The peace protesters were out on Airport Road today. For those of you who aren't from Huntsville, the intersection of Airport and Whitesburg is one of the busiest in town. Frequently on sunny Saturdays a group of ten or fifteen well-meaning citizens will congregate on this corner and hold up signs with sayings such as "END THE WAR." Now, while I don't agree with their politics (while I agree that it was probably not the wisest decision to enter the war in the first place, I don't think that immediate withdrawal from Iraq is a viable or safe solution to our problems), I do admire their idealism and dedication. However, I have to ask: is this a productive way to spend time? What, exactly, are they accomplishing by standing at an intersection waving posters around? They no doubt offend quite a few people, given that Huntsville is a largely military-populated city in the middle of a red state; I'm sure they expect this. But other than that, what is the purpose of this activity? I highly doubt anyone is going to change their vote based on a posterboard on a stick. If they are really, truly passionate about the cause of peace, why not do something? Write a letter to a congressman. Campaign for a specific candidate. Get involved in the political process. While I don't identify myself with the political left, I have a lot of respect for the passion I've seen in a lot of them and they seem to overall have more enthusiasm for politics than conservatives generally do. But why not put this passion toward something productive instead of standing on a random street corner?
Just a thought.

Happy Easter!

love & hate.

five things i love:
1. The song "The Temptation of Adam" by Josh Ritter. You can listen to a gorgeous live NPR recording of it here if you're interested.
2. The fact that Josh, along with Ingrid Michaelson, is coming to Bottletree on May 4th and that I will be there.
3. The sheer talent of both actresses in Notes on a Scandal. Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett are absolutely, 100 percent perfect. Both of them capture the roles with such subtlety. That fight scene at the end, where Cate's wearing all the eyeliner... wow. Go see it. (Side note: I really want to see I'm Not There. I am thoroughly convinced of her ability to play a man and it just makes me curious.)
4. Go-Gurt. Remember those? Well, turns out they only have 70 calories apiece and they taste amazing if you keep them in the freezer. It's like an ice cream popsicle, except in flavors like "Scooby Doo's Cool Fruit Punch." The downside: You have to hunt to find a package that doesn't include the "Cotton Candy" flavor.
5. www.toothpastefordinner.com. Some of my favorites:
> know your body type
> movie quote (the story of my life)
> fifth day


five things i hate:
1. capital letters. enough said. i was probably e. e. cummings in a former life. (is he dead?)
2. FACEBOOK APPLICATIONS. No thank you, I do not want to "add some dope bling" to your profile. Nor do I want to give you a "werewolf hug." I'm only trying to find your wall amongst the colorful chaos that has abducted everything useful that used to be on your profile.
3. The fact that whoever lives directly above me feels the need to play the piano and the drums every day at such times as, oh, say 12:30 am. It varies, but it is always when I'm trying to sleep. Come on, have a little common sense or something.
4. A low of 34 degrees tonight when it is snowing pretty much everywhere north of here. That is probably the worst temperature I can think of: cold enough to be miserable but not cold enough for any fun precipitation.
5. The song "Your Body Is A Wonderland" by John Mayer. I kind of want to throw up every time I hear it, it's so awful.

because i love high fidelity...

TOP FIVE DREAM JOBS:
1) Music coordinator for film and television, Los Angeles
I am not even joking, this is an actual job: creating soundtracks for movies and TV. I'd spend part of the day negotiating with record companies for broadcast rights, the other part of the day listening to the scads of free CDs I've received in the mail from up-and-coming bands, and every night go to a concert. I'm still in awe of the fact that people get paid for this.

2) Actress, National Theatre, London (the RSC or the West End would be all right too; I'm including them in this category.)
Okay, so the American accent might be a problem. But I'm thinking that once I broke into the scene, myriads of playwrights would begin writing in the role of the quirky American girl into their shows so that I could be in them. Or else someone would just teach me to pull off British.

3) Casting director, National Theatre, London
I would get to go see plays and showcases every night, probably with killer seats, for the sole purpose of scoping out talent so that I could recommend people to directors and help with their casting choices.

4) Entertainment journalist, Paste magazine. (Rolling Stone would be fine as well. Really, I'm not picky.)
I'd review music, books, movies, etc., which means I'd get a bunch of them for free, and force share my opinions and favorites with the world. So basically-- getting paid for what I do already.

5) Pediatric endocrinologist
Treating kids with hormonal disorders-- diabetes, growth hormone deficiency, thyroid problems, etc.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning when I wake up, I think, "Maybe today Physics 102 will have some sort of relevance or application to my life." And every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning at 9:15 my hopes are once again crushed against the classroom floor. Today, in the ten-minute working by my professor of a problem involving one entire blackboard, countless variables and unthinkably small numbers, and something about the number of electrons passing through a copper wire, I couldn't help but stare in amazement at the sheer ridiculousness (is that a word?) of the problem. I almost started laughing when he brought in the concept of the "mole," something that I thought I had gladly left behind in my days of general chemistry. Meanwhile, my professor's rapidly increasing energy level (no doubt due to his daily caffeine intake of one Diet Coke with Lime per class period) is causing the decibel level of his voice to rise to approximately the level of an excited Baptist preacher. (There's a reason why churches are built bigger than science classrooms.) And let me assure you, hellfire and damnation are much more interesting than electron-volts.

Anyway, I've begun to perfect my "fascinated/studious/I'm-absorbing-every-word-you-say" face, while in reality I am wishing I was anywhere but sitting in an uncomfortable chair, pretending to fastidiously copy down every exponent and every unit of measurement, when in reality I am actually watching the second hand on my watch tick, which I'm pretty sure slows down as soon as I walk into that classroom. Maybe that's the physics problem we should be solving -- how the department has created a time-warp state that makes every class feel like it lasts three hours.

I'm really not like this in all my classes. I promise.

Sometimes the numbers say it all.

42: Number of minutes before my first class I woke up this morning. (That number gets smaller every day.)

3: Number of different VeggieTales ties my physics professor has worn so far this semester. Today it was the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything, Monday it was Christmas themed (yes, in February) and the first day of school I believe it was a French Peas motif.

3: Average number of episodes of House M.D. referenced by Dr. Hunsinger in any given pathology class.

14: Average number of times I forget to pay attention in any given pathology class.

40: Estimated percentage of Samford that is currently sick with the flu.

11: Number of dollars I spent on echinacea and Airborne yesterday in order to avoid contracting the flu.

8: Number of days ago that I ordered all of my textbooks. (Not one has come in yet.)

10: Approximate number of copies of Medea contained in Samford's library.

2: Number of copies of Medea in Samford's library that are in English.

1: Number of copies of Medea in Samford's library that is in English and is not written on heavily in blue ink on every single page.

366: Number of Shakespearean insults I paid for when I bought my page-a-day calendar at the Globe Theatre.

314: Number of Shakespearan insults actually contained in the aforementioned page-a-day calendar; those sneaks put every Saturday and Sunday sharing the same page and therefore sharing the same insult.

10: Number of times today I have wished I was still in London.

welcome to samford!

Last night, just before I went to bed and just after I had spent approximately three hours being crafty (I love not having homework yet) I made a wonderfully virtuous decision. I was going to wake up at eight o'clock in the morning, three HOURS before the start of my first class, and go to the gym. I know, I know. "You shouldn't have!" you're thinking. "You deserve your beauty sleep!" But having not seen the gym in over six weeks, I was determined. So eight hours later, I stumbled out of bed, visions dancing across my mind of myself happily jogging on the treadmill, stomach fat melting away. I donned my best workout gear, and Ruth and I got in the car (separate cars, she usually lasts about three times as long as me at these workout sessions) and drove over to the gym. I know it sounds ridiculous to drive to the gym that is on campus, but it's about a 20-minute walk and it's freezing outside. But once we get there, we realize that there is NO parking whatsoever. Apart from the three empty faculty spaces and the eight empty handicapped spaces. (At the gym. I know. Call me insensitive, but sometimes I wonder.) After a few minutes of driving around in circles, we realize that we have, in fact, been defeated by the sorority house residents who use the Hanna Center lot as their personal parking spaces, and no one looks like they're leaving anytime soon. So our choice was to either risk a $30 parking ticket or go back home. We chose the latter. Obviously someone up there was trying to prevent me from working out. Slightly irritated, I return to my room, looking forward to my hot shower. However, once I get in the shower, the water stayed hot for approximately two minutes, just long enough for me to wash my face, before turning ICE cold. We're not talking lukewarm... I might as well have been bathing in the Alps.

So I'm currently sitting here with a clean face and dirty, wet hair, (stomach fat still intact, muscles unworked) waiting to get back in the shower until the water temperature slightly resembles warm.

I just love Samford.

the london top 10

my top 10 favorite things about london:

1. Abbey Road photoshoot

Two hours. One famous intersection. Approximately 5000 cars zooming past at various speeds. One camera. Two college students willing to risk their lives multiple times for a good picture. Sound like fun? Because it was. Immensely.

2. Wicked

It's so cliche to love Wicked, but I completely understand the fascination now. The show was impeccable. It would have been #3 on my list except for the song Defying Gravity; that moment was one of the most brilliant things I have ever seen happen on a stage. I had tears in my eyes. I don't even know how to describe it. If you have the chance to see this show, definitely go. The story is genius and I really want to read the book now. Not to mention everyone in our group who had seen the show in New York said that Kerry Ellis, who played Elphaba, was better than Idina Menzel.

3. Much Ado About Nothing

All my life I have struggled to pay attention to performances of Shakespeare's plays. I appreciate the man and I know he's a poetic genius, but to be quite frank, I have never been that enthralled by watching one of his plays. But after I saw this production of Much Ado at the National Theatre, I finally understand the fascination. The performances of the leads, Zoe Wanamaker and Simon Russell Beale, were absolutely fantastic. I was riveted; I can honestly say I have never seen better acting in my life.

(P.S. - look at this collage I just made by cutting pictures out of the program... I'm quite proud of it!)

4. Our slight brush with fame

The day after we saw the show, a group of us were in the lobby of the National waiting for our theatre tour to start, when someone noticed that Simon Russell Beale was outside smoking a cigarette. We watched him out the window, and then realized that he was walking in the door near us. Kelli makes a run for it and ends up right behind him as he's walking in, but he doesn't notice her. He weaves his way through about three clusters of Samford students, both he and Kelli power-walking all the way as she follows him, hoping he'll turn around. She's about six inches behind him the whole time, and pointing frantically while mouthing "he was in the show!" to all of the amused onlookers. She literally followed him all the way through the lobby to whatever door he went in, and he never turned around. I know it doesn't sound like a very good story, but it was one of the funniest moments of the entire trip.

5. British accents

They're everywhere. It's kind of fun how many different types there are, too. Some are really hard to understand, but a lot of them are completely beautiful. I'd like to take a dialects class at some point and learn to do a

6. Caffe Nero

Absolutely the best cappuccino I have ever had in my life. And they're on every corner.

7. Royalty

To my great dismay, I found out late in the trip that Prince William is REQUIRED to marry someone with royal ancestry. I really don't see how that's fair. So unless my royal blood is a deep family secret that will be revealed to me on my twenty-first birthday or something, this means my dreams of being queen are pretty much shattered. But... I still think the whole royalty thing is pretty cool. Also, from what I can tell, they get a lot of jewelry. And Faberge eggs, which are completely pointless but gorgeous. Check out this one... I'm pretty sure it's the one we saw at the Queen's Gallery that belonged to Victoria. (Kelli and I stared at it for about thirty minutes.)

8. Impressionism

Call me a heretic, but I don't exactly get excited to see stiff portraits of ancient royalty, or Renaissance paintings of mythical scenes. But give me a Monet any day and I can stare at it for a long time. The Courtauld Gallery and the National Gallery both had decent collections of Impressionist art and I fell in love with all of it.

9. The tube

Public transportation is amazing. You don't have to park your car anywhere, you automatically know how to get home from wherever you are, you don't have to end up at the same place you started... it's just so easy.

10. The Lover / The Collection

Kelli and I went to see these two back-to-back Harold Pinter plays with absolutely no idea what they would be like, but I loved them both. They were really confusing, and about an hour after the show, we were still discussing what was actually happening. I love stuff that makes you think like that! I think I'm going to order the plays so I can read them.

So that's it. My trip was amazing and I can't wait till I get an opportunity to go back again! My pictures should be up on Facebook in the next day or so... school started today so I've been a little bit busy. Cheerio!