I haven't laughed this hard in a while...

Wow... So you may be aware of the latest Amazon news where all of the listed books with any gay or lesbian themes or content were moved off of the regular category and off into the "adult" book section. Which means that any book that so much as talks about people who are gay, or has gay characters is no longer searchable and will not appear unless it is specifically named by a customer who is signed in and is verified to be over 18 years old. It apparently also removed all of the "rankings" for these books.

The jury is still out on why this happened. Amazon says that there might have been some odd glitch, while a "famous" hacker, Weev, is claiming he pulled off the prank.

Whatever. Its annoying but is being rectified apparently, so isn't worth getting too many panties bunched up about...

But! For a while, despite removing most of the gay literature, there were plenty of anti-gay books that remained in the normal category. As a result, this book popped up as the first hit when searching "homosexuality" on Amazon:




Check it out for yourself.



But when you are done looking on in aghast horror, take a peek at the "User Submitted Pictures" associated with the book.

O... M... G...

(pst... Its in the upper left hand corner, just under the book picture.)

On Sleep and Dreams...

So... While I have to say that my sleeping patterns are a lot better, I still do nod off from time to time while doing odd things or listening to a seminar... Ever since I started sleep walking a few months ago I have been deathly terrified that I am going to wake up someday doing something really strange in the middle of the Carnegie auditorium with my entire building full of co-workers staring at me along with some esteemed scientist whose presentation I have just interrupted with my odd antics...

Of course... This little story didn't make me feel too much better...




Or download it for an mp3 player by right clicking: Sleepwalk with me.

The MOTH Podcast
Length: 14:00
http://www.themoth.org/podcast

So, You Think That You Are Having a Bad Day?

I might not ordinarily post this particular bit of media as it is a bit longer and such, but a few circumstances have coalesced here in Baltimore to make this of particular relevance...

First, I've already heard several times today that various co-workers are just plagued by Murphy's Law. That every little thing that one should assume would go smooth in a kind and gentle world is going horribly wrong... It is a state that we can all commiserate and empathize with to a certain point... But then past that point, a situation will often take on a sort of dark comedy (don't worry K, you're not there yet, I hope)...

Second, Peter Pan is apparently showing in Baltimore right now. My friends say it is quite good and that there is even some eye candy amongst the cast. Sounds quite delightful! I wish I could go!

But I don't wish I could go to Baltimore's production as much as I wish I could have been there for the following performance:

Jack Hit gives us the highlights...



Or download it for an mp3 player by right clicking: Peter Pan Story

This American Life
Length: 20:27
Original Show: 61 - Fiasco
http://www.thisamericanlife.org

Self Stupidity

So, time to fess up... Ever caught yourself mid-stream, realizing just how totally insane the thought you've just been entertaining is? Every once in a while, I actually become aware of some of the stupidest, most self-aggrandizing daydream that I have running through my head (as opposed most times, when I just blithely go on about my business, oblivious).

So, I was listening to The Dark Side by Jane Mayer this evening in the lab. The whole book's premise basically boils down to the concept that the soon-to-be past administration had a lot of misguided thoughts of their own about how best to defend our country against a terrorist threat and that it has led us down some pretty frightening paths. The book had just gotten to the section about how the administration has promoted the use of torture to interrogate prisoners of war (yeah... its kinda a downer).

So there is quite a lot of discussion about the various techniques of torture and the psychology behind them. What is it that causes our psyche to snap and give in to interrogation, and what are some of the most effective ways to push a person to the snapping-point?

So, Mayer is describing some of the sleep deprivation methods and how they are quite efficient at getting people to crack and I actually pause in my work to think "Huh. I bet if I were being tortured, I would be resistant to that sort of thing cuz I've had sleep apnea!!!!" Then I proceed to have visions of myself in some foreign equivalent of Abu Ghraib, solidly holding out against the cruel machinations of my evil tormentors while scores of hardened men crumple around me!

...

Yeah... Kinda embarrassing... I mean, seriously, I would be the absolute first one to break under any sort of pressure. I would spill my secrets before they even asked. I'd be all like: "But wait, wasn't lunchtime SUPPOSOED to be a couple hours ago?!?! Okay! I'll tell you whatever you want, just PLEASE give me that danish!"

I'd cave faster than my cellmate, Mr. Fluffles here:

The Life You Didn't Lead

Okay. We've all thought about it... What would life be if we'd taken a different career path? Gone to a different city? Ditched our sig other for Brad Pitt (or his girlfriend, Mrs. Jolie, if you prefer)?

Have you made all the wrong moves in your life? Thwarted your own chances at happiness?

This wordslinger attempts to take on that question with a cute tale of his own double life.



Download here by right-clicking:
Tom Weiser
Length: 13:00
Original Show: The Moth
http://www.themoth.org/

The Most Gentle Goodbye

Ever been in the bar, trapped up against the corner by that annoying guy/gal you've just met? Watching your friends party on the dance floor/happily watching the game while you are trapped in a conversation about the weather or copper piping? Looking for a gentle way out of the situation? A way that won't drop a drama bomb in your lap now, but will certainly send the message: "Never speak to me again, please."

This clip is here for you:



Jonathan Goldstein
Length: 7:33
Original Show: WireTap - The Lothario
http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/

Right click here to Download

Oh... And in case you are wondering? Yes, there really is such a phone line! Brought to you by the friendly phone operators of New York City! Citizens world renowned for their gentle ways and patient sympathies.

The Scariest Sort of Vampire

Well. Having emerged from my lab cocoon into the real world for at least a couple of weeks, I have made the realization (apparently the very belated realization) that vampires are in vogue again. It seems you can hardly turn around without being confronted by one of the buggers. In movies, books, and all over the TV, the ghostly faces of the undead have risen up once again to haunt the living. Above us once again looms the possibility of that fatal kiss - and the eternity of walking in the shadow of life that could follow it.

As terrifying as this all is, I believe that there is one type of vampire that might be even more scary than all of the rest. A sort of vampire that could make even the cruelest undead ruler of the night cringe.

Vampire Parents.



Right Click Here to Download
Jonathan Goldstein
Length: 6:13
Original Show: WireTap - Who Wants to Live Forever
http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/

Holly Jolly Job Search

Well... My boy is a little bit blue these days about his job search in the coming months, what with all of the economic BS and post-2001 ridiculous clamping down on visas for foreigners...

(in my opinion, this guy is EXACTLY the type of person we want to be attracting to this country right now... The fact that getting a work visa can be so difficult even for someone who is so supremely qualified is just mind-boggling to me. Maybe its always been this way and I just didn't know it, but one way or another, seems to me that we've got our priorities ass-backward in this country.)

Anyway... Before I get to far out on a tangential rant, I actually know a whole bunch of folks who are out on the job market now, or will be shortly. So, I wanted to post a few helpful sample job interviews. Ya know, just to review the basics... The kind of questions that one might be asked... Appropriate responses... Whatev...

I'll cross my fingers and hope that this clip might just give one or two of you out there a leg-up in the stiff-times ahead. Its not perfect, cuz its a guy interviewing for a the job of voice-over for cartoons, but you never know what tomorrow may bring... We've all got to be flexible in these times!

Don't hesitate to pull out a pad of paper and take notes or anything!

:oP



Jonathan Goldstein
Length: 7:18
Original Show: WireTap - Come On, Get Happy
http://www.cbc.ca/wiretap/

Pagan Poetry

So, given all of the holiday parties that have been rolling around recently, and a brief stint of my own into the realm of (bad) poetry. I was reminded of this little clip of a Christmas story that perhaps we can all relate to a bit more these days than those of Tiny Tim and Ralphie.





Length: 11:50
Original Show: #305 Holiday Special
www.thisamericanlife.org

Let's Get Mortified!

Well... I am pretty much tapped out from writing a thesis, doing experiments, and trying to prepare for Christmas and my trip to Michigan these days, but want to keep up a blog with fun and interesting things. So, you might not be hearing much from me personally, but I'll try to sporadically update this with media that I have found to be particularly cute or intriguing.

One show that I stumbled across a while back was this show "Mortified". If anyone reading this has EVER kept a diary when you were younger, then stowed that diary away, only to stumble across it tucked amongst other objects from your childhood/adolescence, you will know how incredibly painful it can be to read these things. All too often, the pages of these things are just choked with angst, drama, and feel so unlike your current self that you want to curl up in a ball and hide. It seems impossible to reconcile these two different people into one space!

Enter Mortified. This show takes those journals, diaries, and all that bad poetry and pushes it out where it never belonged. On stage, in front of a live audience, where the original writer reads aloud their deepest childhood psychodramas, to laughter and ridicule. The show works because the material is so frank and one can usually identify with it instantly. We've all had these thoughts and embarrassing moments, its just that we are now adults and know better than to go around telling everyone about them!

This movie is an example. A bit young, and put to amusing visuals, but you get the idea!

More Couture Christmas Culture (CCC)

Apparently, Sedaris is not alone in his experience of an environment designed to pair a touching moment for a young child with a commercial enterprise.

Elna Baker shares her common experience of spoiled kids, grumpy parents, and miserable store employees dragged into role-play during the holiday season.





Length: 16:28
Original Show: #347 Matchmakers
www.thisamericanlife.org

SantaLand Diaries Part 2

This is the second part of David's Story started in the last post, if I've still got your attention...




Length: 10:27
Original Show: #47 Christmas and Commerce - Part 2
www.thisamericanlife.org

Back - Like Lazarus

Well, thanks largely to the generosity of a certain Timothy, I am fortunately with a functional laptop again and my files are recovered and happily backed up! My sanity thanks you!

Well, its that time of the year again; temperatures are falling... cheeks are rosy... hot chocolate and cider are back in vogue... my boyfriend is gushing over his acquired discount ribbons and wrapping paper... So, I figure it is time for a little bit more Holiday Storytelling!

This time our story comes from the intersection of Commerce, Culture, and Christmas and may be familiar to some of you who share a common love of all things David Sedaris. This story is arguably the work that catapulted David's career and has made him a popular comic writer and (nearly) household name. SantaLand Diaries chronicles David's brief stint as a commercial elf, working at Macy's.




Length: 20:25
Original Show: #47 Christmas and Commerce PART 1
www.thisamericanlife.org

Prop 8

Well, I was saving up for my most ornery, cantankerous day so that I could write an appropriately scathing review of my thoughts on Prop 8 and its backers (i.e. the Mormons), but Usman pointed me towards this video and it seems to say it all!

And oh my Jebus, look at the cast!!!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Fate and Stereotypes

This is the face of the dog that Usman would like to get next, if there is ever to be a dog that will follow Zook. Adorable isn't it?

We've been bandying about names that we'd like to name our imaginary future dog and Usman is adamant that it should be named "Momo". Which I thought was perfectly fine and everything, mostly because I associate that name with a book written by my favorite childhood author, Michael Ende.

Then we were toying around with last names, because... of course... you know... a dog can't have just one name in this day and age... right?...

I playfully threw out the name Moochkins on a lark, and the name actually stuck. Usman is all excited about our future-dog-to-be, Momo Moochkins. And I am too, I love dogs and puppies, and feel bad that I have to leave Zook alone all the time... But then again, I have to admit that every once in a while I do stop and think that its all a little much. I have visions of me walking Zook the Cairn Terrier and Momo Moochkins the Lhasa apso around Baltimore or my future Boston neighborhood. Cuz you know, I'm not exactly the most butch specimen of the male species and all...

Anyway, I was thinking of this and had a flashback to this story, which is hilarious and told by Dan Savage, who is a wonderful gay icon and also has some great sex advice, should you be looking for some...

Check it out. And if you see me in the streets, try not to point and laugh, okay?

Please?




Length: 14:29
Original Show: #328 What I Learned From Television
www.thisamericanlife.org

Its that Time of the Year Folks!

So... Its officially December... Black Friday has passed and Cyber Monday has rolled around. If you are lucky enough to be reading this and haven't been entirely trampled in a mad dash of gluttonous materialism, it just may be that you are ready to stop and reflect... To take a second to pause, breathe, and contemplate the true meaning of Christmas.

No... I don't mean family, nor friends. Not a kindly spirit of generosity nor good-will towards fellow men.

I mean the birth of our Lord, Baby Jesus.

Jonathan Goldstein reports:




Length: 8:31
Original Show: #305 This American Life Holiday Special
www.thisamericanlife.org

Super Villans

This short story was just too cute not to post. Plus, I can't stand seeing that dog as soon as you open up my blog page, so I am desperate to post anything that might bump it down a bit.

I have some (nerdy) Thanksgiving thoughts that I'd like to share at some point this weekend, but that might require more writing than I have time for at the moment.

So, instead, sit back, relax and enjoy. Don't worry, it has no squawking parrots and isn't terribly long!




Length: 5:32
Original Show: #241 20 Acts
www.thisamericanlife.org

Another Look at Love

Well, a good portion of my afternoon is shot, but I did finally get the thing to post. Which I guess officially means that I have the tech-savy of your average 12-year-old...

Moving on up in the world! Woot!

So, this is another little fun story about what it means to be in love, told by one of my favorite authors: David Sedaris.




Length: 5:32
Original Show: #221 Fake ID
www.thisamericanlife.org

New Look and New Audio - On the Meaning of Love

So... Part of the reason that I wish to swap over from LiveJournal, which was annoying me to no end, was that I could supposedly post audio files easily from this Blog. So here goes, my very first attempt to do so.

This story is one of many which I will feature from the absolutely fabulous radio show: This American Life. I have recently been listening to pretty much every episode that has ever been made for this show, and the vast majority of the programs are amazing. If you aren't someone who I've already gushed at regarding the show, it is a program with a simple premise: each week, take a look at the life of Americans as viewed through a particular prism or theme. Then bring a couple of real-life stories (and the occasional amusing short work of fiction) to shed light on that theme.

The story that I want to start out with is a cute little one about what it means to love and to be in love. And what that means to those around you, who love you in turn.



Length: 11:20
Full program is #228: You Are So Beautiful to Me
www.thisamericanlife.org