Accountable Infinity However (Letters to Myself)
31 dic 2004
even baldsworth, indiana is beautiful from a balcony
Oh! Ohio! What a bunch of *swear words here.* My dad took me to a bunch of bars, the uncle in question is still a jerk, and the Rock n Roll hall of Fame only redeems it somewhat. Anyway, Kentucky was better than expected and i'm back in Wisconsin. I appreciate this place.
Huh. A good half of my blog audience is in the living room behind me. That could be either creepy or awesome.
Yeah. Happy New Year's and stuff.
and my party is in January. I'm a... name it, yo.
drowning in the roar of transport ¶ 18:23 0 comments
Oh! Ohio! What a bunch of *swear words here.* My dad took me to a bunch of bars, the uncle in question is still a jerk, and the Rock n Roll hall of Fame only redeems it somewhat. Anyway, Kentucky was better than expected and i'm back in Wisconsin. I appreciate this place.
Huh. A good half of my blog audience is in the living room behind me. That could be either creepy or awesome.
Yeah. Happy New Year's and stuff.
and my party is in January. I'm a... name it, yo.
drowning in the roar of transport ¶ 18:23 0 comments
25 dic 2004
crap i got in honour of Christ's death birth whatever
or
Asian Pop Stars & You!
--America, the book
--coffee maker, mugs, and fancy coffee
--cheap but beautiful red "nightie" (part of a set, photo op in planning)
--a fixed tailpipe for my sister's car
overall, a successful Noel.
Rachel, Dad & i are heading to Toledo (Ohio, not Spain) tommorrow, and then on to Cleveland and finally Mammoth Cave. We're visiting the ever-fabulous uncle Steven, who's also being visited at the same time by uncle Daniel, who my dad describes as a regular Ted Kyczinski*. Dad wants to take his time to get back to EC, as he has no desire to help kimmy! move out, while Rachel & i want to get back as soon as possible. Therefore, i do not know when i'll be back, but the vague word on the street is that Heberts are having a New Year's Party so i'll see ya'll there. (Bekah, Elyse told me that, and if it's a complete lie i'll change my fibbin' ways for you baeby).
And now it's time for a real party.
As kimmy! & co. are Leaving our House, and taking their furniture with them, Rachel & i have decided to throw the Ultimate Pillow Party. A whole basement without any furniture save the Yellow Desk demands this. Friday, January 7th, if you know who i am, who you are, where my dad's house is, and own a pillow you are invited.
*have i ever mentioned just how cool my family is? ever? ¶ 21:17 2 comments
or
Asian Pop Stars & You!
--America, the book
--coffee maker, mugs, and fancy coffee
--cheap but beautiful red "nightie" (part of a set, photo op in planning)
--a fixed tailpipe for my sister's car
overall, a successful Noel.
Rachel, Dad & i are heading to Toledo (Ohio, not Spain) tommorrow, and then on to Cleveland and finally Mammoth Cave. We're visiting the ever-fabulous uncle Steven, who's also being visited at the same time by uncle Daniel, who my dad describes as a regular Ted Kyczinski*. Dad wants to take his time to get back to EC, as he has no desire to help kimmy! move out, while Rachel & i want to get back as soon as possible. Therefore, i do not know when i'll be back, but the vague word on the street is that Heberts are having a New Year's Party so i'll see ya'll there. (Bekah, Elyse told me that, and if it's a complete lie i'll change my fibbin' ways for you baeby).
And now it's time for a real party.
As kimmy! & co. are Leaving our House, and taking their furniture with them, Rachel & i have decided to throw the Ultimate Pillow Party. A whole basement without any furniture save the Yellow Desk demands this. Friday, January 7th, if you know who i am, who you are, where my dad's house is, and own a pillow you are invited.
*have i ever mentioned just how cool my family is? ever? ¶ 21:17 2 comments
24 dic 2004
anachronistic
"Continuity is my FAVORITE WORD TOO!" --overheard at hizzouse--
"Nuclear bats versue pacmac: debate" --also overheard at hizzouse--
whoa yeah
Christmas, yo.
My hand wasn't really broken, but it was quite bruised and disjointed. Don't worry, i didn't plan on learning piano this week anyway.
Yesterday Mary took a magnet of a cross off a car and i drove over it. That was the funniest event of my life. We ate goo at Baker's, but no pie. Who are we?
Actually, the funniest thing ever is that Rachel got a book about controlling her anger from dad, and it made her very angry. Giggling ensued, i slept very little.
O, Eau Claire. I got my Racy's fix, no worries.
typing, such sweet sorrow.
"You think that's selfish? Well, I don't have a self!" --some Buddhist-- ¶ 12:05 0 comments
"Continuity is my FAVORITE WORD TOO!" --overheard at hizzouse--
"Nuclear bats versue pacmac: debate" --also overheard at hizzouse--
whoa yeah
Christmas, yo.
My hand wasn't really broken, but it was quite bruised and disjointed. Don't worry, i didn't plan on learning piano this week anyway.
Yesterday Mary took a magnet of a cross off a car and i drove over it. That was the funniest event of my life. We ate goo at Baker's, but no pie. Who are we?
Actually, the funniest thing ever is that Rachel got a book about controlling her anger from dad, and it made her very angry. Giggling ensued, i slept very little.
O, Eau Claire. I got my Racy's fix, no worries.
typing, such sweet sorrow.
"You think that's selfish? Well, I don't have a self!" --some Buddhist-- ¶ 12:05 0 comments
20 dic 2004
19 dic 2004
[okay, i do know it's not the solstice yet. however, it is always dark out when i'm awake, so i don't care about technicalities.]
¶ 17:33 0 comments
traditional solstice rant on jesus and deforestation
"Gift means poison in German… if I got that for everyone instead, I wouldn’t have to worry about Christmas presents. Unfortunately, I like those to whom I intend to give things, so accidentally killing them on purpose would be bad." --Allison--
Allison is AWESOME.
Since neither my sister nor i are christian, we had decided to take a year off from Christmas. My family has always sucked at this celebration anyway, from an unfortunate combination of forgetfulness, frugality, and non-starting-out-with-'Christian'-forbears. Sometime, however, after last year when Rachel & i decided no more fake-O Xmas for us, the fam redecided without me to do it anyway. As i have no money, and no one i know needs the things i could buy for them, i'm not getting anyone anything anyway.
Here's my offical apology for being such a bah-humbug: sorrrrrrry. But whatever. If anyone actually wants anything and does not get it, feel free to tell me and i'll look into it.
And i still love ya'll anyway.
nothing new in the cold world between the ice-haloed lakes ¶ 17:31 1 comments
"Gift means poison in German… if I got that for everyone instead, I wouldn’t have to worry about Christmas presents. Unfortunately, I like those to whom I intend to give things, so accidentally killing them on purpose would be bad." --Allison--
Allison is AWESOME.
Since neither my sister nor i are christian, we had decided to take a year off from Christmas. My family has always sucked at this celebration anyway, from an unfortunate combination of forgetfulness, frugality, and non-starting-out-with-'Christian'-forbears. Sometime, however, after last year when Rachel & i decided no more fake-O Xmas for us, the fam redecided without me to do it anyway. As i have no money, and no one i know needs the things i could buy for them, i'm not getting anyone anything anyway.
Here's my offical apology for being such a bah-humbug: sorrrrrrry. But whatever. If anyone actually wants anything and does not get it, feel free to tell me and i'll look into it.
And i still love ya'll anyway.
nothing new in the cold world between the ice-haloed lakes ¶ 17:31 1 comments
18 dic 2004
my last post displays the influence my sister has had on my grammar/punctuation abilities. i can't change it now.... nope.
¶ 17:23 0 comments
so these muffins are in an oven, and one muffin says to the other....
I didn't tell that joke today! But! i did eat muffins! i meant to study a whole lot, but Angie & i got distracted a whole lot more, but that's okay. She made muffins and gave me many, and i'm still confused about ferric versus ferrous iron and solubility, but i'm going to go study now for real, so it's okay. I'm in a good mood. This is rare. and good.
gwen stefani in the coffee shop? ¶ 17:20 1 comments
I didn't tell that joke today! But! i did eat muffins! i meant to study a whole lot, but Angie & i got distracted a whole lot more, but that's okay. She made muffins and gave me many, and i'm still confused about ferric versus ferrous iron and solubility, but i'm going to go study now for real, so it's okay. I'm in a good mood. This is rare. and good.
gwen stefani in the coffee shop? ¶ 17:20 1 comments
17 dic 2004
"I live in a town
where you can't smell a thing,
you watch your feet
for cracks in the pavement."
My new favorite movie is Since Otar Left. (okay, not really, SLC PUNK! and The Jungle Book are still battling for that honoured spot. I should really look into that growing up thang.) It's beautiful. I just saw it at the Orpheum with my mom, and though she has the same problem with talking during movies as Rachel (Whale Rider and the ensuing deaths, yes, who can forget?) i really liked it. That is all. It will be seen by all someday, i insist.
Also, after not watching any movies or TV since i was last in EC, i noticed just how striking film is. No seriously, media whores ALERT! (RR, this means YOU!) Adbusters does the whole Buy Nothing Day every year, and i think once in awhile we should all do a Watch Nothing Day, or week, at least. It changes perception so efficiently.
Speaking of efficiency, i totally failed a final today! My life is awesome! However, i have now learned the power of cheat sheets, especially when they're allowed and encouraged.
Setting: Class last week
Professor is rambling on about ore deposits through time. I find this quite interesting, because for a change i know what's going on.
P.P.: "Well, the Hadean is really not interesting from an economic perspective. There's just not enough preserved to find any deposits in, even if they formed. Unless... unless... we look on the moon!!"
And yes, i found this so funny i told a later study group for an entirely different class all about it. The resultant conversation proved to me once and for all that i am not the bitterest kid on the block.
You don't even know.
"I wish that they'd sweep down
in a country lane,
late at night when I'm driving.
Take me on board
their beautiful ship,
show me the world
as I'd love to see it."
--Radiohead-- ¶ 23:13 0 comments
where you can't smell a thing,
you watch your feet
for cracks in the pavement."
My new favorite movie is Since Otar Left. (okay, not really, SLC PUNK! and The Jungle Book are still battling for that honoured spot. I should really look into that growing up thang.) It's beautiful. I just saw it at the Orpheum with my mom, and though she has the same problem with talking during movies as Rachel (Whale Rider and the ensuing deaths, yes, who can forget?) i really liked it. That is all. It will be seen by all someday, i insist.
Also, after not watching any movies or TV since i was last in EC, i noticed just how striking film is. No seriously, media whores ALERT! (RR, this means YOU!) Adbusters does the whole Buy Nothing Day every year, and i think once in awhile we should all do a Watch Nothing Day, or week, at least. It changes perception so efficiently.
Speaking of efficiency, i totally failed a final today! My life is awesome! However, i have now learned the power of cheat sheets, especially when they're allowed and encouraged.
Setting: Class last week
Professor is rambling on about ore deposits through time. I find this quite interesting, because for a change i know what's going on.
P.P.: "Well, the Hadean is really not interesting from an economic perspective. There's just not enough preserved to find any deposits in, even if they formed. Unless... unless... we look on the moon!!"
And yes, i found this so funny i told a later study group for an entirely different class all about it. The resultant conversation proved to me once and for all that i am not the bitterest kid on the block.
You don't even know.
"I wish that they'd sweep down
in a country lane,
late at night when I'm driving.
Take me on board
their beautiful ship,
show me the world
as I'd love to see it."
--Radiohead-- ¶ 23:13 0 comments
(on all the details)
¶ 12:42 0 comments
i don't have to agree with my allies.
¶ 11:34 0 comments
16 dic 2004
15 dic 2004
how/why did Ward & Blake suddenly become so small?
i guess i'm no internet genius. ¶ 12:18 0 comments
i guess i'm no internet genius. ¶ 12:18 0 comments
no matter how new age you get...
I am officially done with my classes of the semestre. I now have four finals, starting tommorroww and continuing to next Tuesday. Within that time i must also find a chance to move, and to cut up approximately 40 issues of World-KIDS (thanks Bekah's parents). The reason this should be done before i move is that my magazine collection has grown quite heavy.
Anyway, that's not really on my priority list, it's just that i just thought of it.
So! News! Um.... just school. This is my life, for the time being. I have become a fairly-quiet constant in the Geology building, especially on the third floor. The grad students all recognize me, and i them, though we don't usually know what the other is up to, beyond the assumptions that they must be a Petrologist since they're in the that one lab that has stuff for crushing rocks and stuff like Brian does and he gets paid for it, yeah. The funny thing about this is that my friend Brian really does work as a Petrology Lab Technician, and then i ask him what he does he rambles a little about sieving and sorting and crushing rocks... yeah. Then he rambles about the boss but i won't get into that as it's a matter of some delicacy in these parts.
So after a few tests, i'll be back in EC around next wendesday. Apparently my mom was supposed to come yesterday, or tommorrow, or... i don't know because she didn't answer her phone. But when she gets here i'll be moving, and i'll also be recieving my very own cell phone.
And oh! I have a poll for you!
Does anyone else remember in Disney's 101 Dalmations the part where Pongo & co are talking with the ~86 puppies in the mansion on the hill? There's a fireplace and the two mean/bad guys in the room, and lots of puppies. Okay, the question is: does the one puppy say "paught and paid for?" or "bought and paid for?" or something else entirely? And if he says something else entirely, what does he say? The deeper question behind this is whose hearing and auditory memory is better: myne or my friend Lynn's.
(yes, this is pointless, but at least we're having the debate in English this time.)
...old age gonna getcha. ¶ 12:06 2 comments
I am officially done with my classes of the semestre. I now have four finals, starting tommorroww and continuing to next Tuesday. Within that time i must also find a chance to move, and to cut up approximately 40 issues of World-KIDS (thanks Bekah's parents). The reason this should be done before i move is that my magazine collection has grown quite heavy.
Anyway, that's not really on my priority list, it's just that i just thought of it.
So! News! Um.... just school. This is my life, for the time being. I have become a fairly-quiet constant in the Geology building, especially on the third floor. The grad students all recognize me, and i them, though we don't usually know what the other is up to, beyond the assumptions that they must be a Petrologist since they're in the that one lab that has stuff for crushing rocks and stuff like Brian does and he gets paid for it, yeah. The funny thing about this is that my friend Brian really does work as a Petrology Lab Technician, and then i ask him what he does he rambles a little about sieving and sorting and crushing rocks... yeah. Then he rambles about the boss but i won't get into that as it's a matter of some delicacy in these parts.
So after a few tests, i'll be back in EC around next wendesday. Apparently my mom was supposed to come yesterday, or tommorrow, or... i don't know because she didn't answer her phone. But when she gets here i'll be moving, and i'll also be recieving my very own cell phone.
And oh! I have a poll for you!
Does anyone else remember in Disney's 101 Dalmations the part where Pongo & co are talking with the ~86 puppies in the mansion on the hill? There's a fireplace and the two mean/bad guys in the room, and lots of puppies. Okay, the question is: does the one puppy say "paught and paid for?" or "bought and paid for?" or something else entirely? And if he says something else entirely, what does he say? The deeper question behind this is whose hearing and auditory memory is better: myne or my friend Lynn's.
(yes, this is pointless, but at least we're having the debate in English this time.)
...old age gonna getcha. ¶ 12:06 2 comments
14 dic 2004
12 dic 2004
Ben & me
Bryan
Bekah & Rachel
Martin & Rachel R.
Ward & Blake
Sarah & sarah eating cats
Some pictures from the Tday party... many more posted courtesy of Bekah @ bektalk.net. ¶ 19:17 0 comments
'whose reality i knew was too hopeless to be had'
O! The places i've been! Grad party, geology geek-fest party, and a regular christian church? All in one weekend? Now i should go look at some rocks, just to be normal. Which is what i shall do, as i am still (as always) very far behind in 515 labs. This time it's not good, though. The final is tommorrow. I also have a lab final for 202, which is a lost cause either way, and a paper for Wendesday on the FUTURE. No worries.
At the Geology movie night last night i finally saw 2/3 of the Indiana Jones movies. Why O why have i never seen these before? My education is spotty at best. We also made a very tasty model of one of our most beloved subjects, but i won't say too much about that as i should soon have pictures to prove our after-hours geekiness.
And i've decided where i'm living next semestre. I went with my dad's very practical advice of taking the cheapest one possible, but alas that means no crazy hippie roommates as my other choices all were, and not exactly the best set-up for crazy parties. But, as a small bonus, i also happen to be mere feet from my beloved Geology building. Which means for you EC people: free parking near me on the weekends! Now you have no excuse not to visit. And the one-way streets really aren't all that bad....
"God DOESN'T START WITH J IN LATIN!"--Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones-- ¶ 12:51 0 comments
O! The places i've been! Grad party, geology geek-fest party, and a regular christian church? All in one weekend? Now i should go look at some rocks, just to be normal. Which is what i shall do, as i am still (as always) very far behind in 515 labs. This time it's not good, though. The final is tommorrow. I also have a lab final for 202, which is a lost cause either way, and a paper for Wendesday on the FUTURE. No worries.
At the Geology movie night last night i finally saw 2/3 of the Indiana Jones movies. Why O why have i never seen these before? My education is spotty at best. We also made a very tasty model of one of our most beloved subjects, but i won't say too much about that as i should soon have pictures to prove our after-hours geekiness.
And i've decided where i'm living next semestre. I went with my dad's very practical advice of taking the cheapest one possible, but alas that means no crazy hippie roommates as my other choices all were, and not exactly the best set-up for crazy parties. But, as a small bonus, i also happen to be mere feet from my beloved Geology building. Which means for you EC people: free parking near me on the weekends! Now you have no excuse not to visit. And the one-way streets really aren't all that bad....
"God DOESN'T START WITH J IN LATIN!"--Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones-- ¶ 12:51 0 comments
11 dic 2004
"Do i want to do right? Of course./But do i really want to feel i'm forced?"
--Fiona Apple-- ¶ 13:00 0 comments
--Fiona Apple-- ¶ 13:00 0 comments
Retired title: Scurvy in the Lexicon
¶ 12:59 0 comments
9 dic 2004
Who me? Bitter?
I'm still upset that i didn't get to go to the SOA protest, but here's some pictures from the guys who went.
In order of appearance: Sukhi, Anne, Amy, Mark and Chris.
more photos ¶ 11:55 0 comments
7 dic 2004
"The universe must be such to admit the creation of observers within it."
--Physicist Brandon Carter--
Now, that's a pretty quote. Nice. But i was thinking about it, and i turned it around, you know, inverse implications and the like. What if the universe was not such to allow observers within it? Would a universe like that then be said to not exist at all?
I don't like that one bit. Nope.
The point being that even non-sentient things are worth having around.
Though those among the sentient are more fun, if only for things like Softer World, Spanish accents, and peanut butter candy. But it must be noted that nothing among conscious life could exist without the sub/unconscious framework.
But therein lies another problem: i think it is morally wrong (and fundamentally dualistic) for us to view the unconscious as a 'framework' or the 'bedrock' or whatever on which our higher-more-advanced-and-supremely-beautiful-mental-mynds reside (because the obvious extension of this is that the unconscious does not matter, andcan be has been exploited). Dualism's foundations are from categorizing the conscious away from the unconscious, and these things fundamentally cannot be considered separate. Consciousness is a very specialized type of unconsciousness.
Consciousness arizes from lots (okay, i have no idea how many) of unconscious activities--both simultaneously in our brain/nervous system and for billions of years in time--that have formed a unique way of gaining information from each other. We choose to call ourselves conscious; the naming of the 'fact' created the fact. No other previous lifeform had had the need to name itself. They all just were.
Even if they didn't know it, they were.
Since i'm on the topic, does a blog without readers exist at all?
You could tell me what you think, or by your silence i'll suppose i don't exist.
i like that beginning quote a lot as it relates to physics, but not to anything else. As if they could be kept separate.
End Rant, Reason #452.07 Why Dualism Sucks ¶ 15:46 9 comments
--Physicist Brandon Carter--
Now, that's a pretty quote. Nice. But i was thinking about it, and i turned it around, you know, inverse implications and the like. What if the universe was not such to allow observers within it? Would a universe like that then be said to not exist at all?
I don't like that one bit. Nope.
The point being that even non-sentient things are worth having around.
Though those among the sentient are more fun, if only for things like Softer World, Spanish accents, and peanut butter candy. But it must be noted that nothing among conscious life could exist without the sub/unconscious framework.
But therein lies another problem: i think it is morally wrong (and fundamentally dualistic) for us to view the unconscious as a 'framework' or the 'bedrock' or whatever on which our higher-more-advanced-and-supremely-beautiful-mental-mynds reside (because the obvious extension of this is that the unconscious does not matter, and
Consciousness arizes from lots (okay, i have no idea how many) of unconscious activities--both simultaneously in our brain/nervous system and for billions of years in time--that have formed a unique way of gaining information from each other. We choose to call ourselves conscious; the naming of the 'fact' created the fact. No other previous lifeform had had the need to name itself. They all just were.
Even if they didn't know it, they were.
Since i'm on the topic, does a blog without readers exist at all?
You could tell me what you think, or by your silence i'll suppose i don't exist.
i like that beginning quote a lot as it relates to physics, but not to anything else. As if they could be kept separate.
End Rant, Reason #452.07 Why Dualism Sucks ¶ 15:46 9 comments
6 dic 2004
diabetes yay!
i had way too much sugar in my coffee this morning.
it was like hyperactive candy.
more precisely, it was hyperactive candy.
and then i talked to the Chairman of the Department about some Official Business
so i think he thinks all undergrads are fritzes
which might be true.
or at least in my case certainly is.
basinal flow controversy... When Metallurgists FIGHT!
¶ 09:24 0 comments
i had way too much sugar in my coffee this morning.
it was like hyperactive candy.
more precisely, it was hyperactive candy.
and then i talked to the Chairman of the Department about some Official Business
so i think he thinks all undergrads are fritzes
which might be true.
or at least in my case certainly is.
basinal flow controversy... When Metallurgists FIGHT!
¶ 09:24 0 comments
4 dic 2004
Events! and such.
I don't know where i'm living next semestre, or over winter break either for that matter. I'm not too worried though, as i have at least three offers for Spring, and though they are all more than i'd like/be able to pay, two of them are friends who will let me bargain down. Hopefully lots, but then i'd feel bad.
Today i went to my current roommate's Gospel Choir Concert, you know, Praise Jesus with hip-hop infusion and all that. I didn't get into the clapping/dancing about and i found the whole thing a bit too evangelical. Ay well, what should i have expected? They were, however, very good (okay, AMAZING) singers and actually several people i knew.
Bekah herself did a solo skit-thing, where she played a random college student who had attended said concert, was moved by the music but not the Message of the Lord. One acting choir member after another came up to her and she said variations of "Oh, i liked your concert, it was nice, but i haven't really accepted jesus into my heart, you know, no time for that when i have Physics to study for! Tally-ho!" and at the end of this lil' skit 'Jesus' said, "I love you anyway." The point of this rambling is that parts of the skit were almost exact quotes from conversations we've had on 'Why Sarah Hasn't Accepted the Word of God' conversations, followed by witty-yet-kind replies the faithful might use.
I might be being a bit egocentric, but it was weird. Weird. She asked me to come to the concert, and because i generally am okay with concerts and like her, i said i'd go. Proselytization irks me as i do know how to use it, and i also know just how wrong itcan does go. This particular church group is okay, though, all things considered. At least they don't have the whole "If you don't believe in Jesus our Loving Saviour YOU WILL ABSOLUTELY DIE A LOT AND IT WILL HURT" going for them.
It'd only hurt a bit.
But anyway, because i was at the concert and because Bekah's very own skit encouraged watchers not to just comment on how pretty they found the music, but rather really take heart to the Saving Message, i'm not sure what to tell her without sounding... bad. i guess.
Let's see, i also did some homework today, thought about wind tunnels, and ate a pot pie. My life is GREAT!
[okay, wind tunnel explanation:
one day this summer:
scene: ay-Bear house, watching techTV or something:
Nik: I would love to own that!
Bekah: What? The car? But honey, it sucks.
Nik: No, the WIND TUNNEL!
Bekah: OH MY GOD! WE SHOULD GET ONE!
Me: or... make one?
Nik: I AM ON THAT! *drafts in head*
so today i somehow found myself in a wind tunnel where one had never been before. Urban planning, yo. Also note that the two Bekahs in this post are completely different people.]
"for your sake i hope heaven and hell/(few minutes)/are really there but I wouldn't hold my breath"--Modest Mouse-- ¶ 19:58 0 comments
I don't know where i'm living next semestre, or over winter break either for that matter. I'm not too worried though, as i have at least three offers for Spring, and though they are all more than i'd like/be able to pay, two of them are friends who will let me bargain down. Hopefully lots, but then i'd feel bad.
Today i went to my current roommate's Gospel Choir Concert, you know, Praise Jesus with hip-hop infusion and all that. I didn't get into the clapping/dancing about and i found the whole thing a bit too evangelical. Ay well, what should i have expected? They were, however, very good (okay, AMAZING) singers and actually several people i knew.
Bekah herself did a solo skit-thing, where she played a random college student who had attended said concert, was moved by the music but not the Message of the Lord. One acting choir member after another came up to her and she said variations of "Oh, i liked your concert, it was nice, but i haven't really accepted jesus into my heart, you know, no time for that when i have Physics to study for! Tally-ho!" and at the end of this lil' skit 'Jesus' said, "I love you anyway." The point of this rambling is that parts of the skit were almost exact quotes from conversations we've had on 'Why Sarah Hasn't Accepted the Word of God' conversations, followed by witty-yet-kind replies the faithful might use.
I might be being a bit egocentric, but it was weird. Weird. She asked me to come to the concert, and because i generally am okay with concerts and like her, i said i'd go. Proselytization irks me as i do know how to use it, and i also know just how wrong it
It'd only hurt a bit.
But anyway, because i was at the concert and because Bekah's very own skit encouraged watchers not to just comment on how pretty they found the music, but rather really take heart to the Saving Message, i'm not sure what to tell her without sounding... bad. i guess.
Let's see, i also did some homework today, thought about wind tunnels, and ate a pot pie. My life is GREAT!
[okay, wind tunnel explanation:
one day this summer:
scene: ay-Bear house, watching techTV or something:
Nik: I would love to own that!
Bekah: What? The car? But honey, it sucks.
Nik: No, the WIND TUNNEL!
Bekah: OH MY GOD! WE SHOULD GET ONE!
Me: or... make one?
Nik: I AM ON THAT! *drafts in head*
so today i somehow found myself in a wind tunnel where one had never been before. Urban planning, yo. Also note that the two Bekahs in this post are completely different people.]
"for your sake i hope heaven and hell/(few minutes)/are really there but I wouldn't hold my breath"--Modest Mouse-- ¶ 19:58 0 comments
also, the National Anthem of Greater Tomania is GREAT.
i understood it just SO well. ¶ 13:47 0 comments
i understood it just SO well. ¶ 13:47 0 comments
"Well, technically that's true. It's only the third of the month." --overheard conversation on responding to the doctor's question, 'how many times a month do you smoke pot?'--
¶ 13:45 0 comments
¶ 13:45 0 comments
3 dic 2004
varying forms of cake
"The trouble with wilderness is that it quietly expresses and reproduces the very values its devotees seek to reject. The flight from history that is very nearly the core of wilderness represents the false hope of an escape from responsibility, the illusion that we can somehow wipe clean the slate of our past and return to the tabula rasa that supposedly existed before we began to leave our marks on the world. The dream of an unworked natural landscape is very much the fantasy of people who have never themselves had to work the land to make a living."
--William Cronan--
i'm not sure i agree... but it's making me think. a little, i try not to think too much these days.
"fetishize sublime places" ¶ 08:15 0 comments
"The trouble with wilderness is that it quietly expresses and reproduces the very values its devotees seek to reject. The flight from history that is very nearly the core of wilderness represents the false hope of an escape from responsibility, the illusion that we can somehow wipe clean the slate of our past and return to the tabula rasa that supposedly existed before we began to leave our marks on the world. The dream of an unworked natural landscape is very much the fantasy of people who have never themselves had to work the land to make a living."
--William Cronan--
i'm not sure i agree... but it's making me think. a little, i try not to think too much these days.
"fetishize sublime places" ¶ 08:15 0 comments
2 dic 2004
Stibnite's a sulfosalt?
i'm confused. i better go find my best friend the Updated Geological Dictionary.
seriously.... and those pictures in the last post are a BIF and a Cu-Zn-Pb ternary diagram, respectively. ¶ 11:54 0 comments
i'm confused. i better go find my best friend the Updated Geological Dictionary.
seriously.... and those pictures in the last post are a BIF and a Cu-Zn-Pb ternary diagram, respectively. ¶ 11:54 0 comments
i posted that NSF link the other day to point out that science funding is not as high as i think it should be, and yet at the same time certain people like to play up how helpful they are to this end. i mean, there are certainly more important things needing funding than research, but the shear amount of research ideas out there that don't get completed for years due to budget cuts is astounding.
One day, while Angie & i were attempting 303 homework on fluid flow and such, one of our Profs, Dr. Sahai, came by. She had been gone for a week or so at a NSF meeting, as she's on the board that allocates monies in earth/space/lifehistory sciences. Out of nearly 400 entries, seven (seven) grants were given. Sahai was frusterated as her council really did want to support the research, but they are limited in what they can do. She said most of the research, be it in Geology or Physics or Genetics or whatever, that gets funding is the "sexy" topics.
After i got over the shock of hearing my otherwise seemingly-straight-laced prof use the word "sexy" several times in conversation, i realized how dire this situation could be. Primarily for my and my friends' careers, as many of us are planning to go into research of one type or another, and secondly, for the shortcuts and cheating that intense competition in science (or any field) can create. And mostly for all the problems that still remain in science that won't be solved as long as people with checkbooks don't care.
Competition's not all bad, of course, but i don't think it's the best strategy in scholarship... or life in general, for that matter. ah well, back to my previously scheduled caring about BIFs and other
¶ 11:37 0 comments
