Holiday Break!

We start the long drive to Michigan tonight. I am excited because it means one more hellish semester is behind me and I have two weeks of family, relaxation and mental recess. I won't work on school stuff until after the New Year save for a syllabus I need to write for next semester.

Instead, I will read and watch movies. And watch Central Michigan University play in a BOWL GAME. YES. A BOWL GAME.

I have lists...I love lists...

Books:
Other Voices, Other Rooms (Capote)
Work Freak (Fatsis)
Middlesex (Eugenides)
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath (um...Plath)

Movies: (We may spend a small fortune on movies this month)
Bobby
Marie Antoinette (I hope it is still out there somewhere...)
The Queen
The Holiday
Factory Girl
Little Children
The Good Shepard
The Good German
Miss Potter

Exactly!

* feministing.com
** LOVE IT!

This is bad

It is sad when anyone is sick....it is VERY sad when there is a chance that his illness could shift control of the Senate.

MSNBC is currently reporting that Senator Tim Johnson (D-SD) has suffered a stroke.

I'm pretty sure that most people who read this blog would agree that we DO NOT want the governor of South Dakota naming his replacement.

This is bad.

Details

The past week or so when I wanted to (a) delay writing my final papers or (b) chill out after writing for many hours, I would read Jonathan Franzen's The Discomfort Zone. Franzen is the author of a fantastic, fantastic, fantastic book called The Corrections. I highly recommend both.

While I was reading, my new it-song of 2006 Baby's Got It In The Genes (Roman Candle) kept running through my head. Not because the words were anything alike but because the reason I like both works is because of the style. Both Franzen and Roman Candle tell me all the details I never knew I needed to know. When Franzen writes I think, "yes...of course...of course you were wearing ripped jeans...and of course the rug looked like that...and yes. yes! that is exactly what adolescence was like." And Roman Candle..."of course you bought raisins and a baby ruth...because that's what you do when you mourn a lost love. Obviously...."

And really...really?...when you reflect back on circumstances from your own life...you remember those needless, mundane details...those details that turn out to be really important. And I appreciate artists who know that. And they share those details with us. And their stuff doesn't sound like some 13 year old's livejournal.

Some words about love

I love you so much that if I was on the Real World, I would hook up with you and then NOT hook up with your best friend in the house....

...I love you so much that I always warn you when I open the dishwasher door to let the dishes dry. I don't want you to trip like Zach Braff's mom on Garden State.

A Visual Argument

With the semester coming to a close and everyone traveling to their respective homes in different states for our holiday break, we got together last night to let our hair down. We needed a break from the work and wanted to have one more crazy night in Athens in 06.

We danced, we sang, and we played our favorite game. The photographer yells out something, you act it out and they snap a picture. Last night we were: frying bacon, koala bears, triceratops and....are you ready?....

REPUBLICANS.

Best. picture. ever.

Testing the Waters

Well.....Hillary stated yesterday that she was "going to go for this thing." The thing being the presidency. She's jumping in...and with all the money she already has, she's jumping in head first.

I don't know, folks. I want to be happy. I want to get fully behind her. I want to yell "YEAR OF THE WOMAN....HEAR US ROAR!" I love Bill. I love Hillary. (I even love Chelsea...because...really?? Good for her for getting through those really awkward years of adolescence while being watched by the whole country. ) I write about Hillary. And read about Hillary. I feel like I KNOW Hillary. I think she is strong, capable, smart and sassy. I'm not even really that bothered by her previous pro-war stance because I think she's revoked it. And I think reflection and "flipping and flopping" in a politician is refreshing and welcomed. I appreciate her ability to admit she was wrong and her willingness to work bi-partisanly (is that a word?!) to fix this mess. And I'm slightly bothered by her (very) moderate abortion position as of late but I'm willing to look past it because I know she is still pro-choice and I know that she is better than than the alternative.

But this is the thing...I don't want the baggage. The Clinton baggage. Because, the fact is...that for as many people who love Hillary and Bill...there are just as many who passionately despise them. That's the baggage. You know it's there. You know that there are people who will sandbag her...dig up ridiculous stuff on her...and distract from the message she has to spread. We (as Democrats) don't need distraction. We don't. We've had it...we've succumbed to it...and we've been beaten by it.

I'm not skittish because of Obama. Because I don't believe it is his time either. I am hopeful about the guy. Excited about his future. But it isn't his time. Too soon. I don't want him to waste his time.

I may be a little skittish because I am still holding out hope for Al Gore. You people know I love me some Al Gore. (and Kos says Gore is the only one who can derail the Obama train) I also love me some John Edwards. That ticket excites me. Excites me so much I would take a year off from dissertating and stump all over the country. I believe in those two men. And right now. RIGHT. NOW. well....I just don't have that hope for Hillary. But the election season is young. And, like I said, I'm okay with flipping and flopping.

A sense of place

December is a stressful time for graduate students. That may explain my desire to curl up and sleep under this sign. Only, it was in a stairwell....so that would have been awkward and maybe even illegal.

Chicks Dig It

Last night Becca and I ventured into Atlanta to see the Dixie Chicks! This concert has been a long time coming...we were supposed to go to the concert in October but they had to condense tour dates and so they bumped their ATL shows to December. We got to the arena nice and early and it paid off! Instead of having a view like THIS:

We had a view like THIS: (Hi Natalie)
Yep, we got an upgrade. A BIG upgrade. We were so close that at one point, Natalie's twin boys were dancing NEXT TO US. I have pictures but feel weird about having pictures of someone else's kids. I feel a little like the paparazzi so I'm not going to post them.

The chicks were GREAT. They played a very long set and hit all my favorites. They weren't overtly political save for their lyrics and their stage entrance--they came out to Hail To the Chief. But they were extremely gracious and careful. But not too careful--they still have a lot of sass! Plus, you can tell how strong they are when they play a two hour show in THESE shoes.

Overall, the chicks were funny, engaging, talented and extremely beautiful. SO beautiful.
Kinda like the concert goers :)....

* more pictures in my shutterfly account

PLAY LIST:

Lubbock Or Leave It
Truth No. 2
Goodbye Earl
The Long Way Around
Landslide
Everybody Knows
The Neighbor
Cowboy Take Me Away
Lullaby
White Trash Wedding
Lil’ Jack Slade
Not Ready to Make Nice
Easy Silence
Long Time Gone
Some Days You Gotta Dance
I Hope
Top of the World
Wide Open Spaces
Sin Wagon
ENCORE
Travelin’ Soldier
Mississippi
Ready to Run