The Violaceous Euphonia

So good to be home again!

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 02:03:27 GMT

To quote my grandma, "Home again, home again, jiggity jog!" (She always says that when she gets in her driveway.)

Let me tell you, Internets, I used up all my tolerance for fussy old Republican ladies during my week in AZ with Grandma and the two great-aunts. My grandma had to leave two days early--my grandpa was in the hospital--so Mumsie and I had to drive back by ourselves. I really hate that she missed her last two days with her sisters--they are the only three left out of a family of ten kids, and Grandma does not get to visit very often. I have a sinking feeling that she will never leave my grandpa by himself ever again; he hates to travel, and she loves it. :(

I can't wait to sleep in my own bed again! I'm even looking forward to getting back to my attic dungeon office.

Tom Felton Is Mean

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:10:40 GMT

So, one of my co-workers went to DragonCon this past weekend. He saw Tom Felton speak at a panel, and said he seemed nice but....

One of his friends ran into TF at the hotel, and said something like, "Hey you look familiar....You're Draco Malfoy!" and he told her to fuck off.

Not nice!

Anniversary

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 21:02:24 GMT

Jeff and I forgot about our anniversary last Friday--we've now been dating for eight years! That's 30.7% percent of my life!

Forgetting about our anniversary is a tradition of ours, because it always falls around the beginning of school when we have other things to do. Of course, this year, we are done with school, but why break with tradition? :)

My Guests

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:20:49 GMT

View Poll: My Guests

Palin Lulz

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 03:31:33 GMT

You can't just QUIT being governor because you're tired of it!

View Poll: WTF Palin?!?

Ugh

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:37:30 GMT

I hate it when conservatives talk about suffragists as "traditional" and such...completely ignoring their progressive activism. You would have hated Stanton and Anthony just as much as you hate Steinem and NOW today!

Please, stop co-opting and whitewashing feminist history because y'all have a girlcrush on Palin. :(

Reply From Amazon

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 23:50:58 GMT

This just popped up in my inbox:

Hello,

Thank you for contacting Amazon.com.

This is an embarrassing and ham-fisted cataloging error for a company that prides itself on offering complete selection.

It has been misreported that the issue was limited to Gay & Lesbian themed titles - in fact, it impacted 57,310 books in a number of broad categories such as Health, Mind & Body, Reproductive & Sexual Medicine, and Erotica. This problem impacted books not just in the United States but globally. It affected not just sales rank but also had the effect of removing the books from Amazon's main product search.

Many books have now been fixed and we're in the process of fixing the remainder as quickly as possible, and we intend to implement new measures to make this kind of accident less likely to occur in the future.

Thanks for contacting us. We hope to see you again soon.

Sincerely,

Customer Service Department
Amazon.com

So, what do you guys think? Was it weev? Was it a glitch? Is this a cover-up?

Google Bombing is Fun!

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 22:57:51 GMT

I've been boycotting Amazon since last year because of their douchiness about The Office DVD set, but now I wish I could reboycott them!

Amazon Rank

Your Good Deed for the Day

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 18:29:09 GMT

Pleeeeeeeeeeease help me out by taking this survey for my linguistics class, guys. It's short, and it's for a good cause (my grades).

http://bama.ua.edu/~jcmeeks/survey.htm

This Has Gone Too Far

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:53:06 GMT

The recession has now spread to my fortune cookies!

"You shouldn't overspend at the moment. Frugality is important."

This is my FORTUNE?!?

It's spread to the Japanese restaurant, too! Yesterday, at Bento's, I ordered my usual vegetarian lunch box. They brought out my lunch, and there was a wee, sad little scoop of vegetables next to an enormous pile of rice. That's not how it was in the good ol' days...I'd rather that they raise prices a bit than take away half my veggies!

Too far, I say. They've gone too far!.

D.C. Here I Come!

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 23:06:09 GMT

I'm going to the inauguration next week--it still seems unreal, somehow.

When Clinton was in office, I was a Republican because, well, everyone was a Republican. I was pleased when Bush got elected the first time--how strange that seems now--but I hardly ever read the news and I didn't care for politics much. The Boyfriend still likes to tease me about it--he was much more liberal than I was when we met many moons ago. The build-up to the invasion of Iraq coincided with my shift leftward, especially with regard to reproductive rights. I remember that my father and my grandpa were both angry with me for opposing the invasion. My grandpa said the communists had infected my brain--that just made me laugh when I was safely at home. My dad yelled at me and said I was despicable--that made me cry--though a few years later he told me that I had been right. Now, they're both quite as disappointed in the Bush presidency as I am, though for very different reasons.

I think my father is resigned to an Obama presidency--he sent me an email of congratulations after Obama won, and seems interested in my trip--but my grandpa is bitterly opposed to Obama. He has bought in to all the sekrit-Muslim hysteria, and no amount of facts can change his mind. My sister and I tried. He said something incoherent and terrible about how you can't trust a mix of black and Muslim--he's so old, and in such ill health, that it seemed pointless to say any thing. My grandma told me that he was deeply upset after the election; I think she wanted to make sure that I wouldn't bring up anything political at Christmas. She needn't have worried--I try not to, around my family.

In contrast, though, my grandma told me that she thought his Cabinet picks were good--I think that the Republicans did such a good job of depicting Obama as a dangerous socialist that his center-left picks seem reasonable now! My dad visited his father this week, and he said something very similar. It shocked Dad so much that he called to tell me about it. John's parents have expressed much the same opinion.

So, here is some anecdotal evidence that some Republicans, even in the Deep South, are willing to give the new administration a chance...after the ugly tenor of the election, that's more than I had hoped for!

Huh?

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 23:40:08 GMT

I had a strange dream last night...I've forgotten the plot, but I know it involved:

me as a cowgirl
a land border between Texas and Japan (wtf?)
train tracks smack in the middle of a cattle drive
triggering an avalanche on purpose
riding around on horseback
lots and lots of cows

It all made perfect sense, but when I tried to explain it to Jeff and John this morning, it disintegrated completely.

I've had some peculiar dreams in my day, but this takes the cake. I was the DD last night, so it can't be blamed on alcohol. When I was in therapy, Betty Jo used to make me recount all my dreams, but I don't think even SHE could have made sense of that.

We talked about the best things of 2008 last night at the party... (Me: Roz, John: Mr. Grumbles *sniffles*, Jeffrey: 36-0--the Iron Bowl score) and the worst non-tragic event (Me: the great butternut squash massacre, John: I don't remember, but I bet having to SMELL the results of the squash disaster would rank pretty highly, and Jeffrey: the loss to Florida in the SEC championship). I never thought, back in the days when I read books at football games, that I'd end up with such a lunatic. I s'pose it's my cross to bear. :)

We all agreed that we are looking forward to the inauguration--only 19 more days of GWB!

Happy New Year, everybody!

Hurrah!

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:19:43 GMT

Dr. S,

I forgive you for being such a slow grader!

Cheerfully,

    Your Student

*hugs the shiny A+*

Happy 223rd Birthday, Jane Austen!

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:11:08 GMT

Some quotes:

"I do not want people to be agreeable, as it saves me the trouble of liking them." (from a letter to her sister Cassandra)

"Here I am once more in this scene of dissipation and vice, and I begin already to find my morals corrupted." (on arriving in London)

"It would be mortifying to the feelings of many ladies, could they be made to understand how little the heart of man is affected by what is costly or new in their attire." (Northanger Abbey)

"The quarrels of popes and kings, with wars and pestilences in every page; the men all so good for nothing, and hardly any women at all — it is very tiresome." (on reading history)

"If there is anything disagreeable going on men are always sure to get out of it." (Persuasion)

"Nothing is more deceitful," said Darcy, "than the appearance of humility. It is often only carelessness of opinion, and sometimes an indirect boast." (Pride and Prejudice)

"How quick comes the reasons for approving what we like!" (Persuasion)

"You ought certainly to forgive them as a Christian, but never to admit them in your sight, or allow their names to be mentioned in your hearing." (Pride and Prejudice)

Why yes, I am a JA fangirl...I even have the action figure! :D

argh

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:09:24 GMT

Dear Dr. S,

Please to be posting my linguistics grade ASAP. You've had a whole week to grade it, mk? I can't stop checking myBama obsessively until you post it...save the university's bandwidth and grade the darned things already!

Grumpily,

Your Student

December Already?

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 04:02:03 GMT

I had a living room full of brothers and cousins and puppymonsters Thanksgiving night--some were on the couch and some made a pallet on the floor. Allegra was lucky, since she got an actual bed, though she had to share it. A full-size mattress is just not meant for two people, especially not when one of them (me) likes to sprawl across the bed diagonally. I'm not exactly sure why they wanted to stay over in such uncomfortable circumstances...maybe John and I are just really cool? I dunno.

The kittypuss ran away to protest the invasion--I was really beginning to fear she had been smushed or eaten, but she came back Saturday evening. I was so glad to see her that I gave her canned instead of dry food for a treat! She's mad at me, though, for my terrible betrayal of her trust; I lured her into my room with the promise of snuggles and ear-scritches, and instead I assaulted her with Frontline. She made a dreadfully sad noise and ran off to the garage to sulk. She growled at me earlier when I tried to apologize--such a spiteful little thing!

Duanna Johnson

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 23:13:17 GMT

From Feministe:

On February 12, 2008, Duanna Johnson was brutally beaten by a Memphis police officer after she refused to respond when the officer called her “he-she” and “faggot.” That night, Johnson became yet another of the countless trans women of color to be targeted and brutalized by police in this country. Two officers were fired after the attack; neither was prosecuted.....This past Sunday, Duanna Johnson was found murdered on the streets of Memphis.

Her mother is having trouble paying for the burial.

If you could spare even a few dollars to help, you can donate through PayPal at http://ttgpac.com/.

My Little Brother Voted! :D

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:12:09 GMT

I just chatted with my little brother about the election. I knew he had voted for Obama from facebook, but I wanted to know a little more about his decision. He's always been very cynical about politicians, disliking both sides equally. You might have noticed that I'm rather partisan, so I wanted to know how an undecided voter made the choice.

He had been undecided until Monday night, even though he had been reading about the candidates for the past few weeks. He said that he told himself he would not get up from the computer until he had made a decision, and he read their policy positions on both sites. He said he chose Obama because he thought he had a better plan for taxes and the war, but then immediately segued into a Fallout 3 conversation--he'd had enough of politics.

I'm more pleased with his thoughtfulness and efforts to make an informed decision, than I am about his choice (though I'm very happy about that as well, of course). I'd rather him vote for McCain because he sincerely believed his policies were the best, than for Obama because it was what the cool kids were doing. Of course, Skyler has always been a sensitive, intelligent, thoughtful young man (though I may be a tad bit biased) and so it's not very surprising; it's just another reminder that he's growing up. I'm very proud of him!

I Voted!

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 14:56:52 GMT

I was a bad voter, though...I didn't research local candidates at all. I just voted astraight Democratic ticket. Artur Davis was running unopposed, not that anyone could beat him. I can't wait to see what he does in 2010! I know Jeff Sessions will win his Senate seat again--I HATE that man and voting against him made me feel better, even though I know Vivian Davis Figures won't win.

I voted yes on all the amendments. I can't believe that our state constitution requires a statewide vote on trash pickup and filling vacancies in Nowheresville County. Ugh.

I wish it was tonight already! I can't wait any longer. :(

I'm (In)Famous

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 01:30:36 GMT

In other news, I got a 92 on my p-chem exam. :D

Also, John burned his neck this morning, because he was trying to iron his collar with his shirt ON. *shakes head* He told me that I can't understand because I'm not a man. He says he does this often, and has only burned himself "two or three times" before.

Quote of the Day

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 18:37:41 GMT

Today at lunch, John came out with this reflection about me:

You can take the barn out of the country, but you can't take the girl out of the cow.

I think he was insulting my manners, but I can't be sure.

Ugh.

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:56:45 GMT

Yesterday, I got a friend request on my ooVoo account (a video chat thing we use at work). I added them b/c I thought it was one of the other student workers. Turns out it was some dude looking to chat. I told him TWICE that this was only for work, and he kept asking me where I was from, and could we be friends. He used netspeak, too. Ick.

NO.

He's blocked now. I wonder how he got my username...I don't have it anywhere and the only people on my contact list are Paul and John.

I told John that eTech has now exposed me to sexual predators on the Internet!

ETA: I guess he just searched by age and gender. We can probably guess what he wanted to chat about...ew.

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 23:25:09 GMT

I passed my p-chem test.

*whew*

Troy Davis

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:22:00 GMT

From Color of Change via Feministe:

"In just over a week, Georgia may execute an innocent man. Can you make a call right now to the State Board of Pardons and Paroles to ask them to spare the life of Troy Anthony Davis?

Troy Davis was sentenced to death for the 1989 murder of a police officer in Savannah; a murder he maintains he did not commit. There was no physical evidence against him and the weapon used in the crime was never found. The case against him consisted entirely of witness testimony that was full of inconsistencies. Since then, all but two of the state’s non-police witnesses from the trial have recanted their testimony. Many have sworn in affidavits that police pressured or coerced them into testifying or signing statements. Former FBI director William Sessions told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Serious questions have been raised about Davis’ guilt. It would be intolerable to execute an innocent man.”

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles is meeting today to decide Troy Davis’ fate. Can you call them right now and ask them to spare his life? Call (404) 651-6599 and tell them you are for clemency or commutation for Troy Davis because you don’t want Georgia to make the mistake of executing an innocent man.

Once you’ve called, please let us know by sending an email to calls@colorofchange.org. Then, please pass this on to your friends and family–Troy Davis needs all the help he can get.

Last summer, the day before Troy Davis’ original execution date of July 17, 2007, ColorOfChange.org members flooded the phone lines of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles asking for clemency for Troy Davis. The board granted him a stay of execution stating, “^{the board} will not allow an execution to proceed in this State unless and until its members are convinced that there is no doubt as to the guilt of the accused.” The Georgia Supreme Court and US Supreme Court have refused to hear new evidence in the case–ensuring that doubts about his guilt will always remain.

Once again, Troy Davis’ life is in the hands of the State Board of Pardons and Paroles. They are meeting today to decide whether to move forward with his execution. Every ounce of pressure will be needed to reverse the course of this injustice.

Can you take a moment to call the board and ask them to commute the death sentence of Troy Davis? Call (404) 651-6599 and tell them to grant Troy Davis clemency or commute his sentence. Then let us know you called by sending an email to calls@colorofchange.org."

Thanks and Peace,

– James, Gabriel, Clarissa, Andre, Kai, and the rest of the ColorOfChange.org team
September 12th, 2008

For more information about the Troy Davis case, please click on the links below.

1. “Troy Davis — Finality over Fairness,” Amnesty International USA
http://tinyurl.com/42z2tp

2. “Davis execution scheduled; 7 witnesses have recanted,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/03/08
http://tinyurl.com/68r5e5

3. “As execution nears, last push from inmates’ supporters,” New York Times, 7/15/07
http://tinyurl.com/6xou5x

4. “Execution of Georgia man near despite recantations,” Washington Post, 7/16/07
http://tinyurl.com/699lvl

5. “New Round for Davis,” Savannah Morning News, 7/18/07
http://savannahnow.com/node/327610

It only takes 30 seconds to make the call! Just tell them that you're calling about Troy Davis, asking for clemency or commutation, and then give your name, city and state. I'm not always against the death penalty, but this case is an example of how unfairly it can be applied.

McCain gets Barackrolled.

violaceouseuphonia@gmail.com — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 04:05:46 GMT

Via Pandagon: