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December 25, 2005
And on earth, peace
among men with whom He is pleased.
"He did not empty himself by losing what he was, but by taking what he was not. Nor did he empty himself by destroying what belonged to him, but by assuming what belonged to us and by being obedient as man in the form of the servant even to death upon the cross."
- Augustine
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December 22, 2005
"Home" is a Dot in the Pacific Ocean
We surprised my mom last night by showing up here. Don't get too jealous. Since it's winter, the weather will only be like this.
My internal thermometer has already readjusted itself to be "cold" on a 70degree night, my place in the kitchen of local fare has been re-established, and my ability to speak proper English is slipping away.
'Kay, pau fo' now, yeah? We talk moah bumbye.
Posted by elissa at 08:14 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
December 20, 2005
Maternal Admonitions
"You can only go if you promise that you're going to dance."
-- my conservative Japanese mother to my two youngest brothers upon their request to attend a friend's Christmas party
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December 19, 2005
If I were a Personal Friend of Colin Meloy, I would...
The Christmas cover album seems to be some sort of weird rite of passage in the recording industry: release at least two full length albums on a major record, then pause for a quick Christmas album. Most of my favorite arists and groups, however, seemed to have missed this, and, really, that's okay.
But, if I were to have a slew of them at my creative disposal, I would have, in short order:
A Nickel Creek cover of "Tennessee Christmas"
U2 singing "Angels We Have Heard on High," just to hear what Bono would do with the "glo---rias."
A Darkness cover of "O Holy Night."
Joss Stone singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside"...with whoever she wanted to.
Innocence Mission covering "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear."
Out of peverse curiousity, I would have Radiohead try their hand at "What Child is This?"
Jack Johnson would, of course, give me a local twist on "I'll Be Home for Christmas."
Sufjan... oh wait, he already did three volumes.
And, of course, a fifteen-minute The Decemberists ballad recounting the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future.
It would be fabulous.
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December 16, 2005
Words for Sounds, or, "I want a fish named "Retroflex Affricate"
Sometimes, especially after reading articles like this one, I wonder if I missed my calling to be a linguist. I've realized, however, that perhaps the biggest draw to this profession would be the fact that linguists get to use cool words.
First, they get to use fun words to designate the "place of articulation." Essentially, the place of articulation is the point of contact in your mouth or throat tocreate a specific consonant sound. For example, "bilabial" sounds are those you make by first pressing your lips together (like "m" and "p") and labiodental sounds are ones you make by touching your upper teeth to your lower lip (like "v" or "f"). No one -- not even dentists -- get to call parts of your mouth by names that are as fun to say as these. Labial, laminal, apical, dorsal, radical... did you know that such places existed?
Then, as if that wasn't enough of a riot by itself, linguists also get to fling about terms that name the manner of articulation: africate, plosive, flap, trill, nasal, and, my personal favorite, fricative. By combining the place and the manner of articulation, they describe smallest and most commonplace sounds with fabulously multi-syllabled names. Make the [v] sound. There! A voiced labiodental fricative! Woah. Now, make the [d] sound. Yes! A voiced alveolar plosive, in the wild!
Why do linguists get all the fun? I suppose we shouldn't have expected anything different. Sounds are their world, and they have knowledge of the delightful. It's understandable that they would want to keep the very best to themselves, within their discipline of sounds and tongue movements.
I admit, reluctantly, that pursuing a career based solely off an irrational love for its vocabulary would not be a wise move. I wonder, though, what my chances are of naming our next pet "Glottal Fricative."
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I Dream auf Deutsch
I dreamed about German prepositions last night.
This is especially impressive since I have not yet actually learned all the prepositions.
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December 14, 2005
Barker in Blue
An ode to a plaid shirt, Warhol style.
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December 13, 2005
An Open Letter to Freshmen
Allow me to wax sage and professorial for a moment.
Dear Freshmen,
I'm an old woman now, practically in my mid-twenties. I graduated a year and a half ago, and I was reading Dr. Seuss the year that most of you were born. But you, you are just ending your first semester as a Covenant College student. You have been here for almost 100 days. You have shared a bathroom with one, three, five, or twenty other people. You have eaten several hundred meals in the Great Hall; a few of them have probably consisted solely of cereal. You have turned in scores of chapel attendance sheets, written papers, taken tests, not slept and then overslept, gone bowling, and met people in the lunch line. I presume hopefully that most of you have also managed to accomplish this without the assistance of nicotine or alcohol.
For some of you, the thought of spending three and a half more years here is a delightful prospect. You know 70% of your classmates, you think your RA is swell, and occasionally that cute kid from across the room talks to you. Others of you, however, are already calculating arguments and tales of woe to convince your parents that calling Covenant "home" for seven more semesters is a horrible plan. You might be right, of course, but I can't help but wonder if, perhaps, you may be rushing things. Basing your expectations for the rest of your college career solely off of first semester experiences is hardly permissible.
As far as I'm concerned, everyone should have the option of designating their first college semester a wash, an enterprise that yields neither marked gain nor loss.
Continue reading "An Open Letter to Freshmen"
Posted by elissa at 09:36 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
December 09, 2005
I Haven't Been Blogging...
...because I've been painting.
(2'x2.5' on wood. Acrylic. Part 1 in the English Department series.)
* Foreman in red
* Barker in baby blue
* Hesselink in gold
* Wildeman in green
...Coming soon to a Writing Center near you.
Posted by elissa at 01:58 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
December 06, 2005
If I was a Japanese Male, I Would Wear...
There have probably been some late nights where you paced the floors restlessly, wondering what your Japanese fashion style was. Now, Non-no, a Japanese fashion magazine, is happy to help.
I ended up with some tight jeans, a gray knit cap, a layered combo of grey and white shirts, and a red, shiny, and quilted cropped jacket.
Let the Engrish be your guide.
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December 02, 2005
I am a Soft, White Ball of Fur; Hear Me Rumble
Whittier had her one-year vaccinations and check-up today.
The Animal Hospital of Signal Mountain is roughly two times nicer than any vet's office really needs to be. The ranch-house style office, the double glass doors, the mood-lit waiting room and the huge marble check-in counter all whisper "Cosmetic Surgery Boutique" or "grossly-endowed private practice." A pet-nurse in scrubs deposited us in "Exam Room 3," a sparkling, spacious room that I'm fairly certain is bigger than my freshman year dorm.
Whittier was weighed, we waited, she was vaccinated, we waited, and then we had her delightful little "fecal sample" test come back negative. She set a new record for her most sustained throaty growl yet, rumbling irately at every person who touched her.
Interactions with Whittier go something like this:
"Oh! What a pretty kitty!" unsuspecting victim reaches out hand
rumble
"Um, did your cat just growl?"
"Yeah, I wouldn't try to..."
rumble. hiss.
"Ah!"
Her eyes narrow and turn icy, and she converts all of her feline ferocity into hating you, very intently and uncompromisingly, at that moment.
Of course, maintaining this level of contempt can be exhausting, and interactions with the vet are particularly vexing. Still, it looks like -- with some dedicated couch-potatoing -- she'll bounce back quickly.
Posted by elissa at 04:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 01, 2005
Illustrated
This is how I feel about my impending December: swept up, swirling, and a little lost, wondering if it will be my friend.
(Unfortunately, I doubt that grad school applications will be as pleasantly ticklish as those grass stalks.)
On the other hand, the neat piles of Christmas and application envelopes and dutifully checked check-lists may offer consoling formal pleasure.
Here we go.
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