Update your Sarah-reading routine

We live here now.

Just sayin'

This does not get the A Glass of Chianti seal of approval (in case there was any doubt).

Thanks for keeping us abreast of these things, Publius. ;-)

So, Sarah, what have you been up to?

I hear you asking. The clamor is deafening, so I figure I better do my best to appease the adoring hoards.

Well, besides the obvious things that couples do a month to six weeks into the married state, we've been doing a lot of cooking. Like, seriously. Although this seems boring or very silly, it hasn't been either. You see, we're at the stage in the game where we actually like each other. Like, all the time.

I know! Hard to believe!

Not only that but at this point Angus actually claims to enjoy cooking and will *gasp* actually cook for *me*. Witness:
That's right. It's a Black Forest Cake. That Angus made pretty much all by him self. Don't believe me? Well, since this blog is in the proof offering business:

Yeah, I know.
More cooking adventures here. (Warning: fried foods alert!)

Seriously, though, it's mostly just been a settling in period. I'm still waiting on the last of my things from Texas to arrive and the big looming project is the Thank You cards that need to be sent out but besides that, everything has been remarkably (and blessedly) smooth sailing. Between the Netflix and the Project Runway and the Blogspot, we're having fun up here in Yankeeland. (Who would've thunk?). Angus's fancy-pants job has been pretty great in that it doesn't keep him away from the stove for too long each day and my lessons are pretty near perfect. We even like the neighborhood, though the lack of a truly close grocery store and a movie theatre is a little annoying.

I can't speak with authority on behalf of The Yankee, but I think we're doing pretty darn well. I, at least, am very happy and liking this Yankeeland thing much more than a good Texan should.

The biggest incentive

For sticking with the blogging "thing" is checking your referrer log and seeing that someone is actually checking for updates. It just takes me back to last year around this time is all I'm saying...

Anyway, even though it's of interest to few souls out there, here is a treatment of music from the second NES Zelda game in the style of the Beach Boys.

Yeah, you read that correctly. Yeah, it is just about the coolest thing since penguins.

Never a Texan*, not yet** a New Yorker

The earlier post... she was eaten! Multiple times!

I'm running out the door and increasingly frustrated at Blogger. Perhaps when I return there will be a post about how the best comparison for Peter Jackson's Bad Taste is to the great (and, tragically not available on Region 1 DVD) 1954 Johnny Guitar. Just because it's compared to a great movie, though, don't assume it is a great (or even good) movie.
In the mean time, amuse yourself with the penguins. (Pictures courtesy of The Great Yankee husband, just so you know.)

* at least technically
** and quite likely never

Updates...

... of a pictorial sort.
(A few) Wedding pictures here.
Some honeymoon pictures. (Please note that I spent the whole afternoon squinting into the sun before commenting on the lack of loveliness of my countenance.)
The new neighborhood (A game: find the really famous Fort Worthian in that set).
We went to the zoo! (Penguin pictures to come, people!)

Now that I have a regular schedule and we're finally settled into the apartment, I can finally say with complete confidence that regular blogging will resume tomorrow. Hooray!

Almost Sunday in New York

Tomorrow will be my first, so it still remains to be seen if this song is an accurate depiction of life in the Yankeeland Central after Mass. The blow-by-blow (blog-by-blog?) account of our first Weekiversary is here should you be interested in how two newlyweds in the big city capped their first week of married life (hint: more Chianti than you can shake a stick at).

I had my first "New York moment" on Wednesday. Angus and I were walking down the sidewalk on the way home and all I could do was think about how annoying it was that the girl walking in front of us was going soooooo slowly. Would it have killed her to speed up?!? *sigh*

Blogging will still be light for the next week or so while Angus and I are settling in. After that, though, I'll have lots of hours in the day to fill while Angus is off working and before my lessons start in the afternoons. Let the return to blogging begin (in a week or so)! ;-)

Someone's getting married

Today!

I'm sure there will be pictures and updates on this crazy day in not too many days (but certainly not until we're all settled in in the Big Yankee City on Sunday). In the mean time, though, there will be much barbeque to be had. Prayers are always appreciated as are tips as to where a Texan can get a good meal in Yankeeland...

Have fun, y'all!

No penguins here...

But we do have a Pinky and the Brain alert. And a King of the Hill mention and a couple of Futurama things AND several references to Alex Trebek in what might be the most important interview on all the internets.

If you're wondering why the posting has been light, don't blame The Yankee or The Wedding... blame The Brain.

Explanations for the radio silence

With The Yankee in town and a few (but not too many) wedding-related chances to make lemonade, I must admit that blogging has been, well, not exactly on the radar. The sidebar has a few changes, so busy yourself with those should the need for more Sarah-esque things be trending toward insatiable.

Hooray!

(In re: this)

That is all.

Even the penguins have summer vacations that are almost as good as mine

Stuck on a Brazilian beach

A plane carrying equipment for an Antarctic naval base will take the penguins to Brazil's southernmost region next month, an air force spokesman said Monday. They will continue their journey on a naval ship, which will release them into the ocean in their Antarctic habitat.

Never did no wandering

I'm teaching a band camp this week at one of the places that used to employ me on a regular basis. Band camp is always fun (especially when you're not needed for the outdoor portions) but I have two complaints:

1. The air conditioning in the choir room is non-existent. When combined with a room full of 14- to 18-year olds, this leads to minor heat-induced delirium for all parties pretty quickly.
2. The kids all have much better summers than I used to. The "what I did with my summer vacation" portion of yesterday uncovered trips to Chicago, Hawaii, the Grand Canyon, two Caribbean cruises, several church "mission" trips Colorado and/or New York, France, and Croatia among some other places that I'm forgetting. It's nuts! None of them got to hear Latin being spoken as I did (not that I bragged*) but the competition for second-best summer vacation to that was pretty stiff. I'm going with Chicago, though the student didn't make time to go visit any of the Frank Lloyd Wright in the city. *sigh*

Other than that, though, camp is going well. It helps the time pass until The Yankee arrives on Saturday, anyway.

*Seriously. I didn't.

And I'm not a man who likes to swear/But I've never cared for the sound of being alone

For those of you who have inquired: wedding planning is going well, but for a variety of reasons (mostly not wedding-related) I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. As I am swimming in a sea of only good things, this is not a complaint but I do have to admit that keeping my head above water is a pretty tiresome activity - regardless of the condition of the water. Getting ready for the big move out East (and.... North!) is a little scary. I'm looking forward to establishing the first glimmers of a household with an incredible Yankee but the rest of the operation is pretty daunting. Texas and New York City just seem big in two completely different ways.
As much as I've grumbled in the past decade or so about high school football culture and the dearth of Catholics and of various other peculiarities which have left me (of all people!) tagged with the descriptor of "intellectual" from about junior high onward, I really can't say that I'm leaving town with anything other than wonderful feelings about my home. I'm going to miss the community that comes from everyone knowing who the star running back was at the local high school a decade ago. I'm going to be upset that the whole town doesn't shut down on Wednesday night because of Baptist Youth Group night. Even though I never quite felt like I belonged because I wasn't the sorority girl type (and I certainly wasn't a Southern Baptist) I think that the real community that goes along with the church and sports types is a good, if a little stifling, model. For many years I wanted to be an insider in those groups - I wanted to change something so that I could belong to the "right" church or be interested in the "right" books. I never could, because those things aren't me but it is still nice to know that there are places that exist where everybody does go to the Friday night game and everybody really does care that you're doing well... even if you're not part of the "group." I can't tell you the number of times in the past couple of months of engagement when it comes up in conversation that I'm moving to New York that the other party will say something to the effect of "Oh, you'll fit in so well up there!". I know why they think this and I do hope they're right but... I'm just a little unsure right now.
At this point, there is only thing that is certain: The Yankee and I will fit in pretty well together in the new apartment and as long as I have him and room for a few shelves of books and a Fort Worth snow globe, we're going to be a pretty happy pair.

What you miss when you don't read Mixolydian Mode

Don has a great find: The Overworld theme from The Legend of Zelda played on...

(wait for it)

the theremin!! Yay!

He also links to a fairly in-depth article on Léon Theremin which includes an image of his wife, Lavinia Williams (who, incidentily, is waaaay hotter than you're thinking).

What more could you ask for? (Other than penguins, of course.)

If all goes well tomorrow

I think that it looks to be smooth sailing from now until the wedding (and, obviously, after the wedding, too). I haven't felt so sure the past few months and it's nice to finally feel on top of things. Now I just have to do the fun stuff like sell the Debaucherymobile, figure out what Angus and I really need from my random accumulation of crap (hint: it's mostly stuffed penguins, books, scarves and clarinets I have to offer) and find out once and for all how many of the boxes in the garage are really mine, realizing that most of the contents is probably going to need to be given to charity.

Tomorrow's plan: a Mass of thanksgiving in the morning and then I'm going to do some long-desired reading. Maybe (if I have time) I'll get back to feeling sane, too.

You know who's awesome?

The Yankee. (Just thought you needed to be reminded.)

It's no Peasant Quest

But the bonus Strong Sad mode of Kid Speedy maybe made me smile a little. If nothing else it's the cutest novelty mode I've seen in a while.

Confidential to someone who may need a study break: The T-Word!!!

LAN party on Mars

This story, which details a team of engineers who want to drop 1,000 ball-shaped probes with hopping capabilities on Mars (ostensibly to "explore"), makes me wonder if they don't just watch a little too much TV. I think they were closing in on a deadline and had to come up with something to show the boss, so they just took the first commercial that popped up in their heads as inspiration.

Link via Dappled Things

The Vatican museums + modern art?

When I read this teaser of an article quoting the director of the Vatican museums as saying that new purchases ("above all in sectors like contemporary art") were in the works, my heart started beating a little faster. Never having been to the museums, I thought it might be helpful to browse around a little just to see what Mr. Buranelli was already working with in the hopes of doing a little Saturday morning quarterbacking*. Unfortunately, it didn't help and I had (and have) other things to do. Before giving up entirely I thought I'd try a shortcut - find the "mission statement" of the museums, and work off that. Less looking, less thinking.... it's a perfect Sarah plan! From the museum director (quoting our Great former pope, John Paul II):

The museum's "function ... remains that of 'expressing the renewed will of the Church to seek dialogue with humanity in the sign of art and culture, putting at the disposal of everybody the heritage with which history entrusted her'".

I've read that at least a dozen times and I still have no idea what that means, let alone how that will serve as a guide to future acquisitions. I'm not ever mistaken for one with even moderate intelligence, so I guess I shouldn't feel so bad that it quite goes over my head.

The more I think about this the more I realize that it's really a difficult job to have. Much of modern art at its best is that which addresses the subject of what, exactly, art is and the like. The collection is going to be a coda at any of the Vatican museums, and I'm not sure that meditations on that question would make for a satisfying one. I am excited to see where Mr. Buranelli goes but I do feel the project will only be a success if the vision is clear from the outset. The "we'd like to have a Picasso" thing in the article makes me worry a little that there isn't much behind the acquisition strategy. There are a thousand points that one could step off to make a nice collection of modern art that puts the human condition front and center (my personal favorite that doesn't seem a very good fit at first but then it all starts falling into place- a late Boccioni) but I'm having trouble of conceiving of one that begins with or is centered around a Picasso.
I guess the consolation is that we won't see how this shapes up within the next 50 years or so. By the time things really get going, I likely won't even care.

*Which, in Texas, only occurs on Thursday in any meaningful sense.

An exchange that is so, so very familiar

"Why have I stopped conducting? No, not because it's lunchtime. Nor am I feeling tired. If you are tired you should have gone to bed earlier"...

Read the rest if you want to know what sectionals during the summer are all about (or if you want a sneak peek into my plans for the next few weeks).

Two words

Pecan Praylines

UPDATE: Fixed link. You know, you people could tell me when I do something stupid like that. I know who has clicked on the link and seen nothing, after all. My referral logs are amazing like that. ;-)

Bastille Day!

Grousing about Bastille Day on the Internet is sooooo 1999, but why are you not reading this to celebrate? (My excuse: my copy is packed away pending a move to, well, God only knows where.) While I'd like to take up the cause and say that the French Revolution wasn't all bad (that contrarian stripe is a powerful one) I just can't seem to muster the will to even pretend an attempt. Save for inspiring a seriously great trilogy of movies, the whole Liberté, égalité, fraternité thing never did much for me. The Enlightenment inspired many powerfully bad things and the French Revolution was just one more addition to the list.

So, Happy Bastille Day, I guess. Now, go watch a Polish movie or two. That's what I'd be doing if I weren't otherwise disposed with job-hunts and house-sitting and other hyphenated activities.

My birthday is in February

Just saying... (scroll down to the bottom of the page)

And, you know, I never did get that Christmas gift I not-so-subtly hinted I'd appreciate...

The Yankee doesn't know this yet

But we just decided on our dining room theme. I will say that the company's presidential placemat offerings are promising, especially as it is a strong desire of mine to have the children be able to recognize a likeness of Coolidge at 20 paces. Unfortunately, the designer of the musical instrument placemat has made two critical errors:

1. He doesn't seem to understand that "wind instruments" are not the same as "woodwind instruments" but even more importantly...
   
2. Theremin not included

Also, unintentional placemat humor here.