Pardon Me, Where Do You Keep The Microfiche?

I'm fairly certain that I never could have even attempted to get a degree of any kind before technology ruled the world. Evidence? The Inter Library Loan is perhaps the coolest thing ever. I am now happily in the possession of a book that really ought not to exist. Technically, it might not be technology, but I never would have even known the book even existed without another reason I couldn't hack it earlier: Online library databases. Remember card catalogs? hehe Card Catalogs!

Ok, maybe we're loosing the ability to do, ya know, actual research, but still, card catalogs?

Also, scans? PDFs? online searchable journals? digital photographs? digital number crunching? And I'm in the humanities!

Ok, I'm off to read my secret shouldn't-still-exist book

TV Tonight

What does it say about me that I am flipping back and forth between Emma and Tomb Raider? I'm pretty sure it must be a diagnosable illness, a chemical imbalance to be sure.

By the way, what are the odds that I'll be able to use those two tags again?

Commercials That I Hate

So I'm watching some basketball today, and although I actually love good ads, boy are they craptacular. Even when I'm right in their target market. I'm sure this list will grow.

Coke vs. Coke Zero Taste Infringement series
- Inspires loathing. What a horrible useless campaign. Did they think it was funny? Why is it that idiocy is now considered a positive point? This has been around forever, and I just can't figure out why.

Degree Antiperspirant in the Future
- Ok, so you had a robot apply your antiperspirant in the morning and were nearly late for your meeting - especially after having to deal with that robotic dog who wanted to bit your butt. Should I just try not to think about why a robot would want to chase or bite you? Luckily there was a jet-pack thing there that got you to the meeting - with your holographic boss? And the hologram analyzes you for sweat? What. The. Hell?

Name That Film

Perhaps you might know how much I enjoy a quiz. Well now, some folks started a flickr pool called "Name That Film." The game is easy enough, upload a screengrab from a film and let the other folks try and figure out what film it came from. Fun! I will say though, that some folks are using this as an opportunity to go as obscure as possible. feh. Most of 'em are a lot of fun though. I'm almost regretting not having a decent film collection :)

Twenty-Six Point Two, Expanded

I hope you folks have this thing on bloglines or reader or something, 'cause hey, if it were me, I probably would have deleted the bookmark long ago. Just sayin'

So, I never did write about the marathon. I guess I'm sufficiently recovered to elaborate now :)

It really was fine, if a little disappointing. I had been sick for the week leading up to the run, so not only did I not do any nice maintenance running, but I was also a bit dehydrated. In any case, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I really did expect to do better, but I beat my last time (from '98? '99?) so that's something I guess.

I did pretty fine actually, well, up to about mile 18. Then things started getting ugly. My ankle (oddly enough, not the one that had bothered me a while back) started complaining, which wasn't bad, but then my thigh started to cramp up. The really rough thing is that you can pretty much run through mild pain - endorphines and bull-headedness, I guess, but boy howdy, a cramp will really sit you down and give you a stern talking to about what an idiot you are.

There's a really weird thing about the decision to start walking for me. For me, walking equals failure. That's overstating it a bit, but not by much. Also, there's the idea (true enough) that once you start to walk, it becomes so much harder to start running again. So I ended up nearly dropping into a walk several times, and then pushing on and congratulating myself only to find a few minutes later trying to stave off the walkies again. It really is a huge mind-game.

I was pretty happy with the run up to that point, but once the cramping started to really settle in, I lost (or won?) the arguement with myself and started walking. Every so often, I tried to start running again, but it's funny how it seemed like my body bought into the idea that we were done doing that pain-thing for the day, and it didn't want to have anything to do with this whole jogging bit anymore.

So, I walked. and walked. I felt pretty pathetic walking by the crowds of people cheering the runners on. Some of the people actually yelled out "Go runners!" hmm... Guess they weren't talking about me :) I should also say that there were heaps of walkers and the ex-runners like myself, but still. Feh.

Anyway, about mile 21, I was able to pick up something that might be charitably called a jog again, and started to trundle off. As I ran further, the aches and pains gradually fell away and by about mile 24, I was almost running at speed again. Well, ok, maybe not speed, but noticeably no longer shuffle-jogging.

I was able to run out the rest of the marathon, and got my little finishers medal and a whole crapload of free cookies and bananas and gels and chocolate and sport drinks etc etc.

Probably the coolest thing was on the bus back to where I was staying, there was a itty bitty kid and his mom. The mom pointed over at me (still wearing medal and bib) and said, "See? He ran the marathon!" and the little kid said, "cool."

Cool.

26.2 Dammit

Pros and Cons

Bonus effect of getting a cold:

Deeper voice - can now sing bass

Downside:

Running a marathon with a cold this weekend.

Comics 'n' Charts

Maybe you like Garfield. Maybe you don't. But take him out of the comic and you've got something truly bizarre.

Sometimes, music is hard to understand.
Charts
might
help.

Be It Resolved

• "Mid-Term" Exams
• You can not have more than one per term, otherwise it is not a mid-term.
  
• If you want to use the phrase to scare students, it doesn't work. And your loyal TAs are the ones that take the brunt of the anger.
  
• Unless it takes place in the middle(ish) of the term, and there is only one, just call it a 'test.'
  
• Advertising on campus
• Litering /= marketing.
• You cannot convince me in any more effective way that your product is not worth my time than by covering the campus with your pathetic 'guerrilla' marketing.

That is all.

A Change on Main Street

There's a movie rental chain store that's going out of business near me. It opened last November, maybe. I don't really have any sympathy, 'cause hey, first off, it's a huge chain monstrosity, and second, who in their right mind thinks that expanding a movie rental business now? Well, that and I'm heartless. Surely there's a huge contraction going on right now and without a fundamental change in the business, it's got no shot, right?

That's not what this post was supposed to be about though. The store is running a sale on all their stock. Right now it's 25% off their used price - anyway it ends up being about 7 bucks per DVD. Now, to be honest, I really don't care that much for owning disks - music or movies, but hey, I'd take a look. I ended up picking up four funky foreign flicks (not entirely because of the alliterative possibilities). One of which was Lagaan - a very fun Bollywood song and dance movie about cricket. I mean, seriously, how could I not, right?

The odd thing was you could see the horror that is the film industry on display. There were uncountable numbers of movies I'd never even heard of. The main studio films were about as bad. There were stacks and stacks of Showgirls and Taledada Nights. I guess it makes sense for the rental biz, but I was wondering if they could find a home for all of those. The "Special Interest" section was scarier. There were a whole lot of copies of "Chickfight."

Am I too pessimistic to think that Chickfight will sell out before Showgirls?

Tonight We Watch Movies in HELL!

Watched 300.

I do enjoy a good popcorn boom boom movie. I like explosions and cheesecake and all that jazz. I understand that people enjoyed the visuals. It was striking, and movies that actually have a unique visual vision are rare, so I guess that's something. I can't really form a coherent paragraph, so bullet points will serve.

• Why oh why oh why must every 'historically inspired' group of people go off on the importance of their 'country' and the eternal value of 'freedom' regardless of any historical basis?
• Seriously, even if it was a comment on the modern world, it was incoherent.
  
• Those heroic and noble light skinned people surely showed it to those dark skinned evil foreigners, didn't they?
• Now I ain't no Greek scholar or nothin' but the swipe at Athenians being 'boy lovers?' Umm... Pot or kettle?
• The entire queen's speech - utter crap. Seriously, I speak to you not as your queen but as a mother? What the hell?
• Did Sparta even have the position of queen? Also, didn't they have two kings?

Ugh, I've got to stop now.

I understand that it was supposed to be a melodrama, but still...

I'm over-thinking this, aren't I?

Mrs. Robinson, You AreTrying To Quiz Me.

Ah! Now you folks are back in the swing of things! Including a late catch by the Quarterflashing Corndog. Now there's an image. Which quarter, I wonder?

Anywhoo - numbers 2 and 8 were through the holes in the net last time- #2 was Rod Stewart's "Infatuation" and well, hey, I never thought I'd catch you guys with a Madonna, but there ya go - "Who's That Girl?" for #8.

Let's do this again, shall we? I'm still stuck on the 80s channel, so bear with me:

1.

Gave you my heart, gave you my soul
You left me alone here
With nothing to hold
Yesterday's gone
Now all I want is a smile

2.

It's gotta be night and say
Just a matter of time
And we got nothing to be guilty of
Our love will climb any mountain near or far , we are
And we never let it end
We are devotion

3.

The problem's plain to see:
too much technology
Machines to save our lives.
Machines dehumanize

4.

you know,ain't no plans with a man,
this is the 80s and
I'm down the ladies

5.

You ask if I love you, well what can I say?
You know that I do and if this is just one of those games that we play
So I'll sing you a new song, please don't cry anymore
and then I'll ask your forgiveness, though I don't know just what I'm
asking it for

6.

Won't some sweet mama come and take a chance with me
'Cause I ain't so bad

7.

I'm so in love with you
Ill be forever blue
That you give me no reason
You know you're making me work so hard

8.

I want to love you, feel you, wrap myself around you
I want to squeeze you, please you, I just can't get enough
And if you move real slow I let it go

9.

I call, you're not at home
You're home, but you're not alone
If you wanna leave
Then why don't you say
Your love has gone anyway

10.

Could you like just picture me in like a leather teddy
Yeah right, hurt me, hurt me...
I'm sure! no way!

I'm Very Excited To Have The Opportunity

Any guesses how very much sick of writing letters trying to convince people to give me money so I can keep doing my research I am?

The answer is very.

I like talking about my topics, but I really really hate pimping myself like this.

Feh.

Watch Two, Play One

A couple of movies and a game from teh intertubes:

Star Trek plus Jefferson Airplane? Joy!


Um, I'm really not sure what to do with this one, especially the last part, but I thought you might need to see it.


And finally, a tower defense-style game. It's got wizards and zombies. That's got to be good, right?

Quizzing Like it’s Much Earlier Than 1999

So, now, in honor of this Day of Presidents, I present to you, a quiz. Of lyrics!

1.

There's things that you guess
And things that you know
There's boys you can trust
And girls that you don't

2.

Spirits soar when I'm by her side
She put a little love in this heart of mine
Maybe I'm lucky, maybe I'm freed
Maybe this woman's just all I need

3.

She's right here behind the glass
and you're gonna like her,
'cause she's got class.

4.

Although I want you bad I could let you go
'Cause there's a lot of girls out there that won't say no
But due to fact that I want you, Jackie
I want you more than human eyes can see

5.

Now who's this Don Juan I've been hearing of
Love hurts when only one's in love
Did ya fall first sight
Or did you need a shove?

6.

With a thrill in my head and a pill on my tongue
Dissolve the nerves that have just begun
Listening to Marvin all night long
This is the sound of my soul

7.

I told you
That we could fly
'Cause we all have wings
But some of us don't know why

8.

When you see her, say a prayer and kiss your heart goodbye
She's trouble, in a word get closer to the fire
Run faster, her laughter burns you up inside
You're spinning round and round
You can't get up, you try but you can't

9.

Crying on the corner, waiting in the rain
I swear I'll never, ever wait again
You gave me your word, but words for you are lies

10.

Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling
Do you feel my heart beating, do you understand?
Do you feel the same, am I only dreaming?

Merry-Go-Round

Sprinting the straights and jogging the curves.

I haven't really talked gear before.
I'm using Sporttracks, an incredible piece of freeware that pulls the data from my Garmin Forrunner 305 and overlays the plot points on Google maps. I've used Nike+ and the previous Nike pedometer system, but I'm happiest with this combination. You get good tracking of your gear (reminding you to switch out shoes), automatic weather tracking, weight maintenance options and all sorts of fun charts.

Criticisms
- Sporttracks doesn't handle the heartrate info that the Forerunner 305 has, so I still have to use the abysmal Garmin Training software for that.
- The one thing that Nike+ does that I really miss is pretty par for the course for Apple-related stuff. It's the pretty. Nike+'s website is really wonderful, and I loved using it, I just wish they didn't demand that you are only able to use their own proprietary crap. I should rephrase. The iPod is most certainly not crap, it's just not the crap that I want. Why not allow me to buy into the Nike+ system with a different piece of crap?

Scrabbling

From a game I'm playing with Jayfish and Zerodoll. I didn't think this could be done.

The First Step is Admitting You Have a Problem

So, I haven't been blogging about running very much, because I realized that it must be amazingly boring to read, but today might be worthwhile.

I've been ramping up my miles 'cause I'm doing a marathon soon (disturbingly soon, actually), so today's run was planned to be a really gorgeous run of about 14 miles. It's a bit of a pain for the first 2 miles or so because you have to run through some very nasty car-centric areas with lots of traffic lights.

Once you get past that chunk, it's a really beautiful part of town that no mortal human could afford to live in, but credit where credit is due, they've got a lot of greenspace and running trials. Must be nice to be rich, but hey, at least they haven't blocked it off to through running yet. It's even so swanky they've got water fountains on the trails.

After that bit, it gets even better. It's a pretty famous area, so I'll spare the description, but there's green, there's water, and curse me for being so crass, there's an unending stream of women who are... well... another nice aspect of the scenery.

So, the fun part of the story is that I got to the turnaround point and I was really feeling pretty good for having run 7 miles. No stitches, feet felt fine, knees and back and heck, everywhere - not even much muscle ache. So hey, my endorphin-addled brain asked me, "why not run further?" It's just an out and back, right? I could just add another mile or so on, turn around and zip-zop, no problem. Add another couple of miles to my weekly total and be ahead of the game for my prep work, right?

Ah, hubris.

Anywhoo. I kept on running, thinking I knew there was another major geographic point that should be coming up soon. I figured I'd turn around there, and it would make a pretty picture on my GPS map when I got home. (Yes I really did consider that on the 'pro' side of the mental note paper. The 'con' side was curiously absent such phrases as 'pain,' 'idiocy' or 'brittle knees snapping like dry kindling')

So I keep running on, becoming more concerned that I hadn't seen my new turnaround point. The added problem was that it is a beautiful day today, so when I did see it in the distance, it was way in the distance, but by that point my head was set to get there.

Long story short (well, not really short, but trust me, I could drag this on for pages), at the turnaround point, I looked at my GPS, and saw that I had run ten miles. Even at that point though, I didn't realize the pain I was in for. To be honest, I did ok up until about mile 15 where you turn into the uber-neighborhood. From that point on, it was really more of a shuffle run.

I did make it home - no walking. I had a wee bit of joy getting up the stairs, but after a nice long bath and a brutal NYT crossword, I'm feeling much more human. Only real pain is muscle pain and a little bit of arch grief.

Hooray for idiocy and bullheadedness!

Oh, and that GPS map looked really cool.

What is This Weekend Of Which You Speak?

I'm not really sure how to cope with this new information. I think that I may not have to work through the entire weekend in my office. I may very well be able to squeeze out a whole day without working on any specific projects.

So... It's been a while. What do people do when they aren't working?

Once More Unto the Quiz, Dear Friends

Without ado, further or otherwise, a quiz. (sentence fragment -.5, unnecessarily wordy -.5, awkward -.5)

1.

You crave attention--you can never say no
Throw your affections anyway the wind blows
You always make it--you're on top of the scene
You sell the copy like the cover of a magazine

2. This one may be a bit hard, but I had to use it just because of that 3rd line.

Here today, gone tomorrow
It’s possible, but I doubt it
His kiss is credit in the bank of love
I never leave home without it

3.

Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows

4.

Another year and then you'll be happy
Just one more year and then you'll be happy
But you're cryin'
You're cryin' now

5.

So you think your schooling's phony
I guess it's hard not to agree
You say it all depends on money
And who is in your family tree

6.

I picked up my bag, I went lookin' for a place to hide;
When I saw Carmen and the Devil walkin' side by side.
I said, "Hey, Carmen, come on, let's go downtown."
She said, "I gotta go, but my friend can stick around."

7. Really popular/infamous song, but more obscure lyrics

Outside it's cold misty and it's raining,
They got each other neither one's complaining,
He says I sorry but I'm out of milk and coffee,
Never mind sugar we can watch the early movie.

8.

Now you're in trouble, maybe she's an intellectual
What if she figures out you're not very smart
Or maybe she's the quiet type who's into heavy metal
Boy, you got to get it settled
Cause she's breaking your heart

9.

That's the way it began, we were hand in hand
Glenn Miller's Band was better than before
We yelled and screamed for more
And the Porter tunes "Night and Day"
Made us dance across the room
It ended all too soon
And on the way back home

10.

Working on the sound of the band
Trying to get the music right
Two go out working
Three stay home at night

Ya know, after looking back at those, they're pretty tough... Good luck!

I Have Hopes

It's been a real killer-diller of a couple of weeks for your host here at Overread Central. I shamefully admit, I haven't even been reading blogs, so I humbly apologize if you've had something important going on. I completely missed it. I'm going to try to get back into the blogging swing of things, so we'll see how that goes for us.

For now, I think the least I can do would be a bullet-list. And I mean it. It's the least I can do. That's why I'm going to do it. :)

• The nasty project that was hanging over my head has left my laptop on electronic wings, soaring to my advisor. If he likes the ideas, it will become the huge monster project to use in hunting funding. I have hopes.
• The marathon is still go. It will happen in a few weeks, but due to a bit of arch/heel pain, there will be no attempt to break any time barrier short of 24 hours. I have hopes.
  
• I bought a lottery ticket. I have hopes.
• My computers are conspiring against me. My laptop seems to enjoy certain international websites only until I find crucial information, then it shuts down. Also, the speaker only works when it wants to. So far I think I've discovered that it approves of 80s pop, but not musical theatre. My desktop has become very protective of the home network. Protective enough that it thinks I probably shouldn't be allowed to use it. We are in negotiations. I have hopes.
• While writing, I've been listening to music. Expect a few quizzes in the near future.
  
• My library rocks. I was let into the Special Collections room because one of the books I needed was apparently "special." I not really sure why. It wasn't particularly rare or fragile, but ah well. Before I was ushered into the chapel of books, they made me lock up all my bags and books and pens in a locker. Then, in the inner-sanctum, they brought out a special mini-podium made of cushions on which they carefully placed the book. There was also a delicately-balanced padded page-holder that held the book open to the table of contents. I sat down with great reverence, only to discover on looking at the table of contents that there would surely be nothing in the book that I could use. Embarrassed, I flipped through the pages for a few minutes in the hopes that they would think their efforts were appreciated, then I left.
• I have hopes.
  

Those Mannings Are Going to be Insufferable at their Reunion

Right, it'll be a blow-out. I can catch the commercials on Youtube. No problem. I've got to get that paper, that recommendation, and those grades (oh, and get that Japanese speech written, too) all in on Monday, so go in to the office. You won't be missing much.

Only what looks like one of the best Super Bowls in recent memory.

Crap.

Thanks a whole lot, little ESPN flash updater thingie. It would have been better if I hadn't found out until I got home.

Ah, well, back to work.

Pretty Fly

We had a big test for the class I'm TAing. We ask the students to write their section number on their exam sheets. Many students forget the section number. This is how we realize how the students really see our sections.

Most are "[time] section with [TAs name]"

Best one I've gotten so far is "10am, [room number]? with the white guy"

Now I know. I'm the white guy.

Oh The Humanity

I had kinda thought that I would try to put a more substantial post up here, but something more important happened. I drank this:

If you can't see that well, that's a Cherry Chocolate Diet Dr Pepper. I like Dr Pepper. A lot. Really heaps. This is an abomination. It's like you ground up chocolate Necco wafers into a bottle of hyper-carbonated water. My stomach can't figure out whether to give an acidic half-burp or grumble or just explode in revenge toward me for forcing that stuff down my throat.

Score: 1 bottlecap out of 5

Hi! Coo...

since last? fifteen days
overwhelmed and quite tired
more blogging to come

Collective Souls

If the collective noun for goose is gaggle, whale is pod and dove is exaltation (cute, eh?), what is the collective noun for gradfolk?

I suggest:

a procrastination of gradfolk
a laze of gradfolk
an insomnia of gradfolk
a neurosis of gradfolk

How about Professors?

a tenure of professors
an exasperation of professors

Any other suggestions? We could petition the Websters people...

Mind the Quiz

Hazah to the quizzers! Those noble souls who despite setbacks and earworms and Eddie Murphy videos continue to strive for lyrical success. Truly they are heroes of our time.

I was worried about Zerodoll, but she did come through with #7. Alas, googling is considered poor sportsmanship, but I do highly recommend youtubing the ones that you don't get after you give up. You will be rewarded by much head-slapping and truly horrible videos.

However, there was a bit of a stumble on numbers 8 and 10 last time 'round, which were Warrnt's 'Heaven' and Roxette's 'Dangerous.' To be honest, looking back at #10, I can understand why no one got that one. It's clear when you sing it, but it really isn't clear with just the lyrics.

Alrighty then, Fair warning, the Winamp radio that streams me my tunes has been set on the Classic Rock station, so that's what you'll be getting. Well, mostly. :)

1.

I know its late, I know you're weary
I know your plans don't include me
Still here we are, both of us lonely
Longing for shelter from all that we see

2.

But it was only fantasy.
The wall was too high,
As you can see.
No matter how he tried,
He could not break free.
And the worms ate into his brain.

3.

catch the wind, see us spin,
Sail away, leave today,
Way up high in the sky.
But the wind wont blow,
You really shouldn't go,
It only goes to show
That you will be mine
By taking our time.

4.

So far away from the garden we love
She is what moves in the soul of a dove
Soon I shall see just how black was my night
When were alone in her city of light

5.

They are one person
They are two alone
They are three together
They are for each other

6.

And then your wife seems to think you're part of the furniture
oh, its peculiar, she used to be so nice.

7.

Now you're climbing to the top of the company ladder
Hope it doesn't take too long
Can't you see there'll come a day when it wont matter
Come a day when you'll be gone

8.

She's got loving like quicksand
Only took one touch of her hand
To blow my mind and I'm in so deep
That I cant eat and I can't sleep

9. Careful on the artist for this one :)

When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one

10.

I've been walking in Central Park
Singing after dark
People think I'm crazy
Ive been stumbling on my feet
Shuffling through the street
What's the matter with you boy?

Politics Comes To Campus

Overheard:

"No! Edwards' wife has, like totally normal hair!"

First in the Nation

Wow. Now I'm really still undecided about who I like in the primaries, so I'm really interested in the coverage over in NH. What I'm thinking:

• Iowa? New Hampshire? Yeah, I think we need to redo the primary system altogether.
• Clinton looks absolutely exhausted. I don't want her to be president, but I really hope she hangs in and makes a good showing.
  
• Obama is still getting very friendly coverage, and it doesn't seem that anyone is being very critical
• Is Edwards really so much of a longshot that he doesn't warrant any coverage at all? Also, that hair is terrifying.
  
• Huckabee - The networks only go as far as mentioning that there are very few 'Evangelicals' in NH. Why don't they talk about specifics? Talk about evolution, science, stem cells, abortion! These aren't solely religious issues. They are political issues.
• Romney - Looking very casual and blase. This seems to work well for him. Clinton could learn from this I think.
  
• McCain - he seems very upbeat for a guy who is getting his tukas kicked.
• Guliani - who?
• Thompson - How is this man getting votes? Somnambulism is not a platform. He doesn't even have any stage presence. How is that possible?
• Paul - I'm really glad he's out there raising issues, but I look at him like Kucinich. I really wish more people would argue their ideas rather then just dismiss them, but neither one is electable. Paul as a third party candidate would be a hoot though.
  
• I'm figuring Obama and Romney will win and become pretty hard to beat.
  
• I worry that Democrats are getting a bit complacent, thinking that they'll have no problem against any Republican. I think that they forget that they are Democrats and that means that they can find a way to lose anything anytime.
  
• Isn't it cool when the news channels cover (what I consider) news?
• I'm really torn about Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert being back on TV despite the strike. Also, neither of them seem nearly as sharp without their writers. I did really miss them though.
  

It's Not the Quiz, It's the Humidity

Man, it's getting really hard to sneak one by you guys. The only one that got by way 'I am, I said,'
by the incomparable Niel Diamond - Incomparable because I can't think of anyone to compare him to at the moment.

Also, I should know better than to question Gary's music knowledge - his grasp is all-encompassing. I had no idea that Randy Newman wrote 'Mama Told Me Not To Come.' Mr. Newman is everywhere, I tells ya. And he's (Gary, not Randy) has started up a review of a year that I'm particularly fond of: 1982.

So, now I was going to try to avoid quizzing from '82, but hey, no promises :) Although for some odd reason, we're going in chronological order. Odd, eh?

1.

The time has come for closing books and long last looks must end
And as I leave I know that I am leaving my best friend

2.

How did ya' know I needed you so badly
How did ya' know I gave my heart gladly
Yesterday I was one of a lonely people
Now you're lying next to me

3.

It swings
It jives
It shakes all over like a jelly fish,
I kinda like it

4.

Remember how I found you there
Alone in your electric chair
I told you dirty jokes until you smiled

5.

Boys with small talk and small minds
Really don't impress me in bed
She said, I need a man's man, baby
Diamonds and furs
Love would only conquer my head

6. This one may be a little hard, but oh my god, I had no idea this is who sang this song...

Baby - there's no need for living in the past
Now I've found good loving gonna make it last.
I tell the others don't bother me
'Cause when they look at you
they don't see what I see
No - I don't listen to their wasted lines
Got my eyes wide open and I see the signs

7.

My heart is old - it holds my memories
My baby burns - a gem like flame
Somewhere between the soul and soft machine
Is where I find myself again

8.

I don't need to be the king of the world
As long as I'm the hero of this little girl

9.

This drug makes me crazy
Makes me see you more clearly.
Oh, baby, now I can see you.
Wish I could stop,
Switch off the clock,
Make it all happen for you.

10.

Hey, where's your work?
What's your game?
I know your business
but I don't know your name...

PS - was going to quiz you with Eddie Murphy's 'Party All the Time,' but I couldn't find a good chunk. I do however, highly recommend looking at the video -- Hilarious.

Stranger on a Strange Campus

Ah first day of classes. It's all so very cool. I wonder if I'll ever not love it. I've got another couple of early classes - one at the unheard of time of 9am! Hehe. I actually kind of like the early classes. I figure that no one signs up for a 9am class unless they actually want to be there, well and maybe a couple of folks who aren't motivated but couldn't get in any other sections. But frankly, they probably won't wake up early enough to make it to class, so that leaves me only my motivated students and a smaller class! Win-win!

Also, funny thing happened today - I was heading home when I passed by a very flustered looking mom using very broken English to try to ask a student how to get to the bus stop. Her little kid was chattering away in a language related to Gruub studies, so I butted in and said I could show her the way. She seemed so relieved to find someone she could communicate with. It turned out that she was a visiting post-doc in the Not-Gruub Department, and they really hadn't done much to get her oriented to the area. Halfway to the bus stop I realized that she needed much much more help that I could give(kindergarten for the kid - he doesn't speak English, housing, transportation, etc.. etc...), so I suggested we swing by the office of the folks that teach her language, and see if they could help her out. We got there and there were several folks who seemed more than happy to help her out. I had to run off, but I think everything will be go much smoother for Ms. Mom.

Hooray for happy coincidences!

Speaking of Pixar Movies,

Have you seen these quality trailers? Look out Wall-e!

The Little Cars

Ratotoing

Why Yes, Yes I Am

A geek, that is. I'm watching the caucusing on CSPAN. I am now even more convinced than ever that the Democratic Party is unable to organize its way out of a wet paper bag.

I am kinda digging it though. Sure it's a very weird and arcane way of doing things, but I tend to be partial to the weird and arcane.

By The By

In case it wasn't clear to anyone out there, Ratatouille is simply one of the best movies ever.

That is all.

(Thanks Mr. Fish)

Blog?

I'm very much digging the phunky photoblog site that Ianqui is using. I'm testing it out over here. What do you folks think? Does the photo actually fit on your page (I know that was a grief with blogger)? The small version still looks a little too big to me, but I really don't want to do a lot of resizing...

Happy New Year!

to one and all. May your weather be mild, your tires nail-free, your lenses unfogged and your students above average.

2008. I know it's been said before and better, but weren't we supposed to have flying cars by now? Or at least moon colonies, right?

We do have dark chocolate M&Ms though. That's a wonderment that Asimov or Verne couldn't have possibly predicted. Maybe Da Vinci though. He was pretty sharp, I hear.

No real profound thoughts here, but there are some earthly concerns rattling around in my head, so here goes.

A bit of cleaning for the new year is good, yeah? So I did some vacuuming. Needed to change the bag though. I took out the trash and headed out to get a new bag. It seems that the bag I need (the oh-so-coolly titled 'Z-type') doesn't exist locally. Three stores, no Z-bags. Now I've got a vacuum cleaner with no bags, 'cause, natch, I threw out the old bag. (too many commas? tough) Also, I should mention that the vacuum cleaner was rescued from the trash room. Is that tacky or clever? It's a really nice one except for the fact that it uses vaporware bags. So far, I've picked up a nice vacuum cleaner, a dresser (not so nice), a couch and a coffee table all from roommates. If I cared to, I could get more. Up the street, there's another couch that just got put out since I got home, a mattress set and a TV. Reaping the fruits of a disposable culture, eh?

I did find the bags on Amazon. I'm not sure how I feel about being a guy who buys vacuum bags from Amazon on New Year's Day. Best not to think about it too much.

All that vacuum stuff seemed a lot funnier in my head when I thought about it while doing my morning run looking at the stuff on the side of the road. There was a dead squirrel, too. I don't think I'm making things better here.

Everyone is wondering what to do about the 365 blogs now that the 365 have technically passed. I started on January 5 and made it to 338/365 (with a little bit of fudging at the end), but I'm pretty happy with that. I think I'm going to keep going with it. Not so much focused on the one-a-day thing, but more as a way to keep me focused on looking for photos. I'm not sure how it'll turn out, but we'll see.

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Quizzing

Oh, yeah, Jayfish and I were in an art supplies store and they were playing old Micheal Jackson over the PA. I want the record to show that it wasn't only me who was singing. Well, maybe mostly me, but not only me.

All 10 well answered last time 'round, and I feel I should say that I'm either really impressed that Gary know that "All Right Now" was by Free, or I could be really spooked. Seriously. Free? I had no idea who they were. I think I'll be impressed. After all, the guy still has his 45s for crying out loud, right?

hmm, so it was an easy 10 out of 10 last time. Maybe I need to throw some curve balls, eh?

1.
The radio was blasting,
Someone's knocking at the door
I'm looking at my girlfriend,
She's passed out on the floor
I've seen so many things I ain't never seen before.
Don't know what it is I don't want to see no more.
2.
Wanted no applause,
It's just another cause,
Made a meal out of me, and come back for more,
Had to cool me down,
To take another round,
Now I'm back in the ring to take another swing
3.
I kissed her face and kissed her head
And dreamed of all the different ways I had
To make her glow
"Why are you so far away?" she said
"Why won't you ever know that I'm in love with you
That I'm in love with you"
4.
First time was a great time
Second time was a blast
Third time I fell in love
Now I hope it lasts
5.
But there's one thing I know
The blues they send to meet me won't defeat me
It won't be long till happiness steps up to greet me
6.
Touch if you will my stomach
Feel how it trembles inside
You've got the butterflies all tied up
Don't make me chase you
7.
Darling mine
I would wait forever for those lips of wine
Build my world around you, darling
This love will shine, girl
Watch it and see
If you give a little more then you're asking for
Your love will turn the key
8.
But I'll be lonely without you
And I'll need your love to see me through
Please believe me, my heart is in your hands
And I'll be missing you.
9.
Well I'm New York City born and raised
But nowadays, I'm lost between two shores
L.A.'s fine, but it ain't home
New York's home, but it ain't mine no more
10.
Your daddy said I took you just a little too far.
Tellin' other things, but your girlfriend lied
Can't catch me cause the rabbit done died.

There's a bonus point for anyone who can explain what in the world is going on in the lyrics for MacArthur Park. I mean... seriously.

Jingle Blogs

Hi there. My name is Overread, and I think I said in the past that I would try not to be apologetic when I come back after a blogging absence, but hey, I thrive on guilt and its expression, so here I am again, saying that I'm sorry that I haven't been updating more regularly, for what it's worth.

Much has happened - I did finish grading, I did finish one of the papers that I had due. Yadda yadda. On the wonderful front, I was able to get to the land of the wonderful nieces (now with a total of three! Wonderful! Nieces! Wa! ha! ha!).

The nieces are really incredible. One asked me if I could sit down and play with some flashcards - 'one of these things isn't like the other' stuff and a little bit of reading. She is really brilliant, and I'm not biased at all. Niece the second and I got to sit down and look at a book of hers (shapes and colors with the Little Einstein crew). Niece the third is all of a week and a few days old, so I was happy to just get to hold her for a while (lesson learned? Pat pat on the back = no crying). Ah, good times.

I was able to actually got to talk with a sister and a brother with their significant otters (one soon to become more significant in a legal sense in a few months - hooray!). Although I did an evil deed by bringing up my Wii and leaving it at brother and soon-to-be-sis-in-law's place. Both seem to dig it, but brother may like it a bit too much :)

All done and a very happy holiday. Now all I have to do is catch up on my blog reading (my apologies, but I haven't been reading you guys at all, but I will! I promise!), post some photos (tomorrow?), and start the pre-new year cleaning.

Oh, and I read a book. A real honest-to-goodness non-academic book. Amazing. Devil in the White City. Architecture, design, murder, who could ask for anything more?

Hope all is well with all'y'all out there in blogland.

Why Don't You Come Up and Quiz Me Sometime?

Well, I guess that was too easy for you guys. Only miss was a curve ball I threw in at the end - It was Kate Bush with "Heads We're Dancing." It's a sweet little ditty about dancing with Hitler. Ah, Kate, you wacky little crazy women. Hey, Be happy. I could have used the song where she sings pi.
Honestly, I'm just happy that there are still a few of you that still have me in your feed reader :) I'm still a day or two away from putting together any real posting (or photos - but I have been taking some!), but as I'm listening to a bunch of tunes, I feel that I should share in quiz format. Aren't I cool like that?

hmm... Lots of repeats though. I'm not too sure what to do about that though. Ah, well.

1.
They sat on the stony ground
And he took a cigarette out
And everyone else came down
To listen.
2.
A bullet had found him
His blood ran as he cried
No money could save him
So he laid down and he died
3.
Till now I always got by on my own
I never really cared until I met you
And now it chills me to the bone
4.
and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
5.
He didn't know the night would end up in frustration.
He'd end up blowing all his wages for the week.
All for a cuddle and a peck on the cheek.
6.
Still looking for that blue jean, baby queen
Prettiest girl I ever seen
See her shake on the movie screen, Jimmy Dean
7.
And oh the wonder
We felt the lightning
And we waited on the thunder
Waited on the thunder
8.
She said, "Look, what's your game?
Are you tryin' to put me to shame?"
I said "Slow, don't go so fast, don't you think that love can last?"
She said, "Love, Lord above,
now you're tryin' to trick me in love."
9.
We're doing what we can
But when you want money
for people with minds that hate
All I can tell is brother you have to wait
10.
I know where beauty lives
I've seen it once, I know the warmth she gives
The light that you could never see
It shines inside, you can't take that from me

The Funk of Forty Thousand Quizzes

Right, right, I'm still here, and I'll spare you the self-indulgent blather about why I'm not posting, except to so that it has been a spectacularly agonizing end of term. I'm sure I'll find time to whine about it later, but there is one thing that I can do without too much brain power, and it will make me feel happier too, and that's a lyrics quiz.

Oh, before we start here, two unrelated things - Hello to the newest member of my family, another niece to lovingly torment my sister's wonderful home. Hi there.

Second completely unrelated thing. I just remembered an awful joke, so you get to read it:

So a woman goes into a bar bar and the bartender asks her what she wants. She tells him she wants a Double Entendre, and so he gives it too her.

Nobody's laughing. I guess it's all in the telling...

So let's see if I remember how to do this. Is it bullet points or quotes? Ah yes, quotes...

Ah but first, looks like #7 was the only real stumper last time. It was 'Say Say Say' by Mickey J. Oh, and by the way, did you see this? Shudder....

Right then these are all going to be mostly off of my pandora list, so it may be a bit more... er... obscure than it generally is, but hey - you'll dig it :)

1. Oooo... I really remember this cassette, but this cut is a bit hard to place without the tune...

Alone between the sheets
Only brings exasperation
Its time to walk the streets
Smell the desperation
At least theres pretty lights
And though theres little variation
It nullifies the night

2. Karaoke anyone?

And the years rolled slowly past
And I found myself alone
Surrounded by strangers I thought were my friends
I found myself further and further from my home

3. I don't care what you think, I still like this one

Last night I tried to leave
Cried so much I just
Could not believe
She was the same girl I
Fell in love with long ago

4. One of my favorite songs in the whole wide world

Tonight I'll sing my songs again,
I'll play the game and pretend.
But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity
Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me.

5. Ah, another good karaoke song...

I've overcome the blow
I've learned to take it well
I only wish my words could just convince myself
That it just wasn't real
But that's not the way it feels

6. This one may be hard. I haven't figured out if I like it or not yet.

You live in a church
Where you sleep with voodoo dolls
And you won't give up the search
For the ghosts in the halls

7. Sappy, but hey, so am I

Lead me out on the moonlit floor
Lift your open hand
Strike up the band and make the fireflies dance
Silver moon's sparkling

8. Oh, I had, and probably still do have a huge crush on this woman

If I'm the only witness
To your madness
Offer me some words to balance
Out what I see and what I hear
All these cold and rude
Things that you do
I suppose you do
Because he belongs to you

9. Er... not so much of a crush here, but um... nice voice?

I know a lot of fancy dancers,
people who can glide you on a floor,
They move so smooth but have no answers.
When you ask "Why'd you come here for?"
"I don't know" "Why?"

10. I have to have done this one before, but hey, I've got a crush on her, too, so you folks get to suffer

if this world makes you crazy
and you've taken all you can bear
you call me up
because you know I'll be there

11. Ok, as long as I'm admitting my crushes on pop-songstresses, I'll put this one it too. I should add that she is mucho spooky though. Especially in this song. Anyone know this one?

They say that the Devil is a charming man.
And just like you I bet he can dance.
And he's coming up behind in his long
Tailed black coat dance,
All tails in the air.

The Down Side of Extra Pre-Exam Office Hours

I really love my students. I love teaching so very much.

But perhaps... Perhaps I need to set boundaries better.

Telling them that I would be in my office all evening and that they were welcome to come in and discuss any part of the upcoming exams led to five student visits.

The last one left at 8:45pm.

And I hadn't even started any of the many projects and assignments that I needed to finish.

Bad time-manager. Bad.

The 13.1 Mile Strip Run

Boooos

• making your starting point a place that is not served by public transportation is not cool
• providing a shuttle service from another place that is not served by public transportation is also not cool
• As it was chilly before the run, the space heaters were welcome (although completely inadequate for the masses of people there)
• Also, would it have killed you guys to get a coffee place or a bagel place to sponsor a warm stand at the start? (like every other run I've gone to in this area)

Hoorays

• Great route and route management
• Drummers and bands along the route? Most excellent!
  
• With the exception of that one band that wasn't playing when I ran by.
  
• Bonus points for the very shady drum circle type folks who didn't seem to be part of the official run, but happily banged out a strange rhythm as we went by
• Extra super bonus points for the local high school marching band drum line that showed up. Those folks rocked.

The title comes from the fact that, 'cause we don't actually get chilly weather over here, many runners were really spooked. Much like the campus-folk who turn out in pink-fur-lined parkas and ugg boots (but with miniskirts) when it gets, well, seasonable, these runners were wearing waaaay too much clothing. I even wore a long-sleeve shirt, which is still hard for me to believe.

Anyway, about 2 or 3 miles into the run, people started stripping. I imagined that it was a game where everyone had to take off a piece of clothing at every mile-marker. Gloves were flung into bushes. Sweat-shirts soared awkwardly into the air above the throng as if in celebration. I saw several folks attempt to wriggle out of a spandex-tight outer layer while keeping up their pace. Imagine in your mind a big buff guy running at a pretty good clip with both arms straight in the air, bound together in an underarmor version of the hot dog suits that run around the bases at the 7th inning stretch at baseball games. Oh, and he's naturally blinded by the shirt too. That should be in the dictionary under the heading: Joy.

I was actually pretty bummed that everyone was basically just littering, but the cast-off gear was funny to see. I'm going to imagine that they either went back to pick up what they threw, or that maybe someone else went collecting and dropped it all off at the second hand store or something. Hey, let me have my illusions!

Oh, my time: 1:46:35

Cross-Town Traffic

There is simply too much to do this weekend.

• The paper presentation - luckily postponed slightly, but still looming.
• The Japanese presentation - to create
• The Japanese skit (why do they always make you do a skit? I hate skits) - to memorize
• The huge Japanese final exam and the oral interview - to cry about
• The massive seminar test (test? in a seminar?)- to prepare for and all the info is new to me :(
• The gigantic stack of grading that will. not. die. - to be marked

And I've got a half-marathon tomorrow morning - natch.

Oh yeah, a note to people who put together big events like, say, half-marathons?

Go ahead and don't piss off the people taking part in your event. So, for example, don't force them to travel all over all over creation the day before the event for hours and hours just to pick up the packet they need to take part in the run. Every other run either mails this stuff to the runners or they make it available the day of the run. And don't try and pretend that it's going to be at so health and fitness expo or something when it's not. A handful (like, maybe 6) of wholesalers hawking shoes that no one else would buy at their stores does not an expo make.

I do, as mentioned, have other things I need to do this weekend (like writing blog posts).

PS - Some of you may have the gall to mention that I should have gotten some of this out of the way earlier, and to you I have only one thing to say - pppppphhhhhttttttttt

May I Recommend a Whine?

To Whom It May Concern:

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to recommend Mr. Ran Domguy for acceptance into your program.

I can say with certainty that Mr Domguy is one of the most spectacularly inconspicuous of all the students I have taught at Urban Sprawl University. Although my records show he made impressively average progress in the class material, scored within the range I've entitled, 'meh,' and admirably met the laughably simplistic participation requirements during session, he made almost no impression on me whatsoever, for good or ill, leading me to wander why he chose me, a TA who knew him only briefly, to write this glowing recommendation.

He might well have the impressive leadership ability that I understand your program seeks. He also may very well perform admirably under pressure. Who knows? There's a possibility that he is an outstanding man that would be an excellent asset to your program. Frankly, he may be all this, but either he never showed it in class, or I didn't see it.

I sincerely hope you have no further questions about Mr. Domguy, because frankly, I don't think I could add anything else.

Sincerely,

Overread

Aside to readers: I suggested the student find someone who knew his character and performance a bit better.

Nothing is Certain but Death and Quizzes

Ah, would that I could give extra points that could be traded in for freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies. Because, if I could, Ikhoyt would earn at least a baker's dozen for nailing I'm Tired, but the indeed incomparable Madeline Kahn.

Not that the rest of you didn't earn cookies, you did of course, but let's face it, anything is better with Blazing Saddles.

The only misses were
3 - Elton John - Sad Songs (C'mon guys! You should've gotten that one!)
6 - Asia (ASIA?) - Heat of the Moment (I'm confident that you've punished yourself by listening to this one a few times, Mr. Fish)
8 - Whitney Houston - So Emotional (You're probably better off not getting this one)

Right, now for some post-turkeyday hand-made quizzings!

1.

Spied a little thing and I followed her all night
In a funky fine Levis and her sweaters kind of tight

2.

Through the storm we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you

3.

Tommy's got his six string in hock
Now hes holding in what he used
To make it talk - so tough, its tough
Gina dreams of running away
When she cries in the night
Tommy whispers baby its okay, someday

4.

Turnaround, every now and then I get a little bit lonely and you're never coming round.
Turnaround, every now and then I get a little bit tired of listening to the sound of my tears.

5.

You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive
Well you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave

6.

I bought a toothbrush, some toothpaste, a flannel for my face
Pajamas, a hairbrush, new shoes and a case.
I said to my reflection, Let's get out of this place.

7.

Standing here
Baptized in all my tears
Baby through the years
You know I'm crying
Oo oo oo oo oo

8.

And maybe he sings off key
But thats alright by me
Because what he does he does so well
Makes me wanna yell

9.

When you called me up this morning,
Told me bout the new love you found,
I'm said I'm happy for you,
I'm really happy for you.
Found someone else,
I guess I wont be coming round.
I guess its over, baby;
Its really over, baby, whoa...

10.

In your world I have no meaning
Though I'm trying hard to understand
And it's my heart that's breaking
Down this long distance line tonight

Gobble Gobble

A very happy Turkey Day to all who find this blog, and to all those who don't. May your turkey be moist, your cranberries ever so slightly tart (even if they come from a can), and your favorite teams win, or at the very least not embarrass themselves too badly.

I usually think that the 'I'm thankful for...' posts are a bit silly, but that shouldn't stop anyone from doing one. Because honestly, even though I moan and gripe, I really am quite thankful.

I'm so very thankful to have such a wonderful family. Even when I don't show up to thanksgiving, they don't seem to hate me too badly. My siblings are simply two of the best people I know. I've got incredible nieces and in-laws (and a particularly great soon-to-be in-law). My mother is the most kind and thoughtful person in the world. Even my Grandpa is cooler than anything.

I'm studying a subject I love at a very good school. I'm teaching classes I enjoy. As long as I keep on it, I might even be able to get a degree and eventually earn enough money to begin paying back the fine international conglomeration-banks that were kind enough to allow me to hawk my future in order to do what I'm doing.

I'm even fortunate enough to have a surprisingly loyal readership that continues to read my silly little blog despite my inconsistent posting of dubious quality.

So thanks to you, my friends. I'm very happy to have you here and visit you at your bloghomes.

Chain Factor Game

I know I've posted game links before, but oh my, you need to be careful with this one. It's kinda tetris-like in that you're dropping pieces from above, but all the pieces are single units with numbers inside them. To get the pieces to go away (blow up), the number must match either its horizontal or vertical positioning. Then of course there are the blocks without numbers. Those you have to break by having numbered blocks blow up next to them.

Give it a try... er... when you don't have anything to do for a while :)

Chain Factor.

Just Keep Running, Just Keep Running, Just Keep Running

A fellow gradfolk decided that he wanted to try a 10k and asked if I would run with him. Sure! Anyway, today was his first 10k, and I ran it with him. It was at a pretty cool and very runner-friendly place. The weather was a bit chilly with a very nice misty fog hovering around for the start. By the end, the sun popped out and brought in a lovely day.

Runbuddy did really well, too. He made it all the way through with a good pace, even though the longest he had previously run was about 7-8k. Our final time was around 55min. Hooray for him! Fun for me! Tshirts for us both! Little American Flags for everyone! (please forgive the Simpsons reference)

Extra bonus reason to get out and run in the morning - some moron pulled the fire alarm about 30 minutes after I left. My roommate said it stayed on for about 30 minutes. yeesh.

Minor Link Dump

1. How many people can you recognize in this picture?

2. Wasn't someone talking about hot Dr Pepper?

3. Fun distorted world maps.

4. Weird Yin/Yang Game.

5. A really interesting post (with really interesting comments) on the idea that if the human body is intelligently designed, the job was poorly done.

6. Ans finally, a couple of videos of the same song. I'm not a big fan of the song, but the choreography is quite cool. It starts really slowly, so bear with them.



or, with box-headed folk:

A Quiz, A Quiz, My Kingdom For a Quiz

So, you guys did well, but I was able to get you guys on a few songs last time. Here's the remainder:

1. Pictures Of Matchstick Men - Camper Van Beethoven (told you that one was hard)
3. Somebody to Love - Queen
4. What's Your Name - Lynyrd Skynyrd
10. Stop Dragging My Heart Around - Tom Petty

So let's dive in again! I put this one together pretty quickly, so it's not as devious as the last couple - enjoy!

1.

Well our fathers fought the Second World War
Spent their weekends on the Jersey Shore
Met our mothers in the USO
Asked them to dance
Danced with them slow

2.

Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world
You could say I lost my faith in the people on TV
You could say I'd lost my belief in our politicians
They all seemed like game show hosts to me

3.

If someone else is suffering enough to write it down
When every single word makes sense
Then it's easier to have those songs around

4.

There's a black man with a black cat
Living in a black neighborhood
Hes got an interstate running through his front yard
You know, he think, that hes got it so good

5.

Sitting on a sofa on a Sunday afternoon
Going to the candidates debate
Laugh about it, shout about it
When you've got to choose
Every way you look at it, you lose

6.

Do you remember when we used to dance
And incidence arose from circumstance
One thing lead to another we were young
And we would scream together songs unsung

7.

And even as I wander
I'm keeping you in sight
You're a candle in the window
On a cold, dark winters night
And I'm getting closer than I ever thought I might

8.

I've been waiting for the phone to ring all night
Why you wanna make me feel so good
I got a love of my own
Shouldn't get so hung up on you

9.

Before this river becomes an ocean
Before you throw my heart back on the floor
Oh baby I reconsider my foolish notion
Well I need someone to hold me
But I'll wait for something more

10.

Loving you isn't the right thing to do
How can I ever change things that I feel
If I could, maybe I'd give you my world
How can I, when you won't take it from me

and a bonus that I unexpectedly heard tonight:

Here I stand, the goddess of desire
Set men on fire
I have this power
Morning noon and night it's drink and dancing
Some quick romancing
And then a shower
Stage door johnnies always surround me
They always hound me
With one request
Who can satisfy their lustful habits
I'm not a rabbit
I need some rest

What, Me Advise?

I got a note from a student a few days ago entitled "Thinking about dropping - advice?"

He's a good student, and he's doing fine in the class, but I can see that he's a stressball. He transfered into USU from a community college, and I think he may be still a bit overwhelmed about what he's being required to do in classes here. Added to that, my class is a monster timesink. There's a big classtime commitment and the expectation is that people really need to put in at least an hour at home for every hour in class (aren't all classes supposed to be like that? 20 credit hours = full time student, right?).

So anyway, I asked if he wanted to meet up and talk about what was going on. He said he was really trying to keep a 4.0 is his core classes and my class was eating too much into his other study time. The class is also just hard. It's really not intuitive to most folks, and although it does get easier with time, we increase the speed as we move along.

It's all understandable. Major classes are obviously more important to graduation that mine. He's taking this class because it may help his grad application look better (which it may), but mainly because he really likes the subject. We talked for a long while, and I aimed him toward a few folks that might advise him from a less biased point of view.

I was able to get him to stay in the class. I hope I did right by him, because he's doing fine in the class (and not taking it for a grade), but it's always going to be a timesink.

Long and rambling post, but I'm trying to post a bit more about what's going on in my world, so there ya go.

With Great Quiz Comes Great Responsibility

Well, I guess I got a little overly-excited about the possible return of the lyrics quiz, and I went bit bonkers with the more obscure parts of the songs. If you didn't google to find out what the songs were, perhaps you'll get a kick out of the unguessed answers:

3 - Right Now - Van Halen
4 - Olivia Newton-John - Magic (Reverse skate!)
6 - Dan Fogelberg - Leader of the Band
7 - Phil Collins - Jesus He Loves Me
8 - Pat Bennatar - Invincible

Special points awarded to Zerodoll and Brightstar. Even though you didn't know that I Want to Be a Cowboy was written by Boys Don't Cry, well, I bet they don't even remember they wrote it. Is it still running through your brain?

Your homework is to listen to the songs that you weren't able to guess. Don't like, buy them or anything, but listen to 'em. Ya know... legally and stuff.

So, now that I've got a little bit of time, what say we try this again? Maybe with a bit better balance? :)

1 - Another really hard one to start things off:

Windows echo your reflection
When I look in their direction now
There your face is haunting me
Your face just won't leave me alone

2 - The 'how old are you' entry

Come Friday we'll be jacked up on the football game
And I'll be ready to fight
We're gonna smash 'em now
My girl will be working on her pom-poms now
And she'll be yelling tonight

3 - High on my list for singing loudly and badly

Got no feeling, I got no rhythm
I just keep losing my beat (you just keep losing, and losing)
I'm ok, I'm alright (he's alright, he's alright)
I ain't gonna face no defeat (yeah, yeah)

4 - Ah, bands behaving badly...

It seems that one of the crew
Had a go with one of the guests, oh yes
Well, the police said we can't drink in the bar
What a shame
Won't you come upstairs girl
And have a drink of champagne

5 - Um... Less romantic and more gross

I've got your picture, I've got your picture
I'd like a million of you all 'round myself
I want a doctor to take your picture
So I can look at you from inside as well

6 - How geeky are you?

Standing there alone, the ship is waiting
all systems are go, are you sure?
control is not convinced
but the computer has the evidence
"no need to abort"
the countdown starts

7 - Sing this with a bit of reverb at the end

You're in his eye
And you'll know why
The more you live
The faster you will die

8 - Bonus for spelling

Now you’re the prettiest by far
No party she’d not attend
No invitation she wouldn’t send
Transfixed by the inner sound
Of your promise to be found

9 - Air piano is required here

What does it matter to ya,
When you've got a job to do you gotta do it well,
You gotta give the other fellow hell

10 -

Baby, you'll come knocking on my front door
Same old line you used to use before
I said yeah well, what am I supposed to do
I didn't know what I was getting into

Question of the Week (Perhaps the Month)

(undergrad furiously typing on her cellberry thing): Is it "'abstinence makes the heart grow fonder' or 'absence'?"

And better yet, the question was aimed at me. I feel good that I can help out the leaders of tomorrow like this.

(alternate title: 'Bush's New Sex-ed Czar Speaks')

TMI Theatre

well, now. Looks like roommate got lucky last night. Either that or he's developed a refreshingly unconventional taste for be-sparkled sandals.

Quiz First, Ask Questions Later

No telling how long this will last, but hey, I'm in the mood, so the quiz comes back.

So #4, which Jayfish mentioned was the joyous Talk Talk with It's My Life (or the No Doubt cover which is what I googled up)

So lets try another few, eh? Funny thing is that I'm sure I've done some of these before, but hey, it's not like I remember which ones. I'll try to keep it slightly fresh. Obviously I need to make it a bit harder though, right? :)

1.

Four young chiquitas in Omaha,
Was waiting for the band to return from the show.

2.

Takes him out to look at the queen
Only place that he's ever been
Always shouts out something obscene

3.

One step ahead, one step behind it
Now ya gotta run to get even
Make future plans I'll dream about yesterday, hey!
Come on turn, turn this thing around

4.

From where I stand
You are home free
The planets align so rare
There's promise in the air
And I'm guiding you

5.

People see me
I'm a challenge
To your balance
I'm over your heads
How I confound you
And astound you

6.

He earned his love through discipline
A thundering, velvet hand
His gentle means of sculpting souls
Took me years to understand.

7.

I'll get you everything you wanted
I'll get you everything you need
Don't need to believe in hereafter
Just believe in me

8.

We can't afford to be innocent
Stand up and face the enemy
It's a do or die situation

9.

She's raised on leather
With flesh on her mind

10.

Riding on the chuck wagon,
Following my man.
His name is Ted,
Can you believe that?
(Ted, oh Ted, fighting off danger!)

I sincerely hope that that last one makes you laugh as much as it made me laugh.

Mr Roboto?

Short Term Lodger Dude just left. He's headed off to his new home, happily, hopefully.

After putting him up for 5 days, treating him to lunch at a halfway decent sit down chain restaurant, offering hours of (solicited) advice about how to present at our colloquium, and other various aiding and abetting over the week, he finally thanked me, halfheartedly...

for opening the door as he left.

Now, I know I'm not the best host. I didn't cook dinner for him. I didn't wake him with the gentle smell of fresh roasted coffee or sprinkle the fold out couch with rose petals.

It's not like I think I need to be praised to the sky, I just put him up for a few days, but "thanks?" Is it too much to ask for a "thanks?"

Am I being a prick for being annoyed about this?

If It Were A Quiz, It Would Have Bit You

Ya know what I think we all need to celebrate an extra hour of life today?

A lyrics quiz.

You folks remember these? :)

If not, or if you are a new reader (doubtful, but, hey, I can hope, right?), I'll give you a lyric, and you supply the song title and the artist who sang it. If there are multiple versions of the song, I highly encourage petty fighting and arguments about which is the superior one.

These are mostly pretty easy, I think, but might be fun.

1.

Tonight's the night well make history, honey, you and I
And I'll take any risk to tie back the hands of time
And stay with you here tonight

2.

When we hear the voices sing
The book of love will open up and let us in

3.

Wendy let me in I wanna be your friend
I want to guard your dreams and visions

4.

I've asked myself
How much do you
commit yourself?

5.

All alone I have cried
silent tears full of pride
in a world made of steel,
made of stone.

6.

She said I'm sorry baby
I'm leaving you tonight
I found someone new
he's waiting in the car outside

7.

Stop playing with my heart
Finish what you start
When you make my love come down

8.

I still recall
A sad cafe
How it hurt so bad to see her cry
I didn't want to say good-bye

9.

we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a staring out the window at the darkness
'til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

10.

At school they taught me how to be
So pure in thought and word and deed
They didn't quite succeed

I had forgotten how much fun these were to create :)

Zeros For Everyone!

It is so hard to feel any sense of accomplishment after finishing a marathon session of grading. Why? Because there are another two big stacks over there to get through, oh, yeah, that there's more on the way.

grrr.

Well, Now I Know

The plural of 'corpus' is 'corpora.'

Good Chump/Good Samaritan

We, like most schools, I imagine, rely on the skills of overseas students for some of out TA slots. I think we're been pretty lucky in getting some real winners from our department and some stolen from other departments. However, we've got one now who... well, let's say he's not terribly popular amongst the students. That's a charitable thing to say. His accent is heavy, but that's not a big problem. He's just a really awkward person. He really has had a very hard time trying to figure out what US students and the atmosphere in a US class are like.

He's also had about the worst first couple of months in country as possible. One of the least catastrophic things involved basically the destruction of the apartment where he lived. As with most campus areas, there just aren't many options after school starts. Eventually, with the help of who knows what kind of dark mojo, the collective found him a place where he can move in. on the 5th. 5 days after he has to leave the hotel where his ex-landlord put him up.

three guesses on whose couch he'll be sleeping until then?

It's been suggested that I can take this as an opportunity to talk to him about TAing.

Have I mentioned that I don't like people?

This will be an interesting week.

Shame, shame

Oops, I forgot to add a horribly offensive and kinda funny quiz - Fox News Anchor or Porn Star. Submit your complaints below. By the way, I only got 6/10. Maybe I should watch more Fox News? Or more porn?

10K II: The Blisters Strike Back!

Ok, no 10 page post about this morning's 10k, but it was a lot of fun. It was much less hard-core than last weeks. A lot of people had costumes - if fact one of the folks lining up in the fastest ranks for the 5k was Spiderman. Isn't that kinda cheating? I imagine that if they had a urine test, he'd turn up a wee bit hot. There was also a fund-raising walk, and that's where most of the costumes were. I saw a very impressing Opimus Prime, and several assorted cats and such. No bunnies, oddly enough. I guess I should have worn the ears...

The goodie bag was much better though:

quality running shirt - cool
ketchup-sized packet of 'udderly smooth' udder cream - a bit scary. I don't have, erm, udders.
8 cups worth of ground coffee - odd
hideously ugly yellow sweatband - maybe I can give it to someone?
2 strange 'Cashew cookies' - I vote yuck.
Mango Coconut Soy Joy Bar - why did it have to be coconut?
Powdered energy drink stuff - meh.
Powdered 'flavored fizzy drink' - hmmm...
Various ads and coupons - nice, but nothing really useful
A toothbrush - Wha?
2 elastic hair bands - I only wish I had long hair, they're pretty nice...

Minutia of the run:

Best tracks that I added to the playlist (didn't get to them all, but I'm working through them):

• Billy Joel
• Movin' out
• Big Shot
• Pressure
• Tell Her About It
• You're Only Human
• Starship - Don't Stop Believin'
• Sting/Police
• Message in a Bottle
• Can't Stand Losing You
• Every Little Thing She Does is Magic
• Heart
  
• Magic Man
• What About Love
• Smashmouth - All Star
• Steely Dan - Reelin' in the Years
• Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride
• Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered

Oh, yeah time: 46:22 (ish - my gps says I only ran 9.9k. Did I cheat?)

Self-Portait in Pixels on Monitor

You can play here if you like.

Running in Circles

Another reason why I might have been confused about last week's 10k - There's another one tomorrow. Pardon me while I adjust my running playlist. :)

Colloquium Colloquium Colloquium - C'mon, It Is Fun to Say

One of the coolest things going on this year is a student-run colloquium for the grad-folk. Everyone even remotely related to the study of Gruub in all her glory can feel welcome to come on down and talk shop. Nothing to spectacular there, right? We bring in articles from various parts of the Gruub matrix and talk about them, which is cool, because we get to see what's state of the art in related fields that we've never really mucked about in. Every other week, we invite professors in to talk about what they are working on and such, which is nice, because on no-prof weeks, we can have the more informal talks without the stress of a possible advisor or committee member hovering about, but we've still got them around when we need them.

What's very cool about this, and what makes it better than I thought it would be, is that we've ended up talking about things that we need to know on a practical level that I've never heard discussed openly and freely in groups of academics that didn't involve booze. Not only are we talking about the field, but we're asking, and actually getting fairly important professors to talk seriously and thoughtfully about the politics of (for example) writing reviews ('You cannot write any kind of review, positive or negative, without making enemies' - obvious in hindsight, perhaps, but very good to know). We're talking about the hows and whys of inter-departmental and inter-field-al (?) territorial fights and biases, and because we've got people from so many fields, we're getting a really broad overview. It's a lot of stuff that seems to be generally learned by painful experience.

Last meeting, we had a wonderful knock-down drag-out fight over the implications of emerging broadening and lengthening of copyright laws as it relates to Gruub Studies. How Frickin Cool. And not something that would come up in a seminar except to perhaps feel a twinge of guilt as you run off copies of entire books.

I guess this kind of colloquium might not be a groundbreaking thing, but I've never seen it before, and I'm really impressed how it's working out. It seems to be a very useful way of easing us into the role of academics in a broader way than just writing another paper.

The copyright issue was especially interesting. I may need to do a post or three on that one. What do you folks think? Is copyright helping you more than it hurts you nowadays?

New York State of Mind

Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you guys, I had the perfect New York City morning yesterday. I went out to get bagels for breakfast. There was an insanely long line with only one guy at the counter. When I got there, there was one woman at the front of the line holding everything up while she decided what kind of shmear (schmear?) to put on her single untoasted plain bagel. 5 minutes later I got to the front of the line and got a real quality NYC scornful sneer from the counter guy. Then, as if it couldn't get better, I moved to the cashier line where the guy in front of my was texting War and Peace on his blackberry. He would type, and the counter intelligence folk would tell him how much he owed and then he would finish his sentence and the ask how much he owed before digging around in his pocket for change. After handing over the change he started typing again, only to be interupted by the CI guy trying to give him his change. The them proceeded to finish typing that sentence before putting out his hand to get the change. Then he didn't move. I had to basically elbow him out of the way to get to the counter to pay for my bagel.

I guess if I were a New Yorker, I would have cussed him out and told him that I was walking there.

Bonus New Yorker-tude: (Although actually, this is very par for where I live.)

I was running this morning and headed toward a crosswalk. A giant Fuck-The-World SUV was coming my direction, but making a left turn (toward me). I had the light, so I went into the crosswalk, with my eyes locked on the driver of the Screw-The-Planet SUV (I've been in this situation many times). Naturally, she looked me in the eye and proceeded to make the left hand turn into my crosswalk. As I have been trained when approached by wild animals, I puffed up my feathers to appear larger than I am while spreading out my arms and waving them at the idiot in the I've-Got-Money-And-No-Soul SUV. She got within 5 feet or so before slamming on her brakes and gesturing rudely toward your correspondent for daring to follow the rules of the road and have the gall to impair her ability to ignore the world around her. I have to say, that horrible piece of Offense-Toward-the-World SUV has good brakes though.

Welcome to the Anti-Social

I am very much not a social person. I don't really like people that much, see? However, I'm trying to be more sociable, especially for academic stchuff.

So I did go to the big Gruub Studies-related umbrella group gathering tonight. Yes, I did mainly mingle with folks I already knew, but I did get introduced to a couple of new people. I even stayed slightly beyond the standard mandatory 'enough time to eat, listen to the introduction and remarks + 5 minutes."

Important people saw me there, which is probably good. I got free-to-me snacks, which is definitely good. All in all, not a bad deal.

Also, a decent idea from another gradfolk: Keep a sportcoat in the office so when there is a speaker or other gathering, you can just throw it on and look a little more respectable. Maybe I need to look into this.

Can I Try Today Again?

Wednesdays suck.

I'm teaching a 10am and 11am class. Then I've got a 12pm Japanese class followed by a 3 hour seminar at 1pm. So, you read that right, 6 hours straight of class. Today was even better because I had a presentation in the seminar on a topic that I don't really grok. In the seminar of course, we spent more time on other material that I not only don't grok, but also didn't prepare. When we got around to my presentation, there wasn't enough time, so I had to rush through it.

To recap: I'm tired. I didn't teach well, I wasn't able to turn in some homework for Japanese, I looked like a complete idiot on the seminar material we covered and I didn't have enough time to even try to make up my ignorance with a mediocre presentation.

I might also add that there is a Japanese test tomorrow, too.

Guh. Feh. and Bah.

Find the Star

For all that you hold holy, as you value your time and hope to get work done do not under any circumstances click on this link and play the game.

Ageeksayswhat?

I am such a geek. I've got a pencil-bag thing, because I have so many different pens and highlighters and Sharpies and post-it tags and and and and.

It's always in my bag. Always.

Except today, it stayed home.

I was a basketcase. I only had one regular old Pentel fattie pen in a spare pocket of my bookbag. I mean, seriously, how can I mark participation in class (yes, yes, we are required to give detailed daily participation scores) with a thick black pen ? How can I make corrections to my Japanese homework in the same color as the pen that I did the original work with? How can I make new flashcards with a fat pen(it had to be nearly 0.5mm or fatter, for Hermione's sake)? How can I grade papers without a green pen? Am I supposed to underline the texts I'm reading? Should I dogear my books when I find a passage that I want to bring up in the seminar?

Shudder...

GEEEEEEEK.

It's all good though. Things are beyond cool, really. Why? Because of this.

A Long Post on a Long Run

Whew. It's been awhile since I last did a big-ish 10k. I had completely forgotten how much fun it is.

Part of the uniqueness of this run was getting there. I had to rely on the public transit system, and it actually worked out fine. Except I felt kinda funny sitting there in the bus in my running garb, and until we got closer to where the race was happening, well, it was just me and what looked like a lot of folks heading off to early morning jobs on Sunday. They didn't look pleased.

There's a wonderful gathering of excitement when you get close to the starting line. First you start seeing people dressed for running. There are the showy folks - the people who have all matching-branded and color coordinated clothing, sometimes their scrunchies or iPod holders even match the color scheme (I should also mention that this is very much an iPod environment. I felt slightly out of place with my just-as-good-and-even-better-at-some-things-no-I'm-not-being-defensive Zen Micro V.) Then there are the people that you can't tell if they are there for the run or not. Some people are just dressed casually in a tshirt and shorts, with shoes that might or might not be running shoes. These folks interest me. Are they too cool to wear clothes that actually work well for running? Did someone run off with their luggage? We all got a nice ultra-light tshirt for registering. Why then?

As you get closer, you start seeing folks wearing their number bibs. Now you can really categorize people if you care to. Blue bibs for the 10kers, yellow for the 5kers, and pink for the elite runners. I'm still not sure what all that really means except that they all run faster than I do. It might be that they get priority to go to the front of the pack before the gun. Lower numbers for the early registrees - they usually know what they are doing, well, at least more than I do, cause I forgot about the whole thing.

At the starting line is where it really gets exciting. The 5k start was 30 minutes before the 10k, and I got there right in time to watch them start off. They even had an MC-ish sort of fellow up there doing the countdown. I had forgotten that they did that. It's really cool to watch a mob of people go from standing to surging forward.

After the 5k started, they started passing out the bunny hats.

Seriously.

They were basically a foam headband with big bunny ears sticking up in front. Genius. They were sponsored and tagged with advertising. Normally, I hate wearing advertising for people, but hey, free bunny ears! I think their strategy was to pass the ears out to the hot ladies and take pictures of them for some promotion, but they were handing them out to everyone. They, um... didn't ask for my picture, but I happily wore mine for the whole run. I should mention that it is a bit spooky seeing your shadow with demonic horn-looking things sticking out from your head when you aren't prepared for it. It's ok. Only ears.

As the time to start got closer, we all moved toward the line. They had signs marked with minute/mile times staggered out from the front: 6:00, 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 etc... There was a bit of polite but nervous jockeying to get near the correct time based on what you thought you might run.

After people had basically settled in, everyone started stretching a bit, well, as much as we could stretch with people crowded all around. Everyone chatted nervously while waiting and wished everyone else a good run. An unhappy-looking collagen-injected woman in front of me didn't care for my bunny ears at all. I think she said something along the lines of, "Oh, I guess you have a sense of humor." Feh.

Then the countdown (given by a "celebrity" who actually said, "Go win. Run fast.")

5...4...3...22222.......11111111.....(no kidding. She stumbled over actually pronouncing the numbers 2 and 1. Was she being funny? Was she just trying to slow down to sync with an official clock? No clue. Maybe I don't have a sense of humor after all, bunny ears or no)

Oh, and the gun wasn't a gun. It was an air-horn.

If you haven't been in a big run, you might not know that you can't actually run when the horn goes off. Only the people at the front can actually run. Everyone behind them kind of does a wobbly shuffle-hop, shambling toward the line. It takes a while. It's all okay though, because they gave us little tracker buttons to put on our shoes to give us official times. Our times only start when we actually cross the start line, and by that time, the shamble had turned into a rumble.

It was a bit frustrating, but I really loved the start of the run. Runners took over the entire street - both lanes from sidewalk to sidewalk. Later on, we only had one lane, but for that moment, we were the traffic. The game of watching people (more entertaining than the actual run some of the time) began. Unhappy humorless women took off with a bit of a sprint. I liked that. She would burn out quick and I would pass her about a mile into the run. A lot of people do that. You get so excited that you run way too fast in the beginning and don't have anything left at the end. I forced myself to pay close attention to my pedometer to keep from going faster than the 8 minute/miles I had budgeted.

Slowly the group unclumped. The truly speedy were gone almost immediately. I would only see them after they made the u-turn and were coming back the opposite way. After they were gone, I started beating people. Well, that's all in my mind. Plenty of people were still passing me, but it's all a mind game, right? I picked out someone who was running nearly my pace and took up place behind them. Then, eventually, I would pull out in front of them, congratulating myself on my victory in a race that the other person knew nothing about. I was able to keep this game going for the whole run.

There were a couple people who I dueled with for a mile or two, but eventually I got past them all. The one who gave me the most trouble was a very attractive (at least from the back) woman with two long, crazy, hypnotically twisting braids. She passed me early, and I think it took me 3 miles to get passed her for good.

The other fun game was to chase down the other bunny heads. Unfortunately, there weren't too many in front of me that were really catchable, but each one I saw on the horizon was a moving target. Especially the one worn at a jaunty angle by a ginormous mountain of a man. His ears stuck out to the side about a foot above my head. But I passed him.

The end of the run was beautiful. There was a really strong tailwind and a very slight downgrade. I had been picking up my pace slightly. I could see people falling out and dropping back into a jog, but I actually had energy and legs left, so I lengthened my stride and picked up the pace into a quick run for the last half mile and a sprint at the end, weaving through the people in front of me. Over the music from my earphones, I heard the MC with the PA system call out, "And here comes a guy with bunny ears, sprinting for the finish, let's let him hear it!" I did.

48:42, but I can do better.