Ina Garten

"You can be miserable before you eat a cookie and you can be miserable after you eat a cookie but you can’t be miserable while you are eating a cookie."

-- Ina Garten, "Barefoot Contessa"

Frats In Trouble

She's a helluva twat from Agnes Scott, she'll fuck for 50 cents.
She'll lay her ass upon the grass, her panties on the fence.
You supply the liquor, and she'll supply the lay.
And if you can't get it up, you sunuva bitch, you're not from UVA.

-- "Rugby Road"

Rugby Road is fraternity row at the University of Virginia. I had heard that their fraternities have been suspended, and now I see why. "Rolling Stone" magazine wrote up a devastating piece on the rape scene there, and they got a response alright. It is another indication that there is at least a lot of effort to turn things around regarding sexual abuse on college campuses. It remains to be seen, of course, whether such a thing can be stopped, with the birds and bees being what they are, and privileged men being what they are, with so many lovely flowers about.

[Source: Sabrina Rubin Erdely, "A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA" in Rolling Stone]

Pop's TV Dreams

Money-stress. I haven't really felt that in a long time, in years, I guess. Pop just has always seemed to be able to pull money from somewhere, seeming to have inexhaustible resources, at least for our modest but reasonably comfy lifestyle. This is not about anything I want. I would be quite happy for things simply to continue as they have been over these past ten years.

The problem is that Pop has become big-eyed over an ad he saw for a big-screen TV. 'Tis the season of Christmas specials! He would only have to pay 56 dollars per month to have the TV of his dreams ((I think it is "curved", though that strikes me as possibly being more of a bug than a feature)). The thing is, that is 56 dollars every single month for years and years, till the end of his life and beyond most likely. One has to feel the weight of that constant draw from your bank account. He does talk about the need to cut back, if he goes that route. Last night, he even told me that he found a way to do it: he'll cancel his subscription to Dish's premium channels - the HBOs and Showtimes and such, which includes all his cowboy shows. This is why I think he is beginning to lose his mind. He is willing to walk out on that thin limb for a big, fancy television set, only to then not have anything to watch.

Bright Abyss

“If quantum entanglement is true, if related particles react in similar or opposite ways even when separated by tremendous distances, then it is obvious that the whole world is alive and communicating in ways we do not fully understand. And we are part of that life, part of that communication. ...”

-- Christian Wiman, "My Bright Abyss"