My heart breaks, of course, to hear of the shooting in Colorado. This certainly deserves more than a “quick take”, but I’m not sure I have it in me to suss out the complex emotional response I have to this, and I’m not sure I have the wisdom to make any observation that matters. I read a very good piece at Jezebel (to which I rarely link because much of their work is rather vulgar) titled Violence on the Screen, Violence in Front of the Screen. It comments on our ease with violent media in a non-judgmental way, and reminds me of my own discomfort over using murder for entertainment.
In lighter news, I am thoroughly enjoying a few seconds of fame, having had one of my tweets highlighted as the local tweet of the day in the daily free newspaper. I’m not sure this is really good for anything, but it made my mom proud.
There are people who still like to remind me of “that time I got Mitt Romney elected governor”. I took some students to a rally as a civics lesson (we went to see his opponent later, I swear!) and I was shown on the news, much to the consternation of my liberal friends. It wasn’t my fault! I swear! But at least we got universal health care out of the whole thing.
Speaking of health care, Friday doesn’t just mean “7 quick takes”, it means acupuncture day! I see students at the local school who are just wonderful, but their semester ends in a few weeks. I’m not sure if I’ll continue with treatments in the fall, especially since the young woman I see gives me amazing shoulder rubs after treatments and has thus spoiled me for all other acupuncturists.
My friends in college joked that I should have a cooking show named “The Sloppy Chef”. I can prepare dishes that are marvelously tasty, but they always end up looking a mess. That is why today’s lunch of kale chips and baked tomatoes Provencal was not immortalized in a picture. For a long time I thought about having a food blog called “Second Breakfast” or “Crohn’s Flair”, but since I can’t get any good photos I’m not sure how popular it would be.
Boston Opera Collaborative’s production of Orpheus in the Underworld opens in just under a week! This is my first time playing a “pants role” (meaning a woman playing a man), so I have been adjusting to being in flats and pants on stage (trust me, neither of those things ever happens to a soprano). Being in flats makes me much shorter than most of the people on stage, but I’m working “peering over everyone’s shoulders on tiptoe” into my characterization.
For those of you near Boston I point out that this show is FREE. So come see it.
I’m going to go back to the Colorado shooting here, and I’m going to get serious. Our world is so, so broken. Violence is so prevalent in America (and of course, elsewhere) that if you don’t know someone who has been either a perpetrator or victim of violence I would be surprised (and it is simply by the grace of God). I remember my first reaction on 9/11 was longing for the eschaton, which may sound ridiculous to some, but is a feeling that has stayed with me and often pops up at moments like these. We were made for better than violence and death. Thy Kingdom Come.
Have a great weekend, everybody. Pray for peace.
For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!
