Fresh Starts

It isn't fall yet, by any measure, but it is AUGUST now. And you know what that means...

• Thinking about what classes to register for in the fall


• Back to school shopping (although I've spent SO much money this summer that I'm going to go easy on this one)


• New academic-year planners (!!!)

I just got myself a new planner and I totally dig these moments. There's nothing like the feeling of a clean calendar into which you can pencil down upcoming weekend trips, concerts, birthdays (in the vain hope that THIS year I will get cards sent out on time), etc etc...

07/07/07

i was here, originally uploaded by sammarin.

We visited Machu Picchu on Saturday, and it just happened to be the day that the New Seven Wonders were announced... and Machu Picchu was awarded number 4!

Voting was on when Mom and Dale visited in the spring, and booths were still set up last weekend when I went with the whole group. Signs are everywhere here in Peru urging people to vote for Machu Picchu.

There were big parties on site, in Aguas Calientes, and in Cusco. As the results were announced, live music played in Aguas Calientes and TVs were all tuned in to the live ceremony. B & I celebrated the evening by visiting the thermal baths and then eating traditional Peruvian fare: cuy (guinea pig) and chicken roasted over a fire.

Check out more Peru photos here.

en posición fetal

en posición fetal, originally uploaded by sammarin.

Here is a photo of me inside one of the chullpas (funerary towers) at Sillustani. The Colla - a preincan population - built these towers to stick their dead people in. The dead people were posed in a fetal position because they were being reborn as seeds for new life. For photos of the outside of the chullpas, see this photo.

our awesome future

someone on flickr thinks google will do this for us in 20 years

Brains! And a bizarre, unscratchable itch

I can't wait to read The Brain That Changes Itself by Norman Doidge, featured in this NYT review by Abigail Zuger.

You should read the linked piece simply to enjoy the reviewer's way with words (emphasis mine):

"Now sophisticated experimental techniques suggest the brain is more like a Disney-esque animated sea creature. Constantly oozing in various directions, it is apparently able to respond to injury with striking functional reorganization, and can at times actually think itself into a new anatomic configuration..."

Plus, Zuger uses the word "hoary" in her review. I don't know her but she is probably rad.

shawna's feet look like hershey kisses

pointy pointy, originally uploaded by sammarin.

Gaaaaah!! ... Google Maps Mania!

I think I could spend the rest of my days exploring this blog.

There - if you don't know about it already, I've put its hex upon you too.

Enjoy your new addiction!

spidey 3: pros & cons

rad things about spiderman 3:

1. the crab-like movements of the molten black pleather goo
2. venom/topher's jaggedy yellow teeth
3. mj's waitress outfit

... and the best of all...

4. SANDMAN - everything about him including:

thomas haden church as flint marko, who served as the perfect comic character in his face, body, voice, movements, etc

the way in which his body comes into form at the testing ground

his head being temporarily ripped apart in a fiery explosion

crap things about spiderman 3:

1. james franco's beautiful face gets marred

... but the worst of the worst...

2. peter parker never says he is sorry for being such a butthole, even from before the molten black pleather goo! what a bum.

dark-to-light

my man brett is good at sharing online toys he knows i will enjoy, like this interactive webradio site...

linguistic curiosities

linguistic curiosities, originally uploaded by marmix.

here's a photo from heather in florida. i miss her.