Total Perspective Vortex
What really happened to Trillian? Theories abound, but you can see what she's really been up to on this blog. If you're looking for white mice, depressed robots, or the occasional Pan Galactic Gargleblaster you might be better served here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/hitchhikers/guide/.
Don't just sit there angry and ranting, do something constructive.
In the words of Patti Smith (all hail Sister Patti): People have the power.
Contact your elected officials.
Don't be passive = get involved = make a difference.
Words are cool.
The English language is complex, stupid, illogical, confounding, brilliant, beautiful, and fascinating.
Every now and then a word presents itself that typifies all the maddeningly gorgeousness of language. They're the words that give you pause for thought. "Who came up with that word? That's an interesting string of letters." Their beauty doesn't lie in their definition (although that can play a role). It's also not in their onomatopoeia, though that, too, can play a role. Their beauty is in the way their letters combine - the visual poetry of words - and/or the way they sound when spoken. We talk a lot about music we like to hear and art we like to see, so let's all hail the unsung heroes of communication, poetry and life: Words.
Here are some I like. (Not because of their definition.)
Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Smart Girls
(A Trillian de-composition, to the tune of Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys)
Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be smart girls
Don’t let them do puzzles and read lots of books
Make ‘em be strippers and dancers and such
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be smart girls
They’ll never find men and they’re always alone
Even though men claim they want brains
Smart girls ain’t easy to love and they’re above playing games
And they’d rather read a book than subvert themselves
Kafka, Beethoven and foreign movies
And each night alone with her cat
And they won’t understand her and she won’t die young
She’ll probably just wither away
Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be smart girls
Don’t let them do puzzles and read lots of books
Make ‘em be strippers and dancers and such
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be smart girls
They’ll never find men and they’re always alone
Even though men claim they want brains
A smart girl loves creaky old libraries and lively debates
Exploring the world and art and witty reparteé
Men who don’t know her won’t like her and those who do
Sometimes won’t know how to take her
She’s rarely wrong but in desperation will play dumb
Because men hate that she’s always right
Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be smart girls
Don’t let them do puzzles and read lots of books
Make ‘em be strippers and dancers and such
Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be smart girls
They’ll never find men and they’re always alone
Even though men claim they want brains
Life(?) of Trillian
Single/Zero
Saturday, August 23, 2008
My dad loved that VISA commercial where the son takes his dad to visit their homeland, Norway, endure weird food, funny sweaters only to find out in the end they're actually Swedish. (Sorry for the spoiler.)
I like that ad, too, even though I'm opposed to the overall concept of life requiring credit cards and VISA perpetuating the debt problem by insisting that life requires a credit card. But my dad really liked it - I think the fact that it was advertising VISA was completely insignificant to him. I'm sure he knew it was for a credit card but that wasn't the point. The story and images were funny and on those points I agree, it is well done in terms of telling a good story in 60 seconds. He'd call me when it came on and would tell me to turn the tv to whatever network he was watching and then, every time, at the end, he'd absolutely bust a gut laughing as if it was the first time he'd seen the commercial.
The ad inspired my dad to start planning a trip to Norway, visit the land of our Viking family, connect with some cousins, wear sweaters, see the Kon Tiki and all that. So I upped the ante and said, "Okay, I'm in, but we have to take that cruise from Oslo up to the Arctic Circle while we're there." My dad was up for that so we were making plans for our Viking Adventure next Spring. We were boning up on our Hamsun and Ibsen and digging out photos of family back in Norway. Every time the commercial would air he'd call, bust a gut laughing and then, through fits of guffaws, would say, "That's going to be us except, har har, guffaw, we are, ha ha ha, not, guffaw guffaw, Swedish ha ha ha ha."
Obviously my dad and I won't be visiting our ancestral homeland together. I'm really pissed off at the Universe about that. We had plans, we had things to do, he had things to show me, things to teach me, my dad had a lot of life left to live, he wasn't ready to die. One day I'll go, I'll make that trip, but it's dropped on my list. Sure, I could still go for him, but the nerve is too raw. Someday, sometime later when I'm not as angry at the Universe. Someday, sometime later when I can think of my dad without tears welling in my eyes and feeling an empty ache where he used to be. Then I'll go. Then I'll take our trip. But for now it's repositioned further down the list.
So, back to my goal of taking an actual vacation in the next few years.
I've been eating my way to New Zealand for a couple years. My goal is to get there by 2010. (The goal has been delayed a year due to surgery and vacation time taken to be with my parents and the advent of the now ill-fated Viking Adventure.)
I guess I thought everyone who cared knew about this.
But I recently found out one of my friends had no idea this program existed.
You can get airline miles for buying groceries. If you have a Safeway affiliate grocery you can earn miles on United every time you shop you can eat your way to someplace you've always wanted to visit.
For me it's a no brainer. I shop at a Safeway affiliate grocery, I have a frequent flier account on United, so, duh, why wouldn't I earn the extra points? I realize 125 miles seems like small drops in a big bucket of a reward ticket. But. Have you noticed the price of groceries lately? In the past six months I've spent more money on fewer groceries, which totally sucks. BUT, on the plus side, I'm accruing air miles at a staggering rate.
My iPod finally crashed (and almost literally burned, the drive got so hot before it crashed that it melted the plastic of a pen laying next to it.) So when I save enough money for a new iPod I'll compute my way to New Zealand, too.
Like to go Targetting? Me, too. Have you tried Target.com? Yep, me, too. Did you know you can get miles on both United and American by clicking through the Mile Malls? Right now United's Mile Mall has a mile bonus sale - double and triple miles for purchases. I'm still really angry at American for their horrible customer service when I needed to get to my dad in hospital, but I often have to fly American for work so I might as well accumulated miles. I'm going to give my American miles to charity because I refuse to fly them for anything other than required work trips. But if you like American and want to accumulate miles for yourself or to give to a charity, American Airlines' mall is offering double miles.
One of my favorite places to find great gifts is Artfulhome.com and American is offering 4 miles/$1and free shipping through the end of August. Buy a wedding present for friends and earn miles toward your own honeymoon. S'all good.
If you're not Netflixing, yet, here's a 1,000 mile incentive. 24,000 more miles and you could fly to Hollywood.
9:03 AM
