My alma mater, how I miss thee

I spent 6 amazing years of my life at the University of British Columbia - 4 spent getting a B.A. in linguistics, and 2 more trying to get a B.Sc. in climatology. I also met some of my favorite people there, including hubby. It's no wonder, then, that I'm filled with nostalgia and longing whenever we're in Vancouver and I get to see my old campus.

Here's the Main Mall where I walked into a lot of dangling caterpillars every fall (my sister is yelling "yes!" in an annoyed voice as she reads this because she, too, experienced this).

A lot of construction has been going on at UBC, so there were many new additions to campus that have sprung up since I was last there a couple of years ago, such as this fountain at the intersection of West Mall and Main Mall, outside the Biological Sciences, Education, Commerce, and Chemistry buildings:

But some things remain the same, like Buchanan, the general faculty of arts building where many classes are held. 70s flashback, anyone?

Buchanan

West of Buchanan is the Rose Garden where I spent many hours with friends enjoying the breath-taking view at this end of campus - water, mountains, flowers...ahhhh.

Rose Garden

While chem was never my favorite subject at university, I have fond memories of being trapped in this building until well into the evening. By trapped, I mean having to do the Chem 100 labs. And by labs, I mean torture. My long-time friend Francesca will back me up on this.

Dept of Chemistry

The Astronomy/Geophysics department now has a new home. Back when I was attending UBC, the joke was that the only seismometer in Vancouver was housed in the least earthquake proof building (which was the old building of the A/G dept). I wish I'd been smart enough to major in astronomy. I love that this building reminds me of my failure and biggest regret. #sarcasm

Astronomy & Geophysics

Behind the Astronomy/Geophysics building is the old Geological Sciences building. (Geological Sciences has since been renamed Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, or something like that.) Back in the days of yore, we had to physically show up at this building to pick up computer punch cards to sign up for science and math courses; computer punch cards for arts courses were at Buchanan. Wow, primitive.

The best thing about this building is that it houses a giant slab of the Burgess Shale. Absolutely awesome piece of rock it is too.

the building formerly known as Geological Sciences

Last, but not least, is a well-known UBC landmark: the clock tower in front of the Main Library. In an episode of The X-Files, a sniper shot at people from up there.

I dropped by the Math Department too to see if my favorite calculus prof was still around, but he no longer had an office. I figured he was long retired, though I wanted to tell him again how much I learned in his class. I loved his Math 200 course...along with my geophysics, sociolinguistics, and sensation and perception courses.

You probably couldn't tell I miss my alma mater, could you? Heh.

What about you? Do you miss yours? Where did you attend university or high school and do you go to visit whenever you can?

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

A lesson in neuropsychology

It's not always fun and games around here, you know; sometimes, you have to learn something. Oh, who am I kidding: learning IS fun and games and it's the best part of being alive! I have to read about at least one new thing a day (and why I keep trying to pick up new hobbies like some people pick up stray animals...it beats picking up bad habits).

So, today, I'm going to share a couple of interesting links with you. And I'm compelled to do it because people harbor false "facts," e.g. humans only use 10% of their brains (WRONG!).

Another myth that gets perpetuated is one about a person being either left-brain/right brain. So, if you're one of those who believe this, head over to NeuroLogica's blog and read why it's not true.

I guess part of the problem is that our brains aren't very reliable.

For a fun course about memory, what it is (and it's not a single, specific thing), what our misconceptions are about it, and how to improve it, I highly recommend The Great Course's series, "Memory and the Human Lifespan."

Okay, that's the lesson for the day; now go and have a great week! :)

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

July's Doodle Day

I have good intentions to doodle daily, especially since Alison Hertz's Doodle Day group on Facebook is such a fun place to hang out. But, most months, I don't get around to sketching regularly. *hanging head in shame*
July's prompts were all about animals, which is a favorite topic of mine, so I made an effort to play along. Here are my quick (most of them taking 5 to 10 minutes) drawings.

I started out with graphite...

dog - large breed

 But then, I noticed my box of charcoals...and remembered how in love I was with them once upon a time. And you know what, I'm still in love with them.

dog - small breed

cat - long-haired

cat - short-haired

fish - moray eel; I hope I put that song in your head!

squirrel - flying (a.k.a. Super Squirrel)

when I got too busy, I combined the next two topics: deer and rabbit

Right after that last piece, I bought the Art Studio app for the iPad on Sylvia Liu's recommendation. I've never done digital art before, so took the opportunity to play with it, doing quick gestural sketches:

raccoon

opossum

another mash-up from not having enough time - snake and chipmunk

I cheated on July 13, and used this panda I did back in 1988

I didn't do a new doodle for July 14th either, but substituted this kakapo pastel piece for the "parrot" theme

Compared to the more traditional pieces like the two previous ones, my digital drawings are "quick and dirty" but I think they convey a lot anyway.

l'éléphant dansant

Which inspired a little limerick:

There once was a young dandy elephant

Who fancied himself trés suave and elegant.

’Til one day, by chance

He was invited to a dance,
And found he was quite out of his element.

giraffes are weird, weird looking beasts and their spots are a pain to draw

I tried combing two prompts, giraffe and octopus, but I wasn't pleased with the octopus, so I tried my hand at a seahorse (next)

the theme of the day was aquarium animal

in honor of the first moon landing of July 20, 1969

have never drawn a griffin before; may never draw another again

chimera - some depict it with a lion and goat head and a serpent on the tail, but I prefer the equal footing creation with all three heads on the shoulders

For the owl prompt, I did a sketch of a Barn Owl cocking its head...

but I really didn't like it, so I drew a second one, which I liked slightly better even though it's creepier:

Barn Owl, take 2

jaguar, reaching for something...

comedian in training

also a funny guy

I need to fix the shadow on this; makes him look like he's floating

a little coquettish, no?

third time cheating this month: for the theme of mouse today, I used this sketch I did back in the mid 1990s

baby chameleon

Hope you've enjoyed this art post today as much as I enjoyed participating in Alison Hertz's July Doodle Day!

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams

My Favorite Scene - You Want Proof? I'll Give You Proof!

Slacker and flake that I am, I still haven't bought a microphone yet, so I hope I spoke loudly enough to be audible this time.

The book I featured today is You Want Proof? I'll Give You Proof! by Sidney Harris. It is such a hilarious book that even re-reading the one page that I show you in the video was enough to make me giggle. See if you can tell that I'm suppressing laughter during the clip. :)

Have you read any of Mr. Harris's cartoons in The New Yorker?

----edited to add----
Since it was hard to see the cartoon in the video, I'm putting the image below:

"I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be." ~ Douglas Adams