41 Days and Counting

I was surfing ye olde internets this p.m. and found this wonderful image of a Zaha Hadid building in Dubai. It's scheduled to be done in 2010. It's actually three buildings constructed with a hole in the center.
What does this tell us about post-modern skepticism of authority?
Well, hopefully it illustrates something about narrative, because it's going in the talk!
A little less anxious, as I have written maybe three pages. And I got some books from the library!
But I'm still counting down the days. But that doesn't mean I'm not also watching "American Idol." Thank god it's not two hours anymore. That's excessive.
Son thinks David Archuleta is going to win. I told him that I would buy him an ice cream sundae if he did! He probably will. Aside from him, all the boys were a little blah tonight.

My Not Very Well Thought Out Explanation of Why I am 4 Obama

Okay. Ever since I watched this Lessig video, I've been feeling the need to defend my support for Obama.
First, I don't like the way Clinton's campaign has been essentialized. That is, I don't like the assumption that I am a woman and Clinton is a woman, therefore I should vote for Clinton. I am a feminist because I believe, someday, we could all be less restricted by other people's ideas of what it means to be a "woman." The flip side, of course, is that perhaps, someday, gender won't matter. That I could judge whether I like a candidate or not based on issues, or other qualities, not gender. For me, that time is now. If I agreed with everything Clinton said, the way she is conducting her campaign, I would vote for her.
My first choice was Edwards. I like him because he talks about poverty and class, two issues that are important to me. But he dropped out. What to do?
I like Obama because I do think he represents change. To me, Clinton does and will do whatever it takes to become President. She has a lost a lot of primaries. And now she's getting desperate. Getting negative. Doing things like this.
Basically the way she's conducted her campaign in the last few weeks has confirmed my suspicions of her. She will do anything to seize power even if that means sacrificing the very values that attract voters to her in the first place.
I'm not bothered by issues of "experience" because every President surrounds him or herself with experts on everything. What he doesn't know, he can learn. And charisma does matter. Charisma can help a leader convince other countries that we are not the hate-mongering war machine that Bush made us appear to be. I think that is important.
I also hate how some Clinton supporters use a "false consciousness" argument. Their argument states that if I don't support Clinton it's because I'm less aware of gender issues or less enlightened, or the only reason someone could disagree with her or decide not to vote for her is misogyny. I agree that some people probably dislike her because she's a woman.
But then there are those of us who dislike the way she's campaigning and what she's beginning to represent.
Or maybe it's not so much that we dislike Clinton, it's more that we like Obama.
I like Barack!

Sick

Son has been sick off and on ("on" being Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday, Thursday afternoon, Friday night). He has the afternoon fever thing going on. So much so that he slept in our bed with me last night while poor MB was stuck with the kid's double bed. Son had a 102 degree fever, then his body felt like hot coals, then he was super sweaty. Finally, he was okay. That was around 1 a.m.
He woke up several times last night, talking and gesturing. He inherited this from MB. Once he had his hand up like he was trying to catch something. He was saying "het, het." (as near as I could figure).
Another time he woke up and I thought he was going to throw up or something. He was grunting and opening and closing his hands like beaks. He went to the bathroom and I kept asking him, "What's wrong? What's wrong?" He finally yelled, "Fingers!" and went back to bed.
Needless to say, I didn't sleep well last night. The night before that we foolishly stayed up to get closure on "Dexter." I'm actually glad, because now I need all my energy to freak out about the DFL which is in 44 days and, as you probably need not be reminded, I haven't written it yet. AND I want a friend to take photographs for it. Which means I need to finish in the next week. No pressure!!
So if I'm mean to you, please attribute it to the fact that I haven't slept and I'm pretty much having an anxiety attack 24/7.

Feeling a Little Nostalgic

Tonight I posted at TWIT about Idol. But I was feeling a little nostalgic for Chris. So watch this: Daughtry covers U2.
I hadn't seen it. And they're touring. Heads up, Erin Alice. They're coming your way!!

Another Long Weekend

Another three-day weekend glimmers on the horizon. To be filled with: kids to watch, Son's Birthday Party, excessive amounts of grading, fiction contest to judge, "Pride and Prejudice" to watch, what else? I'm sure there will be food and drink as well. Melting of the snow, I hope, perhaps an outdoor run. Right now I'm freezing, so that doesn't seem likely.
Today I plan to go work out, have a few meetings, go to the Dollar Store for goodies (for Son's party), buy Son a birthday gift, maybe do some grading. I swear, I've read so much student prose lately (summaries, Vista posts, drafts of stories, rhetorical analyses) that I don't think I would recognize a good idea or well written sentence if one ran up and attacked me with a blunt object. Not that I want to be attacked with a blunt object. It's just...
Time to face the real world. Which means sitting on the couch drinking tea for at least another half an hour.
Happy President's Day weekend! I'll be remembering how, 7 years ago, we spent the weekend in the hospital watching TV, letting people bring us food all day, trying to forget that I had staples in my abdomen. Aah! The good old days.

AWP: the numbers

Literary luminaries spotted: 4 (not at panels or readings: Robert Bly, Charles Baxter, Howard Norman, David Kirby)
Bad readings attended: 2
Martinis consumed: 1 (the most expensive!! martini ever, $15)
Amazing meals consumed: 2 (Union Square Cafe, Balthazar)
Delicious soups consumed: 1 (Curry Cauliflower and Chickpea, very spicy!)
Shopping trips: 2 (both to H & M)
Items purchased: 6 (two shirts, one sweater, jacket, purse, nightgown)
Movies watched: 2 (27 Dresses, Michael Clayton)
Souvenirs purchased: 2 (I heart NY shirt & 3-D drawing pad for Son)
Souvenirs not-purchased: ?? (shot glass, snow globe, MOMA paraphernalia)
Bagels consumed: 2 (one from hotel lobby, not good; one from Dean & Deluca, delicious)
Muffins consumed: 1 (hazelnut cappuccino from D & D)
Beer consumed: 1 (Stella at a pub)
Wine consumed: Without number (including more than 1 $12 "red" from hotel bar), half-bottle at dinner with friends, bottle at dinner with friends. I guess that's it.
Walks through Central Park: 1
Magazines read: 5 (Two People magazines, one Marie Claire, One Allure, one Men's Vogue)
Episodes of "Law and Order" watched on plane home: 2

Back from AWP/NYC

I'm back! For a moment at JFK, it seemed touch and go, but we made it back only about 40 minutes late.
In general, New York was wonderful. I have to say I didn't attend any panels that were great and amazing (because I missed Otterbutt's panel! Damn!), but everything else was wonderful and amazing.
To wit: great food at both Union Square Cafe and Balthazar. Huge, gigantic sandwich at Carnegie Deli. Good beer at a pub. Great soup at Hale and Hearty. Good bagel and muffin at Dean and Deluca. Much shopping at H&M.
Saw "Rock-N-Roll" by Tom Stoppard. Amazing performances by Rufus Sewell and Brian Cox. Fantastic set and music. Smart and touching.
Saw "27 Dresses" at Time's Square AMC. Everything a romantic comedy should be: romantic and funny, and not as bad as the critics said. What do they know? Also, saw a trailer for the new "Sex and the City" movie. There was an audible gasp when the trailer started (among the mostly female audience, I should say).
Saw "Michael Clayton" in my hotel room while eating chocolate. Trust HighTouch, it IS as good as she says. Amazing. I want to see it again. I love George Clooney!!
Went to MOMA on Sunday morning. Mind blowing. Around every corner another masterpiece. And some cool stuff that I'd never heard of, most notably "Stillwater" by Roni Horn (if you click the link it will take you to the Tate, which owns a copy of "Stillwater" but also an article by Horn about it. Cool!). Footnoted photographs. Brilliant.
All in all, a really great trip. I will now set about my plan of convincing MB that we need to take a trip without Son for our 10th anniversary, destination unknown.