Xxxicana’s Weblog

So, yesterday in my “Native Peoples of Latin America” class, we were discussing the ethics of ethnographic film.  I posed the question, do we (western anthropologists) have the right to enter into other people’s villages, homes, or lives to film?  I asked, should anthropologists be held to the “Prime Directive.”

deathly silence . . . . no one knew what I was talking about!!  I asked, don’t you people watch Star Trek?  no response.  “uhhh, no”, braved one young soul.  Akk!  What is this world coming to ????

art by: http://echosphere.net/star_trek_insp/star_trek_insp3.html

I guess my coolness quotient fell by many points.  What the heck do young people watch these days?

Ya know, I just never really concerned myself too much about financial issues — maybe because I spent so much time in self-imposed poverty (hint:  it’s called grad school).  Now that I am trying to build some type of economic stability, I’ve become kinda psycho about the process.  I opened a high interest account with an online bank.  Cool deal — I received a $25.00 opening bonus.  Bad news today when I attempted to open a checking account (they offer free bill pay, higher interest, etc.).   The bank closed my account down!!  But, I have to wait for at least 10 days to get my savings account funds transferred back to my bank — WTF????  The problem is that my identity could not be verified!  Since online banks can’t check out your physical ID, they ask a series of questions, including prior addresses, people you know, etc.                                                 I FAILED THE TEST!!!!

I was pretty annoyed.  But, I recalled that I had a copy of my credit report from last summer and there were some anomalies that I didn’t really think were all that important.  So, today I requested a full  blown credit report from all three bureaus.  OMG!  There were several names, addresses, phone numbers, a different ssn, collections, etc., on my report.  So, I called up one of the bureaus to report the discrenpencies.  I was told that my history has been mixed up with someone with a similar name . . . and just my luck, she’s a total loser!  (more than me).

Anyway, the very nice person on the line went through all the information and an investigation will be launched.  I should have a cleaned up history in about 30 days.

Moral of the story . . . check your credit history annually . . . just like they tell you.  Everyone is allowed one free report a year, here’s the link:   annualcreditreport.com (note: this is the only authorized online source).

So, yesterday was Ash Wednesday – and I made fish for dinner.  ?????  I didn’t consciously plan on fish, it just happened.  Some habits are hard to overcome — especially the Catholic ones.  Growing up, we NEVER celebrated Fat Tuesday, but were hyper vigilant about observing the Lenten season.  I think my mom just wanted an excuse to eat tuna casserole every Friday.  We attended stations of the cross every friggin Friday . . .  Jeezy Creezy!  There’s nothing like (metaphorical) self flagellation to instill good moral values in children! As a result, I continue to suffer from pangs of guilt, seek out martydom, and collect all sorts of random Catholic doodads!

What’s a post-marxist atheist ORDAINED MINISTER to do?  Don’t forget — I’m still available for ritual cleansings, marriages, exorcisms, blessings, and indulgences.  [BTW, I am sorry to say that I will not be officiating for Sam’s wedding.  Her fiance turned out to be a schmuck — maybe we’ll do BBQ anyway!].

You may wonder what started me on the Catholic jag — well, I was sitting here this morning reading my morning “papers” when I looked up and saw something nailed to the wall . . . and it’s not Christ on the Cross [again the diff between Catholics and Protestants is that we Catholics like our Jesus still ON cross].

WTF?  It’s Mister Man’s braid!!  I told him he has to take that thing down, it creeps me out!  But, it did remind me to post about his FUNKY transformation [tie in to blog title].  You can check out his photo documentary of the process (link is Ruminant Records) — but here are a few pics to tantalize:

BEFORE

AFTER

Needless to say, the change is dramatic [Mister Man, after all is never subtle!].  So, what’s my take? Well, we are not our hair — but hair styles can connote something about ourselves.  Mister Man went from Hippie Biker look to Irish Punk band look.  Maybe we’ll start to hear new styles of music out of him (he did start taking mandolin lessons).   I like his new look, I liked his old look — but most of all I like Ike Tom.

Oniontears asked why I hadn’t posted about Bill since he withdrew his name for Sec. of Commerce.  I guess I was just too bummed out about the whole thing.

I think Bill jinxed himself when he shaved off the beard.  He will remain as Governor of New Mexico, phew!  Maybe things will sort out and he will be able to take a leadership role in the future.  Meanwhile, Bill, I’ll light a candleito for you.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day and tomorrow is Obama’s inaugeration.  Yipee!!!  Most Americans believe that MLK’s dream has been fulfilled!!  WHAT???  are they on crack?  By all economic, social, and political indicators, US society has a LONG way to go before we reach a state of equality.   Obama is a good start, but he ain’t the end all.  We still have a lot more work to do!!!  But, let’s celebrate the King today, and Obama tomorrow.

I was SO amazed by Onion Tears’ cooking that I attempted two of her dishes:  Ma po tofu and broccoli with ginger and garlic.  I thought the Ma po was great — Mister Man said it was just at his chiliness threshold (almost too hot to enjoy).  I sauted Chinese Broccoli (got it at a Vietnamese market here in town (called cai lang) and it turned out fab.  Chinese broccoli is less flowery head, more leafy — sort of a combo between broccolli and greens.  It is very tender and tasty.  I LOVE broccoli and will use the chinese type more frequently.   So, thanks Onion Tears for the inspiration.  (BTW, we did eat brown instead of white rice).

Well, I finished “The Omnivore’s Dillema” a few days ago and have moved on to “Fast Food Nation.”  I don’t know why I’ve gotten on this industrial food thread . . . but the books are great.  In between I read Suze Orman’s “Women and Money,” as part of my continuing education about real life issues.  I was pleased to find that I have achieved  some of the recommendations Suze makes — which for me has been no small feat.  Like many people, I find issues of finance, investing, and money to be difficult to confront.  Orman’s book straightforwardly sets out a plan to fulfill basic financial and legal needs that women must take care of.  I was watching Dave Ramsey last night and one woman called in saying her husband had just been thrown in the pokey for 10 years for financial misdeeds, she doesn’t work outside the home, and he had always taken care of all financial matters.  She hadn’t a clue as to how to cope with the legal issues, bill paying, harassment by creditors, and looming foreclosure on her home.  It was very sad (Ramsey hooked her up with a counselor to help her through).  I guess it must be my middle-agedom that has caused me to reflect on these things, plus our flailing economy.

Anyway, it is freakin’ cold out and I have class today . . .  so, TTFN while I start the process of layering.

Mister Man doesn’t believe that I actually work (even when he can clearly see me sitting in my chair thinking big thoughts).  So, today I decided to take a picture of me at work — well, I’m not in the photo — but you can see my work spread out on the table:

I became the de facto program chair for this year’s NAES conference, which means that I get to sort through 289 paper proposals to organize them into sessions.  What POWER and all from the comfort of home!
I still haven’t posted about my exciting trip to SoCal yet . . . I’ve been too busy.  In addition to creating the NAES conference program, I have a manuscript due on the 15th and classes start on Monday.  YIKES!!!  I’d better get to work.

TTFN.

On our recent visit to SoCal, Mister Man and I caught a show.  We drove from Orange County to the Staple’s Center complex to see one of my all time favorite bands – X.  I saw them back in the 80s and we saw John Doe a couple of years ago opening for Lucinda Williams.  We had a great time . . . even though it took quite a while to find the venue, Club Nokia, which is not to be confused with the Nokia center.  Club Nokia is a small club, similar in size to the Hollywood haunts I used to frequent with Onion Tears a few years ago.

X was freakin’ great!  The whole gang was there, Exene, John Doe, Billy Zoom (now a born again), and DJ Bonebrake.  I love Exene — she’s my middle age, menopausal heroine!  She looks like a midwest housefrau, apron included.  It is clear that she is not indulging in botox or pilates, and STILL buys her clothes at the thrift shops.  Here’s a shot of her:

I was told that people make aprons for Exene and she wears them!  I’ll have to design something special for her to induce her to travel to Lincoln.

Here’s a shot of John Doe — second sexiest man alive:

and Billy Zoom

The evening was really fun.  I even liked the Dolls (as a SoCal girl, I was never as much into the NY scene with the exception of Blondie).  Just for the heck of it, here are some pics of the Dolls (only two remaining original members).

As can be seen, the group has dropped the glam rock get ups.  I was disappointed!  Also, it seemed like they covered a lot of other people’s music rather than their own.  But David Johansen looks pretty good (for being 58!):

Overall, it was a great way to start off our vacation to SoCal — traffic was easy up to LA, it was a warm night (to us) for walking around, and we saw a great show.  But, it is VERY different from Lincoln.  Parking cost us $10.00 (several blocks away).  Well drinks were $8.00 each (boy, and we can drink a lot!).  Here in Lincoln, high falutin drinks (Corona) are $4.00!  So, keep that in mind, you can get a buzz on for much less in Lincoln (except that last call is at 12:45).  I’m not complaining, though — to go out in the winter here, you have to schlep a big ass coat around which is a drag.  And, if there’s snow or ice — sensible shoes, no heels!

Ok, so I haven’t quite recuperated from the jet lag and all the walking I did during my trip to SoCal.  Photos and narrative will have to wait.
Meanwhile, I’ve been reading “The Ominvore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan (2006) — a great read albeit at the cost of your appetite!  Pollan explores the food industry and the manner by which corn came to rule the dietary world.   I’ve wanted to read this book for some time, but just hadn’t gotten around to it.  I highly recommend it to anyone interested in food.  If the addage “you are what you eat” is true, then a lot of us are walking casings filled with mechanically separated meat and corn derived compounds.  If you like chicken nuggets here’s the base material:

No, that’s not candy being extruded from the machine, it’s chicken bits (including lots of skin).    BLEEEHW!

Isn’t that just gross?  I’m far from committing to a vegetarian diet, but after reading this book, I’m really going to examine what I eat more closely!  I am a “whole foods” eater and try to avoid processed foods.  But now I’ll really have to think about where my food comes from and make better choices.

Mister Man and I have returned from our trip to SoCal.  We had a great time visiting my family and various important cultural sights (the Mall, Disneyland, Bakersfield, etc.).  I’m too pooped still to blog much.  But I did pick up the kitties from the Feline Resort.  Poor Spot, he picked up a bad cold.  =’-‘=     He’s wrapped up in my blankie, and I wish I could do something special for him like give him herbal tea.  But, alas, the virus just has to run its course.

More tomorrow with photos from our trip.