Google If You Got ‘Em
The March issue of Fast Company showed me a side of Google I didn’t know existed. The truth is, I would still have a crush on Google even if I hadn’t read the article. They take good care of me.
How did I stay in touch with the blogosphere before Google Reader ? I didn’t. I rarely found time to click on all the links and I lost touch with so many people. If you’re reading blogs and you’re not using Google Reader (or something equivalent) you’re wasting a lot of time. But there’s …
Where would I be without my Gmail ? Easy to load when you’re halfway across the world using dial-up and it’s got a pretty good spam catcher, too. And, I can read my Gmail on my “Q” phone. But there’s …
It all fits so nicely on my iGoogle page. My Gmail and Google Reader sit sweetly on my iGoogle page. I picked a calming theme that changes throughout the day, added a calendar widget, a post-it-note widget, and a bookmark widget for my the “really” important links. I don’t have to fetch my stuff…it just comes right to me. How sweet is that?
Hi! My name is Zoe and I’m addicted to Google.
Courtly Love And The What?
David Dalbey publicly defended his thesis tonight at New Saint Andrews College. Here’s the full description of his thesis:
Mr. David Dalbey
Committee: Dr. Peter Leithart, Mr. Jayson Grieser, Mr. Douglas Jones
Tuesday, March 18, 2008 at 6:45 pm in NSA Augustine Classroom
Courtly Love and the “Cathar Thesis”: A defense and partial rehabilitation of Denis de Rougemont’s L’Amour en L’OccidentIn 1939, Denis de Rougemont wrote Love in the Western World, an examination of the history of what we know as “Romantic Love,” in order to diagnose the tragic nature of marital and literary love in the modern West. Among his various speculations on the origins of romantic love in connection with the troubadours of 12th century France, de Rougemont offered that the Albigensian heretics known as the Cathars may have contributed to the origins of the Courtly Love of the Troubadour’s lyrics. His theory was discredited, in part due to its resemblance to those recently put forward by neo-mystics and grail-seekers, and has not been carefully examined to this day. This thesis is an attempt to lay some historical groundwork for de Rougemont’s claim; contending that the Cathars were far significant in their discursive state than is often acknowledged by contemporary Troubadour-scholars, and so ought to be considered in the examination of the Troubadours and the origins of Courtly Love.
I work with David over at Canon Press. I love this man. He has a wicked sense of humor, he’s super smart, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. His wife, Alisha, gave me a heads-up last week and I’m really glad I was able to attend his thesis defense. It’s such a pleasure to work with David. He’s refreshing and has no problem telling me my ideas suck. Then again, I have no problem telling him his designs suck. He’s the guy who created the cover for How to be Free From Bitterness, along with many, many covers. I blogged about covers over on the Canon Press blog here.
Here’s to David Dalbey and his huge, creative brain! May he have many years to use it.
Bananas in Pygamas
A little something different for my friends with kids. While on a journey through food blogs, I came across this cute little site for kids. The site offers projects for kids like: finger puppets, cards, masks and paper dolls. The paper doll clothes are made to fit bananas. (Stop laughing…I’m serious) Anyway, the clothes are for boy & girl bananas. There’s a fireman, a handyman with tools, a fairy, and more. Take a look at the cute little project and…hey, quit laughing.
Never Say Never
I love change. Change is good. I could have written the book Who Moved My Cheese?. The more years I accumulate in my lifetime, the more I appreciate the beauty of change. And so it’s no surprise when every now and then I wake-up and realize I’m ready for another.
I love my house. It’s old but charming and sturdy. I loved it more when the Joneses lived next door. When Magnus chased people out of the yard. When people who looked like me came to visit. I’d planned to live here until the mortgage is paid off, but when my middle name is change, it’s not totally unpredictable that I’m thinking of moving.
My house in Potlatch is 17 miles from Moscow. It’s not “on the way” or “right around the corner” from the people I love…and who love me. I never hear the words, “I thought I’d drop in,” any more. *sigh* And, it doesn’t help that a barrel of oil now costs a left cornea and a first born child.
In San Diego, a seventeen mile drive is ridiculously close to everything. There are probably two Targets, fourteen Starbucks, and nine In & Out Burgers in a twenty mile radius. I’m still having a difficult time adjusting to the perceived “distance” from Moscow to Potlatch. I make the drive twice a day - but most folks think they have to pack a lunch to make the trip. Granted, there is *nothing* between here and there. Well, except pine trees and large bambi-like animals.
I’m just saying, if the people won’t come to me…I’ll have to find a house near the people.
The thought of *just* tossing all my worldly goods in to the back of a pick-up truck makes me throw up a little in my mouth. I confess, I am a meticulous mover. First I have to go to the basement and dust off the rows of paint cans and figure out which one goes where. I have the paint…just not enough motivation to actually do it. The next step is purging the stuff that’s accumulated in nooks and crannies all over the house. Said with my hands on my hips and my neckbones snapping, “I do not need all this stuff.”
And then…I pack. Everything, and I mean EVERYTHING must be in a box. With tape. And labels. Or a garbage bag. With labels.
And then…I put my house on the market and look for one in Moscow. A small house. I’m making the list and praying for my next house. All I’m saying is, I love my house. I’m not completely ready to leave it, and I intend to wait until the right one comes along. There’s nothing worse than moving in and being miserable for the rest of your life. Are we still talking about houses?
Anyway, pray for me. It’ll take me about a year to get it all done. Unless of course you want to RSVP to the painting & purging party - then we can get this show on the road a lot sooner.
An Interesting Character - William Fallon
I followed the link at the Drudge Report to a story at Esquire Magazine regarding the Head of Central Command, Admiral William Fallon. Whether or not the story is true, the author, Thomas P.M. Barnett, in his article entitled The Man Between War and Peace, paints an interesting story and manages to make Admiral “Fox” Fallon sound quite fascinating.
Barnett says of Fallon:
When Fallon is serious, his voice is feathery and he tends to speak in measured koans [sic] that, taken together, say, “Have no fear. Let Washington be a tempest. Wherever I am is the calm center of the storm.”
As the admiral recounts the exchange, his voice is flat, his gaze steady. His calculus on this subject is far more complex than anyone else’s. He is neither an idealist nor a fantasist. In Pakistan, he has the most volatile combination of forces in the world, yet he is deeply calm.
The first thing you notice is the face, the second is the voice. A tall, wiry man with thinning white hair, Fallon comes off like a loner even when he’s standing in a crowd.Despite having an easy smile that he regularly pulls out for his many daily exercises in relationship building, Fallon’s consistent game face is a slightly pissed-off glare. It’s his default expression.
And in truth, Fallon’s not a screamer. Indeed, by my long observation and the accounts of a dozen people, he doesn’t raise his voice whatsoever, except when he laughs. Instead, the more serious he becomes, the quieter he gets, and his whispers sound positively menacing. Other guys can jaw-jaw all they want about the need for war-war with . . . whomever is today’s target among D. C.’s many armchair warriors. Not Fallon. Let the president pop off. Fallon won’t. No bravado here, nor sound-bite-sized threats, but rather a calm, leathery presence. Fallon is comfortable risking peace because he’s comfortable waging war. And when he conveys messages to the enemies of the United States, he does it not in the provocative cowboy style that has prevailed in Washington so far this century, but with the opposite–a studied quiet that makes it seem as if he is trying to bend them to his will with nothing but the sound of his voice.
The local Chinese commander was beside himself. It was the first time in his life he had ever met an American military officer, and here he was at the bottom of a jet ramp waiting for the all-powerful head of the United States Pacific Command to descend. Then, to his horror, he realized that Fallon had brought his wife, Mary, along for the trip. Scrambling to arrange the evening banquet, the Chinese commander brought his own wife out in public for the first time ever.When the time came for dinner toasts, after the Chinese commander thanked Mrs. Fallon for coming, the admiral returned the favor by thanking the commander’s wife for her many years of service as a military spouse. The commander’s wife broke down in tears, saying it was the first time in her entire marriage that she had been publicly recognized for her many sacrifices.
Admiral William J. Fallon has resigned his position and retired from the Navy. Was it the article in Esquire Magazine that became the straw that caused him to quit? Was he really at odds with the Bush admin? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, I can’t wait to see his character in a movie or a novel.
