Spock Monkey

Do I really even need to say anything to go along with this?

 Spock Monkey by TheSockDrawer on Etsy

One More Thanksgiving Quote

For, after all, put it as we may to ourselves, we are all of us from birth to death guests at a table which we did not spread.  The sun, the earth, love, friends, our very breath are parts of the banquet.... Shall we think of the day as a chance to come nearer to our Host, and to find out something of Him who has fed us so long?  ~Rebecca Harding Davis

A Thought for Thanksgiving

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls.  ~Aesop

Star Trek Spock Cell Phone Charm/Keychain by iKtizo on Etsy

Speaking of Star Trek and my fondness for Spock...  I found this cute little thing on Etsy as I was surfing around tonight.  Isn't it amazing what people can make?  This seller has the whole Enterprise crew, Superman, Batman, and others, too, in this same cute style.  Now if only my Berry had a keitai charm bracket....

Star Trek Spock Cell Phone Charm/Keychain by iKtizo on Etsy

The New Star Trek

I watched the new Star Trek tonight, courtesy of Netflix (yeah, I finally sent back those two movies I've had sitting on the TV for three months...).  I am still processing it, and I think I want to watch it again before I send it back.  It wasn't what I was expecting.  I liked it a lot.  I thought it was well done.  I liked the casting, and I'm always a fan of alternate universe settings.  Some of you know that very well (LOL).  I liked that the characters were basically who they were always supposed to be despite the externals.  I think that's important to do in AU.  The fundamental core remains although the expression of it may be different because of the forces that shape it.  That's the fascinating thing about AU. 

One thing I really liked was the whole Spock/Uhura thing.  It is such a, if you'll pardon the phrase for a minute, "logical" paring.  It made me happy.  But then again, you know how I am about the tall smart guys.  I've always been much more about Spock than Kirk myself....  Sigh.

I don't know if they're planning on turning this into a whole AU series or if this was a one-film experiment.  Regardless, I enjoyed the adventure.  I may even go so far as to buy the DVD.  It was nice to go back to the beginning of the franchise again and do some things fresh and new again, to enjoy it in a new way, and to see all the "accepted canon" flung joyfully out the window and really make me pay attention to get the storyline.  We wound up in the same basic place in the end, but the getting there was the fun part.

Animal Issues

I was trying to read today when I heard my little dog barking frantically.  When I went outside to check out what was going on, I found that the dogs had treed a large black cat which made the mistake of coming down when it saw people.  Roux gave chase into the woods, and Mom (who was down for a visit) and I tried to follow to see if we could prevent Roux's destroying the cat.  Ultimately, we were able to get Roux out of the woods, and we tracked the cat down as well deep in the woods near the creek. I don't know if it ran there or if Roux dragged it there.

It was very much alive, and after navigating the woods with my knee, Mom and I used a large bathtowel, a two-front approach, welding gloves, and a lot of distraction to capture it.  There were no visible wounds, but I could tell that Roux had gotten her mouth on it.  That means she did "the shake" with it probably, and that's devastating.  Roux herself came home with her face cut to ribbons, so this tom gave as good as he got.  He is very large, and if Roux had not shut her eyes, he'd have blinded her on one side.  I crated the cat and took him to my vet.  I still don't know the outcome since he had to be calmed before he could be worked with.

My knee is twinging, Roux is exhausted and sore, and I don't know how Warrior Prince the Cat Lord is.  It has just been a very long day.  I hope this is my animal day for this holiday.

A New Telling of the Canterbury Tales

I was at Borders today sitting in a comfortable if worn leather chair and luxuriating in the joy of being in a real bookstore when I looked up at the tier of books that lines the top of the store. A blue and white cover with a curving ribbon caught my attention, and I glanced at it again to read The Canterbury Tales and Geoffrey Chaucer. I couldn't see anything more than that, but my curiosity was piqued. I had been looking for something new for The CT for awhile since it is one of the major works I teach, but I haven't found anything good for some time. I asked one of the guys who works there to get a copy down, and I was delighted to see that the book was a newly published retelling of the Tales.

I cracked the cover with no little trepidation because retellings go one of two ways, either a fantastic rediscovery of a beloved work or a complete destruction of the same. I've read all the way through the introductory notes, the general prologue and am almost done with the Knight's Tale, and I am finding this version very readable, very much in keeping with Chaucer's voice, and delightful in its own way. Is it going to replace the music and bright wit of Chaucer's own heroic couplets? Well, duh, no. What could? Is it something that I can use to expand the experience for pleasure reading for myself and for comprehension assistance for students who struggle? Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.

It was a lucky find, brought on by a simple stray glance. I'm going to savor this trip to Canterbury. It's always such a good trip, after all.  If you're interested, you can check it out for yourself, at amazon at the link below:
Amazon.com: The Canterbury Tales: A Retelling (9780670021222): Peter Ackroyd: Books

Silly Thoughts While Watching The Prisoner (Vintage)

Is it wrong, really, really wrong, for me to want a Rover for my own private use at school?  I think we could take care of a number of our discipline problems at school with one.  Forget security and high speed chases.  Just push the button, call an orange alert, and RAAAAAWRRRR.....  It would even helpfully take them downstairs to the office when it caught them. 

Yeah, I'm almost positive it isn't a good thing to want one of these.... Next thing you know I'll be carrying an umbrella and wanting "Information"....

Attack of Literacy!

Oh, I love this shirt. I've been waiting on Threadless to reprint it, and today I got an email that said it was finally back in stock. Yay! I know I'm a literary geek, but even we lit geeks have to have fun somehow, and this is the "funnest" lit geek thing I've seen in awhile. The shirt's designer made a key for the authors depicted in this design, and I found it in his comments about the shirt. It's amazing how many authors of classic literature he managed to squeeze in to this one graphic. See how many you can find.

"Attack of Literacy!" - T-shirt by Joshua Kemble

e e cummings print

e e cummings the heartfelt print by amandaatkins on Etsy

I adore Cummings. His poetry is sometimes complex, like walking a maze, requiring a meditation and concentration to reach the center. Not all his pieces are twisty this way, but all of them are so gloriously full of him. While I as a writer don't chose to emulate his innovation with syntax and punctuation, I pray for the day my work can capture my heart as fully as his did his own. Think I'll go take my nightly dose of cold medicine so I can breathe (the sickness rages on), and end this day with some Cummings before I drift off.

This piece of art is on Etsy.   If you like it, you may click the link above and grab it...if you're fast.  I may beat you to it.  This one, I can actually afford.  There's a companion piece for T.S. Eliot, too.  

Pretty Little Ginkgo Plate

Ginkgo are my favorite fall tree. The delicate leaves always remind me of ladies' fans. I also remember cool fall days riding my bike down the alley of huge golden ginkgo on the Aidai campus, wind rustling them into a cascade of beauty all around me. This little tray is a lovely reminder of that. Might have to get it on payday if it hasn't been snapped up by then.

Pretty Little Ginkgo Plate Yellow by sumiko on Etsy

Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12)

So I'm cruising through amazon as I do whenever I'm not doing something else online, and I stumble across this in my recommendations. I clicked it to see when it was coming out (not until April) and to see what the blurb might be. Four words caught my attention: Dresden has a child. What the....? Oh, tricky Jim...what have you done now? And how could you possibly be so cruel as to make me wait five months for it? I can only pray he's written a ponderous tome this time because my only complaint ever with the Dresden Files is that they're always over too soon. I've already got this in my amazon cart. Now I just have to figure out how to be patient until it gets here.

Amazon.com: Changes (Dresden Files, Book 12) (9780451463173): Jim Butcher: Books

Another Reason to Love My Kindle

I just downloaded and installed the Kindle for PC app today, and it makes my Kindle-ing experience just that much richer.  I think it was a necessary addition. In many ways, it reminds me of  iTunes, and I think it is the piece that 's been lacking (if anything has been) from the use of the device.  I like that I can use my netbook as an ereader now, too.  Lots of people who are on the fence about Kindles can try out the joy of the ereader with the Kindle iPhone and PC applications and see what it's all about.  Once they get the Mac platform up, I think everybody will be pleased.  If you haven't tried it yet, I encourage you to do so.  It's free, and there is an entire universe of free books out there just waiting for you to devour.  All the Kindle apps will synch across devices, so if you start reading on your phone during a waiting room visit, grab ten minutes during lunch on your computer, and then retire for the evening with your Kindle it will keep your place marked for you.  Love it, love it, love it. 

Sick, Of Course

It's Thanksgiving, so of course I must be sick.  It started coming on yesterday, and right now, I just want to breathe.  Ick.  Hate this.  Hate that I wind up spending every holiday recovering.  Ick. Ick. Ick.  Time for a dose of Nyquil and then bed.

From Voyage of the Damned

The Doctor: Right then, follow me.
Rickston Slade: Hang on a minute. Who put you in charge, and who the hell are you anyway?
The Doctor: I'm the Doctor. I'm a Time Lord. I'm from the planet Gallifrey in the Constellation of Kasterborous. I'm 903 years old and I'm the man who is gonna save your lives and all 6 billion people on the planet below. You got a problem with that?
Rickston Slade: No.
The Doctor: In that case, allons-y.

I swear, David Tennant must have had so much fun playing this role just because he got to say stuff like this periodically.  Where else do you get to say stuff like this with a straight face?  I am going to miss him in this role.  He was so funny, geeky, sweet, and perfect.  I hope the new guy can live up to it.

Dying from the Lack

I talked to a student of mine today who has no idea what he wants from his future.  No plan.  No goal.  No dream.  He's not alone.  Too many of my students from year to year are sitting passively or, worse yet, hopelessly. 

How do you teach somebody to have a dream?  It breaks my heart, crushes me totally, to see these beautiful people sitting there like broken butterflies waiting for some end when they should be just now starting to soar upward.  Why don't they know how talented and capable they are?  How did it come to be that so many of these lives seem to have ended almost before they've begun?

I want them to know that the entire world is theirs if they will just reach out their hand for it.  I want them to have a dream in their heart and chase it fervently, relentlessly.  I want them to take Joseph Campbell's quote, "Follow your bliss" and carve it into their hearts as a mantra, a maxim, as map.  I want them to hunger for something, anything instead of just hanging their heads and accepting whatever is tossed to them or thrown at them.

I wish I knew how to kindle that fire. I wish I had a magic wand to wave over them.   I wish I could hold them or shake them, preach to them or beg them and help them find it.  Ultimately, though, I don't know if anyone can give it to another person.  I think every person has to discover that spark inside him or herself and nurture it or it can't grow at all.  I will continue to lead them as far as I can and tell them how wonderful they are, but I still wish I knew a better way.

Final Thoughts on the New Prisoner

Whoa.  I just finished up the new Prisoner on AMC.  THAT took a hard left turn and went places I didn't expect....  It actually was quite good and ultimately quite in keeping with the original despite the different tone.  While it won't replace the original series in my affections, I think it was really well-done.  I need to see it about three more times to go back and get everything that was going on.  It was very much like LOST in that respect, that only in the final moments do all the little bits and pieces finally mesh.  I still can't believe how it ended.  I did not see that coming at all.  Of course, it's nicely set up for a series now.  I don't know if they'll put it into production, or if they can maintain the level of intensity with a weekly that they've had with this six-hour mini.  One can only hope, I guess.  I'd like to see the continued fallout from tonight's events.  If you watched it, I'd love to know what you thought....

Mikan

I got a bag of mikan yesterday at the grocery store, and I am trying to pace myself.  It's hard, though.  Such sweet, juicy goodness is hard to resist. 

Mikan and green tea always remind me of autumn in Japan.  I always used to keep a big bowl of them on my coffee table and when the air turned cool, I'd make tea in my favorite beautiful blue-green teapot and peel and drink.  The sweetness of the mikan helps to offset the bitterness of the tea.

I love the pungent smell when they're peeled, too.  It is somehow sharper and better than a regular orange.  The way it hangs in the air and fragrances my fingers after the fruit is finished is an added pleasure.

The Freaky Pre Chick

And not to over-post today, but what the heck is it with that chick from the Pre commercials?  Does she scare anybody else?  I know I tweeted about her when those commercials first started airing, and then she went away for awhile.  Now she's back again with her messed-up, semi-psychotic Mona Lisa-esque happiness over her stupid phone.  She's just abnormal, too still, or too tranquil or something.  I know I'm not alone in this one.  They have stopped showing the one where the "voices" talk to her, I think.  I guess that's something, at least....

AMC's Prisoner

I'm about an hour into the new version of The Prisoner on AMC, but I don't know yet how I feel about it.  So far, I am not sure about it.  They seem to be weaving in elements of LOST somewhat, but it's not nearly dark enough yet.  For one thing, there isn't that candy-coating on this place that hides the malice.  That was such an essential part of the original series.  It was what made the original so creepy.  They're also not letting McKellan live up to his true evil potential yet.  He has within him Richard III and Macbeth, so I know he's got some serious badguy chops.  They need to let him loose.  I hope this is going to get better as it goes.  Otherwise, it's going to fall into that category of things that came sooooo close but missed the mark.