Outlining or Procrastination

Theoretically I should be outlining for Torts.  I have kind of been doing this.  I've been more freaking out than outlining so not particularly helpful but in other news I found a great new way to study if my  space bar doesn't give out on me first.  Wonderful Apple product.

So please view the following videos and enjoy.  Also if you're one of my non-law school friends who ends up watching these videos, I apologize.  I recognize the fact that you will probably end up just sitting there staring at your screen thinking that I've lost it and to be honest, I don't think that you're too far off base.

Enjoy!

Oh Library

Once again I'm back in school.  Law School this time and I find myself once again spending more time than would seem human possible in the library.  And once again, we find ourselves with some very interesting people.  In particular, the people who have no sense of respect for those around them.  Aka, the people who just can't be quiet and somehow think that the library is a social space.  At this point, there is a group of girls sitting at the table next to me, 3Ls.  They just appeared about 2 minutes ago and so far they have not shut up.  All, and I mean all, the other people in the room have turned to glare at them and they have not gotten the picture.  Actually, I believe that they find it to be a badge of honor.  Why?  I have no idea.  3Ls confuse me, but let me tell you something 3Ls, its not nice.  Don't you remember being a 1L and freaking out about every little thing?  This is a library.  Take out a book or your laptop and for goodness sake at least pretend to be working on something.  Just pretend.  It'll at least make some of us feel a little less hostile towards you.  And when I mean pretend that you're working on something, I didn't mean take out crayons.  No for real though, why do you have crayons in law school?  Ridiculous.  Arts and crafts is in the undergrad area.  Please go bother them.  K thanx.

1L Who Wants to Commit A Tortious Battery By Throwing Something At You.

Book Review: Beautiful Ruins

Alright I haven't written on this in forever but I figured that I'd start up again.  We'll see how long this lasts but I'm hoping my new laptop will give me some sort of incentive to do this.  And hopefully I'll actually have something interesting to write about.  Either way, I'm going to write this very basic book review.  Cheers if you care to read.

I started reading Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter about a week ago.  I had read some great reviews about the book in the Washington Post and in the New York Times so I guess I had some pretty high expectations going into it which probably isn't helping.  I'm about 2/3 of the way through the book and its a smooth, easy read so props Mr Walter for that, but overall I would only give it 2 1/2 stars out of 5 so far.  Like I said, the writing is good, easy to follow, and the plot is fine but I can't help but feel like I'mr easing the start of a movie script.  *SPOILER* Also, I really don't enjoy the addition of Pat Bender and his storyline.  I feel like it takes away from the two story lines that Mr Walter was already developing, so instead of really thoroughly and deeply developing the original two story lines, now there are three story lines that are all coexisting and none of them is really that compelling.  I plan on finishing because it is a well-written book and I am enjoying it, but I honestly believe that the praise for the book might have been a little over exaggerated.  I definitely enjoyed Dan Brown's Inferno far more than I enjoyed this book and Inferno did not receive the same kind of praise.  Granted, they are of two different genres, but Inferno was far more gripping and compelling than this book.  I was really hoping to get lost in this story but I feel like I'm merely watching as a slightly interested observer.  I would definitely recommend this book as a summer read on the beach but definitely not for something more than that.

Thanks world for reading.  Until next time!

Book Review: The Expats

I gotta say that I was not overly disappointed by this book but I was not overly impressed either. I had read some wonderful reviews about this book, which is why I had gotten it in the first place and these reviews went entirely wrong.  The book was fast paced and compelling, albeit mildly at times.  I can't decide whether I enjoyed the beginning of this book so much because I had just finished a book which could not have moved slower, making this book seem like a roller coaster, or because it was indeed fast paced and compelling at the beginning. Needless to say, I enjoyed the beginning and very end of the book much more than the middle chapters.  I felt like the author was trying just a little too hard to make certain plot twists unknown and mysterious.   LIving in DC and being a little addicted to crime and spy TV shows, some of the plot twists were really obvious or just downright ridiculous.  I would recommend this book if you are looking for a short, relatively mindless book.  I think that it is definitely a decent book and I don't think that the you will read it and say it was horrible.  Is it worth it? Depends on what you're in the mood for, but for me, it satisfied my need for a relatively fast paced book.  I just don't think it's one that I will waste my time rereading.

Recommendation: Three Stars

The Destruction of Rome

I'm not one to rate a book only one star, especially one that as highly lauded as this book but I gotta say that I absolutely did not enjoy any part of this book. This is particularly surprising due to the fact that I am a history major with an intense interest in architecture and art history, but its true, I absolutely could not get into this book. From the very beginning I should have realized that I was not going to enjoy it due to the author's lack of structural and historical organization. Mr Hughes would jump from speaking about a painter, to the picture, to a second painter, and then would speak about the early life of the first painter. Also, did I mention an extremely insufficient number of pictures within this book? Ok, don't judge but this is an art history and architectural history book and Mr Hughes' descriptions of the buildings and paintings were so inadequate that I was having a hard time picturing buildings, paintings, and sculptures that I had just seen in Rome three years ago. I think a lot would have been added if the publisher had included some photos of the buildings or paintings that the Mr Hughes discussed at length in the chapters in which he was describing it. But perhaps the publisher could not do that because there was absolutely no organization in any of the chapters. The book was exhaustively researched but there was so much information that the point of the book got lost in the author's musing on different artistic theories and methods. This book had great potential but it fell really flat for me. I'm sorry Mr Hughes but this was just not for me.

Never Delta

I'm just coming off of a four hour flight from Phoenix to Atlanta on Delta Airlines and to be honest, I've been doing a lot of traveling the last couple of months.  A lot.  The trip between Phoenix and DC is becoming quite normal for me so needless to say it means that I have become quite judgmental when it comes to airline carrier. And flying Delta Airlines Economy Class has been absolutely abysmal.  For those of you who have never seen me, I am not a tall person nor am I a large person and I don't  like to take up a lot of space on a plane.  I like to take up my designated area and thats it and I truly appreciate it when others do the same, but as you all well know, that rarely happens for me and instead I end up next to 15 month old babies that are being breastfed by the mothers and then switching sits to sit next to the jittery 4 year old who can't stop kicking.  Oh yeah, that just happened, but to be honest, the 4 year old was relatively well-behaved and the baby was adorable.  Ok, so why am I complaining?  ANYWAYS, like I said before, I'm not a tall or large person but I can honestly say that I had a very difficult time fitting into the Delta seats.  Delta Airlines, this is the part that I am honestly embarressed of for you.  The seats are so cramped inside the plane that you almost have to climb over the seats like a little kid to get to yours because there is not enough room between your seat and the seat in front of you to walk between or even do the seat shuffle.  You know what I'm talking about.  That awkward side shuffle that people do to get into their seat.  Yeah, you know, but then, once you have packed yourself into your seat, the flight attendants ask people to place their purses or backpacks under the seat.  Easier said then done missies.  There is literally not enough room under the seat to place even a modest sized backpack completely under the seat. *picture*  Say bye bye to that bag that is only partially under the seat because you are never gonna see it again unless you want to go into a seated Down-Dog position. And one is absolutely doomed if the person in front of you moves their seat back even an inch.  That inch means that the seemingly improbable task of retrieving your bag becomes absolutely impossible.  And once one person moves their seat back, it creates a Domino effect in the column because no one who has any sense of space can stand to basically have the person in front of them in their laps, forcing them to push their seat back as well and you get the picture.  Oh, and please note that I have never mentioned any space for your legs.  I don't believe that Delta considered having bipedal creatures on their aircraft.  I truly believe that the plane was meant for children and double amputees.  I had more room the airplane bathroom then I did at my seat.  Really?  Really?!?  I mean, when was the last time the claustophic plane bathroom was more spacious than the actual seats.  Completely screwed up.  Delta, please remember that the majority of your paying customers are not Hobbits or Dwarves or babies.  CEO of Delta, I recommend that you sit for four hours in Economy on one of your flights and you let us know if you too feel like you've been relegated to the cattle car.  Delta, the spacing in your cabin is completely unacceptable and I will most assuradly not be flying you again anytime soon unless I am in First Class.  Also, for those of you who are flying on Delta, please remember to be considerate to the people sitting around you.  They're cramped too so when you decide to push your chair all the way back, you're forcing the entire row to do the same thing.  Its very rude.  Delta, how incredibly disappointing.

Sir Court House, Defender of Seats

I'm reading the newspaper on the metro when all of a sudden I feel a soft warm feeling against my left arm. Comforting at first I ignored it until that originally soothing warmth becomes irritatingly hot and starts to make my left arm sweat but my right arm is freezing. Like seriously WTF is that heat coming from? Oh. The guy sitting next to me. Who is now asleep. Who is my size and weight but has somehow managed to take over not only his seat but mine as well. Now I am literally pushed up against the window because he has taken over my seat. I've tried everything to regain my territory. I glared. I made loads of throat clearing noises. I did a quick strike to his right arm. I awkwardly put my left arm all over his right one. I kicked his foot. I've tried everything. This man is determined and my stop is coming up so I am now sitting in a third of my seat, up against the window. Rosslyn you cannot come fast enough. Half of my body is burning and half is freezing. Also a guy behind me saw me and offered to help me. Sir, you are amazing. You are my knight of the metro. I knight thee Sir Court House, Defender of Seats.

Oh and to the guy sitting behind me next to Sir Court House, Defender of Seats. I saw you taking a picture of my hair. Did not appreciate you sticking your phone in the back of my head. Although turning around and seeing you freak out because I caught you made my metro ride. So thank you hair fetish paparazzi guy. You made my day.

All Magic Comes With A Price

Less than a week until Once Upon A Time returns to ABC!  I absolutely cannot wait!  All of the teasers that the producers have been releasing over the past few weeks have been driving me CRAZY!!!  So for all of you OUAT fans out there, check out another great sneak peek from TV Guide.  In this article you get 4 clips from the next season and, I'm gonna take a wild guess here, but they seem to be from the first episode which is RIDICULOUSLY EXCITING!  So without further ado here is my unnecessary analysis of the 4 clips and what they could possible mean for the rest of Season 2.

Dr Whale Getting Feisty- www.aceshowbiz.com

Clip 1: It seems as if Regina has lost her powers, but as you learn in another clip (clip #3) that magic does not work the same in Storybrooke as it did in the fairy-tale land.  Well no shit, we figured that out too.  With that said though, I still believe that Regina's enactment of the curse may have had an even larger price than she had anticipated.  It may have seriously diminished her powers.  Thats a little far-fetched but it could possibly be part of the problem.  The most interesting part of this clip however is the interaction between Regina and Dr Whale.  Was Dr Whale Team Regina in fairy-tale land or a victim of Regina's.  Is he mad because Regina betrayed him somehow or is he mad because he remembers the awful things that Regina did to him?  I don't know because I honestly am having the hardest time figuring out his character.  Was he one of Regina's guards?  He seems too important to be someone that insignificant but now I'm not so sure.  I just can't think of any fairy-tale characters that are doctors or medical staff in any way shape or form.  I still hold that he might be part of Pinocchio's story but my belief in that theory is fading fast.

Clip 2: Snow White/Mary Margaret/Mrs Charming/Emma's mom/Henry's grandmother, Prince Charming/David/Shepard/Emma's father/Abigail's husband/Snow White's husband/Henry's grandfather, and Emma are walking down the street with the "good guys" of Storybrooke and basically Mr and Mrs Charming want to speak with their daughter about everything thats going on and Emma expectedly is like, um hell to tha nah.  I mean when you think about, how effed up is that?  If you're an orphan and all you dream about is finding your parents, I think that its pretty normal to assume that your parents are going to be, oh I don't know, OLDER THAN YOU?  Yeah, thats just effed up.  Totally understand Emma's concern in this issue.  Totally messed up.

Clip 3: Regina's in jail and can't use magic.  She tells Prince Charming that the land that they left is gone, that is has been destroyed.  Somehow I have a hard time believing that because where would the magic have come from.  Where would Jefferson have gone to get the apple if it wasn't from their land?  Also, I don't ever remember Rumpelstiltskin saying that the curse would destroy fairy-tale land, only that it would transport them to a place where they would not achieve their happy endings.  Also, Regina makes this claim because Prince Charming seems to think that by breaking the curse, they would somehow be transported back.  Last time I checked they never stated what breaking the curse meant exactly.  If they want their happy endings, then finding each other with their memories in tact would be breaking the curse, not transporting them back.  Also, they've already mentioned that magic does not work the same in Storybrooke.  Does that also mean that even though the "curse is broken," it could have originally meant that they would be transported back but because magic doesn't work the same, they weren't?  Also, I'm not sure if the curse has been broken.  Isn't Emma supposed to fight Regina a bunch of times?  Pretty positive that came into play in one of the episodes that she is actually supposed to fight Regina a few times.  Last time I checked, Emma has definitely not attacked Regina enough times to make that happen.

Colin O'Donoghue as OUAT's Captain Hook- msnbc.com

Clip 4: Belle and Rumpelstiltskin.  Enough said.  That relationship is gonna be weird.  The end.

Can't wait for the addition of Captain Hook!!! Thats going to be FANTASTIC!!!!

Magic Is Back!

The hit ABC show Once Upon a Time (sometimes known as Once to fans) finished Season 1 in May with a bang!  MAGIC IS BACK AND STORYBROOKE, MAINE IS THE PLACE TO BE!!!!  Once comes back to us on September 30th and I gotta say that it can't come fast enough.  I've been obsessively reading about all of the new characters that will be added this season, who will be playing them, and most importantly, what the return of magic means to the characters.  I won't go too much into it right now but I have quite a few theories, but right now my big question for everyone is: Who is Dr. Whale?  What is his character???  Its been driving me CRAZY!!!!  I think he's a character from Pinocchio but a part of me thinks that that is too simple.  Plus, he didn't recognize August/Pinocchio.  Also, do you think Sheriff Graham/the Huntsman will be making a come back???  I seriously hope so, but howwww?!?  I mean his heart is technically gone so will he be a zombie?  I didn't think that magic could bring people back from the dead...things to ponder.

I'm not entirely sure who made this poster, but it is giving me hope.  I'm just hoping that it won't turn out to be false and devastate my heart.  Ha.  Ha.  I'm so sorry for the puns.  I really hate puns and this is seriously not being done on purpose.

Check out these photos of Season 2 from TV Guide!!!  Dr. Whale seems to be having a pretty heated conversation with Prince Charming/David/Emma's dad/Katherine's husband/Snow White's husband/Henry's grandfather.  The highlighted could potentially get ugly.  Or awkward.  Or both.  Unless Frederick magically appears.  Ha ha.  Even though David/Prince James/Shepard left Katherine/Abigail I don't think they were divorced.  Does that even matter?  It might?  We know Frederick exists in Storybrooke but lets be honest, its still kind of awkward seeing as they will now have memories of both lives and will have to reconcile them.  Also, rumor has it (ooooo rumor has it ooooo- Adele :) ) that apparently at one point Snow White/Mary Margaret and Emma are somehow out of the picture?  Are they hiding in the woods?  WHAT IS GOING ON?!?

Anyways, I'll hopefully be updating more on other tidbits that I've found during the offseason to get people excited for the new season.  Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Book Review: Wolf Hall

I just finished reading Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel and I've gotta say that Im giving it 4 1/2 to 5 stars. Here's my review:

I've gotta say that I absolutely loved this book.  For the first 80 pages or so, I truly wasn't impressed and I almost stopped reading.  I had a really hard time understanding the voice that Hlary Mantel was using.  Even though I become engrossed with the book and I loved the plot and the characterization, I can't truly say that I ever became wholly comfortable with the voice that she was using.  I had to keep reminding myself that "he" at all time means Cromwell, a nice usage considering one of the major historical points in this novel is the "Reformation" of England under Henry VIII. I liked that touch.  I'm not entirely sure if that's why she did it, but I'm going to pretend that's why.  I almost gave it 4 stars just because the beginning was so difficult to read and there was a nonexistent flow of the plot, but I ended up giving it 5 stars because once I had figured out the voice and I accepted how unusual and at times confusing it was, I was obsessed with the characterization of Thomas Cromwell.  I enjoyed how she broke up the chapters of the books into smaller sections that made you want to keep going.  Just one more little section...just one more little section....just one more little section....and then all of the sudden you check the clock and you've been reading for three hours.  In other words, get through the first 80 pages and I doubt that youll be disappointed.  Happy reading!

Major Crimes Major Disappointment

!!!!!SPOILERS ALERT!!!!!

Just finished watching the first episode of TNTs new drama, Major Crimes, a spin-off from the highly successful and critically acclaimed drama The Closer which ended last Monday, August 13.  During the last six episodes of The Closer, TNT prepared its audience for the coming of Major Crimes by laying the foundations for the majority of the characters' backgrounds.  It also seemed as if the show was purposefully making the parting from the wonderful Brenda Leigh Johnson less painful by making it seem as if she was starting to loose a grip on what her real function as the Chief of Major Crimes was.  TNT also attempted to warm the audience up to Mary McDonnell's character, Captain Rayder.  During the last few episodes of The Closer, I gotta say that I was starting to root for Rayder.  You actually became upset (and not because of Rayder's seemingly huge, horrific hairstyle) because Brenda didn't seem to really be giving Rayder a chance and it seemed as if Rayder was really trying to help Brenda out.  It seemed as if she really agreed with what Brenda was doing and understood and wanted to continue her work.  Well, let me just tell you all something people.  SHENANIGANS.  The entire plot of the first episode of Major Crimes was basically to undo everything that Brenda had done which, in my opinion, is actually kind of a dick thing to do.  I also don't understand why they had to have Rayder take over as the head of Major Crimes.  I really don't understand why it wouldn't have been possible to have Provenza, played by G.W. Bailey, take over the division.  The tension between the two and the division seems completely unnecessary to the plot of the show.  I personally believe that the transition from The Closer to Major Crimes could have been handled by making Provenza the lead and bringing in one or two more characters to work in the division in order to provide the necessary conflict thats needed for a show to survive.  The entire last season of The Closer it seemed as if Flynn and Provenza were somehow going to be almost like a duo comic act.  I saw none of that in this first episode.  To be honest, I didn't even attempt to laugh once and I basically laugh at everything.  Actually, Flynn seemed almost constipated and the only speaking that Provenza did was to whine to Assistant Chief Taylor about the indignity of putting Rayder ahead of him.  And what in the world is up with the plea-bargaining?  Why in the world would you make that the focus of the show?!?  You could just sense the tension in the room when that was going on and to be honest, I don't want to watch another Law and Order type show which is really what this seems to be turning into.  Why would I want to watch the police officers run around for about half the show to solve it and then watch all of their hard work be whittled away because the city doesn't have the money to pay for trials?  I personally don't want to watch week after week a different attorney coming in to plea-bargain so that we don't gain any back story on the crime or the criminals or victims and for the majority of the Major Crimes Division to be out of the picture.  I understand that they didn't want Rayder to attempt to be getting confessions as freakingly amazingly as Brenda but seriously there has got to be another way then making us watch plea-bargaining.  Also, not a huge fan of this new detective, Sykes.  She seems like a brown-noser, which is the last thing this show needs is for everything to be divided along gender lines.  And Rusty?  WTF?  I am just not feeling that dynamic.  Also, how is he going to be under adult supervision 24/7 if he's living at Rayder's house?  What, is Rayder going to bring him to work because, not gonna lie, I'm not a huge fan of Rusty's character.  He's wicked annoying.  If this show doesn't really start showcasing the other characters of the Major Crimes Division and doesn't stop this plea-bargaining shenanigans this show is going to get cancelled quickly.  I'm going to watch for another episode, but I seriously hope that I get to watch the Major Crimes Division actually have dialogue and interact with one another rather than watch Rayder with her horrible skin and ridiculous amount of hair.  Seriously, who is the hairstylist on the show and why in the world do you allow her hair which has obviously been treated before and is starting to get fried wear her hair down for all the world to see?  And why is it SO BIG?!?  Its very distracting.

Bottom Line: Major Crimes better change its act soon otherwise it will be a cancelled.  Fast.

Musical Serenity

I just made a splurge purchase yesterday for a pair of Bose headphones from Costco.  When I was making the purchase, I didn't even think twice about it, but once I brought them home I was a little freaked out over what I had done and I was seriously considering taking them back today.  Then I opened the box and there was no going back.  First off, I was wicked confused over the little itty bitty plug coming out of the left ear and I was kind of irritated as to why the hell Bose would make the cord about an inch long.  So I decided that they couldn't be that stupid and I almost busted the headset trying to "expand" the audio cord.  Just FYI if you ever get these headphones: they don't expand.  So don't waste your time to push every little inch of the headphones.  Don't pull at the headphones and think that somehow pulling the headphones apart is going to make the audio cord expand because they won't.  But for real, if you ever buy these headphones, just open up the holding case.  Then you'll realize that the rest of the audio cords are in the case...yeah.

Alright so I finally got it plugged into my laptop and I start listening to my iTunes.  I put on Adele.  Holy shit.  Serenity now.

EPICLY
AMAZING
SOUND

BUY
THEM
NOW

BEST
PURCHASE
IN
A
LONG
TIME.

I really wish that I had had these headphones when I was taking AP Music Theory in high school because I can hear just about every thing in these headphones.  I haven't heard music have this much depth and richness since I was sitting in a recording studio editing my audition tapes.  And the BASS!  HOLY CRAPOLA BATMAN!  I have no idea if anyone can hear the music from my headset but I feel like I'm at a live concert the bass on some of my music is rockin so hard.  LOVE IT!

Bottom Line:  No regrets.  These headphones are FANTASTIC!

Tres nouveau

Sorry I haven't updated in the past week.  Life has been kind of crazy.  Good but crazy.

So here are three new things I learned today:

1) The X-Men franchise is also making an alternate reality film.  It would have been cool if Star Trek hadn't rebooted their franchise the same way.  Btw, who knows when the new Star Trek film is coming out?  I need me some Chris Pine.

2) People really do associate Middle East archaeology with Indiana Jones and Nazis.

3) I have found the living manifestation of the "Old Guys" from the Muppets.

Not as cool as last time but I'll try to update more often.  Hope you all have a happy Friday!

Three New Things

I'm going to start something new based on something I read in the Game of Thrones series.  I'm currently on the fourth book of the series and, without giving anything away I hope, Arya Stark has to learn three new things everyday.  They don't have to be profound but I like the idea so I'm gonna try and do it every once in a while and see what happens.

1) Different rubber band shooting techniques are needed to achieve accuracy on targets at different angles.  For example, a shot across a petition requires a softer upward shot whereas a shot across workspaces can be a straight on power shot.

2) Rubberbands can get stuck into the vents at my work.

3) Icelands initials during the Olympics are ISE.  Not surprising but I didn't know that. Learned that by watching men's handball.

What are three things you learned today?

Frosty Stereotype

Here is the story of why stereotypes exist.

I am walking up the stairs from the first floor to the second to get on a faster elevator and also because I wanted to take the stairs.  A larger woman with a giant Wendy's bag and a super sized soda cuts me off.  Ok,that happens.  I get on the elevator and press the floor I want and the close door button, which of courses really just therefor decoration.  I mean let's be honest. Have you ever pressed the close elevator button and it actually closes before the person that you don't want to come on the elevator gets on.  Oh you have? Well Whoopdifreakindo.  It doesn't happen for me.  So I press the button and the supersize Wendy's customer gets on thee,evator.  Will the elevator hold with the extra weight of supersize Wendy's?  Will it?  Will I make it out to complain another day?  I did, but only just.  Fortunately the woman was very tired and got out on floor three.  Did I mention that we got on on floor two?

That people is why stereotypes exist.  Almost every stereotype has an element of truth.  This was a true story.  Thank you for your attention.

Inappropriate Bathroom Noises

(This is what I was thinking about during this distressing experience- have no fear, I did not bring my laptop into the bathroom and blog from there...)

Dear woman in the bathroom two stalls to my right,

Please stop making loud, inappropriate moaning noises while I am trying to go to the bathroom.  You are not the only person in there.  I know that you may not realize that, but seriously, from now on can you please just always imagine that there is always someone else in the bathroom with you who does not want to hear you getting off while you're taking a crap?  Its difficult enough for some people to go when theres someone else in there, but its even more difficult and distracting when an overly large woman cannot stop her pleasure moaning for a whole minute.  And yes,  I can say that you're a large woman seeing as you left your size 1X elastic waist band jeans in the stall between us.  Seriously woman, what in the world were you doing that you had to take off your ginormous jeans and then throw them into the stall between us.  Do you really get off by going to the bathroom?  Really?  Thats absolutely disgusting.  You made me sick to my stomach but I didn't want to stay in that bathroom any longer.  You truly know how to clear the room.  On that I give you props.  But really, next time, can you please get your kicks in the privacy of your own home.  And I pray that you're single.  Oh and don't tell me that those pants weren't yours.  I saw your sausage fingers reach under the stall to pick them up.  Those brown Minnetonka moccasins you saw push them towards you?  Yeah, I plan on burning them.  You were the last person to see them before they are consumed by the flames to rid them of their impurities.  And one last thing, the thank you after I pushed the pants towards you and the smile and hello you gave me when I was washing my hands does not make me like you.  Actually it made me wanna gag.  I think I would have preferred it if you hadn't attempted any kind of human interaction.  Then I could have at least pretended that you were a troll.  A giant, farting, moaning troll but no.  You had to make sure that I knew that you were human.  Just evil.  Just pure evil.

Sincerely,
The girl who just puked in her mouth

P.S. This goes out to Eppley Airfield- your bathrooms aren't the worst I've seen but for sanitation reasons, it might be best to put the soap dispensers more than 3 inches above the sink.  It makes it kind of difficult to wash your hands if your hands don't fit between the soap dispenser and the sink.  So all those people in your airport that just came out of the bathroom and have larger hands...yeah...enjoy.

Creativity vs Practicality

My time here in Omaha is nearly at an end.  Although I've complained a lot about the driving, I gotta say that I thoroughly enjoyed my time here and I will be sorry to leave.  On another note, I was having lunch with one of my classmates and somewhere in our really random, awkward conversation I brought the subject to books.  Shocker I know.  Anyways, I asked my classmate if he was reading something and he told me that he was reading a psychology book concerning two different types of mental processes, specifically a "fast" calculation of a situation that is based entirely upon intuition and previous experiences and a "slow" calculation in which the scene is processed in a way that takes into account the intuition and learned information.  Granted he was not able to articulate it like that but I'm assuming that was the gist of it.  Sounds like a basic social science theory merely put down in a book format with hundreds of examples as opposed to a specific academic drill but interesting nonetheless and something that I will probably look into.  (Does anyone know what this book is called?  Have you figured out which book it is based on my bizarre interpretation based on my classmates understanding of it...I can't remember...)

So the book that he was reading is not the point of this post.  The point is that he made a point of saying that he only reads "practical" books.  In other words, he only reads non-fiction books that he feels that he can apply immediately to real-life situations.  Interesting and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but I was a little bit insulted that he was reading a book in which inference is of profound importance and yet he did not find the value in reading fiction.  In my mind, fiction is of tremendous value in our culture.  It defines and shapes us.  We learn about ourselves and others not only through the works of non-fiction but also through the ways in which people are able to discuss and describe their own world in a fictional way.  Creativity and imagination, in my opinion, should not be seen as being impractical.  On the contrary, the ability to think creatively fuels the fires of innovation and invention.  Even though fictional stories by definition are "fake," that does not mean that they are not practical in their own way.  As I have previously mentioned, the ability to think creatively and then to articulate those imagined thoughts and actions can demonstrate a peoples cultural heritage.  Fictional books can foster and reemphasize aspects of our culture that before were unconsciously a part of our daily lives.  Fictional books allow for the continued articulation of a person's culture.  Perhaps a fictional book may not tell you how to fix your engine, but it can clue you in to the love a culture has for its automobiles in a way that statistics and hard facts sometimes cannot properly convey.  What's my bottom line?  Just because you don't see the immediate practicality of a thing, it does not mean that it does not exist.  Don't disregard the power of the human imagination.  It is just as practical and everyday a thing as understanding the latest psychological opinions on the Western thought-process.

I apologize for the tirade and I want to say that my classmate did not say his opinion rudely or with malice.  Now I am merely stating mine.  What do you think of the value of fictional books?

Photos from:

http://blog.schoollibraryjournal.com/afuse8production/files/2012/06/HarryPotter1.jpg

http://buber.net/Blah/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/1776-mccullough.jpg

Where Are We?

Dear driver of Omaha,

Please note that a) you are not on the farm and b) we are not British.

a) You are not on the farm.  There are lines on the road and more importantly, other vehicles.  You know those things that make loud noises and cause air pollution and can also kill you if you get hit by them?  You know, cars.  Other cars.  Not just yours.  So please, do us all a favor, car makers created a wonderful thing called a back window.  Now I realize that you obviously don't use it because its covered in dirt and shit and you can't see out of it, but you see, I don't think it was put there to create feng shui in the car.  Call me crazy.  And I'm just throwing this out there, but perhaps it could be used to look out of.  Wow.  That is a crazy idea.  A clear, glass, window to look behind you when you're backing up?  What?!?  Woah now, I've gone on the crazy train, but bare with me.  Maybe, just maybe, if you cleaned your window and maybe just maybe if you worked on rotating your body to look out the window you would realize that the reason I'm laying on my horn (yes, that loud noise is not a duck or farm animal.  lets remember that were not on the farm right now) is because you're backing into me.  So, just a suggestion if you like my ideas on the purpose of a back window: clean your back window and start doing some freaking yoga so that you can turn your neck to see out of that newly cleaned back window.  Try out!  You might find that you'll have less dents on the back bumper of your car!  Best wishes!

b) We are not British.  I don't know if you all learned this, but we kind of fought this little war in 1776 and we wrote some documents that are kind of old and yellow and in a weird handwriting, but you know, hey, they're kind of old so I might understand if you forgot that we won our independence from the UK in 1781.  Ok, no big deal that you don't seem to realize that we live in the United States of America and not Great Britain.  Ok, no big deal.  George Washington is probably just the dude with the weird nose on your dollar bill.  I get it.  Its fine.  But for real.  We did actually win our independence and we've kind of not been a part of Great Britain for the past ohhhh 200+ years so, COULD YOU STOP DRIVING ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD!  kthanx.

Have a wonderful day every eon!

Thoroughly confused Virginian

Old Market

Explored the Old Market again.  I had dinner at Upstream Brewing.  I got the fish and chips and honestly, they were fantastic.  Their beer-batter was to die for and they brought the chips with vinegar.  The only disappointing parts of the meal were this random "cucumber salad" in which the cucumbers looked sad and wilted and sick.  Thats kind of the only way of describing them.  Oh and they tasted that way too.  If you're gonna order this, try not to get the depressing cucumbers.  They just kind of look at you and you kinda just wanna puke.  Anyways, so the "cucumber salad" or whatever the hell it was was kind of depressing and I gotta say, for a microbrewery I was not impressed and underwhelmed.  I went during Happy Hour (which btw I totally recommend.  Half off any beer and half off appetizers.  Great deal) and I ordered the Capital Premium Pale Ale.  I absolutely hated it.  Seriously.  I couldn't even get half way through.  Life is far too short to drink a lousy beer.  So I didn't.  I wish I had ordered whatever the fish and chips were fried in because that beer tasted fantastic.  Note to self: ORDER THE FISH AND CHIPS BEER.  IT IS A FOOD ORGASM.  The end.  So go order yourself a succulent fish and chips.  In beer-batter.  Right now.  Imagine that wonderful golden fried gooeyness.

Are you salivating yet?  haha sucker.  I hope you're reading this after your workout.  :)

Anyways, after that I decided that I wanted to walk around some more.  I mean I paid $5 for parking.  I might as well get my moneys worth.  So I went over to this shop called Curbside Clothing.  I freaking loved it.  Ridiculously artsy.  Great paintings and photos on the walls.  The graphic designs on the clothes are all unique and actually have a meaning which is pretty sweet.  Also, the majority of the jewelry can be found on etsy.com and if you're like me and you're a pretend hipster, then you love etsy.com  So needless to say, check out the link to the store.  It was quite awesome.  I also visited my favorite little hippie store in the Old Market, The Souq.

Once again, loved it.  Basically for anyone who has ever taken a class in the UVA Anthro Dept, let me just say this.  They would either call this store you're typical exotic or would probably be running the store.  Its one of the two.  Anyways, I'm always a sucker and I love it because it makes me feel cool and unique.  All in all, a very productive evening.  Hope you all are having a good one too!

For more photos of the Old Market, click here

NOTE: All photos on this site were taken by me.  :)  Let me know if you like them!

Red Means Go And Green Means Stops

Ok so like everything in the Midwest, everything is pretty spread out making driving an absolute necessity to get to and fro.  With that in mind, I have therefore spent a lot of time in my rented Nissan Rogue.  Not a bad car all in all.  Ok anyways, to the point.  So today I was driving to Panera and its less than a mile from my hotel.  How long did it take me to drive to it?  Over ten minutes.  Why?  Because people here quite frankly don't know how to drive.  I'm not saying that I'm the best driver in the world, but in comparison to many of the drivers here, I'm an absolute freakin genius.  There's a ridiculous amount of traffic between my hotel and the Panera and there are two major causes for this.  One, theres a bit of construction going on.  Nothing huge but a little bit.  Two, people here do not know what to do with traffic lights.  For real.

I mean the light turns green and people stare at.  Quite literally stare it.  "Hmmm, the light has changed colors.  Its kind of this greenish tint looking thing...does that mean that I go?  Maybe, yeah?  Yeah I should.  Oh wait, now its turning again.  Oh shit now its the bright color, what is that again?  Oh yeah yellow.  Oh shit red.  GO!"  Honestly, I believe that must be the thought process going on.  Otherwise how else would you explain people not going when its green and two or three cars turning when its red?  Perhaps in Nebraska, the law is that you go when its red and stop when its green.  Totally possible.  Or perhaps the entire population is color blind.  That could definitely be it.  Or aliens invaded the entire city and brainwashed them into believing that red means go and green means stop so that they could force the entire city into a gridlock and therefore force their control over the people by saying that they will alleviate their gridlock by ending traffic altogether.  The people rejoice.  Then there are no more cars and everyone has to walk in 50% humidity in 90 plus degree heat and they all become walking heat alien-controlled zombies.  Don't get become alien-controlled zombies.  Learn that green means go and red means stop.

The end.