Reading

John Updike The Witches of Eastwick

Course schedule, spring 2009.

Monday
[no classes]

Tuesday
12:30-1:45pm, PHI 301: Topics in Philosophy: Hannah Arendt
2:00-3:15pm, ENG 332: English Women Writers Before 1800
3:30-4:45pm, ENG 333: Southern Writers
5:00-7:50pm, PHI 322: Philosophy of the Arts

Wednesday
3:30-6:20pm, ENG 325: Writing Fiction: Intermediate

Thursday
12:30-1:45pm, PHI 301: Topics in Philosophy: Hannah Arendt
2:00-3:15pm, ENG 332: English Women Writers Before 1800
3:30-4:45pm, ENG 333: Southern Writers

Friday
[no classes]

***

SUPER EXCITING.

Reading

Geraldine Brooks March

Feeling guilty

For automatically losing respect for people on the Internet if they post photograph of themselves in which their melancholy face is turned away, but they are obviously holding the camera.

'Tis the season to use gerunds.

What I have been doing hell of much since exams: reading, waking before 9:00am, knitting hats, cooking vegan food, walking and looking, hydrating, remaining quiet, listening.

What I have not been doing so much: bitching, drinking, watching television, speculating, hiccuping, expecting, caffeinating, planning, explaining myself, fretting.

Reading

Margaret Atwood Cat's Eye

Ha-ha, ha-ha.

I spend about five hours a day at work now, and since it's a holiday not many people come in to rent DVDs. As a result, I've had a lot of quality time with the Internet.

So, today I'm surfing "Fitness Magazine Online" for articles about how too much fruit can lead to a belly similar to the famed "beer belly"--I'm not kidding, I swear I've seen an article about this before--when I see a link for the "100 Best Workout Songs of All Time." I go clicky.

I'm shocked. Appalled, even. After all, on which of your workout mixes have you ever put "No Woman No Cry"? Even classic jock jams would make their way onto one of my mixes (and have) before Bob. Sorry, but he just doesn't pump me up.

I generally tend to use Girl Talk's Night Ripper or Feed the Animals as good basic gym albums with consistent energy, but I've also been working on putting together my own pump-worthy mixes for the gym.

Here's one from earlier this semester:
1. Cut Copy "Hearts on Fire"
2. Daft Punk "Robot Rock"
3. Estelle ft. Kanye West "American Boy"
4. Katy Perry "I Kissed a Girl"
5. Mount Sims "How We Do"
6. Muscles "Sweaty"
7. Royksopp "Eple"
8. Simian Mobile Disco "Sleep Deprivation"
9. The Fitness "Chauffeur"
10. Trans Am "I Want It All"
11. Vitalic "Poney Pt. 1"
12. Will Smith "Miami"

Obviously, there is NO SHAME where gym mixes are concerned. After all, it's just you and the music and whatever repetitive motion you happen to be committing your muscles to--why not the Fresh Prince?

I'm looking to put a new one together over break. Any suggestions?

Reading

John Sellers Perfect From Now On: How Indie Rock Saved My Life*

*My Christmas gift from Chris Berg.

Listening

Deerhunter Microcastle/Weird Era Cont.

Listening

Spoon Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga

TDP FTW.

Back to The Daily Plate, because I'm feelin' a fatty.

Here goes!

Reading

Tim O'Brien In the Lake of the Woods
The Chomsky-Foucault Debate on Human Nature

It's that time of the year when the world falls in love.

Wonderful: The Carpenters Christmas Portrait; non-dairy ice cream; A+ on my final paper for Stuart's Contemporary Poetry class with some very flattering comments from both him and Ansel; the prospect of being finished with all the hard work tomorrow.

Not so: It isn't over yet; my upcoming lady-time is making me anxious and irritable; I feel HUGE.

Watching

Blue Velvet

Midwinter melancholy.

Began a few weeks ago. Since then I've been closing my bedroom door, staying in on the weekend nights, watching good films, reading a hell of a lot and even writing a little again.

It isn't sadness, exactly, but it is a comfortability in being alone. The melancholy comes on me every year and it's welcome until Christmas. After, though, the months of January through August are depressing enough on their own.

So I'm sort of enjoying being sick right now as reason enough to stay in at nights. My only class this morning was canceled, so I have here a glass of good juice by Bolthouse Farms (it's citrus Immunity), a few episodes of Fringe, and the last fifty pages of Vineland.

To do to end the fall semester, 2008:
1. ENG 359 (Contemporary Poetry) final exam on Monday, 8 December.
2. ENG 352 (20th Century American Novel) take-home final exam due at 12:00pm on Tuesday, 9 December.
3. ENG 390 (Writing Center practicum) portfolio due on Wednesday, 10 December.
4. LAT 203 (Intermediate Latin 1) final exam from 8:00-11:00am on Monday, 15 December.

Watching

Eraserhead