6.26.2005

Ode to Bubbles and Little Runt

*note: Bubbles was my pet Araucana chicken, and Little Runt was my sister's pet pig.

"Grace To Be Said at the Supermarket"

This God of ours, the Great Geometer,
Does something for us here, where He hath put
(if you want to put it that way) things in shape,
Compressing the little lambs into orderly cubes,
Making the roast a decent cylinder,
Fairing the tin ellipsoid of a ham,
Getting the luncheon meat anonymous
In squares and oblongs with all the edges bevelled
Or rounded (streamlined, maybe, for greater speed).
Praise Him, He hath conferred aesthetic distance
Upon our appetites, and on the bloody
Mess of our birthright, our unseemly need.
Imposed significant form. Through Him the brutes
Enter the pure Euclidean kingdom of number,
Free of their bulging and blood-swollen lives
They come to us holy, in cellophane
Transparencies, in the mystical body.
That we may look unflinchingly on death
As the greatest good, like a philosopher should.

author: Howard Nemerov


twisted: i bought some atkins protein-shake stuff, has no sugars, laxatives
twisted: but holy shit does it ever taste nasty
female sibling : atkins is a bad diet
twisted: i agree, but I figure the shake is harmless
female sibling : my doctor forbade me from doing anything fad diet related
twisted: I could never do an atkins diet with no gallbladder and a turtle-ish metabolism
female sibling : that diet blew me away when it started getting all popular, all my coworkers would down all this fried meat
twisted: yeah I know, logic and common sense went out the window on that one
female sibling : i know
twisted: I can't believe mom and dad were doing it
female siblingv : lol... i know
twisted: good thing I was too broke to buy all that meat.
female sibling : heehee... you saying you would have jumped on the bandwagon?
twisted: no, it would have made me sick
twisted: I can't eat much meat at all
female sibling : when I eat it, I get the guilts for eating animals
twisted: me too
female sibling : i think about Litte Runt and Bubbles (childhood pets, pig and chicken, respectively)
twisted: I would like to go all-vegetarian
twisted: but T is such a carnivore
female sibling : i don't have any issues cooking it and serving it to people... lol weird huh
twisted: no, I'm the same way
twisted: but I can't eat it without thinking 'this is wrong'
female sibling : i know
twisted: not just because I know I can survive without it, but I don't like buying meat that is mass-produced
female sibling : i just think of how cute they are
twisted: I don't think about that, I have no problem with killing and cleaning my own chickens and rabbits
female sibling : oh man.. i couldn't do that
female sibling : i can't look an animal in the eye and then think about killing it

6.21.2005

Granfalloons and Flag Worship

The Blasphemy of Flag Worship

I'm still not sorry that I refused to stick flags on my car after 9/11. I've yet to contract blind patriotism.

America's brand frightens me, and Canada's Molson beer version (I. AM. CANADIAN!) just makes me giggle and feel thristy.

At least in Canada nobody gets pissed off or suspicious if you don't display a minimum level of zealous enthusiasm for the national logo er.. 'emblem'.

Anyone can point out qualities to admire and abhore in any nation. And what is a nation except a silly granfalloon?

"A granfalloon is a proud and meaningless association of human beings."

If you wish to study
a granfalloon,
Just remove the skin
of a toy balloon.

Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle

6.03.2005