Last night the Jeep was not dead, but certainly it was in critical condition, and struggling on much like the guy you occasionally on TLC with the knife in his head. So many problems. Overheating. Not shifting properly. Then something shit out that made the battery stop recharging. I realized this at about 11 last night as we left a town called Big Timber, and I had to U-turn and rush back. We found a room in this crappy hotel called River Valley Inn (where the river was, who knows) and were checked in by an old lady with pink-tinted glasses. Amazingly, even that strange little hotel had wifi, but I was to tired and concerned to post anything.
But there was some light to the tunnel - the Inn, as it turned out, was directly next to a Uhaul place. So we woke up at 7 and went over to find out if we could get a truck and tow the Jeep. Which they didn't have - but the guy was nice enough to charge up the battery so that we could get to the next town, which had a larger Uhaul place. We were set up for a 17' truck, pretty big, but whatever.
But go big or go home, right? We arrive and find out that they already promised the 17 footer to someone else, so they hook us up (for the same price) with a 24 foot super-mover. I mean, the thing is almost a semi-truck. And so much room inside we didn't have to stack a single thing, plus we put the bikes in. Then we hooked the Jeep up to the tow dolly and hit the road with our fatass truck.
Of course we couldn't get going without on more thing going wrong - one of the fenders on the tow dolly was broken and flapping around, so we went to a Uhaul place to get it repaired real quick (it's just a piece of plastic). Unfortunately the mechanic who did the job is a complete and total idiot who is unable to even properly deal with pieces of plastic, because as soon as we left the Uhaul place the part of the fender containing the light came right off. Yea, bolting things down is HARD. But I didn't care at that point. We duct-taped what we could and drove on.
It's actually a lot of fun to drive, except for being horribly bumpy. But it's nice to be able to look the truckers in the eyes for once, although I can't help but believe that they think Uhaul trucks are nothing but impostors, manned by civilians, of all things!
The fatass truck hauled us through the mountains, which were beautiful. Now we're in Washington, at a place call Ritzville which consists of three hotels and a McDoanlds. The best western we're at is actually pretty plush for a interstate hotel, big fridge, microwave, pool+sauna, and really big continental breakfast complete with waffle maker.
Tomorrow, to Portland! Finally.
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Oh Great Plains, You're so funny
We're in South Dakota now. The going has no exactly been easy so far. The engine has been running hotter than it should because of the trailer which is...not that big of a deal yet but when the gauge is getting close to the red it isn't a comfortable feeling.
The big problem was the fucking win. Trying to drive the Jeep and trailer through a 25-35 MPH headwind was like trying to keep a box of rocks afloat with a box of rocks. That trailer is the least aerodynamic thing ever. Luckily the wind did let up as we drove out of Minnesota, which allowed us to go faster and made the engine run cooler as well.
Now it's almost time for the mountains.
The Great Plains seemed to be the strangest portion of land ever created. The entire way through South Dakota and Minnesota I've seen over and over strange advertisements for 'wall drug', including everything from T-rex to cracked out roosters. Also there was the giant sculpture park, featuring the 'world's largest bull head'.
Well, here we go again.
The big problem was the fucking win. Trying to drive the Jeep and trailer through a 25-35 MPH headwind was like trying to keep a box of rocks afloat with a box of rocks. That trailer is the least aerodynamic thing ever. Luckily the wind did let up as we drove out of Minnesota, which allowed us to go faster and made the engine run cooler as well.
Now it's almost time for the mountains.
The Great Plains seemed to be the strangest portion of land ever created. The entire way through South Dakota and Minnesota I've seen over and over strange advertisements for 'wall drug', including everything from T-rex to cracked out roosters. Also there was the giant sculpture park, featuring the 'world's largest bull head'.
Well, here we go again.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
That is it
I had my last final exam today, and that is it. No more undergrad. It's over. Fin, done, CYA FUCKING LATER.
I'm note sure how to feel about it, if I should feel anything about it. I'm not really looking forward to the graduation ceremony because I hate ceremonies in general. It is difficult to act excited for me, and I'm not really excited about graduation. Moving? Sure, thats exciting, that's interesting. Getting a diploma, however, is not.
Not to mention the heat is going to be sweltering in those black robes.
I've been preparing a few stories to send out after the move. I'm not sure how this is going to go. I've never sent my stuff away to be published except for the campus literary journals, which are far less formal and intimidating. All the creative writer professors at some point have given the students their obligatory 'It sucks' speech, in which they try to introduce us to the fact that most journals get 10 or 20 or 50 times as many submissions as they'll ever publish. And there is another small catch - virtually none of the journals a starting writer can submit to pay. Oh well. It's not like I thought I was going to graduate and write as a career. But sheer mass of submitting is overbearing. Sending out manuscripts to 50 journals in the hope you'll get a hit is not going to be fun. I like writing less than organizing what I've written.
But, it must be done!
I've also been thinking about making a zine. I don't know about what. And I don't think it is important what. I just feel like it would be a good creative project for me to embark on and eventually finish. It would give me something in my hands that I've made from start to finish. And I'm sure as I populate it with meager content and attempt to make it not look like shit I'd learn a few skills. I've been pretty impressed by some of the zines in the library. There is something instantly interesting about them. Perhaps its the fact that a zine can, like a magazine, be picked up, read, and put down - you don't even have to look at it again, ever. But chances are that in that 5 minute timespan you have read a story that you'll remember.
And Portland has tons of zine resources. This is why I wanted to move to Portland. They have everything I could ever want.
Okay, thats all.
I'm note sure how to feel about it, if I should feel anything about it. I'm not really looking forward to the graduation ceremony because I hate ceremonies in general. It is difficult to act excited for me, and I'm not really excited about graduation. Moving? Sure, thats exciting, that's interesting. Getting a diploma, however, is not.
Not to mention the heat is going to be sweltering in those black robes.
I've been preparing a few stories to send out after the move. I'm not sure how this is going to go. I've never sent my stuff away to be published except for the campus literary journals, which are far less formal and intimidating. All the creative writer professors at some point have given the students their obligatory 'It sucks' speech, in which they try to introduce us to the fact that most journals get 10 or 20 or 50 times as many submissions as they'll ever publish. And there is another small catch - virtually none of the journals a starting writer can submit to pay. Oh well. It's not like I thought I was going to graduate and write as a career. But sheer mass of submitting is overbearing. Sending out manuscripts to 50 journals in the hope you'll get a hit is not going to be fun. I like writing less than organizing what I've written.
But, it must be done!
I've also been thinking about making a zine. I don't know about what. And I don't think it is important what. I just feel like it would be a good creative project for me to embark on and eventually finish. It would give me something in my hands that I've made from start to finish. And I'm sure as I populate it with meager content and attempt to make it not look like shit I'd learn a few skills. I've been pretty impressed by some of the zines in the library. There is something instantly interesting about them. Perhaps its the fact that a zine can, like a magazine, be picked up, read, and put down - you don't even have to look at it again, ever. But chances are that in that 5 minute timespan you have read a story that you'll remember.
And Portland has tons of zine resources. This is why I wanted to move to Portland. They have everything I could ever want.
Okay, thats all.
Sunday, May 6, 2007
Naked Chicks
According to CNN, 18,000 people stood naked in a square in Mexico City today. Check out this website (NWS).
More than a Pound of flesh
I'm amazed that this guy had found so many people willing to pose nude at once. I didn't really expect that this would be possible.
I'm also amazed at the photos. They strike me as incredibly frightening. With 3000 naked people all lying on a street, the boundaries between each person becomes almost impossible to define, so it's not so much 3,000 people but just a quarter-mile stretch of pure flesh. This is what a holocaust looks like. Just bodies, exposed and indistinguishable.
More than a Pound of flesh
I'm amazed that this guy had found so many people willing to pose nude at once. I didn't really expect that this would be possible.
I'm also amazed at the photos. They strike me as incredibly frightening. With 3000 naked people all lying on a street, the boundaries between each person becomes almost impossible to define, so it's not so much 3,000 people but just a quarter-mile stretch of pure flesh. This is what a holocaust looks like. Just bodies, exposed and indistinguishable.
RDIKLUS
http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2007/05/03/news/top/news02_impeach_bush_plate.txt
That's an article talking about how a woman with a vanity license plate "MPEACHW" is being forced by the state of South Dakota to remove it because someone complained. This is all well and good, it is standard practice for vanity plates to be recalled at a moments notice, mostly because the government doesn't like the possibility that it will have to take credit for endorsing an offensive message. However, the recall on this plate is worthy of some additional controversy.
Why? Well, her plate is a political message. And while even that would not hold as a valid defense because the plate is in fact state property, the issue has become complicated because many states have taken it upon themselves to create special plates for certain groups - and these plates often support a political view. The environmental plates have been a predecessor to this, and have existed for a very long time. Now, states are allowing other sorts of plates, such as Indiana's plate which declares "In God we Trust" or the plates now available in many midwest states which say "Choose Life". Other possibles include the Support Our Troops and the Secure (state X) plates.
These plates are obvious endorsements of a political view by the state. The state is using these plates as a means of political speech, much like the "MPEACHW" plate this woman had on her vehicle. The question then, is - whats the difference? The only difference seems to be one political message is endorsed by the state, while the other was chosen by an individual. South Dakota's decision seems to indicate, then, that the state has a right to speech which the individual does not. This is clearly bullshit. If the state has set the precedent of letting political messages on its property, then individuals should be able to use political messages on the property, as well. To argue anything else is clearly a violate of free speech, since the individual in this case would not be allowed to express a view which the state is allowed.
I hope that this goes to court, honestly, because it clearly wouldn't stand, and maybe, just maybe, we could get all those bullshit "In God We Trust" messages off plates too.
That's an article talking about how a woman with a vanity license plate "MPEACHW" is being forced by the state of South Dakota to remove it because someone complained. This is all well and good, it is standard practice for vanity plates to be recalled at a moments notice, mostly because the government doesn't like the possibility that it will have to take credit for endorsing an offensive message. However, the recall on this plate is worthy of some additional controversy.
Why? Well, her plate is a political message. And while even that would not hold as a valid defense because the plate is in fact state property, the issue has become complicated because many states have taken it upon themselves to create special plates for certain groups - and these plates often support a political view. The environmental plates have been a predecessor to this, and have existed for a very long time. Now, states are allowing other sorts of plates, such as Indiana's plate which declares "In God we Trust" or the plates now available in many midwest states which say "Choose Life". Other possibles include the Support Our Troops and the Secure (state X) plates.
These plates are obvious endorsements of a political view by the state. The state is using these plates as a means of political speech, much like the "MPEACHW" plate this woman had on her vehicle. The question then, is - whats the difference? The only difference seems to be one political message is endorsed by the state, while the other was chosen by an individual. South Dakota's decision seems to indicate, then, that the state has a right to speech which the individual does not. This is clearly bullshit. If the state has set the precedent of letting political messages on its property, then individuals should be able to use political messages on the property, as well. To argue anything else is clearly a violate of free speech, since the individual in this case would not be allowed to express a view which the state is allowed.
I hope that this goes to court, honestly, because it clearly wouldn't stand, and maybe, just maybe, we could get all those bullshit "In God We Trust" messages off plates too.
Friday, May 4, 2007
An excerpt
The stones which lead out into these waters are built heavily on Kristeva’s Approaching Abjection, the first chapter of Powers of Horror: An Essay on Abjection. Abjection is a concept of a nameless other, and by its very definition it is resistant to definition – I will define it, for purposes of simplicity here, as something that is understandable only as other. Early in her book, Kristeva says that it is “The spasms and the vomiting that protect me” (Kristeva 3), describing the abjection of food as a “basic” form. She later speaks also of the corpse, which is the ultimate form of abjection (it expels the self, and so we try desperately to expel it) and other examples – all of them are united by the common bond that the abject is that which is expelled or rejected. She also briefly talks of the “exile”, the deject, who exists as the abjected, who “strays instead of getting his bearings” (Kristeva 8). These, I believe, are two sides of the same idea – to abject, I argue, also means to be deject. While to abject is to get rid of an other, the other is rarely something indefinable: the concept of the abject cannot be bound, but the abjected often has a corporal form, be it food, a person, or that which was a person. To abject, then, is to deject another, to turn the other into a stray – but since that other, once dejected, is not a mere something but an object, a ‘real’ item rather than a concept, the person who abjects creates two categories: I and the Other, and to abject is to automatically remove oneself from the possibility of the other, and thus deject oneself from whatever the other may be.
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