So, I don't feel like picking Dickens's Our Mutual Friend back up just yet, and yet I've decided to be In The Library for the night, so I can't just completely dick around online...plus a watched collegehumor.com doesn't put your picture up...or something.

So I surfed some blogs tonight and, as usual, Dan and Drew once again, through their own musings on being tired of classes, etc, make me feel like I'm somehow tired of class in a less profound and meaningful way. Dan's writing, directing, embodying theatre. Drew's rockin' Off-Off (which sounds awesome, by the way) and still is one of the most honest dreamers I've ever known, if I can claim to know him now. At least Dan and I have something going on between us (snicker), but I always felt like I wasn't something enough for Drew Dir. Not that he would reject me, but that I had no business approaching him. I know it's all bullshit and lord knows a similar mindset tainted my friendship with Sterling for years, but I just remember being at my surprise toga birthday party in 2003 and being shocked to find Drew there.

But I seriously worry about what I'm doing in classes sometimes. I concentrate so much on Shakespeare in the English department, and yet I don't have any flashing insights or thesis ideas besides "Hey, wouldn't it be cool to analyze how Shakespeare, Marlowe and Mel Gibson have shaped the dramatic history of England?" And you know what, it would be cool, but it would also be trite, limited in application due to its modern focus, and let's face it, bad. I mean, do any of my other English majors (holla if you hear me) feel so happy when a professor says "good insight" that you want to immediately write down whatever the fuck it was you said because it might be the best idea you'll ever have?

Do I really like Shakespeare more than anyone else? Possibly. Do I really KNOW more about him than anyone else? Not so sure. (Yes, I realize that my anyone else is ridiculously limited, but this is academia, folks).

And how much longer can I ignore the fact that I can act Shakespeare and act it well? Because eventually, I'll be ignoring it for the long haul. Do I sound pretentious? Good. I owe it to all invitees to the pity party I've held for years now to say, yes, I know I am good at certain things. Certain people have helped me get there, but I'm there, and now the hard part is acting on that...

Oh, by the way, since I consider myself a musical heathen who likes everything, I usually don't make music suggestions, BUT I highly Highly recommend the band Carbon Leaf. I'd love to be able to say "They sound like..." but I'm bad at that. I feel like they've got a bit of Guster in their arrangement, a bit of DMB. The lead singer's voice sounds like Eve 6's lead singer, though much less forced syllables. In simple terms, they're brilliant. Lyrically, they lift you out of music that makes you feel like you've outgrown it because you're no longer quite so angsty. Musically, you travel. As a sample, download the following:

Changeless - A brilliant taste of their current sound. I love this song because it's comforting, especially when one feels far from friends, but at the same time, it's not deluded about how things change.

The Boxer - The epitome of old school Carbon Leaf and yet still one of their best songs. It's got their original celtic feel running amok through it, but you can also hear the fun they have making music together. It screams to be the song you play when you hit the highway on a roadtrip.

Let Your Troubles Roll By - Moffet argues that this is their best song lyrically. That has some merit, but if anything, I'd say this song is onomatopoeic of its title. If you're weary, feeling small, this song will do the trick really well.

Life Less Ordinary - My personal favorite, lyrically. It's personal that I like it, but it's still a good song.

Raise the Roof - Transcendant...pure and simple. And the chorus pulls at you...

Alright, I'm done plugging, as my reviews are getting shorter and shorter.

So I'm gonna go listen to Midnight Oil, if you get me.

Um....Not London So Much....BABY!

Hey kids, just so we're clear. I'm not going to London. I'm staying at Georgetown next semester. I've been cast in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale going up in February. I'm coming home for New Years (and I need digs, pwease) and Spring Break is in the works as we speak.

Cheers,
Ian