I am a huge Zappos fan. Who isn’t these days? I have ordered shoes from them for probably 8 or so years now. Growing up in a house full of podiatrists can make a girl picky about shoes, and having big feet doesn’t help either. So their selection has always blown me away. That’s why I first liked them–the shoes! But I am also a cheapskate and an internet addict, so their free shipping and deals, and the fact that I didn’t have to go anywhere or talk to anyone to get new shoes.

Then I became an organizer of things on the internet. A devotee of Ranganthan. An obsesser of faceted search. And then I started to love Zappos even more. But admittedly, I saw some problems with their tagging/metadata. At that point I went to their booth at SxSW and, in a demented, obsessive, and maybe slightly tipsy state, started discussing their metadata with someone on their web team. I am sure he was frightened by my zealous fire for shoe categorization (I think people don’t frequently raise their voice about metadata in an excited matter and hop around while flailing their arms quite as frequently as I do), but he gave me a lot of zappos free stuff and chatted with me politely and suggested I get their culture book.

And I think it’s around then that I drank the kool aid.

The culture book was totally awesome. The culture was the thing I didn’t like about the job I was in at the time, and it was like a breath of fresh air to read the Culture Book. I had just presented about how librarianship was losing a lot of quality librarians because of the oppressive anti-tech culture they worked in. This all synced up with what I was reading in their book.

In the time since then, I have emailed with a lot of Zappos employees and asked them to be on panels I have been on. So when I got an email the other day that they were having a Zappos Boot Camp for people who want to learn more about how they do what they do, I was totally excited.

But then I learned it was $5,000. And that is not really in my budget. But if it’s in yours, I highly suggest you go.

They also have scholarships, which I am applying for. Let’s all hope I get it!

If not, I’ll still feverishly go to their website to look for all the new things they’re doing. Not just to buy shoes. I SWEAR.

People often do not understand what I do for a living. I avoid this:

best. photo. ever.

If you use the internets enough to read my website you’ve probably heard of Kiva.org.  In case you haven’t, people (mostly from Africa, but from all over) sign up for loans they need to start businesses or keep their businesses running.  It’s not charity–they pay you back, admittedly without interest.  But hey, for a lot of people, in their country, $100 goes a long way.

I have been meaning to loan some money on Kiva for a while.  In addition to getting your money back, I like the idea that you give the money to a specific PERSON.  It is hard to decide who though–there are many people on Kiva with valid business propositions.  However, when I found Yaa Bomo, I knew she was the one!  Yaa sells smoked fish in Ghana.  I love smoked fish above pretty much everything.  Go Yaa!

And I put it on my credit card, for which I get money back.  So I actually earned money lending Yaa money!

She still needs $350.00.  I know times are tough anywhere, but if you can, please try and help the people of Ghana enjoy smoked fish!  Or something else, I GUESS.

I love reality tv.  For the most part I do not defend it.  If you think it’s stupid and bad for America, good for you.  You’re so better than the rest of us who enjoy entertainment.  However, I beseech you to watch “I’m a Celebrity….Get Me Out of Here.”

First, Patty Blagoevich is on it and talks about her political scandal with her friends on the show in a way I think she’d never talk in an interview.  And she convinces everyone in camp that Rod is totally innocent.  In “civilization” you can get multiple news sources, but when you’re in the jungle there’s no other person to tell you what happened.  So why wouldn’t you believe the nice lady?

That’s the other thing.  I LIKE Patty.  She seems COOL.  She seems to BELIEVE Rod is actually innocent.  It’s amazing. She’s just extremely normal and honestly, it’s the best PR move ever.

What I also really enjoy about reality tv though is highly reflected in this show.  Two people have a conversation that is filmed. Then they talk about what happened and both of them have a COMPLETELY different view of what happened.  This helps me.  In conversations you always assume people are on the same page as you but they are so infrequently in the same mindset.

I know reality tv is not at all real, and situations are manufactured to increase this miscommunication.  But when Janice Dickinson talks to Stephen Baldwin you can tell 100% she’s thinking he’s being mean to her, when he’s actually trying to get her baptized for Jesus.

In fact it is the most Jesus-oriented show on television.  Jesus + the Jungle shouts Jonestown to me.

Grace posted something about a discussion she was having regarding whether or not people on food stamps “deserve” facials.

Regarding this topic, I guess I feel like you are in charge of your own money UNTIL you are getting money from me.  That’s sort of the breaks.  In the same way, “my house, my rules” works.

As someone who has used their food stamps at Zupans (like a Whole Foods, but more uppity), I feel I am eminently qualified to talk about this (Although how many subjects do I not feel eminently qualified to talk about?).  From my times hanging in the food stamp office, I would say the majority of food stamps are spent on non-nutritive instant foods a la Nestle Quik.  Cuz there are a lot of kids on food stamps.  Though most of the people I chatted with there were indignant about how they were treated when they bought seemingly “luxury” items or foods that were bad for you.  Fancy cheese was the most often mentioned.  Should I be making decisions on what other adults eat?  No.  But when my parents bought my food as a kid, they got to make the call.  In the same way, when the state provides your food, they get a say in how you spend your money.  How would they regulate facials?  I have no idea.  But when I was on food stamps I did feel bad when I spent money on things that were frivolous.  So did most everyone I ever talked to in the food stamp office.

And it is that experience which makes me state that no one is entitled to fancy cheese.  Do I love fancy cheese? Yes.  Would I want to live without it? No.  But if you’re buying my groceries next week, would I buy it knowing you’re paying the tab? No.  And that’s what it comes down to for me.  If someone else is paying, you’re beholden to them. Do poor people deserve facials?  No.  But neither does anyone else.  But when you have money to blow that you made yourself you get to pick.

And that longwindedly leads me to a point that I have been thinking about for a while.  Alcatraz Regulation # 5:

Regulation 5: You are entitled to food, clothing, shelter, and medical attention. Anything else that you get is a privilege.”

It hangs in my house for several reasons.  First, because Americans who are not in prison, who have done nothing wrong, don’t get all these things.  That’s a good thing to remember.

And second, because I am kind of sick of whiners.  Look, by being born, and by being born American, you already got a lot.  A lot more than 99% of the world.  By the fact that you’re reading this, you have computers, internet, & free time, you’re fucking rich.  I don’t care if you think you’re broke, you’re not.  You’re probably inside and clothed and fed.  Feel lucky.

And I feel especially at the age I am and the current economic situation, all around me I hear people using the news as a crutch to do nothing.  Now some people are unlucky, of course.  Some people weren’t born as lucky as you or I, and I truly don’t begrudge them.  But if you have a college degree and the time to whine to me about how broke you are, and it doesn’t revolve around a medical issue, you’re probably not working hard enough.  I am really sick of people telling me how horrible their lot in life is, how broke they are, how they can’t get anywhere when they’re not attempting to do anything to change any of their lifestyle.  Not trying to better themselves.  Not being thankful.

So next time you feel you’ve been given a raw deal, that you’re entitled to something and not getting it, think about Regulation 5.  I know I do.  And then DO SOMETHING.

Buying books would be a good thing if one could also buy the time to read them in: but as a rule the purchase of books is mistaken for the appropriation of their contents.
- Arthur Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena

I have never been a big book acquirer.  The books I like to own are generally those I think I will not be able to find again, those out of print/odd finds I get in a dollar bin, and those I use for reference.  I personally can’t understand owning a copy of a novel that is in every bookstore or library in the country.  I am all for other people doing it, I just have never had that sort of attachment.

Despite this, and mainly due to Bookmooch and a friend who works for a publishing house, I have acquired A LOT of books recently.  My Bookmooch list is mainly things I have not been able to find in a library, and most of the books, due to my bizarre interests, hardly ever have a supplier.  So when someone has a book I want, whether I am going to read it immediately or not, I grab it.  Leading to too many awesome unread books.

And thus I am going to start on a fool’s errand, one I have tried many times.

The Read What You Have Challenge!

Basically as soon as I read something, I get rid of it generally, and as I currently own ZERO bookshelves, it would be a good thing to get rid of a few.  So other than

• books I might read for a book club
• audiobooks I dnld
• books I require to meet an immediate need

I am reading what I own.  That last one is a copout, at least for me it is.  I feel about reading non-fiction books the same way Johnny Five does.  I need a lot of it and I consume it addictively.  So I might bend my own rules.  I am going to try not to.

On the other hand the Readers’ Advisor in me is sort of against this.  I definitely believe in reading the right book for the right mood.  And sometimes that book is in the library.  But I have a coterie of awesome books around the house, so I don’t think it’ll be that hard to find some good stuff that excites me.

Anyone tried this before?  Success?

Hey if you met me/heard me talk/want to talk about metadata/want to know what to do in your case, follow my twitter feed @jennybento, or email me at jenny bento at gmail.

Things I have not done in more than a month:

1. Drunk more than 2 beers in a row.
2. Read a non-electronic book.
3. Listened to my music library.
4. Read a magazine.
5. Been home alone.
6. Been naked for more than 10 mins.
7. Cooked anything.
8. Eaten salmon
9. Had the Internet at home.
10. Read an audiobook.

Since these are my favorite things ever, this is sad. Soon these will be rectified, but in the meantime, in the words of Morrissey, if I seem a little strange, well that’s because I am.

I will be going to SXSW again this year and doing one new thing (presenting/moderating) and one old thing (library meetup).

NEW THING:
I will be moderating and contributing to a panel entitled Kicking Ass with Controlled Metadata.  Also on the panel are Tom Conrad of Pandora.com and Tim Spalding of LibraryThing.  I think it will be awesome to hear people telling everyone from Web 2.0 that good expert-created metadata can be more useful and moneymaking that crowdsourcing tagging.  But that is my hobbyhorse, ain’t it? Follow the link for deets on attending.

OLD THING:
Library Worker Hoedown Lunch 2009– I have been running this for three years now, which is shockingly long to me.  I’ve met some of the coolest people at this thing.  And, best of all, non-librarian techies come and tell us all the dirt on how much they hate their tech hating librarians. :)  A lot of people from all kinds of gigs come and we’ve been getting a lot of law people, directors, IT peeps.  It’s a good time and especially good for new people who come to the conference alone and know no one.  It’s Sat. Mar. 14 at 12:30 at Iron Cactus on 6th and Trinity.

I will also be having an “important” birthday the day after these two things.  Doing two awesome library metadata things and then drinking to excess with excellent Mexican food is my ideal way to celebrate the one-two punch of Pi Day & the Ides of March.

So if you are coming to Austin (or already there!) let me know! We’ll have tacos.

Man this month has been killer.  New job, new city, moving, new apartment, being without my stuff for a month, and an hour plus commute (soon to end) each way.  But I was ruminating on my favorite songs.  I am sure there are some I am forgetting, but here are my favorites off the top of my head.

1. You Are My Sunshine -as best performed by Gordon Gano, once in Columbia, MO, live, but generally any way live. Recorded, my favorite version so far would probably be Willie Nelson’s  I’d pay good money for a Tom Waits/John Cale/Stephin Merritt/Leonard Cohen/Rufus Wainwright version.
2. Hallelujah - Tie: John Cale/Leonard Cohen/Rufus Wainwright see a theme here?  Honestly best song ever.
3. Venus in Furs - Velvet Underground If we want to get technical, I prefer the John Cale demo version that is 20 mins long on Suck It & See.  Seriously even I didn’t realize I was so into John Cale till I made this list.  My next 10 favorite songs are probably VU songs.
4. Perfect Day - Lou Reed Lest you think I hate Lou Reed, rest assured I do not.  In fact his version of All Tomorrow’s Parties is my preferred version.  I also truly love Nico’s singing though.  Because I am weird.
5. Papa Was a Rodeo - Magnetic Fields Truly my next 20 favorite songs are Stephin Merritt songs.  I probably equally love “100,000 Fireflies,” “Book of Love,” “Nothing Matters When We’re Dancing,” and “Reno Dakota.”  Papa Was a Rodeo is probably the most touching one personally though.  So it leads the pack.  I enjoy other versions of it too.
6. The Luckiest - Ben Folds This is an odd choice.  I like Ben Folds a lot, but I think I am a far more casual Ben Folds listener than any of these other bands.  But The Luckiest makes me cry.  It’s one of the most beautiful songs ever written in my opinion.
7. Forever in My Life - Prince JFK Jr used it as his wedding song.  A lot of Prince fans hate it because of the tacky instrumentation, which I agree knocks it down.  By someone else it would be amazing.   I want a version of this by Jared Friedman because, if I didn’t know him personally, his version of The Glamorous Life would make this list.

What are yours?  What am I missing?

***Edited to Add 7.

On the way to work I pass by a synagogue.  Next to the synagogue is a Wendy’s.

I know very little about food service, but you have to think that they make the batches of bacon at Wendy’s for the bacon cheeseburgers all in one fell swoop.  So at one point in the day the synagogue must reek of bacon.  i would find it very hard to believe I was chosen if God kept pointing out so clearly how tasty bacon was, and how I could not have it.

I read a whopping 59 books this year, and that doesn’t even count all of my travel books.  That’s a whopping 15 more than last year!  I have started to include books I consult for travel, though I am still inconsistent on that because I try not to add it unless I really have gone through the whole thing.  I also added a “gave up” category.  I think giving up on books really allowed me to get to books I wanted to read!

47 non-fiction/80% (27 last year/41%>last year)

12 fiction/20% (17 last year/41%<last year)

I was consistent for the last two years, so this is amazingly different.  Screw you, fiction!

16 were audio, a few less than last year.  My love for the NYPL digital library has gone a little south.  The search and hold systems are painful to use.

This year I tried a lot of new authors, and have been reading a lot of self-help-type books.  I am very interested in life coaching after reading things last year like “The Four Hour Workweek,” “Stumbling Upon Happiness,” and things of the GTD ilk.  All of these seem like real common sense to me, and convince me I should be a life coach.  Food books, as always, were prominent, with more gardening books.

I have only met two of this year’s authors (Kinky Friedman and Simon Winchester), but I have sustained some personal correspondence with one (Ben Woods), and seen two in person (David Sedaris and Chuck Palanhiuk).

Biggest surprise:

Biggest letdown: Now You See Him-compared to Donna Tartt, moody, tense with no payoff. It was billed as mysterious and shocking and was neither.

Favorites: All Michael Largo and Matt Ruff books, Micronations, When You Are Engulfed in Flames, Finding George Orwell in Burma

Most Overrated: Now You See Him,

Books I could not finish this year included: Slackonomics; Dear American Airlines; The Wicker Man; Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys; Tweak

I most recommend: Anything Matt Ruff; George Orwell in Burma

Best book tech this year:Magnetic bookmarks! Goodreads–helps me keep track of what I am reading, and I love seeing what other people are reading.   And I converted to Bookmooch this year; Also, Powells.com lets you sell books on the Innernets! I guess magazines in Google Books, though I find it annoying to search

Worst book tech: Espresso Book Machines in libraries. Um, all libraries already have a better quality copy of Tom Sawyer, NYPL.  I get how hot the machines are.  I love them.  They make me all excited.  They are just not library relevant right now.  Try a better ebook system if you are so bug nutty for tech.

Book tech I am still not into:  Though I like it in concept, and I love the people that work there, I still have no idea why anyone would want to catalog their personal library.  I catalog things when people pay me to do so and I jettison books as soon as possible.  Sorry, Librarything.  Kudos re: early reviewer copies and Santathing though.

Book Wish(es) for 2k9: An e-book reader I can somehow check books out from the library with; Less crazy DRMs on ebooks I check out from Overdrive (hey, why can’t I check a book back in?!); A more universal book wishlist export standard (so every time a new book website comes out, I don’t have to put all 658 books on the new list manually.  Seriously people, Amazon is the standard.  Find a way to import it.

I am getting ready for NaPriLiMo and making sure to get the albums I am missing.  I am going to try to listen to them in chronological order so I am trying to fill in the gaps.  I found my ipod I never use and pumped it full of Prince.  So this is another reminder you have two days left to join me in NaPriLiMo!

I am toying with the idea of accepting the Pandora Prince station during this month.  I think it’s only acceptable if you have forgotten your ipod/music and need something to listen to.  Scouts honor!

Today was the best mail day ever.  Before heading to the airport I got:

• 2 netflix vids (Man on a Wire and a documentary about Latinos who love Morrissey)
• 1 issue of Star Magazine
• A really awesome homemade Christmas card
• 1 box of Christmas cookies from my friend’s mother-in-law, whom I have never met

Amazing.  With the snow it has set me in a jolly mood, which will be necessary to navigate the extensive delays I expect to face at the airport.  Like before every trip there were a few things that slid off the to do list, but I am hoping the Spirit of Christmas will bail me out.  If you will be in Chicago for the holidays, please contact me!  My plans so far are only to go to Portillos with my family.

Have a great holiday.

And now for my favorite historical holiday evar.

Today, December 5th, is Repeal Day in America.  Dec. 5, 1933 is when we Americans got our right to drink alcohol back.  How do you celebrate?  Drink!

My family isn’t a big pack of giftmongers.  We have a grab bag.  It’s 50 dollars.  It’s hard to think of a gift that is $50 and easily transportable in luggage that I wouldn’t have already bought myself.  Everyone gets everyone gift certificates.  It’s the pricey business I won’t buy for myself.  Here’s what I really want:

1. A cute, portable, USB record player with built in speakers.  While the Ion is the audiophile bet, I am in love with this one.
2. New knives and a knife skills class.  I have admitted that I am out of my depth here.  Please someone teach me to wield a knife right and proper.
3. A tour of North Korea during the Mass Games
4. A Stalin bust.  I prefer the turquoise but it’s all sold out.
5. A mini PC. That is powerful enough/has a large enough hard drive that I can bring it on trips to watch movies and email.
6. A Google Android.  I accept you as my overlords, Goog!
7. A see through clear umbrella
8. A year’s worth of cleaning ladies.
9. A breadmaker.
10. Lots of cute flowerpots, and the self watering bulb doohickeys.  I have a small army of succulents that I worry about.
11. Noise canceling headphones that do not go IN your ears, and are durable and very very portable.
12. A new messenger bag similar to this, in a dark color, that is washable and has many pockets for doohickeys and closes.
13. Brunch at Aquavit
14. Lunch at Momofuku Ko
15. Fish of the Month Club membership
16. A salmon fishing expedition
17. Tuition to sideshow school
18. Conjuring Arts Research Center Membership
19. Wii!
20. An RFID key chain such as this
21. A phrenology head
22. Etsy things! Like this necklace in silver, everything in doleangeliman’s store, especially this skeleton print and this sign print, a wood ring, this anchor in sterling, freak show signs like this, or a squid necklace.

What do you want?

I am not the most religious or holiday oriented person.  Okay, that’s an understatement.  But there’s one Christmas tradition I love, it’s Advent Calendars.  Perhaps it is the lure of chocolate, but I like surprises every day–doesn’t everyone?  I have always been left cold by the digital versions of Advent Calendars.  However there’s one that does it well every year.  It makes me feel like a kid, and the prize is—cheap flights to Scandanavia!  I haven’t bought any flights yet from them, but here’s hoping this year.  Even if you have no plans to fly abroad next year, the animations every year are fun.  Check it out here.

I have thought of an idea.

National Prince Listening Month.  Or NaPriLiMo.  I have been toying with the idea of listening to only one band for one month.  I am somewhat of a completist when I really like a band and I could have hundreds of songs by one of these bands, but I never listen to them in one block.  So, when thinking about the bands that I 1. have enough music by and 2. like enough of it to listen to it solely for a month, I thought of Prince.  So here’s the concept, if you want to join me.

1.   Listen only to Prince.  I am going to take a wide stance on this.  This can include all music written or sung by Prince, covered by Prince, duets with Prince, and covers OF Prince.  It includes any Champagne, Grand Central, or 94 East which include Prince.  And if you have that, I want some of it.  All music not sung by Prince (i.e. “Manic Monday” or Vanity 6) can only make up, say 20% of the entire music budget.  Also, if one song on a soundtrack is by Prince, only that song counts!  Prince side projects (Morris Day & the Time, Vanity 6, Carmen Electra) do not count unless Prince sings or composes the song.  You could do Prince songs only or open it up–I am not making these hard and fast.

2.  Other music is allowed if you are not in control of the musical choice.  For example, you don’t have to avoid all stores that play music, or commandeer a DJ stand.  However, you can’t listen to a radio station that is non-Prince.  Though you can hear some snippets of other songs while flipping to talk radio or a Prince CD.  If NPR plays a song in between a show, you are fine, but no All Songs Considered.

3. You are allowed to go to shows of other bands.

4. Report if it makes you crazy on a weekly basis.  CRAZY for PRINCE!

I am going to go chronologically, but you can do it however you want.  Ideally this would be in June, because of the Purple One’s bday, but let’s make it January.  This way people have a chance to get their Prince music together.  And it will be like a New Year’s resolution.  Who’s in?

I learned something last night.  Something very important.  How to make the most amazing apple sauce ever and be a lazy ass.  Let me teach you.

Lazy Ass Applesauce

or, How to Wake Up to a House That Smells Like Strudel

Ingredients:

• Apples.  Enough to fill up your crock pot.  In many varieties
• Water
• Brown sugar
• Cinnamon
• Vanilla
• Salt

1. After you finish dinner, cut up apples.  I know, what a pain in the ass, right?  But don’t worry about cutting them up into tiny pieces.  As long as you avoid stems and seeds, all is well.  Leave those skins on.  Don’t you like fiber?
2. Put apples in your crockpot.  Basically you will yield 1/2 the volume of the crockpot.
3. How sweet do you want it?  Brown sugar is more of a flavoring here than a sweetener.  Put in a tablespoon at least, but just crumble some on top.
4. Put some cinnamon in.  I like a lot.  How about you?
5. Put in a very small amount of vanilla.  Less than a teaspoon definitely.
6. I have kosher salt.  i just sprinkled a little bit on top.  You can always put more on later.
7. Now, I have a tendency to put more water than needed in a crockpot, because I forget it doesn’t evaporate.  More water=watery-er applesauce.  I put a few ladles full, in order to wash off the spices on top of the apples.  You shouldn’t be able to see the water through the densely packed apples.
8. Put the top on.  Put it on low.
9. Forget about that.  Do some other stuff.
10. Go to bed.  This is a marathon not a sprint.  Sleep a good 7 hours.
11. Wake up.  Feel extremely happy about the delicious smell in your house.
12. Use a hand blender to mash the now brown and gooey apples.
13. Eat
14. Optionally, you can add a teaspoon of lemon juice in step 4, but it’s mainly for color.

Wah I made the mistake of looking at Etsy.  Whenever I go to Etsy, I find something my life cannot go one without.  And this was no exception.

Book shadows made of vinyl records

Librarian necklace

PASTIES MADE OF BOOKS!

The market for crafty things that are librarian themed is boundless, but recently I saw this theme:

This made me sad.  So not useful to me, an actual librarian.  I am sort of weirded out by the whole “my job as hip thing to pretend you are” thing.  I mean, let’s face it, there’s a very easy path to librarianship.  It just doesn’t seem glitz and glam enough to make people buy pins about it, but I guess I am glad people like us!

Oddee is one of the best blogs ever.  It puts surprising photos on interesting but out of the ordinary topics in lists.  Hence, Jennycrack.  Today’s list was the 15 Creepiest Old Album Covers.  I was surprised to find three abums I actually own on the list.  Guess which ones!

I love stuff made out of other stuff.  Sure, I could say it’s because I love mother Earth, but in fact it is mostly aesthetic.  I covet things made of gum wrappers.  I have a wallet made of lawn chairs.  And I have always wanted something made of movie posters.

But I really, really want a messenger bag made of tires.  I am very picky about my day to day bags, and so far I haven’t found a tire one that meets my weird needs.  This one is pretty, but a little BDSM meets weekend LARPer.  This is the ideal shape but too small.  This bike tire one might fit the bill.  But it’s a little out of my price range at the moment.

In the meantime, while looking for this, I discovered a boatload of other awesome items, like this steel wallet, this awesome gum wrapper cuff, and this reasonably priced laptop case, which I would have immediately bought if any of the movies appealed to me.  Ecoist has really good deals.  I highly suggest it.

All this talk about how historic the election because of the race of the President-elect is makes me wish for the real historic time when the race of our President won’t be news one way or the other.  Nothing says real acceptance like banality.

Going to my polling place today made me really happy and proud of our democracy.  I felt a lot brighter about it than I had in a long time.  As the night wore on, I felt worse and worse.  And it had nothing to do with who won.  The concession and acceptance speeches both emphasized (elequantly and importantly in my mind) the importance of different beliefs in America.  One of the few things McCain did right in his campaign was stress his voting with Republicans and Democrats.

People aren’t stupid just because they disagree with you.  People aren’t less American because they disagree with you.  In fact, people are more democratic for doing so.  Remember when a few years ago lefties brought out the “Dissent is American” pins?

Yeah they still apply to the minority even if you aren’t in it.

Michael Shermer is an ass, but an amusing one:

1. Who are you voting for in November? I’m voting Democrat because I think lawyers should run the country, because the last two years under their control has gone so well, because the government has done such a great job with FEMA that they should also be in charge of our school choices, health care choices, and retirement choices, because they protect me from crime so well that I don’t need a gun, because I want to pay more taxes (especially Capital Gains), because unions need to be stronger against evil corporations, because trade with foreign corporations is anti-American and we need to protect American jobs, and mostly because I’m tired of having so many choices and want someone else to make them for me.

This is from Reason Magazine’s interviews with some public figures about who is getting their vote. It was interesting, and I was glad to see an interview with Stephen Pinker who is my favoritest public intellectual evar.

I am a registered voter.  I am registered Working Families Party, at the moment, though for some reason NYC doesn’t put that on your card.  They just put “Independent.”  Whatever.  I know I live in a voting district which will OBVIOUSLY go for Obama.  But aside from a postcard in the primary for Obama, I haven’t recieved ANY information for any candidate in any office this election.  I think that’s a first.  Apparently politicians are lazy this election.

Gain some weight!

This study says fat chicks are getting busy way more often than those uptight skinny bitches.  Word.

It also says some fairly negative things about how doctors don’t treat large ladies properly.  Lame.

You know what advice I hate, and which I find to be the most useless advice ever?  Find exercise that is fun to you and do that!  Do people who give this advice think the rest of us know there’s this extremely fun exercise acivity but we for some reason avoid doing it?  I assure you that is not the case.

Exercising is never fun.  Maybe it is for you.  Maybe you find it honestly thrilling and interesting.  I find it extremely dull at best and uncomfortable drudgery at worst.  Everything is more fun if you are sitting or laying down, in my opinion.  Everything becomes even more awesome if you could read or watch videos while laying down or sitting.  I can’t read while exercising (I have tried, but I can’t) and while watching videos is okay, it takes some preparation, or a lot of time fiddling with the tv, and yet still is nowhere near as awesome as laying down.  If exercising was so awesome and fun you wouldn’t have to remind people to do it.

I know some people honestly enjoy this activity, in the same way some people like cleaning the bathroom (which I also do not enjoy).  I am sure it makes some people feel good.  I am not one of those people.  And I am guessing neither are most Americans.  If you’re so intent on people just doing “fun” exercise, Mr. Expert, maybe you should make some sort of fun exercise.  Which I can do while napping and watching horror movies.  And snacking.

I have a gmail account that I use mainly for business.  It is my first name and last initial.  This is a very common combination.  And there are many ways to spell Jenny, so I assume people say, “I am JennieB@gmail.com!” and people email me instead.  Understandable.  But I get a LOT of incorrect personal email.  Like, children’s school emails, doctor’s appointments, sorority pledging info, bank statements, Christianity forwards, and friend crisis emails.  You’d think, at this point, these people’s lives would be in a shambles without all the important e-mail they are missing.  Usually I try to email the person back and tell them they have the wrong person, but this email I am posting.  Because it confused me:

Hey there!  I heard about your horse incident.  Was it the same crazy horse from a few years that we watched

wigging out in the corral?  Glad you are somewhat ok!!

Tell Lisa I am sorry for the problems with our bldg.  I promise not to bother her anymore…:)

Happy Weekend to you…cath

Horse attack!