I am utterly and completely in a state of shock and depression about Richard Quest. He was the best CNN news anchor ever and now I find out that the reason that he was able to make economic summits so fun and interesting was quite possibly because he was doped up. He was arrested for meth possession in Central Park the other night.
I hope he is fine and returns to entice me into watching reports on european conferences once more.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Becoming Ebert
I saw Prince Caspian tonight and it was perfect for three reasons:
1) Unlike the Lion, the Witch an the Wardrobe, it didn't seem at all like a fake Lord of the Rings or a fake anything else. It was its own movie and it was exciting and sweet.
2) Also unlike the L the W and the W, I couldn't remember the story, so it was much more fun to watch and there was less to judge.
3) Okay, so lets not lie...the story has even more openly religious undertones that Lord of the Rings. But, it avoids the pitfalls of most psuedo-Christian stories and doesn't come across as a moral lesson.
Plus, who doesn't love British kids. Lips better than Angelina Jolie....and, I am sorry but it has to be said: Peter turned out to be HOTT.
1) Unlike the Lion, the Witch an the Wardrobe, it didn't seem at all like a fake Lord of the Rings or a fake anything else. It was its own movie and it was exciting and sweet.
2) Also unlike the L the W and the W, I couldn't remember the story, so it was much more fun to watch and there was less to judge.
3) Okay, so lets not lie...the story has even more openly religious undertones that Lord of the Rings. But, it avoids the pitfalls of most psuedo-Christian stories and doesn't come across as a moral lesson.
Plus, who doesn't love British kids. Lips better than Angelina Jolie....and, I am sorry but it has to be said: Peter turned out to be HOTT.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
That Girl
Just finished watching 27 Dresses. I like that movie for an infinite number of reasons. One of the more cynical reasons is that I am that girl. The one that is always a bridesmaid, never the bride.
Well, not with regard to weddings really. I'm too young to get married just yet, and I haven't ever been a bridesmaid. But you know what I mean. I'm the girl with the terribly gorgeous and charismatic friend. Even my very first boyfriend couldn't help but admire my best friend at the time, saying, "She's like a unicorn. I could never catch her." He didn't say it directly to me, but still...that was the third sign that I needed to dump him. The first was that when we had our first kiss he asked if he could kiss me, which I HATE. And then he went for it while I was talking, so he landed on my tooth. The second was that he got a horrible haircut. But he perfectly illustrates my point. Yes, boys are dumb. But he wasn't as dumb as I will make him out to be if I ever talk about him, and even he seemed to be just as if not more enchanted with my friend as he was with me.
I'm not Jane, I'm Elizabeth. I'm not Mary, I'm Laura. That might not seem too bad, since Elizabeth and Laura are obviously the heroines in their respective stories. But that is only because they have had stories and movies made about them. The girl who is that girl only ever gets a modest happy ending in real life. The blockbuster finale is only a movie mirage.
I suppose that would be fine for me. What worries me is that Josh is that boy. Except in a different way. He is the guy that can get any girl he wants. He has looks, charisma, he's hilarious, and he is cocky enough to convince any girl that deep down she wants him. When we first started dating he told me that he was that guy. He was half joking, but its the truth and I had always known that. I watched him grow up and I saw all the girls come and go. I hear the way people still talk to him. Fathers who would love to hook their daughters up with him. And mothers who wouldn't mind hooking up with him themselves. Female teachers have massaged him. His girlfriend's mother has hit on him. And his exes never seem to let go of him.
He's Emilio Estevez in the Breakfast Club, and Blane in Pretty in Pink.
My issue is not that he's perfect. I would be the first to list his many flaws. Being the less-noticed girl doesn't make me unobservant or doormat-ish at all. I also don't have an issue with being afraid that he doesn't like me since he can have his pick of anyone. I know that he loves me, and its always been like that. Through all the girlfriends. My real issue shouldn't be an issue, but is an issue since I can't seem to let it go....I hate the fact that he is that guy and I am this girl, and there is a power relationship there that is not quite in balance. Well, its there in my head at least.
I am a person who likes drama, yes. And I am jealous by nature. But I think any girl would get a little bit tired of having to deal with exes after six fucking months. He doesn't talk about them that much. But it doesn't matter, because I see the please calls that they have sent him on his phone. That doesn't mean that he did anything wrong at all. He didn't necessarily call them back. I just hate having to wonder if he did. And having to feel like it is so so so unfair that he has these girls who are constantly vying for his attention and making me feel jealous (no Eleanor Roosevelt quotes here, please, or I will cut you), and he doesn't have to feel like he is just another boy in line for my attention or wonder if someday I will answer one of the sms' from one of my numerous admirers.
And can I take a second to talk about how much of a bitch one of his exes is? I actually look forward to the day that I meet her again, so I can finally dish it back to that petite, fakey, two-faced whore. She is exactly the kind of girl that I would do everything in my power to ensure that my daughter does not turn out to be. Let's call her Lacey. I met Lacey when I came here at the age of 17, and she was dating Josh. I tried so hard to get to know her and be nice to her, because I knew that the only way to preserve Josh and my friendship as we got older was to make sure that the new people in his life liked me. She was nice to my face. In an aloof sort of way. Lacey had Josh cut her pizza for her when she came over for dinner, which nearly made me throw up, but I still gave her the benefit of the doubt. And then that little cunt (yes, I'm going all McCain on her ass) had the nerve to tell my 10 year-old little sister to "get the hell out of her way" when nobody else was listening. My sister never did ANYTHING to her. Then, after I left (not to return again for another 4 years) she told Josh's entire family that I was so so mean and had cornered her in a room and told her that I hated her. As if. Josh apparently sort of believed it. Which doesn't say much for him, actually.
Anyway, this is the same biatch that re-declared her love for Josh a couple of months ago. He turned her down. But the point is that I still have to deal with her being in his life. Not by choice maybe. But she is still there. Along with others. And it annoys me. This wouldn't be such an issue if he was not that guy. Or if I were his girl equivalent, instead of being that girl.
"I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich."
-Jane, 27 Dresses
Well, not with regard to weddings really. I'm too young to get married just yet, and I haven't ever been a bridesmaid. But you know what I mean. I'm the girl with the terribly gorgeous and charismatic friend. Even my very first boyfriend couldn't help but admire my best friend at the time, saying, "She's like a unicorn. I could never catch her." He didn't say it directly to me, but still...that was the third sign that I needed to dump him. The first was that when we had our first kiss he asked if he could kiss me, which I HATE. And then he went for it while I was talking, so he landed on my tooth. The second was that he got a horrible haircut. But he perfectly illustrates my point. Yes, boys are dumb. But he wasn't as dumb as I will make him out to be if I ever talk about him, and even he seemed to be just as if not more enchanted with my friend as he was with me.
I'm not Jane, I'm Elizabeth. I'm not Mary, I'm Laura. That might not seem too bad, since Elizabeth and Laura are obviously the heroines in their respective stories. But that is only because they have had stories and movies made about them. The girl who is that girl only ever gets a modest happy ending in real life. The blockbuster finale is only a movie mirage.
I suppose that would be fine for me. What worries me is that Josh is that boy. Except in a different way. He is the guy that can get any girl he wants. He has looks, charisma, he's hilarious, and he is cocky enough to convince any girl that deep down she wants him. When we first started dating he told me that he was that guy. He was half joking, but its the truth and I had always known that. I watched him grow up and I saw all the girls come and go. I hear the way people still talk to him. Fathers who would love to hook their daughters up with him. And mothers who wouldn't mind hooking up with him themselves. Female teachers have massaged him. His girlfriend's mother has hit on him. And his exes never seem to let go of him.
He's Emilio Estevez in the Breakfast Club, and Blane in Pretty in Pink.
My issue is not that he's perfect. I would be the first to list his many flaws. Being the less-noticed girl doesn't make me unobservant or doormat-ish at all. I also don't have an issue with being afraid that he doesn't like me since he can have his pick of anyone. I know that he loves me, and its always been like that. Through all the girlfriends. My real issue shouldn't be an issue, but is an issue since I can't seem to let it go....I hate the fact that he is that guy and I am this girl, and there is a power relationship there that is not quite in balance. Well, its there in my head at least.
I am a person who likes drama, yes. And I am jealous by nature. But I think any girl would get a little bit tired of having to deal with exes after six fucking months. He doesn't talk about them that much. But it doesn't matter, because I see the please calls that they have sent him on his phone. That doesn't mean that he did anything wrong at all. He didn't necessarily call them back. I just hate having to wonder if he did. And having to feel like it is so so so unfair that he has these girls who are constantly vying for his attention and making me feel jealous (no Eleanor Roosevelt quotes here, please, or I will cut you), and he doesn't have to feel like he is just another boy in line for my attention or wonder if someday I will answer one of the sms' from one of my numerous admirers.
And can I take a second to talk about how much of a bitch one of his exes is? I actually look forward to the day that I meet her again, so I can finally dish it back to that petite, fakey, two-faced whore. She is exactly the kind of girl that I would do everything in my power to ensure that my daughter does not turn out to be. Let's call her Lacey. I met Lacey when I came here at the age of 17, and she was dating Josh. I tried so hard to get to know her and be nice to her, because I knew that the only way to preserve Josh and my friendship as we got older was to make sure that the new people in his life liked me. She was nice to my face. In an aloof sort of way. Lacey had Josh cut her pizza for her when she came over for dinner, which nearly made me throw up, but I still gave her the benefit of the doubt. And then that little cunt (yes, I'm going all McCain on her ass) had the nerve to tell my 10 year-old little sister to "get the hell out of her way" when nobody else was listening. My sister never did ANYTHING to her. Then, after I left (not to return again for another 4 years) she told Josh's entire family that I was so so mean and had cornered her in a room and told her that I hated her. As if. Josh apparently sort of believed it. Which doesn't say much for him, actually.
Anyway, this is the same biatch that re-declared her love for Josh a couple of months ago. He turned her down. But the point is that I still have to deal with her being in his life. Not by choice maybe. But she is still there. Along with others. And it annoys me. This wouldn't be such an issue if he was not that guy. Or if I were his girl equivalent, instead of being that girl.
"I feel like I just found out my favorite love song was written about a sandwich."
-Jane, 27 Dresses
Monday, June 2, 2008
Move *****, Get Out the Way!
If Obama takes Clinton as a running mate I will be forced to throw up a little bit in my mouth. And then I will watch (and doorbell for Obama) futilely as McCain steals the election.
It's not that she's a woman, it's that she's a biatch, and has exposed this fact ever so publicly during the course of the campaign.
It's not that she's a woman, it's that she's a biatch, and has exposed this fact ever so publicly during the course of the campaign.
Extra-extralicious
Today was fabulous in a boring sort of way. I am positively elated to be done with school (for now). I have no immediate complaints, and because of that I have nothing much of importance to say. In light of this, I will get a little bit list happy and tell you four things of not so important nature:
1) I always seem to have these "admirers" who are roughly ten years older than me, and into academia. This happened at the UW and again here at UCT. At the UW it was my policsi TA who came from the Soviet Union (as he called it), who kept me in his office answering questions about my life for a loooong time on repeated occasions. The meetings were mandatory for everyone in the class regarding our papers. It wasn't like I kept being somehow tamed into his Gowen lair. But I just couldn't get away when he finished talking about my paper and launched into the Russian inquisition. Here at UCT it was a librarian who I seemed to have caught the eye of. That was much less creepy and way more beneficial, though, because the librarian actually helped me find hidden dvd's and lots of books, and never tricked me into a small room.
Still, though. Why me? Do I somehow seem endearing to older university people who are ten years my senior (at least)? I only explained two instances of this phenomenon, but its part of a much longer pattern of uncomfortability. Not too annoying, but strange nonetheless.
2) Interestingly the name Phoebe has biblical roots. Isn't that funny? It sounds so much more modern and almost new-agey...thanks in part to Friends, I think. But its in Romans 16, so technically its on par with names like Moses and Ezekiel.
3) A confusing riddle: What do Superman, Moses, and the Cabbage Patch Kids have in common?
4) People say "now now" here a lot. It is the equivalent of saying something like "I will be there just now"...which they also say. Contrary to logic, now now can mean in ten minutes, in a couple of hours, or NEVER. I learned this the hard way last time I was in South Africa.
"Simplicity provides a fine line between elegance and plainness."
-Brown Sugar
1) I always seem to have these "admirers" who are roughly ten years older than me, and into academia. This happened at the UW and again here at UCT. At the UW it was my policsi TA who came from the Soviet Union (as he called it), who kept me in his office answering questions about my life for a loooong time on repeated occasions. The meetings were mandatory for everyone in the class regarding our papers. It wasn't like I kept being somehow tamed into his Gowen lair. But I just couldn't get away when he finished talking about my paper and launched into the Russian inquisition. Here at UCT it was a librarian who I seemed to have caught the eye of. That was much less creepy and way more beneficial, though, because the librarian actually helped me find hidden dvd's and lots of books, and never tricked me into a small room.
Still, though. Why me? Do I somehow seem endearing to older university people who are ten years my senior (at least)? I only explained two instances of this phenomenon, but its part of a much longer pattern of uncomfortability. Not too annoying, but strange nonetheless.
2) Interestingly the name Phoebe has biblical roots. Isn't that funny? It sounds so much more modern and almost new-agey...thanks in part to Friends, I think. But its in Romans 16, so technically its on par with names like Moses and Ezekiel.
3) A confusing riddle: What do Superman, Moses, and the Cabbage Patch Kids have in common?
4) People say "now now" here a lot. It is the equivalent of saying something like "I will be there just now"...which they also say. Contrary to logic, now now can mean in ten minutes, in a couple of hours, or NEVER. I learned this the hard way last time I was in South Africa.
"Simplicity provides a fine line between elegance and plainness."
-Brown Sugar
Sunday, June 1, 2008
WINNER
Spent the weekend at Josh's and it was chock full of good clean fun. My favorite kind. LOTS of games. We played hide and seek for the first time and I found out that he is just as good as I am. Amazing. After Olive, I doubted that I would ever meet another person whose was on par with me in the whole hiding arena. Actually, the biggest barrier to that is the fact that only little-kiddish people like me want to play hide and seek in the first place. I hid in a bedroom cupboard that was near the ceiling. And after he found me, I just about broke my leg because I fell out of it trying to climb down. Good thing he's a good catcher too. Josh hid in between two twin mattresses that were pushed together to make one bed with king-sized sheets and a duvet. He got in and remade the bed with himself in it somehow.
We also played Careers, which is a board game that looks like a cheap version of Life but is waaaay more fun. I hate that stupid game. Anyway, you should buy Careers if you ever come across it. It will bring you days and days of good times.
And finally, since we've been fighting so much lately, we did a relationship counseling worksheet. Not a real one, just one that I made. Which was cheating, sort of, because I asked questions that I wanted to know his opinions on and also ones that I wanted to tell him my opinions on without being super obvious. In any case, it turned out very nicely and now we have absolutely no issues. I get the Freud of the week award. In more ways than one...... Except that I did cause slightly more drama because I checked his inbox on his phone, which he hates because he says it means that I don't trust him. Hmph. Whatev. I don't feel all that guilty because a) I told him that I looked, which I didn't have to, I was just trying to be honest, and b) I found two "please call" messages from his ex that he had deleted. Normally that wouldn't be an issue that an ex sent him those, especially since he deleted them and didn't necessarily call her back. Still, I asked him if he had heard from her recently and he lied and said no. Hmmm, c'est la vie. I will let this one go, especially since everything has been relatively perfect with us this weekend. Plus, I way to hotttt for him to even consider cheating on me.
We also played Careers, which is a board game that looks like a cheap version of Life but is waaaay more fun. I hate that stupid game. Anyway, you should buy Careers if you ever come across it. It will bring you days and days of good times.
And finally, since we've been fighting so much lately, we did a relationship counseling worksheet. Not a real one, just one that I made. Which was cheating, sort of, because I asked questions that I wanted to know his opinions on and also ones that I wanted to tell him my opinions on without being super obvious. In any case, it turned out very nicely and now we have absolutely no issues. I get the Freud of the week award. In more ways than one...... Except that I did cause slightly more drama because I checked his inbox on his phone, which he hates because he says it means that I don't trust him. Hmph. Whatev. I don't feel all that guilty because a) I told him that I looked, which I didn't have to, I was just trying to be honest, and b) I found two "please call" messages from his ex that he had deleted. Normally that wouldn't be an issue that an ex sent him those, especially since he deleted them and didn't necessarily call her back. Still, I asked him if he had heard from her recently and he lied and said no. Hmmm, c'est la vie. I will let this one go, especially since everything has been relatively perfect with us this weekend. Plus, I way to hotttt for him to even consider cheating on me.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Life this week
EXAMS
At South African universities (which they call 'varsity' instead of 'college') all your big papers and tests are graded by an external examiner from outside the university along with your professor. It seems unfair to me, because usually your professor will know what you have not covered in the class and won't mark you down if you don't include that info, but a stranger won't know what has and hasn't been covered.
Anyway, the point is that as I turned in my take-home exam essays yesterday I noticed that Pierre de Vos, a prof from another university who I cited extensively in my essays, was actually my external examiner. Awkward.
MOVIES
Brown Sugar has got to be one of the absolute dopest movies ever. Besides Sanaa Lathan being my favorite actress, that movie has an infinite number of hilarious line and a perfect story. Plus, how can you go wrong with Mos Def?
MUSIC
How come everything Wyclef does is just so good? I'm not exactly down with him being all "I'm from Haiti, so I've automatically got street cred" and all that. But apart from anything about reputation or cockiness, his songs consistently rock...in a hip hop sort of way, of course.
REFUGEES
The church has decided to limit the capacity of the shelter at 81 people. But there are still 10,000 people on the streets in Cape Town alone. The Anglican church leaders for South Africa have decided to follow the government's lead in saying that no more more non-government shelters should be set up, because reintegration should be the strategy now. But reintegration is a goal not a strategy. How are you going to magically reintegrate people back into communities when the whole reason that they had to leave their homes in the first place is because their lives were threatened by their neighbors??? People need homes, jobs, paperwork to return to their home countries, etc. The only way to help them get that is to allow them a safe place to stay at night and during the day to actively offer them tools to get jobs, homes, paperwork etc so that they can reintegrate....or relocate. Shelters are a stepping stone, and cutting them out of the process will not help.
I felt so bad last night because there was a torrential downpour that lasted for hours. It was harder than any rain that Seattle has ever seen. The refugees who are still sleeping on the streets and in the government's tent city must have been miserable. And this morning the refugees who were waiting in line outside Home Affairs so that they could get paperwork were attacked by locals. Knowledge, a man who has been staying at our shelter, along with several other guys were beat up. One was stabbed. And all this right in front of a government building.
What is also scary is the prevalence of the hatred towards the immigrants. My mother volunteers at a low-income school during the week and one of the little boys there, who is usually sweet and well-behaved, was walking around talking about how all the "dirty immigrants need to get out of South Africa." The boy is probably from Khayelitsha or one of the townships close by, and that is probably what everyone around him has been saying. How do you deal with that though? How do you convince people that the immigrants are not taking their jobs, and that they shouldn't hate them? There doesn't seem to be any answers. If I were an immigrant and I couldn't afford to live anywhere but in the townships, I would leave the country. I don't want them to have to do that, because often they are in South Africa because their home country is impoverished, war-torn, or run by an oppressive dictator. But I also don't think that their neighborhoods are going to be safe any time this year. Maybe life under Mugabe in Zimbabwe will be better than risking being murdered in South Africa.
Interestingly, I suddenly don't count as an immigrant any more. My SA citizenship was just confirmed. Of course I'm not the type of immigrant that anyone has animosity to anyway. It's all about the Africans.
"So what's the difference between rap and hip hop? It's simple. It's like saying you love somebody and being in love with somebody. Rap is only a word."
-Brown Sugar
At South African universities (which they call 'varsity' instead of 'college') all your big papers and tests are graded by an external examiner from outside the university along with your professor. It seems unfair to me, because usually your professor will know what you have not covered in the class and won't mark you down if you don't include that info, but a stranger won't know what has and hasn't been covered.
Anyway, the point is that as I turned in my take-home exam essays yesterday I noticed that Pierre de Vos, a prof from another university who I cited extensively in my essays, was actually my external examiner. Awkward.
MOVIES
Brown Sugar has got to be one of the absolute dopest movies ever. Besides Sanaa Lathan being my favorite actress, that movie has an infinite number of hilarious line and a perfect story. Plus, how can you go wrong with Mos Def?
MUSIC
How come everything Wyclef does is just so good? I'm not exactly down with him being all "I'm from Haiti, so I've automatically got street cred" and all that. But apart from anything about reputation or cockiness, his songs consistently rock...in a hip hop sort of way, of course.
REFUGEES
The church has decided to limit the capacity of the shelter at 81 people. But there are still 10,000 people on the streets in Cape Town alone. The Anglican church leaders for South Africa have decided to follow the government's lead in saying that no more more non-government shelters should be set up, because reintegration should be the strategy now. But reintegration is a goal not a strategy. How are you going to magically reintegrate people back into communities when the whole reason that they had to leave their homes in the first place is because their lives were threatened by their neighbors??? People need homes, jobs, paperwork to return to their home countries, etc. The only way to help them get that is to allow them a safe place to stay at night and during the day to actively offer them tools to get jobs, homes, paperwork etc so that they can reintegrate....or relocate. Shelters are a stepping stone, and cutting them out of the process will not help.
I felt so bad last night because there was a torrential downpour that lasted for hours. It was harder than any rain that Seattle has ever seen. The refugees who are still sleeping on the streets and in the government's tent city must have been miserable. And this morning the refugees who were waiting in line outside Home Affairs so that they could get paperwork were attacked by locals. Knowledge, a man who has been staying at our shelter, along with several other guys were beat up. One was stabbed. And all this right in front of a government building.
What is also scary is the prevalence of the hatred towards the immigrants. My mother volunteers at a low-income school during the week and one of the little boys there, who is usually sweet and well-behaved, was walking around talking about how all the "dirty immigrants need to get out of South Africa." The boy is probably from Khayelitsha or one of the townships close by, and that is probably what everyone around him has been saying. How do you deal with that though? How do you convince people that the immigrants are not taking their jobs, and that they shouldn't hate them? There doesn't seem to be any answers. If I were an immigrant and I couldn't afford to live anywhere but in the townships, I would leave the country. I don't want them to have to do that, because often they are in South Africa because their home country is impoverished, war-torn, or run by an oppressive dictator. But I also don't think that their neighborhoods are going to be safe any time this year. Maybe life under Mugabe in Zimbabwe will be better than risking being murdered in South Africa.
Interestingly, I suddenly don't count as an immigrant any more. My SA citizenship was just confirmed. Of course I'm not the type of immigrant that anyone has animosity to anyway. It's all about the Africans.
"So what's the difference between rap and hip hop? It's simple. It's like saying you love somebody and being in love with somebody. Rap is only a word."
-Brown Sugar
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