What I love most about this movie right now, though, is that all these men have inferiority complexes.  Seriously, Adams keeps pointing at them and saying, "You, do this!"  and they're all, "Wait, what?  No!  I'm not good enough!"  Washington does this, Jefferson does this--it's kind of awesome. 

So I just watched the first two episodes of the HBO John Adams miniseries.  I love it.  I absolutely adore it.  I'm about to watch them again with the little "facts" feature turned on.  I read the biography they based the miniseries on about 7 years ago and really liked it, but mostly I'm just a huge sucker for our founding myth.  I read about ( Read more... )

 I'm doing some last-minute exam prep right now, and am reading about Bernard of Clairvaux and the Cistercian order of monasticism, specifically in England under Stephen.  Anyway, they start talking about Pope Eugenius III.  I read this as "Pope Eugenics III", and went, oh, that's awkward...wait, there were three?!  Fortunately, it just turns out ( Read more... )

Hah!  My hatred of James Buchanan is validated!  However, I still go with Andrew Johnson as the worst US President EVER.  And yes, that does include Bush (though he runs a close second).   
(PS--I can totally get behind a blog that talks about how stupid some former US presidents are.  So, Stuff Nobody Likes, thank you.)

UPDATE:  Oh my god, they go ( Read more... )

 I read all of Jane Eyre today.

How did I accomplish this?  I didn't turn my computer on until 10PM.  Honestly, I'm quite astonished.  I got so much done!  Granted, it should have been done this weekend so I could devote this week and the following three weeks to catching up with my history reading and writing papers, but it's still done!  And it ( Read more... )

Jealous.  Really, really jealous.

I've definitely decided against studying American history/lit at this point.  "What?" I hear you thinking, "That was still an option?"  (or I might just be mistranslating "we really don't care", but we'll go with it).  Yes, at the back of my mind, lurking in dark corners, it was.  After talking to Whitney (and ( Read more... )

One evening as the sun went down 
and the jungle fire was burning
Down the track came a hobo hiking 
and he said, "Boys I'm not turning
I'm headed for a land that's far away, 
beside the crystal fountains
So come with me we'll go and see 
the Big Rock Candy Mountains"

In the Big Rock Candy Mountains, 
theres a land that's fair and bright
Where the handouts ( Read more... )

 I am really tired and bored right now.  I don't even have anything to post.  I'm going down to London tomorrow with Allie--should be fun.

I did get to see The Golden Compass last weekend with Allie.  I liked it.  The only part that really disappointed me was the end, because they aren't making any more.

I got an email from my mom complaining about ( Read more... )

Or so it seems.  For example:  it is 3:13 AM.  Why am I up this late?  Because I followed a series of articles on Wikipedia on serial killers.  I do not know how I ended up there.  But there I was, all the same.  You must understand, though, that I am intrinsically paranoid and fearful, which is why I'm showered and ready for bed, but am still on ( Read more... )

I sat down tonight to try to write another poem or come up with an idea for one or something.  After all, I've got something like 6-9 due in 3 weeks.  I had no ideas.  I couldn't come up with any ideas.  I turned to my notebook, in which I have dutifully copied every poem I have ever written, to see if there was a clever phrase or artful sentence I ( Read more... )