doctoral candidate in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication
Archive for May, 2002
10 questions
09 years ago
by dawn
in just a thought
Yesterday, william_f_house answered questions from one of my favorite programs, Inside the Actor’s Studio. On that program, the host, James Lipton asks famous actors a list of questions (that come from Bernard Pivot on his show “Bouillon de Culture”) at the end of the program, just after they’ve already shared some really personal things with the audience.
I thought it would be fun to answer those questions.
What is your favorite word? Peace
What is your least favorite word? Hate
What turns you on? Laughter, warmth, love
What turns you off? Potty-humor, meanness, bigotry
What sound do you love? The sound of running water (as in waterfalls, rivers, streams)
What sound do you hate? Honking horns
What is your favorite curse word? It’s a string of words and only used when I’m really angry: goddamn fucking asshole
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Writer, philanthropist
What profession would you not like to participate in? Garbage Man, Plumber, Steel Worker
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear god say when you arrive at the pearly gates? We love non-comformist, individualistic pagans.
Wednesday May 15, 2002
3Yesterday, william_f_house answered questions from one of my favorite programs, Inside the Actor’s Studio. On that program, the host, James Lipton asks famous actors a list of questions (that come from Bernard Pivot on his show “Bouillon de Culture”) at the end of the program, just after they’ve already shared some really personal things with the audience.
I thought it would be fun to answer those questions.
What is your favorite word? Peace
What is your least favorite word? Hate
What turns you on? Laughter, warmth, love
What turns you off? Potty-humor, meanness, bigotry
What sound do you love? The sound of running water (as in waterfalls, rivers, streams)
What sound do you hate? Honking horns
What is your favorite curse word? It’s a string of words and only used when I’m really angry: goddamn fucking asshole
What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Writer, philanthropist
What profession would you not like to participate in? Garbage Man, Plumber, Steel Worker
If heaven exists, what would you like to hear god say when you arrive at the pearly gates? We love non-comformist, individualistic pagans.
oy!
09 years ago
Warren and I leave each other notes. He’s on a night shift and will come by my house (he lives a block away) and leave a note on my car. Sometimes they crack me up, sometimes they make me smile. The most important thing, though, is that they make me care about him for thinking of me.
—
This morning I was driving to work and on the side of the road, I spotted a raven. Normally, this would be no big deal. There are multitudes of ravens here and you see one every few feet, it seems like. This morning, though, not 3 feet from this raven, was a tiny grey kitten.
The raven looked hungry.
I swung my car around and stopped in the center lane (I live in a rural area and stopping in the center lane at 6:30 in the morning means I won’t see anyone). Weirdly enough, though, a woman was biking by and stopped also. We both ran over to the side of the road to get the kitten. She asked if I would take it to someone. I agreed. Heck, it was a cute kitten and I knew I’d find someone to love it.
However, I tried to catch the kitten and it hissed and ran from me. I tried to get to it quietly by calling it. It meowed louder. We tried to corral it so we could grab it. This little cat packed such a punch that it made both of us back off.
The kitten bounded into the forest where we couldn’t see it anymore.
I’m guessing it was one of the many cats that has become feral because of inconsiderate cat owners who allow their cats to run wild, procreating, and creating huge hordes of feral cats that roam our forests and town.
It makes me angry that people are so irresponsible and sad for cats who have to live that existence. And now I have the vision of this little kitten who may or may not survive and there was nothing I could do to help it.
—
Pilates are cool. You feel like you’re working out but it feels really good. —Until the next morning. I feel SO sore this morning. It’s a good sore and I’ll go back again during lunch today…but my gosh, I don’t think I’ve worked some of those muscle groups EVER.
Tuesday May 14, 2002
4My honey and I leave each other notes. He’s on a night shift and will come by my house (he lives a block away) and leave a note on my car. Sometimes they crack me up, sometimes they make me smile. The most important thing, though, is that they make me love him for thinking of me.
—
This morning I was driving to work and on the side of the road, I spotted a raven. Normally, this would be no big deal. There are multitudes of ravens here and you see one every few feet, it seems like. This morning, though, not 3 feet from this raven, was a tiny grey kitten.
The raven looked hungry.
I swung my car around and stopped in the center lane (I live in a rural area and stopping in the center lane at 6:30 in the morning means I won’t see anyone). Weirdly enough, though, a woman was biking by and stopped also. We both ran over to the side of the road to get the kitten. She asked if I would take it to someone. I agreed. Heck, it was a cute kitten and I knew I’d find someone to love it.
However, I tried to catch the kitten and it hissed and ran from me. I tried to get to it quietly by calling it. It meowed louder. We tried to corral it so we could grab it. This little cat packed such a punch that it made both of us back off.
The kitten bounded into the forest where we couldn’t see it anymore.
I’m guessing it was one of the many cats that has become feral because of inconsiderate cat owners who allow their cats to run wild, procreating, and creating huge hordes of feral cats that roam our forests and town.
It makes me angry that people are so irresponsible and sad for cats who have to live that existence. And now I have the vision of this little kitten who may or may not survive and there was nothing I could do to help it.
—
Pilates are cool. You feel like you’re working out but it feels really good. —Until the next morning. I feel SO sore this morning. :-P It’s a good sore and I’ll go back again during lunch today…but my gosh, I don’t think I’ve worked some of those muscle groups EVER.
weight
0I’ve been doing the whole Weight Watchers things since the middle of October. My sister joined with me then. It was fun. It became a bonding session for her and I. We haven’t always been close (there are 10 years between us) and I was grateful for the time with her, alone, away from the rest of the family. I loved spending that time with her, sharing something with her.
In March, she found out she is pregnant and our Weight Watchers does not allow pregnant women to even attend meetings. She didn’t want to weigh in or anything, just stay up on healthy eating and sharing with all of us. She wasn’t allowed.
I have lost 42 pounds since October. Since my sister has left, I’ve gone up and down, unable to continue on the steady weight loss track that I was on before, while she was there. I feel her departure deeply. Yes, she’s still in town but that chasm between us has grown again and I really miss her. I’ve tried to reach out but it has been difficult. A wall has gone up between us for some reason. Some people say it’s her pregnancy. Others say that maybe it’s her weight gain (not that I can tell if she’s gaining weight…she looks the same to me). I don’t know. I feel like I’ve lost her again.
So, this week, I’m going to try to get back on track for me. I’m going to a pilates class Monday through Thursday for 45 minutes (one of the dance instructors here is doing it for employees). I’m going to watch my points better. I’m going to take care of me.
I’ve made great strides in where I’m going. I just need to get there now. For me.
Monday May 13, 2002
4I’ve been doing the whole Weight Watchers things since the middle of October. My sister joined with me then. It was fun. It became a bonding session for her and I. We haven’t always been close (there are 10 years between us) and I was grateful for the time with her, alone, away from the rest of the family. I loved spending that time with her, sharing something with her.
In March, she found out she is pregnant and our Weight Watchers does not allow pregnant women to even attend meetings. She didn’t want to weigh in or anything, just stay up on healthy eating and sharing with all of us. She wasn’t allowed.
I have lost 42 pounds since October. Since my sister has left, I’ve gone up and down, unable to continue on the steady weight loss track that I was on before, while she was there. I feel her departure deeply. Yes, she’s still in town but that chasm between us has grown again and I really miss her. I’ve tried to reach out but it has been difficult. A wall has gone up between us for some reason. Some people say it’s her pregnancy. Others say that maybe it’s her weight gain (not that I can tell if she’s gaining weight…she looks the same to me). I don’t know. I feel like I’ve lost her again.
So, this week, I’m going to try to get back on track for me. I’m going to a pilates class Monday through Thursday for 45 minutes (one of the dance instructors here is doing it for employees). I’m going to watch my points better. I’m going to take care of me.
I’ve made great strides in where I’m going. I just need to get there now. For me.
ramblings
09 years ago
There are a million and one things in my head today that I feel I could write about. There’s so much stuff going on that is going to affect each of us in a myriad of ways.
—
Ok, I’m PISSED off about the whole Yucca Mountain situation. The western U.S. is NOT a dumping ground for the rest of the country just because we have space. If you manufacture nuclear waste YOU find a place in YOUR OWN state to dispose of it. DON’T transport it clear across the country where horrible things can happen and expect all of us to be happy about it.
It ain’t gonna happen.
—
The Palestinians who were holed up in the Church of the Nativity have been shipped off to various places. It’s no coincidence that 26 of them are being sent to Gaza and the Israeli army is beefing up its military in Gaza. Do we really think that there will be a trial?
—
Alabama executes its first woman in 45 years.
Enough said.
—
Nearly $400 BILLION dollars has been allotted, by our Congress, to a “Wartime” defense.
Please.
They approved money for a program that Pentagon officials don’t even want.
Yep…you heard that right. The Crusader howitzer program is very controversial and Pentagon muckity-mucks want it killed…not funded.
Have we elected idiots??? Do I want my money going towards a program that 1) I would never support and 2) the Pentagon doesn’t even support???
No.
—
And for something interesting, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory wants to award people for finding comets online.
You, too, can try it. The Soho-500 Comet Contest could make you rich and famous. Or, well, maybe just popular with your friends.
—
Happy Mother’s Day to all of those wonderful mothers out there. I hope you have the best weekend…and enjoy your kids. They probably don’t realize how lucky they are to have you.
Friday May 10, 2002
2There are a million and one things in my head today that I feel I could write about. There’s so much stuff going on that is going to affect each of us in a myriad of ways.
—
Ok, I’m PISSED off about the whole Yucca Mountain situation. The western U.S. is NOT a dumping ground for the rest of the country just because we have space. If you manufacture nuclear waste YOU find a place in YOUR OWN state to dispose of it. DON’T transport it clear across the country where horrible things can happen and expect all of us to be happy about it.
It ain’t gonna happen.
—
The Palestinians who were holed up in the Church of the Nativity have been shipped off to various places. It’s no coincidence that 26 of them are being sent to Gaza and the Israeli army is beefing up its military in Gaza. Do we really think that there will be a trial?
—
Alabama executes its first woman in 45 years.
Enough said.
—
Nearly $400 BILLION dollars has been allotted, by our Congress, to a “Wartime” defense.
Please.
They approved money for a program that Pentagon officials don’t even want.
Yep…you heard that right. The Crusader howitzer program is very controversial and Pentagon muckity-mucks want it killed…not funded.
Have we elected idiots??? Do I want my money going towards a program that 1) I would never support and 2) the Pentagon doesn’t even support???
No.
—
And for something interesting, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory wants to award people for finding comets online.
You, too, can try it. The Soho-500 Comet Contest could make you rich and famous. Or, well, maybe just popular with your friends. ;-)
—
Happy Mother’s Day to all of those wonderful mothers out there. I hope you have the best weekend…and enjoy your kids. They probably don’t realize how lucky they are to have you.
water
09 years ago
In the western United States, water is power. Water is politics. Water is life. We are constantly worried about our levels of water, where our water is going, who is using more than we are and why they are allotted more water. Along the Colorado River, there are so many agreements and treaties that the disputes over water rights are often in court.
Much of the American West is desert. We have high mountains, snow covered peaks, oceans, lakes, and ponds. But we are still in the midst of deserts. Desert doesn’t mean that you’re filled with cactus or sparse land that grows little of what most people would call lush vegetation. Desert means that you get very little rainfall in a year. It means that you must find your water by alternative methods.
I remember a few years ago when it started pouring rain in Los Angeles. Los Angeles, and the surrounding communities (something like 35 million people) had been under severe drought warnings and water restrictions for 3-5 years. All of a sudden, it starts raining. The people there, silly people that they are, decided that because it was raining, the drought was over. They could use water as they wished once again. What scientists and meteorologists scrambled to publicize is that although they got rain (for all of 2 weeks out of the year), the drought was not over. The water supplies had not been replenished and there was still a problem. Angelinos did not listen.
The Gulf of California (Baja), where it meets the Colorado, has nearly dried up. It is a wasteland of what it used to be. Life used to be in abundance as the great Colorado River emptied into the Gulf. There are now wide expanses of beachfront property without water because the water is recessing further and further into the Gulf. The Colorado is barely a trickle on good days now.
We have farmers fighting casinos, cities fighting cities, states fighting states over water rights. We push water by canal over great distances to be able to water pristine lawns where none should exist. We regulate water, deciding who is more worthy, who gets more because of the money and power they can produce.
My town, which sits at 7000 feet, on top of the mountains, is in the desert. We are surrounded by beautiful, lush ponderosa pine forests. We have lakes. We get snow. Our aquifer is so deep that we have to drill between 1200-1500 feet to hit water in most areas.
My town, which is beautiful by most accounts, is on water restrictions beginning on Friday. This town, which up until 10 years ago was small by any account and has outgrown itself with the sudden influx of new residents from neighboring states, has not taught its inhabitants to conserve water in a meaningful way. We cannot keep washing our cars in the streets, watering whenever we want, growing lawns that probably shouldn’t be there, letting faucets drip without fixing them.
This is an emerency. We must understand that water is precious. It is always precious…not just when the snow hasn’t come, the rains haven’t fallen, and the water levels in our resevoirs are at all-time lows. It is always precious.
We are in a state of emergency. We need to take action now.