Winter break begins!
Dec. 22nd, 2005 09:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chelseagirlIn fact, as of midnight last night, the building I work in is in lockdown until January 4th. Classes don't start until the 17th, but it's kind of weird to think if I wanted to fetch something from my desk, it'd just be too bad.
Strike-related anecdotes: Yesterday morning I was waiting to cross Ninth Ave. a few blocks from my apartment. Private car stops, asks if I need a taxi. No, I said, I walk to work. Driver does not believe me and informs me that the buses are not running. Duh. Yes, I said, but I walk to work. Every day. Driver is incredulous and drives away. The creepiest bit? There was another woman standing on the curb. To the untrained eye, we were pretty much six of one, half a dozen of the other: she was also tallish, slimmish, with long blonde hair and eyeglasses. He only spoke to me. Weird, huh? Certainly she and I thought so and walked along for a block or so talking about it until we went our separate ways.
School was oddly deserted anyway, because it was the end of finals period, and the engineering school rescheduled the final two days of exams -- annoyingly, unilaterally cancelling classes two days in January, including one day on which I actually *have* classes scheduled. I wonder if the students are relieved for the reprieve or wishing it could just have been over with. I wonder about the half a dozen students who still haven't turned in their papers despite my email to them reminding them of my email address and suggesting those who couldn't get to campus turn in their papers that way. One or two might not have e-access from home, and should be granted a reprieve, but for the rest, since their classmates all managed to get their work in, I'm kind of not impressed.
Tuesday was quieter than Wednesday: a newsstand guy told me about his trip from the Bronx as he opened hours late; the staff practically overwhelmed me with attention when I bought a slice of pizza and was the only customer there. By Wednesday, people seemed to be coping. One of the professors, who remembers the 70's transit strike, reminded me that it lasted 11 days -- but because it was in April, he said it wasn't so bad -- nice weather for long walks. Were price gouged by a cabbie last night.
Reading:
finished *This Things of Darkness*, the Darwin's-captain novel. Really enjoyed it, though in his effort to make FitzRoy seem the more heroic, the author characterized Darwin unfairly in several episodes. In real life, Darwin was extremely sensitive to his wife's discomfort at his lack of faith and treated her with great consideration; here he blurts out "there is no god" to her in a moment of anguish, in front of company. And it has always been my understanding that social Darwinism is an extrapolation not of Darwin's own invention. (My simplistic scoreboard? Evolution = yay! Social Darwinism = boo!) Some oddly Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin moments between FitzRoy and Darwin.
currently reading *Lady Chatterley's Lover* (reread for teaching) and
*A Feast for Crows*, which I broke down and gave myself as an end of semester treat. I was amazed at how, after a period of time and having read the books only once, I was able to jump right back into the various ongoing storylines. Really enjoying it.
Viewing: Wonderfalls. We found the first ep on one of the upper upper range digital cable channels and loved it. I can see how its quirkiness might shade into annoyance for some viewers, but M. came home with the whole series on borrowed DVD Saturday night (he went videogaming at a friend's while I was at the Nutcracker) and we've been watching it with great enjoyment. Also, as we're planning to finally take M. to Niagara Falls the day after Christmas (we haven't been up to my folks' since he's got his green card, and were afraid of border problems before that, and of course the Canadian side has the only view worth seeing), it's neat to see all those shots of it. The show is so clearly shot from Canada, while they claim it's Niagara Falls NY. I've also been getting a kick out of locations I've been (though I'm guessing they were shot in stand in locations in Canada also) like Lake Chautauqua and one of the Seneca Reservations (where I too have bought cheap cigarettes for others).
Attending: The KGB Bar fantastic fiction reading series. Jack Womack and F. Brett Cox. (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
silme, read this bit. You'll see why.) M. and I had met Brett at the IFCA conference a few years ago and really liked him so we figured we'd go say hi. Womack's reading, btw, was great -- it was an excerpt about an antiques dealer, and took place mostly at the Hell's Kitchen flea market which replaced the lamented Chelsea flea market. Between the subject matter, and the soviet era decor of the KGB bar, I was strongly reminded of Mark, my Russian antiques dealer ex-bf. (He hated everything that was not High Modernism, including pretty much all my taste in books, music, furniture, so eventually I dumped him due to having no interest in always being wrong. And he looked like a younger, cuter version of Crais from Farscape, for whatever that's worth.)
Anyway, because M. and Brett were chatting during the break, we got invited along to dinner afterwards. We didn't get to sit with Brett and his wife because they were at the grown-up's table with some of the editors and organizers but we got to talk with this really cool woman who's getting a Ph.D. on feminist interpretation of fairy tales at UPenn, and her boyfriend, who lives in London. (And M. found an appreciative audience, elsewhere at the same large table, for some of the Usual Harlan Ellison Stories.) Partway through dinner, someone sat down in a seat between the couple, which the woman had put her coat on. The someone turned out to be Kelly Link, whose writing I really admire. So of course, I woke up this morning wondering if I'd come across as a blithering idiot. I hate being one of those shy people who talks easily and then obsesses over it afterwards. *sigh* I was able to give her some info on a writing program she'd been asked to teach at and that I'm reasonably familiar with, so hopefully that was at least worthwhile.
Strike-related anecdotes: Yesterday morning I was waiting to cross Ninth Ave. a few blocks from my apartment. Private car stops, asks if I need a taxi. No, I said, I walk to work. Driver does not believe me and informs me that the buses are not running. Duh. Yes, I said, but I walk to work. Every day. Driver is incredulous and drives away. The creepiest bit? There was another woman standing on the curb. To the untrained eye, we were pretty much six of one, half a dozen of the other: she was also tallish, slimmish, with long blonde hair and eyeglasses. He only spoke to me. Weird, huh? Certainly she and I thought so and walked along for a block or so talking about it until we went our separate ways.
School was oddly deserted anyway, because it was the end of finals period, and the engineering school rescheduled the final two days of exams -- annoyingly, unilaterally cancelling classes two days in January, including one day on which I actually *have* classes scheduled. I wonder if the students are relieved for the reprieve or wishing it could just have been over with. I wonder about the half a dozen students who still haven't turned in their papers despite my email to them reminding them of my email address and suggesting those who couldn't get to campus turn in their papers that way. One or two might not have e-access from home, and should be granted a reprieve, but for the rest, since their classmates all managed to get their work in, I'm kind of not impressed.
Tuesday was quieter than Wednesday: a newsstand guy told me about his trip from the Bronx as he opened hours late; the staff practically overwhelmed me with attention when I bought a slice of pizza and was the only customer there. By Wednesday, people seemed to be coping. One of the professors, who remembers the 70's transit strike, reminded me that it lasted 11 days -- but because it was in April, he said it wasn't so bad -- nice weather for long walks. Were price gouged by a cabbie last night.
Reading:
finished *This Things of Darkness*, the Darwin's-captain novel. Really enjoyed it, though in his effort to make FitzRoy seem the more heroic, the author characterized Darwin unfairly in several episodes. In real life, Darwin was extremely sensitive to his wife's discomfort at his lack of faith and treated her with great consideration; here he blurts out "there is no god" to her in a moment of anguish, in front of company. And it has always been my understanding that social Darwinism is an extrapolation not of Darwin's own invention. (My simplistic scoreboard? Evolution = yay! Social Darwinism = boo!) Some oddly Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin moments between FitzRoy and Darwin.
currently reading *Lady Chatterley's Lover* (reread for teaching) and
*A Feast for Crows*, which I broke down and gave myself as an end of semester treat. I was amazed at how, after a period of time and having read the books only once, I was able to jump right back into the various ongoing storylines. Really enjoying it.
Viewing: Wonderfalls. We found the first ep on one of the upper upper range digital cable channels and loved it. I can see how its quirkiness might shade into annoyance for some viewers, but M. came home with the whole series on borrowed DVD Saturday night (he went videogaming at a friend's while I was at the Nutcracker) and we've been watching it with great enjoyment. Also, as we're planning to finally take M. to Niagara Falls the day after Christmas (we haven't been up to my folks' since he's got his green card, and were afraid of border problems before that, and of course the Canadian side has the only view worth seeing), it's neat to see all those shots of it. The show is so clearly shot from Canada, while they claim it's Niagara Falls NY. I've also been getting a kick out of locations I've been (though I'm guessing they were shot in stand in locations in Canada also) like Lake Chautauqua and one of the Seneca Reservations (where I too have bought cheap cigarettes for others).
Attending: The KGB Bar fantastic fiction reading series. Jack Womack and F. Brett Cox. (
silme, read this bit. You'll see why.) M. and I had met Brett at the IFCA conference a few years ago and really liked him so we figured we'd go say hi. Womack's reading, btw, was great -- it was an excerpt about an antiques dealer, and took place mostly at the Hell's Kitchen flea market which replaced the lamented Chelsea flea market. Between the subject matter, and the soviet era decor of the KGB bar, I was strongly reminded of Mark, my Russian antiques dealer ex-bf. (He hated everything that was not High Modernism, including pretty much all my taste in books, music, furniture, so eventually I dumped him due to having no interest in always being wrong. And he looked like a younger, cuter version of Crais from Farscape, for whatever that's worth.)Anyway, because M. and Brett were chatting during the break, we got invited along to dinner afterwards. We didn't get to sit with Brett and his wife because they were at the grown-up's table with some of the editors and organizers but we got to talk with this really cool woman who's getting a Ph.D. on feminist interpretation of fairy tales at UPenn, and her boyfriend, who lives in London. (And M. found an appreciative audience, elsewhere at the same large table, for some of the Usual Harlan Ellison Stories.) Partway through dinner, someone sat down in a seat between the couple, which the woman had put her coat on. The someone turned out to be Kelly Link, whose writing I really admire. So of course, I woke up this morning wondering if I'd come across as a blithering idiot. I hate being one of those shy people who talks easily and then obsesses over it afterwards. *sigh* I was able to give her some info on a writing program she'd been asked to teach at and that I'm reasonably familiar with, so hopefully that was at least worthwhile.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 03:50 pm (UTC)And how are you finding it on re-reading? I find that the older I am when I read Lawrence, the weirder and more self-involved he sounds. Some lovely passages, but really, can't a woman just want to get laid without it being about The Fate of The Sexes OMG!?
That said, the '92 movie adaptation with Sean Bean is currently coming to me via Netflix. YAY!
and *A Feast for Crows*, which I broke down and gave myself as an end of semester treat. I was amazed at how, after a period of time and having read the books only once, I was able to jump right back into the various ongoing storylines. Really enjoying it.
*impatient hands* I KNOW! I read it a while back, when I got a serendipitous copy in early November, and got absorbed immediately, though I hadn't read the other three for at least a year. Now I want to read them all through again, but that first reading I was like, "Oh yeah! That guy! Who did-!" And being impressed with myself for remembering. Or half-remembering. ;)
Also, having seen (some of) King Kong, Jamie Bell is totally Jon-Snow-in-my-head.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:13 pm (UTC)I've been thinking the Bean Lady Chatterley just might have to be a business expense. If, you know, I watch it and find that it's, er, sufficiently educational. (Sadly, I actually was thinking of showing them a few scenes to point up the accents and the trappings of social class.)
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:32 pm (UTC)And Bean in Chatterly is totally a business expense. Write it off on your taxes. It'll feel excellent.
"And you can see by the fact that he is shirtless and sweaty that the groundskeeper is of the lower classes. Let's back that up and have another look, yes?"
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:52 pm (UTC)And yes, exactly. "The soft way he caresses his vowels? Totally an indicator that he's working class. And the soft way he caresses her, er, nevermind."
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 03:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:34 pm (UTC)M.'s got a bit of a crush on Jaye, though he won't admit it; I think your take is fair, though. Because we've been gobbling it down in fairly big doses, I've been engaging my suspension-of-annoyance factor (sort of like suspension of disbelief, only not).
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:41 pm (UTC)Ha ha, that's so cute! I would totally take her love-interest-guy (whose name I can't even remember--that's how long it's been since we've watched any; Aaron? Or maybe that's the actor's name--anyway...).
A v. useful thing to have, indeed.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:44 pm (UTC)Have you ever been to Devil's Hole in the gorge? It's kind of neat; my first husband took me and his son there once. It was during the winter, but it was much milder and there wasn't any snow. But you can get right down to the river. Of course, I don't remember if it's above the Falls or below....
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:13 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 04:47 pm (UTC)Regarding Kelly Link, oo, oo, oo!! :) I'm sure you did not come across as a blithering idiot, dear. You are articulate and you were telling her about a writing course, so you also were informative! :) Btw, thanks to Elizabeth Bear's LJ, I learned today that Magic for Beginners made both Salon's and Times shortlist best of 2005. Yay! (Ishiguro did also, btw.)
And on Wonderfalls, I ordered the DVDs from Amazon (US) before I learned Sky was airing them. Oh well. Sky aired all of them, btw, but we weren't always around when they were on. In the long run, I'm glad we got the DVDs. Quirky show that wasn't given its due. Btw, I'm also one episode away from having watched all of Firefly. Want more. Really angry it was cancelled. It's far from perfect, but I adore the characters sooo much.
Mark makes me think of Ron, who would take the opposite side of me in any discussion just to argue, even if he agreed with me. Yuck.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-22 06:21 pm (UTC)Just afraid I may have tried too hard. I felt comfortable with the couple and then suddenly self-conscious because she's someone whose work I admire.
We'll definitely get around to buying Wonderfalls one of these days -- I think we can hang onto our friend's for awhile. Serenity is the #1 selling DVD on Amazon right now and Firefly just took #5 from Star Wars! (They lowered the price -- I bought it for Irene for Christmas and it was less than when I first looked at buying it for her.) They're saying now that despite disappointing box office for Serenity (it sold out but wasn't in enough theaters) the DVD sales might make another sequel a possibility. The weird thing is the interview I saw was with Ron Glass and Alan Tudyk. You wouldn't think they'd be talking about their parts in the sequels . . .
And Mark *never* agreed with me, so it was easy to argue. ;-) He honestly thought I'd eventually see that his taste was better. Eep! The weird thing is, he really liked me. Not sure why.
M. has an interview for some environmental job tomorrow and then a wine store emailed him that they'd be phoning him for an interview in the new year. So things are looking up that way as well!