a hazy shade of winter

Woke up early and spent an hour cleaning the living room. I sneezed a lot from all that accumulated dust, since the last time I really cleaned in here was prior to the wedding. Everything looks much more open now that all the clutter has been carefully rearranged and hidden in closets. The big coffee table book of Soviet photography is actually on the coffee table now. All the socks have been banished to the laundry basket. I shifted the couch a little bit and redistributed the stuff covering my desk. It's more comfortable for working at now.

The door's open, there's tea brewing in my giant glass jar, and I have kolach. It's nice outside.

(no subject)

There are days where reading the news is akin to running a gauntlet down into the underworld. People killing their children in home exorcism rituals, people setting goats on fire, AIDS, Iraq, terrorism, the unending nightmare of Israel and Palestine, all of the awful things we see. Even reading about politics can be frustrating more often than not.

In an effort to comabt all this for a brief moment, I present my favorite happy news story of the day. Too bad they will put it on display, because you could have a giant dinner with this fish.



Texas Man Catches 121lb Catfish

questions from alainn_sorcha

1. How long would you like to wait before you and Alan begin having children?

I'm not sure we will ever have children. It's something neither one of us are very keen on, truth be told. Though if we decided to have children, that would be at least five to ten years down the road. I'd like to finish my degrees, maybe send Alan back to school, before we took on that responsibility. I've always thought I wouldn't consider children until I was relatively financially stable and able to afford it. If we did have children, it is highly likely we would adopt them.

2. Dear Abbey,
I'm a high school senior and I've applied to only out of state universities. I've been accepted to my first my choice school. This should be a good thing, but my parents don't even know I applied there. When I was deciding where to apply, they made it clear if I went to this school, they wouldn't pay. I don't qualify for financial aid, and can't afford to attend without their support. It's a great program, the best in the nation, and I really have my heart set on going. Please tell me how to convince them to let me go.

First off, I would try to determine why they held such dislike for this school. Are their fears rational or ill-founded? Are they worried about the cost, or just you going far away? I would suggest drawing up all the facts relevant, such as the ranking of the programs you are interested in, campus safety statistics, graduate employment numbers, prominent faculty, etc. If money is a concern, get some copies of local papers and scan job posting. Let your parents know you are willing to contribute to the cost of your education by holding a job. Most of all, make it clear how important this university is to your goals and how passionate you are about it.

3. What is it about Slavic (is that the correct term?) culture that appeals to you the most?

Mmm Slavic culture. It was an accident more than anything. I blame Dostoevsky, and the department for fueling my interest. I think what I enjoy most about it is how rich and varied the culture is overall. It is both Eastern and Western in many respects, given that Russia spans several time zones and the Slavic nations in Eastern Europe add a couple more. It's been developing for a thousand years or so, growing and changing.

It helps to love the languages, even when they kick my ass. Russian vowels are enormous, and Czech consonants cluster together like jagged stones. So many of the novels I love were written originally in Slavic tongues, and I imagine that has a lot to do with it. I fell in love with Dostoevsky when I was 15, reading Crime & Punishment in two days. I've probably read it a dozen times since then and I own at least five different translations of it. From then on, it was love. Slavic literature has slowly begun taking over my bookcase, and I hope to have a chance to study more it.

4. Margaret Sanger was a eugenicist. Discuss.

You know, I've heard that statement several times. I don't know enough about Sanger to say for certain, but I don't believe she was out to create a perfect race. I think she wanted to give people the choice for good or ill. I have very difficult views on abortion that don't go along with most of my friends. To me it's a hideous thing and I shouldn't like to have it happen at all. But I realize there are certain situations in which it is necessary. There are no hard and fast rules, and I try not to ever tell anyone what to do on that subject. I will say that I think people who have abortion after abortion, as some haphazard form of birth control, are disturbing.

5. Top 5 films of all time?

In no paticular order the very personal top five:

The Lord of the Rings Trilogy: FOTR, TTT & ROTK - Because Peter Jackson's team had incredible vision in creating it, because Tolkien's work is so epic, and because it is one of my favorite childhood stories brought to life outside of my head. Not to mention being the craziest studio gamble in ages.

The Big Sleep - A classic mystery movie with some of the snappiest dialogue ever. They don't make 'em like they used to, that's for certain. One of the finest Bogart/Bacall films ever made.

Heat - De Niro and Pacino together in a relentless cops & robbers film based off a true story. Quite possibly one of the best crime movies ever made.

The Big Lebowski - Every time I see this there's something new. Funny, bizarre, daring and downright entertaining. One of the greatest movies made in the '90s.

Hamlet - The sprawling Branaugh Hamlet was worth the horrible seats in the Village theater. It made Shakespeare's greatest play into something new and vivid. The spinning soliloquy shot in the hall of mirrors is a technical triumph and cinematic brilliance.