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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
Magus' LiveJournal:
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| Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 | | 12:14 am |
| | Friday, November 27th, 2009 | | 11:40 am |
| | Friday, November 20th, 2009 | | 11:52 pm |
Will Phillips is a Hero
For anybody who doesn't know who Will Phillips is yet, go watch the CNN coverage. I'll be here when you get back.
If you don't have the time or can't view the video where you are for some reason, he's a 10-year-old who has decided he will no longer stand to recite the pledge of allegiance until the clause "liberty and justice for all" is fulfilled. The specific failure he perceives is that same-sex marriage is denied to those who desire it.
There's a lot of discussion about how adorable/cute/etc. he is, and sure, he is. A fact which is totally irrelevant, and which should ideally be removed from the discussion because it distracts and diminishes him.
Put simply, Will Phillips is a better man than I.
He observed an injustice and decided to respond with civil disobedience. He has persevered in face of ostracism from his peers. He has continued despite explicit instructions from authority to desist, and in spite of that authority being used to make his life more difficult. I would be shocked to learn that, in addition to the above [all stated in the CNN report], he hasn't been threatened either directly or indirectly. He continues, and carries himself well, despite the obvious discomfort the media attention is causing to his father.
So please, stop talking about how precocious he is. Call it like it is. Will Phillips is a hero.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/120279.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 | | 7:17 pm |
Senator
Call me shortsighted, but I don't want to elect a Senator based on how well they'll direct Federal money to my state, thus creating more jobs. I want to select them based on how well they'll enact appropriate legislation for my country.
This message paid for by television advertisements for the MA special Senatorial election.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/119376.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Thursday, November 12th, 2009 | | 12:35 pm |
I'm not the only packrat I know...
It just occurred to me that a lot of my friends, like me, have the habit storing potentially useful but currently unused items in case they'll be needed again in the future. I've also been thinking that there are some specific household items which I believe would improve my quality of life, and possibly my health, particularly through this winter. I'm not really in a position to be buying new things at the moment.
So, if anybody has any of the following just sitting around unused, and would be willing to loan them to me for a winter, I'd really appreciate it:
- room humidifier -- the air here is seriously dry, and the switch to using a lot of electric heating in my room is only going to exacerbate that; the forced-air heating at least has an attached humidifier.
- sun lamp/light box -- I noticed this week that my apartment is currently getting no direct sunlight, as the sun is below the roofline for the entire day.
- electric mattress warmer/blanket -- something that will heat just my bed at night. I'm thinking something I can safely lie on top of would be good for my back [and thus my shoulders, and thus my arms, and thus my hands], and I think such things exist, but if there are safety/availability constraints it's possible a blanket would be preferable.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/119129.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 | | 1:38 pm |
Top Chef: Las Vegas gripe
[Yes, I watch a lot of television these days.]
This is old at this point, and I've seen it before, but I threw it on to occupy my attention while I was eating breakfast, and hit this quote again.
"Who would you rather see in wet clothes: girls or fat boys?"
Fuck you. On many, many levels, I find this appalling. To name just a few:
They're not pulling off their shirts and jumping into the pool to give you a good show, they're doing so because they'll find it fun to do so. By saying this, you're supporting the idea that women should do things like this in order to give other people a show. That is, you're encouraging the cultural objectification of female bodies. By saying this, you support the idea that male bodies are something to be ashamed of, never to be displayed in public. By saying this, you support the idea that fat bodies are something to be ashamed of, never to be displayed in public.
I'm sure other people have already discussed this to death, as it was months ago, but it bugged me today and I wanted to take a minute to rant. Not that this is the only incredibly inappropriate moment even in that one episode ["Purty" comes to mind. Seriously? You can't be bothered to learn her name?]
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/118835.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood:  annoyed | | Monday, November 9th, 2009 | | 11:48 am |
Why isn't this all over my friends list?
New York State Governor Paterson has called for an extraordinary session of the State Senate for tomorrow, Tuesday, 10 November, 2009. He announced last Thursday that he will include his gay marriage bill on the agenda for that session.
Other than one email forwarded to me, I've been seeing surprisingly little call to action. I don't know if this is flying under the radar, if I've just not seen it, if people are still exhausted from Maine last week, or if I'm missing something else.
Regardless, a high fraction of my reading list are New York residents. Give your state senator a call, or at least drop them an email. You can get their contact info here.
Edit: added year to date
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/118750.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Saturday, November 7th, 2009 | | 1:06 am |
Friends
Just got back from spending about 9 hours at friends' house playing games, sharing a meal, and generally enjoying the company of people whose company I enjoy.
I've realized I don't do this often enough, and it's a major thing that's been missing from my life since I lived in the dorms, and even more since I left Poughkeepsie. I've observed before that I'm a much more social person than I think I am.
And yet, lacking the ability to wander down the hall and bother people, or call a couple people up and try to get a game together, or a daily time a bunch of us tend to gather for dinner, or a whole bunch of semi-scheduled entertainment activities I could go to and expect people to be there if I wanted, I'm finding I have a tendency to stay at home on the computer and maybe watch TV and/or talk to my girlfriend over IM. Which I value, but it's not getting me the comfortable companionship I'm apparently really missing.
I think this is a lot of why I keep entertaining the fantasy of some sort of communal living arrangement with friends who share interests with me. If the people hanging out in my living room were people I was enthusiastic about chatting with, likely to be doing something in my living room I'd want to participate in, and interested in sharing meals and the like, it would go a long way toward recreating that sense that there was readily-available socialization around. Because I can be pretty lazy, and I miss having so many cool people around that I could pretty much always find someone if I was feeling lonely. Not that that was so good for me getting my schoolwork done . . ..
This seems to be turning more melancholy than thoughtful. Ah, well. I miss you, Friends and Family, flung far and wide as you are, and I still love you, even if we haven't spoken in a decade.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/118402.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood:  content | | Thursday, November 5th, 2009 | | 11:31 am |
V
[Again, I started to write a comment to somebody else and decided it was better as its own journal entry.]
So I watched the V premiere the other night, and . . . it had some mild ups and some pretty severe downs. I don't know if this one's going to be a keeper, though I might watch a few more episodes. Some random thoughts:
( Maybe spoily? )
If you didn't watch it, I probably wouldn't bother unless you're looking for something to do. It might get better, and I'll probably give it a bit longer to see [and, knowing myself, get sucked into even the lousy story and keep with it to see where it goes], but after one episode I can't say I really recommend it. As serious SF, it's not quite getting it. As fluff, the density of fun/great moments just isn't high enough, at least not yet; there's better ridiculous crack out there [Eastwick]. Meh.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/118050.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 | | 10:41 am |
Ballot Addendum
If anybody looked closely, they may have noticed an oddity to the ordering for the Alderman-at-Large candidates. They were sorted alphabetically, but the incumbents were all listed before the one non-incumbent candidate. Presumably the sort is, in fact, list all incumbent candidates in alphabetical order followed by all other candidates in alphabetical order.
I have mixed feelings about the alphabetizing thing. It has some screwy effects in terms of giving some people an advantage over others, which is bad. It also makes it easier for people to find the name they're looking for, which is good. Thus, while I have some temptation to suggest listing them in a random order, I'm not sure the confusion is worth it.
However, the confusion caused by pulling one candidate out of alphabetical order in order to demote them is definitely not worth it. I can't think of any benefit to this [except that it gives an advantage to incumbents, which they already have; not a benefit in my book]. It's confusing and it distorts results. This is bad organization, people.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/117919.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 | | 5:30 pm |
Elections and Voting Machines
I just returned from my polling place. I feel I could have done a better job of being aware of local issues earlier and taking opportunities to discuss the candidates with the small number of people I know who'd be voting on the same tickets and gotten a better sense of the relative merits of the candidates. I did find the relevant debates for the local community access TV station and listen to them, however, and formed an opinion. It helped that for one position there were two candidates, one of whom came across as a single-issue candidate with a stance I was dubious about.
But what I really want to talk about is the voting process. I forget if I mentioned this last year, but it bears repeating: my Ward makes voting really simple and straightforward, in a way that gives me good confidence in the accuracy of the machine-tabulated results, and in a way that leaves a strong paper-trail which would be simple and straightforward to count manually should it be necessary.
You walk into the polling place. A person asks you for your address and name, locates it in the check-in book, and marks you as having entered. You can see all of this. You are handed a ballot in a "privacy sleeve".
You then walk to an empty booth, which is basically a table with walls dividing it into four parts, which you stand at while filling out your ballot. There is a black felt-tip pen there. You slide the ballot out of its sleeve, mark it with the marker, and slide it back into the sleeve.
To elaborate, marking the ballot consists of drawing a dark line from the tail to the head of the arrow pointing at the name of the candidate you wish to vote for. That's it. Using instruments [pen and paper] that most Americans are reasonably proficient in, in a straightforward way. If you want to see more about how that works, the ballot can, at least at present, be seen here. They've made it pretty hard to vote for the wrong person, and it seems to me that ambiguous ballots would be fairly rare. There are even clear instructions with examples provided at the top of the ballot.
Then you walk over to the exit area. You tell the person there your address and name, and they mark you in their book, just like when you came in. Then you walk over to the machine. It has a little green light showing it's ready, and a prominently displayed number which is presumably the count of ballots it has accepted. You feed your ballot out of the privacy sleeve and into the machine using the slot which runs most of the length of the sleeve. This is probably the most difficult part of the process, and I have to take on faith that they have people reasonably trained to assist without violating privacy if somebody needs help. It should be pretty doable. The slot doesn't line up with the arrows. The machine feeds in your ballot, makes a little noise, and another light lights up and you can see the counter increase. You're done.
Some highlights of the system:
- You mark the ballot directly, and can thus see that it is what you intend.
- A machine counts the votes, reducing needed manpower and potential for human error.
- There is a clear paper trail should a recount be called for.
- You don't need multiple computers to allow multiple people to fill out their ballots at the same time.
- Privacy can be readily offered without interfering with the effectiveness of the system [if you wanted more private booths fr marking the ballot, they could certainly be provided; ditto when you're feeding your single ballot into the machine].
I've heard tell of electronic voting machines with touch screens which silently accept input. I'd like to say, for the record, this is terrible design. I personally have a lot of trouble with touchscreen input for some mysterious reason presumably related to my skin chemistry. I also have very steady hands. But I would not trust that the input a touchscreen had accepted would be what I had intended: anything like this must have a feature which makes it clear to the user what input it received, not just that it received valid input. This is true for anything using a touchscreen for input.
The system we use here in Somerville Ward 6 might not be the best one out there, I don't know, but it's the best one I've ever personally used, and it at least passes basic tests of not totally sucking. Whoever was on that search committee, good work.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/117723.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 | | 2:41 pm |
Upcoming Dance Events
It seems posting about events I'll be attending has the positive effect that friends of mine frequently decide to join me. Accordingly, I'm going to try to occasionally post information about upcoming events I'm planning to attend.
You can always contact me about any of these for further information; for some I don't have information or links on hand to provide.
October 31st, Albany NY, Fall Frolic [SCD] ($50, Students $25)
The Albany-area Scottish Country Dance group hosts an annual ball in late October. Always lots of fun and good dancing, I try to attend every year. On Halloween this year, which means costumes! No costume requirement I'm aware of. More information in the PDF flyer, including instructions for all the dances, 'cause SCD folks are cool like that.
December 13th, Rehoboth, MA (near Providence, RI), Jane Austen's Birthday Tea Dance [Regency]
Afternoon Regency Tea Dance, period day dress encouraged but not required. I'll probably post about this again when I have more detail.
December 19th, Salem, MA, Fezziwig Ball [Civil War?]
This is being hosted by CVD, and I don't yet have very complete details on the event. Evening event to be preceded by a lantern-light promenade in Salem. Period dress encouraged but not required: period being anytime during the life of Charles Dickens [1817-1870]. Dance likely to be primarly Civil War-era, but that's a guess.
I may not be able to attend this one, as mid and late 19th Century dance features a lot of couple dancing that's very hard on my right forearm. These are interspersed with set dances and quadrilles danced in the stately walking style.
February 21st, Cambridge, MA, Tea Dance [Regency]
I'll definitely be attending the Regency Tea Dance. Also worth mentioning is the rest of the Vintage Tea Dance series--I'm sure I'll be attending some of them, although as they're mostly Victorian, my arm may again limit my participation this year. These are great, fun events, though; I encourage people to go without me. These are Third Sunday afternoons through April.
Alternate Fridays, Salem, MA, Vintage Dance [19th Century]
Fun, beginner friendly, low emphasis on costume evening of dancing in Old Salem Town Hall. I get up there occasionally when my free Fridays coincide with the event, especially if I have someone to drive up with. However, again, with my stepping back from couple dancing I haven't been up as much recently.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/117433.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) | | Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 | | 10:36 am |
| | Friday, October 16th, 2009 | | 4:42 pm |
Regency Dance!
I've completely failed to post here about it, but the EAS Regency Assembly is tomorrow in New Haven. If you're interested and want to go, email/call for details. As always, it should be a lot of fun, and I highly encourage people to go.
A lot of people I mentioned this to in person, particular local Scottish Country Dancers, expressed interest but said they weren't available. I mentioned that there would be a tea dance here in the Boston area in February again. I just got the date, it's 21 February.
If I remember, I'll post again about that as it approaches. In the meantime, learn more about it and the rest of the tea dance series at the tea dance website.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/116868.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood:  excited | | 2:07 pm |
Snow!
From Weather Underground email:
Record Report
Statement as of 1:43 AM EDT on October 16, 2009
...Record daily maximum snowfall set at Hartford CT...
a record snowfall of a trace was set at Hartford CT yesterday
October 15 2009. This breaks the record of 0.0 inch.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/116708.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood: amused | | Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 | | 5:56 pm |
| | 5:50 pm |
Housework
I need to learn that:
- Manual labor takes me longer than it used to/than I think it should, because I'm likely to work slower due to hand pain.
- A simple task like moving the thermostat through to the other side of the wall will leave me in frustrating amounts of pain, and also leave me feeling to exhausted to do anything but take an immediate nap.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) gyges_kant, I'm still planning to come gaming tonight, but if I don't show, know it's because I wiped myself out making it so my room can be heated independently of the rest of the apartment.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/115988.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood: pained | | Sunday, October 11th, 2009 | | 2:06 am |
The Paper Raincoat
I finally got around to downloading my preorder digital copy of The Paper Raincoat and have been listening on repeat for . . . at least the last five hours or so.
After the first time through I'm mostly capable of having it on in the background, by which I mean that while it occasionally grabs my attention, it doesn't usually jerk me out of whatever I'm focusing on with the verge-of-tears emotional response I get from good music. I only get that response if I actually listen to it consciously or try to sing along to it.
As opposed to the first time through, where I had an apple in my hand and was kind of trying to read LJ and would spend three minutes straight just kind of not doing anything except listening and not-quite-crying. And this wasn't my first exposure to the music.
I was first exposed to The Paper Raincoat when they were opening for Vienna Teng up here last spring. Like she, they are totally awesome. I highly recommend their album. Download "Right Angles" from the link above to see if they're at all to your taste. I'll be here listening to this very solid album when you get back.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/115909.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood: content | | Saturday, October 10th, 2009 | | 3:38 pm |
Hair
For the first time in over a decade, I have allowed a blade to touch my hair.
I cut off about 10", which, due to the way it thins, is probably less than it sounds like. I wanted to get all the really thin part and go a little above. I probably cut a few more inches than I'd intended.
It now falls about in the middle of my back when it's braided, not sure when it's down and wet.
It seems that it's no longer able to hold a braid without the aid of elastic, at least when wet. This will be mildly annoying.
My hope is that it will be less painful to brush and braid this way, which will result in my taking better care of it, and doing less of the following bad chain of thought:
"I'd like to go out and have fun with friends, but I haven't showered in a couple of days and am kind of gross, so I should shower first. But my hair's a wreck, so I should really wash it. But that requires letting it out and brushing it and washing it and then putting it back up, which is painful for my hands and takes a lot of time, by which point it'll be too late to go out. Screw it, I'll just do the hermit thing in my room and watch TV."
People may be pleased to know that I've just glanced at myself in the mirror and discovered that it's still forming some sort of a cute little curl below the elastic.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/115541.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood: light | | Sunday, September 20th, 2009 | | 12:37 am |
War
"That's the only problem with War, you have to deal out all the cards."
This overheard from people in my living room. My immediate thought, probably unsurprisingly to anybody reading this, was, "No, it's not."
For starters, no you don't. Long, long before I would have ever considered myself a gamer, before I had two digits in my age in years, I was capable of reliably splitting a deck of cards into two equal parts by the simple expedient of cutting it roughly in half and smoothing the two piles until they were the same height. Certainly reliably enough for the purpose of playing War not for money.1 Just shuffle the deck a few times until you're satisfied any clumping of the high cards is due more to chance than the previous state of the deck, cut it in half, smooth it, and offer the two halves to your opponent to select one.
Aside from having to deal out the cards not even being a problem with War, the game has plenty of more significant problems. Well, maybe just one. It has no meaningful decisions. In fact, it has no decisions at all. It's a "game" only in the sense that it's an entertainment2 to pass the time.
I recognize that people can gain enjoyment from games without meaningful decisions, although at the moment I find it hard to think why. My first criterion for a game to be worth playing is that the player must be presented with opportunities to make decisions, and those decisions must affect the outcome of the game. This eliminates War and Candyland, and Snakes and Ladders, all of which are ultimately a matter of playing the game "cut for high card" multiple times. In the case of War, it's "cut for high" in a drunkard's walk with a cliff at either end. In the case of the others, it's actually "roll a die and add its value to your total, first to 100 wins".
The only decision you have in War, however, [other than whether to cheat] is whether to play at all. While it does eventually result in a victor, my first thought on hearing the question, "Do you want to play War?" is to hear Joshua's voice, "Would you like to play a game?"
1. War would make a curious choice of games upon which to gamble simply because it takes so long to reach a resolution, but I respect that sometimes that might be desirable. But if you're not playing it for money [or some other reward], can you really take it seriously enough to worry about one player starting with a couple cards' advantage? This is War we're talking about here.
2. If you find such an activity entertaining.
Originally posted at http://marcmagus.dreamwidth.org/114434.html. ( comment[s]|comment there) Current Mood: amused |
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