macheath777

This afternoon, I went to see a free performance by the Carolina Chocolate Drops. It was truly awesome. The band specializes in African American string band music from the early twentieth century. It was similar to bluegrass, although with a bluesy inflection.

The performance was held at the studios of WYEP, the local public radio station. I listen to them a lot, and that was...
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Things in Pittsburgh have been doing pretty well weather-wise over the past few days. It has been bright and sunny, the first real streak of non-cloudy days this year. I have to say it has done wonders for my mood. I think I have some form of seasonal affective disorder-I always seem to get depressed in the winter. That period in early February when it...
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I recently left a Facebook group I belonged to, Liberal Democratic Party, and founded my own rival group. The reason for this was that I got sick of the Founder of the former group using it as a vehicle to promote his religious beliefs. Although I am a Unitarian Universalist Humanist who attends church, I believe very firmly in the separation of church and state....
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Over this weekend, I have come to the conclusion that I need more discipline in my life. I don't mean in the sexy "Come here right now, slave!" sense, but in the sense of getting my life better organized. I have been making moves towards this for the past few months, but things this weekend are making me think I need to get somewhat more...
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I've been running around doing a lot of stuff this weekend. The real highlight was attending a performance of Marx in Soho by Howard Zinn. It was a really good play which humanized Marx and made his ideas much more accessible. It was sponsored by a number of groups, including the Thomas Merton Center and the Pittsburgh branch of the International Socialist Organization.

What I...
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My computer has been somewhat on the fritz since Sunday. In particular, I've been unable to access the internet from my home computer until today. It started when I downloaded iTunes onto my laptop. (I've previously used my old laptop for iTunes, but decided to switch to my new one because the old one became increasingly difficult to use.

Unfortunately, when I finally managed to...
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I just finished watching a movie, Meet the Feebles, an early film by Peter Jackson from 1989. It is truly frakking hilarious!!! Basically, it is an adults-only spoof of the Muppet Show featuring both puppets and people in animal costumes. Into this child-like world, Jackson interjects drug use, SM sex, and a shooting spree. It is like nothing you've ever seen.

I like these kinds...
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Finally got around to seeing a movie I've been wanting to look at for a long time: Sars Wars: Bangkok Zombie Crisis. A horror-comedy that is most noteworthy for being the first zombie movie out of Thailand. I had seen a trailer for it on a Hong Kong horror film I had rented, and managed to obtain it from GreenCine (a superior net-based film rental...
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I am so glad to be finally getting back to campus. It is so frakking boring being stuck in a studio apartment day in and day out. Walking outside is still a mess, but I need the exercise anyway.

I did my lesson plan for Friday last night, so that will be one less thing to do for this afternoon. I hope to have time...
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My relationship with this week's snow storm is becoming distinctly love / hate. On one hand, I have to thank the storm for getting classes cancelled tomorrow, so I won't have to spend all night grading papers. On the other hand, I ended up missing the WYEP alternative souper bowl because I didn't feel like trudging all the way down Centre Ave. in foot deep...
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Pittsburgh looks like the Ice Age today. We have had over a foot of snow, and the trees and bushes I can see out of my window all have several inches of snow on their branches. It is at once beautiful and daunting.

There is very little traffic for obvious reasons. When I look out the window, I can see people walking in the streets,...
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