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Gully Brook Press |
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Friday, April 30, 2004 ( 2:30 PM ) me Last night we saw Marisol, the final play of the season at the university. Afterwards, I thought if I had to choose one word to describe it, that word would be "shrill." The performances were strong, the set was excellent, the sound, music, lighting was great. It presented a lot to think about...was Marisol already dead the whole time? Was it a vision the future or the present full of symbolism? It did a good job of displaying the ever-present fear and grittiness of a dangerous, lonely urban landscape. On the other hand, the story was a nightmare. Many of the references to God were offensive, and it left me with a terrible headache - not a migraine exactly, but from tension, frustration and anxiety - one of the back-of-the-head, back-of-the-neck variety. It didn't help that the the theatre felt like it was about 150 degrees. The audience was 95% students this time, and many were required to go for some class. They had to write a paper, and some were taking notes. I don't think it is a stretch to observe that many didn't care for the play, and that it also may have been "over the heads" of some. That's not intended as an insult, the play was confusing, and I think life experience helps with interpreting it. That's not to say I really "got" it, either. But I keep coming back to shrill. That sums it up. Anyway, all in all, the theatre department's performances are impressive, and a bargain. After seeing all four shows this year, I am definitely going to get season's tickets next year. # Thursday, April 22, 2004 ( 4:44 PM ) me Fountain Day has quieted down. Only four students (out of 39) showed up at class today. # ( 12:41 PM ) me Today is Fountain Day. The din is...deafening. (I know, that is redundant). I think I will have to cancel class. # ( 12:05 AM ) me I am finally caught up! It took my just over a month to recover from the computer crash. Just in time for the end of the semester deadlines... Actually - I'm caught up for my classes. In terms of things I wanted to do (install and try out DSL, follow up on the Mimmie book) I am still behind. And, there are several tasks I still have to do to be at status quo with the Netvista - I did not reinstall much software. But it still feels good to have all the student work evaluated. And, the beautiful weather meant I just had to steal away and do some yardwork. # Monday, April 19, 2004 ( 11:45 PM ) me I'm fuming about this pending bill. (Thanks to ML). Some nitwits have introduced legislation in the assembly that would require dog owners to carry liability insurance. That is the most infuriating part of the proposal, but new orange tags that all dogs must wear proving they are insured is another provision. They have labeled this waste of time "Elijah's Law," for some little kid who was mauled by a Rottweiler. Now, I have all the sympathy in the world for his family, and no patience with people who have mean dogs, but I really dislike the recent years' obsession with plastering some victim's name on all these absurd pieces of legislation (except, that is, the Buster Bill, because it protects animals from abuse). {Is that logical? No...but don't you dare mess with animals.} I also dislike so-called dangerous breed bans. There are no dangerous breeds, just screwed up, good for nothing people. Anyway, I greatly resent the idea that because some loser owns a mean dog that hurt a child, I have to carry insurance on my dogs, who are never allowed out of my sight, spend their lives in fenced yards, and when we go for a walk - they are always leashed. They are both licensed. They are actually not really child proof - oh, Rudy is good natured enough, but Sophie has too many of her own needs to have patience for kids. But they are not exactly kid maulers either, and they are never around little kids, dog-fearing types and dog haters unless Bob or I are around (actually, they are never around dog haters at all, because I wouldn't spend one minute of my time with such people). I am not going for one more legal scam (insurance), and my dogs are not wearing stupid orange tags. The dog warden can just try to seize them. Make my day. Well - the bill was referred to committee. Hopefully, there it will stay. I tried to call up the email address for my two representatives - Castleton and Samsonville - and guess what? I went into hourglass never-never land. Of course! Wouldn't want constituent input or anything. # Thursday, April 08, 2004 ( 3:29 PM ) me A few days ago, my niece went on a trip to Montreal with 4H, and on the last day, someone stole their van, with all the teens' and chaperone's luggage, etc. inside. She lost many CDs, some clothes, school notebooks, and a scarf that she was almost finished making; my mother recently taught her to knit and this was her first project. What mean, miserable person would rip off the Cornell Cooperative Extension and some kids, I wonder? It is sad for them to be taught a lesson in losing trust, on what should have been a fun experience, one of their first times traveling without family. On a brighter note, a few weeks ago, a friend of mine in Minnesota asked me to send her a picture of a sign of Spring, as soon as I had one. Well - I've had all sorts of computer problems, a big work backlog, plus not much time to play with my camera, and Spring has been very slow in arriving. But, I have been looking. Last weekend, in Samsonville, I found a bulb coming up - but the camera wasn't handy. The season isn't quite as advanced in Castleton, but in the freezing cold temperatures of Monday, I ventured out to find something. I took a quick picture of some tiger lilies. It isn't a very nice picture, but that is all I could manage. Then, today, the weather is nicer and I saw that the lilac is starting to bud.  Now this is cheating, I'm sure there is this sign of Spring in supermarkets everywhere.  # Friday, April 02, 2004 ( 3:41 PM ) me This is irritating. I want those creeps to fry. # |
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