What's In Your Bag?

I recently found a picture contest on Photobucket, a website where people dump their pictures. The contest had expired, but I liked the topic: "What's in your purse?" The winning photo can be seen by following this link, but the premise of the photos are simple: arrange all the stuff you've got in your bag for a picture. So, I decided to do it for a Picture of the Day about a month ago. I'd meant write a blog post commenting about it, but I never had the time... until BLOGTOBERFEST, that is!

So, here's my bag, all packed up and ready to go (I don't have a man-purse, let alone a woman-purse, so I just used my backpack instead):

...and here's my "neatly-exploded-bag" picture:

If you're some kind of a creep or something, you can check out a larger version here.

Remember that this is the backpack that I take to work, so there are obviously a lot of job-related things. Let's have a look, generally from left to right, top to bottom (just pretend you're reading my junk like a cheap romance novel you picked up for a dollar in the checkout line at Rite-Aid):

1. Mini tripod, small camera, regular camera, and plastic bag: Because you never know when you'll find a Picture of the Day, and the plastic bag is because you never know where you'll find mold in this Godforsaken country.

2. Ipod and charging cable: Because music is important.

3. Cell phone: I should probably also have a charger for this, since it's usually dead. I think there's one in my car, but in any case, it's really only for emergencies.

4. Flash drive: That's how things get done around here.

5. Re-filled bottle of water: Small enough to carry easily and look cheap.

6. Folders and books: I do teach, after all.

7. Paperclip: Like free-range prairie dogs, they seem to be ubiquitous in my bag unless I'm trying to find one, in which case there's not a single one to be found.

8. Pens and whiteboard markers: More tools of the trade.

9. Two of those little "do not eat this" packets: I think they're supposedly made to keep moisture out of packages, and I'm crossing my fingers that they'll do the same for my bag.

10. Earphones

11. Medicines: Hand sanitizer (the water goes out here more than you'd imagine), generic "anti-diarrheal," "pink bismuth," "ibuprofen," and "gas relief" pills (to counteract traveling classes or horrible food).

12. Toothbrush and toothpaste: I was surprised that everyone here brushes their teeth after lunch, just like they say you're supposed to. When in Rome...

13. Gum, mint, and more gum: For when the water goes out and I can't brush my teeth.

14. Belt: I have no idea how I manage to forget a belt so often--maybe I don't think I'll need one when I get dressed, and my pants stretch out throughout the day?--but it's good to have one on hand.

15. Mini-notebook: Old school solution for carrying phone numbers, and allows me to avoid learning how to program numbers into my phone.

16. The Book of Questions: For use when I need a fast warm-up in class.

So, what's in your bag? Have you ever shot a picture like this? It seems like I've come across quite a few of them, most of them nicer than mine, but oh well. By the way, here's the set-up for this picture:

...which made it by far the most complicated Picture of the Day I've shot in these nearly two years. 

So, that's it for now, but stay tuned for more Blogtoberfest fun, coming soon to a Sitzblog near you!

I Heart German, Germany, and Germans

I heart German, Germany, and Germans, but you have to admit that they do often provide fertile ground for some good-natured joking (after all, when most people think of Germany, the first thing that comes to mind is "humor"). Additionally, Blogtoberfest is inherently Teutonic in nature due to its name, so on that note, I wanted to post my two favorite not-necessarily-German "Funny German" videos. I originally saw both of them via my friends Brian and Barbara quite a few years ago, actually, so you may have seen them, too. If not, enjoy:

This one really makes a strong case for Germans' rights. Now, here's another classic, and although it involves German, it's actually more of an English-oriented video:

So, that's it for now... but you can hold off the incredible onslaught of blogging that is Blogtoberfest for only just so long (till about tomorrow, probably). Thanks for reading, and have a great day!

Extremely nice day!

The weather was very kind to us for yesterday's outing, with only a few spots of rain whilst we were travelling from one 'extreme' to another, and even a little sunshine. We sampled local delicacy the Mol�ne sausage in a wonderful restaurant in St-Renan (La Maison d'Autrefois) before visiting the tallest menhir in France and then the very edge of France at the Pointe de Corsen. After a drive through the beautiful old fishing port of Le Conquet, we ended up at the Pointe St-Mathieu to see the ruined abbey on the cliffs, including an ancient fire-tower from pre-lighthouse days. It was a great trip and many thanks to all who participated.

Sitzbook: "Death in Venice"

The cover of the book indicates that it's been made into a movie by Warner Brothers.

I've not technically seen the movie, but I can tell you this: It's boring as shit.

As part of my ongoing Sitzbook project I read Thomas Mann's Death in Venice. I actually read this when I was in grad school, but Bobby offered to loan it to me, and it seemed like a quick read in a time when I'm trying to get closer to hitting my goal of 52 books by the end of the year.

Well, it is a quick read, but it's also a bit of a dull read. The most remarkable thing about it is that I actually read it in German the first time around; it's been scientifically proven that books in German are 37% more depressing than books in other languages. If you don't believe me, you should have seen the reading list for the German MA program. Over half the books ended with the protagonist dying, committing suicide, and/or murdering someone (usually a lover). 

But I digress. I guess the best thing I can say about Death in Venice is that it has a very succinct title. In fact, it pretty much tells you the plot of most of the book. A guy goes to Venice, sees a boy, and dies. Sure, he also walks down to the beach a bit and eats some meals, and Mann's sure to recount those events in excruciating detail, but that's really about it.

It was a quick read, at least, but if Mann had had a sharper editor, he probably could have pared it down to pamphlet size with the same end result.

So, that's it for now. Thanks to Bobby for loaning me the book, even though it wasn't my favorite one ever. And thanks to you for reading, and please stay tuned for more Blogtoberfest fun!

Pictures of the Day: September 2011

Blogtoberfest continues! The Pictures of the Day from September admittedly start off a bit dull, but they get better as the month goes along. It was a pretty long, boring month with lots of rain and fog and lots of hanging out inside. That seems to translate into taking lots of random pictures of crap around the house:

Thanks for reading, and be sure to stay tuned for more Blogtoberfest fun!

Woolacombe Down

This afternoon I took a break from painting the outside of my house and went off to enjoy the October heatwave with a nice walk. I dragged daughters 2 and 3 with me, the dog dragged us.

After turning the wrong way at the end of my road, we eventually made it to Woolacombe and parked in Marine Drive car park for �3. At the entrance to the car park is the start of the footpath up to Potters Hill. We climbed up and around it until we reached the sign that says 'summit' and opted not to go that way as our legs were already aching. We followed the path along towards Woolacombe Down, where an equally long climb awaited us but with stunning views of the beach that made it worth while. My daughter said, 'The people look so tiny!' Plus there was a handy bench to rest on and enjoy the drinks and snacks I'd packed in my bag.

The walk in all on National Trust land. At the top of the Downs horses were roaming free. We kept and eye on the dog but she just ignored them, preferring to sniff around in the gorse instead. After our quick rest we followed the path back down to Marine Drive and into the sand dunes behind the beach. It was very pleasant and mostly flat, and there were plenty of blackberries around if we'd wanted to pick them. There was the option to walk along the beach but the children decided they didn't want to. I don't know why they don't like the beach. They're not normal.

It was a lovely walk, although my legs are killing me now, and we finished it off nicely with a stop in Woolacombe for an ice cream. Who'd have thought, ice cream, shorts and t-shirts in October!

Content Warning: Literary Nipple!

Blogtoberfest continues! Willkommen!

If you've been following my Sitzbook book-a-week project, you may have noticed that there was a nipple on the cover of one of the books. And it wasn't just any old disembodied nipple floating in space (as nipples are apt to do, I'm told). No, my friends, it was a female nipple, on a female breast! For shame! I would normally just have made a short joke or comment about this, but then I started over-analyzing things, and eventually a blog post became inevitable. 

Before we go any further, and so we're all on the same page, here's the picture of the book cover in question, from the Spanish-language version of Isabel Allende's In�s del Alma M�a ("In�s of My Soul"):

As you can see, the picture on the cover is old-looking; in fact the credit says it's called Desnudo/"Nude" and it's an 1890 photo attributed to Leopold Reutlinger, whose name sounds suspiciously German (the plot thickens: Germans just love nipples on book covers, billboards, and bus stop ads!). But what's it doing on the cover of a historical novel about In�s Suarez, a Spanish woman who helped found the nation of Chile through the conquering and suppression of its native tribes?

I know that this book cover nipple isn't just an isolated phenomenon, since at one point we had three Latin American-published books in our house that had nipples on their covers (The other two were Paulo Coelho's La Bruja de Portobello and Gustavo Bol�var Moreno's Sin Tetas No Hay Para�so). I think that if these books were sold in the U.S., someone would strategically put a "15% off!" sticker over the nipples in question. Either that, or else there'd be a controversy called "Nipplegate* 2011."

Let me make one thing clear: I think it's fine that there's a nipple on the cover of this book. I don't care. In fact, I think that most books should probably have nipples on their covers, just in case (except cookbooks... that would be weird). But I have noticed that the nipple aspect makes this book more interesting. For example, Angela read the book after I did, and so did our friend Adriana. Both seemed embarrassed to be reading such a tit-ilating book in public, but they weren't able to explain why exactly they felt that way.

So I guess this leads me to a series of questions: 

1. Did you know the German word for "nipple" is Brustwarze? Did you know that literally translated, that means "Breast-wart"? Isn't that wonderful?

2. Is a cover like this "indecent" or even simply "problematic"? Do people still get offended by an exposed nipple or breast these days? If so, do such people fan themselves, swoon, and then experience fainting spells when they see nipples?

3. If nipples aren't problematic or indecent, is it because this is a novel? Does that have anything to do with it? What if it were an advertisement for margarine? 

4. Would a book like this be sold out in the open in the U.S. and if so, would anyone comment about it (besides me, of course)?

5. How is it that a proportionally higher number of "nipply" books seem to be published and sold in Latin America, a region that at least to me seems to be more prudish and prohibitive than the U.S. when it comes to general public nudity?

6. Is this non-controversial because it depicts breasts and nipples, and not the "junk" of one's nether-regions? 

7. If this is OK, then why aren't there topless beaches in Latin America? 

8. Is all of this just a ploy to try to trick people into reading?

Please answer the questions in complete sentences, using a number 2 pencil, on a separate sheet of college-ruled, loose-leaf paper. You have 30 minutes. Please begin.

Oh, and by the way, the book was really good. As the Brits might say, "It's the tits!"

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more Blogtoberfest fun! 

*The only thing that should be called "nipplegate" is a door that leads to actual nipples, like the entrance to a strip club.