The journey continues...

Brian Bilbrey October 1, 2012

1001

Ten weeks of instruction left until my BS is officially official. Prior to this, I've been an amateur at BS, clearly. And Sunday nights are my "stuff is due" night for class. Mea maxima culpa! * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Gunners Mate 2nd Class Dion R. Roberts, 25, of North Chicago, Illinois, died Sept. 22, as a result of a single vehicle accident in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Staff Sgt. Orion N. Sparks, 29, of Tucson, Arizona, died Sept. 26, in Pul-E Alam, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when an insurgent wearing a…

Brian Bilbrey September 23, 2012

Fall snuck in the back door

While yesterday was the astronomically first day of Fall, it was warmer than most of the prior week. But that was the peak, and temps are dropping again. I harvested a bunch of pain from the garden today: I'm just preparing to rinse the harvest in the sink - it's mostly serrano and habañero peppers, plus a few jalapeño, a couple of tomatoes, and a tiny bell pepper. I ground up perhaps a quarter of that harvest to preserve here. The rest is going to the office tomorrow. Pain is best shared! I also roasted a pound of Sumatra Lake…

Brian Bilbrey September 17, 2012

Counting down...

Twelve weeks of instruction left to my collegiate days. Sunday evening was full of final composition and review for a couple of things due ... and I flat forgot my duty. But here I am! Before I proceed, however, I'd like to point you in the direction of Marcia's new (old) site: Marcia's Makings. She's been making lots of wonderful things, and just knows that you need to buy them for holiday gifts, or to keep yourself warm as Fall arrives... So visit * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Chief Warrant…

Brian Bilbrey September 9, 2012

Hugo Rerun on a Sunday

Progress made in class, I think, I hope ... And tonight, we're blessed with the re-run on uStream of the Hugos, which got whacked during their live presentation by a out-of-control copyright bot. * * * Our condolences to the families, friends, and units of these fallen warriors: Spc. Kyle R. Rookey, 23, of Oswego, New York, died Sept. 2, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan from a non-combat related incident. Staff Sgt. Jeremie S. Border, 28, of Mesquite, Texas, died Sept. 1, in Batur Village, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire. Staff Sgt. Jonathan…

Brian Bilbrey September 8, 2012

Myth

My first class this Fall session is a last GER class, this one about myths and (mostly) Mythology. Frankly, it's an agony for me, because my interpretation is that Myth is fiction that has outstayed its welcome. Sure, they're compelling stories and all that, and as such useful for modern novelists and filmmakers to retread such stories and distribute them as "content" (a word I despise) to the cattle of our consumer society. They're especially good for that because people aren't educated nearly as well anymore. But analysis of myth, and and the making up of whole cultures, a whole…