February 28, 2008

La Sandwichera

Study abroad should be one of the best experiences of your life. You should have a great host family that adopts you as one of their own, looks out for your welfare and teaches you about the country and its culture. You should come out with a good mastery of the local language. However, it looks like things went horribly wrong for this kid. His parents sent him off hearty and healthy -- he came back looking like Karen Carpenter.

From personal experience, it seems like this kid got placed with a family that uses the Exchange Program as a means of additional income. It's pretty obvious from the host father's comments that it all boils down to money. There's nothing inherently wrong with this -- as long as you provide your exchange student with enough to eat and a safe place to live. Indeed, I like the idea that both parties gain something from the exchange experience. However, there's a serious difference between mutually beneficial, and pocketing all the money for yourself.

I hope that the kid mentioned above had great experiences outside of his host family, and is able have some good memories of his time there. Hopefully, he'll be willing to do another exchange in the future. And hopefully, he'll get a much better family.

[Note to BMC: Does this remind you of anyone?]

February 25, 2008

Dogs Rule

I’ve discovered another reason why Roxy is the best dog ever. I was eating dinner and watching Firehouse Dog on HBO, basically just vegging out. Roxy was curled up next to me on the floor, most likely hoping for a scrap of potpie. The onscreen firehouse dog was running back and forth, yipping, barking, whining and having a grand old time. That’s when I noticed that Roxy was actually watching TV with me. Her doggie head was moving back and forth tracking the firehouse dog. Her ears pricked up at every onscreen doggie noise. How cool is that?

February 12, 2008

Alphabits

It’s rare that I directly comment on here about books that I’ve read. Yet, I’ve recently finished a handful of books that I’d seriously recommend to other people. In no particular order:

La Historia del rey transparente: This was a very interesting read. The author, Rosa Montero, takes significant liberty with historical facts; historical figures that lived almost 100 years apart are present with the 40-or-so-year lifespan of the protagonist. Interestingly, this adds to the fantasy-like feel of the novel. Of particular interest is the character of Nyneve – who may, or may not be, Morgan La Fey. Fantastical elements occur side-by-side with realistic elements, which creates a very unique and compelling alternate-history of Medieval France (circa the Cathars). Also of note is the story-within-a-story of The Transparent King. It is responsible for some odd happenings in the novel, but it is only related in full as an appendix to the novel. Even then, The Transparent King’s story ends in mid-stride leaving the reader to supply the answer and determine the significance it has for the novel.

Midnight Tides: It took me a long time to get into this novel. Much like Erickson’s first novel, The Gardens of the Moon, the beginning of this novel was a struggle for me. This is due, in part, to the fact that this book – the 5th in the series – introduces an entirely new set of characters, in a new location, with no obvious ties to what has happened in the rest of the series. Another factor is that Erickson meticulously lays the foundation for the events in the latter part of the novel. With the exposition concluded, somewhere around the 300 page mark, things get very interesting indeed. The previously unrelated threads combine for a pretty fantastic finish. Erickson, in my opinion, is probably the best epic fantasist currently writing. However, his style is initially somewhat inaccessible; you have to invest time and thought to fully grasp and familiarize yourself with his world. Midnight Tides is a good read – but the pacing and some lackluster scenes towards the end of the novel keep it from being as great as the previous novels.

Vellum: This book is definitely not an easy read, but it is one of the most innovative and compelling works I’ve read. While you’ll find this novel in the Sci-Fi/Fantasy section of your local chain bookstore, it really deserves to be in the General Literature section. This is Literature with a capital ‘L.’ There’s a war brewing in Heaven, and it’s being fought everywhere and everywhen. Myths are layered one upon the next and expertly woven together. Past, present, and future exist simultaneously, as do multiple ‘versions’ of each character. By no means am I doing this novel any justice; the words just don’t exist. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.

February 10, 2008

Kleen Howse, I haz it.

The house got a much needed cleaning. The laundry is done. Grocery shopping is complete. I don't know about you all, but my mental health gets a real boost from having a clean house, clean clothes and a full pantry.

The Major does well with the pantry part -- we're still working on the clean house part. He'll never be as compulsive as I am, but I'm hoping we can downgrade him from a Class 5 Hurricane to a tropical depression. Anything else is just wishful thinking.

February 4, 2008

Primary Blues

Super Tuesday, blah blah blah. Only a handful of states have primaried/caucused, but the field has been winnowed down to 2 candidates on each side. Granted, not everyone who was running was a viable candidate -- but I think every person in the country has the right to chose from all of the contestants. Instead most of us are left with:

McCain: This guy has changed so much from the "Independant" rogue that I liked in the 2000 election. I get the feeling that he's just saying anything and supporting anything to get the nomination.

Clinton: Sweet. Jesus. No. I'm so completely over partisian politics. W has been one of the most divisive figures in modern U.S. politics. Hillary is at least as divisive as W. I also don't trust her, and she also says whatever she thinks will get her elected.

Romney: Ugh. He flips, he flops and he was a total train wreck as the Governor of Mass. But what makes him total slime was the story about his family vacation. Dude put the family dog on the hood of the station wagon in a crate and drove to their destination. Apparently, it was real funny that the dog got so scared it lost control of its bowels. I can't help but wonder, which Americans are going to be treated like his family dog.

Obama: He's young, relatively untried. People like to call him "Osama." I'm not sure he's got policies developed. But of all of them, he's the only one that actually gives me hope that things might just get better.

Because you know for sure with the rest of them it's going to be more of the same -- and we definately don't need anymore of that.

Ho Down

In the light of Super Tuesday tomorrow, I've decided to have a Primary that everyone can get behind -- no winners, no losers, just fun. The topic: Ho-iest Hoes of the 80's. Your candidates are:

Samantha Fox
Stacey Q
Lita Ford
Madonna*
Cher*
I don't see my favorite ho on the list, but I'd like you to consider ______.

*Note: You can only consider Madonna and Cher as they were in the 80's. Because if you were to consider their Ho opus in tota it'd be a landslide. Madonna alone had the Sex book, and the simul-bation in Rome just to irritate the Pope.