Actually! Question!

I was going to post a long update of long - I keep on forgetting to blog, actually, which is kind of embarrassing.

Then it hit me. I should ask.

Does anyone use LiveJournal, around here?

Also, is anyone still reading (or occasionally checking) this blog ?

*cough*

And as the week wears on, more is written - this is good, I hope it keeps up. I've been thinking about Nano lately, and I really hope that this year I can write more effectively than I did last year. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I'm reading more lately, but it also has to do with wonderful prompts I've been getting from friends. This means that I have to think of daily prompts for November. In order to help motivate myself, I might even publish them here - the prompts, that is, not their results. I'm selfish about original writing.

Maybe I'll do Nano differently, this year. I started off with an outline last year and was unable to keep up with it, mostly, I think, because I didn't like my story all that much. I may, instead of an outline, give myself daily prompts that only mesh in together insofar as that they relate to the same group of original characters / universe, etc.

Where I originally wanted to write something that is non-fantasy (an old, old project of mine prompted by the desire to please Mommy Dearest), I think I probably will go for fantasy this year. This may or may not have anything to do with the fact that Mommy Dearest herself is supporting my attendance at WorldCon, WTF. She is earning my eternal adoration for this. And for everything else, but. This Is Cool.

Epic long post so that you will all forgive me

I had a horribly, monstrously busy weekend that involved two plays and a child birthday party. The latter was almost unexpected: the friend who was supposed to give me a lift had not given any sign of life until the last minute, and I had to rush out because I hate making people wait. I kind of died of adorable with the little ones, though.

The first play was fun - it was Boeing-Boeing, a farce about the down sides of polygamy, in 1960's France (which was adapted twice for the big screen, including in the US with *gasp* Jerry Lee Lewis!) The play was directed in Vaudeville style, with a local twist and some regional expressions. It was very enjoyable, aside for the bit where I was the only person laughing at the really funny jokes (wtf, audience?). I will never truly understand these people, I think.This was actually part of the Just for Laughs festival, which has been litterally on my doorstep these past two weeks. Every day, I got off work to wander into a street full of clowns and revellers. A bit surreal, but wonderful all the same.

The second play was Shakespeare's As You Like It, as directed by Repercussions. I enjoyed the fact that it was a bilingual adaptation, and adored the way it was directed. It was funny, witty, well done, and all in all very pleasant to sit through. It was also, alas, sometimes hard to hear over the popping of fireworks. You gotta admit it, life in Montreal is wonderful in the summer, even if one free activity actually gets in the way of the other.

And as I've taken to writing a lot of fan fiction lately (it's a good exercise in writing), now I must ask. Are there any curious readers, out there?

I love Virginia Woolf more than is healthy

So since there were takers, here is a list of papers, as published on Scribd. I would love any sort of feedback on them, and actually, I do have a question. Is there a trend, and if so, which one?

And yes, I love Virginia Woolf more than is healthy, I know.

ETA: HTML fail + laziness = if any of these interest you, just comment and I'll throw the URL at.

Title: Northumbria: Illustrating Political Impact on the English Language
Length (including works cited): 5 pages
Thesis statement: Regionalisms cannot be dissociated from their topographic referents - such is the nature of a dialect, that the explanation for its existence is directly connected to the history of the lands where it is spoken, in which lies the mode of creation or preservation of a given regionalism, such as Northumbrian Middle English in the fourteenth century.
Cited author (one of them): John de Trevisa

Title: Being Sublime, the Poet’s Contradiction
Length (including works cited): 4 pages, plus a 3 page-long annex.
Thesis statement: The purpose of this essay will be to discuss her usage of the words sublime and sublimity throughout her novel Mrs. Dalloway and to explore how it can be linked to the Freudian concept of sublimation through the transitional figure of the Chiefly Poet, one of the definitions of “sublime” in the Oxford English Dictionary (“Sublime”).
Cited author (one of them): Virginia Woolf, Charles Baudelaire

Title: Virginia Woolf and Herbert Marcuse: discussing sublimation in Mrs. Dalloway
Length (including works cited): 8 pages
Thesis statement: My approach will be to examine Marcuse’s exposition on the matter of neurosis and happiness, and how his application of psychoanalysis to the social phenomena can be applied to the characters of Mrs. Dalloway.
Cited author (one of them): Virginia Woolf


Title: Defining Feminism in Woman at Point Zero and Persepolis
Length (including works cited): 11 pages, including one page of translated quotes from French.
Thesis statement: Despite being worlds apart, both Satrapi and El-Saadawi share a doctrine of what we will call mystic feminism, that is, a vision of the feminine condition which is rooted in the quest for individual actualization, rather than on the mobilization of the masses.
Cited author (one of them): Marjane Satrapi


Title: Bilingualism and Loan Words: Factors of Evolution
Length (including works cited): 5 pages
Thesis statement: The purpose of this essay will be to examine the process by which words were borrowed from French into the English language, and to attempt to determine what part the Norman Conquest and the ensuing necessity to use French in England played in it.
Cited author (one of them): Charles Laurence Barber

Title: Constructivism in Angels in America
Length (including works cited): 7 pages
Thesis statement: Our purpose will be to discuss how Kushner’s compelling play illustrates Foucault’s theories of social constructivism and counters essentialism.
Cited author (one of them): Tony Kushner


Title: Bartleby the Scrivener, the Myth of Liberty
Length (including works cited): 6 pages
Thesis statement: Liberty is, in nineteenth century America, as well as in the budding French republic, a growing concern amongst the thinkers of the era. It is with this in mind that I will review the figure of Bartleby, another allegory (or statue) of Liberty, immobile and objectified, yet failing to convey his essential truth, defeated by law.
Cited author (one of them): Herman Melville

Why does he get more worms than I do…

I really, really, really, really need to get this gisting done (though my kind of gisting is much less glamorous than that one - as a side note, I never finished that book. But). It probably won't take more than a day, but currently, I'm really late in my schedule, and it has to somehow be made better. So. Gisting it is. *siiigh*

A quick note about a million things.

On my way to the college where I work for the summer, I walk every day by a church where the homeless come for breakfast and the bare necessities of life. It breaks my heart a little, and at the same time, I'm glad those things exist. At the same time, I'm acutely aware that there are not enough of these services. I don’t know why I feel the need to bring it up – perhaps it’s because I feel like I should do something. I’m not sure what and even less how, yet.


Also, I keep on forgetting to mention this, but I got accepted into the Arthurian Honors Seminar in the fall. *bounces* I’ve rarely been as excited about studying as since I went back to locking myself up with classics and writing essays. I really have no regrets, I’ll confess. This is so much more up my alley than law school.

Which brings me to a question, flist. Is anyone interested in reading some of my papers? I don't mind spreading the joy pain if there are takers. As a side note, I wouldn't offer to show any papers that didn't get excellent grades. If anyone is interested, I'll pull up a list of what's available.


And now about aSoIaF. I’m still reading, and still enjoying, though I’ve taken the weirdest habit: now I read POV chapter by POV chapter. *facepalm* So if anyone out there wants to know where I’m at, I just finished Dany’s POV, and I’m on to Jon’s. In late news, thus:


1) I enjoyed very much the descriptions of Qarth.

2) I think I sort of ship Dany and Jorah, and it makes me feel guilty.

3) My current loved characters are Dolorous Edd and Craster. What’s with me and impolite old men?


“The dead are likely dull fellows, full of tedious complaints – the ground’s too cold, my gravestone should be larger, why does he get more worms than I do…”

- Dolorous Edd, A Clash of Kings (.205)


BEST QUOTATION, EVER.

The cavalry is always late

No time for a long comment - at any rate, I'm pleased with the castin of Sean Bean as Ned Stark, and !

Here is an amusing article about it. The wank about the synopsis amuses me particularly.

And to complete GRRM's post (some pics were missing), here are:

Jack Gleeson as Joff (picture taken from Batman Begins).



Harry Lloyd as Viserys (taken from Child Hood)


... and now that I've seen this I'm going to have to burn a couple hardly won CAD, in a few weeks. BECAUSE WHEN PEOPLE LIKE GRRM AND NEIL GAIMAN COME TO YOUR HOMETOWN...

That's what you do. Yup.

The Bookish and the Beautiful

So I’m done with Game of Thrones (unsurprisingly), and am moving on forward to Clash of Kings. Too early for any comments, but in general, I do enjoy the reading quite a bit. A few comments, however.

1. Danearys, three dragons, whut? I actually wouldn’t mind too much (though why three, where one would have been enough to make her ~speshul~?) if there wasn’t that red comet of OMGDRAGONSAREBORN at the start of CoK. Because /really/, that’s a bit too close to sue-age for comfort. I’ll say, though – the bit where Drogo dies is very, very sad. Almost sadder than Ned’s death, though that’s pretty darn hard to beat.
2. I’ve been enjoying Jon Snow’s bits. I’m impressed with him and his friends, and with the presence of Aemon. I think I kind of adore the old Boar.
3. Tyrion. Tyrion keeps on getting better and better. And I love his chemistry with Shae. And I love the way he talks down Cersei. That’s just so totally badass it’s too badass for badassness.
4. Robb the Lord is impressing me – the way GRRM writes him, he manages to help us forget regularly that he’s really only 15. Poor kid, though. Really. Even if it’s not unheard of in the medieval times, it’s still sad that he is being ripped off his teenage years. I know it won’t happen, but I really would love for him to duel with Joff and just kill him dead, or something. It’d feel good.
5. I’m still intrigued by Varys. And by Littlefinger. I want Janos Slynt to hurt a lot.
6. Sansa is ---- going up in my esteem at a rapid pace. The kid has got balls of steel, you gotta give her that. Poor little thing.


I’ve been busy offline, lately. Saturday was epic socializing day, Sunday was epic reading day. Last night I rented Hellboy: the Golden Army. It was in fact quite good – where I expected a B-level movie, I found interesting villains and great photography. A few notes, however.

1. … Liz, really, /twins/ ? They’re not even a couple in the comics. That’s pushing it a bit, here, screenwriters.
2. As someone said in chat last night, yes, the villain (or the antagonist, it`s more appropriate) is at times more sympathetic than the hero. Because seriously, he’s not really evil.
3. The death of the elemental. Saddest. Thing. Ever. Also, Most Beautiful Scene in the movie ever.
4. Now I know to expect a sequel, what with that whole Death Angle scene. Also, go, Nuada, for almost killing Hellboy. That’s totally badass.

Me and my ever bubbling social life.

Mmmmph, so Rache is going to BC and to San Francisco for two weeks, and she's called a meeting of the circus folk so that she can hear our tremolous goodbyes in person.

We'll be going to Cafe Sarajevo, which is absolutely awesome : it's famous and I've never been. I said I wanted home early, which usually would mean that I'd get back around midnightish my time. (That makes it 9PM PST).

Hmph. I'd prefer to be asocial, but I can't ignore sweet Rache. She's too adorable and sensitive. So I shall return. Soon. Hopefully.

This week, on as the book turns…

So I’m still reading GoT, and ah! I suspect I will be done with it imminently.

Things are getting clearer. But let me now make you wait any longer, before I dispense my pearls of criticism gleefully.

…. Okay, I feel bad about this. The character I have the most enjoyed so far is… *drum roll* --- Old man Frey. Heh. Now, I know he is a horrible horrible person and a really mean person and he’s going to get all the woobies killed. But. His characterization is amazing, and he made me laugh more than everyone else so far. I’ll also concede that the idea that the ugly old man has a sixteen year old umpteenth wife is *squick*, but it’s not that squickier from the rest of the squick, in a way.

One of the lesser characters that I find truly interesting as things go is Varys. He’s shady, strange, and doesn’t have a pair, but that’s all that makes him all the more intriguing.
I’m starting to understand a bit more the Catelyn hate – but I don’t relate to it. True that she treated with Frey, jumped the gun on Tyrion etc. But well, basically, she’s just being a mama bear, and that, to me, is alright. Besides, it’ll come back and bite her in the rear, so.

I’m still not a fan of Sansa, but I hate her a little less. I suppose all that character development will make her more likeable as things go. *shrug* I will grant that if it weren’t for her, with Ned dead, we wouldn’t have any info on what’s going on in the Red Keep, which is useful. And I'll give her that, her pleading for her father's life was both hear-breaking and touching - and heh, *old man Frey*, I almost had hopes for her. Deep down, though, it probably convinced Joff to kill Ned, but the poor thing couldn't know that.

OMG THEY KILLED NED. I’m not surprised, but I’m still really sad. His last POV chapter was the saddest piece I’d read in a while. Even if I was warned, I probably looked a bit mortuary as I read it in the bus this morning.
I enjoyed the Bran chapter with the call of the bannermen quite a bit – particularly the bit with the Greatjon. Ah, and Roose Bolton gives me the hibbie-jibbies.

That’s all for now, stay tuned for more soon.

Yay

Yay because I saw Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, in 3D, no less, and it was made of awesome, with lots of Crowning Moments of Awesome (I spend way too much time on TV Tropes, can you tell?). Including my favorite re-adaptation of a famous quote...

"Hasta la vista, birdy."

Loads and loads of stuff

So I went off to the boonies for 48 hours. Alas, though I did bring the Wimax with me, it didn't work there. My hopes were slim, and my estimation was correct. Stupid thing won't catch a signal up there.


There is a strange sort of peace in going up to the cottage. For one, everything is green. It's like being flooded with only one side of the pallet - not bad, and somewhat soothing. During my year out, I went to lots of places, but they were rarely green - usually grey or yellow, actually, as you would expect most urban centers - so the invasion of flora is always both calming and unsettling to me.

I basically turned into a lumberjack for the weekend, its highlight being my destruction of our longstanding picnic table. To be fair, the thing was begging to be put out of its misery: when I tore it apart with my trusty crowbar, it basically squirmed in thanks. The bugs that were living in the holes were a little bit less happy, though.


My wrist has been doing better - I was able to work without too much pain, and the dull ness in my pinky and ring finger has subsided quite a bit. It's a good thing, because I will be having to do lots of typing next week for the textual analysis project. On Friday, Liberty was very happy with my work on that - she is hoping she can keep me around after the month ends, and frankly, I'd like to stay. Hopefully the college can figure out a way for that to happen. Even better, hopefully, I'll be able to get a class to teach soon. That would rock my socks off. Really. They do have an interest in grad students, so I may yet have a chance.

The archiving on Friday went remarkably well. It's amazing how motivated I can get with the idea that getting this stuff out of the way will ward off more time dealing with Carb's moody temper and abusive behavior. The worst bit is I'm not sure Carb even realizes what a bitch she can be. So I've been trying to do in a day the work I would normally take three days to do, and it's worked. I'm very grateful for that.

Just a note on the matter of the social life thing. On July 1st (Canada day, haha, though here in QC we call it Moving Day, because you know, we like to be rebels etc), we went for dinner and desserts. We were supposed to go to the Old Port for the Festivities, but eventually just had too much fun at the dessert place to move on. Amongst other things, we played the totem game, and apparently, I'm a lioness. I find that to be very amusing - I always thought of myself as a dog instead, but admittedly, it might have to do with the fact that someone told me that a while ago. It has to do, I'm told, about being both fierce, protective and hard-working. I really like my friends. Mac got the fox, which works well with his intellectual and very intelligent person. Lola got the Siamese cat because of her elegance, Rache got the Zebra because she's rare and she has a dual identity, and Phil got the puppy, because he's just too damn adorable and fuzzable. He's also our resident federalist, and we tease him a bit, and he mock growls, and all is well. That's how things should be: no matter what political stance you take, keep it smart, keep it light, keep loving your friends even if they think differently.

Next week looks like it's going to be a bit quieter, which is good. Rache is going off to Vancouver for two weeks, Maclola are going to New York. Phil and I can hang out, I suppose, and go to lots of movies, though I could use a bit less of a social life and a bit more rest. I'm seeing a doctor on Monday about my wrist, because I can't let this thing develop more, even if it looks like it's under control right now.

On the book front, I'm still plowing away efficiently through GoT, which I am very enthused with. Somehow, the fact that I'm very spoilerified doesn't affect my appreciation of it.

1. I'm developping a particular liking for Tyrion Lannister, Bran, Arya and Ned. Tyrion is intriguing and interesting, Arya kicks more ass than most adults, and Ned is just such a tragic, beautiful, strong figure - he seems to also be the only sane fellow around. I feel sorry for him just about every time I get to his POV bits. Bran also has my attention because of his unique perspective. I keep on hoping he's going to remember it was Jaime, and why.
2. I'm also starting to understand Sansa better, though for now, I'm not finding her to be very sympathetic, despite my best attempts at being gentle to her in my head. I think it might be personal bias: as a tomboy, I do have issues with girly-girls in general, though I think it also has to do with how she keeps on frowning over Lady's death, but she has not a small thought for the HUMAN boy who also died in that fail. And how knowing that, she is a) unable to relate to her SISTER who is clearly mourning, thus showing serious lack of empathy, and b) actually being kinder to Sandor, who is so far not particularly gentle, and who allegedly killed her sister's friend. And the spoiler knowledge that she's going to get beaten and have half her family butchered somehow does not make her any more pallatable to me, possibly because she kind of feels like the foetus of a sue. Or something. Sorry, fans out there. I'm just not on board with that one. Nope nope nope.
3. Ah, I do have a question. Sandor, WHY THE HELL ARE YOU TELLING THAT GIRL ABOUT GREGOR? It just makes.... no sense to me. At all. Not on such a short acquaintance, at any rate. Nope nope nope. Way to go for winning the tourney, though. Guess not everything you do is fail, after all.
4. Jaime and Cersei are not gaining much sympathy so far, though that's hardly surprising. Cersei hasn't had much screen time, but she does already look cunningly horrible. The Kingslayer just showed a feat of terrible cruelty by getting Ned's men to be massacred on Tyrion's behalf. Joy. We expect more horrible to come. Yay.
5. I want to strangle Joff. That thing is a little monster. Someone should probably smother it in its sleep. Or something.
6. I'm still intrigued by Catelyn - I can already see the seeds of psychosis in her, actually. In a way, her stubbornness and meddling probably are also part of why the Starks are destroyed(ish), ultimately.
7. Robb is as adorable as ever, but that's no news at all. I love when Bran calls him Robb the Lord. It makes me giggle lots and lots.
8. Jon Snow is also adorable, for that matter, but that also is not anything new. I find interesting his dynamic with Samwise - and everytime I read Samwise, Galadriel in my head twitches. It's funny. And I'm curious to see where that's going to go with those two, but I'm kind of in love with the concept of the Night's Watch.
9. Also, Lysa Arryn is certifiably insane. Maybe there's a genetic thing going on in that branch of the Tullys. I loved the description of the Eirye, though. However that thing is spelled.
10. Ah, Loras? The Hound saved you from being smashed to little bits and pieces of flower knight by his Monstrous brother. Be nice. Also, we love the flaming. And the defeating Gregor Clegane bit. Really.
11. Speaking of Monstrous. I... kind of feel like I should ready myself mentally to adopt Gregor. Though I'm not sure how much room there is for him in my head, I would kind of glee at him being killed dead repeatedly by just about everyone I can think of, including some of his potential headmates, and particularly a bloodthirsty one.
12. Ah, I like Daenerys Targaryen. I love to hate Viserys. My only problem? The girl's age. It makes me go *squick* every time someone mentions her sex life with Khal Drogo.
13. Generally, I've been facepalming at the Starks quite a bit, and more so at Robert Baratheon. That's a direct effect of spoilerification, alas.

For those who want to know, I'm halfway. Still facepalming lots and lots.

This is SO not funny

I had a good evening last night - lots of fun and apparently got told that my totem is the Lioness. Interesting.

I'm not going to write much - my left wrist, elbow, pinky and ring finger are going numb and I feel pain in my tendons. Typing is painful, and I should be working anyway (which also involves some typing, but never mind).

Hopefully, I'll have a chance to catch up on tags tonight or tomorrow before I go on a two-day long lawnmowing trip to the Land of No Internet. *sigh*

On the other hand, resting my lefties from potential Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (I read the thing, it's terrifying) is probably not a bad thing.

I'll be reading the flist, and trying to tag slowly. *sigh* This is so not what I needed.

Emotional fears, cont'd (it gets better)

No, really, it does. How straaaaange.

So I called an outing of sorts last night with the usual Uni crew. Simply enough, that included Mac, Rache and Phil. (Okay, let's be honest, Maclola.) The fun bit is that Mac asked to see me before, and LO AND BEHOLD, we actually broke THE WALL OF SILENCE and made up. And he apologized for being a way that he doesn't want to be, even if I actually warned him.

The conversation went this way:

Mac: ... hm. Are you angry at me.

Me: Not angry. Disappointed. And also unsurprised.

Mac: .... unsurprised?

Me: Yup. Told you this would happen.

Mac: Oh, shit, it did, huh? Meeeeeeeeeeeeeh. *sheepish* msorrydoyoustillwantobemyfriend?

And then I talked his big brother Dom I totally do not have a crush on this guy of course not into coming with us, and he did, and it was fun. Even the bit where we walked home from downtown because there were no more busses and it took us an hour. Ah, the joy of having friends who are also your neighbours.

I haven't seen Willy and Jay this weekend, though. But Crichton (not Tom, haha, haven't seen Farscape in so long and why am I making unrelated disgressions) and his family are coming to town next week, so I'll be touring them in Montreal, and going to the Jazz Festival. We're all going to go see Stevie Wonder on the 30th, which will be absolutely awesome. And Phil is coming, which is cool, even if he a) tends to cling andn emo lots, b) needs constant reassuring that everything is okay. And on the 1st we have Mac's birthday, which will be a picnic at the park, again. So yay.

Next weekend, I won't be around because blaaaaaaaaaaah I promised Mum I would be going to the country house to mow the lawn. I hate that darn lawnmower, but it must be done.

And then I have nothing planned that week except work work work and a VERY VERY GOOD FRIEND coming back form a certain workshop thing I hope she enjoys, and training, and also working on the weight loss. And at one point Rache and I are going to go speed dating, because this has to be experienced once based on how ridiculous the concept sounds. And we need to do that quickly, because wtf, she's going to Vancouver for 2 weeks in July and I keep thinking that she's going to be around all summer.

There are a few things I do want to do, like read aSoIaF ASAP (I think I may go do the bookstore today, didn't have time yesterday with my trepidating social life, WTF), icon Tom Cruise in Vanilla Skies, and possibly Charlize Theron in North Country. And write Fic, because clearly I haven't written enough in the past months. Icons of mine can be found at and the fic at , whenever i actually post something. I started to read Sandworms of Dune, but alas it does not excite me as much as it should.

AND THIS WOULD BE A GOOD MOMENT TO MAKE ICON OR FIC REQUESTS, BECAUSE I COULD USE SOME PROMPTING, RIGHT NOW.

So, that's it. Yay. Go me. More emo to come from House of Emo. Or, as Mac put it last night, the Melancholy smile.

Yet another entry from the Emotionally Scarred

Or the emotionally scared, for that matter.

Mac called to invite me to see a show with him and his girlfriend. As a matter of fact, I should refer to them as Maclola, as Rache and I did last night, since they have been an inseperable entity for the past month, at least as far as I am concerned.

Mind you, I'm happy for him. At the same time, I find absolutely exhausting the repeated failures at seeing him, the last minute cancellations because they're busy snogging, etc.

So I said no. Passive-agressive of me, I know. Mostly, I didn't like the last minute phone call, I didn't like the fact that he (they?) choked on us last night, I didn't like the fact that it felt contrived.

So I said no, and he ended the conversation very quickly. Oh well. As things go, I might as well become fully asocial and decide that I don't need anyone. There's still Willy and Jay, though. I don't know if it's because they are a gay couple, or if it's because I have a personal relationship to both, but I don't mind the couplehood thing with them. Maybe it's also because with them, I feel loved. In the most platonic way possible, but still.

I got a text message for a movie date (too late, i have to think of charging that cel phone more regularly) from an unknown caller. I think it might be Scott, and if it is, I'm not sure what to do. I like him. I'm afraid of liking him. I'm afraid that he may like me. And there's the whole snaffu with Bud and Lia to take into consideration. Hmph.

In short? I fail at being social on every possible level. Go me. I think I'm going to go curl back into my shell, now.

If you are reading this right now, you have more luxury than someone in Iran could ever hope for right now. If you are watching TV or a video on youtube, updating your status on Facebook, Tweeting, or even texting your friend, you are lucky. If you are safe in your home, and were able to sleep last night without the sounds of screaming from the rooftops, you need to know and understand what is happening to people just like you in Iran right now.

They are not the enemy. They are a people whose election has been stolen. For the first time in a long time, a voice for change struck the youth of Iran, just as it did for many people in the United States only seven months ago. Hossein Mousavi gained the support of millions of people in Iran as a Presidential candidate. He stands for progressiveness. He supports good relations with the West, and the rest of the world. He is supported with fervor as he challenges the oppressive regime of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

On Friday, millions of people waited for hours in line to vote in Iran's Presidential election. Later that night, as votes came in, Mousavi was alerted that he was winning by a two-thirds margin. Then there was a change. Suddenly, it was Ahmadinejad who had 68% of the vote - in areas which have been firmly against his political party, he overwhelmingly won. Within three hours, millions of votes were supposedly counted - the victor was Ahmadinejad. Immediately fraud was suspected - there was no way he could have won by this great a margin with such oppposition. Since then, reports have been coming in of burned ballots, or in some cases numbers being given without any being counted at all. None of this is confirmed, but what happened next seems to do the trick.

The people of Iran took the streets and rooftops. They shout "Death to the dictator" and "Allah o akbar." They join together to protest. Peacefully. The police attack some, but they stay strong. Riots happen, and the shouting continues all night. Text messaging was disabled, as was satellite, and websites which can spread information such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, and the BBC are blocked in the country. At five in the morning, Arabic speaking soldiers (the people of Iran speak Farsi) stormed a university in the capital city of Tehran. While sleeping in their dormitories, five students were killed. Others were wounded. These soldiers are thought to have been brought in by Ahmadinejad from Lebanon. Today, 192 of the university's faculty have resigned in protest.

Mousavi requested that the government allow a peaceful rally to occur this morning - the request was denied. Many thought that it would not happen. Nevertheless, first a few thousand people showed up in the streets of Tehran. At this point, it is estimated that 1 to 2 million people were there. Mousavi spoke on the top of a car. The police stood by. For a few hours, everything was peaceful. Right now, the same cannot be said. Reports of injuries, shootings, and killings are flooding the internet. Twitter has been an invaluable source - those in Iran who still know how to access it are updating regularly with picture evidence. People are being brutally beaten. Tonight will be another night without rest for so many in Iran no older than I am. Tonight there is a Green Revolution.

For more information:
PICTURES:
here and here
NEW INFORMATION:
Here - near constant updates
Here - ONTD_political live post
ON TWITTER:
@StopAhmadi, @ProtesterHelp

دنیارابگوییدچطورآنهاانتخاباتمان دزدیده اند
Tell the world how they have stolen our election

- original post by one_hoopy_frood

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My heart goes out to these people. I want to be there. I want to fight for something this right. This, this, this. Is why it pisses me the fuck off when people don't appreciate what we have.

THINGS YOU CAN DO TO HELP

# The most obvious thing to do is stay informed. Keep an eye on reliable sources on Twitter, refresh blogs and news sites that are covering the stories.

# If you are on twitter, retweet information from reliable twitters, but REMOVE THE USERNAME if they are in Iran. People have died because of the lack of responsibility by fellow tweeters and the media in this front. They can be tracked down by the government of Iran.

# Spread the information elsewhere. Repost this article or write your own on Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr, or anywhere else you can think of. If you write your own, make sure you are concise and accurate. Link to your sources for people to learn more.

# Change your location on Twitter to Tehran or Iran, and your time zone to GMT +3:30.

# DO NOT auto-refresh and take down websites, even if you are asked. It slows down the internet for the rest of the people in Iran.

# If you make a proxy DO NOT post it publically, otherwise it is useless. Send it in a direct message to a trusted source.

# DO NOT spam the hash tag #IranElection with useless things to "confuse the government". This does not help at all.

Meh

I should write things. As in, I should take up blogging again. In the past year, it seems I lost interest in chronicling my own life – and that’s not to say I lost interest in my life altogether, but simply that writing down things seemed to suddenly lack in justification.

So in short – the semester ended with joy galore – my grades are sufficient for the next step – and GAWD, I hope I don’t spend too much time loitering around before I graduate, because as much as I love the academic world, this is my second degree, and I’m not getting any younger, damnation be done!


But it’s been good, remarkably so. Mainly, I loved the papers and the studying, and I loved the classes. I’m failing terribly at my reading list, though, since the summer started. Two reasons explain this:

1) I found a full-time temporary job at a college, which is awesome but takes up reading time.

2) I seem to fail at going to get said books, and read other things instead. For example, I finally finished Kostova’s Historian, which was excellent and really took over my brain, and I’m now completely engrossed in Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran. I wish I’d read it sooner – it would have been a helpful contribution to my paper on oriental feminism, though perhaps that would have filled it with too much material. I also have Alexis Zorba half-started. I fail at following plans.

Also, weather, stop raining. It’s not pleasant and it kills my Internet. And please, friends who don’t have a summer job? Don’t ask me out late on week nights. I just won’t do it.


My mother seems to have taken up the obsession of helping me lose weight. In the process, we’ve been working out every morning, which is great for my body and terrible for my sleep, as I can’t seem to bother myself with going to bed earlier. One of the down sides of going to the pool for laps a 7Am is the Very Obese Old Russian Streaker. I swear, her body is a vision of horror. Another one is quinoa cake. Really. Forget all about flavor, all ye who enter here. The perk is the cute lifeguard who waves at me every day. And smiles. He’s totally adorable.

My former employer contacted me about a well paying contract for one month – it’s a travelling gig, it always is with them. I declined because it made me miss 4 weeks of class in the fall semester, but I feel kind of icky about it, mostly because I miss the crew.


Last but not least, I think the summer is getting to me – not the sunshine and pleasant weather, but the onslaught of public snogging everywhere. I’m sticking to my ‘celibacy is the thing for me scenario’, but --- yeah. Occasionally, I feel almost like I should question that. And then I’m myself again.

Ah, and So is coming in from Boston tonight, though I won't see her until tomorrow. I think it's been something like 3 years since we hung out. Fun times.

Updates and some ramblings

More essays. I turned in two out of the four essays 

I listed in my last post.  The subjects changed quite drastically, thou

gh.So far, I produced: 

• Madness in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway, analyzed in conjunction with Herbert Marcuse's application of psychoanalysis to society, in Eros and Civilization ;
  
• An analysis of Arab Feminism as portrayed in Nawal El-Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.

I yet have to produce : 

• A study of the mutual influences of the French and English languages one on another.
  
• A lexicographic analysis of one English word, with a cross-cutting stury of how Woolf (yes, Virginia, again) used it.
  

I've been having good weekends, lately.  In short because I don't have a million years to discuss them... 

I attended La nuit de la philosophie two weeks ago with a friend from university. It was wonderfully stimulating, and of course, I was kind of dead: it is 24 hours of intense conference attendance and philosophical reflection, after all. But it was great.  

Last I had a dinner party with Kiki and her family, which is always fun! I also went to two musical shows: Sherazade les mille et une nuits and Starmania Opera.  While the former was

 only good for someone who didn't understand the very dreadful lyrics (which I did), the latter was wonderful and heart-breaking.  I'm including an extract of Starmania below: 

And yesterday I was over at friend's house to help with a move - today, I'm going to the Cabane à sucre with a bunch of friends.  Basically, the idea is to stuff one's face with maple products: it's spring, it's the season in which maple syrup is prepared, it makes sense.

What I've been doing lately

Paper writing. It seems to almost be all that I do these days.

Since the beginning of the term, this is what I have produced:

• History in Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millenium Approaches, or the quest for a sexual or a historical identity ;
• A reflection on the development of the Northumbrian dialect between the 8th and the 12th century ;
• Bartleby the Scrivener: an evocation of the Statue of Liberty ;
• A detailed analysis of Ronsard's 9th Sonnet to Hélène, or the protrayal of a love duel ;
• Béroul's Tristan & Isolde, the symbolism of the Mal Pas, or the farce which allows to reintegrate the social space.

I also have the following assignments to produce over the coming weeks:

• A lexicographic analysis of three semantically related words ;
• Madness and marriage in Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway and Charlotte Gilman's The Yellow Wallpaper ;
• A study of the mutual influences of the French and English languages one on another.

There is one more larger essay for which I need to pick my topic, but it isn't due for a bit, so I do have time to decide.

Ah, woe is me. I do enjoy what I'm doing, though. I'll post excerpts when I can get to editing the raw bits.

Even if so far, I'm doing extremely well with my work.

The Beaver
My guest map is wonderful ! And you'd all be wonderful to post, all of you lurk mode readers!
Thanks and may the winds of Fate blow your way !

Hm.

I haven't blogged in a while. Not tweeted, blogged. As a matter of fact, I haven't twitted either. I blame mid-term rush.


Because I am remarkably lazy, I'm re-editing an email I recently sent to a friend about my current situation. Pardon the lazy.

I wouldn't go back on my choice to leave my traveling job for the world, even though I'm just about to enter mid-term rushes. To be honest, compared to the demands of my past professional life, it feels very palatable.

I took five classes, this semester. The Department Head is open to evaluating the possibility of sending me off to a Masters program in September. I have two Historical Linguistics classes, one focusing on French, the other in English. It's fascinating how the two languages were interwoven through out medieval history. I also have an epistemological class on Sexuality and Representation - though it may be a bit more abstract, it's fascinating, and I particularly enjoy the readings. Then I have two methodology classes which may be less exciting, but are interesting nonetheless, both in the matter of analysis, one in French, one in English, again. I am rediscovering through all this how I very much enjoy essay writing and research.

And so my life is really much like that of a studious monk, once again, but I am so engrossed and stimulated by what I do that it does not bother me one bit. The occasional weekly evening out with friends participates in the preservation of my status as a social beast. I still live at my mother's for now - the arrangement suits us both.

With mid-term rush over, I'm currently enjoying Reading week - and unfortunately getting distracted with writing fan fiction, which is most terrible, and at the same time very liberating for my inner geek.


I'm linking here to my profile on FanFiction.net. Feel free to read, and even more, to review. Comments, as usual, are love.


The Beaver

Tweets for Today

• 11:40 Good class on woolfe today. Hanging out with the asso folks. I love this department.
• 16:25 Feeling kind of sick, actually. Went through what i set out to do, but why am i grinding my teeth?

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Tweets for Today

• 10:45 Must avoid tweeting about food today. Rly. Social day, today - lunch with my NameSake, and dinner out with Madre Querida. &Must.read.Green.
• 14:14 Now off to readabitanddothings. Ha. Lunch with Namesake was fun, she actually knows about Phonetics and issues relating to pedagogy.
• 20:40 Hmmmm dinner was fun, good convos and all that. And man. I love chocolate.

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Tweets for Today

• 09:25 Yay, reading day. Pray that I may be productive!
• 11:48 Read: Pierre de Ronsard, Sonnets pour Helene. Poor guy. 7 years and not even a kiss.
• 19:27 Read: Rubin's "Understanding sex." Despite the subject matter, it is boring.
• 19:28 Reading: Green's "Becoming a visible man." Is fascinating, really really. So why did I fall asleep in the middle of it?

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Tweets for Today

• 07:41 Aaaand of to that class again. Methodology bored me do death. But at least I know I can accomplish the work. Le sigh.
• 18:25 Gah. Long day, today - mostly research. I don't hate it, though.

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Tweets for Today

• 07:41 Aaaand of to that class again. Methodology bored me do death. But at least I know I can accomplish the work. Le sigh.
• 18:25 Gah. Long day, today - mostly research. I don't hate it, though.

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Tweets for Today

• 07:45 Heee, off to quiz day this morning. Will be studying medieval languages this afternoon. I predict a migraine. Burrows, why are you so harsh?
• 14:54 Found my essay subject: bartleby the statue of liberty. Prof was impressed!
• 15:11 If i create a villain, they shall be dubbed meretrix.
• 16:21 Burrow, my friend, your essays are lengthy. Where is my advil?
• 16:28 Am i langland's dreamer?
• 17:47 Heee! Forgot that poetry reading was tonight. Must prepare! *skitters off*
• 21:54 Poetry reading went well ! I always get so nervous about these things !

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Tweets for Today

• 09:46 Up again and ready for the new week. Studying Roy and Foucault today, and also preparing for the quiz on Faulkner. Doesn't feel very Beavery
• 12:07 "rather than massive censorship, a regulated and polymorphous incitement to discourse."michel foucault, on the matter of sexuality in mo ...
• 12:13 Disquieting enigma. What an intriguing syntagm.
• 17:46 Coffee with Willy - awesome to laugh over chai and to speculate about the class's attitude. Srsly, why are people so quiet about sex?
• 18:24 For context: why are people so quiet about sex... ~in a class about Sexuality~ . Damn it.
• 19:09 Randomly, I love Creme brulee.
• 00:10 Also, "A Rose for Emily" is the creepiest short story I've ever read. Ever.

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Tweets for Today

• 13:58 And up again. Read Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily." That is one creepy short story, my friend.

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Tweets for Today

• 11:19 Awake! And cleaning some over due documents, haha!
• 21:59 Oh god, the Tudors are fascinating people, aren't they? And I love Jonathan Rhyes-Meyers.

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Tweets for Today

• 08:48 Yay, Friday. Phonetics study session. Not!Bro called last night. He got the gig. Me glad for him. Also. I'm an aunt, AGAIN.
• 18:44 Gah. Spent all day studying phonetics and Ancient French. It hurts my brain.

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Tweets for Today

• 00:44 Aleksii Antedilluvianovich Prelapsarianov - The World's Oldest Living Bolshevik. Tony Kushner, I like your sense of humor. I sporfled.
• 07:35 Aaaaaand up again, off to text analysis class. Is -4F/-20C today. Brrrr.
• 15:33 K.S., baby. Lesion number one. Lookit. The wine-dark kiss of the angel of death . . . I'm a lesionnaire. The Foreign Lesion. (Kushner)
• 15:34 The American Lesion. Lesionairre's disease . . . My troubles are lesion . . . (Kushner again. He knows how to take the tension off.)
• 15:35 Also, this is a LIBRARY, damn it. Can't people STFU? Or at least get a room? Le sigh, once more.
• 20:37 Hmmmm foods. Is good. And I want Bailey's Ice Cream.

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Tweets for Today

• 08:25 And yet another day. Off to read about the arrival of printing in England, French phonetics, and Angels in America.
• 09:22 You are on the bus when you suddenly realize ... you need to fart. The music is really loud, so you time your farts with the beat.
• 09:23 After a couple of songs, you start to feel better as you approach your stop.
• 09:23 As you are leaving the bus, people are really staring you down, and that's when you remember: you've been listening to your ipod.
• 09:26 Last few tweets? No, not a true story.
• 12:08 Project gutenberg and wiki source: god's gift to academics. Particularly the broke ones.
• 14:24 Pet redue
• 14:26 Pet peeve: if the class does not interest you, stfu or leave. Don't keep up the chatter.
• 21:10 Cold and humid: not a good combination.
• 23:13 Chilling out at home, but bed beckons.
• 00:19 My journal: I do have one. I keep on forgetting about it. Is bad.
• 00:44 Aleksii Antedilluvianovich Prelapsarianov - The World's Oldest Living Bolshevik. Tony Kushner, I like your sense of humor. I sporfled.

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Tweets for Today

• 07:31 Nnnngh, Early mornin', off to class, and to study Herman Melville. Woot!
• 13:55 Gah, procrastination is the death of me. Must. Go. Read. Aaaargh.
• 14:21 Entranched in the library. Will not leave until caught up! Must. Have. Resolve.
• 16:31 Medieval French: it gives me a headache.
• 17:53 Had enough. That will do for today. Strange man in the library draws circles on maps.
• 18:34 Home is nice. Brain is turned off for the night.
• 22:40 tinyurl.com/c59334 <----- is one of the most ridiculously funny vids I've seen in a while. Kids, don't do this at home.

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Lazy tweets

• 08:11 Yay, another day. Must go read stuff. Woo hoo!
• 17:36 Good day of work - think I may be making a friend in g-boy. Professor discussed lengthily the symbolism of shit, today. It was hysterical.

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Lazy tweets

• 10:41 Alive, she's alive! Up and awake, and will soon get ready to go to Dinner.
• 14:45 <3 to everyone. There will be absence tonight due to semi-family obligations. Ha.
• 16:57 I am newly reacquainted with my old disliking of yos. It is purely irrational.
• 17:20 Irresponsible, i am, and proud of it!
• 17:20 Being a little kid in public transportation sucks: all you ever see is knees.
• 17:20 It is a truth universally acknowledged that hair with too much gel is uber unsexy.
• 18:22 My mother is an Obama fangirl. It's cute.
• 19:49 Two bottles of wine later, my boredom is numb.
• 23:34 Hmmm... should ponder the word misanthropic.

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Lazy tweets

• 14:15 Had a good night's sleep - staying quiet at home and lounging in pj's. There is little better than lazy afternoons.
• 15:02 Think mum is annoyed at my lazy saturday thing. She wants to go /do/ ~things~. I want to veg out. Different rhythms ahoy.
• 16:55 Working on making a movie. This computer has never been so slow.
• 17:20 ah, good, looks like the roommate is in a better mood. *sigh* and in need of attention.
• 20:29 Survived dinner and heated conversations about dialects and social classes. Must this always be antagonistic? *goes back into shell.*

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Lazy tweets

• 12:35 Slept all afternoon yesterday - feeling better. Today is study day. Off to the library to meet my partner. Readings are a bit late. *Sigh*
• 12:54 It's snowing again. What the hell, weather?
• 17:32 Had a good study session - but still feeling beat. No plans for the weekend - I'm not really complaining. Have a lot to read, too.
• 19:28 Chillaxing with The God Of Small Things by Arundati Roy. It's a fascinating novel. Also, my back hurts.

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Lazy tweets

• 12:22 Having lunch with Paula after the lecture. I rocked the class.

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Manual Tweets

Because LoudTwitter failed.

• Gah, this essay took forever due to lack of synthetic skillz. But at long last it is done. Huzzah! 2 days ago     
• Woke up late - but still on time to go to class. Today is essay remittance day - and there's the Proto-French. Didn't read for that one. Ow. 2 days ago 
• Okay, off to class. I have about 1h to read Proto-French before the lecture. Yes, I can. It's only 20p, right, right? *facepalm* 2 days ago 
• Working on making interfaces talk to each other, ha! 2 days ago 
• Survived the storm. Back to my window at the library. Just realized that I lecture tomorrow on philosophy. This is wow. 2 days ago 
• Louis 16 disait: le roé c'est moé! Also, everyone is a viking! 1 day ago 
  
• Damn you, snow! You have deprived me of my wit! 1 day ago 
  
• Prof liked the questions that work with my essay. I is happy. Hopefully the essay will go over well. To tired to work in Diderot. Tomorrow. 1 day ago 
  
• Mum came home from theater. She's in a good mood. Premiere is tomorrow. It will rock. 1 day ago 

Lazy tweets

• 08:10 So, first tweet ever! In the bus to uni, i'm late. What else is new? 
• 17:13 Just got home from uni - and very excited. My essay is well underway, and my professor seems interested in my thesis idea! Life is good. 
• 18:18 Dinner was good - couscous, yum! With discussion about the war of 100 years and the various degrees of norsification on the English Isles. 
• 21:24 Also, saw Pride and Prejudice with Matthew Macfadyen as Darcy. Just a bit in love. Not a lot. Knowing the story was a woman's work helps. 
• 22:42 gah, slaving on a very short essay. why is this so painful? Oh, right. I want to say a million things and I can only say two. Urgh. 

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Erhem

In case anyone was wondering, I'm still alive - and I am rather engrossed in my new job - that is, to be a full time student in Bilingual Studies.  

Because I am horrible at posting, I'm going to try something new. 

That is, I'm starting to use Twitter. Updates will be posted here as well.

Apologies for such long silences.