sundries

[rm]

The new Miss USA is Arab-American, a first.

You know, my medical phobia was bad enough even without knowing about anesthesia awareness. This isn't my first reading about it, but I get more traumatized by it every time.

The Boston University class of 1970 finally has their graduation ceremony.

Strict reading of visa rule imperils more couples.

Riding a bicycle to promote world peace.

I don't think I would have gotten this even a couple of years ago. Now I get it. At the Smith College commencement Rachel Maddow said (among other stuff including a mention of folks in the Department of the Interior snorting meth off a toaster oven), "when given the choice between fame and glory, take glory."

While domestic partnership in New York is still waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay not marriage, the ceremony is about to get better for those interested. For the record, most of NYC's domestic partnerships involve straight people and gay marriages are recognized in New York if you get 'em legally done elsewhere. Confused yet?

Laura Bush not only supports marriage equality, she believes it is inevitable.

People, no matter how much of a plan you think you have, when you drop something onto the tracks don't go after it. Among other things, they're much, much deeper than you think.

Of course, I woke up today (after waking up at 2am and 4:30am first) with three critical things I need to add to the paper (each is a mere clause or sentence, but important), two things I want to double-check, and a footnote about death rates in British television shows I want to expand slightly (something that's all John Fay's fault). Other than that, it's just cleaning up my citation footnotes and doing the epic bibliography that's a big pain in the ass since it includes papers, books, tv shows, movies and the damn Internet.

While this was going on all weekend, Patty was working on her remix story. We spent a lot of time sitting across from each other in a cafe running our hands through our hair. This was about a hundred times more conducive to the writing process than I would have expected, and I'm very impressed with the degree to which we did not drive ourselves crazy.

The Hewitt reunion was weird and possibly even illuminating, but will be a post of its own.

In the midst of all of this, we also managed to watch some Buffy and Angel. Kittens as currency!

Meanwhile, last night on Angel we watched the misogyny demon episode. Alexis Denisof is _such_ a good actor I feel like I'm losing my mind. Why isn't he working more? Jesus fucking christ. Because that episode is the most heavy-handed and not that well-written piece of crap ever (hi, references to The Shining) and yet his performance manages to be nuanced, uncomfortably sexual and just screams of backstory (hi Wesley's dad! Am I right or am I right?).

And, despite Wesley not being that terrible, terrible guy he is under the influence, here's a man who's always talking about "what a remarkable girl" this or that woman he is attracted to is; he never knew how to be a child, he doesn't know how to be an adult, and he's only attracted to people he (thinks he) needs to protect because he can't protect himself and they're a distraction from just how fundamentally broken and full of shame he is. That last scene with Fred and the tears is FUCKING HEARTBREAKING.

Watching Wesley's arc is, instead of my more usual experience of thinking "wow, I have things in common with this character" is instead the experience of "oh, look at the terrible things he has in common with me."

Comments

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Heart or lung problems, daily alcohol consumption, and long-term use of opiates and other drugs may put patients at higher risk for anesthesia awareness, according to the Mayo Clinic.

I can never drink again. Not that I drink daily, or even necessarily weekly most of the time, but OH GODS OH GODS OH GODS I HAVE ASTHMA AND I WILL WAKE UP AND OH NO.

(For the record, the one time I was under GA I was not aware, but I fought my way the hell back up in record time after and refused to go back to sleep by reading signs and name tags and stuff.)

...0 is a total absence of brain activity, 98 to 100 is wide awake, and 45 to 60 is about where general anesthesia puts the patient...

And lo, I am now thinking about Doctor Who and Basic 100, etc.

Loving the Maddow link as well. Then again, Rachel Maddow could talk to me all day and I doubt I'd tire of it.