CSIs

Oy. I got entirely roped into the CSI marathan that was on Spike this weekend, and today they’ve moved onto CSI: NY episodes.

I come home from teaching Gender Studies 100 (specifically a piece by Ana Castillo) and it turns out the “Jane Doe” is really a “John Doe” — which conclusion they come to by looking up the dead trans woman’s skirt.

Oy.

It’s Over!

It’s over, it’s over!! Dubya is out of office, & so are all his fuckwad cronies. I can hardly believe it: the long national nightmare is over.

(Even if there is a lot of cleaning up to do.)

This Is What?

How hot is this?

You can get a year’s subscription to Ms. Magazine AND this nifty poster for $35.

The other day while writing my Blog for Choice post, I realized it was the first time I wrote one with a pro-choice president in office.

& The Global Gag Rule has already been repealed.

There is nothing sexier than a guy who is a feminist & who backs it up with legislation.

(I promise I’ll stop posting about President Obama soon. Okay, maybe not. But I’ll try not to, promise.)

More Wow

It’s really incredible: watching the Obamas walk hand-in-hand (which is beautiful in & of itself) to the White House just blows my mind. I’m not sure it’s actually sunk in yet that we actually pulled this off. Damn.

& What a mess he inherited, but still it’s incredible.

Here are some of the references made today, either directly or indirectly:

  • Lowery opened with the words of what’s called the “negro national anthem” – called “lift every voice and sing” – originally written to introduce Booker T Washington.
  • tanks into tractors = swords into plowshares. Interesting choice for a wartime president.
  • the reference in the poem not just to picking cotton but to picking lettuce, which was a reference to the UFW & Cesar Chavez.
  • Feinstein mentioned the ballot or the bullet, which is Malcolm X’s most famous speech.

Anyone catch any others?

Call the Pope

So here’s another bit of political history that was made today: Joe Biden is our first Catholic VP. For those of you who don’t know, Al Smith was a candidate for president in 1927, and one of the reasons he lost was the tremendous anti-Catholic sentiment expressed in this country. As the story went, a US President who was Catholic would obey the Pope over the Constitution.

Out Damn Spot

I almost feel like it’s Christmas Eve I’m so excited. Watching the coverage on MSNBC is like a reunion after this long electoral season, but wow is it exciting! Those cheerleaders yesterday were adorable. Kind of mind-blowing.

There’s a story about a guy who gets a toothache while Jesus is dying on the cross; he’s not directly involved at all, just a guy going about his day who’s aggravated by the pain in his mouth. I read it in a remarkable compilation, edited by Borges, in The Book of Fantasy. It’s what I thought of when I saw the news about Cheney in the wheelchair; I know it’s a minor injury, but the symbolism is a little rich. Now we just need Rove on crutches.

I’m so excited but I’m also a little overwhelmed with relief that Rove’s Boys are finally out.

Quitting Smoking

As Mark Twain said: Quitting is easy; I’ve done it lots of times. But actually I haven’t. They say the average smoker has to try quitting seven times before they manage it permanently, and I’ve really tried exacty once. Maybe twice.

Still, I was smoking something like 70-100 cigarattes a week – 5+ packs – when I left Brooklyn in December, and now I’m down to 20 a week, maybe 2+ a day. But wow do I enjoy those two, even in minus 45 degree weather, and especially after a day teaching.

It really is a shame smoking is so bad for you, because it really statisfies something that nothing else does. I’m chewing the gum – which helps a lot – but there’s still so much missing. The lovely smell of burning tobacco, playing with fire, the oral thing, and even fiddling with this thing between your fingers. *sigh* But I’ve decided I am best off thinking of myself as a smoker who doesn’t smoke rather than as an ex-smoker.

Whatever it takes, as they say. For Betty it took a trip to the hospital and a case of atypical pneumonia.