Well, my first experience as a lecturer is over and I have to say I think it well. I enjoyed teaching and had fun sharing what I find interesting about history with a captive audience for six weeks. I'll see how they felt about it when student evaluations are released to me next week.

Now, what to do? Actually its all lined up already. Reading, conference attending, and lots of research. Hopefully I will be getting down to San Diego quickly to do some stuff. I also need to brush up on spanish to get my pesky language requirement out of the way.

But in the limited free time, I am thinking of catching up on some "fun reading." In particular, David Sedaris's new book, a new mystery by Christopher Reich, and Palahnuik's new one. I also want to watch Deadwood. There are only three seasons of it, so I think I should be able to finish it.

I got to watch the cubbies beat up on Milwaukee yesterday, only making me hope even more that this is the year. The first time in 100 years? We just have to wait and see, but I think our chances are good. As for my Melbourne Demons, this season is even worse than last year. They are definitely going to get the "wooden spoon" which is the "wow, you were the worst" award. Another really bad season and they may be on the chopping block for relocation. Too bad, given they are the official melbourne team.

Musically, I have on repeat loop, The Wombats first full US release. They are from England and extremely good, can't believe it took so long for the US album to come out.

Press Eject

I don't know if its age or taste, but I have recently noticed that I have a very short attention span when it comes to movies. Either I like it or I hate it and take it out of the DVD player. I only find this odd b/c I used to watch anything. Even if I wasn't really interested in the movie I would still let it play. Not now though, 10-20 minutes and if I don't like it, its done. The two most recent to suffer this fate were "Meet the Spartans" and something called "Smiley Face". I like spoof movies, but the Spartans movie was just bad. Not funny, just gross and stupid. As for Smiley Face, it was supposed to be a "female version of Harold and Kumar." Sounds good, till your 20 mins. in and you realize it has no plot and makes absolutely no sense at all. Oh well, in the end it just makes room in my schedule for good movies. We saw "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" at the dollar cinema, a great funny movie. I really liked how it used flashbacks to provide the context for how the relationship had fallen apart. We also watched "Zero Effect". Didn't know what to expect going in, but I really enjoyed it. Good story, quirky characters. I liked the interaction Arlo and Zero the most.

So July is almost over...

Well almost a month since the last post. That's how busy teaching keeps you. Sitting in Peet's right now writing up the last lecture for the class. It's actually been a lot of fun. I have enjoyed it and look forward to doing this permanently someday. After all that dissertation stuff. August has no teaching in it, but I'll be plenty busy with attending a conference, doing research, and brushing up on/relearning Spanish. Then its off to Peru in September.

I have gotten to see most of the big summer flicks. The Dark Knight was simply amazing. It deserved all the hype. I've always enjoyed Ledger's acting and while its sad that he is gone, I'm glad that his last performance was so perfect. He is the Joker, hands down. That said, I have no idea how this film got rated PG-13! And there were so many kids in the theatre. Oh well, the parents will get their just deserts when all the kids have nightmares for the next few weeks. I also saw Hellboy II yesterday and really liked it. A fun summer action/comedy that allows you to escape for a few hours.

Well, that's all til I'm done with the class next week.

A Cat Eat Catgrass world

A real post tomorrow, but here is Madeline trying to eat her catgrass while oddly balanced in the cat tree. She's so cute when she's quiet. Its the meowing thats a little too much at times.

Micro Waves Good-Bye

Our microwave died a few weeks ago and we are now looking for a replacement. I thought it would be a simple process, but apparently the Microwave market has moved to the extremes since we last bought one. They are either tiny, not sure a bag of popcorn would fit. Or they are huge, some advertise they can cook a whole turkey. That's what an oven is for! Why are there no normal sized microwaves out there?? Something you can use to reheat, pop corn, cook frozen instant things, and probably most important a timer for when I'm cooking. The search will continue...

I didn't see the Hulk yet, but will! "Pan's Labyrinth", however was a good substitute. It's spanish, so there are subtitles, but the story and visuals are so great that you don't notice or care. It's fantasy, morality tale, and war story all set in a rural part of Spain during the Franco regime. Del Toro did a great job of mixing all the elements into a single story and the girl who plays Ofelia was amazing. "Semi-Pro" on the other hand was not. Now it does have some really funny moments, but it doesn't hold your interest who whole time. I was wondering at points, "why is this scene in the movie, it makes no sense". Good for a few chuckles and that all.

Movies

More on what I've been up to. Movies! I have gotten to see two of the summer's blockbusters and have mixed thoughts on them. First, Ironman. It was awesome. The acting was good, special effects looked realistic, and most importantly Downey Jr. looks like Tony Stark. It is sometimes hard to imagine actors as comic book characters b/c of how they look, but in this instance it was dead on. I am really looking forward to the sequel when it comes out.

The other was Indiana Jones. I saw it the day before my orals as a way to relax and brush up on my Cold War history. haha. The nostalgia of seeing Indy with fedora and whip on the big screen was great. I felt like a kid again, but overall the film felt a little weak. I wanted more story and less action. Some of the characters were used to briefly too, like Marion.

I am also catching up on some of the stuff I missed in theaters and some oldies too. "For your Consideration" was a subpar effort on the part of Christopher Guest, but then nothing will ever match the magic of Spinal Tap. "North By Northwest" was great. I definitely need to watch more Hitchcock films. I'm watching "The Battle for Algiers" now, a great film detailing the efforts of Algerians in their fight against French rule. It's old, but used local people in the production and is great for illustrating the horrors of war. I am hoping to catch "The Incredible Hulk" on friday and will post what I think.

One last thing. Here is another short video of Madeline, this time chilling in the fortress. The reason she kept turning away was the Cubs game. Turns out she is a fan too! And what a great start they are off to this season!

Return to the Land of the Living

Well, I never left the living, but it sure felt like it for a few months. However, the Oral Exams were passed successfully and I now move on to doing all the fun stuff. Stuff like research, writing a dissertation, teaching and grant proposal writing. While I was silent, life did continue though and I will be making several posts over the next few days to fill in the void.

The biggest change for us has been in the realm of pets. Olivia passed away this spring and she is missed. She lived a long life for a guinea pig and can include cancer survivor among her many titles. Lucinda is still squealing and running around. I think she likes having all the food to herself. We have also added a member to the family. We adopted Madeline in February from the Irvine Animal Shelter. We have never had a cat before, and it is been a long transition period. She is very cute and loves to play. However, she is also very loud and demanding. I have included some pics below.


Here is a pic at the shelter before she came home.


In her bed sleeping.


Displaying her odd sense of balance in her Kitty Tree.


In her "Fortress of Solitude" She will sit in there for an hour just watching you. I think its her special place.


And one short video of her wandering around meowing aimlessly.

You can also see that she as grown a lot since we got her. Something else we were not expecting since the shelter and the vet said she was full grown. She is a good cat though and definitely has the run of the house. Unfortunately, when she runs through the house, it echoes like a pony running on the staircase.

It's been awhile.

Okay, 4 months later I reappear. I know, I know. Well you only have to wait a little longer for real posts again. The Oral Exams are on June 6th and that dominates everything for now. Just be prepared for some good stuff in the near future.

Eagle vs. Shark vs. Me!

Yeah, its been a few weeks. But the quarter has started out nicely and I'm doing Orals Prep work, so I'm good on two counts. Otherwise not much as been going on, hence the whole no writing thing.

I do have to gripe about the movie "Eagle vs. Shark". For all the awards and praise this I got, I was highly disappointed. Aside from a few good one-liners, it was boring and unfunny. I'm not sure how people make the comparison to "Napoleon Dynamite" which was an amazingly funny movie. The worst part of it is that I was really anticipating the movie, especially since it has 1/2 of "Flight of the Conchords" in it. FOTC = really funny. This movie = no funny.

As for FOTC everyone should check out their HBO series and all the live performance videos on youtube. They are hysterical, especially in the ways they try to glamorize the most mundane parts of everyday life.

So, So Done.

The quarter is finished! Grades turned in, papers written and books read. Now I start that loop again in a few weeks, but its break time now. When I get free time though, its hard to be motivated to do things. All I want is some rest, maybe I will ask for that from Santa.

One of my favorite things being on a college campus is the odd bits of conversation you hear in passing. My favorite from this quarter was between two guys walking past each other.

Guy 1: "Hey, I thought you graduated last spring"
Guy 2: "Yeah, me too, but I guess not. Don't have time to talk right now, I'm 20 minutes late to class"

In other news, we went and saw "Juno" again and its even better the second time. Some of the dialogue is so quick and snappy that you need multiple viewings to catch it all. I'm also loving the soundtrack, all of them great songs. I have also added a new link to the right. "Timothy McSweeney's Internet Tendency" is a great online spot for some cool quirky humor. Definitely check out the archives that have. Well that's it for now.

End of Quarter

Finals week is here! That means lots of work and little time. I've got one class finished and two more to go. All will be done by friday. I hope.

The movie class has wrapped up as well. The last two were "Atonement" and "The Kite Runner". Both were excellent films that dealt with adults being forced to deal with mistakes/actions taken while children. I think KR was a little better given its relevance to our times. The disparity between the Kabul of the character's youth and the one he visits in 2000 is devastating and shocking. More when I'm done.

Do j'know Juno?

You should. Juno is another movie I saw in my film class. It comes out in two weeks, and I can't wait to see it again. It's about a teenage girl who becomes pregnant and the choices she makes afterwards. The acting was really good, especially Ellen Page and Michael Cera. What really got me hooked on the movie was the soundtrack featuring Belle and Sebastian and The Moldy Peaches. They just did a great job of using music to set the tone of the film as her pregnancy progresses. It is also hysterically funny, much in the same vein as Little Miss Sunshine. Definitely check this one out.

Last week, we saw "The Band's Visit" in the class. It's an Israeli comedy about a Egyptian Police Band that ends up in the wrong town in the Israeli countryside as they make their way to a cross-cultural celebration. I didn't know any of the actors, but the story was good and the mistaken understanding of both groups creates a great setting for the story.

I got up to Sacramento last week for Thanksgiving. It was so nice to be away from Irvine for a few days. It was cold, so cold; and it was good. Hung out with family, ate lots of food, and watched lots of sports. I also ended up playing lots of catch and learning about Pokemon. While up there, I saw "No Country for Old Men" and loved it. The setting, story, and acting were fantastic. Not really a holiday movie, but I enjoyed it none the less. Tommy Lee Jones has to be nominated for his role.

More later.

E-gull!!!!!!!!!

Well, that how you pronounce it at least. Actually, the latest sneak peek film we saw was something called "War Eagle, Arkansas" It was an okay film, but not really my kind of movie. It's about a high school baseball player deciding between staying in his hometown and going to college. See, the topic just doesn't catch my attention. Probably wouldn't have seen it, if not for the class.

The weather, however, has been awesome the best couple of day. No direct sunlight, lots of clouds and in the sixties. So nice.

Big Mac(intosh)

Yup, I've made the switch from a PC to a Mac. I love my Compaq, but it has finally started to slow down, make grinding sounds, and not open programs correctly. I waited til Apple released the new Leopard OS last week, and got my new computer last weekend. I'm still getting used to some the programs and the one click mouse, but over all I am really happy with it. It also works super fast. It seriously has no startup time, which really surprised me at first. I was kind of like, "that's it, really, cool".

Not much in other news, mostly just reading and writing. I am loving Heroes, The Office and Scrubs though. That's about the current time limit I can devote to TV right now. Yeah, just two hours.

So This Is Pretty Cool!

Trying to find ways to relax, I decided to sign up for a "Sneak Peek" film course, that basically just entails me getting to see movies before they are released. The first class was this last monday, and we got to see "The Savages". It stars Laura Linney and Phillip Seymour Hoffman. It's dramatic tale of adult children forced to deal with their aging father. There are a few funny scenes in the movie, but for the most part this is a serious film that explores themes of child/parent relationships and how people overcome challenges in their own lives. I think the movie was great, and both of the actors convincingly portrayed their characters. I enjoyed it and think this is one that people should keep their eyes out for in the near future.

In other news, the fires have died down, the smoke has cleared and we can finally see blue skies again. Luckily, the fires were not as damaging as they could have been. It still sad that they happen though, especially when started on purpose.

Love those Santa Ana Winds

Fire, high winds, smoke and ash covering everything! Just another joy of being in Southern California during the fall. Even better, they say this will be a La Nina weather pattern year, so that means no rain all winter. At least our place smells a little less of smoke than it did yesterday. The sky is still all smoky though. The winds are supposed to die down tomorrow, and I sure hope they do. I'm tired of them. At least the summer heat is gone now, and I can only hope that cool weather is on our way, even if we get no rain.

School has been keeping me extremely busy, so we haven't been doing a lot of fun stuff recently. We did make it out to see "The Darjeeling Limited" though, and I have to say that it was hilarious. My favorite Wes Anderson movie is still "The Royal Tenenbaums", but this was is now second. I love the story of the three brothers traveling by train, and the interaction between Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman and Adrian Brody is spot on perfect. They seem like real siblings. On the tube, I am so happy that "the office" and "Heroes" are back on. I've only added one new show to my viewing schedule and that's "Chuck". It's funny, spy-themed, and all around awesome!

Bad Idea Bears are awesome!

So I have seen two musicals in the last two weeks and both of them were really good, but for different reasons. I saw Wicked at the Pantages Theatre in Hollwood and it was fantastic. The sets were just amazing. What I really enjoyed was the story though, the songs were okay, but it was the overall story that I really got into. I highly recommend it.

This last weekend we saw Avenue Q at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA. Have you ever thought to yourself, "Musicals need more swearing, political incorrectness and crude innuendos"? If so, this is the show for you. The story is so-so, but the songs are absolutely hysterical. They are just so wrong, that you can't stop laughing. I loved it.

Back to school in 3 days, so I'm enjoy the last bit of summer/early fall.

Docu-rama

I've seen three documentaries in the last week and all of them were realy good. First up are "The Aristocrats" and "Murderball". They are a few years old, but I finally got around to seeing them. The Aristocrats is a great look at the comic community and how a single joke has taken on a life of its own. Very funny and crass. Murderball is about the U.S. Quadrapeligic rugby team. These guys are hard-core kick-ass athletes.

And finally "King of Kong". If you ever thought video games were boring you need to see this film. It looks at the world of competitive video games and the rivalry for the highest score in the world at Donkey Kong. It was great, funny, and at times actually sad. Go see it!

The Ocean Can Be Vicious

Well, it has been an interesting few days. We went to Crystal Cove over Labor Day weekend and the ocean stole my glasses. And man, am I blind without them. Too bad this happened on the sunday of a three day weekend. I was lucky to get some trial contact lens on tuesday, so I can see now. But the day and a half of being sightless was weird. People kept telling me to look at things and I was like "why? I can't see it anyway." Then I finally found some frames I liked, but had to order them online because my doctor doesn't carry them. They are ordered though, and will be here soon.

It made has me think though, do I like contact or glasses better? I have always had glasses until the last few days. I keep going back and forth on it. I like not having something on my face, but I hate putting the contacts in.

New Stuff

Well, by a vote of 2 to nothing, people agreed that Karl is King! I agree, and will put a pic of myself wearing my new shirt proclaiming the fact soon. I will make new polls as I think of fun stuff.

Mostly reading this week, but there are a few new things. Goodreads.com is a cool site to see whose reading what and to get honest reviews of stuff. I have been adding stuff that I remember reading and will keep it up-to-date with my oral readings, exactly the stuff people want to read reviews of, I'm sure.

I am adding some more comics too. A Softer World is kind of weird, but occasionally funny. Penny Arcade makes fun of the gaming world, and "Strindberg and Helium is a collection of short videos about the depressed playwright and his imaginary friend, Helium. All are really good and make me laugh on a regular basis. Back to work