http://chastitywest.com/ Come Play in My Sandbox en Copyright 2008 Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:29:05 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/ http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Obama. Please notice that his answers here represent thought, organization, and an actual plan for how he wants to lead the country. Whether or not you agree with it, the fact remains, there is more substance here with the potential for disagreement than McCain has offered us period. Please be an educated voter; and if you are a dissenter, at least know why. Here is an excerpt from the site explaining the premise of Science Debate 2008: "In November, 2007, a small group of six citizens - two screenwriters, a physicist, a marine biologist, a philosopher and a science journalist - began working to restore science and innovation to America’s political dialogue. They called themselves Science Debate 2008, and they called for a presidential debate on science. The call tapped a wellspring of concern over the state of American science." ]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/09/just_another_reason_to_support.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/09/just_another_reason_to_support.html Fri, 05 Sep 2008 23:29:05 -0500 In the first meeting of my American Political Process class last night, I learned that there is no specific "right to privacy" granted by the Constitution and that the Constitution makes three references to God or religion - one of those is merely the date: "in this one thousandth seven hundred seventy-sixth year of our Lord" or something like that. I just think it's interesting. Also, this is something I knew already, but plenty of people don't: the idea of "separation of church and state" was not established in the Constitution. That phrase was only first mentioned some time later in a letter from Thomas Jefferson (I think) to someone else. People would do well to be knowledgeable rather than to subsist only on the regurgitated misinformation of both sides of the media. Generation after generation perpetuate half-truths and foundational lies until now we're at a point where our collective understanding is too wobbly to stand on when asked to explain what we believe in. Or even if we can say, "I believe in a, b, and c and I think x, y, and z are secondarily important," we often can't definitively claim which political personality represents those values. I think there are several reasons - severe contradictions even inside party lines, apathy toward the system and the people, blind acceptance of hearsay as fact; aside from that last one, the worst is complacency. I continue to encounter this burgeoning mindset of plodding on with whatever came before simply because it came before. Why do we not regularly reassess our personal values and allegiances? Why do we continue to vote a party just because we voted it last time? Rather than taking an analytical and deductive approach to each new candidate as an individual, we assume we know what a person stands for merely because we think we know what the D or the R stands for after his or her name. That brings me back to the wobbly collective understanding and the fact that the ideals of parties subtly change year after year, until 30 years have passed and you're still voting R when in reality your ideals line up with the D, but you don't know that because there is no reevaluation. I think there is little to be done for the contradiction in values within party lines; we can not hope to convince the R that by building up military might, they are polarizing the other R goal of small federal government. Likewise, even with the D generally being anti-capital punishment, someone is still going to die under the umbrella of pro-choice. There's also the problem of apathy. It's discouraging that people can't bring themselves to an educated opinion - and therefore an educated vote - of anything because they wrongly believe it all has no effect on them; so why care? I personally see little difference in apathy and selfishness. Both of them stand on the premise that no one else's situation matters as much as my own and so no action is required of me. Apathy can't be blamed on party lines; it's pervasive. But there again is little to be done about it. I don't know what can be done about the public's penchant for believing every bit of spin from the radio waves and pulpits and I don't know where liberals get theirs but I know they do. It doesn't matter who you're talking to, the conversation will die - or at the very least become an ineffectual monumental waste of time and breath - as soon as one person starts flinging partisan rhetoric. Those well-rehearsed parroted lines by the zealots on both sides do nothing to actually support the causes and issues for which each candidate stands. It only further polarizes Americans and entrenches them even more deeply in their separate ignorances. Voters should read about their representatives, listen to their speeches and plans for the future, learn about their voting records, and decide how those measure up to their own values and societal ideals independently of talk radio, NPR, or their church pastor. At least that way, it's honest. http://chastitywest.com/2008/08/in_the_first_meeting_of.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/08/in_the_first_meeting_of.html Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:06:13 -0500 First grade and thus an essential end to childhood looms. Monday marks the day when my real battle with materialism, clothing trends, BFF heartbreaks, cell phone envy, and oh my god, so many things I don't even know about will begin in earnest. You will gasp and shake your head in denial, but those things all existed - in their infancy - in Kindergarten. But that was only three hours a day; that's somewhat counterable. Seven? I don't know about seven hours. Already, in Kindergarten, relatively in order of ascending offensiveness: Evelina was kissed by a boy, excluded from games and secrets, alternatively the most popular and most despised, led severely astray by the misinformation of her tiny peers, taught to fear airplanes because some wretched little urchin filled her head with everything he didn't know about terrorism, learned that some clothes are "cool" and some aren't and how to use "sexy" in a sentence. It's depressing and nauseating. All that will more than double and intensify in first grade. It's impossible for me to approach the new school year with excitement and genuine anticipation. I have to be on guard against all these innocence-depleting influences. I have to constantly run around with my arms out shielding, surrounding, gathering mine, punting theirs, rerouting and misdirecting. I'm like this berserk mother hen flapping and throwing feathers while I hop in circles around my brood, squawking maniacally to run off the foxes and wolves. I have to lead off with my insanity these days; the only way to remain un-stuffed with this world's idiocy is to be crazier than everyone else. I'm sure I gave a fair impression of that in Kindergarten, but this is the year to cement it. Happily, it's not necessary to walk the extreme fringe around here in order for stifling ideas to allow a wide berth. Everything here popped out of the same well-oiled silicone Williams-Sonoma pan; somebody had to run a knife around my burnt edges and pry me loose. I might be a little misshapen, but I still taste alright. Anyway. First grade, you're on notice. http://chastitywest.com/2008/08/end_of_an_age.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/08/end_of_an_age.html Thu, 21 Aug 2008 10:11:14 -0500 Save Mister Rogers and send requests to both PBS headquarters and your local station to keep Mister Rogers scheduled daily. Thanks.]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/08/if_you_love_mister_rogers.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/08/if_you_love_mister_rogers.html Thu, 07 Aug 2008 11:38:08 -0500 "Unthinking respect for authority is the greatest enemy of truth." -Albert Einstein. We should all live by this. http://chastitywest.com/2008/07/no_wonder_we_call_him_a_genius.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/07/no_wonder_we_call_him_a_genius.html Mon, 28 Jul 2008 13:29:51 -0500 like that. You know what I mean. You all looked like that at the few adult students when you were in college. I just want to blend in. Sometimes.]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/07/aging.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/07/aging.html Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:00:15 -0500 It would seem my blog has started to work again after a few months hiatus. Interesting. Although it lists comments as 0 even when there are some. Gee, I wonder what feats of literary genius I shall deliver unto the world now my window is open again. We shall see. http://chastitywest.com/2008/07/huh.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/07/huh.html Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:42:26 -0500 Some report of Tokyo belongs here, but time travel creates internal clock malfunctions and my brain refuses to reconcile the time of day with the dark or light outside. I'm becoming nocturnal. Sleeping all day is jarringly incongruous with daily toddlerdom. http://chastitywest.com/2008/05/jetlagged.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/05/jetlagged.html Thu, 22 May 2008 09:47:06 -0500 Today I'm filing disputes with the bank over several transactions on my account that are not mine but were made with my debit card number - not the actual card because I have that in my possession. The worst was a $3000 charge to Apple Online. It nearly seems plausible since we buy Apple products, but it still wasn't me. I have evidently been the victim of identity theft and am now leery of making purchases online thanks to the condescending redundancy of the customer service prick at the bank. I may never get a good deal on a textbook again if my only option is face-to-face purchases at the university book center. Alas, that perceived good deal online might not be so good if several months later I'm being relieved of three grand by some scam artist who stole my credit card number. In unrelated news, today the mail brought a Playboy clothing (and other naughty products) catalog to my house. It's apparently considered non-offensive since it wasn't shrink-wrapped and hiding in brown paper, but I still don't want my kids accidently flipping through it since there is a page displaying all the covers of the other magazines Playboy has for sale which are definitely inappropriate for, well, just about anyone. Even the thumbnail pictures of the covers were shocking. I was curious whether this was one of those mass mailings simply addressed to "Resident" and then my address because that seemed the only reasonable explanation why I would get something like this. Of course I laughed when I flipped it over and discovered it's addressed to my brother-in-law. EDITED: And it's freaking snowing - big fluffy flakes sticking to the yard again. WTF? http://chastitywest.com/2008/03/incongruities.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/03/incongruities.html Mon, 24 Mar 2008 12:21:53 -0500 There must have been something fundamentally shallow, sparkly, and affected missing from my adolescent pop cultural experience. As a late-twenty-somethings adult, I find myself curiously drawn to the Disney channel, even at 2:30 in the afternoon when my kids are deep in cozy nap time. I become hypnotized by the purples and pinks and glittery makeup and teenage superficial love affairs. Walls painted in unrealistic cartoony colors; vapid characters and dialogue; embarrassing pseudo morality lessons. I mean, you've seen it. I'm casting about for somewhere to place blame for my jaunt through the airway slums, and I keep snagging the only possible cause: No cable - then or now. The truth is, I simply have no choice. I've methodically worked my way through all the loaner DVDs from friends whose entertainment tastes I envy and am now anxiously awaiting a refresher load. Today, even my backup Netflix disc was a bust, um, literally. Something had sawed it right in half. I've managed to retain a modicum of self-respect as I haven't tested the worlds of amnesia, demon-possession, resurrected previously unknown siblings, and I don't know what-all kinds of devices á la the Day Time Soaps. Good for me. In the meantime, Disney is poisoning me. http://chastitywest.com/2008/03/death_by_assimilation.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/03/death_by_assimilation.html Mon, 10 Mar 2008 15:26:40 -0500 Anne Lamott was everything I wanted her to be and so much more. Last night I met Anne Lamott and listened to her read an excerpt from her book Grace Eventually and talk about various other bits of her accumulated life's wisdom. She is a wonderful, caring, beautiful person with a great perspective and sense of humor to offer the world. The most personally evocative comment of the evening was close to the beginning of her talk. In reference to beginning any journey or new project or trek of faith, she listed off a few hypothetical situations that could have applied to anyone in the audience that night, and then finished the statement with this: "...or no matter whether you've left the church of your childhood and are trying to find your way back to faith, we start where we are." We start where we are and journey onward. And throughout, she compared nearly anything a person could take on to the Fox Trot - she and her boyfriend are learning to dance. The counting for the Fox Trot is "slow slow quick-quick," and it is indeed applicable to just about any new or on-going endeavor. After explaining this, she said, "It is a miracle to be willing to be bad at something." How true; to approach something scary and new and completely outside any realm of normal activity for yourself and realize that you have at least a fifty percent chance of failing and to try it anyway no matter how badly you could flop, is in fact miraculous. She shared with us another great bit of perspective courtesy a friend of hers (who I can't remember). "Writing is like driving at night with the headlights on; you can only see a little bit in front of you, but you can make the whole journey that way." Finally, after the program, I waited in line for about 40 minutes to meet her and have her sign my book. It was well worth it. She asked me how I was, and I was just so grateful for the chance to hear her speak and meet her, that I sort of had a little tear and she said, "Are you sad or just overwhelmed?" I said, "Not sure; maybe both?" She stood up. "You look like you could use a hug." And she hugged me. I told her I hoped she felt better soon - she's had a cold all week. She handed me my signed copy of Bird by Bird, smiled, and that was it. A lovely and gratifying encounter all around. I hope I have the pleasure of meeting her again in the future. ]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/03/slow_slow_quickquick.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/03/slow_slow_quickquick.html Sun, 02 Mar 2008 18:13:09 -0500 Saved By the Bell) received regarding writing. "You already know the deepest truths to human stories, it's in your heart. You just need a benign organizing presence to encourage it." -David Milch "Writing is hard work. That's why in school it's given out as punishment." -Unknown Then below are his own thoughts on writing and writers. I'm hoping some of this will provide inspiration for my own pursuits - writing or otherwise. "How to tell if you're a writer... If your normal state of mind is kind of a feeling of dread, a constant dull sadness, a haunting sense of inadequacy, and when you're writing this goes away because you get this innate sense of understanding God, you're probably one of us." - Tony Soltis In fact, I inhabit feelings of dread, constant dull sadness, and a haunting sense of inadequacy, oh at least hourly. There's hope for me yet!]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/in_which_i_work_myself_into_a.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/in_which_i_work_myself_into_a.html Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:33:53 -0500 lunar eclipse. ]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/total_eclipse_of_the.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/total_eclipse_of_the.html Wed, 20 Feb 2008 13:40:15 -0500 New haircut New glasses AND New and FREE yarn (two boxes, complete with Kool-Aid dyeing kit) Too much new fun stuff to be bothered with the Dark Ages. http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/today_why_i_dont_want_to_study.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/today_why_i_dont_want_to_study.html Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:47:20 -0500 RIF. RIF is our country's largest children's literacy organization. From the website, "Unless Congress reinstates funding for this program, RIF would be unable to distribute 16 million books annually to the nation's youngest and most at-risk children." Please read this. AND Do something! I can not describe my disgust. My first encounter with RIF was in first grade, I believe. My heart just ached that day because there was a massive table full of books and all the other kids filed to the back of the room in turns to make their selections. When my row was called I didn't go and just stared at my desk trying to blink back tears. I didn't want to see everyone else's treasures and I certainly didn't want them to know I couldn't buy any. At some point, my teacher came over and said I should go back with my row and choose some books. I couldn't hold back any longer; tears flooded my face and I whispered that I hadn't brought any money. She hugged me and smiled and said that the books were gifts which meant that we didn't have to give money for them. I was so relieved and grateful I cried again. She took my hand, walking me to the gleaming mountain of FREE books, and we picked two that became my treasures. After that, all through elementary school, I lived for the RIF days. Who were these magical people that brought in folding tables, erected them in the back of the classroom, and then decorated them with more beautiful books than I could dream of owning? It didn't matter to me then who they were; it only mattered that they were my vehicle through Imagination. Usually we were allowed to choose two books. It was almost too much for me to cope. Deliberation lasted ages while I methodically picked up each book, read its back cover and first few pages. Most of the time I'd select the fattest books that seemed appealing just to prolong the enjoyment of TWO new books. In sixth grade I picked The Great Gilly Hopkins and Bridge to Terabithia, both by Katherine Paterson. Bridge to Terabithia is on my short list of most moving books and certainly at that point in my life, it was the top - perhaps it still is. That is the book I recognize as a threshold across my timeline; before Terabithia - babyhood, after Terabithia worlds opened and enlarged, pure enlightenment. Indirectly, I'd say RIF helped establish the course for my life. I've always loved books, but books are expensive and I was poor. RIF bridged the chasm making my love available and attainable. As an adult, I'm formally studying literature and aspiring to become an expert. Ultimately, simply to inspire the same heart-poundings, giggles, and dry mouths that so many of my favorites evoked in me. And now I cry for the kids who won't share this memory.]]> http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/from_the_wire.html http://chastitywest.com/2008/02/from_the_wire.html Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:59:30 -0500