Showing posts with label link-o-rama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label link-o-rama. Show all posts

Monday, August 28, 2006

Peeking out

Gawd, just ignore this ramble.

I've been in a blog and commenting rut. The blog rut should be no big deal for me personally. I don't consider myself a writer of any sort; I just have a place where I can randomly dump things when I need to get them off my chest. It's not like there's been a shortage of things I'd want to dump about. The rut is bigger than that. Big enough so that I'm not even commenting hardly at all, which is a bigger deal for me personally.

Change makes you more susceptible to things. The changes that have taken place in life recently have not been huge. The start of the school year. Realizing summer projects need to be wrapped up or scrapped. Family visiting and speaking of doing preliminary retirement locale scouting. Spouse taking a few college classes. Realizing that while we'd love to move to city B and it's much lower cost of housing and better public transport etc, employer B in that city just doesn't have spouse's kind of job, even if they are pretty much the "main office" for his specialized area (which, we all know, easily becomes a rut that keeps you working for employer A at location A since oh, the early 80s).

And all this overlaps, as I look at those high school course offerings while talking to son about how his middle school HS credit courses in Latin and Algebra/Geometry will open up more opportunities for him, and see how my area of so-called expertise is now a joke. Not only could I now take in HS now what I went to get a college degree for in the 80s, but I could take other affiliated classes in HS that are so necessary now but didn't even exist then (ah, technology. I had no clue, rode the cool wave, and blew it by not moving up to dreaded supervisor or something.) It overlaps as I think about those house projects, no longer so much for getting things in shape for a possible sale, now some feel like wasted time and money if we're just going to stay here and watch, say, the new carpet get as crappy as the old.

It's a general sense of loss of direction, or main purpose, and I think great you guys, take classes, sign up for parks and rec stuff, and extracurricular school stuff, really it's great and I want you to do that, and I have yet to fathom how there'd be enough room for me to do something too. Like there's little flexibility left, and if we don't move I need to go back to work and I cannot just take any job with any hours because of all the scheduling already in place, and my degree is so flipping worthless now unless I use it to get a second one and well, what would that be? Well, I'd want to figure that out by targeted volunteering first, because while I would eat up those cultural anth and sociology courses, can my low stress threshold handle full time employment in that area? And so I end up just wanting to move again, for that smaller mortgage and getting away from dumb homeowners associations and because I really worked up a hate for this house, but there's nothing cheaper enough in a 60 mile radius of job A to benefit from such a thing.

Then I get hit with the outside stuff. It's always there, of course, it just hits harder when you're more susceptible like this. Things like the story of Natasha Kampusch's escape from 8 years of captivity, or the Kenton, Ohio football players who got preferential treatment in sentencing after seriously injuring two people in a prank and boy would I have lots to say about that if I could put the words together, or following the Jill Carroll story as it's been published over the past few weeks, or receiving the next DVD, The Corporation, from my Netflix queue and getting all worked up watching it, or arriving at the first anniversary of Katrina hitting the gulf coast.

So I sit here and and am just trying to figure out what to latch onto to pull me out of it in a positive way, while at the same time knowing I have to be a bit avoidant about the whole thing from a stress management standpoint, as I cannot and will not take psych meds again and really fuck things up for another 5 years.

And, well, doesn't all that make me feel great and not worthless at all! Heh, I'm a bit on overload and even I think it's pathetic.

Told you not to read.

Edited to add:

Dear Googlers searching for pictures of Natasha Kampusch,

Please do share why you think you are entitled to see what this young woman looks like. She is human being. You only know who she is because she had a lot of bad shit happen to her and she dared to survive it. She deserves the time and space to gain her life back, the life owed to her, without millions of strangers getting in the way of that.

Monday, August 14, 2006

What I've been reading

...because I sure haven't been posting!

  • The Lilith Fund blog blog offers very short bios of women who apply for abortion funds. Added to the blogroll. You can never hear too many truths like this.
  • Pharyngula points to Sara Robinson's amazing look into the authoritarian psyche in Cracks in the Wall, Part I at Ornicus. Cracks in the Wall, Part II takes a look at the followers, drawing from the experiences of ex-fundamentalists. There will be more, so keep an eye out. It's fascinating stuff.
  • Molly takes "fat shamers" to task. Three cheers!
  • At Psych Watch, a NYT article reports that a panel of medical advisors suggests bringing back the practice of using inmates in drug trials. I actually didn't read past the first paragraph. Instead, I suddenly wanted to know more about the history of state mental hospitals in Illinois and spent most of my time at The Manteno Project. Long story short, spouse's paternal grandmother spent most of her life in that state's system, from some time in the mid to late '30s until her death in 1999. Spouse never even knew she had been alive at all during his entire life. Spouse is not yet sure if he wants to know more, so I won't try to pursue beyond a personal general interest. Seems like it wouldn't really provide answers, anyway, seeing as how they seemed to treat records as worthless back in the day.
  • PZ Myers spots the Flying Spaghetti Monster in a cloud. Ramen!
  • Aspazia travels to Grove, Oklahoma to interview residents about Dr. Henrie, a physician who performed thousands of abortions pre-Roe.
  • Gordo's back to keep me informed on what's happening in the world.
Oh, and nyah nyah, I'm going to see Jon Stewart next month! Also, my parents will be visiting in a few days, but you won't notice the difference because lately I don't post much when I'm here!

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Depression stuff

Two articles today:

Gene for Depression Discovered suggests it has squat to do with serotonin, which isn't really news for anyone who's taken several rides on an antidepressant-go-round.

Abortion drug could rapidly treat depression. Yeah, that's what the title says, all right. RU486 could be effective within hours instead of weeks. Apparently its already used for severe psychotic depression, which just shows that when you're not taking up to 6 different psych meds while still feeling like crap, maybe you don't read up on this stuff as much as you used to.

Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Reading

Hat tip Gordo:

What Happens When There Is No Plan B? A few snippets:
Although I had heard of pharmacists refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control on religious grounds, I was dumbfounded to find that doctors could do the same thing.

I called Planned Parenthood two days in advance to confirm the appointment. The receptionist politely informed me that the organization never confirms appointments, for "security reasons," and that I would have to just show up

All the while, I was thinking that if religion hadn't been allowed to seep into American politics the way it has, I wouldn't even be there. This all could have been stopped way before this baby was conceived if they had just let me have that damn pill.

Hat tip
Gordo, again (I should just give him the hat):


Oregon's Forgotten Hospital

No quote can do justice to this 15 part Pulitzer Prize winning ediorial series. Grab a beverage, pull up a chair, and read. Don't miss the photos. They are haunting, poignant, and beautifully done.

No hat to tip. I gave it to Gordo:

Police were told woman was bipolar but did not seek help for her

Just a sad story I came across last week.
[edit: the above link seems to have expired, but I'll leave it up for now in case it's the web site and not something else. Alternate link below.]

Why didn't cops get woman mental help?

A link to coverage of the same story that works (for now, at least) from the Sun-Times.

Monday, May 08, 2006

Late Monday Randomness: Exploding Edition

PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE:
Spotted Elephant sighs, Oh, It's Hard To Be a Man when one laments out just how hard it is:

Here's a situation - A man and woman, both intoxicated, go home together and end up having some sort of sexual intercourse. ...

Men and women should enjoy the same notion of responsibility as well as privilege when it comes to sex.
Here's the situation: You can talk to me about my responsibility when I have the same privilege as you. Until then, stop whining and start acting, you know, responsible.

PEOPLE WHO WANT TO MAKE YOUR HEAD EXPLODE, BUT YOU JUST ROLL YOUR EYES:
Gordo finds Malkin Outraged Again because the Texas Rangers had a fundrasier in celelebration of Cinco de Mayo, and snarks:
Other Texas Rangers promotions not mentioned on ESPN include Hot Dog Night (May 3), $1 Ice Cream Night (May 7), and Baseball Card Night (May 25). It’s a conspiracy, I tell ya!
Because that's just some great snark.

PEOPLE WHO MAKE YOU WONDER IF ALL OF HUMANITY DIED IN AN EXPLOSION:
zuzu says This Has To Be One of The Saddest Things I’ve Read Lately
“When Jared first started talking about joining the Army, I thought, ‘Well, that isn’t going to happen,’ ” said Paul Guinther, Jared’s father. “I told my wife not to worry about it. They’re not going to take anybody in the service who’s autistic.”
Yes, a recruiter cornered and signed up a teenager with autism. Something for my nephew to look forward to.

PEOPLE WHO MAKE GREAT GRAPHICS MAKES MY HEAD EXPLODE:
Jill's Contra-Contraception covers a NYT article with a kickass graphic.

PEOPLE WHO MAKE MY HEART EXPLODE:
The people I spoke to last night for 2:38:59. I hereby challenge the one I spoke with for 98% of that call, along with my mother and my friend Linda, to a talk-off. Even odds. It will be brutal!
P.S. Best phone call ever.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

Pro-Life Nation

The New York Times Magazine's cover story Pro-Life Nation is now online.

Why 8 year-olds need to be speechwriters

Via Stay Free!, Helena Keefe shares submissions from elementary school students:

"Can you imagine a speech given by president Bush that would convince you that he has had a change of heart and could actually be the president of your dreams? It is all too easy to criticize our president and his administration. Life changing events (often of the extremely painful variety) force us to reevaluate our values and actions. What if something like this happened to our president. What if he were humbled in some way which caused a profound change in his outlook on life and his role as the leader of our country - turning the aggressive posturing of an all-attack-all-the-time leader into a gentler, wiser soul determined to demonstrate the power of honesty and vulnerability."
The speeches were then recorded by a Bush impersonator. Listen and enjoy. (For your own safety, put the coffee down first.)

Wednesday, March 29, 2006

Subversive Diversions for the SUV hater in all of us














Via the Plaid Adder, DUers cause pants to be peed in when they create Chevy Tahoe ads that put the truth back into advertising.

The original has been deleted from the Chevy site, but there are screen captures, and a flash capture, and all manner of other entries that got through because they apparently did not break the rules by using the word "assholes".

Create your own truth here and according to the rules, as long as you don't use foul language, you could win a trip! Whee!

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

Rad beaver inside


Good afternoon, beavers!

I just could not pass up this opportunity to contribute that tiny little niblet to google, in the name of attracting wayward porn-stalkers to beaverville and provide fodder for Fun With Sitemeter Friday, or as I'd like to link it, biting child rape porn fetish freak Friday. So there.

Count me as one of those who fits the following description mentioned in Tuesday's biting post:

"The answer is simple; these women on this site are practicing standing up to men. Many of these women have never had the opportunity to continue speaking after they’ve been told by a man to shut up. Many of them are, for the first time ever, trying to find the nerve to tell a man that he's wrong. ...Many of the women on this blog have been effectively silenced for much of their lives."


Namely, it's a bit embarrassing to even have a link. Can I handle the deluge of a half-dozen more hits? Am I even ready for not prime-time on some obscure cable channel? My mind reels.

That is because the voice here is of my inner rad trying to put thoughts into coherent language, drawing inspiration from others, while still struggling to break out of that cast society expects her to retreat to all nice and polite-like. I know that place well. As I get older, I get more tired of being in it. The new voice is still learning, though. There's a lot of frustration built up that hasn't been adequately expressed with others. I find it hard to control the diluge once I try to let a little out. The force is strong. It usually comes out something like "The issue of !goddamn*@^#$mot%#er*&^@$%ucking(*@^$assha#@$!", which doesn't adequately express my position.

Really, it's not like that in my head. I am forging new brain connections as I exercise the transfer from what the brain thinks to what the fingers type and mouth says. That's what this place is for. Working on coherence skills. To hold it to any higher standard would be foolish. Check out the links on the right for the high-standard stuff, and be knocked off your feet.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

WTF of the Day - early edition

Go on over to Shakespeare's Sister to see, because I just cleaned the place and don't want you hurling all over my carpet.