The things people will do for goofy badges

30 posts, 30 days. I freakin' did it. What did it prove? Not much, really, save that once I get an idea in my head I will carry it through in letter at least if not in spirit. And the spirit was definitely lacking. I thought this exercise would snap me out of the writing slump this last year brought on. Again, only in letter.

I need to get my blogging mojo back, and I'm not sure how to do that.

If you've continued reading in spite of a lack of content, I thank you for your patience. I hope to bring it back up again eventually. If you left because of the aforementioned, well, thanks for having stopped by. Again, I hope to fix that. If you're a new reader, I promise you I am capable of better writing. I hope to prove it again soon.

----------------
Now playing: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Windows
via FoxyTunes

In other words...

I got nothin' to say right now. One more day after this, and Nablopomo's over. Whew. It won't be too soon.

In the meantime, here's a shiny toy I found online: Wordle.

It generates a cloud of words based on recent content. Here's what it made of mine:

*Really* now...

Stories like this are ridiculous: people getting trampled for sales. I don't know what this year's must-buy items are (and don't care to know, for that matter), but ye gods, what is worth trampling folks or, in another incident, pulling a gun on someone, to get? Can you still give a gift in good conscience knowing that someone died in order for you to get it?

Consumerism, for as much of a hold as it has on even my life, still baffles me. At the end of the day, folks, the things you buy are just things. They won't make up for 364 days of not being there for your child/significant other/family. Sorry.

----------------
Now playing: Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal
via FoxyTunes

Grateful

This year, I am thankful for family who love me, friends who have been there, a break whose timing is simply perfect, a semester that is about to end, and overall a life that is perhaps starting to make something akin to sense.

Cheers.

In Soviet Russia, sites load YOU.

I couldn't resist the subject line. One of my co-workers told me about this site the other day: English Russia. It's chock full of random, bizarre, mundane, and even ingenious glimpses into life in Russia.

Gems I've found upon a perfunctory exploration include: a new way to heat sausage, a pointed way to register discontentment with government, some photographs that are practically frame-worthy material, a glimpse into a shopping experience that could raise some awkward questions, and a series of photos that look like they are worth at least a thousand words apiece.

This one's definitely going on the sidebar under... hmm. Vices, I think.

Mountains and molehills

People do get their panties in a wad over the goofiest things. Tonight on the news, there was a story about some downtown party zone that had what some considered a racist dress code. The contentious standards? No baggy clothing, no oversized, long shirts, and no plain white T-shirts.

Right then. In a day and age when the election of the nation's first biracial president has, among other things, shown a small spike in racial hate crimes, and when blacks still have higher poverty rates than their white counterparts, and when the black-white income gap remains persistent, we ought to be worrying about dress codes. Uh-huh. Gotcha.

The kicker, though, is that it strikes me as--dare I say--racist to presume a particular racial demographic holds a monopoly on poor fashion taste.

----------------
Now playing: Tori Amos - Winter
via FoxyTunes

Lazy day

Not much to say today. Here's a picture of a pretty autumn tree instead, taken at a few weeks ago on campus.


----------------
Now playing: Thursday - Steps Ascending
via FoxyTunes