The New England Society for Tea Fetishism

Do you know where I'm going tonight? To the Comedy Connection in Boston, Quincy Market for all you Boston savvy people out there, to see Dane Cook perform. I've seen him on tv before. I predict that tonight the stomach muscles will be sore from laughing.

Manda got my stuff from school and put it in the mail today. Manda is great.
I tried to make those lemon tea biscuits today and I murdered them. Too much lemon extract. When my mom got home I told her that I put them all down the disposal. She asked me why and I told her that they tasted awful. She said, "I'll be the judge of that," like she didn't believe me that they tasted like ass. I should have explained it better. She probably thought I meant that they were too lemony. What I should have said was that they tasted like a chemical landfill. Icky, bitter, nastiness.
I watched Ma Vie En Rose today. It made me cry. I think I was upset about the cookies.

Less than two weeks to Long Island. Before then, I have decided to eat whatever the hell I want, whenever the hell I want. I'm going to need a little extra junk in my trunk. You see, I was trying to save money, so I opted for the 8 meal a week plan. And, as I have stated, this is going to be Sodexho food. I plan to exist mainly on granola bars and tea. And possibly **sniffle, sniffle** Top Ramen.

I was reading the Parents' Television Counsel website because Angel is featured as one of the ten worst shows. It is cited because it features gory violence and sends a bad message to teens about sex because one couple had some violent foreplay. First off, there's a disclaimer at the beginning of the show that says Angel is intended for mature viewers. Second, anyone who watches the show knows that the couple given as an example is supremely screwed up to begin with, so it's not like the producers are trying to pass it off as a healthy, normal relationship. I hate how they pass judgement by focussing in on one or two things and don't look at the whole picture. Smallville is on their 10 best list because "the overall themes of good triumphing over evil, the importance of helping others, and the moral imperative for those who are strong to aid the weak is unique in today’s television landscape." Hello? That's the theme of Angel and it's been on for four years. But characters on Angel don't always win and they make bad decisions and bad stuff happens to them even when they have the best intentions. Like in the real world. I can't really comment on the shows on the 10 best list because I've only seen three of them more than once, but I assume that they're extrememly light on the sex-talk, which seems to be what these people object to the most. Case-in-point, they cited Scrubs, a show about doctors, for using the word "vagina." One neurotic female doctor talks to her friend about being courted to specialize in gynecology and says that she looked at bajingos all day. "Bajingo, bajingo, bajingo. I can’t even look at my own bajingo.” Carla, a nurse, retorts, “Is that because it looks so much like a vagina?” They called that inappropriate, like it was some kind of dirty sexual innuendo. What's so dirty about using the correct terminology for your own body?
So that's my rant for the day. Also, Sodexho does the food at Southampton.

Did you know that Brazil is really progressive with its AIDS healthcare? I was watching a program on my local cable access channel and apparently people with AIDS or HIV get their medication for free or for very little money. Also, they get passes for busses and ferries that allow them to bypass the line if they're feeling tired or under the weather. They get other benefits but I can't remember them right now. On the same channel I also saw a program about Vietnam veterans who went around to public schools in Massachusetts telling highschool students what it's really like to be in the armed forces and to be involved in a war. They felt that it was their responsibility to tell kids what they went through so they could take what the recruiters said with a grain of salt. The program was taped in the late 80s. I hope that they still do stuff like that.

First off, Huzzah! The blogger staging area is back to normal. The other one was irritating in its sparcity.
I've been watching a lot of television lately which means I've seen a large number of commercials for all manner of hideous food ads targeting children. And all I keep thinking is "that is not going into my kids' stomachs." I have this vision of my ideal family, we're all eating whole grains and pesticide-free produce, lots of soy protein, no soda, etc. I'm not saying that there won't be any junk food, but it will be in moderation. I can't imagine feeding my children a cereal with marshmallows in it every day.
And then I think about how tough it's going to be just getting their shoes on in the morning and I wonder if I'll be able to get them to eat a well-balanced diet without cracking. I wonder if I'll have to compromise my integrity, start "rolling my husband's meatballs" if you will. Only time will tell.
Funny Story: I put my contacts in yesterday and noticed that my right eye was taking longer to focus on things than my left. I thought I might have put them in the wrong eyes but if that were the case it would be my left eye having the problems, so I left them where they were and went downstairs to use the computer. About half-an-hour later my mom yells down "Are you having trouble seeing?" And in that instant, I knew. I was wearing my mother's contacts.
Other news: I saw Swingers on HBO. Very cute for a movie about heterosexual guys on the prowl.

AMY or ANNIE!!!
What is your address in Blue Hill? Please email me or call me because if I have comments I cannot see them (see previous post) and please do it toot sweet because I have something perishable to send you.
Also, puppetry of the ass has rendered me incapable of composing or sending emails. I can still receive them, praise Buddah. All communications to the outside world are thus blog-based until I can get or get to another computer.

Okay kids, here's your writing assignment for the week: My computer is an ass puppet (don't know, can't tell you) and I'm wondering if the lack of comments thing is a result of ass puppetry or a blogger deal. So, in five words or less, are your comments working? Thanks. This will be graded.
On the brighter side, two departments at Southampton, financial aid and academic advising, want me to be a graduate assistant. It's nice to have choices.

By the way, Annie, we made the cookies on Saturday and they are scrumptious. My mom says thanks, again. Have you ever noticed that cookie is spelled with an "ie" in the singular and the plural? You'd think it would be "cooky" and "cookies."
Kirsten, I get that blog is full deal too, but it still published.
Ever wonder what would happen if you just let a head of lettuce grow instead of picking it? Yeah, me neither, but that's what happened in my mom's garden. It grew into a four-foot stalk and at the top there are little yellow flowers growing on long stems. Alien produce. Tres bizzare.

Comments are down again. Congratulations on that tattoo, Kirsten, I'm proud of you. Annie, I think that eventually everyone has the smiley-bat dream. It was just your turn. Amy, I'm glad that having your parents up was only semi-awful. Also, it's nice to know that I'm at least once-removed from evil.
I am officially re-enamored of Radiohead. Of course, that happens to me with every Radiohead album (except Pablo Honey. I have yet to get all the way through that one). The first time I heard Hail to the Thief, I wasn't sure, but after a few more listens I knew that it was brilliant. My new favorite song is "A Wolf at the Door." I'm tired of those music critics who call any British band with a male front who can do a nice falsetto "the next Radiohead." I will tell you this: I love Coldplay. They make very lovely music that is instantly likeable and lets my inner-romantic come out and romp with the puppies. But it's not complex or metaphorical. It's not challenging. I don't hate it one moment and love it the next. That is why I adore Radiohead. After a week of thinking, "What the eff is this?" I get that moment of epiphany, that "Holy shit!" moment where the music is completely new even if I've already listened to it ten times. Coldplay are good, but Radiohead they are not.

Does anyone keep up with the news? The New Hampshire Episcopal Church just elected an openly gay man as bishop. Go New Hampshire. I guess that kind of makes up for voting for Dubya.

A good block of those address labels were for people in Maine. I put on labels for Deer Isle, Blue Hill, Stonington, Ellsworth, Bar Harbor, Bass Harbor, everywhere. It was neat. Tracy and I are taking a day trip to Kittery to go shopping, but mostly just to spend the day together.

I'm sorry, but this really has to be documented. I went to work with the illustrious Madame Tracy this morning and assisted her in printing and affixing around three-thousand address labels onto informational pamphlets about Salem State College. Then we went to lunch, and eventually ended up at her house where we sat in the backyard and chatted. Her doggy, Bruno, was doing his business and having a rough time of it. He appeared to think that moving two yards to the right and squatiing reeeeaaaalllly hard would improve his situation. Finally he gave up and trotted over to us. Now, Bruno likes to pick the trash. He also likes to eat paper. He had about half an inch of tissue sticking out of his bum. Of course, we had to help him. Tracy and I discussed several different strategies, but I finally decided on the chopstick-technique. She got me two sticks from the kindling pile. While Bruno was stretched out on the patio I snuck up behind him and started tugging on the tissue. His response was to get up and drag his bum on the ground. I tried again, and while he seemed a little nervous, I think he knew I was helping. When my kindling chopsticks got a good grip I pulled, which caused Bruno to walk away from me, leaving three inches of very soiled tissue in my chopsticks. What a surprise! It was like butt-magic. And Amy's assertion that I am a thirteen-year-old boy is confirmed yet again.

So, I'm a total tool. I have to have this loan application done like yesterday. I was pretty much done and I got distracted by another website. By the time I got back to the loan website it was inactive for too long and shut me out. Now I have to wait for an email with my user password to get to me before I can get back on. And it's not there yet! Can I tell you that I'm slightly irked? I'm slightly irked.

Whoa. Ummm, something weird is happening with my blog's staging area. Is this across the board or am I just really special?
Anywho, I'm glad I have the internet back. I saw three movies this weekend. After listening to it on tape, I had to see Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It was good, but I wish that they could have put in Nearly Headless Nick's Death Day party. And they're all growing up! Ron's voice kept cracking near the end. It was so cute. Next, we watched Final Destination 2, which was just an excuse to kill people in really creative and disgusting ways. I kept closing my eyes, but I still saw way too much. eeep. And finally, there was Basic, with John Travolta and Sam Jackson. Twists and turns abound, and although the surprise ending was amusing, I'm not sure that it was earned. Big weekend, huh? Now I'm onto student loans. Wish me luck.