Ultimate Slur?
.
I'm using the computer, and CNN is providing some background noise. In other words, I'm not really listening to the news. However, a reporter was yacking about some politician making racial comments while he was in college. According to a former football team mate, he used "The ultimate racial slur". He "used the 'N' word repeatedly" during his college years.
It got me to pondering... what specifically is the "ultimate" racial slur? Wouldn't it be a subjective thing? When someone tells me they'd rather be dead than red on the head, I consider it a deliberate insult. A slur, if you will. My cousin considers it an insult if someone calls him a wetback because he has brown skin and a mild hispanic accent. I imagine anyone wearing a turban or shora would object to being called a rag-head. I would say each of these are the "ultimate" insult to the person being insulted; but that none of these are the penultimate insult on a universal scale.
Perhaps "human" or "monkey boy" is the "ultimate" insult... although I don't consider being a bipedal creature with opposable thumbs and a large brain an insult. Maybe I'll feel differently if space aliens come and make fun of me.
I can see it now... "Ha, ha. Stupid monkey being. You can't even get out of your own solar system!"
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Jury Duty
.
Heh, heh, heh. Dooty.
Um, right. So I've been called upon to fulfill my civic duty (heh, dooty.) and sit in a courtroom with a bunch of other people while lawyers ask a lot of personal questions. The purpose is to find a sub-group of people who could give the defendant a fair trial. The personal questions include ones like this: "Have you, or anyone close to you been a victim of a sex crime? When? What are the specifics? Was any legal action taken? Would any incident from your past prevent you from following the instructions of the Judge and giving a verdict of guilty or not guilty based solely on the evidence presented?"
This gives lots of opportunity for people to stand up and tell their sad stories of victimization. Whenever somebody did that, I stuck my nose in a book. Should I be chosen to sit and judge a fellow citizen, I do not want my decision colored by the stories of others. Along those lines, when I stood up to tell my own story - "I was molested by my uncle when I was 3; I was raped when I was 15, and there was some other stuff along those lines in between... But that would have no bearing on my verdict, which I would base on evidence presented, rather than my own past."
I could feel the heat of 50+ pairs of eyes, and I was a little embarrassed. I have not been embarrassed about the things that happened to me... um, ever. Shit happens. And none of my shit has anything to do with anyone else in the courtroom. They have their own shit. It's their shit I'd be listening to.
.
Heh, heh, heh. Dooty.
Um, right. So I've been called upon to fulfill my civic duty (heh, dooty.) and sit in a courtroom with a bunch of other people while lawyers ask a lot of personal questions. The purpose is to find a sub-group of people who could give the defendant a fair trial. The personal questions include ones like this: "Have you, or anyone close to you been a victim of a sex crime? When? What are the specifics? Was any legal action taken? Would any incident from your past prevent you from following the instructions of the Judge and giving a verdict of guilty or not guilty based solely on the evidence presented?"
This gives lots of opportunity for people to stand up and tell their sad stories of victimization. Whenever somebody did that, I stuck my nose in a book. Should I be chosen to sit and judge a fellow citizen, I do not want my decision colored by the stories of others. Along those lines, when I stood up to tell my own story - "I was molested by my uncle when I was 3; I was raped when I was 15, and there was some other stuff along those lines in between... But that would have no bearing on my verdict, which I would base on evidence presented, rather than my own past."
I could feel the heat of 50+ pairs of eyes, and I was a little embarrassed. I have not been embarrassed about the things that happened to me... um, ever. Shit happens. And none of my shit has anything to do with anyone else in the courtroom. They have their own shit. It's their shit I'd be listening to.
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Sun, Sales and Surprises
.
Once a year my sister's neighborhood holds a massive yard sale. To quote KDHX:
"BELLERIVE DAY IS HERE!!! Each year families on Bellerive and Dover Place hold the "mother of all garage sales" and Saturday, September 16 is it. Over 50 homes with sales, rummage sale, breakfast and BBQ lunch at the Methodist Church on the corner of Bellerive and Colorado, arts and crafts and more. Drive south on Grand and you can't miss it." (edited to remove contact info)
This year, I brought a few things from my house to (hopefully) sell. I didn't sell everything; but I did get rid of 3 skeins of yarn I'd taken a disliking to, a toddler table, a silver ring and a really nice equalizer.
I bought: A neat gold and red knitting bag ($2), A cup of lemonade (50 cents), and a wooden bumper pool table with all the accessories plus a cover that's plain table on one side and poker table on the other side ($25)
It would cost more than $100 to have our current poker table felted. This table has leather instead of felt. Woo! And it will fit right where the toddler table used to be. The table is the surprise.
It's not so surprising that I got a little sunburn. :)
.
Once a year my sister's neighborhood holds a massive yard sale. To quote KDHX:
"BELLERIVE DAY IS HERE!!! Each year families on Bellerive and Dover Place hold the "mother of all garage sales" and Saturday, September 16 is it. Over 50 homes with sales, rummage sale, breakfast and BBQ lunch at the Methodist Church on the corner of Bellerive and Colorado, arts and crafts and more. Drive south on Grand and you can't miss it." (edited to remove contact info)
This year, I brought a few things from my house to (hopefully) sell. I didn't sell everything; but I did get rid of 3 skeins of yarn I'd taken a disliking to, a toddler table, a silver ring and a really nice equalizer.
I bought: A neat gold and red knitting bag ($2), A cup of lemonade (50 cents), and a wooden bumper pool table with all the accessories plus a cover that's plain table on one side and poker table on the other side ($25)
It would cost more than $100 to have our current poker table felted. This table has leather instead of felt. Woo! And it will fit right where the toddler table used to be. The table is the surprise.
It's not so surprising that I got a little sunburn. :)
Friday, September 15, 2006
Good News, Better News
.
My mom (a real estate agent) is listing a house in her neighborhood. The owner had remodeled the kitchen, which means there was a free dishwasher up for grabs. So after 16 years of marriage, we own a mechanical dishwasher! Woo!
But wait! There's more! Installing the dishwasher required the removal of a cabinet and a set of drawers. The removal left bits of shrapnel all over the kitchen. We thought we'd gotten it all with the shopvac and a broom; but one lone screw was left behind. I stepped on it tonight.
But see, that's a good thing; because I stepped on it with the numb part of my foot -And I felt it!
Of course, I thought I'd stepped on a blunt piece of cat food rather than a sharp screw... but the important thing is that I did feel it.
.
My mom (a real estate agent) is listing a house in her neighborhood. The owner had remodeled the kitchen, which means there was a free dishwasher up for grabs. So after 16 years of marriage, we own a mechanical dishwasher! Woo!
But wait! There's more! Installing the dishwasher required the removal of a cabinet and a set of drawers. The removal left bits of shrapnel all over the kitchen. We thought we'd gotten it all with the shopvac and a broom; but one lone screw was left behind. I stepped on it tonight.
But see, that's a good thing; because I stepped on it with the numb part of my foot -And I felt it!
Of course, I thought I'd stepped on a blunt piece of cat food rather than a sharp screw... but the important thing is that I did feel it.
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
My Poor Hubby
.
I'd been sniffling and sneezing all of yesterday, and we had no sniffle medicine in the house. So, after work, he went out and got dinner and meds for me. I stayed awake long enough to listen to the President's speech (So we could make gestures at the TV together); then I took the night time sniffling/sneezing/etc. medicine and went to bed.
I was awoken briefly when the hubby-man's cell phone rang. The most important hard drive at work had crashed, and he needed to replace it before the branches opened in the morning.
He got home around sunrise. My poor guy. Fortunately, his boss understands that this means he will *not* be coming in to work today. Although I expect his cell phone to start ringing some time after noon; and he'll get up and work from home.
I've got the massage table ready. I know he will need it later tonight.
.
I'd been sniffling and sneezing all of yesterday, and we had no sniffle medicine in the house. So, after work, he went out and got dinner and meds for me. I stayed awake long enough to listen to the President's speech (So we could make gestures at the TV together); then I took the night time sniffling/sneezing/etc. medicine and went to bed.
I was awoken briefly when the hubby-man's cell phone rang. The most important hard drive at work had crashed, and he needed to replace it before the branches opened in the morning.
He got home around sunrise. My poor guy. Fortunately, his boss understands that this means he will *not* be coming in to work today. Although I expect his cell phone to start ringing some time after noon; and he'll get up and work from home.
I've got the massage table ready. I know he will need it later tonight.
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