The left-handed electric mice who run this blog have made a tactical decision to shift its focus from politics to writing. This decision was reached because:
1) The mice have neither the time nor the energy to attempt to follow and comment coherently on the increasingly bewildering political circus.
2) A good deal of pretty good fiction and poetry has lately been spewing forth from the sinister brain that controls the mice.
3) In November, the electric mice will be working quite a bit of overtime to write an entire novel in the span of 30 days. This particular experiment might kill most of the mice.
Several things to note. First, the archives will remain available and visible on the left sidebar. Secondly, the right sidebar has been removed, allowing the main text to take up the majority of the screen. Thirdly, the font has been changed from courier to arial/helvetica, which is, in my opinion, much easier to read.
This relaunch simply reflects a change in emphasis. While the primary purpose of this blog will be to showcase my fiction and poetry, I may still write about politics from time to time. However, my intent is for all posts to be interesting, engaging, and held to a higher standard of writing quality than is usually found in a purely political blog.
Now, this next bit is critical. This blog isn't just for me to show off my work and go "woo look at me I'm great." I want people to give me feedback on what I write. I want constructive criticism. I want you to tell me, "Hey, this idea here works, but you've done something kind of stupid over here." Most of all, I want you to tell me if you think something I've written is good enough to submit to someone who might publish it, and if not, what you think I need to do to get to that point. I want to grow as a writer, to work hard at it, to focus my energies on creating a unique voice that I can contribute to the greater literary world. I want to be one of the people that high school students get bored having to study - because that's how you know you've really made it.
In any event, enjoy the new format. In a little while, I'll be posting the first part of a science fiction story I've been working on.
Showing posts with label Meta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meta. Show all posts
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Please stand by.
This blog is experiencing technical difficulties. We apologize for the inconvenience*.
*note: The inconvenience in question is not actually caused by technical difficulties, but rather by the author's continued inability to find the time or energy to do political blog posts at the moment. Your results may vary. Do not apply internally. If accidentally swallowed, do not induce vomiting. Not valid in all states. Sinister is a production of me, my brain, and my penchant for political pontification. Stay tuned - I have plans for this blog. I'm doing a lot more fiction and other kinds of writing lately, so Sinister might just shift its emphasis to feature stuff I'm writing rather than being a purely political blog. I'm not sure yet. But rest assured, this blog is not dead - merely hibernating.
*note: The inconvenience in question is not actually caused by technical difficulties, but rather by the author's continued inability to find the time or energy to do political blog posts at the moment. Your results may vary. Do not apply internally. If accidentally swallowed, do not induce vomiting. Not valid in all states. Sinister is a production of me, my brain, and my penchant for political pontification. Stay tuned - I have plans for this blog. I'm doing a lot more fiction and other kinds of writing lately, so Sinister might just shift its emphasis to feature stuff I'm writing rather than being a purely political blog. I'm not sure yet. But rest assured, this blog is not dead - merely hibernating.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Sinister Weekly
Long time readers of Sinister (all 3 or so of you) will have noticed a sharp drop in posting volume over the past month. As I've explained in previous posts, my new life in Portland is making it very difficult for me to find time to blog. I'm too damned tired when I get home from work, and my weekends are packed with, well, the kinds of exciting activities outside in the real world that I dreamed about when I was bored stiff in Tulsa. This upcoming weekend, for example, we're thinking of taking a road trip to the coast. How cool is that?
All that being said, I still think that it's important for me to keep this blog going. Therefore, I'm going to transform Sinister into a weekly blog. I'll do one post per week, most likely on the weekends, in which I'll expound on whatever has piqued my interest over the past seven days. Happy Friday posts and Monday loldogs are probably not going to come back, though I may post a funny video or random thing every so often.
For now, my martini and I are going to take it easy and watch some television. Take care, be excellent to each other, and I'll be back to fill you with Sinistery goodness this weekend.
Much love.
All that being said, I still think that it's important for me to keep this blog going. Therefore, I'm going to transform Sinister into a weekly blog. I'll do one post per week, most likely on the weekends, in which I'll expound on whatever has piqued my interest over the past seven days. Happy Friday posts and Monday loldogs are probably not going to come back, though I may post a funny video or random thing every so often.
For now, my martini and I are going to take it easy and watch some television. Take care, be excellent to each other, and I'll be back to fill you with Sinistery goodness this weekend.
Much love.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Hello BNN Oregon!
The good folks at BlogNetNews have kindly moved Sinister from the Oklahoma feed to the Oregon feed in anticipation of the Big Move.
I'm an Oklahoma native, moving to Portland with my life partner, along with our one-eyed tonkinese cat named Cosette, and a neurotic but adorable mutt named Wendy, in a little less than three weeks. I'm excited about making a new start in what I am finding more and more to be a vibrant, unique, and extremely damp, city. The Onion newspaper satirized what I seem to be doing in a pretty hilarious article recently.
I've written Sinister for several years now. It's a blog that looks at the world from a left-handed perspective. I've written about everything from the Israel-Palestine conflict to the struggle for marriage equality to worker rights, technology, movies, music, and literature. I'm going to feature more local Portland and Oregon stories in the future.
Watch for my Happy Friday posts, which feature random videos - past entries have included Monty Python sketches, movie clips, and random YouTube stuff that made me giggle.
So, dear Oregonians, I invite you to peruse this humble blog at your leisure. I welcome comments, disagreements, praise, criticism, rants, raves, outrage, and applause. I also welcome restaurant recommendations.
I'm an Oklahoma native, moving to Portland with my life partner, along with our one-eyed tonkinese cat named Cosette, and a neurotic but adorable mutt named Wendy, in a little less than three weeks. I'm excited about making a new start in what I am finding more and more to be a vibrant, unique, and extremely damp, city. The Onion newspaper satirized what I seem to be doing in a pretty hilarious article recently.
I've written Sinister for several years now. It's a blog that looks at the world from a left-handed perspective. I've written about everything from the Israel-Palestine conflict to the struggle for marriage equality to worker rights, technology, movies, music, and literature. I'm going to feature more local Portland and Oregon stories in the future.
Watch for my Happy Friday posts, which feature random videos - past entries have included Monty Python sketches, movie clips, and random YouTube stuff that made me giggle.
So, dear Oregonians, I invite you to peruse this humble blog at your leisure. I welcome comments, disagreements, praise, criticism, rants, raves, outrage, and applause. I also welcome restaurant recommendations.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Explanation of the Sinister logo
I found the picture of a left hand holding a hammer during a Google Images search. I can't even remember what search terms I used, and I haven't been able to find it again since, but it seemed like a perfect image for what my blog was going to be about.
The reason for the left hand is obvious. I'm left-handed, and my viewpoint is on the left side of politics. I recognize that; that's why the blog is called Sinister. It's clever. Really.
But why a hammer?
Well, anyone who knows anything knows that hammers are actually used for building things, for hammering in nails, and putting up structures.
Sinister is a blog that builds arguments, that hammers in ideas, and puts up intellectual structures that, hopefully, stand up to the test of criticism. Sure, sometimes the hammer misses the nail and puts a dent in a wall. Sometimes I get things wrong. But the metaphor of a hammer is apt for what I'm trying to accomplish with this blog.
Hammers have also been used as a revolutionary symbol of the working class, used by communists and socialists for more than a hundred years. I don't shy away from admitting that I am influenced by such thinkers, and my specific choice of a hammer is, at least in part, a tribute to them.
The hammer is not, as some would argue, a symbol of destruction. Indeed it is the opposite - a symbol of construction, the idea that building ideas can lead to building a better world, one that is more just, humane, and free.
That is the explanation of the Sinister logo.
The reason for the left hand is obvious. I'm left-handed, and my viewpoint is on the left side of politics. I recognize that; that's why the blog is called Sinister. It's clever. Really.
But why a hammer?
Well, anyone who knows anything knows that hammers are actually used for building things, for hammering in nails, and putting up structures.
Sinister is a blog that builds arguments, that hammers in ideas, and puts up intellectual structures that, hopefully, stand up to the test of criticism. Sure, sometimes the hammer misses the nail and puts a dent in a wall. Sometimes I get things wrong. But the metaphor of a hammer is apt for what I'm trying to accomplish with this blog.
Hammers have also been used as a revolutionary symbol of the working class, used by communists and socialists for more than a hundred years. I don't shy away from admitting that I am influenced by such thinkers, and my specific choice of a hammer is, at least in part, a tribute to them.
The hammer is not, as some would argue, a symbol of destruction. Indeed it is the opposite - a symbol of construction, the idea that building ideas can lead to building a better world, one that is more just, humane, and free.
That is the explanation of the Sinister logo.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Quick grammar lesson
One of our conservative friends seems to have difficulty telling the difference between a plural and a possessive. Since he's made this mistake on more than one occasion recently, here's a little refresher:
Gaffe's: Something belonging to a gaffe.
Gaffes: More than one gaffe.
Here endeth the lesson.
Gaffe's: Something belonging to a gaffe.
Gaffes: More than one gaffe.
Here endeth the lesson.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
The dilemma of a civil libertarian
As a civil libertarian, I believe that everyone has the right to express their views. However, I also feel a strong urge not to legitimize those who promote racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other kind of overt bigotry. As the Oklahoma editor of BlogNetNews, that contradiction is causing me a real moral dilemma.
Several weeks ago, I removed a blogger from the Oklahoma BNN feed because of an anti-Semitic post. I informed the owner of BNN that I had done this, and he did not object. I have also discussed with the owner of BNN my desire to remove certain other bloggers for similar hateful remarks made about the GLBT community.
Recently, several of the same bloggers who had been on my radar for their rabid hatred of "the homosexuals" have been posting incredibly bigoted blog posts about Muslims.
Now, if I were to apply the standard I used to remove the blogger who posted an anti-Jewish slur, I would immediately have to remove these other bloggers for what they have repeatedly said about Muslims.
However, the civil libertarian in me has to ask the question, "What if the shoe were on the other foot?" What if a right-wing blog editor were to decide that what I write about evangelical Christians is hate speech and remove me on that basis? How would I react? Do I really want to set a precedent that the editor has the right to remove bloggers for posting material that the editor considers "objectionable?"
I also have to figure out what is in the best interest of Oklahoma blog readers. Is it better to shield them from the extremist views of the far right bloggers who seem to dominate the Oklahoma political scene? Or is it better to show the hatred and bigotry, and let readers make their own decisions?
Despite my revulsion at reading some of the hate speech on certain blogs that are a part of BNN, I have decided that the best course of action is not to censor. Therefore, I will reinstate Stan Geiger, the aforementioned blogger who posted an anti-Jewish slur, and I will not remove any other bloggers from the feed.
By the way, you far right hate bloggers, you can thank groups like the ACLU for influencing me to be a civil libertarian. And you can thank the ACLU for fighting to preserve your right to spew your filth freely in this country.
Am I objective? No. Will I be fair? Yes.
Several weeks ago, I removed a blogger from the Oklahoma BNN feed because of an anti-Semitic post. I informed the owner of BNN that I had done this, and he did not object. I have also discussed with the owner of BNN my desire to remove certain other bloggers for similar hateful remarks made about the GLBT community.
Recently, several of the same bloggers who had been on my radar for their rabid hatred of "the homosexuals" have been posting incredibly bigoted blog posts about Muslims.
Now, if I were to apply the standard I used to remove the blogger who posted an anti-Jewish slur, I would immediately have to remove these other bloggers for what they have repeatedly said about Muslims.
However, the civil libertarian in me has to ask the question, "What if the shoe were on the other foot?" What if a right-wing blog editor were to decide that what I write about evangelical Christians is hate speech and remove me on that basis? How would I react? Do I really want to set a precedent that the editor has the right to remove bloggers for posting material that the editor considers "objectionable?"
I also have to figure out what is in the best interest of Oklahoma blog readers. Is it better to shield them from the extremist views of the far right bloggers who seem to dominate the Oklahoma political scene? Or is it better to show the hatred and bigotry, and let readers make their own decisions?
Despite my revulsion at reading some of the hate speech on certain blogs that are a part of BNN, I have decided that the best course of action is not to censor. Therefore, I will reinstate Stan Geiger, the aforementioned blogger who posted an anti-Jewish slur, and I will not remove any other bloggers from the feed.
By the way, you far right hate bloggers, you can thank groups like the ACLU for influencing me to be a civil libertarian. And you can thank the ACLU for fighting to preserve your right to spew your filth freely in this country.
Am I objective? No. Will I be fair? Yes.
Monday, September 15, 2008
New blog links - "Progressive Radio"
I've added a new links category to the blog - "Progressive Radio." Check out Air America and Nova M, the two major progressive radio networks, along with several individual radio hosts that I like - Stephanie Miller, Ed Schultz, and Randi Rhodes.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Message to OK-PNS: I'm not actually apologizing to you, per se.
I've already posted a couple of comments in response to the post by OK-PNS "accepting my apology."
It's interesting to me how the right wing can turn even a genuine attempt to give people a breather from angry politics into an opportunity to attack someone.
First of all, I will fully admit that there are things I've written on this blog that will offend people. Sometimes I use this blog as a place to vent. Sometimes in doing so I go over the line.
However, the line that OK-PNS pulled out of this blog from two years ago did not refer to all Christians, and even a casual reading of that post would show that. As I've repeatedly said, I don't hate Christians. I don't hate Christianity. The greatness of America lies in the fact that everyone has the right to worship as they wish.
What I hate are theofascists. I define that word as someone who seeks to impose a narrow, moralistic politics on the country based on extremist, exclusionary theology. The target of the post quoted by OK-PNS was Tony Perkins, who had made a horribly bigoted attack against the GLBT community in linking the very idea of tolerance to the Mark Foley page boy scandal. Surely we can all agree that Perkins crossed the line with that attack.
The Family Research Council, the AFA, and a lot of other groups on the hard Christian right, should be classified as hate groups. Even John McCain once called them "agents of intolerance" before he decided he needed them to win an election. Their ideology is one of exclusion, Christian superiority, and forcing a Christian-specific religious agenda into secular politics. That's the very definition of a hate group.
I've always said that religion should be used in a positive manner, to bring people together, to lift up society. Many Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etcetera, practice this kind of positive religion. Groups like the AFA do the opposite. Their goal is to attack, to divide people, to oppress those who want nothing more than the right to live in peace.
As I said in my comment to the OK-PNS post, I don't hate Christians. I hate hate groups.
It's interesting to me how the right wing can turn even a genuine attempt to give people a breather from angry politics into an opportunity to attack someone.
First of all, I will fully admit that there are things I've written on this blog that will offend people. Sometimes I use this blog as a place to vent. Sometimes in doing so I go over the line.
However, the line that OK-PNS pulled out of this blog from two years ago did not refer to all Christians, and even a casual reading of that post would show that. As I've repeatedly said, I don't hate Christians. I don't hate Christianity. The greatness of America lies in the fact that everyone has the right to worship as they wish.
What I hate are theofascists. I define that word as someone who seeks to impose a narrow, moralistic politics on the country based on extremist, exclusionary theology. The target of the post quoted by OK-PNS was Tony Perkins, who had made a horribly bigoted attack against the GLBT community in linking the very idea of tolerance to the Mark Foley page boy scandal. Surely we can all agree that Perkins crossed the line with that attack.
The Family Research Council, the AFA, and a lot of other groups on the hard Christian right, should be classified as hate groups. Even John McCain once called them "agents of intolerance" before he decided he needed them to win an election. Their ideology is one of exclusion, Christian superiority, and forcing a Christian-specific religious agenda into secular politics. That's the very definition of a hate group.
I've always said that religion should be used in a positive manner, to bring people together, to lift up society. Many Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etcetera, practice this kind of positive religion. Groups like the AFA do the opposite. Their goal is to attack, to divide people, to oppress those who want nothing more than the right to live in peace.
As I said in my comment to the OK-PNS post, I don't hate Christians. I hate hate groups.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
BNN Alert - New Blog: Fourth District Democrat
Please welcome Fourth District Democrat to the blogroll.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Five years.
My partner and I celebrated our 5th anniversary together last night. It was lovely. We went to a ridiculously expensive French restaurant and blew two weeks worth of grocery money on an incredibly sumptuous dinner. It was all worth it. We split an order of escargot, which my partner had never tried. Escargot is the one exception I have to my "I don't eat bugs" rule, simply because it's so delicious. I then had the bouillabaisse, which is a kind of seafood soup. It had mussels, shrimp, some kind of whitefish, and a wonderfully spicy tomato-based broth. My partner had an incredibly decadent mixed grill, with melt in your mouth prime steak, duck, and scallops. We then shared a pair of absolutely perfect souffles, one chocolate, one vanilla. All in all a perfect evening.
It occurred to me last night that we've been together for the same amount of time that I lived in France as a kid. The funny thing is that I remember the 5 years I lived in France did not seem to pass as quickly as these last 5 years have. Of course, I lived in France from age 10 to 15, so it was a very different time in my life.
The past 5 years have been a whirlwind - but in a really good way. I have the Howard Dean campaign to thank for meeting my partner. I was driving back to Tulsa with another campaign volunteer named Anna after a candidate forum in Stillwater where all of the '04 Democrats (except, oddly enough, John Kerry) had appeared. Naturally, we were discussing politics, and I'm sure I got passionate about something or other. Somehow socialism came up, and Anna mentioned someone in her speech class who had given a strident speech in favor of socialism. She said I should meet him. She also said he was a great cook. I was immediately intrigued.
Our first date was a study in awkwardness. Anna was there as a mediator, but after a while I didn't need her there at all. This new, mysterious person had quickly piqued my interest, and I wanted to take him away and learn more. Unfortunately, Anna didn't get the hint. Our date moved to another venue, and I could tell almost immediately that there was a future here.
We meshed into each other's lives like puzzle pieces or some other cliche. He constantly impressed me with his kindness, his intelligence, his passion, and his independence. Within a year we were living together, because it was the natural thing to do. We've been living together ever since.
Our relationship evolved along a path of wonderful inevitability, and there was never a point when one of us asked the other, "Will you spend the rest of your life with me?" The idea of having a commitment ceremony was batted around for a couple of years before we finally decided to plan it. Then, in October of 2007, we became the first same-sex couple in Oklahoma to stand up in a synagogue and commit ourselves to each other before God, the Rabbi, and the congregation. It was a beautiful ceremony, marred only by the knowledge that civil marriage equality would continue to elude us.
Five years after I met my partner, I can't imagine life without him. I could go through a whole list of cliches about pieces fitting together, about soulmates, about finding that one person who really completes you, but that's what we have.
Now, we're looking forward to a new adventure, starting over in a new city, both of us going to school to better ourselves. It's an exciting and slightly frightening prospect, but I know that we'll figure out the kinks and the details just like we always do.
Five years. I'm looking forward to the next fifty.
Love ya, M.
It occurred to me last night that we've been together for the same amount of time that I lived in France as a kid. The funny thing is that I remember the 5 years I lived in France did not seem to pass as quickly as these last 5 years have. Of course, I lived in France from age 10 to 15, so it was a very different time in my life.
The past 5 years have been a whirlwind - but in a really good way. I have the Howard Dean campaign to thank for meeting my partner. I was driving back to Tulsa with another campaign volunteer named Anna after a candidate forum in Stillwater where all of the '04 Democrats (except, oddly enough, John Kerry) had appeared. Naturally, we were discussing politics, and I'm sure I got passionate about something or other. Somehow socialism came up, and Anna mentioned someone in her speech class who had given a strident speech in favor of socialism. She said I should meet him. She also said he was a great cook. I was immediately intrigued.
Our first date was a study in awkwardness. Anna was there as a mediator, but after a while I didn't need her there at all. This new, mysterious person had quickly piqued my interest, and I wanted to take him away and learn more. Unfortunately, Anna didn't get the hint. Our date moved to another venue, and I could tell almost immediately that there was a future here.
We meshed into each other's lives like puzzle pieces or some other cliche. He constantly impressed me with his kindness, his intelligence, his passion, and his independence. Within a year we were living together, because it was the natural thing to do. We've been living together ever since.
Our relationship evolved along a path of wonderful inevitability, and there was never a point when one of us asked the other, "Will you spend the rest of your life with me?" The idea of having a commitment ceremony was batted around for a couple of years before we finally decided to plan it. Then, in October of 2007, we became the first same-sex couple in Oklahoma to stand up in a synagogue and commit ourselves to each other before God, the Rabbi, and the congregation. It was a beautiful ceremony, marred only by the knowledge that civil marriage equality would continue to elude us.
Five years after I met my partner, I can't imagine life without him. I could go through a whole list of cliches about pieces fitting together, about soulmates, about finding that one person who really completes you, but that's what we have.
Now, we're looking forward to a new adventure, starting over in a new city, both of us going to school to better ourselves. It's an exciting and slightly frightening prospect, but I know that we'll figure out the kinks and the details just like we always do.
Five years. I'm looking forward to the next fifty.
Love ya, M.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Something occurs to me.
Those of you complaining about the BNN influential blog ranking system and claiming consternation over this humble blog's high ratings should consider this.
If this blog isn't "influential" in the Oklahoma blogosphere, then why is it that so many of you have posted articles criticizing me, applauding me, or saying that I should burn in the fires of the Inquisition? (That's just a sample!)
Surely, if this blog were so completely non-influential in Oklahoma politics, then nobody would post about it. Yet some folks just can't shut up about me. To my mind, that means I'm doing a least a little bit of influencing - even if I'm just influencing people to write angry posts about what an evil demonic perverted heathen I am.
Makes you think, doesn't it?
Also, on another note.
I hate to break it to you, but the following types of people do live in Oklahoma:
1) Gay people
2) Jews
3) Gay Jews
4) Liberals
5) Left-handed people
6) Gay left-handed Jewish liberals
If this blog isn't "influential" in the Oklahoma blogosphere, then why is it that so many of you have posted articles criticizing me, applauding me, or saying that I should burn in the fires of the Inquisition? (That's just a sample!)
Surely, if this blog were so completely non-influential in Oklahoma politics, then nobody would post about it. Yet some folks just can't shut up about me. To my mind, that means I'm doing a least a little bit of influencing - even if I'm just influencing people to write angry posts about what an evil demonic perverted heathen I am.
Makes you think, doesn't it?
Also, on another note.
I hate to break it to you, but the following types of people do live in Oklahoma:
1) Gay people
2) Jews
3) Gay Jews
4) Liberals
5) Left-handed people
6) Gay left-handed Jewish liberals
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
For the record
Things I don't hate:
1) Tulsa
2) Oklahoma
3) Christianity
4) Apple Pie
5) Baseball
6) America
Things I hate:
1) Bigotry
2) Homophobia
3) Stupidity
4) Religious extremism
4) People who leap to irrational and insulting conclusions based on extremist political preconceptions.
1) Tulsa
2) Oklahoma
3) Christianity
4) Apple Pie
5) Baseball
6) America
Things I hate:
1) Bigotry
2) Homophobia
3) Stupidity
4) Religious extremism
4) People who leap to irrational and insulting conclusions based on extremist political preconceptions.
A note to Stan Geiger.
1) Please see this post. It explains how I'm completely unconnected from the rating system for BNN.
2) I didn't get to see all of your rant, because I can't get your site to load (which might be part of the problem), but the part I did see had at least one glaring inaccuracy.
I'm not an atheist.
I'm Jewish. Quite proudly so.
However, like most sane and rational humans, I believe that atheists have the same right to believe what they believe as do Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Sikhs, Wiccans, Satanists, and everyone else.
Now, can you stop whining like John McCain about your supposed unfair media coverage and, as Keith Olbermann put it last night, grow up?
2) I didn't get to see all of your rant, because I can't get your site to load (which might be part of the problem), but the part I did see had at least one glaring inaccuracy.
I'm not an atheist.
I'm Jewish. Quite proudly so.
However, like most sane and rational humans, I believe that atheists have the same right to believe what they believe as do Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Hindus, Sikhs, Wiccans, Satanists, and everyone else.
Now, can you stop whining like John McCain about your supposed unfair media coverage and, as Keith Olbermann put it last night, grow up?
Monday, August 18, 2008
Creative Commons license
Sinister, meaning this blog and its contents, is now licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. In a nutshell, you're free to redistribute what I write here, as long as you credit me and don't use my work to make money for yourself.
Here's the license:
It is posted at the bottom of the blog.
Here's the license:
Sinister by Ethan Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at www.sinisterblog.com.
It is posted at the bottom of the blog.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Life, the Universe, and Everything
In a few months, I'm planning to make some major changes to my life. My partner and I are moving to Portland, Oregon, a place where we believe we'll be happier, healthier, and more comfortable. After five years together (almost exactly - our anniversary is the 20th), we've grown kind of set in our ways here in Tulsa. The move to Portland will really shake up our routine.
We're going from a city where cars are absolutely indispensable to a city where we won't even have cars. Instead of commuting to work on a Tulsa moonscape spending hundreds of dollars on gas, insurance, and maintenance each month, we'll be using efficient, comprehensive public transportation. Instead of driving to the grocery store and getting a week's worth of groceries, we'll be walking to the store and getting things for one or two days. We'll ride bicycles, and we might buy a scooter, which will get about 100 miles per gallon.
We probably won't have air conditioning, as it only gets hot enough to need it in Portland for a few days out of the year. We won't get hundreds of channels of cable television, because there will be many more things that we can do outside of our apartment. My partner will go to school at a real university, instead of a horribly managed community college where he's constantly frustrated by inept instructors and an incompetent financial aid office. In short, we'll be active, engaged, alive, and aware of the world, instead of living this kind of half-dulled couch and television and computer gaming existence we have in Tulsa.
Of course, we're both a little nervous about making such a major transition in our lives. There is a lot to consider. The move itself is going to cost a lot of money. It will be a challenge to find a good job and a nice apartment from halfway across the country. And once we get there, there's no guarantee that we'll actually be happy.
The thing is though, I've spent too many years of my life just kind of coasting along and not taking risks, lazily taking life as it comes and taking the easy road when faced with a difficult choice. Moving to Portland is a major gamble, and it will allow both of us to kind of reboot our lives. And we'll have a network of friends already established in the city once we arrive, so we won't be totally lost and out of our depth.
I'm convinced that despite the challenges, this move will be good for us. I grew up in Tulsa, and it's always going to be the place that I call home. But I also grew up in Paris, and I miss the urban dynamic that Paris provided and Tulsa sorely lacks. I miss being able to sit at a sidewalk cafe for hours on end. I miss being able to walk in a city without worrying about being run over. I miss being able to hop on public transportation and go anywhere I want.
Portland seems to provide a good balance between the urban dynamism of Paris and the affordability and comfort of Tulsa. It is a city that is well designed, walkable, alive, and full of great restaurants, cafes, and museums. At the same time, it's small enough that it won't seem overwhelming.
Clearly, we'll have to see where we are a year from now to determine whether we made the right choice. The only way to really know whether you've made the right decision is to make the decision and see what happens.
So the decision is made, and we'll see what happens.
We're going from a city where cars are absolutely indispensable to a city where we won't even have cars. Instead of commuting to work on a Tulsa moonscape spending hundreds of dollars on gas, insurance, and maintenance each month, we'll be using efficient, comprehensive public transportation. Instead of driving to the grocery store and getting a week's worth of groceries, we'll be walking to the store and getting things for one or two days. We'll ride bicycles, and we might buy a scooter, which will get about 100 miles per gallon.
We probably won't have air conditioning, as it only gets hot enough to need it in Portland for a few days out of the year. We won't get hundreds of channels of cable television, because there will be many more things that we can do outside of our apartment. My partner will go to school at a real university, instead of a horribly managed community college where he's constantly frustrated by inept instructors and an incompetent financial aid office. In short, we'll be active, engaged, alive, and aware of the world, instead of living this kind of half-dulled couch and television and computer gaming existence we have in Tulsa.
Of course, we're both a little nervous about making such a major transition in our lives. There is a lot to consider. The move itself is going to cost a lot of money. It will be a challenge to find a good job and a nice apartment from halfway across the country. And once we get there, there's no guarantee that we'll actually be happy.
The thing is though, I've spent too many years of my life just kind of coasting along and not taking risks, lazily taking life as it comes and taking the easy road when faced with a difficult choice. Moving to Portland is a major gamble, and it will allow both of us to kind of reboot our lives. And we'll have a network of friends already established in the city once we arrive, so we won't be totally lost and out of our depth.
I'm convinced that despite the challenges, this move will be good for us. I grew up in Tulsa, and it's always going to be the place that I call home. But I also grew up in Paris, and I miss the urban dynamic that Paris provided and Tulsa sorely lacks. I miss being able to sit at a sidewalk cafe for hours on end. I miss being able to walk in a city without worrying about being run over. I miss being able to hop on public transportation and go anywhere I want.
Portland seems to provide a good balance between the urban dynamism of Paris and the affordability and comfort of Tulsa. It is a city that is well designed, walkable, alive, and full of great restaurants, cafes, and museums. At the same time, it's small enough that it won't seem overwhelming.
Clearly, we'll have to see where we are a year from now to determine whether we made the right choice. The only way to really know whether you've made the right decision is to make the decision and see what happens.
So the decision is made, and we'll see what happens.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Done futzing.
I'm done futzing with the blog layout (for now.) Your comments are welcome.
In other news, I spent the weekend sick with some cold-related goop. Yesterday it felt like a sinus infection; I spent most of the day right on the verge of a sneeze. You know how that is when you're about to sneeze - your eyes start watering, your nose starts hurting, and then boom - you sneeze. Imagine 24 hours spent in that split-second before the sneeze actually happens. Yeah, that was fun.
Today the gunk has moved into my lungs, and I'm scaring my coworkers with deep, hacking, painful coughs. Plus, I can't really talk.
But my lovely employer has decided that I get 3 weeks of PTO, and that's it. Once I've used that up, I get NO more sick days, and I HAVE to be here 40 hours a week.
So here I am.
However, the good news is that this cool, rainy weather is a major relief after the triple digits we had at the end of July/beginning of August. Let's keep this up until October.
*hack hack cough cough*
In other news, I spent the weekend sick with some cold-related goop. Yesterday it felt like a sinus infection; I spent most of the day right on the verge of a sneeze. You know how that is when you're about to sneeze - your eyes start watering, your nose starts hurting, and then boom - you sneeze. Imagine 24 hours spent in that split-second before the sneeze actually happens. Yeah, that was fun.
Today the gunk has moved into my lungs, and I'm scaring my coworkers with deep, hacking, painful coughs. Plus, I can't really talk.
But my lovely employer has decided that I get 3 weeks of PTO, and that's it. Once I've used that up, I get NO more sick days, and I HAVE to be here 40 hours a week.
So here I am.
However, the good news is that this cool, rainy weather is a major relief after the triple digits we had at the end of July/beginning of August. Let's keep this up until October.
*hack hack cough cough*
Friday, August 8, 2008
Thursday, August 7, 2008
BNN Alert- Miscategorized Blogs
Attention bloggers! If you've been incorrectly assigned a category - ie. if you're a liberal and you've been put in the conservative bin, or vice versa, please let me know, and I'll fix it. Additionally, if you haven't been assigned a category and wish to be assigned one, please let me know. You will know if you've been assigned a category if your blog displays when you filter the list of blogs by "liberal" or "conservative."
So far, "liberal" and "conservative" are the only two categories we have. If you have any ideas for other categories we might want to implement, let me know, and I'll consider it.
On a side note: When I post to Sinister and I don't mention BlogNetNews, I am posting as myself, not as the editor of BNN Oklahoma. As I have previously stated, my own political views are quite separate from my duties as BNN Oklahoma editor.
So far, "liberal" and "conservative" are the only two categories we have. If you have any ideas for other categories we might want to implement, let me know, and I'll consider it.
On a side note: When I post to Sinister and I don't mention BlogNetNews, I am posting as myself, not as the editor of BNN Oklahoma. As I have previously stated, my own political views are quite separate from my duties as BNN Oklahoma editor.
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