Harmony, Indifference or Hostility

A NYTimes article caught my attention today regarding the new IMAX movie about the Hubble telescope. Even though we won't be able to see it for awhile, I still can't wait to see it. I remember my first class in Astronomy at BYU took place inside the planetarium and I was hooked within five minutes. I loved that class. It introduced me to incredible and astounding topics/images as I considered aspects of the universe that I had not known. My teacher mentioned names like Copernicus, Galileo and Kepler at the beginning of the semester, but only briefly. Yes, I had heard of these people before and knew a bit about Galileo, but I basically just took what she gave me and called it good. However, after my Enlightenment courses this semester, I feel like these guys are my uncles. Strange, but true. Each of them, and so many more, have fascinating stories to tell. If you're interested in reading up on them, I know Steve has a running bibliography (his current read is The Fellowship: The Story of a Revolution about Gilbert, Newton, Bacon and some other brilliant minds) to curb any curious appetite.

I just finished writing an assessment for my 'Science and the Natural Man in the Enlightenment' class with Dr. John Henry. The topic: religion vs. science. I had to explain and discuss the following statement by Isaac Kramnick: 'If religion was seen as the principle villain of the Enlightenment, then science was its hero.' Brilliant, eh? In terms of an essay argument, it's brilliant. As I read the news article and watched this clip on Youtube this morning I was pretty excited since science has been on my mind a lot this week. I can't imagine what the men from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries would be thinking if they saw how far society has come with the progress of science and technology. I won't go into all the details of the paper, but it basically revolved around three lenses: harmony, indifference or hostility. Those are the common lenses through which most people can view the science vs. religion debate. Great minds such as Galileo, Kepler, Boyle, Locke, Newton, Voltaire, Diderot, and Hume all took part in the dialogue and provided me with really interesting research material.

Two thoughts to leave with you, both of which stood out to me during my research for this paper for various reasons.

On religion: "It illuminates our nature and experience. It draws into a unity the scattered elements in our life. It guides our minds and controls our science, because it alone can unfold the full mystery of nature. It answers the questions which reason can only raise, and it brings us to that fulfillment of life towards which science in its more limited way is struggling. It cannot be set in opposition to reason or science, because it includes yet transcends both. If our thought starts from God and finally rests in him, we have found the means by which the fragmentary powers of our being are harmonized in the service and appropriation of all truth." - Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

On science (or Enlightenment in general): "It challenged the principle of supernatural authority. It denied divine revelation, scoffed at miracles, and assaulted the chief dogmas of the faith. It profoundly affected the way in which religious authority was conceived and broke the coercive spirit in which theological systems had been enforced. Intolerance was discredited: the individual could no longer be compelled to submit to prevailing ecclesiastical systems. The churches forfeited their controlling influence in the intellectual life of Europe, and science was free to pursue its autonomous course. It encouraged far greater freedom in the pursuit of truth. It did so at the cost of aggravating the confusion in religious values which has been so conspicuous a feature of modern life. And it profoundly modified the standards and methods of all the churches."

- Gerald Cragg (historian)

Getting back to the Hubble telescope, the idea that came to my mind as I was reading about the space mission that occurred last May was clarity. We certainly live in a different age than did the men mentioned previously. For as much confusion and argument as there is in the world today, there is so much more clarity to see things as they really are now. I hope everyone had an exceptional weekend...

[I know I sound like a total geek, but if you are interested in more pictures like this, check out Nasa's Astronomy picture of the day - it's quite cool. Enjoy!]

Homemade Tortillas and a July Wedding

I can never go back to store bought tortillas. Alan was right - once you've had homemade, you will never go back. I shouldn't be eating them at all, but still, we had some delicious homemade burritos tonight.

Let me back up and start at the beginning, eh? Tonight marked the beginnings of the Gringo Party movement here in Edinburgh. A bunch of friends from the ward got together to enjoy some homemade tortillas with all the fixings. Alan Adam, host extraordinaire, learned to make delicious tortillas while serving his mission in......France. He specializes in all things flat - tortillas and crepes in particular. He decided to share his many talents with us tonight and let us join in the tortilla-making fun. Everyone had a great time and I'm sure there will be subsequent gringo parties with many more tortillas now that we all know how to make them. Leave it to Steve to brandish a perfect tortilla toss within two minutes.

The lovely Catherine Park

Ben Park tending to their wee one, Sara

Steve Adams, meet Alan Adam

The resident chef

We are particularly excited for Alan for another reason, as the next bit of news hits close to home. Grab your cameras and head to the Bountiful temple on 06 July 2010 for a special event that you won't want to miss. It is going to be a smashing LDS wedding in full Scottish regalia! It is Scottish tradition to wear kilts at wedding ceremonies (see pictures included - this is a wedding that took place at the chapel in Edinburgh castle last year). And not only kilts, but everything that goes with them - the bonnie prince charlie jacket, flashes, sporran, ghillies, the whole nine yards - literally. The big deal is that Alan and the rest of the male members in the wedding party will be keeping this tradition alive at a temple that is not accustomed to this sort of dress. Alan had to get special permission from the temple presidency to allow the wedding party to wear their Scottish attire on temple grounds after the ceremony. Since it's a part of his culture, they are allowing it to happen. Can you imagine how cool the pictures will be? That's one of the most exciting parts of the day after the actual ceremony - when the bride and groom come out of the temple as a married couple - and makes for some of the greatest candid photographs. We wish we could be there to see it, but we're thrilled that an awesome tradition is making its way beyond the borders of Scotland to our very own hometown. Go B-town! So here's to homemade tortillas and an amazing wedding celebration for Alan and Allison in one of our very favorite temples. =)

See what I mean? The whole nine yards.

The wedding party making their way down from St. Margaret's Chapel inside Edinburgh castle. So glad I got to see this last year.

And So It Begins

Peter Paul Rubens, Entombment

Rubens, Banqueting House, Apotheosis of James I

Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa

Bernini, Louis XIV

26 March 2010. I cannot believe this day has arrived. I am done with my classes. That's it folks - all done! No more formal instruction from scholars and professors, no more tutorials taking place in the National Gallery of Scotland in front of original works that are hundreds of years old, no more evening seminars concerning up-and-coming topics in contemporary art and museum/gallery projects, no more bibliographies that are impossible to fully digest on a weekly basis, and sadly, no more frequent interaction with some of the most inspiring and brilliant professors that share everything they can with me simply because they love their research and want to share it.

What on earth will I do will all of this free time?

Oh wait, I forgot, I have a dissertation due on 20 August, 2010.

Right.

A master's dissertation may not seem daunting to many of you, but it is to me. Before moving to the UK, I believe the largest paper I wrote was twenty pages (yes, double spaced), excluding figures and a bibliography, for my senior thesis at BYU. Times that number by three and that's what I'm looking at now. 15,000 words. I like to write, but do I really like to write? Luckily, I get to pick my own dissertation topic, which means I'll be married to a project of my own choosing. That being said, there is one artist that never ceases to amaze and intrigue me: Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680). My degree covers the Renaissance through the Enlightenment - a pretty significant period of time in world history - but my favorite period within that vast timeline has always been the controversial Baroque period, championed to the greatest artistic extent by Bernini.

The images you see in this post form the basis of my topic/argument. Others may disagree (I welcome a dissenting opinion), but the greatest master working in the seventeenth century besides Bernini was Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). With these two artists, you have all the bases covered - drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, engraving, you name it - they mastered it. So, this dissertation will be a comparative study of sorts based around a main theme:

Servants of Absolutism:

Rubens and Bernini in service of Church and State in the Seventeenth Century

There's much more that goes into it, but that's the general idea. Now you at least have some notion of what will be keeping me busy over here. I am bound and determined to rise to the challenge. In the UK, a mark (grade) of distinction is anything higher than 70 - that's my goal. If you don't hear from me (not that frequent contact is even an issue considering I live on a different continent from most of you, but you get my point), you'll know why. I'm replacing my facebook account with my JSTOR account because time is precious, and because JSTOR is really, really cool (it's an archive of academic journals for the humanities). A lesson I value immensely from my mission in the TSAM is this: any goal you set for yourself is attainable if you are willing to exercise discipline and put forth consistent effort. Conquering this dissertation with distinction will require exactly that, plus a marker who is in good spirits when he/she dissects every possible facet of this paper. When I get too wound up or worn out, Steve always has a way of making things right in my world, which I love. Truth be told, I'm really excited to research and write full-time over the next five months, and I'm really happy that Steve is here with me to enjoy the ride.

And so it begins...

Adventures with missionaries

I’m a lousy blogger. I haven’t been motivated to blog in about forever, probably because I spend most of the day at work on a computer and by the time I come home I don’t even want to look at a computer screen. However, today I was given the day off and spent the day getting things done while waiting for Mr. Fix-it to come along and repair our bathroom door.

Lately Kristen and I haven’t been up to too many exciting things. The extent of our excitement comes from receiving emails from graduate schools and eating Indian food at least twice a week. We did manage to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this week, albeit a little differently. Kristen opted to wear green this year and I completely forgot. I was already dressed when I realized that wearing green wasn’t going to fit my outfit. I decided I’d take my chances and hope I didn’t get any pinches. Nobody touched me during the day, although it could have been because of what I decided to eat. For lunch I had Mexican and for dinner we did Thai. I could have had stewed cabbage and corned beef, but I figured I’d push St. Patrick’s Day to April 30th when I go to Dublin.

And speaking of the Irish, Elder Brophy finally got transferred. He has been here since the day I moved to Edinburgh and I have been on countless exchanges with him and his companion. Kristen and I have become almost one with the missionaries, at least on Preparation Day. Over the past six weeks we have had the following adventures:

Visited Craigmillar Castle in Edinburgh,

Went go-karting in Livingston,

Traveled to the super secret island that can only be accessed during low-tide,

Spent way too much time at a Mexican restaurant,

& played baseball

We saw Elder Brophy and his companion the night before he left. It was kind of a sorry night as most of us felt pretty ill. However, there is talk of a future road trip across America…whether it happens is another story.

So there you have it. I’ve blogged and included pictures too. I hope to blog more often and I’ll have to have some really adventures in order to come up with some good posts. Don’t worry folks, we have some great stuff up our sleeves.

It's a boy and a girl!

Hiya! I have been terrible at this blogging thing, but I have my excuses. I have been applying to graduate schools and before that I was studying for the GMAT and GRE so I could apply for graduate schools. I will be getting my master's degree in Public Administration or Public Policy. I ended up applying for (and yes the font colors are also the school colors):

George Mason University in Washington, D.C.

Ohio State University in Columbus,OH

Old Dominion University in Norfolk, VA

University of Georgia in Athens, GA

Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA

The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, VA

As you can tell Kristen and I would love to end up going to grad school in Virginia. I was considering applying to a school in Utah, U of U or BYU, so I could get a tuition break but then things started happening. I got an email from OSU on Monday informing me that I had been accepted into the graduate program. I was pretty thrilled to realize that graduate schools were interested in me and it boosted my confidence that I could get into a few more schools. And then the news came today that I had been accepted to William & Mary! William and Mary people! Of course I wasn't at home when I got the email and resorted to texting Kristen to let her know. That didn't quell the excitement though so I tried calling people to tell them but most people were too busy to talk. I have resorted to telling the blogging world about my new adventure in graduate school in hopes that others can share in my joy. I will be going somewhere next year and as William and Mary is the first school to offer me assistance, the other schools have their work cut out. So as of now Kristen and I are expecting a boy named William and a girl named Mary.

SGA: The Late-Twenties Edition

As many of you know, Steve celebrated his 27th birthday on February 12th. I love birthdays. I really love surprises. Birthdays + Surprises = very good times. I've come to discover that I married a very curious lad. My skills at scheming and planning surprises have improved greatly these last five or so months because unless I'm at the very top of my game, Steve figures everything out. But alas, it was a great day full of fun. Here's a little look at what went down at 149 Piersfield Terrace:

Breakfast in bed - because who doesn't love that on their special day? It came complete with mini-Belgian waffles including strawberries, whipped cream, and nutella, with a side of scrambled eggs, sausage, and chocolate milk to drink (none of these things - excluding the eggs - make regular appearances at the Adams residence, but I felt like spoiling Steve...). Delish.

Steve doesn't have to be to his internship until 10:00 am on Fridays, which gave me three hours before my afternoon class to spruce up the flat and have a surprise ready for him when he got home. Last year for Steve's birthday I managed to shove 26 helium balloons into my car and put them all over his room to surprise him when he got home from work. Helium is a bit pricier in our neck of the woods, but balloons are an essential part of birthday fun so I decided to improvise with the following results:

My jaw was a little sore at this point...

Twenty seven balloons later....not bad! It took quite a bit of time (it really doesn't help that I'm so short and our ceilings are so high...a ladder and a broomstick were necessary at all times), but it was a lot of fun. I particularly enjoyed my editing job on some of the balloons. Apparently 27 isn't as noteworthy as 7, so I had to add a "2" to all the sevens. Twenty seven also isn't as cool as 30, so I changed the "Happy 30th Birthday" to "Happy Almost-30th Birthday!" Steve was thrilled. Unfortunately, he got off early from his internship and beat me home, so I didn't get to see his reaction to the balloon madness, but I settled for a verbal reenactment of the initial response.

It seems that we like to share all holidays/special events with our favorite missionaries. We had them over for dinner, which worked out really well since it was Elder Leavitt's birthday on Wednesday. Steve requested a favorite meal for dinner, and it was topped off with cake and ice-cream.

Notice the candle wax - pretty sure it was radioactive. I couldn't believe how fast it melted. We had to race through "Happy Birthday to you," otherwise we'd have eaten a wax cake instead of a chocolate cake. Yikes. We managed to sing to the birthday boys and let them blow out what remained of the candles before ending this wee shindig.

Overall, it was a great celebration. It's pretty fun spoiling a person as cool as Steve. He does so much for me every day of the week, and it was tons of fun making his birthday here in Scotland memorable. Twenty seven down, and many more to come!

Welcome to the family!....Almost.

Happy to report that my sister is officially engaged! WOO-HOO!!! I'm so excited for her and her fabulous fiance. Yes, Lindsay will soon be Mrs. Nathan Robinson. And the best part - this means I'm going to be related to a Texan! Oh happy day. I'm trying to convince them to cater their wedding with breakfast tacos, tamales, and agua fresca from my favorite donut/taco shop in San Antonio, but I don't think they're gonna go for it.

It's been very fun getting to know Nathan over this past year, but I have to say, the best memory I have is the first time I ever talked to him. I got a strange phone call back in August (they started dating in January 2009) that went something like this:

Stranger: "Hi, is this Kristen?"

Me: "Yeah, hi - who's this?"

Stranger: "This is Nathan Robinson - your sister's boyfriend."

Me: "Oh! Hey Nathan! How are you? We're excited to have you come in a couple weeks for the wedding."

Stranger/Nathan: "Yeah. Hey, I'm calling to let you know that your sister is stranded in Edinburgh and wants you to get in touch with her on gmail. Like, right now."

Me: "Ummm. Right. Okay. Well, nice to meet you - see you soon!"

And then I proceeded to try and find my homeless sister a place to stay since my parents had both sets of keys to my flat here in Edinburgh, while they were in a totally different part of Scotland. We're master planners, us Irvines, yes we are. =)

And so it went. Luckily, I met him in person the night before Steve and I got married since he came out to enjoy the festivities, and he passed the test with flying colors (you know, the younger-sister-approval kind of test...)! My sister has definitely met her match in Mr. Robinson. They're perfect for each other, and I couldn't be happier for them! So welcome to the family, Nathan - we're very happy to have you...