Night Before Christmas Surprise!

     One of my favorite holiday traditions is the Christmas Eve gift. My parents have been doing this since I was born and it's a little odd to think it might be ending soon.
     Each year Mom and Dad will pick a present for each of us to open. When we were little my sister, brother and I were super-duper excited about it because it was the one time we got to break the no-presents-until-Christmas rule and we never knew what it would bring. Now that we're older and have had many years of this same gift we know what it will be, but we're still excited to follow through on the tradition.

Aren't these guys just rockin' the pjs?!

     So what was the gift? Pajamas! Well, one year they were robes (bath robes not wizarding robes) and another they were slippers, but the Christmas Eve gift is always something comfortable we can wear when we open our gifts.
     I think the excitement now isn't so much that we don't know what we'll get. I think it's more that we can still feel like little kids getting to open that one present when all the others are forbidden. I'm sad to see the tradition fade, but it definitely will be something I start with my children.

Merry Christmas!
Stephie

Books to Movies and Back Again: Harry Potter

     I've always been a book kind of person reading the story and imagining what characters look like and what their settings are supposed to be before I go and watch the movie and have that image destroyed by someone else's picture. I never thought it was a huge deal, until the Harry Potter franchise. Now, I'm from that generation that grew up while all the Hogwarts kids were growing up, when I was eleven I read the first book, when I was twelve I read the second, etc. until the final book came out when I was seventeen.
     The movies didn't start coming out until I was about thirteen (a couple years after they were filmed) and by then I'd formed my own image of what Harry should look like. Daniel Radcliffe, as much as he is what J.K. Rowling and the producers might have imagined and wanted him to look like, was not my choice for Harry. I don't know of any actor of this generation that would have made a good Harry for what I first imagined him to be. But that's because I don't remember what I imagined him to look like.
     When the movie posters and trailers came out they were everywhere; Harry Potter was one of the biggest series and stood to make a lot of money. But what that did for my imagination was take the kid I'd created and replaced him with this real person that didn't exactly fit how I interpreted the book. Looking back at it, I'm annoyed. But I enjoyed the movies and I enjoyed the books, for different reasons.
     The books were heavier on the relationships and what it means to grow up in a world you never knew existed. They dealt with Peeves and his antics, yet he was an accepted part of Hogwarts--everyone has a place where they can belong and feel at home--in fact the story wouldn't be the same without the prankster ghost. The books dealt with Harry's insecurities and he had more alone time to delve into his own thoughts.
     The films were more action-oriented and focused more on the savior aspect. Harry was no longer just a kid growing up and dealing with his demons; he became the boy who would save the wizarding world from Voldemort. Harry wasn't allowed to have as many weaknesses, or to work through them. Yet the movies are still great stories (I'm still a little peeved that the origin of the Marauder's Map didn't make it into the third movie).

     In general I become frustrated when movies are made out of books, yet I understand the mentality behind it. I have always enjoyed Jane Austen, and the movies of her stories have both made the books more accessible and visible. But, to me, her stories seem less dependent on the details than the interactions--Elizabeth Bennett doesn't have to wear Regency attire to be judgemental of Darcy when she first meets him, the Lizzie Bennet Diaries proved that. But when movies leave out important details, like why the Potters chose Peter Pettigrew to be their secret keeper rather than Sirius and the connection between the four friends, they leave out important parts that make the story so remarkable. The Potters weren't betrayed because the information was beaten out of someone, it was given over freely and Sirius was betrayed as much as anyone else after suggesting it. These details color the entire story and take some of the magic when they're glossed over.
     Some movies based on books are great, others not so much. And while I enjoy both the movies and books in the Harry Potter franchise, I will always hold the books more dear for the magic they were in my life.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Samhain

     A few years ago a friend asked why I'm so okay with all the "devil worship" of Halloween. I was really confused what she was talking about so had her explain. She was taking the Christian perspective of the holiday while I had already integrated my Celtic background into my Christian faith. Somewhere along the line All Hallow's Eve became a day to be feared because the dead were walking the earth.
     Halloween started out as the precursor to All Saint's Day, November 1st, when all the souls of the dead from the year wandered the earth in hopes of finding rest. Then, on All Saints Day they would travel to the next realm, whether that was the realm of the good (heaven) or evil (hell). We wear masks so that the evil spirits cannot recognize our human souls and therefore take us with them or manipulate our souls after they've gone on.
     Samhain itself is about the transition from summer into winter. It is the time when livestock is brought back from summer pastures and people prepare for the winter. It is one of four holidays in the Celtic calendar, resting almost halfway between the Autumn Equinox and the Winter Solstice. During the festival bonfires are lit as protective measures against spirits and fairies, but the souls of lost loved ones are welcomed to eat at the table with the living. Samhain pre-dates Christianity, and when the Christian All Saint's Day was moved to November 1st the two began to meld and became something like modern Halloween.
   The holiday is called by many different names and celebrated with different practices
, but most have some connection to the rebirth and celebration. It isn't about terrifying children, or about demons wandering the planet; it's about remembering the people we've lost and indulging in the "what if".

Old Family, New Friends

     I love it when I can visit with family. It's been a long and frustrating few years since we all lived close to each other and gas prices made it easy to just plan a trip for the weekend. When we were little it was easy because our family lived in Portland, Gra'ma and Papa lived in Central Oregon, and out of my seven aunt-uncle sets the furthest lived in Central California. Since we moved everyone else has moved too, but it seems we're moving closer together.
     What is it about Central Oregon that draws us all back? Is it that my parents' generation grew up there, or is it that all of our best memories are there? I don't know, but for me it's that my family is mostly close by no matter where in Central Oregon I am.
     I came down to Madras to visit my aunt and her kids. I wasn't expecting to see much of my oldest cousin, but I've been given the opportunity to meet his children and I absolutely adore them. The older two are girls and sweethearts. They're brilliant for a nine and seven-year-old, they love to cook, they're outdoorsy, and we all get along so much better than I'd have thought with our age differences. The youngest is a four-year-old boy who looks just like daddy. Their boy is a ladies man, as young as he is, and I can't sit in a room with him without him curling up next to me.
     My cousin's kids are wonderful, so is his wife, but I'm most glad I got to know him again. He's several years older than me and when the family started going its separate ways he was just starting his family. Now that we're adults it's great to become friends as well as family. There is something to be said for creating friendships with family, even the ones you don't see very often.

Just thinking...
Stephie

Vacation Time!

     This September I've been away in Wisconsin. My grandmother and I went to visit her third husband's cousin's wife (very complicated, I know) in Madison. It was a wonderful trip and we got to see a lot of different places and sights. Some highlights were the American Players Theatre production of Hamlet, the Mid-Continent Railway Museum, the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue, and spending a week in the Northwoods.
     Hamlet was a stunning production. The American Players Theatre is centered in Spring Green, WI and has both an indoor and outdoor stage. This summer the woman my Gra'ma and I were staying with, we'll call her Mrs. Lucas, went to see APT's production of Hamlet. She absolutely loved it and insisted we go to a production. I have seen a couple different versions of the play, including Kenneth Branaugh's movie and Laurence Olivier's performance, and I wasn't expecting to be impressed, let alone blown away. Matt Schwader as Hamlet was stunning. I absolutely loved it! Mrs. Lucas also took Gra'ma and I to The Night of the Iguana, a Tennessee Williams play, and I was still spinning from how completely the cast of Hamlet took me from my here and now and transported me into the story like only a good book does.
     I think my favorite part, however, was that afterward the audience was given the opportunity to speak with the actors and have questions answered. I learned that Eric Parks, Laertes, attended my Alma Mater and I got to speak with him about that as well as the play itself. A bonus was that one of the women in the audience also attended Pacific Lutheran University, and her son roomed with Matt in college. Not only was the experience amazing theatrically, but it was driven home to me how interconnected the world can be, and how influential collegiate connections can be.

     Over the course of my four weeks in Wisconsin, Mrs. Lucas did not have internet. This is understandable: she gave up her computer when her husband became ill several years ago and there was no reason to continue paying for internet when she had no ability to use it. This did make for some complications though. You'd never realize how much we depend on the internet, or any of our other electronics, until they are taken away completely. I learned this when we trekked into the Northwoods for a week. It was a wonderful week full of visiting with friends and exploring the beauty of Autumn descending on the Midwest, but it was also a week without television, internet, cell phones, or even a landline! The next nearest neighbor was ten minutes down the road, and the nearest internet connection was an hour into town. In contrast I got a lot of reading done, wrote about the books I'd read, and just relaxed. With Gra'ma and Mrs. Lucas reminiscing about everything and anything they could come up with, it was nice to have some time to myself. Especially in such a beautiful setting.
     In our last couple weeks in Wisconsin, Mrs. Lucas wanted to expose both Gra'ma and me to as much of the area as possible. We started with a trip to the Overture Center where we had a beautiful dinner atop the building at the rooftop restaurant Fresco. Then we explored a Swiss town to the south west that didn't seem much different than any Midwest town I'd been to, but it was some sort of tourist spot. Next Mrs. Lucas took us to Baraboo and the surrounding area where we went to the Railway museum and rode the train.
     The Mid-Continent Railway Museum is in North Freedom, Wisconsin, and houses several steam and diesel engines. They both restore and run the trains that are donated to the Museum. All the work is done by volunteers, with some experts called in for specialty work, and the only paid workers are the ticket agents and the gift-shop employees. It was a wonderful place, the people were friendly and wanted to share their love of railways with everyone. The train rides are over three miles of track owned and operated by the museum and its volunteers. The rides run over the summer, ending the third week of October each year, with special events in November and February.
     We got to ride the train first class in the dining car. It was exciting; I've always loved trains and getting to visit the Jamestown, California, train museum made this trip no less exciting. Trains on the west coast are different than trains in the Midwest, though most people wouldn't think so. Gra'ma kept telling us about her experiences on trains when her father was a roundhouse foreman. She even knew the name of a particular train when no one else did! It was interesting to see such a vibrant recreation of the past in a small town in Southern Wisconsin.
     On the way back from the Railway Museum, we stopped by the Wisconsin Big Cat Rescue. They have twenty-nine cats that have been donated, rescued, or born at the rescue. We were there around naptime so the cats weren't very active, but they were beautiful! It was a nice foil to a small zoo we visited in Baraboo, WI. The zoo wasn't anything near what I've always considered a zoo, only three or four acres. They had some pretty cool animals, most of which are from North America. They had a bear, a couple wolves, deer, llamas, and a couple golden pheasants. I wasn't too impressed, but it was in a beautiful park and it was a free zoo, so I'm surprised they had so many animals from outside the area.
     I had a great time in Wisconsin; caught up on reading, explored the area, and had fun with family. I missed my parents, and especially my dog. But It's always fun to get away from daily life. I hope everyone gets a chance to do something like my trip, something out of the ordinary, and something to simply get away.

Stephie

Back to School--Without the School

     It's August and that means time for school to start. This year is different for me though; I'm not going back to school. For the first time in seventeen years I won't be donning that new-school outfit and worrying about where I'm supposed to be and when, hoping I don't walk into the wrong class, and hoping I'll be on time. It is sort of a surreal feeling, but not a bad one.
     There is some of that nostalgia everyone says you'll have when you graduate. For some reason I didn't really have time for it after high school, but now that I'm leaving my friends, coworkers, and fellow Lutes, I'm starting to get what everyone was talking about.
     Why now? Well, I'm in my last week of work at the University and saying goodbye to people I've spent the last four years worrying over tests, schedules, and building relationships with is becoming more and more difficult. Today I realized we all have been only getting so close at work; the great friendships are formed by people who have class together or see each other outside of work. This week is letting us cut loose a little and have some fun. That fun is letting us get to know each other better and making it harder to let go and move on.
     I'm glad for all the friends I've made in college: from class, work, clubs, and other extra-curriculars come different kinds of people and different friendships. That's going to be what I miss the most, not the endless readings, not the twelve page papers due in two weeks, not the professors who want your entire attention while the groundskeepers are mowing the lawn outside, the friends and experiences you can only get in a place where so many people are trying to discover themselves outside of their pasts and the influences that make them into children.
     What will I do? I don't know. Maybe find a job, pay off those pesky student loans, and become the adult I always wanted to be. But not all grown-up, I'll still remember how it felt every September to look in that mirror and think, who am I going to be this year? I'm going to be me, just a little bit different.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Time Gets Away Sometimes...

     Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted! Life gets away when there isn't anything to differentiate the days. I used to think this was just something that happened in the summer, forgetting what day it was and what the date is. After this year I realize my forgetfulness is simply the monotony of unchanging days, and the fact that I don't have a teacher reminding me what day it is.
     I understand what the "time is a matter of perception" theories are about now: What differentiates Monday from Tuesday? Answer: Nothing. Monday and Tuesday are just things that help us tell stories about the past or future, neither of which actually exists at this point in time, other than on a calendar. There is only the present and marking time is how we communicate stories to other people, even stories as simple as "Today I went to work." I'm sure I could get into this more in-depth, but I'm not sure I understand it enough to try and confuse the rest of the world.
     My point is that without something special to hold the marker of time, the present blends into itself and Tuesday feels like Friday which feels like yesterday. Well, whatever day it really is, have a great day!

Just a thought...
Stephie

A Dumping Ground for Whims?

     I'm in a reflective mood today, and there's something intriguing about being on the internet and knowing that there is so much information out there about me. Part of that is the basic terror of "someone could find me and use this information to harm me" and another part is a "what if..."

     For those of us who grew up as the internet became popular there were the usual internet stranger-danger lessons: don't talk to anyone you don't know in real life, don't give anyone your information including your real name and age, don't do this, don't do that. But now that we're all adults the world wants us to give out all that information and live our lives in the virtual realm. There are even sites devoted to sharing everything from your name to what you ate for breakfast to a picture of that breakfast. 

     Personally, I don't understand the desire to share what I ate for breakfast, or a picture of it, with the world (for those of you asking: cinnamon toast and apple juice). But there are times when sharing something is appropriate, like friends posting about their engagements and asking for help with wedding ideas. But where do we draw that line?

     Should  we be posting on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest all the details of our every moment, or should they be reserved for thoughtful or intentional shares? Is the internet, the archive of our present, a place to record the development of our thoughts and ideas or a dumping ground for our every whim?

Just a thought...

Stephie

MASH

     I started reading like crazy this summer, to make up for all that time I spent on required readings, and in looking for something interesting found M.A.S.H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. This was exciting for me because I've been watching the television show since I was a kid. It was fascinating to see the transition of the story: the movie, and television show, were based on this book. I hadn't noticed when I saw the movie or in watching the show--I guess they didn't credit the author unless he or she was associated with the screen production too--so I was surprised when all three of the renditions were similar.
     The show follows Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, a Captain in the US Army stationed at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital situated near the front lines. He lives in "The Swamp" with a rotation of four other officers and makes it through the Korean War by drinking and flirting outrageously with any and all women he comes across. Yet, he is still one of the best doctors in Asian campaign, with an honest care for the well-being of the people around him. Hawkeye and his friends' hi-jinks illustrate the futility of war while still showing their humanity: their pranks and shows of temper are how they maintain dignity in the midst of one of the most brutal situations man faces.

     The movie is a precursor to the television show and based on the novel. A dark comedy about the same characters and problems as in the novel and television show. The 4077 MASH calls in two replacement doctors and gets Hawkeye and Captain "Duke" Forrest. The two encounter their new tent-mate, Major Frank Burns, who is extremely religious and an inferior surgeon to Hawkeye and Duke. A new surgeon arrives, "Trapper" John, whom Hawkeye knew in college. Hi-jinks ensue and Burns is sent stateside. Meanwhile, the unit's dentist confesses to the chaplain that he is considering suicide. He comes to the Swampmen (for they again live in a tent named "The Swamp") for a quick and easy way to finish it. The three men suggest a "black-pill" quick acting poison and prepare a Last Supper-like going away party for the dentist. The black-pill is a sleeping pill and the dentist's confidence is renewed when he spends the night with one of the nurses, negating his worry of inability to perform. The movie then includes Trapper and Hawkeye's journey to Japan to save a congressman's son. Through blackmail and political implication they escape court-martial and run into a friend of Hawkeye's from college. The story ends with a football game between the 4077th and 325th MASH units. Both sides have ringers and the 4077th manages to win through a combination of cheating and trickery. Soon afterward Hawkeye and Duke are discharged and sent home.
     The book is much like both the movie and the television series. Character outlines vary and some characters are combined to create those who appear in both the movie and television show. I found the personifications between the book and shows enlightening. Alan Alda as Hawkeye in the show has always struck me as the perfect character, but in reading the book I realize how much the two are intertwined. Donald Sutherland as Hawkeye in the movie is a good imagining, but he doesn't have as much of the carefree rake in his personification as Alda's Hawkeye does. Yet the Hawkeye of the book isn't quite as much of a womanizer as in the television show. The relationships between characters, though, are spot-on. How they interact and react to each other, in both the show and movie, mirrors a relationship in the book that creates the community the characters can exist within.
     Despite the differences in characterizations between mediums, the MASH characters are powerful examples of humanity in times of trouble and chaos. I enjoyed all three tellings of Richard Hooker's story. What if all franchises had this similarity threading through them?

Just a thought....
Stephie

Graduation!!

      Yesterday was Graduation Day for my university! On one hand I'm ecstatic to be finished with my undergraduate years, but on the other I'm going to miss all the friends and the experiences and I'm terrified of the "real world." These last four years have been some great times, starting with my freshman year and learning how to function again after tearing my knee apart and having surgery to fix it and finishing with this last year and the insanity of Capstone and preparation for today--my first day as a college graduate.
     There's that worry and stress about "What are you going to do after college?" Well, apparently I'm going to sit on my computer and talk to the world... I don't have a long-term job lined up like some of my classmates, but I'm positive about discovering what I enjoy and working toward the goals I've set for myself. I'm willing to let those goals change, and move with where the world flings me. I'm not exactly just letting it happen, as my family thinks, but I will look around and maybe do something a little unconventional for a while.
     What will I do after college? I will have fun, make people smile, read for pleasure, do my own research on topics that fascinate me, and I will cultivate the relationships my undergraduate years have allowed me to develop. But I will start all of that by packing up my apartment and moving back home until I have that semi-permanent job and can afford my own place.

     I want to say "Thank You" to all of my wonderful friends, my crazy family, and the myriad of professors, mentors, fellow students, and other people that have supported me, pushed me, and been the person I prove wrong when I accomplish the impossible--you have helped to create the person I am today.

Just a thought...
Stephie

The Universal Unit System

     This semester I took a Ballroom class at my university and it was fascinating. Not only did we learn the dances (Country Two-Step, Cha Cha, Waltz, Tango, Nightclub Two-Step, and some others) but we learned about the Universal Unit System which is a way that you can measure music to make it easier to learn. It was designed by Skippy Blair and it is a pretty awesome way to learn difficult dances. 

     We had to write a paper to show we understood the concepts from class, here's some of it: 

     The Universal Unit System is designed to describe the weight changes in dance. Each two beats of music is one unit and the weight changes can be described in three ways: single, double, and triple. A single unit is one where there is only one weight change in the two beats. A double is two weight changes in those two beats, and a triple is three weight changes in two beats of music. There are two different types of single unit: a standard and a delayed single. A delayed single differs from the standard or regular single in that the weight change is on the second beat of the unit, rather than the first. There is also an empty unit where the dancer does not have a weight change.

     How these measurements appear on paper is with dots and slashes. The single unit will have either a dot and slash or a slash and dot—the dot is a weight change while the slash is a hold of some sort: a tap, ronde, or some other movement that does not shift weight from one foot to the other. The double unit will have two dots for a single unit, and the triple will have two large dots with a smaller one in the middle. This smaller dot means the triple step is syncopated: it doesn’t have an even distribution of the time between steps. The steps are placed against cards measured for the beat of the song. In the case of a Country Two-step, the dance is set to 4/4 time (4 beats of music with the quarter note determining the beat) and the steps are single, single, double. It looks like:  The “&a” between each count is how the space between each beat is measured. How 

this is counted is a “slo-ow, slo-ow, quick, quick, slo-ow, slo-ow, quick, quick” saying each syllable on a beat. The difference in the notation between a slow in Country Two-Step and a staccato dance like Tango is a smaller dot below the dot like musical notation has a small dot to indicate staccato.

     I really enjoyed the class and this system is something I think I'll be able to use in the future when I try to learn new dances.

Just a thought...

Stephie

Rediscovered Love

     This evening was a night out of a dream. I've always enjoyed music and the call from my mom about tickets to the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra came as a wonderful shock. My first worry was that I wouldn't be able to convince a friend to go with me (there were two tickets and I didn't want to take the opportunity form someone who could find a friend to go with) but it wasn't that big of a deal: my roommate decided to postpone her date night and join me.
     We dressed up in our finery--can I just point out that something like an orchestra concert should be attended by people in their best dress not jeans and a t-shirt, even if it's your kid's elementary school production, show you appreciate the time the musicians have put in and put on something that takes effort--our outfits weren't superbly formal, but tasteful dresses with reasonable heels for walking around downtown Tacoma were still a lot dressier than what we wear to school and work every day. We arrived in time for the show, but parking was terrible and I made it from the car just in time to take my seat before the introductory remarks began.
     One of the directors of the Orchestra introduced their sponsors from a local university and the conductor. The sponsors had their gratitude and fund-raising spiels, then the conductor got up to the microphone. The TSO had a guest conductor for the night: Paul Haas. Haas has an interesting background, but that's not really what I'm concerned with--he is hilarious! He directed a surprise for the audience; a piece he'd composed himself based on a of classic pieces he'd heard, then proceeded into the expected program.
     First was a piece by a local composer: Alexandra Bryant. It was beautiful, wavering back and forth between smooth, typically orchestral phrases and staccato sections that each draw the attention to the differences while allowing the listener to sink completely into her work. The piece, called Strange Attractors, was varied and showcased what a symphony orchestra is capable of.
     Next was Beethoven. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 was fun to listen to: the pianist was also a guest--Stephanie Leon Shames--and the interplay between the piano's line and the orchestra's began to sound like a call and response. The part that surprised me most about the pairing was Ms. Leon Shames's lack of score. She didn't use music at all during the entire half-hour concerto, playing from memory. I have been part of a choir for over ten years and still have trouble with pieces longer than eight minutes, and the piano requires more effort to make sure to hit the right keys and put the harmonies are in the right places. I enjoyed the faster pace of the piece, it seems like people like to play classical music that drags on and the Beethoven piece didn't feel like it took half an hour.
     After intermission the final piece was Brahms's Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98. Everyone (Haas and the program notes) commented on how sad the piece was, and I could see it, but what drew me was the constant movement and the joy that permeated the piece. Even in the slower portions, the melancholy was interlaced with a joy that drew the sound higher. It was as if Brahms was portraying the search for something lost--once it is found the searcher is glad, happy, joyful, but until then the searcher is upset with a hint of joy to come. The piece's premier was Brahms's last performance in Vienna as he died from late-stage liver cancer in the late nineteenth century and there is some of that ending feeling. However, the farewell is a goodbye based in shared experiences and the happiness of the memory together. It was my favorite piece of the night.
     I have not been to a professional symphony in many years--probably since middle school--and tonight was an opportunity to rediscover a love for classical music and the pomp of going out to the theater. I hope to continue the practice in the coming years.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Heroes

     When it first started on television, I wasn't all that interested in watching Heroes. Since, I've started to see the various shows that have similar theories behind them like Eureka and Warehouse 13.  There is something behind the idea that humans have the power and ability to achieve more than we think we can.

     It's kind of entertaining how strongly we cling to this idea that we can be more than the average person. Escapism culture has taken on a new element--not only can we escape whatever events in our lives are bothering us, but we can start to escape from the elements of ourselves that have negative connections. By knowing or thinking that we can achieve more than the average person - that we each have some sort of magical super power - there is no longer that moment of looking at the self and criticizing it. Instead we each look at the self and only see the superpower--the positive side of it. 

     There are so many different powers in this show - a teen-aged cheerleader who is indestructible  an underachieving Japanese man who can bend space and time, an american who can fly - his brother is running for Senate, and the brilliant Indian biologist who ties them all together. The characters haven't had many adventures yet, I've just started watching Heroes, but they're just learning that they have powers. I'm excited to catch up with the show and all its spin-offs. 

Just a thought...

Stephie

New Obsessions: BBC America

     This last week was Spring Break for my university so I've had some free time on my hands, actually I've had a lot of free time on my hands. I started watching Doctor Who this evening--it's the first new episode since Christmas--but got caught by the new shows that followed.
     Orphan Black and The Nerdist were interesting: Orphan Black is about a woman who watches someone who looks just like her jump in front of a train. She takes on the woman's identity and strange things start to happen in the dead woman's life. The Nerdist is about all things nerdy. The host, Chris Hardwick, described the show as a place where any thing that people can obsess over, talk about, argue about, then talk about more can be explored and talked about. I thought it was an accurate description of being a nerd; it's also a description John Green used when talking about nerds and nerdiness in his vlog. But it's also an accurate description of Tumblr, so The Nerdist is Tumblr in a television show.
     It looks like we, as a society, are becoming more interested in talking about our interests in an informal and impersonal manner. What happened to book clubs and other organizations where people meet up in real life and talk about things?
     I know I'm a culprit of this same anti-social mingling; I am, after all, talking to you from my computer while you're out there on your computer or smart phone, but what happens outside of these glowing boxes? Will we revert to finding meeting places and talking about things just as people have started writing letters again? Or will we stay tethered to the magic box that allows us to travel to an alternate world where all the other people are traveling to talk about their obsessions.

Just a thought....
Stephie

Thyroid Cancer Prevention?

     I was talking to my grandmother recently and she was reading one of those forwarding e-mails, I don't know how true it is, but it sounds plausible. The info originated on Dr. Oz or some such television show.
     When you go to the dentist and get X-rays most people don't realize that your thyroid is right below your jaw. We're told that constant exposure to radiation can cause cancer and it makes sense that regular exposure to radiation at the dentist (or during mammograms for women) can increase your risk, or cause cancer. But there is a guard to protect you; a flap on the apron at the dentist's office and a "thyroid guard" to wear during mammograms are available, but most people don't know about it or don't use it.
     Why don't we know about it? I don't know, maybe it's just a lack of information. If so, let's spread the word.

Just a thought....
Stephie

Sequester: Air Tower Closures

     I was stunned to learn that the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) is closing down several of their locations because of the sequester. I went searching for information and according to a Forbes article even though air traffic makes up only 20% of the Department of Transportation's budget, it is taking 60% of the cuts to transportation. I would like to see some reasoning behind this--Why is the FAA getting the lion's share of the cuts?
     The cuts will close 149 air traffic control towers that are run by subcontracted employees, meaning that the controllers are employed by outside companies rather than the FAA itself. Out of 250 towers nation-wide, the FAA originally planned on closing 189 towers but changed the plan because of "national interest."
     My shock was mainly at the scale of the closures. The 149 towers are in 46 states, they are in small towns and the outskirts of large cities alike. But the closures aren't really closing down the entire facility, instead they're pulling the air traffic controllers and closing the towers. Some "have likened the tower closures to a city suddenly losing its stoplights. It doesn't mean that crashes will happen, but pilots will have to be that much more vigilant" the article said. 
      As someone who travels to small towns and has family and friends in aviation, the closures are concerning; there are ways to deal with an empty control tower, but a location that has been functioning with personnel will be handicapped at least initially by these decisions. I just hope we don't have to hear about a tragedy because of the FAA's cuts. 

Just a thought...
Stephie

Lizzie Bennet Diaries

     Lately a lot of my friends have been talking about several different vlogs, my favorite has been the "Lizzie Bennet Diaries" which is produced by Hank Green. (I'm fascinated by pretty much anything Hank or John Green make--even though I haven't gotten to the books--right now.) The premise is that Elizabeth Bennet is a graduate student making a video diary of her life, it essentially follows the arc of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the modern communications field.
     The episodes are between two and eight minutes long and a new one comes out each Monday and Thursday morning. Recently they released the 94th episode, but there are rumors going around that the series will end on the one-hundredth episode. One friend and I are following the story pretty closely and we are a little confused how so much of the book will be squished into only six episodes. Yet, if they boil it down to the essence of the story, all they'll have to do is get Lizzie and Darcy together, and they'll be done.
     I'm super stoked about the next few episodes, but will be sad to see such a good show go. I wonder if the producers will be willing to continue with other classic books?

Just a thought...
Stephie

Valentine's Day

     This isn't going to be one of those ushy-gushy love posts, nor is it going to be an "I hate Valentine's Day" post. I just want to question why it is so important to have a relationship on a random day in February?
     I understand the history behind why the day itself is associated with love: in Roman times St. Valentine was marrying couples in the Christian faith against Roman law and was killed for his faith in Christianity and for breaking the law. We celebrate his commitment to love and to his faith (didn't think it was a religious holiday, did you?) every year. But why do we have to go out and fight to have plans on the one day? Maybe I'm happy with my book and music, or maybe I want to spend the day with my boyfriend; why do I have to go to the effort of planning something on February 14th? Answer: Secularization. When people noticed that there was a story that celebrated love and they could make money off of it, capitalism picked up the ball and ran.
     That's all fine and dandy, but why is there such a pressure on girls (I'm not sure guys are pressured nearly as much, or looked down upon for not having a date) to find a date and spend time with them. I love the idea of planning out a time to celebrate love, but quit pushing me to give my time to someone I'm not going to invest the rest of my life in, let alone the next couple months. Let me find love and romance in my own time. Let me make plans with friends and celebrate romance the rest of the year rather than just one week in February. But thank you for February 15th when most people flock to the stores and find chocolate for much cheaper than normal, it's a nice break for those chocoholics out there.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Paper Airplane Love

     Last year, Disney came out with a new short, it's called "Paperman" and I saw it for the first time today and completely fell in love with it. It's a combination of Computer Generated Imaging and the hand-drawn line which is apparently new...? I thought they'd have tried the combination before transitioning into CGI only, but that's just me.
     The short is in black and white and it shows this young man in the 1950s who works at some corporate job filling out papers with a bunch of other men. When he meets a beautiful girl at the train station he thinks it's a one-time meeting: he'll never see her again. He's surprised when she appears in the window of the building across the street. He starts throwing paper airplanes, trying to get her attention but failing. Some of his reactions are so lifelike they're priceless to watch.
     Eventually the man runs out of paper and decides to go find her, but she's turned a corner out of sight. He finds the last airplane and throws it out of frustration, but the airplane (and I can just hear that little voice in my head) thinks "Oh no, buddy, you're not giving up on love." It goes and finds a bunch of the failed attempts and they push the young man along, keeping him sitting still when he tries to fight them. Then the one airplane finds the beautiful woman. It's fascinatingly adorable watching the airplanes bounce along on the wind because they look like the mops from the Sorcerer's Apprentice in Fantasia, where Mickey enchants the mop to clean the floor.
     It's Disney, so of course there's a happy ending, but I strongly encourage you to watch through the credits. It's an amazing story of 'love conquers all' and an especially helpful reminder that sometimes you just have to wait, and sometimes fate needs to be shown that you're serious about it. So, now that I'm done fan-girl-ing about it; Enjoy!

Just a thought...
Stephie

A Compliment a Day...

     So today was not a good day; I planned to get up early, finish my homework, clean my apartment, maybe go to my parents' and play with my dog. None of that happened: I slept much later than I had hoped, managed to spend the entire day washing dishes, feeling all alone, and discovered that my roommate's boyfriend had left egg all over the lid to one of my pans. After an hour of scrubbing it is still not clean. To say the least I was not in a good mood.
     But then I checked my Facebook. I attend Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, WA and recently a student (at least I assume it was a student) started up a Facebook page called Pacific Lutheran Compliments where students may anonymously submit compliments to the administrator and they will appear on the page. I've been following it since its founding and it's been wonderful to see several of my friends complimented, and to just see how kind everyone is, but I was starting to feel left out when today a friend tagged me on a compliment. Needless to say my entire day turned around. It's wonderful how something so small could make my entire day better.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Movie Night!

     A few of my friends were lamenting the fact that I hadn't seen several of their favorite movies--Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Fight Club--so they all but blackmailed me into watching them.
     Star Wars was entertaining: a few of us got together and watched the more recent trilogy. I really enjoyed them, but there seemed to be a bit of disconnect between the original trilogy and the newer set. Not in the storyline, but in the technology that was used to create the story. The computer generated images seemed out of place: there was too much color and the style--shapes, patterns, blends and contrasts--was completely different from the original trilogy. Why wouldn't the artists look at the original concept art and work form there? It seemed like they watched the movies, but then, instead of continuing in the pattern already established, the artists branched out and introduced something completely new. In some places this worked, but when they went back to places where the first trilogy took place it looked completely out of place and as if they'd photo-shopped something in that wasn't supposed to be there.
     I'm interested to see what Disney does with the new trilogy. I hope they add more congruity and can bridge the first and second trilogies together.

Just a thought...
Stephie

"Are You Mad?"

     I went bowling with some friends tonight. It was a great time and I spent time with some people that I haven't seen in a long time, plus some people that I see on a regular basis. It was a great night, but I'm getting over a cold and the late night started taking its toll. We all walked from our apartments to the bowling alley and bowled several games, then about 1:00 am we walked back home. The entire way home I was coughing and wheezing, I just put it down to the massive change in temperature: mid-80s Farenheit to low-30s is a huge drop for my already overworked lungs.
     We got back to our complex and I noticed that my car was parked in a manner that would make leaving tomorrow difficult, so I took five minutes to clear it out and move it. During that five minutes I spent moving my car and preparing for tomorrow one of my friends--Peter--was bothering Lucy, another of our friends, about whether or not I was mad. My question is "what would I be mad about?" We all had a great night, made some good memories, and no one got hurt. When I got into the building it was my turn for the inquisition and he insisted on examining every part of the evening until I told him; I'm not mad, I'm sick, tired, and in pain from moving in and out of the cold. He then wanted to go into whether or not I was mad because Calvin came, I was excited Calvin decided to join our group and that I got to spend more time with him, why would that make me angry? In the end Lucy and I just sent Peter to bed and resolved to talk to him later.
     It gets me thinking though, why does Peter think I'm so angry? I might be disappointed something didn't turn out as I wanted, but when I retreat into my own world it doesn't mean I'm angry, rather I probably need a few minutes to myself and to react to large groups of people. As outgoing as I am with my friends, I really am an introvert and I do need those moments of relaxed alone time.

Just a thought....
Stephie

Boomerang Nebula

Hubble Space Telescope

     So I was talking to a friend today and we got into some pretty interesting stuff about science and the universe. Bottom line is that this guy knows a whole lot about physics for a history major. He told me about this place that's known as the coldest naturally occurring place in the universe: the Boomerang Nebula. Apparently it's in the Centaurus constellation and it's colder than actual space.
     The Nebula has such a cold temperature because it's releasing gas from the star's core and expanding at a rate of 164 km/s. It's located 5 thousand light years away and is pretty neat. The scientists who first saw it in 1980 only saw the Nebula's bend, but after viewing through the Hubble Space Telescope some scientists now call it the Bowtie Nebula.
     There are places that are colder, such as Wolfgang Ketterle's lab at MIT in Cambridge, where temperatures have reached 810 trillionths of a farenheit degree above absolute zero, but the Boomerang Nebula is the coldest known naturally occurring place in the universe. It's incredible!

Just a thought...
Stephie

Sherlock Holmes

     I watch a lot of British television. It all started with Doctor Who, and spread from there. The most recent show I've been watching is Sherlock and it's a modern take on the myth of Sherlock Holmes. There are so many different variations of the story--movies dating back to the seventies, and probably before, television series, and even fan-fiction based on the original tales.
     There are two different shows running right now based on the myth: BBC's Sherlock and CBS's Elementary and I really enjoy them both. Elementary is one of the first non-British shows to portray Doctor Watson as an actual partner in Holmes's investigations (at least, according to an article I read somewhere). The combination of Lucy Liu and Jonny Lee Miller is an antagonistic relationship, but the male-female interaction has a different tenor than the male-male relationship.
     When Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman come to the screen the relationship is much different; they maintain the antagonizing interplay, but also have a difficult sort of friendship to describe. They don't seem to interact except when on a case, yet they know an uncanny amount about each other's habits and likes or dislikes. I've only gotten through the first two episodes, but when there are fewer episodes than there are seasons of other shows, two is numerically a lot. My sister and several of my friends are completely infatuated with both the men on the show and the show itself; I can see the draw, but it isn't going to be my life's blood, watching a show that doesn't have another season until next year.
     What I really want to do about this Sherlock Holmes obsession everyone seems to have is to read the books. There are plenty of them to keep us all entertained until the newest season of Sherlock comes on, so who is going to? Every comparison I've heard places these two new adaptations high on the list of "best" but we won't know until we've all consumed the entire canon.
Congratulations Sir Arthur Conan Doyle; you've managed to keep us all entertained for centuries after your death. I wonder what he'd think...

Just a thought...
Stephie

Protecting His Friend, or Himself?

     Have you ever had one of those days where someone said one thing, and it ruined your entire day, and leeched into the next day? That was today. I was chatting with a few friends last night, at dinner, when I mentioned that a mutual friend was interesting and I'd like to get to know him better. Nearly everyone at the table was okay with this decision, but the friend who had introduced us (we'll call him Jack) completely put his foot down. The others: (and these are not their real names) Edward, Lucy, Collin, Peter, and Bernard actually seemed supportive, but Jack insisted that our mutual friend (Calvin, for lack of his literary favorite) was interested in someone else, and this is after Jack'd tried to pair him with a girl from class.
     Normally that'd be okay, but the way he phrased it as "Calvin is off-limits" rather than just suggesting I wait until he'd figured out what's going on with that to pursue anything new. It made me angry that Jack was butting into my life, and kind of indignant that he was butting into Calvin's life. We're at completely different points where we want different things from our relationships and Jack doesn't seem to get that I'm going to do my best not to hurt Calvin.
     I keep trying to figure out why he'd do something so decisive as step in front of any "relationship train" that might move, and a couple of my friends and I came up with answers that don't fit with what I know about Jack: he likes me (that's not going anywhere and he's the kind of guy to move on when he realizes it's not), he's afraid I'll hurt Calvin (okay...), Calvin will hurt me and he wants to prevent that (really?!), he's afraid to lose Calvin to a relationship like he lost Peter to a relationship (that's not going to happen any time soon), and there are more, but those are the ones we're dealing with now. I just want Jack to let whatever is or isn't going to happen happen, let us figure this out for ourselves and you'll keep both friendships and might even develop both further. The only thing that's made the day any better is my other friends' encouragement, that's what friends are for: to make your day better.

Library Woes

     Yesterday I made a trip to the library with my grandmother: not a completely unusual occurrence, but it was not what I expected. Instead of going to the library we normally visit, we stopped by a branch closer into town and I was surprised at the difference between both size of the building and the selection. At our usual library the main room is probably sixty feet long and eighty feet wide. The entire selection of books, movies, audiobooks, music and the public computers take up that space. The fiction section at the library we visited yesterday was about the same size. What made it unexpected was the fact that we're in the same county and run by the same library system.
     My question is: why? Why is a library is the same system--in a more populated, yet more rural area--so much smaller than one closer to town? Wouldn't the thought be, if the library is one of the only modes of entertainment and public enhancement make it more varied and bigger? I don't understand. Okay, I understand that the system wouldn't want a larger library in an area where people wouldn't use it, but if the library was larger, it follows that more people would be able to use it. I guess my largest frustration is that I have read most of the selection at the local library, and now I have to go to other branches if I want to explore something new.
     On the plus side, I now know that particular library has a good selection of general fiction, and a spectacular media section. I think I'll send in a letter to the main office.

Just a thought...
Stephie

Music

    So my friends all think my taste in music is crazy. My brother can't stand it. And my sister changes the radio to the one preset in my car that holds her radio station. But what makes my music any different than anyone else's? Yeah, I listen to country, but I also listen to classic rock, modern pop, 80s pop, and anything but rap (I still don't understand the appeal of rap). My gra'ma only likes to listen to classical or big band, so I keep a nice selection of it in my iTunes. Mom prefers holiday music after Thanksgiving (if you don't like Christmas music, good luck near my mother after December 1st) but otherwise likes the eclectic mix of Pink, Kelly Clarkson, Electric Light Orchestra, and George Strait. Dad enjoys mostly the stuff that was popular before I was born--classic rock and oldies. What makes my preference of everything so different.
     Every day we're exposed to so many different sounds that mix together and combine to create music. It could be considered the music of our lives and its all those little sounds, like the sound of pages turning in the library, friends laughing, computer keys clicking, a family member's voice in the other room, they're all sounds that speak to each person differently. It's the reason STOMP has gained popularity even though they don't use traditional instruments.
     What makes one person like a particular type of music more than another kind?

Just a thought...
Stephie

Back to the Grind

It's 2013!

     It was a crazy year, 2012: at least four "apocalypses", a Presidential Election, and some very influential decisions made in Washington State. Yet, we're all still here. What are some of your favorite memories from 2012? Did you ever keep those New Year's Resolutions that we're always making? What are some of the things you wouldn't change for the world?
     I'm back to school after a wonderful Christmas Break full of friends and family. New Year's was great, the party went as planned, and we had a great group of friends there. We counted down that last ten seconds to the new year and watched the Seattle Space Needle firework show on the local news. Then there was the NYC celebration, the flurry of text messages and phone calls from family and friends, and the midnight toast. Overall it was a great time and a fun way to ring in the new year.
     But now we're back. I learned yesterday that my entire January schedule was wrong: my class starts at 11:30 rather than 2:30 and goes Monday through Friday instead of starting Tuesdays. That doesn't seem like much of a change, except that it's right during the time I was scheduled to work. The frustration of figuring out how to balance all of our schedules and have someone on duty at all times is starting to get annoying, simply because January has a completely different schedule than the rest of the year. Anyway, everything is piling up, and homework is still a huge factor in what all of us Lutes are doing this month, but it's great to be back and have everyone else around.

Just a thought...
Stephie