Snow Day!
Today is an official snow day for every school district in town, including UCCS (as opposed to an "unofficial snowday" when I just don't feel like going to school). So far, all I've done today is shovel snow and work on grammar homework. Snow days used to be the perfect time for sledding when I was a kid, but it seems that I've outgrown that pastime. Growing up is difficult. At least I didn't have to go to class, though!
Sunday, January 30, 2005
Life Begins Again
On Tuesday, January 25th, Jimmy Chamberlin released his first solo album: Life Begins Again. I first heard about the album online a few months ago, and since then I have been excitedly awaiting its release. Jimmy was the drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins, and I have always been intrigued and inspired by his skill. As far as I know, very few drummers (if any) have ever released solo albums, so this CD was even more interesting to me. My copy came in the mail a few days ago (and since I pre-ordered it from his official site, he autographed the cover. So now I have Billy Corgan's autograph and Jimmy's. Very cool).
Jimmy wrote all of the lyrics for the album, although he does not sing. Only five of the eleven tracks have vocals, at all, actually. The overall feel of the album is, as my brother put it, "peacefully chaotic;" sometimes Jimmy's drumming will sound insanely fast and complex, yet the background guitar and piano add a serene quality to the songs (it's impossible to explain until you hear a few songs). The songs that incorporate vocals sound like traditional rock songs, but the instrumental songs, for the most part, have a jazz-like quality (Jimmy began his career before he joined the Smashing Pumpkins as a jazz drummer, so I guess it's no surprise).
Billy Mohler (vocals, bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums)
Billy Corgan provides the vocals for the song Loki Cat, one of the highlights of the album. This album is interesting on many levels, but the complexity of the drums on every song is what mainly fascinates me.
On Tuesday, January 25th, Jimmy Chamberlin released his first solo album: Life Begins Again. I first heard about the album online a few months ago, and since then I have been excitedly awaiting its release. Jimmy was the drummer for the Smashing Pumpkins, and I have always been intrigued and inspired by his skill. As far as I know, very few drummers (if any) have ever released solo albums, so this CD was even more interesting to me. My copy came in the mail a few days ago (and since I pre-ordered it from his official site, he autographed the cover. So now I have Billy Corgan's autograph and Jimmy's. Very cool).
Jimmy wrote all of the lyrics for the album, although he does not sing. Only five of the eleven tracks have vocals, at all, actually. The overall feel of the album is, as my brother put it, "peacefully chaotic;" sometimes Jimmy's drumming will sound insanely fast and complex, yet the background guitar and piano add a serene quality to the songs (it's impossible to explain until you hear a few songs). The songs that incorporate vocals sound like traditional rock songs, but the instrumental songs, for the most part, have a jazz-like quality (Jimmy began his career before he joined the Smashing Pumpkins as a jazz drummer, so I guess it's no surprise).
Billy Mohler (vocals, bass) and Jimmy Chamberlin (drums)
Billy Corgan provides the vocals for the song Loki Cat, one of the highlights of the album. This album is interesting on many levels, but the complexity of the drums on every song is what mainly fascinates me.
Sunday, January 23, 2005
Spring 2005 Semester
I had my first classes of the new semester last week. Just to kill the suspense: I really like them all, and I'm certain that I will be sufficiently challenged (and at times overly challenged, I suspect).
Tuesday:
My first class was Chaucer, with Dr. Napierkowski. I've often wondered why UCCS would require all English majors to take a class on Chaucer: I read a decent portion of the Canterbury Tales in high school and did not find them to be particularly wonderful in any respect. The editions I read were in modern English, though, and Dr. Napierkowski stated again and again last week that all modernizations cannot even come close to representing the original middle English version. He even believes that Chaucer's poetry is superior to Shakespeare's. Having read Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen two semesters ago in Renaissance literature, I'm used to struggling through every line, so I have a good idea of what to expect.
I had advanced grammar with the other Dr. Napierkowski afterward (wife of my Chaucer professor). I have never taken a grammar class before or even an English class that emphasized grammar (unless you count English IV in high school when we learned the difference between independent and dependent clauses). I am able to write a ten page research paper without a single grammatical error, but I only know the rules from analyzing the writing of others. I can't point to a sentence and pick out predicate . . . whatevers . . . and demonstrative . . . things . . . or recite the list of correct ways to use semicolons. This class will remedy that, hopefully. I can already tell after only two periods that it will be a huge challenge. The funny thing is that I'm not even required to take the course! I really want to, though, so when I graduate and tell people that I have a degree in English I will have the knowledge of the mechanics of the English language that everyone expects an English major to possess (if that makes any sense at all).
Wednesday:
Advanced composition at 8 AM? Am I insane? Yes, I must be to have signed up for a class that early, since I have to leave my house at 7 AM to get a decent parking place. Advanced comp sounds quite a bit like English IV in high school; I'll have to write tons of papers then get into a group with other students and discuss them. Sounds cool.
Directly after, I had a gen-ed class called critical thinking. The professor, a middle-aged, extremely short and up-beat woman, was entertaining even though the subject material was not. For one thing, she kept switching to a strong British accent every few minutes, and she constantly used British slang. She kept calling students "chap," and "old boy." I'm really not sure if she was trying to be funny or if she has some type of personality disorder. I dropped that class. I did so mainly because I can take care of that gen-ed requirement in another way, but also because every class period, each of the fifty or so students in the class will have to go up to the board and work out a logic problem from the homework. I can't image the tedium of watching fifty people take turns doing problems we already did for homework. The professor said, with all seriousness, that she wouldn't leave anyone out. Never in all her years of teaching had she forgotten to "let" a student come up to the board and do a problem. I could deal with the "fish and chips" crap from the professor, but the class itself . . . no further comments.
Now for the class that I'll most likely enjoy the most (because of the subject) and hate the most (because of the sheer amount of reading required): contemporary British and American novels seminar (it's a senior/graduate level class). We will read numerous novels, most over 300 pages and two or three over 500, then discuss them in class and write a 15 page paper near the end of the semester and do a presentation over it. I read two of the required novels over Christmas break thinking that I would really be ahead, but it turns out that I read the last two novels we will be reading, and according to professor Pellow they are by far the easiest we will read. Grrrr.
One great thing about this semester: my classes will be over by 12:05 PM every day, so I'll always have time to come home, eat, and do a little homework before I go to work. Also, I don't have any classes on Friday (also my day off of work).
I had my first classes of the new semester last week. Just to kill the suspense: I really like them all, and I'm certain that I will be sufficiently challenged (and at times overly challenged, I suspect).
Tuesday:
My first class was Chaucer, with Dr. Napierkowski. I've often wondered why UCCS would require all English majors to take a class on Chaucer: I read a decent portion of the Canterbury Tales in high school and did not find them to be particularly wonderful in any respect. The editions I read were in modern English, though, and Dr. Napierkowski stated again and again last week that all modernizations cannot even come close to representing the original middle English version. He even believes that Chaucer's poetry is superior to Shakespeare's. Having read Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queen two semesters ago in Renaissance literature, I'm used to struggling through every line, so I have a good idea of what to expect.
I had advanced grammar with the other Dr. Napierkowski afterward (wife of my Chaucer professor). I have never taken a grammar class before or even an English class that emphasized grammar (unless you count English IV in high school when we learned the difference between independent and dependent clauses). I am able to write a ten page research paper without a single grammatical error, but I only know the rules from analyzing the writing of others. I can't point to a sentence and pick out predicate . . . whatevers . . . and demonstrative . . . things . . . or recite the list of correct ways to use semicolons. This class will remedy that, hopefully. I can already tell after only two periods that it will be a huge challenge. The funny thing is that I'm not even required to take the course! I really want to, though, so when I graduate and tell people that I have a degree in English I will have the knowledge of the mechanics of the English language that everyone expects an English major to possess (if that makes any sense at all).
Wednesday:
Advanced composition at 8 AM? Am I insane? Yes, I must be to have signed up for a class that early, since I have to leave my house at 7 AM to get a decent parking place. Advanced comp sounds quite a bit like English IV in high school; I'll have to write tons of papers then get into a group with other students and discuss them. Sounds cool.
Directly after, I had a gen-ed class called critical thinking. The professor, a middle-aged, extremely short and up-beat woman, was entertaining even though the subject material was not. For one thing, she kept switching to a strong British accent every few minutes, and she constantly used British slang. She kept calling students "chap," and "old boy." I'm really not sure if she was trying to be funny or if she has some type of personality disorder. I dropped that class. I did so mainly because I can take care of that gen-ed requirement in another way, but also because every class period, each of the fifty or so students in the class will have to go up to the board and work out a logic problem from the homework. I can't image the tedium of watching fifty people take turns doing problems we already did for homework. The professor said, with all seriousness, that she wouldn't leave anyone out. Never in all her years of teaching had she forgotten to "let" a student come up to the board and do a problem. I could deal with the "fish and chips" crap from the professor, but the class itself . . . no further comments.
Now for the class that I'll most likely enjoy the most (because of the subject) and hate the most (because of the sheer amount of reading required): contemporary British and American novels seminar (it's a senior/graduate level class). We will read numerous novels, most over 300 pages and two or three over 500, then discuss them in class and write a 15 page paper near the end of the semester and do a presentation over it. I read two of the required novels over Christmas break thinking that I would really be ahead, but it turns out that I read the last two novels we will be reading, and according to professor Pellow they are by far the easiest we will read. Grrrr.
One great thing about this semester: my classes will be over by 12:05 PM every day, so I'll always have time to come home, eat, and do a little homework before I go to work. Also, I don't have any classes on Friday (also my day off of work).
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Reading News
A Coming of Age
Timothy Zahn
78%
Vengeance of Orion
Ben Bova
71%
No One Writes to the Colonel
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
65%
Rogue Squadron
Michael A. Stackpole
69%
Reunion
Alan Lightman
80%
The Photograph
Penelope Lively
67%
A Coming of Age
Timothy Zahn
78%
Vengeance of Orion
Ben Bova
71%
No One Writes to the Colonel
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
65%
Rogue Squadron
Michael A. Stackpole
69%
Reunion
Alan Lightman
80%
The Photograph
Penelope Lively
67%
Sunday, January 09, 2005
Movie News
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004
91%
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004
90%
Garden State
2004
88%
Meet the Fockers
2004
62%
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
2004
91%
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
2004
90%
Garden State
2004
88%
Meet the Fockers
2004
62%
Saturday, January 01, 2005
Texas Christmas 2004
This post will most likely be terribly boring. It is shorter than vacation videos, though, and I promise not to insert every detail.
Saturday, 12-25-04
We left for Lubbock around 8:30 A.M. The drive was not as bad as usual because I had my I-Pod with me; I basically had every good CD I own to listen to, as well as about 50 hours of old radio shows. Also, my Dad brought his laptop along, and we spent the last hour of the trip watching Seinfeld. We eventually made it to Lubbock, rested awhile at my Granddad’s house, ate dinner at my uncle Chuck’s house, then returned to my Granddad’s for the night.
Sunday, 12-26
I woke up late and wasted a few hours waiting for my good ol’ pal Jared to arrive. We went to Barnes & Noble and browsed their extensive collection of sci-fi and fantasy novels, as well as drama, philosophy etc. (a long-held tradition of ours).
Jared reads his favorite LeTourneau quotes
We met Joe and Jared’s brother Brett there, then Jared and I went to Hastings while Joe and Brett went to the theater to buy movie tickets for us. When we arrived at the theater, we saw four fire trucks and a mob of people standing out front. We called Brett’s cell phone from a nearby payphone and found out that the theater had just had some sort of electrical fire. We went to another theater and saw Meet the Fockers, then we returned to my Granddad’s house and ate a excellent dinner (i.e. mostly meat). We played poker and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dead Like Me, and Undergrads.
Joe, a.k.a. "Big Chips"
Poker made us all hungry, so around midnight we drove to McDonald’s. On the way there, Jared almost hit a dead German shepherd in the street. He seemed casual about the incident, but it really startled me (I was half-asleep after all). We watched a few more hours of TV shows then went to sleep.
Monday, 12-27
I started packing so that we could leave for Abilene to visit my Dad’s parents. I had a very difficult time waking Jared: I spent a few minutes calling his name and kicking his legs until I gave up and told Brett to wake him. Brett threw DVD cases at him then sat on his stomach . . . a cruel method, but Jared’s used to it (and much worse). The drive to Abilene wasn’t too bad: I took a nap for awhile then listened to radio shows on my I-Pod. We arrived, greeted my grandparents, ate a traditional Christmas meal, then opened presents (I received a nice wallet).
My granddad and my Dad try to fold a "Quillow," a crazy Amish invention
I’ve never liked going to Abilene, mainly because there’s absolutely nothing to do. I normally spend my time there watching TV and trying not to get irritated when my grandmother chastises me over using too many cups or wasting part of my meal. In the evening my Dad stayed to chat with my grandparents and the rest of us went to the world-famous Abilene mall. Joe and I looked around in a music store and a bookstore, and my mom and sister shopped for shoes. On the way back we grabbed some food from Wienerschnitzel (I had never eaten there before, but it wasn’t too bad for fast food). We parked in front of my grandparent’s house and ate in the van. My granddad is a health nut and he has gotten mad at us in the past for eating fast food. We threw our trash into a dumpster in front of the house so he wouldn’t get suspicious. As far as my granddad knows, no one in my family has touched fast food in ten years.
Tuesday, 12-28
I spent the day being bored, bored, bored, ad infinitum. I was so bored that I didn’t even feel like reading or listening to music. Joe languished in bed for a large portion of the day, until finally my Grandmother asked: “Joseph, have you been eating too much candy?” He got the message and got up to watch TV.
Making beds helps pass the time
I counted the hours until it was time to return to Lubbock. At least the drive back was nice and quick.
Wednesday, 12-29
Jared arrived around noon, and we drove to Rosa’s Café and brought back food for everyone. We later dropped a few suitcases off at his grandparent’s house and went to Best Buy. Brett met us there and we browsed the store for awhile. Jared drove his truck and Brett drove his 4-door Chevy back and for some reason they decided to race. Brett, of course, started it. In his desperation to beat Brett, Jared ran a red light. The light had been red for a good fifteen seconds or so, but Jared didn’t even see the light until we were almost through it (in his defense, it was a very strange intersection. I’m just glad we’re not dead). We went to Barnes & Noble again and spent a long time there: I used my gift card on books, and Jared bought a board game called “Dirty Minds.”
Joe and Brett played with us when we returned to my granddad’s, and we all had a great, if somewhat nasty, time. The gameplay mechanics aren’t very good: you have to answer questions and collect cards to spell the word “dirty.”
Brett, dirtiest of all minds
Jared won after about five minutes of play and proceeded to spell “dirty” four times before I had even spelled it once. It’s entertaining because the questions are so ridiculous; they all sound perverted but the real answers are commonplace items or professions, such as a light-bulb, manicurist, etc. Here’s a sample question:
- I try to do it with sheep.
- I try all night to get the right position.
- I only sleep in snatches.
Answer: insomniac
This is one of the more innocuous questions (some sound so dirty that I’d never willingly repeat them. Blame Jared).
Dirty, dirty
After dinner we all went to uncle Chuck’s for poker. It was awesome because my uncle had a real poker table and high-quality chips. My cousin Megan invited four of her high school friends over to play with us, much to my displeasure. At first I was extremely annoyed; the whole reason I had suggested a poker night in the first place was so that I could spend time with my uncle, my granddad, and Jared, but we had so many people that we split up into two tables.
Granddad and Joe, poker faces
Brett, my uncle, Megan, and I played against two highschool sophomore guys. My uncle lost all his money first, and I followed soon after. We were only playing for $5 each, so it wasn’t a big deal. I wandered over to the other table and watched everyone else for awhile. Joe lost all his money, then Jared. They both played well, but those friggin' highschoolers knew what they were doing. We left, and I later learned that one of the highschool guys came in first place. I can’t believe I lost my money to some kid I’ll never see again. How demoralizing.
The kid who took our money
Once back at my granddad’s house, I found a bottle of peach Schnapps in his pantry and poured myself half a glass. It tasted like cough syrup. As I tightened the cap back on the bottle, the plastic cracked. I wanted to simply place the bottle back on the shelf and pretend that nothing had happened, but Joe told me that I should confess. Over the summer Joe swiped a few cans of beer from my Granddad, and he didn’t want him to think that he was an alcoholic, hence his urging me to turn myself in so the blame didn’t fall on him. When my Granddad returned from the poker game, I told him about breaking the cap and he started laughing: he said that that bottle had been in his pantry for fifteen years! He hoped that I wouldn’t get sick from it. At least I wasn’t in trouble. We watched some of Amadeus, then Garden State, and finished up the evening with another episode of Dead Like Me.
Thursday, 12-30
I woke up early, packed, got Brett to wake Jared, then we drove home. It’s good to be back home!
This post will most likely be terribly boring. It is shorter than vacation videos, though, and I promise not to insert every detail.
Saturday, 12-25-04
We left for Lubbock around 8:30 A.M. The drive was not as bad as usual because I had my I-Pod with me; I basically had every good CD I own to listen to, as well as about 50 hours of old radio shows. Also, my Dad brought his laptop along, and we spent the last hour of the trip watching Seinfeld. We eventually made it to Lubbock, rested awhile at my Granddad’s house, ate dinner at my uncle Chuck’s house, then returned to my Granddad’s for the night.
Sunday, 12-26
I woke up late and wasted a few hours waiting for my good ol’ pal Jared to arrive. We went to Barnes & Noble and browsed their extensive collection of sci-fi and fantasy novels, as well as drama, philosophy etc. (a long-held tradition of ours).
Jared reads his favorite LeTourneau quotes
We met Joe and Jared’s brother Brett there, then Jared and I went to Hastings while Joe and Brett went to the theater to buy movie tickets for us. When we arrived at the theater, we saw four fire trucks and a mob of people standing out front. We called Brett’s cell phone from a nearby payphone and found out that the theater had just had some sort of electrical fire. We went to another theater and saw Meet the Fockers, then we returned to my Granddad’s house and ate a excellent dinner (i.e. mostly meat). We played poker and watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Dead Like Me, and Undergrads.
Joe, a.k.a. "Big Chips"
Poker made us all hungry, so around midnight we drove to McDonald’s. On the way there, Jared almost hit a dead German shepherd in the street. He seemed casual about the incident, but it really startled me (I was half-asleep after all). We watched a few more hours of TV shows then went to sleep.
Monday, 12-27
I started packing so that we could leave for Abilene to visit my Dad’s parents. I had a very difficult time waking Jared: I spent a few minutes calling his name and kicking his legs until I gave up and told Brett to wake him. Brett threw DVD cases at him then sat on his stomach . . . a cruel method, but Jared’s used to it (and much worse). The drive to Abilene wasn’t too bad: I took a nap for awhile then listened to radio shows on my I-Pod. We arrived, greeted my grandparents, ate a traditional Christmas meal, then opened presents (I received a nice wallet).
My granddad and my Dad try to fold a "Quillow," a crazy Amish invention
I’ve never liked going to Abilene, mainly because there’s absolutely nothing to do. I normally spend my time there watching TV and trying not to get irritated when my grandmother chastises me over using too many cups or wasting part of my meal. In the evening my Dad stayed to chat with my grandparents and the rest of us went to the world-famous Abilene mall. Joe and I looked around in a music store and a bookstore, and my mom and sister shopped for shoes. On the way back we grabbed some food from Wienerschnitzel (I had never eaten there before, but it wasn’t too bad for fast food). We parked in front of my grandparent’s house and ate in the van. My granddad is a health nut and he has gotten mad at us in the past for eating fast food. We threw our trash into a dumpster in front of the house so he wouldn’t get suspicious. As far as my granddad knows, no one in my family has touched fast food in ten years.
Tuesday, 12-28
I spent the day being bored, bored, bored, ad infinitum. I was so bored that I didn’t even feel like reading or listening to music. Joe languished in bed for a large portion of the day, until finally my Grandmother asked: “Joseph, have you been eating too much candy?” He got the message and got up to watch TV.
Making beds helps pass the time
I counted the hours until it was time to return to Lubbock. At least the drive back was nice and quick.
Wednesday, 12-29
Jared arrived around noon, and we drove to Rosa’s Café and brought back food for everyone. We later dropped a few suitcases off at his grandparent’s house and went to Best Buy. Brett met us there and we browsed the store for awhile. Jared drove his truck and Brett drove his 4-door Chevy back and for some reason they decided to race. Brett, of course, started it. In his desperation to beat Brett, Jared ran a red light. The light had been red for a good fifteen seconds or so, but Jared didn’t even see the light until we were almost through it (in his defense, it was a very strange intersection. I’m just glad we’re not dead). We went to Barnes & Noble again and spent a long time there: I used my gift card on books, and Jared bought a board game called “Dirty Minds.”
Joe and Brett played with us when we returned to my granddad’s, and we all had a great, if somewhat nasty, time. The gameplay mechanics aren’t very good: you have to answer questions and collect cards to spell the word “dirty.”
Brett, dirtiest of all minds
Jared won after about five minutes of play and proceeded to spell “dirty” four times before I had even spelled it once. It’s entertaining because the questions are so ridiculous; they all sound perverted but the real answers are commonplace items or professions, such as a light-bulb, manicurist, etc. Here’s a sample question:
- I try to do it with sheep.
- I try all night to get the right position.
- I only sleep in snatches.
Answer: insomniac
This is one of the more innocuous questions (some sound so dirty that I’d never willingly repeat them. Blame Jared).
Dirty, dirty
After dinner we all went to uncle Chuck’s for poker. It was awesome because my uncle had a real poker table and high-quality chips. My cousin Megan invited four of her high school friends over to play with us, much to my displeasure. At first I was extremely annoyed; the whole reason I had suggested a poker night in the first place was so that I could spend time with my uncle, my granddad, and Jared, but we had so many people that we split up into two tables.
Granddad and Joe, poker faces
Brett, my uncle, Megan, and I played against two highschool sophomore guys. My uncle lost all his money first, and I followed soon after. We were only playing for $5 each, so it wasn’t a big deal. I wandered over to the other table and watched everyone else for awhile. Joe lost all his money, then Jared. They both played well, but those friggin' highschoolers knew what they were doing. We left, and I later learned that one of the highschool guys came in first place. I can’t believe I lost my money to some kid I’ll never see again. How demoralizing.
The kid who took our money
Once back at my granddad’s house, I found a bottle of peach Schnapps in his pantry and poured myself half a glass. It tasted like cough syrup. As I tightened the cap back on the bottle, the plastic cracked. I wanted to simply place the bottle back on the shelf and pretend that nothing had happened, but Joe told me that I should confess. Over the summer Joe swiped a few cans of beer from my Granddad, and he didn’t want him to think that he was an alcoholic, hence his urging me to turn myself in so the blame didn’t fall on him. When my Granddad returned from the poker game, I told him about breaking the cap and he started laughing: he said that that bottle had been in his pantry for fifteen years! He hoped that I wouldn’t get sick from it. At least I wasn’t in trouble. We watched some of Amadeus, then Garden State, and finished up the evening with another episode of Dead Like Me.
Thursday, 12-30
I woke up early, packed, got Brett to wake Jared, then we drove home. It’s good to be back home!
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