Du Rauchst So Gut

Posted in Family on November 2nd, 2004 by Дмитрий

A year ago today, my husband stopped killing himself.

Congratulations, baby!

Geographic Options

Posted in Americana on November 3rd, 2004 by Дмитрий

I try to tell myself that the divisiveness of the “values” campaign has not got to me… I try to tell myself that, ultimately, my life is, actually, better now than it was in 2000…

But like many others, I’m still feeling a bit sick and scared. What will my world look like after four more years of war, nationalism, isolation, religious terror and economic nepotism?

The truth is, I still feel rather angry at the very disjointed and nebulous left which gave me a sucker like Kerry to have to choose. That’s why I was so ambivalent about voting for president, and why I didn’t really want to endorse Kerry. However, once in that voting booth, the same fear and loathing that caused the election to be as nasty as it was drove me to mark his name anyway. Now I feel dirty that I compromised myself so badly, and even worse that it made absolutely no difference.

Looking at the map, one can’t help but wonder if the divisiveness of America’s ideological divide is not, in fact, territorial and geographic. Perhaps, like Czechoslovakia, we need a velvet divorce. Let the south and the plains and the mountain states have the theocracy they crave, and let the leftist northeast and Pacific coast make it’s own attempt at a self-sufficient neo-European nation.

I’m not sure I want to belong to either of them.

MegaTrip ‘04

Posted in Travel on November 15th, 2004 by Дмитрий

MurderingMouth is going on a Road Trip. Feel free to contact us to arrange for coffee or dinner if our paths will be crossing. Be warned that the tight time-table will not leave much room for extensive chit-chat, but it is always nice to put a face to a domain name…

19 Nov: SFO to Charlotte
20 Nov: Charlotte
21 Nov: Charlotte to Greensboro
22 Nov: Greensboro
23 Nov: Greensboro
24 Nov: Greensboro
25 Nov: Greensboro
26 Nov: Greensboro to Baltimore**
27 Nov: Baltimore**
28 Nov: Baltimore to Albany**
29 Nov: Albany to Manhattan via Hartford**
30 Nov: Manhattan
1 Dec: Manhattan
2 Dec: Manhattan to Philladelphia**
3 Dec: Philladelphia to Greensboro**
4 Dec: Greensboro to Charlotte to SFO

** The actual plans for 26th-29th and 2nd-3rd are potentially changeable. I’ll update this list if any actual changes are made.

Hipster Alert

Posted in Urbanism on November 17th, 2004 by Дмитрий

Today at Starbucks, we played “How many badly dressed, loud-mouthed annoying faggots does it take to make MurderingMouth resort to homicide?”

My tolerance must be artificailly generous right now due to the impending vacation. As I left, they all still had what brains they possessed tucked safely inside their brittle skulls.

In other news, if you love your cities, please read This. My favorite quote is offered below:

“From here on out, we’re glad red-state rubes live in areas where guns are more powerful and more plentiful, cars are larger and faster, and people are fatter and slower and dumber. This is not a recipe for repopulating the Great Plains. And when you look for ways to revive your failing towns and dying rural counties, don’t even think about tourism. Who wants to go to small-town America now? You people scare us. We’ll island-hop from now on, thank you, spending our time and our money in blue cities. If an urbanite is dying to have a country experience, rural Vermont is lovely. Maple syrup, rolling hills, fly-fishing–everything you could want. Country bumpkins in red rural areas who depend on tourists from urban areas but vote Republican can forget our money.”

From the Road…

Posted in Travel on November 25th, 2004 by Дмитрий

No profound Thanksgiving messages here. Just a note that our plans have changed. New York had to be removed from the itinerary for the sake of our (my) sanity. Our remaining stops include Baltimore, Albany, Buffalo and Pittsburg…

The Problems With American Liberalism

Posted in Americana, Rants on November 25th, 2004 by Дмитрий

My thesis today: liberty is dying in America not because so many Americans are Right-wing fascists, but because those who support liberty tend to be wishy-washy about it to the point of aiding the enemy.

A leader in The Economist a few weeks back noted that the word “liberal” has lost much of its meaning today. It is hurled as an insult from the right toward those who would desire anything from freedom of choice to increased social welfare policy. Most American leftists accept it as a negative association, and thus tend to build their reputation not on being “liberal” but being “moderate” or “compassionate”.

Read more »

Missing

Posted in Travel, Work on November 27th, 2004 by Дмитрий

Sometime last night whilst I slept alone for the 34th time in the past 2 months, I realized that it had officially stopped being worth the money to be away from my boy this long. He might not like being blamed for it, but from now on, I’m doing it so that I can buy the boy the best Xmas present ever… Ideas, ideas…

Nothing/nobody else is worth this long away…