Sunday, March 23, 2008
Happy Easter!
Tis the season where a giant furry bunny rides his sleigh (pulled by fluffy Easter puppies) and delivers chocolate and turkeys to all the good girls and boys.
He also brings lumps of Cadbury coal to the bad ones.
Personally I prefer the Cadbury eggs to the turkeys, and choose to live my life accordingly.
So, Happy Easter!
(The message is directed to everyone in this big world. But doubly, possibly triple-y, so for Granny, Kimmy, and Mommy!)
Tis the season where a giant furry bunny rides his sleigh (pulled by fluffy Easter puppies) and delivers chocolate and turkeys to all the good girls and boys.
He also brings lumps of Cadbury coal to the bad ones.
Personally I prefer the Cadbury eggs to the turkeys, and choose to live my life accordingly.
So, Happy Easter!
(The message is directed to everyone in this big world. But doubly, possibly triple-y, so for Granny, Kimmy, and Mommy!)
Friday, March 21, 2008
Dancing with the Stars
Stupid missing camera.
Seriously.
I lost my camera this week. Somewhere on campus is my beautiful shiny under used camera. For the past few months that camera has lived in the pocket of my leather jacket. It has rarely been out for longer that the click of a button. It has barley seen the light of day.
For some god-awful reason I decided to take my camera from my leather and put it into my jeans. This deviation of the norm spelled serious disaster.
Within a few hours my camera was gone, and with it my hopes and dreams of showing you some of the more interesting sights of Korea.
(Namely a shot of me on my shiny motorcycle with the sun setting off in the distance.)
That camera has been with me for years.
And by years I mean, a good many months.
It has traveled the world by my side.
Now it is traveling the world by someone else’s side.
Or possibly hiding under someone else’s couch.
Regardless, it is no longer in my pocket. It is no longer there to document the messed up things that happen on this campus. And in this world.
They say a picture is worth 1000 words.
Lets see if I can paint one of those word pictures that would do the scene before me the justice it deserves.
I have mentioned before that my campus often plays host to a multitude of TV commercials, music videos, and movies.
For the past few days there has been a lot of activity. I went to work yesterday and saw a crane sitting smack in the middle of campus. Surrounding it was a variety of set-like pieces.
Fake bus stops.
Washable graffiti splattered on the walls.
Posters plastered with washable glue to simulate a city street.
And of course a handful of super heroes wandering around.
Normal morning.
I noticed many of the assorted super heroes and various crew members staring upward, so I followed suit and looked up.
Harnessed to wires and dangling from a crane was yet another superhero.
Flying around while to camera crew filmed.
Throughout the day, if you looked out the window at the right time you would see a woman fly by.
A side note on the flying woman. I described her as a super hero only because it was a logical assumption based on the flying and the assortment of Supermen, Spidermen, Mr. Incredables and gorillas wandering around below. I was not based on her appearance.
She was wearing blue jean colored tights with pink splashes.
She was wearing a tight blue jean miniskirt.
She was wearing a black and white long sleeved top with a white tank top over it.
She was wearing large hot pink earmuffs.
She was not wearing a cape. Though that would have totally made the outfit.
The next day I walk to work to find that the set pieces were still up.
The crewmembers were milling around lighting lights and swinging cameras.
The 15-foot inflatable super hero who has spiky black hair with a black cape was still up.
My students were going nuts attempting to see who the big names were. Which star was on campus. Luckily, the stars don’t come out until everything is set and ready to go.
Unfortunately at 4 o’clock, a mere hour before I was off for the day, the big name made his appearance. The music video was ready to shoot.
My students went a bit crazy. We were walking to their next classroom and had to pass the filming. It took wild horses to drag them away.
Wild horses and a great amount of prodding yelling and pinching from me.
After I dropped those evil little children to their class I found I had an hour off for prep time. And what better use of prep time could be found than ogling the stars.
So I did.
I sat on the stairs of our building with a perfect view of the atrocity about to unfold.
The dancing portion of the video was about to begin.
25 people all dressed as a variety of superheroes in a triangle formation began dancing.
Up at the point was our star.
Dressed in all black, except of course for the bright white sunglasses.
And the bright white huge sneakers.
Guitar in hand he began grinding. Leading the group of superhuman dancers in their superhuman dancing.
All with the 15 foot, inflatable, cape wearing, spiky hair having, superdude waving in the background.
It was beautiful.
Where the hell is my camera?
Seriously.
I lost my camera this week. Somewhere on campus is my beautiful shiny under used camera. For the past few months that camera has lived in the pocket of my leather jacket. It has rarely been out for longer that the click of a button. It has barley seen the light of day.
For some god-awful reason I decided to take my camera from my leather and put it into my jeans. This deviation of the norm spelled serious disaster.
Within a few hours my camera was gone, and with it my hopes and dreams of showing you some of the more interesting sights of Korea.
(Namely a shot of me on my shiny motorcycle with the sun setting off in the distance.)
That camera has been with me for years.
And by years I mean, a good many months.
It has traveled the world by my side.
Now it is traveling the world by someone else’s side.
Or possibly hiding under someone else’s couch.
Regardless, it is no longer in my pocket. It is no longer there to document the messed up things that happen on this campus. And in this world.
They say a picture is worth 1000 words.
Lets see if I can paint one of those word pictures that would do the scene before me the justice it deserves.
I have mentioned before that my campus often plays host to a multitude of TV commercials, music videos, and movies.
For the past few days there has been a lot of activity. I went to work yesterday and saw a crane sitting smack in the middle of campus. Surrounding it was a variety of set-like pieces.
Fake bus stops.
Washable graffiti splattered on the walls.
Posters plastered with washable glue to simulate a city street.
And of course a handful of super heroes wandering around.
Normal morning.
I noticed many of the assorted super heroes and various crew members staring upward, so I followed suit and looked up.
Harnessed to wires and dangling from a crane was yet another superhero.
Flying around while to camera crew filmed.
Throughout the day, if you looked out the window at the right time you would see a woman fly by.
A side note on the flying woman. I described her as a super hero only because it was a logical assumption based on the flying and the assortment of Supermen, Spidermen, Mr. Incredables and gorillas wandering around below. I was not based on her appearance.
She was wearing blue jean colored tights with pink splashes.
She was wearing a tight blue jean miniskirt.
She was wearing a black and white long sleeved top with a white tank top over it.
She was wearing large hot pink earmuffs.
She was not wearing a cape. Though that would have totally made the outfit.
The next day I walk to work to find that the set pieces were still up.
The crewmembers were milling around lighting lights and swinging cameras.
The 15-foot inflatable super hero who has spiky black hair with a black cape was still up.
My students were going nuts attempting to see who the big names were. Which star was on campus. Luckily, the stars don’t come out until everything is set and ready to go.
Unfortunately at 4 o’clock, a mere hour before I was off for the day, the big name made his appearance. The music video was ready to shoot.
My students went a bit crazy. We were walking to their next classroom and had to pass the filming. It took wild horses to drag them away.
Wild horses and a great amount of prodding yelling and pinching from me.
After I dropped those evil little children to their class I found I had an hour off for prep time. And what better use of prep time could be found than ogling the stars.
So I did.
I sat on the stairs of our building with a perfect view of the atrocity about to unfold.
The dancing portion of the video was about to begin.
25 people all dressed as a variety of superheroes in a triangle formation began dancing.
Up at the point was our star.
Dressed in all black, except of course for the bright white sunglasses.
And the bright white huge sneakers.
Guitar in hand he began grinding. Leading the group of superhuman dancers in their superhuman dancing.
All with the 15 foot, inflatable, cape wearing, spiky hair having, superdude waving in the background.
It was beautiful.
Where the hell is my camera?
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
For the love of the Game
Euchre* is a great game.
Last night I planned a Euchre tourney on campus.
We had 16 people playing in a heated battle of cards.
Obscenities were yelled with all the venom necessary to express a missed trick.
Or a misplaced Bauer.
Or that moment when the tides turn and the losing team takes back the game.
No doubt that emotions were running high. Friendships might have been ripped asunder, at least for an hour or two.
I held in. My partner and I were kicking ass through the first two rounds. Dominating the opposition.
Leaving them crying in their beer.
We made it to the finals. The pressure of every dollar bet (1 buck each) was resting heavy on our shoulders.
The game was tight. Points staying tied. Both teams inching their way to the 10 mark.
Then, something that will haunt me for the rest of my life, or at least another 5 minutes, occurred. We were all dealt a shitty hand.
Both teams, with 8 points each, held the worst collection of cards imaginable.
No one choose a suit. We played Screw the Dealer. My partner had to choose a suit based on a hand of 9’s and 10’s.
Needless to say that last hand was a tight one.
Also, needless to say, we lost. The prospect of 16 dollars fluttered out the window right along with our pride.
It was a tragic night.
I will be planning another for next month. And next time, oh next time, it will be my time to take the glory.
*Euchre is a card game popular in the mid-west. Oddly enough, much of the rest of the world have never heard of it. But they will, oh yes, they will…
Last night I planned a Euchre tourney on campus.
We had 16 people playing in a heated battle of cards.
Obscenities were yelled with all the venom necessary to express a missed trick.
Or a misplaced Bauer.
Or that moment when the tides turn and the losing team takes back the game.
No doubt that emotions were running high. Friendships might have been ripped asunder, at least for an hour or two.
I held in. My partner and I were kicking ass through the first two rounds. Dominating the opposition.
Leaving them crying in their beer.
We made it to the finals. The pressure of every dollar bet (1 buck each) was resting heavy on our shoulders.
The game was tight. Points staying tied. Both teams inching their way to the 10 mark.
Then, something that will haunt me for the rest of my life, or at least another 5 minutes, occurred. We were all dealt a shitty hand.
Both teams, with 8 points each, held the worst collection of cards imaginable.
No one choose a suit. We played Screw the Dealer. My partner had to choose a suit based on a hand of 9’s and 10’s.
Needless to say that last hand was a tight one.
Also, needless to say, we lost. The prospect of 16 dollars fluttered out the window right along with our pride.
It was a tragic night.
I will be planning another for next month. And next time, oh next time, it will be my time to take the glory.
*Euchre is a card game popular in the mid-west. Oddly enough, much of the rest of the world have never heard of it. But they will, oh yes, they will…
