Presidential Election 2008!

OK I know there are a lot of friends and family who do not agree with my political views, but I just wanted to take a moment to really petition everybody to take the time out of your day on November 4th and VOTE!!! 

Please feel free to disregard this portion of the blog but I also wanted to tell everybody to take a moment and really REALLY give this vote a lot of thought. I know I am not the most political savvy person in the world, I don't know everything about all the issues, and I am not under the impression that Obama is the coming Messiah. I am also not a person who thinks that John McCain is a bad or stupid person. He is a honorable veteran a man who I believe truly has the best for our country at the heart of his aims and goals. That being said there are SO many red flags. First and foremost (in my mind at least) His choice of Vice Presidential candidate is HORRIBLE! Sarah Palin is one of the most ignorant and unprepared candidates that I have ever seen for such a high ranking position in our government. I do not and cannot agree with their positions on Gay Rights, Roe v. Wade, Healthcare, and many other government programs. Even if you do, think about the possibility of John McCain passing during his presidency (which is a distinct possibility he is 72)! She is so painstakingly unprepared. I would be terrified. Please consider General Powell's decision. He is a long time Republican who has worked under the last three Bush administrations (Father and Son), a total of 12 years in the cabinet! Either way the coming years are going to be VERY difficult for our country. There is a lot of healing our country has to go through, but we will absolutely not be able to recover with out a discerning and even minded leader. Please just take everything into consideration before you cast your ballot. Thanks, with all my love and respect, Melissa

My Office and the Campus

OK here is a short post. This is basically my office and the Staller Center where my office and all my classes are and then the white building is the library. The last picture is me studying. This is where I spend my mornings when John is working at the grocery. Since this is where I spend so so so much of my time I figured that maybe my friends and family would like to know a little bit about it!

The Pollock-Krasner House

SUNY Stony Brook University owns the Pollock-Krasner House, the East Hampton home of Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner. Every semester the Art History Department hosts what they call an "arm chair chat" with a distinguished speaker and a pot luck dinner. It is a great opportunity for the graduate students and the professors to socialize in an informal setting. It began with one of the most defining art historians of the twentieth  century, Clement Greenburg. This year Ann Gibson a distinguished professor at the University of Delaware was the speaker and she gave a speech in entitled After Postmodernism. It was particularly enlightening as I was definitely not well versed in this area of history as it is still developing. Despite that fact there is still significant scholarship in this area I had not heard most of this information. Although it was an all day event and I am always pressed for time it was a wonderful day!

Carnegie Hall

Last Tuesday (a week ago today) I had the amazing opportunity to go see Yo Yo Ma in concert with the Sony Philharmonic! The Sony Philharmonic is a volunteer orchestra from Japan. They were very wonderful (for a volunteer orchestra in particular). They were so committed that they even paid their own way to the states. They played the exact same program in Tokyo a couple of months before they preformed with Yo Yo Ma.

Despite the fact that I had to go solo it was truly one of the most moving concerts that I have ever been to. He played Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op 104. Although he had clearly played the concerto several times (he had it memorized and he had played it on a CD before) he played it as if it was the first time. There was so much emotion. It was an aesthetic experience. Even though it was embarrassing I was literally brought to tears. He was so enthralled in the performance that he seemed to be transported to a completely different realm. 

Our Home

Here is the front of the single family home that we live atop. The first picture is the front of the house and the second picture is our entrance around the back. I will soon put a picture of the inside of our house, but right now sadly it is toooooo messy! 

First Blog!

Cheers Loved Ones,

I am totally copying Hayley Bellah (Jones) Winn (for those of you who know her) and making a blog for John and I it seems like a great way of keeping up with friends and family.  I'm not completely sure how easy it is going to be to keep up with this with school and everything, but well see... I figure what I can do is better than nothing! If you know anyone who knows and loves us please feel free to forward the address as I'm fairly certain I do not have everybody's e-mail addresses. I will try to put up a picture of our abode and the pups soon. I know y'all are all dying to see them. (Insert Irony Here) Anyway I am already neglecting my studies to put up this first blog, but hey this is more productive than some of my other diversionary tactics. 

With all our hearts!