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Stylish trends

One of the side-effects of watching too much TV is that I am getting sucked into the world of celebrities. Obviously, since they are all so fabulous, I should make them all my demigods and tailor my life to reflect theirs.

According to the current celebrity trends and keeping in mind the statement above, there are two things that I could do to be stylish – get pregnant or get a divorce. Think about it, who isn’t getting a divorce or has gotten pregnant??? If I had really nothing to do, I would list a number of celebrities who fit into these categories but since I have to write two papers for school, I’ll leave it up to you to do all the research.

Optimally, I really should do both – get pregnant and get a divorce. But since there is no one to get a divorce from, my only option is to get pregnant. Now, since I have about a billion other things to do than get pregnant, I’ve thought of a grand solution. For a more natural look, I could drink a lot of beer but it’s not the best solution since it’s hard (especially in this old age when my metabolism rate is visibly slowing down) to get rid of a beer belly. Alternatively, I could just get myself a detachable belly, the kind that was issued to the Human Sexuality class in my highschool. The purpose of it was to learn what it is like to be pregnant and as much I remember, everyone complained that it was really heavy. Mine detachable belly would be squishy and light, no suffering here, only style. Of course, first I would have to take proper measurements and make sure that it’s a cute belly – the kind that would make me look pregnant rather than just fat. At the same time, it shouldn’t be too big otherwise I would look really lopsided; after all, I am kind of frail and small. I would guess somewhere around 6-7 months would look pretty damn good. Since this pregnancy thing is quite a trend, I could also market the detachable belly. There are plenty of hipsters in Williamsburg wobbling around with their (what I assume) real pregnant bellies, if I sell it to the right store, it could become a fashion item for the non-pregnant hipsters. Or it could be one of those ironic items, sort of like the trucker hat trend that was so popular a year or two ago. This way, I could finally fulfill my dream of leaving social work and selling beer on a beach in Costa Rica. Yea, it always goes back to the beer…

Back to the good ol' days

No wonder Putin and Bush are such great friends, they have a lot in common.

From today’s Moscow Times http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2006/01/18/002.html

Putin Quietly Signed NGO Bill Last Week

By Francesca Mereu

Staff Writer

President Vladimir Putin last week quietly signed into law the bill that will increase state control over nongovernmental organizations, but the news was not made public until Tuesday, when it was published in the official government newspaper.

The seven-day delay appeared to be an attempt to avoid embarrassing questions from new German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who made her first visit to Moscow on Monday and met with NGO leaders after her talks with Putin.

The bill flew through both houses of parliament amid mounting public criticism late last year, and Putin approved it on Jan. 10 -- exactly 14 days after it reached his desk. By law, Putin has only 14 days to decide whether to sign a bill.

The law will come into force April 10.

The notice about Putin's signing was published in Rossiiskaya Gazeta on Tuesday.

A similar notice could not be found in the section of the Kremlin web site devoted to new laws on Tuesday night. The presidential press service explained that the web site was reserved for laws that the public needs to know about, Gazeta.ru reported.

Asked why Rossiiskaya Gazeta had waited a week to publish the announcement, the newspaper's deputy editor, Timofei Kuznetsov, said, "This is not a pressing law. It does not come into force from the moment it is published, but within 90 days [of being signed]," Gazeta.ru reported.

In actuality, Kremlin watchers said, the presidential administration has developed a practice of being secretive about controversial legislation.

"In this case, the reason was simple: It was clear that Merkel was going to raise the NGO issue, and the Kremlin tried to avoid giving her the occasion to do so," said Yury Korgunyuk, a political analyst with the Indem think tank.

Lev Ponomaryov, head of For Human Rights, a leading NGO, said the Kremlin had succeeded in avoiding a possible confrontation. "The bill got only mild criticism from Merkel," he said.

At a news conference after Monday's talks with Putin, Merkel noted the "many objections among the public" to the legislation and said Germany would "closely monitor how it is observed in practice."

German Embassy spokesman Brett Wolfgang declined comment on the issue Tuesday, except to reiterate that Merkel would wait "to see the practical application of the new legislation."

Putin stressed at Monday's news conference that "no harm will be done to NGOs that operate in accordance with their stated goals."

The law establishes a new agency to oversee the registration, financing and activities of the more than 400,000 NGOs that operate in Russia. The agency -- not the court -- will determine if an NGO should be shuttered for offenses such as using foreign money for political activities and engaging in activities unrelated to its stated goals.

After vocal protests from Russian and foreign NGOs while the bill was still in the Duma, Putin ordered deputies to remove a requirement that foreign NGOs reregister as Russian entities and become subject to stricter rules -- a rule that would have closed all foreign NGOs.

The legislation followed a warning by Putin last summer that Russia would not tolerate NGOs that used foreign money to finance political activities. The Kremlin is worried about the key role that NGOs played in the peaceful election-time uprisings that ousted regimes in Ukraine in 2004 and in Georgia a year earlier. Duma elections will be held next year, and the presidential election will take place in 2008.

Yelena Yershova, the president of the Consortium of Women's NGOs and a member of the newly formed Public Chamber, expressed dismay that Putin had signed the bill before the Public Chamber had had a chance to weigh in.

"We had a lot of remarks concerning that bill," she said.

"I don't understand what the president is doing. On the one hand, he takes steps to reinforce civil society and creates the Public Chamber. But on the other side, he backs that terrible law that would restrict NGO activities," she said.

Yershova said Public Chamber members would raise the issue when they met with Putin during their inaugural meeting on Sunday.

Putin ordered the chamber set up after the Beslan hostage-taking in 2004, ostensibly as way to give civil society a voice in government affairs. Critics call the chamber toothless. It can offer nonbinding recommendations to the government and the parliament on domestic policy, weigh in on legislation, request investigations into possible breaches of the law and request information from state agencies.

Alexander Chuyev, a Rodina Duma deputy, predicted Tuesday that no more than 5 percent to 7 percent of NGOs would be closed under the new law, Ekho Moskvy reported.

But Ponomaryov of For Human Rights warned that the consequences would be grave for many. "NGOs will become like Soviet dissidents: They can criticize the Kremlin only from home and not publicly," he said.

Human rights group Amnesty International, which had urged Putin to reject the bill, said in a statement that it regretted his decision and repeated its concern that the law gives the authorities excessive powers of scrutiny and discretion, which could be abused.

Russia's ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, acknowledged that he had concerns about the law but echoed Merkel in suggesting a watch-and-wait approach.

"Let's wait and see how the law works," he said. "I will report any human rights violations to the president."

Dear Diary

I realized that in the past couple of weeks I’ve been in this pseudo-melancholic slump. Much of it has been propelled by a horrific (that is, in my opinion, although I am sure it went better than I think) out-of-nowhere over-the-phone job interview, a traumatic (although in general lovely, but for me, a traumatic) baby shower, and too much free time on my hands. Ongoing obsessions with Bonnie Prince Billy, Cat Power and Johnny Cash (of the American edition) haven’t helped much. Add on the weirdly warm then freezing cold yet still gloomy weather and a killer headache which made me miss a Jack Rose show and that’s the formula for melancholy.

But then talking to my mother over the weekend, it hit me. It’s not really the baby shower, the job interview, too much free time, killer headaches or wacky weather. It’s the fact that every aspect of my life, from personal to professional (or unprofessional, really), is completely on hold for the next few months. And that’s what’s creating this brain fuck.

Typically, I am the kind of person who can make a decision quickly and I rarely think back and regret my decisions. There may be a moment when I think that my choice is not necessarily the wisest but I accept it and move on or deal with it. I don’t sit around, wallowing in indecisiveness, waiting for things to fall in their place. Not that I go out of my way to control the outcome of things but still, when presented with choice A or B, I can make up my mind fairly (or comparatively) quickly.

So essentially, today and for the next few months, I am that person who will be sitting around, twirling my proverbial thumbs, waiting in complete and utter uncertainty. Don’t get me wrong, I am fairly active, running around town looking for pocket organizers and trying to finish writing research report among other things. But this uncertainty and inability to do anything to resolve any aspect of the ambiguity is killing me. I guess there is some level of anxiety and hope that things will fall in the right (or desired) places but it all comes down to having to sit and wait around. I can’t make any decisions as there are no decisions to make nor can I speed up anything or anyone. I have no idea how people deal with this; I suppose that’s why self-medication (yes, of that kind) is so popular.

Well, back to wallowing in my melancholy.

I can't believe this!

Columbia Book Store
2 Ivy League Stationers
1 random card and calendar store

None carry the 3.5" by 5.5" Moleskine Weekly Planner. Although one of the Ivy League Stationers had the larger Moleskine Planner but it has columns with sections for each hour of the day. I don't have enough appointments in a day to buy it. Plus, it's big.

Now, the cherry topper - even the Moleskine website (moleskineus.com) lists the small weekly planner as out of stock! It's a conspiracy, I am meant to be lazy and disorganized for 2006.

An apology to my high school English teacher

Dear Mr. Cummins,

I am not sure if you read this blog, I think I may have included you in the mass email which accounced the debut of the blog. Which, of course, doesn't mean that you read it. But nevertheless, I want to apologize for all the spelling and grammar mistakes. Sorry for the misuse of commas (I love them), sorry for the really long sentences, fragments, incorrect syntax, and sentences that make no sense. Fortunately I can say that English is my third language, but that's no excuse. I promise I paid attention in your class; I am just careless when it comes to writing in this blog. And I still have troubles with the correct use of all the articles - I have no clue where "the" is more appropriate than "a" or perhaps an article is not necessary at all.

And I've lost my Strunk and White.

But I remember you said that it is important to write something every day. So here I am, writing something once a week or so. Plus, I haven't bought my 3.5" by 5.5" Moleskine weekly planner, perhaps once I own one, the postings will be more frequent.

Thanks for reading,
Betty McBoob

This is why I hate shopping

For the past few days, I've combed New York City (well, Manhattan, or lower Manhattan to be exact) for the 3.5" by 5.5" Moleskine 2006 weekly planner. Although generally I am not particularly attached to labels - to me, $30 Levi's jeans look just as good as $180 Seven jeans, the un-attainability of the Moleskine planner has made me want it more and more (I am only being a human!). Also, deep inside, I feel that if I purchase a 3.5" by 5.5" Moleskine weekly planner, my life will be uber-organized and, as a result, I will procrastinate less and do more meaningful and productive activities.

I went to several stationary and art supply stores in the Union Square area where I discovered a variety of different planners but no Moleskine ones. There were also a ton of other Moleskine products but no planners. Then I made it to not one, not two, but three Barnes & Noble stores and all had an abundance of planners but alas, no Moleskine planners. Of course, there were tons of Moleskine notebooks. Then I stopped by Pearl Paint on Canal Street where I found no planners of any kind but a display, which covered most of the wall, with different Moleskine products. As I looked at the display with disappointment, a nice sales clerk told me to go to the Container Store where one can buy the much coveted Moleskine planner. So I gathered the remainder of my strength, buckled my boots, tightened my scarf, took a deep breath and ventured out on the streets of Manhattan to the Container Store, which, unfortunately, is located near Union Square, about 15 blocks from Canal Street.

It was a lonely journey. Thanks to electricity, New York City streets are lit with overhead streetlamps and displays advertising trips to warm lands and post-holiday (not Christmas, of course) sales at Old Navy, yet January evenings in Manhattan are dark and dismal. It's cold and the holiday (not Christmas) cheer is gone, people bundle up, brace themselves against the bone chilling wind which makes 35 degrees feel like 25 degrees and scurry down the street. Since I've been walking for about two hours already, my feet were killing me and every step was permeated with pain. Hunger pangs were torturing me and I salivated every time I passed a pizza shop. My body was losing its energy fast. Yet I was determined to make it to the Container Store to buy my soon-to-be most prized possession.

Once I got to the Container Store, I felt a surge of excitement and energy as I stepped into its warm sales floor. A cheery greeter asked me if I needed help and I quickly described what I was looking for. She looked at me, turned around, and told me to walk to the back wall, turn left, walk to the end and take a right. As I followed her directions, I almost ran in excitement and anticipation. As I turned right, I saw a display of what looked like planners and notebooks and planner refill pages and other variety of products which would enable people to be organized. I was so happy. Well, that ended really quickly when I realized that the display was full of planners and notebooks and other random and useless stuff. But no Moleskine planners.

Of course, I can always order one online. I may, I plan to go to a couple stores near Columbia and then a stationary store near Columbus Circle. The $10 shipping charge and the 1-2 week wait may be worth it. In the meanwhile, I shall continue to procrastinate and write stupid blog entries.

Oh, and if anyone knows of any stores in Manhattan that sell Moleskine 3.5" by 5.5" 2006 weekly planners, please, please, please let me know. I promise I will credit and thank you when my first book gets published, I find cure for AIDS and solve world peace.

Updates

I am sure everyone is sitting, impatiently awaiting the blog’s update. The blog has been quiet lately, what is Inga up to? I bet she’s living it up, having little time for trivial things like her blog…

Well, in fact, I have been living it up. Mainly in the form of eating and sleeping. And watching useless television. In addition, I’ve:

* had a great New Years party. New Years parties are generally a tricky thing. Once in a while, I feel like having a gigantic bash, but most of the time a low key event with friends feels much more appropriate for me. I think age plays a factor in this as well, I (not so fondly) remember going to some New Year’s party in 2001 where I drank too much champagne which caused me to leave a trail of vomit from the Upper West Side all the way to Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The worst part of that New Year’s was waking up in someone’s apartment (luckily my friends were with me the whole time) still dressed in my winter coat with vomit all over it. I was so hung over that day (or really, still totally drunk) that I, very slowly, walked for about 30 city blocks to sober up so that I could get into the subway at Columbus Circle and make it to Sunset Park without throwing up. I think the rest of the day was spent in my bed, barely moving. Oh, I also omitted the part where I vomited in the subway. Yes, I was one of those annoying people who vomit in the subway and leave it all stinky. The following couple of New Years weren’t so memorable, although I vaguely remember showing up at some party in Park Slope, using the toilet (not to vomit this time) and promptly leaving. There was another New Year’s party where I inhaled too much smoke (yes, that kind) and felt so out of my mind that I sat on the balcony for an hour, trying to avoid talking to people and hoping that the car would come soon to pick me up. This time, my walk home (which lasted a good 30 minutes) was much more sobering. Fortunately for me and my aging friends, the past two New Years have been spent eating tons of food and drinking in the company of 10 or so good friends while counting down to midnight. Then the dancing would start. And all this would happen within walking distance of my apartment so I would be golden.

*watched the movie Munich. There is a small caveat to this story. When I first saw the poster for the movie, one of the letters was obscured by a column so when I looked it, I saw “unich” with a picture of a man with his head hanging low. Now, I realize that “unich” is spelled “eunuch” but at the first glance, I thought that Steven Spielberg has made a movie about eunuchs. Incidentally, the New Yorker had article about male baldness this week and according to it, castration has a 100% guarantee of prevention of baldness. Anyways, originally we tried to go see another movie but it was sold out so Munich was the only one that seemed most interesting. Well, let me tell you – don’t go see it. Unless you are willing to sit in a movie theater for 3 hours, it’s just not worth it. Even if you have great interest in Israel/Arab relations, don’t go see, you’ll be bored because there isn’t that much political analysis. There is tons of action in the movie (somebody gets blown up pretty much every 3 minutes) but it gets really boring after 2 hours of watching people getting blown up. Also, Spielberg tried to intertwine an emotional story about a sensitive family man with morals (blah blah) yet either the acting was poor or the story line was so boring that I did not care for the hero with morals nor did I identify or care for any of the characters in the movie. And (now, if you don’t want for the ending to be given away, don’t read the rest of this), the uber cheesy cheap shot at the very end was ridiculous. I rolled my eyes and laughed. The “hero” of the movie says something along the lines of, “if we keep killing them, they will find more evil people to replace the killed ones and where will it all end?” (or something along those lines) Cue crappy sappy music and pan camera to a background shot, focus on the World Trade Center Towers. Yes, that’s how crappy the movie was.

*read Freakonomics. So my friend told me earlier about Steven Levitt’s argument that the reason for low crime in 1990s was due to the abortion rates among poor disadvantaged women. Levitt argues that people who were more likely to commit crimes, those of low socio-economic ranks, lack of education, lack of supportive parent(s), etc, were effectively killed before they were born. Ok, an interesting argument. Yet, I wasn’t blown away. Or “dazzled” as Malcolm Gladwell’s blurb says on the cover. Once Levitt makes his statement, the rest of the chapter peters out. Or he switches to a more conventional topic. In general I think Levitt tends to make a statement that shows some correlation yet there is little convincing evidence for causality. He addresses this in a chapter by providing an example of snow and temperature. He says that there is correlation between cold weather and snow yet this correlation does not provide evidence that cold weather causes snow or that snow causes cold weather. Which is exactly my point since snow, a type of precipitation, is caused by the hydrologic cycle, while changes in weather, including Earth’s temperature, is caused by the heat from the sun (whew, finally, all those years spent around astronomers has come in handy). As a current researcher, I have (actual) authority to say that Levitt doesn’t self-criticize or acknowledge the weak points of his argument, something every good scientist would address. Without addressing holes in his arguments, in my eyes, Levitt’s book is not “dazzling.” Just “interesting.”

Happy New Year everyone!