Ian | 12/30/2005 | 1:55 pm
This is not in my usual vein of blogging (blame the pot of strong coffee if you wish). Indulge me.
I’ve spent the last few hours in my head. As I think over the last year I realize there is one very important thing I have failed to do all year, so here goes.
Thank you.
Thank you to my family.
Thank you to my friends.
Thank you to the city I have chosen to make my home for the last three years.
Thank you to the gods, spirits, or whatever pulls the ethereal puppet strings– You’ve been kinder than you needed to, maybe kinder than I deserved.
Thank you all for being there for me, for listening and caring.
Thank you all for entrusting me with what you have to say, I value your words and feelings.
Thank you all for a wonderful holiday season with many wonderful (and some entirely unexpected) gifts.
Thank you all for a year I won’t soon forget.
It’s funny, the encapsulation of time into a lump we call a year. It doesn’t really serve much of a purpose except to make us pause and evaluate what we’ve done for the last 365.25 days.
Last year on New Years Eve I called my own voice mail and left a message. It consisted of a drunken laundry list of what was wrong with me and exactly what I really ought to do next year to make my life better. I wasn’t kind. In retrospect it’s pretty funny but if I hadn’t been really intoxicated it would have been pretty depressing.
This year if I get drunken dialing syndrome I hope the message says something like this:
“Hey Ian. It’s you… er… me… whichever. Good job man. I liked 2005. Keep up the good work.”
Take care everyone. Be safe tomorrow night, and once again– Thank you.
Ian | 12/14/2005 | 10:41 am
Apparently the NIH is going to be sponsoring a huge genetic research project (a-la the human genome project) to map out every single type of genetic defect that causes cancer.
It’s all pretty fascinating but this is actually what caught my eye from a Washington Post article:
“The planets have aligned to tackle cancer in a comprehensive way that we’ve never had the tools to do before,” said Francis S. Collins, director of the NIH’s National Human Genome Research Institute.
Wait.
Did he just refer to astrology in the same sentence as one of the most scientifically complex research programs ever conceived?
Yes, yes he did.
Ian | 12/13/2005 | 3:36 pm
I may have to see this movie, and this is why.
(thanks Ross)
Oh poor Samuel L.– You do know you CAN turn down roles don’t you?
Ian | 12/8/2005 | 3:04 pm
Note: This is the same intro as last year I know– It was cute then and it’s cute now dangit!
There’s nothing quite as wonderfully indulgent as spending a few hours on a long lunch break writing a christmas list for all the goodies you imagine somehow will make your life a little better.
In this electronic age I figure Santa probably has internet access– I mean, all those kids and gifts, thats just begging for a database to keep track of them all right?
So Santa, if you or any of your elves happen to find my web site this is what you can stuff my stocking with. I’ve been a good boy, I promise.
In no particular order:
Ian | 12/5/2005 | 9:20 am
This is a perfect example why I shouldn’t be allowed to do things on computers after 3am. I actually wrote this post last friday but I accidentally deleted it after a midnight showing of Aeon Flux. I was trying to delete a comment and go the whole post instead. Whoops!
Sooo…
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OK people in Chicago (or who I might see in NC between the 25th and the 28th) there are way too many movies out (or soon to be out) that I really want to see.
Lets get watching!
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe ✔
Memoirs of a Geisha
Rent ✔
Jarhead
Aeon flux ✔
The Producers
King Kong
The Weatherman
Oliver Twist
A History of Violence
If you have an interest in seeing any of these let me know!
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Ian | 12/2/2005 | 2:20 pm
A University can be a strange place to work.
At any university there are a myriad of little communities that appear seemingly out of the ether. I’m not sure why this happens so readily at a university (vs. private companies)– Maybe it’s that people at universities are naturally collaborative and social, maybe they feel put-upon and confused enough by the unnecessarily complex series of systems and groupings that govern the workplace that they band together out of necessity, maybe both.
Regardless I find these little social and professional circles to be pretty interesting and useful, in fact some days they’re the saving grace of what can otherwise become a pretty dull and uninspired job.
About two months ago when I realized that there were quite a number of music fans in my office so one of those little communities was born. Last night was the second meeting of RAWK (Which stands for the rockin at work krew– not my idea). Once a month the five of us meet and each person brings four copies of a favorite obscure album to share with the rest, then we talk about the previous months selections. It’s just like a book club, but it’s four albums a month and we meet at a bar and talk music for hours while drinking sangria. So far, it’s been a resounding success.
Oh and on a semi-related side note This came in from one of those university microcommunities (click on the Relax link). It’s a truly amazing piece of music, download it and give a listen if you have the time. Of course I can never leave well enough alone. That link led to the writer of said song, which led me to songfight.org, a really cool website where each week a group of composers duke it out for audiance approval by writing and recording a song based on a common theme. I know a few song writers who might reallt have some fun with this.
*cough* *Steve* *cough* *Luke*