Here are the 15 most recent journal entries recorded in yes, *that* Dawn person's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 15 ]

Monday, November 16th, 2009
8:00 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, November 15th, 2009
4:13 pm	B-list movie: we survived it S and I managed to watch A Time to Die through to the end last night. It's something I picked up at the dollar store a while ago, billed as an R-rated action thriller starring Traci Lords and Richard Roundtree. The movie was really a drama with action elements. The R rating for the time (1991) probably came from a couple of naked women's breasts and a few seconds in which a man is presumed to be performing oral sex (the act itself hidden from the camera by the bedsheets) on a woman (not Lords, who is best known for her underage work in the pornography industry). Richard Roundtree's role was important, but he was a definitely a supporting character. The premise and plot were fairly good. The writing and acting were in the good to very good range; I was pleasantly surprised at Lords in the principal role. Some of the production values were shoddy: two things I'd call out here are bad overdubbing and poor choice of props in the scenes where a photographer character was taking pictures. So why did we have a difficult time watching the movie? At first, I thought it was because the three white male characters with significant screen time were portrayed as thoughtless, pushy, entitled jerks who are rewarded for their bad behaviour and attitude. Then I noticed that the two white females with the most screen time were strong, competent characters who accepted their lack of power in dealing with men: most notable for me here was a scene in which the male lead tries to set up a romantic meeting with the female lead, gets repeatedly turned down, and keeps pestering her until she says "yes" just to get him to shut up. I also noticed that, while we saw a black chief of police, he was never credible as a potential "bad guy" because of his race. Other, less noticeable to me, oddities were the bit-part criminal characters being all hispanic and the lesbian couple with a kinky relationship apparently being unable to separate their kinks from the rest of their lives. I've noticed other movies, some of them ones I'd enjoyed greatly on first viewing, that don't work well for me as they and I have aged. Often it comes down to the way characters interact with each other: behaviour and attitudes I'd consider shoddy being accepted or rewarded, especially (though not exclusively) when gender and power are both involved. I don't see a lot of what comes out of Hollywood these days (we're still favouring Japanese and Hong Kong cinema with a few independent and other-nation films), and I don't watch television at all. Once in a while I wonder what I'd think of the entertainments America exports to the screen, big and small. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 11th, 2009
6:51 am	remembrance Every November 11th, or the Friday before it when it fell on a weekend, my elementary school would have a Remembrance Day assembly. John McCrae's famous poem would be read by someone in one of the upper years, some World War II veteran would give a speech, and one year I remember seeing Norman McLaren's Neighbours for the first time. In Grade X, my English teacher lingered over Wilfred Owen's Dulce Et Decorum Est, explaining the horrors of gas attacks and the everyday misery of a soldier's life in the Great War. It felt like a full week we spent discussing our grandparents' generation's lives on the front lines in sickening detail. My father was younger than my daughter is now when he volunteered and marched off to the war in Europe. He was a corporal, though I don't know whether he started at that rank or rose to it. He picked up some shrapnel in his hip and had a slight limp for the rest of his life. When the war, or his part in it, was over he returned to Canada and his parents' business. I've never had a soldier's temperament: touching a gun horrifies me, I cannot easily follow an order without question and, for all that I'm becoming a decent supervisor, I don't see myself as officer material. Though I considered military college as a means to get an education, I had the wisdom to dismiss it and earn my way through the schooling my family could not afford on scholarships and work. I admire and appreciate the work of soldiers around the world, of every nation. Even if I disagree with their ideologies or the priorities of the leaders who have set them their work, or find the way in which they carry it out distasteful. At the eleventh hour, on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, please take a moment to thank the soldiers. (Comment on this)
Monday, November 9th, 2009
12:17 pm	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, November 6th, 2009
9:52 am	Tommy's child The Canadian H1N1 news I've been following has started to focus on individuals and groups who have used their privileged status to jump the queue and receive the scarce vaccine ahead of their designated time. Belief in the medicare system that Tommy Douglas brought into being is part of who I am. If that system isn't working well to serve us all fairly, it needs to be fixed. If that system is failing me personally, I have no business denying others care to take it for myself: I can seek help outside the system entirely if I have the resources to do so, or I can wait my turn (calling the government's and the media's attention to my case if I believe the system needs change). The hospital board members, hockey players, and others who are not in identified high risk groups had no right to jump the queue, for all they may believe they have valid reason to do so. Their actions are so un-Canadian that some people are using the epithet "American" to describe them: American in the sense of the entitled upper-middle-class or "better" individual who takes what he sees as his right and ignores those who lack the privileged status and resources to do the same. As the parent of a school-age child and a worker at an educational institution, I'm likely to be exposed to both seasonal and H1N1 flu viruses. I've been in physical contact with people who have had confirmed H1N1 cases themselves and in their households. I'll wait for flu shots to be available to my demographic, albeit not silently. I believe my government, in the form of health care management, screwed up and it's my duty to hold them to a high standard: the planners should have done a better risk analysis and arranged for timelier distribution of more vaccine to all communities. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
8:24 pm	K523 When I asked "how about a little Mozart?" yesterday, I was expecting to pick up a piece already familiar to my body. Instead, A pulled out Abendempfindung in the key of E-flat major. The transposition does make a big difference to me, for all that's it's only a full tone. I'm also getting better at sight reading in the wrong key. The words (which Mozart reportedly changed from the original poem), the story, the uncluttered lines of the keyboard and voice, are truly lovely. I'm amused that the Youtube recordings of it I've listened to thus far all have a distinct change in colour between the higher and lower notes: a problem I'm fighting in another piece by a still-warm composer. The sentiment is different from -- yet in my strangely twisted mind, also similar to -- Christina Rosetti's When I Am Dead, My Dearest, that I have loved from the first time I read it as a child, and for which I have yet to find a satisfying setting. Perhaps it is the time of year to collect and consider funeral songs. (Comment on this)
Monday, November 2nd, 2009
12:25 pm	unsolicited physical contact from strangers james_nicoll wonders about people touching curly hair and some more specific data about the curiosity [ETA: and another poll looking at who's doing the touching]: This falls into a general set of behaviors that I understand exist but which baffle me: touching other people without permission because some novel or unusual aspect of those people. In my personal and immediate-observer experience: the person initiating the contact is typically coming from a position of greater social power than the object of their contact some aspect of the objectified person's appearance (be it an obviously pregnant belly, unusual hair or skin, a mobility assistance device, extreme youth, or something else) declares the individual to be public property rather than a person the person being touched is usually offended, not pleased, but cannot safely (or confidently, depending on the situation) express that offence I grew up in a family where physical contact is an expression of love and affection, and it took me a lot of mistakes to learn that any touch can be misinterpreted. To touch or be touched by a stranger with no more context or excuse than exoticism seems to me a basic failure to respect another individual's humanity. Sometimes I look too long or dumb-facedly at someone who seems different, forgetting that individual is a person and probably doesn't want to be gawped at. Since I'm not constantly wearing a sign declaring "please notify me if I give offense", I sometimes make another person feel unsafe or uncomfortable without even being aware of it. Perhaps it would be easier if I could overcome my cultural conditioning to not strike up conversations with strangers, so I could explain what caught my childish eye. (Comment on this)
8:49 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009
3:15 pm	bleah I've been riding the edge of a cold (no glamorous swine ailment for me) for about a week. Sometimes, it doesn't affect me much; sometimes, I'm short-tempered due to having very little in the way of energy reserves; sometimes, I get strong messages from my body that I Will Lie Down And Rest Now. I'm planning to get some serious napping in on the weekend to restore my energy and recuperate, and am taking it easier than I otherwise would. Heck, I only put in 6 hours at work today (Monday was 10 or so and Tuesday 9ish, but 3 of those 9 were listening to a vendor presentation). Life in general seems to have been throwing more than the usual amount of trouble at us over the past few months. We're dealing with it pretty well, and there are still good things to help keep us going. I don't care to go into details in public, other than to say I am deeply appreciative of the environment I grew up in and the friend I have in catbear. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 26th, 2009
9:19 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
4:52 pm	Three opinions on a Strauss concerto S and I listened to a concert including Strauss's Oboe Concerto in D yesterday evening. The guy from the local paper has a bunch of flowery words to say about the concerto and the rest of the concert, from Friday's performance. S said James Mason's performance was so sublime, he didn't really notice the music. I found the composition so clearly laid out and well written, I didn't really notice the performance. Given the way I process musical performance these days, that's praise for both the composer and the performers. Oh, and I think Edwin's got a new hair-cutter. The style is very similar to his previous, but the additional shortness in front is something I find uncomplementary to his features and ebullient style. (Comment on this)
Monday, October 19th, 2009
8:00 am	Monday pride thread Mondays, every week, let's celebrate ourselves, to start the week right. Tell me what you're proud of. Tell me what you accomplished last week, something -- at least one thing -- that you can turn around and point at and say: I did this. Me. It was tough, but I did it, and I did it well, and I am proud of it, and it makes me feel good to see what I accomplished. Could be anything -- something you made, something you did, something you got through. Just take a minute and celebrate yourself. Either here, or in your journal, but somewhere. (And if you feel uncomfortable doing this in public, I've set this entry to screen any anonymous comments, so if you want privacy, comment anonymously and I won't unscreen it unless you tell me it's okay. Also: yes, by all means, cheer each other on when you see something you want to give props to!) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Sunday, October 18th, 2009
3:58 pm	salespeople make me uncomfortable S and I found ourselves in a tourist-oriented shopping mall recently, as it was the closest place to home we expected we could get a high quality pair of unlined, leather soled moccassins. We're both pretty far outside the mainstream of consumer culture, so heavily trafficked tourist areas and shopping malls are not easy places for either of us. The number of people in close quarters, artificial scents, and noise are contributing factors, though the biggest issue for me is simply being invisibly alien in a foreign-to-me environment. A couple of minutes after we'd reached our destination and had begun examining the impressive array of footwear, a stranger came to stand within an inch or two of S and told him he looked familiar. Given S's position in the local arts community, as well as his distinctive hats, it wouldn't be unusual for someone to recognize him without knowing him. The unknown woman went on to name a "Most Wanted" television show. Failing to recognize the unknown woman's behaviour as a sales technique, I told her flatly that her words and behaviour were offensive and returned to my interrupted consideration of the store's stock. That salesperson took care to avoid us for the remainder of our time in the store (possibly as long as 20 minutes). The other salesperson approached us once in that time and asked whether she could be of assistance: I responded that we were managing fine ourselves and would ask if we needed anything (we didn't, as it turned out). Once we were ready to make a purchase, the second salesperson handled the transaction comfortably, politely, and efficiently. Huh, it turns out we could have gotten a very similar item on line. Given the expected life of the slippers (a decade, give or take a couple of years), I'm content to have had the bricks-and-mortar experience and the opportunity to try things on. (Comment on this)
Friday, October 16th, 2009
12:02 pm	becoming, of good quality, not ostentatious I've ordered myself a new winter jacket to fill a hole in my winter wardrobe that I had and didn't address last year. The jacket comes from a well-reputed vendor whose reputation is built on winter outerwear, on sale, with a coupon, when the CDN$ is nearly at par with the US$: I'm pleased with the value I'll receive. It continues to require special mental effort to spend money on myself, whatever Sam Vimes may observe about the long-term foolishness of being penny-wise. I am getting better about it, considered purchase by purchase. I don't have the problem to the same extent when I'm buying things for others. When S asked me to pick up some coffee for him the other day, I decided to get Kicking Horse rather than a less expensive whole-bean coffee. It costs significantly more and it tastes much better. We'll probably go out and get some "everyday" coffee for when he doesn't particularly care what his brew tastes like, but I'm happy with the value: still handily less than half the price per cup than the consistently meh coffee available up the street at Timmy's. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, October 14th, 2009
12:33 pm	learning what comes naturally I made a conscientious effort in this week's lesson to shut down critical and analytical thought processes while I sing. The result was very encouraging: I've got a lot of both technique and musicianship ingrained as habit and I achieve noticeably better results "letting it out" unreviewed -- still with concentration on the work at hand -- than when I focus intently on getting details right and analysing my performance in real time. I need discipline and structure in my approach to music. I also need freedom to have big successes or failures without jumping on them right away. One of the incidents that helped a lot was my choice to spontaneously sing a song I've sung on the playground hundreds of times as an adult in response to a request to tell someone who I am. (Comment on this)