Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Dublin, Part II
I forgot to mention that I also saw the Book of Kells at Trinity College and went to St. Patrick's Cathedral for Evensong. Both were amazing. The exhibit for the Book of Kells was well done and they change out the books so you can see four different ones. It is stunning and unbelievable that they have survived for so long. At St Patrick's you can only see the inside if you go for one of their worship times, so we lucked out. The singing wasn't the best since their male choir was only seven members, but we were able to sit up front and view all the beautiful stainglass and architecture.
Monday, July 07, 2008
Ireland
I left on May 19th with many tears. T had to leave the same day as me to go to a conference for work, which was great cause I got to sit next to him in the airport till he left. I had to fly from Charlotte to Atlanta and then sit there for three hours. My friend C, who was also part of the class, got the same flight out so I had company in the airport. After a long overnight flight we took another flight to Dublin. All told I spent almost 24 hours flying. It was exhausting.
We managed to find the apartment we were staying at with little difficulty but the other two girls who came with us were not so lucky. One had a $100 taxi ride cause the guy couldn't find the place. The other spent an hour in passport control because the agent felt it was strange that she didn't know the address she was staying at. (This was after the couple in front of her told the agent they had no itinerary or hotel reservations.) The apartment belonged to an ex-boyfriend of a friend of ours who spends months at a time in Turkmenistan so he wasn't home and was happy to have someone house sit for him.
The first day we were there was a wash because we were all so jet lagged and the late arrival of the other two girls, so we only managed to see the neighborhood we were in and eat at a restaurant.
The second day we went to the Guiness factory. (I was a good sport and went along.) It was not a bad tour. It was self guided and there were interesting exhibits on each floor ranging from old timey advertising (my favorite) to how the product is made. I also liked the exhibit on how they make the casks for the beer. We walked around the city a bit. I must say I was sadly disappointed with Dublin. The city is dirty (dog poop everywhere) and there are not enough historic buildings left to give it that European feel. The modern feel made the city feel more like Krakow than an old Irish city.
The third day we went on a train ride to Blarney castle, Cork, and several spots along the way. Our tour guide was this little old Irish man who smoked like a chimney but was so sweet. The Blarney Castle was our first stop. All of us in our little group kissed the stone since we figured we would probably never get a chance like that again any time soon. The area was green and beautiful so I felt much better about coming to Ireland than I did in Dublin. After we went to the site of the Lusitania graves at this small little cemetery. We followed on to the city Queenstown (Cove or Cobh to the natives) which was the destination of the Lusitania. There was a museum that discussed the international route that was key to the Irish immigration route to America. There was also the White Star Line office and a beautiful gothic cathedral. On our way back to Dublin we ran into a little trouble because the transportation unions were holding a lightning strike for a few hours. It delayed us about three hours all told, but we got back to the apartment safe and sound.
The fourth day we split up. Two of the girls wanted to go shopping but me and another girl wanted to do more site seeing. I wanted to see the Gaol, but the other girl wanted to see this coastal town called Haught (or at least that was how the locals said it.) I didn't want to go around Dublin by myself so I went to the little town instead and I was glad I did. It was amazingly beautiful. They had cliffs covered in birds and yellow bushes, a little lighthouse, seals in the bays, old fishing ships, and great panoramic views. My classmate was especially happy to see the seals, which are her favorite animal. It was a great day and it only cost us a few euros to get there.
The next morning we got up and went to the airport to fly to England to begin our class. I was glad we went early because it did take me several days to feel human again. It was also nice because I got to know the two other girls better.
We managed to find the apartment we were staying at with little difficulty but the other two girls who came with us were not so lucky. One had a $100 taxi ride cause the guy couldn't find the place. The other spent an hour in passport control because the agent felt it was strange that she didn't know the address she was staying at. (This was after the couple in front of her told the agent they had no itinerary or hotel reservations.) The apartment belonged to an ex-boyfriend of a friend of ours who spends months at a time in Turkmenistan so he wasn't home and was happy to have someone house sit for him.
The first day we were there was a wash because we were all so jet lagged and the late arrival of the other two girls, so we only managed to see the neighborhood we were in and eat at a restaurant.
The second day we went to the Guiness factory. (I was a good sport and went along.) It was not a bad tour. It was self guided and there were interesting exhibits on each floor ranging from old timey advertising (my favorite) to how the product is made. I also liked the exhibit on how they make the casks for the beer. We walked around the city a bit. I must say I was sadly disappointed with Dublin. The city is dirty (dog poop everywhere) and there are not enough historic buildings left to give it that European feel. The modern feel made the city feel more like Krakow than an old Irish city.
The third day we went on a train ride to Blarney castle, Cork, and several spots along the way. Our tour guide was this little old Irish man who smoked like a chimney but was so sweet. The Blarney Castle was our first stop. All of us in our little group kissed the stone since we figured we would probably never get a chance like that again any time soon. The area was green and beautiful so I felt much better about coming to Ireland than I did in Dublin. After we went to the site of the Lusitania graves at this small little cemetery. We followed on to the city Queenstown (Cove or Cobh to the natives) which was the destination of the Lusitania. There was a museum that discussed the international route that was key to the Irish immigration route to America. There was also the White Star Line office and a beautiful gothic cathedral. On our way back to Dublin we ran into a little trouble because the transportation unions were holding a lightning strike for a few hours. It delayed us about three hours all told, but we got back to the apartment safe and sound.
The fourth day we split up. Two of the girls wanted to go shopping but me and another girl wanted to do more site seeing. I wanted to see the Gaol, but the other girl wanted to see this coastal town called Haught (or at least that was how the locals said it.) I didn't want to go around Dublin by myself so I went to the little town instead and I was glad I did. It was amazingly beautiful. They had cliffs covered in birds and yellow bushes, a little lighthouse, seals in the bays, old fishing ships, and great panoramic views. My classmate was especially happy to see the seals, which are her favorite animal. It was a great day and it only cost us a few euros to get there.
The next morning we got up and went to the airport to fly to England to begin our class. I was glad we went early because it did take me several days to feel human again. It was also nice because I got to know the two other girls better.
The Long Awaited England Update
I am back in the United States and have good internet access for the first time in almost two months. To prevent overload of information I will post highlights from each week, hopefully a new one each day. If all works out, I should finish the whole trip in one week.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Books of 2008, Part IX
I already finished another book! This week I read the Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. It is the story of an unnamed protagonist and his son, traveling along, well, the road in a postapocalyptic America. The world has been completely and utterly destroyed by a presumable nuclear holocaust (one flashback scene suggests that this is the case) several years ago, and McCarthy does a great job of describing the devastation. The world is covered by blowing ash, the sky is darkened due to all the dust and ash in the atmosphere, and everything is dead.
Actually this is one of the only postapocalyptic novels I've read (and I've read a lot of them) that bothers to take into account the effect of the apocalypse on nature. In McCarthy's world, all the animals and plants are dead, too; not just people. Honestly the idea that cats and dogs, and birds and fish are wiped out saddens me a lot more than knowing that billions of people died. Anyway.
The story concerns the man and his son as they journey towards the coast, where they believe they will find something, though they don't really know what. They push along a cart with some scavenged food and other goods, with only a small revolver to protect them from whoever else they might meet along the way. Due to the extreme scarcity of all other food sources, cannibalism has become fairly common amongst the remaining survivors, and this practice separates the "good guys" from everyone else.
The Road is unrelentingly bleak, as befits a story about a world with absolutely no future and no hope. It's written in a peculiar prose, with McCarthy eschewing quotation marks and apostrophes, and even complete sentences. Much of it is written like this. As if the characters can't afford the energy to think in complete sentences. Not hard to read, though. Surprisingly.
It is a beautiful and moving story, and even the ending was plausible and felt like a nice resolution. The story is all the more horrifying because we all know it's within the realm of possibility. To think of what could be thrown away so easily, and what kinds of nuclear horrors we're capable of, is really terrifying. Makes you want to hug the nearest cat or dog.
Actually this is one of the only postapocalyptic novels I've read (and I've read a lot of them) that bothers to take into account the effect of the apocalypse on nature. In McCarthy's world, all the animals and plants are dead, too; not just people. Honestly the idea that cats and dogs, and birds and fish are wiped out saddens me a lot more than knowing that billions of people died. Anyway.
The story concerns the man and his son as they journey towards the coast, where they believe they will find something, though they don't really know what. They push along a cart with some scavenged food and other goods, with only a small revolver to protect them from whoever else they might meet along the way. Due to the extreme scarcity of all other food sources, cannibalism has become fairly common amongst the remaining survivors, and this practice separates the "good guys" from everyone else.
The Road is unrelentingly bleak, as befits a story about a world with absolutely no future and no hope. It's written in a peculiar prose, with McCarthy eschewing quotation marks and apostrophes, and even complete sentences. Much of it is written like this. As if the characters can't afford the energy to think in complete sentences. Not hard to read, though. Surprisingly.
It is a beautiful and moving story, and even the ending was plausible and felt like a nice resolution. The story is all the more horrifying because we all know it's within the realm of possibility. To think of what could be thrown away so easily, and what kinds of nuclear horrors we're capable of, is really terrifying. Makes you want to hug the nearest cat or dog.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Graph Jam!
What a great site.
Click here. This site includes helpful charts to explain just about everything. I like this one:
There's lots of good stuff here. Check it out!
Click here. This site includes helpful charts to explain just about everything. I like this one:
There's lots of good stuff here. Check it out!
Sunday, June 08, 2008
Books of 2008, Part VIII
Today's post is about two books I recently read, which were written and published simultaneously in 1996, by Stephen King: Desperation and The Regulators. These two books were intended to fit together; they are "companion" books to each other. That's why I read 'em both, back to back.
The books have a common antagonist in Tak, a disembodied, mysterious evil force that has the ability to influence and direct people and animals to do its bidding. Both books feature pretty standard SK fare: small towns under siege by evil forces, groups of ordinary citizens banding together to survive, children with quasi-supernatural powers, etc. They even use the same character names in both books, though the characters themselves are separate, as both stories take place in different worlds. For instance, in Desperation, the Carver family consists of parents Ralph and Ellen and children David and Kirsten; in The Regulators, David and Kirsten are the parents, and Ralph and Ellen the children.
Desperation is about the corrupting influence of Tak in a small Nevada mining town, called Desperation. A group of people are thrust together in Desperation, where they find the apparent full force of nature and the town's psychotic policeman aligned against them for no particular reason. Tak's lack of motive makes him a particularly frightening adversary; like any random acts of horrific violence, anybody could be targeted for no reason. (Another cool thing about Tak is that, when he possesses a human being, his spiritual force causes his unfortunate host's body to grow and swell out of control; the sheer energy involved in housing Tak eventually causes his hosts' bodies to fall apart at the seams. That's cool.) This is probably the most overtly religious SK book I've ever read, too: the main characters' faith in God is central to the story. Having a child with quasi-supernatural powers is nothing new for King (The Shining) but having his "powers" be, well, faith in God is different.
Meanwhile, The Regulators takes place on a hot summer afternoon in a typical American Midwestern suburb (July 15th, in fact). People are washing their cars or barbecuing, kids are riding around on their bikes or whatever, when, without warning, a van drives through the neighborhood and starts blowing people away with freakish, impossibly dramatic guns. This book, probably more than any other SK book I've read, is a depiction of an utter nightmare scenario--like Desperation, Tak's victims are chosen apparently randomly. The details of the story are wildly implausible, of course, but King's writing style is such that you don't really care about that, you just put yourself in the shoes of the terrified townspeople and wonder where the story's going to go next.
In both stories, two very different small American towns are terrorized in two different ways. Desperation gives more background, more depth, more insight into the situation at hand, but The Regulators is scarier precisely because so little light is shed on what, exactly, is happening here.
As usual, however, King suffers with his endings, more with The Regulators than with Desperation. I think it's kind of inherent in these stories, where insane, terrifying, logic-defying things happen to people, that, when you try to explain it, the explanations always sound cheesy and forced. But I guess you have to finish the story somehow, right?
I understand that Tak hasn't reappeared in any other King books, which is kind of disappointing. If he can reuse Randall Flagg so many times, why not an undying, evil entity from...who knows where? I guess two books about Tak will have to do.
Next: I'm reading another Pulitzer Prize winner! Which one???????
The books have a common antagonist in Tak, a disembodied, mysterious evil force that has the ability to influence and direct people and animals to do its bidding. Both books feature pretty standard SK fare: small towns under siege by evil forces, groups of ordinary citizens banding together to survive, children with quasi-supernatural powers, etc. They even use the same character names in both books, though the characters themselves are separate, as both stories take place in different worlds. For instance, in Desperation, the Carver family consists of parents Ralph and Ellen and children David and Kirsten; in The Regulators, David and Kirsten are the parents, and Ralph and Ellen the children.
Desperation is about the corrupting influence of Tak in a small Nevada mining town, called Desperation. A group of people are thrust together in Desperation, where they find the apparent full force of nature and the town's psychotic policeman aligned against them for no particular reason. Tak's lack of motive makes him a particularly frightening adversary; like any random acts of horrific violence, anybody could be targeted for no reason. (Another cool thing about Tak is that, when he possesses a human being, his spiritual force causes his unfortunate host's body to grow and swell out of control; the sheer energy involved in housing Tak eventually causes his hosts' bodies to fall apart at the seams. That's cool.) This is probably the most overtly religious SK book I've ever read, too: the main characters' faith in God is central to the story. Having a child with quasi-supernatural powers is nothing new for King (The Shining) but having his "powers" be, well, faith in God is different.
Meanwhile, The Regulators takes place on a hot summer afternoon in a typical American Midwestern suburb (July 15th, in fact). People are washing their cars or barbecuing, kids are riding around on their bikes or whatever, when, without warning, a van drives through the neighborhood and starts blowing people away with freakish, impossibly dramatic guns. This book, probably more than any other SK book I've read, is a depiction of an utter nightmare scenario--like Desperation, Tak's victims are chosen apparently randomly. The details of the story are wildly implausible, of course, but King's writing style is such that you don't really care about that, you just put yourself in the shoes of the terrified townspeople and wonder where the story's going to go next.
In both stories, two very different small American towns are terrorized in two different ways. Desperation gives more background, more depth, more insight into the situation at hand, but The Regulators is scarier precisely because so little light is shed on what, exactly, is happening here.
As usual, however, King suffers with his endings, more with The Regulators than with Desperation. I think it's kind of inherent in these stories, where insane, terrifying, logic-defying things happen to people, that, when you try to explain it, the explanations always sound cheesy and forced. But I guess you have to finish the story somehow, right?
I understand that Tak hasn't reappeared in any other King books, which is kind of disappointing. If he can reuse Randall Flagg so many times, why not an undying, evil entity from...who knows where? I guess two books about Tak will have to do.
Next: I'm reading another Pulitzer Prize winner! Which one???????
England
The internet connections we have had so far, have been less than stellar or hard to access during the hours we are home. I have been keeping a journal and taking many many pictures (over 1000 so far), so when I get the chance I will post lots of things.
To wet your appetite, here are a few pictures.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Braces
The biggest news of the last few weeks since I las
t posted was that I got my braces off finally. The big day was April 14. They look great and I only have one tooth that still weirds me out from being slightly loose. Here are a few before and after pics. It is amazing what they can do in a short amount of time now. It only took 2 years, three months, and fourteen days to get them looking like that.
Catch Up
Wow, what a semester that was. I am very glad it is finally over. So here is the Cliff notes version of the last few weeks of the semester.
When I got back from Louisville I had to hit the ground running. I had to give two presentations for class before the end of the month, each based off of 25 page papers that were due the first week of May. I was continuing to work my three jobs (GIS, State Parks and grader) as best I could while doing the extra work. I ended up working myself sick and had an ear and sinus infection. So I had to take two days off of everything and try and get better.
I had to get a couple of extensions on my papers, but I turned the last one in on May 7 and it felt great. All my hard work and killing myself over the semester was rewarded though. I have three A's.
We gave the students their exams on May 6 and had the grades done and inputted by May 8. I caught a student cheating on the exam, but it didn't help him cause he didn't follow the directions and it wasn't well written.
In the meantime, I was elected Graduate History Association President for the next year. This meant I had to step down as Phi Alpha Theta President, so I had to find new officers for next year. I managed to find four officers so PAT should continue on next year. Which is great since we went from me being the only member three years ago to 43 members this year.
So now that that semester is over I am trying to get everything in line for my trip to the UK. I leave May 19 and will be gone for just a little over 6 weeks. There is lots to do before I leave and a week is not much time to get it done. I will be using my blog to keep the journal I need for school and to keep everyone updated.
When I got back from Louisville I had to hit the ground running. I had to give two presentations for class before the end of the month, each based off of 25 page papers that were due the first week of May. I was continuing to work my three jobs (GIS, State Parks and grader) as best I could while doing the extra work. I ended up working myself sick and had an ear and sinus infection. So I had to take two days off of everything and try and get better.
I had to get a couple of extensions on my papers, but I turned the last one in on May 7 and it felt great. All my hard work and killing myself over the semester was rewarded though. I have three A's.
We gave the students their exams on May 6 and had the grades done and inputted by May 8. I caught a student cheating on the exam, but it didn't help him cause he didn't follow the directions and it wasn't well written.
In the meantime, I was elected Graduate History Association President for the next year. This meant I had to step down as Phi Alpha Theta President, so I had to find new officers for next year. I managed to find four officers so PAT should continue on next year. Which is great since we went from me being the only member three years ago to 43 members this year.
So now that that semester is over I am trying to get everything in line for my trip to the UK. I leave May 19 and will be gone for just a little over 6 weeks. There is lots to do before I leave and a week is not much time to get it done. I will be using my blog to keep the journal I need for school and to keep everyone updated.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Books of 2008, Part VII
Earlier this week I (finally) finished The Dream Cycle of H.P. Lovecraft. This is a collection of 25 short stories pertaining to Lovecraft's fictionalized dream world. This one took me a while, folks, because, though I liked the stories, Lovecraft's prose is a little...archaic, and it can be a little on the dense side, so I needed a little forward momentum to get through some of them.
Most of the stories are only a few pages long, but two of them--"The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward"--are novellas. Both stories take elements and characters that are common throughout the other Dream Cycle stories and use them to construct a fully-realized world, with its own inhabitants and rules. Sort of like an early 20th-century Edgar Allen Poe meets J.R.R. Tolkein.
Neat stuff. Lovecraft liked the idea that the scariest, most unnerving things are never seen outright, but they lurk just out of sight of his characters, and it's the uncertainty that drives people mad. I liked, too, his fascination with space as the great unknown. Obviously. The guy was a real innovator and he's at his most enjoyable when he's writing his more epic stories ("Kadath") that give him room to really describe the blasted landscape of his own imagination.
Most of the stories are only a few pages long, but two of them--"The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath" and "The Case of Charles Dexter Ward"--are novellas. Both stories take elements and characters that are common throughout the other Dream Cycle stories and use them to construct a fully-realized world, with its own inhabitants and rules. Sort of like an early 20th-century Edgar Allen Poe meets J.R.R. Tolkein.
Neat stuff. Lovecraft liked the idea that the scariest, most unnerving things are never seen outright, but they lurk just out of sight of his characters, and it's the uncertainty that drives people mad. I liked, too, his fascination with space as the great unknown. Obviously. The guy was a real innovator and he's at his most enjoyable when he's writing his more epic stories ("Kadath") that give him room to really describe the blasted landscape of his own imagination.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Louisville Day Two
I am a little behind on these updates, but I will write these as if I kept up to date. A and I woke up at our leisure on Thursday and registered for the conference. We met a student from the University of Louisville and quickly struck a conversation. Since we were still early for any of the sessions, we walked the downtown area with our new buddy to find some food and see the area. Like most of America, this downtown had been through a recession during the 80s and 90s and just recently started to revitalize the area. Being the preservationists we are, we critiqued the manner in which certain buildings utilized adaptive reuse. (adaptive reuse= using older buildings in such a manner as to retain the historical elements but update the interior to use for modern purposes.) For the most part they were really successful, but there was one huge exception to this. They had a one block area that they call Fourth Street Live that is has a bunch of restaurants, retails, etc and at night they block off the road to traffic so people can walk between the venues without being hit by cars. To keep people from being rained on they put this ugly modern structure over the block. This hid the beautiful exterior of one building and looked completely out of place with the buildings underneath. The only good thing was that the structure appeared to be removable without hurting the exterior of the historic buildings.
After walking around, we ate at this amazing Mediterranean cafe where I got a vegetarian Falafel. It was fantastic. The people at the restaurant were surly though. Then we attended a few sessions of the conference. I attended one on historic cemeteries that discussed not only some of the ways in which you can get community involvement, but also how to identify unmarked graves and sources to post the names you find to allow people to find their ancestors. A and I also attended a session about the importance of archaeology. Being that we are both non-digging archaeologists, we already knew how cool they were, but they spoke about public archaeology which I knew little about.
That evening we had a get together with all the current students and the alums in celebration of our co-directors retirement this summer. We had a great time and the food was also good. It was nice to get to meet some of the alums of the program, but I really enjoyed hanging out with my fellow students who I don't often get to be casual with because I am so busy that I can't attend social get togethers.
After walking around, we ate at this amazing Mediterranean cafe where I got a vegetarian Falafel. It was fantastic. The people at the restaurant were surly though. Then we attended a few sessions of the conference. I attended one on historic cemeteries that discussed not only some of the ways in which you can get community involvement, but also how to identify unmarked graves and sources to post the names you find to allow people to find their ancestors. A and I also attended a session about the importance of archaeology. Being that we are both non-digging archaeologists, we already knew how cool they were, but they spoke about public archaeology which I knew little about.
That evening we had a get together with all the current students and the alums in celebration of our co-directors retirement this summer. We had a great time and the food was also good. It was nice to get to meet some of the alums of the program, but I really enjoyed hanging out with my fellow students who I don't often get to be casual with because I am so busy that I can't attend social get togethers.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Louisville Day One
Today my friend A and I left for our conference in Louisville, KY. We had to get up at 4 to get to the airport in time, but we made it with plenty of time and our flight left on time. We were lucky that we flew Delta. Not only were our tickets super cheap, but we avoided that mess with American Airlines.
When we arrived in Louisville, after a short layover in Cincinnati, we rented a car for the day to go down to Mammoth Caves. We had a great time. The caves are huge and in order to get down in them we had to descend 350 stairs, some of which you could see many feet below you. It was quite the workout and we were down there for 2 hours. I wish we could have gone on the lantern tour, but it was sold out, as was the tour of the historic town inside the cave! We asked lots of nerdy questions about archaeology and preservation because we are that kind of people. It was nice to be the one asking the questions though instead of receiving them. I also asked about my relative who is created as the first European to discover the caves, John Houchin. I was a little disappointed because they didn't say a lot on the tour or when I asked and they didn't have any books for sale about him in the tiny gift shop. I will have to see if I can find something around town.
After the caves we arrived at our hotel exhausted from the early hours and walking, so we took a nap. Two hours later we finally willed ourselves out of bed and went to a pizza and pasta place a few blocks down. The food was awesome and the price was cheap. We split a calzone and a salad and we still had some left over.
On our walk down we noticed lots of older buildings in the area that have been rehabilitated or renovated. We also saw a movie palace that had been beautifully restored that I sat and drooled over for awhile. (I will post pics when I get home since I didn't bring my cord for the camera.) So far we have been really impressed with the city, and I can't wait until we can explore more of it in the daylight.
The only downside to our trip is that tomorrow our two other roommates show up and it will be crowded in our room. Our room has two double beds, so we are going to be nice and cozy at night. Hope no one snores or kicks.
When we arrived in Louisville, after a short layover in Cincinnati, we rented a car for the day to go down to Mammoth Caves. We had a great time. The caves are huge and in order to get down in them we had to descend 350 stairs, some of which you could see many feet below you. It was quite the workout and we were down there for 2 hours. I wish we could have gone on the lantern tour, but it was sold out, as was the tour of the historic town inside the cave! We asked lots of nerdy questions about archaeology and preservation because we are that kind of people. It was nice to be the one asking the questions though instead of receiving them. I also asked about my relative who is created as the first European to discover the caves, John Houchin. I was a little disappointed because they didn't say a lot on the tour or when I asked and they didn't have any books for sale about him in the tiny gift shop. I will have to see if I can find something around town.
After the caves we arrived at our hotel exhausted from the early hours and walking, so we took a nap. Two hours later we finally willed ourselves out of bed and went to a pizza and pasta place a few blocks down. The food was awesome and the price was cheap. We split a calzone and a salad and we still had some left over.
On our walk down we noticed lots of older buildings in the area that have been rehabilitated or renovated. We also saw a movie palace that had been beautifully restored that I sat and drooled over for awhile. (I will post pics when I get home since I didn't bring my cord for the camera.) So far we have been really impressed with the city, and I can't wait until we can explore more of it in the daylight.
The only downside to our trip is that tomorrow our two other roommates show up and it will be crowded in our room. Our room has two double beds, so we are going to be nice and cozy at night. Hope no one snores or kicks.
Friday, April 04, 2008
Lightning
We are experiencing a tremendous thunderstorm right now. Here are two of the weather reports that show how many strikes have happened so far. I tried to get some video, but my camera didn't pick it up so well in the dark. Trust me, it was cool looking.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Books of 2008, Part VI
I know there are those people who don't think science fiction can be considered literature, or at least serious literature, but those people just aren't reading the right books.
Earlier this evening I finished Childhood's End, by the late Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke, best known for his Space Odyssey series, took science fiction completely seriously. As a result, his name is beloved among sci-fi fans, who cite the ABCs of classic science fiction as required reading--that's Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke.
This is the first novel of Clarke's that I've read, but it won't be the last. The story deals with an extraordinarily advanced alien race that comes to Earth with the stated intention of "fixing" the human race. War, poverty, and disease are eradicated under the beneficent management of the Overlords, and humanity enters a Golden Age.
But, of course, this leaves the human race in a state of stagnation--what's the point in spending one's entire life working on, say, the secrets of interstellar space flight when the secrets are already known? Certain members of the human race point out that, despite the optimistic rhetoric of the Overlords, nobody really knows what their agenda is, or what it will mean for humanity.
Of course, that's the big secret of the book, and I couldn't possibly tell anything about where the story goes from here, or how it ends--this book has one of the most audacious, exhilarating, and tragic endings of any story I've ever read.
I think it's safe to say that nobody in Hollywood will ever do justice to this amazing story. This one is highly recommended to anyone who has any interest in the genre, or anyone who wishes to see what a master storyteller is capable of. You'll be missed, Mr. Clarke.
Earlier this evening I finished Childhood's End, by the late Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke, best known for his Space Odyssey series, took science fiction completely seriously. As a result, his name is beloved among sci-fi fans, who cite the ABCs of classic science fiction as required reading--that's Asimov, Bradbury, and Clarke.
This is the first novel of Clarke's that I've read, but it won't be the last. The story deals with an extraordinarily advanced alien race that comes to Earth with the stated intention of "fixing" the human race. War, poverty, and disease are eradicated under the beneficent management of the Overlords, and humanity enters a Golden Age.
But, of course, this leaves the human race in a state of stagnation--what's the point in spending one's entire life working on, say, the secrets of interstellar space flight when the secrets are already known? Certain members of the human race point out that, despite the optimistic rhetoric of the Overlords, nobody really knows what their agenda is, or what it will mean for humanity.
Of course, that's the big secret of the book, and I couldn't possibly tell anything about where the story goes from here, or how it ends--this book has one of the most audacious, exhilarating, and tragic endings of any story I've ever read.
I think it's safe to say that nobody in Hollywood will ever do justice to this amazing story. This one is highly recommended to anyone who has any interest in the genre, or anyone who wishes to see what a master storyteller is capable of. You'll be missed, Mr. Clarke.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Friday, March 21, 2008
Sloth
I might have added that I'm posting this--as I posted the last post--from the comfort of my gigantic comfy bed, at 10:15 AM on a Friday. A Good Friday, or better yet, an Excellent Friday. We were out until past midnight last night, playing poker with some buddies.
You know what? I'm gonna get up just as soon as I'm damned good and ready.
You know what? I'm gonna get up just as soon as I'm damned good and ready.
Books of 2008, Part V
Yesterday afternoon I finished Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. This is the only non-Discworld book of Pratchett's that I've read, although you wouldn't necessarily know it's not a Discworld book when you read it. Death's in it, and he even speaks in all caps.
Anyway, this is a story of Armageddon. The forces of Heaven and Hell are massing, the "Great Ineffable Plan" is moving forward, but, unfortunately, there was a mixup at a maternity ward some years ago, and someone has misplaced the Antichrist child. Whoops.
This is a very Pratchetty book, which means that if you're a big TP fan, you'll probably like it. I'm not a BIG TP fan, though I've read, like, seven or eight of his other books. I wish I liked him more; I really do. I like his sense of humor, but every one of his other books suffers from pacing problems. The first hundred pages are always great, and then it's as if he looks at the audience and says, "well, now what?" Actually, it's kind of like any number of old Monty Python's Flying Circus sketches, where the humor isn't quite enough to sustain a full five- or six-minute sketch.
I dunno. I liked Small Gods the best of all his other books I've read, but I liked this one well enough. I'm not familiar enough with Neil Gaiman to be able to really detect his contributions to the story very often (though there are a few points in the story that don't seem Pratchetty enough; I suppose that's where Gaiman took over).
This isn't one of those books where you can really derive much useful "life lesson" kind of enlightenment; it's fluff, but it's entertaining and humorous fluff. And there's certainly room for that kind of thing now and then.
Anyway, this is a story of Armageddon. The forces of Heaven and Hell are massing, the "Great Ineffable Plan" is moving forward, but, unfortunately, there was a mixup at a maternity ward some years ago, and someone has misplaced the Antichrist child. Whoops.
This is a very Pratchetty book, which means that if you're a big TP fan, you'll probably like it. I'm not a BIG TP fan, though I've read, like, seven or eight of his other books. I wish I liked him more; I really do. I like his sense of humor, but every one of his other books suffers from pacing problems. The first hundred pages are always great, and then it's as if he looks at the audience and says, "well, now what?" Actually, it's kind of like any number of old Monty Python's Flying Circus sketches, where the humor isn't quite enough to sustain a full five- or six-minute sketch.
I dunno. I liked Small Gods the best of all his other books I've read, but I liked this one well enough. I'm not familiar enough with Neil Gaiman to be able to really detect his contributions to the story very often (though there are a few points in the story that don't seem Pratchetty enough; I suppose that's where Gaiman took over).
This isn't one of those books where you can really derive much useful "life lesson" kind of enlightenment; it's fluff, but it's entertaining and humorous fluff. And there's certainly room for that kind of thing now and then.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Groundhogs Day?
I went to the orthodontist today for the second time this week. I go back next Thursday. I am starting to feel like Bill Murray did after the third or fourth time. I just want to be mean and nasty and somehow change the course of things so drastically it will all end.
Sigh.
Sigh.
Some hope for Cuba?
I just saw this article. I hope that Raul is much less of a dictator than his brother was, and so far he is moving in a positive direction. Hopefully this will lead to new relations with the US as well.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Longer life
I was pretty sure grad school was killing me slowly until I read this article. The only explanation I can think of is that you adapt to being so tired that your immune system becomes stronger.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Braces
I still have them, if you haven't already heard me complain recently. I went today for another appointment. I went from appointments every 6 weeks, to 4 weeks, to 2 weeks, and now I go back in four days. It is getting closer, but they still aren't off yet. My orthodontist is trying to get them off before my conference in early April. I hope he succeeds this time.
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Table Rock
I had to go up to Table Rock State Park to do some work for one of my jobs, and in order to do it I needed to spend the night. Luckily they have nice, newly restored cabins up there for people to rent, and since I work for them, I got to rent one for free. T and I have been needing a vacation for a long time now, so he took the day off and joined me up there. I had to do a tiny amount of work hanging up pictures, but we got to spend the rest of the night playing games and talking. When we woke up in the morning we went on a small hike and then headed home to go to a wedding. I got some great pictures of the trip, so enjoy.
We have to drive through a town called Pumpkintown. This is Pumpkintown's claim to fame. A giant pumpkin float. They also have a large rocking chair on the hillside where you can't sit on it.
This is the cabin we stayed in. It doesn't look like much, but it was very cute inside. It had a fully stocked kitchen, bed and bathroom linens, a fireplace, bedroom, bathroom, and a nice frontroom with a table and some cozy furniture. The screened in porch would have been nicer had it not been so cold outside.
It was raining pretty heavily the whole day, but we were inside so it didn't bother us. We couldn't see the mountain peak because it was so cloudy. It is behind this hill.
The next day we were able to at least see the peak, (Table Rock) but it wasn't exactly sunny or warm. In fact, it hailed on our little hike. We had to run through some of the streams that had overflowed their banks, and our feet got a little wet and cold.
The mountain on the left is Table Rock. The peak on the right is Stool Mountain. The rocks got their name from the Native Americans who believed that God sat for dinner each night.
This is one of about a dozen amazing waterfalls that we saw on our hike. Unfortunately, people were very inconsiderate with their litter and plastic water bottles were everywhere.
We have to drive through a town called Pumpkintown. This is Pumpkintown's claim to fame. A giant pumpkin float. They also have a large rocking chair on the hillside where you can't sit on it.
This is the cabin we stayed in. It doesn't look like much, but it was very cute inside. It had a fully stocked kitchen, bed and bathroom linens, a fireplace, bedroom, bathroom, and a nice frontroom with a table and some cozy furniture. The screened in porch would have been nicer had it not been so cold outside.
It was raining pretty heavily the whole day, but we were inside so it didn't bother us. We couldn't see the mountain peak because it was so cloudy. It is behind this hill.
The next day we were able to at least see the peak, (Table Rock) but it wasn't exactly sunny or warm. In fact, it hailed on our little hike. We had to run through some of the streams that had overflowed their banks, and our feet got a little wet and cold.
The mountain on the left is Table Rock. The peak on the right is Stool Mountain. The rocks got their name from the Native Americans who believed that God sat for dinner each night.
This is one of about a dozen amazing waterfalls that we saw on our hike. Unfortunately, people were very inconsiderate with their litter and plastic water bottles were everywhere.
Monday, March 03, 2008
We have really come a long way
I was doing some research today that required me to look at some old files from the Civil Rights era. If you ever think that we haven't come very far in regards to race relations, you should read some of the letters of opposition to segregated areas being close to white facilities. One lady wrote that by allow Negroes into the park, you would be polluting it and forever ruining it. And if you let them use the lake to swim, the water would be forever contaminated, and the cattle or people who drink it down stream will be ill. She also makes several references to their supposed overabundant drinking problem, which apparently all black people participated in. I read several of the types of letters and the things these people believed and said are just astonishing. Luckily, there were also several people who had some common sense and decency in them to balance it out.
Sunday, March 02, 2008
Will it ever end
Next week is Spring Break, and I am sure everyone automatically thinks of vacations to Cancun or some other fun and sun location. I don't think I have EVER had one of these breaks, or anything that can be in any way confused for such. This Spring Break is going to be no exception.
I already had planned to work two of my three jobs and do research for two projects that are due at the end of the semester, and make my poster for my presentation in April. (Which I have barely touched.) Well now on top of that I have just been given a mid term essay to complete for one of my classes, and the Professor I TA for just informed us that we will be grading a quiz over the break as well. I had great plans to get caught up and even maybe ahead, but in reality that isn't going to happen.
Luckily I have the task of also trying to plan my trip to the United Kingdom (England, Ireland and Scotland now) that helps me get distracted. It is far more fun to search for cool things to do, bargain hunt for airfare, and dream about all the places I can take great photos. While I am going to miss T terribly, I think this is going to be a great experience for me. We get to work on some preservation projects while we are over there that will really look good on my CV. Plus T gets to come join us the last week of the trip.
In addition, I do get to go on a small trip for Spring Break. My work is sending me to one of the State Parks to finish a project, and they suggested I stay the night. So T and I get to go do about two hours of work in exchange for free room and board in an awesome historic cabin at a great mountain area. I also bought T tickets to Blue Man Group for his B-day, so that should be great fun as well. Now is we can only get a game night scheduled in there, it won't be such a bad break after all.
I already had planned to work two of my three jobs and do research for two projects that are due at the end of the semester, and make my poster for my presentation in April. (Which I have barely touched.) Well now on top of that I have just been given a mid term essay to complete for one of my classes, and the Professor I TA for just informed us that we will be grading a quiz over the break as well. I had great plans to get caught up and even maybe ahead, but in reality that isn't going to happen.
Luckily I have the task of also trying to plan my trip to the United Kingdom (England, Ireland and Scotland now) that helps me get distracted. It is far more fun to search for cool things to do, bargain hunt for airfare, and dream about all the places I can take great photos. While I am going to miss T terribly, I think this is going to be a great experience for me. We get to work on some preservation projects while we are over there that will really look good on my CV. Plus T gets to come join us the last week of the trip.
In addition, I do get to go on a small trip for Spring Break. My work is sending me to one of the State Parks to finish a project, and they suggested I stay the night. So T and I get to go do about two hours of work in exchange for free room and board in an awesome historic cabin at a great mountain area. I also bought T tickets to Blue Man Group for his B-day, so that should be great fun as well. Now is we can only get a game night scheduled in there, it won't be such a bad break after all.
Books of 2008, Part IV
Earlier today I finished The Catcher In the Rye, J.D. Salinger's classic novel of teenage alienation. Unlike most high school students in this country, I somehow got out of reading this one in school; I'm guessing the profanity had something to do with it.
Anyway, I'd never read it before. For those of you who, like me, somehow avoided it all these years, the story centers around Holden Caulfield, a directionless, depressed 16-year-old who has just been expelled from his fancy prep school and must now figure out what he wants to do with his life.
I nearly dropped out of college after my first semester, due to lousy grades and a general sense that I wasn't smart enough to figure out what to do about it. I've since learned that a great many smart kids do poorly their first years in college, due to a lack of experience with having to study. (That was definitely my problem.) The thing is, I can remember getting my crappy grades, and thinking, well, that's it, I'm too stupid for college. The idea that I was going to have to stay at whatever crappy job I had then, or choose from other similarly crappy jobs, for the rest of my career, was utterly demoralizing.
In that regard I was able to sympathize with Holden's dilemma. He was smart enough to see through all the BS inherent in school--especially high school--and he was aware enough of his intelligence to keep him from being humble enough to deal with it. Reading this book brought back some of that dread, some of that "well what now?" feeling that brought a cold lump of fear to my stomach even back then. As such, it was hard to get through it--it's depressing, and Holden isn't a particularly likable person.
I can see, though, why it's stood the test of time over all these years, as well as why it's been challenged and banned and whined about by uptight parents all that time. There's a day that comes at least once for just about all of us where we need to decide where to go, and why. It can be hard to remember that you're not the only one to be faced with these questions.
Anyway, I'd never read it before. For those of you who, like me, somehow avoided it all these years, the story centers around Holden Caulfield, a directionless, depressed 16-year-old who has just been expelled from his fancy prep school and must now figure out what he wants to do with his life.
I nearly dropped out of college after my first semester, due to lousy grades and a general sense that I wasn't smart enough to figure out what to do about it. I've since learned that a great many smart kids do poorly their first years in college, due to a lack of experience with having to study. (That was definitely my problem.) The thing is, I can remember getting my crappy grades, and thinking, well, that's it, I'm too stupid for college. The idea that I was going to have to stay at whatever crappy job I had then, or choose from other similarly crappy jobs, for the rest of my career, was utterly demoralizing.
In that regard I was able to sympathize with Holden's dilemma. He was smart enough to see through all the BS inherent in school--especially high school--and he was aware enough of his intelligence to keep him from being humble enough to deal with it. Reading this book brought back some of that dread, some of that "well what now?" feeling that brought a cold lump of fear to my stomach even back then. As such, it was hard to get through it--it's depressing, and Holden isn't a particularly likable person.
I can see, though, why it's stood the test of time over all these years, as well as why it's been challenged and banned and whined about by uptight parents all that time. There's a day that comes at least once for just about all of us where we need to decide where to go, and why. It can be hard to remember that you're not the only one to be faced with these questions.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Books of 2008, Part III
This one took me a while, but a couple of days ago I finished The Dragon Reborn, book three (of a planned twelve) of the late Robert Jordan's epic fantasy saga, The Wheel of Time.
I'm late to this party, I know; all the hardcore WoT-ies (including many of my siblings and my dad) started reading these books years ago. I read the first two or three books back when I was in high school, but I stopped reading them because I would only devote five or ten minutes a day to reading for pleasure, right before I went to bed. That's no way to read an 8000-page saga featuring hundreds of characters, unique locations and storylines, intrigue, shifting alliances, and all that stuff. So I put it aside and figured I'd come back to it later.
Well, when I got back into reading for fun (imagine that!) I knew I wanted to come back and read this series. I figured it would probably be better to wait until all the books were out and then read them, but I didn't want to wait that long, and besides, eleven of the books were in paperback, and #12 can't be too far out, right? So I got the first book during a bookstore trip, and came home to read that Jordan had just been diagnosed with a fatal blood disease. It figures.
So, now, everyone knows that Jordan has died, leaving his magnum opus unfinished. According to his blog, just a few days before he succumbed to his illness, he spent the weekend telling his close family members exactly how the story was going to end. What a neat experience that must have been! Unfortunately, of course, he'll never be able to see his 20-year journey end.
The task of finishing the book, A Memory of Light, now falls to a new author--one from my hometown and undergrad alma mater, coincidentally enough. It's supposed to be released in 2009, I believe, which should give me adequate time to finish the other eight books in the series.
Ahh, but book 3 is what this post is ostensibly about, so how is it? I enjoyed it! So far, I think Jordan's series is inferior to the other great "fantasy" series I'm reading: George R. R. Martin's fantastic A Song of Ice and Fire, but that's more praise for Martin than condemnation for Jordan. Jordan has built something of staggering scope and I am excited to see all the directions he can take all these characters. Yeah, yeah, I know, I understand that the series really begins to stall around book 8 or 9, and very little happens until book 11, but I knew what I signed up for when I bought book 1, and I intend to get through the rest of them.
It is interesting to see how considerably little has happened across three seven-hundred-page books, though. It took three books for Rand, who was established as the titular Dragon in the very first book, to finally proclaim that fact openly. Three books! Some series have everything wrapped up in three books, but not Jordan's.
In addition, despite the title of the book being The Dragon Reborn, a good 90% of the story revolves around all the side characters--Rand al'Thor barely appears at the beginning and at the end of the book, where he fights another (evidently inconsequential) battle against Ba'alzamon, a being as evil as Ba'al, Beelzebub, and a demon (?) combined! Apparently!
This post sounds really critical of the book, I know, but I did like it. I'm enjoying the rapidly multiplying threads of intrigue and interweaving plot lines, even though I know those will become a source of frustration as I read further into the series.
Ultimately there's no point in picking this up if you haven't read the first two books, but if you have, you certainly can't stop there! Read this one, too!
And now I'm going to go take a shower and go help my friend move.
I'm late to this party, I know; all the hardcore WoT-ies (including many of my siblings and my dad) started reading these books years ago. I read the first two or three books back when I was in high school, but I stopped reading them because I would only devote five or ten minutes a day to reading for pleasure, right before I went to bed. That's no way to read an 8000-page saga featuring hundreds of characters, unique locations and storylines, intrigue, shifting alliances, and all that stuff. So I put it aside and figured I'd come back to it later.
Well, when I got back into reading for fun (imagine that!) I knew I wanted to come back and read this series. I figured it would probably be better to wait until all the books were out and then read them, but I didn't want to wait that long, and besides, eleven of the books were in paperback, and #12 can't be too far out, right? So I got the first book during a bookstore trip, and came home to read that Jordan had just been diagnosed with a fatal blood disease. It figures.
So, now, everyone knows that Jordan has died, leaving his magnum opus unfinished. According to his blog, just a few days before he succumbed to his illness, he spent the weekend telling his close family members exactly how the story was going to end. What a neat experience that must have been! Unfortunately, of course, he'll never be able to see his 20-year journey end.
The task of finishing the book, A Memory of Light, now falls to a new author--one from my hometown and undergrad alma mater, coincidentally enough. It's supposed to be released in 2009, I believe, which should give me adequate time to finish the other eight books in the series.
Ahh, but book 3 is what this post is ostensibly about, so how is it? I enjoyed it! So far, I think Jordan's series is inferior to the other great "fantasy" series I'm reading: George R. R. Martin's fantastic A Song of Ice and Fire, but that's more praise for Martin than condemnation for Jordan. Jordan has built something of staggering scope and I am excited to see all the directions he can take all these characters. Yeah, yeah, I know, I understand that the series really begins to stall around book 8 or 9, and very little happens until book 11, but I knew what I signed up for when I bought book 1, and I intend to get through the rest of them.
It is interesting to see how considerably little has happened across three seven-hundred-page books, though. It took three books for Rand, who was established as the titular Dragon in the very first book, to finally proclaim that fact openly. Three books! Some series have everything wrapped up in three books, but not Jordan's.
In addition, despite the title of the book being The Dragon Reborn, a good 90% of the story revolves around all the side characters--Rand al'Thor barely appears at the beginning and at the end of the book, where he fights another (evidently inconsequential) battle against Ba'alzamon, a being as evil as Ba'al, Beelzebub, and a demon (?) combined! Apparently!
This post sounds really critical of the book, I know, but I did like it. I'm enjoying the rapidly multiplying threads of intrigue and interweaving plot lines, even though I know those will become a source of frustration as I read further into the series.
Ultimately there's no point in picking this up if you haven't read the first two books, but if you have, you certainly can't stop there! Read this one, too!
And now I'm going to go take a shower and go help my friend move.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
In my essay I will prove...
This semester I decided to do a split assistantship in order to get more funding. On top of my preservation duties I now also assist with a lower level history course. My main duties are to take attendance, answer the students questions and grade assignments/exams. I have had to learn how to grade for thesis, documentation, and conclusion so far. It was pretty interesting to see the difference between my writing and theirs. I really had too high of expectations for them, but I quickly adapted to a more realistic view. I know we all must have been at that academic level when we started college, but you don't realize how far you have come until you can compare like this.
On their first quiz I did have a few funny errors, such as assignation instead of assassination and un-PC terms used to describe minority groups. I know they worry about spelling errors, but so many of them seem to rely on the spell checker and go for the first word that is offered to them. Our goal this semester is to teach them how to write rather than memorize historical fact. So far we have gotten some of the students to respond and follow directions, but not all horses will drink when you bring them to water. The hardest part has been to teach students to write a clear, strong thesis and then use evidence to prove their argument.
This week though, the professor fell ill and because we were already behind and had an exam coming up, he asked me if I would cover his two sections. It was some what intimidating to stand in front of them and give a lecture I didn't write, but I think I did well. The other TA said that the students seemed to respond better to me, but I think that may have to do with the fact that the class is predominantly female. The other section was much quieter, but I chalk that up to the fact that they didn't know me like the other section did.
We also administered the exam today. They all knew what was to be expected because we gave them the questions ahead of time, explained the exam format, what was expected in their essay, etc. I made sure to clarify that they needed to use a specific number of sources from their reader since this was a major issue on the quiz the week before. I was getting questions and panic emails all the way up until 11pm. I also had one student email to say that she hadn't been able to acquire the reader for financial reasons. We made other arrangements, but I wish she had come to us long before late the night before.
During the exam we were careful to watch over the students for cheating and to see if we could identify any issues the students were running into. Well unfortunately I didn't catch one issue, which was another student who did not have the reader for some reason. I wasn't able to figure it out until after he had left the room, but he did email after to state that he didn't know we needed that we needed a reader. I know I had held that reader up along side the book at least twice the day before the exam to clarify that one was to be used during the test and the other was not allowed. Luckily the professor stated he would deal with that situation.
I did enjoy my experience teaching though and wish I had more opportunity to do so in the semester. I think it would be really interesting if the professor would allow me to write one of the lectures, but I don't think that is likely to happen since we are behind in lectures. I have been asked if I want to be a discussion leader next year, but my program is already setting up another assistantship for me that sounds even better.
On their first quiz I did have a few funny errors, such as assignation instead of assassination and un-PC terms used to describe minority groups. I know they worry about spelling errors, but so many of them seem to rely on the spell checker and go for the first word that is offered to them. Our goal this semester is to teach them how to write rather than memorize historical fact. So far we have gotten some of the students to respond and follow directions, but not all horses will drink when you bring them to water. The hardest part has been to teach students to write a clear, strong thesis and then use evidence to prove their argument.
This week though, the professor fell ill and because we were already behind and had an exam coming up, he asked me if I would cover his two sections. It was some what intimidating to stand in front of them and give a lecture I didn't write, but I think I did well. The other TA said that the students seemed to respond better to me, but I think that may have to do with the fact that the class is predominantly female. The other section was much quieter, but I chalk that up to the fact that they didn't know me like the other section did.
We also administered the exam today. They all knew what was to be expected because we gave them the questions ahead of time, explained the exam format, what was expected in their essay, etc. I made sure to clarify that they needed to use a specific number of sources from their reader since this was a major issue on the quiz the week before. I was getting questions and panic emails all the way up until 11pm. I also had one student email to say that she hadn't been able to acquire the reader for financial reasons. We made other arrangements, but I wish she had come to us long before late the night before.
During the exam we were careful to watch over the students for cheating and to see if we could identify any issues the students were running into. Well unfortunately I didn't catch one issue, which was another student who did not have the reader for some reason. I wasn't able to figure it out until after he had left the room, but he did email after to state that he didn't know we needed that we needed a reader. I know I had held that reader up along side the book at least twice the day before the exam to clarify that one was to be used during the test and the other was not allowed. Luckily the professor stated he would deal with that situation.
I did enjoy my experience teaching though and wish I had more opportunity to do so in the semester. I think it would be really interesting if the professor would allow me to write one of the lectures, but I don't think that is likely to happen since we are behind in lectures. I have been asked if I want to be a discussion leader next year, but my program is already setting up another assistantship for me that sounds even better.
New Bed
With T's Christmas bonus we finally purchased a new bedroom set. Since T is so tall, we decided to get a king size. In the showroom they had a queen size with a low mattress and tall showroom ceilings, so we didn't realize that the bed was going to be as big as it is. It dominates the room, but still looks good. It is so tall that I have to climb into bed literally. (Taller than my waist.) I have spent many days doing my reading for school in bed, but I wish I could spend more time sleeping in it.
Bunny
This little guy was in our yard the other day. We see him every so often. I went to go put the recycling to the curb and he didn't move an inch. He even allowed me to get this close to take the picture. I wish I had thought about using my zoom though so that I could get a closer picture.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Books of 2008, Part II
I just finished Cell, Stephen King's homage to George A. Romero's zombie movies. This was the first book he wrote since he "retired" in 2004; it's also his first since finishing his magnificent Dark Tower series. I don't know if it was finishing that series, finally, some thirty-odd years after he started it, but the writing style is much more energetic and excited than many of King's older books. The premise is very simple--one day, out of nowhere, somebody (we don't know who) broadcasts a signal over the world's cell phone networks. This signal wipes the minds of anyone who hears it and they are transformed into mindless zombies (although that word is scoffed at by one of the characters, in favor of "phone crazies," or, later, simply "phoners"). A small group of survivors comes together to stay alive and to look for word of their loved ones.
It's close to 500 pages long, but it was a quick read. King typically has a hard time writing believable endings, a problem that manifests itself more clearly in his longer books (which is one of the reasons his short story collections are so great), but I liked the ending to this one. Browsing reader reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, I see that many people didn't.
Overall, a fun read. Not as epic and well-done as The Stand, another end-of-the-world story, but that's hardly damning praise.
It's close to 500 pages long, but it was a quick read. King typically has a hard time writing believable endings, a problem that manifests itself more clearly in his longer books (which is one of the reasons his short story collections are so great), but I liked the ending to this one. Browsing reader reviews on Amazon and elsewhere, I see that many people didn't.
Overall, a fun read. Not as epic and well-done as The Stand, another end-of-the-world story, but that's hardly damning praise.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Books of 2008
I'm always trying to think of reasons to post stuff here, because I'm just never very consistent about it, but I got a good idea the other day and I think I'm going to try it. I have decided to blog about all the books I read this year. At the end of 2008, perhaps I'll read back through the list and see if I got anything positive out of all of it.
For the inaugural post, I have to do a bit of catchup, as I've already finished four books this year. The first was Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, by Dava Sobel. This is the (true) story of English clockmaker John Harrison's attempt to solve the problem of how to calculate longitude whilst at sea. This problem, Sobel explains, was the preeminent scientific struggle of the day. It's a great story for anyone interested in science, engineering, or history. While it's a book on what, to some, may seem like an impenetrable subject, it's a quick read, and it's written in a very accessible style. Plus, it actually happened. I enjoyed it a lot.
Then I read I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. I was a big fan of America (The Book), the fake civics text Jon Stewart wrote a few years ago, but this one wasn't as funny as that. It had its moments, but Colbert's jokey neocon character doesn't provide enough of a joke to sustain the entire book. The constant requests to buy more copies of the book get old quick, too. Maybe if I was more familiar with such bile-slingers as O'Reilly or Coulter I would have gotten more of a kick out of it. It's amusing, but it's thin and ultimately not entirely satisfying.
Next was Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire, the third novel I've read in the classic Foundation saga (although, chronologically, I believe it's the fourth). It's the one that takes place directly following the events of Foundation. I read that book and Prelude to Foundation last year, so I'm now getting used to the fact that you read Asimov for the ideas, not for the writing, which is awfully clumsy. But...well, the ideas are awesome. This chapter of the series is divided into two separate stories; first, the Foundation must fight off a takeover attempt by an up-and-coming general from the much-more-powerful Empire. The second story deals with the rise of The Mule, an empathic mutant who makes it his mission to conquer, well, everyone. I liked the "Seldon crisis" scene in which we learn that the future, as Seldon predicted it, was very different from what the people of the Foundation were actually up against--it shows that, from this point onward, they're on their own, and the future is no longer certain. I am excited to see where Asimov took this story in the four remaining books.
Oh, and I also read James Lileks's Gastronomalies, which is his spiritual successor to The Gallery of Regrettable Food. I don't know if this counts as "reading" a book, because it's mostly pictures with funny captions, but I DID read it. Lileks is the man and this book is hilarious and vile. If you liked Regrettable Food, you'll like this one. Great stuff.
Okay, that's what I've read so far this year. I've also beaten the very literary Bioshock, which would have made a great book. I'm nearly finished with another book, so hopefully I'll write about it soon.
For the inaugural post, I have to do a bit of catchup, as I've already finished four books this year. The first was Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time, by Dava Sobel. This is the (true) story of English clockmaker John Harrison's attempt to solve the problem of how to calculate longitude whilst at sea. This problem, Sobel explains, was the preeminent scientific struggle of the day. It's a great story for anyone interested in science, engineering, or history. While it's a book on what, to some, may seem like an impenetrable subject, it's a quick read, and it's written in a very accessible style. Plus, it actually happened. I enjoyed it a lot.
Then I read I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert. I was a big fan of America (The Book), the fake civics text Jon Stewart wrote a few years ago, but this one wasn't as funny as that. It had its moments, but Colbert's jokey neocon character doesn't provide enough of a joke to sustain the entire book. The constant requests to buy more copies of the book get old quick, too. Maybe if I was more familiar with such bile-slingers as O'Reilly or Coulter I would have gotten more of a kick out of it. It's amusing, but it's thin and ultimately not entirely satisfying.
Next was Isaac Asimov's Foundation and Empire, the third novel I've read in the classic Foundation saga (although, chronologically, I believe it's the fourth). It's the one that takes place directly following the events of Foundation. I read that book and Prelude to Foundation last year, so I'm now getting used to the fact that you read Asimov for the ideas, not for the writing, which is awfully clumsy. But...well, the ideas are awesome. This chapter of the series is divided into two separate stories; first, the Foundation must fight off a takeover attempt by an up-and-coming general from the much-more-powerful Empire. The second story deals with the rise of The Mule, an empathic mutant who makes it his mission to conquer, well, everyone. I liked the "Seldon crisis" scene in which we learn that the future, as Seldon predicted it, was very different from what the people of the Foundation were actually up against--it shows that, from this point onward, they're on their own, and the future is no longer certain. I am excited to see where Asimov took this story in the four remaining books.
Oh, and I also read James Lileks's Gastronomalies, which is his spiritual successor to The Gallery of Regrettable Food. I don't know if this counts as "reading" a book, because it's mostly pictures with funny captions, but I DID read it. Lileks is the man and this book is hilarious and vile. If you liked Regrettable Food, you'll like this one. Great stuff.
Okay, that's what I've read so far this year. I've also beaten the very literary Bioshock, which would have made a great book. I'm nearly finished with another book, so hopefully I'll write about it soon.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Must have made a wrong turn in Albuquerque
Last week I flew out to my old home town of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This was the first time I had been back in twelve years. My best friend Megan was kind enough to let me stay with her family while I was there. (Thanks again Megan.) It was great fun.
I flew out the afternoon of the second, and other than a bumpy flight, everything went smoothly. I rented a car and drove to her house and we spent some time chatting before we went to bed. The next morning I woke up and had to do some work for school. (Long story short, I had to watch some training videos in order to be a grader this semester and there was a problem with the video feed before I left so I had to fit it in while on my trip.) In the afternoon I went to the first sessions of the conference and got oriented to the resort. In the evening we had a banquet which had good food, but my chicken was slightly undercooked so I didn't finish the first course. After dinner we were required to attend a delegate session which didn't end until 9:45. This wouldn't have been too bad except for the time difference and the fact that I had to drive a half hour back to my friend's house.
The next morning I had to wake up early and get ready in order to be there for another delegate meeting. The rest of the day was filled with paper presentations and another delegate meeting. They had a President's banquet, which also had fantastic food, and then a reception. I left early in the reception because I had to drive again, but then I ended up staying up until one reminiscing with my friend about Junior High and Freshman year. It was a lot of fun to sit and talk like we used to back when we were younger. I am always amazed and how good friends last forever and no matter how much time or distance their is between you, you can always connect and feel comfortable with them.
Saturday I woke up and went to the last session and then came back to the house. We went to a party for a two year old that Megan's daughter knew. It felt a little odd to be there because I didn't know these people, but also because I was the only one without a child. But I had fun despite that. Then Megan and I went around town visiting the city. It has grown so dramatically that I hardly recognized it. It looks a lot better though now that the economy has picked up there. We went to Old Town, and saw the Candy Lady who has treats for the young and old. (There is an adult section in the shop.) I got some amazing turquoise earrings for a cheap price, which was my one shopping goal of the trip. We drove by my old high school, which didn't look all that different, but the area sure did. It used to be in the middle of no where and you could see it from my house on the mesa. Now it is surrounded on all sides with subdivisions and shopping complexes as far as you can see. There is also no break now between any of the cities of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, or Bernallio. They have just merged into one big blob that stretches across the valley.The mountains looked gorgeous though. They were dotted with snow when I got there so I got some great pictures. I sure do miss my mountains, and not just for their ability to give me driving directions. If there was anything I would change about SC, besides the humidity, it would be to give it some REAL mountains.
That night we went to my favorite restaurant, Gardunios. It was this amazing Mexican place that had huge portions and free sopapias. The food was good, but like my friend had warned me, it had turned into a chain and had lost some of its flare. The worst part though was that I had gotten my food with green chili, which they said was medium that day, and I had forgotten the difference between southwestern medium and other mediums. It was uncomfortably hot and I wasn't able to eat all of my food. (Cause my stomach still hurt from the resort food.) But I sure did scarf down that sopapia! Oh those things are great. I think I am going to have to make some homemade ones this weekend. We were also serenaded by a mariachi band that played "It's a Small World" for M's daughter.We went home afterward and danced around with Megan's daughter who is just the cutest two year old. She is so well behaved too. My relatives kids are great, but this kid does things I have never seen a kid so young do before. Every time she threw a fit, Megan would give her three chances and if she kept on, she would send her to her room. The amazing part was, she would walk there herself without anyone having to force her to go or checking up on her. And then when she was done, she would come back out and apologize. I know have a trick I will have to learn when I become a parent.
After the daughter went to bed, we played some board games and sat and chatted. Poor Megan fell asleep before too long, and her husband and I had a long chat. We were again up until one, and I had to get up to go to the airport at four in the morning. I didn't care though. I wanted to spend however much time I could with them cause they are great fun.
The next morning I drug my tired bones out of bed and got ready. I quietly slipped out of the house and went to the airport. I was all set to fall asleep on the plane, but the lady next to me had another idea. When she first sat down I knew she was going to be bad. She stunk of garlic, cigarettes and some odor I couldn't even name. She thudded onto her seat, shaking the whole row and immediately took over the seat between us with all her Enquirers, US magazine, and other tabloid junk. (The flight had some empty seats.) I was so tired I started to fall asleep and so I stretched my legs into the space in front of the empty seat. Well when the movie started, which was Rush Hour 3, she woke me up so she could move into that seat and get a better view of the movie. Then throughout the movie she laughed so loudly it woke me up, even with my iPod on, and she shook the seats with her movements. So I did not get to sleep much on that flight, which was the longest. I didn't have much of a layover, but I did have to go from one end of the Atlanta airport to the other, which is over a mile long! So I got lots of exercise. On the second leg of my trip, I sat next to two former frat boys who were drunk and chewing gum. (You all know how much I love that.) As soon as we were in the air (literally) they turned on some Dave Chappell DVD but didn't have headphones. They also laughed loudly which kept me awake. So after I arrived back to Charlotte, I had to drive the hour and a half home. I was really tired, so by the time I got almost home I was speeding just to get there faster. I did make it home, with no ticket, and was so happy to be back. I slept for hours on the recliner and then spent the evening with T. I am still trying to catch up on sleep it feels like.
It was a great trip though and I am glad I went. It is always had to be home from T, but it was a good rehearsal for this summer. I wrote more about the trip below, so feel free to keep reading whenever you get bored.
Phi Alpha Theta
The purpose for my trip was to attend the Biennial Phi Alpha Theta conference. This is the history honors society that I am the president of at USC. I decided in the summer that I was going to attend the conference as a delegate as a way to get information on how to improve my chapter, make some contacts, and to get an idea of what we need to do to get involved next time. I figured that I would have to pay for the conference myself, but then a couple of things happened that ended up helping out a lot. First, my Public History program offers a travel grant award for a small but helpful amount and my mentor offered to let me use this conference as part of that. Then, I found out the conference had a delegate package that would reimburse some of the cost of travel for attending all the delegate meetings. The best part however, was that the History department completed a strategic plan during the fall and mentioned that they needed to support our organization to help it grow. So I wrote a proposal letter for assistance, and was happily surprised when the department head agreed to fund a sizable amount of my trip.
The conference was great in itself and would have been worth it even if I had to have paid for it all myself. Various students gave papers on a plethora of topics throughout the event, and so there was always at least one session that was of interest. The delegate sessions I attended included a long term planning committee where we made suggestions about what the organization should do to improve. We came up with many great ideas and they were well received by the National officers.
During the student papers I was struck by how little colleges teach you about presenting properly. Most of these students were undergraduates, but not always. All were instructed to read from their paper since they had been preapproved for content. This did not mean, however, that they should bury their faces in their paper as they often did. They also did not have an argument most of the time, which considering the point of the paper should be to prove a point, doesn't make sense to me.
The conference was at a resort in the middle of a nature preserve so the view was gorgeous. The hotel was also nicely decorated and had lots of great places to sit and chat in front of a fire. We had fantastic food, but the desserts were the best part. Unfortunately, they must have used MSG in their food because each time I ate at the conference instead of my friend's house I was ill for hours afterward. The desserts were worth it though.
The conference was great in itself and would have been worth it even if I had to have paid for it all myself. Various students gave papers on a plethora of topics throughout the event, and so there was always at least one session that was of interest. The delegate sessions I attended included a long term planning committee where we made suggestions about what the organization should do to improve. We came up with many great ideas and they were well received by the National officers.
During the student papers I was struck by how little colleges teach you about presenting properly. Most of these students were undergraduates, but not always. All were instructed to read from their paper since they had been preapproved for content. This did not mean, however, that they should bury their faces in their paper as they often did. They also did not have an argument most of the time, which considering the point of the paper should be to prove a point, doesn't make sense to me.
The conference was at a resort in the middle of a nature preserve so the view was gorgeous. The hotel was also nicely decorated and had lots of great places to sit and chat in front of a fire. We had fantastic food, but the desserts were the best part. Unfortunately, they must have used MSG in their food because each time I ate at the conference instead of my friend's house I was ill for hours afterward. The desserts were worth it though.
You Can't Go Home Again
While in New Mexico, we drove around on Saturday and saw some of the old places I remembered. Nothing, was as I remembered though. The city has changed so much and grown so big that I hardly recognized any single part of it. That included my old house. We drove by to see it because when I had moved away I knew that a sub division was being built behind it. Now before I show and tell what it currently looks like, let me explain what it used to look like.
We had a one acre lot on the edge of a mesa that overlooked Albuquerque. The night lights were so beautiful and we had an unobscured view for most of the valley from our backyard. Nothing was landscaped in our backyard, but it looked cool because it was filled with desert plants. Our front yard had about twenty pine trees along one side, which had been live Christmas trees of years past from the previous owners. We had a line of Joshua trees along the street which we always joked were there to prevent a drunk driver from going through our front door. We had a grass lawn, which is rare in New Mexico, so it struggled but was at least green. To the side of the house was a rock garden that needed some attention but at least was better than bare dirt.
Now, the house looks awful! They built some weird fence that doesn't really enclose the front yard and is an awkward height. The front yard is all dirt now, and they removed all the pine trees except one. They also removed every other Joshua tree so it looks bare. They changed the door to some southwestern pine thing, but it looks like it is boarded up in contrast to the dark wood siding. They also put a metal roof on it, which is the wrong color. The most tragic part though is that the view is completely obscured by the subdivision. You can't see any of the city. All you see is the back of various houses. It is truly sad to me to see the state of my old house, but at the same time I feel relieved that we weren't there when it happened.
We had a one acre lot on the edge of a mesa that overlooked Albuquerque. The night lights were so beautiful and we had an unobscured view for most of the valley from our backyard. Nothing was landscaped in our backyard, but it looked cool because it was filled with desert plants. Our front yard had about twenty pine trees along one side, which had been live Christmas trees of years past from the previous owners. We had a line of Joshua trees along the street which we always joked were there to prevent a drunk driver from going through our front door. We had a grass lawn, which is rare in New Mexico, so it struggled but was at least green. To the side of the house was a rock garden that needed some attention but at least was better than bare dirt.
Now, the house looks awful! They built some weird fence that doesn't really enclose the front yard and is an awkward height. The front yard is all dirt now, and they removed all the pine trees except one. They also removed every other Joshua tree so it looks bare. They changed the door to some southwestern pine thing, but it looks like it is boarded up in contrast to the dark wood siding. They also put a metal roof on it, which is the wrong color. The most tragic part though is that the view is completely obscured by the subdivision. You can't see any of the city. All you see is the back of various houses. It is truly sad to me to see the state of my old house, but at the same time I feel relieved that we weren't there when it happened.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Merry Ecks Mas
Okay, let's roll back to Christmas Eve, and we'll start from there.
We had two of my "orphan" coworkers over for Christmas dinner, as well as two of my wife's fellow grad students and their wives, for a total of eight people. C made a ham, with a brown sugar and maple syrup glaze, and a cherry and pineapple sauce that was absolutely terrific. She's made the ham before, with a recipe for cherry sauce, but I had the brilliant idea of adding a can of pineapple chunks to that and it turned out fantastic. The ham was moist and succulent, and the sauce was fruity and flavorful. On top of that (well, no, more to the side of that) she made garlic mashed potatoes and steamed veggies (squash and zucchini). My one buddy brought the drinks and my other buddy brought the rolls--a couple bags of that Rhodes keep-in-the-freezer roll dough. They baked up really nice and fluffy and were terrific! (We are probably going to keep a few bags of that stuff in the freezer at all times from now on.) One couple brought a cheesy broccoli bake and an apple pie, and the other couple brought a sweet potato and apple casserole.
We feasted like kings and enjoyed getting to know each other. This was the first time I'd met either of her colleagues, and the first time either of us had met the wives, and of course the first time my work buddies met her school buddies, but everyone was charming and intelligent and fun, and we really had a good time. After dinner, I brought out "Apples to Apples" and "Cranium," and we spent a couple of hours playing "Apples" and eating pie. Oh, yes, the pie. In addition to the aforementioned apple pie, which was absolutely fantastic (she had even added the lattice work crust on top!), the wife made a deep dish blackberry pie and a chocolatey, graham-cracker-crusted, homemade-marshmallow-topped Smore pie. Oh yeah. All three pies were awesome, and we all feasted and played and talked until about 11:00.
We did our customary one present on Christmas Eve, which for C was a new pair of slippers and some fuzzy penguin socks, and for me was a hoodie the wife made me. She had been spending a lot of time locked up in her sewing room, preparing some sort of neato Christmas secret for me...turns out it was a really fantastic black fleece hoodie. I was really impressed at her skill--the sleeves hadn't been hemmed back yet, but otherwise it looks absolutely storebought. It has a hood, a couple of big, deep pockets, a zipper, and a drawstring, all of which look perfectly done. I told her that she could probably get a job making these in Guatemala for a nickel an hour. Yeah, she's that good!
Christmas morning we woke up around 8:00 and showered, dressed, and ate breakfast before attacking the tree. Everything was nice; my mom gave us a nice fat check and some calendars and cookbooks and DVDs and such (thanks Mom!). My sister sent us a fun board game, "Carcassonne," and a Kohl's gift certificate (thanks Ali!). I gave C a handful of books, kitchen items and DVDs, but her big presents were a new cast-iron wok, an Ipod, and a new car stereo that would allow her to plug the Ipod in and listen to it through her car's sound system. She received nothing from her brother or parents, despite sending presents to all three of them (and received but one hasty "thank you" for her trouble, by the way, making this the end of present exchange on her side, thankyouverymuch), so I was happy to spoil her a bit.
But she outdid me, I think. She got me a few books (Stephen Colbert's book, The Onion's world atlas, and James Lileks's new book (I noticed that she didn't get me any "serious" books, like she usually does, and she replied that she knew I liked to go to the bookstore when my book supplies run low, and she was right (we did that yesterday, by the way. It's always fun!))) and some nice clothes, including a really nice wool and suede coat (thank you sweetheart!).
The fun came right at the end of my presents, because the big present I'd been wanting and whining about for some time was an Xbox360. I had opened all but one present, which was roughly large enough to contain the Xbox. When I opened it, however, I found a little smoothie maker and some other small presents, rather than a fancy Xbox. I'll admit, I felt a little bit let down, but I tried to console (no pun intended) myself, saying, well, she did get me some nice things, and maybe the coat was expensive. She let me hang until she finished opening her presents, then told me to look inside the smoothie maker box. She had taken the cords and power pack and all those things from the Xbox box and placed them inside that box instead. She totally fooled me and it was awesome. I awarded her the title of Queen of Christmas and she took me upstairs and pulled my Xbox out from the closet. She kept me in the dark right up until the very end, which, my mother can tell you, is not easy to do at Christmas time. I promptly set the thing up and played BioShock for, like, three hours.
Yesterday we took my mom's check and all of our various gift certificates, as well as a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon and C's new car stereo, and hit the stores. I don't like sitting on gift certificates for any extended period of time. They're gifts, and Christmas gifts are meant to be enjoyed as close to Christmas as possible, right? So, after dropping C's car off at Circuit City to have her stereo installed, we hit Linens & Things (I really love their selection of linens, but, frankly, the Things side of the store leaves a lot to be desired. I usually go to Things R Us when I need Things), BB&B, Target, and Kohl's, in the search for new bedding for our new king-size bed. We got a big awesome comforter, a nice expensive sheet set, and we bought C a nice thigh-length raincoat at Kohl's that looked great on her. Then we drove over to the other shopping area up the street and ate lunch at the Chinese restaurant there that we both love. C had the hot and sour soup she'd been craving for the last few weeks, and we shared the sesame scallops on fried rice, which hit the spot. MMmmmmm...I wish we had leftovers.
After lunch, we hit the video game store, where I planned to buy Halo 3 and another Xbox controller with my share of the remaining Christmas money. The store, which is kind of small (it's probably smaller than any regular store in a typical American indoor shopping mall), was absolutely jam-packed with probably 50 people. While we were there, C, who had been planning to spend the rest of the money on a small clothes-shopping spree, elected instead to buy one of those Dance Dance games, which she had wanted as a fun workout regimen for a while, instead. Hey, fine with me, I said, it's up to you what you want to do with the money, so she bought it. Gamestop did pretty well that day, and not just from us, but we did our part. At this point, we still had a little bit of money left over, so we went to the bookstore and I bought a couple of paperbacks and a new wall calendar. We were in line behind an older guy, who struck up a conversation with us about his Christmas holiday. He was accompanied by his (rather cute, I might add) granddaughter, who had just graduated from college with a mechanical engineering degree. She said she's planning to do the same master's degree program I just finished (at a different school), so I thought that was kind of neat. We chatted for a little bit and I told her my impressions of the program, strengths and weaknesses, and that (HANDY TIP!!) you can watch the video lectures in Windows Media Player and turn up the speed to get through them quicker.
So that's how we spent all of that Christmas money. Thanks Mom! We bought a lot of good stuff. That whole adventure took all afternoon, so we went home well and truly tired. Then, we had a couple of buddies over to play video games, and one of them brought Rock Band. We strummed, drummed, and hummed (ha!) our way through a bunch of songs and had fun until just after 1:00 am, when he left and took his games with him. Our other buddy stayed and chatted until about 2:00, and, exhausted, we went to bed.
Today I think we're going to take down all the lights, the tree, and the other Christmas decorations. And we still have another five or six days until we have to return to work! Ha ha! I love the holidays!
We had two of my "orphan" coworkers over for Christmas dinner, as well as two of my wife's fellow grad students and their wives, for a total of eight people. C made a ham, with a brown sugar and maple syrup glaze, and a cherry and pineapple sauce that was absolutely terrific. She's made the ham before, with a recipe for cherry sauce, but I had the brilliant idea of adding a can of pineapple chunks to that and it turned out fantastic. The ham was moist and succulent, and the sauce was fruity and flavorful. On top of that (well, no, more to the side of that) she made garlic mashed potatoes and steamed veggies (squash and zucchini). My one buddy brought the drinks and my other buddy brought the rolls--a couple bags of that Rhodes keep-in-the-freezer roll dough. They baked up really nice and fluffy and were terrific! (We are probably going to keep a few bags of that stuff in the freezer at all times from now on.) One couple brought a cheesy broccoli bake and an apple pie, and the other couple brought a sweet potato and apple casserole.
We feasted like kings and enjoyed getting to know each other. This was the first time I'd met either of her colleagues, and the first time either of us had met the wives, and of course the first time my work buddies met her school buddies, but everyone was charming and intelligent and fun, and we really had a good time. After dinner, I brought out "Apples to Apples" and "Cranium," and we spent a couple of hours playing "Apples" and eating pie. Oh, yes, the pie. In addition to the aforementioned apple pie, which was absolutely fantastic (she had even added the lattice work crust on top!), the wife made a deep dish blackberry pie and a chocolatey, graham-cracker-crusted, homemade-marshmallow-topped Smore pie. Oh yeah. All three pies were awesome, and we all feasted and played and talked until about 11:00.
We did our customary one present on Christmas Eve, which for C was a new pair of slippers and some fuzzy penguin socks, and for me was a hoodie the wife made me. She had been spending a lot of time locked up in her sewing room, preparing some sort of neato Christmas secret for me...turns out it was a really fantastic black fleece hoodie. I was really impressed at her skill--the sleeves hadn't been hemmed back yet, but otherwise it looks absolutely storebought. It has a hood, a couple of big, deep pockets, a zipper, and a drawstring, all of which look perfectly done. I told her that she could probably get a job making these in Guatemala for a nickel an hour. Yeah, she's that good!
Christmas morning we woke up around 8:00 and showered, dressed, and ate breakfast before attacking the tree. Everything was nice; my mom gave us a nice fat check and some calendars and cookbooks and DVDs and such (thanks Mom!). My sister sent us a fun board game, "Carcassonne," and a Kohl's gift certificate (thanks Ali!). I gave C a handful of books, kitchen items and DVDs, but her big presents were a new cast-iron wok, an Ipod, and a new car stereo that would allow her to plug the Ipod in and listen to it through her car's sound system. She received nothing from her brother or parents, despite sending presents to all three of them (and received but one hasty "thank you" for her trouble, by the way, making this the end of present exchange on her side, thankyouverymuch), so I was happy to spoil her a bit.
But she outdid me, I think. She got me a few books (Stephen Colbert's book, The Onion's world atlas, and James Lileks's new book (I noticed that she didn't get me any "serious" books, like she usually does, and she replied that she knew I liked to go to the bookstore when my book supplies run low, and she was right (we did that yesterday, by the way. It's always fun!))) and some nice clothes, including a really nice wool and suede coat (thank you sweetheart!).
The fun came right at the end of my presents, because the big present I'd been wanting and whining about for some time was an Xbox360. I had opened all but one present, which was roughly large enough to contain the Xbox. When I opened it, however, I found a little smoothie maker and some other small presents, rather than a fancy Xbox. I'll admit, I felt a little bit let down, but I tried to console (no pun intended) myself, saying, well, she did get me some nice things, and maybe the coat was expensive. She let me hang until she finished opening her presents, then told me to look inside the smoothie maker box. She had taken the cords and power pack and all those things from the Xbox box and placed them inside that box instead. She totally fooled me and it was awesome. I awarded her the title of Queen of Christmas and she took me upstairs and pulled my Xbox out from the closet. She kept me in the dark right up until the very end, which, my mother can tell you, is not easy to do at Christmas time. I promptly set the thing up and played BioShock for, like, three hours.
Yesterday we took my mom's check and all of our various gift certificates, as well as a Bed Bath & Beyond coupon and C's new car stereo, and hit the stores. I don't like sitting on gift certificates for any extended period of time. They're gifts, and Christmas gifts are meant to be enjoyed as close to Christmas as possible, right? So, after dropping C's car off at Circuit City to have her stereo installed, we hit Linens & Things (I really love their selection of linens, but, frankly, the Things side of the store leaves a lot to be desired. I usually go to Things R Us when I need Things), BB&B, Target, and Kohl's, in the search for new bedding for our new king-size bed. We got a big awesome comforter, a nice expensive sheet set, and we bought C a nice thigh-length raincoat at Kohl's that looked great on her. Then we drove over to the other shopping area up the street and ate lunch at the Chinese restaurant there that we both love. C had the hot and sour soup she'd been craving for the last few weeks, and we shared the sesame scallops on fried rice, which hit the spot. MMmmmmm...I wish we had leftovers.
After lunch, we hit the video game store, where I planned to buy Halo 3 and another Xbox controller with my share of the remaining Christmas money. The store, which is kind of small (it's probably smaller than any regular store in a typical American indoor shopping mall), was absolutely jam-packed with probably 50 people. While we were there, C, who had been planning to spend the rest of the money on a small clothes-shopping spree, elected instead to buy one of those Dance Dance games, which she had wanted as a fun workout regimen for a while, instead. Hey, fine with me, I said, it's up to you what you want to do with the money, so she bought it. Gamestop did pretty well that day, and not just from us, but we did our part. At this point, we still had a little bit of money left over, so we went to the bookstore and I bought a couple of paperbacks and a new wall calendar. We were in line behind an older guy, who struck up a conversation with us about his Christmas holiday. He was accompanied by his (rather cute, I might add) granddaughter, who had just graduated from college with a mechanical engineering degree. She said she's planning to do the same master's degree program I just finished (at a different school), so I thought that was kind of neat. We chatted for a little bit and I told her my impressions of the program, strengths and weaknesses, and that (HANDY TIP!!) you can watch the video lectures in Windows Media Player and turn up the speed to get through them quicker.
So that's how we spent all of that Christmas money. Thanks Mom! We bought a lot of good stuff. That whole adventure took all afternoon, so we went home well and truly tired. Then, we had a couple of buddies over to play video games, and one of them brought Rock Band. We strummed, drummed, and hummed (ha!) our way through a bunch of songs and had fun until just after 1:00 am, when he left and took his games with him. Our other buddy stayed and chatted until about 2:00, and, exhausted, we went to bed.
Today I think we're going to take down all the lights, the tree, and the other Christmas decorations. And we still have another five or six days until we have to return to work! Ha ha! I love the holidays!
Friday, December 07, 2007
Way too long
It has been such an intense couple of weeks, I haven't been able to write anything about my life.
So lets see if I can catch up. Went to Table Rock State Park a few months ago for work. It is an amazing place that made me really miss the Utah mountains. The colors were just starting to change, so I got some great pictures. I wish we could have gone two weeks later when they really started to change, but we couldn't. I went to Colonial Dorchester about a month ago. It is also a state park, but it was the former site of one of the first Colonial establishments in South Carolina.
Class finished today and my last paper is due next Friday. As you can tell from the drought of blogs, I have had a lot to do for class. Especially my Civil War history class. I took a picture of the amount of reading I had completed by the midterm. I will take another one once I finish all my papers this week. When I stacked everything up though, it was nine inches high.
And that is all I have really been up to.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Ow
I injured myself with a machine gun today at work. Sigh...I had a prototype part I had assembled, and it fit a little bit tight. When I tried to remove it, I cut a big ol' gash down one wrist on the receiver. It looks like I tried to slit my wrist. Of course, if I really wanted to kill myself, and I had access to automatic weapons, I wouldn't do it by using the corner of the weapon to slash my wrist!
Sunday, November 11, 2007
I'm So Nice
What a thoughtful husband I am, one who cares far less about the big mess that's been made over the years in my kitchen as my wife collects more and more magazines than about my darling wife's happiness. One of my little projects these days involves typing up all the recipes she wants to keep out of these magazines, so that we can file the recipes and throw away all the magazines.
Anyway, I was sitting here doing that, listening to Wait, Wait..., when, without noticing, I apparently hit the Caps Lock button. Rereading the recipe, I found that it suddenly took a somewhat drastic and sinister turn:
"Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add remaining cup water and
It kind of sounds more insistent and angry all of a sudden, doesn't it?
We went to Sam's Club yesterday, where we played the new Guitar Hero game that was set up on the little display there. So...yeah, we had to buy it. We spent a depressing amount of time yesterday afternoon (and evening, and night) trading the little plastic guitar back and forth and rocking out. It's just a ludicrously, unbelievably fun way to make your hand hurt. C's lack of musical background and natural whiteness worked against her at first, and it took her a while to get the hang of it, but before long she became a demon and I couldn't get the guitar away from her. So, so awesome, and now we're considering even buying a second guitar to do the cooperative songs.
Anyway, I was sitting here doing that, listening to Wait, Wait..., when, without noticing, I apparently hit the Caps Lock button. Rereading the recipe, I found that it suddenly took a somewhat drastic and sinister turn:
"Straddle roasting pan across 2 burners, then add remaining cup water and
It kind of sounds more insistent and angry all of a sudden, doesn't it?
We went to Sam's Club yesterday, where we played the new Guitar Hero game that was set up on the little display there. So...yeah, we had to buy it. We spent a depressing amount of time yesterday afternoon (and evening, and night) trading the little plastic guitar back and forth and rocking out. It's just a ludicrously, unbelievably fun way to make your hand hurt. C's lack of musical background and natural whiteness worked against her at first, and it took her a while to get the hang of it, but before long she became a demon and I couldn't get the guitar away from her. So, so awesome, and now we're considering even buying a second guitar to do the cooperative songs.
Saturday, November 03, 2007
You know how, every time they remake some old movie from the 60s or 70s, people whine and complain about how "that movie's a classic! They're ruining it by remaking it!" or some such complaint? They're mostly right...most remakes are unnecessary and unwarranted.
But we're currently watching the original, 1970s version of Gone in 60 Seconds. I like the remake...sure, it's cheesy, but it's two hours of "OMG car pr0n!" with chases and fancy wheels galore, and I like it. But this original version is so cheesy, it hurts. Mike (or Joel) and the 'Bots wouldn't be out of place at the bottom of the screen. It's got some truly awful writing and acting, and it was financed by a junkyard, but at least the 1970s clothes and hair are worth a laugh while waiting for the final, 40-minute car chase. That should be pretty sweet.
So let's take stock of the pros and cons of each version:
Original: Main character played by owner of the junkyard that paid for the film. Acting proficiency: none
Remake: Main character played by Nicolas Cage. Acting proficiency: some, even though he mostly just overacts. But that's acceptable for this film.
ADVANTAGE: REMAKE
Original: Characters have to steal 48 specific cars in order to...I dunno, get some money or something. Basically just because.
Remake: Characters have to steal 50 cars to keep Doctor Who from murdering Nicolas Cage's greasy brother.
ADVANTAGE: REMAKE. Creepy evil British villain = win.
Number of characters with plaid pants or ludicrously high beehive hairdos: Original: Too many to count. Remake: 0, as far as I can remember.
ADVANTAGE: DRAW. Everyone looks ridiculous in the original, but it was the 1970s. At least that detracts from the awful dialogue.
Number of long, pointless wedding scenes featuring old people dancing badly: Original: 1. Remake: 0.
ADVANTAGE: REMAKE
Top billing in the film:
Original: The Mustang in the final scene, "Eleanor."
Remake: Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie
ADVANTAGE: Hmmm...tough one. The car still looks good 33 years later. Plus, Angelina Jolie has nasty skanky dreadlocks in this movie for some reason. ORIGINAL gets the square.
Final awesome chase scene:
Original: Awesome, but they keep interrupt it with scenes of journalists interviewing eyewitnesses about the chase.
Remake: Awesome, but sillier due to more improbable happenstances.
ADVANTAGE: I'm gonna go with the ORIGINAL on this one.
So let's add up the points: the remake gets 3 points, and the original gets 2. Plus there was a draw. In retrospect, that seems fortuitous that I evaluated the movies this way. So there you have it. Undeniable evidence that it was a good idea to remake this movie.
But we're currently watching the original, 1970s version of Gone in 60 Seconds. I like the remake...sure, it's cheesy, but it's two hours of "OMG car pr0n!" with chases and fancy wheels galore, and I like it. But this original version is so cheesy, it hurts. Mike (or Joel) and the 'Bots wouldn't be out of place at the bottom of the screen. It's got some truly awful writing and acting, and it was financed by a junkyard, but at least the 1970s clothes and hair are worth a laugh while waiting for the final, 40-minute car chase. That should be pretty sweet.
So let's take stock of the pros and cons of each version:
Original: Main character played by owner of the junkyard that paid for the film. Acting proficiency: none
Remake: Main character played by Nicolas Cage. Acting proficiency: some, even though he mostly just overacts. But that's acceptable for this film.
ADVANTAGE: REMAKE
Original: Characters have to steal 48 specific cars in order to...I dunno, get some money or something. Basically just because.
Remake: Characters have to steal 50 cars to keep Doctor Who from murdering Nicolas Cage's greasy brother.
ADVANTAGE: REMAKE. Creepy evil British villain = win.
Number of characters with plaid pants or ludicrously high beehive hairdos: Original: Too many to count. Remake: 0, as far as I can remember.
ADVANTAGE: DRAW. Everyone looks ridiculous in the original, but it was the 1970s. At least that detracts from the awful dialogue.
Number of long, pointless wedding scenes featuring old people dancing badly: Original: 1. Remake: 0.
ADVANTAGE: REMAKE
Top billing in the film:
Original: The Mustang in the final scene, "Eleanor."
Remake: Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie
ADVANTAGE: Hmmm...tough one. The car still looks good 33 years later. Plus, Angelina Jolie has nasty skanky dreadlocks in this movie for some reason. ORIGINAL gets the square.
Final awesome chase scene:
Original: Awesome, but they keep interrupt it with scenes of journalists interviewing eyewitnesses about the chase.
Remake: Awesome, but sillier due to more improbable happenstances.
ADVANTAGE: I'm gonna go with the ORIGINAL on this one.
So let's add up the points: the remake gets 3 points, and the original gets 2. Plus there was a draw. In retrospect, that seems fortuitous that I evaluated the movies this way. So there you have it. Undeniable evidence that it was a good idea to remake this movie.
Sunday, October 07, 2007
The Haircut
I have been thinking about getting my hair cut short again for a few months for several reasons. First, all I was doing with it was putting it into a ponytail because I wanted it off my neck and I was in too much of a hurry to try to blow dry it for an hour. Second, I wanted something that looked professional. Which leads me to the most important reason, because I wanted people to think I was closer to my age than 19.
I had to go looking for a new hairstylist because I hadn't really had one for awhile. But I didn't know how to get a really good hairstylist. I did some research as to what you are supposed to look for in a salon. I didn't agree with some of the advice, like making sure they have their razor around, but I did agree with the advice that they should have more booth space than product space. Then I asked some of my friends where they got their haircut (if I liked their cut) and found that they were either outrageously expensive ($100 or more a cut) or I didn't like the place.
One day I had gone to the grocery store, and noticed that there was a hair salon next door. I walked in, talked with the stylist available, and she gave me a tour. Immediately I liked her. She was open, honest, and blunt. She gave me an evaluation of my hair and discussed what I wanted. We had both come to the same conclusion about the style that would be best, an angled bob. So I booked a time and a few days later I came back.
She had me bring with me some pictures of my past haircuts and of hairstyles I had seen elsewhere that I did and did not like. We sat and talked about all the pictures so that she could get an idea of what I really wanted and the problems I had with past hairstyles. Based on what I had said, she decided that my bob also needed to be layered top and bottom so that it would lay flat with all the hair I have.
So she started cutting and kept on cutting, layering, thinning and perfecting until it was perfect. When she finished, not only was there a ton of hair on the floor, but the cutest haircut I have ever had. Then she taught me how to style it, because I am not the most adapt at doing my own hair. She suggested some products that will help to keep the frizz down, give volume, etc. But not once did she try to sell me product from their store.
I don't think I have ever had a haircut where I liked everything about it. Usually it doesn't lay right when I try to do it the next day or it wasn't exactly what I had pictured it would be. This haircut is totally different. In fact, I liked it more the second day when I styled it because I didn't try to tease it to give it more volume at the roots. It only takes me about 20 minutes to style as well, even with all the humidity we have been having this week. Now I finally understand why women like going to get their haircut.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Fun new things
These are two funny things I have bought in the last week. The cat socks have googly eyes, which make them even funnier. They were even sold as googly eyed cat socks.
The duck is dressed as a cat, if you can't tell from the flash. She has whiskers, a collar, a tail, and even has a cat nose painted on the bill. I saw it in a store and had to add it to my collection.
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