For those of you who've been reading my blog from the beginning or nearly-so (Herebe, Sal, etc.), you know the story line of my life has unfolded roughly like this:
Chick is lonely
Chick whinges a lot
Chick wants to return to England.
Chick returns to England.
Chick finds man and falls in love.
Chick is in England and no longer lonely.
Fin.
So what does that leave? There needs be a new adventure, a new saga, that you, my readers, may follow with eagerness and anticipation. It should be dramatic, frustrating, heart-felt, and personal. It should be...
The Pangs of Becoming a British Citizen!
And believe me, there are pangs. This will be a long (5 years or more) and arduous (have you seen the Home Office website?) labor of love. And it begins now. Stay tuned.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Monday, September 25, 2006
Passing
I'm feeling terribly English just now. Today was a remarkable day.
1. I used my HSBC bank card for the first time. My very own British bank account. I'm earning and spending my money in pounds. Whee!
2. Some local yokel actually thought I was English. My accent, it seems, is coming along. He asked me where in England I was from, probably because I've picked up a smattering of inflections from people all over the island. I must sound like a right mutt. But at least I don't sound American!
1. I used my HSBC bank card for the first time. My very own British bank account. I'm earning and spending my money in pounds. Whee!
2. Some local yokel actually thought I was English. My accent, it seems, is coming along. He asked me where in England I was from, probably because I've picked up a smattering of inflections from people all over the island. I must sound like a right mutt. But at least I don't sound American!
Move
The move is complete. Thanks for all your patience. I'm lovin' my new digs!
I'm on the 7th floor, which is great because there's no one who can see in my windows. I don't have to close the drapes ever! Whoo-hoo!
Here is my mamoth window sill. 2 feet deep and runs the span of the room. Space for loads of plants. Double 'Whoo-hoo'!
*blogging starkers*
Here we have my cozy sleeping corning. Note the green wall. Yep, that shit was pink a couple days ago. NO LONGER. Fuck my contract, I don't DO pink walls. Period.
You can see here my bookshelf in the corner, covered with all sorts of crap. If you're the observant type, you will figure out that I put the captions in with the intention of sending this to The Pirate, who is at present off on a great adventure, sailing the Seven Seas, drinking rum, buggering cabin boys, and gathering booty like a dragon with a metal detector. Damn I miss his booty. *snort*
I'm on the 7th floor, which is great because there's no one who can see in my windows. I don't have to close the drapes ever! Whoo-hoo!
Here is my mamoth window sill. 2 feet deep and runs the span of the room. Space for loads of plants. Double 'Whoo-hoo'!
*blogging starkers*
Here we have my cozy sleeping corning. Note the green wall. Yep, that shit was pink a couple days ago. NO LONGER. Fuck my contract, I don't DO pink walls. Period.
You can see here my bookshelf in the corner, covered with all sorts of crap. If you're the observant type, you will figure out that I put the captions in with the intention of sending this to The Pirate, who is at present off on a great adventure, sailing the Seven Seas, drinking rum, buggering cabin boys, and gathering booty like a dragon with a metal detector. Damn I miss his booty. *snort*
Sunday, September 24, 2006
'God's Rottweiller' In The Doghouse
(over the wrong issue)
There's been loads and loads of press coverage lately about Ratzinger, er, Pope Benedict the whatever. Ugh, I can't even bring myself to say it. He'll always be Ratzinger to me.
Mostly he's been taking flak for insulting pretty much everyone on earth, espeically the muslims. Well, to be fair his insult of the Jews was actually a lot worse to my mind (stood in the middle of Auschwitz and told them that the real victim of the Holocaust was Christianity), but he's been getting press for pissing off the Muslims because the Muslims are reacting more. It's the cartoon fiasco all over again. Someone does something thoughtless and insensitive, the world Muslim community responds by:
a) rioting
b) calling for blood
c) burning churches
d) all of the above
If you guessed "d", you're a winner! Give yourself a gold star, genius.
Now, I have a hard time getting too riled up over this because the way I see it, people on both sides are being selfish fuckwits. I really have no sympathy for either of them, the Pope or the Muslims. One's an asshole (again), the others are over-reacting. Again. Lose-lose situation. Moving on.
The one that's really got me is the whole Intelligent Design thing. Ratzinger is about to bring the Catholic church into it. The Church has never mandated a literal interpretation of the Old Testament. Not for a few centuries, anyway. Because of this, it doesn't have big problem with the idea of evolution. Pope JPII was fairly progressive in terms of scientific achievement. He recognized the accomplishments of Darwin, didn't have issue with evolution or natural selection. Heck, he even apologized to Galileo and his descendants for the Churche's big fuck-up over the whole solar system thang.
Ratzinger is about to undo all that. (Well, maybe not the solar system thing, but given enough time, who knows?) If the Church reverses its position on evolution and goes over to the side of the narrow-minded fundamentalist idiots known in America as the Religious Right (known in my mind as the Religious Wrong), it will be a major doctrinal shift that will have ramifications for Catholic education all over the world. Catholic schools will no longer be able to teach evolutionary biology. And what of all the Catholic universities? Highly respected institutions like Loyola University and Notre Dame will have serious propblems on their hands. Will they eject their biology departments, or risk excommunication? (I got $1000 says the Jesuits over at Loyola take excommunication before they sacrifice the qualitiy of their education. Any takers?)
In an age where technology is developing at an exponential pace, education is more critical than ever. It is no longer enough to know the three Rs to survive in society. One must be scientifically and technolgically literate as well. The difference between the Knows and the Know Nots is rapidly becoming as significant as the difference between the Haves and the Have Nots. It is into this 21st century setting that the Pope is seriously handicapping all his followers, attempting to force them back into an age of blindness and ignorance. In his role as shepherd, Ratzinger is not leading with the hand of compassion and understanding. In his narrow judgment and condemnation of human behavior, he is not doing his flock any favors.
There's been loads and loads of press coverage lately about Ratzinger, er, Pope Benedict the whatever. Ugh, I can't even bring myself to say it. He'll always be Ratzinger to me.
Mostly he's been taking flak for insulting pretty much everyone on earth, espeically the muslims. Well, to be fair his insult of the Jews was actually a lot worse to my mind (stood in the middle of Auschwitz and told them that the real victim of the Holocaust was Christianity), but he's been getting press for pissing off the Muslims because the Muslims are reacting more. It's the cartoon fiasco all over again. Someone does something thoughtless and insensitive, the world Muslim community responds by:
a) rioting
b) calling for blood
c) burning churches
d) all of the above
If you guessed "d", you're a winner! Give yourself a gold star, genius.
Now, I have a hard time getting too riled up over this because the way I see it, people on both sides are being selfish fuckwits. I really have no sympathy for either of them, the Pope or the Muslims. One's an asshole (again), the others are over-reacting. Again. Lose-lose situation. Moving on.
The one that's really got me is the whole Intelligent Design thing. Ratzinger is about to bring the Catholic church into it. The Church has never mandated a literal interpretation of the Old Testament. Not for a few centuries, anyway. Because of this, it doesn't have big problem with the idea of evolution. Pope JPII was fairly progressive in terms of scientific achievement. He recognized the accomplishments of Darwin, didn't have issue with evolution or natural selection. Heck, he even apologized to Galileo and his descendants for the Churche's big fuck-up over the whole solar system thang.
Ratzinger is about to undo all that. (Well, maybe not the solar system thing, but given enough time, who knows?) If the Church reverses its position on evolution and goes over to the side of the narrow-minded fundamentalist idiots known in America as the Religious Right (known in my mind as the Religious Wrong), it will be a major doctrinal shift that will have ramifications for Catholic education all over the world. Catholic schools will no longer be able to teach evolutionary biology. And what of all the Catholic universities? Highly respected institutions like Loyola University and Notre Dame will have serious propblems on their hands. Will they eject their biology departments, or risk excommunication? (I got $1000 says the Jesuits over at Loyola take excommunication before they sacrifice the qualitiy of their education. Any takers?)
In an age where technology is developing at an exponential pace, education is more critical than ever. It is no longer enough to know the three Rs to survive in society. One must be scientifically and technolgically literate as well. The difference between the Knows and the Know Nots is rapidly becoming as significant as the difference between the Haves and the Have Nots. It is into this 21st century setting that the Pope is seriously handicapping all his followers, attempting to force them back into an age of blindness and ignorance. In his role as shepherd, Ratzinger is not leading with the hand of compassion and understanding. In his narrow judgment and condemnation of human behavior, he is not doing his flock any favors.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
I'm a crappy blogger
and now i've just got even crappier.
After periods of long absence while i was on hols in the states, and then another long period of absence while i was just too busy/lazy, i am going to inflict on you yet another long absence.
I am moving today, and it will take a little while to get my 'puter back online in the new place. Theoretically it shouldn't take too long, but in reality these things are always a huge nuissance.
I promise to write up the nice, big, ranting piece I've been composing in my head for the last two weeks as soon as I get my hook-up back. It's titled "God's Rotweiller in the Doghouse." You'll love it.
After periods of long absence while i was on hols in the states, and then another long period of absence while i was just too busy/lazy, i am going to inflict on you yet another long absence.
I am moving today, and it will take a little while to get my 'puter back online in the new place. Theoretically it shouldn't take too long, but in reality these things are always a huge nuissance.
I promise to write up the nice, big, ranting piece I've been composing in my head for the last two weeks as soon as I get my hook-up back. It's titled "God's Rotweiller in the Doghouse." You'll love it.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
The Famed British Diplomacy:
"Kind greetings from the British. There are concerns to speak about. We declare war on you."They don't beat around the bush, gotta give 'em that...
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Academic climax for the Bitch
If my academic research on the language of Geoffrey Chaucer is tantamount to being spanked by the dude from 600 years in the past (which is exaclty the comparison I draw with my web ID), than this is the orgasm at the end of the session. While still reeling from the shock that I bear a 70% resemblance to Collin Farrel, I received this email:
"We are pleased to inform you that your proposed paper, entitled "Chaucer’s Intensifiers: Continuing Tradition or Linguistic Innovation," has been selected for inclusion in the session entitled "Chaucer and Words II" at the 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 10-13, 2007. The session is sponsored by The Chaucer Review."
yay! I'm giving a paper next spring at the world's largest annual conference on medieval studies. moreover, i'm presenting at a session sponsored by the Chaucer Review, the preeminent journal of all things Chaucerian.* It's a great foot in the door. I think there's a very good chance that after they hear the paper I can get it published in the journal, which would be great as it's compeltely original research, and not co-authored by anyone. It's ALL ME, people! Woot!
In slightly more disappointing news, the TEAMS series edition of John Gower's Confessio Amantis, edited by Russel Peck (capital fellow, Peck; met him at last year's conference), is apparently out of print. Shit. The search for the second-hand copy takes off in earnest.**
*Yes, that really is a word.
**Poor Earnest. must be dead uncomfortable for him.
"We are pleased to inform you that your proposed paper, entitled "Chaucer’s Intensifiers: Continuing Tradition or Linguistic Innovation," has been selected for inclusion in the session entitled "Chaucer and Words II" at the 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies at Kalamazoo, Michigan, May 10-13, 2007. The session is sponsored by The Chaucer Review."
yay! I'm giving a paper next spring at the world's largest annual conference on medieval studies. moreover, i'm presenting at a session sponsored by the Chaucer Review, the preeminent journal of all things Chaucerian.* It's a great foot in the door. I think there's a very good chance that after they hear the paper I can get it published in the journal, which would be great as it's compeltely original research, and not co-authored by anyone. It's ALL ME, people! Woot!
In slightly more disappointing news, the TEAMS series edition of John Gower's Confessio Amantis, edited by Russel Peck (capital fellow, Peck; met him at last year's conference), is apparently out of print. Shit. The search for the second-hand copy takes off in earnest.**
*Yes, that really is a word.
**Poor Earnest. must be dead uncomfortable for him.
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