Eureka

To those of you who prayed and/or thought (intensely) happy thoughts yesterday: it worked.

I had a major breakthrough in my research today. If you're interested in plagues, famine, and the Christian response, ask me about it.

And I'm doing much better emotionally. I had magnificently helpful discussions with my sister and Charlie last night. Thanks, you two.

Quotes of the day:
"Integrity on one side of our character is no voucher for integrity on the other side." - John Henry Newman

"I better off my bling before I play." - Professor Louis MacKenzie, taking off his watch before playing Bob Dylan songs in front of a graduate-level French class. His use of the verb "off" is incredible given his abilities with several languages.

I didn't watch a movie in the library today. By the time I got to it, it was 4 pm, and I had failed to remember that the A/V section closes at 5 on Fridays. I may watch Rushmore or The Life Aquatic this evening. We'll see.

So instead I decided to grab a chai latté and wander around by the lake. It was beautiful, as usual. I have this unusual connection with chai lattés. They've been present in many of the great moments of my life, which have mainly been sitting in a Starbucks or equivalent with friends. One lovely connection is drinking chai lattés during Christian Study Center reading groups with Richard Horner and John Sommerville. It was during a discussion of Walker Percy's essay on bourbon that actually caused me to realize this connect with my favorite beverage. You should read that essay. It's in one of my all-time favorite books: Signposts in a Strange Land.

Wow, that really got me in the mood for Walker Percy. I think I'll go to the library soon and read a little bit of that book.

Anyway, I wandered around for a while. For most of today, I listened to some French lessons (trying to get my comprehension and speaking somewhere in the same country as my reading ability), but I switched to Sufjan's latest album of Illinois b-sides. It's a great album. I strolled by the lake, just taking in the vast, blue expanse. Lakes can calm me down in the midst of just about anything.

On the way back, I ran into a wedding party; someone had just gotten married in the basilica. It was so nice. All was right with the world.

I also saw the greatest graffiti of all time in the library today:
"CUBS GO ALL THE WAY IN
1995
1996
1997
(etc.)
2006!"

Each year from 1995 until now was in different handwriting. Amazing. Oh, and Tony, if you read this, someone had also written "WORCESTER, MA" on one of the desks.

I'm seriously considering taking a random day trip to Chicago tomorrow. Oh, Sufjan, what have you done to me?

Let's end this entry with a quick poll:

What do you think of Noam Chomsky's statement that professional sports are just a way of diverting the common person's attention from things that really matter? Chomsky is a king among men and I totally agree. Eh, that's only partially true. Recreation is an essential part of life. That's a stupid question - sports ARE the things that really matter! I only watch college sports, so HA!    Free polls from Pollhost.com

Peace,
Sam