lexaprose

One of my favorites, one more time:
It's doing 13 while she's 11ing your 5.

Yup, I've done both on multiple occasions. It depends on how you qualify 'fasting', though. Is avoiding chametz fasting? I think not, since you can still eat your fill, though for Passover II this year I fasted. And on the High Holy Days. That's a big part of Judaism. We're a people very much 'about' food, because being Jewish is so much a part of being Jewish. You can go to church and be Christian without altering your life but each Sunday morning. Judaism is actually a culture. And one central facet of this culture is food, because it's essential, because it's a way to remember each day who you are and what you are.

As for cleansing, that's debatable. I carry out miqva when I feel the need, because to me that's the point. To me, tamei--ritual impurity--is a state of mind. My miqva ritual is personal and not traditional, but it makes me feel healed. I guess that's more important to me than the rigidity of literal interpretation.

And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun
sinking in the sea
-The Eagles

This is basically a giant Karapost. Lots of West Cliff pictures.

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My summer so far:

106 miles.

30,000 words.

By the end of August I'm hoping to be up to 10 miles a day. I'm not horribly worried about not 'reaching Rivendell' by the end of the summer. To be honest, it's an issue of pride, and it's a little bit an issue of viciousness. When I was a kid, my mom used to wait until we'd all had a really good time on a family vacation. We'd hike out to a lake or a river, and she would start talking about how everyone needed to lose weight this year and this is how we were all going to do it. And the rest of the vacation always sucked.

Mom walks home from work every day, but that's only a quarter-mile. I want to show her up. I want to be the one who's in shape, the one whose jeans are too loose (already true). The most important thing is that I feel good about myself and I feel healthy and all that. But goddammit, I want her to feel for five minutes how she's made me feel for twenty years.

Now I'm out of class at half-past noon four days a week. It's kind of perfect, actually. I have the time to walk as much as I like (after a while it DOES get boring) and then I'm home for the evenings.

I told Heather my idea about the Tikkun tree. I told her the long, babbly version of the story, the one where I'm too nervous about myself to come clean, but Heather was just as enthusiastic about it as I am. We talked about how "clumsy people like me" (Heather says) can make leaves, how bark patches can be the basic stitches while leaves can be simple to lace and cable. Heather wants to involve Sasha and his new Pro-Peace Israel group, which I think will be great; she says she's too busy through the holidays, but I volunteered to start prep this summer. As soon as we officially decide we're doing this, I'll call Beverley's, Michael's and Joann's (notice a theme in craft store names?) about donations. It's easier to have a wool donation in summer, when no one wants to buy it. And then it's leaves! Leaves, leaves, leaves! This is going to be a lot of fun, and I really hope it happens. I'm excited about this. It'll be a long-term project, summer through tu v'shabbat (not sure how to transliterate that).

Tonight I ate SUSHI! Everyone seems to have had sushi. I haven't. Hadn't. There were nine of us, I think--creative writing class, plus teacher--and it was this awesome place that gives you lots of food. I can't use chopsticks, but I'm also a bit on the shy side with strangers, so I was using fingers. I was at the end of the table with Sam, Ben, Toni and Hilary.

The restaurant gives a lot of food and they set out cucumbers, snap peas, calamari and--sushi! Little pieces of "fried california roll" (I don't know the terms). I was going to wait until I could ask for a fork, but that might've taken all night and... well. Deborah, fingers, sushi slices. I wasn't actually expecting to like it; I went along because it seemed like fun going out with the class, and I figured if they have sushi they'll have rice and rice is good, but I did eat try the sushi because I get a bit... odd... in social situations, especially when I like someone, so I ate the sushi the way I took pills (before I got used to them).

"Oh my god I love sushi!"

I did not, actually, love the food I'd ordered. Next time I'll order something else! There will *so* be a next time. Specifically, fried california roll! That was so good. So good. Mmmmmm.

Ben, Toni and Sam were drinking sake. At the end of the night Ben had a cup of sake (is that what you call it? A cup?) and he didn't want it. I said I'd drink it.

"I thought you don't drink."

"Well... I haven't..."

Ben thought it was a great idea: "Do it! Do it. It's not much. Everyone else is doing it!"

Sam disagreed: "This seems like a really bad idea." He held up his hands, totally washing us off.

I sipped. It was warm and burned! Alcohol does that.

"You gotta chug it. Just..." Ben motioned. I did.

It was a really cool experience, and I'm no longer afraid I'll become an alcoholic. A social drinker, maybe. It just wasn't that big a deal for me, and I didn't like it that much.

Sam and I walked together to Chestnut. I was kind of scared walking home alone at 11:30, so I called Mom and chattered to her answering machine the last few blocks.

"Oh, I didn't read it."
"Okay, can we go around and come back to you?"
"...no?"


"After Return of the King, it's like, 'Faramir, your dad died, you must be so sad!' 'Yeah, I really miss my brother...'"

I've met ELVES!

That's right. 41 miles. I've met Elves! Mile marker 41 is Elves.

And the proud fleshprice of 41 miles is ( here )

Hello

Now when I read Lord of the Rings I picture John Barrowman as Aragorn.

These are Clyde's jokes from The Sarah Jane Adventures, season 2 episode 3 part 2:

Two aerials got married. You should have seen the reception!

Police station toilet stolen: the cops have nothing to go on!

What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.

A magician is driving down the road and he turns into his house.

Two fish are in a tank. One said to the other, "Do you know how to drive this?"

An optician tells a guy he's colorblind. Well, that's out of the green!

How did Count Dracula escape from Transylvania? He used a blood vessel.

I went to the dentist, he said "Say aah." I said, "Why?" He said, "My dog's dead."

Dad and Mike are watching the auto races. Mike's not actually a dad.

Dad: What?
Me: Well... it's just I'm watching Sharpe's Challenge, the one they made like... three years ago. Well it's basically two middle-aged guys saving the British forces in India.

It's never good when you can watch a movie on mute, but not without the dialogue running through your head. (excuse me while I pretend I'm not talking about Two Towers)

Though, as much as I love these films, I don't think I'll ever be able to accept their take on Faramir. He's... weak! And corrupted! Yes, he's an awesome plot device (hmmm, how shall we incorporate the events in Gondor so it doesn't seem a total contrivance when Pippin and Gandalf get there?), but... he's not... Faramir!

It's like they wanted Gondor to seem like a total hellhole so that when Aragorn becomes King and everything's shiny again it's *even* *more* *wonderful*. So they emphasize characters like Satan--excuse me, Denethor--and totally fuck over Faramir (and give him really hilarious facial hair) and... well, Boromir's all right, with the extended versions, but in the theatrical versions it's really baffling why Pippin cares so much about these guys. And Imrahil and Beregond are... well...

I still can't watch the end of Fellowship. It's to the point that even my echolalia-enhanced brain can't remember the words. Anyway. I love Gondor. It's really quite unhealthy, isn't it? :D

Also am I the only one who thinks it's odd that Boromir and Faramir are blondish-redheaded (anyone else think there were a bunch of different wigs? Cos Faramir's almost blond in Ithilien, and by the coronation he's basically strawberry) while all the Rangers and, y'know, the *other* Gondorians are dark-haired? If you want to give people non-traditional looks, um, I suppose Elboron could be blond and Elfwine could be dark-haired, both their mothers having emigrated, but they don't actually come into play in the films. Not that it matters. I'm just sayin', it's not easy to love Gondor here. Especially when you can't stop giggling at the Prince of Ithilien's facial hair.

Generally I make an effort to be book-centric in defense of my insane theories, but this one's great: when Faramir is talking to/threatening Sam and Frodo, and Damrod (I think? One of his Rangers) comes in, David Wenham can't keep his eyes still. And if that's intentional, the man has insane small muscle control, because it's like a twitch in fast-forward.

(2000 word essay? What 2000 word essay?)

Also what does Denethor mean "heathen kings of old"? There's only the Valar. There's only ever BEEN the Valar.

First of all, you know what I love about Eowyn? Anyone can kill you with a sword. Eowyn can kill you with a technicality.

And Pippin.... Pippin is just the most shockingly resilient person, but the truth is, he's quite stubborn. His mind can't be changed. Even after Gandalf's talk about the next life, Pippin knows (he's wrong, but he believes he knows) he is going to die and he struggles not to cry, because so what if death is just the next step? Pippin doesn't want to die no matter what death is. But he's also not going to stop believing that life is good and life is a party. Pippin goes from being an innocent young person to seeing Nazgul and death and men who would burn their own children alive... and he's still Pippin, in the end.

Fun discussions from my day:
"...and he's basically inventing the character, because he wasn't in the books."
"Faramir wasn't in the books?"
"Well. Not like that!"