Argh.

[mari4212]

Will somebody please tell me why my phone card service won't let me dial my parent's number? It's been doing this consistently whenever I try to call, and it's driving me nuts. And it can't be lack of minutes, I have three hundred of them left.

Gah. I just want to talk to my parents. This should be encouraged, right?

Mom, Dad, if you read this before you get my e-mail and it's not ridiculously late, call me.

ETA: Okay, I'm feeling better, I got to talk to my parents and my older sister. I needed that connection. *hugs family*

Okay, as annoying as that has been, there is good news about today. For one, my group had our presentation today, and we did not look like total idiots. Now that's over except for the paper, which I'll write tomorrow.

And the geeky guy I had dinner with a little while ago was at Aces Place when I was grabbing my dinner, and he chatted/flirted with me and walked me back to my building. (I'm not sure if it was flirting or just friendly chatting, I haven't had much experience with the former.)

And in news that is either fun or nerve-wrecking depending on how I look at it, I am having a discussion with a cast member from Firefly on a board that we're both part of. For discussion, read polite argument about politics that involves him quoting people I've never heard of and citing tons of research, and then me scrambling to respond. Adam Baldwin is scarily intelligent.

Ooh, and I haven't seen the tired mood thingy before. The kitty yawns, which is so cute.

Comments

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Ooh, now I want a link to the board thread, 'cause politics = ♥ (well okay, it doesn't really, but I still have mad love for intelligent political discussion).

[ljmckay.livejournal.com]

I am having a discussion with a cast member from Firefly on a board that we're both part of.

Whoa...I don't even watch Firefly and I'm impressed. Floored, in fact. (And, of course, green with envy.) That is really, really cool.

For one, my group had our presentation today, and we did not look like total idiots.

Well, that's a plus! Congrats, hope you get a good grade.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

http://forums.prospero.com/foxfirefly/messages

It's under the GWOT Strategy Alternatives thread, under off topic. There's a heading "Off Topic", a list of the most recently updated topics, and a red hyperlink that has a long number, then the abreviation msgs. Click on the hyperlink, and then scroll down.

The whole thread is a discussion between liberals and conservatives. The part of the discussion that I am involved it starts with about post 47, there's a response to it on post 49, and then I come in on post 113 responding to post 49. The first comment asked amoung other things why somebody would be a liberal democrat, the other person responded, I posted my agreement with the second person, and then the first person started talking to me. The first person is Adam Baldwin, the guy who plays Jayne on Firefly.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Be scared for me. He's super intelligent and on the opposite side of the debate from me.

And he's a really active member of the board, so he gets to interact directly with the fans. Especially on the political threads.

I'm hoping so. I got an A on the midterm, and I'd like to keep a high grade in this class.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Okay, I can find the Off-Topic heading, but am having difficulty finding the specific thread. What is its title?

And yes, I know who Adam Baldwin :)

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

*facepalm*

Rereading your comment I see you totally gave the thread name. Sorry.

Way too much text given that I should be in bed right now. But I foresee returning during lulls at work. [direct link -- though I may actually start at the actual beginning of the thread, because I am insane like that.]

I have mad ♥ that not all the Jossverse actors are liberals. (Honestly, my 4 years at Smith have bred in me an instinctual love of anyone who argues against the liberal line.)

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm liberal, but I have so many conservative friends that I know how to have a discussion and when to agree to disagree. Politeness is always key.

It might have something to do with the fact that I've gone to conservative schools all my life.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

Civility is so totally key in disagreements.

I grew up in a whitebread Massachusetts suburb (where it was asumed that everyone was a mainstream Democrat, and why would anyone be a Republican?) and then spent 4 years at a ragingly liberal college where it was assumed that only the evil or the brainwashed would not be liberals, would not be at least as far left as Democrat, would not think GWB evil and/or idiotic, would not think essentially the same of Republicanism, etc. etc. -- I got tetchy real fast, especially since as I actually started engaging with political issues (I'd mostly ignored it in junior high and high school) I found myself siding primarily with Libertarians and was definitely troubled by large portions of The Left.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

I had sort of the opposite exposure, at least through school. I went to a staunchly Republican Catholic high school, where any liberal opinions were immediately squashed with extreme prejudice. As in, during a religion class discussion on sexual stereotypes, a girl said that women shouldn't be treated equally or even expect to be treated as an equal, because we are different from guys. And my college here is also rather conservative.

Admittedly, my family and church were both liberal, so I did have exposure to both viewpoints growing up. I end up siding with Democrats on most issues, and I am very liberal in my personal views.

But hey, it's always nice to hear the other side's viewpoints, as long as both sides of the debate can be polite.

And I find myself wanting to tell the leadership of both parties to go sit in time out and come back when they can apologize and play nicely with each other.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

We jokingly refer to my parents as A Republican With A Heart (my dad) and A Democrat With A Brain (my mom), but politics don't come up a whole lot in at home conversation, so it wasn't until I my dad discovered weblogs and started e-mailing lots of interesting stuff that I started to really engage with the ideas. Falling predominantly into the Libertarian camp means I don't fit with either of the traditional sides of the contemporary political debate, so promoting dialogue between opposing sides has become one of my big things.

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Dialogue is always good, but sadly most times these days it turns into a series of rants. At which point, I leave the conversation as fast as possible.

That's why I treasure having friends who are more on the conservative side. I can trust them to at least respect the fact that I have thought through my ideas, and I can extend them that same respect, and we have a nice little discussion that might not change either person's ideas, but will at least shed some light on why the other person believes the way they do.

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

we have a nice little discussion that might not change either person's ideas, but will at least shed some light on why the other person believes the way they do.

Exactly.

And yes, both parties trusting that each have thought through their ideas is a very good starting point for actual discussion.

Boys are remarkably simple creatures

[(Anonymous)]

Your geeky friend:

1) If he just talked with you, because you were in the same place he was, he's just chatting.

2) If he walked out with you and walked you home, it's flirting. Especially if it was out of his way.

Trust me on this.

Dad

Re: Boys are remarkably simple creatures

[mari4212.livejournal.com]

Well, it was on his way and he was leaving anyway, so I think it's still up in the air.

I'll figure it out later, if the behavior continues.