WARNING! Many readers will not like, even be mildly offended by the following proclamation:
Willy Wonka was a slave owner.
Yes folks, that's right, our dear chocolate churning chap was, in a sense, the Thomas Jefferson of the candy world. Think about it: He goes to Africa to harvest some cacao beans, which he takes from under the Oompa Loompas noses, and then spirits them back to his factory which they never leave and he appears to pay them in chocolate. "But they love him!" you'll say. "Until he came along, they ate raw mashed green caterpillars. They were miserable!" Nevertheless, we must face the fact that the infamous Willy Wonka, previously viewed as a kind benefactor to all humankind was, in actuality, improsoning and entire race of little people within the walls of his fabulous factory.

Howdy Ya'll. I'm here in Dallas, just having watched "A Christmas Carol" live on stage. Quite amusing, i'm definately in the Christmas spirit. I'm going to see some cool sculptures tomorrow, eat Tex-Mex and go to an Opera. I hope all had a fantastic Turkey Day.

There is something magically ironic about watching Edward Scissorhands on Thanksgiving.

Has anyone else ever noticed that those scary Christian signs (the bumberstickers, the cards that the folks at farmers market carry) the all use the same font?

I would like to take this moment to give thanks that Columbus landed upon this beautiful continent and killed off massive amounts of the native inhabitants so that we could move here and celebrate some religious wackos not starving to death with our extended families where everyone acts weird because everyone wants to impress each other because lord knows we cant just relate to each other like normal human beings we have to communicate through food and so we cook way too much food while people on the other side of the world and even in our own first world country are starving to fucking death and people are fighting and dying in Iraq (which George Bush visited for like a half an hour today, Gee I don’t know why the troops would need a moral booster, do you?) and Israel and Ireland (Still!) and Congo and Columbia and Georgia and on and on and on and forever and ever Amen

So I went to lunch yesterday with Antonia Contro, the executive director of Marwen, sort of as a closing for my internship. She's great, very cool and an incredible artist. At the end of the lunch, though she gives me a Marwen Tshirt, very cool, and then a miniature red wagon because, get this, HER GRANDFATHER INVENTED THE RADIO FLYER WAGON. Seriously. Her family apparently still owns and runs the company. Apparently he immigrated from Italy when he was like 14, worked like a horse for years and years in awful jobs, and then sold like six wagons to Montgromery Ward in 19-whatever and off they went! Wow. Imagine your grandfather having invented such a fucking awesome toy.
Howard (my boss) and I have this fun little game going on in which he pretends I'm even mildly interested in hearing about his trials and tribulations with his tenants and I pretend I don't think he's a rude and conservative prick. It takes some effort on my end, but I usually succeed. His side seems to require less oomph, but I suppose such is the plight of the employee... Ah well, I only have to go 3 more times, tops.
Thinking of you all over Thanksgiving...

"But god, it's also really sexy, sexy in a way that makes you want to take a shower and scald yourself with the water, or drive your car into a tree at 90 mph."
(Nick Christensen on the movie Blue Velvet)

holy crap, (I think I started my last blog with holy crap too) I dont read the blog for one weekend, and I end up having more to read in it than in any of my classes. thats a good thing though... lastnight and today are kind of like my weekend because I spent the entire real weekend inside typing a big ass research paper. We played "CD doom" last night - a game derived from "bouncy ball doom," where one person stands in the middle of a long skybridge hallway with a helmit on. two people are at either ends of the hallway with tennis rackets and a bouncy balls, they take simultaneous shots. If you hit the person in the middle (OUCH) you get one point and the person on the other side of the hall goes in the middle. If you hit the person on the other side you get two points. CDs cut, Bouncy Balls Welt, fun huh?!... I also worked sound for a show here last night. one band was really good and the other made some of the most horrible noise I have ever heard. After ear-piercing, feedback-ridden crap for five minutes, the guitarist came and asked me to come up. When I told him how to fix his feedback, he said, "Oh, we want the feedback, we just want you to make it LOUDER"--- I pretended to turn up the volume and plugged my ears for the rest of the show. Even though the snow stopped, and melted, my roommate did not stop playing christmas songs. in fact, he is expanding his collection... I may go insane early this year... Can't wait to see many of you in missoula this weekend!

I hear it's snowing drifts at home. which is great. we're about due for a good snow year. but NOT WHEN IT AFFECTS MY GETTING HOME. damn weather. wait two days, and I would have been thrilled.

love you all.

good lord! I cant even spell rot.

The Matrix Revolutions has slipped down to sixth place at the box office. That's right! Take that you terrible piece of movie poo that stole (stole!) my hard earned seven dollars and swallowed it. Evil movie! You don't deserve even a special effects nomination! You bastard! I will never forgive you Wackowski brothers, never never never! Bad movie, very bad movie! No cookie! I hope you wrote in movie hell! There must be a section in the Geneva conventions for what you have done! Oooo awful terrible movie. Devil movie!

I like playing the game "Big Booty", especially when we get loud enough to piss off the ultra-conservative Henry Bowles. He doesn't believe in diversity either.

last night i saw a jazz band concert, fire in the mirrors, the burial of Christian's Beta Fish,Yoko (it had been decomposing for a day before he decided to take care of it at 2 am). We sang coombyeyah (I can't spell), prayed, and then went to BK. Very funny.

new term: say "pulled" rather than "hooked up with"

Only seven days until the count down until christmas!

It's 2:10 a.m. I think I'm becoming more and more noctournal.

I met Ben Resnick (a lot of you may have met him with Anna this summer... short Jewish boy from Chicago... anyway he's in town for thanksgiving) at the Art Institute this afternoon, we wandered around there and then went to Manni's Deli where I chose not to purchase a $10 sandwich (!!!) but stuck with a cream soda, Ben did have a roast beef sandwich which came with a potato pancake, I mean this place was truly classic, a Chicago Institution for sure, then we went to his grandmother's birthday party (I have NO IDEA why he invited me to this) which was kind of fun and in this posh posh "assisted living" facility right on the lake that's essentially a hotel full of old people. The party was on the 37th floor.

I am no longer going to Turkey (damn suicide bombers... actually, damn george bush. I hate that man). Urgh.

The train from Chicago to Whitefish is only $100 but it takes a ridiculous 32 hours. Whoah I mean WHOAH.

Here you have it! The best of last night's quotes:
Blood never becomes cliche -- Matt G.
There are only so many ways to smoke a cigerette -- Matt G.
Just Because you have a penis doesnt mean you are a man -- Stephen S.
Yah, it has to be attached to you -- Eliza G.

Just got back from the Hellgate play, Tom Jones, which is a musical (oddly enough). It was amuuusing and over the top and really really SURreal, but Nick and Lacy and Alex were all wonderful. And I saw Ms. Copley (and didnt kill her) and she thanked you (Zach) for the Michael Moore poster. Said it put a smile on her face for five days (you suck up you). Saw the Rothwells and Birnbaum (who is now a proffesional dog walker) and Frau Moser (who is pregnet again). I spent the entire time with this pit in my stomach, like a nervious pit but not really. It was like I was in a place where, in theory, I belonged but I dont any more. I have just enough distance to fell lost, and I dont have enough distance to be sentemental. I have to admit, having y'all home again makes me nervious.

As of yet there is no snow here
BAH

my god it's a mad posting frenzy these days.

The legless man who lives in the nursing/veterans home near my house was outside again today, after like a two week absence. I was starting to get worried, it was nice to have him waving and saying "How are ya hon" in his vaguely creepy way again... ahhh the comforts of my psuedo-home.

I take back my previous complaint about snowing everywhere but here. It snowed this morning and it was gorgeous. now it's just slush, of course, but it was enough to tide me over 'till I go home for Thanksgiving and get some real snow. PLU would be really pretty if we just got a foot of snow right about now. But then, can you think of a place that wouldn't be gorgeous is you just coated it with some snow?

Squirrel encounter, part 2: Walking in to my building, little fat ass just started to stare at me. I looked down, noticed he had a huge plastic bag with a sandwhich in it, smart little fucker. He grabbed the bag with his greedy mouth and tried to run up the tree. Ha, didn't work, too heavy for his flacid little jaw. I laughed, and laughed, and he just stared.

OH...MY...GOD...(Ok so this works best if you have a visual: Imagin me bouncing up and down on my office chair like a little child. My hair is in a pony tail (yah its long enough to do that now) so thats kind of twiching around too. I'm in my bathrobe but I still have my boots on. And I am wearing gauntlets. Now I take a really long breath and) SotheycameoutwiththetrailerfortheprisonerofAzkabantodayandohmegoditlooksSOGOOD! anditliketottalywasmyfavoriteofthebookssoIamsoexcited(except the new one made me cry and the was theriputic) andtheysingthatsongfromMacbeth(which totaly is my favorite of Shakespeare's tragitys)thesomethingwickedthiswaycomesbuttheyarealllittleandhogwartsy. AndohmygodIamsoexcitedit'sonly SIX MONTHS AWAY!!! YAY!!!

when I left the house: 60 degrees and sunnyish but windy
when I walked home five hours later: got to be close to freezing and raining but no longer windy

Also, it managed to snow everywhere on the west coast except Tacoma last night.

Okay, people, I just realized an absurdity. Aislinn isn't on the Blog. What's with that? Someone who knows how to fix it, please do. Do I just send her an email with this link? or something? bah.

Speaking of the lovely lady, the two of us have a date to go the the band concert on Sunday, because they're playing a Maslanka piece, and he's going to be here to hear it.

I'm going to be in Missoula in a week.

I'm taking an Anthropology course next semester to fulfill my Lab Science requirement.... not sure how that works, but it does.

Plan for the rest of today (now it's 3 p.m.): take a nap, watch To Catch a Thief, cook a good solid dinner involving pasta (really all I like to cook, but I put other things with it! Maybe this 4 cheese bow tie pasta casserole thing...), write some letters, talk to my mom probably while baking muffins (mmmm muffins), develop some film, go to bed.

It is not snowing here. In fact, according to the chicagotribune.com, it is a full 55 degrees. Gross. Yesterday, when I GOT UP it was 61. You know, people always say how talking about the weather is small talk, but I really do spend a lot of time thinking about the weather and the RANDOM shit it chooses to do. I mean, really people, it's mid November and I walk around without a coat! Insanity.

Tomorrow Zach and I are going to see Merrily we Roll Along (that's sondheim, for you uneducated ones) and then watch Bend it like Beckham at his dorm... Oh Keira Knightley, take me now...

HOLY CRAP ITS SNOWING!! - - - I never expected to see it here but we've already got an inch or so and its still coming like crazy. beautiful. earlier the flakes were so big that one of them could fill your mouth for an instant before it melted. I ate so many I wasn't even hungry for breakfast... mmm... now we're listening to christmas songs, just to get that feeling.

guess what larke now has on her lower back?
badass yo!

last night, I went crazy. It all started yesterday morning when I jumped out of bed. I landed wrong, and heard my neck go rrriiip. When I tried to move again, I found I could not rotate my head about the axis that was my damaged neck. So I walked around with it cocked very carefully to the side. then the internet was REALLY slow for the entire campus. I had a bunch of stuff I needed to do, and that was annoying. Then I read this book called "No Logo" for sociology and it got me completely riled up about how the corporations are using globalization to fuck everything up around the whole world and making us pay lots, and creating these Zones in third world countries where 20 some factories are crammed behind a 12 foot concrete wall with barbed wire and armed guards, and the people are paid about a tenth of what they need to live, and sleep in areas marked out like parking lots. (just enough space to sleep). So I went around looking crazy and ranting to anyone who would or wouldn't listen and I started questioning everything in the entire world, so that it was all in my head at once... and all the homework and confusion thats already happening... I broke... and started laughing for no reason, and walked around the campus kicking walls and talking to trees until three in the morning. and then I went to bed, and woke up fine. Actually, that was an exaggeration, but It was one of those times, y'know? Somehow, something came of it though, I think it was just alot of intense thinking all packed into one night. I've been slacking on the blogs (sorry), but I'm going to try to get up on that now. I've still got tons of homework to do though, so I'll say bye.... a side note, I've never heard of metropolis but I have started wearing eyeliner a few times recently. Its interesting to see how differently people act towards you before they know you're wearing it, they think you're "deep," or something else strange like that... or maybe its just hot.

I've lined up my film that needs to be developed on my windowsill. There are: 11 rolls black and white 35 mm, four rolls black and white 120 mm, four rolls color for a grand total of 19 undeveloped rolls of film.
lord that's pathetic.

Every day, I exit my building from the back by the dumpsters to go over to the dining hall. On most days, I walk quietly and peacefully, silently contemplating what mystery food awaits me. These pre-lunch walks are usually uneventful. Today though, I had yet another close, and frightening encounter with a squirrel. He flew from the mounds of trash onto the edge of the metal dumpster and proceeded to challenge me into a staring contest. We glared at each other for about 10 seconds before it became too much for me. With a satisfied squeaky chirp, he dove back into the garbage, victorious. We will meet again, my friend...

Ok finaly figured out why I am obsessed with metropolis. Boys in eyeliner! All of them! It's fucking hot! Also there is this actor (not in metropolis but in other silents) who bears this eerie resemblance to Crispin Glover. He (the actor) was a cool dude. He left Berlin after Hitler came to power and he wrote "Juede" on his Aryanausweiz even though he's not. He died in a car accident after filming Casablanca. Speaking of Crispin Glover: Ledah and I saw a dude on the bus who looked just like him only fleshier and more pierced. Is it bad that I find him kind of hot? Yah ok, it's 9 am here and boy is that early! Tea! And homework not done! YAY!
(side note: the spell check does not know the following words: eyeliner, fucking, silents, jueda, Aryanausweiz, Casablanca, Ledah, and yay. Well I think a spell check that doesnt know German, ledah or the name of one of the best films ever is just compleatly worthless!)

So all of Hinderlie (the hall I live in) has this escalating series of insults that we pass out, seizing upon any given phrase. For example, if someone happens to say something as mundane as "I should eat more cookies" the exchange goes something like this,
"You're a cookie"
"I'll cookie you"
"I cookied your mom last night"
"I just cookied in my pants"
"You and my ex-girlfriend"
"That's what she said."
of course, any random phrase or word can be inserted instead of cookie.

Also I'm sick... anyone know how to get a bit of Montana Air sent by overnight express?

Aye! One reccomendation for all: See the movie "Paris is Burning". It's about black drag queens and transsexuals in New York City in the 1980s. Fantasmo!! Maybe a private Gay-Straight Alliance Party is in order! Love you all!

All who believe zachary to be utterly ridiculous (yet oddly endearing) say aye.

I wish I had something interesting to say... Oh wait, writing a paper on Medicaid is incredibly interesting! I'll be in Dallas for Thanksgiving, but ya'll should give an air hug in my honor.

Sometimes I forget how nice it is to talk to people. I mean people who don't care that they don't actually know you but, rather, recognize you can have a good conversation about more than ho-humness anyway.
Also, have you all heard of a thing called Tivo? It's basically a computer that you hook up to your TV and it receives your direct connect satellite channels... so whatever you're watching, it's recording. Basically, you're "downloading" the program and watching it instantaneously. So you can pause "live" TV, and rewind if you want, etc. You can also set it to record things every week, specific shows, etc... and THEN, the more you watch and set to record and "rate" with this one function, the Tivo "learns" what your tastes are and will record things for you and "recommend" them. So, if I watched/recorded old movies, it would start recording them for me, the random ones on at 3 a.m., etc. Seriously. How very big brotherish...

Nothing quite like watching "cribs" to make you want to fuck over the RIAA

I have an academic advising meeting in half an hour. I am supposed to go plan the next five months of my life. The problem being, I have no major. Which is usually fine, because you can do all your GUR's and figure out what you want to do with your life somewhere along the way. ...but my AP credits cover most of my GURs. HM. Maybe I'll just take Yoga, Black and White Photography, and Sailing.

due to intense requests (and by that I mean zach pestering me) here is a blog on Dr. Ruth, who Zach, Larke and I saw speak on Tuesday, November 11.
For those of you who don't know, Dr. Ruth was born in Germany, moved to Switzerland (I think) to escape the war, was a freedom fighter in Israel, came to the US and got a bazillion degrees, had a radio program, has written over 27 books, teaches all over and is 4'7" tall. She talks about sex.
Quote highlights (and all in a german accent, mind you):
"Penis size has nothing to do with the ability to satisfy. Unless it's miniscule."
"Even the best lover - even one trained by me..."
"God forbid there should be something about sex I don't know."
"I would not say to somebody 'you are circumcized, get very upset right now.'"

I liked her, for the most part. Sorry, zach, I'm not feeling that witty or energetic... maybe I'll rewrite this blog later when I'm less upset about Larke leaving. Sniffle.

Ahh, I am on the plane and my computer for some reason is convinced I am on the internet and keeps popping up with notices. It took me a full two minuets to write that above sentence. Fucking technology.
Chicago was lovely but you know what they say, it’s easiest to get hooked on heroin after you’ve been clean for a while. Goddamn the Midwest is flat. I was rather disappointed with the sears tower though. I thought that the tallest building in the world would tower over the city, ascending to the heavens all Babel like. But no. It was just kind of there. It didn’t even look that big.
Isn’t it funny the way people won’t talk to you until the last five minuets of a flight? What is the point of that any way? Weirdos.
So yah, Chicago is a nice city and it kind of made me want to go to college (wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles) though it spraaaaawls like no other. Northwest serves really crappy snacks. And I have given myself hiccups. Crap! But I got my cinema reading done so now I can spend the rest of the day catching up on the four movies I missed and the German grammar homework I need to do. Fun fun fun for everyone.

So I was very nearly blown over today. Wind, I say to you, fie FIE!!

Hi guys,

Disturbing stuff on campus. There is a major rally on campus wednesday due to recent hate crimes. Unfortunately, the Neo-nazis are coming to counter protest. it should be interesting to say the least. The neo-nazis are supposedly congregating right in front of my building due to its central location. I'm a little frightened, but feel confident standing up for whats important. Think good thoughts.

Love,
Caitlin

Tonight the Vagina Monologues cast had a meeting . . . I left feeling sickened by our society and empowered that sixty women on the PLU campus are willing to get on stage and talk about their vaginas. How cool is that? Katharine and I went around posting sexual assault information in the bathrooms of our dorm . . . we're probably beginning to be seen as the raging feminists of the area. Saw Aislinn.... love that girl. I came late and she left early though, so really it was less satisfying of an encounter than it might have been. Also, I apologise for just writing more incomplete sentences linked by "..." than any college student should be allotted.

Purrrrr, the joys of staying in your PJs all day. And of finishing the first act of my masterpiece. And brownies.

Hey kiddos. New email, for any of you who didn't get the email, is Ledahdah@hotmail.com. Apparently the missoula.com thing I had been using got completely overloaded and can't handle itself... ah the joys of a fresh email account!
Larke is here. it's lovely.

have you ever been down and out, and forced yourself to smile as wide as you can for as long as you can and ended up happier than a monkey with a bananna? if not, try it sometime. it works.

it's been too long since my last blog entry. so much to say... I also downloaded itunes and ended up with a couple months worth of continuous music. awesome. For halloween, Riley and I painted our faces in deep blue and red patterns. All night we ran around campus, telling people we were blabbits ("like in the TV show from our childhood - WHAT?! you've never heard of it!?") Actually convinced alot of people that they had seen the show. ha ha ha. I FINALLY got a job. I'm the new "Student Sound Engineer," possibly the coolest job here. I get to go to all the concerts, poetry readings, etc. and set up all the sound equipment AND get paid. Last friday, I participated in two jam sessions, totaling almost five hours of music making. amazing. yesterday I finally made a trip to the wine store here, it was huge! so exciting. It was cheaper to buy two gallon jugs of carlo rassi than two empty jugs so I have alot to drink before I can go about making my own. succeded in drinking a gallon and a half lastnight with riley and a few other friends. crazy. gotta go now, more soon.

um yeah, my hair is straight. TEMPORARILY! Don't flip out! Actually, it really upsets me how much I like it, I feel like I'm betraying my free-form hippie Jewish self-satisfied confident au-naturale roots (yes, betraying all those all at once). But I just LIKE it. Fortunately it took like 40 minutes for the woman who cut my hair to do (it was her idea not mine!) and I do NOT have the energy for that. I'll take a picture, though.
I went down to Hyde Park tonight to have dinner with the Redfields (for those of you who are up on Anna Cates's life, this is her friend James's family, and for those of you who are wondering about my grammar yes, one does add the extra S on posessive proper nouns that end in S like that) and then I saw Claire's play (James's little sister). The play was, ah, interesting, but the Redfields are so nice and incredibly smart, but not in the cold, exclusively intellectual way that sometimes happens. The father, Jamie, is hilarious, very dry and possibly the most intelligent person I've ever met. He's a professor of classics at UofC. Um, yeah. I'm going to read Anna Karenina now.

I forgot to add, Ledah with straight hair is super hot. I will send pictures of that for you all. Damn, she's fine. Zach, as always, looked good. Larke, I'm excited to see you!!

Ahh, an evening in Belmont. I must say that the Indian food was most delightful, although the place looked rather "sketch" upon entering. We were basically the only people in the restaraunt. Fascinating though, were the bathrooms. I can't speak for the boys, but the women's bathroom had two toilets side by side without any wall or stall apparatus. It was a single person bathroom (one door). It was curious. Perhaps the conjoined twin market is huge in Belmont.

I think that my favorite costumes were "The Straight Man in Belmont" a guy with pictures of naked women all over his body, and "American Gaythic" two men dressed in American Gothic Painting wear and a frame, it was cool. I have some good pictures, I'll try to send them. I love you all!

So I am focused obsessively on what I am going to pack when I go to Chicago. I've discovered that this is a safe way to twitch about going, without making myself miss Ledah any more than usual. It's kinda ridiculous though. I layed in bed for like an hour this morning thinking about what shoes I was going to wear on the plane (decided boots, but with a zipper, incase they need me to take them off, think we'll go with the mukluks) and if I should check a bag or not (they might loose it, you never know) and if I really needed to bring Farah (das laptop) with (decided yes). It's so silly but...
Ooo I cant wait to go to Chicago! Yay!
MAIL'S HERE! So I'll sign off and see it there is anything for me

la la la la la la
I'm not gonna do my cinema reading

Last night went to a party at Libby Torma's house which was kinda weird but fun. I went as the princess of fucking darkness (Sharon Osborn). I am 16 pages into a play and I am just stuck. The problem is, that I also consider myself a reviewer and so I can just hear in my head what I would say about certain parts, were I not the writer. Which is bad. And good in that, if I ever finish this piece of crap, it will be well thought out... I hope.
Ugh, still have massive amounts of eyeliner on. bah!