Book Yoda the Magic Librarian

Backyard

2011-07-21T23:27:00.006-04:00

I recently moved to a new apartment, which looks out on trees and bushes (and the backyards of the apartments behind mine, but mostly trees and things) instead of a wall. Since moving in I've really enjoyed watching the various animals that live out there.

This cardinal has gone bald because of molting or mites. I feel bad for it, but at the same time it looks like a Skeksis which makes it very, very creepy.

A much cuter visitor is the rabbit that seems to live in the bushes behind my apartment. I see it fairly often and the kitties are big fans.

This is the one that surprised me the most. I looked out of my bedroom window one morning and saw this bat climbing up a tree. It settled in this position and napped for at least a couple of hours.

Mammoth Cave

2011-05-20T23:54:00.008-04:00

A year ago Clay and I took a camping trip to Mammoth Cave to celebrate the end of the semester.

We walked to the Sand Cave, which can't actually be accessed except for by a walkway with signs telling Floyd Collins's story. At the end of the walkway the entrance to the Sand Cave can be seen from above. There was some graffiti carved into the handrails, like this which says, "RIP Floyd."

The Sand Cave

We drove over to the Mammoth Cave Baptist Church to see Floyd's grave. (And listened to the Cast Recording in the car on the way over)

We had some time to kill before our cave tour so we took the River Styx Spring Trail down to where the River Styx empties into the Green River. On the way down to the spring we saw several deer, including a family of four that pretty much ignored us while they ate next to the trail.

It was overcast and drizzly so the light was terrible and only a couple of my pictures came out.

This was right after it had flooded in the area and the line where the water had been was over our heads.

We also took the Violet City Lantern Tour of the cave, which was awesome, but taking pictures in the cave is very difficult because flash photography is not allowed and the light is very, very low.

A Nice Thing About Living in Bowling Green

2010-05-14T18:27:00.009-04:00

I put up a bird feeder last fall to see if I could attract birds for the cats' entertainment. This spring our porch has become very popular with a variety of birds, including a pair of doves. (These pictures were taken through the window so they're a little fuzzy)

You can see the second one in the background

They are nice enough to eat the food that the little birds knock on the ground

This one reminds me of the illustrations in the Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus books

This is what they generally do when I approach the window

Light at the End of the Tunnel

2010-05-07T23:42:00.004-04:00

In honor of the fact that I turned in three term papers this week I'm posting a few picture of Desie enjoying what we like to call "Kitty Sun Time" in my office.

Pisticci

2010-02-18T22:49:00.003-05:00

Clay at Pisticci when we were in New York in November.

Georgia Aquarium

2010-02-13T22:41:00.003-05:00

My screen saver is a random slideshow of the pictures on my computer. The middle picture just came up and I remembered that I never posted any of the pictures from my trip to the Georgia Aquarium with Mom this summer. That's because I'm not a huge fan of any of them, but I think these three are pretty.

Blah, blah, blah grad school, busy, tired, etc...

2010-01-29T16:26:00.006-05:00

See title for introduction.

I don't have much in the way of pictures from my long period of silence, but I'm going to try to post what I do have. These are from a trip to Cades Cove with Mom over Christmas.

The Mill

Carter Shields Cabin

This one is my current desktop image

I guess I have a bit of a thing for mossy branches.

Schmapped Again

2009-09-25T16:11:00.005-04:00

Another of my pictures was chosen for the Schmap online guide. You can see it here. It's in the entry for The Cloisters. It's still silly, but it still makes me very happy.

Fishes!

2009-09-15T14:23:00.003-04:00

For years I have been talking about getting an aquarium so I can have goldfish. We had several growing up and I always enjoyed watching them swim around and be fishy. Our apartment in Bowling Green is the first that has had enough room, so I promised myself that I could finally have one. On Sunday afternoon Clay and I went to the store an picked out four fish to go in our new aquarium. Fish move a lot so they are very hard to photograph!

Donna

Rose

Jack

Martha
It took several tries to get a clear shot of Martha, but her's came out the best.

Oh No!

Yes, George and Desie have already found them and pretty much accepted that they can't get the fish through glass. They still enjoy looking though.

Unpacking

2009-08-03T00:06:00.004-04:00

We've been in Bowling Green for one week today. We've made a large dent in the enormous piles of boxes, but the first order of business was to unpack and organize our books. 16 boxes of books came with us from New York and 5 came out of storage. The only possible way to make sense of them was to unpack and stack them by subject.

Piles and piles of books

There were many that I had not seen in a long time.

This is a portion of the "Sara's School Stuff" pile.

So many books!

Yes, I was an English major.

Knoxville Zoo

2009-07-07T16:43:00.004-04:00

We went to the Knoxville Zoo for Amy's birthday.

Prairie Dog

We spent a long time watching the meerkats, which are Amy's favorite.

Meerkats are wacky.

Red Panda
I think the spots from the fence look kind of cool.

Dragonfly

2009-07-02T22:44:00.001-04:00

Dragonfly in Cades Cove

Goodbye New York

2009-06-13T12:29:00.002-04:00

This will probably be the last New York picture for a while. Hopefully Bowling Green will provide some good picture taking opportunities.

New York Public Library

2009-06-12T23:15:00.002-04:00

Three days before we moved I finally got down to NYPL with my camera.

The Rose Reading Room

Museum of Natural History

2009-06-11T00:03:00.003-04:00

The Whale... check!

MoMA

2009-06-08T21:31:00.005-04:00

We finally made it to MoMA thanks to Sheila, who let us use her membership pass, and Katie, who said "I want to go to MoMA."

I always feel a little weird about photographing art in museums, but I made a few exceptions because they were awesome.

White Light by Jackson Pollock

Grandcamp, Evening by Georges-Pierre Seurat

This was the first time I'd seen a Seurat in person, they were stunning.

Port-en-Bessin, Entrance to the Harbor by Georges-Pierre Seurat

Both paintings even have a painted border

I don't know this woman, but she was nice enough to stay still while I took pictures of her.

The Cloisters

2009-05-26T22:50:00.008-04:00

Sylvie and I took advantage of our unemployment last Thursday and spent an afternoon at The Cloisters. It was a gorgeous day and the museum is awesome. Don't let the distance from midtown keep you away, it's worth the travel time.

Some of the columns are authentic and some of them are not. They do an excellent job of seamlessly filling in the missing pieces.

It's very cool to be walking through a room full of statues and paintings, turn a corner and be in a recreated chapel like this one.

This courtyard is surrounded by the tables for the museum's cafe.

The fountain was very popular with the birds. I managed to catch this one drinking.

The herbs are divided into sections, this is in the "Magical Plants" section. We were able to restrain ourselves and did not pull any up to see the roots.

Coney Island

2009-05-25T22:49:00.004-04:00

On Mom's last day we made the trek out to Coney Island. There wasn't much going on since it was a week day and there isn't much there to begin with, but there were many photos to be taken.

The Boardwalk

Although there were not many people there, the Cyclone was running. It was very, very shaky, but a lot of fun and much faster than I'd expected.

I'm not sure how anyone could do anything besides hang on and try not to get bounced out of the seat.

A fake palm tree on the beach

We were not able to figure out what it was for.

Astroland was not open so we couldn't ride the Wonder Wheel, which was disappointing.

We had the traditional lunch at Nathan's and Mom had the classic hot dog.

New Yankee Stadium

2009-05-24T00:20:00.003-04:00

The Mets weren't in town while Mom was here so we had to settle for a Yankees game, which was a chance to check out their new stadium. I never made it to old Yankee Stadium, but I was not particularly impressed with the new one.

I kept thinking about the poor people whose buildings are probably lit up most of the night by the stadium

The Brooklyn Bridge

2009-05-21T22:42:00.002-04:00

Mom coming for a visit last week was a perfect opportunity to do some fun touristy things. I'm finally going to be able to cross some things off of my list of Things I Should Do Before I Leave New York. Number 1 on the list is walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, which I finally did on Saturday.

The Manhattan Bridge

The Empire State Building hiding in the clouds

We also went to Chinatown the same day, but I don't have any pictures from it. Since none of us wanted any knock offs of designer handbags we weren't there very long.

CitiField

2009-05-20T21:21:00.002-04:00

Clay and I went to a Mets game to see them play the Braves and because we wanted to see the new stadium. We were both very impressed by CitiField and very happy to see the Braves win.

CitiField

I love that you can see the trains go by behind the stadium

Go Braves!

Future Home!

2009-04-25T00:04:00.003-04:00

We're in Bowling Green, Kentucky looking at apartments for our upcoming move. After a long day we wound up downtown. I see some very exciting picture taking opportunities in my future.

Sunshine!

2009-04-18T18:50:00.002-04:00

At long last we had a sunny day in NYC!

An Unexpected Bouquet

2009-04-13T22:03:00.001-04:00

Not only did I receive unexpected flowers on Saturday, but they were also covered in rain. All the better for the picture taking!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

2009-02-18T12:47:00.004-05:00

Two things stand out in my mind when I think about reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for the first time. The first is going to see The Fellowship of the Ring and getting the Ringwraiths mixed up with the dementors. The other is that I was sitting on the couch in Clay’s apartment reading when he walked into the room and asked me to marry him.

Prisoner of Azkaban is when the story really takes off for me. We have the introduction of the Marauders, the beginning of Harry’s relationship with Sirius, Harry’s relationship with Lupin, and lots of twists and turns along the way. The Marauders are fun and tragic at the same time, it’s fun to read about their antics at school and the friendship that they shared, as long as their contemporary circumstances are ignored. I love that J. K. Rowling gives her characters so much depth and allows them to make mistakes. Sirius did not betray James and Lily, but he has no qualms about hunting Pettigrew down to kill him. Lupin is a wonderful teacher and friend to Harry, but he does not tell Dumbledore that Sirius is an animagus (granted that would have really screwed up the plot, but it’s still not what he should have done) and is just as willing as Sirius to go ahead and kill Pettigrew.

Prisoner of Azkaban is full of twists, Sirius is innocent, Scabbers is not only person, but also responsible for the deaths of Harry’s parents, Lupin is a werewolf, there’s little that can be taken at face value. The constantly shifting story is probably at least partly to blame for some of the more incredible theories that were subscribed to by fans, such as “Ron is Dumbledore.” The use of the time turner is well done and allows the reader a very shocking everything may not be okay moment.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

2009-02-11T16:12:00.002-05:00

I have been trying and trying to write this for a week and it just won't work. That's my disclaimer.

I don't remember much about the first time I read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I devoured most of it on the plane to Denver, I think I was about 3/4 of the way through by the time I got there. It's my least favorite of the books. I don't necessarily dislike it, it's just not on the same level as the others.

I noticed this time around just how much the whole flying the car to Hogwarts scene bugs me. I was so annoyed with Ron and Harry for their complete lack of foresight and judgment. I know they're supposed to be 12 (and that they are fictional), but it seems like such a leap to not wait two minutes to see if anyone is able to get back through from the platform.

Spoiler if you still haven't read Deathly Hallows

What I do like about the book is just how much of the overarching plot is introduced in it. Chamber of Secrets includes the destruction of the first horcrux, the first appearance of Godric Gryffindor's sword, the first bit of Voldemort's back story, and the introduction of the theme of how choices affect one’s life. The book is full of bits of information that will be more and more important as the series continues.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

2009-02-01T17:57:00.002-05:00

I’ve read the Harry Potter books far too many times to actually review them, but I wanted to just write out some thoughts. The last time that I read all of the books was in the summer of 2007, right before Deathly Hallows was released. Before that I read them about once a year so it’s interesting to come back to them with a little distance.

I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone for the first time in December of 2001. I had been pressured by many people, including my family and friends, to read them and finally decided to cave and borrowed Jenny's copies. I was taking a trip to Colorado to see Clay and figured that they would work well as airplane books. I started reading Sorcerer's Stone about a week before my trip because with work and finals I thought it would take about that long to read it. I was very, very wrong about that. It took about two days and I had to hide the rest of the books from myself so I would be able to save them for the trip.

What can I really say about this book? As the first book in the series Sorcerer's Stone is the reader's introduction to the wizarding world. The entire book exudes a sense of wonder and magic. I love that the characters are complex and realistic. Harry has a wonderful snarky quality that makes him so likable. Sure there are some plot holes, but the whole books is so much fun that I really don't care at all.

Cell

2009-01-21T20:40:00.005-05:00

A rough Fall lead into a worse December and a very busy January, but I’m going to try to do a little more posting this winter. I’m rewarding myself with a Harry Potter reread so I’m going to try to go back and review the books that I skipped last year. To really illustrate what a slacker I’ve been, I picked up Cell by Stephen King at the train station in Washington back in July. Entertainment Weekly gets credit for luring me into this one; I read the first chapter in the magazine back in 2006 before it was published.

Cell is about a group of people who survive after a “pulse” turns anyone who uses a cell phone into, for lack of a better word, a zombie. After an initial burst of violence the zombies begin to flock and exhibit characteristics of a hive mentality. The book follows Clay Riddell as he attempts to travel from Boston to Maine to find his wife and son.

The use of the flocking and the zombies’ slow evolution are what save the book from being a simplistic zombie story. The Dark Man is quite scary and there are many suspenseful moments. The problem is that King has done this story before and much, much better in The Stand. I spent most of the book thinking about The Stand and how much it better it is. The other problem is the very abrupt ending. I’m all for an ambiguous end, but this felt like ambiguity for ambiguity’s sake.

All that said I found Cell to be truly scary, but most of my goodwill was corrupted by the weak ending. I don’t like to say that one shouldn’t read a particular book, but if you’re only going to read one Stephen King book there are many that are much better. I’d go with The Stand, It, Bag of Bones, Carrie, or Hearts in Atlantis instead or as well.

Dalek Attack!

2009-01-16T19:36:00.005-05:00

For about a year now Clay and I have both had a mild obsession with Doctor Who and Torchwood, that has reached new heights in the past couple of months. Clay decided that he required action figures so he can make up his own stories. Since the first few arrived he's been creating tableaux in the living room every morning and evening.

The Doctor, Jack, and Rose have apparently apprehended the Dalek (the Snapple bottle) that managed to invade the TARDIS earlier this week. The thing behind them is not a stacked up bottle of Advil, wireless adapter and candle, it's the TARDIS console.

As you can see the figures are very detailed and actually look quite a bit like the actors.

Perfectly Safe

2009-01-15T18:21:00.003-05:00

I took this on the way out of town for Christmas before the plane was deiced.

A Snowy Evening

2008-12-20T16:04:00.004-05:00

We had our first real snow of the year yesterday. I took these of the trees next to our building out the window in the living room.

Christmas in NYC

2008-12-03T19:14:00.003-05:00

Last night I did the New York equivalent of driving around to look at people's Christmas lights. I walked from work, on 30th St., to the Time Warner Center. Some of my pictures did not live up to my standards and I hope to go out at some point with my tripod and Clay to act as bodyguard and try again. And before you ask, the tree at Rockefeller Center is being lit tonight so I'll have to visit it later as well.

They put these out every year and I always wonder who came up with this concept. It's cool, but really odd.

The lone wolf

I'm sure this is at least somewhat festive in the day, but at night with all the shadows it's really creepy.

Because of the huge windows in the Time Warner Center you can see these stars all the way down 59th St. They change colors in time to the Christmas music playing inside. It's actually pretty cool to watch.

Election 2008

2008-11-05T19:22:00.003-05:00

Last night Clay and I went down to Rockefeller Center to visit the "Election Plaza" before heading home to watch the returns. As people who watched MSNBC will know they were running streamers up the building to indicate the number of electoral votes for each candidate. There were also giant screens on either side of the building showing MSNBC and NBC so we were able to watch the 7:00 states come in. It was fun, but I prefer watching the bulk of the returns in my pajamas at home.

NBC's Election Plaza at Rockefeller Center

The Skating Rink Map

Keith on the big screen!

Vermont for Obama and Kentucky for McCain

An Election Retrospective

2008-11-03T16:29:00.001-05:00

I just want to say a quick apology for my complete lack of posting lately. Life has been busy and tiring and still not having a new laptop tends to keep me from writing. The sad thing is there is a handwritten review of Cell waiting to be typed, but right now I just can’t seem to do it. I’m delving into the purely narcissistic portion of blogging for the first time today. This is not a book review and at this time there are no accompanying pictures. I’ve been thinking a lot about previous elections during the run-up to tomorrow and wanted to get some thoughts down. If you care about my history as a voter read on, if not I should have some new pictures in a couple of days.

The first election that I can remember was in 1984, when my kindergarten class voted by making X’s on a piece of poster board. I’m sorry to say that I voted for Reagan. I didn’t know which one to vote for and one of my friends pointed to Reagan and said I should vote for him. He easily won Ms Cowsert’s class with only a handful of votes going to Mondale. In 1988 I was in the fourth grade and my only real memories are Amy telling me that I shouldn’t vote for Bush because he wanted to, “Take all of our nuclear weapons and blow up Russia,” and being disappointed when Bush took Rosa Taylor Elementary in a landslide.

1992 was the first election year when I was fully aware of what was going on and had some knowledge of the candidates thanks to my Mankind teacher Ms. Rogers. Unfortunately being better informed did not lead to my being any smarter about the whole thing. I’m going to go ahead and admit that I voted for Ross Perot in the Kids Voting election. I honestly don’t know what I disliked so much about Clinton, but I think I really liked the idea of saying that I was “wasting my vote on Perot.” That was also the first year that I stayed up to watch the election returns, again thanks to Ms. Rogers. In 1996 I was supporting Clinton and really angry that I couldn’t vote because I didn’t turn 18 until three days after the election. It was the first time that a lot of my friends got to vote and I was very jealous.

In 2000 I got to vote for real. I transferred my registration from Macon to Athens so I didn’t have to vote absentee and I was very glad that I had, as I finally got to vote on the lever machines. When I was a kid Mom used to take Jenny and me to the polls with her, but she never let me pull the lever and I’d always wanted to. While I’d considered voting for Nader, by the time Election Day rolled around I was convinced that Gore needed my vote, even in Georgia. A group of friends and I gathered to watch the results that evening, which turned out to be quite depressing. I went to bed that night at about 2AM when CNN called the race for Bush. About 6:30 I awoke to a knock on my window. Clay was standing out there babbling something about the election and not knowing who had won. That is the enduring moment of that election for me, going to bed thinking, “oh well” and waking up to find that everything had gone completely insane.

The 2004 election marks the first time I got particularly engaged in primary season. Clay was the head of the local Howard Dean group. We were in Columbus watching on TV when he made his infamous cry in Iowa and both felt that he’d just blown any chance he had. That was the cause of a huge blowup at the next Wataugans for Dean meeting where a woman accused Clay of being unbalanced for saying that things did not look good for Dean. After Iowa I changed my loyalties to Edwards. We moved to New York in the late summer of 2004 so I voted absentee in North Carolina for John Kerry. Because I didn’t get an “I Voted” sticker I made my own and passed them out to people who came into the bookstore that day.

This election season feels as though it has lasted forever. I was again supporting Edwards in the primary and was very disappointed when he dropped out before Super Tuesday. This was the first time that I did not feel as though there was an obvious choice for me. I spent a lot of time researching both Clinton and Obama’s positions trying to make up my mind between them. On primary day I literally stood in the booth wavering between the two levers before ultimately deciding to vote for Obama. It’s been a long time since Super Tuesday and I’m looking forward to voting for him again tomorrow. It seems as though practically everyone I know has already gotten to vote and I’ve felt some jealousy, but I have to admit that I probably wouldn’t have voted early even if I could. There’s something very exciting about voting on Election Day. I just hope they give me a sticker, because I haven’t made my own this year.

Ballpark in Arlington

2008-10-03T09:11:00.003-04:00

One of my pictures from our trip to Dallas last spring is being used on the Schmap guide to Fort Worth. This is entirely thanks to Stephen who uploaded the picture to his Flickr account and generally did all of the work. It's kind of silly, but it really makes me happy.

To see it click here and mouse over the "Ballpark in Arlington" entry. You'll have to use the arrows to scroll through the pictures until you see the one below.

Venice Beach

2008-10-01T18:07:00.002-04:00

I was going to say something about how one can't go to LA and not go to the beach, but then I remembered that I have been to LA many times and only been to the beach there twice. In any case we did go to the beach this time and it was beautiful!

Getty Garden

2008-09-29T22:07:00.005-04:00

We took the Central Garden Tour at the Getty, which was fun, but I missed a good bit of it because I kept stopping to take pictures. Most of what I heard was "...and now we're going to move on to..." I don't know what most of the plants are because there are no signs in the garden due to aesthetics. My favorite part was the azalea labyrinth.

Fountain of Youth

2008-09-27T18:16:00.003-04:00

This is three pieces of the same fountain at the Getty Center. It starts at the far end of the first picture, goes through the runner and goes into a pool. In the middle of the pool is a drain, featured in the second picture, that allows water to drip down in to another pool. I liked that the lower fountain looks like a spring one might find in an old monastery, while the top is very modern, like most of the Getty.

The Lone Wild Bird...

2008-09-17T23:41:00.002-04:00

Rise and Shine!

2008-09-16T22:35:00.001-04:00

Rent: The End

2008-09-10T09:28:00.002-04:00

Stephen and Anji came out to New York for the final Rent performance last weekend. They actually had tickets, but we decided to go enter the lottery to see if Clay and I could get tickets. None of us won, but it was fun to go and see the very enthusiastic people. I heard many people say that it was insane, but I thought it was pretty calm. There were many, many people there, but process was orderly and well done.

The final lotto crowd.

Waiting for a Train

2008-08-25T10:02:00.001-04:00

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-12T19:22:00.003-04:00

I picked up Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer almost a week after it was released. However, I still managed to stay spoiler free until I finished. It just feels like an accomplishment. If you want to stay spoiler free you should not continue to read.

Breaking Dawn begins with Bella and Edward's wedding. Jacob returns from his self imposed exile to see Bella one more time and nearly gets into a fight with Edward when he finds out that they're going to try to have sex while Bella is still human. After the wedding Edward takes Bella to Esme's private island for their honeymoon and, as promised they finally consummate their relationship. After a couple of weeks Bella realizes that she is not only pregnant, but appears to be a few months along already. They race back home where she refused to allow Carlise and Edward to terminate the pregnancy in spite of her failing health. Once the baby is born and Bella becomes a vampire they learn that they will once again have to face the Volturi.

I have an overwhelming feeling of indifference towards Breaking Dawn. I didn't like it very much, but I didn't particularly dislike it either. As usual many of the plot elements were predictable and contrived. As soon as the child vampires were brought up it was pretty clear where the story was headed. This time the story was just not good enough to make me look past the problems, but on the bright side it was still better than New Moon.

The section that was narrated by Jacob was better than I thought it would be and it was nice to get a clearer picture of the wolves lives. I hoped for a little while that something might happen between Leah and Jacob, but that would have been too interesting. Having Jacob imprint on Renesmee so they could all be one big happy family is awfully convenient and really creepy. Meyer spends a lot of time assuring the reader that imprinting is not a sexual thing and that neither Jacob nor Quil is a pedophile, but all that aside that still means that he is going to be Bella's son-in-law. He intends to marry the daughter of his previous object of affection. It's all so very creepy!

It was good to get a look at some of the other vampires outside of the Cullens, but there were so many that I had some trouble keeping them straight. There were more interesting new powers introduced and then not really used. Renesmee's ability to share her thoughts and Bella's power to block the talents of other's are the only one's that really mattered in the end. It was nice to see Bella so empowered after being the human that everyone had to protect for three books, but the big confrontation with the Volturi was so anticlimactic. That's the thing that made the book so problematic, there were no real stakes. One vampire, who has only be talked about before and who caused the whole problem, dies. Everyone else escapes and there's never really any suspense to make the reader think that they won't.

As I said before Breaking Dawn was not all that bad, it just wasn't all that good. Everything was just tied up too neatly with everyone paired off and happy. For the entire series Meyer set up the triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob. Imprinting, no matter how well established as a plot device, feels like a cop out.

Eclipse

2008-08-05T22:11:00.005-04:00

I actually read Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer while I was in Washington and wrote most of this review on the train, but between all the posting of pictures and some general laziness I haven’t taken the time to sit down and finish it. I’m planning to pick up Breaking Dawn this weekend so I wanted to get this done before I get influenced by the rest of the story. Anyway, the Twilight series was recommended by Stephen and Sylvie and, as always, spoilers follow.

Wow! Let’s start with wow. Eclipse is so many light years better than New Moon. This is the sequel I was looking for when I finished Twilight. How wonderful it is to regain the sensuality that made me love the first book. Sure the characters are still thinly drawn, but the story is too good for me to really care.

Eclipse picks up soon after New Moon left off. Bella is still grounded for running off to Italy and having a motorcycle and her father is still unhappy about her relationship with Edward. Soon she and her father come to an agreement, he’ll let her leave the house if she’ll spend more time with her other friends. This is complicated by Edward’s distrust of Jacob, who her father particularly wants her to see. After trying, and failing to keep Bella away from Jacob, Edward agrees that she should be allowed to see him. Reports of deaths and disappearances from Seattle complicate things and eventually warrant an uneasy alliance.

First of all I was glad to have a least some attempt to give Bella a reason to not want to get married. “I’m just not that girl,” is not the best reason in the world, but it worked well enough for me to go back to willfully suspending my disbelief.

I was worried early on that I was going to find Edward as irritating as Bella was in New Moon, but once he got over his refusing to allow her to see Jacob, I fell right back in love with him. Jacob spent a lot of time being annoying, but that’s his character so I can let it slide.

There was more interesting lore from both the vampires and the werewolves. Back stories were revealed for Rosalie and Jasper and Bella got to hear the Quileute tribe’s story of the werewolves’ origins.

The story was much less cliché and predictable which is not to say that is wasn’t at all, it was quite obvious that Victoria was the one coming after Bella and that there would have to be a vampire/werewolf alliance, but having Bella genuinely conflicted about her feelings for Jacob was nice. No, I never thought she would choose him, but I liked seeing the choice actually be made. The teasing at their chemistry was one of the few things I liked about New Moon and I welcomed its return. And that was quite an impressive kiss. I’m sure thirteen year olds everywhere are still swooning.

Just One More

2008-07-22T22:32:00.001-04:00

The Vietnam Memorial

Tom's Memorial

2008-07-21T20:10:00.002-04:00

The number of tries that it took for me to get this shot made me realize that, although my tripod is a pain to drag around, it may be worth it.

A couple of guys fishing in the Tidal Pool. I think they had 6 or 8 fishing rods between them.

Korean War Memorial

2008-07-20T22:05:00.005-04:00

A couple of birds bathing in the Memory Pool

The Memory Pool

This friendly squirrel shared my pretzel when I took a break.

Holocaust Memorial Museum

2008-07-18T19:51:00.003-04:00

One of my main reasons for making the trip to DC was to see the Holocaust Museum. I have had a mild obsession since I first saw The Diary of Anne Frank when I was 9 or so. It was also my main reason for going on the trip alone. Sure Clay can't get away for the weekend because of work, but it was all about going to the Holocaust Museum alone. I can't say that I enjoyed it, because it's not something to enjoy, but I learned a lot and was profoundly affected by the exhibit, which I spent 5 hours exploring.

The two part sculpture outside.

The sculpture's marker.

This is the magnet that I bought at the museum. It's a picture of the eternal flame in the Hall of Remembrance. I made it through the entire exhibit without any tears, but this is where I broke down. The flame is on top of a block that contains dirt from 38 of the concentration camps in Europe.

Some New Discoveries

2008-07-17T21:28:00.007-04:00

In my wanderings I ran across a couple of landmarks that I hadn't seen before...

The Summer House at the Capitol

The Grotto at the Summer House

The Summer House Fountain

There is a Memorial to the Signers of the Declaration of Independence near the Vietnam Memorial. All of the signers' names and signatures are carved on granite blocks. George Walton, Lyman Hall, and Button Gwinnett are three names that I will never forget thanks to 8th Grade Georgia history. Mrs. Rogers suggested that we think of George Walton walking down the Hall while Buttoning his Gwinnett. It worked.

Museum Time!

2008-07-16T19:51:00.004-04:00

I'd been to the Natural History Museum and the Air and Space Museum before, but museum going is a very different thing when one is twelve and following a chaperone around. We got lost in the Natural History museum on my 6th grade trip and didn't have time to see the American History Museum. Unfortunately the it is currently closed for renovations so I still haven't really gotten to see it. I guess I'll have to go back someday.

The Castle

Ocean Views was my favorite exhibit. It's like someone sat down and created it just for me!

The manatees in the Mammal Hall

The Crystal Skull!

Thanks to Philip Roth I will never be able to think of Charles Lindbergh in the same way.

World War II Memorial

2008-07-15T21:01:00.005-04:00

The World War II Memorial was built since the last time I was in DC so this was my first look at it. I thought that it was well designed and moving. I was glad to see for myself that it does not obstruct the sight lines between the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial.

This dedication left me a bit teary.

The "Field of Stars"

Close-up of the stars

The fountain and Atlantic side from the Pacific

The fountain at night

Just the Beginning!

2008-07-14T21:41:00.004-04:00

This past weekend I took a little holiday to Washington. I'd been twice before, once in the sixth grade on a class trip and once in college for about a day. There were many things that I had never had a chance to do as my itinerary has never really been in my hands. As I often do on vacation I took, many, many pictures. On Friday, my first day there, I did the traditional tour of Monuments and Memorials beginning with a trip to the Washington Monument, which I'd never seen close up.

The Capitol looking very cool in the morning light.

The White House from the base of the Washington Monument

The Washington Monument

The Lincoln Memorial and Reflecting Pool

There are signs like this at many of the memorials asking people to refrain from throwing coins in the fountains or not walk on the grass. They all use this sort of language, emphasizing showing respect for those being memorialized.

As the title says this is just the beginning. Tomorrow, the WWII Memorial!

New Moon

2008-07-09T21:20:00.002-04:00

I finally got around to continuing with the Twilight series, which was recommended to me by both Stephen and Sylvie. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer is the second book in the, so far, insanely readable series. Standard spoiler warnings apply especially if you haven’t read Twilight.

New Moon picks up in the fall after Twilight left off, on Bella’s eighteenth birthday. After a near miss involving a paper cut and Edward’s “brother” Jasper, Edward decides that Bella will be better off without him and his family around. He leaves and she is devastated. After a few months of nonstop moping, Bella begins spending time with Jacob Black and is rejuvenated by his friendship, until he begins to change.

I did not enjoy New Moon as much as Twilight. The best part about Twilight was Edward and Bella’s relationship and that was absentee for most of the book. The mythology of the series continues to be interesting. We have the addition of werewolves to the “monsters” involved. Jacob, whose information about his father’s beliefs helped Bella to figure out what was up with Edward, turns out to be descended from a line of werewolves who function as the protectors of their tribe. Again Meyer rejects common lore having the werewolves change as the result of anger instead of the moon. The idea of the werewolves coming into existence as a result having vampires in the vicinity is clever. We also learned more about the vampires, meeting the “royal family” the Volturi. Many of them have special gifts like Edward and Alice, although Bella seems to be immune to their powers, like she is Edward’s.

The book is structured as a loose allegory of Romeo and Juliet, with Edward and Bella playing the iconic couple and Jacob filling in as Paris. It would have worked better had Meyer not beat the reader over the head with this information. Still I liked the parallels with Rosalie filling in as Balthasar and Alice as Friar Lawrence.

The continuation of the mythology was good, but it could not save the story which was really subpar. As in Twilight most of the “twists” were obvious from a mile away and waiting for Bella to figure it out was annoying. I did not have much of a problem with Bella in Twilight, but I some trouble with her character in New Moon. She did some truly idiotic things, which is explained away by her desire to hear Edward’s voice cautioning her when she puts herself in danger and like so many heroines who have been dumped by the leading man for their own good; she actually believes that he doesn’t love her anymore. However my big problem with her (aside from having a female protagonist who is so entirely defined by her relationships to men) came at the end of the book. Am I truly supposed to believe that someone who is ready to give up everything and become a vampire to stay with the man that she loves and join his family has a problem with getting married to him? Really?

That said I did generally enjoy the book and once again couldn’t put it down. There is something compulsively readable about the series and some willful suspension of disbelief should take care of most of my problems with the book. There were good moments, such as the beginning when Bella dreams of being an old woman with a still youthful Edward. I hold out hope for the rest of the series and certainly won’t be stopping now.

Lies Across America

2008-07-04T21:15:00.003-04:00

Lies Across America: What American Historic Sites Get Wrong by James W. Loewen is a book that I’ve been meaning to pick up and read for quite some time. I recommended and lent my copy of his other book, Lies My Teacher Told Me, to Amy a couple of months ago so it seemed like time to get on it.

Lies Across America is a study of selected historic sites and markers across the country. Loewen looks at the information given for and about the sites, points out incorrect or misleading information and makes suggestions for how they might be corrected. The featured markers and sites are from all 50 states, but the majority deal with either the slavery and the civil war or European settlers and the treatment of Native Americans.

Reading the book brought up some interesting questions in my mind. The chapter on Amerst, Massachusetts, which was named for Lord Jeffrey Amerst who historians say authorized the idea of giving blankets infected with small pox to Native Americans, suggests that it would be a good idea to change the name to no longer honor him. I agree that he is not someone who necessarily deserves to be honored, but I can understand the logistical difficulties of actually changing the name.

As someone who grew up in the South I was particularly interested in the sections on the Civil War. I was fascinated and saddened by the chapter on the Union League Club, which exemplifies the abandonment of the cause of civil rights by the Republican Party in the years following the war. The Union League was begun to “combat the pro-secession sentiment that dominated New York City early in the Civil War.” Over the years the club became more of an elite social club, barring anyone who was not white and protestant from membership.

Is there a bias at work here? Absolutely, but that does not change the fact that all over the country there is misinformation being disseminated. There are monuments and sites mentioned where the argument is purely bias, but Loewen still makes some very good points.

Let the Sun Shine

2008-06-22T14:01:00.000-04:00

George enjoying the afternoon sun

New Yoda

2008-06-21T19:36:00.002-04:00

This is my newest Yoda, courtesy of Stephen and Anji. The box assures me that he is made with "100% recycled awesome."

Tacky Turtle

2008-06-19T21:47:00.003-04:00

There is a tradition in my family, which was begun by my dad, of bringing each other tacky gifts when we go on vacation. Jenny and Dave recently went to Hawaii and today I received a beautifully tacky Turtle Compass. Thank you Jenny and Dave!

Things I Should Do Before I Leave New York

2008-06-18T16:04:00.003-04:00

I’m departing a little from my usual books and pictures theme because I had an inspiration yesterday. Strangely enough it came from the Sex and the City movie. There was a scene on the Brooklyn Bridge and I thought, “I’ve still never done that," walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, that is. That was mixed with a conversation that I had with Sylvie not long ago about New York things that we haven’t done. Add to that a couple of bloggers who have written lists of things to do in their lives and you have a nice epiphany.

So I decided to sit down and write my own “Things I Should Do Before I Leave New York” list. Publishing it just makes the whole thing more real. Plus there are a lot of photography things on the list that will probably wind up getting posted here anyway. I'll probably add more later and will try to post here as I check things off of the list.

Walk across the Brooklyn Bridge
Photograph the sunset from Top of the Rock
Go to Chinatown
See an Opera at the Met
Actually get off the boat at Liberty Island
Go to Bloomingdales
Photograph Central Park to my own satisfaction
See more of the Met
Go to Coney Island
See a show in every Broadway house
Go to the New York Aquarium
Visit the Cloisters
See a show at Shakespeare in the Park
Visit the Morgan Library
Get a good photograph of the NYPL Lions
Go to the Rose Center
Find a way to take a picture of the Giant Whale at the Museum of Natural History
Spend a night at the Library Hotel
Photograph the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree
Go to MoMA
Visit Trinity Cemetery
Try a Mozzarepa at a Street Fair
See the New York Ballet

The New View from my Window!

2008-06-14T20:01:00.002-04:00

I've been absentee lately due to moving and generally being busy. Now that it's changed I thought I'd return with the view from our new windows.

From the Living Room

From the Bedroom

Desie enjoying the view

The Birds!

2008-05-24T17:22:00.004-04:00

Amy and I went to the Central Park Zoo while she was in town for Clay's Graduation. There were many, many birds.

Twilight

2008-05-09T21:34:00.000-04:00

I had jury duty earlier this week so I was in need of a good, entertaining book. I picked up Twilight by Stephenie Meyer on the recommendation of Stephen and Sylvie, both of whom indicated that they couldn’t put it down. It turned out to be the perfect choice to get me through two days of enforced sitting around.

Twilight is about Bella, a seventeen year old girl, who moves from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her father. At her new school she feels drawn to the beautiful and mysterious Edward Cullen. She is confused and annoyed by his odd behavior, but eventually figures out that he is a vampire. By that point it’s too late because she’s already fallen in love with him.

Spoilers

Edward and his family are a group of vampires who all hunt animals instead of humans. Carlisle and Esme Cullen function as the parents of the family and to the public Edward and the remaining members of the group are their adopted children. The vampire lore used is interesting. These vampires can go out in the sun, but their skin becomes luminous so they avoid it. Their eyes change color depending upon how recently they have eaten, from gold to black. Some of them have special powers, Edward can read minds and his sister Alice can see the future, but not all of them do. They have the usual super strength and heightened senses. The most unusual trait is that these vampires are venomous. Instead of the usual Anne Rice method for creating a new vampire, their venom will change a person who is bitten and survives.

Bella and Edward’s relationship was very fun to read. It was very sensual, and exactly the sort of story that I would have loved as a teenager. I was impressed with Meyer’s ability to bring to mind what it felt like to be sixteen and in love for the first time. She was also able to treat a typical star-crossed relationship without lapsing too much into teen angst and whining. While Edward spends a lot of time telling Bella that he is dangerous, once they truly begin their relationship there is a refreshing lack of “How can a human and a vampire have a relationship?” moments.

The only real complaint I had about the book is that the adventure story section felt a bit tacked on and unnecessary. The tracker came after Bella and manages to manipulate her into coming to him by threatening her mother. Still for some reason Bella’s whole self sacrificing moment did not feel as trite as it should have. It was predictable and obvious, but I wasn’t particularly annoyed.

I’m interested to see where the story goes in the remaining books in the series. I like Edward and Bella and their relationship. Hopefully it will be fun to see where it goes.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

2008-04-29T21:41:00.001-04:00

While we were in Texas, we picked up a few books at Todd and Brooke’s garage sale, in addition to our new Buddha. One of them was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. It is one of those books that I’ve been thinking about reading for a while and it’s on the list of 1,001, so that’s good too.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is told from the perspective of a 15 year old autistic boy named Christopher. When he finds his neighbor’s dog dead he decides to investigate and to write a book to chronicle his investigation. Throughout the book he introduces the reader to his world and the various rules by which he governs his life.

Christopher is a very well drawn character. Haddon has does an excellent job of having Christopher explain himself without making it feel contrived. The explanations of his outlook on life are interesting, such as his philosophy of what the numbers of yellow and red cars he sees on the way to school mean.

Spoilers

While Christopher’s quirks are interesting, the best part of the book is the affect that he has on the people around him, namely his parents. His relationship with his father is beautiful and heartbreaking and only becomes more so as the story continues and the truth is revealed about Wellington’s death. The juxtaposition between the ways in which Christopher’s parents deal with the reality of having an autistic son is fascinating. His father shows tremendous patience in dealing with his son’s condition only to lose his wife and eventually his son. Christopher’s mother finds that she is unable to cope and leaves, losing touch completely with her family.

I really enjoyed this book, first as an interesting look at living with autism and later as a character study looking at the affects of autism on Christopher’s parents.

Spring!

2008-04-19T19:44:00.001-04:00

To Dionysus?

2008-03-30T21:01:00.004-04:00

I saw this memorial/shrine on the street near our apartment. What I really found interesting about it is that that bottle in the middle is a bottle of vodka, not to mention the two bottles of beer off to the side. Memorial? Shrine? Offering? I don't know. My gut and the flowers say that it's a memorial that someone has messed with by adding the alcohol, but who knows?

Woodland Creatures

2008-03-29T20:42:00.004-04:00

We went to Sakura Park this afternoon to throw a softball around and generally enjoy the fact that it's spring and no longer freezing. The birds and squirrels seemed to have a similar idea.

Subway Shoes

2008-03-26T20:04:00.004-04:00

For some reason I was very amused by the combination of various shoes and socks across from me on the train this evening. This is another phone camera shot so please excuse the poor quality.

Texan Buddha!

2008-03-20T20:07:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Todd and Brooke's garage sale we have added a third Buddha to what can now be called our collection. We have acquired Buddhas in Boone, Tijuana, and Bedford!

Rangers Ballpark Tourism

2008-03-19T18:25:00.011-04:00

We took the stadium tour at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. Much fun was had by all!

Clay goes to batting practice.

This was on the wall by the dugout. I like how the horseshoe itself is just not enough.

Clay and Stephen in the Dugout

Clubhouse!

I didn't take this one, but it's awfully cute.

It's Enormous!

2008-03-18T21:28:00.003-04:00

The Cowboy's new stadium in progress. Apparently the Statue of Liberty could fit inside.

Make Way for Ducklings!

2008-03-16T12:39:00.005-04:00

The ducks at Boys Ranch in Bedford, Texas

This guy is totally threatening me!

Subway Beautification Mosaics

2008-03-09T17:23:00.005-04:00

I took these of the mosaics in the 66th St. subway station while I was out running errands today. I took them with the camera in my phone so they aren't great, but the mosaics are pretty cool.

All Dried Out

2008-03-08T17:36:00.004-05:00

So Sweet!

2008-03-04T19:46:00.002-05:00

The Current View From My Window

2008-03-02T23:18:00.005-05:00

I've previously posted pictures of the old view from my window, so I decided to take a few of what it looks like now. It's not very pretty, but it is what it is.

A New Toy!

2008-02-24T15:50:00.010-05:00

Amy sent Desie and George an official Mutts Little Pink Sock. They are very grateful.

Lovely

2008-02-19T19:39:00.008-05:00

I received a beautiful bouquet of roses from my dad for Valentine's Day. Then I went a little camera crazy.

He Does Pensive Very Well

2008-02-08T19:10:00.001-05:00

I had so much fun with my own candle pictures that I made Clay pose for me. He's a very good model.

My Latest Self Portrait

2008-02-07T19:51:00.001-05:00

All That's Missing Is Some Pink Floyd

2008-02-06T20:22:00.001-05:00

Laser Pointer + Dark room + Tripod + Navy Blue Chair = My very own laser show

Hanging Out

2008-02-05T21:10:00.001-05:00

With their people fixated on Super Tuesday results, Desdemona and George have to make their own fun.

"Art Isn't Easy"

2008-02-02T19:32:00.001-05:00

This is hanging on the barrier around the construction going on at Barnard College. When I walked by the first time the teeth were all straight. I came back by about 20 minutes later and someone had apparently tried to pull one set off.

This is on the wall next to the previous art. I'm not sure what any of it is supposed to mean, but it's very interesting.

Big Pile of Memories

2008-01-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

I was looking for a necklace in my box of jewelry that I don't wear much and looking at the pile on the bed I thought two things. The first and fairly obvious thing was that the stack of pins, necklaces, and earrings was visually interesting enough to run into the living room and grab the camera. Second was how each and everything in the box has a specific memory and story to go with it. Just the section in this picture includes several gifts and items that I made. I enjoy a good trip down memory lane.

The Hand Of Thrawn

2008-01-29T21:40:00.001-05:00

Continuing in my little venture into the Star Wars expanded universe, I recently reread the Hand of Thrawn duology by Timothy Zahn. I was in college when Specter of the Past and Vision of the Future were published and I remember how eagerly they were anticipated at the time, at least among those of us who frequented the Simon and Schuster Star Wars message board. Zahn’s Thrawn trilogy reenergized the expanded universe and a large number of books had been published since then, with the very mixed results that should be expected. While I’m sure that Zahn’s main motivation was that he had a story to tell, I’m also sure that he wanted to take back the story and give it a new direction.

The Hand of Thrawn takes place ten years after the events of The Last Command. With Leia on a leave of absence from her duties as Chief of State she and Han attempt to help to keep the New Republic from falling into Civil War in the aftermath of the revelation that some of the Bothans helped the Emperor to destroy the world of a beloved race. Luke begins to question his use of the Force and attempts to use it more responsibly while going to the aid of Mara, who has been stranded on a previously unknown world. Admiral Pellaen, Thrawn’s former protégé, attempts to make contact with General Bel Iblis to negotiate a peace treaty. Grand Moff Disra uses a con man named Flim and one of the Emperor’s former guards Major Tierce to fake the return of Grand Admiral Thrawn and take advantage of the problems within the New Republic.

The two books involve a large number of story lines that Zahn manages to intertwine and bring together for the conclusion. While there is an interesting and action packed through line, the best part about the books is the fascinating character study of Luke. So many of the other books in the expanded universe have Luke using his powers in ways that range from questionable to ludicrous (see The Courtship of Princess Leia) and it obviously bothers Zahn as much as it does me. In Vision of the Future Mara confronts Luke about his actions, suggesting that he has been skating perilously close to the Dark Side and endangering himself and his students at the Jedi Academy. Previously in the story Luke spent some time thinking about Obi wan and Yoda’s examples and the power each of them had access to and did not use. He and Mara discuss the possibility that his questionable use of the Force has interfered with his ability to listen to what it tells him.

After Luke’s reckless use of the Force, the most annoying thing about many of the expanded universe books is the author’s inability to convincingly write about Mara. Back when I first read The Last Command I was certain that the logical next step would be for Luke and Mara to fall in love, but many authors obviously did not agree with me. It was a relief to have Zahn return and put their relationship back on the right track. The only thing better than Mara pointing out that Luke has been dabbling in the dark side is Luke’s proposal. Zahn shows an impressive amount of restraint in allowing them to have their moment without having it become overly romanticized. It is pitch perfect and reminiscent of Han and Leia’s “I know” moment in The Empire Strikes Back.

While I have a very sentimental love of the Thrawn trilogy for making me aware of the expanded universe, I prefer the Hand of Thrawn duology. I love a good character study and the Luke and Mara story combined with finally having the Empire admit defeat make me very happy.

Broken Promises

2008-01-24T20:48:00.000-05:00

I keep saying that I'm not going to post anymore cat pictures for a while, but then I wind up with one like this that I just have to post.

More Kitties!

2008-01-22T20:27:00.000-05:00

I know I'm all over kitty pictures lately, but they're just so cute!

Extreme closeup George!

At what, you might ask, is Desie staring so intently?

I was watching The Empire Strikes Back. She's completely enthralled by Yoda!

The Thrawn Trilogy

2008-01-19T22:59:00.000-05:00

Recently I’ve been revisiting a portion of the Star Wars “expanded universe.” The first of the Star Wars novels that I was aware of was the Thrawn trilogy by Timothy Zahn and his books continue to be my favorites. It’s been a few years since I last read any of them so it was fun to go back and spend a little time with the characters.

The Thrawn trilogy, which consists of Heir to the Empire, Dark Force Rising, and The Last Command, takes place four years after Return of the Jedi. Everyone’s favorite Rebels are working hard at setting up the New Republic while the Empire is rallying under a new leader to make a renewed push against them. Han and Leia are married and expecting twins. Luke is trying to figure out how to be a Jedi Master and teach his sister and her children to use the Force.

The overarching story of the trilogy is of the resurgence of the Empire under the leadership of Grand Admiral Thrawn. Thrawn is a humanoid alien who was secretly promoted to the position of Grand Admiral by Emperor Palpatine. He is a tactical genius with a gift for predicting his opponent’s actions. He enlists the help of Joruus C'baoth, an insane clone of a Jedi Master in his war, promising to deliver Luke and Leia to be C’baoth’s apprentices.

Leia, Luke, and Han are working hard to build a new government with the rest of the former leaders of the Rebel Alliance. Over the course of the books they find new allies in General Bel Iblis, a former member of the Rebel Alliance who split off to fight his own war; Talon Karrde, a smuggler chief, who is reluctant to commit to one side or another; and the Noghri, a race of warriors, who have been tricked into aiding the Imperial cause.

I’ve always been impressed with Zahn’s ability to keep the characters real. So many of the other writers in the expanded universe tend to reduce them all to caricatures, but in Zahn’s hands they feel more like real people. He’s also created some of my favorite characters, Grand Admiral Thrawn, Talon Karrde, and, of course, Mara Jade.

Mara is a former Imperial agent, who was known as the Emperor’s Hand. Because she was Force sensitive she was able to learn rudimentary Jedi skill that allowed her to act as the Emperor’s personal secret agent. After Palpatine’s death she lost everything that she had ever known and places the blame on Luke’s shoulder’s, swearing to kill him. Her relationship with Luke is nuanced and very well written. Zahn manages to create a perfect foil for Luke in Mara and I’ll have much more to say about their relationship when I write about the Hand of Thawn.

I first read Heir to the Empire when I was 12 and I’m glad to say that I still enjoy it and the other installments in the trilogy as much as I did back then. That probably says more about me than it does about the books, but I’d like to think that it is a strong argument for the quality of Zahn’s work.

Everything Looks Cooler In Black And White

2008-01-15T21:54:00.000-05:00

When I get bored I often start taking pictures of whatever random things are in front of me. That's how I wound up with a series of shots of my hand.

Game It Up!

2008-01-13T20:01:00.001-05:00

Clay playing Xbox football with Stephen

Keeping Watch

2008-01-11T19:54:00.000-05:00

Desie keeps an eye on things from inside her basket.

Just A Few Out Of Thousands

2008-01-10T20:55:00.000-05:00

Now that I don't have to pay for film or developing I spend large amounts of time trying to coerce the cats into posing for me.

George is so over the whole modeling thing.

It Smells Really Good Too

2008-01-08T21:35:00.001-05:00

Because I Won't Need Them For The Next Few Days

2008-01-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

In honor of the unseasonably warm weather that we're currently experiencing in New York, a celebration of my favorite winter accessories.

The embroidery on my favorite scarf

Me in my supercute hat

"Hundreds to the shelf..."

2008-01-04T19:31:00.000-05:00

I figured out how to take Black and White pictures and started playing with my knick knacks.

The kitties decided that they are more interesting than inanimate objects.

I agreed and went back to focusing on them.

Ah Narcissism!

2008-01-03T20:23:00.000-05:00

What does a narcissistic sort such as myself do with a new digital camera? I took many closeup pictures of myself of course!

Swedish Angel Chimes

2008-01-02T18:14:00.000-05:00

Mom's Angel Chimes

The Top Angel

Spinning Angels

Candles

Fun Tilted Angels

O Christmas Tree!

2008-01-01T21:31:00.000-05:00

Thanks to my wonderful family I received a new digital camera for Christmas. This should lead to more frequent picture taking and blogging. Thank you Clay, Mom, Daddy, Amy, Jeff, Jenny, and Dave.

One of the first things I did with my new camera is take many pictures of the ornaments on Mom's tree.

This is one of my favorite ornaments ever.

One of a series of hand painted ornaments that Mom made as presents

Just a pretty, sparkley snowflake

Rabbit

2007-12-18T18:43:00.001-05:00

I meant to post this a while ago and forgot. I imagine that this is the most bizarre Macy's Parade balloon ever, Jeff Koon's "Rabbit."

Mexican Buddha

2007-12-16T14:11:00.000-05:00

The Buddha Clay bought in Tijuana and the elephant lamp I bought at Target

She's An Excellent Helper!

2007-12-08T23:42:00.001-05:00

Desie helps Mom and me make apple pie

*Thanks to Clay for pointing out my grammar error*

Lovely Foliage

2007-12-07T19:38:00.001-05:00

Trinity Church