last night Cory and I had a heated discussion (not heated towards each other, just heated in general) about media coverage of the war. Personally, if I hear the term "shock and awe" one more time I'm going to spit bullets myself.
We're both also really tired of all the whiny rhetoric surrounding POWs and the "rules of war" according to the Geneva Convention.
Alternet has a very enlightening article about the U.S.'s own interpretation of Geneva Convention rules in the days and months following Sept. 11.

However, the U.S. is in a precarious position to be complaining about Iraqi war crimes. In the already ignored Afghanistan campaign (which Dan Rather called the "forgotten war" this evening), the U.S. has a dismal human rights record.
In November 2001, it's alleged that Northern Alliance warlord, heroin trafficker and U.S. top-ally Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum rounded up hundreds of Taliban fighters on behalf of U.S. forces and stuffed them into cargo containers.
They were supposed to be headed for Sheberghan prison. But hundreds never made it. They were left to asphyxiate in the air-tight containers. Before dying, many licked each other's sweat, bit off their fingertips or tore into their own arms and legs – and those of others – in a desperate search for fluid.
A confidential UN memo leaked to Newsweek magazine in Sept. 2002 quoted a witness saying that 960 prisoners had died and were buried in mass graves near Dasht-i-Laili.

.

Leave it to my man Dan Rather to even mention the "forgotten war"...

Is Michael Moore really a Stupid White Man?
Was his speech at the Oscars inappropriate for the occasion? No, this was Michael Moore - he was doing his job. Anything less would have been a disappointment.

a quick update on the memorial reading for Amanda Davis originally slated for this coming Tuesday, March 25. It's now scheduled for Saturday, April 19 - same location, same authors (see below)....

not much else to say right now...it's an overcast day, I feel really crappy. Physically and emotionally.
I just want to sleep but there's way too much on the 'to-do' list.

Blah.

What a strange stretch of days it’s been. One that started for me, on a personal level, on Monday morning when I first read the e-mail about Amanda’s death. The note was sent out by my Craft of Fiction teacher –a close friend of Amanda’s – and I had to read it about three times before I realized that she was writing us about the same Amanda Davis that I knew and before I realized that yes, Amanda really was dead.
I sat there – my hand to my mouth in shock – and looked around the room at work. Everything was continuing as if it were just another normal day. People were typing and talking and laughing and gossiping and planning and working and thinking and just being.
And that’s sort of how it feels today. We’re “officially” at war with Iraq (please don’t argue with over the semantics of this – you get my point) and the world is continuing on its own strange way.
It’s sunny outside with clouds.
I have work to do, deadlines to meet. Things to organize, places to be, bills to pay, ideas to put in motion.
The televisions at work are tuned into CNN nonstop – except for those last few minutes of a college basketball playoff game. People are typing and talking and laughing and gossiping and planning and working and thinking and just being.
Life. Death. It all just blurs – and bleeds – together in a never-ending circle of confusion.

More thoughts on Amanda (please scroll down for the news on her death)....

Last semester when I took Amanda’s workshop I used to joke to my friends that “I really really hate my teacher– she’s younger than me, has a book of short stories out, is about to publish her first novel, has garnered much acclaim. Oh yeah, and she’s cute as hell and drives the VW bug I want.”

The truth is that I liked and admired Amanda quite a bit and, as one of her students, felt that I had the right to be proud of her accomplishments. I even tore out a page from the recent issue of Elle magazine to show Cory that her new book “Wonder When You’ll Miss Me” had been selected as one of the magazine’s featured 2003 Lettres authors

I was contemplating taking her class again in the fall even though I know I should branch out with other instructors. Her class was both fun and helpful, inspiring and sometimes just like an intimate party.
Although I had e-mailed with Amanda a couple of times this semester, I greatly regret that I didn’t get a chance to stop by her office and visit.

It’s a cliché but it’s true my friends, life is short. Don’t put off anything. You may never get the chance you think you’re waiting for.

more on some planned tributes in honor of Amanda. Plus, a link to her own site.

I just received the sad, horrible news about Amanda Davis, an instructor in Mills graduate creative writing program. Amanda, 32, was killed in a plane crash on Friday along with her mother and father.


I had the privilege of being in Amanda's fiction workshop last semester and she really helped to ease my transition into grad school with her warmth and humor. She was always willing to lend an ear, never failed to lighten the mood with a goofy joke and always offered good, straightforward advice.


In addition to various Mills' related tributes, on March 25, at 7:00 p.m., Lisa Brown, Michael Chabon, Dave Eggers, Daniel Handler, Cornelia Nixon and Ayelet Waldman will read from Amanda’s new novel, Wonder When You’ll Miss Me, at A Clean Well-Lighted Place for books in San Francisco.

I'm still in shock over this news - I really can't even begin to fathom it...

I really hate going nearly an entire week without updating but it's been a crazy fucked-up week if you'll excuse my French (or should that be 'freedom'?).
First on the fucked list is that whole deal with the fire marshal and local coffeehouses such as True Love Coffeehouse. Basically there's been a crackdown of sorts (though some will argue over the term 'crackdown') regarding occupancy limits (and in the case of the Capitol Garage, age restrictions) and now the True Love has suspended shows for the next two weeks (the Cap Garage initially cancelled all shows but I just got word that they're going to do them after all - albeit at a higher ticket price and lower occupancy).
Anyway, it's been a busy week trying to track down info on this stuff for some stories we're planning at work. Fun. Fun.

Then I find out that New Helvetia, a coffeeshop in Midtown, has lost its lease and will probably be replaced by a Krispy Kreme. Hey, I love Krispy Kremes too - but do we really need one in Midtown? I guess it will fit in just fine with its neighbor, Chipotle - which is partially owned by McDonalds (which is the number one reason why I won't eat there). New Helvetia was/is a great place - I don't visit there as often as I did when I worked just two blocks away - I've always liked its atmosphere and charming little patio. But so much for that now, the corporatization of Midtown just keeps creeping along. One day we'll wake up and they'll have shipped out the homeless people and it will just be one long strip mall.

In other news, this week was actually spring break which meant no school - thank goodness or else I think I would have completely disintegrated. As it is I've found a little time to read and write AND we went out last night to see The Out Crowd at Old I.
I'm off today and tomorrow from work which gives me a few minutes to breathe and regroup and basically center myself. I'm about halfway through the semester so it's time to just grit my teeth and dive headfirst into my remaining schoolwork. Then? Another three semesters (which sounds much better and do-able than 'a year-and-a-half') and I'm done.
Hopefully.

P.S. This entry is dedicated to Skid - just because.

Have I ever mentioned how much I love squirrels?

The Christian Science Monitor interviews Chan Marshall

Today's Friday Five

1.What was the last song you heard?

“Resolution” by The Thievery Corporation

2. What were the last two movies you saw?

“Love Liza” with Phillip Seymour Hoffman. Didn’t really like it very much. Felt like there were too many gaps in the story and the leaps of faith I was being asked to take while watching it were a bit much. And not "a bit much" in the engaging Paul Thomas Anderson "a bit much" sort of way.
“About Schmidt” – Also didn’t like this. Wayyyy to predictable and mawkish.
“Chicago” (I’m listing three movies because I can’t remember in which order I saw this and “About Schmidt”). Pretty entertaining. I actually liked Catherine Zeta Jones for once. Queen Latifah was great. Still, I don’t think the movie had a lot of depth and it surprises me that it received so many Oscar nominations…then again, it is very Hollywood.

3. What were the last three things you purchased?

Three CDs via the spouse (he’s buying them at work for me):
Bright Eyes: Lifted Or The Story Is In The Soil... I thought I was over Bright Eyes but then I heard a song off this album and I really liked it.
Le Tigre: self-titled. I just have the advance of this CD with the paper sleeve, so I wanted to get one with artwork.
The Thievery Corporation: Mirror Conspiracy. Because I am so digging their latest CD.


4. What four things do you need to do this weekend?

Four is just the tip of the iceberg: 1) Buy a gift for my mother’s birthday (anyone have any ideas?) 2) make Citrus-Olive Tapanade for dinner at a friend’s house 3) Study 4) Write

5. Who are the last five people you talked to?

1) a source for an upcoming story 2) my boss 3) my co-worker 4) the person who sold me coffee at the coffee cart downstairs 5) Cory

Shock therapy, one of the most controversial medical procedures of the past century, can effectively treat depression, a team of British researchers has concluded.
Um, hello...what century are we living in?

i just watched the new Liz Phair video. She looks great. The song is pretty mellow - perhaps an odd choice for a first single. But it's no secret that "Exile in Guyville" is one of my all-time favorite albums, so I'll definitely give her the benefit of the doubt. Even after 1998's Whitechocolatespaceegg. I tried listening to that again recently. And, aside from a few songs, it's still pretty mediocre. Oh well - still waiting for the Exile reissue featuring the Girlysound sessions on a bonus CD. Maybe? Someday? Please?

I’m not a System of a Down fan, but the fact that Michael Moore directed the band’s new video is pretty cool. The video focuses on the band's Feb. 15th peace rally that took place in Los Angeles.

Speaking of peace....MoveOn.org is sponsoring an emergency appeal to the U.N. Visit their Web site to sign the petition and voice your protest against the impending war against Iraq.

Now, on to less serious matters ...
Last week I bought some L'Oreal lipstick – “Chocolate Obsession” is the name I think. As soon as I uncapped it I was taken back to my high school days. When I was a sophomore in high school I used to wear L'Oreal lipstick in a shade called Mica. It was sort of a pearly lavendar color. Now, 18 years later, L'Oreal’s lipstick smells exactly the same – and unlike any other lipstick. It’s sort of a sweet, perfumed scent – maybe it's a touch of vanilla? Every time I smell it I’m taken back to a time when I lived, ate, slept and dreamed The Smiths, The Face and Elle magazines, MTV and thrift-store jewelry (a la Madonna). It’s like a time capsule in a faux gold tube.

Speaking of makeup (don’t you like my transitions today?), I recently bought a book called “Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me” by Paula Begoun. My friend Laura recommended it to me and I’ve found that it’s a really great consumer guide – sort of the “Fast Food Nation” of makeup books. OK, maybe not that extreme It won’t turn you off to makeup but it will make you think twice about spending a gazillion dollars on over-priced stuff just so you can have the name value. I like pretty girlie makeup as much as the next person but if I’m going to spend upwards of $20 and $30 for stuff then I want it to be worth the price not just the packaging and advertising campaign. As such, I’m finding that in most areas I can stick with my tried-and-true drugstore favorites for both skin care products and makeup – and occasionally splurge on some Stila, Benefit or Urban Decay.

I was a little turned off by the fact that Begoun also hawks her own line of skincare/makeup but since she doesn’t seem to endorse her stuff anymore than she endorses other particular brands, it didn’t seem too pushy (then again, all of her products are awarded the coveted “Paula’s pick” checkmark – go figure).
In any case, the book is very informative about what makes a product good – or bad – for you; I might even eventually spring for her consumer guide to hair care products.
By the way, the most recent edition of the book will apparantly be the last -- but Begoun will be regularly updaing her web site.