so john proposed that we 'gridblog' about a book, or two, or three that we have read in the last little while. i think.
a few people have done that.. and because of that i have a longer list of books i want/need to read. thanks guys.
for me it has been a little slower year for reading for leisure since i entered the world of graduate studies. but i have managed to squeeze a few keepers in there. the one i am reading right now is called "a long way home. memoirs of a boy soldier" by ishmael beah.
8 chapters in and i am having trouble reading more than one chapter at a time. and often even one paragraph at a time. this is not because it is poorly written, or hard to get into, but this book is heavy. seriously. i dont really want to ruin it for the rest of you either, but i have never read something that is so hard hitting. not in a convicting way (yet).
he writes about his experiences in sierra leone during times of war and inner conflict in his country.
the words he uses and the pictures he paints are often more gruesome than any war movie i have ever seen. the things this guy has seen as a young child is unbelievable. seriously. i havent done it even a bit of justice, but check it out. it is good to know what kinds of things are happening on the other side of the globe. not only is awareness good, but also an honest and serious appreciation for the 'freedom' we have in our country. (yes i know that last line is cliche, but this is probably one of the first times, other than visiting india, that i have felt grateful for living in a safe place.)
anyway, check it out. let me know what you think.
27 September 2007
21 September 2007
watercolor on canvas
benj posted his new ink at http://strakers.wordpress.com/, so i thought id put mine up here too. the front of my right leg is mostly finished. might tie it into the back once i get more work done there. (for those of you not so quick out there, this picture is actually two pictures of the same leg from different angles so you can see the whole thing. )
13 September 2007
starting my new career..
tuesday afternoon i begin my teaching career. i have two lab sections to teach for Chem 332. the university general calendar give this explanation for the course:
"An introduction to transition metal chemistry including coordination geometry and stereochemistry, ligand field theory, and spectroscopic, magnetic and thermodynamic properties of inorganic compounds. The laboratory work includes experiments on the preparation and characterization of transition metal compounds."
should be an experience anyway. most of the time will be tied up in re-learning and sometimes learning for the first time what we will be doing each week in the lab. i hope ill be able to answer at least some of the questions that come up. im definitely going to learn a lot anyway...
"An introduction to transition metal chemistry including coordination geometry and stereochemistry, ligand field theory, and spectroscopic, magnetic and thermodynamic properties of inorganic compounds. The laboratory work includes experiments on the preparation and characterization of transition metal compounds."
should be an experience anyway. most of the time will be tied up in re-learning and sometimes learning for the first time what we will be doing each week in the lab. i hope ill be able to answer at least some of the questions that come up. im definitely going to learn a lot anyway...
10 September 2007
need i say more?
seriously. 4 US opens in a row. two grand slam titles away from Mr. Sampras. rewriting the record books everytime he steps on the court. rafael who?
04 September 2007
september long
saturday morning i headed out for a camping adventure with six super good friends from church. destination: some cabin north of lloydminster. to be honest, i was skeptical getting into the car. the drive was going to be long and what were we going to do for 3 days in a one room cabin with 7 people, no electricity, running water or tv to watch the US Open or Labour Day Classic?ouch!
we headed north of lloyd and turned east onto a grid road. 15 miles or so later, we turned south onto possibly one of the worst roads i have ever seen in my life. our poor little toyota echo bottomed out numerous times and the 3 of us in this vehicle just shook our heads. 10 minutes or so later on this road and we ended up at the cabin.
this view greeted us and over the few days we were there i found myself staring, thinking, listening and shaking my head. the view was amazing. surrounded by nature all on all sides. such an amazing getaway. almost too quiet at first became something that i am missing now. needless to say it was a good way to 'end' the summer and get back into a new semester at school. i often take my surroundings for granted and wish i was somewhere else. i was reminded this weekend why i love saskatchewan, that God makes some pretty amazing stuff and all a guy needs is a few pounds of bacon and some good friends to make a long weekend pretty sweet.
check out my flickr for a whole lot more pictures.
we headed north of lloyd and turned east onto a grid road. 15 miles or so later, we turned south onto possibly one of the worst roads i have ever seen in my life. our poor little toyota echo bottomed out numerous times and the 3 of us in this vehicle just shook our heads. 10 minutes or so later on this road and we ended up at the cabin.
this view greeted us and over the few days we were there i found myself staring, thinking, listening and shaking my head. the view was amazing. surrounded by nature all on all sides. such an amazing getaway. almost too quiet at first became something that i am missing now. needless to say it was a good way to 'end' the summer and get back into a new semester at school. i often take my surroundings for granted and wish i was somewhere else. i was reminded this weekend why i love saskatchewan, that God makes some pretty amazing stuff and all a guy needs is a few pounds of bacon and some good friends to make a long weekend pretty sweet.check out my flickr for a whole lot more pictures.
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