A day late, a fistful of dollars short...
My mom got a sample of some "Seattle's Best" brand coffee, so she gave it to me. [My dad is a strict Folgerite.] Frankly, if this is the best Seattle can do, I'm a little concerned.
Anyway.
sat-8 :: it's a hodgepodge this week!
1. speaking of "hodgepodge," what's a word that always sounds strange or "off" to you, even though it's an accepted and functional member of the english language?
They all sound weird if you say them enough. Try it.
2. help!!! do you ask for help if you need it, or do you simply go down in flames refusing to ask for it due to your pride (or some other psychological construct)?
Usually I ask for help; occasionally I don't because of pride, and sometimes I don't because whatever help is available is something I can't afford.
3. bills! what is the last bill you had to pay?
I don't remember, but I have a big steaming pile of them on the kitchen table right now.
4. holiday music! there are some radio stations that play holiday music nonstop from 1 december until practically new year's day. do you love holiday music, or would you rather jab a screwdriver in your ear?
I would rather jab a screwdriver in my ear. Or, alternatively, I'd like to jab one in the ears of the store owners and radio station managers that force their poor underpaid employees to listen to "Jingle Bell Rock" until they're ready to kill anybody in a red suit.
5. i have a friend that seriously, i CANNOT COMMUNICATE REQUESTS/COMMANDS WITH. he seems to have this issue with others as well. whether it be email or phone convos, if i ask him to do something for me, he doesn't understand. if he asks me a question or to do something for him, i have no idea what the hell he's talking about. do you know (or knew) someone who has a communication wall around them?
Hoo boy, do I ever. I can't talk about it here, though.
6. we were talking about logical fallacies the other day (red herring, straw man, ad hominem, etc.), and the discussion led to superstitions. what superstition are you a victim of in your life, or just follow?
I leave honey and sparkly things out for the faeries; does that count?
7. do you have any leftover hallowe'en candy in your abode right now?
I didn't buy any Halloween candy, so no.
8. a mini scavenger hunt ... go to IMDB's day search, enter your birthday in the left-hand column, and tell us what famous film/television people share your special day.
Dude, there's like 150 people on that list. And out of all those, there are only five that I recognise: Clarence Thomas, June Carter Cash, Selma Blair, Alfred Kinsey, and the Duke of Windsor. I think Selma Blair is an actress. The others have all appeared on TV, I'm sure, but they're not really TV/movie personalities. I have no idea who the hell the other 100+ people are.
***
Saturday 6.
1. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being very pleased/enthusiastic and one being very unhappy/depressed, how would you rate your feelings on Democrats taking control of Congress?
I'm fine with it. So I guess that's like a 7 [I'm assuming a 5 would be indifference]. Now, whether they're actually going to DO something with Congress or just stand around and pick their asses--as well as whether the things they do are actually useful--time will tell.
2. The Democrats have been, naturally, very critical of the Bush administration and the course the country has taken. How effectively do you believe that they can turn things around by the 2008 election?
Pfft. I'll believe it when I see it.
3. What would you rather have for breakfast: a) Ham & eggs with toast b) Grits and sausage c) Pancakes and Syrup
I guess ham and eggs with toast, but only if I have a few hours to wake up first. I have never consumed grits, nor do I want to, and I will almost never eat sausage that I did not personally pick out of the store myself and read the ingredients label. Pancakes don't stick with you, and syrup is...well, syrup is pretty much pure sugar. Great way to give yourself diabetes, but I wouldn't call it breakfast unless you really don't have anything left in the house but flour and eggs or Bisquick [which has happened to me a couple times].
4. Take the quiz: Are you too negative?
It says I'm moderate. I'm guessing that's good, since excessive pessimism is bad for your health and excessive optimism leads to things like bad stock-market gambles and botched Russian invasions. [That happened twice, actually; you'd think people would learn...]
5. How likely are you to change your view of things based on your answer?
Not likely, unless there's some pressing reason why being realistic suddenly isn't good enough anymore. Also, I'd probably go to the American Psychological Association or NIMH for personality advice before I'd go to MyYearbook. Just a personal preference.
6. You are serving as a juror in a murder trial. The defense team is claiming that a woman killed her own child while insane. As a juror, would you consider it critical information to know how soon she might be "back on the street" if found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, or would this have no bearing on your verdict?
It depends on what you mean by "back on the street." Do you mean that she would be homeless? In that case, it would have a bearing on the verdict, because as bad as the prison system is, I'd rather have her there than homeless. If, on the other hand, she has family who care about her and can help her get the help she needs, then no. I'd rather see her in prison than homeless, but if I think she's really mentally ill, I'd rather see her in a hospital or a group home than in prison. The quality of mental health care in prisons is atrocious, and a lot of people come out of prison more mentally ill than when they went in. Naturally, this makes no sense, since there's a much higher population of mentally ill folks in prison than in the general population; in fact, there are 4 times as many mentally ill in American prisons as in American mental hospitals. So you'd think that prisons would be swarming with psychiatrists, since many people who commit crimes do so because of some kind of psychiatric disorder [manic episode, depression, schizophrenia, any of a whole rainbow of personality disorders]. At least, you'd think that if you actually expected to use the term "correctional system" with a straight face. I've already written about how the correctional system does a piss-poor job of actually correcting anything, so I won't go into that again.
No, if the woman is mentally ill, she needs to be wherever it's most likely that she'll get some kind of treatment. If the child she killed was an infant, it's also possible that an unusually severe case of postpartum depression is to blame. In that case, they should also be exploring whether there are any hormonal treatments they can do, or whether she should just abstain from having kids. It's not for everybody, you know.
And that answers that.
same bitch time, same bitch channel...
Anyway.
sat-8 :: it's a hodgepodge this week!
1. speaking of "hodgepodge," what's a word that always sounds strange or "off" to you, even though it's an accepted and functional member of the english language?
They all sound weird if you say them enough. Try it.
2. help!!! do you ask for help if you need it, or do you simply go down in flames refusing to ask for it due to your pride (or some other psychological construct)?
Usually I ask for help; occasionally I don't because of pride, and sometimes I don't because whatever help is available is something I can't afford.
3. bills! what is the last bill you had to pay?
I don't remember, but I have a big steaming pile of them on the kitchen table right now.
4. holiday music! there are some radio stations that play holiday music nonstop from 1 december until practically new year's day. do you love holiday music, or would you rather jab a screwdriver in your ear?
I would rather jab a screwdriver in my ear. Or, alternatively, I'd like to jab one in the ears of the store owners and radio station managers that force their poor underpaid employees to listen to "Jingle Bell Rock" until they're ready to kill anybody in a red suit.
5. i have a friend that seriously, i CANNOT COMMUNICATE REQUESTS/COMMANDS WITH. he seems to have this issue with others as well. whether it be email or phone convos, if i ask him to do something for me, he doesn't understand. if he asks me a question or to do something for him, i have no idea what the hell he's talking about. do you know (or knew) someone who has a communication wall around them?
Hoo boy, do I ever. I can't talk about it here, though.
6. we were talking about logical fallacies the other day (red herring, straw man, ad hominem, etc.), and the discussion led to superstitions. what superstition are you a victim of in your life, or just follow?
I leave honey and sparkly things out for the faeries; does that count?
7. do you have any leftover hallowe'en candy in your abode right now?
I didn't buy any Halloween candy, so no.
8. a mini scavenger hunt ... go to IMDB's day search, enter your birthday in the left-hand column, and tell us what famous film/television people share your special day.
Dude, there's like 150 people on that list. And out of all those, there are only five that I recognise: Clarence Thomas, June Carter Cash, Selma Blair, Alfred Kinsey, and the Duke of Windsor. I think Selma Blair is an actress. The others have all appeared on TV, I'm sure, but they're not really TV/movie personalities. I have no idea who the hell the other 100+ people are.
***
Saturday 6.
1. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being very pleased/enthusiastic and one being very unhappy/depressed, how would you rate your feelings on Democrats taking control of Congress?
I'm fine with it. So I guess that's like a 7 [I'm assuming a 5 would be indifference]. Now, whether they're actually going to DO something with Congress or just stand around and pick their asses--as well as whether the things they do are actually useful--time will tell.
2. The Democrats have been, naturally, very critical of the Bush administration and the course the country has taken. How effectively do you believe that they can turn things around by the 2008 election?
Pfft. I'll believe it when I see it.
3. What would you rather have for breakfast: a) Ham & eggs with toast b) Grits and sausage c) Pancakes and Syrup
I guess ham and eggs with toast, but only if I have a few hours to wake up first. I have never consumed grits, nor do I want to, and I will almost never eat sausage that I did not personally pick out of the store myself and read the ingredients label. Pancakes don't stick with you, and syrup is...well, syrup is pretty much pure sugar. Great way to give yourself diabetes, but I wouldn't call it breakfast unless you really don't have anything left in the house but flour and eggs or Bisquick [which has happened to me a couple times].
4. Take the quiz: Are you too negative?
It says I'm moderate. I'm guessing that's good, since excessive pessimism is bad for your health and excessive optimism leads to things like bad stock-market gambles and botched Russian invasions. [That happened twice, actually; you'd think people would learn...]
5. How likely are you to change your view of things based on your answer?
Not likely, unless there's some pressing reason why being realistic suddenly isn't good enough anymore. Also, I'd probably go to the American Psychological Association or NIMH for personality advice before I'd go to MyYearbook. Just a personal preference.
6. You are serving as a juror in a murder trial. The defense team is claiming that a woman killed her own child while insane. As a juror, would you consider it critical information to know how soon she might be "back on the street" if found Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity, or would this have no bearing on your verdict?
It depends on what you mean by "back on the street." Do you mean that she would be homeless? In that case, it would have a bearing on the verdict, because as bad as the prison system is, I'd rather have her there than homeless. If, on the other hand, she has family who care about her and can help her get the help she needs, then no. I'd rather see her in prison than homeless, but if I think she's really mentally ill, I'd rather see her in a hospital or a group home than in prison. The quality of mental health care in prisons is atrocious, and a lot of people come out of prison more mentally ill than when they went in. Naturally, this makes no sense, since there's a much higher population of mentally ill folks in prison than in the general population; in fact, there are 4 times as many mentally ill in American prisons as in American mental hospitals. So you'd think that prisons would be swarming with psychiatrists, since many people who commit crimes do so because of some kind of psychiatric disorder [manic episode, depression, schizophrenia, any of a whole rainbow of personality disorders]. At least, you'd think that if you actually expected to use the term "correctional system" with a straight face. I've already written about how the correctional system does a piss-poor job of actually correcting anything, so I won't go into that again.
No, if the woman is mentally ill, she needs to be wherever it's most likely that she'll get some kind of treatment. If the child she killed was an infant, it's also possible that an unusually severe case of postpartum depression is to blame. In that case, they should also be exploring whether there are any hormonal treatments they can do, or whether she should just abstain from having kids. It's not for everybody, you know.
And that answers that.
same bitch time, same bitch channel...
posted by Frida | 6:50 AM
1 Comments:
alfred kinsey? totally awesome. yep, selma blair is an actress and has been in at least two with reese witherspoon.
oh, i know you don't care. nevermind. ;)
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