Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Thanksgiving in 2008

Richard gave me money to go food shopping today, something I've been avoiding since I don't have money to do anything more than pay my half of the rent/utilities and my car insurance. Me being unemployed cannot be fun for him either since I have to be a mooch while this is going on (if I was not living with him I would be on food stamps or starving). But on the good side I got all the fixings. Ham (because we're having turkey with friends on Saturday and my parents on Sunday), cranberries, sweet potatoes, salad, and a bottle of champagne left over from election night. I also have the ingredients for making a Christmas Pudding and an apple pie.

So tomorrow there will be much cleaning and cooking. I had a lovely talk today with my friend Jason and also Dave. With Dave it somehow turned into an alternate history talk where I came up with a socialist triumph that might piss off libertarians. Could be a fun book. But it would take huge amounts of research to do well.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Worry Variations

I would give almost anything to be stuck at work right now with a job to whinge about. I feel hopeless and desperate about my prospects for getting a job and that's why my posting is rather sporadic. The only thing I can do is study the rules and figure out if there is some way out of this trap. I have very little money and not an impressive enough resume to get hired as evidenced by the fact that I've yet to be contacted by anyone.

Options, options. Well at least I have some time since I have benefits until August next year. I should not multiply my problems without necessity. I will come to the worst if it comes. In the meantime I suppose I keep applying until I think of a better plan. Maybe I'll start writing and see if anything comes of that.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Think Different

In iTunes I don't particularly like the Artist/Composer split. Why? Because when I'm searching for a song I'm going by the the name I associate with a piece. I may have no idea that it was Vienna PHO that played that piece, I'm looking for Beethoven. So that's how I use the "Artist" field instead of putting down who actually spoke or sung, I put in the name I associate with the piece. And then I misuse other fields and notes for putting in all the information. Which sometimes makes me reluctant to rip my classical music since I hate having to change everything. But if I don't do it when I rip it I'll have a devil of a time trying to find it later.

Also, the CD names and song names for classical music suck.

Today I'm working on getting some more forward motion and searching for a location to place a vending machine. A good and safe location, because the damn thing can't be sold right now and we need to make some money off of it.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A Fantastic Mixed Drink For the Unemployeed

This brought a smile to my nearly bankrupt face. Water may soon be taking the place of other things for me as well.

I seem to have things figured out with unemployment, I'll just be headed to my bank tomorrow morning to deposit everything I could find between the seat cushions and pay off my credit card one last time... Huh. Maybe I should check my credit card points and see if I could get a gift for my boyfriend or family that way.

Some Forward Motion

I am clearly not out of danger yet, but I have some forward motion under my feet and that is a good feeling. I called every 15 minutes for the last two days to the unemployment line and I finally got through today at three. I still don't know if I'm going to get anything, but I have some hope. A very, very little bit of hope.

To sum up the story so far I was a depressed slug and did not return the right forms at the right times, so I've screwed myself out of weeks of unemployment insurance. But I might yet save myself from complete disaster.

In the mean time I am looking with a critical eye at anything of value. Old silver jewelry, coins, books, etc. Anything that might be turned into cash. Sentimental value is very low right now for a specter of homelessness has begun to haunt me.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Watchmen

The first time I read Watchmen I was in high school.

I had not read any comic books growing up since I was raised in a small town without anything like a comic book store and the titles carried in more accessible places never caught my eye. I don't know exactly how I got the impression, but somehow I'd concluded that they were nothing I'd be interested in. I shared the same dismissive attitude as the bookstore owner in movie version of The Neverending Story, "Pah, comic books." I was proud of reading hard books without pictures ever since I'd been weaned off children's books in the second grade. And what little I had seen was full of bad dialogue and stories so overwrought that even as a child I wanted nothing to do with them.

That had changed in high school because of friend introducing me to 'graphic novels' as they were starting to be called. Something that could be read by someone who considered himself an adult and took himself very, very seriously. I remember being impressed by Watchmen, though not entirely happy with it. I still feel that way, but for different reasons. Even when I read it the story seemed a bit dated with its nuclear war obsession, the Soviet Union having just fallen apart in 1991. Now it seems even more so with more of the politics of the 1980s having become even more quaint. Not to mention the usual Hollywood way the computers were shown in.

It is an interesting story, but mostly for the hints of what it could have been. There are big ideas about what a person might become like if he could see his future and past all at once, just another dimension. But the idea is bigger than the storytellers and in the end it does not satisfy me.

I'm curious to see if the movie is any better than the book, but I doubt it will be. I don't know that anyone has the mind to wrap around how seeing fate would feel and act.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Mocking the Liberal Conspiracy Theory

I would now like to direct your attention to a article publish in Rolling Stone October 17th 2008 entitled It's Already Stolen. Is it still up? If not here is a bit from the heart of the 'expose':
Republican Secretaries of State of swing-state Colorado have quietly purged one in six names from their voter rolls.

Over several months, the GOP politicos in Colorado stonewalled every attempt by Rolling Stone to get an answer to the massive purge - ten times the average state's rate of removal.

While Obama dreams of riding to the White House on a wave of new voters, more then 2.7 million have had their registrations REJECTED under new procedures signed into law by George Bush.
As it is now Nov. 5th it is time for me to point and laugh. After all a wise man said, "Spare the mock, spoil the pundit."

So the totals are in and Barack Obama won Colorado's vote by 6.6%, more or less. So in order for their theory to be correct that would mean those supposed one in six voters who would have voted for Obama but could not would mean he would have won by 21%. So where are those 14% of voters that were purged? You'd think one or two of them might have a blog saying "Hey! I wanted to vote, but they made me cast a provisional ballot." So, anyone got a link? No? Well then I think it is time for a slice of Humble Pie and apologizes to America from every hysterical liberal who was screaming, "The Republicans are going to steal it!" Especially since they also were promoting loony conspiracy theories that Bush would declare martial law after assassinating Obama today or tomorrow. Come on, own up. If I'd been wrong I would have had to say, "Sorry everyone" on my way to the barricades. But I was right and now I'm going to indulge in some, "I told you so!"

I told you the election of 2004 was not stolen. I told you this one was not going to be taken away either. I told you we'd win once we had an effective candidate and what was wrong in 2004 was we had a crappy one who couldn't turn out the vote. The only reason you didn't know anyone who voted for Bush is that you never leave your liberal, liberal bubble. Of course I shouldn't actually expect you to act like adults. Instead you and "Democracy Now" will start whining in six months that Obama is a "corporate tool" because he doesn't start your green revolution where all of us sit in the dark wearing sackcloth for our sins against mother earth. Grow the <bleep> up. Because otherwise I shall mock you again.