Thursday, 25 March 2010

books

i work at barnes and noble. i get 30% off all books and i get to take out all hardcovers for free and bring them back in 2 weeks, like the library. trouble is, i don't know what to read! it's been so long since i have read anything entirely for pleasure. i figure all of you are something like me in one way or another, and probably like what i like..ish..kinda, so recommend me some books! could each of you send me the names of your favorite books- 2 classics and 2 contemporary- only fiction please. thanks!

Question...

So when are you all going to Amherst for graduation? Looking at tickets and trying decide if I should come early in the week of graduation and then leave Sunday or come later and stay into the following week...

Wednesday, 24 March 2010

appalachian trail

what i'm about to write cannot possibly do justice to the experience!

i started hiking monday morning (super excited - adrenaline pumping - despite the rain/snow/mud dreariness). hiked and camped until a couple hours ago when i "hitch-hiked" (don't worry - super safe) to a hostel - the end of my three-day a.t. trial period.

happy to report that it went well. i felt really safe the whole time - i'm hardly ever alone - never for more than thirty minutes on a beautiful day (an hour on a rainy day). the past two days i've had random hiking partners, i camp out with more than twenty people at a site/shelter each night, blah blah. basically - it's a pretty safe undertaking.

there are very few women! i've only met four who are hiking on their own and two who are with male (romantic) partners. all of the lone women seem rad!! but i've mostly been spending my time with loads of males... which is a topic that i'm still sorting through. (you know, my feelings/thoughts on it)

the past two days i've had some really special moments on the trail. me and this guy "cope" smoked a joint on the banks of this beautiful bubbly creek yesterday. today i spent an hour or two lying out on a rock - most beautiful scene! hills for miles.. 270 degree view.! some fellow hikers i knew joined me for the last half of it...

wha, i'm just rambling. i'm a bit too immersed in it to give you soundbites. there were moments when i wasn't happy - got a little lonely with all these stupid menfolk around yesterday evening. i'm really really sore (muscles) but i'm strong too!

i think the loneliness was part of culture shock. no doubt that this is .. invokes some kind of culture shock. but i guess that's what i want. a break


whoooosh, i love you all! besosss

back at work

it's hard being back at work, but i've found a few things to amuse myself...

Rosie, this is for you for your birthday last week (courtesy of emily)!
http://www.zefrank.com/dtoy_vs_byokal/index.html

Destry this is for you for your birthday yesterday (courtesy of my coworker)!

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

THANK YOU!

Hello all you wonderful people!

Thanks so much for the fabulous birthday wishes. I heard from all of you today! (Except Rachel, who's off the hook because she's in the middle of the woods hanging out with bears and woodpeckers and other foresty creatures -- oh my god she's such a little Snow White right now, flitting about with blue jays all around her curly locks. Can't you see it? I'm so excited about this image.) Anyway, it was amazing to have contact with you all. By far the best part of my day was reconnecting with lots of people, both nearby and far-away. In fact, I heard from friends all around the globe! Amazing! Five continents! Cait in Costa Rica, Carmella in France, Hannah in Portugal, Sam in South Dakota, Jonah of the Zu in Jordan, others in Bolivia, Chile, Panama, England, the Sudan, Bangladesh, Denmark, China, and good old South Portland, Maine (or So Po Me)! Fabulous fabulous. Plus I got phone calls from all my immediate family members, and I started the day with Abu (my little Spanish grandmother) singing "Las Mananitas" to me early this morning. Can't be beat. Yay! 23 seems pretty good so far.

And! Obama passed health care on my birthday! This means we're all going to be healthy FOR EVER. Immortality, America. Yes.

missing you all!

ladies and gentlejulian,

i am drunk and sitting in the music library at amherst right now. i just had dinner and wine at fresh side with steve and then he realized that he had to go to glee club and then he did and then i realized that i can't get into his dorm without his key card, so here i am, wishing i could just go home to chapman, where i belong. but oh well...

so...i've been living in northampton workinfg at fitzwilly's which is okay, except one of the managers is a huge moody bitch. so now i only work there on weekends and i got a job at barnes and noble which is really cool and pleasant except it pays very very little. grrr...

so anyway, i live in a house with 5 other people. they are really cool. a few of you have met most of them. i am becoming pretty good friends with this girl molly. we are both wannabe singers who are talented, but shy and get down on ourselves sometimes, so we have been doing kareoke a lot and trying to push each other to be confident and open. i have my mind set on moving on to open mics pretty soon, but writing a good song is fucking hard. there are only so many ways to talk about love and pain and happiness and all the shit that people feel. and it's so hard not to be corny and unoriginal. but i am going to keep trying until i write some good shit.

i went home this weekend for my mom's birthday. i had a good time. i really miss my family. i am in the valley of decision right now. i don't what to do at the end of may. i mean, i don't think i want to stay in northampton once steve and dan are gone, not unless i get a real job here, something that allows me to more than barely scrape by, and that is meaningful and enjoyable in some way. i don't like to be isolated. i need hugs and stuff. steve is going to be in boston. i could live with him there, but i don't know if i want to. i kinda dig the whole young lovers thing, not sure i am ready for virtual marriage. i know we could make it work, but do i/ we want that? a part of me really does want that, thinks that would be a dream come true, but another part of me is thinking, you just got your own head together like 5 minutes ago. are you ready for a real adult life partner type thing, where you say shit like "we" go to bed around midnight, and "we" can't make it on wednesday? you know what i mean? i am sure you do. ideally we would all live in chapman, and all of our boys would live in tents in the backyard and come in from time to time for sex or cuddling or massages or to get rid of bugs...but alas, this is real life and so real decisions have to be made. but it's all good. carmella comes to the valley on may 16th and she's sleeping in my bed!! jealous bitches? you should be. love you all!! cait and sam and carmsy, sorry i have been so bad at responding to your emails. i will be better. expect mail from me soon!

thinking of you

hello friends! of course i am always thinking of all my lovely ladies/man, but today i am thinking especially of the beautiful wonderful smart and fabulous destry - happy birthday m'lady! - and the sweet charming quirky post-apocalyptic bohemian rachel - happy trails to you as you start your journey through the appalachians! both of you are brave little ladies, and i am so proud to count you amongst my closest!
missing you, wishing i could squeeze you and give you a big SMOOCH!
bisoux to all from carmZella
ps i'm back in the south of france. we set sail to italy saturday morning!
pss universal health care whaaaaaat! for once in my life (besides nov 4 2008), i am proud to be an american!

Monday, 22 March 2010

sxsw crazy

hi friends!

I've been SXSW-ing all last week. SXSW is a huge music/film/interactive(which means internet) conference and there are a bazillion shows and tons of craziness. Austin isn't actually capable of absorbing all the people who come in, which makes it that much more awesome/terrible. There's also lots of free food so I had set a goal for myself to spend $0 between March 11th - 21st including food, drinking, seeing shows (all three of which I did plenty). I spent $5, so pretty close. I also saw lots of amazing music and met a crazy amount of people including Michel Gondry and a sudanese refugee who was volunteering with me.

Michel Gondry looking French and displeased with silly girls asking for photos with him:


I saw a few Chapman favorites like She & Him and Band of Horses (Carmella always makes fun of me for them b/c they're kind of emo). In fact, I couldn't get into one of the She & Him shows, so my friend and I went to the back of the venue and watched them thru 1.5 inch cracks between a fence, our backs to a dumpster which smelled revolting and I'm still picking out splinters from the fence. It was definitely one of the most insane weeks of my life. I also saw a lot of newer emo music. I saw Local Natives 2.5 times and if you get a chance, please do. Their shows are insanely good. Here's one of their songs:
Local Natives - Airplanes

Here's one of my favorite songs from She & Him's new album:
She & Him - Thieves


Here are all the wristbands I had to wear to get into shit (and these are only the ones I saved)!


Besides SXSW, I've been doing lots of random stuff like:
1) I went to a silent movie play at this artist commune house. It looked like this:


2) I went to this burner thing where people graffitied train cars with environmental messages like this one:


3) Austin had a beautiful kite festival which looked like this (you also get to see a partial of the Austin skyline):


So that's my life, what's your life?!

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Your weekly SD is in the news for doing something stupid update!

So one of our clients went on a local TV station to tell her story of being outed by the Rapid City Police Dept (the second largest PD in the state) (the same PD that is currently being sued for being notoriously racist...like putting out flyers to a "whites only BBQ" a few years back racist) and anyways, we have been completely overwhelmed with calls from international TV stations and radio shows/newspapers from all over the country! I even spoke with someone from CNN and helped arrange their interview with our client!http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/

So that's pretty exciting right? Although we're still deciding if there's enough to actually file a lawsuit. These asses will probably get away with this except they have been totally inundated with complaints and furious ppl. They have completely mishandled the situation and made themselves look stupid and horrible. At least in the public eye, they are guilty and will be punished before they can go back to outing lesbians, having their BBQs, and attending anti-women, anti-gay rallies. But I'm getting to see all the documents and be a part of the legal research which is awesome for a lowly office manager.

On a personal note...I ran over a opossum the other day. And not just any opossum, the King of the opossums. He was so big I though I had actually hit a small dog, and it damaged the front of my car. My poor car has seen better days, especially since Austin hit a deer with it in November. It's still missing the driver's side mirror and some paint, but it's so old that it's not even worth fixing the cosmetic details. Plus I think it just adds to my badass appearance.

Sunday, 14 March 2010

i am in tennessee

arrived a few hours ago! having not slept but spent the whole night on the town w rose and dan. now i'm in rachel edelman's beautiful memphis house ! really excited to hit the trail... i've been talking about it soo much with everyone i've met this past week of bumming around. i'll probably begin early next week. will have occasional internets. will post. much love, rach.

Saturday, 13 March 2010

...not that bad



So Rachel and I are sitting in my room, finishing up her airborne, and I was inspired to make a little twist on the traditional airborne recipe (shown on the left) which involves an airborne tablet and a cup of boiling water.

on the right, rose's birthday airborne cocktail:
1 airborne tablet
2oz pomegranate-flavored vodka
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup cranberry juice
sprinkle of lime juice
lots of rocks

alternate name - 'the mile high club'

:)
love ya'll, happy to see a good half of you this week, miss the other half dearly.

Friday, 12 March 2010

Best name EVER

Today, I was called a "lace panty wearing liberal commie" by a woman who I have never met, or interacted with other than our 5 minute phone call today. She was one of the many drunk/high people who call into the ACLU office on a regular basis, but I have to say...best name-calling ever? Totally beats the guy who told me he would come and "beat my ass if gas didn't cost so much" when I was working at legal aid a few summers ago. I have heard of lipstick lesbians, and commie liberals...but I've never had underwear used against me because of any political affiliation. Interesting thought for the day.
hi-lo ! a quick entry before i leave my computer behind !

this is the week of rose's spring break, and as planned we've traveled around the northeast visiting beautiful friends. i started my travels last friday with a rendezvous at la quinta inn in worcester with my boy-man dan. hotttt. returned to boston for three hours on saturday to see the epically gorgeous jess joy, along with aya hamano, mai, and dan mccune (reunion of the half-asians). rose and i took a bus that afternoon to N.Y.C. that night in brooklyn a big ol amherst reunion saw lots of old faces like bill taylor and marina weiss, milo dee and even nate austin, danced our socks off til 5 am at megan's favorite latin club bembe. spent a day w rose's sweet yuppy jew family in manhattan, then traveled up to the columbia campus for a surreal evening w my friend caitie, including a black tie oscar party in a many million dollar apt around 70th st. the little man who lived there wanted both rose and i in his bed that night - didn't happen - skipped out to rjd2 concert. loved on caitie, slept for hours.

woke up the next morning - indulged in champagne breakfast - slept more in parkside (morningside park) - returned to brooklyn - wandered around lower east side with nate austin (check out new band hey marseilles) - lalalala next morning rose left for new haven - i stayed in nyc for an interview (boo) - ... err, this is going to have to be continued cuz i gotta run


love love

Wednesday, 10 March 2010

missing you

i was lying on my friend's roof last night just chatting. i've been morose of late. i think the high of living in austin is starting to wear off (everyone remember that feeling being abroad? the emotional crash after the emotional high?). i always can't help but compare amherst to austin. and how my amherst experience was never really the environment but almost exclusively you all and the people i surrounded myself with. and austin is almost the reverse. i am deliriously in love with this city but am a floater between different friend groups (not in love with any particular group).

anyway, so more about this place, austin. well we're gearing up for sxsw (south by southwest). it's a huge festival of everything - interactive aka the internet, film, and music. there are free parties every night of the week and obviously my goal is to get fed 3 square meals a day and drinks for the entire week, all without spending a penny. i'll keep everyone updated on my progress. my favorite free parties so far?

Larry Chiang vs. State Farm - this guy is throwing a party because his state farm insurance offered him $3,000 for his wrecked bmw.

Boat Party - where the first 200 people in line will get on a boat for a free cruise (5:30 - 9:00 pm) in the river that divides the city with free cupcakes and champagne.

i love this city. come visit?! you're all that's missing?

brussels sprouts

i'm in brussels! haven't eaten any brussel sprouts yet (who knew they grew like this?!) but i HAVE eaten lots of belgian chocolate, potatoes in various forms, and fresh bread and assorted pastries... (i've had to adopt a strict running regime to balance out this diet, hahah. luckily i get to run around this - a unit cell of an iron crystal magnified 165 billion times- so that's pretty cool). otherwise, i watch the travel channel wth my grandfather, wheel him around in his wheelchair without bumping into too many walls (i'm working on it), and prepare our meals (lots of defrosting.. it's hard work). i go into the city every other day or so to visit various cousins and GO TO AWESOME CONCERTS (see video below). life is pretty good, a welcome calm after the stress and madness of being on a tiny boat with my dad for weeks on end. I can't complain. plus, i can walk, which is really awesome. it sounds weird, but after seeing the state my grandfather is in as he loses the strength in his legs more and more each day, i'm pretty grateful for my working legs... so much so that i may walk the camino again for a few weeks in april, this time on the french side. perhaps! we shall seeeeee.
sending lots of love and chocolate kisses your way!
bisous from carmella and Kristian Matsson (the tallest man on earth!! he's actually quite tiny, and so cute!)

Friday, 5 March 2010

more climate change skeptics who are actually just opinion bloggers

...who don't know anything about the carbon cycle. Or maybe looked up the carbon cycle in their 14-year-old daughter's high school biology textbook and were like, "Oh, more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere means more photosynthesis, awesome!" Which would actually be awesome if not for progressive nitrogen limitation. Why don't we just fertilize the crap out of everything? Well we pretty much do, and as a result we feed people (good), but we use such excess amounts of nutrients that outflow into streams and rivers causes delicious eutrophication, anoxia and big dead zones. Not to mention blue baby syndrome or other direct impacts on human health as a result of high nitrate concentrations in streamwater (we regulate this in the US, but not in many other nations with fewer economic resources or less understanding of the downstream effects of agriculture). And we do not fertilize forests, because they do not feed us. The forests and oceans can absorb some of the excess CO2 we throw up there, but it isn't 100% and there are some great studies whose results indicate that the carbon uptake capacity of oceans and terrestrial vegetation are declining (Angert 2005 PNAS, Piao 2007 Nature, Magnani 2007 Nature, Falkowski 2000 Science, Carney 2007 PNAS) ...you want more? I HAVE WAY MORE PEER REVIEWED LITERATURE MOTHERFUCKERS.
I'm actually impressed that Jacoby could only find three mistakes in the entire report, two of which seem to be issues with vague phrasing (I clicked through to the articles, which awesomely enough, are also op-ed pieces that don't cite anything). Here is a link to the flaming pile itself:

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/green/articles/2010/03/03/gore_still_hot_on_his_doomsday_rhetoric/

Love, Rose

Monday, 1 March 2010

cont.

Here is the actual bill...I personally love the part about Erik the Red.


State of South Dakota
EIGHTY-FIFTH SESSION
LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY, 2010

363R0643 HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 1009
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION, Calling for balanced teaching of global warming in the public schools of South Dakota.

WHEREAS, the earth has been cooling for the last eight years despite small increases in anthropogenic carbon dioxide; and

WHEREAS, there is no evidence of atmospheric warming in the troposphere where the majority of warming would be taking place; and

WHEREAS, historical climatological data shows without question the earth has gone through trends where the climate was much warmer than in our present age. The Climatic Optimum and Little Climatic Optimum are two examples. During the Little Climatic Optimum, Erik the Red settled Greenland where they farmed and raised dairy cattle. Today, ninety percent of Greenland is covered by massive ice sheets, in many places more than two miles thick; and

WHEREAS, the polar ice cap is subject to shifting warm water currents and the break-up of ice by high wind events. Many oceanographers believe this to be the major cause of melting polar ice, not atmospheric warming; and

WHEREAS, carbon dioxide is not a pollutant but rather a highly beneficial ingredient for all plant life on earth. Many scientists refer to carbon dioxide as "the gas of life"; and

WHEREAS, more than 31,000 American scientists collectively signed a petition to President Obama stating: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, or methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the earth's atmosphere and disruption of the earth's climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide will produce many beneficial effects on the natural plant and animal environments of the earth":

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the House of Representatives of the Eighty-fifth Legislature of the State of South Dakota, the Senate concurring therein, that the South Dakota Legislature urges that instruction in the public schools relating to global warming include the following:
(1) That global warming is a scientific theory rather than a proven fact;
(2) That there are a variety of climatological, meteorological, astrological, thermological, cosmological, and ecological dynamics that can effect world weather phenomena and that the significance and interrelativity of these factors is largely speculative; and
(3) That the debate on global warming has subsumed political and philosophical viewpoints which have complicated and prejudiced the scientific investigation of global warming phenomena; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Legislature urges that all instruction on the theory of global warming be appropriate to the age and academic development of the student and to the prevailing classroom circumstances.

Stop making me so PROUD South Dakota!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/35613683#35613683

From Huffington Post: In South Dakota, the state legislators have passed a resolution that "urges" schools to stop teaching global climate change as hard science, and instead pair it with "astrological" and "cosmological" theories--much like the way creationists insist evolution is taught alongside biblical interpretations.

Look at all this great press SD is getting! But I figure since SD schools don't actually teach anything outside of agriculture, sewing and welding/carpentry...it's not really that big of deal. What's one more thing to be a little "out-dated" on? All you need to know is how to cook and clean for your man and have babies...lots and lots of babies. And guys, learn how to build that little lady a nice house in between farming seasons. Sorry for all these SD posts...but living here is proving hilarious!