kalpurna

1. I answered a poll somewhere yesterday that asked me how I pronounced my LJ name, and this caused me to draw an analogy between my pseudonym and the word "spurn," as in "she spurned her suitors." This made me FAR more happy than is good for me. Yay for rhyming with awesome words! I hereby enjoin you all: if you ever write an epic poem about me (and really, you MIGHT, right?) then you have to rhyme "Kalpurna" and "Spurn-ah." As in "one who spurns frequently or habitually."

2. Yesterday I was tooling around Wikipedia (like you do) and I learned a lot about Emperor Norton I of San Francisco, who declared himself Emperor of these United States and Protector of Mexico. The wonderful thing about this is that people largely accepted it. He would periodically issue proclamations which the newspaper would immediately print, and he wandered the streets in a faded blue uniform with gold epaulets, exchanging his own currency for money from tourists. Local restaurants served him for free, and put plaques on their doors saying "by appointment to his Imperial Majesty."

It was during one of his "Imperial inspections" that Norton is reputed to have performed one of his most famous acts. During the 1860s and 1870s there were a number of anti-Chinese demonstrations in the poorer districts of San Francisco, and ugly and fatal riots broke out on several occasions. During one such incident, Norton is alleged to have positioned himself between the rioters and their Chinese targets, and with a bowed head began to recite the Lord's Prayer repeatedly. Shamed, the rioters dispersed without incident.

A scandal occurred in 1867 when a police officer named Armand Barbier arrested Norton, for the purpose of committing him to involuntary treatment for a mental disorder. This caused monumental outrage amongst the citizens of San Francisco and sparked a number of scathing editorials in the newspapers. Police Chief Patrick Crowley speedily rectified matters by ordering the "Emperor" released and issuing a formal apology on behalf of the Police Force. The Chief observed of the self-styled monarch "that he had shed no blood; robbed no one; and despoiled no country; which is more than can be said of his fellows in that line." (Cowan 1923). Norton was magnanimous enough to grant an "Imperial Pardon" to the errant young police officer who had committed the (perceived) act of treason. Possibly as a result of this scandal, all police officers of San Francisco thereafter would salute Norton as he passed in the street.

3. God, I finally got my Due South DVDs back from the English teacher I lent them to. (I really want to make that "to whom I lent them," but I will persevere in the face of my own pretensions.) I had NO IDEA how much I missed their sweet, ill-packaged presence in my life. NONE. Downloaded episodes? Not the same. Oh, my shoddily decorated, special-feature-free lovelies, never leave me again.

4. One thing I am really looking forward to about college is getting in touch with my dykey side. I'm bi, and I certainly have no intention of forgetting about men, but... GIRLS! Hot girls with tattoos and soft lips! Girls with spiky hair that smell good! Pretty girls with piercings and muscles! Femme girls with high heels and lipstick! I'm going to buy a corset and get my lesbian cousin to show me all the hot gay bars. YAY GIRLS.

There was an entry over on Mimi Smartypants a while back about walking around the city one day and watching the gorgeous punk girls and hipster boys and feeling like everyone just forgot to turn off the sexy. Like, wow, city, I get it! Enough already with the sexy! (I wish I could find that, damn it!) Anyway, that's how I feel lately, on a personal level. I'm having some sort of hormonal renaissance; or else it's just that I'm heading off to college in a big city after spending my entire life in one town, in one school, as a somewhat socially awkward faculty kid. There hasn't been a lot of opportunity for slutting around, you know? And now I feel ready for that, ready for anything. There is a whole fucking world of sexy out there, in different flavors (chubby girls I can cuddle and kiss, rangy indie boys with pale skin, tall strong guys with dark hair, short girls with pretty eyes), and I am very much interested in taking that world on. I hope I don't wimp out about this when I actually get there.

5. I watched the Ride Forever documentary. I think my favorite part of the whole thing was Ramona Milano and the woman who played Elaine talking about who would have been better with Fraser. But Paul Gross was a close second. Oh Paul. I would totally blow you. You with your smartness and your sex appeal. Everything you said was awesome. AND YOU KNOW IT. ♥ Much though we mock him, I am sincerely very very impressed by PG sometimes, you know? I just watched some S&A for the first time, and my GOD, that man is an amazing actor. Not that I didn't know that before, because I honestly think Benton Fraser is one of the best-acted characters ever. And have we reflected lately as a fandom on the fact that an *actor* took over writing this show that was created by someone who later *won an Oscar*, and arguably did a better job? I mean, I love first and second season, but the writing just does not bowl me over with its genius the way third and fourth seasons do. With the exception of, oh, All the Queen's Horses. HUH! How about that! (Okay and Victoria's Secret obviously. Sorry Paul Haggis. You are awesome too.)