Bearshorty's musings

There were four stalled cars, including one truck in the middle of the highway, and a car crash (not a severe one) on the road to work today. The morning started dreary with leftover rain and the roadway really reflected this. It was very unusual.

I only had twenty minutes to my class by the time I got to campus and it is a ten minute walk to the building where I teach. And I had to stop by the department office to make photo copies. And, of course, on a day like today where I’m rushing, the copy machine was broken. I printed Assignment 3 but I couldn’t exactly print the lovely table I made yesterday so the students could unpack all the people Pollan quotes. So I just put it on the board and they made their own table in their notebooks. It is not a big deal or anything but I did like my handout and was sorry I didn’t get to use it. It took my students an entire class to actually do this handout, we didn’t have the chance to talk too much about the reading, but hopefully it helps them understand all the arguments Pollan quotes.

I got lunch at the student center and I finished the National Geographic article on Mogao caves in Dunhuang, China. These are 800 caves and 492 are filled with Buddhist art and statues, made from 4th to 14th centuries. The city was in the middle of the Silk Road so there is a lot of multicultural intersections. The art is very colorful . I want to use some of these photos in my future class.

I got the flu shot today. Flu shots always make my right arm sore for a few days. But it is worth not being really sick for a week.

I have not been in a movie watching mood lately. I had two Netflix movies sitting on my table for two weeks now and I have no desire to see them. I tries watching a movie today but I stopped after 23 minutes when I realized that I just didn’t care. It wasn’t a bad movie or anything I was just indifferent. I’ll send these movies back. But there is no movie I really want to see. This is weird.

( House S7E4 )

( Caprica S1E12 )

This morning I got up early because my parents and I were heading to Brooklyn. Mama needed to get a flu shot for work and since I already was at the doctor’s office, I got a regular flu shot too. I’ve never got a flu shot before; I guess I wanted to see how I would react to this one because I want to get a swine flu shot as soon as they become available for a larger population – which might be a while. I don’t want the virus to mutate or something next year without some kind of antibodies. The injection did hurt a bit, but overall I’m already forgetting I got one.

We went to visit my grandparents next and then went to Brighton with my grandmother. While she and Mama shopped for shoes (medicare gives free shoes to seniors once in a while and they get to abuse the system and get shoes for relatives), Papa and I went to buy a phone card, take his photo for future passport and get a delicious cabbage roll at a Russian food store. Anything to avoid shoe shopping. I get bored shopping for clothes and shoes, give me a book store or a music store any day. I also went to fix my Star of David pendant; since it is almost fourteen years old and it got worn out on top and needed to be fixed. The guy got it done in an hour, which made me happy. I get to wear it again and not worry about it getting lost! And it was pretty cheap to fix.

Once back home, it was a Saturday for chores. I had to go to the bank then a public library and comic book store and then to a regular Russian store for bread. I was tired by the time I got home at two (we left home at 8:20am). On the plus side, I picked up Patrick Swayze autobiography in the library that I had on hold, and I picked up a “Buffy” and “Angel” comic books. And we got fresh black bread which is the most delicious food in the world. I took my first steps because Mama held a piece of bread across the room.

I finally started watching “Watchmen: Director’s Cut” which was on my desk for more than a month. When Bear and I saw “Watchmen” in the movie theatre we both thought it was a perfect adaptation of the comic book, and the Director’s Cut is even more true. It adds all the little extra details from the comic book and improves the narrative flow. I don’t think I can watch this movie all at once (just like I couldn’t read the graphic novel in one sitting, just too much information) but the details are wonderful. The Director’s Cut really adds to the story and makes it deeper. And just like I did with the theatrical version, I love the music choices. (Well, mostly. I suspect I will still laugh at the Hallelujah scene, since it was so over the top and a bit silly.)

A very well written essay about the themes of “Dollhouse” and why it is a great intellectual TV (spoilers only for the first season): http://geekbuffet.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/dollhouse/
I don’t know if I believe in the soul, especially a soul separate from the body. I believe that memories make people (which really how I see what the Dollhouse does, construct memories) and our consciousness is fused with the body (at least until such a time people can map and transfer memories). People who lose their memories in their old age always raised the question about identity to me, are they still the same people if only a body remains with no ability to make memories or remember their lives?

HBO comedy specials are fun.

Leviticus WTF moment of the day: So the whole point of an animal offering is to let the animal be your substitute and offer atonement for you and your unintentional sins. I’m sure an animal would not agree with this substitution. Only male animals are led to the slaughter as a burnt offering. The description of how the birds get disemboweled to be burnt is too cringe worthy. Therefore I will quote it, “ 14 'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, he is to offer a dove or a young pigeon. 15 The priest shall bring it to the altar, wring off the head and burn it on the altar; its blood shall be drained out on the side of the altar. 16 He is to remove the crop with its contents [b] and throw it to the east side of the altar, where the ashes are. 17 He shall tear it open by the wings, not severing it completely, and then the priest shall burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. It is a burnt offering, an offering made by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD.” (Leviticus 1) I do like that before one offers up an animal one must lay a hand on its head, and pretty much look the animal in the eye when one kills it. God also loves fatty food apparently since in the peace offering the emphasis is on burning of all the fat of the animals because God likes that. It would certainly smell nice. Any animal blood and animal fat is forbidden to eat – kosher food is healthy. Fat and blood belongs to God. Ah, Leviticus with all the laws, I suspect I will have fun with you once we get beyond priestly laws.