August Update

Happy Summer!

Well, this was supposed to be the April update, then June, then July.... But I will get it out now!

So, backing up a bit. Friday, 8 April was Paideia, CNU's undergraduate research conference that David oversees. Phoebe presented the piece that she choreographed for the CNU Dance Concert as part of the conference. Here it is, along with the piece from the Dance Concert that Phoebe danced in. 

 

In addition to participating the the Dance Concert, Phoebe has been working as a research assistant for one of the Anthropology professors, Dr. Loy. She started out helping him with his work on indigenous peoples, but now she is helping to set up a new Bone Room for the department. She's assembling skeletons and learning how to determine race/gender from the bones. She was only just starting with this when the semester ended, so she is excited to get back into it in the Fall.

The CNU Public Relations people came by at one point to take photos. Here are a few for you to enjoy.

Phoebe with Dr. Loy

Lastly, Phoebe finished the semester with As in all her classes, putting her on the Dean's List once again!

In May, Phoebe decided to take The Economic Way of Thinking online as part of CNU's Maymester (a three-week long semester). CNU requires students take an Economics class, and this one seemed the least evil. She took it during Maymester so she could give it all her attention, expecting it to be a challenge. And it was, but she still did well.

In the Fall, she's taking German 200, Statistics for Social Research (required for her major), Media and Pop Culture, Popular Genres (a special topics class--this semester the focus is Crime Fiction), and Dance Studies (her Honors selection).

Phoebe's still working at Starbucks and still enjoying her job.

David has been participating in the True Life podcast, doing episodes connected to his book on the Seven Deadly Sins. You can the episode on Gluttony here, and you can then search for the other episodes--and more are still to come!

David is also excited for his summer travels, with a Study Abroad trip heading to the UK and a conference in Washington, DC. 

At the end of July, we took a quick trip to Washington, DC. It was very hot, but we were able to check out a few museums that we had not been to before: The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center (aka the other Air and Space Museum), the American Indian Museum, and the National Geographic Museum, which had a special exhibit on King Tut. We also went back to the Smithsonian Castle and the Natural History Museum.

What we are reading:

• Phoebe: 
• Finished 
• The Only Woman in the Room, by Marie Benedict
  
• The Silver Blonde, by Elizabeth Ross
  
• Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor
• You'll Be the Death of Me, by Karen M. McManus
• Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
• Be More RBG: Speak Truth and Dissent with Supreme Style, by Marilyn Easton
• The Once and Future Witches, by Alix E. Harrow
• The Companion, by Katie Alender
• The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, by Zoraida Córdova
• Hidden Figures, by Margot Lee Shetterly
• Blackout, by Dhonielle Clayton, et al
• The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
• Neverworld Wake, by Marisha Pessi
• Currently Reading:
• Good Girl, Bad Blood (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder #2), by Holly Jackson
  
• Kelly: 
• Finished: 
• The Silver Blonde, by Elizabeth Ross 
  
• Aru Shah and the End of Time, by Roshani Chokshi
  
• When A Child is Born, by Jodi Taylor
  
• The Once and Future Witches, by Alix Harrow
• a reread of A Second Chance, by Jodi Taylor
• Roman Holiday, by Jodi Taylor
  
• Circe, by Madeline Miller
  
• The Space Between Worlds, by Micaiah Johnson
  
• Akata Witch, by Nnedi Okorafor 
  
• A Trail through Time, by Jodi Taylor 
  
• The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles
  
• Christmas Present, by Jodi Taylor
  
• No Time Like the Past, by Jodi Taylor 
  
• The Paris Apartment, by Lucy Foley 
  
• Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
  
• The Companion, by Katie Alender
• The Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams
• Wylding Hall, by Elizabeth Hand
• The Omega Factor, by Steve Berry
• Blackout, by Dhonielle Clayton, et al
• The Raven Spell, by Luanne G. Smith
• Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens
• The Thousand-Dollar Tan Line (Veronica Mars #1), by Rob Thomas and Jennifer Graham
  
• Currently Reading: I need to pick a new book!
  
• David: Not sure what he is reading--check the next entry!

Phoebe and I both try to complete the PopSugar Reading Challenge each year, which asks people to read books in a variety of different categories each year. You can find more about it here.

Recent movies:

•  Uncharted (2022, at the theater)
  
• The Adam Project (2022, Netflix)
  
• The Net (1995)
  
• Death on the Nile (2022)
  
• Turning Red (2022, Disney+)
• Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (at the theater)
  
• Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
•  A Call to Spy
• Silver Linings Playbook
• The Baker (2007)
• The 355
  

What we are watching all together:

• Alias (rewatch for David and I)
  
• All Creatures Great and Small (2020)
  
• Burn Notice (rewatch for David and I)
• CSI 
• Doctor Who
  
• Lost (rewatch for David and I)

We finished Suspicion, The Book of Boba Fett, the new season of Stranger Things, and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Phoebe and I are watching Ms. Marvel, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder, and Gilmore Girls, and David and I are watching Lucifer and House.

This i kind of skimpy, but I will (hopefully!) write a summer wrap-up later this month! 

Stay cool!