Thothmuffin
Don't get any crumbs on the scale of judgement.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Oh, yes, Wyoming!
From davesque, who needs to get cracking. States I've visited:
Click here to make your map.
Click here to make your map.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Medical Conditions Explain Everything
Overheard in a restaurant:
(Three high schoolers are sitting in a booth, discussing their fear of Speech class. TM and friend eavesdrop.)
---
Boy 1: I told that story for my Speech class, it went really well.
Boy 2: Really? I hate speaking in public.
Girl: Yeah, I hate it too, I'm really bad at it. It's so scary. (deadpan) I think it's because of my thyroid.
Friend: (sotto voce) omg what??
TM: (barely holding it together) I never thought I would hear someone slander their thyroid so casually.
Friend: Yeah, I know you can have a medical condition and stuff, but...dude...I wish I could tell her that no one likes Speech class. That's why they make you take it.
---
It was at this point that I realized...I never took Speech class! I got it waived because of some other class I was in that supposedly fulfilled the requirements--possibly an English class with presentations, although I still don't feel like I necessarily know how to give a speech or presentation. I was told recently, however, that all I need to do to improve my presentations is lower my voice, wear high heels, and not say "um". Which kind of just makes me want to become a fabulous drag queen. The boa commands respect! XD~~
Sorry if this post makes no sense. I haven't slept a lot recently.
(Three high schoolers are sitting in a booth, discussing their fear of Speech class. TM and friend eavesdrop.)
---
Boy 1: I told that story for my Speech class, it went really well.
Boy 2: Really? I hate speaking in public.
Girl: Yeah, I hate it too, I'm really bad at it. It's so scary. (deadpan) I think it's because of my thyroid.
Friend: (sotto voce) omg what??
TM: (barely holding it together) I never thought I would hear someone slander their thyroid so casually.
Friend: Yeah, I know you can have a medical condition and stuff, but...dude...I wish I could tell her that no one likes Speech class. That's why they make you take it.
---
It was at this point that I realized...I never took Speech class! I got it waived because of some other class I was in that supposedly fulfilled the requirements--possibly an English class with presentations, although I still don't feel like I necessarily know how to give a speech or presentation. I was told recently, however, that all I need to do to improve my presentations is lower my voice, wear high heels, and not say "um". Which kind of just makes me want to become a fabulous drag queen. The boa commands respect! XD~~
Sorry if this post makes no sense. I haven't slept a lot recently.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Sweet, Sweet DaVinci Code Closure
D-chan, Purin, Monnie, & Liminal:
You guys rock.
Liminal has returned the specially annotated DaVinci Code to me and it is SO FUNNY. I'm still reading, but the prize for best comment so far goes to Purin, for this, in regards to Langdon's Mickey Mouse watch:
"Mickey's round ears, of course, represent breasts, a symbol of the divine feminine."
I love you guys. <3
You guys rock.
Liminal has returned the specially annotated DaVinci Code to me and it is SO FUNNY. I'm still reading, but the prize for best comment so far goes to Purin, for this, in regards to Langdon's Mickey Mouse watch:
"Mickey's round ears, of course, represent breasts, a symbol of the divine feminine."
I love you guys. <3
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Tristan Movie Review
What made the movie Tristan & Isode a tragedy?
Was it the complete and utter abandoment of anything like the original tale's plot?
Was it the elision of the love potion, that horrible compulsion of love that turned everything to tragedy?
Was it the squick at betrothing Yseut to a character that was supposed to be her uncle? Was it the fact that the protagonists spent the entire last hour of the movie with their eyes so watery that they looked as though they constantly needed to sneeze?
Or was it maybe the fact that the lovers read a poem written by JOHN DONNE to each other? John Donne who, I will remind you, was not even born until the late 16th century?
Anachronism aside, this movie might have been good if it was entitled "Movie about a couple of hot yet doomed medieval people." Sadly, I cursed myself by investigating source texts before watching the adaptation.
Was it the complete and utter abandoment of anything like the original tale's plot?
Was it the elision of the love potion, that horrible compulsion of love that turned everything to tragedy?
Was it the squick at betrothing Yseut to a character that was supposed to be her uncle? Was it the fact that the protagonists spent the entire last hour of the movie with their eyes so watery that they looked as though they constantly needed to sneeze?
Or was it maybe the fact that the lovers read a poem written by JOHN DONNE to each other? John Donne who, I will remind you, was not even born until the late 16th century?
Anachronism aside, this movie might have been good if it was entitled "Movie about a couple of hot yet doomed medieval people." Sadly, I cursed myself by investigating source texts before watching the adaptation.
Friday, January 13, 2006
A Poem on Togetherness
The Mating Game
While searching for a match,
I hold three choices in my hand:
one familiar
one new
one low--
the next sock I find wins.
While searching for a match,
I hold three choices in my hand:
one familiar
one new
one low--
the next sock I find wins.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Tristan and Yseut
I am wallowing in a sweet orgy of texts, brought on by an originally mild curiosity about whether I had ever actually read more than a summary of the Tristan and Isolde (Yseut/Iseult) legend. (There is a movie coming out soon.) I had not, and I did not have an excerpt in all of my medieval studies books, so I launched a crusade to find a version in print. All bookstores but one failed me; I managed to pick up a sweet little copy of Bedier's version, which is a Victorian compilation/retelling of some of the most famous medieval fragments of the Tristan story. I've managed to find three main sources that he drew from:
1. Tristran, Thomas of Britain, c. 1180 (Verse/ Old French)
2. Tristran, Beroul, c. 1200 (Verse [couplets!]/ Old French)
3. Tristan and Isolde, Gottfried von Strassburg, 13th c. (Prose?/Old German)
But for anyone looking to read a version that is modern, complete, beautiful, sparse, and a work of literature in its own right, I recommend the Victorian version:
4. The Romance of Tristan and Iseult, Joseph Bedier, 1900
Project Gutenburg has a pretty decent edition, but the Doubleday-Anchor book I picked up used has a few very entertaining segments that are missing in the Gutenburg text.
Also, I can see how one could argue that Tristan and Yseut was responsible for starting the entire romantic genre; it has certainly made *me* want to write a romance novel. I now have 2 one-off novels that have taken over corners of my brain and are hanging up curtains and making tea; the next NaNo will not come soon enough and I might be driven to write one or two of them just to clear a bit of space.
1. Tristran, Thomas of Britain, c. 1180 (Verse/ Old French)
2. Tristran, Beroul, c. 1200 (Verse [couplets!]/ Old French)
3. Tristan and Isolde, Gottfried von Strassburg, 13th c. (Prose?/Old German)
But for anyone looking to read a version that is modern, complete, beautiful, sparse, and a work of literature in its own right, I recommend the Victorian version:
4. The Romance of Tristan and Iseult, Joseph Bedier, 1900
Project Gutenburg has a pretty decent edition, but the Doubleday-Anchor book I picked up used has a few very entertaining segments that are missing in the Gutenburg text.
Also, I can see how one could argue that Tristan and Yseut was responsible for starting the entire romantic genre; it has certainly made *me* want to write a romance novel. I now have 2 one-off novels that have taken over corners of my brain and are hanging up curtains and making tea; the next NaNo will not come soon enough and I might be driven to write one or two of them just to clear a bit of space.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
That's "the pen is mightier"
So I bought the best pens ever today, which were recommended to me by a discerning coworker. These pens are classic ballpoint but write like butter, and have the somewhat freakish and disconcerting addition of antibacterial comfort grips. Seriously. I was curious as to how a pen could be anti-microbial, so I read the package more carefully than I would normally do when purchasing a disposable ball point pen.
Sanford informs me that "ShareGuard (tm) technology is safe, effective anti-microbial product protection. ShareGuard (tm) technology will last the life of the pen. Anti-microbial additive is EPA registered. ShareGuard (tm) technology is designed to protect the pen surface and does not extend protection to skin."
I'm not big on all this antibacterial nonsense; far better just to wash the little buggers away with normal soap than to get them all resistant from mad crazy chemical destruction. I am curious about why they made that disclaimer about the pen surface vs. my skin; are they trying to assure me that the ShareGuard (tm) technology won't rub off on my skin, or it is really saying that my pen is protected from the common cold, but I am in big trouble if people have been mucusing on my writing instruments and I then poke my mucus-finger in my mouth?
Anyway, I examined the packaging far too closely, and after a while I began to get the sneaking feeling that the copy writers were *way* too excited by the pens. The copy reads like an advance in the sex toy market, not writing technology. "FlexiGrip Elite with ShareGuard (tm) Anti-Microbial Technology. New! Softer Grip." It didn't get really serious until I got to "Lubriglide (R) Ink System". Then even the company's name (PaperMate) started to seem questionable, and pretty soon even "ball point" started to sound dirty, so I had to stop.
Heh. Lubriglide.
Sanford informs me that "ShareGuard (tm) technology is safe, effective anti-microbial product protection. ShareGuard (tm) technology will last the life of the pen. Anti-microbial additive is EPA registered. ShareGuard (tm) technology is designed to protect the pen surface and does not extend protection to skin."
I'm not big on all this antibacterial nonsense; far better just to wash the little buggers away with normal soap than to get them all resistant from mad crazy chemical destruction. I am curious about why they made that disclaimer about the pen surface vs. my skin; are they trying to assure me that the ShareGuard (tm) technology won't rub off on my skin, or it is really saying that my pen is protected from the common cold, but I am in big trouble if people have been mucusing on my writing instruments and I then poke my mucus-finger in my mouth?
Anyway, I examined the packaging far too closely, and after a while I began to get the sneaking feeling that the copy writers were *way* too excited by the pens. The copy reads like an advance in the sex toy market, not writing technology. "FlexiGrip Elite with ShareGuard (tm) Anti-Microbial Technology. New! Softer Grip." It didn't get really serious until I got to "Lubriglide (R) Ink System". Then even the company's name (PaperMate) started to seem questionable, and pretty soon even "ball point" started to sound dirty, so I had to stop.
Heh. Lubriglide.
