Media Consumed 2022

What things have I kept count of this year?

316 Books | 21 Cities Visited | 27 Comics | Two Concerts (ish) | 6 Conferences and Festivals | 77 Movies | 21 Museums and Cultural/Historic Sites | 15 Readings and Talks | 1 Sports Match | 6 Theatre Productions | 801 TV Episodes

Miscellaneous Movie Moments LXVII (May/June/July 2021)

I didn't watch a ton of movies in the past few months (aside from my Superman, Little Women, Fast/Furious, and Beauty and the Beast clusters, I mean).

2019 by the Numbers

Books Read: 190
Weirdly, Goodreads said I read 200 books, so just as last year, this may remain a mystery.
I'm listing the authors, for a bit of brevity.
Mia Marshall, Charlie N Holmberg, Paul Krueger, Caitlin Doughty, Zoraoida Corova, Nicole Ponseca & Miguel Trinidad, Valeria Luiselli, Kevin Kwan, Robert Jordan, Seanan McGuire, Azareen Van der Vliet Oloomi, Nicola Griffith, Louise Penny, Elaine Castillo, Ling Ma, Ben H Winters, Megan Whalen Turner, Tommy Orange, Robin McKinley, Tana French, Carlo Sernaglia and Julia Turshen, Sarah J Maas, Suzanne Goin with Teri Gelber, Malka Older, Anita Lo, George RR Martin, Diane Morgan, Justina Ireland, Nafkote Tamirat, Jenn Lyons, Uzodinma Iweala, Tom Rachman, Anna Burns, Heidi Sopinka, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Esi Edugyan, Richard Powers, Deborah Harkness, Laurie R King, Genevieve Cogman, Emily XR Pan, Tomi Adeyemi, Kelly Thompson, Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett, Malinda Lo, Donna Leon, Curtis C Chen et al, Sarah Perry, Dhonielle Clayton, Hannu Rajaniemi, Zen Cho, Mary Robinette Kowal, Elisabeth Cohen, Nicole Kornher-Stace, Joseph Fink, Marcela Valladolid, Elizabeth George, Jeff Parker, Caitlin Starling, Anissa Helou, Bill Willingham, Elizabeth Acevedo, Yoon Ha Lee, Brian Switek, Faith Erin Hicks, Neil Gaiman, Adam Johnson, G Willow Wilson, Blake Crouch, Holly Black, Christopher Kimball, Elizabeth McCracken, Lonely Planet, Will Hill, Naomi Novik, Sarah Porter, Pat Barker, Daniel Jose Older, Jon Ronson, Thi Bui, NK Jemisin, Fareed Zakaria, Amin Maalouf, Gabriela Camara, Rachel Khoo, SA Chakraborty, Leigh Bardugo, Mira Grant, Elisa Goldstein et al, Fonda Lee, Rachel Caine, Alastair Reynolds, Joakim Pamkvist, VE Schwab, Sarah Gailey, Edna Lewis, Margaret Owen, Erin A Chang, Charles Soule, Struan Stevenson, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Carla Lalli Music, Marie Lu, Susan Meissner, Michelle Ruiz Kell, Lisa A Nichols, Jennifer Nagel, Sady Doyle, Geraldine Brooks, Rebecca Traister, Maggie Stiefvater, Jennifer Givhan, Rakhee Yadav, Alana Kysar, Xuan Juliana Wang, LL McKinney, Philip Pullman, Harriet A Washington, Tom King et al, Ivan Orkin and Chris Ying, Mackenzi Lee, Becky Chambers, Sally Rooney, Namwali Serpell, Joseph Harris, Joel Spring Martin Morales, Neil Gaiman & P Craig Russell, Jenny Linford, VE Schwab, Laila Lalami, RF Kuang, Maria Gainza, Tea Obrecht, Claire Lombardo, Gail Simone, Rebecca Solnit, Paula Volksy, Elvia Wilk, Stacy M Perryman-Clark & Collin Lamont Craig, Sharon Kay Penman, Sally McKenny, Sue Burke, Joel Shepherd, Erik Larson, Anne Griffin, Amanda Cohen, Meghan Scott Molin.

You can read snippets from every book I've read this year here.

Cities Visited: 14
Memphis, TN
Pittsburgh, PA
Nashville, TN
Tampa, FL
East Lansing, MI
Bangkok, Thailand
Hong Kong
Baltimore, MD
Dallas, TX
Kansas City, MO
DeKalb, IL
Houston, TX
Lubbock, TX
Riverside, CA

Concerts/Performances Attended: 11
Kelly Clarkson, with Brynn Cartelli and Kelsea Ballerini supporting
Carrie Underwood, with Runaway Jane and Maddie & Tae supporting
Beale Street Music Festival (Everclear, Rodrigo y Gabriela, 6lack, Cardi B)
Amanda Palmer
Hannah Gadsby (comedy)
Hamilton (theatre)
Carly Rae Jepsen, with Phoebe Ryan supporting
Mary J Blige & Nas
Common, with Mumu Fresh supporting
Trevor Noah (comedy)
Switchfoot

Conferences Attended: 5
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing 2019 in Pittsburgh
Conference on College Composition and Communication 2019 in Pittsburgh
AP Language Reading in Tampa
Computers & Writing in East Lansing
Council of Writing Program Administrators in Baltimore

Festivals/Readings/Lectures: 5
Arkansas Literary Festival (Charles J Shields, Brantley Hargrove, Jericho Brown, Geffrey Davis, Elizabeth Minchilli, Dorie Greenspan, Arkady Martine, Marina Lostetter, Pitchaya Sudbanthad, Maurice Carlos Ruffin)
Thi Bui reading @ HSU
Emily Roberson reading @ Wordsworth Books
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
Hillary Clinton & Chelsea Clinton reading @ University of Houston

Movies Watched: 129
Bird Box, Peppermint, Eight Grade, BelCanto, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse, Split, Blockers, Aquaman, Mary Poppins Returns, Roma, Ralph Breaks the Internet, Vice, On the Basis of Sex, Mary Queen of Scots, Antiquities, The Wife, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Front Runner, At Eternity's Gate, The Hate U Give, Bad Times at the El Royale, Green Book, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Sorry to Bother You, Minding the Gap, Of Fathers and Sons, Nobody's Fool, Shoplifters, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, Hale County This Morning This Evening, Robin Hood, Fighting with My Family, What Men Want, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Mortal Engines, Operation Finale, A Private War, Instant Family, Free Solo, Spider-man: Into the Spider-verse AU, The Mercy, The Runaways, Second Act, Gloria Bell, Bumblebee, Shazam!, Welcome to Marwen, The Kid Who Would Be King, Glass, Against the Clock, Hellboy, Avengers: Infinity War, Justice League vs the Fatal Five, Avengers: Endgame, The Quake, Miss Bala, Little, Breakthrough, Long Shot, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, Aladdin, Fighting with My Family, Paddington, How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Five Feet Apart, Captive State, Late Night, Hotel Mumbai, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Spiderman: Far From Home, Alita Battle Angel, Mission: Impossible, Batman Returns, Twenty-fifth Hour, Grave of the Fireflies, The Best of Enemies, Fantastic Four, Ratatouille, Dreamgirls, Little Woods, Toy Story 4, Men in Black: International, Yesterday, The Farewell, Always Be My Maybe, Tolkien, The Sun is Also a Star, The Hustle, Crazy Rich Asians, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Rocketman, Booksmart, Amazing Grace, The Biggest Little Farm, Dark Phoenix, Hustlers, Ad Astra, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, Shaft, Downton Abbey, Judy, China Love, Varda by Agnes, Well Groomed, Ernie & Joe: Crisis Cops, Nothing Fancy, Meeting Gorbachev, Pizza A Love Story, Made in Boise, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, Terminator: Dark Fate, Harriet, Avengers: Endgame, Brian Banks, Charlie's Angels, Ford v Ferrari, Queen & Slim, Black Panther, Official Secrets, Blinded By the Light, Where'd You Go Bernadette?, The Goldfinch, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Don't Let Go (Relive), Wit, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Topkapi, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars: The Last Jedi

You can see all the mini-reviews here.

TV
So I once again forgot to keep count of all the episodes I watched this year, but I CAN tell you which TV shows I binged from beginning to end.

• Game of Thrones (to prep for the last season, SIGH)
• The Magicians
• Criminal Minds and its two spin-offs
• Supernatural

And I'm about four seasons into Cold Case right now. NOTHING CAN STOP ME.

So, those are the numbers for 2019. Here's to 2020!

Media Consumed in 2017

So I've had this sitting in a text file for two months. Oops.

Academic Conferences: 4
ATTW, CCCC, C&W, CWPA

Books: 194
Though my Goodreads count is only slightly over 125, so I'm giving this count a bit of sideeye. How is Goodreads measuring these things? Have I been meeting my reading challenges all along, but been misinformed by the system? Ah, well.

Comics: 90 individual issues (I count graphic novels under books)

Concerts: 8
The Lumineers, Leslie Odom Jr, George Clinton and the Parliament Funkadelic, Shawn Mendes (w/ Charlie Puth supporting), Fall Out Boy (w/ Jaden Smith and Blackbear opening), Bruno Mars (w/ Jorja Smith opening), Regina Spektor, Lady Gaga

Cooking Classes/Demos: 21
Craft/Floral Classes: 8
I will miss Ames and Iowa State so much. So, so, so much.

Festivals: 2
Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2017, Riverside Festival of Lights 2017

Lectures and Readings: 13
Chuck D, Kekla Magoon, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Lee Mun Wah, Black Light Butterflies (entymology lecture), Keisha Blaine, John Darnielle, Curtis Chin, David Anthony Durham & Benjamin Percy, Taylor Broby, Anne Curzan, Toni Phinisey-Webber (re: Little Rock Central High School), Jon Ronson

Movies: 140
Last year I only watched 14 movies, so I vowed to watch more. And...yup. Totally did. Special shout-outs to AMC's annual Oscar nominee specials and the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival.

Museums & Landmarks: 13
Brunnier Art Gallery, Octagon Gallery, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Mazza Museum of Children's Literature, Living History Farms, Tennessee Riverboat Cruise (Knoxville), Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (Knoxville), Frist Center for the Visual Arts (Nashville), ESSE Museum, Witt Stephens Jr Central Arkansas Nature Center, Arkansas Art Center, Saint Louis Art Museum, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

New Restaurants: 53
Thanks to conferences (Portland, Findlay, Knoxville), a wedding reception (Chicagoland), a few concerts/road trips (Minneapolis, Nashville, St Louis, Kansas City, Dallas), moving to another state (Arkadelphia, Little Rock, Hot Springs), and a couple of extra-long visits to California!

Theatre: 26
Messiah on the Frigidaire, Akeelah and the Bee, The Vagina Monologues, Newsies, Allegiance, Our Antigone, The Bee's Tease, The Importance of Being Earnest, Good Night Desdemona Good Morning Juliet, Citizen by Claudia Rankine, Little Women, Annie, Fun Home, Other Desert Cities, Trashion Show, Tempest, Happy Days, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, HIR, Greater Tuna, I Am Emily Doe, Circle Mirror Transformation, Night of the Iguana, The Mousetrap, HSU Directing Class Showcase, Corona Dance Academy Winter 2017 recitals

TV Episodes: 632
This is the first year I've kept track of how many episodes of television I've watched. This is a big number, but it's also probably way less than I've watched in previous years--my shift to watching more movies meant, obviously, that TV was edged out a bit. Oh, and for the record, I also watched a ton of The Daily Show (I love Trevor Noah deeply), Late Night with Seth Meyers, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, but since I generally skip the interview portions of the shows, I opted not to count those here.

And that's officially a wrap for 2017!

2016: By the Numbers

I've done quite a bit this year! My habit for the past few years has been to keep track of these things monthly, but somewhere in the middle of the summer, I lost track of things. This is about the best that I can do in reconstruction--I'll be a bit more organized in the year to come (I hope).

Academic Conferences Attended: 6
Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity, Ames, IA (20160303-04)
Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Houston, TX (20160406)
Conference on College Composition and Communication, Houston, TX (20160407-09)
Computers and Writing, Rochester, NY (20160519-22)
Council of Writing Program Administrators, Raleigh, NC (20160714-17)
International Writing Centers Association, Denver, CO (20161013-16)

Books Read:
102, according to GoodReads. A good number, except that I ambitiously set my reading challenge to 200. LOL.

Comics Read: Not Enough
Princess Leia, Saga, Black Panther (not counting graphic novels)
I need to increase my consumption here--I've got batches of comics in my Marvel/Comixology/Dark Horse accounts. I just need to read and log them more consistently.

Concerts Attended: 6
Adele (St. Paul, MN, 20160705)
Nico & Vinz (Ames, IA, 21060825)
Switchfoot & Relient K (Clive, IA, 20160921)
Grace Potter (Des Moines, IA, 20160929)
Beyonce (Nashville, TN, 20161002)
Carrie Underwood (Des Moines, IA, 20161007)

Cooking Classes/Demos: 17
Quinoa (Cooks Emporium, 20160128)
Pressure Cookers (CE, 20160220)
A Taste of Egypt (CE, 20160227)
Turkey Roulades & Lemon Cupcakes (CE, 20160305)
Risotto Croquettes (Wheatsfield Co-op, 20160329)
Versatile Goat Cheese (WC, 20160426)
Chicken Mole (CE, 20160430)
Cooking with Cast Iron (Williams-Sonoma, 20160626)
Fermented Food & Kombucha (WC, 20160809)
Spiralizer Favorites (W-S, 20160821)
Natural Fermented Pickles (CE, 20160903)
Nordic Waffles (CE, 20161008)
Thanksgiving Side Dishes (CE, 20161112)
Paella (CE, 20161119)
Seven Cheese Gougere (CE, 20161126)
Holiday Cookies (CE, 20161203)
Holiday Savory Snacks (CE, 20161210)

Craft/Movement Classes: 23
Copper hoop earrings & pendant (The Workspace, 20160114)
Felted wool mittens (TW, 20160121 + 27)
Silver & copper rings (TW, 201602)
Resin Jewelry (TW, 20160224, 20160302)
Boho Wall Hanging (TW, 20160801)
Fused Glass Pendants (TW, 20160829)
Inked Coasters (TW, 20160831)
Knitting (TW, 201609)
Mat-cutting (TW, 20161006)
Dia de los Muertos Skulls (TW, 20161008)
Crochet (TW, 201610)
Sugar Skull Embroidery (TW, 20161020)
Silk Painting (TW, 20161029)
Delsarte: Body Language and the Artist (TW, 20161105)
Delsarte: And a Torso Even More So (TW, 20161105)
Delsarte: Standing Up for Your Art (TW, 20161105)
O'Keeffe Oil Painting (Reiman Gardens, 20161107)
Fused Glass Ornaments (TW, 20161109)
Frugal Florals (RG, 20161116)
Balloon Crafts (RG, 20161117)
Miniatures (RG, 20161120)
Wreath-Making (RG, 20161130)
Etched Glass Ornaments (TW, 20161207)

Festivals Attended: 2
Define American Festival, Des Moines, IA
Festival of Cheese, Des Moines, IA (20160730)

Lectures and Readings Attended: 7
Alisha Gordon, "The Fierce Urgency of Now" (20160121)
Reshma Saujani, "Women Who Don't Wait in Line" (20160128)
Marion Blumenthal Lazan, "My Holocaust Story" (20160208)
Cheryl Strayed (20160915)
Jennifer Knox + Iowa Bird of Mouth (20160916)
Gloria Steinem (20161011)
Margaret Atwood (20161101)

Movies Watched: 14
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (DVD)
Jurassic World (DVD)
A Better Life (film festival)
Don't Tell Anyone (film festival)
The Muslims Are Coming! (film festival)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies [theatre]
Cinderella (2015) [DVD]
The Grand Budapest Hotel [streaming]
Hector and the Search for Happiness (streaming)
Captain America: Civil War (theatre)
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (streaming)
Edge of Tomorrow (DVD)
Loving (theatre)
Rogue One (theatre)

Museums & Landmarks Visited: 12
Chocolate Tour of Chicago (BestTours.com, 20160507)
Strong Museum of Play, Rochester, NY (20160522)
Design Exchange, Toronto, ON (20160524)
Aga Khan Museum of Islamic Art, Toronto, ON (20160525)
Peel Art Gallery and Museum, Brampton, ON (20160527)
Niagara & Horseshoe Falls (20160528)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (20160529)
Contemporary Art Museum in Raleigh (20160715)
Pappajohn Sculpture Park, Des Moines, IA (20160730)
Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Factory Tour, Nashville, TN (20161001)
Corsair Distillery tour, Nashville, TN (20161002)
Broad Contemporary Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (20161227)

New Restaurants Visited: 43
The Mission Inn (Riverside)
Ninfa's (Houston)
1600 Bar + Grille (Houston)
Calabash Island Eats (Houston)
Volare (Chicago)
Doc B's Fresh Kitchen (Chicago)
Quartino's (Chicago)
Yolk (Chicago)
The Owl House (Rochester)
Senbazuru Sushi Bar (Richmond Hill)
Sushi Inn (Toronto)
Bohemia (Barrie)
Anchor Bar (Buffalo)
Table 128 (Clive)
Blue Tomato Kitchen (Des Moines)
Bubba - Southern Comforts (Des Moines)
Prime (Des Moines)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (Cleveland)
Fran's Restaurant (Toronto)
Spoon River (Minneapolis)
Izzy's (Minneapolis)
Birchwood Cafe (Minneapolis)
Hell's Kitchen (Minneapolis)
Bluestem Bar (Minneapolis)
Little Octopus (Nashville)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (Nashville)
Biscuit Love (Nashville)
Las Paletas (Nashville)
Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream (Nashville farmers' market)
Bolton's Spicy Chicken & Fish (Nashville)
Five Daughters Bakery (Nashville)
Franklin Juice Company (Nashville)
Green Fine Salad Co. (Denver)
Guard and Grace (Denver)
Syrup (Denver)
Prospect's Urban Kitchen & Bar (Denver)
Range (Denver)
Goldfinch (Des Moines)
Thai Kitchen (Ames)
Porto's Bakery & Cafe (Glendale)
Komodo (Los Angeles)
Cascabel (Los Angeles)
Sam's Banh Thai (Riverside)

Road Trips Taken: 8
Lafayette, IN (20160312-18); Spring Break cooking
Chicago, IL (20160506-08); bachelorette weekend
Rochester, NY/Toronto, ON/Buffalo, NY (20160518-30); conference/visiting family/wedding
Pennsylvania & Cleveland, OH (20160701-03); wedding
Lafayette, IN (20160805-07)
Toronto, ON (20160909-11); wedding
Minneapolis, MN (20160924-25); theatre
Nashville, TN (20160930-1002); concert

Sports Attendance:
Rams vs. Forty-Niners (20161224)

Theatre Performances Attended: 10
Sweeney Todd, Minneapolis, MN (20160724)
[title of show], Ames, IA (20160923)
Lady and the Trump, Minneapolis, MN (20160924)
The 39 Steps, St. Cloud, MN (20160925)
Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play, Ames, IA (20161009)
Cabaret, Ames, IA (20161113)
Ugly Lies the Bone, Des Moines, IA (20161119)
November, Ames, IA (20161127)
Cirque Dreams: Holidaze, Ames, IA (20161201)
The King & I, Los Angeles, CA (20161228)

TV Watched:
A lot. (I meant to keep track of how many episodes I watched this year, but I lost track around June. But it's a lot.)

#Hamilton Thoughts for the Day

Over the summer I became obsessed with Hamilton. As, I'm pretty sure, we all did. Coincidentally, friend Amelia and I first listened to the soundtrack together, during our very long road trip to upstate New York and Toronto. I'd, of course, seen their performances at the Grammys, as well as selections from their White House performance.



That said, however, I saved the performance in its entirety for a sit-down, all-attention time. It was kind of delightful--I remember, very specifically, being startled and thrilled when Hercules Mulligan burst into "Yorktown," and scanning through the liner notes while Amelia did the driving, trying to take in all the voices and all the words.

So, over the following few months, I started sharing my #Hamilton pondering of the day on Facebook and Twitter. Amelia pointed out they should be archived somewhere, so I collected them in a Google doc, and now I'm sharing my collection as today's pseudo-review.

• So I have this ritual when I'm driving back home: for the last hour or so, I put a song on repeat and sing along until I lose my voice. Last night, it was "Yorktown" and, long story short, I'm legit considering printing out this pic and framing it.
  
  
• Today's ‪#‎Hamilton‬ pondering: "Talk less, smile more," becomes way more loaded when considered through a POC lens. Nobody likes us angry. The narrative is ALL about how two POCs try to navigate a system that's constantly punishing them.
  
  Like, this WaPo article on #Hamilton looks at it as a "be yourself, be earnest" message, which...yeah. But also. https://www.washingtonpost.com/.../hamilton-and-the-end.../
  
  
• #‎Hamilton‬ thought for the day, after listening to "Satisfied" twice in a row: Alexander never sacrificed a single thing that he wanted. Like, he wasn't HAPPY about being blackmailed, but he could have, y'know, not kept sleeping with Maria. Meanwhile, the Schuyler sisters are engaged in some sort of self-sacrifice triathlon.
  
  I'm digging how rich the text becomes on repeated listens--the first act is structured like a pretty traditional bildungsroman, so the undercurrent (from Angelica, from Washington, from Burr) critiquing Hamilton's arc feels weirdly subversive to me, somehow.
  
  
• I was going to have a serious ‪#‎Hamilton‬ thought for the day, but I've got stuck on how perfectly written and delivered, "I'm a trust fund baby you can trust me," is.
  
  
• And to quote (my favorite culture critic) Sonia Saraiya, in response to this piece: "what i am trying to say is if donald trump wants the soul of America he is going to have to wrest it from us with a rap battle"
  http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/06/lin-manuel-miranda-and-the-future-of-originalism/485651/
  
  From the article: “The question is then not whether Hamilton does justice to the past by depicting it accurately but whether Hamilton builds justice in the present by reallocating the ownership of the republic.”
  
  
• All kudos forever to Leslie Odom Jr for throwing himself into "there are so many to deflower" with full abandon. #Hamilton
  
  
• #Hamilton Thought of the Day: Maybe for my CWPA talk on the risks and rewards of invisible administrative work, I will just play "Wait for It" two and a half times.
  
  
• This is about feelings and identity and such, but I really must quote the following:
  
  "If it weren’t enough that Miranda wrote enough rhymes to fill a phone book, he gives each of those men their own styles. Hamilton is the ahead-of-his-time genius who drops couplets and quatrains like Eminem or Rakim. Lafayette is all speed and brio, like Twista or Yelawolf. Laurens is a straight-down-the-middle Ad Rock, nimble and able. And Mulligan is what it’d sound like if Busta Rhymes were possessed by the Big Bad Wolf."
  http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-ca-cm-hamilton-soundtrack-20160612-snap-story.html
  
  
• Today's #Hamilton thought: If a stranger introduced himself to me by way of punching one of my friends in the face, I'd be skeptical, too.
  
  
• #Hamilton thought for the day:
  "Dear Alexander, your punctuation indicates you're in love with me. T/F? Also, I'm living with you this summer!"
  Alexander has his flaws, but if I'd been in his place, I'd have noped the heck out of there, too.
  
  
• #Hamilton thought for the day: It's fitting that Alexander finally taking Burr's advice precipitates Burr's heel turn. And the moment is sort of amazing. (Plus the flourish with the tablecloth, seriously. <3)
  [Editorial note: I had a YouTube link on there of a clip from "Room Where It Happens," but the clip has since disappeared.]
  
  
• Phillipa Soo going hoarse on, "You you you," in "Burn" is every negative emotion I've experienced in 4 years condensed into three syllables.
  "and you are paranoid in every paragraph / how they perceive you / you you YOU"
  
  
• #Hamilton thought for the day: "I'm notcha son" in "Meet Me Inside" is, I think, the essence of Alexander in a nutshell.
  
  #Hamilton side note: I'm not sure what I find more amusing from the published lyrics, "notcha" or "chicka-pow!"
  
  
• The ‪#‎Hamilton‬ dual-role cast were SO BRILL at shifting voice/register/breath for diff characters. On 1st listen, I only twigged to Diggs. And that, only because of his super-flat "anarchy" in "My Shot."
  
  
• I’m sure ‪#‎Hamilton‬'s battlefield tactics were good ones, but "let's take their cannons" and "don't make noise" don't seem THAT innovative. Or wait, that was before things like ambushes were a thing, right? I think a Mel Gibson movie taught us that.
  
  
• Just when I think I can't love "The Reynolds Pamphlet" more, I find out King George makes an appearance. ‪#‎Hamilton‬
  
  
  
  
  
• #Hamilton Thought of the Day: Can you imagine the sheer exasperation Martha Washington has when talking to George about Alexander?
  
  
• Hey, Alexander #Hamilton, you know what you should avoid when accused of ruining someone's life? Making an ITEMIZED LIST of all your clashes.
  
  
• Another #Hamilton lyric that becomes chilling when viewed through a POC lens: "Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead."
  
  
• This is neat! Aside from the prop change, I wonder what drove the staging changes. Probably an awareness of where the cameras at the Tony's, right? They had to navigate a packed theatre, whereas the version on the left probably didn't. And it looks like have more of the chorus at the Tony's, too. https://youtu.be/Aks0kaC1n6k
• So, unsurprisingly, I'll be talking about ‪#‎Hamilton‬ at my CWPA presentation on invisible administrative work, but now I'm thinking "The Election of 1800" is a way better fit than "Wait for It," though obvs "The Room Where It Happens" is the central point.
  
  
• #Hamilton thought: Why don't we talk more about how attractive Anthony Ramos is? Just LOOK at this kid. Seriously.
  
  
  
  He's like a John Singer Sargent painting, walking around in real life.
  
  
• #Hamilton's letter, translated: "I trust you'll pick up my subtle allusion to great works of literature. Did I mention everybody thinks I'm Macbeth?"
  Meanwhile, Angelica's dropping "Screw your courage to the sticking place" like a BOSS.
  
  
• I mean, yeah, #Hamilton’s green satin broadcoat is ridic, but Jefferson, seriously, you’ve been wearing a purple crushed velvet suit.
  
  
  
  
  
• In brighter news, I'm starting to realize how enormously helpful it is to have #Hamilton as a cultural shorthand.
  "Excuse me, you just cut into the waiting line."
  "Sorry, I was listening to #Hamilton."
  "Oh, gotcha. Yorktown?"
  "Yup."
  
  "Hey, can you check the report for-- are you crying?"
  "Yeah, sorry, #Hamilton."
  "I'll come back later."
  
  "Dude, are you actually going to ask for her number?"
  "I've been listening to a lot of #Hamilton lately."
  "Sweet. Good luck!"
  
  "Did you just set that stack of dissertation drafts on fire?"
  "Yup."
  "That's so #Hamilton! Rock on.”
  
  "You probably shouldn't post that thing about your supervisor on Facebook."
  "It's how I feel!"
  "Stop being such a #Hamilton!"
  
  
• I could do cardio twice-daily for six months and STILL not have the lung capacity Philippa Soo has in "That Would Be Enough." #Hamilton
  
  
• The bass drop on Eliza's "and my heart went boom" is possibly the most adorable bass drop ever. #Hamilton
  
  
• Live every day like you're Hercules Mulligan.
  
  
• #Hamilton nigh-bursts with impassioned characters, but Laurens's "You and I, do or die" remains the most seductive line in the whole play.
  
  
• I dearly wish "Ten One Things" had made the cut. | Cut Songs from #Hamilton https://youtu.be/ScKU4Hd8YJ4
  
  
• #Hamilton thought of the day: How many times d'you think Lin-Manuel Miranda broke in the middle of rehearsals for this bit?
  
  
  
  
  
• "The Constitution's a mess." "So it needs amendments." "It's full of contradictions!" "So is independence." But, uh, seriously, can somebody get on this? http://www.complex.com/life/2016/10/affirmative-right-vote-fair-constitution

And that's six months of Hamilton thoughts! Looking forward to my next six months of obsession.

2015 By The Numbers

I used to keep better track of things, but for various reasons, it's been rather haphazard the past couple of years. Looking forward to a meticulous 2016!

• Books Read: 170
  
  
• Comic Books Read: 76
  
  
• Concerts Attended: 3
  
  
  1. Norah Jones (20151030)
     
  2. Katy Perry (20151024)
     
  3. k.flay, Des Moines, IA [20150701]
  
  
  
• Conferences/Conventions Attended: 11
  
  1. Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson-Jackson Dinner (20151024)
     
  2. Iowa Hunger Summit (20151013)
     
  3. International Writing Centers Association Conference, Pittsburgh, PA (20151008-10)
     
  4. Womyn of Colour Network Retreat, Ogden, IA (9/18-9/19)
     
  5. Council of Writing Program Administrators, Boise, ID (7/15-7/19)
     
  6. AP Reading 2015, Kansas City, MO [20150611-15]
     
  7. Computers and Writing 2015, Menomonie, WI (5/28-5/31/15)
     
  8. Iowa Writing Center Consortium, March 27, 2015
  9. Conference on College Composition and Communication, March 19-21, 2015
     
  10. International Writing Centers Association Collaborative, March 18, 2015
      
  11. Iowa State Conference on Race and Ethnicity, March 5-6, 2015
      
  
  
  
• Lectures/Readings Attended: 10
  
  1. Kai Davis (20151110)
     
  2. Alison Bechdel (20150409)
     
  3. Dan Barber (20150408)
     
  4. Rachel Williams (20150408)
     
  5. Ava Chin (20150406)
     
  6. John McWhorter, "The Language Hoax: Why the World Looks the Same in Any Language" (20150305)
     
  7. Dan Fagin, "Connecting the Dots Between Toms River and Beyond" (20150303)
     
  8. "The Underground Girls of Kabul," Jenny Nordberg (20150206)
     
  9. Michelle Alexander, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness" (20150129)
  10. Alison Hawthorne Deming, "Zoologies: On Animals and the Human Spirit" (20150122)
      
  
  
• Movies Watched: 16
  21 Jump Street, Ant-Man, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Bring It On, Drumline, Fast Five, The Fault in Our Stars, Furious 7, The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies, Hook, Iron Man 3, Mad Max: Fury Road, A Night at the Museum, Sisters, Spy, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me
  
  
• Museums Visited/Landmarks Visited/Tours Taken: 10
  
  1. Des Moines Art Center (second visit, 20151101)
     
  2. Andy Warhol Museum (Pittsburgh)
     
  3. Boise Art Museum
     
  4. Des Moines Art Center
     
  5. Taste of Louisville tour
     
  6. Henry Doorly Zoo (20150704)
     
  7. Joslyn Art Museum (20150703)
     
  8. Mall of America (20150601)
     
  9. The American Swedish Institute (20150531)
     
  10. Florida Aquarium (Tampa, FL)
      
  11. Tampa Bay History Center (Tampa, FL)
  
  
• Theatre Attended: 2
  
  1. Love and Information, Caryl Churchill (20151206)
     
  2. The Vagina Monologues (20150213)
  
  
• TV Episodes Watched: 722
  

At least I kept busy?

2014 in Numbers

So in 2014, lots of important stuff happened. The top three: I finished my dissertation and successfully defended it, I moved to Iowa State to begin as Assistant Director of the Writing and Media Center, and I was awarded my Ph.D. in English: Rhetoric and Composition. Along the way, I survived the job market gauntlet, had lots of emotions, and did some crazy traveling.

I also consumed a lot of media, which is detailed below. As mentioned in my previous post, I read 101 books. I usually keep track of comics I've read, games I've played, and TV I've watched, too, but that sort of got away from me this summer. Ah, well. Let's just say it was a lot and leave it at that.

Concerts: 9

• HEAVning of Whimsy (talent show) [03 April 2014]
• Buddy [19 September 2014]
• Meiko [19 September 2014]
• Butch Walker [18 October 2014]
• Ryan Adams [18 October 2014]
• Jenny Scheinman [21 October 2014]
• Ani DiFranco [21 October 2014]
• Leslie DiNicola [14 November 2014]
• Anna Nalick [14 November 2014]

Conferences and Conventions: 7

• 129th Modern Language Association Convention, Chicago [9-12 January 2014]
• Association of Teachers of Technical Writing, Indianapolis [19 March 2014]
• Conference on College Composition and Communication, Indianapolis [20-23 March 2014]
• Advance Placement Scoring in Louisville, KY [9-15 June 2014]
• Council of Writing Program Administrators Conference, Normal, IL [17-19 July 2014]
• International Writing Centers Association/National Conference on Peer Tutoring in Writing, Orlando, FL [30 October - 01 November, 2014]
• National Council of Teachers of English 2014, Washington, DC [20-23 November 2014]

Festivals: 1

• International Food & Wine Festival @ Epcot Center [01 November 2014]

Lectures and Readings: 9

• Laverne Cox, hosted by Purdue's LGBTQ Center [26 March 2014]
• Zadie Smith at Purdue's Literary Awards [17 April 2014]
• Kelsey Timmerman, "WHERE Am I Wearing?" [02 September 2014]
• Michio Kaku, "How Science Will Revolutionize Business, Medicine, Jobs, and Life" [19 September 2014]
• "The Symbolism of the Sand Mandala," Monks of the Drepung Loseling Monastery [23 September 2014]
• Juan Battle, "Closets are for Clothes: Being LGBT in Black America" [29 September 2014]
• Jane Smiley, "Writing About Iowa: A Conversation with Jane Smiley" [06 October 2014]
• Sanjaya Rajaram, "In the Footsteps of Normal Borlaug: The Golden Years of Wheat Production" [13 October 2014]
• Sam Taylor, "Politically Engaged Poetry for the 21st Century" [06 November 2014]

MOOCs Completed: 2

• Moralities of Everyday Life, Paul Bloom, Yale, Coursera
• The Art of Poetry, Robert Pinsky, Boston University, EdX

Movies: 28

• Pacific Rim (DVD)
• Her (theatre)
• Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (theatre)
• Vampire Academy (theatre)
• Much Ado About Nothing (DVD)
• Veronica Mars (streaming & theatre)
• Captain America 2: Winter Soldier (theatre)
• Edge of Tomorrow (theatre)
• Divergent (theatre, twice)
• Megashark vs. Octopus (DVD)
• Frozen (DVD)
• Godzilla (theatre)
• X-Men: Days of the Future Past (theatre, twice)
• Guardians of the Galaxy (theatre, thrice)
• Don Jon (streaming)
• The LEGO Movie (streaming)
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes (DVD)
• Lucy (theatre)
• The Giver (theatre)
• Snowpiercer (streaming)
• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (theatre, twice)
• Annie (theatre)

Theatre: 4

• Hamlet, The Acting Company [29 March 2014]
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, The Acting Company [30 March 2014]
• West Side Story, Troika Entertainment [24 April 2014]
• "An Evening with Colin and Brad," Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood [26 October 2014]

Not a bad year.

The Year-End Meme

Books Read: 203 Comics Read: 44 Concerts Attended: 4 Semi Precious Weapons and Jason Derulo, 14 January Lady Gaga's Monster Ball, supported by Semi Precious Weapons, 26 January Kid Cudi, supported by B.o.B., 26 March Snoop Dogg, supported by Janelle Monae, 20 October Movies Seen in the Theatre: 20 Sherlock Holmes, Avatar (3D), Clash of the Titans (3D), Iron Man 2, Toy Story 3, Letters to Juliet, Robin Hood, A Team, Despicable Me, Inception, Salt, Step Up 3D (2D), Scott Pilgrim vs the World, The Social Network, American Splendor, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One, Burlesque, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, TRON: Legacy (3D), Tangled (3D) Movies Watched Outside the Theatre: 28 Museums and Monuments Visited: 3 Meramec Caverns, 19 July Shedd Aquarium, 03 October Art Institute of Chicago, 04 December Sporting Events Attended: 4 Women's Basketball: Purdue vs Iowa State, 17 January Football: Purdue vs Ball State, 18 September Women's Volleyball: Purdue vs Northwestern, 12 November Men's Basketball: Los Angeles Clippers vs Sacramento Kings, 25 November Theatre Attended: 10 Hamlet, 20 February, Purdue Theatre An Enemy of the People, 25 February, Aquila Theatre Top Girls, 27 March, Purdue Theatre Scapino!, 23 April, Purdue Theatre Avenue Q, 29 April, Work Light Productions The Chester Cycle: The Fall of Man, 18 May, Purdue Theatre The Merchant of Venice, 09 July, 3 Theater Group A Night with Bill Cosby, 24 September The Matchmaker, 02 October, Purdue Theatre Amadeus, 13 November, Purdue Theatre Best Film I Saw in 2010: Toy Story 3, hands-down. Honestly, I waffled between naming The Social Network and Inception, because both were just flawlessly crafted, but the gender issues are difficult to swallow. Toy Story 3, however, managed to be brilliant on both artistic and emotional levels, while never inspiring any meta-rage. Best TV Shows I Watched in 2010: Community and Cougar Town are doing amazing things with genre, with character, and with continuity. Each episode impresses me--Community with its staggering variety, and Cougar Town for its boundless heart. Best Episodes of TV I Watched in 2010: "Modern Warfare," Community: If you haven't seen it yet, YOU MUST. "Mr Yin Presents," Psych: An absolutely brilliant Hitchcock homage. "Vincent and the Doctor," Doctor Who: I wept. "The Big Bang," Doctor Who: The way this all weaved together was amazing. "For the Team," Warehouse 13: I have NEVER seen a science fiction show pass the Bechdel Test so spectacularly. Best TV Moment I Watched in 2010: "Devil You Know," Burn Notice Cinched with the following exchange:

"Do you really want to pay for your son's mistakes?" "He paid for mine."

Said without any sort of dramatics, and better for the lack. Best Book I Read in 2010: Like No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long. OKAY LOOK, this is a Regency-era romance, and that title is just embarassing I KNOW, but it is the most finely-crafted book I have read in AGES. Just look at this sentence:

He still couldn't seem to resume thinking clearly, and normally thoughts poured through him the way his blood did: ceaselessly.

Look at the way she deploys that colon! It's an artful combination of adverbs and punctuation, with structure imitating the implication of the imagery. And I'll tell you, Long is even better with semi-colons. Favorite Albums of 2010: Kanye West's latest, which has a long title don't remember. He never disappoints, but this album exceeded my expectations, both in ferocity and in fun. The grandiose "Power" is my favorite, but "Monster" is impressive, and "All of the Lights" is just beautiful. Best Concert I Attended in 2010: LADY GAGA. It was a spectacular show. Best one I've been to, honestly. Favorite Song of the Year: Tom McRae's Me & Stetson. This song is right up there with "Karaoke Soul" and "End of the World News (Dose Me Up)." I endlessly miss seeing Tom perform live. All-Around Best Things About 2010: Cohort and Comic-Con and CCCC. All-Around Worst Thing About 2010: Tact is just not saying true stuff. Something 2010 (Should Have) Taught Me: Do not procrastinate about grading! (This is something I should have been learning every year since 2002, actually.) Why 2011 Will Be Better Than 2010: I don't know, y'all. 2010 was pretty awesome.