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Miscellaneous topic dump

A few tidbits, some snippets for a world with an ever-shortening attention span. I can't seem to get these into workable entries on their own, so maybe if I dump them all I can clear my head enough to get something more coherent in place. Facebook asks me what's on my mind... what follows is pretty much it.

I'm still listening to "The Incident" and have finally moved past "Time Flies" to explore other parts of the album. I remain impressed. The song arc of "Octane Twisted / The Séance / Circle of Manias" is another jewel, as is "The Blind House." I'm going to be playing this album for a long time, I think. I was happy to learn the Porcupine Tree show in Cleveland was sold out, and they're planning to do a second leg in America in 2010.

I'm keeping an eye on several unfolding world events. Among these are the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the H1N1 virus, tension between Israel and Iran, and a developing terrorism plot in New York City and Denver which has turned into a more generalized national warning. I've concluded mainstream media is dead. It has been killed by the Internet. When you can communicate directly with people from all over the world, who the hell needs CNN? When anyone can publish, who needs the media?

I've run over two squirrels over the last few days. They are everywhere, and their carcasses litter the highways. I'm surprised the odor of rotten flesh doesn't permeate the air — there really are that many. I've heard there's not as much food in the woods for them this year so they're out roaming around outside their normal foraging grounds. I wonder if that's going to translate into increased deer activity as well. If I have to hit something with my car, I'd much prefer the squirrels.

I'm going to be the father of a teenager in a few days, something I am reminded of several times a day by the person who will be turning into that teenager. She has also informed me she has "no use for a boyfriend" and has no intention of doing anything to change that. I hope to ride that gravy train as long as I can. A wise woman once told me that when you have a son, you only have to worry about one prick... and when you have a daughter, you have to worry about the rest of them. In general, both these kids have been driving me crazy over the last several days. Fortunately for me, that's a short drive.

My spies indicate Sitar has gone back to their classic recipe for chicken tikka masala — regular old white meat chicken, just like it's supposed to be. I still don't trust them, though. In the meantime, I've discovered I can make a passable substitute myself with ingredients from International Groceries and Spices in Kanawha City, so I don't anticipate going back.

I've seen the use of "have" when referring to a group or company instead of "has" and am wondering if that's more technically correct. For example, in the paragraph above, "Sitar have gone back to their classic recipe" seems to work because "have" and "their" match — they're both third person plural. Maybe the correct construction is "has gone back to its" instead, which means the question is more a matter of whether a group is third person singular or third person plural.

So there you have it. What's on your minds, readers?

Posted September 22, 2009 @ 23:48:55 EDT. 1 comment.

Comments on "Miscellaneous topic dump":

I think "has gone back to its" is better. Tho I am not positively sure of that.

# Posted by Cindy on September 23, 2009 @ 21:41:32 EDT.

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