Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Finished reading The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. I enjoyed the story once I got over the talking animals, but I was surprised in a slightly bad, slightly weirded-out way about the explanation of Dust at the end—why did it have to be all about Him? I felt duped, somehow—tricked. I thought most of the characters were problematic in that they essentially behaved exactly how they said they would behave and in that they were far too honest with each other. Realistic humans almost always have hidden agendas, and there is a lot more figuring out of things to be done. In contrast, this 10-year-old girl essentially had everything handed to her. She is open and honest with almost all the strangers she meets, and she doesn't die or even get hurt—incredible! She clearly exhibited a handful of cleverness and ingenuity, but her success came largely from circumstance and surprising luck, I think. Stretches. Usual oatmeal breakfast. Prepared for announcement of Sygate Firewall to students. Student CW picked up laptop. Lunch at Ten by myself. Small web edit for Chris, sent to Cindy for review. Met with student AJ. Laptop maintenance for student AJ. Sent Eric the last Outlook tip I have (#20). Sent Eric info on purchasing from the Tech Store. Stretches. Tennis ball massage. Weight training: advanced reverse plank, hammer curl, lateral raise. Late meal: chunky soup, warm nonfat milk.