Bit of Ivory

A lot. And yet, not much. I’ve been going to school, working, and playing a bit. Listening to HBP as I commute. JKR is a genius, and so is Stephen Fry. My sister gets married a week from today :O, so there’s been a bit of wedding planning as well. I’m glad for the long weekend to get things done, ’cause I don’t think I’ll want to do much next weekend.

School is good. We’ve finished with Byron, and most of the class agrees with me– he’s much better at the funny than at brooding. Now we’re reading Maria Edgeworth’s The Absentee, which I’m really enjoying. All of you Austen fans out there should give Edgeworth a shot. She’s not as good as Austen, by any means, but she’s pretty good. She was one of Austen’s favorite authors, you know.

I’m wanting to write an essay about Hermione’s character vs. Ginny’s character, and how people are much more willing to excuse bad behavior in a character they’re already disposed to like, and how all of these so-called “out of character” moments in HBP are perfectly consistent with Hermione’s behavior throughout the books, and how she’s done stuff just as bad as those things that supposedly make Ginny into a *itch. Maybe in the downtime after the wedding. I still have to finish a post I started about harmony and counterpoint, dangit.

I always get my best ideas when I don’t have time to do anything about them.

We’ve been watching the Olympics at my house, and reminiscing about having there here in Salt Lake in 2002. That was a heckuva thing. I think we’d host them again in a heartbeat. I also think that we did it better than Torino.

Watching the Olympics means we get to hear John William’s Olympic theme a lot. If you don’t want to have this lovely theme spoiled for you, don’t read the rest of this entry. Back in 1988, my aunt and uncle were watching the Olympics, and my aunt remarked on the theme (which I think had been written for that Olympics). Now, my uncle has a wicked sense of humor, and immediately told her that the song was called “Moon over Calgary.” She, being a bit wary of my uncle by now, scoffed and said “oh yeah? Then what are the lyrics?” So he sang the following: “Tuuuurn oooooon the winter Olympics and let me see the moon over Calgary. . .” I can’t hear the theme without hearing that in my head now.