And before that...

Fugazi are playing tonight on the mall as part of the Smithsonian Folk Arts Festival. I'd say the definition of a good year is a year in which you get to see Fugazi play outdoors not one but TWO times. (upcoming fortreno being number two)

Know what rules? Big, loud thunder. Know what smells good? Nighttime rain in Virginia. I love my apartment, and all the lushity that's right outside my bedroom windows. It's like living in a forest, except for i'm like a block from Washington Blvd. I guess as a consequence i do have a lot of insects in my home but none of them bite or nuthin, just lots of cobwebs. Who's afraid of a silly ol cobweb? My insects are nice guests, they get out of my bed when i tell them to (of course, since they don't speak english, i usually have to tell them with an index card and an open window, but they get the message just fine) and they have the courtesy to drown when they follow me into the shower. So, so far, me and the bugs is a-ok.

Also, gives Iodine something to play with. Keeps her sharp. She's a fighter, that Iodine.

And the birds outside my window are amazing. If I had more time, I'd get into birdwatching, cause there are some crazy unfamiliar noises outside my window.

Oh, did I ever tell you that Virginia has BLACK SQUIRRELS? They're beautiful. They rule. They didn't have them in Delaware, and that's only a hundred some miles north, so I think they're pretty special. Not all the squirrels are black, just some of em. When I first saw one, I thought it had fallen down a chimney or something. But then I saw it in the sunlight and it was red and brown and black and fluffy and CUTE AS FUCK.

Hey, I read that stupid news piece about PETA asking the Green Bay Packers to rename themselves to something less violent and bloody, and I had to sit back and wonder what exactly PETA think they're actually accomplishing with stunts like that. Whose mind is changed by that? And whose beliefs are confirmed that PETA are just a bunch of wackos that can be safely ignored?

I read that and thought about the actual name People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and I thought to myself, you know, they could latch onto making sure that all slaughterhouses use Temple Grandin's designs (or at least techniques) because hers are more ethical, more humane. But they never would because it's not vegetarian. But here's the thing, most meat eaters are really really freaked out if they think about cows hanging by one leg from chains and stuff, and if you got all of those tortured meat eaters (who morally believe it's ok to eat meat, but morally don't believe it's ok to put an animal through searing pain) to start pushing for more humane slaughterhouses, you really would accomplish something, you'd make a real impact in the lives and deaths of jillions of animals. You're never going to convince all Americans to be vegetarian, I mean have you ever spoken with an old school Texan? But I bet you could convince a serious faction of meat eaters to support changes in slaughterhouses... if you weren't so busy pulling gay ass publicity stunts involving football teams. God, what were they thinking? It's senseless.

Anyway.