You may have heard that the UO football team went undefeated this year...there's a big championship game and blah blah blah. Good for them, good for us. Perhaps now that the sports funding has paid off, academics can win some popularity contests.
It's not that I don't have school spirit, but all of a sudden EVERYONE does. The Ducks are hotter than ever before and everyone needs a piece of merchandise. I went to get a cup of coffee at the student store yesterday and I could barely get through the door there were so many people queuing up to buy BCS paraphernalia. School's not even in session!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Filled with the spirit of...something...
"It is required of every man,that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellow-men, and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world-oh, woe is me!-and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness." - Dickens, A Christmas Carol
The holidays mean something different for everyone. For me it is generally an experience in trying to find a balance between loathing materialism and overindulgence in the joyous act of giving and receiving.
Also, taking a day to cook glorious amounts of food and be with Joe....to just be.
One of my favorite first lines of a book belongs to A Christmas Carol..."Marley was dead: to begin with"... Dickens is an absolutely brilliant writer and I think he captures it best when allowing the three ghosts to convince Scrooge that he should use his mind and body...his spirit, to the best of his ability. To savor life, to make and build rewarding friendships and to build a loving family. Frankly, I do not think it has anything to do with Christmas, it has to do with being alive and 'using well the days.'
Perhaps though, we need a gentle reminder; for some that is found in the celebration of the birth of Jesus, for others in the festival of lights, for others in choosing a noble fir and adorning it with baubles and other shiny things, even still, for others it is about the giving and receiving of gifts, or Chinese food or working a lousy shift at the movie theater...no matter which, the holidays are...in some way...sacred.
The holidays mean something different for everyone. For me it is generally an experience in trying to find a balance between loathing materialism and overindulgence in the joyous act of giving and receiving.
Also, taking a day to cook glorious amounts of food and be with Joe....to just be.
One of my favorite first lines of a book belongs to A Christmas Carol..."Marley was dead: to begin with"... Dickens is an absolutely brilliant writer and I think he captures it best when allowing the three ghosts to convince Scrooge that he should use his mind and body...his spirit, to the best of his ability. To savor life, to make and build rewarding friendships and to build a loving family. Frankly, I do not think it has anything to do with Christmas, it has to do with being alive and 'using well the days.'
Perhaps though, we need a gentle reminder; for some that is found in the celebration of the birth of Jesus, for others in the festival of lights, for others in choosing a noble fir and adorning it with baubles and other shiny things, even still, for others it is about the giving and receiving of gifts, or Chinese food or working a lousy shift at the movie theater...no matter which, the holidays are...in some way...sacred.
"I should have liked, I do confess, to have had the lightest license of a child and yet been [adult] enough to know its value..."
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
300000
It seems appropriate that the good 'ole 'precious' hit the 300,000 mile mark on I5...of course it did make taking a photo rather risky business...
This vehicle was purchased by my Dad new in 1992, graciously gifted to Joe and I (at 186,000) in 2003, and has traveled across country at least 3 times (once with us). Original engine, 3rd battery, umpteenth distributor (ditto spark plugs) and 2nd muffler (you don't know joy until you've run back from the car to claim your muffler from the middle of the road).
...if it can just get us through grad school (apparently I said that the last time I was in grad school too).
This vehicle was purchased by my Dad new in 1992, graciously gifted to Joe and I (at 186,000) in 2003, and has traveled across country at least 3 times (once with us). Original engine, 3rd battery, umpteenth distributor (ditto spark plugs) and 2nd muffler (you don't know joy until you've run back from the car to claim your muffler from the middle of the road)....if it can just get us through grad school (apparently I said that the last time I was in grad school too).
Monday, December 06, 2010
The face of climate change
One of the biggest concerns of the agroecology promoters I met with during my short research trip this summer was the problem of climate change. The promoters work with farmers and they talk about climate change and the movement is trying to figure out how to work on this because there could be climate change related events (such as drought or at the other end of the spectrum, hurricanes) that could wipe out their crops and the seeds that they have been cultivating.One of the most immediate concerns was pests. They have seen warmer weather each year and with it more pests in the fields and in their storage facilities.
In my conversations with the lead agroecology promoter in Oventik, I learned that they are trying to establish a seed bank to protect against this; simultaneously they are working towards the “vital improvement of corn” through looking at varieties from other climates and doing experiments between climates (that is, testing highland varieties in lowland areas etc), which show that adaptation is very slow.
While they look inwards to craft local responses to climate change, a delegation is attending the COP 16 in Cancun to make demands on the global players.
In my conversations with the lead agroecology promoter in Oventik, I learned that they are trying to establish a seed bank to protect against this; simultaneously they are working towards the “vital improvement of corn” through looking at varieties from other climates and doing experiments between climates (that is, testing highland varieties in lowland areas etc), which show that adaptation is very slow.
While they look inwards to craft local responses to climate change, a delegation is attending the COP 16 in Cancun to make demands on the global players.
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