el estado de limbo

Me and Bobby McGee - Janis Joplin (from the album, Pearl)

No Rain - Blind Melon

Sunday Arak - Balkan Beatbox

Nuro Shavo - Tamango

DJ Vasile - Zdob si Zdub

Turn the Page - Bob Seger

Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again - Bob Dylan

Whistlin' Past the Graveyard - Tom Waits

Heyo.

Portugal was amazing. 10 points for the other Iberians and their cafe meia do leite.

Camera = jacked in barça, so there are no pictures.

Hopefully by now you're all used to this.

However, if you're in the facebook crowd, the pictures are on mah page via friends with photo apparatus...es... apparatae...apparati?

Da igual.

Next: experienced a face slap from reality in the New World yesterday cuando tuve que register for classes for the fall semester at IU.

I'm essentially done with the major requirements, so next year's classes will be pretty fantastic.

However, as I've expressed to several of you, it's going to be absolutely absurd to be thrown from life here back into college town life, surrounded only by my peers. That sounded pretentious. It wasn't meant to. I certainly appreciate my peers.

But some age variation is always nice.

Every once in a while it's good to know for a fact that you aren't living in a commune of survivors of a mysterious epidemic which eliminated the entire population under 18 and over 26.

It will, however, be nice to wake up 15 minutes before I have to leave, and roll out of bed into class. 5 points for a smaller city structures.

Nevertheless, not being able to take a beer onto the city bus before class might become an issue... :D

-10 points for cultural adjustments.

Ah well, New World. For now, all I can do is try to remain focused on the true reasons behind your foundation; and why I will be returning for a stint - Buffalo Wild Wings, Third Wave Ska Revival and a 1991 silver Saturn named Stan the Indie Rocker.

Hasta later,

beccaniles

breakage

Playlist:

Walkin' in Memphis - Marc Cohn

Holyman - Blind Melon

The Pusher - " " " "

Walk - " " " "

No Rain - " " " "

Eggs and Sausage - Tom Waits

Handlebars - Flobots

Semana Santa: secularly recognized religious holiday lasting slightly longer than one glorious week.

Official beginning: yesterday

List of activities to accomplish during said holiday: ni puta cosa.

Headin' off to Porto, Portugal for a few days tomorrow.

Should be nice.

Sun.

Beach.

Friends.

Ni puta cosa que tengo que hacer.

Bueno, I suppose that's kind of a lie. There are several books I should be reading for classes.

And really, I have two rather large trabajos finales looming in the near future.

Gonna suck.

I'm sure there will be the usual pointless, time-killing blog posts during that time.

And -

To those of you who have relentlessly demanded that my lazy self re-acquire some form of proof of American citizenship:

Got it.

Finally.

Minus visa and stamps to prove I entered the country legally.

So congratulations on your seeming victory, relentless demanders...

But homie's still illegal.

Story of my life.

The trip to the embassy was quite daunting. If you really want to know, send me a message and I'll tell you personally.

Somehow, after that visit, I feel as though I'm being monitored...

I'm too damn paranoid to write it here.

So. On this sunny, lazy Saturday of Semana Santa, I plan on having a nice conversation con la guitarra and packin' off to a picnic with some people.

Hope you all enjoy yours :D

Beccaniles

i don't even know.

This week's lost in translation moment:

Anonymous Spaniard: Noooo, Becca! How would you say in english...mmm...fijarse en alguien?

Me: Um, I guess you could say, "to focus on or pay attention to?" o algo como asi?

Anonymous Spaniard: Bueno, so I foked him, right? and-

Me: YOU WHAT HIM?!

quite a LOL moment.

Playlist:

Sultans of Swing (Live '85) - Dire Straits

Soul Man - Sam and Dave

November Rain (mainly the ending) - Guns 'n Roses

Bulletproof - La Roux

Gimme Some Lovin - The Toasters

I'm beginning to believe that I am actually dead. I simply have yet to realize it.

How else could I once again (fourth time in the past two weeks) sleep through an alarm, lying on my pillow, sounding at the maximum volume?

This is starting to get ridiculous.

Ah well.

So. For those of you who continue to judge me for my unrivaled laziness and apathy regarding administrative matters -

I have printed the forms.

I've gotten the pictures.

I'm going to the embassy tomorrow.

They'll probably refuse to issue me a passport on the sole grounds that I've waited literally 3 months after the robbery to file for another.

Making me an idiot.

Hmm. I can quedarme aqui.

I'm cool with that.

Bueno. Time to go.

Beccaniles needin' to earn some mahnies.

P.S. Soon to come:

Some words regarding "Demons" - probably the best book I've read to date.

La gente a quien debes conocer.

Playlist:

Too Much - Pepper

Worst Hangover Ever - Offspring

People, movements (and a literary work) you should know.

Look them up.

Read what they have to say about language.

Take my final for me.

Platón

Aristóteles

Tracio

Los alejandrinos

Los estoicos

Apolonio Díscolo

Marco Varrón

Aulo Gelio

Donato

Prisciano

San Agustín

San Isidoro de Sevilla

Lorenzo Valla

Antonio Nebrija

Francisco Sanchez de las Brozas

Los jesuitas

Los jansenistas

Lorenzo Hervás

Juan Andrés

Juan de Valdés

Giambattista Vico

Gregorio Mayans

Descartes

Rousseau

Schlegel

Hegel

El positivismo e idealismo

Los hermanos Grimm

Humbolt (the cool one)

Umberto Eco

La gramática de Port Royal

Noam Chomsky

...why?

beccaniles.

Big hair for the win.

Playlist:

Sweet Child O'Mine - Guns N' Roses

Apparently facebook has profile picture fad-week/months now.

I was unaware.

This would certainly explain why all of the sudden everyone turned into pokemon.

Dicho esto, this week/month (not sure - I get different answers from different people) happens to be celebrity look-alike week/month.

While I don't particularly feel like changing my profile picture; I figured a blog wouldn't be so bad.

This is what the internet and I came up with.

Judge for yourselves:

Yes.

beccaniles

Quién debe estar estudiando...?

Hi. That would be me.

Playlist:

Rockin' Horse - Allman Brothers

Can't Stop - RHCP

The Science of Selling Yourself Short - Less Than Jake

Fumblin' With the Blues - Tom Waits

Strictly Rude - Big D and the Kids Table

What It Is - Mark Knopfler

Monkey Wrench - Foo Fighters

Examen final: viernes el 12

wtf.

This final will consist of 2 questions/essay topics spanning from Plato to Noam Chomsky.

No thank you. I think I'll pass.

...or rather, maybe I won't.

I have paid attention. I have gone to class. I have ni puta idea what to expect.

Could I have done something differently? Studied more?

Study what?, I ask.

The philosophical and linguistic history en total of the world?

Especially considering some of the class resources were not only in Spanish, but in Latin and Italian?

No. Si existe algo que debo haber hecho, es obtener poderes síquicos para que pudiera haber previsto los temas del examen.

Dicho esto, let's do as we usually do and pretend it doesn't exist, yes? Yes.

...

So, I moved. That's something new.

Nice place.

Tight roomie.

I dig.

...also, I disgracefully scored 10 more points for postmodernism in a Lit paper y recibí una very nice grade for it.

Well. That's not completely true. The paper actually had a point.

Unlike postmo...der...

Right.

Oo! Además!

This new semester is shaping up to end just as joyfully as the last in terms of not-really-syntax II -

Yes. I'm taking the follow up to not-really-syntax I.

- in that our final paper is essentially the same as the previous one;

meaning beccaniles gets the opportunity to syntactically analyze (and propagandize) MORE Dostoevsky.

Qué fuerte.

Be still, my soul.

If only this impending exam-nado de la Historia de la Lingüística ended so nicely.

Ah well, in the words of Ben Kweller,

"It's the slacker lifestyle

that we do so well...

... my brain is super-fried"

hasta later,

beccaniles

A Hypothetical Smackdown of Epicstential Proportions

Playlist:

The Pot - Tool

One Headlight - The Wallflowers

Longshot Kick de Bucket - The Pioneers

Especially in Michigan - Red Hot Chili Peppers

Whose Chariot? - O.A.R.

Hokay.

So.

My brother, via skype chat, recently posed me the question:

"If Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Hegel, and Descartes engaged in a philosophical death match... who would win?"

Seeing as I'm hungry, but the kitchen is occupied, and I have nothing better to do than study for a philosophy exam tomorrow, we're going to settle this right now.

However, I do believe we should supplement a few more characters to make this truly interesting.

That said, bring in Kant and Schopenhauer.

First, as I told Patrick (the brother), Descartes is immediately disqualified given the fact that

) 1 He could not possibly understand the situations of the later philosphers

2) Kant would have knocked him out cold in the rationalist v. empiricist round

3) He's French.

That leaves Kierkegaard, Hegel, Nietzsche, Kant and Schopenhauer.

I thought it only fair to Kierkegaard that there be another theist party present, hence Kant.

So. To begin this love triangle...pentagon; we can immediately form teams:

Hegel, on the side of the continental/mass philosophists

Schopenhauer and Kant in the realm of metaphysics

Nietzsche and Hegel for atheism

Kant and Kierkegaard for theism

Schopenhauer for the aesthetic

Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer and Kant for freedom

But then, of course, we have the typical historical philosophical catfights.

Hegel was hated by Schopenhauer, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard.

Kant by Schopenhauer and Hegel

and Nietzsche hated everyone.

That means 4 to 1, Hegel and his dialectics hit the road.

HA, how's that for an opposition?...

This leaves Schopenhauer, Kant, Kierkegaard and the ubermensch himself.

Nevertheless, the next most criticized kid in the group would be Kant.

Auf Wiedersehen, Herr Kant.

So. This leaves us with the three most unstable, yet terribly brilliant and interesting minds.

Schopenhauer, I must say, would probably be the first one to go in this case.

Though I do love the guy, Nietzsche and Kierkegaard could certainly out-argue him.

...and he'd probably just start yelling "POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC" when he got lost.

So. Death match.

An empty room.

Two chairs facing eachother.

Two men.

Perhaps three, with a translator.

Who gives in first?

Both of these men are terribly spirited and fully engrossed in their works.

I personally prefer Kierkegaard (to breathing on most days...).

Nevertheless, Nietzsche could potentially and indefinitely stall with the whole "I'm more philosophically evolved than thou" argument that he usually throws at people.

And Kierkegaard was kind of sickly, so I don't know how long he could hold out.

Nevertheless, Nietzsche was a nihilist little bugger.

So would he care who won?

Damnit.

Duel of the millenium and I can't even reason this one out.

Well, I'll just resolve this the way all respectable ties are solved.

Pan the audience.

Unfortunately enough, I believe the general public would back Nietszche. Hands down.

They already have.

So good fight, Kierkegaard.

I look forward to the rematch.

Maybe we can invite Heidegger and Dilthey next time.

beccaniles