group of candidates we have even seen in American politics. The republicans, on the other hand, are soooo boring with their tired, old, white guy procession in election after election after election. I have no idea who I'm going to vote for.

Dennis Kucinich is most in line with my own political beliefs, but he is not a viable candidate. Still I'm happy to have a voice like his in the conversation. Mike Gavel cracks me up. I'm so glad he is part of the debates, for comic relief if nothing else. Barak? He's a bit green, but I do like his stance on many things - just not gay marriage. He didn't vote for this criminal war, but he wasn't in the senate at that time, so who knows what he would have done. Hilary? She's actually the most conservative of the entire pool. I hate her war vote, and in general, I find her a bit hawkish. I don't like her stance on gay marriage or Israel. John Edwards? He has more experience than Obama, but I didn't like his war vote, or his current stance on gay marriage. Still he has lots of good ideas and actual programs. Plus, he is so damn cute.

I am excited about the prospect of having a woman president. I can't lie. It would be absolutely amazing, a historical paradigm shift, to see a woman in the white house. Not to mention an ex-president as the first, first man! But is my desire to see a Mrs. President so strong that I"m willing to vote for a woman who doesn't fully represent my views?

That will be the big question for me on election day.

Anyway, below is Roseanne's blog entry about Hillary:

"Hillary Clinton's Bullshit"

"Hillary Clinton is going to ram through what Bush couldn't with her fake health care insurance 401k bullshit. She is the same as Bush in every way, and just because she is a woman and women think that is good makes me want to puke"

jb

More Mariza

2007-10-12T18:13:00.001-07:00

This one is called "Povo Que Lavas No Rio"

Love how she sings it the traditional way by standing within the crowd without a microphone.

MARIZA

2007-10-12T11:34:00.001-07:00

OH.MY.GOD.

I just heard the most amazing singer last night. Her name is Mariza and she is a Fado singer from Portugal. Words fail. Just watch the performance.

This song is called "Genta Da Minha Terra."

Straight Marriage

2007-10-11T17:22:00.000-07:00

A moratorium on straight marriages should be called immediately.

I call on all my straight friends and relatives not currently marrried to take a stand, and refuse to enter into this institution until gay people are allowed to marry. For those of you already married, encourage other straight people to refrain from marrying until full equality has been obtained.

I call on all gay people to not support the marriages of their straight friends and family. This means that you should gently and respectfully tell them that you won't attend their weddings until they are able to attend ours.

Let's face it, straight marriage is a joke, a complete and utter failure. I'm not saying that queers could do any better with the institution, but, dammit, we should have the same opportunities to fuck it up:)

My stance on marriage is a new one. I now see it as a good issue around which to rally support for full equality under the law for queer people. My opinion on marriage changed this week actually when I read that Pamela Anderson got married (again) to some sleazy sex tape producer. She should be the poster child for the fight for gay marriage. How many times has Pam been married? She seems to marry and divorce so casually. There are many straight people like her, and yet most people see queers as the biggest threat to marriage. It's illogical.

So, straight people, STOP GETTING MARRIED. And gay people, QUIT GOING TO STRAIGHT WEDDINGS until you are allowed to marry.

jb

Cell Phone Dead

2007-10-08T10:12:00.000-07:00

Yep, my motorala razr phone died on Friday. My beloved partner washed it in a pair of shorts. This is the third time I have lost a cell phone to water.

The first time I had a cell phone submerged in water was when my beloved washed it in a pair of shorts. The same shorts I was wearing last Friday, btw. I waited a week and tried the phone, and much to my surprise, it started working again.

The seond time I lost a phone to water while in a flood in New Orleans (pre Katrina). I had taken a cab from the French Quarter to our hotel on Lake Charles avenue during a torrential downpour and flood. I stepped out of the cab, and water was virtually up to my waste. My phone was in the pocket of my shorts (you guessed it, the same pair of shorts I was wearing last Friday) and it got soaked as soon as I stepped out of the cab.

The third time was last Friday. I am now waiting to see if it will dry out and work again before I plunk down money for a new one.

I think I'm going to burn those shorts........

jb

On Becoming an Oenophile

2007-10-01T11:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am fast becoming an oenophile. I have drank a lot of wine over the years, but have decided to really start learning about it and collecting bottles.

Yesterday, a small group of fellow oenophiles had our first wine tasting event. Our 7 member group enjoyed 5 different types of Syrah, complimented with a good fritatta, mild cheese and bread. It was spectacular. All of the wines selected were awesome. Here is the list of what we enjoyed:

1. Bridlewood Estate Winery Reserve Syrah (2003). Central coast, California.

2. Rosenblum Petite Syrah - Apellation Series (2005) San Fransisco Bay, California.

3. Stolpman Estate Syrah (2004) Santa Ynez, Santa Barbara county, California.

4. J.L. Chave Hermitage- Rouge (1983) Northern Rhone Valley, France.

5. E. Guigal Hermitage - Rouge (1978). Northern Rhone Valley, France.

I enjoyed the J.L. Chave Hermitage from 1983 the most.

Anyway, we are meeting monthly and each person will bring a bottle of whatever grape we choose to focus on that month. The grape for next month's tasting is one of my faves: zinfandel.

I've got the wine bug. Off to buy a case.

jb

Working For The Man

2007-09-24T15:02:00.001-07:00

P.J. Harvey's 9th album, White Chalk, will be released tomorrow. I first heard P.J. Harvey in 1993, and was instantly hooked on her dark reinvention of the blues from a female perspective. I was fortunate to see her at the famed First Avenue, a music club in Minneapolis in 2004. While I always loved her music, I was struck by what a great performer she is. For some reason I didn't expect her to have such stage presence, but she is amazing live. She's a true artist, and I don't use that term loosely.

This video, "Working for the Man" is from her 4th cd, To Bring You My Love. P.J. at her best.....

JB

Trim the Bush

2007-09-20T09:26:00.000-07:00

This is me with a sign I made to attend a rally protesting the appearance of G.W. in Minnesota in 2004. This was before the elections that year when an ill-informed, fearful, ignorant American populace voted this imbecile and his criminal administration into office for the second time.

Why isn't impeachment being seriously considered? What more evidence do we need connecting this fool with wrong-doing? He has destroyed our country, and we will be dealing with the effects of this administration for many years to come.

Let's review all of the failed policies and neglect of this oligarchy.

1. The Iraq War. About 1 million Iraqi civilians have died so far in this 4 year war for oil. George Bush and Tony Blair should be charged with war crimes.

2. Katrina. While poor black people in New Orleans drowned, the U.S. government did nothing, and is still doing nothing to help the thousands displaced. Instead we let private companies handle the disaster, which means nothing is being done. For more info on "disaster capitalism" check out the latest edition of Harper's magazine with a good article by Naomi Klein.

3. Guantanomo. Thousands of people captured, held and tortured for years without being formally charged with a crime. It's disgraceful.

4. The Patriot Act. Legalized governmental spying on it's citizens.

5. Taxes. Bush exhibits the worst republican tendency of taxing the poor and middle class while the filthy rich pay very little.

6. Deficit spending. The Iraq war costs about 10 million dollars an hour, and taxpayers are footing the bill. But wait. We are actually spending money that we no longer have because he has turned a surplus into a deficit. A report on The Hufington Post today reveals that Bush said he received a "B" in Econ101 at Yale. Turns out he actually received a "C-" which is considered a "gentlemen's C" which means that professors (at places like Harvard and Yale) with poor students from the wealthy elite give their students a "C-" out of graciousness when they actually earned Fs in the class.

7. Vetoing stem cell research bill. This right wing evangelical resists stem cell research that could save lives and treat conditions like paralysis and alzhiemers. What an idiot.

8. Wanting to privatize Social Security. Thank goodness this lame brain idea went nowhere fast.

9. Using gay peopole as a scapegoat to create fear and stir up homophobia in the general population. This actually led to Bush's re-election in 2004.

There are a million other reasons to impeach Bush and his devious administration. If anyone would care to add to the list, feel free.

jb

DIET

2007-09-17T12:51:00.000-07:00

on august 8 i started a heart healthy diet. so far i've lost 11 pounds. this diet was prompted by a health scare that didnt' happen to me, but to my sister, kathy. kathy is 52, and recently had to have 2 stints put in her body because of blockage to her heart.

we have a history of heart disease in our family. my father had 3 heart attacks, the first one in his late 30's, and the last one killed him at the age of 72. he never really fit the profile of a heart disease patient, but still, he had problems. my mother had heart bypass surgery in 2003.

i really don't want heart problems, particularly at a relatively young age. so, i guess the time for action is now.

anne is going along with DIET, although i'm not sure why. she has no heart disease in her family. but, she's lost 5 pounds.

we are making a movie called DIET out of this experience. well, i should say we are shooting footage - don't know if anything interesting will come of it, but we have a new imac and a video camera so we thought we would try and create something.

i'll keep ya posted.

jb

Biting the Hand That Feeds You

2007-09-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

My beloved dog, Smith, gave me a scare yesterday. While walking in my dog-infested neighborhood, we encountered a little long haired white dog (breed unknown to me) who started lunging at Smith and barking wildly. Well, my dog needs virtually no invitation to display aggression at small dogs, so he started pacing, jumping and barking at the little dog while I desperately tried to restrain him on the leash.

While trying to get a tighter hold on this 70 lb beast, he lunged AT ME ripping a hole in my shirt. I yelled and he lunged at me again. Finally I was able to get control of him, and nervously walked his violent ass home.

I wish I knew more about dog psychology to know why the fuck he did this. This marks the third time he has done this to me. On another occasion he scratched my breast while trying to get to two snappy beagles. Smith is never aggressive with me any other time, and he's never done this to Anne. Each time he has shown this behavior toward me, he is trying to get at another dog, and it's like I'm in the way, or he's trying to take me out so that he can eventually get to his real target!

If anybody has thoughts on this, please share. All I know is that it's very disturbing to have your own dog try and attack you.

jb

Labor Day Weekend

2007-09-04T08:10:00.000-07:00

My labor day weekend holiday was one of the most interesting in recent memory. Here is the short and sweet version of events.

Saturday - Had dinner with a couple of colleagues. Spent a cool but pleasant late summer evening sitting by a fire drinking wine and talking. These colleagues live on 39 acres of land, and are growing every flower and vegetable possible this time of year in upstate. Our dinner was filled with fresh stuff thye had grown. It was a lovely evening.

Sunday - Drove to Connecticut to visit some old friends. We were invited to a dinner on Sunday night where the guest of honor was Fatemeh Haghighatjoo, a woman who spent 4 years in the Iranian parliment. She is no longer serving in parliment, and has been on some kind of research fellowship at Harvard. This year she is on a visiting teaching appointment at the University of Connecticut - in the women's studies dept. Fatemeh is part of the reformist branch of Iranian politics, hoping to spread deomocracy in the country. She was recently "disqualified" from parliment by a government board because the current president Mahmood Ahmadinejad and his administration represent the conservative point of view in the country. She says there are about 14 women in the Iranian parliment out of a total of 200+. This ratio sounds similar to the situation in the U.S. :)

Monday - Drove to Newport, Rhode Island to take a boat tour in Newport Harbor with friends. It was a glorious day and fun to be on a boat in the ocean. This tour revealed some homes of old monied Americans, such as the Vanderbilts, Kennedy's etc. Lots and lots of cool boats, big and small in the harbor there. It was a lot of fun.

jb

Dog Days

2007-09-01T10:34:00.000-07:00

Remaining Weeks of Summer.
Filled with Sun and Friends.
Too Few Minutes in Our Days.

Down Boy

2007-08-27T14:26:00.001-07:00

Speaking of great New York rock bands, check out the latest from the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs called "Down Boy."

Wolf Like Me

2007-08-26T19:04:00.001-07:00

Saw a coyote running down my street today. Didn't know New York had coyotes.

Called to mind the song "Wolf Like Me" by the great New York band, TV on the Radio.

Scenes from Ireland (Part III)

2007-08-22T10:41:00.001-07:00

changing our currency from euros to pounds in northern ireland. i was struck by the prominence of the queen on this bill, or is it a note?

an incredibly old bar in galway. 1649. unbelievable.

a "human statue" in galway. this guy was part of the galway arts festival going on in july. various types of artists and art works are scattered throughout this city during this noted festival.

one of the oldest crosses in europe -from around 900. this is located in the cemetary that houses the remains of william butler yeats.

a restaurant in cork. love the name.

we visited this center cork as part of anne's research.

this is a silver toilet in an incredibly smoky bathroom. ireland no longer allows smoking in restaurants and bars. what you see here is fake smoke or fog that was pumping through this gay dance club in cork. we thought it was weird but everyone else seemed to enjoy the mood it created.

a pic of the quaint, traditional irish town of dingle.

anne after the guiness storehouse tour in dublin. everyone got a "free" pint after the tour in the top floor of the storehousethat overlooks the city of dublin. love those glass walls.

this shot of anti-polish grafitti was taken in a back alley in dublin. the poles are the largest group migrating to ireland.

perhaps the most famed bar and music venue in galway. there is also a version of this bar in boston, but it is known by it's english translation, the black rose.

our little micra rental car. we had some scary moments in this tiny car but it served us well.

Scenes from Ireland (Part II)

2007-08-22T09:49:00.000-07:00

the coast of southwest ireland.

a familiar sight on irish streets - full and empty kegs of guiness. this was taken in galway.

a street in dublin.

inside of a church located beside the grave of w.b. yeats.

yeats grave.

from giant's causeway in northern ireland.

a wall in dublin celebrating it's famed musicians.

the home of guiness in dublin.

dublin castle

billboard at a dart station north of dublin.

dun laoghaire pier, looking out at dublin bay at dusk.

an announcement on the streets of cork.

Scenes from Ireland (Part I)

2007-08-07T09:25:00.001-07:00

anne, unlike, nanci griffith, can drive on the left side of the road.

me on shop street in galway with oscar wilde.

anne resting along a medieval wall in galway. unfortunately, they built a mall around this long-standing wall in an attempt to connect the past with the present.

on the streets of dublin trying to find shelter from the relentless rain. i look like a wet dog as we try to find the guiness storehouse museum (our mecca).

anne in cork city.

me on the dingle peninsula in southwest ireland.

me in northern ireland at giant's causeway near the town of bushmill.

anne on the dingle peninsula

anne goes to trinity college in dublin......

me in the town of dingle.

Out of the Office

2007-07-16T08:02:00.000-07:00

Leaving for Ireland in the morning. Will be gone until July 27th. I hope to make some blog updates, but I'm not sure what my internet access will be like while traveling.

So, out of the office, into the air, and on to the green hills of Ireland for a much needed vacation.

JB

Environmental Discourse

2007-07-13T07:12:00.000-07:00

Was just speaking with a friend about Al Gore's acclaimed documentary *An Inconvenient Truth,* and bitching about the film's shortcomings. As most of you know, the issue of mountaintop removal coal mining is very important to me. I consider it the greatest environmental injustice of our time, and I wish more people would care about it as much as I. In this film , Al Gore didn't mention MTR a single time. The closest he came was when he off-handedly said something to the effect: "and now instead of shovels, we have huge draglines " that delve into the earth to extract engergy etc etc. It was purposely vague, but some of us, including WV Sierra Club rep, Bill Price, noted that he was referring to MTR without explicitly talking about it. Incidentally, a dragline is a huge piece of machinery (sometimes called Big John) that scoops up coal from recently blown up mountaintops.

Herein lies a big problem with some environmentalists. It seems that in the public discourse about global warming, most people only want to talk about environmental problems from an emissions standpoint. I suppose this makes sense, to a certain extent, because much of environmental discourse is focused on global warming, C02 emissions etc etc. But we also need to be aware of the production of engery, on the shop floor, if you will. Most environmentalists don't want to talk about the extraction of energy sources, like coal, and what this does to nearby communities, and how this contributes to our current environmental mess. We have to start talking not only about emissions, or consumption, but also production if we are really serious about saving the planet.

joyce

Legalize It

2007-06-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Despite the title, this blog entry has nothing to do with the famous Peter Tosh song. What I am referring to is the legalization of a 10 year, queer relationship. Woo-Hoo. Hurray for us.

A. and I have have talked frequently over the years about getting legal protections for our relationship since national, state and local law doesn't officially recognize our union as legitimate. But we have put it off for various reasons. Primarily, we have always thought we had plenty of time to take care of our arrangements, and also we have been reluctant to think about our deaths, property, power of attorney, and all the other things that come into play when you try to legalize an illegal domestic/romantic union.

But we aren't getting any younger and realized that the time to take action is now. So, we started the paper work today and by next week it should all be processed.

We are now, officially, legally, together in some aspects of the law. While it's not "real" marriage, it makes me feel good. Sad that some forms drawn up by a lawyer would have this effect on two people who, in our eyes, have been married for quite some time. But it's true. I feel different.

Today, I feel married and protected.

Time to crack open the champagne.

jb

Life in the Interstices

2007-06-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

Life in the interstices.

Neither here nor there.

Neither this nor that.

A radical place to be?

Spring Research Trip

2007-06-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

I visited the coal fields of WV in May to see the family and do some research. Here are some pics from my trip.

This is a mountaintop removal mining site at Kayford, WV. About 1,000 feet of mountain tops are lopped off to unearth the coal. This site is actually a small one - 900 acres. The largest mountaintop removal site in WV is around 12,000 acres. 3 millions pounds of explosives are used everyday in the coalfields at MTR sites.

This was also taken on Kayford Mountain. The large truck is dumping the waste of this MTR operation over the decapitated mountain. But this material is no longer called "waste." The Bush administration re-wrote an environmental law and this waste is now referred to as "fill" which makes the dumping of it perfectly legal. To get a sense of the scope of MTR notice the ant-sized vehicles in the foreground of the picture.

Believe it or not, this is a water sample taken straight from the tap of a woman's house in McDowell county, WV. Reminds me of orange soda. This water sample is in Bill Price's office in Charleston. Bill is the local Sierra Club representative fighting the coal industry in the state.

This is the humble office of the Coal River Mountain Watch, an anti-mountaintop removal citizen's group in Boone County, WV. I spend most of my time here when researching in the coal fields. The building is full of local women who joined the group because of the incursions of coal on their homes and land. The mountain mural was painted by one of the members, Sarah, who told me that while she was painting it one motorist drove by and said "if you don't watch it, we'll blow up that mountain too." lovely, huh? She did say other motorists applauded and praised her efforts.

This the the sticker-ridden vehicle of activist Larry Gibson. He is sitting on land worth about 300 million dollars. He refuses to sell his property to coal companies so they are mining around him. The pics of the MTR site above is literally in Larry's backyard. He has received many death threats but continues to stand his ground.

I was trying to get a pic of the plate on the front of this car, but you can't see it clearly. It is a "Friends of Coal" sign that is common in the area. Friends of Coal is a front group for the WV Coal Association. They are engaged in a grassroots campaign to get as many people as possible to support the coal industry. Their propoganda campaigns are very successful as you see their license plates, bumper stickers and signs all over the coal fields.

Some anti-mtr activists paid to erect this billboard that originally said "Stop Destroying My Mountains," signed by God. Vandals changed the signator to "tree huggers," revealing the strong anti-environment presence in the coalfields. This pic was taken in Surveyor, WV on Rte 3 in Raleigh county.

The Gay Bomb

2007-06-12T12:53:00.000-07:00

this is too surreal for words, but thought i would share it anyway.

http://cbs5.com/topstories/local_story_159222541.html

there are many, many problems with the logic here, but i love the assumption that if one suddenly became homosexual, they would be over-sexed.

jb

Going to Ireland

2007-06-05T06:16:00.000-07:00

We bought our tickets last night for an Ireland vacation. We leave July 17 and return July 27. We would stay a bit longer, but we are constrained by a limited amount of vacation days, and Smith, who we don't want to leave in a kennel too long.

Anyway, we fly from JFK to Shannon. Anne hopes to do some research while there, and I'm going along for the ride, but I hope to learn about some Irish environmental programs while there.

JB

Reading Material

2007-06-04T10:34:00.001-07:00

Here is a list of what I've been reading lately:

Richard Preston - The Wild Trees. Wonderful popular science book about recent discoveries of redwood trees in California. Turns out the tallest discovered was in the Fall of last year. It's name is Hyperion and it's 379.1 feet tall. Looking up at the 35 foot pine tree in my backyard, I can't even begin to fathom what this tall tree must look like.

Kate Coleman - The Secret Wars of Judi Bari: A Car Bomb, the Fight for the Redwoods, and the End of Earth First! An interesting book, but a bit too critical of her subject. It was obvious that Kate Coleman didn't particularly care for Judi Bari, which makes me wonder why she invested so much time and energy researching and writing about her.

Patrick Hossay- Unsustainable: A Primer for Global Environmental and Social Justice. Even though it is a primer, it's a fairly informative read, linking the political-economic forces of globalization to the natural world. After reading this you truly understand this mess we're in.

David Pellow & Robert Brulle - Power, Justice and the Environment: A Critical Appraisal of the Environmental Justice Movement. This is a collection of essays from sociologists critiquing the current state of environmental justice theory and praxis. Some of the essays are good, even though I don't fully agree with all of the critiques leveled. Interestingly enough, I bought this book at the World Bank bookstore in Washington D.C.

Andrew Dobson - Environmental Citizenship. A bit too philosophical for my purposes. Dobson is an environmental philosopher and I have used his books in the past. The most interesting aspect of this one is that the phrase "environmental citizenship" was coined by environment Canada - a preservationist department in the Canadian government. It stresses individual, civic responsibility to the natural world. I'm not sure how effective it has been, but interesting nonetheless.

Rinku Sen - Stir it Up: Lessons in Community Organizing and Advocacy. This book is an organizing 101 book with lots of case studies that serve as examples for various facets of political activism. It's a good handbook for any would be community activist.

Robert Gottlieb - Forcing the Spring: The Transformation of the American Environmental Movement. I first read this classic text is the late 90's. I revisited it recently to go over his "chick chapter" for an essay I'm working on.

Jennette Wall - The Glass Castle. In between all of this heavy environmental reading I also devoured this excellent memoir. It's beautifully written, and captures the experiences of a young girl growing up in an eccentric family. Wall is a gossip columinst for MSNBC.

In addition to these books, I have been reading weekly and monthly editions of Harper's, The Nation, The Progressive, Entertainment Weekly, and The New Republic.

Oh, and I read two academic articles recently: Heidi Hartmann's "The Unhappy Marriage of Marxism and Feminism: Towards a More Progressive Union." Read this in graduate school and revisited it recently for the essay I'm working on. STILL one of my all time favorite academic articles. I also read Cathryn Bailey's "We Are What We Eat: Feminist Vegetarianism and the Reproduction of Racial Identity." This was in a recent edition of Hypatia. Terribly classist perspective on vegetarianism.

So, this is my completed list.

Next Up:

Robert Kennedy's Crimes Against Nature
Mike Davis's Buda's Wagon: A Brief History of the Car Bomb
Clifford Connor: A People's History of Science
Elizabeth Engelhardt - Tangled Roots of Feminism: Environmentalism and Appalachian Literature
Barbara Ellen Smith - Neither Separate Nor Equal: Race, Class and Gender in the South
Carolyn Sachs - Women Working in the Environment
Carolyn Sachs- Gendered Fields: Rural Women, Agriculture and Environment
Julian Agyeman. Sustainable Communities and the Challenge of Environmental Justice.
Jeffrey Myers - Converging Stories: Race, Ecology and Environmental Justice in American Literature.

The Moribund Blog

2007-06-04T06:39:00.001-07:00

Haven't felt like updating this blog recently. This is especially unfortunate because my last few entries were so damn depressing. Last month I was having a really hard time with my job situation. I have recently discovered that I don't like administrative work, and that I miss teaching terribly. After some painful emotional processing, I am once again on the hunt for that elusive tenure-track teaching position. Not too many jobs have been posted in the Spring, but I have applied to two so far. We will see what happens. In addition to job stress, I was having a rough time dealing with the realization that my mother is getting old. I was gearing up for her surprise 80th birthday party when I last posted, and was not accepting the fact that she is elderly. In turns out, that birthday party helped me to accept this fact a bit more.

Now, here it is a month later, and I feel much better. So much has been happening lately, but I haven't been into the blog. I must turn this thing around and re-energize my committment to it. For those of you who do follow these ramblings, I apologize for the hiatus and promise to write more frequently.

jb

A Day in the Farce

2007-05-08T06:15:00.000-07:00

okay, okay. reading my last few entires may alarm some of my friends. there is no need to worry; i'm quite all right. yesterday, i was depressed as hell. today, i have a new perspective.

i have been suffering intermittent depression for the past 4 months, but i know this depression is entirely situational. i'm dealing with some shitty circumstances in my life, and some days i can handle them effortlessly, while other days i feel like i'm walking around with a boulder around my neck.

i guess everyone goes through this from time to time. i still believe life is farcical - every thinking person should realize it as such, but i have turned a corner and i'm just gonna keep on keeping on....

jb

Life is a Farce

2007-05-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

Life is ridiculous.

What is the point, really?

It seems stupid and meaningless, and unfortunately this farce goes on and on and on like a fucking wheel that won't stop.

I'm tired of trying. Tired of playing nice. Tired of getting along. Tired of caring. Tired of trying to do the right thing. Tired of spinning my wheels. Tired of falling into emotional holes. Tired of climbing out of them only to fall right back in.

Everything I do everyday is pointless. Everyday is an exercise in humiliation and demoralization. Everyday is mind-numbing. Everyday is a cluster fuck. Today is no exception.

There is no charge. There is no spark. There is no change.

jb

Black day in Blacksburg

2007-04-17T08:03:00.000-07:00

The shootings at Virginia Tech hit close to home. In the mid 90's I spent some of my best years in Blacksburg and the surrounding area. As an M.A. student, at nearby Radford University, my friends and I used to spend countless hours at Tech (as it is known to students in Virginia), and in Blacksburg. We used Tech's impressive library, went to football games, got drunk in local bars, and ate fabulous food at places like The Cellar on North main street there. So many good memories.....

During the summer of 2005, while trying to finish my M.A. degree, I took a Spanish class at Tech - in Norris Hall - and worked at the campus bookstore. I loved Virginia Tech, and Blacksburg; It's a great university town.

The random violence of yesterday hits close to home for these reasons, but also because I have spent much of my adult life teaching and working in institutions of higher education. I have relished the openness and safety of life on college and university campuses. However, there are times when the prospect of this type of violence has been in the back of my mind. I think most professors have worried about a problem student at one point or another ,wondering if that student is capable of such an act, if they have a gun in their backpack etc.

I fear the days of open colleges and universities are over. Here comes the surveillance, the metal detectors......and soon college safety officers will be wearing guns....

joyce

I Love Cornell.....

2007-04-05T12:01:00.000-07:00

I love the Cornell campus, and the town of Ithaca. Wish I lived there. This week I took my sister, Cheryl, and nephew, Elliott, to visit the Cornell campus and take the walking tour. Elliott is currently visiting college campuses as he will be applying for college next year. Here are some pics of our visit...

This is Elliott and Cheryl checking out the view.

Elliott and Cheryl walking to the bookstore after the tour......

Can't remember the name of this building, but female students used to live here in the early days of Cornell. This university was unusual in that it not only admitted female students in the late 1800's, but also allowed them to live on campus. Also, according to our tour guide, Cornell, unlike many colleges and universities at that time, wasn't affiliated with any particular religion. All faiths were practiced on campus. Because of this religious policy, as well as the one admitting female students, people on campus were derisively known as "the heathens on the hill."

Not sure what this is, but I love the shimmery, metal nature of this art piece.

The campus tower.

The front of the Cornell chapel - an amazingly beautiful chapel.

An inside view of the chapel.

Another inside view of the chapel.

One More Joke.....

2007-03-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

I forgot another of my favorite jokes in the last post.

What did one tampon say to the other tampon?

Nothing. They're both stuck up bitches.

jb

Three Jokes

2007-03-21T06:22:00.000-07:00

Here are my three favorite jokes:

1. Did you hear about the fire that swept through the George W. Bush presidential library last weekend?

Both books were completely destroyed.

2. What is the difference between a tale that is told in the North, and one that is told in the South?

The one in the North begins: "Once upon a time, in a land far away......"

The one in the South begins: "Ya'll ain't gonna believe this shit...."

3. What did the deadhead say when he ran out of pot?

Man, this music sucks!

jb

Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette

2007-03-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I saw the latest Sofia Coppola film Marie Antoinette. This is one of the freshest, most innovative and original films to be released last year. I was surprised that it didn't receive more buzz. Perhaps this is because it is set in the 18th century and covers the life of a French monarch.

I won't summarize the film in this entry. I just want to take issue with a review submitted by critics of the A.V. Onion club. I love the A.V. onion club. I visit their site most everyday, and find their reviews spot-on and insightful. So, I was shocked to learn that my beloved club gave Marie Antoinette a "C."

Check out their review: http://www.avclub.com/content/node/54274

I completely disagree with their assessment of this film. While the reviewers call the movie "daring" and Coppola "inventive", the film is ultimately dismissed for being superficial and "checking off" history's highlights through a hurried and ineffective plot.

I don't think this film, and I wouldn't necessarily call it a history or a period piece, is interested in presenting the historical events of the French Revolution or Marie Antoinette's role in the politics of that era. Granted, it is somewhat of a revisionist look at this personality, but overall it is not a film whose mission is to tell a historical story. That story has been told, again and again in film and literature. Furthermore, Coppola, by presenting the interior lives of the monarchy, essentially locks the viewer inside the walls of the Versailles along with them. They, and we, the audience, are not aware of the political situation boiling outside of those walls until it is way too late.

Instead, Coppola gives us a fresh look at monarchy and the people who enter and become trapped in that political system. Coppola's mission is to couple youth with decadence, using this particular French monarchy as her backdrop. Marie Antoinette was only 14 when she moved from Austria to France to assume the throne. Her husband, Louis the XVI, was only 20 when he became king after his father's death. Employing young actors, using the youthful music of the 1980's, showing scenes of champagne drinking, pastry eating, and costumes of opulence all help illustrate Coppola's themes and objectives. The scene with all of the desserts and shoes to the tune of Bow Wow Wow's "I Want Candy" solidifies the film's purpose, and its so fun to watch.

The whole point is that these characters, these historical figures, are young - too young to reign, as the newly appointed king says. And they are caught in a monarchical system where the only thing they have to do is spend money and indulge their senses.

While Lost in Translation was an excellent film, I will go out on a limb to say that Marie Antoinette is bolder, and more original than Coppola's most acclaimed film. It was one of the best films of 2006. Can't wait to see what she does next.

Voting for the Rich

2007-03-14T07:55:00.000-07:00

For the past 7 years, I have wondered why so many Americans vote against their own class interests. For example, why does a working- class, Georgia mechanic with 4 children vote for someone like George W. Bush? For that matter, why would she vote for a republican, the party of elities who work in the interest of other elites?

The explanations for this socio-political phenomena are comlex and varied. An obvious explanation is that republicans have controlled the body politic of this country for many years, setting the cultural and political agenda, through its use of a well-oiled and efficient propoganda machine that convinces the Georgia mechanic that republicans are the party of the people, the comman man. For someone who works long hours, and has tremendous family responsibilties and limited free time to pursue alternatives sources of news, the propoganda is hard to escape and very seductive. She doesn't have to think or act; she simply consumes the information and gets on with her busy schedule.

Another very interesting explanation was provided recently by David Graeber in his article "Army of Altruists," published in the Jan. 2007 edition of Harper's magazine. He connects voting to larger issues of education in this country. Graeber, discussing the increasing impossibility of class mobility through academic accomplishment, suggests that America stills operates on the "promise of unlimited upward mobility." Sure, anyone who has taught college students lately knows that the myth of meritocracy, and that "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and you will become rich and famous" ideology is alive and well in the U.S. However, Graeber notes that today obtaining a college education does not lead one necessarily to a good job or a comfortable income.

Also, he suggests that walls around institutions of higher education are now fortresses, where only an elite few get in - primarily kids from the middle and upper middle classes. He says that the number of working-class students in universities across the country has been declining for decades. As a side note, Graeber says that the inaccessibility of a college education in the 1980's and 1990's was further complicated by the fact that during this time some people who had previously been exluded were now being accepted. This, of course, was the 80's and 90's era of identity politics, but as Graeber tells us, that acceptance of different identities was not extended to the "redneck" or the "baptist" for example.

So, given this social backdrop where education is not even within the realm of possibility for a good portion of the country, Graeber says the reason why the working-classes have voted republican, and for Bush in particular, is quite simple: working-class people can "imagine a scenario in which they might become rich, but cannot possibly imagine one in which they, or any of their children, would become members of the intelligentsia."

This exaplanation not only suggests that the idea that anyone can get rich and be whatever they want in this country is still powerful, but it also assumes that this portion of the populace has come to associate republicans as the party of the little person, and the democrats as the party of educated, intellectual elites. My question is this: how and when did this happen? We know, historically, it has been quite the opposite. And I would argue that it didn't start with the ostensible good ole boy, brush clearing, pick-up truck driving, plain speaking, George W. Bush.

jb

R.I.P. Jean Baudrillard

2007-03-08T12:57:00.000-08:00

Did Baudrillard really die, or is this hyper-reality? Simulacra?

Here is an obituary of sorts : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6425389.stm

I first encountered Baudrillard in a Literary Theory class in my M.A. program. We read Transparency of Evil: Essays on Extreme Phenomena. His most famous ideas of hyper-reality, and simulacra were explained in this text, although he introduced these in earlier works. Anyway, this book hit me like a potent rock n roll song; it was electric. Some of my classmates found it too nihlistic. For example, after reading it, my friend, Scott, suggested that we all slit our wrists because, according to Jean, life had no real meaning or purpose anyway.

Nevertheless, this book sparked my intellect and forced me to look at media in new and unexpected ways. I remember being at a live music event (shortly after reading this text) in a local club in Virginia, with the band on stage in front of me, and two television sets covering the band arranged on both sides of my view. I kept watching the TV sets, rarely looking at the live event in front of me. Of course I thought of Baudrillard ......along with that U2 lyric "even better than the real thing, child."

Later, in my PhD program, the work of Jean Baudrillard was vigorously problemitized for me. How dare he say that the gulf war didn't exist? How dare he focus our attention on image and simulation instead of real world events? Some professors and peers suggested that his work was ultimately conservative, irresponsible and de-politicizing. I don't disagree with these assessments, as postmodernism is hardly a politically transformative theory. It works well in analyses of art, but it seems too playful and self-indulgent to explain or address the material conditions of life. And Baudrillard was a supreme postmodernist in my estimation.

Still, I won't forget my first encounter with Jean Baudrillard. May he rest in peace.

JB

No Person Land

2007-03-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

The title of this blog entry stems from a conversation I had last friday at the campus pub. I was sitting around a table with a professor in sociology at hamilton, a professor in comparative lit at Hamilton, and Janet Halley. Halley (http://www.law.harvard.edu/faculty/jhalley/ ) is a professor of law at Harvard, and was giving lectures at Hamilton last week. Anyway, we were engaging in small talk when Janet turned to me and asked, "so, what do you do here?" I said that my status/position was complicated as I am a PhD looking for that elusive tenure track appointment, currently occupying a fixed, administrative appointment. We talked about spousal hires, being in a two PhD relationship, etc etc - all the bullshit that has been my existence for more years than I care to think about.

After batting around that disturbing subject, Janet asked where we lived in Clinton. To continue the topic of my previous post, we informed her that we lived on Dwight ave., in Fred Wagner's old house. Turns out Janet used to be on the faculty at Hamilton, and has been to parties at Fred's house, I mean, our house. So many people in this community have been to our home - before we set up residence. Anne and I then began to wonder if other former Hamilton professors, such as Eve Sedgwick or Chandra Mohanty had been in our (Fred's ) home. Interesting to wonder......

Anyway, I'm getting off topic. The point of this is, as Janet left the table to go back to her room and nap, she said to me "you have to get out of no person's land."

damn straight.

with a little luck and perserverance maybe someday I will.

jb

No, We Own It

2007-02-26T06:57:00.000-08:00

as most of you know, a. and i moved to clinton, ny in july, 2005 because a. received a job at hamilton college. unbekownst to us, we bought a house previously owned by a beloved english professor at hamilton. He sold the house in 2002 when he moved into a retirement community.

when we tell people in clinton where we live, most automatically say, "oh, in fred's old house." indeed, our house is known as fred's house, because this esteemed academic lived there for many years. this doesn't bother us in the least. what does bother us is this: after establishing that we live in fred's house, the question that invariably follows is: "are you renting"?

renting? excuse me?

why do people always assume a. and i rent instead of own our home? the house we live in is not the kind of house that people rent. it's never been rental property; it's clearly a home that has always been owned. so, why are we always asked this question? do people think that a gay couple can't own a home? two women can't own a home? do we look like we are fresh out of graduate school, and are simply too young to be home owners? last time i looked in the mirror, i saw a 41 year old woman staring back at me - not a 30 year old. what the fuck? i find this question so annoying, and offensive that i want to scream and claw the questioner's eyes out.

so, i have resolved to respond thusly to the following question:

where do you live in clinton?

we live in fred's old house, and no, we don't rent, we own it.

Crazy Academics

2007-02-22T12:07:00.000-08:00

Why are academics so fucked up?

I have been in institutions of higher education for almost twenty years now, as a student, teacher and administrator and I have met the most anti-social, eccentric, socio-pathic, ego-maniacal people imaginable. I don't think all professions contain such characters. Do they?

A few months ago, A. and I were talking about this phenomena, and we made a list of the top 5, crazy- as- fuck academics we have encountered over the years. Rest assured it was not easy to limit the list to 5. I wish I could provide that list here, but since this is on the web, I'd better not. One of them could exact revenge, which would, of course, be done in some shady, underhanded, creative and oh so lethal manner.

This has been weighing on my mind over the past couple of days. You see, I have been dealing with one of the craziest academics I have ever encountered. The extent of this person's craziness is almost beyond belief. Really. While I have met a lot of lunatics in the academy, this person is at the top of the list, and seriously needs to be institutionalized. But this academic has tenure, so there you go. We will all have to suffer this person indefinitely.

oy vey.

joyce

Notes on a ClusterFuck

2007-02-15T11:36:00.000-08:00

saw the acclaimed film *notes on a scandal* this week, and left the theatre with a whoah, what the hell was that all about? what a psychological clusterfuck of a film.

i won't re-hash the plot or really talk about the details of the film here. that info is widely available elsewhere. suffice it to say that this is a movie about obsessions, and moral failings.

what i liked about the film:

the performances. as most everyone has noted, this is an acting tour de force, with judi dench and cate blanchett sparring on screen in a vigorous, superb manner. judi dench is astounding as the frumpy loner, barbara. the twinkle in her eyes speak volumes, and she has created one of the most despicable ( very humanly so) screen characters in recent memory. cate blanchett is great too, but her character, sheba, isn't as nuanced or dynamic as dench's barbara.

the commentary on obsession. each of the characters is motivated by obsession. barbara is obsessed with sheba, sheba is obsessed with her young, student lover, and sheba's husband is obsessed with their seemingly perfect, bourgeois life. the movie reveals that all obsession, regardless of degree, leads one down dangerous paths, with, more often than not, dangerous outcomes.

the commentary on morality. this film notes that all people are flawed, and bad decisions, and obsessions lead one to committ bad deeds. barbara's flaws are most obvious, and the extent of them are slowly revealed in the film. sheba and her husband are the most interesting because, on the surface, they appear to have a picture perfect life. they are educated, do-good liberals who work as educators and have an adopted son with down's syndrome. their moral failings are not so apparant. as the film progresses we learn that sheba, a public school teacher, begins an affair with one of her 15 year old students. this morally questionable act leads her right into jail. her husband, we are led to believe, was once obsessed with sheba. he was her college professor who began dating her when she was only 20. thus, his character is shown to also be morally questionable.

the only weakness in the film was the plot. the "friendship" between the two women is hastily developed, as is the combustion between them at the end. the first three quarters of the film were well-paced and then the ending seems a bit too abrupt. but i'm being picky. it's not a bad film at all.

one question i have is about dench's character, barbara. is this woman the tired old lesbian trope? you know the type, the frumpy, evil, repressed lesbian who is out of possess, control and corrupt a younger woman in her midst? is barbara's sexuality that important to the film? she is repressed in every conceivable way, and doesn't seem to recognize that she is obsessed with younger women. one review (in the New Yorker, I think)suggests that dench's performance, and the multi-dimensional nature of this character prevent one from reading her as a stereotype. hmmm. don't know. i'm still thinking about that one.

go see it. if nothing else, for the acting clinic put on by dench and blanchett.

jb

R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith

2007-02-09T06:37:00.000-08:00

I'm saddened by Anna Nicole's death, and I'm not ashamed, although I feel the need to justify my sadness for this American pop culture personality. I was shocked to learn yesterday that she had died, despite her reported drug use, and the depression she descended into after losing her son 5 months ago. So much is wrapped up in this tabloid icon: celebrity, drugs, poverty, sex, beauty, money etc. It was hard not to be taken with her.

Here are my reasons for liking Anna Nicole Smith:

1. She was fucking beautiful, albeit in that artificial, Playboy bunny kind of way. She was physically flawless even when she was fat. And while the Marylin Monroe comparisons are swirling around, I will state for the record that Anna Nicole Smith was even more beautiful than Marylin Monroe. Physical beauty was why she was famous. Sure, Anna Nicole wasn't especially bright but she was blessed with this incredible physical perfection and what else can someone born so beautiful do with their life but sell this beauty?

2. I loved the fact that she blatantly married a geriatric billionaire, and then had the audacity to fight for his money. And win. A gold digger? Hell yes, but who was the real victim here - a rich old man with a fondness for playboy bunnies, or a white trash beauty queen just trying to get ahead in life? He wanted her beauty, was willing to pay millions for it, and she gave it to him in exchange for those millions. More power to her, I say.

3. Loved, loved, loved her essential white trash-ness. Anna Nicole Smith was woman born to a poor family in Texas, and never knew who her father was. She was a teenage mother working at the Chicken Shack, when she got discovered for her beauty and ended up in Playboy, winning the bunny of the year in 1993. Even after she was famous she never lost that white trash essence. She just became white trash with money. And like some people who come from impoverished backgrounds, she had a big heart.

4. She liked to have a good time. Sure, this may have killed her, but she was a party girl and I always admired her desire to live life as one big party.

R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith

R.I.P. Molly Ivins

2007-02-01T07:47:00.000-08:00

Today is a very sad day. I'm a bit hung over with grief after hearing the news that Molly Ivins died yesterday of breast cancer. A great loss for the political world and society in general. I loved her wit, and the funny, unpretentious language she used to lambast conservatives. As most of us know, it was Ivins who came up with the "Shrub" nickname for George W. She fought for justice, and her mind and presence will be greatly missed.

I wanted to include an email sent by my friend, Jeff, who provided an excerpt of one of Molly's Books. Enjoy, and Goodbye Molly Ivins. R.I.P.

Here is Jeff's email:

I'm sure most of you have heard or read it by now, but Molly Ivins
died this evening. I was looking through some of her books this
evening (yeah, I've got all of 'em--in hardcover), and this just
seemed exactly right:

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you
forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be
outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that
freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and
celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who
come after how much fun it was."

Nothin' But Good Times Ahead, pp. 254-5

I think that's exactly what she'd have said tonight. What a loss for us all.
j

Confused Flowers: The Madness of Global Warming

2007-01-18T07:50:00.000-08:00

Around the first of January I took this pic of buds forming on the large rhododendron bush in my backyard.

And just last week, I took this picture of the daffodils coming up in my front yard.

Didn't notice this activity last year, but I'm fairly sure this winter, so far, has been much warmer than last. Still, it is a weird and disturbing site to see flowers becoming active in January in central New York.

I'm told the daffodils will probably be okay come spring because their blooms are underground. The rhododendrons I'm not too sure about. Don't expect too much from them this spring.

JB

Gifts from My Sweetie.....from the Philippines

2007-01-15T08:16:00.000-08:00

Anne brought back some cool, wood-carved art from the Philippines. Check it out:

This is a covered bowl:

These are two bowls joined together to be used as a decorative piece, or as a serving bowl. What's so cool about this one is that the underside of the double-bowl has faces carved into it:

This one is a carving a a caribou, which is the Philippines national animal. Who knew?:

jb

who says material items can't make you feel good?

2007-01-15T08:01:00.000-08:00

there is a theory that material items give one a false, or fake sense of happiness. The idea is that, sure, acquiring something tangible, material can elicit a sense of pleasure, but it is fleeting, superficial happiness that is neither true or real.

Whateva.

This week I acquired these:

these doc marten boots (called cherry red smooth) have made me very, very happy.

jb

chillout tent

2007-01-07T17:23:00.000-08:00

I'm fascinated by the song "chillout tent" on The Hold Steady's latest CD Boys and Girls in America. This record is amazing in it's swoopingly romantic, almost operatic tales of youth in America. Drawing on a hodge podge of 70's influences (early Springsteen, Thin Lizzy, and Joe Jackson) Boys and Girls in America serves up adolescent nostalgia with its tales of love, loss, and decadence. But not in a cheesy, or superficial manner. It's moving and believable.

The best track is "chillout tent," a mini rock opera about brief, chance encounters between modern day boys and girls in america. The setting for this meeting between a boy and girl in America is, funny enough, an outdoor, rock music festival in Massachusetts. The girl in question drives a long distance with her friends to attend the festival, and escape the boredom of their everyday lives in small town America. Once there, she eats bad mushrooms, passes out, and "came to in the chillout tent," where she is given "oranges and cigarettes" to assist her recuperation. The boy in this rock drama also attends with a group of friends, and meets a similar fate after taking 4 pills (his friend advised him to only take 1) to kill his boredom. He recalls his overdose by saying "everything was spinning and I came to in the chill out tent. He, too, is given "oranges and cigarettes" to help him recover.

Shortly after the boy and girl "come to," their eyes make contact, and they eventually "kick it" in the chillout tent.

Using high-pitched, adolescent voices, the boy and girl, taking turns in the vocal delivery, tell us what happened after they regain consciousness. Both have similar stories and attitudes about their experience.

The girl says: "he was really cute, we kind of kicked it in the chillout tent. And I never saw that boy again."

The boy says "she was really cool. We kinda kicked it in the chillout tent. And I never saw that girl again."

The song ends with energetic piano and horn play while the boy and girl sing their brief enctouner away. They repeat the fact that they "kicked" it until the song fades and evaporates as does their connection.

So, The Hold Steady drum up nostalgic memories of adolescence by conveying a romantic, yet superficial and sadly pathetic story of two teenagers who overdose at an outdoor music festival. But still, it's sweet, funny and moving.

you have to hear it.....

jb

Highlights from 2006

2007-01-03T06:45:00.000-08:00

no new year's resolutions for me this year. but, i have been reflecting on 2006. all in all it was a pretty good year.

highlights:

1. I got a real job this year, with a real salary and real responsibilities. I'm program director for the ACCESS project at Hamilton College. I started the job part-time last September, and assumed the position full-time in December. At last a job that serves as an outlet for my intelligence and creativity. So much better than teaching composition and introductory literature classes on a part-time basis.

2. Adopted a big ass dog named Smith. This dog has changed my life, and taught me so many things. I've lost 30 pounds just by walking him about 3 hours a week. So, he had been good for my health. He has also schooled me about patience, responsibility and the need for a care-free attitude.

3. I was awarded a National Endowment of the Humanities fellowship this year. I got to spend one month in Appalchia studying the region and interviewing environment justice activists. I met a lot of interesting people, made some good friends, and finally finished an article based on my research there.

4. Finally got rid of the awful safari wall paper in my bathroom downstairs, as well as the equally awful burnt-orange paint in my kitchen. These monstrosities were courtesy of the previous owner. Both rooms were re-painted in a light and bright green known as "tart apple."

5. I grew a kick-ass, huge (12 x12)vegetable garden in my back yard. We enjoyed red potatoes, brussel sprouts, eggplant, green beans, tomatoes, red peppers, and jalepeno peppers.

6. Enjoyed a nice getaway to Washington D.C. this year. All pleasure and no business. My kind of trip.

7. My mother survived brain surgery and has recuperated nicely. She is back to her old self.

I'm sure there were other highlights I'm not thinking of right now. But 2006 was good. I just hope 2007 is equally good.

jb

in defense of table wine

2006-12-31T07:43:00.000-08:00

how often have you heard "it's just a table wine"? just? most consider table wines too bland, ordinary and common. well, i'm here to state for the record that i am a fan of table wines.

granted, they don't have the bold flavors or complex personalities of a good zinfandel, primitivo or malbec, but dammit they shouldn't be so easily dismissed.

table wines are dependable. they never let you down because our expectations of them are far from grand.

table wines are a source of comfort. they are like old sweaters that don't stand out, yet continue to keep you warm.

let's face it, there are many times when we are thrilled to get a table wine - a case in point from my own experience.

when you are at a shitty bar with equally shitty wine offerings do you go for the white zinfandel or the rot-gut chardonnay, OR the table wine that this particular establishment purchased for their more discerning clientele? you enthusiastically choose the table wine, of course.

so, in 2007, let's not be so quick to dismiss this ordinary, common yet dependable wine.

may your new year be filled with zinfandels, primitivos, malbecs AND table wine.

jb

christchristmas

2006-12-25T12:02:00.000-08:00

christ-farce 2006. another year, another lame excuse to spend a lot of money on shit that people don't need. all in the name of the birth of an ostensible israeli savior. whateva.
don't need it. don't care. for me it's just an excuse to not work, eat a lot of meat, and get drunk.

may the farce be with you.

and don't even get me started on the music......

jb

Charity and Guilt......Tis the Season

2006-12-14T08:26:00.000-08:00

my office facilitates a holiday gift-giving service for the needy in central new york. every year at this time we serve as a drop off center for middle and upper middle class people to bring their gifts, which we distribute to poor people in the area. these gift-givers sponsor either individual children or families, giving them holiday presents and food items. sounds nice, huh?

one of the reasons why our office is the distribution center is that many of these gift-givers don't want to go directly to the recipients' houses, even though they know, by name, who it is they are sponsoring. many of the recipients live in what most would consider the projects. so, it is very convenient for the charitable people (most of whom are white and, as i said, middle or upper middle class) to give without the messy business of coming face to face with the poor. they can shop, feel good about giving without having to put themselves in harms way.

many of these gift-givers rush into the office with their loot, unload quickly and leave. the abruptness of the encounters is striking. again, they can feel good about giving, but they want to quckly excise themselves from the situation. they practically run out of the office. white, guilty flight.

today a white couple came in and dropped off a bunch of stuff, some items new and used. as they stood at the door i said, "thanks for your genorosity. i'm sure the recipients of your gifts will greatly appreciate them." at that point their eyes darted to the floor, and they scampered away without a word. apparantly guilt had their tounges in a vice grip.

don't know what to make of all this, but as someone interested in culture and class, these exchanges have been fascinating, prompting many questions: what motivates people to give to the poor? why do many of those who do give, feel so icky about it? what do the recipients actually think about these gifts and those who give them?

jb

Perverted Justice

2006-12-13T10:18:00.000-08:00

over a tortilla quiche i read an article in the new york times about a cyber vigilante group called perverted justice. Check here for more info. this group ensnares pedophiles using volunteers posed as young girls in various chatrooms on the web. once they establish a good rapport with on-line predators, they ask them to meet at their house where their parents are supposedly away. once the pedophiles get to the house they realize they have been stung, as tv cameras film their entrance, and cops arrest them as they try to leave. this organization has engaged in their perverted justice operations in many states across the country. And their efforts have resulted in the arrests of hundreds of men.

this group, whose origins and inner workings are still a bit mysterious, is largely supported by the NBC program, Dateline NBC, which films the pedophiles' entry into the homes, and uses their tv host to ask the men questions about what they are doing there. they then show them transcripts of the on-line conversations (all full of sexual innuendo)they have been having with the young girl/perverted justice volunteer. at this point, all of the men run from the house, and are greeted by police outside who arrest them for sexual predator offenses.

cyber vigilantes. what an interesting concept. of course we have heard of law enforcment agencies engaging in similar operations, but a citizen's organization with the help of a TV network? Incidentally, Dateline NBC gives the group 70 K for each hour of programming. now, however, the group has come under fire for their tactics, being accused of entrapment. they definitely lay a trap, but these men, through their questionable actions, fall right into it. let's face it, a grown man who is not interested in having sex with teenage girls will, most likely, not troll for them on the internet. fucking ridiculous. who cares if they are ensnared? if they didn't have dubious intent they wouldn't find themselves in such a situation.

i don't have a problem with vigilante justice per se, but it does depend upon the justice being sought. in this case, i'm all for it. i'm not in favor of vigilante groups, such as those racist rednecks patrolling the U.S/Mexico border. These assholes will spend a lot of time and money playing federal agent-cowboy man just to keep impoverished Mexicans from "invading" and "polluting" the good ole U.S.A. gotta love the diesease/infection language frequently used. They should use their time and money instead, working for groups like perverted justice. Imagine if all those rednecks committed to eradicting child sexual abuse and murder in this country? i suppose there is more glory and masculine, jingoistic fulfillment in patrolling the borders than in trolling the web for sexual predators.

jb

For the Easily Offended.......

2006-12-07T09:05:00.000-08:00

today, a woman who shares on office close to mine, asked me what i thought of the rosie perez lecture "aids in the latino community" that took place on campus last evening. i told my "neighbor" that i liked perez's non-pretentious, informed opinions on aids and sex education.

my neighbor, who also attended the lecture, but left about 20 minutes into it, said that she had to leave because she didn't like the frequent use of "the F word" during her presentation, finding it especially distasteful because the lecture was in the campus chapel. furthermore, she was offended by perez's slanderous comments about madonna making sexual advances toward her at a party in the early 90's. my neighbor said "was that true? she shouldn't say slanderous things about people like that."

i don't know what to do with comments like these. i never know what to say when people are offended by language and sexual behavior. whatver. i didn't even notice perez was using "the F word," and thought her party stories were funny.

for the easily offended ........fuck off.

jb

A Mouse in My Bed

2006-12-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

I woke up to one this morning, courtesy of my lovely cat, Oscar. He jumed on the bed just as A. and I were waking up, carrying a dead, grey, baby mouse in his mouth, which he dropped at my feet.

At first, I thought it was a toy, but soon realized this was the real thing. Don't know where Oscar discovered this tiny vermin, or when he administered that final, lethal blow. But, the body was still warm and flexible when I scooped it up and threw it in the body bag.

Oscar just laid on the bed in a total state of bliss, proud of his morning acheivement.

jb

life outside the blog

2006-11-21T17:33:00.000-08:00

one's life cannot be contained in a blog. lately, so much has happened. i've had so many spiritual, emotional, mental, intellectual and physical transformations recently that i had to stop blogging. life has been too hectic, frantic and topsy turvy for me to actually sit down and write about it. sigh.

my blog will never catch up to the recent manifestations of my life. so, i'll just begin anew, talking about trivial shit just to pass the time and to have some sporadic, inadequate, incoherent "record" of my boring fucking life.

here is some stuff that has been running round my brain:

brainsurgerygettingolderlosingmymotherwantingtohaveababyneedingfriendssickofwardecoratingmyhouserakingleavestextingmyoldfriendsnegotiatingthepoliticsofanewschoolenjoyingmydogwalkingalotvisitingmyfavoritegraveyardbetrayalloyaltyfearsofflyingchinatripdaysofffromworknothavingenoughsexfoodmoneymountainswarmweatherwantinganewcomputerandanewipodwrinklesonmyfacemuscleachesmypartnergettingtenurepublishinganarticleleavingteachingbehindwantingtobeyoungerlonelinessfamilythejoysofwinereadingmyfavoritemagazineshearinglectureswantingsomenewmusicboredomtearsfearsneedingachangeinmylifegettingoutofarutandothermundanethoughtsandactivitiesyougetthepicture.

jb

Jumping off the Bridge

2006-10-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

This weekend I encountered two reports about a new documentary called The Bridge, one on the ABC program 20/20, and another in Sunday's New York Times.

The creator of The Bridge positioned cameras, some were mobile, while others were fixed, and filmed the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco from Jan 1, 2004 - Dec 31, 2004. Each camera was positioned one mile away from the bridge. During this time they captured the suicides of 24 people. Each of these people fell over 200 ft, going about 75 miles per hour. The time from the jump off point to hitting the water was 4 seconds. The film maker, Eric Steel, wanted to capture these deaths in an effort to raise awareness about suicide and mental illness. The documentary weaves footage of these suicidal leaps, with commentary by family members, who essentially talk about their lost loved one, and the impact of suicide on their lives.

This documentary has brought up all sorts of ethical questions about filming such a thing, and then presenting it to mass audiences. One problem is that Steele didn't tell family members he had this footage while interviewing them. He only revealed it later, and showed each and every one of them what he had captured on tape. Also, it raises questions about the "objective" stance of the documentarian, begging the question, how can you just stand there and film while someone is getting ready to jump off this bridge? Steel says that many times camera operators called the emergency hotline to alert someone that an individual was getting ready to kill themselves. He says they prevented 6 deaths that year by doing so.

The New York Times article likens this documentary to snuff films, capturing the deaths of people on camera, while placing the viewer in a particularly terrible voyeuristic position. They don't buy Steel's intent, and argue that with films of this nature the wide gulf (in this case, 1 mile) between viewer and the viewed can never be, well, "bridged."

Of course I want to see it. I think it's a fascinating concept. Apparantly more suicides occur here every year than at any other public monument. People have been urging city officials to erect a suicide prevention wall to make it more difficult to jump. One person actually survived an intentional fall in 2000, and is now the biggest anti-suicide advocate, and instrumental in trying to get city officials to build the wall.

jb

The Worst Diagnosis

2006-10-18T09:39:00.000-07:00

my mother has alzeimer's disease. there, i said it. and saying it makes me teary eyed. gives me a lump in my throat. makes me short of breath. this diagnosis was confirmed last week, after she spent several days in the hospital. she was taken there after calling my sister at 7:00 in the morning to say that someone had broken into her house. my sister arrived, minutes later, to find her bedroom completely trashed as if an intruder had, indeed, been there. but there was no intruder. my mother had become confused, disoriented and was apparantly thrashing around the room. my sister found her black and blue, murmuring illogically.

she is out of the hospital now, and all her vital signs are fine. but she can no longer live alone. my sisters are taking turns staying with her, and keeping her at their houses. we want to keep her at home as long as possible, but we know that day will come when we will no longer be able to care for her, she will no longer recognize us. she will be taken to one of those awful hospitals where nobody cares about you. my mother, surrounded by underpaid, overworked strangers, not being able to recognize people she loved.

i don't want to rank diseases, but alzheimer's is the worst diagnosis for someone that you love. time. memory. time. memory. we are all running out of time with her, and she is running out of time and memory. and pretty soon all we will have of her is memories.

since receiving this news, i no longer see in color. it's all black and white and meaningless and stupid.

jb

Mountaintop Removal Video

2006-10-10T12:18:00.000-07:00

Mountaintop Removal Movie from iLoveMountains.org

This is a brief, but informative video of what mountaintop removal mining looks like, and its impact on the communities where it is practiced. For more info check out this

Can I Get a ......Thesis?

2006-10-10T06:01:00.000-07:00

The writing process has really got me down. Lately, I've had more trouble writing than ever. Excluding public school education I have been writing for years - first as a radio news journalist, writing copy quickly and frequently, and then as an academic writing paper after paper, culminating in that hellacious writing project called the dissertation.

Since May of this year, I have been trying to write a fresh, new article on my research subject. Two weeks last May I banged out 25 pages of Feminist Theory, looking at the ways in which it ignores considerations of class. Contained within that overview was a discussion of two popular books that focus on Feminist activism, which I "argued" also skirted around class issues. Despite the length, the paper has no thesis. No central point.

Yesterday, I read transcripts of interviews I did over the summer with members of the Coal River Mountain Watch in West Virginia, hoping to incorporate this research into this existing article to reorient Feminist theoretical production, using the activism of this group to highlight class, and argue for more attention to class issues by feminists.

oy vey. This last paragraph reveals my predicament. I still have no thesis, and I am at a loss to develop one. I have tons of information, but no central point, and no writing plan of action.

I used to be such an organized, systematic writer. I knew what I wanted to say, and where I was going with my material. Don't know what has happened, but increasingly I feel like I'm walking in mud in the middle of a deep forest on a rainy and windy night.

jb

Texting Obsession

2006-10-09T08:48:00.000-07:00

I am developing one. It all started about a month ago when I got a text from a friend who simply asked "do u text"? After many painstakingly slow attempts to figure out the texting capabilities in my less than fancy phone, and to write a simple message, I was able to reply "no, but am trying."

Now I am becoming a texting fiend, writing to everyone I know with a cell phone asking the same question: "do u text?" I'm still slow, trying to memorize the number of punches for each letter of the alphabet on the phone key pad, so that I don't have to actually look at the keypad while punching (or is it typing??) Anyway......

What is it about this form of communication that is so enjoyable? I like it because it doesn't require the committment, the obligations of a phone conversation. And for someone who has never really enjoyed phone communication, texting is quick, painless and fun. It's also better than email because of its mobility, and instant response.

The only downside: Our phones don't have a texting plan because when I signed up I never thought I would be into this shit. So, we have been charged 10 cents a message, and I sent hundreds of them last month. Ouch. We are now getting on a big 'ole plan, so I can keep my fingers humming and my friends in constant contact.

jb

This has to stop.

2006-10-05T07:12:00.000-07:00

This is a pic of mountatintop removal coal mining, as practiced in Appalachia, and Wyoming. This was taken on the metro in D.C,. and is an ad for a the campaign Stop Mountaintop Removal.

You can also find more info here

Mountaintop Removal has been devastating Appalachia for 10 years now. It has to stop. Last year it was voted the most UNDER-REPORTED story in the U.S.

jb

Trip to D.C. (Part III)

2006-10-05T07:02:00.000-07:00

Anne on the metro, after walking miles and miles.
Picture on the bathroom wall of Phase I, a gay bar in D.C.
our lovely room at Akwaaba. Dig the blue hues.
from the airplane window, coming home.

Trip to D.C. (Part II)

2006-09-28T18:19:00.000-07:00

More Shots of our time in d.c.

The facade of Akwaaba, the B& B we stayed at. It has an African-American literary theme, with rooms named after famous writers: The Toni Morrison Room, The Langston Hughes Room, etc. We stayed in the Science Fiction Room (pics forthcoming) which paid homage to Octavia Butler.

From the Native American Museum. An artist used his own body in this piece, which (among other things) responds to governmental programs that scientifically assessed, prodded and attempted to categorize the Native American population.

From Mama's Organ, a bar/restaurant in the Adams Morgan section.

Looking up at the domed ceiling in the Native American Museum.

jb

Trip to D.C. (Part I)

2006-09-26T17:48:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago we went to D.C. Had a grand time. Saw some wonderful things.

Poster in the American Indian Museum.

The Metro at Dupont Circle. Very steep ascent and descent. White guy in front of Anne, unknown.

A subversive in front of the capitol.

Here I am in the Dupont Circle Area. Dig those street lamps.

Eerie Details

2006-09-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

as many marked the anniversary of the sept. 11 attack yesterday, i remained caught up in disturbing details of the tragedy that reveal it's shocking enormity.

one detail that has stuck with me:

all firefighters carry something called a PASS - personal alarm safety system. this beeping alarm can be triggered by a firefighter in trouble, OR it is automatically triggered once a fallen firefighter has been idle for a short while. this is intended, of course, to let other firefighters know where their fallen firefighters are so they can hopefully rescue them.

on sept. 11, one eyewitness rushed to ground zero shortly after one of the towers fell. upon entering the scene, he described it as fairly quiet, except for the sounds of firefighters PASS's going off in all directions - hundreds of them.

jb

Gifts From G, Via Cheryl

2006-09-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

a visit from a friend is a wonderful thing. a visit from a friend, carrying gifts sent from another friend is doubly wonderful. i feel the love, people. here is a pic of the gifts g sent to us via cheryl - a wonderful decor magazine, beef jerky from the great, upper midwest, a card with a friendly, upper midwest fly fisher, and a minnesota recipe book. partially devoured double dark chocolate marshmellows not included in the pic for obvious reasons.

A Brief but Highly Needed and Enjoyable Visit with a Friend

2006-09-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

This past weekend our friend, Cheryl, graced us with her presence. Here are a few pics from her visit. The first and last pics were taken during our shopping excursion to Ithaca. The close up of Cheryl and Anne was taken at the Alexander Hamilton Inn bar in Clinton, the second one was taken over our kitchen table, and plates of Huevos Rancheros.

Radical Signs

2006-09-07T12:06:00.000-07:00

I ran across these signs while traveling in, and from Ithaca, NY. The Native American signs were found on the Onondaga Nation reservation (on the way to Ithaca)in central NY, and the anti-capitalism sign was found in downtown Ithaca, right by the Moosewood Restaurant.

Exercise in Stupidity: Why I Loathe Some Members of My Family

2006-09-05T11:20:00.000-07:00

Shortly after waking yesterday, I read an email from my sister that was forwarded to her by some of our right-wing, conservative relatives in Texas. Check this exercise in stupidity.

Nothing like being pissed off at 6:30 in the morning.

JB

this is no romantic friendship

2006-08-24T12:11:00.000-07:00

no, this is sohpia loren checking out jayne mansfield's large breasts. i love this pic. don't know its origins, but a couple of years ago, in another life, i had an acquaintance who had a coffee table book called *the breast book* and this was one of the many delicious pics contained within. i find it so intriguing that i just had to share it.

jb

Romantic Friendships

2006-08-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

oprah, and her "best friend" gail, have recently denied reports that they are gay, and engaged in a sexual/romantic friendship. for years people have speculated about the nature of this "friendship," and perhaps that's why they chose to make a public statement setting the record straight. literally. both have identified as heterosexual, acknowledged the strength of their bond, which oprah, in so many words, said was so special and unique that it was difficult to describe in existing terms. perhaps, but it's so much more fun to think of these two as closeted gay lovers.

my theory on this one is that these two chicks are engaged in an old school romantic friendship - one that wouldn't be out of place in the 19th century. this means everything that traditionally exists between two lovers exists for them except for the sex. yes, gail and oprah, romantic friends. i wish they would own their queerness. just think, if oprah came out, queerness would instantly be acceptable because oprah is, as we all know, queen of the universe.

oprah and gail, living the the deepest of the deep closets.

jb

Pervert in the Park?

2006-08-17T08:28:00.000-07:00

at our neigborhood town park, every morning during the 11:00 hour, a man drives up to this park restroom, goes in, and doesn't emerge for a half an hour. really. he parks in the same spot outside the restroom, does what he does in there, gets back into his car and drives home.

so, what is he doing in a public restroom, every day, for that length of time? is he doing what one normally does in bathrooms? if so, why does it take so long, and why does he drive from his home to do it?

there is something odd about this behavior. a. and i call him park pervert, but we really don't know what he's up to.

jb

Dawn Patrol

2006-08-16T03:18:00.000-07:00

somebody help me, please. it's 6:14 (a.m.) and much too early for me to be up and moving around. you see, i had to take a. to the airport this morning at a most ungodly hour. we woke at 3:30, left the house at 4:00, got to the airport at 5:00, and now a. is probably taking off in her 6:15 flight to florida. this is harsh. can't remember when i've been up so early, but i do remember that i don't like it very much.

now i'm wondering what the hell to do. i feel too wretched to do anything remotely thought-provoking. i could take a walk, or i could just go back to bed and sleep the morning away. the latter option sounds the most promising.

one positive note from my dawn patrol: watching the sky change from a black, starry background into a muted purple-ish yellow was nice. i like the colors of morning, just as dawn is breaking.

jb

Last Week in Review

2006-08-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

number of times allergy medication inhaled: 3

tree limbs trimmed in the yard: 15

old trunks painted: 1

showers taken: 6

books finished: 1

hours spent gardening: 2

bottles of wine consumed: 2

meals with rice: 2

bike rides: 2

hours spent walking the dog: 2

camp fires enjoyed: 1

restaurant meals consumed: 3

hours watching dvds: 5

phone calls to mom: 2

magazines read: 4

sick of war.

2006-08-09T08:28:00.000-07:00

if i hear another bomb detonated, see another huge plume of black smoke, and people running in fear, carrying dead bodies i, myself, will explode.

i'm sick of war, and the bullies who wage war - the u.s., israel, insurgents in iraq. enough already. i hate to sound like those mamsey/pansey peaceniks of the 1960's but i'm ready to give peace a chance. war doesn't make sense to me. can't get my head around it. can't understand the fucked up logic that bombing someone will eliminate a potential threat, or that bombing can lead to democracy, or that bombing can create peace. lunacy.

on an individual level most of us know that we can't go physically harm or annihilate people who do not conform to our visions of the world or humanity. why can't we apply and understand this principle on a larger, macro level?

humans suck. we are weak and violent. as much as i try to resist it, i'm starting to see the world in a very hobbesian way. life is nasty, brutish and short.

jb

my dog eats cat shit

2006-08-04T15:28:00.000-07:00

i'm afraid it's true. smith eats cat shit. embarrassed and alarmed, i searched for information on this, um, dietary habit and discovered it's not unprecedented. in fact, it's common.

turns out, cat shit is loaded with protein, and some dogs can't resist the taste. a couple of web sites even suggested, and i shit you not, that dogs find cat shit a "delicacy."

still, i wish my dog didn't enjoy this "delicacy." we can't simply shut off the rooms containing litter boxes to keep the shit-eating dog out. that would force the cats to start shitting everywhere. oy-vey.

looking for solutions to a real shitty problem,

jb

Cache Ending?

2006-08-03T18:24:00.000-07:00

How do we interpret the ending of Cache?

1. The video terrorizer wasn't Majid, the childhood peer, who killed himself in front of Georges?

2. The video terrorizer was actually Majid's son, Walid?

3. The video terrorizer was someone else, known only to Georges, who, for whatever reason, chose not to reveal, to keep "hidden."

4. None of the above, OR

5. The video terrorizer(s)was Walid, AND Georges and Anne's son, Pierrot?

The last theory comes to me via a detail about the film, revealed in the closing segment as the credits roll, by Roger Ebert. Ebert draws our attention to that closing camera shot, in front of the school, as people ascend and descend the stairs. In the upper left corner of the frame we see Walid and Pierrot talking to each other in a familiar, friendly way. They converse, and then part company amiably.

I didn't notice this during my first viewing of the film, and only caught it after reading Ebert's interpretation of the ending. BUT it does suggest that these two sons were friends - a detail never revealed, kept "hidden" in the film. So, it's plausible the two of them conspired to force their fathers to address their shared childhood trauma, or to use it to annihilate their fathers. Or, they simply engaged in a mind-fuck experience for no reason at all - for play - not realizing this awful history between their fathers (which, by the way is superficially disclosed, but, for the most part, also kept hidden).

I don't know.

jb

A Stranger Among Us

2006-07-26T08:28:00.000-07:00

i was sitting in my dining room yesterday when i heard a loud meow coming from a cat. it was not the meow of one of our cats. thinking that it was coming from outside, i checked all windows, but saw no cat.

to my dismay the meow was coming from our basement door! the stranger was among us and wanting in. i went outside to check our basement windows wondering how in the hell a cat could have gotten in there. sure enough, there is was one open window that didnt' have a screen on it. after many failed attempts to get the cat to come back through that open window we had to open the basement door, let him come in the house and try to get him out the door before he made contact with one of our felines or the oversized canine.

this cat didn't want to leave, but finally we were able to get him outside. but, he tormented us all fucking night, meowing, and meowing, coming up to our deck in back, our front porch etc. he is a tenacious fucker. we even let smith bark and chase him, but he wouldn't back down. i yelled for him to leave, but each time he returned.

we were trying to enjoy being outdoors last night, but this cat made it impossible. we gave up, came inside and tried to forget about him. we suspect he was abandoned by some neighbors who just moved out, but left him behind.

he's a beautiful, black cat who is obviously hungry but we can't help him out. we have too many charity cases on our hands as it is.

haven't seen (or heard) him today and hope he as moved on to torment someone else.

jb

The Case of the Missing Flower Pots

2006-07-25T07:26:00.000-07:00

a scandal has rocked our quiet, quaint little street.

sunday afternoon anne and i discovered a strange, hanging basket of flowers on our front porch. realizing this didn't belong to us we, of course, wondered where the hell it came from. we also noticed that one of our pots of gerber daisies was missing from the same front porch. we had other pots of flowers on this porch, but only the daisies were missing.

we went over to our neighbor, stan, to see if the hanging basket belonged to him, and was horrified to see that our pot of daisies was in his front yard, neatly placed by the light pole. it then dawned on us that someone, at some time, had switched potted plants and hanging baskets on our street.

we recovered our daisies, but still don't know who is the owner of the hanging basket of flowers. it's still on our front porch, and we have a slight fear that if the owner spots it there he or she will think we stole it.

we have been amused with this creative mischief and view it as nothing more than bored, rural kids trying to have some fun. stan, however, is not amused and called the police! a bit of an over-reaction, i think. i suppose this will show up in the weekly police blotter of the clinton courier and some kid, somewhere will chuckle while his or her parents discuss the case of the missing flower pots on dwight ave. in clint-in.

jb

Burning Down the House

2006-07-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

A quick post because i'm hot in my un-airconditioned house, and i have to dash off to the library.

Right after i hit the "post" command on my last blog entry (from the Ferrum College dorm) a horrific fire broke out and we all had to be immediately evacuated. Okay, I'm exaggerating and being overly dramatic. What happened was this: after our delicious last supper (made my lisa) I went upstairs to make my final post and get the rest of my stuff from the room. All of the sudden i smell smoke, and all fire alarms in this dorm are going off - smoke, lights, and sirens everywhere. Needless to say we all ran out of our quads to see what happening and discovered that Lisa had left an iron skillet on the oven so that she could "burn off" whatever was left on there. She had went back into her room to do something else (mulit-tasking can sometimes be hazardous)and forgot about the burning skillet.

A campus policemen answered the call, and we all felt foolish. He made his rounds through the dorm, and called off the local fire truck that was en route. He then opened all the doors to let the smoke out, and seemed relieved that this was nothing serious. I took a picture of him investigating the scene, which I hoped to include in the blog posting. However, with all my packings, and unpackings and living like a rock star for 5 weeks, I forgot to charge my PDA, and lost all information I had stored on it.

So, we left Ferrrum not in a blaze of glory, but a smokey, hazy fog of glory. We made our mark afterall.

jb

The Last Supper

2006-06-25T15:32:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm officially leaving the dorm. The pic of me was taken in the laundry room upstairs before we sat down to a delicious dinner. Lisa (who is in the pic (person on the left at the front of the table) cooked us a soup of rice, lentils, potatoes and yummy spices, AND a fritatta with onion, zuchnini and spinach. This last supper was complimented with white wine, asiago and brie chesses, and blueberries (courtesy of me). We basically whipped together a meal out of what we had left in our refrigerators.

Oh, Gloria is on the right in the pic, and Rebecca is in the back, on the left. I was obviously taking the pic.

jb

The Last Day

2006-06-25T12:01:00.000-07:00

Damn, I'm sweating. The Virginia humidity is getting to me as I pack and move various items out to the car. Today we vacate the dorms, and hit the road to Abingdon, VA. This weekend has been weird. Most everyone moved out on Friday except for me, Lisa, Gloria, Roberta, Rebecca, Laurie and Deborah. We are the last dorm residents standing. We have been gathering downstairs in our social area at night drinking wine, reflecting on our experiences and generally shooting the shit, as they say.

I realized this weekend that regardless of women's ages (and of the group mentioned above our ages range from 38 to 55)we still talk about menstruation and when that first began. Funny that. And we also get excited about basic life things like dating and romance. You see, this weekend, Rebecca asked the Ferrum librarian, George (a really cool guy) out on a date. He accepted, and they went to Roanoke last night. The rest of us sat around wondering how the date was going, when they would return, and of course, if they had had sex or not. We even jokingly said we were going to stay up until she returned, but after waiting until 2:30 a.m. we decided to give up and go to bed. We did put post it note on the door to tell her that we were waiting on her, but gave up. Funny that the note was still on the door this morning. hmmm. Does that mean Rebecca didn't come home last night, or just came home really, really late. So far, she's not saying. But, she is riding with me to Abingdon so the details of the date may, indeed, emerge.

The rest of us were thrilled, and admitted that we were living vicariously through Rebecca since some of us are in long term relationships, while others just haven't had dates in a long, long time. We all had forgotten what it was like to go out on a date with someone you don't know - those mixed emotions of anxiety and eagerness hoping that it goes well. The only thing Rebecca did say was that they went to an Indian restaurant, and up to The Star, a huge lighted star that towers above the city of Roanoke. People go up there for the view, and the star. She did say that it was bittersweet because she really liked George (even more than her first husband, and she married him) but she had to leave soon to go back to Oregon.

Anyway, menstruation, the summer institute, books, and Rebecca's date were the subjects on conversation this weekend.

Time to finish packing.

jb

Dorm LIfe

2006-06-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

For the past three weeks I have been living as a college student. I've been sharing a quad with two other women, taking my laundry home on weekends for my mother to do, and inhabiting the space of a small, 3 story dorm with 22 other people. We gather around downstairs in the sitting area, or out on one of the porches in the evenings, eat our meals together in the cafeteria, and share one television. Oh, and we also attend seminars together most of the day during the week (9-11:30, 1-3:30). It's like having all of your college classes with your roomates.

But, it's not as awful as it sounds. Overall, the people are cool. There are a lot of southerners, which means they are funny and like to have a good time. And the non-southerners have followed suit. Everyone is a conversationalist - sharp and passionate about their work. I'ts like academic summer camp.

So, our time here at Ferrum is drawing to a close. We take off Sunday for another part of Virginia, where we will spend our time in hotels (together, of course),driving and touring various sites. I'll get to see one of the largest superfund sites (woo-hoo) and stay two days in what I hear is a breathtakingly beautiful park.

Decompressing, and gearing up for the final week of the institute.
jb