A Funeral

You know how some movies show a flashback of the protagonist as a kid staring at a dead cat? The scene does a moving close-up of the kid's face, then back to the cat, then back to the kid, then back to the cat...until we only see the eyes of each, and it's supposed to be a poignant device to explain the protagonist's later actions in light of his/her personal emotions surrounding death, but really it's just awkward because kids are creepy when they stare at things? Ummm...nope. No, I don't think I've seen a movie like that either. Ever. But if it did exist, the device would seem to make my recent musings on death a lot less morbid and a little more...poetic?. I have been thinking about death a lot, but there aren't any tire-tatooed cats per se. Maybe, I'm listening to too much of The Smiths. In any case, if this is foreshadowing of my impending doom, here's a list of songs that would make a great funeral:

1. "The Funeral" by Band of Horses
2. "Poughkeepsie" by Over the Rhine
3. Amazing Grace on bagpipes
4. "It Is Well With My Soul" by Horatio Spafford
5. "And Can It Be" by Charles Wesley (especially the last stanza...awesome)

*As a post-script, I should clarify this is navel-gazing and not the seeds of madness. Put that straight jacket down. Put it down! Thank you.

Now for your enjoyment..."The Funeral" (as interpreted by Liz Lee). This clip is from a scripted reality show called "My Life As Liz" (kind of a hipster version of The Hills) and is set during a talent show. This is her "Susan Boyles" moment:

The Bands

I sometimes feel the need to entertain the illusion that I have some control over life. That's when I make lists. Here's my first list in no particular order:

Top Ten Favorite Bands:

1. U2
2. Smashing Pumpkins
3. Weezer
4. Better Than Ezra
5. Arcade Fire
6. Nirvana
7. Muse
8. Radiohead
9. Gomez
10. Counting Crows

Can you guess my formative music appreciation decade?

The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind

This is the type of story I wish we could see everyday (coming out of Africa).

Is this how its supposed to be?

It's weird when you hear a song...and the song is talking directly to you.

Intervention by Arcade Fire from Neon Bible

The king's taken back the throne
The useless seed is sown
When they say they're cutting off the phone
I'll tell 'em you're not home

No place to hide
You were fighting as a soldier on their side
You're still a soldier in your mind
Though nothing's on the line

You say it's money that we need
As if we're only mouths to feed
I know no matter what you say
There are some debts you'll never pay

Working for the church
While your family dies
You take what they give you
And you keep it inside
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"

I can taste the fear
Gonna lift me up and take me out of here
Don't wanna fight, don't wanna die
Just wanna hear you cry

Who's gonna throw the very first stone?
Oh! Who's gonna reset the bone?
Walking with your head in a sling
Wanna hear the soldier sing

Working for the Church
While my family dies
Your little baby sister's
Gonna lose her mind
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"

I can taste your fear
It's gonna lift you up and take you out of here
And the bone shall never heal
I care not if you kneel

We can't find you now
But they're gonna get their money back somehow
And when you finally disappear
We'll just say that you were never here

Been working for the church
While your life falls apart
Singing hallelujah with the fear in your heart
Every spark of friendship and love
Will die without a home
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"
Hear the soldier groan, "We'll go at it alone"

The Redemption of Arthropods

I have been cursing the class Insecta all summer long, and then...I meet this gal. She's a beaut! I think its a type of Shining Leaf Chafer but I'm not 100%. It's family Scarabaeidae whatever it is. I could look at her all day. (Yes...that even disturbs me).

Legitimizing Nerditude

So I started a new job, and now I look at stuff that people "found" in there food all day. It's funny having the opportunity to peer into the mind of people who operate under a completely different set of mores and concepts of right and wrong. It's amazing what people will try all in the name of the quick buck or "sticking it to The Man" with no rational awareness that what they are doing is illegal.

I do occasionally find beauty in the job. In the past two weeks, the lab has had a perpetual visitor at the door. A black bird (with two large orange spots on its wings), whom I have dubbed "Gilderoy", hangs out just outside the door and looks at himself in the glass all day. You scare him away, and he comes right back to peer at himself. He doesn't peck at the glass. He doesn't flap his wings. He just stands there, sings, and admires his impeccable visage. I think he may have dive-bombed one too many windshields.

Also for your viewing pleasure: scenes from a microscope.

Iodine crystals under polarized light (63 x)

PET under polarized light (100 x)

Glitter (100x)

The Firing Squad

I had my thesis defense this past Monday. That's where you take the all the research you have done in the past 3.5 years, present it before the public, let the public rip you with questions, then let your committee tear you apart in a closed-door session, exit the session in shame and humiliation, and finally get called back into the session after an eternity of deliberation to see if you passed. Well...I passed, but will have to mend my defense-induced ulcers. It's weird...you would think that an advanced degree would somehow bolster your intellectual self-image, but I have never felt as stupid as I did during that two and a half hours. Me name Dan. Me go sleep. By-bye.