One more for the books.

An interesting day today. More things produced, others resolved, of a sort. School tomorrow, of which I have read some of my required material - and then I think I'm scheduled to lead discussions for the next week. I amassed some more data to craft into a paper. Tomorrow I might amass more data for a different paper and see what happens. It's a little different, having classes in the afternoon. Makes me feel like I'm going to waste my mornings. That said, I have two days without class now, so there's more time to make lots of good work uninterrupted. I feel a little less stressed out by this semester. For the moment, anyway - the due date list is shorter, even if there's a long column of weekly assignments to be done. It's a trick of the mind, though - I make it look smaller, it feels smaller, and I don't panic. I might be able to handle a semester set like this.

This was introduced in a great way by amenquohi: Pat: Perhaps you should have a disciple wash those feet before you stick them so firmly in your mouth.

A short, simple explanation of why people choose the blue pill, or why the second and third Matrix movies weren't as good as the first. For more things that we learned or knew that are slightly off the beaten path, consult a list of 100 things we didn't know at this time last year. Proving that even in offbeat news, foreign sources are superior.

Something threatening to unmake the fabric of reality, this article about humans-as-protagonists does some nice description of how many humans conceive themselves as protagonists of a narrative, since they can't access the outside position of knowing. There's something in there about how our society is unraveling the idea of the cosmic narrative, and at the end, the author says that the idea of the cosmic narrative will fade out, as we gain the ability to read our own story as well as act in it. The article doesn't hang together quite right for me - the conclusion is an abrupt shift from the data that's being laid out - maybe it just needs a few more pages to explain itself.

A useful thing to keep in mind - if you're looking for investment advice, the best place to turn might be a shrink. Psychologists pick stocks better than some economists. The article attributes the psychologists' recognition that the other investors may not be behaving rationally, and so may not choose the popular stock.

Cannabis may be good for your bones. Another interesting thing to think about in the War on Some Drugs. The family of the marijuana plant may be quite useful indeed. We note that this is not an American university producing this research, and the supplements used have no psychoactive effects. Perhaps this will help counteract the generally negative press that cannabis gets in America?

It's been a good day.

Starting with my experience in life, so far: Graduate student, period, not just necessarily in literature.

Class was better, being a discussion this time around, rather than a lecture. That said, though, that means two weeks until the first round of papers are up for due-ness. No time for panic yet, as I have plenty of material to start crafting papers. Or will, soon enough, after a little more gathering. Two papers, relatively short and hopefully easy to construct. Anyway. Onward! Buoyed by having watched two Miyazaki movies (Nausicaa, which was great, and Laputa, which I had seen in Japanese before, thanks to getsource. I did pass up an opportunity to go to the bar, but I don't feel like going out. It's not over any self-imposed panic or stress... I just didn't want to go out. Might have been something to do with the movies.

My newest fashion statement for the next formal affair is a load-bearing tie. Carry your beverage of choice around the office or at formal gatherings - will certainly be a conversation piece, that's for sure.

Last thing for tonight is the idea of equiveillance, or how taking pictures of the people taking pictures of you might lead to better behavior. The comment thread also has discussion on the idea, as to how modified, unmodified, or other sort of "sousveillances" could/should be implemented to help restore some sort of balance of power between the individual and the corporate and governmental structures.

I may be getting back into my writing swing as well, in more than just the few projects that I'm working on. I had an idea pop into my head again that I think might be worth at least jotting down.