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Saturday, February 26, 2005

Saturday

The cats are staring me down. They want to go outside. But it's cold and rainy and I don't want to have to chase them around to drag them in once I leave to go somewhere. The other night, Malcolm came running across the street (he enjoys their bushes tremendously) with a still twitching lizard tail in his mouth. The night before, he ate part of a cricket. I guess that's pretty good protein and all, but I let this creature lick my face? Ugh. Angus isn't nearly as adventurous. He generally stays in our yard only and comes in frequently. He likes to go in and out and in and out about every 15 minutes to a half hour. Very annoying.

I had big yard work plans all weekend! Doh! I should really get a head start on my reviews for Bitch. I'm going to be writing about M.I.A. (hip hop), Masha Qrella (electropop) and Yo La Tengo (yay!) for the Summer issue. For Venus, I'm interviewing this band....I think called Sound Team or Go Team or something....and covering SXSW. So, as usual, I may have overcommitted myself a bit.

Tonite, Kim and I will head out to see Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Pong at Emo's. We need more live reviews for Girlstown!

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Movie Rec

Just saw the movie “Control Room” a few nights ago about Al Jazeera. It’s amazing to watch Rummy and Bush bash them, then see the real inner workings of the station and the people that staff it. Their reporters actually seem to be…uh…reporting and asking deeper questions about US presence in Iraq while the American media pussyfoots around and refuses to take much a stance on people dying out of fear or misguided patriotism. Lately, I’ve been focusing my political attentions on the pro-choice issue only. I guess after all the torture news, I’ve reached some sort of upper limit of how much depressing shit I can process at one time. So, I was a little worried about watching the movie. But it is essentially a human story as much as a political one – with American and Arab characters coming to grips with what’s going on around them. It’s a character driven “plot” and it does a good job at not demonizing, but presenting the facts and viewpoints and letting you be the judge. Reccommended.

Monday, February 21, 2005

All Work And No Play...

Man. Two days straight of gardening. Dave had it worse with two days straight of painting. I'm supposed to stay away from the fumes and what not. We're trying to squeeze in all our home projects now before we're knee dip in shit and baby vomit. I guess it's getting us off our lazy asses but it's hard work, dammit.It's been hard making this adjustment to "not overdoing it." I always overdo it. That's me! That's who I am! For the first time in my life today, I had to ask someone to help me load bags of gravel and mulch into my car. I did some medium lifting myself but there's always that crazy little voice in your head warning you about the myriad dangers around you. Don't drink! Don't eat sushi! Don't eat tuna! Don't eat soft cheese! Don't life anything too heavy! Don't take too hot a bath! Don't let your heart rate go above 140 beats per minute! Don't eat meat that's too rare! The list goes on and on. And you start to get scared. Will lifting this one single bag of gravel be the reason my baby has eight fingers? That it develops motor skills 6 months late? Is all this sound advice or OVER advice? I sure as shit can't tell sometimes. What's so strange about this all is that it all feels so weird and new -- as though I'm the only person it's happening to. Ridiculous -- I know. But every new ailment or discovery seems like a revelation even though I knew it would happen. So, I am beginning to understand just what makes new parents super irritating. That they retreat into their own family-baby world. I'm going to try my hardest not to alienate anyone, but I think it's something I'll need to work at.

In other news, I'm going to SXSW this year for free to cover it for Venus! Hooray! Kim sends me tons of updates on free day parties and showcases, so I figure she'll just do my research for me, right? Joe Gross wrote up Girlstown in his column lastThursday which was super nice of him. Looks like we may be changing the Launch Party...maybe...definitely the band will change as WMMF can no longer do it. Stay tuned for more details on that as Kim and I work on something that may be even GRANDER! Shhh...gotta keep it a secret for now. Suffice to say it may involve on of our favorite bands in the universe.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Why is the answer to "Can It Get Worse" always YES?

I am sick and tired of hearing news stories about Abu Ghraib that characterize what happened there as “abuse”. Even NPR does not use the term torture, which is what it truly is. In fact, in a news story today, an NPR reporter spoke of “alleged abuse”. Alleged? There are freaking pictures for God’s sake. We’ve all seen them. You have GOT to be kidding me. The idea that US soldiers tortured prisoners, then our government lied about it, then tried to blame it on a few people (clearly taking orders from their superiors because even someone like me with very little knowledge of the military knows that you take orders from the people above you and you do not mess around), then tried to change the meaning of the act entirely in unforgiveable. Don’t fucking soften soldiers slugging prisoners with baseball bats, raping them or leading them around naked while they’re wearing dog collars. Show people how disgusting and disturbing that is. Make Americans feel shame for what they have wrought upon the world. It’s at times like these that I feel outright shame at bringing another American child into the world.

For more info, “The Torture Papers: The Road to Abu Ghraib”:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/02/15/features/bookwed.html

So glad Alberto is in charge, now:
http://www.infowars.com/articles/ps/gonzalez.htm
Do you think he’ll write a song?

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

The Evil Inside!

I learned a valuable lesson on Monday. Don’t wait too long to eat. I was at Best Buy taking back my ipod (which stopped working after 4 months!) arguing with the customer service guy who was telling me I had to drive to the south store because they were out of stock unless I wanted to U2 ipod which I most certainly do not – U2 are so totally lame! Where’s the Yo La Tengo ipod, huh? Anyway, all of a sudden, I got that horrible sound of rushing in my ears and general ookiness that signifies fainting. I said, “You know what? I’m going to sit down” to mean customer service guy – and so I did. On the floor. In Best Buy. I broke into a cold sweat and soaked through my clothes. I called Dave to come get me. He took me to Whole Foods nearby and once I ate, I was fine. So, the baby is sucking away all my nutrients, eh? Ah, I see how it’s gonna be.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

Big, Surprising News!

Indeed. I'm on some sort of accelerated life plan, it seems. After feeling pretty crappy and having a host of yucky problems which I won't go into here (though Dave does on his blog, so feel free to read it!), I finally went to visit my OB-GYN. I think you see where this is going. Turns out, I'm ten weeks pregnant! Well, goddamn! My first reaction was, well, I guess I can stop thinking about redoing the kitchen. My second reaction was, my friend Gina (who, as you may or not recall had her baby, Zuri, in September) is going to die laughing. For the past two or three years, everything that happens to one of us happens to the other in within months - breakups, engagements...babies. I should have know this was coming. Besides some bloating and bigger boobiness, it's not noticeable yet. But I do fear being rotund through the hot Texas summer. Parents and relatives were delighted, as one would expect, particularly Dave's, who had more or less given up all hope for human grandchildren. Dave has decided to start a pregnancy blog, Meet The Breeders. Hopefully, he won't report anything too gross.

So, also, we got married on Friday. I'd like to stress that I've always wanted a shotgun wedding with BBQ and hillbilly hats, this was a little different. I swear to the guitar gods of Angus and Malcolm Young that we had this planned a month ago so that Dave could get some health insurance. Technically, I think this means we eloped. We have two wedding pictures taken by a near-sighted but sweet judge. I wore a dress I've had for five years. What was cool though was that my friend Sarah surprised us the night before with a beautiful bouquet, ring ("something borrowed") and gift. Even though no one was there (we decided it was everyone or no one...hence no one!), the fact that I had flowers made it seem sort of wedding-y. It was far and away one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me.

So, one week ago I was a wild n' crazy gal, living on the edge. This week, I'm married and pregnant. Sheesh!

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Happy Valentine's Day From North Korea

Mmmm...I am eating a chocolate cat my Mom sent for Valentine's Day. I think my Mom has sent me a box of presents and candy for Valentine's Day, Halloween and Easter ever since I went away to college (long, long ago). I think I would be crushed if it ever stopped! The nature of the presents has changed over the years - there's definitely less candy than before - but it's still exciting to tear open that box. I've gotten into the act myself, though I never do nearly as good of a job. I hope to someday carry on the fine tradition myself. Even though the world is a strange and terrible place, most of us are lucky to have the comfort of our moms.

Ok, so speaking of strange and terrible, I almost felt a little surge of pride for North Korea for telling the US, in not so many words, to fuck off. The argument that they need weapons of mass destruction to guard against aggressive bullies like the US is brilliantly true.

From CNN:

Thursday's statement from the North Korean Foreign Ministry said nuclear weapons are "for self-defense to cope with the Bush administration's evermore undisguised policy to isolate and stifle" its government.

The communist state said it felt "compelled to suspend" participation in the six-nation talks "for an indefinite period."

"We have wanted the six-party talks but we are compelled to suspend our participation in the talks for an indefinite period till we have recognized that there is justification for us to attend the talks and there are ample conditions and atmosphere to expect positive results from the talks," the Foreign Ministry said.

"The U.S. disclosed its attempt to topple the political system in the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] at any cost, threatening it with a nuclear stick. This compels us to take a measure to bolster its nuclear weapons arsenal in order to protect the ideology, system, freedom and democracy chosen by the people in the DPRK."

http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/asiapcf/02/10/nkorea.talks/index.html

Events Calendar For Your Blog

This is soooo cooool. Nick created some coding that will allow you to add the Girlstown events calendar to your blog (see sidebar to the right)! If you want the code, just send me a comment or email and I'll give it to ya. He does warn that it's a free service and may occasionally konk out. I am so impressed with his skillz.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

Yellow Ribbon


Yellow Ribbon
Originally uploaded by silverzephyr.

Via my friend Brenda...


Girlstown Productions is Here!!!!

Hey Y'all! The website Kim and I (and Nick) have been working on is up and running. Check it out, yo. http://www.girlstownproductions.com
Yup. We're pretty freakin' excited. Read it, dammit! (Please....)

Canada Looks Increasingly Appealing

Thanks to Kim for info on this…

Via the New York Times… http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/08/politics/08budget.html?oref=regi

Hell, I’ll just give you the “best” part of the article so you don't have to register to get the article:

“Even as his plan took a knife to many spending programs in the name of fiscal responsibility, it left room to make permanent the tax cuts of Mr. Bush's first term, at a cost of $53 billion in the next five years and $1.1 trillion through 2015. The costs are heavily concentrated after 2010 partly because some of the tax cuts, like the repeal of the estate tax, are being phased in gradually until then, holding down the revenue loss in the next five years. The new budget proposal also called for new tax cuts worth $23 billion in the next five years and $117 billion through 2015.”

…and…

“The Education Department would end 48 programs, including one that will provide $441 million in grants this year to states to promote drug-free schools and another that will spend $33 million this year on reducing alcohol abuse among students. The Environmental Protection Agency would cut by $500 million its program to help poor communities build wastewater treatment plants and other water projects.”

This effectively answers the question…what happens when rich white assholes run a country?

Brave New World

I had to go to the BBC website this morning to get some numbers on Bush’s proposed budget. There were no details (at least not on the first page, anyway) on CNN.com or Salon.com. What gives? I’ve spent the last hour trying to find a good breakdown of what’s being cut but haven’t come across anything. When I heard the story on NPR last night, I was shocked and disgusted. Maybe everyone is so outraged by changes to Social Security this just rolls off their backs?

The total budget is an impossible to get your brain around 2.57 trillion. Even I was a little shocked at the sheer boldness of raising military spending by 4.8% but decreasing funding for the Department of Agriculture, the EPA (that should make Bush’s supporters very happy indeed….I can just hear them licking their lips and shouting “More Mercury for everyone!”) and 150 domestic programs. This can’t be right…total military spending is 419.3 billion? No freaking way. Who benefits the most? Not you, my friend, but Boeing, GM and United Defense. http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/newspid=10000006&sid=abkaBsGoLbKg&refer=home

Not included in this figure our two of the largest expenses for the US: the cost of overhauling social security and Iraq/Afganistan. One good thing: foreign aid will increase by 10% (Still that’s only 3 billion…of course, not if any of that involves providing women in other countries with the option of abortion…including those countries where women are raped as a tool of war).

Here are some estimates of the US budget deficit. Try not to weep.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4243807.stm#graph

Friday, February 04, 2005

Not Octopussy...Octopus!

Allow me to recommend you head out to Emo’s tomorrow for the Octopus Project CD release party. They are a fab Austin-based band that plays multi-faceted, multi-instrumented tunes born of rock and electronic music. Good stuff, indeed. Their new album One Hundred Ten Thousand Million just came out on Peekaboo. Kim and I will most likely be at Lovejoy’s before the show – she’s my replacement plus one.

I attempted to watch that smug fuck Bush’s State of The Union address, but it was turning my stomach too much. The half smirk and consistent mispronunciation make me insane.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Teenage Girls Should Be Reading Bitch!

Via Gawker, where I get most of my hard news…
Seventeen and Teen Vogue don’t want fatties reading their mags!
http://www.gawker.com/news/seventeen-crusades-to-eliminate-all-overweight-readers-029410.php
http://www.gawker.com/news/media/trends/index.php#fighting-teenage-obesity-one-misguided-step-at-a-time-031738
How gross is THAT? I say teenage girls don’t have enough of a weight complex! I’m glad our teen media is there to make them feel shittier about themselves.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

Wow. Just…wow…

Holy shit. You know when you read stuff you just can’t freakin’ believe?
I read about the Texas Young Conservatives setting up a “Capture the Illegal Immigrant” game at the University of North Texas at Denton on The Daily Texican:
http://dailytexican.blogspot.com/2005/01/capture-illegal-immigrant-game.html
This group even posted pictures of the event on their website! http://www.yct.org/illegal.htm
Not surprisingly, many students were angered by the racist, attention-grabbing event and have complained to the administration. Here’s an article from the North Texas Daily http://www.ntdaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/02/01/41ff3414013df
You can set up booths on college campus with the sole intention of insulting students based on their ethnicity? Good to know.

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