Go to the New Blog (Same as the Old Blog)
I've started a new blog, Pennies in a Jar, and will no longer be updating this one. Good bye, sweet blog, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.
- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 2:33 PM | | | Link |

 
The Movie Meme
The Rules:

1. Pick 30 of your favorite movies.
2. Find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it correctly and the name of the movie.
5. NO CHEATING (googling/using IMDb/Wikiquote) for those of you guessing.

I got this from Bradley, and I have to add his caveat that these aren't all exactly good movies, but they are movies I like for various reasons. But I wouldn't call these my favorites; I'm just kind of listing things that come to mind right now, though some come to mind right away. And Da Man isn't allowed to play since we tend to quote these to each other constantly. Some I expect people to get instantly. Some I expect no one to get at all. I apologize for what some will see as offensive language, but those are some of the best quotations of all.

1. My teen angst has a body count. (Jette -- Heathers)
   
2. I miss my dad. He worked really hard for that house. It took him...thirty years to pay it off. And it took me eight months to fuck it up! (Minarae -- House of Sand and Fog)
   
3. You know...for a second there...yeah...I kinda did. (Damion -- Kill Bill, Vol. 1)
   
4. If you get hungry, eat something. (Mo -- Best in Show)
   
5. I got some! (Harmony -- Drop Dead Gorgeous)
   
6. She's so evil...and she's only in high school! (Tria -- Jawbreaker)
   
7. Try the cock, Albert. It's a delicacy, and you know where it's been. (Jette -- The Cook, The Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover)
   
8. Hello. I am Princess Moanna, and I am not afraid of you. (Chaser -- Pan's Labyrinth)
   
9. You pair of deuces lookin' for work, I suggest you get your scrawny asses in here pronto. (Muffet -- Brokeback Mountain)
   
10. Schmucks are people, too. (Chaser --Something's Gotta Give)
    
11. Purple in the morning, blue in the afternoon, orange in the evening. There's my three meals, Mr. Smartypants. (Damion -- Requiem for a Dream)
12. You know, this thing between Prok and me was fine for a while, but I guess I just really miss sleeping with women. (Lois -- Kinsey)
    
13. It started as rioting. But right from the beginning you knew this was different. Because it was happening in small villages, market towns. And then it wasn't on the TV any more. It was in the street outside. It was coming in through your windows. It was a virus. An infection. You didn't need a doctor to tell you that. It was the blood. It was something in the blood. (Roseann -- 28 Days Later)
    
14. The plan is you drink a nice tall glass of Shut The Fuck Up! (Roseann -- Dawn of the Dead)
    
15. He's seducing my girlfriend with MY words and MY things. He stole a pair of her underwear! Jesus Christ, he stole her underwear. (Jolene -- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind)
    
16. You don't wanna get mixed up with a guy like me. I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel. (Bradley -- Pee Wee's Big Adventure)
    
17. I really love Rudy. He is totally enamored of me. I mean, I've had other men love me before, but not for six months in a row. (Harmony -- 16 Candles)
    
18. I'm exactly the way you made me: do it this way, do it that way, do it MY way, until I don't even know how to do it without you. (Patrick -- Up Close and Personal)
    
19. Now, just because someone sees, you know, two naked people asleep in bed together, it doesn't necessarily prove sex was involved. It does, however, make for a very strong case. (Soma -- Velvet Goldmine)
    
20. Sometimes there's things more important than pit beef. (Mo -- Pecker)
    
21. It's the times. They are a-changin'. Something's blowing in the wind. Fetch me my diet pills, would you? (Jette --Hairspray)
22. Christian, you may see me only as a drunken, vice-ridden gnome whose friends are just pimps and girls from the brothels. But I know about art and love, if only because I long for it with every fiber of my being. (Iain -- Moulin Rouge)
    
23. Unfortunately, THIS guitar said, 'When I get back to Georgia, that woman gonna feel my pain.' THIS one said something along the lines of, 'Why yes, these pants ARE lycra.' THESE said, 'I'm very sensitive, very caring, and I have absolutely no idea how to play the guitar.' (Abby -- Stranger Than Fiction)
    
24. You'd rather focus on other people's Kodak moments than make memories of your own! (Koroshiya -- 27 Dresses)
25. You are very handsome. And I'm getting a little turned on. Are you? (The Dying Gaul)
    
26. I have a lot of fantasies about being tied up and spanked. I suppose it isn't very liberated, is it? What kind of fantasies do feminists have? (Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death)
    
27. Hold this piece of hickory, sister Margo. (Lois -- The Royal Tenenbaums)
    
28. It's one of those two, love or revenge, I'm not really sure which one. But it's one of those two that made me throw a cello through somebody's window, so you figure it out. (little pinky time -- Rocket Science)
    
29. I had a bad day, I had to subvert my principles and kowtow to an idiot. Television makes these daily sacrifices possible. (Patrick -- Trust)
    
30. You know how you said before, how your parents use you to get back at each other? Wouldn't I be outstanding in that capacity? (Mo -- The Breakfast Club)
    

- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 3:55 PM | | | Link |

 
Wow, This Fits Down to Every Word

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz...

You Are an Ingrid!

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 10:20 PM | | | Link |

 
Pretty Colour Lakes
As some of you know, I had the chance to meet up with Jo(e) and venture to Pretty Colour Lakes last weekend. Yes, she and I met before in the academic way, at conferences in New York and San Antonio (I think it was at both), but this was our first time to meet as bloggers. Last summer, I made a quick comment to her that I was coming, and we had the date set quick.

On Friday, I called her when I woke up, and she was over in a flash. I had just sat down in the lobby to do some reading when she called to say she was by the parking area. In the car, she did warn me that she talks with her hands, which makes driving difficult. But it wasn't long before we were at Pretty Colour Lakes, which does deserve its name. We pulled out our cameras and started walking. I have to say that I have no idea what time we started or how long we actually spent there. We talked about other blogger meetings and our histories with those we know online. We talked about our jobs and families. I asked her a bit about the history of the lake and assured her that I really did want to know.

And then the storm hit. Honestly, the weather forecast online that morning said it would be cloudy, but it said nothing about any type of showers or rain. Jo(e) put my camera under her raincoat with hers, and we just kept walking and talking. After all, what else could we do? The point was to be out in the natural world.

As soon as we reached her car, wiped our faces, and pulled out of the parking area, it stopped. Just like that. But she went directly to a great Italian restaurant that was full with lunch customers. We were still able to sit quickly and kept talking. It didn't seem fast, and we spent several hours together, but all of a sudden it was time to get me back to the hotel so I could see a few afternoon talks and she could cart the kids around to music lessons.

Back at the hotel, I had plenty of time for a hot shower. The hotel had one of those rain-style shower heads where the water just falls down, perfect after a drenched walk. As I sat down at the computer to check email, I updated my Facebook status to say, "Nels thinks spending the day with creative people can fuel the mind and body more than anything else."

That's how I felt, relaxed and invigorated all at once.
- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 10:52 PM | | | Link |

 
"Dark Elegy" at Syracuse University
There were many highlights to my trip to Syracuse that I want to write about, but one was seeing the "Dark Elegy" sculptures at Syracuse University. On Saturday, I went to a panel at the conference where someone talked about the piece, which conveys how different women responded when they heard that they had lost loved ones on Pan Am Flight 103. The presenter--whose name is back in my office--said that four of the pieces were on the campus. I did a quick map search and found out it was a mile from the hotel, so when the presentations were over for the day, I ran to see them. The sun was setting, and I was afraid I was going to get there when the sun was down, but the timing was perfect. I quickly uploaded some of the best photos this afternoon because I wanted to show them in my pain seminar. We were talking about 9/11 today, and the image of art based on a earlier terrorist attack was a perfect addition to our discussion.
- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 11:33 PM | | | Link |

 
Off to Syracuse
ETA Monday, October 6: I wrote this last Wednesday but had trouble uploading to my server, so I'm just posting it now.

I am leaving tomorrow for a nice drive to Syracuse where I'll be attending the Visible Memories conference. I'm really excited about it all. I'm looking forward to the conference, and I'm looking forward to the drive since I don't often make such drives. I'll have my camera in case I want to take some foliage shots for the miles I'm not on a freeway, and I made a mix tape (on CD) for freeway time. I wanted something full of energetic music to which I can sing loudly and perhaps engage in some car dancing, which I am known for (one time, I was singing and moving in the car on the drive to campus and realized later that I was behind the dean!). It'll be nice to kick back for the next few days and not think about anything but what I'm there for.

In case you're interested, I followed Collin's lead and posted a screen grab of the list.


- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 9:19 PM | | | Link |

 
You Say It's Your Birthday...
Because Facebook tells you when people have birthdays, I've been getting birthday greetings all day, which is quite cool. I'm 30-freaking-9 today. 39! Still quite stunned how that happened. I am now stuffed with shrimp, so much so that Da Man and I are thinking we'll forgo to Chocolate Cookie Dough Cake in the fridge.

What I wanted to do was search around and see what the internets/stars say is in store for me for the year. According to Cafe Astrology:

A trine between the Sun and the Moon in your Solar Return chart this year is a fortunate aspect. It suggests that your domestic and career needs are not in competition with one another in the year ahead. Your inner needs tend to be mirrored by external events, and vice versa. This aspect is very powerful and rewarding. It suggests that you will be on top of your game this year, for the most part, and positive connections with others can be made fairly easily. A comfortable level of personal popularity helps to keep conflict to a minimum. With the ability to handle your emotions successfully, there is less stress on both your mind and body. Your self-confidence and positive attitude will reward you!

In terms of major outer transits, you're finishing up with a Pluto transit square to your Sun, which produced intense energy in your life for the past few years. This can be seen as somewhat of a release. Ideally, you are much stronger now, with a gutsy sense of self.

The year ahead is bound to be productive and busy. Figuring strongly this year are new developments in--and new attitudes towards--love matters, finances, and social relationships. Your creative and love urges are powerful indeed. New friendships, or new spins on established connections, are in your forecast. New ideas and projects abound! Focusing will be the key to success. You are taking on new responsibilities, but generally enjoying the challenges.

Not bad! Can't help but think of that little tenure thing while reading some of this...
- posted by Nels P. Highberg @ 9:00 PM | | | Link |