Hier stehe ich, und kann nicht anders.

urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind Hier stehe ich, und kann nicht anders. I did it all for the Tanooki. the Hole in the Cosmic Doughnut 2009-06-24T01:47:51Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:308192 On Vox: Strike, struck, stricken. 2009-06-24T01:47:51Z 2009-06-24T01:47:51Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Yes, it's summertime in Toronto, and that means...contract renegotiations. The municipal workers walked out on the weekend, knocking out everything from daycares and summer camps to garbage collection, and the employees of the LCBO (our province's liquor monopoly) are deciding tonight whether to follow suit. I don't know either dispute well enough to pick a side, but it's certainly going to be an interesting summer while those battles rage on. The LCBO across the hall from my till was an utter madhouse today, with flocks of thirsty citizens as well as cart-filling maniacs who I can only hope were bartenders stocking up (how's that for brutal? The LCBO's monopoly is apparently such that even the barkeeps have to go through the government warehouses for imports). Rotting garbage, bored children, and prohibition: possibly a perfect storm.</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/strike-struck-stricken.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:307910 On Vox: The Beast of Eden 2009-06-11T07:51:25Z 2009-06-11T07:51:25Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>So, in the latest anything-can-happen-in-Toronto moment of my life, I wound up on a game show yesterday.Through a convoluted and deceitful recruiting process I'm actually not allowed to discuss (I signed an NDA and everything), two of my coworkers and...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/the-beast-of-eden.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:307624 On Vox: It's a true story, apparently. 2009-05-29T07:29:41Z 2009-05-29T07:29:41Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Ah summer, when a young man's heart turn...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/its-a-true-story-apparently.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:307213 On Vox: "Bryan Adams is probably a big King Diamond fan." 2009-05-06T01:43:26Z 2009-05-06T01:43:26Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Twenty-three laps around the sun. I'm told that's quite a few. Can't say I made a big deal out of the affair this year, though, on account of still having a bunch of academic shit to get out of the...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/bryan-adams-is-probably-a-big-king-diamond-fan.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:307193 On Vox: Drop it, in a fashion suggesting that the object in question is of a high temperature. 2009-04-29T16:54:52Z 2009-04-29T16:54:52Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>One exam down. Oddly enough, it was sweet, sweet candy. Looks like my lucubration paid off.The last week has been pretty damn fantastic: lots and lots of high culture and shenanigans. I went to the newly-renovated AGO on Wednesday to...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/drop-it-in-a-fashion-suggesting-that-the-object-in-question-is-of-a-high-temperature.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:306924 On Vox: Hell's bells, it is too sunny to be blogging. 2009-04-17T18:57:32Z 2009-04-17T18:57:32Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>This weather is stunning. I'm almost ashamed that I took a brief break from my errands day to check my Internets and update things. Firstly: apparently Vox is being a pooface about transferring my posts over to LJ, so those...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/hells-bells-it-is-too-sunny-to-be-blogging.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:306509 On Vox: Wrong side of the sunset again... 2009-03-24T07:36:08Z 2009-03-24T07:36:08Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>So I've been talking with academic types at U of T about what next year is going to look like. Rumblings of a lateral move. Diversifying or altogether changing what I'm going to be doing under the aegis of Toronto....</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/wrong-side-of-the-sunset-again.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:306180 On Vox: Epenthesis and Alabama Cocktails 2009-03-18T20:35:45Z 2009-03-18T20:35:45Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>I swear my phonology prof was under the influence of something today. That was one hilarious session. In addition to discussing the joys of stress placement algorithms, we also learned about ice cream, the Italian public education system, and Alabama...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/epenthesis-and-alabama-cocktails.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:306000 On Vox: And sometimes people get stuck in snowbanks. 2009-02-25T08:22:35Z 2009-02-25T08:22:35Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Well, the funeral and visitation were beautiful. Everything went off very smoothly, and the whole thing was a very touching tribute to Grandpa. People came from all over the place: family, friends, former colleagues, musicians, and even my old German...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/and-sometimes-people-get-stuck-in-snowbanks.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:305865 On Vox: Harald Gottfried Kögler, 1927-2009 2009-02-16T09:39:44Z 2009-02-16T09:39:44Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>My parents just called. The hospital just called them. After a year's battle with leukemia, my grandfather passed away at about 1:30 this morning. It's weird, to be mourning and feel like the mourning had already been done. Grandpa had...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/harald-gottfried-k%C3%B6gler-1927-2009.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:305558 On Vox: Of Toads and Anvils, or What's Not For Dinner 2009-02-16T00:33:08Z 2009-02-16T00:33:08Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>I finally nourished one of my greatest Toronto curiosities. On my subway commute yesterday, I was sitting in the front car and the driver had inexplicably left the cabin door open, so I asked him what the top speed of the trains is. He pointed at the speedometer, which read 60km/h. Good to know! It doesn't sound that impressive until one considers the luxury of only having to stop every kilometre and a half.</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/of-toads-and-anvils-or-whats-not-for-dinner.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:305156 On Vox: It's a giraffe. In a tank. 2009-02-11T00:50:20Z 2009-02-11T00:50:20Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Indulgentiae īnfinītae? Really, Ben? Really? A sixth of the world (at least ostensibly) looks to you for spiritual guidance, countless more at least sort of respect your authority, and what do you do with it? You bring back an old...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/its-a-giraffe-in-a-tank.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:305095 On Vox: 恭喜发财 2009-01-28T03:28:04Z 2009-01-28T03:28:04Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Goddamn, this semester has been interesting. I'm getting to focus on my two favourite parts of linguistics, sociolinguistics and phonetics. Somehow, detailed analysis of frication in Proto-Bantu is a hell of a lot more fun than it sounds. I've been...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/%E6%81%AD%E5%96%9C%E5%8F%91%E8%B4%A2.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:304850 On Vox: How do you fit five people into one of those stalls? 2009-01-22T19:18:57Z 2009-01-22T19:18:57Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Be it resolved that one of my profs is kinda violent. She's starting to creep the class out with all of her ultra-violent example sentences. You can show instrumental-case movement with other phrases than "with a knife," y'know. But it's...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/how-do-you-fit-five-people-into-one-of-those-stalls-1.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:304569 On Vox: Quotable professors and TAs... 2009-01-15T19:21:00Z 2009-01-15T19:21:00Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Doing a quick Venn diagram overview of symbolic logic for a tricky semantic point: "You could have a cat that is both orange and ugly! I'm talking about this little bastard right here."After yet another tense/lax vowel gaffe brought on...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/quotable-professors-and-tas.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:304278 On Vox: Sweet and sticky... 2009-01-14T20:07:22Z 2009-01-14T20:07:22Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>So I met my first cokehead banker yesterday. I opened one of those newfangled tax-free savings accounts (kinda handy! I sure don't see a catch, and neither does my dad's financial advisor, apparently), and the branch manager who took me...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/sweet-and-sticky.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:303876 On Vox: Honourable Pushers 2009-01-10T18:23:16Z 2009-01-10T18:23:16Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>So on Wednesday I got knocked to the ground by two enormous German shepherds. Thankfully, it wasn't the dire mangling you'd expect; it felt more like a clever prank. The first dog came up to me all a-slobber and did...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/honourable-pushers.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:303848 On Vox: After a fashion... 2009-01-05T19:29:06Z 2009-01-05T19:29:06Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/after-a-fashion.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:303611 On Vox: New address or metal band name? 2008-12-20T20:07:07Z 2008-12-20T20:07:07Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Things currently rocking my socks: After a lengthy battle, endless skeezy landlords and ugly apartments, and weeks of checking Craigslist religiously, I have an apartment. Best of all, and perhaps surprisingly, it's actually a step up from my current place....</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/new-address-or-metal-band-name.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:303139 On Vox: Those probably aren't cashews, gorgeous. 2008-12-16T16:09:36Z 2008-12-16T16:09:36Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>So I'm done for the semester. Hooray? The last exam was a bit brutal, though. My Writing Systems prof is a treacherous bastard when it comes to writing exams. The wonderful lectures lure you in, his quaint Texas drawl and...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/those-probably-arent-cashews-gorgeous.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:302917 On Vox: You're the phonetician who shot my pa! 2008-12-11T03:33:53Z 2008-12-11T03:33:53Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Today's phonetics mêlée had me visiting whole new corners of campus. Random thoughts: The E.J. Pratt Library, Vic College's squat little study space, is fucking gorgeous inside! Wow! Ultra-modern, bold colours, nice layout: it's like something out of a Bond...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/youre-the-phonetician-who-shot-my-pa.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:302596 On Vox: Shout out, o hooved ones? 2008-12-10T00:29:22Z 2008-12-10T00:29:22Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>OK, the first fabulous piece of news: I think I have a friggin' apartment. I just filled out an application for an adorable little bachelor apartment behind a café near the corner of Queen and Leslie. Ground floor! A full-sized...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/shout-out-o-hooved-ones.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:302338 On Vox: Could that office be in a worse place? 2008-12-02T23:12:14Z 2008-12-02T23:12:14Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Possibly the best out-of-context professorial quotation of the year: I don't know; I can't really sex a turtle from over here."On that lovely note, it looks like most of the skull-crushing Fall 2008 semester has come to an end. Most...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/could-that-office-be-in-a-worse-place.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:302303 On Vox: My new favourite person is a termite inspector. 2008-11-22T03:48:53Z 2008-11-22T03:48:53Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Thursday was another one of those ridiculous brush-with-fame mayhem days at the bookstore. This one was interesting, if only because our celebrity guest was notable less for his fame than for his staggering influence. I'd only heard of him in...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/my-new-favourite-person-is-a-termite-inspector.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div> urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:oytamarind:301954 On Vox: Welcome to the Jungle, says the evil prince? 2008-11-19T00:09:00Z 2008-11-19T00:09:00Z <div class="vox-cross-post"> <a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/" style="float:left;"><img src="http://up2.vox.com/6a00c225277e42549d00c225277e5b549d-50si" alt="View schlimmbesserung’s Blog" width="50" height="50" style="margin: 0 10px 10px 0;" /></a> <p>Well then. That was a weekend to remember! Rebecca came up to visit again, with all the usual merriment and chaos. Because everybody at work has been on my case about not having been there, we made the trek down...</p> <p><a href="http://schlimmbesserung.vox.com/library/post/welcome-to-the-jungle-says-the-evil-prince.html">» Read more on Vox</a></p> </div>