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DING

December 28

Man I am glad Christmas is over. Portland's streets turned to wading pools of slush - cars just fishtailed around, and it would have been more fun if you weren't scared you were going to hit eight cars on the way home. When I was home with my family, I was able to watch 3 episodes of Friday Night Lights, and it was amazing. And then I watched Hancock with my dad and brother, and let me just tell you. That movie is totally weird. Why is Jason Bateman in that movie? Why is Charlize Theron in that movie? You know that it is directed by the guy who directs Friday Night Lights? So Buddy Garrity is in it. And that really annoying kid who lived next door to Tim Riggins in the first season is in it. But then there's like, the MR. F relationship from Arrested Development? Mistah Eff!

I am writing these essays for my grad school application and I feel silly. I wish that I had it within my ability to compose drafts which could later be edited. Unfortunately it's like - I just write sentences and then manipulate the vocabulary and syntax because apparently I need each paragraph to be perfect before I continue writing. So, it is slow going. And I'm like I WANT HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO GET EXCITED ABOUT VISUAL LITERACY! But I have to write about it coherently, and at length.

However, Dan came over last night and we watched High School Musical 2 - it was really good, better than the first time I saw it. Like this time I really have grown to enjoy Zac Efron's tortured solo man-dancing in a black outfit on the country club golf course. (Seriously can you even WAIT for the remake of Footloose?) And hello, You Are the Music in Me. It makes me kind of insane how in every musical number they a) seem to have backup music and percussion coming from NOWHERE and b) never need to do more than glance at a sheet of music to learn how to sing these songs. But as Dan told me before we even saw the first one, you just have to Suspend All Belief, and it works.

December 21

I love Rachel Maddow! I have this video podcast that is delivered to my computer of her show. It is saving my brain today. She is currently interviewing Annie Liebowitz. What a fabulous interview.

I totally called in to Macy's and said "no way" and hopefully that will be ok. I have committed to writing my essays for graduate school and making beef stew - it's beef and wine and onions and more. But yeah: freezing rain and hella snow is coming out of the sky, and that is kind of like - the only reason I will go out is if I can see my friends. And then we have to do something fabulous. Oh, like music video night at Beulahland! Oh dang. I hope it happens. I will request 38 videos. And maybe I will fall in love with someone at the same time. How fun tonight could be. Snow day! Beef stew! Grad school! Videos! America!

December 19

OK so: It's been snowing in Portland, which is somewhat unseasonable, if only because our only winter weather usually seems to arrive two times a year, and it tends to be in the depths of January and February. Let's not hesitate in acknowledging that the City of Roses cannot handle frozen precipitation in any form. Which is fine - I would seriously rather that the salmon in our watershed not get inundated with salt runoff. I am happy to wait at a bus stop for over an hour because I cannot drive my car on the road without chains. In a 9 degree windchill. And I'm not being facetious.

So, I love Barack Obama, as many do. I am so excited about his future presidency. I just want to give him a hug. However, the other day I was watching CNN kind of on accident, but it was when he was announcing his Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior. I am somewhat alarmed about his selection of Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture. If only because he is a huge proponent of biofuels - which is something that in the first place, doesn't actually seem to be all that sustainable of a form of energy.

I feel like people talk about biofuel like it is the solution to all the energy problems in the world, when it brings a whole new set of problems with it. I appreciate that when biofuels are burned, the carbon dioxide that they release is equivalent to the carbon dioxide that plants took out of the atmosphere - but seriously, is it feasible for this country to more seriously explore sources of energy that are not dependent on combustion? Is this carbon neutrality taking into account the tons of fossil fuel-derived fertilizers that will have to be dumped on all these crops? Let's say, for instance, that even more corn is necessary to generate this new surge of biofuel - how much more nitrogen is going to run off into the Mississippi river? What is going to be the greenhouse gas (not to mention ecosystem) effects of that consequence? What is going to happen to the soils that grow these massive monoculture crops? I mean - I don't know the answer. But it is something that I am concerned about, and something I am kind of surprised that Barack Obama is endorsing.

But then again, not? I guess you can't have it all overnight. But I would hope that he has been paying attention to the recent calls for overhauling the agricultural system in this country.

THAT SAID: Blazerrrrrrrrrs! Last night I watched the first half of the Blazers/Suns game (the Suns changed their uniforms to grey and orange, which made me be like - THIS IS THE CLOSEST TO BEAUTIFUL I WILL EVER CONSIDER SHAQUILLE O'NEAL). I really do love you, Blazers. Do you know who is great? Steve Blake. I mean - really. He is a world class ball player. He makes amazing shots. And every time he does, I say "STEVE BLAKE!" and put my arms up in the air. Likewise - Brandon Roy. Which is more obvious. Everyone in Portland loves him. He just takes care of business and doesn't have any attitude, he doesn't need to be in the spotlight: HE IS JUST MADE OF GOLD. 52 POINT GOLD. The final score of the game was 124-119: Brandon Roy made 52 out of 124 of the team's points. I'm going to do some quick math. Bee-boo-ba-be-boo-ba-bop! 41.9% of all the points! AHHHHHHH. RIP CITY!

December 8

December 7

Today is a day that I stayed inside mostly, and it was because outside it was grey and kind of rainy. I did clean off my desk and go through my negatives, and have started putting things back on Charlie Starkey, which is nice, and pretty much the opposite of working retail, if that is possible.

Um, something I have decided is that deer are the new birds, and like, if you need an example, just look around at precious signage, precious t-shirts, precious record covers, what have you. I found my new favorite bar! It is called Saraveza. Please - notice the imagery. I've talked about this recently - charismatic megafauna in contemporary imagery - with my friends. They have seen other animals, as well, in the world, in the form of owls, and even whales! I just want to go get a masters degree in talking critically about these things. I wish I could read some dense texts out of some book in the Wellesley College Art Library, and then not understand any of it, and then just listen to my professor talk flawlessly and brilliantly, forever.