Sententiae Draconis

So it's been over a week since I got back from Italy, and I still haven't written up a good post about the dig and being back and all those other important things. ... And this isn't that either. This is a post about all the crazy things that are in my head at the moment.

First and foremost are James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender - because they are awesome and X-Men has eaten my brain. It's not so much that First Class was that great a movie (although I did really enjoy it) but their chemistry was fantastic and their obvious friendship in all their interviews is absolutely contagious. Their epic bromance is only equal to Sir Patrick and Sir Ian, or RDJ and Jude Law. It's epic. And also they totally weren't exaggerating when they mentioned the drag scene which was cut from the movie - HILARIOUS! I think I may have to buy the DVD if I'll get extras like these!

Evidence: The Japan DVD trailer, the Drag is at the 4 min mark!

I've also downloaded and started watching episodes of the Animated X-Men TV series which is a fond memory from my childhood. It is totally awesome too. I was not expecting it to still have such great characterization and messages and even the plots are pretty awesome. Even my roommate M is loving it and she didn't watch it as a child and therefore doesn't have nostalgia. - Also even in '90s Children's TV the Professor and Magneto are made for each other!

Let the brain-eating continue I say!

I've been procrastinating from writing my report for the dig. Partially because I've never written an archaeological report before and I'm worried that I'm going to screw it up, and partially because I've been sick and sleeping for most of this past week. In that light I've even ended up accomplishing other things - like organizing an orientation for the incoming grad students to our department (because our department would never do anything like that and also it needs to happen - but it's going to be super basic, I don't have the time or energy to do anything more official.) and getting my student loan documents in order (almost done!).

But today I will at very least start on that damn report, and I will at very least organize my laundry so that I can do it. And I will try not to be seduced by the internet and McAvoy-Fassbender interviews - I've seen most of them already anyway.

Also also - have you guys seen the new videos up on Peter Jackson's Facebook page for the Hobbit! There are 13 Dwarfs! And they are AMAZING! They are teasing each other and joking back and forth and it makes me squee like a squeeing thing! I can't wait for the Hobbit!



And on a more somber note, Jack Layton, Canada's Leader of the Opposition, died of cancer. It's really weird reading people say that they were expecting something like this because of how his health had taken a turn for the worse, because I've been on the other side of the world and paying even less attention to the news than I normally do. I vaguely remember hearing about him having some health problems, but the last I'd really heard of him was from the election when he was strong and energetic. So it's kind of shocking to me. He was a great man and a great politician, and the farewell letter he wrote to Canadians two days before his death is very moving. I don't agree with all his politics, and he was in no way perfect, but I'd been really looking forward to what he would accomplish as leader of the opposition and I had great hopes that he might've won the next election and become our Prime Minister. I'll miss his lovely moustache. See also: The Happy Jack Layton is Happy Tumblr for some awesome photos of Jack in action (via karenjeane).

This article On Stanley Cup Final Coverage and Bias by Harrison Mooney does an excellent job of articulating why Pass it to Bulis (the Canucks blog which he writes with two other guys) is the only sports media I read.

It's bad enough when fans are being douchebags and making snap judgments which prove they have the attention span of goldfish. When they only pay attention to a player's mistakes and ignore all of the good things he's done on the ice. When they apply a double standard between one game and the next or between different teams. Or make comments about sissy European players because it's not racist if they're white too.

But when the professional media does it too? It makes me wonder why they're allowed to keep their jobs.

An excerpt from Harrison's (very well written) article (emphasis mine):

I’m more than willing to deny a bias that doesn’t exist, and the East Coast bias is a myth.

That said, the journalistic bias against the Canucks has been clear as day. Consider, for example, the writing about the Sedins, whose manhood has been questioned for their lack of production in the Final. Anyone with an ounce of sense can see that their best series came against a team that didn’t have a dedicated shutdown pairing (San Jose), and they’ve had a tougher time against teams with Norris-Calibre defensemen that aggressively focus on shutting them down (Chicago, Nashville, Boston).

However, instead of telling this story, we’ve been subjected to a “limp-wristed Euros” narrative that smacks of embarrassing prejudice.

When was the last time someone suggested that Sidney Crosby or Jonathan Toews was less of a man for their relative lack of production in their respective Finals? In 2009, Crosby went minus-3 with a goal and two assists. In 2010, despite going minus-5 with no goals and three assists, Toews won the Conn Smythe. I’m sure their Canadian citizenship had nothing to do with their generous coverage.

In these cases, credit was given to the opposing defenders who shut down elite scoring threats. The Sedins, meanwhile, simply aren’t man enough. They’re hacked, slashed and impeded constantly, but any time they go down, they’re sissy divers, a narrative that stinks of xenophobia over an ethnocentric worry that Europeans have come to ruin the Canadian game. Chris Nilan claimed their “balls shrivel up when they’re on the road”, Joe Haggerty called them “Hansel and Gretel”, Mike Milbury called them “Thelma and Louise,” and a bevy of other sportswriters and fans have stuck with the much less innovative Sedin “sisters”.

Why, exactly, is it considered acceptable — professionally acceptable, even — to mock two men by comparing them to a minority group in hockey, anyway? What’s next? The Sedins play like blacks, jews, or gays?

This line of criticism is, in and of itself, childish and sexist. It’s 2011 and there are women in the Hockey Hall of Fame. If the Sedins actually were women, people might be a little more impressed with their point per game pace over the last five years, their back-to-back Art Ross trophies, their potentially back-to-back Hart trophies, or the fact that they’ve led their hockey team to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year as team leaders. As it stands, however, these accomplishments aren’t enough to escape the criticism that they’re actually women on skates — and that there’s something inherently wrong with that.

This whole thing makes me furious. Most of the time I don't bother reading because it's just awful, the comments are not intelligent and I disagree with what they've said about the game. But every now and again the media actually goes and says something like this that is SO completely offensive that it almost makes me ashamed to be a hockey fan. This is how people who don't watch hockey see the sport. How could this possibly be considered a good thing?

I used to think that the NHL would be the first of the major sports leagues in North America to have an openly gay player. It's a sport that's dominated by Canadians and Europeans who (especially in my generation which is the same age bracket as all the rising stars) increasingly don't give a damn about other people's sexuality. The NHL itself has tacitly endorsed gayness by allowing their names and logos to be used in a movie about a gay hockey player (admittedly it wasn't a big blockbuster - but still!). But if this is what they're saying about the Sedins because they're Swedish I'd hate to see what they'd do if they were gay. Sometimes staying in the closet is the safer choice.

And the Sedins? Their responses were very classy. Because they are cool like that: ( cut for length )

But whatever. Screw you Don Cherry and your xenophobic comments about Europeans. It doesn't matter whether your favourite team wins or the Canucks do, it'll still be a European captain raising the Stanley Cup.

Whine whine. Bitch Bitch. Moan Moan.

Why is it already 3pm and I still have a thousand words to write?

Paper, I hate you.

Celtic Scholars, please stop being so annoying.

Can I just go back to bed? I don't want to get up and work on that damn paper!

I feel like a bit of an idiot right now. I think it's just that I did two presentations in the last three days and then had six hours of class today (some of which was super awkward - through not fault of my own, but it still took it out of me).

At the moment my mantra is "you can do this."

Hour-long presentation on Tuesday that I've barely done any readings for? - No problem.

4 3000-word papers before the end of term when I've only ever done two papers of that length before? - Easy peasy.

Grad School is the right place for me. I even think that most days.

But today...

It clearly doesn't help that I'm getting a cold and have my period.

I hate you emotions.

Whatever - beer with the other grad students tomorrow. That will rock

First of all thank you to those of you who commented to answer my questions about photosharing sites. I have yet to make any decisions at all, but I still very much appreciate it!

Life is both crazy and dull at the moment. Mum's just moved, so I'm at her new place and surrounded by boxes. On the up side we know where most of my stuff is.

Also she's just got two kittens! They are both tabbies and look very much alike - although we've figured out how to tell them apart already, so that's good. They are very cute and are filled with personality. They are making me sneeze, which is very lame (damn you allergies!), but I don't mind too much because they are awesome.

Also the internet at Mum's is being all glitchy. Very lame. But I've been able to mostly get things done. And I can always go to the library to do faster, more reliable interneting. (*is at library now*)

I've been having a bit of a Merlin revival (does it count as a revival if the series is still running?) and rewatching the episodes and reading fic and just generally crushing over Bradley James and Colin Morgan who are some of the only actors my age I find ridiculously attractive (also hilarious, silly etc). On that note I just used some birthday money to buy myself series 1 on DVD. It should be arriving in the mail some time next week. The amount I am looking forward to the special features is probably not healthy.

For your time, because it makes me smile every time:

So the internet at my flat has turned flaky on me. It was slow to start with, and now it's just not working at all. Which is lame. I might talk to management at some point but at the moment I can't be bothered, and everything else about this place is such a good deal that I don't really care. There are plenty of places I can go to get some wifi and check my e-mail.

The long and the short of it though is that I'm not going to be updating as often because I'll be busy with cool things and won't be able to internet from home.

Also I've almost finished my statement of intent for my last application! There's just a little bit of polishing to do, and I think that means that I've got everything covered! I'm almost done with applications! And now it's just waiting for someone to decide to accept me! Nervous I am. But L says that they would be stupid not to accept me because I am really smart. (I like L.)

Today: the Surgeon's Hall Museum and a talk at the Unviersity about Romans in Britain (which I wouldn't have learned about if I didn't have insider information).

Next Week: Bus tour of awesomeness!

Life is good.

I finished my sweater today! Well sort of kind of mostly anyway!

No pictures as of yet. I think I might actually finish it up completely before I model it for you and I've still got ends hanging out all over the place and I have to get some buttons.

This is one of the biggest knitting projects I've ever done (although not the longest project). I started it back in October, and I've mentioned it before. It's the Starsky pattern over at Knitty. But I've changed it around a bit. The main thing is that it doesn't sit quite right with the belt (as in the belt makes a nice big line across my middle which accentuates things that don't need accentuating), so I've decided to get some buttons instead. I am kinda nervous about this business because I'm going to have to cut the buttonholes out of the already knitted fabric! I know it can be done and done without too much trouble, but I would be less nervous about it if I had known this would be my plan and had knitted in the buttonholes as I went along. But it'll be fine!

(And it's really warm!)

In other news I got myself TWO (2) pairs of sneakers today! Because they were %40 off. There is a green pair and a yellow pair and they are Adidas and awesome. I'm rather fond of both of them, but especially the yellow ones because their style name is Cicero. No joke.

Also I watched some season 1 Slings and Arrows today and it was made of win! And made me kinda nostalgic for my Uni's theatre society which is big and awesome. And it doesn't help that J just invited me to their most recent production on Facebook. If I were in Hali I would go (and I've never even heard of the play) - but alas and alack, I'm not.

Scotland on Friday!!!!

Must work on Grad School Applications!

Yesterday I bought new underpants! So today I am wearing new underpants!

(I'm sure you're all very pleased to hear this.)

But honestly, how could anything go wrong when you're wearing new underpants? Especially when they're pretty colours. (I generally don't buy boring underwear, and I'm always a little disappointed by the plain pair of white they always seem to want to put in the package with the cool colours.)

So today (with my new underpants!) I will be productive! I will finish a rough draft of my Statement of Purpose for my SSHRC application, and I will e-mail my profs re: references. And maybe (if I'm good) I will go to American Apparel and see if they have any yellow hoodies in my size.

(I could also work out my Yuletide sign-up and things like that... but maybe this is too much for one day.)

And I got a mug that say "Happy Birthday" at the coffee shop in which I am currently sitting. If that isn't a good sign I don't know what is.

Life is strange these days. My friends and family all seem to be ridiculously busy all the time and I can barely find the energy to do one useful thing per day.

Also everybody think good thoughts for my brother today! He's got Transport Canada exams so that he can get his mate's ticket. I hope he's wearing new underpants too. They're totally good luck.

I believe that Hugh Dillon put it best when he said:

"OH MY GOD I'M GONNA DIE!"

I have spent roughly twenty minutes at home since I left the house this morning at 0930. I didn't get home until 0001. Stage Managing is le hard.

(Also midterms = finally finished. I think that the Greek went well...)