Here is a verbatim short-answer I wrote for my drama class. I got 4 out of 6 points, by the way. The question was -
"Describe one of the following traits of Greek Drama introduced by Aristotle in his work Poetics: Hamartia, Peripeteia, Anagnorisis."
My answer was -
"Unfortunately, I have no bloody clue. Apparently I spent too much time reading the actual literary works and their influence on other forms of drama rather than studying some random Greek words that attempt to describe said plays. I figured the plays were the important part. However, because I am required to choose one, I'll pick "anagnorisis."
Anagnorisis is a painful, itching skin disease, somewhat similar to eczema. There is no known cure for anagnorisis, but the symptoms can be reduced through the use of topical corticosteroids such as hydrocortisone or triamcinolone.
Anagnorisis was named after a distant relative of the African rhinoceros, the Agnorhino, mainly due to the scarred, leathery skin left behind after the disease runs its course. Anagnorisis is a fairly common disease, effecting 29 in every 1000 people (+- 4%). The prognosis is good, due to the relatively benign nature of the disease, and there have been no recorded deaths due to anagnorisis.
</humor>"
It is a testament to the awesomeness of my professor that I got partial credit for this mountainous pile of complete bullcrap. She said that my creativity deserved some credit.
Anagnorisis actually means "recognition or discovery," in case you give a crap. I sure don't.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
How Unfortunate
I have absolutely nothing to say. I am bored out of my mind, hopped up on caffeine and phenylephrine, unable to sleep, and I have nothing to say. Nevertheless, I have a blog to update, so here ya go, a few random thoughts that've been floating around my sleep-deprived brain:
1. I love the ellipsis. I love it a lot... A whole lot......... I feel that the length of the pause should be signified by the number of periods in the ellipsis. That could be my addition to the English language that makes me notable, like Dickinson's annoying little dashes, and Heinlein coming up with the word "grok." Every time you see an ellipsis, think of me.
2. I sometimes read while sitting at stop lights. This tends to cause the drivers around me to give me strange looks, generally somewhere between "Woah, this guy is crazy because he's reading while driving," and "Woah, this guy is crazy because he's reading."
3. I have poor time-management skills (evidenced by the fact that I am typing on a bloody blog at 1:30 in the morning). Even worse is my ability to remember things of importance. I can sing you 4 out of 5 songs on any station of the radio, but I have no clue when my next Chaucer paper is due. It seems that my brain loves interesting-yet-worthless facts but eschews day-to-day necessities. It's a good thing that my wife excels at organization, or we'd have our power cut off every few days.
4. I enjoy Payday candy bars more than I enjoy every other Friday that is my payday. But the first is completely reliant on the second, so I guess I like paydays more than Paydays. But the only reason I like paydays more is because they allow me to have Paydays. So, in actuality, I like Paydays more than paydays, which I, in turn, like more than Paydays. My favorite is enjoying a Payday on payday. It's just awesome.
5. B-B-B-Bored...............................................(long freakin' pause).......................
6. McAlister's has the best pickles, and I don't know how they get them that good. I have tried all the brands and none of them stack up. I wonder if they have some sort of mystical pickle farm in the back next to their enchanted sugar-cookie tree and the Manticore/Oompa Loompa hybrid that brews their sweet tea.
7. Geoffrey Chaucer really should have died a lot sooner than he did. Preferably the day after he completed The Canterbury Tales. In fact, he should have never written anything other than that, because the rest of his bollocks (see, when insulting the English it's best to use words they know, or else they get their knickers in a bunch over tea and crumpets, sitting under Big Ben while listening to The Clash) makes me want to shove a fork in my eye. Especially The Parliament of Fowles. If you want to simulate the experience, just whack yourself on the head with a ball-peen hammer for four hours.
8. I sometimes wish I had superpowers, but then I realize that I'd eventually get sick of having to run out and save people. "I'm trying to watch the World Cup! Can't you please stop blowing crap up for a couple hours?!?" I would imagine Superman got fed up with us stupid earthlings after a while. Maybe, if he hadn't been so selfish he wouldn't have take up horseback riding (too soon?).
That's all I got. Rambling and pointless, I know, but hopefully you were able to make some sense of the raving lunacy that is me forcing myself to write even though I have no clue what to write about.
1. I love the ellipsis. I love it a lot... A whole lot......... I feel that the length of the pause should be signified by the number of periods in the ellipsis. That could be my addition to the English language that makes me notable, like Dickinson's annoying little dashes, and Heinlein coming up with the word "grok." Every time you see an ellipsis, think of me.
2. I sometimes read while sitting at stop lights. This tends to cause the drivers around me to give me strange looks, generally somewhere between "Woah, this guy is crazy because he's reading while driving," and "Woah, this guy is crazy because he's reading."
3. I have poor time-management skills (evidenced by the fact that I am typing on a bloody blog at 1:30 in the morning). Even worse is my ability to remember things of importance. I can sing you 4 out of 5 songs on any station of the radio, but I have no clue when my next Chaucer paper is due. It seems that my brain loves interesting-yet-worthless facts but eschews day-to-day necessities. It's a good thing that my wife excels at organization, or we'd have our power cut off every few days.
4. I enjoy Payday candy bars more than I enjoy every other Friday that is my payday. But the first is completely reliant on the second, so I guess I like paydays more than Paydays. But the only reason I like paydays more is because they allow me to have Paydays. So, in actuality, I like Paydays more than paydays, which I, in turn, like more than Paydays. My favorite is enjoying a Payday on payday. It's just awesome.
5. B-B-B-Bored...............................................(long freakin' pause).......................
6. McAlister's has the best pickles, and I don't know how they get them that good. I have tried all the brands and none of them stack up. I wonder if they have some sort of mystical pickle farm in the back next to their enchanted sugar-cookie tree and the Manticore/Oompa Loompa hybrid that brews their sweet tea.
7. Geoffrey Chaucer really should have died a lot sooner than he did. Preferably the day after he completed The Canterbury Tales. In fact, he should have never written anything other than that, because the rest of his bollocks (see, when insulting the English it's best to use words they know, or else they get their knickers in a bunch over tea and crumpets, sitting under Big Ben while listening to The Clash) makes me want to shove a fork in my eye. Especially The Parliament of Fowles. If you want to simulate the experience, just whack yourself on the head with a ball-peen hammer for four hours.
8. I sometimes wish I had superpowers, but then I realize that I'd eventually get sick of having to run out and save people. "I'm trying to watch the World Cup! Can't you please stop blowing crap up for a couple hours?!?" I would imagine Superman got fed up with us stupid earthlings after a while. Maybe, if he hadn't been so selfish he wouldn't have take up horseback riding (too soon?).
That's all I got. Rambling and pointless, I know, but hopefully you were able to make some sense of the raving lunacy that is me forcing myself to write even though I have no clue what to write about.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Post-Midterms Twofer (Part 2): RCYSN - Expiration Dates are Important
My boss stumbled upon a "deal" today: a bunch of Good Humor Strawberry Shortcake Bars on clearance for $0.27 each. His reaction was what you would assume - "holy crap on a keyboard, that's AWESOME!" He bought them and brought some to the pharmacy to share his good fortune, 'cause he's cool like that (read: I want a raise). He opened one and took a bite.
Now, when you bite into a Strawberry Shortcake Bar, the general reaction is akin to that of a puppy on heroine having sex with a Cadbury Cream Egg. You get that goofy, happy look on your face as you taste the cake coating, which only intensifies as your taste buds register the strawberry ice cream.
His reaction was somewhat more subdued. In fact, his facial expression reminded me of the time in fourth grade when I was playing soccer, tripped, and fell face first on the cow pasture we used as a pitch. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. There's something excruciating about the incongruity you experience when you expect to taste something rapturous but actually receive a chilled turd.
Needless to say, it was expired. This was probably why they were on clearance. We looked on the packaging, but it had no expiration date. Because he's kind of obsessive, my boss called Good Humor customer service to see if they could help him find the expiration date, but after a 45 minute hold time they told him that the expiration date was on the box, not the individual bars. How unfortunate.
However, we were able to come up with a bit of evidence for our theory that they were expired. At the time these bars were created, Good Humor was running some sort of sweepstakes, and the basic rules were printed on the wrapper. The aforementioned rules stated that the sweepstakes would officially end in January. Of 2010. He ate a milk based product that was obviously past its expiration date by more than a year. I hope he doesn't die.
PS. Don't forget to read the post just below this one - it's a Post-Midterms Twofer, and you don't want to miss out on my near-death experience!
Now, when you bite into a Strawberry Shortcake Bar, the general reaction is akin to that of a puppy on heroine having sex with a Cadbury Cream Egg. You get that goofy, happy look on your face as you taste the cake coating, which only intensifies as your taste buds register the strawberry ice cream.
His reaction was somewhat more subdued. In fact, his facial expression reminded me of the time in fourth grade when I was playing soccer, tripped, and fell face first on the cow pasture we used as a pitch. Something was horribly, horribly wrong. There's something excruciating about the incongruity you experience when you expect to taste something rapturous but actually receive a chilled turd.
Needless to say, it was expired. This was probably why they were on clearance. We looked on the packaging, but it had no expiration date. Because he's kind of obsessive, my boss called Good Humor customer service to see if they could help him find the expiration date, but after a 45 minute hold time they told him that the expiration date was on the box, not the individual bars. How unfortunate.
However, we were able to come up with a bit of evidence for our theory that they were expired. At the time these bars were created, Good Humor was running some sort of sweepstakes, and the basic rules were printed on the wrapper. The aforementioned rules stated that the sweepstakes would officially end in January. Of 2010. He ate a milk based product that was obviously past its expiration date by more than a year. I hope he doesn't die.
PS. Don't forget to read the post just below this one - it's a Post-Midterms Twofer, and you don't want to miss out on my near-death experience!
Post-Midterms Twofer (Part 1): I Almost Drowned Today
So, as I have mentioned before, I work in a retail pharmacy. We're a relatively slow store, but we are one of the very few stores that offer compounded medications. For instance, we can make Phenergan Gel that you can rub on your wrists. If you're projectile vomiting, it's somewhat difficult to keep a pill down, and most people tend to shy away from inserting any objects in their butt. It's just unpleasant...er...I mean...um......I've heard from...um...other people....that it's...um...............YES I'M AWESOME!
Ahem.
Anyway, one of the things we make is Boric Acid vaginal suppositories. We were running low, so I decided to make a batch while we were slow. It's pretty easy, just time consuming. You have to measure out a couple ingredients, melt one down, and mix the others into it, then pour the entire concoction into some molds. Simple stuff. Unless you get attacked by the Silica Gel.
Silica Gel is an interesting monster. It's a nearly weightless solid (not a gel, interestingly enough) that acts like a powder (read: floats in the air) until it gets wet. Once it comes into contact with any type of moisture, however, it sucks it up and expands. Somehow the container got slightly pressurized. Maybe because someone left it under the heating vent. Just a thought.
However it happened, I unscrewed the lid and it puffed up into my face. Fortunately I was breathing out, because if I had inhaled a bunch of it I could have become the first person in the history of history to dry drown. There are several other nasty side effects to inhaling this crap that I would like to avoid. While managing to drown in the middle of a pharmacy would make an interesting obituary, I'd prefer to remain boring yet alive than spectacularly dead.
Ahem.
Anyway, one of the things we make is Boric Acid vaginal suppositories. We were running low, so I decided to make a batch while we were slow. It's pretty easy, just time consuming. You have to measure out a couple ingredients, melt one down, and mix the others into it, then pour the entire concoction into some molds. Simple stuff. Unless you get attacked by the Silica Gel.
Silica Gel is an interesting monster. It's a nearly weightless solid (not a gel, interestingly enough) that acts like a powder (read: floats in the air) until it gets wet. Once it comes into contact with any type of moisture, however, it sucks it up and expands. Somehow the container got slightly pressurized. Maybe because someone left it under the heating vent. Just a thought.
However it happened, I unscrewed the lid and it puffed up into my face. Fortunately I was breathing out, because if I had inhaled a bunch of it I could have become the first person in the history of history to dry drown. There are several other nasty side effects to inhaling this crap that I would like to avoid. While managing to drown in the middle of a pharmacy would make an interesting obituary, I'd prefer to remain boring yet alive than spectacularly dead.
Monday, March 7, 2011
King of the Hill
Well, it's been a week or so since my last post, mostly due to my lack of time because of midterms and such. In case you're ever presented with the choice of going to college while not working, I suggest you take it (under the condition you don't go into an ungodly amount of debt, that is), because you will still get to have a life. Anyway, I mention my absence in order to denounce those who would take issue with my blog's continuity. I will persevere in this endeavor, and will have more time (read: more posts) after this hell-week of tests.
However, I will leave you with this nugget, this gem, this treasure of an analogy, uttered by my friend Zach. We were discussing international economics (don't ask me why), including how Greece has roflstomped the Euro, as well as the fact that China owns just over 99.3% of America, and he told me the following:
"It's like we're playing a giant game of King of the Hill with our [manhoods] tied in a knot. As soon as somebody falls, we're all screwed."
I fell out of my chair laughing.
However, I will leave you with this nugget, this gem, this treasure of an analogy, uttered by my friend Zach. We were discussing international economics (don't ask me why), including how Greece has roflstomped the Euro, as well as the fact that China owns just over 99.3% of America, and he told me the following:
"It's like we're playing a giant game of King of the Hill with our [manhoods] tied in a knot. As soon as somebody falls, we're all screwed."
I fell out of my chair laughing.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Random Crap You Should Know: I Can Hear You
Welcome to a new column on Nightingale’s Folly, which I have chosen to call “Random Crap You Should Know.” I considered “The Guide to Life If You Have an Extra Chromosome” as well as “If You Don’t Already Know This, Please Die in a Fire,” but I chose the high road. Plus "IYDAKTPDIAF" is just a little too much. It also looks like I fell asleep on the keyboard.
(Yes, I know it’s an Impala. I wanted to work in the “Tauri” joke, so shut up.)
For my inaugural installment, I chose a topic that is very near to my heart. Because I work in a retail pharmacy, I come into contact with a plethora of different people on a daily basis. My store has a veritable cornucopia of humanity; a populace of individuals, homogenized, and paraded by my counter at a rapid rate. While there are many traits that set the pleasant people apart from the demonspawn, the most important, nay, vital component of an intelligent human being can be summed up in one word: deodorant.
If I can smell you before I can see you, we have a problem. Now, I understand if you’re on your way home from the gym, or the AC is out on your car. We've all been there, and I am more than happy to make allowances. However, if you smell like an octopus’s sphincter, you should probably pick up some Speed Stick before gracing us with your presence. It’s on isle three, between the razors and the condoms, which is great product placement at work, because you need to use the first two if you want to use the third.
My store is on the border between a middle class suburb and the ghetto; a proverbial last chance before crossing the Rubicon into the land of Ford Tauruses (Tauri?) on 32’s.
This unique placement gives us a very diverse clientele. Some are intelligent, some are ignorant. Some are angelic in their demeanor, some make me want to hit them with something large and blunt. I can (and have) handled the most difficult customers with little problem (it helps that my boss is awesome to the point that he once told an old racist guy "Get the **** out of my drive-through before I beat the osteoporosis out of you".), but the one thing I cannot stand is someone who smells so bad that I can hear their stench.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Pardon Me While I Wax Sentimental
Impatiently, we wait for you,
Barely containing our desire
To know you.
Our very hearts beat together
As yours, yet unformed,
One day shall,
Together yet separate.
Your destiny unknown,
Your very name remains shrouded
In the mystery of the moment,
Yet we know you well,
Young stranger.
Barely containing our desire
To know you.
Our very hearts beat together
As yours, yet unformed,
One day shall,
Together yet separate.
Your destiny unknown,
Your very name remains shrouded
In the mystery of the moment,
Yet we know you well,
Young stranger.
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