I used to call myself ‘the once and future history major’ because, yes, kind readers, I did think (in some small, brilliant remnant of myself that I fancy might be a soul) that majoring in History was just as important as being king.
Archive for December, 2009
The Gracious Silence (or, Self-Preservation)
Thursday, December 31st, 2009Review – Apple iPod touch
Wednesday, December 30th, 2009This technology has been available for a while, but as a shameless Luddite (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/luddite) I am generally well behind when it comes to modern advances. (Perhaps my painfully old-fashioned mode of incorporating links in my blogs bears evidence of that.
Frenemy Mine
Saturday, December 26th, 2009I’ve had an enjoyable holiday season, I’ve made new friends, reconnected with old ones, and find myself reflecting that what I enjoy most about the end of the year is the extra effort people make to reach out to each other. And I found myself thinking, albeit very briefly, about friendship and a lesson some dozen years in the making.
Product Review – natural deordorants
Tuesday, December 22nd, 2009One hears a lot of scary stuff from the rumor mill and all the urban legends making the circuit. That anti-perspirant is linked to breast cancer has not been proven (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Risk/AP-Deo) but I heard it enough to ask myself: why not find a more natural product? Why not, indeed?
Becoming the Perfect Customer
Thursday, December 17th, 2009Behaving well almost always behooves you. That is especially true when eating out. Having spent ample time behind the scenes in the food industry, I can assure you, one and all, that if you mistreat the people that prepare and ferry your food, you run a high risk of it being tampered with. (By ‘tampered’ I mean deliberately over-or-under-cooked, spit upon, dropped on the floor, or any other monkey shines the staff come up with.) Be nice to the food handlers. They are generally overworked, underpaid, routinely disrespected, and itching for revenge.
Review – The History of Rome (podcast)
Tuesday, December 15th, 2009In a digital age, staunch historians sometime resist embracing the most new-fangled of technology. Luckily, even the most devout luddite can be persuaded to navigate the mystery of podcasting when rewards such as The History of Rome await.
Winter Driving
Sunday, December 13th, 2009Idaho’s Road Report: http://hb.511.idaho.gov/main.jsf is among my most frequently checked sites during the winter months. I was raised by two parents of different minds on the subject of winter driving, one who would drive in any weather conditions, and one who would not drive on icy roads for all the tea in the Orient. Because I enjoyed the tutelage of the former I, too, drive in all conditions.
Winter (and RPGs)
Sunday, December 13th, 2009Sting says that winter is the season of the imagination, and I have to agree – and not just because I’m an ardent fan. Staying bundled safe indoors against the early nights and harsh weather lends itself to my favorite pastime: storytelling. I’ve always liked stories, and, as an extension of that, role playing games.
Forth Eorlingas!
Friday, December 11th, 2009It’s a fine week for the liberal arts major when not one, but two separate employers say they value your ablilty enough to hire you. (Or, offer you a longer term position than you’d bargained for – that’s like getting hired!) I remember anticipating such a week, or some moment akin to it, and every time would think of King Theodin roaring “Forth Eorlingas!” and imagine myself so boldly riding into the challenge of my professional future (liberal arts major, I get to wax poetic).
Review: “The Men Who Stare at Goats”
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009Ewan McGregor and George Clooney team up in this Grant Heslov film, described thusly by the IMDB: “A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.”