I had another one of “those” conversations with my dad again this afternoon.

“Dad,” I said firmly, “you understand that I do not hold anyone to any standards higher than I hold myself. That being said, I expect people to take responsibility for their own actions. The phrases, ‘Oh, I was taking the wrong medication,’ or ‘Oh, I was at a low point in my life,’ are just excuses. Remember, I don’t forgive people who make excuses for their own life. I don’t believe in it.”

“But,” he protested (ad nauseum), “people change.”

No. No they don’t. People don’t change. Especially not people who have been conditioned to act cruelly their whole lives. They don’t wake up one day and say “I’m cured.” That’s fucking bullshit and I’m sick and tired of hearing it.

That being said, we’re looking to take Spike back up for Labor Day. We’re all disappointed about this. I don’t like it and I’m sure he doesn’t like it either. I’m going to miss that kid. I love him so much.

But before we have time to be sad, we’re taking him out to dinner and a movie this weekend. The Dark Knight opened today and we’re catching the matinee.

Under much pressure from Michael and Spike, I’m reading a little book called The Fellowship of the Ring. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. It’s surprisingly interesting and unpretentious and I happen to enjoy reading what was left out of the movies. Truth be told, I didn’t like the films. None of them. They were long and boring and took too long to end. Plus, I think you have to read the books in order to understand the films. Anyway I’m only two chapters (plus a lengthy prologue) into FotR and I have enjoyed every page of it so far. Hurray for fiction!

My brother-in-law’s house was almost broken into while he was visiting his parents. The burglars ripped one lock and the metal door frame to bits, but never got past the bottom lock. Also, he cut his thumb on the jagged frame. Poor guy. I’m so sorry this had to happen to such a nice, quiet guy like Tom. Tom’s done nothing to hurt anybody ever and this is what he gets. Sigh. At least nothing was stolen.

And now for the notebook:

• Do you feel safer now that Google added a link to its privacy policy? In truth, I’ve never felt not safe. Call that naive if you must. [Techdirt]
• Are RSS subscriber numbers bogus? Given that not everyone knows what RSS and newsreaders are, I’d say yes. [Copyblogger]
• RIP Thomas Disch. Sorry to hear about this. [Metafilter]
• Deconstructing Twitter. I’m still not 100% behind the philosophy of Twitter, but this breaks it down a bit. [TechCrunchIT]
• Google launches virtual world called Lively. I tried it out and it’s not nearly as cool as it looks. [TechCrunch]
• Google Docs goes down, user data does not. I’m not really afraid of Google suddenly shutting down. [Webware]
• Senate sells out the country. The biggest story from last week and the most scary. The Internet is buzzing with anger while the real world probably hasn’t heard a damn thing. [Techdirt]
• New law would legalize marijuana in Oregon. Though I doubt this will get passed, lets hope for the best and expect the worst. [Nevada Thunder]
• German court says open WiFi owners not responsible for file-sharing done by others. [Techdirt]
• DRM company releases one-sided argument on DVD copying. Would you expect any DRM company to release a clear-headed, unbiased argument on anything? [Techdirt]
• William Shakespeare’s folio worth [$30 million] recovered ten years after being stolen. If you have to steal the first folio belonging to the Most Famous Writer Ever, make sure you don’t leave it with LITERARY SCHOLARS. [TimesOnline]
• Lemmy’s Nazi hat collection gets him in trouble. I’m glad Lemmy’s up on such “fucking brilliant” things like the Holocaust and World War II.

Enjoy, kidlets.

I hesitated before posting that last entry. But I got over it and hit “publish” a day after. My dad called this evening to talk about it — in particular, one aspect that I mentioned. As usual, our argument was never more than a carefully worded, carefully calculated discussion. In the end, though we still disagreed with one another, he said, “Regardless of how we may disagree, I respect you. I respect your decisions and your opinions. Of all people, I respect your opinions so much. Not just because you’re my daughter, but because you’re a smart person.”

That being said, Mike also got the nicest complement the other day. His cousin, who lives just down the street from us, remarked about how his father (Mike’s uncle) looked up to Michael for his get-it-together-ness. “Dad thinks the world of you,” he said. “He says you’ve got your head on straight.” I’d never felt more proud of him. Well, except when he confronted Mom, but that’s different.

We’ve been getting lots of rain these past few days — I love it. It makes me feel good inside. I wake up feeling so much better about myself, life, and other people. I’m in a better mood. Life feels so nice. I’m grateful for the little things: food, shelter, clothing, and fresh air. I don’t feel so tense and angry then. And then the sunshine breaks through and I’m back to being grumpy. My biological rhythms are fucked up.

Don’t listen to me. I’m just ranting.
Continue reading ‘Mom’s Not Voting For Obama’