Insert a Trite Metaphor for a Corral

Posted on March 13, 2005 in Roundup

This roundup covers the period from 6 March to 13 March 2004.

Does the word “bored” fit? It seems that the majority of bloggers on my list have forsaken political talk altogether and sought to express themselves more on cultural matters. A year ago, we were all talking about Passion and George W. Bush. Today, we seek out apolitical minutiae.

And I am no exception.

Politics

• Randy spoke about what may become Argentina’s newest tourist attraction:

the Escuela Mecánica de la Armada (ESM, the Navy Mechanics School) the most vicious and horrid torture center in Argentina during the Dirty War….It is a truly monstrous person who can dine above a room where people are being tortured. I remember reading several years ago that during the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal, a Brazilian ambassador’s wife used to complain that the screams from those being tortured were disturbing her breakfast and asked them to conduct the torture sessions at a different time of day. It makes one wonder why the idea of people being tortured in her neighborhood or even in the same city wasn’t distressing enough.

• shelli got angry over the lingering legacy of low-grade torture in the public schools:

When I was in elementary school it was legal for school staff to spank the children. I have had my share of hitting, spanking, hair pulling and even ear pulling. I think the action should justify the punishment. I think no one has the right to tell a parent spank your child now in front of me. I think if a parent delivers an ol fashioned spankin it should be done in privacy. The child is being disciplined it is unnecessary for embarrassment too. No school not even a private school should still have corporal punishment. …

• LQ cheered as Howard Dean pruned Shrub’s so-called “town-meetings”.
• Will lambasted white liberals for their rejection of the “great unwashed”:

No, the folks who shy away from taking BushCheney to task for whining about class wars are, sometimes, too close to the same caste as Dick and Dubya anyway | They don’t want their sacred cows gored | And they don’t socialize with the riff raff either |

• Rachel Ann weighed in on the Terry Schiavo case:

The idea of allowing someone to starve to death as being a human action, is horrifying to me. If in fact she is “dead” and can’t feel anything, her heart beating will have no effect on her quality of life. If in fact she is “alive” (and from various things I have read about visits made to her by others, for example this one she definitely has some degree of awarness), than a painful death by starvation is nothing short of cruel.

• Sally announced the formation of a new liberal political blog.

Culture

• Joe G. reported the return of what may be the most likeable tacky sci fi series ever: Dr. Who!
• Natalie dissonantly trumpeted the inclusion of a course on blogging in the summer catalog of the Central St. Martins College of Art & Design. Her cartoon tells it all.
• maria came to a conclusion about “biggest of the big box stores”:

You realize – or at least you think you do – that this random ordering of merchandise is not random at all. It is there to confuse you. You are not supposed to be able to orient yourself here by telling yourself that you can get from house wares to linens to the exit and than out. No, you are supposed to keep going in circles, like a rat in the maze – dazed, confused and scared. You will be let out of the labyrinth only after you have slain the bull of resistance in you.

• Lauren talked about the problem of teaching students one of my favorite poems, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”. Is this a mermaid singing, each to each?

The point of exposing students to difficult material is not to make heads explode, but for them to be familiar with this kind of material when approached with similar literary modes in the future. The perceived limits of intertextuality between “high” and “low” art forms are easily dashed with an open mind, and I think it makes the classroom a far more enjoyable place as it works to demystify critical literary theory.

• Gina gasped at advocates of cat-hunting.
• Teresa reviewed eBook software and hardware platforms.
• Manda is seeking feedback on her idea that the Internet is a suburban environment.
• Stu remarked on the issuance of a stamp to commemorate the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker-Bowles. Got a little mean there….
• Aurora cheered the secession of Miramax from Disney.
• Billy discovered an interesting patent worth enforcing.
• Nancy went to court (in India) with a friend.

Religion

• Irene spoke against the corporatization of Christianity:

I believe we’ve begun to unconsciously subscribe to society’s values, which could prove to be a VERY BIG CLUE in explaining why people don’t see our faith as being “relevant”. I’ve always thought that the relevance of the Gospel lies in God’s ability, willingness and desire to meet our needs — particularly emotional and spiritual, although He does care about the physical too. Physical needs are probably the most easily met; it’s the unseen needs that are more difficult to deal with, right?

• Al-Muhajabah wrote about the J-word:

The word jihad means “struggle” in Arabic. One of the uses of the word (and there are certain Muslims who treat it like this is the only usage) is “armed struggle”, i.e., war. However, there are other uses of the word as well to refer to other struggles in life. In Islamic religious discourse one of the major jihads or struggles that is discussed is jihad an-nafs, the struggle against one’s inner self. This refers to the struggle against selfishness, caprice, and other shortcomings in order to become a better person.

Personal

• Tracy found her illness forcing her to face an old issue:

I used to be deathly afraid of the whole housewife act. The normal, everyday hum-drum of such an existence seemed caustic to me. It was toxic and spiritless. I have feared the concept of day-to-day routine and repetition to such extremes that many times I stirred up trouble just to put everything back into chaotic disarray. Now, that’s exciting. That’s unusual. That’s colorful and bizarre and off-center and alive. It’s probably why I move so much.

• John found himself facing the unthinkable:

There I was, sat sitting in front of my computer, poised to format a new file for my journal when there came a shrill burbling sound from deep inside the tower case, closely followed by a gentle “chinky-clinky-clunk” which stopped, abruptly, to be replaced by a low-volume “tinkle, tinkle, tinkle”.

• Hamburger Lad contended with a new computer at work:

It’s not that we were swamped with jobs–though we had plenty to do and left some work for first shift–but they “upgraded” my computer by swapping it out with a faster model. So once again I spent at least the first half hour of my shift resetting preferences and copying files. And then, once I got working, a couple of jobs took twice as long as I had to hunt down the proper utility or settings to work the job the way I wanted.

• chari has some neighbor problems:

We have a young couple living across the street from us. He smokes, but she won’t allow him to do so in the house. So, he comes out each day by opening his garage door, then stands at the top of his driveway and smokes. When he finishes, he throws the butt somewhere out onto his driveway.

• Luminous wondered what makes for a jerk:

I don’t know what triggers him to act the way he does, but no matter what the trigger, there is no excuse for treating someone the way he’s treated her. I’m glad that she left him (again), and I hope she stays away. The first time she left, I wanted to think that his actions were just a one-time thing. If she’s left twice, it’s not a one-time thing.

• Pam contended with the Vortex.
• Kimber came back to life after nearly a two month absence.
• Ellen celebrated International Women’s Day.

Visual Art

• Jase: Pike do have feet
• Victoria: Enough is Enough
• Coup de Vent: No Camera Still
• Bill: Rouletti

Poetry and Fine Prose

• Hell’s Kitchen: Yo Ro!
• Michael: Swerve

Missing Bloggers

• doug