I have a feeling dystopian breakfast would still involve kale
One of the chores that falls to me now that K is leaving super early for her commute is feeding the chickens their breakfast. This morning, they got oatmeal, half a cabbage, a cup of sprouted beans, and some kale. Pretty gourmet, right? Mostly they get these tasty treats because they have almost no grass to munch on since it's December, and the oatmeal is another winter special that helps keep them warm. Let me tell you, watching chickens eat instant oatmeal is pretty adorable.
I watched the first episode of The Walking Dead, despite a real fear of zombie stories that don't involve the kind of zombies who wisecrack. I can't say I enjoyed it, because, you know, creepy zombies, and also, all of the women in the first 50 minutes were dead. I watched it because I'm curious about that genre of dystopian storytelling. The stuff I'm most familiar with is what's in YA novels - Divergent, Delirium, The Knife of Never Letting Go - and there is a lot less gore in those, though that's probably more the zombie aspect of The Walking Dead than the dystopian part. Gross.
This morning has been overrun with Things I Do Not Love , like people being jerks in traffic, and my coworkers failing to understand technology that has been around since 1994. (At least there were no zombies.) So, to counterbalance all that mess, here is a small list of things I love:
- the fuzzy black hats on chickadees
- A03 kudos emails
- the genre of tumblr picspam/gif aus
- the new Taylor Swift song* about knowing trouble when it walks in
- coffee with milk and maple syrup
- knowing there's a new Josh Ritter album coming out in the spring
A patron just came up to me and asked if "the lady who is usually here (at the desk) retired." I was flummoxed, because I'm the lady who is usually here, and have been for about 2 years now. Thankfully, I was interrupted by a phone call - a woman asking what clarified butter was called, and then I got to tell her how much I love cooking with ghee since it has a higher smoke point. Being a librarian - always a healthy dose of random!
*I actually have an unpopular opinion about TSwift, which is basically that I don't care for people giving her shit for writing songs about dudes she's dated and is now broken up with. I've seen a lot of it on Tumblr and it's quite distasteful. Musicians write songs about love and romance, and failed romance all the fucking time. It is a staple of present-day music. So giving this young woman shit for it makes it seem like people are saying she purposefully dates people and ends relationships so that she can write these songs and, 1. So what if she does? That's none of our business. and 2. No, that's not how people work. I mean, really, do you really believe that's a thing? She's living her life, and the way she expresses herself creatively is to write really catchy songs about romantic stuff. Does that mean all musicians and artists are making mistakes and fucking up to further their career? Is that how you think creative expression works? 3. I guess the real issues I have is I can't imagine anyone saying this about a dude. Where's the same criticism of fucking Matchbox 20, or, I don't know, Fall Out Boy. You think Pete got all crazy-obsessed with an ex just so he could write Take This To Your Grave? I'm pretty sure it's the other way around.
So, yeah, I have really strong feelings about that kind of criticism about TSwift. Say her lyrics are vapid or her themes and imagery verge on the childish, or say you love her new album, but don't say she's breaking high profile dude's hearts just so she can write songs about them. Or at least, don't say it to me.
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