Wookiemonster's Log

Well, I was a bit ill this morning. I woke up with a particularly nasty headache, the result of the drastic change in weather around here. I managed to take some ibuprofen, then ate something so as to not anger the esophagus monster, then went back to bed. Anyway, I haven't gotten too much done today, but I did try out my new hair clippers and gave myself a hair cut! It came out not too bad. The only thing I'm not entirely happy with was how I did around my ears, but that was with my regular razor. Yes, the kit I got has ear tapering blade-combs, but, I needed a little more. I also had to use a regular razor for my neck. But for the bulk of my head? Yup, it turned out okay! Took a little longer than I thought it would, but that's because I was a bit timid at first. I mean, I knew already that I was going to use the 2 blade for the sides and the three for the top, but still... Once I got over my fear of, "Oh gods I'm gonna screw this up and look like an idiot and have to go to a barber to have my head shorn correctly and people are going to laugh..." I was good.

The Onion has America pegged with respect to the fallout from yesterday's tragedy in Colorado.

Real quick, with regards to the whole thing about how many people are killed by guns and safety and such... You know, I have one and am licensed and so on. I try to be safe with it. Yet so many people are killed by them every day. Sometimes, they're nuts, under the influence, or just plain angry, and they then use it to kill someone, sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally. People obtain them legally and illegally. They use them with and without a license. I personally think it should be much harder to get one, or get a license for one, considering all the accidents and lost lives that could have been prevented if we had tougher laws. Yes, people, I'm talking about my car.

People break laws all the time. Hell, we elect people who break laws all the time. We revere sports heroes who break laws all the time.

More importantly, the guy, Holmes, was nuts. Sadly, people think that means he must have been stupid. This reminds me of a tale Papa Cardillo once told me. A guy driving along hits a nail and gets a flat just outside the insane asylum. In the process of changing the tire, he manages to trip and drop all the lug nuts from the wheel down the storm sewer. Stymied, he just stares, wondering how he's going to attach the spare tire without any lug nuts, when he hears a voice calling him from the asylum. He looks up and sees one of the inmates looking down, watching him.
"Little bit of trouble there, huh?" the inmate asks.
Scared, the guy says, "Uh, yeah."
"Take a lug nut off the other three tires, and you'll have three lug nuts for the spare tire. That should work to get you to a service station."
Amazed, the motorist says, "That's a really good idea! Thanks."
"Of course it's a good idea," the inmate says. "I'm crazy, not stupid."

This, I think, is one of several major flaws made by so-called profilers and, indeed, the public in general. They underestimate the intelligence of the perpetrator.

But I've been seeing more and more cases of police profilers saying, in press conferences, that Holmes was a special case in that he had no online presence, didn't live in his mom's basement, and didn't engage in other behaviors of antisocial geeky outcasts. You know, it's a bit upsetting to me that what these profilers describe as being the type to just up and snap...describe me. I live with my mother, don't have a girlfriend, don't really have many friends, and kind of keep to myself. Oh, and I'm weird and actively non-conformist. The only thing not quite fitting their profiles is that I have a stable job. I've worked at the UD library for almost 13 years, with more than five and a half of those as a full-time employee. And I'm president of the Library Staff Association. I ballroom dance, but have been on hiatus for about two years now. Oh, and I'm not much of a gamer, and suck at gaming when I do game.

The only other thing I have that separates me from the psychos is...pets. A soft spot for cats down on their luck. Still missing and mourning TomTom. Playing with Rocky and Minerva, watching DVDs and cartoons with Yoda. Alas, it still falls into "weird and non-conforming, especially with what society says for guys not liking cats" and other crap.

However, despite how weird I am, how deranged my sense of humor is, I know I'm not going to go ballistic. Because I have this whole compassion thing. As much as I loathe elements of society and have lost faith in humanity, I haven't gotten to the point where I feel like decreeing that society is too sick to survive (Ghostbusters reference). I still smile at little kids, make sure old people don't trip and fall, and share my Boston Market chicken with the cats. The only caveat is that if you hurt me an mine, I swear by my pretty little bonnet, I will end you. I almost typed that that would be the case of most people, but, sadly, looking at the state of the world, I feel that such protectiveness is becoming more of an exception than the rule. Of course, "me an mine" includes the furkids since, well, they're my kids. Thankfully, I know several of you on here are of like mind on this issue.

Of the fans they interviewed on the way to see The Dark Knight Rises yesterday, there was one I happened to catch, and it happened to be a guy with some sense. The reporter incredulously asked him why he wasn't scared or uneasy to be going to a late night show. The guy replied that if he worried about dying all the time, he'd never leave the house and live. I think the only reason that aired is because the news agency in question was hoping to show how "out of touch with reality" us nerds are. Oh well.

I also have to say that over the last few days, starting even before the tragedy happened, and perhaps slightly influenced by reading William Gibson's "Blue Ant" books, I've been more aware of certain undercurrents of shows for what is supposed to be "normal." I've seen more of how advertising tries to target people. I've seen how the news has become more and more biased and become a tool in encouraging conformity. Although, this is more for mainstream media (ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). When we get to Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, and Cartoon Network/adult_swim, it's not nearly so bad. Unfortunately, those are all "nerd" channels, so...yeah.

Wow...this entry has turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be...

Anyway, because I'd prefer to end on a positive note...




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Suckage for today...

Ray Bradbury has passed away at the age of 91. While he's not my favorite author, and while I disagreed with his stance on digital media (that it would destroy books and such rather than actually expand sales and such), I do appreciate everything he did for the science fiction community, and I did enjoy The Martian Chronicles. I applauded him for taking a stand to filmmaker and critic Michael Moore for ripping off his Fahrenheit 451 title with his 9/11 expose, and it sucks that that whole issue remains unresolved... He was snubbed by Moore, then went to sue, then got an acknowledgment from Moore and a promise to talk things over, and last I heard, Bradbury was still waiting for Moore to make good on his promise.

Another thing I have to like Bradbury for: his support of libraries. Supposedly, he wrote his first published manuscript in the basement of his college's library. He has thus always been a strong proponent of libraries.

Then, the Trolololo guy passed away...



And Scott Walker, Governor of Wisconsin, apparently "won" his recall election. I use the quotation marks because there's already hints of voter fraud as well as using the ill-conceived corporate personhood for him to hold on to his governorship. In short, he's still in office because he cheated in a corrupt system that already gave him an edge, and even then, it was a close thing. It's making me lose faith in our supposedly democratic system...

And yeah, I and the furkids are still mourning TomTom. Rocky and YoYo are perhaps the most upset. TomTom and YoYo were good buddies. And TomTom was the only one who gave Rocky the time of day and worked with him and mentored him. I mean, that was the kind of cat TomTom was... Very accepting. Within reason, of course. He wouldn't hesitate to thwap you if you crossed a line. But he'd greet visitors and expect pettins. Of course, he'd also go through whatever they brought in with better, more effective scrutiny than TSA. But while he and Rocky never flopped on each other, they did lie side-by-side or facing each other on the koosh pillows, or play "parachute" together when I was trying to make the bed, or "help" me fold my laundry and so on. They'd sit on either side of me like gargoyles while watching TV with Yoda. Though TomTom was the only one who ever seemed interested in watching the nightly news. Still... TomTom was a companion for Rocky, and I'm worried that the other cats won't befriend him. Though, you never know... With TomTom gone, the hierarchy is a complete mess right now, and that might open some doors. Literally as well as figuratively. You never know.

In the meantime, Rocky's been half-plastered to my side when I'm at home. He and I sat on the bed for a little bit last night when I got home from work and again this morning before I left for work, just talking. Rocky's always been a vocal cat, but he's been a bit more vocal lately. I'm hoping he's getting the attention he needs from me right now, and he's consequently helping me through the grieving process, too. TomTom, I think, had enough of an influence on Rocky where Rocky will be an awesome cat as well.

You know, it's a damn shame these critters, so full of unconditional love and acceptance, have such short lifespans. It's like some sort of fucked-up balance control of the universe: great creatures are short-lived, and long-lived creatures - humans - are bastards.

This whole experience has taught me a few things... I learned that I can still drive well despite being incredibly upset, that I can maintain a certain driving decorum when I am transporting a sick pet. I also learned that I can soak a cat's coat with my tears. And I learned that TomTom was awesome right up until the end.

I don't think it was any accident that he went into his carrier on his own when we left the house for the last time. He didn't want to die at home. And the last time I was with him, he barely had the strength to headbutt me or lick my tears, yet when I was making that final decision - to euthanize or to give him one more chance to turn the corner with fluids and more aggressive meds - he stood up and took a few steps like nothing was wrong, which cinched my decision to try the fluids. The furry little monster knew I was torn, and he made it so I didn't have to actually decide to euthanize. He went on his own terms and in his own way.

Awesomeness to the bitter end.

This weekend...anyone so much as says, "It was just a cat" or anything, I'm leaving. Heading back to the hotel. Curling up with a book or the Kindle. Better company that way.

In other news... The Library received Vice-President Biden's Senatorial papers today. I was actually on the special invite-list to be there for the shrink-wrap cutting ceremony and be in the background for the media coverage and cheer like an idiot for their arrival... Were I not grieving, I probably would have gone. But right now, I'm finding it hard to summon the amount of care required for much of anything.

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HAPPY BELATED BIRFDAYthumpermarni!!!



HAPPY BIRFDAY lurkitty, layered_deep, jonbonjewvi, AND berthablue!!!



AND A SPECIAL HAPPY BIRFDAY TO MY SEESTER anaidiana!!!



Anyway, it's been a busy weekend. Mandie's birfday get-together last night was nice. Good food and all. I'm grateful my sister and I are getting along much better these days. Between last night and today, I've been productive, what with laundry, lunch prep for the week, figuring things out, and so on. I think I know how to rearrange my computer area for better computer spill protection. Ultimately, it may also lead to a more spacious and comfortable work area.

Today (yesterday, actually), I put up what little of the outdoor lights we have and brought up the Christmas decorations. The outdoor lights are set up, but not plugged in. If we want to expand, that's great. But the initial bulk, such as it is, is done, and if it's dark and snowing and freezing, it's just a matter of pulling off the plastic bag and plugging in the setup. And the rest of the stuff is up, so, hopefully, with working on just a little bit here, a little bit there, I can actually enjoy the Christmas season rather than throwing everything up at the last minute, as has been the case for about the last decade. It would be nice to have the tree up and decorated for a week before Christmas and actually enjoy the lights and such.

Alas, my back is quite sore at the moment, though. Fortunately, I have a chiro appointment at the end of the week.

Got LOTS of reading done, too. I'm hoping to get my reading projects down to something a little more manageable. But I have lots of good books that have been on my shelves for a decade, plus trying to get some of the current/contemporary stuff read, plus all the stuff I've already bought for Kindle, plus holiday reading. I'm almost done Jim Butcher's Ghost Story (Dresden Files), and... It's great! I actually gave my sister the first three books of the series for her birfday and hope my anticipation of her enjoying the series, too, is on the mark. I love the pop cult references throughout, especially the Star Wars references. And the Princess Bride reference in Ghost Story was...great! I really hope Mr. Butcher plans more for this series...

I'm also reading Christopher L. Bennett's Star Trek: Typhon Pact: The Struggle Within. It's an e-novella, and it came out last month, but... Some of the stuff with the Unificationists and non-violent protests on the Kinshaya homeworld... Wow! This was written, I'm fairly certain, before the Occupy Wall Street movement, and the parallels aren't perfect, but, can we say, "socially relevant?" I'm only on chapter four, but, given the clashes between police and such, and the scene I just read in the story, I can't help but wonder if police presence and indeed police brutality are intentional to rouse the protesters to where they have to choose between well-being and self-defense, or defending the elderly or handicapped who may be being beaten, in order to make the non-violent civil disobedience into violent rebellion, which then allows the State to 1) use violent and eventually deadly force against protesters and 2) discourage assembly to protest with the excuse that it turns violent and hence turning free speech into something that is a danger to public safety, allowing an argument to exist that the right of peaceable assembly is not safe for democracy. Flawed, I know, and I'm perhaps expressing this inadequately and clumsily, but, something worth thinking about. And this bit (along with wishing my sister natal day felicitations) is why this entry is in the clear and hence able to show up on Networked Blogs on Facebook.

I still need to write my essay on Paine's "Common Sense" and applying it to events going on these days as I see it. I have my notes (thank gods), and when I glance at them, I can remember rather clearly what I intend to write about.

Of course, your mileage may vary (YMMV), and that's okay. If there's anything erupting here or on FB, just...keep it civil, no personal attacks, and agree to disagree.

Back to Mandie's birfday gathering... I have to say, I have party animals here. By that, I mean that TomTom was happy to see my sister and was very present throughout the evening, even settling down next to her while she opened presents and such. He seems to really like it when she visits. Rocky, of course, gets attention from everyone and has a tendency to try to beg food from Scott. And Yoda? Before dinner, he was acting up, so, he ended up in Time Out (cage covered, TV and lights off). Note: avians tend to be quiet when in the dark, thus not giving away their position to predators. Both with the Grey we had before, Nemo, and with the one we have now, Yoda, well, we have to throw that one out the window. While eating dinner, and later, while chatting in the living room, Yoda insisted on being part of the group, even though he was in Time Out in another room, by interjecting into conversations, making noises we had referred to, laughing, and so on. Like Nemo, Yoda gives very situationally-appropriate responses.

And people wonder why I'm unsurprised at animal intelligence. Fascinated, but unsurprised.

Anyway, time for a shower and then bed. I'm hoping my computer will be done tomorrow and I can get it back here and back up and running. That is, done later today. Whatever.

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