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since feeling is first...
e.e. cummings
since feeling is first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don't cry
- the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids' flutter which says
we are for each other; then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life's not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis
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'Nother shocker:
New Tolkien Book Discovered
A YELLOWING manuscript by J.R.R.Tolkien discovered in an Oxford library could become one of the publishing sensations of 2003.
The 2000 handwritten pages include Tolkien's translation and appraisal of Beowulf, the epic 8th century Anglo-Saxon poem of bravery, friendship and monster-slaying that is thought to have inspired The Lord of the Rings.
A US academic, Michael Drout, found the Tolkien material by accident in a box of papers at the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
An assistant professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, Dr Drout was researching Anglo- Saxon scholarship at the Bodleian, and asked to see a copy of a lecture on Beowulf given by Tolkien in 1936.
It was brought to him in a reading room in a large box. Professor Drout, who reads Anglo-Saxon prose to his two-year-old daughter at bedtime, said: "I was sitting there going through the transcripts when I saw these four bound volumes at the bottom of the box.
"I started looking through, and realised I had found an entire book of material that had never seen the light of day. As I turned the page, there was Tolkien's fingerprint in a smudge of ink."
After obtaining permission from the Tolkien estate, Professor Drout published Beowulf and the Critics, a version of Tolkien's 1936 lecture, in the US earlier this month.
Even more exciting will be Tolkien's translation of the poem and his line-by-line interpretation of its meaning, which will be published next summer.
Tolkien's name on the cover is likely to make the translation a bestseller.
Some guys have all the luck!
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Melancholy Saturday
I've finally finished my second re-read of Ondaatje's The English Patient. This reading took so much longer than usual, due to my keeping track of events on my trusty yellow legal pad. Half a pad later, I can honestly say that I have some direction to my paper (finally). This is a good thing, especially considering the paper is due in about 3 weeks, give or take. Now to sort through the research and start typing.
I'm convinced that there's nothing more intimidating than a blank word processor screen, taunting you to begin with its blinking cursor!
I wanted to put up some of my favorite passages, since I consider this weblog my personal "commonplace book" of sorts.
This was the time in her life that she fell upon books as the only door out of her cell. They became half her world. She sat at the night table, hunched over, reading of the young boy in India who learned to memorize diverse jewels and objects on a tray, tossed from teacher to teacher -- those who taught him dialect those who taught him memory those who taught him to escape the hypnotic.
....
To rest was to receive all aspects of the world without judgement. A bath in the sea, a fuck with a soldier who never knew your name. Tenderness towards the unknown and anonymous, which was a tenderness to the self.
....
I see him [Herodotus] more as one of those spare men of the desert who travel from oasis to oasis, trading legend as if it is the exchange of seeds, consuming everything without suspicion, piercing together a mirage. 'This history of mine,' Herodotus says, 'has from the beginning sought out the supplementary to the main argument.' What you find in him are cul-de-sacs within the sweep of history -- how people betray each other for the sake of nations, how people fall in love.
....
I believe this. When we meet those we fall in love with, there is an aspect of our spirit that is historian, a bit of a pedant, who imagines or remembers a meeting when the other had passed by innocently, just as Clifton might have opened a car door for you a year earlier and ignored the fate of his life. But all parts of the body must be ready for the other, all atoms must jump in one direction for desire to occur.
....
We die containing a richness of lovers and tribes, tastes we have swallowed, bodies we have plunged into and swum up as if rivers of wisdom, characters we have climbed into as if trees, fears we have hidden as if caves. I wish for all this to be marked on my body when I am dead. I believe in such cartography -- to be marked by nature, not just to label ourselves on a map like the names of rich men and women on buildings. We are communal histories, communal books. We are not owned or monogamous in our taste or experience. All I desired was to walk upon such an earth that had no maps.
Oh, to be a writer. I love finding myself lost in words.
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My name is Becky, and yes -- I am a picture-holic.
Oh, the fun I've had! I took my camera to the ice skating rink last night to take pictures. Silly me had it set on the wrong setting though, so all the action shots are quite blurry. We all had fun though. I haven't been skating in ages! I was thinking that it would be alot like rollerblading, and I was wrong. I didn't fall, though (which is quite surprising, considering my track record on ice!).
A group of us went out to the Civic Center to skate. It was really good to be with old friends again. The pictures I took actually look quite artistic, considering:
Suz and Rachel (such cuties!):
Rach and her Chris (both falling on ice):
Today we had a "grrrls" day, and went out to our favorite Tea Room for an afternoon tea/lunch. My mom, sis, and I met up with one of my "best-good" friends Heather and her momma. Heather also brought the youngest member of the party, her daughter Miah (only 4 months old!). She's so cute! It was great being able to see Heather again, its been ages.
Heather and Miah (collective awwww.):
Miah is a special baby. After my friend Doug was killed in a car accident, I had to call her in NC to tell her about it. It had been almost 2 years since I had talked to her, and I hated having to first talk to her, on an occasion as that. After getting the nerve to go ahead and call, as we talked it was like nothing had changed and no time has passed between us. Miah was barely a week old, and I could hear her cooing on the phone. In spite of the feelings of loss I was experiencing, I also could feel the joys that accompany new life. That was something really special, I'll never forget.
Well, I'm heading out to Barnes and Noble to go spend my gift certificates. Oh, the joys of free money! And Starbucks coffee! And millions of books! Wheeeee!
And, since it was requested earlier that I post a pic of myself, here goes nothing -- complete with nifty borders from a photoshop program: (too bad it has to accompany such lovely faces above!)
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My Festivus...
...was pretty good this year. After going to the obligatory Christmas eve service at a church downtown (yawn), we came back home to exchange gifts. We always unwrap our presents and stockings on Christmas eve, now that we're all older (and prefer sleeping in mornings).
I just love Christmas -- and not only for the nifty gifts. I just love the looks of surprise and joy when people open up presents that I've given them. I pride myself on finding the perfect gifts for my loved ones, and think that I did pretty well this year. I know that its vogue right now to rant against the commericalism/materialism of this holiday, but I truly enjoy buying stuff for people. Given my (very limited) funds, it is something that I really look forward to.
I did really well, this christmas. The most exciting thing that I got was a digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 2500). Now all my faithful readers will be subjected to even more digital shots of my surroundings! Oh, I can't wait. I may even take a photography course at school.
I also got a Gryffindor scarf, a Fossil lord of the rings watch (complete with a map of middle earth on its face), new luggage (yay, now the Customs officials won't laugh at me when they see me coming), Goodfellas, a Bop-It extreme (yes, I still play with toys), Barnes and Noble gift certificates, and an amazing Kevin Harvick racer fleece. I did well, methinks.
Festivus at the Bennetch household:
Andy and Suz with the shirts I got 'em:  
My dad, after eating some of his "candy coal": 
The only damper on life lately has to do with my loan situation back home. I received an email from Sallie Mae (the evil loan servicing agency I use now, but will avoid-at-all-costs in the future) on Christmas day, saying that they received my returned (and since cancelled) loan check back from my university. Now, they supposedly sent this check out on the 9th, but it didn't arrive at the university until the 24th. I'm thinking that they check was cancelled and returned to them because the university was closed. But, to make an already painfully-long story short, my loan check cannot be released and sent again until the school calls the agency back to resend it. And no one will be back at the university until January 2nd. And then I arrive home on the 6th. And I'm supposed to move as soon as I get back. (with little money in ye-olde-bank-account)
I'm trying not to let that get me down, but it does stress me out a bit. I think I'm going to go ice skating with my sibs to fuggetaboutit.
Happy Boxing day, everyone!
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I couldn't resist. Too funny.
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Happy Christmas, everyone!
I hope your holiday is as grand as mine. I'll be back soon, to post of the goodies I've received!
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Weather reality check, part deux:
Home: (aaaaah.)
School: (brrr.)
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Ah, the wisdom of the Simpsons...
Who knew that the Simpsons wrote an episode about my dad's (former) church? 
(complete with waving neon Jesus and Starbucks billboards?)
Tonight I watched the episode She of Little Faith, where Lisa is disallusioned by the sell-out consumerism of her church and seeks another faith. It was deliciously tongue-in-cheek and hit a little too close to home. I wish I had copied it!
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| 'Tis the season... |
Tis the Season...
To be stressed out it seems. The search for my loan check continues (making me a little too reminiscent of past woes). It supposedly was sent out, express mail, to the university on December 9th -- and as of the 19th, there was no sign of it. I left an express mail envelope there, so when it shows up at the school they could mail it down to me to endorse. After I sign the piece of paper, I then would send it back to the university to start the clearing & converting funds process. At this rate, I'm going have to tell the Registrar to keep the check and wait til I get up there -- otherwise I'm afraid it'll be coming down here to me, while I'm going back up to school.
To make matters even MORE fun, the cashiers are telling me that I probably won't have access to the funds until the end of January.
Money sucks. And lack of money, when living 2000+ miles away from home, about to move to a new apartment, in the beginning of a new semester, in the middle of a cold winter really sucks.
*Must think positively.*
Happy Yule, everyone...
(my Martha Stewart poinsettia tree, which I made from cutting up red and silver foil in flower shapes)
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Ooooh, a quiz about quizzes. Sorta like metafiction, but not.
![[If I were an online test, I would be The James Bond Villain Personality Test]](http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paulspeller/onlinetest/bond.gif "Click to find out which test you are")
I live in a fictional world of spies and blonde women with ridiculous names, and I like to give people plenty of options. Although whether they're villainous is not optional.
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Well, I can thankfully state that I've watched the entire film of The Two Towers. I wasn't disappointed at all, Peter Jackson and his team are truly amazing to give us such a great Christmas gift!
Watching these films are like reading great books -- you know, the books that you love reading so much, that you're partially dreading reaching the end of them? That's sort of how I felt when I was watching tonight (and *most* of last night). I'm watching this fantasy world visually unfold before me, and while I'm getting caught up in all of the characterizations and action, part of me is also sadly thinking that it'll be over soon and I'll have to wait another 12 months for the next film. What a paradox.
(Next year, I know that part of me will be upset that I'll not be able to look forward to another film in 12 months.)
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Mike and I decorated outside of the house today. Whatta think?
We went to go watch TTT again today, but couldn't get tickets til the 11:30 show tonight. Hopefully there will be no more projector woes and we'll be able to actually finish watching the show.
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Well, I went to see The Two Towers tonight, at midnight. I've been waiting since this time LAST year for this film to come out, so needless to say, I was seriously EXCITED about seeing this picture.
Let me set up the experience for you. The crowd packed the theater, the second largest screen in town. There must have been 500 people or more in the seats, all eagerly awaiting the picture to start. I was there, best friend in tow, sour gummi worms & large sprite in hand, bladder emptied, all set to start the 3 hour film experience.
The lights go down, the previews begin -- several good ones play, including the new Terminator 3 (complete with cheesy dialog) and the new X-Men. At this point, we're all excited, ready for the movie to begin... and then we're swept away.
For the next two hours, I have to keep reminding myself to blink and close my mouth. Yeah, so the film is different from the book, but WOW. Its so beautiful and amazing and unbelieveable and wow. From adaptations of Treebeard and Gollum to ever-sweaty (and extremely sexy) Aragorn...sigh.
I'm sitting there thinking of how I'll be able to process this experience into words. I just keep thinking "Unbelievable." That, and "I really want to move to New Zealand now."
The film is in full cycle, over 2 hours into it. Its the big battle scene at Helm's Deep, right when it seems like the end of our heroes... when, off in the distance, the sun rises and Gandalf the White appears like fire in the horizon. Shadowfax, his horse, rears in the distance, Gandalf raises his staff, and....
The screen goes black.
Literally.
I kid you not. The film disintegrated before our very eyes. Unbelievable, indeed. I mean, could the film pick a WORSE place to give out?
So, at this point, its 3:15AM, I've invested a couple hours of my life to watching this film, and the monkeys in the upper room can't piece it together. After waiting nearly 20 minutes, we grudgingly walked out to the lobby, snatched up our emergency movie pass refunds, and set back home -- totally unfulfilled.
Yeah, I know that I'll most likely watch this movie another 4 or 5 times (at least) -- but there's just NOTHING like the first viewing experience.
I'm tired, cranky, and going to bed now.
(To do tomorrow: call 1-877-TELL-REGAL and let them know of my experience. And maybe score more free tickeys!)
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Writing is easy. All you do is stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead. (Gene Fowler)
I've GOT to get on a better sleep pattern -- I've been staying up way late, then sleeping in for too long. Granted, its good to be home...a place where I can relax and not worry about school, stress, money, work, etc. Well, at least not quite as much as I do when I'm back up North. I've been procrastinating BIG time on my paper for my English class. I'm comparing The English Patient novel and film adaptation -- something that I know I'll enjoy -- but I can't seem to motivate myself long enough to get any headway. I'm nervous like a cat about it already, because I feel so inept compared to the other students in the class. Maybe its this insecurity that's holding me back, I'm not sure.
My method of writing papers is quite strange, really. For me, the hardest part of writing is nailing down what I specifically want to talk about. I mull and mull forEVER ideas in my head, never quite figuring what I want to do, until it finally HITS me. Once I get the idea, its all downhill from there. The main drag about this method of writing is that I always feel this huge weight hanging over my head until I finally get the paper going. For example, I keep thinking to myself, "I've got to get going on this draft, I've got to get started, already" -- but I still haven't had that grand revelation yet of exactly what I wanna say. This just means that I've got to keep on re-reading my text, writing down my ideas, until I finally come up with something.
Funny thing is, the more I write, the harder it seems. I remember when I was just starting out as an English major, I thought I knew *everything* there was about writing, nowadays I often feel the opposite.
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Follow-up? From the Toronto Star
Dec. 15, 2002. 01:00 AM
Americans fire back over column
RICHARD GWYN
You all suck even more than France. That is one American's opinion of Canada.
Another, from Salem, Mass., holds the view that, "Americans are superior to Canadians because we don't play or watch curling."
And from Kansas City comes the comment, "Canada is the bookish, nerdy sister of the prom queen that is America." Many, from all over, remark on how Canada — "hiding behind Big Mama's skirts" — depends on the U.S. for its defence.
But then a Texan chimes in with, "I'm a right-wing American who loves being part of the biggest, baddest, nation on the block.
Yet that voice from the distant, frigid north is oddly reassuring, sort of like having a more even-keeled young brother."
And a "Jon" recalled that the Roman emperors had a servant whisper in their ear, "Remember, Caesar, you are mortal" — a practice that could usefully be recreated in Ottawa — and then opined: "The U.S. needs to be challenged for its own good the same way ... (a role) Canadians are particularly well-suited to."
What Canadians think does matter to Americans. In certain circumstances at certain times.
My evidence for saying this is that I've culled those quotes from the some 1,400 e-mails sent to me as a result of my column of last Sunday titled, "It's not our fault that we're morally superior to Americans."
What promoted the column was some hand-wringing by Deputy Prime Minister John Manley that any Canadian sentiments of superiority were actually a sign of a sense of inferiority, and should be silenced so as not to annoy Americans.
My rebuttal was that Canadian sentiments of superiority were actually a sign of a sense of superiority, and why on Earth not say so out loud, since Americans are certain they are superior to everyone in the world and can hardly be shocked to be challenged.
I expected some shots back, from both sides of the border. I got the verbal equivalent of a salvo of cruise missiles. As a journalist, I've never experienced its equal. The Drudge Report on the Web picked up the column, and, in a tribute to its power, triggered well over 1,000 of those e-mails. American radio and TV stations called for interviews.
Best of all, I got by accident, a fascinating insight into American opinions about Canada but also about their own country.
First, a sample of the antis:
"We Americans don't give a rat's ass what you think about us."
"You do nothing and carp about others. You're like a nation populated entirely by university professors and newspaper columnists."
"You people can be as superior as you like while you surrender your firearms, pay for your socialist health care, and freeze your collective asses off."
"Canadians are sort of a nation of Homer Simpsons."
Then the pros:
"One of the reasons Canadians are such good neighbours is that they are not afraid to disagree with us. Our differences are not violent, fearful or antagonistic, and that means they must be constructive."
"I remember the first time being around Canadian people and as a black man that was the first time in my 44 years I was treated like a real person. I wish I were a Canadian."
"Overall you guys are great. If in fact you are superior in some areas, I see that as a challenge. You know how we hate to come in second."
The level of knowledge about Canada was far higher than is generally assumed. To my comment that Canadians have more of a sense of being a collectivity, many respondents replied: "What about Quebec?" On the differences in health-care systems, one of many defending the U.S. practice observed shrewdly, "Canadians do have a two-tier system. It's just that your first-tier is in places like Minneapolis and Syracuse and Boston where you can get an MRI on three day's notice."
The level of humour was high as well. "I'm impressed that Canada's firearms registration program has ballooned from $2 million to one billion. I thought only the U.S. Congress was that inept."
Most interesting, perhaps, is that dealing with a Canadian's comments about the U.S. triggered perceptive comments by Americans about themselves:
"Please be patient with us as we search for a way to respond to what we feel is a critically dangerous time in history. We can have big mouths, but we also have big hearts."
"Americans do have a bit of a superiority complex. But not in the way you understand. We want to be the best at everything we do. Our attitudes demand victory, victory, victory."
"It seems we NEED an enemy to feel good about ourselves. The fall of the Soviet Union was the worst thing that could have happened to us. No one to beat at the Olympics. No one to talk tough to."
The only way to end is to balance evenly, in a properly Canadian way, the praise and the blame:
"Just as Canadians are better at viewing themselves as a collective, they are also better at viewing themselves not just as members of a nation but as citizens of the world."
And to confirm that it's curling that really distinguishes the two nations of North America, "Go back to sliding things across the ice and calling it a sport."
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Surfing across the nets tonight, I came across a very interesting article from The Guardian, Canada?!. It deals with the very prevalent anti-American sentiments that are felt throughout Canada -- something that I've often experienced firsthand. I thought it was an interesting article, in many ways -- here's some bits I found most interesting:
"Now whereabouts on the axis of evil can we be? The country's long-reigning leader thinks the president of the US is contemptible, a sentiment heartily reciprocated. The leader's official spokeswoman directly insulted Bush, and she was repudiated only grudgingly. Almost every day some new outrage perpetrated by the US is reported in the newspapers, whereupon the Americans are denounced by commentators and letter-writers. Academics travelling across the country on book promotion tours say they are astounded by the level of anti-American vituperation out in the hinterland. Top-level relations with Washington, it is agreed, are at their worst level in decades. Can this mean war?
Well, maybe not. This is Canada that we're talking about."
"The most startling recent poll showed 84% of Canadians consider the US wholly (15%) or partly (69%) to blame for September 11. It is a remarkable indication of fundamental antipathy. Furthermore, the Bush administration has compounded this with a series of gratuitously casual snubs. When the president spoke to congress after the attacks and praised Tony Blair and Britain to the skies, Canada - whose cooperation was crucial to the return to any kind of post-attack normality - was forgotten. When four Canadian soldiers were killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan, the American response was slow and brusque. And there have been various new-normality incidents involving Canadians, of Arab descent and otherwise, being given a disagreeable time by US border guards and cops."
"Bush at least appears to know who Chretien is: only 8% of American adults, in the most recent poll, could name the neighbouring country's leader, and even that number suggests a sample skewed towards Harvard - the usual figure is around 2%, with an undertow of support for Pierre Trudeau, who happens to be dead. Even so, only one-in-five knew that Ottawa was Canada's capital."
"Essentially, Canadians regard all Americans as morons, unless proven otherwise. It is probably only that sense of moral superiority that stops the nation turning into a jibbering wreck."
"Canadian patriotism is notoriously hard to pin down, because it rests on a negative: not being the US. "Canadians are proud of the fact that, unlike the Americans, they have the CBC [the equivalent of the BBC], health care, ice hockey, and a peace-keeping military," says Chris Sands. "Unfortunately, none of these is as good as it was."
I've been asked by the Honors director at my old university here in Savannah to give a talk to a group of honors students about my experience with this awkward relationship, also showing some of the CBC TV special, Talking to Americans.
Being that its 2AM, I think I'll comment more on this tomorrow -- but I do think its an interesting relationship to study, from BOTH angles. A friend of mine in the Rhetoric program at University is actually doing her thesis project on the relations between the states and Canada, using Talking to Americans as part of her basis of study.
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Santa Claus is Pagan Too
©1998 Larry Morris (Emerald Rose)
Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he'll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa's Pagan too!
He's got that Buddha belly and his top's the Holly King
You dressed him in that British coat, the cap's a Nordic thing
You took the horns right off his head and stuck them on his deer
But he still flies high like Jupiter with a belly-full of beer!
Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he'll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa's Pagan too!
Now history says Christ was likely not a Capricorn
But if you want to share the Yule, we don't care when he's born
Come join the celebration of the Sun King's bright rebirth
And if you practice what you preach, we'll all have peace on Earth!
Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he'll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa's Pagan too!
Now Santa's way more jolly than most Christians might require
And if he weren't so busy he'd be dancing 'round the fire
Yeah, you can call it Christmas 'cause you got us way out-gunned
But just you wait till Beltaine then we'll see who's having fun!
Oh, Santa Claus is Pagan too, just like all the rest
And if you are a merry witch he'll bring you all the best
So get that star up on the roof, and bake those cookies, too
For Christmas-time is really Yule, and Santa's Pagan too!
(thanks Char!) 
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In Sicily, women are more dangerous than shotguns
(The Godfather)
Over the past couple days, I've been introducing my brother to the wonder that is The Godfather trilogy (on dvd, no less!). I've watched these movies many times, and it seems that every time I watch them, I find something different to appreciate. From a missed mise-en-scène to an inflection of voice, I rarely can watch without walking away amazed at the cinematography of the experience.
I've been thinking other reasons why I like these films so much. Nowadays I think that I'm intrigued by the notion of strong family devotion and revenge for wrongs committed against loved ones. I can relate, wanting to right the many wrongs that have been committed against my family -- especially lately. No, I'm not thinking about "knocking off" anyone, however appealing.
I'm not even looking for retribution. I just want it recognized that my dad is getting royally screwed over, by the very same "Christian" people he gave 11+ years of his life in working his job.
Take tonight, for example. My dad and mom had a meeting with two members of the Missions committee (the same that my dad started and ran for years). At this meeting, they basically put off my parents and said that they couldn't commit any funds to support them in their new job. This, coming from a church with an ample budget. And its not like my parents don't have many people within the congregation that would want to support them -- its the deceiving leadership that keeps knocking my dad down.
I just wish that there was something I could do, besides rant on a webpage. I wish that I could see some of these people -- just so that I could get close enough for them to see me, then turn my back and just walk away. Even more than that, I wish that I could expose the facade that they're continuing to practice as they play church. It gets me angry knowing that good people are being deceived by these people -- week in, week out. I don't think I could stand even walking into the sanctuary, having to listen to the hypocrisy being expounded every week behind the pulpit.
Talk about disillusioning.
But the one good thing that has come through this entire fiasco -- I've been able to observe just how admirable and good my parents really are. So many times when I would have spouted off at someone, or at least spoken up in defense, they've swallowed their pride and done the right thing. Originally I would have thought that to be the weaker response -- now I see it is truly the stronger. I admire them.
While I know pulling a Corleone reaction may give me some feelings of justice in the short-term sense....I'm hoping that this "higher road" will eventually yield even greater results.
I'll keep ya posted, nevertheless.
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Three guesses on which of Santa's helpers this is....
as if the stylin' 70's garb wasn't enough of a dead giveaway!
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Everything I need to know about life I learned from Trading Spaces...
... even middle aged, balding men can wear fun red tennis shoes.
... pink and orange really Do go together!
... everything looks better with a bowl of granny smith apples.
... hay is NOT just for horses, as previously believed.
... moss looks great on a rock, but smells really ripe in a bedroom.
... ceiling fans are not as fabulous as previously believed.
... love that piano in your living room now. You never know when you'll see it in the most unexpected place
(from my TLC Trading Spaces newsletter)
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Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens...
I'm exhausted after helping decorate my parent's house all day. Over the 30 years they've been together, they've managed to accumulate *quite* the quota of decoration materials. Who am I kidding though, I love decorating for Christmas every year. I have the most fun, just opening the boxes and digging out the decorations that you haven't seen for a whole year. We've got two big trees this year, one in the living room and one in the den. The living room tree has rainbow christmas lights, with glass ornaments and red bows. The tree in the den is our snowmen tree, complete with white lights, snowmen ornaments, and icicle garland. Maybe later this week I'll snatch my dad's digital camera and shoot some pictures. Both trees look SO great.
The usual decorating madness was a bit bittersweet this year. As we took down the usual decorations around the house, my mom and dad wrapped them up and put them into boxes. It's so wild thinking that this will be our last christmas in this house. I've lived here since I was in 3rd grade, and the idea that I'll be going "home" to a place that isn't Savannah makes me sad. I know that home is more about the people, but I like calling Savannah home. If it wasn't for the bastards-playing-church that hurt my family so much, we'd still be calling this place "home." But now we won't be.
Earlier tonight I relaxed in front of the bigger tree (the one in the living room), watching the lights and cuddling with my dog. As I sat there, christmas music playing in the background, I decided to think about some of my favorite things. I think its odd that the Sound of Music's song, "My Favorite Things" is considered a Christmas carol -- I've already heard it a couple times on the stations here. Anyway, to get my mind off the negativity this season:
My Favorite Things:
- being read to
- warm, clean laundry
- travelling
- long distance phone calls
- fresh flowers (especially sunflowers!)
- digging through boxes of old pictures
- vacuum marks on the floor
- candles and incense
- holding hands
- Chick-fil-a sandwiches
- coming home
- the noise snow makes when I walk on it
- reading a good book
- my hot-pink blankey
- bubble baths
- tickling others
- naps
- brand new boxes of crayons
- the sound of rain
- reminiscing
- being "crafty" and making presents for my loved ones
- playing with kids
- snuggling under the covers
- roller coasters
- Getting lost in a Barnes & Noble
- family dinners
- going to the movies
- laughing really hard
- compliments
- the feeling right AFTER a workout
- reruns of I Love Lucy
- inside jokes with old friends
- snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes (really!)
- cuddling with my dog
- chocolate
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Take that, Pat Robertson! 
Amazon blushes over sex link snafu
By Stefanie Olsen
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
December 6, 2002, 5:38 PM PT
In a incident that highlights the pitfalls of online recommendation systems, Amazon.com on Friday removed a link to a sex manual that appeared next to a listing for a spiritual guide by well-known Christian televangelist Pat Robertson. The two titles were temporarily linked as a result of technology that tracks and displays lists of merchandise perused and purchased by Amazon visitors. Such promotions appear below the main description for products under the title, "Customers who shopped for this item also shopped for these items."
Amazon's automated results for Robertson's "Six Steps to Spiritual Revival" included a second title by Robertson as well as a book about anal sex for men.
"It seemed to us that this is a rather curious juxtaposition of the two titles," said Amazon spokeswoman Patty Smith, explaining the company's decision to remove the link.
"Amazon conducted an investigation and determined these results were not that of hundreds of customers going to the same items while they were shopping on the site," Smith said.
Amazon removed the link to the sex manual earlier Friday after being notified of the listing. A section that shows direct suggestions by other customers still contained links to the book as of late Friday.
The linking casts a spotlight on potential pitfalls of technology that flags online shopping behavior for promotional purposes.
Amazon, among other Internet businesses, collects data on the habits of its customers to deliver recommendations or to personalize the shopping experience--features that the online retail giant boasts as a unique asset.
For the recommendation service, the company monitors shopping and browsing patterns in aggregate to suggest related goods for purchase. But such a system can easily be manipulated by people who repeatedly shop for or click on items at the same--leading the technology to potentially link two disparate items and not accurately reflect customers' shopping habits.
"This kind of prank is not good for Amazon because it will scare some customers away. It reinforces some people's view that the Internet is a dangerous place," said security consultant Richard Smith, who brought the links to the attention of CNET News.com.
"The prank makes me also wonder how much the Amazon recommendation system is being hacked by authors and publishers as a new marketing tool," he added.
Amazon's Smith said this kind of incident "pops up every once in a blue moon. In this case, we get a complaint and investigators take a look to determine how those recommendations were generated."
The company also recently introduced a recommendation engine for its apparel store, which launched in October. For example, shoppers looking at book titles may also see suggestions under the heading "Customers who wear clothes also shop for."
Smith said the recommendations for clothing are "silly" because Amazon has not collected enough transaction data to draw meaningful suggestions.
Among the related shopping items for Robertson's book Friday were listings for "clean underwear" and "ladybug rain boots."
Robertson founded the Christian Broadcasting Network and hosts "The 700 Club," a religious show that draws about a million daily viewers, according to Robertson's Web site. He has drawn fire in the past from gay rights advocacy groups such as GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) for critical comments on homosexuality.
Robertson could not immediately be reached for comment.
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Mindless fun, oh how I craves it...
Magic Santa 8-ball
You can even install it for your desktop. Indecision be gone!
Leaving for the sunny south in the afternoon. Mind on vacation for at least a week.
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(not that I read this magazine...but)
List of the Month: Nine Things Strom Thurmond Is Older Than
Maxim, June 2002
1. AM/FM radio
2. Human flight
3. The Panama Canal
4. Wristwatches
5. Tea bags
6. Ice cream cones
7. The World Series
8. The states of Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii
9. Dick Clark
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What's wrong with this letter?
This is a letter that was submitted to the University's Faculty/Staff Newsletter by the Head of the Department of Anatomy & Cell Biology. It was in response to a previous letter to the newspaper, by some Education professors upset about the University's skewed funding towards Science & Technology, compared to other departments. Here at the University, they've spent 174 million dollars building a synchrotron. Its the only one of its kind in Canada.
While acknowledging the important role of science in our lives today, I can't help feeling resentful about the de-emphasis on the humanities within the University. A big part of the History and Classics departments was recently cut, and comparing my paycheck to other grad students in the sciences, you'll find that they're paid at least twice, if not three, times more than I.
Knowing this, do you react the same way as I, when reading this letter?
U of S Will Adapt to Changes Like CLS and Will Survive
by Bernhard H.J. Juurlink
Contrary to the views of Professors Woodhouse and Collins, technology is what has always given society the leisure to develop ways of understanding the world around us.
Better hunting and digging implements gave our distant ancestors the leisure time to develop mythologyies by which to guide their lives.
It was wealth generated by agriculture and technology-driven commerce that enabled the Greek philosophers the leisure to ponder the nature of society and the world.
Not only has technology given rise to the ability of society to afford universities, but indeed technology and science has been a driving force in moulding the nature of the university since the Renaissance, as has the university been the driving force in science and technology development.
So what we see happening at the University of Saskatchewan is a centuries old process of the continual renewa and redefinition of the specific nature of university -- it is for this reason that Quadrivium and Trivium do not dominate the current liberal arts curriculum as it did in the universities of a millennium ago.
Life is change -- organisms that can successfully adapt to changes in the environment survive, those that can't become extinct.
Embrace the CLS. It is here. It won't go away.
Fortunately the university is a long-lived multi-generational organism whose adaptation to changes in the envrionment depends not upon flexiblity of its senior members, but rather upon the recruitment of young vibrant flexible individuals...
Its attitudes like this that make people roll their eyes when they find out I'm pursuing a graduate degree in English/Rhetoric, yet these same people look on with admiration when they find out a friend of mine is in grad school, studying Biochemisty.
There are so many things wrong with that letter above. Its taken me two days since reading it, to actually get my thoughts put together about how I would respond.
Technology has not been the tool that has given people the "leisure" to study the Humanities. Um, if he were to examine the idyllic Classical periods, he'd find that it was the women and slaves running Greece while the upper-class men sat around and debated all day.
Technology hasn't been the driving force in University since the Renaissance, either -- it actually was Philosophy and Theology, until a couple hundred years ago.
But it doesn't matter. No matter how many times you bring up the past, people will always go for the bright shiny things of the future. I look at the world around me to day and wonder if its really better off with this shifted focus.
< /disgruntled Humanities person rant off >
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After spending probably more than I probably should have at Chelsea's Hair Design, I can gratefully state that my hair now kicks ass. Its strawberry blonde, with blonde and black lowlights.
Its so much fun eskewing your natural hair color!
That, and now my hair has "holes" in it. My stylist (Kim, who is so incredible I'm surprised there isn't a Saskatoon cult following him yet) took my hair, braided it, then cut parts of it, thinning out the volume at the ends. It was the funkiest (and scariest) thing ever done to my hair. But the end result is awesome!
After my appointment, I could wander the Astrology aisle at McNally Robinson in style.
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