Anniversary post? bleah.

[camwyn]

I was there. I'm on the health registry. I should probably call them and update my status.

Don't much want to hear about it today. In fact, today the only political news I want to hear is "OH GOD MONGOL HORDES HAVE INVADED CHICAGO. NO, ACTUAL OLD SCHOOL PRE-MODERN ERA MONGOLS*. LIKE, ON PONIES." That, or "AAAAH THEY REDREW THE CANADIAN BORDER SIX HUNDRED MILES TO THE SOUTH OF WHERE IT WAS YESTERDAY."

Or possibly something about a fistfight in the Taiwanese parliament. Those are always fun.

Or maybe- hey, is Cicciolina still in the Italian parliament? If she is, I could do with hearing about her career. Porno queens in national government. Gotta love it.

Point is: I was there, I did my bit, I'm still pissed at how things worked out, and I don't want to hear about it. I'll talk to y'all later about other things.

Thanks.






*I went to school with a guy from Mongolia my junior and senior year at college. He was a very intelligent man who was studying public health so that he could go back to his country and work for the government to improve health conditions in rural areas. You would never have known his ancestors were conquerors of entire civilizations. I have also read accounts by modern Mongolian competitors in international archery competitions; they seem very polite, very well trained athletes who would love to have visitors to their country.

Comments

[batyatoon]

...It's bad that I like the idea of actual-Mongols-like-on-ponies invading Chicago, isn't it.

[camwyn]

I have long held that this country needs periodic Ancient Mongol Horde invasions to keep us on our toes. Not, you know, modern-day barbarians, who would be defined as such by their behavior, but Mongols with a Great Khan type of invaders. With ponies and archers.

[rymenhild.livejournal.com]

Some Goths, Visigoths and Vandals might not come amiss either.

I'm reminded of the time a bunch of my friends at college were sitting around doing an informal reading of Titus Andronicus, assigning roles to people as we got up to them. It was just time to cast the barbarian hordes when someone pointed out the window: "Look! Goths!"

Sure enough, there were half a dozen people in black clothes and white makeup passing by the common room. We almost invited them to play Goths for us, but someone else thought it might be rude.

[(Anonymous)]

This sounds like an opportune moment to mention my favorite tee shirt, sold by Steve Jackson Games, though I'm not sure if they're still available. Black with irregular white text, it reads, "If you're really a Goth, where were you when we sacked Rome?"

- ClassicDrogn

PS Since I'm moving in the next couple of days and won't have internet access afterward except when I can drop by a library or internet cafe, I should probably also say Goodbye and wish you good luck with future endevours and things.

[camwyn]

Thank you, hon. We'll miss you.

[ouatic-7.livejournal.com]

I live in the greater Chicago area and my response was "Yay! Ponies!"

Of course, I never go into the city anyway so I probably wouldn't even notice unless they swept down through the NW 'burbs on their way to Chicago.

[agonistes]

Oh my god, Mongols are so awesome. SO AWESOME. As in I am seriously contemplating a trip to Mongolia in the next five years. Also doing independent research on Mongols.

I think we need a society to promote awareness of old-school Mongols and present-day Mongolia.

[camwyn]

I've considered visiting there a few times. I mean, I'm fascinated by China, so normally I'd like to visit there more, but it keeps coming down to the same thing: I can only take vast numbers of people in one place for so long. Mongolia would be almost as fascinating, with the added bonus of fewer people and a climate like the rougher bits of Canada. Plus, historical tradition of archery.

[maxineofarc.livejournal.com]

It's almost disappointing to hear that Mongolians (as separate from Mongols) are nice, polite, quiet folks.

[camwyn]

I wish I could remember the Mongolian guy's name. He was one of two males in a class of sixteen students and one professor. Maternal and Reproductive Health class must've been interesting for him. He was also in my International Health class, and I think in my Epidemiology of AIDS class.

[misslucyjane]

The only thing I know about Mongolia is that the writing is very pretty.

And there are horsies.

[camwyn]

They have seriously incredible horsebows and archery history, and they do things with dairy products that would make your average Wisconsin dairy farmer's eyebrows fall off. They've also got winters that've killed a lot of their livestock, which is amazingly tragic because it makes it harder and harder for their rural population to maintain their traditional ways every year. But it's a lovely country, really, if you're into cold, wide-open places.

[misslucyjane]

if you're into cold, wide-open places

Not especially--I lived in Idaho for three years. That was enough.

[camwyn]

Aaah, gotcha. Well, I never did claim to be what you'd call sane, myself.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Did you hear about the guy a few years ago who was Golfing across Mongolia? (http://www.golfmongolia.com/)

Seriously weirdcool.

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

In fact, today the only political news I want to hear is "OH GOD MONGOL HORDES HAVE INVADED CHICAGO. NO, ACTUAL OLD SCHOOL PRE-MODERN ERA MONGOLS*. LIKE, ON PONIES." That, or "AAAAH THEY REDREW THE CANADIAN BORDER SIX HUNDRED MILES TO THE SOUTH OF WHERE IT WAS YESTERDAY."

Oh, hell! You mean.....the order is given??

::scrambles::

"Attention all units. Operation Acquérir la Terre is Go! Repeat, Operation is GO!"

(I swear, Glorious Leader, we've GOT to set up a better way of communicating these memos.)

[mephron]

...I'm Canadian now?

That's pretty cool, actually.

[camwyn]

Works for me.

[mephron]

Away from the Goon, in a country that appreciates rail travel, no more huge wait to cross the border... pretty swank, really.

[bastets-place.livejournal.com]

I can get medical care! I can afford my medications!

I am all excited about this, too. I have to practice saying "eh?".

I could add more things that would be exciting about being Canadian suddenly, but I refuse to get into matters political today.

[camwyn]

When I was in .... oh, gosh. I don't know. Sometime in the 80s there was a TV show that did occasional pranks on members of the public. I can't remember whether it was a New Candid Camera type of thing or another show altogether. I just remember them setting up guys in Mountie costumes on a highway in... I think California... with a big fake Customs installation as well. People would pull up to it and go 'WTF?' and the 'Mounties' would come over to them and show them that morning's newspaper, with the headline U.S. / CANADIAN BORDER REDRWAWN and a pair of 'before' and 'after' maps. The 'after' map put the Canadian border about halfway down the state of California and across the rest of the country as well. The looks on the victims' faces were priceless.

[pandoras-closet.livejournal.com]

I'd like to see that

[cupenny.livejournal.com]

I remember that! I cannot recall the show, but I remember that episode. *snickers*

[hangingfire.livejournal.com]

Fistfights in the chambers of any government body are worthwhile. I'd prefer a sword duel, though.

[maps-or-guitars.livejournal.com]

So how do the Mongolians feel about the Tuvans, I wonder, and vice versa? Because the Mongolian aspects of your post have totally got Huun-Huur Tu (http://www.huunhuurtu.com/) ringing in my ears right now.

I wouldn't mind seeing and hearing the media forcibly taken over by throatsingers. "And in today's news HHHRNnnnngnnURrrrrrrrrrrrEeeeeeeeeEeeeeeeeUnnnnnnUnnnnnnnHuuuuuuuuuummmmmAh."

[camwyn]

*cuddles her copy of Tuva Or Bust!* I could live with that. I think the Mormon Tabernacle Choir ought to have to take singing lessons from Yat-Kha. Sales of Aldyn Dashka are down a bit these days, I would imagine.

.... I can name two Tuvan throat singing groups off the top of my head and yet I have no smegging clue who any of the bands they talk about in Questionable Content are.

wtf.

(Speaking of Yat-Kha, one of their songs off Aldyn Dashka just came up in iTunes.)

[maps-or-guitars.livejournal.com]

Mormon Tabernacle Tuvan Choir:

"We Thank Thee, O God for aHHHRNnnnngnnURrrrrrrrrrrrEeeeeeeeeEeeeee eeUnnnnnnUnnnnnnnHuuuuuuuuuummmmmAh Prophet..."

[jezrana.livejournal.com]

If I had Mongols, or ponies, I would send them to Chicago for you. I do not.

(...Also, I would possibly lie and keep the ponies for myself. But.)

[xianghua.livejournal.com]

There was an absolutely fascinating article about one of the Mongolian Horse festivals that I read somewhere recently. Has moved it (well, that part of the world in general, as am not sure if I'd rather go there or China) from 'um, why' to 'ooh, neat, I wan tto go there' on my list.

Another place I'd like to go? Turkey.

[sdelmonte]

I've been to the Mongolian barbecue place near OVFF, and it's pretty cool. But no horses.

[silveraspen]

My TA for Social Epi last term is Mongolian. There's an exchange program run out of the health/behaviorial sciences department at my school, for purposes of advancing public health causes.

I know much more about Mongolia now than I did three years ago. It's a fascinating place.

[drharper.livejournal.com]

I'd prefer news of a Viking raid...or that Tennessee has been annexed by Ireland. ;)

[jenlittlebottom.livejournal.com]

News from NZ - you can now sue lawyers (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10400866).

No word on whether or not you can sue Mongol hordes.

[blackraven9.livejournal.com]

Here you can join the modern version of the Horde

http://members.tripod.com/~whitebard/index2.html?