Out of scholarly duty I saw Savages and it is even worse than expected — it feels like an assault, really. In any case, I was reminded that Laguna Beach is beautiful and I miss it. I learned that Mexicans are savages and pacifists are highly corruptible and unreliable, and that the sanguine, clean, and … More Savages
The current form of maternal martyr, I discern, is not the one I remember from childhood but is, nonetheless, an interesting inversion of this one. The form of maternal martyrdom I remember was undertaken by those mothers who had renounced everything to be at home with children. They were legion and they were known to … More Maternal martyrs of the 21st century
Blond-haired, blue-eyed, stony-faced, slack-jawed men chewing gum slowly, endlessly, and somewhat menacingly — this is the Southern stereotype and I am always amazed when I actually see such people; they really do exist and everything is true. What people in general are slower to realize is that the South is Black; Yankees against Southerners are, … More El Sur
This allegedly finds salons that use Davines products. It is hard to find the hair dye for sale. On their Italian site you can see color swatches, though. Davines’ ad copy might have been written by a shade of Rubén Darío: …un precioso regalo para obtener tonalidades cromáticas que generalmente sólo la Naturaleza es capaz … More Davines
What I notice is that you have to put more, not less time into everything. I do not mean larger blocs of time, of course, although that is fine too. What I mean is, more total time into everything that matters. That means less into what doesn’t, of course, but it does not mean starving … More Time Time Time
Despite poor picture quality (note our vampire eyes!) I am posting this. It was taken on the evening of July 3, 2012, and I am the last person on the right. The first person on the right is someone I wrote about last week. And, despite poor picture quality again, I am posting this as … More Breaking pseudonymity, again, and spreading advice for the vain.
A large part of the problem, as a local friend points out, is the abusive environment. One could, theoretically, move about as freely as one does elsewhere and enjoy local delights, but one learns that it is not so simple — unpleasantness comes when you least expect it, but often, and “just avoid it” or … More Things I do automatically when abroad, and did here before Reeducation, but have a hard time doing here now.
The TSA employees do not understand that my visceral level reasons for not going through that airport scanner that takes and keeps the equivalent of your naked photograph is not shyness about the body, but the fact that to have that photograph taken, you must stand in the prisoner of war position, hands on your … More That airport scanner
On my job interview, we went to a bar to talk and soon realized it was too loud for a business meeting. We decided to move to a diner. I stood up and my prospective department chair said, don’t waste the drinks. We picked them up and walked with them outside. In the halls of … More Vignettes from then
In Mexico, they have the Japanese embassy and you can get real Japanese food nearby. That means, economical food actual people from Japan eat on an everyday basis. I was able to feed my dormant, and benign addiction to various kinds of donburi, an addiction I sometimes try and fail to satisfy with the teriyaki … More The Tin Roof Blowdown
coldhearted scientist وداد 