knowitallgirl

Tomorrow I have jury duty.

Tomorrow I have jury duty. I hope I return with stories to tell.

Let's smash the Ivy League elite one boy at a time!

A hot and sunny SF is a SF that I LOVE. Yum. A weekend filled with bike rides, beaches, shorts, and sun. I had the occasion yesterday to meet an incredibly privileged five-year-old whose favorite restaurant, he declared, is A Cote, which left me confused. Happy that I'd found a kid with taste, who wasn't interested in Happy Meals, but disturbed that he liked a restaurant expensive enough that, where I grew up, you'd consider going someplace like that only on a Very Special Occasion. At least, if restaurants like these even existed in my part of the world, which they didn't. Who knows, though. Perhaps the five-year-old will grow to become a junk food addict in college, or he'll always inhabit a world where chantrelles are the common mushroom.

Well, surprise, surprise. Those crafty

Well, surprise, surprise. Those crafty Iraqis are fighting back, ruining all of the rosy reports of "shock and awe" and dashing hopes of a speedy resolution. The depth of our arrogance is spectacular, as well as our ignorance. Why exactly did we think that the Iraqis would be overjoyed at the prospect of US occupation? I read an interesting article (sorry, can't locate the link) about the history of the British in Iraq in the early part of the 20th century, which offered good insight into the previous betrayals of the Iraqis by Westerners who thought they knew better how the region should be governed. Not to mention that Saddam's Iraq is a place, by all reports, where (dis)information is under tight state control, and no doubt your typical Iraqi has been fed US horror stories both true and false. Why our leaders thought that Iraqis would be both informed enough and unafraid of possible retribution to hand their lives over the the US military, or that national pride and self-determination wouldn't play a part in this drama is beyond reasoning. Is the Bush Administration really so deluded by their sense of moral righteousness? This report in The Atlantic thinks so.

So, you had any doubt

So, you had any doubt we're moving more and more towards a police state? Well, read this lovely piece in the NY Times (requires login).

I probably risk spreading some

I probably risk spreading some too-common information right now, but I'm doing it anyway -- check out a blog from Baghdad -- http://dear_raed.blogspot.com/.

Truly an innovation in the

Truly an innovation in the world of anti-war protesting: the vomit-in.

It's been too long since

It's been too long since I posted any photos, so here you go. Photos are better than, oh, WAR, right? Enjoy.


Deneb petting an orange in the Berkeley Hills


Some mugger pawing Leanne at Stinson Beach . . .


Silly back-of-the-car antics . . .


Polarize me!

A great post from Radioslack

A great post from Radioslack today:
music 17 March 2003 03:10 by stephane

groups and artists that kick ass that I refuse to pretend I only enjoy ironically

Hall and Oates
Lionel Richie
Earth, Wind and Fire
Labelle
Kool and the Gang
Mr. Mister
Guns 'n' Roses
Tears for Fears
Yes
Toto
the Bee Gees
basically my entire record collection, including TV theme songs

I'd like to add: Duran Duran, Simple Minds, and Falco -- though I just can't endorse Lionel Richie.

If you haven't checked out

If you haven't checked out Invisible Ink Radio on KALW 91.7 (in the Bay Area) yet, then this Sunday's the time, when ex-boyfriend extraordinare and Supreme Government Paranoid Mark Contois will be making an appearance with some former Desktopians (Alan & Anand) to discuss Fear of the Government. 2pm baby, or listen to it archived on the Invisible Ink site.

Happy anniversary D! You rockety-rock-rock-rock.

Happy anniversary D! You rockety-rock-rock-rock. :)

Sure, sure, we all use

Sure, sure, we all use products in our everyday lives, but seriously -- how on earth are you going to convince me that a stupid razor named "Intuition" fits into my life in any way other than the exceptionally boring task of shaving my legs? Welcome to Reality TV, now with Product Placement! I quote the NY Times: "What we're trying to get people to understand is how Intuition fits into the way women deal with their lives today," said Lynne Macchiarulo, brand manager for Intuition at Schick-Wilkinson Sword in Milford, Conn. The Intuition, combining razor blades with lather, will be introduced in April. For Schick, "All American Girl" will feature short segments tied to intuition, which Ms. Macchiarulo described as "women being asked how they used their intuition or how their intuition led them in a certain direction." For more on this drivel, read here.

My newest adventure -- slalomboarding.

My newest adventure -- slalomboarding. Yahoo! is offering a class in this sport, which is skateboarding where your wheels never leave the ground (think snowboarding with wheels). I've always wanted to learn to ride a skateboard, and now, at work of all places, I'm finally learning. Woo! And my instructor is a world champion or something equally awesome.

I had this GREAT story to tell, one of those stories that leave me thinking, I have to put this on my blog. Except I can't remember it now. I can tell you that I was in a meeting today where we used the words fag, queer, tactful lingerie, and pre-op transvestite. Sometimes my work is interesting.

Last night Leanne, John, Deneb

Last night Leanne, John, Deneb and I went to the opening of the New Yorker cover exhibit (theme: love) at a gallery near Union Square. Strange crowd, lousy with super-rich older women wearing too much fur, makeup, and plastic surgery, along with a smattering of men in suits with graying ponytails. Then there were some of the younger, hipper folks (like us, hee hee), but no one I knew (other than a girl I went to college with, but I didn't say hi), although Deneb saw someone he also knew from college. There were too many girls in cute skirts and knee-high boots, which is a new fashion trend I apparently didn't get briefed about (I went for the vintage polyester pant look, myself). The covers were cool, but people seemed far more interested in checking one another out. We got photographed, so maybe we'll show up somewhere.

Since we were in Union Square, which demands trendiness, we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner, where we got the VIP treatment from one of our old coworkers at the long-defunct Desktop.com. He's the manager, with one of those Secret Service style earpieces to prove it, and he did us up mighty fine. I'm not sure there's any restaurant in SF right now that's as packed as TCF -- it was a complete zoo for a Thursday night, mostly laden with tourists and kids in promwear (debutantes, perhaps?).

It was as close to a night out in Manhattan as you can get in SF, which is to say not very close. Strange to think that people come to SF and think of Union Square as San Fran. I can't think of anyplace that less represents what SF is to me.

Have you signed the emergency

Have you signed the emergency petition to the UN Security Council? Do it now: http://www.moveon.org/emergency/

It's beautiful outside in San

It's beautiful outside in San Francisco; spring is creeping towards us, and the sunlight is growing warmer and stronger each day. City workers recently cut back all of the wild dill growing near my house, and already little dill-lettes were springing back up, growing directly out of the hollow stems shorn close to the ground. They look like bright green bottle brushes -- I couldn't resist the temptation to run one through my hand.

Ah, springtime, when the earth becomes live again. Great time for war, eh? I read this poem today by Richard Brautigan, called "Star-Spangled Nails:"

You've got
some Star-Spangled
nails
in your coffin, kid.
That's what
they've done for you,
son.

1968

I read something recently that dared to ask the question regarding what the world would be like if we devoted even half the energy we spend on war on things like poverty and hunger. It's such a profound paradigm shift that it makes the mind reel with doubt, which is sad. How ridiculous is it to try to imagine peace in this world?

A quote from the fabulous Molly Ivins -- "Wouldn't you think some sociologist would have done a comparative study by now to prove, as I have always suspected, that there is a higher proportion of Undeserving Rich than Undeserving Poor?"

Ha. And people were pissed

Ha. And people were pissed off about Ebonics. Apparently SMS is the new evil. Though kids have been using pagers for years, where much of this slang started, and don't seem remarkably dumber than before. Heh.