Literature Map

This one's primarily for Lisa: the Literature Map. You type in the name of an author, and it shows you what authors are the most similar, thereby giving you (hopefully) recommendations for new authors.

So Charlotte Bronte shows up the closest to Jane Austen. I'll accept that, even if Bronte had a low regard for Austen's work. However, how on earth did Daphne Du Maurier (author of Rebecca) end up the closest to L. M. Montgomery? Granted, Wilder, Alcott, and L'Engle are close by, but still...

I'd love to know the criteria they're using. For example, Madeleine L'Engle and Dorothy L. Sayers show up next to each other. Okay, I get it. They both deal with theological issues in their fiction (which is often genre fiction, although different genres), and they both have a good grasp of diction. But L'Engle also shows up near Edna St. Vincent Millay, and the only thing I know that they have in common is that I like them both. Probably not what it's based on.

ETA:

So "God" showed up on the map, and I clicked on it, just to see who would be on His map. The list had Jesus next to Him (so far so good), and then a baffling variety of names around them. They included Drew Carey, Joseph Smith, the Holy Spirit, Arthur C. Clarke (of 2001: A Space Odessey fame), Tim LaHaye, Gary Paulsen (Hatchet), Saint Paul, Satan, and Einstein. Wow...

ETA2: Apparently the point is not so much that the authors are similar as that people who will like one will also like the other. It still seems massively flawed to me.

apparently after 7 months, I've slipped back into the habit of driving

Tonight was the Townie Street Party to kick off the Ann Arbor Art Fairs (have I mentioned how much I love the fact that there's always something going on in Ann Arbor? because I do), so various local businesses/services had booths set up. At the Ann Arbor Transit Authority (AATA) booth, the woman asked me, "So are you a mass transit user?"

Yes, ironically, since my car died yesterday when I was up in Lakeview for the Behrenwald reunion and it's going to be up there at least throughout this week so it can be fixed. I'm going to be dependent on my bike and the bus system (which fortunately is doable in A2). It's just sort of annoying, although better that my car die in Lakeview than on a major freeway between here and Lakeview. I biked home from work today (Mom having dropped me off this morning on her way home, as she had driven me down here last night so I could be to work today), and found it to be mighty tiring. I think I'll just plan to bike to the bus stop on the other side of Central Campus that goes past my work, bus up there and back, and then bike home.

The woman was giving out buttons that read "Dump the Pump--RIDE TRANSIT," so I took one. Maybe I'll even wear it this week.

Sigh...

little random bits from this week

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I can't get through the first day of 3.5-5 Year Olds without having at least one child scream for his/her mother for at least 35 minutes. And this one kicked, too...if I have any bruises tomorrow, I'll know where they came from. Other than that, classes have been going well, though.

~*~

Having nothing else to do tonight, I found myself taking various quizzes about politics and religion (two separate categories, not quizzes that dealt with both) on Selectsmart.com. It's been entertaining...apparently either I'm Wesleyan/Methodist (yes) or an Orthodox Quaker (huh?). But my favorite result came from a quiz entitled "Political Roots," where my first place result was a four way tie between Anarchist, Christian/Social Conservative, Liberal Socialist, and Social Democratic. I didn't know it was possible to be all of those things at once. The quiz was written by a Canadian, I believe, so perhaps politics are different up there. At least it confirms that my political opinions don't fit nicely into any party.

~*~

I have four different NPR stations on my pre-sets for my car radio (jazz and blues from Ypsilanti, classical from East Lansing, Michigan Radio from Ann Arbor, and Michigan Radio from Detroit). Does this make me insufferably elitist, or just really lucky to be living in a place where that's an option? :)

~*~

As I drive to work each morning, I drive over a spot on Plymouth Road where it looks like the Latin word "via," meaning "way" (as in "Via Dolorosa" or "Way of Sorrows"), is written with tar on the pavement. It may be a sheer coincidence where tar was spilled at some point, but I'd like to think that a group of Classics students from U-M (which has a very good Classics department) decided to label the road appropriately at some point. It makes me happy each time I go to work.

the unanswerable question

Yesterday I went to a 4th of July barbeque hosted by a woman from First Wesleyan Church in Ypsilanti, where I've been attending this summer. She had also invited the new pastor and his wife, so since out of all the people I didn't know there, they were the ones I had the most connection to, I sat with them.

Knowing that I'm only here for the summer, Pastor Brent asked, "So where do you normally live?"

I started to laugh, as this is currently an unanswerable question. I don't "normally" live anywhere. Lakeview? Well, that's where I lived right before moving here, but it was only for a few months and not where I'll be for the forseeable future. The Lansing area? That'll be the answer in a couple of months, but I haven't lived there in close to three years. Ukraine? Oddly enough, it almost feels like the right answer, except that as far as I know, I'm not going to be living there again.

So I tried to explain the past few years of my life to Pastor Brent, who then said, "Oh, you're a vagabond."

"Well, sort of..." I replied, "except that I put down roots wherever I live..."

"He is sifting out the hearts of men before His judgment seat"

Warning: mild rant ahead.

I went to the Ann Arbor 4th of July parade this morning, primarily because it seemed like something moderately interesting to do. I'm sure I didn't find it nearly as cool as all the little kids around me did, but it was fun to see an American parade again (Balaklia did lots of holiday celebrations, but I don't remember any parades). The floats were very generous with their candy and other goodies; even as an adult, I ended up with a few Tootsie Rolls, a bag of baby carrots (from some health-food float), and a packet of Forget-Me-Not seeds from a political candidate, which amused me.

The floats were varied and random--everything from fire engines to preschools to old-fashioned bicycles to "Save the Monarch Butterflies". And a LOT of political candidates. You could tell that it was an election year, and the various candidates gave out candy in such copious amounts it was as if they expected the toddlers to vote. However, when the Washtenaw County Republican float came out (most of the Democratic candidates had their own separate floats, but Republicans appear to be enough of a minority that they consolidated), the people around me started to boo. I heard a parent tell her child, "We don't want any of John McCain's candy." And I came away from the parade with a bad taste in my mouth that had nothing to do with candy.

Now first off, let me say that I'm a political independent and don't feel that I align up completely with either party. I think that there are areas where both major parties do a good job, and areas where they fail miserably. If I apply my understanding of the Bible to current political issues, I can't come up with a completely Republican or completely Democratic platform. I think that both presidential candidates this year are decent options, and although I've got some preferences, I'm still undecided who I'll vote for in November (plus I hate jumping on anyone's bandwagon too early, because you never know what new information will come out later, making you look really stupid if you decide to switch sides). And if I'd been at a parade where the people watching were conservatives and were booing a Democratic float and refusing to accept candy handed out by Obama supporters, I'd have been just as annoyed.

All of that said, I was disgusted at the people around me at the parade. I understand that people have strong political feelings, and that's legitimate. However, I thought that their behavior set a poor example for the children that were there. If you don't like a float that goes by, it's perfectly acceptable not to clap. But to boo them is in bad taste. Do we want our children to grow up thinking that it's okay to badmouth people we disagree with? And while the politicians are handing out candy to get their name out and get parents to vote for them, it's not going to make a kid turn Republican just because he accepted candy from a McCain supporter. Honestly, if they wanted to help the Democratic cause, those people should have gotten more candy from the Republicans, because then there would have been less of it for the politicians to give to those undecided people who might be swayed by it. :) (Yes, I am my father's daughter, and this is how my mind works.)

So, a happy 4th of July to all my readers, and a wish for a country where people can disagree respectfully and set a good example for small children. Herein endeth the rant.

paris when it sizzles, ann arbor when it thunders

As it was raining all evening and there were no free concerts courtesy of the Ann Arbor Summer Festival (I assume so, at least, as there was thunder and lightening), I decided to watch the Audrey Hepburn movie, Paris When It Sizzles. Not one of Hepburn's best (nor worst...that goes to Robin and Marian), but there was a quote in it that I found delightful.

"Actually, depravity can be terribly boring if you don't smoke or drink."

Reminds me of some social functions with Peace Corps where I came to pretty much the same conclusion. :)