Science! Culture! Facebook! (Seven Quick Takes (12))

I told my husband several hours ago that I was going to bed early. So I don't really know why I'm sitting here typing after 11pm, thinking "Hey, it's still Friday! I can do seven quick takes!" I didn't sleep well last night and am feeling a bit delirious and probably shouldn't be blogging at all, so please forgive (or forget) any weirdness.


1. There have been a few evenings in the past month where I suddenly looked up from my computer screen and told Keith that Facebook was turning me into a stalker. One of those instances: I saw a friend tagged in a picture and thought, hold on, is he getting chubby, or is it just the angle of the photo? And I spent a good five or ten minutes scrolling through old pictures to see if he had gained weight. I know I have problem, I just really, really hope I'm not the only one.

2. I also maaaay have looked up the "real" Facebook profile of a popular Catholic blogger (as oppose to the blog's Facebook page) and then said to Keith, "Hey look! [Popular Catholic blogger] commented on [other popular Catholic blogger]'s post!" And then I realized I was acting like a stalker again.

3. Does it make it more or less creepy that I'm confessing these things on my blog? I don't know. I like to talk about the weird things Facebook does to people now and then.

4. Tonight we argued about whether science and culture had anything to do with each other. Mostly it went along the lines of me saying, "Wait, that is NOT what culture means," and him saying, "Hold on, that is NOT what I mean by science." The first definition of culture that Google brings up is "the arts and other manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded collectively." I like that definition, although if spent more time thinking about it I might find it incomplete. Hard to say at 11pm. Anyway, I think that definition provides plenty of fuel for my argument that science certainly IS a part of culture.

5. We were arguing because of this event, which I wish I had known about a little sooner. I'm hoping to go to the poetry reading tomorrow night, mostly because I would like to meet David Craig. I've interacted with him via email (not that I expect him to remember me!), and he teaches poetry at Steubenville.

6. Anyway, my friend Stephanie brought this event to my attention. Her brother is a priest who played a large role in organizing it. (He's also the godfather of my godson, which makes him my ... I don't know. Anyway, he also concelebrated our wedding Mass.) Stephanie is expecting her third baby and due THIS SUNDAY so when she called at 9pm I was certain she was in labor. Nope! Spare a prayer for her if you will; the waiting is always so hard!

7. I have a sinus infection and it is way past my bedtime. Goodnight. :)