Poem of the Day

Pic is of the board at Mountain Sun a month or so back. Makes me want to learn to fly an old plane.

This poem was in last week's Writer's Almanac, and I like it very much. Although it makes me very sad too. It really fits my dad, except that thankfully he is still around to talk about ratchet wrenches. And thingamabobs.

Hardware

My father always knew the secret
name of everything--
stove bolt and wing nut,
set screw and rasp, ratchet
wrench, band saw, and ball
peen hammer. He was my
tour guide and translator
through that foreign country
with its short-tempered natives
in their crew cuts and tattoos,
who suffered my incompetence
with gruffness and disgust.
Pay attention, he would say,
and you'll learn a thing or two.

Now it's forty years later,
and I'm packing up his tools
(If you know the proper
names of things you're never
at a loss) tongue-tied, incompetent,
my hands and heart full
of doohickeys and widgets,
watchamacallits, thingamabobs.
~ Ronald Wallace

Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right . . .

"How about a magic trick? I'm going to make a pencil disappear . . ." Oh, what a great scene. So marvelous. I found that bit hilarious, which may indicate that I am all dark and twisty inside.

Confession: I am mostly writing this blog entry because I wanted to use the title. I've been playing around with the iTunes Genius function and it's just great. Keeps throwing stuff at me that I love to hear on the radio but never remember to add to my collection. Of course, the genius had its first major fumble today as well - I created a playlist based off of John Lennon's Imagine and it put a Britney Spears song on there. I think it was Lucky. The genius still needs some socializing.

In other news, my DVR is stubbornly resisting recording new House episodes, and I keep forgetting that it is failing to perform its one function in life, and I keep having to watch them online. This is generally through something called MegaVideo which likes to click me through to AdultFriendFinder and shows me pictures of busty women who desperately need makeovers. It's annoying. But that PI on the show is so yummy! Mmm, yummy. Also - House as a cheerleader = priceless.

I have a very clever idea for an Etsy shop. I'm not revealing it on the interwebs yet, but oh, is it clever. I've locked in a store name and a gmail account, so we shall see soon! I'm excited. I want to see if I can have more than one shop - I know they each need a separate e-maill adress but I don't know if they crosscheck other stuff too. I'd like to keep this brand separate from my other ideas. It's just too clear of an idea to muddy with other crazy thoughts. Can you imagine if I actually managed to make some money on Etsy? How random and how great would that be? I never even considered such a thing, but this just might sell.

Today in my Planning Issues and Processes class we were discussing transit, and the group leading the discussion asked if the congestion in LA was as bad as it was in the 70s (yes) and asked what alternatives there were. A clever guy at the back of the room was like, "Yes, the alternative is called Colorado and Texas." Oh California, you crack me up. Now go home. I keed, I keed. But seriouslt, the number of incredibly thoughtful and intelligent people in the program is amazing and humbling. I've got a lot to learn! I'm going to do a little mini-project this week for my methods class and sit outside various Whole Foods and King Soopers and see how many people leave with reusable bags vs. plastic or paper. I wonder what I will find? I'm thinking the Boulder Whole Foods, S. Boulder King Soopers, Superior Whole Foods, and Louisville King Soopers. I have like 4 days, so yeah. I could do something up at RMNP tomorrow instead, like maybe interview elk. "Hello, Mr. Bull Elk. Is the bugling getting you any? How do the ladies like your rack? In humans it's the ladies who have the racks, har har. Oh, just a little people humor, sorry." Yeah, I think doing something with the elk might be more wildlife study than planning oriented.

I will leave you with this moment of zen, and the inspiration for the foray into the hills. Pic is from the Folks Fest in Lyons this summer.

GREing

Welp, I took my GRE. I got a 750 on Verbal; the 99th percentile starts at 740, so I'm pretty pleased with that. Although, for the record, every such assessment I've ever taken has actually failed to measure my ability - I max them out, which means I'm not getting an actual sense of where I am. One day it would nice to know exactly what increment of 1% I fall into . . . . Math was a particularly dreadful episode in the ongoing saga of Lisa-only-studies-math-when-she-has-to. Sad days. Not reporting that score, but the math on this test is super-duper easy so don't be worried if you have to take it! Just study for oh - four hours would have helped, I bet.

Anyway, I'm nicely above what I need for CU Denver's Public Affairs school, so that's all fine. And done! My LSAT students are about to take the October LSAT too, so my life is freeing up a bit. I'm excited to be able to focus more energy on my two Planning classes - I'm loving them, the lectures, the readings, all great. It's a good fit.

Sam is running up and down the stairs and wants to know why I love the internets more than a real live kitty, so I should run. I hope you like the pic - it's by this artist on Etsy, love her work. Colorado native!

Running!

I just had a running breakthrough! The route I've been trying to run is off my back deck, around the townhouses to Greenbriar, up to Lehigh, right on Julliard, and up Gillaspie, back to Greenbriar, and around to the back deck again. It looks like this and is about 2.2 miles long. Now, normally (as in every other time) I can run for maybe 2-3 minutes and then have to stop, mostly due to: a) graying out and eventually tunnel vision b) feeling like I need more air c) stabbing sharp pain in right side and/or shoulder d) all of the above and a loss the will to live.

But today - oh today. Let me tell you about today. I ran off the back deck and over to Redstone Lane - without stopping. Which is about a mile. I walked for about a minute and then ran around and started down Julliard which is when the stitch set in, annoying. Supposedly that's caused by your liver being pulled on by the diaphragm and the shoulder is deferred nerve pain. I tried doing some really deep breathing, like for crazy arias, and it died down! Everyone try that. Anyway, I then proceeded to run up Gillaspie and back to my house without stopping. Who knew I could do that??? Not me. I should note that I was running pretty damn slow, but I normally run slow! AND stop! So there. Watch out, I'm gonna do a 5k sometime soon, nothing to it. And then a 10k. And then, Pinky, we'll do what we always do - try to take over the world.

And this is the outfit I wore while running. So hot. I think it helped me keep going due to the extreme embarassment factor.

Nah, this is actually when I went rafting on the the Upper Arkansas with Meredith! Granite, Pine Creek and the Numbers, technical Category Vs in paddle boats. Yum yum. Want to go back and do those babies in high water! Anyway, the pic portrays my current mental state pretty well.

Websites and Applications

This is a handprinted relief print by an artist on Etsy.com. I laughed for about a minute when I found it. Unfortunately it was sold out, but don't you worry - there is a LOT of really cool stuff on this site, and most of it is bizarrely affordable as well. For those of you unfamiliar with the site, eveything on it is handmade. Crazy fun! Thanks to Jennie for enabling me to spend lots of time ogling and drooling.

And thanks to Tanya for introducing me to zenhabits, a great resource for cultivating all those positive habits we wish we had and actually achieving goals. And setting goals. Etc.

Speaking of goals, I need to apply to grad school! Like now! Oops!

I'm freaking out, man. Note: I quoted this last night to my LSAT students and added in "These schnozberries taste like schnozberries" and "Uh - do we sell litercola?" and NO ONE GOT IT. This is what is wrong with the youth of today. A tragic lack of film lit.

Anyway, I need to get rec letters, write an essay, fill out forms, find my tax info, do the FAFSA, have a heart attack . . . and ideally all by October 1st - hahahahaha - but definitely by October 15th. Oh, and I take the GRE September 30th, which I'm sure I will do fine on, but I'd kind of like to destroy and emerge all victorious. Picture me as River and the GRE as the Reavers. That is what I am going for. Also I am trying to have some kind of social life and work out. I think maybe I want to try to be a runner and try to yoga every day. Crazy? Maybe, but I remember what it felt like to just be able to run, and it rocked. Also, doing yoga helps me be more productive and blisses my brain out, and I love that feeling too. Plus the continued quest toward being in shape.

I miss everyone far away. I dunno if you guys read this, but I think you should and then start blogs of your own if you don't have them.

Love and kisssies!

I love this . . .

Don't have much time - I will try to write soon. But I wanted to share this with everyone.

Ecuador!

As you all know, I am traveling around with my friend Melinda in Ecuador! We are having a wonderful time thus far - we are based out of the Colonial district of Quito and we are staying in Mel's friend Marco's parent's house, which is huge and a great place to stay. Marco has been amazing and has helped us navigate the city and the country. We went to a famous market town, Otavalo, where I did suprisingly little damage. I did buy a really beautiful necklace that Otavaleno women wear - it's gold plated crystals and is muy bonita. I am developing basic Spanish skills at a freakish rate - Mel can back me up on this. I need to spend a few months somewhere at some point and gain fluency. That and French.

What else . . . we went to the coast and hung out on a beautiful beach called Las Failles in a Machlilla National Park, and the next day we went out and saw blue footed boobies (best thing EVER and humpback whales and some frigate birds tried to eat Mel. Not really. But she thought they were going to. We then spent two days in a surfer town, Montanita, which was eerily comfortable for two girls from Boulder and Portland.

Tomorrow we fly into the jungle where we hope to see piranhas, an anaconda, giant spiders, caimans, minkeys (misspelled on purpose and I really, really reallllllly hope a capybara! Or five! And an ocelet! And a JAGUAR! Ok, no, but my roommate Sarah got to stay somewhere with a half domesticated capybara, and I will cry if I don't meet one.

Pics and funny stories to follow!

Ask about . . .

squirt bottles
street names
what is wrong with the sky
and other stuff I forget right now

Besos,
Lisa

Life Calling

In an earlier post I made a list of future things I planned to write about, one of which was what, exactly, it is I plan to do with myself. Basically, I am going to save the world. Grandiose? Yes, but worth fighting for. I want to work on shaping environmental policy and create solutions to problems that are beneficial to the natural world around us and to humanity in terms of health, the bottom line, and happiness.

I think on some level I've always known this was exactly what I wanted to do, but I've been a bit confused as to how exactly I should go about doing it. I studied Biology in college, but I realized I didn't want to go into medicine, teach, or do research. I love the big picture of biology - how everything is interlinked, biodiversity, epidemics, public health, ecosystems, ecology, etc. I read Edward Abbey's Desert Solitaire and Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac and was much more interested in what I read there than in bacterial cultures or tree rings or mist nets. I also developed an interest in design and planning - I read Sarah Susanka's The Not So Big House: A Blueprint for the Way we Really Live and found my own nebulous thoughts given form by an architect. More space does not equal happiness. McMansions do not fill people's wish for a dream home, only a dream house. A dream home is at human scale, comfortable, designed to fill the needs of the person or people in it, centered on comfort and balance. Lots of window seats. Lots of built-in bookcases. Windows to the outdoors, defined spaces, open flow for modern lifestyles, no family room and living room - lovely. That led me to A Pattern Language, which is so amazing - here's a website with a list of the patterns (in the text they are much more fleshed out). So what's a girl with an interest in environmentalism, ecology, the big picture, sustainability, quality of life, and home, city, and region design to do?

My current plan is to pursue a dual Master's in Public Administration with a focus in Environmental Policy, Management, and Law and a Master's in Urban and Regional Planning with a focus on Environmental Planning through CU-Denver. While I wouldn't mind living elsewhere for 2-5 years (Vienna, NYC, Paris, Switzerland, Buenos Aires . . .) I do expect to keep coming back to Colorado, so I think it makes sense to go to school and develop connections here. Plus, I like my life. And friends and family.

So - there's a life update! And that's why I have to sign off so I can keep chipping away at the final for the class I'm currently taking.

The Writer's Almanac

I subscribe to the podcast of Garrison Keillor's The Writer's Almanac, where he gives a bit of history about writers and this day in literary history and then reads a poem. They're all fantastic, but I liked today's especially. The image is by one Paul living in London. It popped up on Google image search, and I loved it too much to not use it. You can see more of Paul's work at his Livejournal.



The Summer Day
by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?
Who made the swan, and the black bear?
Who made the grasshopper?
This grasshopper, I mean--
the one who has flung herself out of the grass,
the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,
who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down--
who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.
Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.
Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.
I don't know exactly what a prayer is.
I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down
into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,
how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,
which is what I have been doing all day.
Tell me, what else should I have done?
Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?
Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

Wine Induced Rantings

Despite the Malbec, I will actually endeavor NOT to rant. My friend Jennie was castigating me for failing to post, and I explained that I feel like a lot of blogs are just collections of rants, and my Mayflower-Protestant ancestors object to my engaging in such things. Don't get me wrong - I adore reading them, but I just feel all glompy if I start doing it. New word - glompy.

I had a funny story . . . and it was . . . my addiction to Gilmore Girls? No. Although I am addicted. I have found my television soulmates. Them and Hugh Laurie's House. Sit me down with Lorelei, Rory, and House and I would feel 100% at home. It's not lupus! Let's reference obscure English literature and pop culture! Yay! This is what it feels like to talk as fast as you think!

What else, what else. Ok - another one of my blog posting paranoias is a fear that I will reveal personal information and then find myself victim of my imprudent revelation. For example, if I reveal my deep and abiding affection for my new Vera Bradley Little Betsy bag (in Mod Blue), someone might use the knowledge against me. Like - you might purposefully spill coffee on my bag! To be mean! You now, this actually illuminates a deep and abiding self-obsession that can only be called narcissism. No wonder I loved The Truman Show so much. I was all - I knew it . . .

I fear the Malbec is wearing thin. The dangers of a psychotic metabolism. However, I will go ahead and report that Operation Get Lisa in Shape is advancing, thanks to a lot of help from my ridiculously nice and supportive friends. My summer roommate Meredith is including me in her runs. This involves us jogging slowly around Viele Lake while I attempt to distract myself from agony by gossiping and then me stopping due to tunnel vision setting in or sharp stabbing pains under my rib cage and then her going on an actual run while I hobble home. Also, Tanya is endeavoring to teach me to play tennis. Tanya - I close my eyes right before the ball hits my racket in case it's actually going to hit my head. Sorry. The end goal is to find out what I look like naked if I actually try. I have a sneaking suspicion that the thighs and ass, while undoubtedly toneable, are here to stay. Also I may manage to shrink portions of my upper half that I have no desire to shrink. But - you know - exercise really does give you endorphins, and I don't want to kill my nonexistent husband, so it's all good.

Goodnight, my pretty ones, I will post again.

Crappity crap crap. People are linking to me. Now I have to post like a good girl.

Here are some upcoming posts:

1) Lisa's life calling
2) Lisa's amusing love life (maybe - this is a public blog)
3) Lisa's desire to go live in a canyon off the Colorado
4) Lisa goes to IKEA
5) Lisa goes to Ecuador
6) Lisa's get in shape uber-fast plan (please, oh please, help me achieve this)
7) Lisa's need to rob a bank or banks

It will be AWESOME.

For now, here's a cool picture I took in Moab.

Mwhahahahahahaha! DONE! 784 pages in 5 hours and 21 minutes. And yes, I read every word and don't skim, as people insist on asking me. Look, one doesn't SKIM the last Rowling.

And - won't say much - but I did ok for myself with those predictions.

Call me when you're done, I'm going crazy not being able to discuss.

Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Predictions

Well, I am only 4 hours and 30 minutes away from holding the book in my hands, and I'm officially going insane. Argh. Ok, here's what I predict:


1)Dumbledore is really dead, this isn't Lord of the Rings.

2)RAB is Regulus Black.

3)Either Kreacher or Mundungus Fletcher has the Slytherin locket Horcrux; if I had to bet, I'd bet on Kreacher.

4) Peter Pettigrew will die, but will first kill Fenrir Greyback, thus fulfilling his life-debt to Harry.

5) Snape will die in the final moments by turning coat and giving Harry the opportunity to kill Voldemort/killing Voldemort and sacrificing himself.

6) Harry is not a Horcrux, but he WAS one up until Voldy used him to come back in Book 4. Thus, Dumbledore's much discussed "look of triumph" in Book 4. Nagini was likely the replacement.

7) Even though Harry is not a Horcrux, I kind of do think he might have to kill himself to destroy Voldy. It's that pesky "neither can live while the other survives" thing that makes me think that, plus keeping him alive is bit ludicrous. A lot of people have died to get him this far, after all. Then again, it would kind of destroy the franchise, no?

8) If Ginny eats it, that indicates that Harry is DEFINITELY about to die.

9) If Percy comes back around and apologizes for being an idiot, he's going to die.

10) Tonks and Lupin may go down together. Or any couple, really.

11) McGonagall will die.

12) Hagrid won't die.

13) Neville very easily might die - ruh-roh. However, if he does he will take Bellatrix with him (and maybe Rudolphus too).

14) Fawkes and Dobby will be integral to the Great Easter Egg Hunt - oh wait, I mean Horcrux Hunt . . .

15) I'm totally freaked out that the twins are going to get knocked off - remember how they threw snowballs at Quirrell's turban??? And I refuse to believe that the Weasleys will escape with just Bill mauled, and maybe Percy dead.

16) I think Ron and Hermione will survive. But if one of them bites it, Harry's doomed.

17) The reason Snape came over to the good side was because he was in love with Lily. His mother loved him, as Harry's loved him, and Narcissa loves Malfoy . . . see? And Love triumphs over Evil! Being the one who revealed the prophecy to Voldy and thus caused Lily's death changed Snape forever. This is also why Voldy did not want to kill Lily, which was highly uncharacteristic of him, given that he didn't care who he killed and she was Muggle-born. Of course, Dumbledore could not tell anyone this, as only he and Snape are good enough at Occlumency to keep Voldy from reading their minds . . . and so everyone must believe he is evil incarnate.

18) Some giants will come over to the good side. The bad ones may desert Voldy in his hour of need.

19) Actually, there will be a lot of general desertion of Voldy, since he rules through fear.

20) Yeah, I know, but I still like Harry as the Heir of Gryffindor. Has Rowling discounted this already, though? It's all those red and gold sparks he keeps shooting out of his wand, the fact that we know nada about his wizard family, they're all dead, Voldy is the last Slytherin, yada yada. Nice parallelism, there.

21) Somebody was under James Potter's invisibility cloak the night Harry's parents died. And Rowling says it wasn't Snape, which I always believed it was! But Dumbledore said it was left in his keeping by James . . . so was Dumbledore under the cloak? And let Lily and James be killed so that Harry would one day have the power to vanquish Voldy? I dunno . . . someone was there . . . I believe Peter Pettigrew was there, of course, to lead Voldy to the correct spot. But why hide under the cloak?

22) Godric's Hollow is somehow significant, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione will go there. Also Fred and George's joke shop, Grimmauld Place, Hogwarts (even if it's not open, which I can't imagine it would be), and the Dursley's. Also Azkaban - to get to Mudungus Fletcher! And with luck, Beauxbatons or Durmstrang, although Rowling won't won't to write TOO much description, it would get boring.

23) Harry will get help from/chat with Aberforth - Dumbly's brother! Yay! And he will get help from Dumbledore's Pensieve (ooh, what a nice thing to have) and perhaps from Dumbly's portrait in the headmaster's office at Hogwarts as well.

24) The fake Galleons Hermione made will be put to good use calling the Members of the DA to some final showdown . . .

25) He will not feaking become a Muggle. That would suck. More than Harry dying, honestly. You people are weird.

Ok, I'll add another post if I think of more before I head off to check out real live owls at the Boulder Bookstore. And then read my little tail off. I think it'll take me 4-5 hours to read it. Woohoo!

Cusco

So Cusco is actually a very picturesque city, especially the main square. It has a large cathedral, several other churches,and lots of shops which have little restaurants and cafes upstairs. Last night we wandered around touristy shops which were still pretty cool because they have Peruvian handicrafts and jewelry. The jewelry is pretty cool, different from what I´ve seen elsewhere (maybe most similar to Greek jewelry, but really not the same) but still very wearable. I may cave at some point, but for now I´m being good. Today we´re meeting up with Cat´s parents and going to the Pisac market outside Cusco (at least I think it´s a market . . . it´s possible I´ve gotten my ruins and my markets crossed). The textiles there are supposed to be ridiculously diverse and beautiful and cheap, so I´m excited! It would be good to get something to put on the white walls of my house.

Ok, heading upstairs to pack to move to our hostal . . . more later!

Cusco, woohoo!

Hey all,

Cat and I are safely in Cusco. I flew to NYC on June 5th and took the M60 out of LAGuardia straight up to cat´s place (it was great, cost $2 instead of like $30 for a cab). I also got to see most of Harlem. Which is . . . Harlem . . . tragically lacking in speakeasys and jazz clubs and instead full of Payless Shoe stores and Reebok and some mildy frightening people. Overall it actually looked pretty safe though, at least during the day. I also got to enjoy riding the bus with a woman who was talkign to herself. However, as she was deaf-mute, this meant SIGNING TO HERSELF. It was great.

Cat went to Thomas Keller´s Per Se to celebrate finishing her USMLEs (first round of med school boards) and I luxuriated in being in the Upper West Side and ordered Thai food that was delivered by a real live Thai person! And was also just really good. We picked up some last minute necessities on the 6th and caught out red eye out of JFK at 11:30 PM!

I amd never a fan of flights over 4 hours which do not allow me to get into a rpone position, but honestly LAN air was awesome. They had tons of free movies - I watched Music and Lyrics and found it adorable, and they also have PLAYER VS. PLAYER BATTLESHIP!!!! Yeah. Sweet.

Got into Lima, 3 hour layover to go out to Cusco, but customs and breakfast took up most of that time. Smooth sailing to Cusco )1-5 hours flight, easy) and I got to start reading Twilight (oh my gosh Jennie, I can´t believe a Mormon author wrote that! It´s hilariously trashy, albeit in a young adult kind of way. PERFECT brainless airplane book. Also, I am quite attracted to Edward. Who, for everyone else, happen to be a vampire! I´m telling you it´s trashy.

Anyway, Cat and I are going upstairs now. Cusco is beautiful and adorable, our hotel is great (hostal tomorrow), the people are SO NICE, yummy food, no G.I. issueds yet ' all good!

More later . . .

Pure Genius

I caught the end of a movie version of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband starring Rupert Everett, Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, and Minnie Driver. It was quite wonderful, this exchange in particular:



LORD GORING
Mmm, my dear Mrs. Cheveley.

MRS CHEVELEY
My dear Lord Goring.

LORD GORING
Now I'm going to give you some good advice.

MRS CHEVELEY
Pray don't. One should never give a woman anything she can't wear in the evening.

LORD GORING
I'm sorry, but I don't seem to be able to stop myself. Now, I'm going to tell you that love, about which I admit I know so little, love cannot be bought, it can only be given. And I sense it is not in my power to give to you, nor is it in yours, I suspect, at all.

MRS CHEVELEY
Dear boy, you underestimate us both.

LORD GORING
To give and not to expect return. Hmm? That is what lies at the heart of love. I fear, though, the notion is a stranger to us both. And yet, if we're honest, it is something we both long for. Something that it takes great courage to do. Yes. That is our dark secret. Your coming here tonight is the first whisper of it. And for that I admire you. Give me the letter. Prove your affections to me and give me the letter.

MRS CHEVELEY
And surrender my position of power?

LORD GORING
The future of a great man is in your hands, Mrs. Cheveley. Crush him and your power dies with him. That's worth of any feeling I've ever had for you. If you ever loved me.

MRS CHEVELEY
I did love you.

LORD GORING
I know. I know.

MRS CHEVELEY
Not that much.


Isn't that just fabulous? Now I have to watch the whole thing - I already reread it. Wilde is eminently quotable, I love it!

Orthodox Jews in a Paddleboat

Well, let's see. I've been feeling cruddy for the last two days, which is obnoxious. I think it's starting to lift a bit now though - if I have one more ridiculously long sleep session I bet it will be gone. It also sheds some light on how I managed to lose six pounds last week despite not going to my weight lifting class and eating lots of crap. Should have paid attention to the scale and gone on a detox diet and slept more. Oh well. But I am moving back down toward 107 lbs, which makes me feel warm and fuzzy because that's what I've weighed since I was like 14. And I'm doing it by excercising more AND still eating whatever I want! And getting sick. Shhhh . . . If I ever go over 120 lbs and I'm not pregnant I bet I'll have a panic attack. And have to eat some Ben and Jerry's to calm down again. Haha, I don't think I know how to diet. I heart food.

Which reminds me of the great Michael Pollan article Unhappy Meals, which appeared in this week's NYT magazine. You'll have to buy it for $5 or subscribe to NYT Select to read the whole thing (not a bad idea really; one of those things I plan on doing once I pay off the credit card). Therefore, no linky - you'd just get an abstract. However, you could just buy The Botany of Desire or The Omnivore's Dilemma. Pollan's style is eminently readable and a lot of fun besides. In The Botany of Desire he profiles four plants and their interactions with humans: tulips, potatoes, marijuana, and apples. In addition to the book providing a reason to read about pot (I especially like the bit where he's growing it out behind the barn and the sheriff brings by some firewood) you get to learn that Johnny Appleseed's apples were only good for making cider. Which is to say, booze.

Anyway, the article is just wonderful, and it suggests not eating anything that your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food, ie., no breakfast bars or other processed crap. I plan to try to behave myself next time I go to the supermarket. Down with corn syrup! Up with fruits and veggies and nuts! They taste better anyway and are kinder to the environment. And therefore my health. Gotta keep my life in line with my values.

In other news, I am back to seriously considering applying to CU Law school. I made it to a talk on Machu Picchu given at the Changes in Latitude store. The speaker was a woman named Ruth M. Wright, who in addition to helping work out where the water came from at Machu Picchu (she's been there at least 15 times with her husband; they have a permit to study it) went to CU Law and while there drafted and passed the legislation setting the 55 foot limit. And then she went on to become a state legislator and minority leader (Dems, of course) and help save Colorado from various evils . . . yeah. And wrote an excellent Machu Picchu guidebook with all the requisite nerdy detail. May just have to take the June LSAT and apply for Fall 2008.

Cat put the deposit down for Machu Picchu - Peru, here we come! This was Cat on the phone:

Me: Hi!
Cat: Hi! I'm going to send the deposit to the trek people.
Me: Ok, how much do I owe you?
Cat: Uhh, $150 I think. *pause* So we're really going to do this?
Me: Yeah we are! Wait, are you asking?
Cat: Well, just checking.
Me: We're going to do it, and it's going to be amazing, and we can check it off the "do before I die" list!
Cat: Ok. As long as we're sure.

This from the girl who called me last summer to announce that she was going to hike the Inca Trail next June, did I want in or not? I agreed with some trepidation due to my serious lack of athleticism and dislike of dirty hair and bitey insects. But it's the freakin' Inca Trail! The answer is yes. The answer is always yes. Oh well. That's what friends are for - to convince each other to do ridiculous but worthwhile things.

The picture is from Prague, Spring 2004. Orthodox Jews in a paddleboat! My current desktop. Anyone for Europe sometime soon? Wanderlust has set in . . .

Pan's Labyrinth

Just saw this movie last night, and I'm still digesting it. Very, very good, go see it. Guillermo del Toro is always brilliant, but I enjoyed this the most of his work. It's one of those rare films where everything clicks into place and is believable. Loved loved loved it. See the composition of the shot above? The whole film is like that, stunning. It is also very dark and has one of the most terrifying monsters I've ever seen:
















A picture cannot fully convey the horror of this thing. Or the coolness of the special effects that created it, not to mention the room behind it which is really incredible. I have no idea how much of it was created and how much blue-screened, which is great! del Toro was smart enough to allow things to be dirty or torn or whatnot, so you don't get that give-away perfection that you normally have with computer work. I'm pretty sure this guy is just really, really hungry, but ewww . . . scary.

There is no shortage of horrifying violence and gore in this movie, but I think the way that it is portrayed is important - no pulling punches, just the horror of death and blood. I think some of us need to see that and understand how lucky we are to live in the places and times that we do. And to remember that you have to fight to preserve that freedom as well. It is 1940s Spain . . .



Guillermo del Toro kept a wonderful sketchbook full of ideas and images. You can check it out at the Pan's Labyrinth website. A fairytale for adults, indeed.

Oops, I'm a bad person

Well, I'm re-reading One Hundred Years of Solitude, and I have to say that I do not like the way the book is written. So I'm a bad person. I also don't like chocolate ice cream. There you go.


More later.


Oh - I will be hosting/coordinating/enjoying my first event tomorrow night - a Scotch tasting for 100 business alums and their guests. There will be a real live Scottish man with an accent and a kilt! Yay! Also free drinks and dessert. :-) So far I enjoy event planning, although I would love to someday shape policy and come up with lots of ideas for a nonprofit . . . it'll come. Patience, grasshopper. Please let me know if you hear of any crazy cool environmental volunteering I can do!

Sorry sorry, I'll be better

Apologies to stalkers and friends alike - I'll be better, I swear. In early December I got a full-time job doing alumni relations. I'm learning a lot of things that are great to know now and will be useful later on too, and the people I work with are wonderful, smart, nice people. Yay! I feel lucky. However, I have still been teaching LSAT test prep a few nights a week and also added in some weight training classes to attempt to get in shape for June, so the blog, along with a lot of other things, got pushed to the back burner. Show me some love if you appreciate that I'm writing again. :-)

I just finished Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart, and I enjoyed it. It's a quick, easy read, but it hits hard. I pulled my copy of The New Lifetime Reading Plan back out and I'm working through it from modern to ancient this time - I got caught in the middle of the Greek tragedies and just started skipping around to what I felt like reading last go around. I can only read so many tragic plays in a row before going crazy. Next up I'll be re-reading One Hundred Years of Solitude and on like that until I loop back toward the plays . . . Here's the Amazon page for it. click "Search Inside" to read the table of contents. I can do it! I just hope I don't get bogged down in translations - you can always tell when something has been translated, and I swear that the better the book is in the original language the more grating it is.

What else . . . I found some podcasts called Coffee Break Spanish (I've decided to learn as much as possible before going to Peru), and the guy who talks on them is Scottish and sounds sooooo hot. Oh my. Note to self: travel to Scotland and sit on trains with eyes closed a lot. I'm also trying to find a language buddy who wants some English grammar or writing or help with something else, and they can teach me how to say "I've stuck a pencil in my eye! Where is the hospital?" and useful things like that in Spanish.

The pic is of my back deck after the first big blizzard!