Tis the season for people to bug me about updating my Amazon wish list. And I admit, it’s a good idea. I can be hard to buy for and while the thought does count for a lot, I do sometimes genuinely appreciate presents that go to the back of the closet.
However, even though the Buy Me Stuff I'm Cute link on my sidebar has linked to said wishlist for several years, I still feel awkward actually advertising to the world that I want somebody to buy me some ballet flats, black, size eight and a half, from Nine West.
It's like registering for my wedding, but without the fighting. My husband and I fought the entire time we registered for wedding gifts, a memory that is funny to me now. I like to imagine that our pictures are posted in some back room at Crate and Barrel.
This is not to say that I don’t argue with myself, because I totally do. (What is with my recent fondness for designer purses? Am I insecure about my status among some of the wealthy-looking and fashionable people I go to school with? Is it a sign that law school is turning me evil? I don’t want to be the sort of person who gets excited over designer purses. But I think I am…)
When I really get obsessive, I start to imagine the wishlist as a cultural artifact. Margaret-who-loves-pots could tell you a lot about a culture by their pottery. I would think my amazon wishlist would produce even more insights. What does it say about CC that she wants a silver bracelet, a video game where you pretend to play guitar, canned outlines of my spring semester classes and DVDs of Alfred Hitchcock presents? Am I a dork for digging this clock?
How much of me is captured in the tag cloud of interests Amazon has made based on my purchases:
Administrative Law Anthologies Brite, Poppy Z. CD Album Civil Procedure Dandy Warhols Davies, Robertson Dogs Erotica Gay Law Practice Legal Profession Literary Literature & Fiction Maron, Margaret Mystery Nonfiction One-L Political Punk Rock Property Research The Sims United States Women Sleuths
A lot of me, actually. The tag cloud captures a lot about who I am and who I want to be. OK, I never aspired to be a Poppy Z. Brite fan, but as I’ve written, her Liquor series surprised me with how awesome it was. And I do find it odd that religion and art aren’t in my tag cloud. But amazon still knows more about my interests than my mother does.
Ok, back to studying Con Law.
CC
10 comments:
`Tis the season to call yourself Chalica Chick! ;-)
Chalica's obvious misappropriation of Hanukkah aka Chanukah. . . brought Adam Sandler's Hanukkah song to mind. Herewith The Emerson Avenger's misappropriation of the Hanukkah song for use by U*Us -
The Chalica Song
Chorus:
Light your menorica
Here comes Chalica
So much funnica
To celebrate Chalica
Chalica is: the festival of U*Us
Instead of one day of presence
U*Us have seven empty principles
When you feel like/the only kid in town
Without a Christmas tree
Here's a list of people that are
U*Us like you and me:
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. finds the asterisk useful
So does Mary Bennett, Kalvin Drake
and this U*U quite abuseful
Guess who surfs the web with
Tim Berners Lee?
Chris Walton from Philocrites
And Al Gore from Tennessee! (not really a U*U)
William Ellery Channing was half U*U
and Hosea Ballou was half, too
Put them together,
What an extinct looking U*U!
You don't need to Deck the Halls
Or Jingle Bell Rock,
'Cause you can spin the story
With Chalica and other U*U schlock!
[Chorus]
George W. Bush [not a U*U]
But guess who was? Hall of Famer John Quincy Adams
U*Us got Vicky Weinstein and her
evil twin sister Peacebang,
Christopher Reeve was a super U*U
Not too lucky. . .
Some people think Ebenezer Scrooge is
Well, he's not, but guess who is -- These three U*Us!
[Chorus]
So few U*Us are in Show Biz
Adam Sandler isn't but I think Matt Groenig is
Tell your friend Dracula
It's time to celebrate Chalica
I hope I get a harmonica
On this lovely lovely Chalica
So drink your gin and tonica
And smoke lots of marijuanica
If you really really wannika
Have a Happy Happy Happy Happy Chalica
Happy Chalica Everybody!
Mary Xm*ass and Happy Chalica!
Ok, I don't know
a. Where the word "Chalica" is. A google search says it has never appeared on the chaliceblog.
b. How I'm appropriating Hanukkah. Because I'm getting and giving presents?
CC
Nope. Obviously you have not read Fausto's The Socinian blog recently Cghalica Chick. ;-)
Have a look see. . .
Not sure I agree with Fausto, but then I don't perceive myself as having to represent a minority group to the majority during the holiday season more than at other times of year. And hyphenated identity pretty much creates a license for my family to cobble together our own way of doing things without worrying whether it's "authentically" this-or-that. We are authentically fond of getting together to eat, drink and own stuff :-) The only aspect that gives me pause is figuring out what to put on top of the tree. I feel weird putting a star or angel because I think those have genuine Christian significance (while the tree doesn't). I'm still looking for a big gold om to stick up there.
Also, I am totally obsessing over the flats you can create on SteveMadden.com.
http://www.stevemadden.com/dyo.aspx?parentID=116
Ok, Robin, so this Chalica thing has nothing to do with me or this blog, you're just posting it here as a demonstration of your own cleverness and calling me "Chalica chick" randomly.
I'd never even heard of it until the first time I read Fausto's post, then I promptly forgot about it.
CC
PG, my folks always had a dove on top of the tree. I guess that's Christian symbolism, too, in a way, though.
CC
Indeed it is CC. The dove represents the "Holy Spirit" in Christian symbolism.
Right, but a dove is also a symbol for peace. I believe this comes from Judeo-Christian tradition, but it is widely used secularly as well.
CC
I remember the Christmas cards my roommate and I sent in December 2002 had a picture of a snowy, starry night on the outside and "Peace on Earth" on the inside.
Of course, at that time for people who lived in D.C. (and especially for her working at State), that felt like a political message...
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