Some reasons in bold

I think I'm in love with this man...


Rocky Dennis' Farewell Song by Jens Lekman

Blind girl I missed you
I've missed you so much
I've been sending you letters, trying to call you
But I can't seem to get in touch
I bet your mom and dad are scared of me
Or maybe they just care about their daughters

I think back upon summer camp
and I think I want to show you more colors
Here's white, here's black
Here's the color of my heart as it started to crack
Beet red, not blue
I think I'm in love with you
I think I'm in love with you

Blind girl I wish you were here
I wish we'd come closer
I wish you had met my family
My mom and Bulldozer
I think back upon summer camp
On New Year's Eve when we danced
I could sit and watch my life go by
Or I could take a tiny chance
'Cause some day I'll be stuffed in some museum
Scaring little kids
With the inscription carpe diem
Something I never did

But can you remember how we rode shiny horses
And we set courses for the sky and the ocean
And I tried to explain it to you but it was too huge
Blind girl I miss you
Blind girl I miss you
Blind girl I miss you



Also, from "When I Told You I Wanted to Be Your Dog":

Everyday make a fine loaf of bread
And after work just before sunset
You hang down to the city park
There you're alone with the burbs in the dark

And I've seen other people do that too
But they're older than your twenty-two
They lost hope and soon they'll be gone
They'll just vanish with the setting sun

But I know, yes I know,
They're flying within you again,
But I won't let them get you
'Cause you're my only friend
You're my only friend

When I said I wanted to be your dog
I wasn't coming on to you
I just wanted to lick your face
Lick those raindrops from the rainy days

You can take me for a walk in the park
I'll be chasing every single lark
I'll be burying all the skeleton bones
Peeing on every cold black stone

But I know, yes I know,
They're flying within you again,
But I won't let them eat you
'Cause you're my only friend
My friend
My only friend
You're my friend

Important!!

A guide to the facial hair styles you should either prevent or avoid...

http://i.imgur.com/PHmF5.jpg

Some interesting things from the interweb

First, something that made me laugh...although I guess it is meant to have a deeper meaning:
What American English sounds like to non-English speakers

Second, a reason I love the Washington Post:
Peeps Show

Third, some beautiful photos of the volcano eruption in Iceland

Agh I just got this message from a random spammer on Skype:

European and American women are too arrogant for you? Are you looking for a sweet lady that will be caring and understanding? Then you came to the right place- here you can find a Russian lady that will love you with all her heart. Can't find a queen to rule your heart? How about beautiful Russian ladies that have royal blood and royal look? Here you can find hundreds of portfolios of these fine women of any age for every taste. Please excuse us if you are not interested.

They also listed a url for their website, hilariously named, but I will not post it here for fear of inadvertently advertising for this nonsense.

It was so nice outside this evening that we had dinner on the roof.

Later, I dipped into a delicious Vosges Ganduja chocolate bar — it basically tastes like solid Nutella.

Feeling slightly productive at the moment; I applied for two jobs —well, more like paid stints — one of which I would be shocked to get an interview for.

It is apparently so hot in DC that the cherry blossoms were all fried. I missed my chance, but perhaps this weekend I will instead go to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens.

Am hoping to do some traveling this summer...Also, perhaps some health-insurance-getting.

Roxana Saberi and Easter recap

Yesterday I particularly enjoyed going in to my internship. After a full morning of interviews, Roxana Saberi stopped by in the early afternoon for an informal Q&A with the staff and anyone who wanted to attend. She made some very interesting points in response to a few questions:

What should the U.S. government be doing to encourage the respect for human rights in Iran/how do we create a better dialogue with that country?

As she pointed out, the U.S. is not exactly on top of the human rights pedestal at the moment. When Roxana explained to the prosecutor that she was pressured to make a false confession, one of the prison guards argued that she made the confession while they were having an informal conversation, and that "this isn't the United States; we don't waterboard here." In short, before we can expect to gain any headway with a state that is vehemently opposed to our culture and government, we must embody in the best way the ideal that we claim to represent/aim to spread throughout the world. Another political tool they used against us, in response to denunciations of secret prisoners/illegal detention is...dun dun dun...Guantanamo...surprise!

What coping mechanisms did you use to maintain sanity during your captivity?

She said that during solitary confinement, she would sing quietly to herself, pretend to play the piano on the wall, and try to do some exercise in the tiny space she was given. After making her confession, she was moved to a cell with other political prisoners, including a member of the Baha'i leadership (who was charged with spreading corruption). There, they helped each other cope by praying together, except for the atheist in their cell who would watch, apparently. Also, her cellmates were interested in learning English, so she gave them some instruction each day. They also told each other jokes. I can't even imagine having that sort of mental fortitude, especially when your arrest is arbitrary and your future totally uncertain, although having cellmates who are actually not hardened criminals would help as well.

This brings me to another interesting point she made:

She said that in virtually every interview, she was asked whether she didn't know that what she was doing was dangerous, and if she knew she could be arrested for it. I don't believe this is the way she answered them, but she said to us that it is more important to consider why those things could be considered risky--not just whether they are or not...As she said, "Do you expect people to just sit around in their homes picking their noses all day?" To be a real, fulfilled human in that country seems to carry an inherent risk, and this is what she is trying to say. We all know that those who were arrested in similar circumstances are not really guilty, but we still expect, from our Western perspective, that the people over there should still try to follow random, unpredictable, and fluid laws, while it seems that the only way to do that successfully is to either be a hermit or work for the government.


And now to talk a little about part of the reason we garner so much hatred from those cultures in the first place...or, How I Spent My Easter

Because everyone was a little groggy from the previous evening, "brunch" began around 4 PM. I had been up for a long time because of dog-duty, and C and I went to visit her new apartment in Bushwick. Her neighborhood is really great and has a wonderful communal feel, perhaps because it was warm, sunny, and everyone seemed to be on the streets, yelling or playing cards. Afterward, we went to Chez Sheep, where her roommate, M, whose birthday was celebrated the night before, was cooking up a storm. The spread was amazing: cold black bean salad, oriental salad, hot zucchini stuffing (I'm generally not a fan of either zucchini or stuffing, but this was amazing!!), pancakes, homefries and, for the non-veggies, sloppy joes. We also had mimosas and a ton of margaritas. We spent the remainder of the daylight hours on the front stoop enjoying the weather and watching little kids go by in their fancy church get-ups.

I am hoping to get the stuffing recipe...