S. Worthen | WeblogS. Worthen | Weblog - LiveJournal.comEnd of an era- July 18, 2008 No more windowsills desperately molding.No more cracks in the wall as the building settles.No more all-electric heating.No more excess of furnishment.No more decorative rocks to account for in the inventory.No more potpourri for the same.No more unusably rusty wok for the same.No more conveniently living in zone 2.No more surfeit of hallway.No more vasty light of floor-to-ceiling windows.No more watching arrivals from the elevator always looking the wrong way first.No more convenient...http://owlfish.livejournal.com/853116.html Boxes- July 16, 2008 Reused cardboard boxes accrue interesting labels. My favorite two from this move:"Space Books - Very Important""Fragile Measuring Cups"http://owlfish.livejournal.com/852728.html Move- July 11, 2008 I had a wonderfully civilized move yesterday.The weather was lovely in the midst of a rainy week.The movers called early to say they were stuck in traffic, but still arrived on time.The movers were diligent, hard-working, friendly, and a delight to work with. They even took apart and reassembled on site the large and ungainly wardrobe.ewtikins and a_d_medievalist helped out by making sure the house was unlocked and mover-ready when I needed to still be back at the flat. This is the nicest way...http://owlfish.livejournal.com/851491.html Exotic junk food and theater trips- July 9, 2008 The delightful song "Jesus at Tim's" just came up on random music shuffle, reminding me of the most unexpected thing I've seen in London in a long time.Last week, en route to see The Thirty-Nine Steps with the second time, this time with C., we were, of course, walking along the street near Piccadilly Circus. And what to my wondering eyes did appear but an ad for Tim Horton's! The sign outside advertised coffee and doughnuts. Inside, samosas and Pringles caught my eye at first. Then, looking...http://owlfish.livejournal.com/850971.html Three years ago today- July 8, 2008 Three years ago today, I landed at Heathrow. C. met me there, and we made our way back to the flat by indirect Underground means. Half the system was still closed from the bombings the previous day. My boxes hadn't arrived yet (they traveled rather expeditiously by ship), but I had moved to England.Today, I am packing. C. flew out from City Airport for a work trip for a few days, and we are about to move. I'm going to go buy more boxes by indirect transportation means, although the system is...http://owlfish.livejournal.com/850399.html Evita in D.C.- July 7, 2008 Are you in the Washington D.C. area anytime from July 11 - July 26 Consider going to see a production of Evita, put on by the well-reputed McLean Community Players at the Alden Theater in McLean, VA. Tickets are $17 for adults. You should see this show because it'll be good, and because I can't. My sister's performing in it as a featured ensemble member! It's her musical theater debut, although she's a highly experienced salsa dancer, which is what led her to the role in the first place.http://owlfish.livejournal.com/850050.html Three Societies Meeting and an Exciting New Topic in the History of Science- July 6, 2008 I spent the weekend at the Three Societies meeting Oxford with 500 historians of science, a disproportionately large number of whom were from Toronto. I love academic reunions. We stayed at Keble College, gave papers in some of their non-stripey buildings, heard two excellent plenaries in the Oxford Union Society Debating Chamber (Simon Schaffer and the author of An Instance of the Fingerpost), and generally exchanged ideas. I have never had such good feedback for a paper I've given, in good...http://owlfish.livejournal.com/849089.html Too many books- July 3, 2008 "The words of the Hebrew sage have come true: 'Of making books there is no end.' What will happen if mechanics everywhere take up the pen We're done for. Even cattle and stones will write. All the papyrus of the Nile will not suffice."Petrarch, Invectives against a physician. Trans. David Marsh. The I Tatti Renaissance Library. (CambridgeLondon: Harvard University Press, 2003): II.45.Since we now live in an even more extreme age of bookish surfeit: when was the last time you read a book by...http://owlfish.livejournal.com/848642.html Perspective- July 2, 2008 The last few days have had their share of minor hiccups. The phone hardware still isn't functional at the house. I only realized after I'd written the quiz (but with time left to rewrite it) that it covered material I'd forgotten to make available to my students. I've failed to do any packing this week, although I did finish off end-of-semester grading and have written most of a conference paper. In looking for email addresses of people not in my addressbook, I found a misplaced minor editing.http://owlfish.livejournal.com/848173.html |