The America I believe in

As loyal readers (all four of you) may have noticed, I don't blog about politics. In fact I don't talk about politics much anymore, not because I don't care but because I find the subject too depressing. But given what happened last week, I can't bring myself to blog about the fact that I'm going to have to start wearing glasses in public again for the first time since eighth grade.

As I understand it, Congress responded to persistent and reliable reports of American abuse of prisoners in Afghanistan, Abu Ghraib, Eastern Europe, and Guantanamo not by putting a stop to it, but by officially sanctioning George Bush's ability to define what torture is. Here's an excerpt from an email Amnesty International sent me on Friday:

It's a sad day for America and a very disappointing outcome for those of us who devote ourselves to advancing the global cause of human rights.

Yesterday, the Senate joined the House in approving an ill-considered and sweeping piece of legislation, the Military Commissions Act of 2006, that discards key human rights protections -- and our best American traditions.

This could have been a proud moment for America. Congress had the opportunity to correct the Bush administration's profoundly disturbing human rights policies.

This was an opportunity for Congress to advance the America you and I believe in. They failed to do so. In effect, they gave their stamp of approval to human rights violations. In the face of this set back, you and I must commit ourselves to working as long as it takes until we reverse the damage done yesterday to the cause of human rights.

Unlike AI, I'm not optimistic about reversing this damage, at least not in the near future. I'm pretty much just depressed and cynical. So I'm looking for suggestions on what I, or anyone else might do to constructively funnel our outrage. How do we get America to stop torturing people?

The larynx of my generation

I've long felt like an outsider among thinking twentysomethings because I didn't care for Garden State. I'd assumed I would love the movie, and I seemed to have all the characteristics of someone who would--so what was wrong with me? But hadn't I seen that ending about a dozen times before--anyone remember Friends? Now, dependably contrarian Slate has come through for me with some unapologetic Garden State bashing.

Rock & roll sleepover

This weekend three of my friends from Ithaca came down to visit, and we all went to the Virgin Music Festival in Baltimore. Since these friends know way more about music than me we didn't just roll in in mid-afternoon--no, we were there at 10:30 to make sure we didn't miss the first band. Fortunately, they were worth it: Kasabian (no, I'd never heard of them either). NSCV didn't pace herself at all. She was the only one in the crowd dancing during Kasabian, and boy did she put us to shame.

Other acts I saw (in chronological order):
Wolfmother
The Raconteurs
Gnarls Barkley
The Killers
Thievery Corporation
The Who
Red Hot Chili Peppers
The Flaming Lips

It was a lot of fun, if exhausting. I'll leave the reviews to the real critics (it's almost my bedtime) and share the language-geek anecdote behind this picture. I saw the sign hanging up at a booth selling some sort of roasted nuts (which didn't smell at all, by the way), and had to memorialize it. When I walked over to take the picture, I had to wait for a guy to take his own photo with his cell phone. As he started to walk away I said, "I guess we both had the same thought. It's just so bad."

Cellphone cam guy: "Yeah, me and my friends have this thing about Baltimore and its inappropriate use of quotation marks."

Me: "I thought it was everywhere, but this is particularly egregious."

Cellphone cam guy: "You're very cool."

Me: "You, too."

And then we went our separate ways.

Danger

HSBFF wanted to tour the Capitol, but tours are only offered there on Mondays and he didn't want to go on September 11, because it seemed too dangerous to him--a decision for which I mocked him. Instead he went yesterday, after a crack-addled armed man went for a run through the building. Oh goddess of irony, to what do I owe this blessing?

Kitchen island

My kitchen literally has no counter space. My microwave had been sitting in a box on the floor until last night. I intended to buy a kitchen island, and looked at many on craigslist, but there were logistical problems: getting a truck to carry it with, and perhaps timing the purchase so that there'd be a friend around to help me haul it to and from the truck.

But last night I saw a sign posted in the elevator and decided to take advantage of an even better resource than Zipcar and visiting friends: an apartment sale in my building. After all, people in my building face the same no-counter-space problem I do, and it's easy to talk them in to helping me haul stuff up to my place in the elevator. So I picked up this lovely kitchen island for $50, including the cutting board. It's perfect. The tea kettle was another $2.

Last night's other big event was that I got disc 1 of Season 2 of The Office, fresh out on DVD, and felt compelled to watch all six episodes (with deleted scenes) so that I could get another disc for the weekend. Satisfying, yes, but it took me until 12:30 and I felt more easily-annoyed than usual today.

Speaking of annoying, I've stopped getting HBO and Showtime. One disadvantage of stealing cable is that one can't complain about such things, at least not to the cable company. I'm stuck with hoping my premium channels will come back someday.

Weekend in review

Friday: HSBFF finally arrives in DC in the evening. We go out to Dakota Cowgirl to meet some friends of his for dinner. Our mustachioed waitress decides HSBFF is giving her attitude and swats him with her order pad. My veggie burger isn't bad.

Saturday: We head to the Mall, starting at the Library of Congress's Madison building, the inside of which resembles the public university in our hometown. The Jefferson buiding is much more impressive, especially the Gutenburg Bible and the replica of the 16th-century world map that named America America. We take pictures at the Supreme Court and the Capitol, then head past a "Veterans for Peace" demonstration to the National Archives. I'd been there before, but not for 12 years.

Tired, we stop by the White House to ogle a black-clad commando, then head home. Dinner that night is Ethiopian, which HSBFF likes but declares "pretty much like American food but with different spices." We attempt to make a coffee cake for Sunday's brunch, but thanks to an improper pan sizing disaster it becomes necessary for me to wake up at 6:00 a.m. and go to Safeway for more butter on...

Sunday: We bake a coffee cake and two quiches with no major disasters, also managing to make some excellent fruit salad and a small smorgasbord of cheeses and salami to go with the Italian bread. We head to the roof with all this plus mimosa ingredients to await our guests.

It goes pretty well, overall: about eight people show up other than us, although they don't eat much. I blame the heat. The cheese/salami smorgasbord isn't popular and soon comes to resemble something they'd serve in Mongolia. I take it down to Rocky, but even she won't touch it. Seemingly she only likes Meow Mix and plastic bags. Really: I can't leave plastic bags on the floor or she will eat them. But I digress.

After a few hours in the sun the brunchers are getting pretty warm as well. They trickle out, and I go to Adams Morgan Day with TOWWAS because HSBFF feels he has better things to do. I buy a 1989 Rand McNally World Atlas at a garage sale on the way back, complete with two Germanys, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. I figure it will be worth more than $2 some day.

Overheard

So here's what happened to me this weekend: my Internet stopped working. Then I went to New York City (the events were unrelated). The technicians just came and fixed the Internet, and fortunately didn't notice/comment on the fact that I'm stealing cable from their company.

A snippet of conversation I overheard on the bus from DC to NYC on Saturday:

"Oh, I despised her. Any girl who would hang out with dorks just because she likes the attention... that's why she went to Cornell, you know."

I was amused.

In NYC I met my best friend from high school (henceforth to be referred to as HSBFF), whom I haven't seen in two years because he lives in Seattle. We ate ethnic foods and walked around and went to some really gay bars and the UN. We stayed in a very crappy, overpriced hostel. I wish one of my good friends would move to New York so that I'd have a free place to stay there again.

On Sunday night we were walking down the sidewalk and saw someone we'd known in high school and hadn't seen since. I think this is a bigger coincidence than the time I was chatting with a girl in Ithaca and we realized we'd been in the same Turkish class... in Turkey.

HSBFF is coming to visit me on Thursday. He'll be my first visitor in the penthouse, not including my sister (who helped me move here).

Mystery solved (sort of)

Fri, Sep 1, 2006 at 12:55 PM

Well this could explain why my best friend didn't get this lil joke email. My sincerest apologies. See what I get for trying to do things half asleep? I am so very very sorry. Not sure what I did other than Williams was her maiden name. What a dork I am. Have a great day! Pamela

OMG! Another One!

Date: Sep 1, 2006 9:54 AM

Subject: Literati Notice #2

Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list | Delete this message | Report phishing | Show original | Message text garbled?

Mrs. Allison, Since it would seem that you did not receive our first notice, this is to inform you that on Friday, Sept 1st, 2006, all Literati games between DA baby bear and DA pinky fuzzball shall be played in Social Lounge 33. We appreciate your cooperation on this matter and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thank You, The Literati Staff Pamela [rest of signature withheld] I guess I'm going to have to email Pam back and let her know I'm not Mrs. Allison. Maybe she'll keep me on the mailing list anyway, if I'm lucky.

Message From the Ether

Actual email I just received:

Date: Sep 1, 2006 4:39 AM
Subject: Literati Memo

Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Add sender to Contacts list | Delete this message | Report phishing | Show original | Message text garbled?

Mrs. Allison, This is to inform you that on Friday, Sept 1st, 2006, all Literati games between da baby bear and da pinky fuzzball shall be played in Social Lounge 33. We appreciate your cooperation on this matter and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thank You, The Literati Staff Pamela [rest of signature withheld]

Is this spam of some new and bewildering sort? Or did it just go to the wrong email address? Either way, I appreciate the touch of surreality it lends to my morning.

[And yes, I am aware that 'surreality' is not a real word. Shakespeare made them up too, you know.]