1. Puzzle Day. Forgot to audit, so we came in (guess!) second.
2. Took a nap. Was awakened because mother-in-law had come over to do more tests for her CE credits and had chosen grammar courses, but the grammar was arcane rules specific to her profession that I'd never heard and were opposed to every handbook I've ever used, so I wasn't much help. (And never, ever awaken someone from a nap necessary because of little sleep the night before so that napper can distinguish objects of a preposition from predicate nominatives. I'm certain the Geneva Convention has provisions against this.)
3. Did my thing on chapter two of Deathly Hallows. Listened to chapters two and three in the audiobook.
4. Worked a little on teaching notes from Great Courses, Volume 3. Should have read more in Arthur; didn't.
5. Finished three Pogo badges.
6. Watched Big Love and several episodes of Mad About You.
7. Today's BigFishGame is Beauty Factory. Looks like a deep, rich simulator, but it quickly degenerates to "Click on the 'Next Week' button until trends change, and then play a not-particularly-fun guessing game with the numbers." I played 48 minutes of it, I think, but I don't need this one.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
7/21: What I Accomplished Today
1. Last night after I blogged, I played the demo hour on the BigFishGame, which appeared to be a sequel to Believe in Santa, a game that came out just before Christmas. It wasn't quite the same game, but it wasn't entirely a different one, either; it changed the graphics slightly, added several different bonus opportunities that changed aesthetics but not gameplay, and gave the game the ability to replay levels, which it should have had in the first place. It wasn't a new storyline, though; it was the same storyline. It's a fun game, but I've already played it. In fact, I've already finished it several times. I'm not buying this again, especially since the only really useful addition, the ability to replay levels, should have been in the original. (One of the additions, a toy you customize and then sell in the next round, could have affected gameplay, but in the first nine or ten levels that I played, I always had the highest level by far more than the price of this expensive toy, so it wasn't relevant at that point.)
2. Got up today at about 12:20. Put on outfit and performed basic grooming needs. Asked Co-Vivant if she was going to Costco at 12:35; she laughed at how quickly I was ready. We went to Costco and bought the Harry Potter book and audiobook (and diet soda and candy bars). Our Costco receipt says 1:02. We ate there. We came home, and I folded and put away a load of laundry; figure it's 1:30 or 1:45 by then.
I finished the book at 7:10.
I won't talk about specifics yet because most people haven't had the opportunity to finish it yet, but I will discuss a few generalities.
a. I do not know what idiots are still laboring under the mistaken notion that the series is for children. The first two are for children; the rest are not. (Tolkien works the same way; The Hobbit is for children, but The Lord of the Rings, not so much.) My older niece is 14, and a mature 14; I'm okay with her reading these books. My younger niece is 11 and can't be bothered with these books--and that's just as well, because they are not suitable for her. Anyone who calls these children's books has either never read them or has really odd ideas about what children might be.
b. I could have told people about the necklace and the 7th horcrux after the last book, but nobody called and asked me.
c. These books contain a man named Arthur with a son named Percival, a daughter named Ginevra, and a son named Ron. (In the original Celtic version, Arthur had his sword, Caliburn [later Latinized to Excalibur], and his spear, Ron.) The denouement perfectly fits what needed to happen from a myth and ritual perspective. Nope, no education at play here.
d. When I started to read, I took off my glasses, as I always do. Then I spent the afternoon sitting or lying in various positions on the bed. I do not know what happened to them, but my glasses are now bent, and I won't be able to get them straightened until Costco Optical opens again on Monday.
e. Very clean; she didn't spend 72 chapters at the end cleaning up McGuffins, like I was afraid she was going to. (I'll probably talk about this more later.) (If you're not familiar with the term, it's from Hitchcock; it's also the name of the weatherman in the very first chapter of the first book, so she planted the seed very early.)
f. Voldemort has taken Lucius' wand by page 10. Could we possibly cut to the emasculation chase any sooner.
g. A few years ago, I was curious about what the Christian opposition to the series was actually focusing on, so I read one of the leading books of the genre. My instinct was again correct; the witchcraft issue is a McGuffin. True, they're not happy about the magic in the books, but that's not the real problem. The real problem is that sometimes Harry and his friends don't play by the rules; sometimes, if circumstance seems to require it, they bend, even break, the rules, and they aren't always punished for this.
In short, the morality in the book is relativistic, and the characters exercise critical thinking to evaluate situations. No wonder they hate it.
h. Much less death than I thought there was going to be. (Yes, I did spend the afternoon crying and laughing, sometimes at the same time, so much so that I unnerved my Co-Vivant, but all in all, many fewer casualties than anticipated.)
i. I know it seems odd not to spoil things for readers when I don't have any readers except kamikazes who drop in randomly to plug their own blogs, but it still doesn't seem right to discuss particulars of the plot when most people have neither the ability nor the leisure time to read it so soon. Today and tomorrow, I am special. About Monday, the rest of the world catches up to me.
j. Co-Vivant (who watches the movies but does not read the books) has a job that requires her to wear a tool belt. She is not 5' tall, which is much, much smaller than the manufacturers of tool belts envision, and she has been losing weight, so we keep having to cinch in the tool belt. She asked me to do this again yesterday, and I fiddled with it some, but I don't think it can go in any more; it has so many little pockets and loops hanging from it that we can't make it any smaller. When I informed her of this, she pouted a little and said, "You are a Muggle." And unfortunately, she is right.
3. Don't really remember what we watched on television tonight. I got some Pogo badges to 80%.
4. I have several sorts of research I perform on Harry Potter. I haven't for months, obviously, because I finished the sixth book over Christmas break. This evening, I did most of my thing on the first chapter of the book. I also listened to the first chapter of the audiobook.
2. Got up today at about 12:20. Put on outfit and performed basic grooming needs. Asked Co-Vivant if she was going to Costco at 12:35; she laughed at how quickly I was ready. We went to Costco and bought the Harry Potter book and audiobook (and diet soda and candy bars). Our Costco receipt says 1:02. We ate there. We came home, and I folded and put away a load of laundry; figure it's 1:30 or 1:45 by then.
I finished the book at 7:10.
I won't talk about specifics yet because most people haven't had the opportunity to finish it yet, but I will discuss a few generalities.
a. I do not know what idiots are still laboring under the mistaken notion that the series is for children. The first two are for children; the rest are not. (Tolkien works the same way; The Hobbit is for children, but The Lord of the Rings, not so much.) My older niece is 14, and a mature 14; I'm okay with her reading these books. My younger niece is 11 and can't be bothered with these books--and that's just as well, because they are not suitable for her. Anyone who calls these children's books has either never read them or has really odd ideas about what children might be.
b. I could have told people about the necklace and the 7th horcrux after the last book, but nobody called and asked me.
c. These books contain a man named Arthur with a son named Percival, a daughter named Ginevra, and a son named Ron. (In the original Celtic version, Arthur had his sword, Caliburn [later Latinized to Excalibur], and his spear, Ron.) The denouement perfectly fits what needed to happen from a myth and ritual perspective. Nope, no education at play here.
d. When I started to read, I took off my glasses, as I always do. Then I spent the afternoon sitting or lying in various positions on the bed. I do not know what happened to them, but my glasses are now bent, and I won't be able to get them straightened until Costco Optical opens again on Monday.
e. Very clean; she didn't spend 72 chapters at the end cleaning up McGuffins, like I was afraid she was going to. (I'll probably talk about this more later.) (If you're not familiar with the term, it's from Hitchcock; it's also the name of the weatherman in the very first chapter of the first book, so she planted the seed very early.)
f. Voldemort has taken Lucius' wand by page 10. Could we possibly cut to the emasculation chase any sooner.
g. A few years ago, I was curious about what the Christian opposition to the series was actually focusing on, so I read one of the leading books of the genre. My instinct was again correct; the witchcraft issue is a McGuffin. True, they're not happy about the magic in the books, but that's not the real problem. The real problem is that sometimes Harry and his friends don't play by the rules; sometimes, if circumstance seems to require it, they bend, even break, the rules, and they aren't always punished for this.
In short, the morality in the book is relativistic, and the characters exercise critical thinking to evaluate situations. No wonder they hate it.
h. Much less death than I thought there was going to be. (Yes, I did spend the afternoon crying and laughing, sometimes at the same time, so much so that I unnerved my Co-Vivant, but all in all, many fewer casualties than anticipated.)
i. I know it seems odd not to spoil things for readers when I don't have any readers except kamikazes who drop in randomly to plug their own blogs, but it still doesn't seem right to discuss particulars of the plot when most people have neither the ability nor the leisure time to read it so soon. Today and tomorrow, I am special. About Monday, the rest of the world catches up to me.
j. Co-Vivant (who watches the movies but does not read the books) has a job that requires her to wear a tool belt. She is not 5' tall, which is much, much smaller than the manufacturers of tool belts envision, and she has been losing weight, so we keep having to cinch in the tool belt. She asked me to do this again yesterday, and I fiddled with it some, but I don't think it can go in any more; it has so many little pockets and loops hanging from it that we can't make it any smaller. When I informed her of this, she pouted a little and said, "You are a Muggle." And unfortunately, she is right.
3. Don't really remember what we watched on television tonight. I got some Pogo badges to 80%.
4. I have several sorts of research I perform on Harry Potter. I haven't for months, obviously, because I finished the sixth book over Christmas break. This evening, I did most of my thing on the first chapter of the book. I also listened to the first chapter of the audiobook.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
7/20: What I Accomplished Today
1. I ended the last entry with my stomach not feeling well. Within ten minutes of posting that, I had relieved myself of every calorie I had eaten in the previous 48 hours.
2. Yesterday, I graded three classes, prepped a class, taught a class, came home, and slept.
3. Today. We watched It's Not that Easy Being Green; Co-Vivant doesn't think the family will last six weeks, but I think they might last longer because they're on television.
4. Got most of the Pogo badges to 60% (I couldn't play last night; I was too exhausted).
5. Level 29 Draenei Warrior. Worgen quests. Finished the Charred Vale sequence (dinged 30). Worked on Razorfen Kraul to get the last item for warrior quest, but that didn't work out. Worked on soloing Dead Mines; got to Sneed, so I finished Oh, Brother and Underground Assault. I have nothing in particular I'm looking forward to her doing tomorrow, so I'm ready for Harry Potter Day tomorrow.
6. I finished The Learning Company's DVD on Medieval Literature, so I took some teaching notes on that.
7. Read a little for Arthur.
Have I mentioned that tomorrow's Harry Potter Day?
2. Yesterday, I graded three classes, prepped a class, taught a class, came home, and slept.
3. Today. We watched It's Not that Easy Being Green; Co-Vivant doesn't think the family will last six weeks, but I think they might last longer because they're on television.
4. Got most of the Pogo badges to 60% (I couldn't play last night; I was too exhausted).
5. Level 29 Draenei Warrior. Worgen quests. Finished the Charred Vale sequence (dinged 30). Worked on Razorfen Kraul to get the last item for warrior quest, but that didn't work out. Worked on soloing Dead Mines; got to Sneed, so I finished Oh, Brother and Underground Assault. I have nothing in particular I'm looking forward to her doing tomorrow, so I'm ready for Harry Potter Day tomorrow.
6. I finished The Learning Company's DVD on Medieval Literature, so I took some teaching notes on that.
7. Read a little for Arthur.
Have I mentioned that tomorrow's Harry Potter Day?
Thursday, July 19, 2007
7/18: What I Accomplished Today
1. Called my sister for her birthday (I was at school during the hours we'd both be functional yesterday).
2. Set dental and haircut appointments.
3. Today is a Pogo Personal Challenge Marathon! (That means we get to pick three personal challenges this week instead of just one!) I love Personal Challenge Marathons.
I finished a Premium badge and got four of my five badges to 20%. (The fifth is that lousy backgammon badge I didn't get six weeks ago.)
4. Co-Vivant ate some leftovers that had probably turned, so we didn't watch much TV. Watched Build it Bigger and the beginning of Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin, but didn't finish that.
5. Played the hour on the BigFishGame, Turbu Pizza. It's a fun game, similar to Back to the Bakery, but after the demo hour, I hadn't achieved that Zen state that I like in a time-management game, so I don't know whether I'll buy it or not.
6. Played a little TV Station Manager. Every now and then, it seems like this game would be fun, but I invariably have the same experience: it's fun for about a week of game time, and then I realize I'm probably not ever going to get ahead. This isn't a game, it's somebody's job, and it's a difficult, probably impossible job.
7. Level 27 Draenei Warrior. War Banners. Cursed Crew sequence. Sven/Hermit/Jitters stuff. Night Watch 2 (dinged 28). Missing Diplomat sequence (to Slim). Worked on Fire-hardened Armor quest. Dinged 29.
My stomach is upset. Blech.
2. Set dental and haircut appointments.
3. Today is a Pogo Personal Challenge Marathon! (That means we get to pick three personal challenges this week instead of just one!) I love Personal Challenge Marathons.
I finished a Premium badge and got four of my five badges to 20%. (The fifth is that lousy backgammon badge I didn't get six weeks ago.)
4. Co-Vivant ate some leftovers that had probably turned, so we didn't watch much TV. Watched Build it Bigger and the beginning of Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin, but didn't finish that.
5. Played the hour on the BigFishGame, Turbu Pizza. It's a fun game, similar to Back to the Bakery, but after the demo hour, I hadn't achieved that Zen state that I like in a time-management game, so I don't know whether I'll buy it or not.
6. Played a little TV Station Manager. Every now and then, it seems like this game would be fun, but I invariably have the same experience: it's fun for about a week of game time, and then I realize I'm probably not ever going to get ahead. This isn't a game, it's somebody's job, and it's a difficult, probably impossible job.
7. Level 27 Draenei Warrior. War Banners. Cursed Crew sequence. Sven/Hermit/Jitters stuff. Night Watch 2 (dinged 28). Missing Diplomat sequence (to Slim). Worked on Fire-hardened Armor quest. Dinged 29.
My stomach is upset. Blech.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
7/17: What I Accomplished Today
1. My younger sister's 40th birthday. It gives one pause. (Or paws.)
2. Prepped, graded, taught. Didn't quite finish the grading.
3. Watched stuff on television. I have no recollection what.
4. Finished a Pogo premium badge.
5. Level 25 Draenei Warrior. 1st Night Watch (dinged 26). Stalvan to the penultimate. Collecting Memories and Red Silk Bandanas. Blisters on the Land. Ormer 2 & 3. Dinged 27.
2. Prepped, graded, taught. Didn't quite finish the grading.
3. Watched stuff on television. I have no recollection what.
4. Finished a Pogo premium badge.
5. Level 25 Draenei Warrior. 1st Night Watch (dinged 26). Stalvan to the penultimate. Collecting Memories and Red Silk Bandanas. Blisters on the Land. Ormer 2 & 3. Dinged 27.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
7/16: What I Accomplished Today
1. Worked on Pogo badges.
2. Read a fair amount for Arthur.
3. Watched Big Love and Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin.
4. Level 29 gnome warlock. Killed Stalvan (!). Soloed the Dark Mines to the Foundry. First two Worgen quests. Picked up first aid books and cooking book; started Howling Vale. Got this chain to penultimate while finishing last Worgen quest. Dinged 30. Stats check and mail check.
Level 25 Draenei Warrior. First three Sully Balloo quests.
5. Today's BigFishGame is a Find-the-Stuff; tomorrow's is a Three-Matchy. Blech.
2. Read a fair amount for Arthur.
3. Watched Big Love and Into Alaska with Jeff Corwin.
4. Level 29 gnome warlock. Killed Stalvan (!). Soloed the Dark Mines to the Foundry. First two Worgen quests. Picked up first aid books and cooking book; started Howling Vale. Got this chain to penultimate while finishing last Worgen quest. Dinged 30. Stats check and mail check.
Level 25 Draenei Warrior. First three Sully Balloo quests.
5. Today's BigFishGame is a Find-the-Stuff; tomorrow's is a Three-Matchy. Blech.
Monday, July 16, 2007
7/15: What I Accomplished Today
1. Worked on Pogo badges.
2. Watched McKenna's Gold. In some ways, parts of this film were very similar to High Noon, which we saw last night; the McKenna's Gold townspeople are oblivious to the danger they might be letting themselves in for, and the High Noon people are oblivious in their complacency. Those parts of both movies, Sorkin could have written, for lo, they boil down to, "People are stupid."
High Noon was a really interesting film. (McKenna's Gold was a nice little film, but it's no High Noon.) Co-Vivant and I were discussing how, in many ways, most Westerns are morality plays. High Noon is certainly a morality play, but it takes the Western-as-morality-play motif to a whole new level. It was almost an updated parable. (When we started watching the film, Co-Vivant kept using the phrase "Morality Play" over and over, as though she was trying to check that I knew what it meant without having to ask me directly. Finally I had to say something that boiled down to, "Would you like to discuss how many times I've taught Everyman?")
I really wasn't happy with Grace Kelly as Quaker. (I really wasn't happy with Grace Kelly in this movie at all, but whatcha gonna do; everyone has to start somewhere, and she shore was purdy.) She indicates that she converted to Quakerism after the deaths of her father and brother. People who convert to any religion because of one defining moment almost always miss the point, and I think she did as well; yes, Quakers are nonviolent, but only the most Orthodox are...I'm going to say "impractical" about it, although that word-choice isn't entirely fair. Most Quakers are as fond of order as anyone. (I have in my head I've known some Quaker police officers, but I'm not coming up with any, so maybe I haven't.) (I was raised a Quaker, so my thoughts on this topic are semi-relevant.)
3. World of Warcraft level 28 Gnome Warlock. Cursed Crew Sequence. Sven/Hermit/Jitters quests (not doing the Abernathy sequence). Night Watch. Dinged 29. Started Missing Diplomat. Night Watch. Collecting Memories/Oh Brother.
2. Watched McKenna's Gold. In some ways, parts of this film were very similar to High Noon, which we saw last night; the McKenna's Gold townspeople are oblivious to the danger they might be letting themselves in for, and the High Noon people are oblivious in their complacency. Those parts of both movies, Sorkin could have written, for lo, they boil down to, "People are stupid."
High Noon was a really interesting film. (McKenna's Gold was a nice little film, but it's no High Noon.) Co-Vivant and I were discussing how, in many ways, most Westerns are morality plays. High Noon is certainly a morality play, but it takes the Western-as-morality-play motif to a whole new level. It was almost an updated parable. (When we started watching the film, Co-Vivant kept using the phrase "Morality Play" over and over, as though she was trying to check that I knew what it meant without having to ask me directly. Finally I had to say something that boiled down to, "Would you like to discuss how many times I've taught Everyman?")
I really wasn't happy with Grace Kelly as Quaker. (I really wasn't happy with Grace Kelly in this movie at all, but whatcha gonna do; everyone has to start somewhere, and she shore was purdy.) She indicates that she converted to Quakerism after the deaths of her father and brother. People who convert to any religion because of one defining moment almost always miss the point, and I think she did as well; yes, Quakers are nonviolent, but only the most Orthodox are...I'm going to say "impractical" about it, although that word-choice isn't entirely fair. Most Quakers are as fond of order as anyone. (I have in my head I've known some Quaker police officers, but I'm not coming up with any, so maybe I haven't.) (I was raised a Quaker, so my thoughts on this topic are semi-relevant.)
3. World of Warcraft level 28 Gnome Warlock. Cursed Crew Sequence. Sven/Hermit/Jitters quests (not doing the Abernathy sequence). Night Watch. Dinged 29. Started Missing Diplomat. Night Watch. Collecting Memories/Oh Brother.
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