Fondly remembering Thumper's mother's advice...
Take a tortuous journey through the fecund valleys of the heart. Green in the silky honey light. Brass at noon. Creeping pink at dawn. Low-slung and humble in the early evening, running up to the solstice. Red and full in mid afternoon, pulling hard around the trees; deep in dense shade warmed by fingers of light. Find that image.
Life is bigger than you, and you are not me ... I thought that I heard you laughing / I thought that I heard you sing / I think I thought I saw you try ... But that was just a dream ...
blah.
L
Sunday, November 23, 2003
Saturday, November 15, 2003
Paintin' the bathroom red
Ah, adventures in home contracting. We're painting the main-floor powder room a lovely shade of cranberry. In such a small room, everything now seems faintly pink, so we no longer have concerns about the trim, or the linoleum, or the hand towels, or even the door, matching. There's just a vaguely ominous red glow radiating from the hallway...
Things the retail industry doesn't tell you about do-it-yourself renovations (and that I, as the daughter of a handyman, should have known):
• That painting even the smallest room in the house will require sixty dollars' worth of paint.
• That no matter what projects you have completed in the past, you do not have the correct tools to complete this job without at least two trips to the hardware store.
• That dark colours are strangely incoherent when concentrated and in no way resemble the two-by-three-inch chip you fell in love with at the paint counter.
• That eggshell is not flat.
• That the phrase "it dries darker" is the industry's code phrase for "you've been had".
Good thing we like electric-neon-raspberry. Maybe we should try a coat of black on the red before we apply the next gallon?
Next project: walls in the basement. Perhaps we'll wait for the winter holidays before buying the drywall... What's that about hiring people to do this stuff?
PS: If we can, we'll post a picture of the finished project ... if it is ever finished.
Ah, adventures in home contracting. We're painting the main-floor powder room a lovely shade of cranberry. In such a small room, everything now seems faintly pink, so we no longer have concerns about the trim, or the linoleum, or the hand towels, or even the door, matching. There's just a vaguely ominous red glow radiating from the hallway...
Things the retail industry doesn't tell you about do-it-yourself renovations (and that I, as the daughter of a handyman, should have known):
• That painting even the smallest room in the house will require sixty dollars' worth of paint.
• That no matter what projects you have completed in the past, you do not have the correct tools to complete this job without at least two trips to the hardware store.
• That dark colours are strangely incoherent when concentrated and in no way resemble the two-by-three-inch chip you fell in love with at the paint counter.
• That eggshell is not flat.
• That the phrase "it dries darker" is the industry's code phrase for "you've been had".
Good thing we like electric-neon-raspberry. Maybe we should try a coat of black on the red before we apply the next gallon?
Next project: walls in the basement. Perhaps we'll wait for the winter holidays before buying the drywall... What's that about hiring people to do this stuff?
PS: If we can, we'll post a picture of the finished project ... if it is ever finished.
Friday, November 14, 2003
Monday, November 10, 2003
Today...
sigh!
Man is a political creature and all politics are created by man (that's the generic, non-gender specific man...). Gosh, if people would quit feeling threatened by everything and just focus on getting the job done, then more things would get done...less people would worry about it and life would be a box of chocolate-covered cherries...no surprise at all!
Have I had a stressful day? Yes-in-dee-dee. It never fails to amaze me that some people can go through life with no inkling of the political reality of going through life...I sure can't. Just when I think I figured out the players, someone rewrites the script and I get caught up in the dramatic action. Don't they realize that I work backstage? Acting is for actors... I just wanna build things.
Go see Amadeus at the Citadel. Peter Shaffer is brilliant, the actors are brillianter and the gestalt is brilliantest. Theatre the way its supposed to be.
Sigh... B
P.S. Go Here for a flash political commentary to make you giggle.
sigh!
Man is a political creature and all politics are created by man (that's the generic, non-gender specific man...). Gosh, if people would quit feeling threatened by everything and just focus on getting the job done, then more things would get done...less people would worry about it and life would be a box of chocolate-covered cherries...no surprise at all!
Have I had a stressful day? Yes-in-dee-dee. It never fails to amaze me that some people can go through life with no inkling of the political reality of going through life...I sure can't. Just when I think I figured out the players, someone rewrites the script and I get caught up in the dramatic action. Don't they realize that I work backstage? Acting is for actors... I just wanna build things.
Go see Amadeus at the Citadel. Peter Shaffer is brilliant, the actors are brillianter and the gestalt is brilliantest. Theatre the way its supposed to be.
Sigh... B
P.S. Go Here for a flash political commentary to make you giggle.
Sunday, November 09, 2003
Is this lame or what? My mind is in desperate need of freeing, so while I'm out finding a mental purgative, please read my recent review of an important editorial tool, the Chicago Manual of Style. I wrote this review for Active Voice, the newsletter of the Editors' Association of Canada. I will update with a more personal entry soon, I promise! — L
The fifteenth edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has finally arrived. It’s been only a decade since the publication of Chicago 14, but editorial processes have changed so dramatically in the interval that the need for a new edition has been keenly felt. With roughly fifty more pages than its predecessor, Chicago 15 answers many editors’ hopes and pleas.
Updates to accommodate electronic publishing and desktop technology were widely expected, and the editors delivered. Chicago 15 provides extensive detail on how to cite electronic materials and includes a succinct overview of considerations for citation, a list that should prove valuable to editors and authors alike. It also acknowledges emerging technologies such as digital bluelines and electronic books, and discusses their specific handling. Another major addition is extensive coverage of journal preparation. Rather than being slushed into book production, journals are treated as a distinct form with particular needs and timelines.
The other big feature of Chicago 15 is the chapter on grammar and usage, and several early reviews have focussed on it. I must confess that I, as a grammar instructor, was drawn immediately to these pages to see how didactic Chicago might have become.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a thorough yet accessible and largely descriptive discussion of American grammar. No Miss Thistlebottom here: the chapter is solid but thoughtful. Take for example its ruling on the split infinitive: "it is now widely acknowledged that adverbs sometimes justifiably separate the to from the principal verb"—a clear statement that is neither permissive nor absolute.
The usage section is similarly thoughtful. Its "glossary of troublesome expressions" breaks out commonly confused words and phrases, such as adverse and averse, convince and persuade, but also extends to some subtler distinctions, such as obtuse versus abstruse or mistreatment versus maltreatment. It also gestures briefly to considerations of bias-free language and includes a helpful list of prepositional idioms.
One change that does not entirely satisfy me is the relegation of production matters to an appendix (albeit a lengthy one). Here too is the new home of the former glossary of technical terms, now reduced to a list of key production terms. Certainly the continuing advance of technology makes the detailed discussion of prepress issues difficult, and in this age of specialization, production editors without design training are increasingly rare. But surely editors—especially new editors—need more than a superficial understanding of the processes that turn an edited manuscript into a bound publication. Perhaps by the time the next edition of Chicago is published, technology will have stabilized sufficiently to permit more leisurely consideration of production and printing issues.
Numerous strengths compensate for any perceived weaknesses, however. The table of contents has been expanded for clarity, and the bibliography has been reorganized and updated. All numbered paragraphs have descriptive headings to allow editors to evaluate content quickly. And the style section—the core of Chicago—remains largely unchanged, though expanded. Margaret D.F. Mahan notes in her preface, "As for the rules that many of us either know or know how to look up, we have changed only a few, and mainly those that have never caught on." This is probably one of the greatest achievements of Chicago 15: that it has provided guidelines for tackling the new and unfamiliar without removing what is familiar and valuable.
One other subtle, yet entirely effective, change deserves mention. The moderate use of a second colour throughout gives the book a softer, more accessible feel, rendering it authoritative, not authoritarian. In short, Chicago Manual of Style remains the essential guide to editing and publishing. Plan to add the new edition to your editorial bookshelf soon.
The fifteenth edition of the Chicago Manual of Style has finally arrived. It’s been only a decade since the publication of Chicago 14, but editorial processes have changed so dramatically in the interval that the need for a new edition has been keenly felt. With roughly fifty more pages than its predecessor, Chicago 15 answers many editors’ hopes and pleas.
Updates to accommodate electronic publishing and desktop technology were widely expected, and the editors delivered. Chicago 15 provides extensive detail on how to cite electronic materials and includes a succinct overview of considerations for citation, a list that should prove valuable to editors and authors alike. It also acknowledges emerging technologies such as digital bluelines and electronic books, and discusses their specific handling. Another major addition is extensive coverage of journal preparation. Rather than being slushed into book production, journals are treated as a distinct form with particular needs and timelines.
The other big feature of Chicago 15 is the chapter on grammar and usage, and several early reviews have focussed on it. I must confess that I, as a grammar instructor, was drawn immediately to these pages to see how didactic Chicago might have become.
I was pleasantly surprised to find a thorough yet accessible and largely descriptive discussion of American grammar. No Miss Thistlebottom here: the chapter is solid but thoughtful. Take for example its ruling on the split infinitive: "it is now widely acknowledged that adverbs sometimes justifiably separate the to from the principal verb"—a clear statement that is neither permissive nor absolute.
The usage section is similarly thoughtful. Its "glossary of troublesome expressions" breaks out commonly confused words and phrases, such as adverse and averse, convince and persuade, but also extends to some subtler distinctions, such as obtuse versus abstruse or mistreatment versus maltreatment. It also gestures briefly to considerations of bias-free language and includes a helpful list of prepositional idioms.
One change that does not entirely satisfy me is the relegation of production matters to an appendix (albeit a lengthy one). Here too is the new home of the former glossary of technical terms, now reduced to a list of key production terms. Certainly the continuing advance of technology makes the detailed discussion of prepress issues difficult, and in this age of specialization, production editors without design training are increasingly rare. But surely editors—especially new editors—need more than a superficial understanding of the processes that turn an edited manuscript into a bound publication. Perhaps by the time the next edition of Chicago is published, technology will have stabilized sufficiently to permit more leisurely consideration of production and printing issues.
Numerous strengths compensate for any perceived weaknesses, however. The table of contents has been expanded for clarity, and the bibliography has been reorganized and updated. All numbered paragraphs have descriptive headings to allow editors to evaluate content quickly. And the style section—the core of Chicago—remains largely unchanged, though expanded. Margaret D.F. Mahan notes in her preface, "As for the rules that many of us either know or know how to look up, we have changed only a few, and mainly those that have never caught on." This is probably one of the greatest achievements of Chicago 15: that it has provided guidelines for tackling the new and unfamiliar without removing what is familiar and valuable.
One other subtle, yet entirely effective, change deserves mention. The moderate use of a second colour throughout gives the book a softer, more accessible feel, rendering it authoritative, not authoritarian. In short, Chicago Manual of Style remains the essential guide to editing and publishing. Plan to add the new edition to your editorial bookshelf soon.
Saturday, November 01, 2003
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep...
Well, at least it's better than the other message: "The number you have dialled is not in service..."
Did you have a happy Hallowe'en? I did, but I ate too many mini chocolate bars. My parents are back from the West Coast now, I think. I am almost caught up on my marking. Thankfully November is much less demanding for marking than October was. Other than the grammar exam next Friday. Oh and the grammar exam on Monday. And the critical research projects. And the second set of essays for advanced grammar. And ... Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter, which has many many moons. Maybe that explains something.
Started watching Little Big Man last night because I have never seen it before (although it's one of B's favourites). We had to stop partway through because I couldn't see the television any longer. The film made me ashamed to have been born. How can anyone ever hope to escape our collective guilt for the genocide that has been perpetrated in the name of the future? Anyway, I will hope to watch the rest tonight. An amazing film thus far.
Must run now. Is that Citizens for the Preservation of Paper I hear calling?
love,
Leslie
Well, at least it's better than the other message: "The number you have dialled is not in service..."
Did you have a happy Hallowe'en? I did, but I ate too many mini chocolate bars. My parents are back from the West Coast now, I think. I am almost caught up on my marking. Thankfully November is much less demanding for marking than October was. Other than the grammar exam next Friday. Oh and the grammar exam on Monday. And the critical research projects. And the second set of essays for advanced grammar. And ... Sagittarius is ruled by the planet Jupiter, which has many many moons. Maybe that explains something.
Started watching Little Big Man last night because I have never seen it before (although it's one of B's favourites). We had to stop partway through because I couldn't see the television any longer. The film made me ashamed to have been born. How can anyone ever hope to escape our collective guilt for the genocide that has been perpetrated in the name of the future? Anyway, I will hope to watch the rest tonight. An amazing film thus far.
Must run now. Is that Citizens for the Preservation of Paper I hear calling?
love,
Leslie
Saturday, October 25, 2003
That beeping tone you hear is just my life ringing busy — sorry to be such an infrequent blogger lately. I could continue with this telephone metaphor and talk about work putting my life on hold, but that's probably enough. Anyway, please check back soon! Meanwhile, I'm off to teach a weekend course ... Don't you just love the end of Daylight Saving Time? I can't wait for that extra hour of delicious SLEEP! —L
I've been one poor correspondent and I've been too too hard to find, but that doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind ...
I've been one poor correspondent and I've been too too hard to find, but that doesn't mean you ain't been on my mind ...
Saturday, October 18, 2003
The hollow-eyed truth of others' vision
Today's karmic assignments
a) The purpose of literature, since none of us will live more than once in this consciousness, is to see the world as others see it. At times, introspective conversation will do the same thing. Have you ever been staggered by what another person has told you about his/her perception of an event in your life? Write an infinite number of words about the inadequacy of a moment to express years of contemplation. Support your claims with evidence from dreams and phantasms.
b) Given that reality is subjectively constructed, answer the time-honoured question, What is truth? No points will be given for positivist claims.
c) Find the character in literature to whom your friends are most likely to compare you. Excavate the problematics of that character, and then excise it from collective consciousness. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Today's karmic assignments
a) The purpose of literature, since none of us will live more than once in this consciousness, is to see the world as others see it. At times, introspective conversation will do the same thing. Have you ever been staggered by what another person has told you about his/her perception of an event in your life? Write an infinite number of words about the inadequacy of a moment to express years of contemplation. Support your claims with evidence from dreams and phantasms.
b) Given that reality is subjectively constructed, answer the time-honoured question, What is truth? No points will be given for positivist claims.
c) Find the character in literature to whom your friends are most likely to compare you. Excavate the problematics of that character, and then excise it from collective consciousness. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Notes about food
1. My raspberry canes are still fruiting today, October 12, despite several nights of freezing temperatures. I have never eaten raspberries so late in the season. I should probably explain that this variety of raspberry will fruit on first-year wood if the season is long enough — which it rarely is in this part of the country. There is nothing like the taste of a fresh raspberry in October.
2. The other night we made garden potatoes with garlic, rosemary, and dill (and sea salt and black pepper). We roasted them with olive oil in a hot oven. They were almost as good as the truffle-oil mashed potatoes Bruce had at the Macdonald Hotel a few years ago (well, maybe not quite THAT good). But yummy!
3. On Friday Christina fed us hand-caught BC salmon that had been smoked in maple with honey. Certain foods remind me of why people actually enjoy eating, and this was one of them.
In all, it's been a good week for food.
Meanwhile...
• I am writing midterm exams for three courses: ENGL 111, PROW 100, and PROW 200. There are two PROW 200 sections writing ten days apart, necessitating two exams. My brains are bubbling with bad grammar and forty-minute essay questions.
• I got my convocation notice! I will (not) be crossing the stage on Thursday, November 20. (I have a class...)
• I got my tax documents from Canada Trust. Now maybe Revenue Canada will stop harassing me.
• Peter liked my proposal for PROW 235, Applied Editing. Now we need only get it approved by the higher-ups so I can start teaching it. I think it will be a great course! Perhaps as early as next September?
Today I like: October. Peanut butter cookies (which I should make for Thanksgiving dinner —peanuts are a New World food, aren't they?). Wolves. Blueberries. Forgetfulness (tell me again).
Today I dislike: Hotmail. Busybodies. Conformity. A failure of the collective imagination. Missing proofreading errors on exams!
OK, that was my break. Back to the grey-matter mine!
the third-person Leslie
1. My raspberry canes are still fruiting today, October 12, despite several nights of freezing temperatures. I have never eaten raspberries so late in the season. I should probably explain that this variety of raspberry will fruit on first-year wood if the season is long enough — which it rarely is in this part of the country. There is nothing like the taste of a fresh raspberry in October.
2. The other night we made garden potatoes with garlic, rosemary, and dill (and sea salt and black pepper). We roasted them with olive oil in a hot oven. They were almost as good as the truffle-oil mashed potatoes Bruce had at the Macdonald Hotel a few years ago (well, maybe not quite THAT good). But yummy!
3. On Friday Christina fed us hand-caught BC salmon that had been smoked in maple with honey. Certain foods remind me of why people actually enjoy eating, and this was one of them.
In all, it's been a good week for food.
Meanwhile...
• I am writing midterm exams for three courses: ENGL 111, PROW 100, and PROW 200. There are two PROW 200 sections writing ten days apart, necessitating two exams. My brains are bubbling with bad grammar and forty-minute essay questions.
• I got my convocation notice! I will (not) be crossing the stage on Thursday, November 20. (I have a class...)
• I got my tax documents from Canada Trust. Now maybe Revenue Canada will stop harassing me.
• Peter liked my proposal for PROW 235, Applied Editing. Now we need only get it approved by the higher-ups so I can start teaching it. I think it will be a great course! Perhaps as early as next September?
Today I like: October. Peanut butter cookies (which I should make for Thanksgiving dinner —peanuts are a New World food, aren't they?). Wolves. Blueberries. Forgetfulness (tell me again).
Today I dislike: Hotmail. Busybodies. Conformity. A failure of the collective imagination. Missing proofreading errors on exams!
OK, that was my break. Back to the grey-matter mine!
the third-person Leslie
Saturday, October 04, 2003
The intellectual life of machines?
This is what the Surrealist Compliment Generator told me when I visited it today. I don't know whether I'm impressed or afraid!
"Legions of Communists worship your robust cannabalism of Capitalists clad in junk mail suits."
Just back from rock climbing, so my forearms aren't into typing much. Got a small job from an old academic acquaintance — yay! Must mark tomorrow. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving.
laV en violette
This is what the Surrealist Compliment Generator told me when I visited it today. I don't know whether I'm impressed or afraid!
"Legions of Communists worship your robust cannabalism of Capitalists clad in junk mail suits."
Just back from rock climbing, so my forearms aren't into typing much. Got a small job from an old academic acquaintance — yay! Must mark tomorrow. Thank goodness for Thanksgiving.
laV en violette
Friday, October 03, 2003
The woman I really am
• I'll be post-feminist in the post-patriarchy.
• If logic prevailed, men would ride sidesaddle.
• I think; therefore, I am dangerous.
• If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution. —Emma Goldman
• If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
• There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people. —Howard Zinn
• We must be the change we wish to see in the world. —Gandhi
• The most violent element in society is ignorance. —Emma Goldman
• When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? —Eleanor Roosevelt
• War is not healthy for children and other living things.
• Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. —Che Guevara
• Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist: Keep loving, keep fighting.
• I'll be post-feminist in the post-patriarchy.
• If logic prevailed, men would ride sidesaddle.
• I think; therefore, I am dangerous.
• If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution. —Emma Goldman
• If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention.
• There is no flag large enough to cover the shame of killing innocent people. —Howard Zinn
• We must be the change we wish to see in the world. —Gandhi
• The most violent element in society is ignorance. —Emma Goldman
• When will our consciences grow so tender that we will act to prevent human misery rather than avenge it? —Eleanor Roosevelt
• War is not healthy for children and other living things.
• Let me say, at the risk of seeming ridiculous, that the true revolutionary is guided by great feelings of love. —Che Guevara
• Your heart is a muscle the size of your fist: Keep loving, keep fighting.
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
I blog therefore I am...
I see I need to edit L's blogs to fix her hyperlinks... sheesh is simple html too much to ask for these days? Are we not homosapiens! Have we not risen out of the muck of pre-onlineian ooze! Can we not boldly go where no diarist has gone before!Strike-out against the onslaught of non-net-savvy communicators! Don't (hey the blink tag won't work in explorer!) or soon you will be back with the techno phobes, luddites and computer illiterates who brought the once proud Atari crashing to its demise...
sigh
I see I need to edit L's blogs to fix her hyperlinks... sheesh is simple html too much to ask for these days? Are we not homosapiens! Have we not risen out of the muck of pre-onlineian ooze! Can we not boldly go where no diarist has gone before!
sigh
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
If you haven't gone to the completely surreal Advertising Slogan Generator site, GO THERE NOW!
http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan
I love this site: it's too much fun. Here are some sample surreal slogans:
Designed for Addiction, Engineered to Last.
I Can't Believe It's Not Drudgery!
The Good Sheep Kids Go For.
Well, you can obviously see the attraction. How could you not love it too? Just type in your own favourite words to see what the geist in the machine conjures up for you.
Off to la-la land (where else would I sleep?) ...
laV
http://thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan
I love this site: it's too much fun. Here are some sample surreal slogans:
Designed for Addiction, Engineered to Last.
I Can't Believe It's Not Drudgery!
The Good Sheep Kids Go For.
Well, you can obviously see the attraction. How could you not love it too? Just type in your own favourite words to see what the geist in the machine conjures up for you.
Off to la-la land (where else would I sleep?) ...
laV
Friday, September 19, 2003
Sometimes I poke my head up out of the sand and am amazed at what I learn. A friend of mine told me about the following news gem, regarding Hurricane Isabel's imminent arrival earlier this week:
More than 300,000 people in North Carolina and Virginia had been urged to move to higher ground. Even seasoned storm veterans gave in to the five days of warnings that started when Isabel was a Category 5 leviathan with 160 mph wind. But a few thousand hardy — or foolhardy — souls ignored evacuation orders. Virginia Beach police suggested they write their names in permanent marker on their forearms so they can be identified if they are injured or killed.
OK, so Bruce says he's on the side of the hardy souls. Hmph. All I can say is it's a disarming thought ...
See? See?
*** New feature time! ***
The Blog as commonplace book
Weren't chains ashamed of their prisoners? —Janet Fitch
All of us are better when we're loved. —Alistair MacLeod
I'm a cementer! —PROW 100 student
The world is best served absurd.
love,
me
More than 300,000 people in North Carolina and Virginia had been urged to move to higher ground. Even seasoned storm veterans gave in to the five days of warnings that started when Isabel was a Category 5 leviathan with 160 mph wind. But a few thousand hardy — or foolhardy — souls ignored evacuation orders. Virginia Beach police suggested they write their names in permanent marker on their forearms so they can be identified if they are injured or killed.
OK, so Bruce says he's on the side of the hardy souls. Hmph. All I can say is it's a disarming thought ...
See? See?
*** New feature time! ***
The Blog as commonplace book
Weren't chains ashamed of their prisoners? —Janet Fitch
All of us are better when we're loved. —Alistair MacLeod
I'm a cementer! —PROW 100 student
The world is best served absurd.
love,
me
Monday, September 15, 2003
Sunday, September 14, 2003
Yikes! The last three weeks have been relentlessly busy. School is back in session, and the world's heart is beating faster.
Life at the College is great. I have six courses this semester, including a lovely group of English 111s. I am having trouble staying on top of the photocopying, though: there is no central duplicating facility at our campus, so everything has to be sent downtown, requiring at least three days of lead time. I'm just not that organized! But I am loving having a music library just steps away from my office and have borrowed numerous CDs already. It's going to be a fabulous year!
I'm currently reading No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod. Just finished The Fourth Hand by John Irving, which I found disappointing. Instead of his usual absurd realism, Irving took on post-modernism — pastiche, intertextuality, etc. — and the experiment failed. Glad I borrowed it from the library. Next up: White Oleander by Janet Fitch (recommended by several readers — thanks!) and Black Tights: Women, Sport and Sexuality by Laura Robinson (serious feminist non-fiction [no that's NOT an oxymoron!] — must keep the brain in good form). Again, if you have suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Spent several hours yesterday climbing the walls — that is, rock climbing. I really enjoy climbing — who could have predicted that? — but must gain strength in my hands and forearms. After a couple of hours I couldn't get more than half-way up because my arms were too tired. Meanwhile, Zak is a fabulous climber, as is Bruce (although climbing is very hard on his fingers). Another trip is in our near future, I predict.
Sorry this post is rather pedestrian — just a quick update. I'll be back to my more usual puzzlement of words soon. Love to all, near and far.
L
(who insists she saw Pirates of the Caribbean for more than just Johnny Depp ... although she can't currently remember what that more was ...)
PS: For those who may be wondering ... MY pirate personality profile says I am "The Cap'n" (hmm...): "You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate." Wonder how I can work that into my CV?
Life at the College is great. I have six courses this semester, including a lovely group of English 111s. I am having trouble staying on top of the photocopying, though: there is no central duplicating facility at our campus, so everything has to be sent downtown, requiring at least three days of lead time. I'm just not that organized! But I am loving having a music library just steps away from my office and have borrowed numerous CDs already. It's going to be a fabulous year!
I'm currently reading No Great Mischief by Alistair MacLeod. Just finished The Fourth Hand by John Irving, which I found disappointing. Instead of his usual absurd realism, Irving took on post-modernism — pastiche, intertextuality, etc. — and the experiment failed. Glad I borrowed it from the library. Next up: White Oleander by Janet Fitch (recommended by several readers — thanks!) and Black Tights: Women, Sport and Sexuality by Laura Robinson (serious feminist non-fiction [no that's NOT an oxymoron!] — must keep the brain in good form). Again, if you have suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them.
Spent several hours yesterday climbing the walls — that is, rock climbing. I really enjoy climbing — who could have predicted that? — but must gain strength in my hands and forearms. After a couple of hours I couldn't get more than half-way up because my arms were too tired. Meanwhile, Zak is a fabulous climber, as is Bruce (although climbing is very hard on his fingers). Another trip is in our near future, I predict.
Sorry this post is rather pedestrian — just a quick update. I'll be back to my more usual puzzlement of words soon. Love to all, near and far.
L
(who insists she saw Pirates of the Caribbean for more than just Johnny Depp ... although she can't currently remember what that more was ...)
PS: For those who may be wondering ... MY pirate personality profile says I am "The Cap'n" (hmm...): "You never met a man you couldn't eviscerate." Wonder how I can work that into my CV?
Friday, September 12, 2003
I just found out soon the will be an international talk like a pirate day!
So I did the Pirate Personality Profile Test and these were the results:
You are a Pirate Second Class
Sigh... check out the Piracy chat forums...
Course, I was satisfied with sea'in Pirates of the Caribean just once...unlike certain others...
ciao
B
So I did the Pirate Personality Profile Test and these were the results:
You are a Pirate Second Class
Do you remember the last time you took
a chance? I do. It was when you decided
to leave the security of your mother's womb
and headed for the bright light. It's time
to head for the next bright light, my friend.
Creativity is not your strong suit. You
are good at doing what you are told to do
and that, in itself, is a gift. It's not a
gift to you, mind you, but rather a gift to
those who will be there to tell you what
to do. You like long walks on the beach and
cuddling, but would never admit that to your
Guy friends who think you are okay but can't
always remember your name. Tapioca pudding
seems a bit extreme for a fellow such as
yerself, what with all the bumps and stuff.
It's a good thing ye be on a pirate ship,
otherwise, ye'd would be walkin' because ye be
positively pedestrian. Have a nice day.
Sigh... check out the Piracy chat forums...
Course, I was satisfied with sea'in Pirates of the Caribean just once...unlike certain others...
ciao
B
Friday, August 22, 2003
A long time since I've written. It's been a busy month.
La Ronge was wonderful: trees and rocks and rocks and trees and trees and rocks and rocks and trees and WATER! I was even persuaded to drive the houseboat. I also learned that my HBC fur factor grandfather worked at La Ronge in the 1930s — but clearly fur is not a factor for me! (Sorry, I had to say that.) We saw some ancient cliffs and took an interpreted hike; we also explored the lake in both a canoe and a fishing boat (on different days). All great fun.
Big ring around the moon / Gonna rain hard soon ...
But now that I'm home I'm very busy. I've been writing outlines and lesson plans all week — I thought I'd try to be a little better organized this year. All my PROW courses are running this semester, with healthy enrollments; if my English 111 course also runs, I'll be a busy little elf! This weekend I need to finish the instructor handbook because Peter wants to distribute it next week. There's so much to do before school starts!
That old dog has chained you up alright
Give you everything you need to live inside a twisted cage
Sleep beside an empty rage...
And then there's paying work. And the dread Active Voice newsletter — can't remember why I agreed to that gig. Hmm. And family and friends. My aunt is keeping a mandolin for me, I think. A mandolin is strung like a violin, but fretted, so it should be easy to learn, apart from the strumming technique. Haven't done any yoga or meditating lately; I know I should because I'm very very tired, but I have a million evasive reasons not to get around to it. Have been reading well: finished A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle and The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart; started The Fourth Hand by John Irving but had to return it to the library before finishing. Then I read a cute little thriller called About the Author, a playful, if somewhat over-written, first novel. Don't know what I'll read tonight...
Well, it's time to go: must have my weekly allowance of giddy laughter at humanity's latent silliness. Tomorrow is Zachary's birthday — he'll be TWELVE! Happy birthday, Zak!
the sage sag,
L
PS: Happy (belated) birthday, Mom! (Aug 14)
PPS: Happy (slightly less belated) birthday, Nicole! (Aug 21)
All these Leos! No, what I mean is, Oh, those Leos!
La Ronge was wonderful: trees and rocks and rocks and trees and trees and rocks and rocks and trees and WATER! I was even persuaded to drive the houseboat. I also learned that my HBC fur factor grandfather worked at La Ronge in the 1930s — but clearly fur is not a factor for me! (Sorry, I had to say that.) We saw some ancient cliffs and took an interpreted hike; we also explored the lake in both a canoe and a fishing boat (on different days). All great fun.
Big ring around the moon / Gonna rain hard soon ...
But now that I'm home I'm very busy. I've been writing outlines and lesson plans all week — I thought I'd try to be a little better organized this year. All my PROW courses are running this semester, with healthy enrollments; if my English 111 course also runs, I'll be a busy little elf! This weekend I need to finish the instructor handbook because Peter wants to distribute it next week. There's so much to do before school starts!
That old dog has chained you up alright
Give you everything you need to live inside a twisted cage
Sleep beside an empty rage...
And then there's paying work. And the dread Active Voice newsletter — can't remember why I agreed to that gig. Hmm. And family and friends. My aunt is keeping a mandolin for me, I think. A mandolin is strung like a violin, but fretted, so it should be easy to learn, apart from the strumming technique. Haven't done any yoga or meditating lately; I know I should because I'm very very tired, but I have a million evasive reasons not to get around to it. Have been reading well: finished A Star Called Henry by Roddy Doyle and The Stone Carvers by Jane Urquhart; started The Fourth Hand by John Irving but had to return it to the library before finishing. Then I read a cute little thriller called About the Author, a playful, if somewhat over-written, first novel. Don't know what I'll read tonight...
Well, it's time to go: must have my weekly allowance of giddy laughter at humanity's latent silliness. Tomorrow is Zachary's birthday — he'll be TWELVE! Happy birthday, Zak!
the sage sag,
L
PS: Happy (belated) birthday, Mom! (Aug 14)
PPS: Happy (slightly less belated) birthday, Nicole! (Aug 21)
All these Leos! No, what I mean is, Oh, those Leos!
Sunday, August 03, 2003
A wondering weekend. Another experience of watching a thing that will not be repeated. Plus ca change...
But this: someone, anyone, please explain to me how my marital status is the business of ANYBODY other than my very self?
It is sad, or perhaps terrifying, to watch ourselves age, to observe the potential of youth hewn down to the solidity of our cells. Who may I yet be? I cannot know. But the universe must know that I will cry myself hoarse before I recant who I am. I will remember that I am a grasshopper and happy, not an ugly ant milking the aphids. That my life is greater than a big house and a garden-in-a-box, three squares and a little more, all the right wines in my cellar, a screen that reflects the banality of man unkind, a thousand playthings and no joy. That my purpose is beauty, that I serve the world and not the other way around, that a thought, a dream, is the only lasting value I can possess. What shall it profit a man, after all?
... taking whatever they get — I don't want to wind up like that ...
So I will wear sandals when it pleases me. Even to the marriage of my true mind, if that be my preference. And more. I will learn to speak pirate. I will eat berries newly washed by the night as the sun rises on my morning. I will let the wind braid my hair and the sun adorn my skin. I will rave on. Bring on the windmills: I am for them. It is only utterly who I must be.
So save me from the smugness of the trust fund, the well-planned retirement, the right opportunity at the right moment. Save me from being elderly at thirty-three. Save me from the rightness of this life, for I am sure I would die of it. You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal ...
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. I wish you well.
... looking back over my shoulder at you happy without me ...
Meanwhile ...
Now reading: Angle of Repose. Firewing. More preparatory materials. And a large bag of fine novels tempts me hourly: Byatt, Doyle, Drabble, Irving, King, Urquhart. Soon, soon.
You can already see what I like and do not like for today. What a drag, what a drag, what a drag. Hmph. Zak is in Brooks and I miss him. Many of my friends are travelling. Soon I may too. But until then I'm sitting, letting it in, letting it go, letting it in, letting it go ...
L
But this: someone, anyone, please explain to me how my marital status is the business of ANYBODY other than my very self?
It is sad, or perhaps terrifying, to watch ourselves age, to observe the potential of youth hewn down to the solidity of our cells. Who may I yet be? I cannot know. But the universe must know that I will cry myself hoarse before I recant who I am. I will remember that I am a grasshopper and happy, not an ugly ant milking the aphids. That my life is greater than a big house and a garden-in-a-box, three squares and a little more, all the right wines in my cellar, a screen that reflects the banality of man unkind, a thousand playthings and no joy. That my purpose is beauty, that I serve the world and not the other way around, that a thought, a dream, is the only lasting value I can possess. What shall it profit a man, after all?
... taking whatever they get — I don't want to wind up like that ...
So I will wear sandals when it pleases me. Even to the marriage of my true mind, if that be my preference. And more. I will learn to speak pirate. I will eat berries newly washed by the night as the sun rises on my morning. I will let the wind braid my hair and the sun adorn my skin. I will rave on. Bring on the windmills: I am for them. It is only utterly who I must be.
So save me from the smugness of the trust fund, the well-planned retirement, the right opportunity at the right moment. Save me from being elderly at thirty-three. Save me from the rightness of this life, for I am sure I would die of it. You cannot, sir, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal ...
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye. I wish you well.
... looking back over my shoulder at you happy without me ...
Meanwhile ...
Now reading: Angle of Repose. Firewing. More preparatory materials. And a large bag of fine novels tempts me hourly: Byatt, Doyle, Drabble, Irving, King, Urquhart. Soon, soon.
You can already see what I like and do not like for today. What a drag, what a drag, what a drag. Hmph. Zak is in Brooks and I miss him. Many of my friends are travelling. Soon I may too. But until then I'm sitting, letting it in, letting it go, letting it in, letting it go ...
L
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