My arms hurt.
Merry Christmas!
12.25.2008
12.24.2008
It's Christmas Eve!
Last night I had a dream that my mom bought Abby (my golden retriever) her own dog for a pet. It was really funny to dream-watch Abby getting her dog water and food and playing with her. One of my favorite parts of Christmas vacation has been taking Abby for long walks in the snow, especially on the golf course behind our house. She rolls around in the snow like a bear and makes growling noises. It's pretty hilarious.
I am really thankful it's Christmas Eve; tonight my family and I are going to our traditional Christmas feast with the Erbs, who we've been friends with for over ten years. This year The Feast is at their mansion house at Suncrest, which will be nice because right now I'm tired of entertaining at our house.
The Feast consists of prime rib, crab legs, cheesy potatoes, rolls, mom's ribbon salad, and green salad. The Feast never changes--we have the same thing every year, and every year is better than the last. For dessert we have Christmas cookies, and some kind of cake or brownies or chocolate covered strawberries. Yes, divine. I feel spoiled to have such good family friends and such an awesome tradition.
I am really thankful it's Christmas Eve; tonight my family and I are going to our traditional Christmas feast with the Erbs, who we've been friends with for over ten years. This year The Feast is at their mansion house at Suncrest, which will be nice because right now I'm tired of entertaining at our house.
The Feast consists of prime rib, crab legs, cheesy potatoes, rolls, mom's ribbon salad, and green salad. The Feast never changes--we have the same thing every year, and every year is better than the last. For dessert we have Christmas cookies, and some kind of cake or brownies or chocolate covered strawberries. Yes, divine. I feel spoiled to have such good family friends and such an awesome tradition.
12.21.2008
Seeing stars.
Today before I fell asleep for a Sunday nap I saw little blue stars in the air in front of me. It was really weird. So I took a three hour nap and I woke up really refreshed and thinking clearly.
This Christmas break so far has been really restful--my body cannot get enough sleep, it seems. I need to take better care of myself this next semester, especially since it's my last. Speaking of graduating, I found out some good news today: I might graduate summa cum laude. At the very least cum laude. It's kinda nice to know that all my hard work during college will pay off in something as intangible as saying I graduated with honors. Okay it's more than kinda nice. :)
Oh yeah, I have two album recommendations. They're both folk, so if you're not into it I'm sorry, these probably aren't for you. The first one is Ferraby Lionheart. His Catch the Brass Ring is great, but I prefer his EP. How I would describe his music is the feeling of being alive again after realizing you've been dead for awhile. The other album is Peter Sarstedt's The Lost Album. Pure, unadulterated modern folk. Loves to all and I hope your holiday season is restful and full of love.
This Christmas break so far has been really restful--my body cannot get enough sleep, it seems. I need to take better care of myself this next semester, especially since it's my last. Speaking of graduating, I found out some good news today: I might graduate summa cum laude. At the very least cum laude. It's kinda nice to know that all my hard work during college will pay off in something as intangible as saying I graduated with honors. Okay it's more than kinda nice. :)
Oh yeah, I have two album recommendations. They're both folk, so if you're not into it I'm sorry, these probably aren't for you. The first one is Ferraby Lionheart. His Catch the Brass Ring is great, but I prefer his EP. How I would describe his music is the feeling of being alive again after realizing you've been dead for awhile. The other album is Peter Sarstedt's The Lost Album. Pure, unadulterated modern folk. Loves to all and I hope your holiday season is restful and full of love.
12.17.2008
"Without plagiarism, there would be no literature."
I had a friend in high school with whom I could talk about a lot of things, one of them being literature. Since he is not available to talk to anymore, here is what I would have talked to him about regarding my classics in English literature class.
Christopher Logue's project of translating The Iliad is astounding. War Music is the most important poem of this century--and Logue doesn't know a word of Greek. In his project, he combines not only Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Milton, and Pope, but also a number of English poets like Pound and Eliot. The latest book, All Day Permanent Red, contains only the battles scenes from The Iliad--and Logue took the title from a Revlon lipstick ad. I love how he combines the epic conventions and their subsequent reception into English literature with pop culture references. His style is the most overt modern influence. If Cecil B. DeMille did The Iliad, Logue would be the screenwriter. His style is essentially cinematic, which ultimately speaks to our modern aesthetic and mindset--the lapses into present tense, the quick cuts, the reliance on montage, the emphasis of the visual all imply a silver-screen behind the words. Logue's work has the sweep of epic cinema and the cadence of epic poetry, which is what makes it successful.
I think what it comes down to is that it's the meaning, not the name, that is important. Milton first brought this up when he talks about how the gods of pagan religions are really the devils cast out of heaven with Satan (whose name, incidentally, becomes synonymous with Achilles, Aeneas, Hephaestus, and other classical figures), and the pagans just got the names wrong. The meaning behind Logue's anachronistic project is to convey the truth The Iliad tells about "the propensity to violence in human males." Civil war will always be civil war, it's only the names and dates that change over time. Whether it's the civil war in heaven or the English Civil War during Milton's time, people will always find a reason to rebel and as always, the victors will write (or rewrite) the story.
And Logue says it more powerfully, is able to even say it at all, because of the classical source texts and the history of their reception by English writers.
That's all I'm trying to say.
Christopher Logue's project of translating The Iliad is astounding. War Music is the most important poem of this century--and Logue doesn't know a word of Greek. In his project, he combines not only Homer, Virgil, Ovid, Milton, and Pope, but also a number of English poets like Pound and Eliot. The latest book, All Day Permanent Red, contains only the battles scenes from The Iliad--and Logue took the title from a Revlon lipstick ad. I love how he combines the epic conventions and their subsequent reception into English literature with pop culture references. His style is the most overt modern influence. If Cecil B. DeMille did The Iliad, Logue would be the screenwriter. His style is essentially cinematic, which ultimately speaks to our modern aesthetic and mindset--the lapses into present tense, the quick cuts, the reliance on montage, the emphasis of the visual all imply a silver-screen behind the words. Logue's work has the sweep of epic cinema and the cadence of epic poetry, which is what makes it successful.
I think what it comes down to is that it's the meaning, not the name, that is important. Milton first brought this up when he talks about how the gods of pagan religions are really the devils cast out of heaven with Satan (whose name, incidentally, becomes synonymous with Achilles, Aeneas, Hephaestus, and other classical figures), and the pagans just got the names wrong. The meaning behind Logue's anachronistic project is to convey the truth The Iliad tells about "the propensity to violence in human males." Civil war will always be civil war, it's only the names and dates that change over time. Whether it's the civil war in heaven or the English Civil War during Milton's time, people will always find a reason to rebel and as always, the victors will write (or rewrite) the story.
And Logue says it more powerfully, is able to even say it at all, because of the classical source texts and the history of their reception by English writers.
That's all I'm trying to say.
12.16.2008
Tagged.
My lovely friend Aric Johnstone hath tagged me. Here we go!
8 Favorite T.V. Shows--
1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
2. Family Guy
3. Scrubs
4. Flight of the Conchords
5. 30 Rock
6. Invader Zim
7. What Not to Wear
8. Samurai Jack
8 Favorite Restaurants--
1. Market Street Grill
2. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
3. Cucina Toscana
4. Mikado's
5. Ned's Noodle Bar
6. Guru's
7. Kahn's
8. Zupas
8 Things to Look Forward To--
1. My List
2. The next change in season
3. Having kids
4. Graduating
5. Returning to London
6. Having money to give away to people who really need it
7. The rain
8. "That guy"--Trust me, I've dreamed about him enough times to know him when I meet him :)
8 Things I LOVE about winter--
1. Wood-burning stoves and the smell outside that comes from them
2. Comfy sweaters
3. Boots
4. Looking forward to the New Year
5. Being with family
6. The stars--they're extra clear during the winter, esp. Orion
7. Sledding/skiing/snow activities in general
8. Buying presents for people
8 Things on my wishlist-
1. Michael Kors watch
2. A secure future
3. To be able to talk to people from the past without any awkwardness
4. To not be an awkward person...
5. A comfy homemade blanket
6. More sleep
7. #4 on my List
8. Socks
Now I tag these people:
I wanna tag these great 8:
1. J'nae
2. Tanner
3. Cub
4. Derek
5. Ash
6. Kasey
7. Kristin
8. Makayla
8 Favorite T.V. Shows--
1. The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
2. Family Guy
3. Scrubs
4. Flight of the Conchords
5. 30 Rock
6. Invader Zim
7. What Not to Wear
8. Samurai Jack
8 Favorite Restaurants--
1. Market Street Grill
2. Ruth's Chris Steakhouse
3. Cucina Toscana
4. Mikado's
5. Ned's Noodle Bar
6. Guru's
7. Kahn's
8. Zupas
8 Things to Look Forward To--
1. My List
2. The next change in season
3. Having kids
4. Graduating
5. Returning to London
6. Having money to give away to people who really need it
7. The rain
8. "That guy"--Trust me, I've dreamed about him enough times to know him when I meet him :)
8 Things I LOVE about winter--
1. Wood-burning stoves and the smell outside that comes from them
2. Comfy sweaters
3. Boots
4. Looking forward to the New Year
5. Being with family
6. The stars--they're extra clear during the winter, esp. Orion
7. Sledding/skiing/snow activities in general
8. Buying presents for people
8 Things on my wishlist-
1. Michael Kors watch
2. A secure future
3. To be able to talk to people from the past without any awkwardness
4. To not be an awkward person...
5. A comfy homemade blanket
6. More sleep
7. #4 on my List
8. Socks
Now I tag these people:
I wanna tag these great 8:
1. J'nae
2. Tanner
3. Cub
4. Derek
5. Ash
6. Kasey
7. Kristin
8. Makayla
12.06.2008
La terre vue du ciel.
If I were in Geneva right now, this is the art exhibit I would go to. It is absolutely stunning. I am considering renaming this blog to yannisgod.blogspot.com, which would be ironically fitting.
Oh, and my tummy hurts. :(
Oh, and my tummy hurts. :(
12.02.2008
Dang economy.
Today I went into work and was doing my thing, evaluating a manuscript for Lisa (internship mentor/associate editor) and talking to Suzanne (senior editor) about upcoming projects for the day, when Suzanne informed me that the week before Thanksgiving a ton of people had been laid off. I was kind of in shock because it was mostly people I knew. I'll particularly miss Jay, the other senior editor, as well as Fielding, the nice old man who said hi to me every morning. The publishing industry has taken quite a blow because of the economy--Conde Nast and Time Warner have both laid off about 500,000 people each within the last three months.
Amidst all this economic worry, Suzanne asked me if I wanted to help with a freelance job of hers--for $25 an hour! I said yes, of course. The chance to work with one of the top 5 editors in Utah (and there are more than you may think here) is an honor in itself, let alone to be paid to assist with a project outside of my internship. I've become really close to her in the past couple weeks, and I'll be really sad to leave. She's an Anglophile like me, so of course we hit it off right away.
So bad news and good news today; I'm exhausted out of my mind but I feel pretty accomplished.
Amidst all this economic worry, Suzanne asked me if I wanted to help with a freelance job of hers--for $25 an hour! I said yes, of course. The chance to work with one of the top 5 editors in Utah (and there are more than you may think here) is an honor in itself, let alone to be paid to assist with a project outside of my internship. I've become really close to her in the past couple weeks, and I'll be really sad to leave. She's an Anglophile like me, so of course we hit it off right away.
So bad news and good news today; I'm exhausted out of my mind but I feel pretty accomplished.
12.01.2008
I hath found my calling.
Rachel Spohn: Writer of Random Crap.
Ok, so what I write isn't crap. But it is random. I'm sorry, but my articles are actually pretty good considering the limitations I'm under. Today I started writing for the SEO company and it is so much fun. I wrote three tonight. The topics were finding a good home builder, tips for hiring executives, and eco gifts for the environmentally conscious. Like I said, random, but so much fun. I made thirty bucks tonight that I didn't have before! Woot.
Once they get approved, you can go read them on www.ezinearticles.com. Just search for my name and they should come up.
P.S. Listen to MGMT's song "Kids." I can't stop. It makes me wanna dance!
Ok, so what I write isn't crap. But it is random. I'm sorry, but my articles are actually pretty good considering the limitations I'm under. Today I started writing for the SEO company and it is so much fun. I wrote three tonight. The topics were finding a good home builder, tips for hiring executives, and eco gifts for the environmentally conscious. Like I said, random, but so much fun. I made thirty bucks tonight that I didn't have before! Woot.
Once they get approved, you can go read them on www.ezinearticles.com. Just search for my name and they should come up.
P.S. Listen to MGMT's song "Kids." I can't stop. It makes me wanna dance!
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