Monday, December 17, 2007 | by nathan

All Set For A Christmas Party

Monday, December 17, 2007 | by nathan

The Enemy of the Electronic Media

This sign is posted on the door of one of my favorite professors from college, Dr. Lewis. I took his intro Philosophy class because everyone kept telling me, "Don’t take Dr. Lewis. He’s too hard. You’ll fail." So I took it, and I got an A-minus. More importantly, I loved the crap out of everything we studied and discussed in the class. I sat on the front row, because no one sits on the front row, as you might occasionally get asked things - gasp! - and have to answer.

It turned out that most of the people who didn’t like Dr. Lewis didn’t like him because they resented that they had to take Philosophy 111. They resented that they paid obscene amounts of money to attend college and then weren’t permitted to skate through classes they didn’t care about.

Also, his exams were a bitch: six hours of writing, divided into 3 sections: short essay, long essay, and dialogue. He’d give you three or four philosophers and you’d have to write a dialogue between them. It was hard as hell to think about, but if you studied and understood, it was insanely fun once you got started. After earning my A-minus in his intro course I decided I’d minor in philosophy, and I took two more courses with Dr. Lewis: Philosophy of Religion and Hegel, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche (commonly abbreviated HKN). They both kicked my ass; every class session was to my brain what a hard-core workout with a personal trainer would’ve been to my body. I got A-minuses in both classes, and for my entire life I will always be proud of that.

There was a cadre of good friends of mine who loved Dr. Lewis’ classes, took all of them, and, in the case of my friend Matt, stayed an extra year at Wake to get a philosophy major. When we had to take courses with other professors we were almost always disappointed. After lectures we’d spend an hour in his office, talking over minor points of the lecture or reading. I was raised by college professors, and Dr. Lewis reminds me a lot of them. When I came out, Dr. Lewis called me into his office and told me he was behind me 100%, because as he’d thought and read about it, he’d decided that the church should adopt gay-friendly theology. I’d have cried, except you don’t cry in The Office.

Two weeks ago today Brian and I were walking around Wake’s campus, and I was knocking on doors, seeing professors and people to whom I hadn’t spoken in quite awhile. I wanted to introduce people to Brian, and show him the faces I’d been talking about for so long.

But when we got to Dr. Lewis’ door, I said, "Can I do this one alone?" I wasn’t sure why, except I just wanted to talk to him alone for a minute.

When I entered, there was a student in there. Dr. Lewis greeted me warmly and asked me to wait a moment while they finished talking; I gladly did so. The student was explaining his idea for his Philosophy of Religion paper, the topic of which, I quickly realized, was remarkably similar to the one I’d done my senior year on the theodicy of John Hick.

Yes, I’m linking to a Wikipedia article about John Hick in a post about Dr. Lewis. His students will know why I feel a bit dirty doing that. I highly recommend that you go get an actual book and read the actual words with an actual page. Be careful; you may get something called a "paper cut."

The student left and I took his seat, and Dr. Lewis and I started talking. I quickly caught him up on my life - that I’d dropped out of Yale (the school he’d encouraged me to attend and for which he’d written my recommendation letter), moved home, and decided to become this writer. I explained that I’m working on a novel about the end of the world, only it’s not the end of the world, see, and there’s all this subtle political and spiritual commentary, and as I explained it I started to feel like a giant hack, so I asked him how he’s been doing.

We talked about the state of college students today. Dr. Lewis said it was discouraging to feel that the students were learning more from the electronic media than from their classes, that between digital cable (now standard in every Wake dorm room) and the internet, the students were seeing college as less about learning and more about being handed the world, digitally. Wake students are no longer required to take Basic Problems of Philosophy, a policy change I’m going to vehemently disagree with here, on this website. (Yes, I see the irony).

"They are learning everything they think they need to know from the electronic media," he said, "and I’m the enemy of the electronic media."

I grinned wide and thought, briefly, about shutting down this website. I’m not going to, but I understood what he was talking about; people are being taught from an early age that the internet and technology can take the place of human interaction, that reading a website is as good as reading a book, that if students don’t want to have to take a class, they just shouldn’t, because they’re paying.

Dr. Lewis taught me better than that. He taught me to challenge what my culture is handing me. That television really is, for most people, the same as the shadow puppets in Plato’s cave, and that Eminem is jello and Mozart is creme brulee.

Also, how to think. The man, more than anyone else, ever, taught me how to think.

After half an hour of talking, I had to leave, and he said it was very good to see me again, and we shook hands, and I left. I felt good, and unsettled, like the mud at the bottom of the river had been stirred up and was not going to settle back down for a bit. Which is always how I felt in his classes.

Thanks, Dr. Lewis. I know you’ll never read this - or the e-mail I sent you in January 2000 saying I was sick as a dog and wasn’t going to make it to class that day (this was before I understood that you have never checked e-mail) - but thanks. The Owl of Minerva is taking flight.

Also, you’ll notice that this week’s reading is Frederick Copleston’s History of Philosophy, Vol. 1; all of Father Copleston’s volumes were much-beloved, much-required, wouldn’t-have-graduated-college-without-them texts from Lewis’ classes. Definitely recommended, and affordable.

Friday, December 14, 2007 | by nathan

Vignette Of A Marriage

via iChat today:

Me: you didn’t happen to see my phone this morning did you?
Me: ’cause I couldn’t find it
Him: it’s in your bag
Me: it is?
Him: your alarm went off this morning and it took me forever to find out where it was coming from - i just silenced it and dropped it back in your bag
Me: sho nuff!
Me: thanks!
Me: (sorry)
Him: no big
Me: i love you

Thursday, December 13, 2007 | by nathan

Cherry Paintings in the Kitchen

I got these paintings, by local artist Marsha Mahan, at the Paseo Arts Festival in May, and for months they’ve hung above my stove. I was immediately dissatisfied with my decision to hang them there, however, as they were not very visible and I thought the steam and smoke from regular cooking might harm them.

So while we were trapped in our house during the Ice Storm, I reorganized my kitchen to give myself much more counter space, and re-hung these beauties on a stretch of wall that had formerly been blocked by our overly-numerous kitchen appliances, many of which are now stored in cabinets, as we almost NEVER make toast. I love them dearly, and I hope to get more of her work in the future.

Thursday, December 13, 2007 | by nathan

And God Said, “Hell Yeah.”

The Lights.

Are Back On.

Thursday, December 13, 2007 | by nathan

An Update on the Power, With Special Thanks To the Citizens and Officials of Austin, TX.

I went home at lunch today to check on the power, and there still was none. The good news is that I’m getting caught up on my reading, on which I was far behind, and also that the cleanup effort around the neighborhood seems to be progressing rapidly, with a lot of debris moving out of the streets.

Last night Brian and I went to the mall to remind ourselves what electric light looks like - so we’re prepared when it returns to our home - and to get some shopping done. On our way home we drove around the neighborhood to see who had power and who didn’t. We live on 29th, and apparently there is power north of 31st and south of 28th. This means, of course, that we’re in a teeny, tiny little box that has no electricity. I felt very defeated by this, as OG&E has made it clear that they’re going to work on the biggest blackout spots first, and ours is fairly small.

Then today, I went home at lunch to find two power trucks from the City of Austin, TX. on our street, apparently working on the lines, and two more from local companies that were there to clear away the fallen trees. I’m hoping that when I get home tonight the lights will be on, the heat will be running, and all will be right with the world.

Also, I got a very kind comment and a follow-up e-mail from my friend Jon, who also is in Austin, lamenting the loss of the trees on Venice, the main street in our neighborhood. The loss of these trees is hitting me harder than the loss of power, as they truly are gorgeous, but the good news is that our neighborhood association is finicky and informed, and I have little doubt that they’ll work as hard as possible to get things back to normal. The landscape architect who does a lot of that is my across-the-street neighbor, and the guy’s a genius. Get this: so far he’s killed and revived the grass in his front yard no fewer than 8 times, because apparently, like God, he can speak a word to plants and they’ll do whatever the hell he says. "LIVE!" he says, and the grass turns so green one has to cover one’s eyes. "DIE!" he says again, and it wilts like week-old lettuce.

So, our ‘hood will be back shortly. I just hope that I have lights back by then. Thanks to Austin, I just might.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | by nathan

Why He Treats You Like He Do When He’s Such A Good Man

Ike & Tina Turner on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1970. Photo by: CBS

It happens a lot where a line from an episode of The Simpsons will come into my head, and I’ll be racking my brain going, "What episode was that?" And then two days later it’ll be on in the two early-evening reruns we get every night on our local Fox affiliate.

Monday night, after we lost power, I was lying in the tub, reading, and my mind began to wander. "How old is Ike Turner nowadays?" I asked myself. "Old, for sure. I bet we’re going to hear pretty soon that he’s died."

So, I might be a little psychic. Because Ike Turner has died.

The founder of the Ike and Tina Turner Review, born in Clarksdale, MS, is now widely regarded as one of the founders of rock and roll for his song "Rocket 88." This from Wikipedia:

Ike Turner’s actual music career began in earnest in the late-1940s where he formed a group whom he christened The Kings of Rhythm. In 1951, the band recorded what historians have debated as "the first rock and roll record" with "Rocket 88", listed on the charts as Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats. Brenston was both the band’s saxophonist and the leading vocalist of the song and Turner was the original writer though credits initially stated that Brenston had written it also. The song was one of the first examples of guitar distortion, which happened by accident when one of the amplifiers dropped before the recording.

He is, of course, most well-known (and infamous) for his collaborations with Tina Turner, both musical and personal, which made her a star and him a pariah. The duo were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, though Ike missed the ceremony, as he was serving a prison sentence for drug charges. What you might not know is that Ike won a Grammy in 2007 for Best Traditional Blues Album for his record "Rising With the Blues." He played piano on the Gorillaz 2005 track "Every Planet We Reach is Dead" and a sample of his song "I’m Blue" was the basis for Salt ‘n’ Pepa’s hit "Shoop."

He might’ve been a bastard, but there’s no denying the man was a talented musician. So here you go; have a listen to a few tracks:

I’ve Been Loving You Too Long by Ike & Tina Turner, 1966.

Come Together by Ike & Tina Turner, 1969.

Proud Mary by Ike & Tina Turner, 1971.

Wednesday, December 12, 2007 | by nathan

Our Own Little Apocalypse

This is a photo of the main street in my neighborhood after this weekend’s ice storm. It’s very sad to see, because one of the most beautiful and endearing things about our neighborhood is the trees, which form a kind of canopy over the main road, setting the area apart visually from a lot of the suburban neighborhoods which have cleared out all their old-growth trees and topsoil in favor of building new homes.

The past 48 hours have been a bit like living in the 19th century for us. Brian and I were both given Monday off work because of dangerous road conditions, and, wanting to try to be productive, I thought for awhile about all the things I’d been wanting to accomplish around the house. I decided that I would thoroughly clean and reorganize the kitchen, and set about my task, listening to an audiobook while I worked. I finished just about the time the power blinked off.

Heat’s never a problem for us in the winter (and thank you to all the people who offered us a place to stay!). We have a kerosene heater, the kind you can get at any home-improvement store like Home Depot or Lowe’s, and which warms our house more efficiently even than our CH&A:

Our house is old and drafty, so ventilation doesn’t prove to be a problem, though running one of these things inside for a really long time is probably not the best idea ever. Still, it did the trick; if anything, it did it too well, as I was a bit toasty last night.

Our entire neighborhood was out of power at that point, and so we accepted our friends the Flynns’ invitation to come over to their house for chili, beer, and a movie. We brought Sam with us, because he gets on well with their dog, and hung out with them until after 10. When we got home I ran a hot bath - we still had hot water - and read for awhile by candlelight.

Brian had to work yesterday, but my office had no heat or power, and so I stayed home again, entertaining the dog, who was growing restless and anxious. He could tell something was going on, but not what that something was, and it was clearly making him a little crazy. I sat down at my desk and did some writing, including several pages of notes for the novel, a journal entry and two letters, then addressed Christmas cards. It felt good to be productive, but soon I had cabin fever as bad as Sam, and I was missing the 21st century, so I loaded us up in the car and headed for the Flynns’ house once more.

We talked, and ate more chili, drank beer, and watched episodes of Weeds on Laurie’s computer. We laughed at the dogs’ antics and talked about our recent personal dramas and triumphs. Brian came over after work and we all hung out until he and I were both almost too tired to drive home.

I’m back at work today. We still have no power, and the neighborhood still looks like a war zone, and I’m struggling to remember exactly what it is I do for work, because after four days off - this is my FOURTH abbreviated week in a row, now - I’m a little fuzzy on the details. Something with writing? Is it a newspaper I work for? No, that’s not right. Don’t tell me; I’ll get there.

All this is funny because less than a week ago Brian and I had a discussion about how we spend too much time with The Technology, about how we don’t, say, have enough dinners at our dining room table, or just sit and talk with our friends enough, and this loss of power has forced us to do exactly that. Though I gotta say, I’m really hoping the lights come back on sometime today. It’s one thing to have no power when all you have to do is stay home and play with the dog. It’s quite another to have to go to a lit, internetted, heated office all day, only to come home to the Amish life.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007 | by nathan

My Street, Post Ice Storm

Click for more photos from the ice storm. And thanks to Jaye and Laurie for letting me use their electricity and internet connection.

Monday, December 10, 2007 | by nathan

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Brian and I are both off work today because of the ice storm. Trying to even leave our house will probably be a lost cause, as there is an inch of ice on either of our cars and several huge tree branches down on our street.

I love being trapped in the house by cold weather. This past summer was brutal and too humid and too hot, the days went on too long and I begged God to hurry the beginning of autumn so it would be over. So there’s no way I’m complaining about the weather now.

Anyway, I have a lot of work to do today, as does Brian, but also I’m going to try to be productive, to make myself a few specific goals and meet them so that I won’t feel like I’ve wasted my day. Especially since I spent a good 3 hours yesterday playing The Adventure of Link on the Wii Virtual Console. The first step is probably to step away from the internet for awhile. To that end I’m going to go into the kitchen, turn on NPR, and do dishes while having a glass of hot tea.

Or possibly a hot buttered rum. Whatever tickles my fancy.