Ugh.
One of the hardest semesters yet is about halfway over, so....yay? I need to sleep now. And I think I'm both stress-sick and caught whatever's been going around.
There's been an inhuman amount of homework and projects last week and this week; I guess they figured that the Skye's the limit. (Bad S.H.I.E.LD. puns twice in the same sentence...I don't really care. Too tired.) Anyway, Agents is back from the Carter break and is the usual nerve-wracking spectacular show we viewers expect. That can be really painful at times, though....it's weird, if you think about it, how it's almost like following the Thunder or something. Speaking of which, Russell Westbrook is pulling off stats literally not seen since Michael Jordan, so that's pretty cool. And the never-ending parade of injuries keeps on going, so that not so much. There's still a large amount of "Okay, we're playing Ibaka, Collison, and....who are all these other guys?!"
That's all for now. Maybe I can write better in a couple hours after (more) homework and when I can't sleep.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Blog Post No. 300
This is the 300th post on this blog...that's about twice a week, every week for three years. As a recap: there's been posts explaining the title, going through my senior year of high school and graduation. There's been posts on traveling, mission trips, getting lost with friends(more than one on that subject...), and loads of other things.
I've reposted poems that I've enjoyed, talked about the importance of animals in our lives, reviewed a handful of CDs and movies, and there are quite a few relating to holidays.
"Are there any sports in it?" - the Boy(that was probably me...) might ask. "Maybe not true love, revenge or pirates," the abridger might answer "but there is baseball, basketball, football, ice skating, volleyball and lots of talking about sports-related topics.
There's been posts examining blessings, honesty, and many other subjects. Lots of quotes featured throughout, both on their own and sprinkled throughout other posts. And also plenty of random lists detailing obscure trivia.
And there's a whole series of camp-related posts. The struggles of trying to survive college. And lots more. There's been almost sixteen thousand pageviews. Which isn't that much, really, considering that this is the internet and all, but I hope that some of those people were encouraged. Or entertained. Or got to thinking about a subject they hadn't considered much before. Whether you're reading this for the first time or been following all along, hope you enjoy.
I've reposted poems that I've enjoyed, talked about the importance of animals in our lives, reviewed a handful of CDs and movies, and there are quite a few relating to holidays.
"Are there any sports in it?" - the Boy(that was probably me...) might ask. "Maybe not true love, revenge or pirates," the abridger might answer "but there is baseball, basketball, football, ice skating, volleyball and lots of talking about sports-related topics.
There's been posts examining blessings, honesty, and many other subjects. Lots of quotes featured throughout, both on their own and sprinkled throughout other posts. And also plenty of random lists detailing obscure trivia.
And there's a whole series of camp-related posts. The struggles of trying to survive college. And lots more. There's been almost sixteen thousand pageviews. Which isn't that much, really, considering that this is the internet and all, but I hope that some of those people were encouraged. Or entertained. Or got to thinking about a subject they hadn't considered much before. Whether you're reading this for the first time or been following all along, hope you enjoy.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quotes - Season One, Part III
The last third of the quotable lines from season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Parts one and two there, follow the links.
Episode Fifteen: "Yes Men".
(A motorcycle starts up.) "What kind of a beast is that?" Lorelai wonders.
"Not sure how I feel about Dr. Simmons. She's so strict. And poky." "Well, Patient Skye is unruly and stubborn."
(Same scene, later. Skye complains about how Simmons won't even let her have a mirror.) "I've seen worse." Ward says. "Well, thanks." "I meant....you look a lot better than when you were dying."
"For a quiet guy, you make a lot of noise." - Sitwell to Coulson.
"What dark magic is this? Thor said you perished at the hand of Loki." - Sif. "And he was right. For a while, anyway. But Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few of their own." - Coulson.
"Men have an inherent weakness we do not share." - Sif explains why Lorelai is such a dangerous enemy. May frowns understandingly. "I can't imagine what she's talking about," Fitz whispers to Ward, who also looks confused.
"Who is this ugly woman?" - Lorelai. "Uh...that's Ben Franklin. He used to be the president. He ruled over all this land." - Rooster. "So women can rule in your country?" "Uh, well....you'd be the first."
(Coulson tries to explain the touchscreen briefing table to Sif.) "I am familiar. It's an antiquated system that we in other realms had ages ago."
"These all Night-Night guns?" - Ward. "Based on the same technology. But we're not calling them that anymore." - Fitz. "'Bout time." "They're ICERs: Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting-" "They're great! And you lost the ounce!" May tries one out, too. "I thought you didn't like guns." - Ward. "I said when I need a gun, I'll take one. We'll need these."
(In a gunfight.) "Your Ladyship: Can you give us some cover?" Coulson asks. Sif then shoves an Airstream trailer between the attackers and our people. "That's a very literal interpretation..." Coulson shrugs. "Thank you!"
(Simmons almost knocks Coulson out with a fire extinguisher.) "What the hell are you doing?!" "Sir....are you....you?" "Of course I am!"
(Coulson punches Fitz unconscious.) "Poor thing...he's always getting knocked out, isn't he?" - Simmons.
"Much like your S.H.I.E.L.D., we are bound by our code." - Sif.
"I'm not saying you were weak! I'm saying all men are weak." - Simmons. "Sir, I understand why you had to punch me." - Fitz.
"I know nothing fazes you, but this should faze you!" - Coulson scolding Skye.
Really, how many TV shows do you know that make lust the enemy of the week?
Episode Sixteen, "End of the Beginning".
"So...you're saying that we should obey the rules." - Simmons says in disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done with Skye?" - Fitz wants to know.
"You've had a big impact on him. He's different than I remember him." - Garrett. "Different...how?" - Skye. "Well, the tough thing about being a specialist is being alone. A team gives you a whole new perspective. Guess it's the difference between fighting against something or fighting for something. Or someone."
"Stop worrying. You wear your heart on your sleeve. And your face." - Coulson to Skye.
"You don't believe in the Clairvoyant, but you believe in astrology." - May to Blake.
"Easy! I come in peace!" - Garrett snaps to Coulson after they nearly run into each other, both carrying machine guns, while tracking a suspect.
"Did Ward just...?" - Simmons. "I think he did..." - Fitz. "Bet the Clairvoyant didn't see that coming." - Hand. "The whole reason I sent him to you was to knock off the rough edges," Garrett says to Coulson. "Maybe you did your job too well."
Episode Seventeen, "Turn, Turn, Turn".
(First episode back after The Winter Soldier. I hadn't seen it yet when I watched this one, so it was a huge shock.)
"Wow. Coulson's team is awfully secretive, even for this organization." - Triplett.
"But hey; if we get caught, let me do the talking. You're a surprisingly bad liar, Agent Simmons." - Triplett. "I know. But I'm getting better at it."
"So we'll go in there and face the music," Coulson decides. "Even if it is the HYDRA theme song."
"But it's suicide." -Skye protests Ward's Stark-like attack plan. "Not if I don't die."
"You're not a friend. But I do believe you're an ally; and we need all the allies we can get." - Coulson. "What do we do next?" "Survive."
Episode Eighteen, "Providence".
"Skye, tell me something good." - Coulson pleads after a particularly demanding string of events during a particularly stressful time. "We...have internet!" "Yay! And boy, have I lowered my expectations..." He then tells her to erase all online traces of the team. "Okayyy....but...isn't that kind of the nuclear option?" "It's our only option." "You do realize that once that's done....that can't be undone." "We need to vanish." "But then...we'll be ghosts. We won't be agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. We'll be agents of...nothing."
"You took that surprisingly well. Did you hear the part about you no longer existing?!" - Skye to Ward. (Later, same scene.) "So...when you come back, who you gonna be? You'll have a clean slate, you can be anyone you want to be." "I don't know...maybe Tom Brady? I've always wanted to play quarterback."
"Nick Fury gave me this badge. When he did, I gave an oath. We all did. To serve when everything else fails, to be humanity's last line of defense, to be The Shield." - Coulson.
Lots of really good lines about people, but they're all very spoilery, so they're classified.
"What IS this place?" "I call it Providence, although technically it doesn't have a name, since it's, you know, a secret base and all." - security guard Koenig.
Episode Nineteen, "The Only Light in the Darkness".
"So...I assume the prisoners are no longer prisoners?" - Coulson.
"This is really, really bad. Quinn is the least-scary of the bunch, and he shot me. Twice." - Skye.
"Yeah, we're safe here. But what about everyone else? People who don't have access to a top-secret government shelter? What about them? I don't know if it's wise, but it's right." - Coulson explaining his decision to send the team out on a new mission.
"What's the difference between an egg and a rock?" - Koenig. "Well, that's absurd. The differences are-" "innumerable. If you want, I could start listing them, but then-" "we'll be here all day." - FitzSimmons.
"Marcus Daniels was an assistant at a lab that was working with something called 'DarkForce'. And nothing bad ever happens when you work with something called 'DarkForce'." - Coulson.
"Daniels became obsessed with a woman in Portland, he called her his 'only light in the darkness'." - Coulson delivers mission info. "That's almost romantic." - Simmons. (Fitz frowns at her.) "I said almost. And anyway, it must have been years ago by now. Shouldn't he be better?" "Some people are hard to get over." - Coulson.
"There police reported says the guy appeared out of nowhere, and then he was gone." - Skye. "Yeah. You just described every mugging ever." - Koenig. (Later, same scene.) "Can you help me convince Steve Rogers here that it's time to pick up his shield and go to battle?!" - An exasperated Skye, about Koenig. "Okayyy." Ward shrugs. "Who's he supposed to battle?"
"You know me," Fitz shrugs. "I hate change."
Episode Twenty, "Nothing Personal".
"Yeah...I heard you twice the first time." - Skye.
"I wish this bunker had a bunker..." - Simmons.
"If I come out, will ya shoot me? Cause....then I won't come out." - Coulson.
"We're not HYDRA. We're Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - Triplett. "Well, right now, to the rest of the world, that's the same thing." - Col. Talbot.
"They don't know you're pretending to be someone you're not." - Skye. "Who am I pretending to be?" "My impatient boyfriend." "I like that cover."
"He's a murderer." "Yes, he is, Skye. Are you?" - Mike.
(The team's at a cheaper hotel.) "Say hello to Stark for me - Oh, yeah. He thinks I'm dead." - Coulson to Hill.
"I've never been homeless before." - Coulson. "It's not fun...At least we have a pool." - Skye. (He offers her half his candy bar.) "Thanks."
(Coulson just has learned the biggest secret of his life; stunned) "...Huh."
Episode Twenty-One, "Ragtag".
"Just to be clear: we have no authority to be doing this," Coulson tells the team. "We're no longer S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. We're-" "Vigilantes." Ftiz mutters. "I was going to say, 'we're doing this because it's the right thing to do', but....yeah."
(Fitz has just accidentally set the curtains on fire.) "Watch out HYDRA, here we come." - May.
"We've seen this before. What did they call it?" "The Sleepy-Sleep gun, or something like that." - Cybertek scientists. "Yes, but this is an ICER. Triple the stopping power, and a much cooler....name." - Undercover Coulson playing Fitz.
"Skye, Tripp, get ready for a large file transfer." "Um...okay...how large?" (File cabinet goes flying out window.)
"Somethin' about that woman unnerves me." - Garrett about Raina. "It's those eyes."
Episode Twenty-Two, "End of the Beginning".
"Fury always said a man could accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction? They can change the world. So, what do you say? Ready to change the world?" - Coulson to the team. "No. But I'm ready to kick some ass." - May. "That works, too."
"Okay, well, now that we know that, there's a whole new set of problems! But where do we start?!" - Simmons says excitedly.
"This is...our strategy consultant, John Garrett." - Quinn. Garrett, insane by now, proceeds to say something outlandish. "This is your strategy consultant?" - a general. "He's...part time."
"This is a bomb," Skye announces dramatically. "You know what those do."
"This," Fury indicates the Phase 2 prototype ray-gun Coulson fired at Loki just before dying in The Avengers, packs a pretty good punch." "I know what it does."
"When was the last time anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with four dead guys?!" - Garrett. He continues his mad monologue. (Fury gives Coulson a look.) "You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy." "Yeah. He's really stepped it up a notch."
"You get a chance to express all your feelings?" - Coulson to May. "Is he still breathing?" "I guess she kept some of it to herself." "He's having trouble speaking. I think I fractured his larynx."
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! And cruel! And very stupid!" - Coulson. "I think you've made your point. It was a break glass in case of emergency situation." - Fury. "Yes, but that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger." "Exactly."
"The principle S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded on was pure." - Fury. "Protection." - May. "Protection. One word. Sometimes protection meant protect one man against himself, other times to protect the planet against an alien invasion from another universe. It's a broad job description." "No need to tell me." - Coulson. "But the belief that drives us all is the same; whether it's one man or all mankind." "That's they're worth saving." "That truth lives inside you, Coulson. Before it was torn apart, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lot of moving parts. But guys like you were the heart. Now, you'll be the Head." Fury then installs Coulson as the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., tasked with a total rebuild from scratch.
So, there's that. All the quotes worth speaking of during the first season of Agents.
Episode Fifteen: "Yes Men".
(A motorcycle starts up.) "What kind of a beast is that?" Lorelai wonders.
"Not sure how I feel about Dr. Simmons. She's so strict. And poky." "Well, Patient Skye is unruly and stubborn."
(Same scene, later. Skye complains about how Simmons won't even let her have a mirror.) "I've seen worse." Ward says. "Well, thanks." "I meant....you look a lot better than when you were dying."
"For a quiet guy, you make a lot of noise." - Sitwell to Coulson.
"What dark magic is this? Thor said you perished at the hand of Loki." - Sif. "And he was right. For a while, anyway. But Loki wasn't the only one with some tricks up his sleeve. Turns out S.H.I.E.L.D. had a few of their own." - Coulson.
"Men have an inherent weakness we do not share." - Sif explains why Lorelai is such a dangerous enemy. May frowns understandingly. "I can't imagine what she's talking about," Fitz whispers to Ward, who also looks confused.
"Who is this ugly woman?" - Lorelai. "Uh...that's Ben Franklin. He used to be the president. He ruled over all this land." - Rooster. "So women can rule in your country?" "Uh, well....you'd be the first."
(Coulson tries to explain the touchscreen briefing table to Sif.) "I am familiar. It's an antiquated system that we in other realms had ages ago."
"These all Night-Night guns?" - Ward. "Based on the same technology. But we're not calling them that anymore." - Fitz. "'Bout time." "They're ICERs: Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting-" "They're great! And you lost the ounce!" May tries one out, too. "I thought you didn't like guns." - Ward. "I said when I need a gun, I'll take one. We'll need these."
(In a gunfight.) "Your Ladyship: Can you give us some cover?" Coulson asks. Sif then shoves an Airstream trailer between the attackers and our people. "That's a very literal interpretation..." Coulson shrugs. "Thank you!"
(Simmons almost knocks Coulson out with a fire extinguisher.) "What the hell are you doing?!" "Sir....are you....you?" "Of course I am!"
(Coulson punches Fitz unconscious.) "Poor thing...he's always getting knocked out, isn't he?" - Simmons.
"Much like your S.H.I.E.L.D., we are bound by our code." - Sif.
"I'm not saying you were weak! I'm saying all men are weak." - Simmons. "Sir, I understand why you had to punch me." - Fitz.
"I know nothing fazes you, but this should faze you!" - Coulson scolding Skye.
Really, how many TV shows do you know that make lust the enemy of the week?
Episode Sixteen, "End of the Beginning".
"So...you're saying that we should obey the rules." - Simmons says in disbelief. "Who are you and what have you done with Skye?" - Fitz wants to know.
"You've had a big impact on him. He's different than I remember him." - Garrett. "Different...how?" - Skye. "Well, the tough thing about being a specialist is being alone. A team gives you a whole new perspective. Guess it's the difference between fighting against something or fighting for something. Or someone."
"Stop worrying. You wear your heart on your sleeve. And your face." - Coulson to Skye.
"You don't believe in the Clairvoyant, but you believe in astrology." - May to Blake.
"Easy! I come in peace!" - Garrett snaps to Coulson after they nearly run into each other, both carrying machine guns, while tracking a suspect.
"Did Ward just...?" - Simmons. "I think he did..." - Fitz. "Bet the Clairvoyant didn't see that coming." - Hand. "The whole reason I sent him to you was to knock off the rough edges," Garrett says to Coulson. "Maybe you did your job too well."
Episode Seventeen, "Turn, Turn, Turn".
(First episode back after The Winter Soldier. I hadn't seen it yet when I watched this one, so it was a huge shock.)
"Wow. Coulson's team is awfully secretive, even for this organization." - Triplett.
"But hey; if we get caught, let me do the talking. You're a surprisingly bad liar, Agent Simmons." - Triplett. "I know. But I'm getting better at it."
"So we'll go in there and face the music," Coulson decides. "Even if it is the HYDRA theme song."
"But it's suicide." -Skye protests Ward's Stark-like attack plan. "Not if I don't die."
"You're not a friend. But I do believe you're an ally; and we need all the allies we can get." - Coulson. "What do we do next?" "Survive."
Episode Eighteen, "Providence".
"Skye, tell me something good." - Coulson pleads after a particularly demanding string of events during a particularly stressful time. "We...have internet!" "Yay! And boy, have I lowered my expectations..." He then tells her to erase all online traces of the team. "Okayyy....but...isn't that kind of the nuclear option?" "It's our only option." "You do realize that once that's done....that can't be undone." "We need to vanish." "But then...we'll be ghosts. We won't be agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. anymore. We'll be agents of...nothing."
"You took that surprisingly well. Did you hear the part about you no longer existing?!" - Skye to Ward. (Later, same scene.) "So...when you come back, who you gonna be? You'll have a clean slate, you can be anyone you want to be." "I don't know...maybe Tom Brady? I've always wanted to play quarterback."
"Nick Fury gave me this badge. When he did, I gave an oath. We all did. To serve when everything else fails, to be humanity's last line of defense, to be The Shield." - Coulson.
Lots of really good lines about people, but they're all very spoilery, so they're classified.
"What IS this place?" "I call it Providence, although technically it doesn't have a name, since it's, you know, a secret base and all." - security guard Koenig.
Episode Nineteen, "The Only Light in the Darkness".
"So...I assume the prisoners are no longer prisoners?" - Coulson.
"This is really, really bad. Quinn is the least-scary of the bunch, and he shot me. Twice." - Skye.
"Yeah, we're safe here. But what about everyone else? People who don't have access to a top-secret government shelter? What about them? I don't know if it's wise, but it's right." - Coulson explaining his decision to send the team out on a new mission.
"What's the difference between an egg and a rock?" - Koenig. "Well, that's absurd. The differences are-" "innumerable. If you want, I could start listing them, but then-" "we'll be here all day." - FitzSimmons.
"Marcus Daniels was an assistant at a lab that was working with something called 'DarkForce'. And nothing bad ever happens when you work with something called 'DarkForce'." - Coulson.
"Daniels became obsessed with a woman in Portland, he called her his 'only light in the darkness'." - Coulson delivers mission info. "That's almost romantic." - Simmons. (Fitz frowns at her.) "I said almost. And anyway, it must have been years ago by now. Shouldn't he be better?" "Some people are hard to get over." - Coulson.
"There police reported says the guy appeared out of nowhere, and then he was gone." - Skye. "Yeah. You just described every mugging ever." - Koenig. (Later, same scene.) "Can you help me convince Steve Rogers here that it's time to pick up his shield and go to battle?!" - An exasperated Skye, about Koenig. "Okayyy." Ward shrugs. "Who's he supposed to battle?"
"You know me," Fitz shrugs. "I hate change."
Episode Twenty, "Nothing Personal".
"Yeah...I heard you twice the first time." - Skye.
"I wish this bunker had a bunker..." - Simmons.
"If I come out, will ya shoot me? Cause....then I won't come out." - Coulson.
"We're not HYDRA. We're Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." - Triplett. "Well, right now, to the rest of the world, that's the same thing." - Col. Talbot.
"They don't know you're pretending to be someone you're not." - Skye. "Who am I pretending to be?" "My impatient boyfriend." "I like that cover."
"He's a murderer." "Yes, he is, Skye. Are you?" - Mike.
(The team's at a cheaper hotel.) "Say hello to Stark for me - Oh, yeah. He thinks I'm dead." - Coulson to Hill.
"I've never been homeless before." - Coulson. "It's not fun...At least we have a pool." - Skye. (He offers her half his candy bar.) "Thanks."
(Coulson just has learned the biggest secret of his life; stunned) "...Huh."
Episode Twenty-One, "Ragtag".
"Just to be clear: we have no authority to be doing this," Coulson tells the team. "We're no longer S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. We're-" "Vigilantes." Ftiz mutters. "I was going to say, 'we're doing this because it's the right thing to do', but....yeah."
(Fitz has just accidentally set the curtains on fire.) "Watch out HYDRA, here we come." - May.
"We've seen this before. What did they call it?" "The Sleepy-Sleep gun, or something like that." - Cybertek scientists. "Yes, but this is an ICER. Triple the stopping power, and a much cooler....name." - Undercover Coulson playing Fitz.
"Skye, Tripp, get ready for a large file transfer." "Um...okay...how large?" (File cabinet goes flying out window.)
"Somethin' about that woman unnerves me." - Garrett about Raina. "It's those eyes."
Episode Twenty-Two, "End of the Beginning".
"Fury always said a man could accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction? They can change the world. So, what do you say? Ready to change the world?" - Coulson to the team. "No. But I'm ready to kick some ass." - May. "That works, too."
"Okay, well, now that we know that, there's a whole new set of problems! But where do we start?!" - Simmons says excitedly.
"This is...our strategy consultant, John Garrett." - Quinn. Garrett, insane by now, proceeds to say something outlandish. "This is your strategy consultant?" - a general. "He's...part time."
"This is a bomb," Skye announces dramatically. "You know what those do."
"This," Fury indicates the Phase 2 prototype ray-gun Coulson fired at Loki just before dying in The Avengers, packs a pretty good punch." "I know what it does."
"When was the last time anyone saw a tag-team wrestling match with four dead guys?!" - Garrett. He continues his mad monologue. (Fury gives Coulson a look.) "You didn't tell me he'd gone this crazy." "Yeah. He's really stepped it up a notch."
"You get a chance to express all your feelings?" - Coulson to May. "Is he still breathing?" "I guess she kept some of it to herself." "He's having trouble speaking. I think I fractured his larynx."
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! And cruel! And very stupid!" - Coulson. "I think you've made your point. It was a break glass in case of emergency situation." - Fury. "Yes, but that emergency was supposed to be the fall of an Avenger." "Exactly."
"The principle S.H.I.E.L.D. was founded on was pure." - Fury. "Protection." - May. "Protection. One word. Sometimes protection meant protect one man against himself, other times to protect the planet against an alien invasion from another universe. It's a broad job description." "No need to tell me." - Coulson. "But the belief that drives us all is the same; whether it's one man or all mankind." "That's they're worth saving." "That truth lives inside you, Coulson. Before it was torn apart, S.H.I.E.L.D. was a lot of moving parts. But guys like you were the heart. Now, you'll be the Head." Fury then installs Coulson as the new director of S.H.I.E.L.D., tasked with a total rebuild from scratch.
So, there's that. All the quotes worth speaking of during the first season of Agents.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
The Post About Driving (or Lack of It)
So, the Hemingway quote goes that there's simply nothing to writing; all you do is sit down at the typewriter and bleed. (Stephen King agrees.) Now, content-wise, those two probably aren't the greatest folks to take advice from. But they sure know what they're talking about when it comes to writing. So, here goes.
One of the things our society is based on, besides lies, is the ability to move places really quickly. Like, 500-mph-in-a-plane quickly. But more generally the idea that running somewhere from 40-75 mph isn't enough. And, it's generally assumed, this is pretty much a fundamental right.to get in the car/pickup/SUV and fly down the highway to wherever it is that we need to get to. At least around Oklahoma, anyway. So, towns are mapped out with vehicular traffic in mind, to get somewhere fast and fairly easily.
You notice things by slowing down on the sidewalk; of course, that you miss sailing by on the road. Like how the remodeling of that new coffee shop is coming along since last Thursday, or that the squirrels are hiding somewhere from the construction noises, the department store or dress shop changed the clothes on the mannequins, or that another downtown fixture now has a "FOR SALE, RENT OR LEASE" sign on the window. And those are all good things to notice, especially when you're a writer. But generally speaking, your life doesn't work that well within the larger societal framework if you don't have wheels.
Because, you know, you kind of have to be able to get to work in order to keep a job, and when you're already a college student with, well, not much in the way of job-experience(which is a different problem and large worry all by itself), not being able to drive really doesn't help much to ease the vast terrifyingly white blank space after this semester/graduation, whichever comes first. And most media jobs(or internships of any kind, seemingly) involves some form of going from one place to another, whether you're chasing down a story or picking up lunch orders for the office. And that kind of leads into another aspect of the downsides not driving includes: You're pretty much stuck wherever it is you find yourself. I mean, there's a certain amount of walkability that varies from place to place, but generally speaking, you're pretty much on an island.
There's nothing exactly wrong with that, but it's meddlesome at best, deeply frustrating and humiliating the other times. Basic things like Wal-Mart, the bank or the post office, for example? Well, you manage your groceries right and use them frugally, timing running out of toothpaste/Diet Coke/shampoo to match somewhere near a time when you can get a ride from somebody heading there anyway. That, of course, means knowing people fairly well enough that on rare occasions you can ask that and it won't be awkward, which is really, really REALLY rare. (It helps if there's extended family living in town. Or your next-door neighbors remember to let you know when they're grocery shopping.) The bank or the post office, that's a bit tougher.
That was why Tahlequah is such a great town. If necessary, I could just call Grandpa or Robbie or Harry or Louise, or the Galdamezes, and I'd feel terrible for asking a favor, but it probably wouldn't be that big a deal. And Stephen and Zach were really cool about things like that, too; if they were heading to Wal-Mart or BCM basketball/volleyball practice or whatever. The main gang of BCM folks, besides school, that's pretty much what life revolves around; the church in spirit if not in name. You take care of each other as necessary, in whatever ways that might manifest itself. Prayer, coffee runs, advice, snark wars, Nerf-gun battles, sports, eating meals together, spontaneous celebrations. All that and more. I know what Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, but sometimes you still find yourself asking those "what if" questions. I know there's a reason that I'm at RSU right now, but I sure don't know what it is.
Anyway, back to the main subject, NSU is located on Grand Avenue, one of the main roads in town, so for about two miles in any direction there's a fairly-easily reachable way to get to most of whatever you needed. (Church, dessert, a park good for thinking in, the football stadium and track, a wonderfully wide-scope-for-imagination restaurant, the library, etc.) It's a very walkable town.
Claremore really isn't. It's probably a fine town, but without being able to explore, there's no way really to know. And roadkill ain't pretty, and it usually doesn't end well.
Sure, yeah, it saves tons of money, not having insurance or gas and all that, or frequent fast-food runs or tickets for ballgames or movies or concerts or all those things people spend money on and talk about when they do stuff together. But...that's kind of what people do when they hang out or whatever. Or hiking expeditions, large-scale garage-saling, those random road trips where you grab a map and spend a Saturday seeing where this road leads. I'm an introvert by nature. But this really amplifies it by necessity. It can be hard sometimes.
If that makes it hard to get to know people, then it sort of makes dating basically impossible. This isn't the 1920's where it was simple like going through the park or walking down to the drugstore for Cokes. (But, back then, PEOPLE WALKED! And those rules were different, anyway. It's much muddier nowadays.) Besides, even if there was someone I was interested in, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to tell her that or how those expectations would be sidestepped.
You learn to compensate as much as possible; sticking around the apartment, reading or keeping a blog or watching Netflix, etc. And it gives you plenty of time to focus on school. I can only think of two people that I've ever met(Elizabeth and Justin) who have a walking-speed around mine. (The average human walks at three miles an hour. I've never been able to fully complete my speedometer tests due to time constraints, but I'd guess my average speed is five-six miles an hour, more if necessary. But I'm a cheetah, not a husky; a sprinter instead of long-distance.) People around NSU thought it was kind of funny, I heard on a regular basis folks mentioning how I'd be "flying" or "setting the pavement on fire" or "exceeding the speed limit" often.
Maybe this wouldn't be that big a deal if I lived in a huge Northern city with millions of people(yikes.) and it was more culturally acceptable not to drive as much, where there was more public transportation typically used in daily transit, through buses and trains and stuff. Places like New York, Boston, Chicago or Minneapolis. (Why all those cold places?) Whenever I have been able to get past that white-space uncertainty into guessing where I might be in five-ten years, it's either in some crappy apartment in some way-too-huge city or being one of those statistics of "Boomerangs" out of college and still living with your parents.
And forget about traveling for enjoyment - that's really out of the question. Which is disappointing, because that's fun. And informative. And for some reason, even before Cars, I've always wanted to explore in-depth down what's left of Route 66. But more small-scale practical things like visiting friends who might live in another town or state; not really.
There's always been talk of self-driving cars being possible at some point in the future, and the first commercial versions are estimated somewhere between 2017-20. There would be all kinds of problems at the start(GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE) and the whole figuring out how drivers licenses would be earned for visually-impaired people that couldn't otherwise qualify(like me), and then the insurance companies would have to determine how the rates and coverage, etc. worked; but they sure would help. In theory, there would be a lower amount of accidents; whether by not paying attention, drunk driving or too-slow reflexes.
I know this probably just sounds like complaining, and I'm sorry. But it's one of those questions that most people don't really think about how much it affects their daily lives. Some weeks are harder to forget these things, and some weeks it's easier to pretend that they aren't part of life. As the Kenny Chesney song goes, sometimes you want "to drown out these embers/But I remember...." Which could be why it's 3 a.m. and I'm writing this. Back to homework all day tomorrow, and every day this week....
UPDATE LATER THIS MORNING - Though because of a personal choice and not due to disability, the couple running the blog Carless in OKC live without a car and document their experiences. It's an interesting insight that shows maybe it would be possible to live a fairly-normal life in that situation.
One of the things our society is based on, besides lies, is the ability to move places really quickly. Like, 500-mph-in-a-plane quickly. But more generally the idea that running somewhere from 40-75 mph isn't enough. And, it's generally assumed, this is pretty much a fundamental right.to get in the car/pickup/SUV and fly down the highway to wherever it is that we need to get to. At least around Oklahoma, anyway. So, towns are mapped out with vehicular traffic in mind, to get somewhere fast and fairly easily.
You notice things by slowing down on the sidewalk; of course, that you miss sailing by on the road. Like how the remodeling of that new coffee shop is coming along since last Thursday, or that the squirrels are hiding somewhere from the construction noises, the department store or dress shop changed the clothes on the mannequins, or that another downtown fixture now has a "FOR SALE, RENT OR LEASE" sign on the window. And those are all good things to notice, especially when you're a writer. But generally speaking, your life doesn't work that well within the larger societal framework if you don't have wheels.
Because, you know, you kind of have to be able to get to work in order to keep a job, and when you're already a college student with, well, not much in the way of job-experience(which is a different problem and large worry all by itself), not being able to drive really doesn't help much to ease the vast terrifyingly white blank space after this semester/graduation, whichever comes first. And most media jobs(or internships of any kind, seemingly) involves some form of going from one place to another, whether you're chasing down a story or picking up lunch orders for the office. And that kind of leads into another aspect of the downsides not driving includes: You're pretty much stuck wherever it is you find yourself. I mean, there's a certain amount of walkability that varies from place to place, but generally speaking, you're pretty much on an island.
There's nothing exactly wrong with that, but it's meddlesome at best, deeply frustrating and humiliating the other times. Basic things like Wal-Mart, the bank or the post office, for example? Well, you manage your groceries right and use them frugally, timing running out of toothpaste/Diet Coke/shampoo to match somewhere near a time when you can get a ride from somebody heading there anyway. That, of course, means knowing people fairly well enough that on rare occasions you can ask that and it won't be awkward, which is really, really REALLY rare. (It helps if there's extended family living in town. Or your next-door neighbors remember to let you know when they're grocery shopping.) The bank or the post office, that's a bit tougher.
That was why Tahlequah is such a great town. If necessary, I could just call Grandpa or Robbie or Harry or Louise, or the Galdamezes, and I'd feel terrible for asking a favor, but it probably wouldn't be that big a deal. And Stephen and Zach were really cool about things like that, too; if they were heading to Wal-Mart or BCM basketball/volleyball practice or whatever. The main gang of BCM folks, besides school, that's pretty much what life revolves around; the church in spirit if not in name. You take care of each other as necessary, in whatever ways that might manifest itself. Prayer, coffee runs, advice, snark wars, Nerf-gun battles, sports, eating meals together, spontaneous celebrations. All that and more. I know what Ecclesiastes 7:10 says, but sometimes you still find yourself asking those "what if" questions. I know there's a reason that I'm at RSU right now, but I sure don't know what it is.
Anyway, back to the main subject, NSU is located on Grand Avenue, one of the main roads in town, so for about two miles in any direction there's a fairly-easily reachable way to get to most of whatever you needed. (Church, dessert, a park good for thinking in, the football stadium and track, a wonderfully wide-scope-for-imagination restaurant, the library, etc.) It's a very walkable town.
Claremore really isn't. It's probably a fine town, but without being able to explore, there's no way really to know. And roadkill ain't pretty, and it usually doesn't end well.
Sure, yeah, it saves tons of money, not having insurance or gas and all that, or frequent fast-food runs or tickets for ballgames or movies or concerts or all those things people spend money on and talk about when they do stuff together. But...that's kind of what people do when they hang out or whatever. Or hiking expeditions, large-scale garage-saling, those random road trips where you grab a map and spend a Saturday seeing where this road leads. I'm an introvert by nature. But this really amplifies it by necessity. It can be hard sometimes.
If that makes it hard to get to know people, then it sort of makes dating basically impossible. This isn't the 1920's where it was simple like going through the park or walking down to the drugstore for Cokes. (But, back then, PEOPLE WALKED! And those rules were different, anyway. It's much muddier nowadays.) Besides, even if there was someone I was interested in, I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to tell her that or how those expectations would be sidestepped.
You learn to compensate as much as possible; sticking around the apartment, reading or keeping a blog or watching Netflix, etc. And it gives you plenty of time to focus on school. I can only think of two people that I've ever met(Elizabeth and Justin) who have a walking-speed around mine. (The average human walks at three miles an hour. I've never been able to fully complete my speedometer tests due to time constraints, but I'd guess my average speed is five-six miles an hour, more if necessary. But I'm a cheetah, not a husky; a sprinter instead of long-distance.) People around NSU thought it was kind of funny, I heard on a regular basis folks mentioning how I'd be "flying" or "setting the pavement on fire" or "exceeding the speed limit" often.
Maybe this wouldn't be that big a deal if I lived in a huge Northern city with millions of people(yikes.) and it was more culturally acceptable not to drive as much, where there was more public transportation typically used in daily transit, through buses and trains and stuff. Places like New York, Boston, Chicago or Minneapolis. (Why all those cold places?) Whenever I have been able to get past that white-space uncertainty into guessing where I might be in five-ten years, it's either in some crappy apartment in some way-too-huge city or being one of those statistics of "Boomerangs" out of college and still living with your parents.
And forget about traveling for enjoyment - that's really out of the question. Which is disappointing, because that's fun. And informative. And for some reason, even before Cars, I've always wanted to explore in-depth down what's left of Route 66. But more small-scale practical things like visiting friends who might live in another town or state; not really.
There's always been talk of self-driving cars being possible at some point in the future, and the first commercial versions are estimated somewhere between 2017-20. There would be all kinds of problems at the start(GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE) and the whole figuring out how drivers licenses would be earned for visually-impaired people that couldn't otherwise qualify(like me), and then the insurance companies would have to determine how the rates and coverage, etc. worked; but they sure would help. In theory, there would be a lower amount of accidents; whether by not paying attention, drunk driving or too-slow reflexes.
I know this probably just sounds like complaining, and I'm sorry. But it's one of those questions that most people don't really think about how much it affects their daily lives. Some weeks are harder to forget these things, and some weeks it's easier to pretend that they aren't part of life. As the Kenny Chesney song goes, sometimes you want "to drown out these embers/But I remember...." Which could be why it's 3 a.m. and I'm writing this. Back to homework all day tomorrow, and every day this week....
UPDATE LATER THIS MORNING - Though because of a personal choice and not due to disability, the couple running the blog Carless in OKC live without a car and document their experiences. It's an interesting insight that shows maybe it would be possible to live a fairly-normal life in that situation.
Friday, February 13, 2015
Halfway through the 400-Meter Month
Last year I wrote up this post about Valentine's Day, so I don't need to say all that again. This post on honesty has been on my mind the last couple days, not sure why. February's an extremely short month; it's almost halfway over. Which is probably good, because work usually seems to be more numerous, things go wrong more often, and there isn't much pop-culture-wise to keep us from overthinking everything. And the weather's usually pretty bad. All of this adds up to: February is one of the least-liked months of the year.
This week's gone better than last, but it's still been long and tiring. About two-thirds done with my latest blogcentric project(the S.H.I.E.L.D.-level exhaustive listing of season one Agents quotes). An in-depth look at being a college student and comparison of various Oklahoma colleges are in early stages of development. And there's lots of homework to do this weekend that I'm too tired to work on right now.
Had a character-study essay of James Joyce due Thursday and two briefs of legal cases, a news package to edit and one to shoot and a poem and fifteen in-depth critiques all due this week, which all has been or is being completed.
Hoping to be able to get back on track working on fiction; there's just been too much going on since school started to chip away at the ideas and stories that want to make themselves heard. But that's what breaks are for, right?
This week's gone better than last, but it's still been long and tiring. About two-thirds done with my latest blogcentric project(the S.H.I.E.L.D.-level exhaustive listing of season one Agents quotes). An in-depth look at being a college student and comparison of various Oklahoma colleges are in early stages of development. And there's lots of homework to do this weekend that I'm too tired to work on right now.
Had a character-study essay of James Joyce due Thursday and two briefs of legal cases, a news package to edit and one to shoot and a poem and fifteen in-depth critiques all due this week, which all has been or is being completed.
Hoping to be able to get back on track working on fiction; there's just been too much going on since school started to chip away at the ideas and stories that want to make themselves heard. But that's what breaks are for, right?
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quotes - Season One, Part II
Part two of recapping season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (Part one is here.)
Episode Eight, "The Well".
"...beings like Thor do exist, leaving us with more questions and an enormous mess to clean up!" - Simmons complains after the space-time continuum is nearly ripped to shreds in London during the events of Thor: The Dark World and Coulson's team is assigned janitorial duty.
"You know, it'd be nice, just once, if Thor and his people sent the God of Cleaning Up After Yourself," Coulson complains. "They probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing..."
"I can't think of a single time when something alien in human hands ended well." - Coulson. "Well, I wouldn't mind getting my human hands on Thor. He's so dreamy...." - Skye. "Well, sure, he's handsome, but-" May interrupt's Coulson's answer. "No, he's dreamy."
"Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we have to regress back to the Dark Ages, talking about magic and fairy tales..." - Simmons shoots down one of Skye's crazy ideas. "Actually, that's exactly what we're going to do." Coulson then announces calmly.
"Skye, how 'bout you? You got anything?" "Well...I'm lucky that my S.O. volunteered to take the creepy hallway over the slightly less creepy dungeon....room...place. I've got nothing."
Ward Hulks out on Skye and FitzSimmons, it's an unpleasant scene. After he storms out of the lab, Simmons tries to defuse the situation: "...That was just a biochemical reaction. He didn't mean all that."
"I'm working it out," he snaps to May. "You're punching things. The last thing you need is to punch things."
(Ward nearly stabs a guy in the holding cell, only to have him warp the blade on the way down. Then to Coulson) "You were right...he's Asgardian." "Good thing. Otherwise that would've been awfully embarrassing."
(Coulson reeling off how he knew the prisoner was not of this Earth.) "...and lastly, when I tell people I've had an encounter with an alien, they tend to be a little curious."
Episode Nine, "Repairs".
"She's telekenetic? I thought they didn't exist." - Skye. "We've never verified one. That's why we're going to Batesville, to conduct an Index Asset Evaluation and Intake." - Coulson. "...Does that mean we talk to her and see if she has powers?" "Basically."
"It's a delicate situation, so you're bringing along Warm and Fuzzy?" - Skye to Coulson, talking about Ward and May.
"...you screamed like a girl." "I am a girl!" - FitzSimmons reminiscing over school memories.
"I'm not scared of her! Well, I mean, I am, but just because she shot a hundred guys on horseback doesn't mean the Cavalry knows how people work." - Skye.
"What happened?" - Ward. "We lost communication. And you were hit by a large plumber's wrench." - Simmons. "A wrench? The guy's traveling between worlds, and he's carrying a wrench?"
"I don't mean to scare you, I just need to use you as bait." - May. "Well, that's comforting..."
Episode Ten, "The Bridge".
"So you'll take it off?" Skye asks, referring to her tracker-bracelet. "No," Coulson answers. "But I did ask May to look into the more restricted files." "I was kinda hoping to keep this private." "Agent May specializes in private."
"So we were right! Chan's cells did solve the combustion problem! Now they can create super-soldiers whenever they want!" - Simmons. "Maybe don't get so excited about it..." Fitz tells her.
(May turns her back and walks away from Mike's greeting.) "Last time she saw you, you kind of threw her into a brick wall." - Coulson.
"I'm just saying, this thing could easily go sideways," Ward is arguing with Skye and FitzSimmons. "I mean, the last time we saw him he was a raging homicidal maniac." They all stare at nothing in the middle distance intently chewing their lips. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Coulson speaks up then. "Mike, this is Agent Grant Ward. He's the guy that shot you."
"'The Psychology of Women: Unraveling the Female Psyche'." Ward reads. "That's an actual book?" Coulson asks. "That's a whole course! Hayward's sister's in there now." Coulson marvels at how understanding women used to be a puzzle that had to be figured out, Ward asks him if he solved any. "A few. Some more rewarding than others." "What happened?" "I died."
(Mike's testing his new suit. FitzSimmons is explaining everything about it.) "Having powers is cheating. But the suit's pretty cool." - Ward.
Episode Eleven, "The Magical Place".
"Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are...unorthodox, but she's a member of this team. She can help." - Ward. "Agent May, your professional opinion.Will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?" "No." (Later) "It's clear May has an axe to grind with me, but that was way out of line!" - Skye. "No one knows what's in May's head except May." - Ward.
"Don't touch Lola!" - Skye.
"It seems you passed out. Now maybe you're ready to tell us what you've memories you're seeing?" - Kidnapper. "I saw....Jordan hitting that game-winner over Russell in the '98 Finals. So clutch." - Coulson.
"And...if I don't?" - a businessman asks. (Skye's interrogating him, posing as May.) "If you don't, then you spend the next five years in The Fridge." "The fridge?" "It's worse than it sounds," solemnly.
"I've been on the phone all day. Director Fury. Commander Hill. Everyone wants an update. I can't understand why. No single agent is that important." - Hand. "Coulson is." - Ward.
"All I did was tell Hand the truth. Skye's of no use to us on this plane." - May. "How can you say that?" - Ward. "She isn't. Not with these agents here, over her shoulder, monitoring her every move." "You wanted her off the plane." "Out of the system. That's how Skye works best."
"I trust the system. They keep secrets for a reason." - Coulson. Raina taunts him for a while. "Sacrifice is part of the job! I gave up my life!" he snaps back. "You didn't just give up your life. You gave up your chance of a normal one." More taunting follows: "Don't you want to know what happened in Tahiti?" "It's a magical pla -" He stops short. "I keep saying that." "Don't you wanna know why?"
(Coulson gives out a scream of Ultimate Suffering. Skye follows the sound and find him.) "It's for his own good," Raina tells her. (Skye then knocks Raina out.)
Episode Twelve, "Seeds".
"The different academies don't interact?" - Skye. "Not much. The Academy of Communications does, but they're the biggest, and they're focused on data analysis." - Ward. "By far the easiest to get into." - Simmons. "That's where you'd be, Skye." - Fitz. "Thanks...picking up on the rivalry between Science and Operations." (To May) "You and Coulson past all that, or are you gonna help Ward steal their mascot?"
"Is Science and Technology what you imagined, Ward?" - Fitz. "Yep. No uniforms, no rope course, no defined muscularity on anyone."
"So, now what?" - Simmons. "Now, we blend in. Skye looks young enough to be a student." - Ward. "You're not exactly Old Man River yourself...And Fitz looks younger than both of us!" - Skye. "Time will come when you won't make fun of me for that. You'll be jealous. You'll be jealous, wrinkly old hags." - Fitz.
"It's true what they say; you are the smartest person to come through here." - Donnie Gill to Fitz. "Is that what they say? Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that's because she likes homework more than life itself."
"That's not far from where I am. I can get there." (Ward opens an exterior door; a gigantic storm is in full force.) "Ah....yeah, I can't get there."
"Must have destroyed her to hear all that." - May. "That's the thing about Skye....What I told her shattered her world. Her lifelong search led to stories of murder, and now it's too difficult to continue. Her search is over. Her story ends here. but you know what she said?" - Coulson. "Tell me." "She said no, her story started here....That's what she took away from the story; not the family she never had, but the one she's always had. Here I am, telling her something that could destroy her faith in humanity, and she somehow ends up repairing a little piece of mine."
"But the world is of evil and lies and pain and death. And you can't run from it, you can only face it. The question is, when you do; how do you respond? Who do you become?" - Coulson.
Episode Thirteen, "T.R.A.C.K.S.".
"It's time to go undercover." - Coulson. "I hate undercover." - May.
"You are the least supportive pretend girlfriend that I've ever had." - Fitz to Skye.
"What are you doing?" - Coulson. "Oh, I'm getting into character. My American persona harbors residual resentment towards her absent American father," Simmons explains. "Blames him for not being there when her mum died. So I apologize in advance if I come off a little cold." "Do you think all that backstory's necessary?" "Past events, like that unfortunate incident at The Hub, have shown me that I'm not good at improvisation. However, I excel at preparation." (It's showtime.) "All Mom ever wanted was your love. To be with you at our two-story Victorian home in the Cotswolds! But could you even give her a moment?" (Simmons is in tears by now.) "What with your banking job requiring you to travel to the States from Tuesday to Saturday every other week? NO!" (Other passengers start to notice the commotion.) "I'm terribly sorry about your loss, dear," an Old Man(Stan Lee!) says to her. "As for you" (to Coulson) "now's your chance to do better. Why don't ya see that you take it!" (Old Man walks away, Simmons stands up and fires away again.) "He's right. You never had any time for her, but you made time for your work. And your prostitutes!" (She storms away, slamming accidentally on purpose into the guy the team's tracking. It makes a mess.) "Prostitues, plural?" Coulson hisses during the cleanup.
(Later on, still on the train.) "Look at that..." Simmons marvels, still in character. "I haven't seen anything so beautiful since our family's scuba-diving trip to the island of Kotow in southeastern Thailand." "Okay, Simmons, I appreciate all your preparation-" Coulson starts to say before getting interrupted. "But don't you want to know which marine life we encountered?!"
"That train. It just...." - Ward. "Yep, vanished. Which, might I add, is not easy." - Coulson. (They start back for the Bus, spot a small Italian pickup.) "Keys might be in it." - Coulson. Ward looks dubious. "It's the country! People are very trusting in the country." "It's been hot-wired," Ward notes. "That's suspicious." "I was gonna say fortuitous. Let's get out of here!" - Coulson. (Once they get onto the Bus, they try to figure out FitzSimmons' holotable. After about a minute of repeated failure) "Let's just upload the specs to HQ." Coulson suggests. "Good idea," Ward agrees.
Episode Fourteen, "T.A.H.I.T.I."
"I'm saying you need to call her family, get them here as soon as possible," a nurse says quietly. "We're her family," Coulson replies, the rest of the team anxiously looking on.
"People like us....we need people like him." May to Ward, about Coulson.
(The Bus has been boarded by Garrett and Triplett.) "No worries. I'll find Quinn myself. I'm sure he's tucked between the Jacuzzi and the squash court." -Triplett.
"...It all sounds so diabolical!" - Simmons. "But it worked. He's walking around." - Fitz. "Yeah. But at what cost?"
"She's your bride?" Lorelai asks a man named Jimmy. "Since yesterday morning." he answers proudly. "And do you prefer her to me?" "Well, yeah. I pretty much prefer Nicole over everyone, that's why I married her."
Episode Eight, "The Well".
"...beings like Thor do exist, leaving us with more questions and an enormous mess to clean up!" - Simmons complains after the space-time continuum is nearly ripped to shreds in London during the events of Thor: The Dark World and Coulson's team is assigned janitorial duty.
"You know, it'd be nice, just once, if Thor and his people sent the God of Cleaning Up After Yourself," Coulson complains. "They probably have a magic broom for this kind of thing..."
"I can't think of a single time when something alien in human hands ended well." - Coulson. "Well, I wouldn't mind getting my human hands on Thor. He's so dreamy...." - Skye. "Well, sure, he's handsome, but-" May interrupt's Coulson's answer. "No, he's dreamy."
"Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we have to regress back to the Dark Ages, talking about magic and fairy tales..." - Simmons shoots down one of Skye's crazy ideas. "Actually, that's exactly what we're going to do." Coulson then announces calmly.
"Skye, how 'bout you? You got anything?" "Well...I'm lucky that my S.O. volunteered to take the creepy hallway over the slightly less creepy dungeon....room...place. I've got nothing."
Ward Hulks out on Skye and FitzSimmons, it's an unpleasant scene. After he storms out of the lab, Simmons tries to defuse the situation: "...That was just a biochemical reaction. He didn't mean all that."
"I'm working it out," he snaps to May. "You're punching things. The last thing you need is to punch things."
(Ward nearly stabs a guy in the holding cell, only to have him warp the blade on the way down. Then to Coulson) "You were right...he's Asgardian." "Good thing. Otherwise that would've been awfully embarrassing."
(Coulson reeling off how he knew the prisoner was not of this Earth.) "...and lastly, when I tell people I've had an encounter with an alien, they tend to be a little curious."
Episode Nine, "Repairs".
"She's telekenetic? I thought they didn't exist." - Skye. "We've never verified one. That's why we're going to Batesville, to conduct an Index Asset Evaluation and Intake." - Coulson. "...Does that mean we talk to her and see if she has powers?" "Basically."
"It's a delicate situation, so you're bringing along Warm and Fuzzy?" - Skye to Coulson, talking about Ward and May.
"...you screamed like a girl." "I am a girl!" - FitzSimmons reminiscing over school memories.
"I'm not scared of her! Well, I mean, I am, but just because she shot a hundred guys on horseback doesn't mean the Cavalry knows how people work." - Skye.
"What happened?" - Ward. "We lost communication. And you were hit by a large plumber's wrench." - Simmons. "A wrench? The guy's traveling between worlds, and he's carrying a wrench?"
"I don't mean to scare you, I just need to use you as bait." - May. "Well, that's comforting..."
Episode Ten, "The Bridge".
"So you'll take it off?" Skye asks, referring to her tracker-bracelet. "No," Coulson answers. "But I did ask May to look into the more restricted files." "I was kinda hoping to keep this private." "Agent May specializes in private."
"So we were right! Chan's cells did solve the combustion problem! Now they can create super-soldiers whenever they want!" - Simmons. "Maybe don't get so excited about it..." Fitz tells her.
(May turns her back and walks away from Mike's greeting.) "Last time she saw you, you kind of threw her into a brick wall." - Coulson.
"I'm just saying, this thing could easily go sideways," Ward is arguing with Skye and FitzSimmons. "I mean, the last time we saw him he was a raging homicidal maniac." They all stare at nothing in the middle distance intently chewing their lips. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?" Coulson speaks up then. "Mike, this is Agent Grant Ward. He's the guy that shot you."
"'The Psychology of Women: Unraveling the Female Psyche'." Ward reads. "That's an actual book?" Coulson asks. "That's a whole course! Hayward's sister's in there now." Coulson marvels at how understanding women used to be a puzzle that had to be figured out, Ward asks him if he solved any. "A few. Some more rewarding than others." "What happened?" "I died."
(Mike's testing his new suit. FitzSimmons is explaining everything about it.) "Having powers is cheating. But the suit's pretty cool." - Ward.
Episode Eleven, "The Magical Place".
"Agent Hand, I know Skye's methods are...unorthodox, but she's a member of this team. She can help." - Ward. "Agent May, your professional opinion.Will this girl be of any use to us on this plane?" "No." (Later) "It's clear May has an axe to grind with me, but that was way out of line!" - Skye. "No one knows what's in May's head except May." - Ward.
"Don't touch Lola!" - Skye.
"It seems you passed out. Now maybe you're ready to tell us what you've memories you're seeing?" - Kidnapper. "I saw....Jordan hitting that game-winner over Russell in the '98 Finals. So clutch." - Coulson.
"And...if I don't?" - a businessman asks. (Skye's interrogating him, posing as May.) "If you don't, then you spend the next five years in The Fridge." "The fridge?" "It's worse than it sounds," solemnly.
"I've been on the phone all day. Director Fury. Commander Hill. Everyone wants an update. I can't understand why. No single agent is that important." - Hand. "Coulson is." - Ward.
"All I did was tell Hand the truth. Skye's of no use to us on this plane." - May. "How can you say that?" - Ward. "She isn't. Not with these agents here, over her shoulder, monitoring her every move." "You wanted her off the plane." "Out of the system. That's how Skye works best."
"I trust the system. They keep secrets for a reason." - Coulson. Raina taunts him for a while. "Sacrifice is part of the job! I gave up my life!" he snaps back. "You didn't just give up your life. You gave up your chance of a normal one." More taunting follows: "Don't you want to know what happened in Tahiti?" "It's a magical pla -" He stops short. "I keep saying that." "Don't you wanna know why?"
(Coulson gives out a scream of Ultimate Suffering. Skye follows the sound and find him.) "It's for his own good," Raina tells her. (Skye then knocks Raina out.)
Episode Twelve, "Seeds".
"The different academies don't interact?" - Skye. "Not much. The Academy of Communications does, but they're the biggest, and they're focused on data analysis." - Ward. "By far the easiest to get into." - Simmons. "That's where you'd be, Skye." - Fitz. "Thanks...picking up on the rivalry between Science and Operations." (To May) "You and Coulson past all that, or are you gonna help Ward steal their mascot?"
"Is Science and Technology what you imagined, Ward?" - Fitz. "Yep. No uniforms, no rope course, no defined muscularity on anyone."
"So, now what?" - Simmons. "Now, we blend in. Skye looks young enough to be a student." - Ward. "You're not exactly Old Man River yourself...And Fitz looks younger than both of us!" - Skye. "Time will come when you won't make fun of me for that. You'll be jealous. You'll be jealous, wrinkly old hags." - Fitz.
"It's true what they say; you are the smartest person to come through here." - Donnie Gill to Fitz. "Is that what they say? Simmons is probably smarter, technically, but that's because she likes homework more than life itself."
"That's not far from where I am. I can get there." (Ward opens an exterior door; a gigantic storm is in full force.) "Ah....yeah, I can't get there."
"Must have destroyed her to hear all that." - May. "That's the thing about Skye....What I told her shattered her world. Her lifelong search led to stories of murder, and now it's too difficult to continue. Her search is over. Her story ends here. but you know what she said?" - Coulson. "Tell me." "She said no, her story started here....That's what she took away from the story; not the family she never had, but the one she's always had. Here I am, telling her something that could destroy her faith in humanity, and she somehow ends up repairing a little piece of mine."
"But the world is of evil and lies and pain and death. And you can't run from it, you can only face it. The question is, when you do; how do you respond? Who do you become?" - Coulson.
Episode Thirteen, "T.R.A.C.K.S.".
"It's time to go undercover." - Coulson. "I hate undercover." - May.
"You are the least supportive pretend girlfriend that I've ever had." - Fitz to Skye.
"What are you doing?" - Coulson. "Oh, I'm getting into character. My American persona harbors residual resentment towards her absent American father," Simmons explains. "Blames him for not being there when her mum died. So I apologize in advance if I come off a little cold." "Do you think all that backstory's necessary?" "Past events, like that unfortunate incident at The Hub, have shown me that I'm not good at improvisation. However, I excel at preparation." (It's showtime.) "All Mom ever wanted was your love. To be with you at our two-story Victorian home in the Cotswolds! But could you even give her a moment?" (Simmons is in tears by now.) "What with your banking job requiring you to travel to the States from Tuesday to Saturday every other week? NO!" (Other passengers start to notice the commotion.) "I'm terribly sorry about your loss, dear," an Old Man(Stan Lee!) says to her. "As for you" (to Coulson) "now's your chance to do better. Why don't ya see that you take it!" (Old Man walks away, Simmons stands up and fires away again.) "He's right. You never had any time for her, but you made time for your work. And your prostitutes!" (She storms away, slamming accidentally on purpose into the guy the team's tracking. It makes a mess.) "Prostitues, plural?" Coulson hisses during the cleanup.
(Later on, still on the train.) "Look at that..." Simmons marvels, still in character. "I haven't seen anything so beautiful since our family's scuba-diving trip to the island of Kotow in southeastern Thailand." "Okay, Simmons, I appreciate all your preparation-" Coulson starts to say before getting interrupted. "But don't you want to know which marine life we encountered?!"
"That train. It just...." - Ward. "Yep, vanished. Which, might I add, is not easy." - Coulson. (They start back for the Bus, spot a small Italian pickup.) "Keys might be in it." - Coulson. Ward looks dubious. "It's the country! People are very trusting in the country." "It's been hot-wired," Ward notes. "That's suspicious." "I was gonna say fortuitous. Let's get out of here!" - Coulson. (Once they get onto the Bus, they try to figure out FitzSimmons' holotable. After about a minute of repeated failure) "Let's just upload the specs to HQ." Coulson suggests. "Good idea," Ward agrees.
Episode Fourteen, "T.A.H.I.T.I."
"I'm saying you need to call her family, get them here as soon as possible," a nurse says quietly. "We're her family," Coulson replies, the rest of the team anxiously looking on.
"People like us....we need people like him." May to Ward, about Coulson.
(The Bus has been boarded by Garrett and Triplett.) "No worries. I'll find Quinn myself. I'm sure he's tucked between the Jacuzzi and the squash court." -Triplett.
"...It all sounds so diabolical!" - Simmons. "But it worked. He's walking around." - Fitz. "Yeah. But at what cost?"
"She's your bride?" Lorelai asks a man named Jimmy. "Since yesterday morning." he answers proudly. "And do you prefer her to me?" "Well, yeah. I pretty much prefer Nicole over everyone, that's why I married her."
Enter February
"February" is hard to spell.
Kind of having trouble remembering my own name at the moment(it's been a long week, preceded by a long week, preceded by a long week, preceded by...), but I have gotten most of the Mount McKinley-sized mountain of homework finished. Wrote a recap of a Supreme Court case, a poem for Creative Writing and a news-package script(all due Monday), now to get an essay written(due Thursday) and plan next week's news story and get ready for tests in Media Law and Interpersonal Communication.
Visited home for the weekend; the family was glad to have me back for a bit. Then church this morning and the DeSpains gave me a ride back to Claremore. So more homework this afternoon, and that's pretty much it... Cats are good to know. Rags and Licorice were both very glad to see me; and the rest didn't care much one way or the other.
The Gundersens' Sheltie Teddy died Tuesday, which was incredibly sad for everybody who knew him. (And Tuesday wasn't the greatest day ever for me to start with, so for that to be the first thing that pops up once I check Facebook....)
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man didn't get much better the second or third times I read it. But the next book is The Great Gatsby, so that's something to look forward to.
Kind of having trouble remembering my own name at the moment(it's been a long week, preceded by a long week, preceded by a long week, preceded by...), but I have gotten most of the Mount McKinley-sized mountain of homework finished. Wrote a recap of a Supreme Court case, a poem for Creative Writing and a news-package script(all due Monday), now to get an essay written(due Thursday) and plan next week's news story and get ready for tests in Media Law and Interpersonal Communication.
Visited home for the weekend; the family was glad to have me back for a bit. Then church this morning and the DeSpains gave me a ride back to Claremore. So more homework this afternoon, and that's pretty much it... Cats are good to know. Rags and Licorice were both very glad to see me; and the rest didn't care much one way or the other.
The Gundersens' Sheltie Teddy died Tuesday, which was incredibly sad for everybody who knew him. (And Tuesday wasn't the greatest day ever for me to start with, so for that to be the first thing that pops up once I check Facebook....)
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man didn't get much better the second or third times I read it. But the next book is The Great Gatsby, so that's something to look forward to.
Friday, January 30, 2015
January's Finished
October 21 is one month closer....(also, that's Courtney's birthday.)
Anyway, it might be a different school, but the stress is pretty much the same wherever you are as a student. Doesn't really matter if it's NSU, TCC or RSU. So much to get done, and it doesn't really stop...Also, I get really frustrated with online courses. More specifically, the discussion board segment of online classes. It's like, "C'MON PEOPLE, IS IT THAT HARD TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS PROPERLY IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME?" If I comment on your post to try to offer ideas for making your poem better, can't you do the same?
Harry texted me a picture of the front page of the Daily Press, not exactly sure what he and Louise were doing that was newsworthy, but hey, they were on the front page! Above the fold right under the masthead! (BEST spot on the front page, which is the top dog in the hierarchy.) He was really excited, which is awesome. And understandable. That made a welcome pause from homework, which at that moment was stumbling through the swamp that is James Joyce's writing. (RADICAL stream-of-consciousness style, for the most part forgoing the comma entirely and randomly inserting free-verse poetry in unusual places.) Definitely going to have to go over this Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man again to hopefully figure out what on earth is happening in time for an essay next week on the three novels studied so far. Kate Chopin's The Awakening was just as intolerable the second time as it was the first.
It's really kind of hard to draw a distinction between Joyce and my Media Law textbook sometimes. There's a test for that coming up sometime next week or two.
Carrie Underwood is playing on my Spotify, the current song as of this paragraph is "Temporary Home". Played guitar some a couple times this week, so that's nice, I guess. I'm singing along in my mind, playing air guitar since it's almost midnight. Still can't sleep very well, too much worrying and tension, I guess. I'm the kind of person who reads Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" when wide-awake up late. Also, I seem to require about twice as much clothing as most people in order to keep warm. There was a fire alarm the other night, which wasn't as bad as it could have been, at least it was fixed quickly, but those are NOT GOOD THINGS. And I got about four hours sleep last night for whatever reason, 2-6:30 a.m.
Texted Ash, she's about as stressed about school as I am right now. Also texted Jon, he's doing well. This year's SGYC will be from July 20-24, and Brother Larry and Tim are both highly likely to be there. Everyone else, it's way too early to know for sure. If I remember right, Ryan Butler will be the camp pastor again this year? That'd be good.
The DeSpains picked me up before church last Sunday, which was nice. The floor-replacement hit an expected snag, so it'll be concrete for probably a few more weeks at least.
Tuesday's episode of Agent Carter was the best yet, with tons of quotes. "Stark's either an ignoramus or a genius....we have no idea what this stuff is." - SSR scientist. "Probably both." - Peggy.
"Does anybody know what Krymenski's middle name was?" - Thompson. " Wasn't it Walter?" - Sousa. "Right. Walter. Agent Ray Walter Krymenski. And do any of you know what the most important part of Agent Ray Walter Krymenski's name was?" Someone Else: "....Walter?" "No. 'Agent.'"
"Are you acquainted with Id and the Ego, Miss Carter?" - Peggy's terrifying landlady Miriam Griffith. "Are they....children's characters?"
Poked my nose into the RSU BCM building on Monday night; it was different, but it might be all right. Forced myself to be outgoing and meet several people; which was incredibly draining (and scary. I'm seriously an introvert. I hate having to meet new people.) They seemed about the right level of polite friendliness, using TJ's scale. Also went over there Wednesday afternoon because there's like a free-meal type thing, sorta like NSU's Velocity. And I needed to interview a classmate for a news story I was filming for a different class. So it was a killing-two-birds-with-one-stone type of thing. But it's really hard getting to know people. Deb's cancer appears to be stopped, so that's very good.
It'll be an extremely homework-filled weekend, with (maybe?) time enough to spare to watch the Super Bowl, which is Patriots-Seahawks. I really don't care one way or the other, but because of Chris Pratt and Chris Evans's bet, Mom's pulling for New England. There won't be a blizzard this year; which is nice, I guess. That postponed our Muskogee SWAT show by about a month.
I have Nutella, protein bars and pepperjack cheese in the fridge, so that's better food than peanut butter and stale Cinnamon Toast Crunch, as far as Super Bowl snacks go. I'm predicting Budweiser wins Wesley's Best Commercial Award for the sixth(?) year in a row, and the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl to be more entertaining and adorable than the real game.
Missing Sunny. And Copper. And everybody else dog-and-cat-wise who're gone. And I need some Rags-cuddles.
Anyway, it might be a different school, but the stress is pretty much the same wherever you are as a student. Doesn't really matter if it's NSU, TCC or RSU. So much to get done, and it doesn't really stop...Also, I get really frustrated with online courses. More specifically, the discussion board segment of online classes. It's like, "C'MON PEOPLE, IS IT THAT HARD TO FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS PROPERLY IN A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF TIME?" If I comment on your post to try to offer ideas for making your poem better, can't you do the same?
Harry texted me a picture of the front page of the Daily Press, not exactly sure what he and Louise were doing that was newsworthy, but hey, they were on the front page! Above the fold right under the masthead! (BEST spot on the front page, which is the top dog in the hierarchy.) He was really excited, which is awesome. And understandable. That made a welcome pause from homework, which at that moment was stumbling through the swamp that is James Joyce's writing. (RADICAL stream-of-consciousness style, for the most part forgoing the comma entirely and randomly inserting free-verse poetry in unusual places.) Definitely going to have to go over this Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man again to hopefully figure out what on earth is happening in time for an essay next week on the three novels studied so far. Kate Chopin's The Awakening was just as intolerable the second time as it was the first.
It's really kind of hard to draw a distinction between Joyce and my Media Law textbook sometimes. There's a test for that coming up sometime next week or two.
Carrie Underwood is playing on my Spotify, the current song as of this paragraph is "Temporary Home". Played guitar some a couple times this week, so that's nice, I guess. I'm singing along in my mind, playing air guitar since it's almost midnight. Still can't sleep very well, too much worrying and tension, I guess. I'm the kind of person who reads Strunk and White's "Elements of Style" when wide-awake up late. Also, I seem to require about twice as much clothing as most people in order to keep warm. There was a fire alarm the other night, which wasn't as bad as it could have been, at least it was fixed quickly, but those are NOT GOOD THINGS. And I got about four hours sleep last night for whatever reason, 2-6:30 a.m.
Texted Ash, she's about as stressed about school as I am right now. Also texted Jon, he's doing well. This year's SGYC will be from July 20-24, and Brother Larry and Tim are both highly likely to be there. Everyone else, it's way too early to know for sure. If I remember right, Ryan Butler will be the camp pastor again this year? That'd be good.
The DeSpains picked me up before church last Sunday, which was nice. The floor-replacement hit an expected snag, so it'll be concrete for probably a few more weeks at least.
Tuesday's episode of Agent Carter was the best yet, with tons of quotes. "Stark's either an ignoramus or a genius....we have no idea what this stuff is." - SSR scientist. "Probably both." - Peggy.
"Does anybody know what Krymenski's middle name was?" - Thompson. " Wasn't it Walter?" - Sousa. "Right. Walter. Agent Ray Walter Krymenski. And do any of you know what the most important part of Agent Ray Walter Krymenski's name was?" Someone Else: "....Walter?" "No. 'Agent.'"
"Are you acquainted with Id and the Ego, Miss Carter?" - Peggy's terrifying landlady Miriam Griffith. "Are they....children's characters?"
Poked my nose into the RSU BCM building on Monday night; it was different, but it might be all right. Forced myself to be outgoing and meet several people; which was incredibly draining (and scary. I'm seriously an introvert. I hate having to meet new people.) They seemed about the right level of polite friendliness, using TJ's scale. Also went over there Wednesday afternoon because there's like a free-meal type thing, sorta like NSU's Velocity. And I needed to interview a classmate for a news story I was filming for a different class. So it was a killing-two-birds-with-one-stone type of thing. But it's really hard getting to know people. Deb's cancer appears to be stopped, so that's very good.
It'll be an extremely homework-filled weekend, with (maybe?) time enough to spare to watch the Super Bowl, which is Patriots-Seahawks. I really don't care one way or the other, but because of Chris Pratt and Chris Evans's bet, Mom's pulling for New England. There won't be a blizzard this year; which is nice, I guess. That postponed our Muskogee SWAT show by about a month.
I have Nutella, protein bars and pepperjack cheese in the fridge, so that's better food than peanut butter and stale Cinnamon Toast Crunch, as far as Super Bowl snacks go. I'm predicting Budweiser wins Wesley's Best Commercial Award for the sixth(?) year in a row, and the Animal Planet Puppy Bowl to be more entertaining and adorable than the real game.
Missing Sunny. And Copper. And everybody else dog-and-cat-wise who're gone. And I need some Rags-cuddles.
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Quotes - Season One, Part I
Pretty straightforward - a listing of great quotes from season one of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Episode One - "Pilot".
(Ward is surprised while retrieving a Chitauri neural link.) "Your fireplace is broken."
(After Hill asks Ward what S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for, he replies, "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.") "And what does that mean to you?" "It means somebody really wanted our initials to spell out "SHIELD". We protect the world from the much weirder world out there, and when we can't do that, we keep them safe."
(Later on in that conversation, Hill's just told Ward that Coulson will tell him why his assignment had been changed.) "Uh...yeah. I'm clearance Level Six; I know that Coulson was killed in the Battle of New York." (Coulson emerges from the shadows.) "Welcome to Level Seven," (Ward looks stunned.) "Sorry, that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself. I think there's a bulb out."
(Coulson is referencing Hill's report on Ward's qualifications.) "Combat: top grades. Espionage she gave you the highest marks since Romanoff. Under People Skills....I think she drew a...I think it's a little poop. With knives sticking out of it." (Later.) "It was a porcupine, it was not a little poop."
(Mike Peterson is sitting in a diner when Skye rushes into his booth.) "Just act natural." "What?" "Just...pretend that we're talking." He stares at her, at a loss. "We are." "Good. 'Cause you never know who's listening." "I don't even know who's talking."
(Later in same scene.) "With great power comes....a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with!" - Skye.
(Coulson goes to May's dark oppressive office.) "Agent May-" "No. I am not going back into the field." "Yeah, you got such a nice setup here....you ever thought about adding a moat?" (Trying to convince her to come along.) "....no red tape. This is where they make the red tape, isn't it? I've always wondered."
"So, are you excited to be coming along on our Journey into Mystery?" Simmons asks cheerfully. "It's like Christmas." Ward answers, unenthused.
"Don't touch Lola!" - Coulson. (Repeated line.)
"...How will you silence us this time? How can you? The truth is in the wind. It's everywhere. You cannot stop the Rising Tide. You will not find us, you will never see our faces, but we will rise against those who shield us from the truth, and nothing, nothing, nothing can stop us in the-" (Coulson and Ward throw open the van door.) "Heyyyy." Skye smiles uneasily. "What's up?"
"Is it the girl? She's getting under your skin?" asks Coulson. "Or is it the assignment? Are you so anxious to get out of here that you'd deliberately blow an interrogation?" "Give me a minute alone with her, you'll have your answers." Ward says confidently. "She's an asset." "She is such an - Wait, asset?"
(Coulson shoots Ward with a tranquiilizer gun filled with truth serum.) "I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" "No. Have you lost your mind?! You should never do that to a member of your team! And yes, it did hurt a little bit. I'm just trying to mask my pain in front of a beautiful woman because it makes me seem more masculine. This stuff works fast..."
(Debriefing.) "What are we seeing?" May wants to know. "Well, the man is angry at the other man." Fitz answers. "The data is very corrupt." Simmons tries to smooth things over. "Yeah, like Cold War Russia corrupt." Fitz adds.
"Don't EVER tell me there's no way! Get it done." - Coulson to FitzSimmons.
"Nobody's nobody, Ward." - Coulson.
"I know. I've seen giants. And that privilege cost me nearly everything. But they're not heroes because of what they have; they're heroes because of what they do with it." - Coulson to Mike.
"How about you? Thought about the offer?" Coulson asks. "Hitching a ride on the crazy plane? I'm not exactly a team player," Skye answers. "And we're not exactly a team. We're in a position to do some good, and you'd be a great help."
Episode Two, "0-8-4".
"She hacked us twice with a laptop. Imagine what she can do with our resources." says Coulson. "I am. That's exactly what I'm imagining during this frown." Ward answers.
(Coulson explaining to Skye what an 0-8-4 is.) "..The last one turned out to be pretty interesting." "And what was the last one?" "A hammer."
"Don't ever call me that." - May. (Repeated line.)
"That's classified." (Repeated line.)
"Do you need anything else before I go check on the device fueled by evil that's sitting in our cargo hold?" - Coulson.
(The team is squabbling loudly, Coulson walks into the lab.) "Do we have a problem in here?" Everyone hushes up. "No, sir. Just working on our communication." Ward replies. More squabbling, led by Skye and Ward. "Ward, you can speak six languages. Simmons, you have two PhD's in fields I can't pronounce, and Fitz - you ARE a rocket scientist. So work it out." (Coulson leaves lab.) "Um....I can do stuff, too!" - Skye.
"Really? REALLY? Six days? It took you SIX DAYS to ruin a completely renovated state-of-the-art piece of machinery and turn it into SCRAP?" - Fury scolding Coulson.
Episode Three - "The Asset".
"I'm tired from the morning's workout. I thought I was joining S.H.I.E.L.D., not 24-Hour Fitness," Skye grumbles after Ward gets on her case after missing a workout.
(Later in that same scene, Skye says she never wants to do another pull-up again.) "When you find yourself hanging off a building twenty stories up, you're gonna want to do at least one," - Ward.
(Still same scene.) "There will come a moment when you either commit to this, or bail. Every field agent has a defining moment. Ask Coulson. When you have to make the hard call, to either dedicate yourself to this, or to curl up in a ball and run." - Ward. "How can you run if you're curled up in a ball?" - Skye.
(On assignment tracking down some kidnappers. May drops a massive binder into Skye's arms.) "Do you want me to bench-press this?" - Skye. "Read it." - May.
(Coulson and Ward tracking one of the suspects, one of which asked who Coulson was.) "A concerned citizen. One that happens to be a member of a gigantic bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move."
(May disapproves of Coulson's plan to go into field action.) "You forget, I've seen plenty of action with the Avengers." - Coulson. (He walks away.) "...And you died..." - May.
"Saying his name repeatedly does NOT increase his productivity!" - Simmons. "I'm in. Go." - Fitz. "Or maybe it does." - Simmons.
"Dr. Hall! Agent Coulson, we have an exit strategy." "S.H.I.E.L.D.?" "Yes, sir. Let's get you out of here." "Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson, I'm right where I'm supposed to be." "I'll be honest. Our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that."
Episode Four, "Eye Spy".
"You ever rob a bank?" Coulson asks Skye. "No." "An armored car?" "Nope." "A casino?" "Should I be offended?" (He then proceeds to give her her first real assignment.)
"You broke protocol because you need a bathroom break." Ward says in disbelief. "It was a really, really long drive, and everybody's nervous!" Skye protests. (Simmons looks like she agrees, Fitz isn't sure what to think.They dig in ice chest, find water bottle, Simmons gives Skye quizzical look.) "Not the water bottle..." "That's the one!" "Did you never learn the part where girl parts and guy parts are different?!"
(They're still in the van.) "Russian TV is kind of boring," Skye complains. "That looks a bit like our van," Fitz says. (They realize they're being watched, try to escape. Skye can't reach Ward's pedals.) "Stupid tall person..."
"Meet me on the south side of the building. ASAP." Ward orders. "Gotcha," Skye answers her S.O. (To herself) "Now which way's south..?"
Episode Five, "The Girl in the Flower Dress".
"I'm not S.H.I.E.L.D. I come as a friend," Raina says creepily. "English isn't my first language, but that word means something different than what you think." Chan Ho Yin, a Chinese street magician, answers.
"If they ever let you go on leave or whatever, let me know, and I'll get us a fancy suite at....a fancy place that has suites," Skye's slimy sort-of-ex-boyfriend Miles.
"So, are you guys just going to destroy all my stuff?" Miles asks. "Yes." May responds.
"Aw, crap...they gave him a name." Coulson groans.
"His files say anything about him being homicidal?" May asks. "Not really. Just said he was kind of a tool."
"You can't save someone from themselves, sir." Ward says. "You can if you can get to 'em early enough," Coulson disagrees.
Episode Six, "F-Z-Z-T".
"Well, you can tell your physical therapist that you're fit as the proverbial fiddle! Especially for a man of your age," Simmons comments in her cheerful way. "'A man of my age'? That's something you say to an old person!" Coulson answers.
"Lose the ounce..." Fitz grumbles at Ward's exacting demands of the Night-Night pistol(which everyone insists "We are NOT calling it that!") (In growly Ward imitation) "I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I could shoot the legs off a flea at five hundred yards....as long as it's not windy.'" Skye cracks up. She and Fitz talk for a bit before Simmons comes into the lab. She starts in with her own Ward imitation. "'I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I could rupture your spleen with my left pinky...blindfolded.'" Ward then pops back into the lab. Everyone else snickers.
"The only thing I'm afraid of is putrid flesh disturbing my pristine workspace!" Fitz defends himself after Coulson and Simmons say he's afraid of messy internal organs, etc. "Oh, not that stupid cat again! And it's our lab, Fitz, not yours!" "Are you kidding? The last time you left his liver by my lunch!" "Guys! Can we -?" Coulson nods at the dead body waiting for autopsy.
(Simmons tests mouse to see if antiserum works. Mouse immediately dies.) "Well. Now that wasn't very cooperative of him, was it?" Fitz says, watching.
FitzSimmons talking. "It wasn't Ward beside me in the lab, working to find the antidote! He wasn't the one giving me hope when I had none. It was you, Fitz. You're the hero."
Episode Seven, "The Hub".
"I made your favorite sandwich, prosciutto and Buffalo mozzarella." - Simmons. "With your homemade pesto aioli?" - Fitz asks. "Just a hint."
"...if I'm right, give me a signal by...not saying anything." - Skye finishes her plea rather lamely. "Trust the system," is all Coulson says.
"No, no...I can't be a part of your bad-girl shenanigans! I like following the rules and doing what's expected of me. It makes me feel nice." - Simmons to Skye.
"Two million rubles. We really need to work on your negotiation skills." -Ward to Fitz. "I thought they were like pesos."
"What brings you to this...restricted hallway so late at night?" Simmons asks Sitwell nervously. " "I was going to ask you the same thing." "I....was just on my way to the loo. I could swear it was two rights and a left, but I wound up here." "That's a wall panel. Why are you accessing it?" Skye instructs Simmons to act casual. "You...certainly have a gorgeous....head." Skye cannot believe her ears. More horribly and ineptly awkward flirting, Sitwell grows suspicious, and Simmons panics and tases the guy. It's probably the funniest scene all season.
"Our team can go off-book because there is a book. A Hub. You claim that you want to be a part of that, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Do you?" - Coulson. "Yes." - Skye. "Because someday, I may have to trust you with a secret, and I want you to keep it."
"This is gonna take a while..." - Fitz. "You have ten minutes." - Ward. "I thought you'd say five."
"Oh, the sandwich. How was it? Too much aioli?" - Simmons. "It was delicious." - Fitz.
FitzSimmons talking. "I pretty much saved him from a gang of Russian mobsters. And kicked a few guys' heads in. But enough mission talk already! Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" "I shot a superior officer in the chest."
"Some secrets are meant to stay secrets." - Coulson.
Episode One - "Pilot".
(Ward is surprised while retrieving a Chitauri neural link.) "Your fireplace is broken."
(After Hill asks Ward what S.H.I.E.L.D. stands for, he replies, "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division.") "And what does that mean to you?" "It means somebody really wanted our initials to spell out "SHIELD". We protect the world from the much weirder world out there, and when we can't do that, we keep them safe."
(Later on in that conversation, Hill's just told Ward that Coulson will tell him why his assignment had been changed.) "Uh...yeah. I'm clearance Level Six; I know that Coulson was killed in the Battle of New York." (Coulson emerges from the shadows.) "Welcome to Level Seven," (Ward looks stunned.) "Sorry, that corner was really dark and I couldn't help myself. I think there's a bulb out."
(Coulson is referencing Hill's report on Ward's qualifications.) "Combat: top grades. Espionage she gave you the highest marks since Romanoff. Under People Skills....I think she drew a...I think it's a little poop. With knives sticking out of it." (Later.) "It was a porcupine, it was not a little poop."
(Mike Peterson is sitting in a diner when Skye rushes into his booth.) "Just act natural." "What?" "Just...pretend that we're talking." He stares at her, at a loss. "We are." "Good. 'Cause you never know who's listening." "I don't even know who's talking."
(Later in same scene.) "With great power comes....a ton of weird crap that you are not prepared to deal with!" - Skye.
(Coulson goes to May's dark oppressive office.) "Agent May-" "No. I am not going back into the field." "Yeah, you got such a nice setup here....you ever thought about adding a moat?" (Trying to convince her to come along.) "....no red tape. This is where they make the red tape, isn't it? I've always wondered."
"So, are you excited to be coming along on our Journey into Mystery?" Simmons asks cheerfully. "It's like Christmas." Ward answers, unenthused.
"Don't touch Lola!" - Coulson. (Repeated line.)
"...How will you silence us this time? How can you? The truth is in the wind. It's everywhere. You cannot stop the Rising Tide. You will not find us, you will never see our faces, but we will rise against those who shield us from the truth, and nothing, nothing, nothing can stop us in the-" (Coulson and Ward throw open the van door.) "Heyyyy." Skye smiles uneasily. "What's up?"
"Is it the girl? She's getting under your skin?" asks Coulson. "Or is it the assignment? Are you so anxious to get out of here that you'd deliberately blow an interrogation?" "Give me a minute alone with her, you'll have your answers." Ward says confidently. "She's an asset." "She is such an - Wait, asset?"
(Coulson shoots Ward with a tranquiilizer gun filled with truth serum.) "I'm sorry. Did that hurt?" "No. Have you lost your mind?! You should never do that to a member of your team! And yes, it did hurt a little bit. I'm just trying to mask my pain in front of a beautiful woman because it makes me seem more masculine. This stuff works fast..."
(Debriefing.) "What are we seeing?" May wants to know. "Well, the man is angry at the other man." Fitz answers. "The data is very corrupt." Simmons tries to smooth things over. "Yeah, like Cold War Russia corrupt." Fitz adds.
"Don't EVER tell me there's no way! Get it done." - Coulson to FitzSimmons.
"Nobody's nobody, Ward." - Coulson.
"I know. I've seen giants. And that privilege cost me nearly everything. But they're not heroes because of what they have; they're heroes because of what they do with it." - Coulson to Mike.
"How about you? Thought about the offer?" Coulson asks. "Hitching a ride on the crazy plane? I'm not exactly a team player," Skye answers. "And we're not exactly a team. We're in a position to do some good, and you'd be a great help."
Episode Two, "0-8-4".
"She hacked us twice with a laptop. Imagine what she can do with our resources." says Coulson. "I am. That's exactly what I'm imagining during this frown." Ward answers.
(Coulson explaining to Skye what an 0-8-4 is.) "..The last one turned out to be pretty interesting." "And what was the last one?" "A hammer."
"Don't ever call me that." - May. (Repeated line.)
"That's classified." (Repeated line.)
"Do you need anything else before I go check on the device fueled by evil that's sitting in our cargo hold?" - Coulson.
(The team is squabbling loudly, Coulson walks into the lab.) "Do we have a problem in here?" Everyone hushes up. "No, sir. Just working on our communication." Ward replies. More squabbling, led by Skye and Ward. "Ward, you can speak six languages. Simmons, you have two PhD's in fields I can't pronounce, and Fitz - you ARE a rocket scientist. So work it out." (Coulson leaves lab.) "Um....I can do stuff, too!" - Skye.
"Really? REALLY? Six days? It took you SIX DAYS to ruin a completely renovated state-of-the-art piece of machinery and turn it into SCRAP?" - Fury scolding Coulson.
Episode Three - "The Asset".
"I'm tired from the morning's workout. I thought I was joining S.H.I.E.L.D., not 24-Hour Fitness," Skye grumbles after Ward gets on her case after missing a workout.
(Later in that same scene, Skye says she never wants to do another pull-up again.) "When you find yourself hanging off a building twenty stories up, you're gonna want to do at least one," - Ward.
(Still same scene.) "There will come a moment when you either commit to this, or bail. Every field agent has a defining moment. Ask Coulson. When you have to make the hard call, to either dedicate yourself to this, or to curl up in a ball and run." - Ward. "How can you run if you're curled up in a ball?" - Skye.
(On assignment tracking down some kidnappers. May drops a massive binder into Skye's arms.) "Do you want me to bench-press this?" - Skye. "Read it." - May.
(Coulson and Ward tracking one of the suspects, one of which asked who Coulson was.) "A concerned citizen. One that happens to be a member of a gigantic bureaucratic organization that's tracking your every move."
(May disapproves of Coulson's plan to go into field action.) "You forget, I've seen plenty of action with the Avengers." - Coulson. (He walks away.) "...And you died..." - May.
"Saying his name repeatedly does NOT increase his productivity!" - Simmons. "I'm in. Go." - Fitz. "Or maybe it does." - Simmons.
"Dr. Hall! Agent Coulson, we have an exit strategy." "S.H.I.E.L.D.?" "Yes, sir. Let's get you out of here." "Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Coulson, I'm right where I'm supposed to be." "I'll be honest. Our strategy did not take into consideration you saying that."
Episode Four, "Eye Spy".
"You ever rob a bank?" Coulson asks Skye. "No." "An armored car?" "Nope." "A casino?" "Should I be offended?" (He then proceeds to give her her first real assignment.)
"You broke protocol because you need a bathroom break." Ward says in disbelief. "It was a really, really long drive, and everybody's nervous!" Skye protests. (Simmons looks like she agrees, Fitz isn't sure what to think.They dig in ice chest, find water bottle, Simmons gives Skye quizzical look.) "Not the water bottle..." "That's the one!" "Did you never learn the part where girl parts and guy parts are different?!"
(They're still in the van.) "Russian TV is kind of boring," Skye complains. "That looks a bit like our van," Fitz says. (They realize they're being watched, try to escape. Skye can't reach Ward's pedals.) "Stupid tall person..."
"Meet me on the south side of the building. ASAP." Ward orders. "Gotcha," Skye answers her S.O. (To herself) "Now which way's south..?"
Episode Five, "The Girl in the Flower Dress".
"I'm not S.H.I.E.L.D. I come as a friend," Raina says creepily. "English isn't my first language, but that word means something different than what you think." Chan Ho Yin, a Chinese street magician, answers.
"If they ever let you go on leave or whatever, let me know, and I'll get us a fancy suite at....a fancy place that has suites," Skye's slimy sort-of-ex-boyfriend Miles.
"So, are you guys just going to destroy all my stuff?" Miles asks. "Yes." May responds.
"Aw, crap...they gave him a name." Coulson groans.
"His files say anything about him being homicidal?" May asks. "Not really. Just said he was kind of a tool."
"You can't save someone from themselves, sir." Ward says. "You can if you can get to 'em early enough," Coulson disagrees.
Episode Six, "F-Z-Z-T".
"Well, you can tell your physical therapist that you're fit as the proverbial fiddle! Especially for a man of your age," Simmons comments in her cheerful way. "'A man of my age'? That's something you say to an old person!" Coulson answers.
"Lose the ounce..." Fitz grumbles at Ward's exacting demands of the Night-Night pistol(which everyone insists "We are NOT calling it that!") (In growly Ward imitation) "I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I could shoot the legs off a flea at five hundred yards....as long as it's not windy.'" Skye cracks up. She and Fitz talk for a bit before Simmons comes into the lab. She starts in with her own Ward imitation. "'I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I could rupture your spleen with my left pinky...blindfolded.'" Ward then pops back into the lab. Everyone else snickers.
"The only thing I'm afraid of is putrid flesh disturbing my pristine workspace!" Fitz defends himself after Coulson and Simmons say he's afraid of messy internal organs, etc. "Oh, not that stupid cat again! And it's our lab, Fitz, not yours!" "Are you kidding? The last time you left his liver by my lunch!" "Guys! Can we -?" Coulson nods at the dead body waiting for autopsy.
(Simmons tests mouse to see if antiserum works. Mouse immediately dies.) "Well. Now that wasn't very cooperative of him, was it?" Fitz says, watching.
FitzSimmons talking. "It wasn't Ward beside me in the lab, working to find the antidote! He wasn't the one giving me hope when I had none. It was you, Fitz. You're the hero."
Episode Seven, "The Hub".
"I made your favorite sandwich, prosciutto and Buffalo mozzarella." - Simmons. "With your homemade pesto aioli?" - Fitz asks. "Just a hint."
"...if I'm right, give me a signal by...not saying anything." - Skye finishes her plea rather lamely. "Trust the system," is all Coulson says.
"No, no...I can't be a part of your bad-girl shenanigans! I like following the rules and doing what's expected of me. It makes me feel nice." - Simmons to Skye.
"Two million rubles. We really need to work on your negotiation skills." -Ward to Fitz. "I thought they were like pesos."
"What brings you to this...restricted hallway so late at night?" Simmons asks Sitwell nervously. " "I was going to ask you the same thing." "I....was just on my way to the loo. I could swear it was two rights and a left, but I wound up here." "That's a wall panel. Why are you accessing it?" Skye instructs Simmons to act casual. "You...certainly have a gorgeous....head." Skye cannot believe her ears. More horribly and ineptly awkward flirting, Sitwell grows suspicious, and Simmons panics and tases the guy. It's probably the funniest scene all season.
"Our team can go off-book because there is a book. A Hub. You claim that you want to be a part of that, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent. Do you?" - Coulson. "Yes." - Skye. "Because someday, I may have to trust you with a secret, and I want you to keep it."
"This is gonna take a while..." - Fitz. "You have ten minutes." - Ward. "I thought you'd say five."
"Oh, the sandwich. How was it? Too much aioli?" - Simmons. "It was delicious." - Fitz.
FitzSimmons talking. "I pretty much saved him from a gang of Russian mobsters. And kicked a few guys' heads in. But enough mission talk already! Anything exciting happen while I was gone?" "I shot a superior officer in the chest."
"Some secrets are meant to stay secrets." - Coulson.
Friday, January 23, 2015
Two Down, Fourteen Left
That title sounds like directions. And in that context, the directions would be something like two down, four rights and two lefts. Or maybe it's some combination of rights and lefts. Anyway, the title refers to weeks left in the second half of junior year. (My lack-of-internal-spatial-compass is well-documented here and here. And this seems like it should count, too...)
Swamped under with homework this weekend, three time-intensive projects all due Monday. So there's been a lot of playing Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney CDs to work by. Keeping up with the Thunder as I can.
Went home for a bit last weekend; the best part was when I looked into the family room at the furniture rearrangement, Rags spotted me, meowed hello and ran up the stairs to greet me. With the water pipes busting during the cold spell a few weeks ago, the carpet in the GBC auditorium had to be replaced. So it was missing during Sunday's service; which felt familiar and welcoming. Though I never could decide whether it felt like meeting at the warehouse during the 2008 remodel, like the family room after a flood but before we stained the concrete, or like the SGYC tabernacle.
About six months until everybody heads that way again...I hope I can be there, but it's too early to know.
Haven't really had much of a chance to play guitar much, and what time I have had has sounded uncertain and nervous, which doesn't work that well as motivation. Maybe I should learn some new songs, or try writing some.
Something I've been trying to figure out: Is it worse to read a book that's been written at instead of to the reader, or is it worse reading a book by someone who can't write? Being written or spoken at feels very demeaning as a person. (Most textbooks are flagrantly written in this style.) I suffered through Kate Chopin's book The Awakening since it's the book we'll be discussing for one of my classes next week. She was a deeply unhappy, very angry and frustrated New Age feminist with a meager amount of talent, who occasionally wrote a nice phrase or sentence almost by accident, only to realize what she'd just done and erase it with two atrocious sentences to end the paragraph. (My opinion.) She was a single mother in the 1890's, though; and writing mostly short stories was about her only way to stay afloat. (That's a fact.) But her writing is just so....vulgar. And I mean that in the original Latin sense of commonness. There was nothing extraordinary about it, except maybe the incomprehensibility of the (frequent) abstract tangents she goes off on. And I really don't care much about a married woman having an affair and committing suicide when the man she wants won't run away with her. And it's set in Louisiana; and I don't know French. So that was another downside.
And a lot of this distaste is probably intensified by having just finished Jane Austen's Sense and Sensiblility for the third(?) time right before it. The books share some character types in common, which will probably be the topic of a future essay, but Austen was intelligent and snarky, with a moral compass, and while she didn't care much for all of society's conventions, she accepted that they were there for a reason. Chopin just wanted to smash everything that could be worthwhile because of her wretchedness, like Oscar Wilde and H.G. Wells. G.K. Chesterton speaks much of her kind of people in his Orthodoxy.
Managed to turn watching Space Jam into research for a homework project in Creative Writing, that was kinda neat. (I like exploiting those loopholes."Said in Calvin voice") And also some reruns of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. Planning on trying to go through the Mighty Ducks trilogy soonish. And really need to watch Pixar movies for inspiration and admiration purposes. (Which I don't have on DVD, and they aren't on Netflix. But that's what you rent them on Amazon for.)
Swamped under with homework this weekend, three time-intensive projects all due Monday. So there's been a lot of playing Garth Brooks and Kenny Chesney CDs to work by. Keeping up with the Thunder as I can.
Went home for a bit last weekend; the best part was when I looked into the family room at the furniture rearrangement, Rags spotted me, meowed hello and ran up the stairs to greet me. With the water pipes busting during the cold spell a few weeks ago, the carpet in the GBC auditorium had to be replaced. So it was missing during Sunday's service; which felt familiar and welcoming. Though I never could decide whether it felt like meeting at the warehouse during the 2008 remodel, like the family room after a flood but before we stained the concrete, or like the SGYC tabernacle.
About six months until everybody heads that way again...I hope I can be there, but it's too early to know.
Haven't really had much of a chance to play guitar much, and what time I have had has sounded uncertain and nervous, which doesn't work that well as motivation. Maybe I should learn some new songs, or try writing some.
Something I've been trying to figure out: Is it worse to read a book that's been written at instead of to the reader, or is it worse reading a book by someone who can't write? Being written or spoken at feels very demeaning as a person. (Most textbooks are flagrantly written in this style.) I suffered through Kate Chopin's book The Awakening since it's the book we'll be discussing for one of my classes next week. She was a deeply unhappy, very angry and frustrated New Age feminist with a meager amount of talent, who occasionally wrote a nice phrase or sentence almost by accident, only to realize what she'd just done and erase it with two atrocious sentences to end the paragraph. (My opinion.) She was a single mother in the 1890's, though; and writing mostly short stories was about her only way to stay afloat. (That's a fact.) But her writing is just so....vulgar. And I mean that in the original Latin sense of commonness. There was nothing extraordinary about it, except maybe the incomprehensibility of the (frequent) abstract tangents she goes off on. And I really don't care much about a married woman having an affair and committing suicide when the man she wants won't run away with her. And it's set in Louisiana; and I don't know French. So that was another downside.
And a lot of this distaste is probably intensified by having just finished Jane Austen's Sense and Sensiblility for the third(?) time right before it. The books share some character types in common, which will probably be the topic of a future essay, but Austen was intelligent and snarky, with a moral compass, and while she didn't care much for all of society's conventions, she accepted that they were there for a reason. Chopin just wanted to smash everything that could be worthwhile because of her wretchedness, like Oscar Wilde and H.G. Wells. G.K. Chesterton speaks much of her kind of people in his Orthodoxy.
Managed to turn watching Space Jam into research for a homework project in Creative Writing, that was kinda neat. (I like exploiting those loopholes."Said in Calvin voice") And also some reruns of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter. Planning on trying to go through the Mighty Ducks trilogy soonish. And really need to watch Pixar movies for inspiration and admiration purposes. (Which I don't have on DVD, and they aren't on Netflix. But that's what you rent them on Amazon for.)
Wednesday, January 14, 2015
Rogers State Report
This has been an incredibly long week. Like, I woke up this morning and figured up what day it was, and I thought, "It's only WEDNESDAY?"
Some of that might be the headache I've had since yesterday morning. And probably a lot of it is panic from the onslaught of switching completely from one environment to another. It kind of reminds me of how the hoboes would leap onto the trains as they were moving out of the station during the Great Depression. That's about what classes have felt like so far, three days in. The level of knowledge and expertise on everything feels miles and miles ahead of wherever I am right now. And that's really scary, running to catch up to the train everybody else is on.
And, fittingly, I suppose, since I'm (I guess?) a Hillcat now, my nerves have been on a feline edge all the time. Especially at night. There's lots of unexpected intruding noises at random times, so my fur stays bristled and ears and whiskers are on high-alert swivel. And I've done that asleep-to-flying-toward-potential-threat-awake thing three to four times a night. Some of that is just not being used to the patterns of neighbors walking through the hallway and slamming doors, and some of it is an instinctual reaction to smells when the heater has been on too long. Oh, yeah, there's a thermostat in my apartment-dorm, which is nice. If I could just figure out how to work it properly...
It's MUCH better than Ross. (But then again, anything would be.) Except you can't complain about the horrible conditions to the other people in the building you know, and so the natural tight-knit community aspect isn't there, because there really isn't much wrong with the housing conditions. Really the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that six reflective surfaces in three rooms is too many.
And there's the fact that the higher elevation there is, the more wind is likely to be blowing there. And that... in Tahlequah I got used to cold weather. (Which doesn't mean I exactly like it now, but I can live with it.) But wind is a different story. I'm a very small-sized person, and if it's strong enough, wind will actually move me from one place to another. (I know this from experience.) Besides, wind is bitingly cold, and that's worse, because it's harder to fight and there isn't really a good way to keep warm. (See Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Match Girl", for example.)
Folks seem polite, which is nice, I guess. And the dining hall is more cheerfully-designed and seems more professional than the NSU caf. Haven't met anybody yet, but I didn't expect to right off, that takes a long time.
I think I may have finally figured out why Timothy was prey to "stomach troubles and frequent illnesses", according to Paul in 1 Timothy 5:23. (I've always wondered what he suffered from, and why he was often sick, and why was this detail included in the Bible?) Timothy probably was daily overwhelmed and unbearably tense from the stresses that come from trying to do everything it took to run a church adequately. And from what little we know, he was an only child(no siblings are mentioned), and only children(even more than oldests) are very hard on themselves, striving for excellence in all they attempt. And so he probably would have interpreted "adequately" as "perfectly", which is probably impossible. And then the fact that it's an act of service for the Lord, that probably added to the intensity and strife, so.... This could be way off-base, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion that comes while dealing with a lot of terrifying homework, a massive headache, upset stomach and slight nausea. And being an oldest.
Anyway, that's about it.... the NSU BCM gang is pulling everything together for spring, and while I had the TV on the first half of the College Football Playoff title game(to catch the new Age of Ultron preview), I missed the preview, didn't really care about the game itself, and then Ohio State beat Oregon. Brad Paisley and DC Talk make for a good soundtrack to study by.
Some of that might be the headache I've had since yesterday morning. And probably a lot of it is panic from the onslaught of switching completely from one environment to another. It kind of reminds me of how the hoboes would leap onto the trains as they were moving out of the station during the Great Depression. That's about what classes have felt like so far, three days in. The level of knowledge and expertise on everything feels miles and miles ahead of wherever I am right now. And that's really scary, running to catch up to the train everybody else is on.
And, fittingly, I suppose, since I'm (I guess?) a Hillcat now, my nerves have been on a feline edge all the time. Especially at night. There's lots of unexpected intruding noises at random times, so my fur stays bristled and ears and whiskers are on high-alert swivel. And I've done that asleep-to-flying-toward-potential-threat-awake thing three to four times a night. Some of that is just not being used to the patterns of neighbors walking through the hallway and slamming doors, and some of it is an instinctual reaction to smells when the heater has been on too long. Oh, yeah, there's a thermostat in my apartment-dorm, which is nice. If I could just figure out how to work it properly...
It's MUCH better than Ross. (But then again, anything would be.) Except you can't complain about the horrible conditions to the other people in the building you know, and so the natural tight-knit community aspect isn't there, because there really isn't much wrong with the housing conditions. Really the only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that six reflective surfaces in three rooms is too many.
And there's the fact that the higher elevation there is, the more wind is likely to be blowing there. And that... in Tahlequah I got used to cold weather. (Which doesn't mean I exactly like it now, but I can live with it.) But wind is a different story. I'm a very small-sized person, and if it's strong enough, wind will actually move me from one place to another. (I know this from experience.) Besides, wind is bitingly cold, and that's worse, because it's harder to fight and there isn't really a good way to keep warm. (See Hans Christian Andersen's "Little Match Girl", for example.)
Folks seem polite, which is nice, I guess. And the dining hall is more cheerfully-designed and seems more professional than the NSU caf. Haven't met anybody yet, but I didn't expect to right off, that takes a long time.
I think I may have finally figured out why Timothy was prey to "stomach troubles and frequent illnesses", according to Paul in 1 Timothy 5:23. (I've always wondered what he suffered from, and why he was often sick, and why was this detail included in the Bible?) Timothy probably was daily overwhelmed and unbearably tense from the stresses that come from trying to do everything it took to run a church adequately. And from what little we know, he was an only child(no siblings are mentioned), and only children(even more than oldests) are very hard on themselves, striving for excellence in all they attempt. And so he probably would have interpreted "adequately" as "perfectly", which is probably impossible. And then the fact that it's an act of service for the Lord, that probably added to the intensity and strife, so.... This could be way off-base, but it seems like a reasonable conclusion that comes while dealing with a lot of terrifying homework, a massive headache, upset stomach and slight nausea. And being an oldest.
Anyway, that's about it.... the NSU BCM gang is pulling everything together for spring, and while I had the TV on the first half of the College Football Playoff title game(to catch the new Age of Ultron preview), I missed the preview, didn't really care about the game itself, and then Ohio State beat Oregon. Brad Paisley and DC Talk make for a good soundtrack to study by.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Meowsings
"Here I am in my new apartment/In a big city, they just dropped me off..."
Okay, so Claremore isn't that big a place. But the "Never Grow Up" quote fit nicely.
So here's my class schedule for this semester: Advanced Broadcasting, Interpersonal Communication, Media Law, The Novel and Creative Writing, 15 hours, nine towards my major(Communications - Radio/TV) and six towards my minor(Liberal Arts - English). It added up to something like seventeen for-school books to get. Amazon is very useful for things like that.
I'll try to take some pictures around here soon. For now studying(what else is there to do?) with a Taylor Swift and Owl City soundtrack so far.
Okay, so Claremore isn't that big a place. But the "Never Grow Up" quote fit nicely.
So here's my class schedule for this semester: Advanced Broadcasting, Interpersonal Communication, Media Law, The Novel and Creative Writing, 15 hours, nine towards my major(Communications - Radio/TV) and six towards my minor(Liberal Arts - English). It added up to something like seventeen for-school books to get. Amazon is very useful for things like that.
I'll try to take some pictures around here soon. For now studying(what else is there to do?) with a Taylor Swift and Owl City soundtrack so far.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Welcome Back To The Future
Welp, the first week of 2015 passed without my writing anything. So....yeah. Anyway....
Welcome to the future, y'all. Wait a minute...
It's THE FUTURE. Like, seriously. Great Scott, that's heavy. The Cubs will win the World Series this year! And we'll have self-lacing shoes. And flying cars like Lola will be totally commonplace.(But you still can't touch her.) And there's hoverboards. (OK, maybe not hoverboards.)
Okay, so I couldn't resist tossing an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. reference in there. It's on a break at a wonderful cliffhanger, so we get to hop into our DeLoreans and go back to 1946 to witness some of Agent Carter's adventures. The TV was pretty dark, so I couldn't see what was happening very well, but the first two episodes were enjoyable. Not as great as S.H.I.E.L.D. or the movies, but fits the era well as a light-hearted adventure tale for the serial before the movie starts.
Rags isn't too happy with this "back to college" plan. Neither are the other cats. Or Trevor.
We went over to Tahlequah last Saturday to haul wood for Grandpa, it was good to see them. Harry and Louise dropped by, so it was nice to visit with them, too.
Monday, December 22, 2014
Retired - Cynthia Rylant
I was restacking the bookshelves yesterday and came across a collection of Cynthia Rylant short stories. So of course I read them, since she's such a great writer, and there were two that I especially liked. (This came from "Every Living Thing", Aladdin Paperbacks, New York, 1985 for future reference.)
Retired
Her name was Miss Phala Cutcheon and she used to be a schoolteacher. Miss Cutcheon had gotten old and had retired from teaching the fourth grade, so she simply sat on her porch and considered things. She considered moving to Florida. She considered joining a club for old people and learning how to play cards. She considered dying.
Finally, she just got a dog.
The dog, too, was old. And she, too, was retired. A retired collie. She had belonged to a family who lived around the corner from Miss Cutcheon. The dog had helped raise three children, and she had been loved. But the family was moving to France and could not take their beloved pet. They gave her to Miss Cutcheon.
When she lived with the family, the dog's name had been Princess. Miss Cutcheon, however, thought the name much too delicate for a dog as old and bony as Miss Cutcheon herself, and she changed it to Velma. It took Princess several days to find out who Miss Cutcheon meant when she called out for someone named Velma.
In time, though, Velma got used to her new name. She got used to Miss Cutcheon's slow pace - so unlike the romping of three children - and she got used to Miss Cutcheon's dry dog food. She learned not to mind the smell of burning asthmadora, which helped Miss Cutcheon breathe better, and not to mind the sound of the old lady's wheezing and snoring in the middle of the night. Velma missed her children, but she was all right.
Miss Cutcheon was a very early riser(a habit that could not be shaken after forty-three years of meeting schoolchildren at the schoolhouse door), and she enjoyed big breakfasts. Each day Miss Cutcheon would creak out of her bed like a mummy rising from its tomb, then shuffle slowly into the kitchen, straight for the coffee pot. Velma, who slept on the floor at the foot of Miss Cutcheon's bed, would soon creak off the floor herself and head into the kitchen. Velma's family had eaten cold cereal breakfasts all those years, and only when she came to live with Miss Cutcheon did Velma realize what perking coffee, sizzling bacon and hot biscuits smell like. She still only got dry dog food, but the aromas around her nose made the chunks taste ten times better.
Miss Cutcheon sat at her dinette table, eating her bacon and eggs and biscuits, while Velma lay under the table at her feet. Miss Cutcheon spent mot of her breakfast time thinking about the children she had taught. Velma thought about hers.
During the day Miss Cutcheon took Velma on walks up and down the block. The two of them became a familiar sight. On warm, sunny days they took many walks, moving on at an almost brisk pace up and back. But on damp, cold days they eased themselves along the sidewalk as if they'd both just gotten out of bed, and they usually went only a half-block, morning and afternoon.
Miss Cutcheon and Velma spent several months together like this: Eating breakfast together, walking the block, sitting on the front porch, going to bed early. Velma's memory of her three children grew fuzzy, and only when she saw a boy or girl passing on the street did her ears prick up as if she should have known something about children. But what it was she had forgotten.
Miss Cutcheon's memory, on the other hand, grew better every day, and she seemed not to know anything except the past. She could recite the names of children in her mind - which seats they had sat in, what subjects they were best at, what they'd brought to school for lunch. She could remember their funny ways, and sometimes she would be sitting quietly at her dinette in the morning, quietly eating, when she would burst out with a laugh that filled the room and made Velma jump.
Why Miss Cutcheon decided to walk Velma a few blocks farther, and to the west, is a puzzle. But one warm morning in September, they did walk that way, and when they reached the third block, a sound like a million tiny buzz saws floated into the air. Velma's ears stood straight up, and Miss Cutcheon stopped and considered. Then they went a block farther, and the sound changed to something like a hundred bells pealing. Velma's tail began to wag ever so slightly. Finally, on the fifth block, they saw the school playground.
Children, small and large, ran wildly about, screaming, laughing, falling down, climbing up, jumping, dancing. Velma started barking, again and again and again. She couldn't contain herself. She barked and wagged and forgot all about Miss Cutcheon standing there with her. She saw only the children and it made her happy.
Miss Cutcheon stood very stiff for a while, staring. She didn't smile. She simply looked at the playground, the red brick school, the chain-link fence that protected it all, keeping intruders outside, keeping children inside. Miss Cutcheon just stared while Velma barked. Then they walked home.
But the next day they returned. They moved further along the fence, nearer to where the children were. Velma barked and wagged until two boys, who had been seesawing, ran over to the fence to try to pet the dog. Miss Cutcheon pulled back on the leash, but too late, for Velma had already leaped up against the wire. She poked her snout through a hole and the boys scratched it, laughing as she licked their fingers. More children came to the fence, and while some rubbed Velma's nose, others questioned Miss Cutcheon: "What's your dog's name?" "Will it bite?" "Do you like cats?" Miss Cutcheon, who had not answered the questions of children in what seemed a very long time, replied as a teacher would.
Every day, in good weather, Velma and Miss Cutcheon visited the playground fence. The children learned their names, and Miss Cutcheon soon knew the children who stroked Velma the same way she had known her own fourth-graders years ago. In bad weather, Miss Cutcheon and Velma stayed inside, breathing the asthmadora, feeling warm and comfortable, thinking about the children at the playground. But on a nice day, they were out again.
In Mid-October Miss Cutcheon put a pumpkin on her front porch, something she hadn't done in years. And on Halloween night, she turned on the porch light, and she and Velma waited at the door. Miss Cutcheon passed out fifty-six chocolate bars before the evening was done.
Then on Christmas Eve of that same year, a large group of young carolers came to sing in front of Miss Cutcheon's house; and they were bearing gifts of dog biscuits and sweet fruit.
Retired
Her name was Miss Phala Cutcheon and she used to be a schoolteacher. Miss Cutcheon had gotten old and had retired from teaching the fourth grade, so she simply sat on her porch and considered things. She considered moving to Florida. She considered joining a club for old people and learning how to play cards. She considered dying.
Finally, she just got a dog.
The dog, too, was old. And she, too, was retired. A retired collie. She had belonged to a family who lived around the corner from Miss Cutcheon. The dog had helped raise three children, and she had been loved. But the family was moving to France and could not take their beloved pet. They gave her to Miss Cutcheon.
When she lived with the family, the dog's name had been Princess. Miss Cutcheon, however, thought the name much too delicate for a dog as old and bony as Miss Cutcheon herself, and she changed it to Velma. It took Princess several days to find out who Miss Cutcheon meant when she called out for someone named Velma.
In time, though, Velma got used to her new name. She got used to Miss Cutcheon's slow pace - so unlike the romping of three children - and she got used to Miss Cutcheon's dry dog food. She learned not to mind the smell of burning asthmadora, which helped Miss Cutcheon breathe better, and not to mind the sound of the old lady's wheezing and snoring in the middle of the night. Velma missed her children, but she was all right.
Miss Cutcheon was a very early riser(a habit that could not be shaken after forty-three years of meeting schoolchildren at the schoolhouse door), and she enjoyed big breakfasts. Each day Miss Cutcheon would creak out of her bed like a mummy rising from its tomb, then shuffle slowly into the kitchen, straight for the coffee pot. Velma, who slept on the floor at the foot of Miss Cutcheon's bed, would soon creak off the floor herself and head into the kitchen. Velma's family had eaten cold cereal breakfasts all those years, and only when she came to live with Miss Cutcheon did Velma realize what perking coffee, sizzling bacon and hot biscuits smell like. She still only got dry dog food, but the aromas around her nose made the chunks taste ten times better.
Miss Cutcheon sat at her dinette table, eating her bacon and eggs and biscuits, while Velma lay under the table at her feet. Miss Cutcheon spent mot of her breakfast time thinking about the children she had taught. Velma thought about hers.
During the day Miss Cutcheon took Velma on walks up and down the block. The two of them became a familiar sight. On warm, sunny days they took many walks, moving on at an almost brisk pace up and back. But on damp, cold days they eased themselves along the sidewalk as if they'd both just gotten out of bed, and they usually went only a half-block, morning and afternoon.
Miss Cutcheon and Velma spent several months together like this: Eating breakfast together, walking the block, sitting on the front porch, going to bed early. Velma's memory of her three children grew fuzzy, and only when she saw a boy or girl passing on the street did her ears prick up as if she should have known something about children. But what it was she had forgotten.
Miss Cutcheon's memory, on the other hand, grew better every day, and she seemed not to know anything except the past. She could recite the names of children in her mind - which seats they had sat in, what subjects they were best at, what they'd brought to school for lunch. She could remember their funny ways, and sometimes she would be sitting quietly at her dinette in the morning, quietly eating, when she would burst out with a laugh that filled the room and made Velma jump.
Why Miss Cutcheon decided to walk Velma a few blocks farther, and to the west, is a puzzle. But one warm morning in September, they did walk that way, and when they reached the third block, a sound like a million tiny buzz saws floated into the air. Velma's ears stood straight up, and Miss Cutcheon stopped and considered. Then they went a block farther, and the sound changed to something like a hundred bells pealing. Velma's tail began to wag ever so slightly. Finally, on the fifth block, they saw the school playground.
Children, small and large, ran wildly about, screaming, laughing, falling down, climbing up, jumping, dancing. Velma started barking, again and again and again. She couldn't contain herself. She barked and wagged and forgot all about Miss Cutcheon standing there with her. She saw only the children and it made her happy.
Miss Cutcheon stood very stiff for a while, staring. She didn't smile. She simply looked at the playground, the red brick school, the chain-link fence that protected it all, keeping intruders outside, keeping children inside. Miss Cutcheon just stared while Velma barked. Then they walked home.
But the next day they returned. They moved further along the fence, nearer to where the children were. Velma barked and wagged until two boys, who had been seesawing, ran over to the fence to try to pet the dog. Miss Cutcheon pulled back on the leash, but too late, for Velma had already leaped up against the wire. She poked her snout through a hole and the boys scratched it, laughing as she licked their fingers. More children came to the fence, and while some rubbed Velma's nose, others questioned Miss Cutcheon: "What's your dog's name?" "Will it bite?" "Do you like cats?" Miss Cutcheon, who had not answered the questions of children in what seemed a very long time, replied as a teacher would.
Every day, in good weather, Velma and Miss Cutcheon visited the playground fence. The children learned their names, and Miss Cutcheon soon knew the children who stroked Velma the same way she had known her own fourth-graders years ago. In bad weather, Miss Cutcheon and Velma stayed inside, breathing the asthmadora, feeling warm and comfortable, thinking about the children at the playground. But on a nice day, they were out again.
In Mid-October Miss Cutcheon put a pumpkin on her front porch, something she hadn't done in years. And on Halloween night, she turned on the porch light, and she and Velma waited at the door. Miss Cutcheon passed out fifty-six chocolate bars before the evening was done.
Then on Christmas Eve of that same year, a large group of young carolers came to sing in front of Miss Cutcheon's house; and they were bearing gifts of dog biscuits and sweet fruit.
Saturday, December 20, 2014
Mid-December
Another Christmas is sneaking its way closer and closer, I guess...
Just about everybody around here's not doing so great, between Caleb's broken foot, Trevor's burned foot, pneumonia and the flu. There's been a lot of TV-watching for obvious reasons. I haven't caught anything yet (so far).
Dad started a new job the other day, so that's good.
Reread through Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken in the last couple days, also William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and Stephen King's how-to book On Writing. And finished Larry King's collection of WWII love stories, a history of Midwest-wartime-morale-building called Once Upon a Town, and the Newberry Award-winning book A Wrinkle in Time(I hated that one. It was horribly written).
Need to start Christmas shopping when I get a chance...also, I need to get my textbooks for spring semester...
Just about everybody around here's not doing so great, between Caleb's broken foot, Trevor's burned foot, pneumonia and the flu. There's been a lot of TV-watching for obvious reasons. I haven't caught anything yet (so far).
Dad started a new job the other day, so that's good.
Reread through Neil Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death and Laura Hillenbrand's Unbroken in the last couple days, also William Goldman's Adventures in the Screen Trade and Stephen King's how-to book On Writing. And finished Larry King's collection of WWII love stories, a history of Midwest-wartime-morale-building called Once Upon a Town, and the Newberry Award-winning book A Wrinkle in Time(I hated that one. It was horribly written).
Need to start Christmas shopping when I get a chance...also, I need to get my textbooks for spring semester...
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