Thursday, May 13, 2010

Arbitrary Thoughts from a Magic Garden of Intrigue

One:  “Hath not a Jew eyes?  Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions; fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heal’d by the same means, warm’d and cool’d by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is?  If you prick us, do we not bleed?  If you tickle us, do we not laugh?  If you poison us, do we not die?  And if you wrong us, do we not revenge?”—The Merchant of Venice, Act 3, Scene 1, by William Shakespeare

II.  Is not that quote amazing?  It speaks on so many things, hitting prejudice and racism square on the head.  The words Jew and Christian can be switched for any demographic group and still make just as much sense.  Are not we all humans? 

Tres.  I absolutely hate it when a survey or statistic reports on things that deal with skin color.  I heard on NPR the other day a story about how the economic downturn is particularly hard on “white” Americans and that it’s resembling a similar crisis that happened to “black” Americans many years ago.  I couldn’t finish listening to the story.  Why, I wonder.  Is it not obvious that the only way for racism to stop is to STOP HAVING THESE TYPES OF STATISTICS, categorized by freaking skin color.  Whenever I’m given the option, I always check “prefer not to respond.”  As long as we describe people by their skin color we’re going to have a race problem.  But maybe I’m over-reacting.  I need to look at it from a different point of view, but I just can’t wrap my head around it.  On one hand, using a skin color as a descriptor should be the same as using a hair color or eye color; but, on the other hand, after years and years of prejudice, it’s not. 

FORE!  I still work crosswords all the time, generally one or two a day now.  My skills at solving have greatly improved over these past two years.  I see common words and themes and find myself finishing them quicker and quicker.  When clues or themes are clever and/or witty, I usually always have a blast working out the puzzle.  However, I’m still not very good at Sudoku.

Golden Rings.  Didja get it?  Huh?

6.  I was doing really good on that whole weight loss thing.  A steady decline in weight.  But then something went awry and things reversed.  And then I spent a week away from home in Illinois, all fast-food and unheathies.  So.  While I’m still lighter than when I started, I’m not as light as I was.

6+1.  Remember that one episode of ER when Lucy Knight got stabbed by that schizo guy that was the head elf in The Santa Clause on Valentines Day?  And then Dr. Carter walked in and picked up the V-Day card and got attacked as well, stabbed in the back.  And he fell down and landed beside the bed, where he saw Lucy bleeding to death on the other side of the bed and that loud music was rocking and they were a-bleedin’?  Man, that was such a great episode.  I watched plenty o’ ER growing up.  When Dr. Green died it was very sad.

1000.  That’s binary.  Really.  Cause 0*2^0+0*2^1+0*2^2+1*2^3 = 2^3 = 8.  I don’t really understand why some things are written in binary.  How exactly do a series of 1s and 0s transform into everything?  I’m not sure.

Blackbird claw, raven wing under the red sun. Long clothesline, two shirt sleeves waving as we go by.  Hundred years, hundred more, someday we may see a woman king, wristwatch time slowing as she goes to sleep…  I love listening to Iron & Wine.  Man, such great stuff.  Sam Beam is a fine wordsmith.

2 comments:

Stephanie Fey said...

Well, look who it is: Logan Stewart! Who's have thought I'd bump into you here?

How's the good lady? How are her pretty ears?

I see you're still befuddling and enlightening and contriving and splurging in your own fantastic way. Well, good. It keeps the psychiatrists in work!

Steph Fey x

logankstewart said...

@Steph: I vaguely remember you. You're like a scratch at the back of my brain, begging to be recalled, but it's just so distant that I only see a faint outline of who you are.

She's still wonderful, though, and thanks for reappearing you apparition you.