Month: December 2012

Adrastos, Diary, Music4 Comments

Why I Hate New Year’s Eve

Hate is probably too strong a word but I wanted to get your attention. I’m really more bored than anything by NYE. I’m not a fan of firecrackers since my boyhood pal Kirk blew off 2 of his fingers with them and they’re an integral part of NYE. I’m also not wild about the forced jollity and the public drunkenness, which this year is magnified in NOLA by the presence of Florida Gator fans who *almost* make Bama fans look civilized. Almost. Btw, I have nothing against drunks but stupid drunks I’m not crazy about. Dr. A and I had … Continue reading Why I Hate New Year’s Eve

Athenae, Diary, Immoral Values7 Comments

‘All of it is an act of love’

Go. Read. NOW. There was something disturbing about Romeo and Juliet’s relationship—if you can even call it that. Within less than a week, they profess their undying love to each other and get hitched. Juliet delivers her famous “parting is such sweet sorrow” line, and the next time Romeo sees her, she’s unconscious from a potion that was designed to work for 42 hours, just enough time to trick her family into thinking she’s dead so that she won’t have to go through with the arranged marriage to Paris. Romeo, with whom she has had about three conversations, was supposed … Continue reading ‘All of it is an act of love’

Uncategorized5 Comments

Weekend Question Thread

Allison Hantschel

Got any resolutions for the new year? I have got to finish a writing project. I’ve spent the past year working my ass off at my day job, which is great because a) money and b) I don’t want to suck at anything really. The result, though, is that I don’t have a major writing goal in mind, so I need to set one and carry it out. The fitness thing, should I ever stop hacking up a lung, is kind of taking care of itself, as I feel bad now when I DON’T get a workout in. Eating less … Continue reading Weekend Question Thread

Athenae, Immoral Values11 Comments

Not That I Shopped There Anyway …

But suck it, Hobby Lobby. They’ve always been sanctimonious assholes and look, at times convenience overrides my conscience and I go get something somewhere because it’s cheaper or closer, but this kind of thing’s a no-brainer. These people, and the pizza dicks, and everybody else braying all day long about their religious freedom, are just begging for attention. They don’t actually want to help anybody, they’re not actually concerned about their immortal souls, and they can’t see the difference between the freedom to do what they want to do (like, don’t take birth control pills if you think they’re putting … Continue reading Not That I Shopped There Anyway …

Adrastos, Congress, Current Affairs, Political Crack6 Comments

Stupid Centrist Tricks

Peter Adrastos Athas

There’s a group of people inside the Beltway who are in favor of removing politics from the political process. Talk about a mission so impossible that neither Peter Graves nor Tom Cruise is up for the job. But these centrist fethishists have a crush on “moderate” Republicans like Jon Huntsman. I’m not sure what’s moderate about him but Norm Ornstein thinks he should replace Boner as Speaker. I am not making this up, y’all: What if Boehner doesn’t survive? Go to Article I, Section 2: The Constitution does not say that the speaker of the House has to be a … Continue reading Stupid Centrist Tricks

Uncategorized5 Comments

Weekend Question Thread

Got any resolutions for the new year? I have got to finish a writing project. I’ve spent the past year working my ass off at my day job, which is great because a) money and b) I don’t want to suck at anything really. The result, though, is that I don’t have a major writing goal in mind, so I need to set one and carry it out. The fitness thing, should I ever stop hacking up a lung, is kind of taking care of itself, as I feel bad now when I DON’T get a workout in. Eating less … Continue reading Weekend Question Thread

Big Damn Heroes, Current Affairs, Do Something, Doc2 Comments

Brave

docphd

Five years ago, a former student of mine teetered on the edge of ending her own life. I never knew it at the time, as she had slipped through the cracks of life like so many other kids who sit in my classes and stare back at me as I pontificate about something or other. She was a great student, a funny kid and an amazing journalist. She had that weird “quirk” about her that predisposed her to a life spent with coffee and cigarettes and off-color jokes. She oscillated between self-deprecating humor and claims of being a Golden God … Continue reading Brave

Athenae, Diary5 Comments

Friday Ferretblogging: House of Sick Edition

Allison Hantschel

No, not the weasels, thank God. Just the humans. I contracted some kind of vicious plague on Christmas Eve, managed to tough it out through Christmas morning and then collapsed into a NyQuil haze for 72 hours. During which time Mr. A had to pack the car, cancel the remainder of our trip, drug my sick ass up and drag me home and into bed. He then spent the next couple of days handling our whole lives like a boss while I whined and complained and hacked up bits of my lungs. As a reward he’s now come down with … Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: House of Sick Edition

Athenae, Diary5 Comments

Friday Ferretblogging: House of Sick Edition

No, not the weasels, thank God. Just the humans. I contracted some kind of vicious plague on Christmas Eve, managed to tough it out through Christmas morning and then collapsed into a NyQuil haze for 72 hours. During which time Mr. A had to pack the car, cancel the remainder of our trip, drug my sick ass up and drag me home and into bed. He then spent the next couple of days handling our whole lives like a boss while I whined and complained and hacked up bits of my lungs. As a reward he’s now come down with … Continue reading Friday Ferretblogging: House of Sick Edition

Big Damn Heroes, Current Affairs, Do Something, Doc2 Comments

Brave

Five years ago, a former student of mine teetered on the edge of ending her own life. I never knew it at the time, as she had slipped through the cracks of life like so many other kids who sit in my classes and stare back at me as I pontificate about something or other. She was a great student, a funny kid and an amazing journalist. She had that weird “quirk” about her that predisposed her to a life spent with coffee and cigarettes and off-color jokes. She oscillated between self-deprecating humor and claims of being a Golden God … Continue reading Brave

Michael F1 Comment

He Once Cried a River of Tears…Actually, He Did That a Bunch of Times

mmferry1965

From Album4 With the Fiscal Cliff countdown at T Minus 5 days and counting, here’s Andy Borowitz channeling his inner Most Incompetent Speaker in the World: Dear American People: It’s Speaker Boehner here, writing my first and last ever holiday letter to you. Why am I doing this after all of these years, you might ask? Well, I won’t mince words. I’ve started drinking a little early this Christmas. Yes, I’m sitting here in my man-cave, panelled in mahogany the color of me, doing a rack of Canadian Club shooters and smoking my way through a carton of Lucky Strikes … Continue reading He Once Cried a River of Tears…Actually, He Did That a Bunch of Times

Adrastos, Film, Music

Pulp Fiction Thursday: Forty Guns

Samuel Fullerwas the ultimate cult film director of the 1950’s and ’60’s. He made dark, quirky, and complex low-ish budget movies. Dr. A and I saw this little noir Western gem for the first time last night on TCM. It’s to die for and must-see. Holy contradictory sentiments, Batman. Btw, Fuller’s original title wasWoman with a Whip but it made the studio queasy. Hmm, I wondered if he asked Betty Page to be in the cast? Probably not. The always awesome Barbara Stanwyck’s character is a cross between a a badass rancher chick and a Tammany Hall sachem. She did … Continue reading Pulp Fiction Thursday: Forty Guns

Adrastos, Art, Film, Music, Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction Thursday: Forty Guns

Peter Adrastos Athas

Samuel Fullerwas the ultimate cult film director of the 1950’s and ’60’s. He made dark, quirky, and complex low-ish budget movies. Dr. A and I saw this little noir Western gem for the first time last night on TCM. It’s to die for and must-see. Holy contradictory sentiments, Batman. Btw, Fuller’s original title was Woman with a Whip but it made the studio queasy. Hmm, I wondered if he asked Betty Page to be in the cast? Probably not. The always awesome Barbara Stanwyck’s character is a cross between a a badass rancher chick and a Tammany Hall sachem. She … Continue reading Pulp Fiction Thursday: Forty Guns

Michael F1 Comment

He Once Cried a River of Tears…Actually, He Did That a Bunch of Times

FromAlbum4 With the Fiscal Cliff countdown at T Minus 5 days and counting, here’sAndy Borowitz channeling his inner Most Incompetent Speaker in the World: Dear American People: It’s Speaker Boehner here, writing my first and last ever holiday letter to you. Why am I doing this after all of these years, you might ask? Well, I won’t mince words. I’ve started drinking a little early this Christmas. Yes, I’m sitting here in my man-cave, panelled in mahogany the color of me, doing a rack of Canadian Club shooters and smoking my way through a carton of Lucky Strikes as if … Continue reading He Once Cried a River of Tears…Actually, He Did That a Bunch of Times

Adrastos, Congress, Current Affairs, Political Crack6 Comments

Stupid Centrist Tricks

There’s a group of people inside the Beltway who are in favor of removing politics from the political process. Talk about a mission so impossible that neither Peter Graves nor Tom Cruise is up for the job. But these centrist fethishists have a crush on “moderate” Republicans like Jon Huntsman. I’m not sure what’s moderate about him butNorm Ornstein thinks he should replace Boner as Speaker. I am not making this up, y’all: What if Boehner doesn’t survive? Go to Article I, Section 2: The Constitution does not say that the speaker of the House has to be a member … Continue reading Stupid Centrist Tricks

Athenae, Diary, Food and Drink19 Comments

Weekend Question Thread: Eating Well Cheaply

Allison Hantschel

John wants to know about recipes/strategies for cooking well with little money. When I was broke-broke, I lived out of my friend’s coffee shop’s day old bagel bin. I’d get a dozen of those for two bucks, buy some cheap cheese and make a heartier version of grilled cheese by melting it over top of those in the oven. A head of iceberg lettuce lasted forever if you trimmed the brown parts off and potatoes were the best cheap food I knew thanks to my grandmother’s stories about the Depression. Eggs, too. Cheap protein. A baked potato, even without butter … Continue reading Weekend Question Thread: Eating Well Cheaply

Current Affairs, Doc11 Comments

Reading, ‘Riting and Rifles

docphd

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, a good friend of the family had her home robbed in the middle of the night. While she and her husband lay in bed, feigning sleep, two or more men rifled through their closets, drawers and jewelry. Unbeknownst to these thieves, they had entered a home with multiple guns. The husband was an avid hunter and fisherman and had several rifles throughout the home and a shotgun placed right under the bed. The only problem? For some reason, the gun was on the wrong side of the bed, resting under her … Continue reading Reading, ‘Riting and Rifles