B: mumble, mumble, mumble...
N: I'm sorry, what? I didn't get any of that.
B: It has been spoken!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Glam Shots by Deb
Ellie and I have had some extra time on our hands and decided we should have a photo shoot. A True Birds photo shoot, if you will.
Man down!
Gulp.
Work it...
Muppet face!
Taking a breather.
Can we be done now?
Battle cry!
So gorgeous.
So fierce!
Man down!
Gulp.
Work it...
Muppet face!
Taking a breather.
Can we be done now?
Battle cry!
So gorgeous.Ok, so I'm not the best photographer, and my camera doesn't shoot as fast as I would like, but all that is immaterial when the subject matter is so fetching. Man, I should get an award for making the perfect baby.
Will Seward and the Strawberry Massacre of 2010
That should be a youth lit title.
Anyhoo. As advertised Ellie and I went to William Seward's house in Auburn, NY. So just north of Ithaca. It was really cool. Seward was President Lincolns' Secretary of State and he was governor of New York before that post. He was quite the guy, an ardent abolitionist, a shrewd politician and it sounds like an all around cool dude. There was an assassination attempt on his life at the same time that Lincoln was assassinated and Seward survived but not without some nasty stabs to the face. We've been reading Team of Rivals, a book about Lincoln's cabinet, for book club and a few of us went up to Auburn to take a look at his gorgeous home.
Unfortunately they wouldn't let us take pictures of the inside which I don't understand, it's not like we're going to copy the decor or anything. You'll have to be content with outside pictures. The inside was packed, and I mean packed, with pictures of dignitaries, strange gadgets, and ancient books. Everything in there was original and it had been in the family until 1951 when the last Seward decided to make the house a museum. How cool is that?
In other news, this is what happens when a strawberry crosses Ellie.
Anyhoo. As advertised Ellie and I went to William Seward's house in Auburn, NY. So just north of Ithaca. It was really cool. Seward was President Lincolns' Secretary of State and he was governor of New York before that post. He was quite the guy, an ardent abolitionist, a shrewd politician and it sounds like an all around cool dude. There was an assassination attempt on his life at the same time that Lincoln was assassinated and Seward survived but not without some nasty stabs to the face. We've been reading Team of Rivals, a book about Lincoln's cabinet, for book club and a few of us went up to Auburn to take a look at his gorgeous home.
Unfortunately they wouldn't let us take pictures of the inside which I don't understand, it's not like we're going to copy the decor or anything. You'll have to be content with outside pictures. The inside was packed, and I mean packed, with pictures of dignitaries, strange gadgets, and ancient books. Everything in there was original and it had been in the family until 1951 when the last Seward decided to make the house a museum. How cool is that?
In other news, this is what happens when a strawberry crosses Ellie.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Fun With Birds
Well, fun with birds was asking a lot. It was mostly fun with bugs.
Last Friday Ellie and I went to the Cornell Ornithology Lab to check out what the fuss was about. It's a research facility with a great bird library, movies about birds and the lab work, and binoculars set up at strategic points so you can look at nests and stuff. Sadly the only bird we saw was an American Sparrow and a Red Tipped Blackbird. At least I think that's what they're called. I'm pretty sure about the American Sparrow. Anyway it was pretty cool and they have crazy trails all around the lab.
A nest!!
At a crossroads. It was a bit creepy we were the only ones on the trails and the woods here are DENSE.
My baby bird taking a rest (that's for you Heidi!).
"I'm going back some day! Come what may! To blue bayou!!!" I thought an alligator was going to come out and eat us.
Proof, ha!
Ithaca, NY or Forks, WA? I kept hoping Edward Cullen would run by.
So as you can see Ithaca is treating us really well. We're still really liking it here and we're excited to get to see more of it little by little. Ellie and I will be going to Auburn this weekend to go visit the house of Lincoln's Secretary of State. We're excited for that. Unfortunately Brandon can't join us for all our adventures as he is pretty busy with school, but we'll try to include him the pictures as much as possible. Stay tuned.
Last Friday Ellie and I went to the Cornell Ornithology Lab to check out what the fuss was about. It's a research facility with a great bird library, movies about birds and the lab work, and binoculars set up at strategic points so you can look at nests and stuff. Sadly the only bird we saw was an American Sparrow and a Red Tipped Blackbird. At least I think that's what they're called. I'm pretty sure about the American Sparrow. Anyway it was pretty cool and they have crazy trails all around the lab.
A nest!!
At a crossroads. It was a bit creepy we were the only ones on the trails and the woods here are DENSE.
My baby bird taking a rest (that's for you Heidi!).
"I'm going back some day! Come what may! To blue bayou!!!" I thought an alligator was going to come out and eat us.
Proof, ha!
Ithaca, NY or Forks, WA? I kept hoping Edward Cullen would run by.So as you can see Ithaca is treating us really well. We're still really liking it here and we're excited to get to see more of it little by little. Ellie and I will be going to Auburn this weekend to go visit the house of Lincoln's Secretary of State. We're excited for that. Unfortunately Brandon can't join us for all our adventures as he is pretty busy with school, but we'll try to include him the pictures as much as possible. Stay tuned.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
For Booh.
There is an Avenue Q song about how everyone is a little racist no matter what we try to tell ourselves, and this week I have come to learn that this is true. This saddens me greatly.
I had come to suspect this was true when I finally admitted to myself that clothes matter. This was the first step in overcoming my denial. I saw some kid dressed like a thug and immediately categorized him as such. The rest of his demeanor wasn't thuggish but it was too late, I had made my judgement and had decided to teach Ellie to avoid thugs. Much to my chagrin this made me realize how the way we dress matters. I've always been an advocate for wearing the kitchen sink if you so please, but I'm starting to realize that if you're going to wear the kitchen sink you should be prepared for some plumbing jokes. I only realized this after I myself had judged that unsuspecting wannabe thug. And sadly this was my first clue that maybe I wasn't as open-minded as I had thought myself to be.
I go through life making a concious effort to not offend people because I geniunely don't want to hurt anyones feelings. I say "disabled" instead of "handicapped", I say Appalachian the correct way, and yet it turns out I'm not as charitable in my thoughts as I had expected.
A black family moved into our apartment complex this week. From what I learned as I was spying from our window, they have a few little kids and one of their TV's is broken since I saw it fall out of their van when they opened the rear door. I didn't really think anything of this family until I recently heard some really loud Outkast playing from somewhere within our complex. I don't really have anything against Outkast but my first thought was, "Oh no, they're going to be those type of neighbors." A sudden uneasiness creeped in my head. If they were going to be the kind of people to play loud music, then what's next? A cookout? The show "Cops"? Heaven forbid! Turns out it wasn't even them.
Needless to say these feelings surprised and bothered me to my very core. Where did my geniune desire to not offend go? I felt like Liz Lemon when she says, "You know I'm not racist, but I think that pita-pocket might be a terrorist!"
I assumed that because they're black they were going to be disruptive neighbors and surely this apartment complex was going to hell. I didn't even think about the fact that they have little kids and probably don't want Outkast playing during naptime either. I've had very few black neighbors throughout my life and because I don't have a frame of reference for that circumstance I let ignorance and stereotypes inform my judgement.
Thankfully I had the wherewithal to realize this and now I'm nipping it in the bud. But this made me think truly about the way we percieve others. Really percieve others. Not how we want to percieve with our own PC filters but how really see others in the wee hours of the morning when we are most honest with ourselves. Race is not a choice. Race doesn't dictate how loud your music should be. It's not a type of clothing you decided you wanted to wear that day. It's not something I can tell Ellie to think twice about before she leaves the door. Nor would I want to. So, I, who have heard negative Mexican stereotypes from people I thought knew better, should know to always see people as they are, not as they look.
So. New plan. I will erase all preconceived notions about the new family in 3A and I will take them as they are. And right now they are a family with a few little kids and a broken TV.
I had come to suspect this was true when I finally admitted to myself that clothes matter. This was the first step in overcoming my denial. I saw some kid dressed like a thug and immediately categorized him as such. The rest of his demeanor wasn't thuggish but it was too late, I had made my judgement and had decided to teach Ellie to avoid thugs. Much to my chagrin this made me realize how the way we dress matters. I've always been an advocate for wearing the kitchen sink if you so please, but I'm starting to realize that if you're going to wear the kitchen sink you should be prepared for some plumbing jokes. I only realized this after I myself had judged that unsuspecting wannabe thug. And sadly this was my first clue that maybe I wasn't as open-minded as I had thought myself to be.
I go through life making a concious effort to not offend people because I geniunely don't want to hurt anyones feelings. I say "disabled" instead of "handicapped", I say Appalachian the correct way, and yet it turns out I'm not as charitable in my thoughts as I had expected.
A black family moved into our apartment complex this week. From what I learned as I was spying from our window, they have a few little kids and one of their TV's is broken since I saw it fall out of their van when they opened the rear door. I didn't really think anything of this family until I recently heard some really loud Outkast playing from somewhere within our complex. I don't really have anything against Outkast but my first thought was, "Oh no, they're going to be those type of neighbors." A sudden uneasiness creeped in my head. If they were going to be the kind of people to play loud music, then what's next? A cookout? The show "Cops"? Heaven forbid! Turns out it wasn't even them.
Needless to say these feelings surprised and bothered me to my very core. Where did my geniune desire to not offend go? I felt like Liz Lemon when she says, "You know I'm not racist, but I think that pita-pocket might be a terrorist!"
I assumed that because they're black they were going to be disruptive neighbors and surely this apartment complex was going to hell. I didn't even think about the fact that they have little kids and probably don't want Outkast playing during naptime either. I've had very few black neighbors throughout my life and because I don't have a frame of reference for that circumstance I let ignorance and stereotypes inform my judgement.
Thankfully I had the wherewithal to realize this and now I'm nipping it in the bud. But this made me think truly about the way we percieve others. Really percieve others. Not how we want to percieve with our own PC filters but how really see others in the wee hours of the morning when we are most honest with ourselves. Race is not a choice. Race doesn't dictate how loud your music should be. It's not a type of clothing you decided you wanted to wear that day. It's not something I can tell Ellie to think twice about before she leaves the door. Nor would I want to. So, I, who have heard negative Mexican stereotypes from people I thought knew better, should know to always see people as they are, not as they look.
So. New plan. I will erase all preconceived notions about the new family in 3A and I will take them as they are. And right now they are a family with a few little kids and a broken TV.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Ithaca is Gorges
Cornell really is an amazingly beautiful campus. We also get the benefit of Ithaca being a beautiful place to live. It reminds me a lot of the English countryside. It's super green and lush and because it is spring the wildflowers are going nuts.
Anyway, Ithaca is famous for having tons and tons of gorges and waterfalls. You really can't escape them even if you wanted to, they're everywhere. Almost as prominent as the woods. Just on the way to school (which is all of a five minute drive), you encounter a little fall and a river. It's the gateway to the Finger Lakes, Cayuga Lake (our resident lake) being the biggest of them. In short, it's wet here.
Here are a few early Cornell and Ithaca pics:
A river/gorge that runs through campus.
This is for Anne.
A women's hall that we just happened upon as we were walking one day. Sorry about my posture.
The lake next to campus (not Cayuga).
Not my picture but an apt representation. The lake in the back of this picture is Cayuga Lake.
Hanging out at the Farmer's Market Dock
Brandon and Ellie shopping at the Farmer's Market
Eating lunch at the Farmer's Market
A butt crack at the Farmer's Market
Here are those wildflowers I was telling you about.
Brandon and Ellie having a picnic at the Cornell Arboretum across the street from our place
All in all, not too shabby. We really like Ithaca and even though I don't think I could live here forever, I think it's going to be a really great place to live for now. Stay tuned, I might change my mind.
Anyway, Ithaca is famous for having tons and tons of gorges and waterfalls. You really can't escape them even if you wanted to, they're everywhere. Almost as prominent as the woods. Just on the way to school (which is all of a five minute drive), you encounter a little fall and a river. It's the gateway to the Finger Lakes, Cayuga Lake (our resident lake) being the biggest of them. In short, it's wet here.
Here are a few early Cornell and Ithaca pics:
A river/gorge that runs through campus.
This is for Anne.
A women's hall that we just happened upon as we were walking one day. Sorry about my posture.
The lake next to campus (not Cayuga).
Not my picture but an apt representation. The lake in the back of this picture is Cayuga Lake.
Hanging out at the Farmer's Market Dock
Brandon and Ellie shopping at the Farmer's Market
Eating lunch at the Farmer's Market
A butt crack at the Farmer's Market
Here are those wildflowers I was telling you about.
Brandon and Ellie having a picnic at the Cornell Arboretum across the street from our placeAll in all, not too shabby. We really like Ithaca and even though I don't think I could live here forever, I think it's going to be a really great place to live for now. Stay tuned, I might change my mind.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Sorry
This apology is mostly to myself - I find blogging very therapeutic and while I'm sure that none of you are losing sleep over the state of my blog, I find that I am.
Anyway, busy does not even begin to describe what the state of affairs has been and Chez Jacobsen. Maybe I'll start calling it Chateau Jacobsen. I digress.
All the craziness will be over around May 5, so I'm looking forward to when I can sit down and blog all about these crazy feelings I've been feeling. Get excited.
For now I leave you with a picture of Ellie, who incidently is one out of the two people keeping me from going on some crazy Taxi Driver like spree.
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