Exiled in Sovereign City: 08

30 August 2004

This week's unconcious mutterings. Thanks to Chris, Erin, Lauri, Lauriean, Mona, and Sabrina for doing my work for me last week, and answering last weeks list.

GAME BOY:: Great little gadget that my mom absconded with (and plays like a fiend!)
Biopsy:: Also something my mom is familiar with.
Attack:: Heart Attack. Like most of the Lithuanian men in my family, this is something I should expect (and try to avert) in my 60s.
Convention:: The Geneva Convention.
Jewels:: Where true Chicagoans go to shop "I'm going over by the Jewels to pick up two, tree, four sahsages."
Genetics:: see combination of Heart Attack and the sahsages from the Jewels.
Impostor:: Scooby Doo
Doug:: 2-dimensional doug, side kick to PolyHester.
Arbitrary:: This.
Oscillate:: Wildly

26 August 2004

Grammar in the news

Linguistics prof. George Lakoff dissects the "war on terror" and other conservative catchphrases

"War on terror" always sounded a little close to Reign of Terror to me. I love the idea of using grammar to set the "conservatives" in their place.

This is why the BBC rocks... Valkrie style!

'flashmob: the opera' -- bbc3 to mount surprise performance at london train station

The headline on the link just makes me think of a whole orchestra running down a street Trainspotting style and just breaking into a production. There's certain dadaist appeal to a random outbreak of opera. To be sure, opera isn't everyone's cup of tea; but it's not often made very accessible, what with the price of tickets, the necessity to dress up to the nines, and the likleyhood that even if it's not being sung in another language the voices are so trained it's not always inherently easy to understand what all is going on without the libretto.

That said, I appreciate opera... just not as frequently as I should like to. So, bravo BBC!

And while talking about removing some of the stodginess from opera, I would be remiss in not referencing French & Saunders (the creators of Absolutely Fabulous) take on opera in a skit where, Jennfier Saunders and Dawn French play divas Renatta Von Trapp and Lucia Poop. In it they do an utterly surreal cover of the Kylie Minogue tune, I should be so lucky, in full operatic bombast. It's quite spectacular. I have the DVD. Remind me to show you sometime.

Having a hard time getting in to opera? Fairly common. I'd have to say healthy doses of vintage cartoons peppered my interest. Why not check out Tom & Jerry's Carmen or Bugs Bunny's What's Opera Doc?.

25 August 2004

A Lair of one's own

ESA Portal - Space houses on Earth

I half expect to see these "space houses" rising up out of the ocean and inviting all sorts of chicanery 007 style ( a la the spy who loved me)) complete with the Lotus sportscar/submarine.

I mean really. Wasn't the year 2000 and beyond supposed to be all flying cars and bubble houses? I have to cop to being a bit underwhelmed with the Cadillack Ensconces and all the crapshack condoliths that are ubiquitous. Where's my jetpack? Rosie the Robot?

So space houses? Quite alright by me.

So yesterday I bought a Lotto ticket. I'm planning that if I win I'm going to buy this great Lair on Broadway and Ardmore. It used to be an old electrical station, but is now just an empty husk, and site of a failed attempt to build an Artbar/dance club (whatever that would have been). I suppose a 3 flat would be fine too.

23 August 2004

Pre-existential blog crisis

No, I haven't quite hit that spot that many bloggers hit when they just don't feel it any more. I've had a number of things crop up in the last week or two that I keep thinking Oooh! I need to blog about this! but, things being what they've been, I haven't really had the time to compose any thoughts, and suddenly they're gone. Whisked away. The Train of Thought left the station. Travelling 80 miles an hour to Council Bluffs. If it left at 2:00 p.m. eastern time, what time does the Love Boat air in Green Bay on channel 7?

Damn. I was never very good at word problems.

So this in essence is my problem. Too much going on. As my neighbors will probably delight in learning, I'm planning to move at the end of September, so there's lots of activities going on towards finding an apartment. Work has been somewhat feverish (and little chance of it letting up soon) and that's about it really. Believe it or not, I've also got some renovations planned here at the home of the Contrarian Grammarian; maybe getting the design of the website just so.

Unconcious Mutterings.

Olympics::
Wicked::
Intoxicating::
Radical::
Misinformed::
Triplets::
Coronation::
Asimov::
Contemporary::
1::

Strangely enough I went through this list, and I'm not really feeling any of these words for free association. Usually I am able to come up with something but out of the 10, i have maybe 2. So in my dumb-burned-out-edness i'm leaving it to anyone who cares to comment to free associate for me.

16 August 2004

Unconcious and allowed to blog.

This week's unconcious mutterings.

Server:: What you call a waiter/waitress at any of the "flair" restaurants. TGIFrydays, Crapplebees, Red Crawdaddy , or the Chainmail Potato.
Charlotte:: Sweet Charlotte - Stereo Total Song.
Jackson:: Action Jackson
Resentment:: nonsequitur: Rosettes(which i'm long overdue in making)
Controlling:: Davros - classic Doctor Who Baddie.
Intense:: Intense and Peppermints.... Oh that's Incense? Whatever.
November:: Let's make November "Yesvember!"
Donkey:: Basketball - strange as it sounds, i vaguely remember this from Jr. High.
Weave:: Underwater Basketweaving aka: CLC Chronicle
Satisfies:: I hate to answer with this... Snickers.

13 August 2004

Not a morning person

Or an afternoon person. Or even an evening person. More accurately, I
just don't have a great perception of time. Most people that know me
know that I tend to run late. Ten minutes, twenty minutes, three days.
When I'm on time, I'm probably not ready. If I'm on time and ready,
then call the pope because it's a miracle. That's not entirely true.
I try to compensate sometimes by being extra early, and because I'm
trying so hard to be early I get neurotic about time; and punctuality.
That always keeps them guessing.

As you could imagine with all these hangups, I sometimes have issues
waking up in the morning. Boy, have I got issues. I actually have to
set my alarm clock fast, but not five, ten or twenty minutes fast - I
have to set the clock 37 minutes fast. But it can't stay 37 minutes
long. Somehow, in my subconscious I can figure out that the clock is
ten minutes fast, and sleep to the last minute. What turns out to be
problematic for me, though, is when I start dreaming that I'm at work.
Oh, and it happens. I have a dream that someone is having some sort of
technical issue and I end up helping them; and then suddenly I hear
Renee Montagne on NPR saying something about George W. Bush choking on
a pretzel; then I realize that I'm dreaming. So I have to set the
alarm clock ahead a random and unknown amount of time. So when it goes
off, I'm scared to high hell that I'm late for work, and I'll get
chewed out, blah blah blah.

On the weekend, I'm a sedentary person. I like to wake up, move out to
the couch, think about turning the TV or radio and just kind of laze
into things. Maybe go out for breakfast (never brunch; brunch is
clearly for old people; or gen-x-ers playing at being grown up). I'd
wear into my day around 1 or so... Ready to take on the world; or nap.

During the week though; It's a whole different scene. While inertia
and comfort rules my weekends (or at least, I like to think they do);
my mornings during the week are slaved to momentum. I have to gather
the energy to break the gravitational field of my apartment. No
coffee, no breakfast, no morning television. Frankly I'm lucky if I
can remember to shave.

So this blur that happens during my morning - I sometimes forget to
turn off my alarm clock. I try to go back and check it (I am a master
of the snooze bar, so I don't always turn it off as I'm waking up).
But one thing usually leads to another and I forget to check. If I'm
gone over the weekend; I become the bane of my neighbor's existence.
Maybe not bane; but I think major annoyance would be going a little
light. I actually remember when I lived in an apartment complex out in
the burbs; I used to curse a neighbor that did the very same thing.
Nothing is worse than being woken out of blissful weekend sleep, by a
loud annoying alarm clock that you can't even turn off.

I feel incredibly bad for this. I don't want to do it. I actively
worry about doing it. There are just days I can't get my shit
together. If only I could train the cats to turn it off for me. I'd
love that phone call.

"Meow meow" Mu says as he knocks the phone off the hook.

"Hi Mu, I totally forgot to turn off the alarm clock. Can you turn it
off for me?"

"Meow meow meow opposable thumbs meow" he says.

"Oh yeah that's right. I forgot about that. Well nevermind."

Okay, so maybe it's not the perfect solution. But this is what I think
about on the train.

02 August 2004

Queen for a day

Something that totally grabbed my eye was this production. It's based on the Pirate Queen Grace O'Malley who happens to be the great great great really great aunt of the Contrarian Grammarian's dear confidant the Friendly Dramaturg , Erin O'Malley. Erin told me stories of this Aunt a few years ago, and while I was in a currency exchange of all places, I saw a poster for the production. I'm definitely interested in going; partially because I'd like to see more live theatre, but also because it's Erin's incredibly great aunt.

Now tell me; is there a resemblance here?

Queen Grace - Looks like she's about to punder some Booty.

Queen Erin - Looks like she was successful in plundering.

So I just did a little googling around on Grace's history, and mighty, she was a saucy gal... She has quite an interesting bio here.

No news; good news?

Eh, not really. Just been kinda wrapped up in the world to stop for pause. I haven't really been wrapped up in glamourous things either. Just the mundaneties of life. That said, I did organize some pictures that i've been saving for the last year or so, of friends at different events - all that i've been meaning to post. So here it is. Really nothing special in presentation.

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Under new management! Formerly known as Filbert's Spread. Heretofore referenced as Conjugations from a Contrarian Grammarian. Previously known as Agent Eightysix's Log. Furthermore known as Señor De LaTaco's Groovy Dance Band.