Ugh!!!

Ghah. US conservatives block cancer vaccine for girls. A vaccine against HPV is blocked in four US states because it could encourage promiscuity. This is definitely how the brains of 17-year-olds work: "Hmmm... before I was waiting to have sex until I was married, because I was afraid of getting human papillomavirus. But now that I've been vaccinated, I'm going to go sleep with the first motorcycle enthusiast I can find. And disrespect my parents!" Just to clarify: these law-makers would rather let women die of cancer than risk sending any remotely pro-sex (or, more accurately, anti-cancer) message.

Sigh. The term "wacky news" is far too flippant to apply to this story. I should make a new tag: "crazy, depressing news."

I know the guy who makes this perfect office mini-golf shot. This is my brush with fame.

From the Sydney Morning Herald: Stone Age tribe kills fishermen

This is the graffiti in my neighbourhood

These stencils, etc., appeared over last weekend. Some of them were already torn down by the time I went back with my camera today. They were so elaborate--it makes me sad that someone would tear them down. Man, people suck. But at the same time, people are pretty cool.

The importance of planning.

the zombie preparedness initiative. It seems that in this age of terrorism, we have ignored some of the real threats to humanity: zombies. velociraptor attack. Wal-mart.

why you should not make people choose between God and coffee.

Starbucks markets more 'anti-God' coffee cups. On this issue, I am torn between my principles: (a) defending people's freedom of expression (b) believing that those Starbucks "the way I see it" cups are deeply stupid

Caution: contains spoilers for a film made in the mid-1950s

In my ongoing effort to educate myself about popular culture through the miracle of zip.ca (so that I can understand every single Veronica Mars and Gilmore Girls reference), I rented Brigadoon last night. It was really disappointing--not good enough to be taken seriously, not funny/outdated/silly enough to be mocked. I didn't like the premise at all. I don't mean the premise of a town that only appears for one day every 100 years--that is AWESOME. Nor do I mean the premise of Gene Kelly and his widecracking sidekick stumbling on said town, engaging in choreographed dance numbers, and hijinks ensuing. That is also AWESOME. And no movie that has both tapdancing AND bagpipes (in one scene) can be all bad. My problem with the premise is that it was too uncomplicated. A town that appears for one day every 100 years is a recipe for pain, confusion, alienation, and regret. Dear the 1950s: not everything has to be so wholesome. Also, I'm not sure the 17th century was all that great. I mean, yes, there was some virtuous clog-dancing and cow-milking and yes, relationships between men and women were simpler then. Yes, there will silly hats, and who doesn't love silly hats? And the tartans sure looked fun. But there was also almost 100 years of warfare in Europe, imperialism, the Bubonic plague, and the Dutch tulip mania. I'm just saying.

The other thing I don't like about this movie, and movies in general actually, is the familiar trope of the girlfriend/wife who is clearly, demonstrably not suitable for the male protagonist, and we know this because she talks a lot. And he can be seen gazing longingly off into space while she prattles on, reminiscing about the girl on the side he met earlier in the movie who really, clearly, obviously gets him because she doesn't talk. Well, I speak for talkative girlfriends everywhere when I say: shut up. Snap to it. No one feels sorry for you. Stop being an ungrateful sulky bastard and pay attention to what's right in front of you. Maybe the reason your new girl on the side, who you are contemplating cheating on me with, never talks is because she's in a movie based on a Broadway musical. Or maybe she's retarded.

"Baby Got Back," in Latin. Large buttocks are pleasing to me, nor am I able to lie concerning this matter. Indeed.

Heh heh. Best news headline I've seen in awhile: Skywalkers in Korea cross Han Solo

this is 100% my new desktop wallpaper.

The Habitat building in Montreal (JPEG Image, 814x517 pixels)

a little drop of poison

i. as i type this, i am cooking a dish known around my apartment as Beef Meghanoff. i am pleased because this will inevitably lead to days and days' worth of leftovers. as the conference comes to an end, it has proved surprisingly difficult for me to remember to cook for myself. i keep expecting trays of food to appear from somewhere. but where? my storage room?

ii. james and I went to IKEA last night. i framed my poster as evidenced below. James bought a mini palm plant known as Palmela (pronounced paum-ela). if this does not seem funny to you, then you have not said it out loud enough times. i wonder if i will ever outgrow my dependence on ikea.

iii. i think library school has taught me to respect books as objects, not just texts. i was at chapters yesterday, with plans to buy my very own copies of philip pullman's his dark materials trilogy. but there were no editions i liked, just bulky paperbacks (i told James: and i don't think they were printed on acid-free paper). so i just walked away. i have learned that the reader deserves to choose the weight, the cover, the paper, of the object in her hands.

iv. yesterday i finished The Golden Compass, which was almost as good as i had been led to expect. Lyra is enchanting. today i finished Neil Gaiman's Mirrormask, which was terrible--beautiful, empty, glib, and confusing. i'm sure it did not benefit from the contrast.

v. i feel strange and sad. this is why i should never (a) sleep in the afternoon (b) finish university (c) sit on my kitchen counter in my pyjamas, eating ice cream straight out of the carton

out of wall space

Mmhmm, I am watching Becky's Gilmore Girls. And my "Keep Calm and Carry On" poster is hung right next to my map of the London subway system. Other artifacts visible in these pictures include: my elaborately decoupaged craft storage, my green Toy Story dinosaur, a giant knitting bag made in Kenya, a poster from the 826 Seattle space store, an Aztec calendar that James bought me the first summer we met, my stack o' Harry Potter books, the atlas I bought because it reminded me of my dad, and several of my many houseplants that are all on the edge of death.

thousands strip off for world's largest nude photoshoot. Humanity is so weird.

Things you can buy for $1... well, you know the rest.

I am all about bendy straws with integrated drink umbrellas. Now that's efficiency.

That's right, I totally just made a new blogger tag for "things you can buy"... because I am JUST THAT SHALLOW/WEB 2.0. I find my elaborate and inconsistent tagging system endlessly amusing. Granularity and aboutness be damned!

world subways

world subway systems, all shown at the same scale

makin' love to his tonic and gin

so here is a dumb facebook meme I just had to share. In google, type your name, then "likes to," in quotes. So for me, it's "Jocelyn likes to." Then post the top whatever hits. So for me it would be...

Jocelyn likes to draw. She can draw circles and squiggly lines and some angular figures.
Jocelyn likes to help set the table and to put the silverware away.
Jocelyn likes to be competitive
Jocelyn likes to clear daunting obstacles professionally and in her downtime
Jocelyn likes to study pure mathematics and theology
Jocelyn likes to eat almost anything but has been on a macrobiotic diet since she was 3
Jocelyn likes to read, shop, and just hang out with friends.
Jocelyn likes to spend free time golfing and reading as well as watching hockey and Seinfeld reruns.
Jocelyn likes to make the mashed potatoes
Jocelyn likes to plan her holidays
Jocelyn likes to use the two hand approach to find the MEDIAN

Such a strange assortment. Some of these are true. I can draw squiggly lines and some angular figures. I do enjoy mashing potatoes and putting silverware away. And I do like to be competitive, perhaps more than is good for me. But I hate Seinfeld, hockey, diets, and pure math. I have little or no interest in clearing obstacles of any kind, be they metaphorical or literal. And I have no idea what the last one means, but it sounds vaguely dirty, in which case it is probably true.

The conferences I was working on are over. We have a debriefing (tee hee) tomorrow, and then... who knows? I ride on into the friscillating dusklight. I already find myself forgetting the frustrating parts (and the fifteen hour days) and reminiscing fondly about the conference, a dangerous enterprise that may lead to more future conferences. This is one of memory's great tricks.

updates in one sentence or less (less!)

I have billed 70 hours of work over the past 7 days. I took some people on tours of my book exhibition. I ate so much catering food that I feel simultaneously hungry, and also like I am going to throw up. I wrecked my knee. I saw some feminist film, which (apparently) in this day and age means "lesbian film." I feel confused and disloyal. I had a dream that I had 76 voice-mail messages. I would appreciate any comments or one-sentence updates of your own (such as, "I am leaving a comment on your website, tired Jocelyn"), since I am not convinced my email is working.

patting myself on the virtual back

Here is the online exhibition I co-curated. I know you'll be excited, Internet. Women Writing and Reading

Oh yeah:

as i grow tired and sore-footed, I repeat to myself, Facebook style: "Jocelyn is a canadian, not a can'tadian."

an entry which barely even deserves the name

Hi gang!
So I am working 11-hour days at work these days, and as I write this it is 10 o'clock and I am typing this from a tiny computer vestibule at the conference site. It feels very hi-tech. So, from now until Sunday the maximum length for all deletia entries will be five lines or three sentences, whichever is less. My apologies. See you on the other side.