« tomwaits | Main | * »
Marzo 27, 2008
two things i always avoid
newspapers
cnn
so i didn't hear the speech; i read about it in the Stranger's Last Days column, which, you might be thinking qualifies as a newspaper but, trust me, it doesn't. Nobody knows news better than a photojournalist's wife and i'm here to tell you that the Last Days is NOT news--its much better!
so here is the Obama quote:
"The real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job--its that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit. I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together--unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories, but we hold common hopes; that we may not look the same and we may not have come from the same place, but we all want to move in the same direction--towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren."
and here is what Last Days said about that:
"In a testament to Obama's conviction and/or acting chops [and/or speech writers--hooray writers!], none of this made Last Days want to throw up. Obama '08!"
then something about a man building a robot and programming it to kill him and they're calling it suicide..
then there is a bit about a pigeon running around 3rd and Union with a thyringe thtuck through ith head like an arrow (keep that in mind for Halloween costume next year).
"This week continues with one of the more pathos-rich scenarios to unfold on a Seattle street since LD watched that saltine dissolve in a shallow puddle...[i remember that!] ...Once LD posted Melyssa's report on the Slog, not one but 2 Slog commenters revealed they too had seen the syringe pigeon. 'I saw that pigeon in about the same place a week or two ago, 'wrote Andrew. 'For what it's worth, it appears to be a chronic condition for this pigeon rather than a fatal one.' 'I, too, saw that same bird, or another one with the same affliction, a week or so ago at the ... bus stop,'wrote DJ Girth [haha]. '2 junkies were laughing at it. It sort of felt like they had something to do with it.' These reminiscences brought a bracing rant from Greendyke: 'Jesus fuck--this pigeon has been walking around like this for 3 weeks and at least 3 sloggers have seen it and NO ONE in Seattle has helped it? I am ashamed to be a human being.' Finally, key perspective was provided by Comte: 'You ever try to catch a pigeon? I personally wouldn't feel all that comfortable trying to wrap my hands around a squirming bird with th business end of somebody's works sticking out of it. And while it may seem callous and inhumane, I would point out that the poor bird is apparently surviving, so that says something for the resiliency of Columba livia.'"
then, on my birthday: "Nothing happened today, unless you count the AP revelation that the 2-year-old [sic] boy in La Joya Texas, who was found dead with a fatally fractured skull was most likely accidentally crushed by a morbidly obese relative. Good one, God."
and then i got this email from our minister of outreach (who is one of the few people who understands my ministry most of the time):
Monday, March 24, 2008 - 10:05 AM PDT
State shuts down another North Seattle motel
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)
For the second time in less than a week, the Washington Department of Health has shut down a motel in the 12000 block of North Aurora Avenue in North Seattle.
This time, the state shut down the Seattle Motor Inn at 12245 N. Aurora Ave., with an inspector saying "members of the public who may choose to stay there are at risk of serious injury and/or illness because of the motel's unsanitary and unsafe condition."
Last week, the state shut down the Orion Motel
State officials said they're responding to complaints from the city of Seattle when inspecting and revoking the licenses of the North Seattle motels.
The Seattle Motor Inn, according to the state's inspection, revealed in one unit that "a five-gallon bucket filled with dark brown, fetid water from a leaking fixture was being stored under the vanity next to the bathroom."
In another unit, "sharp metal wire stuck out from the edge of the mattress ... and the walls were grimy and in poor condition with thick runny gobs of dried-on liquids found throughout."
In a third unit, "mold was found growing on the wall behind the toilet."
The pool at the motel "is one-third full of fetid, contaminated water" and the pool area "is littered with debris and discarded items." And the inspector noted that "nearly all of the smoke detectors tested at the property were not operable."
The owner of the Seattle Motor Inn, listed by the state as Dean and Jill Inman of Bothell, have 20 days to request a hearing and contest the charges. The motel's license was revoked on March 22.
sure, i like when government officials are as poetic as to use the phrase "runny gobs" in a report but i was there every Monday afternoon for a good many months and the fetid, gobby nast was real moreover, the children who played and lived and tried to do homework in those rooms were real. and they loved their moms and dads and that was real too. and i consider myself lucky not to have contracted a serious disease despite my very real dis-ease.
No wonder i felt so wild and weirded out last week.
i can't believe people worry about PMS when all this kind of roller coastering hopeful and otherwise shitty shit is really going on all around us; maybe we should all be moody and bitchy EVERYDAY.
did i mention i love you more than i love tomwaits, which is a lot?
help yourself | By crymytinyflood | 11:04 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://berkeleyblogs.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1972
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference two things i always avoid:
