My favorite house:
(It's not my house. It's a random house that I just happen to really, really like.)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Pictures from this weekend.
My favorite cat:
My favorite house:
(It's not my house. It's a random house that I just happen to really, really like.)
My favorite house:
(It's not my house. It's a random house that I just happen to really, really like.)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Questions of the day.
1. Who invented knitting?
2. Is a fetus technically cancer? Think about it.
3. How did a society that had yet to conceive of the flush toilet build shit like this?
4. Philip Seymour Hoffman?
2. Is a fetus technically cancer? Think about it.
3. How did a society that had yet to conceive of the flush toilet build shit like this?
4. Philip Seymour Hoffman?
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Miracle.
Me in Gray Sweater in November:
Me in Gray Sweater today:
Jesus is not in town as far as I know. Explain plz?
Me in Gray Sweater today:
Jesus is not in town as far as I know. Explain plz?
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Socks and shrews.
My weekend, in alliteration.
Socks for my dad:
Dead shrew that my dad found in the backyard:
Socks for my dad:
Dead shrew that my dad found in the backyard:
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Happy Valentine's Day!
My Medieval history teacher: "Don't ask me why they decided to make a love holiday based on a martyr."
(Vintage Valentine's Day cards from Flickr.)
The holiday made me think of the note on the back of the photograph of Frances Collier (my great-great-great grandmother) used in my title-thingy above. I think I posted it on my old blog, but here it is again, complete with transcription.
Frances Collier Hamblin. Ambrotype taken March 1866.
A Christmas (1878) present to my husband.
When you look upon this may you recall our wedded life. Remember me with kindness when memory is all that is left of me, and for the sake of early hours be kind to our child. May he and you so live that we may be united in Heaven, is the sincere and last prayer of her who has now for nearly fourteen years been
Your affectionate wife.
After you, I desire that this may be the property of our son, Myron G. Hamblin, whom I commend to your care.
F.C.H.
In case you were wondering, she was not dying when this letter was written. In fact, she went on to live another 41 years after she wrote it. But it was the nineteenth century, and people back then could kick it at any moment. Okay, people now can still kick it at any moment, but not as much, and not from stupid stuff like syphilis. I'm not saying that my ancestors had syphilis. They just probably did, because they were kind of whore-y. I kid! They were no more whore-y than the general population. Which was, according to my great-grandmother, pretty whore-y. Just like today!
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
(Vintage Valentine's Day cards from Flickr.)
The holiday made me think of the note on the back of the photograph of Frances Collier (my great-great-great grandmother) used in my title-thingy above. I think I posted it on my old blog, but here it is again, complete with transcription.
Frances Collier Hamblin. Ambrotype taken March 1866.
A Christmas (1878) present to my husband.
When you look upon this may you recall our wedded life. Remember me with kindness when memory is all that is left of me, and for the sake of early hours be kind to our child. May he and you so live that we may be united in Heaven, is the sincere and last prayer of her who has now for nearly fourteen years been
Your affectionate wife.
After you, I desire that this may be the property of our son, Myron G. Hamblin, whom I commend to your care.
F.C.H.
In case you were wondering, she was not dying when this letter was written. In fact, she went on to live another 41 years after she wrote it. But it was the nineteenth century, and people back then could kick it at any moment. Okay, people now can still kick it at any moment, but not as much, and not from stupid stuff like syphilis. I'm not saying that my ancestors had syphilis. They just probably did, because they were kind of whore-y. I kid! They were no more whore-y than the general population. Which was, according to my great-grandmother, pretty whore-y. Just like today!
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Campus.
Here's a photograph from outside of my lecture hall (I don't actually own it, but I go there, sometimes):
Here are some shadows against the building:
And here's a rock outcropping. I didn't realize at the time that there was a big fat dead Bluejay in the picture.
Here are some shadows against the building:
And here's a rock outcropping. I didn't realize at the time that there was a big fat dead Bluejay in the picture.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Fringe is finally getting good.
I started stalking Fringe, er, kind of, a couple of months ago when I needed something, anything, to watch while I knit for hours on end. That something ended up being the first couple of episodes of Fringe, and I laughed - not in a good way - through all of them. That's because the first episodes of Fringe were ridiculous. Badly written, with stupid plot lines, cringe-worthy dialogue, and mediocre acting (with the exception of the great John Noble, a.k.a. Denethor, of course). The only aspect of the show that lived up to expectations, and indeed surpassed them, was the special effects. Good job, special effects people. Keep it up.
Of course, I kept watching in spite of the badness ... at times, because of the badness, actually, because it was funny. But then something happened. I don't know what exactly. But suddenly - and I mean over the last couple of weeks - Fringe is getting good. Still uneven at times, but good. Good enough that I'm willing to forgive the crappy "science" behind a lot of the story. Don't get me wrong; I realize that Fringe is a sci-fi show. That's the reason why Fringe's science is disappointing at times. Unlike fantasy, science fiction actually has to be based on real science. Both sci-fi and fantasy, no matter how out-there they get, require a basis in some kind of reality, the kind of reality that comes with basic rules, restrictions, etc. It might be an alternative reality, but it still has to be a real one. Fringe has some work to do on that, but as I said, I'll forgive them for the time being.
That being said, I need to commend the writers for actually getting some shit right this last episode ("Ability"). That shit about the brain having endless potential at birth, and the process of growing up actually being the process of limiting that potential? Totally true. Sort of. Let me explain this as well as my admittedly limited grasp on neuroscience allows.
A baby has a zillion more connections between neurons than you or I do. As the baby grows, the connections that are used stay and the ones that aren't get pruned away. For example, here's a highly immoral experiment that you should never try: if you covered the eyes of a newborn baby and kept them covered for a certain amount of time, that baby would not be able to see when you uncovered his eyes. "Use it or lose it" applies, sort of.
So, yes, a baby's brain does have a lot of potential. If you remove half of a baby's brain (again, not an experiment I'd encourage you to try yourself) before he reaches a certain age, the remaining portion of brain will adapt and take over all the responsibilities that would have fallen to the missing half, and the baby will grow up to be mentally normal. If you remove half of my brain, on the other hand, I would be severely brain damaged, possibly a vegetable. That's because my brain is pretty much set in its ways, compared to a child's. It can still adapt and learn new things if needed, but it has nowhere near the adaptive potential of a child's brain.
That being said ... I doubt that anyone's brain has "unlimited" potential, as Fringe claims. The brain can do pretty amazing things, but it is limited, at any age, to the realm of human possibility. Potential is limited - I guess that's what I'm trying to say. I mean, look at ... gorillas. Gorillas have brains much like our own. A baby gorilla has amazing potential and can be trained to communicate using sign language. However, no matter how well you train an average gorilla, it will never have the level of intelligence of an average human being. There are limits to its potential just like there are limits to ours. Before a gorilla could learn how to read and write like an adult human can, it would have to evolve into something else. Likewise, before a human could do things like communicate telepathically and shut electric lights off using brainpower alone, we would have to evolve into something else.
But ... that's where the line is drawn between science and science fiction. I'm glad to see that Fringe is straddling that line a bit better. Now, if they really wanted to get fancy, they could stay away from ambiguous claptrap like "the mind has limitless potential, whoooo" and actually use terms like "neuron," "synapse," and "pruning" to explain this scientific shit even better than I can. Get a little more specific, Fringe. We can take it. For God's sake, you're from the same guy who made Lost. Confuse us a little more.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Current project.
I'm currently writing (er, researching in order to write) an essay on this sarcophagus (click for larger picture):
It's cool, right? It's from the 4th century A.D. and can currently be found in the Vatican collection of sarcophagi and whatever (yes, that is its official name). My job is to determine why the images on it are on it, basically. Here's what I've determined so far, with the help of stuff I learned in class, books, and the website where the actual image came from.
First of all, this is the front of the sarcophagus. Sarcophagi have three exposed sides and a top (the lid part). The front side was the longest and was the side typically decorated. The two smaller sides could be decorated too, but typically not as elaborately as the front.
Secondly, this sarcophagus is fucking fancy. Earlier and less elaborate sarcophagi included just a few scenes from the Old and New Testament along with a likeness of the dead person. This sarcophagus has a shitload of scenes in it, mostly from the New Testament, with two scenes from the Apocrypha. There's also a portrait of the dead people in the center of the top row (within the circle). My initial impression was that the couple portrayed was a husband and wife. The dude on the right is obviously a dude, and a learned dude because he's holding a scroll (the ancients loved being learned). Then I assume the person on his left, who is kind of feeling him up a little bit, is his wife. However, I have seen a sarcophagus with a depiction of a couple in which the two people were brothers. So I guess they could be brothers, because the person on the left is kind of dudely, or ambiguously dudely, I guess. But I'm guessing it's a woman. I have to ask my professor about it. I also have to ask my professor what that hand gesture means. There are a lot of images of Jesus making that hand gesture in later artwork, I think. My best guess at the moment is that it means, "I'm a dude."
More stuff: this is a double register sarcophagus, which means there are two levels on it. Two levels!! This thing was fucking expensive to make. I guarantee it.
On the first level, going from left to right, you can see God making Adam and Eve. Adam is the little dude on the ground. He's asleep because God just took out his rib to make Eve, who is the other little person. You'll notice there are three Gods, also. The website states that this is the "earliest known depiction of this non-scriptural concept" - that is, the trinity. The central God is seated, and I take it he is the main God. He's instructing another God on how to make Eve, I think. Early Christians were always debating over how to reconcile the concept of the trinity with the concept of one God, and Christ's divinity with the fact that Christ was human, and the fact that the God of the Old Testament is kind of angry and bitchy compared to the laid-back, forgiving God of the New Testament. Some believed that God had actually created the universe using a helper, or that there were like, mini Gods and the true God wasn't revealed until Christ came, or whatever. It made sense to them.
In any case, the next scene shows Adam and Eve with the serpent (right, holding the forbidden fruit), and Jesus. Anachronistic much? Except it's not, because if Jesus = God then he's always been around. The juxtaposition of Jesus and Adam, furthermore, might function to indicate Jesus's role as the "New Adam." Adam is created by God and with the help of Eve, fucks everything up. Jesus is created by God to save humanity from the original sin of Adam and Eve, and their other sins, which do not include sleeping with your father; that's totally legit if you think you're the last people on Earth.
Moving on: there's Jesus turning water into wine (a scene not depicted on sarcophagi until the late 3rd/early 4th century),and Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes. The website says that the next image shows the resurrection of Lazarus but frankly, I don't see it, unless the woman at Jesus's feet is supposed to be Mary, the sister of Lazarus ... To me it looks like she's the woman with the hemorrhage problem who totally feels Jesus up without his permission, but it's okay.
Moving on to the bottom row: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the adoration of the Magi (or wise men, whatever). The website points out the juxtaposition of the three Magi with the three Gods just above. Cool. Moving right, Jesus heals a blind boy, and then ... Daniel in the lions' den! Old Testament out of nowhere, WTF! Except it makes total sense if you get it.
Next, Peter denies Christ (you can tell he's denying Christ because he's got this look on his face that's all like, "Jesus? Hmmm .... Jesus. Uh ... no, I don't think I know him. Wait! No, I definitely don't know him." Also, there's a chicken). Then, Peter goes off to jail, and then draws water out of a stone and baptizes his jailers. This is important because Peter is Jesus 2.0. The end.
Obviously, there's a lot more to explain, but that's what the essay is for. I thought I'd give you a preview, though. What do you think?
It's cool, right? It's from the 4th century A.D. and can currently be found in the Vatican collection of sarcophagi and whatever (yes, that is its official name). My job is to determine why the images on it are on it, basically. Here's what I've determined so far, with the help of stuff I learned in class, books, and the website where the actual image came from.
First of all, this is the front of the sarcophagus. Sarcophagi have three exposed sides and a top (the lid part). The front side was the longest and was the side typically decorated. The two smaller sides could be decorated too, but typically not as elaborately as the front.
Secondly, this sarcophagus is fucking fancy. Earlier and less elaborate sarcophagi included just a few scenes from the Old and New Testament along with a likeness of the dead person. This sarcophagus has a shitload of scenes in it, mostly from the New Testament, with two scenes from the Apocrypha. There's also a portrait of the dead people in the center of the top row (within the circle). My initial impression was that the couple portrayed was a husband and wife. The dude on the right is obviously a dude, and a learned dude because he's holding a scroll (the ancients loved being learned). Then I assume the person on his left, who is kind of feeling him up a little bit, is his wife. However, I have seen a sarcophagus with a depiction of a couple in which the two people were brothers. So I guess they could be brothers, because the person on the left is kind of dudely, or ambiguously dudely, I guess. But I'm guessing it's a woman. I have to ask my professor about it. I also have to ask my professor what that hand gesture means. There are a lot of images of Jesus making that hand gesture in later artwork, I think. My best guess at the moment is that it means, "I'm a dude."
More stuff: this is a double register sarcophagus, which means there are two levels on it. Two levels!! This thing was fucking expensive to make. I guarantee it.
On the first level, going from left to right, you can see God making Adam and Eve. Adam is the little dude on the ground. He's asleep because God just took out his rib to make Eve, who is the other little person. You'll notice there are three Gods, also. The website states that this is the "earliest known depiction of this non-scriptural concept" - that is, the trinity. The central God is seated, and I take it he is the main God. He's instructing another God on how to make Eve, I think. Early Christians were always debating over how to reconcile the concept of the trinity with the concept of one God, and Christ's divinity with the fact that Christ was human, and the fact that the God of the Old Testament is kind of angry and bitchy compared to the laid-back, forgiving God of the New Testament. Some believed that God had actually created the universe using a helper, or that there were like, mini Gods and the true God wasn't revealed until Christ came, or whatever. It made sense to them.
In any case, the next scene shows Adam and Eve with the serpent (right, holding the forbidden fruit), and Jesus. Anachronistic much? Except it's not, because if Jesus = God then he's always been around. The juxtaposition of Jesus and Adam, furthermore, might function to indicate Jesus's role as the "New Adam." Adam is created by God and with the help of Eve, fucks everything up. Jesus is created by God to save humanity from the original sin of Adam and Eve, and their other sins, which do not include sleeping with your father; that's totally legit if you think you're the last people on Earth.
Moving on: there's Jesus turning water into wine (a scene not depicted on sarcophagi until the late 3rd/early 4th century),and Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes. The website says that the next image shows the resurrection of Lazarus but frankly, I don't see it, unless the woman at Jesus's feet is supposed to be Mary, the sister of Lazarus ... To me it looks like she's the woman with the hemorrhage problem who totally feels Jesus up without his permission, but it's okay.
Moving on to the bottom row: Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and the adoration of the Magi (or wise men, whatever). The website points out the juxtaposition of the three Magi with the three Gods just above. Cool. Moving right, Jesus heals a blind boy, and then ... Daniel in the lions' den! Old Testament out of nowhere, WTF! Except it makes total sense if you get it.
Next, Peter denies Christ (you can tell he's denying Christ because he's got this look on his face that's all like, "Jesus? Hmmm .... Jesus. Uh ... no, I don't think I know him. Wait! No, I definitely don't know him." Also, there's a chicken). Then, Peter goes off to jail, and then draws water out of a stone and baptizes his jailers. This is important because Peter is Jesus 2.0. The end.
Obviously, there's a lot more to explain, but that's what the essay is for. I thought I'd give you a preview, though. What do you think?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Walkies.
I've taken to walking around the campus a bit. We've had some nice days recently, and the campus is pretty. Look:
These pictures were taken last week. There's a lot less snow now.
Bonus picture: Miss Teto!
She's developed a habit of waiting right outside the door whenever I'm in the bathroom. Then when I open the door, I have to practically kill myself trying not to trip over her. It's not quite as terrifying as when I wake up with her face in my face, though.
These pictures were taken last week. There's a lot less snow now.
Bonus picture: Miss Teto!
She's developed a habit of waiting right outside the door whenever I'm in the bathroom. Then when I open the door, I have to practically kill myself trying not to trip over her. It's not quite as terrifying as when I wake up with her face in my face, though.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Bangs-B-Gone.
Last night I pinned my hair back to wash my face, and went to sleep like that. This morning, I couldn't get my bangs to lie flat, so I decided to just roll with it. I was going home for the weekend anyway so I figured I wouldn't see very many people today. Or, er, important people. I'm perfectly fine with subjecting strangers - like in the restaurant where we ate on the way home - to my questionable appearance, but not classmates or anyone else who knows me. I don't like to be around people who have the memory of the image of my fivehead branded on their minds forever.
I don't think it looked too bad, though. My mom thinks it looked "cute," but she's one of those mothers who's always like, "Why don't you put your hair back, why are you hiding your beautiful face, blah blah blah." Because I have an IMAX forehead and it's your fault.
Seriously, though, my head is downright legendary. It was so large when I was born that the doctors were afraid that I might be hydrocephalic. I'm not making this shit up. And throughout my early childhood, my height and weight were consistently around the 50th percentile on the growth charts, while my head was consistently the 99th percentile. My head was so big that it put a huge strain on my neck, occasionally to the point of injury, and then I'd have to spend a week lying down while my neck healed.
I'm not ashamed of my head by any means. Better to store brains in and land small aircraft on, I always say. Of course, just because I'm not ashamed doesn't mean I have to go out of my way to showcase it, which is why I have historically worn my hair over my brow. But I don't know; today I didn't think it looked too bad, and I love the idea of the hairstyle itself. I love it on J. Crew models who have their hair all tousled and pulled back.
Now that you know more about my head than you ever wanted to, I'm sure you'll be interested in these outfit pictures I took today.
It's the same old shit, basically, with the addition of a new cardigan, which I love quite dearly.
I don't think it looked too bad, though. My mom thinks it looked "cute," but she's one of those mothers who's always like, "Why don't you put your hair back, why are you hiding your beautiful face, blah blah blah." Because I have an IMAX forehead and it's your fault.
Seriously, though, my head is downright legendary. It was so large when I was born that the doctors were afraid that I might be hydrocephalic. I'm not making this shit up. And throughout my early childhood, my height and weight were consistently around the 50th percentile on the growth charts, while my head was consistently the 99th percentile. My head was so big that it put a huge strain on my neck, occasionally to the point of injury, and then I'd have to spend a week lying down while my neck healed.
I'm not ashamed of my head by any means. Better to store brains in and land small aircraft on, I always say. Of course, just because I'm not ashamed doesn't mean I have to go out of my way to showcase it, which is why I have historically worn my hair over my brow. But I don't know; today I didn't think it looked too bad, and I love the idea of the hairstyle itself. I love it on J. Crew models who have their hair all tousled and pulled back.
Now that you know more about my head than you ever wanted to, I'm sure you'll be interested in these outfit pictures I took today.
It's the same old shit, basically, with the addition of a new cardigan, which I love quite dearly.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Stitch and Bitch Minutes.
-Disney movies.
-Drugs, and is there a marijuana pill? (Answer: yes)
-One ounce of cocaine is a hell of a lot.
-How much cocaine will kill you?
-New question: I can has one?
-The Bubble Spinner
-Secret neighbors, the reality show
-Using your ribs as knitting needles? It’s true.
-Metal bones, good or bad?
-Hugh Jackman, hot or not? Unanimously: of course
-Definition of “a fox”
-General: a fox
-Specific: The Silver Fox
-I has a desk. DEEESSSSSSKKKKK!!!!!!!!
-Conversation:
-My Google searches: “How to kill a hooker,” “Harry Potter slash fiction.”
-Harry Potter killed a hooker?
-You didn’t know Sirius Black was a hooker?
-Sirius Lee Black.
-Sirius Jason Black.
-Albus Steven Dumbledore.
-Romeo and Steve. W. T. F.
-Jack the Dog
-PENIS!!!!! Specifically, can you grow a penis in a petri dish? Answer: Yes.
-MAGIC DILDO JOKE.
-We know who Charles Manson is.
-Project Runway
a. Andre is our little lamb.
b. Daniel Franco, where did you go?
c. Fashion, lighten up it’s just fashion.
d. It looks like a baboon’s ass exploded all over her.
-Alex: Oh, crap. We’ve been looking at penises for too long.
-“I really hope that I find my birth control pills when I get back to my room. I don’t care if the internet knows.” –I’d rather be anonymous, even though I don’t care.
-My blog died because I just didn’t care.
-Feel free to substitute “blog” for “baby” or any other living creature.
-Drugs, and is there a marijuana pill? (Answer: yes)
-One ounce of cocaine is a hell of a lot.
-How much cocaine will kill you?
-New question: I can has one?
-The Bubble Spinner
-Secret neighbors, the reality show
-Using your ribs as knitting needles? It’s true.
-Metal bones, good or bad?
-Hugh Jackman, hot or not? Unanimously: of course
-Definition of “a fox”
-General: a fox
-Specific: The Silver Fox
-I has a desk. DEEESSSSSSKKKKK!!!!!!!!
-Conversation:
-My Google searches: “How to kill a hooker,” “Harry Potter slash fiction.”
-Harry Potter killed a hooker?
-You didn’t know Sirius Black was a hooker?
-Sirius Lee Black.
-Sirius Jason Black.
-Albus Steven Dumbledore.
-Romeo and Steve. W. T. F.
-Jack the Dog
-PENIS!!!!! Specifically, can you grow a penis in a petri dish? Answer: Yes.
-MAGIC DILDO JOKE.
-We know who Charles Manson is.
-Project Runway
a. Andre is our little lamb.
b. Daniel Franco, where did you go?
c. Fashion, lighten up it’s just fashion.
d. It looks like a baboon’s ass exploded all over her.
-Alex: Oh, crap. We’ve been looking at penises for too long.
-“I really hope that I find my birth control pills when I get back to my room. I don’t care if the internet knows.” –I’d rather be anonymous, even though I don’t care.
-My blog died because I just didn’t care.
-Feel free to substitute “blog” for “baby” or any other living creature.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Green.
I lurve my new green cardigan. It came to me all the way from England (Boden to be exact; that's a clothes place, not a town or anything). Like everything else in the world right now, it was on major sale. In fact, it was on so much major sale that my mom got one, too, in a different color.
This - and another cardigan I just bought, also majorly on sale - have quickly become two of my favorite things in my wardrobe. My other clothes, which have worked just as hard over the years without ever getting such recognition, are quite jealous as you can imagine.
This - and another cardigan I just bought, also majorly on sale - have quickly become two of my favorite things in my wardrobe. My other clothes, which have worked just as hard over the years without ever getting such recognition, are quite jealous as you can imagine.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Projects for 2009.
Just some things I'm planning to attempt this year:
Elizabeth Bennett cardigan by Stefanie Japel.
[This is really lovely. I've just ordered the yarn for it.]
Apollo and Artemis by Kirsten Kapur.
[Knitting these used to be a distant possibility ... but now I can make socks!]
Reykjavik by Kirsten Kapur.
[Will involve learning intarsia. I have a book on it, but I may have to enlist some real-life help too.]
Beer gloves by Kurt Fausset.
[I love fingerless gloves, but I've made a lot of them. A manly version will be a nice change.]
Gallus by Kirsten Kapur.
[Just lovely.]
Dr. G's memory vest by Kirsten Kapur.
[You may have noticed that I have a lot of patterns here from Kirsten Kapur. That's because she's awesome!]
Froot Loop by Kristi Geraci.
[I just love sock patterns.]
And that's just what I have lined up with the remaining cold months of winter in mind. With warmer weather will come new ideas for projects, I'm hoping.
Elizabeth Bennett cardigan by Stefanie Japel.
[This is really lovely. I've just ordered the yarn for it.]
Apollo and Artemis by Kirsten Kapur.
[Knitting these used to be a distant possibility ... but now I can make socks!]
Reykjavik by Kirsten Kapur.
[Will involve learning intarsia. I have a book on it, but I may have to enlist some real-life help too.]
Beer gloves by Kurt Fausset.
[I love fingerless gloves, but I've made a lot of them. A manly version will be a nice change.]
Gallus by Kirsten Kapur.
[Just lovely.]
Dr. G's memory vest by Kirsten Kapur.
[You may have noticed that I have a lot of patterns here from Kirsten Kapur. That's because she's awesome!]
Froot Loop by Kristi Geraci.
[I just love sock patterns.]
And that's just what I have lined up with the remaining cold months of winter in mind. With warmer weather will come new ideas for projects, I'm hoping.
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