Random things

1. A review of whole grain and multi-grain pastas. Barilla Plus is found to be the winner for both taste and nutrition--containing even flax seed for omega-3 but not being too gritty. That's something I can get down with! Ok, I will pick it up next time at Safeway.
2. Ikea Hacker.

Labels: creativity, diets, food, ikea, nutrition, other peoples' blogs

- posted by k @ 2:40 PM

 
Yup.
Right, so I believe that yesterday was the equinox, the first official day of Spring. Normally I try to post a relevant poem to commemorate the occasion, but seeing as we had more flurries this morning, I'm not feeling so inclined, y'know?

Did see the most amazing new moon the other night. In the wrong part of the sky, I might add! If I could see the sun, it would probably be setting in a different part from usual, too. Strange latitude effects and stuff.

Anyway, I will use this time to discuss a couple of new movies based on Novels of the South Asian Diaspora. Briefly. I have read two good reviews of The Namesake, so I am feeling optimistic about that and think I would like to see it. What really sold me was the picture that accompanied the stories--a shot of the family at the Taj; parents clearly Indian, kids clearly ABCDs. All of it conveyed in a still picture. Part of what caught my imagination was the prospect of seeing that particular South Asian Diasporic experience brought to the screen with a degree of verisimilitude. I really got it from the photo and from the reviews, so like I said I think I may be looking forward to the movie rather than bracing for disaster and cringing and wincing.

On the other hand...Mistress of Spices?? wtf. Forget it. What were they thinking? But it might be interesting since it's set in Oakland. Has it even been released yet? Bracing! Cringing! Wincing!

PS Did I mention that I read The Inheritance of Loss? That was pretty good.
- posted by k @ 9:09 AM

 
The plot thickens
So the thunder and lightning were a prelude to not rain, but tiny little balls of snow/ice. Not hard like slate. Soft like tiny little snowballs. Howzabout that?
- posted by k @ 11:06 AM

 
Thunderbolts and lightning
That's one thing that makes spring rain different from winter rain. And what we've got right now. Very dramatic, esp. after the flurries and sun today.
- posted by k @ 10:43 AM

 
Right
So I was going to post to say how even though it turned cold again and it's raining, Spring rain is really different from and not as bad as winter rain maybe because the daffodils are up or whatever. But then it flurried over here. ANd now it's bright and sunny. March: multiple personality weather month.
- posted by k @ 8:34 AM

 
How about this?
I can't help thinking about what it will look like," he answered.

"The garden?" asked Mary.

"The springtime," he said. "I was thinking that I've really never seen it before. I scarcely ever went out and when I did go I never looked at it. I didn't even think about it."

"I never saw it in India because there wasn't any," said Mary.

Shut in and morbid as his life had been, Colin had more imagination than she had and at least he had spent a good deal of time looking at wonderful books and pictures.

"That morning when you ran in and said `It's come! It's come!, you made me feel quite queer. It sounded as if things were coming with a great procession and big bursts and wafts of music. I've a picture like it in one of my books--crowds of lovely people and children with garlands and branches with blossoms on them, everyone laughing and dancing and crowding and playing on pipes. That was why I said, `Perhaps we shall hear golden trumpets' and told you to throw open the window."

"How funny!" said Mary. "That's really just what it feels like. And if all the flowers and leaves and green things and birds and wild creatures danced past at once, what a crowd it would be! I'm sure they'd dance and sing and flute and that would be the wafts of music."

They both laughed but it was not because the idea was laughable but because they both so liked it.
- posted by k @ 3:58 AM

 
Wait a minute, wasn't that a Simpsons episode?
Exhibit A:


Exhibit B:


We report; you decide. You're the decider. Yes, it's past my bedtime.
- posted by k @ 4:30 PM

 
THE Mole
THE Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said `Bother!'
and `O blow!' and also `Hang spring-cleaning!' and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat. Something up above was calling him imperiously, and he made for the steep little tunnel...
- posted by k @ 10:52 AM

 
Hmm.
So, as you may know. I hate loud noises. When I need to sleep or study in my room, I work within my circle of influence and stick foam earplugs or music in my ears. I recently bought some new earplugs, but you know what? my ears are getting sick and tired of earplugs and I don't really like the way they feel. But I use them anyway, because otherwise I would be up 10 times during the night with my fists curled in impotent rage. That would be sad. So I use earplugs.

Of course, there are a few sounds that can penetrate even those helpful bits of foam. They come across as dull thuddy noises, and as long as I can will myself to fall asleep despite them they generally don't bother me (i.e. wake me up if I'm already asleep). These noises are caused either by someone in the kitchen slamming cupboards, by the stupid idiot downstairs (not sure if he's in the room below me or the kitchen below me) who likes to slam something rhythmically, or by doors slamming.

There are a few doors in this flat that slam really loudly--they make things in my room shake and occasionally fall off shelves, cause my eyes to rattle in my head, and make me feel like I've been slapped. As much as I'd like to blame my flatmates (several of them are pathologically noisy in their actions), I think this is probably due to the hinge mechanism on the doors in question that need tightening. My own door hinge works correctly to slow the closing door and make it close quietly. I do not know which doors are the culprits, but I have had my suspicions. Often the slam is followed by a shuffling footstep down the hall and into the kitchen. I'm pretty sure I know who the shufflers who live halfway down the hall from the kitchen are...

Anyway, it's a stupid thing, and I know it, and there's not really much anyone could reasonably do about it (though I hadn't thought until just now of complaining to the maintenance department in case they can fix the door-swing-mechanisms). Tonight I was feeling a little less tolerant than usual because I've had a long day with not quite as much sleep as I'd like, a later dinner than I'd like, and a long commute to tutor only an hour. So after hearing repeated slams, I stuck my head out to see who it was--mostly out of curiousity.

Guess what?

It was my quiet, studious, next-door flatmate who shares my interests in working hard, minding her own business, going to the gym, rising early, etc etc. A flatmate after my own heart. I couldn't possibly be upset with her for the actions of her door, and I was embarrassed that I had considered asking her to try to close it quietly.

So maybe this is a sign to me from some higher power to get over it already. I will, as soon as my eyes stop rattling in my head.

Labels: irony, noise, room for improvement

- posted by k @ 1:54 PM

 
It's not just me! It's millions of Americans have this problem! We can go to rehab! It's not our fault!
Chronic Lateness Is a Pervasive and Expensive Problem, But It Can Be Tackled

March 3, 2007 — While Americans are planning and scheduling their lives more than ever before, it seems they can never quite catch up.
A recent survey found 15 to 20 percent of the U.S. population is "consistently late," especially when it comes to work.


I don't think they get to the real underlying cause in this piece, but they do have some suggestions of varying usefulness:

• Tips for Tackling Tardiness
  Regardless of the reason, most people who are chronically late want to get their lives back on track. DeLonzer suggested the following tips for tackling tardiness.

• Plan to be early. Tack on a 15 minute buffer before getting anywhere.

• Learn to tell time. For a week, track how much time it takes to get certain tasks done. Set a kitchen timer to ring when it's time to leave the house.
  
• Learn how to say "no." Pare down activities and don't over-commit.
  
• Don't be a perfectionist. Agonizing and obsessing over details only contributes to lateness — so loosen up.
  
• Limit distractions. Turn off the radio and TV.
  
• Get out the door. Resist the impulse to rush back into the house for "just one more thing."
  

I am aware of my problem, and I do really try. Sometimes I do pretty well, but other times I relapse. Of the hints listed above, I find the first one far and away the most helpful. The last one is also applicable. The others, not so much.

- posted by k @ 11:47 AM

 
I would have preferred in my sleep, but it sure beats Shark Attack or Bar Fight

You'll die from a Heart Attack during Sex.

Your a lover not a fighter but sadly, in the act of making love your heart will stop. But what a way to go.

'How will you die?' at QuizGalaxy.com

- posted by k @ 8:07 AM

 
This is fun
I think if you click this link it will take you to a player for this new fun BBC Radio 2 series on the construction of pop songs. I've listened to the first episode which aired last Tuesday. Not a great deal of analysis, but fun to hear songwriters, arrangers and record producers talking about their process and decisions. That is, when I'm actually listening to the words instead of the hit parade in the background (Me: "Oh, I loved that song! Oh, that one's so much fun! Oh, what a great hook! Wait, what did he say?")
- posted by k @ 1:31 PM