Undercover at Liberty University

NPR sums up the story of a Brown University student, whose own childhood he described as the "ultimate, secular, liberal upbringing," enrolling for a semester at Liberty University (founded, of course, by Jerry Falwell). My first instinct on reading the teaser for this article was to grimace--I would have expected a self-righteous, searing criticism of the school and its students' backwardness and disconnection from reality. I was more inclined to make this assumption because while Brown is a *great* university, the spectrum of ideologies among the majority of its own student body is almost as narrow as at Liberty (it's just on the other side of the fence). I was pleasantly surprised, then, to read that Kevin Roose felt he got a much more accurate and fair picture of Liberty than he ever could have from an outside perspective. He is writing a book on his experiences---when he told his Liberty friends the truth about his presence there, they reacted with excitement and interest instead of anger. Roose himself was changed by the experience:

Even though he's back at Brown, Roose still tries to pray every day. He says the act of prayer changes him, referring to the writings of Christian author Oswald Chambers.

"He said that it's not so much that prayer changes things as that prayer changes me — and then I change things," Roose says. "That's going to be important for me — to sit down every day and think about the problems and the challenges facing other people in my life, and really trying to increase my own compassion that way."

So here I go on my nerd soapbox: THIS is why I love qualitative research. Live it, see it, experience it, hear the words and thoughts of the subjects firsthand, and acknowledge that you cannot be objective. That's not the point. Let the experience change you, if it will. Report your bias, and report with honesty and care. I will definitely check out his book.

Oak Ridge Boys do...The White Stripes??

Ok, this is bizzare, but I kind of don't hate it! The Oak Ridge Boys have a new album coming out on which they cover The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." This clip has only the audio, but give it a listen. I'll definitely give them credit for creativity and guts. I don't think this is something I'd actually download, but I'll admit, it's attention-getting. Also, I mean, they are geriatric. GOOD for THEM even to still be making music and singing live. I love how they sing the main guitar riff on the song!

I have a special place in my heart for the ancient ORBs because they are one of my dad's favorite bands, and I was able to see them play in Athens last year with my dad and Mark. It was AWESOME. So on that same note, just for fun, here's my favorite ORBs song (gotta love those outfits, and the 'staches! Oh, the 'staches!) ELLLLLVIRA!

SNOW DAY!

WOOOOOO SNOW!!!! Having lived in Georgia for nearly 22 of my nearly 26 years, I was understandably skeptical yesterday morning when I saw the snow predictions. I figured everyone would get their hopes up and all we'd see would be a few flurries with nothing to stick. That's what happens 98% of the time. I took my cocky self to the gym for an hour, walked in when there was nothing on the ground, and came out to see nearly a half inch! I happily ate my words, bundled up, and headed outside with the dogs and the boyfriend, who being from Louisiana has only seen snow a couple times ever. We engaged in a whole series of fun snowtivities for people who rarely experience snow:

1) Throw snowballs to the dogs as if they are tennis balls. Watch the confusion when they get a mouth full of cold and then can't find the ball. Watching Laveau with the frozen tennis ball was also funny...she would only hold it for a few seconds and then drop it and try to shake the cold out of her mouth.

2) In the absence of legitimate gloves, help Mark make "Louisiana gloves" by putting socks over his hands then taping paper grocery bags over them. They worked surprisingly well, allowing him to make a pretty darn good snowman.

3) Sit still and listen to the trees crackle and watch branches snap. It's a creepy but cool sound. We saw a lot of pretty big branches buckle and snap. There are apparently trees down all over Athens, but none right around us. We're going to take a walk later and survey the neighborhood.

4) Take lots of pictures. My camera cord is at work so I can't upload them yet (picture above is from the Athens Banner Herald), but I'll add some to the blog and Facebook as soon as I retrieve it.

And finally, I have to say the best kind of snow day is when you still have power, tv, and the internets :) We only lost power for a few minutes at a time yesterday, and while the internet and tv went out in the afternoon, we got them both back just now.

UPDATE: 2:39 pm, we just now got power back after it went out at 10:00. That'll teach me to brag. Dear power, I love you, please stay.

"Reading Faulkner at 17, You Foresee Your Reckoning"

I love this poem by Catherine Pierce, posted to Slate. My hippie high school let me do an independent study in Southern Literature, so I actually WAS a 17-year-old reading Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury on my own. It was a whole different experience when I read it again in a college class on Faulkner, but neither experience was better or worse...just delightfully distinct.

The harvest moon hangs heavy,
a gourd. Your desires heave inside you
like a blood wave. Ignore the cat

pulling on your trousers. Ignore
the cicadas bossing you from the elms.
See yourself in this hot gold light.

You are the brother in love with Caddy.
You are the idiot son. Your mouth dumb.
Your mind lucent. Everything you want

sharp as the cat's bite at your ankle. You pull
your foot back. A yowl, pointed as teeth.
The moon is what will fall on you.

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka

For all you Southerners and wannabe Southerners who understand the power and glory that is the perfect glass of sweet tea, here is heaven in a bottle: Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. Mix it with half water and a lemon slice, plop down in a rocker on the porch, close your eyes and take a sip...it doesn't get any better.