I. If you are getting Unnatural Forces on google reader or any of those newfangled web whatsits that I have never figured out, I hear you are not getting the comments? Guys, the comments are awesome. I have some just truly lovely folk who come around and say very substantive, smart things and we go back and forth discussing and I don't know about you, but I am really hungry for smart conversation. I am not able to have smart conversation all day long with other smart people? I might have to wait until I die to get that, because that is what my heaven would look like, or take a time machine back to undergrad (I went to Smith, yo. Those women were whipsmart). And I have gotten some seriously life-altering ways of looking at things through comments (thanks, William!). So, there's this post, about language, and this post, about blame vs. responsibility and Lacan, I would love for you to join the conversation!
II. Which brings me to this point: look, when I started this blog, I didn't tell anyone, and I didn't think anyone would read, and that was the point and that would be fine. That kinda went out the window when Sady linked to me, but then there was an amazing result I couldn't have expected - it can feel like a community around here. I email now with a couple of people I met here at Unnatural Forces and I love that and I write comments back to people (if you ever wrote a comment, you might want to check back and see if I replied) and it's all kinds of fun.
So if you don't already, why don't you participate?
Look, I know some people stopped commenting when they realized I might actually have Readers, instead of readers, but really: we are tiny here. Our kingdom may be mighty, but it is wee, so really not all that many people are reading your comment, let's be honest. Also, you're anonymous - and no one is thinking about you like you are thinking about you. Also: TRY WRITING ABOUT YOUR RAPE ALL THE TIME IN A PUBLIC SPACE.
And am I comparing and saying you should be like me? Not at all. Everyone has their own demons they need to master. Yeah, it's hard, but it gets SO MUCH EASIER after a couple of times. Trust me. It's a really empowering thing - and I will eventually write a post about the power of anonymity, and it might be LACANIAN folks, watch out. Anyway, so, take a deep breath, sack up, try it. I would love to hear your voice.
III. I am supposed to be writing a fucking paper on the fucking CIA drone attacks and how fucking illegal they are under international law. Fuck me.
Also, I want to respond to a very good question about the legal status of prisoners at Gitmo that A Sane Person asked me in comments over at her place that has really a very long legal answer and I might just post it here because I cannot bear writing it all in a little comment box, and I am figuring out how to write about complicated theory in ways that will be helpful to people, and I want to write about men (yes, all of them, all at once - I told you we were mighty here) and all kinds of other things.
But like I said: fucking paper.
But I really invite everyone, because this is a community, to email or write in comments if you have a question about, like, points of law in counterterrorism or something because it showed up in the news and you are not sure how to interpret it or what is actually legal and you'd like to see a post on it (because I know the media will certainly not be any help on this point), or if you want to hear more about something, or have me address a specific topic in a post, or you even want to write a guest post (that would be amazing).
And then I will get to all that after this fucking paper is done.
IV. There is seriously a creature living in my ceiling.
It moved in in like December? You could hear it running around up there. And then it started trying to claw through the ceiling to get into the house. It is like a fucking horror, movie, guys, and we have holes in the ceiling where the the stuffing (I know it's actually "insulation," but I prefer stuffing) is coming out and it SCRATCHES AT THE AIR VENT IN MY FUCKING BEDROOM AT 6 AM and it makes my cats go absolutely batshit insane.
Also, I live in Old Town, Alexandria, on a fairly busy road. There are no forests here. We are not in the woods. Besides for my two domesticated animals (well, Azrou is only arguably domesticated) there should be no wildlife in this house.
The very nice gentleman who always does handiwork on the house came this morning and it looks like, after months of having a furry friend romping above our heads and FREAKING ME OUT AT THE AIR VENT there is going to be a hole cut in our ceiling and a trap put up tomorrow. I don't really know how this works or whether it will cry once it is in the trap or if there are many of them up there or whatever but there might be a lot going on here on Sunday, so we'll see how this goes.
That's it. Thanks for chatting with me!
Much love,
Gayle
"...and the air vents as if testing them.' For some reason that image has me LMAO.
ReplyDeleteWe had a cute little mouse in my house that decided the only place it wanted to be was in my room. I sat it, it saw me, and it was awkward because we both got scare at the same time.
And I am laughing at the image of you and the mouse looking at each other! Mostly, I love that you describe it as "awkward." That word right there just sent me into giggles.
ReplyDeleteHi there--usually reading through google reader but I hop over if I have a thought or question. I really enjoy your writing and even though I don't enjoy that you were raped (um, is there a better way to say that?), I have learned a LOT from reading your blog. The perspective is invaluable. I learn a lot from the law stuff too!
ReplyDeleteI also have a blog but I don't write regularly these days. I'm not quite as exposed but I know what it feels like to be out there for inspection on the internet. Mostly good and sometimes bad.
Jamy - hi! Nice to see you again! And thank you. I appreciate that, and that is a fine way to say it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's a weird thing, to be so vulnerable. I think some days I struggle with even accessing what I am feeling or thinking in my own head, I am so good at doing the whatever-I-am-fine-shove-this-bad-stuff-to-the-back thing with MYSELF. If anything, this blog has forced me to be honest with myself, and finding out the depth to which I am really not that ok is shocking. It used to come out in weird bits and spurts and I'd think, oh, that is weird; I didn't understand the harm had really taken hold so deeply until I actually was brave enough to look.
But, you know, here's hoping I can travel the length of it and really begin to heal. Thanks for coming along - it helps.
Also, I have always loved how on your blog you list the things you are grateful for at the bottom. I have recently started trying to do that - like, if something is going very badly, I try to think of what I am at least grateful for right then. It's been a lovely practice - thank you for inspiring it!
I'm looking forward to that post about the legal status of prisoners at Gitmo, but yes, finish the paper first! School is important. But you can probably expect in the future further questions from me on legal stuff and terrorism and other stuff (because I'm too lazy to use the interwebs to educate myself on my own :D)
ReplyDeleteAlso, really looking forward to any possible Lacanian posts! :D
Oh! But the internets are not that helpful on c-t law and legal stuff. Which is why I am offering! After my paper. Which: I dislike my paper, but really because I dislike my professor. This is my CIA professor? Who is a giant ass? I may throw pieces of the paper up here when I am done.
ReplyDeleteIs that the guy that you said will probably give you a lower grade if you put correct information, because he doesn't agree with it? Good luck with that... =/ But yeah, you should definitely post it on the blog when you're finished writing it, I'd love to read that.
ReplyDeleteYes, picturing the creature pacing over your head still makes me think, "Release the Cracken!" and I am sure the last remaining unicorn and griffin are roaming/ scuttling (respectively) to find you.
ReplyDelete