Wednesday? Already?

Wow, I have been sort of bad at blogging this week. Sometimes I just can't think of anything particularly interesting to write about. I suppose I should be more disciplined in making myself think of things. That wasn't interesting. Rats.

First I suppose I should issue congratulations to Lucy, who has stepped it up to the big leagues (literally) by independently making her way across Claire and Reid's living room. Please see yeahweblog.com for video footage of this historic event.

So, you know what my lack of creative thought means...

THIS DAY IN HISTORY!

1527 - German troops began sacking Rome, bringing about the end of the Renaissance. The Germans immediately regretted this, saying "OH you said RENAISSANCE...we thought you said ghosts and plagues...sorry..." No one really believed this excuse.

1682 - King Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles, France. This, you may recall, included pretty much all nobles, so that he could keep an eye on everyone. It also made it possible for him to constantly humiliate these people into submission by making them do silly things like pretend to be foxes so he could practice hunting on horses. (Ok, I made that up, but he did make them do lots of silly things for this purpose.) He later moved back to Paris, complaining "there's just not enough closet space."


1856 - Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was born in Freiberg, Moravia (present-day Pribor, Czech Republic). Through analysis, he realized this had something to do with his mother. And probably his father, too.


1882 - The U.S. Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. The act barred Chinese immigrants from the U.S. for 10 years. It was finally repealed after Congress realized they were being huge jerks.

1915 - Babe Ruth hit his first major league home run while playing for the Boston Red Sox. "Baseball was, is and always will be to me the best game in the world." High five, Babe Ruth!


1937 - the hydrogen-filled German dirigible Hindenburg crashed in Lakehurst, N.J., a tragic event made doubly sad by the loss of the world "dirigible" from every day conversation.


1954 - Roger Bannister became the first athlete to run a mile in less than four minutes, finishing in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds during a track meet in Oxford, England. I mean, that's fast.

1960 - U.S. President Eisenhower signed the Civil Rights Act of 1960. Now everybody likes Ike.

1981 - A jury of international architects and sculptors unanimously selected Maya Ying Lin's entry for the design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Her design was originally created for a class project at Yale, for which she received a B. Her professor also submitted a design for the memorial, and was clearly not selected. Something to keep in mind.


2004 - The final episode of "Friends" aired on NBC. 20-somethings the world over sang "So no one told you life was gonna be this way..." through their tears.


2009 - By celebrating his birthday, George Clooney becomes the hottest 48-year old in the world.

The Friday Afternoon Post

Yesterday when I was getting off the elevator on my floor (yes, I know, I should take the stairs) the elevator landed, and the doors slid open to reveal one of the department heads who is an older man, probably in his sixties. He was standing, prepared to board the elevator, wearing grey slacks, a lavender dress shirt, lavender and blue patterned bowtie (the real kind) and tortoise framed glasses, holding in his hand a gigantic cigar. This vision clearly made my day.

There is, of course, no smoking inside our building, but he was going downstairs to the sidewalk. I told one of my bosses about the delightful vision I had just seen, and he said "oh yeah, if you walk to lunch, you'll probably see him just strolling down the sidewalk smoking his cigar, looking like he owns the city." I have always thought this department head was just swell, mainly because of the bowties and the glasses (which he wears regularly), but now I like him even more. Someone who's good at fiction should write a short story or something about this image because I just love it. Too bad Scott Fitzgerald isn't around.


(For a peek into the life of a famous Chattanooga bowtie-wearer and his ice cream empire, see this month's magazine!)

Today is May Day, being the first day of May, which of course brings to mind May Day at GPS, one of my favorite traditions. This event honoring seniors, pretty dresses, and old school activities such as dancing around the May pole (see below photo, not of GPS but from some website called victoriantraditions.com) is fun for everyone, pretty much, except for the grounds crew who spend like a month worrying about whether it will rain on May Day and then if it does, coming up with innovative ways to try and dry out the grass. It is also not fun for male teachers at GPS, who for the most part think it is ridiculous. I, of course, think it is fantastic and feel lucky to have gone to a school with long-lasting and fun traditions. Having hung out with Babs in her capacity as YoungLife leader a little bit, I am happy to say that I've met this year's May Queen and she strikes me as a genuine delight.

In other news, my parents reported to me last night that in watching the local news the night before, they learned a valuable tip regarding transport in Tunnel Hill, Georgia (a nearby town.) Don't drive your horse drunk. Two men were apparently arrested after officers responded to neighbors complaints that they were riding recklessly. After being released from jail on bond, the men supposedly sold the horses immediately because (according to my parents, this is a quote from one of the men) the only reason they had bought the horses in the first place was to ride them when they were too drunk to drive. My stepdad says that the son of one of the men said on the news that he didn't understand why they'd been arrested, because they'd ridden the horses before when they were "a whole lot drunker than they was last night." Ahh, song of the south.

And people say television news is always bad news.

Knock on wood

...is apparently what I should have done after that last post in which I was all like "Ooh la la, I love spring, la-di-dah, look at the beautiful sunshine streaming through my windows" because the weather was immediately like "Regulate!" and now it's going to rain for TEN DAYS STRAIGHT. Thanks, weather.com for that heartening news. Francis has already begun moping around with his furry face downcast because he cannot have his windows open during the day which, as he often reminds me, is one of his chief pleasures in his very simple life.

In a recent trip to Target (aka the danger zone) I spotted season two of "Psych" on sale for $19.99. While I admit to being something of a "Gilmore Girls" addict, with occasional stints of "Dawson's Creek" thrown in, I have taken a recent hiatus from both. Back in the day, during my first six months in Atlanta, when I lived alone and had very little going on in my life aside from occasional visits from Haynes (thanks buddy) - and when I also had cable - I was a dedicated follower of "Psych". For anyone who ever watched "The West Wing" (sigh...) one of the main characters on "Psych", Gus, is played by Dule' Hill (you'll know him as Charlie, President Bartlett's assistant.) The show is like a funny, witty, 80's pop culture reference-laden version of that show "The Mentalist" on CBS. Shawn, the other main character, is a hyper-observant person because he was trained by his cop-father. He pretends to be a psychic detective so people will take his observations seriously (despite how plain silly he is), and he and Gus are best friends since childhood, and partners in their psychic detective agency, called Psych. Shawn and Gus have a delightfully quick and witty reparte', and the cases they solve are always unique. If you're looking for a new show to netflix, I recommend Psych! Season Three should be coming out soon.


Shawn: "Well what about your teen wolf theory??"
Gus: "That's just fact! If any of us were in high school and some dude turned into a werewolf, we would not be cool with it just because he could dunk a basketball. I certainly wouldn't be making I-heart-wolf t-shirts."

Ok, that's all I've got. Enjoy your Wednesday!

Duly noted

Given the lack of comments on my excited post re: split infinitives, I take it my select group of readers (thanks you three) is not interested in grammar.

You know something I think is awkward? When you're walking down the hall at work, and you pass the bathroom door and someone is coming out. It is right up there with riding the elevator with someone you don't know in the list of awkward office interactions. Especially if that person is of the opposite sex. I mean, this person has just used the restroom, and then you're like "hey..." and they are kind of like "hi..." but you're thinking, I know you were just in there...I hope you washed your hands...Maybe no one else finds this uncomfortable but it just happened and I thought I'd share.

I am SO EXCITED that it's finally warm and sunny. This is my favorite time of the year. I get so excited just being alive when it's beautiful and warm outside. My apartment is on the second floor and surrounded by lots of leafy trees, so it feels like a treehouse when the windows are open - which they have been pretty constantly since it got gorgeous outside. I know you're supposed to go outside when it's nice, and I do, but something about being in my apartment with the windows open and the trees rustling outside and the sun shining in patterns across the floor, and my new pomegranate tea and vanilla apple air fresheners (amazing - Target continues to be awesome) just makes me so happy.

Ever since I had the Merry Maids come and clean (yeah, I did) I have been a straightening champ. It's been like two weeks and my apartment has been neat as a pin ever since. (If you've ever lived with me, this information is no doubt amazing - but believe it.) Francis feels like he has a whole new home. After I get the picture/painting collage I've been planning for months hung up, I will post some photos of our Treehouse (on Tremont street - coincidence? I think not.) My next project is getting out of bed on time in the morning. (Yikes.)

Ok, that's about all I've got today. Is it five o'clock yet?

Nerd alert, nerd alert

Since we had Mr. Henry for eighth grade English, and he got sick of trying to teach us to diagram sentences when we were clearly bad at it (and instead would make us bang our hands together and bark like seals because he thought our lack of grammatical knowledge made us ridiculous), I never learned what a split infinitive was.

Ok, it's possible that he did teach us that and I wasn't paying attention, or that I heard Ms. Exum talking about it in the hallway or something. However, I wonder about it every time I watch the Gilmore Girls episode where Paris is yelling at Bill in the Daily News office saying something to the effect of "Do you read the Washington Post, Bill? 'Cause they love to split their infinitives at the Post - but I don't! Fix it!" Since I read the Washington Post, I have been meaning to look it up for ages to see what she was talking about and today I finally did and was so pleased with my grammatical realization that I thought I'd share:

Split infinitive = breaking up the basic part of a verb (basic meaning "to run, to breathe, to eat") with some other part of speech. All the grammar websites say that the 'most famous' of all split infinitives is "to boldly go where no man has gone before," with the adverb 'boldly' interrupting the basic verb phrase 'to go.'

There's an on-going debate among "grammarians" regarding whether or not this type of phrase is grammatically correct. I realize I am nerdy, but I was excited to learn this. So excited that I followed it up with a realization about another grammatical phrase I've been perpetually unsure of - the dangling participle.

This one I'm pretty sure I did learn about in the past, but just forgot. This could be because it's often interchangeable with a grammar favorite, the misplaced modifier (word arrangement makes the sentence confusing or incorrect - She opened the refrigerator and saw the salad dressing.)


However, a dangling participle involves a specifically participial phrase, for example: "Turning the corner, the view was quite different." In this sentence, there's no noun that the participial phrase 'turning the corner' is modifying, so it makes it seem like the view is what is turning the corner, which is pretty improbable as a view is not really the kind of thing that turns corners. This type of phrase seems to be more straight-forwardly frowned upon by "grammarians."

Learning these things, the task of writing seems so much clearer.

Friday Afternoon Post

This day in history is back again - mainly because I'm busy today!

1492 - Christopher Columbus signed a contract with Spain to find a passage to Asia and the Indies. He sailed, as you might recall, with three ships (say it with me- Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria) and discovered something else, but figured Ferdinand and Isabella wouldn't know the difference. And there you have it - America!


1521 - Martin Luther was excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church. A direct result of a) being struck by lightening and b) nailing a list of 95 problems - of which his 'kicks' weren't one, to the church door at Wittenburg.


1704 - John Campbell published what would eventually become the first successful American newspaper. It was known as the Boston "News-Letter." Campbell was recently overheard muttering "I should have invented soup before my cousin" after news that many major dailies like the New York Times were on the verge of collapse.

1810 - Pineapple cheese was patented by Lewis M. Norton. Only one word for this one - SCORE.


1917 - A bill in Congress to establish Daylight Saving Time was defeated. It was passed a couple of months later. One more piece of evidence that even if Congress manages to make a good decision, they'll find a way to screw things up later.

1947 - Jackie Robinson (Brooklyn Dodgers) performed a bunt for his first major league hit. Hooray Jackie Robinson!! (Who else read In the year of the Boar and Jackie Robinson as a child? Ahh, third grade.


1961 - About 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. As this was an unmitigated disaster, Castro and his familia continue to rule over Cuba despite the fact that most of the people who live there would leave if their fishing boats could make it to Miami.

1967 - The U.S. Supreme Court barred Muhammad Ali's request to be blocked from induction into the U.S. Army. Really Muhammad Ali? You thought they'd let the best fighter in the country skip the war?

1970 - Johnny Cash performed at the White House at the invitation of President Richard M. Nixon. He played "A Boy Named Sue." Everyone at the event wondered why the president looked so uncomfortable when Cash sang the lines " Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean, My fist got hard and my wits got keen, I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame."


2001 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 500th career home run, becoming the 17th major leaguer to reach the mark. Now he holds the all-time major league record with 762 home runs. I mean, steroids or not, I'm pretty sure I couldn't hit that many home runs.
Cartoon from bestdaily.com


Also, today is Jennifer Garner's birthday. Wonder if she's 13-going-on-30? Happy weekend!

A Family Affair

Brief post, just minutes after the last one, but I just discovered that my Uncle Scott's wife Ginger has a website! Ginger is a veritable renaissance woman (to his renaissance man - the two are artists, potters, bakers, caterers, and craftsmen/women - it's impressive.) The website for her studio Green Gate Gallery features pictures of her various cool artworks in clay and also on paper. So, if you feel the need for some cool art in your life, check it out!

(this is my personal favorite - the colors are so great! my living room walls have been waiting...)