Isorhythm

Oh my brothers, this is the point of junction, of those who think and of those who suffer; this barricade is not made of paving-stones, nor of joists, nor of bits of iron; it is made of two heaps, a heap of ideas, and a heap of woes. Here misery meets the ideal. The day embraces the night and says to it: "I am about to die, and thou shalt be born again with me." From the embrace of all desolations faith leaps forth. Sufferings bring hither their agony and ideas their immortality. This agony and this immortality are about to join and constitute our death. Brothers, he who dies here dies in the radiance of the future, and we are entering a tomb all flooded with the dawn. Les Misérables . Victor Hugo.

There's a huge problem in America with the thinking that if someone can't afford something, he or she does not deserve it; that we're only worth what we can pay for. I've been mulling over this for a few days, and my thoughts are still cloudy and not fully formed.

I am amazingly excited that the NC gubernatorial debates are being broadcast live. Voting affects everyone. Educate yourself .

I always approach giveaways and sweepstakes with a grain of salt because so many people enter. But I also figure that, statistically, if I just keep plugging away, eventually something will come of these entries. And earlier this week it did: I won The Clothes Horse 's a-thread giveaway! So now I have $75 to spend in their online shop, and I have no idea what to get. Below are some of my favorites: Fierce Floral Shift Dress ,  Scallop Print Dress ,  Lace Swing Dress ,  Big Floral Surplice Dress ,  Brooklyn Chambray Blazer ,  Splat Dot Racerback Blouse ,  Woven Peplum Top in Maroon/Orange ,  Silk Stripes and Flowers Blouse I can't decide if I should opt for the less expensive items so I can get more than one, or if I should go ahead and blow it all on one piece. At the end of a hard week, this is one tough decision that's nice to make.

I worry about a lot of things. It's easy for me to believe that everything happens the way it's supposed to for other people, but when it comes to my own life I'm plagued by all the little what-ifs. Did I make the right choice taking time off after grad school? The free time I thought I'd have without classes has turned into a string of endless, numbered days. Work leaves me too exhausted and drained to make much of my evening hours, especially after cooking dinner, cleaning, and preparing for the next day. It's somehow duller, lonelier, and more leeching than the schoolwork that sent me looking for a break in the first place. Should I have studied music in grad school or even gone to grad school straight out of college at all? As hard as I worked for the degree, it does little for me other than acting as a stepping stone if I ever go back for a doctorate. Maybe another major or an internship or an entry-level job would have been a better post-college choice? It...

“There was just no way that truly independent scientists with the expertise required to adequately answer such an important question would ignore the vast and growing body of scientific literature pointing to serious health risks from eating foods produced with synthetic chemicals,” says Vallaeys.   “So we were not one bit surprised to find that the agribusiness giant Cargill, the world’s largest agricultural business enterprise, and foundations like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which have deep ties to agricultural chemical and biotechnology corporations like Monsanto,  have donated millions  to Stanford’s Freeman Spogli Institute, where some of the scientists who published this study are affiliates and fellows.” " Stanford's "Spin" on Organics Allegedly Tainted by Biotechnology Funding ." The Cornucopia Institute.

There’s a pretty strong consensus among all but the most ideologically conservative economists that the solution would involve considerable public investment in education, infrastructure, and green energy, new policies to promote domestic manufacturing, more activist regulation of the financial industry in particular, and a more progressive tax structure. But no matter who wins the election, Faux said, the governing elite has pretty much already ruled out that agenda, in favor of light regulation and governmental austerity. "Obama, Romney and the Low-Wage Future of America." Dan Froomkin. As much as I care about accessible healthcare, marriage equality, and a woman's right to her own body, I would forego another flurry of such news stories for a frank discussion of jobs, especially one that addresses quality in addition to quantity.