Apparently I have fooled my boss into thinking I'm a morning person.  Now I just need to apply these expert skills of deception to various board games...

"To his followers, therefore, his execution was not only tragic and terrifying but shameful.  It is difficult not to wonder what the Apostles would have thought of a crucifix as a fashion accessory.  Imagine wearing an image of a hooded Abu Ghraib victim around your neck as holiday bling."  
- from "Happy Crossmas!  How Easter stubbornly resists ( Read more... )

This afternoon, I talked to some colleagues about their ethical reasons for being vegetarians, including the idea of animals feeling pain and being raised for slaughter.

During a Good Friday service, the pastor started to detail the pain of a crucifixion.  I felt so frivolous.

On her daily walk today, my grandma got lost and just so happened to knock on the door of a Mandarin-speaking Caucasian man.  His accent was so good that when he called to explain the situation, my mom thought he was a Beijinger.

Security staff 1: Her school ID wasn't issued in the States - it's from London.
Security staff 2: Hm, London.  That's in France, right?  Yeah, I think it's in France.

Why context matters:

Shostakovich, Symphony No. 5: Composed in the 1930s under Stalin, revered by both the oppressor and the oppressed.  Played during the 2002 Olympics Opening Ceremony, in the lead-up to the 1980 US gold medal hockey team lighting the cauldron.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT28SNK1YEk#t=4m40s

Star-Spangled Banner: Lyrics from the ( Read more... )

At one point this weekend (day 5 of this cold/sinus infection?), I wondered what it would be like to permanently lose part of my hearing and experience muted music for the rest of my life.  No wonder Beethoven was so irritable.  Coupled with my -6.5 lens power, I felt like a prime candidate for Darwinian victimhood.  Blessings we take for granted.

This post is an attempt to atone for my late discovery of Young the Giant.  So. Good.  I've played the acoustic and original versions of their songs an embarrassing number of times during the last 48 hours.  And now I want another road trip so I can stand in the middle of the salt flats and jam.  A girl can dream, right?

My dad remembered to buy flowers for my mom, Jeremy Lin controlled my newsfeed, and I bought a car!  It may be a decade late, but I finally acquired the American (suburban) teenage status symbol.  The salesman explained that I should turn off the traction control if I wanted to do donuts.  CAMRY JOY RIDE TIME

"Long after midnight the towers and spires of Princeton were visible - with here and there a late-burning light - and suddenly out of the clear darkness the sound of bells.  As an endless dream it went on: the spirit of the past brooding over a new generation, the chosen youth from the muddled, unchastened world, still fed romantically on the ( Read more... )