Rasmenia, Author at Rasmenian Detritus – Page 26 of 42

International Internet Dating: Poop, Pajamas and Paris

March 25, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

It was about 5 years ago. I was sitting in my apartment, writing in the dark, chain-smoking and getting drunk. I wasn't lonely, but I was. I had recently been dumped. Part of me was pissed. Part of me didn't give a shit. Another part of me wanted to be alone. Another part of me didn't.I briefly tried dating. I sucked at it. I wasn't into it. Asshole that I am, I sometimes didn't even show up for a date.Those online personal ads and dating sites kind of freaked me out. Sifting through people from the intoxicated comfort of my own home was somewhat appealing. I didn't have to sober up or bother with changing out of my dirty pajamas with the food stains running down the front.The problem was - I don't know if you've noticed - but there’s a lot of goddamn freaks on those sites. Sure, you might meet a normal one, but for every regular person...

13 Movies That I Want to Watch (But Don’t Exist)

March 19, 2009January 25, 2021 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

1. Don QuixoteTerry Gilliam has already tried to make this one. Evidently, the movie didn't want to be made - flash floods, an injured lead actor & the Spanish air force proved to be rather expensive & inconvenient flies in Gilliam's ointment. The good news is, Gilliam is rewriting the script as I write this post. Hopefully his second try will turn out better & we won't end up with Lost in La Mancha II: The Next Disaster.2. JerichoThe show that, in spite of being saved once by an insane amount of peanuts, eventually came to an end. A feature film is in development. Unfortunately, "in development" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as, "Fuck yes, we are definitely making this movie!" So, until then... I wait.3. Arrested DevelopmentWhy this show was canceled to begin with is beyond me. It's one of those stupid things that happens. It doesn't make sense & can only be explained with the statement, "some...

Annoying Americans, Volume 3 – Ordering Food

March 17, 2009November 24, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

Ok, so imagine this: a group of people that you don't know come over to your house for dinner. They don't speak your language very well - they expect you, as the host, to comprehend everything that they say. They point & pantomime, occasionally spitting out a few words that you can understand.This group of strangers gag when they see the food that you set before them. They balk in their foreign tongue & ask for other food items that you've never heard of, as those things exist only in their country.They're obnoxious, rude & don't understand what the problem is.Of course, the problem could be that they're naturally assholian, but it's more likely that they're just ignorant.Which is worse? Um... does it matter?I've seen this happen here in Paris. It's fucking painful to watch. American tourists in restaurants & cafés who haven't the slightest clue about ordering food in France. To be fair, it can be confusing. However, I've...

Cheddar, Chorizo & Corned Beef…Oh, my!

March 13, 2009November 24, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"Are you sure that there isn't anywhere that we can find Cheddar?"Olivier looked up at me, rubbing his beard. "I think the closest place is England," he said."You're hilarious," I said."Why? What is that you want to make?""Mexican food," I said. "I've had a craving for it ever since I moved here. In Colorado, I could just go to a Mexican restaurant, but there is a sad shortage of Mexicans here.""Oh." Olivier shrugged. "Well, I'm sure that we can find some sort of substitution."That was about 2 1/2 years ago. Since then, I've become an expert at fusion cooking. It started with a taco salad. No sour cream to go on top. Instead, I had to use crème fraîche. Since I had no grated Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, I had to use Cantal.We found some taco seasoning & salsa in the fancy section of the grocery store, where all of the imported food is kept, like peanut butter &...

13 Women of Literature & Poetry

March 5, 2009December 1, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

1. Sappho - c. 625 B.C.E. - Greece Sappho was a lyric poet who studied the arts on the Greek isle of Lesbos. Her poems were written to be accompanied with some nice backing tracks of lyre music. Sappho had refined her style and composed her own music, eventually leading to what is referred to as "sapphic meter." Many works of Sappho are well-known because of the fact that not only were they written from her own view point, rather than those of the Gods, but also because the target of her affections were usually women. Not only was Sappho the ancient Greek equivalent of a fucking rock star, but she was also, like Xena: Warrior Princess, an awesome lesbian icon.2. Ban Zhao c.45-116 - China Ban Zhao was the very first female historian in China. The daughter of a historian and author, Ban Zhao finished her father's encyclopedic work, The Book of Han after he was imprisoned and executed. Ban Zhao...

…& the Stack of Written Pages Grows Higher

March 2, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

"I write for myself and strangers. The strangers, dear Readers, are an afterthought." - Gertrude Stein"Better to write for yourself and have no public, than to write for the public and have no self." - Cyril Connolly"A man really writes for an audience of about ten persons. Of course if others like it, that is clear gain. But if those ten are satisfied, he is content." - Alfred North Whitehead...A little more than 10 years ago, I signed up for the class. "Freelance Writing" was the name of the course. I was about 23 years old & was working in a factory. I registered for the course because of the buzzing in my ear that constantly nagged me, reminding me that I had never set out to work in a noisy, stinking factory.Well...the buzzing could have been from the machinery in the factory, but either way, the message was the same.I signed up for the class, I paid the fee. ...