I think that, at this point, most of us have stopped doing the readings for my Theories of Media class. We'll be assigned 60 pages of theory and get to class to find that the work won't be discussed that day at all, or it will come up, but in the form of a dozen or so bullet points.
Not that the readings, or the class, aren't interesting at times. Charles Peirce's taxonomy of signs has got me thinking that I should expand my narratology card game to include semiotics. In fact, why not include all sorts of theory people?
Good god, this pretend Illuminati spinoff is starting to sound like a great idea. I'd play Literati in a heartbeat.
Now to come up with a few good primary control groups...
And some alignments. Good god, I need to get out more.
Today's more or less random lesson included an overview of primitive writing systems, with probably the worst pronunciation of Ojibwa since someone came up with "Chippewa."
I think it went something like "Oh-heeb-way." It was like they were from Mexico or something. In fact, from the way the prof jumped to a discussion of primitive writing in the American Southwest, it wasn't clear to me that he knew where the Ojibwa were from.
(Fun fact: Supposedly one of the meeting places for the local Ojibwa was a huge, very old tree in what is now my parents' frontyard. Though that may have just been something the realtor made up, I suppose.)
Also, our prof mentioned, offhand, that "the Tasmanians were systematically exterminated" by white settlers. Now, having read War of the Worlds and this New Criterion article casting doubt on the Tasmanian "genocide," I'm a bit skeptical that it was Mr. White in the Conservatory with the Rifle. At the very least, one should tread lightly when entering the History Wars.
But these aren't the kind of mistakes you just raise your hand to "correct." Not here, and not me.
I'm not that guy. I'm the guy who goes and blogs about the incident.
And yes, I am a hero.
Dan's Webpage
Because everyone loves a farce
Monday, January 30
9:03 PM
Lies my teacher told me
Sunday, January 29 11:18 PM
My hour with Trivia XLI
Saturday, January 28 2:13 PM
The sounds of the city moving in my brain
Friday, January 27 10:44 PM
You're the...?
Thursday, January 26 11:59 PM
Voices of Academia
Tuesday, January 24 11:50 PM
Something like "No ticket"
12:45 PM
A disturbing amount of excitement
Monday, January 23 11:08 AM
At long last
Sunday, January 22 1:20 AM
Sociology and the Technorati 100
Tuesday, January 17 4:47 PM
And they heard from him again in March
Sunday, January 15 8:04 PM
Adventures in Cooking:
Best Scrambled Eggs with Pepperoni Venison
Saturday, January 14 7:16 PM
My favorite movable feast
Thursday, January 12 10:27 PM
Lost implausible?
6:24 PM
Your tax dollars will soon be my groceries
Wednesday, January 11 9:20 PM
Nature vs. Demeanor, revisited
2:17 AM
Half-decent proposal
Monday, January 9 8:38 PM
Fresh ephemera
Saturday, January 7 12:10 PM
Your chance to be Iowa:
the Bloggie nominations
Wednesday, January 4 1:16 PM
The Dangers of Rationalization
(Prelude Edition)
Tuesday, January 3 3:36 AM
Old Business, New Business
Alles Wird Gut
Lies my teacher told me
Comments (0)
Sunday, January 29 11:18 PM
My hour with Trivia XLI
No luck on the Garudas. They were good though, seemingly just within reach.
I won't be able to get to sleep for a while, now. All apologies to the barber whose house I called a half dozen times. We weren't harassing you, we just wanted to know what Tracey Ullman wrote on a coffee mug.
You could have made us so happy, if you'd just picked up the phone...
I won't be able to get to sleep for a while, now. All apologies to the barber whose house I called a half dozen times. We weren't harassing you, we just wanted to know what Tracey Ullman wrote on a coffee mug.
You could have made us so happy, if you'd just picked up the phone...
Saturday, January 28 2:13 PM
The sounds of the city moving in my brain
So I slept in for a long, long time this morning, apparently under the illusion that you can just make up for a week of early mornings in one go.
I woke at 12:35 to a series of desperate screams. A woman's voice, somewhere — but my building, the building across the alley? I'm terrible at figuring out the direction of sounds.
Hopefully it was just some movie or a minor grease fire or something not horrible. I didn't call the police and I'm not about to go to hell for sleeping in on a Saturday.
I woke at 12:35 to a series of desperate screams. A woman's voice, somewhere — but my building, the building across the alley? I'm terrible at figuring out the direction of sounds.
Hopefully it was just some movie or a minor grease fire or something not horrible. I didn't call the police and I'm not about to go to hell for sleeping in on a Saturday.
Years from now I expect we'll hear about a shocking U. of Chicago psychological experiment in which a woman was fake-attacked in plain view of many apartment buildings, and absolutely no one did anything to help her. But really, what did they expect to find?
Friday, January 27 10:44 PM
You're the...?
The question keeps nagging at me. Why aren't I playing Trivia?
Granted, there are a lot of things I'm not doing tonight — and probably that reflects poorly on me as a person — but my near-total lack of interest in this year's Great Midwest Trivia Contest is the asocial act I keep coming back to.
It's not like I can't find explanations for my behavior. I can think of probably a dozen reasons why I'm not playing this year, I'm sorry to say. And I wear one of my Lawrence Trivia XL t-shirts as I write that.
Still, there's no reason why all these "reasons," all of which I was well aware of weeks ago, should suddenly seem so overwhelming, so much so that I'd rather sit around reading than so much as tune in. In reality there's probably only one reason and the rest are just keeping it company. Unfortunately, the accusing parlor is in a bit of a state right now and I don't feel comfortable pinpointing the real reason without it.
In any case, good luck to the Nerds, still the best team on campus (we're talking intangibles) even without the Politician and the Twins. I expect to make a full recovery from my Trivia-related ennui in time to help with the Super Garuda this Sunday night.
On a more serious note, I wonder if the webcast-only format of this year's contest will put our "world's oldest college-based radio trivia contest" title in jeapordy.
Right now there's some doubt as to whether Williams College or LU started its contest first. I'd favor Lawrence, given the puzzling inability of Williams College to fix the month and day of its first contest — presumably this info is in some campus newspaper archive: now there's a good Garruda idea — but does our record still count if our broadcast isn't on the radio?
It's up for debate, but my take is that yes, it does. We're talking "oldest," not "longest-running."
There are actually some minor problems with our "world's longest-running trivia contest" status (trust the guy who constructed our news and contests archives — though unlike Williams we never missed a year). However, barring the invention of time travel and/or some new documentation from Williams, it's a fair bet we started first and that's not going to change.
Granted, there are a lot of things I'm not doing tonight — and probably that reflects poorly on me as a person — but my near-total lack of interest in this year's Great Midwest Trivia Contest is the asocial act I keep coming back to.
It's not like I can't find explanations for my behavior. I can think of probably a dozen reasons why I'm not playing this year, I'm sorry to say. And I wear one of my Lawrence Trivia XL t-shirts as I write that.
Still, there's no reason why all these "reasons," all of which I was well aware of weeks ago, should suddenly seem so overwhelming, so much so that I'd rather sit around reading than so much as tune in. In reality there's probably only one reason and the rest are just keeping it company. Unfortunately, the accusing parlor is in a bit of a state right now and I don't feel comfortable pinpointing the real reason without it.
In any case, good luck to the Nerds, still the best team on campus (we're talking intangibles) even without the Politician and the Twins. I expect to make a full recovery from my Trivia-related ennui in time to help with the Super Garuda this Sunday night.
On a more serious note, I wonder if the webcast-only format of this year's contest will put our "world's oldest college-based radio trivia contest" title in jeapordy.
Right now there's some doubt as to whether Williams College or LU started its contest first. I'd favor Lawrence, given the puzzling inability of Williams College to fix the month and day of its first contest — presumably this info is in some campus newspaper archive: now there's a good Garruda idea — but does our record still count if our broadcast isn't on the radio?
It's up for debate, but my take is that yes, it does. We're talking "oldest," not "longest-running."
There are actually some minor problems with our "world's longest-running trivia contest" status (trust the guy who constructed our news and contests archives — though unlike Williams we never missed a year). However, barring the invention of time travel and/or some new documentation from Williams, it's a fair bet we started first and that's not going to change.
Thursday, January 26 11:59 PM
Voices of Academia
Apropos of nothing, as far as I can tell:
Prof: "Vanessa — no, you have an Australian accent so let me ask Joel."
In the same session. My presumptive thesis advisor is defending an idea we'd discussed at some length perhaps half an hour earlier:
Prof: "Dan looks like he wants to agree with me. Dan, do you agree?"
Our Bold Hero: "Yes."
Prof: "That wasn't very helpful, Dan."
And in my teaching class, discussing the Great Books Foundation canon:
Student: "So what are the 'great books'? Are they pretty diverse?"
Prof: "Yeah, there's a pretty good variety of writers. T.S. Eliot—"
Student: "White."
Prof: "James Baldwin—"
Student: "White."
Prof: "...James Baldwin isn't white."
Student: "What?"
Prof: "You're thinking of the other James Baldwin."
The comment of mine which I've quoted is probably the stupidest thing I've said in class since... deciding not to be so stupid in class. That was Tuesday though.
"Shows Improvement," as they say.
I used to write down any clever or amusing thing I heard during class, believing that such comments had an important place in my notes. Generally, those comments have not aged well, but it was good exercise. It certainly kept/keeps my mind on what's being discussed better than any of the advanced doodling and fidgeting techniques I've developed.
Incidentally, I think my stick figures have gotten much better since kindergarten.
Prof: "Vanessa — no, you have an Australian accent so let me ask Joel."
In the same session. My presumptive thesis advisor is defending an idea we'd discussed at some length perhaps half an hour earlier:
Prof: "Dan looks like he wants to agree with me. Dan, do you agree?"
Our Bold Hero: "Yes."
Prof: "That wasn't very helpful, Dan."
And in my teaching class, discussing the Great Books Foundation canon:
Student: "So what are the 'great books'? Are they pretty diverse?"
Prof: "Yeah, there's a pretty good variety of writers. T.S. Eliot—"
Student: "White."
Prof: "James Baldwin—"
Student: "White."
Prof: "...James Baldwin isn't white."
Student: "What?"
Prof: "You're thinking of the other James Baldwin."
The comment of mine which I've quoted is probably the stupidest thing I've said in class since... deciding not to be so stupid in class. That was Tuesday though.
"Shows Improvement," as they say.
I used to write down any clever or amusing thing I heard during class, believing that such comments had an important place in my notes. Generally, those comments have not aged well, but it was good exercise. It certainly kept/keeps my mind on what's being discussed better than any of the advanced doodling and fidgeting techniques I've developed.
Incidentally, I think my stick figures have gotten much better since kindergarten.
I still do that. I'm always amazed at how conducive math classes are to hilarious comments, given that math is maybe the most formal subject ever. Still, nothing really matches Goldgar anymore, which I miss.
Tuesday, January 24 11:50 PM
Something like "No ticket"
My goal this term is to make one intelligent, non-obvious comment. This used to be easy for me; it wasn't long ago — in fact it was last term — that I had no difficulty making useful contributions to the discussion.
Did one of the drinks I had during Xmas break kill some crucial brain cell? Curse Famous Dave's and its cheap, pumpkin-flavored beer!
I've come to realize that I was spoiled last term, with three enjoyable small-group classes. If there are too many people in the classroom, as is all too often the case this term, I start spouting all kinds of gibberish.
Because of course I have to speak.
The only classes I can remember being quiet during have all been ones where I felt out of my league. There were countless science classes (I think I was a sophomore in college before I realized that I'd never been that great at science), several intro classes that were outside of my competence area but seemed interesting... and one eye-opening term of Calc II.
Did you know that math people have to do homework every day, and, more often than not, they don't get any points for doing it? It's not a discipline for highly rational procrastinators like Our Bold Hero.
It doesn't help that half the time other students are saying things that are wrong wrong wrong. The old Dan would just call them on it, savoring the opportunity for argument, but the new Dan has read a handout in "Teaching in the Community College" about Students Like Him, and the new Dan, after finally finishing that sociology paper, has only just caught up to the rest of the class in the course readings.
At first there's the moment of frustration and inarticulate objection. Our Bold Hero furrows his brow, flips a few pages back in his notes, tries to remember which of today's readings had that one quote.
On the off chance that he gets this far, he then slowly formulates a question, trying to phrase it in a way that doesn't make him look like a fool or a blowhard (I actually said "As I recahhhhhll..." in class today: swing and a miss) before raising his hand.
The window for my comment has usually passed by this point, but the one good thing about classes this large is that someone else usually has a similar opinion. These are smart people, perfectly capable of dealing with the situation should I prove unfit to fulfill my contrarian duties.
I nod emphatically while someone makes (roughly) my point for me.
So. I need to say something intelligent, before I stop believing. I'd almost prefer my previous education-related malady — failed attempts to make jokes which, if not understood as jokes, cast me in a very negative light (e.g. no matter how late in the term, you can NOT jokingly claim that you're "too drunk") — to this continuing dumbness.
Did one of the drinks I had during Xmas break kill some crucial brain cell? Curse Famous Dave's and its cheap, pumpkin-flavored beer!
I've come to realize that I was spoiled last term, with three enjoyable small-group classes. If there are too many people in the classroom, as is all too often the case this term, I start spouting all kinds of gibberish.
Because of course I have to speak.
The only classes I can remember being quiet during have all been ones where I felt out of my league. There were countless science classes (I think I was a sophomore in college before I realized that I'd never been that great at science), several intro classes that were outside of my competence area but seemed interesting... and one eye-opening term of Calc II.
Did you know that math people have to do homework every day, and, more often than not, they don't get any points for doing it? It's not a discipline for highly rational procrastinators like Our Bold Hero.
It doesn't help that half the time other students are saying things that are wrong wrong wrong. The old Dan would just call them on it, savoring the opportunity for argument, but the new Dan has read a handout in "Teaching in the Community College" about Students Like Him, and the new Dan, after finally finishing that sociology paper, has only just caught up to the rest of the class in the course readings.
At first there's the moment of frustration and inarticulate objection. Our Bold Hero furrows his brow, flips a few pages back in his notes, tries to remember which of today's readings had that one quote.
On the off chance that he gets this far, he then slowly formulates a question, trying to phrase it in a way that doesn't make him look like a fool or a blowhard (I actually said "As I recahhhhhll..." in class today: swing and a miss) before raising his hand.
The window for my comment has usually passed by this point, but the one good thing about classes this large is that someone else usually has a similar opinion. These are smart people, perfectly capable of dealing with the situation should I prove unfit to fulfill my contrarian duties.
I nod emphatically while someone makes (roughly) my point for me.
So. I need to say something intelligent, before I stop believing. I'd almost prefer my previous education-related malady — failed attempts to make jokes which, if not understood as jokes, cast me in a very negative light (e.g. no matter how late in the term, you can NOT jokingly claim that you're "too drunk") — to this continuing dumbness.
12:45 PM
A disturbing amount of excitement
My precept has been assigned "desserts" for the program potluck. Rock.
Now if my electric mixer would just get here, I could seriously throw down.
Now if my electric mixer would just get here, I could seriously throw down.
Monday, January 23 11:08 AM
At long last
The Bloggie finalists are finally up. Of last year's nominees only Dooce has returned, so I'll be reading nine(!) weblogs for my project.
Oh, and go vote. You have until January 31st.
I'm not going to give out recommendations this time, mainly because it's going to take me a while to make up my mind about a few of these categories. "Best web application for weblogs" is facing off Flickr vs. Blogger vs. Delicious vs. Sitemeter, all of which I love.
Remember to poke around a bit in the categories that interest you. I've already found a few websites worth visiting regularly.
Oh, and go vote. You have until January 31st.
I'm not going to give out recommendations this time, mainly because it's going to take me a while to make up my mind about a few of these categories. "Best web application for weblogs" is facing off Flickr vs. Blogger vs. Delicious vs. Sitemeter, all of which I love.
Remember to poke around a bit in the categories that interest you. I've already found a few websites worth visiting regularly.
Man what a dweeb. Since when are you into weblogs so much?
I thought that was me?
p.s. I hate the fucking blogger word puzzle things. i know they're not puzzles, but sometimes they're so damn hard for me to decipher what the damn letters actually are that they might as well be.
Sunday, January 22 1:20 AM
Sociology and the Technorati 100
So I finished my sociology essay. Granted, it took about a month longer than I wanted it to but... well, now I'm done, and with the possible exception of my "blogs can be camp" essay, I'm reasonably proud of my work.
My main essay was an attempt to correlate the geographic distribution of the Technorati 100 (as of November 12, 2005 — the list is surprisingly fluid) with the rankings used in the Metropolitan New Economy Index, some diversity and tolerance indices devised by Florida and Gates (pdf), and basic variables like education and population.
Here are the three main pieces of this project:
Demography of the Technorati 100 essay.
Data collected on Technorati 100 bloggers. I expect there are one or two mistakes in the data here, from outdated articles or posts, but there was little to no guesswork.
Data collected on cities. How many Technorati 100 blogs they have, index ratings, etc. New York is easily the nation's blog capital, Chicago is the most under-represented city.
Speaking of all-consuming projects, I can't wait to plunge back into my research project. Next week is all about wooing a possible advisor.
Granted, it would be nice to know what the other half of my corpus is going to be (I'm studying the "best writing of a weblog" bloggers, more on that later I'm sure), but apparently the Bloggies guy couldn't manage to do 150 screen captures (or is it only 30?) over the course of four days. That's his excuse, anyways.
The finalists list is two days late at this point and I'm left checking the site compusively. I suppose I can always catch up on four days worth of news instead.
My main essay was an attempt to correlate the geographic distribution of the Technorati 100 (as of November 12, 2005 — the list is surprisingly fluid) with the rankings used in the Metropolitan New Economy Index, some diversity and tolerance indices devised by Florida and Gates (pdf), and basic variables like education and population.
Here are the three main pieces of this project:
Demography of the Technorati 100 essay.
Data collected on Technorati 100 bloggers. I expect there are one or two mistakes in the data here, from outdated articles or posts, but there was little to no guesswork.
Data collected on cities. How many Technorati 100 blogs they have, index ratings, etc. New York is easily the nation's blog capital, Chicago is the most under-represented city.
Speaking of all-consuming projects, I can't wait to plunge back into my research project. Next week is all about wooing a possible advisor.
Granted, it would be nice to know what the other half of my corpus is going to be (I'm studying the "best writing of a weblog" bloggers, more on that later I'm sure), but apparently the Bloggies guy couldn't manage to do 150 screen captures (or is it only 30?) over the course of four days. That's his excuse, anyways.
The finalists list is two days late at this point and I'm left checking the site compusively. I suppose I can always catch up on four days worth of news instead.
Nikolai Nolan commented on my site a few days ago, he said:
"My fault, I'm behind schedule with the Bloggies since my new way of tabulating panelist votes needed some fine tuning. I'm doing my best to get the finalists online ASAP."
Not blaming him for anything, he runs it free of corporate sponsorship, and at a personal cost to himself, so it's nice we get such a big awards ceremony anyway.
Thanks for the info, Rhys. That explanation makes a little more sense to me.
Tuesday, January 17 4:47 PM
And they heard from him again in March
Drastic measures have been invoked in order to slowly coerce Our Bold Hero into finishing those few pages remaining in his sociology essay. I've deprived myself of television reruns, Hit & Run, Slate, Overheard in New York, Gawker, my own website...
It's ridiculous that I can't just sit down and write three single-spaced pages. On "camp" no less. Am I so shortsighted that I need a deadline to motivate me?
You should see all the errands and such I've been getting done, just so I have an excuse not to write. This blog post being just another way of avoiding my obligations.
The problem, I think, is that I'm not easily bored. I've discovered a lot of new content — over at the Onion A.V. club blog, for example, there's a good post on the one-sided Simpsons vs. Family Guy antagonism, which popped up again this season as a sight gag in "The Italian Bob," possibly the worst Simpsons episode ever.
It's either that episode or another season 17 clunker, "Marge's Son Poisoning."
Since I can't get stressed about this paper, boredom is basically my only weapon against my own lousy priorities. The nuclear option, depriving myself of all Internet content, looms on the horizon.
In fact, this is probably my last blog post until I'm caught up. I'll check my email and read course materials, but that's it. Goodbye shiny, content-filled world!
It's ridiculous that I can't just sit down and write three single-spaced pages. On "camp" no less. Am I so shortsighted that I need a deadline to motivate me?
You should see all the errands and such I've been getting done, just so I have an excuse not to write. This blog post being just another way of avoiding my obligations.
The problem, I think, is that I'm not easily bored. I've discovered a lot of new content — over at the Onion A.V. club blog, for example, there's a good post on the one-sided Simpsons vs. Family Guy antagonism, which popped up again this season as a sight gag in "The Italian Bob," possibly the worst Simpsons episode ever.
It's either that episode or another season 17 clunker, "Marge's Son Poisoning."
Since I can't get stressed about this paper, boredom is basically my only weapon against my own lousy priorities. The nuclear option, depriving myself of all Internet content, looms on the horizon.
In fact, this is probably my last blog post until I'm caught up. I'll check my email and read course materials, but that's it. Goodbye shiny, content-filled world!
Sunday, January 15 8:04 PM
Adventures in Cooking:
Best Scrambled Eggs with Pepperoni Venison
While at the store today I realized that I've been eating quite stupidly, wildly overestimating the cost of some ingredients (e.g. eggs) and keeping my food budget at the same level it was at before I became a techie and, you know, worked ten hours a week.
It was actually a pretty great moment � I got to walk out of the Co-op with some of the baking luxuries I'd long denied myself: chocolate chips, molasses...
But I didn't buy any vanilla extract. Don't waste your money on vanilla extract when it's actually more economical (and fun) to buy alcohol. 1 teaspoon extract = 1 tablespoon rum, brandy, or any vanilla-flavored liqueur. Best substitution ever.
This has been a public service message.
I lingered by the expensive spices but didn't have the cash or the temerity to pay $5 for allspice or $4 for cloves. Instead I went next door to Walgreens and picked up a few $1 bottles of various basic spices which I now have no idea what to do with.
My first revised-budget dinner adapted a recipe from How to Cook Everything, probably the best "first cookbook" for your money.
I think we can all agree that close-ups of scrambled eggs are not for the faint of heart or full of stomach, so I've removed the photo.
Here's the recipe.
Best Scrambled Eggs
In a medium bowl, beat:
5 large eggs
Mix in:
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
salt (to taste — I used none)
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon (kinda expensive, but since tarragon is such a strong herb one bottle will last you forever)
Remove skins, chop, and add to egg mixture:
2 sticks of pepperoni-flavored venison summer sausage
(This step is of course optional.)
In a medium skillet with the stove set on medium, melt:
3 tablespoons butter
I used 4 tablespoons of butter today and found the eggs a bit too greasy, which is why I've reduced it to 3 tablespoons here. Turn the heat down to low once the butter is nearly melted, so it doesn't get too foamy. With the heat still on the lowest setting, mix in the contents of the bowl.
Keep stirring occasionally every few minutes for about 15-20 minutes, until the eggs are how you like them. Makes 2-3 servings.
It was actually a pretty great moment � I got to walk out of the Co-op with some of the baking luxuries I'd long denied myself: chocolate chips, molasses...
But I didn't buy any vanilla extract. Don't waste your money on vanilla extract when it's actually more economical (and fun) to buy alcohol. 1 teaspoon extract = 1 tablespoon rum, brandy, or any vanilla-flavored liqueur. Best substitution ever.
This has been a public service message.
I lingered by the expensive spices but didn't have the cash or the temerity to pay $5 for allspice or $4 for cloves. Instead I went next door to Walgreens and picked up a few $1 bottles of various basic spices which I now have no idea what to do with.
My first revised-budget dinner adapted a recipe from How to Cook Everything, probably the best "first cookbook" for your money.
I think we can all agree that close-ups of scrambled eggs are not for the faint of heart or full of stomach, so I've removed the photo.
Here's the recipe.
Best Scrambled Eggs
In a medium bowl, beat:
5 large eggs
Mix in:
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper
salt (to taste — I used none)
1/4 teaspoon dried tarragon (kinda expensive, but since tarragon is such a strong herb one bottle will last you forever)
Remove skins, chop, and add to egg mixture:
2 sticks of pepperoni-flavored venison summer sausage
(This step is of course optional.)
In a medium skillet with the stove set on medium, melt:
3 tablespoons butter
I used 4 tablespoons of butter today and found the eggs a bit too greasy, which is why I've reduced it to 3 tablespoons here. Turn the heat down to low once the butter is nearly melted, so it doesn't get too foamy. With the heat still on the lowest setting, mix in the contents of the bowl.
Keep stirring occasionally every few minutes for about 15-20 minutes, until the eggs are how you like them. Makes 2-3 servings.
You make 5 eggs for yourself at a time?
That's pretty bold.
Saturday, January 14 7:16 PM
My favorite movable feast
Not for the first time, I find myself wishing for the power of instantaneous transport. (Easily the best superpower.)
Because this is the weekend of Jubb's b-day party, for which I'd told myself I'd go back up to Lawrence, and a combination of poor decision making, bad luck, and inveterate cheapness has dashed those plans. If I was capable of moping — as opposed to simply being frustrated with myself — I'd probably be moping right about now.
Instead, I've been cleaning and wondering which movie to watch. Although when I think of the two good Jubb parties I've attended — Jubb's Illicit Birthday Extravaganza my junior year and the What's a Jubb party last year — to spend this night "in" seems vaguely blasphemous.
As much as I hate organizing things, maybe I'll make a go at it.
In the meantime, here's wishing a happy (and early, if I remember correctly) birthday to Jubb, without whom my last three years at Lawrence would have been far less exciting. If you haven't tried the Busticator, this is their high holy holiday: raise a glass (or two, or three) in salute.
Because this is the weekend of Jubb's b-day party, for which I'd told myself I'd go back up to Lawrence, and a combination of poor decision making, bad luck, and inveterate cheapness has dashed those plans. If I was capable of moping — as opposed to simply being frustrated with myself — I'd probably be moping right about now.
Instead, I've been cleaning and wondering which movie to watch. Although when I think of the two good Jubb parties I've attended — Jubb's Illicit Birthday Extravaganza my junior year and the What's a Jubb party last year — to spend this night "in" seems vaguely blasphemous.
As much as I hate organizing things, maybe I'll make a go at it.
In the meantime, here's wishing a happy (and early, if I remember correctly) birthday to Jubb, without whom my last three years at Lawrence would have been far less exciting. If you haven't tried the Busticator, this is their high holy holiday: raise a glass (or two, or three) in salute.
Thursday, January 12 10:27 PM
Lost implausible?
If I were trapped on an island I wouldn't destroy a huge tub of ranch dressing.
6:24 PM
Your tax dollars will soon be my groceries
The U.S. Public Health Service just came to my door and gave me $30 for participating in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. I must be on some kind of research volunteer sucker list. They had me answer questions on a laptop while the guy sat quietly and read.
Some memorable questions (to the best of my recollection):
What do you think about adults trying marijuana one or two times? [emphasis theirs]
1. Neither approve or disapprove
2. Slightly disapprove
3. Strongly disapprove
Some people remove the tobacco from a cigar and replace it with marijuana. This is sometimes known as a "blunt." Have you smoked a "blunt" in the last twelve months?
1. Yes
2. No
I answered no to the second question, in case you were wondering. Odd that the federal government would be the one to finally tell me what a blunt is, or attempt to, anyways (my suspicion is that they got it a bit wrong).
And I loved the lack of symmetry in the options for that first question and others like it. Because how could we even think that someone might slightly approve of the idea of an adult trying pot?
Some memorable questions (to the best of my recollection):
What do you think about adults trying marijuana one or two times? [emphasis theirs]
1. Neither approve or disapprove
2. Slightly disapprove
3. Strongly disapprove
Some people remove the tobacco from a cigar and replace it with marijuana. This is sometimes known as a "blunt." Have you smoked a "blunt" in the last twelve months?
1. Yes
2. No
I answered no to the second question, in case you were wondering. Odd that the federal government would be the one to finally tell me what a blunt is, or attempt to, anyways (my suspicion is that they got it a bit wrong).
And I loved the lack of symmetry in the options for that first question and others like it. Because how could we even think that someone might slightly approve of the idea of an adult trying pot?
Here, here on the inability to say "approve" of adults trying pot.
Wednesday, January 11 9:20 PM
Nature vs. Demeanor, revisited
I had a dream last night that I was on a sinking ship in the middle of a small freshwater lake. Pine Mountain Lake, if you know it. The ship never sank, really, it just kept sinking and then inexplicably unsinking right before we were about to drown. Also, I think there was magic involved: I remember seeing someone turned into... it must have been pewter... as I attempted to make it to the top deck. I'd just realized I was safe and so was going back to retrieve my contacts from the fridge when the ship started to sink again, for the third or fourth time.
Sometime around eight o'clock tonight all the little things hit me. The breaking point was realizing that I'd just acted like an ass, or a blowhard, for the last few hours of "Teaching in the Community College."
Though neither of those is quite right. I just spoke too often, said too little, and disagreed with my classmates more than I should've. I fell on my sword once or twice, but in my experience self-effacing comedy seems to make up for very little.
(The professor should be commended for teaching a class on teaching, by the way. His own teaching methods are implicitly — and occasionally explicitly — under scrutiny for three hours every Wednesday.)
I sat next to a student who we'll innocently refer to as Pontifico. I've had a few classes with Pontifico, who not only comments a lot but has the rare talent of sounding completely sure of everything he says. Last term I told the Strategist that when Pontifico was very young, an old gypsy woman stole all of his question marks.
Sometime over break, however, Pontifico collected the five magical items he needed in order to trick the old gypsy woman and steal back his question marks.
Apart from their shared love of high adventure, Our Bold Hero and Pontifico have little in common except a certain cynicism — the kind of thinking which, for example, led us to agree that teaching the subject matter is a more important goal for a professor than encouraging your students' moral growth.
(Prof. Goldgar, could you tell us more about 'tolerance'?)
Unfortunately, our combined cynicism was too much for me, and ye, I grew drunk and thoughtless upon it. Who knows if the other students even picked up on this supposed lapse, but suddenly it seemed more like the snowcap on a mountain of many incredibly insignificant failures.
Misplacing my notebook at work, wearing casual dress to the job fair (maybe the lesson here is to get more than five hours of sleep before you leave the house), suddenly all of this mattered, I'd reached a crisis of failure. This was who I was.
I left class feeling like I needed a shower, or an exorcism.
Or maybe just a new episode of Lost.
Also: whether it was the result of expert stalking or mere coincidence, I should also mention that Pontifico referred to me as "Crazy Dan" at one point tonight, referencing an earlier comment by the teacher.
I've always had mixed feelings about that title, but needless to say I never expected to hear it again from anyone other than Jinx.
Sometime around eight o'clock tonight all the little things hit me. The breaking point was realizing that I'd just acted like an ass, or a blowhard, for the last few hours of "Teaching in the Community College."
Though neither of those is quite right. I just spoke too often, said too little, and disagreed with my classmates more than I should've. I fell on my sword once or twice, but in my experience self-effacing comedy seems to make up for very little.
(The professor should be commended for teaching a class on teaching, by the way. His own teaching methods are implicitly — and occasionally explicitly — under scrutiny for three hours every Wednesday.)
I sat next to a student who we'll innocently refer to as Pontifico. I've had a few classes with Pontifico, who not only comments a lot but has the rare talent of sounding completely sure of everything he says. Last term I told the Strategist that when Pontifico was very young, an old gypsy woman stole all of his question marks.
Sometime over break, however, Pontifico collected the five magical items he needed in order to trick the old gypsy woman and steal back his question marks.
Apart from their shared love of high adventure, Our Bold Hero and Pontifico have little in common except a certain cynicism — the kind of thinking which, for example, led us to agree that teaching the subject matter is a more important goal for a professor than encouraging your students' moral growth.
(Prof. Goldgar, could you tell us more about 'tolerance'?)
Unfortunately, our combined cynicism was too much for me, and ye, I grew drunk and thoughtless upon it. Who knows if the other students even picked up on this supposed lapse, but suddenly it seemed more like the snowcap on a mountain of many incredibly insignificant failures.
Misplacing my notebook at work, wearing casual dress to the job fair (maybe the lesson here is to get more than five hours of sleep before you leave the house), suddenly all of this mattered, I'd reached a crisis of failure. This was who I was.
I left class feeling like I needed a shower, or an exorcism.
Or maybe just a new episode of Lost.
Also: whether it was the result of expert stalking or mere coincidence, I should also mention that Pontifico referred to me as "Crazy Dan" at one point tonight, referencing an earlier comment by the teacher.
I've always had mixed feelings about that title, but needless to say I never expected to hear it again from anyone other than Jinx.
2:17 AM
Half-decent proposal
Just finished a project proposal for "Theories of Media." We're all striving for a certain level of mediocrity so that we don't have to present our ideas at the end of the month, but luckily none of my "this is a medium" ideas were very flashy.
I chose tagging online, folksonomy. I would have liked to do something more blog-related, but I felt that I'd done enough cross-pollinating from my master's thesis last term and it was time to learn something new again.
And then there's the worry that I'd get sidetracked in a discussion relating to my thesis and become dangerously overenthusiastic.
Finally watched Videodrome earlier today. It was laugh-out-loud awful, especially toward the end: it's never been easier to evade the police. Still, it's the kind of movie I'm tempted to reference. Who wouldn't want to say "I am the video word made flesh," given an appropriate situation?
I'm exhausted and I need to get up early tomorrow, but part of me still thinks I should watch Poltergeist tonight.
I chose tagging online, folksonomy. I would have liked to do something more blog-related, but I felt that I'd done enough cross-pollinating from my master's thesis last term and it was time to learn something new again.
And then there's the worry that I'd get sidetracked in a discussion relating to my thesis and become dangerously overenthusiastic.
Finally watched Videodrome earlier today. It was laugh-out-loud awful, especially toward the end: it's never been easier to evade the police. Still, it's the kind of movie I'm tempted to reference. Who wouldn't want to say "I am the video word made flesh," given an appropriate situation?
I'm exhausted and I need to get up early tomorrow, but part of me still thinks I should watch Poltergeist tonight.
Are you watching Poltergeist for a purpose or for pleasure?
For pleasure. I saw the first half of the movie (up to when they introduce the tiny woman) years ago and loved it, but only recently remembered that I'd never gotten around to watching the rest.
Doubtless the Netflix subscription I got for Xmas also plays a role. I've got five more weeks of free rentals and I hope to make the most of them.
Whenever I get back from Japan, Netflix will have a happy customer convinced he missed key movie-going and television experiences.
I thought there might be more to your Videodrome/Poltergeist combination given their preoccupation with television. I only assume Videodrome follows that line of reasoning, since I've never seen it and only have references from stuff I've read on Cronenberg's body/flesh hang-up.
Poltergeist is Tobe Hooper toned down for a mainstream audience, but I've always loved it too, particularly the little things the paranormal investigators see before it all gets kicked up a notch. The spirits get melodramatic after the tiny woman is introduced, but I think it's a good, consistent horror film.
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Monday, January 9 8:38 PM
Fresh ephemera
While talking to the Sophisticate last Friday I laughed at her hypoglycemia — it was just the way she described it, really: a condition that forced her to eat every three hours — essentially using up in a few seconds whatever brownie points I earned all last semester in Writing Biography.
Though she didn't seem offended. Maybe saying inappropriate things at class functions can be my amusing foible.
As far as the weekend goes, somehow I cancelled my plans for two or three different events on the grounds that I'd rather attend one of the others... and ended up doing nothing at all. One of those events was a visit to Lawrence with Jinx and Rock Show Girl.
Amelia II tells me that my name came up re: our long-promised drinking contest, but I wasn't there to show her what a real lightweight can do.
And Ben messaged me Saturday night to tell me that he and Freshman Matt were "watching the worst sci fi movie ever and taking shots every time someone dies."
It was torture.
Life has been fairly ridiculous lately, though not in a way that lends itself naturally to a longer narrative.
"Teaching in the Community College" promises quite a bit of farce — so far much of the class has been people who've never taught guessing at the best ways to handle teaching situations while the professor indulges us.
(Quite a few times both here and at Lawrence, I've been corrected for calling certain teachers "professor" when they lack that official title, but I'm willing to defend this usage now that I'm not copy-editing and have the luxury of being more descriptivist.)
Many of the same Maphiosi are in my other two classes. My favorite class, "Narratives of Suspense" or "and Suspense" or whatever it's called, has a British professor, who of course probably sounds 25% smarter than he actually is. Though I'm still amused by his use of a soft-s in "assuring," because I'm immature.
In "Theories of Media," where we read critical works but apply them mostly to films (tomorrow's feature: Videodrome), I had the strange experience of reading and agreeing with one critic only to come to class and realize said critic (Raymond Williams) had been cast in the role of whipping boy and I was supposed to agree with our hero, the guy I hadn't read yet.
This class also boasts quite a few stilted commentators, students who intentionally frame their in-class responses in an awkwardly formal way in order (I assume) to appear more educated. Usually it works, but not when the girl a few seats from me can drop a word like "proleptically" and sound natural, you edu-posers.
(Minor tech update: I've fixed the garbled archive problem, they should all be readable now.)
Though she didn't seem offended. Maybe saying inappropriate things at class functions can be my amusing foible.
As far as the weekend goes, somehow I cancelled my plans for two or three different events on the grounds that I'd rather attend one of the others... and ended up doing nothing at all. One of those events was a visit to Lawrence with Jinx and Rock Show Girl.
Amelia II tells me that my name came up re: our long-promised drinking contest, but I wasn't there to show her what a real lightweight can do.
And Ben messaged me Saturday night to tell me that he and Freshman Matt were "watching the worst sci fi movie ever and taking shots every time someone dies."
It was torture.
Life has been fairly ridiculous lately, though not in a way that lends itself naturally to a longer narrative.
"Teaching in the Community College" promises quite a bit of farce — so far much of the class has been people who've never taught guessing at the best ways to handle teaching situations while the professor indulges us.
(Quite a few times both here and at Lawrence, I've been corrected for calling certain teachers "professor" when they lack that official title, but I'm willing to defend this usage now that I'm not copy-editing and have the luxury of being more descriptivist.)
Many of the same Maphiosi are in my other two classes. My favorite class, "Narratives of Suspense" or "and Suspense" or whatever it's called, has a British professor, who of course probably sounds 25% smarter than he actually is. Though I'm still amused by his use of a soft-s in "assuring," because I'm immature.
In "Theories of Media," where we read critical works but apply them mostly to films (tomorrow's feature: Videodrome), I had the strange experience of reading and agreeing with one critic only to come to class and realize said critic (Raymond Williams) had been cast in the role of whipping boy and I was supposed to agree with our hero, the guy I hadn't read yet.
This class also boasts quite a few stilted commentators, students who intentionally frame their in-class responses in an awkwardly formal way in order (I assume) to appear more educated. Usually it works, but not when the girl a few seats from me can drop a word like "proleptically" and sound natural, you edu-posers.
(Minor tech update: I've fixed the garbled archive problem, they should all be readable now.)
Learning to teach before actually teaching? I've never found that to be necessary.
Saturday, January 7 12:10 PM
Your chance to be Iowa:
the Bloggie nominations
I have a suspicion that my master's thesis will involve the concept of narrative, which would explain why I've been reading all this stuff about rhetoric and narrative and going to a class on the history of narrative theory. The project will also most likely concern itself with diary-blogs a.k.a. "lifelogs," as opposed to the more news-based "linklogs."
Which begs the question: what will I be applying all this nifty theory to? I don't want to generalize about 90% of the blogosphere. Instead, my preceptor suggested that I find some ready-made collection of diary weblogs to study.
I'm tentatively focusing on the Weblog Award winners in the Best Writing of a Weblog or Lifetime Achievement categories. The Bloggies seem to be the most democratic of the various weblog awards.
And that leads me to the real topic of this post: It's nomination time. From now until Tuesday at 9 p.m., you can nominate up to three favorite sites in each category. The panel that chooses the candidates for the final vote from among those nominees is selected from the pool of people who nominated weblogs.
After slogging through the Technorati 100 for my sociology paper, I feel I have a good idea what's out there. Two of my favorite categories, Best Meme and Best Article or Essay About Weblogs, have been inexplicably removed, but here are my other nominees (and why you should vote for them too):
Best web appplication for weblogs
Blogger.com
Screw Movable Type. Blogger continues to add features, e.g. a WSIWYG editor for the real newbies, comments, backlinks, and the magic of Adsense. And unlike Movable Type, it's very easy to set up: without Blogger, many of my friends might not have weblogs at all. Last year I made the Lawrence Trivia Contest website almost entirely in Blogger.
Best Canadian weblog
Daily Dose of Imagery
I forgot that this photo site was Canadian. I also forgot to vote for it, but check it out, see if you like it, and then try to think of any other Canadian sites you visit. Didn't think so.
Best American weblog
Hit & Run
My favorite weblog, I've nominated Hit & Run in many categories. There's no better place to go for clever, snappy, well-informed political commentary.
Best tagline of a weblog
Dan's Webpage
Tagline: Because everyone loves a farce
That's right, I've nominated myself. I love that tagline. While you're voting for the other categories, I'd love it if you'd nominate me too, because only by getting a lot of nominations can I get on the panelist's ballot. I don't think I have much of a chance, but I think my tagline is far better than last year's winner: "Not your average clenched-cheek sprint to the bathroom." Because, you know, it's not just some mildly amusing, scatological slogan on one of the world's most popular websites... just saying.
Best photography of a weblog
Flickrblog
While I'm blown away by last year's winner, Daily Dose of Imagery, and also impressed by the Toyko street art photos offered by one of last year's runners-up, Satan's Laundromat, there's no denying the awesome power (and larger, more diverse photo pool) of the official Flickrblog. Graham's photos are also good, but they appear on his main page so seldom, I don't really think of his website as a photoblog.
Best food weblog
Simply Recipes
It's not so much that this website is useful at the individual-post level, but by reading it over time you can familiarize yourself with a wide variety of recipes and refer to them later. The economy of the posts is also a plus, as is the sidebar, which lets you look for recipes by type.
I thought about nominating Extratasty, but right now the site only has a lot of potential. Also: folksonomy does not a weblog make.
Best weblog about politics
Hit & Run
Best topical weblog
(not represented by another Bloggie category)
Language Log
Written by a rotating superstar team of linguists, this site is the best authority on anything to do with language and words. The Dan Brown bashing is just the icing.
Best group weblog
Hit & Run
Best community weblog
Overheard in New York
Anyone who's lived in a big city will be amused by these quotes, submitted by New Yorkers and filtered to just the right blend of comedy, ignorance, and sleaze.
Best designed weblog
Pretentious Blowhard
Ample RSS, multiple painstakingly-designed stylesheets, countless sidebar elements? I can't remember what the default is anymore, but I recommend taking a look at the Records style.
Best-kept-secret weblog
The Y-Files
This ugly site boasts great libertarian commentary from Reason regular Cathy Young, with a focus on gender. Doubtless most people dismiss it at a glance.
Weblog of the Year
Hit & Run
So go vote for nominees, and hopefully there'll be some good sites to vote for among the final candidates at the end of the month. Readers are welcome to comment on their nominations here.
Which begs the question: what will I be applying all this nifty theory to? I don't want to generalize about 90% of the blogosphere. Instead, my preceptor suggested that I find some ready-made collection of diary weblogs to study.
I'm tentatively focusing on the Weblog Award winners in the Best Writing of a Weblog or Lifetime Achievement categories. The Bloggies seem to be the most democratic of the various weblog awards.
And that leads me to the real topic of this post: It's nomination time. From now until Tuesday at 9 p.m., you can nominate up to three favorite sites in each category. The panel that chooses the candidates for the final vote from among those nominees is selected from the pool of people who nominated weblogs.
After slogging through the Technorati 100 for my sociology paper, I feel I have a good idea what's out there. Two of my favorite categories, Best Meme and Best Article or Essay About Weblogs, have been inexplicably removed, but here are my other nominees (and why you should vote for them too):
Best web appplication for weblogs
Blogger.com
Screw Movable Type. Blogger continues to add features, e.g. a WSIWYG editor for the real newbies, comments, backlinks, and the magic of Adsense. And unlike Movable Type, it's very easy to set up: without Blogger, many of my friends might not have weblogs at all. Last year I made the Lawrence Trivia Contest website almost entirely in Blogger.
Best Canadian weblog
Daily Dose of Imagery
I forgot that this photo site was Canadian. I also forgot to vote for it, but check it out, see if you like it, and then try to think of any other Canadian sites you visit. Didn't think so.
Best American weblog
Hit & Run
My favorite weblog, I've nominated Hit & Run in many categories. There's no better place to go for clever, snappy, well-informed political commentary.
Best tagline of a weblog
Dan's Webpage
Tagline: Because everyone loves a farce
That's right, I've nominated myself. I love that tagline. While you're voting for the other categories, I'd love it if you'd nominate me too, because only by getting a lot of nominations can I get on the panelist's ballot. I don't think I have much of a chance, but I think my tagline is far better than last year's winner: "Not your average clenched-cheek sprint to the bathroom." Because, you know, it's not just some mildly amusing, scatological slogan on one of the world's most popular websites... just saying.
Best photography of a weblog
Flickrblog
While I'm blown away by last year's winner, Daily Dose of Imagery, and also impressed by the Toyko street art photos offered by one of last year's runners-up, Satan's Laundromat, there's no denying the awesome power (and larger, more diverse photo pool) of the official Flickrblog. Graham's photos are also good, but they appear on his main page so seldom, I don't really think of his website as a photoblog.
Best food weblog
Simply Recipes
It's not so much that this website is useful at the individual-post level, but by reading it over time you can familiarize yourself with a wide variety of recipes and refer to them later. The economy of the posts is also a plus, as is the sidebar, which lets you look for recipes by type.
I thought about nominating Extratasty, but right now the site only has a lot of potential. Also: folksonomy does not a weblog make.
Best weblog about politics
Hit & Run
Best topical weblog
(not represented by another Bloggie category)
Language Log
Written by a rotating superstar team of linguists, this site is the best authority on anything to do with language and words. The Dan Brown bashing is just the icing.
Best group weblog
Hit & Run
Best community weblog
Overheard in New York
Anyone who's lived in a big city will be amused by these quotes, submitted by New Yorkers and filtered to just the right blend of comedy, ignorance, and sleaze.
Best designed weblog
Pretentious Blowhard
Ample RSS, multiple painstakingly-designed stylesheets, countless sidebar elements? I can't remember what the default is anymore, but I recommend taking a look at the Records style.
Best-kept-secret weblog
The Y-Files
This ugly site boasts great libertarian commentary from Reason regular Cathy Young, with a focus on gender. Doubtless most people dismiss it at a glance.
Weblog of the Year
Hit & Run
So go vote for nominees, and hopefully there'll be some good sites to vote for among the final candidates at the end of the month. Readers are welcome to comment on their nominations here.
Holy shit. I was almost going to send you that comic. Just goes to show... I should never send you anything, since you'll find it yourself anyway.
Wednesday, January 4 1:16 PM
The Dangers of Rationalization
(Prelude Edition)
And my week of playing Russian roulette with my schedule continues. I'm not hunting around at this point; instead I'm assuming that I'll enjoy two classes I've yet to attend.
From a graduate school point of view that's fairly reckless, but I have a really good feeling that things are going to work out here. And this way I won't spend the week going to three or four different classes a day when there are better and/or more enjoyable ways to spend my time.
From a graduate school point of view that's fairly reckless, but I have a really good feeling that things are going to work out here. And this way I won't spend the week going to three or four different classes a day when there are better and/or more enjoyable ways to spend my time.
Since I can't comment on you're taste selections, I'll do it here.
Gillespie says this:
"There's no simple accounting for the decline in English and foreign language enrollments. (Indeed, there's no simple accounting for their increase in the period from the end of World War II through the 1960s)."
I don't believe him when he's says there's no accounting for it; the 60s and 70s were times when our society was really at the top of the heap economically and college students were experimenting with majors that wouldn't necessarily lead to a firm financial future. They were willing to try more besides the drugs we associate the period with. And in the 80s and 90s we saw more conservative choices in majors, those going into business and economics and medicine because those were, as far as they collegians were concerned, stable professions in what we can say were economically dismal decades, discluding the later 90s.
I'm regurgitating this from somewhere. I'll see if I can find it.
I buy the experimentation angle but I'm sympathetic to the view that there's no easy accounting for these enrollments.
As far as the economy goes, however, what you're saying may just sound familiar because it's such a commonly-held belief. It's probably somewhat true that the economy influences our choice of majors, but I don't know if history supports it as a major/simple cause. I wouldn't lump the stagflated 70s in with the flush 60s, for one thing.
And are you suggesting that there was a corresponding rise in humanities and foreign language majors in the later '90s? I don't know if there was, but it would be interesting to check.
There very well could have been. Gillespie does say that there was a slight resurgence in the disciplines in the last few years that would coincide the economic upsurge of the late 90s.
We are ill-advised really to do any theorizing about economies and their effects on education. We did pick English over business and economics, after all. Like you mentioned, it's a commonly-held belief from which I'm theorizing, not statistics or facts I could possibly reference had I chosen business.
Tuesday, January 3 3:36 AM
Old Business, New Business
So New Year's was fun. After an encouraging drunk-dial from Jenna on Friday, I called Lakes Express for a $30 ride to the Cities from Brainerd. Where I spend New Year's Eve isn't such a big deal for me — but opportunities to drink with Jenna and Barry are few and far between.
The night was "low-key," though for once I'm not using "low-key" as a code-word for "we played drinking games." Playing Burnout 3 while intoxicated is no mere game, people.
As far as I can tell, the five or six of us spent most of the night just talking, though about what I haven't the foggiest. I know that I didn't make that friend of Jenna's cry this time, that was good. Other highlights: washable straws, Puzzle Fighter, and my first mojito.
I passed out first, though I'd like to think the night was winding down at that point (2:30 or so?), and the couch was mine. I woke up the next morning with one of those almost-hangovers that gradually turns into a peaceful feeling of lightness.
My bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 9:45 p.m. so I had basically another day to hang out with Jenna and company. We must have watched several hours of entrapment and compelled identification on FX. Sadly, there were no Cops episodes set in the Twin Cities or Chicago. That would've been fascinating.
I missed the Law and Order marathon on TNT, to my great regret.
The bus ride back was typically uneventful. I sat next to an army brat (the best kind of brat, I guess) and we spoke for maybe thirty seconds over the course of eight hours. Roughly translated: I lucked out. I even managed to sleep for a few hours.
At the station a girl with a bright pink suitcase cut in line right in front of me and about thirty other people just as I was about to board my bus. I'd thought I was the kind of person who would chew out someone so wantonly selfish — but apparently not. That's the low point of 2006 so far.
Back to school tomorrow. I was so motivated back in B-town, where I had the luxury of being lazy yet motivated in the abstract; now that I'm here I remember all the little duties and distractions of Chicago...
The night was "low-key," though for once I'm not using "low-key" as a code-word for "we played drinking games." Playing Burnout 3 while intoxicated is no mere game, people.
As far as I can tell, the five or six of us spent most of the night just talking, though about what I haven't the foggiest. I know that I didn't make that friend of Jenna's cry this time, that was good. Other highlights: washable straws, Puzzle Fighter, and my first mojito.
I passed out first, though I'd like to think the night was winding down at that point (2:30 or so?), and the couch was mine. I woke up the next morning with one of those almost-hangovers that gradually turns into a peaceful feeling of lightness.
My bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 9:45 p.m. so I had basically another day to hang out with Jenna and company. We must have watched several hours of entrapment and compelled identification on FX. Sadly, there were no Cops episodes set in the Twin Cities or Chicago. That would've been fascinating.
I missed the Law and Order marathon on TNT, to my great regret.
The bus ride back was typically uneventful. I sat next to an army brat (the best kind of brat, I guess) and we spoke for maybe thirty seconds over the course of eight hours. Roughly translated: I lucked out. I even managed to sleep for a few hours.
At the station a girl with a bright pink suitcase cut in line right in front of me and about thirty other people just as I was about to board my bus. I'd thought I was the kind of person who would chew out someone so wantonly selfish — but apparently not. That's the low point of 2006 so far.
Back to school tomorrow. I was so motivated back in B-town, where I had the luxury of being lazy yet motivated in the abstract; now that I'm here I remember all the little duties and distractions of Chicago...
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