Ramblings of a Historian
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Andrew W.L.'s LiveJournal:
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| Saturday, July 18th, 2009 | | 12:20 am |
| | Thursday, May 21st, 2009 | | 7:03 pm |
Holy Shit!
I didn't think I'd quite do it, but after two years and 115 pages, I have a fucking master's thesis written! The papers are signed, I just need them bound for the university. If I wasn't sick/didn't have work tomorrow I'd be boxing all my notes away over gin and tonic, but alas...that's what three day weekends are for! Current Mood:  accomplished | | Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 | | 10:36 pm |
What Internet?
So, I'd estimate 80% of the internet is blocked at my job. Not just on student accounts, but the teachers as well. I can understand this on some level, with sites like amazon, or others that are shopping...but when the Queens college library became blocked I thought they were getting a little retarded. Recently wikipedia was added to the ranks. Loathe as I am to admit it, every teacher, who makes a powerpoint uses it on some level. I've used it as quick reference many times, especially in the Government and Economics class I worked in last year (quietly digging up interesting tidbits for the lead teacher to use). I think the most amusing aspect of how dependent the faculty of my district is on wikipeida is that today, while looking through the latest union meeting report it was apparently asked, at one point "Why is Wikipedia being blocked?!" I'm not sure how to take it; that the matter made it to a Union meeting. | | Saturday, February 28th, 2009 | | 8:06 pm |
Fascinating!
This writing while mildly intoxicated is an invigorating experience! If I look at the pages I added to my thesis tonight, and they are coherent I may try this again in the future. Current Mood:  drunk | | Sunday, December 21st, 2008 | | 2:51 pm |
RARGH!
So, I just finished off Ancient Rome (and I use that term loosely) this past week in the GED Social Studies class. With only two days of class this week, I figured a video would be in order. Anything I like about Rome is pretty much out of the question, as it's "R" rated, and I'd like a job thank you very much. So, I took a page from one of my colleagues who has been doing this longer than I have been sucking down oxygen, and would show "Spartacus". She said her kids enjoy it, so what the heck (never seen it myself)? Who would have thought three Blockbusters wouldn't have "Spartacus"? That's a failure I did not expect, and pretty much has sold me on the idea of a Netflix account. On a plus note, I got both seasons of "Rome" as they were on discount (I wish I could just show that). I'm mostly annoyed I had to trek out into shopping zones, and kill the early part of my afternoon. EDIT: Ended up going to Best Buy...I wish I'd thought of the library idea, as I realized that pretty soon afterwards. Current Mood:  frustrated | | Sunday, December 7th, 2008 | | 5:50 pm |
| | Saturday, November 29th, 2008 | | 9:55 am |
A Weird-Ass Dream Double Feature
I had not one, but two weird dreams this evening, back to back which have me scratching my head. Dream 1: There's a first season BSG episode where Galactica attacks an asteroid held by the Cylons for fuel. Take that template of that episode, cram it with people I know (not replacing Adama, Starbuck or Apollo) , and change the goal of the mission from "fuel" to "beer" and you have my first dream. It started off with me chatting with Ferd about "remember when..." then, in classic TV flashback form, turns into this. Adama, Tigh and Mikey are randomly inter-cut planning this. My main focus was flying around in a Raptor with Apollo, getting shot down onto an ice-planet (well, actually by the end of the dream it looked no worse than a snowy day in Northern NY) and ambushing a truck of beer (I threw a grenade at it). We're successfully rescued by Hutch, and a few others (but my memory is fading fast), who inform us of our victory. We proceed to enter the warehouse filled with beer, and are joyous at our success of kicking the shit out of the Cylons and taking their beer (just about every forumite I can think of is here, along with Starbuck...sorry Ferd, no Boomer). I then chat with Irina about how the building lies on the border between EST and Central Time, which I still don't fucking get....by this point we're outside and it looks a whole lot like snowy rural America. I woke up groggily at this point, saw it was 5-or-something in the morning and rolled back over to sleep. Dream 2: Started off as a fairly mundane. In the forum with some of the newer crop (even though they're the older ones there now): Bobby, Ian, Kim etc. The forum is significant in that it now includes a huge meat refrigerator/display, the type you'd see in a grocery store. Anyway, we're minding our own damn business when suddenly, 8-10 ducks, that are fully skinned and made ready to serve (okay probably not) and wrapped up get up and WALK OUT OF THE FREEZER. After a few moments of WTF we chase the ducks, which have moved very fast. I'm paired with Bobby as we track the ducks through what looked like a cross-between Floral Park and, the residential area Garrett and Irina live in. We run into a lot of uniformed soldiers which in retrospect disconcerts me, but didn't bother me in the dream. While walking we're discussing the total bizarreness of this, and for some reason I am convinced that if we remove the plastic the ducks will die of some form of infection, they would surely get, due to walking around skinless. We catch one, then one of the soldiers tells us he spotted the ducks a few blocks down, in a place my mind invented called "Livingston". Apparently Ian's group found out the same. We back-track there, and I wake up confused. I also hate my computer's slow load time, especially this morning, since I am certain it made me forget some details. | | Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 | | 9:57 pm |
Closure
Well, I feel like I just ripped my arm off. Wish I could say I feel heartbroken, but the truth is, I felt that the moment this happened, and have been working on mending it since. All I'm thinking about now is "what's next?" | | Sunday, November 16th, 2008 | | 4:56 pm |
Another Reason to Hate Woodrow Wilson
"We must avoid introducing what is called scientific history in the schools, for it is a 'history of doubt,' criticism, examination of evidence. It tends to confuse young pupils...What we need to study in schools is the united effort, the common thought, of bodies of men; of the men who make public opinion, that is of the uncritical and conservative rather than of the educated classes." - Woodrow Wilson, 1892 So, not only do I hate him as a President and human being, but as an educator as well. | | Thursday, November 13th, 2008 | | 10:33 pm |
Thanks
I just want to thank all who have been there for me this past week. Especially the residents of Echo Base, for allowing me to be a total drunkard in their home last Friday and Kristie for listening to me at ass-hours of the morning (for NY anyway) on AIM. I've steadily been coming to terms with what has happened, but remain concerned for her. I don't know what's next, or where I even am right now. All I know is, I'm doing better than I could have been. | | Thursday, November 6th, 2008 | | 10:22 pm |
Thanks to all who helped at least convey what little messages we've heard. I am in your debt. Samantha, I just pray whatever it is has driven you off, you work out sooner rather than later, and don't forget that there are people here who love and care about you. Current Mood:  worried | | 3:24 pm |
Where the hell is my girlfriend? If you know, call me ASAP. | | Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 | | 3:06 am |
Insomnia
Haven't had it happen in awhile. I'm gonna really hate this in three hours. Current Mood:  contemplative | | Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 | | 8:40 pm |
Random History Stuff
I have concluded I will never be able to escape Olaudah Equiano. For those of you who don't know he was a slave in the 18th century who eventually bought his freedom, and wrote an autobiographical piece that became a corner-stone of the early abolitionist movement (especially where England was concerned, though it did reacdh the U.S.). 2003 - Read his Interesting Narrative as his book's called for "Britain and France in the Age of Revolutions" (you loved this class, right Garrett?) 2004 - Read it again for "US History - Colonization to the Civil War". 2005 - Fucking again, for "Colonial Latin America". 2006 - A year off. 2007 - Basic text book exercise with the class, making sure they know how to use an index (this is why it's Special Ed. folks). I get a kid horribly mangle the name, the teacher can't pronounce it...so I have to. 2008 - The first damn thing we do with the kids in the 11th grade English class I'm working in this year, is an excerpt from it. And my Professor for my final class asked if anyone knew who he was ina side-bar, to pin-dropping silence, leaving me to answer it. Thankfully no reading. It's not that I have anything against the book. It's a pretty good one as a primary source. I just wish I could stop running into it, because it's a topic I have no more interest in. On a side note, I am horrified to see that those of us who made it through Barnhart's WW1 class paid 66 bucks for Liulevicius' War Land on the Eastern Front. My advisor recommended I take a look at it for my thesis, so I had to dig up my copy, and was shocked by the price-tag on it. The book bill was pretty steep that year. | | Wednesday, September 17th, 2008 | | 11:02 pm |
Hot Damn
So, I can't e-mail my masters thesis anymore via gmail. I was just about to send my adviser a copy after months of, well not showing much, and operating under his good faith that assumes I know what I'm doing. It has "exceeded the 20 MB limit" gmail apparently maintains. It's actually a 28 MB file. And I'm nowhere near done. I'm partially frustrated, partially feeling somewhat accomplished, even though I got a ways to go. | | Friday, August 29th, 2008 | | 12:15 pm |
Ya know, Between Ted Stevens and now Sarah Palin, I'm finding out more about Alaskan state politics than I ever cared to. I'm wondering if the neo-cons are going to implode over this. This is so out of left-field, I doubt they even know who the heck she is well enough. She's not Mitt Romney, who I know they really wanted. Listening to her now, I think Biden might annihilate her in the VP debate. | | Monday, August 4th, 2008 | | 9:07 am |
Back for a quick little trek to Atlantic City with Sam. My slot machine luck seems to be similar to my dice rolling. Still, was a nice brief trip, and good to get away from Long Island, if only for a night. | | Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 | | 11:56 pm |
Dear New Hyde Park
Fuck you for taking over the last inch of decent parking near the train station and turning it into a permit parking zone. You have officially made it a complete pain in the ass to park there on weekdays (and posting it in clear enough English for me to get a ticket). Oh, and to everyone else out there, FEAR HOBO TIGH. | | Saturday, May 17th, 2008 | | 8:38 pm |
Newspeak 101
The scenario: Alexander has just dealt with a possible plot against his life. To uncover any other possible dissent in the ranks he urges his men to write home, as they may not get to for awhile. His goons gleefully collect the letters only, Alexander reads them to find out just what his men think of him. Behold three accounts of what followed: Justin 3rd century AD - Alexander placed men who had written ill of him into one regiment " with an intention either to destroy them, or to distribute them in colonies in the most distant parts of the earth."
Diodorus 1st century BC - The men were sent into a "Disciplinary Company." He is not specific as to the "discipline." Mary Renault - 1975 AD - The men were placed into a "special corps – receiving, apparently, no punishment but the slur of unreliability – and challenged to redeem themselves by good performance in action."
You don't know how hard I am holding myself back from finishing my analysis on Renault with "Gosh! I want to join the Special Corps!" | | Sunday, May 11th, 2008 | | 9:12 pm |
Ugh
Final papers. Writing. Starts now. See everyone in a week. |
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