Alissa's posterous http://alissabee.posterous.com Most recent posts at Alissa's posterous posterous.com Mon, 08 Sep 2008 19:13:01 -0700 This video is 21 years old now http://alissabee.posterous.com/this-video-is-21-years-old-now http://alissabee.posterous.com/this-video-is-21-years-old-now

I was maybe 15 when it came out.

Damn when did I get so old?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Mon, 08 Sep 2008 16:40:59 -0700 The Student Loan Trap http://alissabee.posterous.com/the-student-loan-trap http://alissabee.posterous.com/the-student-loan-trap http://community.nytimes.com/article/comments/2008/09/06/business/yourmoney/06money.html

Something is terribly wrong in a country where the first stepping stone you take as an adult, a college education, is only the first in a list that will lead you down towards a lifetime of debt.

I was one of the lucky ones. I was able to work my way through undergrad . I had the sort of job that English majors dream about: editorial assistant. I was working at an ivy league university press before I even got my bachelor's degree. I also had a mother who was able to scrape together the remaining money for tuition each semester for the city college I attended. We paid on the deferred tuition payment plan, one-third down, and two-thirds later. There was barely enough, but we always managed to make it.

The college I went to was a branch of the City University of New York. It was a working-person's college. There were many immigrants and first-generation college attendees among my classmates. It was a very low-frills type of place. The campus consisted of three high-rise buildings around a subway stop. The escalators were broken half of the time. The library was always short of books. The cafeteria selections consisted of some tired Taco Bell burritos and warmed -over pizza. But the coursework I took was just as good as it was at the fancy university where I worked uptown. I was very proud (and somewhat relieved) when I finally graduated from that place.

Is it possible to do that these days, work a $10 - $12 / hr job part time job and have a parent pick up the rest of the tuition? I really don't think it is. College costs have skyrocketed over the past 10 years, just from the anecdotal evidence I've seen. I don't know why? Tax cuts? Expenses?

I just don't get how we expect to have an educated workforce in this country if we can't give the average person an accessible education. My family came here from eastern Europe with nothing. The only thing they had going for them was their drive to become educated, And they were able to take advantage of this through the city colleges (which, by the way, were very low-cost back in their day). This certainly isn't the case now. Other countries are able to do this, why can't the US? Is it because we're too selfish to have our (*gasp*) taxes raised?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:20:38 -0700 What the 2008 RNC brings to mind... http://alissabee.posterous.com/what-the-2008-rnc-brings-to-mi http://alissabee.posterous.com/what-the-2008-rnc-brings-to-mi

I can't get it out of my brain that the repubs picked Palin because they want to throw the election -- and it might well backfire.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:26:36 -0700 highlights + my comments from Fred Thompson's RNC speech http://alissabee.posterous.com/highlights-my-comments-from-fr http://alissabee.posterous.com/highlights-my-comments-from-fr "(Sarah Palin) can also dress a moose!"

(And of course, moose-dressing is a skill that will come *such* in handy during Senate sessions or foreign policy negotiations.)

"McCain is here with all of his children!"

(Including the dark-skinned Indian one)

"John McCain was injured and tortured in Vietnam and had to have his arm set without anesthesia!"

(Well that sucks. He looks a lot better now though. Erm...what has he done since?)

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:25:56 -0700 more arrests at the RNC http://alissabee.posterous.com/more-arrests-at-the-rnc http://alissabee.posterous.com/more-arrests-at-the-rnc http://the-uptake.groups.theuptake.org/en/videogalleryView/id/689/

to paraphrase my friend Jen, who sent this to me: Denver did not get like this.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Tue, 02 Sep 2008 19:13:01 -0700 Oy. The 80's are coming back to haunt me http://alissabee.posterous.com/oy-the-80s-are-coming-back-to http://alissabee.posterous.com/oy-the-80s-are-coming-back-to as I watch the Reagan tribute at the RNC.

And as I look at those Reagan snapshots, all I can remember are all of those "Meese is a Pig" posters wheat-pasted everywhere in the DC Metro Area in the late 80's. I wish I had pictures of *those.*

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Tue, 02 Sep 2008 13:44:20 -0700 some close-to-final thoughts on the Palins http://alissabee.posterous.com/some-close-to-final-thoughts-o http://alissabee.posterous.com/some-close-to-final-thoughts-o I am finding their various exploits to be *just* a tad bit too fascinating. It's like the worst tabloid soap opera ever!

No...even better. It's the Jerry Springer Show meets real-life politicians (repubs, Jerry's a dem I believe)!

I do wonder if the selection of Palin was on purpose: as in, the republicans didn't want a damned thing to do with the post-GWB years, so they deliberately threw the election by picking the worst candidate possible.

Hah hah on them (and on the entire rest of the US as well) if their strategy backfires in their face and they actually win the election. Would make a great idea for a novel, no?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:02:49 -0700 Palin's 17-year-old daughter pregnant http://alissabee.posterous.com/palins-17-year-old-daughter-pr http://alissabee.posterous.com/palins-17-year-old-daughter-pr

Hm. So now there's a teen marriage in the works?

I guess this is what abstinence-only sex ed and home-and-family conservative values can lead to.

Oh, and way to go for your teenage daughter's future, Governor Palin.  Way to go.  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:55:51 -0700 Wow. A free dvd. http://alissabee.posterous.com/wow-a-free-dvd http://alissabee.posterous.com/wow-a-free-dvd Given to me as I walked past the Colorado Convention Centre today:

Let's see...according to the cover, it's been seen on CNN and Fox News by more than 20 million viewers worldwide!

And Michael Medved blurbs on the back!   

Uh oh.  Perhaps this is in that same caliber as those "Left Behind" movies starring Kurt Cameron.

Anyways on the back it also says:

"Obsession is a film about the threat of Radical Islam to Western Civilization.  Using unique footage from Arab television, it reviews an "insider's view" of the hatred the Radicals are teaching, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination..."

Ooooh...you mean the Islamic fundamentalists, no?  Seems that it's the fundies who are causing this problem?

Well.  In that case.  I would like to recommend:

1)   regarding the Christian fundamentalists

I think we should have the fundamentalisms of all of these religions on the same playing field, nu?  

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sun, 24 Aug 2008 15:04:03 -0700 On the eve of the DNC http://alissabee.posterous.com/on-the-eve-of-the-dnc http://alissabee.posterous.com/on-the-eve-of-the-dnc I wandered around downtown. Let's just say that Denver got really hot. And sunny.

The 16th Street Mall ride was crowded. I don't think I'd ever seen it that crowded before.

I saw many police officers, some decked out in full riot gear. Bit creepy, but I suppose a necessity.

I took many, many pictures. I'll post them on my Facebook account. I even got a picture of the back of the Reverend Al Sharpton's head. How exciting, no?

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:33:20 -0700 WIP: "Day Without Sunshine" (Fiction) http://alissabee.posterous.com/wip-day-without-sunshine-ficti http://alissabee.posterous.com/wip-day-without-sunshine-ficti First few pages are below.

Thoughts?  Please post comments.

thanks!  -- Alissa

***

“A Day Without Sunshine”

One day in April, it started raining, and it didn't stop.  Sometimes it came down so fast that you could barely see outside of your window, even in the middle of the day.  Sometimes it would soften enough so that you could see the faintest little circles of water forming on the sidewalks.  At night, when the rain would often turn to a light drizzle, we would drive out to the lake and see the lightning flash over the trees. The whole world would appear in soft focus for just a moment, and then everything would turn black again.
At first, we welcomed the rain.  The farmers liked it, because there had been a drought in that part of the country for years.  The townspeople liked it, because there were no longer water restrictions, and the tap water, always heavily treated because of all the agricultural run-off, did not seem to taste as foul as usual.  
But after some weeks, there were problems.  First it started with the farmers.  The soil, which once was so dry that you could see deep cracks in it, couldn't hold all that extra water.  The roads outside of town were often covered with thin layers of mud and silt.   Next, the river waters started rising.  The town government started handing out sandbags.  These were of little use to those who lived near the river.  It wasn't uncommon to hear of someone parking their car on a reasonably-dry street at night, only to see it washed away the next morning.  In some houses, the plumbing had to be shut off, with the only fresh water being that which was previously gathered in an upstairs bathtub.  The newspapers were full of stories of  people who had lost everything. They even went so far as to interview one of the university's religion professors on the subject.  “Why do people always build on a flood plain?” they asked.  The religion professor's answer was simply, “Because they can.”
As for us,  who lived further uphill, all we could do was watch.  We could see the water slowly creep over the top of the sandbag barrier.  Then one day, as suddenly as it all began, the rain simply stopped.
And with the rain ending came my layoff.
“Two weeks,” they told us in an early morning meeting a few days afterwards.  “You have two weeks, and then the project is over.”
“Will there be other jobs in the future?”  someone called from the back of the room.
“Maybe,” said our manager, who was nervously tugging on his tie.  That was the only time we ever saw him in a shirt and tie.  “You never know when we might have further opportunities.”
Our job was processing financial aid forms.  We were given a stack of forms, about thirty or so, called a “batch.”  We were instructed to key in certain data, such as income, age, name, address.  When we completed each batch, we  placed a cover sheet on top,  and wrapped six rubber bands around each stack―three on one side, three on the next .  We gave them to someone to “verify” – that is,  to type  the exact same data, all over again.  After this was finished, the six rubber bands were replaced by eight rubber bands (four on one side this time, and four on the other).  The batch was tossed into a wire file cart.  I have no idea what happened after that.  Every few hours, someone would push the cart down the hall, past these official-looking double doors.  None of us were ever allowed past that point.
I worked third shift, 12am-8am.  It didn't matter what time it was to me.   You couldn't tell what time of day it was anyway, as the office was in one of those low, sprawling buildings constructed in the 1970's.  The only window near us was in the break area.   That window faced the parking lot, anyway, and was usually covered with so much grime you couldn't see out of it even on the sunniest of days.
After that meeting, that day, I caught a ride back to town with my coworkers Jay, his wife Sylvie, and our mutual friend Doug.  Jay decided to stop off at the liquor store to pick up a bottle of bourbon.
“But it's 8:30 in the morning!” I protested.  
“Sweetheart, we've just gotten off of work.  And plus, we'll all be unemployed in a few weeks.  What better occasion for a drink, eh?”
“We should go back to our place and hang out a little while,” Sylvie suggested.  “That okay with all of you?”
“Sure,” Doug said.  “I ain't got nothing to do.”  He looked at me.  “You wanna come with us?”
“Okay,” I said.  “Otherwise I'd just go home and try to fall asleep, you know?”
A short while later,  all four of us sat on the faded plaid couches in Sylvie and Jay's living room, with red plastic cups full of bourbon and sprite in hand.
“What are you going to do next?” Doug asked Jay.
“Oh,  no idea.  The whole downtown's washed out, hard enough to find a new job.  Maybe we'll go back to my dad's place in Des Moines.  He's offered to have us stay with him for a while.  And there's more stuff to do out there, you know?”
“Yeah, I know how you feel,” Doug said.  “I might be stuck here for a while.  I gotta stay near the VA.  I hear the ones further out are even worse to deal with than the one here.”  Doug looked at me.  “You.  What are you going to do?”
I stared at the inside of my plastic cup.  “Dunno,” I said, softly.
“You're smart.  Why don't you just go back to school?”
“Ran out of money.”
“Yeah, but maybe the university will hire you...”
“They're only hiring students these days.”
“Oh ,come on.  I can't believe there's not something for you there...”
“Why don't you just go back to your folks?” Sylvie asked.
I looked up from my drink.  “Out of the question.”

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:42:30 -0700 and as for tonight... http://alissabee.posterous.com/and-as-for-tonight http://alissabee.posterous.com/and-as-for-tonight I am headed here eventually:

to go see these bands:

hopefully they will play early enough so that I don't fall asleep.  great music, a bit mellow.

whee.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:58:45 -0700 Peyo was a damned commie bastard http://alissabee.posterous.com/peyo-was-a-damned-commie-basta http://alissabee.posterous.com/peyo-was-a-damned-commie-basta
Which is what made him so dreamy (*sigh*)

This recent story from Gawker, telling about some not-so-nice dealings behind the owner of the Smurf cartoons , made me think of the Smurfs yet again.

 

The Smurfs were one of my very favorite childhood cartoons.  The cartoon is a bit too sickly-sweet for me to watch today (what a shame, I guess).  The below episode, handily available on YouTube, is one of the few that seems to be bearable.  

And it was only when I started my literature courses at college that I learned of the themes here.  Blonde hair good, black hair bad.  Same as with Betty and Veronica.  Apparently this deal with haircoloring goes all the way back to medieval romances.  Wow.  Wow, Western European literary themes, acted out in a children's cartoon about um...little blue people.  

And they're all commies too, according to this:

Fascinating.  Enjoy!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sat, 23 Aug 2008 14:22:29 -0700 oh SHUT UP already http://alissabee.posterous.com/oh-shut-up-already http://alissabee.posterous.com/oh-shut-up-already

okay, I'm all for protests.  If it's worth it.  And trust me, even if you've been narrowly close to being tear-gassed and/or dragged into a paddy wagon, you'll learn pretty quickly that you better damn well have a good reason for being out there.

so what is this Recreate 68 group protesting?  Hm..

--the Iraq War (ok, I agree with you)
--US political prisoners (ok, I see your point)
--Oppression of various ethnic groups (um okay...understandable)

and... what else?  Am I missing something on the web site?  I mean, no offense here, but with the exception of the Iraq War thing, pretty much everything that they're protesting really doesn't seem to be a new hot button issue.  

How about say...the economy?  How about the US currency quickly losing value? 

Okay, I'll tell you what I'm frustrated about.  I'm frustrated that even though I have a white-collar job, I can't afford a house on my single income.  I am horrified that I only have a modest amount of savings.  I know that if I ever lose my job and the medical insurance alongside it, the chances are pretty good I'll be financially ruined.

Oh and also...the education system in this country (hell, particularly in Colorado) is an overpriced morass of suckiness.  We need to do something to revamp it, allow for more critical thought, and make it more accessible (re:  affordable--without the servitude that comes with student loans!) to the average citizen.  

What else -- we need to become more mindful of what goes on in our communities.  We should realize that whatever is done for the community is for everyone's good, not just for a few.  People need to stop being so fricking selfish in general.

And those are my concerns, coming from my middle-class, American, liberal persuasion.  I guess I'm getting just more...practical?  Maybe?  I am heading towards middle age after all.

Anyway my friend pointed this cartoon in the Westword.  I think this sums it up perfectly:

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader Sat, 23 Aug 2008 13:46:49 -0700 Finally... http://alissabee.posterous.com/finally-8 http://alissabee.posterous.com/finally-8 managed to get my blog integrated with the social networking stuff. Let's see how this will work...

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/11650/08-04-08_2223.jpg http://posterous.com/users/10CZ1yBdMCR Alissa Bader alissabee Alissa Bader