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July 2nd, 2008
12:27 pm - Music
I recently got an MP3 player as a gift, which has been great for traveling and so forth. The thing is, I've never listened to much music, so my repertoire is very limited. I've gotten some good suggestions from friends, but I could use some more. What do you like to listen to? What's your favorite song (or two songs, or five songs)? Who's your favorite artist? I don't care how old the music is, how popular or unpopular it is, what genre it belongs to, or even whether you think I'd like it. I just want to be introduced to new music (which, for me, would be practically any music).
Thanks!
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October 8th, 2007
05:37 pm - Dead Journals
I've been keeping paper journals since my freshman year of high school. I've never written on a daily basis for an extended period of time, and there have often been hiatuses as a long a semester, but I've always started writing again eventually.
Once I started blogging, though, I began to write a lot less. It's true that my paper journals serve a different function than my blog and Live Journal -- they're private, if nothing else -- but there is only so much navel-gazing that I can do. Blogging provides an outlet for that urge to write that I've always had, so I don't crave my journal the way I used to. I have next to me my seventh and latest journal, which I began on August 7, 2001. There are the usual stops and starts, and then the first truly dramatic one: the page following my August 11, 2003 entry is dated December 12, 2004. (I can't help but notice that I began my blog in January '04.) The next entry after that is December 29, and then it skips right to May 21, 2005. There are a few entries between then and August '07, when I suddenly began writing regularly again.
My inspiration was actually a self-help book entitled Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day. One of the more helpful suggestions in the book was to keep a "dissertation journal." At first, it didn't occur to me to use my private journal for this purpose, but then I realized that it could be beneficial to write about my dissertation topic and my progress on it in a relaxed manner. Using my journal allowed me to integrate thoughts about my dissertation with other issues that influence my productivity. It's a more self-helpy function than my journals previously served, but not all that different in the general scheme of things.
Now, more than six years since I started this particular volume, I am nearing the end. A few weeks ago, I bought a new composition book to serve as journal #8. But then I started having second thoughts.
Here's the thing: we humans have evolved beyond this paper-and-ink business. I have a certain nostalgic fondness for books, and even for the process of writing with by hand, but I think it's starting to wane. More often than not I find myself irritated by my inability to write as quickly as I type. My hand cramps up so that I have to stop and shake it, and my handwriting becomes so messy that I'm not sure that even I will be able to read it later on. So I've been thinking: Why not ditch the nostalgia and switch to computer? I've discovered a terrific program called Journler, which I use for note-taking and for organizing personal and professional documents. Why not use it for a private journal as well? There are many advantages aside from the ease of typing -- automatic indexing, for example, which would make it easier to find specific entries later on. And I could copy-and-paste directly into my blog or Live Journal if I decided to make something more public.
Last night, I mentioned this idea to a friend who is much more technologically adept than I am, and to my surprise, she seemed astonished that I would even consider such a thing. It turns out that she keeps paper journals as well. They're pretty much the only thing she hand writes, but she seems quite attached to the medium. So I'm curious: Do any of you keep paper journals? If not, do you keep a private journal in any other form? Do you use LiveJournal for private entries? This probably won't influence my decision, but I'd like to know.
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July 22nd, 2007
03:29 pm - I Am . . . Older Furthok!
Language of the Norse, Older Futhark! Thirty symbols, all told. And no hardier, more warrior-like tongue has ever graced the longships of the Viki or left the Celts and Saxons in such quivering fear. There's only one drawback, that being you died 800 years ago.
Take the Which Ancient Language Are You Test. (It's a little weird that they consider Wadi el-Hol a language, but whatever, it's still a good concept.)
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/lazy.gif) lethargic
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June 3rd, 2007
09:33 pm - moving time
We were just informed that our lease won't be renewed this year. Officially, that means that we have to move July 1st, but our landlords are giving us an extra month if necessary because of the late notice. They've been trying to convert the second floor apartment into an extension of the first floor, where they live, and have apparently run into zoning regulations that can't be circumvented.
This totally sucks. We really like this place, and it isn't likely that we'll be able to find anything as nice for the same price. I hate moving in general. Moving someplace smaller and/or more expensive is a definite downer.
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/gloomy.gif) crappy
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March 26th, 2007
04:59 pm - Pop Culture Query
I realize that this is something of a lame reentry into the LJ world, but I have a question that I think is particularly suited to my friends here. I can't make it a real poll since I don't have a paid account, so just leave your answer in the comments.
Q: What did you think of the season finale to Battlestar Gallactica?
a. Frackin' Awesome!
b. They can't possibly pull this off. The show is about to get stupid.
c. I don't have the Sci Fi channel! Can't you wait to talk about this until after I visit my parents and watch it on TiVo?
d. Battleship what?
e. Other
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/nerdy.gif) geeky
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August 29th, 2006
06:02 pm - My! Very Educated Morons Just Screwed Up Numerous Planetariums
That was the runner-up from the Kotke.com Pluto mnemonic device contest. Pretty good, though I'm still partial to Stephen Colbert's "My Very Educated Mother Just said, 'Uh-oh! No Pluto!'"
Overall, the best coverage I've seen of this spectacularly unimportant issue has been at Language Log. At least they understand what it's really all about.
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May 3rd, 2006
10:57 pm - You Don't Say
These similes are from one of the more amusing e-mail forwards I've gotten. They are supposedly from real high school English essays. Authentic? I don't know, but they're pretty funny.
1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently
compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like
underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy
who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes
with a pinhole in it and now goes around! the country speaking at high schools
about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes
with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E.coli and he was room-temperature
Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just
before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree.
8. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling
ball wouldn't.
9. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with
vegetable soup.
10. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie,
surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and Jeopardy
comes
on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
11. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
12. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry
them in hot grease.
13. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the
grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left
Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m.
at a speed of 35 mph.
14. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also
never met.
15. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant and she was the East
River.
16. Even in his last years, Grandpappy had a mind like a steel trap, only one
that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
17. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
18. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this
plan just might work.
19. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for
a while.
20. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either but a
real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or
something.
21. The ballerina raised gracefully en pointe and extended one slender leg
behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.
22. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if
she were a garbage truck backing up.
23. Her eyes were like limpid pools, only they had forgotten to put in any pH
cleanser.
24. She walked into my office like a centipede with 98 missing legs.
25. It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the
wall.
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October 17th, 2005
02:03 pm - "7" Meme
Gacked from Devarim.
7 Things I Can Do:
1. Make a mean chicken soup
2. Read a few dead languages (and some living ones, falteringly)
3. Give controversial divrei torah on the High Holidays without having machzorim thrown at me
4. Bake cookies
5. Leyn Torah, Haftarah, Esther, Eicha, and Ruth/Qohelet (with occasional help from DH)
6. Earn the affection of students, gabbaim, and occasional blog readers, for reasons that still perplex me
7. Procrastinate with the best of 'em
7 Things I Can't Do:
1. Finish a paper on time
2. Roll a pie crust without having a tantrum
3. Resolve theological crises (my own or others')
4. Stay awake through services without caffeine
5. Layn without preparing
6. Play a musical instrument
7. Drive a car
7 Celebrity Crushes:
So not into celebrities, it's not even worth it.
7 Things I Find Attractive:
1. Intelligence
2. Sense of humor
3. Dent in skull
4. Jewish literacy
5. Facial and body hair (head hair an asset, but not vital)
6. Easygoing attitude
7. Attraction to me
7 Things I Hope to Do Before I Die (not necessarily in this order):
1. Have kids
2. Earn a Ph.D.
3. Get a driver's license
4. Become well-versed in Talmud and halakha
5. Learn classical Greek and Latin
6. Learn to control my emotions and think before I speak
7. Travel
7 Things I Say Often:
1. "I don't know"
2. "I think"
3. "I'm sorry"
4. "I'm tired"
5. "There's plenty more food."
6. "Do you like me?"
7. "I love you!"
7 Bloggers/LiveJournal Members I'd Like to Infect With This Meme:
1. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) elfsdh
2. rymenhild
3. muchabstracted
4. fleurdelis28
5. meredithscheck
6. shirei_shibolim
7. Dovid
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/silly.gif) silly
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01:50 pm - From Mom
Israel Dismantles; World's Problems End
[T]the new Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has kicked off a popular "Iran-loves-Jews" campaign that will include a sensitive re-writing of the laws to accommodate religions other than Islam. He explained, "With the Zionist entity out of the way, the Iranian government will tone down its violent and threatening rhetoric, dismantle its nuclear program, and stop funding Hezbollah and other terrorist groups. As a matter of fact, I might even resign my position and award the presidency to someone else. Do you think Schwarzenegger is available?"
A spokesperson for Hezbollah stated that Iran's proposal wouldn't matter. "We don't need the funding because we no longer have any reason to exist. We disposed of our weapons, and will now re-focus on opening a chain of pizzerias. You just can't get decent pizza around here, and we're going to change that."
A bit broad, but there's something to it.
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August 25th, 2005
June 5th, 2005
10:09 am - Must be the Beard
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/cheerful.gif) amused
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May 17th, 2005
12:05 am - now I know what to do if academia doesn't work out
Your #1 Match: INFJ
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The Protector
You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity.
Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is.
You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience.
You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them.
You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. |
Maybe I would make a good alternative medicine guru...
Current Mood: amused
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May 15th, 2005
10:31 pm - oh shit
 | You scored as Postmodernist. Postmodernism is the belief in complete open interpretation. You see the universe as a collection of information with varying ways of putting it together. There is no absolute truth for you; even the most hardened facts are open to interpretation. Meaning relies on context and even the language you use to describe things should be subject to analysis.
Postmodernist | | 75% | Cultural Creative | | 69% | Existentialist | | 50% | Materialist | | 44% | Idealist | | 44% | Modernist | | 38% | Romanticist | | 25% | Fundamentalist | | 19% | </td>
What is Your World View?
created with QuizFarm.com |
via thevortex
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/angry.gif) pissed off
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March 27th, 2005
04:15 am - I Love Lizzy :-D
You're Elizabeth Bennett of Pride and Prejudice by
Jane Austen!
Which Classic Female Literary Character Are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
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March 8th, 2005
10:26 pm - That Young?
You Are 30 Years Old |
30
Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.
13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.
20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.
30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!
40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.
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Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/tired.gif) tired
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February 17th, 2005
09:31 am - And I Was Just Getting into it
Trekkies Protest Cancellation of Enterprise. (Hat tip to Israellycool.)
On the bright side, maybe the looming cancellation will inspire the writers to give us some closure on the Tucker and T'Pol affair. And maybe I'll start getting some work done on Saturday nights...
Current Mood: ![[mood icon]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/mood/punquinheads/pink/blah.gif) blah
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February 16th, 2005
01:40 pm - But I'm Allergic to Peaches!
Current Mood: tired
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February 15th, 2005
11:29 pm - Shocking!
 | You scored as Verbal/Linguistic. You have highly developed auditory skills, enjoy reading and writing and telling stories, and are good at getting your point across. You learn best by saying and hearing words. People like you include poets, authors, speakers, attorneys, politicians, lecturers and teachers.
Verbal/Linguistic | | 75% | Intrapersonal | | 57% | Interpersonal | | 39% | Logical/Mathematical | | 32% | Visual/Spatial | | 21% | Bodily/Kinesthetic | | 18% | Musical/Rhythmic | | 14% | </td>
The Rogers Indicator of Multiple Intelligences
created with QuizFarm.com |
Current Mood: tired
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February 8th, 2005
12:31 pm - Slicha, ani mityabeshet...
Adventures of an olah. Read the comments.
Current Mood: amused
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