Bearshorty's musings

Happy Birthday, Mama! We had lots of birthday food today with salads and candy. As usual she grumbled when actually opening presents but she really liked them and even thanked me for the hand cream in the evening. She really liked the sample they sent too.

I had my doctor’s appointment with an urologist today. Finally seeing a specialist who can actually offer an explanation is priceless. Having a hot intern take my history also didn’t hurt. They think it is just inflammation and there will be a few more tests in January but it is good to actually put a name to what’s been going on.

Since it was Mama’s birthday, my cousin who lives in California called to wish her happy birthday and then they got on Skype so we could see her little seven month old baby Iris. Iris has these gigantic brown eyes.

I ordered the quilt cross-stitch project on Amazon; I didn’t realize they had them. It will save me a trip to a crowded mall to Michaels. Of course, I had to pick one where animals are reading a book. I’m really looking forward to making this. I usually prefer counted cross stitch and this is stamped one, but I like making something specific as a gift.

( Caprica )

Library book saga – so with the deadline to return the recalled library book that I can’t find on the horizon and wanting to avoid $5 a day library fees, I went to the main campus this morning. First, I went to check my office and then library stacks since it happened before that the book I couldn’t find was already in the library. No such luck this time. So I went to speak to the guy at the check-out desk. He gave me a name of his supervisor who was in another library all day. I had to go to work and didn’t have the time to track him then but I resigned myself to the idea that I would just have to replace the book. After my afternoon office hours were over, I went back to the other library on the main campus to talk to the supervisor guy. He actually was very professional and knew what he was doing, which I appreciated. He looked everything up, made the calls (one of the people he checked the price with did not know about the old catalog that all librarians used to use to price a book. He was a bit thrown by this lack of knowledge). In the end, I have to pay $63 - $21 for the book that the library will order and $42 for the processing fee. A bit cheaper than buying the book myself on line with a smaller processing fee. I have the last chance to look for the book this weekend or bring in the check on Tuesday. This is annoying but I did lose this book somewhere. At least I won’t have to pay any late fees since I’m taking care of this in a timely manner.

I was tired this morning, so I was a bit sluggish in my classes. I did manage to talk to most of the students about their papers. Most like the assignment – they are writing about remittances (immigrants sending money back to their home village) and what it means for the home community. I’m trying to get them to complicate their thesis.

I did buy tickets to Harry Potter for tomorrow since Bear and I made plans to go and I didn’t want to worry it would be sold out. That cheered me up this morning since I was having a crappy day.

“Community” continues to be hysterical. They are excellent on farce. I love this show.

( Burn Notice S4E14 )

Caprica will air the rest of the episodes in the US on Jan 4 from 6pm on as a marathon.

Fun brain teasers and optical illusions .

Teaching day – I showed my students two well written papers, one a “B,” one “B+” to try to get them to understand connections and transitions. I hoped it helped. During the exercise of looking at their own paragraphs I talked a few students through what their connection should be and I saw the light go on in couple of them. That was good. One student came to see me after class; it is at this point of the semester when they usually start to come to office hours. (and they start asking me when my office hours are and where my office is – it is on the syllabus and on the website – it always makes me want to roll my eyes).

Article on the problems in US National Archives. My historian heart is cringing.

So You Want to Get a PhD. An amusing and true video. Hee.

I watched the second act of “Macbeth” today. I am going to try to watch an act a day. I did take my Norton Shakespeare off the shelf since I wanted to reread some of the lines. Since I first read “Macbeth” fifteen years ago and I’ve never seen a stage version, I forgot a lot.

I don’t usually watch “Glee” – I can’t watch high school shows anymore, especially stylized one but I tuned in for Rocky Horror. And it was fun.

( Caprica S1E13 )

I gave the first part of the midterm today (it is a two day midterm – a rough draft day and a final draft day) and it seemed to go ok. I’m still surprised by the number of times the students ask me stupid questions to which I gave the answer to a week ago when I specifically told them all they needed to know about the midterm. But they still need to ask if they get the rough draft day. It is like if I don’t repeat it three times, it would not go into their heads. I managed to grade some papers while I proctored.

The afternoon wasn’t as productive, mostly because I was tired.

I ordered “Dollhouse Season 2” today since a friend of mine gave me a Barnes and Noble gift card for my birthday a while ago. Now I will have all of “Dollhouse” and all of it is a gift that I don’t have to feel guilty for spending the money for. I might do a rewatch after the semester ends.

“An Evening at Joe’s” ed by Gillian Horvath, a collection of “Highlander” short stories came today. My library cancelled my hold since they couldn’t find an actual copy, and I just ordered a used one for one cent. (well, four dollars with shipping) It looks like brand new copy. I started “Postcards from Alexa” already, since this is why I wanted to read this book in the first place. I also want to see what backstory Jim Byrnes wrote for Joe. I do like when actors actually write about their characters.

Another fun development today for my fannish heart: a bunch of new stories are up from VAMB 2010 drabble exchange and this makes my J/C heart happy.

( Caprica S1E11 )

I tried watching the episode of “House” that was taped for me, but I am not in a TV mood, and this is weird for me. I fast forwarded through the medical case to House –Wilson-Cuddy scenes. I’ll watch the actual episode later. Now, sleep. Lots of grading to do tomorrow – my folder review is on Friday so I need to finish grading all of them.

It is a teaching day, which means my body doesn’t like to sleep that much knowing I have to get up early. I woke up without the alarm clock at 6:40. Way too early.

I read some Stephen Fry this morning while eating breakfast in a lounge near my office; I finally got to the part where he falls in love for the first time with a boy at his school and I love his description of bowled over nature of it.

This was a Peer Review Day – the easiest day to teach. I printed out the Peer Review sheet on Tuesday. All I had to do today was collect one copy of their drafts and look over them and give some comments to the students while they read other student’s papers. Many don’t know why topic sentences matter. They like to start their paragraphs with a quote. I already got one guy who thinks he knows better and tries to argue with me when I point out that his thesis is unclear. Seriously, dude, if you want an “A” do listen to your teacher.

I got grilled chicken for lunch and finished the National Geographic article about King Tut’s family. Through DNA analysis, they discovered that his parents were full siblings. With CT scan, it was also apparent than Tut had a club foot and walking was very painful. He is always show with a walking stick – it is not ceremonial. I discovered that I really like archeological articles in this magazine. I think school is the perfect time to read this magazine too.

SyFy channel will show the rest of Season 1 of “Caprica” this year. They will start on Oct 5 at 10pm. Yay. I hope there will be a second season. This is my second favorite current TV show after “True Blood.” “House” is third, “Brothers and Sisters” is forth, followed by “Community” and “Modern Family” and “Dexter.”

Neil Gaiman is doing an interview at the New Yorker Festival in October and the tickets went on sale today. After some thinking about it and staring at the $30 price tag for a while and talking to Papa, I decided to go for it. I do enjoy seeing authors I like to read in person. One of my favorite outings remains J.K. Rowling, Stephen King and John Irving at Radio City Music hall many years ago. So I bought one ticket. Papa would have went with me but this is not Mama’s cup of tea, and she doesn’t like to be left by herself.

( Highlander S5 E13,14 )

“Bit of Fry and Laurie” S1E4. Heavy metal recitation –hee. And I really liked the poem sketch in the beginning.

Jon Stewart mocking Glen Beck: priceless.

“Who Do You Think You Are?” Today’s episode is about Lisa Kudrow and she traveled to Belarus! to look into the story of her great-grandmother, who lived in little Jewish community outside Minsk. I just liked that there were pictures on Minsk on national television. And the whole episode was just really sweet especially as Lisa Kudrow found a cousin of her father still alive in Poland.

( Caprica S1E8 )

Purim is tomorrow and it preparation, and to go with whole reading some Bible this year theme, I decided to actually read the Book of Esther. I did a Purim play when I was fifteen and was in a drama club at local YM-YWHA in my sophomore year of high school. I played several roles including the Queen who got her head chopped off. (I got to scream loudly off-stage) So I know the story, but of course, I want to read the actual bible now. There are only 10 chapters, so the book is pretty short and I can just read it all at once, especially since it really reads like a story. And the actual story is probably very different from the play we did anyway. Beside part of Purim is actually reading the story in the evening and in the morning, which I’m technically doing since the sun has already set.

Esther WTF moments of the day:

Queen Vashti is banned from king’s presence and her throne because she disobeyed King Xerxes’s order to show up at his feast so he could “display her beauty”. It was thought by the law council that that disobedience will inspire other women to disobey their husbands, so, of course, she had to go away to set up the example. Nice, King. The gender stuff didn’t bug me in high school but it sure does now. (Actually, I might have played her a bit differently too, and she doesn’t die in the actual Bible anyway.) So the whole deposition was over their masculine pride and, god forbid, should a woman do something she wants.

But, of course, the King is all happy since now he can pick from lots of beautiful virgins. I do like that at least the girls get spa treatments in the harem. Esther had a year worth of “beauty treatments” before she even came to the King for her sex interview. (It just occurs to me that Esther is Mary Sue since everyone likes her upon meeting her, she is just so perfect.)

So the whole trouble with Haman started because Mordecai, Esther’s cousin and guardian would not bow to him. Still, Haman did take his personal dis a bit too far by wanting to kill all Mordecai’s people, namely the Jews. And the King doesn’t even question this, he is like, yes, go kill them since they are different and might not obey me, you don’t even need to put up your own money to do it.

Esther, had to sort of actually disobey the King, by going to see him without a summons from him. After knowing what happened to Vashti, that was actually brave of her. But she did play it smart, by getting into King’s field of vision, so he would request to see her and think it was his idea. I like that when the king can’t sleep he had a book of chronicles of his reign read to him as a bed time story – it sure would put him to sleep. Haman is a bit of a Lockhart too, too full of himself. Chapter 6 is a bit of a farce too – Haman has to give boons to his greatest enemy because he suggested them, thinking it will be for himself. Bible is amusing at times. Esther claims that she is only bothering the King with her request because her people will be destroyed, if they were just sold into slavery, she wouldn’t bother. (Haman thinks – doh!)

Since King’s commands sealed with signet ring could not just be revoked, Mordecai wrote another one that allowed Jews to assemble to defend themselves. Very clever there. And Jews actually kill lots and lots of people, thousands – they weren’t merely spared – funny, that most modern retellings leave this out. And on the next day, after all the killing (they did not take the plunder, though, the Bible is careful to note) there was feasting and rejoicing that we celebrate to this day as the happiest of the Jewish holidays. The end.

My little Jewish calendar with dates and various holiday descriptions tells a slightly different version that makes Haman a bit more evil in claiming divine bows and other details. I’m glad to have actually read the biblical account of it. In the Purim play I did, Esther and Xerxes were portrayed as a grand love story too.

Actually, to me Esther is also a story of how women were limited in their power but also how they used the limited power they had to influence state affairs. Esther was able to plead and change policy and, through her, her cousin Mordecai was appointed as a sort of prime minister. He would not have otherwise gained that position. She gave him control of Haman’s estates after Haman’s execution and Mordecai was able to hear of a plot against the king that he could stop because he came to the gates to check on Esther. I can’t turn off my brain from analyzing all the gender issues in this story. Stupid graduate school!

I should see what movies they made of this – so much drama.

When my universes collide, it is a bit weird. On EW review of last night’s “Caprica” episode, the reviewer began with extensive reference to “Ender’s Game” – a book I got as a gift for New
Year and which is next on my reading queue. I do enjoy these coincidences sometimes.

I wish NBC could show the whole exhibition gala stake at one time. Kim Yu-Na does beautiful movements with her arms when she skates. Plushenko did a great routine as well; he can be artistic when he wants to.

Bobsled men’s outfits are really really tight.

Possession scene in “Order of the Phoenix” is my favorite scene in all Harry Potter movies. Starting with when Sirius calls Harry ‘James’ until Voldemort leaves the ministry – I just have to watch it whenever those scenes are on, like today on ABC. It all works so well and the filmmakers assumes the viewers are intelligent to understand all the points, he doesn’t overstate.

We went to Brooklyn today, to show the girl staying with us Brighton Beach. It is always fun to see the familiar streets through the eyes of people who never saw it before.

I walked to the library today, about twenty minutes one way, since there will be a huge snowstorm this weekend that will preclude any walking. Plus I needed to make several stops on the way. I bought a Valentine’s Day card, after looking through a gazillion of very sappy and stupid ones. I decided for silly. I stopped by the bank. The weather was actually very nice and not too cold for a walk.

I returned the fifth Sookie book to the library and picked up the sixth, Definitelly Dead that was waiting for me on hold. I also picked up The North Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland, published in 1980. I’m going to either read the Norse book first or, perhaps, read both, interchangeably. So far I read some of the introduction including a refresher on the Vikings (which just made me want to read the history book I have on Normans in Sicily), the cosmology of Norse universe and some of the pantheon section. I really enjoyed the cosmology section with its nine worlds on three plates/levels held together by the World Tree. There is even a really pretty map in the book. (I found a sort of 3D picture version of it online) It is still sort of heaven/earth/hell cosmology, just ‘heaven’ is just the halls of the gods and some dead special warriors. I like that giants live on mid-level with men and there is a sort of rainbow-bridge connecting top level “Asgard” to mid-level. I’m up to Loki now in the pantheon section. I think I will finish reading this section before I go to sleep tonight and read the rest of the introduction tomorrow. There are 32 myths in the book, followed by a long note on each story. I know I’m in grad school because I will read the notes with the same interest as the myths themselves.

I also picked up the new “Buffy: Season Eight #32” comic book today and it was really, really funny. I don’t think I laughed so much in this comic as when Xander was being such a big nerd in testing Buffy’s superpowers. A lot of dialogue in this month’s installment was just really amusing. Brad Meltzer, who wrote this arc, is a big name in comic books and he knows what he is doing. I’m looking forward to the rest of his arc. For Season 9, though, I will wait for trade paperbacks to read it all at once. This month by month basis is too slow.

I’m quite liking “Caprica” so far. I definitely want to see were the story goes. I actually prefer to watch serialized stories like this on DVD more, but I guess I don’t want to wait and I can watch this for free.