I already love the Dropkick Murphys to a ridiculous degree - they're right up there with Flogging Molly as one of my favorite bands. And now they just released one of the songs from their upcoming album in support of the Union protesters in Wisconsin. You can listen to it on their website:
Take 'Em Down
Sure gets my blood going.
Lyrics:
When the boss comes callin’ they’ll put us down
When the boss comes callin’ gotta stand your ground
When the boss comes callin’ don’t believe their lies
When the boss comes callin’ he'll take his toll
When the boss comes callin’ don’t you sell your soul
When the boss comes callin’ we gotta organize
CHORUS:
Let them know
We gotta take the bastards down
Let them know
We gotta smash them to the ground
Let them know
We gotta take the bastards down
When the boss comes callin’ you’ll be on your own
When the boss comes callin’ will you stand alone?
When the boss comes callin’ will you let them in?
When the boss comes callin’ will you stand and fight?
When the boss comes callin’ we must unite
When the boss comes callin’ we can’t let them win
CHORUS
We gotta take the bastards down
When the boss comes callin’ they’ll put us down
When the boss comes callin’ gotta stand your ground
When the boss comes callin’ don’t believe their lies
When the boss comes callin’ he'll take his toll
When the boss comes callin’ don’t you sell your soul
When the boss comes callin’ we gotta organize
CHORUS
CHORUS
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
What I've been doing lately...
It's been a busy week... couple of weeks... month... well, from about January on. But I've been doing things with my time, at least.
For example, today I went to Denver, CO's Rally for the American Dream. With 3000 of my fellow Coloradoans - including my husband and my parents - I was in good company indeed.
We did a lot of cheering, a lot of chanting. There were maybe ten or twenty "Tea Party" counter protesters. One of whom wandered around in the crowd and tried to start trouble with his bizarre "Can't get a taxi? Blame the Dems" and "Shame on Colorado Dems for Voting for an African" signs. He was completely ignored by the crowd, and then the cops chased him off.
The IAFF was out in force, as were a lot of other union people - and ordinary citizens. At the end of the rally, the Walk for Choice took off. A lot of us joined in, since it's another important thing to support. We walked from the capital to Writer Square and back, shouting chants like, "Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate!"
At the end of the Walk for Choice, there were maybe ten crazy anti-choice people waiting at the capital, on the other side of the street. It was standard "OMG THE BABEEZ" bullshit. It was also the most surreal moment of the afternoon - there was a very odd old guy with the anti-choicers, holding a very standard sign in one hand. His other hand was raised in a fist and covered with - I swear I am not making this up - a sagging latex mask of Ronald Reagan. Overcome by just how bizarre it was, I shouted across the street, "Dude, you've got a severed head on your hand!"
So yeah. The disembodied zombie head of Ronald Reagan doesn't want you to have an abortion. Or something. Weird. Eerie.
I have also been putting a lot of time in at the core lab. If you want to see what's been eating up most of my spare time, here are some pictures from our current core, which is from a meandering river deposit. I've tried to add some description to the photos, and hopefully it's not too technical.
Busy busy!
For example, today I went to Denver, CO's Rally for the American Dream. With 3000 of my fellow Coloradoans - including my husband and my parents - I was in good company indeed.
We did a lot of cheering, a lot of chanting. There were maybe ten or twenty "Tea Party" counter protesters. One of whom wandered around in the crowd and tried to start trouble with his bizarre "Can't get a taxi? Blame the Dems" and "Shame on Colorado Dems for Voting for an African" signs. He was completely ignored by the crowd, and then the cops chased him off.
The IAFF was out in force, as were a lot of other union people - and ordinary citizens. At the end of the rally, the Walk for Choice took off. A lot of us joined in, since it's another important thing to support. We walked from the capital to Writer Square and back, shouting chants like, "Not the church, not the state, women must decide their fate!"
At the end of the Walk for Choice, there were maybe ten crazy anti-choice people waiting at the capital, on the other side of the street. It was standard "OMG THE BABEEZ" bullshit. It was also the most surreal moment of the afternoon - there was a very odd old guy with the anti-choicers, holding a very standard sign in one hand. His other hand was raised in a fist and covered with - I swear I am not making this up - a sagging latex mask of Ronald Reagan. Overcome by just how bizarre it was, I shouted across the street, "Dude, you've got a severed head on your hand!"
So yeah. The disembodied zombie head of Ronald Reagan doesn't want you to have an abortion. Or something. Weird. Eerie.
I have also been putting a lot of time in at the core lab. If you want to see what's been eating up most of my spare time, here are some pictures from our current core, which is from a meandering river deposit. I've tried to add some description to the photos, and hopefully it's not too technical.
Busy busy!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Adel Needs Your Help
One of my fellow grad students at CU is named Adel Aboktef. Adel is a generally good human being. He helps out the undergrads in the tutoring room a lot, and he's always ready to lend a hand to his fellow grad students. I actually got to know Adel when, one evening, a bunch of us gathered in the undergrad lounge and we had a discussion about languages and all their interesting little quirks. Adel can also tell the difference between different kinds of feldspars using a petrographic microscope, if you give him a 100x lens and immersion oil. Which, just in case you didn't understand that statement, is damn impressive.
Adel is also from Libya.
Today, he sent several of us this e-mail:
Sometimes, what it takes is putting a face, familiar or not, on injustice and pain. Adel is hurting for his people, and I feel for him. To ask for help like this, from people you barely know if at all, is a difficult thing, and I think it shows how desperate the situation feels. I passed Adel's e-mail on to my representative and both my senators in the hopes that might do something. I'm also putting it out here on the internet, with Adel's permission, to maybe help put a face - or at least a name - on one small part of a peoples' pain.
If you would like to contact Adel, his e-mail address is: Adel dot Aboktef at colorado dot edu
Adel is also from Libya.
Today, he sent several of us this e-mail:
Is there any way you may help me contact US government to help stop the massacre in my home "Libya". The government is killing Libyan people. Fighter planes are bombarding the demonstrators in Tripoli and Bangazi. Please if you have any connections don't hesitate to contact your parliament representative asking to help stop the kill in Libya.
Adel Aboktef
Sometimes, what it takes is putting a face, familiar or not, on injustice and pain. Adel is hurting for his people, and I feel for him. To ask for help like this, from people you barely know if at all, is a difficult thing, and I think it shows how desperate the situation feels. I passed Adel's e-mail on to my representative and both my senators in the hopes that might do something. I'm also putting it out here on the internet, with Adel's permission, to maybe help put a face - or at least a name - on one small part of a peoples' pain.
If you would like to contact Adel, his e-mail address is: Adel dot Aboktef at colorado dot edu
Monday, February 07, 2011
Also: Science! (Bill Nye is coming to CU!)
I haven't heard much buzz about this from my fellow Colorado residents, so I'm guessing this is just not a well-known event. Bill Nye the Science Guy will be at CU's Macky Auditorium on February 15th - which is a week from tomorrow. General admission tickets are $10, and tickets for CU students are $1 if you can wave your student ID at them.
According to the CU Distinguished Speaker's Board, tickets are currently sold out. But if any of you out there in the Colorado portion of internet land would like to see Bill Nye, LET ME KNOW. I will haunt the CU Connection and see if I can scare up some more tickets so long as you promise to pay me back.
According to the CU Distinguished Speaker's Board, tickets are currently sold out. But if any of you out there in the Colorado portion of internet land would like to see Bill Nye, LET ME KNOW. I will haunt the CU Connection and see if I can scare up some more tickets so long as you promise to pay me back.
Congratulations. You Have Survived Your Battle With ::Dentist::
I survived my six month check up! Yay! Considering how much I hate going to the dentist1, I feel like this is really an accomplishment.
Also, I'm finally on Mike's insurance! Double yay! I was ridiculously excited to find this out, since it meant I could finally afford to have x-rays, and a consult with the dentist. And the fact that I was excited about both those things is probably the most clear signal to date that yes, I am now thirty years old.
The news was mostly good. No new cavities, the problem areas between a few of my teeth that seemed to be developing four years ago (the last time I could afford x-rays) have either not gotten worse or even cleared up entirely. So that's happy.
However, the bad news is that my issue with clenching and grinding my teeth has gotten worse. Way, way, way worse. To the point that it's apparently messing up my teeth so badly that it shows up on the x-rays, and has caused me to partially dislodge one of my old fillings. This apparently also explains the headaches I sometimes wake up with, and why my jaw sometimes locks. Awesome.
So Dr. Jason (the world's tallest dentist) told me to get an over the counter mouth guard thingy to wear at night. Not every night, but just during periods of time when I'm feeling really stressed (HAHAHA) and seeing signs that I might be starting to grind or clench my teeth. He said that would either fix my problem entirely or make it way, way worse. In the latter case I would then need to get fitted for a custom mouth guard thingy that will run $300-$400, because Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas would not pay for piss if you were on fire, unless of course you had already reached your ludicrous deductible, and then maybe, well we guess, if we have to, grumble grumble.
And at the end of the month I get to look forward to having the filling I've destroyed replaced. Which supposedly is only going to take five minutes, but will still involve me getting poked in the gums with a needle.
I can feel my teeth clenching already.
1: If anyone ever tries to convince you to get your wisdom teeth done without being put under, tell them to shut the fuck up and just give you the drugs, because you're carrying a hand grenade and have absolutely nothing to lose.
Also, I'm finally on Mike's insurance! Double yay! I was ridiculously excited to find this out, since it meant I could finally afford to have x-rays, and a consult with the dentist. And the fact that I was excited about both those things is probably the most clear signal to date that yes, I am now thirty years old.
The news was mostly good. No new cavities, the problem areas between a few of my teeth that seemed to be developing four years ago (the last time I could afford x-rays) have either not gotten worse or even cleared up entirely. So that's happy.
However, the bad news is that my issue with clenching and grinding my teeth has gotten worse. Way, way, way worse. To the point that it's apparently messing up my teeth so badly that it shows up on the x-rays, and has caused me to partially dislodge one of my old fillings. This apparently also explains the headaches I sometimes wake up with, and why my jaw sometimes locks. Awesome.
So Dr. Jason (the world's tallest dentist) told me to get an over the counter mouth guard thingy to wear at night. Not every night, but just during periods of time when I'm feeling really stressed (HAHAHA) and seeing signs that I might be starting to grind or clench my teeth. He said that would either fix my problem entirely or make it way, way worse. In the latter case I would then need to get fitted for a custom mouth guard thingy that will run $300-$400, because Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas would not pay for piss if you were on fire, unless of course you had already reached your ludicrous deductible, and then maybe, well we guess, if we have to, grumble grumble.
And at the end of the month I get to look forward to having the filling I've destroyed replaced. Which supposedly is only going to take five minutes, but will still involve me getting poked in the gums with a needle.
I can feel my teeth clenching already.
1: If anyone ever tries to convince you to get your wisdom teeth done without being put under, tell them to shut the fuck up and just give you the drugs, because you're carrying a hand grenade and have absolutely nothing to lose.
Saturday, February 05, 2011
The longest day of Chinese New Year survived
Well, I survived the long, long day of performances for kung fu. We hit the road around 0830 and finished up a little less than twelve hours later. The most brutal part was actually going to Colorado Springs and back. The drive was awful because it was snowing, and being stuck in a car for basically 3.5 hours straight with only a short kung fu break in the middle left everyone extremely stiff and sore. We did kung fu numbers three times, which meant I had to do basic skills with hitting the concrete-filled cylinder three times, and make it look good and energetic all three times. My arms are really banged up now, and toward the end I was actually getting burst veins on the surface of my skin, which is kind of unusual and very unpleasant. My hands and arms are really tired too, from just playing cymbals all day. But yay, we survived! And I got to have a ridiculous amount of amazing food at the end of it, which is always great.
At least I did all my driving around with four extremely awesome people. We had the party car, no mistake. The saga of Porknbuns will forever remain in my memory... it's been a long time since I've laughed that hard about anything.
In bad news, we just found out that Mike's mum is in the hospital with severe vertigo, and the cause could range anywhere from an ear infection to a stroke. Please think some good thoughts her way if you're so inclined. I'm really, really, really hoping it's just an ear infection. We're both incredibly worried.
Bed. Very, very soon.
At least I did all my driving around with four extremely awesome people. We had the party car, no mistake. The saga of Porknbuns will forever remain in my memory... it's been a long time since I've laughed that hard about anything.
In bad news, we just found out that Mike's mum is in the hospital with severe vertigo, and the cause could range anywhere from an ear infection to a stroke. Please think some good thoughts her way if you're so inclined. I'm really, really, really hoping it's just an ear infection. We're both incredibly worried.
Bed. Very, very soon.
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