I'm the same as I was when I was 6 years old
I am now into my second week of summer and have been steadily working my way through a mammoth reading list. Finished rereading The Idiot and was sufficiently dazzled into depression by Dostoevsky's uncanny handling of the human condition. Simply beautiful. I decided to read something utterly ridiculous and light so I turned to Stephen Fry's Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music - which is hilarious. If you don't know who Stephen Fry is then I am so, so sorry. He is one of my favorite people in the entire world and I'd probably say he's the lucky chap who holds the title 'No. 1 Person Julia Wishes to Hug Someday and/or Spend a Substantial Time Romping About London With', beating out both David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. Which is saying something. For Melissa - he played Jeeves alongside Hugh Laurie's Wooster. And in that one skit: "I was acting like a DAMNED AMATEUR."
I'm also rereading Moby-Dick which I read when I was about thirteen or so (aka the time I was still stupid enough to think I could actually read hard books like The Brother's Karamazov and actually glean things from them. *scoff*) and can't remember anything about it besides the fact that it's about a giant whale. And stuff. When I took my English seminar on American literature, one kid did his independent project on Moby-Dick and he made it sound as if it was a huge allegorical mountain climb in which one never knows if Melville is actually talking about a whale or if he's talking about something bigger. Like Fate. That sounded completely different from what I remembered in my thirteen-year-old encounter with the novel so ever since that seminar, I've been itching to read it. I'm a bit over 100 pages in and I like it a lot. Granted, I haven't reached the part where Ishmael catalogs the different parts of whales and the myriad things one can do with them, which is the only part I distinctly remember. That and something about the Captain going nuts. Should be interesting.
I'll probably also revisit Emerson's essays because I'm thinking of tackling the man once again for our next J-term. Right now I'm planning on doing an independent study on Emerson in order to work out a project to present for distinction in the English department. Since I'm graduating a semester early, I have to get on that if I want to try for distinction.
I also have another Paul Tillich book I'm picking through but because his work is so freaking dense, it takes many a reread and many a scratch on the head to figure out what the heck he is saying. But the extra work is worth it because once his words click and you actually get what he is saying, it's really rather beautiful.
I eventually want to reread Crime and Punishment too. And Paradise Lost but this time I want to read Paradise Regained too. I also recently bought a two-volume set of C.S Lewis' letters that also needs to be consumed. SO MANY BOOKS TO INDULGE IN AND I'VE GOT SO MUCH TIME. This is most excellent!
In other news, I caved and bought an iTouch. And immediately afterwards bought the Scrabble application. And have beat the computer a total of 5 times out of 145,720 games. I decided to get the smallest iTouch possible because all I wish to use it for is email when I'm not lugging my laptop around. My music library is such that even the 64 GB wouldn't be worth it so I'm keeping my lovely little 80GB baby for actual music enjoyment. And exercise.
Japan in a little over three weeks. Oh, how I crave my homeland. I'm not quite sure why but this year I've been itching to go back more than usual. I guess it's just the travel bug in me stirring; after a year without international travel, I get incredibly antsy.
Apropos of nothing: I have all my grades in besides VIOLA and GREAT CON. How hard is it to give me a grade for viola?! There's no physical thing to actually grade, just spit out a letter! And as for Great Con...eh, it's Great Con. They get grades in...eventually. Usually.
I'm also rereading Moby-Dick which I read when I was about thirteen or so (aka the time I was still stupid enough to think I could actually read hard books like The Brother's Karamazov and actually glean things from them. *scoff*) and can't remember anything about it besides the fact that it's about a giant whale. And stuff. When I took my English seminar on American literature, one kid did his independent project on Moby-Dick and he made it sound as if it was a huge allegorical mountain climb in which one never knows if Melville is actually talking about a whale or if he's talking about something bigger. Like Fate. That sounded completely different from what I remembered in my thirteen-year-old encounter with the novel so ever since that seminar, I've been itching to read it. I'm a bit over 100 pages in and I like it a lot. Granted, I haven't reached the part where Ishmael catalogs the different parts of whales and the myriad things one can do with them, which is the only part I distinctly remember. That and something about the Captain going nuts. Should be interesting.
I'll probably also revisit Emerson's essays because I'm thinking of tackling the man once again for our next J-term. Right now I'm planning on doing an independent study on Emerson in order to work out a project to present for distinction in the English department. Since I'm graduating a semester early, I have to get on that if I want to try for distinction.
I also have another Paul Tillich book I'm picking through but because his work is so freaking dense, it takes many a reread and many a scratch on the head to figure out what the heck he is saying. But the extra work is worth it because once his words click and you actually get what he is saying, it's really rather beautiful.
I eventually want to reread Crime and Punishment too. And Paradise Lost but this time I want to read Paradise Regained too. I also recently bought a two-volume set of C.S Lewis' letters that also needs to be consumed. SO MANY BOOKS TO INDULGE IN AND I'VE GOT SO MUCH TIME. This is most excellent!
In other news, I caved and bought an iTouch. And immediately afterwards bought the Scrabble application. And have beat the computer a total of 5 times out of 145,720 games. I decided to get the smallest iTouch possible because all I wish to use it for is email when I'm not lugging my laptop around. My music library is such that even the 64 GB wouldn't be worth it so I'm keeping my lovely little 80GB baby for actual music enjoyment. And exercise.
Japan in a little over three weeks. Oh, how I crave my homeland. I'm not quite sure why but this year I've been itching to go back more than usual. I guess it's just the travel bug in me stirring; after a year without international travel, I get incredibly antsy.
Apropos of nothing: I have all my grades in besides VIOLA and GREAT CON. How hard is it to give me a grade for viola?! There's no physical thing to actually grade, just spit out a letter! And as for Great Con...eh, it's Great Con. They get grades in...eventually. Usually.