Raro

Hm, Krista. I wonder if you think opening up Joe is like opening a store... first you go around hiding everything that looks dirty and might offend the customers; then you have to check all the mechanical bits -- personally -- to make sure there'll be no surprises later; and then only after you're fully satisfied does the neon sign out front come on: "JOE. Now Serving"

To quote myself: but these journalists sure have a roundabout way of not saying it. -- Raro

We pay actors to be dramatic. Be careful what you wish for. -- Raro

yeah. Sensationalist reporting of science by the press, where all the science is stripped out to make way for sensation... I could cry. But: after a cursory read through... no one seems to be saying masturbation causes anything unhealthy, rather, the same kinds of high hormone levels that make people horny have other health effects. The other thing they suspect, however, is that voluntary masturbation is *healthy* for the over 50 crowd, some vague speculation about "gotta clean out the tubes". So... I'm getting fairly fed up with this whole style of scientific study... you see them every time you open a newspaper, some statistical study of the correlation of random-thing-a on random-health-effect-b. So, Coffee may contribute to breast cancer, or that may have been debunked, but it may help protect against Parkinson's disease, unless perhaps you're a post-menopausal woman... I mean, you throw enough elements into a study, and sure you'll see some correlations. But this isn't science! None of this is contributing towards some grand theoretical framework of what the hell actually happens inside the body. It's just a pile of trivia. Maybe "health effects of food" will appear on Jeopardy one day... true sign of its uselessness. (By the way, blame Krista -- she wanted me to post more nerd-talk on the forums) -- Raro

Very cute! Hope Yoda has a spare! -- Raro

One thing I've always had fun with with piano improvisation: there's no such thing as a mistake. If you play a note differently from how your were expecting, ok, you've just changed the theme, added a detour, are exploring elsewhere. This approach forces you to pick up some new styles and sounds, to let you play around those notes you previously thought were mistakes/dead ends. -- Raro

Hello, from another now-out-of-the-closet longtime fan And, gah! Why are you of all people reading "how 2 rite" books? I'm sure if the authors had been any good at writing, they'd be doing it instead of meta-writing. (You know the old "people who can, do; people who can't, teach.") Besides, all I can imagine a writing book teaching is how to write Danielle Steele (?) in 10 days... and, um, the world needs no more of that. If you want inspiration... read an old classic, or just walk out your door, step on a Greyhound, and the world will provide. Best, --Raro

I remember for many years telling people I wanted to be an architect... see, when I was like 4 years old some friend of my parents must have seen me playing with blocks, and in the awkward way inexperienced adults often engage children asked "so, you want to be an `architect' when you grow up?" And for the next many years, I thought quoting adults to each other was a decent enough way of not answering the question for myself. Later on, I toyed with the idea of wanting to become president, until I mentioned this to my best friend, and she said without hesitation "I wouldn't trust you as president!" And I realized that, yeah, she probably has a point. Even I don't know what I'm gonna do next. -- Raro

Classic literary criticism: http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/the-fanbo...nd-juliet-1595/ That is all. -- Raro

Happy 19th Michelle!! -- Raro

I'll second this. My mom's got a secondhand laptop that dies in various ways every so often, and just about every time, I tell her using a variety of small words: "get a command prompt, type chkdsk /f, and follow instructions. Beyond this, there be dragons." It's worked every time, dragons avoided. -- Raro

Raro is a screen name I've used before GA, and in this sense, it wasn't exactly chosen with GA in mind... but it's got some interesting background. "Raro" as a pseudonym was used by the composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) ... to quote encyclopedia.com, In order to observe music from all points of view, Schumann invented three artistic characters: the stormy, impetuous Florestan; the gentle, lyrical Eusebius; and the arbiter between the two, Master Raro. In later years Schumann signed many of his own compositions with these appellations. Further comments, via Google Books: Raro was the most delicate of the "Davidsbundler" [schumann's imaginary personas]. He was in his irony, which had drunk deep of worldly wisdom, raised far above the storm and stress of Florestan and the gentle, simple complaisance of Eusebius. In Florestan there was much of Beethoven, in Eusebius an echo of Schubert. Raro was to surpass and combine them in a higher unity. But Raro is just---rare. On that note, "raro" is also a Spanish (which I don't speak) word meaning something like "rare".... Dictionaries more thoroughly translate it as "bizarre, queer, rare, unusual, eccentric..." Does that explain it? -- Master Raro

I'll second everything here. You absolutely need good references. I'm sure you can think of a few people who've been in a position of responsibility over you who really like you. I don't know your background, but possibilities include former teachers, guidance counselors, sports coaches, church/music/theater group leaders. Ask them to write a (sealed) letter of recommendation. The seal is to make sure that the person receiving it knows it's not tampered with; but of course, before you ask someone to write a letter of recommendation, make sure they'll write good stuff about you. The other thing to keep in mind when filling out job application forms is that a form is just a piece of paper with ink on it; if filling out the form "by the rules" doesn't paint the best picture of you, feel free to improvise, cross out questions, give multi-line answers stretching way beyond the answer box for "previous employer's phone number". Your life doesn't fit squarely within the confines of an 8 1/2 by 11 sheet of paper. Feel free to communicate that to your future employer. -- Raro

For a moment I thought this topic was gonna be about some new trend in environmental-friendliness. Last year there was Sheryl Crow's campaign to limit people to one square of toilet paper per bathroom visit (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6583067.stm) in the name of saving us from global warming through paper conservation. What could be more natural than a trend to pee into sinks to avoid wasting toilet water? -- Raro

Huh. I'm gonna have to find myself a copy of this... I'd kinda dismissed the book, in part because it was made into a movie (chick flick?) and I couldn't imagine anything profound (and autobiographical) being adapted into a star vehicle for Winona Ryder and Angelina Jolie. Also, I get the feeling I met the book's author at a party; she was very subdued, stayed in the corners, excused herself to smoke cigarettes. -- Raro