I Know Where I Go I'm Not Afraid

Where did my afternoon go?

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:02:31 GMT

Oh that's right.

It went right there.

I Want To Go To There.

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 02:08:24 GMT

http://www.superherosupplies.com/

Please?

It really exists - in Brooklyn.

stolen facebook meme

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 02:33:32 GMT

I thought it looked like fun...

Using only song names from ONE ARTIST, cleverly answer these questions. Pass it on to 15 or so people you like (or think will actually do this) and tag me. Try not to repeat a song title. It's harder than you think.

Your Artist: Eels

Are you male or female: Dirty Girl

Describe yourself: I Write The B-Sides

How do you feel about yourself: Numbered Days

Describe where you currently live: Last Stop: This Town

The first thing you think of when you wake up: Rotten World Blues

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Manchester Girl

Your favorite form of transportation: 3 Speed

Your best friend is: Tremendous Dynamite

Your favorite color is: Fresh Blood

What's the weather like: Dusk: A Peach In The Orchard

If your life were a TV show, what would it be called: Daisies Of The Galaxy

What is life to you: Old Shit/New Shit

What is the best advice you have to give: Somebody Loves You

If you could change your name, what would it be: If You See Natalie

Your favorite food is: Hospital Food

How I would like to die: After The Operation

My soul's present condition: Climbing To The Moon

The faults I can bear: Trouble With Dreams

How would you describe your love life: Love Of The Loveless

That's it. Not as fun as I thought it would be. Back to work.

Pointless pondering, but better than working.

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:49:36 GMT

Why do I chew so much gum?

- It (supposedly) burns an average of 10 calories an hour.
- It makes me stop eating needlessly.
- It calms me down.
- It helps me remember things from class.
- It helps me remember that I don't need to speak riddles.

I think it also makes me sassy, but this has not been confirmed scientifically.

<3

FRESH BLOOD

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 19:46:45 GMT

New eels song released as a preview.

It's fucking amazing.

God Save The Kinks

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 04:31:46 GMT

Just FYI - I adore the gap in Ray Davies's teeth.

It makes me laugh.

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 06:18:24 GMT

Ohmahgoodness. New Ricky Gervais/Steve Merchant sketch for Comic Relief is HILARIOUS.
Just wait for the segway.

Also, the one from 2007 is pretty much fantastic.

Just watch 'em.

Happy times!

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:48:55 GMT

Well Nick sent me a pitiful text message this morning which I am hoping I will not have to reply to.

But, Ali sent me the video of Ricky Gervais's recent appearance on Sesame Street!
He wrote the whole episode including a song or two. I've been wondering about this for a while since he kept writing about it on his blog, but here are the outtakes! Amazing. The man is still my hero.

I did find it slightly unnerving though that the muppet kept in character when messing up. Probably a good thing, but still. Weird.

lolmoz!

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 19:01:28 GMT

Within 30 seconds of being on camera Morrissey manages to piss EVERYONE off.
What would we do without him?

My particular favorite is at about 2:30 or so when he's asked if we should sympathize with laid-off workers who've never really known success.

It's a pretty big world and I am awful small.

Fri, 20 Feb 2009 00:37:03 GMT

So I will start off by saying that I have spent most of this week stressing about/writing my Quest audition article. I know I shouldn't stress about it because, well, it's the Quest. But, you know. Baby steps.

Notes From the AAS

   Over this past winter break I was fortunate enough to attend the 213th annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society (AAS). For anyone who’s never been to a giant astronomy convention like the AAS, what you’re really missing is a Brag Fest on a universal scale. We don’t know much about our world or what’s beyond it, but these are the people who know the most. They are at the forefront and on the edge of our continual search for understanding of the cosmos and they all want to be the smartest guy in the room. Sure, the week is divided so they each get their moment, but with over 1800 scientific papers presented by astronomers from countries all over the world, it is rarely, if ever, possible to keep the showing off confined to the press conferences.
   Exhibitors spend thousands on the banners, posters and free giveaways that decorate their booth spaces, creating an unavoidable hierarchy. There are the classic big players, like Hubble Space Telescope or Google, with high-quality posters and hi-def monitors that no one can ever hope to compete with. Then there are the more modest booths; the tried-and-true reliable guys who don’t really need to advertise their budgets like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and their observatory comrades. They’ve been through the meeting circuit a few times by now; you can always predict what they’ll be giving away, it’s the same cost-effective thing every year. Finally, there are the unfortunate guys who know what they’re up against and don’t even try to compete. Often they are the most interesting people with the least interesting projects, to the general public anyways. These booths don’t get much traffic, but really they just want the chance to tell you what they do with their lives.
   On this trip I was assigned to work in the press office, which is a pretty monotonous job. I stuffed boxes with press releases, taking quick and guilty glances at each one only to realize that astronomers don’t broadcast their gossip like the rest of the world. I answered phones, quickly understanding that most people at the meeting neither knew nor cared that all the answers to their questions were in the free bag they could get
at registration (one floor down). Mostly I just talked to people. Working in the pressroom, I didn’t get much of a chance to interact with the nearly 2500 astronomers on the exhibition floor, but in a way I got something better – the cast of the Muppets. Each press officer I met seemed less real than the one before. It was easy to interact with them but only because they never stopped seeming imaginary. Because I was working with a team that entertaining and efficient, I had time to realize the most important things I learned that week:

1.   Black holes are real and consequently, not very interesting.
   When I first arrived at the AAS meeting with my press badge, I knew which talks and press conferences I wanted to go to without even looking at the list: anything to do with black holes. As any casual science fiction fan knows, black holes are fascinating precisely because they are so characteristically unpredictable (time travel, parallel universes, horrible death). However, as it turns out, scientists have a way of making the most fantastic concepts painfully boring. Black holes do exist and we now know their exact dimensions and locations (full of terms and calculations that are impossible to remember or pronounce). So instead of going to every black hole talk on the list, I started to dabble in other areas the AAS had to offer. I found out that NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope has discovered a huge number of new pulsars (rapidly spinning neutron stars left behind by the explosion of a massive sun), a discovery that is radically transforming our understanding of pulsars and the techniques we use to find them. I learned that the Milky Way is about 50 percent larger than we thought, meaning that the collision with the nearby Andromeda Galaxy will happen sooner than anticipated. I also learned that due to results from research involving dead white dwarf stars, it appears that the likelihood of finding other “rocky” planets similar to Earth is greatly increasing. With discoveries like these, it seems fact really does inspire excellent fiction, just not the other way around.

2.   The IYA wants you.
   The UN-designated International Year of Astronomy (IYA) is upon us. Commemorating 400 years of astronomy since Galileo first used a telescope to study the skies, the IYA exists to promote public events intended to stimulate and encourage public interest in the universe and our place in it. Understandably, every astronomer I met at the AAS was overabundandtly excited for the IYA events to commence. However, it seems that the IYA has largely passed over the general public – the very people that IYA organizers are trying to reach. Specifically, these people are hurting for youth involvement. They’ve made it easy to get involved at http://astronomy2009.us/. All they need is you.

3.   Science: not just for scientists anymore.
   The only problem I had as an interested student, yet non-scientist, walking up and down the exhibition floor was inevitably not being able to comprehend everything I saw. However, every once in a while during the meeting I came across a project that was appealing on a completely new level – I could actually understand what I was being told. I found myself not only interested in but legitimately following the CSI-like detective story of Dr. Donald Olson as he and his team of grad students hunted down the exact date and location of Van Gogh’s Starry Night and Munch’s The Scream among other answers to historical astronomy-related mysteries. From what I saw, the astronomical community is doing what they can to interest everyone. They realize the perpetual value of having the general public on board and they have plenty more coming in future years.

I went in to the AAS not really knowing what to expect from a job description that included making 100 copies of press releases with titles like “Cassiopeia A Comes Alive Across Time and Space”, but I learned more than I ever thought I would want to. By the end I had made friends with people like journalists from Science Magazine, and as it turns out, science is not dead. Astronomy least of all. We can look forward to bright new discoveries on the horizon and beyond it.

In other news, I got a total of four hours of sleep last night for no reason other than I just couldn't fall asleep. Just not tired. I've made it all day without fainting so maybe it's all going to be okay.

I guess I did okay in art today. I wasn't particularly pleased but no one was doing very well. The girl working next to me has the exact opposite problem that I do - she draws way too big and I draw way too small. The only way to make myself fill up the page is to literally draw marks on the side of the paper so I can keep track of how many "heads" I've gone. It feels like fucking training wheels. It's so degrading... then I just think about the poor flabby "model" who came in to pose nude for the class. I guess he got paid but I still feel sorry for him. I think it was the bacne.

I haven't gotten my behavioral test back yet, but it should be in my mailbox soon. I think I did pretty damn well on the first part, but then in the actual "look at a real brain" part I took quite a dive. Maybe he'll be nice. Ha.

I've had some interactions with Cute Lab Partner Possibly Named David. I think he's got a girlfriend though I've never seen them together.

And the Eels song for today (plus a pretty sweet video):

Here we go again...

Sun, 15 Feb 2009 07:58:21 GMT

So it's pretty easy being single on Valentine's Day after this long at it. Sure, it gets me down some days but then there are days like today. There are days when the weird guy on the bus asks if he can go get a drink with me sometime because we actually share a lot in common. There are days when it scares me that we both have nerdy obsessions about film production, existentialism, and comic books. There are days when I don't want to belong to any club that would have someone like me as a member. There are days when this pretty much sums it up:

After a full belly of delicious sushi for a miraculous $8.50 (and being a mere 2 blocks from Powells), I felt that I deserved some comics. I went in looking for the first part of Adrian Tomine's Optic Nerve, and ended up with the first two collections of DMZ. I totally forgot this comic existed! I've been a big fan of Nathan Fox's work for several years now and this series looked too exciting to pass up. It turns out that Fox doesn't start illustrating until the fourth issue but oh well. Weird Bus Guy gave it his seal of approval.

Time to finish some art and sleep.

Sarah

If there's anything good about me...

Sat, 14 Feb 2009 01:46:12 GMT

I DON'T want to be the only one who knows.

Just want to start off by saying:
I FUCKING ROCKED IT IN ART CLASS THIS WEEK.

We took the whole three hours on one still life and mine was a-fucking-mazing.
Okay, it's not that great. It's a bit out of proportion. The shading is pretty uneven in places. And it's not like it's realistic or anything. BUT it's the best I've done yet and I'm really happy with it. The prof came over a couple times with only good things to say, often going "yeah! That's totally what I was talking about! You've got it!" It feels really good to be good at something, you know? Also - the best part of class? Getting to walk around and see what everyone else has done with their three hours. It does wonders for my self-esteem. I'm sorry if that's bitchy but that's how it goes.

In related news, I sent in (or desperately fought with my email to send in) this to the Creative Review. Had some pretty good feedback from the first one so I thought I'd try again.

Also, guess what's got two thumbs and who's now a PUBLISHED WRITER? That's right, this gal. I've gotten zero feedback about that article, but I think it's pretty awesome and I just sent in my second one. Staff writer? Yes please. I want to interview Bill Nye when he comes in April. Please?

Behavioral test on Monday seems really scary at this point. I've got the neuroanatomy bit down, but the rest of it (synapses, neurotransmitters, etc) scare the bejeesus out of me. I can feel them leaving my body as I type this (Lauren!).

That's about it I think.
For anyone interested, there's a new sample for the next Ricky Gervais podcast here. The real one is out on the 18th I believe. Check your itunes.

You don't need a thing from me, but...

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 06:02:24 GMT

I couldn't find my glasses this morning and spent the day thinking of all the terrible places they could be. I got home, called the CSOs to see if anyone had turned them in. They hadn't. Talked to Katherine and Michael to see if they'd found them. They hadn't. Tore apart my room as soon as I got home to see if I had stashed them in the fridge or something during some kind of NyQuil-induced craze. I hadn't. Looked under my bed to see if they had slid out of my backpack.

They had.

It's been that sort of day.

Art went well today. We did some shading, which is time consuming and deceptive. When you're right up close working on the picture, it looks like shit because nothing seems even and you can't tell how each shade works into the next one. BUT when you step back (and look at everyone else's) it doesn't seem so bad. Contours fall into place and the world makes sense yet again.

Presentation in Neuropsych also went fine. I should have reviewed a little more right before class, but we were the first ones of the entire semester to present so I think the prof gave us some slack. She just had a lot of questions...

Katherine and Michael bought Guitar Hero for their computer. Bad call.

In other news, I really really really want to meet Mark Everett one day... Like for realzies. His music has saved my life more than once, and if that makes me weak or jaded or cynical so fucking be it. The man is a talent like no other. I'm still depressed that I couldn't go to their show last year. Favorite album? Blinking Lights.

This is one of the first songs of theirs I ever heard (way back in ninth grade). I downloaded the whole album and every one before and after it. Never looked back.

Enjoy.
Sarah

Sweetness, I was only joking

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 07:21:26 GMT

Why is it that Morrissey insists on being both an asshole AND a genius? Can't he just pick one or the other?

That sun sure looks good going down.

Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:13:00 GMT

Well I've done it. I've lost my favorite pair of earrings. Actually I only lost one of the pair, but that's enough to make me angry. They were my first pair, lasting all of six months, so it's about time to let them go...but still. I miss them already. They were my default "I'm not capable of dressing myself this morning" pair. Fare thee well, sweet earrings.

Moving on, I managed to turn in my first science article this week! I think it's actually pretty good for a first attempt! Hopefully the rest of the Reed world agrees, if they actually dare to read the Quest that is.

Today was pretty good. I only had one class (Behavioral) at noon so I managed to drag my ever-flabbier ass out of bed and work out, as usual, before class. Class was pretty interesting today, well it's always interesting to me, but today we finished up our neuroanatamy unit so we can start to learn about neurons and synapses! Sweeeeet! We also talked about a cool paper about the role of certain brain areas in schizophrenia. Very awesome.

Had lunch with Lauren & co. which was entertaining and delicious. Did laundry, then went grocery shopping, followed by a Burgerville stop (without chocolate hazelnut milkshakes, what. the. fuck?) This was followed by drinks, a mildly drunk viewing of Princess Bride on campus, and then me going home to realize the lost earring previously mentioned. I should have gone to watch Mad Men with Lauren and Kaylee but I realized how exhausted I was (and pissed off about the earrings). Sorry Lauren, I'll catch up on my own then we can ALL watch!

Art Class Update: I did MUCH better in still life drawing than straight up contour drawing. We did one quickie contour drawing at the beginning of class and, since I had been practicing, I felt much better about what I had done. So, of course, it was time to move on. But I think I did pretty well with the still life. I've never been a fan before, but I might become one...

I'd say this was a good day in a good week. Well played, Life.

Also, E - you're still my favorite:

Also:

Sarah

Falling down, perfect and slow

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 00:32:42 GMT

Three words to describe my feelings on three hours of contour drawing?

FUCK
THAT
SHIT.

"Absolutely Fucking Pointless" is another way to put it. I would say "What A Fucking Waste Of 80 Dollars Of Art Supplies And Three Hours Of My Life That I Will Never Get Back" but it would be too long. Turns out I'm not very good at it, at least not when we've been working on one drawing for 15 minutes with the professor standing directly behind me with a disgusted look on her face. Well, next class should be gesture sketches. Great. I can draw myself sitting with a sense of "restrained wrath" behind a guise of "cynical apathy". At least it's not facial expressions, I don't want to waste my good charcoal on that many rolling, disinterested eyes.

Anyways, my day was going really well up until then. I did go eat delicious biscuits with Katherine and Michael (+1) instead of going to Bio lecture (+5). A girl nearly fainted in Neuropsych while looking at a preserved human brain (+1) and it wasn't me (+2). Did not have any mail (-2) but ate lunch with Lauren and other friends (+3). Made a few friends in Art class (+2) but became quickly embarrassed when the prof told me to "remember not to sketch, just the contour lines!" (-everything I gained so far).

Haven't heard anything from those idiots who lost my RAW application. More on that as the story progresses.

Hopefully yoga tonight will make me feel better. Less angry at least.

Later,
Sarah

I can't believe I can get there, but I can

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 04:54:23 GMT

Lol. I'm SO over the Cardinals.

Anyways, today was BRAIN DISSECTION DAY!
I was really nervous, hoping that I knew someone in my 8-person lab section. The guy I was hoping would sit next to me inevitable came in 10 minutes late, leaving me to work with someone else. It turned out fine though because it seems that I rock. That's right - I'm pretty much a rockstar when it comes neuroanatomy as it turns out. I was basically geeking out the whole time just because I was actually looking at a BRAIN! It was just so cool... My lab partner (possibly David?) spent the first half hour gulping water with his head in his heads while we watched the instructional "How To Carve A Brain Out Of A Skull" video but I just sort of went for it. I made him use the giant knife, but I followed closely with the scalpel. It seems Sarah never quite lost her dissection skillz.

I submitted this to the creative review. Hopefully something nice will happen there. As usual, as soon as I sent it in I started noticing all the problems with it, all the ugly lines and amateur coloring, but oh well. Too bad. Can't get it back now.

I started surveying articles for my first science column! So far, ideas include the new ocean feature of google earth as well as the potentially useful brain mapping of autistic people. Clearly not much is going on today.

In other news, Ricky Gervais is still my hero. And after his most recent blog entry, it appears I am not alone.

Tomorrow I'm ditching bio lecture for the first time ever to go eat Pine State Biscuits with Katherine and Michael. It should be a beautiful day for more reasons than one.
Sarah

Just getting this out there.

Mon, 02 Feb 2009 04:03:07 GMT

Dear Arizona Cardinals,

Fuck you for getting my hopes up for an entire weekend.
Seriously, I have better things to do than defend you and your constant shittiness.

Never again will I be optimistic on your behalf.
Never again will I be fooled into thinking something I might like to happen could actually happen.

Many thanks,
Sarah