Well, after a fun weekend with a visit from my parents, sister and brother-in-law, plus little Giulietta, my beautiful niece, it's now time for me to do some work. I've been struggling over changes to my theory chapter on gender, spectacle and celebrity. Now I'm looking for stuff on crooning, since there are gender issues that are raised when a crooning singer is considered.
Anyone know anything about this?
Thanks again for all the comments from my visitors. I appreciate the input. Watch this space for more (although some of the religious comments that I've made in the last few days have been difficult for me, and just get me fired up).
By the way, although I am of Italian descent, I don't think I really appreciate the victory of the Italians over Australia yesterday in the World Cup. I've heard the various commentaries regarding the fairness of calling a penalty shot basically after extra time, but I still don't like it. Plus, in my neighbourhood, there was honking and carrying on for hours afterwards.
So, no, I'm not cheering for Italy. Just 'cuz. Go England!!
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Friday, June 23, 2006
Wow, lots of visitors
Thank you for the wealth of response from my posting yesterday (and T.O.'s posting at her own site). I appreciate the insight that many provided in the comments section. I was afraid that things would get heated, but thankfully things were calm. Although, I feel that the debate has now moved to the similarities or differences between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican/Episcopalian Church.
My concerns are the differences between the less conventional, yet still mainstream, Protestant churches, like the Baptists, Pentecostals and so forth. I am also quite interested in the Biblically "conservative" churches, of which the two denominations I mentioned are a part. I'm not sure that I would include the United Church, or even recent movements within the Anglican Church as part of that group.
I think that this "conservative" group, which is not without its own problems (which I might talk about in another post), would have a lot of trouble with the Roman Catholic Church, not only because of theological differences (as was mentioned in yesterday's post) but also because of the role played by, not only a hierarchical system, but Tradition (with a big 'T').
Interestingly, the Pentecostal Church has some tradition, but because of its relative newness (100 years this year as a defined church, marking its beginning with the revivals at the Asuza Street Mission in California), we don't like to call it that. Nevertheless, they (we?) accept the Bible, although its construction happened a long time ago (before the Reformation). I guess you have to have a standard somewhere, and perhaps these Protestants feel that the assembly of the Bible was early enough to be "unscathed" by the "big-T" Tradition that ultimately caused the Reformation.
Maybe that's what they think. Again, my history might be suspect. Feel free to comment and correct me. Just don't be mean.
One more thing: recently, I have decided to be more involved in the Mass that I attend each week by kneeling during the consecration, something which I didn't do previously. In one community I was attending, we would stand during consecration due to the lack of kneelers, and I had no trouble with standing. Kneeling, I somehow have (or had) trouble with. So I would just sit. Now I've decided to kneel. I feel that perhaps I can kneel as a sign, not necessarily as an acknowledgement of the priest's actions, but rather out of worship and respect for Christ and his sacrifice. I take that time, while the priest speaks and recites Jesus' words, to pray and thank God for sending his Son, and for the shed blood of Christ which is my salvation.
So, in a sense, I am being open to the presence of Christ.
My concerns are the differences between the less conventional, yet still mainstream, Protestant churches, like the Baptists, Pentecostals and so forth. I am also quite interested in the Biblically "conservative" churches, of which the two denominations I mentioned are a part. I'm not sure that I would include the United Church, or even recent movements within the Anglican Church as part of that group.
I think that this "conservative" group, which is not without its own problems (which I might talk about in another post), would have a lot of trouble with the Roman Catholic Church, not only because of theological differences (as was mentioned in yesterday's post) but also because of the role played by, not only a hierarchical system, but Tradition (with a big 'T').
Interestingly, the Pentecostal Church has some tradition, but because of its relative newness (100 years this year as a defined church, marking its beginning with the revivals at the Asuza Street Mission in California), we don't like to call it that. Nevertheless, they (we?) accept the Bible, although its construction happened a long time ago (before the Reformation). I guess you have to have a standard somewhere, and perhaps these Protestants feel that the assembly of the Bible was early enough to be "unscathed" by the "big-T" Tradition that ultimately caused the Reformation.
Maybe that's what they think. Again, my history might be suspect. Feel free to comment and correct me. Just don't be mean.
One more thing: recently, I have decided to be more involved in the Mass that I attend each week by kneeling during the consecration, something which I didn't do previously. In one community I was attending, we would stand during consecration due to the lack of kneelers, and I had no trouble with standing. Kneeling, I somehow have (or had) trouble with. So I would just sit. Now I've decided to kneel. I feel that perhaps I can kneel as a sign, not necessarily as an acknowledgement of the priest's actions, but rather out of worship and respect for Christ and his sacrifice. I take that time, while the priest speaks and recites Jesus' words, to pray and thank God for sending his Son, and for the shed blood of Christ which is my salvation.
So, in a sense, I am being open to the presence of Christ.
Thursday, June 22, 2006
Theological musings
While I don't often get into theological conversations on this blog (or any real substantial musings, for that matter), I read T.O.'s blog this morning at it got me thinking (you can get there by following the link to the right to LAMLand).
She recounts a recent experience where a group of Protestant Christians asked her if she would feel comfortable with receiving communion with them during a short prayer time before a mutual class. As a practising Catholic, she declined.
I often feel like I need to qualify the "practising" part of "Catholic." As a Protestant Christian of the Evangelical and Charismatic nature (read "Pentecostal," -shudder-), in my mind a Catholic that doesn't practice is nothing. There are no Pentecostals who are non-practising, probably because you would never subscribe to that community if you didn't "have to."
Anyway, back to the discussion of communion. I've been going through a similar situation every Sunday when I attend Catholic Mass. I don't partake of the Eucharist because I have differing beliefs on its function (as a sacrament) and its form (as the body and blood of Christ).
By the way, for those Christians out there that might find my vocabulary lacking or irreverent, please forgive me. I haven't formally discussed issues of theology since around 1995, when I left my year of theological study in 1995. And I've been doing a lot of other stuff since then. Plus, I'm relatively new to Catholic theology.
One of the comments left on that other blog cited John 6 as a foundation for Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ, and its power. Someone once asked me how Pentecostals interpret Jesus' words at the last supper ("This is my body . . . this is my blood"). How then can the Pentecostals, who are so apparently Biblically "Conservative," not believe in the bodily presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and look at communion only as symbolic?
I can't answer that. It's true that Jesus makes a pretty clear point regarding his "body" and "blood" in John 6, and during that presentation of the bread and wine before his betrayal at the last supper. I still feel that there is a problem with the Catholic sense of eucharist as sacrament, and this probably comes from my upbringing, without ANY sacraments, in the sense of "grace-giving" actions.
My point (and I don't think I'm doing a good job at expressing much here) is that, if Catholics want a unified Church, which we pray for at every Mass, I'm not sure that it would be in the form some of them might want it to be. After years of separation, with some beliefs being particularly different, dialogue would force a kind of synthesis (let's pretent that Protestantism is Catholicism's antithesis).
Will there ever be that kind of dialogue? I doubt it; not before both sides (and, in truth, there are more than just 2 sides) understand that there are other true believers in Christ.
That's all. Feel free to comment, but don't be mad at me. I'm having too much trouble with revisions to one of my chapters, and I would rather not be yelled at.
She recounts a recent experience where a group of Protestant Christians asked her if she would feel comfortable with receiving communion with them during a short prayer time before a mutual class. As a practising Catholic, she declined.
I often feel like I need to qualify the "practising" part of "Catholic." As a Protestant Christian of the Evangelical and Charismatic nature (read "Pentecostal," -shudder-), in my mind a Catholic that doesn't practice is nothing. There are no Pentecostals who are non-practising, probably because you would never subscribe to that community if you didn't "have to."
Anyway, back to the discussion of communion. I've been going through a similar situation every Sunday when I attend Catholic Mass. I don't partake of the Eucharist because I have differing beliefs on its function (as a sacrament) and its form (as the body and blood of Christ).
By the way, for those Christians out there that might find my vocabulary lacking or irreverent, please forgive me. I haven't formally discussed issues of theology since around 1995, when I left my year of theological study in 1995. And I've been doing a lot of other stuff since then. Plus, I'm relatively new to Catholic theology.
One of the comments left on that other blog cited John 6 as a foundation for Eucharist as the body and blood of Christ, and its power. Someone once asked me how Pentecostals interpret Jesus' words at the last supper ("This is my body . . . this is my blood"). How then can the Pentecostals, who are so apparently Biblically "Conservative," not believe in the bodily presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and look at communion only as symbolic?
I can't answer that. It's true that Jesus makes a pretty clear point regarding his "body" and "blood" in John 6, and during that presentation of the bread and wine before his betrayal at the last supper. I still feel that there is a problem with the Catholic sense of eucharist as sacrament, and this probably comes from my upbringing, without ANY sacraments, in the sense of "grace-giving" actions.
My point (and I don't think I'm doing a good job at expressing much here) is that, if Catholics want a unified Church, which we pray for at every Mass, I'm not sure that it would be in the form some of them might want it to be. After years of separation, with some beliefs being particularly different, dialogue would force a kind of synthesis (let's pretent that Protestantism is Catholicism's antithesis).
Will there ever be that kind of dialogue? I doubt it; not before both sides (and, in truth, there are more than just 2 sides) understand that there are other true believers in Christ.
That's all. Feel free to comment, but don't be mad at me. I'm having too much trouble with revisions to one of my chapters, and I would rather not be yelled at.
Monday, June 19, 2006
Stanley Cup Champions!
Congratulations to the Carolina Hurricanes on winning the Stanley Cup in seven games against a very impressive Edmonton Oilers. Too bad that the Cup couldn't come back to Canada where it belongs. Good game, though.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
wet naps (or moist towelettes)
Those of you who know me know that I collect wet naps (or maybe you didn't know that - now you know). I found a great site that has a gallery of wet naps at moist-towelette.com. I think this person has many hundreds of wet naps, while I'm in possession of just over 100 unique examples (different numbers on the back of wet naps count for me). This one shown here is a recent addition and quite possibly one of my favourites.
If anyone happens to have interesting moist towelettes and they want to send them to me, throw a comment to me!
Friday, June 09, 2006
Dune, the book and movie
I don't know if any of you know of Frank Herbert's science-fiction book _Dune_, but anyway, I really like it. I ordered the DVD of the Lynch-directed movie from Amazon.ca and received it a few days ago. It seems that Universal used what are called DVD-18 for this title, which is a DVD that you have to flip over to see more movie or features. It's like sticking 2 dual-layer DVDs back to back. Well, it seems that this process is far from perfect. I sent mine back to Amazon after it was skipping in my player, and when I received the replacement this morning, it happens to skip as well. So it's going back. One more try and then I'll ask for my money back. It is a good movie, though, if not a bit weird (and ever so slightly dated).
As for my other work, I'm still trying to fix up one of my chapters for publication. Ugh!
As for my other work, I'm still trying to fix up one of my chapters for publication. Ugh!
Thursday, June 08, 2006
Nelly Furtado's "Loose"
Well, it certainly is a departure from "Folklore" and I'm not sure if I appreciate the "urban" influence on this album. It's growing on me, though. Nelly (Furtado) is someone I always thought I would like to write about. She's the perfect studio performer. The times I've seen her perform live (on television), she's been terrible. But her studio work is fabulous.
My wife and I watched a clip of Morrissey from the Jools Holland show last night (he was on the show earlier this month) and he looks old, although not in a bad way. He is wearing a full suit, cufflinks and a bowtie, which is a new look for him. Interestingly, the music is very heavy, and Moz is extremely active, even in a tux.
Today I'm going to try to get one of my chapters in shape to send out to another journal for consideration. Hopefully something can be published. Here's to today!
My wife and I watched a clip of Morrissey from the Jools Holland show last night (he was on the show earlier this month) and he looks old, although not in a bad way. He is wearing a full suit, cufflinks and a bowtie, which is a new look for him. Interestingly, the music is very heavy, and Moz is extremely active, even in a tux.
Today I'm going to try to get one of my chapters in shape to send out to another journal for consideration. Hopefully something can be published. Here's to today!
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Blogroll
Does anyone know how to do this? How do I put in links into my Blogger blog page? Why am I having so much trouble?
I think I'm a geek. I think I know a bit about computers and electronics. I enjoy this stuff. So why am I having trouble with Blogger? And something as simple as links and blogrolls?
By the way, those who might be interested in popular music, if you haven't heard of Leslie Feist (or just Feist), she's great. There's probably no way that you could escape from hearing the hit "Inside + Out" on the radio - that's her. I would like to do a postdoctoral fellowship on developing a theoretical framework to discuss the voice and its "allure." While many would look to Roland Barthes and his "grain of the voice," I would hope there would be a more elegant way of approaching the singing voice in particular, and what might be attractive about it. Or something.
I think I'm a geek. I think I know a bit about computers and electronics. I enjoy this stuff. So why am I having trouble with Blogger? And something as simple as links and blogrolls?
By the way, those who might be interested in popular music, if you haven't heard of Leslie Feist (or just Feist), she's great. There's probably no way that you could escape from hearing the hit "Inside + Out" on the radio - that's her. I would like to do a postdoctoral fellowship on developing a theoretical framework to discuss the voice and its "allure." While many would look to Roland Barthes and his "grain of the voice," I would hope there would be a more elegant way of approaching the singing voice in particular, and what might be attractive about it. Or something.
Monday, June 05, 2006
Back from Congress and the Apple Store!
So I saw the new MacBooks and they are nice. Not sure if I'll pick one up (my accountant/wife has already severely limited my allowance).
As for Congress, it was probably one of the best conferences I have ever been to. I found out that SSHRC (the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) doesn't give out that many Post-Doctoral Fellowships, but that, if I can get one, the University of Ottawa would be happy to have me, come September 2007 (or earlier). I'm happy about this.
What I'm not happy about is the apparent saturation of popular music studies in Canadian universities, where some departments are simply allowing history survey courses in popular music (the ones that attract many many students) and thus are hiring sessional people to teach these. As for the expansion of musicology departments to include upper level seminars in popular music, um, it's not happening.
So here I am.
Tomorrow I'm going with V. to eat hot dogs, and maybe we'll stop by Best Buy to see if the MacBooks are out. I wouldn't mind seeing the black ones again. Before I go, dear readers, should we go to Walt Disney World in the fall? We have a chance. We just have to decide.
As for Congress, it was probably one of the best conferences I have ever been to. I found out that SSHRC (the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada) doesn't give out that many Post-Doctoral Fellowships, but that, if I can get one, the University of Ottawa would be happy to have me, come September 2007 (or earlier). I'm happy about this.
What I'm not happy about is the apparent saturation of popular music studies in Canadian universities, where some departments are simply allowing history survey courses in popular music (the ones that attract many many students) and thus are hiring sessional people to teach these. As for the expansion of musicology departments to include upper level seminars in popular music, um, it's not happening.
So here I am.
Tomorrow I'm going with V. to eat hot dogs, and maybe we'll stop by Best Buy to see if the MacBooks are out. I wouldn't mind seeing the black ones again. Before I go, dear readers, should we go to Walt Disney World in the fall? We have a chance. We just have to decide.
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Getting ready to go to Congress 2006
I'm just putting the finishing touches on my paper for the Canadian University Music Society conference at York University next week, part of the big and mysterious Congress 2006 put up by SSHRC. I'm presenting on Tuesday morning. My paper is about Morrissey and his enigmatic character, and the song "Don't Make Fun of Daddy's Voice." Right now the paper is a bit too long, but I'll cut it down tonight.
I'm hoping that, at some point, between the conference and visiting my family in Hamilton, we'll be able to go to the Apple Store in Toronto (Eaton Centre, I guess). We're planning to go, but when things get busy, you never know what plan might have to be scrapped. I've only visited one Apple store in my life, the New York SoHo location, and I enjoyed it. I even bought stuff - a wired Apple keyboard and mouse. I would like to see the replacement for the iBook, the Macbook. Best Buy here in Montreal doesn't have any of them yet.
We saw "The DaVinci Code" last night. I'm not sure what the Church is so afraid of with this thing. It's pretty much a snooze-fest. It's not the worst movie I've seen (I liked Audrey Tautou's character) but it's about as good as the book. The book was more exciting.
I'm hoping that, at some point, between the conference and visiting my family in Hamilton, we'll be able to go to the Apple Store in Toronto (Eaton Centre, I guess). We're planning to go, but when things get busy, you never know what plan might have to be scrapped. I've only visited one Apple store in my life, the New York SoHo location, and I enjoyed it. I even bought stuff - a wired Apple keyboard and mouse. I would like to see the replacement for the iBook, the Macbook. Best Buy here in Montreal doesn't have any of them yet.
We saw "The DaVinci Code" last night. I'm not sure what the Church is so afraid of with this thing. It's pretty much a snooze-fest. It's not the worst movie I've seen (I liked Audrey Tautou's character) but it's about as good as the book. The book was more exciting.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Got my headset, plus another joke
I picked up a CyberAcoustics AC-840 usb headset and it seems to work fine with Skype. I called my parents and Anto called hers, and they can hear us fine, so now it's time to cancel our long distance plan for now.
I have a quick joke for you, dear reader. I read it on some joke site for cancer victims, and it states that it is a bit distasteful, but I think it's funny.
A doctor calls his patient and says, "I have some bad news for you. You have terminal cancer." The patient replies, "Oh. That's terrible." The doctor says, "Well, you also have alzheimer's." The patient replies, "Well, at least I won't die of cancer."
Get it?
I have a quick joke for you, dear reader. I read it on some joke site for cancer victims, and it states that it is a bit distasteful, but I think it's funny.
A doctor calls his patient and says, "I have some bad news for you. You have terminal cancer." The patient replies, "Oh. That's terrible." The doctor says, "Well, you also have alzheimer's." The patient replies, "Well, at least I won't die of cancer."
Get it?
Friday, May 19, 2006
usb headset or microphone?
I'm looking to take advantage of Skype and free calls to land lines until the end of the year, but my mini has no audio input or microphone, so I have to find a usb microphone or headset. I notice that Best Buy sells inexpensive headsets for the PS2 that are USB, but I'm not sure if they would work with a Macintosh. They also sell cheap bluetooth headsets (the logitech express is the one I was looking at) but I'm not sure if that's any good either. Anyway, if you have any suggestions, leave me a message. Thanks.
Oh, and happy birthday to Antonella on the 17th, and Julia and Carrie around this time too. And Happy Victoria Day (or Jour des Dollards or whatever it's called in Quebec).
Oh, and happy birthday to Antonella on the 17th, and Julia and Carrie around this time too. And Happy Victoria Day (or Jour des Dollards or whatever it's called in Quebec).
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Macbooks are here!
So Apple released new MacBooks today, to replace the iBook. They look very nice except for the glossy screen, which I'm not sure I like. As some others have said, my failing eyes might not be able to take all the glare that might accompany a glossy screen. Otherwise, they're beautiful laptops and I wouldn't mind picking one up.
I'm working through my fifth and last chapter of my dissertation, but I need to go through the whole thing again, taking into account my supervisor's comments on the first three sections of the paper. I also need to revise my conclusions, and, since I'm presenting at a conference in 2 weeks, I need to write something new. If I want to include this new material, I might need to change the order of my chapters. This isn't that big of a deal, but I'm used to the order as it is and I'm afraid to change it.
I guess that's what happens, though. I wish someone would have told me that this process is difficult before I started.
I'm working through my fifth and last chapter of my dissertation, but I need to go through the whole thing again, taking into account my supervisor's comments on the first three sections of the paper. I also need to revise my conclusions, and, since I'm presenting at a conference in 2 weeks, I need to write something new. If I want to include this new material, I might need to change the order of my chapters. This isn't that big of a deal, but I'm used to the order as it is and I'm afraid to change it.
I guess that's what happens, though. I wish someone would have told me that this process is difficult before I started.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
No Macbooks and another joke ...
From Mr. Kotter:
My Uncle Herman used to always fight with my Aunt Eunice, and she used to tell people, "I'm going to be dancing on his grave when he goes! I'm going to be dancing on his grave!" When Uncle Herman heard about this, he said, "I'm going to be buried at sea. Let her dance."
ooo-hoo hoo ha ha. That Gabe Kotter really is funny.
As for MacBooks, the rumour sites say they'll come out next week. This kind of rumour could go on forever.
(Click on my links)
My Uncle Herman used to always fight with my Aunt Eunice, and she used to tell people, "I'm going to be dancing on his grave when he goes! I'm going to be dancing on his grave!" When Uncle Herman heard about this, he said, "I'm going to be buried at sea. Let her dance."
ooo-hoo hoo ha ha. That Gabe Kotter really is funny.
As for MacBooks, the rumour sites say they'll come out next week. This kind of rumour could go on forever.
(Click on my links)
Monday, May 08, 2006
new macbooks tomorrow?
For those of you who might care, there are rumours that Apple will be releasing new iBooks tomorrow, rebranded as MacBooks. As a past iBook owner, these computers hold a special place in my heart. Let's hope they look nice.
As for me, I'm struggling with my work today. I haven't done very much, but I need to get on this stuff to try to submit in a timely manner. I'm talking about my PhD dissertation, for those of you coming in late.
I'll post again tomorrow with a bit more insight, instead of these boring posts. I might even find a funny joke from Welcome Back, Kotter.
As for me, I'm struggling with my work today. I haven't done very much, but I need to get on this stuff to try to submit in a timely manner. I'm talking about my PhD dissertation, for those of you coming in late.
I'll post again tomorrow with a bit more insight, instead of these boring posts. I might even find a funny joke from Welcome Back, Kotter.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
A friend from the past...
I got an email from a friend today that I haven't heard from in a while. Actually, I've heard from a couple of people recently that I haven't heard from in a long time. This was a surprise, though, because he found me by my website. And he called me "quite a scholar"! Nice. Anyway, Kev, nice to hear from you.
As for all you other people who know me and pass by this blog, leave comments or take a look at my website (the address is in another post below) and CLICK ON THE AD ABOVE AND DO SOME CLICKING WHILE YOU'RE THERE. Then I'll make money (not really a lot of money, but I want to see how much I can make).
As for all you other people who know me and pass by this blog, leave comments or take a look at my website (the address is in another post below) and CLICK ON THE AD ABOVE AND DO SOME CLICKING WHILE YOU'RE THERE. Then I'll make money (not really a lot of money, but I want to see how much I can make).
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Adsense
So I've added one of these adsense things to this blog, so now there is advertising on here. I thought, "Maybe I can make money from this and buy a new computer!" I'm not sure that will happen. Well, if you're here, why don't you click on the ad, and make sure you click around a bit when you get there, and make me some money? Thanks in advance!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Another joke...
As if I'm such a funny guy that I should be posting jokes on my blog.
From "Welcome Back, Kotter":
My aunt and uncle got a letter from my cousine Gertrude. She wrote,
"Dear mom and dad,
I'm having a great time at school, except that I fell last week and hurt my leg. I would have told you sooner, except that my doctor said it wasn't a big deal. I should be up and walking within a year ot two. And anyway, I have a nice friend who has been helping me out. His name is Tony and he is kind to me. We'll be getting married in July; he wanted to wait a bit longer, but now we have to get married. He's looking for a job and hopefully he'll get one soon.
Anyway, don't worry too much about me.
Love,
Gertrude
P.S. None of the things I said in this letter are true. It's just that I got a D in History and I thought I would put it in its proper perspective."
Oooh, hoo, hoo, ha ha ha. Funny stuff, that Mr. Kotter.
Visit my new website at: http://ca.geocities.com/nicholas_greco/
From "Welcome Back, Kotter":
My aunt and uncle got a letter from my cousine Gertrude. She wrote,
"Dear mom and dad,
I'm having a great time at school, except that I fell last week and hurt my leg. I would have told you sooner, except that my doctor said it wasn't a big deal. I should be up and walking within a year ot two. And anyway, I have a nice friend who has been helping me out. His name is Tony and he is kind to me. We'll be getting married in July; he wanted to wait a bit longer, but now we have to get married. He's looking for a job and hopefully he'll get one soon.
Anyway, don't worry too much about me.
Love,
Gertrude
P.S. None of the things I said in this letter are true. It's just that I got a D in History and I thought I would put it in its proper perspective."
Oooh, hoo, hoo, ha ha ha. Funny stuff, that Mr. Kotter.
Visit my new website at: http://ca.geocities.com/nicholas_greco/
Friday, April 21, 2006
Sorry for the absence . . .
Things have been crazy. My diss. is one big piece right now, and I'm working to make it ready for defense. It's very difficult, though. I'm speaking at the Canadian University Music Society conference in May at York, so if you're there, drop by and say hello.
I've been watching "Welcome Back, Kotter" on TV at lunchtime lately. It's a funny show.
That's all.
I've been watching "Welcome Back, Kotter" on TV at lunchtime lately. It's a funny show.
That's all.
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
My iBook: 16 June 2002 - 16 August 2005 RIP
So my iBook G3 700 mhz has officially given up the ghost. A replacement of the logic board would cost some $350 USD plus labour, which would be at least $65 CAD for consultation and probably another $130 for the installation. So now, I fear that I will need to delve back into the Windows world and buy a PC. The only reason for this is that it isn't the best time in the world to buy a Mac, with the Intel switch coming up next year and powerbooks probably being updated in the next few months (as the last of the PPC powerbooks).
My dilemma is whether to pick up a Mac Mini or something like that, or a much cheaper Windows box, running a low-end Sempron64. The attractive thing about a PC is that I can run WordPerfect, my favourite word-processor. I am, after all, writing a PhD dissertation.
It pains me nonetheless to leave the safe and enjoyable world of OS X for the extremely unenjoyable world of XP. Perhaps this experience will not be a terrible one; after all, I will be able to edit video and burn DVDs, something which, surprisingly, I have been unable to do on the inadequate iBook (processor-wise and in terms of HD space).
Finally, this transition means that I might end up buying a CRT screen, since they are much cheaper than the LCDs. Since my wife and I are going to Florida in September, it only makes sense that we try to cut costs (of course, this never applies to the many DVDs we buy, or our tea excursions, as is only right).
I only slept about 5 hours last night because of this. There might not have been real reason for my insomnia, but nonetheless I had trouble. Hopefully all goes well today.
My dilemma is whether to pick up a Mac Mini or something like that, or a much cheaper Windows box, running a low-end Sempron64. The attractive thing about a PC is that I can run WordPerfect, my favourite word-processor. I am, after all, writing a PhD dissertation.
It pains me nonetheless to leave the safe and enjoyable world of OS X for the extremely unenjoyable world of XP. Perhaps this experience will not be a terrible one; after all, I will be able to edit video and burn DVDs, something which, surprisingly, I have been unable to do on the inadequate iBook (processor-wise and in terms of HD space).
Finally, this transition means that I might end up buying a CRT screen, since they are much cheaper than the LCDs. Since my wife and I are going to Florida in September, it only makes sense that we try to cut costs (of course, this never applies to the many DVDs we buy, or our tea excursions, as is only right).
I only slept about 5 hours last night because of this. There might not have been real reason for my insomnia, but nonetheless I had trouble. Hopefully all goes well today.
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