OK, I have 11 days until I go back to California for Christmas. Here's what's going on between now and then and the things I need to get done between now and then.
Tuesday 11/29: go on a run, trying out a new worship service in Nampa, finding a CORE group Christmas present
Wednesday 11/30: swim, listen to student debates, finish last five historiography sources, write paper on Godzilla (yep, you read that right), edit paper on museums, C of I Holiday Party
Thursday 12/1: freak out that it's already December, more debates, CORE group and gift exchange, class to discuss museums, going out afterwards, as per usual
Friday 12/2: hike/jog/run with Addy, edit and revise historiography, read American Gods, Yosh's b-day party??
Saturday 12/3: Paper writing, working out, preparing last few Christmas presents
Sunday 12/4: Teaching Sunday School, playing for Offering and Communion, leading the children's message, finishing Godzilla paper at J&J, maybe watching a movie? starting to pack.
Monday 12/5: Swim, meet with students in the morning, print out final historiography, yoga, CORE group member's directing final.
Tuesday 12/6: Morning run, more packing, meeting with students in the afternoon, Happy Hour at Orphan Annie's. More packing.
Wednesday 12/7: Swim, meet with students in the morning, make sure all's ready for class.
Thursday 12/8: Morning run, meeting with students, packing, GRADING, last class, last time going out with class, GRADING.
Friday 12/9: GRADE, GRADE, GRADE. Maybe run/walk/hike with Addy when I need a break. Drink a little. Cry a little. Christmas party in Eagle.
Saturday 12/10: Book club brunch to discuss American Gods, GRADE, GRADE, GRADE. Fly home in the evening.
I sat in on Steve, Mee-Ae and Jeff's Civ lectures last week and one of the things that stuck out the most to me was Jeff's statement (in slight jest) that one of the biggest changes in the post-WWI world was the shortening of beards. There was a huge difference between the short, clipped beards of the post-war and the massive, impressive long beards of the 19th century.
So let's take a look at some doozies... Here are my top 5 for craziest beards in the 1800s.
Not technically a beard but impressive nonetheless. Also, I think it's funny that Ambrose BURNSIDE had the most magnificent SIDEBURNS (get it...) ever! Chester A. Arthur holds a close second.
The All-American Prophet's second-hand man Brigham Young had a pretty impressive amount of facial hair as well. It seems awkward and a little uncomfortable without a mustache...
Does that beard come from natural selection too, Mr. Darwin? Or just your lack of razors?
Representing my hometown, Ezra Cornell sports an impressive, yet somewhat unkempt beard. Understandable, winters on the shores of Lake Cayuga in Ithaca are effing cold!
I'm not sure what is more impressive, the theory that changed the world or the dark mustache and like beard. You feel free to decide and let Karl know.
When I went into watch the new version of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy with Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Zooey Deschanel and Sam Rockwell, I had prepared myself ahead of time for things to be different than the book. Therefore, I enjoyed it immensely. Then I discovered the BBC version of HGGTG, based on the BBC radio show based on the book. It is amazing- all of those side stories about the guide are actually mentioned. And when I saw based, I mean essentially word for word. It's incredibly quirky and because it's the seventies, the fashion is amazing. I'm included the first part here but you can get the rest streaming instant on Netflix (but only until the 1st of December.... so watch quickly!!!!)
WORST Discover of the Day
Everyone knows that Heidi Montag/Pratt came out with an album that I'm pretty sure sold like 1000 albums and that's it. I'm also pretty sure tat there was a music video that involved her frolicking on the beach. But, did you know that SPENCER came out with a song too? Words cannot even describe the monstrous disaster that is this song and music video. If you have 4 minutes and 7 seconds that you will NEVER get back, watch this. But you have been duly warned.
Last week, when I got my new tape adaptor that actually played music correctly, I found myself listening to Assassins. It's hard to listen to when the radio's not working because of the levels of recording but it's such an incredible soundtrack. It follows the stories of the American Assassins- the four presidential assassins and the five attempted assassins. The four presidential assassins are well known: John Wilkes Booth (Lincoln), Leon Czolgosz (William McKinley), Chalres Guiteau (James Garfield- one of the greatest assassination stories) and Lee Harvey Oswald (Kennedy). The other five are less well-known: Giuseppe Zangara (FDR), Sarah Jane Moore and Lynette "Squeaky" Frome (Gerald Ford), Samuel Byck (Richard Nixon) and John Hinckley (Ronald Reagan).
It's not as easy to follow the story with the soundtrack because there is a lot more than just the songs. I am still cursing myself for not going to see it when it was in Boise back when I was in college because I just adore the soundtrack. The most interesting character is the Balladeer who watches and narrates the three presidential assassinations, starting with the man who began it all, John Wilkes Booth. The Balladeer later explains to the assassins, who complain the they never got the rewards they were promised, that their actions didn't solve their problems or the country's problems and that their prizes come from following the American Dream. The
assassins realize that they will never get their prizes, that no one will ever care if they live or die, and briefly sink into absolute desperation before Byck coaxes them into not giving up and then leads them into a performance of "Another National Anthem", a song to be sung by all Americans dispossessed by the dream. The Balladeer attempts to convince them to be optimistic and seek other ways to be happy but the Anthem grows louder and louder until the assassins force the Balladeer offstage.
This is where the Balladeer changes to Lee Harvey Oswald, sitting in the Texas School Book Depository, contemplating suicide. He's about to go through it when he is visited by John Wilkes Booth who seems to know everything about him. Booth slowly and carefully attempts to convince him to not become his own victim and to instead assassinate JFK. The world will not remember him for killing himself- it will remember him for killing the president.
Assassins is unique in the way that it looks at the motivation for the assassinations. Guiteau didn't get his Ambassadorship to France. Czolgosz didn't get his job. Lynette Frome wanted her boyfriend, Charles Manson to testify at her trial and convince the world to follow him. Hinckley wanted Jodie Foster to notice and pay attention to him. I'd highly recommend seeing this show if you have the opportunity. Here are a few of my favorite songs.
(can you tell who sings the "Balladeer" part? hint.... suit up!)
(this is the version i have and i just love it....patrick cassidy is incredible as the balladeer)
(i love nph but i really like patrick cassidy's original cast version better- but i can only post it with another song and it's ruuul long so this'll do)
Going along with this theme of assassinating (cheery, eh!?), Mom, Abba and I decided to watch "The Conspirator", a movie about the Lincoln assassination and conspiracy directed by the talented Robert Redford. It follow a young Union captain and lawyer who is forced to defend Mary Surratt, played by Robin Wright. Mary Surratt owned a boarding house where the conspiracy between John Wilkes Booth, Surratt's son Johnny, Lewis Powell, George Atzerodt and several others. The plan was for Booth to kill Lincoln, Atzerodt to kill Vice-President Johnson and Powell to kill William Seward (of Seward's Folly). Atzerodt backed out last minute, saying that he had only signed up for a kidnapping (the original plan) and not a murder. Andrew Johnson was never attacked, Seward was saved from a stabbing by his neck brace (he had been laid up from a nasty fall from a carriage) and any red-blooded American knows the fate of Abraham Lincoln.
"The Conspirator" follows mainly the military tribunal trial of Mary Surratt and Aiken's slow transition of skeptic to slowly beginning to uncover evidence that casts doubt on the allegations and conducting a spirited defense. He begins to realize that Mary Surratt is being used as bait and a hostage in order to capture her son, Johnny, who is the only conspirator to have escaped the manhunt after the assassination. It becomes his duty to find and uncover the truth.
I really enjoyed this movie a lot. I loved that there were great actors in nearly every role- Justin Long, Jonathan Groff, Toby Root, Chris Bauer (who I've just been watching almost nightly as Fred Yokas on Third Watch), Johnny Simmonds (I JUST watched him in "The Greatest"), Alexis Bledel, KEVIN KLINE, Tom Wilkinson, and Evan Rachel Wood. I really enjoyed the costumes and the sets, which made me feel like I was back in the 1860s. Also, Robert Redford did a great job with directing. It would have helped to have a little more enlightenment on some issues (the beginning scene with the three pronged assassination would be confusing if you didn't know details of the assassination) but overall, it was a really great movie and I'm glad that we ended up watching it.
One thing that I was really hoping for before I started grad school was that I would made some friends. Lots of my friends have gone through grad school already and none of them would have made it without some support. The first time I went through grad school, I had known everyone in my program for three years so it was a little different. This time, I was coming into something completely new and different. And all I wanted (along with passing, of course) was to make friends.
And I have! On Tuesday morning, I got a text from April, one of the ladies in my program who I go out with after class, asking if I wanted to do a wine and cheese night with her and Niki. Niki also comes out with us after class on Thursdays and when we found out that we both like thrift shops and Mexican food, she came out to Caldwell to go to the Acapulco and discover some new thrift shops. Of course, I immediately said yes. Several hours (and several frantic texts to Danielle) later, Niki and April came over to Brooke and Kevin's. I had bought some french bread and cheddar, Niki brought some other cheese and crackers and grapes and April brought the wine and pretty much every single Prince album ever.
It was such a great night, hanging out on the couches, eating bread, crackers and cheese, drinking yummy wine, listening to "Purple Rain" and talking about everything and anything under the sun. We discussed our class and our classes next year, the books we're reading, helping April out with her documentary, gender issues, concerts, the people in our class and how to get the remaining girl in our class to come out with us so we could teach her our ways. Niki mentioned that we were the "crone" (her), the "mother" (April), and the "maid" (me", like the Three Furies, and we would have a lot to teacher since she is a lot younger than all of us.
It was such a wonderful time just hanging out with these new friends. I look forward to Thursdays so much more now that I knew that I have people to hang out with afterwards. April, Niki and I have plans to get together again, including a night at Coyotes on the Creek which will be fun. None of us are getting everything done in two years so I can't wait to see what the next few years and classes have in store for us! Yay friends!
C of I hosted the George Wolf Tournament this last weekend and on Friday night, I met up with Abbey and Yosh in downtown Caldwell as Coyotes Wine on the Creek. I was a little late because there was NO place to park. Apparently it was "light up Caldwell" or something like that and people were all over the place waiting to see the lights up on down on Indian Creek. What a chance from when I was a freshmen and downtown was a kinda creepy place.
Anyway, we felt a little out of place- we didn't know whether to order at the counter or where to get the appetizers. We sent Jon to do everything because he was the guy- Abbey and I never claimed to be feminists :) We eventually got a local Bitner cab and some yummy appetizers- a cheese and salami platter with apples and bread, and some delicious bruschetta with goat cheese. Once we got the wine and food, things were better. There was some great people watching opportunities, including this jazz singer with sunglasses on inside (we kept singing "I wear my sunglasses at night") and his sound technician who was totally singing along. He wasn't bad but as usual when there is a person singing, it's hard to talk. We did get to see, from the inside, all the lights go on, which made Caldwell look almost like a quaint little town in a movie. Again, how things have changed since freshmen year!
We went straight over to the game afterwards but since we were late, by the time we got there, the box office was closed and Abbey and Jon got in for free. (And that is a run-on sentence worthy of my students!). The game was soooo frustrating, as usual. We were ahead at halftime and then just fell apart. Jon was NOT pleased so Abbey and I amused ourselves with people-watching. There was this awkward exchanging of keychains or something ceremony between the volleyball teams at halftime and we commented on a) the awkwardness and b) the intense hair of this kind of red-headed girl on the other team. When she later came out with it all up on her head, she looked like a turkey. Gobble gobble. We ended up losing by like a TON (which was so different from the following game where we won by over 50 and it was kinda embarassing by the end) but it was so great to hang out with Jon and Abbey. I have such wonderful friends!
1. Listening to Copland's 3rd Symphony on the radio yesterday allowed me to reiterate my stance on how composers are absolutely geniuses.
2. The light at the intersection of 21st and Chicago is the BANE of my existence. It is NEVER green for me. EVER. Even in the middle of the night when there are no cars. It's infuriating.
3. The best part about my drive to yoga is that I get to go through a roundabout at Happy Valley and Amity.
4. The fact that Warner Brother's has not yet released seasons 3-6 of Third Watch is a travesty. And I miss Bobby.
5. Do you have those pieces of music that just make you choke up and want to cry? Mine are currently "Fanfare for a Common Man" and the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 5th Symphony.
6. Call me cold-hearted but I feel like if you are going to accept charity, then you shouldn't be picky about it.
7. I never thought I'd be grateful to Rob Stacy for anything but I am for the final project he made me do in English 100.
8. I just love Mike Magee so much.
9. Daylight savings has happened and yet I STILL wake up in the dark. At 7:15. It blows.
10. The Beckhams may be my favorite "celeb" family. Their kid are adorable, the parents are hot and let's be real, if they ever split up, I may cry.
11. Dori and I have had our offices across the hallway from each other for almost a year now. We still have to lock our doors to get anything done.
12. Honey-nut cheerios are my favorite cereal.
13. My dream TV show would have Simon Baker and Neil Patrick Harris starring together. Maybe as brothers. Who sing. Can Simon Baker sing? He can definitely make tea...
14. I am REALLY happy that we hired Jeff five years ago for the history job.
15. I just devoured an entire half package of Saltines.
16. My kids are doing debates next week and I'm pretty excited about it. I hope they do a good job.
17. This line makes my die with laughter: I'm sorry, are you from the past!?
18. I am really enjoying yoga. Like a lot.
19. According to BSU, I am officially an Idaho resident. I still have to pay like a million dollars for my full-time schedule next semester.
20. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving, but not the grading or the paper writing.
21. My favorite part of SNL is when they thank everyone and hug at the end of the show.
22. Jason Segal and the Muppets on SNL kinda make me want to watch
23. If you can find anything wrong with this, we are no longer friends.
I found this email exchange as I was searching my inbox for Roni's mobile number. This just personifies our relationship so well.
Roni: Um I'm blaming you for this rain. It hasn't rained in AGES and you show up and what happens? Yeah, not cool!!
Michal: WELL I AM BLAMING YOU FOR THE MESS OF A HOUSE!!!!!! AND A GROSS KITCHEN WHERE I FEEL LIKE I CAN'T WALK AROUND WITHOUT SHOES ON EVEN THOUGH I HAVE A HURT FOOT BECAUSE I WILL NEED A TETANUS SHOT!!!!!!
Roni: Sorry........
Michal: WE WILL TALK ABOUT THIS LATER
oh sorry, i didn't realize caps were still on.... :)
Roni: AHHHHHHH TAYLOR SWIFT SONGS ARE SO POIGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Michal: THE ONLY TIME I LIKE PASTA IS WHEN IT IS COVERED IN PAINT THINNER AND RAZOR BLADES!!!!!
Wednesday ended up being a chock-full day full of spending time with small groups old and new. I went over to Mary's for lunch and she certainly is the hostess with the mostess. We had the most delicious pumpkin soup and little baguette sandwiches with pesto, cheese and ham. She had the sweetest little tea set for dessert along with yummy carrot cake. I strive to be like her in so many ways. We got a chance to catch up, share stories about being CORE group leaders (now that I am one :) ), and enjoy the beautiful view. She even showed me an invitation to the 90th birthday party of PRINCE MICHAEL OF ROMANIA. How cool is that? She said I could have it when they didn't want it anyway.... I can't wait!
That night, my girls came over for dinner. I made my turkey parmesan garlic burgers with ciabatta loaves, a big salad with pear, apple and grapes, and oven-baked fries which were interested but turned out OK. I also had applesauce brownies and ice cream for dessert. The girls ended up staying until nearly 11:00- we talked and laughed about everything under the sun, from Benedict Cumberbatch, David Tennant and Catherine Tate, to Santa in the fireplace, baking various desserts, Taylor the Latte Boy, NeedtoBreathe, other Christian artists, and let's just say that there was quite a lot of laughter. They helped me clean up and they also make me some super-cute homemade coasters. I adore these girls (and Victoria who wasn't able to make it) and I can't wait to continue to get to know them better!
On Saturday, I went to go see Spamalot, Monty Python's Musical Version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I LOVE this show. The first time I saw it was in New York on Broadway with Jake Fulcher, David Ketchum and Marc Ewins. We all were dying laughing the entire time. The original sountrack is with Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, Sara Ramirez and Tim Curry, to mention a few, which is nothing less than spectacular.
This time was no different.
The best part about seeing a show before is that you already know what's coming. So often, you can spend a show, especially one based off of a movie or something familiar to the public, anticipating what well-known ideas will pop up. This is especially true in a show based off of Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
This being the second time I saw it, I already knew what was coming up (also I know ALL the music), so I could enjoy the quicker jokes, the dancing, watching the actors who you maybe weren't supposed to focus on. It was also a kick to listen to the response of the audience, who may not have known what specifically was coming. There were some great reactions with certain cahrcters arrived on stage.
Like these guys.
Of course this.
This got many, many cheers.
He got the biggest laugh of all for some reason.
Can you guess what my favorite line in this song is? ( have a drink.....and a pee.... we'll be back for act three....... two sir.... twooooooo!)
And I love how this just mocks everything. (Also Sara Ramirez is amazing...)
Spamalot is an incredible show- some bizarre moments of course, but what do you expect from
Eric Idle and the rest of the Python crew? If you ever have the opportunity to see it, GO!
I certainly laughed a lot but this caused me to almost die.
Patsy: I'm Jewish. On my mother's side.
King Arthur: Why didn't you say so before, Patsy?
Patsy: Well, it's not something you say to a heavily armed Christian.
Also.... side note... when I was in high school going to se musicals, the glossy programs were $10. Now they are $20. Are they kidding? What's up with that!?
Last night, some of the younger faculty, staff and teaching alums got together at the Acapulco for Happy Hour. The idea started at Taste of the Harvest when Dori, Regan (the new Spanish prof) and I were talking about the get-togethers that the older women faculty have and how we should start out own. Last month we met at the Bent Fork and this time we arranged to meet at the Acapulco. Over the three weeks between planning the event and actually having the event, more and more people ended up on the list. Last night, lucky 13 people ended up having Mexican food and margaritas and it was a total blast. We shared stories, were introduced to new people we had never met before, chatted in small groups, tried to out-do each other crazy stories about mascots, students, crazy packages we're received, pretty much anything under the sun... It was such a blast- I can't wait to get to know these lovely ladies better and definitely can't wait for our next Happy Hour!
from l-r clockwise: Dori (history dept and alum), Tracylea (Special Events and and alum), Megan (Poetry Workshop and alum), Joanna (math), Cindi (Campus Ministries and alum), Katie (physics), Becky (elementary teacher and alum), Helin (Fulbright teaching Chinese), Regan (Spanish), Kelsey (Librarian and FYS) and Aly (Internal Research, Ceramics and married to the new religion prof)
I was obviously taking the pic and Alexa who works in the herbarium arrived later..
This is horribly delayed but a few weeks ago, I saw the Blue Man Group for Boise Broadway. I wasn't totally keen on seeing it but LOVED it. Highly recommended if you ever get the chance.
I don't even know where to begin with this show. I had no idea what to expect but honestly was just blown away. The talent, the choreography, the music, the theatrics, the non-verbal communication, it was all so incredible and these performers must practice for months to get everything working in sync.
I could go into crazy detail (I took notes!) about what happened but I feel like that might do what I saw a disservice... so for now I"m just going to post the pictures and remember what happened during each one and then maybe go back later to update with more detail.
This is one of the women that Rabbi Dan was talking about last year at the Ecumenical Thanksgiving Service. I knew the story sounded familiar even just by reading the synopsis of the Daily Show episode. Such an incredible lady and what a wonderful story!
I love the idea of "praying the devil back to hell".
Let's be real, I didn't really plan anything for Sunday School this week so when the kids asked if we could watch a movie, I said yes and was pleased when they picked a Veggie-Tales movie. It was called Moe and the Great Exit (Moses and the Exodus), labeled as a sequel to the Ballad of Little Joe. Neither of which I had seen before.
It did get me thinking though about my favorite Veggie-Tale songs from the past. It's been years since I've sat and watched a Veggie-Tales movie but they certainly were helpful for baby-sitting and always managed to put a smile on my face.
ALWAYS a classic- the mashed potato line is my favorite
I don't know why this one makes me laugh so much but it totally does
This is super low quality but it's one of my favorites (we could use him as a foot stool or a table to play scrabble on and tie him up and beat him up and throw him out of babylon... money lines!)
Again, not great quality but Aunt Ruth and her beard and the "la la las" make this great.
OK so there are a great many more that I love but youtube is woefully lacking in good quality Veggie Tales videos. So the best solution is to just go out, get yourself your own Veggie Tales movies and watch for yourself. And ENJOY!
I cannot deal with masks. I just cannot. They creep me out yet I am also totally fascinated by them. There is something slightly terrifying about not really knowing what is behind the mask. This is one of the reasons that clowns are so scary- they paint a large smile or frown on their faces but you have no idea what is going on behind their mask or in their head. Here are some examples of my favorites that still provide me with ample fodder for nightmares.
While listening to Wait Wait Don't Tell Me yesterday, I was looking through some pictures from my first long solo trip to England. There are some gems that I thought I would share.
Beautiful England from above
Toby, the punter in Cambridge- best part about this is that I saw
him two years later with Neal, still punting.
The slutty-ness of this girl always makes me laugh.
OCs before I knew what OCs were
These always make me think of tea canisters
Such a cool exhibit at the BALTIC
When I took this picture, I had no idea I'd meet him for real the next day.
In the flesh!
James!
These kids were great....
I'm sure the artwork here is lovely. The bathrooms were even lovelier.
I love how the angel seems to watch over the city
I would make a FANTASTIC queen
Bliss....
There is nothing more incredible than this.... YNWA!
So true.....
My first view of my future home.... Dover Castle
England has plenty of creepy statues.... and they all seem to be made out of wax.
One of my favorite things about Canterbury
Dear sweet friends!
I totally snuck into this farmer's field.
My very first Mary Russell day- and I'm pretty sure I was reading Jeeves and Wooster here.
I didn't do this but I love this.
I got reprimanded for taking a picture in the bathroom at Harrods.
WHAT has happened to my hair here?
My adoration for the Sheldonian statues has yet to fade four years later.
