The Creationists Are Going to Love This One
Ghetto girl: Hey, look! What's that? I think it's an egg!
Friend: What the hell?! What's wrong with you? Monkeys don't lay eggs!
Ghetto girl: ... Well, how was I supposed to know that?!
--Bronx Zoo, Jungle World
Overheard by: cracking up behind them
Friday, March 28, 2008
Jaded?
So, I got a comment on the post today from my time in South Africa last year. The comment said: "Such a jaded person should be left under their rock and NEVER taken out - not one good thing to say - how sad!" and was left by "anonymous" (of course).
I thought that was an interested comment as I remember have a quite good time that day. I got out of Pretoria and got a chance to see some very important site in the general area. Maybe I did highlight the more unfortunate things that happened to me, but that makes for good reading.
But on the off chance all the people who I know read (yes, all three of you) think that I am jaded and should be left with mold spores under a rock, be sure that I am not. I am maybe a little bitter and cynical, but I do know how to have a good time and enjoy life.
I thought that was an interested comment as I remember have a quite good time that day. I got out of Pretoria and got a chance to see some very important site in the general area. Maybe I did highlight the more unfortunate things that happened to me, but that makes for good reading.
But on the off chance all the people who I know read (yes, all three of you) think that I am jaded and should be left with mold spores under a rock, be sure that I am not. I am maybe a little bitter and cynical, but I do know how to have a good time and enjoy life.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
American Idol
I admit it. I like it. I watch it.
Something that I find really irritating is when the judges tell a contestant that they are being "original" when they cover a cover of a song. Example? Tonight, David Cook sang Chris Cornell's version of Michael Jackson's song "Billie Jean". Ryan Seacrest mentioned it briefly during his intro of David, but the judges subsequently ignored it.
Hello? Not original. Chris Cornell's version was original. David Cook's version is a retread of someone else's originality. I don't have a problem with that in general - just that the judges praise originality when there is none.
This happened a couple of years ago when Chris Daughtry sang the Live cover of the Johnny Cash song "I Walk the Line". Chris sounded good, and it was a good choice, but not original.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to the Chris Cornell version.
Something that I find really irritating is when the judges tell a contestant that they are being "original" when they cover a cover of a song. Example? Tonight, David Cook sang Chris Cornell's version of Michael Jackson's song "Billie Jean". Ryan Seacrest mentioned it briefly during his intro of David, but the judges subsequently ignored it.
Hello? Not original. Chris Cornell's version was original. David Cook's version is a retread of someone else's originality. I don't have a problem with that in general - just that the judges praise originality when there is none.
This happened a couple of years ago when Chris Daughtry sang the Live cover of the Johnny Cash song "I Walk the Line". Chris sounded good, and it was a good choice, but not original.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go listen to the Chris Cornell version.
Monday, March 24, 2008
Midterms
It is midterm season, and I have elected to punish myself this year by giving short answer exams (rather than multiple choice). I have done this partially to make up for the fact that I have given them no writing assignments. Normally, I assign either two short (3-5 pages) papers or one longer paper (5-7 pages). But I just couldn't bring myself to read them this semester. It is a soul destroying, disheartening process. So I went with the short answer/essay exams.
I realized after I turned in one of my exams to be copied that there was a term leftover from a previous edition of the exam that I didn't go over specifically in class. Because I am fair, I told my students that that question would be extra credit. When I was reading through the exams, I noticed that one of my students had an extremely technical answer. In fact, it was so technical, I had to look it up to see if it was correct or not. And upon looking it up on teh interwebs, what did I find? The answer was copied from a Wikipedia article.
ON AN EXAM.
I am used to getting papers plagiarized almost exclusively from wikipedia entries, but this is the first time a student has done this on an exam. This student must have used a blackberry under his desk to surf the internet and look up the answers. As a professor, what am going to do about this? I mean, I know what to do with this student - he fails the midterm and will likely fail the class. But what do I do in future exams? I am not allowed to collect their cell phones prior to class because of insurance purposes. I guess I will have to have them leave their cellphones on their desks in a place where I can see them.
Ridiculous.
I realized after I turned in one of my exams to be copied that there was a term leftover from a previous edition of the exam that I didn't go over specifically in class. Because I am fair, I told my students that that question would be extra credit. When I was reading through the exams, I noticed that one of my students had an extremely technical answer. In fact, it was so technical, I had to look it up to see if it was correct or not. And upon looking it up on teh interwebs, what did I find? The answer was copied from a Wikipedia article.
ON AN EXAM.
I am used to getting papers plagiarized almost exclusively from wikipedia entries, but this is the first time a student has done this on an exam. This student must have used a blackberry under his desk to surf the internet and look up the answers. As a professor, what am going to do about this? I mean, I know what to do with this student - he fails the midterm and will likely fail the class. But what do I do in future exams? I am not allowed to collect their cell phones prior to class because of insurance purposes. I guess I will have to have them leave their cellphones on their desks in a place where I can see them.
Ridiculous.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
One of those days.
I am still angry about that article. The Washington Post did a follow up interview with Charlotte Allen to allow her to clarify her position and I couldn't even finish reading it before I got so angry that I had to close my browser. Note to the WaPo: if you are going to publish an oped that is a "satire" of misogyny, then don't let a misogynist write it. Furthermore, if you are going to continue to call it satire, don't allow her to participate in a Q&A that does nothing but point out that it is NOT satire, but actually what the writer believes. Publishing a piece like that in a respected newspaper gives Allen's word weight that they simply don't deserve, no matter how she originally intended the article.
* * *
Yesterday was definitely one of those days. I was fighting a cold all weekend. By Monday, I was a puddle of phlegmatic goo. My students have their first midterm today, so I trudged out to campus to teach and answer questions on Monday. I told them from the outset that I would be cutting class short because I wasn't feeling well and I heard some muted cheers. Thanks, guys. I feel like crap, so you win. See if you get a curve on your exam.
Because of my extreme sick and tired-ness, I definitely overslept my alarm on Tuesday. My eyes opened at 8:54 am when I was supposed to be teaching at 9:10am. I quickly threw on some clothes and some contacts and ran out the door and onto the subway. I made it to class with no breakfast and feeling slightly smelly by 9:25. Clearly, I rode the elevator up with one of my students who always wanders in late and I thought to myself how much I miss the days when I could wander into class late or opt just to skip it. Sadly, as the instructor, those options are now barred to me.
For class, we were doing a modelling exercise involving these little plastic beads. The last person to use them did not close the bags tightly so as I pulled them out of the drawer, they spilled out all over the floor. At that point, there really wasn't much that could happen to make a day worse. But then it started to rain on me on my walk home from class. And then I realized that I submitted the wrong exam to be copied for my Wednesday class.
On the upside, last night I got a good night sleep for the first time in several days and I am feeling much better.
Yesterday was definitely one of those days. I was fighting a cold all weekend. By Monday, I was a puddle of phlegmatic goo. My students have their first midterm today, so I trudged out to campus to teach and answer questions on Monday. I told them from the outset that I would be cutting class short because I wasn't feeling well and I heard some muted cheers. Thanks, guys. I feel like crap, so you win. See if you get a curve on your exam.
Because of my extreme sick and tired-ness, I definitely overslept my alarm on Tuesday. My eyes opened at 8:54 am when I was supposed to be teaching at 9:10am. I quickly threw on some clothes and some contacts and ran out the door and onto the subway. I made it to class with no breakfast and feeling slightly smelly by 9:25. Clearly, I rode the elevator up with one of my students who always wanders in late and I thought to myself how much I miss the days when I could wander into class late or opt just to skip it. Sadly, as the instructor, those options are now barred to me.
For class, we were doing a modelling exercise involving these little plastic beads. The last person to use them did not close the bags tightly so as I pulled them out of the drawer, they spilled out all over the floor. At that point, there really wasn't much that could happen to make a day worse. But then it started to rain on me on my walk home from class. And then I realized that I submitted the wrong exam to be copied for my Wednesday class.
On the upside, last night I got a good night sleep for the first time in several days and I am feeling much better.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
Seeing Red
My friend's boyfriend pointed me in the direction of this article in the Washington Post entitled "We Scream, We Swoon, How Dumb Can We Get" written by a woman ... against women.
I don't know who this Charlotte Allen is, but she clearly has serious penis envy. And I don't know what's wrong with the Washington Post that they would publish such total drivel. If you can't be bothered to read the article, it's all about: the idiocy of women who support Obama; Clinton as a poor candidate because of her poor choices - chalked up to her being a woman, of course; and the supposed biological differences between men and women. I actually read the article twice because I thought she was being ironic at first. But on second read, I realized that this chick was totally serious.
I don't know what makes me angrier. Her idea that the stupid things men do are rooted in some kind of ancestral "save and protect" mentality or that women are biologically preprogrammed to be nurturing mothers and make a home. Clearly I must be some kind of genetic anomaly because frankly, children annoy me and the only thing I am truly nurturing towards are my fish and my cat.
Her arguments don't even hold up - she claims that women have been verbal skills because we had to be able to "remember where the berries were" during our hunting and gathering days and men have better math and spacial relationship skills because "they had to be able to map out the trajectory of a spear." Um, remembering the locations of food patches is a cognitive mapping skill and would also fall under navigating spacial relationships.
She ends her article with this:
"So I don't understand why more women don't relax, enjoy the innate abilities most of us possess (as well as the ones fewer of us possess) and revel in the things most important to life at which nearly all of us excel: tenderness toward children and men and the weak and the ability to make a house a home. (Even I, who inherited my interior-decorating skills from my Bronx Irish paternal grandmother, whose idea of upgrading the living-room sofa was to throw a blanket over it, can make a house a home.) Then we could shriek and swoon and gossip and read chick lit to our hearts' content and not mind the fact that way down deep, we are . . . kind of dim."
Even if that is meant to be ironic, it still validates all of the ridiculous, outdated stereotypes present today against women.
I am so angry I can't even continue to articulate. Read the article. Be outraged.
EDIT: Apparently it is tongue-in-cheek. But it should have been clearer.
http://jezebel.com/363215/
I don't know who this Charlotte Allen is, but she clearly has serious penis envy. And I don't know what's wrong with the Washington Post that they would publish such total drivel. If you can't be bothered to read the article, it's all about: the idiocy of women who support Obama; Clinton as a poor candidate because of her poor choices - chalked up to her being a woman, of course; and the supposed biological differences between men and women. I actually read the article twice because I thought she was being ironic at first. But on second read, I realized that this chick was totally serious.
I don't know what makes me angrier. Her idea that the stupid things men do are rooted in some kind of ancestral "save and protect" mentality or that women are biologically preprogrammed to be nurturing mothers and make a home. Clearly I must be some kind of genetic anomaly because frankly, children annoy me and the only thing I am truly nurturing towards are my fish and my cat.
Her arguments don't even hold up - she claims that women have been verbal skills because we had to be able to "remember where the berries were" during our hunting and gathering days and men have better math and spacial relationship skills because "they had to be able to map out the trajectory of a spear." Um, remembering the locations of food patches is a cognitive mapping skill and would also fall under navigating spacial relationships.
She ends her article with this:
"So I don't understand why more women don't relax, enjoy the innate abilities most of us possess (as well as the ones fewer of us possess) and revel in the things most important to life at which nearly all of us excel: tenderness toward children and men and the weak and the ability to make a house a home. (Even I, who inherited my interior-decorating skills from my Bronx Irish paternal grandmother, whose idea of upgrading the living-room sofa was to throw a blanket over it, can make a house a home.) Then we could shriek and swoon and gossip and read chick lit to our hearts' content and not mind the fact that way down deep, we are . . . kind of dim."
Even if that is meant to be ironic, it still validates all of the ridiculous, outdated stereotypes present today against women.
I am so angry I can't even continue to articulate. Read the article. Be outraged.
EDIT: Apparently it is tongue-in-cheek. But it should have been clearer.
http://jezebel.com/363215/
Monday, March 03, 2008
Last Weekend
I made a new friend. He asked me to come over to his place and takes some photos of his zoo. Here are the highlights:
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Grendel by John Gardner
fiction/literature, (c)1971, 175pp
rating: *****
Grendel is a retelling of the "Beowulf" myth from the point of view of Grendel. It's pretty important to have read "Beowulf" before reading this book or you will be hopelessly lost. The majority of this book deals with life at Hrothgar's hall prior to the appearance of Beowulf. We are introduced to Grendel immediately who tells us all about his life and what he has observed. He has observed the settling of this area by the nomadic bands and the building up of Hrothgar's empire. He is entranced by Hrothgar's "Shaper", a harpist and storyteller, though the storyteller's words cause Grendel auguish because he knows what the Shaper says is untrue but he is so entranced by his words that part of him believes. After an encounter with a dragon, he begins his marauding on Hrothgar's hall until the inevitable meeting with Beowulf.
Apparently this book is widely used in high school classes, though I never had to read it. I read up a little bit about the style of the book so that I would appreciate it more. There are 12 chapter and each of the twelve chapters corresonds to one of the zodiac signs, starting with the first chapter and an encounter with a Ram. Each chapter also deals with different ideas of philosophy, including using philosopher's own words. Grendel himself goes through several different phases in thinking about the meaning of life. There are also meditations about propoganda (through the role of the Shaper), the role of religion on society, and the meaning of war.
Throughout the book, Gardner plays with different literary styles as well. Most of the book is told through stream-of-consciousness of Grendel. However, he shifts to a lyrical style (which echoes the original text) and screenplay style (very Beckett-esque).
I started reading this a long time ago and I couldn't get all the way through it. However, this time it really captivated me and made me think. And sometimes it's nice to read a book you really have to think about.
rating: *****
Grendel is a retelling of the "Beowulf" myth from the point of view of Grendel. It's pretty important to have read "Beowulf" before reading this book or you will be hopelessly lost. The majority of this book deals with life at Hrothgar's hall prior to the appearance of Beowulf. We are introduced to Grendel immediately who tells us all about his life and what he has observed. He has observed the settling of this area by the nomadic bands and the building up of Hrothgar's empire. He is entranced by Hrothgar's "Shaper", a harpist and storyteller, though the storyteller's words cause Grendel auguish because he knows what the Shaper says is untrue but he is so entranced by his words that part of him believes. After an encounter with a dragon, he begins his marauding on Hrothgar's hall until the inevitable meeting with Beowulf.
Apparently this book is widely used in high school classes, though I never had to read it. I read up a little bit about the style of the book so that I would appreciate it more. There are 12 chapter and each of the twelve chapters corresonds to one of the zodiac signs, starting with the first chapter and an encounter with a Ram. Each chapter also deals with different ideas of philosophy, including using philosopher's own words. Grendel himself goes through several different phases in thinking about the meaning of life. There are also meditations about propoganda (through the role of the Shaper), the role of religion on society, and the meaning of war.
Throughout the book, Gardner plays with different literary styles as well. Most of the book is told through stream-of-consciousness of Grendel. However, he shifts to a lyrical style (which echoes the original text) and screenplay style (very Beckett-esque).
I started reading this a long time ago and I couldn't get all the way through it. However, this time it really captivated me and made me think. And sometimes it's nice to read a book you really have to think about.
Friday Seminars
One of the most annoying things about my graduate program is that we have mandatory Friday seminars. They are "mandatory" for everyone - faculty and students. During the second semester, our second year Ph.D. students give talks about various topics. Occasionally we have visiting professors speak (though those are usually on Thursday night - less mandatory; I only get in trouble for not going if it's something directly related to my area of interest). The rest of the empty seminar slot are filled by "senior students" or recent grads giving update about dissertation work.
In small doses, I think this is an excellent idea. However what ends up happening is that the same people get roped into speaking again and again about their dissertation data. And since my advisor is instrumental in these seminars, I am roped into giving these talks about once a year. I am supposed to give a talk about my dissertation data for the THIRD TIME in May. I have already given a talk about what I was going to write my dissertation on (the first time). I have given a talk about my exploration of most of my data (the second time). I am still working through all of my exploratory data (since the first time I gave my talk I hadn't finished collecting it yet) - what am I supposed to talk about in May?
Another thing that irritates me about these seminars is that they are scheduled from 2-4 in the afternoon. That pretty much kills my day. It's hard to motivate myself to start working on my dissertation stuff when I know I'm just going to have to break to go down and listen to people talk about the same things I've already heard them talk about at least once before.
Additionally while these are "mandatory", there are a lot of faculty members that rarely if ever darken the door of the lecture room. These are also random students who somehow get exempt from these because, "they're just so busy." While, I AM BUSY TOO! But my advisor says, "If I can't get my own students to come ..." Six years of this! I am tired of it. My small form of revenge is to find the facet of my dissertation that my advisor is least interested in, and I'll talk about that.
In small doses, I think this is an excellent idea. However what ends up happening is that the same people get roped into speaking again and again about their dissertation data. And since my advisor is instrumental in these seminars, I am roped into giving these talks about once a year. I am supposed to give a talk about my dissertation data for the THIRD TIME in May. I have already given a talk about what I was going to write my dissertation on (the first time). I have given a talk about my exploration of most of my data (the second time). I am still working through all of my exploratory data (since the first time I gave my talk I hadn't finished collecting it yet) - what am I supposed to talk about in May?
Another thing that irritates me about these seminars is that they are scheduled from 2-4 in the afternoon. That pretty much kills my day. It's hard to motivate myself to start working on my dissertation stuff when I know I'm just going to have to break to go down and listen to people talk about the same things I've already heard them talk about at least once before.
Additionally while these are "mandatory", there are a lot of faculty members that rarely if ever darken the door of the lecture room. These are also random students who somehow get exempt from these because, "they're just so busy." While, I AM BUSY TOO! But my advisor says, "If I can't get my own students to come ..." Six years of this! I am tired of it. My small form of revenge is to find the facet of my dissertation that my advisor is least interested in, and I'll talk about that.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Words to Live By
A writing schedule brings balance to your life – not balance in the pseudoscientific, New Age, self-help sense of wondrous fulfillment, but balance in the sense of separating work and play. Binge writers foolishly search for big chunks of time, and they “find” this time during the evenings and weekends. Bing writing thus consumes time that should be spent on normal living. Is academic writing more important than spending time with your family and friends, petting the dog, and drinking coffee? A dog unpetted is a sad dog; a cup of coffee forsaken is caffeine lost forever. Protect your real-world time just as you protect your scheduled writing time. Spend your evenings and weekends hanging out with your family and friends, building canoes, bidding on vintage Alvar Aalto furniture that you don’t need, watching Law & Order reruns, repainting the shutters, or teaching your cat to use the toilet. It doesn’t matter what you do as long as you don’t spend your free time writing – there’s time during the work week for that.
- Paul Silva, How To Write A Lot
- Paul Silva, How To Write A Lot
Top 12 Movie Scenes!
MY TOP 10 12 FAVORITE MOVIE SCENES EVER (2nd Edition)
I can't even find the first edition
12. Hot Stuff The Full Monty (1997)
When the men are in line for unemployment and the song "Hot Stuff" comes over the loudspeaker. They can't help but do a little of their choreography while they are standing there.
11. It's Raining Men Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
The fight between Mark Darcy and Daniel Clever. They're too posh to fight properly, so it turns into an awkward, bumbling sequence to the tune of "It's Raining Men". One of the best uses of a musical soundtrack.
10. The Slowest Car Chase Ever Enigma (2001)
Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet are chased through English country fields by a private investigator. Car chases are so much more fun when they are done at 30mph in a WWII era buggy. Plus, this scene culminates with a satisfying, yet incredibly awkward kiss. Love it.
09. "...you'll remember this moment when we were so close." Igby Goes Down (2002)
My favorite scene from my favorite dark comedy. Sookie tells Igby what she thinks about after she's done having sex. Igby's response? "You're a real fuckin' upper." Dialogue perfection.
08. "I'd like to dedicate this to my grandpa, who showed me these moves." Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
The ending scene at the beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine was the perfect ending to a perfect movie. Making a mockery of child beauty pageants has never been so funny.
07. The Baptism Montage The Godfather (1972)
The juxtaposition between the baptism and the string of violence is riveting. And don't think I missed the symbolism.
06. "How are you going to kill this bunny? Swingers (1996)
Trent's pep talk to Mikey in Swingers when he is getting ready to pick up a girl. Priceless - and is followed by one of the most cringe worthy scenes in movie history.
05. The Tango Roxanne Moulin Rouge (2001)
Another instance of juxtaposition. The way that "Roxanne" is retooled is almost sinister, as is the flashing between Satine's night with the Duke, Christian's jealousy and the tango dancers.
04. "You can't handle the truth!" A Few Good Men (1992)
Best courtroom scene ever. Hands down. I can almost forget how crazy Tom Cruise is in real life.
03. "And like that ... he's gone. The Usual Suspects (1995)
The final reveal where Verbal Kint's lies all crystalize for the police officers is magic - and one of the few endings I didn't guess before it happened.
02. "I want my father back you son of a bitch." The Princess Bride (1989)
Inigo's vengeance for his father's death at the hands of the evil Count Rugen is sweet. He finally gets to tell Count Rugen, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father - prepare to die!" over and over again, and he ends with this line as he kills him with a final blow of the sword.
01. How do you solve a problem like Maria? The Sound of Music (1965)
When Maria finally marries Captain Von Trapp, she walks down the aisle in this huge, gorgeous wedding dress. The camera pans up and the wedding march morphs into a reprise of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" I've loved this movie since I was a little girl, and while twenty years later I'm not so sure about the implicit message that the problem is solved by marrying her off, this scene still makes me smile.
I can't even find the first edition
12. Hot Stuff The Full Monty (1997)
When the men are in line for unemployment and the song "Hot Stuff" comes over the loudspeaker. They can't help but do a little of their choreography while they are standing there.
11. It's Raining Men Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)
The fight between Mark Darcy and Daniel Clever. They're too posh to fight properly, so it turns into an awkward, bumbling sequence to the tune of "It's Raining Men". One of the best uses of a musical soundtrack.
10. The Slowest Car Chase Ever Enigma (2001)
Dougray Scott and Kate Winslet are chased through English country fields by a private investigator. Car chases are so much more fun when they are done at 30mph in a WWII era buggy. Plus, this scene culminates with a satisfying, yet incredibly awkward kiss. Love it.
09. "...you'll remember this moment when we were so close." Igby Goes Down (2002)
My favorite scene from my favorite dark comedy. Sookie tells Igby what she thinks about after she's done having sex. Igby's response? "You're a real fuckin' upper." Dialogue perfection.
08. "I'd like to dedicate this to my grandpa, who showed me these moves." Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
The ending scene at the beauty pageant in Little Miss Sunshine was the perfect ending to a perfect movie. Making a mockery of child beauty pageants has never been so funny.
07. The Baptism Montage The Godfather (1972)
The juxtaposition between the baptism and the string of violence is riveting. And don't think I missed the symbolism.
06. "How are you going to kill this bunny? Swingers (1996)
Trent's pep talk to Mikey in Swingers when he is getting ready to pick up a girl. Priceless - and is followed by one of the most cringe worthy scenes in movie history.
05. The Tango Roxanne Moulin Rouge (2001)
Another instance of juxtaposition. The way that "Roxanne" is retooled is almost sinister, as is the flashing between Satine's night with the Duke, Christian's jealousy and the tango dancers.
04. "You can't handle the truth!" A Few Good Men (1992)
Best courtroom scene ever. Hands down. I can almost forget how crazy Tom Cruise is in real life.
03. "And like that ... he's gone. The Usual Suspects (1995)
The final reveal where Verbal Kint's lies all crystalize for the police officers is magic - and one of the few endings I didn't guess before it happened.
02. "I want my father back you son of a bitch." The Princess Bride (1989)
Inigo's vengeance for his father's death at the hands of the evil Count Rugen is sweet. He finally gets to tell Count Rugen, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father - prepare to die!" over and over again, and he ends with this line as he kills him with a final blow of the sword.
01. How do you solve a problem like Maria? The Sound of Music (1965)
When Maria finally marries Captain Von Trapp, she walks down the aisle in this huge, gorgeous wedding dress. The camera pans up and the wedding march morphs into a reprise of "How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?" I've loved this movie since I was a little girl, and while twenty years later I'm not so sure about the implicit message that the problem is solved by marrying her off, this scene still makes me smile.
An Offer I Couldn't Refuse
I watched The Godfather with FR last night for the first time ever. I understand entirely why so many people count it as their favorite movie of all time and I am looking forward to seeing the next one. I think the final montage scenes between the baptism and "taking care of family business" might go into my top ten movie scenes of all time.
But now I'm craving cannoli.
But now I'm craving cannoli.
Friday, February 22, 2008
New York Minute
Had a fantastic, touristy New York day, despite the slushy puddles of treachery lining the streets. I met a friend of mine in Grand Central Station and we proceeded downtown to the Lower East Side Tenement musuem. I thought the tour was a little dull, though quite informative. Mostly, I kept looking around at all the apartments, thinking, "LOOK AT ALL OF THIS SPACE!" Granted, I know it would be different if there were a family of four living in an apartment the size of my current apartment.
Also, we were in one of the rooms and another person on our tour asked what this odd metal box was above the stove. Turns it out it was a gas meter where the tenants would have put in a quarter for gas. It occurred to me that there is actually an only one of those boxes in my apartment too.
We had lunch in Little Italy (NOT the best Italian food in New York by any stretch of the imagination, though guests always want to go there) but I was able to have a glass of wine and cannoli.
When I walked back into my apartment, the lights in my aquarium were off which led me to a moment of total panic. It went a little like this: Why are the lights off in the aquarium? Oh my God the power is out. Oh my God, all of my fish are dead! Oh shit, what - . Then I flipped on a light and realized I just plugged the light into the wrong socket.
Oops.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Out by Natsuo Kirino
fiction/mystery, (c) 2005, 400pp
rating: ****
I ran across this book when I was looking for more things to read when I ran out of literature when I was working in London. I didn't buy it then because of the sticker price (high exchange rate is a killer on books particularly), but I tucked the idea of this book away. Finally, this year, I decided to read it.
Out tells the story of four friends/colleagues that work the night shift at a company that makes packaged bento box meals. Each one of them has their own reasons for working the night shift, and each one has severe problems at home. Matsuo's family members orbit around each other without ever caring or interacting with each other. Kumiko is mired in debt and has spending problems. Yoshie is stuck caring for her ungrateful children and her aging mother in law and Yayoi's husband gambles and cheats on her. In a fit of rage one night, Yayoi strangles her husband with his own belt and calls her friends to help her figure out what to do. In this way, all four of them are pulled into the more criminal underbelly of this Tokoyo suburb.
Kirino won the Grand Prix award in Japan for this novel and it is well deserved. Though it is filed under the "mystery" section in Barnes and Nobles, it's not really a mystery. We find out exactly what the crime is and how it happens in the first thirty pages or so. The beauty of this book is watching everything unfold and seeing how Masako particularly manages her situation. Kirino has done a good job making all of the characters extremely realistic and this makes the reader invest in them. She also includes a young loan shark, a Brazilian immigrant and a casino owner as supporting characters and does an excellent job fleshing them out as well. The fact that all of these ladies work the night shift and so live in an inverse of everyone around them adds an additional darkness to this novel that makes it even moodier.
The other nice thing about this book is that it doesn't fetishize japanese culture (likely because it is a crime novel written by a Japanese woman). Many works of fiction and movies made by western writers fall prey to orientalism (read the essay if you haven't!). They either play up the young, hip, edgy teenagers or the rigidity of the culture. This book depicts a different side of Japanese culture and life and is refreshing to read.
I only had two quibbles with this book. Quibble #1 - it is quite long, and while most of it is a page turner, it definitely dragged just a little in the last quarter of the book. Quibble #2: The ending is a little ... odd, and somewhat disturbing. To say more than that would give it away. Overall, I highly recommend it.
rating: ****
I ran across this book when I was looking for more things to read when I ran out of literature when I was working in London. I didn't buy it then because of the sticker price (high exchange rate is a killer on books particularly), but I tucked the idea of this book away. Finally, this year, I decided to read it.
Out tells the story of four friends/colleagues that work the night shift at a company that makes packaged bento box meals. Each one of them has their own reasons for working the night shift, and each one has severe problems at home. Matsuo's family members orbit around each other without ever caring or interacting with each other. Kumiko is mired in debt and has spending problems. Yoshie is stuck caring for her ungrateful children and her aging mother in law and Yayoi's husband gambles and cheats on her. In a fit of rage one night, Yayoi strangles her husband with his own belt and calls her friends to help her figure out what to do. In this way, all four of them are pulled into the more criminal underbelly of this Tokoyo suburb.
Kirino won the Grand Prix award in Japan for this novel and it is well deserved. Though it is filed under the "mystery" section in Barnes and Nobles, it's not really a mystery. We find out exactly what the crime is and how it happens in the first thirty pages or so. The beauty of this book is watching everything unfold and seeing how Masako particularly manages her situation. Kirino has done a good job making all of the characters extremely realistic and this makes the reader invest in them. She also includes a young loan shark, a Brazilian immigrant and a casino owner as supporting characters and does an excellent job fleshing them out as well. The fact that all of these ladies work the night shift and so live in an inverse of everyone around them adds an additional darkness to this novel that makes it even moodier.
The other nice thing about this book is that it doesn't fetishize japanese culture (likely because it is a crime novel written by a Japanese woman). Many works of fiction and movies made by western writers fall prey to orientalism (read the essay if you haven't!). They either play up the young, hip, edgy teenagers or the rigidity of the culture. This book depicts a different side of Japanese culture and life and is refreshing to read.
I only had two quibbles with this book. Quibble #1 - it is quite long, and while most of it is a page turner, it definitely dragged just a little in the last quarter of the book. Quibble #2: The ending is a little ... odd, and somewhat disturbing. To say more than that would give it away. Overall, I highly recommend it.
Friday, February 15, 2008
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