esprit de l'escalier

I heart Prezi

I'm in the midst of writing a lot of papers, but I wanted to post *something* since I've been MIA for a bit too long.

Last week I had a debate in my planning theory class.  We had to argue that there were universal ethic rules for planners. We had the hard side of the debate because all of our readings said that ethics were situational. To make our argument we had to go back to Kant and stretch some things a bit.

Anyways, why am I telling you this? Because I gave the initial argument and used this cool program to do so and wanted to share. Instead of using Powerpoint, I used this free, flash-based presentation program called Prezi. It's super easy to use and it's nonlinear, which makes it (at least) seem more dynamic than Powerpoint.

Basically, you have this blank sheet and you start adding text and images, and then start grouping them into sections or subsections. You create paths to different sections or objects and which sets up the route of your presentation. It sounds a little complicated, but once you start in at it, you realize it's pretty simple. You can see my presentation here. Click the right arrow to proceed through the slides. (You miss my explanation, of course, but you can get the gist of our argument. Really, I just want to show you how cool this program is!)

Long, busy weekend ahead

Hello blog. I'm still busy with school, even though I passed my comprehensive exam. My "to-do" list is long with papers and group projects. I'm in my dear friend's wedding tomorrow, too, which is fun, but adds an extra layer of complexity to my time line.

It's suddenly hot and summer-like here. The temps have been in the high 80s and I remember what Memorial Day weekend used to mean to me: a parade in my grandparents' town and the opening of swimming pools. We grew up in a house a block from a neighborhood pool, which is where you found us kids every day of summer. I stopped going in high school, resulting from combination of feeling too cool and feeling bad about my body, I'm sure. I miss those easy days though and the smell of chlorine. I hope you all have an excellent weekend.

It's official

I passed my comprehensive exams! Barring any unforeseen problems, I will be graduating with my master's degree in a few short weeks. Soon I too will have a mix of letters after my name. I will also soon be "funemployed" as I'm looking for work. Please think good thoughts for me (and pass any tips my way).

I celebrated with some Presecco and bench-standing.

Oh, and go see how freaking cute Blue Kid is, ready for prom. Sniff!

Jello for Mom

When we were kids, my Mom used to make us "Monster Jello" for our birthday parties. Monster Jello consisted of a giant vat of jello full small plastic toys (which she would clean beforehand). It was pretty much the greatest thing ever. Our birthday cakes always had sparklers and our jello was full of fun.

Anyhow, I don't have any Monster Jello to share (although my sister did make a righteous batch with tiny Jesus toys for her birthday this year), but I did make a batch of jello for my Mom today. She had a terrible time at the dentist today and I thought some jello was in order. Poor Mom.

Crumble, anyone?

I've had rhubarb on the brain this week and was excited to see some at the Clintonville Co-Op yesterday. I figured a crumble was in order for Mother's Day. (Apparently Jennifer had a similar idea.)

I turned to Smitten Kitchen, as she had a rhubarb cobbler recipe up this week that contributed to my rhubarb craving. I wanted a crunchy topping, though, and luckily she had crumble recipe in her arsenal as well. I followed her recipe more or less to the tee, except that I threw in some blackberries too. Recipe again, here.

More pink

I never considered myself a pink girl. Then my mother and I painted my sister and my room pink (much to my sister's protests) when we were in middle school. I think I might be more of a pink girl than I thought, because this just makes me giddy.

I'm happy this week is over. Midterms: done. Comprehensive exams: taken. School left: about a month. Mind: blown.

Oh, and Happy Mother's Day!

'Roid Week 2009 - Tuesday

Blargh. That's how I'm feeling. More polaroids to share, though. These are from Minneapolis, where I recently visited.

Happy 'Roid Week 2009!

'Roid Week 2009 - Monday

It's 'Roid Week 2009. I'm still up to my eyeballs in school, but I have to take a break to join in the fun. My contributions for today are below. See the fun here. Oh, and Happy Bench Monday too!