Yuccacentric

"If God were a french fry, He'd read this blog..."

with Guest Host Stentor Danielson

---

5.26.2001

*** I shouldn't be this tired at 12:07 pm. But I guess it's a good thing if it gets me to bed earlier. I have to actually get up tomorrow morning so we can load the car and head for Colgate. So the next time I post I'll be coming to you through the exciting Colgate network connection. Screw you, modem! Then again, on June 6 my house is getting a cable modem. So I'd win either way. But at least I won't have to fight my brothers for computer time. In fact, I'll have a single. Having a single will be very odd.

All of my IM conversations tonight have been mostly "ah" "I see" "mm" "ok" from me.

No Dave news at this time.
posted by Stentor Danielson 12:11 AM | link |

5.25.2001

*** Arg. Why must BlogVoices break right when I start blogging? It feels so pointless typing stuff here when I can't hear back. I think it's UBB syndrome -- I'm so used to writing bulletin board posts (and emails and IMs) that are pretty much begging for feedback that I can't handle blogging without BlogVoices. In theory people can email me if they have some profound observation, but most of the time that would be too much work for a silly little comment.

And why can't I shake this sneaking suspicion that Jeffords is only doing it because he loves the attention and the power trip of screwing over the whole Senate? I trust the Democrats are making nice to Zell Miller right about now. Either that or slipping Drano into Strom Thurmond's drink for insurance.
posted by Stentor Danielson 12:51 AM | link |

5.24.2001

*** I had lunch with Pastor Paul today. He almost made it the whole time without referencing The Lion King. Almost. He told me that next week there's a big meeting of the Northeast Synod of the Lutheran church, at which they will decide whether the church will be officially welcoming to homosexuals. I know nothing of church politics, so I can't make a prediction. The best I can do is say that God let me down when the Boy Scouts were in the Supreme Court, so He owes me one on this issue. Unless, of course, it turns out that homosexuality really is a sin. In which case, I'm open to suggestions for good books to get me started in Wicca...

Astute readers may note that I still think the Boy Scouts is a great organization despite their public screw-up. Draw what conclusions you will.

Dave tells me he now knows how to use a compass. Good for him.
posted by Stentor Danielson 4:34 AM | link |

5.23.2001

*** I finished the Popol Vuh today. It's bad to laugh at other people's mythology, but I just didn't know what to make of the fact that the first four people were named Jaguar Night, Jaguar Quitze, Dark Jaguar, and "Not Right Now." I wonder who would win a fight between those four and Manco Capac and the Ayar Brothers. Come to think of it, Manco Capac and the Ayar Brothers would be a good name for a rock band. I could see Mama Ocllo playing keyboards, and Ayar Cachi on drums ... And right now everyone who hasn't studied Inca mythology is backing away slowly.
posted by Stentor Danielson 1:07 AM | link |

5.22.2001

*** Today I actually did something social. Wow. I went to get ice cream with my best-friend-from-home, Jen. We hung out and I listened to her complain about the prom (yes, my best friend from home is still in high school). Everyone thinks she should go out with the guy she's taking to the prom. But there's one little complication -- he's studying to be a Catholic priest.

I started reading the Popol Vuh (Mayan creation story) today. I love mythology. But I've forgotten so much of what I used to know about the Incas, and the various tribes in Tierra del Fuego, and the Yanomami. I do remember the Collective Penis, though. I've told this story to enough other people today that I'll share it with you: The first people, according to the Ingano of southern Colombia, had no orifices. They therefore couldn't poop, so they couldn't eat, so they had to nourish themselves with steam from cooking. And if they wanted to have sex, they had to go to the river and wait for the Collective Penis to come floating on down. They were able to become fully human when the culture hero (whose name I forget) destroyed the Collective Penis ("that long thing") and ripped everyone an anus. Doug told me if I started a band called "Collective Voodoo Penis" he'd join.

As of right now I don't know what I'm doing this summer. Professor Kerber has offered to let me help with the digital photography project in the Longyear Museum, if we can get permission to ditch my old summer research project. i'm very interested in the digital photography project, and I'd like to do it even if I have to do my regular project as well. It has practical application, because we have to record all of the objects in the Museum before federal law mandates that we repatriate them to the relevant Native American Nations.

More people should use the "Symbol" font. And they should have Arabic and Hebrew and Cyrillic and Ethiopian and Creek and Ogham fonts too.

No Dave news.
posted by Stentor Danielson 3:05 AM | link |

5.21.2001

*** I'm going to have to completely revamp my summer research project. I thought I could get the data I need from New South Wales National Parks Service, but it turns out I'd have to negotiate with 160 Local Aboriginal Land Councils. That could take months. So I'm going to do my case study of New York State instead, in hopes that I can get that data much easier.

I bought new pants today. Woo. I got them at Woolrich. But I keep wanting to call it "Woolworth's." Some part of my brain thinks I bought my pants at the grocery store.
posted by Stentor Danielson 1:49 AM | link |

5.20.2001

*** So I'm having this weird inferiority thing right now. My friend Christine told me how much work she (as a history major at Penn State) did for a typical class. This only cemented my theory that I do far less class work than anyone else. A good class to me is a 5-page paper and a 10-page paper, plus a midterm and a final. And every semester I have at least one class that's essentially no writing. I think I have some secret knack for picking easy classes without realising it (hint for Colgate people: if you want a joke class for social sciences distribution, take GEOG 102). At the same time, though, I feel really busy and overwhelmed. Last semester I even declined to do things (like help Keith Brooks, who I respect immensely, with the Prism more) because I was "too busy." Of course, I think the hardest possible course of study for a SOAN/GEOG double major is by definition easier than the easiest possible course of study for any natural sciences major. But even the other geographers are working harder than I am. So if any of you ever hear me whingeing about how much work I have, smack me. I assure you, my whingeing will be completely unjustified.

Can you tell I just remembered the a name tag?

It seems Dave will be on campus from time to time this summer.
posted by Stentor Danielson 11:48 PM | link |

*** There's my problem. I forgot to hit "publish" last night. How silly of me.
posted by Stentor Danielson 9:53 AM | link |

*** I ate some "Extreme Butter" popcorn today. The package advertised "made with real butter!" and "artificial flavors." I'm guessing that they put on enough of each for a package of single-flavored popcorn, because it was really buttery.

Apparently there is no "All Your Blog Are Belong To Us." I find that lack of uncreative seizure of an overused catchphrase apalling. There is an "all your base are belong to us" blog listed in Blogger's directory, but that doesn't quite cut it because it failed to combine the two concepts in the title. Sheesh. And clicking on the ayb link takes you to a page called "Jaded." My confidence in the Web is slipping. Also, Yuccacentric is on page 130 of 130 in the by-names directory.

Can you tell I'm stretching for material?

We had a Dave sighting on IM today. He will be departing again Monday. He said many enlightening things in our brief conversation, including "this whole traveling deal is annoying" and "you feel like it." OK, so it wasn't a thrilling conversation. But he told me how to manually update the archives.
posted by Stentor Danielson 1:38 AM | link |