Tuesday Morning Revue

It's gotten bitter-ass cold, although the forecast says it's the same as it's been for the last couple months. Always hovering around freezing, although the last few days have clearly been colder. Everything's dusted with frost that lasts throughout the day, it's really pretty and a little slippery.

My most wonderful friend left this morning for home back in California, and I already miss her (aww). I hope the best for her. It sounds ridiculous, but I felt scared when I learned she was going, somehow it seemed like I would be very alone. That seems selfish now, because my life's been going well lately and it will continue to do so despite her absence. It will just be a little different, and that's fine. So I'll miss her and be happy for her and be happy for me and there will be no problem.

Short stories are sad. I guess I knew this before, but it was when I started writing one that I realized how true this is. I shocked myself with how hopeless it was becoming, and I suspect it will turn out to be an obvioius aping of what I've been reading. I also suspect that, like most every endeavour of mine, I won't finish it. I've grown to be comfortable with that.

Next on the reading list (now that I've learned to use the library) is the first volume of the Best of McSweeney's. McSweeney's is a literary quarterly that was started by Dave Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) as a compendium of "reject" stories. Not that they were bad in any way, they were just turned down by the larger publications for trivial reasons. Since then it's grown to be the hippest publication on the block, and for good reason. Check the website for some hilarity every day (yesterday was a piece called "Scenes From Lord of the Rings That Might Have Been Used as Setups for Bad Commercials Had the Filmmakers Not Respected the Material," and it's genius).

Gloating: Traffic to Bows + Arrows has been off the hook lately, thanks to inclusion in The Hype Machine's "Popular" list.

Absolution: Working on it (sorry).

Aggie Article

Here it is. They changed things around, gave it a blah title, messed up my grammar (seriously, why?) but whatever.

I'm gonna be late
bye

Tuesday Morning

I've gone all red - that was a very unexpected outpouring of love! wowowowow thank you

***

Good things abound lately. I've been trying to waste less time and enjoy things more. In a way, not trying so hard, or not worrying about everything so much. Trying to go to bed on time, getting work done, eating and dancing. We learned to waltz yesterday, the dance I had been anticipating the most. It's real graceful, spinning around the room to a beat in 3/4 time. Stepping on toes and losing time...

Matt Nickel came for a couple of days and made sure I thoroughly embarrassed myself on Thursday night. It wasn't actually his fault, he's just an easy scapegoat. Apparently there is some footage of the hi-jinx, but I don't wanna see it.

The day after he left we saw Brokeback Mountain, and if a movie could ever be called "sobering" than this would be it. I thought it was gorgeous and there's no doubt that it's tragic - bleak bleak bleak. It's a bit difficult to answer the inevitable "how'd you like the movie?" because distinctions need to be made. It's a short story that's been adapted to the big screen, and it shows. As a story, it's beautiful, only made slightly unbelievable because of the unavoidable stretch marks which result from turning a <40 page story into a longer screenplay. It gives the unbelievable moments time to be lingered upon, which doesn't happen while reading a compressed and vivid short story which was written with the presumption of leeway with regard to the fantastical. (Sorry for that ridiculous sentence, I can't reword it right). Any discrepancies in this movie can be dismissed on these terms, it's that good. And besides, Ang Lee's gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous vision makes up for them. The cinematography alone is incredibly affecting, and made me more than a little homesick. For the Wyoming ranch I never lived on (but you get the point). And I don't usually feel qualified to judge acting, but in this case I'll say it was excellent. Heath Ledger omg.

All that aside, it's simply a moving assay on love. Finding true love, doomed and inescapable. And that, my friends, is sad.

Enough of that. Did you know coffee is an aphrodisiac? Well maybe/not, says the Aggie.

Speaking of the Aggie, when the hex is my article going to be published?! If it ain't in by tomorrow, heads will roll. Lookout, Daniel Stone, Editor-In-Chimp.

Speaking of chimps, people are considering classifying them under the genus Homo. And giving them rights and stuff. Whatever, dudes!

Why Am I Doing This

Now that I have my own recording studio (a set of headphones with a built-in microphone that occasionally falls off), I decided to give the song-making process a go. Here is the result: the most wonderful song you're likely to have ever heard, in all its two-track glory. Featuring yours truly on guitar, vox, and "flutter."

Whack Johnson - Fruit Bats

I won't let myself admit that the single track version (sans "flutter") is probably better. It's called "Fruit Bats" because these were the only lyrics at my disposal (remember that?).

Tuesday Morning

Sometimes only productivity can take my mind off things. As much as I complain about these early classes, it's probably for the best. So don't listen to me. Yeah, I can work harder, and I should. Failing Structural Geology in spectacular fashion reinforced what I already knew: that I've got to stop being apathetic. I have to pay attention and actually complete my work. I'm ashamed that this happened, but I'll be damned if that's not motivation.

Days like yesterday are good. I was up early and at school until 5. After that James and I attended ballroom dancing lessons for the first time, and it was great. Nice to try something new, and even better that I had fun and will be back next week. Foxt-rotting, quick-stepping, jiving. Hopefully growing out of my other left foot. And after that I was home and it was late, enough time to make some phone calls, work on the newspaper article, and go to bed. The only thing missing was Arrested Development, to James' utter dismay.

I've enjoyed re-establishing contact with people lately. On the phone, on the Inter-Net, or in person. The latter referring to Matt Nickel, who will be here Thursday in a random turn of events. That should be fun.


So this weekend I saw Zardoz, starring Sean Connery. It's honest-to-God the strangest movie of all time. No, I'd never heard of it either, and no, I don't know what Sean Connery (of all people!) was thinking. I think next time I will see Brokeback Mountain, although I am somehow glad I watched Zardoz.

My stomach's rumbling in the computer lab and I'm all self-conscious.

Inverness, Day Four:

These are my favorite pictures. It was our last full day, we went to a small town called Beauly, hiked around, went up the road to another small town, hiked around, and came back to the hostel. It was a perfect day.

Beauly was the most beautiful place I saw. There was a river walk with ice on the trail and a beautiful sky:













There was also a priory (monastery) that I think is haunted. We hopped a fence to get in at the crack of dawn, wandered through old old old gravestones and into the ruins of the priory (we were the only ones there), and I looked into a window into a dark room. I saw a silhouetted figure lying down on top of a tomb and my heart skipped a beat. I'm pretty sure. I don't recall ever being so frightened, and I got out of there fast.



We found out later, in the daylight, that it was a statue, and that we could have unlocked the front gates instead of hopping the fence. But that's not nearly as fun.


We had coffee at a sweet little cafe, and went back to the river to sit on a tree branch for a long while. Watching the water about to freeze over, always moving a little too fast for it to happen.





Then we caught the bus down the road to another little town, hoping to see a distillery. It was of course shut, so we walked down a country road for a long ways, taking it all in. Racing boats in a stream and eating sandwiches on the footbridge. Holding sheep in the palm of our hands. That kind of wonderful stuff.









And then home to our Aussie friends and roomates for some pool and local beers.



Thanks for reading.

Inverness, Day Three:

This was a relaxed day, we went around the city and found that it doesn't have all that much to offer. It's small. First it was to the museum and art gallery. Dig the creepy-ass stuffed and posed animals:





We found the world's best bookstore, a cozy secondhand place with two floors, a fireplace in the middle, a spiral staircase, and shelves of prints and maps from over 100 years ago.



To the finest tapas bar in Scotland for lunch! Deliciosa! I had calamari, suckers (but without the suckers):


And that's it for day three. Tomorrow is another big one.

School Makes Me Waste The Daylight Hour(s)

It's 11:00 in the morning and I've already been up for four hours. And I won't be home for another six (I'm in the computer lab). Oceanography alone has three lectures every Tuesday (that is a lot). I can't concentrate in class after waking up so early, so bedtime will have to change. A sad fact. Or else I'll assuredly fail.

Keeping me company is The Best American Short Stories. I believe I've written about this book before (but what does that matter). I had never before given short stories much consideration, and now I've fallen in love with the format's poetic and revealing nature. The development of the story is inherently limited, which shifts emphasis towards the abstract - much like poetry, the connections lie in carefully constructed syntax and diction. I find myself empathizing with the implicit, which can be slightly unsettling given the nature of these stories. And it's unnerving on a slightly meta level also, that I empathize with a situation that I myself have only inferred - leaving me thinking (worrying), "What does that say about me?" It's weird - but I'll take that as the mark of successful art.

In coherent news, I am going to write as a foreign correspondent for the California Aggie and EAC, my first foray into journalism. I think I'll leave the half-baked ramblings here.

Inverness part three later today, I promise.

Inverness, Day Two:


Another early morning and another bus journey found us in front of The Clansman hotel. It took me a while to realize why the name sounded strange.


It was from here, on the shores of Loch Ness, that the ferries departed for Urquhart Castle. Before we left, we found a boulder in the lake and appropriately named it Rock Ness. I ate a gourmet homemade sandwich atop Rock Ness:



B.L.T. deluxe!

Then it was off on the boat to the castle. Pictures talk better than I can write:









Oh yeah, and we saw the monster:

There are a million more pictures (literally) of that expedition, but I'll spare you. It was one of the most stunning scenes I've ever witnessed.

We chose to hike into a nearby town instead of catching the ferry back to The Clansman. From Drumnadrochit we decided to hike to a waterfall:










Back to the dirtiest bus stop ever, and then asleep on a bus:


Wonderful!

That night we went to Hootananny, the city's best nighttime venue. Downstairs was a great traditional band, and upstairs was an open-mic night. I was astounded at how good the open-mic people were, they would walk sheepishly up to the stage as expected, but then proceed to play some amazing music:




I do not apologize for the lengthiness of this entry. It took A WHILE so you'd better enjoy the view.

Inverness, Day One:

Let me preface this by saying that this was a wonderful, wonderful trip. Thank you James for going with me.

Wednesday morning we set off on the Megabus, the cheapest way to get around Scotland. Four hours later we were in Inverness, the northernmost city in the country, located on the banks of the River Ness. And, unsurprisingly, very near the fabled Loch Ness.

First it was to the chip shop, but excitement had knotted my stomach and I couldn't finish my cheeseburger. Plus, the special Edinburgh brown sauce was missing, so I had to settle for vinegar on the chips. Not the same!

We chose to stay at the Inverness Youth Hostel, which was awarded five stars by the Scottish Hostel Association. It was clean and the facilities were all very nice, but felt cold and wasn't very conducive to socializing:


I locked James in a locker:


Night fell and we took a walk in the city center. Saw the River Ness and the Inverness Castle (now used as a legal court):










Word! We cooked dinner in the hostel using their nice, big commercial kitchen. I also saw my first episode of Lost and loved it.

Happy New Year!

I've got a good feeling about this one. Here are some pictures from last year, starting with James and I building the World's Best Gingerbread A-Frame and ending with last night's celebration. That was, by the way, the largest crowd I've ever been in. It was actually a little scary getting crushed by a mass of people that big, and getting separated from the group, and disappointing not getting to meet up with friends. Enjoy the pictures, I've got some massive cleaning to do!