grammatical issues at the doctor's

I do have a bit more to say about OBL but that will have to wait. Right now, I'm getting ready to head to uni on a Saturday, after just a few hours of sleep, so I can work on one of my chapters/articles/online class.

In the past few days, in between trying to finish grading, I've also been wandering off to doctors' offices again. Apart from the monotony of being in badly-carpeted waiting rooms, all of which seem to have horrendous prints of quite possibly the worst artwork they can find, I've had one fun exam.

This was when one of the doctors needed to test my "mental agility and memory". I was asked to do a series of tests, ranging from following instructions (go to pink table, pick up orange ball with right hand, move left hand over right hand, go to door, touch it with left hand and right foot...you get the picture) and remembering stuff (pink goat happy cup). It was rather funny since, during the middle of some other test (e.g. count backwards from 100, subtracting 7 each time), the doctor would suddenly say: so what are the four things I wanted you to remember?

Of course, it goes without saying that when I was asked to "write a simple sentence--one with a verb and a noun", I completely blanked out. I couldn't think of any such sentence. Noun? What was that? I ended up writing "I am a person", a statement which is debatable and obviously only makes sense in an intersubjective context (like all statements, really) but one which doesn't really have a noun. Though is person a noun? I should check.

Apparently this is a real exam that they do every year on patients. I still think they made it up since I was close to running away/giving up on the other tests so they needed to keep me amused.

Some more thoughts on that death

A few more quick thoughts on the OBL death:

1. I found out about it when KiwiSis told me (on IM) that OBL was dead, followed by "a helicopter fell on him".

2. Well, re: USFP, this should (maybe?) make it easier for Obama (or his successor) to start withdrawing troops/provide less justification for keeping troops on the ground especially in Afghanistan.

3. People who are blaming OBL for the wars. Really? Yes, he masterminded a horrific act but couldn't make the US declare wars. He did create a situation which could (and was) interpreted in such a way that declaring war appeared to be the only major option the US had. This is different from saying OBL was responsible for everything that happened in Iraq and Afghanistan after 9/11.

4. Yes, a momentous day. But the events outside the White House yesterday reminded me more than ever (especially as I kept seeing this lad in a US Soccer jersey, waving a US flag) that Michael Shapiro had it right, oh so many years ago.

5. So OBL was hiding just near Pakistan's elite military academy? In the middle of a fairly large urban area? And yet his courier (couriers?) betrayed him? Oh and who did die? His wife/wives? Obama said: No Americans died (implying that some non Americans, in addition to OBL, did die).

The next few days should be interesting.

Where in the world is Osama bin Laden?

Oh, that's right. Dead.

Or, is he? I refuse to buy it until I see the Long Form Death Certificate.

More seriously, will this even matter for US foreign policy? My answer is no. "We" are still at war (and will be for the foreseeable future). Domestically, however, it's a huge PR success for the President. The speech he gave just now-- America's greatness did this/there's nothing America can't do-- nicely deployed the usual nationalistic tropes (exceptionalism/greatness/can do attitude/not giving up) and created an additional layer to the official memorialization of 9/11.

Not sure this helps

I'm behind on grading (though I stayed home all day yesterday), and am still working on my book chapter (deadline Friday). If I wasn't so worried that any torn out hair might not return, I would be tearing out a few strands right about now.

Here's Tim Minchin to tell me Things Could Always Be Worse.