(no subject)
Dec. 8th, 2004 10:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kleenexwomanFor once I have nothing that needs to be done within the next three days. My homework is finished, my credits for next semester finally amount to 15, and my laundry has already been done and smells nice. Shock. Awe. Cookies.
So I’m busying myself writing things for other people (and drawing a little too, although I am a truly crappy artist; my repertoire is limited to watercolor paintings of depressed flowers and nifty patterns on Microsoft Paint). Question for experienced Fans: Would it be a breach of etiquette to ask people to beta-read each other’s Christmas gifts I’m writing for them? I sadly cannot ask my English class to workshop them, as we met for the last time today to eat cupcakes and read nifty stories. Yo, Andrea—turn that baby into a screenplay and meet us on Sunday for chai and criticism.
I love the classes I’ve got next semester. I’ve got Hispanic Culture (multicultural requirement, should be fairly easy after taking four years of immersion Spanish), Intro to Logic (yes, I do need this), Behavioral Economics (I’m not sure whether this is sociology or actual econ, but either way it had empty seats and sounded promising), Music Appreciation Listening Experience (I already appreciate the hell out of music, now let’s see if I do it correctly) and Social Psychology (otherwise known as Socialism, Liberalism, and Fascism—this is right after the Logic class, which should help me somewhat).
Actually, I loved (most of) the classes I had this semester, too.
English, workshops, and an interesting young professor you already know about. Ah, Mr. Yakich, what shall I do without you and your inspiration? As well as your Magic Marker drawings.
Mass Media, that driftnet of academia with a professor who’s wonderfully cynical about the subject. I say driftnet because somehow Prof. Boudreau happened to light on anything I happened to be learning from another class, and often things I was just thinking about.
Example: A debate on Internet ethics and censorship during the same debate in that loathed CPS 100 (Boudreau took the side that the Internet should not be censored, making me gleeful and allowing me to defend porn sites even as I had to write preachy, one-sided essays on How Hackers Are Evil Zombies And Using Kazaa Makes Baby Jesus Cry Hot Tears for that Computers For Braindeads class).
Example: Discussion of the social influence of rebellious music in the 20th century the day after I had a long debate on my little brother over the very same thing; during the discussion it was revealed that Boudreau is quite a big fan of the MC5, and to back this up played “Kick Out the Jams.” It was a wonderful experience hearing the line “KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!” echoing in the hallowed silent halls of Anspach. The classroom next door threw something at the wall to shut us up.
Example: A class discussion on advertisements, during which I pointed out the fact that endorsements which seem to come as recommendations or casual mentions rather than actual advertisements are effective as hell. (Boudreau kindly e-mailed me this article afterwards.) The second half of the class was taken up by the showing of a filmstrip about product placement. Guess which 1980s time-travel movie was shown as an example of strategic product placement? The clips (Pepsi and Pizza Hut among them; I still prefer Coke and Little Caesar’s) came hard on the heels of thoughts pondering my own sheeplike willingness to temporarily switch to different brands on an ironic whim (examples that occur to me now include eating Cocoa Puffs because of the title of a Chuck Klosterman book, or trying Pocari Sweat because William Gibson had one of his characters wonder about the name).
The coincidence happened to be that I was mentally tallying the Tootsie Roll Pops I had consumed after reading![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
drworm’s The World May Never Know, possibly in a subconscious attempt to get Crispin Glover (Obligatory reference!) to kiss me, despite the fact that I am neither Michael J. Fox nor a 23-year-old blonde (hiss, fftt, I know a couple certain people who would look far better hanging off his arm than she does. My God, does he have horrid taste in women. Maybe I’ll Photoshop Marilyn Manson into her place, just because). So far, my cunning plan of Tootsie Pop consumption has only succeeded in giving me colored tongues and a few sugar rushes. But one can dream.
Fannishly obsessive tangents aside, I’m planning to take Astronomy 311 next year. According to Prof. Osborn, it’s an in-depth look at such subjects as black holes and life on other planets. Very valuable for an aspiring SF novelist, and taught by him as well, which I’m glad of because he’s an excellent teacher and always available to discuss things after class. The topic today was cosmology; I felt as though I was learning the secrets of the universe, which, in fact, I was. I was also reminded that entropy and homogeneity are not one and the same; entropy is randomness no matter how complex, and homogeneity has no requirements for either complexity or randomness. I have to keep this in mind.
In any case, I must go and heat up one of the four cans of off-brand spaghetti and meatballs that my mercurial roommate (such a nice girl) has presented me with, for I have missed dinner and only had sushi and cupcake for lunch. I now crave rice, soy sauce, and raw fish, available at the library cafeteria just 4 floors away…but I only have a dollar and I used up all my Flexbucks. (If anyone would like to buy me some Flexbucks for Christmas I’ll write a poem for you.)
So I’m busying myself writing things for other people (and drawing a little too, although I am a truly crappy artist; my repertoire is limited to watercolor paintings of depressed flowers and nifty patterns on Microsoft Paint). Question for experienced Fans: Would it be a breach of etiquette to ask people to beta-read each other’s Christmas gifts I’m writing for them? I sadly cannot ask my English class to workshop them, as we met for the last time today to eat cupcakes and read nifty stories. Yo, Andrea—turn that baby into a screenplay and meet us on Sunday for chai and criticism.
I love the classes I’ve got next semester. I’ve got Hispanic Culture (multicultural requirement, should be fairly easy after taking four years of immersion Spanish), Intro to Logic (yes, I do need this), Behavioral Economics (I’m not sure whether this is sociology or actual econ, but either way it had empty seats and sounded promising), Music Appreciation Listening Experience (I already appreciate the hell out of music, now let’s see if I do it correctly) and Social Psychology (otherwise known as Socialism, Liberalism, and Fascism—this is right after the Logic class, which should help me somewhat).
Actually, I loved (most of) the classes I had this semester, too.
English, workshops, and an interesting young professor you already know about. Ah, Mr. Yakich, what shall I do without you and your inspiration? As well as your Magic Marker drawings.
Mass Media, that driftnet of academia with a professor who’s wonderfully cynical about the subject. I say driftnet because somehow Prof. Boudreau happened to light on anything I happened to be learning from another class, and often things I was just thinking about.
Example: A debate on Internet ethics and censorship during the same debate in that loathed CPS 100 (Boudreau took the side that the Internet should not be censored, making me gleeful and allowing me to defend porn sites even as I had to write preachy, one-sided essays on How Hackers Are Evil Zombies And Using Kazaa Makes Baby Jesus Cry Hot Tears for that Computers For Braindeads class).
Example: Discussion of the social influence of rebellious music in the 20th century the day after I had a long debate on my little brother over the very same thing; during the discussion it was revealed that Boudreau is quite a big fan of the MC5, and to back this up played “Kick Out the Jams.” It was a wonderful experience hearing the line “KICK OUT THE JAMS, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!!” echoing in the hallowed silent halls of Anspach. The classroom next door threw something at the wall to shut us up.
Example: A class discussion on advertisements, during which I pointed out the fact that endorsements which seem to come as recommendations or casual mentions rather than actual advertisements are effective as hell. (Boudreau kindly e-mailed me this article afterwards.) The second half of the class was taken up by the showing of a filmstrip about product placement. Guess which 1980s time-travel movie was shown as an example of strategic product placement? The clips (Pepsi and Pizza Hut among them; I still prefer Coke and Little Caesar’s) came hard on the heels of thoughts pondering my own sheeplike willingness to temporarily switch to different brands on an ironic whim (examples that occur to me now include eating Cocoa Puffs because of the title of a Chuck Klosterman book, or trying Pocari Sweat because William Gibson had one of his characters wonder about the name).
The coincidence happened to be that I was mentally tallying the Tootsie Roll Pops I had consumed after reading
drworm’s The World May Never Know, possibly in a subconscious attempt to get Crispin Glover (Obligatory reference!) to kiss me, despite the fact that I am neither Michael J. Fox nor a 23-year-old blonde (hiss, fftt, I Fannishly obsessive tangents aside, I’m planning to take Astronomy 311 next year. According to Prof. Osborn, it’s an in-depth look at such subjects as black holes and life on other planets. Very valuable for an aspiring SF novelist, and taught by him as well, which I’m glad of because he’s an excellent teacher and always available to discuss things after class. The topic today was cosmology; I felt as though I was learning the secrets of the universe, which, in fact, I was. I was also reminded that entropy and homogeneity are not one and the same; entropy is randomness no matter how complex, and homogeneity has no requirements for either complexity or randomness. I have to keep this in mind.
In any case, I must go and heat up one of the four cans of off-brand spaghetti and meatballs that my mercurial roommate (such a nice girl) has presented me with, for I have missed dinner and only had sushi and cupcake for lunch. I now crave rice, soy sauce, and raw fish, available at the library cafeteria just 4 floors away…but I only have a dollar and I used up all my Flexbucks. (If anyone would like to buy me some Flexbucks for Christmas I’ll write a poem for you.)
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-09 04:17 am (UTC)yes, Crispin has the most wretched taste in partners EVER. seriously. he can say what he wants, but his 'type' is ugly ass crackwhores apparently. bah all over that!
oh yeah... hi :) my name's Daryn!
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-09 04:51 am (UTC)Yeah, Logic is under Philosophy here too, but it's a MTH class. Or maybe it was under math but a PHL class. I can't remember. We have a lot of multidisciplinary crossovers. Dang liberal arts colleges.
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-09 05:07 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-09 05:12 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-09 05:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-09 02:06 pm (UTC)E-mail me and we shall speak more of this screenplay idea of yours. You think it would work?
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-10 08:44 pm (UTC)And I shall E-mail you (after I go over your story again). Or, if you're ever on AIM or YIM...
(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-10 09:16 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-10 09:17 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-10 08:43 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2004-12-11 08:46 pm (UTC)And man, you're right. Crispin has the most embaressing taste in women - he has a 14 year old closet-masturbator's taste in women. Seriously, he needs to date someone closer to his own age and with more brain cells than teeth. Or, um, me.