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Nov. 19th, 2005 08:01 am
I have learned that I can do a much better Keane impersonation now because of cat allergies! (*)
The busses aren't running today because there's a stupid Razorbacks game in town. Ugh. This means that sometime within the next 30 minutes I'm going to have to wake up a poor neighbor and ask for a ride. I really hate doing this; there is nothing worse than some mooch snatching you from the jaws of sleep and a warm, comfy bed to ask if you can drive him someplace YOU don't have to be. Sigh. I need a pumpkin!
The W:tA game didn't happen last night, because one of our players (*coughcough*THETOBY*cough*) didn't know whether or not to be here and couldn't get a hold of Arlekin and decided to make himself designated driver for someone else. Instead, Arlekin and I drank coffee and listened to Tom Waits while playing Go under colored light bulbs. It was so bohemian I'm sure Ewan MacGregor was puking somewhere.
Go is a very interesting game, and I'd like to play it more often. The trouble is that it's never as simple as it sounds. I've read maybe two or three different "This is how to play Go" manuals in my life and they're always saying something different. On the box that comes with my board, the way to win is by counting the number of empty squares you have surrounded and subtract the number of prisoners you've lost. Not sure if that's official uber-Japanese canon or what, so I'll have to do a bit more research. Also, capturing pieces around the edges is a little gray; aren't there situations in which pieces can work themselves into a stalemate around the edges?
Anyway, Arlekin told me it's apparently bad strategy to clump pieces together right from the start, but that's the way I learned how to play. Make strong chains that can defend themselves well and build from there. Apparently, though, you're supposed to make broad and sweeping strokes by placing stones all arounfd the board to claim territory. Then you link them together. This, however, strikes me as slightly impractical. In my old age, I'm becoming more and more of an Earth-based person. Elementally, I mean.
Perhaps because I'm reading The Art of War at the moment, I'm becoming more and more interested in games of strategy, like Go and chess. Nick, a friend and neighbor if ever there was one, came over Friday night and kept me up until 2 in the morning to play chess and babble incoherently at each other while drinking excessively. It was actually pretty cool. :) My body is telling me, though, "Please don't do that again."
I'm still working through the Historical Background portion of the book, by the way. Sun Tzu's writings don't actually start until about 170 pages in...which is neat. The translator (a Richard D. Sawyer) takes much care in making sure that the context and history is well understood before you get into anything, which I appreciate. He says in his preface that he aims to make this translation easily grasped by the layman, but to me it's just an indication of how out-of-touch with laymen academics really are. ;) It's been a little while since I've read anything in a scholarly context so it's slow going. That's all right, though; I'd rather take three months to read and understand it than breeze through it and not retain a thing.
Sawyer makes an interesting point about Virtue vs. virtue ('te' -- suddenly "The Te of Piglet" is a much more attractive title). Virtue-with-a-capital-V can only be obtained after performing virtuous deeds so often, letting virtue sink in and become habit, then nature. It's not wrapped up in the practice of meaningless rituals and formalities (a Taoist remark, I'm sure), but just doing the right thing because it comes naturally. If you do something virtuous to get something out of it, true Virtue will never be attained; it's virtue that you don't have to think about, that's reflexive as breathing. A person who's achieved this state retains a certain air about him that gives him a natural...authority. I think that's what makes someone like, say, Albus Dumbledore such an attractive fellow: he has Virtue in spades.
So! Werewolf tonight instead, and since I don't have to work tomorrow I can stretch the ending a little later than otherwise. Arlekin is very happy about this, and so am I. I just hope I don't start flaming out around midnight anyway. :)
Went to go see "Harry Potter" and/or "Walk the Line" last night, but all shows were sold out. It's playing at the Razorback 6, and the theatre was absolutely *packed*. Cars were circling around the lot like sharks, searching for chum (or parking spaces). It was pretty insane. "Jarhead" is playing there, too, and that had tickets...but we were 20 minutes after start for it and there was apparently no heating in that theatre. Mmm, gotta love buskety Arkansas movie theatres!
Work was all right, but hard yesterday; I got a lot of Theology and really good Religion (which, honestly, I don't mind) and I had to make room for it. So, I spent the entire day culling Children's Religious Books (the highlight of my *week* -- I got to take out all the pathetically old and/or brainwashy stuff), putting Christian Science in a box to rot at the end of the aisle, and organizing Denominational books so I can fit Ancient Religion on the other side of the aisle. It took all day, but it's worth it and I'm proud. With the new scheme, Jehovah's Witnesses books are right next to Humanism, which I find amusing -- though not in the meanish "Heh, Witnesses are goobers" way. I can imagine a little old lady from a nearby Kingdom Hall whooping up on a milquetoast atheist guy in the aisle any day of the week. ;)
Anyway, today means I actually have to *stretch* Theology so I can put all the books I've gotten there on the shelf. Normally, this wouldn't be too big a deal, but Saturdays are notoriously busy and Charles and Don'll need my help up front more often than not. My only hope is to attack it early. So here I go. Hopefully Virginia's already awake.
(*) -- Welcome to the Footnote at the bottom of the entry! Way up there, the author made a remark about a Keane impersonation thing that you probably won't get unless you've heard Keane. One of the more endearing/annoying traits about the lead singer is that he wheezes every time he inhales between lines. It's not as jarring as one might think, but since cat allergies make the author short of breath, he can manage the exact tone and pitch of various wheezes almost exactly now. There you have it; now that the joke is explained, it is officially dead. Move along, nothing but a chalk outline to see here.
The busses aren't running today because there's a stupid Razorbacks game in town. Ugh. This means that sometime within the next 30 minutes I'm going to have to wake up a poor neighbor and ask for a ride. I really hate doing this; there is nothing worse than some mooch snatching you from the jaws of sleep and a warm, comfy bed to ask if you can drive him someplace YOU don't have to be. Sigh. I need a pumpkin!
The W:tA game didn't happen last night, because one of our players (*coughcough*THETOBY*cough*) didn't know whether or not to be here and couldn't get a hold of Arlekin and decided to make himself designated driver for someone else. Instead, Arlekin and I drank coffee and listened to Tom Waits while playing Go under colored light bulbs. It was so bohemian I'm sure Ewan MacGregor was puking somewhere.
Go is a very interesting game, and I'd like to play it more often. The trouble is that it's never as simple as it sounds. I've read maybe two or three different "This is how to play Go" manuals in my life and they're always saying something different. On the box that comes with my board, the way to win is by counting the number of empty squares you have surrounded and subtract the number of prisoners you've lost. Not sure if that's official uber-Japanese canon or what, so I'll have to do a bit more research. Also, capturing pieces around the edges is a little gray; aren't there situations in which pieces can work themselves into a stalemate around the edges?
Anyway, Arlekin told me it's apparently bad strategy to clump pieces together right from the start, but that's the way I learned how to play. Make strong chains that can defend themselves well and build from there. Apparently, though, you're supposed to make broad and sweeping strokes by placing stones all arounfd the board to claim territory. Then you link them together. This, however, strikes me as slightly impractical. In my old age, I'm becoming more and more of an Earth-based person. Elementally, I mean.
Perhaps because I'm reading The Art of War at the moment, I'm becoming more and more interested in games of strategy, like Go and chess. Nick, a friend and neighbor if ever there was one, came over Friday night and kept me up until 2 in the morning to play chess and babble incoherently at each other while drinking excessively. It was actually pretty cool. :) My body is telling me, though, "Please don't do that again."
I'm still working through the Historical Background portion of the book, by the way. Sun Tzu's writings don't actually start until about 170 pages in...which is neat. The translator (a Richard D. Sawyer) takes much care in making sure that the context and history is well understood before you get into anything, which I appreciate. He says in his preface that he aims to make this translation easily grasped by the layman, but to me it's just an indication of how out-of-touch with laymen academics really are. ;) It's been a little while since I've read anything in a scholarly context so it's slow going. That's all right, though; I'd rather take three months to read and understand it than breeze through it and not retain a thing.
Sawyer makes an interesting point about Virtue vs. virtue ('te' -- suddenly "The Te of Piglet" is a much more attractive title). Virtue-with-a-capital-V can only be obtained after performing virtuous deeds so often, letting virtue sink in and become habit, then nature. It's not wrapped up in the practice of meaningless rituals and formalities (a Taoist remark, I'm sure), but just doing the right thing because it comes naturally. If you do something virtuous to get something out of it, true Virtue will never be attained; it's virtue that you don't have to think about, that's reflexive as breathing. A person who's achieved this state retains a certain air about him that gives him a natural...authority. I think that's what makes someone like, say, Albus Dumbledore such an attractive fellow: he has Virtue in spades.
So! Werewolf tonight instead, and since I don't have to work tomorrow I can stretch the ending a little later than otherwise. Arlekin is very happy about this, and so am I. I just hope I don't start flaming out around midnight anyway. :)
Went to go see "Harry Potter" and/or "Walk the Line" last night, but all shows were sold out. It's playing at the Razorback 6, and the theatre was absolutely *packed*. Cars were circling around the lot like sharks, searching for chum (or parking spaces). It was pretty insane. "Jarhead" is playing there, too, and that had tickets...but we were 20 minutes after start for it and there was apparently no heating in that theatre. Mmm, gotta love buskety Arkansas movie theatres!
Work was all right, but hard yesterday; I got a lot of Theology and really good Religion (which, honestly, I don't mind) and I had to make room for it. So, I spent the entire day culling Children's Religious Books (the highlight of my *week* -- I got to take out all the pathetically old and/or brainwashy stuff), putting Christian Science in a box to rot at the end of the aisle, and organizing Denominational books so I can fit Ancient Religion on the other side of the aisle. It took all day, but it's worth it and I'm proud. With the new scheme, Jehovah's Witnesses books are right next to Humanism, which I find amusing -- though not in the meanish "Heh, Witnesses are goobers" way. I can imagine a little old lady from a nearby Kingdom Hall whooping up on a milquetoast atheist guy in the aisle any day of the week. ;)
Anyway, today means I actually have to *stretch* Theology so I can put all the books I've gotten there on the shelf. Normally, this wouldn't be too big a deal, but Saturdays are notoriously busy and Charles and Don'll need my help up front more often than not. My only hope is to attack it early. So here I go. Hopefully Virginia's already awake.
(*) -- Welcome to the Footnote at the bottom of the entry! Way up there, the author made a remark about a Keane impersonation thing that you probably won't get unless you've heard Keane. One of the more endearing/annoying traits about the lead singer is that he wheezes every time he inhales between lines. It's not as jarring as one might think, but since cat allergies make the author short of breath, he can manage the exact tone and pitch of various wheezes almost exactly now. There you have it; now that the joke is explained, it is officially dead. Move along, nothing but a chalk outline to see here.
