Sick today. That’s what I get for sleeping with the window open, I suppose. Also, stress from the past couple of days probably caught up with me and my body shut down after turning in the paper. The positive side to being stuck in bed today was that I got to catch up on some episodes of The Wire which is…just, wow. Such an amazing, well-acted, well-written, and shockingly realistic show. I also love the attention to detail. For example, the characters listen to real radio stations that are local to Baltimore and DC. It’s been recommended to me for years now and I just started watching it after final exams and I’m currently on the third season. If you haven’t gotten a chance to see it, I do strongly recommend it. More than anything, one of my passions is development policy and essentially the study of how to develop the infrastructure so that one can break free from the cycle of poverty, violence, and hopelessness. And it’s so easy to forget that development policy isn’t just an international thing that takes place in India or Honduras, but that it’s required right here in our cities. But that’s another discussion for another blog which will be up and running soon enough.
Also got to catch up on some fun reading. A friend recommended Patrick Rothfuss’ first novel, The Name of the Wind and I’m really impressed with it. I only started reading it this morning so I’m only about 150 pages into it, but I really like it so far. Rothfuss is getting lots of comparisons to Tolkein, and two of the three men who have demolished my ability to enjoy regular fiction: Umberto Eco and George R.R. Martin (the third guy is Neil Gaiman). Now, I’m only a little bit into this book and I wouldn’t put it anywhere near the Song of Ice and Fire series or The Name of the Rose but it’s certainly a fun read so far. Rothfuss has a good eye for detail and his sense of humor is a bit on the dry side, which I love. It reminds me a bit of Eddings’ asides in his Bel series, which I thoroughly enjoyed as a kid. I’ll come back with a more thorough review once I finish.
On today’s playlist:
Hallelujah The Hills – Nurses 5 Float Past
The Velvet Teen – Counting Backwards
Mika – My Interpretation
Down Dexter – Home Schooling
Gogol Bordello – Through The Roof ‘n’ Underground
The National – Green Gloves
Modest Mouse – Missed The Boat
Oh, and I really wish I could be more mature and respectful and…well, grown up about this…But she’s gorgeous, curses like a sailor apparently, intelligent as all hell, she’s got a fun accent and a dark sense of humor, and international news/policy is her thing. Be still, my heart: