tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56084292011-09-04T06:41:28.207-07:00from the PhD end game to life in the real worldPhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.comBlogger2091100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1112303327406215572005-03-31T13:00:00.000-08:002005-03-31T13:08:47.406-08:00

When the Brain was finishing his master's he developed a bit of a twitch right under his left eye. You would be talking to him and all of the sudden a fluttering flurry would take over distracting you from his always engaging conversation. Perhaps all of his stress was understandable. We got married, he finished and defended his master's and we packed up everything we owned to move to India

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com132tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1111632732150526272005-03-23T18:37:00.000-08:002005-03-23T18:55:07.186-08:00

"If it walks like apocalypse. If itsquawks like armageddon.If it stalks the earth like anaphylactic parturition."It may soound like it, but this ain't your childhood Dennis Lee. Not at all. In UN, his latest book of adult poetry, Lee takes a deep look into our collective heart of darkness. But he does so with 'wild unpredictable energy in the language imparted a kind of vital dance to the

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1111541496253348812005-03-22T17:17:00.000-08:002005-03-22T17:31:36.256-08:00

I am a good global citizen, or at least try to be. I listen to the radio, watch the news, keep up the current events. But i am not afraid to tell you that this sometimes feels like an exercise in hitting my head against the wall. Right now (north) American media seems obsessed with a Florida woman's right to life/death. Sending this issue to Congress and letting Bush and his cronies mull

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1111005035830026142005-03-16T12:19:00.000-08:002005-03-16T12:30:35.830-08:00

Just moments ago Justice Ian Bruce Josephson delivered a not guilty verdict against Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of murdering 329 people in the 1985 Air India bombing case. Though the judge seemed to accept the Crown's theory that there was a conspiracy to bring down Air India flights, he found that the accuseds could not be directly linked to the bombings. After five

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1110475312428536402005-03-10T09:12:00.000-08:002005-03-10T09:21:52.430-08:00

The Grey Sweatsuit Revolution. Now this is a revolution i could really get behind. In their manifesto, the Grey Sweatsuit Collective opineThe battle against fashion needs to be fought differently. We cannot simply dress weirder than the mainstream in an attempt dull our sense of complicity with western consumer society. ...The grey sweatsuit is our Trojan horse. We create a street trend, a

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1110234481114142042005-03-07T14:14:00.000-08:002005-03-07T14:28:01.116-08:00

Matchmaker MatchmakerMake me a matchFind me a findCatch me a catch... Oh yeah, and i am going to the Upper East Side.Ahmed Ibrahim, a NYC cab driver, will do more than just get you to your destination, he may also find you a potential mate!! This 50 year old cabbie takes his job very seriously. If he feels you are an eligible single - that is intelligent, gainfully employed and at least a

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1109537650447255272005-02-27T12:47:00.000-08:002005-02-27T12:54:10.450-08:00

Gentle Readers, patience please while i ruminate on my personal pigeon problems. In December we moved into a lovely little condo. It was perfect in every way, but especially because it has a fairly decent sized patio. I could see all of my urban garden dreams coming true. What i didn't anticipate was pigeons. Yuck. Our perfect little patio fills up with bird guano almost instantly, while

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com88tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1109189234808103922005-02-23T11:53:00.000-08:002005-02-23T12:11:58.043-08:00

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that i am addicted toCBC Overnight, public radio of the highest quality from around the world. The things an insomniac can learn in a sleepless stupor is truly amazing!Last night i heard about Karma Kabs(you must go to their website) for the first time. This London based cab company has taken old Ambassadors and refurbished them in funky style. Their

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1109099912455219792005-02-22T10:55:00.000-08:002005-02-22T11:18:32.456-08:00

Currently i am reading Maximum City by Suketu Mehta. Half way through the book i give it a provisional thumbs up. The first essay in the collection on Bombay tells us about his early memories of the city and the ecstasy and pitfalls of returning after years in America. In it he has some wonderful turns of phrases - 'traveling back on music, the cheapest airline' or 'Home is not a consumable

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1109043963993873862005-02-21T19:24:00.000-08:002005-02-21T19:46:03.996-08:00

The last two posts were really just preamble to what i originally meant to write about - what i've been reading lately. As serendipity would have it, in the days leading up to the big wedding in Toronto i was reading a book that was also centered around a south Indian muslim wedding, Madras on Rainy Days by Samina Ali. It was kind of like reading a refresher course on muslim weddings, arranged

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com132tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1108750721536351072005-02-18T09:57:00.000-08:002005-02-18T10:18:41.540-08:00

So i left you begging for more just as the post-marriage games were to begin. Ah what fun. In more traditional arranged marriages these games are meant to give the happy couple a first chance at flirtation. A bucket filled with coloured water used as a battle ground to find each other's wedding rings. And oh my god, the chills sent up your spine as he brushes your hand for the first time!! I

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1108665820113764142005-02-17T10:24:00.000-08:002005-02-17T10:43:40.116-08:00

This past weekend i was at a south Indian Muslim wedding in TO. What a blast. Now i know that the multi-day affair paled in comparison to colossal celebration that would have taken place in Pannaikullam, but for a plain white bread girl like me it was pretty amazing.I arrived Wednesday evening and went straight to the bridal home for the mehendi. A couple of things went on here. First, the

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com106tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1108582542420148112005-02-16T11:26:00.000-08:002005-02-16T11:35:42.423-08:00

The Canadian flag has got to be one of the most recognizable flags in the world. I am saying this just because i am Canadian? Perhaps. But the fact remains that proud Canadians and ashamed Americans wear our flag on their backpacks as they travel the world. Yes, i too am guilty of this one act of patriotic excess. And it is nice when someone sees your flag and comments on something nice

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1106873462142102862005-01-27T16:30:00.000-08:002005-01-27T16:51:02.143-08:00

Well, if this is not the most exciting thing to happen in the book world for a long time, then i don't know what is. The Morning News, that literati inflected e-publication that is "black and white and read all over", has announced a Tournament of Books. This is not just another literary prize or Survivor style last book standing kind of thing (see Canada Reads). No, this harnesses the latent

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1106190551065933612005-01-19T18:44:00.000-08:002005-01-19T19:09:11.066-08:00

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better than Google Scholar, it does with Google Sanskrit. Creatively translating internet as antarajalam, Google Sanskrit is cute, but is it useful? I guess that remains to be seen, but if it eliminates some of the transliteration confusion when looking up Indic material, then i am all for it. Via Ryan I came across Sauvage Noble's very cool Google

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105839306441923212005-01-15T17:17:00.000-08:002005-01-15T17:35:06.440-08:00

Today i finally went and got my worm composter thanks to the inspiration of the Hippy Chick and Mary Quite Contrary. This is something that all apartment dwellers should have. It is like a composter only takes up much less room and uses worms to eat your garbage. Using one could reduce your waste by 30%!!I got mine through Vancouver's city farmer on Maple st. For just $25 you get $100 worth

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105689071584841382005-01-13T23:29:00.000-08:002005-01-13T23:51:11.583-08:00

*snaps* to once again to Amardeep for this great find!! For some reason University of California Press has put 400 books on line for free. A quick perusal of the list reveal that i already own an awful lot of University of California Press books, and some of my favorites are now available for anyone and everyone to read. First and most importantly, a book that probably changed the course of my

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105678607679510472005-01-13T20:40:00.000-08:002005-01-13T20:56:47.680-08:00

Whew, The Kite Runner is quite the novel. Stunningly beautiful and deeply disturbing. It is difficult to say whether or not i would recommend it to people. I know i would recommend it to some, but not everyone. It is a very heavy story, set in Kabul, about friendship and betrayal and the life long consequences of that betrayal. At about page 113, as i was sobbing, i seriously considered

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105503688273231822005-01-11T20:05:00.000-08:002005-01-11T20:21:28.273-08:00

Macbeth seems to be a popular movie theme of late. Not that i am complaining, it is one of those universally intriguing stories. Recently,Macbeth became the first sami (nordic language) language feature length film. And it sounds amazing. Filmed entirely at the Icehotel in northern Sweden, this version of Macbeth promises to be visually stunning. Though i guess since i am reliant on english

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105419245161731722005-01-10T20:47:00.000-08:002005-01-10T20:54:05.163-08:00

That's Indi as in Indian, not Indie. And that's Indian as in from India not First Nations, aboriginal etc.... So it's true, some of my favorite blogs have been nominated for IndiBloggies, the subcontenental version of the Bloggies, the cyber version of the Grammies .... Amardeep, hands down my favorite blogger, has been nominated in a number of categories. And Sepia Mutiny definately deserves

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105309111298767522005-01-09T14:00:00.000-08:002005-01-09T14:18:31.296-08:00

I finally saw the movie De-lovely, about Cole Prter's life. I really enjoyed it, though is seems that in general it recieved very mixed reviews by the crtitics. The story itself was framed in an interesting manner - a theatre production in which the director was the arch angel Gabriel, leading Cole through his life. A bit like the ghost of Christmas past, but i liked it. Particulrly comments

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105129845288372362005-01-07T13:19:00.000-08:002005-01-07T12:30:45.286-08:00

Over at Sepia Mutiny Manish has noted the disparity between the international film trailer for Bride and Prejudice and the American one. As a videsi with a bit of subcontental mania, i prefer the international trailer, though i have to agree that the American poster is more appealing. To read what Manish has to say, go here.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105080980503116012005-01-06T22:41:00.000-08:002005-01-06T22:56:20.503-08:00

One of the things i love about Vancouver is that it very rarely gets cold enough to snow here. Today it snowed. One day of snow every once in a while isn't so bad, but most Vancouverites loose their heads in snow. All driving skills seem to fly out the window and even public transportation seems to run at almost a standstill. All for a mere 5 cm of snow which fell over the course of about 7

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1105002056316932422005-01-06T01:54:00.000-08:002005-01-06T01:00:56.316-08:00

What is this world coming to? A mistake has clearly been made. i have been put on the roster for the Intramural Hockey All Stars game. This is clearly related to fact that i am theRock Dogs' top scorer - also a horrific mistake! I barely even ever touch the puck, let alone score a goal. But i guess i may as well bask in the glory while i can...

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1104887387692675412005-01-04T16:50:00.000-08:002005-01-04T17:09:47.693-08:00

Attention Vancouverites, Torontonians and Montrealers - there is a new way for you to experience your city's local history. Murmurs is a way for you to connect with the oral history of regular people in your city via a cell phone. At various locations in your city a green ear on a telephone pole will provide you with a phone number to call that will provide you with the history of that location

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1104874221691350482005-01-04T13:16:00.000-08:002005-01-04T13:30:21.690-08:00

About 12 years ago, on a train from Delhi to Calcutta, a young Indian man cared for a sick Canadian traveler. He didn't have to, he may not of wanted to, but knew that it was the right thing to do. Upon arriving in Calcutta the young man loaded the sick tourist into a taxi and gave him his contact information in case the illness persisted. The traveler recovered and the two became friends.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1104645113306990242005-01-01T21:40:00.000-08:002005-01-01T21:51:53.306-08:00

Well, the new year has come and gone and that means it is time for my vacation to end. That's right, any day now i am going to get back to work on the dreaded diss. But before i could reasonably move on the these bigger and better things, i had to finish up some Christmas reading. Just moments ago i put down CanLit chick Catherine Bush's latest novel, Claire's Head. Like her previous novel,

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1104400567022877732004-12-30T01:33:00.000-08:002004-12-30T01:56:07.023-08:00

My love affair with Bombay (not Mumbai) has recently been rekindled by The Death of Mr Love by Indra Sinha. This novel, woven around the scandolous Nanavati murder case that rocked 1950's Bombay high society, captures the pulse of the city unlike anything else i read in quite some time. I particular, Sinha's descriptions of Bombay in the monsoon brought back horrific/ hilarious memories of my

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1104300973996969202004-12-28T22:04:00.000-08:002004-12-28T22:16:13.996-08:00

Just before Christmas i finished reading Transmission by Hari Kunzru. I liked it a fair bit, but it was hardly the work of literature that his earlier novel, The Impressionist. In a way the two books could not have been more different. Transmission is set in the contemporary United States and chronicles the hardships of a young NRI computer programmer trying to make his way in silicon valley.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1102472777190546832004-12-07T18:17:00.000-08:002004-12-07T18:26:17.190-08:00

Yes, it has been a while since i have posted, but i think that is part of my newly envisioned blog - you never know when you will here from me. Right now i am on the middle of moving hell - packing. I cannot believe how much i have packed, and when i look around there is still so much more to go. When will it end i ask you. Me being me, ther are a ton of books to pack. No surprise there.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1101862455408987512004-11-30T16:35:00.000-08:002004-11-30T16:54:15.406-08:00

A little bit of Canadiana has passed away today with the death of Pierre Burton. Popular historian extraordinaire and prolific man of letters will be sadly missed by my family. Brother Blueberry has been a fan of Burton's since the tender age of six, when he realized that Pierre came on Global television at 6:30am, right before Hammy Hamster. Mama and Papa Bear's bookshelves are lined with

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1101428774147770442004-11-25T16:20:00.000-08:002004-11-25T16:26:14.146-08:00

and if you are still around, i hate to break it to you, but perhaps you lack a life. I mean come on, I haven't blogged since September, and yet my hits haven't really gone down that much. Not that they were anything to brag about to begin with. But i am back again at the urging of Silvergirl and Papa Twininnen. Yes, i have changed the name of the bog and i am currently working on a new colour

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1096311426845734052004-09-27T11:56:00.000-07:002004-09-27T11:57:06.846-07:00

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1096139467121066242004-09-25T11:55:00.000-07:002004-09-26T11:38:55.113-07:00

My dedication to the film fest has already started to waiver. I went to see two films the first night, but yesterday i didn't see any and today i am not seeing any. Hopefully i will be able to pick it up again for tomorrow, but, you know, sometimes other stuff just gets in the way. So first up, i went to see The People of Angkor, a French/Cambodian effort to give insight into the lives of

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1095981747672335842004-09-23T16:12:00.000-07:002004-09-23T16:22:27.673-07:00

Wow, there is so much going on in my life right now that i am a little overwhelmed!! and most of it is somewhat new. 1/ The Mad Scientist left this morning, so it is time to get down to some serious work!! About time, i would say. I haven't even looked at my dissertation in far too long. To help me get started my advisor has kindly volunteered me to present the first chapter (revised) of my

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1095658918221139742004-09-19T22:25:00.000-07:002004-09-19T22:41:58.223-07:00

The Mad Scientist is out visiting right now, and since the Brain is out of town, it is just us grrls left to our own devices. For someone like the Mad Scientist, no vaction is conplete without a challenge of some sort, so she has challenged us to see a movie everyday. So far we have hit three. First off was Garden State, written and directed by Zach Braff. Now this is a young film maker who we

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1095657917393084552004-09-19T22:05:00.000-07:002004-09-19T22:25:17.393-07:00

I used to think fall was among the worst seasons. Days get shorter, weather gets cooler, winter can't be far off. But when i really think about it. there are so many things about fall that i really like. As Amardeep so insightfully pointed out, September is like spring for geeks, nerds and other scholarly types. You get new note books and highlighters, even if you aren't starting a new

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1095189012586580782004-09-14T13:05:00.000-07:002004-09-14T12:10:12.586-07:00

Just a little warning here, DO NOT pick up Anne Marie MacDonald's latest The Way the Crow Flies unless you have alot of time on your hands to read. It is almost impossible to put down. I have been reading it everywhere ... even standing up on the bus! I am staying up far too late at night reading. Last night and the night before until 2AM. I don't want to say anything else, but the story is

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1094778215108603152004-09-09T17:50:00.000-07:002004-09-09T18:03:35.110-07:00

At Bumbershoot there was a really neat area for geeks and nerds. It was called Ink Spot, and basically it was just a big book fair with all sorts of Indie book publishers. I came across one press, Evil Twin Publications, that i really liked. Originally most of the books were written by one twin and illustrated by the other. Cool. After some speed reading in unlikely places (the Pixies

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1094757594012131962004-09-09T11:54:00.000-07:002004-09-09T12:19:54.013-07:00

Well, i've been so busy lately that i haven't had time to blog and i don't even know where to start. Well that's not true - i am going to start with Bumbershoot, which was amazing. Now i am sure that most people who went are still raving about the Pixies' show, but i am going to focus on some of the less pedestrian events that went on. One of the highlights was of course the mini film

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1094331257558755242004-09-04T13:45:00.000-07:002004-09-04T13:54:17.556-07:00

The start of school is just mere days away and as much as i like the first day of school i am still trying to prolong the summer the only way i know how - by having as much fun as possible!! Today's festivities include a rousing game of hockey courtesy of Russia and Canada at the world cup, followed by a birthday shindig for DJ Cool. Good food, drinks aplenty, and even better company. Then

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1094239689783100642004-09-03T13:09:00.000-07:002004-09-03T12:28:09.783-07:00

I finished reading SOMETHING ROTTEN by Jasper Fforde the other day. It was the final book in the Thursday Next series, and perhaps that's a good thing. I just didn't like it as much as the others. I felt that there weren't as many literary in jokes, or alternatively there were tons of them and i didn't get them! When i read THE EYRE AFFAIR, the first book in the series, it was the most

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1094075433658011842004-09-01T14:17:00.000-07:002004-09-01T14:50:33.656-07:00

Whew! I just read through the Vancouver International Film Festival's sneak preview guide, and it looks like another good year for film! I have already come up with a few must sees including a movie about a family temporarily living at Bamiyan, a short film on Edward Said and The Motorcycle diaries. Subcontinental fare includes another Tagore favChokher Bali, and Final Solution, dealing with

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093999310830679892004-08-31T17:30:00.000-07:002004-08-31T17:41:50.830-07:00

Heh heh heh, otis here. since the girl readABBIE the cat's blog she is letting me tipe too. i call it CLOG, not blog. Very tiring day today. two men with loud toys came and went in the my litter room. I was mad, so i followed. then they went under the sink and i know you're not supposed to do that and that it should only be attempted late at night but they did it anyways so iwent with them.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com48tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093981575010290062004-08-31T12:44:00.000-07:002004-08-31T12:46:15.010-07:00

The upside of being me is that i just remembered that my ID card was probably not in my wallet when it was stolen. So i went through the pockets of all of my coats and low and behold - there it was. Looks like i can go to Bumbershoot afterall.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093980879948315502004-08-31T12:22:00.000-07:002004-08-31T12:34:39.946-07:00

I find it utterly amazing how i don't learn from my mistakes. This is so typical of me that i am not even that mad at myself. For a couple of months now we have been planning to go down to Seattle for Bumbershoot with a bunch of friends. Now it is just a few days before we are supposed to leave and i have come to the conclusion that i don't have any ID to get across the border with. My ID

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093905290495095382004-08-30T15:32:00.000-07:002004-08-30T15:34:50.496-07:00

On Saturday the Brain and I saw a really great condo that we were considering putting on offer in on. Sunday we decided to take the plunge. Monday we found out that the condo doesn't allow cats. How depressing! This condo had everything we required and was nicer than we ever expected we could afford. But no cats!! Can we dress Otis up like a little boy and get away with it? Sigh.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093758932881478992004-08-28T22:52:00.000-07:002004-08-30T15:31:51.686-07:00

Well, in spite of the unexpected monsoon that hit our town the birthday BBQ was a success. Instead of going to the beach we had people over to our place, and even though our place is not laid out for a party it was pretty good. The little kids played well together and the fathers competed with each other over who's kid was cuter, more athletic, smarter and everything else.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093652480852869182004-08-27T17:10:00.000-07:002004-08-27T17:21:20.853-07:00

I am pretty sure my birthday bash is going to be a bust. It has rained for a week. I don't think it is going to clear and i have planned a lovely outdoor BBQ at the beach. When people ask about what we will do if it rains, i reply in an upbeat manner that it doesn't matter, we'll just have it at my place. Ha ha hmm. This idea sort of sucks because a) the layout of our apartment isn't really

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093546236267222942004-08-26T11:45:00.000-07:002004-08-26T11:50:36.266-07:00

Usually i love back to school. I get to buy all new notebooks and highlighters. But this year something is amiss. The Shoppers Drug Mart where i usually do my back to school shopping seems to have forgotten that it is back to school time. In the past they had row upon row of binders, pencil cases, pens and pencils. But this year, just a very meager selection. Have they forsaken back to

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093495090809492612004-08-25T21:18:00.000-07:002004-08-25T21:38:10.810-07:00

I just recently finished reading The Navigator of New York by Wayne Johnston. Now if you remember way back when, i did a brief review of Johnston's COLONY OF UNREQUITED DREAMS, and didn't really like it that much, though i did think it was pretty important in terms of CanLit. Well i liked NAVIGATOR much better. If nothing else the topic is more interesting - quest for the north pole, turn of

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093468079489915932004-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:002004-08-25T14:10:02.680-07:00

Yesterday i wrote a really great post, hit a random button and KA-PoW, it was gone. So now i am going to try to recreate that post, which never works, but here goes... Monday night i finally saw falling Angels, thanks to Pacific Cinematheque's presentation of Canada's Top Ten Films of 2003. Let me say from the outset that i really enjoyed it but couldn't help but feel that the book by Barbara

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093307505148359612004-08-23T17:29:00.000-07:002004-08-23T17:31:45.146-07:00

I found this amusing little tidbit over at Sharleen's blog. Very funny. 1. God had only one major publication. 2. It was in Hebrew. 3. It had no references. 4. It wasn't published in a refereed journal. 5. Some even doubt God wrote it alone. 6. It may be true that God created the world, but what has God done since then? 7. God's cooperative efforts have been quite limited. 8. The

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1093205487877450502004-08-22T12:58:00.000-07:002004-08-22T13:11:27.876-07:00

Yesterday it poured!! I can't think of a better day to go see a movie, so we went to see Maria Full Of Grace. Now i know that others have complained that it is a little bit slow in places, but i really liked it. And Metacritic gave it an 85. Pretty good. It is about a Columbian girl who decides to become a drug mule. It gives an inside view of why people do it and what they have to go

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092962465818671502004-08-19T17:40:00.000-07:002004-08-20T12:48:26.503-07:00

Pretty busy right now. VOR is in town. Here is a little survey i did to give you something to read. PhDivaLast Cigarette:neverLast Car Ride:Sunday on the way home from hockeyLast Kiss:Sunday at the airport, or do cat kisses count?Last Good Cry:About 6 weeks ago when i decided to drop out of the PhDLast Library Book:Academic or otherwise? Abercrombie, Thomas A. Pathways of Memory and Power:

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092813445029990652004-08-17T23:51:00.000-07:002004-08-18T00:17:25.030-07:00

While sitting here pondering my academic plight i came across a few fascinating/ startling articles on the Dead Thesis Society's research page. In particular, Frank Elgar's research focuses on the plight of graduate students in Canada. Here are a few decontextualized facts from an article he published in Dalhousie News: ... fewer than half of PhD students in Canada in the arts and social

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092810709225100932004-08-17T23:22:00.000-07:002004-08-17T23:31:49.226-07:00

The 3 day dissertation is not going well. In fact i think i may give up. In theory i think the 3 day dissertation is a good thing, but i just chose the wrong time to do it. The inlaws just left and Voice of Reason is coming late tomorrow night. mentally i am very much in vacation mode, and perhaps i should just concentrate on enjoying the summer because school starts again soon enough. i

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092791170165247802004-08-17T18:05:00.000-07:002004-08-17T18:06:10.166-07:00

No really, search me. I don't know if you have noticed, but now blogger has added a little search function at the top of the screen. So now you can search my blog. Pretty cool.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092717706879292782004-08-16T21:33:00.000-07:002004-08-16T21:41:46.880-07:00

Yes, the cola wars continue, but a new advesary has entered the arena - MECCA COLA. This time, however, Coke and Pepsi are not the only enemies. Mecca cola is trying to cash in on anti American sentiments in the Middle East by launching a cola that is 'against Americans and Zionists". If you ask me, this is some astute marketing. Where else is it available, you may ask. France for one, and

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092717107875626342004-08-16T21:28:00.000-07:002004-08-16T21:31:47.876-07:00

For those of you not in bloggerland, and i am speaking to one of you in particular, i thought this little rant would be of interest. Yes, push button publishing brings with it many a nasty little grammar or punctuation error. I too am guilty of these, but more often spelling errors ( i forget to spell check).

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092716760922194402004-08-16T21:22:00.000-07:002004-08-16T21:26:00.923-07:00

Well, today has been a bust as far as the 3 day Dissertation was concerned. I spent more time than i expected just getting my life together after the in-laws' visit. Not that they disrupted my life too much (otis has some different opinions on that), but usually i spend most of Sunday getting ready for the week ahead. It is not just the laundry and grocery shopping that normally get done, but

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-109245898519807212004-08-13T21:21:00.000-07:002004-08-13T21:49:45.196-07:00

Right now i am reading ANGELS AND DEMONS by Dan Brown. It is not as good as THE DA VINCI CODE, but i sort of suspected that going into it. The thing is, i believe i was destined to read it. Earlier this week i had talked to Papa Inlaw about it, and then when i went to the library yesterday it was just sitting there on the FAST READS shelf. Now i know that not everybody sees the FAST READS

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092336202173923062004-08-12T11:33:00.000-07:002004-08-12T11:43:22.173-07:00

So today i have to get down to some serious work! For the past two days i haven't been feeling that well. Really bad headache and overall blahness. I think i had the flu or something. I could not stay awake to save my life (or read a novel!). But i feel like i am back in the game now, and have to make up for lost time! I have to come up with a game plan for the great 3 day dissertation race

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092078893265291872004-08-09T11:55:00.000-07:002004-08-09T12:14:53.266-07:00

I just finished reading THE CRAZED by Ha Jin. This was the first one his books i have read and i quite enjoyed it. Its setting is a provincial university in China and in many ways focuses on the plight of 'intellectuals' both during the Cultural Revolution and in the 1980s. It is this point of view that made it quite interesting to me. And just as a short mental note, if i ever have to teach

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092028341017605572004-08-08T22:08:00.000-07:002004-08-08T22:12:21.016-07:00

This interesting little ditty comes to courtesy of the DECCAN HERALD via Living In India. The little rubber balloon is making waves, although, for all the wrong reasons. The condom is not serving the purpose it was originally designed to. It is, instead, being used to make — believe it or not— waterproof roofs and roads and Banarasi saris in Uttar Pradesh. According to a report prepared by

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1092027584076939502004-08-08T21:43:00.000-07:002004-08-08T21:59:44.076-07:00

Whew, i never knew that house hunting could be so exhausting!! The Brain and i walked all over the city today (well maybe not all over), going from open house to open house. But it wouldn't have been so tiring if the places hadn't been so lack lustre. We did not see one place we liked. And i am amazed at how poorly some suites are designed! Anyway, instead of being frustrated, i have decided

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091818654681948302004-08-06T11:49:00.000-07:002004-08-06T11:57:34.680-07:00

The Brain and i are entering the next exciting stage of our lives - we are going to become home owners. Well, maybe not immediately, but soon. Yesterday i talked to our real estate agent (it feels so weird to say that) and hopefully we will be looking at places this weekend. How exciting!! I am so excited at night that i can't sleep. And on a completely unrelated note... readership is up!!

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091662675442377632004-08-04T16:32:00.000-07:002004-08-04T16:37:55.443-07:00

What is it about politicians and blogs? First our very own Paul Martin had a blog that was voted 'Worst Canadian Blog' because he neglected to update it for months on end. And now America's Funniest Newsource, THE ONION comes along and publishes this little ditty, CIA asks Bush to Discontinue Blog. It's pretty funny. Especially if you enalrge the picture of the blog.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091646392978461142004-08-04T11:56:00.000-07:002004-08-04T12:06:32.976-07:00

I think i've come up with the dates for the 3 day dissertation contest - Aug 16, 17, 18. Now i know that these dates don't work for everyone, but i don't care because they work for me. You can do the contest whenever you want during August, as long as it is only three days. Actually if you get on a roll you can go for more than three days. After all the true reward of this whole endeavor is

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091576828385510212004-08-03T16:46:00.000-07:002004-08-03T16:52:50.340-07:00

Having problems understanding the up coming American elections and what the difference between Bush and Kerry really are? Ok, so you're not stupid. How about this... who among us doesn't love a catchy tune? You have got to check out This Land. If you're at work you may want to turn the volume down a little, but make sure you can still hear it. If you are at home, join in. I only wish they

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091489090142301152004-08-02T16:15:00.000-07:002004-08-02T16:24:50.143-07:00

Ahh, this weekend was fabulous. We went out to a cottage on Bowen Island - close enough to the city that you it only takes about an hour to get there, and yet so so far away. And we did nothing all weekend other relax, eat alot, swim a little. And considering the combined brain power of those in attendance, conversation was surprisingly absent of dissertation talk, though UXOs did pop up now

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091216306655808222004-07-30T12:34:00.000-07:002004-07-30T12:38:26.656-07:00

Today, once again, is an organizational day. Yesterday i was paralysed by the amount of material i have, so i think it's time to clear off my desk again so that at least i will have enough room to look at it all. And when that's done, i will probably spend the rest of the afternoon getting ready to go away for the weekend. Doing laundry, buying groceries, maybe even cook something in

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1091071827898960122004-07-28T20:20:00.000-07:002004-07-28T20:30:27.900-07:00

Met with my advisor today about my introduction. He loved it!! He said that normally he doesn't act this favorably towards first drafts. Usually he orders massive rewrites, but he was really pleased with mine. According to him i have "an excellent sense of structure". I tell you, it feels pretty good. Now if i can only harness this positive energy and get down to business. And on the

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090959188009854992004-07-27T12:53:00.000-07:002004-07-27T13:13:08.010-07:00

Om Puri, one of India's great actors, has just been awarded the Order of the British Empire for his contribution to British film. This seems a little odd to me. Yes, Om is a great actor, but to knight him? And i guess my problem is not so much with Om but with knighting actors, singers, etc in general. It makes me wonder what the criteria is. At one time i imagine it was for great heroics or

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090874342082999872004-07-26T13:16:00.000-07:002004-07-26T13:39:02.083-07:00

Last night i finally finished reading THE LITTLE FRIEND by Donna Tartt. I was so looking forward to reading it because i loved her previous book THE SECRET HISTORY. Unfortunately, our little friend did not live up to the reputation of her previous novel. Not to say that it was bad, just that it wasn't written with the same urgency. Her first novel i could not put down, her second one took me

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090814431294223592004-07-25T20:55:00.000-07:002004-07-25T21:00:31.296-07:00

Whew, i am fairly tired tonight, so i will keep this short. Just got home from my first night of hockey this year. Much better than last year. I am not the best, but i am not the worst either, just in the middle where i like to be. It is not actually a league that i am playing in right now, just a hockey school type thing - for girls and for beginners. Hopefully it will get me ready for

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090706902525852392004-07-24T14:58:00.000-07:002004-07-24T15:08:22.553-07:00

Not doctors, documentaries!! Toronto Star film critic Geoff Pevere came up with a list of must see documentaries that are available on DVD. I love docs so much that i will watch them even if they are on VHS! Anyways in the article he also taps into the rise in the popularity of documentaries. I may or may not disagree with what he has to say. But the rise in popularity of historical

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090621650719490292004-07-23T15:23:00.000-07:002004-07-23T15:27:30.720-07:00

I just had a weird little twilight zone moment. The temperature here and in Banaras was exactly the same, only it was night there and they have 100% humidity and we are only at 52% humidity. So blog readers everywhere, i am calling on you for help. by the end of August i should have more tomatoes than i know what to do with, so in an effort to preserve them, i am looking for a good salsa

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090371181620292812004-07-20T17:51:00.000-07:002004-07-20T17:53:33.956-07:00

... there were only little green tomatoes... and now there is one reddish one. A little cheery tomatoe that should be ready to eat tommorow or the day after. And there isone small cucumber that will ready tomorrow if all goes as planned.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090352443704813482004-07-20T12:31:00.000-07:002004-07-20T12:40:43.703-07:00

I know that my mom believes i live in a 'safe' neighbourhood, and that brings her great comfort. But i have to ask myself, what is it about my neighbourhood that makes it safe? Well, that obvious, it's the police presence. Seriously. About three time a week, between midnight and two, there will be at least one police car with its lights flashing within a block of our apartment. Guarenteed.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1090272755033186822004-07-19T14:20:00.000-07:002004-07-19T14:49:02.373-07:00

Today i am having a really India feeling day.  It is hot here (i know it's not India hot, or even Ontario hot for that matter, but for us westcoasters it is hot), so as i sit here doing a translation from old Hindi with the fan on, i feel sort of like i am back in Banaras*.  I have a cold glass of water and weights holding down my papers so they don't fly away.  The major difference is that if i

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089946372215953092004-07-15T19:41:00.000-07:002004-07-15T19:54:03.013-07:00

Well, to be perfectly honest, it is growing very well.  A little bit too well, if you know what i mean!  I don't know how this has happened, but somehow the garden has exploded into something that is more than i can handle.  The squash is taking over everything, including my now dead broccoli seedlings, and one of my tomatoes is growing massively.  I have five foot stakes holding it up, but if it

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089850103673913632004-07-14T17:02:00.000-07:002004-07-14T17:08:23.673-07:00

I've said it before and i will say it again. Organization is key to the timely completion of a dissertation! Yes, it's true. I spent far too long today looking for a translation that i knew i had somewhere in my office, but just where exactly? After looking in all of the logical places (ha ha), i finally looked at the mass of what i like to call 'documents' that are on the floor near the

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089752445260189252004-07-13T14:00:00.000-07:002004-07-13T14:15:47.680-07:00

Today in the Chronicle there was an article about PhD Camps. Sounds great, sign me up! One week of intensive and highly structured writing. Food, coffee and whatever ever other nibblies you need are supplied, as well as a few knowledgeable counselors to guide you in your writing hell. Check it out.

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089694619352986362004-07-12T21:53:00.000-07:002004-07-12T21:58:06.086-07:00

Yes, yes, another new layout. i don't know what is up with me. I think i am restless. Some people rearrange furniture, but i find that redecorating my blog is much easier on the back. And yes, it will continue to change over the next few days, but on the whole i don't plan to mess too much with this colour scheme. The black on white is a little black on white, if you know what i am sayin',

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089661816396106812004-07-12T12:44:00.000-07:002004-07-12T12:50:16.396-07:00

Okay, so here's the situation. The PhD and i broke up. I got rid of all that nasty PhD stuff (library books) and started to clean my office. And then ... after the feeling of liberation for a few days, i began to miss the PhD. Anyone who has done one knows that rarely an hour passes by when you do not think of it. Maybe if i put this into chapter 1 instead of waiting until chapter 3... what

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089596088928494332004-07-11T18:27:00.000-07:002004-07-11T22:06:17.103-07:00

So fellow summer readers, what have you been reading lately? My favorite recent read is THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG AT NIGHT TIME by Mark Haddon. The hype surrounding this book has been huge and usually that puts me off a book, but this time it was dead on. As you've probably heard, it is a story told by a 15 year old autistic teenager about the incident of the dog at night time. The true

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089337899955054502004-07-08T18:35:00.000-07:002004-07-08T18:51:39.956-07:00

Last night we had the pleasure of hosting two of our friends for dinner. It was their first time at our house, so we wanted to give a good impression - we cooked, we cleaned, we went the whole nine yards!! It was a little unnerving because these two individuals are younger, hipper and better looking than we are, and we aren't entirely sure why they would want to hang out with us. As the

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089160050313090632004-07-06T17:22:00.000-07:002004-07-06T17:27:30.313-07:00

Sometimes i think we have a truly great landlord. Not only is he around a fair bit, but never in you face, he's a pleasant guy and he responds quickly to phone calls. Today we called about the tap in the kitchen and he showed up at our door step about half an hour later. Not only that, and this is part that is truly impressive, he worked quickly and diligently inspite of the fact that Otis the

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089094702904600792004-07-05T23:12:00.000-07:002004-07-06T17:16:32.136-07:00

To be PhinisheD or not to be PhinisheD, that is the question. Right now i am struggling with a descision about whether or not to finish the damn diss. Looking at it in all honesty i will not be finished in the fall, so can i gone with this misery? If so, for how long and will it be long enough. When i think about not having a diss in my life i feel absolutley free and happy, but with it in my

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1089009292656852592004-07-04T23:22:00.000-07:002004-07-04T23:35:25.400-07:00

This is just a little heads up for those in the city - some theatre you may not want to miss, or just a kind of cool idea. It is called SHAKESPEARE BARDATHON, and is being put on by SAVAGE GOD at Christ Church Cathedral at the corner of Burrard and Georgia. In thirteen days, from July 12 to 31, they will stage thirteen of the bard's plays. Unfortunetly they are not necessarily his thirteen

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088750504235108592004-07-01T23:30:00.000-07:002004-07-01T23:41:44.236-07:00

So i have given it some thought, and maybe i won't change the name of my blog. Ultimately it is not because so many of you said you liked the name, but because if figure if people out there in cyber space are already linked to me, it would do me no good to go and change on them, not that i was going to change the URL anyways. So i guess 'blogito ergo sum' is here to stay. Just in case you were

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088634726772747982004-06-30T15:23:00.000-07:002004-06-30T15:35:32.033-07:00

How do blogs become popular, i mean really popular? How do i get good buzz going around my blog? Since i have started my readership has gone down - not a good sign. I know that my mom for one and my partner in crime for another no longer read as faithfully as they once did, if they read it at all. Likewise a bunch of my friends on mat leave are no longer bored at the office and they don't

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088555763169614772004-06-29T17:28:00.000-07:002004-06-29T17:36:03.170-07:00

The thing i love about ignoring my garden for a couple of days is that when i go back out there so much has changed, and talk about exciting change. First, my broccolis are actually starting to produce flowerets!! This is very cool. Second, i have about 15 tomatoes starting to appear on my various tomato plants. But wait there's more...my mystery tomatoe is huge. Like four feet tall, or up

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088466273655459412004-06-28T16:33:00.000-07:002004-06-28T16:44:33.656-07:00

Today in the Chronicle of Higher Education there was a really interesting yet scary article called Is Graduate School a Cult? Eerie to say the least. Some interesting quotes include: "...that graduate school in the humanities indoctrinates its students into believing that they are failures if they do not remain inside the ivory tower, even if there are no suitable academic jobs for them." "

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088396825909844292004-06-27T21:19:00.000-07:002004-06-27T21:27:05.910-07:00

I am finally done reading OUR LADY OF THE LOST AND FOUND by Diane Schoemperlen. I didn't like it, though i found the premise intriguing: one day a woman walks in to find the Virgin Mary sitting in her living room, in need of a peaceful place to stay for a week. But the novel turns a little too didactic for my liking, laying out story upon story of Marian apparitions. And for the most part i

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088281186084334942004-06-26T12:52:00.000-07:002004-06-26T13:20:57.103-07:00

You know that Special K commercial on TV nowdays, advertising a free pedometer? Well, it worked. Because of their free give away (valued at $15!!) i went out and bought Special K (the cereal, not the pharmecutical). I did it mostly because i remember that in the documentary Super Size Me, Morgan said that the average American walks a paltry amount. I thought he said 2000 steps a day, but my

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088188847316391662004-06-25T11:26:00.000-07:002004-06-25T11:40:47.316-07:00

Monday and election day here in the Great White North. According to the media, there is a fair bit of voter apathy among people of our age group, that is the younger generation. I say it is time to prove the media wrong. Voting is our (not just our generation's, but everyone's)chance to make a difference. And yes, you vote does make a difference. I think that sometimes in a fairly peaceful

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1088110815085590112004-06-24T13:56:00.000-07:002004-06-24T14:00:15.086-07:00

I am thinking about changing the name of my blog. Blogito Ergo Sum seemed clever at first, but now i just don't like it. I want something that will draw people's attention. Make them interested. Anyways i am opening it up to mail in competition. Yes, you could enter in a name of your choice and it may be selected as blog name to end all other blog names. Sound exciting? But wait there's

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5608429.post-1087769331572889502004-06-20T15:05:00.000-07:002004-06-20T15:08:51.573-07:00

Shock and Awe!! My garden is awesome. The heat of the last two days has made it spring to life. It is growing like crazy. Tons of squash, peas will be ready in another day or two, tomatoes are starting to appear and i harvested more lettuce than we know what to do with today. Even my eggplants are doing well and they are notoriously hard to grow!

PhDivahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14353705555094647933noreply@blogger.com1