Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and peace with each other and with nature. That is not just a dream, but a necessity. We are dependent on each other in so many ways that we can no longer live in isolated communities and ignore what is happening outside those communities.
-His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Friday, March 31, 2006
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Temporality
Until about a week ago, this semester was killing me. I couldn't get into a groove in terms of class prep, grading, and research; no matter how hard I tried, I was always a few steps behind. There just wasn't enough time in the day for school, family, personal time, and sleep. Last week, however, I had one of those Eureka! moments. Rather than trying to sleep my regular 1-7 routine, I decided to break up my sleep pattern. My new schedule looks something like the following.
0230-0700 Sleep
0700-0900 TLO/AM Routine
0900-1130 Nap w/TLO
1130-1230 TLO/Lunch
1230-1700 School
1700-1830 TLO Time
1830-2000 Exercise
2000-2200 Eat/STK Time
2200-0000 School
0000-0200 Surf/Read/work
0200-0230 Leisure Read
Repeat
Believe it or not, the routine seems to work for me. I'm not a terribly heavy sleeper and I used to spend much of every night in bed, but awake. By the time I make it to bed between 2-3 AM, I'm asleep within about 10 minutes of turning out the light and I don't wake up until the alarm screeches at 7:10 AM.
I still don't have enough time in the day (I had a "How am I going to get all this done?" moment a couple nights back), but the situation is improving. I'm working on a proposal for a book chapter and that means more school/research time than usual. When that's done, however, I should have time to spare.
0230-0700 Sleep
0700-0900 TLO/AM Routine
0900-1130 Nap w/TLO
1130-1230 TLO/Lunch
1230-1700 School
1700-1830 TLO Time
1830-2000 Exercise
2000-2200 Eat/STK Time
2200-0000 School
0000-0200 Surf/Read/work
0200-0230 Leisure Read
Repeat
Believe it or not, the routine seems to work for me. I'm not a terribly heavy sleeper and I used to spend much of every night in bed, but awake. By the time I make it to bed between 2-3 AM, I'm asleep within about 10 minutes of turning out the light and I don't wake up until the alarm screeches at 7:10 AM.
I still don't have enough time in the day (I had a "How am I going to get all this done?" moment a couple nights back), but the situation is improving. I'm working on a proposal for a book chapter and that means more school/research time than usual. When that's done, however, I should have time to spare.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Taming of the Brew
For those in search of a good cappuccino in a Starbucks-on-every-corner world (and sometimes two Starbucks on opposite corners), give their short cappuccino a try. I'm afraid I can't offer a review. I don't drink anything other than coffee, espresso, and an occasional Americano (espresso shots with water).
The Short Cappuccino
And some not so great news for those of us trying to be socially conscious coffee drinkers:
Not So Fair Trade Coffee?
I love the paragraph regarding the way the meaning of coffee has changed in the last decade.
In the mid-?90s, as Starbucks stores popped up in rapid succession and the image of the overworked exec lost some of its appeal, coffee became associated with epicureans rather than workaholics. The luxury item of a leisure class, coffee was suddenly less speed than valium. "Almost overnight, coffee switched its meaning," comments Scott Hamrah, a semiotics consultant and expert in the field of brand identity. "It became the opposite of what it meant before. First it was this stuff that you drank that allows you to be a machine. Then it became this moment of serene contemplation."
Oddly enough, coffee means both for me. I find a good cup of coffee one of the most soothing things on the planet. Similarly, it's a great jolt of get up and go about 1 or 2 PM. Given my intake of coffee and caffeine, I think any physical effects are largely a result of psychological expectations.
The Short Cappuccino
And some not so great news for those of us trying to be socially conscious coffee drinkers:
Not So Fair Trade Coffee?
I love the paragraph regarding the way the meaning of coffee has changed in the last decade.
In the mid-?90s, as Starbucks stores popped up in rapid succession and the image of the overworked exec lost some of its appeal, coffee became associated with epicureans rather than workaholics. The luxury item of a leisure class, coffee was suddenly less speed than valium. "Almost overnight, coffee switched its meaning," comments Scott Hamrah, a semiotics consultant and expert in the field of brand identity. "It became the opposite of what it meant before. First it was this stuff that you drank that allows you to be a machine. Then it became this moment of serene contemplation."
Oddly enough, coffee means both for me. I find a good cup of coffee one of the most soothing things on the planet. Similarly, it's a great jolt of get up and go about 1 or 2 PM. Given my intake of coffee and caffeine, I think any physical effects are largely a result of psychological expectations.
Friday, March 17, 2006
headache
Here's the incomprehensible thought of the evening.
Potentiality (in its double appearance as potentiality to and as potentiality not to) is that through which Being founds itself sovereignly, which is to say, without anything preceding or dtermining it other than its own ability not to be. And an act is sovereign when it realizes itself by simply taking away its own potentiality not to be, letting itself be, giving itself to itself.
If you're thinking, "huh?", I'm with you.
Potentiality (in its double appearance as potentiality to and as potentiality not to) is that through which Being founds itself sovereignly, which is to say, without anything preceding or dtermining it other than its own ability not to be. And an act is sovereign when it realizes itself by simply taking away its own potentiality not to be, letting itself be, giving itself to itself.
If you're thinking, "huh?", I'm with you.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
He Keeps Going, and Going, and Going . . .
If at first you don't succeed, keep reiterating the same message that presently has you facing record low numbers in the polls.
President Bush plans to issue a new national security strategy today reaffirming his doctrine of preemptive war against terrorists and hostile states with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, despite the troubled experience in Iraq.
How many more years do have to put up with hearing the same thing again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again . . . ?
Isn't there an election soon or something?
President Bush plans to issue a new national security strategy today reaffirming his doctrine of preemptive war against terrorists and hostile states with chemical, biological or nuclear weapons, despite the troubled experience in Iraq.
How many more years do have to put up with hearing the same thing again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and again . . . ?
Isn't there an election soon or something?
HuhWha?
I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm part of an academic reading group. After a long hiatus, we're resuming our gatherings and beginning with the first couple chapters of Giorgio Agamben's Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life. Have I mentioned that I'm the only non-philosopher in the reading group? This puts me at a serious disadvantage when it comes to getting up to speed with the concepts presented in almost very text we tackle. Rather than reading straight through the first couple chapters of Homo Sacer, I had to stop and spend some time educating myself on "the state of exception" concept. Thanks to the magic of the Internets, I think I understand the basics of the idea. "Think" is the operative term.
I don't feel very smart tonight. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not my usual territory.
I don't feel very smart tonight. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's not my usual territory.
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
Huh?
I had one of those days in the classroom where odd vocabulary words were flying out of my mouth. This unnamed phenomenon occurs once in a great while and there doesn't appear to be any rhyme or reason to it. I don't know if I get bored with my regular vocabulary or what, but it usually perplexes a few of my students. Here are some of the words I used today:
foliage
deftly
besmirched
hullabaloo
juxtaposition
Anyone want to take a guess as to how I used each?
foliage
deftly
besmirched
hullabaloo
juxtaposition
Anyone want to take a guess as to how I used each?
Ufda
As of yesterday, the prospect of seeing more of J & T was just that: a prospect. Today, it's more than a possibility or probability--they're moving to our corner of the Midwest! For those keeping score, T & J are the friends with whom we spent our November Boston trip. One of my colleagues is going on sabbatical during the 06-07 school year and T applied as her one year replacement. Last week, T visited the college as a guest lecturer, met my departmental colleagues, and interviewed with the Dean. Today, T received a job offer and she accepted. J has already been practicing his Norwegian.
STK, TLO, and I are thrilled they'll be joining us!
STK, TLO, and I are thrilled they'll be joining us!
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Birthday Boy
Yesterday was my birthday. Although it doesn't seem remotely possible, I'm now officially 38 years old. Mentally, I still feel like I'm in my 20s; physically, my body tells me I'm 38.
I had what I'd consider an almost perfect birthday celebration. T was in town as a visiting scholar and stayed through the weekend to help celebrate my 38th; it would have been nice to see J, the Alabama Hick, but he was otherwise disposed.* With the temperature soaring into the 50s, I went for a long run along the river before dinner. That's the first time I've been able to run outside since the onset of winter. The birthday dinner consisted of whole wheat linguini tossed in a light olive oil and garlic saute, green beans (I love them and we never eat them), and a lovely spinach, fresh greens, and feta salad. After dinner, STK, TLO, T, and I enjoyed a brisk evening walk down to a local coffee house where I consumed chocolate covered espresso beans and an Americano with an extra shot. Bbbbzzzzzz. We trekked our way back home and settled in for a dessert feast to be remembered. STK surprised me with a homemade cheesecake and whopper tornado (cheesecake, whoppers, and vanilla ice cream blended together like a DQ blizzard), followed by dark chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. Yes, folks, I can still put away desserts like crazy. I ate sweets until I couldn't eat any more. I'm happy to report that this 38 year old's stomach can still tolerate all the caffeine and sweets he can consume.
Did I mention T came bearing gifts? I'm now the owner of a bright red stapler shaped like a dog.** The dog "bites" the papers in the stapling process. How funny is that? The stapler will enjoy a place on my school desk with the rest of my quirky pop culture artifacts. She also brought a half dozen cinnamon raisin bagels. We're talking excellent bagels, not the exceedingly lame ones to which I've grown accustomed. My mouth did the happy dance this morning as I enjoyed a delicious bagel with my morning Kaladi Coffee. Four more days of bagely goodness await!
*There's a possibility we'll be seeing plenty of J & T in a few months. More on that as/if/when the situation warrants.
**Funny but true. During kindergarten orientation, a school psychologist suggested my parents hold me back from entering kindergarten for a year. The reason? I drew and colored a dog with red ears. To the psychologist, this was a sign of aggressive behavior. My parents laughed and told him/her to take a leap: my real-life dog had reddish brown ears. The psychologist also said I was too comfortable in the school setting, whatever that means. Naturally, we want our children to be uncomfortable in the school setting. Imagine that--my dad was an elementary school prinicipal and I'd been visiting school on an almost weekly basis since the moment I entered the world. Schools have always been a second home for me.
I had what I'd consider an almost perfect birthday celebration. T was in town as a visiting scholar and stayed through the weekend to help celebrate my 38th; it would have been nice to see J, the Alabama Hick, but he was otherwise disposed.* With the temperature soaring into the 50s, I went for a long run along the river before dinner. That's the first time I've been able to run outside since the onset of winter. The birthday dinner consisted of whole wheat linguini tossed in a light olive oil and garlic saute, green beans (I love them and we never eat them), and a lovely spinach, fresh greens, and feta salad. After dinner, STK, TLO, T, and I enjoyed a brisk evening walk down to a local coffee house where I consumed chocolate covered espresso beans and an Americano with an extra shot. Bbbbzzzzzz. We trekked our way back home and settled in for a dessert feast to be remembered. STK surprised me with a homemade cheesecake and whopper tornado (cheesecake, whoppers, and vanilla ice cream blended together like a DQ blizzard), followed by dark chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting. Yes, folks, I can still put away desserts like crazy. I ate sweets until I couldn't eat any more. I'm happy to report that this 38 year old's stomach can still tolerate all the caffeine and sweets he can consume.
Did I mention T came bearing gifts? I'm now the owner of a bright red stapler shaped like a dog.** The dog "bites" the papers in the stapling process. How funny is that? The stapler will enjoy a place on my school desk with the rest of my quirky pop culture artifacts. She also brought a half dozen cinnamon raisin bagels. We're talking excellent bagels, not the exceedingly lame ones to which I've grown accustomed. My mouth did the happy dance this morning as I enjoyed a delicious bagel with my morning Kaladi Coffee. Four more days of bagely goodness await!
*There's a possibility we'll be seeing plenty of J & T in a few months. More on that as/if/when the situation warrants.
**Funny but true. During kindergarten orientation, a school psychologist suggested my parents hold me back from entering kindergarten for a year. The reason? I drew and colored a dog with red ears. To the psychologist, this was a sign of aggressive behavior. My parents laughed and told him/her to take a leap: my real-life dog had reddish brown ears. The psychologist also said I was too comfortable in the school setting, whatever that means. Naturally, we want our children to be uncomfortable in the school setting. Imagine that--my dad was an elementary school prinicipal and I'd been visiting school on an almost weekly basis since the moment I entered the world. Schools have always been a second home for me.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Crazy Train
I'm still alive, although the lack of posts on my blog would suggest otherwise. Actually, all the lack of posts means is that I'm busy, busy, busy. Every time I sit down to blog, something comes up: a student email, TLO needs attention, or I realize I need to get to bed or survive on four hours of sleep. What the heck is cutting into my precious time? Teaching and parenting, mostly. I'm teaching a couple of new courses this semester and that means about 2-3 times as much prep as usual. From 10-1 AM, my prime blogging time, I'm usually outlining a journal article or two for class discussion the following day. Tonight, for example, I spent a couple hours tightening up my lecture on individual and collective subjectivities. The book we're using for the class is generaly decent, but the chapter on subjectivity is puresuckage. So, I generated a lecture from scratch. Did I mention the department Chair is observing my lecture tomorrow? She tells me its a regular part of my review but I think she's been ordered by the Bush Administration to see if I'm subverting the minds of college students. The answer: of course I am. I'm just doing it in a way so insidious that even the watchdogs won't ferret me out.
Speaking of reviews, I already heard from the school that I'll be promoted up one step as Assistant Prof and will be receiving a corresponding 6.5% raise for the upcoming school year. Considering I haven't had a real raise in years, 6.5% sounds good. Now, if the damn condo would sell our financial situation would be all roses.
Despite all the school hustle and bustle, STK and I managed to engage in some recent leisure activities. Last week we attended a lecture by a Norse mythology scholar/storyteller; despite my familiarity with the Norse pantheon via the Thor comic, he did tell some stories with which I wasn't familiar. With our interest in all things spiritual, we picked up a copy of his book. We also engaged in something of a mini Asian film festival this weekend. Saturday night we took in 2046, an artsy film featuring nonlinear storytelling. The film follows the life of a writer and jumps back and forth between his real life relationships and the setting of a science fiction story he's writing. Add in a time shift or two and you have a film that requires some concentration to follow. STK and I both offer our recommendation. Tonight, we went with a change of pace and viewed Godzilla: Final Wars. I'm not sure I've mentioned it here before or not, but I'm a huge Godzilla fan. The film doesn't disappoint. Terrible acting, mediocre special effects, and a man in a rubber monster suit! What a great way to close out the weekend.
I'll try to improve the frequency with which I'm blogging but no promises. This week, T arrives in town for her visiting scholar presentation at school. STK, TLO, and I can't wait to spend three days with her. The only bummer is that her partner, J, won't be traveling with her. He has to work or something, I guess. Since the trip to Boston, we've come to realize how much we enjoy having T & J in our lives and regret not spending more time with them while we all resided in Denver. With any luck, future events will bring them closer to our little corner of the Midwest. ::crosses fingers::
Oh, and to all our Denver compatriots who still read my blog: we're thinking of making a trip back during spring break (March 25-31). After six months of small town living, I'm ready for a few days of Goth clubs, coffee houses, delicious bagels, and everything else the city has to offer.* Add in the fact that we have babysitters galore in Colorado (aka TLO's grandparents) and we're looking at a fun trip. I wish my spring break occured in April as that seems to be about the only way we'll make it to the M and N toga party on the 21st. Flying is proving too costly and I can't get away for more than a three day weekend. Seeing as the drive to SLC would entail two 12 hour days in the car, we just don't have the time. The fact we're traveling with an infant doesn't help matters, either.
*Would you believe I even miss city traffic? I had a really bizarre moment of homesickness a couple weeks back while listening to a Denver radio station via the internet. I heard the traffic report for an area I used to drive several times a week, a week with nightmarish congestion, and I really missed Colorado for the first time since leaving. This was a "Wow, I really miss Colorado" moment with the sinking feeling in the stomach and everything.
Speaking of reviews, I already heard from the school that I'll be promoted up one step as Assistant Prof and will be receiving a corresponding 6.5% raise for the upcoming school year. Considering I haven't had a real raise in years, 6.5% sounds good. Now, if the damn condo would sell our financial situation would be all roses.
Despite all the school hustle and bustle, STK and I managed to engage in some recent leisure activities. Last week we attended a lecture by a Norse mythology scholar/storyteller; despite my familiarity with the Norse pantheon via the Thor comic, he did tell some stories with which I wasn't familiar. With our interest in all things spiritual, we picked up a copy of his book. We also engaged in something of a mini Asian film festival this weekend. Saturday night we took in 2046, an artsy film featuring nonlinear storytelling. The film follows the life of a writer and jumps back and forth between his real life relationships and the setting of a science fiction story he's writing. Add in a time shift or two and you have a film that requires some concentration to follow. STK and I both offer our recommendation. Tonight, we went with a change of pace and viewed Godzilla: Final Wars. I'm not sure I've mentioned it here before or not, but I'm a huge Godzilla fan. The film doesn't disappoint. Terrible acting, mediocre special effects, and a man in a rubber monster suit! What a great way to close out the weekend.
I'll try to improve the frequency with which I'm blogging but no promises. This week, T arrives in town for her visiting scholar presentation at school. STK, TLO, and I can't wait to spend three days with her. The only bummer is that her partner, J, won't be traveling with her. He has to work or something, I guess. Since the trip to Boston, we've come to realize how much we enjoy having T & J in our lives and regret not spending more time with them while we all resided in Denver. With any luck, future events will bring them closer to our little corner of the Midwest. ::crosses fingers::
Oh, and to all our Denver compatriots who still read my blog: we're thinking of making a trip back during spring break (March 25-31). After six months of small town living, I'm ready for a few days of Goth clubs, coffee houses, delicious bagels, and everything else the city has to offer.* Add in the fact that we have babysitters galore in Colorado (aka TLO's grandparents) and we're looking at a fun trip. I wish my spring break occured in April as that seems to be about the only way we'll make it to the M and N toga party on the 21st. Flying is proving too costly and I can't get away for more than a three day weekend. Seeing as the drive to SLC would entail two 12 hour days in the car, we just don't have the time. The fact we're traveling with an infant doesn't help matters, either.
*Would you believe I even miss city traffic? I had a really bizarre moment of homesickness a couple weeks back while listening to a Denver radio station via the internet. I heard the traffic report for an area I used to drive several times a week, a week with nightmarish congestion, and I really missed Colorado for the first time since leaving. This was a "Wow, I really miss Colorado" moment with the sinking feeling in the stomach and everything.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)