Tuesday, July 31, 2012

A moment of pause

 And now for something completely different.

My last entry was difficult to write, to say the least. Actually, the writing part came easily. There was a lot bottled up there, and it came out in a surprisingly verbose manner. (That's usually what ends up happening--for me, anyway.) The hard part was thinking about it after I posted it. Was it unfair to one side or the other? Should I bend to the loyalties of my school, or to the people who said they didn't completely agree with me? I had a few nights of tossing and turning anxiously in bed. In the end, I kept it the way it was, because I didn't know what else to write. There's just too much to say about the whole thing, and I feel like I said what I could--what I was qualified to say.

New evidence will continue to come out, and who knows what time will tell. A letter from Graham Spanier, further allegations--these will all change opinions and the general feeling about the whole situation. At that point in time, those were my feelings. They were difficult to write, but write we must, for I could not be silent any longer. At some level, it feels like a cop-out, in many different ways. The part that troubles me the most is the words against Joe Paterno, not because he may be innocent, but because he's dead. He can't defend himself, and to me, there's something quintessentially wrong about crucifying a man who can't defend himself. I think a part of me will always be troubled about that.

 And now, we move on to some interesting bits I've perused lately. (Sorry, there really was no great transition between Joe Paterno and a list of cool stuff.) This video, featuring Dr. Neil Degrasse Tyson, will blow your mind. Well okay, I don't claim it will blow your mind, but it will give you a moment of pause, which might be all you have time for.


And, it features one of my favorite songs to boot, the Cinematic Orchestra's To Build a Home. I've always thought of that as a sad song; this is the first time I've thought of it with some kind of hope as well.

While we're on videos, this cracks me up:


 See 1:01, at the copy machine? I make that face when confronted with a plate of cookies, too. And I love Sesame Street for adapting to the new generation.

And, while we're on videos AND overplayed songs, the makers of this claim that everyone has done it. This may be true for guys, but for girls it isn't. When this song comes on, every girl I know starts up: "Oh, this song is EXACTLY what happened between me and my ex-boyfriend/lover/hookup!" And then the story proceeds, even if it has absolutely nothing to do with Gotye's lyrics. I think we're all just looking for an excuse to talk about our exes.

But, for guys this could be very true.



In her latest blog post, Orangette pointed out this essay as a sterling example of summer, and I agree. It's a bit dense, but worth reading through. It'll make you feel intelligent and literary, and it'll simultaneously make you feel like you want to sit out on your wrap-around porch, drinking this and enjoying the twilight. Accomplishing both those things in one essay is not an easy feat.

I don't want to get married or settle down or find an ordinary 9-to-5, I just want to do this.

 Or this. Denise was in grad school at Penn State during my earlier undergrad years, and although I never met her directly, our paths crossed several times. She wrote a great article for Salon.com that underscored her talent (and made me go, "Really?! She was married to the Black Keys's Patrick Carney? Really?!). I've read and reread it, it's just so darn interesting. Good for her.

I've been cooking somewhat lately, which feels great. This was delicious. This was also great, and incredibly simple, AND Katie's website is awesome--I'll blog about that later. If I were still home, I could really go for this adorable peach pie with the lattice top. I've never made a lattice top, but the lead photo alone leaves me with the insane desire to try one. Hopefully mid-August isn't too late for fresh peaches? If so, this is also tempting and summery. I'm all about simplicity in the kitchen lately--summer just screams simplicity surrounding food. (Check out that alliteration!)


I'm not crazy about the food at camp, but the other day the kitchen made these crazy good bar-cookie-thingies that I couldn't quite define. "I think they're a cross between bar cookies and seven-layer bars," said one of my employers as she tucked into a second helping. That lead me on a search to these gems (although this recipe also looks pretty good). I didn't feel like going out to the grocery store, so I made a few swaps out of necessity and preference (almonds for the pecans, peanut butter chips subbed in for some of the butterscotch, a sprinkle of salt instead of salted butter) and they were still a hit. I made a batch for the nurses at the hospital, but alas, there was no chance of them even getting to the hospital. One word of warning, though: wait until they cool. No matter how good they smell fresh out of the oven. A crumbly tongue lashing awaits you if you eat them straight away. I speak from experience.

Oh, and use slightly more graham crackers than she calls for. One can never have too much graham cracker crust.

I was looking up ways to donate to charities and found this great website. It's a great way to make any sort of event--a 5K, a party, anything!--a cause. I'm considering using it for something... Not quite sure what yet, but something.

A TV show about podunk Canadian Muslims? On Hulu? This intrigues me. Enough to watch it? Time (and boredom) will tell. Eh? (Because it's Canadian. You know. Eh.)

Major headlines about my school aside, I think it's really cool that a few students get the opportunity to cover the Olympics. Makes me almost wish I was a journalism major again. Almost. (And while we're on the Olympics, can I just say how sad I am that I'm at camp and can't watch them? The last time the summer Olympics took place, I was on wisdom teeth-strength narcotics that enabled me to stay up all night and watch the events in real time. Sniff.)

And, while we're on the Olympics, the new Queen meme is awesome--and versatile!

Finally, I leave you with this.


This isn't a hit of the summer, or even an oldie, but it's what I listen to before I go to bed, and in my quiet, alone moments, and sometimes in the car when I'm by myself. It's inspiring; it's moving. It hits that spot in my inner self I'm still struggling to understand. It's a good reminder of where we're going in life, why we weren't ultimately meant to be alone. Most of us, anyway.

And finally finally, not to bang my own drum too much or anything, but guess who's done her application for grad school? THIS GIRL.

1 comment:

  1. wowww I love this post! The Gotye video was great haha and THANK YOU for the shout out! I haven't had a chance to make yummy delicious things recently but I shall tomorrow, and it will be good. I think im going to try those hello dolly bars AND that girl who went on that trip... i love her blog. thanks for fueling my online reading time for today :)

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