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Steal this Chapter

You may remember (if not, here’s the link) that a couple of weeks ago I said we’d have a whole post on Matthias Rath.

For those of you who don’t know, Rath is amongst the elite cadre of psuedo-scientific woo-slingers, the HIV deniers. But unlike the completely unbelieving quadrant of that group, Rath believes that HIV does in fact cause AIDS.

It just happens that his vitamin supplements (and not antiviral drugs) are the cure. Antiretroviral drugs that actually prevent the spread of HIV and the progression of AIDS are – wait for it – toxic western medicine, untested, profit-driven, and… you’ve probably heard the rest of this spiel. You may even know someone who spills it whenever drugs are mentioned.

The pharmaceutical industry is a tough beast to defend. People like Rath are strengthened by unethical tests in Africa, record-breaking profits, and obscene marketing dollars urging you to “ask your doctor.”

But denouncing them does nothing to make Rath and his treatments effective. The fact that companies do not make their anti HIV drugs available cheaply in Africa will never make vitamins and supplements prevent AIDS. And as those of us who deal with the devil know, his medicine usually works.

Of course, Rath is visible in the US as a guy who claims that vitamins can prevent heart disease, cancer – you name it. When someone says that whatever they’ve got can cure whatever YOU’VE got, the skepticism department of the brain should sound all the alarms.

When UK JournalistBen Goldacre exposed Rath, he was sued. In England, where libel is a serious matter (they should know, they invited the “lie bill” and the crime itself). So, when he wrote his book, “Bad Science,” there was a chapter he had to leave out. Thankfully, you can have it here, now.

I can’t add anything better than what Goldacre can, so I’ll shut up now that you’ve read it.

One response to “Steal this Chapter

  1. Pingback: Chiro-attack! « Living Better Skeptically

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Meeting Roundup

Well, the sixth (or fifth, I really can’t recall) somewhat-monthly meeting of the JSS has taken place! We rounded up some rational, reality-based persons at The Old Tavern (aka George Street Grocery) and a good time was had by all. We discussed the usual roundtable topics – health care misinformation, creationism, vaccine terror, and did a little plotting for a potential new event – a science fair for adults! We even had a few beers, though no one thought to ask if they qualified for a free beer – even though some people there actually DID QUALIFY.

The meeting was mostly old salts, including Dennis, who has now been to every single meeting, something that only he and I can claim. Also, we had a new attendee, Mike, a geologist (our second working geologist) who, as you might can guess, has a bit of beef with creationists telling him that those aquifers are only six thousand years old.

We got onto quite a few farm-related topics; like organic foods, corn subsidies, water rights, aquifer management, and defoliants. There is a bit of a noise issue when it comes to food information, and while we didn’t exactly filter it all out then and there (remember: the beers) it was good to chat with some folks who probably don’t have some sort of new eating disorder.

And that’s what it’s all about, skeptics (IT being the Skeptics in the Pub type event) – finding out that you’re not alone out there, the only Scully in a world of Mulders, and that while issues and people are complicated and multi-faceted, there’s people out there who don’t fall for the Bullshit.

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Holy CATaroni with Vegan Cheesy Hollypeños (Part 2 of 2)

PART 2 of 2: Lucha UndergroundBig Brother (U.S. TV series) & Two and a Half Men star Holly Michelle aka Holly Meowy of LACatClub makes Holy CATaroni with Vegan Cheezy Hollypeños!!! Join in the party!

Holy CATaroni with Vegan Cheesy Hollypeños

1 lb (16 oz)  tricolored elbow Cataroni (macaroni)

1/4 c  vegan butter such as Miyokos Creamery

3 c   unsweetened rice, almond or soy milk

1/3 c  flour

1/2 c  nutritional yeast

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp  garlic powder

1 tsp sea salt

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp agave

6 oz slice jalapeños (Hollypeños)

2 Tbsp  vegan bread crumbs

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F
  2. Bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions, drain
  3. Melt butter in sauce pan and whisk in flour until it forms a roux (paste)
  4. Slowly pour non dairy milk into the roux and whisk until fully mixed together
  5. Then add nutritional yeast, tomato paste, garlic powder & salt,
  6. Add lemon and agave to sauce pan, bring to a boil and lower heat and simmer for 3 minutes
  7. Place in a baking dish and stir in the jalapeños and add bread crumbs to the top
  8. Bake for 30 min at 350 degrees or until golden brown.


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Hi, my name is Jared Johnson. I live with my wife and son in the Washington, DC area.

I am the Director of Business Intelligence for Academic Technologies, a department of The George Washington University, and I recently completed my MBA degree at The George Washington University School of Business.

I enjoy planning the implementation of new technology and reading about topics in the field of management, theology, sustainability, politics, and emerging technologies. I volunteer at my church as a small group leader, I am a hack photographer, and a sports fanatic. I explore these topics and more on my lifestream site.

You can reach me via email at jaredwj(at)gmail.com or on social hubs like Twitter and Facebook.

Note: Everything posted on this site is my personal opinion. It does not represent the views of The George Washington University or National Community Church.


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Next 10K Is On The Calendar

It feels good to be back in training mode. I just registered to run the Marine Corps Marathon 10K race on October 30, 2011. I have needed a new training challenge for a little while now. I took a pretty long break from training after last October’s Marine Corps Marathon. I still ran throughout the winter, but without much consistency. I bought a new bicycle this spring, so I cycled a lot more often than I ran throughout the spring and summer.

I ran the MCM 10K in 2009, so my goal for this race is to beat my 2009 time of 57:45 (~9:19 min/mi). I will probably set a more specific time goal a little closer to the race.

My Marine Corps Marathon 10K time was 57:45. #mcm10k

My official 10K (6.2 miles) time for Sunday’s race was 57:45. I finished number 1580 out of 5110 finishers, and I was the 922nd male out of 1999. I am really pleased with the time and the pace (approx 9:19 min miles), especially since I only trained for the race for eight weeks. When I started the training, the maximum I could run at a time was around three miles.

My goal is to run a full marathon before next Thanksgiving (November 2010). Thanksgiving 2010 is significant to me, because it will be the 10-year anniversary of a very serious accident I had, in which I broke shattered both of my legs and my back. After reconstructing both of my ankles, some of my doctors were doubtful that I would ever be able to run and play sports again. It has taken a lot of physical therapy, a follow-up surgery, and a lot of running through pain to get to this point where I can run pain-free.

My younger sister ran the full marathon on Sunday, and finished just under 4:20.  That was an awesome time for her first marathon!

10K Training: Week 2

Today I begin the second week of my eight-week 10K training program. I am running the Marine Corps Marathon 10K on October 25, 2009. I have been an occasional runner for a long time, but this is my first time training for a formal race. I ran six days in a row last week and got up to a distance of 3.25 mi. I am using the Easy 10K training program posted on


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Yosemite Trip – Part 3

Day two in the park started with a very early drive to Yosemite’s south end. It took almost an hour to get there but we finally arrived at the Mariposa Grove. The landscape here is very similar to Yosemite Valley except there are these really tall and wide trees sprinkled across the landscape. They are pretty weird looking up close. They do look ancient, like God’s first idea of what a tree might look like. The limbs are disproportionally large when compared to the leaves and trunk. It almost gives them a crude feel – like a kid shaped them out of clay. They look extremely soft and spongy up-close which is a cool surprise and the bark is a wonderful orangey-red color (almost the same color I stained our kitchen cabinets now that I think about it).

Not only do these trees look spongy but apparently they actually are and that is what saved them. Loggers’ mouths watered when they stumbled across this grove of the world’s largest trees (by volume not height) but they quickly moved on when they found that the trees shattered into unusable splinters when they were felled.

Biggest Tree in the Park
Ol' Griz
Some Cool Red Plant in the Mariposa Grove
Tree Tunnel - 'Nuff Said!

After walking amongst and through these trees, we headed for what has been called “the finest view in North America.” Luckily for us the road to Glacier Point had been plowed several weeks before we arrived. In fact, most of the snow had melted even though it was cold and windy up at the top. We drove right up, got out and walked around on the paved trail and scenic overlooks. What a gorgeous place. You could see every major landmark in the park from here. We talked to a mom, daughter and son trio while looking at Half Dome. They were explaining to us where the trail ran because they had just done the hike the day before. This got us jazzed up about giving it a try.

Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls
Half Dome and Some Guy
Half Dome and Melanie

Stitched-Together Panoramas – Excuse the Cut Lines

Yosemite Falls Left and Half Dome Right
Half Dome Middle and Vernal and Nevada Falls Right

Once we’d gotten our eyeful, we headed back to the lodge and decided that we still had time to squeeze in a hike before dark. We opted for the Yosemite Falls trail. This is the oldest trail in the park and even though it is rated as “strenuous” it is not too long. We thought that we’d be able to do at least enough of it before it got dark to make it worthwhile. Even if we just made it halfway we’d be at the base of the Upper Falls. It took us a few minutes to find the trailhead but that was ok. We got to walk past a bunch of folks practicing rock climbing. The hand strength those guys and gals have is amazing.

It was obvious from the start that, while popular, this trail does not receive the same volume of people that the Mirror Lake trail receives. There were signs saying that smaller people should not hike alone to prevent mountain lions carrying them off, etc. Right from the start this trail was not playing games. It reminded me of the Snake Den Ridge trail I hiked in the Smokies with some buddies in college. A steep but not ridiculous grade that just never seems to level off.

Section of Yosemite Falls Trail
Still Going up on Yose Falls Trail

You eventually reach a relatively flat area that opens up into a beautiful view of the valley from the opposite side of Glacier Point. A really neat counterpoint to what we’d seen earlier in the day. After this was Melanie least favorite part of the trail. I think I almost heard her curse. Basically there was a watershed area where all of the granite dust collected. We had to go up a series of switchbacks right through the middle of it. It was like walking on the loose sand at the beach but up a steep hill. I didn’t think it was so terrible. It was nice and soft under my granite-pounded feet. This is where many people stop but from looking at the cool 3D model of the park in the visitor’s center we knew that if we just walked another mile or so along the now flat path we would reach falls.

Melanie is not Happy
Reverse View of Yose Valley from Yose Falls Trail

We did this. Once again quite beautiful. Maybe even prettier than the Lower Falls base. It is amazing how much the temp changes as you get close to the falls. Everything was wet and slippery – ground, trees, walls, etc. Now we settled in to the final series of switchbacks that would follow the side of the falls all the way to the top. From there we’d be able to get right up on the edge of the falls and look down which sounded like such a cool thing to do. We’d been hearing from folks coming down the trail that there was a camera crew filming the falls and a crazy guy that had set up a tightrope across the falls who was walking back and forth over them. Unfortunately, about 1/3 the way up the final switchbacks we realized that we had to turn around or we would be hiking down slippery granite in the dark.

Upper Yosemite Fall

By the time we reached the trailhead again, we knew that we had done one serious workout and that we were going to be tired and sore very soon. That night we treated ourselves to a very nice steak dinner at the Mountain Room Restaurant located right beside the lodge. I was surprised at how good the food was and how nice and new the restaurant was. The park staff all agreed that it was the best restaurant in the park – even better than the ones at the Ahwanee. After dinner I was still hungry so I grabbed a Powerbar from the convenience store and we stumbled into bed. Lights out. Night night. Snore…

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Porac, Pampanga : I Flew High In Poracay

Wazzup Pilipinas !

For the very first time, I had the opportunity to try the infamous zipline !

It’s my first time in one of these so I wouldn’t be able to compare it with the other ziplines in our country, but all I can say is…It’s not really what I expected it to be.

There was really no adrenaline rush. I never worried even a little bit. I simply was not overwhelmed by the experience.

Maybe it was too short a ride for the thrill to sink in. Possibly it was not high enough to scare me. Most probably because I have more than enough near-to-death experiences more threatening and death-defying than riding on a 500 meter zipline.

Undeniably, Poracay was truly a hidden paradise in Porac, Pampanga. Imagine seeing such beauty after passing a seemingly ragged desert-like terrain. I’m sure the ash-laden terrains that we passed were images of the former devastation brought about by the Mount Pinatubo volcano eruption in Pampanga several years ago. The rain of ash and small pebbles made Pampanga look like an American village covered in snow on Christmas day. But this snow was black and gray instead of white.

My colleagues and I were all sweating profusely during the trip to the location. We even got lost trying to find the place. Our hired bus driver was rather an impatient lad who took it unpleasantly. Cursing on the road during the entire time while we were asking directions from the locales. We even tried using the GPS system from our mobile phones and knowing we still have a few kilometers while nearing lunchtime didn’t quite help the anticipation. It’s past lunchtime, yet we were still looking for the place.

But it was definitely a surreal and relaxing experience once we finally got there. We saw how beautiful the place was when we got into the middle of the resort where severals pools were situated besides each other and a huge lagoon where you could go kayaking at the center of all of it. The place had several trees and other plantation to make it look more greenery, a complete opposite of the ash-infested surroundings outside the resort. It was very ideal for our Staff Development activity. But I felt too bad knowing that the organizing committee didn’t have any “staff development” activities planned for the two days spent there….or was it because others were busy fixing a work-related problem that suddenly occurred during our stay there. Well, gotta make the most of it. But, it got confirmed when a senior colleague told me, there was never really any staff development activities done since ages ago, and that we were just spending the organization allowed yearly opportunity to get away from the busy confines of our offices.

At at one are were huge colorful letters that spell PORACAY. ..and was intended not just as a signage, but as a photo op area. Many got the idea that it was meant to give you the opportunity to take pictures besides gigantic letters of the alphabet.

We offloaded our bags from the bus into our rented fully air-conditioned and well equipped resort house (heck the entire house was air-conditioned, had its own a fridge to put our drinks and liquors, and a stove for cooking), and tried out the comfy beds as well. We actually rented two houses for our entire group composed of about 50 persons. The houses were color-coded, we stayed at the purple house, while others stayed at the orange house. Each house was divided into three separate rooms with five beds in each room – that means about two people to share each bed to accommodate our big group. It had a centralized living room and kitchen, and outside was a place where you can barbecue.We even rented a videoke machine so we could sing all night while drinking beer and eating “pulutan.” Immediately, all the aircons were turned on by my colleagues. We were paying for an overnight stay until 12 noon the following day so my colleagues thought we might as well make the most of it.

After we have eaten our long delayed lunch, “litson” (roasted pig) plus “ginataang kalabasa, sitaw and hipon” (squash, string beans and shrimps cooked in coconut milk), we rested for just a few minutes and hurriedly dipped into Poracay’s  many pools.

At nigh-time, we had grilled “liempo” (pork belly) and “sinigang na ulo ng isda sa miso”  (fish heads – don’t know the name of the fish until now) for dinner. Sinigang is a Filipino soup or stew characterized by its sour flavor most often associated with “sampalok” (tamarind). Sinigang is traditionally tamarind based. Other versions of the dish derive their sourness from ingredients such as guava, calamansi, bilimbi, unripe mango, and yes, “miso”, among others. The Filipino miso is a traditional  seasoning produced by fermenting soybeans. The result is a thick paste used for adding sourness to vegetables, meats, and fishes and normally accompanied by “mustasa” or mustard leaves.

Then rest of the night was spent in enjoying videoke and beer. Filipinos are truly fond of singing even if many have out-of-tune voices only their mothers would appreciate. But it was more enjoyable seeing my colleagues croak, choke, lose their breath, and sing out of pitch, than hearing professional singers belting out a high eardrum cracking note. Laughter was all around.

Back at our rooms, we spent the whole night talking about anything we could think of – while eating some snacks that I could grab from the other house where they stored all the foodies. When midnight came, all my room mates started to sleep already. I couldn’t sleep that night so I spent the evening contemplating on what should have been a better staff development event.  Early morning I decided to walk around the place and jog until I got tired and rested for awhile. I probably went around the entire place for several rounds (well, three was several for me already since I never really had the opportunity to jog).

Afterwards, when the rest of my colleagues were still asleep, I also helped prepare breakfast the following morning. I seem to enjoy cooking for others.It gives me great pleasure when I see people enjoying the food I painstakingly prepared under the heat of the stove. It also adds pride that I could cook well when most of the men in my group would just prefer waiting to be served by the ladies.

The lagoon kayak ride the following day was also quite an adventure. I was worried I may be too overweight for the kayak, and might tip overboard and get myself all wet. I was not yet wearing my swimming attire that day when my colleagues decided to try it out. My co-riders in the kayak (it was a two or three rider) were just too excited that they hurriedly rowed with all their might.

I didn’t quite enjoyed it because the constant rowing and trying to keep up with them made my arms all sore. I would sometimes stop and just let them have all the fun rowing vehemently. If I could only have it my way, I would just slowly row and enjoy the ride as a smooth and tranquil experience. I would like to savor the moment peacefully as if I was truly in paradise.

After that boat ride, I tried the 500 meter zipline where they would also take a picture of you after the back and forth ride as part of the package you paid for. It was my first time, but like I told you earlier, I was disappointed it didn’t rocked my world.

When Mt. Pinatubo erupted in 1991, it spewed volcanic ash and rock materials which buried several barangays in the province, and killed several people in the process. The Earth shook and the day turned into night.

Day one, June 9, was eight hours of ash-laden steam clouds ejection ushered one of the world’s most violent and destructive eruptions of the century. This was followed by pyroclastic flows which flowed down Pinatubo’s gullies into the Maraunot and Moraza rivers. These pyroclastic flows reached some 4-5 kilometers from the center of activity. Finally, Philvolcs issued Alert Level 5 in the afternoon as intermittent occurrences of small pyroclastic flows persisted the whole morning.

Day four was more intense. On June 12 Independence Day morning, intense seismic activity was followed by three major explosions, the most powerful of which ejected a “huge, grey, mushroom-shaped cloud” that reached 20 kilometers above the vent. Ash, pumice, and other larger volcanic fragments were also ejected by Pinatubo. Major rivers and tributaries radiating from the volcano overflowed with cascading pyroclastic flows. Shortly before midnight, a second series of strong explosions hurled clouds of ash and pyroclastic materials 25 kilometers into the air.

Day five, only 24 hours after the first major explosions, another violent eruption occurred triggering heavy ashfalls that blanketed most of Zambales, Tarlac and Pampanga. Prevailing winds also blew the volcanic ash hundreds of kilometers away in all directions.

Day six, the fourth major eruption occurred in the afternoon of June 14, with Pinatubo ejecting another vertical ash column that reached a maximum height of 25 kilometers above the vent. This was followed by smaller, intermittent eruptions. But in the afternoon, a much bigger eruption produced a cauliflower-shaped column that ejected volcanic debris to a maximum height of 30 kilometers. Pyroclastic flows ran down the Maraunot River towards Sitio Ogik reaching 15 kilometers from the source. Three smaller eruptions followed during the night.

Day seven, two more explosions occurred at dawn accompanied by incandescent pyroclastic flows that moved at speeds between 70 kph to 80 kph. These were followed by seven more eruptions lasting up to midmorning, producing ash columns from 15-18 kilometers wide at the base and heights of up to 25 kilometers above sea level.

This time, pyroclastic flows advanced to areas as far as 16 kilometers away from the center of activity. At that same morning, a violent eruption ejected a 40 kilometer high eruption column. This was followed by five similarly strong explosions sometime around noon in such close succession that they appeared to be one continuous activity. Philvolcs recorded a total of 19 eruptions that day. Eruptions that occurred after this last eruption until the next day, June 16 – Day 8.

If I was in the middle of Pampanga during those days, then that would have definitely shaken my likewise chaotic world!

I was safe in Manila where the only thing I felt were a little bit of ash fall. The news tells of stories of devastation in Pampanga, but I was still studying back then having my own worries of exams and report submissions. Engineering class was tough, and so I thought. I was young and naive, and never realized I would soon be more “connected” to the world later on.

I’ve had my fair share of “disastrous” events than would be comparable to a series of violent volcanic eruptions, but like the lahar-shapen new world of Pampanga, it also molded me into a new person. For better or worse, I couldn’t really tell. For I see myself trying to make a difference, but all others would just see me as just one of the few hopeful idealist trying to think of themselves as crime-fighting superheroes less of bat-caves and amazing gadgets.

Am I really fighting a self-imposed war on my own?

Poracay is located in Balik Barangay Manibaug Pasig Porac, Pampanga. You can check out the details at its  website: poracayresort.com.ph

Manibaug Pasig, Porac Pampanga, 2008

Phone: +63 (045) 436-7088

Mobile: +63 (915)792-5734 / +63 (922)843-0725

Emails: poracayresort@gmail.com

Here are their rates and pricing:

You can click on this map to enlarge and hope it helps you find your way. Good luck, though, because it surely wasn’t easy for our driver.

*credits to Poracay website, Chronology of the Earth’s Most Violent and Destructive Eruption and to all the owners of some of the photos above

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Behind The Beautify Of Kawah Ijen – 2012 Update

Kawah Ijen (Ijen Crater)
Location: East Java, Indonesia
Coordinates: 8.058°S 114.242°E
Elevation: 2,799 m (9,183 ft)
Type: Stratovolcano
Last eruption: 1999

Picturesque Kawah Ijen is the world’s largest highly acidic lake and is the site of a labor-intensive sulfur mining operation in which sulfur-laden baskets are hand-carried from 300 meters down the crater floor.
On December 18 2011,the alert status at Ijen volcano was raised to level 3 (from 4 level). Mount Kawah Ijen contains huge danger if it erupts as it threatens as many as 9,000 people living surround the volcano. The biggest threat of Mount Kawah Ijen is not hot cloud, flamed material launch or volcanic ash, but is within its volcanic lake containing 30 million metre cubic of water with deadly acid level.

Filmmaker Michael Glawogger‘s epic documentary Working Man’s Death, on physical labor in the twenty-first century, is streaming in 22-minute episodes on Al-Jazeera TV. “Ghosts” is the episode about Kawah Ijen can be seen from Tuesday, January 17/2011, at the following times GMT:
Tuesday: 2230; Wednesday: 0930; Thursday: 0330; Friday: 1630; Saturday: 2230; Sunday: 0930; Monday: 0330.

Find this post on Google+:

Check out also:
16-days Volcanoes photo tour crosses Java from Krakatau (Krakatoa) to Bali by Volcano Discovery:


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The Bravery ➡ Slow Poison

Slow Poison 2

Slow Poison 3

What happens when the Universe is revealed to you in a single moment, filling you with love, desire, hope, fear, despair, longing, and complete joy? When the full range of human emotion is suddenly conveyed, then gone just as quickly…

With a four week production schedule and a love song of sorts, we travelled back in time to the late seventies and joined a cult of psychonauts to make a video about alien panther love, ontology, and inter-dimensional space travel.

Video by Buck. Check out the website to watch the video at higher quality, check out some stills, and even download the video if you want.

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Project Server Upgrades

Microsoft reminder: Office SharePoint Server 2007 End of Support. see other Microsoft product end of life plans here.

On October 17, 2017, Microsoft will completely end support for Office SharePoint Server 2007. Office SharePoint Server 2007 has been on extended support since 2012, which means only security updates are released.

Here’s what end of support means for customers: No critical updates where releases in 2016 for Office SharePoint Server 2007 under extended support. No security updates will be developed or released after end of support. More importantly the operating systems supporting Office SharePoint Server 2007 are reaching or have reached end of support. Lack of compliance with various stands and regulations can be devastating. This may include regulatory and industry standards for which compliance can no longer be achieved. For example, lack of compliance with Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data Security Standards might mean companies such as Visa and MasterCard will no longer so business with you. Or, the new cost of doing business will include paying catastrophic penalties and astronomically high transaction fees. In the worst case, lack of compliance can even result in lost business. Servers running Office SharePoint Server 2007 are affected. Both virtualized and physical instances of Office SharePoint Server 2007 are vulnerable and would not pass a compliance audit. Many applications will also cease to be supported, once the operating system they are running on is unsupported. This includes all Microsoft applications, including Groove Server servers. Staying put will cost more in the end. Maintenance costs for aging hardware will also increase, and customers will face added costs for intrusion detection systems, more advanced firewalls, network segmentation, and other security measures-all simply to isolate legacy server operating systems and Office SharePoint Server 2007


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Riding In a Car with Cat and Other Stuff: Another Job Hunting Word Nerd Adventure

Friday, March 20, 2012: If you like or even mildly enjoy moving, you are part sadist, because it truly is one of the most miserable experiences from beginning to end. I have some friends and family who lived in the same house for many years – some 20 plus years or more. They are the lucky ones, these long-term abode dwellers whose memory of moving is a far-off distant experience, most likely when they moved out of their parent’s home or college dorm room and didn’t have so darn so much “stuff.” Since I graduated from college many moons ago, I’ve moved about 14 times – yikes! – including three times in the last 10 or so years,  getting rids of lots of “stuff” with each move.

So I thought moving my “stuff” out of my two-bedroom apartment into storage after getting rid of yet even more “stuff” would be a piece of cake. I was wrong. Dead wrong.  Now I don’t need to get into the details about why moving is such a royal PITA, because I quite frankly would like to put it behind me. However, I will share a few things that happened with this move that made it extra not fun.

First, usually when you move, at least in my experience, it’s because you just got a new job you’re thrilled about or maybe you bought a new house. However, this time I had to move because I couldn’t afford the place any more and had no idea where I would be moving TO! So that makes all the fun that moving isn’t even more of a drag. I tried to sell some “stuff” to further de-stuff my stuff, but found it’s almost impossible to sell some things on Craig’s List without practically giving it away, such as a washer and dryer, a desk, etc.

Then a couple of days before moving, my cat Jenni started acting funky. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that my kitty Cinderella died a few months back. The night before Cinder passed away I remember thinking that if she didn’t seem better in the morning I would take her to the vet. It turns out I didn’t get that chance because Cinder girl passed away during the night. So when Jenni didn’t seem right, I wasn’t about to take any chances, and we made a mad dash to the Animal ER in the middle of the night, only to have to return to the vet a day later. It turns out it was some urinary tract issue that could have been brought on by the stress of moving. The vet doc gave her a couple shots, including one that would help keep her calm. I half jokingly asked if I could have one of those shots too please. I’m happy to report about a week later that Kit Kat Jenni seems just fine. Me – not so much.

So Jenni and I have been couch surfing with limited couch space available due to lots of people being allergic to cats or having other pets – yadda yadda yadda. I think some of my friends are worried I’ll sleep in my car, and as I’ve said to several of them – I wouldn’t tell you if I did.

Check out Jenni - she looks quite comfy!

But not too worry, so far we’re good, but then again you might want to re-read the previous paragraph 😉

Lisa, Talented and Professional Job Seeker

This entry was posted in job hunting, unemployment and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

4 Responses to Riding In a Car with Cat and Other Stuff: Another Job Hunting Word Nerd Adventure

  1. Really sorry to hear this. I’m glad you’re keeping up writing because sharing this sort of experience is essential for people to understand the realities of joblessness, homelessness and what the global economic crisis has done to us all. We’re on either side of a big pond and struggling for the same reasons – because we’re working class.

  2. I hope things improve for you soon. I’ve been thinking maybe we should learn to write code instead of sentences. But it’s hard to go back to school when you can’t earn enough to eat. Good luck to you and Jenni.

    • ljager1 says:

      That’s an excellent point – writing code instead of sentences. However, I am truly a word nerd, but I may have to branch out and do something else to earn a living!

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text:
Travel agent position

500 $
salariu, de la
Fără experiență
stagiul de muncă
Full time
orarul de lucru
Fără studii
Chișinău mun.

ITN Corp. is a leading International Travel Operator that has pioneered Online Airplane Tickets Sales to the far corners of the globe since 2004. A search is underway for an immediate opening of the position of Travel Agent. We will train the successful candidate in handling all aspects of operations for various destinations. Travel Agent is the key element in company's structure. Travel Agent is directly involved in handling the initial customers call and taking down the information about the planned trip. Travel Agent is the one to offer all possible travel options to the client and make everything in order to sell the offered travel package. All of our Travel Agent are given an Initial Training, as well as a number of Ongoing Trainings to raise the level of professionalism and service provided to customers. The conditions offered are: - Motivating income - Free meals - Class A office at Botanica - Career growth - Daytime and nighttime shifts - Free transportation

regiune Moldova Chișinău mun. Botanica

ITN Corp.

ITN Corp.

We're dedicated to making businesses like yours easier, more lucrative and dynamic than ever. We provide call center solutions, finance and analytics, marketing and technology to companies that want to take their business to the next level thanks to our people and scalable infrastructure.


text:
CNC Bridge Mill Operator #57025

  • Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc.
  • Cedar Falls, IA, United States
  • Apr 21, 2017
Full time Manufacturing

Job Description

CNC Bridge Mill Machinist needed in the Cedar Falls/Waterloo area, $16-22/hour, plus shift diff, 2nd or 3rd shift.

  • Studying blueprints and drawings to determine dimensions and tolerances;
  • Setting up and operating a CNC mill to manufacture steel;
  • Regulating machines for speed, feed, coolant flow, depth and angle of cut, etc.;
  • Verifying finished workpiece conforms to specifications;
  • Using air/electric/hand tools to fit and assemble parts;
  • Using micrometers, calipers, dial gauges, or other measuring devices to verify dimension and alignment;
  • This position is on 2nd or 3rd

Education:   High School or GED required.

Required Skills:

  • One or more years of CNC Bridge Mill machining experience;
  • Ability to read blueprints and instructions;
  • Mathematical skills in percentages, fractions, ratio and proportion, measurement, practical algebra, shop trigonometry;
  • Ability to lift or move up to 50 pounds;
  • Ability to work on 2nd or 3rd

Please email your resume to  Byrnes & Rupkey, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Recruiting firm.


text:
Transport and rail jobs in Accounts assistant

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Found 10 ACCA Job Board jobs

  • Project Accounts Assistant

    Kidderminster 18000.00 - 25000.00 GBP Annual + GBP18000 – GBP25000/annum Anonymous

    My client, a leading company providing instruments and systems for powertrain and vehicle testing, have a rare and exciting opportunity for an expe...

  • Accounts Assistant

    Cheshire, Macclesfield £18000 - £20000 per annum Page Personnel

    Page Personnel are recruiting an Accounts Assistant to join a progressive business in Macclesfield.Client DetailsA small but growing business in Ma...

  • Billing Co-Ordinator

    Isleworth, Middlesex £20000 - £25000 per annum Page Personnel

    This role is a billings co-ordinator position which will work in a team of other billing co-ordinators to manage the client account profiles for a ...

  • Payroll Clerk - 12 Month FTC

    Stockport, Greater Manchester £19000 - £21500 per annum Page Personnel

    Page Personnel are recruiting a Payroll Clerk to join a leading business near Stockport on a 12 month FTC.Client DetailsA specialist in its field, ...

  • Finance Assistant

    Redhill, Surrey £18000 - £21000 per annum Page Personnel

    To provide full support to Finance Department, ensuring admin work and filing is accurate and up to date and to supply cover for Purchase Ledger d...

  • Financial Admin Team Leader

    Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes £23000 - £28000 per annum Page Personnel

    Working for a Market Leader in the Heart of Milton Keynes to oversee and lead the Finance Admin Team in their functions to ensure it meets the need...

  • Accounts Assistant - Maternity Leave

    Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire £20000 - £24000 per annum Page Personnel

    An exciting opportunity for an experienced Accounts Assistant to join an established business in Milton Keynes on a temporary contract. It will req...

  • Accounts Receivable Clerk

    Chiswick, London £22000 - £25000 per annum Page Personnel

    This role will be largely cash allocation withmulti currencies. It will involve an element of communication with clients and customers regarding a...

  • Accounts Assistant - Knutsford

    Cheshire, Knutsford £18000 - £21500 per annum + Free parking + Bonus Page Personnel

    An exciting opportunity for an Accounts Assistant based in Knutsford. This role is working in a team of three and will primarily be overseeing the ...

  • Accounts Assistant

    Bournemouth 18000.00 - 20000.00 GBP Annual + GBP18000 – GBP20000/annum Anonymous

    Accounts AssistantGBP18,000 – GBP20,000 + Training & Development + 33 Days Holiday + Pension Bournemouth Are you an Accounts Assistant/Finance Admi...

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text:
Spanish Teacher required at a faith school in south London - Needed ASAP!

South London
£160 - £238 per day (umbrella)
26 Feb 2017
26 Mar 2017
Full time
Listing type
Job vacancy

teachweb requires a talented, experienced and enthusiastic Spanish Teacher for a role at a mixed faith school in South London. QTS is essential.

This small, friendly school in south London is improving rapidly. The new head teacher has a vision for ‘excellence and not mediocrity’.  This is well supported by staff and governors alike.

The school is looking to interview applicants as soon as possible so apply today by pressing ‘Apply’ and submitting a CV right now!

The HOD is well established in this department of 5.  They are very friendly and supportive department, but you would be expected to "blend in" seamlessly with the ethos of the school.

Our ideal candidate will:

  • be passionate about their subject with the potential and desire to continue to improve;
  • have a passion for teaching and learning and be committed to raising standards across all Key Stages;
  • have excellent subject knowledge and depth of understanding;
  • be able to inspire, enthuse and motivate students to ensure that they achieve their full potential;
  • be an effective and committed team player with a clear vision for development and sustained improvement in Spanish;
  • be committed to the School’s mission of achieving high standards and fulfilling the expectations of all students of all abilities.

If that sounds like you and you are available to start right away, then apply today in under a minute by pressing Apply now.

No long forms, no endless pages to fill in, just your contact details and a CV and you’re on your way to your dream job!

Why not apply in less than a minute right now and let us take care of the rest? You can thank us later!


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text:
My prayers have been answered

April 25, 2007

Grilled-Cheese-only restaurant to open down the street from my office.  Thank goodness I didn’t waste my prayers on stupid issues like “peace in Darfur” or “universal access to clean water”.  Suck it Bono, you have to waste your time with Tony Blair while I’m enjoying items from this delicious menu!

  1. dude they’ve got your fave! Banana Nut!

  2. you can try to ruin this for me… but you will not succeed.

  3. The Market Melt is a no brainer. Fontina, Goats Cheese AND ciabatta? What took them so long?

  4. I just pray they don’t use microwaves to melt the sandwiches.

  5. Californians are such suckers! I will Fed Ex you a grilled cheese that I made with love for cheaper than they are charging you for a Grilled cheese.

    ANd yes “with love” is the special ingredient.

  6. Fool me once, jk… shame on you. Fool me… won’t get fooled again!

  7. Several things on this topic:

    -That isn’t replacing that one really cool, coffee shop-ish restraunt over on Culver? (I’m having a brain-freeze on the name right now. It’s someone’s name.)
    -the microwave story: I find it amusing that the first thing she thinks to do is take a picture instead of clean up her mess. “Ooo. I’ve totally got to blog about this!”
    -I have to agree on your assessment of Meltdown. When shall the Twinsley’s and I meet you at this place? They miss their ‘manny.’

  8. You’re thinking of Ronnie’s, and no, it’s still there – this is about two miles further East on Culver, over in downtown Culver City. But still “down the street from my office,” technically.

    Apparently it opens next week – once I’m sure it’s open, name the day – or, better yet, just show up there at lunch time on any random weekday, ’cause I plan on eating lunch there pretty much every day.

  9. I’m there. Drop off the kid at school. Two-hour drive up. Eat grilled cheese. Two-hour drive back. Pick up the kid from school. Yep, no problem, I’m there.

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text:
Archive for May, 2008

links for 2008-05-31

May 31, 2008

Enemy of Man!

May 30, 2008

Peligro! Abejas!!

May 30, 2008

When I left lunch today with my buddy Nick (pictured, in blue), we passed a bush with hundreds of bees attempting to form a permanent home there right outside the restaurant.

The owners had contacted a high-end bee disposal firm, which consists of a sign that says “Peligro! Abejas” and a dude with a vaccum. And not even an expensive, Dyson sphere vacuum, but more of a box with a nozzle attached.

One by one this poor bastard was vacuuming up the bees. It was a lengthy, painful task, as I’m sure he got stung more than once, but it all paid off in the long run, when he drives to the homes of his mortal enemies, pulling up in front of their air conditioning intake units & releasing his angry horde. El Hombre Abeja claims another victim, and the police are none the wiser.

Now Open In Yonkers

May 29, 2008

Growing up in the 1970’s, this commercial evokes Christmas better than any carol every could. In discussing it with my friend the other day, he started singing the lyrics.

Me: It sounds awful when you sing it. You rob the song of any of its charm, you’re turning it into a jingle. I think it’s because you work in Marketing.

Friend: So did the people who wrote that commercial.

Me: Liar. They worked in heaven with Jesus & Santa Claus.

May 27, 2008

I’m a massive nerd

May 21, 2008

Sadly, I think that’s the second time I’ve had to use that headline on this blog.  And like the 3 billionth time I’ve used it to explain/excuse something I’m interested in.  So this time it’s the show How It’s Made on the Discovery HD channel.

I wish I could tell you the show was about something awesome, like special secret weapons that only the government knows about or amazing seduction tips that I keep getting emails for, but in truth, the summary from the page on discovery.com reveals the sad truth: “In each episode of the series, viewers will be amazed to see how many common items are manufactured in high-tech factories around the world.”

And they’re right, I AM, I AM amazed to see how many common items are manufactured in high-tech factories around the world.

Seriously, I’m worried that the writers strike in combination with the cancelling (over the last few years) of Arrested Development, Firefly, Andy Richter Controls The Universe, Rome, Deadwood, The Sopranos, etc has fundamentally broken my ability to consume entertainment, or even recognize it.  Not counting the NBA Playoffs, a brief review of my recent “oh I should definitely record THAT” items on TiVo have been woefully lame.

  • Throwdown With Bobby Flay (so embarassing) – FoodTV
  • Ferocious African Crocodiles (literally an hour of wildebeest getting mangled) – Animal Planet HD
  • 2008 Heads-Up Poker Championship (seriously? I’m still watching this?) – NBC
  • Ebert & Roeper & the Movies (did you know that they can’t use the “thumbs up” component anymore since Ebert is suing the show, which he hasn’t appeared on in years thanks to his cancer battle? FASCINATING.  I really need to figure out how to “unsubscribe” from a season pass on this crappy fake TiVo that DIRECTV is using these days.)

So, to sum up.  I can’t recognize entertainment anymore.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go finish watching how two sided scotch tape is made.

I’ve seen some things, internet

May 16, 2008

Things that would make your hair curl.  But I don’t think I’ve seen something yet that disturbed me as much as this surgical video demonstrating the plasmablade on a corpse.  The plasmablade is to scalpels what light sabres are to sabres, cauterizing as it slices, with (miraculously) no smoking or charring of the flesh.  You should totally check out the video, especially if you’ve not yet had lunch.


text:
From Man Ray to Comparison

The artist eccentric artist/photographer Man Ray was once walking around the classroom taking a look at the art that his students were working on as he taught.  He noticed that each and everyone of his students were trying to be like one particular artist or another.  Everyone was trying imitate the style of some famous artist from a bygone era.  Man Ray took note of all this and said something to wit, “Listen. If you want to be original, be yourself.”  *

Wise words.

I think that quite often when we are trying to become like someone, we really are trying to become that someone.  However God has created us all differently and so we ought to be who He created us to be.  Why try to be like someone else? Why try to be Michael Jordan when God has given you a calling to be say a hockey player.

Now, there are of course limits to this and to that thought I would say “Yes. Be yourself. Be original but let not your originality come out of original sin.” Huh?  Human nature is fallen.  There is something deeply wrong with each of us.  If you don’t believe me just turn on the evening news. Or better yet, take a good long look at your own soul. There is something wrong with us and when you want to be yourself – be original – you need to take that into account.

So yes. Be yourself but not to the degree that you reach for one more beer when you have a problem with self-control.  Yes. Be yourself. Be authentic. Be original. But not to the degree that you pocket one more thing from the store and say “Hey. I can help it.  I am a klepto. I was born that way. That’s just who I am.” Yes. Be yourself, but not your sinful self. Not your insane self.

* I have paraphrased this story since I have lost track of the source.


text:
My Lamborghini Experience

lamborghiniSometimes dreams do come true,  driving a Lamborghini in West Palm Beach, was something I had been told might happen before I left town, but I wasn’t sure.  A Lamborghini driving experience was waiting for me and I wasn’t going to miss it.

As the dealer tossed me the keys, I remembered something that I was told one time. “The only difference between men and boys is the price of the toys”.  If that’s true, I was about to get behind the wheel of one of the costliest toys on the planet.

Standing outside the shop that morning in the Florida sun with the breeze coming through the Palms, I was looking forward to driving a Lamborghini.  Not just for a spin around the block.  Not just for a half-hour, but for the whole day.

I was in West Palm Beach doing a shoot and got to know the owner of the largest Lamborghini dealership on the east coast.  Knowing my admiration for the car, he promised to let me test drive when the shoot was over and before I had to leave.

I never thought it would be for the whole day.

Climbing into the car was more like putting on a custom made suit than it was getting into a machine.  Everything was within easy reach and all of the dials, knobs and buttons had been placed where they could be intuitively found without having to take my eyes off the road.

Starting the car and watching the tach zoom over, my heart matched it for thrill and excitement.  The throaty roar of the horses under the hood came to life as I moved out into the early morning sun that day in West Palm Beach.

With performance that is mind-blowing and the cars class and design impeccable, I was speechless as I pulled onto the freeway.  Stepping on the gas, I found out that this car would go from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds.  While the speedometer had a top speed of 355, I didn’t take it over 150.  Lamborghini stands for power.

Whipping down I95, I felt like I was the talk of everyone on the road.  Each Lamborghini has a team of fifty craftsmen that work solely on the interiors.  They create a luxury that is unique and personalized.

The carbon fiber body allows for great performance and lowered fuel consumption and the feeling that day?  Just one word: Awesome!

Driving a Lamborghini in West Palm Beach is everything a person could imagine.

My driving experience definitely raised my adrenaline levels to the point where I was walking on a cloud for quite some time afterwards.  I didn’t think that flooring the pedal could be quite an uplifting rush.  That feeling is going to stay with me for a long time!

So I say to you – Start Your Engines!

5 thoughts on “My Lamborghini Experience

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text:
Excerpts from Videos:

Diary of a Midlife Crisis (3 Clips)
A serio-comic video diary about a middle-aged
photographer whose fear of moving the video camera is used as a comic
metaphor for her feeling of being creatively at a standstill.

My Getty Center (1 Clip)
A chronicle of the winter of 1997, when El Nino and the
Getty Center came to Los Angeles at the same time, generating a few
rainstorms, a billion dollar cultural complex, and an avalanche of hype.

What We Think About When We Think About Ships
(Documentation of installation, including video loop)

An installation which is meant to appeal to adults and children commissioned by the L.A. County Museum of Art and which presents a variety of ways to imagine ships.

50 Ways to Set the Table (1 Clip)
A documentary about the annual tablesetting competition at
the Los Angeles County Fair.

The End of Photography (1 Clip)
A 2 1/2 minute super-8 film about the fading away of the use of film in photography set against the disappearing vernacular landscape of Los Angeles.

Guided Tour (2 Clips)
A mash-up of two docent talks set against images of art shot by the filmmaker that have no relationship to the art that is being discussed by the docents.

I'll Remember Mama (1 Clip)
A meditation on the imminent passing of her mother - the objects that she will leave behind and the memories and knowledge that will disappear with her passing.

Three Funerals and Some Acts of Preservation (1 Clip)
The filmmaker tells the story of the two burials of Michelangelo, films the conservators at the Getty working on their sculpture collection in ways that you might not have imagined, and plans her own funeral, based on some that she's attended and others she's seen in movies.


text:
#ShawnMichaelsWeek: Difference of Opinion

Shawn Michaels (16)

It’s the Final Day of #ShawnMichaelsWeek, a celebration of all things HBK and the eighth installment in our patent-pending Juice Make Sugar Wrestler of the Week series. We started with A Wrestler You Should Probably Know Better. We’ve given you the finer points of the Michael Hickenbottom oeuvre with some Essential Viewing before marching through Hump Day with a GIF parade paid for with Hidden Gems. Yesterday, we made our “Amazon.com on steroids” dreams come true with “Juice Make Sugar Recommends…“. Today we finish everything off  with a Difference of Opinion (where JMS HQ erupts in a Sweet Chin Music-fueled civil war.)

Nick: Did you get my message about The Shield being one of next month’s  Stables of the Week?

Dave: Yes. I did. That sounds like a good idea. My apologies again. This week has been freaking crazy, as Don West would say.

Nick: Oh, to be clear when I ask if you’ve seen stuff I mean “Did you get that thing I sent you?”

Dave: DIDJA GET THAT THING I SENTCHA?! God bless Harvey Birdman, Attorney At Law. If only the Colbert Report hadn’t killed it.

Dave:: KEN’S BACK!

Nick: Oh, and the other He Should/You Should Bray Wyatt thing, where we tell wrestlers who they should watch to get better and fans who to watch if they like those wrestlers?

Dave:: Yeah, it’s kind of a fine line because you don’t want to do anything too obvious. Like, anybody with the internets can find the similarities between him and Waylon Mercy. So we’ll need to actually explain HOW they’re similar. Not just like “He’s a bigger guy in a Hawaiian shirt…”

Nick: Oh, exactly. And it’s easy to say to Bray “you should wrestle like Mideon!”  but not everyone says to him “you should check out Bam Bam, Real Talk”.

Dave:: Or “If you liked the Follow the Buzzards vignettes, you should watch the Waylon Mercy vignettes, because they’re very good in a similar way and they directly influenced the character.” That works better.

Nick: Yeah. Like in the way, after watching both of their old matches, that Chris Jericho is so HBK he doesn’t even know it.

Dave: I think Shawn Michaels was such a game-changer for smaller guys that every smaller big-time guy can’t help but be him. Whether it’s Jericho or Bryan or A.J. Styles.

Nick: Also, I’m pretty sure it would be impossible to watch his body of work and not want to try some of the things out. That’s probably the biggest thing I learned doing all the stuff this week. He has so many good-to-great matches, it’s kind of silly.

Dave: Oh yeah, definitely. He could elevate anything into being a hot match. His two primes both came during down periods in the business, and in spite of how tepid a lot of crowds were at those times, his matches always got the biggest reaction.(His first prime being the late new-generation/infancy of the Attitude Era, his second prime being the post-attitude/”ruthless aggression” era.)

Nick: I remember distinctly you explaining the noise that came out of the crowd during his match with Jericho at the Great American Bash they had at Nassau Coliseum. Or, lack thereof.

Dave: Oh, yeah. When you’re working catering you can hear the crowd very distinctly, and that match was silent. There was more noise for Cena-JBL and they were brawling “in the parking lot” (said in my best Tony Schiavone voice) where the crowd was only watching on the Tron.

Nick: But in a good way. Michaels is beloved, and that match especially was an exercise in “ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED!?”

Dave: Oh yeah. They took the idea of the blood feud and pushed it to the point where people were actually uncomfortable. But not Bully Ray hold-your-nose uncomfortable, actually emotionally questioning why Jericho was such an awful person. Which got that character over so big that a certain kind of mark now believes Jericho’s been a top star his whole career.

Nick: Exactly. And I think Michaels is the only one that could have pulled that off. Which was weird for me, before this week.

Dave: Yeah, Michaels is probably the best sympathetic babyface ever. Hilarious, considering that outside of kayfabe he’s one of the least sympathetic figures you can imagine.

Nick: Exactly. Like, I really meant all the stuff I said at the beginning of the week. He’s was a VERY conflicted figure for me. But after watching match after match of him, it’s so obvious why him nearly ruining the company is not considered that big of a deal.

Dave: Yeah. As much as he was a terrible guy when he ruled the roost, he kept them afloat at a time where they easily could have sunk.

Nick: And you also realize, that was ENTIRELY what they were selling the company on at some point. “Shawn Michaels wrestles a LOT”

Dave: Oh yeah. “Watch Shawn Michaels take a ton of bumps and then have an emotional comeback.” Steamboat was better at the formula, but he wasn’t nearly the star Michaels was in his prime.

Nick: Was he the worker? I ask because I don’t “get” it with Steamboat.

Dave: I think they’re really, really similar. Both great at building sympathy, both kind of repetitive in terms of the actual moves and sequences they did in the ring, but both over like crazy with the fans.

Nick: Michaels seems like he makes a much better heel, though.

Dave: I think it’s really hard to contextualize Steamboat if you live in a world in which the WWE is always thought of first in terms of professional wrestling. Oh yeah. Steamboat would be an abominable heel.
And I don’t mean that in the “What an abominable heel!” way. I mean that in the “He’d be awful at it!” way.

Nick: Alberto Del Rio as a face.

Dave: Yeah, pretty much.

Nick: And I think that’s what separates Shawn from most other guys. He was also the top heel champion. He can’t talk a lick, but man, he could make you Effing Hate Him.

Dave: It’s funny that for most people under, say 25, Michaels is the consummate baby face. But if you actually watched wrestling in the 90s, you know he spent almost all of his time as a great heel.

Nick: Yeah, he also is, as cliche as it sounds, Mr. WrestleMania

Dave: Well, as you wrote about, it’s hilarious how he was dead set against creating one of the biggest Wrestlemania moments of all time… until the payoff was right and ‘Taker was threatening him with actual physical violence. I think all those superlatives like “showstopper,” “Mr. Wrestlemania,” “The Main Event” were just hype slogans in his actual prime. It was all marketing. When he made his comeback, they pushed him as if those things were real. Which is the magic of pro wrestling: you can actually do that.

Nick: Which kind of touches on what I think is actually the most interesting thing about him: there is a segment of the population who thinks he’s not so good.

Dave: I think there’s a certain population of fans who want to play the “I hate everybody who held people down” game, and those folks will never forgive or accept him. Plus it doesn’t help when you have Shane (Gregory?) Helms constantly telling internet smarks about how his miraculous conversion is a work to make money and he’s still a jerk and blah blah blah. I think Michaels is a hilarious example of a guy where “smart” wrestling fans accept him for who he was and “smarks” hold it against him.

Nick: So, given that, what do you think his ultimate legacy is?

Dave: I think he’s a face on Mt. Rushmore, in terms of WWE history. He’s one of the top four or five stars they’ve ever had.

Nick: Yeah, to me, he’s the best big game player they’ve ever had, not just in the sense that he worked well at major shows, but that he’s also one of the great free TV guys of all time.

Dave: Oh yeah. He’s not only “Mr. Wrestlemania,” he’s one of the top performers in the history of Raw as well.

Nick: And, while we both know what I think about him personally, should we also downgrade Ric Flair because he’s crazy?

Dave: If we’re going to make fun of Ric Flair, “crazy” is just the starting point.

One thought on “#ShawnMichaelsWeek: Difference of Opinion”

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An Adventure A Day

Because "life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all" – Helen Keller

Travel Theme: Cities

May 31, 2014

In keeping with the travel theme of cities this week at Where’s my backpack?, I decided to take you on a tour of some of my favorite cities in Italy:

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8 thoughts on “Travel Theme: Cities

  1. sueslaght says:

    We are headed back to Italy this fall. Thank you for the wonderful preview!

    1. You are welcome, glad you enjoyed them – have a great trip! Which part of Italy are you heading to?

      1. sueslaght says:

        We are going on a cycling trip through Tuscany, but starting with Rome-Pompei-Amalfi, after cycling Camogli and on to Nice.

      2. That sounds lovely! Have a great trip! I had visions of biking through Tuscany when we went the first time, but one look at the hilly, narrow roads, and I decided to wait until I wasn’t towing a double bike trailer!

      3. sueslaght says:

        Yes that might indeed be a good plan. We have cycled the past four years in various areas of Europe and always been amazed at the courtesy of drivers but agree that some of the roads would not be comfortable for towing little ones.

  2. Admiring the commitment you put into your blog and in depth information you present.
    It’s great to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same old rehashed material.

    Excellent read! I’ve saved your site and I’m including your RSS feeds
    to my Google account.

    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, I truly appreciate it. I’m glad you took the time to stop by and take a look!

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Wordless Collection 7 - 11 years

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Category Archives: news

Reminder: You Are an Actual Person

It’s been a hell of a week. I don’t need to link to any of what’s been going on because, well, if you don’t already know you must be a mermaid living in King Triton’s undersea realm who is too busy trying to trade your voice to a sea witch in order to marry a random human prince to pay attention to Land News(TM), in which case, good luck with that.

If you identify as a woman, you are probably having a lot of feelings right now. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Defiance. High Priestess Michelle Obama–First of her name, Mother of Dragons and Malia and Sasha,Harvester of Organic Vegetables–summed it all up pretty well, I think.

If you identify as a woman this week, you’re probably also experiencing flashbacks. Flashbacks to the time your classmate reached down your shirt and groped at your (still flat) chest during story time when you were six and said this meant you were his girlfriend. To the time when your middle school teacher looked a little too long at your bare, white, unshaven thirteen-year-old legs on the first warm May day in seventh grade and remarked that he was “grateful it was shorts season.” To the time when your roommate came home crying because a boy tried to pressure her into sex before she was ready and called her a tease for refusing. To the time your heart was pounding in your chest as you walked down the dark New York street at nine p.m., worried that the strange man on the corner, angry at having his catcalls ignored, would follow through on his threats to “fucking rape and kill you, you ugly fat bitch.”

To all the times you were made to feel like nothing more than a receptacle for men’s feelings, from lust to disgust to rage to impulses of violence. To all the times you were reduced to body parts: boobs and butts and legs and hair and midriffs and arms and feet (yes, even feet). To all the times on the sidewalk you were told, unprompted, to smile.

To all the times you were made to feel like less than human. Like less than a person.

One definition of feminism is “the radical notion that women are people.”

A reminder for you, because I’ve needed to remind myself so often this week: you are an actual person. A human being. A soul. You are more than the meat on your bones. More than a number on a scale of attractiveness or weight or both. More than a reflection of what some men (and women) hate about themselves and the state of a scary and changing world.

I am an actual person. You are an actual person, too.

I love you.

Good night.

The millennial’s guide for how to vote for the “right” candidate in the primaries

Primary season is upon us! If you’re lucky and not being voter suppressed and are able to get away from work/childcare/other life duties and actually vote in your state’s upcoming primary or caucus, you have an important decision to make: who will you support for your party’s nomination for President? I know it can be daunting, especially for millennials who don’t have decades of experience in becoming apathetic and exhausted by our disastrous political system voting. Fear not, fellow twenty-and thirty-somethings! I have put together the following guide to help you exercise your most cherished democratic right and duty.

Step 1: Ensure you can properly name and stereotype each candidate. For Democrats, this is easy! You only have Crazy Socialist Old Jewish Dude and Feminazi Wall Street Lover Vagina-haver to choose from (Mr. Pleasant-faced Generic White Guy already peaced out; RIP Pleasant-faced Generic White Guy!). For Republicans, you’ve got Crazy Billionaire Who Wants to Bang His Daughter, the Guy Who Doesn’t Know How Hoodies Work, the Sleepy Surgeon, the…oh, who am I kidding. If you’re a millennial you’re probably not voting Republican. If you are, I wish you well–may the powers that be help you in choosing a candidate from among these clowns!

Step 2: Do your research. Remember, there’s a lot of misinformation out there, so you have to dig deep to make sure you’re getting the real scoop on what issues each candidate will prioritize once in office. Examine their voting records in Congress, read their books and writings (going back to college and graduate school, if possible), watch their public addresses and speeches on YouTube, read the endorsements of various newspapers and organizations…

Step 3: …Shit. That’s A LOT more work than you thought. Both of these assholes have, like, decades of service under their belts, and they’ve both done good and bad things during that time! I mean, obviously income inequality is a big issue, but so is gun control…I guess they both support reproductive rights, but Hillary got Planned Parenthood’s endorsement, but Killer Mike likes Bernie, and…wow, this was a lot easier four years ago when there just wasn’t a democratic primary and you hated Romney a lot.

Step 4: Don’t panic and read Facebook. Luckily for you, most of your Facebook friends are politically-minded! They’re sharing really interesting pieces from writers big and small on your feed, from all perspectives: the LGBTQ community, feminists, activists of color, political giants, foreign policy specialists, small business owners, you name it. Dive in, and prepare yourself to be informed up the WAZOO! Your choice will be easy as pie once you take in this information.

Step 5: Wow there is some SERIOUS shit going down here on Facebook. Huh. You’ve only clicked on one article your friend from college posted and people are having some REAL STRONG REACTIONS in the comments. Someone just called someone else a bitch, and that girl just said that other guy is a “berniebro,” and now everyone is talking about false narratives and apparently if you vote for Hillary it’s only because you have a vagina, but if you vote for Bernie you are betraying your vagina, and maybe our political system is now dependent on the votes of our genitalia? How would voting genitalia even work? It seems like voting machines would have to be majorly redesigned…

Step 6: Something something Supreme Court nomination. Holy shit, Scalia died! Wait, Mitch McConnell says Obama can’t nominate a successor? What is this shit? Also people are saying OBAMA should be the next justice, but like he is already President…oh, after he’s done being Prez, you mean, and either Hillary or Bernie could nominate him…but doesn’t Obama deserve a vacation from this crazy country after the past 8 years? Oh God, Scalia is dead, after all! Am I being disrespectful of the dead? This think piece says I am, but this other one says I’m not, and this one says the election is now turned on its head, and this one says the Zika virus is turning the world into Children of Men, and THIS ONE says that Bernie is actually an alien, and THIS ONE says Hillary is an Ewok, and THIS ONE says #OscarsSoWhite, and THIS ONE says…

Step 8: Cry. sobsobsobsobsobsobsobsob can’t we just have Obama for a third term?

Step 9: Have a stiff drink. God damn it, get yourself together and make a God-damned decision! YOU ARE AN ADULT YOU CAN MAKE THIS ONE CHOICE.

Step 10: Call your most bigoted, sexist, “The Civil War was really the War of Northern Agression” relation and ask them which candidate they hate the most. Vote for that one.

You’re welcome, millennials!

The Thirty-First Year of the Jackie

So, it turns out that–despite the existence of alcohol and chocolate–I have made it to my thirty-first birthday. A year ago today, I was in a sort-of-impressive-sounding corporate job with a four-hour round-trip daily commute and an email addiction. I was really depressed, and so, shortly after turning thirty, I took a leave of absence which ultimately led to me quitting my job. It was the scariest thing I have ever done in my life, with the possible exception of going into that super gross hot tub at Myrtle Beach during our senior trip in college (those flesh-eating viruses are NO JOKE).

Now, one year into this journey off the beaten high-achiever path that I’ve dutifully followed for most of my life, I’ve achieved a new milestone: being proud of myself on my birthday.

This may not sound like a big deal, but for me, it really is. Once I was legally able to drink, I stopped enjoying my birthday. Every January 5th brought on a contemplative funk during which I lamented my lack of achievement and progress during the previous year: “Some people my age are olympic medalists! Half my friends have graduate degrees! Look at that guy; he’s only twenty-three and he makes so much more money than I do! Look at that girl; she’s only twenty-five and she’s married with a baby!  What have I done? Look at how worthless I am!”

I once expressed this attitude to one of my coworkers at Google a few years back. She was a pretty cool chick and refreshingly honest, and she was baffled by my view of aging. She’d lost a close family member at a young age and birthdays inspired gratitude in her–she was always happy and relieved to make it another year. I remember nodding and chastising myself internally for not being grateful enough for my birthdays and for not having cancer or losing an arm to that Myrtle beach hot tub, and then going right back to dreading early January and berating myself.

This year, however, is different. When it comes to traditional measures of success, this year certainly hasn’t touched most of those that preceded it. I can’t say that I work at a fancy company. I can’t say my salary is XYZ bucks per week. I can’t talk about awards or kudos or performance scores at work, or drop the name of any executives I work with.

What I can say, however, and what I’m proud of, is that I’ve had the most new experiences in the past year of my life than in the previous eight put together. These experiences ranged from good to bad to everything in between, but they made me think (and blog) about myself and the world deeply, and in different ways than I have before.

I experienced the joy of realizing that I could write, and write well(ish), and write enough words and sentences and paragraphs to make a whole book-type document that people might want to read. I experienced the excitement of getting an agent, and the subsequent anxiety and boredom of submitting to publishers.

I experienced the love of my family, and the grief of saying goodbye to a family member, albeit a furry one. I also experienced the excitement of welcoming a new love into my life, though this created drama with my old love, which was iced coffee (sorry bae).

I experienced the stress and exhilaration of travel, from people-watching the crazy costume-clad nerds of San Diego Comic Con to getting knocked up by food in Florence and trudging through the rain in Paris in super ugly shoes and seeing Britney dance way worse than when I saw her on tour when I was sixteen.

I witnessed two amazing couples get married on opposite-ish sides of the country and cried my eyes out both times because I AM A SAP, OK?

I experienced breakdowns and bad nights, and discovered new coping mechanisms to pick myself up when I fall or when the world seems too much to handle.

In short, I experienced life, and I had the time to really take it in, as opposed to watching it all pass me by. And, for the first time since I was a little kid, I’m proud of myself for that fact alone. I’m proud of myself for trying to live well, and I’m grateful to all those people (both IRL and on this blog) who have come along on the journey with me this year.

So, here’s to the thirty-first year of the Jackie! May the thirty-second be just as interesting, and may you still be interested enough to tune in and read about it once in a while 🙂

The Birthday Girl

Visualizing Utopia

I took an involuntary blogging hiatus over Thanksgiving due to the DeathColdwhich laid me out flat for a good eight days; I’m still hacking up phlegm on an hourly basis (you’re welcome for the mental image).

As a return to blogging post-DeathCold, I was going to do a beauty post with my recommendations from my latest Allure Beauty Box, but I couldn’t because my mind is still spinning from the latest high-profile incidence of domestic terrorism that took place on Black Friday at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs as well as the revelations regarding Laquan McDonald’s murder at the hands of police last year, among, as usual, other horrific things.  Hell, as I’m typing this, my Twitter feed is telling me that there is a mass shooting incident ONGOING in San Bernardino with as many as 20 injuries possibly reported (Update as I finish this article: 12 dead possibly. My God.)

I’m so, so, so tired of this. Exhausted, in fact. Aren’t we all?

I’m so tired of the culture of violence, especially against women, children, people of color, and the poor. Tired of the racism and Islamophobia. Tired of the unwillingness of so many people to see that things need to change, from rape culture to reasonable, commonsense restrictions on gun ownership and use (BTW, if you want to post a comment here on how gun violence is solely a mental illness issue vs. gun availability, please just don’t. As a mentally ill person myself, you’re not gonna convince me and I’m sure I won’t convince you. Feel free to ignore this post and go find someone else to talk to about it; the internet should have plenty of safe spaces for that. Thanks in advance.).

I feel like I do what I can, you know? A lot of you feel that way, too, I bet. We donate money to causes we believe in, support and vote for candidates to public office who we hope will be able effect positive change. And yet, it still feels like nothing gets better. Part of this, I know, is due to the fact that we have access to news of horrible events 24/7 thanks to social media. Awful things have always happened, but now we hear of them more often, with video and audio recordings of the carnage as it happens to bring the horror even closer to home.

So what do we do? What do I do, not just to make the world a better place, but to keep myself sane? Other than continue to donate money and vote and speak out where I can, I’ve had to rely more and more these days on a super-lame-sounding but effective technique to keep myself going: visualization.

About a month ago, I read the fantastic book The Feminist Utopia Project, which is a collection of about sixty stories, cartoons, interviews, fake news articles, etc. imagining a better future, courtesy of dozens of feminist thinkers in many fields. I highly recommend it, even if you’re not that big into feminism. Reading this book gave me a new tool to deal with the horror of the everyday world: visualizing utopia.

When things get awful, like they are getting right now in San Bernardino as well as in thousands of places around the world, I try to take a breath and imagine that fifty or one hundred or two hundred years from now, those who come after me (or maybe even me, if I’m lucky) will see a world that is measurably better than this one. One where the term “mass shooting” is only discussed in history class, the way we discuss the Spanish Inquisition today. A world where we take care of our planet instead of treating it like a disposable coffee cup. A world where no one’s life is better or worse than anyone else’s simply because of their gender identity, skin color, religion, sexual orientation, or where they live in on the map. A world where religion, if it exists at all, is ONLY a source of peace and inner strength for believers and a cause for generosity and love rather than an excuse for hatred. A world without violence. A world where gun control is a non-issue because no one feels like they would ever even need a gun to protect themselves. A world where a woman can go for a run in the park at 3 am with no worry for her safety. A world where no one is homeless. A world where no one is hungry. A world where fewer people are sick, and those who are receive free, top-quality care from medical personnel who are caring and well-treated themselves. A world where there are no borders, and people pass freely from one place to another, sure of hospitality and interest and love wherever they go. A world where I spend every day cuddling with doggies.*  In a word, utopia.

Today especially, we are really, really far off from that world. As it seems to do every couple of days, my heart is breaking for a new group of victims of violence as I type this. I don’t want to become desensitized to it, but I want to believe that things can be better. I want to believe in my utopia. I choose to believe in it today, and I actively wish for it. If the holiday season brings anything good with it, any sort of power, let it be the power to bring humanity closer to this utopia, or any version of it. I’m visualizing, hard. I hope you can take a moment today to visualize it, too. If enough of us do, it can only soothe our souls and bring us closer to making it a reality.

Peace. And I promise, back to beauty posts and funnier shit later this week.

*Ok, this one is a little selfish, but, come on, what is Utopia without doggies?

Roxie would definitely be part of Utopia.

Paris, je t’aime

Sappiness Warning: this post is sappy but I am sappy so yeah.

Last week was pretty terrible.  On top of ISIS The First Evil’s attacks in Beirut and Iraq, earthquakes in Japan, the continuing Syrian refugee crisis, general racism, and a million other awful shitty things I am no doubt forgetting, there was Paris.

Paris is one of my favorite places in the world.  I returned there for the first time since college this past August, when I was overjoyed to introduce one of my best friends to the city where I first discovered the joy of cheese for dessert (and lunch, and a snack, and breakfast).  Paris is the subject of more than half of the “artwork” pieces “decorating” my lame apartment.  It’s where I spent more evenings than I care to admit drinking two euro wine next to a dirty canal while various Frenchmen asked me if I was Mexican(?).  It’s where I fell sleep on the bus after a night of clubbing and ended up stranded in the suburbs at 3 am in a skimpy dress and heels higher than any I’ve worn since the age of twenty.  It’s where I got the news that a friend had died in an accident and cried my eyes out in a café at the thought missing her funeral while the usually stuffy waitstaff looked on sympathetically.  It’s where I learned to be an adult.  It’s where I first understood that I am a citizen of both the United States and the world. Seeing Paris under siege for hours on TV Friday night left me paralyzed for a good 24 hours.

None of this is different from what anyone else who loves Paris (or Beirut, or New York, or any other place ravaged by terrorism) has said or written before, but I just had to get it out, here and, as it turns out, on paper.  A new piece of (extremely lame) “artwork” now adorns the walls of my (extremely lame) apartment, in honor of the city that helped me grow up.  Paris, je t’aime.  Mon coeur est à toi pour toujours.

How to remain sane in a crazy world

I haven’t blogged in over a week, and there are several reasons for this:

  1. I became engaged to Iced Coffee and have been spending a lot of time planning our wedding (wedding planning is no joke, especially when your fiancé is a chilled caffeinated beverage and also SO EFFING NEEDY AND YES HONEY THE WEDDING WILL BE IN A REFRIGERATED ENVIRONMENT CHILL OUT – WELL, CHILL OUT MORE, OK?).

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 11.26.22 PM2.  I had like actual editing/writing things to do which took actual time because I AM A PROFESSIONAL WRITER NOW OK?

3.  I may or may not have started reading Twilight Reimagined and then cried because I spent twelve bucks on a CTRL-F name/gender replacement of a book I didn’t like too much to begin with it because I thought it might be mildly interesting, and, you know, an actual new, original book (Lies.  All lies).

4.  The world SUCKS.

This last one has been the biggest reason for my radio silence.

Murder, rape, bigotry, mayhem, climate change, gross pictures of Justin Bieber’s naked body – these are just some of the atrocities we are bombarded with on TV, in the newspaper, and on the internet on a daily basis.  However, the shooting last week in Roseburg, Oregon kicked off such a week of complete and utter world stress shit that it shut me down, including but not limited to: the Kunduz bombing, presidential candidates saying more ridiculous shit about how victims of gun violence are somehow at fault for their own deaths (?), that new Muppets show, and another TWO school shootings in the last two days alone.

So I did what you sometimes have to do to remain sane in a crazy world: I hid.  I hid in work, and long walks, and HGTV (David won on Love It or List It and it was NOT OK), and long talks with my mother on the phone, and even in that new Twilight book (seriously, though, guys, just don’t buy it).  And all of that was ok, because it made me more ready to face the world again.

So I decided today was the day to jump back in, starting with this post.  Ironically, I found out from Twitter that today, my day of jumping back in, is actually designated as World Mental Health Day.  What a great day to acknowledge that I needed a break from this imperfect, stressful, often sick world, and that there’s no shame in that.  What a great day to remember the things I’m grateful for – things like family, and friends, and my new fiancé Iced Coffee (love you bae), and humor, and art, and all the people who work so hard to fix everything wrong with the world.  What a great day to celebrate the necessity and beauty of self-care.  What a great day to remember that I’m not alone.  What a great day to go get some more iced coffee.

I wish for you, dear reader, the ability and time to step away from the world when you need to, so that you can rejoin it stronger and ready to help make it better in your own way 🙂 ❤


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12/07/2014 ~ 12/09/2014 the weird thing is I still don’t feel tired

Sunday 12/07

I won 2nd place at Craving For A Game’s Weiss tournament today scoring 3 wins and 1 loss. This is the best I have ever done in a tournament ever. I usually scrape by with at most 1 win and 2~3 losses. Maybe this means I’m finally getting somewhere with my deck building.

After the tournament I went to work at Papa John’s from 4pm to roughly 11:30pm. Twas an average day at work with the most exciting thing being me finally catching up on some Touhou music by Shibayan and FELT.

Upon arriving home after work at quarter to 12am, I hit up @LandRoverAttack on Twitter to play some games of Weiss Schwarz via skype, tape, and webcams. I lost count of how many games I played with him while chatting about Weiss strategies, mechanics, and etc and ended up logging off skype at around 8:00am that morning.

Screenshot (71)

Monday 12/08

I didn’t go to sleep, instead I drove to Kwantlen Surrey campus to take care of some paperwork problems with my enrollment and course registration for next semester. I got to kwantlen at around 12pm, saw the lineup for student services had well over 50+ people in it, contemplated for but a few seconds, then headed straight for the games room. I played a few games of Weiss Schwarz with a bunch of people who hang out at the Kwantlen Gaming Guild then left promptly at around 4pm to head to work.

Somehow I managed to work from roughly 5pm to 11pm without any sleep in the last 24 hours without any problems. A mocha with two extra shots of espresso from Tim Horton’s kind of helped.

[HorribleSubs] Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_05.10_[2014.04.13_01.39.26]

Tuesday 12/09

I just finished building yet another new Weiss Schwarz deck from scratch and can’t wait to try it out and before I knew it it’ past 4:30am, so I thought I might as well do something productive and write some journals.

[HorribleSubs] Mekakucity Actors - 01 [720p].mkv_snapshot_07.52_[2014.04.12_23.15.12]


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Rootes, Christopher (2008) Environmental Activism. In: Callicott, J.Baird and Frodeman, Robert, eds. Encyclopedia of Environmental Ethics and Philosophy. Macmillan Reference USA / Gale / Cengage, pp. 309-313. ISBN 9780028661377. (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided)

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