sundries

[rm]

Do you all remember Tiny Kitten that showed up in our hallway some time ago? Well, Tiny Kitten is now Teenage Kitten and Patty encountered him again yesterday for the first time in months and couldn't figure out where he belonged, but then he disappeared. But, that said, there's a litter box up on the roof-access floor, and it's one thing if he's an outdoor cat, but he can't be hallway cat! So if we see him again and there are still no obvious caretakers, we're taking him in, separating him from the other cats, putting up signs and bringing him to the vet and fostering if need be. We are concerned!

I'm really, really hoping that because Patty is More Organized Than Me, I did not just accidentally throw out my passport this morning. It's going to be okay.

Patty is probably buying her ticket to Cardiff today. Does anyone have any thoughts on traveling cheaply in Europe (in case we're able to meet up on the weekends while I'm in Switzerland before I get to go over there for a bit)? I found a bunch of $30 airfares yesterday, that then had another $250 in taxes. Also, Easy Jet? Wonderful or Satan-spawn?

Don't be shocked, at least some some 9/11 families support Park 51. (Also, Dear CNN, it is not a mosque and it is not at Ground Zero).

Can we talk about the "Ground Zero" nomenclature for a moment? I hate it. I have hated it since it happened. I am a child of the cold war. A nuclear bomb was not dropped there. The site of the horror is not the center of terrorism, and hello, horrible shit happened in DC and Pennsylvania too. "Ground Zero" has been, since the beginning, a useful term to frame, not just what happened at the WTC as an act or war, but to frame this idea of ourselves ("The West") being at war with Islam (which we shouldn't be, and is what the terrorists are trying, successfully apparently, to trick us into), and that's not a type of useful I can support.

Are you fucking kidding me? The NYC MTA wants to raise our monthly unlimited transit cars from $89 to $130. Getting to work shouldn't be a luxury. Here's a petition, although I have no idea if that's useful. But my outrage needs a link.

More schoolgirls poisoned in Afghanistan.

Philadelphia wants its bloggers who are running ads on their sites to buy a business license. The licenses cost more than the profits most people make on their blogs, and are in addition to business taxes.

Speaking of, sort of: alchemia is in financial need because of medical and other issues and has set up a webpage with advertising and hoping page views can help raise some of the necessary funds (an extra $1,200 a month has just been added to the budget). I'll be frank and say this before a bunch of you say it to me in comments: I'm skeptical about this plan, not because it's a scam (it's not a scam, it doesn't hurt you in any way), but because asking people for page views can cause problem with some ad services ToS, and because it's hard to earn big money with online advertising as a small content provider (trust me, I know this personally). However, it doesn't cost you anything to try to help. Information on why help/how you can help/what the plan is.

Huge WSJ article on gluten-free. This is a useful article if you want a basic understanding of my daily concerns, the complexity of which even those who are trying to help often don't understand. Also, while I am a Yankees fan, not a Mets fan, I will now make a point of going to a Mets game as they have gluten-free hotdogs and beer available. Thank you, Mets!

In Pakistan, 800,000 people are now only accessible by air. help_pakistan.

The hidden gay cadets of West Point. It's not just Katherine Miller.

The dark history of immigrant labor and America's rails at Duffy's Cut.

The struggle for women's suffrage (granted 90 years ago Thursday in the US) mirrors national divides on today's issues.

The New York City Council is set to vote on an ordinance requiring clerks to inform gay couples seeking domestic partnerships of the other, non-New York jurisdictions in which they can marry and have their marriage legally recognized in New York instead. This is interesting, as it both shames New York State, takes dollars from us for being fuck-ups, but also is, in some way, a first step to eliminating the domestic partnership (which both straight and gay couples, and pairs who are not in romantic/sexual relationships are eligible for in New York City), which grants only a very limited set of rights, but holds some interest locally for those philosophically opposed to marriage.

Monks battle the casket cartel.

Last night on Angel: So now much of the team knows Jasmin is not what she seems. Except Connor. Duh! If he were possible of seeing this issue, it would have already happened, since he too shares a blood line with her. Lots of philosophical stuff here -- is it better to know? Are the lives Jasmin is snacking on really so big a cost for global peace and happiness? And we still don't know what Jasmin is other than CREEPY (also, let's take a moment to talk about what a challenging performance that is to make convincing, and it works). Also, how will our team spray the world with Cordelia's blood? These are the questions of our times.

Last night on White Collar: So, fan service, character development or the writers amusing themselves? Sure, I get a kick out of Neal calling Peter sir and the safeword remark, but if it's fan service, I have a confession to make: I'm not interested. I'm interested in the very real thorny problems of Peter and Neal, as they appear on screen, because they are two, as far as we know, heterosexual men engaged in a romantic friendship that is complicated not just by current social expectation but a number of ethical considerations.

That issue, actually explored, however falteringly, is far more compelling to me than little asides that allow fandom to giggle about whether they are doing it or not. Sure, it's easy to write plausible slash and OT3 in this fandom, and sometimes I read it and I may even write in the future, but I want information about Peter and Neal from the show that's about Peter and Neal, not about sharing a laugh with the writers.

Last night on Covert Affairs: Well, that was a shit ton of backstory. I have some questions and thoughts:

1. Can someone come up with a plausible time-line regarding Auggie, the CIA and his military service? Does jumping out of the CIA to wind up in special forces and getting a life-changing injury within six months make sense in terms of training and enlistment issues? Did the CIA place him in Tikrit? Help, help with facts please. ETA: this is helpful and matches my suspicions. If show cannon conforms to this, I don't know.

2. What did the braille sculpture in his flat say? (Someone on the Internet thinks it's "love" but no one is sure). ETA: Okay, donutsweeper tells us in comments that Christopher Gorham tweeted that it does say "Love" so there you go. We can reasonably take that as fact now.

3. Auggie/Joan as an occasional, friendly, secret, deeply important to them, not romantic love thing? Y/Y?

4. Auggie and the reporter? I don't know if I believe him that it's just an op that he shouldn't be running. If it is, I don't know if he's playing her or if she's playing him. And wow, this is going to blow up spectacularly. I love, btw, the idea that both of them are probably sleeping with other people in a "I don't care enough to know" way.

5. Auggie's issues sure have a lot in common with Jack's issues. Didn't know that in the first episode, am sort of in awe of it now.

6. The show did better with hacker and nerd culture than I would have expected, but still super awkward for those of us in the know (True fact: I have a researcher credit on a trashy book about Kevin Mitnick because I knew the right people and basically got paid to set up beers between the author and criminally minded teens). The Comic*Con joke was pretty funny though.

7. Give Jai more to do please!

8. A lot of the reasons I love this show are the same reasons I love Torchwood -- people have to do crap things for the right reasons, but enough time doing that and eventually you windup doing them for the wrong reasons too and can't tell the difference. Fucked up loyalties. People on the outside not getting it. Not just love that got away, but whole lives. A team that functions in spite of everything. And someone you almost hopes breaks, so that the life she has chosen will be easier for her.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

If you're travelling within western Europe (or generally the area around Germany), you may want to consider travelling via Deustche Bahn. They have deals for travelling from city to city or country to country if you book early, about €29 or €39 per journey (no tax, but there are some additional charges like seat reservation €2, etc). Travelling by train takes longer, but you have a better view, more room, shorter waiting time before boarding, less likely to be delayed or hampered by weather, freedom to bring your luggage in as many pieces as you want, and it's generally easier to get to and fro train stations compared to airports.

I've travelled with Easy Jet and Ryanair several times; about half the time the flight will be delayed. Which is fine if you have the time, I've learnt to always bring a book in my hand luggage.

[featherofeeling.livejournal.com]

Opodo.com often has pretty good deals for Europe. Their fares have seemed bizarrely expensive recently, but someone I know who works in IT/business for Air France thinks it's just a system fluke.

[bodlon.livejournal.com]

Can we just attach your passport to your wrist? It would be like when you tie mittens into a jacket with a long string!

I am baffled by this Philly business license thing. I am cheered by this possible NYC ordinance, though! And I would definitely buy a casket from a monk over a corporate funeral parlor or Wal-Mart. Granted, I intend to be cremated...