And she's back!

I will make no promises. I will not pledge to blog daily, weekly, or monthly. Instead, I will merely note the fact that, hey, here I am, right now. Whether or not the blogging will stick? That's a matter I will leave to three foreboding women with the scissors and the string.

What have I been up to lately? Well, I hang out with this guy a lot. I finished coursework. And now I'm reading for my preliminary exams, to be taken every Thursday in October. (Please do not mention in the comments that October is only two months away, or I will have to run screaming from this blog for another year-long hiatus!)

Anyway, here's my random-thought-for-the-day-while-reading: analogy! Such a useful concept! In my neck of the scholarly woods, arguments are often made about influence ~ that one creation story influenced another, that one work of historiography is a polemical response to another, etc. These claims -- though sometimes likely, and occassionally irrefutable -- must be supported vigorously, because to argue for influence is quite difficult when one's source material is spotty, redacted, and chronologically ambiguous. However, lately I've come across an increasing number of arguments for analogy rather than influence. In other words, instead of arguing that the writer of the vision reports in Daniel had a coffee table collection of Ugaritic myths at his or her disposal, it is perhaps equally useful (and less epistomelogically problematic) to observe the analogies between them. John Collins does this in his introduction to Jewish Apocalyptic literature, to wit: "the issue is not the exact derivation but the kinds of allusions involved" (p. 19). Furthermore:

If the "one like a son of man" who comes on the clouds in Daniel 7 alludes to the Canaanite figure of Baal, this is not to say that he is idenitified as Baal, or that the full story of Baal is implied. It merely suggests that there is some analogy between this figure and the traditional conception of Baal. (emphasis mine, p. 19)

My interest in allusion and analogy is related to the plausibility of what I like to call the there-was-something-in-the-air theory. Again, rather than arguing for influence, it seems more likely that, within and across certain eras (and especially between neighboring cultures), some traditions and ideas and archetypes and mythic images remain in the air, enduring for generations. Scribes and storytellers breathe these in and out; the literary evidence for this phenomenon comes to us clothed as analogy and allusion (among other things, I'm sure).

Brandon recommends reading this when prelims are done, to explore analogy in light of the findings of cognitive science. Sounds like fun to me! (Then again, reading anything that's not on my reading list sounds like fun at this point in the summer!)

Done

Being done feels like ...



Or maybe ...



Then there's...



Ahhhhh. Time for bed. Sorry for my absence. My body, having permission to completely relax, is a stranger to me. My head is cloudy, my back is achy, I am sleepier than ever, and sudden movements are disturbing to behold and impossible to execute. Hopefully tomorrow I will feel less like a zombie encased in jell-o, and more like a functioning participant in the world around me.

A girl can dream! And I think I will. Good night!

EDITED TO ADD
As of now, I have posted more this month than I did in all of 2006.

What was up with me in 2006?

*cue scary theme music*

I am awake.
And preparing to leave.
To go get some breakfast that will make me smarter.
Exam is at 9.
See you at 12 (or soon thereafter).

Serenity

With my Hebrew exam approaching in T-minus 16 hours and 39 minutes, I need some. Not to mention an iPod full of tunes to psych me up. Like "Holding Out for a Hero" by Frou Frou ~ the hero being, this time, my own superspeedy translational powers!
I know you are in there somewhere!

Time for a deep breath and one last dive into the Exam Preparation Pool, Olympic-sized, with all sorts of iced lattes and assorted grammars and lexicons floating about. See you when I emerge!

Pleased and Dazed

I am pleased (or, as the kids say, totally geeked out) by the new little doohickey in my sidebar (scroll down a bit), called a flagcounter, which records the number of visitors to this site per country. The numbers are discrete: the counter only records each reader one time, unless that person happens to check this blog from several different computers, in which case it will log one visit per computer. I like that: a realistic representation of actual readership. And, as I have had issues in the past with blogging regularly, I'm finding this flagcounter to be oddly motivating. There are people out there who actually read what I write! Or at least they have read it once! Well, probably some of the them clicked on the site by accident. But still! One of them lives in Israel! And another in Italy! And then there are the people I actually know, the Americans, the Canadians and the Dutch! I cannot let them down!

Oh, if you click on the widget, you can get your own for free.

Props to Erin, where I saw it first.

I am dazed because one week from today I have to take the departmental biblical Hebrew exam here at Emory, and my eyes and brain and heart and (as the ancient Hebrews would add) liver and kidneys are a bit overwhelmed with the preparation I've done until now, and the seven full days yet to come.

Jackie logs off blogger, turns to her Hebrew Bible, and commences with the nail-biting.

EDITED TO ADD
I also spruced up my sidebar a bit, removing a few old lists and paring down some of the current ones. Still too much? Feedback welcome!

Judas, Corrected

As promised yesterday ...

excerpt from The Death of Judas by Paul Claudel
translated from the French by polderpalooza herself, corrections by her French instructor in red

It was something of absolute seriousness, a deep interest. I wanted to be sure; I wanted to know where He was going. At his side, when He called me, I was really compelled to suppose that He clearly knew what He was doing. In order to follow without hesitation, I sacrificed my family, my friends, my wealth, my position. I have always had a kind of scientific or psychological curiosity, call it what you want, and at the same time a taste for adventure and for speculation…. I took the bait. Moreover, I am not the only one to let myself be taken. I dare say that among the Twelve, it was I who was by far the most well-educated and the most distinguished. I was a credit to the group. Needless to say, there was Simon Peter – one would not have had the heart to dismiss him or to deny him first place. One had only to look at his lovely eyes like those of an affectionate dog, and this grimace like that of a child who will cry when addressed with the reproaches, which came for him quite often when it was his turn. As for myself, I was always correct. I did my duty, one could not have asked more of me. Otherwise, it was a mess. All the same, my judgment, my manners, my knowledge of the world and the Scriptures, and my know-how with the customers were appreciated. I was one of the first to achieve the rank of Apostle, one of those around whose neck a cord was placed, what you now call a stole.

Grade: 49/50. I guess my quirkiness wasn't too over the top after all!

This morning I took the official Graduate Division of Religion French competency exam. I feel like it went well, but only time will tell. However, I do know for sure that I am done with French for the summer! Yahoo!

Lots Happening

1. Welcome to the world, little baby Joshua! Today you are one day old! I can't wait to meet you.

2. I ate Sushi in this restaurant a couple of nights ago to celebrate my friend Leslie's birthday. Wouldn't ya know it: I love Sushi! Who knew anything could be so fun to eat? Each bite is a self-contained precarious little party on two sticks. It's like cookies, but healthy (and with sticks). I had some with asparagus and some with softshell crab (that was an adventure, with the edible legs all breaded and sticking out the ends) and some with everything but the kitchen sink. No kitchen sink, and no fish eggs either. I wasn't brave enough to try the fish eggs.

3. I have an almost empty living room at the moment. Just a couch, a futon, a lamp, a TV stand and a TV. The futon is being moved out tomorrow. I plan to spend the weekend stretched out on the floor. Maybe I'll do some cartwheels. This empty-living-room-syndrome is the result of the ever adventurous and annually inevitable housemate transition period. N moved out (miss you dear!), taking furniture with her. J and J have only just begun to move in. And M is away for the summer (miss you too!). So, right now, it's just me, the aforementioned items, and some newly steamed wall-to-wall carpet. I'll have to find someone to poke (facebook friends?): there is static electricity to be mustered!

4. For my French take-home final, I translated a really entertaining, fictionalized passage about Judas. Yes, the Judas, the guy who gave 30 pieces of anything glittery a bad name. I'll post it below, and tomorrow, when I get the corrected version back, I shall let you know how I did. Okay then, one psychological profile of Judas Iscariot, comin' right up! Personally, I think this translation is kinda quirky. Hopefully not quirky enough to disturb the one grading it.

excerpt from The Death of Judas by Paul Claudel
translated from the French by polderpalooza herself

It was something of absolute seriousness, a deep interest. I wanted to have a clean heart; I wanted to know where He was going. At his side, when He called me, I was really compelled to suppose that He clearly knew what He was doing. In order to follow without hesitation, I sacrificed my family, my friends, my wealth, my position. I have always had a kind of scientific or psychological curiosity, call it what you want, and at the same time a taste for adventure and for speculation…. I took the bait. Moreover, I am not the only one to let myself be taken. I dare say that among the Twelve, it was I who was by far the most well-educated and the most distinguished. I was a credit to the group. Needless to say, there was Simon Peter – one would not have had the heart to dismiss him or to deny him first place. One had only to look at his lovely eyes like those of an affectionate dog, and this grimace like that of a child who will cry when addressed with the reproaches that came for him quite often when it was his turn. As for myself, I was always correct. I did my duty, there was no more wondering about that. Otherwise, it was a mess. All the same, my judgment, my manners, my knowledge of the world and the Scriptures, and my know-how with the customers were appreciated. I was one of the first to achieve the rank of Apostle, one of those around whose neck a cord was placed, what you now call a stole.

---

Inauguration of the Summer of Blogging

Here I go with my summer of blogging! Sorry for the delay.

I would like to begin by sharing quotes from someone who makes me laugh. Last week, he opened his show by declaring: "This is the dawning of the age of Colbertius (kohl-bear-ius)." Tonight the following got my goat: "Guests of the Colbert Report are housed in the luxurious Crashing With Friends." All this from the Peabody-award-winning satirist who invented the word "truthiness," which (rumor has it) appeared in a New York Times crossword puzzle last week. I love the guy!

So far, my summer has been very French. I am taking an intensive French language course: French for Reading Comprehension. Today I translated 375 words by Paul Riceour, which felt like a milestone. Class ends Thursday; I am taking the Religion Department competency exam on Friday. If I pass, I will have fulfilled both departmental modern language requirements. You see, I consumed a German grammar on the boat last summer:


Thus thorougly grammatified, and assisted by my knowledge of Dutch, I was able to wend my way through the German reading exam last summer.

In some ways, it is odd to learn to read a language without necessarily learning to speak it. Throw some Ricouer at me, and I and my 5-pound dictionary will have a little party. Throw my self toward France and ask me to order a baguette, and I will be overcome with fear and trembling. Hopefully someday I will have the opportunity to gain some confidence in baguette ordering et. al. That said, if anyone needs to buy some cheese in the Netherlands, I'm your woman!

EDITED TO ADD:
Colbert ended his Report tonight with the words: "I hope you've enjoyed watching me for the past half an hour. Now it's my turn to watch you." (followed by intense wordless stare)

May 12

That's right, folks. The little something I like to call "insanity" and which is otherwise known as "life in the first year of a PhD program" will be wrapping up in just over 2 weeks. Which means that in a mere 17 days, I can embrace my identity as a blogger again! At least for the summer!

Here's looking forward to that moment.

Until then,

Jackie, who bought her first energy drink today, and wonders if this is the first act on a slippery slope leading to caffeine addiction

Jackie in Real Life

So my very favorite restaurant in all of Atlanta so far is Rise-N-Dine, just a stone's throw from campus. Up until yesterday, the reasons for that were simple: fanstically tasty, healthy food; friendly and efficient service; and an atmosphere that was funkily comfortable. Yesterday, another reason was added to the list: I made a new friend! You know, like it happens in the movies. I was sitting at my own table; Adam was sitting at his. I asked the server for a bit of cream for my coffee; Adam offered me his. I asked if he was a student; he said he just graduated from seminary. Delightful conversation ensued. E-mail addresses were exchanged. Today I received an invitation to hang out with him, his fiance and his roommate sometime soon.

Does this really happen in real life? Do people just walk into cafes and make new friends? Apparently so!

Oh, yes. I have not forgotten my NY Resolution. Blogging about my transatlantic journey will happen this weekend.

What I Learned on my Second Day of School

1. In the near future, Emory is going to become an iTunes university.
2. Prominent figures who will be coming to Emory this semester include Barbara Kingsolver, Elaine Pagels and the Dalai Lama.
3. Tip: arrive at your classroom 20 minutes before teaching. Take time to yawn, do (basic) yoga, or massage your jaw muscles. Vocal/body warm-ups -- as well as good posture -- are essential unless you want to strain your voice 15 minutes into the period. (This strikes me as good advice for preachers too, especially those in smaller congregations who don't use mics.)
4. It is common for undergrads at Emory to make collaborative multimedia blogs as assignments for class. Who knew?
5. There is much more that I hope to check out at Emory, including their Women's Center, theatre offerings, and the current special exhibit at the Carlos Museum.

What I Learned on my First Day of School

1. According to (nearly) everyone who addressed us today, the most important thing you learn in grad school is time management.
2. "Sweet tea" in the South takes "sweet" to a whole 'nother level. I thought my mom's iced tea was as sweet as it could get; not so!
3. There's a student who looks exactly like David Duchovny. I am neither kidding nor exaggerating. Crooked smile, mysterious eyes, well-defined jaw line: Fox Mulder all the way.
4. One of the best ways to discourage plagiarism is to give your students assignments which are as specific as all-get-out.
5. It is possible for a biostatistician, a behavioral psychologist, and a biblical scholar to come up with a course on sustainability that might actually be teachable.