Thoughts from the Post-Scriptum

i showed this clip to my students yesterday, and yes, i cried a little bit.

Kami from Takalani Sesame always reminds me of how far we have to go, because while we have trouble loving and hugging a person infected with the virus nobody seems to worry about hugging a ginger-coloured muppet who is HIV positive.

it's a start at least.

some wisdom from Guillermo Gómez-Peña and the Pocha Nostra

1. practice responsible hedonism, vindicate the sacred right to party. fight puritanism in all its forms. it is a subtle form of political control

3. practice intelligent skepticism; o sea, question simplistic forumlas; simple answers; one-sided versions; dogmatic solutions; self-righteous positions. question everything, coño, even these commandments

7. learn other languages, especially those that will help you to understand and communicate with your neighbours, with the new millennium, we must each be fluent in at least three languages

12. go high-tech. we have no other option. if you don't participate in the net and expropriate the new digital technologies for humanistic purposes, you will soon be out of the game.

8. confront with valor and generosity the oppressive and narrow-minded tendencies in your/our own ethnic or gender-based communities. the enemy is everywhere, even inside ourselves

5. discuss politics and culture daily with friends and colleagues. we must sort things out collectively.

13. as corny as it may sound at the millennium, beyond your politics, you must remain a loyal friend and relative, a tender lover, a good collaborator, and a responsible citizen.

4. go out of your way to remain informed. distrust mainstream media. subscribe to various alternative magazines. scan the net regularly. read the foreign press as often as possible. welcome other points of view.

2. avoid simplistic binary oppositions; us/them, good/bad, oppressor/oppressed, first world/third world. things have become logarithmically more complex. new conceptual models to understand and explain our times must be fluid, open-ended, and multidimensional.

11. fight self marginalization. be an outsider/insider/ be a temporary member of multiple communities. we need to be everywhere, in the media, in major institutions as well as in community-based ones.

6. travel as an intelligent and humble tourist. remember, tourism at best is about understanding yourself, not the place you have chosen to visit.

10. sit at the table with your true enemies. talk with them. don't lose it. be polite but firm. it is painful, but necessary.

9. fight narrow-minded nationalism. establish alliances and co-alliances with groups and communities who are undergoing similar crises. debate with others who disagree with you.

14. don't make the mistake we are making in this text and take yourself too seriously. if you stop laughing, you are dead

Ladies and gentlemen I think that after watching this video clip you will probably agree with me in saying that suddenly the forced sterilization of stupid people is looking like a more attractive option...

The sheer stupidity of the human race frightens me sometimes. I can understand maybe mixing up the country, I'll even forgive her for not knowing that Hungary was a country but asking if France is a country or thinking that the entire continent of Europe is a country? Not to mention Jeff Foxworthy's oh so charming comments about women.

Thanks to Laura for posting this video first.

"This is it! I am done! Don't call me ever again! Forget you know my number! In fact, forget you know my name!"

~Carrie Bradshaw

after a few weeks of tumultuous self-loathing and just not feeling *okay* i'm off to the rainy land of mountains, oceans and soy lattes. sometimes a little getaway is just what the doctor ordered. when i get back i need to start full tilt boogie on my thesis and a few other projects i have on the go.

i'm SO pumped for the trip, i haven't seen tina since she moved back home so i'm definitely looking forward to a few days of hanging out with my person. it sounds like she already has a few fun filled days planned for us, i'm definitely looking forward to the trip!

I swaggered (that's right, swaggered) around BC's mild 5 degree december weather in nothing more than a hooded sweatshirt... that my friends is my idea of a good winter.

I'm looking into the possibility of moving there for the PhD, UBC and SFU both have some pretty kicking programs in my areas of interest. Nothing is for sure yet obviously, I still need to write my thesis, prep applications and somehow make it through the next several months without driving myself crazy. Not to mention that moving clear across the country would mean that G. and I would be separated by three provinces and frankly I didn't see any worthy candidates in BC who could be anything more than a poor substitute for her.

I've been in a rut lately, I dunno if its the time of year, or being kicked around by a boy but tonight as I was tidying up my apartment and burning a little hindi incense I realized that I was going to be okay. It's a nice feeling.

i couldn't help but notice as i was watching project runway season 4 (stop judging me) that the contestant Christian has a striking resemblance to Sean's psychotic former roommate Edie. as it turns out that the haircut they are both sporting doesn't work for either gender. OH SNAP!

I LOVE Catherine Tate.

gooseberry and cinnamon yoghurt

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I don't particularly know why I find this so funny. But I definitely snickered to myself for a good long while.

my grandfather once said that you can never trust a man with green eyes, their bound to cheat on you with another lover.

sometimes, just sometimes I think that I like dick and fart jokes too much.

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking of getting rid of my landline: I don't use it that often, the call quality SUCKS (it's a VOIP line) and it seems silly to have two phone lines when i live alone.

I don't know why this freaks me out though...

"There are those that open you up to something new and exotic, those that are old and familiar, those that bring up lots of questions. those that bring you somewhere unexpected, those that bring you far from where you started and those that bring you back. But the most exciting, challenging and significant of all is the one you have with yourself and if you find someone to love the you that you love, well that's just fabulous."

~Carrie Bradshaw