RSSJuly 2006 Archives
July 31, 2006
There and back again
Dominican Republic was quite a lot of fun, but I've already been jolted out of vacation mode by work idiocy. There seems to be an odd Diplomacy game happening where various parties intercept me before and after meetings to discuss (sell) their points of view. Needless to say, the extra handling of high-maintenance types is irritating and tedious.
Ah well, at least they were impressed by my tan.
Otherwise, I am currently reading Possession, by A. S. Byatt. Not really a fan of fiction in general, but I am struck by this book. Then again, I've only read a third of it. May yet lose interest.
Posted by eerie at 09:05 PM
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Personal
July 30, 2006
National Post: Why Be Subtle?
A side-by-side comparison of the National Post and a saner daily.
Posted by eerie at 12:36 PM
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Society & Culture
July 29, 2006
Thank goodness for smoke detectors
Reason #235 why I shouldn't attempt to cook anything on my own:
Having just fried up some greasy marinated chicken thing, I emptied the pan onto a plate and sat down in front of the TV to eat, proudly congratulating myself for remembering to turn off the burner.
In fact, I turned the bloody dial to High and then failed to notice as my kitchen rapidly filled with acrid smoke. Longtime friends will remember one evening in undergrad where I was so fixated on a computer game that I did not realize the space heater had started burning a corner of my area rug. My buddy (who eventually became my boyfriend, perhaps to save me from myself) wandered into the room and freaked out after I mumbled something about having a slight headache (no doubt from cheap polyester fiber fumes).
Anyway, the screeching smoke detectors probably just saved my life. Good for them, because clearly I'm an idiot.
Posted by eerie at 09:45 PM
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Random Notes
July 23, 2006
Blah blah blah
Having fun, but it's an empty sort of amusement that will likely wear off before the week is over. Luckily I packed some cerebral books and picked up The Economist and Foreign Policy just in case the fashion mags got boring.
And they have. In my considered opinion, Cosmo and (British) Glamour have to be the most vapid publications on earth, followed closely by Allure. Elle is not bad, a couple of vaguely interesting articles on feminism/gender roles, but mixed in with the usual drivel about relationships (really, what is so fucking hard about not being a clingy whiny bitch with one's boyfriend?). Vogue is fairly "intelligent" as fashion commentary goes, and worthy of some respect for setting boundaries and not claiming to be more than a couture lifestyle mag.
In closing, thank god for amusingly gallant tattooed American bouncer types.
Posted by eerie at 05:26 PM
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Personal
July 21, 2006
Officially on vacation
Arrived in DR a few hours ago. Sadly 'Aqoul housekeeping has taken up most of my internet allowance, so can't say much. There are peacocks walking around the hotel. Food is mediocre, grounds are nice. Room is decent.
Pool and ocean are fantastic.
More later.
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Posted by eerie at 08:23 PM
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Personal
July 19, 2006
Some trivial thoughts as I pack for the Dominican
First, it seems that I will have to do a bit of writing while in DR, but thankfully it has nothing to do with work. I'm taking a course this summer to raise my GPA and have to submit a short paper for next Wednesday. It's a science course, but one that deals with the emergence of certain schools of thought and key developments in biology between the 17th-19th century (and subsequent impacts on society, politics, etc). This year, the lectures focus mainly on the development of modern genetics and cytology, with offshoot discussions relating to eugenics, racism and social Darwinism.
Continue reading "Some trivial thoughts as I pack for the Dominican"
Posted by eerie at 09:52 PM
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July 17, 2006
For the Lebanon-weary
A small distraction.
The old Myers-Briggs personality test, reworked as a 10-second blog meme: What's Your Personality Type?
(via kinra)
Like astrology, but with scientific upholstery.
Continue reading "For the Lebanon-weary"
Posted by eerie at 07:50 PM
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Random Notes
July 15, 2006
Various Unrelated Notes
First, had dinner with Shaheen yesterday, lots of fun. More authors need to visit me.
Second, I will have plenty of time on my hands in the Dominican, so I invite the peanut gallery to offer reading recommendations. So far, my booklist includes White Man's Burden, The Far Enemy and Shalimar the Clown (all half-finished).
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Posted by eerie at 10:10 AM
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Personal
July 10, 2006
Vacation, etc
I'm flying to the Dominican Republic next Friday. Perfect timing, really. Am burning out and would like to execute some of my coworkers in fine medieval fashion.
Posted by eerie at 09:26 PM
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Personal
July 09, 2006
A small note on comments
After inspecting the spam filters on 'Aqoul, it seems that the system has been performing in a manner that can only be described as "vengeful" over the last week or so.
I have recovered most of the lost comments and will turn down the settings a notch to minimize false positives. Send me an email (eerie at aqoul dot com) if your comments aren't showing up.
For those who simply can't figure out the three-letter passphrase, you'll just have to pray that I notice you amidst the thousands of gay porn and fertility drug comments sent to the junkpile every week.
Posted by eerie at 09:50 PM
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Site News
I can't escape the World Cup
So, having just read Lounsbury's heart attack entry on the final, it occured to me that I should run out to the grocery store and pick up some things before downtown descended into anarchy (regardless of who wins, flag waving idiots will show up in my neighbourhood within seconds). A few feet from my apartment, there is a giant television perched on top of a building in front of a busy intersection. Walking outside, I was met with the utterly surreal scene of hundreds of people sitting on the sidewalks staring transfixed at the screen. Normally, it shows captioned sitcoms and other mindless garbage but apparently someone thought it might be a fine idea to broadcast the World Cup final at a major intersection. Traffic had halted completely, with only a bit of halfhearted honking, clearly from drivers who wanted a better view.
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Posted by eerie at 04:47 PM
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Random Notes
July 08, 2006
What not to bring to a salon
Today, after many months of neglect, I finally managed to make time for a cut, colour and some much-needed relaxation at my salon. Unfortunately, I was rudely surprised in the foyer, where clients normally put on robes and sit on a long cushy bench until their appointments. A woman and her two screeching children were monopolizing the entire area, leaving me with nowhere to sit. She had a baby-carrying-thing at one end, stupid baby accessories laid out in the middle, and her hyperactive 3-year-old eating a Happy Meal at the other end, occasionally throwing his ketchup-covered fries across the cushions.
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Posted by eerie at 03:49 PM
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Personal
July 04, 2006
Another Livejournal Meme
1. Randomly pick a song from your music library.
2. Find the lyrics for the first four verses/chorus
3. Go to Google translation and translate the lyrics from English into German.
4. Take the new German lyrics and translate them into French.
5. Take the new French lyrics and translate them into English.
6. Post the NEW English lyrics and have people guess the original song.
My translation turned out to be exceedingly funny because I chose this track as my "theme song" during a discussion with some friends a few months back.
Continue reading "Another Livejournal Meme"
Posted by eerie at 06:08 PM
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Random Notes
July 03, 2006
On Precious Delusions and Randomness
I've almost finished reading Fooled by Randomness: The Hidden Role of Chance in Life and the Markets. It is brilliant in a quiet, unassuming way. Actually, I find the book annoying because it takes apart so many of my carefully crafted intellectual delusions, for example, the one that allows me to believe I know what's going on because I read a lot of news. However, there is something to be said for an argument that forces you to pause and reflect on your own behaviour (even if the very idea of doing so is irritating).
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Posted by eerie at 12:02 AM
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Reviews
