ArcLengthCafe

Crazy Awesome Huge Booklist Update - 2011 Over!...

2012-01-02T13:56:00.003-05:00

--2011--

January 3 - 'The Scarlet Pimpernel' (BOT)
- Baroness Emmuska Orczy - (c) 1905
January 10 - 'Outward'
- Paul Kuliniewicz - (c) 2010
January 21 - 'The Man That Currupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories' (BOT)
- Mark Twain - (c) 1900
January 28 - 'The Swoop! or How Clarence Saved England' (BOT)
- P.G. Wodehouse - (c) 1909

February 8 - 'The Scarlet Letter' (BOT)
- Nathaniel Hawthorne - (c) 1850
February 11 - 'Just So Stories' (BOT) (Re-read)
- Rudyard Kipling - (c) 1902
February 14 - 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' (BOT)
- F. Scott Fitzgerald - (c) 1921
February 26 - 'Heart of Darkness' (BOT)
- Joseph Conrad - (c) 1902

March 7 - 'Love Among the Chickens' (BOT)
- P.G. Wodehouse - (c) 1906
March 10 - 'The Land That Time Forgot' (BOT)
- Edgar Rice Burroughs - (c) 1918
March 18 - 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' (BOT)
- Lewis Carroll - (c) 1865
March 29 - 'Through the Looking-Glass' (BOT)
- Lewis Carroll - (c) 1871

April 2 - 'The Fourth Bear'
- Jasper Fforde - (c) 2006
April 29 - 'One Hundred Years of Solitude'
- Gabriel Garcia Marquez - (c) 1967
(Translated by Gregory Rabassa)

May 21 - 'The Time Machine' (BOT)
- H.G. Wells - (c) 1895
May 21 - 'Gulliver's Travels' (BOT)
- Jonathan Swift - (c) 1726
May 25 - 'Unseen Academicals'
- Terry Pratchett - (c) 2009

June 1 - 'Jewish Children' (BOT)
- Sholem Aleichem - (c) 1921
(Translated by Hannah Berman)
June 8 - 'Homer's Odyssey'
- Gwen Cooper - (c) 2009
June 11 - 'Nation'
- Terry Pratchett - (c) 2008
June 12 - 'The Other Queen'
- Philippa Gregory - (c) 2008

July 1 - 'The Cruelest Miles'
- Gay and Laney Salisbury - (c) 2003
July 13 - 'Ordinary Thunderstorms'
- William Boyd - (c) 2010
July 20 - 'Beggars Banquet'
- Ian Rankin - (c) 2002
July 25 - 'A House-Boat on the Styx' (BOT)
- John Kendrick Bangs - (c) 1895
July 25 - 'Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde' (BOT)
- Robert Louis Stevenson - (c) 1886

August 12 - 'The Color of Magic'
- Terry Pratchett - (c) 1983

October 27 - 'Bossypants' (BOT)
- Tina Fey - (c) 2011

December 14 - 'The Help'
- Kathryn Stockett - (c) 2009
December 19 - 'Water for Elephants'
- Sara Gruen - (c) 2006
December 26 - 'Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns)'
- Mindy Kaling - (c) 2011

Currently reading: 'Courage to Heal' - Bass and Davis, 'Glidepath' - Arthur C. Clark, 'The Light Fantastic' - Terry Pratchett, and 'Cool, Calm, and Contentious' - Merrill Markoe

Time to start the third year of CAH Booklist!

Silver bells...

2011-11-25T22:39:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving is over and we're ready for Christmas...

Photo "Thursday"?:The Big Move...

2011-08-07T19:51:00.002-04:00

As I'm sure all, or at least most of you no doubt know, I recently made the longest move of my life (so far.) The following is a chronicle of that move.
The picture below is a stand-in for the picture that I did not take of the Indiana/Ohio border on I-70. Hopefully the artist's (my) rendering will do justice to the excitement that the promise of *Discovery* incites in a person upon reading the welcome sign.

Approaching lovely Columbus...

Getting into rolling, mountainous regions...

Crossing into West Virginia and approaching the Wheeling Tunnel... Yay!

And very quickly into Pennsylvania...

And growing more mountainous all the time...

And finally crossing the Maryland border. (That tiny sign says "Maryland Welcomes You - Enjoy Your Visit!" Followed by a long series of signs to tell you all the rules you need to know to legally drive in the "Free State".)

There was some exceptionally lovely scenery crossing over the Appalachians, but unfortunately I missed most of the Maryland portion of it due to the fact that the sun went down. But next time, next time I'll get the stunning pictures that I'm sure are waiting there to be taken. For instance it was too dark to see Polish and Negro Mountains. They do know how to name things in Maryland.

Photo Thursday: Lots of hard work...

2011-07-21T00:53:00.012-04:00

Here are some pictures of my new room and the paint job Paul and I slaved over.

First, the befores: (Though my camera totally didn't do justice to the eye popping quality of the old purple paint. Looks downright pleasant in these pictures, if you like lavendar...)

During: (I believe this was second coat time.)

And after: (Glidden's "Tropical Surf" on the ceiling and "Natural Wicker" on the walls.)

This was my inspiration for the paint colors: (Aren't those Chinese laterns amazing?)

But we decided to go with a much lighter shade for the walls since there is less window and trim in Paul's spare room than in the magazine picture. I think it turned out great. And it was actually the first time I got to pick out paint colors for a room.

Photo Thursday: Helpful!

2011-07-14T07:54:00.000-04:00

Jif, helping with the sorting:

Jif, helping with the things to store:

Jif, helping with the packing:

Jif, helping with the...sitting in boxes:

Jif, helping:

In that third picture the box was on my lap when Jif decided he needed to lay down in it. Pretty sure it could only have been made better for him if I was sitting in a dry bathtub, eating some yogurt, with the box on my lap, and him in the box.

Photo "Thursday": Ghosts

2011-07-04T23:05:00.001-04:00

Happy Independence Day, 2011!

Crazy Awesome Huge Booklist Update - 2011 is Half Over...

2011-07-01T13:57:00.000-04:00

Photo "Thursday": Inner Harbor

2011-06-28T21:41:00.005-04:00

The U.S.S Constellation docked at Baltimore, MD. If you look closely you'll see a crew member greasing the masticles. I won't rehash the Wikipedia article about the ship, but it is extremely interesting, and you should read it too.
Sidenote: Man I love sailing vessels.

Oh Michael Bolton...

2011-06-04T15:49:00.002-04:00

Now back to the good part!

Photo "Thursday": Rhythmic

2011-04-24T17:05:00.002-04:00

Assateague Island National Seashore
August 2010

Why the UMBC people look like total dickbags...

2011-04-22T02:02:00.004-04:00

I've had my share of rejections, but UMBC had to make theirs personal:

"Your application to the UMBC Graduate School has been carefully reviewed by the faculty of the department to which you applied. I regret to inform you that the department has recommended that you not be admitted for the forthcoming year.
Unfortunately, the number of places available for entering graduate students is limited. We are able to admit only those applicants who demonstrate strong academic skills and whose interest closely match the strengths of the graduate program to which they applied...."

Ouch. At least when U of L rejected me they were nice about it!

Maybe I'm glad you didn't accept me, UMBC, how about that? Now I'm gonna go over there and sit with people who like me. The ones who do think my academic skills are strong. *hrumph*

Crazy Awesome Huge Booklist Update - First Quarter Ed.

2011-03-30T22:34:00.005-04:00

Photo "Thursday": Man-I-Haven't-Posted-Anything-Here-Since-January Edition

2011-03-27T22:50:00.003-04:00

Columbian Park Zoo, August 2010

Mr Arch, I presume...

2011-01-05T10:41:00.003-05:00

Recently Paul brought me to visit the St Louis (Gateway) Arch. It was pretty sweet. I'm a fan of architecture so that was a cool one, though I am forced to say that every single recorded tour video clip they had in the place was unbearably, hilariously overdramatic and their "Museum of Westward Expansion" sucked some giant ass. No offense intended. Nothing was labeled! They had what appeared to possibly be a giant ship's wheel but who could tell because there was no label! Also they had weird creepy animatronic historical figures who would jerkily recite some bit of authentic communication. Really creepy. I think they were so impressed with their round design, their spooky robots, and their stuffed horse and cow, that they forgot what a museum is actually supposed to be like.
Got to see a picture of, and a short video on, Mr Louis Arch himself (that was of course, before he was sainted) on our way to the top. If you've never been, you ride up to the top of the Arch in weird little round tram cars, with a tiny four foot door, and five little stools inside. Everything is whitewashed, and I could not help but feel that I had stepped into a late 19th-early 20th century industrial sci-fi. Very surreal.
The view was pretty awesome at the top of the Arch, 630 feet (and we made sure to stand at the highest point for a minute.) This may sound silly, but I had never thought to wonder what the Arch is actually made of. Well it's stainless steel, and all the panels in the light are actually quite pretty. I can also now say that I've spent some time in Missouri, so I can check that state off the list. Good year so far.

Crazy Awesome Huge Booklist Update - End/Beginning of the Year Ed.

2011-01-05T00:15:00.005-05:00

--2010--

Jan 15 - 'The Big Over Easy' - Jasper Fforde
Jan 25 - 'The Man From Beyond' - Gabriel Brownstein
Jan 27 - 'The First Men in the Moon' - H.G. Wells

Feb 4 - 'American on Purpose' - Craig Ferguson (BOT)
Feb 5 - 'Holidays on Ice' - David Sedaris (BOT)
Feb 12 - 'Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not' - Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris (BOT)
Feb 16 - 'The Book of Fate' - Brad Meltzer

Mar 1 - 'Naked' - David Sedaris (BOT)
Mar 8 - 'Gilgamesh' - Joan London
Mar 27 - 'The Liar' - Stephen Fry
Mar 28 - 'The Good Earth' - Pearl S. Buck

Apr 4 - 'Thursday Next: First Among Sequels' - Jasper Fforde
Apr 5 - 'The Borrowers' - Mary Norton
Apr 9 - 'The Borrowers Afield' - Mary Norton
Apr 17 - 'The Borrowers Aloft' - Mary Norton

May 7 - 'The Borrowers Avenged' - Mary Norton
May 22 - 'When Nietzsche Wept' - Irvin D. Yalom

Jun 3 - 'Good Omens' - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Jun 5 - 'Savages and Beasts: The Birth of the Modern Zoo' - Nigel Rothfels
Jun 8 - 'The White Queen' - Philippa Gregory
Jun 11 - 'The Law of Nines' - Terry Goodkind
Jun 20 - 'The Constant Princess' - Philippa Gregory
Jun 24 - 'The Other Boleyn Girl' - Philippa Gregory
Jun 26 - 'The Mistmantle Chronicles: Urchin and the Heartstone' - M. I. McAllister

July 2 - 'The Boleyn Inheritance' - Philippa Gregory
July 3 - 'Rain' - Kirsty Gunn
July 15 - 'Inside Animal Hoarding' -Arnold Arluke and Celeste Killeen
July 18 - 'Stealing Buddha's Dinner' - Bich Minh Nguyen
July 22 - 'The Virgin's Lover' - Philippa Gregory
July 25 - 'Going Postal' - Terry Pratchett

September 8 - 'Night Watch' - Terry Pratchett
September 12 - 'Another Gulmohar Tree' - Aamer Hussein
September 16 - 'I Know I Am, But What Are You?" - Samantha Bee (BOT)
September 20 - 'Coventry' - Helen Humphreys
September 21 - 'Sh*t My Dad Says' - Justin Halpern (BOT)
September 22 - 'I'll Mature When I'm Dead' - Dave Barry (BOT)
September 26 - "The Kite Runner" - Khaled Hosseini

December 2 - "Thud!" - Terry Pratchett
December 18 - "Making Money" - Terry Pratchett
December 27 - "From the Earth to the Moon" - Jules Verne (BOT)

--2011--

January 3 - "The Scarlet Pimpernel" - Baroness Emmuska Orczy (BOT)

Currently reading: 'The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, and Other Stories' (BOT) - Mark Twain, "The Fourth Bear" - Jasper Fforde, and "Strata" - Terry Pratchett

Situation Shorts...

2010-10-26T10:04:00.004-04:00

Paul and I were recently having a discussion about the Emergency Bra and the merits of buying undergarments for their capacity to double as viable filtration devices, should your immediate atmosphere become polluted with an overabundance of dangerous fumes or particulate material. I'm not a sexist though, like Dr. Bodnar, so I say, why should only women be marketed to for this class of potentially lifesaving unmentionables? Those of the male persuasion have just as much right to clamp smallclothes over their facial orifices in the incident of a disaster; am I right? That being the case, factories have already ground into action on my new line of Urgency Underwear, which will include such stylish options as the:
-Trauma Thong
-Bad News Brief
-God Save Us G-String
-Accident Athletic Supporter
-Big Trouble Boxers
-Sink or Swim Speedo
-Disaster Drawers
-Contingency Codpiece
-Predicament Panties
-Dire Straight Skivvies
and (best in focus group)
-Let The Looting Begin Long Johns

Available wherever fine dining wear is sold.

Crazy Awesome Huge Book List Update...

2010-09-23T16:56:00.001-04:00

--2010--

Jan 15 - 'The Big Over Easy' - Jasper Fforde
Jan 25 - 'The Man From Beyond' - Gabriel Brownstein
Jan 27 - 'The First Men in the Moon' - H.G. Wells

Feb 4 - 'American on Purpose' - Craig Ferguson (BOT)
Feb 5 - 'Holidays on Ice' - David Sedaris (BOT)
Feb 12 - 'Wigfield: The Can-Do Town That Just May Not' - Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris (BOT)
Feb 16 - 'The Book of Fate' - Brad Meltzer

Mar 1 - 'Naked' - David Sedaris (BOT)
Mar 8 - 'Gilgamesh' - Joan London
Mar 27 - 'The Liar' - Stephen Fry
Mar 28 - 'The Good Earth' - Pearl S. Buck

Apr 4 - 'Thursday Next: First Among Sequels' - Jasper Fforde
Apr 5 - 'The Borrowers' - Mary Norton
Apr 9 - 'The Borrowers Afield' - Mary Norton
Apr 17 - 'The Borrowers Aloft' - Mary Norton

May 7 - 'The Borrowers Avenged' - Mary Norton
May 22 - 'When Nietzsche Wept' - Irvin D. Yalom

Jun 3 - 'Good Omens' - Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
Jun 5 - 'Savages and Beasts: The Birth of the Modern Zoo' - Nigel Rothfels
Jun 8 - 'The White Queen' - Philippa Gregory
Jun 11 - 'The Law of Nines' - Terry Goodkind
Jun 20 - 'The Constant Princess' - Philippa Gregory
Jun 24 - 'The Other Boleyn Girl' - Philippa Gregory
Jun 26 - 'The Mistmantle Chronicles: Urchin and the Heartstone' - M. I. McAllister

July 2 - 'The Boleyn Inheritance' - Philippa Gregory
July 3 - 'Rain' - Kirsty Gunn
July 15 - 'Inside Animal Hoarding' -Arnold Arluke and Celeste Killeen
July 18 - 'Stealing Buddha's Dinner' - Bich Minh Nguyen
July 22 - 'The Virgin's Lover' - Philippa Gregory
July 25 - 'Going Postal' - Terry Pratchett

September 8 - 'Night Watch' - Terry Pratchett
September 12 - 'Another Gulmohar Tree' - Aamer Hussein
September 16 - 'I Know I Am, But What Are You?" - Samantha Bee (BOT)
September 20 - 'Coventry' - Helen Humphreys
September 21 - 'Sh*t My Dad Says' - Justin Halpern (BOT)
September 22 - 'I'll Mature When I'm Dead' - Dave Barry (BOT)

Currently reading: 'The Kite Runner' - Khaled Hosseini

Things I Wanted To Do This Summer...

2010-08-21T21:12:00.004-04:00

1) Sleep - check
2) Work - check
3) Write (KA, Aiden, Sci-Fi shorts, begin new serial?) - *sigh* I think I've written less this summer than perhaps ever before. Or at least since I was like 13.
4) Get back up to speed with Spanish - Resounding non-check. Really laid down on this one. Could really regret that. Definitely going to look really stupid in class come Monday.
5) Prep for GREs - Sort of check. And hey, I applied and got a 50% fee reduction for when I do take them. So yay.
6) Decide where my life should go from here - Nope.
7) Read (6+ books) - Double check. Read 14 books and am close to finishing 2 more.
8) Practice guitar - Not so much.
9) Play with cats/teach Jif to walk on a leash - check. Not to the point where Jif is heeling or anything, but he's well on the way.
10) Horticult - check. I nurtured many more plants than I killed. And my Japanese Maple seedling is like 6 inches tall now and seems to be doing well. So huzzah.

Old Man Man man cave...

2010-07-29T08:17:00.004-04:00

So the other day I went to reset a password to an online account and I found out that what previously qualified as a very strong password is now only moderately strong. Allow me to wax nostalgic. When I set up my first Yahoo account back in the day, they required a four character password. Four. Ah the innocence of those times. So cute.
There's a car commercial (I think Ford) that's all like "We were making hybrids back when Facebook was run out of a dorm room." And I'm thinking, really? That wasn't that long ago... In real time that is. In internet time it's practically forever.
The internet has changed my life in many good ways. Honestly I don't know how people managed to do research before the dawning of the computer age (Answer: long and arduously), but it does have its down sides. I haven't written a real letter to anyone for like...a year. I love mail. I have always loved mail. I love stationary, and pens, and stamps, and writing boxes, and getting stuff that I wasn't really expecting. I've never had seals and sealing wax, but I want them. In short, I just love mail, and it makes me sad to see it going out of style.

Codified...

2010-07-28T00:34:00.003-04:00

I don't know about you guys, but here I am wondering where the summer went. Maybe it's not quite over yet, but still. Isn't it shocking how time flies when you're having fun? *Sarcasm*
Still, it hasn't been a bad summer by any stretch. Perhaps a bit on the short side, but really, how much can I ask for? A lot more? Undoubtedly, but I digress. Looking forward to some aspects of this fall though, so that's good.

Confidential to cryptologists: Yup, it's there. Can you see it?

Tradition...

2010-07-16T12:01:00.002-04:00

This coming school year I will not be getting the work study that I have received since I started at Purdue. Which means that this coming year I will not be working the job that I got two weeks after I moved to Purdue. That's strange to me. Very strange. I would be leaving in a year anyway, but I rather expected to continue working here up til then.
I may try to take a more different part time job. Or I may take the loans they've offered me and say screw it for a few months. I probably won't do that.
In other news, I'm really, really not looking forward to hacking my way through the rest of my Spanish. *Sigh*

Doesn't look comfortable...

2010-07-12T22:07:00.003-04:00

But apparently it is.

Water damage...

2010-07-08T08:20:00.009-04:00

A) Walking home from work the other day I was caught in a deluge which completely soaked my backpack and everything in it through, including my journal. Everything survived, but some pages look a little different.

B) I painted this coral snake for my brother. I think it turned out pretty darn good.

C) I saw the new Sherlock Holmes movie that came out last year. Now, let it be known that I have a pretty strong attachment to Holmes (One time I dreamed that I knew him and I'm pretty sure I was in love with him. Fun fact), and I am a pretty big stickler for keeping with the canon Sir Arthur. This new movie does not. That having been said, I did enjoy it. And quite a lot.
Recently I have seen Robert Downey, Jr in three things: Iron Man (1&2), The Soloist, and Sherlock Holmes, and I have a new respect for his acting abilities. Very diverse roles. He did a fantastic Holmes. Maybe not a canon Holmes, but a fantastic one. Lovely nuance.
This movie also gave quite a lot more dimension to the character of Watson (played rather nicely by Jude Law) who, let's be honest, rather got the short end of the characterization stick in the originals. The movie was more humanizing to both characters, and I can appreciate that. Great music too.

D) Current buzzword that should not be allowed on TV: "Bohemian chic".

Overdue...

2010-06-29T09:04:00.001-04:00

So um, yeah, just now finally got around to updating this template sooo, if there are any problems with viewing you let me know.

Crazy Awesome Huge Book List Update...

2010-06-26T21:31:00.002-04:00

GREETINGS FROM THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT...

2010-06-24T08:16:00.002-04:00

-or - Sometimes I love spam...

~~~~~

Dear Friend,

GREETINGS FROM THE UK HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT

This might startle you a little as you might have seen or read about me but really don’t know me in person. Well, I am Rt. Hon Margaret Hodge MP. A British politician and Labour Party Member of Parliament for Banking. I was the first Minister for Children appointed in a newly created post with the Department for Education and Skills and presently Minister of State in the Department for culture, Media and Sport under Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom.

I got your contact info via your country’s national directory and intend introducing a project concerning charity in your country and maybe neighboring countries around you.

A few months ago, I was compelled to make an over estimation during a budget and set aside the sum of Sixteen Million Great Britain Pounds (Ј16, 000,000.00GBP) with the sole intention of channeling it all into charity which I am delegating you to executed on my behalf with complete supervision of my Attorney as he will also be the one in charge of securing these funds into your custody.

This transaction will result to you being paid a commission of 11% of the investment capital and the balance, distributed to charity organizations of your choice or reinvested and the net income, used for rehabilitating charity organization in and around your country through you/your agency annually for the period of five years or a little more. The last time I orchestrated this sort of Grant, the individual in Australia succeeded in successfully setting up three standard orphanage homes in less than a year. I have never been so proud of such a noble individual. I hope we would have a re occurrence in your case. If you are willing to execute this Humanitarian Project, You must understand that I desire absolute confidentiality and professionalism on this issue.

For security reasons as regards my reputation, I will not be able to communicate regularly with you; but my Attorney will take up the processing on my behalf and get these funds processed and released to you without any delay.

I don’t plan on benefiting anything from this project, but will be absolutely fulfilled, if and only if you remain sincere to me on the handling of this project with utmost sincerity and confidentiality; and eventually utilize the funds for the purpose which I have explained to you above.

Kindly respond urgently if you are interested as the fund have been tied down for too long, so I can equip you with the necessary details, alongside my Attorney’s contact information, so as to commence the transaction properly; on the other hand, if you are not, please let your intentions be known or better still, Kindly relent from replying this email.

You could get personal info on me via my official website, but do not try contacting me via any personal information you may lay your hands upon on the internet as almost all my contact info are connected to the British House of Parliament data base except the ones I personally sent to you; as I don’t want our effort and my reputation, jeopardized.

Kindly send your response to this E-mail: honmargareth@gmail.com

Sincerely,

THE RT. HON MARGARET HODGE
DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS,
RICHMOND HOUSE, 79 WHITEHALL,
HOUSE OF COMMONS, SW1A 0AA
LONDON, SW1A 2NS
UNITED KINGDOM.

~~~~~

You wanna know how I know it's not really Ms Hodge trying to reach me? She said "attorney" instead of "solicitor". I'm not falling for that again.

Cleanliness is next to godliness...

2010-06-05T19:07:00.003-04:00

Gave both my kitties a bath today, and even though in the end I wound up getting as wet as either of them did, they were still both very good, all things considered. The episode ended with two out of three individuals miserable, but nobody was injured, and the misery was largely due to the indignity of being doused and scrubbed.
Having given Kitty a bath before, I knew what to expect. She hates baths, but she is good about it and doesn't usually actively try to maim whoever happens to be giving one to her. Jif on the other hand, was a bit of a wild card, and I am pleased to say that even though he did hate it (a lot) he never tried to bite me, and even whilst climbing over my shoulder to try and escape the washing (multiple times), managed to not claw me. What a good boy.
That's not to say he's forgiven me yet. Kitty has bounced back surprisingly quickly though and even sat on my lap for a while.
And now I need to go clean a lot of hair out of my drain.

On Horticulting...

2010-06-01T18:38:00.002-04:00

The other day I got my first African Violet. Here's hoping I don't kill it.

On interest...

2010-05-21T21:44:00.002-04:00

Perhaps I look exceedingly approachable and interested.
The other day while doing a shift at another library, I was approached separately by three of the full-time staff who engaged me in conversations about law school, Second Life, a son's search for an apartment to rent, utilities, FERPA certification, and the historical and modern stigmatization of birth mothers in adoption situations.
Fascinating, but why me? I don't know these people beyond their names (well, and now their Second Lives and FERPA certification and son's apartment search.) My theory is that you take someone who is already half willing to talk, show them the barest of interest, occasionally present a "Well you know you can call Duke Electric and they'll give you an average monthly bill for a given address.", and for the most part they are willing to share their life with you. Whether you like it or not.
And I'm not saying I don't like it. I do find it quite strange. But it can also prove a useful tool. But let's not forget strange...

Now on air...

2010-05-02T14:51:00.003-04:00

Last year just when moving out of a dwelling shared with one of my favorite people we realized that with the running commentary that we kept up on the TV we watched, we probably should have started a blog. Well, I no longer watch quite as much television with Jenny, but I decided to go for it anyway, as I tend to keep up a running commentary even when there isn't someone to hear it. So here it is, the debut article of Currently Broadcasting: A Blog of TV Stuff.

Confidential to Jenny: Would you like to become a writer on said blog?

“I saw a product on late night tv. It said, you can water your hard-to-reach plants with this product. Who the fuck would make their plants hard to reach?! I know you need water, but I'm gonna make you hard to reach. I will throw water at you. Hopefully they invent a product before you shrivel and die. And they said, you can have this product for four easy payments of $19.95. I would like to see a product that was available for three easy payments, and one fuckin' complicated payment. We ain't gonna tell you which one it is, but one of these payments is gonna be a bitch: the mailman will get shot to death, the envelope will not seal, and the stamps will be in the wrong denomination...Good luck fucker! The last payment must be made in wompum!”
~ Mitch Hedberg

The end of day(s)...

2010-04-23T09:15:00.004-04:00

Last night I watched Armageddon in preparation for my astronomy exam. For those of you who've not seen it, I don't want to give anything away, but at one point a member of the team of astronaut/drillers on the huge asteroid that is careening towards Earth and will surely destroy all life goes a little crazy and the commander gasps, "Oh no, he's got Space Dementia!"
Also, it was probably worth watching the movie just to see Ben Affleck on his knees screaming "No! I love you!" to a Bruce Willis who earlier in the movie tried to kill him. *shrug* Guess he just likes it rough.

Alternis sermonibus...

2010-04-21T16:00:00.004-04:00

Had a girl come into work the other day and the first thing out of her mouth was "You have to help me," stated blandly, as an order.
"Ok...? What can I do for you?" I asked. Technically it is my job to assist people like her. Thus prompted, and without making eye contact, she continues.
"There's a journal article I need that apparently only you guys have."
"Alright?... ... ...What journal is it?"
"I don't remember the name. I have the author and the volume and page number." Well alrighty then, I guessed I'd do my best. Try to wheedle something else out of her to go on.
"Ok, can you remember anything of the name of the journal or the article?" I inquired, stepping up to the challenge.
"Can't you just look it up with what I gave you?" she demands, aimlessly fiddling with my pen.
"Well, no, not really. A bit more information would be good."
"I think it was "veterinary medical" something...", says she. Well yes, if I were cold reading you, that would have been my first guess as well...
"The Journal of Veterinary Medical Education?", says I.
"No."
"The Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association?"
"No."
"The Journal of Veterinary Medical Sciences?"
"Yes. That's it."
"Good!" How I love success.
"That's what I was going to say but I thought it was wrong."
"Alright, well we do have that journal, and since you know the volume you need, it shouldn't be a problem to find."
"Well that's good because I'm just so sick of all the trouble I have to go through every time I need to find something in a journal!"
Yeah... That sure sucks.

Once there was a way...

2010-04-16T09:09:00.003-04:00

I'm tired of not sleeping. Or maybe I'm just tired.
"But Renee," says you. "You know it's your own damn fault if you don't go to bed when you should and/or don't practice effective time management."
"But shut up," says me, in a really grumpy tone of voice because, I don't know whether or not you got the memo, but I'm tired!

I am looking forward to summer like you wouldn't believe. I'll be working a lot, and it won't be fun work (maintenance, scanning...ugh), but I am still looking forward to summer like you wouldn't believe, even despite that.

In other news: Waiting impatiently for the things I planted to start coming up. Couldn't tell you why I feel the need to rush my seeds more this year as compared to other years, but I do. I want plants!

Things I would like to do this summer...

2010-04-09T12:17:00.001-04:00

1) Sleep
2) Work
3) Write (KA, Aiden, Sci-Fi shorts, begin new serial?)
4) Get back up to speed with Spanish
5) Prep for GREs
6) Decide where my life should go from here
7) Read (6+ books)
8) Practice guitar
9) Play with cats/teach Jif to walk on a leash
10) Horticult

And now for some culture...

2010-04-08T00:00:00.003-04:00

I am having a love affair with this song. It's hilarious. I will tell you before you clickety-click the arrow that it is explicit in a variety of ways and will introduce images into your mind that you will never be able to expunge, so... Don't say I didn't warn you.

Julian Casablancas is kinda cute, and I like his clothes, and I think his voice is great; but if you see him without the glasses and from the side, he kinda looks like Zach Braff. Also, he's 31? What? Talk about well preserved. He looks like a kid for gosh sakes. But anyway, I have been listening to 'Out of the Blue' and '11th Dimension' all week, and I suggest you give them a try.

Spring Break Photo "Thursday" - Pt. 5

2010-04-07T00:00:00.003-04:00

Look everybody! A bog.

Spring Break Photo "Thursday" - Pt. 4

2010-04-06T00:00:00.002-04:00

Another stereo of a USBG orchid. Love the delicate purple.

Spring Break Photo "Thursday" - Pt. 3

2010-04-05T00:00:00.001-04:00

American Indian Museum - Washington, DC

Spring Break Photo "Thursday" - Pt. 2

2010-04-04T00:00:00.002-04:00

Stereographic set of one of the many orchids at the US Botanic Gardens
Aside: I'm getting a lot better at getting that angle of separation just right, and that really pleases me.

Spring Break Photo "Thursday" - Pt. 1

2010-04-03T20:53:00.003-04:00

Atlantic Ocean off Assateague Island

Disconnect...

2010-04-02T08:49:00.003-04:00

Last night on the bus to the observatory two girls were sitting behind me. They got to talking about the upcoming Astronomy exam and how hard the last one was, and one girl admitted that she never goes to the lecture. She then adds that it's all in the book anyway, so she'll just read that and she'll do fine on the test.
Ok, nothing wrong with that I guess, if that's how you roll.
About ten minutes later in a completely unrelated conversation about learning styles, the same girl tells her benchmate that "Yeah, like, I can't learn anything by reading a textbook. That just doesn't work for me at all. I'm an art major so I need to see and hear it..."
Huh...

Greater expectations...

2010-03-24T16:15:00.002-04:00

Merely one item in a long list of firsts this past week, I saw (and touched of course) the ocean!
It was amazing. The ocean! You all know how I feel about water in general; how could I not fall in love with the Atlantic? It was amazing. The entire island was amazing. Or at least that's what I extrapolated from the fair bit of it that I saw. I'll not pretend that we went over every inch of it, but what we did go over was awesome. And I mean that with the "awe inspiring" definition of the word, rather than the skaterboy "totally rad" definition. Though it was also totally rad.
I picked up a couple of shells, and that was totally rad too. Assateague has an open policy about shell collecting, which is nice, so long as you don't sell them or "take more than you need". How many is more than you need? According to their brochure, it's more than can comfortably fit in a gallon sized bucket. That may seem like a lot, but a gallon of shells go nowhere when you're trying to mosaic all your bathroom porcelain in them, let me tell you.

In other news, I may have been the first (pfft), but I sure as heck wasn't the last person to begin singing Welcome To The Jungle upon entering the main atrium (the jungle room) at the US Botanic Gardens. That's right, Paul scoffed at me for singing it on the way in, and on the way out we met a group of three kids doing the exact same thing as they entered. So much for originality. I really need to go there later in the year sometime though, when the outside gardens have a better chance of being in bloom. Still, had a great time there, and got some shots that I'm pretty sure will make darn good stereos...once I get around to making time to tinker with them...

I'll probably post a couple of pictures and more Adventures of Spring Break later. Woo! Spring Break!

Idea: How about a co-quel?...

2010-03-12T09:42:00.003-05:00

Has good ol' Sly Stallone been in anything that they didn't make umpteen sequels/prequels to? Now I'm not saying I don't find The Stallione very attractive, I don't, but you know, you have to end a series somewhere. Though I will admit that I am looking forward to 'Rocky 59 - Scrabble in the Old Folks Home'.

Waitin' for...anything that looks tasty...

2010-03-11T12:19:00.004-05:00

My cat Jiffy is going after the big game these days. Sit down, I'll tell you all about it.
Last night during the twilighty period I was at my computer and Jif was out killing time on the balcony. Turns out time isn't the only thing Jif had a mind to kill...
Suddenly I heard a desperate scrabbling sound and look up just in the nick to see a common gray squirrel hotfooting it through my door with Jif hard on its tail. The two of them tore through my main living area and raced into the kitchen where the squirrel banked hard and high against the cabinets, luge style. He executed a quick about face in the entrance of the bathroom and somehow managed to squeak by Jif and make for the door, cat still only inches behind. Back on the balcony the squirrel dived to either his death or his safety. Turned out to be the latter.
What did Paul Kuliniewicz have to say about the matter?
"I think you were supposed to close the door before the squirrel could run back out... Way to be a team player."
I'll be sure to remember that for the next time Jif chases something half his size into my house.

Crazy Awesome Huge Book List Update...

2010-03-06T14:41:00.003-05:00

It's Friday....

2010-02-26T09:00:00.002-05:00

... Oh thank God, it's Friday.
I have an exam today, but I feel alright about it I guess. And when it's over, it's over, so there's that.
By Sunday I have to have final prep for a presentation on advertising done. On the plus side for that, I think we came up with some really awesome class activities to make our audience use what we're teaching.
Last night I had one of the more disturbing dreams possibly of my entire life. Not the most, but probably in the top 10 at the very least.

Monarchy...

2010-02-20T22:05:00.000-05:00

This Friday we had a fantastic turnout at improv. I believe that the head count topped out somewhere in the 70-75 range. We've had callouts with much worse attendance than that, let alone regular meetings. I credit these new kids we've got coming that keep bringing their friends. Man I love that.
Know what else I love? Sitting out on my balcony when the weather is nice. The weather has not been traditionally "nice" for a very long time, and I miss it. I'm not saying that I don't like snow and ice rain as much as the next guy; I do. I'm just saying that sun and warm breezes also have their merits. And I believe that this year I'm going to plant butterfly attracting flowers. I do love me some butterflies.
On another note, I would not want to be the Queen of England.

"If BASIC is the pair of rounded blunt safety scissors you give a kindergartner, C++ is a chainsaw with no off switch where you've replaced each tooth with a smaller chainsaw."
~ Paul

For balance...

2010-02-07T21:09:00.004-05:00

Wrapped up inside
Pushing, welling, longing
Well, this is familiar
The old fixes only sometimes work
But then, did they ever
You can always get it wrong
Prayer to an unknown deity
Asking for help that may not be there
Maybe some lavender
Maybe some zen
Maybe that's best for now.

Sunny Madison...

2010-02-04T00:29:00.002-05:00

Cap: 2009 Garden Tour with Pap

Something, something, GATOR...

2010-01-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

At least the trains are on time...

2010-01-26T21:39:00.003-05:00

So I've decided to keep a record of all the books I read so that in forty years I can have a list like Art Garfunkel's. He averages more than two books a month and reads everything from 16th century philosophy to just released mystery novels. I appreciate his taste. He's got to be a fascinating man to talk with.
Anyway, so far this year I've read:
Jasper Fforde's 'The Big Over Easy'
Gabriel Brownstein's 'The Man From Beyond'
And I'm halfway through H.G. Wells' 'The First Men in the Moon'.
Generally during the school year I don't read anything that's not a text, but making a point of sticking a book into my backpack means that I'm grabbing a few minutes here and there throughout the day, and that adds up. Now to just get back into the rhythm of writing a couple times a week too...

Fun fact of the day: Sugar, flour, etc plants can be dangerous because all the crystalline dust in the air builds up a ton of static charge and is actually very flammable. Proper ventilation and machine care mitigates some of the risk, but there have been plant explosions because of the dust build up. I had no idea. Cool huh?

Remember when it was summer?...

2010-01-21T21:39:00.001-05:00

Running Start...

2010-01-15T09:41:00.002-05:00

This semester I have one instructor with a touch of a deep southern drawl, one that looks like the Disney conductor, one that is fidgety and restless, and one that waltzed into the room on the first day saying "Hello everyone! Sorry I'm late!" in a pretty dang good English accent. Could be a good year!

"There are no makeup labs in Astronomy."

Unforgettable...

2010-01-14T21:44:00.001-05:00

Cap: Arlington National Cemetery - Arlington, VA

Stranded...

2010-01-07T21:07:00.004-05:00

God it’s cold. Why is it so cold?

Crippling confusion swirls like thick fog in my mind. Like wraiths and demons, choking out logical cognition.

Synapses reconnect, neurons fire, the fog thins slightly.

“Can you hear and understand me?” asks a voice from the void above.

Yes, yes I can hear. I can understand; but how? I try to raise my head, open my eyes, voice my epiphany of consciousness, all to no avail. All that I manage is to crack open what I believe to be my lips and with tremendous effort vibrate my vocal cords in a tremulous and primal groan.

“Very good, Ms. Leyburn. You’re doing fine.”

Leyburn? Who is Ms. Leyburn? Where am I?

“You’ve suffered quite a lot of damage from the cryonic process that was used on you.”

Damage? What the hell is she talking about? Slowly memories begin to filter back in; small, disjointed, episodic visions of a life. My life? I try hard to make my eyes work, but the blackness persists.

“Unfortunately it is not damage that we can repair at this time.”

A brief image of an animal drifts through my mind. It is accompanied by the feeling of sunlight, soft golden-red fur against my face, the smell of leather and hay. A feeling of happiness. Contentment. I try to grasp the sensations but they fade all the faster for it, leaving a feeling of loss so intense that for a moment I forget my confusion.

So much grief. So much pain.

“What we have decided to do with cases such as yours, since we cannot viably re-freeze you without causing further damage, is to place you in suspended animation. You will have some level of consciousness, though for the purpose of preserving as much brain function as possible, we will stall the thawing process where it is at the moment and, as a consequence of that, consciousness of yourself and your surroundings will be limited to approximately what you are experiencing right now.”

Re-freeze me? I was frozen? That explains the cold. Why was I frozen?

“In case you are wondering, it is April eighth, 2541. Welcome back to life, Ms. Leyburn. Rest assured that we here at Burns and Levy CryoniTech Incorporated will do all that we can to ensure that your body and mind get the premier care that you paid for when you signed with us.”

I’m dead. I was dead anyway.

I don’t understand what the voice means by “damage”, but the fog seems to be lifting ever so slowly. There are memories there; I can feel them on the edges, just out of reach. With just a bit more time I’m sure that I’ll be able to see and understand them. They will fall into proper order and I will know who I was. Who I am. I just need to know, to think, to feel. Just need time, a little bit more time. My lips open, I strain to speak.

“Alright Ms. Leyburn, I’m putting you into stasis now. Sweet dreams.”

No.

But for some bread a sandwich...

2010-01-07T20:12:00.002-05:00

Cap: Some kind of Jelly - Newport Aquarium

On time...

2009-12-31T00:01:00.002-05:00

Cap: One of my favorite pictures from the US Botanic Gardens.
Are you interested in seeing more? Cause I've got more.

Retroactive Photo Thursday...

2009-12-29T23:18:00.003-05:00

Cap: Library of Congress - Washington, DC
-or-
Renee would be delighted to make a living just photographing architecture.

Two Tears...

2009-12-29T23:07:00.000-05:00

Emptiness
I can't put my finger on it.
Aching
Just out of mind's reach.
Disturbing
But how can that be?
Pulling
Can't find any peace in here.

The wildness...

2009-12-17T20:13:00.001-05:00

Cap: What Jif was waiting for.

Word, Johannes...

2009-12-12T11:20:00.005-05:00

Remember those ads that Americans for the Arts ran/run? "Feed your kids arts enriched Raisin Brahms!" and "Give your kids nutritious van Goghgurt, packed with culture!" I love them. I support the arts and exposing your kids to them anyway, but seriously, if my local grocery store started carrying a cereal called Raisin Brahms I would be there to buy.

Waitin' for the birds...

2009-12-10T23:41:00.001-05:00

Inclement...

2009-12-09T02:13:00.004-05:00

Tonight we had some bouts of near torrential rain along with driving winds. As the SoF had a show tonight I rushed home from work, scarfed down some dinner, changed clothes and headed out. In my hurry I left my sandwich plate on one of my ottomans. When I got back I noticed something strange; a sizable amount of water on the plate. As there was nothing around that could have produced a clear liquid out of the blue, I looked to the ceiling and sure enough, a couple of small patches looked off-color.
So yeah, my apartment leaked a little. Of note is the fact that my computer was about a foot away from the previously mentioned plate, and my camera about three inches from it. And all the water that dripped from the ceiling landed on the plate as if it were placed there for that purpose. Um, thanks Universe, I owe you one.

A matched set...

2009-12-04T12:29:00.002-05:00

Last night I dreamed about my current apartment for the first time, and it was pretty spot on as a match to reality. Usually when I dream about somewhere familiar I know where I am but it is fundamentally changed in some way.
I was tooling around, straightening up when Ryan dropped by for no particular reason. We talked for a while (about classes and algebra) before I happened to look out my window. There on the balcony was a small briefcase laying on its side. It had just started to spit rain and droplets of water were beading on the brown burgundy leather.
"Dude, there's luggage out there," I said to Ryan, and then popped out to take a look. There was also a full sized briefcase that I couldn't see from the window, as well as a matching portfolio. There was even a tiny leather business card holder. I grabbed a couple of the things and handed them in to Ryan before going back out to pick up the small briefcase that I saw first. Meanwhile Ryan was inspecting the large one and marveling at how nice it was.
We figured that they had been tossed off the balcony above mine, probably due to a state of anger. The last part we figured because there was a torn piece of cardboard attached with masking tape to one of the items with "Good bye!!!" written on it in black marker.
What I'm still surprised at is how much sense it made. There was a matching card case instead of a cracker press or something.

Feels like happy...

2009-12-03T16:17:00.000-05:00

Cap: Louisville Watertower

Happy Thanksgiving...

2009-11-26T00:00:00.002-05:00

Habit...

2009-11-25T01:12:00.002-05:00

Those of you familiar with the improv game Bus Stop might get a kick out of this. I was waiting for the bus this morning and a young man crossed the street to join me in waiting. Most people never meet my eye and we go about our day in mutual denial of the other's existence. I am either too shy or too lethargic relationship-wise to try to do anything about that situation. But, unlike most people, this guy did meet my eye and even nodded hello in response to my smile. He then sat down on the ledge a couple of feet to my right and I immediately had a nearly undeniable urge to annoy him enough to make him leave.

A new take...

2009-11-21T01:06:00.002-05:00

http://xkcd.com/665/
I love you, xkcd.
Sincerly,
Renee

Shadow and Lace...

2009-11-19T20:15:00.003-05:00

Entertainment...

2009-11-16T21:58:00.003-05:00

Yesterday my television stayed on for a good portion of the day while I went about my business. This is what I watched:

-Cartoon Network, 1pm-9pm
--Looney Toons marathon.
--Open Season, an animated movie about woodland creatures.
-SciFi Channel, 9pm-11:35pm
--Interview With a Vampire, a movie in which a nearly unrecognizable Tom Cruise plays a blond vampire.
-History Channel, 11:35pm-wee hours
--Tail end of Cleopatra: Portrait of a Killer
--Jack the Ripper in the US
--World War II in HD

I had some weird and bloody dreams.

Surprise...

2009-11-12T19:07:00.004-05:00

I am now, as of yesterday afternoon, the proud auntie of a beautiful baby girl! And I can mark "help a woman give birth" off my TTDBID list. In all seriousness, it wasn't on the list, but did prove to be an exceptional experience.
Boo Boo doesn't have a for sure first name yet, last I heard, but I'm sure she will soon and should be coming home tomorrow. She's 5 lbs 4.5 oz, 18" long, and perfectly healthy and strong. Pretty freaking adorable as well. A nice trifecta of traits for a baby.

Photo Thursday: Concentric...

2009-11-12T19:00:00.002-05:00

Colorful...

2009-11-03T23:58:00.004-05:00

Lately I've been having dreams that are incredibly long and very complex, with an unprecedented degree of plot development. In one I was a young man staying for a little while with a family who had a house in the middle of the woods. To get to it I had to hike 6 miles out to a cave in a hillside, and then go down into it. Far in the back of the cave the limestone walls gave way to a small concrete room with a rough wooden door set into one side. On the other side of the door a long, narrow staircase led up to the kitchen of the house. How cool is that? A cellar with an escape route into/entrance from a cave. I know!

~ "No! Only girls cry! Men weep!"
Thank you, Cartoon Network. I love you.

Photo Thursday: My bubby...

2009-10-29T22:29:00.001-04:00

Photo Thursday: Crossing lines of focus edition...

2009-10-22T13:40:00.002-04:00

Cap: From Atop...
Madison, IN

Photo Thursday: Shady Avenue Edition...

2009-10-15T23:40:00.004-04:00

The last one went over well...

2009-10-08T14:51:00.004-04:00

...so here's another picture.

Cap: Louisville, KY skyline

Maybe Thursday will be Photo Day for a while?

Autumn has suddenly arrived here in West Lafayette...

2009-10-01T21:40:00.003-04:00

Resemblance...

2009-09-10T22:18:00.002-04:00

Tumbling dark hair
Laugh lines
Calm and reassuring
Warm and real
It hurts to think
that I'll never see you
outside of that dream
My heart aches
as if you were real
Come back to me
Please

As far as we've come...

2009-08-29T23:29:00.003-04:00

I watched a program on the sexual revolution of the late 60's and fairly extensive interviews with Hugh Hefner were featured in one section. Now, I’ve got to say that I don’t have a lot of respect for the man. For one thing I find it really creepy that you only ever see him in pictures where his arm is around a couple of girls that are young enough to be his granddaughters. Oh wait a minute, I mean his great-great-granddaughters. Maybe I wouldn’t have so much of a problem with that if the road were not firmly labeled as one way. It is glorified for a man to score with a hot, young, nubile girl that (if she’s lucky) has just graduated from high school. Can a woman date someone who is 60 years younger than she is? No. 40, 30, 20, even 10? No. If there’s one thing that makes me angry, it’s a double standard.
Ok, back to the subject. Hugh said something that I agree with. He said that he thought that it was funny that what was (and still is) considered obscene was nudity, instead of violence. He considered sexuality to be one of the nicer sides of humanity; so why censor that? To an extent, I agree.
Here’s where I think ol’ Hugh went wrong:
Playboy did open minds in some ways, but it was not glorifying sexuality in general, it was glorifying male sexuality and a standard of female flesh, and even worse so today. It’s not a message that says “Sex is not a bad thing” it says, “Sex with this is not a bad thing. This is beauty, this is what should be valued.” The sexual revolution was about all people being beautiful, all people being able to freely experience the guilt and shame-free ecstasy of love.
In Hefner’s magazine and TV shows, there is nothing about two people being free to love and enjoy one another, it is about the entitlement of men, and the accessibility of women, whether that’s for serving you drinks, or being there whenever you want to have sex. I have a problem with that.
I certainly have a problem with sex only being viewed as useful for procreation, and all positions other than missionary being illegal (oh yes, that was the case). But I also have a problem with the fact that to this day when a man has a lot of sex he’s viewed as a virile stud, and when a woman has a lot of sex she’s a slut and a whore. I have a big problem with that.
I have a problem with the fact that in a professional situation a man has to be driven, committed, and aggressive to get to the top, and that’s a good thing; the traits of a big league player. When a woman does that, she’s a career driven bitch who clearly just needs a good lay to remind her that she’s a woman.
The Women's Liberation movement was absolutely invaluable; socially, politically, and sexually, and I believe that it made a crucial change in US culture. I owe a huge debt to the women who spoke out. The longer I'm alive the more I could be classified as a feminist. In reality all I want is equality; funny that that should still come with a stigmatized label, huh?

Meta...

2009-08-23T22:48:00.004-04:00

Noticed a lot of referrals from here, so I checked it out: http://arnelpinedarocks.com/forum/index.php/topic?f=38&t=843&start=25
I'm glad they (you) liked my review of the Indy Journey concert. Tickled me that it got "re-blogged" if you will. Still revelling in memories of that concert. What a great night. What a great band. What fun we all had in the short time we were together.

Re: David Duchovny
That's just a thing I do.

To be honest Renee is kind of hoping for a re-re-re-blog...

EDIT: Yes!!

Am I missing something?...

2009-08-23T22:07:00.003-04:00

I passed a U-Haul trailer that said "Washington DC" on the side with a picture of the Capitol dome. And below that I'm pretty sure that I saw "Capital of the North". So I'm wondering, was this trailer painted in 1864?

It's not the final destination...

2009-08-21T01:16:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday I spent a day at the state fair that culminated in a concert by Journey! With me was friend and fellow Journey aficionado, Jamie. On our way into the Indiana Fair Grounds we saw a big, light-up road sign that we felt started the day off on the right leg. "Enjoe Tethe Fair".
We strolled through most of the livestock barns, midway, and a couple of the exhibit buildings, with various breaks to eat some fried foods (what state fairs are all about!) and drink claustrophobic root beer. Things we did not eat include: Pork or Chicken On-A-Stick, fried Oreos, fried pizza, fried Pepsi, Fiddle Sticks, Dippin' Dots, Hot Wisconsin Cheese, chocolate covered bacon, Ribbon Fries with or without barbecued pork, sausage, sour cream, cheese, or bacon. Things we did eat include: funnel cake, corn dogs, and honey ice cream (delicious by the way.)
We got to see several classes of Draft Horse Competition and part of a goat show before hitting the grandstand 40 minutes before the concert was set to begin and after laughing at the fact that Jamie's seat was actually right behind a pillar (which I may or may not have predicted when he called dibs on Seat 37 back in March), we noticed that the sign on the pillar actually said "Section 5" and we were supposed to be in 6, so sadly no blocked view for Jamie.
Heart opened and even though I don't count myself among the throngs of hardened Heart fans, it was still enjoyable. Also very, very loud. They need to talk to their soundman though; there was a bit of distortion. But that's none of my business.
Right after Heart left the stage and while most of the audience was cheering for more, someone caught a glimpse of Ross Valory walking between the trailers and started cheering for him instead, so he stopped to give a bow and some funny poses, which really made the audience's day. I'm not saying that Heart doesn't have a good following, I'm sure that they do, but I do find it incredibly amusing that the bassist for Journey alone got louder cheers. To be perfectly honest the calls for a Heart encore had already died down a bit before Valory was spotted, but still.
Heart came back on for a 2 song encore and then there was a brief intermission while the stage set-up was changed.
And incidentally, again no offense to Heart, but Journey knows how to do a stage. We're talking banks of lights, rows of amps, stepped drum riser, Revelation album art floor covering, projectors, and a Fortress o' Keyboards flanked by a grand piano. Journey is not worried about conserving electricity. The downside of all those flashy lights is that they did confuse my camera quite a lot, so I ended up with a slew of very blurry and quite psychedelic photos (a few of which that can be made sense of, plus others from that day, can be found on Phasebook.)
Arnel Pineda (whom Jamie and I have affectionately nicknamed Zippy; 'cause he loves to jump around and dance so much) was great. He does love one move that comes close to a pelvic thrust, but he's got the blood of a showman, that's for sure. I think that he fits in very well with the rest of the band and the style of music. Fantastic voice. But I've covered that before.
Now, anybody who listens can tell from his music that Neal Schon (second biggest music crush!) does some amazing fingerwork to get the ridiculously fast note sequences in some of the songs that Journey does, but to watch that in action on the big screens was fantastic. Neal Schon's hands are magic, that's all I have to say. He's amazing. He's also a lot of fun to watch and obviously loves what he's doing, as do all of them.
Bit disappointed that Castronovo didn't sing lead on anything. On the concert DVD that I have he does the lead vocals for "Mother, Father" on top of playing drums and he's really fantastic. Of course he was fantastic just playing drums for this concert too. You know who else was fantastic? Jon Cain, that's who. He did a couple of short piano solos that were truly, truly great and also played backup guitar on a lot of songs. I had no idea that he played guitar as well. He's got some mad skillz. There were in fact several pleasantly surprising instrumentals in this concert that I'm not sure have been recorded. At least, I haven't heard them on an album. Anyway, they were great.
After a good hour and 45 minute set they left the stage and we all clapped and yelled and stomped our feet until they came back out for an encore. They did a long instrumental number and then "Any Way You Want It" with extended guitar and drum solos. After their encore all five band members lined up at the front edge of the stage to wave and bow and clap back at us before exiting, stage right, single file. Trailing the others by a couple of yards and sporting a funny, bustling sort of walk was of course, Ross Valory. "Oh Ross! He's such a kidder!"
As it was already getting on past 11pm when the concert let out we left pretty quickly, though we did pause to consider the possibility of riding the ferris wheel now that it was dark out, but decided against it and got out of the fairgrounds faster than I thought we would. About 10 or 15 miles out of Indy we passed a nondescript bus and then another one, so I mention to Jamie the fact those those buses look an awful lot like the nondescript tour buses that had been parked behind Journey's stage area. And that the band had in fact left with the quickness. And oh hey, I think that Journey is supposed to play in Illinois or Iowa or something in the next day or two. You don't think...?
Then we passed a third bus. Yeah, that has to be them is what I'm thinking. Quite a coincidence if it isn't. But naturally without substantiated evidence the sighting wouldn't be peer-review worthy. And then we come up on a fourth bus that happens to have a window on our side. A window with a light in it. As we begin to draw up to pass this bus I go ahead and make a generic joke about maybe being able to see Neal Schon inside and then I get a look in the window and who do you think is sitting there? No, not David Duchovny. Arnel Pineda! So I yell something along the lines of: "OH MY GOSH IT IS HIM!" At that moment I remembered my joke from only a second before so I amended (in a slightly more reasonable tone o' voice) "Oh, not Neal Schon, I mean it's Zippy! I saw Zippy!"
By this point we were actually already past the bus so I say to Jamie, "Do you think we should slow down and wave?" and he says, "Kinda, definitely yes." So we did, but only briefly so as not to be a danger to ourselves or others, so I can't say as he saw us, but we tried.
The concert was totally and completely awesome, but knowing for a fact that we were within a meager three yards of Journey, well that was the amazingly creamy, soft, enticing icing on the otherwise delicious cupcake that was the day. The whole thing could totally be a Mastercard commercial.
So thank you Indiana: We did enjoe tethe fair. We enjoed it very much.

As It Seems

2009-08-05T18:25:00.004-04:00

~ Jeffrey Adams crawled out of the crater that he’d been using as a foxhole and peered around at the desolation; surprisingly even more nightmarish in the stark light of day. Not a thing stirred and as he let the ruined shards of his armor fall away from his body they clattered to the stony, decimated earth like gunshots. It was the only sound to be heard and Jeffrey winced.

He started to step away, but paused to look back. In his shocked state Jeffrey found in himself an almost crippling reticence to leave the bits of armor and the burrow that had shielded and protected his life through the long and terrible night. He dragged his gaze away from the ground and scanned the horizon for movement.

Nothing.

Scorched blisters marred the vast expanse of earth everywhere between the few mutilated skeletons of ancient trees that had somehow remained standing. They were gone now. It was all gone now.

“War ruins everything,” Jeffrey thought with surreal clarity. He finally pulled himself together as best he could, and moved off in a westerly direction. He had no reason for choosing to go west. He had no reason not to go west.

Deep within his body a handful of miniscule bots worked hard to control and repair organ and tissue damage, but it was a battle that was being slowly and inevitably lost. His armor had successfully shielded him from the first dozen hits before breaches began to occur. Tiny fissures and cracks grew with every subsequent blast, leaving his vulnerable body bare to the insidious waves of radiation. Particles too small and too fast to at first be noticed by the bots ripped through Jeffrey’s body, leaving paths of torn and shredded cells in their wake. This is what the bots noticed, and by extrapolation came to the conclusion that the body was under attack. They rushed to secure the function of the brain and other critical organs, but even as they did, heavily damaged cells were dying or mutating everywhere.

Mercifully, Jeffrey couldn’t feel any pain yet, and he continued to walk, staggering through the erstwhile battlefield, vacantly looking for other survivors on the way. The bots continually triggered the systems in his body to release enormous amounts of endorphins, attempting to keep his stress levels down. The hormones coursing through his body, added to the traumatic shock and lack of food, water, and sleep combined to leave Jeffrey disconnected and slightly giddy. He stumbled over an arm lying at the edge of a blast site and he inexplicably giggled.

“You’re a horrible person,” he told himself.

“I’m sorry, but I was ‘disarmed’ for a moment!” he responded in his mind. He snorted again and moved on, stepping over the body that corresponded to the arm, some eight feet away. There wasn’t much left of it. Jeffrey suddenly doubled over and began retching violently, his entire abdomen heaving. The bots had finally lost their hold on subduing his stomach and wave after wave of nausea and dizziness washed over him. Thick stomach acid, tinged red with blood, seared his throat as it was forced up from his otherwise empty belly.

After several minutes the nausea subsided just enough for Jeffrey to stand back up. It was integral that he find water, food, and medical help immediately but none of those things entered his delusional mind, so he simply continued to walk. All around him was vast, desolate emptiness and hours later, when he finally could walk no more, Jeffrey collapsed with his back against the still smoldering side of an unearthed boulder. His arms and legs trembled with false chills while his core temperature soared far beyond dangerously high. His hands were clammy and numb and bloody lesions had begun opening up on his skin.

Beyond his consciousness the bots prepared for their last stand. His body was fading fast. No one must capture the secrets of the state. Each bot, mindlessly triggered by the dying processes in Jeffrey’s body, prepared a tiny, but incredibly powerful detonating reaction within themselves. In perfect synchronization the microscopic bombs ignited. For a moment, just the briefest of moments, Jeffrey did feel pain. Inexplicable pain. But that subsided into nothingness soon enough. The bots were gone, taking with them every last thread of hope and leaving a surprisingly large amount of damage in the delicate body they had been charged with.

Jeffrey’s body slumped to the side, a single chilling groan escaping through parted lips as the weight of his dead mass forced the air in his lungs past his larynx. The secrets of the state were safe. There was no one left to try to capture them anyway. ~

Ode to the choice...

2009-06-17T18:22:00.005-04:00

Having reached the place where I have almost completed my psychology and philosophy degrees, I have begun looking to the future, and right now I'm not incredibly happy with what I see as my current options. (Curse my high expectations for life!) So where can I go from here? 'Here' being next May when I am slated for graduation of course.
Well, I could take some time off from school and look for a full time job. Not too hip with that plan. I've always intended on grad school and with the current economy looking for a new job and allowing loans to come due doesn't sound like the smartest choice I could make.
I could push down any misgivings I have and go ahead and apply to psych grad schools, cross my fingers and hope for the best. But hoping for the best isn't really a strategy that I like to rely on that heavily.
And thirdly, I could stay at Purdue and go for yet another undergrad degree! If I did that then I would probably get either just a BS in physics or a BS in applied physics with a specialty in astrophysics. If I were to go with that second option it would open another door because after you get that degree you can apply to Purdue's one year master's program in ApplPhys if you want to.
I think, having looked over the numbers, I could get a physics degree in about 2 years. Maybe a bit less. The applied physics would take longer because of the extra "applied electives" (astronomy in my case.) That would probably take 3 years. Am I willing to do that? More importantly, am I able to do that? I don't know. And there's the problem. I'm a little lost. Well more than a little.
Can anyone sell me a map?

An introduction...

2009-06-13T20:52:00.006-04:00

...to Jiff.

On Tuesday I saw Jiff in the little adoption center that they have at Petsmart when I was picking up parakeet food, and on Thursday I went back and brought him home.
I'll like just about any animal that I meet and will get attached to most of them very quickly given the chance, but there have been a few that I've loved almost immediately and Jiffy is one of them. He's a total sweetheart and a very good boy. He's also absolutely adorable. According to his paperwork he got the name of Jiff because when he was brought into the clinic he had a peanut butter jar stuck on his head.

I've noticed that he is very careful with his claws. He hasn't scratched me yet, even when I've played with him with my hand. He'll bat at it, but keep his claws in. I appreciate that in cats. And people.

Kitty isn't quite happy with him yet, but she's getting there. Once she's used to him I know she'll like having someone to play with again, and he definitely likes to play. The vet thinks that he's about a year old, and he still very much acts like a kitten in a lot ways. He loves to play in between the chair legs underneath the kitchen table. Jiff is a tubkitty; he thinks the (dry) bath is a great place to take a nap.

I'm absolutely sure I made the right choice when I decided to go back for him. I love my Jiffy so much, and I'm pretty sure that he's very happy too.

Hoorah for freeviewing...

2009-05-25T17:42:00.004-04:00

Being a pretty big fan of stereo photographs, I've been thinking for a while about trying to take some myself. Last night I took a few snap shots of things on our coffee table to try and get a feel for what would be the correct angle and distance between the two shots in order to make a stereo. Another trick is to size and level the two shots beside one another just right. To my surprise and delight, after one or two tries I got a couple of good ones!
Today I was looking at some of the pictures I took while on a garden tour with my grandfather, and I came across three pictures of a purple iris that I took, two of which were very similar, with just a tiny bit of angle difference, so I tried aligning them, and voila, three dimensions! I am pretty delighted with the way this turned out.

If you'd like some pointers on freeviewing a stereo or how to take a stereo picture, I suggest reading: http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/stereo_freeview.html (where I got my information for trying this.) I also find it a little easier to freeview when the photo is a bit larger, so clicking on the picture to blow it up might help. If you'd like to see more stereo pictures, I would suggest going to http://www.brianmay.com/ and browsing back through his Soapbox archives to see some of the ones he's posted. They're pretty awesome.

Reviewin' stuff is painless...

2009-05-21T01:15:00.004-04:00

I just recently purchased Journey's newly released album and finally put it on today to give it a good listen while I was straightening up. I was definitely fully prepared to be obnoxiously critical and overtly dissatisfied with the entire project, either because I felt the band was ruined by some strange new sound, or that Arnel Pineda was at best a rough imitator of Steve Perry. So what's the verdict on 'Revelation'?
I love it. I have not been so completely pleased with an album for a very long time. I'm blown away with the songwriting, instrumental work, and not least of all, Mr. Pineda's singing. Yes, you could probably convince someone who didn't know any better that it is Steve Perry singing; his timber and range are extremely similar, but I think that there is enough subtle difference there that he definitely has his own voice. Regardless, he his a very strong vocalist.
Being a person that has not heard any of Schon's guitar work that is younger than a couple of decades, I was pleased no end with the caliber of sound that he brings to this album. Really great, complex solos and backing, not to mention that he is at least a contributor, if not the primary writer on just about all of the new material. I feel like he brought new talent and technique to these songs without completely changing his old playing style. Just excellent all around. Fantastic work as well from Cain, Castronova, and Valory on keyboard, drums, and bass respectively.
In short, this album is pure gold. And that's just the first disk. Also included is a concert DVD and a second CD with the current band playing some of the old Journey classics. If I had to choose favorites I might say that "Never Walk Away", "Wildest Dream", and "Where Did I Lose Your Love" are at the top of the list, but that's a hard call to make.
To sum up: Yes, yes, yes.
This makes me that much more excited to be seeing them in concert in August. And I was already set to rock.
Again, delighted with this album. Way to go Journey.

Saturday

2009-05-20T17:39:00.003-04:00

A gasp in the night
Never claustrophobic before
Pressing darkness
Try to hold it back
Mind against an army of feeling
Thought to distract
Not very good at it
Replay the day
Analyze the moment
Make it stop
Will sleep never come

Things of note...

2009-05-17T14:00:00.002-04:00

As some of you may be aware, I flew to Washington, DC for part of my spring break. A trip that was facilitated mightily by the generosity of my friend Paul. Thanks Paul. How did the bird spikes work out? (On the Monday or Tuesday of my trip there may or may not have been a "fire" in one of the "bunkers" in the "complex" where "Paul" works. It was all very exciting.)
One of the high points for me was giving a lady directions in the subway. She wanted to know how to get to the Red Line, and by gosh, I could tell her. Even though I like fitting in almost as much as the next guy, I still think that I couldn't have looked more like a tourist if I'd worn an Hawaiian shirt and a fanny pack that said "I Heart New York" on it. But maybe I'm wrong.
I went to all kinds of places, learned interesting things, and silently observed several instances of misinformation. It was great. My favorite places, if I had to put them in some sort of order, would probably be: Arlington Cemetery, US Botanic Garden, Smithsonian Natural History Museum, Smithsonian Castle, Smithsonian Air ampersand Space Museum, and the National Mall, to name a few. Favorite monument: Most likely a tie between the Vietnam and WWII memorials.
Near as I can figure, the only problem with DC is the high ratio of 7th and 8th graders that harried teacher chaperones are valiantly and vainly trying to mind bash a sense of significance into. "This is historic, damn it!"
Thanks to Paul I experienced bonafide Maryland crab cake. But they're just plain crab cakes there. I didn't see the President, but I did see the door to the Speaker o' the House's office. I didn't expect to enjoy my tour of the Capitol as much as I did, and the "water feature" outside of the Native American Museum was amazing. I was just wondering to myself the other night why I didn't take pictures of it, and I think perhaps my camera was dead by then. Either that or I forgot I had a camera strapped to my side.
I like the movie 'O Brother, Where Art Thou'.
The semester is over now and I guess that I am satisfied with my grades overall. They were pretty much what I expected I suppose. No big surprises, which is good. Right now I am faced with some huge academic decisions, but I'll save that for another post, as this one is already edging towards the cliffs of Quite Long Enough.
Shiloh and I went to see 'Monsters vs. Aliens' and we thought it was pretty dang good. We laughed and ate nachos. I'm expecting great things out of 'Up'; I can't wait until that comes out. If it's as good as the previews I'll be delighted. If it's not as good as the previews then what the deuce Pixar?

This is new...

2009-05-05T11:18:00.003-04:00

Well this morning I showed up for my PSY 484 final, but as it got close to 10:20 there was no professor, so we waited. And then the TA came along and told us to hang in there and she'd see what was going on. After another ten minutes she came back.
"The good news is," she said. "You don't have to take a 484 final. You're grade will be caculated using your papers, presentation, and other exams."
So yeah, first time that's happened to me.

Music thingies...

2009-03-07T21:37:00.007-05:00

Art Garfunkel's voice has what I'd call, at the risk of sounding far too poetic, a kind of luminosity. A capacity to draw a person in and encompass them completely. Combine that with the fact that even on the high notes he can maintain an impressive vocal strength and you've got a winner.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv0gU197IKk&feature=related

I also have to say that he has what may be some of the kindest looking eyes in the business (I really do believe that he is on my side when times get rough and friends just can't be found.) And that's saying something because I have a gigantic music-crush on Brian May, and he has beautiful eyes. For serious.

In other news, Journey is going to be playing at both the Indiana and Kentucky State Fairs in August. Might have to see if I can be there for one or both of those concerts. I'm sure it wouldn't be quite the same as the Journey I know, aka with Steve Perry, but as I understand it the new kid sounds freakishly similar to him and Neal Schon is still there. I think we all know by now that I tend to favor the guitar players anyway. What can I say? Music is sexy.

"What up, my home slices!?"
~ Rabon

I has a camera...

2009-02-26T00:05:00.010-05:00

Series A: The Opiate of the Masses

Above the influence? Not me! That's right, 25 friggin' random things...

2009-02-09T19:59:00.004-05:00

One of the latest things going around The Phasebook. Figured I'd at least get double duty out of it.

*Sigh*

Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose at least 25 people to be tagged. When you've done that, make me a sandwich. Do what The Facebook orders. Resistance is futile. You will be Face-imilated.

(To do this, go to “notes” under tabs on your profile page, paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the right hand corner of the app) then click publish.)

1. I love water. The look, the sound, the feel, the smell. Lakes and ponds and streams and rivers and pools and fountains and bathtubs and showers and rain. Combine any of those things and the fondness just increases.

2. I can smell that milk is going bad days before the expiration date.

3. I've had a horse *jump* on my foot. Twice.

4. A blue ribbon was always a letdown to me in 4-H.

5. I never got anything better than a blue ribbon in 4-H.

6. I own enough seasons of Stargate SG-1 to classify me as a pretty hardcore fan. I draw the line at fan fiction.

7. I buy things for my little brother's dog. There are few things as rewarding as the look on her face when I tell her that I have something for her.

8. Of the sciences, physics and astronomy are my great loves. Sometimes I miss being in physics so much that it hurts a little. That's when I go "What the deuce am I doing with my life?"

9. I've worked four jobs in my life, and only been interviewed twice.

10. I've rarely met an animal that I didn't like. I've met a fair number of people that I didn't like.

11. I cannot stand the smell of alcohol.

12. I'm not the World's Greatest Speller, but it irks me when people abuse one word multiple times. Makes me think that they believe that they have it right or they just don't care. I've had A Person Who Shall Remain Nameless tell me that I am "versitul" several times in one IM session.

13. I would stab someone to fly in a really fast jet. I'm not sure how or when it's going to happen, but it is going to happen. Flying a jet that is, not stabbing someone. But you know, if need be...

14. Sometimes I am much more competitive than I should be.

15. I have seen three total lunar eclipses and each one was a completely unique experience.

16. I am infinitely more willing to clean a barn than my own room. I'd clean a barn for funzies.

17. When I worked in a learning and memory research lab I got a little attached to one rat. Seventeen was always sweet and curious and maybe I should have tried to smuggle him out...

18. I don't see myself as a woman. I see myself as a person.

19. I have been afraid of the dark (more appropriately, what might be *in* the dark) inside. Not outside. I *love* the darkness outside.

20. Since I was a tiny, tiny child I wanted a horse more than anything. After having had my horse(s) for over 7 years now, to this day I still occasionally go "Oh my gosh. I have a horse!!"

21. When confronted by large, angry people, my immediate response is not to run, but to get angry back and take an offensive strategy. Oh, I get all up in their grillz with The Righteous Indignation.

22. I get so excited about new phones, automatic carwashes, mail, pretty rocks, and holidays.

23. I love fire. Playing with it. Nurturing it. Just watching it. Fire and me, we're pretty cool with each other in general.

24. This year we did not celebrate my birthday until several days after the actual date. I did not feel that I was any older until I had had my presents and cake.

25. I rode an elephant when I was a kid one time and he threw his ball over a fence. Then he had to lean over the fence to get it back.

******

You know what annoys me? The fact that when any woman is involved with horses, for some reason people like to equate that somehow with sexuality. It's ridiculous. If you say that you like dogs or salt water fish or stamp collecting nothing at all is made of it. There is no reason that it should be any different with horses.
For instance, just the other day a friend (and I won't say who) was saying something to the group over dinner about a girlfriend that he had. To quote: "She did a lot of horseback riding. And she liked to "gallop". It could be very painful for me."
My response to this type of thing is usually overdone feigned naivete and continued innocent questioning until the sexually repressed and misguided person finally gives up their ridiculous attempt at a metaphor and is forced to use language that actually applies.
Sometimes the person involved is dense enough to not even get that. In which case I give up the act and tell them coldly that they should try to search around and see if they can't come up with the balls to just admit that their former girlfriend enjoyed rougher sex than they did, and to quit trying to somehow connect that with a totally unrelated hobby. If you're too embarrassed to say it in plain language then maybe you shouldn't be saying it.
Grow a backbone and quit throwing my passion to your Freudian jackals.

*Sigh*

I loves me some water...

2009-02-06T13:39:00.002-05:00

Whilst in Hammond this past weekend for our annual awesomeness show(s), we went up to see Lake Michigan, just for funzies. And boy, was it fun! ...zies...
Being winter and all there was incredible shelf ice off of the shores and it was downright magical. Slick as well. Angel hair found three "ice thrones" and also a Pride (Ice) Rock. After poking around on the beach near Hammond some we traveled back East and through Gary (Murder Capitol of Indiana!!) to visit the Indiana Dunes, which I for one had never seen before. Again, awesome. There were several inches of snow on the ground, and that had drifted along with the sand, so you never really could tell when you took a step if you were going to sink an inch or a couple of feet. Some sand had blown across the surface of the snow, forming waves and patterns.
At the Dunes the shelf ice extended out many, many yards and when you climbed one of the dunes off of the beach you could just see the water as an indigo strip on the horizon. Pretty amazing.
I do so love me some water.

Confusion and amusement...

2009-01-26T22:01:00.003-05:00

So I am at work right now, and oh my gosh I still have two hours to go. I'm training a young man on the intricacies of working nights and closing. I'm working on my laptop Schloozy, and he is using the student assistants' work computer to edit some code. All well and good except for occasionally he mutters something not quite under is breath such as:
"Dang..."
"Gosh dang it..."
"What the fu..."
And most recently:
"Oh my gosh, you are so stupid..."
Not sure if he was talking to himself or the computer on that one. I say things like that to Schloozypoo all the time, but I've also been known to say things like that to myself as well. Regardless it could be uncomfortable for me to continue listening to this. Or it could be highly amusing.

Today I took apart a fish tank pump and observed with my own two eyes exactly how it worked. It was all part of a class that I'm in called How Stuff Works. My friend Stu is teaching it. Can you think of a better class? Maybe Cookies, Puppies, and Yahtzee Night With David Duchovny 101. Anyway, it was a lot of fun. And then I had lunch with Jaime. The End.

PS The Fools are going to Hammond this weekend. Stoked.

Perhaps you'll remember...

2008-12-20T15:55:00.007-05:00

The continuation of a story that began here. It is not a direct transcript of, but is still almost completely taken from a dream that I had.

~ It has been a full two days now since our engines died and according to the mechanics there is nothing to be done for them. Our engineers, some of the best it should be said, have been ordered by the captain to keep at it, but having looked over the damage myself, I am doubtful that there is any hope of resuscitating the behemoths.

Our ship was blown so far off course in the storm that I believe we are quite distant from the usual currents. We do not seem to be drifting anywhere fast, and as of yet not one other sign of life has been spotted. Allow me to correct myself, there has been one sign of life. A fisherman in a dinghy. Apparently his skiff took damage in the storm. He stayed with her until it was obvious that she was going down, at which time he retired to his lifeboat, taking with him only the barest essentials, aka what he could lay his hand to on his way out.

Just barely riding out the storm in the small dinghy (over which fact I am still at a loss, as I would have sworn that nothing short of a miracle would allow a boat like that to stay afloat in a storm of that magnitude) he spotted us as a speck on the horizon around dawn and rowed his way towards us. He finally reached our ship the following morning (aka, this AM), looking near dead from exhaustion and cold. The captain lowered pulleys and brought his entire dinghy on deck, pulling the poor man out with his own hands and wrapping him in warm blankets.

The man is in the sick bay now, under the care of our ship's doctor and nursing staff. I am pleased to be able to help the poor fellow, and sorry for his own troubles of losing his skiff, which is also his mode of livelihood; but having been put in charge of rationing both food and water for all of the passengers and crew of the Lillianna, I must say that I am more than slightly concerned. The individuals who stocked this ship certainly did not have an emergency such as this one in mind when they did it.

We were meant to be landing in Port Calveston in only slightly more than a week, less than a fortnight to be sure. I have been quite stringent in my rationing as I have no idea how long it will be before we are rescued, and as a result I believe that I am at the brunt end of some hard feelings. The crew and lower classes seem to understand the restrictions and accept them without complaint, but it is the higher class citizenry that may prove to be a problem. I refuse to give them special consideration in this matter.

I have no patience for arrogance in a situation like this. I expect the same treatment for every life aboard this ship; we will all suffer together, and we will die together if it comes to that. The one and only consideration that I have made was to urge the galley staff to reserve whatever canned milk that they have for the young children that are with us, regardless of class. As of yet the kitchen crew has been able to do an incredible job, even with my restrictions, and for that I am grateful. Their prowess is certainly helping me to stretch the supplies that we do have on hand.

I am to bed now, and pray God that some good news will greet us with the morning. ~

Sailing...

2008-12-20T15:28:00.003-05:00

Drifting along
Through mist and mirage
Wonder where you're going
A stab of pain
Right through the heart
But don't worry
It passes quickly
Soon you'll forget
Making sure that the next time
Will hurt all the more

Check it...

2008-12-06T00:12:00.002-05:00

The good news is that I've been published on 365 Tomorrows again. The great news is that this one is actually good! Worlds better than the last. So much happier with this one.
Here it is in the archives: http://www.365tomorrows.com/12/06/shades-of-gray/
Hope you like it.

As some of you...

2008-12-05T10:22:00.001-05:00

...no doubt already know, I did not complete NaNoWriMo. According to the marker board on my door, I am awesome (thank you, T. Rex), but apparently that does not extend to the ability write a novel called Property of: Abby in a month. Paul completed his though! Congratulations Paul, you inhuman, novel-writing machine, you.

I have most of my Christmas shopping done for the year. Not sure how that happened, but I'm proud of myself.

Edit: If you'd like to go right to Paul's table of contents for Appendix A, go here: http://www.kuliniewicz.org/blog/appendix-a/