Mairi's wedding

I don't feel like being personally schmaltzy for Valentine's Day, so I will instead take this opportunity to wish my sister & newly minted brother-in-law a happy one-month anniversary!

y_pestis and her guy got married exactly one month ago, at a lovely, informal ceremony in their backyard in California. It was fun to be part of the preparations (as much as I could be from over here), and even more cool to be able to officially welcome Mr. Y_Pestis into the family.

( Pictures here )

Why Defend the Prophet?

Texas A&M's Cultural Exchange Club flew in a guest speaker last night to address the question "Why Defend the Prophet?" The speaker was Abdul-Rahman Thakir Hamed, MD, a clinical psychologist from Dubai.

On the whole, I was disappointed in the talk. I went because I wanted to hear someone discuss that topic, but instead Dr. Thankir gave a very loosely organized talk on his particular interpretation of Quranic psychology (in which he has a doctorate). I took four pages of notes so that I could post an outline of his talk, but to be brutally honest it was too vaguely organized to outline. So here, in an unorganized fashion, are some of his more interesting comments.

( Dr. Thakir's talk )

Green Eyes

Just for kicks, today I translated my favorite Spanish short story into English; it's Los Ojos Verdes, a fun Romantic tale by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer. Just right for Valentine's Day!

Translation turns out to be harder than I thought. In Spanish this is all beautifully worded, Yeats-ish, but I couldn't make it come out right. The voice is inconsistent, and I spent absurd amounts of time trying to work out how to translate things like "Fuente de los Álamos," because "Poplar Headwaters" just doesn't roll off the tongue. So enjoy, and be gentle. :-)

( Green Eyes )