Update to the favorite words listing:
Andromache
bailiwick
Brennan's (restaurant in New Orleans)
Cassiopeia
claim
Claudia (if your name means lame/crippled, at least it's a pretty name)
concerto
Danaë
Dioscuri
Galatoire's (restaurant in New Orleans)
increase
Julian
Leda
Livia
peregrine
Pléiade
provisionally
reason
umbrella pine
unconscionable
untenable
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
February - not so boring after all
February is usually a pretty boring month but last week was kind of a big deal on campus.
1). Men's Basketball players were involved in an alcohol-related car accident, followed by some more poor decisions. For all that I understand what a tough, pressure-cooker life that student athletes lead, I find it hard to excuse that kind of behaviour. And let's be realistic - underage students drink and drive often. And I don't give "regular" underage students any more (or less) mental slack than I would the basketball players because their impaired presence on the road is endangering my life just as much as a drunken underage athlete (or drunken middle-aged couch potato). I just suspect that there's a sense of entitlement among some student athletes, a sense that they can behave as they wish and not get reprimanded too severely because they're stars on campus and, hey, they've earned a little R&R. Perhaps they might feel they are *owed* a little R&R. I generally chafe at the thought of entitlement in most forms. The world owes you nothing, but I digress. Back to student athletes. This whole incident reminds me of an article I read in the Chronicle of Higher Education: Morality Play: A U of Idaho professor says college athletes are ethically impaired, but can be taught to think differently.
2). The University was shut down to all but essential personnel on 2/13 and 2/14 because of blizzard conditions. The official word was that plows were not able to clear sidewalks, forcing students to walk in the streets and the powers-that-be decided that was an untenable situation. Needless to say, I was non-essential, so I holed up in my bat cave since I couldn't even get out the front door on Tuesday. I used the time to come up with a recipe for lemon-ginger sorbet.
3) The whole Chief thing. See previous post. I try so hard to not get involved in arguments. That would include arguments about the Chief but I finally felt compelled to explain my reasons for my position to my mom. I think she understood.
1). Men's Basketball players were involved in an alcohol-related car accident, followed by some more poor decisions. For all that I understand what a tough, pressure-cooker life that student athletes lead, I find it hard to excuse that kind of behaviour. And let's be realistic - underage students drink and drive often. And I don't give "regular" underage students any more (or less) mental slack than I would the basketball players because their impaired presence on the road is endangering my life just as much as a drunken underage athlete (or drunken middle-aged couch potato). I just suspect that there's a sense of entitlement among some student athletes, a sense that they can behave as they wish and not get reprimanded too severely because they're stars on campus and, hey, they've earned a little R&R. Perhaps they might feel they are *owed* a little R&R. I generally chafe at the thought of entitlement in most forms. The world owes you nothing, but I digress. Back to student athletes. This whole incident reminds me of an article I read in the Chronicle of Higher Education: Morality Play: A U of Idaho professor says college athletes are ethically impaired, but can be taught to think differently.
2). The University was shut down to all but essential personnel on 2/13 and 2/14 because of blizzard conditions. The official word was that plows were not able to clear sidewalks, forcing students to walk in the streets and the powers-that-be decided that was an untenable situation. Needless to say, I was non-essential, so I holed up in my bat cave since I couldn't even get out the front door on Tuesday. I used the time to come up with a recipe for lemon-ginger sorbet.
3) The whole Chief thing. See previous post. I try so hard to not get involved in arguments. That would include arguments about the Chief but I finally felt compelled to explain my reasons for my position to my mom. I think she understood.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Say goodbye to the Chief
According to the U of I's press release announcement today, the Chief's last performance at the University of Illinois will be during halftime at the last Men's Basketball home game of the 2006-07 season (February 21, 2007).
Monday, February 12, 2007
beat/beet
Random updates from the week of 2/4-2/11:
on the beat
On 2/4, I attended a seminar in Evanston, IL on the Northwestern campus that was hosted by both a senior editor and a frequently contributing writer for National Geographic Traveler magazine. One part of the seminar required the participants to put some of the morning's knowledge to immediate use by crafting our own article pitch. There were about 80 people in the seminar (mostly women by a factor of about 8:1) and I'm not sure how many people submitted pitches, but let's say it was about 35. My pitch was one of a handful that got selected by the senior editor to discuss in front of the entire group, so that was gratifying (if a tad nerve-wracking) since I've had no formal journalism training or experience. According to the senior editor, the article I pitched would have been good for a segment that was formerly contained within the magazine but that did not survive the restructuring. The editor did recommend, however, that I round-up a total of six sites that function similarly to the idea proposed and pitch the resulting article to a newspaper. Previously she and the writer had mentioned USA Today as a good newspaper to pitch to for travel-related stories, but she didn't mention a particular paper with my pitch so uh... I'm evaluating my options. At any rate, I'm working on that and I have three sites in mind right now so I guess that leaves me with three more to suss out. On top of that, I have thought of a place I'd like to review for "The Long Weekend" segment of NG Traveler.
The bottom line of the whole seminar was that I came out of it with a huge insight into the world of freelance writing for magazines, contact info for the senior editors who would review pitches for NG Traveler, and a brand spanking new edition of the NG Traveler magazine that is still not on the newsstands (the edition that happens to be the first edition of their newly updated format). I can't look at magazines in quite the same relaxed and recreational way I did before - now I see the "front-of-book" material, the "feature well," service pieces, and round-ups. I see the reverse engineering of the articles, so to speak, and I feel like I've been shown the secret workings of a magic trick but without the let-down.
beat downs
I attended my first hockey game on Friday night. The smell was awful (like a locker room left to rot)... but it was pretty fun, and surprisingly entertaining to see players get smashed up against the wall. I know that sounds terrible, but it's true. Brought back old memories of high school p.e. floor hockey too, which were glory days indeed.
beet chips
Saturday, I got what must have been the last order of beet chips at Crane Alley. Mmmm... their beet chips are tasty anyway, but they had that extra special pinch of exclusivity and because-I-have-it-you-can't-have-it.
she's got the beat
I watched some of the Grammys last night and happened to catch Christina Aguilera's performance honoring James Brown. Now, I'm no Christina Aguilera fan but her performance of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" was powerful and captivating, showy in a James Brown kind of way, but without straying into caricature. Well done.
on the beat
On 2/4, I attended a seminar in Evanston, IL on the Northwestern campus that was hosted by both a senior editor and a frequently contributing writer for National Geographic Traveler magazine. One part of the seminar required the participants to put some of the morning's knowledge to immediate use by crafting our own article pitch. There were about 80 people in the seminar (mostly women by a factor of about 8:1) and I'm not sure how many people submitted pitches, but let's say it was about 35. My pitch was one of a handful that got selected by the senior editor to discuss in front of the entire group, so that was gratifying (if a tad nerve-wracking) since I've had no formal journalism training or experience. According to the senior editor, the article I pitched would have been good for a segment that was formerly contained within the magazine but that did not survive the restructuring. The editor did recommend, however, that I round-up a total of six sites that function similarly to the idea proposed and pitch the resulting article to a newspaper. Previously she and the writer had mentioned USA Today as a good newspaper to pitch to for travel-related stories, but she didn't mention a particular paper with my pitch so uh... I'm evaluating my options. At any rate, I'm working on that and I have three sites in mind right now so I guess that leaves me with three more to suss out. On top of that, I have thought of a place I'd like to review for "The Long Weekend" segment of NG Traveler.
The bottom line of the whole seminar was that I came out of it with a huge insight into the world of freelance writing for magazines, contact info for the senior editors who would review pitches for NG Traveler, and a brand spanking new edition of the NG Traveler magazine that is still not on the newsstands (the edition that happens to be the first edition of their newly updated format). I can't look at magazines in quite the same relaxed and recreational way I did before - now I see the "front-of-book" material, the "feature well," service pieces, and round-ups. I see the reverse engineering of the articles, so to speak, and I feel like I've been shown the secret workings of a magic trick but without the let-down.
beat downs
I attended my first hockey game on Friday night. The smell was awful (like a locker room left to rot)... but it was pretty fun, and surprisingly entertaining to see players get smashed up against the wall. I know that sounds terrible, but it's true. Brought back old memories of high school p.e. floor hockey too, which were glory days indeed.
beet chips
Saturday, I got what must have been the last order of beet chips at Crane Alley. Mmmm... their beet chips are tasty anyway, but they had that extra special pinch of exclusivity and because-I-have-it-you-can't-have-it.
she's got the beat
I watched some of the Grammys last night and happened to catch Christina Aguilera's performance honoring James Brown. Now, I'm no Christina Aguilera fan but her performance of "It's a Man's Man's Man's World" was powerful and captivating, showy in a James Brown kind of way, but without straying into caricature. Well done.
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Goal-tending 2007
Resolutions made on 02/06/07 for the year 2007:
Resolution #1: Talk to 15 people who work in fields I'm interested in, which would be publishing (copy-editing, travel writing, and food writing specifically), working as a chef, or translation (French-English/English-French).
Resolution #2: Land a job in publishing. This could even be a freelance assignment.
Resolution #3: Take at least one trip requiring the use of an airplane.
Resolution #4: Continue on the TIME magazine list of the 100 Best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.
Resolution #1: Talk to 15 people who work in fields I'm interested in, which would be publishing (copy-editing, travel writing, and food writing specifically), working as a chef, or translation (French-English/English-French).
Resolution #2: Land a job in publishing. This could even be a freelance assignment.
Resolution #3: Take at least one trip requiring the use of an airplane.
Resolution #4: Continue on the TIME magazine list of the 100 Best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.
Goal-tending (on-going project)
Resolution made on 01/12/06 for all years subsequent to 2006 until completion of goal: Read the top 100 Best Novels. Now, this resolution has changed somewhat because initially I was working from "The Modern Library" list of the 100 Best Novels published in English, compiled by Random House. I have since decided I like the TIME magazine list better. So. What did I read in 2006 from that list?
I, Claudius
Infinite Jest
Pale Fire
The Sun Also Rises
Prior to 2006, I had also read the following books appearing on that list:
Beloved
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Rings
Neuromancer
1984
Slaughterhouse-Five
Under the Volcano
I, Claudius
Infinite Jest
Pale Fire
The Sun Also Rises
Prior to 2006, I had also read the following books appearing on that list:
Beloved
The Catcher in the Rye
The Great Gatsby
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Lord of the Flies
The Lord of the Rings
Neuromancer
1984
Slaughterhouse-Five
Under the Volcano
Goal-tending (2006 report)
How did I fare on last year's resolutions?
Resolutions made on 01/02/06 for the year 2006:
Resolution #1: Start and maintain an online journal. The results? I did start and maintain a livejournal blog (49 entries over the course of 11 months), and then mosied on over to blogger this past November (with 12 posts in 2 months). Resolution accomplished.
Resolution #2: Submit applications to 15 jobs that interest me. The results? I applied to 2 jobs in 2006. One was a cool one in San Francisco. One was the position I currently cover. Resolution resoundingly not accomplished, but I'm okay with that since I ended up with a promotion/new job anyway. There's always 2007.
Resolution #3: Take three different trips to visit friends - must travel beyond a 50-mile radius from home to qualify as a trip. The results? In July, I managed to visit two friends in Chicago on one single trip. In August, I visited a family friend in Chicago and met up with another friend. I traveled to Crystal Lake for a the bridal shower of an old friend. Resolution accomplished.
2006 Final score: 2 out of 3. And you know what Meatloaf says: "2 out of 3 ain't bad."
Resolutions made on 01/02/06 for the year 2006:
Resolution #1: Start and maintain an online journal. The results? I did start and maintain a livejournal blog (49 entries over the course of 11 months), and then mosied on over to blogger this past November (with 12 posts in 2 months). Resolution accomplished.
Resolution #2: Submit applications to 15 jobs that interest me. The results? I applied to 2 jobs in 2006. One was a cool one in San Francisco. One was the position I currently cover. Resolution resoundingly not accomplished, but I'm okay with that since I ended up with a promotion/new job anyway. There's always 2007.
Resolution #3: Take three different trips to visit friends - must travel beyond a 50-mile radius from home to qualify as a trip. The results? In July, I managed to visit two friends in Chicago on one single trip. In August, I visited a family friend in Chicago and met up with another friend. I traveled to Crystal Lake for a the bridal shower of an old friend. Resolution accomplished.
2006 Final score: 2 out of 3. And you know what Meatloaf says: "2 out of 3 ain't bad."
Thursday, February 1, 2007
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