July 29, 2003
Happy Birthday, Patrick

since i just ran my mouth about marriage last time, why don't i continue my recent string of repetitive posts and mention it again today?

this morning when i returned to the office after an absence of oh, two weeks or so, i expected lots of things: a desk piled up with files that needed tending, message light flashing, mailbox filled with things to be signed, couple hours' worth of email to read. but the first thing i saw when i turned on my computer was this little pop-up reminder from outlook:

Patrick's Birthday

this would be unremarkable, except that patrick and i have been divorced for the better part of a decade and haven't spoken in about that long. and by god, i think i'd have remembered it if all the computers i had sat in front of for all the years in between had been reminding me about his birthday every july 29. so where did this come from? i clicked on the reminder and it told me that it had been set last october. i wondered what had made me decide to remember patrick's birthday last october, before coming to my senses and figuring out that i had synched all the dates from my handspring then and it must have been in there from some time long ago. but then, as i turned that over in my head, i realised that i only got the handspring in 1998. so even then something made me enter that date that i knew i'd never use into my pda.

on july 29th of my 29th year, it's hard to believe that in an alternate version of my life i might have been enjoying my tenth year of wedded bliss instead of hoping for just one interesting date before i turn 30.

ok, that's a bit dramatic. i have plenty of interesting dates. what i was really, secretly hoping for, though, was that i would be involved in an intense, mad, passionate love affair by my 30th birthday. i know, i know. a big ask. i just had a feeling this was the year. and it could be. it's only july 29.

Posted by ash at 04:07 PM

July 15, 2003
Just Call Me The Runaway Bride

you may have guessed how much marriage appeals to me by my sideblog item "this settles it" (marriage ruins everyone, even genuises and criminals). i've always thought i learned about the perils of betrothal at a young age, having gone and done it and failed miserably before i was old enough to rent a car. but these kids have me beat in their cynicism about the opposite sex hands down, and at such a young age. good on 'em.

"No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married" says freddie, aged 6

and if you do decide to go through with it, at least take the advice of this little sage:

"You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming." alan, aged 10

via circling*apollo

Posted by ash at 03:33 PM

July 14, 2003
Still As Bright As Ever

i once read a science-fiction story in which astronauts voyaging to a distant star were waxing homesick: "Just to think that it's springtime back on Earth!" You may not immediately see what's wrong with that, so ingrained is our unconscious northern hemisphere chauvinism. "Unconscious" is exactly right. That is where consciousness-raising comes in.

from "the future looks bright", the guardian, june 21, 2003

when i first blogged about the B word i thought it was a nice idea, if a little silly. but, you know, i think there is something important about consciousness-raising. i just hope there are some cool bright t-shirts soon.

in the comments a couple of days ago someone referenced this NYT op-ed by daniel dennett, titled "the bright stuff." (strangecurrency/strange to read if you aren't registered). the article was interesting not only because it was filed from blue hill, maine - although that kicks ass! - but also because it makes a strong point for coming out as a bright. dennett describes a conference where he spoke to a group of young people and tried revealing his status at the end of his allotted time. this is what happened:

Many students came up to me afterwards to thank me, with considerable passion, for "liberating" them. I hadn't realized how lonely and insecure these thoughtful teenagers felt. They'd never heard a respected adult say, in an entirely matter of fact way, that he didn't believe in God. I had calmly broken a taboo and shown how easy it was.

In addition, many of the later speakers, including several Nobel laureates, were inspired to say that they, too, were brights. In each case the remark drew applause. Even more gratifying were the comments of adults and students alike who sought me out afterward to tell me that, while they themselves were not brights, they supported bright rights. And that is what we want most of all: to be treated with the same respect accorded to Baptists and Hindus and Catholics, no more and no less.

Posted by ash at 05:33 PM

July 04, 2003
Happy Birthday

the national constitution center opens today in philadelphia. the ncc is dedicated to honoring, explaining, and increasing public understanding of, and appreciation for the Constitution - its history and its contemporary relevance. it couldn't come at a better time.

i hope that on this independence day every person, every leader, will reflect on this country's founding documents and consider how faithful we have been to that vision. in the declaration of independence, thomas jefferson said that it was "self-evident, that all men are created equal...that they are endowed...with certain unalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." do those things continue to be self-evident today? is the concept of liberty self-evident to john ashcroft? to the congressmen who passed the usa patriot act? today let us remember that we have a right to our own life and no other, and that liberty is so precious, and worth making the effort over. and that the pursuit of happiness is unalienable. thomas jefferson said so.

Posted by ash at 09:29 AM

July 03, 2003
More Rugby

at the risk of boring 99.9% of the people who read this site (actually, make that 40% since the majority of the people who read it like rugby) i am going to blog about rugby again. really this time it was just an excuse to put up these hot carlos spencer pictures (which means the other 4 of you should still like this post).

last weekend my vodka poet couldn't watch the game because - well, because he isn't a full time vodka poet. he's also a cop, and they have to fight crime while other people are watching rugby. sometimes violence breaks out during those games. so he had to watch it on replay and then write a poem. go the police force, right?

the only poetry he could find to write about carlos was that he led the haka (??) so hopefully carlos will get on his game for safrica or my poet will sit up and take notice of the only player in the game that really matters. in the absence of carlos spencer praise, this was my favorite part, about "Rokocoko, a commentators nightmare":

He crossed the line early to put the AB’s 4 up
He was playing like a veteren but he was just a young pup
It was to be the first of three trys for this dymanic left-winger
A hat trick in 27 minutes! He was having a zinger!

now for some bad news: after being passed over by the all blacks, christian cullen is taking his ball and heading to ireland. rugby bigshots are always sniping that they can't compete with the big overseas money, yet it means everything to the athletes just to play for their country and that gets taken away from them over some crackhead rebuilding experiment.

and finally, good news: the usa eagles have won four international test matches in a row, a first for the team. the last was against arch-rival canada, the first time usa has beaten them in three years. i still say watch out when the unites states decides to get serious about this game.

Posted by ash at 11:32 AM