Unsubstantial Pageant

HILLARY CLINTON: THE BIG MISTAKE - Yahoo! News

2008-04-16T16:04:00.000Z

HILLARY CLINTON: THE BIG MISTAKE - Yahoo! News

Happy Easter

2008-03-21T13:14:00.001Z

Today is good Friday, and I'm in the Le Patourel Room, by myself, working on my thesis. So, I thought I'd say Happy Easter to all my blog readers (yes, both of you). Not only is it Good Friday today, it is also the full moon, and the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. So to celebrate, here's a song:

Barack Obama's camp furious at claim he is winning only because he is black - Times Online

2008-03-12T09:54:00.000Z

Barack Obama's camp furious at claim he is winning only because he is black - Times Online: "Geraldine Ferraro, the Democrats’ 1984 vice-presidential nominee and a supporter of Hillary Clinton, triggered the latest campaign firestorm yesterday by saying Barack Obama had been successful only because he is black man."

I'd say this is a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

LEADERSHIP IS OBAMA'S BEST QUALITY

2008-03-11T12:42:00.001Z

LEADERSHIP IS OBAMA'S BEST QUALITY - Yahoo! News:

Obama '08

2008-03-04T12:38:00.000Z

I think Barack Obama is the best candidate for the presidency. I believe this to be true for many reasons, such as his leadership ability, his experience, his stance on important issues, and his message.

As far as leadership, he has eleven years experience as a congressional representative, eight years in the Illinois State Senate, and almost four in the US Senate. Hilary has only three years in the Senate (time spent as First Lady does not count as leadership experience). If you compare Obama’s record in the Senate to Clinton’s, Obama has passed more wide-ranging legislation with more support and co-signers than Clinton. The co-signers of Obama’s bills come from both political parties, while Clinton’s often don’t have any co-signers. For an analysis of Obama’s record v. Clinton’s, follow this link, or you can compare yourself by going to the Library of Congress website. The legislative records show that Obama has the ability to persuade others to work with him and support the causes he feels are important, such as health care, energy, voting, veterans, global warming, campaign finance, global poverty, nuclear proliferation and education. Hilary is divisive and if she were elected, she’d have to work harder to gain the support she needs to get things done. Her bills also tend to be focused exclusively on health care, which is a good cause, but Barack has enacted legislation on this issue and much more.

Before embarking on a career in politics, Barack Obama was a civil rights lawyer and a teacher of constitutional law. So I’m pretty sure Barack’s read the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, which is something I can’t say for sure about the current president. Much has been said about Obama’s lack of experience when it comes to National Security. However, considering his pre-congressional career, Obama must be against the use of torture to obtain information. Therefore, I think it’s safe to assume there will less chance of any scandals like Abu Ghraib happening under Obama’s leadership. Looking beyond matters of torture and national security, I think having a president who is a civil rights lawyer is a good thing.

Another thing that sets Obama apart from Clinton and McCain is that he’s been against the war in Iraq from the beginning. He said that the he’s not against all wars, just stupid wars, and declared that we should be focusing on Afghanistan rather than Iraq. Considering the current state of affairs, I think Barack Obama has shown better wisdom on this than McCain and Clinton.

When he was young, Obama spent some time living in Indonesia. As an American living abroad, I think this gives Obama with an advantage the other candidates don’t have. Being an American living abroad gives you a perspective on the world that you just can’t get living in the US. I think this makes Barack Obama more qualified in diplomatic matters. He knows how the rest of the world sees the US, and can do a better job at restoring the credibility and integrity that we’ve lost over the past seven years.

Furthermore, I like Obama’s message, ‘Yes we can’. It is so simple, yet so profound. It’s something we need to hear and is reminiscent of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy. It’s a smart message that strikes the heart. Obama is offering positive change, not change for the sake of change, but well-reasoned change. McCain and Clinton are offering the same tired politics that lead to voter apathy. Obama has the charisma and intelligence to foster good will and accomplish improvements in our lives.

I’m not naïve and I don’t think things are magically going to change if Obama is elected, but I think if Obama becomes president, he would do more to improve things than any other candidate. Go Obama!

A Chorus of Millions

2008-03-04T11:05:00.001Z

Yes We Can

2008-03-04T11:04:00.000Z

Snow!

2008-02-19T10:17:00.000Z

Marking Essays

2008-02-11T14:27:00.001Z

I spent a good portion of this past weekend marking the final paper for a course I'm teaching. I don't know what happened between the previous paper and this last paper, but the quality of the writing deteriorated considerably. I failed three of the papers. They were really bad. I think part of the problem was that the questions were very vague. However, the students were instructed to answer the questions in reference to the entire course. Some students chose to discuss things that were never covered, and way off topic. Students were supposed to demonstrate in this paper that they had accomplished the main goals of the course, which consisted of gaining an understanding of world prehistory. One student wrote about two very historical events. Another student claimed that the archaeological record began about 5,000 years ago, even though we studied sites that were over 10,000 years old. One of the other main objective of the course was to learn how to use appropriate online resources. One sudent referenced the MySpace profile of Alexander the Great. Another student referenced the film 300.

My brain hurts.

Beam me up, Riff Raff (via the Bad Astronomer)

2007-08-17T16:21:00.001Z

Dick Cheney in 1994 on Iraq

2007-08-16T10:11:00.000Z

Pictures from Hungary

2007-08-07T09:56:00.000Z

Neil Gaiman goes to Springfield

2007-08-07T09:48:00.000Z

Student Evaluation Forms

2007-06-04T10:04:00.000Z

I have an upcoming review meeting for one of the modules I tutored on this past year. In preparation I have been given the evaluation forms given to the students at the end of the term to assess the course. The course in question has no final exam. The marks/grades are based entirely upon two essays that the students submit. I share with you some of the students' thoughts on the module. In the comments section for assessment, this one student said: "An exam on this topic would be hellish + frightening." So I'm guessing this student would prefer that we keep the current method of assessment. Another evaluation form was filled out by a very keen student who wanted to extend the seminar and workshop time to two hours per session. Although I'd get paid more, I'm not sure I would agree to such a change. My favourite comment: "seminar leader Michael Garcia did a brilliant job."

Most of the evaluations were very positive and the students seemed to really enjoy the course. That makes me very happy and although I probably won't feel the same way in September, I am looking forward to teaching the course again. In the past I've had these grand ideas for how to approach the subject and make it interesting for the students, but sadly I feel that I don't implement a third of the ideas. What usually ends up happening is that I get so busy with my thesis or something else that I just review the material the night before the seminar, doing the minimal amount of preparation required. And I feel guilty about that because I know I can do more. I need to re-read these evaluation forms just before next term so that it will inspire me to put more effort into tutoring.

Durham

2007-05-21T10:20:00.000Z

This past Saturday, Medieval Group had an excursion to Durham to see the Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture housed in the Monk's Dormitory. So at 9:45 I met a couple other medievalists and friends of medievalists at the train station for the journey. The train was crowded and I could tell that tourist season had began, as quite a few Americans were conspicuously present.

The weather was wonderful. We walked from the station up to the cathedral and lunched at the restaurant across from the treasury. We got there early in order to have time to look around the cathedral itself before going to see the sculptures.

Durham is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in England. It was built with this wonderful orange sandstone. Construction on the present cathedral began in 1093 and it was finished after 40 years and most of the original structure is still intact. The main part of the cathedral is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture, and later additions, the Gallilee Chapel and Chapel of the Nine Altars, are built in the gothic style.

The cathedral is significant not only for its architectural beauty, but also because it is where the bones of St Cuthbert and the Venerable Bede now rest. Cuthbert was originally buried at Lindisfarne and Bede at Jarrow, but during period of Viking attacks, their bones were moved and eventually both ended up at Durham. You can see Cuthbert's wooden coffin (made in 697 when he was dug up 11 years after his death and found to be incorrupt) in the treasury. It's amazing to see an intact wooden coffin from the seventh century. Pictures of the apostles and archangels decorate the coffin. Bede rests in the Gallilee chapel. I still get goosebumps every time I go to his tomb. His work is such a pivotal part of my research. Because of Bede we know so much about the early history of England. Yet, part of my thesis is critique of Bede and reconstructing what he is deliberately not telling us. In my mind I picture him as resembling Ian Holm.

The tour of the Monk's Dormitory was great. Instead of housing monks, it is now used as a library, the type I'd like to spend my time lounging in. The stone sculpture was fantastic. Catherine Karkov, one of the foremost experts on Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture, gave a talk about the artefacts we saw in the Monk's Dormitory.

So, I took pictures. Unfortunately photographs were not allowed inside the cathedral, but I did take pictures inside the Monk's Dormitory and around Durham. Go see for yourself:

Now we can look forward to pancake wars.

2007-05-21T08:17:00.000Z

Modern-Day Martin Luther Nails 95 Comment Cards To IHOP Door

Prince William Fells Prince Willem-Alexander Of The Netherlands In Crucial Joust

2007-05-04T09:38:00.000Z

Prince William Fells Prince Willem-Alexander Of The Netherlands In Crucial Joust

CHELTENHAM, ENGLAND—Magnanimous in victory, Prince William only demanded a 4.5 percent increase in durable-goods tariffs from the Dutch prince.

Think Progress » ‘Mission Accomplished’ By The Numbers

2007-05-02T08:53:00.000Z

Think Progress » ‘Mission Accomplished’ By The Numbers

Ilkley Moor - Don't forget your hat!

2007-04-11T15:28:00.000Z

Kat and I had a good Easter. Last Friday, we went over to Paul's (another crazy medievalist) for dinner. He cooked rabbit in Mexican chocolate sauce, utterly appropriate for Easter. I've forgotten what we did on Saturday. Sunday we went to Marianne's (yet another crazy medievalist, who has attained the title of doctor) house for nibbles, lawn games such as croquet, and an Easter egg hunt. Monday I worked on my thesis while Kat cleaned the house. Yesterday Kat and I went up to Ilkley for a nice hike on the moor. I didn't forget to wear a hat. I've posted photos from the hike to my Picasa photo album. Here's a link:

Ilkley

Speeding Portuguese priest prompts complaint to Pope | Oddly Enough | Reuters

2007-03-30T08:37:00.000Z

Speeding Portuguese priest prompts complaint to Pope | Oddly Enough | Reuters

You must watch the trailer for The Tripper

2007-03-29T13:52:00.000Z

The Tripper Official Trailer

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Of course, African swallows are non-migratory

2007-03-20T10:15:00.000Z

England has been under a cold snap the past few days. Spring gave summer and autumn a turn and went straight into winter. There were snow flurries over the weekend and I don't remember it being any colder than this at all over winter. And then, this morning, on the way to campus, I found a coconut in ~~Mercia~~ Hyde Park. I stopped and contemplated how it got there, continued on to campus, then turned around and went back to get the coconut. I decided that no one would believe me if I told them I found a coconut in ~~Mercia~~ Hyde Park, no matter how clearly I explained the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow. So now I have proof. I think I will add it to the shrine of kitschy religious paraphernalia we keep in the Le Patourel Room, which has been temporarily removed due to the periodic review of the IMS.

Ambrose & Kira

2007-03-19T16:36:00.000Z

As some of you know, Kat and I have recently ~~adopted~~ inherited two cats, named Ambrose and Kira. Ambrose, the one with black fur, is named after the fourth-century bishop of Milan. He's very friendly and playful. Kira, the grey and brown and white tabby, is not as outgoing, but just as sweet. She's named after the female gelfling from The Dark Crystal. So, without further ado, click on the photo below to see a small photo album with pictures of the cats.

Cats

At World's End

2007-03-19T15:39:00.000Z

The History of the World according to Undergraduates

2007-03-17T12:22:00.000Z

I've been sitting on several ideas for blog posts for a long time. Trying to write chapter one of my thesis, among many other things, has kept me from writing them. I am currently at work in the Health Sciences Library. Due to the fact that Easter Break has begun, it is very quiet here. So, I thought it might be time to compose one of those blog entries I've been meaning to do.

Last term I taught a history course that was a general survey of European History from the end of the Roman Empire to the present day. I didn't give lectures, I just lead seminars, which is where the students are broken into smaller groups and they talk about certain topics in depth. I marked their essays and graded their exams. Some of these made me proud, as they demonstrated that the students were paying attention and getting something out of the course. Most of them were mediocre, and a few made me cringe. For their final exams, I wrote down the cringe-worthy ones and share them with you now. Here is the history of the world, according to undergraduates.

Many barbarian tribes joined the Roman Empire due to the benefits they could
receive...King Theodoric received a Roman spin doctor for his cooperation.

Wherever Latin Christendom expanded to, it brought with it Christianity.

The early Roman emperors were considered to be gods on earth.
One of the earliest known multi-nation empires was the first Persian Empire,
which began in the sixth century BC. This empire even included many areas
within Britain.
Modernity must be seen as the final stage in the process of Modernisation, the
stage reached after the varying processes of modernisation have completed and
begun to work together. Modernity is a time, not a definition.
What makes such an essay [defining the characteristics of modernity] hard to
right [sic] is the fact that we are in the process of leaving or are still in
the modern era.
The crusades were steeped with a notion of expanding Christendom into its
spiritual heartland and in turn encompassing the East under a new 'Roman' sense
of identity.
The year 1500 is often seen as a transition to modernity, displaying
characteristics such as improved economic administration and social structure.
The adoption of Christianity would also lead to the Reformation dividing
Catholics and Protestants.

The following four statements are from the same exam.

As Voltaire argued, the Roman Empire was not "Holy, nor Roman, nor an
Empire".

Ferdinand and Isabella sent Columbus as a missionary but his hunt for gold and
wealth in the New World turned the native people into an inferior
race.

The Renaissance beginning around 1200 became the start of a move away
from religion, papacy, and absolute rule.

The British Empire and its success have changed the course of history to the
extent that it may be the reason I am sitting here today.

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock and Roll | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

2007-03-05T15:19:00.000Z

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock and Roll | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

House Hunting

2007-03-02T12:35:00.000Z

Kat and I were informed this week that our landlord intends to sell our house. So we are now in search for a new place to live. This is a bit of a shock and very disappointing to us. We really like our house and we don't want to move. It is large enough for us, and is conveniently located near campus, several good shops and the Hyde Park Picture House. To say that having to find a new place and move all our stuff is an inconvenience would be a massive understatement. Kat and I are both swamped with work, and don't know where we'll find the time to look for somewhere new. Thus we come to the purpose of this post. I'm putting out an appeal to any of you who read this blog to let me know about any potential places for us to live. Our contract is through August of this year, so we need something available in September. We are looking for somewhere in Hyde Park (Leeds), close to campus, two bedroom (or spacious one bedroom), double-glazed windows, furnished, for under 600 pounds per month. Please tell me if you know about anything that meets these criteria.

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

2007-03-02T11:53:00.000Z

This past Tuesday, 27 February, Kat and I went down to Birmingham to meet a friend of ours from New Orleans, Sandra, who is visiting England with her boyfriend. Birmingham was the place easiest for us to meet, and we decided to go to the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Kat has been waiting for a reason to go because it holds an impressive collection of pre-Raphaelite artwork. We spent the afternoon there gazing upon works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones as well as Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts. It's a very nice museum. My favourite objects were the giant statue of Buddha, which looks to me like he is standing in a superhero pose, and Rossetti's Proserpine. I took some photos of Kat in front of Proserpine because I think she looks more than a little like Jane Morris, who modeled for the painting. You can judge for yourself by clicking on the photos below, where you can also see a photo of a statue of Lucifer that welcomes everyone to the museum.

BirminghamMAG

Snowed Under

2007-02-28T11:53:00.000Z

I haven't been keeping up with my blog recently. This is mainly due to my increasingly large workload. At the moment I am working on a rough draft of chapter 1 of my thesis, two entries for the Brill Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage, and revising the three conference papers I presented last year in preparation for publication. I also still owe a book review to the International Medieval Bulletin.

On top of that, it appears that Kat and I might have to start looking for a new place to live in, as we have just been informed that our landlord intends to sell the house where we currently reside. I don't want to look for a new place. I like where we live and I don't want to have to move again.

Despite all this I have agreed to be interviewed on camera for a project by some broadcast journalism students. They're doing something on paganism, and I agreed to talk about the history of paganism. We'll be filming at Kirkstall Abbey. Hopefully we'll be done in time for me to attend the IMS lecture this evening at 5:30pm, Sea-faring Saints and Land-lubber Painters. After the lecture, the Medieval Film Society is screening Erik the Viking. There's been a lot of other things going on, some good some bad. I'll only mention the good. I have applied for a summer course in Budapest on Late Antiquity. I haven't learned whether or not I've been accepted, but I think I've got a good shot at it. Also, Kat and I went to Birmingham yesterday to meet up with an old friend from New Orleans, who is in the country with her boyfriend. We had a good visit with them at the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which has one of the largest collections of pre-Raphaelite drawings in the world. I'll make another post and include pictures in the near future. I must go and eat lunch now.

Because Neil asked me to

2007-02-02T14:49:00.000Z

Penn Jillette

Toque

2006-11-28T17:43:00.000Z

Here is a picture of my fellow PhD student, Alex, wearing Paul's toque (a Canadian term for a winter hat with flaps):

Viking Metal

2006-11-24T15:41:00.000Z

So this past Wednesday I went to this gig at the Rio in Bradford with the other resident metalheads among the postgrads in medieval studies: Nicky, Thom, Ralph and his friend Lev (short for the Leviathan). We saw three viking metal bands: Týr, from the Faroe Islands; Winter Sun, from Finland; and from Sweden, Amon Amarth. Týr was the main reason I wanted to go to the show. Ralph gave me a copy of their album, Eric the Red, a couple of weeks ago and I loved it. It reminds me of early Metallica. Half of their lyrics are in Faroese, so I can't understand much of it, but their songs are mainly based on the old viking sagas, such as Regin the Blacksmith. They also do a cover of "The Wild Rover" that is absolutely fantastic, and another, prophetic, song about the Greenpeace vessel, Rainbow Warrior, calling for it to sink.

Anyway, the concert was great! We walked in just as Týr began "The Wild Rover", and ran up to the stage, horns in the air, hair flailing everywhere. Unfortunately, Týr's set was quite short, only four songs, but I got to hear my favourite song of theirs ("The Wild Rover"). Here are a couple of pictures of Týr performing:

You can't see it in the photo, but the base player was wearing a chain mail shirt.

The second band up, Winter Sun, was mediocre at best. They are your generic death metal band, that look and sound more like a parody than the real thing. Their music is rather uninspired. I would much rather have had Týr perform a longer set than listen to Winter Sun. I didn't take any photos of them.

The headliners, Amon Amarth, were phenomenal. The lead singer could be a real viking. I think if you gave him a sword and a ship, he could do some serious damage. He had a drinking horn attached to his belt that he drank from throughout the show. By the time they came on, the place was more crowded, so I was further away from the stage. Therefore, my pictures of Amon Amarth and as good as the photos of Týr.

Much fun was had by all. My neck and throat are still sore though. That's partly because I haven't given them a chance to recuperate, considering the shenanigans that occurred at the Thanksgiving party Kat and I went to last night. Go read her blog post about it. She describes it much better than I could.

Vader informs Palpatine about the Death Star

2006-11-15T12:13:00.000Z

My favourite quote concerning the elections

2006-11-08T11:08:00.000Z

"And nowhere did the American people make it more clear that we need a new direction than in the war in Iraq. 'Stay the course' has not made our country safer, has not honored our commitment to our troops and has not made the region more stable. We cannot continue down this catastrophic path."

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House

View from the Le Patourel Room

2006-11-05T17:14:00.000Z

Working late on a Sunday in the Le Patourel room, I look out the window and see this magnificent sky view:

Leeds

The pictures didn't quite capture the depth of colour, just an inferior representation of reality. Enjoy these photos.

Happy Hallowe'en!

2006-10-31T19:28:00.000Z

Follow this link for your treat!

Spamalot!

2006-10-10T12:00:00.000Z

Kat and I went to see Spamalot down in London this past weekend. It was fantastic! The second act wasn't as strong as the first, but it ended with the entire audience on their feet singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". Tim Curry was, not surprisingly, phenomenal, and Hannah Waddingham was stunning as the Lady of the Lake. The new songs aren't as catchy as any of the original Python songs appearing in this show, and I was disappointed that a few of my favourite scenes in the film are missing in the musical, such as the bridge of death and Castle Anthrax. But the new scenes do add to the story and character. I loved it and I would love to see it again. Here's a link to some photos I took at the theatre.

Spamalot

Nov 6, 2005 - 10 Photos

Captain Kirk and the Holy Grail

2006-09-25T11:10:00.000Z

Green in Blue

2006-09-07T08:51:00.000Z

The fall semester is steadily approaching, and after a somewhat busy summer, I just realised that this term is quickly turning into what could be the busiest term I've ever experienced in my academic career. My contract at the International Medieval Congress ended 31 July, and was not renewed because it was decided to eliminate several part-time positions and combine them into a nearly full-time position. I simply don't have the time to do a full time job while working on my thesis. So, I've been looking for other part-time jobs. It's been going well. I've been offered some occasional work at my favourite cinema, the Hyde Park Picture House, picking up shifts of regular employees when they take vacation time. I also applied for a weekend customer service assistant position at the university library. My interview was yesterday, and I think it went rather well. I haven't heard back yet, but I was told they might not contact me until the beginning of next week. I have a good feeling about it though. I did find out this morning that I've been slated to teach some seminars at Sheffield University this term. I'll be leading tutorials for History 112: Paths from Antiquity to Modernity. I am excited about teaching a general history survey course and the opportunity to warp more young minds, or at least those that pay attention in class. I'll also be teaching a couple of Anglo-Saxon Culture seminars here in the IMS again.

After I posted a Call For Papers for the International Medieval Congress 2007 several people sent me good abstracts that will make an interesting session if it is accepted. I am in the process of submitting the proposal. I also still have to write the book review I mentioned here in my first post to this blog. Fortunately, the deadline for it has been pushed back a few times, not by my request, but because of other delays. The new deadline is the end of this month.

Outside of academia, things have been going well. Kat and I celebrated our anniversary last week by going to YO! Sushi, which serves the best sushi we've found here in England. Kat's birthday was Tuesday, and we had a party for her at Hukaz, a great little restaurant just around the corner from our house. This weekend we'll be seeing a couple of films I've been looking forward to for a while: A Scanner Darkly and The Notorious Bettie Page.

As far as my surgery goes, I feel almost fully recuperated. All my strength has returned. I still occasionally feel a little pain where they made the incisions. The scars are healing quite nicely, and will hardly be noticeable once all my chest hair grows back.

Life on Mars

2006-08-23T08:41:00.000Z

Correction. In my last post I mentioned that Kat would be on BBC Radio 4. I was mistaken. We had faulty information. She was on BBC Radio Leeds. Here is the link to the show with the segment in which she is interviewed about the Hyde Park Picture House project. Her segment begins at 2 hours and 23 minutes into the show, so you will need to fast forward a bit. You'll also need RealPlayer. I don't know how long this will be available. Probably only for the next 24 hours. So go and listen.

When the Levee Breaks

2006-08-22T07:58:00.000Z

I have double the good news to announce. Yesterday saw me discharged from the hospital about the same time my sister was being admitted to give birth to my new nephew, Landon Edward Cuevas, who came into the world at 2:59 PM Central Daylight Time (Greenwich Daylight Time -0600), weighing in at 7lb 11oz and 21" long. Welcome and happy birthday Landon! I can't wait to meet you. Congratulations Joelle and Scott!

So, yes, I said I was discharged from the hospital. I was supposed to be spending this week helping excavate a Roman villa in Norfolk. My appendix had other plans. He wasn't a happy fellow. Last week he became inflamed, causing me much abdominal pain. He was sneaky though, and didn't show any other signs that he wanted to be separated from me, such as nausea or diarrhea. Then Friday evening he threw a fit, creating some of the most severe pain I've ever experienced, at which point I decided it was a good idea to go to the Emergency Room of Leeds General Infirmary. I was admitted, and Saturday afternoon, around 2 o'clock, the surgeons sucked out my appendix and stomped that puppy flat. This was the first time in my life I was admitted to hospital as a patient. I made it 30 years in life without experiencing the joys of being a hospital patient, the wonderful cuisine, sharing a room with 5 other sick people, the courtesy of leaving a light on for you all night, and the hourly visits from the nurses to poke you and squeeze you to make sure you're still alive. I hope I make it another 30 years before I am lucky enough to be admitted to hospital again. I'm recovering well though. My stomach has three holes in it from the laparoscopy, and is a bit tender and sore, but I'm quickly regaining my strength. I intend to spend the next few days surfing the net or parked on the couch watching westerns and samurai films (I am rarely at home alone with enough time to watch the films that Kat doesn't like to watch). Needless to say, I won't be digging trenches or lugging buckets of dirt anytime soon.

In other news, Kat will be on BBC4 Today programme tomorrow morning around 8:30AM talking about her book project on the Hyde Park Picture House. Tune in! If you don't live in an area where your radio picks up BBC4, then use the listen again feature on the website.

Call for papers: Saints in the City

2006-08-15T10:09:00.000Z

Special Session at the International Medieval Congress

University of Leeds, 9-12 July 2007

To complement the theme of the 2007 International Medieval Congress, Medieval Cities, I am organising a special session devoted to the relationship between saints and cities. For example, early Christian saints sometimes shaped the geographic evolution of medieval cities. Early saints’ cults often developed around the tombs of martyrs; therefore shrines were constructed in cemeteries that lay outside Roman towns. These shrines occasionally became the nuclei around which churches expanded, with communities in turn developing around them. This shift away from the Roman centre of settlement is evident at, for instance, Bonn, Cologne, Xanten, Tours, and St Albans. This demonstrates just one aspect of possible associations between saints and urban centres.

I am seeking papers that explore not only the effect of saints on geography, but any aspect of the relationship between saints and cities in the early medieval period.

Please note that I am only organising a session proposal. The International Medieval Congress Programming Committee determines which sessions are accepted, and they usually make their decisions in November. It should also be mentioned that all session speakers and moderators at the International Medieval Congress are required to pay their own travel, registration, and accommodation fees. Information and applications for bursaries are available at http://imc.leeds.ac.uk/imcapp/Submit/BursaryApplicationForm.jsp.

Organiser: Michael Garcia, PhD Student, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds

Please send an abstract of no more than 300 words to Michael Garcia at saintsinthecity at googlemail.com by 1 September 2006.

The fourteenth International Medieval Congress will take place in Leeds, from 9-12 July 2007. For more information on the International Medieval Congress, go to http://www.leeds.ac.uk/ims/imc.

We Can Work It Out

2006-08-14T16:54:00.000Z

I found this YouTube clip over at That Little Round-Headed Boy's blog. He posted it on his blog in order to counter the depressing events being reported in the news over the past month. If your faith in humanity needs to be restored, I encourage you to watch this. It's not Frank Capra, but is just as inspiring.

Back in Black

2006-08-08T09:34:00.000Z

It’s been nearly two months since my last blog entry. What happened in that time that prevented me from chronicling my life in this highly anticipated blog? Did I fall off the face of the earth? Was I kidnapped by pirates (again)? Whisked away by the sole-surviving Time Lord and taken on adventures through space and time? Or is that that my life has been so mind numbingly dull that I haven’t had anything to write about. Nope. None of these is true. On the contrary, I’ve been so busy I haven’t had time to blog. I went to Iceland for a week. I returned in time to work ridiculously long hours at the International Medieval Congress, and had enough time after that to recuperate for a visit from my sister, brother-in law and nephew, their first trip to the UK.

Iceland was absolutely fantastic. I won’t go into detail now. I plan on transcribing my notes from the trip to this journal in the near future. In the meantime, pictures from the trip can be viewed at www.flickr.com. I must also tell of the International Medieval Congress. Several interesting developments resulted from some contacts I made there. Furthermore, I just had some family visit me here in the UK, my sister, brother-in-law, and nephew. Each of these merits at least one bog entry each.

So last week was my first full week back in the Le Patourel room (the shared office of postgraduates in medieval studies). While I should have been busily working on my thesis and preparing for my next supervision meeting, I spent my time applying for jobs. Why? Because the contract for my last job ended on 31 July, and it wasn’t renewed. This is because it was decided that since several people would be leaving the office, it would be a good idea to combine several part time jobs into one nearly full time job. Unfortunately, I can’t spare more than a few hours a week away from thesis work, so I won’t be applying for the new position. I also cannot afford to not make any income, so I’ve been whoring myself out, looking for teaching opportunities at nearby universities, and also applying for jobs in the library here at Leeds. Wish me luck!

I also spent some time last week composing a call for papers for a session I am organising at next year’s International Medieval Congress. The session is titled ‘Saints in the City’. Yes it is a pun on ‘Sex in the City’, but it is also a reference to a Bruce Springsteen song. I’ve received a few replies so far, and I hope to get more. Maybe I’ll post the call for papers here soon.

By far, the strangest thing that has happened to me since my last blog is that I have lost my sense of taste. Yeah, I know I never had much taste to begin with, but what I’m talking about is my ability to taste food. It’s a very rare side effect of some medicine I was on. It’s been a very strange phenomenon and makes eating an entirely new experience. Everything tastes of cardboard and wax. Eating is reduced to a purely biological function. I went to the doctor, and he said it was okay for me to come off the medication. I am starting to notice the slow return of my taste buds.

Leci n'est pas une pipe

2006-06-09T11:51:00.000Z

So the World Cup begins today. It doesn't seem like it's been four years since I was getting up ridiculously early to go over to my friend August's house to watch the live broadcast of the matches held in Korea.* And it was four years before that when I followed the tournament from the Bahamas, where I was participating in an archaeological field school. This year, to make things interesting, postgraduates and staff at the Institute for Medieval Studies have started a sweepstakes, where everyone draws teams, selecting randomly from slips of paper in a hat. Gag gifts will be given to those people whose teams allow the most goals. I drew Germany and Serbia, who I will now be rooting for in addition to the USA.

Leeds is currently experiencing a heat wave, with daily tempuratures reaching as high as 75°. Everyone is complaining about the heat. My standard response, if I can refrain from laughing, is to say "I don't care how many times you say it. I will not agree or sympathise with you until it reaches at least 95°."

One of the articles I've been working on has finally been submitted to the editor. It's the paper I co-authored with two other postgraduates and presented at a conference in King's College London back in March. I am still fine tuning the paper for the Iceland conference, but it is in pretty good shape. When I feel confident about it, I'll begin working on a PowerPoint presentation to go with it. I also still have a book review to write, but that's now not due until August.

*August had a dog that would howl whenever he heard bagpipes. I don't know which sound was more grating on the ears.** Fortunatley, living in Baton Rouge, there weren't many occasions where one was exposed to bagpipes. August remedied this by purchasing CD's with bagpipe music with the sole intention of playing them to make his dog howl.

** I am telling a lie. I like bagpipes. I once gave my mother a CD of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards as a birthday present just so I could listen to it. I did leave it with her, though, when I moved over here to England.

De ratione temporibus

2006-06-01T16:34:00.000Z

My how time flies. I don't know where May went. Come to think of it, I'm still wondering what happened to 2005. May was a busy month, but June and July will make May seem like a walk in the park.

For Memorial Day, Kat and I hiked out to Kirkstall Abbey, on the outskirts of Leeds. It's the ruins of a twelfth century Cistercian Monastery. We were rained on walking there and back, but the weather was cooperative while we were there. Here's a picture of the abbey:

I've put up an album of photos from the abbey, along with a few others, over at Flickr.

My thirtieth birthday was the 14th of May. I don't feel any older. I didn't expect that I would. I really don't have any further comment about my age. I have received some nice cards and gifts from family and friends, mostly gift certificates which I will use or have used to get CD's and DVD's. So far this includes Batman Begins, Serenity, Best of Bowie and Fight Club. With the remainder, I am considering MirrorMask, Star Wars Episode III (that's right, I don't own it yet), Clone Wars Vol. II, Samurai Jack Season 2 and Corvus Corax' Carmina Burana. Kat and I also have a stack of DVD's we've borrowed from friends to watch. We're waiting for the next installment of Smallville Season 3. In the meantime we're watching Twin Peaks.

Did you know that there is a Luxuriant Flowing Hair Club for Scientists? I thought about applying, but I'm not sure if they consider archaeology a science.

This past weekend, Kat and I went to see the Rocky Horror Show in York. It was fantastic! There were several audience members with perfect timing on the participation lines, and the cast did an excellent job responding to them. At least half of the audience was in costume. Kat and I weren't in full costume, just mildly goth. Kat took this photo of some of the crowd:

David Bedella was an outstanding Frank'n'furter. He's not as good as Tim Curry, but then again, only Tim Curry is as good as Tim Curry. Which reminds me, I'm very much looking forward to seeing him as King Arthur in Spamalot. Kat and I have tickets for when the show opens in London this October.

I found out Tuesday that I was awarded a travel grant from the Royal Historical Society for my conference in Iceland. Thank you Royal Historical Society! I spent a good portion of yesterday obtaining reservations for a hostel in Reykjavik, accommodation at the conference, and train tickets to Stansted Airport. Unfortunately, there are no trains I can take that will get me from Leeds to Stansted early enough to catch my flight. So I will be arriving late the night before my flight and sleeping at the airport. That's going to be fun.

He's more machine now than man...twisted and evil

2006-05-05T11:47:00.000Z

But there's still good in him. I can feel it. I am referring of course to George Lucas, who has found it in his cold heart to release the original theatrical versions of the Star Wars trilogy on DVD. See the official Star Wars website. Of course there is a catch. The unaltered original films are merely 'bonus material' added to the re-re-re-release of the dreaded special editions, version 2.1. I will of course buy them, increasing George Lucas' bank account which by now must rival Scrooge McDuck's money pool. I wonder what other special features will be on the discs.

Sci-Fi Wasabi

2006-05-02T13:46:00.000Z

Yo! Sushi is a dangerous restaurant. Kat and I went there for dinner Sunday night. It is a sushi restaurant where the patrons sit at the bar where fresh sushi passes before them on a little conveyor belt. You take whatever you fancy. The plates are colour-coded, and each colour is a different price. Lime is £1.50, blue £2, orange £2.50, pink £3, purple £3.50 and black £5. When you're done, your waiter/waitress counts up the plates and gives you the cheque. If you're not paying attention, you can rack up a heavy bill. This is quite easy to do when the sushi is particularly good, which it was. Except for the fact that the staff were eager to go home and began shutting down early, it was a highly enjoyable experience. It was the best sushi I've consumed on this side of the Atlantic. I am simultaneously thrillled and afraid that there is a new location of Yo! Sushi here in Leeds.
After sushi, Kat and I wondered along the Thames and across the Golden Jubilee Bridge, where I took this photograph:
This picture does not accurately portray the weather at the time. It was windy, and chilly, and threatening to rain. Not surprising considering the location, but still unpleasant if it is the last day of April.

I finished and sent in the travel grant to the Royal Historical Society for the conference in Iceland. I spent all day today working on it, and received an excellent reference from one of my supervisors. I should find out if I will receive it by 19 May. Keep your fingers crossed! Now all that is on my agenda is that book review, a paper for the conference, and that other paper to be published. The other co-authors and I have set and cancelled meetings three times since our last meeting, because as each appointment approached we had to admit to each other that we hadn't actually done anything with our portion of the piece. We were supposed to meet today but postponed again until next Monday.

My final Latin class, ever, was today. I've been doing Latin for two years now and am happy with my level of proficiency. In class we read some fairly easy quasi-philisophical text titled Vir Speculativus. I will continue studying Latin via the postgraduate reading group, but no more classes. And of course I'll use it in my thesis. This may be the last class I ever take as a student. I hope not.

I tried a new recipe for dinner last night, beef panang. It was delicious. The recipe calls for thin strips of beef cooked in coconut milk and red curry paste, with some fish oil and brown sugar. I added some broccoli and green pepper and served it over rice. I think it will be a new regular dish in my repetoire.

Sultans of Swing

2006-04-28T15:00:00.000Z

I'm glad that this week, one of the busiest I've had in months, is drawing to a close. The meeting with my supervisors on Wednesday went very well and saw much inspiring discussion about where to go with my research. Yesterday's symposium was a resounding success. So tonight I shall stay in with Kat and watch Batman Begins on DVD, an early birthday present. Tomorrow will be grocery shopping, working on my thesis, and a shift behind the concession stand at the Hyde Park Picture House (whose website has curiously been down for a few days now). Sunday Kat and I are going down to London to catch an exhibit, Gothic Nightmares, at the Tate Britain, and an early birthday dinner for me at Yo! Sushi, both of which I'm very much looking forward to. Our return train will be arriving in Leeds at 2am Sunday night/Monday morning. Fortunately, Monday is a bank holiday, so we can sleep in.

Ramble On

2006-04-28T11:46:00.000Z

So I thought I'd share what passes for humor among post-graduate students in medieval studies. In the UK, Easter Break lasts for one month, and we get no other holidays during term time. Over break, my classmate, Zsuzsa, went back home to Hungary. She left some of her library books here in Leeds, in the post-graduate shared office, AKA the Le Patourel Room. While in Hungrary she received an email notice from the Brotherton Library stating that one of her books was due back soon:

Brotherton Library
University of Leeds
Leeds LS2 9JT
0113 343 5663
20-04-06

Medieval Studies FT
Zsuzsa
INSTITUTE FOR MEDIEVAL STUDIES

Dear Library member,
Another customer has requested this item. Please return
by the due date below. The item is not eligible for renewal.
A fine will be payable if it is not returned by this date.
Thank you.

Kantorowicz, Ernst Hartwig,
The king's two bodies : a study in
CALL NO: Philosophy M-4.2 KAN
BARCODE: 30106000745306
Brotherton Main level DUE: 26-04-06
DATE CHECKED OUT: 07-02-06 05:41PM

8:59

Zsuzsa's solution to returning the book in Leeds while still in Budapest was to email the following message to all other post-graduates in the Institute for Medieval Studies:

Congratulations!
You won!

Participating in the 'Work for Zsuzsa' communal programme you are eligible for the amazing new challenge: The Great Dungeon Experience!

Grab Ernst Kantorowicz and you might be the lucky runner-up for the next round!

All you have to do is find him on the top shelf in LePat and dunk the King's Two Bodies in the gaping orifice of the Great Hall of Brotherton.

Enter our amazing medieval-themed sweepstake by collecting the most dragon-points and gremlin powerscores!

Who knows? You may be the next winner who will have the opportunity to spend an entertaining night out with Leeds's only Hungarian celebrity!

Unbelievable!

You may even be eligible to enter the bonus mega-challenge and end up paying for the superstar's snakebites* too!

Don't miss it! The chance of a lifetime!

To enter the sweepstake report on your successful mission to our headquarters in Budapest.

Many thanks for participating.

To all those not wishing to be involved in the project: sorry for spamming.

The Zsuzsa

*A snakebite is a type of alcoholic beverage, consisting of blackcurrent juice and cider.

Communication Breakdown

2006-04-25T08:11:00.000Z

So, I had a presentation yesterday evening that didn't go as well as it could have. Just as I began to talk I became very nervous, and consequently abandoned the sequence of my speech. I managed to recover after a couple of minutes, and apparantly aside from the shaky start, the paper was well received. I think the pretty PowerPoint slides I used impressed them. However, I'm a little ashamed about having been so nervous. After all, I presented a paper for a conference at King's College London last month, and I wasn't nervous about that at all, even though that was a more intimidating venue. Ultimately, I just wasn't as fully prepared as I could have been. That will not be the case for the conference in Iceland. The conference organiser requires all papers to be submitted beforehand. So, I've got to finish writing my paper, the travel grant application, the book review, and the other paper I owe to that editor.

Valhalla I am coming

2006-04-12T15:31:00.000Z

I'm going to Iceland! I found a travel grant that I am eligible for, and really cheap tickets at Icelandexpress.com. So I purchased the tickets, and hopefully I will get the travel grant. The grant is from the Royal Historical Society, and the deadline is May 8th. It was difficult finding a travel grant for which I am eligible. Many funding bodies only give you grants if you already have a PhD. Also, being an American studying in the UK limits my eligibility. Now all I have to do is renew my passport and transfer my visa.

From Roman Provinces to Barbarian Kingdoms

2006-04-12T08:36:00.000Z

Although it is mid-April the mercury in the thermometer is still hovering just above freezing. We had a brief warm spell last week but now it's back to miserable.
I went to the train station this morning to get tickets to Liverpool for Friday. The university is shut for Easter, so Kat and I are taking a day trip. We'll be going to the Lady Lever Art Gallery, which has many pre-Raphaelite works of art. That evening we'll be taking a ghost walk tour of the city, run by a company called Shiverpool. Maybe we'll see the grave of Eleanor Rigby. Kat and I have been on many haunted history tours in a few cities, including London, Dublin, Edinburgh, New Orleans...and others that escape me at the moment.
I got a surprise in my inbox this morning. A couple of months ago I read about a conference this summer in Iceland on saints and geography, which is closely related to my thesis. I emailed the organiser and asked about the cost and whether or not any travel grants were available. The organiser emailed me back with more details and asked how it related to what I was doing. Being in Iceland, the costs were a little high, but the papers being presented had a technologoical focus, discussing the use of databases, something that is very relevant to my current work. So I wrote back explaining what my thesis is and what I'm working on. The organiser replied and asked if I could give a paper. I explained that I would love to attend and present a paper, but only if I managed to get some sort of travel grant, because I am poor as dirt. I didn't hear anything after that for some time, until this morning a mass email about the conference appears in my inbox. It includes more conference information about travel and accomodation, and the conference schedule. Listed among the speakers giving papers is me! I guess I was accepted, and I think I should start looking for travel grants. The good news is if I go, I can recycle the paper I plan to present to the University of Leeds Medieval Group in two weeks. But I still have a book review to write and work to submit to my supervisors. Oh, and I just rememberd that other paper I owe to an editor.

After Rome

2006-04-12T08:34:00.000Z

ho hum. I'm meant to be working on my thesis, but the temptation of the internet is too strong a distraction. I've got too much work to do: a book review, a presentation in two weeks, a database to build, a supervisors meeting quickly approaching, travel grants to find, and Guildor to frame for it.
Kat, my wife, and I saw The Princess Bride on the big screen last night, as part of a kids film festival. I don't know but I don't think I saw it when it originally ran in cinemas. Also saw The PianoTuner of Earthquakes. Very strange, like David Lynch meets Jan Svankmajer.
Saturday saw a great live show at the Royal Park Pub, with Frances Rodgers and Curtis Eller, both fantastic musicians.