twitching spasmodically

house is rocking / in DC / as well as / happy special day

2008-07-17T21:45:19Z

In DC
for several days seeing clients and friends. I miss this town very much but am glad I don't live here. Mostly I miss my DC friends quite a lot. Once again I urge a mass exodus to Chicago. Really, you can stay at my place. The house is rocking. Don't bother knocking. Come on in.

as well as
I'd like to come out against the useless construct "as well as". For instance:

"First let's look at what makes the 4800 series tick. For starters the cards are built on a 55nm fabrication process. Until recently with NVIDIA's 9800 GTX+ launch, the ATI Radeon HD 4800 series were the only video cards to do this. As you know, smaller die equals less power needed and heat generated as well as decreasing the cost of producing the cards. AMD is able launch these cards at a very affordable price partially due to this." — from Gaming Nexus

That entire paragraph had its tires shot out after the third sentence. More graceful:

"As you know, a smaller die means less power needed, less heat generated, and decreased production costs."

When, long time back, I taught writing classes, I mostly imparted misinformation to rows of unconvinced freshmen and sophomores. But one task I did well was to tell them to avoid "as well as".

Kids, I'd tell the kids (who were not much younger than I), Whenever you find yourself using as well as, there's always a better way to phrase your sentence. As well as means you're masking your disorganization with a little bit of pomposity.

I did not say it so gracefully in person, in front of a bored college class, at age 23. Mostly I stood up there and babbled like an idiot and was glad when class was over. Teaching is not my thing. Is it possible even to teach writing? I do not know that it is.

Happy birthday mariebernadette.

spider, red eyes, pushups, scalar variable

2008-07-16T02:37:27Z

Bad move, space cadet
Today I attempted to dereference a scalar variable of type class java.lang.String as a structure with members. I won't do that again.

Who knows whence comes the phrase Bad move, space cadet? I don't mean the deservedly unfamous garage band "Zoinks" who I have never heard but who obviously knew the origin of the phrase. This is an 80s thing. Early 80s.

%$#@!
After bike wreck two weeks ago, still have pain in my left side if I press there. It's very tender. Otherwise I am alert and healthy. I figure if I were bleeding internally or had ruptured something then I'd be a little more debacled or wan. I don't want to go back to the doctor. Even with insurance it is expensive. I'm going to wait and see what happens.

My insurance is of the variety that covers a disaster but not the little stuff.

Yesterday I tried to do some pushups. That was dumb. My arm is not mended. Three pushups later I was in pain and then my arm throbbed the rest of the night. Pullups are out of the question.

So then I tried to do some crunches and leg lifts and my left side got a sharp pain so I just stopped. I used a lot of harsh language. I sat on the floor for a while glowering at nothing.

spider
On my bathroom sink the littlest spider has strung her web between my shaving cream can and my toothpaste. Small silk house. What is she gonna catch with that? Yet now I cannot shave or brush teeth. Unless I am very careful. Yeah, I think I can do this without disrupting her web.

Eyes
My eyes always red when I wake up in the morning. They clear up after a couple of hours. But it's like I sleep on top of my eyeball or something. It's been this way for years. There's no outlook.

the court of Eve. beneath the polar mountain

2008-07-13T07:15:21Z

France
I made peace with France.

Chicago
is enjoying a warm summer night. I was out on my bike. A group of people stepped off the curb into the bike lane and I slowed to let them cross. I did not make eye contact with the errant pedestrians as is my practice. Don't make eye contact. It's not worth it. Then one tipsy girl grinned at me and said Whoa! and put out her hand for me to stop. She was so goshdarn cute I could not be irked at her and I grinned back and we both carried on. I like this town more and more.

While Chicago parties, what am I doing tonight? Upgrading an email server for a vexed client. Client has a right to be vexed. Her email has been erratic and I need to fix it.

800 calories
on the elliptical tonight. *war cry*

France
I'd be a poor ambassador. At the gala state function in Paris I'd get rotting drunk, barf in the punch bowl, dirty dance with the Prime Minister's wife, call Sarkozy a lecherous sot, and taunt everyone about that World War II "We Give Up!" episode. (I love the French.)

My friend Eavonka. We were in Tom Mayer's fiction class at UNM, fall 1988. She is a gifted writer.

You're looking a little peaked dear. Have a twinkie.

2008-07-08T13:59:57Z

Kids today are badly obese. What are parents feeding them?

In Memphis TN when I was a little kid we used to drink soda pop full of sugar from cans with ring tabs. We ran around all day like little barbarians up and down the street. I had my first bike accident on Avalon St where we lived. Wiped out on my blue-and-tan one-speed and my little six year old foot got caught in the spokes. Stitches and a shot and lots of hollering. This was in ... 1974. See? I have made no progress. I was a little, skinny kid. I lived on PBJs and Coca Cola. It was pretty grand.

Independence Day

2008-07-05T02:18:29Z

It's like a war zone out there. Bombs bursting in air. Wonder how many PTSD veterans are under their kitchen tables right now spitting curses. This stuff makes me nervous. I don't like explosions or sudden, loud noises. I grew up in a pretty violent environment and I like quietude and bombs put me on edge. Can't we have a dignified celebration of our country? If we were a tad less insecure maybe we would rely less on braggadoccio.

Bombs went off all last night. Some kids got hold of a box of M80s. An explosion. Another explosion. Another explosion. And so on, for hours. The same repetition of detonation, as entertaining each time as if witnessed anew. These must be the same sorts of people who like NASCAR, in which the same cars go round and round in the same circle over and over yet the crowd greets each passing car with a delighted cry every time.

computer

2008-07-04T17:35:23Z

Here's my budget and plan for the new computer:

AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core 9850 -- the latest AMD CPU costs only $235. I'll stay with the stock heatsink/fan unit for now. I put a Tuniq tower on top of my current Intel CPU and it's like a Malaysian skyscraper. Plus, with the AMD Phenom X4 Quad-Core 9850, I can get the BLACK EDITION. Because, you know, you gotta have the BLACK EDITION.

M3A32-MVP Deluxe -- Mature board. Good reviews. I've come to rely on ASUS quality. I could do one of their commercials. Has latest AMD 790FX chipset and South Bridge SB600. Supports Crossfire, up to four graphics boards, which I won't do, but, dang that's neat. I'll do two boards mainly b/c I have never done that before and it will be a fun experiment. DEFINATELY. Socket AM2+. And it supports DDR2, which I already have in abundance (4GB Mushkin). I'm getting the version without WiFi. $189.00

Radeon 4870 Graphics Card -- this is the big expense. These run $309.00 each. I want two. I'm gonna do Crossfire. But which manufacturer should I support? Even Diamond has gotten back into the graphics game! I used to use Diamond cards often, back in the day. I've also used VisionTek before, and they were fine. Must research. The 4870 runs relatively cool, supports DirectX 10.1, and it's got that spiffy GDDR5 memory. Zoom! I'm going to crank up Bioshock, the beautiful art deco game, in all its DirectX 10.1 glory.

However, the fanbois are buying up 4870s like they were cake. NewEgg is out of stock. I'll have to wait a few weeks. I should wait a few weeks anyway when I'll have more time to build a computer and enjoy myself.

Windows Vista Ultimate -- Sadly, if I am going to use DirectX 10.1, I have to migrate to Vista. This is going to play havoc with all kinds of things. At least I waited till Service pack 1. How many of my programs are not gonna run on Vista? How many problems am I going to incur? This could really affect my business and livelihood. And do I really need all of that bling? $169.00

Total so far:
CPU $235
Mainboard: $189
Radeons: $618 (ouch!)
Vista: $169

Total: $1,211.00

for a bitchin' computer that will last 18 months.

If anybody has thoughts or advice about this rash purchase I'm grateful to hear them.

I'm going to use the extra parts from old computers to cobble together a "new" computer for my sis whose Macintosh is dying.

Louis Vuitton, Sex and the City

2008-07-04T02:39:03Z

directly from New Yorker, 30 June 2008
Re: Carrie
A letter in response to Anthony Lane’s article (June 9th & 16, 2008)

"Sex and the City" has always been, first and foremost, a story about the primacy of female friendships in women's lives. We seek love and companionship with men (and sometimes with women), but in the end it is our female friends who help us know ourselves, realize our paths, and fulfill our destinies. Lane refers to the heartbreaks in this film as a "serious threat" to the "characters' contentment." Yes, the events in the film would be a threat to anyone's contentment. But this film deals in forgiveness. And, while we are on the topic, forgive a girl for getting teary during a scene in which a woman comes into possession of her very first Louis Vuitton handbag. These things matter, too.

Carrie Murphy
Milwaukee, Wis.

Honey I'll make you a handbag. I'll make you a handbag out of love. Yow! Hey go'geous honey I just made you a handbag. Come on over here and get yo handbag what I made for you outta love ... sweet love.

*boogies*

That's right this handbag here it made from love. You caint see it. Only thing you can do with it is put yo heart in it. But this handbag, it's special and you better hold on to it and don't let it go. As long as you got a safe place for yo heart you got no worries bout anything else you know what I'm sayin?

That'll be $1,200.00 please, for the smaller size. Sorry, cash or Paypal only.

French Opera singer Marie Delna, notably sans love handbag, which is why she looks so unhappy.

A wanna-be. You caint put yo love in here girl.

foxtrot tango whisky

2008-07-03T04:36:26Z

Cracked arm. X-rays, ER, multiple doctors, too much busywork over a small simple injury. X-ray shows big crack in radial bone in arm. Vicodin. Expecting health insurance to cover some. Expecting out of pocket bills. Note to self: Quit &%$#@! around on your bicycle.

All is fine. Mending tolerable. I do not have time to be injured! I took off the arm sling, popped a Vicodin, and got back to work typing with two hands rather than one. Clients expect me to get their work done.

Tonight I think I will be able to floss normally. Last night I flossed by tying one end of floss to chair, and holding other end in left (healthy) hand, and sawing back and forth in my mouth, bobbing up and down on the floss, which sounds way too ghey. =) (Go ghey. I'm all for teh ghey.) I looked v goofy kneeling there on the floor fitting string in my mouth fastened to a chair leg, scowling and cursing.

Hope you all are great.

whisky tango foxtrot

2008-07-01T01:34:47Z

For my latest caper I wiped out on my bike in an intersection just now. Leavitt and Cortez. Fault was mine. I thought, Why is that car not slowing down? Then I realized the car did not have a stop sign, yet I did, so I leaned back and hit the brakes but was going too fast, so over the handlebars I go, slamming down on the road in the exact middle of the intersection with the car speeding toward me. The car did not stop or slow but drove around me at speed while I sprawled (tangle of limbs and bike) in the intersection. I heard the tires screeching as it swerved then felt it brush past me. The driver gunned it.

Are you OK? a lady called from the sidewalk. From the wreckage I lifted up one thumb to indicate my good health. I was embarrassed abundantly. The driver was speeding away probably thinking, That's what those bicyclists get!

I take pride in being a capable urban cyclist. On the road I'm polite and deferential. I don't make eye contact. I never create a road hazard. Sure, I go through stop signs and red lights, but only if the coast is quite clear and there is absolutely no chance for a collision with anyone or anything. I'm not one of those tiresome, self-righteous cyclists. I'm not a dangerous 20-something kamikaze bike messenger. I ride slow and mellow.

Damage:

To me: sprained right arm I cannot straighten or use. I conked my helmet pretty hard on the pavement so, mild headache. Good ol Bell helmet. And I did something internal to myself such that my left side is tender if pressed. Gashed knee and a pronounced limp. I'm aware of the symptoms of concussion and internal bleeding and if I manifest these, will report to ER which is nearby.

Mainly it's my pride that's wounded since, in this caper, I've advanced several levels in dumbness.

To bike: the sprocket housing was bent, dislodging the chain. I dragged it over to the sidewalk and bent it back with my good hand and reseated the chain and got on my way, very grouchy. Cheeks burning. I haven't wrecked in a long while.

Be safe out there.

I wanted to say:

2008-06-30T05:23:01Z

Thanks very much for your comments on my post last week, "rejection; the only way a writer can succeed". Very useful ideas from wise friends.

tigerlily35 in US Women's Triathlon

2008-06-30T02:56:53Z

My sister Erin (tigerlily35) did very well in the US Women's Triathlon in Naperville, IL, held on June 22, 2008. Here is her blog entry about the race.

Our friend jd60610 also participated. Erin's daughter and her boyfriend Scott were there.

I took a few photos. In the photos: you can tell who my pretty sis is. jd60610 is the smiling beautiful blonde woman composed entirely of lean muscle and high spirits. Scott is the handsome fellow in the baseball cap. My niece age 8 bounces around with terrific energy. At the end of the race, as Erin was running to the finish line, her daughter ran up and took her hand and they crossed the finish line together and that was Erin's first triathlon, completed with honor. I tried to get a picture of them together but they were too fast to catch.

good poem by Laura Kasischke

2008-06-26T17:42:55Z

Bike Ride with Older Boys

Yah-ta-hey

2008-06-22T08:12:40Z

Now to get up in an hour to drive w/ my sis to Naperville where she will participate in a triathlon and I will cheer her.

On the res we used to holler:

Yah-ta-hey, Yah-ta-ho!
Get that ball and go go go!

I will holler this and she will know immediately what I'm talking about and will crack up. I love my sis! Go sis.

Us like to read.

2008-06-21T20:43:59Z

N.M. school tries to reach students via podcast

This is bad in so many ways. How about getting kids involved in reading good stories, instead of using them as marketing drones for a big corporation? I grew up in rural NM, on the opposite side of the state, on a Navajo reservation. We did not have Zunes. Some of we actually liked to read.

Yeah, I know. But what sounds right?

"We like to read."

or

"Us like to read."

If "We like to read" is correct, why is "Some of we like to read" incorrect?

I think "Some of we like to read" is correct but used very rarely. I don't have a grammar rule to back up this audacious claim. I used to be pals with a master linguist but don't have access to her knowledge any more. Will research when I get time. Cause this stuff bugs the hell out of me.

What is your view?

What's a Nubian?

2008-06-21T07:38:29Z

Maybe it's the script, and the late hour. And both count. But Jason Scott Lee acts circles around Ben Affleck. Why isn't Joey Lauren Adams up among the constellations? The Big Dipper, Orion, Taurus, Pisces, Joey Lauren Adams.

Why is every rightthinking person, female or male, not rising up to destroy the perpetrators of this

2008-06-20T20:07:48Z

Drama law
Fixing development problems right and left. I feel like a jukebox hero.

Uh, also reminding self to not be sloppy with code. That would conserve drama.

There should be a law regarding drama. I mean a physical law. The Law of Conservation of Drama. I feel a song coming on.

siblings
My poor housemate brother. I've been an uncommunicative ogre for a week while I work. OK. Several weeks. Clients all pounded me at once. I had to chain self to desk and just work. We are used to each other and it is a comfortable household. We both keep odd hours. He's finishing his PhD at U of Chicago. I'm very proud of him. He's 26. So young! Sometimes he calls me "dude" which cracks me up. Dude, you stay up all night? He's 6'5", almost a full foot taller than I. I am the oldest and shortest and grumpiest of six siblings. I'm very fond of and feel responsible for all of them.

hollywood
Incredible Hulk. Bad. No one's ruthless enough to write the Hulk properly. The Hulk. What an undeveloped character. If they turned me loose on the Hulk I'd write them a proper Hulk story. There would be no survivors (on Earth) but it would be a smashing damn good story. Properly sanguinary.

The Happening. Dumb. I was rooting for the plants. Yeah! Get em! Telepathic chlorophyll! M Night better quit while he's wealthy and behind.

Sex and the City. The more I dwell on this movie the more I wish I could erase it from my mind where, unfortunately, it's indelible because I remember everything except necessary facts. This movie sets back womankind 50 years. What the hell were they thinking? Do women actually applaud this movie? If I were a woman and saw this movie I would be outraged. Hell. I am outraged as a man. As a human fucking being. I really want Cloverfield to come in and stomp them. Mr Big needs a cockpunch. Why is every rightthinking person, female or male, not rising up to destroy the perpetrators of this movie?

Yes. I'm breaking wantonly the law of conservation of drama.

poem by J Harrison

2008-06-19T20:35:21Z

good poem by Jeffrey Harrison — Our Other Sister

Go AP

2008-06-19T04:58:51Z

Michelle Obama says she was touched by first lady

What an unfortunate headline. Go AP.

Another 16 hour day. Got a lot accomplished. I get by with a little help from my friends.

war cry

2008-06-18T05:48:58Z

That was a 16 hour work day. Glad it's over. Tomorrow's another. I have to be up in a few hours. *Stanley Kubrick war cry*

She's chubby, mentally nuts, and speedier than a forgotten dream. I like her very much

2008-06-15T19:09:46Z

76 arrested on prostitution charges in Craigslist sting
I have mixed feelings about this. The police should focus on traffickers and active pedophiles, and leave the adult working women alone. In a society that represses women in many ways, sometimes women must resort to prostitution to survive. Two of the women secured their children in an adjoining room while they met their clients. These people don't need aggravation from the police, or society's judgment.

I don't know what they need, but it's not aggravation from the police, or society's judgment.

Cops say 8 slain in, around city
I can almost hear the bullets whizzing overhead. Is there anyone left alive in Chicago? If I go outside will the street be full of corpses?

N.B. Those Trib proofreaders need to shape up.

Judge in scandal exits porn trial
Let him have his porn. Even jurists need porn. It's probably good that he recused himself.

Iowa
The properties and belongings of friends in IA are underwater. I'm grateful the friends are not likewise.

Insane Jane, by Bluewater Comics
I recommend this book. It's a lovely surprise. It's sad and funny and a good story. It's about a young woman who is determined to fight crime. But she is mentally ill, socially awkward, and very lonely. She's an inept crime fighter. I can relate to all of these, even inept crime fighter. She chomps powder doughnuts and works as a hairdresser and lives with her parents and forgets to take her meds. She's chubby, mentally nuts, and speedier than a forgotten dream. I like her very much.

Click to enlarge

http://bluewater.server101.com/BLUEWATER1.html

so I'm gonna send this to Poetry Magazine

2008-06-14T22:24:14Z

I guess you have to read the June 2008 issue of Poetry Magazine to get the full context of this little teapot tempest into which I have decided to dip my oar / and mix my metaphor. Anyway I'm gonna post this to Poetry:

Dear Editors,

Joseph Bednarik's remark (in the June 2008 issue) about Marilyn Chin's translations of Ho Xuan Huong was unfortunate. He himself noted: as a publisher, his critical remark must be taken in context, and is suspect.

Marilyn Chin's reply was unfortunate too. I don't know that shrilly calling racism, sexism, and imperialism was a convincing rebuttal of Mr. Bednarik's "noodling" remark. (Yet I hope we have learned from this discussion a perilous lesson regarding people of Asian descent, and offhand mention of noodles.)

I'm a longtime reader of Copper Canyon books and of Marilyn Chin's valorous poems (and, for that matter, of Poetry Magazine). I wonder if there are more useful endeavors to which these two talented people -- the affronted publisher and the affronted poet-translator -- could apply themselves, maybe the continued delivery of good poetry into the hands of this and other readers?

Eric Bourland
Chicago IL

question -- is the term "noodling around" offensive?

2008-06-14T21:47:00Z

LJ brain trust,

Is the term "noodling around" pejorative or demeaning or otherwise offensive?

If so, will you explain why?

Used in context: "Frankly, they read like someone noodling around in the margins of someone else's book."

I never heard noodling around as offensive, but I'd like to get your opinion before I write this letter to Poetry Magazine which these days is a hotbed of drama.

Thanks.

EB

spinach non grata.

2008-06-14T03:49:41Z

What I am
I am spinach non grata. It is tedious to explain. However I am burying myself in work and that is the cure. jhollywood no, I am not gonna bust out in girlie tears again over a Billy Joel song in the Raven. In case you were expecting that. Which you should not be. Because it's not gonna happen.

Sex and the City
This is more vapid even than I remember. I have no sympathy for any of the characters. Where's Cloverfield when you need him?

Shoe fetish
The underpinning of this potent female fetish is sexism.

Want to know what footwear I find foxy? Flats. Sneakers. Hiking boots are good. They are foxy b/c they connote (in my mind anyway) intelligence and pragmatism and the foxiest quality of all, courage.

This is more sententious than I want but I'll leave it.

Courage
Is when you are quite scared but strive anyway to do the right thing. Is different from "attitude".

Letters from Shanghai
surrealkitten sends thoughtful, crafted letters from Shanghai which I read with gratitude. I recommend her smart blog.

processed food
If I ever developed a processed food item I would name it the Satan Tot.

zombies
Why is everybody blogging about zombies? Is there something I should know? Why are we obsessed with zombies, pirates, ninjas, and vampires? The novel Dracula by Stoker is a good read. The films Nosferatu, starring Max Schreck who I resemble, and Shadow of the Vampire with Dafoe and Malkovich, are excellent. Buffy of course but, really, the vamps were beside the point in Buffy. (The point of Buffy was Willow, in case anybody were wondering. Willow.)

Particular speculative fiction I still like, here in the middle of my life: Book of the New Sun (Wolfe). Lone Wolf and Cub (comic art). Most things by Alan Moore (comic art). And Mouseguard.

Skateboarders
Can't stand em. Get a job kid. Go read a book. And shave off that goofy little goatee. You look ridiculous.

ebourland @ 2008-06-13T15:18:00

2008-06-13T20:19:54Z

Broccoli for breakfast, at 3 p.m. Big bowl of steamed broccoli, a small tree of it. Add a little butter to it. Pour the coffee. Good stuff. Back to the salt mine.

I am not drinkin any fuckin merlot

2008-06-13T01:36:13Z

You know that guy Miles in the movie Sideways? I'm so that guy.

The correlations are spooky. This amuses me quite a lot.

If you have not seen the movie, I recommend it. It's a buddy movie and, to that end, its appeal might drift toward guys. But it's funny as hell and affords a lot of insight into male thinking.

Very smart film. Very well crafted.