Sunset Over Sea

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
					1	2
3	4	5	6	7	8	9
10	11	12	13	14	15	16
17	18	19	20	21	22	23
24	25	26	27	28	29	30
31

May. 14th, 2009

Star Trek

mood:

sleepy

I saw the Star Trek movie last week, and thought it was very good. I'm not a Trekkie -- I've seen maybe a couple shows, and so had very little knowledge of when "in jokes" were used in the movie. But I still thought it was good. Although there were scenes with lots of things blowing up (I actually like those), and some scenes where minions or side characters you didn't know got killed just to show the danger of the situation, those instances were rare, and sometimes even had a purpose. Also, there was rarely violence or disaster without a purpose, it was there either to make a point or as humor. (Although, by the third time Kirk got into a life-threatening situation, especially when he did it by almost falling off something-with-a-long-drop again, there wasn't much of a danger feeling left. And I'm discounting the fact that we know he's going to survive anyway.) In the way of good things, there were a few scenes with a heavy emotional impact, and I don't just mean when people are killed. I hesitate to call those scenes dramatic, because I feel like drama is often used to describe a scene where emotion is shown but not felt by the audience, whereas these scenes were good. So, overall, a positive rating and I wouldn't mind seeing it again myself.

As a side note, the actor who plays Kirk, Chris Pine, could play Lucivar in Black Jewels if it gets made into a movie. He does the arrogant insolence well, among other things.

May. 5th, 2009

google and that whole scanning books drama

mood:

busy

A flyby post, as I'm behind in my homework schedule. I hadn't been following the google book drama intensively, due to homework and time, lack of direct consequences to me, and lack of perceived personal impact on said situation. Nevertheless, here is a new outlook on the situation, one I hadn't seen in my original skimming of events, penned by Mike Briggs. It doesn't sound too happy, and makes me wonder what people can do to affect the outcome. (If the article's not there, go to the archive and scroll to the bottom.)

Tags: books

Apr. 27th, 2009

surnames

mood:

tired

I've been thinking about names -- surnames and family names -- and mostly in the context of my story; as in, what type of last names should characters have, if they have any. It started a couple weeks ago with a discussion of medieval names with

londubh, continued through a google search, a conversation the other day with

traumerin about international last names, and another google search. (And might I add that google is not your friend when searching for something like "history of surnames." Go ahead, type it in, see what you get. Creativity with search topics doesn't really help either.)

Still, I seem to have gathered some general ideas about the purpose of last names. Nonhereditary last names seem to fill a slightly different function than hereditary ones -- or rather, they fill the same purpose, but for a different reason. Names as a whole are descriptive and/or markers: they tell people who you are, and how you are different from someone else. Nonhereditary names, then, would more likely fill the descriptive function than just being a marker (for example, "dark haired girl" rather than "sophie." One has a meaning we recognize while the other, on the whole, is merely a collection of syllables). Even "son/daughter of" surnames would be descriptive if you knew the father or mother.

Hereditary surnames, then, would serve a similar purpose of describing a person, but add familial information. Some reasons I thought of might be:

1) Information on a group of people -- your family -- is made necessary by paper-makers, aka government. This probably aids in keeping track of people. If your last name is something you're born with, and not something you gain, it adds a descriptive. Though this is true of "son/daughter of" surnames as well (except for the group part).

And considering that in Iceland people still go by "son/daughter of" surnames, and the phonebook is listed by first name (thank you

traumerin for that trivia) then I'm not sure why an hereditary family name would be necessary for a bureaucracy. Although the one helpful website I found mentioned "Government became more and more a matter of written record. As the activities of government, particularly in the levying of taxation and the exaction of military service, touched an ever widening range of the population, perhaps it became necessary to identify individuals accurately."

2) You want to be known by who you are related to and therefore who you know. If you're related to royalty, say, and an hereditary last name shows this, that would be a benefit if you're trying to gain prestige.

Or to combine 1 and 2, if information on a group of people is made necessary by the group itself, that can create an hereditary surname. For example, hereditary clan names for peoples that consider history and geneology important.

3) And last thought, once again from the one helpful article: if hereditary surnames first became fixed through hereditary lands, and the lower class tried to imitate the upper class to be thought better, they would create hereditary surnames as well.

Tags: names

Apr. 9th, 2009

Once A Princess -- Book Review

mood:

tired

Disclaimer: To the best of my ability, this review will contain no spoilers (besides what you learn from the blurb), however, there are probably hints contained that may tip you off. So if you already know you're going to buy the book and don't want to know anything beforehand, don't read past the cut.

I first read a piece of Once a Princess, part of the Sasharia en Garde duo by Sherwood Smith, about five years ago, to my best bet. Sherwood had put the first chapter, or piece of a chapter, on her website; even though I never read the end, I remembered it four years later and wanted to read it again, hoping that my memory was cutting off the rest of the story. It took me a while to figure out where I'd first found it, and realize the chapter was off her website. Then I found out it was coming out in ebook last June, and then print this April, by Samhain Publishing -- so by the time I actually got the book in the mail I had a lot of pent up excitement. I was not dissapointed.

I have read most of Sherwood Smith's books, and Once a Princess is definitely one of my favorites. I described it to my friend as a cross between Crown Duel and the Inda series. It involves a kick-ass heroine, a troubled kingdom, and pirates. The story is told in first person by Sasha and third person for the other characters, which I barely noticed until I just looked it up, showing how well the different POVs are integrated. It is a romantic fantasy, but the story is run by the characters and plot, not by the romance -- that grows organically out of the people in the story.

( Read more... )

Tags: book review, sherwood smith

Posted at 05:26 pm | Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Apr. 5th, 2009

Cherry Trees

mood:

relaxed

The cherry trees are in bloom on the quad and it's finally sunny outside (at least for a day or two) so everyone and their sister is out here having a picnic. I don't know if even half of them are college students -- it's like the surrounding neighborhood comes here for a park. It's a fun atmosphere, even if I'm just doing homework.

Sweet chaos
is the shriek of a laughing child
multiplied by
10
or perhaps 50
a frisby thrown
blankets and books on a green lawn
the chatter of 100 people
out having a picnic
music from computer speakers
the click of cameras
the sound of wheels on brick:
bicycles and strollers
pink-white blossoms like fluffy cotton candy balls
of fallen flowers
white on the green
grass

Tags: poem

Mar. 18th, 2009

Nine Things About Oracles

mood:

pensive

I came up with this song earlier, and thought it fit the oracle quest that's been growing near my corner of the blogosphere, so I turned it into nine verses.

When the rosemary blooms
and rememberance awakes
there'll be time to wonder
and time to wait

if you swim to the bay
with the water clear as glass
it will mirror the future
though you don't ask

and the moonlight
with its silver stream
it will shine on the leaves
as a glowing dream

and if you find the garden
can you bury the past
but the bay leaves will show you
all the future unasked

and the rosemary blooms
causing memory to wake
and with thyme to ponder
you'll have thyme to wait

and the sun will shine
on the golden streams of memory
and the moon will glow
and show dreams until eternity

so you swim to the bay
and the water clear as glass
you must find your future
and look for it unmasked

as the bay leaves grow
twining in the moonlight's glow
then the garden will bloom
under sunlight and moon

when the rosemary blooms
then will memory kindle
on the tapestry of thyme
through the growing spindle

Tags: poem

peristalsis

mood: studying

Peristalsis. Isn't that a pretty word? It makes me think of flowers. But then, from my biology notes, when I remember what it means: 'contraction of the digestive system to move food along.' Useful, I'm sure, but not as pretty. Guess I'm not naming any characters peristalsis...

Tags: school

Jan. 22nd, 2009

time travel and dreaming

mood:

tired of physics

An off-topic answer to

asakiyume's post about dreams while I'm procrastinating on physics (which I have been doing way too much of lately).

A few days ago I was talking to

traumerin about time travel and time loops, and how people react if they're suddenly dropped into another place or time. She said, "why do people consistently react as if it's not real at first? For example, if I disappeared right now, what would you think?" And I answered, "truthfully, I would think at first I was either dreaming or hallucinating, and since I don't tend to hallucinate, the best bet would be a dream. Because we tend to know the rules of reality, and the rules of reality say that someone cannot just disappear." Sooner or later I'd figure out it was real, and think "way cool!" but before then I'd have to test reality vs. dream.

Tags: dreams, time

Jan. 20th, 2009

inauguration

mood:

tired and scared of physics

So I had class this morning. Missed the speech and signing in. They did ring the change in the bell tower earier today at the time of the swearing in, which was excitement-generating, but slightly funny because the person who was ringing wasn't really that good. But I read the speech when I got back to my room and thought it a very nice speech.

Yes, I'm excited. Yes, I'm happy. But as I mentioned around the time of the election, my worries at this moment are more about my physics test on Friday than the state of the nation. Sad little bubble, I know, but I can only stretch the boundaries during the school year, not get rid of them entirely.

A few things, though, stick in my mind, all said by other people.

The first was said by my American Indian Studies teacher: that while she liked the speech, and had a few teary moments, there was also a moment of frustration, which she has experienced during speeches for each president she has heard come into office. That when he mentioned the start of the USA, he started with the immigrants and neglected to mention the native peoples who gave their land, voluntarily or involuntarily, to the settlers. Because, she said, part of the reason that America is so great today is because of the wide land we have, and that land was gotten through the sacrifices of the native people. So the native peoples should be included in the first founders of the country.

(I don't know if I got that across quite right, but I really liked how she said it. Not blame-worthy, no guilt -- she wasn't even looking for a thank you; she was looking for recognition. And the point of view wasn't "you took our country" it was "we helped build this country too." Thought-worthy.)

The second thing was also said by my AIS teacher. She mentioned how Obama is new -- not just relatively young, but new to politics as well. And it is primarily our generation (college-age) who elected him, or helped to elect him. She said that we've skipped a generation in politics, essentially, by electing a young president with a new and fresh point of view, and that skipping a generation was necessary. We need a new point of view, a younger point of view, to progress.

The last thing I found on someone's LJ yesterday while browsing. It was basically, "Obama is human. Please remember that, guys." I think that's a very good reminder, because as much as we can be hopeful and happy, we are still in the middle of a crisis and all we have is a new guy in charge. He might be better, but things still take time, and he's still human, not perfect. (But if that hopeful happiness allows you to go take charge/do something new/have a better day then by all means, keep at it!)

Tags: politics

Jan. 9th, 2009

paracosm

mood:

tired

sartorias posted about someone doing research on paracosmologists, which are people who create other worlds. I think it's awesome that we have a word! So I thought I'd answer the questionnaire here rather than having two comment boxes because it's too long.

( my answers )

Dec. 21st, 2008

Happy Holidays

A bright and glowing holiday season to all, as we start today with the winter solstice and Hannukah.

Tags: hannukah, yule

Posted at 05:31 pm | Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Dec. 6th, 2008

isn't this what the internet should be good for?

mood:

hopeful

So the economy's down and maybe everyone's a bit depressed and maybe everyone's a bit scared, and maybe everyone's just feeling that way because they're studying for finals. (No, of course, I'm not talking about me.) But maybe those of us who are a bit better off than others can chip in and help some.

Vera, the creator and sole producer of Norilana Books, has had a run of bad luck for years, and now is about to lose her home. There is a Help Vera Fund where you can donate even just a dollar -- every little bit helps. Or there is an auction where you can get stuff for your donation.

As the holiday season rolls on up, and in some places it's starting to snow or freeze outside, get that little warm fuzzy feeling inside from helping someone out.

Tags: helping out

Dec. 1st, 2008

domestic violence

mood:

tired

From my sociology homework reading:
"A Cook County (Illinois) Dept. of Corrections study of a Chicago women's prison found that 40% of inmates incarcerated for murder or manslaughter had killed partners who repeatedly assaulted them. These women had sought police protection at least five times before resorting to homicide."

That's...upsetting. To say the least. It implies stuff about the police you don't really want to know. But considering I've been reading about the WTO protests, it's not too surprising. Which is also upsetting.

Tags: news

Posted at 07:03 pm | Link | Leave a comment | Add to Memories | Tell a Friend

Nov. 25th, 2008

plays vs movies

mood:

bored

Quick thought. While studying oceanography my mind is playing songs from Rent. I saw the movie last Thursday and the play a few years ago. Considering the differences, which are not many but have significance -- if only for our changing culture -- I'm led to believe that plays are allowed to be more radical than movies. The audience for plays is more select than that of movies, and they may know more of what they're getting into, whereas a movie audience is anybody.

Tags: audience, movies, plays

Nov. 15th, 2008

kings

mood:

at being stressed

In a procrastination moment from writing my sociology essay, I started A Clash of Kings, which has been waiting on my bookshelf for a free moment. A piece of the prologue led to a short thought:

Those who want a crown should not have one.* And yet, and yet, isn't that what we do for presidents? Give the job to someone who wants it? But we hedge it with rules and checks and balances...

*(And those who feel they deserve a crown really shouldn't have one.)

Tags: kings, people

Nov. 6th, 2008

Thoughts After the Election, mine and others

mood:

contemplative

This year was my first time voting, and while I found it an empowering experience, so that my back-brain started thinking 'hey, if I can affect the outcome of who becomes president, what else can I do?' I wasn't as caught up in the election frenzy as many other people. I think this is because recently I've been focusing on day-to-day life and getting through classes and stress -- thinking too far ahead or too much outside my bubble-world would either add more stress or help me to procrastinate. Last year I barely knew what went on outside my campus. This year I've been doing better, and thinking a little more about the grand world I'm a part of, but for some reason the earth-shaking reaction that others had passed me by. It was more of a subtle gasp of relief than an "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD" reaction.

In every election, someone wins, and someone loses. (Actually, more than one person loses, but those other people aren't seriously considered as having a chance to begin with.) The people who supported the candidate who won are ecstatic, and the people who supported the cadidate who lost are filled with feelings of doom. Life works in cycles, and over the course of time everyone who votes will get the chance to feel either ecstatic or doomed. But in my world, focused as I've been on smaller scales (and the president is necessarily a large scale), I recognize that there are ways to get things done that barely involve the president.

We watched a movie today is Sociology class, about the benefits that parents, epecially mothers, recieve in other countries, and how the USA is so behind on providing even simple paid maternity/paternity leave (California is the only state that mandates such) that it's shocking. How many presidents have been in office since people began working towards a legislation on maternity/paternity leave? Or the fact that it is legal to discriminate against mothers during the hireing process? And furthermore, studies show that benefits such as maternity leave actually improve employee productivity and the economy. So I say again, how many different presidents, either Democrat or Republican, have we gone through since people began advocating for such things?

Things start from the bottom up, and our daily lives are where they begin. People have to want something for it to get done. And if enough people want something, it will eventually get done. But that doesn't mean that it will happen fast. And in the process, people will have to work together.

If we can agree on nothing else, we should be able to agree on the fact that we are all human, and we all live on the same planet. We will have to interact with each other in our daily lives. So let's at least be polite.

There are two posts that I'd like to share. The first is titled An Open Letter to Red America, and it talks about America as a place of democracy, and how we should keep that spirit alive. The second, titled Work, is a piece

sartorias wrote about how change does not stop at the voting booth -- in order to really affect change you have to bring it into your daily life.

Tags: change, people, politics

Nov. 4th, 2008

not even a full thought

mood:

ecstatic

...what is this thing that makes us one people, one nation, based on where we live, based on who we turn to as the government...what is this thing that can bind people together regardless of a common background, with only a nominal common culture, based on the place you choose to live...what makes the componants of nationality...?

Tags: government, nationality

Oct. 30th, 2008

news update

mood:

stressed

And then the message from the president says that

"Many of you may have witnessed or heard about the tragic incident on Red Square today in which a former UW employee set fire to himself. Sadly he died later at Harborview Medical Center, our condolences go out to his family. We all recognize that it was a terrifying and painful thing for people to see..."

And I'm sad that he died, but he was obviously heading in that direction. But still, I'm sad that with immediate reactions of people on the spot, that he still died. And then I wonder why? Why would someone do such a thing? What was he trying to accomplish? Does anyone know and will anyone ever know? And I notice the "former UW emplyee" bit and wonder... But it still doesn't make sense -- in no ways would a rational person set themselves on fire (really, even if you're trying to kill yourself, there are ways to die that hurt less...though I suppose at that point you may not care...or want to hurt...which is completely foreign to my mindset) -- so what was it that made him so irrational?

Tags: news

Human Nature

mood:

pensive

Following on the heels of my last post, I've been thinking about human nature. Not just the fact that the majority of people rushed to help this guy or call 911 not knowing who he was or why he was on fire, but the fact that people talk about it after. That people want to know what happened and that the people who saw want to talk about it. A lot of it I think, especially right after the incident, is the human need for connection. Although the information part of it is important, and the reason for wanting to know is ingrained in survival instincts of "is this dangerous to me?" I think the main reason is a shout for connection. You experienced something on your own, without knowing what other people saw or thought; but this thing was shocking, depressing, scary, and you want to know that you're not alone. You want to know that other people had the same thoughts, that other people care, and that other people will say "Oh My God" and give you a hug. What you really want is the hug. You want to be reassured that the whole world isn't like what you just saw. Or perhaps that the whole world partially is -- that the heroism and helpfulness of people extend past one point in time.

But the number of people who want to talk to others -- to people who weren't there, not just people who are standing next to you watching the police and wondering what just went on -- it's those numbers that make me think. Because standing next to someone and having them ask if you know what just happened is the sharing of information. It's how we get around in our daily lives, and how we survive in life. Some information we share because it's necessary, other bits because we just want to know. (This dovetails neatly into a post I keep meaning to write about the nature of gossip, but that post will have to wait.) Earlier today, right after the incident, I was in the bathroom and heard a girl on the phone say "Hi Mom, I have something exciting to tell you about today and something scary. The scary thing..." Obviously the girl's mom was not in Red Square, and it could be argued that if the daughter sees something important, or something happens to her, of course the mom should learn about it. But how many students called friends afterwards, and not family, and how many called friends who are not even at UW? That type of information sharing is not quite the same as talking to someone standing next to you. It's not for survival, it's for comfort. How much information do we share every day because we simply want someone else to hear us?

And the fact is that your friend does hear you. Your mom hears you. They care. They want to know what's happening in your life because they're interested in you. So when something happens that is past the ordinary, something that you can't wait until next week to talk about -- something you need to say now -- you call the people who care. And you are heard. And sometimes, that's all that's needed.

Tags: human connection, information sharing

Something you never wanted to have seen the first time around

mood:

shocked

A guy on fire is one thing that you never want to see again. And you didn't want to see to start with. The official report so far says

"Shortly before 1 p.m. today, a man whose name is not yet known set himself on fire in the central seating area of Red Square on the University of Washington campus. University Police say he sustained severe gasoline burns on a large portion of his body. Medical personnel responded to the scene. According to UW officials, the man is not a student at the University. Police have cordoned off the area for the investigation."

The entire area of Red Square is bricks, which means that nothing else caught on fire, which is good. The library is at one end of Red Square and I was standing in front of it, about to go inside when out of the corner of my eye I see flames. I turn and there's a huge bonfire burning in the center of the square. Everyone's staring at it thinking "is this dangerous and we should leave, or can we just keep staring," and "what in the world is burning?" Then a guy rolls out of it. From what I heard, everyone thought he was a student, but apparently not. This is close to inbetween classes, so there are a lot of kids in the square, and as soon as the guy rolls out of the fire, engulfed in flames, the crowd splits in half. The kids closest to him run towards him and start pouring water on him and beating him with their sweatshirts when the water doesn't work because he's covered in gas or oil or something. Everyone else picks up their cell phones. I didn't really think, just turned and ran into the library, parallel to another girl who obviously thought the same. Apparently the cell lines were clogged, so we tell the student at the desk to call 911 using the library's land-line. Another kid had run in at the same time, calling for a fire extiguisher. That's when all the students in the library wonder what's up and people start pouring outside. I get back outside and they have the fire on the man extiguished and are finishing getting rid of the other fire. Students are standing around the guy in a kind of, 'so now what can we do?' attitude. Almost immediately the police show up and go over to the guy, and then the paramedics. They start taping the area off and then tell people to leave. The whole incident couldn't have lasted more than five minutes, but it sure felt longer.

I hang around a little longer, call my sister, talk to her, and then start calling friends to go to lunch with. I really don't want to eat lunch by myself at that point. But everyone's busy, and while I've gone down my contact list most people have wandered off. I'm standing next to a few girls who are talking about what just happened, and wondering what really went on. Then a reporter comes over, obviously from the local news, and asks if anyone saw what happened. I think "do I really want to do this?" and then I raise my hand that, yes, I saw. So I give my little schpiel that I'd already told to people when everyone was standing around watching the police, and add what I learned talking to another girl who had run towards the guy, the water hadn't worked to put out the fire because apparently he was covered in stuff. Students are standing around in a semi-circle, listening to me tell the story, since most had no clue what had happened. Then another reporter, for some newpaper, probably the student paper, catches me and asks me to repeat everything. Then a couple students standing nearby ask what happened. Then I finally escape.

I run some errands since I don't feel like eating yet, and then go get lunch and call my family.

So that's been my day so far.

I feel like the rest of my day shouldn't be normal, that there should be general excitement and information being passed around, that I shouldn't have to go do my laundry and finish my homework. Tomorrow is another day. Tomorrow is allowed to be normal, but today is not.

But what's true in life is that things go on; that not everyone was in Red Square and saw some guy come rolling out of a gasoline bonfire; that for most people today has been and will be normal. Only my schedule and the schedule of the 100 or so students who happened to be in Red Square at the time was shifted, changed for a day. Of course they have counselling -- they even sent out an email saying so -- but my thought on that is "we'll see." Because not much happened to me, really. My order of the world wasn't changed. Some crazy guy lit himself on fire and I happened to be there at the time. It's more the memory of panic, of not quite knowing what happened and what to do, of doing the first thought in your mind, that sticks with me.

Tags: news

Previous 20

Sunset Over Sea

philosophical ramblings of a paracosmologist

May 2009

Tags

Page Summary

Syndicate

May. 14th, 2009

May. 5th, 2009

Apr. 27th, 2009

Apr. 9th, 2009

Apr. 5th, 2009

Mar. 18th, 2009

Jan. 22nd, 2009

Jan. 20th, 2009

Jan. 9th, 2009

Dec. 21st, 2008

Dec. 6th, 2008

Dec. 1st, 2008

Nov. 25th, 2008

Nov. 15th, 2008

Nov. 6th, 2008

Nov. 4th, 2008

Oct. 30th, 2008