if life be a war

it seemed my duty to conduct it single-handedly. — villette, charlotte bronte. genna. the city on a hill. archivist, grad student, writer, activist, curmudgeon.

[hostilities]

I keep getting new follower notifications, but this blog is no longer being updated.

So thanks for following, but I'm not here.  My libraries/archives/history blog is Cartulary and the pop culture blog I keep with HH is Bright, Shiny, & Overrated.  Neither of them are primary accounts so unfortunately they cannot follow you back.

You're also welcome to follow my Twitter.

[hostilities]

'bout that time, eh, chaps?

I really can't do this anymore, or for awhile at least.  I don't know.  It's getting unhealthy.  I have lovely chats with a few of you and find some great stuff on my dash, but I also need to grow the fuck up and experience real life once in awhile.

After all, I started posting on Tumblr in summer 2010 because I needed an outlet for hating my job and I was obsessed with Zeba's blog (and now we're friends!). Two and a half years ago I lived in a city where I didn't know anyone and had just lost several family members, so I was not particularly interested in leaving my house.  Now I'm a grad student, older than I expected to be at this sorry stage in my life, and I'm not going to find my way to better things by reloading my dash in a desperate attempt for human contact when most of you have gone to bed or gone outside.

If you want to stay in contact with me in a way that is less detrimental to my well-being than Tumblr, check this post.  I also probably want to be Facebook friends with you - I already am with a couple of you and you all know my news feed could stand to be livened - because I'd rather interact with my friends from here as real people instead of as "followers."  Let me know and we'll work that out.

Cartulary will stay running, by the way.  I've queued it up for a couple of weeks and will keep it active after that.

Anyway.

Ciao.

[imgoverdose]

[hostilities]

The animal handlers at the oregon zoo took chendra around to meet some of the other animals one day before the zoo opened. the sea lions were her favorite! 

I cannot express how much I love elephants.

[hostilities]

I spend just about every evening from dinnertime to midnight trying to feel better and usually failing.  Obviously I didn't want to stay working at the law school, and I am pleased that I have met so many wonderful people here, but in a lot of ways I wish I hadn't gone back to school or moved to a city that I don't much like.  I put my life on hold for education and career.  Again.  And I don't even know if this is the career I want anymore.

I need to be cheered up, but on a long-term basis.

[dromenvanger]

Photography by Anna Beeke

[hostilities]

I really love the whole "Sylvania" series.

[peepshowcaps]

[hostilities]

This scene prompted HH & I to coin the term "crack Frisbee" for a stupid idea that nevertheless brainwashes people into chasing it.

[hostilities]

Took an hour nap at 7pm. It is only Day 3 of the semester.

[hostilities]

I am strangely resistant to getting addicted to this site, and the people I'm following appear to be obsessed with weddings.

[hostilities]

my mom: why I occasionally have nice things

She bought me that dress I posted a couple days ago and had it shipped to my apartment.

[hostilities]

Depeche Mode, "I Feel You," O2 Festival 2006

My Youtubing was out of control this morning.  

That guitar riff got the entire festival pregnant.

[accidieux]

[hostilities]

What price singledom? Try a million dollars.

Yep. Beyond the indignities of bridesmaid dresses and hastily hatched setups by well-meaning married friends, it seems that being single has become a luxury. That's according to an analysis of U.S. Federal Tax Code published in the Atlantic on Monday, which finds singles are at a disadvantage, financially, over a lifetime. 

[thepenguinpress]

This man found a signed copy of Frankenstein in his grandfather’s old library. (He received at least $500,000 at auction for it.)

[hostilities]

I'm sad that this went to a private collector but a little relieved that the buyer will allow this gem to be exhibited to the public.

[hostilities]

wooo I got the job!

Thanks for the well-wishing before my interview.  I want to awkwardly hug all of you.

[hostilities]

some gibberish about writing

I love my novel and the people in it more than I can say.  It's difficult and painful to write, but so satisfying.  Right now it is 94 pages and a bit over 30,000 words. Not bad for the product of an undergraduate novel writing class I took while I was working in order to pass the time and because the university would pay my tuition.

Hopefully this year I can get back on a schedule and finish it so I can write back to Justin Tussing to let him know that I actually finished what I started in his class.  My excerpt, the first 20 pages, was one of the first we workshopped and he complimented its "elegant structures." I'll never forget that, and I'm grateful that I have something meaningful in this piece of work.  Sometimes I feel quite alone in the world and like I don't have much to show for the things I've done in my life, but I have this.  I created this.

[somanypetals]

Then grab your gun and bring in the cat.

[hostilities]

sobbing

[so-treu]

The power to narrate, or to block other narratives from forming and emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism, and constitutes one of the main connections between them.

Edward Said