8:31 PM: And back over in my life...

...it now appears that I'm finally going to be starting my new job for the school next week. It also appears that I'm going to be cut some slack on my not having been given a chance to work for the past couple of weeks, although they'd like it if I could make up the time over winter break.

Over in Column Writing, I'm taking on the RIAA/MP3 thing after all, both because it's been on my mind, and because I didn't have any better ideas. Ideally, it oughta be in three columns, but there's no way I can pull that off... but because the syllabus called for a column on the arts this week, and on a political or social issue next week, and this sorta fits both, I think I can get away with a two-parter. Part One's been submitted; I'll do Part Two next week.

In the meantime, the High Holy Days are nigh. Rosh HaShana starts Friday night, and Yom Kippur starts nine nights after that, and I'm still feeling conflicted as to how -- or whether -- to handle 'em, this being uncharted territory for me. I'm tending towards sitting them out entirely this year, but this is a lesser-of-the-evils sort of thing. If I had the power of invisibility, I suspect I'd stop by an Orthodox synagogue; as it stands, one thing holding me back is that I really don't care to pretend to be observant for a few days, but neither do I think this is the time or place for me to make an issue out of not being such. On the other hand, I don't think a non-Orthodox service would really do anything for me. I dunno.

The Argument Culture rolls on:

Every time I have stated an idea moderately and reasonably, it has generated little or no discussion. If there is one lesson we can learn from the world today it is that moderate and/or reasonable views are a very hard sell. No one is buying.

My goal is to get people talking and thinking.

One reason I despair is because I no longer believe quiet and careful reasoning - although I am quite capable of doing it - is effective. I wish I could believe that, but I don't. These days you have to slap people in the faces with ideas. Even me.

I'm just gonna quote AAIO's most recent entry verbatim:

In a column about the importance of choosing one's words carefully that appeared in today's Daily, Aubrey Henretty repeats a tempting but inaccurate canard - that the situations in Alanis Morrissette's song "Ironic" are not actually ironic. But situational irony, usually defined simply as a contrast between expectation and outcome, is a broad enough category to encompass just about everything that happens in the song, at least as far as we can remember. We're not sure exactly why this "fact" is so remarkably persistent, but we feel it our duty to debunk it wherever it may appear.

2:49 PM: Unconscious Mutterings

1. Savings::Account
   
2. On::Off
   
3. Wire::Recorder
   
4. Word::Count
   
5. Bladder::Control
   
6. Missing::Link
   
7. Side::Order
   
8. Window::Pane
   
9. Digit::Finger
   
10. Swirl::Colors
    

My column writing class requires me to write a column each week, one targeted towards a particular publication of my choosing. This week's assignment to to write about "the arts." I'm currently at a bit of a loss for what to write about, but I still have a bit of time before the last minute.

Incidentally, you can expect me to be trying bits out in this journal before writing said columns throughout the semester. The bit about wanting a bath the other week would, in fact, be an example of that; before the whole job thing drove everything else out of my mind, I'd been thinking of using that as fodder for a column. (I ended up using it as a frame anyway.) Similarly, I've had part of an argument regarding the RIAA saved in "draft" form here for the past week, although I'm not sure if I'll ever get around to posting it. The full thing is really complicated, and other people keep saying bits of it better elsewhere anyway.

(The quick outline: I. CDs are doomed. II. Economics... IIa. ...of recording artists. IIb. ...of music consumers. III. Intellectual theft... IIIa. What it is. IIIb. What it isn't. IV. Conclusion. IVa. The RIAA serves no useful purpose, and is desperately trying to maintain its existence and protect its own interests. IVb. I feel no moral qualms about downloading MP3s, nor should I. Obviously, this is waaaay too long for a 750-850 word column. On the other hand, no one piece of the puzzle suffices on its own.)

Not having had a job this past week, I ended up spending an inordinate amount of time at the cinema... so here's the latest batch of reviews.

Seen on DVD, via Netflix:

Sex and Lucia: Like I said in the last batch of reviews, Paz Vega is hot. So is this film. Not that I have the foggiest idea of what actually happened in it, and what was just a product of the novelist's imagination...

Seen in theatres:

Pirates of the Carribean: A bit too violent for my taste, but it's a film about pirates, so what else was I expecting? (Truth be told, the catalyst for my seeing this was the then-upcoming Talk Like A Pirate Day. The film wasn't very helpful in that regard.) That said, engaging performance by Johnny Depp -- who reminded me a bit of Miriam Shor playing Yitzak, actually -- and it was fun on the whole. The bit after the end credits was cute, too.

Freaky Friday: I hadn't seen the previous film with this title, but I had read the book and its sequels. I correctly assumed that the film had nothing at all to do with them, aside from the body-swapping (although the fleeting beetloaf reference was nice), but I figured that this would be worth watching just to see Jamie Lee Curtis playing a teenager trapped in a grown-up's body. As it turned out, while this was indeed fun, seeing Lindsey Lohan playing a grown-up trapped in a teenager's body was even better, and well worth the price of admission. (The male foils, not so much; the script didn't do very well by them.) Also, great soundtrack. My one major complaint: the reliance on the Inscrutable Mystic Asian stereotype to move the plot along.

Anything Else: I wish I could honestly say that my liking for this film has nothing to do with the fact that it includes Christina Ricci in her underwear, but, let's face it, I'd be lying. But other than that... it's a fluffy Woody Allen comedy, and I liked it.

Boston Public remains the best train-wreck on television. So far this season, we've got zero-tolerance drug policies, the morning-after pill, Scott Guber running amok, a group of singers who stutter, a new physics teacher who teaches just about everything but physics, Harvey Lipschultz deciding to take up sex, a student who may or may not have been raped, a student who may or may not be transgendered... and all of this (and more!) is just in the season opener.

I'm rather looking forward to seeing how much worse it gets from here. I have faith in the writers. I'm sure they'll manage it.

On Friday, the 7-11 was out of both Diet Pepsi and Diet Pepsi Vanilla, so I opted for the Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi as the best of the available options.

On Saturday, I drank the Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi, finishing the 2-liter bottle in the course of the day, as is my wont.

On Sunday, I had a headache, took a nap for a bit -- as has not been my wont -- and awoke to find the headache even worse.

On Sunday evening, it finally hit me that perhaps the lack of caffeine had something to do with this.

On Sunday night, I got a bottle of Diet Pepsi, drank half of it, and felt much better.

It is possible -- just possible -- that I ought to learn a lesson from this, and start gradually cutting back on my caffeine intake.