Spending some quality time with JT

Tonight on PBS there is an episode of Great Performaces featuring the great James Taylor. He was honored this year at the MusiCARES person of the year. Unfortunately, James Taylor didn't play for the entire hour and half because it was a tribute concert. But there were some people that I like ( Bonnie Raitt and Sting to name a few). And India.Arie had the awesomest bag ever which had a picture of a very young (circa "Sweet Baby James") James Taylor on it. It seems so weird to see James Taylor (and other singers that my mom loved like Emmylou Harris, Judy Collins and Paul Simon) looking old because when I was first introduced to them, they were still young (from seeing album covers). I always think "JT when did you get so old and lose all your hair!?" (For the record, I think the same thing when I see Paul Simon too. Less so for Judy Collins and Emmylou Harris, I mostly think about how pretty their silver hair looks.) My friend Fiona from the Academy used to refer to another employee as JT and I of course always thought she meant James Taylor. So I hate when people refer to Justin Timberlake as JT. Even after James Taylor dies, Justin Timberlake will never be JT.

"My Sloppy Joe is all Sloppy and no Joe."- Bobby Hill

Don't Make Me Live in a House of Wee

So right now, my PBS station is running Britcom One Season wonders and tonight it was "The Savages" which is about a married couple with two young children. The little boy, Luke, keeps wetting the bed. And eventually the house begins to smell like pee (hence the title). The show was so funny (and features the fab Geoffrey Palmer from "As Time Goes By"). And now for a short overview of my trip to Heidelberg. After I arrived at the Frankfurt Airport, Trey found me and then we drove to their house (after a quick stop at a local orchard for some cider). And I got to meet my adorable nephew Ellis for the first time. I swear I have never seen such a smiley baby (nor one that was able to pinch the smallest amount of skin!). Then on Monday, I walked around Bammental with Rachel and Bridget (and their babies). On Tuesday, we visited Heidelberg castle and walked around Heidelberg. The castle tour was really good (and interesting, more about the people that had lived there than anything else.) And then of course on Thursday, the three of us (with some help from Silas) made the fantastic Thanksgiving dinner ( I made the pie filling and mashed the potatoes). And on Friday, we went (sans Trey) to the Christmas Market in Frankfurt. It was amazing all the stuff that was for sale there, all sorts of hats, toys and assorted knickknacks. And of course we the traditional gluehwein. After returning from the Christmas market, we celebrated Bridget's birthday by playing a game and watching some Pee-Wee Herman. I had a wonderful time in Germany and I can't wait to see all my sisters at Christmas.

"Wait a minute. I don't recall a change in plans being in the original plan."- Dale Gribble

Bonus Quote:
"Plan 51-Tango! In the event of a hostile takeover of the gun club, resulting in a Dale-threatening situation, I flee to Costa Rica. Why do we even have the drills if you're not gonna pay attention?" - Dale Gribble

We'll Start on this crappola tomorrow

So I am back home again in Iowa City. I spent a lot of time today in airports, but all in all the day wasn't too bad. I promise that on Sunday, I will do a whole write up for my blog (between working on my presentation, my occupational health assignment, and my cell bio write-up and grocery shopping). But for now, I will be going to bed. Good Night!

"Dangit, Bobby, people will see that oil stain and think I'm a drunk."- Hank Hill

Bonus Quote:
"Well, I'm happy for me, but I am sad for you. But don't worry, honey, I will keep this between you, me, Bobby, and the family therapist we will undoubtedly need to see."- Peggy Hill

An American in Heidelberg.

I haven't posted in a while so there will be talk of my test and my trip to Frankfurt. First my test on Thursday night went alright. Not a well as the first one, but I wasn't in the depths of despair after like with the second one. There has been an increase in attempted sexual assaults in Iowa City recently so of course I was super concerned that I would be attack on Thursday (my week has not been the best disaster-wise so I just assumed the worst). But I arrived at the bus-stop with out incident. Then one Friday, I attend a lecture by Andrew Fire who just won the Nobel. I didn't get to actually see him though, because so many people attended, there were two rooms of overflow (and the lecture was broadcast to those two rooms). His lecture was really interesting and he seemed like a really nice guy. After the lecture, I started to do some hard-core packing and cleaning for my week long absence. All I will say about my suitcase is that it was heavy and only 25% clothing. My flight on Saturday wasn't until about 6, so I was able to sleep in a little and watch some of the Purdue-Indiana game (Purdue Won!!) before I drove to Davenport to drop off my car at Sarah's and then have her drive to the airport. I got to visit with her for about an hour which is always fun before I went to the Quad Cities airport. My flight from the Quad city airport to Chicago was fine, we were about 10 minutes early (which was good because I had about 10 minutes to catch my connection) but then we had to wait for a gate. So I was freaked out about catching my connection but I got on at the final boarding call. The flight to Frankfurt wasn't too bad, but I wasn't able to sleep very much because the woman in front of me had to recline her seat and then move around (so she was constantly hitting my knee with her seat). But my luggage wasn't lost and I found Trey without a problem so it was okay. I will be updating through the week about my adventures in Heidelberg.

"Between the drugging and the lying, someone in this family has got to show a little got-dang integrity."- Hank Hill

Fun Fact

I know I haven't posted in almost a week, but what can I say, I'm lazy! I went home to the farm for the weekend to get ready for my trip across the pond(in less than a week yikes!) But before I go, I have a cell biology test to study for, as well as a ton of papers to read, and work on my presentation about neurological diseases in farmers. So I have been pretty busy. But the weekend at home was very nice (even the drive home was like driving through a monsoon). I was able to watch a Purdue game with other Purdue fans (for the first time of the season) and I am happy to say that Purdue won (over Illinois) and is now bowl eligible. And mom sent back part of a hero and potato soup with me so I am enjoying the soup right now. Now I am reading in my cell bio book about filaments, and this is where I am getting a fun fact for this post. If you ingest a death cap mushroom, a remedy is do ingest a large amount of raw meat (the actin filaments from the meat bind to the toxin instead of your own actin filaments) . Enjoy!

"It's a "Fun Run," Dad. I ran until it stopped being fun. Happened quick."- Bobby Hill

Expect some delays

okay, I know I promised a review of the Russia book, and I swear I am working on it! Tonight, instead of working on the review, I watched Paula Poundstone on Bravo. And she was hilarious (as I expected). I thought I would share one little gem from her routine. She said that she wished she had a degenerative disease because she already feels achy and tired, but if she had a degenerative disease everything she did would be courageous. "I would role out of bed at noon, and everyone would say she insisted on getting up. She just gives and gives until she has nothing left." Hopefully that will tide you off until my Russian review.

"Your dad's days of hating me are coming to a close. Who can hate a kid who can Charleston?" -Bobby Hill

And just because I love this quote, I can't resist:

"I'm glad I'm not the lama. The Chane Train stops for the ladies." - Chane Wasonasong

Killer Shrews, Killer Shrews, K-I-double L- E-R Shrews

So, this weekend I watched Mystery Science Theater 3000 featuring Killer Shrews (hence the title) as well as "Swamp Diamonds" and "Manos: The Hands of Fate". But believe it or not, that was not the highlight of my weekend, (but it was pretty good.) No, the highlight of the weekend was the fact that Purdue was able to actually hold on to a two point lead and beat Michigan State this weekend, hooray! Iowa, on the other hand, continued it's downward slide by losing to Northwestern. Which I don't really feel bad about because one of the student sports writers said that Purdue was one of the worst teams in the Big Ten (well at least Purdue beat Northwestern, jerk!) And I had a fancy Sunday dinner with a friend. I made some fab panna cotta on Saturday so I had her over for some fettuccini alfredo with chicken, broccoli, and foil bread as well as panna cotta with raspberries. Since I am cooking for one, I don't get really excited to make a fancy-ish dinner so it was nice to stretch my culinary muscle once in a while. And of course I enjoyed watching MST3K over the weekend, it reminded me of my sisters (especially "Swamp Diamonds").

"Marriage is about trust, and she betrayed him. It was like a knife in his heart when she stuck that fork in his back." -Peggy Hill
Bonus Quotes:
"Leanne's first husband is working on an offshore oil rig in the gulf, and he swears he's coming ashore until I fax him her death certificate. " - Hank Hill

"Bobby, red alert! Get over to Dale's house and lock the door." - Hank Hill

Please allow me a few minutes on my soapbox.

As part of my TA duties for my class (Environmental Health), I am update the slides and notes for the web-based course. I am starting on the slides about the ecosystem and the notes mention the importance of maintaining biodiversity because some plants and animals could have therapeutic value to human. And I can't help but think, why can't we maintain biodiversity so the ecosystem doesn't get all wonky? Why is the only reason to protect something is because it might be helpful to human one day? Can't we just protect species so our children's children actually know what the natural habitat for a lemur is (as opposed to a zoo enclosure)? Maybe it's just me, but it seems that protection of the environment for human-centric reason sort of got us in the mess we are in now. But then again maybe the ends justify the needs, and it should not matter the exact reason for maintaining biodiversity as long as it is being maintained.

Reading Around the World update: I have about 25 more pages for Russia, I should have my first review for this project by Monday!

"I've seen some things that I have never seen before. Like the sunrise, morning dew, and snails on the sidewalk. I never want to see those things again." - Bobby Hill

Hugh Laurie= Brit Genuis

I saw Hugh Laurie on Saturday Night Live and I can't keep this quote to myself :
"There will be British humor tonight. It will feature very elborate puns that will take days to figure out with most likely very little pay off. "

"Six a.m. and already the boy ain't right."- Hank Hill

It's The Gator- Mater

So yesterday, I watched the Pee Wee Herman live show on DVD. I haven't watched that since our house burned down in 2001. I underestimated how much of that show that I remembered. Meaning I spent almost the entire 58 minutes laughing so hard my stomach hurt. I been having kind of a crappy week, so watching some Pee Wee was just what I needed. I had to sort some slides and stain them this week. And of course at the semester is more than half over, I'm getting anxious to make some real progress on my thesis work. So I have been apprehensive about everything from when am I going to be finishing my thesis to what am I going to do after I graduate (if I graduate). All that worrying has affected my ability to go to sleep (because that it when I think about it). So hopefully I will calm down soon, so I can sleep. To make myself feel better, I have been getting Mystery Science Theater movies through Netflix. I watched "Hercules versus the moon men" that featured a never ending sandstorm scene. But Joel, Tom, and Crow made a some jokes about an L. Ron Hubbard book including: "How much money are we going to get out of Tom Cruise pg 54."

"Bill!! Bill, you have to be the stupidest man on the planet to think this is a good idea! Have you seen what you're wearing?! That outfit makes you look like a sequined train wreck! Look at you!! You're part of a twelve-headed Jackass! This chorus is the feces that is produced when shame eats too much stupidity! You people make me envy the deaf and the blind!" - Dale Gribble

Bonus Quote: "Normally I'd tell you to go to my blog, but even that's being censored by Hank." - Dale Gribble