A final note

To anyone out there who might read this blog and want to continue following me:

I have decided to publish a new blog. If you are interested in checking it out, please email me at palabramante@gmail.com and I will send you the new URL.

Thanks for reading and for your interest. Keeping a blog is one of my favourite things, and I hope to continue to utilize this format to practice writing and crystallize my thoughts on virtual paper in order to help make sense of my life.

Thanks again. Happy 2010.

English only? Creo que la reality don't reflect it

Very interesting... Look how "English-y" our country apparently is (not).

Las Vulpess "Me gusta ser una zorra"

adaptation of Iggy and the Stooges' "I wanna be your dog". AWESOME.

Christians are commies

This shit is rad. (from the New Internationl Version):

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. 4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. 7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; 8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Love
9Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[c] Do not be conceited.

17Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. 18If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay,"[d]says the Lord. 20On the contrary:
"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."[e] 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Palestinian Youth Murdered by Israeli Army

http://www.bilin-ffj.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=199&Itemid=1

On Wednesday, 30 September 2009, the Israeli army murdered a Palestinian youth outside his school, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam high school in Yabad village, west of Jenin. This school had been closed from 2001-2006.

Around 11:35am, a military jeep with the license plate number 655474 left the main road to turn into the access road to the school where a group of male students gathered close to the main entrance of the school. The jeep was driving at a fast speed and targeted Foad Mahmoud Naiyf Turkuman (age 17) who was crouching down close to a small concrete wall. According to eye witnesses (one of his teachers and three of his friends), the jeep hit Foad directly and pushed him against the wall. Due to the impact, Foad was thrown 2.5 meters and fell to the ground in front of the vehicle. The driver of the jeep then drove his vehicle forward running two wheels over Foad's chest and torso of the already injured youth a second time. He then stopped the engine and called for reinforcement, claiming mechanical failure. The driver of the jeep closed the gate of the school and did not allow any of the teachers’ cars to go out and take the injured student from the ground, or help him.

A second jeep with the license plate number 611041 arrived. The newly arrived soldiers threw tear gas at three friends of Foad's standing nearby as well as into the school court yard to prevent anyone from coming to the scene. About 24 students were injured by the tear gas. Eventually, the second jeep towed the first one away to underline the claimed mechanical failure. While the media portrayed the event as an accident, the Palestinians clearly see it as a deliberate murder. Some witnesses documented the event with their mobile phone cameras.

When Foad's brother, Mahdi Mahmoud Naiyf Turkuman ran to the scene to help his brother, the soldiers blocked his way. He injured his wrist when he slammed his hand against the jeep in an attempt to get through. As teachers and students tried to come to Foad's rescue, saying that they will call an ambulance to take him to the hospital, the soldiers allegedly asked what was the problem and if anyone was injured!

Foad, who was seriously injured, was left unattended for 30 minutes because the army prohibited anyone from approaching. Finally, the teachers and a relative were allowed to rescue him and take him to Jenin hospital in a relative's private car. He died from his injuries at the hospital an hour later. His brother Mahdi had to be sedated by injection since he witnessed the murder of his own brother and was in shock.

Eye witnesses mentioned that the soldiers obviously assumed that the boys were about to throw stones. Since the Israeli army is not supposed to use their guns on stone throwers, they seemed to have opted to use their jeep as a weapon instead.

Most of the students were in their classes, but a few were finishing up and going to their homes.

Foad's family, who are refugees from Haifa since 1948, decided to file suit for murder against the Israeli army.


Background
The village of Yabad is surrounded by five illegal settlements, Mevo Dotan, Hermesh, Rehan, Shaqed, and Hinnanit. The Separation Wall is located west of Yabad village. Since 2003, the new road 585, located south of Yabad, is used primarily for military vehicles. Before that, the military used the old road. There is a checkpoint with 3 towers close to the school.
The Separation Wall, the Israeli-only road and the illegal settlements claimed 2,000 donums of land belonging to Yabad farmers. Since 2001, a total of 40% of Palestinian land has been lost throughout the West Bank.
One of the reasons why the military jeeps are coming to the area of the school is that the Israeli army is checking the water level for Yabad village once a month. Water is a serious issue here as everywhere else in the West Bank. Only 9% of the total available water resources are accessible to Palestinians, 91% are appropriated for Israeli use.

جريمة قتل طفل فلسطيني بيد الجيش الإسرائيلي

يوم الأربعاء 30/9/2009م قام الجيش الإسرائيلي بجريمة قتل طفل فلسطيني على مدخل مدرسته مدرسة الشهيد عز الدين القسام الثانوية في بلدة يعبد الواقعة جنوب غرب مدينة جنين. هذه المدرسة التي أغلقها الجيش الإسرائيلي منذ عام 2001 وحتى عام 2005م.

ففي حوالي الساعة 11:35 صباحا قامت مركبة عسكرية إسرائيلية تحمل لوحة تسجيل رقم צ 655474 بترك الشارع الرئيسي والدخول إلى المدخل الخص بالمدرسة حيث كان هناك بضعة طلاب يخرجون من باب المدرسة متجهين إلى منازلهم. وقد كانت المركبة تسير بسرعة عالية جدا وقامت بصدم الطالب فؤاد محمود نايف تركمان (17 عاما) بصورة متعمدة مما أدى إلى قذفه لمسافة 2.5م امام المركبة العسكرية وارتطامه بجدار اسمنتي على جانب المدخل(بشهادة ثلاثة شهود عيان من زملائه) ، ثم قام سائق المركبة بقيادتها باتجاه الطالب الجريح حيث صعدت العجلات اليمنى الأمامية والخلفية على صدره وبطنه، وواصل السير لمسافة 10 امتار حتى الباب الرئيسي للمدرسة حيث قام بإطفاء المركبة هناك مغلقا باب المدرسة أمام خروج أي سيارة منها. وقد ادعى سائق المركبة العسكرية ان مركبته معطلة وطلب هاتفيا المساعدة من مركبات عسكرية أخرى. وعندما وصل مدير ومعلمو المدرسة لمساعدة الجريح أغلق الجنود الطريق امامهم ومنعوهم من تقديم يد العون للجريح او خروج اية سيارة من المدرسة لنقل الجريح. في هذه الأثناء جاءت مركبة عسكرية ثانية تحمل لوحة تسجيل رقم צ 611041 وما ان وصلت حتى بدا الجنود بإطلاق قنابل الغاز المسيل للدموع باتجاه المدرسة حيث الطلبة في غرفهم الطفية مما ادى إلى وقوع حوالي 24 حالة اختناق وإغماء من القنابل المسيلة للدموع. وقامت المركبة العسكرية بجر المركبة التي ادعوا انها معطلة وأوقفوها على الشارع الرئيسي مقابل المدرسة مباشرة وقد تم تصويرها من خلال الهواتف النقالة لبعض الطلبة.

وعندما هرع شقيق الشهيد فؤاد المدعو مهدي محمود نايف تركمان لمساعدة شقيقه أغلق الجنود الطريق أمامه وقد أصيب بجرح في ساعده الأيمن ونزف دما بغزارة. وعندما تحدث مدير المدرسة والمعلمون مع الجنود للسماح لهم بالخروج ومساعدة الجريح وطلب سيارة إسعاف تساءل الجنود باستهجان ماذا حدث؟ هل هناك من أحد مصاب؟

وقد بقي الشهيد فؤاد ملقى على الارض ما يقارب 25-30 دقيقة حتى اسطاع المعلمون الوصول إليه في اللحظة التي وصلت فيها سيارة خاصة لأحد سكان البلدة كانت تسير على الشارع الرئيسي فقاموا بنقل الجريح بواسطتها على مستشفى جنين حيث فارق الشهيد الحياة هناك. اما اخوه مهدي فقد أصيب بصدمة ونوبة هستيرية حادة.

وحسب الادعاء الإسرائيلي فقد قال الجنود ان الطلبة كانوا على اهبة الإستعداد لإلقاء الحجارة على المركبة العسكرية، وقد استخدم الجنود مركبتهم كسلاح ضد الطالب. وللحقيقة فإن أبواب مبنى المدرسة كانت مغلقة والطلبة في غرفهم الصفية يتلقون العلم ولم يكن على مدخل المدرسة سوى 7-8 طلاب كانوا قد انهوا دوامهم المدرسي وهم في طريقهم إلى منازلهم.

وللعلم فإن عائلة الشهيد فؤاد كانت قد هجرت من مدينة حيفا عام 1948 وقد قررت العائلة مقاضاة الجنود الإسرائيليين أمام المحاكم.

El cuerpo no es más que un medio de volverse temporalmente visible. Todo nacimiento es una aparición. (Amado Nervo)

The glory of God is man fully alive. -Saint Irenaeus

الحروف العربية عالم سمسم

The ABCs of Arabic!!!

HOT CLAM BAKES 12:30 PM TODAY at the Main Library

Yay! The Library is reopening! I have a meeting, so I can't go to the "re-opening event," but I'll be sure to stop by soon to make sure my poor library is still there.

Here is the info if anybody in town wants to go celebrate the library:

(from an email sent by the LFPL):



The Main Library Reopens Tomorrow!

Please join us as we reopen

The Main Library
301 York Street
Thursday, August 27, 2009
12:30 pm

After flooding closed the Main Library just three weeks ago, we are very excited to be able to reopen the first floor and welcome back our friends and patrons. Louisville loves its libraries and the outpouring of support we have received from the community has been tremendous. That is why everyone has worked so hard to get the Main Library open ahead of schedule.

We still have a long way to go toward full recovery, but this is a tremendous first step.

We look forward to seeing you Thursday!

Sincerely,

Craig Buthod, Library Director

This is why people become cops

Arrested Development's Beckett Aesthetic

Martin Short's appearance in this episode is rather Beckett-esque...

Limpets are sequential hermaphrodites!

There has to be something here to use in queer theory.

Green Porno: Why I Want My Vagina

Thanks, Rene, for reminding me about this. Isabella Rossellini is amazing...and hilarious.

To all women who might possibly reproduce someday, if they haven't already:

A position paper recently released by the United States Breastfeeding Committee has some good reminders about the importance of breastfeeding in helping keep health care costs down. Below are some highlights, and the entire position paper can be found at their website under the link "Health Care Reform Begins with Breastfeeding."

- NOT breastfeeding increases health risks to baby and mother (Breastfed babies have fewer infections, lower SIDS rates, and grow up to have lower incidence of obesity, diabetes, and asthma. Moms who breastfeed at least 1 year have lower risk of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and cardiovascular disease compared to women who never breastfed.)

- Nationally, we lose $475 per non-breastfed infant due to extra health costs during the first year of life. "These costs are bourne by Medicaid, insurance companies, hospitals and parents."

So, sorry, Sparks: tits are NOT only a source of fun and games at home! They are also there to feed our little Joe so that he'll grow (and be healthy and less costly)!

Textspeak is not universally (sic)-worthy, apparently

"Okay. So. Like, right now, for example, the Haiti-ans want to come to America...but some people are all 'What about the strain on OUR resources?'"

...Sorry 'bout that. I just realized as I began to write that I frequently want to begin a blog post with "So." SO. PERIOD. And I'm sure it's because of the mammoth influence of Clueless on my speech (see above quote). So I will try not to say "So-period" all the time. However colon I do want to share an interesting grammatical tidbit with you, which also has interesting cultural implications. In my searching on the internets, I came across this article from the Miami New Times Blogs. Aside from the controversy over whether or not there is discrimination based on sexual orientation going on in the case, there is the more troubling issue of the text message transcriptions in the article.

I realize that text message quotes are only going to become a bigger part of our (news) lives as politicians, celebrities, and other public figures are caught in red-handed guilt for whatever peccadillo because of ridiculous, incriminating text messages. They are the new secret Nixon tapes of the investigative justice process. So I suppose I should just make peace with the fact that famous, wealthy, successful people use "u" to mean "you" and "ur" to mean "you are" or "your" (further inflaming people's confusion with the distinction between the two). Personally, I think all this sounds positively cro-magnon, but you can't stop the onward march of progress, right?

That being said, what is most interesting to me about this blog going over incriminating text messages in a domestic abuse case involving a high-profile gay couple in Miami is the newsblog's decision to place (sic) in the following quote:

On March 20, Peña sent a third text message containing the threat, "If and when I'm evicted u will be expose (sic) for all to c and know ur true character. Who u truly are. Ponder that. Is it worth it?"

I get that "expose" is (sic) because it is an infinitive rather than a participle, as it should be. But what I don't understand is why "to c" and "ur" and "u" are not also considered (sic)? Does (sic) only refer to grammatical mistakes/variations and not spelling mistakes? I didn't think so (and Wikipedia agrees with me). I actually find the uneven application of (sic) by the writer to be more disturbing than the slow slide into cro-magnon oblivion of our written language. It points to an even larger and more serious lack of education and critical thinking/editing ability.

So as my dad used to say, "Put your head between your knees and kiss your ass goodbye." These are the intellectual endtimes.

The eyebrows make him feel dressier

Another excellent episode of Arrested Development. This is the one where the apartment wars between Lucille and Lucille II commence.

the poor ol' library

As you all probably heard, our fair city of Louisville was hit hard by a rain storm-cum-flood on Tuesday, August 4. The damage sustained by the city was concentrated centrally, mostly between Broadway and Iroquois Park. Many people lost their cars underwater and a lot of houses had flooded basements. The University of Louisville Belknap campus was hard hit, being right in the center of the flood area. Damage was done to 13 buildings, including the caving of part of one building's roof; the Education School had to be completely shut down and its reopening time is unclear pending massive renovations. Also, the Music School took a lot of damage as well as the Houchens administrative building. As a student and teacher at the university, I'm concerned about how the university will handle the beginning of the school year, given the deficits it's operating under. Those concerns aside, however, UofL has had an organized response to the disaster and already a lot of work restoring the damage has been accomplished. Fortunately, there are a lot of smart, caring people at work, and volunteers are helping the diligent Physical Plant staff.

The real tragedy of the flood, however, has been the Louisville Free Public Library, a beacon of civic activity and benefits in our city. The LFPL suffered millions of dollars of damage to books, facilities and equipment, including the destruction of brand new electronic equipment for the recently-built Newburg branch that was supposed to open this month. Also, the main server (you know, the one that contains the library's ENTIRE EFFING CATALOG) is currently underwater. So. There is no internet at any library, no library website, the catalog is inaccessible (and possibly lost forever); I went to the St Matthews Eline branch earlier today and it was a ghost town. Usually it is one of the busiest branches, and it was midday on a Saturday. One can still check books out and return them, but without internet, there is almost no library traffic. It's really sad, and kind of scary. (Also, on a selfish note, Thomas and I have no idea when things are due because we always just look at our accounts online, and since there is no library website for the foreseeable future--or at least for the rest of the week--we are up the creek without a paddle, so to say. So we are gonna have some overdue books for sure.)

So, in short, the situation is pretty dire for the library. if you have a few dollars to spare, the library is taking donations:
The Library Foundation
301 York Street
Louisville, KY 40203
Attn: Flood Relief


More info about the flood can be found here:
Louisville Metro Government website
Library Journal.com
Business First Magazine

I'm gonna send them something myself. It's just so sad. Just to drive home the point, here are some pictures:

winnow is OLD

Wow! I believe this is the oldest word yet to arrive in my inbox as part of the OED word-of-the-day email subscription service. Absolutely incredible!

winnow, v. (from the SECOND EDITION 1989)
1. trans. To expose (grain or other substances) to the wind or to a current of air so that the lighter particles (as chaff or other refuse matter) are separated or blown away; to clear of refuse material by this method.
EARLIEST WRITTEN USAGE: a900 O.E. Martyrol.
!
Totally rad.
Interestingly, it derives from Old English AND Latin.
If I did this correctly, you should be able to follow this link to look at the etymology for yourself.

I Want That

From the National Gardening Association:

Obedient plant (Physostegia) is a widely adapted perennial flower that is so-named, not for its compact and controllable growth habit, but for the way the flowers can be bent into a desired direction and they will stay that way. In fact, most obedient plants are rampant spreaders. They can quickly become weedy, especially if grown under ideal conditions (full sun, moist soil).

Now there’s a 2010 Fleuroselect, gold medal-winning obedient plant that flowers quickly and can be grown as an annual in a container. The Fleuroselect awards are given to unique flower varieties that have impressed judges in trials in 40 different gardens throughout Europe, America, and Asia. ‘Crystal Peak White’ flowers in the first year and only grows 15 inches tall and 10 inches wide. The plants are self-cleaning, meaning they drop their spent flowers and don’t needing deadheading. Plus, unlike other perennial obedient plants, this variety flowers all summer. It’s perfect for containers or annual flowering beds. Since it’s in the Physostegia family, it’s hardy in USDA zones 2-9.
Photo from the website American Beauties Native Plants

Learnin' 'bout chile peppers

I have recently had the opportunity to learn more about peppers, since people have been giving me peppers from their gardens and I've been getting peppers from the CSA. After a look at a nice, organized website that gave me a good idea of what I'm working with, now I know what recipes to research. I apparently have some habanero peppers, some Anaheims, and some "goat" anaheims.

The website is called Chester's Chiles, and whoever made the site is clearly obsessed with peppers...which I happen to respect. There are worse things to be obsessed with. You can try to identify your own chiles at their site. It's a very helpful website for the nacent gardener/chile aficionado.