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An Update on Yale and a Confession
2008-06-07 09:55:00 A few of my friends on Facebook have asked me about this. I figured that you, Xanga friends, might want some clarity of the subject of my going to Yale as well. I know that a few of you check this blog specifically to find out what happens with that. I don’t know what else I can possibly include in this longer-than-needed introduction, so I guess I’ll just flat out say it: I’m going to be a graduate student at Yale in the Fall!The scholarship issue worked out and I am now able to go. The only other thing is getting my student visa, which would normally not be much of a problem. The thing is, Belarus has practically shut down the US embassy in Minsk, so I now have to travel to Vilnius to apply for my visa. I hope I get it. In other news, I have a confession to make. Yesterday I listened to an audiobook. No, this isn’t the confession in and of itself. The title of the audiobook was “Sartre in 90 Min... More About: Update , Confession
On Being Post-Christian
2008-05-26 07:00:00 "I am a Western person, living in a post-Christian age, who has taken something with me from Christian thinkers, but who has rejected the Christian myth. Indeed I want to go a lot further than that. The myth is not neutral; it is highly dangerous. It is a brilliant, subtle, elaborate, male cultural projection, calculated to legitimise a patriarchal world and to enable men to find their way within it. We need to see it for what it is. But for myself I am a spiritual person, not an atheist. I am amazed at this 'other dimension of reality' in which there is; which allows healing, extra-sensory perception, and things to fall into place. I am quite clear there is an underlying goodness, beauty and order; that it is powerful, such that we can draw on it, while we are inter-related with it. I call that God."-- Daphne Hampson More About: Post
Oh Boy...
2008-05-23 07:52:00 In the last few weeks more strangers started recognizing that I'm a girl. Or so I thought until an older lady asked my twenty-four-year-old friend if I (a twenty-two-year-old girl) was her little son. Seriously?!
Chernobyl Anniversary
2008-04-27 10:16:00 Yesterday marked the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl catastrophe. On April 26, 1986, reactor number 4 at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded, contaminating large parts of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. About 60% of radioactive fallout landed on BelarusMy mom remembers that day. I was only a few months old. It was sunny, so we were outside for several hours. Suddenly, what looked like large grey dust particles started falling from the sky. My mom took me inside but didn't suspect anything as terrible as what had happened.The government of the Soviet Union refused to admit that the accident had occurred until the radiation levels set off alarms in Sweden. It was only then, more than 24 hours later, that the Soviet citizens were notified and investigations began.While my health hasn't been affected too much (that I know of... or yet), many of my peers and classmates suffered severe consequences of the tragedy. Over 336,000 people had to be evacuated and resettled. Among t... More About: Anniversary
While We Are on the Subject of Beer
2008-04-26 04:52:00 [via i Thought, therefore i Blog] More About: Beer , Subject
Thesis Defense and Beer
2008-04-19 08:52:00 My thesis defense went well today. Sort of.I couldn't do it without somehow goofing up. So, when explaining the symbolism behind the four monsters in Daniel 7, I said, "Scholars associate the lion with Neo-Babylonia, the BEER with Media, the leopard with Persia, and the nameless monster with Greece starting with the reign of Alexander the Great."The beer... Rily, Suzanna, rily?I corrected myself and said, "The BEAR, not the beer." After the giggles quieted down, I continued. I'm actually surprised that I managed to keep a straight face after that.The rest of it seemed to go well as I tried to avoid mentioning other alcoholic beverages in the presentation that dealt with apocalyptic literature in the Bible.P.S. For all you virtual friends out there, no, my eyes don't actually always look like that. I was trying to look excited/stressed out in the picture. Either that, or I had too much beer before my presentation. More About: Beer , Defense
I'm Done, Therefore I Blog
2008-04-13 09:06:00 I've finally finished writing my thesis. There is still editing and minor corrections that need to happen, but at least I finally have the whole thing written. Yay me!Here's a rant for you.What's up with people saying, "No offense to [Joe], but [Jane] could do so much better?" What do you mean, "no offense?" It must be offensive to Joe to find out that you think that Jane could do better than him! It's that simple. I'm all for freedom of expressing your opinions, but if you are going to do it, then don't try to cover it up with false humility.Here's another one: "I'm not saying that these people are wrong, but [insert something that clearly expresses that you think that "these people" are wrong]." Again, feel free to express your opinions, but in doing that, don't try to create a false sense of tolerance in your expressions. You must think that "these people" are wrong. Otherwise, you wouldn't have an opinion that directly contradicts theirs. Sure, you may chang... More About: Blog
Umbrella
2008-04-06 07:19:00 Like a crippled beggar on an empty street,My past creeps up on meAnd disturbs my peacefulness,My prayer. It forces me out of my fort into the rainWhere I stand with my umbrellaTalking with my neighbor. My umbrella has holes in it.(I never believed in their usefulness anywayAnd haven’t bought a new oneIn eight years.) The rain falls on my face,Ruining my make-up.(I started wearing make-up when I wasTwenty-four.) And the umbrella of my nauseous mindFails to cover the empty holesOf our conversation.My brain is soaking wet with rain. The neighbor has to go.Her daughter is waiting at home,Expecting warm pastries and the cherry juiceShe requested. Nothing has changed. Nothing ever changes.I’m older and I’m wearing make-up, trying to hideBeneath the useless torn umbrellaOf my mind. More About: Umbrella
"If I'm Not Hugging Ya, Don't Stand Close Enough For Me To Hug Ya!"
2008-04-03 04:11:00 Can this somehow be incorporated into the national emblems of both Belarus and Lithuania? Please?![via Natalie Dee, of course] More About: Close , Stand , Hugging
Life Before Death
2008-04-01 18:04:00 22 Portraits of People Taken Before and After They DiedAll of these people knew they were going to die. What they chose to do and say in the time they had left is fascinating. So be sure to read the little blurb on the right about each photograph/person. The Guardian provides the following description of the project:This sombre series of portraits taken of people before and after they had died is a challenging and poignant study. The work by German photographer Walter Schels and his partner Beate Lakotta, who recorded interviews with the subjects in their final days, reveals much about dying - and living.[via Dooce] More About: Life , Death
An Unexpected Inspirational Message
2008-03-23 08:49:00 I open ramen noodles. Out pops this little thingy with an inscrption in several languages. In English, it reads: "Spicery is up to everyone's taste!"At first, I am puzzled. Just what exactly is "spicery?" How can it be up to "everyone's taste?" And why is there an exclamation point at the end of this sentence? To make me excited to eat, I suppose... But also to emphasize that I am free to eat my ramen noodles any way I want. How encouraging! Who knew that ramen noodles could change my day just like that. This, I have decided, will be my new life motto:SPICERY IS UP TO EVERYONE'S TASTE!(I spell it in all capital letters to make it more dramatic.)So, enjoy whatever food you might consume today. And know that ways in which you can eat it are endless! More About: Inspirational , Message
Yale
2008-03-14 04:08:00 Received this morning:Dear Suzanna:On behalf of the Admissions Committee, I am pleased to inform you that your application to the MARc Women's/Gender/Sexuality degree program at Yale Divinity School has been accepted.Eeeehaw!
21 Accents
2008-03-04 09:55:00 This is pretty sweet. 21 accents in 2 minutes 30 seconds. (via kottke.org)
News Values
2008-03-04 06:54:00 While discussing news values in Journalism class...Student A: What do you mean, trends? Like fashion?Professor: Yes, fashion, style, or crime trends.Suzanna: Or fashion crime trends... More About: News , Values
Ellen DeGeneres Discusses The Recent Tragic Death
2008-03-01 03:58:00 On February 12th, an openly gay fifteen-year-old eighth-grader was shot in the head by his classmate. Lawrence "Larry" King was declared brain dead the following day. He was taken off life support the day after that, on February 14th. Brandon David McInerney, Larry's classmate, was charged with premeditated murder with hate-crime and firearm-use enhancements. Several classmates have said that ever since coming out, Larry would occasionally dress in a "feminine" manner and was often subject to teasing and bullying.This is not okay.Here's what Ellen DeGeneres has to say on the issue. She took time to remember Larry on her show and to communicate an important message.An excerpt from the transcript:...I need to talk to you about something that's really serious and really sad and if you know me, it's hard to talk about sad stuff without getting emotional but this is really important to talk about. On February 12th an openly gay 15-year-old boy named L... More About: Ellen Degeneres , Tragic , Death , Recent
Poll Results
2008-02-24 03:41:00 Question: Would you wear jeans with a patched hole on the butt? Answer answer distribution (%) 1. I'm wearing a pair of patched butt hole jeans right now! 17% 2. Yes. 33% 3. Only if I had no money to buy new jeans. 25% 4. No way! How embarrassing! 25% Thanks to those three of you who took the poll. The results are different from what I expected to see. I guess the poll failed to prove my point about patched hole jeans... Oh well.P.S. To the two of you who were wearing patched hole jeans when you took the poll... Seriously, I'll take you shopping. Just please, get rid of those jeans! More About: Results , Poll
Please Take This Poll!
2008-02-20 03:45:00 Would you wear jeans with a patched hole on the butt? ; ; I'm wearing a pair of patched butt hole jeans right now! ; ; Yes. ; ; Only if I had no money to buy new jeans. ; ; No way! How embarassing! ; view resultsFree vote poll More About: Poll
Not Three Entries on a Holiday I Hate!
2008-02-15 01:26:00 I know the stupid holiday is over, at least on this continent, but I couldn't resist posting this:After this, I trust you, Juliet! You can find more Valentine's e-cards on abc's website. More About: Holiday , Hate
Anti-Valentine's
2008-02-14 11:39:00 If Valentine's meant a day off, I would maybe be neutral towards it. Since it's not, I'm very much against it.Here's Jessica Hagy's "indexed" look at the holiday: Be sure to check out Jessica's web-site on which she makes sense of many more things with wit and creativity. More About: Anti
Wanna Have Her Babies!
2008-02-13 02:51:00 Florist refuses to sell red roses on Valentine's. Srsly.Her reasons:1. Roses are too expensive. The customers are getting ripped off.2. Valentine's has become too commercialized.My reasons:1. Roses are ugly and cheesy.3. Valentine's is stupid. More About: Babies
Pre-Super-Tuesday Cartoon
2008-02-04 17:28:00 [Via Natalie Dee] More About: Cartoon , Super , Tuesday , Super Tuesday
Saturday, February 02, 2008
2008-02-02 06:41:00 The Reverend Russell Rathbun has the following critique of the Evangelical Hermeneutic. He suggests that this is how Evangelicals read the Bible:1. It is about me. Whatever the book, be it Pentateuch, prophets, psalms, gospel or epistle—it is talking about me. 2. It tells me what to do or what not to do. An action is required on my part. My ability to do or not to do what the bible tells me is equal to my goodness or wickedness. 3. It condemns those that are different from me. People who are non-Christian (those who freely admit their lack of faith or worse profess a false faith) or unchristian (people who say they are Christian but demonstrate their lack of salvation by their actions, whether it be thinking premarital sex is not bad or going to an Episcopal church). 4. It implies the opposite. Every pronouncement of grace points to my own condemnation if I fail. Every promise is a threat. Everything that God does, reveals what I must ... More About: Saturday , February , 2008
So True!
2008-01-27 04:58:00 ...Other than the fact that I'm not a 50-year-old grey-haired dude who uses a type-writer. Link More About: True
There Is Something Serioulsy Wrong With Christians
2008-01-23 09:18:00 Image via Good As You. More About: Christians , Wrong
There Is Something Seriously Wrong With Christians
2008-01-23 09:18:00 Image via Good As You. More About: Christians , Wrong
Beta Tea
2008-01-06 15:16:00 I was going to have some tea but then decided against it since, apparently, whoever produced it are not quite finished with the product development and the latest version that is available for sale is still in its beta, testing stage. More About: Beta
Women's Products
2008-01-06 09:57:00 The other day, I was buying something from a little kiosk and the salesperson called me "young lady." Now, I was wearing a hat that covered half of my face while the other, lower half was buried in my coat. How did she know I was a girl, you ask?! It may have had to do with the fact that I was buying something that only women use... as far as I know, anyway. More About: Products
TV
2007-12-30 08:22:00 In Belarus, as in most ex-Soviet countries, there is one main official news program. It's nothing like CNN which gets its own channel. Rather, they have fifteen-minute-long little shows a couple of times a day and then one long show in the evening. Being the kind of country that we are, the news mostly consist of the president's itinerary for that day, a report on our successful and ever-blossoming economy and a few hints at how sucky the rest of the world is. As it's getting closer to New Year's though, at the end of every show, they've been doing a segment on how to dress and what accessories to wear at New Year's parties. Is this normal?So, the news announcers will say stuff like, "The Rat (referring to the Eastern calendar sign of this coming year) likes brown, grey, and white tones. It prefers few accessories. Women should pay particular attention to the way they smell. It is essential that you have nuts at your party." Blah-blah-blah, whatever they say.First of all, as f...
Theology
More articles from this author:2007-12-15 09:09:00 "Unless Moses comes down with two stone tablets from Brokeback Mountain to tell us something different, we need to keep that understanding of marriage." --Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee bragging to a group of right-wing extremists that he has the toughest position against gay marriage of any candidate. (via The Bilerico Project) "Unless Paul writes an email to tell me that slavery is inhumane, I need to keep my slaves." --Suzanna Krivulskaya More About: Theology , Theo 1, 2, 3 |
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