Regeneration

I went to Meeting this Sunday with Mom, and it was a strange Meeting. One of the Friends had died on Friday, and the Meeting was just finding out about it that day, for the most part. I overheard the news, without knowing the man personally, before Meeting began, and as a result, I spent much of the time looking around the room, looking at all the old people in the room.

Our Meeting is a small one. Though the numbers are probably larger on paper, it's usually a gathering of 15 to 20 people on Sundays, barring Meetings for business and major religious holidays. I was one of three people under forty in the room, and the other two were from Philadelphia, PA and somewhere in Florida. Even when I was little and mostly just read Nancy Drew books in the windowseat, I still remember a predominance of older folks at Meeting. Meeting is held in a big yellow house on a street of other big houses, and there is a potluck after every Meeting. They have begun having events like movies at the Meetinghouse, inviting the public in to see what things are all about and to raise awareness for issues we hold dear...peace, charity, equality. It's neat, I think, that in an evermore bureaucratized, controlled society, Quakers have carved out and defended a niche for themselves, where things can be taken back to the basics...caring for your fellow man and working to better the world.

With Friend Lewis' passing, I feel all the more inspired to attend Meeting more regularly, and get more involved. It's such a lovely religion, and one that should have someone to carry the torch. On Sunday, it seemed like it would be so easy for the Worcester Meeting to slip away, to just fade into nothing. Looking at all these dignified, strong, activist elder Friends, who have lived so long under the Quaker doctrine, I felt fully what a loss it would be to allow the Meeting to disappear.

Miscellany

This morning, I popped open the laptop and couldn't get to the Internet. OH HEAVENS TO BETSY! So I went to Meeting, went to Starbucks with the Momster, went to the Craft Center with the Momster, and then went to the Sharks game with the Speedster. Where they won. By playing well, not because the other team sucked. I was startled also. So then we came home, and WOE IS ME still no Intarwebz. We also got DirectTV the other day and it sucks the bag, so it's not a great time in the Land of Technology at Josie and Speed's House. Speed, because he is awesome, got on the horn with the Verizon lady and figured out what was going on.

Time out for a tangent.

I use my laptop while sitting on the couch. The cat has discovered that the laptop is warm, and thus usually comes over and parks himself next to the computer, then spends the next block of time oozing himself onto the keyboard, doing things like restarting my game, typing things like"qqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqqeeeewww" into the web browser, and hitting F1 for Help on every program in the world in the process. End tangent.

So, Speed and the Verizon Lady figured out that the cat, in his demented little variety of genius, managed to DISABLE MY WIRELESS RECEIVER, which requires holding down the "function" button while pressing the F2 key, which doubles as the "Wireless on/off" button.

I fucking DARE you to tell me he doesn't do this shit on purpose.

So that happened, and that was great. This weekend's hockey was exciting, with decent play and a shootout-defusing overtime goal, a trip to Manchester yesterday in which we lost but there was an awesome freaking fight, and then tonight we won in a great game and for added warm fuzzies, Riley Armstrong shaved his head to donate to Locks of Love, along with a BUNCH of fans, which I thought was really cool (not all of them had to shave their heads to donate, but that doesn't make it any less awesome). I recently cut my hair for the sake of having a cute short hairdo before I start growing it out for wedding styling purposes (realistically, I can probably get another short cut in, but we'll see...motivation is key), but those folks inspired me to a.) get in a donation pre-wedding if I can and b.) definitely lop it off post-wedding and donate. I mean, it's a renewable resource, why not?

The great fight this weekend was between a new kid and Manchester's big bruiser, Westgarth. There have been several new kids in town, notably Jones, Wishart, Zalewski, MacDonald, McGinn and McLaren (I didn't realize how many were Micks and Macks until right now). They all show promise, as far as I'm concerned, but boy, I really liked McLaren's contribution. The game wasn't going well on Saturday, but as Speed noted, when the Sharks got down to 3-0, McLaren properly identified it as a good time to try something new to shake things up and get people fired up, so he picked Westgarth and dropped the gloves. I checked the numbers on both combatants and my first thought was "oh shit, this poor kid's going to find out what it's like to have his face backwards," since Westgarth is a pretty serious badass. Physically it wasn't hugely drastic...they're both big boys, but McLaren's definitely got a touch of lankiness. But he got a good grip on Westgarth's shirt, and just started whaling on him...he even got a couple of Brennan Evans style punch-with-the-jersey-holding-fist shots in. At one point, he lost an elbow guard, too, and I thought for SURE that Westgarth was going to recover and whomp him while he was divesting himself of that, but he didn't, and finally, Westgarth realized he wasn't going to win this one and went for McLaren's knees to take him down.

Needless to say, all the Manchester fans took this as a won fight...whatever lets you sleep at night, you whiny bitches.

Finally, yeah I totally LOLCatted myself but frankly I find it hilarious and if you don't then tough shit.

Sometimes Worcester Is Awesome By Accident

On the right hand side of Main Street...the giant, lovely, shiny new Courthouse.

On the left hand side of Main Street...the Irish Times, this week featuring "No Alibi" on Friday, followed by "Probable Cause" on Saturday.

Higher Education

On Monday, my ConLaw class ended with a little pep talk from the professor intended to violently shove some more of the populace into participating. Here's how class usually goes.

The prof comes in and either gives another inexplicably crippling quiz or starts the lecture. He is a smart guy, and is for real not fucking around with the English language which I enjoy to no end. There are a couple major contributors...kid with the Kucinich shirt, kid with the cool military-ish hat, kid behind me, and the kid with the accent. Occasionally, the back row will work to make up questions in order to stave off a quiz. I sit and apparently radiate intelligence (more on that later), and the rest of the class passes the time by thinking about birds or looking confused. A good portion of the class, you see, doesn't pipe up very often, including me, and I've been feeling guilty about this, since I genuinely like the class and the way the prof is teaching it.

The problem is, I don't have questions about the nuts and bolts - this isn't my first time at the Constitutional Rodeo. I want to know more about how the Constitution has manifested itself over time, and how the legal system has sprung forth and burrowed its way into societal norms and behavior. Still, not speaking up is not speaking up, so I emailed the prof to explain what I had cranking in my head and asked what he thought. He sent a really nice and (I think) complimentary email back, saying a couple things. Here's some paraphrase action.

1. Good thinking, good self-editing.
2. Having just 50 minutes per class is rough.
3. Since it's only 50 minutes, there's not as much time to explore the philosophical stuff.
4. THAT time is further limited when other people aren't getting the basics. And they aren't.
5. Ask questions, but maybe don't go as far afield as your brain is going.

Well, okay.

This is a 300 level class. To be sure, there are some tricky concepts involved...law isn't always abundantly clear, and since it's Constitutional Law, a lot of what we're dealing with is written in thicker language than we use today. On top of that, there are a lot of opinions to read, which I personally hate and am sure other people hate as well. That being said, the prof does a good job explaining the material, is more than willing to meet with you to go over anything you don't get, and freaking loves questions. I don't see any reason for a college student - you know, a student of higher education? - should remain ignorant of concepts with this many options for straightening their shit out.

And because of that, I can't help but be a little bitter. Three times a week, I get to sit in a class with a brilliant professor and some seriously intelligent students. The opportunity there is huge to really get a ton of stuff out of the texts and each other, but instead, we get to stick with basic concepts because some people can't be fucked to get their act together and learn the material.

Blah blah blah learning disabilities, blah blah blah some people aren't as smart, blah blah blah WHO CARES. If you can't keep up, why should I have to be in the same class as you? And if you didn't know how hard it would be, why didn't you a.) drop when you figured it out or b.) bust ass to get up to and keep at speed? I know a lot of these kids are younger and haven't had the educational rollercoaster I have, but I really don't think it's asking too much to want them to keep up enough so we can explore more than hearing about Marbury v. Fucking Madison for the nine hundredth time. If you're a political science major - which in this class you probably are, since it's a 300 - quite honestly you should know this shit. You SHOULD be discussing the philosophical implications of the documents and texts, and for the love of God...you should be doing it in a way that demonstrates a passing grasp of the English language.

Awful depressing, for stuff I truly love. Le sigh.

God, SACK UP, generation whatever.

Two Things That Are Great

This video Diamond Lil found:


And my new class schedule. For those of you who care, this is what I'm taking. All classes are Monday/Wednesday/Friday except the Philosophy one, which is only Monday/Wednesday, but for longer.

8:30 - 9:20, The Problem of God
9:30 - 10:20, Italian 3
12:30 - 1:20, Terrorism and the Modern World
1:30 - 2:20, History of Western Civ 1
2:30 - 3:45, Philosophy of Nature

Details as events warrant.

Bryant Park Collections: Chris March

So let's talk about Chris' collection, even though it's kind of tough because it's all! So! Freakin'! Dark! You're so right about all these collections being really dark, I don't get it. Seems a lot more fall than spring, and even then, damn.
This reminds me too much of that genre of "crap with weird super-graphic prints on it" that is often found in stores targeted at skanky inner city teenagers, like Rainbow and Rave. While I like the shape fine, it's not anything revolutionary, and the print/picture/whatever does nothing for me. Worst of all: Chris can do better. I do agree that Chris can do better. I don't really have anything to say about this because it's just so blah. It's completely boring.
All I can think of is Helena Bonham Carter. And also how I think I might really like those shoes, but can't really see them. My dislike for any messed-with variety of velvet is getting in my way here, so it's not really doing it for me. Haha! It is very reminiscent of something Helena would wear, isn't it? It's so wintery and dark. It looks kind of Christmasy, for some reason? I don't know. Once again, WTF?

If not for the pants I might like this better, but god, there is a LOT of shit going on there, and it's just too much cognitive dissonance to be overcome by my enjoyment for the shirt (jacket?). I would also like to note that I don't see what the big deal was with the human hair. It's unusual, sure, but frankly I don't think it makes any sense to get all pearl-clutchy over human hair being used (I think, to great effect) on clothing, but not be grossed out by it being sewn onto someone's head. I mean, let's put this shit in perspective, MICHAEL KORS AND YOUR PEARLS, shall we? I also didn't find the human hair to be disturbing at all. I don't like anything about this outfit. The jacket/top kind of looks like a bathrobe to me. Maybe this was supposed to be his pajama look?
Again with a basic dress in a weird print, only this time I don't know what the print is and I hate the styling. Blah Blah Blah, more boring crap.
Fine, neat necklace, expect more from Chris. I like the cut of the jacket and I like the little ruching detail on the bottom of the skirt. The necklace is cool too, but seriously, could this be any more boring?
Why do all his models look so freaking disheveled? I feel like it really doesn't fit with the clothes. I also don't like this business of the skirt being weirdly hiked up at the side...there was another dress like that too that bugged me. I think in Sweet P's stuff?? I guess he was going for that whole messy goth look, like Edward Scissorhands had. This looks like the prom dress that the cheap whore in your class would wear. You know who I'm talking about.
Interesting effect, but I am having the velvet issues again, and the gloves do nothing for me. The neck...brace...thing looks like it was attached wrong...like it's slipping to the right. I do like the effect here. I think it's really pretty, and could be very classy if done in some different fabrics and colors, but it isn't and so you have this. The collar is screwed up, I agree.

Interesting detail...can't tell if its applique or crushing or what, but that's the only thing interesting about this. Agreed. I think the print is cool, other than that, blah.
Okay what...is going on here? Is this a man? Is it CHRIS again? What is this? It's like black velvet military garment in shape, like it escaped from one of those weird places (isn't Italy one?) that have their female police wear stillettos. Except the model is a MAN so the point is MOOT. This look made my gag reflex kick in. Yikes. The model is creepy, the outfit is horrible and I feel as though I'm in the middle of my worst nightmare ever.
How is this in the same collection as the rest of this crap? The cool skirt, the cool necklace, the nice shape of the jacket, and the judicious use of the hair...WHY COULDN'T YOU JUST DO THIS THE WHOLE TIME??? Wooooooo hairy suit! I love this look. I think it's so beautiful. She looks CHIC, not like she's about to stab you. Everything about this is great, including the tights, the shoes and the styling. Indeed, Chris - why didn't you run with this kind of look?
AGAIN! This is cool, I think...and the movement of the hair skirt was so awesome. Don't love the styling 100% but the overall look I just think is very cool. So pretty! Once again, she looks elegant. I even like the gloves with this.
This didn't do anything for me in the Pick Three routine, and it doesn't now...just not the oomph he needs to close the show, and although the whole show was in pretty dark and deep colors, this seems really REALLY severe, to the point that I don't think it fits. Blech. I think if he used the concept that he used in the red dress with the belt by maybe playing with a different shade of black or using a different fabric, this would have been pretty. But yeah, it is severe. By the way, I hate this model.

All that being said, I really expected more and differently of Chris. I think he psyched himself out, because this has none of his usual bouyant, happy self in it. He gave himself over too completely to the dark corners of his personality. Bummer. Sure we won't have heard the last of him, though. I think Chris' whole problem was that he didn't want to come off as a costume designer, but you know what? That's who he is. I think he tried so hard not to be too costumey that it ended up happening anyway, but at the bad end of the spectrum. It's like, something can look costumey yet still be cool, but something can be costumey and look cheap. I also think he kind of gave up and said screw it, I'm doing whatever I want. He's definitely talented and he was my favorite designer this season. I just love him and really hope that he continues to be successful.

Demolition Derby

A while back, I worked concessions at Monster Jam, and went in to work the next day all excited about it, which somehow turned into one of my coworkers saying I should be in a demolition derby. For any of you slow people out there, a demolition derby is a contained form of lawlessness wherein you take an old junker, put on what always looks like totally inadequate safety equipment, and proceed to smash your vehicle into other vehicles until your car doesn't go anymore. If you don't think that sounds awesome, we cannot be friends. Sorry.

In any case, fun or not, I've decided to finally bring my coworker's vision to fruition in the interest of humanity.

That's right, I'm going to rid the world of the Worcester Creep.

If you've driven in or around Worcester, you know what this is...a driver leaving a parking lot (for some reason, this never happens when coming out of a side street) edges slowly out, at least until their front end is all the way over the shoulder and often until their entire vehicle is across the lane, forcing everyone to stop so that their impatient ass can get over to the other lane. In WHAT WORLD is this okay? Why are people such shitty drivers? I mean, I am certainly not about to hold up Drivers' Ed as a beacon of light unto the motorized world, but they at LEAST cover the basics of "don't drive like a moron." Even if they DIDN'T, is this not common sense? What the hell is going on here? Currently I just lean on my horn and throw them the finger, but seriously, never in my LIFE has it occured to me to drive like that, where are these people GETTING IT?

So the next time you see me coming, Creepers...beware. BEWAAAAAARE!