Merry Christmas, everyone!

Kelly got a cute new haircut. I love it! My baby's got bangs!

Remember how I had to write two proposals for orals? Well, I decided to put the second one online, in case any directionless grad student needs an idea for a good, easy project. My committee thought this one was better than my real project!

I finally finished my revised draft of my paper for Science! The figures are done and everything is formatted correctly. Now it's time for Tom to tear it to shreds. I'll be so glad when it's ready to submit it.

I like my new haircut. It's a reverse mullet--long on top; short in the back. I'm also glad the semester is over. All I have to do is a homework set this weekend and I'll be done with classes. I still have things to do, but at least there's one less thing to worry about.

Steve gave Kelly a Prince greatest hits CD set and said he was a "secret admirer". I don't like that. I can't control what Steve does, but I wish Kelly didn't get all excited about it.

I'm excited! I get to go to Dolce today.

Good luck on your physics test today, Kelly!

new pics are up on my LOMO page! I've got pictures from the park, Seattle, North Dakota, and a cool-looking developer's mistake. See if you can find the Space Needle!

I saw a weird movie this weekend--Der Golem. It's a silent film and an early example of German Expressionism. It's also one of the first monster movies. The basic story is that the Jews in Prague are being persecuted, and one rabbi decides to call up a demon to get the secret word to bring the Golem to life. The Golem, by the way, is just a clay statue. The Rabbi places the secret word in a pentagram-shaped phylactery on the Golem's chest to bring him to life. Removing the phylactery will turn him back into a statue. First, the Golem is nice and does many odd jobs for the Rabbi. Then the Rabbi brings the Golem to the Emporer. When the Golem saves the emporer's life, the Jews are spared. But soon after, the Golem turns evil because the power of his life comes from a demon. He runs rampant throughout the town because nobody can remove the phylactery. Then, after the Golem breaks the city gates, he meets some young children playing. He is filled with kindness, and picks up one of the children, who, out of curiosity, removes the pentagram. The day is saved.

The ending really reminds me of the scene in Frankenstein (1931) with the little girl picking flowers. I wonder if that scene, where the monster throws the girl into the lake, is a response to the final scene in Der Golem (1920), where a child saves the day.

I love Fridays. But I gotta study this weekend for Solid State Chemistry. Plus I have to wash my non-chick magnet car.

I'm finding it difficult to cope with the fact that my car is not the chick magnet I think it is. I just think it's so cool, but I must be super biased. Kelly is always saying I'm in love with my car. I just don't understand. Plus, I hate it when Beth is right.

Beth seems to think her car is a better chick magnet than mine. She supports her argument with an apparently unbiased survey of GLG103 students. Well, Beth, how many chicks have you picked up with your car? That's what I thought.

Brad: 1
Beth: 0

Small enough to know you, but large enough to serve you.

North Dakota was an adventure! There are many good memories: 5 hour layover in Minnesota, closed Mall of America, Kelly driving off the road, my meatballs, snowballs, more driving off the road, crappy parade, crazy old lady humming. Yep, and Kelly's grandparents are really nice. Do you know what the motto of McVille (pronounced "MAC-ville") is? "Small enought to know you, but big enough to serve you"