Month: August 2005

What’s in a name? Not much really it’s at best a place holder for someone’s identity.
When there are too many John Smith’s at the convention center it certainly makes the need
of an uncommon middle initial quite useful. Through history the popularity of some names
have come and gone, I think Jennifer is one for girls these days. I’m not complaining
about too many girls being named Jennifer; hell my name Ian is one of the most common
names in the world being derived from some form of John. Still in an ever complicated
world it would be nice if a variety of names were encouraged. One of the best ways I can
think of to do this in a meager way is to quit naming hurricanes after common perfectly
usable names for people! Andrew in the 90’s and now Katrina. Katrina is a perfectly
good name but now if in the next 18 months or so you named a baby Katrina it would be
perfectly reasonable to assume that you hate: The South, New Orleans, Cajuns and by proxy
American Indians, and the French, the Blues, Mardi Gras and by proxy topless “girls gone
wild”, and Catholics, that scene from Easy Rider where they drop acid and freak out in
the old cemetery, etc. That’d be mighty hateful. Now Katrina, a perfectly good name,
is on a moratorium. I wonder why the National Weather Service does not just agree to
name hurricanes after historically bad people since those names are already no good? A
Hurricane Hitler or Khan would do just fine and then we wouldn’t have to take regular
names off the market and there might be somewhat less confusion at the convention center.

Use an acordian and go to jail. That’s what the sticker on the side of the box says.
When he was in the cages with the others he was sad. It wasn’t the cage or a lack of
social spirit. Today he is in a smaller cage and never sees any of the others. Most got
shipped off to zoos and that was the end of them. When the people with their signs came
in and had their way was when his new life started. He was free but infuriated. The ones before were dirty and loud and small. These new ones were tall and wobbly and bald.
On the streets that was where his freedom was now. On the streets in a cage on the corner with a top hat and a chain he would grab at the bald ones, at their colorful furs. While the man squeezed the box and pushed the keys it yelped and sighed. He would pull at the hat to cover his eyes to save him from the bald ones with their speed and chaos. He pulled at the hat to cover his ears and save him from the sounds the shrill painful
sounds of the streets of this freedom. Before he was alone he was the biggest the
quietest the others were annoying but now these bald ones, though not like the others in
the cages, were almost worse and still he was alone belonging to neither group.

I find that sometimes it’s rather unexpectedly calming to my rather neurotic sensibilities when I just put myself to a simple task. The frustration is low and usually my surronds if not myself are better for it. One chore I find particularly soothing is washing dishes. I like to cook because I like to eat so it follows that I create quite a bit of entropy in my culinary endeavors. I don’t mind it though if I turn on the warm water get some soapy suds going and scrub away the days anxiety. Maybe it’s the white noise of the flowing faucet or the warm water or the playful spalshing and clanging but I find this most simple of tasks not only rewarding (a clean kictchen invites more cooking and eating) but also relaxing. If nothing else it beats a sink full of stinking dirty dishes complete with a full complement of garbage rotting food smells and dead fruit flys.

Fearful Invagination (2001)

This is from a site about Babylon 5.

http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/ulysses

Not your right my right, anatomical right.