Rissy in Action

...and for a minute thought Continental Airlines was offering a chance to "end up someplace amusing."

They were really offering a chance to earn miles and end up someplace amazing.

I rather like my version better. And, as B'squatch points out, this would make an excellent mix tape title. Hmm.

My youngest brother (who just turned thirteen) has been writing a series of stories--entitled The Darkness--for the past few years.

We've encouraged the writing impulse, because that's cool, but let's just say that the writing is pretty standard 11-13 year old boy stuff. Lots of fighty mc-fight-fight, confusion of character names, characters named after video game characters, and bad spelling and grammar. So, in reading various installments, Bobsquatch and I have admittedly found ourselves clutching our sides and howling with laughter (never in front of the kid).

So J and I were talking (with me joshing him a little) about the latest installment this evening, and he mentioned that I wouldn't be laughing at him when he sold his book and earned "thousands of dollars."

Me: Well, if you wrote a comic novel, I could laugh.
J [earnestly]: Yeah, but my book's not funny.
[Me: inserts fist in mouth, as lil bro jabbers blithely on]

W00t! And despite being all teenagery, one of the first things he wanted to know was if I'd come see his basketball game two Saturdays hence, when I roll into NYC the weekend before our sister's wedding. Aw.

I just sent email to a friend, suggesting "Name That Stain!" as a possible baby shower game.


Note: The original version was inspired by contemporary "political" events [think White House intern, blue dress].

This morning we woke to the sybilant strains of helicopter hovering overhead. It's not a common occurence, but not unheard of either--we're near the confluence of several different freeways, and when there's accidents/chases, there are sometimes helicopters. But this one sounded suspiciously close, so as the B went downstairs to throw laundry in, I peered out the window. The helicopter was about two blocks away, was not your standard police/news team issue, and was slowly lowering some sort of grappling hook to a building below.

After a brief interval, the hook came back in view, dragging up some sort of filing cabinet. Then it hovered some more, and then it flew away. What the good gravy? After trying to dial 911/talking to dispatch, I finally wound up leaving a message on some officer's vmail that included the phrase "I think there was just some sort of heist."

The exact nature of the heist? Still a mystery, although possibly it was an elaborate attempt to steal some poor office's stock of white-out.

In other news, I spent Friday mostly in a conference re: responding to catastrophic disasters from the persepctive of meeting the housing needs of low income folks (a partial answer: be prepared to squeeze the feds for assistance a la what LA County did in Northridge, albeit in a more receptive federal admin, but don't wait on them for the short-term, as we learned in NO). Also? We're kinda screwed, but that's not really news.

Saturday we geeked out in a series of seminars held by the alma mater in SF, with profs gone wild on their spring breaks leading discussions on rampant urbanization in the developing world as an environmental problem*, sports and community via philosophy, data mining, etc. This was Williams' first edition of their planned RoadScholars series, and I was pretty durned impressed. Aside from tribal interactions, this is one of the awesomest post-Williams Williams College experiences I've had. See, the standard "huh, let's get together and drink beer and watch the big game" doesn't quite do it for me, but an opportunity to learn some, and have intelligent conversations with alums and profs and see one of my favorite professors from college is a surefire win with me. This was a good time, and even the non-Williams (but similarly geektastic) friend we brought enjoyed herself. So, if you're a Williams type, lobby for one of these here nerdcore jammies in your area.

Yours in nerdiness, Rissymonster

* Which brings up some interesting issues from my perspective as an urbanist, but on further reflection this is fine. The developing cities/countries being studied have very different resources, infrastructural capacities, economic conditions, etc. than Oakland. This is more complicated than I can expound on briefly, so may be the subject of a future post and catch-up with said prof of yore.

( long weekends=a happy rissymonster, and being sick=stinky )

( local stuff )

In other news, I got me one of those Johari windows: http://kevan.org/johari?name=rissymonster
I also got a Nohari window, but I'm less fond of its options for negative adjectives: http://kevan.org/nohari?name=rissymonster
Were I to choose negative adjectives for myself from a wider array of options (aka the english language), I'd go for things like: lazy, gluttonous, standoffish, angry, unforgiving and noncommunicative. Not that I'm these things all or most of the time, but I see them as flaws I'm working on.

Have at ye, at your option.

Hugs!