Archives: November 2004
Sun Nov 28, 2004
Prance for Peace
In today's Sentinel (page A-17) we find the winners of an essay contest sponsored by the paper and UCSC. The essays are based on "If I could _____, I would ______." The essays were judged on "clarity of purpose, voice, originality, style, and adherance to the contest guidelines." I found the winners mediocre, and tended to prefer the entries that won only honorable mention. This was my favorite: More...
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Spiritual Places in Ireland
I came across this conference, Garravogue Festival of Arts and Healing which I would never attend, even if I could afford it, but the list of places to travel to afterward was a good one. More...
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Spam Time Machine
As I've written before, English appears to be a language of people who hate each other, but none-the-less must do business. Because of its adaptibilty and richness, not to mention global corporatism, eventually just about everyone in the world will eventually speak a kind of English, but so much changed I probably couldn't follow it. Everyone once in a while I see English of the future and it feels like I've been able to go forward in time. Today I got a piece of spam that did that: More...
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Sat Nov 27, 2004
Another Santa Cruz Icon Gone
Most recently, this building on Front between Cathcart and Soquel was the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union. More...
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Someone with a Problem
Seen somewhere in Santa Cruz, here some one with a little too much school spirit. More...
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Someone Is Using My Computer
Here's why I can't write very often: More...
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Mon Nov 22, 2004
Fun with "Console Log"
Mac OS X is a unix computer, as everyone knows, so that means you get syslog messages, and you can read them with a utility called "console." I read them so I can learn new and interesting phrases, like these: More...
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Sun Nov 21, 2004
Remedy for that Certain Unpleasant Emotion
And now, from the deep shelves of the Rosewood Bar, where we carry at least two or three types of alcoholic spirits at all times, comes today's invention: The Bitter Envy. Recipe follows: More...
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Sat Nov 20, 2004
Civil Rights Not Marriage Rites
I sent a letter to the National Center for Lesbian Rights today.
Dear Kate and NCLR,
Kate, you and I had a brief email exchange a few weeks ago, and now that I
have received my latest newsletter, I hope you don't mind if I send you my
thoughts and share them with others. (I didn't see a "Letters to NCLR" section.)
"Denied at the Altar" reads the front page headline.
More...
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Fri Nov 19, 2004
Robins in Alaska
Another laugh-out-loud post from Geoff Pullum over at Longuage Log, this one about Inuit words for the small red-breasted thrush. It is simply not true that Eskimos have no word for "robin."
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Wed Nov 17, 2004
Persimmon Love
Persimmons are in season now. Regular readers may remember how delighted I was at the fruitset of my persimmon last spring. I have been too sad to write about what happened until now. What hubris. If I ever needed a lesson in the philosophy of the farmer, I needn't have another. More...
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One Snake, Two Snakes
The other day, while looking at the Two of Cups tarot card, I realized that I didn't know anything about the symbol that is between the lovers depicted on the card: The Staff and the Snake. Imagine my delight to find this page of Dr. Blayney which explains all, and even the difference between the The Staff of Asclepius (which has one snake) and the The Caduceus of Hermes, which has two.
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Fri Nov 12, 2004
Ladies Room; Ladies Rules
Women I know who work with two male-to-female transexuals tell me that these two individuals habitually leave the seat up after using the toilets in the women's restroom. I don't care who you are, what your label is, or what you do in there. When you're done, put the seat down.
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Addendum on "Abolish Marriage"
How embarrassing. The other day I wrote about abolishing marriage, if we hope to take the "moral issues" weapon away from the Right. More...
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Santa Cruz Economies
A woman I know works for a non-profit for which I serve on the board of directors. She recently moved to Santa Cruz for this job. The other day I was helping to orient her to her new office, and I found an ancient fax machine we retired months ago under the desk. I made the executive decision to put it out on the street. More...
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Disbursment
The university was closed yesterday for Veteran's Day, and we spent the day at home cozied-down while it poured down rain outside. It being "Open Enrollment Month" for University Benefits, we checked out all of our beneficiaries, and rewrote our wills. I used Nolo Press's "WillMaker" when we did this six or seven years ago, and I found the 2005 version even better, in every way, except that it is Windows only. But besides that, there is no reason not to get this application and write or update your will right way. Not only is writing a will practical, and a gift to the people you love, but it leads to such great conversations with whoever you're sharing property with.
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Sun Nov 07, 2004
Abolish Marriage; Civil Unions for All
So now that we know a political position outlawing gay marriage gives you control of our country, it is time to take this weapon away from them. I know that some of our straight allies are thinking, "Well, why are they going for marriage? Can't they just settle for civil unions?" No. You settle. More...
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Thu Nov 04, 2004
The Terror of Hot Man-on-Man Monogamy
Susie Bright has a blog now, and just in time. Her entry on the election results is the best I've read or heard. Well, except for the Daily Show on Nov 3 which included the phrase that titles this entry, and Jon Stewart's remark that though the country is moving in the wrong direction; the Iraq war is a mess; the economy isn't good-- "It really seemed like none of it trumped the idea of dudes kissin'."
This race was so close that any issue bent it one way or the other. And in Ohio, that issue was fear of family. Evangelical christains turnedout to vote for Issue 1, a man-woman marriage proposition, and George Bush.
More...
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