This is the fourth day after the last day of university, which have proven unexpectedly adventurous.
It turns out that my family will be moving to Berlin, Germany, in three months. The proposal was made just the day before yesterday. I like the idea very much. I like Berlin, and I've been wishing to return to Europe. The main problems are logistical, especially financial. But I'm ready to work -- whether it be cleaning houses or translating or whatever. Yesterday I started to have a strong feeling that this move would turn out very well for me, and that I will be happy in Berlin.
Besides taking part in discussions on this topic, I've also been doing many other things. I'm pursuing my Italian; today I learned some expressions with "buon" ("Buon viaggio," "Buona pasqua," etc.). Then my father has been reading the History of Western Philosophy to me. It's well-written, witty, concise, and interesting, so even I who know next to nothing about philosophy don't feel like the ignoramus that I am, and understand what is being discussed. So far we've read about the Milesian school, Pythagoras, Xenophanes, and Heraclitus. I've admittedly forgot all about Xenophanes' ideas, but I'm absorbing the information well overall. Thirdly, we play Beethoven's Variations for cello and piano, and movements from Beethoven cello sonatas. Of course I make a lot of errors and I should listen more to how Papa plays the pieces (e.g. the ornaments, which I tend to play as meaningless appendages), but it's enjoyable and I am improving. I've also been washing the dishes quite a lot, generally hearing music in the laptop and not minding it at all -- also because my parents and one of my brothers help.
My bedtime reading is currently Moliere's L'Avare. Perhaps I should read it at a different time, because I've barely been responding to its amusingness. The last three days I've also been watching the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and the Colbert Report. Yesterday evening I watched the end of the film 13 (?, with David Niven). I thought it was interesting how dark it was and at the same time still human, though the way the woman forgets about her children was unrealistic and off-putting. The film's absurdity was of the solemn sort, and the film clearly had a point -- to show the strength and inhumanity and danger of superstition. I wonder if it was a satire of the Roman Catholic Church. On a side note, the castle where it was set really impressed me; I hope to see more architecture of that impressive sort once I'm in Germany. It even had a moat and drawbridge!
Finally, I should mention that most of my grades have been posted already:
German 310: 84%
Classical Studies 204: 69%
History 120: 58%
Economics 102: 37%
French 221 will be a fail; I know that much.
I just found out the History and Economics marks; the former was a huge shock to me. I'd been expecting about 70-75%. Oh, well. That's what I get for not writing the first essay, and for not speaking in my tutorial or doing some readings on time. But I still say I don't deserve such a low mark! I did learn huge amounts, pay attention in lectures (going to at least 90%), invest a lot of time into my readings, and find everything interesting.
Friday, April 28, 2006
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
The End of the University Year
This is my second full day back at home after the end of my second year in university, and the last one I'll spend at UBC.
After-Easter Exam #3 was Macroeconomics, which I duly wrote on the 24th. It began at 8:30. I had stayed up all night before, studying. This studying consisted of carefully reading through the textbook, writing down key terms and their definitions on flashcards, and copying down important graphs and information that I'd forgotten. Unfortunately I only managed to cover the first chapter and some of the second with this approach.
At around 7:00 I dropped off some books at the Koerner Library. There was basically no one in the streets. I stood for a while at the Koerner Plaza looking at the bright golden sky through the leafless trees beside the Main Library (or what's left of it). Eventually the sun, a liquid gold globe, glowed through the trees just above the horizon. It was all very beautiful. After I returned to my room, I went to the cafeteria for a hurried breakfast -- a Belgian waffle with berry sauce and whipped cream, and strawberry yoghurt.
Then I hurried off to the other end of the campus, where the exam would be taking place. I was about ten minutes early, despite my worries of being only just in time. The first questions on the exam -- multiple choice -- went swimmingly because I had studied the chapters where they came up. As for the rest of the exam, it was hopeless. After I'd done the questions I could answer more or less securely, I propped up my head with my hand and had a little nap. When I woke up again I found some questions easier to answer. I took a stab at all the questions that I could answer decently, then left.
I couldn't help grinning very broadly as I left the exam room. First of all, I was done with the exam. Secondly, I was going home within two hours. My father was coming to fetch me at about 11:15. So I returned to my room, finished packing, brought away the recycling and so on, checked out at my residence's front desk, and then I was done!
Since then I've still been in an excellent mood -- energetic and enterprising. Yesterday I learned a little Italian (numbers, mostly: venti, trenta, quaranta, cinquanta, etc.), cooked breakfast and dinner, played the piano, and worked on a family newspaper. I hope the good mood will last.
P.S.: The History exam post is really from April 22nd. I just hadn't been able to post it before.
After-Easter Exam #3 was Macroeconomics, which I duly wrote on the 24th. It began at 8:30. I had stayed up all night before, studying. This studying consisted of carefully reading through the textbook, writing down key terms and their definitions on flashcards, and copying down important graphs and information that I'd forgotten. Unfortunately I only managed to cover the first chapter and some of the second with this approach.
At around 7:00 I dropped off some books at the Koerner Library. There was basically no one in the streets. I stood for a while at the Koerner Plaza looking at the bright golden sky through the leafless trees beside the Main Library (or what's left of it). Eventually the sun, a liquid gold globe, glowed through the trees just above the horizon. It was all very beautiful. After I returned to my room, I went to the cafeteria for a hurried breakfast -- a Belgian waffle with berry sauce and whipped cream, and strawberry yoghurt.
Then I hurried off to the other end of the campus, where the exam would be taking place. I was about ten minutes early, despite my worries of being only just in time. The first questions on the exam -- multiple choice -- went swimmingly because I had studied the chapters where they came up. As for the rest of the exam, it was hopeless. After I'd done the questions I could answer more or less securely, I propped up my head with my hand and had a little nap. When I woke up again I found some questions easier to answer. I took a stab at all the questions that I could answer decently, then left.
I couldn't help grinning very broadly as I left the exam room. First of all, I was done with the exam. Secondly, I was going home within two hours. My father was coming to fetch me at about 11:15. So I returned to my room, finished packing, brought away the recycling and so on, checked out at my residence's front desk, and then I was done!
Since then I've still been in an excellent mood -- energetic and enterprising. Yesterday I learned a little Italian (numbers, mostly: venti, trenta, quaranta, cinquanta, etc.), cooked breakfast and dinner, played the piano, and worked on a family newspaper. I hope the good mood will last.
P.S.: The History exam post is really from April 22nd. I just hadn't been able to post it before.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
After-Easter Exam #2: History
I've just returned from writing my History 120 exam, which started at noon and covered European history from 1789 to the present.
I spent this morning going over my notes, getting the order of events clear in my head and memorizing dates. It feels a little like cheating in hindsight; I'm not entirely sure why. Actually, I think it's because the information I temporarily acquire that way overrepresents the sum of my learning. But somehow the dates have stuck nicely this term anyway, mostly because I'm very interested in the 19th and 20th centuries and also because we learned of so many important events that using dates to keep things in order and have things make sense is crucial.
Anyway, the exam had three parts:
I. Write about three out of ten(?) events/people. Explain their significance in European history.
(I wrote about the Franco-Prussian War, the Reform Bill of 1832, and the Spanish Civil War.)
II. Identify the source, context, and significance of three out of six(?) quotations from our course readings.
(I wrote about Alexander II of Russia's speech in favour of the Emancipation of the Serfs, about a set of Berlin factory rules from 1844, and about a speech by Lenin)
III. Write an essay about one of six(?) topics.
(I chose to write about how imperialism in the second half of the second century differed from earlier colonialism; I definitely knew too little to answer that question intelligently, but I managed two and a quarter double-spaced pages in my small writing.)
After I had finished the exam to my satisfaction and joy began to grip my heart, I also picked up my marked Romanticism essay. I sat down outside and looked inside the mysterious brown envelope that held it. First I read an accompanying letter to the tutorial group as a whole, then looked at the essay itself. It had only two or three comments on it, but I guess that since I handed it in two weeks late I can't complain. As for the mark, it was 87%! Oh glorious day! It's much more than I expected, and a record in my university essay experience. I wish I deserved it, but it's nice to feel overrated rather than underrated, for once. And I did put a lot of work and thought into it.
Now to relax!
I spent this morning going over my notes, getting the order of events clear in my head and memorizing dates. It feels a little like cheating in hindsight; I'm not entirely sure why. Actually, I think it's because the information I temporarily acquire that way overrepresents the sum of my learning. But somehow the dates have stuck nicely this term anyway, mostly because I'm very interested in the 19th and 20th centuries and also because we learned of so many important events that using dates to keep things in order and have things make sense is crucial.
Anyway, the exam had three parts:
I. Write about three out of ten(?) events/people. Explain their significance in European history.
(I wrote about the Franco-Prussian War, the Reform Bill of 1832, and the Spanish Civil War.)
II. Identify the source, context, and significance of three out of six(?) quotations from our course readings.
(I wrote about Alexander II of Russia's speech in favour of the Emancipation of the Serfs, about a set of Berlin factory rules from 1844, and about a speech by Lenin)
III. Write an essay about one of six(?) topics.
(I chose to write about how imperialism in the second half of the second century differed from earlier colonialism; I definitely knew too little to answer that question intelligently, but I managed two and a quarter double-spaced pages in my small writing.)
After I had finished the exam to my satisfaction and joy began to grip my heart, I also picked up my marked Romanticism essay. I sat down outside and looked inside the mysterious brown envelope that held it. First I read an accompanying letter to the tutorial group as a whole, then looked at the essay itself. It had only two or three comments on it, but I guess that since I handed it in two weeks late I can't complain. As for the mark, it was 87%! Oh glorious day! It's much more than I expected, and a record in my university essay experience. I wish I deserved it, but it's nice to feel overrated rather than underrated, for once. And I did put a lot of work and thought into it.
Now to relax!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Favourite Painting
Murillo, Two Women in a Window (1655-1660)
Source: http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg30/gg30-1188.0-lit.html
This Day in News
Today I felt like visiting my news sites again. News-searching is bothersome because it is exactly that; one has to search for news. I have to sift through celebrity baby news, the latest statement by some politician about Iran, statements by politicians in general, the latest spates of car bombing in Iraq, domestic news, etc., before I finally get to the important items. Even then I have to go to at least three sites to know a good cross-regional selection of news.
One shortcut is the New York Times website's "World Briefings." (Link to today's version) Here are four more important international news articles that I found in the French daily Le Monde:
En deux mois, le choléra a tué 500 personnes en Angola
Le président Idriss Déby lance la campagne électorale et poursuit la chasse aux rebelles
L'Ouganda appelle à un effort collectif contre la LRA
L'ONU accuse les pays riches de bafouer le droit d'asile
Anyway, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is retiring! (Link to article) The reason why I am deliriously happy is that last year I read his press briefings daily; the way he answered reporter's questions without even understanding them or ever answering them directly (unless they were "yes" or "no" questions) was tormenting. So I'm not in the least apologetic for my schadenfreude. Also, Bush's approval ratings are "hovering around 35%" -- the implication of height in the word "hovering" being inaccurate -- and congressional elections are coming up! Hahahahaha!
Other good election news: today the Italian supreme court declared Romano Prodi victorious in Italy's elections! (Link to article)
And to counterbalance my evident distaste for the current US government, here is an article about the generosity of private US citizens: "America's aid iceberg" .
I was also very pleased to read an op-ed article in the New York Times about the Israel lobby in the United States, where Tony Judt (of whom I've read articles in the New York Review of Books) writes about the controversy surrounding this lobby's power, and about whether one should criticize it. Mr. Judt writes more or less that this lobby does clearly exist, that it does clearly have a lot of power but that -- as the title suggests -- it really is a lobby and not a conspiracy, and that people have every right (and reason) to discuss it and criticize it without having to fear that they will be labelled as anti-Semitic.
Finally, here are a few other articles:
Politics: Another country (about Somaliland, a peaceful, democratic region in Somalia that wants its independence)
Archaeology/Politics: Babylon Awaits an Iraq Without Fighting
Health: A Slight Change in Habits Could Lull You to Sleep
. . . and, as a patriotic, monarch-loving Canadian, I will end by linking to an article about the Queen's birthday: Happy birthday to all!
One shortcut is the New York Times website's "World Briefings." (Link to today's version) Here are four more important international news articles that I found in the French daily Le Monde:
En deux mois, le choléra a tué 500 personnes en Angola
Le président Idriss Déby lance la campagne électorale et poursuit la chasse aux rebelles
L'Ouganda appelle à un effort collectif contre la LRA
L'ONU accuse les pays riches de bafouer le droit d'asile
Anyway, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan is retiring! (Link to article) The reason why I am deliriously happy is that last year I read his press briefings daily; the way he answered reporter's questions without even understanding them or ever answering them directly (unless they were "yes" or "no" questions) was tormenting. So I'm not in the least apologetic for my schadenfreude. Also, Bush's approval ratings are "hovering around 35%" -- the implication of height in the word "hovering" being inaccurate -- and congressional elections are coming up! Hahahahaha!
Other good election news: today the Italian supreme court declared Romano Prodi victorious in Italy's elections! (Link to article)
And to counterbalance my evident distaste for the current US government, here is an article about the generosity of private US citizens: "America's aid iceberg" .
I was also very pleased to read an op-ed article in the New York Times about the Israel lobby in the United States, where Tony Judt (of whom I've read articles in the New York Review of Books) writes about the controversy surrounding this lobby's power, and about whether one should criticize it. Mr. Judt writes more or less that this lobby does clearly exist, that it does clearly have a lot of power but that -- as the title suggests -- it really is a lobby and not a conspiracy, and that people have every right (and reason) to discuss it and criticize it without having to fear that they will be labelled as anti-Semitic.
Finally, here are a few other articles:
Politics: Another country (about Somaliland, a peaceful, democratic region in Somalia that wants its independence)
Archaeology/Politics: Babylon Awaits an Iraq Without Fighting
Health: A Slight Change in Habits Could Lull You to Sleep
. . . and, as a patriotic, monarch-loving Canadian, I will end by linking to an article about the Queen's birthday: Happy birthday to all!
After-Easter Exam #1: German
Yesterday evening I came back to the university campus after a restful week at home. In the literal sense, it was not so restful toward the end because I had stayed up all night under the delusion that I would work on my Archaeology essay. So I slept from 7:00 in the evening until about 9:50 this morning, when I arose a very relaxed and profoundly happy person.
Consequently, I was in the ideal frame of mind for my German 310 exam, which would take place at noon. I showered, put on a CD of Beethoven's cello sonatas (of which I am presently especially fond), did a little last-minute cramming, ate lunch, double-checked the exam location through the Internet, and arrived in the exam room just in time.
The exam covered the course unusually fairly. It had, as far as I can remember, the following components (not necessarily in the right order):
1. Work short phrases or words (like "jedoch" or "mehrmals") into pre-existing sentences.
2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition for the verb (e.g. sich befassen mit).
(I wrote "forschen ueber" rather than "forschen nach." Oops.)
3. Rewrite direct sentences into the indirect. And vice versa.
4. Rewrite the sentences into the Konjunktiv II.
5. Rewrite sentence pairs into single sentences using a relative pronoun.
6. In at least two sentences, answer questions about the poem "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" by Matthias Claudius.
(I already knew this poem in lullaby form, and I like it very much, so I was pleased to see it. I did wonder if anyone who is strictly non-Christian would be offended by its inclusion in the exam.)
7. Short essay answering a question about one of four course readings/films.
(I wrote about the reasons why the main character of the film Das schreckliche Maedchen criticizes the older generation.)
Altogether, I estimate that my mark will be about 83%.
Consequently, I was in the ideal frame of mind for my German 310 exam, which would take place at noon. I showered, put on a CD of Beethoven's cello sonatas (of which I am presently especially fond), did a little last-minute cramming, ate lunch, double-checked the exam location through the Internet, and arrived in the exam room just in time.
The exam covered the course unusually fairly. It had, as far as I can remember, the following components (not necessarily in the right order):
1. Work short phrases or words (like "jedoch" or "mehrmals") into pre-existing sentences.
2. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate preposition for the verb (e.g. sich befassen mit).
(I wrote "forschen ueber" rather than "forschen nach." Oops.)
3. Rewrite direct sentences into the indirect. And vice versa.
4. Rewrite the sentences into the Konjunktiv II.
5. Rewrite sentence pairs into single sentences using a relative pronoun.
6. In at least two sentences, answer questions about the poem "Der Mond ist aufgegangen" by Matthias Claudius.
(I already knew this poem in lullaby form, and I like it very much, so I was pleased to see it. I did wonder if anyone who is strictly non-Christian would be offended by its inclusion in the exam.)
7. Short essay answering a question about one of four course readings/films.
(I wrote about the reasons why the main character of the film Das schreckliche Maedchen criticizes the older generation.)
Altogether, I estimate that my mark will be about 83%.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
The Question of Darfur
Manchester Guardian: Darfur's children deserve our protection
What puzzles me about Darfur is that most people agree that something must be done about it, but very few people really seem to do anything about it. There are signs saying "DARFUR" in the windows of the dorm rooms in my residence, and a few fundraising drives organized by students from my university in general, but not really, it seems, a broad and concerted effort directly against it.
As for the media, aside from the occasional earnest editorial, comment, or article, there also doesn't seem to be a real drive to do anything about it, or even to show what's going on. Shouldn't there be coverage about it every day or every second day over a longer period of time? I was very young while the Rwanda genocide was going on, but as far as I remember the media response was less lethargic.
But even if the media were to make us more aware, can we -- individually, and our governments -- really do anything to help? Is the response more sluggish because we do not have a President Clinton to sincerely take up the issue and engage with the Sudanese and rebel leaders in a decisive, long-term way? Is the response more sluggish because the US government's credibility and resources have been drained by the Iraq War?
More importantly, how should we respond? Is it really the Sudanese government that is wholly at fault? If so, or if not, what can we do to improve the situation? As far as I see, the best thing to do is to give money to humanitarian organizations who work in the Sudan. In the article to which I've linked the author says that Oxfam, for instance, is doing really good work there. Another thing to do would be, I guess, to stay informed. So, here are more links:
Links: Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Oxfam
What puzzles me about Darfur is that most people agree that something must be done about it, but very few people really seem to do anything about it. There are signs saying "DARFUR" in the windows of the dorm rooms in my residence, and a few fundraising drives organized by students from my university in general, but not really, it seems, a broad and concerted effort directly against it.
As for the media, aside from the occasional earnest editorial, comment, or article, there also doesn't seem to be a real drive to do anything about it, or even to show what's going on. Shouldn't there be coverage about it every day or every second day over a longer period of time? I was very young while the Rwanda genocide was going on, but as far as I remember the media response was less lethargic.
But even if the media were to make us more aware, can we -- individually, and our governments -- really do anything to help? Is the response more sluggish because we do not have a President Clinton to sincerely take up the issue and engage with the Sudanese and rebel leaders in a decisive, long-term way? Is the response more sluggish because the US government's credibility and resources have been drained by the Iraq War?
More importantly, how should we respond? Is it really the Sudanese government that is wholly at fault? If so, or if not, what can we do to improve the situation? As far as I see, the best thing to do is to give money to humanitarian organizations who work in the Sudan. In the article to which I've linked the author says that Oxfam, for instance, is doing really good work there. Another thing to do would be, I guess, to stay informed. So, here are more links:
Links: Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
Oxfam
Eastertide!
Defeating the purpose of my Easter holiday, I have picked today to update my blog.
I've already written my French 221 and Archaeology exams; I've decided to finish my overdue Archaeology essay (it turns out I can't pass the course without writing it, as I would have known from my syllabus if I had consulted/remembered it properly . . .) today. The essay will be about Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered Knossos and proved the existence of the Minoans and discovered Linear B and A.* I've already finished reading one autobiography; now I'm reading a second one, which so far is pretty much like a condensed version of the first, except that it includes the allegation that the archaeologist is homosexual (the last and frequent refuge of the scoundrelly biographer of the modern day).
This morning I woke up at quarter to 11. I woke up my cherished siblings (two of whom were already awake, which fact I purposely overlook). Then we had a delightful breakfast on a white linen tablecloth. The repast consisted of mini-bagels, croissants, hot cross buns, coffee, boiled eggs (dyed deep magenta), jelly beans, chocolate Easter eggs, and chocolate Easter bunnies. My youngest brother dramatically beheaded his bunny, a slow and painful procedure. My mother and I executed the boiled eggs with somewhat greater dispatch. This year we didn't have "Hallelujah" from Haendel's Messiah playing in the background, because it's been packed into a box in preparation for our upcoming move to Ontario. Instead my mother sung some sort of church song, as far as I remember. We also had some really nice (if occasionally silly) conversation.
Anyway, I intend to spend the rest of the day according to the principle of dolce far niente, and do as much essay-work over as little time as possible.
* This order is intended to unsettle you!
Some links for today:
New York Times, Music: "Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten and Me"
News: "Nepal Protests Draw 8,000 and Police Wrath"
"Flooding Danube at 111-Year High"
I've already written my French 221 and Archaeology exams; I've decided to finish my overdue Archaeology essay (it turns out I can't pass the course without writing it, as I would have known from my syllabus if I had consulted/remembered it properly . . .) today. The essay will be about Sir Arthur Evans, who uncovered Knossos and proved the existence of the Minoans and discovered Linear B and A.* I've already finished reading one autobiography; now I'm reading a second one, which so far is pretty much like a condensed version of the first, except that it includes the allegation that the archaeologist is homosexual (the last and frequent refuge of the scoundrelly biographer of the modern day).
This morning I woke up at quarter to 11. I woke up my cherished siblings (two of whom were already awake, which fact I purposely overlook). Then we had a delightful breakfast on a white linen tablecloth. The repast consisted of mini-bagels, croissants, hot cross buns, coffee, boiled eggs (dyed deep magenta), jelly beans, chocolate Easter eggs, and chocolate Easter bunnies. My youngest brother dramatically beheaded his bunny, a slow and painful procedure. My mother and I executed the boiled eggs with somewhat greater dispatch. This year we didn't have "Hallelujah" from Haendel's Messiah playing in the background, because it's been packed into a box in preparation for our upcoming move to Ontario. Instead my mother sung some sort of church song, as far as I remember. We also had some really nice (if occasionally silly) conversation.
Anyway, I intend to spend the rest of the day according to the principle of dolce far niente, and do as much essay-work over as little time as possible.
* This order is intended to unsettle you!
Some links for today:
New York Times, Music: "Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Britten and Me"
News: "Nepal Protests Draw 8,000 and Police Wrath"
"Flooding Danube at 111-Year High"
Friday, April 07, 2006
Last Day of Classes
Today is the day where we students all attend our last classes, celebrate, and prepare through forgetfulness for our exam studying.
Altogether the mood is exuberant. In my house there is literally alcohol in the air. This morning there was a pancake breakfast in the lounge that I couldn't attend because I was finishing my Romanticism paper (more about that later). Another house had a barbecue. A volleyball net has been pitched up on the field of the Commonsblock. As I was sitting outside on a bench before German, either the carillon or an ice cream truck or something was playing "The Entertainer." Even the pitch of random conversation is different; one hears that people are happy. There are a lot of happy faces too. This morning there was loud music and the constant tooting of a megaphone.
Today is also the day of the Arts County Fair, which seems to be a highly boisterous, noisy and alcoholic event that lures students away from their classes and leaves professors desolate. That said, my History teaching assistant and German professor both cancelled their classes today (the former inofficially, by not showing up), leaving us desolate.
Anyway, I finally finished -- (c: -- my History Romanticism essay at about 1:10. My essay turned out a little long, my footnotes were not proper ones but just "Smith, p.123" (though I did of course have a bibliography), and I don't think I covered my topic very thoroughly. I think I could get anything from 30-75%. We shall see. But what I did like is that for once I could draw on my previous knowledge, and specifically from all the reading I've done over the years. I'm very fond of the Grimms Maerchen and of Ivanhoe, and I discoursed at length about them. I also included a summary of the plot of the opera Der Freischuetz, with which I was infatuated when I was ten or something like that; I hope that I remember the plot correctly.
As I finished the essay, I was in a great hurry. I hurriedly typed down paragraphs to round everything out, put the printer in order, and grew very warm and red in the face as I did so. When I had finally finished I experienced a burst of euphoria that, together with the redness of the face, much resembled literal intoxication. The History tutorial started at one, so I was late. But I hoped that would be all right and even took the time to send the essay to my family as an attachment.
I finally set out for the History tutorial, energetic and beaming and not quite rational. Along the way I met someone coming from the class, with whom I'd never spoken before, but who kindly informed me that the teaching assistant hadn't shown up, so the class had disbanded, so to speak. So I had to hand my essay in to the History office. I did so, then I waited on a bench for my German class. I wasn't aware that the class had been cancelled.
So eventually I went in to the language laboratory where my class was supposed to take place, saw two or so others from my class there, and completed the review questions that the professor had assigned. Even after someone said that the class had been cancelled, I thought that it would be best to finish the review. So I finished the questions (still in an intoxicated frame of mind), then wandered off to my Archaeology classroom for the last class of the day.
Archaeology did take place, and what we learned there will be the subject of another post.
Anyway, to conclude, here is a poem of Emily Dickinson of which I was reminded several times today:
Source: A Treasury of English and American Verse, ed. by Dr. Fritz Krog (Hirschgraben Verlag, 1967)
Altogether the mood is exuberant. In my house there is literally alcohol in the air. This morning there was a pancake breakfast in the lounge that I couldn't attend because I was finishing my Romanticism paper (more about that later). Another house had a barbecue. A volleyball net has been pitched up on the field of the Commonsblock. As I was sitting outside on a bench before German, either the carillon or an ice cream truck or something was playing "The Entertainer." Even the pitch of random conversation is different; one hears that people are happy. There are a lot of happy faces too. This morning there was loud music and the constant tooting of a megaphone.
Today is also the day of the Arts County Fair, which seems to be a highly boisterous, noisy and alcoholic event that lures students away from their classes and leaves professors desolate. That said, my History teaching assistant and German professor both cancelled their classes today (the former inofficially, by not showing up), leaving us desolate.
Anyway, I finally finished -- (c: -- my History Romanticism essay at about 1:10. My essay turned out a little long, my footnotes were not proper ones but just "Smith, p.123" (though I did of course have a bibliography), and I don't think I covered my topic very thoroughly. I think I could get anything from 30-75%. We shall see. But what I did like is that for once I could draw on my previous knowledge, and specifically from all the reading I've done over the years. I'm very fond of the Grimms Maerchen and of Ivanhoe, and I discoursed at length about them. I also included a summary of the plot of the opera Der Freischuetz, with which I was infatuated when I was ten or something like that; I hope that I remember the plot correctly.
As I finished the essay, I was in a great hurry. I hurriedly typed down paragraphs to round everything out, put the printer in order, and grew very warm and red in the face as I did so. When I had finally finished I experienced a burst of euphoria that, together with the redness of the face, much resembled literal intoxication. The History tutorial started at one, so I was late. But I hoped that would be all right and even took the time to send the essay to my family as an attachment.
I finally set out for the History tutorial, energetic and beaming and not quite rational. Along the way I met someone coming from the class, with whom I'd never spoken before, but who kindly informed me that the teaching assistant hadn't shown up, so the class had disbanded, so to speak. So I had to hand my essay in to the History office. I did so, then I waited on a bench for my German class. I wasn't aware that the class had been cancelled.
So eventually I went in to the language laboratory where my class was supposed to take place, saw two or so others from my class there, and completed the review questions that the professor had assigned. Even after someone said that the class had been cancelled, I thought that it would be best to finish the review. So I finished the questions (still in an intoxicated frame of mind), then wandered off to my Archaeology classroom for the last class of the day.
Archaeology did take place, and what we learned there will be the subject of another post.
Anyway, to conclude, here is a poem of Emily Dickinson of which I was reminded several times today:
I taste a liquor never brewed,
From tankards scooped in pearl;
Not all the vats upon the Rhine
Yield such an alcohol!
Inebriate of air am I,
And debauchee of dew,
Reeling, through endless summer days,
From inns of molten blue.
When landlords turn the drunken bee
Out of the foxglove's door,
When butterflies renounce their drams,
I shall but drink the more!
Till seraphs swing their snowy hats,
And saints to windows run,
To see the little tippler
Leaning against the sun!
Source: A Treasury of English and American Verse, ed. by Dr. Fritz Krog (Hirschgraben Verlag, 1967)
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Beleaguered Berlusconi and Other News
For the first time in months I'm reading news articles properly again.
Amid all the bleakness, there was a bright spot: "Berlusconi Lashes Out at Italian Establishment" on the New York Times website.
"Blair's inner circle and its ferocious grab for power," by Jenni Russell
Thursday April 6, 2006
Amid all the bleakness, there was a bright spot: "Berlusconi Lashes Out at Italian Establishment" on the New York Times website.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2006/03/12/wberl12.jpg
"Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi went on the warpath on Thursday, three days before a general election, accusing the judiciary, the press, big business and banks of plotting his defeat.
"In a series of fierce outbursts, Berlusconi presented himself as a martyr for democracy and warned that civil liberties would be trampled on if his rival Romano Prodi won the ballot on April 9 and 10."
Hehehe. Can he be any more hypocritical? Don't he and his relatives own something like 80% of the media? Hasn't he been actively trying to control more?
"He also blasted magistrates in Milan, saying they had deliberately tried to wreck his political ambitions by seeking to press charges against him ahead of the election."
Come now; there's always someone pressing charges against Berlusconi. Anyway, the author of the article doesn't seem particularly sympathizing, for instance remarking that Berlusconi's "trademark smile" was "replaced by a scowl."
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-italy.html
Reuters, April 6, 2006; filed 2:27 pm ET
More information about PM Silvio Berlusconi: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3034600.stm
* * *
A revealing comment (italics mine) about a migrant smuggler who was shot by the Cuban Coast Guard during a confrontation:
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in Washington that it would be ''deeply disturbing'' if the dead man turned out to be an American.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Cuba-Smugglers-Shot.html
* * *
Next, an article about the deadlock surrounding the Northern Irish parliament. Established under the Good Friday Agreement, it apparently hasn't been working for four years. I'd heard about the granting of parliaments to Scotland and Northern Ireland in Political Science 220, but I had no idea how they were turning out.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/06/world/europe/06cnd-irish.html
"Work it Out, Blair Warns Belfast's Rival Parties," by Brian Lavery
Published: April 6, 2006
* * *
Finally, here is an opinion piece from the Manchester Guardian regarding the ID card and House of Lords legislation being passed or pushed by UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
"Blair's inner circle and its ferocious grab for power," by Jenni Russell
Thursday April 6, 2006
Appendix to "Day in Pits"
Yesterday the programme was acting up, so I wasn't able to post the photos of the House of Vesta that I found on the Internet. Here are the links now:
http://sights.seindal.dk/photo/855,s173f.html
http://sights.seindal.dk/photo/8328,s173f.html
http://sights.seindal.dk/photo/855,s173f.html
http://sights.seindal.dk/photo/8328,s173f.html
A Fortuitous Morning
The only class I have today is a Macroeconomics tutorial at 9:00. To my great surprise, I woke up in time to go there. I think I'm adjusting to the change of the clocks for Daylight Savings Time.
I quickly ate a donut and drank a cup of hot chocolate so that my stomach wouldn't grumble during the class, then made my way to the tutorial.
I arrived perhaps seven minutes early. There was no one there. I took out my Macro textbook and began to read about exchange rates, actually absorbing some of the information. At about 9:00 the teaching assistant came. After a few minutes he asked me if I had any questions. "No, not really" -- because I hadn't looked at the chapter before the class, which I then wished I had. A few minutes afterward one other student came. Did she have any questions? "Not really." So the TA handed out the evaluation forms, waited a while, then left. We completed the evaluations, then followed suit.
Perhaps I shouldn't have been, but I was happy that the tutorial would not fully take place, and that I would have more time to do whatever I like. I went back to my residence cheerfully, read a little more about exchange rates on a wooden bench outside, then went in.
After that I decided to play the piano. Much to my surprise, I played better than usual; the pieces from the Well-Tempered Clavier, one and an eighth movements from Beethoven sonatas, and movements from Mozart sonatas went excellently. I was unusually relaxed and calm, and my hands were warm, so that's probably why it went well.
Now I should work on my Romanticism essay.
I quickly ate a donut and drank a cup of hot chocolate so that my stomach wouldn't grumble during the class, then made my way to the tutorial.
I arrived perhaps seven minutes early. There was no one there. I took out my Macro textbook and began to read about exchange rates, actually absorbing some of the information. At about 9:00 the teaching assistant came. After a few minutes he asked me if I had any questions. "No, not really" -- because I hadn't looked at the chapter before the class, which I then wished I had. A few minutes afterward one other student came. Did she have any questions? "Not really." So the TA handed out the evaluation forms, waited a while, then left. We completed the evaluations, then followed suit.
Perhaps I shouldn't have been, but I was happy that the tutorial would not fully take place, and that I would have more time to do whatever I like. I went back to my residence cheerfully, read a little more about exchange rates on a wooden bench outside, then went in.
After that I decided to play the piano. Much to my surprise, I played better than usual; the pieces from the Well-Tempered Clavier, one and an eighth movements from Beethoven sonatas, and movements from Mozart sonatas went excellently. I was unusually relaxed and calm, and my hands were warm, so that's probably why it went well.
Now I should work on my Romanticism essay.
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
A Day in the Pits
As the title of this blog suggests, today has not been a very good day -- even though, as I noted in yesterday's post, I know that many people have far more real problems than I do.
I can't relax properly, though not for lack of trying. I've been working on my Romanticism essay and it's progressing well, though I think that I am b.s.ing a little. Yesterday evening I went to the library, duty bound, and borrowed something like five books that should be enough to round out my sources. I've begun reading an enormous history of Germany from 1763-1850. But altogether I worry that I will never finish this essay.
I woke up too late (10:26) to go to French, even though I'd fully intended to go. Then I showered, worked on my essay, breakfasted, and agonized whether to go to my other courses today or whether to try to finish the essay before History instead. In the end I did go to all three other courses.
In German (310) the professor gave us a list of preposition+verb combinations to remember (e.g. bestehen aus), then gave us exercises involving the passive voice and integrating relative clauses into a sentence. After that we had a little party. We had cookies -- including fortune cookies! --, chocolate, and juice. My fortune said: "Social success will be yours"; I murmured, in true Hermit fashion, "Not likely!" Anyway, the mood was quite jolly.
Then I came in slightly late for Classical Studies 204 (which I refer to as "Archaeology"). The professor took us through the Forum Romanum, as well as the Imperial Fora of Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, and Vespasian (whose forum was financed by and decorated with the loot from Jerusalem). I felt a certain Schadenfreude (or an "Ozymandias moment") when we saw an artist's rendition of Augustus's temple in its pompous glory, then a photo of what remains today. I've disliked the Romans and their architecture in a vague general way ever since I've known a decent amount about them through my Classical Studies 100 course. The Greeks and their architecture are so much nicer, in my view. The professor also discussed Rome's House of Vesta, the vestal virgins, and the Temple of Vesta, all of which I found very interesting.
So, information about the vestal virgins (there were always six): They were put forward for consideration for the job by their parents at the ages of 6-10. They had to be in perfect physical condition (e.g. no limps), come from a family of high social standing, be chaste, and have an excellent moral reputation. If they were accepted for the position, they were secluded in the House of Vesta for 10 years to be trained. At the end of that period, they were full-fledged vestal virgins, enjoying a high social prestige, and could leave the House of Vesta provided they were heavily guarded. They were entrusted with the keeping of the Eternal Flame in the Temple of Vesta, the keeping of the Palladium, and the keeping of the wills of important Romans. The Palladium was some object whose exact nature is unknown; it is said to have been formed of a black stone that fell from the sky (a meteorite?), and to have been stolen from Troy by Diomedes and Odysseus, then somehow conveyed to Rome. The belief was that if it was gone, Rome would suffer horrible misfortune; the same belief applied to the Eternal Flame. After ten years the virgins would train their successors for ten years; then they could retire and, still (except if they were married) enjoying political and economic rights that were beyond those of any other women, rejoin normal society and have a family if they wished.
The House of Vesta was a big and imposing building. It had an atrium in the middle with gardens and pools in which there were fish, plants, etc. There were around fifty rooms in the two floors; it is believed that the virgins slept on the first floor at the south end, and even after they had "retired," virgins could continue to make their home there. The only male allowed on the premises was the Pontifex Maximus. The Temple of Vesta was at one end. Its roundness is reminiscent of Greek buildings, but it seems that the real reason for this shape is that it resembles that of a hearth (Vesta was the goddess of the hearth) or that it resembles a house from earlier times (e.g. the Iron Age). It stood on a platform 15 ft(?) high, had 20 columns around the outside, and in the roof it had a sort of chimney for the Eternal Flame. The problem with this chimney was that the Flame would threaten to die out during high wind or rain; the Virgins, who would be severely punished if this threat were realized, had much ado to keep it going.
After that, I had History. The professor breezed through the Cold War, then listed and briefly discussed central themes we had discussed this term (industrialization; democratization; ideologies such as traditionalism -- essentially small-c conservatism --, liberalism, socialism, communism, and fascism; and nationalism), then painted a very bleak though vague view of the course of history during our lifetimes (cities being swallowed up by the rising seas, etc.), and finally gave a short series of anecdotes of what small things can lead to big events. These anecdotes were really sobering in their import, but the professor did tell some of them with gusto, so we had to laugh.
Now I've already had dinner, and I'm slowly forgetting my gloom, so I'm afraid this isn't a pits-y post after all. But I should mention that part of my pits-iness comes from the fact that I'm simply not happy being around people when I'm gloomy and dissatisfied with myself. I feel self-conscious and I have trouble meeting people's eyes, because I don't want to glare at them or anything like that.
I can't relax properly, though not for lack of trying. I've been working on my Romanticism essay and it's progressing well, though I think that I am b.s.ing a little. Yesterday evening I went to the library, duty bound, and borrowed something like five books that should be enough to round out my sources. I've begun reading an enormous history of Germany from 1763-1850. But altogether I worry that I will never finish this essay.
I woke up too late (10:26) to go to French, even though I'd fully intended to go. Then I showered, worked on my essay, breakfasted, and agonized whether to go to my other courses today or whether to try to finish the essay before History instead. In the end I did go to all three other courses.
In German (310) the professor gave us a list of preposition+verb combinations to remember (e.g. bestehen aus), then gave us exercises involving the passive voice and integrating relative clauses into a sentence. After that we had a little party. We had cookies -- including fortune cookies! --, chocolate, and juice. My fortune said: "Social success will be yours"; I murmured, in true Hermit fashion, "Not likely!" Anyway, the mood was quite jolly.
Then I came in slightly late for Classical Studies 204 (which I refer to as "Archaeology"). The professor took us through the Forum Romanum, as well as the Imperial Fora of Caesar, Augustus, Trajan, and Vespasian (whose forum was financed by and decorated with the loot from Jerusalem). I felt a certain Schadenfreude (or an "Ozymandias moment") when we saw an artist's rendition of Augustus's temple in its pompous glory, then a photo of what remains today. I've disliked the Romans and their architecture in a vague general way ever since I've known a decent amount about them through my Classical Studies 100 course. The Greeks and their architecture are so much nicer, in my view. The professor also discussed Rome's House of Vesta, the vestal virgins, and the Temple of Vesta, all of which I found very interesting.
So, information about the vestal virgins (there were always six): They were put forward for consideration for the job by their parents at the ages of 6-10. They had to be in perfect physical condition (e.g. no limps), come from a family of high social standing, be chaste, and have an excellent moral reputation. If they were accepted for the position, they were secluded in the House of Vesta for 10 years to be trained. At the end of that period, they were full-fledged vestal virgins, enjoying a high social prestige, and could leave the House of Vesta provided they were heavily guarded. They were entrusted with the keeping of the Eternal Flame in the Temple of Vesta, the keeping of the Palladium, and the keeping of the wills of important Romans. The Palladium was some object whose exact nature is unknown; it is said to have been formed of a black stone that fell from the sky (a meteorite?), and to have been stolen from Troy by Diomedes and Odysseus, then somehow conveyed to Rome. The belief was that if it was gone, Rome would suffer horrible misfortune; the same belief applied to the Eternal Flame. After ten years the virgins would train their successors for ten years; then they could retire and, still (except if they were married) enjoying political and economic rights that were beyond those of any other women, rejoin normal society and have a family if they wished.
The House of Vesta was a big and imposing building. It had an atrium in the middle with gardens and pools in which there were fish, plants, etc. There were around fifty rooms in the two floors; it is believed that the virgins slept on the first floor at the south end, and even after they had "retired," virgins could continue to make their home there. The only male allowed on the premises was the Pontifex Maximus. The Temple of Vesta was at one end. Its roundness is reminiscent of Greek buildings, but it seems that the real reason for this shape is that it resembles that of a hearth (Vesta was the goddess of the hearth) or that it resembles a house from earlier times (e.g. the Iron Age). It stood on a platform 15 ft(?) high, had 20 columns around the outside, and in the roof it had a sort of chimney for the Eternal Flame. The problem with this chimney was that the Flame would threaten to die out during high wind or rain; the Virgins, who would be severely punished if this threat were realized, had much ado to keep it going.
After that, I had History. The professor breezed through the Cold War, then listed and briefly discussed central themes we had discussed this term (industrialization; democratization; ideologies such as traditionalism -- essentially small-c conservatism --, liberalism, socialism, communism, and fascism; and nationalism), then painted a very bleak though vague view of the course of history during our lifetimes (cities being swallowed up by the rising seas, etc.), and finally gave a short series of anecdotes of what small things can lead to big events. These anecdotes were really sobering in their import, but the professor did tell some of them with gusto, so we had to laugh.
Now I've already had dinner, and I'm slowly forgetting my gloom, so I'm afraid this isn't a pits-y post after all. But I should mention that part of my pits-iness comes from the fact that I'm simply not happy being around people when I'm gloomy and dissatisfied with myself. I feel self-conscious and I have trouble meeting people's eyes, because I don't want to glare at them or anything like that.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Meditations on Laziness, Walking, etc.
This morning I woke up shortly after 11:00 realizing that I've been horribly wimpy this term, and that I really have no problems to speak of. If I'm really underchallenged or whatever, I should just do other things on the side that help me. If I'm getting behind in my homework, then I should just do what I can instead of moping. As for my fear of sliding back into a lonely depression like in my teenage years, I should get a grip.
I haven't done any work yet, but I intend to do so as soon as I've finished writing this post and checking my e-mail. I did take a walk around the north end of the university campus, with my excellent camera. The university's chapel is there, a simple building of stone and wood and large glass windows. I went inside. It had a wooden floor, a wooden loft in the back, comfortable chairs, a Persian rug, a tan-coloured baptismal/holy water font, and a wooden cabinet with saints painted on the small doors in dark red and gold and so on, like a Russian icon. I liked it. Then I went on to a building site, where I didn't know how to get out without retracing my steps. But by walking through a building and ducking under the warning tape behind, it I did get out and ended up, much to my surprise, at the bus loop. Then I sat on a shaded bench for a while and meditated; then I returned to my room. It is incidentally sunny today, with a fiercely blue sky, but there is also a cool breeze.
Before that I had also played the piano -- pieces from the Well-Tempered Clavier, bits from Mozart sonatas, and nearly all of Beethoven's sonata in d minor (?), at any rate Op.31 No.2.
Anyway, I should get to my Romanticism essay and then to my Macroeconomics notes and the laundry now.
I haven't done any work yet, but I intend to do so as soon as I've finished writing this post and checking my e-mail. I did take a walk around the north end of the university campus, with my excellent camera. The university's chapel is there, a simple building of stone and wood and large glass windows. I went inside. It had a wooden floor, a wooden loft in the back, comfortable chairs, a Persian rug, a tan-coloured baptismal/holy water font, and a wooden cabinet with saints painted on the small doors in dark red and gold and so on, like a Russian icon. I liked it. Then I went on to a building site, where I didn't know how to get out without retracing my steps. But by walking through a building and ducking under the warning tape behind, it I did get out and ended up, much to my surprise, at the bus loop. Then I sat on a shaded bench for a while and meditated; then I returned to my room. It is incidentally sunny today, with a fiercely blue sky, but there is also a cool breeze.
Before that I had also played the piano -- pieces from the Well-Tempered Clavier, bits from Mozart sonatas, and nearly all of Beethoven's sonata in d minor (?), at any rate Op.31 No.2.
Anyway, I should get to my Romanticism essay and then to my Macroeconomics notes and the laundry now.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
The Weekend's End
I'm back at the university after going home for the weekend. Sunday is the day where I am useless for anything, and I don't want to think about work -- just relax. Spending time on the Internet is a very dissatisfactory way to relax, but I did so anyway.
I did, however, read another chapter in Volkswagen Blues, which was written by Jacques Poulin. I have to read it for my French course (221). The writing is, I think, quite good. As for the content, the more or less impecunious wandering lifestyle described in the book doesn't much appeal to me. Also, I sometimes feel like pinching the main character to elicit a reaction, to break the monotony of the constant thoughtfulness and literary references and political conscientiousness (not quite correctness). But those are basically my only quibbles.
I've also added a few sentences to my Romanticism essay -- basically that the ideals within Romanticism can be divided into two central streams: rebellion (nationalism, social upheaval, etc.) and return (interest in Middle Ages, revival of Christianity, etc.). That's no doubt a glib interpretation but I see myself as entitled to generalize as much as I want because the subject is so broad anyway.
By this last paragraph you can tell that I did not finish the essay on Friday. But I'm optimistic about finishing it by next Friday, and the teaching assistant told me not to stress, which cheered me greatly.
Unrelated rant:
It annoys me that nytimes.com has changed its format. First it was haaretz.com that (a really long time ago) changed its format to a theme of neutral blue with small writing, then lemonde.fr changed to a neutral blue with small writing, and now nytimes.com. Thank goodness that, of all the lefty newspapers I consult whenever I feel like finding out about the rest of the world, at least guardian.co.uk has remained the same. I like black (and red, in the Guardian's case). It's precise and easier to read. As for my moderate-righty newspaper, I presume that timesonline.co.uk (which I've been boycotting based on quality as well as supporting-the-Iraq-War issues -- and based on the fact that Simon Jenkins has been publishing his comment in the Guardian anyway) has retained its classic black.
I did, however, read another chapter in Volkswagen Blues, which was written by Jacques Poulin. I have to read it for my French course (221). The writing is, I think, quite good. As for the content, the more or less impecunious wandering lifestyle described in the book doesn't much appeal to me. Also, I sometimes feel like pinching the main character to elicit a reaction, to break the monotony of the constant thoughtfulness and literary references and political conscientiousness (not quite correctness). But those are basically my only quibbles.
I've also added a few sentences to my Romanticism essay -- basically that the ideals within Romanticism can be divided into two central streams: rebellion (nationalism, social upheaval, etc.) and return (interest in Middle Ages, revival of Christianity, etc.). That's no doubt a glib interpretation but I see myself as entitled to generalize as much as I want because the subject is so broad anyway.
By this last paragraph you can tell that I did not finish the essay on Friday. But I'm optimistic about finishing it by next Friday, and the teaching assistant told me not to stress, which cheered me greatly.
Unrelated rant:
It annoys me that nytimes.com has changed its format. First it was haaretz.com that (a really long time ago) changed its format to a theme of neutral blue with small writing, then lemonde.fr changed to a neutral blue with small writing, and now nytimes.com. Thank goodness that, of all the lefty newspapers I consult whenever I feel like finding out about the rest of the world, at least guardian.co.uk has remained the same. I like black (and red, in the Guardian's case). It's precise and easier to read. As for my moderate-righty newspaper, I presume that timesonline.co.uk (which I've been boycotting based on quality as well as supporting-the-Iraq-War issues -- and based on the fact that Simon Jenkins has been publishing his comment in the Guardian anyway) has retained its classic black.
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