| (no subject) |
[Apr. 17th, 2007|08:58 pm] |
I know it's been said (maybe just not by me) .... but -PEOPLE- how on earth is it STILL possible for almost anyone with some money and a name to purchase a GUN? How many more "lessons" do we need to learn before this changes?
One day, you're cramming for exams and joking with friends about procrastinating and looking forward to summer and novels and seeing your family. The next day, you're dead. You and 30-some others. You're all dead because someone mentally ill enough to go violently berserk was provided with no barriers to purchasing (repeatedly) semi-automatic weapons just because he had a bank card and a valid driver's license.
The right to bear arms? Fine - for the freaking WILD WEST when there were more coyotes than crazies (not that I endorse coyote-shooting either...) But don't people think that, in this day and age, it's time for that "right" to be superseded by the right for a student's biggest worry in the last week of term to be whether or not s/he is going to pass the bio-chem final?
If Dr. Weezie ruled the world, there'd be no more of these gun-wielding shenanigans. :(
Dr. Weezie is sad and surprised and not surprised. Again. |
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| periods |
[Mar. 8th, 2007|02:47 pm] |
A friend just emailed this "open letter" to the "Always Maxi Pads" Brand Manager. It's fun. I stole it.
It's also one more reason I'm glad I'm making the transition to more sustainable menstrual products...
(Thank you, all the girls who inspired me. You know who you are. Yes, even you, you surprising past actual sea-sponge user!)
:) Dr. W.
AN OPEN LETTER TO
MR. JAMES THATCHER,
BRAND MANAGER,
PROCTER & GAMBLE.
Dear Mr. Thatcher,
I have been a loyal user of your Always maxi pads for over 20 years, and I appreciate many of their features. Why, without the LeakGuard Core or Dri-Weave absorbency, I'd probably never go horseback riding or salsa dancing, and I'd certainly steer clear of running up and down the beach in tight, white shorts. But my favorite feature has to be your revolutionary Flexi-Wings. Kudos on being the only company smart enough to realize how crucial it is that maxi pads be aerodynamic. I can't tell you how safe and secure I feel each month knowing there's a little F-16 in my pants.
Have you ever had a menstrual period, Mr. Thatcher? Ever suffered from "the curse"? I'm guessing you haven't. Well, my "time of the month" is starting right now. As I type, I can already feel hormonal forces
violently surging through my body. Just a few minutes from now, my body will adjust and I'll be transformed into what my husband likes to call "an inbred hillbilly with knife skills." Isn't the human body amazing?
As brand manager in the feminine-hygiene division, you've no doubt seen quite a bit of research on what exactly happens during your customers' monthly visits from Aunt Flo. Therefore, you must know about the bloating, puffiness, and cramping we endure, and about our intense mood swings, crying jags, and out-of-control behavior.
You surely realize it's a tough time for most women. In fact, only last week, my friend Jennifer fought the violent urge to shove her boyfriend's testicles into a George Foreman Grill just because he told her he thought Grey's Anatomy was written by drunken chimps.
Crazy! The point is, sir, you of all people must realize that America is just crawling with homicidal maniacs in capri pants. Which brings me to the reason for my letter.
Last month, while in the throes of cramping so painful I wanted to reach inside my body and yank out my uterus, I opened an Always maxi pad, and there, printed on the adhesive backing, were these words:
"Have a Happy Period."
Are you fucking kidding me?
What I mean is, does any part of your tiny middle-manager brain really think happiness actual smiling, laughing happiness is possible during a menstrual period?
Did anything mentioned above sound the least bit pleasurable? Well, did it, James?
FYI, unless you're some kind of sick S&M freak girl, there will never be anything "happy" about a day in which you have to jack yourself up on Motrin and Kahlza and lock yourself in your house just so you don't march down to the local Shopper's armed with a hunting rifle and a sketchy plan to end your life in a blaze of glory.
For the love of God, pull your head out, man!
If you just have to slap a moronic message on a maxi pad, wouldn't it make more sense to say something that's actually pertinent, like "Put Down the Hammer" or "Vehicular Manslaughter Is Wrong"?
Or are you just picking on us?
Sir, please inform your accounting department that, effective immediately, there will be an $8 drop in monthly profits, for I have chosen to take my maxi-pad business elsewhere. And though I will certainly miss your Flexi-Wings, I will not for one minute miss your brand of condescending bullshit.
And that's a promise I will keep. Always.
Sincerly,
Pamela Leeworthy-Baldin
Toronto, Ontario |
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| (no subject) |
[Mar. 6th, 2007|08:12 pm] |
I....
can't.....
TAKE IT!!!!!!!
I want to go jump in a lake.
Let's just say that if my to-do list were in hard-copy, Greenpeace would be boycotting ME instead of Kimberley-Clark/Kleenex.
Dr. W. is tired, but there ain't no time to sleep. |
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| A New Year |
[Jan. 10th, 2007|12:21 pm] |
How bad of a procrastinator do you have to be when you haven't gotten around to making your "new year's resolutions" and it's nearly the ides of January? I suppose I could act righteously-indignant and pretend that I deeply empathize with Greco-Roman Jews and their vitriolic calendrical disputes, and I don't believe it's REALLY the new year until some time in February, so, out of solidarity with the Essenes or Hasidim or Maccabees or something, I'm protesting by not making my New Year's Resolutions until the "real" time.
But that would be false.
In fact, I am just a "busy" person who usually has overly-optimistic visions of how much can fit into one day/week/month/year, and then spends her life scrambling after her too-lofty (or at least too-prolific) goals.
I wonder if - maybe - my resolutions should have something to do with that? I could vow to do less, join less, volunteer less, dream less, say "yes" less.
Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah.
That wouldn't be any fun at all!
I think I'll vow to drink more water instead. That one's an old standby. One of these years, I might even do it.
Stay tuned for my resolutions - probably sometime in February... |
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| Rock and/or Roll -ology |
[Nov. 22nd, 2006|10:06 am] |
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Today, I saw something weird. It was just something small, but it was early in the morning and it really woke me up to the world.
Today is recycling day in our "quartier," so all the greenboxes are out, and I always have fun peeking in them on the way to school to get a glimpse of people's lives. Some households drink lots of alcohol, some read the newspaper a lot, some obviously buy all organic and health-foodish stuff. But today, I saw a giant shiny box that said "Electric Guitar," and had a life-sized picture of the guitar on it.
I just had to stop and laugh! Of course, every electric guitar was new at some point, and every rock n roller had to learn his/her first 3 chords at some point ... but the thought of that "new beginning" just cracked me up: "Hi, welcome to Wal-Mart. Can I help you find anything you need?"
"Why, yes. I'm looking for the electric guitar section."
"Right this way, Ma'am. Aisle 12."
"Thank you."
"Could I also interest you in some flame decals, aisle 13?"
"Not today, thanks." Anyway, seeing that in the recycling bin made my day. Somebody buying a brand new (very cheesy blue and white) electric guitar in a flashy box that says "ELECTRIC GUITAR" in big bold letters means something: it means that anything is possible.
Even choosing a dissertation topic.
Yes, someone might stop and laugh at me one day, and think "Aw, how cute. She picked that cheesy blue & white dissertation topic from Wal-Mart." But I'll have the last laugh when I really make that puppy wail. |
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| I ... exist. |
[Sep. 21st, 2006|02:51 pm] |
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An oooooooooooooooooold friend just emailed out of the blue, saying, "I still exist."
That's what this post is about, really.
I was away all summer, in the Internet-less and peaceful boonies, but I'm back. Kind of.
I'm starting the 2nd year of my PhD and am supposed to be: launching into my comps; attacking Hebrew and German like I'm about to be plunked down in either ancient Israel or modern Germany any second without a dictionary; and keeping my intellectual eyes and ears wide open for that elusive "dream dissertation topic."
The problem is, I'm not really here. I mean, yes, "I still exist." I am showing up for the courses I T.A./take (albeit always late), and my name is there on the various September sign-up sheets: co-president of this, co-editor of that, liason for this, volunteer for that. I am also somehow paying my rent, which means I definitely exist in the eyes of the student loans people and the blessed souls who pay for my RA-ship and TA-ship!
But ..... I've never cared less. (Warning: here comes a cliche.) "I left my heart in" the peaceful boonies, where I waitressed all summer, wilderness camping with hippies and sleeping on the beach on nights off. No, really. Like, my HEART isn't here inside me. It's there. Furthermore, there is a 2-acre piece of land in Albert County that is surrounded by forest, overlooks the Bay of Fundy in the hilly distance, and is covered not only in raspberry bushes and hardwood, but in bear and moose tracks. And it's 6000 dollars or best offer. It's all I can think about! Waitressing with the hippies in the quirky vegetarian restaurant that has been the closest thing to a religion I've had since "The Big Disillusioned Atheism Phase," and living in the New-Brunswick woods.
If you still don't believe something changed over the summer, then would you LOOK AT THE USE OF SENTENCE FRAGMENTS SO FAR IN THIS POST!!! And I'm not even THINKING about changing them! (See? For the love of Jehosophat! I am beginning sentences with "and" and "but"!)
True to this blog's persona, though, I am at least still nerdy enough to theorize about this situtation. Here are the hypotheses so far:
#1: I have "fear of failure" and/or "fear of success" at this difficult (finished coursework) juncture in my PhD and am having escapist fantasies.
#2: I'm really not cut out for grad school and have been denying my true inner nature (which happens to be a flaky hippie waitress).
#3: It's because I have a crush on somebody back at the restaurant and am suffering from the typical chemical/temporary distraction that comes with the disease of "falling in love" and it will go away.
#4: I AM cut out for grad school, but have chosen a university that usually tends not to lean toward attracting your flaky hippie, which I didn't know I was (at least not to what extent) until this summer and now I'm noticing the friction between two worldviews.
#5: I smoked too much pot with the flaky hippies, and that anti-pot-propaganda about side effects including lethargy and apathy and "dropping out of the system" is TRUE!!!!!!
True to my grad school training, though, I tend to think the answer involves not one option, but rather the complex inter-relation of all of the above.
Existing in limbo,
Dr. Weezie
B.A. camping/canoeing
M.A. fair-trade organic espresso-based beverages
PhD (candidate) balance/wholeness
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| konglish lesson #1: "same-same" |
[May. 25th, 2006|02:24 pm] |
When I was teaching ESL in South Korea, I got to learn a little Korean - just enough for restaurants, taxis, and small-talk. However, I got to learn a LOT of "Konglish." Konglish refers to words and phrases that fuse English and Korean and are correct in neither language. One such construction is: "A? B? Same-same."
For instance, I got to hear this at least once a week: "Teacher! You? Sandra Bullock? Same-same!" (Yes, much to my suprise and flattery, Koreans had an awfully hard time telling us whiteys - or, to use their term, "big-noses" - apart.) My hubby often heard, "Teacher! You? Tom Cruise? Same-same!" or (more frequently) "You? Jim Carrey? Same-same!" Some of the foreign teachers in Korea used this to their advantage on trips to Seoul, pretending to be the celebrity in question, and using their "fame" to obtain dates, free dinners, and other undeserved favours.
All this is to introduce my impression of recent news headlines. I can best describe the way Stephen Harper uses the mainstream media (and the way the mainstream media spins Stephen Harper) using Konglish:
Stephen Harper? George W. Bush? Same-same!
Canadians are being groomed toward righteous indignation toward a demonized and "dangerous" Iran. We are being groomed not only to approve a full-blown attack on Iran, but to demand it (and think it was our own idea).
Iran? Iraq? Same-same.
Me no likey. |
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| and another thing! |
[May. 18th, 2006|02:09 am] |
This (http://www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org/) reminded me of a grump. I hate all this pink stuff for breast cancer. 1) How much of the money from these ugly pink items (from bracelets to teddy bears to cosmetic bags) actually goes to breast cancer research? 2) Of the money that does go to research, what kind of research is it used for? Uselessly torturing rats and chimps with neverending "inconclusive" results (like their breasts are the same as mine!)? I guess there isn't much money to be made from prevention, but lots to be made from research and marketing and vague consumer guilt/fear. But wouldn't massive prevention and education campaigns do more than feeding the vicious cycle of stupid "experiments"? How many North Americans think "breast cancer" when they think of cow's milk, for instance? Probably not many. Why's that, do you think? How many North Americans immediately think "breast cancer prevention" when they think of organic dark green leafy vegetables, filtered water, exercise, and whole grains? Probably not many either, I'll wager. Wrong on both counts. Grrrrr. |
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| stolen mother's day post |
[May. 14th, 2006|02:52 pm] |
Personal Voices: A Mother's Day Manifesto
By Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network. May, 2003.
Flowers full of pesticides? Chocolate made by enslaved children? To really honor motherhood, our value system needs a complete overhaul.
Forgive my cynicism about Mother's Day. After all, what kind of ungrateful mother wouldn't want to be honored with pesticide-laced flowers, chocolate that depends on children in slavery for its production and cards that deplete our forests and litter Mother Earth? Truly, it is the ultimate insult to honor life-giving with such toxic offerings.
Mothering in a world where damaging behavior is the revered norm is an oxymoron. Here in the United States, we are guilty not only of damaging our own children's lives, but the lives of children everywhere. We have signed off on a value system that funds smart bombs but not schools. We cut school lunches in order to scrape up money to build and drop clustered bomblets that are the perfect size (soda can) and color (bright yellow) for catching the interest of a curious, thirsty or hungry child.
We have money to destroy homes, but not to shelter the homeless. We pollute our land, air and water with all manner of poisons and despair when asthma and cancer rates rise, and sperm counts go down. And all the while, health care becomes less and less accessible; health itself, impossible. All the billions spent on military machinery cannot eradicate the fact that there are some 9.2 million children without health insurance and more than 11 million children living in poverty in the U.S. alone. Is this the freedom we are fighting for?
In the United States alone, millions of children are abused each year. On a global basis, the number is uncountable. Children are neglected, as well as sexually and physically abused. They are subjected to sexual slavery, genital mutilation and starvation. They are rounded up in Palestine, exposed to depleted uranium in Iraq and Afghanistan , and detained in Guantanamo -- this last in direct violation of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which the U.S. has signed and to which it is therefore bound.
In "The Price of Motherhood," Ann Crittenden makes the point that raising children is an investment in the future. It is our responsibility to wisely nurture our children. In this, we are failing miserably.
This May, as we celebrate Mother's Day, let us refuse the false offerings. There is an urgent need to protest U.S. duplicity and complicity in this sorry web of atrocities that endangers the lives of our children. As mothers, we have the awesome right and responsibility to firmly say no to the life-destroying ethos that has hijacked our future and to demand that nurturing become a national and global priority. Indeed, it is our matriotic duty.
Lucinda Marshall is a feminist artist, writer, and activist. She is the founder and co-moderator of the Feminist Peace Network. The Virago Series, her work about female images can be seen at http://www.artmamagallery.com/ViragoIntro.htm. Most importantly, she says, she is the mother of 2 wonderful sons, and the daughter of a wonderful mother. This essay is dedicated to them. |
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| and now, on a more personal note... |
[Apr. 30th, 2006|03:02 pm] |
Yes. North Korea, Iran, Stephen Harper, lumber, child-care, harumph-harumph, grumble.
And now, on a more personal note:
I CAN'T GET EVERYTHING DONE IN TIME.
THIS TERM IS FROM HELL.
*sigh* |
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| Dr. Weezie is Pissed |
[Apr. 20th, 2006|01:07 pm] |
This is from an article by Jon Herskovitz of Reuters, Apr 20, 2006: "Officials from the United States, Japan and other regional powers have been trying to get North Korea to return to stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's atomic programs."
It is a lie. It's an old lie. It's told all the time in the U.S., Canada, and Britain (and, I guess maybe Japan.) But it's been a few years since I've seen it. Why is it popping up again?
I lived in South Korea for 3 years. I've been to the border between North and South Korea, I've bought beautiful hand-made North Korean goods from the new "brotherhood" stores that have been opening since the two nations began discussing renewed trade relations, and I've read newspapers that *aren't* written a convenient hemisphere away (but, rather, written a 30-minute drive from Pyongyang where people can say "that's not true. I was on that committee. I was there last week.)"
The above cited lie would be more accurate if two phrases were reversed:
"Officials from *North Korea,* Japan, and other regional powers have been trying to get the the *U.S.* to return to stalled talks..."
That's right. It's the U.S. that wrecks the peace talks, and has been doing so for years. In a decade-old treaty among the U.S., North Korea, and South Korea, where the U.S. demanded that N.K. stop using a reactor that used potentially weapons-grade plutonium and switch to a "safer" style energy program, North Korea (notoriously poor) said, "Fine. You want this - you pay for it." North Korea shut down the reactor and began plans for the new system. Five years went by. A few parts trickled in from the U.S. Ten years went by. The promised dough from the U.S. didn't show up. Finally, one of the winters I was there (the coldest in recorded history), N.K. started up the old reactor. It was that or have people freeze to death, and that's no exaggeration. Their homes aren't winter-proofed like ours because they don't usually have much of a winter at all. It stays around zero to minus five. This winter, it was sticking down around minus 15 - 20!
Emails started pouring in: "Dr. Weezie! Are you alright?" "Should you come home?" "We heard about all the craziness." "We heard North Korea has gone mad!" "Is it safe?"
I didn't know what the heck people were talking about. So they started forwarding me news headlines:
"North Korea threatens Nuclear Attack." "North Korea Building Nuclear Weapons." "North Korea breaks Peace Treaty."
I assured them this was point-blank ridiculous. They didn't believe me. They had heard it on "THE NEWS."
There's another little lie in that "reporter's" statement as well. Lie number two is that "atomic programs" should read "nuclear energy programs" until proven otherwise, should it not? North Korea has boasted many times it *should* be able to produce nuclear weapons if it wanted to, as any sane nation dubbed part of the "axis of evil" would. However, this bragging (about something the nation could very likely not afford if it wanted to) is hardly the same as *having* atomic programs. *I've* said North Korea would be crazy NOT to have nukes if it could, with the hate-on the U.S. has going for it and for communism in general ... yet this hardly counts as proof that there are nukes buried under *my* apartment.
So far, North Korea remains to have done anything internationally illegal. (As far as I know, being a jerky, lying politician, who has a fancy pad while the majority of his citizens are starving is not, unfortunately, illegal... but that's another story.)
The U.S., on the other hand, has broken its international word on this and other treaties. Moreover, during the many attempted peace talks throughout the "sunshine policy" period of South Korea (where the two Korean nations seriously wanted to resume open talks, trade, and aid, and a railroad across the border even began to be built), it was the UNITED STATES that squelched each and every talk. The North and South made numerous plans to come to the table, then the U.S. would say that it had to be present, North Korea would say that it wanted to talk to South Korea alone, and the peace talks would grind to a halt (where they now remain).
I don't think Kim Jong Il is Mother Theresa or Ghandi. I don't think his corrupt and crazed version of communism is good for his starving and uneducated people. I don't even think he's necessarily not clinically insane. I just think *those* things should be in the headlines, rather than lies. |
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| breakthrough/breakdown |
[Apr. 17th, 2006|05:25 pm] |
I made my paper better! I made my paper better! I improved my poor, monstrous, hideous paper by an iota!! This has caused me to dance around the house in ecstasy, open the blinds and worship the sun, call for "special coffee all around" (A. is obediently gone to fetch it), and post to my journal.
In approximately four minutes (judging from frequent past experience), I will re-read the improved section and fall rapidly into despair, despondence, and confusion once again, possibly shedding tears, and probably wasting a good 5 to 10 minutes staring forlornly at the paragraph in question.
Oh well, at least I'll be drinking "special coffee."
Over and out-to-lunch... |
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| a to-do list |
[Apr. 2nd, 2006|12:21 am] |
Hengel:
* fess up to O. that forgot about whole course AND lost reading list
* touch up what's already done
* meet with O. and make plan for how to get everything done
* arrange "K" or extension
* confirm all titles for review
* annotated bibliography
* book review 1 (J&H)
* book review 2 Burkert, Greek Religion
* book review 3 Davies, Xn Origins and Judaism
* book review 4 Eng-berg Pedersen, Paul beyond the Judaism/Hellenism divide
* book review 5 Feldman, Jew & Gentile in the Ancient World
* book review 6 Grabbe, Judaic
JCI
* make question for comparative exam
* mark exams
* 2nd office hours
* organize make-up exams
* invigilate last exam
* mark make-up exams
* upload exam marks to WebCT
* upload make-up exam marks to WebCT
* drop off exams to Dr. H.
* take midterms to Dr. H. after exam period
Hebrew:
* 1 more class
* photocopy Ruth assignment to hand in
* do chapter 29
* check chapter 29
* do chapter 30
* check chapter 30
* do chapter 31
* check chapter 31
* hand in chs 30/31
* vocab quiz
* grammar quiz
* memorize flashcards (TOO LATE)
* memorize synopsis of strong verb (TOO LATE)
* memorize Qal (of strong verb)
* memoriize pronominal suffixes
* memorize 3 English passages from Gen/Ruth
* study Hebr. of said 3 passages (TOO LATE)
* practice sight translation with BDB (TOO LATE)
* do practice exercises (TOO LATE)
* final exam
Hermeneutics:
* 1 more class
* Kristeva reading
* write-up on Kristeva
* Foucault reading
* write-up on Foucault
* journal
* take-home exam
* final term paper
Paul:
* research Jen's books and give 'em back
* research Dr. A's books/Jeff's/libr. books
* pick up I.L.L. book by Smith for Dave
* one more class
* oral presentation of final paper draft
* final term paper pre-draft
* final term paper
* return all borrowed books (libr. and friends/profs)
AAR Conference:
* shorten final hermeneutics paper to use for conference panel
* print out paper
* figure out accommodations/travel
* present budget to O.
* email president to see if we get assigned a chair or choose one
* organize chair
* pack
CREOR:
* volunteer for soiree
* attend soiree
* talk to O about what to do next
scriptura:
* copy-edit English article
* email about free copies for contributors
* announce lancement
* attend lancement
* May meeting
* announce hermeneutics issue (after meeting)
RA-ship:
* put in pay stub every Wednesday-ish
* see about whether it goes over the summer
* (someday) make exhaustive biblio on "Biblical Theology and Non-Canonical Writings"
* (someday) write chapter for O's book
BEFORE SUMMER:
Chaplaincy:
* paint sandwich board for Yellow Door/Rabbit Hole
* paint hanging sign for Yellow Door/Rabbit Hole
* design McGill Student Parent Network permanent banner
* design McGill chaplaincy permanent banner
* edit that poor gal's Buddhism and Jainism papers!
Other:
* make a list of every Sikh gurdwara in the universe ... and get their email addresses
* make poster for Christian Vegetarian Conference in U.S.
* sign lease
*advertise sublet on McGill&Concordia websites
* sublet
* arrange bill payment
* secure plant-waterer
* suspend Internet
* visit Ottawa family before leaving
* visit Ottawa friends before leaving
* taxes (blech)
DONE:
German: FORGET IT! LEARN IT LATER!
* practice conjugations using blank charts FORGET IT!
* photocopy and translate THE LOOOOOOONG SENTENCE FORGET IT!
final ball::
* see about getting proper sound equipment for band
* buy ticketReligion in the Second Temple Period
* book review 7 Kraft and Nickelsburg, Early Judaism & Its Modern Interpreters
* book review 8 Shafer, The Talmud Yerushalmi & Greco-Roman Culture
* book review 9 Henderson & Oegema, Changing Face |
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| Skill-testing question... |
[Feb. 18th, 2006|02:23 pm] |
Am I the only grumpy nerd who can spot at LEAST one big, fat OXYMORON in the following CBC news quote?
"On Friday, Israeli leaders were discussing tougher restrictions on the Palestinians in a bid to force Hamas to recognize Israel and renounce violence." |
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| this week, on dr_weezie's sleeve... |
[Jan. 17th, 2006|11:38 pm] |
because I am a grad student who depends on a bursary
because I am a woman
because I value clean water and air
because I am against poverty
because I am proud of a multi-coloured Canada
because I am proud of a Canada that harbours war resisters
because I am proud of a Canada that works alongside the downtrodden
because I am Christian
because I think 6000 dead Fallujahns are not less precious than 3000 dead New Yorkers
because I do not support war
because I think health care is a right
because I think girls are sexy too
because the only flashes of light I want to see in Canada's arctic skies are the aurora borealis
because I'm not afraid of change
because I'm afraid of racism
because I'm afraid of hatred
because I still have an imagination...
I am voting ndp. |
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| a grump at another's expense |
[Dec. 7th, 2005|12:19 am] |
Dr_Weezie's friend Dithie just received the following email from one of her students (whose name I will not mention so as to protect the poor dimwit from ridicule):
"I have a question about the take-home questions. In questin one it says to read Gen. 2:18-25 but i can't find that reading anywhere. Do you know where i can find it?"
Dr. Weezie was under the impression that "there are no dumb questions." Dr. Weezie was mistaken. This is at the END of a semester-long course ON CHRISTIANITY, in case the dimwittedness isn't clear enough.
Sigh. Things don't bode well for "generation Y." |
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| Dr_Weezie comes out of the closet |
[Nov. 23rd, 2005|12:15 pm] |
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I might as well get this out in the open so you can behold my petty and militant side. I care about spelling. I care a great deal. (Now, if a friend and I are text-messaging, and s/he makes a typo, this does not bother Dr_Weezie ... much.) If a person happens to blank out and have to tread to the dictionary to double-check the spelling of a word ... no problem. In fact, this is laudable. (Using a dictionary is a mark of deep wisdom.) No, it's not that. I care about spelling in The Grand Scheme of Things. Now, I'm not one of those illogical bleeding-hearts who lament that spelling is changing. This is the way language works. This is why the verb "to be" in the 2nd person is often an exception in languages worldwide. It gets used a lot, and the human animal likes to save time and energy by morphing it into something a bit lazier. Fine. Practical. Would these illogical bleeding hearts rather us all speak Gaelic or low-German and not have any English at all? Because that's where their logic leads. No, no, and a thousand times, no; I am NOT complaining about that. I am complaining about the RAPID and WORLDWIDE change in spelling that happened (grand-scheme-of-things speaking) OVERNIGHT when the personal computer brought word-processing and Bill Gates brought the Microsoft Word monopoly. When hapless p.c. users bring home their new computers, sit down at public libraries, take computer courses in school, etc .... the language settings on those computers are automatically set at "English, U.S." ... with the result that linguistic changes that might have taken CENTURIES to happen by themselves are a done deal, within a single generation!! Now, don't get me wrong. Dialects are lovely. The dialect that has happened in the States is interesting and natural: night to nite, cigarette to cigaret, cheque to check, aesthetic to esthetic .... U.S. English does to spelling what speakers do to the 2nd-person of "to be" quite normally ... makes it easier. However, there are now kids growing up in Canada who not only don't know their Canadian spellings, but don't even know that Canadian spellings exist! Contrary to popular opinion, Canadian spelling is not British spelling. It has its own unique history. In fact, Canadian spellings preserve the etymology of the word more often than American AND British spellings (must be our let's-not-rock-the-boat national personality). If our spelling is destined to die out, fine. But I don't see why some giant-ass computer company should be able to dictate that! No, I say. Just because the world uses American Operating Systems does not mean the world has to use American spellings! Now, here is your assignment (if you happen to be in Canada, that is): To change the language setting on a computer running MS Office (which is most), simply do this: 1. On the Microsoft Windows Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Microsoft Office XP Language Settings. 2. Click the Enabled Languages tab. 3. In the Default version of Microsoft Office box, select "English, CANADIAN," and then click OK. 4. Repeat on every computer you see. You know, living in Quebec and New Brunswick - Canada's only officially French province and officially bilingual province - has taught me something. Francophones have seen the deterioration of their language in negative ways ... i.e. ways that are not natural. They have either been forbidden to speak it (old-school oppresssion) or have been seduced by Hollywood et al not to WANT to speak it (state-of-the-art oppression). Francophones who care about this issue mourn this loss deeply. However, they are ALWAYS shocked and somewhat disbelieving to hear that there are anglophones who are feeling linguistic losses as well. English words, spellings, and entire dialects are disappearing. And for the noble cause of .... default word-processor settings!? Grump, grumpity, grump-grump. And Dr_Weezie grumpeth not alone: http://www.cornerstoneword.com/misc/cdneng/cdneng.htm and http://www.luther.ca/~dave7cnv/cdnspelling/cdnspelling.html and http://www3.telus.net/linguisticsissues/BritishCanadianAmerican.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_English! |
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| Ooooo. That really rots my socks. >:( |
[Nov. 20th, 2005|02:04 pm] |
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Man, it really twists my knickers when people say they find the Harry Potter series "stupid" or "alright, I guess" and it only comes out after several conversations that they have ONLY SEEN THE MOVIES!!! You moronic muggle-heads! Do you say, "Judaism is alright, I guess," after only having seen Heston in "The Ten Commandments"? Do you say, "I find the New Testament to be overly obsessed with violence and rather dim-witted" if you've only seen Gibson's "The Passion"? Do you complain about C.S. Lewis' "The Chronicles of Narnia" and repeat ad nauseum that you "don't know what everyone sees in that series" when you've only ever seen those low-budget, made-for-TV animations that came out in the 80s? NO. So do not presume to know anything about "that whole Harry Potter thing" if you haven't read the novels ... because that whole Harry Potter thing IS A SERIES OF NOVELS. There were some spin-offs, like movies, notebooks, and stickers. They do not make you an expert. You are not qualified. So shut up until you learn to read. (There are programs to help you if you can't, at least here in Canada.) |
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| No More Mrs. Nice-Nerd! |
[Nov. 16th, 2005|09:18 pm] |
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OK, let's get down to business. This was supposed to be a GRUMPY nerd blog ... and the time has come. I'm not a grumpy person (as a matter of fact, I actually used to think complaining was a sin!). However, this is not a journal of "the life and times of dr_weezie as she brushes her teeth" or a journal of "the philosophical musings of dr_weezie as she composes haikus about autumn." It's a "grumpy nerd" journal. Permit me, then, a brief grump. Why is it that there is seemingly no happy medium, no "middle path," no Golden Mean, when it comes to TIME and the academic life? Why is it that I and my fellow graduate students (and I have my suspicions about some of my profs, too) can't spend a few hours away from schoolwork without feeling guilty? And this is not a question of our psychological problems (granted, I was raised Protestant, which entitles me to a fair measure of needless guilt). No, it is a question of our reality: we really DO fall quite desperately behind when we take a day off. I don't think I'm the only grad student who thinks of doing the laundry as a "break"! This term, I majorly cut back my involvements. Not only do I only have ONE job, I also have less classes than I've ever had in a term before. I even moved into my own space, away from the two EXTREMELY MESSY bachelors I was rooming with, which cut back ridiculously on my housecleaning time. I moved closer to school, which cut down on time spent commuting. And yet, almost magically, my tasks ballooned to fill the allotted time period, and I am left scrambling once again. What gives? There are so many scholarships I didn't have time to apply for, so many graduate student essay competitions I don't have time to enter (even if I have extra essays in my back pocket, hanging around), so much reading I just skimmed at lightning-speed, so much Hebrew vocab that is not yet safely archived in my brain (and the exam LOOMS LARGE), and so many library books still sitting in a pile waiting to be researched that just keep getting renewed and neglected! You'd think after two B.A.s, a year of fine arts, and and M.A. under my belt, I'd be a little better at this time management thing. UNLESS. Unless it's NOT a question of time management at all, and it's a question of grad students honestly and truly being expected to fit too much into their schedules. You know, I'm actually a creative person. When I had time to draw every day, I got quite good. I have lots of ideas of fun things I could make for everyone for Christmas ... if I had the time. There are a lot of inspiring, amazing non-profit groups around Montreal that could really use some volunteer hours ... if I had the time. My grump, in short, is this: I'm fed up with living in the future! I'm either living with the future LOOMING (like due dates and timelines), or POSTPONING living UNTIL the future (I've actually started saying things like, "Oh, I can't wait to read that novel when I retire)... and I haven't even started my career yet! Grump and more grump! |
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| I am nerd. Hear me roar. |
[Nov. 5th, 2005|09:38 pm] |
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I have been procrastinating this "blog" (how odd that we suddenly have this word that didn't exist a few years ago) for a startling amount of months. I suppose a bit of perfectionism (and egotism?) goes along with nerd-dom, and so I haven't written anything yet because I didn't have time to prepare anything really brilliant. To circumvent having to write something really brilliant, however, I have come up with plan B: write nothing of substance at all, thereby avoiding the need for "first entry anxiety." After all, there is no pressure to prepare something really brilliant for the SECOND entry. Who ever heard of "second entry anxiety"? That would just be ridiculous. I have now written a paragraph. Mission accomplished. Fait accompli. |
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