Here are some photos of the demolition of Partick Central Station. This kind of destruction is not my hobby. Those apartments in the background look like better candidates...
   |
"Workmen yesterday sealed off the former Partick Central Station booking office in Glasgow in preparation for knocking down the building, which is thought to date from 1896 and has been praised by Historic Scotland and the Glasgow Building Preservation Trust."
(link to the Glasgow Herald article, and another in the Evening Times.)
Partick Central Station was built in 1896, in the middle of a bridge, but was more recently used as an auction.
They're going to use the site for a park or a Tesco.
We wanted to try to turn the building into a coffee house...
This is my wife, Heather, in the morning, dressed for work. Every day she goes to her social work job, helping the people of Glasgow. Glasgow is a cold city, so she wears this special coat to keep her warm. Heather's favorite breakfast is corn flakes with bananas, and a cup of tea. She is happy because she likes the morning. She can watch the sun rise as she walks to her job. Sometimes on the way to work she sees cats, and pets them. Hi Heather!
Hi! I'm taking this opportunity to link to a song that I think is interesting as a piece of American history. John Jacob Niles (1892-1980, I think) was an American folk musician, composer, and singer. He was actually the author of 'I Wonder As I Wander,' which may surprise you once you hear his eerie vocal style. I've posted about music before, as you'll remember, about Sacred Harp singing, which also had a distinctive sound ('sounds like drunken Gregorian chanting?'). As before, don't expect music that I post to sound particularly pleasant. It's just so cool.
John Jacob Niles - The Maid Freed From the Gallows
PS The link might expire some day.
[update] It's been pointed out that I didn't provide the URL for the music. Here it is!
http://www.redruin.com/2006/03/10/john-jacob-niles-dean-of-american-balladeers/
Today in Get Fuzzy, Satch discovers anti-fun comics. Welcome aboard, Satchel!
Of course, it would be better without the last frame...
We thought it was impossible. We saw it cut down in its prime: the blog that wrote the story of our lives; the blog that made us laugh, cry, and hiccup in unison, had surely met its bitter end. Yet now, with a bang and a lurch, the laughter, the tears, and the glottal discomfort are resurrected! Heather's blog lives again! And this time, it's an artichoke!
Here are our lovely wedding pictures! Or here, if you'd rather watch a slide show.
I know Joel doesn't post much, so if you weren't aware that he actually got married, I'm sure he'll be very sorry. Since he doesn't update, I figured I better break in to tell y'all about our freshly uploaded photos.
There are a few on there from Lynne, who made us a gorgeous photo album full of her own photos from the wedding!
Here is something else, to make the post more exciting (or really scary).
Thanksgiving night.
Richard: I want a ferret...
Graham: You could be like... The Beastmaster!
Joel: Yeah... What were the names of his ferrets? They were really dumb names...
Krista: Tawnya?
Joel: Tawnya and Brad!
Thus you may see that Brad is the optimal animal name. Not a bad name in itself, it becomes the best name for animals. Imagine:
Brad the Iguana
Brad the Hermit Crab
Brad the Snail
Brad the Pot-Bellied Pig
Brad the Pit Viper (BradLEY! Get your venomous fangs out of him!)
Brad the Box Turtle
Upon the arrival last Thursday (Thanksgiving, FYI) of my cousin Krista, we took an expedition to the town of Arrochar, whence the MacFarlanes, my auld ancestors (on me da's mither's side) hail. We climbed halfway up the local hill, Ben Arthur a.k.a. "The Cobbler" before we had to come down again and catch the bus. The MacFarlanes, as evidenced by the official clan gathering tune, were expert
cattle thieves (we even got outlawed!), which explains, probably, my love for a good burger. Of course, the Scots mostly are annoyed with Americans who come over here to 'seek their heriage' and regard all claims of Scottishness on our part to be 'dodgy' at best. This makes sense- I really am an American, not even a Scottish citizen. Many of the ethnic Pakistanis around here are more Scottish than me!
P.S. Photos on this post by Krista
P.P.S. Except the one with Krista in it. I took that one.
 | Apparently I'm a master now. The ceremony to grant me this title took place yesterday morning, an appropriately dismal Scottish morning. If you'd like to watch this magical ceremony, you may do so here, or if you have a slow connection, you can watch it here. There are many quality Joel sightings throughout the ceremony, but if you lack patience, you can skip ahead to the 17th minute for my masterful moment. |
I just went on a 'hillwalk' for the first time. The hill is called Tinto, in Lanarkshire. The cool thing about hills in Scotland is that, whereas in the US, there is always a higher peak, the hills in Scotland are not that high,
 | and when you reach the peak, you've reached the top! Here are some pics from the climb. Left: Chris Ahoy! Below left: The cairn at the top, and me upon it. Below: Some landscape. Below that: A paraglider! Then: Some more landscape. Appreciate the panorama, please. |
 | |
 | |
 | |
 | |
Do a Google search for "navel reserve," and see how few of the hits are puns. An overwhelming majority are simple misspellings. Why aren't people funny, like me? Navel reserve! That's funny!
That's all.
___
10:00 pm.
Update, eodem die. Mood much improved. On my way home from 'work,' I encountered a consternated-looking 1Glasgow fox. I shared his consternation as we stood together, listening to the lush choral arrangement of 2"I walk the line" pouring forth from the window of the Postgraduate Club nearby. Our interest having faded, the fox politely excused himself and I continued on my way.
_______________________
1. Vulpes weegiensis, my first sighting this year!
2. Composer and lyricist: Johnny Cash, Choral Arrangement: anonymous, Maracas: anonymous but manifest and annoying.
Robb just reminded me that it's a good idea to use my blog for news. I keep forgetting that I haven't told everyone that I just got accepted to the PhD program here in Glasgow, with a bit of scholarship money (thanks, God!). This means that Heather and I will be living in Scotland for the next three years.
My friend Graham from NY state also got the same scholarship, and is also staying 3 more years!
Anyone want to come visit us?
I know you said not to break radio silence, but this is important! I think it is in your best interests to visit our wedding website!!! Thanks for the site, Nate! It's awesome!
Does it count as hacking when he lets me do it? It feels more fun.
I think what I decide to do now is post pictures that have no relevance to anyone who views this blog. Ever. That is the kind of thing this blog needs, right? Right! Some people know Robin, I guess.
Wow, this is like, the lamest post there has ever been on this blog! Cool... I set a new record.
Now I am done talking to myself.
Signing off...
I'm back, but I done broke my camera, so no pictures for a while, I'm afraid.
Here is something else you can look at!
To everyone I got to visit while I was back in Washington, thanks for letting me visit you!
To everyone I didn't get to visit while I was back in Washington, sorry I didn't get to visit you... Maybe we can hang out at the wedding?
 | Season's Greetings! This is what happens in Glasgow when it snows. By the way... I'm coming home! For the next three weeks, I'll be back in Washington, so if you want to see me, get on queue. Not sure if much will be happening on the blog during that time. But since no one reads this thing, that shouldn't be a problem. And if anyone does read this thing, it might help them get outside and enjoy the fresh air instead. |
 | |
 | CHAPTER 3: FORT AUGUSTUS Second stop: Fort Augustus. This is a pretty small, touristy town, with a canal right through the middle, as well as the River Ness, which empties which lake? Any guesses? So here's our obligatory Nessie sighting. What a monster! She ate all our oatcakes... | |
  | ||
  | ||
 | CHAPTER 2: FORT WILLIAM The first stop on our self-guided tour of the highlands was Fort William, an old town on Loch Lochy (imaginative, these Scots!). We stayed in the old house of the Campbells, who were put there by the English to keep a watch on the town. Nearby was Inverlochy Castle, a real medieval castle with stone and towers and everything! It was Heather's first. I bumped my head on it and bled profusely. We also visited the cemetery. Good eye, Heather! And Merry Christmas, everyone! |
 | |
 | |
 | |
Heather just came to visit me, like, three months ago! I thought I should start putting up some of the pictures that resulted from that. If you're attentive, you will probably understand the progression of events. This will be the first of well.. quite a few graphics-heavy posts submitted at highly irregular intervals.
SO.
 | Here is a picture of us waiting for the bus the day after Heather got here! We like to travel, apparently. A few days later, we took yet another bus to the small, picturesque, touristy town of Luss on the banks of Loch Lomond (of deserved bonnie, bonnie repute). Here we saw several animals and a very nice river, which Heather photographed. |
 |  |
 | |
 | |
I suppose the previous post has been up long enough for now... There will be many more pictures of Heather and me to come, I can promise! I think I'm going to try to post some from our trip around the UK, actually, so it will be a little bit of a step back in time. Hopefully nothing too jarring for those of us with weaker constitutions...
I had the opportunity to climb to the top of the University tower today, with a group of International students (Here is a picture of the tower, for anyone who doesn't remember). It was amazingly sunny, and the haze that usually covers the city like a poorly-applied coat of primer had apparently been cleared away for the occasion. Of course, I brought my camera! And of course, I didn't get any pictures of the town that I'd feel great about posting on my blog! If you want to see some of them, and get an idea of the location of campus in relation to my house, feel free to look here and here and here.
I did take a few pictures I think I can show you, however. Well. Look.
Left: The stairs at the top of the tower, seen from the top of the tower.
 | Below: The view toward downtown... You can't see where Heather and I were engaged because of the buildings in the way. Stupid buildings... |
 | |
| |
| Above: The shutters in the room below the bells | |
On January 5, 2006, in the Glasgow Necropolis, under the steady but approving gaze of a statue of John Knox, I made a proposal to my best friend Heather Ehli that we become married.
Heather thought this was a good idea, and instantly agreed.
This makes her my fiancée.
