The Whiner

I really don't know why I continue to torment myself each week by reading The Wire, Portsmouth's "alternative", groovier-than-thou, free arts and music scene rag. Every week there's some opinion piece in there that makes me want to say "Stop whining already!" There's usually at least one reference per issue ever-still mourning the late, great and endlessly hyped Elvis Room, which I think was long out of business before The Wire ever came along. (And no, although I am of the generation, I never went to the Elvis Room. I was living in Japan or Hawaii then.) Anyway, it's long gone. Get over it already.
This week there were two articles bemoaning Cafe Killim's move to Islington St. Why bitch about it? Yes, the market for downtown real estate is hot. Did you like it better back in the late 70s and early 80s when the whole place was dead and everyone was out at the Newington Mall? Why are they complaining about Popovers on the Square as if it were some big corporate tentacle? It's owned by the guy who owns the Galley Hatch in Hampton. It's another local business. Is it too pretty for their "alternative" tastes?
They were all chicken little-y when the Muddy River changed hands and the live downstairs music stopped for a couple of weeks while the new owners decided what they wanted to do. Oh! It was "the end of an era" for live music in downtown Portsmouth. For a couple of weeks anyway until the new owners reopened and renamed the room and started featuring a much wider selection of music and bands.
The Wire bitched about The Friendly Toast being offered the option of buying their location. (Oh no! Don't give them a chance to build equity when they could just pay rent endlessly instead!!) Another sign of Big Bad Business in their eyes. The Friendly Toast did not spring fully hatched at that location. The Friendly Toast started out in Dover and I think they were in Kittery for a while after that before they moved to Portmouth.
The paper seems so reactionary to every change that happens in downtown Portstmouth. I wonder if they have a clue about what's going to happen with the McIntyre Federal Building on Daniel Street. That the whole thing will be torn down and the 2.2 acre lot redeveloped, with the federal offices moving out to Pease. But all that talk happened back in 2003, before The Wire's time. I'm betting that won't stop them from whining about it.

Dawn Breaks Over the Peaks of the Himalayas

I have devised a theory as to why it's taking so long (3.5 months since the trial and still waiting) for my divorce decree to come down. Each individual letter of the decree is being flown by carrier pigeon to a Himalayan mountain top where a scribe is painstakingly recording each precious letter in liquefied gold, in Sanskrit. It will then be carried by hand across the continent and handed off to a long distance swimmer who will bring it back across the ocean to the Strafford County Court for proofreading. The court will, of course, need to consult with a Sanskrit expert from the university, who is naturally on sabbatical for this academic year, to ensure the accuracy.
When I finally get the thing I will frame it in all of its gold lettered splendor and put it on my living room wall. Or if it's too many pages, I'll use it to wallpaper my bathroom.

Third or Fourth Time's the Charm?

For the past four years I have been in an office with a motion detector sensor light that is timed to shut off after about 10 minutes. This means when I am sitting at my desk working, the light flicks off and I have to wave my arm spastically around behind me until the motion sensor detects it and turns the light back on. I have emailed and called the facilities department and have even asked the departmental admin person to check into it for me. Four years and I'm still waiving my arm behind me to turn the light back on. I just made another call to the facilities department and asked them to come and fix it. Uh, what was that definition of insanity again? Something about doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome....

Where Did My Time Go?

I don't understand how I used to have more time to blog than I do now. I somehow recall blogging from my office in the mornings, but I never have time for that anymore. I don't blog much from home now either. Guess I'm not feeling particularly observant or introspective these days.

I've Always Been Well-Rounded

Okay, but if I really am this insightful and intelligent, why am I sitting in my office taking online quizzes instead of doing my work!?

Very Well-Rounded You have: 62% SCIENTIFIC INTUITION and 70% EMOTIONAL INTUITION

The graph on the right represents your place in Intuition 2-Space. As you can see, you scored above average on emotional intuition and above average on scientific intuition. (Weirdly, your emotional and scientific intuitions are equally strong.) Your Emotional Intuition score is a measure of how well you understand people, especially their unspoken needs and sympathies. A high score score usually indicates social grace and persuasiveness. A low score usually means you're good at Quake. Your Scientific Intuition score tells you how in tune you are with the world around you; how well you understand your physical and intellectual environment. People with high scores here are apt to succeed in business and, of course, the sciences. Try my other test! The 3 Variable Funny Test It rules.

My test tracked 2 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender: You scored higher than 99% on Scientific You scored higher than 99% on Interpersonal

Link: The 2-Variable Intuition Test written by jason_bateman on OkCupid, home of the 32-Type Dating Test

This Bugs Me

Here in New Hampshire in the spring we have to put up with black flies. We also have to put up with mosquitos that might carry Eastern Equine Encephalitis, which can theoretically kill us. But I think I'll take any bug situation NH can throw at me, even the burly spiders, over what happens in this video of the Great Osaka Cockroach Stampede. (via Japan Probe)

She Has Such Good Taste!

Twice in the past two weeks a student and I have showed up to class wearing variations on the exact same outfit on the same days. Last week (back when it was still warm) we both wore teal blue t-shirts, black cotton skirts and black shoes. Her skirt was longer and she wore sandals and my skirt was knee length and I wore heels, but still it was the same basic color combination and outfit. I walked into class this morning and she started cracking up before I even noticed we were both wearing navy blue cable-knit crew-neck sweaters, khaki colored pants and brown clogs. Again, the sweaters were slightly different and so were the pants and shoes, but it's funny. The term "age appropriate interpretations of a look" springs to mind. How we end up wearing it on the same day is a little bit of a mystery though.
I do this cloned dressing with my sister by coincidence all the time, but it kind of makes sense because we're related and are often told we look a lot alike. It's not a huge surprise that with our shared background and similar "look" we gravitate towards similar styles. My student is obviously younger than me. She's a little taller than me and has completely different hair. I told her next week she should email me before class and let me know what she's wearing so I can make sure I don't wear the same thing!

Ooooh. Leia!

This may solve that annual "what to be for Halloween" dilemma for me this year. It's perfect for trick or treating in New England because by the end of October it's damn cold to be out walking around for several hours at night. Cranial warmth and Halloween costume all in one. And I'd have to knit it! Perfect!

Congrats. Sort of...

So Princess Kiko has given birth to a baby boy and the succession crisis of the Japanese imperial family has been averted. I bet they've known it was going to be a boy from the get go. The Imperial Household Agnecy wouldn't have it any other way.
They still don't have any spare male heirs kicking around though. Maybe they ought to just reinstate the imperial concubine system. That would shake things up some.