Racquetball

I played racquetball for the first time tonight. It's much more different from tennis than I expected. There's not as much chasing the ball . It's much more aggressive, and much less about finesse and aim. Finesse and aim are an important part of the game as you get better, but it's a much more accessible game to begin with.

And it's hard. It was good exercise, and the hour-and-a-half I spent playing went by rather quickly. I'll have to consider getting a membership to the gym for this game now.

Back in the Saddle Again

It's been awhile since I've blogged, so here's what I've been up to:

Reading (some): I've finished "Lord Hornblower" and "Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies," the final novels in the Horatio Hornblower series. Hornblower is an interesting hero for sure. I've started Michael Crichton's "State of Fear," and Stephen Donaldson's "The Mirror of Her Dreams."

I'm also reading several books on programming theory, as well as applying the new concepts I've learned in the past few months to my day-to-day work.

I just finished watching M. Night Shamylan's "The Village," which I thought was fairly interesting, but it didn't have the "gotcha" ending that his other movies have had, nor did it really end the story well. It was still an interesting watch though.

In music I'm looking forward to getting the new album from Tori Amos and the upcoming album from Mudvayne.

I'm supposed to be on spring break this week, but I'm a bit behind on some of my homework so I've been studying as well as trying to get all my other mess taken care of. Somewhere in this week I need to squeeze in learning to play racquetball with my friend J..

I've become an addict of the sci-fi channel's "Battlestar Galactica." If you haven't seen it, it's the best sci-fi program that's been on tv in years, (although I'm sure Ice Scribe would still prefer "Firefly.") I think I like a lot of sci-fi because it provides an interesting tapestry against which to explore philosophical and psychological issues. Sci-fi, more than any other genre, asks and answers the question "What would happen if..." Battlestar Galactica captures that spirit in spades while presenting a slew of heros who are both larger-than-life and down-to-earth. That's a hard tightrope to walk, but the writers for that show are doing it.

On Teamwork

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately
- Benjamin Franklin

Vanessa Renee

I've been listening to a lot of Vanessa Renee lately. Her second album is a much stronger effort, and many of the songs containt brilliant lyrics and emotionally evocative melodies.

My favorite song off her new album is "Candy" which has a lyric that I absolutely love: "All I want to know is who you are, when you're by yourself." She captures that feeling of trying to penetrate the facade that most people erect around their true self.

"Free" is also a fabulous song. It's about the desire to get away from it all for a little while and just relax in the mountains. That's a feeling I identify with pretty strongly right now. I want to rest!

"Some Girls" reminds me of the standard "Peel me a grape," but in reverse. Instead of telling her lover to do crazy things for her, she tells him that that may be what some girls want, but "all I want is you." The lyrics are highlighted by humor and alliteration.

Still, to listen to a Vaness Renee CD doesn't do her justice. To really appreciate her, you have to see her live. She tells these cute little stories between songs that draw you in and help you undestand the lyrics quicker. Actually, that's not really right--what she does with the stories is make you want to listen closely to the lyrics.

Stylistically, she's groping towards jazz. She's in an in-between Tori-Amos-Sarah-Mclachlan-Norah-Jones-Diana-Krall stage right now. That's not to take anything away from her though--as an artist she's found her voice. All that's left is to find her tune, if you follow me.

If I end up moving to Washington she will be something about the Greenville area that I sorely miss.

Still busy

I think I may have bitten off more than I can chew this semester. To paraphrase Kant, "I have found it necessary to limit accounting to make room for Physics." Tomorrow I have an accounting test for which I am woefully underprepared.

I'm not too worried about it though--worst case is that I have to work extra hard during the latter part of the term to bring my grade back up. I think I've hit my stride in Physics so that shouldn't be too much of a problem.