12/30/05: Washington Trip
Amber and I just spent eight days in Washington visiting her father Mathew. There are pictures in my Washington Trip Scrapbook.
12/09/05:
11/21/05: Ballet, Turkey, and Quiddich:
It was a fun-filled weekend. Friday and Saturday were my performances with Worcester Youth Ballet's Nutcracker. Robert and I went out for drinks afterwards with his girlfriend Ling, and Amber and her friend Theresa (visiting from Texas) came too.
Then Sunday was our traditional pre-Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Chuck and Heather, followed by a late viewing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The movie was good. The end scene with Cedric is one of the most memorable moments for me from the six books so far, so I was glad to see it done well. Also of note, the turmoil at the Quidditch World Cup was much darker in the movie than I envisioned it in the book, and probably rightly so.
11/17/05: Birthdays and Neighbors:
Today is my little sister's birthday. It's also my fiance's birthday. Happy birthday to both of them. When I was in Spencer this afternoon I ran into my upstairs neighbor. She was working the customer service desk at Price Chopper. I always wondered what she did for work. Then, about five hours later Amber and I were going into Biagio's for her birthday dinner and our upstairs neighbor was the hostess! This was amazing to me that I would bump into her at both of her jobs in the same day. This is especially funny since we were contemplating her second job this afternoon.
11/07/05: Don't be Ungrateful
Howard Mechanic, who previously was arrested and jailed for protesting the Vietnam War, is running for town council in Prescott, Arizona. Laurel Druley from NPR member station KNAU reported on the story, and included the ranting of a Vietnam Vet who claimed that by going off to fight he gave Mechanic his opportunity to protest the war. I would ask if the vet thought the same regarding those who protest capital punishment. After all, if it weren't for those mass murderers, you wouldn't have the opportunity to protest, so don't forget who you should be thanking around the holidays.
11/1/05: Drink Up!
"A study by Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Council of 1,500 people found that some 58 percent of them agreed that sometimes having too much to drink was 'simply part of the Australian way of life'." - AP Article
I'm pretty sure most of the cultures I've come into contact with would agree with the Australians. Becoming intoxicated from time to time is expected at weddings, parties, and most holidays. I'm a little surprised that over 40% think otherwise.
10-31-05: Feeling Rested on a Sunday Morning
Amber and I were enjoying our extra hour yesterday with the end of daylight savings, and she asked why we couldn't do that more often. So I suggested we get rid of leap day. Instead of adding twenty four hours every four years, we add one hour every two months. Anyone upset by this because they were born on February 29th, such as Amber's youngest sister, think of it this way. No one else would have your birthday – you'd be that much more special. And the rest of us could sleep in that much more.
10-27-05: Halloween "undermines our cultural identity," complained the Rev. Giordano Frosini, a Roman Catholic theologian who serves as vicar-general in the Diocese of Pistoia near Florence, Italy.
Frosini denounced the holiday as a "manifestation of neo-paganism" and an expression of American cultural supremacy. "Pumpkins show their emptiness," he said. (From an AP article)
10-26-05:
October is Energy Awareness Month, not that any of us would know. FEMP, the Federal Energy Management Program, does a great job of covering it up. The only reason I know, and I'm an energy guy, is because my company handed out some pamphlets on saving energy at home. Here is some advice from me to you:
10-22-05: Amber and I saw Boston Ballet's Cinderella last night at the Wang Center. To give it a fresh feel, the ballet was set in the 20's, so think F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was fun, but as Amber put it, didn't bring the magic.
Also, I finally got a new car. Amber co-signed my car loan. It's a 2001 mazda 626. I just missed my last mazda too much.
10-19-05: I really dislike having to buy a car. It forces me to deal with banks and insurance companies, the two institutions I probably loathe the most. Combine that with the fact I have the Kansas City Royals of a credit score, and you begin to understand my frustration. And I was just beginning to enjoy not having a car payment each month.
10-14-05:
10-11-05: Amber and I saw the new Wallace and Gromit movie on Saturday. It was on par with the previous movies, so if you're a W&G fan, this movie won't disappoint. If you've never seen them think Chicken Run except with people, a dog, and some bunnies.
Rehearsals for Nutcracker have started again. This year I'm only doing one part, which greatly reduces the amount of time I have to be at Pasow. The public performances are Friday November 18th at 7:30, and Saturday November 19th at 2:00 and 7:30. We'll be at Clark University's Atwood Hall again this year.
10-4-05: My previous post regarding Saudi Arabia propaganda, which is exactly how I would characterize it, led me to click on a link regarding The Order of Skull and Bones. This is the secret fraternity at Yale that was briefly mentioned during the past presidential debates since both leading candidates were known to be members.
http://www.parascope.com/articles/0997/skullbones.htm
I'm not saying I believe the information to be fact (see my website's disclaimer regarding linked web pages), but even non-conspiracy gurus would stop and pause after reading portions of it.
10-4-05: The United States has been the chief recipient of Saudi Arabian oil ever since significant amounts were discovered there in 1938. The Persian Gulf War and the present occupation of Iraq are the result of President Carter's 1980 State of the Union in which he stated that the U.S. will use force to protect its oil interests in the Middle East. This became known as the Carter Doctrine. President Ronald Reagan extended the policy in 1981 with the Reagan Corollary to the Carter Doctrine, which proclaimed that the United States would intervene to protect Saudi Arabia, whose security was threatened after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. As a result the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been able to coexist for the past seventy-plus years. That symbiotic relationship has been threatened ever since allegations emerged that Saudi Arabia has been harboring terrorist groups with ties to Al-Qaeda. Michael Moore's suggestion that intimate ties between the American Bush dynasty, the Saudi Royal Family, and the Bin Laden family may have limited Washington's foresight into the September 11th attacks was presented in his movie Fahrenheit 9/11.
Knowing this, I was not surprised to find the following 'advertisement' displayed in my browser after I sent a free greeting card on the Internet. Below this image was a short poll asking, in addition to my email address and zip code, two questions. First, did I believe the U.S. should maintain a good relationship with Saudi Arabia? Second, is Saudi Arabia a partner in the global war against terrorism? The 'advertisement' was sponsored by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
10-3-05: It is not for kings to drink wine,
Not for rulers to crave beer,
Lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
And deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Give beer to those who are perishing,
Wine to those who are in anguish;
Let them drink and forget their poverty
And remember their misery no more.
Proverbs 31:4 - 31:7
9-30-05: Amber and I heard David McCullough speak last night at the American Antiquarian Society about his newest book, 1776. Amber's friend Jackie works there and was able to get us the tickets. I read the book over the summer and liked it very much.
9-29-05: I auditioned for Company X, the adult dance company formed last year by the Performing Arts School of Worcester. It compliments the student company, known as the Worcester Youth Ballet. I got word today from the director that they will not be taking any new dancers into the company this year. I'm not sure why they held auditions then.
9-28-05:
Mike and Mandi are both studying in Scotland. Before they left the country they spent a few days in Worcester, including a trip to the Ecotarium's Canopy Walk.
9-27-05: I have tickets to the ALDS this year, but I'll only get to go if the remaining games work out in my favor. The Red Sox first need to make it into the post season, and since my tickets are for the 3rd home game at Fenway Park, I need the Sox to have home field advantage, and I need the series to go to a deciding game 5. So, Amber and I are either going to watch the post season on TV, or we're going to see one hell of a game.
9-25-05: On Friday we went into Boston and had a nice pre-anniversary dinner at an Ricardo's Ristorante in the North End. That was a lot of fun. We even stopped at Modern Pastry on Hanover Street before walking back to the car.
Yesterday we went apple picking at Brookfield Orchards. I picked up some apple butter, which doesn't have any butter in it but is great on toast. I also brought my camera and will upload new pics to my Amber page and my family image gallery.
9-22-05: Today is the Autumnal Equinox. Although it is said that on the equinox day and night are equal length, this is not true. The center of the sun will set 12 hours after it rose all over the world. But because sunrise starts when the top of the sun breaches the horizon and sunset ends when the top of the sun disappears below the opposite horizon, day is always longer than night on the equinox.
And according to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), 1 second will need to be added onto the clock on December 31st. Their clock, which they keep for their own record keeping and is, in fact, about 30s off from International Atomic Time, will do something like this:
23h 59m 59s - 1s before midnight on New Year's Eve
23h 59m 60s - Midnight
00h 00m 00s - Midnight will repeat itself
That's pretty impressive. I can just picture a bunch of guys at IERS drinking fruit punch on New Years, sitting around a computer terminal, waiting to see the clock stay at midnight for 1 extra second. And because their clock is 30s off from atomic time, they can still watch the ball drop on TV.
9-21-05: So let me get this straight. First a sovereign nation is invaded with the intent of removing a tyrannical ruler from power and installing a republic. Members of the coalition force who invaded then remain in the country to quell violence and further the pursuit of democracy. After two such soldiers are arrested by the newly installed government under bogus charges, the government of the soldiers uses force to free them. Isn't that a lot like spending money to send your dog to a special school so he won't chase rabbits anymore, and then after he gets out and a rabbit approaches him you stew the rabbit? Yeah that's right. Money well spent.
9-21-05: In the spirit of the beer commercial where the guy's superpower is to turn an old shoe into a Heineken, I asked my friends what their not-so-ordinary superpower would be. Here are some of the replies:
9-20-05: I've been busy with my new job. I'm working for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. I'm in the Power and Electronic Systems department, which is located at the Surveillance and Sensor Systems facility in Sudbury. They're letting me do a 9/80 work schedule, which means I work 80 hours over 9 days and get every other Friday off. My first off day is this Friday, which also happens to be the -1 year anniversary of my and Amber's wedding.
9-19-05: Argh, matey. Me woke up speanin' kinah funny this mornin'. Me thinks it may be Talk Like a Pirate Day. Now, where be that damn perrot?
9-16-05: Happy Birthday Mom!!
8-31-05: We went to see The Wedding Crashers last night. It's a very funny movie, but I especially think people who are in the middle of planning weddings should go see it.
Speaking of which, Amber and I are looking into incorporating elements of Handfasting into our ceremony.
8-29-05:
389days 13hours 49minutes 7seconds
Amber and I got a housewarming present today that included a little clock that counts down until our wedding day.
8-26-05: It's fun seeing what newspaper headlines and magazine covers were out the day/month you were born. Take this cover of Esquire from April, 1980 for example.
8-25-05: If you can read this than my website's DNS listing has been updated to point to my new hosting provider. Thanks to Lemure.net for hosting me (free of charge) for a few years. New bandwidth limitations has pushed me to finally break down and pay for hosting service from hostgator.com.
8-19-05: I'm wearing linen pants, I got free super-saver shipping at amazon.com, good friends are in from out of town, and I just gave my 2-week notice at work. Life is good.
8-02-05: It turns out that Global Warming is the direct result of a decreasing number of Pirates.
8-01-05: Wedding Progress Checklist:
7-25-05: I finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last week. After some reflection I've decided to believe the following:
7-20-05: While Amber and I were standing at the American Eagle counter at the airport on St. Kitts, wondering if we'd ever get off the island, we suddenly got the idea of eloping. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a great idea. After we got checked back into the Marriott (our home for two more days) I officially asked her if she'd marry me. She said yes.
We weren't able to elope down there so we remained engaged, but without a ring. I fixed that on Friday. So now Amber has the ring to prove it. Hopefully that will keep all those other suitors at bay.
We have a date and a location, possibly a dress, a first go at a guest list, and a bunch of family and friends who, for the most part, couldn't be happier for us. Yay!
7-15-05: It's been alleged that presidential advisor Karl Rove may have leaked the identity of a CIA agent to a reporter that was doing a story on Joseph Wilson, the agent's husband. Wilson is noted as being the last U.S. diplomat to meet with Saddam Hussein (in 1991). He has voiced opposition to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
According to Rove's attorney he'll be exonerated on the issue of leaking Wilson's wife's identity, based on grand jury testimony. I don't think it needs to be proved that Rove leaked the name as part of a smear campaign. He apparently admits to discussing Wilson's wife's occupation with multiple reporters, all of which supposedly brought up the CIA connection first. Why should we tolerate a senior white house advisor confirming the identity or even discussing the identity of a CIA agent? Fire him.
7-13-05: On Friday Amber and I were at the St. Kitts airport ready to leave and they tell us that the plane is having some sort of mechanical problem and they need to limit the number of passengers. The Saturday flights were all cancelled due to a fire at the airport, so we flew off the island on Sunday. That flight was 2 hours late though, so we once again missed our connector in San Juan and had to spend the night. Another do-not-disturb sign later (which we've taken to collecting) and we were finally on our way back to contiguously dry land - three days late.
The moral of the story: there are probably worse places to have gotten stuck, but anywhere together was better than anywhere apart.
7-12-05:
ITER is building a fusion reactor in France. Basically their squeezing matter together. Too bad it takes more energy right now to get the plant up and running than it actually produces.
6-29-05: The last time I heard Bob Woodward speak he was at Clark University on a book tour for Bush At War. Keep in mind that Clark is an extremely liberal campus (Michael Moore and Kevin Smith were popular guest speakers in recent years) and the so-called "liberal press" side of Woodward was showing through. At the same time, you could trust every word that came out of his mouth (unlike Moore or Smith or Bush) as fact, or at the least, an intellectual interpretation of facts.
Any political operative knows the Mike Dukakis answer to capital punishment. When asked by Bernard Shaw during a 1988 presidential debate if he would support the death penalty were his wife raped and murdered, Dukakis answered that he would not, as he opposes the death penalty (read more). His answer, like most of his campaign, lacked compassion. The correct answer is, of course, "I'd kill the bastard myself". Obviously you cannot have the governor of Massachusetts carrying out such things, but most people relate to that response - hence its appropriateness during a nationally televised debate.
Fast forward more than a decade to the terrorist attacks of 2001. President Bush's response is akin to blind rage. By mixing up an old grudge against Saddam Hussein with that towards Osama Bin Laden, he has spent almost $200,000,000,000 of our money thus far, and more than 1,700 Americans aren't coming back because of it. 12,000 Iraqi civilians are dead.
I've heard of an eye for an eye, but that's a response of almost 5:1. Bush's greatest downfall is that he relates leadership with public opinion. His arguments are not persuasive, and he lacks heroic conviction. Basically I'm calling him a dumb coward. It makes me sick to see politically neutral citizens of our country lambasted and won over by his rhetoric.
6-24-05: Monday will be the five year anniversary of the day Molly was abducted. The fifth annual Ride for Molly will be on Sunday, with all proceeds benefiting the Molly Bish Foundation.
6-22-05: The House votes on the Flag Burning Amendment again today. Evidentally passing the House has never been a problem, but it always stalls in the Senate. Personally I'm agains the Amendment, citing free speech. Here's a quote from an AP article I read on yahoo.com.
Supporters of the amendment, like Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey, say that "to burn a flag is to disrespect America."
Obviously I would prefer it if nobody burned our flag, but I don't think we as a country have any right to demand respect from all the people of Earth - not even our own.
6-20-05: I've been lactose intolerant ever since I spent 2 months in Thailand. It took about two years to develop fully. Now I can barely even look at a dairy cow. Here are my Top 10 Foods I Miss Since Becoming Lactose Intolerant:
6-20-05:
Performing Arts School of Worcester - Summer Open Classes
June 27th to August 31st
Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00-5:30, ages 10-12
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays 6-7:30, ages 13 to adult
6-16-05: So it turns out that Goddard Library at Clark University does indeed look like a pile of stacked books from the air.
6-14-05: Last week Amber texted me that she was at Cafe Dolce. I texted her back telling her to have a piece of penut butter pie. She had just ordered a piece of penut butter pie.
Yesterday she texted me that she was at Tatnuck Booksellers. I was thinking of texting her asking her to buy me a bookmark. But I didn't. She bought me a bookmark.
I gave her a short walking tour of Clark University yesterday. She'll be starting a grad program in English in September. She's even been offered a TA position. I find that ironic since most of my TA's in college didn't even speak English.
6-10-05: A while ago I found a copy of "Why England Slept" in a used bookstore in Worcester. It was a first edition and I didn't have enough money on me to buy it, so I tucked it onto a shelf where it would be hardly noticed (hopefully) until I could return. When I did return a few months later it was gone.
It seems that about that time Amber received a first edition copy of this book from someone who worked at this very same store.
6-07-05: "WPI is a modern university built on New England tradition, and your graduates are helping all of us build a brighter future." - Senator Edward Kennedy addressing the Inauguration of Dennis D. Berkey as President of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Read the entire speech here, or watch the video.
6-07-05: Yesterday my company had a design review for a high speed generator we're developing for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command) and KAPL were also in attendance. KAPL is the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory which is a Government-owned, contractor-operated research and development facility that supports the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
6-06-05:
Yesterday's performances of Sleeping Beauty went very well. It's good to still look 19, even if my dance partners were 13 and 14. Although no one of relation attended, my girlfriend, my ex girlfriend, and my ex girlfriend's new girlfriend were there.
6-03-05: Who ever heard of a New England Clam Bake without any clams? Damn red tide. I suppose there is prudence in Amber's policy of only eatting seafood when you can actually see the ocean.
6-02-05: Amber and I found something we disagree on: she thinks 1984 is a better "utopian society" book than Brave New World. What's up with that?
5-24-05: I'm at the Manhattan Beach Marriott outside of LA attending the Mathworks International Aerospace and Defense Conference. It's my first time in California, and I don't mind pointing out it's 75 degrees with clear skies right now, as compared to the 40 degrees with rainy skies back home. That and, you know, Rapid Device Prototyping rocks my world.
5-23-05: So I accidentally used the 'g' word yesterday in reference to Amber, and I say accidentally because it was without clearing it with her first. It dons on me that I haven't used that word in over three years, since the 'f' word doesn't count (fiance).
5-20-05: Various friends over the years have used LiVEJOURNAL, and I finally got tired of having to post comments anonymously - so I created an account. As for my own not-so-daily diary, I have my own blog for that. [Note: MS Word doesn't recognize 'blog' in its dictionary. Shouldn't that have been added during one of those damn annoying auto-updates?]
5-18-05: I'm moving to Clinton! We're going from 1 bathroom per person to 3 people per bathroom. Gaa! is all I have to say about that. But at least my cell phone coverage will improve. Amber got misguided in Webster last night and couldn't get ahold of me for assistance. I can just imagine her live journal entry.
5-14-05: So I've been seeing my former co-worker's wife's co-worker's former student. Her name is Amber. This is what she had to say in her live journal after a trip to my place: "But I have to admit that I was laughing at myself for once again driving around Webster at 3 am. Man, I hate that town. When I was a kid I thought it sucked....and now, I'm pretty damn sure."
5-11-05: I wrote a letter today to the office of Senator Kennedy concerning the Cape Wind Project, which proposes the installation of wind turbines in Nantucket Sound. Senator Kennedy has made statements that would make some believe he's not in favor of the project. Many of the opponents are local residents who don't want changes made to their view of the Sound. Senator Kennedy would be one of the affected residents. My letter presented my own view, and asked for clarification on his.
5-5-05:
trait snapshot: rarely irritated, positive, tough, non phobic, fearless, likes the unknown, self reliant, high self control, confident, trusting, strong instincts, prudent, optimistic, willful, likes parties, prefers a specialized career, takes charge, altruistic, strong, high self concept, adventurous, practical, thoughtful
Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com
4-26-05: Read this, actually you can just skim it. What Michelle doesn't tell you is that while interning she did this. I wonder whose idea that was?
4-25-05: It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery, from his book, Wind, Sand, and Stars
4-13-05:
Google has added a new search engine for scholarly publications. It's very useful for, say, finding out about magnetohydrodynamic propulsion or using ammonia as a source of hydrogen in proton exchange membrane fuel cells or what papers your boss has published.
4-8-05:
So it turns out that 80% of men prefer their women fur free.
4-5-05:
I crashed my car on Thursday. Some how I only had a tiny scratch. Can't say the same for my car though.
4-4-05:
The ice on the lake melted this weekend!!
4-4-05: The Four Cardinal Virtues are Temperance (restraint), Fortitude (courage), Prudence (caution), and Justice (fairness).
Each virtue lies between the unnatural passions. Moral judgment lies between craftiness and thoughtlessness; self-restraint, between obduracy (stubbornness) and licentiousness (extravagance); courage, between overbearingness and cowardice; justice between over-frugality and greed. The four virtues constitute an image of the heavenly man, while the eight unnatural passions constitute an image of the earthly man.
Well, Doug says he definitely considers himself to be a man of the Earth, while Brendan says he's the salt of the Earth. Genn, whose Jewish, had no comment.
I say, eat your damn chicken and stop complaining about the asparagus.
4-2-05: Happy Birthday Felicia!!
3-27-05: The Telegram and Gazette said that today was a good day to celebrate the revitalization of faith in society. "Spiritual Rebirth" they called it. I guess they're referring to the moral uprising that is flushing our free society down the toilet.
3-25-05:
"A joint effort by the Guangzhou Soldiers Acrobatics Troupe and the Shanghai Metropolitan Dance Company, it will wow the audiences with both acrobatic skills and the graceful style of the western ballet." - www.china.org.cn
3-22-05: My friend Ben just got back from a trip to Thailand. He told me about a new non-stop flight being offered by Thai Airways. It starts May 1st and only takes 17 hours to travel from New York's JFK to Bangkok International Airport. Back in 2001 it took me 24 hours to fly from Boston to Bangkok with layovers in the twin cities and Tokyo.
3-21-05: A few days ago someone asked me what I gave up for Lent. My answer was religion.
3-20-05: Yesterday I started rehearsals for Pasow's Sleeping Beauty. I'll be dancing the role of the Prince. The title role has been double cast (there are two shows). Here is a picture of one of them from The Nutcracker. Both shows are on June 5th at Clark University (1PM and 5PM).
3-18-05: Happy Birthday Dad!
3-14-05: Sweet Charity was set for a pre-Broadway run in Boston this month, starring Christina Applegate. Unfortunately it seems she's broken her foot during a show in Chicago, and will most likely miss the entire Boston run. Now I'm glad I didn't buy tickets to it, as I was contemplating. The only reason to go would have been to see her in it.
3-11-05: "Whenever we're about to do something truly regrettable we always say that the French have been doing it for years."
A quote from the movie Stage Beauty, which is about a woman who wants to be an actor, in a time when all roles were played by men.
3-10-05: "An 8-0 run put the Cougars on top by four. A Diana Cincotta jumper had the Lions trailing, 17-14, with 8:10 left in the half. Unknown to West Boylston at the time, they were the last points they scored in the half.
Kelsey O'Keefe was her most dangerous from that point on. Scoring 14 points over the final 7:46, including a 3-pointer, as part of a 23-0 run, the Cougars went into the half ahead, 40-14."
This was in today's Telegram & Gazette. Quaboag, my hometown team, won the Central Mass. Division 3 semifinal last night 69-37. Kelsey O'Keefe scored 36 points, 1 point less than the entire other team.
3-2-05: Top 10 Things I've Learned From Ballet - by Andrew Keefe
3-1-05: I took part in the Landmark Forum this weekend. It was inspiring. I left it with a better understanding of how I relate to other people in my life, and about how being present to how I am being every moment creates a clearing in which unlimited possibilities can be created. The possibilities I have thus far created after participating in the Landmark Forum have had a positive impact on my life.
How often do you create possibilities that touch, move, or inspire yourself or others?
2-20-05:
We were finally able to skate on the lake today. Check out some pictures in my gallery.
2-11-05: I love languages, so when I stumbled across The Phrase Finder, it was like finding leftover Halloween candy in my desk at work. Basically it's a free searchable/browsable database of English phrases and their origin. For example, a quick search of "perchance to dream" tells you the phrase is from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and also lists a bunch of discussions on what Shakespeare meant by the phrase "To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, that's the rub!"
2-8-05:
This float of President Bush wound it's way through the crowd during a carnival parade in Duesseldorf.
2-3-05:
1-31-05: Clark University is celebrating Black History Month with a tap dance festival. Various workshops will be offered during this week (starting tonight), culminating in a showcase on Friday. All workshops are free and open to the public. The performance is $5 without a Clark ID.
I'll be teaching a beginner technique/combination workshop at 4pm today, and will also be performing in the showcase on Friday.
1-19-05: Below is a picture of Eve and I back in 1999 when we danced the leading roles in the Nutcracker with Pasow. I recently bumped into Eve and I'm elated; we hadn't seen each other in about five years.
1-13-05: "By increasing the surface area between the donor and acceptor layers of a copper phthyalocyanine-based bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell - while ensuring that this interface does not become excessively convoluted - the total power conversion of the cell can be substantially increased."
This is from an article in Nature Materials journal which describes a new approach to plastic photovoltaic cells that expect an efficiency of around 30%. This is five times better than other plastic PV cells, and more than twice the efficiency of glass cells.
1-11-05: I'm not on instant messenger often, but when I am I use gaim, an open-source multi-platform instant messenger program that works with AIM, ICQ, yahoo messager, and lots of other accounts at the same time. It also has cool options that AIM just doesn't have.
Amber and I just spent eight days in Washington visiting her father Mathew. There are pictures in my Washington Trip Scrapbook.
12/09/05:
 | You scored as Harry Potter. You can be a little reckless and hot-headed at times, but a more brave and courageous friend would be hard to find.
Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com |
11/21/05: Ballet, Turkey, and Quiddich:
It was a fun-filled weekend. Friday and Saturday were my performances with Worcester Youth Ballet's Nutcracker. Robert and I went out for drinks afterwards with his girlfriend Ling, and Amber and her friend Theresa (visiting from Texas) came too.
Then Sunday was our traditional pre-Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Chuck and Heather, followed by a late viewing of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The movie was good. The end scene with Cedric is one of the most memorable moments for me from the six books so far, so I was glad to see it done well. Also of note, the turmoil at the Quidditch World Cup was much darker in the movie than I envisioned it in the book, and probably rightly so.
11/17/05: Birthdays and Neighbors:
Today is my little sister's birthday. It's also my fiance's birthday. Happy birthday to both of them. When I was in Spencer this afternoon I ran into my upstairs neighbor. She was working the customer service desk at Price Chopper. I always wondered what she did for work. Then, about five hours later Amber and I were going into Biagio's for her birthday dinner and our upstairs neighbor was the hostess! This was amazing to me that I would bump into her at both of her jobs in the same day. This is especially funny since we were contemplating her second job this afternoon.
11/07/05: Don't be Ungrateful
Howard Mechanic, who previously was arrested and jailed for protesting the Vietnam War, is running for town council in Prescott, Arizona. Laurel Druley from NPR member station KNAU reported on the story, and included the ranting of a Vietnam Vet who claimed that by going off to fight he gave Mechanic his opportunity to protest the war. I would ask if the vet thought the same regarding those who protest capital punishment. After all, if it weren't for those mass murderers, you wouldn't have the opportunity to protest, so don't forget who you should be thanking around the holidays.
11/1/05: Drink Up!
"A study by Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Council of 1,500 people found that some 58 percent of them agreed that sometimes having too much to drink was 'simply part of the Australian way of life'." - AP Article
I'm pretty sure most of the cultures I've come into contact with would agree with the Australians. Becoming intoxicated from time to time is expected at weddings, parties, and most holidays. I'm a little surprised that over 40% think otherwise.
10-31-05: Feeling Rested on a Sunday Morning
Amber and I were enjoying our extra hour yesterday with the end of daylight savings, and she asked why we couldn't do that more often. So I suggested we get rid of leap day. Instead of adding twenty four hours every four years, we add one hour every two months. Anyone upset by this because they were born on February 29th, such as Amber's youngest sister, think of it this way. No one else would have your birthday – you'd be that much more special. And the rest of us could sleep in that much more.
10-27-05: Halloween "undermines our cultural identity," complained the Rev. Giordano Frosini, a Roman Catholic theologian who serves as vicar-general in the Diocese of Pistoia near Florence, Italy.
Frosini denounced the holiday as a "manifestation of neo-paganism" and an expression of American cultural supremacy. "Pumpkins show their emptiness," he said. (From an AP article)
10-26-05:
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October is Energy Awareness Month, not that any of us would know. FEMP, the Federal Energy Management Program, does a great job of covering it up. The only reason I know, and I'm an energy guy, is because my company handed out some pamphlets on saving energy at home. Here is some advice from me to you:
- Don't run your electric heat with the windows open in the winter time.
- Taking showers together to conserve water only works if you spend less time in the shower.
- Stop using that space heater under your desk because you think the air conditioning is too cold.
- Instead of putting your gaming system on pause, try turning it off once in a while.
- Get a walk-in refrigerator. That way you can peruse its contents without the door being open.
10-22-05: Amber and I saw Boston Ballet's Cinderella last night at the Wang Center. To give it a fresh feel, the ballet was set in the 20's, so think F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was fun, but as Amber put it, didn't bring the magic.
Also, I finally got a new car. Amber co-signed my car loan. It's a 2001 mazda 626. I just missed my last mazda too much.
10-19-05: I really dislike having to buy a car. It forces me to deal with banks and insurance companies, the two institutions I probably loathe the most. Combine that with the fact I have the Kansas City Royals of a credit score, and you begin to understand my frustration. And I was just beginning to enjoy not having a car payment each month.
10-14-05:
| You Passed the US Citizenship Test |
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10-11-05: Amber and I saw the new Wallace and Gromit movie on Saturday. It was on par with the previous movies, so if you're a W&G fan, this movie won't disappoint. If you've never seen them think Chicken Run except with people, a dog, and some bunnies.
Rehearsals for Nutcracker have started again. This year I'm only doing one part, which greatly reduces the amount of time I have to be at Pasow. The public performances are Friday November 18th at 7:30, and Saturday November 19th at 2:00 and 7:30. We'll be at Clark University's Atwood Hall again this year.
10-4-05: My previous post regarding Saudi Arabia propaganda, which is exactly how I would characterize it, led me to click on a link regarding The Order of Skull and Bones. This is the secret fraternity at Yale that was briefly mentioned during the past presidential debates since both leading candidates were known to be members.
http://www.parascope.com/articles/0997/skullbones.htm
I'm not saying I believe the information to be fact (see my website's disclaimer regarding linked web pages), but even non-conspiracy gurus would stop and pause after reading portions of it.
10-4-05: The United States has been the chief recipient of Saudi Arabian oil ever since significant amounts were discovered there in 1938. The Persian Gulf War and the present occupation of Iraq are the result of President Carter's 1980 State of the Union in which he stated that the U.S. will use force to protect its oil interests in the Middle East. This became known as the Carter Doctrine. President Ronald Reagan extended the policy in 1981 with the Reagan Corollary to the Carter Doctrine, which proclaimed that the United States would intervene to protect Saudi Arabia, whose security was threatened after the outbreak of the Iran-Iraq War. As a result the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have been able to coexist for the past seventy-plus years. That symbiotic relationship has been threatened ever since allegations emerged that Saudi Arabia has been harboring terrorist groups with ties to Al-Qaeda. Michael Moore's suggestion that intimate ties between the American Bush dynasty, the Saudi Royal Family, and the Bin Laden family may have limited Washington's foresight into the September 11th attacks was presented in his movie Fahrenheit 9/11.
Knowing this, I was not surprised to find the following 'advertisement' displayed in my browser after I sent a free greeting card on the Internet. Below this image was a short poll asking, in addition to my email address and zip code, two questions. First, did I believe the U.S. should maintain a good relationship with Saudi Arabia? Second, is Saudi Arabia a partner in the global war against terrorism? The 'advertisement' was sponsored by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.
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10-3-05: It is not for kings to drink wine,
Not for rulers to crave beer,
Lest they drink and forget what the law decrees,
And deprive all the oppressed of their rights.
Give beer to those who are perishing,
Wine to those who are in anguish;
Let them drink and forget their poverty
And remember their misery no more.
Proverbs 31:4 - 31:7
9-30-05: Amber and I heard David McCullough speak last night at the American Antiquarian Society about his newest book, 1776. Amber's friend Jackie works there and was able to get us the tickets. I read the book over the summer and liked it very much.
9-29-05: I auditioned for Company X, the adult dance company formed last year by the Performing Arts School of Worcester. It compliments the student company, known as the Worcester Youth Ballet. I got word today from the director that they will not be taking any new dancers into the company this year. I'm not sure why they held auditions then.
9-28-05:
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Mike and Mandi are both studying in Scotland. Before they left the country they spent a few days in Worcester, including a trip to the Ecotarium's Canopy Walk.
9-27-05: I have tickets to the ALDS this year, but I'll only get to go if the remaining games work out in my favor. The Red Sox first need to make it into the post season, and since my tickets are for the 3rd home game at Fenway Park, I need the Sox to have home field advantage, and I need the series to go to a deciding game 5. So, Amber and I are either going to watch the post season on TV, or we're going to see one hell of a game.
9-25-05: On Friday we went into Boston and had a nice pre-anniversary dinner at an Ricardo's Ristorante in the North End. That was a lot of fun. We even stopped at Modern Pastry on Hanover Street before walking back to the car.
Yesterday we went apple picking at Brookfield Orchards. I picked up some apple butter, which doesn't have any butter in it but is great on toast. I also brought my camera and will upload new pics to my Amber page and my family image gallery.
9-22-05: Today is the Autumnal Equinox. Although it is said that on the equinox day and night are equal length, this is not true. The center of the sun will set 12 hours after it rose all over the world. But because sunrise starts when the top of the sun breaches the horizon and sunset ends when the top of the sun disappears below the opposite horizon, day is always longer than night on the equinox.
And according to the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), 1 second will need to be added onto the clock on December 31st. Their clock, which they keep for their own record keeping and is, in fact, about 30s off from International Atomic Time, will do something like this:
23h 59m 59s - 1s before midnight on New Year's Eve
23h 59m 60s - Midnight
00h 00m 00s - Midnight will repeat itself
That's pretty impressive. I can just picture a bunch of guys at IERS drinking fruit punch on New Years, sitting around a computer terminal, waiting to see the clock stay at midnight for 1 extra second. And because their clock is 30s off from atomic time, they can still watch the ball drop on TV.
9-21-05: So let me get this straight. First a sovereign nation is invaded with the intent of removing a tyrannical ruler from power and installing a republic. Members of the coalition force who invaded then remain in the country to quell violence and further the pursuit of democracy. After two such soldiers are arrested by the newly installed government under bogus charges, the government of the soldiers uses force to free them. Isn't that a lot like spending money to send your dog to a special school so he won't chase rabbits anymore, and then after he gets out and a rabbit approaches him you stew the rabbit? Yeah that's right. Money well spent.
9-21-05: In the spirit of the beer commercial where the guy's superpower is to turn an old shoe into a Heineken, I asked my friends what their not-so-ordinary superpower would be. Here are some of the replies:
- I wish I had the power to turn 1-ply toilet paper into 2-ply. - Andy
- I wish I had the power to un-burn burnt foods. - Ken
- I wish I had the power to instantly transpose myself to any location I want. - Angela
- I wish I had the power to stop getting [dumb] emails that if I don't do it I'll be cursed or something bad will happen. - Anthony
- I wish I had to the power to change my skin/tan level to facilitate inter-mixing with my Columbian/ white middle-class associates and increase my drug trading business. - Mike
- I wish I had to the power to change into a penguin at will, to get out of slippery situations with ease and an excellent sense of fashion. - Amanda
- I wish I had the power to turn an old shoe into a briefcase of unmarked, non sequential hundred dollar bills. - Heather
9-20-05: I've been busy with my new job. I'm working for Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems. I'm in the Power and Electronic Systems department, which is located at the Surveillance and Sensor Systems facility in Sudbury. They're letting me do a 9/80 work schedule, which means I work 80 hours over 9 days and get every other Friday off. My first off day is this Friday, which also happens to be the -1 year anniversary of my and Amber's wedding.
9-19-05: Argh, matey. Me woke up speanin' kinah funny this mornin'. Me thinks it may be Talk Like a Pirate Day. Now, where be that damn perrot?
9-16-05: Happy Birthday Mom!!
8-31-05: We went to see The Wedding Crashers last night. It's a very funny movie, but I especially think people who are in the middle of planning weddings should go see it.
Speaking of which, Amber and I are looking into incorporating elements of Handfasting into our ceremony.
8-29-05:
Amber and I got a housewarming present today that included a little clock that counts down until our wedding day.
8-26-05: It's fun seeing what newspaper headlines and magazine covers were out the day/month you were born. Take this cover of Esquire from April, 1980 for example.
8-25-05: If you can read this than my website's DNS listing has been updated to point to my new hosting provider. Thanks to Lemure.net for hosting me (free of charge) for a few years. New bandwidth limitations has pushed me to finally break down and pay for hosting service from hostgator.com.
8-19-05: I'm wearing linen pants, I got free super-saver shipping at amazon.com, good friends are in from out of town, and I just gave my 2-week notice at work. Life is good.
8-02-05: It turns out that Global Warming is the direct result of a decreasing number of Pirates.
8-01-05: Wedding Progress Checklist:
- Kid with Amber about eloping
- Ask Amber on hotel balcony to marry me
- Ask her again, this time with a ring
- Pick date and ask future in-laws to put down deposit on hall
- Move in with her
- Finish sendy-outy things to tell people to hold the date in their calendars
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7-25-05: I finished Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince last week. After some reflection I've decided to believe the following:
***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER ***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER
1. Dumbledore was begging Severus to kill him, not save him. And yes, I believe he's actually dead.
2. RAB is Sirius's brother Regulus Black.
3. Harry Potter is the 6th Horcrux.
4. Neville Longbottom holds the key to everything.
***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER ***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER***SPOILER
7-20-05: While Amber and I were standing at the American Eagle counter at the airport on St. Kitts, wondering if we'd ever get off the island, we suddenly got the idea of eloping. The more I thought about it, the more it sounded like a great idea. After we got checked back into the Marriott (our home for two more days) I officially asked her if she'd marry me. She said yes.
We weren't able to elope down there so we remained engaged, but without a ring. I fixed that on Friday. So now Amber has the ring to prove it. Hopefully that will keep all those other suitors at bay.
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We have a date and a location, possibly a dress, a first go at a guest list, and a bunch of family and friends who, for the most part, couldn't be happier for us. Yay!
7-15-05: It's been alleged that presidential advisor Karl Rove may have leaked the identity of a CIA agent to a reporter that was doing a story on Joseph Wilson, the agent's husband. Wilson is noted as being the last U.S. diplomat to meet with Saddam Hussein (in 1991). He has voiced opposition to the U.S. occupation of Iraq.
According to Rove's attorney he'll be exonerated on the issue of leaking Wilson's wife's identity, based on grand jury testimony. I don't think it needs to be proved that Rove leaked the name as part of a smear campaign. He apparently admits to discussing Wilson's wife's occupation with multiple reporters, all of which supposedly brought up the CIA connection first. Why should we tolerate a senior white house advisor confirming the identity or even discussing the identity of a CIA agent? Fire him.
7-13-05: On Friday Amber and I were at the St. Kitts airport ready to leave and they tell us that the plane is having some sort of mechanical problem and they need to limit the number of passengers. The Saturday flights were all cancelled due to a fire at the airport, so we flew off the island on Sunday. That flight was 2 hours late though, so we once again missed our connector in San Juan and had to spend the night. Another do-not-disturb sign later (which we've taken to collecting) and we were finally on our way back to contiguously dry land - three days late.
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The moral of the story: there are probably worse places to have gotten stuck, but anywhere together was better than anywhere apart.
7-12-05:
ITER is building a fusion reactor in France. Basically their squeezing matter together. Too bad it takes more energy right now to get the plant up and running than it actually produces.
6-29-05: The last time I heard Bob Woodward speak he was at Clark University on a book tour for Bush At War. Keep in mind that Clark is an extremely liberal campus (Michael Moore and Kevin Smith were popular guest speakers in recent years) and the so-called "liberal press" side of Woodward was showing through. At the same time, you could trust every word that came out of his mouth (unlike Moore or Smith or Bush) as fact, or at the least, an intellectual interpretation of facts.
Any political operative knows the Mike Dukakis answer to capital punishment. When asked by Bernard Shaw during a 1988 presidential debate if he would support the death penalty were his wife raped and murdered, Dukakis answered that he would not, as he opposes the death penalty (read more). His answer, like most of his campaign, lacked compassion. The correct answer is, of course, "I'd kill the bastard myself". Obviously you cannot have the governor of Massachusetts carrying out such things, but most people relate to that response - hence its appropriateness during a nationally televised debate.
Fast forward more than a decade to the terrorist attacks of 2001. President Bush's response is akin to blind rage. By mixing up an old grudge against Saddam Hussein with that towards Osama Bin Laden, he has spent almost $200,000,000,000 of our money thus far, and more than 1,700 Americans aren't coming back because of it. 12,000 Iraqi civilians are dead.
I've heard of an eye for an eye, but that's a response of almost 5:1. Bush's greatest downfall is that he relates leadership with public opinion. His arguments are not persuasive, and he lacks heroic conviction. Basically I'm calling him a dumb coward. It makes me sick to see politically neutral citizens of our country lambasted and won over by his rhetoric.
6-24-05: Monday will be the five year anniversary of the day Molly was abducted. The fifth annual Ride for Molly will be on Sunday, with all proceeds benefiting the Molly Bish Foundation.
6-22-05: The House votes on the Flag Burning Amendment again today. Evidentally passing the House has never been a problem, but it always stalls in the Senate. Personally I'm agains the Amendment, citing free speech. Here's a quote from an AP article I read on yahoo.com.
Supporters of the amendment, like Georgia Congressman Phil Gingrey, say that "to burn a flag is to disrespect America."
Obviously I would prefer it if nobody burned our flag, but I don't think we as a country have any right to demand respect from all the people of Earth - not even our own.
6-20-05: I've been lactose intolerant ever since I spent 2 months in Thailand. It took about two years to develop fully. Now I can barely even look at a dairy cow. Here are my Top 10 Foods I Miss Since Becoming Lactose Intolerant:
10. Ranch DressingThere are some possible substitutions of course. Some of which are quite tasty (tofutti cuties come to mind). And anytime I want to splurge I can take lactase enzyme pills, but they don't work 100%.
9. Buttered Popcorn
8. Nachos
7. Brie on Crackers
6. Orange Sherbert
5. Cream Cheese on Bagels
4. Bacon Cheese Burgers
3. Mashed Potatoes
2. Doritos
1. Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream with Hot Fudge
6-20-05:
Performing Arts School of Worcester - Summer Open Classes
June 27th to August 31st
Mondays and Wednesdays 4:00-5:30, ages 10-12
Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays 6-7:30, ages 13 to adult
6-16-05: So it turns out that Goddard Library at Clark University does indeed look like a pile of stacked books from the air.
6-14-05: Last week Amber texted me that she was at Cafe Dolce. I texted her back telling her to have a piece of penut butter pie. She had just ordered a piece of penut butter pie.
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Yesterday she texted me that she was at Tatnuck Booksellers. I was thinking of texting her asking her to buy me a bookmark. But I didn't. She bought me a bookmark.
I gave her a short walking tour of Clark University yesterday. She'll be starting a grad program in English in September. She's even been offered a TA position. I find that ironic since most of my TA's in college didn't even speak English.
6-10-05: A while ago I found a copy of "Why England Slept" in a used bookstore in Worcester. It was a first edition and I didn't have enough money on me to buy it, so I tucked it onto a shelf where it would be hardly noticed (hopefully) until I could return. When I did return a few months later it was gone.
It seems that about that time Amber received a first edition copy of this book from someone who worked at this very same store.
6-07-05: "WPI is a modern university built on New England tradition, and your graduates are helping all of us build a brighter future." - Senator Edward Kennedy addressing the Inauguration of Dennis D. Berkey as President of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Read the entire speech here, or watch the video.
6-07-05: Yesterday my company had a design review for a high speed generator we're developing for the Office of Naval Research (ONR). NAVSEA (Naval Sea Systems Command) and KAPL were also in attendance. KAPL is the Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory which is a Government-owned, contractor-operated research and development facility that supports the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
6-06-05:
Yesterday's performances of Sleeping Beauty went very well. It's good to still look 19, even if my dance partners were 13 and 14. Although no one of relation attended, my girlfriend, my ex girlfriend, and my ex girlfriend's new girlfriend were there.
6-03-05: Who ever heard of a New England Clam Bake without any clams? Damn red tide. I suppose there is prudence in Amber's policy of only eatting seafood when you can actually see the ocean.
6-02-05: Amber and I found something we disagree on: she thinks 1984 is a better "utopian society" book than Brave New World. What's up with that?
5-24-05: I'm at the Manhattan Beach Marriott outside of LA attending the Mathworks International Aerospace and Defense Conference. It's my first time in California, and I don't mind pointing out it's 75 degrees with clear skies right now, as compared to the 40 degrees with rainy skies back home. That and, you know, Rapid Device Prototyping rocks my world.
5-23-05: So I accidentally used the 'g' word yesterday in reference to Amber, and I say accidentally because it was without clearing it with her first. It dons on me that I haven't used that word in over three years, since the 'f' word doesn't count (fiance).
5-20-05: Various friends over the years have used LiVEJOURNAL, and I finally got tired of having to post comments anonymously - so I created an account. As for my own not-so-daily diary, I have my own blog for that. [Note: MS Word doesn't recognize 'blog' in its dictionary. Shouldn't that have been added during one of those damn annoying auto-updates?]
5-18-05: I'm moving to Clinton! We're going from 1 bathroom per person to 3 people per bathroom. Gaa! is all I have to say about that. But at least my cell phone coverage will improve. Amber got misguided in Webster last night and couldn't get ahold of me for assistance. I can just imagine her live journal entry.
5-14-05: So I've been seeing my former co-worker's wife's co-worker's former student. Her name is Amber. This is what she had to say in her live journal after a trip to my place: "But I have to admit that I was laughing at myself for once again driving around Webster at 3 am. Man, I hate that town. When I was a kid I thought it sucked....and now, I'm pretty damn sure."
5-11-05: I wrote a letter today to the office of Senator Kennedy concerning the Cape Wind Project, which proposes the installation of wind turbines in Nantucket Sound. Senator Kennedy has made statements that would make some believe he's not in favor of the project. Many of the opponents are local residents who don't want changes made to their view of the Sound. Senator Kennedy would be one of the affected residents. My letter presented my own view, and asked for clarification on his.
5-5-05:
trait snapshot: rarely irritated, positive, tough, non phobic, fearless, likes the unknown, self reliant, high self control, confident, trusting, strong instincts, prudent, optimistic, willful, likes parties, prefers a specialized career, takes charge, altruistic, strong, high self concept, adventurous, practical, thoughtful
| Advanced Global Personality Test Results
|
personality tests by similarminds.com
4-26-05: Read this, actually you can just skim it. What Michelle doesn't tell you is that while interning she did this. I wonder whose idea that was?
4-25-05: It is idle, having planted an acorn in the morning, to expect that afternoon to sit in the shade of the oak.
Antoine De Saint-Exupery, from his book, Wind, Sand, and Stars
4-13-05:
Google has added a new search engine for scholarly publications. It's very useful for, say, finding out about magnetohydrodynamic propulsion or using ammonia as a source of hydrogen in proton exchange membrane fuel cells or what papers your boss has published.
4-8-05:
So it turns out that 80% of men prefer their women fur free.
4-5-05:
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I crashed my car on Thursday. Some how I only had a tiny scratch. Can't say the same for my car though.
4-4-05:
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The ice on the lake melted this weekend!!
4-4-05: The Four Cardinal Virtues are Temperance (restraint), Fortitude (courage), Prudence (caution), and Justice (fairness).
Each virtue lies between the unnatural passions. Moral judgment lies between craftiness and thoughtlessness; self-restraint, between obduracy (stubbornness) and licentiousness (extravagance); courage, between overbearingness and cowardice; justice between over-frugality and greed. The four virtues constitute an image of the heavenly man, while the eight unnatural passions constitute an image of the earthly man.
Well, Doug says he definitely considers himself to be a man of the Earth, while Brendan says he's the salt of the Earth. Genn, whose Jewish, had no comment.
I say, eat your damn chicken and stop complaining about the asparagus.
4-2-05: Happy Birthday Felicia!!
3-27-05: The Telegram and Gazette said that today was a good day to celebrate the revitalization of faith in society. "Spiritual Rebirth" they called it. I guess they're referring to the moral uprising that is flushing our free society down the toilet.
3-25-05:
"A joint effort by the Guangzhou Soldiers Acrobatics Troupe and the Shanghai Metropolitan Dance Company, it will wow the audiences with both acrobatic skills and the graceful style of the western ballet." - www.china.org.cn
3-22-05: My friend Ben just got back from a trip to Thailand. He told me about a new non-stop flight being offered by Thai Airways. It starts May 1st and only takes 17 hours to travel from New York's JFK to Bangkok International Airport. Back in 2001 it took me 24 hours to fly from Boston to Bangkok with layovers in the twin cities and Tokyo.
3-21-05: A few days ago someone asked me what I gave up for Lent. My answer was religion.
3-20-05: Yesterday I started rehearsals for Pasow's Sleeping Beauty. I'll be dancing the role of the Prince. The title role has been double cast (there are two shows). Here is a picture of one of them from The Nutcracker. Both shows are on June 5th at Clark University (1PM and 5PM).
3-18-05: Happy Birthday Dad!
3-14-05: Sweet Charity was set for a pre-Broadway run in Boston this month, starring Christina Applegate. Unfortunately it seems she's broken her foot during a show in Chicago, and will most likely miss the entire Boston run. Now I'm glad I didn't buy tickets to it, as I was contemplating. The only reason to go would have been to see her in it.
3-11-05: "Whenever we're about to do something truly regrettable we always say that the French have been doing it for years."
A quote from the movie Stage Beauty, which is about a woman who wants to be an actor, in a time when all roles were played by men.
3-10-05: "An 8-0 run put the Cougars on top by four. A Diana Cincotta jumper had the Lions trailing, 17-14, with 8:10 left in the half. Unknown to West Boylston at the time, they were the last points they scored in the half.
Kelsey O'Keefe was her most dangerous from that point on. Scoring 14 points over the final 7:46, including a 3-pointer, as part of a 23-0 run, the Cougars went into the half ahead, 40-14."
This was in today's Telegram & Gazette. Quaboag, my hometown team, won the Central Mass. Division 3 semifinal last night 69-37. Kelsey O'Keefe scored 36 points, 1 point less than the entire other team.
3-2-05: Top 10 Things I've Learned From Ballet - by Andrew Keefe
#10. Partnering is all about the timing, not strength.
#9. Clear nail polish stops runs in tights.
#8. Ballerinas can be very emotional.
#7. Anything that comes naturally will someday be a burden
#6. Slower doesn't always mean easier.
#5. Your dance partner's ponytail can be deadly.
#4. Your ability to land a jump determines how high you should jump.
#3. Always befriend the pianist.
#2. A quart of orange juice will get you through any rehearsal.
#1. It's always the male dancer's fault. Always.
3-1-05: I took part in the Landmark Forum this weekend. It was inspiring. I left it with a better understanding of how I relate to other people in my life, and about how being present to how I am being every moment creates a clearing in which unlimited possibilities can be created. The possibilities I have thus far created after participating in the Landmark Forum have had a positive impact on my life.
How often do you create possibilities that touch, move, or inspire yourself or others?
2-20-05:
We were finally able to skate on the lake today. Check out some pictures in my gallery.
2-11-05: I love languages, so when I stumbled across The Phrase Finder, it was like finding leftover Halloween candy in my desk at work. Basically it's a free searchable/browsable database of English phrases and their origin. For example, a quick search of "perchance to dream" tells you the phrase is from Shakespeare's Hamlet, and also lists a bunch of discussions on what Shakespeare meant by the phrase "To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, that's the rub!"
2-8-05:
This float of President Bush wound it's way through the crowd during a carnival parade in Duesseldorf.
2-3-05:
Breathe Andy.
Just breathe,
Surround yourself with merriment, and
Tackle one thing at a time.
But tackle them swiftly and without temperance.
1-31-05: Clark University is celebrating Black History Month with a tap dance festival. Various workshops will be offered during this week (starting tonight), culminating in a showcase on Friday. All workshops are free and open to the public. The performance is $5 without a Clark ID.
I'll be teaching a beginner technique/combination workshop at 4pm today, and will also be performing in the showcase on Friday.
1-19-05: Below is a picture of Eve and I back in 1999 when we danced the leading roles in the Nutcracker with Pasow. I recently bumped into Eve and I'm elated; we hadn't seen each other in about five years.
1-13-05: "By increasing the surface area between the donor and acceptor layers of a copper phthyalocyanine-based bulk heterojunction photovoltaic cell - while ensuring that this interface does not become excessively convoluted - the total power conversion of the cell can be substantially increased."
This is from an article in Nature Materials journal which describes a new approach to plastic photovoltaic cells that expect an efficiency of around 30%. This is five times better than other plastic PV cells, and more than twice the efficiency of glass cells.
1-11-05: I'm not on instant messenger often, but when I am I use gaim, an open-source multi-platform instant messenger program that works with AIM, ICQ, yahoo messager, and lots of other accounts at the same time. It also has cool options that AIM just doesn't have.