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Donne icons
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 08:49 pmSeeing as I am going to write my final paper on the man's poetry I thought I'd waste time today creating some motivating Donne icons.
Teasers:
( 12 )
x-posted to![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
book_icons, sorry about your flists, my fellow members!
Teasers:
( 12 )
x-posted to
book_icons, sorry about your flists, my fellow members!50 book challenge
Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009 12:04 pmLet's see... homosexuality in Harvard, the GDR and medieval times and some old favourites. If I pass out half-way through of this, it's because I breathed in some dust of the bleach that I used to get our terribly grey towels white again. Just what I needed after the sudden attacks of nausea yesterday.
15.
14.
13.
12.
11.
10.
9.
8.
7.
6.
~~~
I think I'll attempt to eat some lunch now. I can't stand the sight of pretzel sticks and tea any more.
15.
Magic Kingdom for Sale - Sold!, by Terry Brooks.
I am reading this with Crocky. We have talked about this series several times, and while I now don't enjoy it as much as I did when I read the series with fifteen, I still think he's handled the main character's acclimatisation and his various predicaments and his new surroundings very well. I had never realised how poor the writing is - but I wouldn't have. When I first read it, I had studied English as a foreign langauge at school for five years and my proficiency had me struggling with this book. I really dislike is Willow. Her characterisation drives me crazy. Even though she has a lot of potential the entire premise for their relationship is terrible, and her position in the story is frankly disappointing. No cookie points.
I am reading this with Crocky. We have talked about this series several times, and while I now don't enjoy it as much as I did when I read the series with fifteen, I still think he's handled the main character's acclimatisation and his various predicaments and his new surroundings very well. I had never realised how poor the writing is - but I wouldn't have. When I first read it, I had studied English as a foreign langauge at school for five years and my proficiency had me struggling with this book. I really dislike is Willow. Her characterisation drives me crazy. Even though she has a lot of potential the entire premise for their relationship is terrible, and her position in the story is frankly disappointing. No cookie points.
14.
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, by Daniel Pool.
Provides a very sound overview and some very nice in-depths accounts on the various topics relating to etiquette and everyday life in the 19th Century.
Provides a very sound overview and some very nice in-depths accounts on the various topics relating to etiquette and everyday life in the 19th Century.
13.
The Amulet of Samarkand, by Jonathan Stroud.
When I read the first page of this novel five years ago, I fell in love. I am still in love, and re-reading this makes butterflies reappear in my stomach. Bartimaeus, Nathaniel and their relationship is incredibly charming.
I'm rereading this because Crocky has to read it for her paper and I want to be able to discuss it with her on a more informed basis.
When I read the first page of this novel five years ago, I fell in love. I am still in love, and re-reading this makes butterflies reappear in my stomach. Bartimaeus, Nathaniel and their relationship is incredibly charming.
I'm rereading this because Crocky has to read it for her paper and I want to be able to discuss it with her on a more informed basis.
12.
Thud, by Terry Pratchett.
I could read P'Terry's descriptions of fatherhood all day and I love the various darknesses, such beautiful ideas.
I could read P'Terry's descriptions of fatherhood all day and I love the various darknesses, such beautiful ideas.
11.
Wyrd Sisters - The Play, adapted by Stephen Briggs.
Another one Crocky and I read and voice-acted together. She's a decent Granny, I must say, and I am rather happy with my rendition of Nanny. Neither of us makes a very good Vetinari or Carrot, though.
Another one Crocky and I read and voice-acted together. She's a decent Granny, I must say, and I am rather happy with my rendition of Nanny. Neither of us makes a very good Vetinari or Carrot, though.
10.
Guards! Guards! - The Play. Adapted by Stephen Briggs.
This was actually Crocky's birthday present. We're reading it together, voice-acting the different parts. It's great fun.
This was actually Crocky's birthday present. We're reading it together, voice-acting the different parts. It's great fun.
9.
Sodom und Gomorrha - zur Alltagswirklichkeit der Verfolgung Homosexueller im Mittelalter, by Bernd-Ulrich Hergemüller ("Sodom and Gomorrha - on the everyday reality and persecution of homosexuals in the Middle Ages")
The gist seems to be that they weren't, really, not methodically, that is, up until the rise of the inquisition and the witch hunts. Homosexual behaviour was forbidden, of course, but apart from the few accounts which do exist of trials in which anal sex and homosexual paedophilia was the primary charge, people engaging in homosexual behaviour seem to have led a rather undetected life. The trials which do mention homosexuality seem to do so only on the grounds of adding more charges and underlining the moral depravity of the people charged - usually with large-scale theft and murder. It is noteworthy that homosexuals were referred to as Ketzer (heretics), and anal sex was known as ketzern. To go against the order of nature as god apparently intended it was heresy. When the witch hunts began and the tempers started to get tetchier the mere accusation was enough to light torches and the wooden stakes.
The gist seems to be that they weren't, really, not methodically, that is, up until the rise of the inquisition and the witch hunts. Homosexual behaviour was forbidden, of course, but apart from the few accounts which do exist of trials in which anal sex and homosexual paedophilia was the primary charge, people engaging in homosexual behaviour seem to have led a rather undetected life. The trials which do mention homosexuality seem to do so only on the grounds of adding more charges and underlining the moral depravity of the people charged - usually with large-scale theft and murder. It is noteworthy that homosexuals were referred to as Ketzer (heretics), and anal sex was known as ketzern. To go against the order of nature as god apparently intended it was heresy. When the witch hunts began and the tempers started to get tetchier the mere accusation was enough to light torches and the wooden stakes.
8.
Die Stumme Sünde - Homosexualität im Mittelalter, by Brigitte Spreizer. ("The Silent Sin - Homosexuality in the Middle Ages).
Very recommendable - it has many origininal sources in the appendix, and reading medieval laws for the proper behaviour of monks in convents makes fascinating reading, even though in some cases my Latin is too rusty to really understand everything.
Especially interesting for me was the development of the laws regarding anal penetration - it was always considered an Especially Bad Sin, but at first, during the times when pueri oblati were uncommon and men entered monasteries as adults, homosexual behaviour was merely one sexual sin among many. As novices entered the monastery at younger ages and the monastery was no longer a place for individuals to share a living space who usually would have become hermits, but took the place of the family in many cases, laws against homosexual behaviour became increasingly strict. Towards the end of that development, those penetrating the other man during anal intercourse were excluded from the monastery, while the one penetrated could hope for redemption.
It is important that medieval sex was divided into "natural" vs. "unnatural" sex and "active" and "passive" parts. "Natural" was only the sex which led to babies, every other sexual practice was "unnatural", therefore against the will of god, and forbidden. "Active" were those penetrating, "passive" the other ones. The "active" partner was usually punished more severely than the "passive" one.
In the beginning, monks had individual cells, but as sexual sins became increasingly bad, dormitories were reintroduced. In those, a young monk would sleep between two older monks to prevent the youngsters from being tempted to commit sins of the flesh. Monks were not allowed to see anyone naked, including themselves, and bathed in light shifts.They were never permitted to sleep in one bed together.
Also fascinating is the pornographic detail in which the kinds of forbidden sexual contact among nuns is described. Nuns were allowed to sleep in one bed - if it was a young and an older nun - but only if there was at least a room of two spans between them, they lay back to back, and did not speak a word until morning. Female homosexuality was regarded as less bad than anal penetration, but female sexual sins were as discouraged.
Very recommendable - it has many origininal sources in the appendix, and reading medieval laws for the proper behaviour of monks in convents makes fascinating reading, even though in some cases my Latin is too rusty to really understand everything.
Especially interesting for me was the development of the laws regarding anal penetration - it was always considered an Especially Bad Sin, but at first, during the times when pueri oblati were uncommon and men entered monasteries as adults, homosexual behaviour was merely one sexual sin among many. As novices entered the monastery at younger ages and the monastery was no longer a place for individuals to share a living space who usually would have become hermits, but took the place of the family in many cases, laws against homosexual behaviour became increasingly strict. Towards the end of that development, those penetrating the other man during anal intercourse were excluded from the monastery, while the one penetrated could hope for redemption.
It is important that medieval sex was divided into "natural" vs. "unnatural" sex and "active" and "passive" parts. "Natural" was only the sex which led to babies, every other sexual practice was "unnatural", therefore against the will of god, and forbidden. "Active" were those penetrating, "passive" the other ones. The "active" partner was usually punished more severely than the "passive" one.
In the beginning, monks had individual cells, but as sexual sins became increasingly bad, dormitories were reintroduced. In those, a young monk would sleep between two older monks to prevent the youngsters from being tempted to commit sins of the flesh. Monks were not allowed to see anyone naked, including themselves, and bathed in light shifts.They were never permitted to sleep in one bed together.
Also fascinating is the pornographic detail in which the kinds of forbidden sexual contact among nuns is described. Nuns were allowed to sleep in one bed - if it was a young and an older nun - but only if there was at least a room of two spans between them, they lay back to back, and did not speak a word until morning. Female homosexuality was regarded as less bad than anal penetration, but female sexual sins were as discouraged.
7.
Harvard's Secret Court, by William Wight.
It's an account of the purges of gay students from the campus after the suicide of one of them that occurred in the nineteen-twenties. Very shocking stuff, especially considering that the purges themselves led to more suicides and completely ruined the lives of the students in question. Not only did Harvard purge their names from the permanent records, they also sent out letters to explain why they dismissed this students if they chose to associate themselves with the university in any CV they wrote for an application to other schools or jobs. This meant that many of these students could not hope for further education at other schools at all or for jobs. The last of these letters was sent in the early seventies, if I remember correctly.
It's an account of the purges of gay students from the campus after the suicide of one of them that occurred in the nineteen-twenties. Very shocking stuff, especially considering that the purges themselves led to more suicides and completely ruined the lives of the students in question. Not only did Harvard purge their names from the permanent records, they also sent out letters to explain why they dismissed this students if they chose to associate themselves with the university in any CV they wrote for an application to other schools or jobs. This meant that many of these students could not hope for further education at other schools at all or for jobs. The last of these letters was sent in the early seventies, if I remember correctly.
What struck me as very strange is Wight's last chapter which outlines the possibility that homophobia may be as genetically induced as homosexuality. While I get that he probably had to include something of the sort to stop him from being in trouble with the renowned university, it was still rather baffling to see him struggling to explain and absolve these decisions which had ruined the lives of some twenty students for decades to come, sometimes on the basis of mere association with gay students.
6.
Schwuler Osten - Homosexuelle Männer in der DDR, by Kurt Starke. ("Gay East - Homosexual Men in the GDR)
5.
The Black Jewels Trilogy, by Anne Bishop.
Wow. Bad. Already ranted about it here. I don't mind the torture, but the writing and the characters are so incredibly, horribly dull that we probably won't make it through this. It's a book about an evil, magical matriarchic society in which males are used as sex slaves. Needless to say, all the main characters with the exception of one little girl are male woobies. The girl has extra-special superpowers, but her only function seems to be to make the abused males feel better about themselves. The scary sexual violence and abuse is not as bad as the rampant paedophilia and I don't know how I'm going to face the person whose favourite series of novels this is when we give it back.
Wow. Bad. Already ranted about it here. I don't mind the torture, but the writing and the characters are so incredibly, horribly dull that we probably won't make it through this. It's a book about an evil, magical matriarchic society in which males are used as sex slaves. Needless to say, all the main characters with the exception of one little girl are male woobies. The girl has extra-special superpowers, but her only function seems to be to make the abused males feel better about themselves. The scary sexual violence and abuse is not as bad as the rampant paedophilia and I don't know how I'm going to face the person whose favourite series of novels this is when we give it back.
~~~
I think I'll attempt to eat some lunch now. I can't stand the sight of pretzel sticks and tea any more.
Stupidity in the Sidney Morning Herald brought to my attention by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
feminist_rage :
( Your partner wants sex but you don't? STFU already and put it on the to-do list! Your sex therapist wants you to! )
I don't know what bothers me more, the lack of earth logic, or the fact that this is the opinion of a sex therapist. Who works with real patients.
feminist_rage :( Your partner wants sex but you don't? STFU already and put it on the to-do list! Your sex therapist wants you to! )
I don't know what bothers me more, the lack of earth logic, or the fact that this is the opinion of a sex therapist. Who works with real patients.
The Fantasy Novelist's Exam
Sunday, March 1st, 2009 03:52 pmI found this today:
The Fantasy Novelist's Exam, by David J. Parker
Additional Material By Samuel Stoddard
Ever since J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis created the worlds of Middle Earth and Narnia, it seems like every windbag off the street thinks he can write great, original fantasy, too. The problem is that most of this "great, original fantasy" is actually poor, derivative fantasy. Frankly, we're sick of it, so we've compiled a list of rip-off tip-offs in the form of an exam. We think anybody considering writing a fantasy novel should be required to take this exam first. Answering "yes" to any one question results in failure and means that the prospective novel should be abandoned at once.
I went to a small concert by the students of Crocky's piano teacher this morning. They were all very good, as anticipated. About ten of the students performed, one or two short pieces each. Most of them are in their first semester or at least at an early stage of their studies, but two are doing their finals soon - a pretty mixed group. The aim of these concerts is to give each other an idea of what other students are playing and to practice performing, which seems like a good idea, seeing as the final exam will be like a concert. I wish we had something similar each semester.
The only thing that wasn't absolutely perfect for me were the selection of pieces in some cases. Many of Satie's works do nothing for me, somehow (no, not even the Gymnopédie No.1 - which no one performed today, though), and even a live performance does not change as much as I thought it might - I realise that they're beautiful, but his pieces usually depress me. There were a lot of Satie's pieces, he seems to be a required composer for first year students of music at that uni. I'm also not that fond of Cage, although I think the man is interesting. The only possible exception is his "4'33", which is about the only thing I can manage on the piano (full orchestral version (!!) here, John Cage on sound and silence here).
It was a very nice morning. I realised I should listen to Crocky rehearsing more often when I' not likely to annoy her. I thoroughly enjoyed her playing as she was was warming up and going through her pieces one more time. I love piano music, although I don't very often listen to it at home, strangely enough.
( My two favourites of the day )
Other than that, my week has been fairly uneventful and full of paper-related work. I am scared that the time I have won't be enough, and I fear I am not making enough progress, but those are probably fears that everybody has.
* this is John Cage paraphrasing Kant. German passage paraphrased below cut below. ( Here be Kant. )
The only thing that wasn't absolutely perfect for me were the selection of pieces in some cases. Many of Satie's works do nothing for me, somehow (no, not even the Gymnopédie No.1 - which no one performed today, though), and even a live performance does not change as much as I thought it might - I realise that they're beautiful, but his pieces usually depress me. There were a lot of Satie's pieces, he seems to be a required composer for first year students of music at that uni. I'm also not that fond of Cage, although I think the man is interesting. The only possible exception is his "4'33", which is about the only thing I can manage on the piano (full orchestral version (!!) here, John Cage on sound and silence here).
It was a very nice morning. I realised I should listen to Crocky rehearsing more often when I' not likely to annoy her. I thoroughly enjoyed her playing as she was was warming up and going through her pieces one more time. I love piano music, although I don't very often listen to it at home, strangely enough.
( My two favourites of the day )
Other than that, my week has been fairly uneventful and full of paper-related work. I am scared that the time I have won't be enough, and I fear I am not making enough progress, but those are probably fears that everybody has.
* this is John Cage paraphrasing Kant. German passage paraphrased below cut below. ( Here be Kant. )
I have always had a soft spot for the Cardassians, but "Civil Defense" is one of the episodes which have Gul Dukat at his best. I had completely forgotten about his little speech. There's also some very nice Quark/Odo interaction.
We've taken to watching DS9 during breaks, and watching Star Trek again is great. The plan I hatched some time back in 2006 after we watched Buffy seems to be working - Crocky really likes it, although probably not as much as TNG, and although she does not take to my favourite characters as much as I'd like her to, my tastes have changed since I fell in love with the series as a teenager, too. I have found that I actually started to rather like Kira, for example, which came as a huge surprise.
We've taken to watching DS9 during breaks, and watching Star Trek again is great. The plan I hatched some time back in 2006 after we watched Buffy seems to be working - Crocky really likes it, although probably not as much as TNG, and although she does not take to my favourite characters as much as I'd like her to, my tastes have changed since I fell in love with the series as a teenager, too. I have found that I actually started to rather like Kira, for example, which came as a huge surprise.
Birthday baking spree
Sunday, February 22nd, 2009 12:04 pmBackdated because baking is boring. Today, Crocky'll have a birthday gathering with a couple of friends from the theatre troupe and I had said I'd do the cooking for it. When Crocky couldn't remember if any of the friends she had invited were vegetarians we abandoned our plans to do a regular quiche for everybody and I sought alternatives while she went out to buy additional sour cream for the filling in case we'd do two quiches. I ended up doing 24 simple muffin quiche which taste nice and are nice as finger food but definitely too much of a hassle to do it on a regular basis as lunch. 
Apart from that, there were blonde cookies and brownies with semi-sweet chocolate:
...which turned out very popular, which made me very pleased - but I guess chewy brownies with extra chocolate always go down well.
... and a weird poppy seed apple cake (German recipe here). I can't really recommend it, poppy and apple did not really work for me, but it was fun baking:
Yeah. I left it in the oven ten minutes too long, and that's why the apples I used for decorating are too brown.
The filling without the apples would have been tasty, and the apples without the poppy. Combined... nah.
(no subject)
Friday, February 20th, 2009 08:12 pm
I hit level 80 on my Death Knight today, which has become my main. Somehow, melee is a lot easier and a lot more fun to play than I thought at first. I am torn between feeling guilty about all the hours that went into the game and feeling rather pleased. Some of my in-game buddies were even online to congratulate, that was nice. Now I only need to find someone to do those group quests with that I can't solo with my lousy green quest reward gear, everyone is off raiding. I'm also contemplating respeccing and rolling a hybrid rather than my "unholy only with some ice"-build.
In other news, I am procrastinating because I am scared out of my wits because of the appointment with the dentist tomorrow.
See below:
Now we only have to paint these. And finish the second season. I wish we had real holidays this year, then Crocky and I could spend more time doing things like these together and there would be more cause for squee-worthy comments like the above from my girlfriend.
Now we only have to paint these. And finish the second season. I wish we had real holidays this year, then Crocky and I could spend more time doing things like these together and there would be more cause for squee-worthy comments like the above from my girlfriend.
During our year in Glasgow we used to eat naan all the time, and I've missed it after coming back here. You can buy it in some supermarkets over here now, luckily, and you should definitely try it if you haven't yet - it goes great with all the dishes that bread usually goes with, and I love dipping it in spicy sauce. Seeing as It's not a very difficult recipe, I've been wanting to try it for some time.
I used the following recipe I got from this site:
( Recipe and musings )
Now I only need to learn how to make something to go with it. I've been thinking about trying Moong Dal with Spinach, but I'll need to find a shop that sells some of the ingredients that our local supermarkets don't provide.
I used the following recipe I got from this site:
( Recipe and musings )
Now I only need to learn how to make something to go with it. I've been thinking about trying Moong Dal with Spinach, but I'll need to find a shop that sells some of the ingredients that our local supermarkets don't provide.
I've seen the biggest flock of pigeons I've ever seen this evening. They suddenly became visible across the roofs of the courtyard and wheeled about in the sky for about half an hour, then settled again within five minutes and were gone for the rest of the evening.
I wonder what could have stirred them up so badly.
I wonder what could have stirred them up so badly.
( +3 )
Someone in environment posted a rather alarming article about the effects of plastic on the oceans - and there was a statistic on recycling in the US that caught my eye:
Three to five percent? That's not a lot.
As far as I know, this is different in the EU. Not only are 80% of all wastes recovered in most member states, 40% of plastics are recycled and rising. Many of the well-off member states don't use landfills at all any more, our newest member states still do, and there is of course the problem of waste being shipped off to China for recycling or to other countries to be put in landfills, anyway.
Still, on the whole, I was shocked to find that things are SO much worse in the US. Although maybe, considering what even EU recycling can look like, I maybe didn't have reason to think too highly of it.
environment posted a rather alarming article about the effects of plastic on the oceans - and there was a statistic on recycling in the US that caught my eye: Three to five percent? That's not a lot.
As far as I know, this is different in the EU. Not only are 80% of all wastes recovered in most member states, 40% of plastics are recycled and rising. Many of the well-off member states don't use landfills at all any more, our newest member states still do, and there is of course the problem of waste being shipped off to China for recycling or to other countries to be put in landfills, anyway.
Still, on the whole, I was shocked to find that things are SO much worse in the US. Although maybe, considering what even EU recycling can look like, I maybe didn't have reason to think too highly of it.
There is a site here on which you can upload pictures of you and your partner/friend/Snape to generate a picture of prospective babies.
Good in theory, the programme is about as accurate as the Sims baby generator and has not incorporated even the most basic facts of genetics. When I compared myself to the picture I received after submitting my parents I can't say that it's good for actual baby planning, but it's an excellent toy.
For those who always wondered what Minerva's and Snape's dreamchild would have looked like:
( Other offspring of various pairings (MM/SS, RL/SS, RL/NT, SS/LV, SS/PW, SS/PD, SS/LE, HP/GW, HP/DM) )
( Edward/Bella )
So, now back to some actual work.
Good in theory, the programme is about as accurate as the Sims baby generator and has not incorporated even the most basic facts of genetics. When I compared myself to the picture I received after submitting my parents I can't say that it's good for actual baby planning, but it's an excellent toy.
For those who always wondered what Minerva's and Snape's dreamchild would have looked like:
( Other offspring of various pairings (MM/SS, RL/SS, RL/NT, SS/LV, SS/PW, SS/PD, SS/LE, HP/GW, HP/DM) )
( Edward/Bella )
So, now back to some actual work.
One of my Christmas presents was a macro lense. I tried it out on various items in our flat today, like a critter I caught in the tub and Crocky's flowers.
Surprise thermobia is surprising:
The species of the bug above, firebrats or Ofenfischchen, is over three hundred fifty million years old, though it is difficult to date these exactly from what I've read. Fossils are found from as early as the late Devonian and the early Carboniferous period. They lived in the hot equatorial regions on which tree ferns and 15m relatives of today's horsetail evolved and spread, forests which would become our coal deposits. Their species evolved before winged insects had, their order is thought to be the link between winged insects and their wingless ancestors. They retain their flexible abdomen in contrast to many other insect species which helps them to move quickly, and their long feelers and bristles function as an early-warning system. They can live up to four years and live in warm areas, feeding on lichen, algae, and anything else organic that they can obtain.
Unless, of course, you are a creationist, in which case ignore the above: these were specifically created by the Lord to live under our floorboards.
( 'You think you can catch me? Kiss my cerci!' (4) )
Scary flower face is scary:
( Yay, gerbera! (7) )
Yeah. Back to work.
Surprise thermobia is surprising:
The species of the bug above, firebrats or Ofenfischchen, is over three hundred fifty million years old, though it is difficult to date these exactly from what I've read. Fossils are found from as early as the late Devonian and the early Carboniferous period. They lived in the hot equatorial regions on which tree ferns and 15m relatives of today's horsetail evolved and spread, forests which would become our coal deposits. Their species evolved before winged insects had, their order is thought to be the link between winged insects and their wingless ancestors. They retain their flexible abdomen in contrast to many other insect species which helps them to move quickly, and their long feelers and bristles function as an early-warning system. They can live up to four years and live in warm areas, feeding on lichen, algae, and anything else organic that they can obtain.
Unless, of course, you are a creationist, in which case ignore the above: these were specifically created by the Lord to live under our floorboards.
( 'You think you can catch me? Kiss my cerci!' (4) )
Scary flower face is scary:
( Yay, gerbera! (7) )
Yeah. Back to work.
Backdated baking post
Saturday, February 14th, 2009 08:30 pmSo, as I said in the meringue-related post three days ago, stress results in increased baking. For Crocky's birthday, I've baked cookies, a chocolate pear cake, and meringues. I'm self-conscious about my baking proficiency and am concentrating on getting simple stuff as perfect as possible before I endeavour to try anything more difficult and fiddly, although there are half a dozen cookie and cake recipes I'd love to try now that I can manage to get stuff tasty.
This resulted in a four-hour baking spree while Crocky was at work, conducting, on Friday.
Cookies:
( Recipe and musings )
Chocolate pear cake:
( Recipe )
Meringues:
( Musings )
This resulted in a four-hour baking spree while Crocky was at work, conducting, on Friday.
Cookies:
( Recipe and musings )
Chocolate pear cake:
( Recipe )
Meringues:
( Musings )
Lately, increased stress levels have unfortunately been wont to translate into increased housework and baking activity.
This week, I have already baked four trays of cookies and tried out meringues twice. The first load turned out globs of brownish stuff which were sticky at the bottom because I baked them for too short a time at the wrong temperature and did not get the egg white stiff enough in the first place, the second batch were pretty decent.
The differences in texture still annoyed me. Some were as crunchy as they are supposed to be, some where sticky and chewy and it was impossible to eat them without having to brush your teeth immediately afterwards because they stuck to the teeth so badly. I'm also not really that good at shaping the things and kept getting the spoon stuck on the baking tray while trying to shape. These blotches will have to do for the time being.
Does anyone have any quick and simple recipes they'd like to share? (I'll definitely try that apple cake,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lordhellebore.)
This week, I have already baked four trays of cookies and tried out meringues twice. The first load turned out globs of brownish stuff which were sticky at the bottom because I baked them for too short a time at the wrong temperature and did not get the egg white stiff enough in the first place, the second batch were pretty decent.
The differences in texture still annoyed me. Some were as crunchy as they are supposed to be, some where sticky and chewy and it was impossible to eat them without having to brush your teeth immediately afterwards because they stuck to the teeth so badly. I'm also not really that good at shaping the things and kept getting the spoon stuck on the baking tray while trying to shape. These blotches will have to do for the time being.
Does anyone have any quick and simple recipes they'd like to share? (I'll definitely try that apple cake,
lordhellebore.)
Train ride
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009 08:06 pmOn the way to a social networking event with the other students already registered for their finals in Hamburg.
( +6 )
The meeting itself was not too eventful or sensible. They went through the organisational stuff once more, when to give which examiner which topics, what to discuss with them, stuff I've already done a year ago in most cases. In terms of actual networking, it was also pretty worthless for me.
I metangie_21_237 for a coffee beforehand, though, and Crocky and I finally bought a wireless router when I got home, those were the high points of that nine-hour roundtrip. I wish there were someone with similar topics here in Hannover. Maybe I should post a sign on the library notice board after all, I always dismissed that as completely useless.
( +6 )
The meeting itself was not too eventful or sensible. They went through the organisational stuff once more, when to give which examiner which topics, what to discuss with them, stuff I've already done a year ago in most cases. In terms of actual networking, it was also pretty worthless for me.
I met
angie_21_237 for a coffee beforehand, though, and Crocky and I finally bought a wireless router when I got home, those were the high points of that nine-hour roundtrip. I wish there were someone with similar topics here in Hannover. Maybe I should post a sign on the library notice board after all, I always dismissed that as completely useless. (no subject)
Monday, February 9th, 2009 11:09 am
( Glass (10) )
Right. Back to work. I think I am going to start studying for my final exams this months. It's more fun than writing my final paper, which fills me with existential dread and reduces me to a panicky mess who can't think straight, let alone concentrate on writing anything. I had hoped Pilates'd help against this kind of fatal stress, but not so - I'm going to bring this up at my doctor's this week.
Watching Inkheart
Sunday, February 8th, 2009 03:30 pm
When watching this movie you somohow really realise that it is a US adaptation of an originally German book written by an author who spends most of her time fangirling anglophone Fantasy. I really felt it showed. As always, some time is spent at the beginning of the film making the characters relatable for the US standard viewer. Meggie is turned into what seems to be an American teenager (although that may just be the impression I got of her), she gets the Wizard of Oz to read instead of Peter Pan, and they are OF COURSE not from here, they just travel around a lot to search for a book - and may or may not be American. Also, the story is set in what appear to be the late eighties, car and clothes-wise, for no particular reason - maybe to make the story more "timeless", but it felt more like "hey, things are backwards in Europe!" to me - and all signs are in English, even in Switzerland. Ten minutes into it, and it seems as though I am too easily offended to enjoy this movie already.
One big advantage is that the names which I found unbearable in my native tongue work for me in English. I don't know why, they're direct translations, but for some reason, “Silvertongue” does not feel as though someone's scraping their nails over a blackboard, “Zauberzunge” does and had me wincing, as well as “Mo”, or “Meggie”. People round here just aren't called like that. Sometimes, it just seems to me that the German author adores anglophone Fantasy and it shows in the books. Some of the names did work for me, Staubfinger is just as good as Dustfinger, for instance.
There are of course massive plot alterations, not all of them are bad. While they don't do the most sensible thing and simply go to the author to get help with obtaining a copy of Inkheart like they do in the book, they do clear up the mother-situation a lot sooner. It was not very surprising when it happened in the book, and shortening that episode makes the film more interesting for me when that part of the plot made me impatient in the books.
Some things were terribly inconsistent, like Meggie spontaneously being able to write stories as well as read people out of them, or Elinor being so completely and utterly useless when in reality she is pretty kick-ass, or the little romance they apparently shoehorned into the story at the very end. Also, I can't shake off the feeling that the movie makers missed the point of the book, the part the reader has in understanding a book and creating a fictional world, there is none or very little of that here apart fromt he skelettal basics of people being able to read characters out of books. It was obvious that they were going to simplify some parts of this already simple series even more.
As in the book, I was rather disappointed that they didn't realise the full potential of being able to read characters out of books and do something more akin to the Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny instead of wasting time to read some of the most aggravating characters in the history of Western literature out of books, like Toto, damnit. If you have a villain to dispose of, why go through all the trouble with getting a storm and whatnot if you could just read, I don't know, Superman out of the book and then sit back and watch as he saves the day? Come to think of it, why stop there? Why not get Hercules, or a humongous Mary-Sue or Greek god to help? This is of course not the movie's fault, though.
On the whole, I do like the actors they chose, though, with the possible exception of Brendan Fraser – if they wanted to have someone whose voice is so powerful that he can read characters out of the very pages of a book, I feel that they should have gotten someone who can actually read like that. I love of Pual Bettany's "Mad-Eye Moody Jr." Dustfinger, though, although this may be due to the fact that I love Paul Bettany, period, and I greatly enjoyed watching Andy "Capricorn" Serkis's face. Serkis really brought the movie to life for me, he felt most in character, and he was most interesting to watch.
All in all, it's a very colourful, pretty movie. Too fast paced, and it completely misses the point of the book, but it's pretty. Watching it is also much shorter than reading the book would be, so that's another point in favour. It does not live to the canon original, of course, but adaptations seldom do, the ending especially is an insult in it's cheesiness, but I doubt that can be avoided these days.
Book snapshots
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 11:23 pmDuring my journey back to Hamburg today, the man in the seat across mine took out his cellphone and took a picture of the book I was reading (What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew - From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England). Or my leg. I suppose it was the book, though.
This is not the first time, either - it happened before that someone sitting next to me or opposite took down the name and author of the book I was reading, and only two weeks ago an man sitting opposite took a picture of the book I was reading back then (The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England) on his cellphone after considerable neck-craning.
Good to know I'm spreading the word.
This is not the first time, either - it happened before that someone sitting next to me or opposite took down the name and author of the book I was reading, and only two weeks ago an man sitting opposite took a picture of the book I was reading back then (The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England) on his cellphone after considerable neck-craning.
Good to know I'm spreading the word.
Flak tower VI in Wilhelmsburg and ice
Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 09:16 amIf you're a member of![[info]](https://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif)
abandonedplaces, you've already seen this. The below is a Flak tower around the corner from my school - right across from the bus station, in fact. I'd love to see it from the inside, but that seems to be impossible. Up until a few years ago there was a guy who did illegal guided tours, but he seems to be retired now, and as the apparently mostly wooden interior was heavily damaged in 1947 when the L-tower was demolished, that's probably a good thing.![[info]](https://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
niaseath remains convinced that we should just take matters into our own hands, climb the fence and look for unguarded entrances, but given that those I did see didn't even have any sort of lock or doorknobs that'll probably be futile.
It's a shame that they don't use this thing. Well, they do, as a mobile phone tower, but that is not quite what I had in mind. The other Flak tower in Hamburg is now the home to several clubs and dancing venues. Surely, there must be some use for such a great big building? Restoring the thing is probably too expensive if the damage really was that great, but having a nearly sound-proof nine-storey youth club in the area might be a good idea, too. I know my students would love to have that thing as a hangout - I'm sure I would.
( A walk around the tower (10) )
Due to the recent cold, there were frozen "waterfalls" and big icicles down the northern side of the place.
( Ice (6) )
Today, I'm going back to Hamburg to be at the Lehrerprüfungsamt bright and early tomorrow to get registered for my final exam. I am terrified.
abandonedplaces, you've already seen this. The below is a Flak tower around the corner from my school - right across from the bus station, in fact. I'd love to see it from the inside, but that seems to be impossible. Up until a few years ago there was a guy who did illegal guided tours, but he seems to be retired now, and as the apparently mostly wooden interior was heavily damaged in 1947 when the L-tower was demolished, that's probably a good thing.niaseath remains convinced that we should just take matters into our own hands, climb the fence and look for unguarded entrances, but given that those I did see didn't even have any sort of lock or doorknobs that'll probably be futile.It's a shame that they don't use this thing. Well, they do, as a mobile phone tower, but that is not quite what I had in mind. The other Flak tower in Hamburg is now the home to several clubs and dancing venues. Surely, there must be some use for such a great big building? Restoring the thing is probably too expensive if the damage really was that great, but having a nearly sound-proof nine-storey youth club in the area might be a good idea, too. I know my students would love to have that thing as a hangout - I'm sure I would.
( A walk around the tower (10) )
Due to the recent cold, there were frozen "waterfalls" and big icicles down the northern side of the place.
( Ice (6) )
Today, I'm going back to Hamburg to be at the Lehrerprüfungsamt bright and early tomorrow to get registered for my final exam. I am terrified.
Screw the quests there. They combine everything I ever found annoying about WoW quests. Come to think of it, screw pretty much all the quests in the western Grizzly Hills, I did not like those in the Drakil'Jin ruins, either, although Thor Modan annoyed me most - up to twenty iron dwarfs to defeat to get to the very back of the bloody canyon, and once you've completed the first quest, you get sent back in. Then, having procured whatever stupid item they sent you in for, it's, "Oh, we forgot to mention- we need some data. Please obtain it. From the very back of the cave."
WoW quests always were like that, of course, but I have never seen mobs respawn as quickly, so occasionally you have to fight your way in, then turn around only to find that everything's respawned and you have to fight your way out again. Thanks to the fact that the spaces are so confined, you can't even simply avoid and walk around mobs, you can't use your mount because it's inside, and of course those dwarves can stun you, so running is also out of the question.
I know, it's naive, but I had so hoped that they wouldn't include so many of the "kill number x of mob y and z" with the follow-up "get x items in the same area", and the final quest "kill the leader of y"-quest chains they always do to introduce you to new mobs. I do appreciate WotLK's new found phasing abilities (the entire quests in the Ebon Hold and the Battle for the Undercity quest chain are probably the coolest I've ever done) and quests where you can mount random creatures, even though my money might have been more sensibly invested in a single-player game, as I play it mainly for the quests, not the instances, or the raids, or PvP - I think I am not really cut out for MMORPGs which are really MMOPvPs and tend to place only little importance on the RPG part.
As far as real RPGing is concerned, my brother has been trying to talk me and Crocky into starting a group for table-top gaming. I liked that while I was doing it, and he's been curious for years. Crocky's intersted, too, but seeing as none of us are very experienced and we don't know anyone who'd do the honours of GMing, it will be difficult, as one of us would have to get so very familiar with our system of choice (so far, we're leaning towards D&D 3.5). Of course, we would start with with premade campaigns to get into things, but without anyone who knows what they're doing, it's doesn't really sound as though it's going to be that much fun. Quite apart from the fact that we're in different cities and would have to game via messenger and webcam and Gametable, anyway. I'm curious about how that'll go.
WoW quests always were like that, of course, but I have never seen mobs respawn as quickly, so occasionally you have to fight your way in, then turn around only to find that everything's respawned and you have to fight your way out again. Thanks to the fact that the spaces are so confined, you can't even simply avoid and walk around mobs, you can't use your mount because it's inside, and of course those dwarves can stun you, so running is also out of the question.
I know, it's naive, but I had so hoped that they wouldn't include so many of the "kill number x of mob y and z" with the follow-up "get x items in the same area", and the final quest "kill the leader of y"-quest chains they always do to introduce you to new mobs. I do appreciate WotLK's new found phasing abilities (the entire quests in the Ebon Hold and the Battle for the Undercity quest chain are probably the coolest I've ever done) and quests where you can mount random creatures, even though my money might have been more sensibly invested in a single-player game, as I play it mainly for the quests, not the instances, or the raids, or PvP - I think I am not really cut out for MMORPGs which are really MMOPvPs and tend to place only little importance on the RPG part.
As far as real RPGing is concerned, my brother has been trying to talk me and Crocky into starting a group for table-top gaming. I liked that while I was doing it, and he's been curious for years. Crocky's intersted, too, but seeing as none of us are very experienced and we don't know anyone who'd do the honours of GMing, it will be difficult, as one of us would have to get so very familiar with our system of choice (so far, we're leaning towards D&D 3.5). Of course, we would start with with premade campaigns to get into things, but without anyone who knows what they're doing, it's doesn't really sound as though it's going to be that much fun. Quite apart from the fact that we're in different cities and would have to game via messenger and webcam and Gametable, anyway. I'm curious about how that'll go.
Moth goes exploring in suburbia
Monday, January 26th, 2009 10:19 pmSeeing as I only went into the inner city (one-hour commute) to get one signature, I took some pictures of the city and, more importantly, of an abandoned house that I've been wanting to have a closer look at for years.
( Inner city (5) )
I have been driving past this house on the bus on my way to university from my parent's place for years, and I always wondered what it looked like from the inside. When I was younger, it was still in its original state of decay, then, around 2000, the city refurbished it, but apparently abandoned the project or ran out of money half-way through and now it's just sitting there, large, beautiful, abandoned and decaying. It's really a shame - I would have liked to see it whole again. Now it's haunted by drunken teenagers who tag the place and have barbecues indoors.
( Far too many pictures of one house )
And back to work. I have to prepare tomorrow's office hour visit and catch up on sleep for the commuting marathon that awaits me.
( Inner city (5) )
I have been driving past this house on the bus on my way to university from my parent's place for years, and I always wondered what it looked like from the inside. When I was younger, it was still in its original state of decay, then, around 2000, the city refurbished it, but apparently abandoned the project or ran out of money half-way through and now it's just sitting there, large, beautiful, abandoned and decaying. It's really a shame - I would have liked to see it whole again. Now it's haunted by drunken teenagers who tag the place and have barbecues indoors.
( Far too many pictures of one house )
And back to work. I have to prepare tomorrow's office hour visit and catch up on sleep for the commuting marathon that awaits me.
Tolkien seminar
Monday, January 26th, 2009 06:09 pmThe University of Hannover is hosting the German Tolkien society's annual seminar this year. It's free, it's this April and it'll be on conflict, violence and war in Tolkin's works. The organiser is the Professor whose seminar on "literary masculinities" I was allowed to attend for kicks at Hannover university in spite of not being enrolled there (he is an awesome teacher and has worked on Tolkien, too).
I am tempted - and I'm especially looking forward to "Tolkien as war poet", "violence and song" and the talks on the "just wars". My knowledge of Tolkien's works may not be sound enough to fully appreciate everything, but I'll try.
In case any of the more Tolkieny-inclined among you are interested:
I am tempted - and I'm especially looking forward to "Tolkien as war poet", "violence and song" and the talks on the "just wars". My knowledge of Tolkien's works may not be sound enough to fully appreciate everything, but I'll try.
In case any of the more Tolkieny-inclined among you are interested:
Konflikt, Gewalt und Krieg bei Tolkien/ Conflict, Violence and War in Tolkien
24.-26. April 2009
Alle Vorträge/ All Lectures:
Hörsaal 1503.003, Erdgeschoss Conti-Gebäude, Königsworter Platz 1 (lecture theatre 1503.003, Ground Floor of Conti Building)
Friday 15:00-19:00
Saturday 9:00-19:00
Sunday 9:00-13:00.
Registration is not required.
24.-26. April 2009
Alle Vorträge/ All Lectures:
Hörsaal 1503.003, Erdgeschoss Conti-Gebäude, Königsworter Platz 1 (lecture theatre 1503.003, Ground Floor of Conti Building)
Friday 15:00-19:00
Saturday 9:00-19:00
Sunday 9:00-13:00.
Registration is not required.
Erec/Mabonagrin = OTP
Friday, January 23rd, 2009 10:07 pmHartmann writes slash, too:
( Translation )
Now, I know, male bonding, minne was a general term for love at the time this was written, the modes of feeling displayed in medieval texts are sometimes strange to our sensibilities, and Erec is all about different kinds of minne. I know that. But still.
Passionate kisses? With lances? Really?
I probably need to get from the medieval texts and get some coffee, or some fresh air.
"hie huop sich herzeminne
nâch starkem gewinne.
si minneten sunder bette:
diu minne stuont ze wette,
sweder nider gelæge,
dem wart der tôt wæge.
mit scheften si sich kusten
durch schilte zuo den brusten
mit solher minnekrefte
daz die eschînen schefte
kleine unz an die hant zekluben
und daz die spiltern ûfe stuben." (Erec, 9106-9117)
nâch starkem gewinne.
si minneten sunder bette:
diu minne stuont ze wette,
sweder nider gelæge,
dem wart der tôt wæge.
mit scheften si sich kusten
durch schilte zuo den brusten
mit solher minnekrefte
daz die eschînen schefte
kleine unz an die hant zekluben
und daz die spiltern ûfe stuben." (Erec, 9106-9117)
Now, I know, male bonding, minne was a general term for love at the time this was written, the modes of feeling displayed in medieval texts are sometimes strange to our sensibilities, and Erec is all about different kinds of minne. I know that. But still.
Passionate kisses? With lances? Really?
I probably need to get from the medieval texts and get some coffee, or some fresh air.
Into the Woods
Friday, January 23rd, 2009 11:53 amI did sort of want to go and see the University Player's production of Into the Woods, but fourthage's most recent music post made it a definite plan. I didn't know that the musical was that awesome, and I'm really curious to see what the UPs did with it, they are usually so very good.
A user on YouTube has uploaded what appears to be the entire thing - and after watching it I think "Agony" is probably my favourite song so far:
Pity I didn't manage to go this week already, now it'll have to be some time next week, and I have no clue when. It'll be a chaotic week as it is, as I have to go to two office hours that I intended to go to this week already - and could not, because the Professors had come down with the flu and cancelled. Seeing as I want to go to the premier of Crocky's play on Tuesday, I'll have to take a car-sharing-ride at 7am on Wednesday to be in Hamburg by 9am, when the office hour'll begin. And Tuesday, oooh, Tuesday is going to be awesome - go to Hamburg at 9:40am to make it to the office hour at 1pm, then take the train back to attend the premier, which begins at 7:30pm.
fourthage's most recent music post made it a definite plan. I didn't know that the musical was that awesome, and I'm really curious to see what the UPs did with it, they are usually so very good. A user on YouTube has uploaded what appears to be the entire thing - and after watching it I think "Agony" is probably my favourite song so far:
Pity I didn't manage to go this week already, now it'll have to be some time next week, and I have no clue when. It'll be a chaotic week as it is, as I have to go to two office hours that I intended to go to this week already - and could not, because the Professors had come down with the flu and cancelled. Seeing as I want to go to the premier of Crocky's play on Tuesday, I'll have to take a car-sharing-ride at 7am on Wednesday to be in Hamburg by 9am, when the office hour'll begin. And Tuesday, oooh, Tuesday is going to be awesome - go to Hamburg at 9:40am to make it to the office hour at 1pm, then take the train back to attend the premier, which begins at 7:30pm.
50 book challenge 2009
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 10:51 pm4.
2. 
1.
Going Postal, Terry Pratchett.
I decided to re-read it to find out whether I really like Spike. I am still not sure.
3.I decided to re-read it to find out whether I really like Spike. I am still not sure.
Making Money, Terry Pratchett
I wonder whether I should be worried about the fact that Spike is growing on me.
I wonder whether I should be worried about the fact that Spike is growing on me.
2.
Homosexualität und Crossdressing im Mittelalter, Stefan Micheler (ed.)
Very interesting indeed. Apparently, there were several cases of crossdressing in the middle ages, even though only a comparatively small number was documented. Women usually cross-dressed to get around being raped at war times, and men cross-dressed to avoid being killed. Women also cross-dressed to make an army appear bigger, and men to get out of warzones.
Homosexuality between men was frowned upon, though there are only few documents. Most of them are monastic documents. They have homosexuality as one sin among many and don't single it out, even though that changed as monastic tradition in Europe changed. In the beginning, they were places in which individuals who wished to isolate themselves to get more deeply in touch with god lived, each of them wanting to remove themselves from company, looking for loneliness. That changed in later years, when people started entering monasteries as children rather than adults. That shifted the structure of monasteries - suddenly, they needed to provide structure substituting families for the pueri oblati, and meant that rules to cull sexual innuendos among growing males were kept rare. This was achieved by introducing dormitories (younger brothers were placed between two older brothers) and rules about physical contact (monks were required to keep one cubit apart at all times) and nudity (outlawed - monks were encouraged not to look at their own naked body and to bathe in shrits). Active homosexual behaviour was punished heavily (by exclusion from the monastery), and "passive" homosexuality faced seven years penance.
Very interesting indeed. Apparently, there were several cases of crossdressing in the middle ages, even though only a comparatively small number was documented. Women usually cross-dressed to get around being raped at war times, and men cross-dressed to avoid being killed. Women also cross-dressed to make an army appear bigger, and men to get out of warzones.
Homosexuality between men was frowned upon, though there are only few documents. Most of them are monastic documents. They have homosexuality as one sin among many and don't single it out, even though that changed as monastic tradition in Europe changed. In the beginning, they were places in which individuals who wished to isolate themselves to get more deeply in touch with god lived, each of them wanting to remove themselves from company, looking for loneliness. That changed in later years, when people started entering monasteries as children rather than adults. That shifted the structure of monasteries - suddenly, they needed to provide structure substituting families for the pueri oblati, and meant that rules to cull sexual innuendos among growing males were kept rare. This was achieved by introducing dormitories (younger brothers were placed between two older brothers) and rules about physical contact (monks were required to keep one cubit apart at all times) and nudity (outlawed - monks were encouraged not to look at their own naked body and to bathe in shrits). Active homosexual behaviour was punished heavily (by exclusion from the monastery), and "passive" homosexuality faced seven years penance.
1.
A Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England, Ian Mortimer.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The set-up, the individual chapters, the topics, the time frame he chose - all is really good. The only thing that seriously bothered me and made me an increasingly frustrated reader is that this book is aimed exclusively at male time travellers. All the examples in which he attempts to write interaction have people adressing the traveller as "Sir", and the way he describes women makes it obvious that they are strange beings worth observing. It drove me up the wall, and I can't believe that someone who, like Mortimer, can put himself in the shoes of deeply religious plague-stricken peasants from the fourteenth century can find it so very hard to put himself in the shoes of female peasants. I suppose that one could argue that time-travellers to the fourtheenth century would be advised to appear as male as possible to avoid trouble, but I seriously doubt that he had this in mind.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. The set-up, the individual chapters, the topics, the time frame he chose - all is really good. The only thing that seriously bothered me and made me an increasingly frustrated reader is that this book is aimed exclusively at male time travellers. All the examples in which he attempts to write interaction have people adressing the traveller as "Sir", and the way he describes women makes it obvious that they are strange beings worth observing. It drove me up the wall, and I can't believe that someone who, like Mortimer, can put himself in the shoes of deeply religious plague-stricken peasants from the fourteenth century can find it so very hard to put himself in the shoes of female peasants. I suppose that one could argue that time-travellers to the fourtheenth century would be advised to appear as male as possible to avoid trouble, but I seriously doubt that he had this in mind.
Among School Children, by W. B. Yeats
Wednesday, January 21st, 2009 10:25 pm( Among School Children )
VIII
Labour is blossoming or dancing where
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul.
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
VIII
Labour is blossoming or dancing where
The body is not bruised to pleasure soul.
Nor beauty born out of its own despair,
Nor blear-eyed wisdom out of midnight oil.
O chestnut-tree, great-rooted blossomer,
Are you the leaf, the blossom or the bole?
O body swayed to music, O brightening glance,
How can we know the dancer from the dance?
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales
Saturday, January 17th, 2009 12:03 pmI've done the poster for Crocky's theatre group. Even though it was a lot of fun, I don't think I'll be doing anything like this any time soon, the spaces between the various text blocks drove me round the twist and weren't right even to the very end, and I ended up dreaming of borders, sizes and different fonts. I had to re-do it all over in the end when I made a last minute change to the font - instead of GeoSansLight I wanted to go for a more correct font for the period, but had to change it back for added legibility.
The border comes straight out of the Ellesmere manuscript, so do the pilgrims - and getting this border into poster shape was not fun, I can tell you. The tiny pilgrims unfortunately do not represent the order in which the tales will be presented on stage because I have no idea which order that will be- I now lined them up for reasons of colour and saturation rather than stage presentation. There's the Miller, Pardoner, Merchant, Reeve and Friar. Oh, and Chaucer, obviously.
The tickets, which are usually printed on coloured paper for the individual days, will look somewhat like this:
Now I only hope that the people at the copy shop will be able to print this stuff on DinA3 and DinA5 correctly without mucking it up.
Keeping all fingers crossed!
The border comes straight out of the Ellesmere manuscript, so do the pilgrims - and getting this border into poster shape was not fun, I can tell you. The tiny pilgrims unfortunately do not represent the order in which the tales will be presented on stage because I have no idea which order that will be- I now lined them up for reasons of colour and saturation rather than stage presentation. There's the Miller, Pardoner, Merchant, Reeve and Friar. Oh, and Chaucer, obviously.
The tickets, which are usually printed on coloured paper for the individual days, will look somewhat like this:
Now I only hope that the people at the copy shop will be able to print this stuff on DinA3 and DinA5 correctly without mucking it up.
Keeping all fingers crossed!
Writer's Block: Back to School
Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 11:32 am[Error: unknown template qotd]Miss Cackle's Academy for Witches, if only for the chance to lust after Ms Hardbroom up close. Other than that, Hogwarts, of course, and maybe the Unseen University. I don't think I'm enough of a girlscout or fit enough to ever get into Starfleet.
Fantasy Rants
Sunday, January 11th, 2009 09:01 pmI discovered something awesome today: Fantasy rants by limyaael on InsaneJournal, and I find myself nodding emphatically while reading a lot.
The collection of IJ memories above is a collection of essays and rants on this my favourite genre, in which she shares some of my main gripes - for example the fact that all queer couples must angst and end in tragedy, the fact that in gender equal societies, males and females both just so happen to take on our traditional gender roles and that things domestic are just not considered to be as important as warfare, the stereotypical, boring use of music in Fantasy, a plea for making heroines morehuman 3D, or the typical problems which arise when writing about oppression and oppressive socieites (she also includes a part on race and class).
There are a plethora of interesting topics she addresses, this is just a random selection of things that immediately struck me.
The collection of IJ memories above is a collection of essays and rants on this my favourite genre, in which she shares some of my main gripes - for example the fact that all queer couples must angst and end in tragedy, the fact that in gender equal societies, males and females both just so happen to take on our traditional gender roles and that things domestic are just not considered to be as important as warfare, the stereotypical, boring use of music in Fantasy, a plea for making heroines more
There are a plethora of interesting topics she addresses, this is just a random selection of things that immediately struck me.
I think our thermometer may be borken...
Sunday, January 11th, 2009 05:01 pm... or my temperature is behaving really oddly. Normal for me is 36.5°C. Huh.
Conti Werk recon
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 11:01 amYesterday morning I went to have a look at the big, scary industrial area that I did not dare to go to alone and found that I really should not have worried so much. It's in the middle of Limmer, a part of Hannover, and I'll have to be quick with going there because it is supposed to be torn down.
Also, niaseath, if we want to go there, we'll have to go on a Sunday, because there are still people who work in the main building and I am pretty worried about whether what we are doing is... well, entirely legal. There are no fences and no signs saying that it's not allowed to wander around in the abandoned buildings, but to my mind it sort of goes by common sense agreement that it's probably not - at least I wouldn't wander about on the premises of a factory which is not abandoned - so we'll have to be careful. We'll not the only ones who are going there, I ran into two people with camera bags and tripods on my way there, so it may even be allowed or at least tolerated by the authorities.
Instead of walking through that factory I was a good girl and went back to the canal nearby, which was frozen. It seems to be far colder than any winter in the last five years - at least I see far more bodies of water frozen which wouldn't usually be. To anyone who lives in an area in which it actually gets cold and in which they get a real winter, this kind of weather is probably pretty ridiculous in comparison, but to me, used to mellow maritime climate and a big, central-heated city, it's pretty exiting, although slippering along the half-melted-and-then-frozen-again pavement plainly sucks.
( Conti Werk and tramlines (3) )
I'm thinking about starting a separate blog or journal to spam pictures to save your friendslists, as I am pretty picture-happy at the moment. Somehow, Bugbitten never really worked for me, as it kept freezing and/or eating my pictures when I still used it (although that might have been the Uni computers hating the site's guts), and with Flickr I don't really like the album style that much. I'll look around for a site.
Blind by Percula
Monday, January 5th, 2009 01:53 pmThe Craft of War: BLIND from percula on Vimeo.
A Blood elf rogue-ninja-thing tries to kill Lady Onyxia. Boy, I wish it was possible to do that in-game. Niiiiinjas! Also, that song, which is not my taste in music at all, seems stuck in my head now.
Ok. Back tae Scots leid. (Also: I found an example to use in my talk. MelodeonJohn on YouTube is a Scots-speaking user who uploads videos almost daily. I am thinking about using this poem as an example, as his other entries are longer and sometimes express rather odd views. I'm putting far more work into the preparation for this talk than I should, but it's just too much fun to resist!)
The schuppin o' the Warl.
(translation by Henry Paterson Cameron, 1921)
I' the ingang God schuppit the hevin and the erd. And the erd wes wust and vide; and the mirk happit the face o' the depe: and the Gheist o' God steerit apo' the face o' the watirs.
And quo' God, Lat thar be licht: and licht wes. And God saw the licht, that it wes guid: and God sinder't the licht frae the mirk. And God ca'd the licht Day, and the mirk He ca'd Nicht. And thar wes e'enin and thar wis mornin, ae day.
And quo' God, Lat thar be a lift i' the mids o' the watirs, and lat it sinder the watirs frae the watirs. And God schuppit the lift, and sinder't the watirs whilk war aneath the lift frae the watirs whilk war abune the lift: and it wes sae. And God ca'd the lift Hevin. And thar wes e'enin and thar wes mornin, a saicond day.
( Read more... )
(translation by Henry Paterson Cameron, 1921)
I' the ingang God schuppit the hevin and the erd. And the erd wes wust and vide; and the mirk happit the face o' the depe: and the Gheist o' God steerit apo' the face o' the watirs.
And quo' God, Lat thar be licht: and licht wes. And God saw the licht, that it wes guid: and God sinder't the licht frae the mirk. And God ca'd the licht Day, and the mirk He ca'd Nicht. And thar wes e'enin and thar wis mornin, ae day.
And quo' God, Lat thar be a lift i' the mids o' the watirs, and lat it sinder the watirs frae the watirs. And God schuppit the lift, and sinder't the watirs whilk war aneath the lift frae the watirs whilk war abune the lift: and it wes sae. And God ca'd the lift Hevin. And thar wes e'enin and thar wes mornin, a saicond day.
( Read more... )
Plans for the weekend
Saturday, January 3rd, 2009 05:17 pmI realised I may need a man in my life. Preferably someone tall and impressive who lives in Hannover and has a lot of time.
This realisation came when it dawned on me there is no way I can risk traipsing around in the abandoned Conti AG Werk across town in the middle of an eerie abandoned industrial area all by myself, not even with 110 on the speed dial button.
This sucks.
As things are I'll have to wait until my little brother has time to come to Hannover. He fits the bill, he is tall and male. Not necessarily much use when fighting off evil muggers, but if he brings his tripod we'll at least have something to shake at them while I dial 110.
I really want to go there, though. Ever since I joinedabandonedplaces, urban_decay, and rural_ruin I've become increasingly jealous of the pretty pictures the members post and I want to play urban explorer and have a look at abandoned places myself.
( Directions )
This realisation came when it dawned on me there is no way I can risk traipsing around in the abandoned Conti AG Werk across town in the middle of an eerie abandoned industrial area all by myself, not even with 110 on the speed dial button.
This sucks.
As things are I'll have to wait until my little brother has time to come to Hannover. He fits the bill, he is tall and male. Not necessarily much use when fighting off evil muggers, but if he brings his tripod we'll at least have something to shake at them while I dial 110.
I really want to go there, though. Ever since I joined
abandonedplaces, urban_decay, and rural_ruin I've become increasingly jealous of the pretty pictures the members post and I want to play urban explorer and have a look at abandoned places myself.( Directions )
Happy New Year!
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 11:28 pmHappy New Year, everyone!!
Have a great night and a great year 2009!
There are already good news for the new years, too: Terry Pratchett is now Sir Terry.
Why I'm on LJ half an hour before midnight? Crocky's caught a cold and is fast asleep. I think I'll just wake her briefly at midnight and then let her sleep again and watch the fireworks in the city centre from our window.
Edit: We did watch the fireworks from our window. Our neighbourhood is thankfully full of very rocket-happy people who all live in apartment building, so more fireworks come per square meter of street than in my part of Hamburg, resulting in a multicoloured sky for hours.
( Open the window... )
Have a great night and a great year 2009!
There are already good news for the new years, too: Terry Pratchett is now Sir Terry.
Why I'm on LJ half an hour before midnight?
Edit: We did watch the fireworks from our window. Our neighbourhood is thankfully full of very rocket-happy people who all live in apartment building, so more fireworks come per square meter of street than in my part of Hamburg, resulting in a multicoloured sky for hours.
( Open the window... )
The 50 book challenge 2008 masterlist
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008 12:00 pm... in which I read too much Terry Pratchett for my own good. This entry is backdated.
★ - I really did not enjoy this book.
★★ - Not too bad, not that good either.
★★★ - Ok.
★★★★ - Very decent read.
★★★★★ - Excellent!
★ - I really did not enjoy this book.
★★ - Not too bad, not that good either.
★★★ - Ok.
★★★★ - Very decent read.
★★★★★ - Excellent!
- Wicked by Gregory Maguire - ★★★★★
- Winnie and Wolf by A. N. Wilson - ★★
- Benachteiligung gleichgeschlechtlich orientierter Personen und Paare, von Hans P. Buba - ★★★
- Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer - ★★
- Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman - ★★★★★
- The Stone Gods, by Jeanette Winterson - ★★★★
- Tintenherz, by Cornelia Funke - ★★
- A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian, by Marina Lewycka - ★★★★
- Penguin's Poems for Life, Laura Barber (ed.) - ★★★★
- Art & Lies. A Tale for Three Voices and a Bawd, Jeanette Winterson - ★★
- New Moon, by Stephanie Meyer - ★★★
- Fever Pitch, Nick Hornby - ★★★★★
- Imperium, Robert Harris - ★★★★
- Slam, by Nick Hornby - ★★★★
- Pompeii, Robert Harris - ★★★
- Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy - ★★★★★
The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane - Homeland, by R. A. Salvatore - ★
- Mein Herz so weiß,by Xavier Marias (I only half-finished this one, I'm going to finish it in '09)
- Reading Lolita in Tehran, by Azar Nafisi - ★★★★
- Middlemarch, by George Eliot - ★★
- Eric, or Little by Little, by Frederic William Farrar - ★★★
- The English Language - a guided tour of the language, by David Crystal - ★★★
- Drachen, by Joseph Nigg - ★★★
- Who cares about English Usage?, David Crystal - ★★★
- Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, David Sedaris - ★★★★
- Homoplot - The Coming-Out Story and Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Identity, by Esther Saxey - ★★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Bad Beginning, Daniel Handler - ★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Reptile Room, Daniel Handler - ★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Wide Window, Daniel Handler - ★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Miserable Mill, by Daniel Handler - ★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Austere Academy, by Daniel Handler - ★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Ersatz Elevator, by Daniel Handler - ★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Vile Village. by Daniel Handler - ★★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Carnivorous Carnival, by Daniel Handler - ★★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Slippery Slope, by Daniel Handler - ★★★★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Grim Grotto, by Daniel Handler - ★★★★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The Penultimate Peril, by Daniel Handler - ★★★★★
- A Series of Unfortunate Events - The End, by Daniel Handler - ★★★★
- Herr Lehmann, by Sven Regener - ★★★
- Slam, by Nick Hornby - ★★★★
- Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett - ★★★
- Truckers, by Terry Pratchett - ★★★★
- Diggers, by Terry Pratchett - ★★★
- Wings, by Terry Pratchett - ★★★★
- Autumn Term, by Antonia Forest - ★★★★★
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, by Muriel Sparks - ★★★★
- Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer - ★
- Sons and Lovers, D. H. Lawrence - ★★
- Artemis Fowl and the Time Paradox, Eoin Colfer - ★★
- Monstrous Regiments, Terry Pratchett - ★★★
- Nation, Terry Pratchett - ★★★
- Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris - ★★★★
- Maskerade, Terry Pratchett - ★★★
- Breakfast with Scot, by Michael Downing. ★★★★★
- I, Claudius, Robert von Ranke-Graves - ★★★★
- A Hat Full of Sky, Terry Pratchett - ★★★★
Join me in freezing my butt off
Tuesday, December 30th, 2008 06:42 pmThis entry is backdated as it's more to my information than of general interest. I am too photo-post happy of late.
It's funny, because when Crocky is here and all exited about going for a walk and exploring the neighbourhood, I hardly ever feel like it. When I come along, I have to drag myself everywhere and am usually glad when we're back home. Whenever Crocky is not around, I have curiously itchy feet and go on long, extended walks.
At 8am this morning, I decided I wanted to go for a walk and have another go at the light frost I failed to be able to take pictures of in the dark at Christmas. Fortunately, the same people who thought it was bright to build a huge intersection and a shopping district right on the middle of a cemetery which is a few centuries old also thought it would be nice to have a great big forest and so we are lucky enough to have the Eilenriede, which is one of the biggest forests within city limits in Germany. It's lovely there, but strangely busy around the time I got there with people walking their dogs or jogging or just slowly shivering along like me.
It was a bit of a surprise for me how different the Eilenriede looks in winter. I had only ever been there in July and August, and once in October, the lack of colours really came as something of a shock - everything was coated in frost or behind a slight haze.
( Cold things (13) )
Yeah. Back to work.
It's funny, because when Crocky is here and all exited about going for a walk and exploring the neighbourhood, I hardly ever feel like it. When I come along, I have to drag myself everywhere and am usually glad when we're back home. Whenever Crocky is not around, I have curiously itchy feet and go on long, extended walks.
At 8am this morning, I decided I wanted to go for a walk and have another go at the light frost I failed to be able to take pictures of in the dark at Christmas. Fortunately, the same people who thought it was bright to build a huge intersection and a shopping district right on the middle of a cemetery which is a few centuries old also thought it would be nice to have a great big forest and so we are lucky enough to have the Eilenriede, which is one of the biggest forests within city limits in Germany. It's lovely there, but strangely busy around the time I got there with people walking their dogs or jogging or just slowly shivering along like me.
It was a bit of a surprise for me how different the Eilenriede looks in winter. I had only ever been there in July and August, and once in October, the lack of colours really came as something of a shock - everything was coated in frost or behind a slight haze.
( Cold things (13) )
Yeah. Back to work.
Lovely day with my nerdy family
Saturday, December 27th, 2008 10:26 pmI had a really lovely day today. My father is kind enough to repair my computer. Its cooler had fried the motherboard and the CPU, and he's setting my PC up with a new motherboard and even better video and sound cards we still have from my brother's old PC. I really appreciate that he is willing to take so much time to set me up with a PC that I'll only be using when I'm staying with my family. My family will be using it as a data storage PC, too, so it's not for my benefit only, but I'm still extremely grateful that he's willing to do that. My brother and I tried to help, but we couldn't really, so we went and watched this movie:
In the afternoon, my mother and I looked at the algae which grow on the walls of our aquarium. There were myriads of snail's eggs in them and weird little worms we couldn't identify and (uncharacteristically for her) didn't bother to find out about. I have had a silly and over-romanticising affection for labs and microscopes ever since I was about three and I still sometimes envy my family for being able to work with microscopes on a regular basis. I'm the only one who doesn't. My father only occasionally uses them, though, and my mother analyses car accidents involving wildlife for insurances, and she has her lab with microscopes at home.
( Greenery with eggs (5) )
Later today, after dark, my brother and I scared the neighbours and passers-by by taking pictures in the dark to test my camera's abilities at night and my brother's tripod - that was awesome. There's light frost on all the plants in our garden, some of which had already started blooming because of the warm winter. Still, with or without flash, it's hard to get things focused in the dark, and my live-view function doesn't really work well with little light - so we had to use torches to make sure that our pictures were focused. I guess our neighbours are used to our crazy.
( Random plants and our front lawn (5) )
In the afternoon, my mother and I looked at the algae which grow on the walls of our aquarium. There were myriads of snail's eggs in them and weird little worms we couldn't identify and (uncharacteristically for her) didn't bother to find out about. I have had a silly and over-romanticising affection for labs and microscopes ever since I was about three and I still sometimes envy my family for being able to work with microscopes on a regular basis. I'm the only one who doesn't. My father only occasionally uses them, though, and my mother analyses car accidents involving wildlife for insurances, and she has her lab with microscopes at home.
( Greenery with eggs (5) )
Later today, after dark, my brother and I scared the neighbours and passers-by by taking pictures in the dark to test my camera's abilities at night and my brother's tripod - that was awesome. There's light frost on all the plants in our garden, some of which had already started blooming because of the warm winter. Still, with or without flash, it's hard to get things focused in the dark, and my live-view function doesn't really work well with little light - so we had to use torches to make sure that our pictures were focused. I guess our neighbours are used to our crazy.
( Random plants and our front lawn (5) )
Christmas pics
Friday, December 26th, 2008 09:39 pmPlaying around with my camera. <3 I love being able to adjust the depth of field myself again. Doesn't sound like much, but I really missed that on my auto-focusing other camera, as it was one of my main reasons why I loved my Minolta XD7 so much.
My brother and I were going to take pictures of an abandoned playing field today to try out our respective Christmas resents - but couldn't find it until after dark and had to go back. Also (and thanks a bunch, flu) my lungs are still partly blocked and I had something that felt like an asthma attack. Huh. If that doesn't change, I'll have to see a doctor about this. Holiday cheer.
Off to prepare supper with my family.
( More pics )
My brother and I were going to take pictures of an abandoned playing field today to try out our respective Christmas resents - but couldn't find it until after dark and had to go back. Also (and thanks a bunch, flu) my lungs are still partly blocked and I had something that felt like an asthma attack. Huh. If that doesn't change, I'll have to see a doctor about this. Holiday cheer.
Off to prepare supper with my family.
( More pics )
Music love
Tuesday, December 16th, 2008 09:07 amAs I said before around this time of year last year, my relationship with music is probably comparable to a minne-situation - pining for a socially superior, unattainable mistress - which translates into frustrating, and mostly short-lived, in my case. Crocky's intense enthusiasm is infective, though. You probably know that she's a trombonist (among other things), and that she's teaching kids how to play the trombone and trumpet for her brass ensemble. Around her, it's impossible not to become interested in music and instruments and brass ensembles eventually.
Seeing as there are loads of sheet music for beginners floating around here, I became more and more tempted to dabble. My whirlwind affair with my Mum's Fürst Pless Horn was cut short this summer due to lack of sheet music, patience with the wonky sounds the thing emitted in my hands, and lack of locals interested in perpetrating similar noises.
Now I am giving the trumpet a shot. Trumpet because they had a spare one at her church and because she needs her trombone rather than because it's what I always wanted to play, and it's fun so far. I doubt that I'll ever be good enough to join any kind of beginner's church ensemble, even, but I'll continue playing if only to see Crocky in her element. I always knew how important music is to her, I know how much she loves playing, but what I didn't know is that Crocky positively glows when she's teaching. No wonder her students absolutely adore her and that they're making such progress.
I have no doubt that she is and will make an excellent music teacher, and seeing her heart-felt joy about having managed to get me to play my first wobbly sounds would leave absolutely no doubt for anyone else either.
Seeing as there are loads of sheet music for beginners floating around here, I became more and more tempted to dabble. My whirlwind affair with my Mum's Fürst Pless Horn was cut short this summer due to lack of sheet music, patience with the wonky sounds the thing emitted in my hands, and lack of locals interested in perpetrating similar noises.
Now I am giving the trumpet a shot. Trumpet because they had a spare one at her church and because she needs her trombone rather than because it's what I always wanted to play, and it's fun so far. I doubt that I'll ever be good enough to join any kind of beginner's church ensemble, even, but I'll continue playing if only to see Crocky in her element. I always knew how important music is to her, I know how much she loves playing, but what I didn't know is that Crocky positively glows when she's teaching. No wonder her students absolutely adore her and that they're making such progress.
I have no doubt that she is and will make an excellent music teacher, and seeing her heart-felt joy about having managed to get me to play my first wobbly sounds would leave absolutely no doubt for anyone else either.
Wtf, teaching ?
Sunday, December 14th, 2008 07:24 pmI hope you all still believe in Santa, because apparently, you can be fired for saying that he doesn't exist. A few days ago, someone on teaching posted a video about the case of the substitute primary teacher to whom exactly this happened, which apparently left a class of seven-year olds "in tears". Awww.
I bet. The entire class.
Please.
Could she have handled it more tactfully than straight out telling them? Definitely. Should she be fired because of that? I don't think so.
Even during my really sheltered childhood I found out that Santa doesn't exist from other kids during my first year at school, which was when I was six years old. If I am not mistaken, students start school at age five in the UK, don't they?
So these kids were told that Santa doesn't exist during their second or third year at primary school and the parents complain?
And as if this entire case is not already WTFy enough, people inteaching support the school's reaction, saying that she abused the trust placed in her, that she disrespected their family's customs, and by telling them she shattered the kids' innocence, and that it's just like smacking a child in the face. Oh, Santa is also a belief system like Christianity and too good a motivator to pass up.
Seriously.
I liked believing in the Christkind bringing the presents, but it's not as though my entire childhood was over when I found out that it didn't. In fact, I felt as though I had just matured because I stopped believing in something that the uninitiated little kids like my younger friends still believed in.
The amount of importance people place on kids' belief in Santa is really unnerving. Clearly, they want to believe more than their kids do, and that's a trait that I find mildly disturbing in people who are supposed to teach a generation critical thinking.
teaching posted a video about the case of the substitute primary teacher to whom exactly this happened, which apparently left a class of seven-year olds "in tears". Awww. I bet. The entire class.
Please.
Could she have handled it more tactfully than straight out telling them? Definitely. Should she be fired because of that? I don't think so.
Even during my really sheltered childhood I found out that Santa doesn't exist from other kids during my first year at school, which was when I was six years old. If I am not mistaken, students start school at age five in the UK, don't they?
So these kids were told that Santa doesn't exist during their second or third year at primary school and the parents complain?
And as if this entire case is not already WTFy enough, people in
teaching support the school's reaction, saying that she abused the trust placed in her, that she disrespected their family's customs, and by telling them she shattered the kids' innocence, and that it's just like smacking a child in the face. Oh, Santa is also a belief system like Christianity and too good a motivator to pass up. Seriously.
I liked believing in the Christkind bringing the presents, but it's not as though my entire childhood was over when I found out that it didn't. In fact, I felt as though I had just matured because I stopped believing in something that the uninitiated little kids like my younger friends still believed in.
The amount of importance people place on kids' belief in Santa is really unnerving. Clearly, they want to believe more than their kids do, and that's a trait that I find mildly disturbing in people who are supposed to teach a generation critical thinking.