Post! Why won't my last post post?
Oh well - if it doesn't show up soon I'll write another.
Friday, August 1, 2008
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Great News!
Karmyn was accepted to the full year program at San Francisco Ballet! Next year, she'll live in the Bay Area, dancing every day and pursuing her dream!!
Monday, July 14, 2008
Pictures!
Inspired by Elizabeth, I've opted to finally post some pictures of these summer months. Unfortunately, I don't have any of the cabin, where I've spent a week now this summer, but they'll just have to wait. I miss you all!!!!!! And I'm counting down the days till I'm in DC saying hi to at least a few of you :) HUGS!
So, to start out with, here's a picture of Martha Markuson, my mom and Karmyn in her Swan Lake costume. I got back just in time to see her perform in May, it was beautiful! Martha, to the left, is a most amazing woman, my mom's college buddy. She was the first female President of a major law firm in Greater Minnesota (aka the Minnesota not centered around the Cities). She also reads super fast (like Elissa) and is now retired, working on healthcare policy stuff as an advisor to political folk. Super cool.
Yes we can! Yes we can! My mom and dad got in line at 3pm the afternoon of Obama's winning speech. It was /amazing/. My dad, always enthusiastic, teemed up with some people who were sitting to our left to start a wave - it traveled across about half the Xcel center before dying out. Awesome!
Almost as thrilling as the Obama speech, we watched this giant coal stack topple like a tree (and towards us!). I think it was 554 feet. To zero feet. In 20 seconds. At 7:30 am.
And, to close: cuteness.
So, to start out with, here's a picture of Martha Markuson, my mom and Karmyn in her Swan Lake costume. I got back just in time to see her perform in May, it was beautiful! Martha, to the left, is a most amazing woman, my mom's college buddy. She was the first female President of a major law firm in Greater Minnesota (aka the Minnesota not centered around the Cities). She also reads super fast (like Elissa) and is now retired, working on healthcare policy stuff as an advisor to political folk. Super cool. 
Yes we can! Yes we can! My mom and dad got in line at 3pm the afternoon of Obama's winning speech. It was /amazing/. My dad, always enthusiastic, teemed up with some people who were sitting to our left to start a wave - it traveled across about half the Xcel center before dying out. Awesome! 
Almost as thrilling as the Obama speech, we watched this giant coal stack topple like a tree (and towards us!). I think it was 554 feet. To zero feet. In 20 seconds. At 7:30 am.
And, to close: cuteness.
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Dianne left me this Friday
...to go to Paris. She'll be back in the middle of August, but until then, well, it's going to suck. I've got a lot of time to kill, and rather few ideas about what will be the proverbial murder weapon in this uncomfortably-extended metaphor. I could post here, perhaps, but Heather hates it when I do that. (Sorry, Heather.)
One thing that I will do is play a lot of ultimate frisbee. I just joined a summer league in addition to my two-a-week pickup games, and I also discovered a pickup game that plays behind my house on Sundays. There's a big field behind my house and I've seen them there in the past three Sundays, but this was the first time that I had time to come down and ask if I could join in. They were a friendly bunch, though not very skilled or well-organized; they didn't even use a stall count (for the few who would understand what that implies). All the same, it was good to get the exercise and I'd be lying if I said I didn't also get a kick out of being the best player there. Anyway, I could potentially end up playing frisbee three or four times a week for the rest of my summer in Delaware.
Yesterday, I received a check for $475 in the mail the proceeds of the little YDN contact form escapade to which I alluded in my most recent post. The signature on the check was a rather large stamp in garish hot pink and purple, which I suppose serves me right- the few (two? three?) of you who know the story will probably agree.
In other colorful developments, these past two weeks have seen the introduction of a new garden into my life, albeit one considerably smaller than the Hagley garden whose passing I lamented so lugubriously two posts ago. As those of you who have seen my dorm garden can attest, I'm a rather prolific herb gardener- and this summer, I've expanded my collection, covering my family's backyard deck railing with potted oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, spearmint, peppermint, basil and sweet basil.
I've had a chance to broaden my gardening focus this summer, due to the death last year of the large maple tree that had loomed over my backyard. Before then, there had been a raised bed under the tree that we had used for shade gardening, and boy does shade gardening suck- all you ever seem to be able to plant is impatiens. But now, in that raised bed, there was only the butterfly bush that my dad had planted to replace the tree, surrounded by mulch-covered emptiness. So one day I decided to plant a butterfly/herb garden.
That's exactly what it sounds like: many herbs, especially ornamental ones, are highly attractive to butterflies. Moreover, I'm a fan of the French kitchen gardening technique (similar to what was employed at Hagley) that mixes culinary plants with certain flowers that, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, attract pollinators and repel some pests. Below are some pictures of my garden soon after it was planted. Since then, everything has grown rather nicely, with the exception of the dill, which was eaten by a Jewish rabbit. I've also added a few additional flowers and herbs since the time of the pictures.
For anyone who might be interested, here's a list of what I've planted- I've separated out the stuff I've added since the pictures were taken.
Flowers: nasturtiums, scarlet sage (ornamental), marigolds, creeping thyme (ornamental), butterfly weed, New England aster, giant hyssop 'Acapulco Rose', coreopsis ADDED SINCE: orange cosmos, penta 'butterfly blush', plumbago, lantana
Herbs: lavendar, dill, bronze fennel, sweet basil, thyme (culinary), parsley ADDED SINCE: sage (culinary), oregano
One thing that I will do is play a lot of ultimate frisbee. I just joined a summer league in addition to my two-a-week pickup games, and I also discovered a pickup game that plays behind my house on Sundays. There's a big field behind my house and I've seen them there in the past three Sundays, but this was the first time that I had time to come down and ask if I could join in. They were a friendly bunch, though not very skilled or well-organized; they didn't even use a stall count (for the few who would understand what that implies). All the same, it was good to get the exercise and I'd be lying if I said I didn't also get a kick out of being the best player there. Anyway, I could potentially end up playing frisbee three or four times a week for the rest of my summer in Delaware.
Yesterday, I received a check for $475 in the mail the proceeds of the little YDN contact form escapade to which I alluded in my most recent post. The signature on the check was a rather large stamp in garish hot pink and purple, which I suppose serves me right- the few (two? three?) of you who know the story will probably agree.
In other colorful developments, these past two weeks have seen the introduction of a new garden into my life, albeit one considerably smaller than the Hagley garden whose passing I lamented so lugubriously two posts ago. As those of you who have seen my dorm garden can attest, I'm a rather prolific herb gardener- and this summer, I've expanded my collection, covering my family's backyard deck railing with potted oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, spearmint, peppermint, basil and sweet basil.
I've had a chance to broaden my gardening focus this summer, due to the death last year of the large maple tree that had loomed over my backyard. Before then, there had been a raised bed under the tree that we had used for shade gardening, and boy does shade gardening suck- all you ever seem to be able to plant is impatiens. But now, in that raised bed, there was only the butterfly bush that my dad had planted to replace the tree, surrounded by mulch-covered emptiness. So one day I decided to plant a butterfly/herb garden.
That's exactly what it sounds like: many herbs, especially ornamental ones, are highly attractive to butterflies. Moreover, I'm a fan of the French kitchen gardening technique (similar to what was employed at Hagley) that mixes culinary plants with certain flowers that, in addition to being aesthetically pleasing, attract pollinators and repel some pests. Below are some pictures of my garden soon after it was planted. Since then, everything has grown rather nicely, with the exception of the dill, which was eaten by a Jewish rabbit. I've also added a few additional flowers and herbs since the time of the pictures.
For anyone who might be interested, here's a list of what I've planted- I've separated out the stuff I've added since the pictures were taken.
Flowers: nasturtiums, scarlet sage (ornamental), marigolds, creeping thyme (ornamental), butterfly weed, New England aster, giant hyssop 'Acapulco Rose', coreopsis ADDED SINCE: orange cosmos, penta 'butterfly blush', plumbago, lantana
Herbs: lavendar, dill, bronze fennel, sweet basil, thyme (culinary), parsley ADDED SINCE: sage (culinary), oregano
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Life In Kanazawa
Hello ya’ll~
I live here:
This is my room:
In my spare time, I read, do puri kura (make photo stickers), and hang out with my host family:
(That’s a puri kura with me and one of the other interns—and the Brother’s K—thank you Martha)
I am eating lots of good Japanese food. But I have not yet tried this:
(Yes…that’s a shrimp burger! From McDonald’s!)
Or this:
(Yes…that’s a shrimp wrap with Thousand Island dressing! From McDonald’s!!!)
Sometimes, on my commute home, I watch these on-the-fringes-of-society-people dancing at the train station:
(They use the window like it's a mirror at a dance studio. Some people watch them with curiosity; others watch them with a mix of disgust, lust, or admiration.)
I work here:
During the day, I go out in this car, sometimes with these people, and interview people in the area:
No, my Japanese is not really good enough to interview people, but I’m a novelty so they’re ignoring (/laughing at) my poor grammar and limited vocabulary. And going on interviews is fun! We’ve been to shrines, eel stores, mountains, water purifying experiments, museum exhibits, a place where fireflies light up in daytime too…there are many stories. I will write more in here shortly. Also, if you’d like, write me! I am happy, but somewhat lonely. The other interns are nice but we do not click so much and the people at work are older than I although they’re good company (ha—and they’re people at the company…so it’s a pun…ha ha……
Anyhoo…here’s the recording studio I’m in when we’re not doing interviews from the car.
Signing out for now & miss ya’ll,
Elizabeth
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Great News!
I have a driver's license!
I'm working on women's outreach for Franken!
I have a new Minnesota Political Hero: Arlen Erdahl (former IR congressman from Minnesota)!
Life is great!
I'm working on women's outreach for Franken!
I have a new Minnesota Political Hero: Arlen Erdahl (former IR congressman from Minnesota)!
Life is great!
Saturday, June 21, 2008
The Yale Daily News Contact Form
Friends,
Since its inception last semester, the Yale Daily News contact form has been a source of near-constant amusement to me. I had expected that the activity on this front would taper off as summer drew on, but so far, it's shown no signs of doing so. Consider the curious e-mail that I found in my inbox upon returning from Longwood Gardens, where I had been celebrating my three year anniversary with Dianne de la Veaux:
"This email has been sent from the Yale Daily News contact form:
Sent To: Michael Zink
Sent From: Frank Henrich (redacted)
Message: I have written a devotional book using 10 of the images in your book Le Moyan Age. I intend to print 250 copies of the book that contains 40 medieval images and give it away free to those in need. All my efforst to obtain a response from Tallandier Editons have been fruitless. Can you assitme on obtaining permissions, if so I will identify the pages. The collection of images in your book are outstanding. Thank you for writing the book. Frank Henrich, author and poet, Modesto, Californis USA. I am sending this email from a friends email so pleass respond to the emial listed above. "
An online search confirmed my suspicions: Le Moyen Age had been written by a Zink...Michel Zink, pictured at left: a rather well-known French scholar of medieval history. As it turns out, he also guest lectured at Yale at least twice during the 80s and 90s. In the past, some of you expressed surprise when I claimed to have a fairly common name; I can now definitively say that it is common enough. My reply to Mr. Henrich:
"Dear Frank,
I believe you have me confused with Michel Zink, a scholar of medieval history and actual author of Le Moyen Age (he's a professor at College de France, and his personal web page URL is http://www.college-de-france.fr%2Fdefault%2FEN%2Fall%2Flit_fra%2Fbiographie.htm if you haven't already found it). By contrast, I'm a student staff columnist with the Yale Daily News whose name contains the letter "a".
Aside from the fact that Michel Zink has been a guest lecturer at Yale from time to time, I'm perplexed as to the reason for this mistaken identity-nevertheless, thank you for your interesting e-mail. If you can't find a way to contact M. Zink directly, perhaps you can try to reach him by way of College de France. Good luck with your search.
Best,
Mike"
I have also made $500 this summer from the YDN contact form, which is a far more interesting story, albeit one for another time. If you would like to contact me via the Yale Daily News contact form, go here. Or you can log onto mail.yale.edu and send me an e-mail. Seriously, I've heard more this summer from some guy who thinks I'm an eminent French scholar of medieval history than I have from some of you. This is not acceptable.
Moreover, if the rest of you do not post here more often, then I will have no choice but to turn this into my personal blog. First, I will replace Martha's quirky, upbeat blog design with red text on a plain black background. I then intend to fill this space with minutae about my personal life, minutae which will be so unfathomably tedious, and which I will catalogue in such painstaking detail that you will begin to wonder how (and why!) I even find the time to blog between all of the trifling events happening in my life. If all goes well, I hope to progress to writing long free verse poems about how the rain outside my window makes me think about the currents of despair that have filled my heart to overflowing. I will spell "despair" d-e-s-p-a-r-e. Consider yourselves warned.
Mike
Since its inception last semester, the Yale Daily News contact form has been a source of near-constant amusement to me. I had expected that the activity on this front would taper off as summer drew on, but so far, it's shown no signs of doing so. Consider the curious e-mail that I found in my inbox upon returning from Longwood Gardens, where I had been celebrating my three year anniversary with Dianne de la Veaux:
"This email has been sent from the Yale Daily News contact form:
Sent To: Michael Zink
Sent From: Frank Henrich (redacted)
Message: I have written a devotional book using 10 of the images in your book Le Moyan Age. I intend to print 250 copies of the book that contains 40 medieval images and give it away free to those in need. All my efforst to obtain a response from Tallandier Editons have been fruitless. Can you assitme on obtaining permissions, if so I will identify the pages. The collection of images in your book are outstanding. Thank you for writing the book. Frank Henrich, author and poet, Modesto, Californis USA. I am sending this email from a friends email so pleass respond to the emial listed above. "
An online search confirmed my suspicions: Le Moyen Age had been written by a Zink...Michel Zink, pictured at left: a rather well-known French scholar of medieval history. As it turns out, he also guest lectured at Yale at least twice during the 80s and 90s. In the past, some of you expressed surprise when I claimed to have a fairly common name; I can now definitively say that it is common enough. My reply to Mr. Henrich:"Dear Frank,
I believe you have me confused with Michel Zink, a scholar of medieval history and actual author of Le Moyen Age (he's a professor at College de France, and his personal web page URL is http://www.college-de-france.fr%2Fdefault%2FEN%2Fall%2Flit_fra%2Fbiographie.htm if you haven't already found it). By contrast, I'm a student staff columnist with the Yale Daily News whose name contains the letter "a".
Aside from the fact that Michel Zink has been a guest lecturer at Yale from time to time, I'm perplexed as to the reason for this mistaken identity-nevertheless, thank you for your interesting e-mail. If you can't find a way to contact M. Zink directly, perhaps you can try to reach him by way of College de France. Good luck with your search.
Best,
Mike"
I have also made $500 this summer from the YDN contact form, which is a far more interesting story, albeit one for another time. If you would like to contact me via the Yale Daily News contact form, go here. Or you can log onto mail.yale.edu and send me an e-mail. Seriously, I've heard more this summer from some guy who thinks I'm an eminent French scholar of medieval history than I have from some of you. This is not acceptable.
Moreover, if the rest of you do not post here more often, then I will have no choice but to turn this into my personal blog. First, I will replace Martha's quirky, upbeat blog design with red text on a plain black background. I then intend to fill this space with minutae about my personal life, minutae which will be so unfathomably tedious, and which I will catalogue in such painstaking detail that you will begin to wonder how (and why!) I even find the time to blog between all of the trifling events happening in my life. If all goes well, I hope to progress to writing long free verse poems about how the rain outside my window makes me think about the currents of despair that have filled my heart to overflowing. I will spell "despair" d-e-s-p-a-r-e. Consider yourselves warned.
Mike
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