CityInJordan

I'm The Poisonwood Bible

Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:28:51 GMT

Oh dear. That's a bit discouraging...

You're The Poisonwood Bible!
by Barbara Kingsolver
Deeply rooted in a religious background, you have since become both isolated and schizophrenic. You were naively sure that your actions would help people, but of course they were resistant to your message and ultimately disaster ensued. Since you can see so many sides of the same issue, you are both wise beyond your years and tied to worthless perspectives. If you were a type of waffle, it would be Belgian.

So, being me, I then tried it again in hopes of recieving a more pleasing response, and got . . . Lolita. Dismal!

Best FakeGayNews Ever!

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:53:52 GMT

This is the best article I've ever found on FakeGayNews.Com. Pay particular attention to 1) the part about the L-word and 2) the fundamental definition of family

LGBTs Lobby for Own "Do Not Call" List

by Jen Ball 07/23/2006

Inspired by the national Do Not Call list which prohibits unauthorized solicitations over the phone, LGBT non-profits are lobbying for new legislation in Congress. The bill would authorize the creation of a new national registry for LGBT persons who don’t want to answer straight people’s stupid gay questions.

Those placed on the registry would be allowed to tell inquiring minds to leave them alone. Types of inquiries that would be placed off limits include questions about how one has sex with someone of the same sex, who plays the man and who plays the woman, and asking an individual to summarize what the gay community is thinking on any issue.

If the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defemation (GLAAD) gets its way, people could also not ask gay people if they know whether or not a famous person is gay. On a gender-specific level, people would not be allowed to ask gay men unsolicited fashion questions, nor could they ask “pretty” women why they are gay when they can attract a man. Some believe questions about whether TV shows realistically portray gay people could even make the list.

A GLAAD spokesperson explained, “We just feel straight people have too many other resources to tap. They no longer have an excuse to say they don’t know who else to ask. Sure there are still stereotypes to overcome, not every lesbian wants to have a baby or loses her partner tragically. Nor do all gay guys screw around or look like Heath Ledger. However, this legislation would allow gay people to address the issues important to them, like address how bad The L Word has gotten.”

Several family rights groups have gotten into the lobbying fray on this one. Focus on the Family sees this as a part of the homosexual agenda. James Dobson in his weekly blog argued, “First they want special rights hate crime legislation. Now they want us to respect their privacy and individuality like they’re heterosexual counterparts. When will the special rights train end its run?”

In a bizarre twist of fate, PFLAG might just be on Dobson’s side when it comes to passage of this legislation. A national PFLAG organizer tried to explain their position, “We know its annoying, but how else are families going to learn about their gay relatives? You’re just not gonna get most grandmothers to watch Queer as Folk. Not to mention that most family members are afraid to ask anyone but the gay person they know for fear someone will think they are gay.”

PFLAG hopes some exceptions can be written into the bill for key friends and family members. The organization feels very strongly about parents still being allowed to ask how a gay couple will have children.

Now the question is, will the US government support the bill? The legislation faces an uphill battle in the House, where conservatives are arguing this is an attack on family values. Dick Cheney maintained, “How isn’t it an attack on the family. What defines family more than asking each other inappropriate questions?”

Liberals aren’t sure how proceed. One Congressional insider claims legislators are really in knots over this legislation, but are afraid to ask their gay staffers for advice.

I heart the Golden Compass . . .

Tue, 08 May 2007 00:40:29 GMT

Are they right about me?

http://www.goldencompassmovie.com/?57224

Vicarious Eavesdropping at My Place of Work (or, The Best-Of the Overheard-In Suite)

Thu, 19 Apr 2007 19:27:37 GMT

For those of you that may not have heard, I'm working for corporate America. Specifically, the part of it concerned with buildings. I am an office manager at an architecture, design, and engineering firm (though I work exclusively with structural engineers)

For a number of reasons, I have rather a lot of free time on my hands at work (every now and again I see a tumbleweed blow by). Because my job is really extremely corporate, our IT people block most of the traditional Internet-based means of amusing oneself at work (youtube, online radio, personal email accounts, yahoo games, gizmodo, friendster/myspace/etc). Theoretically, they block all websites that are not directly business-related. The large, glaring, spot-lit, singing-and-doing-the-can-can exceptions to this rule are 1) Overheard in NY and its wonderful associates, and 2) Livejournal.

To me, these exceptions seem completely inexplicable. Perhaps someone made a case that Livejournal is somehow related to the business of a structural engineering firm. The more likely answer is that someone in IT likes Livejournal. Regardless, I'm not complaining.

Instead, I've put my time and energy into a painstaking and detailed examination of the most recent submissions to the three sites in the Overheard In New York suite: Overheard in New York, Overheard at the Beach, and Overheard in the Office. Submitted herein are a small portion of the fruits of my editorial labors. Enjoy!

Fabled Lost Lemuria

Woman pointing to fishing pier: Where did that bridge used to lead to?

--Wildwood, New Jersey

Overheard by: Lifeguard

There Are No Poisonous Cows, Mom

Little boy pointing to portabella mushroom: Mommy, what's that?
Tired mother: It's a mushroom. Someday I'm going to make you a hamburger for dinner, but instead of meat, it's going to have one of those mushrooms in it.
Little boy looking back at mushroom, terrified: Why would you do that?!

--Beachside Produce Plus, Melbourne Beach, Florida

Follow the Rising Sun until You Can't Breathe

Man looking at the Atlantic: So where's the ocean?

--Cocoa Beach Pier, Florida

And Not the Exciting Kind

Little girl: What does that sign mean?
Father: That means 'Pedestrians,' sweetie.
Little girl: Are we pedestrians?
Father: Yes, we are.
Little girl: Oh... I thought we were Catholics.

--Beach near Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

Overheard by: Daan

12PM You'll Never Be Ready

Coworker: Like, when the guy comes to the campus center with all the animals, I wanna know about that. I don't wanna go in and see the trained skunk and think, 'I'm not ready!'

Amherst, Massachusetts

9AM What about a Carrot? I Could Do a Carrot, I Think

Employee: I got pulled over for speeding last week, but somehow I got out of the ticket. What is the best way to do that, really?
Boss who's an ex-cop: I once had a guy tell me he had a cucumber shoved up his ass, so I took him to the hospital and found out it was true.
Employee: Did you give him the ticket?
Boss who's an ex-cop: Hell no.

Baltimore, Maryland

Overheard by: I'll take the ticket, thanks

4PM Call Me When the Atmosphere Ignites

Coworker #1: It's too hot for this time of year. It should not be 80 in November.
Coworker #2: Yeah, I know. It's almost enough to make you believe in that global warning myth.

Downtown Fort Worth, Texas

5PM I Think They Start Dating the Owl

IT guy #1: When you work in a restaurant it seems like everyone starts dating each other. I once knew these two that worked at Subway, and they started dating.
IT guy #2: That's barely a restaurant.
IT guy #1: Do you think the girls at Hooters start dating each other?

1400 Douglas Street
Omaha, Nebraska

Overheard by: DB

1PM Well, Forewarned Is Forearmed. Oh, Sorry.

Lawyer to secretary: Now, you treat my sex offender nicely. He'll be here with his one-armed wife later.

Buffalo, New York

11AM That's My Time!

Old lady, told class would run late: I have to get home and toss my husband's salad!
Class erupts with laughter, and the boy next to her explains the innuendo.
Old lady: If I was going to lick his ass, I'd say so... But it isn't something I'd do before dinner.

CCSN campus
Las Vegas, Nevada

11AM Gives a New Meaning to 'Dirty Cop'

Cop: Oh my god! This peanut butter pie is so good, I just want to rub it all over my ass and dance around the lobby!

Tanner Road
Greenville, South Carolina

Overheard by: Xtina

9AM Actually, Those Things Say 'Halloween Party'

Secretary: Well, I'm out for the rest of the day. I've got a doctor's appointment.
Coworker: Oh, have fun!
Secretary: Yeah... Because nothing says 'party' like bloodwork and pap smears...

401 Church Street
Nashville, Tennessee

11AM Why Does This Have Coal in It?

Administrator: How was your Christmas?
Boss: Great. Now all I want is to get some sleep and find my underwear.

3740 Mill Creek Road
Mentone, California

1PM It's All in My GlyphsNotes

Student: Yeah, my name is Frank, but I go by Franco, only the 'O' isn't an 'O,' it's a sun glyph.

NIC, CDA
Idaho

4PM It's Just How Things Are Aboard the Pequod

VP yelling into phone: If I have the whale, then I'm king! Everyone has to follow me!

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina

1PM We Export It

Chinese immigrant driver: Everyone is talking about gay marriage. What is 'gay'?
Lady driver: It's, uh, when two men or two women like each other in a, uh, sexual way.
Chinese immigrant driver: Oh! We don't have that in China.

Calgary International Airport Parkade
Calgary, Alberta
Canadia

3PM Anything's Funny When Done in Lederhosen

Chick: My boyfriend and I love to beat the shit out of each other. But it's okay, because we are both German.

Austin, Texas

2PM You Need to Do Both Sessions. Twice.

Manager #1: So, what do we do if any of our employees don't show up for the mandatory Ethics Training?
VP: You direct them to the supplemental Ethics Training, online.
Manager #2: Couldn't we just write their names in on the sign-in sheet and say that they were at the ethics thing?

Melville, New York

1PM Can't Go Wrong with the Classics

Coworker: Any religion involving rams' blood is fine by me.

Yaletown
Vancouver, British Columbia
Canadia

12PM They Save the Real Lobster for the Paying Customers

Interviewer: When I was visiting the Culinary Institute in Hyde Park, the chefs created a lobster sorbet that was really interesting. Did you have to make it when you went to school there?
Candidate: Yeah, that shit is the cat's litter.
Interviewer, confused: Really?

3350 Las Vegas Boulevard
Las Vegas, Nevada

2PM That's the Coroner Office

Boss on phone: No, no, no, the corner office. Not the one with the goat beard!

11150 Santa Monica Boulevard
Los Angeles, California

Better Save the 'Two Washingtons' Story for Tomorrow

Clerk: Sir, you need to fill out a customs form for that.

Man: What? Why? This is in America.

Clerk: Sir, it's North America, but Oregon is not in the US.

Man: Yes, it is. It's in the northwest.

Clerk: Really? Are you sure? Oh.

Post office, 99 Macombs Pl

The Boss Says, "No One Says 'Motherfucker' in Front of Me," and Gary's Out on His Ass

Hipster #1: I'll ask Gary.

Hipster #2: Gary got fired. He was robbed at gunpoint when he went to buy drugs.

Hipster #1: And he got fired for that? How did his boss know?

Hipster #2: Well, people talk, you know, so the boss called Gary in and asked him straight out if he got robbed while buying drugs.

Hipster #1: And Gary admitted it?

Hipster #2: Nah, he said, 'I wasn't robbed, I kicked that motherfucker's ass.'

Prospect Park

Overheard by: Patrick Di Justo

So tell me about Mothers Day.

Guy with kid's bike #1: Yeah, he wants to change Father's Day to 'Dad Gets a Free Lap Dance Day.' And he wants to call Halloween, uh... He wants to call it... uh... Yo, why's it called 'Halloween,' anyway? What the fuck is Halloween?

Guy with kid's bike #2: 'Cause you know the word 'hollow,' like a tree is hollow? You know, and pumpkins are hollow. And 'ween' 'cause you can wear anything you want, like women's clothing and shit.

Manhattan-bound L train

Overheard by: Mistah Rabbit

Eh, He Saw It in the Rack by the Register While He Was Waiting in Line

Woman #1: Oh, and he bought a cow.

Woman #2: He bought a cow?!

Woman #1: He just went off and bought a cow!

Woman #2: Huh... What he need a cow for?

110th & Lenox

Jason's Walking-Around License Gets Revoked

Burly man who pulled frat boy out of tracks: Dude, are you drunk?

Frat boy: Ah... Ah... I don't know. I guess I had something to drink.

Burly man: Dude, next time you get on a train make sure it's there first!

Live Fast, Die Young, Get Lost on the Way to Hoboken

Bassist: This is going to Jersey, right?

Bandmate: Yeah, no one would let us go this far if we weren't.

Bassist: Yeah, we're going to Hoboken.

Bandmate: Is Hoboken a city?

Bassist: No, it's a street or avenue.

Bandmate: Hoboken Street, yeah.

Bassist: Yeah, we're definitely going to Jersey. Someone would tell us if we weren't.

Crowded Brooklyn-bound L train

Steven Tyler Was in a Stall, and the Rest Is History

Attendant lady: Excuse me, this is the ladies' room.

Primping man: Oh! I'm just such a lady, sometimes I forget.

Joe's Pub

I’d like some suburb lotion, myself . . .

Little girl #1 looking at Manhattan Mini Storage poster: Do you know what 'suburb' means?

Little girl #2: Sunburns?

Little girl #1: Suburbs. 'Stuck in the suburbs.' They're boring. See that guy in his underwear? His house is in the suburbs.

Little girl #2: Sunburns?

N train

This Has Been Another Presentation of Alternate Histories

Man #1: Think about it, though -- all great men have a great woman supporting them, giving them confidence, encouraging them. No matter what happens, they know she will be there when they get home at night.

Man #2: Yeah. Imagine if Coretta Scott King had been a nag and laid it on him when he got home at night -- Dr. King, with all that shit he was dealing with, would've been like, 'Hell no, I'm movin' to Cali!'

Man #1: For reals!

R train

I Wouldn't Be Surprised If Scientists Have Found a Way

Little boy: So, you're telling me boy cows don't have udders?

Father: Nope, they don't.

Little boy: Then how do you get milk from a boy cow?

Father: Well...

Brooklyn-bound L train

Overheard by: jackster

Rorschach Hands: the New Psychoanalytical Technique

Professor: When vassals would take an oath of loyalty they would kneel in front of the king and put their hands like this [puts hands in prayer position]. Now, what does this look like?

Student: A vagina?

Professor: No! Praying! It looks like praying!

Fordham University

Overheard by: Marina C

First year law student on phone with mom: All I do anymore is study and have sex!

Fordham University

Frat boy: ... But the thing that really almost got me kicked out of college was when we installed the zip line...

14th & University

Overheard by: rachel

Conductor: Welcome to another day on the N train, ladies and gentlemen. If you will look out the window to your right you will see absolutely nothing!

N train

Conductor on speaker: Kings Highway?! Why's it gotta be Kings Highway?

B train, Kings Highway station

Overheard by: I feel his pain

Lady conductor: Attention, ladies and gentlemen, blah blah blah, blah blah blah. If you need to get to 28th Street, 23rd Street, or 18th Street, well, you're screwed.

1 train, 34th St

Overheard by: Nettle

Conductor: There's another train right behind us. There really is. I can see the lights. It could be a bus, but we are in a tunnel underground with tracks running through it, so I'm sure there is another F train behind us.

F train

Overheard by: I can see the light too

Conductor: Please take small children as you exit the train... Oh... I mean, please take small children by the hand as you leave the train.

NJ Transit, Penn Station

Cheerful conductor: Ladies and gentlemen, there is no downtown 2 train, but luckily we're going uptown, so it doesn't matter.

2 train

Overheard by: andy kleiman

Conductor: We're not the NYPD or the FDNY, New York's finest and bravest. Above or below ground, we're the MTA, and we move New York. Ya heard?!

A train, between 125th & 59th St

Which, According to Our Bylaws, I Must Now Give to You

White office guy: When somebody says 'nigga,' how do you know if they're saying 'nigga' or 'nigger'?

Black office guy: That's easy -- 'nigger' is followed by an ass-whoopin'.

Restaurant, Park Ave South

Overheard by: Big Larry

We Only Burn Down Buildings in Iraq

British man: Has anyone burned down his house yet?

British woman: No, love, we don't do that here.

Houston & Lafayette

Overheard by: Jay

I'm Hardly Gay at All Anymore

Guy: You know, I can never be in the Air Force.

Girl: Well, not really. There's always the whole 'Don't tell' thing.

Guy: But it's on my record!

Girl: What? Did you have to file for your gay card or something?

Guy: ... I meant because of my bad vision!

Metro-North train

I Wish I'd Gotten a Chance to See Where My Ancestors Were Tortured, When I Was a Girl!

Daughter: Yeah, we really wanna do the summer program in Germany.

Mom: Germany? Isn't it weird that a Jewish school has a program in Germany, where the Nazis are?

Daughter: [Silence.]

Friend: Well, they take you on tours of the concentration camps...

Mom: Oh, that's why they have it in Germany!

Macy's

Hmmm... Now I'm Feeling a Little Better

NYU girl: ... So I, like, know that I got half of the questions right.

NYU guy: So, what about the other 20 percent?

Queens-bound N train

Overheard by: ADC

Not a Good One, Though

Brooklyn guy: Cute kid you got there. How old is he?

Short-haired mom: She is 20 months.

Brooklyn guy: Oh, 'she.' Sorry, I didn't realize...

Short-haired mom: That's because gender is performance.

Brooklyn guy: [Sips coffee.]

Vox Pop, Cortelyou Rd

Overheard by: the nearby barista

Ah, the City of Lights

Bimbette: So, where you going for winter break?

Idiot dude: Switzerland.

Bimbette: Oh, cool, cool... What do they speak there, again?

Idiot dude: I dunno...

Bimbette: Hmmm... Dutch?

Idiot dude: Yeah, yeah, Dutch!

78th St, between Park & Madison

Overheard by: dont speak ever again

Well, 'Hotel' Means 'Bar' and 'Girls' Means 'Boys'

Queer #1 on cell: Hey, Dad! Yeah, I'm at the hotel in Midtown right now... Yep, it's just me... I think a couple of girls are coming over later... Haha, yeah, you know how I roll with them. I'll talk to you later, Dad [hangs up].

Queer #2: Liar, liar, pants on fire!

Broadway & Broome

Overheard by: django

It's Like Pasta, Kid -- Same Stuff, Different Shapes

Four-year-old #1 holding out a gummy snack: Is this a Pygmy Marmoset?

Four-year-old #2: That's a elephant!

Four-year-old #2's mom: It's an elephant.

Four-year-old #1: Ugh. I wanted a Pygmy Marmoset.

Metro-North to Grand Central

Wait, So Where Are We, Again?

Chick #1: Which one of these countries does not border Argentina? Brazil, Uruguay, Peru, or Bolivia?

Chick #2: Peru, duh.

Chick #3: Obviously. [Makes note on paper, reading aloud] Peru, Europe.

Chick #2: Peru's not in Europe, dude.

Chick #3: No, no, because all the other countries are in South America, the reason Peru isn't connected is because it's in Europe!

NYU

I Can Afford to Be

Chick #1: I don't want to hook up with her again.

Chick #2: Why?

Chick #1: I don't like her eyebrows. They're too bushy. Is that bad? I'm picky.

Duane Reade

Overheard by: Justin

Clearly, I'm Hanging Out in the Wrong Places

Bimbette #1: Oh my god, shamans are, like, so in right now!

Bimbette #2: Really?!

Bimbette #1: Yeah! Like, every day I wake up and it's like, shaman-this and shaman-that.

50th & 6th

Absolutely Nothing -- But It Was the Way I Said It

College guy: Cannibal fetus appendix fucker!

Thug: Who are you callin' a can-- What the fuck was it you said?

R train

Dude: Man, I wish I had a doorknob.

34th & 8th

Hobo: Can anybody help a disabled Navy veteran get something to eat? If you help me buy a sandwich, you'll get a 2007 Zagat for half price. [A suit gives him money but declines the Zagat.] Okay, but I really wish someone would buy the Zagat.

4 train

Overheard by: Fagat

Scene kid: So yeah, he texted me the other day saying, 'Have you ever seen 30 orphans in a bar before? Me neither. Not until tonight.' Yeah, they were on their way to a snake farm or something.

R train

Overheard by: The Bostonian

Nine-year-old boy: I am a lesbian, I am a lesbian...

Central Park

You Do Seem to Need Some Looking-After

Guy: Hey! I haven't seen you in, like, forever.

Girl: No kidding! How are you?

Guy: I'm good... Except, remember when I fell into that brick wall? I'm worried the cut's infected.

Girl: Well, I have some Bactroban in my purse...

Guy: Awesome! Have I mentioned how much I love you?

Girl: And it's prescription strength.

Guy: I'd get down on one knee and propose to you now, but I'm pretty sure I'm standing in pigeon shit.

NYU

9AM Waiter, I'll Have the Couch Potato with a Side of Gullible

Caller: I just arrived at my lake house for the summer, and the satellite TV isn't working! Why is it off?!
CSR: Sir, please stay calm. It's simple: we just need to reset your receiver since you've been away for a while.
Caller: How long will that take?
CSR: It's easy, sir. Do you have a potato handy?
Caller: Um, let me see... [Pause] Yes, we just picked some up at the store on our way in -- stocking up.
CSR: Great, sir. An apple would also work. Now, what I need you to do is to cut that potato in half. Then I need you place one half of the potato face-down on top of your receiver. Please make sure it's dry.
Caller: What?
CSR: Trust me, sir, I'm a professional. We'll have your service back on in no time.
Caller: Okay... [Long pause] Alright, done. Now what?
CSR: Great, sir. The potato will act upon your receiver's magnetic field and will bring the service back online momentarily. It's a built-in security feature so that no one can use your dish while you're away for most of the year.

CSR presses service reset button, remote satellite transmits 'wake up' signal to inactive receiver, TV comes on.

Caller: That's amazing! Who'd have thought... a potato! Will this work every time?
CSR: Just give us a call if you have any problems in the future, and thank you for using this service.

Bradford Drive
Huntsville, Alabama

"anthropologists and other friends"

Thu, 05 Apr 2007 15:29:15 GMT

Deloria, Jr. Vine. Custer Died for Your Sins: an Indian Manifesto. 2^nd Edtion. University of Oklahoma Press, 1988. Excerpt: “Anthropologists and Other Friends, Chapter 4, pg 78 – 79

"Into each life, it is said, some rain must fall. Some people have bad horoscopes, others take tips on the stock market. McNamara created TFX and the Edsel. Churches possess the real world. But Indians have been cursed above all other people in history. Indians have anthropologists.

"Every summer when school is out a veritable stream of immigrants heads into Indian country. Indeed the Oregon Trail was never so heavily populated as are Route 66 and Highway 18 in the summertime. From every rock and cranny in the East they emerge, as if responding to some primeval fertility rite, and flock to the reservations.

"‘They’ are the anthropologists. Social anthropologists, historical anthropologists, political anthropologists, economic anthropologists, all brands of the species, embark on the great summer adventure. For purposes of this discussion we shall refer only to the generic name, anthropologists. They are the most prominent members of the scholarly community that infests the land of the free and, in the summertime, the homes of the braves.

"The origin of the anthropologist is a mystery hidden in the historical mists. Indians are certain that all societies of the Near East had anthropologists at one time because all those societies are now defunct.

"Indians are equally certain that Columbus brought anthropologists on his ships when he came to the New World. How else could he have made so many wrong deductions about where he was?

"While the historical precedent is uncertain, apologists can readily be identified on the reservations. Go into any crowd of people. Pick out a tall gaunt white man wearing Bermuda shorts, a World War II Army Air Force flying jacket, an Australian bush hat, tennis shoes, and packing a large knapsack incorrectly strapped on his back. He will invariably have a thin sexy wife with stringy hair, an IQ of 191, and a vocabulary in which even the prepositions have eleven syllables.

"He usually has a camera, tape recorder, telescope, hoola hoop, and lifejacket all hanging from his elongated frame. He rarely has a pen, pencil, chisel, stylus, stick, paintbrush, or instrument to record his observations.

"This creature is an anthropologist..."

Thats all for now, but it only gets better! Check out the book! The above is excerpted from Chapter 4 of Vine Deloria, Jr.'s collection of essays Custer Died for Your Sins: An Indian Manifesto. Originally published in 1969 by Macmillan press in New York, the 1988 edition (University of Oklahoma press) includes a new preface by the author and an extremely hip cover design.

As you might guess from reading the excerpt above, Deloria writes with engaging wit. What's more impressive is that he pulls off this entertaining tone without sacrificing depth or accuracy in his information and research.

Vine Deloria, Jr. (1933-2005) held degrees in theology and law and held professorships at both the University of Arizona and the University of Colorado Boulder, but he was first and foremost an activist, writer, and public figure. He served on the board of the National Museum of the American Indian, but is most famous as an author and for his work as Executive Director of the National Congress of American Indians.

The main body of the book has not been updated since 1969. Although most of the information is still relevant and all of it is definitely useful, I would direct you to the National Congress of American Indians for the latest information about current policies, politics and campaigns in Indian affairs. In particular, I direct your attention to their extremely cool Embassy Capital Campaign. How hot would it be if US First Nations folks had an embassy? Wicked hot.

Cheers,
P

P.S. No offense to current anthropologists, most of anthropology has changed dramatically since this book was published, and modern anthros often do a great deal of good.

whoa, livejournal exists!

Tue, 03 Apr 2007 15:43:32 GMT

There I was, just sitting at my desk, wondering if my boss would have any particular work for me to do this afternoon (a prospect which continues to look unlikely) when I suddenly remembered that I have a livejournal account. And then I thought perhaps I ought to post something.

One exciting thing in my life these days is my application for my Australian passport. My meeting with the Consulate General is scheduled for the end of next week, on the most auspicious date of Friday, April 13th. Further confirmation of that fine tuned sense of irony that characterizes an Australian sense of humor. I'm looking forward to carrying two passports, like a spy.

I've been traveling rather a lot over the past few months, which is fun. The best trip was definitely to San Diego in February. After the end of the event which brought me to San Diego (a conference on contemporary worship), I stayed overnight with rhiannondance's uncle and his 9 year old son J_.

J_ is totally adorable and really smart. He also completely idolizes rhiannondance, and within the first seven minutes of my visit had imprinted on me as a surrogate her. He wanted to show me his favorite movie -- the Last of the Mohicans, which he was shocked to learn that I have never seen -- but since we didn't have time he settled for fast forwarding and showing me all of his favorite bits. His favorite bits were, of course, the bloodiest fight scenes.

At some point over dinner he asked me about the workshop that I had presented at the conference. The workshop was about cultural misappropriation (supershort definition: the theft/unethical use of cultural practices and materials of target/marginalized groups for the benefit of those in power ). So then he and I had a nice long talk about power, cultural racism, ownership and theft, intellectual property, individual versus collective ownership, imperialism, the white supremacy system . . . and he totally got it. Way faster and way better most of the adults with whom I try to talk about the stuff. Way to have an awesome cousin, rhiannondance-- J_ is totally great.

That's all for now --
P

french proverb you might enjoy--

Thu, 16 Nov 2006 04:43:59 GMT

Thank's to George Michael, you're familiar with "The clothes make the man" or "The clothes do not make the man"

While reading my wonderful French textbook (ps I'm taking French), I discovered what may be this same proverb in it's original french:
"L'habit ne fait pas le moine"

"L'habit" literally means "the clothes" (think of deshabiller, ie disheveled), but it's also interesting to note it's similarity to the english word "habit," as in what monks wear, because "le moine" means "the monk."

So this translates to "The clothes/habits don't make the monk,"

I love French

hello livejournal!

Wed, 04 Oct 2006 13:26:29 GMT

um, photoprince set this up for me so I could keep in touch. but I can't type. if you want to know what i'm doing/thinking, call me.

I will try to read your journals but if there's something important, please don't assume I know about it.

love you all.