3.28.2009

Important Thoughts 14.0

14.1: The dress transaction has been finalized. I went with the seller who suggested the Vogue pattern (she said she could easily attach sleeves to it, which is awesome) and the bamboo/cotton jersey fabric. I paid her $35.00, and I'll have it at least by April 26th. I am so excited.

14.2: I don't know if I went again too quickly after the last time, or if the booth lights were more intense than the bed lights, or if the acrylic sheet in the bed protects you more than the metal grille in the booth, or if I just stood with my back too close, but I went tanning yesterday, and I got burnt. Christian and I picked up some aloe (weird aloe, though, because it's clear, and also it says that you can use it for all kinds of things, like for hair gel and shaving gel and clear skin gel), and that has been helping a lot. Also, I feel really stupid.

14.3: My birthday is one month from today! Awesome!

14.4: So I was thinking last night about America's Next Top Model, and about how old would probably be too old to be on the show, and I decided 25. Twenty-five is definitely way too old to start a modeling career. I don't even know why they let people so old on the show. It's just not going to happen for them. Which is too bad, because Celia, who's on this cycle, is 25, and she might have done really well if it wasn't for the fact that she's way too old and she's got an old-woman-skeleton-bird face. Fact: the oldest contestant to ever win ANTM was Yoanna from Cycle 2, who was 23 when she won. Fact: Renee from Cycle 8 made it to third place in the competition and was then eliminated, even though she had the best Covergirl photo and commercial, because she looked too old, and she was only 20 at the time. Fact: there's no way Celia is going to do well on this season, and everyone should definitely pick someone younger for their favorite this cycle.

You tell me who looks older (Renee is on the left, Celia is on the right):

3.13.2009

Words I Didn't Know

As previously mentioned, I have started reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Right now I'm only 31 pages in, but so far it is amazing. I am enthralled. The only difficulty I've encountered is that my present vocabulary has proved insufficient in providing me with all the word meanings that I need. (In doing a Google search of "omniveillant," I find I'm not the only one.) I might, with another book, have skipped over unknown words, but Kavalier & Clay is so engaging that I feel the need to understand all of it. Therefore, I turned to my two favorite resources: the Oxford English Dictionary and Wikipedia. And, at the risk of embarrassing my mother with my inadequate word-knowledge, I decided to post my findings.

ingot- a mass (usually oblong or brick-shaped) of cast metal, especially of gold or silver, and (in modern use) of steel

Clifton "Kip" Fadiman (May 15, 1904 - June 20, 1999) - an American intellectual, author, radio and television personality

Milton Caniff (February 28, 1907-April 3, 1988) - an American cartoonist famous for the Terry and the Pirates comic strip. In 1934, Caniff was hired by the New York Daily News to produce a new strip for the Chicago Tribune/Daily News syndicate. Daily News publisher Joseph M. Patterson wanted an adventure strip set in the mysterious Orient, what Patterson described as "the last outpost for adventure." Caniff, though knowing almost nothing about China, researched the nation's history and learned about families for whom piracy was a way of life passed down over the generations. The result was Terry and the Pirates, the strip which made Caniff famous.

omniveillant- watching over everything*

loupe-
a small magnifier used by a watchmaker or jeweller

cineraria- a genus of composite plants, mostly natives of South Africa, with blue or purple flowers, but assuming very various colours under cultivation; they are grown as greenhouse or window plants

prestidigitation
- sleight of hand, legerdemain

automaton- something which has the power of spontaneous motion or self-movement

Reichsprotektorat- The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia (German: Reichsprotektorat Böhmen und Mähren), the majority ethnic-Czech protectorate which Nazi Germany established in the central parts of Bohemia, Moravia and Czech Silesia in what is today the Czech Republic. It was established on March 15, 1939 by proclamation of Adolf Hitler from Prague Castle following the declaration of establishment of the independent Slovak Republic on 14 March 1939. Bohemia and Moravia as well as the General Government were autonomous Nazi-administered territories which the Nazi government considered part of "Greater Germany." This came to an end with the surrender of Germany to the Allies of World War II in 1945.

pogrom- in Russia, Poland, and some other East European countries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an organized massacre aimed at the destruction or annihilation of a body or class of people, especially one conducted against Jewish people; generally, an organized, officially tolerated, attack on any community or group

penury- the condition of being destitute; hardship, poverty, need

lachrymose- given or ready to shed tears; of a tearful character, mournful

James Cagney (July 17, 1899 – March 30, 1986) - an American film star. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of roles, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys". In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time.

acromegaly- a disease characterized by hypertrophy and enlargement of the extremities (hypertrophy- enlargement of a part or organ of an animal or plant, produced by excessive nutrition; excessive growth or development)

odeon- a concert hall or theatre

*After an unsuccessful search in the OED, I Googled "omniveillant" and found that it's not a real word; Michael Chabon invented it and expected his readers, intelligent and familiar with Latin word-roots, to figure it out for themselves.

3.09.2009

15 Things To Do On Spring Break

  1. Eat out at the CKF to celebrate finishing midterms.
  2. Get hair cut. Come home, decide hair looks awful, go back to hair cuttery, get hair cut again.
  3. Finally finish Atlas Shrugged. Wonder if you'll ever read a book that good again in your lifetime.
  4. Read rumors about an Atlas Shrugged movie, start thinking of who you'd cast as each character.
  5. Write Eric a letter, make Eric cookies, go to the post office to send Eric a package.
  6. Visit Alice and play with Kate.
  7. Watch reruns of America's Next Top Model until you're bored out of your mind, then go play Putt-Putt with Christian.
  8. Watch the premiere of the 12th season of America's Next Top Model. Decide Fo is your new favorite to win, Tahlia is your new favorite to be eliminated.
  9. Learn how to make egg rolls.
  10. Start reading The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
  11. Go over to Catherine and Bryan's house, eat pizza and brownies, watch The Office and 30 Rock again, e-file taxes, play with Catherine's new MacBook Pro.
  12. Stay up way late every night. Get up way late every morning.
  13. Get ready for a weekend out of town. Take a shower, pack, break your hair dryer, try to fix it, decide it's hopeless, go to Target to buy a new one. Finish packing.
  14. Visit Matt and Melissa in Charlotte for their baby's blessing. Spend 85% of your time there sleeping. Wonder why you are so tired.
  15. Put off getting ready to go back to school.
Pictures:

3.06.2009

A Few Pictures

One day in January, all the girls in my family spent some time together at Alice's. I've been trying to get the pictures from Alice ever since, and she finally sent them to me on Wednesday, so here they are.