| | Construction workers on the WTC site cat-calling women through the chain-link fence on the anniversary of 9/11. Or at any time at all. | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment   |
| What I've read:
06-01-2008 12:01 (from the Korea Times)
Police Break Up Anti-US Beef Protest
Riot police forcefully dispersed about 500 demonstrators early Sunday morning in central Seoul after an all-night protest against the impending resumption of U.S. beef imports.
The diehard protesters were part of a crowd of about 40,000 South Koreans who had gathered in front of Seoul City Hall Saturday night to protest a beef import agreement with the U.S. -- the largest rally since candlelight vigils started early May.
No serious injuries were reported. But police said they hauled away over 200 protesters, raising the total number of detainees since the start of the protests to 500.
The rally was mostly peaceful, with most protesters waving candles and dispersing voluntarily near midnight. But hundreds of participants demonstrated on downtown streets after midnight.
Police fired water cannons -- for the first time since the protests against U.S. beef began -- as scores of protesters attempted to head for the presidential office. Several protesters injured slightly by the water cannons were taken to hospital.
Anger has intensified since Thursday when the government started a legal process to put the new import terms into effect. Imports are expected to resume as early as this month.
Rallies in recent days have ended with protesters marching through downtown streets, resulting in some scuffles with police. Over 10,000 riot police have been dispatched daily to prevent possible turmoil.
Opposition legislators have also been taking to the streets to join the protests, accusing the government of striking a hasty deal with Washington for the sake of better economic ties between the two countries. The ongoing political tension over beef imports is expected to cripple to first session of South Korea's new
legislature which opened Friday.
Suspecting political forces are behind the protests, the government has been investigating the leaders of five civic groups that organized the candlelight vigils.
But citizens insist that their attendance is voluntary and reflects overall public discontent with the beef deal and the Lee administration.
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/06/117_25084.html
And what most of the world has seen seen:
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For the first time in a decade, college students move out of campuses to march toward Seoul Plaza, central Seoul, Sunday, to join the evening’s candlelit rally against American beef imports.
/ Korea Times Photo by Choi Heung-soo
( What they know ) | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Why is it when I'm feeling pissy, and I know I look pissy and bitchy - is the time when disgusting gross passerby mens decide to get in my face and leer/hit on/talk to/flirt with me?
What the fuck? When I want to be left alone, LEAVE ME ALONE! That's real smart guys, try and talk to someone when they obviously are not in a good mood. I'm pretty sure that its not a flirty thing if someone is looking pretty cheesed off and not paying attention to you. Jeebus. Soon I'm going to start spitting on people again. I don't know if I'm giving mixed signals with my face, but I guess I should start being more clear. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| A lot of thangs going on this week. To counteract the cantankerous beast in me I watch this instead:
| | comments: Leave a comment |
| 
First Look: 'Tropic Thunder'
Who's that man between Jack Black and Ben Stiller in this scene from the upcoming comedy? (Hint: he's famous...and white)
All About Ben Stiller
By Adam B. Vary
If you don't recognize that African-American actor standing between Jack Black and Ben Stiller, there's a good reason: He's white. In Tropic Thunder, an epic action comedy co-written and directed by Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. plays Kirk Lazarus, a very serious Oscar-winning actor cast in the most expensive Vietnam War film ever. Problem is, Lazarus's character, Sgt. Osiris, was originally written as black. So Lazarus decides to dye his skin and play Osiris, um, authentically. Funny? Sure. Dangerous? That's an understatement. ''If it's done right, it could be the type of role you called Peter Sellers to do 35 years ago,'' Downey says. ''If you don't do it right, we're going to hell.''
The film marks Stiller's first directing effort since 2001's Zoolander. With Thunder (opening Aug. 15), he takes aim at the sweetest target of all: actors. Downey plays one of a team of self-indulgent stars cast in the modern equivalent of Apocalypse Now. Stiller plays an action hero who has just adopted a baby from Asia but worries that ''all the good ones are gone.'' Black portrays a comedian known for performing multiple roles in a single film — his latest is called The Fatties: Fart 2. But when the film's director (Steve Coogan) and writer (Nick Nolte) get fed up with their prima donna cast, they drop them into the jungle to fend for themselves. The actors think they're doing some sort of full-immersion filmmaking, but the danger they're in is very real.
Stiller got the idea for Thunder more than 20 years ago while shooting a small part in Steven Spielberg's WWII drama Empire of the Sun. He's continued to develop the script as his own star has risen, which makes taking on his brethren all the richer — watch for cameos from Tom Cruise and Tobey Maguire — and all the more perilous. For starters, Hollywood satires have a rocky box office record. And then there's that little issue of a white guy playing a black guy. Stiller says that he and Downey always stayed focused on the fact that they were skewering insufferable actors, not African-Americans. ''I was trying to push it as far as you can within reality,'' Stiller explains. ''I had no idea how people would respond to it.'' He recently screened a rough cut of the film and it scored high with African-Americans. He was relieved at the reaction. ''It seems people really embrace it,'' he says.
Paramount is hoping so: The studio plans to debut the trailer online March 17, and Downey is all over it. (In one scene, he tries to bond with a real African-American castmate by quoting the theme song from The Jeffersons.) Downey, meanwhile, is confident he never crossed the line. ''At the end of the day, it's always about how well you commit to the character,'' he says. ''I dove in with both feet. If I didn't feel it was morally sound, or that it would be easily misinterpreted that I'm just C. Thomas Howell in [Soul Man], I would've stayed home.''
article at http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20182058,00.html | | comments: 1 comment or Leave a comment |
| We have an open cube floor, nothing cute or fashion-y about it. This means two things:
1) Everyone can hear everyone's business
2) Lots of low-tones and whispering
I usually keep to myself here, mainly because I have lots o' thangs to do, and most conversation at the workplace goes like this:
A: My hair is really big today!
B: Your hair was really big yesterday too.
A: I know! Its so weird!
C: Did you blow dry it?
A: I usually do - but its bigger than usual.
C: Mine is flat today.
B: Let me see.
::C walks around to edge of cube::
C: See guys? This is what my hair looks like flat.
A: Isn't it usually flat?
C: No, I usually blow dry it.
B: Ohhhh!
C: Yeah, I have this amazing blow-dryer, but today I used a flat-iron.
Fin. (Well not really, this convo lasted about 2 hours, but I checked out after that)
Also, I've noticed that I can't really use a sense of humor that is not fashion-related here. My boss was going out to get coffee and so she offered to treat our team. I told her my order, but then in a really ditzy voice I said "Like, yeahh... and like, can I have it with fresh ground nutmeg and organic yak's milk?" As people were all throwing their orders at her, she started writing everything down and reading aloud. When she got to mine, she read "Grande Chai with yak's milk and nutmeg..." And she was serious.
I realize this happened because of two things:
1) People around here ACTUALLY TALK LIKE THIS
2) This is COMPLETELY NORMAL
Whoa. I know.
Even some of the more straight-up women here have adapted to such an environment by speaking on such things as celebrity pregnancies and Angelina Jolie's homewrecking abilities. (Person B in above dialogue is one such person). Me, I had an experiment one day on if I talked back to these ladies with their mannerisms to see their reactions. All other conversational topics on food, politics, social justice, and world travel had failed, so I was prepared to see how mirroring a ditz would work for me.
CONTROL DAY (normal tones, normal attitudte - spunky and fun, high intelligence)
RESULUTS (by conversation topic):
-FOOD - horrified looks
-POLITICS - Hilary Hilary Hilary!
A: poor thing i felt so bad for her!
Me: Do you agree with her issues?
A: I'm not really paying attention, I think its cool she's runninng!
-SOCIAL JUSTICE - horrified looks
-WORLD TRAVEL - horrified looks
EXPERIDITZ DAY (like, such as)
RESULTS ALL AROUND - surprised but not horrified looks. Hrm . Interesting. | | comments: Leave a comment |
| - rain/snow/wind/rain/ice/chill/rain/wind and all back again.
- frustrations abound: how many times can I make an intern cry from frustration? inversely: how many times can I be patient with easy screw-ups when its obvious the work isn't being done?
- joeseph schmidt makes a damn good boyfriend, him and lady godiva hung out, but she tried to shank him so he just smacked her down with some chocolatey goodness and here I am with a red box.
-attitude? I ain't got none - whatchu talkin' about Willis? | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| http://media.www.thecampuspress.com/media/storage/paper1098/news/2008/02/18/Opinion/If.Its.War.The.Asians.Want-3216954.shtml
www.TheCampusPress.Com
Boulder's Online Independent Voice Since 1996
Date: 2/18/08
Section: Opinion
Since I transferred to CU last year, I've noticed some tension between the white students and the Asian students. There's never any outright conflict, but I notice little things. Like, Asians always seem surprised whenever I talk to them. They stare at me for a few seconds as though I must have made some mistake, and once they realize I'm intentionally speaking to them, they aren't always thrilled.
On the other hand, white people are quick to ridicule Asians. They have no problem with making demeaning remarks about their looks, mannerisms, and accents-things they would never say about black people.
So when an Asian refuses to make eye contact with me or dismisses me with a one-word sentence, I just say to myself, "Max, Asians are not evil cyborgs. They're human, just like you. And if you were a minority student in a sea of walnut-brained business majors and skiers, you'd be crabby, too."
But last week, I had an epiphany.
After my friend and I finished working our abs at the Rec Center, we decided to head upstairs to tighten our buns on the StairMaster. As we walked down the hallway, a rubber ball bounced out of one of the racquetball courts and landed at the feet of an Asian in front of us.
He picked up the ball and leaned over the railing of the court nearest to him.
"Hey, that's not ours," I heard a guy call up from the court. The
Asian stared down at him for a moment, and then held the ball out to him. "That's not ours," the guy said again.
Then another voice called out from a different court, "Hey, does anyone see a ball up there?"
The Asian looked over, confused.
"I think it goes to that court," I said, pointing to the one nearest to me.
The Asian stared at me blankly for another second, and then he looked back down into the court next to him and offered them the ball again.
"That's not our ball," the guy called up.
"Excuse me," I said. The Asian whipped his head around and scowled at me. "I think it goes to that court."
He paused a few seconds, and then he said, in a perfect American accent, "Okay," and tossed the ball into the court next to me.
That's when it hit me. The Asian was so jaded by his experiences with the whitebread, brainless tree sloths of CU that even though three people had explained to him that he was trying to return the ball to the wrong court, it was inconceivable to him that we might be right.
And when he looked into my eyes, it wasn't just irritation and disgust that I saw-it was hate. Pure hate.
I'm such a fool for not realizing it sooner. I can't tell you how many times the Asians have treated me like a retarded weasel and I've forgiven them. But now I know that Asians are not just "a product of their environment," and their rudeness is not a "cultural misunderstanding."
They hate us all.
And I say it's time we started hating them back. That's right-no more "tolerance." No more "cultural sensitivity." No more "Mr. Pretend-I'm-Not-Racist."
It's time for war.
But we won't attack their bodies or minds. We will attack their souls.
The first step, or "Phase 1," is to find them all. Anyone who is interested in signing up to volunteer can do so by e-mailing me.
Next Sunday at noon, we will all meet at Farrand Field. Each volunteer will be issued an extra-large butterfly net.
The hunt will then begin.
When I blow my whistle, we will scatter in every direction and catch as many Asians as possible. Make sure to pay special attention to the Rec Center, the UMC, the math and engineering buildings and Lollicup.
If you're not sure if someone is an Asian, give them a calculus problem to do in their head. If they get it right, net 'em.
Captured Asians will be dragged to my apartment on the Hill and hog-tied. Once they're all secured in my living room, "Phase 2" will come into effect.
The Asians' reformation will begin with a 100-round beer pong tournament. They will listen to "It's a Small World" on repeat while they play.
When the tournament is finished, the Asians will then be forced to eat bad sushi from Hapa-with forks. When all the sushi is gone, they will be permitted to sleep for four hours, but the entire time I will shout through a megaphone, over and over, "Why didn't you make enough Wiis?!"
In the morning, the Asians will arrange themselves in rows, if they haven't naturally done so already. I will stand in front of them and hold up a card with the name of an emotion on it such as, "sad," or "surprised." The Asians must then make a facial expression to match the word on the card. Any Asian who remains deadpan or makes the wrong face will be tickled until they pee. When all Asians make the correct face at the same time, the game will end, but then they will be yelled at for being conformists.
The Asians will then be allowed to play "Dance Dance Revolution."
However, the game will be rigged so that the Asians will receive no points, regardless of how robotically they dance.
Any Asian who tries to escape will be butterfly-netted and sent back to my apartment for another "Phase 2." Anyone caught speaking any language other than English will be kissed on the lips.
Once the Asian spirit has been broken, "Phase 3" will begin. Before we let the Asians go, we will go to their homes and redecorate them in a traditional American style. We will replace their rice cookers with George Foreman Grills, their green tea mochi with fried Snickers bars, and their rice rockets with Hummers. And booster seats.
When "Phase 3" is complete, the Asians will be released.
Now, I understand that this plan may upset some of you Asian readers, but the only other way to make peace would be to expel you. If you're smart, you'll turn yourselves in now, and it will all be over in a few days.
Besides, look on the bright side-we're not going to put you through anything we haven't put ourselves through, and we all turned out fine.
Contact Campus Press staff editor Max Karson at
max.karson@colorado.edu <mailto:max.karson@colorado.edu> >
> >
> > some of you may have seen or heard about the article that came out
> > this week at University of Colorodo, Boulder. Lawyers at CU have said
> > that the article does NOT constitute hate speech. campus staff and
> > students are organizing against this. They are in the process of
> > writing a letter, petition and demands and so if you have any insight or
> > suggestions, please forward to either me or leslie wong (info below). i
> > know all of you student activists, lawyers, organizers have great ideas
> > and experience so please share - anything will help!!
> > | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Several friends have commented on my increasing evil streak. I have noticed it too. Maybe its the high heels, or that most of the clothing doesn't fit me, or that now I keep up with the gossip rags way more than any normal person should, or the the large amount of drinking that's been happening. But all those things coupled with my saying this to one of my interns:
"I need you to do this ASAP - Quick! Like a bunny!"
...has clued me in that I should start wearing more comfortable shoes to work. And no - I have not seen Devil Wears Prada yet. | | comments: 2 comments or Leave a comment |
| Windows Vista layout is very similar to the Mac. It's throwing me off - PLEASE STOP THE MADNESS!!!
K THNX BYE! | | comments: Leave a comment |
| The Stupidest Thing I Heard Today
SCENE: 9:52am. Sitting in my cubicle kingdom and checking into the various fiefdoms of this little world. Breakfast? Check. Coffee? Check. Sanity? Awwwl Riiight. Check. Suddenly my wall-mate posits something that absolutely blows my mind for a full 90 seconds.
WALL-MATE: So, uhm, like, can you tell me the name of the army that flies? What do you call them?
ME:.... You mean the air force?
WALL-MATE: YEAH! That's it! Thanks!
Fin.
I. Swear To God. Verbatim. VERBATIM! Not to mention that this woman is educated, with an advanced degree she never fails to mention. Never mind that she's a fellow person of color and she just brought down the collective IQ of the creative conscience. Never mind that she carries herself well enough and that...
My mind has now rebooted. Come to think of it, that's probably some of the funniest shit I've ever heard in this business. They should sell her in boxes for office amusement.
"Wall-Mate! Says amusing things, with superior attitude! Press her loud mouth and see what comes out! Comes with assortment of phrases, smug smile optional, graduate degree not included" | | comments: Leave a comment |
| Reading back to my last post got me to thinking that I need to clear things up. I don't hate my job. I just hate the people at my job. Oh wait no, I like some of the people at my job. Oh wait, its the things I have to do at work that suck and the INDUSTRY that sucks. I mean, I hate the PEOPLE in the industry but I like the THINGS I HAVE TO DO at work. I mean, I hate the paperwork stuff at my job but the phone call/schmoozing thing is OK. What? No - its the schmoozing stuff that sucks and the phone call/email/contact rolodex thing that's OK. FUCK! No! Its the people? Er, no, the paperwork? The clothes?? I hate, no, I like no WAIT, its THE LIGHTING!!!! THE UGLY FLOURESCENT LIGHTING!!!! NO ONE LOOKS GOOD UNDER CHEAP UGLY FLOURESCENT LIGHTING!!!! I WORK IN FASHION FOR GOD'S SAKE I SHOULD ALWAYS LOOK GOOD...WAFOEIJIOAFWEIOJAFEWA.....
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARG!
Ha - Tiger print can make you think crazy things. I guess what I've figured out, and what I've been trying to say for the past couple weeks/months/days/hours I've been at this crazy day job is that there are things that I don't like.
THINGS I LIKE:
-SCHWAG SCHWAG SCHWAG SCHWAG
-amusing personalities
-hearing things like "fabulous, savage, adorable, and hombre" used in everyday speech
-getting to eat all the free food gifts because everyone is engaged, pregnant, or on a diet
THINGS I DON'T LIKE:
.... should I really go here? ok, here's 3
-Most of the schwag doesn't really fit me, when I first started, instead of taking things home with me regardless of size, I stole dinnerware place settings and silverware.
-everyone here is engaged, pregnant, or on a diet
-hearing things like "fabulous, savage, adorable and hombre" slide into MY everyday speech
Speaking of speech, and daily conversations, there's a specific brand of water-cooler speak here. One of my new team members used to work at a label who's name is the designer who is still alive and calls him Mr. XXXX on occasion. Its very odd and definitely one of those things that I haven't really thought about, like if you were walking around working at Sega and Mr. Sega actually came up to you and yelled at you for not programming Sonic the Hedgehog's hair right.
(Except that Sega (and Sony) are both short, asian-sounding names made up by asians who knew that white people couldn't really pronounce real Japanese names.)
One of the stupider things I overheard on one of my first days here was from one of the VPs who's office door is always open:
"Promise me you'll tell me if I get fat."
"What?"
"I made Brian [her husband] promise to tell me if I ever got too fat or eat too much"
"Okkkk...."
She (the VP) is pregnant.
This among other things, makes me feel all right about my wearing the pantyhose. Which, was a corner I built myself into, as all my comfortable "fashiony" clothes were all dirty, so I found myself looking at a decently fashionable black dress I'd found in the corner of my closet. I could've made something out of duct tape, but that would've been SOOOOO 1999, so I opted for the dress, which is incidentally around the time when I may have bought it.
The lighting though, the lighting I noticed for the first time today. Flourescents tend to give one a compressed feeling, and I actually started having trouble focusing on a report later in the day. I think it would be quite awesome if someone snuck a "magic eye" image into one of the fabric patterns. That way, if I was ever in this situation again, I could totally stare at the leaping dolphin and rainbows in my vintage closet before I took a nap. This would also be very beneficial and hilarious to watch men mess up all the more as they would try to explain themselves.
GUY: Nice beaver.
MODEL: WHAT?!
::bitch slaps him::
GUY: Goddamn!!!! I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE PATTERN YOU CRAZY BITCH!!!
MODEL: Omigod!
GUY: I was just admiring your dress!
MODEL: I'm sooo sorry!
GUY: Give a guy some warning next time.
MODEL: That was so savage of me!
GUY: Tell you what, if you let me buy you a drink we'll call it even.
MODEL: Well...
GUY: I'm sure it happens all the time. I'm just glad you're not digging after my crazy family inheritence.
MODEL: Oh - I had NO idea!... What's your name again?
GUY: Joseph Lean. As in Cuisine.
MODEL: Listen, I'm SOOO sorry. It's hard being so tall and hot and hanger-like. Plus I only had a peanut for lunch today.
(For the record, the models I know are very very nice)
GUY: No worries! Nice ass by the way.
MODEL: There's no donkey on this dress.
GUY: Aw shit.
MODEL: I AM TOO FABULOUS FOR YOU!
::stomps off to binge:: | | comments: 5 comments or Leave a comment |
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