Well, I think its clear that this is a big fat waste of space.
posted by Tina on 3/15/2008 | 2 comments | #
britney fathttp://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/62637/
I couldn't have said it better myself. Maybe its because I had a baby too and it would make me a heifer if Britney is considered fat.
posted by Tina on 10/17/2007 | 2 comments | #
letter writing manhttp://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,470114,00.html
posted by Tina on 3/21/2007 | 1 comments | #
can't get no satisfactionhttp://nymag.com/news/features/24757/index.html
I was struck by many of the hypotheses in this article, and it made me think for a moment about when I was traveling and feeling the very symptoms of burnout described in this article. Yes, boohoo, poor me, all burned out by traveling, but based on the descriptions in this article, it aptly describes how I was feeling.
posted by Tina on 12/11/2006 | 1 comments | #
is sex necessary?http://www.forbes.com/2003/10/08/cz_af_1008health.html
posted by Tina on 10/26/2006 | 1 comments | #
one sentence book reviewsTo catch-up on some of the reading I have done in the past while, here are my one-sentence book reviews.
Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China's Past and Present (Peter Hessler)
Very interesting for non-China watchers, but nothing new for those who have studied or spent time in modern China.
The Historian (Elizabeth Kostova)
Very long and somewhat tedious, but may succeed in sweeping you up into its central mystery, which leads only to a disappointing and, dare I say, inconclusive resolution.
Monkey Hunting (Cristina Garcia)
A fast, enjoyable, and somewhat fluffy read, but with an interesting perspective on Cuba and Chinese immigrants there.
Thank You for Smoking (Christopher Buckley)
Haven't seen the movie, but the novel is funny and clever. I imagined Katie Holmes as Polly for some reason.
Burridge Unbound (Alan Cumyn)*
Sad, disturbing, and excellent.
Anil's Ghost (Michael Ondaatje)*
Similarly sad, disturbing, and excellent.
* Both of these were purchased at the same yard sale. I surmise that the woman selling them must be involved with or at least have an interest in human rights or something of that sort.
posted by Tina on 10/03/2006 | 1 comments | #
helmet or wighttp://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2353650,00.html
And the original press release: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-09/uob-wah091106.php
So am I at greater risk because I wear a helmet, but less risk because drivers probably recognize I am a woman?
posted by Tina on 9/14/2006 | 0 comments | #
models are too thinhttp://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid
=2006-09-14T141124Z_01_L13394921_RTRUKOC_0_US-ITALY-MODELS.xml&src=rss
posted by Tina on 9/14/2006 | 2 comments | #
good-bye mao!http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/01/world/asia/01china.html?ex=1314763200&en=
abf86c087b22be74&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
How very interesting.
posted by Tina on 9/01/2006 | 1 comments | #
the cow has been purchased
Photo by Eric (more)
I am now a married woman.
It went fast. When we first announced it to friends and family, it seemed like we had nothing but time stretching ahead of us, then about two months ago, it flipped in the opposite direction and suddenly time was moving forward so quickly that we didn’t know if we could be ready. The week leading up was a blur of preparation, family, and food. With virtually no back-up plan for rain, we were also stressed over what the weather had in store for us, particularly when it rained on the two days before the wedding.
The wedding day –a beautiful day with just the right amount of sun and cloud – went by with me in a daze as I was ferried from pedicure, to manicure, to hair, to make-up, and finally to hearing the music* that guided me down the makeshift beach aisle. I think I must have said “I do” at some point, but I can’t even remember if “I do” was in the vows we used. I remember looking at the wedding commissioner’s mouth moving and thinking that I should be listening, but I was in a kind of beamy haze, smiling and looking at Scott, and noting “oh, look, so-and-so made it to our wedding” and “wow, the sun sure became hot on my back all of a sudden.” At our rehearsal, the commissioner told us that most people’s voices fade off by the end of the repeat-after-me vows, so I thought about projecting my voice to ensure everybody could hear. In the middle of the vows, a boat cruised by, honked its horn and the people on board interjected a few “woos!” into the ceremony, much to the chagrin of the assembled audience, but it only fleetingly registered in my brain, so focused was I on making sure everything coming out of my mouth was right.
After the ceremony, it was photos, a few bites of food, and troubleshooting too-ripe apricots on the barbecue (we self-catered with a huge amount of help from family and friends). I tried to make sure I spoke to as many people as possible, then we went to speeches and dinner. My maid of honour made me cry with old quotes from this very website, gone but still archived by the waybackmachine. The words were embarrassing and funny but also lovely for their elements of contradiction and truth about the partner I have chosen. Then games that made me rue the day I ever forced family members to play the same silly games at their weddings, and finally relief and dancing on our dance floor of sand.
I was away all day so I didn’t get to direct how everything came together on the wedding day, but I stepped off the dock where we were married and gaped at the transformation that had occurred on our family beach. Growing up, I never had fantasies about my wedding day. Before the planning process started and I was told over and over by bridal marketers of just how inadequate my wedding dreams were, I didn’t know anything about colours, favours, or décor. Luckily, I have family and friends who do. My cousin laughingly told me in the days before the wedding that even though I didn’t know what my wedding colours were, everybody else did. It turns out she was right. All I did was tell people a few of my ideas and I turned around to find they had taken the initiative to turn what I thought might be nice into exactly what I wanted.
Now, one and a half weeks into marriage, it feels the same, but not the same, in the sense that I am now bound to watch this man slowly get old and wrinkly just as he is going to have to watch me do the same and love every minute of it. At the end of the day, however, it was still just the two of us alone together and we were the same people and we were still happy, and we had arrived there without a moment of doubt or hesitation.
*You’re So Cool, by Hans Zimmer, off the True Romance soundtrack
posted by Tina on 8/23/2006 | 10 comments | #