Fish & Chips

Dvorak

2009-11-08T22:58:51Z

Every year or so I find myself wanting to pick up a new skill: spinning, juggling, html. This time around it's typing. Not that I couldn't already type, but I've always been a few-finger typist---fast but not efficient, and definitely not great for my much-abused hands.

Dvorak is a different keyboard layout, named after its creator (vs Qwerty, named after the top row). It was designed for efficiency and comfort and was thrown out in the era of typewriters because it sped typists up and made their keys lock.* Now that's no longer a problem, it's becoming popular sort of the way Linux is: many people have heard of it but most have never seen, much less used, it.

Anyway, I had this annual urge, and I've been typing Dvorak ever since. I didn't switch my keys, so I really have to touch-type. It's been about a month (I think I started on October 3rd or so, but I'd have to check) and I now come in around 40-45 WPI. I'm hoping to get well above that over the next while, but in the meantime it's fast enough to let me take notes in class, write papers, and argue with people on the internet (and let me tell you, the first week or two, when I couldn't do the latter? That was torture). I can go back to Qwerty on other computers without impeding my speed or accuracy in Dvorak, too.

So--yay new skills. It's gotta be good for the brain, right?

*That may be an urban legend, but I sure like it.

Happy Canada Day!

2009-07-01T14:45:02Z

It's my first full Canada Day! (I was in transit last year.) I have to get stuff done around the house, but I'm going to see fireworks and hear Canadian music tonight---and I'm taking one of my flags!

Today's joke:
How do you get a crowd of rowdy, drunken Canadians out of your swimming pool?

You say "Everyone please leave the pool."

Today's quote: "Mon pays, ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver"--Gilles Vigneault.

Today's factoid:
Maclean's Magazine (like Time or Life, only not really) once held a contest for the true Canadian motto. The winner was "As Canadian as possible, under the circumstances."

Today's tonguetwister: say Canada Day a couple of times fast. I dare you. This is particularly difficult with a Rochester accent (strangely, my Vancouverite friends have no trouble with it).

DUH

2009-06-15T02:01:21Z

Right. It is pathetic that it has taken me this long to realize why RPF is so enticing. It's all the romance-novel infatuation-dating-sex-love arc of regular slash, plus our stupid but entirely normal fascination with celebrities and how their lives are like and unlike our own. Also, they're mostly very very pretty, and we think they're smart and witty because they have said smart and witty things that were written for them by smart and witty but mostly less attractive people.

In other news, I do have a life and stuff, I just massively fail to write about it here. Still a law student. Still have an apartment and a cat. Still have friends. Have a cool summer job. Single and content. Fattening up appallingly. Spinning more than I'm knitting. Etc.

Southland

2009-05-16T01:54:44Z

Are you watching it? Because it's AWESOME. Seriously.

For those who already are: I am super thrilled that Cooper's bar appears to be a standing set rather than a one-off. That bar may be my new favorite character.

(Unrelated PS: Also, I have a kickass job. But it's a three-day weekend, so I am instead focusing on the glory of Southland.)

Random musings

2009-04-30T15:34:11Z

It's kind of stupid to sit around thinking about hijab (because I don't sit around thinking about socks or sweaters ... wait, yes I do). But I have anyway.

Thoughts:

Even if you take religion out of it (because I don't care about that part, I admit it; people do stuff because God maybe said so, whatever, that's boring) there are really multilayered reasons for wearing hijab. My friend Imtenan tends to name a few that fit together: it forces people to treat her as a person, almost genderless, definitely without sexual overtones; it allows her to "save" a part of her beauty for those she chooses to share it with rather than the whole world (sort of the good-self-esteem version of why I would NEVER leave the house without a bra---or my mother without make-up); and (not said in so many words) it's important to her that she can be set apart, that people SEE Muslims and they aren't invisible or overlookable, that people can't just overwrite their "default" onto her.

I think she has really good points, with all of them. The first two really fit together. I definitely have never seen Imtenan as a potential sexual or romantic partner; it never even crossed my mind. I've basically never looked twice at her; she's purely a brain to me, if that makes sense. I love her brain, she's awesome, but that's as far as it goes.

But. I had some friends over for brunch recently, and Imtenan showed us a bunch of pictures of her without a scarf. And---wow. I actually felt like I maybe shouldn't be looking at them, because it *did* make me think sexual thoughts about her. Even though I see women's hair every day of my life (and when I look in the mirror), she's not "women." She's Imtenan. It's still a revelation to see her hair, specifically, and to see her whole face differently in the context of her hair.

And really, that's no different than when I switch from sweaters to t-shirts for the season and (EVERY YEAR) people say "oh my gosh, I didn't know you even owned t-shirts/had arms/didn't hibernate all summer!" I don't know what they expect (hello, winter =! summer), but it's a shock to the system when any norm changes. It makes you look at people differently. If my friend Denny put on pants, ever, it would blow my mind. But if other friends put on a skirt, that would be crazy weird. You know?

So, basically, the idea that she can heighten the impact of seeing her scarf-less by always wearing a scarf is absolutely true. And I don't think it's really any different than someone who always dresses "normally," but pulls out a low-cut dress or a negligee or even just a silk shirt on some special occasion. Or, for that matter, it's not much different from me wearing a bra no matter what, except that Imtenan's is a positive reason: she knows she's hot, and her hotness isn't for everyone. (I just don't love my boobs, and would rather no one that I haven't evaluated for "doesn't care about that crap" levels see 'em.) (Also, to be fair, she would NEVER phrase it that way, but I really do think there's a basic idea of personal awesomeness underlying it. Imtenan's as self-deprecating as any non-douchebag law student, but she really is "hiding her beauty," and that pretty much is how she conceptualizes it.)

I also think her third point is interesting. I ride the Toronto transit system all the time, and if Toronto is a multicultural city, the TTC is massively more so (because, let's face it, the white dudes all drive). I probably see people from the Middle East and North Africa every single day of my life here. I probably see Muslims every single day. And probably 85% of them are purely wallpaper to me. I'm knitting my sock, I'm listening to my iPod, I sort of notice there are other human beings around me but that's the extent, until someone sticks out. And, yes, I'll cop to it: women in hijab stand out. I notice them. And my brain is forced to go "Muslim." And as a white atheist culturally Christian North American, I think that's a really important thing. I don't think it should be anyone's main reason (insofar as it's my place to judge their reasons, which it's not), but as a bonus? It makes a lot of sense.

I do the same sort of thing sometimes; I put my rainbow bracelet on my backpack or wear my "Radical Feminist" shirt or get my hair cut extra short, because I just don't feel like letting people assume that I'm like them today. Because people do. And I get it; we don't have the processing time in our brains to think about every person and whether they're not actually what we're subconsciously assuming they are (which is, usually, "just like me in as many categories as possible"---so I don't assume cismen are ciswomen, because that's not a "possible" category, but do I have an underlying assumption that people I see are, say, English-speaking? Sure. And I probably think a lot more women that I see are gay than actually are. And I definitely think a lot more people that I see are liberal than actually are.

So ... yeah. On the one hand, I know Imtenan and Zahra and pretty much everyone with whom I've ever talked about hijab mostly just want the world to STOP FUCKING CARING SO MUCH, IT'S JUST CLOTHING, GET A GRIP. But I also think that if we can't get over it, then we should think about it in a productive way, and using the frames of the people who know WTF they're talking about (meaning Imtenan, not Rush Limbaugh). Maybe now that I've worked some of this through in my brain, I can indeed stop fucking caring so much.

Gay marriage bet

2009-04-13T15:15:40Z

A lot of my Toronto friends think this is insanely optimistic, but here's my prediction: federal (or country-wide state) gay marriage in the US by 2018.

Doing my part in the Googlebomb wars ....

2009-04-13T01:57:32Z

Things I love about living alone

2009-03-21T23:56:36Z

Already, this weekend, I've:

--had two friends I'd like to see more of over for brunch
--done paper research with my cat in my lap
--done paper research in my kitchen
--listened to music without turning it down, guiltily, to the lowest volume setting
--left dishes in the sink
--gone in and out of my "cold storage" about 57 million times
--washed handspun in my laundry room
--worked out in my PJs without having to leave my house
--told another friend "Sure, come over! We'll order Indian!"
--sighed happily and thought, "I should post somewhere about how great this is."

Reggie is secretly a bird

2009-02-22T01:35:32Z

Reggie is secretly a bird
Originally uploaded by littlemousling

He is also not-so-secretly awesome.

I'll try not to do this too often ...

2009-02-11T21:57:18Z

Reggie being adorable!
Originally uploaded by littlemousling

But this is my new cat. He's about five years old and utterly perfect in every way. I picked him (with Amy's help) out of the hundred or so at the Humane Society (the only other cat that really screamed "right for me" was FIV positive, poor thing).

He enjoys scratching the heck out of his scratching things (but not my furniture), amusing himself with toy mice, cuddling, and, of course, long walks on the beach.

Also, he's brilliant. I've been moving his toy mice back into the "playroom" (doubles as my dressing room; that is, it's a room too small for any real purpose which contains a closet, so I put my dresser in there and use it for getting dressed in the morning). After the third time, I happened to glance up and see him knock a mouse accidentally into the other room. Before I could get up, he trotted over, picked it up in his mouth, and carried it back to his play area. Seriously! He's like a rocket scientist. Especially considering cats don't usually learn by mimicry like dogs and children do.

That is all. For now.

Writer's Block: Opposites Attract

2009-01-30T15:48:26Z

What celebrity would you consider changing your sexual identity for?

View 503 Answers

Paul Gross.

Moving plans!

2009-01-21T19:30:28Z

I'm moving to an apartment (from my "shared house," ie bedroom plus access to kitchen, bathroom, laundry, etc) Jan. 31. My housemate/property manager's father died suddenly in late December, and her mother and nephew are moving in, so it's a good time for me to skedaddle.

It's going to be AWESOME. A whole apartment all to myself (for only a very small increase in rent!), including a laundry room (really!) and a landlord who said I can have a cat (AWESOMEPANTS).

But, it does mean going a bit afield of my usual haunts (I'm only five blocks away, but in -12C weather, -20ish with windchill that becomes quite a hike). So, a list! (I love lists.)

I will be significantly farther from:
--My favorite small grocery store
--My favorite small stationery store/post office
--Shopper's (it's like CVS)
--My current hair salon
--Ethiopian food

I will not be significantly farther from:
--Dufferin Mall (one of the biggest malls in the city, with a big grocery store and a WalMart)
--Dufferin Grove Park
--A large pharmacy kind of thing in general (not Shopper's in particular)
--The subway in general (vs. my old stop)
--The College streetcar in general
--The law school (what's five blocks when you're already 2.5km away?)
--My bank
--Chinese food
--Pizza

I will be significantly closer to:
--I'm don't know yet!
--Um, a strip club. Don't mention this to my parents. The neighbors say they've had absolutely no trouble with the place! And it's not the one with the obscene neon sign, at any rate. Anyway, maybe it'll go under in the recession.
--OK, also a lot of furniture stores, and a place that sells saris and salwar kameez and stuff, and some Bengal grocery stores.

"Obama is a terrorist!"

2009-01-16T00:29:13Z

I know there's no real logic to be had with these ideas, but I find it so incredibly weird I just have to try.

Working from the assumption that President-Elect Obama is, in fact, a terrorist, he has some very serious long-term planning skills.

First, he excelled in high school and was therefore able to attend Occidental and Columbia. He excelled there so that he could (down the line) get into Harvard Law. Between the two, he was a community organizer, which I guess allowed him to save some money for law-school tuition (I'm assuming for the purpose of this exercise that they don't think he does anything for, you know, personal growth or helping his fellow man or alleviating suffering).

He excelled at Harvard and was editor-in-chief of the Law Review so that he could get a plumb job teaching Constitutional Law at UChicago. He married Michelle so that he would have a Presidential-looking family life. He ran for the State Senate so that he would have legislative experience to move to Congress.

He lost a House of Representatives bid but managed to keep from venting his frustration by, say, committing acts of terrorism.

He was incredibly lucky to be up against Alan Keyes, who is a joke, and won a Senate seat. He served in the Senate and then started a three-year, incredibly grueling run for the Presidency, which he (duh) won.

And aaaalllll of that--from high school on up--was an incredibly tenuous, enormously long-term plot to take over the government from the inside.

Frankly, if I really thought the terrorists were THAT committed and THAT intelligent and THAT sneaky, I'd be tempted to join up. Somehow, though, it just seems, what's the word, ~~batshit~~ implausible.

Alternately, sometime in the recent past he was won over to the terrorist mindset by his "Muslin" relatives and no one noticed except a handful of people who just happen to also be racist nutjobs.

Vacation

2009-01-05T04:41:25Z

Laurel with Romulan Ale
Originally uploaded by littlemousling

I could explain the context of this photo, but it's funnier without.

My vacation: very little computer time, very little TV, lots of reading (about a book a day), enough knitting, and lots and lots of fun with Laurel (and Cassie and Hardy!).

All in all, a really excellent break.

Announcement!

2008-12-18T17:39:57Z

I am now going to attempt a SERIOUS internet reduction, for the next two weeks. If you see me here, please yell at me to read a book!

If you need to reach me, call my parents' house (most of you who'd need to have that number), but I'll probably be checking my e-mail once a day, so a comment here will reach me within 36 hours or so except during the very beginning of January, when I'll be mostly off the grid in California.

Here goes nothing! ::stockpiles books and knitting::

From Hysilvinia_Lith

2008-12-12T00:28:40Z

OK, sucked at that one. I kept thinking everything was a Milky Way, and none of them were! Well, until it was. I just assume if it's not a Snickers (or a super-easy one like M&Ms) it's probably Milky Way. But that only really works once.

Well ... gee.

OK, that's an ominous number. Good thing I don't camp or live in the country or anything.

littlemousling @ 2008-12-09T20:49:00

2008-12-10T01:50:07Z

In other news, you should all be/start watching the BBC's Merlin. Because it is awesome and wondrous. Seriously. And all 12 episodes so far are up on Surf the Channel.

Say what you will ...

2008-12-04T17:20:16Z

It's true, my review lawyer* is a bit of a flake. It's true, she's not as detail-oriented as one might want in someone who's checking your work before it goes to court. It's true, she has a bad habit of skimming over anything that's not an all-caps [NAME], WHAT ABOUT THIS HERE?

But after I talk to her, I feel better prepared, calmer, and more able to represent my clients to the best of my ability. And that's why she's perfect for this job. Because it's not about her; it's about what she can bring out in us.

*the actual lawyer who makes sure we law students don't screw anything up too badly while representing clients at my legal clinic.

Mosaic meme

2008-12-01T05:20:11Z

The Rules!

1. Answer each of the questions below using the Flickr Search engine. 
2. Choose a photo from the first three pages.
 3. Copy the URL of your favorite photo into this site: http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/mosaic.php 
4. Share!

1. Molly in Autumn Camouflage, 2. chicken makhani, 3. Rochester, New York - 1, 4. Anan Brown Bear #1, 5. Paul-Gross, 6. Meet me at the Coke sign, 7. Rain in Rome, Italy, 8. tiramisu, 9. Don't Worry Be Happy, 10. Feline daydreams, 11. "Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?" - Nigel, 12. St. Brigid, mid-back close-up

name: Molly
favorite food: Chicken makhani
hometown: Rochester, New York
favorite color: Brown
celebrity crush: Paul Gross
favorite drink: Coke
dream vacation: Rome
favorite dessert: Tiramisu
what I most want to be when I grow up: Happy
what I love most in the world: Dozing and daydreaming
one word that describes me: Loud
my username: LittleMousling

Sounds about right.

2008-11-26T19:07:07Z

"In subjective terms, this means you are predominantly homosexual; only incidentally heterosexual."

Awesomepants.

2008-11-24T17:15:55Z

Today I went to court and helped a woman win final sole custody of her daughter.

I am not soon getting over how incredibly awesome that is.

littlemousling @ 2008-11-05T01:30:00

2008-11-05T06:30:54Z

YES WE DID!

Random

2008-10-26T00:06:25Z

I had forgotten there was that weird-ass backlash against helenish. And I still don't get it---that story was brilliant. And it's just hilariously hypocritical for freaking FANFIC writers to say people shouldn't use their ideas/universes without permission. I mean, for fuck's sake.

I think everyone's just mad she did it so much better.

Holy fucking shit that is a lot of people

2008-10-19T02:08:03Z

Obama 100,000 Person Rally in St. Louis 10-18-08
Originally uploaded by socialmedian

I kind of want to e-mail photos of this to everyone I know. Actually, everyone I've ever met. I mean Christ on a cracker that is a lot of people.

GooooooObama!

In other news, 34 of the 45ish places Sarah Palin has visited have been significantly whiter than America overall, but she believes she's seeing "the real America." Guess that depends on how you define "real." And "America."

Um, what?

2008-10-14T13:20:14Z

"The last time Apple thought about opening up its software, it came up with Boot Camp - a method of running Windows on a Mac, a move that prompted wags to praise a combination that brought together the affordability of Mac hardware with the reliability of Windows software."

Yeah, no, you mean exactly the opposite, dudes. And therefore this sentence does not in any way fit the article.

You all know how Mac is praised for its affordability and Windows for its stability! ... NOT.