Ars Gratia Artis

I remember it was Spanish class. Ms. Rodriguez had us conjugating verbs when the attendance lady came in to collect the attendance folders, as she did every morning during 3rd period. Nothing out of the ordinary, until she leaned over and said, "there's just been an accident."

I remember the hallways flooding as soon as class was over. We'd just been told about the second plane. "Two planes is not an accident," I said to my friend as we rushed up the stairs, all 2500 of us scrambling for a glimpse out the window on the top floor. This couldn't really be happening, right? They'll put the fire out, right?

I remember the thick, black smoke against one of the clearest blue skies we'd ever had in September. I remember the cries, "My uncle's there." "My sister's there." "My mom said she was going there today."

I remember being ushered back to class. I had Global History next, Ms. Levi had a radio, she let us listen, speechless, for the entire period. Then they moved all of us down to the cafeteria, in the basement. Parents started trickling in, one by one a kid's name would get called to be picked up. I wondered where mine were, if mom had seen it on the news before she left for work. I knew the hospital where my dad worked was close to there, but I wasn't sure how close.

I remember my friend Kristina sitting with the rest of us at the table, holding a shiny birthday balloon down in her lap, instead of letting it float happily up in the air, as birthday balloons should. It was her 16th birthday.

I remember they eventually made us go back to our regular classes. I remember the indignant rage I felt that they were trying to carry out the day as usual, that they were telling us, "this is the safest place you can be."

I remember when my dad made it to the auditorium, well after 4:00, covered in dust. "I had to drive through Brooklyn to get here," he said, hugging me very tightly. We got in the car. "They told us to evacuate," he told me over the AM radio reports, "they needed space to bring in more people that got hurt... They just folded in on themselves, like peeling bananas."

I remember my cousin had to walk home across the bridge from midtown, a stranger was handing out sneakers at the bridge entrance. She ran into our 90 year old neighbor Ethel on the way, and they walked back to Sunnyside together.

I remember my friends who went to school in Manhattan getting stranded there. They wouldn't let kids go home unless a parent came to get them, but most phones were down, so there was no way for parents to know that, and no one was allowed into Manhattan, anyway. I remember the hasty emails they sent out that night, "I'm okay."

I remember how American flags sprouted everywhere like weeds the next day.

I remember my entire block held candlelight vigils every night for the next week.

I remember the only thing that brought me any comfort was spending time with Taylor, who was less than a year old then. She was so little, her mind was free from the overwhelming feelings of shock, sadness, betrayal, and I found hope in that.

I remember the way the air smelled, for days,

I remember the children who will never meet their parents.

I remember that too many fellow New Yorkers were murdered that day. Murdered for greed, murdered for pride, murdered for God.

I remember you. I remember you. I remember you.

will someone write something about their life so i have something to read when i get home from a 12 hour work day?

sheesh.

they don't have "delirious" in the mood choices.

it's back up. even if you've already watched it, please click on it anyway so our view count goes up!

click on it so our 'viewed' number goes up and we feel good about ourselves.

love,
caitlin


EDIT: sorry for the dysfunctional link. the producer removed the video without telling me because of a dispute over the credits. if you still want to watch the trailer, it's on the official website: http://www.fourseasonsmovie.org/trailer.html

my brother just bought me seasons 1 and 2 of ren and stimpy on dvd.

i raised him well.

mayor bloomberg, or as i like to call him, midgetdweeb, wants to start charging drivers $8 to enter manhattan from 6am-6pm weekdays. not $8 round trip, $8 ONE WAY. the money is intended to generate revenue for improving and expanding mass transit, making the city greener, and preparing it for an estimated 1 million more people that will live here in the next 20 years.

okay, so $8 one way is an egregious amount, but it's going towards some really good causes, right?

i am FOR a greener city, i am FOR better mass transit, i am FOR preparing the city for the future.

so why am i against congestion pricing?

because this money will never go where it's supposed to.

because new york state, which, for those of you who haven't had the dubious pleasure of visiting, is a barren wasteland occupied by appalachian mongoloids, i think occasionally they grow some corn or shit like that, has been leeching off of the city for money since the beginning of time.

it's the same reason the mayor's education plan didn't work when he dissolved the board of ed. it's the same reason the 2nd avenue subway, which was originally designed almost 100 years ago, STILL HASN'T BEEN BUILT. it's the same reason mass transit is already overburdened. and implementing a charge to drive across one of the many bridges is going to make more people get on the subway NOW, when the expansions won't happen for years to come.

new york city should secede from new york state so WE can control the money WE make, not fucking albany.

A is for:

All Along the Watchtower - Jimi Hendrix
All Apologies - Nirvana
All You Need is Love - The Beatles
All the World is Green - Tom Waits
Almost Lover - A Fine Frenzy
Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
Any Colour You Like - Pink Floyd
At My Most Beautiful - REM
At Seventeen - Janis Ian
Atomic - Blondie

comment and i'll give you a letter.

stay tuned for my epic rant about congestion pricing! coming to a blog near you!

everyone got to answer yours before me, booooo.


1. "Shit... charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."

2. "I haven't lived. I've died a few times."

3. "Too many guys think I'm a concept, or I complete them, or I'm gonna make them alive. But I'm just a fucked up girl who's looking for my own peace of mind. Don't assign me yours."

4. "Salsa shark! We're gonna need a bigger boat. Man goes into cage. Cage goes into salsa. Shark's in the salsa. Our shark."

5. "Come with me if you want to live."

6. "I never met a dame that didn't know if she was goodlookin' or not without being told, and there's some that give themselves credit for more than they've got."

7. "'More human than human' is our motto."

8. "Jack, please! I'm only an elected official here, I can't make decisions by myself!"

9. "I'm not gonna hurt ya. I'm just gonna bash your brains in."

10. "We would have injected Vitamin C if only they had made it illegal."

11. "I'll be fine if I live like Mahatma Gandhi."

12. "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?"

13. "Sounds like somebody's got a case of the Mondays."

14. "Help! Help! I'm being repressed!"

15. "Medication time."

Poll #1137099
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6

the kittens should be named:

or come up with your own!

the giants won nananabooboo!

not a single good commercial though. ah well

that'll be all.

Put your iPod or iTunes on shuffle and write the first line of each song unless the title is in the song.

Give the title and artist or album to get it right. Good luck!

1. well the clock says it's time to close now, i guess i'd better go now...
2. you, and your museum of lovers, the precious collection you've housed in your covers... No Doubt- Bathwater [Emma]
3. this is the definition of my life, lying in bed in the sunlight...
4. well my daddy left home when i was three, and he didn't leave much to ma and me, just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze...
5. and now ladies and gentleman, the keeper of the keys, the countess of the clink, the mistress of murderer's row... Chicago- Mama's Good To You [Emma, you said #3 but i'll give it to you anyway]
6. i'm writing a song all about you, a true song, as real as my tears...
7. i took the polaroid down in my room, i'm pretty sure you have a new girlfriend...
8. nothing can bring me closer, nothing can bring me near, where is the road i follow?...
9. i give her all my love, that's all i do, and if you saw my love, you'd love her too... The Beatles- And I Love Her [Emma]
10. when i die and they lay me to rest, gonna go to the place that's the best... Norman Greenbaum- Spirit in the Sky [Carrie]
11. is it getting better, or do you feel the same? will it make it easier on you now you got someone to blame? U2- One [Carrie]
12. when i find myself in times of trouble, mother mary comes to me... The Beatles- Let It Be [Carrie]
13. you broke my heart 'cause i couldn't dance, you didn't even want me around, but now i'm back to let you know i can really shake'm down... The Contours- Do You Love Me [Carrie]
14. dude i'm so over you, you don't even have a clue, all you did was make me blue...
15. people, people, people, you know what it means to be left alone...
16. billy ray was a preacher's son, and when his daddy would visit, he'd come along... Dustry Springfield [Carrie]
17. early in the mornin', rising to the street, light me up that cigarette and i strap shoes on my feet... Sublime- What I Got [Carrie]
18. all around me are familiar faces, worn out places, worn out places... Tears for Fears- Mad World [Carrie]
19. ground control to major tom... David Bowie- Space Oddity [Carrie]
20. my gift is my song, and this one's for you... Elton John- Your Song [Carrie]
21. we suffer every day, what is it for? these crowns of illusion are fooling us all, and now i am weary and i feel like i do...
22. you don't care for me, i don't care about that, got a new fool, i like'm like that, i have only one burning desire... Jimi Hendrix- Fire [Emma]
23. and i feel that time's a wasted go, so where you going to tomorrow? and i see that these are lies to come, would you even care? Stone Temple Pilots- Plush [Emma]
24. meow meow meow meow meow meow! little bag of bones been out all night..
25. once i had a love and it was a gas... Blondie- Heart of Glass [Carrie]

i had to skip a lot for having the title in the words, ah well.

Poll #1121879 osborn has piqued my interest
Open to: All, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8

Ladies, when in the shower, you:

Men, when in the shower, you:

also, do you use the same soap to wash your face, or a different one?

Post Whatever Song (or songs) Remind You Of Me.

It can be something that reminds you of something that we did together, or just some idiosyncratic quality of mine. If you're really ambitious, you can post lyrics.

Copy and repost in your journal.

You are the _____ to my _______.

comment telling me that I am the [something] to your [something else]. i.e., if they think of you as a partner in crime/bestest friend and neighbor, they may say you are the Ethel to my Lucy. if you think of me as an annoying necessity, you might say you are the bi-annually scheduled cleaning to my tartar problem. if you understand, then respond and repost. and rejoice.

"Reporter: Mr. President, following up on Vladimir Putin for a moment, he said recently that next year, when he has to step down according to the constitution, as the president, he may become prime minister; in effect keeping power and dashing any hopes for a genuine democratic transition there ...

Bush: I've been planning that myself."

Stephen Colbert, I really, really, really hope you're serious.

Post your favorite thing that we've ever done together, and I'll post my favorite thing that we've ever done together.

Copy and repost this in your blog.

first impressions:

- nobody uses the sidewalks. nobody.
- the oakwoods is a communist labyrinth.
- LA = florida + mountains.
- hot tub!
- places i want to go so far: san fran, san diego, mexico, yosemite, venice beach.
- if i make it through the semester without being hit by a car, i deserve a round of applause.

interviews start tomorrow, then i will have more to tell you, mostly about the bus system.

east coast love,
cait