The Last Battle

A lot of students are reading this book right now because they're taking a course in fantasy literature.  I tell them it makes me sad, because things keep going so wrong for the main characters before they finally begin going right.  And I guess I'm just apocalyptic enough in my thinking to wonder if my children and grandchildren are going to have to endure a world getting worse and worse, like Narnia does, before it finally gets better.

Such are the thoughts of a melancholic father, I guess.

More importantly,

Happy Birthday to The Runner!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

In which Piers yawns

This is part of a flyer advertising a "banned books" reading tomorrow. I confess that this doesn't mean that much to me even though I am a First Amendment zealot. Mainly, it's because there's such a broad definition of "banned." Certainly, it's silly when any community or school tries to proscribe any written works. Not to mention counterproductive. But when even books like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone count as "banned," well.

But at least it gives participants ( in the reading, that is) the thrill of Standing Up for Our Rights. I wonder if they would do the same for the dude who made that YouTube video of recent fame.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Monday Update, "whoops, it's been a while" edition

I did not intend to go this long without posting something, but the activities got the better of me, I guess.  The annual conference in Wise this year was especially important for me because some colleagues and I decided to take the first steps of a fairly significant research and writing project. There's no guarantee that it will work, of course, but if it does, it could be huge.  And of course, as things tend to happen, as soon as I got back from the conference I had a week of wall-to-wall work to take care of, so I've not done a thing on that stuff for about ten days.

I used to keep waiting for the day when I could catch my breath; I'm thinking it ain't gonna come. On the upside, though, this academic project may represent the Big Change I've been looking for (and a far healthier one than the other kind:  sports car, motorcycle, blonde bimbo, etc.).

The biggest moment (no pun intended) of the past week was probably when the boys got to ride for about an hour in the cab of a John Deere combine.  They loved it.

We were especially proud of the boys this past Saturday--they both played well and with good attitudes. I am pleased with the way Number One Son offers plenty of vocal leadership and encouragement to his teammates.  His hard work is really paying off; he is de facto captain of the team and has been scoring goals during every game.  Little Red bounced back after a couple of weeks ago when the wheels came off (incedentally, while I was gone to Wise), and played with some pretty good focus this week.  He does better on offense than on defense.  He also scored a couple of goals.

Continuing with the outdoor theme, one of the other big changes this fall has been that I've been participating in afternoon group bike rides (15-25 miles) with some fellow faculty members. It has been a big adjustment to the way I do things, putting me later getting into the office and much earlier in leaving it.  On balance, though, this is a positive development both mentally and physically.

I'm not going to specify, but I will say that this has become a single-issue election for me, and nothing either candidate does or says from here on out is likely to change my mind.