What can I say? I'm bored. . .

Your Hair Should Be Purple

Intense, thoughtful, and unconventional. You're always philosophizing and inspiring others with your insights.

What's Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

You Belong in Paris

You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris. You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe.

What European City Do You Belong In?

You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

I guess, he's okay

I've lately been thinking about the actor Billy Bob Thornton, and I finally came to the following realization: I like Billy Bob Thornton. Now, I'm not saying that I want to have his babies or kiss his hillbilly feet. Billy Bob is quite an accomplished character actor. He keeps it real. He keeps me entertained. And at the end of the day, what more could you possibly expect from an actor? His depictions of mentally disabled Slingblade man to I could give a shit less safe cracking Santa are really quite strong. They're memorable. He's memorable. And there are definitely some instances when I am completely appalled by how grotesque he is, but there are also roles that are quite endearing in that "average joe just trying to make it" way. I like the fact that he seems practical and smart, but not booksmart, just reasonable. He's also quite matter of fact about getting laid. . . who couldn't appreciate that?

Anyway, that particular confession has been weighing down on me for months. There. I said it. I like Billy Bob Thornton. We can now move on.

Interview #237

I'm waiting in anticipation for possibly my final interview with this company. I've interviewed with the same company for the same job for the past 2 months, and I think I may finally discover what the result of all this interviewing is. It's really all part of some secret government experiment to test my nerves (and how quickly I can get so terribly annoyed by this process). I could understand if each interview involved some different questions or techniques, but I have been answering the same questions repeatedly over the last five or six interviews (including the one in person). I know they have a file on me. I know that all the interviewers communicate with each other. So, why don't they know it??

In other news, the semester is winding down to the last three weeks of school. I remember that the last three weeks were so much more chaotic in my mind last semester. Now, I feel underprepared yet calm. I don't know which is worse.

Today I'm wearing my black ballet slippers, which is a significant change from recent foot events. I can't wear regular shoes because my baby toe has swollen joints that make it painful and impossible to walk. I can't wear flip flops because I have a former blister scabbed over between my toes. And I can't go barefoot because restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King refuse to service me. So, it's either ballet slippers or crocs.

Disney Fun House

Sick and Twisted

So, right now I'm laying in bed, watching crappy infomercials that remind me of those trailers for Resident Evil, and finishing up my state taxes for last year. Blah.

I can't believe how much information is required for Madison financial aid, especially when I don't recall having to fill out this much information in Colorado. They require special forms, FAFSA, and a signed income tax return. That's just crazy talk!

Anyway, I'm not the one whose thinking and typing right now. . . Mr. Nyquil has taken over my mind and is making me do things while I am knocked out unconscious in my bed. Laalalala. . . *Devious laughter ensues*

I can't wait to go back to school again. . . I'm so sick of laying around, reading and watching infomercials. Blah.

This is the end, the end, my friend, the end.

Well, not quite the end of the semester yet, I'm afraid. But, that doesn't mean I don't want it to come any faster.
I'm currently working on rough drafts for all of my classes. Is it me, or do these rough drafts take a lot longer than they used to? I don't know if it's me being hedgy, or if I'm being much more meticulous in my writing. Meh.

This weekend will be both fun and incredibly strenuous. One of my professors is retiring, so they are having a 2 day conference in his honor. This is a fantastic event with the major players in the field. However, I also have about 4600 words due on Monday. I'm currently around 1000. So, we'll see how this turns out.

I promised many people that I would go out for shooting pool and partying to my heart's desire on Thursday (whoa, that's tomorrow!), but I now realize that promises were made to be broken. Damnit, I'm going to have that draft complete by Monday!

As the semester closes in upon me like a lion to its prey, I wonder why this particular semester felt so much better than the last? Have I stopped caring? Have I started to care again? Have I figured out a momentum that works for me? Well, I don't know. . . All I know is that I feel a lot better about graduate school and this particular graduate program. I'm also okay about being locationally separated from significant other. That was one of the more difficult parts of last term. I also don't feel like I have to be perfect in the eyes of most of my professors. They assume that I won't be anyway. So, I don't feel this stress about having to prove myself all the time. As for the other students. . . well, as usually, I don't honestly care what they think of me.

I ought to be depressed or something

This weekend has been crazy, and I haven't done a lick of intended work. I went to school yesterday, and that was fine, went home, packed, and then drove for about 3.5 hours to get to downtown Chicago. It was around 10:30 or 11pm when I checked into the Marriott.

It was a gorgeous hotel, beautiful view, etc. But, the gigantic king sized bed took up about 75% of the room. Also, I had to literally $40 for parking, $70 for gas, and $30 for a hamburger and beer. Yeah.

I went to my job interview today which went okay, but on my way back to the hotel to pick up my car, I tripped over a random curb which appeared in the MIDDLE of the sidewalk, and I think I may have sprained (sp?) my ankle and toes. It hurts like hell.

I proceeded to drive back up to Madison. Unfortunately, it took me about 2 hours to get out of the downtown area (due to heavy traffic). I then drove all the way back (seems fine). Once I got home and looked at my foot, I noticed that it is entirely swollen, starting bruise, and extremely painful. Now I need to spend the rest of my weekend writing stuff up, researching and writing for my rough draft due next Monday.

Oh yeah, of course I also need to set my clocks up and watch yet another hour of my life disappear into nothingness.

"Complexification"

I attended a lecture on Women and Print Culture earlier this week. The speaker was "winging it" from a series of notes and an outline. . . She was very nervous. At some point, instead of saying a situation had "complication," she used the term "complexification." -- That term pretty much means what it is. . . if it were a real term. I sympathized with her nerves, but she is a professional scholar. . . she's been in the "biz" for quite some time, so I'm rather surprised that she employed techniques that would be for a more casual, informal talk on a lecture that was supposed to spark interest in a recent collaborative publication. It was bizarre. Moreover, she unintentionally insulted the English department -- this was not a good thing, given that many people in the audience were from the English department. She later apologized for it, but still. . . it was very strange.

I'm in the midst of lackadaisical procrastination. I remember how my friend Misty from high school loved the term lackadaisical. It was another one of those terms that is what it is. Anyway, I feel like killing time with video games, surfing the internet, writing my blog (hurr), and other miscellaneous non-school activities. Spring Break at mid-semester can do these things to a person.

I feel that I may be too prolix. Which is a term that isn't what it is. Hmmm. WWWD? (What would Wittgenstein do?)





**Another funny note. Blogger's spell check actually picked up the term "blog" as a misspelled word. That's hilarious.

**Even funnier, I think I've been misspelling the word "misspelled" for most of my life.

Rare Disney VD movie

I saw this from BoingBoing quoting google video:

End of the week, beginning of the end

This would be the one time in the semester where we all bunker down, stop having fun, and start living in . .. the real world. haha, just kidding.

Honestly, it's the approach of our last weeks in the semester when all of our reading material and course work is supposed to help enlighten a path for our final projects. I only know of one thing I'm interested in writing on this semester, and perhaps two larger/general ideas, yet the way I've formulated my ideas for the past 9 weeks is coming from an approach that isn't really literature oriented. Perhaps, am I returning to my roots of philosophy and film? Hmm. . . interesting.

We also had an interesting discussion on Interdisciplinarity Today. To a certain extent, there is now a return to the "Renaissance Man" -- generally, a person who is well-versed in many areas and an expert in many things. However, there is this danger (could it be an exciting danger??) to experiment with issues, genres, media, and concepts that you are not an expert in (and will probably never become an expert in). . . Although this experimentation could open many possibilities, there is the risk of being mediocre and uninformed in a scattershot manner rather than an expert in more things that one. This presents interdisciplinarity in a more intellectually elitist light, and I'm not sure that's the kind of "bad" elitism that people fear and disdain. Instead, I would like to think that this kind of elitism is one in which we push ourselves to learn more and become so much more adept. Interdisciplinarity is one of those things that if you are good at, you are really good; however, on the flip side, if you are bad, well... you get the idea.

I'm feeling so pensive right now. It could be the after-effects of reading good ol' Wittgenstein, or it could be my desire to (my lack of) sleep and regain the things I have already lost.

Which reminds me. . . I'm really enjoying the theoretical work in the pastoral genre (particularly space). Why do I keep returning to these genres that reflect a sense of loss or nostalgia? What is it that drives me to seek these things out? What we produce is a reflection of the issues and concerns we've been struggling to answer throughout our lives.

Okay. . . that was quite Emo of me. Back to work. . .

Finally!!

It's what I've always wanted. . . a flat panel e-book reader. How many times have I asked for something I can use to read pdfs and bring them to class?

Sony's new Reader

At last! Someone has been eavesdropping on my public rants and made my dreams come true!

I did absolutely nothing!

What is Spring Break? In what way does it function in society? And how the hell is it supposed to make you feel better about the rest of your semester?

Right now I am procrastinating my studies by procrastinating cleaning my apartment. I just left my SO and my family and other friends behind in Colorado for cold Madison. If Madison were in Colorado, or if everyone I knew were here, I would be 200% happier.

The difficulty with being an English major pack rat is that you accumulate an insane amount of paper and books that could possibly take over your entire apartment. Apparently, I need more bookcases. Blah.

My old advisor told me to revise and submit my papers for publication.
-- What? Are you serious?
-- You'd honestly be surprised.
I would definitely be surprised. Because right now, I find so much wrong with my work. . . I guess I will once again relegate these things to the summer.

First, I need to clean my apartment. Then I can clean up everything else.

I swear. . .

This baby is evil!

You Are 58% Evil

You are evil, but you haven't yet mastered the dark side. Fear not though - you are on your way to world domination.

How Evil Are You?

For Christina

I finally found it. James Lipton does PopoZao:

CSI, how you amaze me

I watched the newest episode of CSI tonight. . . I think it's called "I Like to Watch." Anyway, I've been over-using the term "Post-Modern" as a way to describe any text that leaves its own diegetic realm and pops over to our side. When CSI makes fun of forensics shows like it, that definitely makes an impact on the viewers. Initially, you laugh -- you are also aware of the shortcomings and unrealistic expectations that these shows produce. Then there is a moment of silence when you wonder if fans like you encourage this kind of sensationalist behavior that makes everything into a spectacle (and makes that spectacle a social commodity). . . and, of course, you do. So you come out of part of the episode laughing, but you also realize that you are laughing at yourself. And that's the kind of laughter that hurts in the not-so-good way.

I'm really excited to go back to Colorado tomorrow. I'm worried that this weeklong vacation is going to encourage bad habits during the remainder of my semester. I will try to not let it get to me. I've also packed light in terms of my homework. Well, four books is considered light. I doubt I will get to all of them, but I figured it would be better to be safe than sorry. Besides, I swore to myself that I would not do any research or paper-writing during my break. No problem.

With that, this will be my first true Spring Break since . . . freshman year of undergrad. Whoa. It's been about 11 years. Yikes!

Support Hoth 2014!

Sign the petition for Hoth as the next Winter Olympics City/Planet!

A vote for Hoth is a vote for the Jedi!

Osteo BiFlex Frankenstein

Okay, this is also just really funny. . . Unfortunately, I couldn't find a way to embed the video into this entry. Sorry! But, it's definitely worth a click:

The new "Frank"

One to cheer up many

One of my school friends says this video is the treat he grants himself for studying:

The day before tomorrow. . . Today!

I'm really excited, yet really nonchalant about returning to Colorado tomorrow evening. Maybe it's due to the long road trip to Chicago and the wait in Midway that I have to look forward to. Or maybe it's because I know I have to clean, do laundry, and pack when I return from classes today. Or maybe it's due to the weather right now (all fog). Thank goodness I didn't schedule my flight for today.

This week hasn't been the greatest, but it hasn't been the worst either. . . I'm pretty sure that I've been rather hormonal in my reactions to random things. . . Blah.

I wonder what would happen if I didn't go anywhere I intended for spring break -- I could go to Vegas or NYC or anywhere but Colorado and Wisconsin. . . What purpose would that honestly serve?

Last night, I was speaking to my friend about how odd some people find their niche when they are very young. I wondered about whether or not people had personalities to match the careers they eventually choose in life. . . Have I chosen the career that matches my personality yet? Have I even been exposed to what that is? I don't know. . . My friend said that she could ferret out problems and possibilities that many people do not think of because of her previous experiences with the underworld of crimes and misdemeanors. . . Now she gets paid to find mistakes. I don't ultimately know what my talents and skills are good for. . . Perhaps I was born to be a Rock Star and missed my calling. Damn. I knew I should have taken choir.

Ad creates a live Simpsons intro

This is crazy awesome: