TEn TCharette TTuesday

Hey all!!!!

So look at the Title above.
Doesn't make any sense does it?
Well, you're wrong. It makes sense
In my head.

Basically, I didn't want to break
the tradition of using T's in my
heading.
Soo... I added an extra T
to every word
to make it work.
Commonsensical? :D

So, it actually should read:
"En Charette Tuesday"

Now that that's
cleared up,
we can move on.

Oh, wait...
Most of you don't
speak French....
and even those who
do won't understand
the architectural idiom.

Ok.......
So basically the
literal meaning of
"En charette"
is "In the cart"

What does this have to do with architecture?
Well, not only will I tell you that,
but I will also tell you how it relates
to YOUR life
...

O.o whoa! my life?
you say
please continue!
I love personalizing stuff.

So, the saying En charette,
or In the cart,
is an architectural term for
thatreallystressfultimerightattheendoftheyearwhenyouvegotsomuchtodoandnotimetodoitanddidImentionI'mreallystressed

:( yes, that does relate to my life
you say

The origin came from when there were
huge competitions in architecture, where
at the deadline architects would have to
have all their ideas and work ready to present.
Beyond the time limit, no work would be accepted.
So, very often architects would be scribbling down their last
moment inspiration while "en charette", on the way to the
presenting ground.

I just learned this today in fact.

Just kidding. I remember

last semester my professor
took us to his house, and
on the way back to UVA
explained that concept.
But of course, I was a silly
First-Year, who couldn't even
understand why architects would
be in carts when cars where so much
faster, and less bumpy.
Duhhh....

Anyhoo, looking at the past few posts,
I think it's fair to say some of us are

en charette.

Either that, or sleeping in til 10 AM
(Just kidding Adri :D luvs!!!)
But you know, being en charette
is what happens sometimes.

A really smart guy told me
that sometimes we've just got
too much to do.
Sometimes, we need
to say, I cannot deal with this
right now.

Focusing on the essentials,
the really important stuff,
the focus of your architectural presentation, if you will
is the big part.
But do be happy while en charette,
or you turn into someone who gets really gumpy.
And thats not fun. :D

Silly thing about me: I just about freaked when thunder shook our half-glass enclosed classroom.
Silly thing about someone else: My entire section class almost did as well.
(I must do a shout-out to awesome Mr. Matt, who was cool enough to give me a ride to the library so I didn't get T-totally soaked)
:D
Luvs you all!!!

I forgot to post again

SORRY!!!

Some Really Clever Title (This is my least favorite part of papers)

So, apparently neither Microsoft Word nor Mozilla Firefox recognize "journaling" as a word. Does that mean "to journal" is not a real verb? Does anyone know?

I've been thinking about journaling because Christine just got a five year journal (Technically it's a diary, but I prefer journal as it makes me sound less like an eleven year old. Also, it doesn't have a crappy lock on the side and will not be written in with a gel pen). This product is kind of a brilliant idea: every page is labeled with a date (say, April 24) and divided into five parts (one for each year). Thus, every day you write, you can look back and see what you did on that day the year before, and the year before that, up to five years ago.

Her excitement over this acquisition reminded me of how much I've neglected my own journaling. I've been playing catch-up the past couple days, which mostly consists of me logging all the random things that have happened in the last two weeks. I usually hate it when I end up just listing events. I much prefer the reflective entries where I write about my life in broader terms, which means I end up leaving out these daily details.

Last night (as in Friday), I was sitting in my kitchen with Christine and Jyna (another of our friends), when Christine mentioned a TV show she used to like, and we got to wondering exactly when it aired. According to Wikipedia, it began in 2001. That is when I realized something very odd: 2001 was 9 year ago. Doesn't sound that weird right? But get this: 9 years is about 43% of my life. That sounds weird.

I've never really thought that a decade was that long. I always remind myself: "Ruth, you are only two decades old. You do not know everything." So it's not that nine years is an insane amount of time. It's really more about the fact that I don't really think of the 90s as having ended more than five years ago. But nope, I'm a decade behind.

While I was sitting there having this realization, Jyna laughed at me. "Ruth," she said, "Those years are over. You've already had them." Because I have really. I think that's why I like the idea of a five year journal so much; it's pretty much the physical embodiment of the way in which each of your days adds up to your life. All the time you spend working. All the time you spend talking. All the time you spend thinking about stupid little things like what grocery items to get from the store or whether or not you should do laundry today. All the time you spend worrying about the future. All this is your life.

That is basic, and perhaps silly to need to say, but it's something I tend to forget.

tvtb,
Ruth

Today I'd like to talk just a little bit about the not-knot merger. Way back in the day, there was a difference in the pronunciation of the words "not" and "knot". The "k" in "knot" wasn't a silent hanger-on, it actually did something. If you said the word "knot", you'd pronounce the K, and maybe (I'm really just guessing on this) it would have sounded like "Kh-not" or [knot] or something like that. Same was true for things like "knee" and "knight". All those words had a "k" sound in front of them, (and the ends were a little different too in most cases). Over time, the English language, as all languages do, smashed some sounds together, forgot about others, and just threw a few extra sounds in other words just for giggles. As English changed, the "k" sound was left out more and more in "kn-" constructions, until it finally produced the same sound, and "knot" and "not" became indistinguishable in pronunciation. Even though the sounds changed over time, the spelling remained exactly the same.

This same process happens constantly, and is happening right now. We're dropping the yod, the "yuh" sound, from a lot of our words. Think of an british dude saying "tune" (tyune), and an american saying tune (toon). We still keep the yod in a few words like "fume" "hewn", but for the majority, words like tune, coupon, dune, misfortune etc. have lost the yod.

So yeah.

That also shows that there are a lot of things that are nonsensical and confusing simply because they're relics of another context and environment. Aftereffects can last thousands of years.

forgive me

It is the end of the semester and everything is due, so please forgive my brevity in the post.
There only seven chickadees now, one disappeared from the nest :(. But their eyes are open now and they are more feathered.

Fun fact, I found that the "pimento" is the red pepper part in the green olive. And that's why there is that red stuff in the glory that is pimento cheese. The sad part is that a three year old girl knew it before I did.

New addition: I talked to my professor today (friday) and she said we could band the chicks on monday.

Tis Tuesday All!

Hullo all my dear chaps and chapettes!
I am sorry. Tis eventide, and I have not planned any sort of programme... again.
...
Have you ever had a time where it seemed like EVERYONE was talking about you....
Like you get 17 emails in a 20 minute time period, and find yourself with 92 notifications
on Facebook.
Well

if you don't, I'm sorry,
Because it feels awesome.
:D

It feels so great, that I've written a poem,
taking selections from a few of the many messages I've gotten.
Ahem.....

Pokemon,
Digimon,
Gameboy Friday too,
Aminals like
Hippos, Crocs
and (human) Cuckoos.

These are some
of the silly things I've seen
... But what does it mean?

There is no sense,
no rational string,
except that my name
in the chaos
they bring.

I hope they are happy,
and sing in glad chorus,
but I will have no part,
In being Chuck Norris.

Yeah, so this is a filler, and only the silly people who facebook pranked me will understand this. And if you don't, you're probably better off not knowing.

Silly thing about me: I spent about 40 mins before writing this looking at the several silly videos posted on the pranksters walls.... It was seriously a waste of time. But there were a number of laughs.

Silly thing about the pranksters: You have no idea what is coming. :D

Love you all!!!!

A Tall and Ignorant Servant

One of the things I've been doing a lot of recently is thinking about, reading, and watching poetry.

Thursday (and Friday and Saturday for that matter) I went to the library. Between the right-side fish tank and the fiction new arrivals shelf sat a little table. On it rested a sign (reading "A Poem in Your Pocket Day: sponsored by Jefferson-Madison Regional Library") and a bowl with rolled up scrolls of paper. Would I ever say no to free poetry?

So I grabbed one, slid off the ribbon, and unrolled it to find a poem by Tony Hoagland called "Narcissus Lullaby," which I read while tripping down the stairs to the bottom floor of Clemons. I had read a book by Hoagland (Donkey Gospel) during my second year (for a poetry writing course). Completely forgot he existed. I kind of wish now that I had kept the book instead of selling it back.

Christine (who is not as interested in [written] poetry as I am) got a Robert Frost poem, the same one both times she drew from the bowl. I like Robert Frost (He is an amazing poet), I just sometimes find him a little too heavy-handed in his imagery.

So what poetry do I not find heavy handed? Current favorites include: Seamus Heaney, e. e. cummings, Adrienne Rich, and William Butler Yeats (Yes, I love Irish poets...).
I wanted to put in one or two of my favorite poems, but they are rather long and require quite a bit of unpacking. So instead, I'm including a couple of shorter, more accessible poems:

if you like my poems let them
This Is Just To Say
The Astronaut
Digging

Sorry this post is so disjointed. Hope you enjoyed it anyway.
I love and miss you all,
Ruth

I used to think differently.

Have you ever been going through your day and all of a sudden, something hits you and you realize you don't feel quite the same as you used to, that you look at the world differently, or maybe life has a different flavor. It happens to me most often when I hear a song that's attached to a certain place or time in my mind. Or when I find a journal or book from my childhood.

Our perspective is so all encompassing and pervasive in our world-view. Everything I experience or think about is in a way filtered through my personal perspective. And that perspective changes over time. Sometimes I want to build a house with giant proportions, ceilings, and furniture, so I can remember what it was like to be a kid. I can recall bits and pieces, but just sense of the sheer hugeness of the world is something that was permanent when I younger, but transient now.

I'm kind of circling around an extremely vague and even more poorly-described feeling, but maybe you know what I'm talking about.

It's nice to remember how I used to be, and it's nice to remember how I will be.

WQFS interview!

All eight chicks hatched yesterday! It's full in there and I feel bad for their parents who have to feed all of them. The parents are getting more used to me, one of them doesn't scream at me.

And I was on the radio! Here's the link to the Greenleaf Review's website, which has a widget on the side with the radio recordings, one of which is mine. Check it out.
http://greenleafreview.wordpress.com/
The interview is about 30 minutes long. I would really be happy if you took time to listen to it, because it would make me happy. :D
I'm currently really happy with the piece. My professor called it brilliant.

Stay fresh family!

Regular Tuesday

Hullo all!

Yes, it is regular Tuesday :D There will be no crazy moving of text But wait What is so strange then There must be oddity if this is truly to be a regular Tuesday Well if you havent figured out yet there is no punctuation at all besides what is used on the smiley face above and the introduction soooooo yeah this is where a dot dot dot would occur
That was hard I had to keep removing commas where I was just in the habit of putting them In any case on to my actual topic
I dont know what todays topic is I usually start thinking about it on Monday or in the morning, because I always look forward to saying hello to you guys I guess we shall wing it
Following several more like 2 minutes of thinking dot dot dot
Have you ever thought about the future I thought so It seems that most people do And what I mean when I say the future is my your his her our their future Yes lets personalize this Have you ever thought about YOUR future Im guessing you have if your a normal person Some people can wing it really well but Im guessing most of us do at least plan our lives a little bit Its interesting to look at how life works out As a child I never imagined myself in Clemons Library on April 12 much less as a student at UVA But I had a general aim I wanted college so in a way I very much have ended up where I expected But its far more detailed and actual and real than I ever put my mind into imagining my future when I was a kid
Where am I going with this you ask dotdotdot I have 50% of an idea where Im going I reply Ok Great now that we are at an understanding lets keep going
So I can now instead of looking at how I in the past looked at the future which is now present I can look at the future and imagine how I see the future now We wont even get into looking at how I could look at how I will in the future look at the more distant future
I imagine going home or maybe getting dinner at the dining hall going through my routine and going to bed
That is a fairly simple and yet accurate statement of my near future But when I actually go through with it which I need to shortly if Im getting late dinner it will be far more real and possibly with unexpected turns or twists Maybe it will be torrential rain again as it was a while ago and Ill have to take shelter until the storm abates Or any number of funky things But if I and you focus on the goal in this case getting to the dining hall and getting dinner on time then no unimportant distraction will keep us from going if we truly focus on it Something may happen that changes my focus like someone falls down near me Then my focus on getting dinner ends superseded by the focus of making sure this dude or dudette is ok
So putting on an abstract grand scale if you plot your chart and start heading in that direction you can keep fairly straight Sometimes things will change and you will discover maybe that either you have a new goal or that you were going in the wrong direction to get where you wanted to go But always have a purpose in going forward and always be sure thats the way you want to go Look for your Northern Star, your reference point, and make sure its constant in position And then move forward in your plans
Being sure youre heading where you want to is almost if not as important as setting out and actually doing it Because if you go out to find that your Northern Star isnt constant or youre heading in the wrong direction it will be harder to find your bearings
But if you do end up as such its ok It wont be the end dotdotdot hopefully Youll never ever ever be perfect in execution of the future and sooooo many unplanned things will come both distractions and important things like checking on people who fall down So the point is to be prepared but to know when youre prepared enough to set sail
In everything use common sense

Like the fact that I love you!
And want to see you guys all really badly!!!!

Silly thing about me: I ran in the pouring rain from class without a jacket, going super fast and running like a maniac
Silly thing about my friend: He followed suit..... except he had a thin thin plastic poncho and a bike :D

Luv you all family!!!!!!

Not So Monday - Dri

hey guys! sorry about my late posts for the past couple of weeks! I've been kind of busy with school and church. Finals and Exams are coming up too, so, don't expect much of me until the school year is over haha
so that's basically the post for today, except to announce that I am working on a secret project, and it will be posted in possibly 3 weeks, maybe even 4 {Ruth, Johnny, and Dad! You aren't allowed to teeellllll!! even thought ruth's probably the only one that remembers what it is :P)

={) <-- mustache man

Weekly Report

The week before last (as in the 28th to the 1st), was rather busy. I had an Italian paper and three exams. Luckily, I made it through alive. I have gotten back the grades for two of the exams and the paper (It's a grading miracle! Usually these things take weeks.) and am relatively pleased with them. The following week (last week) was much less busy. Mostly, I spent the same amount of time in the library, jut reading for class instead of studying for exams. The time at my dorm was spent cleaning up the awful mess that seems to take over every study-cram period, around the same time my sleeping schedule starts shrinking.

So, I find that whenever I have free time (which actually happened a little bit this week), it works its way into one of four categories: maintenance work, reading, and listening to music.

Maintenance work report for the week: My dishes are done, my kitchen is sparkling, my room is clean (even my desk!), and (drumroll....) I HAVE CLEAN CLOTHES TO WEAR!! I also showered much more regularly than the week before.

Reading report for the week: Because I finished The Castle of Otranto last weekend, I picked up a non-school book to read during class changes and bus rides. It is called Wide Sargasso Sea (by Jean Rhys) and is (thus far) pretty good. It was inspired by Bertha Rochester's untold story in Jane Eyre, but takes place several years in the future (of Jane Eyre, not of the present) in Jamaica. I have unfortunately not gotten very far but hope to finish it before I have to return it to the library.

Music report for the week: Christine (my roommate) and I have a tradition of exchanging mixes. Her current one (which I hope to finish before the end of the semester) has only eleven songs on it. So, I'd been going through my music library, and I.... got distracted. Suffice it to say that all that cleaning I mentioned earlier was done to a mixture of The Who, Velvet Underground, and The Kinks.
And now I have a burning desire to spend all the time I (won't) have this week making a massive 60s rock mix.... song suggestions anyone?

I love you all (and apologize for my constant abuse of parentheses),
Ruth

Filler

Hey everyone!

Ok, so I have things going on, and things to say about them. I don't have time to say things about the things going on. So I put up a random picture, and have written this.

I tried to write more earlier, but my wireless internet connection is acting weird, and I'm temporarily without a ethernet cord. So that's a handy excuse upon which I will fall back.

I'm going to run the half marathon tomorrow. I've been training for a while, and was smart enough to hurt my ankle running ten miles on Tuesday. It feels a lot better now, so wish me luck!

Love you all,
Joseph

Ghost Trick

I will be telling you of a game.
But not just any game, this game is actually one of the best I've ever played.
If you've ever heard of Phoenix Wright (which you probably have) it's by the same guy who made that, and there are some cameos.
The game is Ghosttrick, and it's awesome.

You are Sessil, a murder victim with no recollection of who killed him and how he came to be a ghost. As a ghost he finds he has the power to manipulate objects and change people's fates by going back to four minutes before they died. He does all this with a desire to discover who he is before he ceases to exist at dawn, but as you can expect he gets more than he bargained for.
Not only is the gameplay, on the DS, very innovative, delightfully similar in style to some online casual games, it has one of the best plots I have ever seen in a videogame. Strike that, it has the best plot I have seen in a videogame. It has fascinating characters, stays engaging throughout and has one of the most satisfying endings I have experienced in the gaming world.

Anyway, I'll stop plugging/writing-a-review for Ghost Trick. Olivia and I just finished with it so its effects are still fresh.

The Chickadees are still incubating! Hopefully they'll hatch in about two days.

Customized Stumbling One for Each (or maybe 2)

Won for Eech Wednesday.

I thought I'd put up a link to something from the web that each person blogging here might like.

Just because it is listed as someone else's doesn't mean you can't look at it or won't like it by the way...

I haven't planned this out, so there will probably be some misses.

Adrianna Adrianna #2

Andrew Andrew #2

Johnny

Joseph

Richard

Ruth Ruth's T Shirt

Let me know if any of you had seen yours already. If so... I'll give you a refund :)

Keep Tuesday

Hello all

Yesterday, as I worked on an Architecture Arts and Crafts project,
I came upon something interesting.

I had been whining all
day about how much I
hated
doing this work.

Ruth will testify

to how whiny I was being.

I have since realized: Earlier that same day,
I had rediscovered why I had considered
Architecture at all as my career.

Shall I explain?

I shall.

For the first time in a long time,
I actually did some drafting for
my architecture project
All I had to do to feel better about
it was draw a bunch of light regulating
lines.

And it was really fun.

As I continued my thoughts,
I discovered how rhythm
is what I love.

Making a systematic rhythm of lines,
like in drafting; beating to the rhythm of
a song; and tons of other things.

I discovered more about myself,
and felt more sure that my direction,
despite seeming a pain
some or most of the time,
was based on
the
right
idea.

And to think I'd been considering
not choosing architecture as a
career....
Which is still possible.
Just not as probable.

That's great, you say, but really Richard,
Just tell us the cheesy lesson,
and get on with it.

So I will.

And I'll enjoy my rhythmicness
while I'm at it.

There are two kinds of things in this life

(Ok, so there are a lot more,
but for conciseness sake,
we will accept this postulation)

Things that keep, and
things that don't.

Rock keeps.

It can endure years of
weathering,
a ton of weight,
and even fracturing
and such.

And yet it still works as a rock.
Assuming that you would
need one for something.

Bread doesn't keep.

It must be used,
properly stored,
or it will soon mold,

and become inedible
to those of us
who want to live
healthily.

Similarly it is with us, and life.

Ideas are some of those things
that don't always keep.

We forget,
get caught up in things,
or just get out of practice.

But luckily, there is
a solution.

Bread may not keep,
but it's pretty easy to make.

In the same way,
the idea of why
I love architecture won't keep,
but I can always
remind myself.

Assuming I remember to
remind myself :D

But really, certain things, like
knowledge, belief,

knowing-why-you-took-architecture-in-the-first-place

don't keep well.

Then you get grumpy like me.

And you certainly don't want that.

Or you start asking why you
even went in this direction
in the first place.

And maybe you end up
almost quitting.

So those ideas that
don't keep well,
remake often.

I plan on doing some more drafting
to remind myself of why I love
architecture.

Silly thing about me: I am not silly
Silly thing about other peeps: You are all silly

Love you family :)

and hope you have a fun
bloggy week

South Korea - Dri

I was unsure of what to post today, so, I will just share with you the fruits of my labor. Yesterday, I spent quite a while youtube researching culture and info about ESL teachers in South Korea. I did this because, if for some reason, U.C.A. doesn't work out, I'd like to spend a year abroad.

Ciao tutti!

So, yesterday I was sitting in my room reading a book called The Castle of Otranto (No, I wouldn't suggest it. It pretty much follows the classic recipe for a Gothic novel [Also, before you ask: yes I do actually read books for class that I truly enjoy. No, it doesn't happen often, but it does happen. I did choose this minor for a reason. I am not a masochist.]). While I was so engaged, I heard my roommate give a small laugh. Eager for any excuse to extract myself from the haunted and gloomy castle, I perked up my ears and inquired as to the cause of her amusement.

This is what she showed me. Personally, I didn't think it was funny. I thought it was amazing and brilliant! Why hasn't anyone done this before?! Who would not want a moss carpet that is watered by your leftover shower drips? Genius. That's what it is. Simply Genius. (Of course, my enthusiasm and excitement only caused her further amusement.)
This episode reminded me of yet another reason why I love the internet. Aside from providing a universe of possible distractions (which, while pleasant is certainly not always a good thing), it offers an imaginative space that is not available in any other medium. Yes, the person who designed this rug did not necessarily need the internet to do so, but I definitely would not have found out about said rug without it.

Love you guys,
Ruth

Gmail Motion!

Ok, so as you all know, the newest big wave of technology for video game systems, computers, smartphones, and baseballs can be summed up in two words: Motion Sensitive. Maybe “newest” isn’t completely accurate. After all, the Wii (as we all know) was released on November 19 2006.
“Joseph”, you tell me. “Four years ago in technology years is like three decades in dog years”.
First off, that’s inaccurate. Dog years really aren’t equivalent to human years in a 7:1 ratio. Second, average life expectancy varies by breed of dog. Third, if it was accurate, then yes, four years ago would be roughly equivalent to three dog decades.
Anyway, the point is that four years ago is a long time ago technologically speaking. We’re in the fast lane. Well, four years ago, the first motion based game that was really actually fun and functional and diverse (I’m ignoring a number of really sucky to mildly disappointing games) came out. Since then, there have been a few copycats and knock offs, but no real innovations in the field of remote motion-based control in new technologies.
Now, the genius Big Brother that’s actually kind of cool instead of creepy authoritative has done it again. Taken a new technology and made it interactive, effective, and fun.
I’m talking, of course, about Google’s newest program Gmail Motion, released to the public today. This unprecedented technology allows you to read, write, organize and send emails in your Gmail account, without touching your mouse or keyboard a single time. How you ask? By taking advantage of your existing webcam software, Google analyzes your body movements and identifies them, matching them to preset commands like Forward, Delete, Archive, etc. By simply waving your arms and bending your torso a bit, you can have all the control of using a mouse, with none of the crippling disadvantages. The commands set by Google are all very intuitive, it’s not like you’re going to have to learn American Sign Language or semaphore just to check your email. Just go to Google, and after referencing some of their handy charts, you’ll be doing calisthenics as you browse your emails. Using the computer for hours on end doesn’t have to be unhealthy anymore!
Still don’t believe it’s that easy? Well check it out! Google has already published the small amount of software needed online for free. All you need is a webcam, a computer, Google’s Gmail Actions keychart, and the ability to move your limbs!
Check it out, and be some of the first to pioneer this new realm of digital interactivity.