Sunday, May 25, 2008

A la bibliothèque

Six months later, having been over-immersed in work drama (and work itself), I'm rising for air. My latest distractions:
  • Nicholas Nickleby - Dickens' third serial novel. I'm in the process of reading the entire compendium of his works. It's something I've wanted to do since falling in love with A Tale of Two Cities and Oliver! (the movie and then the play, and now the novel).
  • Worldchanging - The text I'm using in the fall to teach EarthSmart, a freshman seminar course on sustainability. It's the self-proclaimed "environmental handbook for the iPod generation". I have to agree - it's quite engaging and something that is easily picked up, plopped down in the hemp hammock while you nibble on a locally grown peach and ponder the purchase of your plug-in hybrid, dabble with your blog on your Mac... and picked up again.
  • The Modern Mind - The philosophical equivalent of Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States of America. Peter Watson expertly and prosaically guides us through the complex evolution of human ideologies, discoveries, & political experiments of the last century. I felt like I really got to know some of the personalities, and wished it continued through 2008. I want to know how America got so stupid so fast. (Fine - I'll be a liberal apologist... On second thought, screw you for wanting me to say "I'm sorry" in the first place.)
  • The Nintendo Wii - It really is as cool as the empty store shelves would have you believe it is. I'm still in awe over how sensitive the controller is, and miffed that my virtual bowling game is no better (and has the same wobble to the right) than my real-life one. At least I can't bowl into the wrong lane, although I think it would be funny sometimes to be allowed to "wreck" the virtual players' games.
What are your divertissements?

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

I borrowed this from Anita, but really liked it!! Thanks, m'lady! ;-)


Bold and Blue - the ones I've done and am glad I did
Light Blue - the ones I've done and am not proud of
Shaded to Gray - the ones I haven't done and don't want to do
Bold and Red - the ones I haven't done and want to do


1. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
2. Swam with dolphins

3. Climbed a mountain
4. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
5. Been inside the Great Pyramid

6. Held a tarantula
7. Taken a candlelit bath with someone

8. Said 'I love you' and meant it
9. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris

12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise

14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game

16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars

20. Changed a baby's diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower

23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger

30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly could
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster

35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer

40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends

43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing (do the rock climbing walls count?)

49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them (does it count if it was in an airport?)
54. Visited Japan

55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke
59. Lounged around in bed all day

60. Posed nude in front of strangers
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain

65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites

70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie

74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch

78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Gone white water rafting

82. Been on television news programs as an "expert"
83. Got flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently

95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars

99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over

101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking

103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived.
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse

119. Had surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours

123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey

135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language

141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream

142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life