A contemplation

So I've sneaked 4 episodes of Law and Order: SVU. I can't help it. The show has Ice-T. So how have I gone from someone who never watched this show to watching it every day?

I think I'm wrapped up in anxiety and the show is somewhat comforting even though it makes me anxious. So I gots to sneak it when B. isn't around. God, now I sound like I have a crack addiction. I also want an LG steam washer and dryer.

Forbidden

B. has forbidden the watching of Law & Order: SVU. It makes me anxious.

The More Paperwork....

Secret Pilgrims
Originally uploaded by gorillapolka.

The more paperwork I have to do for TFA, the less enthusiasm I have. Ugh, I thought this was going to be easy, which just illustrates the increasing bureaucracy to becoming a teacher in this country. Clearly, the current system has produced few results. I'm not even sure of the value of an education degree. Frankly put, English education majors at UGA have to take maybe 7 classes in the English department, while my English degree had over 20+ classes. yaaay. But don't worry, English Ed. folks, you shouldn't be offended. You can actually get a job with your degree.

Reason #5108

Reason #5108 why B. should not never leave me alone for the weekend:

10 a.m. on Saturday morning: I watched The Glimmering Man with Steven Seagal and a Wayan brother. uh. It was also infused with Tibetan mysticism and deer penis! That's the cultural value, okay? Don't hassle me. It had serial killers, the Russian mafia, chemical weapons, AND deer penis. Wait, I said that already. You get the point, I know.

State Tartan Explanation

I imagine my discerning readers are interested in the significance of the state tartan of Nevada. Why the colors? the placement? the gold and faded white? the blue with red stripes! I actually found it was a very complex design rift with hidden meaning and depth.

TELL ME, Richard Zygmunt Pawlowski!

"The colors and design of the tartan represent the following features that make Nevada a unique and bountiful state: Blue represents one of the state colors of Nevada, the pristine waters of Lake Tahoe and the mountain bluebird, the official state bird; Silver represents the other state color, the official state mineral, the granite composition of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the silver country of northern Nevada; Red represents the Virgin Valley black fire opal, the official state precious gemstone, and the red rock formations of southern Nevada; Yellow represents sagebrush, the official state flower, and symbolizes the great basin region of central Nevada; White represents the name of this state meaning snow-covered, which is the translation of the Spanish word. The crossing of the yellow and red stripes represents the different colors of Nevada sandstone, the official state rock; The white intersection on the silver field stands for the snow-capped peaks of granite mountains, which make up the Sierra Nevada mountain range; The four blue lines represent the four main rivers of Nevada which are the Colorado River, Truckee River, Humboldt River and Walker River; The intersecting blue lines in the silver field represent the Colorado River as it meets Hoover Dam and creates Lake Mead; The small solid boxes of silver and blue number 8 by 8, or 64, to signify the year (1864) that Nevada was admitted into statehood; The 13 solid-colored intersections of the small stripes represent Boundary Peak, the highest point in Nevada, which stands at an elevation of 13,143 feet; The 16 solid silver intersections and the solid white intersection in the center of the tartan represent the 16 counties and the one consolidated city-county government of Nevada. The official state tartan can only be reproduced in the colors, pattern and dimension of pattern as described above." (http://www.nevada-history.org/icons.html)

Viva Las Vegas

I just bought the plane ticket that will take me outta of the South for a long long time. Even though I'm not a native of the South, I've grown up here as much as I did in Boston. I feel like I've had a more Southern experience than most ex-yankees surbanites on Frat Row. So I'm sad for loads of reasons. I'm leaving the state with the best best state song ("Georgia on My Mind" by Ray Charles) to a state whose state song sounds like a campfire song ("Home Means Nevada" by Mrs. Bertha Raffetto).

The Chorus of "Home Means Nevada"

"Home, means Nevada, Home, means the hills,
Home, means the sage and the pines.
Out by the Truckee's silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines,
There is the land that I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see.
Right in the heart of the golden west
Home, means Nevada to me"

and let's not even get started with the state tartan. its a total fade out as illustrated to the left. Lame, ya'll.

But at least, they don't celebrate Robert E. Lee's birthday as a state holiday or Confederate Memorial Day. I'll have a good explanation about both the "Confederate Memorial Day" and the Yankee Memorial Day (aka Memorial Day as we know it) very soon.

Times Like This...

David Blaine
Originally uploaded by jvanschoick.

I wish I had the luxury of sitting next to this bubble doing everyday activities, like eating a sandwich, drinking coffee, or filing my nails. I think I would eat my avocado and swiss cheese sandwich. Hey, I'll even put on an extra layor of that Kraft spicy mayo.

Why bother with fiction when reality is so good?

Six Feet Under

Pavement
Originally uploaded by gorillapolka.

On Friday night, we finished watching the last season of Six Feet Under. I feel so remotely sad, not like the death of a friend or family member. But it's remotely sad, like the death of a fantastic show that should have died, and it did it in such a wonderful way. It was the first show I followed closely till the end. Alan Ball should have written every episode, but the way he ended his show tied up every loose string in a way that made me contented and sad. Like the end of the best banana pudding dish ever. Delicious in every bite, but each bite leads to the bottom of the shiny bowl. It's silly to feel this way about a television show even an HBO show, but once in a while, I need to indulge in surreal reality. Clearly, this is one of the best television endings ever. Thanks, Mr. Ball.

Cameo

Blinded by the Braniff
Originally uploaded by gorillapolka.

I haven't decided yet how I feel about visiting Athens after I leave here. Most of my friends have moved on and it's the sort of place that's special for the four (or five in my case) years that you're here. Today a close friend of mine is visiting Athens, but I think he'll find Athens greatly changed today. It's not the same without your friends here. You see it as it really is: a small town with a big university. Not being a student, the small town part overpowers you. It's weird, because I'm leaving and I will have absolutely no reason to come back to this town. I don't like football. I don't like nostalgia. It's far away from my hometown in south Georgia. Everyone else has left. Who would I stay with? Rather, what is there to do? apart from nostalgia? But I will miss the green in Athens. It's so much and so heavenly at the same time.

the beauty of internet disposal

As I was staring at the photos of a long gone undersecretary of agriculture and his meeting with the 1972 Watermelon Queen, I realized I was stuck in a writing rut. Then I looked at an old copy of Rural Electrification magazine and its slogan: "one cent electricity for every farm in America", hanging above my pod space.

Then I skimmed photos of his meeting with the Japanese embassies, his trip to Wheeler Creek, and pinning his secretary's (get it? secretary's secretary!) for her service of 10 years, I continued to mull the name, one cent electricity. I needed a new blog for a new phase of my life. So I threw away "Modern Awe" into the Internet wasteland where it will only reappear when I run for President.

that's the beauty of the internet. don't let them fancy high fallutin' colors trick you or hit your butt on your way out.