anyone else excited about the prospect of a 3-day weekend?

Death was the main topic of conversation last night (post me kicking the pants off Berghoef in a tournament). Nothing conclusive other than that we are indeed all going to die. And I don't want a headstone: cremation and scattering in a place to be determined. Last night I thought that Sterling Pond might be a nice resting place, but I'm reserving the right to change my mind.

Spirit On The Water

Spirit on the water
Darkness on the face of the deep
I keep thinking about you baby
I can't hardly sleep

I'm traveling by land
Traveling through the dawn of day
You're always on my mind
I can't stay away

I'd forgotten about you
Then you turned up again
I always knew
We were meant to be more than friends

When you're near
It's just as plain as it can be
I'm wild about you, gal
You ought to be a fool about me

Can't explain
The sources of this hidden pain
You burned your way into my heart
You got the key to my brain

I've been trampling through mud
Praying to the powers above
I'm sweating blood
You got a face that begs for love

Life without you
Doesn't mean a thing to me
If I can't have you
I'll throw my love into the deep blue sea

Sometimes I wonder
Why you can't treat me right
You do good all day
And then you do wrong all night

When you're with me
I'm a thousand times happier than I could ever say
What does it matter
What price I pay

They brag about your sugar
Brag about it all over town
Put some sugar in my bowl
I feel like laying down

I'm as pale as a ghost
Holding a blossom on a stem
You ever seen a ghost?
No But you have heard of them

I see you there
I'm blinded by the colors I see
I take good care
Of what belongs to me

I hear your name
Ringing up and down the line
I'm saying it plain
These ties are strong enough to bind

Now your sweet voice
Calls out from some old familiar shrine
I got no choice
Can't believe these things would ever fade from your mind

I could live forever
With you perfectly
You don't ever
Have to make a fuss over me

From East to West
Ever since the world began
I only mean it for the best
I want to be with you any way I can

I been in a brawl
Now I'm feeling the wall
I'm going away baby
I won't be back 'til fall

High on the hill
You can carry all my thoughts with you
You've numbed my will
This love could tear me in two

I wanna be with you in paradise
And it seems so unfair
I can't go to paradise no more
I killed a man back there

You think I'm over the hill
You think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whoppin' good time

Words and music by Bob Dylan Copyright 2006 Special Rider Music

In honor of the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, I've voluntarily flooded my driveway and am using planks of wood to navigate the foul waters. It's a virtual eco-system, people. Frogs, birds, and the ever multiplying mosquito population combined with the humid and dank air really makes me feel all Gulf Coasted Out. Except, thankfully, I'm a white woman who most likely would not have been abandoned by her elected officials for 5 days and forced to live in a convention center with rotting corpses and no clean water.

"Only half of New Orleans has electricity. Half its hospitals are closed. Violent crime is up. Less than half the population has returned. Tens of thousands of families still live in trailers and mobile homes with no real timetable for moving to more permanent housing. Insurance settlements are mired in red tape. The city still has no master rebuilding plan. And while much debris has been cleared, some remains as if the clock stopped when the storm struck."

Now that's what I call progress.

I don't think Donald Rumsfeld even cares that's he is becoming not only irrelevant but an actual liability for the administration. It takes a special kind of crazy to have a ton o'people say they have no confidence in your job performance and yet come out saying that administration critics are suffering from "moral and intellectual confusion" about what threatens national security. At least I'm not suffering from delusions about ending tyranny in the world. Nor was I ever confused about WMD's or the lack thereof. I suppose all I'm "intellectually confused" about is how it's possible you still have a job.

Modern Times came out yesterday. That'd be the new Dylan album for those of you who are unaware of the significance. I had the pleasure of listening to it straight through. I dig it. It's more mellow than Love and Theft and it's a little more lovey dovey, but I'm down.

So's Pitchfork.
How's about them apples?

because sometimes i just don't want to

What happened to my weekend?!?

The eggplant parmesan was essentially the only task I managed to accomplish over the 2 days. I did do some reading (Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson--I've read it before, but it's been awhile. As someone who has a tendency to rush through her books, Robinson has the amazing ability to write prose that not only forces me to slow down but makes me want to slow down as well) and inadvertently finished off Deadwood Season 2 a little sooner than I expected (this show continues to amaze--if you haven't seen it, do. The writing is outstanding, the art direction is unlike anything I have ever seen, the acting is topnotch, and the storytelling is so good it almost hurts.) and discovered a new guilty pleasure in playing Rumble Roses XX (No skill required!). I watched Pride and Prejudice because I wanted to and Closer because sometimes I just want to be reminded that people can be horrible to one another. I also took a trip to the Shrine of Barnes and Noble where I somehow managed to walk out empty-handed. Some WNBA was watched (Bill Laimbeer got a technical and it was noted that when coaching women mentioning inner-strength and talking about empowerment usually gets results) and I'm happy to report that Detroit beat the beejeezus outta Connecticut 79-55 though I'm sad not to have the pleasure of watching Katie Douglas play in the finals. Last night ended with Ebert and Roeper, a documentary on Alan Lomax that was really good, and a short local documentary on the Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia that is located just north of here in Big Rapids at Ferris State and that I'm definitely interested in visiting.

Today maybe a hike, definitely some cleaning, and hopefully some grocery shopping/bottle-returning.

acting like a grownup is relaxing

A good week for readjusting my schedule, if I do say so myself. Last night was a little later than I would have liked but I was happy to spend time playing some strategic Idiot. There were crazy, crazy hands involving actual showdowns and freakish moments when you were convinced you were going to have to pick up the entire pile only to have the person before you lay the perfect card. We also listened to some Bob Dylan bootlegs which were of suprisingly good quality. The night ended with ridiculous Huxtable references and the reading of some really bad poetry in the Atlantic Monthly fiction issue (except for Squeezebox by James Reiss which is not this poem, but this one's good too:

Lily

Went out & scissored a lily, brought her inside
to study her fuzzy brown anthers loaded

with pollen, her needle-thin pistil & filaments
down to her ovary. Noted her sepals

were dotted with droplets; her waxy gold petals
were stippled with pigment, the comeliest rust spots,

like freckles on the face of a tomboy agog
in a tree house at twilight. Saw how, twice-dappled

with drizzle & beauty marks, she tilted a bit in her vase
toward my pencil as if she could lift to write

& tell me the checkered tall story of all things in bloom.
Saw two of her petals were nibbled—by a rabbit? a fawn?

Wrote how she told me she loathed the incessant devouring
mouths which would strip her & call her a woman.

Copyright © 2004 James Reiss All rights reserved)

This weekend is going to be a tame one. I want to farmer's market tomorrow morning and am determined to make that eggplant parmesean I've been talking about all week. There's some work to be done on the barn and some work to be done on some papers assuming I can procure the use of a computer. I also just checked out the Pevear/Volokhonsky translation of The Brothers Karamazov because I'm really into pain.

Snakes on a Plane is probably a must as well.

And the last 4 episodes of Deadwood, Season 2.

internet schminternet! it just a place for online predators to look for underage girls on myspace, right?

Even though library officials said acquiring the software wasn't a compromise, Bos sees it as a victory for the AFA.
"We were only trying to protect women and children," said Bos, who hasn't been to the Herrick library since the filtering issue occurred.
"We wanted filtering on everything. Pornography is illegal. Why would we want something illegal like pornography in our library of all places?"

This is an excerpt from the front page article of my local paper. It was 6 years ago that the American Family Association zeroed in on the little conservative haven known as Holland, Michigan. Their issue? Internet filters at the library or rather the library's lack thereof. In February of 2000 the AFA managed to get a measure on the ballot asking the city to withhold funds unless the library installed filters on all of their computers. Despite this being the land o'family values and a Republican stronghold, the measure failed: 4,379 to 3,626 (it was a flawed ballot measure, imho, as only the city of Holland was able to vote and did not include the surrounding townships that do support the library with their tax dollars, but we won so who cares, right?) That was the year Michigan passed PA 212 which required libraries in Michigan to 1. have an internet policy that included 2. steps to make available 1 or more terminals to minors that restricted obscene or sexually explicit matter that 3. reserved 1 or more terminals for adults 18+ or minors with parental consent that were not restricted and (my personal favorite!) 4. utilized a system or method that was designed to prevent a minor from viewing obscene matter or sexually explicit matter that is harmful to minors. Because, you know, we can all agree that what's harmful to one minor is harmful to them all!

Later that year Congress passed CIPA which essentially requires all libraries to have filters (that usually don't work, ahem). Period.

So this is where things stand here:

Downtown we have 34 public computers.
2 are unfiltered.
9 have email capability where those over 18 can check their email.
17 filtered all ages computers near circulation.
6 filtered computers upstairs in the children's department.

Our internet policy also includes these words:

As required by Michigan Public Act 212 of 2000 and realizing that filtering software is not completely effective, the Library will take all actions reasonably necessary and possible to prevent minors from accessing obscene material or sexually explicit material deemed harmful to minors (as those terms are defined by state law) in their use of the Internet.

How exactly the AFA thinks of this as a victory, I really don't know. We had no choice but to follow state and federal law. We didn't lose our city funding and we weren't required to put filters on all of our computers per the AFA's request. And the city of Holland made it pretty clear that the AFA's ballot measure was not something they, as taxpayers, were interested in pursuing.

I really do appreciate Mr. Bos' concern for my safety as a woman however I'd like to welcome him to the 21st century.

I'd also like to remind him that the viewing of pornography by adults 18 and older isn't illegal and despite the Patriot Act, most library employees feel that it is an individual's right to view or obtain any legal information they see fit without their privacy being invaded by anyone.

I'd also really love to know why he even cares. By the look of the picture in the paper, it appears as though he's fortunate enough to have private access (be it through work or at home) to the internet and by his own admission he hasn't visited the library since the filtering issue occurred over 6 years ago. It must be nice to not worry that certain medical or legal information might be blocked as a result of a less-than-stellar filtering software.

maybe i fell down and hit my head last night

From yesterday's illuminating press conference with Erin commentary sprinkled throughout and emphasis I couldn't help but add:

BUSH: -- imagine a world in which Saddam Hussein was there, stirring up even more trouble in a part of the world that had so much resentment and so much hatred that people came and killed 3,000 of our citizens...
The terrorists attacked us and killed 3,000 of our citizens before we started the freedom agenda in the Middle East. They were ...

Attempt at making the 9-11/Iraq connection...

QUESTION: What did Iraqi have to do with that?

BUSTED!

BUSH: What did Iraq have to do with what?

Do you think his intention was to just play dumb and hope no one calls him on it?

QUESTION: The attacks upon the World Trade Center.

BUSH: Nothing. Except for it's part of -- and nobody's ever suggested in this administration that Saddam Hussein ordered the attack. Iraq was a -- Iraq -- the lesson of September the 11th is: Take threats before they fully materialize, Ken.
Nobody's ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq.

No. No one ever suggested that the attacks of September the 11th were ordered by Iraq, but you and Dick Cheney tried really hard to link the two in order to justify invading Iraq in the first place. And that turned out to be a complete lie.

What is truly mind-boggling to me is this administration's continued attempt to link the war in Iraq with 9-11. There was no connection. None. At least they've stopped calling anyone who disagrees with them unpatriotic:

"I will never question the patriotism of somebody who disagrees with me. This has nothing to do with patriotism. It has everything to do with understanding the world in which we live."

Instead he just calls us stupid and naive.

You know what I wish? I wish he'd stand up and say "I was wrong. The intelligence was wrong. The rush to invade Iraq was a bad decision especially given that we had no real plan for what to do once Hussein was out. We invaded a country in which we didn't truly understand the cultural and religious differences that existed within the population. We invaded a country because I needed someone to be held responsible for 9-11 and I couldn't catch the real culprit. We invaded a country because we need oil and they've got it. I'm sorry that I put American citizens in harms way for my own political gain. I'm sorry for the over 2500 American servicemen and women that have died as a result of my decisions. But the reality is that we cannot leave. I don't say that because it would mean that my pathetic excuse for a foreign policy would be exposed as the failure that it is. I say that because it's true. Securing the Middle East is essential to peace in the world. Notice I didn't say the War on Terror (another soundbite I came up with to make sure you were all afraid all the time, by the way), but peace. So today America stands up and leads the world in a new direction: direction that looks towards solving the real root of violence--poverty and oppression. A direction that respects all religious and cultural differences. A direction that looks to literacy and education as the cornerstone of achieving peace. A direction that attempts to spread democracy through the shining example of our own--one that respects civil rights and privacy. One that is a representative government that looks first and foremost to it's people to govern itself not money and corporations. I believe that America has not only the resources to be such a leader in the world, but also the compassion and the drive to make this dream a reality."

Wow.

Delusional much, Erin?

"Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see"

I.am.so.sick.of.hearing.about.JonBenet.and.the.potential.killer. Not only do I have the extreme pleasure of hearing about it on the network news (9 minutes. They spent 9 minutes the other night on that story. The NSA case? Less that 30 seconds.) I'm also fortunate to live about 3 1/2 hours away from Mr. Ramsey so my 1 1/2 hours of local news covers it as well. Thankfully not all news organizations have lost their minds. NewsHour buried it around the 8th story in the news summary the other night. ENOUGH ALREADY. There's nothing more to report until after DNA tests come back so can we please hear about anything else?!?

Like, I don't know, that Israel mostly likely broke the terms of the ceasefire agreement? Israel is saying that it didn't really break it because the operation was aimed at disrupting the transfer of weapons from Syria and Iran to Hezbollah which-if indeed that was what was going on-violates the cease fire agreement. Lebanon is saying that Israel violated the agreement. All of this finger-pointing and you-started-it essentially demonstrates just how ineffective and weak the U.N. agreement is to begin with. That was some top notch diplomatic maneuvering on behalf of Condi and Co.

Last night the War on Terror (I really like to capitalize it. It gives it so much more legitimacy) was compared to the War on Drugs. Funny because the NYT has a really interesting article on the U.S.'s latest operation: Plan Columbia. I'm not even kidding. That's what it's called.

"The latest chapter in America's long war on drugs, a six-year, $4.7 billion effort to slash Colombia's coca crop, has left the price, quality and availability of cocaine on American streets virtually unchanged."

That's the first sentence of a 4 page article that's really worth reading. There are estimates from drug policy analysts that the drug war has cost American taxpayers upwards of 40 billion dollars annually in recent years. 40 billion dollars and things have remained virtually unchanged. Why? Because the War on Drugs is a war on "...[an] open-ended war against an elusive and ill-defined enemy." (taken from the article)

Now doesn't that sound familiar? I know of people who are more than willing to temporarily give up some of their civil liberties and freedoms in order to keep America safe during this War on Terror. The problem is that it's an open-ended war against an elusive and ill-defined enemy. It will not end. What are the objectives? What is the battle plan? Who gets to decide who's a terrorist and who is not? Because I'd bet some people in Lebanon view Hezbollah as freedom fighters defending their country from the aggression of Israel just as I'm sure there are people in Iraq who view the U.S. as terrorists.

The American Heritage Dictionary defines terrorism as: "The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons."

Isn't that kinda what we did in Iraq? We violated international law by opting for a preemptive strike against a sovereign nation that posed no immediate threat to us. And we did it to coerce a government for ideological and political reasons.

It's so complicated. So unbelievably complicated. I wish it was as easy as doing whatever it takes to keep America safe. I wish that we could eliminate terror from the world. But until we come up with a way to rid the world of terror that doesn't involve using terror to win methinks we're in for a long and ultimately losing battle.

Good thing we can all afford and easily obtain cocaine to keep our spirits up.

an xbox 360 has moved upstairs ensuring i'll never move off the couch again

Who won? Who lost? Who cares.

Oh that's right, I do. I think Hezbollah's the big winner in this latest skirmish. Except for the complete devastation of their country. And the over 1100 dead and 3600 wounded (mostly civilians, of course). The Security Counsel resolution (pdf) is a joke. In theory, the whole reason this conflict began was because Hezbollah kidnapped Israeli soldiers. Under the resolution, they are not immediately being returned. Plus Hezbollah doesn't even have to disarm. The main concern was not allowing the sale of arms to Lebanon without consent from the Lebanese government. Because, you know, Iran holds the U.N. in such high regard I'm sure that by just asking them not to do it they'll refrain from continuing to arm Hezbollah. What also helps is the lack of international aid except from (drumroll please) IRAN to help with the rebuilding of Lebanon. That's not entirely true. I did hear that the U.S. has pledged around 50 million dollars. Unfortunately the cost for reconstruction is significantly higher and guess who's already out there handing out money, furniture, and apartments? Hezbollah, of course!

Band-Aid. On the ever expanding gaping wound known as the middle east.

Speaking of failed middle east conflicts, an article in today's NYT is headlined thusly: "Bombs Aimed at G.I.'s in Iraq Are Increasing"

A few stats:

The number of daily strikes against American and Iraqi security forces has doubled since January. In July, of 2,625 explosive devices, 1,666 exploded and 959 were discovered before they went off. In January, 1,454 bombs exploded or were found.

Though the number of U.S. deaths has declined slightly since January (42 in Jan vs 38 in July), the number of American wounded has been huge (287 in Jan vs 518 in July).

So the theory that the violence is primarily sectarian doesn't really hold up. As does the theory that once Zarqawi was killed the insurgency would no longer be as powerful. The Bush administration continues to live in fantasy land (at least publicly) by insisting that things in Iraq are right on track. The end of that NYT article, however, suggests that mayhaps the rose-colored glasses aren't really on:

"Senior administration officials have acknowledged to me that they are considering alternatives other than democracy," said one military affairs expert who received an Iraq briefing at the White House last month and agreed to speak only on condition of anonymity.
"Everybody in the administration is being quite circumspect," the expert said, "but you can sense their own concern that this is drifting away from democracy."

Huh.
Really.
I can't believe it.

Because I never doubted that
a U.S.-imposed democracy in
Iraq would be nothing less than
a smashing success.

A federal judge ruled that the NSA's warrentless wiretapping program is unconstitutional.

Dang me.
Here's the ruling in pdf.

My favorite highlights:

The program "violates the separation of powers doctrine, the Administrative Procedures Act, the First and Fourth amendments to the United States Constitution, the FISA and Title III."

AND

"The president of the United States ... has undisputedly violated the Fourth in failing to procure judicial orders."

I'm sure it's going to be appealed (though it's really up in the air which way the Supreme Court will go. No really.) but for today let me take a phrase from his own mouth:

We Got Him.

why not having a plan is the best policy

I have had a near perfect vacation.

Friday night post-Peter-getting-out-of-work we headed wa-ay north to the G&T. Despite a late start and briefly getting lost in the deep woods it was a worthwhile trip. In fact it was so relaxing and fun there was a brief discussion regarding skipping the whole Dylan business despite someone constantly attempting to bait the liberals. Not really. But we did lose track of time for awhile there on Saturday. Thankfully, Mama Amy gently reminded us it was 2:30pm and we should probably head out. Sigh.

It was a long and quiet trip back down 131. Just when it seemed we'd never get there our exit appeared. A brief moment of scrambling and the next thing I know we're parking. A minor setback occurred when I realized I'd left the tickets in my wallet in the car, but we safely nagivated the stairs, the security, and we entered the stadium.

We just stood there.
Not moving.
Taking it all in.

(An aside: for those of you not familiar with the events, this was a momumental occasion. I spent the majority of my life not really caring for Dylan--okay, I hated him--. Though technically I saw him open for the Dead in 1995, I was far from a fan. The past year and a half was spent gently introducing me to his music. When the date was first announced for the show I didn't think I was going to be able to make it. And then I could.)

So here we stood. A few minutes passed and we were finally able to move and purchase huge adult beverages and sit along the top row of the stadium in the shade and wait for one of the many opening acts to take the stage.

We were standing in the sun when Elana James and the Continental Two came out. I turned to my partner in crime and said something about how well we could see them from way up there. And then she started to sing. Despite the 80 degree temperatures, the minute that woman opened her mouth I immediately got goosebumps. We looked at each other and took off for the field. If you like Old Crow Medicine Show, you'd love them. If you like rockabilly, you'd love them. If you like 1930s American music, you'd love them. If you like what's on Prairie Home Companion, you'd love them (kevdek, seriously, you are missing out my friend!) It was so good it was lump-in-the-throatish-good. And the sound from the field was so far superior to the sound in the stands.

After an exhilarating (but entirely too short!) set, we headed back up to get some more drinks and sit some more. We had no idea who was coming out next and I was thinking that no matter who it was it wouldn't come close to what we'd just heard.

Wrong.wrong.wrong.wrong.wrong.

All it took was Junior Brown and his wacky looking guitar to come out and we headed back down to the field. Between Highway Patrol and My Wife Thinks You're Dead, I had a swell time. Though the Village Voice has compared him to Jimi Hendrix (whhhhaaaaaa???) he had a nice Johnny Cash quality that I really got into. Plus that guitar is just straight up crazy.

After that set we decided it was time to take a sweep of the place and look for Mr. Fatty and Ms. Maddie. Imagine our surprise to turn the corner and head up the stairs and see an unexpected familiar face: the Trav! A moment of spontenaity led he and Scoot (a shout-out for driving my neighbor safely there and back!) to pick up tickets at the last minute. I was actually going to call him during the Dylan set ala him calling me during shows to remind me what I'm missing out on. Now knowing that Travis was there and would be able to spend hours post-show talking about every minute detail made me that much happier. We said goodbye and continued on our quest.

To no avail. I knew there was no way we could have missed him as he would have "wielded Maddie like a beacon" for all of us to see. Having the most adorable child in the world on your shoulders is a surefire way to make sure your friends find you in crowd. Ah well. It would have been extraspecial to see my first Dylan show at the age of 31 and for it to be Maddie's first show at the age of 5. Sorry you two missed it.

Jimmie Vaughn was next. Eh. Just not my thing. It's straight up good blues, but I was more a fan of the previous acts. We did head down to the field again though to start the oh-so-important manuevering for Dylan. It was fine. It was good even. Just not for me.

I'm going to take a wee break and head downstairs to make some lasagna (thanks to Travis for allowing me the use of his computer to write this monster here!) to be shared amongst the compound. I need sustanance to get me through the rest.

Okay. Lasagna in the oven. Glass of wine in hand. Here we go.

Before I launch into Dylan actually taking the stage let me say one thing about the crowd: Eclectic. Kids under the age of 12 were in for free. So there were kids and families. Cool. Never in my life have I been around so many men of all ages interested in fashion. I cannot tell you how many times I heard "Nice shirt, man!" Vintage Dylan shirts were everywhere. I actually commented on this little observation only to have it come back to haunt me. Whilst making the brazillionth trip up the stairs I was stopped by a middle aged man asking where I got my "Marlo Thomas t-shirt." I was wearing my Free to Be You and Me shirt I shamefully picked up at Old Navy many moons ago. I came clean though it was suggested I say I picked it up at a swap. There were only 2 instances during the show I had a problem with obnoxious drunks and only one was irritating enough for me to contemplate resorting to violence. Thankfully the husbands of the offenders carted them away from the sweet spot I was in.

So Jimmie Vaughn leaves the stage and the wait begins. When the guy tuning the guitars came out, everyone cheered. When the banner behind the stage was unfurled, everyone cheered. I was just about getting sick and tired of waiting (I actually considered throwing out my more than 2/3 full frozen margarita I was getting so impatient!) when the sounds of Fanfare to the Common Man can be heard over the speakers. Once again I found myself with chills. And then laughing. How perfect that a 20th century American musical icon is introducing a 20th century American musical icon! I knew ahead of time that this was how he starts his shows so it wasn't as if it were a surprise. What was a surprise was the followup: the Hoedown from Rodeo. That was quickly followed by the standard hilarious introduction which was, of course, even better to hear live than has been described to me countless times in the past year and a half.

I was told by many many people that not only would I be disappointed in Dylan's performance (you won't be able to understand him or he looks like a walking corpse or it's just the same thing he's been doing forever or his band is probably going to suck) as a newbie I probably wouldn't know even a third of the songs. Granted, it was a safe setlist, but I am proud to say I was familiar with all but 1.

Here is the list of the gloriousness I heard.

I'm not going to go into every song. I honestly don't think I'm educated enough in the Dylan to have formed an intelligent opinion on what I heard. But here are some of my favorite memories.

Maggie's Farm: solid (and I finished off that unwanted margarita before it was over).
Times They Are A-Changing: Didn't recognize it at first (my first introduction to how different his arrangements are live) but loved it.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum: Was told months ago (when discussing Modern Times) that when the track list for Love and Theft was released Peter got concerned. Love and Theft is standard listening for me at work. I loved hearing it.
It's Alright, Ma: Hell. Just good. Just.good.
Just Like a Woman: For some reason I had the overwhelming urge to call Trav during this song despite me knowing he was somewhere in the crowd.
Cold Iron Bounds: I was stumped. The one that tripped me up completely.
Shelter From the Storm: Of course, being a newbie, Blood on the Tracks is one of my favorite albums. This is one of my favorite songs. And the musical arrangement? Slowed down and perfect. One of the highlights as this was also the time I looked up and realized the stars were out in full force. And I, Erin Davison, was at my first Bob Dylan concert.
Masters of War: Perfectly political for a political gal.
From here on out I was in full enjoyment, rocking out, dancing mode. The encore was what I expected and perfect.

I'm not going to lie. I knew he hasn't played guitar in a long time on stage. Yet everytime he walked away from the keyboards I prayed to myself "Pickupaguitarpickupaguitarpickupaguitar." Alas, it was not to be.

For all ye naysayers all I can say is that you were 100% wrong. His enunciation was dead-on. He was animated and dare I say joyful and grinning. His band was perfect. I left that show craving more. I think it was only fitting that we drove from Grand Rapids to the Sandbar: the place I really grew to appreciate Dylan on the jukebox and where countless conversation about him have taken place.

The rest of my vacation has been pretty darn good. Sunday night we went upstairs and post-showed the bejeezus out of it and watched a $5.00 bootleg video Peter picked up of a show from 1992. Monday I slept in, went grocery shopping (!!!!) and then went for a hike in the Dunes with Kari where we saw the cutest baby raccoon sleeping in a tree right next to the trail. Everyone knows how much I love baby aminals. Today I puttered about. Did as much as the Times crossword puzzle as I could, made some hopefully killer lasagna, and spent an insane amount of time up here writing this thing.

I also found out that Old Crow Medicine Show is playing in Detroit on my birthday.

Happy Birthday to me!

five days of bliss await me

I'm so glad I'm not an airport security employee today.

It's really interesting to hear the wide variety of reactions from travelers. It's everything from "well, I'd rather wait in line than be dead" to "it's completely stupid that I have to throw out my lipgloss." Having to taste my own breast milk would be kind of a drag. As would being forced to be on a flight to London without the distraction of a book or my trusty Nalgene bottle. I do take comfort in the knowledge that once again the midwest appears safe from attack. As usual, terrorists are much more interested in the cool cities than the heartland.

I don't know about you but I'm pretty sick and tired of hearing that a ceasefire plan is a mere few days away only to discover that we're still doing the same old thing: Tony Snow stands in the press room and says that no one should escalate the violence (that's you Israel) and yet Condi Rice talks to Olmert on the phone and doesn't tell him to hold off on the ground assault.
I have a prediction. This administration will go down as having the worst record of diplomacy in American history. It's transparent and is being run like it's a kid's game. It's never good when I start talking about how much better off we'd be if only Bush Sr. was our Secretary of State.

Darth Cheney had some really nice things to say about the Democratic Party and Lieberman. He implied that those who supported the ousting of Lieberman were encouraging "al Qaeda types." Oh Cheney, you big card. Methinks someone's getting a little scared about midterms. And Lieberman? Keep up the outstanding work of sounding like a Republican.

I wonder how the Democrats will take this amazing opportunity and screw it up?

Speaking of Democrats who screw things up, I sent the Granholm campaign an email expressing my displeasure with her first ad. And I was only allowed 255 characters (including spaces between words!) in which to do that. Brevity of language is not my strong suit. I'm pretty sure the email said something like "The ad misses the mark and has embarrassingly low production value. It's not about gas prices. It's the economy, stupid. Respond to DeVos attacks or I go 3rd party."

Eloquent, no?

I think I might have mentioned this, but I've got some plans Saturday night involving me, a Berghoef, and a Bob Dylan.

The next post will be a review of the concert.
Consider yourselves warned.

happy you got published again day!

A spot of good news came our way last night. Another poem has been accepted this time at Right Hand Pointing! It will either appear in the 12th or 13th issue. Fear not: I'm certain between the two of us we'll efficiently and obnoxiously spread the word to everyone we know.

Voting yesterday was fairly depressing. First, I handed the woman my voter i.d. card. She looked perplexed. I then forced her to look at my photo i.d. to verify that I was who I said I was as she was just going to take my name and my word for it. Yeesh. I voted in the Republican Primary (It's the only vote Dick DeVos or Peter Hoekstra will ever get from me!) and for the millage, of course. When I went to turn in my ballot I discovered that I was the 127th person to vote at my precinct. And the polls were closing in 30 minutes. The highlight of the experience was being thanked for voting. I responded by thanking him for volunteering his time. It was suggested that this gave the elderly gentleman the first hard-on he'd had in years.

I do what I can.

In other primary excitement, Lieberman has officially made himself irrelevant in the Democratic Party. I say yeehah to that. I'd respect his 3rd party choice more if that was the path he'd chosen from the beginning. Schwartz being knocked out wasn't really that surprising given the numerous and inflammatory ads that Walberg ran. It's always sad to see a somewhat moderate and intelligent Republican lost to a rightwingnut. Then again, it is Western Michigan. What do I expect?!

In an interesting turn of events I'm looking at a 5 day weekend! If I didn't use the vacation time during this pay period I was going to lose it because of my anniversary date. So I'm off Friday-Tuesday. So far things are looking go-od. Tomorrow night the festivities begin with an unexpected out-of-town much beloved friend and I having dinner which will most certainly turn into drinks and some catty fun. Friday we head up north for a night in a cabin with people we always vow to spend more time with but never do. And Saturday....hmmm....what...am...I...
doing...Saturday....

Oh yeah.
The Bob.
The Dylan.
The Bob Dylan.

victory is mine!

After countless games and many months I have finally achieved one of the greatest accomplishments of my life.

I beat him at Scrabble.

I've also hit another milestone. As of August 13 I will have been working at the library in my current position for 5 years. That does not include the previous year I spent as a page checking items in. Though I'm slightly horrified at how stagnant I have become (this is someone who used to move every 9 months--aren't you glad I grew out of that one, Mom and Dad!) I am comforted by the knowledge that I have learned alot and have had pretty amazing opportunities given my low-level position of Aide: from shelver to member of the Stragetic Planning Committee to doing-my-boss'-job-of-weeding-the-fiction-collection to programming committee member to Smartest Card committee member...I'm proud of what I've done here at this library.
I have managed to gain the respect of my superiors and maintained polite relationships with my coworkers (mostly because they're afraid I'm going to turn them in for some sort of infraction!). But the time has come for me to move on. I'm bored. I'm tired of seeing how much better this place could be but not having the power to change it. I'm tired of mediocrity being the standard for everything from customer service to work ethics. I'm tired of not being challenged by anything more than wading through the minefield of office politics--knowing that what I'm proposing is best for the library, but coming up against massive resistance from the old school mentality of "well it's just the way it's always been."

I'm also tired of this town that I have lived in and complained about for almost 10 years off and on. Hearing about Dragon Boat Festivals and a packed Church Street and Universalist Unitarian Church services has once again reminded me how much I long for the East.

I just need to work out the plan to get me there.

voting day tomorrow!

You know what? I don't feel like explaining the intricacies of the primary. Here's WZZM's voter's guide and here's WOODTV's political page which has extensive primary coverage. Just vote, people. Spend a little time getting to know some candidates, but more importantly get out there and vote on your local millages. And for those of you in Connecticut: Vote for Lamont. Lieberman is saying just about anything to win back some votes from his 10 point deficit. He has been bad for the Democratic Party since Gore named him as the running mate in 2000. If he loses the primary he claims he'll run as an independent. This will pretty much ensure there's no way in hell he'll be able to secure the presidential nomination in 2008. I say yay to that.

After stalling for 28 days, the U.S. has finally decided to team up with France and press for the passage of a U.N. resolution calling for the "cessation of hostilities." Upon closer examination it appears this resolution will please just about no one. Israel isn't required to withdrawal from Lebanon, Lebanon isn't required to return the kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and no one really is required to disarm. Lebanon and Hezbollah have already said that they won't abide by resolution so Condi's little statement: "we'll see who's for peace and who isn't" is embarrassingly transparent. And guess who's on vacation?

Let's hear it for some top-notch diplomacy.

In typical U.S-consumers-freakout-fashion, the headlines on the news and online are all about BP and the oilfield shutting down. It'd be hilarious if it didn't mean that everything-from groceries to clothes to airline tickets-were going to be more expensive as a result. And what exactly do I find so funny? First, the oilfield is being shut down due to suspected "severe corrosion." Given that BP is already in a little bit of trouble for the largest oil spill ever recorded on the North Slope (200,000 gallons), it seems to me that they should be applauded for at least attempting to prevent another such environmental disaster not demonized for denying the U.S. their oil fix. And second, you think maybe instead of wringing our hands and shaking our fists and bemoaning our high prices and then continuing to fill our gas tanks and buy goods at higher prices and buying big old fuel inefficient vehicles we could alter the way we do things in this country? Despite not actually owning a vehicle, I definitely benefit from others so I'm not going to get all self-righteous or anything. I am going to point out, however, that the longer we continue on this path that little-bitty-problem that we all scoffed at 20 years ago...you know what I'm talking about...the global warming theory? Yeah, that's just going to continue to get worse.

Flavor of Love is one of the most intelligent, provocative, heart-warming shows on television. It brings the world together in ways no other show can.

Watch and learn.

i slept under my duvet last night and it was heavenly

Sorry to all of those I promised a quick and easy guide to voting in your primary. Monday I'll break it down for you.

Burger Nite at the Boathouse followed by an impromptu date at the Sandbar. Despite the impression that we spend a ton o'time together (and I guess we do) alot of that time is spent in the company of others. And sometimes that's just fine. Sometimes it is not. Last night was fun at the Sandbar in that we geeked out over the upcoming Dylan show pontificating on important aspects like the weather, the Pita House, how close we'll get, how long it will take before I recognize Mr. Tambourine Man, if comments to the Dylan newbie are welcomed, where we'll go post-concert to dissect the show, if backpacks are allowed, whether he'll play guitar, if songs off the new album will be played...you get the idea. We also talked about Hillary Clinton's electability amongst democrats (close to zero), Neil Young's new album and his reference to Barak Obama being too young, if it is possible for another band to come along and be as culturally and musically relevant as the Beatles (which lead to a discussion on U2 v Radiohead), awkward social encounters and how to deal with them, writing fan letters to Charles Simic, Old Testament biblical history and whether it was presented to us as truth or parable (by the way, I am completely ignorant of the Old Testament. I would not want to go up against my companion in a bible bee. I know I would lose.), the difference between RCA and CRC, how going to a Christian college from the public school system is startling, personality traits that are passed down between parents and children and how you picked up ones from the parent you never expected, short stories in the vein of Anderson, giving the impression of possessing bravado but really being entirely too polite to ever truly be rude, library patron stories, what "up to 6 months" means...

And then we went home where the conversation continued.

When I have nights like that-nights when conversation is more than easy: it's organic and interesting and fluid and entertaining and funny and intelligent-I realize how lucky I am to spend time with someone who appears to enjoy spending time with me.

These days, sadly, that seems to be a rarity amongst all kinds of relationships.

feminazis are funny

Last night I watched almost an entire episode of the Colbert Report for the first time (I also got to watch my mythological boyfriend, Jon Stewart, but I think it's best to leave that little episode for my own-ahem-fantasy life) and his guest was Linda Hirshman, feminist academic philosopher who recently wrote a book entitled: Get to Work: A Manifesto for Women of the World. Granted, this was clearly not a serious interview. But what struck me was how, once again, academia manages to seem completely out of touch with reality (and by academia I mean The Left). The book is a polemic so it's obviously meant to generate discussion and take the other side of a much beloved point of view. One of my favorite books is: Against Love: A Polemic by Laura Kipnis so it's not as if I don't understand the point of polemics. But for some reason, last night this woman touched a nerve with me.

I consider myself a feminist. In fact, I can't imagine being a woman and not identifying with feminist principles-equal rights, equal pay, equal opportunities, blah blah blah. But I do have a tendency to get irked when I am told that I'm not feminist enough or when the feminist movement ignores the realities of the majority of women.

After doing a little more reading, I discovered that she's actually not addressing the majority of women. She's addressing the "educated and affluent" woman who is 30-40 years old, married and with children. Whew! Glad to hear I'm not failing feminism. Her research for that particular article I just linked was spotty at best (something about women who's wedding announcements were in the Sunday Styles weddings section of the NYT--and her inspiration for this little research project was the infamous Charlotte SITC episode where she agonizes over her wedding making the cut--rah rah for pop culture!) but the thrust of her argument was that well-educated women who "chose" to stay at home instead of pursuing careers are wrong to do so. The issue of "choice" in feminism is what failed feminism:

"The privileged brides of the Times -- and their husbands -- seem happy. Why do we care what they do? After all, most people aren't rich and white and heterosexual, and they couldn't quit working if they wanted to.

We care because what they do is bad for them, is certainly bad for society, and is widely imitated, even by people who never get their weddings in the Times. This last is called the "regime effect" and it means that even if women don't quit their jobs for their families, they think they should and feel guilty about not doing it. That regime effect created the mystique around The Feminine Mystique, too.

As for society, elites supply the labor for the decision-making classes -- the senators, the newspaper editors, the research scientists, the entrepreneurs, the policy-makers, and the policy wonks. If the ruling class is overwhelmingly male, the rulers will make mistakes that benefit males, whether from ignorance or from indifference. Media surveys reveal that if only one member of a television show's creative staff is female, the percentage of women on-screen goes up from 36 percent to 42 percent. A world of 84-percent male lawyers and 84-percent female assistants is a different place than one with women in positions of social authority. Think of a big American city with an 86-percent white police force. If role models don't matter, why care about Sandra Day O'Connor? Even if the falloff from peak numbers is small, the leveling off of women in power is a loss of hope for more change. Will there never again be more than one woman on the Supreme Court?" (my emphasis)

She's right about the elites supplying the labor for the decision-making classes--the most powerful classes. That's exactly why I want to be in administration some day. The power to enact change happens at that level and that's where the big boys play. But it's really not all that revolutionary. It's no different than the whole "if women ran the world there would be no more war" argument that's been passed around for decades (though I point to Margaret Thatcher and say REALLY?!). What bother's me is the judgment of the second paragraph. It's bad for them...there are alot of things in this world that are bad for people but one of the greatest aspects of this society is our ability to chose. It seems counterproductive to the feminist movement to admonish those who make a choice-a personal choice-based on what is best for them instead of attempting to shoot through the glass ceiling.

I know this is painfully long and but a few will actually read most of it, but I had to laugh when she suggests a way to follow her third rule: "...don’t put yourself in a position of unequal resources when you marry."

"You can either find a spouse with less social power than you or find one with an ideological commitment to gender equality. Taking the easier path first, marry down. Don't think of this as brutally strategic. If you are devoted to your career goals and would like a man who will support that, you're just doing what men throughout the ages have done: placing a safe bet."

AND

"Because money is such a marker of status and power, it's hard to persuade women to marry poorer. So here's an easier rule: Marry young or marry much older. Younger men are potential high-status companions. Much older men are sufficiently established so that they don't have to work so hard, and they often have enough money to provide unlimited household help. By contrast, slightly older men with bigger incomes are the most dangerous, but even a pure counterpart is risky."

Love.It.
I'm going to start working on my personal ad immediately.

Slate, of course, in typical Slated-out fashion has 2 opposing analysis of her book here and here.

oh to be raul castro

The diagnosis:
A sinus infection from weeks ago that drained into my lungs. I'm currently on antibiotics (which I don't think I've been on in years), and Advair. Plus I'm in possession of Albuterol for those out-of-control coughing fits/shallow-breathing panic attacks. All of the alarms on my phone are currently being used to remind me to take said medications at appointed times (I don't know how all of you old people do it!). 24 hours and the difference is amazing. It also helps that last night I slept in air conditioning and I'm looking forward to another night of comfort tonight as well. This was a big fat wakeup call, folks. Time to really start taking care of myself. Not being able to breathe really does hinder one's ability to have a good time and, well, live.

So I'm back at work where the patrons have just gotten out of prison or are looking for someone to talk to about just how hot it is outside. Let's take bets on how many times I can say "Really? I hadn't noticed!"

Now I ain't no friend of Fidel or nothing, but does anyone else find the celebrating in Miami a little...I don't know...distasteful? I get that most of these people risked their lives to escape Castro's regime, but it seems tacky. Like breaking-up-with-someone-on-their-voicemail tacky. Regardless, Raul Castro is one lucky dude. With the U.S. looking to finally take down the Last Cold War Evil Empire (I swear I heard it referred to as something akin to this last night on NBC news--did everyone forget that China and our good friends North Korea are still communist?) Raul better watch his back. Or at the very least his cigars. Who knows what wacky idea the U.S. government will come up with to dismantle this last bastion of pinko-commie bastards.

The only thing I have to say about Israel and Hezbollah is what I've been saying since the beginning: enough is enough.

On a more personal note: A change has been a-comin' round these parts for awhile. There has been something brewing. I know that I have been more removed than usual and people near and far have noticed. And it has been very good for me. Not to get all Oprah-esque on everyone, but I've been giving a lot of thought to my relationships with people and thinking a little more about who I'm choosing to let into my life and why. I was blessed by growing up in a family that always thought of others first. This really is a wonderful gift I was taught and yet it also can mean I will frequently put others needs ahead of my own. I still struggle with balance, but I really do feel optimistic that things will even out. I stated from the beginning that this was the Summer of Erin Doing What She Wanted, When She Wanted.

So far, I think I'm pretty on track.