On a Tuesday

It rained most of today.  In fact, it was downright fucking dreary.  This is what I did: I spent last night at my parents', so I woke up this morning- noted the rain- went home and finished a library book and started a new show (Jericho, which I think I like very much).  I also did errands because I am in a wedding this weekend.

In any case, I have no energy to write a long entry, so I'm going to add some stuff that I read from reddit.com to this that Maddawg579 queried:

"Would you still masturbate if, instead of millions of sperm coming out, only one big one came out and you had to kill it before it killed you? 

Don't worry about the physics of it, just imagine the scenario. A bulldog-sized sperm comes bursting out and it has teeth, eyes, and everything. You have to somehow kill it, or it's going to kill you.

Personally, I think it would be fucking awesome. Unfortunately, everyone would know when you just finished jerking it."

This was answered on Deadspin by Drew Magary- check out the full answer here but here's a teaser of what he wrote:

"I read this question and immediately pictured a world dotted with numerous glory hole crematoriums designed specifically to address this problem. Imagine with me, if you will. You have to jerk off. There's no stopping the urge. So you hustle over to your local Masturbation Depository. Once there, you find a private booth with a small hole in the wall. You do your jerking and then you skeet into the hole so that the bulldog sperm is ejected into a separate room. Obviously, you'd have to be very mindful of timing in this instance. One premature orgasm and you're fucking toast. You have to KNOW when that nut is coming, and prepare thusly."

I'll let you stew on this little gem of an idea. 

Song of the day: Apocalyptica - Farewell [suggested by a friend]

Eastern Europe

I lived in what is popularly called "Eastern Europe" for four months, did you know that?  Well, I did.  It's an area that is easily overlooked for some reason (stupid Western Europe with all their fancy 'Westernization'), and I could not recommend it more.  If you ever get the chance to go to Europe do not neglect that side of the continent!

Let's check out some interesting stuff from that area then.
One of the many interesting things about this cluster of countries is the abundant ties to socialism, communism, and fascism and the struggle to move towards democracy or not.  The first thing to check out is this article about 25 abandoned Soviet sculptures in Yugoslavia.  After the Republic fell in the 1990s, these sculptures (which had been commissioned to commemorate sites from WWII) essentially were abandoned by visitors/tourists.  The photographs of these statues were taken by Kempenaers, and he questions whether or not these former monuments can continue to exist as pure sculptures?  [On the one hand their physical dilapidated condition and institutional neglect reflect a more general social historical fracturing. And on the other hand, they are still of stunning beauty without any symbolic significances.]  This article seems to suggest that the creator and the time the sculpture was made is more important than the physicality of the structure- or at least, that it's up for debate.

One of the more depressing things about this cluster of countries is that supposedly the 14 most unhappy countries in the world are in Eastern Europe [U.S. is supposedly #36]. This is interesting if you compare it to surveys for some of the worst things, like that Zambians are most likely to not live to see their 40th birthday or on the probability of not reaching 40 graph, the top 34 countries are all African.

And, lastly, some interesting facts about the Czech Republic- my favorite Eastern European country bar none. According to the 2001 census, 59% of the Czechs are Agnostic, Atheist, or non-believer, 26.8% Roman Catholic and 2.5% Protestant. Only 19% said that they believed in God, meaning that about 11% of the self-declared Christians were only Christian in name (or by tradition).  And, this is pretty apparent in that country.  This is interesting because they are close to some very religious countries *cough Poland cough.*  The Czech people are also the highest consumers of beer in the world- this shouldn't be surprising considering so much of beer's history stems from this wonderful nook of the world  Interestingly, the Czech Republic has one of the highest density of castles in the world, with the Prague castle being the largest castle area in the world, spreading to over 18 acres.  Bottom line is that this country is fucking awesome.  Beer, castles, and spas are overflowing.  And, hell, it's not hard to look at either!

Song of the day: Radiohead - All I Need [I only had 4 cds when I lived in the Czech Republic, and Radiohead's In Rainbows is one of them, so this is a dedication to my time there] [[the bass is awesome]]

Tattoos

I just had a conversation with a friend of mine over the weekend relating to tattoos.  She was of the mind that people in our particular profession shouldn't have visible tattoos.  Which has made me wonder... is not our profession the one that declares 'everyone is equal,' or as I would say never judge someone you briefly meet because you do not know their story.  A profession that has thrown away that hierarchical bullshit about 'bad literature' and who decries the 'librarian stereotype' whole heartedly.  If this is the case, why do most librarians still act superior to the patrons and why do most frown down on behavior they don't have in their 'code?'

I guess one would say to that 'But, really, that applies to every profession."  And, maybe that's true, but it still really bothers me.  Why do tattoos still have bad connotations about them no matter the content or reason behind them?  That said, obviously there are terrible tattoos and really bad decisions about some that are inked- I mean, if you had tattoos and piercings like this guy, I would hesitate about hiring you, too.

So, what is it about tattoos that are so contrary?  Is it simply what is marked on you?  Or is it the whole package?  Is my little Latin phrase just as bad as a heart with roses on the lower back typically known as a tramp stamp?  I don't know, but I do know that I like mine and I plan on getting more of them at some point along the road of life.  Do you have any tattoos?  What is your favorite one?  Or, what do you want to get?

Saturday song of the day: The 88 - At Least it was Here
Sunday song of the day: Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better