It appears August is Civil War month here in Lawrence, Kansas. I caught the tail end of the festivities last year, including an appearance from William Quantrill; I attended a few of the events this year as well, although I missed an appearance from John Brown.
Kansas likes to claim that the Civil War started here, and Lawrence, along with some neighboring cities, surely have some pretty neat historic sites.
In honor of the Civil War festivities, I have chosen to release the following video, one that I recorded quite some time ago but wasn’t sure whether or not I wanted to let anyone else see it. Nevertheless, here it is- you might call it a music video, but I prefer to think of it as a low-fidelity bootleg recording of an intimate concert (in a 75 sq ft. room).
The song is a “theme and variations” based on the popular Civil War song When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Each variation is intended to convey some aspect of the soldier’s life; in particular, I loosely based the progression of thoughts on the novel The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane.
So there you have it. If you have seven minutes and seventeen seconds with nothing better to do, check it out (or course, if you have dial-up, it could take you hours- or days).
Friday, August 31, 2007
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Episode XXVI: An Annual Anniversary
As I type these very words, on August 17, 2007, I am celebrating my exact 1 year anniversary of being in Kansas. I am celebrating by typing these very words.
I thought for a minute whether to post something thoughtful and provoking, or flippant and fun. After thinking for a minute, I started typing this flippant, perhaps even fun, post.
I noticed that many things during my stay have happened in threes, and when they haven’t, I have arbitrarily forced them into groups of threes so that my life would seem more cinematic. Here are a few of them:
Three Residences
I began my life in Kansas in a wild and crazy on-campus apartment complex. I then lived for three or four weeks at a lovely country estate just outside of town. Finally, I got my very own condo (only a one minute walk to the nearest Dollar General store!)
Three Spectator Sports
KU’s basketball program just about lived up to its hype, which is rather remarkable. It easily dwarfed the football program (in terms of quality anyway). And the third spectator sport? Watching all the rabidly insane KU fans in the stands.
Three Participatory Sports
I got to play dodge-ball for the first time since elementary school (but forgot to take a picture), I played a good deal of indoor volleyball, and I played more softball than was good for my health.
Three Big Vacations
Here I had to be particularly arbitrary, and count only the longest vacations. I took a trip to see the intersection of Iowa/Nebraska/Kansas/Missouri, and one to the Ozarks for some camping, and finally a trip to California (well okay, it was two trips, but it was the same place both times).
Three Vehicles
Of course Trusty Rusty (recently christened) was always with me. I also had a good time with the Departmental Van that Almost Didn’t Make It Up the Snowy Hill. And finally, I could never forget the one and only Thugmobile.
Hopefully the coming year will be full of many more interesting things in sets of threes; I can hardly wait.
I thought for a minute whether to post something thoughtful and provoking, or flippant and fun. After thinking for a minute, I started typing this flippant, perhaps even fun, post.
I noticed that many things during my stay have happened in threes, and when they haven’t, I have arbitrarily forced them into groups of threes so that my life would seem more cinematic. Here are a few of them:
Three Residences
I began my life in Kansas in a wild and crazy on-campus apartment complex. I then lived for three or four weeks at a lovely country estate just outside of town. Finally, I got my very own condo (only a one minute walk to the nearest Dollar General store!)
Three Spectator Sports
KU’s basketball program just about lived up to its hype, which is rather remarkable. It easily dwarfed the football program (in terms of quality anyway). And the third spectator sport? Watching all the rabidly insane KU fans in the stands.
Three Participatory Sports
I got to play dodge-ball for the first time since elementary school (but forgot to take a picture), I played a good deal of indoor volleyball, and I played more softball than was good for my health.
Three Big Vacations
Here I had to be particularly arbitrary, and count only the longest vacations. I took a trip to see the intersection of Iowa/Nebraska/Kansas/Missouri, and one to the Ozarks for some camping, and finally a trip to California (well okay, it was two trips, but it was the same place both times).
Three Vehicles
Of course Trusty Rusty (recently christened) was always with me. I also had a good time with the Departmental Van that Almost Didn’t Make It Up the Snowy Hill. And finally, I could never forget the one and only Thugmobile.
Hopefully the coming year will be full of many more interesting things in sets of threes; I can hardly wait.
Monday, August 06, 2007
Episode XXV: A Family Visit
I have been privileged to have my family visiting here in the Midwest these last two weeks. They spent two days staying with me in Lawrence, and two weeks staying with distant relatives and church friends in Kansas City.
Many good times were had by all. Some of the recurring themes for me:
Frisbee. I played quite a bit of Frisbee, including Frisbee in the rain, Frisbee on a tower, Frisbee in a KU fountain, and at least five rounds of Frisbee-golf.
Driving. I worked full-time while my family was out here, and when I wasn’t working, I was in Kansas City with the family and/or attending the two-week-long-meeting along with them. This entailed a great deal of driving back and forth, as well as some rather odd work-hours.
Heat & Humidity. Working in a lab that is about sixty degrees all day every day, it is easy to forget how much H&H there can be here in the Midwest. However, I was consistently reminded of this fact every time I would get into the steaming car to drive from Lawrence to Kansas City.
BBQ. I really didn’t eat that much BBQ, but it seemed like a good thing to write about after being in Kansas City for a couple of weeks. I probably had four meals’ worth of BBQ, and there was some very, very delicious food to be had. So now I can say that there is at least one thing that I like about Missouri.
Many good times were had by all. Some of the recurring themes for me:
Frisbee. I played quite a bit of Frisbee, including Frisbee in the rain, Frisbee on a tower, Frisbee in a KU fountain, and at least five rounds of Frisbee-golf.
Driving. I worked full-time while my family was out here, and when I wasn’t working, I was in Kansas City with the family and/or attending the two-week-long-meeting along with them. This entailed a great deal of driving back and forth, as well as some rather odd work-hours.
Heat & Humidity. Working in a lab that is about sixty degrees all day every day, it is easy to forget how much H&H there can be here in the Midwest. However, I was consistently reminded of this fact every time I would get into the steaming car to drive from Lawrence to Kansas City.
BBQ. I really didn’t eat that much BBQ, but it seemed like a good thing to write about after being in Kansas City for a couple of weeks. I probably had four meals’ worth of BBQ, and there was some very, very delicious food to be had. So now I can say that there is at least one thing that I like about Missouri.
