My mother sent me the following. Clearly something is pissing her off -- maybe my name change -- but I don't even know how to respond to this. Taking suggestions.

Happy Mother's Day

To the person who ruined my life,
I will send a greeting.

She took care of me when I was young,
often all alone.
She got rid of my father whom I insisted I loved more ( Read more... )

Drinking: High Life, from the can. It's cold, it tastes like beer, and I don't feel like I have to sip and appreciate every nuance of the flavor. I do sometimes enjoy being a beer snob, but the rest of the time I just want to drink my beer and not think about whether I can taste the black patent malt or the Cascade hops or the Burton-on-Trent hard ( Read more... )

So...about a year ago I did a transcription for a guy I happened to be working with at the time. The understanding was that my work was to be used for one event but that it was still **my** work, since he never paid me for it. But now it appears that this douchebag is using my work without my permission and without giving me credit or paying me. I  ( Read more... )

"'Winning' an argument with a child because you are bigger or the parent is hardly a triumph. You have only proven that you are physically stronger and that you are a bully and that stance does not elevate you in the eyes of your child. Children will handle this adversity in different ways. Some will grow sullen and vow to never talk to you ( Read more... )

Art of Manliness: How to Be a Hero

Aside from the fact that I'm a big fan of Superman, I liked this article because it made me feel better about the fact that I hate standing around and doing nothing when I perceive some sort of injustice, especially when I think civil and human rights are being violated or that power is being abused. But I do admit ( Read more... )

Drinking: Barefoot Pinot Noir, or, good wine for $6/bottle. The Barefoot Shiraz, Chardonnay, and sparkling wine are also excellent.

Writing: Keeler's midterm, using Edward Said, Stuart Hall, The Empire Writes Back, Mangunwijaya's Durga Umayi, Veit Erlmann, and Ralph Ellison as sources. What's bothering me about this combination of literature is not ( Read more... )

A haiku in response to one of the readings for this week's seminar on Music and Latin American Identities:

"Engaged humor" is
Just satire. Why do we need
A new word for it?

Also, it might be just me, but I always distrust a book that says, "This book seeks to contribute to an exciting conversation..." in the introduction.

I thought Tim Hartlove's description (and demonstration) of the Baltimore accent would be just one of the many amusing memories from his class, but now it's helping me with border theory. Thanks, Tim, for teaching me way more than I realized at the time ( Read more... )

I miss playing jazz. As much as I hate the rigid definition of "jazz" used by so many people I went to school with and met in jazz clubs, I do miss just sitting around playing and sometimes re-imagining standards. I think I found a singer who shares my looser interpretation of the word "jazz" and wants to reinvent some standards, but we still have ( Read more... )

Headed to end-of-semester potluck/jam session with whiskey and cigars. Watch me get in trouble...