For those of you who may or may not remember, many months ago I started a list of THINGS THAT MUST GO, or things that have really gotten on my nerves lately. (For those who would like to read the first installment, follow the yellow brick link .) So here it is, everyone – a new installment of the ever-growing list, Things That Must Go! (You know, there is some sick pleasure in ranting, and it’s been quite a while since I’ve added to my list.) So here they are, the most recent things that...

For those of you who may or may not remember, many months ago I started a list of THINGS THAT MUST GO, or things that have really gotten on my nerves lately. (For those who would like to read the first installment, follow the yellow brick link .) So here it is, everyone – a new installment of the ever-growing list, Things That Must Go! (You know, there is some sick pleasure in ranting, and it’s been quite a while since I’ve added to my list.) So here they are, the most recent things that...

The thunder cracks, the rain descends The gulls conspire across the wind This savage strength can make me cringe My neck-hairs start to stand on end I squint my eyes against the flash The lightning sears the woods in white Yet just as quickly night returns My florid fear begins to grow Until I look at you Until I see your face Until I realize That you are by my side For I know that you are everything We run and frolick in the cold We laugh our dangers in the face We rev...

Yesterday, as I sat down to do a chat for my online spanish course, I realized that it would be infinitely easy to watch TV while I do it. So I sat down about seven pm with my computer on my lap, and flicked on the boob tube. I channel surfed for a second, eventually ending up on the local ABC affiliate. I was starting at America Ferrera, with a faceful of braces and a painfully garish outfit, and realized I'd stumbled onto a gem. It was the series premiere of “Ugly Betty”, an american ...

Writhing, twisting, contorted and pretzeled accordioned into my pigeonhole. Once upon a time I was a man - now I'm a hollow shell, a quiet memory of "what's-his-name" and "who's his face" - I changed to try and find myself but lost my identity. I fit the mold (my pigeonhole) because, in the end, I'm not present - only remembered. © 2006 Braeden Jones

I've really, really wanted to do a semester abroad in Spain for awhile now. Before I started studying spanish lit, I would've told you I wanted to go to Mexico or Argentina, but after learning as much as I have about both spanish and latinoamericana culture, I've decided Spain is the place for me. But - (the BIG but) - I'm so poor it's not even funny. There's no way I could afford tuition, fees, books, room & board, food, and airfare. So last night I was talking to my parents, and s...

Mist If I had decided to escape your twisted love I could've avoided a lot of this pain I can see the sparrows, the dew, and the sun! If you speak to me, I will shut you out of my heart Because I'm tired of those looks you give me; I'm fed up with the sound of your voice I can see the sparrows, the dew, and the sun! I feel blinded by the mist of confusion I'm fascinated by the clear sky - I've lost all reasoning! Dammit! I can see the sparrows, the dew, and the sun! -...

Si hubiera decidido escaparme de tu amor Yo pudiera recibido un montón menos dolor Puedo ver las golondrinas, el rocío y el sol Si acaso tú me hablas, cerraré mi corazón Porque me cansan tus miradas . . . llego harto de este son Puedo ver las golondrinas, el rocío y el sol Siento ciego en la niebla de esta tonta confusión El claro cielo me fascina - ya he perdido la razón ¡Qué perdición! Puedo ver las golondrinas, el rocío y el sol © 2006 Braeden Jones

With the new format for the forums and Zoomba's article about putting up an avatar to be a "cool kid" (if you haven't read it yet, read this article here ), many of us have been putting up (or changing) our avatars. It's gotten me to thinking - why do we pick what we pick? For months my avatar was a portrait of Miguel de Unamuno, my favorite author. But with the new format, I felt I wanted a change. So now it's Holly, the hologrammatic computer program from my favorite BBC TV show, Re...

It's a real shame that tripe like "Will and Grace" lasted for as long as it has. Or shows like "That 70's Show" (which was funny for its first couple of seasons, but I just don't find humorous at all anymore) and "Yes, Dear" survive for as long as they do, and "Arrested Development" only lasted two and a half seaons. Like a shooting star, "Arrested Development" has left us, but thank goodness for DVDs. I don't know how many of you were able to get into the show, but I have found it to ...

I've always wondered why teachers make rules against eating in class. It never seemed to make sense to me, all through la prepa (high school, I mean) up to and through la Uni. It seemed to always be a pointless rule . . . but that's because I've never been in a class with someone eating. Suddenly the rule makes great sense, and I know for a fact that when I'm a professor, we'll be having no eating in my classes, unless it's something I (or someone in the class) have brought for sharing p...

"My daughter and I have a healthy close relationship," a person with the screen name of Sonali posted. "We have been in a 'consensual sexual relationship' almost two months now." The daughter, Sonali wrote, is 10. "Every human being, no matter the age, should be allowed to have consenting mutual sexual relations with anyone they wish," wrote a man calling himself Venn. "All age of consent laws must, and forever, be abolished." "Anti-pedophiles are NOT about protecting children," ...

(Read the original story here .) A couple of weeks ago, about 450 students at Utah State University were supposedly awarded grants from the federal government for being in certain majors - physics, math, life sciences, computer science, etc. - totalling about 4000 quid per student. (I know lots of other places are pricier for school, but at USU, that's two semesters - a full year - worth of tuition and fees in the bag.) Many of these students were young married people, with spouses ...

Yesterday was a long day at work. (Now, I know that lots of you work a lot harder than me, and I'm not asking for sympathy, it's just part of the story.) I really didn't want to be there, other than the fact that I really needed the cash. As I sat in my teller booth in the unfamiliar branch (I was working for another teller who was sick in the main branch) I floundered. I'm usually an upbeat person, but I was just feeling grouchy. Now, that's not very conducive to the world of banking....

I look across the verdant field The sky, completely overcast It seems to mirror perfectly The way I used to feel Tumultuous, twisted painfully The thoughts of just what could have been The memory of your lovely face Is all I've left that's real The lightning comes, it strikes the ground And throws its sparks across the field The grass, once green, now coppers from The licking, burnin...