Recently, my friend posted about Kurt Cobain on his Facebook page - about how this month it would be the 15th anniversary of his death. He wrote about what he'd been doing when he'd heard about it - and a bunch of his friends had posted comments about where they'd been when they'd gotten the news. Sort of a JFK kind of thing.
I, too, remembered exactly where I'd been when I found out - in a bar a few streets from my host family's house in Segovia, Spain. I remember the night vividly - I'd gone with some friends, and we had just gotten there, and we were standing closer to the entrance of the bar, waiting for the rest of our group to arrive. I can see the reflection of the lights in the bottles and glasses over the bar, I can feel the ambiance. And I can still remember the looks of shock and bewilderment on my classmates' faces when the other half of our party walked in and informed us that Kurt Cobain had killed himself. I'd never heard of him or the band, though I was familiar with one of their songs, and I remember trying to understand the depth of my classmates' horror and sorrow - they had really cared about this man.
Reading the Facebook posts, and remembering that night, I googled Kurt Cobain to (perhaps morbidly) find out the day of his death, so I could pinpoint which night in April I'd been at that bar... and I finally did the math and realized that he'd died in 1994.
-Which came as somewhat of a shock, since my trip to Spain had happened in 1992.
4/28/09
4/27/09
i sure miss boston legal
Alan Shore has brought his very own personal soapbox with him, and sets it in the middle of the floor;steps up onto it, and buttons his jacket for good measure.
Judge Gloria Weldon: What are you doing?
Alan Shore: Climbing on my soapbox, Judge. I do it once a week.
Judge Gloria Weldon: Get off that thing now, Mr. Shore!
Alan Shore: You sure? This is vintage soapbox stuff. You’ve got God, money, steps off soapbox politics, homosexuality. Has anyone ever heard of restless legs syndrome? It’s where you move your leg about in your sleep. It’s awful. You may have it. It may not keep you awake; it doesn’t really harm you in any way. It may not bother you in the slightest, but nonetheless it’s awful. The pharmaceutical companies have declared it so. So they’ve invented a drug, and you simply must take it. If you haven’t heard of restless leg, by the way, you probably have attention deficit disorder. Awful. We’ve got a lot of drugs for that one. You must take them. You’re depressed. Cut to a female juror who looks somewhat sad
Alan Shore: You’re not sleeping enough.
Cut to Denny Crane, who IS sleeping!
Alan Shore: You think you’re shy, but you’ve actually got a social anxiety disorder.
Cut to male juror who looks a bit uncomfortable with the attention.
Alan Shore: as camera pans across an older male juror Weak stream. and another male juror Irritable bowel syndrome. You people have all kinds of ailments you don’t know about. Luckily, we’ve got drugs for every one of them. You must take them. My colleague has a case involving a “Forgetting Pill.” You can take that one to forget you ever had restless leg or irritable bowels!
Judge Gloria Weldon: Mr. Shore, what are you talking about?
Alan Shore: Same-sex Attraction Disorder. And what troubles me is why the folks in Big Pharmaceutical haven’t invented a pill for this disease. Clearly, they’re in the business of selling sickness. If there was a profit to be made, they would make it. And with an estimated gay population of over 10 million in the U.S. alone, here’s certainly a big enough market. Could it be that they can’t cure it? Well, not to worry. If Big Pharmaceutical can’t do it, maybe Big Religion can. And they are. They’re the ones who coined the term, “Same-Sex Attraction Disorder.” It’s a very good name. Very important, a good name. It’s a crucial first step in disqualifying homosexuals as a segment of the population and categorizing them as a disease. Makes homosexuals seem less like people and more like the flu. And with terrible, awful symptoms. makes a face But curable, and therefore less concerning when it comes to things like an individual’s rights: freedom, privacy, marriage. Big Religion is very concerned with marriage. Big Religion is the one filling the pockets of Congress. It actually got them to propose a Constitutional ban on gay marriage. Think about that. A governmentally-imposed, systematic prejudice against a class based on their sexual orientation. Never mind that one of the most trusted evangelical advisors to the President was himself having a homosexual affair on the side. Never mind that one of our Congressmen was writing naughty e-mails to his teenage male pages. Isn’t it just a disease? And I thought it was curable. That’s what they told me down at the church. Well, you can legislate against it. You can give it a clever name and treat people for it. You can shut your eyes, have sex with your wife, and pretend it all feels right. You can join the church and swear to be celibate. You can drive around on a Saturday night with a baseball bat and try to beat it out of some poor soul you happen to meet. You can even come to this courtroom and testify as to your new leaf and how well it’s all working. What a miracle! My only response is: "Give it time. We’ll see." Meanwhile, this company took $40,000 from my client, promising to cure him of his gayness. Only in America! Only in a country that overtly and notoriously celebrates its prejudice against a class of people by proposing Constitutional amendments. God bless us all! Home of the brave! Shame on you. Couldn’t you have at least offered a money-back guarantee, and thrown in a blender?
Judge Gloria Weldon: What are you doing?
Alan Shore: Climbing on my soapbox, Judge. I do it once a week.
Judge Gloria Weldon: Get off that thing now, Mr. Shore!
Alan Shore: You sure? This is vintage soapbox stuff. You’ve got God, money, steps off soapbox politics, homosexuality. Has anyone ever heard of restless legs syndrome? It’s where you move your leg about in your sleep. It’s awful. You may have it. It may not keep you awake; it doesn’t really harm you in any way. It may not bother you in the slightest, but nonetheless it’s awful. The pharmaceutical companies have declared it so. So they’ve invented a drug, and you simply must take it. If you haven’t heard of restless leg, by the way, you probably have attention deficit disorder. Awful. We’ve got a lot of drugs for that one. You must take them. You’re depressed. Cut to a female juror who looks somewhat sad
Alan Shore: You’re not sleeping enough.
Cut to Denny Crane, who IS sleeping!
Alan Shore: You think you’re shy, but you’ve actually got a social anxiety disorder.
Cut to male juror who looks a bit uncomfortable with the attention.
Alan Shore: as camera pans across an older male juror Weak stream. and another male juror Irritable bowel syndrome. You people have all kinds of ailments you don’t know about. Luckily, we’ve got drugs for every one of them. You must take them. My colleague has a case involving a “Forgetting Pill.” You can take that one to forget you ever had restless leg or irritable bowels!
Judge Gloria Weldon: Mr. Shore, what are you talking about?
Alan Shore: Same-sex Attraction Disorder. And what troubles me is why the folks in Big Pharmaceutical haven’t invented a pill for this disease. Clearly, they’re in the business of selling sickness. If there was a profit to be made, they would make it. And with an estimated gay population of over 10 million in the U.S. alone, here’s certainly a big enough market. Could it be that they can’t cure it? Well, not to worry. If Big Pharmaceutical can’t do it, maybe Big Religion can. And they are. They’re the ones who coined the term, “Same-Sex Attraction Disorder.” It’s a very good name. Very important, a good name. It’s a crucial first step in disqualifying homosexuals as a segment of the population and categorizing them as a disease. Makes homosexuals seem less like people and more like the flu. And with terrible, awful symptoms. makes a face But curable, and therefore less concerning when it comes to things like an individual’s rights: freedom, privacy, marriage. Big Religion is very concerned with marriage. Big Religion is the one filling the pockets of Congress. It actually got them to propose a Constitutional ban on gay marriage. Think about that. A governmentally-imposed, systematic prejudice against a class based on their sexual orientation. Never mind that one of the most trusted evangelical advisors to the President was himself having a homosexual affair on the side. Never mind that one of our Congressmen was writing naughty e-mails to his teenage male pages. Isn’t it just a disease? And I thought it was curable. That’s what they told me down at the church. Well, you can legislate against it. You can give it a clever name and treat people for it. You can shut your eyes, have sex with your wife, and pretend it all feels right. You can join the church and swear to be celibate. You can drive around on a Saturday night with a baseball bat and try to beat it out of some poor soul you happen to meet. You can even come to this courtroom and testify as to your new leaf and how well it’s all working. What a miracle! My only response is: "Give it time. We’ll see." Meanwhile, this company took $40,000 from my client, promising to cure him of his gayness. Only in America! Only in a country that overtly and notoriously celebrates its prejudice against a class of people by proposing Constitutional amendments. God bless us all! Home of the brave! Shame on you. Couldn’t you have at least offered a money-back guarantee, and thrown in a blender?
meet your newest match: Mr. Passive-Aggressive Maneuver - the most successful unsuccessful marketing strategy
(this is copied directly from the dating site)
Account Information
You are about to close your [popular online dating service] account. This will permanently close all of your existing matches.
If you are closing your account because you've met a special person to share your life, congratulations. If you haven't yet made that connection, I'd like you to consider the following points:
*Research shows only 1 in 4 American marriages are actually happy.
*Choosing the right mate is the KEY to creating a compatible, loving relationship.
*Finding a soul mate on your own and knowing if you're really compatible has never been more confusing or difficult.
Account Information
You are about to close your [popular online dating service] account. This will permanently close all of your existing matches.
If you are closing your account because you've met a special person to share your life, congratulations. If you haven't yet made that connection, I'd like you to consider the following points:
*Research shows only 1 in 4 American marriages are actually happy.
*Choosing the right mate is the KEY to creating a compatible, loving relationship.
*Finding a soul mate on your own and knowing if you're really compatible has never been more confusing or difficult.
4/18/09
post #273 - a bedtime story
Once upon a time, there was a bear. He was small and furry and well-meaning, and he lived at a house in Attleboro, Massachusetts. For a time, he must have had a family, and maybe even some friends, but they don't come into this story except at the beginning. And at the beginning of this story, the bear's friends and family weren't treating him very nicely. They had grown tired of him, and had put him out with the trash, where he sat overnight in a bin at the end of their driveway.
During the night, it rained, and it was very cold, and the poor bear felt very wet and uncomfortable. He was upside-down in the trash can, on top of some cardboard and an old hat, and his nose felt cramped. He also felt very sad, and very confused.
Now, there was a girl who lived a long way away from the bear, in another state. But she came to visit her mother in Attleboro. And her mother lived in a tall white house across the street from the bear's family. The girl arrived very late at night, and didn't notice the bear, upside-down in the trash can at the end of the driveway across the street from her mother's house. Instead, she got out of her car, and took her bag, and went in her mother's warm apartment to spend the night.
In the morning, when it was light, the girl woke up and went down to her car to get something she wanted to give to her mother, and this time she did see the bear. What she saw were two furry fuzzy grey legs sticking up in the air out of a black trash can that was full of garbage. She looked, and she looked, and she knew she needed to do something to help the animal who belonged to those legs.
She glanced up and down the street, and then she walked across to the garbage can. And she reached in and pulled the bear out and looked at him. He looked back at her. She could feel that he was wet all over, and he looked sad and lost. "Bear", she said, "You are going to come with me. I will wash you and dry you all over, so you will be comfortable again."
And she took him and washed all the rain and wind and dirt out of his fuzzy grey fur, and she dried him and set him down so that he could look around and get his bearings. He saw a nice bright living room and a sofa and some cushions, and everything was very warm and soft.
Then the girl's visit with her mother was over, and she took the bear under one arm down the staircase and out to the street, and she set him right in the middle of the front seat of her car. She said, "Bear, this will probably be one of the longest trips you've ever been on, but I am taking you home. And if you like the drive, you can sit in the front seat of my car every time I travel to visit my friends, and keep me company."
The bear was very happy.
And for many years, as long as she owned the car, the girl took her bear with her when she traveled, and he always sat on the front seat of her car, right in the very middle. He loved to look out the window, and he liked the music she played on the cassette player, and he liked to hear her sing along to it. The bear felt very very happy.
Then one day the girl had to give her car away. It was very old and didn't run anymore. So she took the bear out of the front seat, and took him up to her bedroom and put him next to her bed. "Bear", she said, "It's going to be winter again soon, and you should be warm and cozy, so I'm going to keep you here inside for awhile. You can tell me if you want to go on more trips, and I will always take you with me if you want to go!" The bear decided he was quite content to stay at home.
Now, one day, a long time after that, on a day that might or might not be today, the girl got in her new car and drove to New Jersey to visit her friends for the weekend. She left the bear at home, but she did think about him quite a bit while she was driving. And I will tell you why.
She was driving on a big, big highway, and there were lots of signs with the names of all the places she was passing - all the other cities and roads that you can get to from that highway. And just as the girl was getting close to her friends' house, she suddenly looked up and saw a huge sign that said: Bedminster Pluckemin. She thought it was a funny sounding name, and she said it over to herself a few times, just very quietly in her head. It reminded her of another name she'd heard: Buckminster Fuller. She liked how the name sounded so much that she thought she'd better give someone that name, and just then she thought of the bear. He'd gone a very very long time just being called "Bear", and it was time for him to have a name.
And so she named the bear Bedminster Pluckemin. She knows he will be very happy with his new name, and she can't wait to get home and tell him all about it!
The End (of the Beginning)
During the night, it rained, and it was very cold, and the poor bear felt very wet and uncomfortable. He was upside-down in the trash can, on top of some cardboard and an old hat, and his nose felt cramped. He also felt very sad, and very confused.
Now, there was a girl who lived a long way away from the bear, in another state. But she came to visit her mother in Attleboro. And her mother lived in a tall white house across the street from the bear's family. The girl arrived very late at night, and didn't notice the bear, upside-down in the trash can at the end of the driveway across the street from her mother's house. Instead, she got out of her car, and took her bag, and went in her mother's warm apartment to spend the night.
In the morning, when it was light, the girl woke up and went down to her car to get something she wanted to give to her mother, and this time she did see the bear. What she saw were two furry fuzzy grey legs sticking up in the air out of a black trash can that was full of garbage. She looked, and she looked, and she knew she needed to do something to help the animal who belonged to those legs.
She glanced up and down the street, and then she walked across to the garbage can. And she reached in and pulled the bear out and looked at him. He looked back at her. She could feel that he was wet all over, and he looked sad and lost. "Bear", she said, "You are going to come with me. I will wash you and dry you all over, so you will be comfortable again."
And she took him and washed all the rain and wind and dirt out of his fuzzy grey fur, and she dried him and set him down so that he could look around and get his bearings. He saw a nice bright living room and a sofa and some cushions, and everything was very warm and soft.
Then the girl's visit with her mother was over, and she took the bear under one arm down the staircase and out to the street, and she set him right in the middle of the front seat of her car. She said, "Bear, this will probably be one of the longest trips you've ever been on, but I am taking you home. And if you like the drive, you can sit in the front seat of my car every time I travel to visit my friends, and keep me company."
The bear was very happy.
And for many years, as long as she owned the car, the girl took her bear with her when she traveled, and he always sat on the front seat of her car, right in the very middle. He loved to look out the window, and he liked the music she played on the cassette player, and he liked to hear her sing along to it. The bear felt very very happy.
Then one day the girl had to give her car away. It was very old and didn't run anymore. So she took the bear out of the front seat, and took him up to her bedroom and put him next to her bed. "Bear", she said, "It's going to be winter again soon, and you should be warm and cozy, so I'm going to keep you here inside for awhile. You can tell me if you want to go on more trips, and I will always take you with me if you want to go!" The bear decided he was quite content to stay at home.
Now, one day, a long time after that, on a day that might or might not be today, the girl got in her new car and drove to New Jersey to visit her friends for the weekend. She left the bear at home, but she did think about him quite a bit while she was driving. And I will tell you why.
She was driving on a big, big highway, and there were lots of signs with the names of all the places she was passing - all the other cities and roads that you can get to from that highway. And just as the girl was getting close to her friends' house, she suddenly looked up and saw a huge sign that said: Bedminster Pluckemin. She thought it was a funny sounding name, and she said it over to herself a few times, just very quietly in her head. It reminded her of another name she'd heard: Buckminster Fuller. She liked how the name sounded so much that she thought she'd better give someone that name, and just then she thought of the bear. He'd gone a very very long time just being called "Bear", and it was time for him to have a name.
And so she named the bear Bedminster Pluckemin. She knows he will be very happy with his new name, and she can't wait to get home and tell him all about it!
The End (of the Beginning)
4/15/09
small town business
I just got an advertisment in the mail from Citizens Bank.
They have all sorts of exciting incentives for me to do business with them, including three convenient locations!
They even tell me where the branches are located:
1000 Main Street - Price Chopper Plaza
3092 County Highway 11
191 Main Street - In between two gas stations
-I would love to understand the thought process of the person who felt that the address was incomplete without "In between two gas stations".
They have all sorts of exciting incentives for me to do business with them, including three convenient locations!
They even tell me where the branches are located:
1000 Main Street - Price Chopper Plaza
3092 County Highway 11
191 Main Street - In between two gas stations
-I would love to understand the thought process of the person who felt that the address was incomplete without "In between two gas stations".
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