New Classes

Trying to figure out what I want to take next semester. One possibility is a class called "Jane Austen and George Eliot," which I'm assuming is short for "Jane Austen and George Eliot Fight Club."

Update: Wuthering Heights

So, I'm about halfway through this tale of gloom, despair and unpleasant people when Catherine...kicks the bucket? Why is there still book left?

Quite frankly, I'm having trouble feeling bad for Catherine or Heathcliff, or any of them for that matter. It's like, "You are all horrible people. Why are you surprised when bad things happen to you?" The maid is pretty baller, though.

CATHERINE: I'm not a horrible person, am I Nelly?

NELLY: You most certainly are, your worship.

Penguin Great Ideas

As any self-respecting book person will say, I love Penguin's Great Ideas series. Look at them! Each cover is its own unique perfection. What's most appealing to me is that every cover has a completely different design aesthetic from the other. The style usually reflects the period/author, but reinterpreted with modern design sense. A prime example is Travels in the Land of Kubilai Khan by Marco Polo.

I really have no excuse for not reading these already (except the specter of Emily Bronte hovering over my head). I am also extremely irreverent, and would probably make fun of Thoreau in the margins. Not paying taxes: passive resistance, or philosophical douchebaggery? You decide.

Bristol Victoria Park

I spent the fall in Bath, England studying abroad. First Great Western and their fabulous trains took me all over the southern half of England, any town I could visit in a day. The closest city to Bath is Bristol, a scant 15 minutes away by train. This is a picture I took in October in Victoria Park. The Victorians built lots of parks so they could have a place to show off their parasols.

England has the most wonderfully idiosyncratic architecture, which is one of the main things that drew me there in the first place. The buildings are old, and their posture just isn't what it used to be, so they sag and slouch in the most charming ways. Most of the houses in Stratford shouldn't even be standing up.

Bristol also has sick vintage shops, including a hilarious American Vintage store with a lot of smelly army stuff.

Wuthering Heights

There comes a time in every liberal arts student's life when they realize, "Balls. I have to read Wuthering Heights to be counted as a fully functioning college grad, don't I?" Apparently that time is this weekend. I bought this copy of Wuthering Farts last summer, and it's been sitting in my room inducing guilt. I didn't mind at first, because it is a very attractive purple color, but at last push came to shove and it's now getting beat up in my tote bag. Serves you right, Bronte.

Wonder Wheel

Picture I took of the Wonder Wheel at Coney Island last summer.

new blog

Livejournal down all day. Cannot cope, off to Blogspot.