Update

Pulcheria said I needed a new post.

something's afoot

Photo by WildBound ©

Pop-Quiz

As the proud father of two gorgeous girls, I thought I’d use this post to see if you can identify which one of these little ones is not, in fact, my offspring. Any guesses?

Prizes for the Fam

Sometimes inspiration comes at the most unexpected times… and is twice blessed for it. My friend and colleague, Erin (a PhD student focusing on medieval Ireland), brought presents for my family today. Pulcheria’s comment tells the story: “you can tell she’s a mom!” She gave us diapers (sooo necessary - and nice not to have to buy myself) and a device to capture Adria’s size (figuratively speaking). But, she also got Beemer a prize: mess-less markers and finger-paints! She was so excited she insisted upon opening and using them immediately. Here she is showing Grandma how to use the paints.

Thanks again, Erin!

Nomen Ultimum

It turns out that, after I told Beemer her "very own baby sister's" name, she had two comments – one about the first name and one about the middle:

a) Bruno? Like the doggie in Cinderella?

b) Borga? Like the Proletariat and the Bourgeoisie? We're Bourgeois, right Daddy?

Not wishing to encourage too much Marxist/Disney indoctrination (at least not before she is able to explain how both Marx and Rand are opposite sides of the same-exact-erroneous coin), Pulcheria and I now have an official name, and it’s too late to change because the paperwork has already been submitted. This time it’s for real – the post below was merely a joke, and I got some great reactions to it, too!

The name of Beemer’s “very own baby sister” is officially: Adriana Zoe. Pulcheria and I are still working out whether to nick-name her Adri (Aid – ree) or Adria. Beemer, however, has it all figured out: “I’ll call her Anna Montana.”

Grandma, who graciously flew in to supplement my efforts, agrees that she's beautiful, and loves the name (it's Adria, BTW).

B. I. Webb

I’ve decided that 6:00 in the morning, after being up for almost 24 hours, is not the most ideal time to make a decision on a new baby’s name. Pulcheria and I really hope they’ll let us change it. I’m about to go back to the hospital to see if they’ve already filed the paperwork with the notary public. If, for some horrible reason, the Missouri bureaucracy is more efficient than the Utah, then we’ll be stuck. That, or we’ll have to pay to change it. At any rate, in case we’re stuck with the name allow me introduce you to the new daughter of Pulcheria and me – Beemer's “very own baby sister:”

Brunhilde Ingeborg Webb.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

With the notable exception of making the bed (which I can't do until morning, anyway), my to-do list is a has-been-done list. My first semester of graduate work is done. Only nine more to go... Well, hopefully it'll only be nine more.

But, that's all in the future. For now, I'll simply relish the fact that there are no assignments hanging over my head, I get to see my family again, and I can relax for a while. [Breathe deeply - Smile]

World Bird Sanctuary

As per requests and promises, on Friday I took a couple photos of where I volunteer. The Turkey Vulture’s name is Turk, and she really likes to bite. You can tell she's a bigger bird by how far I'm leaning back to counter-balance. The Great Horned Owl’s name is Coal, and he’s a sweetie who likes to hoot. Coal is, quite possibly, the messiest bird at the Sanctuary, frequently dirtying up his furniture, and thus my hands when I handle him.

Ozark Initiation

I came to a realization a few nights ago. Although I really wanted to pig-out on comfort food, I didn’t need it. Although I was offered several places in which said pigging-out could be carried out, I decided to turn them down. What I really miss is my family and friends and wilderness. I could celebrate Thanksgiving with relative strangers, and thus strengthen budding friendships (and thus have more time to work), OR I could celebrate with established friends & family (fun, but leaving no time to work), OR I could get off my butt and find some wilderness. I opted for the latter. I had a hasty breakfast at 5:30, then drove for about an hour and a half and found myself at the trailhead for a section of the Ozark Trail.

It was lightly snowing, and the stream sang for me. All for me, since I alone owned the trail today. The creek greeted me very closely, as I slipped in my crossing. Fortunately I brought a couple extra pairs of socks, so even that trial has turned into a great memory (on the way back, I took off foot gear and crossed it “North Fork,” style, ala WM). My good camera is in Utah, enjoying the family that I miss, so I had to make do with my cell-phone. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! See you soon.

How to Waterproof a Thumb-Drive

Here's my one-hour Saturday afternoon (while Bree napped) project. Yes, this was work avoidance, inspired by Z.1) acquire a (cheap) USB flash-drive

2) carefully extract the innards
3) apply thin layer of waterproof (i.e., non-permeable) epoxy, taking special care to coat the four terminals going into the metal sheath, NB do not epoxy more than a mm. or two onto the metal sheath [no pics here - sorry, my hands were full]
4) wait 20-30 minutes, then apply second layer [again, no pics] 5) (OPTIONAL, BUT RECOMMENDED) wait another 20-30 minutes, then superglue a key-ring (or other such attaching device) and ID-tag6) Final coat over electronics, ID-tag and ring (if you waste too much, like me, this should finish up your syringe of epoxy)
7) Let cure for at least 24 hours before complete submersion

8) Enjoy. If it gets accidentally washed, or soaked in soda, it should still work for you.

The Return of the Prodigals

Let it be known that the exiles have announced that their diaspora will receive a temporary respite. The Webb family, expatriates of the state of Utah, July 28 – present, will return to their fatherland. Ahenobarbus, Pulcheria and Beemer will all stand on Deseret’s sacred soil on December 18, 2007.

“It’s a mixed bag. Going back behind the Zion Curtain fills me at once with both excitement and anxiety,” said Ahenobarbus, the paterfamilias. “I want to play with Landon and Oakley,” Beemer has been found saying, followed occasionally by “is it Christmas, yet?” Merrily foreseeing babysitters, Pulcheria simply smiles with glee at the prospect.

See you all then… Hey, who wants to volunteer for airport pick-up duty? I may ask Tristano to haul me down to his place for the night so I can hit Diamond Fork (aka. Fifth Water) Springs! Who wants to come with?

Fun with Books

Last Monday, for FHE, we went to the local library. We read books with Beemer for about a half hour, then she picked out some for us to take home. She grabbed Frog and Toad are Friends and Pizza Fun. Pulcheria has liked Toad and Frog for a long time. I don’t remember reading it, but am a fan, now. Superb beginning reader. We were both skeptical, however, about the pizza book, and tried to talk her out of it, seeing as how it didn't have what we perceived as "staying power."

That silly pizza book has also proven a surprising find. Not only were we pleased to find that Beemer continues to look at its pages, but we actually tried a couple of the recipes today. Delicious looking tigers ensued (as you can tell from Bree's territorial roar, below)!

The Formal Flower of Academe

golden flowers stand in formation
at attention on a faded blue field
ever they face the rostrum of knowledge

erudition penetrates
gently the ears, violently the mind

scholars sit slouched in chairs
hunched over notepads
feet shuffle on floral carpet
pens pretend to scribble

the air charges with cerebral energy
synapse fires
neurons flash

fact and invention infuse
fill already overflowing brains
condense on aural canals

drips sink in, streams retreat
shower down information
on the fleurs-de-lis
as they, rigid, attend the speaker

Ex Am In Nation

Secretly, I’m glad that Pulcheria asked me to post this information up. It’s a great pretext to letting you all know, not only what’s going on in my life lately, but also that I’m starting to get my bearings. It’s about time, too.

For me, one of the greatest feelings in the world is to set a goal, then work my tail off to achieve it. This is how I lost 70 pounds in roughly 8 months. It's also, coincidentally, how I got into my MA program here in Missouri (my top choice of schools). Complementary to that great feeling is the panicked frustration when I am in over my head. I was feeling fairly pathetic here, questioning my ability, my intelligence, and my sanity. Things are starting to change - slowly - but that's enough for now. So, every MA history student at SLU must pass a foreign language competency exam before receiving their degree. This is usually taken the last semester before graduating. For students of medieval history, this test must be in Latin, and has a surprisingly high failure rate. Well, as I mentioned, I was feeling fairly inadequate to the program since my knowledge of medieval Europe isn’t nearly as strong as everyone else’s (my BA was primarily in Classics) but I needed to feel like I was actually working toward something: moving toward a goal. Therefore, in order to feel like I was making some form of progress I took the test on my second Friday here.

So, today I’m sitting in class and I ask my advisor how soon I would hear back about my test, and he said, “Oh, you aced it. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. I graded it that weekend.” Nearly two years ahead of schedule, too. So, I guess that’s one thing I can check off my list, right?

On that euphoric high, I went on to present my research into the obscure little event I’m looking into and my thoughts and interpretations of the primary documents. The class seems more interested than they have been, probably because I finally feel that I have some sort of rudimentary grip on the material, now. My advisor even said that it sounds like I’ve put my finger on something that could change the way historians of the fourth crusade view my event (i.e. the “crusade” of Walter of Brienne), which is high praise, indeed, seeing as he’s generally recognized as the authority on the fourth crusade.

So, all in all, a pretty darn good day in graduate school for me. Hopefully this meteoric trajectory will continue.

30 Years

As an indulgent present to myself I gave myself a lunch hour with my gorgeous family. I really miss the time with them I used to enjoy. It was great eating and hanging out with them, even if only for a little while. I’m thinking of taking a few off tomorrow, too, to go to the zoo. If that ends up happening, I’m sure y’all will be subjected to photos.

A Reader's Guide to Me

Quick update on school. Wow. Tons of work - easily the hardest work I've had to do, ever. I'm starting to get excited about the challenge, though. Okay, update over. Now, onto the real post. (Thanks, Muad'Dib, for the rating link!)

This is not a list of books I’ve read recently, since I’m pretty sure that nobody other than me would really get into those (at least, out of those who read this blog). In fact, I'm pretty sure not even I was into all of them. This is a list of books that have been highly influential in my life, for various reasons. Any listed as “first book only” does not mean that I didn’t enjoy the other volumes – it just means that the volume listed tells a story that either was more influential OR it tells the whole story that the other books elaborate upon (OR, it means I haven’t taken the time to read the other umpteen volumes, since life is short and I have too much else to read.) I’m sure that this list isn’t all inclusive, but it’s close enough.

Links take you to Amazon. I'm not encouraging you to buy them as opposed to checking them out from the library (though, in case, I did pick links to the less expensive copies and better translations), but Amazon's got synopses and reviews to help you decide whether it's the book for you at this time. Titles arranged by genre then by alpha for your convenience. Hope you enjoy.

Non-Fiction:
Last Chance to See (Douglas Adams)
The Mother Tongue (Bill Bryson) *
How the Irish Saved Civilization [first book only] (Thomas Cahill)
Into the Wild (Jon Krakauer)
The Fourth Crusade (Thomas Madden)
A River Runs Through It (Norman Maclean) *
The Deer on the Bicycle (Patrick McManus)

Historical Fiction:
Baudolino (Umberto Eco)
The Name of the Rose (Umberto Eco)
The Source (James Michener) *
An Instance of the Fingerpost (Iain Pears)
The Crystal Cave [first book only] (Mary Stewart)
The Once and Future King (T. H. White) *

Classics:
Beowolf (Anonymous)
Gilgamesh (Anonymous) *
Bacchae (Euripides)
Ars Amatoria (Ovid)
Antigone (Sophocles)
Eunuchus (Terence) *
Aeneid (Vergil)

Other:
Watership Down (Richard Adams)
Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency (Douglas Adams)
Ender’s Game [first book only] (Orson Card)
My Side of the Mountain [first book only] (Jean Craighead George)
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (Robert Heinlein) *
Dune [first book only] (Frank Herbert)
The Chronicles of Narnia (C. S. Lewis)
Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) *
The Lord of the Rings (J. R. R. Tolkien) *
The Silmarillion (J. R. R. Tolkien)

Update I decided to put asterisks (*) after those I suggest reading first. This was extremely painful – like picking a favorite child. I asked myself: which of these are most likely to be influential to just me, and which have the potential to be highly influential (and enjoyable, of course) to the widest audience of my friends and family. The results are above.

Updated 8/31/07 – 8:40am CST

Ahem! A Hem!

My free time is almost at an end. Tomorrow, August 27, I begin my MA in Medieval History at SLU. I’m excited, scared, and all types of anxious. But, I’ll post more about school later.

Since there’s no telling how long it may be before I update again, here’s a little longer post to keep you busy/bored. I spoke in sacrament meeting today, and the following is an epiphany I tried to work into the talk, but it never quite felt right there. So, I post it here for your terror/amusement/insight. It’s still in early rough draft form (I need to edit it so it feels a little bit less like I’m showing off), but you’ll get the idea.

A Little Lesson on Fashion: the Hem
I want to talk about clothes, and how clothes relate to faith. The very clothes I wear are symbols of my faith – not the clothes visible to you – for you know I’m wearing those – but the clothes underneath that you must merely believe I’m currently wearing. Of course, clothes have been representative of the holy priesthood for some time. I am a big fan of ancient history, so please pardon a little historical background to the tradition and symbolism of “The Hem,” in the Bible. The Law of Moses stipulated what all the holders of the priesthood, while in the tabernacle or temple, should [Ex. 28] wear. Among other vestments, priests were told to wear a blue robe and a blue mitre, connected to the robe at the “hem” or “tassel” with a blue string or cord. A mitre is a cap with a flat top: one which is worn by millions of graduates every year – but anciently, the reason for the flat top was to help support the weight of a crown. The symbolism is quite striking: in Hebrew tradition blue is the color of the heavens and represents God’s dominion. The tying of the blue thread to the robes symbolized the connection between the crown that God gives his anointed and the power of the priesthood. In other words, through covenant, the robes of the holy priesthood are inseparably connected to the power of heaven, and keeping that connection where it should be entitles us to the crown of righteousness for which we’ve been anointed (cf. D&C 121:36). In other words, it is nothing less than the right of celestial government: the right to rule and reign in the House of Israel, forever [side note: Israel translates = those who prevail with God]. It may be much more, besides, but that lies outside the scope of this talk.

Centuries after the Law was given, we read (1 Sam 24:4-5) that the young David snuck into the apostate king’s camp in the middle of the night, and cut off the “hem” or “tassel” of Saul – symbolizing that Saul’s divine sanctioned authority to rule and reign in the House of Israel was severed. In Isaiah (22:21-23) the sacred vestments are referred to as the “key of the house of David,” which will be laid on the shoulder – giving him power to open, and none [else] shall shut; and shut and none [else] shall open. The one who wears this connection – this key – upon his shoulder will be fastened “as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father’s house.” [aside: can you think of any robes with a symbolic hem or tassel at the shoulder? those who have ears to hear, let them hear.]

Okay, so right about now (or maybe right after I started talking) you’re probably all thinking, “Okay, so bring it on home! What’s this got to do with faith?” I would answer you, “much.” The prototype and role-model of him who is fastened “as a nail in a sure place” is, as in all other symbols of ultimate righteousness, the Savior, Jesus Christ who had all the authority of his godhood, kept the principles of righteousness, and exercised his priesthood perfectly. The woman with the issue of blood (Matt 9:20. cf, also, Matt 14:36)had faith, not just in the Lord’s anointed – the Messiah; the Christos – but in the authority of the priesthood that was his by divine right, symbolized by the hem ["kraspedon" G2899 κράσπεδον (edge, border, hem, fringe or tassel)] of the Messiah’s robe. Her trust in Christ’s priesthood – manifested by her touching the symbolic garment of the holy priesthood he wore – made her whole. “[Unto] you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings,” wrote Malachi. The Hebrew word for wings, [H3671 פנף] “kānāp,” is exactly the same word used for “hem.” I think it fitting that one possible way to interpret this verse is to say that the Sun of righteousness (i.e., Jesus) will arise with healing in his priesthood authority - and that is something worth having faith in.

Gravois Creek

Ovid may have been a great fan of artifice, at the expense of raw nature, but I’m afraid that’s a position where our preferences part. As a new adventure, Bree and I decided to explore the creek that runs behind our place. Gravois Creek, one of the tributaries to River Des Peres (itself a tributary to the Mighty Mississippi), at this time of year is fairly wide and slow moving. In Northern Utah it might even be named a river, but here it’s pretty insignificant.

Fish galore swim in its shallow shoals. Given its geographical make-up, the warm weather made its waters very pleasant until we got to the swimming hole. Yup, that’s right: it’s got a real, honest-to-goodness, Tom & Huck style swimming hole. Complete with preadolescent boys splashing around, occasionally glancing back to the shore where their fishing poles still stood straight, devoid of the hoped-for fish. We were unprepared to find this unexpected treasure in this particular Creek so Bree and I didn’t swim. We will. On our way back Bree played while I caught a little crayfish (since re-released). Good times.

Suson Park

Bree and I took a mid-morning excursion to Suson Park (ca. 15 minutes away) to play with animals. It made a nice break from the usual swing/slide/run around type park play we've been doing in the hot, hot weather. Because the temperature was far more congenial than it has been, the trip was great!

Below is a great little gadget introduced to me by friends and fellow bloggers. Use your mouse to manipulate the cube. It's fun, don't be shy.

bright red playground slide
scorches thighs in summer’s height –
play must wait a while

Turtle Park Trip

Here's a little flicker of parentheses that encapsulates a trip that Bree and I took to St. Louis's Turtle Park. For some reason, the music won't play, so you're stuck with an audioless flick. I'll fix it, if I can. Well, if I can, and if I remember... My textbooks are beginning to arrive, and that might divert my attention. But, for now, my intention is to fix the soundtrack. Buon Appetito.