Warning: This is a bit wordy.

THE NAZCA LINES
The Nazca people of Peru left no trace cities, but did leave the marvel of the Nazca Lines. Geogliphs. Built for extraterrestrials? Runways? They are figures only visible from the air, when modern flight was hundreds of years away. Some lines run 10 miles long. Birds, monkey, spider, whale, human like figure, there are thousands of figures. What was their purpose?

Astronomy theory relates to the positions to the moon, stars, solstices etc. The lines can point out horizons and figures relate to constellations. Is it just a map of the sky to mark the seasons? Astronomy theory doesn't fully explain it. It can only match up with 30% of the lines. Random at best.

Water theory suggests the figures coincide with aquifers that lie under the desert surface. They spiraled wells to tap into the aquifers. These 2,000 year old aqueducts are still in use today, fantastically preserved. Yet, only 30% match up with the lines. Random at best.

Ritual theory suggests they made huge images so that the gods in the heavens would be able to see them. They performed ritual dances but evidence of brutal rituals has never been found. Weak at best.

ATLANTIS
Could it be the island of Santurini in Greece? The island has many geological similarities to Plato's writings. The hot and cold springs, the red, white and black rock, the fact that it is an active volcano and could have been the cause of extinction. Atlantis supposedly sank into the sea. How does this compare to the city of Pompeii that was buried under a hundred feet of ash? The concentric circles described by Plato, do they offer evidence of advanced life? Yet there is no mention of a volcanic geological event. It is possible that they simply had no concept of what they were witnessing, if the piroplastic plume was obscuring the view, but it was a most violent explosion of priroplastic bombs. Scholars suggest that violent earthquakes and floods occurred over one day and night, sinking the city of Atlantis and making all the area impassible as mud. Such an eruption would do just that..

Was Plato writing entire fiction, entire fact, or fact based fiction? Was he simply the Dan Brown (author of The DaVinci Code) of the day? Was his writing merely a tale of mortality? Why are we so intrigued by Atlantis over the factual history we know of? Is there some psychic connection to the human mind collective that Atlantis has something to do with our future?

Aquitiri is a city that was unearthed much like Pompeii. An old city, supposedly of high functioning individuals. However, unlike Pompeii, no bodies were ever recovered.

THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE
The Bermuda Triangle is a triangular region in the Atlantic Ocean between Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda. An average of five planes goes missing every year and more than 50 ships have gone missing in the last century. However, is this phenomenal for an area consisting of 1.5 million sq miles of ocean? Surely, there are logical scientific explanations: gas bubbles, electromagnetic interference, violent seas. The geography of Bermuda is amazing. It is a coral reef perched on an extinct volcano 1 mile down at the bottom of the ocean. Its precarious environment is at the mercy of this vast deep ocean with easy changing weather.

Water spouts, essentially tornados on the water, form easily in the Atlantic and can be very deadly in open water. Many times, they are invisible to ships on the water. Methane gas bubbles releasing from the ocean floor in a localized concentration can cause a drastic density difference in the water, easily sinking an object. Random rips can suddenly turn 3ft waves into 6ft waves, and if the wind is blowing the opposite direction, it can make it worse. Microbursts produced by thunderstorms could tip an object.

When flying over water and a long way from land, spatial disorientation can occur. In other words, in flight Vertigo, the loss of sense of up and down, left and right. We fly by horizon, without it, the mind cannot compensate.

Have you ever been in the water in total darkness? While snorkeling a beautiful underground river in Cozumel I experienced this madness. I was face down, enjoying the beauty of the floor some 30 ft below when darkness swallowed me. Almost instantly, I had no idea where I was. I literally had no sense of direction.

I was far from the caves walls so I thought I might try to swim slowly with an outstretched hand and eventually reach a wall. I would then follow the wall and either head back to the light from which I came, or emerge on the other side of the blackness. My friend and I were calling out to each other but within the acoustics of an underground river, our primitive echo location was useless. I didn't panic, but I will admit I wasn't loving it. Slow and cautious, I swam in what I hoped wasn't a circle, trying to reach a wall. I ended up cracking my head on a razor sharp rock. Blood running down my forehead, the salt water burning my cut; it was fanfuckingtastic. Anyhow, that is my small version testament to spatial disorientation. Human beings like to feel centered; having no sense of where you are in space is disturbing.

Back to the triangle, there are many natural scientific explanations for probable causes of these tragedies, but why is no trace found of the majority of these missing modes of transportation? We were able to find the Titanic with no accurate coordinates, and she lies 2.5 miles below the surface.

I guess I shared these thoughts because I have always had a passion for archeology, both land and marine. Secrets of our future buried in our past, that sort of thing. Ciao.

In a spontaneous gesture, two classmates and I decided to play in the snow. Since the snow was too fluffy to make snowballs and have a proper fight, we decided sumo style with fists of snow fury was the way to go. As I was taking one of them down I somehow was flipped and ended up going head first into a deep bank. I got a seriously compacted cork of snow in my ear canal! It was so bizarre, and quite cold. In all my years of playing in the snow, even having spectacular snowboarding crashes in Aspen, I have never had this happen. Weird.

We went back inside to defrost. Then we had the brilliant idea that we should continue our snow theme and imitate penguins by sliding across a giant boardroom table on our bellies. On my first attempt, I caught my thigh on the edge of the table and ended up doing a booby flop. That's right, a booby flop - with a bounce. Ayna! (That is Afrikaans for 'Ouch'). Subsequent attempts proved much more successful when I had the idea to wrap my abs with my fleece scarf. This allowed for maximum slide down the runway. It was a nice interruption from finals. One paper to go!

Yah, so I am still up. I just finished another paper. I find it ironic that tonight I am tired. It is the first night in about 45 that I am actually tired before 4 am and I have to fight through it to crank out a paper. Insomnia, how I loathe your mockery. Truly I am just frustrated that it took me this long to complete. It should not have, I simply cannot concentrate. I think I need to be tested.

While I was sitting here working on my assignment I had the TV on, you know, background noise. So in the corner of my eye I catch a soccer match. I got excited; oh how I love footy. Suddenly Mario comes running onto the pitch and knocks a guy over. He steals the ball and dribbles down the pitch, kicking and punching guys along the way. It was very entertaining. The point of that was to say there is a new game called Super Mario Strikers out for Gamecube. Looks like so much fun! Soccer with bombs!

Out of curiosity, has anyone seen this commercial where there is a hooker straddling a man she calls 'Senator'? They are on some skanky hotel bed and she starts beating his chest and yelling at him not to die because a new phone is coming out soon. I am not sure I am following that marketing campaign. Ciao.

Wow! Talk about a throwback in time. I turned on my TV to see if I could catch some of the soccer championships as I finish another final and work on a paper. What do my wandering eyes find but the Lewiston-Porter 6th grade orchestra playing some very boring holiday song.

There was a guy in my class whose dad used to join us and play the bass with him. I always thought he was cool because he carried around one of those battery pack mobile phones. He was playing tonight. How weird. (e:Theecarey), do you remember 'Pinker'?

Anyhow, I cannot believe the same director is there. I never liked her. I thought her teaching method was uncreative and stifling, not to mention totally demeaning. She always yelled at people about how bad there were or how poor their posture was instead of sharing with them the ways they can improve.

She also used to make us stand to play. I always hated that. Well, obviously not the cello players, but the violins and violas had to stand. In watching this song, I see nothing has changed. Not to mention she still plays along instead of conducting like a conductor should. Who does she think she is, Andre Rieu?

That guy can get away with it because he does not do it for every song and he is a fun and amazing musician. He smiles when he plays, he lets the beauty of his sound move him. She always looked like she had a corncob up her butt. Anyhow, it was a quick trip down memory lane; I just wanted to share it. Ciao.

Countdown to finals submission: T minus 3 hours 54 minutes

Pages due: 21

Pages remaining: 8

I cannot concentrate!


Countdown continues: T minus 2 hours 24 minutes

Pages remaining: 4.5

I would cry but I do not have time to.


Countdown dwindles: T minus 54 minutes

Pages remaining: 1.5

Panick attack!

Countdown closing: T minus 5 seconds...4...3...2...1....

Pages remaining: 0

Holy Shit I'm gonna be late for my final!

I dreamed I was being chased, as usual, and I had to protect this small group of people, as usual. This is where my sense of part-time superheroinism comes from. Anyhow... you'll love my recipe for salvation. I swiftly escort them all into this big green bathroom that looks like the scene from a condemned sanitarium; complete with grandmother tub and electric shock equipment. Guess what the secret escape route is. Fill the tub with macaroni and cheese. Then we'll jump down the drain pipe. Yah. Maybe it's because I ate macaroni and cheese last night out of a Frisbee. Hey, I'm too busy working on finals to wash my clothes or dishes so I get creative. Why do I even have a Frisbee?



Then, to keep the theme of not sleeping while I sleep, I dreamt of finals again. It was horrifying. I was studying and my classmates were asking me what I thought about the theory of so and so. I didn't have a clue what they were talking about. It was as if I had taken the course and studied for some other course entirely. But it wasn't even real. The theories they were speaking of were entirely fictitious. Or maybe I've just seen the future and there will be the theory of so and so in Student Affairs one day. Blah. I just wish I could sleep peacefully for one night. Ciao.

My hypothesis was Harry Potter meets Lord of the Rings. My diagnosis is the same. It was a great movie. There were moments that really made me laugh, not that they were meant to be funny. Like perhaps they way one of the kings looks like the Burger King mascot. I half expected him to bust out a Whopper from his saddle bag. There were also moments that I questioned the interpretation of the message, but I don't want to post any spoilers so I'll keep my mouth shut.

I was thoroughly impressed with the lion. The sway of his mane in the breeze, the passion expressed in his eyes...it was simply amazing! The music was spectacular as well. I wouldn't be surprised if it makes a win at the Academy Awards. Ciao!

I finally bagged my plane ticket to Mississippi for Christmas. The price kept going up and I was freaking out because I didn't have enough to begin with. Today, prices suddenly dropped. I was able to get my ticket for $300. Sweet! Now I can see this little cutie pie!

my nephew max

Then I went out to pick up a few odds and ends to complete my holiday gift giving. Now I am completely broke. That's how much I love people. OK, OK...I did pick up a little something, something for myself. First, a small bottle of Amarula. I was at the liquor store to get a few gifts when I just saw it on the shelf. It has been ages since I've had it! It's delish.

Let me quote the description from the bottle:
On the wide-open plains of Africa grows the 'Elephant Tree' that bears the wild Marula fruit. From the Marula fruit, an oak aged liqueur is created which is then carefully blended to a rich smoothness with the finest natural cream. The result is captivating and exotic, with the flavors of caramel and hints of chocolate and vanilla .


i prefer it on ice...and i actually have ice that spells out I-C-E, i love it

Then, what's giving all about if you can't give a little to yourself too. After reading (e:Leetee)'s post about a pillow, I had to get it. I can't drink it but the love affair with the good doctor can continue.



Today I also finished up my annual letter. Everyone looks forward to guessing where in the world I've been and what colour my hair is. If I leave any legacy on this Earth, it will be my adventurous spirit and my ever changing hairstyle. I copied it, slapped it in my cards and got those mailed out. It was crazy. I didn't realize I even knew 100 people!



Now I'm off to see The Chronicles of Narnia with some kids from the residence hall. Ciao!

Do you ever have those dreams where you're doing exactly what you were doing all day, so when you wake up you really feel like you haven't slept at all? Yah, last night I was dreaming that I was working on my finals.....in exactly the same fashion I had spent my entire afternoon. What a boring and exhausting dream.

Then I had another, very short dream, just before waking. Apparently I was the Hall Director of a medieval village in a forest. Yes, I managed the 'residence woods' of Nottingham or something. So, we have a fire drill. I'm running through the woods with my big honky key chain tapping on huts and yelling at people to get out of the forest. Get this, the trees actually had those little fire alarm strobe light contraptions fixed to them! It was like a rave in the forest. As I'm herding people out I come upon (e:Jason) standing by a huge caldron. I'm like, 'dude, get out of here, the forest is on fire' and he's like, 'no way, I'm serving deer chili'. Then I woke up. Ciao.

I did the Reindeer Run yesterday morning. Man was it cold! The wind was brutal, but things were pleasant once we were in the protective sanctuary of the hills and tombstones of Forrest Lawn.



Then I headed over to the 750. Went for lunch at Falafel Bar and had a tasty white bean and vegetable soup. I think they make really great soups there. I also had the nutty hummus, always delish. We were supposed to go visit my little Bambi but plans changed when the car got broken into. We spent the afternoon cleaning up the glass from the smashed window and taping up a plastic replacement. Then (e:Jason) helped refresh my memory on how to play guitar and strummed a lovely tune. Thanks for that. Some days aren't what you plan them to be, but they are lovely all the same.