Here's something weird.
Biola in the News
The above news story is worth a read. It's about a woman named Joanne Perez, who has donated her estate to Biola. She and her husband were vaudville performers, and good friends of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball. A few times, her husband was actually on the show, and I remember him. He was a clown and rode a little bicycle.
Anyway, the bicyclces are owned by Biola now, and also their house. Their house is a victorian mansion in Santa Ana, which has dance studios in it. Funny. I know of a victorian mansion in Santa Ana with dance studios in it. It was two houses south of my middle school. Coincidence? Probably, but perhaps not!
Also interesting from the Water Cooler: there's a Biola student attempting to climb the highest point in every state this summer. He's trying to do it in 40 days, which would be a new record. Getting High
Now that's cool.
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
You may not want to meet the mysterious Half-Blood Prince after dark in real life, but J.K. Rowling's book about him is interesting enough to keep you up long after dark, engrossed in another exciting story about Harry Potter and his battle against Voldemort. I was myself a victim of her enchantment last night, my nose stuck in the book until it finally came to its firm resolution. Of course, the resolution only left me wanting more, and the next book promises to be the most interesting yet.
I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series, in the sense that I read each one when it comes out as soon as I can, then completely forget the plot in time for the next one to come out, which I read immediately for the assured and ready entertainment. It's not deep literature, and it's not good literature, but it's the sort of fun and frothy read that reminds me of my childhood fantasies of adventure and danger. And that's far from worthless.
In fact, when I opened the book this last weekend, I was disappointed. The beginning was interesting in its own way, but it was rather atypical of Harry Potter's books, and it was also rather shockingly sub-par literarily. It's not that she doesn't grasp grammar or vocabulary, it's just that the images she presents are not presented beautifully or excellently. Many other authors have done better in that area.
What keeps you up late at night is the plot. Rowling's plots are delightful , and the language is almost an encumberment to their fast paced roll. It's amazing how fast you can read these books, I finished it in only snippets grabbed here and there from my busy schedule in 3 days. That's because it's the pace and action that grabs you, not the setting or commentary. Since I've been reading Doestoyevsky recently, this is quite shocking to me, but it's pretty typical of modern popular fiction, and I'm not going to complain.
Of course, good books change lives for the better, or at least communicate something uniquely that will nourish our souls. Does Rowling accomplish this with her latest adventure? I'm not sure. She has been weaving good themes into the books about self-sacrificial love, and in this way, at least, there is only good to be found in them. It is not a bad thing to educate people about that sort of thing, not at all!
As far as the infamous ending goes, I wasn't crushed, but that's because I saw it coming before I even read the book. There were some surprises, however, though you couldn't call them twists by any stretch of the imagination. Anyway, good read, I recommend it.
You may not want to meet the mysterious Half-Blood Prince after dark in real life, but J.K. Rowling's book about him is interesting enough to keep you up long after dark, engrossed in another exciting story about Harry Potter and his battle against Voldemort. I was myself a victim of her enchantment last night, my nose stuck in the book until it finally came to its firm resolution. Of course, the resolution only left me wanting more, and the next book promises to be the most interesting yet.
I am a big fan of the Harry Potter series, in the sense that I read each one when it comes out as soon as I can, then completely forget the plot in time for the next one to come out, which I read immediately for the assured and ready entertainment. It's not deep literature, and it's not good literature, but it's the sort of fun and frothy read that reminds me of my childhood fantasies of adventure and danger. And that's far from worthless.
In fact, when I opened the book this last weekend, I was disappointed. The beginning was interesting in its own way, but it was rather atypical of Harry Potter's books, and it was also rather shockingly sub-par literarily. It's not that she doesn't grasp grammar or vocabulary, it's just that the images she presents are not presented beautifully or excellently. Many other authors have done better in that area.
What keeps you up late at night is the plot. Rowling's plots are delightful , and the language is almost an encumberment to their fast paced roll. It's amazing how fast you can read these books, I finished it in only snippets grabbed here and there from my busy schedule in 3 days. That's because it's the pace and action that grabs you, not the setting or commentary. Since I've been reading Doestoyevsky recently, this is quite shocking to me, but it's pretty typical of modern popular fiction, and I'm not going to complain.
Of course, good books change lives for the better, or at least communicate something uniquely that will nourish our souls. Does Rowling accomplish this with her latest adventure? I'm not sure. She has been weaving good themes into the books about self-sacrificial love, and in this way, at least, there is only good to be found in them. It is not a bad thing to educate people about that sort of thing, not at all!
As far as the infamous ending goes, I wasn't crushed, but that's because I saw it coming before I even read the book. There were some surprises, however, though you couldn't call them twists by any stretch of the imagination. Anyway, good read, I recommend it.
Monday, July 25, 2005
Several days ago, my friend Sarah posted her answers to an "If I could be..." game, and taggegd me to do the same. Because of my recent engagement to Jonathan, this spurred quite a long journal entry about "If I could be a wife..." I won't post all of it here, because it's long and also because I just don't know if I want to share with the entire world all my thoughts about what kind of wife I hope to be. But here's some of it:
If I could be a wife, I'd pray everyday for my husband. I'd pray for myself as well, that I'd be a kind, gentle, understanding, helpful wife.
If I could be a wife, I'd appreciate my husband and respect him, never taking for granted the blessing I had in him.
If I could be a wife, I'd want to make our home a refuge from a stressful world. I'd want my husband to look forward to coming home to me at the end of the day.
If I could be a wife, I'd pack my husband's lunches to take to work. And sometimes, I'd write a little note on the napkin.
If I could be a wife, I'd say "please" and "thank you" and "I'm sorry" a lot. 'Cause marriage is no reason to forget one's manners.
If I could be a wife, I wouldn't ever dishonor my husband by complaining about this or that habit of his behind his back. I was once in a work situation where a couple of the ladies I worked with were in the habit of telling everyone what they didn't like about their husbands. This made me sad, and I vowed never to do that.
If I could be a wife, I'd dust and vacuum and mop the floor so my husband woud have a clean, comfortable home to live in.
If I could be a wife, I'd surprise my husband every once in a while with a baked treat or his favorite meal.
And lastly...If I could be a wife, I'd sleep on the top bunk.
That one was for you, Jonathan. :-)
(It's a little joke we have...cause I've got these bunk beds, and the other day I was like, "Hey, when we're married, can I have the top bunk?")
If I could be a wife, I'd pray everyday for my husband. I'd pray for myself as well, that I'd be a kind, gentle, understanding, helpful wife.
If I could be a wife, I'd appreciate my husband and respect him, never taking for granted the blessing I had in him.
If I could be a wife, I'd want to make our home a refuge from a stressful world. I'd want my husband to look forward to coming home to me at the end of the day.
If I could be a wife, I'd pack my husband's lunches to take to work. And sometimes, I'd write a little note on the napkin.
If I could be a wife, I'd say "please" and "thank you" and "I'm sorry" a lot. 'Cause marriage is no reason to forget one's manners.
If I could be a wife, I wouldn't ever dishonor my husband by complaining about this or that habit of his behind his back. I was once in a work situation where a couple of the ladies I worked with were in the habit of telling everyone what they didn't like about their husbands. This made me sad, and I vowed never to do that.
If I could be a wife, I'd dust and vacuum and mop the floor so my husband woud have a clean, comfortable home to live in.
If I could be a wife, I'd surprise my husband every once in a while with a baked treat or his favorite meal.
And lastly...If I could be a wife, I'd sleep on the top bunk.
That one was for you, Jonathan. :-)
(It's a little joke we have...cause I've got these bunk beds, and the other day I was like, "Hey, when we're married, can I have the top bunk?")
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
This link is totally cool. In honor of the Moon landing, Google revealed today their new maps program.
It's worth a look!
Moon.Google
Make sure you check out the closest magnification.
It's worth a look!
Moon.Google
Make sure you check out the closest magnification.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Blue-Green Glow
Last night Libby and I decided to go and check out the Pacific's new-found bioluminescence. It was well worth the drive to Huntington Beach!
We got there around 9, and left a little before 10, so we weren't there that long, but it was very cool while we were there. At first, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't ever seen it before, although I remember attempting to see it with my family a long time ago. That time, I remember, we figured we'd been stymied by the bright lights of the beach. So, this time, I decided to go to Bolsa Chica, which I figured would be a darker beach than the main city beach. It was darker, except for the moonlight. That's something you could only avoid by staying up really really late, though, and that's not something I'm interested in doing.
Anyway, it was really cool. Not every wave would glow, but a lot of them did. At first, most of the glow was way out at sea, any time there was a white cap, it would be blue-green. But, we walked down the beach a way, and we started seeing breakers glowing green. Since the violence is what excites the plankton, the color would race along the waves, right where it was folding over on itself. It created the illusion of surfing, which was cool.
There were a few times, after we'd been there awhile, that the min-breakers that form between the onrushing waves and the receding wash from a previous wave (in the very shallowest water) would suddenly glow bright green, right up next to us. That was cool, too.
Finally, I filled a bottle with the water. If you went somewhere completely dark and shook it, it would glow green, too! We brought the bottle home with us, and took it to show the roommates. The dinoflagellettes die without air, and then they'll stink, so when I was done with it, I poured it out into the toilet, which was actually really exciting. The froth it formed as it hit the bowl was brilliant green, and when I flushed it, the whole bowl turned a pale green as it went down the tubes.
Here's an OC Register article on the phenomenon.
Last night Libby and I decided to go and check out the Pacific's new-found bioluminescence. It was well worth the drive to Huntington Beach!
We got there around 9, and left a little before 10, so we weren't there that long, but it was very cool while we were there. At first, I didn't know what to expect. I hadn't ever seen it before, although I remember attempting to see it with my family a long time ago. That time, I remember, we figured we'd been stymied by the bright lights of the beach. So, this time, I decided to go to Bolsa Chica, which I figured would be a darker beach than the main city beach. It was darker, except for the moonlight. That's something you could only avoid by staying up really really late, though, and that's not something I'm interested in doing.
Anyway, it was really cool. Not every wave would glow, but a lot of them did. At first, most of the glow was way out at sea, any time there was a white cap, it would be blue-green. But, we walked down the beach a way, and we started seeing breakers glowing green. Since the violence is what excites the plankton, the color would race along the waves, right where it was folding over on itself. It created the illusion of surfing, which was cool.
There were a few times, after we'd been there awhile, that the min-breakers that form between the onrushing waves and the receding wash from a previous wave (in the very shallowest water) would suddenly glow bright green, right up next to us. That was cool, too.
Finally, I filled a bottle with the water. If you went somewhere completely dark and shook it, it would glow green, too! We brought the bottle home with us, and took it to show the roommates. The dinoflagellettes die without air, and then they'll stink, so when I was done with it, I poured it out into the toilet, which was actually really exciting. The froth it formed as it hit the bowl was brilliant green, and when I flushed it, the whole bowl turned a pale green as it went down the tubes.
Here's an OC Register article on the phenomenon.
Friday, July 15, 2005
Monday, July 11, 2005
Libby and I have some news to share with our reading public. Some ... exciting ... news. Buckle your seatbelts!
This weekend, we took a little trip to Mammoth. Why? To see birds. Or at least, that's what Libby thought!
I like birds.
She likes birds. But that's not really the whole reason why we were going to Mammoth. The whole reason we were going to Mammoth included Love and Big Commitment. My plan had been to go to Mammoth to propose for quite some time, and this was the one open weekend at the cabin in July (the only month that I could get away from work this summer). So, I loaded up the car, and off we sped up highway 395.
I suspected at first that there might be another reason. A bigger reason. A better reason. But, Jonathan cleverly put me off the track (example: the night before we left he told me, "Man, I haven't even started getting ready for this trip yet!"). So, then I decided I must have been wrong to suspect. And I didn't want to expect and then be disappointed, so I put it out of my mind.
I really appreciate that she put it out of her mind. It made my job that much easier! Another clever thing (I thought) was to not wear my Torrey ring, but, to bring it with me in its box. That way I could carry around a ring box without arising suspicion. In casual conversation, I pointed out that I wasn't wearing my Torrey ring, but that it was in my backpack, and, to keep it safe, I had put it in its box. But, that night, I took the Torrey ring out of its box and put it on my finger, nesting in its place a shiny diamond ring intended for my sweetheart!
The next morning, we went for a little hike, and then drove around the Eastern Sierra looking at cool birds. Jonathan suggested stopping for lunch at an Aspen grove that we were planning on re-visiting anyway. We found it last summer when we went up there. It's a small grove in the middle of this sage field. It's like, where'd these tall, pretty trees come from? Like stepping into a fairy world. We had even seen a deer walking around in there. So it was a special memory place that we wanted to come back to. (During that first trip to the Aspen grove, I even thought, "this would be a great place to get engaged." So, that contributed to my initial suspicion.)
However, when we arrived at the grove, another car was parked there. I considered stopping anyway, and waiting for them to clear out, but I figured that might get awkward. It's a pretty small place, and it has a private feeling to it, so they probably wouldn't have appreciated our presence anyway (and it's a good thing we didn't stay then, 'cause I needed to go to the bathroom.) So, I decided to wait a little longer (that was pretty tough) and go on to Mono Lake for lunch, which is only a little further north on 395 from the Aspen Grove. We ate lunch near the shore, and then we decided to go birding at the County Park on the north end of the lake (fortunately, there was a bathroom there). That was pretty cool; there were a lot of neat birds that we saw there, including a Say's Phoebe (This one isn't necessarily all that spectacular, but it is a sort of joke between us. Anytime we see a brown bird, Jonathan says, "Maybe it's a Say's Phoebe!" and it never is. But this time, it really was.) and a Yellow-headed Blackbird! Then, we loaded back into the car and made our way back to the grove.
When we got to the grove, I wanted to take some pictures of it on my digital camera because last summer I didn't get any. My camera, however, was being difficult. After fiddling with the batteries a bit, I got a few pictures of the trees and one of us. (Afterwards, though, my camera totally broke so I don't have any of these.) (I was thinking, "stinking camera." I had more pressing matters occupying my thoughts.) I had no problem messing with the camera. I figured, "we're just here to hang out anyway, right?" Anyway, after getting those pictures that are now lost forever, we sat down and Jonathan read to me the newest chapter of a fairy-tale-like story he's been writing for me. This chapter was about some woods that he based on the Aspen grove. I thought this was very nice. And I thought that was it. But there was more to come.
There was more to come, but I wasn't sure how to get to it. I was pretty nervous by this point, and though I was able to keep my hand pretty steady while reading the story to her, I wasn't at all certain how to transition from the story to the ring. And I have to admit, by this point I was pretty befuddled. Finally, after finishing the story and pausing a little while, I said, "There's one more thing." And I reached into my backpack for my Torrey ring box.
His Torrey ring box. This was somewhat confusing for me. At first, I thought maybe he was playing some kind of joke (which I didn't find funny at all). When he got down on one knee I even said, "What are you doing?" But he didn't let it phase him.
I had this whole plan with the box that I just couldn't pull off. I had meant to throw it to her casually, and then cleverly persuade her to open it, all unsuspecting, to find the ring. But, as I said above, I was befuddled, and I decided the best course of action was the direct one. So, as I struggled to get the ring box out of the cardboard box, I got down on one knee and said something like, "Libby Moothart, I love you with all of my heart, and you're the love of my life. Will you [please] marry me?" (Afterwards, neither one of us could remember if he said please, but he intended to. That's nice. It's polite.) Her face expressed alarm, then happy surprise, and she fell into my arms. Which, I figured, was good.
I was so excited that I forgot to say "yes" for a while. But then I remembered.
She also forgot that I had to put the ring on her finger. I had to remind her about that. So, I took her left hand in mine, and we removed her purity ring, replacing it with a brand new diamond ring, sealing a great and special commitment. A commitment signifying and cementing a bond that's been developing between us since August 15, 2001, when we first met at Torrey Orientation at Biola. I'm looking forward to a long and happy future. :-)
Yeah. So now, we are engaged. To be married (to each other). As opposed to, say, being engaged in battle. Or engaged in criminal activity. We drove into town to get a calling card and some itch cream (there were lots of mosquitoes in the Aspen grove) and then back to the cabin to share our news with Jonathan's grandparents. (To whom Libby and I are very grateful for allowing us to visit the cabin! Thank you!) His grandpa now refers to the Aspen grove as "the loooove vortex."
Soon (November) this blog will be another Rowley Family Blog. So, stay tuned!
This weekend, we took a little trip to Mammoth. Why? To see birds. Or at least, that's what Libby thought!
I like birds.
She likes birds. But that's not really the whole reason why we were going to Mammoth. The whole reason we were going to Mammoth included Love and Big Commitment. My plan had been to go to Mammoth to propose for quite some time, and this was the one open weekend at the cabin in July (the only month that I could get away from work this summer). So, I loaded up the car, and off we sped up highway 395.
I suspected at first that there might be another reason. A bigger reason. A better reason. But, Jonathan cleverly put me off the track (example: the night before we left he told me, "Man, I haven't even started getting ready for this trip yet!"). So, then I decided I must have been wrong to suspect. And I didn't want to expect and then be disappointed, so I put it out of my mind.
I really appreciate that she put it out of her mind. It made my job that much easier! Another clever thing (I thought) was to not wear my Torrey ring, but, to bring it with me in its box. That way I could carry around a ring box without arising suspicion. In casual conversation, I pointed out that I wasn't wearing my Torrey ring, but that it was in my backpack, and, to keep it safe, I had put it in its box. But, that night, I took the Torrey ring out of its box and put it on my finger, nesting in its place a shiny diamond ring intended for my sweetheart!
The next morning, we went for a little hike, and then drove around the Eastern Sierra looking at cool birds. Jonathan suggested stopping for lunch at an Aspen grove that we were planning on re-visiting anyway. We found it last summer when we went up there. It's a small grove in the middle of this sage field. It's like, where'd these tall, pretty trees come from? Like stepping into a fairy world. We had even seen a deer walking around in there. So it was a special memory place that we wanted to come back to. (During that first trip to the Aspen grove, I even thought, "this would be a great place to get engaged." So, that contributed to my initial suspicion.)
However, when we arrived at the grove, another car was parked there. I considered stopping anyway, and waiting for them to clear out, but I figured that might get awkward. It's a pretty small place, and it has a private feeling to it, so they probably wouldn't have appreciated our presence anyway (and it's a good thing we didn't stay then, 'cause I needed to go to the bathroom.) So, I decided to wait a little longer (that was pretty tough) and go on to Mono Lake for lunch, which is only a little further north on 395 from the Aspen Grove. We ate lunch near the shore, and then we decided to go birding at the County Park on the north end of the lake (fortunately, there was a bathroom there). That was pretty cool; there were a lot of neat birds that we saw there, including a Say's Phoebe (This one isn't necessarily all that spectacular, but it is a sort of joke between us. Anytime we see a brown bird, Jonathan says, "Maybe it's a Say's Phoebe!" and it never is. But this time, it really was.) and a Yellow-headed Blackbird! Then, we loaded back into the car and made our way back to the grove.
When we got to the grove, I wanted to take some pictures of it on my digital camera because last summer I didn't get any. My camera, however, was being difficult. After fiddling with the batteries a bit, I got a few pictures of the trees and one of us. (Afterwards, though, my camera totally broke so I don't have any of these.) (I was thinking, "stinking camera." I had more pressing matters occupying my thoughts.) I had no problem messing with the camera. I figured, "we're just here to hang out anyway, right?" Anyway, after getting those pictures that are now lost forever, we sat down and Jonathan read to me the newest chapter of a fairy-tale-like story he's been writing for me. This chapter was about some woods that he based on the Aspen grove. I thought this was very nice. And I thought that was it. But there was more to come.
There was more to come, but I wasn't sure how to get to it. I was pretty nervous by this point, and though I was able to keep my hand pretty steady while reading the story to her, I wasn't at all certain how to transition from the story to the ring. And I have to admit, by this point I was pretty befuddled. Finally, after finishing the story and pausing a little while, I said, "There's one more thing." And I reached into my backpack for my Torrey ring box.
His Torrey ring box. This was somewhat confusing for me. At first, I thought maybe he was playing some kind of joke (which I didn't find funny at all). When he got down on one knee I even said, "What are you doing?" But he didn't let it phase him.
I had this whole plan with the box that I just couldn't pull off. I had meant to throw it to her casually, and then cleverly persuade her to open it, all unsuspecting, to find the ring. But, as I said above, I was befuddled, and I decided the best course of action was the direct one. So, as I struggled to get the ring box out of the cardboard box, I got down on one knee and said something like, "Libby Moothart, I love you with all of my heart, and you're the love of my life. Will you [please] marry me?" (Afterwards, neither one of us could remember if he said please, but he intended to. That's nice. It's polite.) Her face expressed alarm, then happy surprise, and she fell into my arms. Which, I figured, was good.
I was so excited that I forgot to say "yes" for a while. But then I remembered.
She also forgot that I had to put the ring on her finger. I had to remind her about that. So, I took her left hand in mine, and we removed her purity ring, replacing it with a brand new diamond ring, sealing a great and special commitment. A commitment signifying and cementing a bond that's been developing between us since August 15, 2001, when we first met at Torrey Orientation at Biola. I'm looking forward to a long and happy future. :-)
Yeah. So now, we are engaged. To be married (to each other). As opposed to, say, being engaged in battle. Or engaged in criminal activity. We drove into town to get a calling card and some itch cream (there were lots of mosquitoes in the Aspen grove) and then back to the cabin to share our news with Jonathan's grandparents. (To whom Libby and I are very grateful for allowing us to visit the cabin! Thank you!) His grandpa now refers to the Aspen grove as "the loooove vortex."
Soon (November) this blog will be another Rowley Family Blog. So, stay tuned!
Tuesday, July 05, 2005
Last night, Jonathan and I climbed up on the roof of his two-storey house; there was no ladder involved, just two adventuresome spirits and a pinch of ingenuity. There we watched fireworks light up the sky in all directions. Quite spectacular. And neither one of us fell off and died; though Jonathan did give me a bit of a scare at one point (he had it all under control, though, folks).
Saturday, July 02, 2005
Lem has posted a link on his blog to the pictures he took from the Guenther wedding. Check them out, yo.
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