mythicalgirl: (cat powers)
Got your attention, didn't I? 

I just picked up a copy of Death's Acre by William Bass and Jon Jefferson.  The book is all about Dr. Bass and The Body Farm - aka The Anthropology Research Facility - at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.  This is where forensic anthropologists, among others, do experiments with dead bodies to learn things like how a body decomposes and other fascinating (if kind of gross) stuff.  It may sound bizarre and kind of morbid but I really love this kind of thing.  Seriously.  Stiff by Mary Roach is one of my favorite books and where I first came across mention of The Body Farm.  Then I read Carved In Bone by Jefferson Bass, aka Dr. William Bass and Jon Jefferson.  Fiction but still lots of forensic anthropology so I was thrilled. 

The other book that I'm going to try to find soon is The Big Necessity: The unmentionable world of human waste and why it matters by Rose George.  It is all about poop and fecal contamination of our water supply, how that leads to diseases, how we can change things, etc.  Really.  Go check out today's Unshelved as Dewey does a much better job describing this book than I do.  I know it must seem weird but I really want to read this book.  Maybe I can pick up a copy before I leave on vacation.  Can't you just see me on the plane reading a book about poop?  

In more serious matters, my boss retires today.  Probably one of the best supervisors I have ever had the good fortune to work for, B has always been of the school of thought that says her employees are grown ups and know what they are doing and her job is to stay the hell out of the way and let them do it.  Now personally this works fabulously for me.  I do not handle being micromanaged very well, nor do I like being ignored.  B has always found the right balance with all of her peeps.  And today is her last day.  I am really happy for her (and a little envious) and I will miss her terribly.  Cake and presents starts shortly.  Tears will probably follow soon after.

And finally vacation starts in less than a week.  Actually at this time next Friday I will be on the ship sailing the Pacific. Three and a half work days left, five and a half days total.  All I have to do is provide a couple of brain dumps to people here at work, fix a couple of bugs, print off my paperwork, pack and make my flight out early Thursday morning.  I am so ready.  Dad and I will have some web access while on this trip so I may do the occasional blog entry instead of saving everything for when I get back.  And I'll post pics when I get back - some here and the full set of all the pics on my Flickr account (family and friends only so if you are interested let me know in comments or e-mail so I can send you a pass).      
mythicalgirl: (emo poems)
Yes, I have been woefully remiss in keeping this blog updated lately. After the fiasco of The Project That Would Not Die I have found myself, well, not quite giving a shit. Sorry but that's just the way it is. I've had little to say and haven't been able to muster up the motivation to care about that fact.

Truthfully today isn't much better but I was taking a break from the work of a cube dweller, was out here surfing around and thought "Hey, maybe I should drop in and say something!". So here I am.

I finally watched WALL-E (yes, I know, I am hopelessly behind on my NetFlix). Such a sweet little film and lovingly animated. Huge fan of Pixar right here. I loved the way the WALL-E and EVE were done - the voices, the body language, just everything. And the story was cute, making me cheer out loud. A very nice way to spend a cold Saturday evening.

I also watched Hellboy II: The Golden Army and was not quite as impressed. It is a decent movie and the creatures are amazing (although the special effects makeup on the young Hellboy was atrocious). The story was only so-so. It was kind of boring really. And a little too pat. Let's just say I'm glad I got it on NetFlix and didn't pay to go see it in the theater.

Not much reading lately. I spent most of the weekend cooking instead, making soups and stews and freezing a bunch. Its getting cold here so I have this nesting thing going on, stocking up for winter. Still, I did read The Great Stink by Clare Clark and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. I enjoyed both immensely. The Great Stink is a somewhat slower and quieter book, which tends to hide that it is a far meatier story. Lots on Victorian London, the sewers and the huge project to modernize them, mental illness, a character that pretty much suffers from post-traumatic stress long before such a thing was known, cutting, societal mores. Lots more going on here than just a murder mystery. Not for everyone. The Lost Symbol is, well, a Dan Brown book. Enough history and fact woven in to make a seemingly impossible plot almost believable. I loved the history of Washington, D.C. as well as all the stuff on the Masons, true or not. As usual Brown came close to snapping the suspension on my disbelief (real close in this one) but managed not to. And in usual Brown fashion the story doesn't end with the end of the bad guy. It just keeps going and going and going. The denouement really could have been tighter. Still I found the book a pleasurable read - and a fast one!

And now I should return to my regularly scheduled work and get something accomplished. I was late this morning due to snow, ice, and everyone in Indiana forgetting how to drive in the shit. Of course everyone else was late as well so no harm, no foul.

Is it time to go to the gym yet?

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