Yvette's Inner Geek Blog

Ben and I spent the afternoon with Kathleen and Ron on Christmas Day last year. Kathleen was diagnosed with colon cancer in early 2008 and had undergone chemotherapy, but even though she’d lost a lot of weight and looked more frail, she was as talkative as ever. She told me that she intended to live for another 20 years to see her grandchildren married, and that she’d told her doctors that their grim predictions just wouldn’t work for her.

I believed her. And I am now trying to deal with sadness from her death and guilt from not going to see her since Christmas—not even after I got the message last week that she was in hospice. The time just passed by too quickly, and I guess I’ve been floating around in denial and avoidance. She was only 57 years old.

Kathleen and I were coworkers at my last job, and though her kids are my age, we bonded over being the only non-Mormons at the corporate office. And over trains. Her husband, recently retired, was the manager at the local Union Pacific railyard and Ben is a model railroader who goes ga-ga for real trains.

They invited us to visit the railyard the last few Decembers (along with the employees’ families, who mostly come to see Santa and eat Kathleen’s cookies) so that Ben could take photos and touch the insides of a locomotive. At the railyard in 2007, I took a photo of Kathleen and Ron that she really loved. The photo was a little blurry, but she had a great big smile on her face.

We went to her memorial service this morning.Kathleen was Christian, but had not found a congregation that fit her spiritual needs since moving to Utah from Texas in the 90s. Her Mormon neighbors offered to hold the service at the local church, and it was very nice. A lot of my former coworkers were there from the company that laid me (and Kathleen) off last year. I was happier to see some more than others, but I know that Kathleen would have wanted every one of them there.

I’m not typically a crier, but I don’t have a great history of holding myself together at funerals or memorial services. I was doing okay walking into the church building, greeting Ron and his kids, until I got to the table with the guestbook and programs. Read more…

If you are not already a fan of Neil Gaiman, here is another reason why you should be: his recent blog post Why defend freedom of icky speech?

He gives an intelligent, easy to read, and in-depth response to a reader’s very valid question about why he supports the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund‘s (CBLDF) fight for Iowan comic collector Christopher Handley’s right to collect (what I personally find creepy and icky) lolicon manga.

Gaiman unequivocally supports our first ammendment right to Freedom of Speech, even when the content in question would probably disgust and mortify a large majority of the world’s population.

I grew up with a cursory appreciation of freedom of speech — censorship was something already in the history books for me, with an occasional current news story about another attempt at censorship by the Ridiculous Conservatives. I mean, I remember the 1999 uproar over Chris Ofili‘s artistic rendition of the Virgin Mary on a canvas embellished with elephant dung, but I wasn’t involved enough in politics of any sort to take sides when good ol’ Mayor Guiliani declared “There’s nothing in the First Amendment that supports horrible and disgusting projects!”

Nearly ten years later, after realizing that some of the graphic novels I actually own have been affected by that gray mess of censorship in the past, I am ready to take a stance. I may not personally approve of the very ideas of fetishizing children, oppressing women, abusing drugs, senseless murder, or conservative religion, but I’m not going to prevent someone else from writing or talking about them or creating comics and art and movies about them.

Ideas themselves don’t actively cause harm, and drawing a line or making exceptions to the concept of Freedom of Speech defies its very purpose.

Gaiman sums up this reasoning quite nicely:

Because if you don’t stand up for the stuff you don’t like, when they come for the stuff you do like, you’ve already lost.

Oh, Neil. Today I hate myself even more for not driving to Las Vegas to meet you.

Ben just pointed me in the direction of a politically relevant and super gametastically fantastic little flash game called “Super Obama World.”

If you haven’t played it yet, try it out! I haven’t gotten very far, so I’m not sure how it plays out… but the fact that the worlds are on a map that looks a lot like Alaska leads me to believe that Sarah Palin may be a boss along the way! Ooooo, fun! Let me know if you make it that far.

On a side note, it’s weird to realize that Nintendo’s amazing technology of the 80s can be recreated in a simple flash game played over the internet.

I can’t believe that I JUST found this clip of Obama scoring some major on-camera geek cred. It’s from October 17.

I pulled out my Utah voter’s guide yesterday and went online to do some final research on the local candidates before heading to the polls. I tried to create a sample ballot online, to make sure that I was covered on all the local issues… and discovered that the County Clerk didn’t think that I was a registered voter. Whaaaaaat!?!

I registered to vote when I was 18 in Ohio, where I voted in two presidential elections. I registered again when I moved to Utah in 2005.

I called the Clerk’s office and spoke to a very friendly guy who confirmed that I was, in fact, a registered voter in Utah. However, my old apartment address was still listed in the system. Whaaaaaaat!?! I had filled out the required paperwork to change my address and sent it in (stamp and all) in July!

Well, they never received it and/or never processed it. I was pretty mad, to say the least. Ben was exasperated because I didn’t check my status before Election Day, and I promise that if/when I move in the future I will not make that mistake again.

The guy at the Clerk’s office was sympathetic, but obviously there was nothing he could do to make it better right away. He told me that I could go to my old precinct to vote or fill out a provisional ballot in my actual precinct. Because I wanted to vote on a bond for the new public library, I decided to take a chance with the provisional ballot.

So I went to the new elementary school down the street around 3pm and found my Place of Voting in their adorably tiny gymnasium — with no line! There were several electronic voting machines set up and a few people voting on them, but I had to stand at a familiar portable voting booth to fill out my paper provisional ballot.

In a way, I’m glad I did. It felt amazing to manually fill in that circle next to Barack Obama; I smiled to myself and felt a wave of giddiness. Even though I live in one of the most conservative parts of a very conservative state, and my vote for Obama would surely be smothered by other Utahns’ votes for McCain, I still felt connected with everyone else in the country who was filling in a circle or using a touch screen to Vote for Change.

Sure enough, I was one of the 18% in Utah County to vote for Obama instead of McCain. Many thanks to the rest of the country for choosing, in my opinion, the best candidate. I hope that my friends who preferred McCain will eventually feel the same way. (Even if you don’t, let’s just stick to being friends despite our differing opinions on politics and/or religion, okay? There are lots of other things we have in common.)

But don’t mistake me for being a straight Democratic voter, because I’m unaffiliated. I will vote for the Republican, Democrat, Libertarian or Independent who is the best candidate (or, if none are available, I’ll pick the one who’s least crazy). Thankfully, I think that my reasoning behind my political choices has improved over the years.

In 1988, I was aware of the election but I don’t remember my parents talking politics. I secretly supported Dukakis because I had a 4th grade crush on a boy whose family supported Dukakis. In 1992, my 8th grade best friend and I rooted for Perot because he was the little guy (literally and figuratively) and had heated discussions with the mayor of our little town who was also our social studies teacher — arguments based on what, I don’t quite remember. In 1996, I watched the election coverage from my host family’s television in Norway but didn’t know enough about the candidates to prefer one over the other. I felt an increased sense of patriotism because I lived outside of my country that year, and I felt that it was important as a maturing teenager to at least be aware of major political events. And it was okay for me to stay up until 3am on a school night to do so.

In 2000, I watched the presidential debates and voted for the first time. I was confused and disappointed when Bush won the election. In 2004, I voted a second time, participated in the collective groan across the nation after Bush was re-elected, and wondered what was wrong with my country.

November 4, 2008 marked the first time I’ve voted for a candidate because I truly believe in him as opposed to voting for the candidate who is Dear God Anyone But George W. Bush. I was truly grateful to at least have a choice this year between two people who can form complete sentences and pronounce difficult words like “nuclear.”

Ben and I stayed home and watched NBC’s election coverage on and off throughout the evening (broadcast HDTV is still beyond delicious, btw) and gleaned more details from CNN.com as votes continued to be tallied. When Obama surpassed 270 electoral votes and McCain conceded the election, it was a unique feeling. My candidate won the election.

Thank you, America.

Obama’s speech at Grant Park in Chicago last night moved me in a way that I have never before experienced. Even though I was at home with Ben watching it on TV, I didn’t need NBC or CNN to tell me that it was a historic moment. I felt it. Hope.

Hope that our nation will be indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Faith in Obama to lead our country by means of hope instead of fear, and to make responsible decisions for the greater good instead of the partisan good. Hope for our future.

Read more…

This adventure, with an all-star political cast, has been making its way around the internet since mid-October for good reason. It’s GREAT. It is a MUST READ if you are a geek who knows anything about current election politics.

It was written by clever geek girl somehedgehog. She deserves all the internet love, money, and fame that you can provide. Thanks to foundinidaho (who was “spudlostinutah” until she moved back home to Boise) for sending it to me in the first place!

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Adventuring Party Politics: The Campaign is Getting Ugly
by somehedgehog

GM:  OK, the bugbear attacks you.  What do you do?

OBAMA: I send one of my 672 henchmen after it.

MCCAIN:  OK, seriously.  Why does he have so many henchmen?  I’m a level 72 ranger and he’s only a level 8 paladin.

OBAMA:  Well, if you’d bought the Grassroots Organizing and Oratory/Colgate Smile proficiencies you could min max it so that you…

MCCAIN: Why is he even IN this campaign? I thought this was supposed to be a high level party.

OBAMA: Well, maybe some people got tired of the grim and squinty “Matterhorn, son of Marathon” shtick you keep doing.  Dude, could you be any less original?

MCCAIN: Oh my god, I did not leave my left nut in a tiger cage in the Tomb of Horrors to spend my Friday nights mopping up after the new kid.

Read more…

I’m going to take a little break from geeky topics to mention something that really pissed me off today when I read it in the local newspaper. It’s an ordinance that is now in the works for in several cities across Utah.

First of all, I’m not a smoker and I abhor secondhand smoke. I used to work at the front desk of a hotel and was forced to inhale smoke drafting in my direction from the hotel restaurant, so I was happy when indoor smoking bans started popping up across the country.

BUT.

PUBLIC NOTICE

The Springville City Council hereby gives Public Notice to the citizens of Springville of the adoption of an ordinance at their regularly scheduled meeting held July 1, 2008. This is: Ordinance #17-2008 amending ¬ß8-4-112 of the Municipal Code to prohibit smoking in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. The complete text of this ordinance is available in the City Recorder’s Office at 50 South Main Street during regular business hours, or by calling (801) 489-2700.

To ban smoking outdoors in a public park? In my opinion, that’s going too far in violation of the basic rights of an individual. Today’s local editorial column declares that it’s not a religious or moral issue; it’s an issue of public health.  I call bullshit! The harm of secondhand smoke is compounded in an enclosed environment like a restaurant, but in my experience, I’ve rarely had to take more than a couple steps away from a person smoking to be relieved of the smoky air in an outdoor setting.

This ban was made primarily for the people who declare “I shouldn’t be forced to have to inhale secondhand smoke on public property because it can cause lung cancer.”

In that case, here are more declarations of behalf of people with their own just causes, and I expect the city council to listen up and ban accordingly.

• I shouldn’t be forced to smell other people’s burning meat on grills in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [The smell of meat can sicken vegetarians]
• I shouldn’t be forced to taste bug spray that other people release into the air in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [Deet causes neurological damage]
• I shouldn’t be forced to look at other people’s hairy chests in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [Hairy chests are just gross]
• I shouldn’t be forced to hear children laughing in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [It causes depression in infertile people]
• I shouldn’t be forced to overhear religious prayer in public parks, playground areas, recreational areas, cemeteries, and near mass gatherings. [Expression of religion doesn't belong in public places]

These declarations all make perfect sense to certain groups of people. Which ones do you think are silly? Which ones do you think should be seriously considered? Anything that anyone does can (and probably is) considered offensive by someone else. The great thing about the United States is that citizens are granted (historically, anyway) civil liberties like Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Expression, which limit the government’s ability to abuse its power and interfere with the lives of its citizens.

In general, Utah has a serious issue with separating church and state.  This stems largely from the fact that a majority of the population is the same faith, including political leaders, and people of the LDS (Mormon) faith are accustomed to obeying rules and strictly adhering guidelines set forth by the church leaders even when they directly oppose personal choice.  It is generally not acceptable among Mormons to smoke or drink, for example.

So it’s not really surprising to me that outdoor public smoking bans would pass legislation in my adopted home state. However, I am a nonsmoker who is absolutely opposed to it.

How much longer until I will be fined by the city for swearing in a public park?

Even though I don’t think my opinion would carry much weight in the local political arena, I think I’ll start working on a petition to ban hairy chests just to see how far it would go.

The Kids in the Hall performance last night was a refreshing change of scenery after living in Utah for almost three years. It was our first time on the University of Utah campus (which is not religiously affiliated) and I giggled with glee when I stepped inside of the Kinsbury Hall Theater…  there was a large screen hanging down with a static collage of images projected upon it, including a box with the phrase "What the fuck were you thinking?"

I giggled because unless I watch a movie or have some very specific friends over to my house, I rarely hear the "F word" anymore. I was definitely treated to some fantastic use of cursing during the course of the 1.5 hour KITH performance. And the crowd in the theater could take it… I don’t think that there were too many conservative, non-swearing audience members. (Interesting note: Ben and I were solidly on the younger end of the audience age spectrum. I wonder what the average demographics are of show attendees?)

Liz doesn’t want spoilers. Stop reading right now, Liz, if you really want to be surprised when you see it in Seattle tomorrow.

The show started out with the KITH theme song as the lights went down, and that was awwwwsome! Then there was a pre-filmed skit shown on the big screen to introduce the tour, including a gag where they blatantly dubbed "Salt Lake City" over some other word that Bruce McCullough mouthed in a generic Your Town reference. They pulled that gag a couple other times during the performance.

The show felt very much like a Kids in the Hall TV episode, but on stage with no censorship and several moments when the guys broke character… which was okay because some of their shit was really funny and seeing them break character made it better (which usually isn’t the case, but I have a feeling that they had to do several takes to get the footage they needed back when they taped their shows).

The set-up was low-key, with bare bones scenery consisting mostly of folding chairs and images projected onto the screen behind the actors. Costumes and familiarity with a lot of the characters (Buddy Cole, Cathy and Kathie, the Chicken Lady, etc.) set the stage for an all-around good show.

Scott Thompson had some blasphemous fun as Buddy Cole, monologuing about how Jesus was clearly gay. He prefaced that with pokes at Mormons, like… "Many of you are probably risking excommunication by coming here tonight, so the least we could do is make it worth your while!" 

Hallelujah! 

Then, in a skit that (I think) followed Buddy Cole’s monologue, Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney walked onto stage together dressed like this: 

When these guys walked on, the Salt Lake City audience roared because it was probably assumed that Kevin McDonald and Mark McKinney were playing Mormon missionaries. They turned out to be Jehovah’s Witnesses who made the mistake of requesting entrance to the house of Bruce McCullough’s annoying, nerdy kid character (Gavin, I think?).  Still funny.

And then Mark McKinney came out wearing a mini skirt for a scene, except the mini skirt was pulled up around his underwear. Yup, tighty whities in full view! He pulled the skirt down as soon as he realized it was up… but the damage was done and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t a planned gag.

Then, after much hilarity, including a second and not-really-hilarious pre-filmed sketch on the big screen, the show ended with some head crushing. As it should have.

And that’s all I’m saying for now  because I know that Liz is still reading and I don’t want to ruin it completely for her.

Finally, Utah has changed the liquor law to allow 1.5 ounces of liquor in mixed drinks instead of just 1.00000 as it’s had for a long time. Yes, it’s that exact because they have special measuring pourers on the top of every liquor bottle in the entire state. Well, except for in private homes (like mine).

They still have a bizarro number of other stupid laws, like the one where you can’t have a mixed drink and sidecar shot with the same liquor in front of you. A different liquor? Different story. Any way you look at it, the laws are stupid and restrictive and the whole state just needs to lighten the fuck up on their liquor laws. Spend some tax dollars tightening things up so that teens have a harder time getting alchohol, or station some traffic cops around the state to encourage the idiot drivers to not be such idiots, okay? I mean, I learned that you’re not supposed to go through a red light when I started driving in Ohio, but that law doesn’t really apply here. It’s on the books, but I’ve never seen anyone get a ticket for it.

It’s the freakin’ Wild West out here about everything except the liquor laws. WTF, Utah?