Remember, Remember

The fifteenth of november.

I had mentioned a long while ago that i was going to be setting up a new blog over yonder at wordpress. well, today is the day. update your links and head on over to my new blog.

thanks for the good times blogger. you were my first blog. i won't forget you and the memories we shared.

Bit By the Blogging Bug?

Or Sobbing from the Stern Scolding of my Smaller Sister?

You decide.

Either way, it snowed here in Oxford today and i have this need to share the pics i took.















Although i took these pictures in color, i'm pretty sure that black and white photographs make one look like his photos are better than they are, and exudes an artistic snobbery that really just can't be beat.

i am male. hear me roar.

There is perhaps nothing so excessively male as peeing outside. Standing there with the wind in your face while you drown flowers and write your name in the dirt. Nothing quite like it.

Unfortunately, this queen-mum led civilization over here in england supresses all things male. This is why british men have accents, drink tea, and apologize when you walk into them.

However, in the town of oxford there is a bastion of maledom that breathes freedom and power back into the male soul. It's no surprise that it's at the american history center. Some genius-god, while designing this building must have recognized the downcast spirit of the british male and sought to remedy that. So, as a gesture of good will, urinals were done away with and replaced with one of those walls with a drain at the bottom. You just stand there, pee, and walk away. no aiming required.

While there are no flowers to destroy in the process, it's a civilized equivalent.

rent.

This post could go either of two ways.

I could complain about how much rent i pay for the rather poor surroundings i find myself in. (i pay more per month for a room than my parents do for an entire house.)

Or i could talk about the movie 'Rent.'

I'll choose the latter.

So there's this website that has all sorts of free movies you can stream. Sometimes i turn on a movie while i'm studying or when i'm trying to go to sleep because the movie noise makes the ringing in my ears seem less prominent than it is. (which is something i should probably get checked out, although webMD says it's tinnitus or something like that and there's nothing that can be done except suffer through it. forever.).

So, i saw that they had the movie 'rent' in their repertoir and i figured i'd give it a go. I'd heard good things about it from all sorts of people (read- girls) and figured it couldn't be all that bad. So i pressed play and walked to get a coke while the credits began.

When i came back into the room there were about 10 people on the screen all singing something about 'love' and 'up above,' and 'friends' and 'something that rhymes with friends'.

needless to say, that's as far as i got.

My second trimester.

Your Body - You are beginning your second trimester. If you haven't already, you may be craving certain foods. Hunger is another one of the symptoms. You should eat a little more than usual. You should begin gaining a few pounds this month.

Your Body - You look radiant. The fatigued feeling may diminish. You may feel a little bloated this month. Constipation is also one of the symptoms. Drink more water!

Your Body - Listen to your body. Take a rest!

Top Seven Symptoms

• NAUSEA
• FATIGUE
• FREQUENT URINATION
• HEADACHES
• LIGHT HEADEDNESS
• CONSTIPATION
• HEARTBURN

I didn't really think WebMD would be so confident about the medical effects of the second trimester of an M.Phil program, but it looks like it's gonna be a doozie. I wonder how much of that is from the alcohol they expect you to drink as a student here? I'll post some pictures later so you can tell me if i'm looking radiant or not.

But in all reality, it's shaping up to be a great term and i'm looking forward to my courses. I'm particularly excited to begin a tutorial on Muslim and Christian relations in the conquest period. Maybe i'll even nail down my thesis topic...

Mission of the Saints. In Picture Format for Your Viewing Pleasure.

Upon arriving back in the fair country of England, which the sun chooses to never grace with its presence (thank the Lord!), i checked my mail. Much to my surprise, i was greeted with a message from church history.



These four men- Sts. Adrian, Amand, Martin, and Vincent--Saints of Beer, Brewers and Barkeepers, Wine, and Vintners respectively--told me i must combat the sin of teetotalism creeping into the church through the teachings of these men- the Wesleys. Being a staunch Calvinist, I had no problem telling the Wesleys where to shove their ideas--in the rubbish bin. Whilst kindly thanking the Wesleys for the majority of their music, which the church desperately needs to reintroduce into its repertoire, i proceeded to beerptize the pulpit of St. Mary the Virgin Church in Oxford, where they both had preached at one point in time.


Taking cue from other great Christian men of the faith, Lewis and Tolkien, i proceeded to introduce my brother to, as this picture so clearly points out, an education in intoxication.


The initial reaction to this saint ordained mission was incredulity. However, after sampling the fruit of the vine, which God has so freely bestowed upon his people for their happiness, my brother ripped the camera from my hands and expressed his overflowing joy with a smile that can't be put to words.




Well, we must have lost that picture.






My mission was complete. I slunk off into the night, awaiting the next mission the saints might send my way.

Been a long time.

It's been a while since i last blogged. Maybe you were as ready for a break as i was. Either way, i like to think i'm about to strike a happy medium as far as blogging is concerned. A whole lot less than the month of november, a bit more than the month of december. You know, blog every once in a while. Just to keep you all updated on my life.

and i think i'll stop there. don't want to pull a muscle on my first day back.