Truth, Gentle Sister

This is a really interesting quote that was attached to the bottom of an email someone sent me (in their automatic signature section).

"Beware of the truth, gentle Sister. Although much sought after, truth can be dangerous to the seeker. Myths and reassuring lies are much easier to find and believe. If you find a truth, even a temporary one, it can demand that you make painful changes. Conceal your truths within words. Natural ambiguity will protect you then. Words are much easier to absorb than are the sharp Delphic stabs of wordless portent. With words you can cry out in the chorus: 'Why didn't someone warn me?' But I did warn you, I warned by example, not with words." -Leto Atreides II, God Emperor of Dune

Thrifty Shopper

So y'all will be very proud of me.

After much internet searching (and one recon mission to the bookstore), I have purchased all my books for the semester.

You roll your eyes. Not a big deal, you say.

Au contraire, my friend. Au contraire.

That is because Virginia Duke officially spent a mere $158 on a colossal eleven textbooks (insert triumphant trumpeting). And considering that only two of her larger textbooks would have totaled a whopping $327 at the University Bookstore, this is a feat indeed.

And pray, how was such a thing accomplished?

By the amazing power of the internet, channeled through such auspicious sites as Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com, and chegg.com. For those of you not familiar with Chegg, it's an online textbook rental company. You rent the book for a fraction of the price and at the end of the semester you mail it back to them. Simple. Beautiful.

Of course, the tiny spot of inconvenience that flecks my otherwise buoyant elation is that these cheaply obtained nuggets of knowledge will take an unfortunate 4-7 days to arrive at my doorstep. An inconvenience, to be sure.

But an inconvenience most sweetly born, as I now have over $200 more in my bank account than I would have otherwise. I feel a celebratory trip to the nearest Maggie Moos is in order... followed by a prompt visit to the Bursars Office of course.

Film Technology

"Technology does release you to do new shots, angles & movements, but you have to decide why you are doing them. You don't do them because you can; you do them because you should. That is the key to technology." -Oliver Curtis, BSC

At the Box Office: Titanic v.s. Avatar

Sure, Avatar is set to pass Titanic's international revenue record ($1.24 billion), but it still has a long way to go to match the huge attendance record set by director James Cameron's first epic.

Eleven years ago, of course, ticket prices were a lot cheaper -- the most recent estimated average ticket price was $7.46, compared with $4.69 in 1998. And most people are seeing "Avatar" in 3-D, where ticket prices are several dollars higher. The result: Far fewer people have seen "Avatar" than "Titanic" so far. "Avatar" has sold fewer than 70 million tickets in the U.S. and Canada; "Titanic" sold more than 125 million.

Read the full article here.

Avatar = Pocahontas

I read an article the other day that criticized the blockbuster smash Avatar for just being the story of Pocahontas with a few name changes. And it's funny, because before reading that, I did not even notice. I mean, I've seen the movie twice in theaters already, and I didn't notice it.

It's not like I didn't notice that the overall theme of the film was "Western society comes to 'uninhabited' land, exploits it for resources, and then tries to kill the natives who get in their way." But at the same time, I didn't see it immediately as Pocahontas II. When I left the theater, I was thinking more along the lines of... well, the history of the United States in general (and our tendency to think that we can control other countries and exploit their resources).

Either way, it's a great film. If for nothing else, it's an incredible example of where technology is taking the movie industry. Just think of all the new stories that we can tell of alternate/parallel universes, etc.

Getting Set Up

I am back in Norman now, getting ready for classes to start tomorrow. I spent the entire day yesterday bringing all my stuff up three flights of stairs (from the basement to the third floor) and setting up my new bedroom. I have the same roommate as the last two semesters (Allie, who is tiny and barely clears five feet tall) and we have pretty much the same decorations as last year. But thankfully we have enough closet space, shelf space and drawer space to contain the massive amounts of clothing and accessories that two girls will inevitably accumulate.

I also spent the day looking up/purchasing all the books I will be needing for the semester. And I looked up all my classrooms on the campus map to make sure I knew where all the buildings were. So I feel pretty set!

Listless Day

Today has been a listless (and list-less) day. In fact, the whole week has been like this. In the last four or five days, since arriving in Tucson, I have done nothing but lounge around and read tons of online articles (ranging from the worthless "Fashion Sense" stuff to the more interesting "The Art of the Shoot").

Be an Organ Donor

http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/lego.png

100 Years

Currently Listening To:
Song-- 100 Years
Artist -- Five for Fighting

It's songs like these that make me wonder what the artist was thinking when he composed it. When John Ondrasik wrote the lyrics for 100 Years, what was he feeling? It's such a melancholy, beautiful song about growing up and the panic that comes at all ages when you are afraid life has passed without having accomplished something meaningful. What inspired this?

New Layout-- Again!

I feel like it's time for change... again. So I'm starting with the template for this blog. It needed something new and different. I'm not sure if I'm sold on this new one, but we'll use it for now.