(no subject)

Re: Rick Warren. What's next, James Dobson to preform next year's Red Mass? Seriously. Sure, he's not going to be doing anything official in the administration (as far as we know), but this indicates that Warren's got more than a little influence over Obama, which is not a good thing when you consider that according to Wikipedia, this guy has stated that homosexuality is an intolerable, unnatural way of life and thus not a human right, denounced evolution, and compared atheists to Mao, Stalin and Pol Pot.

Got home after exercising and spending hours between Big Lots (where I just took a while), Wal-Mart (where I stood in the express line for 20 minutes, because the cashier kept letting this guy try his denied credit card over and over and fiddling with the computer and such), and then Shop N Save. Got fat free hot dogs at the last, which I didn't realize I'd been missing until I was in bleakone's room last week and her roommate made a veggie dog and my stomach practically did backflips with the longing (as the fat free ones taste similar, prolly because their meat content has been cut down to "has been on the same refrigerated grocery shelf as meat" levels). Reason I went to the other two, though, was looking for an electric warming throw blanket thing for my mom for Christmas. Turns out that Dad had just checked for in-store availability and didn't see that it said that they weren't in stock at our local Wal-Mart, and so assumed that they were, when really it was just that the local one wasn't listed at all because they never carry it.

Grades come out Monday, as they're all due from the teachers before 5pm, I think, Saturday. Which is why a lot of them were pushing up the finals to the week before, as that's earlier than usual for them and they didn't think they could get them all graded that quickly, I suppose. I see it with some of the more populous classes (some kind of psych 101, or my gym class, even though that was all done electronically so there was no physical grading for the final), but my mythology teacher has what, 60 students total? 19 in my class, though that's an honors section, and her other two are more specialized, upper-division (I think one's graduate) courses, so I presume that it'd be the same or less. She only pushed one of hers up, but maybe that one required a more grading-intensive final than ours (which was in the second-to-last time slot of all the finals, I'm fairly sure) did; essays or something.

Anyway, that mythology final was bad. I'm fairly pissed about that. I'd thought (and others had agreed to the point of overtly encouraging me to stop working on the older Ovid stuff during breakfast right before and study Odysseus--LOL, all of a sudden I wonder if that was purposeful) that most of the final would be over the parts of The Odyssey we hadn't been tested over yet, with 50% at most of comprehensive material. Nope. This was the third test that contained Odyssey material (1 & 2 were all Ovid, 3 was half and half, and 4 was all Odyssey and Oresteia), and yet Ovid was easily 80, maybe 90% of it. The only bits of the Trojan War stories (Odyssey, Oresteia) were in a 10 or so question matching section at the bottom of the 4th page of the test, matching names to identities and one "identify the myth in this picture" thing. And Wednesday night, what did I do but finish the Odyssey instead of studying the Ovid myths. So I used to be able to say that I was getting an A in everything but gym. Fairly sure that's no longer the case, as this was a good 25% of my grade that I'd be surprised if I pulled a C on. It's hard, because I know I know most of the stories so if you just prompted me a bit, I would be all "Oh, and then [blah]". It's tough to do the matching then, too, because you can't tell if you recognize these two items as a pair because they go together, or because you just know both stories, or because one's a family member of the name that really fits with the story and that's why you're connecting the two (because everything's intertwined somehow in Ovid--the man's king of "Oh, and speaking of" transitions), etc., if that makes any sense.

Slight oddness tonight. More in my reaction of a perception of weirdness than the actual thing. Was hanging out in the kitchen, fixing one of my newly purchased hot dogs, when I heard my dad talking to Mom's rabbit. Okay. I'm not really a fan of that animal, but whatever. I look around the little island bit that separates the kitchen from the dining room (which is in turn connected to the living room, where the rabbit's cage is), and he's down there next to the cage petting it. It's not that my dad's an unnafectionate fellow, or dislikes animals or whatnot (he championed the original adoption of Rascal as well as probably every other animal we've had in the house save the rabbit), so I'm not sure if I was just projecting my dislike for the rabbit (I'm not sure where that comes from, whether it bit me a few too many times or what, but I'm just not a fan) onto him, but it surprised me. In a very pleasant-surprise sort of way, as it was quite. . . idk, touching. He was uber gentle (I spelled that "gentile" at first, and then went "LOL, Christmas"), and yet I suppose because of his size or whatnot, the rabbit was still scared (I feel like I've written about this situation almost exactly before because I felt the same way then--shall have to peruse my tags and see if I'm not just deja vu-ing). I don't know. It was touching, okay? Something about it being a rabbit, too; I'd see him petting Rascal with no such out-of-place feeling. Maybe it was the combination of rabbit + him having to squat way down to be anywhere near where he could reach the cage on the floor + talking to it (in not a crazy way) that sort of created this dichotomy of rabbit/giant human (saving my mild, occasional feelings of paternal intimidation for future exploration, LOL) that was cool to see.

Too much analysis, way too late at night. Without classes, I've evidently shifted back to my up-all-night cycle within all of two days. CIRCADIAN RHYTHM, WHY ARE YOU BATSHITCRAZY?

(no subject)

From Jerry Brown asks California Supreme Court to void gay-marriage ban

Voters are allowed to amend other parts of the Constitution by majority vote, but to use the ballot box to take away an "inalienable" right would establish a "tyranny of the majority," which the Constitution was designed, in part, to prevent, [California Attorney General Brown] wrote.
. . .
In an interview, Andy Pugno, the lawyer for Protect Marriage, called Brown's argument "an astonishing theory."

Bullshit. That's nothing astonishing. That's an argument I made in PoliSci 101. (Actually, it's 110, but whatever.) That's an argument that 90% of the rest of my mostly-oblivious PLS class could have come up with as well. You know why? Because it's basic and it's true.

Oh, and in computer news? CD drive doesn't work. I don't remember if I mentioned that. I'm pissed.

(no subject)

Dear Mr. Creepy Sir at the gym.
You know what we think of you when there is a whole row of 7 unoccupied treadmills on the other side of me all down one empty side of the main row of the cardio section of the gym (and a second, back section of 16 or so different-style treadmills that were empty save one person), and yet some 40-something, large (as in just big, not really fat though there was definitely some of that, but bulky huge) man comes and takes the one open treadmill between the two young women? And then just idles around for a bit without actually beginning to work out for quite some time, and then only beginning a leisurely walk? THAT YOU'RE A CREEPER, KTHXBAI.
Sincerely,
One of the two young women you squeezed your large self in between and majorly weirded out.


Went to the gym early today so I could watch this History channel thing on sex in space only to hear them say nothing interesting. Save maybe that it might have happened because this couple was married when they went up, but they have no other reason to believe it did but the fact that they were newlyweds. It was a whole hour (though I only saw the second half) of fluff. Spec stuff that anybody could have come up with; talking to experts about how they could strap down their feet and have handholds or something, and how for space tourism there could be almost crawltube-meets-sleeping bag type things for sexitiems. Do I just label myself a creeper by saying that none of these were particular stretches of the imagination? When I first started contemplating the concept (when I first heard that the show was running and my curiosity was piqued), I came up with all of these things, thanks. So pay me instead of them.

I knitted a mini stocking today. Took the basic shaping pattern and squiggled it around a bit as I wanted it to be more stocking shaped and not Christmas-stocking shaped (as the latter is always more boot-like than stocking) and because there was no way I had the patience to knit out a quicky Christmas decoration on size 2 needles when we don't even have a tree to hang it on. (Second or third year in a row, and it's what my parents used to do when they were newly married and without kids, had no real reason to go all out--we just use the live, deciduous house-tree that we've always got in here. Things do not hang upon it well, and it's not particularly full of leaves, so outsiders prolly wouldn't think it was too Christmas-spirit-esque, but I think it's a much better embodyment than those dead ones that other people string up.) Anyway, I think I made it a bit too long in my modification, as it looks oddly skinny and stretched (but more real stocking-like, still). And the snowflake that I tried to knit into it simply didn't turn out because there weren't enough stitches to do it with, so it's like a picture that's insanely pixelated--you can't quite tell what it's supposed to be. Still. Win.

Ooh, and went to Tyler's mock trial meeting today. Not crazy about how they're going at this case, as (I think I've mentioned) it's the one where you've got the choice of going for murder or manslaughter on the prosecution, and not guilty, not guilty due to insanity, guilty but mentally ill, or (though you wouldn't actually go for this one) guilty. Problem is, you can't just throw everything at the wall and see what sticks, because you weaken your case on the other charges (to establish the mental illness needed for "not guilty due to," you have to make some concessions towards admitting that he did do it, which then blows your "not guilty" plain chances, etc.) Plus, you only get indicted on one count for each offense in real life, unless I'm wrong, so I don't see how the judge wouldn't make the prosecution pick murder or manslaughter first, and the defense files notice that they're going for an affirmative defense beforehand (or at least they do on TV), so ditto. Idk. Coach's baby was there, and he has ears that rival Barack Obama's, so that's adorable.