| Terraforming v. 3.0 |
[Feb. 7th, 2010|07:50 pm] |
My stepdad is in the hospital again. Things are looking bad. He's not producing platelets anymore and his doctors think myelofibrosis may be turning into leukemia. The stem-cell treatment that I'd hoped for isn't a good option because it requires lots of heavy chemo and he couldn't stand that.
Of course this happens while my parents are wintering in Florida and I'm all the way up here in NJ. Plane tickets to Florida are expensive now but I will lie, cheat and steal to get there. Or ask my dad to help. |
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| Not my bad movie |
[Feb. 6th, 2010|10:41 pm] |
So I've been seeing ads all over Manhattan for this movie called Repo Men. They have pictures of organs with metallic-bits attached to them and say, "The Repo Men Are Coming." It looks like it's about some future where you can buy organs on credit but have them reposessed if you don't pay. It features Jude Law and his receding hairline.
Color me unimpressed, there's already a movie that did that with much hilarity, gore, and bad singing. Repo! The Genetic Opera is a terrible but fun movie. It has the most unnecesary and horrible cameo on earth by Joan Jett, Anthony Stewart Head singing and chopping, and best of all, DJ Granny.
This movie is loud, too long, and pretty annoying. It looks like something Hot Topic ejaculated but, damnit, it cracks me up.
So back off, Repo Men. You have been warned. |
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| Terraforming v. 2.0 |
[Feb. 5th, 2010|10:16 pm] |
I promised an entry about terraforming Mars and here it is. It's based on this article from National Geographic.
I've been obsessed with going to Mars since I first read The Martian Chronicles, in the seventh grade. I think that it would be amazing to go there and see Earth in the night sky as a *Cue Sagan* Pale Blue Dot.
My thoughts aren't really about the science--I believe it's doable given the right amount of time. The timeline given by NG is at least a thousand years, whereas in The Martian Chronicles I think it took a hundred years to transform Mars. I'm thinking more along the lines of ethics.
1. Should we try to terraform Mars? It would be a shame to end up with another rabbits in Australia situation.
On the plus side, Mars could ease overpopulation on earth. On the con side, while I'm certain there is no life on Mars, our minds are constrained to some degree by the system that we find ourself living in.
2. Who could go to Mars and who would decide who goes to Mars? It would also suck mightily if this became a Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? situation and the rich could go to Mars with their helpful androids and the rest of us were left behind with elaborate lead codpieces.
Or, what if a group like the Taliban decided that they wanted to ditch their anti-modernism and wanted on Mars. Would they be allowed to go?
3. What are the rules regarding the environment going to be on Mars? Despite the fact that much of the terraforming will be due to extreme, purposeful global warming, there should be limits to what can be done there. We kind of fucked up our original planet, we prolly shouldn't do it to a second one, can't we? |
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| Doc Manhattan's Project |
[Feb. 4th, 2010|02:17 pm] |
From
We Prefer Not To Watch Dr. Manhattan’s Project
Toy Store | Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA
Customer: “Hi, do you sell stuff from the Watchmen movie?”
Me: “No, ma’am, we don’t. Since the movie was rated R, there are no licensed Watchmen products marketed to children.”
Customer: “Well, do you know where I can find Watchmen stuff?”
Me: “Do you have something that you’re looking for in particular?”
Customer: “Well, my son’s school is having a superhero themed day where all the kids are supposed to come to school in costume. My son wanted to go as Dr. Manhattan.”
Me: “Dr. Manhattan? Ma’am, do you know anything about him?”
Customer: “I know that he’s blue. Don’t you have anything at all?”
Me: “Ma’am, with all due respect, Dr. Manhattan walks around completely naked. Part of the reason the movie is rated R is because you see…everything…when he’s on screen.”
Customer: “Uh-huh. Do you think [other store] sells Watchmen stuff?”
Me: *giving up* “I’m sure it would be worth a shot…”
...
I think the kid would look better as Rorschach anyway. Or the Comedian.
[Edit: Sorry for the epic tag fail.] |
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| Writer's Block: Roommate from Hell |
[Feb. 3rd, 2010|08:34 pm] |
Freshman year of college: My roommate went to Catholic school and her parents were a bit strict so she went really wild in college. By the end of the year she was dealing pott from our room. I'm not opposed to pott but my school had a zero-tolerance policy that would have punished me as well and I was always worried about that.
Sophomore year of college: I moved in with a girl that I thought was a friend. She started dating this douchey guy and totally changed. They'd have sex in the room when I was trying to sleep.
Junior and senior year of college: Seventh Day Adventist. She wouldn't contribute to the cable bill even though she always watched tv. We just were very, very different. She wasn't there a lot, thankfully.
Dorming sucks, especially when you go to a small school that makes no effort at matching people up by compatability.
And we didn't resolve our conflicts, I just moved on.
I live with my best friend now, which is awesome. |
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| January Reading Rainbow Roundup Rumpus |
[Jan. 31st, 2010|06:55 pm] |
I read a whoooole bunch o' books in January. Here's the list and my thoughts on them.
1. The Greatest Show on Earth by Richard Dawkins: This book is his answer to why evolution is real. In the introduction, Dawkins states that he realized that he had written a lot about evolution that he'd never really written about why evolution is real. The closest he's come is Climbing Mt. Improbable. It's a shame that no one who doubts evolution will ever read this because the examples he selects augmented by amazing nature photography are stunning.
My quibble with the book is that he doesn't spend enough time on human evolution. Of the people that I've encountered who doubt evolution, their main complaint seems to be human evolution. Plus, I just really love human evolution. Also, prolly because I've read a lot about evolution but I found some of the subject matter to be too simplified.
On the plus side, he makes the chemistry and physics details accessible to people like me. My chemistry teacher was a sock-puppet who regularly asked the boys in our class if they thought she was fat and I've never taken a physics class. I'm familiar with carbon dating and whatnot but I was a little worried when he go to discussing isotopes, polymerase chain reactions, and molecular clocks. Thankfully, he made the subject simplee enough without being stupid.
Ultimately, I'd recomend this book to people who don't understand evolution, those who understand and enjoy reading about it, and anyone who enjoys reading Dawkins' beautiful prose about nature.
2. Death's Daughter by Amber Benson: I really, really wanted to like this book. I've read Benson's Ghosts of Albion series that she collaborated one with Christopher Golden. Those novels were funny, beautiful, and pretty sexy. This novel was not. It bears very little resemblance to the high-points of the Ghosts of Albion series. Calliope Reaper-Jones is death's daughter. She's lived a priviliged life with her sisters and mother, a descendant of Helen of Troy (Wtf?). Calliope hates the business of death and puts a spell on herself to forget so she can be an assistant to some woman I can barely remember in NYC. It's like The Devil Wears Prada but only with a more unlikable protagonist. She's shallow and incompetent and exhibits little personal growth throughout the book. What kept me going were the side characters such as Daniel, the devil's protege, and Kali, one of the gods assigned to Calliope's case. Can we get more about them? Thank god this book only cost $8 because the "twist" ending that I figured out a quarter of the way through hardly made it worth that money. Why, Amber, whyyyyy? Are her other books this terrible?
3. The Science of Harry Potter by Roger Highfield: Another book that I really wanted to like, especially since it was a gift. There are so many interesting things that could have been written about the intersections of science, myth, and Harry Potter but this book was a jumbled mess. I don't even know why it's divided into sections focusing on myths, famous beasts, and flying when it jumps from topics from page to page. The world really doesn't need another quick hack-job to cash in on the Harry Potter name, that's what the movies are for.
4-6. His Dark Materials series, The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass: This is going to shock people who know of my Harry Potter love but I have to say that this series is way better than Harry Potter. There, I've said it and stand by it. The writing is more evocative and beautiful, the characters are much more complex than Harry et al., and the worlds are much more detailed which is a wonder since instead of writing about the wizarding world v. muggles, Pullman wrote about a minimum of four different worlds and manages to make them each unique and interesting.
When it comes to this series, I say come for the polar bear getting its lower jaw ripped off and stay for the gay angels. This series is gory and although it's about children I sometimes wonder why it's classified as children's fiction.
In brief, the story focuses on Lyra Belacqua and her quest to save a friend who's been kidnapped. Her universe is a steampunk alternate universe where what seems to be the Roman Catholic church has much more of an influence in daily life. I don't want to go too in depth and reveal spoilers but the series deals with the nature of the universe, morality, and humanity's place in the world. Seriously, read these books.
7. The Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury: I saw the cartoon version of this story at least a decade ago and was totally obsessed with tracking down the book version. I found it in the children's section of my town library. Now, 15-years-later I own my own copy. The story is cool-creepy vintage Bradbury--a group of prepubescent boys going on an adventure to learn about the origins of Halloween. The story's solid, I just wish that Bradbury would write about adventures for girls. We exist too!
8. A Devil's Chaplain by Richard Dawkins: This is a book Dawkins' essays. My complaint is that there were too many book reviews. Those can be quite boring and kind of like hearing an anecdote about two people you don't know. The book is worth it, though, for his essay about 9/11 and his correspondence and essays with Stephen Jay Gould. |
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| Terraforming v. 1.0 |
[Jan. 28th, 2010|11:46 pm] |
I had this post set up about an article I read in National Geographic about terraforming Mars.
Then I called my mom and found out that my stepdad is in the hospital. They think he's having another stroke. He had one when I was a sophomore in college and then he had a series of smaller strokes a couple of years later.
I don't like gut feelings and hunches. I just remember this Carl Sagan quote about how he doesn't like to think with his gut. But I have a really bad feeling and I'm starting to think that I should put aside some money to go to Florida if I have to see my parents soon.
I don't know what I'll do if I have to take family and medical leave. My boss takes other people's absences as a personal affront and has no mercy or compassion for anyone but herself.
I just wish that they still lived in North Plainfield and I could take a train to help out. That's what I did sophomore year. I didn't have Friday classes so I came home thursday night and worked Thursdays through Sundays and then I'd go home and cook for my mom when she came home from the hospital. I just wish they were closer. |
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| Another sad case of bird on bird violence |
[Jan. 28th, 2010|03:35 pm] |
I enjoy their version if I ignore flute-guy. I think that I only dislike him because he looks just like this guy I worked with who I did not get along with at all.
As a bonus, here's the original version of this nursery rhyme from Tommy Thumb's Pretty Song Book circa 1770. They don't do all the verses in the song I posted. I'd love to do something with this artistically, but I'm not sure what.
Who killed Cock Robin?
I, said the Sparrow,
with my bow and arrow,
I killed Cock Robin.
Who saw him die?
I, said the Fly,
with my little eye,
I saw him die.
Who caught his blood?
I, said the Fish,
with my little dish,
I caught his blood.
Who'll make the shroud?
I, said the Beetle,
with my thread and needle,
I'll make the shroud.
Who'll dig his grave?
I, said the Owl,
with my pick and shovel,
I'll dig his grave.
Who'll be the parson?
I, said the Rook,
with my little book,
I'll be the parson.
Who'll be the clerk?
I, said the Lark,
if it's not in the dark,
I'll be the clerk.
Who'll carry the link?
I, said the Linnet,
I'll fetch it in a minute,
I'll carry the link.
Who'll be chief mourner?
I, said the Dove,
I mourn for my love,
I'll be chief mourner.
Who'll carry the coffin?
I, said the Kite,
if it's not through the night,
I'll carry the coffin.
Who'll bear the pall?
We, said the Wren,
both the cock and the hen,
We'll bear the pall.
Who'll sing a psalm?
I, said the Thrush,
as she sat on a bush,
I'll sing a psalm.
Who'll toll the bell?
I said the bull,
because I can pull,
I'll toll the bell.
All the birds of the air
fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,
when they heard the bell toll
for poor Cock Robin.
I miss the days when things for children were all about death. |
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| What should I read next, kids? |
[Jan. 28th, 2010|09:19 am] |
Well? I just finished reading A Devil's Chaplain and the His Dark Materials series. I'm a bit Dawkined out. I have a copy of The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Jay Gould that's looking quite interesting right now. I got it for my Biological and Social History of Race course, but we didn't read the whole book. Maybe I'll make it fight with my Dawkins books.
"Genes are merely the book-keepers of evolution!"
"No! Evolution is gene driven!"
"Non-overlapping magesteria!"
"False! Religion often tries to explain everyday phenomena!"
But then they'll all be peaceful when they discuss why they never debate with creationists.
I like to read two books at a time, one fiction and one nonfiction. I'd like something scary. Any recs? NO R.L. STINE. |
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| I get *paid* to do this? |
[Jan. 24th, 2010|02:55 pm] |
Actually, no. I get paid to answer the phones and make bemused faces into the camera. I'm the Pam of art supplies. But this is what I do when I'm bored...
Apologies for the crappy scan, I'm still trying to figure out my roommate's printer/scanner. Some of my coworkers seemed to like it, one said that he thought it belonged on a t-shirt. Gives me hope, considering my art training consists of; two month-long sessions of middle school art, one set-design class, and one intro to drawing class in college. Everything else is self-taught, mostly from books and art periodicals. I wanted to join my school's after-school art sessions and I showed up once but the teacher in charge gave a strongly-worded speech about people there just to take supplies, I think, and seemed suspicious of me since I wasn't in any art classes. I was severely shyer than I am now and this freaked me out very much so I never went back. That prolly confirmed her suspicions.
Anyway...enjoy the bunny and I hope you have enough money and patience to remove your siamese twin from your head. |
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| Somebody Loves You (For some reason) |
[Jan. 23rd, 2010|11:00 pm] |
The highlight of my weekend? Finding a Jack Chick tract on the grimy streets!
I now own a copy of Somebody Loves You. A boy is beaten by his alcoholic, vaguely ethnically stereotyped dad and then dies on the street. But it's ok! Because he read a tract telling him that Jesus loves him and he accepted Jesus into his heart before he died so he gets to be carried to heaven without his clothes on by an angelic Carson Kressley.
I also own The Little Bride, which is about how all you have to do is say a few words to become Muslim. Then you will burn in hell forever...ever...ever...ever. This is worth reading because there's a grandpa in the story who looks like just like Phil Ken Sebben from Harvey Birdman. I think he's the evil twin, though, because his eyepatch is on the wrong eye.
I love these comics, even though admitting this will send me to Bad Comic and Kitschy Hell. I know I could just buy them but it doesn't count if I do that. |
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| Attention Geeks of the Tri-State Area |
[Jan. 21st, 2010|08:59 pm] |
I just found about the Secret Science Club. It's a free and mostly-free lecture series about SCIENCE. Past lecturers have been a visual neuroscientist, an astrophysicist, and the guy who discovered Lucy.
On the damnit-all-to-hell side, the lectures are at The Bell House in the Gowanus section of Park Slope. Must everything be so far away?! At least I can take the F or R there, I'm pretty familiar with those lines. |
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| Unfettered Avarice Courtesy of Madison Avenue* |
[Jan. 21st, 2010|02:40 pm] |
Things I have purchased today:
One haircut, $48 including tip
I discovered the Montclair Book Center so now I may offer a "fuck you" to The Strand and their high high prices. I've been revisiting the book series of my childhood and reading them on the PATH train, as ashamed as I would be if I were reading hentai in public.
My mom finally pried my childhood books from my claws when we moved from NJ to Pennsylvania. I hope that my generic younger cousins that I barely know are enjoying my Baby-Sitters Clubs, Goosebumps, and Christopher Pikes.
These are the goodies I bought:
Baby-Sitters Club #43 Stacey's Emergency, where Stacey has trouble with her diabeetus: $2
Baby-Sitters Club #57 Dawn Saves the Planet, and becomes a giant eco-bitch: $2
The Eternal Enemy by Christopher Pike: I remember reading this one but I never owned it. It's the one with the VCR that tapes newscasts from the future. Sadly, they had no copies from The Last Vampire series, which was my favorite series evah. $2.25
Fear Street Super Chiller #1 The Stepbrother by the demon whose name I can't pronounce but us humans know him as R.L. Stine. I never really got into the Fear Street series although I did read some of the one shots like One Evil Summer, which I did a book report on in 6th grade. 95 cents
Fear Street Saga #2: The Secret also by the one known as R.L. Stine. 95 cents.
I've been reading the Fear Street Blog like crazy and the recapper cracks me up. Now this is the most important thing that I have ever done on the internet, including going to mortuary school. You should read the recap of The Face and vote whether or not the guy on the cover looks like Simon Cowell. Because I suggested that he did.
Last Exit: Travels With Death in the Garden State, a full-color (OOoh!) magazine by the folks who brought us Weird NJ. $8
*Today's entry title was brought to you by the MST3K short "Design For Dreaming." It's worth seeing solely for the tribute to Mr. B Natural. |
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| Robot Rumpus |
[Jan. 17th, 2010|01:36 am] |
To make up for the sadness of yesterday's post, here's one of my fave MST3K shorts. This also commemorates the passing of Art Clokey. My stepbrother and I used to fight over watching Gumby.
I, for one, walcome our clay robot overlords. |
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| How do you measure 4 or 5 years? |
[Jan. 15th, 2010|10:00 pm] |
Please disregard my last post about my health, it was stupid and selfish.
My stepdad was diagnosed with myelofibrosis this year. It's basically a disease where the bone marrow is replaced by fibrous collagen tissue so the ability to produce red-blood cells is impaired. As a result, he's become severely anemic and bruises easily. He woke up with a black eye one morning, which my parents thought was pretty funny at the time. My mom explained it by saying he talked back.
As a kind of aside, my parents made a bet about which of us would look up the disease, even though they warned us not to since the answer was upsetting. They both pretty much agreed that I'd be the one to look it up. I did, of course. I didn't really have to do a lot of research, though. I studied latin and greek prefixes in my bio class in high school and in the pathology class that I took. Myelo is bone marrow. Fibrosis refers to collagen fiber and if I recall the section about cancers correctly, malignant cancers tend to end in -osis, while benign cancers tend to end in -oma (There are exceptions, of course, like melanoma.)
I wasn't too worried, initially, since from what I read the prognosis looked not unreasonable--he could expect another 10 to 15 years. My stepdad is 67, that's not a great amount of time left but not short either. Anyway, after this very long backstory, my parents went to his doctor and asked how long they expected him to live and they gave him 4 to 5 years. Eventually, most people just succumb and hemorrhage to death. The treatment they've been giving him is blood transfusions but the real cure is a risky but potentially life-saving stem cell transplant. From what I've read, this will "reset" his marrow and convince it to stop with the unchecked growth.
I don't know about the details of the transplant but I'm hopeful because my stepsister, my stepfather's biological daughter, saved her cord blood after giving birth to my niece and I'm hoping the doctors could culture stem cells from that.
Other than that...I just feel so incredibly guilty. My mom and stepdad have been married for 20 years now. They married when I was 6. It was a very difficult adjustment for me. I was a daddy's girl and my dad was telling me all this stuff about how I couldn't love my stepfamily and that they weren't my real family so I was very hostile, especially to my stepdad. I used to daydream about him leaving my mom or even dying so that my mom and dad can remarry and we could go back to the way things used to be. And now I feel so incredibly guilty for even thinking that.
I know that this is incredibly illogical and that my thoughts aren't any more responsible for this than someone sticking pins in a doll. But I still feel bad, especially since my stepdad has been a much more "real" father than my biological father. I never felt ugly or inadequate around my stepdad. With my stepdad it was ok for me to be me, whereas with my dad eveything about me was wrong.
Right now, I'm just trying to deal and be there for my mom and stepdad. This is incredibly difficult for them both because they're used to a very active lifestyle and this has just changed their lives so much. My stepdad just can't do everything he used to and it's so weird to see him stop and nap.
I don't believe that prayer works so please don't pray. But I need more information. I need to find out exactly what kind of stem-cell treatment is needed. I hope the insurance covers it, if it's possible for a transplant, because what's the point of living if it drives you to medical bankruptcy? If anyone has any info please send it my way. |
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| Hilarious Phone Call |
[Jan. 14th, 2010|01:06 pm] |
I can't believe I forgot to post this. I got a phone call the other day and it went something like this:
Me: "[Name Removed to Protect the Guilty] How can I help you?"
Customer: "Hi, I bought a painting from the Starving Artists Art Sale at the Hilton and I put it in my house and it's emitting these very strong fumes. Is there anything you have that can make it not smell?"
Me: "..."
I connected her with the fine arts paint and refrained from telling her that that's just her punishment for going to one of those sales. Although I have always daydreamed about what it would be like to sell a sofa-sized picture of the view from inside your ribcage. |
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| It's all about meme |
[Jan. 12th, 2010|09:43 pm] |
I can't get enough of these things. Sorry. :/
Open your music player and put it on shuffle. Press play and for every question type the song that's playing. When you go to a new question press the next button. This is the soundtrack to the movie of your life!
Opening Credits: I Was Made For You by She and Him. Yay, my movie will be twee! Maybe Michael Cera will be in it...
Birth: Old Village Church by Faun Fables.
Waking Up: Rebel Yell by Billy Idol
Working song: Yulunga (Spirit Dance) by Dead Can Dance...my embarassing new age/goth music is exposed. :/
Falling in Love: Lick by The Flir
Sex: I Would Never Wanna Be Young Again by Gogol Bordello
Lusting: Purr La Perla by Violet Indiana. I guess this is kind of a sensuous song. it makes more sense than the last song.
Cooking Dinner: Sugarhigh by Coyote Shivers. Heh. This is the song that Rene Zellwiger sang in Empire Records.
Walk in the Park: Jennifer's Body by Hole
Working out at the gym: Space Oddity by David Bowie
Fight scene: Watch T.V. by Rasputina. AWESOME. This song is about America's favorite bed-wetter and best Christian, Michael Landon. Suck it, Kirk Cameron.
Breaking up: San Jacinto by Peter Gabriel
Getting back together: Night of the Swallow by Kate Bush
Secret Love: Bela Legosi's Dead by Bauhaus. So I love...Bela? Or Martin Landau as Bela?
Life's okay: The Sorrowful Wife by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. HA! This is easily one of the saddest songs in my iPod.
Mental breakdown: Dirty Knife by Neko Case
Partying: Oh, this is so embarassing...Slip of a Girl off of the Jane Eyre: The Musical soundtrack. Who are you to judge me?
Long night alone: KISS or KISS by Nana Kitade. Heh.
Final Battle: Muse by Faun Fables. I guess this an incredibly slow battle scene.
Death Scene: Sayonara by Puffy AmiYumi. Again; heh.
Funeral: Do You Remember the First Time? by Pulp. The first time I died?
Credits: Saline the Salt Lake Queen by Rasputina.
This was 43% embarassing. |
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