learning things
I've been spending my days at work typing deposition testimony (about a defamation case with honest-to-goodness confidential sources! -- but the typing is so boring!) and poking at the internet a lot; I've been spending my evenings with friends. So, a brief summary of things I've discovered over the last three days.
- The French-developed art of parkour. A practitioner just runs, mostly through urban environments, climbing/vaulting/jumping everything in his way. The first video I saw, featuring lithe Russians vaulting to French rap, is here.
- Speaking of YouTube, what a treasure trove! I've been watching A Bit of Fry & Laurie sketches, so funny that I couldn't keep from laughing out loud at my cubicle. I've also finally watched clips of the Hassidic reggae artist, Matisyahu. And an impressive fan-created lightsaber duel.
- Truman Capote's childhood friend was a lady named Nelle Harper Lee. In Capote, he kept calling her 'Nelle', and I did not figure out that she is the Harper Lee until the movie revealed it. Wow! :) In a later scene in Capote, he mutters to himself, 'I can't understand what all the fuss is about', after attending a screening of To Kill A Mockingbird; I'd barely heard of him before the movie, and don't care much for him after seeing it, but I've loved her book for years. So there, Truman!
- Philadelphia is a small city. OK, I didn't discover this recently; I've known it for awhile. But this week, perhaps because of the coming of spring, I've realized that again. In Rittenhouse Square, as the ritual dancers stood around chatting, I saw both the owners of the happy produce market walk by, as well as one of the priests from St. Mark's (Fr. Mullen, for naamah). None of them know who I am, of course, and we weren't dancing yet, so they didn't stop. Oh well. Last week, I recognized some '05 sports players from Swarthmore when I was at a pub near UPenn, and last night, Lauren mentioned all the '05ers she's seen walking around or at the UPenn gym (including uncleamos).
- Somehow, I find myself wanting to do something challenging and exercising. I'm looking forward to biking, or at least working on my bike, this weekend. I want to try new kinds of dancing. Most of all, I really want to try something that challenges my body, something extreme, something like parkour. Any suggestions?
- The French-developed art of parkour. A practitioner just runs, mostly through urban environments, climbing/vaulting/jumping everything in his way. The first video I saw, featuring lithe Russians vaulting to French rap, is here.
- Speaking of YouTube, what a treasure trove! I've been watching A Bit of Fry & Laurie sketches, so funny that I couldn't keep from laughing out loud at my cubicle. I've also finally watched clips of the Hassidic reggae artist, Matisyahu. And an impressive fan-created lightsaber duel.
- Truman Capote's childhood friend was a lady named Nelle Harper Lee. In Capote, he kept calling her 'Nelle', and I did not figure out that she is the Harper Lee until the movie revealed it. Wow! :) In a later scene in Capote, he mutters to himself, 'I can't understand what all the fuss is about', after attending a screening of To Kill A Mockingbird; I'd barely heard of him before the movie, and don't care much for him after seeing it, but I've loved her book for years. So there, Truman!
- Philadelphia is a small city. OK, I didn't discover this recently; I've known it for awhile. But this week, perhaps because of the coming of spring, I've realized that again. In Rittenhouse Square, as the ritual dancers stood around chatting, I saw both the owners of the happy produce market walk by, as well as one of the priests from St. Mark's (Fr. Mullen, for naamah). None of them know who I am, of course, and we weren't dancing yet, so they didn't stop. Oh well. Last week, I recognized some '05 sports players from Swarthmore when I was at a pub near UPenn, and last night, Lauren mentioned all the '05ers she's seen walking around or at the UPenn gym (including uncleamos).
- Somehow, I find myself wanting to do something challenging and exercising. I'm looking forward to biking, or at least working on my bike, this weekend. I want to try new kinds of dancing. Most of all, I really want to try something that challenges my body, something extreme, something like parkour. Any suggestions?