Cosmic karmic imbalances...
OK, something is very much not right with the world. I've already been hideously lax in keeping up with entries (due partly to not having anything of importance or grand wit to say, primarily to distractions of the feminine varie-tay), when what should happen, but the LKN resort co-proprietor, after teasing us with one good entry, comes back with a vengeance, Rusty starts a non-business related one with a cleverer name than mine, and D is waxing introspective and D is becoming more informative than TLC or the Discovery channel...bastards! I've been one-upped, not once, not twice, but thrice!
There must be some kind of writing bug going around, and I'm the only one who hasn't seem to have caught it...figures. And damned if they haven't been funnier than me lately too! Bastards! (The strap-on bit especially had me in tears, props for that one.) Need to pump things up a notch or risk losing readership (even one person makes a difference when you're only in the single-digits)...might be time to bring in guest writers or naked girls or something...wonder what's in the budget for cheap marketing stunts? Hrm, can Neil Patrick Harris write? He's probably not real busy these days...I'm sure he actually wrote all those Doogie Howser journal entries...
Picked up the place a little today in preparation for company, found my motorcycle helmet and license plate, so now if it would only warm up a bit, could finally go riding (all Rusty's talk of rides has got me jonesing to get out). Also found some of the DVDs I was looking for, the flashlight bulbs I've been needing, the rest of my stash of Cubans, the books I've been meaning to send to Amy, binder clips, and a couple forgotten boxes of ammunition. (Asian Jen seemed disturbed that I was a gun owner, (even though I was very explicit on adding that I'm decidedly NOT a gun nut)but forgot to ask her more about that...) All in all, it was a pretty productive day. (By my standards, anyway...it still isn't as though I've accomplished anything of lasting value.)
Speaking of Jen, did finally get to spend some quality time with her tonight, and it was every bit as dreamy as I'd hoped! (Yeesh, how lame did that sound?) We were able to have a few drinks, watch [half of] Office Space (I still can't believe she hadn't seen it...well, technically still hasn't), and get to know one another a bit more. It's uncanny how alike we are, in terms of mannerisms, thought processes, outlook, etc. But that's not to say that we're not without our differences: I'll definitely say that despite being born here as well, she's way more "Asian" than I am, but I suppose that's to be expected...she has grown up in the Asian-rich environs of the...the...what's California's state motto? The eureka state? The sunshine state? No, that's FL. The can't-have-guns-or-smoke-indoors state? Hrm, Almighty Google says that the motto is actually just "Eureka!", (hrme, one word does not a motto make) and the state nickname (never heard it called that before) is the Golden State...that sounds kinda right, yet not...where the hell have I been? Anyway, things are going swimmingly, although she's got stuff going on all week, then is going snowboarding Friday/Saturday (I'm so jealous, I haven't been in over a year), so the irony is that now that I seem to be "in", I can't see her 'til Sunday, when I hope to introduce her to the gang. More of that cosmic imbalance thing going on there...Although there's talk of her possibly moving out here, (and thus doubling the Asian population of Charlotte) so that could be a plus, we'll have to see how things pan out.
Missed by mere seconds(!) a late-night IM from a friend whom I've not spoken to in a little while, but miss dearly (and even thought I was on the verge of losing touch with.) Will have to try and coordinate time to catch up with her...what a difference a few seconds make! Alas. For that matter, I really need to stop leaving writing this til the absolute last minute/end of the day...trying to put one of these entries together at 5-6am is definitely detrimental to my already-terrible sleep schedule.
Laura texted me yesterday asking for book recommendations, "in the category of general dodginess, ie sex, drugs, scams..." along the lines of The Diceman (which she had me read last year and be both really liked.) Why she'd ask me, of all people, I'll never know, ;) for I know not of such things! However, that being said, I wote back to have her find Skipping Towards Gomorrah by Dan Savage. (Now available in paperback, for as low as $0.50 used!) I would especially have some of my friends read the section on lust, as they might find it interesting (you know who you are). Dan Savage is one of my favorite authors, he writes a syndicated sex advice column called Savage Love for alternative papers nationwide. There's Also a collection of columns in book form. This guy is funny, hip, intelligent, clever, posessed of a caustic wit, and oh yeah, gay. I swear, between him and David Sedaris, they're the two funniest guys writing today. Why are the gay ones always the most astute and scathingly observant writers? Laura, if you're reading, a good one for scams is The Art of the Steal, by Frank Abagnale. This guy is my hero, the one who wrote Catch Me if You Can, and was played by Leo Dicaprio. This guy was a genius if there ever was one, watching that movie was inspirational for me...he gives me hope that there's a scam out there for all of us...but more on that another day...
I've been meaning for days to look up the origins of the [mis]quote "The best laid plans of mice and men oft gang agley", (see sidebar, below) and in the process, discovered this great etymology forum and archive. There are a ton of interesting articles about the origins of certain aspects of modern colloquialisms, makes for exceptionally engaging and enlightening reads, should you happen to be a tremendous word geek like I am.
Sidebar: For some unknown reason, I always thought this was a Shakespeare quote, no clue why...Turns out it's a Robert Burns (scottish bard and poet, 1759-1796...he wrote Auld Lang Syne) poem, penned in 1785:
To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough
Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!
Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell-
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.
That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men
Gang aft agley,
An'lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!
Now, I've never been terribly appreciative of the poetic art form, and maybe it's just that I don't fully understand the basic meaning, let alone metaphorical implications of the Scottish-English of that poem, or perhaps it's just a hormonal imbalance, but the poignancy really resounded with me when I read it. Bizarre, non?
Excuse me, I need to go work on my needlepoint and read Cosmo now.
There must be some kind of writing bug going around, and I'm the only one who hasn't seem to have caught it...figures. And damned if they haven't been funnier than me lately too! Bastards! (The strap-on bit especially had me in tears, props for that one.) Need to pump things up a notch or risk losing readership (even one person makes a difference when you're only in the single-digits)...might be time to bring in guest writers or naked girls or something...wonder what's in the budget for cheap marketing stunts? Hrm, can Neil Patrick Harris write? He's probably not real busy these days...I'm sure he actually wrote all those Doogie Howser journal entries...
Picked up the place a little today in preparation for company, found my motorcycle helmet and license plate, so now if it would only warm up a bit, could finally go riding (all Rusty's talk of rides has got me jonesing to get out). Also found some of the DVDs I was looking for, the flashlight bulbs I've been needing, the rest of my stash of Cubans, the books I've been meaning to send to Amy, binder clips, and a couple forgotten boxes of ammunition. (Asian Jen seemed disturbed that I was a gun owner, (even though I was very explicit on adding that I'm decidedly NOT a gun nut)but forgot to ask her more about that...) All in all, it was a pretty productive day. (By my standards, anyway...it still isn't as though I've accomplished anything of lasting value.)
Speaking of Jen, did finally get to spend some quality time with her tonight, and it was every bit as dreamy as I'd hoped! (Yeesh, how lame did that sound?) We were able to have a few drinks, watch [half of] Office Space (I still can't believe she hadn't seen it...well, technically still hasn't), and get to know one another a bit more. It's uncanny how alike we are, in terms of mannerisms, thought processes, outlook, etc. But that's not to say that we're not without our differences: I'll definitely say that despite being born here as well, she's way more "Asian" than I am, but I suppose that's to be expected...she has grown up in the Asian-rich environs of the...the...what's California's state motto? The eureka state? The sunshine state? No, that's FL. The can't-have-guns-or-smoke-indoors state? Hrm, Almighty Google says that the motto is actually just "Eureka!", (hrme, one word does not a motto make) and the state nickname (never heard it called that before) is the Golden State...that sounds kinda right, yet not...where the hell have I been? Anyway, things are going swimmingly, although she's got stuff going on all week, then is going snowboarding Friday/Saturday (I'm so jealous, I haven't been in over a year), so the irony is that now that I seem to be "in", I can't see her 'til Sunday, when I hope to introduce her to the gang. More of that cosmic imbalance thing going on there...Although there's talk of her possibly moving out here, (and thus doubling the Asian population of Charlotte) so that could be a plus, we'll have to see how things pan out.
Missed by mere seconds(!) a late-night IM from a friend whom I've not spoken to in a little while, but miss dearly (and even thought I was on the verge of losing touch with.) Will have to try and coordinate time to catch up with her...what a difference a few seconds make! Alas. For that matter, I really need to stop leaving writing this til the absolute last minute/end of the day...trying to put one of these entries together at 5-6am is definitely detrimental to my already-terrible sleep schedule.
Laura texted me yesterday asking for book recommendations, "in the category of general dodginess, ie sex, drugs, scams..." along the lines of The Diceman (which she had me read last year and be both really liked.) Why she'd ask me, of all people, I'll never know, ;) for I know not of such things! However, that being said, I wote back to have her find Skipping Towards Gomorrah by Dan Savage. (Now available in paperback, for as low as $0.50 used!) I would especially have some of my friends read the section on lust, as they might find it interesting (you know who you are). Dan Savage is one of my favorite authors, he writes a syndicated sex advice column called Savage Love for alternative papers nationwide. There's Also a collection of columns in book form. This guy is funny, hip, intelligent, clever, posessed of a caustic wit, and oh yeah, gay. I swear, between him and David Sedaris, they're the two funniest guys writing today. Why are the gay ones always the most astute and scathingly observant writers? Laura, if you're reading, a good one for scams is The Art of the Steal, by Frank Abagnale. This guy is my hero, the one who wrote Catch Me if You Can, and was played by Leo Dicaprio. This guy was a genius if there ever was one, watching that movie was inspirational for me...he gives me hope that there's a scam out there for all of us...but more on that another day...
I've been meaning for days to look up the origins of the [mis]quote "The best laid plans of mice and men oft gang agley", (see sidebar, below) and in the process, discovered this great etymology forum and archive. There are a ton of interesting articles about the origins of certain aspects of modern colloquialisms, makes for exceptionally engaging and enlightening reads, should you happen to be a tremendous word geek like I am.
Sidebar: For some unknown reason, I always thought this was a Shakespeare quote, no clue why...Turns out it's a Robert Burns (scottish bard and poet, 1759-1796...he wrote Auld Lang Syne) poem, penned in 1785:
To A Mouse, On Turning Her Up In Her Nest With The Plough
Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie,
O, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty,
Wi' bickering brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee,
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry man's dominion,
Has broken nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor, earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whiles, but thou may thieve;
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss't!
Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
It's silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin,
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell-
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.
That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble,
Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble,
An' cranreuch cauld!
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o' mice an 'men
Gang aft agley,
An'lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,
For promis'd joy!
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e'e.
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!
Now, I've never been terribly appreciative of the poetic art form, and maybe it's just that I don't fully understand the basic meaning, let alone metaphorical implications of the Scottish-English of that poem, or perhaps it's just a hormonal imbalance, but the poignancy really resounded with me when I read it. Bizarre, non?
Excuse me, I need to go work on my needlepoint and read Cosmo now.
posted by Gene at 6:16 AM
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