I won!! I won.

Winning a game that basically combines the simplicity of Pong with the hypnotic beauty of the MSPaint color wheel should not make me feel quite this accomplished.

But you know what? IT DOES.

Naan and Chocolate

An epic tale of love and food set against the Swiss countryside and the sweet, sweet sounds of Bollywood's best musicians. Coming to a theater near you... SOON!*

*Please note: it is probably not coming to a theater near you any time soon. But wouldn't it be awesome if it were?

Paul Krugman wins today's prize for Most Disappointing Blog Post with his entry "Naan and Chocolate." It was about neither naan nor chocolate, but instead a discussion of Indian tourism in Switzerland. The blog post was accompanied by an article titled "A Beloved Bollywood Extra Draws Indians."(Hint: the extra here is the Swiss countryside.)

Basically, because so many of the most iconic Bollywood scenes (mostly awesome dream sequences) are shot in Switzerland, there has been an influx of Indian tourists. Thus naan and chocolate, being two iconic foodstuffs, are highlighted for no purpose. Krugman does get minor points for managing to include Bollywood in his discussion.

BUT, as my intrepid roommate Emily pointed out, doesn't the world desperately NEED a Bollywood film entitled Naan and Chocolate? Yes. The answer is yes.

PICTURE IT:

A young Swiss country boy, swarthy in his lederhosen, herds sheep and yodels for a living in the high valleys of the Alps. By day, he is lonely, with nobody but his sheep to keep him company. But by night, he carefully crafts the most delectable chocolates in all of Switzerland.

He also drinks beer with his friends, for this is Switzerland after all.

Even with the chocolate, however, the nights get long and lonely.

ENTER: a beautiful, doe-eyed baker woman from India whose incredible skill with bread products went under appreciated in her homeland. By day she bakes cream puffs, Linzer tortes, Liège style waffles, and Bündner Nusstorte. By night, she sometimes gets lonely and homesick, and craves nothing more than simple naan.

She's usually covered in flour.

They meet and fall in love. There is dancing, there is baking, there is chocolate, there is yodeling in the Bollywood style. It's a delicious fusion of cultures as East meets West, lederhosen meets sari, and sea level meets very much above sea level.

Concept art: dancing in a secluded meadow.

Eventually...

Catch phrase? "It's like a crepe, only it tastes like love."

Occasionally all I want to do with my life is listen to poetry over and over again until I can recite it by heart. For instance:

We, the youthful sinewy races; all the rest on us depend.


(I didn't buy any Levi's jeans but I did memorize the first five stanzas of this poem, ready to be busted out at a moment's notice.)

Or this celebration of sibilance: "...silkscreen the Sistine ceiling on my soft palate"



Or even this love story told in emoticons:

(The ambiguous ending is meant to be followed directly by this song.)

And sometimes I just want to listen to "Hay un amigo en mi" on endless repeat:

Heyo I'm an intern again.

No. No. I'm an agent. To a STAR.

Well, my sister-in-law. Who is sort of famous. In our family. For art.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/TaylorsArtCloset

Yep, there it is. Shameless self-promotion. Except that it's for my sister-in-law and I'm doing it for free, so... selfless shame-promotion? She's actually a phenomenal artist. These three listings don't even begin to scratch the surface of her talent. She promised to send me more photos tomorrow, so hopefully those will be listed tomorrow as well.

In the meantime, have some pop-art portraits!

 Rockabilly Ruby, based on this picture.

This is my brother!

Boy Blue, based on this photo.

And here she is, and she's so beautiful.

Also talented! Did I mention talented?

So yes, it's a return to the world of internships, because that's what the boss lady called me. And by "boss lady" I mean sister-in-law.

I prefer to think of myself as an art dealer. A high-powered one. Someday I'll even work out of my own awesome office. With a window and a couple of awesome vintage maps. And I'll make sales calls that use the words "Warhol-esque genius" unironically. Yes.

God bless America.

I just got back from spending several hours on the National Mall, watching the fireworks. It is an interesting tradition: blowing small bits of gunpowder and colorful chemicals into the sky to create incredible sparkly displays. Such beauty, for such a short time. Such fleetingly gorgeous waste.

I sometimes have a difficult time looking at the fireworks themselves and find myself staring at the smoke they leave behind. I always think it looks a little like fossilized coral, but that is because I am a weirdo who thinks fireworks smoke looks a little like dead starfish.

Last year, I was pretty sure that my neighborhood was the site of a gang war July 1-3. Now I understand: it's just exuberance, power, and a tiny bit of pyromania. Still, it's a little weird to celebrate the birth of this nation by blowing up a little bit of it. Also, it's 1:30am. I kind of thought they'd all be done by now.

Nope. Pop pop pop pop POP pop POP POP pop pop pop pop tseeeeeeerrr!

Happy independence, y'all. It's a funny old world, but I'm glad I'm in it.

I'm glad I'm here.

SO I JUST ATE A CORN TORTILLA TOASTED WITH MELTED CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND MARSHMALLOWS ON TOP OF IT SO I'M SORRY IF I SEEM A LITTLE DISJOINTED TO YOU BUT IT WILL ALL BE OKAY SOON because I'm about to come off the sugar high and...

...crash.

Yep, there it is. Oof.

Man I just want to eat everything in sight, but apparently not as much as Terrare, the French showman and soldier who was perpetually hungry and, um, ate a cat. Alive. And many, many other gross things.

Wow I want more marshmallows.

But that's not what I brought you here today to talk about.

I came here to talk about Presidents and Mounties.

OH MAN THAT IS THE MOST AWESOME NAME FOR A BAND or BUDDY COP SHOW in the history of forever. That is golden. Presidents and Mounties. It would star Teddy Roosevelt, chomping into a delicious ham, and Superintendent Steele, and maybe John Muir would join them for epic romps. It would be like Due South, only with ham. And possibly a power ballad.

No, wait. Maybe Due South had a power ballad. I DON'T KNOW THESE THINGS.

It did have a wolf as a sidekick. Presidents and Mounties would have a moose. Like so!

I have some friends who say that image is photoshopped, or, more accurately, edited in whatever way they edited photographs back before photoshop existed, with, like, a knife or something. HOT DAMN if that's true I don't know what beauty is anymore.

Still my favorite Colbert line of all time: "If truth is beauty and beauty truth, then America, I look AMAZING tonight! This is the Colbert Report!"

What were we talking about?

Right, marshmallows.

So the clouds today were flipping insane. I came home to greet the plumber and as I was leaving I clearly WALKED INTO THE CAVERN between the high pressure and the low. Everything to the north of me was pitch black with roiling purple clouds and everything south was hazy and bright. As I walked down the street, leaves blew in ominous patterns around my feet and the wind whipped and screamed. An older lady looked at me and said, "Are you ready for what is going to come?" and I couldn't tell if she was talking about the weather or some kind of heinous apocalypse. The way the clouds were looking it honestly could have been either one.

Just as I got to my office building on the seventh story of the 1300 block on the street where the President lives, the heavens opened up and poured down a steamy flood.

And the temperature lowered about 5 degrees. It was so hot.

I think I'm going to do as many push ups as I can.

Okay, I'm back. I did 20. But 15 of them were girly push ups. Maybe I'll be able to do more tomorrow.

Chances are slim, especially if I don't eat quite as much sugar.

I really, really, really want to be on a road trip right now.

Really.

I want to be in a car, a little cabin of me, with some country laid out before me like endless possibility. I want to watch the clouds scoot across the sky. I want to see the weird landmarks that nobody else sees and I want to keep driving until somebody needs a bathroom break. And I want to insist that we keep driving for at least another 50 miles because dammit we're not stopping until we have to.

I want to be listening to music on the radio while we drive in and out of range. I want to hit the scan button and have it come up as country or rap or Lady Gaga or freaking Christian music. And then I want to force everyone in the car to listen to at least one song.

On a side note: here's a fun game when you're listening to Christian music. Choose out the songs that could be about both a) God's infinite love for us and b) awesome gay sex. The current winner: Whatever You're Doing by Sanctus Real.

I get this urge to go on a long car trip whenever I feel bored or trapped or it's summer time and the air smells just right.

I don't need to go anywhere, and I don't need to get out of here so much as I just want to have already gone but not yet have arrived. I want to be on my way. I want to eat a milkshake at some crappy truck stop somewhere and I want to chase a storm and drive through it. I want to go over a pass and see that it's still snowy, I want to have miles and miles and miles of horizon laid out in front of me and have nothing to do but chase it.

I think they call it wanderlust. I think I have it.

I do not have a car. I don't own one partially because I live in a city with pretty awesome public transportation (the Metro: killing on average less than one person a month since last month!) and partially because I'm too much of a hippie environmentalist and partially because I'm afraid I would always be leaving.

Bring it.

This conversation is transcribed verbatim:

Him: "I just moved into my house. I'm basically still sleeping in the living room."
Me: "Well, that's no good."
Him: "I've slept in way worse places, believe me. Benches in Germany, train stations..."
Me: "Did you do a backpacking trip in Europe?"
Him: "Yeah, I ran out of money, I was unemployed, so I sold my house and backpacked around Europe for six months."
Me: "Wow, that sounds great!"
Him: "Yeah, backpacked for about six months-- until I literally ran out of money. I was in a bar when I spent my last five dollars. I knew the barman, and he had given me plenty of drinks in the past for free, but I told him, 'Hami, this one I pay for.' So I paid for that drink and took a swig. Down the bar there was a guy who said, 'You speak English?' I said 'English!' He said, 'American?' I said 'American!'"
Me: "Ha!"
Him: "Yeah, he asked me if I had any money, and I told him that Hami literally had my last five bucks. He looked at me for a second and said, 'How do three square meals and a place to sleep sound to you?' I said they sounded great."
Me: "So did you go home with him?"
Him: "Turns out he was a recruiter for the Air Force. He asked me if I wanted to join. I said sure... I was pretty hungry by that point. I told him he had to house me until I shipped out."
Me: "So... you... joined the Air Force?"
Him: "Yep. I lived with him and then I shipped out. I was in the Air Force for four years, just got out a year and a half ago."

And that, my friends, is how you can go from "I've slept on benches in Germany" to "BTW I was in the Air Force for four years WHAAAT."

Oh, internet dating.

Adventure History

Chair: Indiana Jones

The Department of Adventure History seeks to educate students in tracing the human story from antiquity forward. History is fraught with puzzles: inconsistencies here, a missing artifact there, an ancient pyramid inhabited by flesh-eating zombies further on. This graduate-level course of study equips the explorers of tomorrow with the necessary skills and guidance they need to survive. With a dual focus on the theory and practice of adventuring, completion of this course enables adventurers with the methods necessary to complete vital missions: both the ability to “get to a library” and draw from primary source material to efficiently research a conundrum, but also requires a high level of competence in piloting, vermin control, and weapon use.

The Major Program
The Major Program focuses on three primary fields: research, survival, and skill. Majors are required to complete courses in all three areas, as well as field work in each. A “Badass” level of expertise is required in at least one of the fields for completion, though students are strongly encouraged to pursue Badass levels for all three.

The Minor Program
Adventure History also offers a two-year course of study. Students are required to specialize on one of the three areas of focus. This enables students to gain sufficient expertise to become trusty sidekicks, a skill in high demand. This foreshortened program, however, does not allow the student to become fully competent in all areas, leaving the graduate prone to logical errors, obsessions, and wearing heels.

Practicum Program
Adventure history has a variety of useful practical applications. As such, the department encourages students to participate in a practicum. Past practica have involved paleontological and DNA work on a small island run by an Irishman, archaeological recovery sites in many locations worldwide, and art history and restoration.

Honors
Instead of “honors,” this program prefers the use of the term “badass.” We find this term more indicative of what we seek in a graduate.


Courses

ADVHIST 102—Introduction to Art and Artifacts
Before you begin, you must know that which you seek. Covers all major artifacts, including the Ark of the Covenant, the Holy Grail, the One Ring™, the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, the crown jewels, and the pink panther diamond, as well as many significant works of art. Course includes studies of more modern and highly desirable artifacts, such as the master kilogram, Elvis’s guitar, and Iraq’s WMDs.

ADVHIST 110—Classical Languages
The language sequence is designed to give the student of adventure history a grounding in the languages necessary to complete their voyages. Every adventure historian must maintain a satisfactory level of proficiency in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. Aramaic is optional.

ADVHIST 111—Weapons of Opportunity
When an adventure historian finds him- or herself unarmed and face-to-face with an armed opponent, the first priority is acquire a weapon. This course covers the basics: how to disable enemies with pen ink squirts, knitting needles, pocket knives, screwdrivers, broken jagged beer bottles, and cats, and how to effectively use a diverse range of traditional weapons, including but not limited to swats.

ADVHIST 112—Introduction to Villains
Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men? After completion of the course, the student should be able to identify and investigate all sorts of villainy, both classical and modern. After all, they don’t all have black mustaches anymore.

ADVHIST 135—Poker Face
A good dramatic background is essential in any pursuit. Although this is an elective course, it is strongly recommended to all aspiring adventure historians. Anyone dealing with villains or Nazis will find it comes in handy rather often.

ADVHIST 203—Mastery of Transportation
This course begins with the basics: horseback riding, camelback riding, and an introduction to automotive transportation in a variety of settings. Whether you are driving a jeep through a marshy swampland or riding a camel bareback across the deserts of Jordan, this course will help you get to the destination safely, every time. Completely unlike RyanAir, in other words.

ADVHIST 210—Ancient Languages
Not all treasure maps are written in English. This course is designed to educate the students in hieroglyphics and pictograms, as well as Gaelic and Sanskrit. Though we concentrate on the areas most likely to have the most highly valuable artifacts, cursory studies of Babylonian, ancient Chinese calligraphy, and Incan knot tying are included.

ADVHIST 211—Dealing with Vermin
When the time comes to be lowered into a smelly tunnel chock-full of an ecologically untenable oversize rat population, students will be able to say “Pishaw” to the squirmy, furry bodies and proceed with the task at hand. This course is highly recommended, as screaming like a child when presented with creepy-crawlies is not only annoying, but also distracting and inefficient. Required for any blonde females.

ADVHIST 236—Geography and Tracking
Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Learn to use satellite imagery, GPS, and good old fashioned huntin’ techniques to travel quickly and efficiently from plot point to plot point.

ADVHIST 258—Jaunty Style and Roguish Good Looks
Striking fear into the hearts of enemies requires not only a proficient knowledge of the finer points of Adventure History, but also a certain je ne sais qois. This quality comes only from careful study and application of skills learned in this course. Also guaranteed to make you popular with the ladies/men.

ADVHIST 303—Advanced Transportation Studies
Once the student has mastered the basics of locomotion, the course of study moves naturally to the more advanced modes: helicopter piloting, small aircraft proficiency, and work with a variety of different parachutes.

ADVHIST 304—Introduction to Symbology
An advanced study in the underlying meanings of the works of the masters, especially da Vinci. Students also learn to compare almost anything to a vagina.

ADVHIST 310—Modern Languages
Any successful Adventure Historian ought to be able to ask for directions to the nearest burial site/ancient monastery/pagan temple in any country on the globe. To that end, we focus on Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, French, Arabic, and Russian.

ADVHIST 311—Endurance and Strength
It is not only a pure heart that gives one the strength of ten men. It is also a complete and difficult fitness regimen that will give the student the extra edge to beat out that pesky giant rolling rock of doom.

ADVHIST 345—Thwarting Thugs: Psychology, Art, Theory, and Practice
Not all of the enemies with which an adventure historian will come into contact will be master villains. Most are simply elevated thugs who just need someone to love. The student will also learn how to kill them with the utmost speed and precision.

ADVHIST 356—Defying Death
‘Nuff said.

ADVHIST 450—Grail Quest
The capstone course, a student must begin a modern-day grail quest. Join the likes of King Arthur, Sir Galahad, Indiana Jones, Bran, Sir Bors, and Joseph of Arimathea as you seek the grail and find, ultimately, a deeper truth about yourself.

Aggressive Seduction Techniques—The James Bond Lecture Series
This annual lecture series is where students can learn an important skill from the best in the profession.


Faculty:

Indiana Jones: Chair. The most successful adventure historian of all time, Dr. Jones manages to balance his academic career with the practical anthropological, archaeological, and ass-kicking techniques of a true adventure historian.
Mary Kingsley: Extensive traveler of West Africa. Did all that jungle shit in a floor length skirt. That’s badass.
Robert Langdon: Symbologist and part time crime solver. Knows how to get to a library.
Merriwether Lewis and William Clark: The two senior lecturers teach joint classes specializing in the American aspects of adventure history.
Sir Francis Drake: Explorer and general badass. Has the experience and prestige of twenty adventure historians. Specializes in charting the uncharitable.

In September 2005, Britain won the Ashes from Australia for the first time in 18 years in a quite exciting cricket match. You read right. The Ashes. Not some ashes, no, the Ashes.

The story of the Ashes explains so much about so many things. It is not just a story about the world-wide spread of cricket or international competition between two nations. It is the story of the British Empire, of the rise of Australian nationalism, of quintessentially British humour, and of snarkiness that can span centuries and continents.

The story begins in 1861 when a cricket team set sail for Australia, expecting to teach the Aussies a thing or two about cricket. It turns out that the Aussies already knew a thing about cricket, it being the sport of the Empire and all, and had been practicing. They didn't win, but the match was closer than people had thought it would be.

Subsequently, in 1882, the Aussies and the Brits decided to have a "test match." The Aussies, who had been spent the past twenty years practicing, won. The Brits were bitter, because, dammit, they invented the damn sport. It's like when Lithuania beats the US in Olympic basketball-- just plain sad. A British paper ran a sarcastic obituary, which had this as its text:

"In Affectionate Remembrance of English Cricket Which Died At The Oval on 29th August 1882
Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances
R.I.P
NB: The body will be cremated, and the ashes taken to Australia."

Then, two years later, the British, who, having been humiliated, had been training harder than ever, won again. The "ashes" returned! By this time, an Australian girl who probably fancied the capitain of the British team decided that these metaphorical ashes should be "kept" (metaphorically, that is) in a pretty velvet bag. So she made a bag.

Another woman back in Engalnd who had taken a shine to the British capitain and was determined not to be undone decided that the the bag was not a "grand enough trophy for such a celebrated occasion." So she bought a silver urn AND burned a piece of cricket equipment to make the ashes incarnate.

He gave the ashes to the cricket authroities- and then they gave them back. He took them to Australia and married the girl who made the bag for him. Then they disappeared (read: stayed in his house...) until he died. Now they are on permanent display in a cricket club in England. They left only in 1988 to visit Australia for an anniversary celebration. Even then, they were accompanied by the RAF. Yeah, the freaking British Air Force.

Here is an actual quote from the website: "To this day, the Ashes remain the ultimate trophy in a bi-annual cricket competition between England and Australia and although the winner never takes physical possession of the original trophy, a copy is always presented to the victorious team captain."

And nobody seems to have a problem with this.

Anyway, the "ashes" (that were apparently born of the metaphorical cremated remains of British cricket and then became real but are now kept behind glass so it's really only a replica) have returned to Britain!! Huzzah!

This all leads me to the unavoidable conclusion that the Brits and Aussies are CRAZY. But in that fun sort of way.