Just call me "Dr. Rooter."

Replaced our commode today, yes I did. Just waiting for the bathroom to fill with water, heh.

We Have a Three Month Old

So, in honor of his recent doings, I present the following three:

yardwork

Diodia Virginiana! Soo, we meet again, my old nemesis!

From Hell's heart I stab at thee!

Gearhead

So I've already said, once, that reading Bicycling magazine gives me gear lust, which is a real issue in a gear-intensive sport like biking. Well, I was all set to shell out $100+ for Speedplay pedals, because they're flat awesome. What did I find out yesterday but that my biking shoes are incompatible with Speedplay pedals. I'm going to have to settle for cheaper ones. Much cheaper, actually, which is probably a good thing in the long run (i.e., these could still be used with regular ol' shoes when I ride the bike up to campus). Still, they're not nearly as cool, and we all know how important the 'cool' is when it comes to gear. heh.

wakka wakka!

Guess what DVD set just came out?

That's right.

Guess who'll be buying it post-haste?

Playing

Roscius: Boldly I dare say
There has been more by us in some one Play
Laugh'd into wit and virtue, than hath been
By twenty tedious Lectures drawn from sin
And foppish humors.

(from Thos. Randolph, The Muses' Looking Glass [1630])

Goddess Fortuna

It's understandable why the thinkers of the Italian Renaissance, standing as they were between the world of classical antiquity and the new world they saw being born (or reborn), spent a lot of time examining the conundrum of providence, especially as related to the "pagan" Fate or Fortune.

Life sometimes seems like a joke at your expense. We've all experienced it: at the very moment when you think the course is set and the weather benevolent, all expectations of the joyous return home appear to be met . . . and it is then that the letter arrives, the eye strikes you down, the precincts of the body revolt. Fortuna is a comfortless goddess, but at least you know what to expect from her hands, as Boethius and Machiavelli teach: she doesn't care about you, has her own agenda, turns the wheel. But Providence, ah, that's a tougher nut: God's benevolence, even for those of us who believe in it, can prove just as inscrutable and comfortless as Fortuna. Sometimes more so, given that we expect goodness from God's hand.

Every semester, I teach the opening of Milton's Paradise Lost, emphasizing the fact that he's got a very serious task: asserting Providence, and justifying the ways of God, given the weak and trembling world we live in, is too daunting for lesser minds, like mine. The older I get, the more I see, the more I read and hear and learn, the more daunting it seems. And I recognize that I'm still young, which makes me tremble even more. Is it any wonder when people throw up their hands and instead look to the fickle goddess and her wheel?

How Lucky You Are

CAT
When the news is all bad,
When you're sour and blue,
When you start to get mad
You should do what I do-

(The CAT mischievously lets the WHOS fall a few more feet)

WHOS
Aaah!

CAT IN THE HAT
Tell yourself
How lucky you are...

When your life's going wrong
When the fates are unkind
When you're limping along
And get kicked from behind
Tell yourself how lucky you are...

(THE CAT lets the WHOS fall a little more)

WHOS
Aaah!

CAT
Why decry a cloudy sky
An empty purse
A crazy universe?
My philosophy is simply
Things could be worse!

(The CAT sniffs the clover sneezes allergically - all over THE WHOS)

AH ... AH.. AH-CHOO!

(The WHOS react in disgust at being sneezed on)

WHOS
EWWW!

CAT
So be happy you're here.
Think of life as a thrill
CAT
And if worse comes to worse
(As we all know it will)
Thank your lucky star
You've gotten this far...

We're here in this beautiful theatre -

(To a child in the audience - obviously a rich kid!)

CAT
And you're in the first row!
(To audience)
How lucky to be in the theatre!
More lucky than you know!
You could have the luck of our hero
Whose luck has been running low

FOR CERTAIN!

Curtain!

(We see the huge pink clover field into which the WHOS have dropped)

HORTON
Oh, no!

CAT
How lucky you are!
How lucky, how lucky you are!

(THE CAT, WHOS and JOJO are gone, and HORTON stands alone)

(from Seussical, the Musical)

Interference

This is some of the most incredible, haunting music I've heard in a very long time. To the point where I am doing something I very seldom do: I'm looking for a way--any way--to get ahold of both albums, like, immediately. May have to get them as mp3 albums or something.

Oh yes, I will watch thees

See how many you can catch--

because this is all kinds of funny:

Bike update

Went for a 14 mile ride yesterday. Learned several things. First, it's been a while since I pulled up that long hill on the way home. Second, it's been a long time since I rode in 90-degree weather. Third, I need to start taking a camera with me. Fourth, Bicycling magazine gives me gear lust in a baaaaaaaad way. No matter how attractive a Scott CR1, it's probably not necessary for one with my skills (and income). heh.

But I would like one of these. Or these!

New Photos

so click through if you're interested. Featuring two little boys mostly.

Strawberries!

W & J brought home about 15 pounds. And they are goo-ooo-oood. Which means, among other things, pints & pints of strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberries & ice cream. Truth be known, she's kind of a strawberry fiend, and passed that quality along to The Little Boy.

All hail the Intarwebs

Managed to relatively painlessly administer cat eyedrops to Sidney, and fixed the water heater. Thanks to Google and all the helpful information you can find on d-i-y websites. Amazing: there's not a problem a homeowner confronts that hasn't been tackled by someone else--and discussed on an internet message board. huzzaah!

Phrases you never think you'll have to say

at the dinner table last night, from W to J:

Do not use your fork to scratch your foot, or any other part of your body.

In which Piers is saluted by the Grand Poo-Bah

I went out biking today for the first time in a month (seriously, I'm a slacker). It was a fine ride--I went down one of my favorite (dog-free) roads, covered a bit over 13 miles in 50 minutes. But the highlight of the ride was when I passed The Grand Pooh-Bah of West Tennessee Biking, the "I'm forty years older than you and could easily kick your ass," the legendary Phil Davis going the other way. And he gave me a wave/salute! I felt like a college girl getting a nod from Zac Efron or something!

Seriously, I never regret going out, as long as the weather permits. I'm afeared of going out when it's wet/rainy.

Thanks for the $$, Uncle Sam

We used almost all of it to cover the car repair. I guess we can look forward to another 110k miles' worth of trouble-free service!

110k miles in . . .

. . . the CR-V (Mollie) is finally costing us some serious money. Cracked radiator and timing belt. Bill is at $1600 and counting. I guess after almost seven years of faithful flawless service, we can grant her a multi-hundred repair bill.

Still, it makes me queasy.

Confession

I know that there are people for whom life isn't a struggle.  I also know that I am uncommonly blessed with a beautiful family, good relations with siblings and in-laws, a job I enjoy and find enormously satisfying, and dear friends who continue to enrich my life in so many ways.  

Yet here's the thing about where I find myself, at 34-1/2 years old:  there isn't a single area of my life where I don't perceive some struggle.  Living itself, from the getting up to the laying down, comes to me as a set of challenges, difficulties, problems to be confronted.  

Does something good happen, either by fortune or desert?  My reaction:  don't screw it up, Hill. 

Does the back yard look nice?  My reaction: better see if you can do something about those weeds over there--and remember, better check on the roses and the vegetables.  

Does someone tell me I'm impressive/wonderful/good?  My reaction:  thanks, but only if you knew the whole truth.  I'll try not to let you down, though.  

Do I enjoy a pleasurable moment with a loved one?  My reaction:  don't screw it up, Hill.

I can't remember a time when it wasn't this way, and only recently have I begun to realize that not everybody's mind works in these ruts.  Believe me, I'm not trying to claim any kind of mantle of advanced thoughtfulness or tortured artist syndrome.  Hayumbone always says that one of the ways to be the right kind of person is to know your own issues--so here it is.  One of my issues.  

I don't know why I decided to share this with you, but it's the truth.  I do try to be honest, at least.

Brentwood

Lovely, lovely Brentwood. One of the best places on Earth, yes it is. Second to Chapel Hill and Ocracoke, of course. Still, we always love being here. And the StarbucksBordersREIHarrisTeeterBarnes&NobleAllantiBicycleCompany, etc.

Meanwhile, back in West Tennessee, my grass is probably knee-high, my roses are probably eaten up by Japanese Beetles, and my herbs have probably all wilted due to lack of water. Yes, I'm planning loads of yard work for when we get back. It doesn't take many days on the road for my mind to be constantly back at home.

From Recent Reading

from Auden's New Year Letter, Part One:

O often, often must he face,
Whether the critics blame or praise,
Young, high-brow, popular or rich,
That summary tribunal which
In a perpetual session sits,
And answer, if he can, to its
Intense interrogation. Though
Considerate and mild and low
The voices of the questioners,
Although they delegate to us
Both prosecution and defence,
Accept our rules of evidence
And pass no sentence but our own,
Yet, as he faces them alone,
O who can show convincing proof
That he is worthy of their love?
Who ever rose to read aloud
Before that quiet attentive crowd
And did not falter as he read,
Stammer, sit down, and hang his head?

Birmingham Report

This city wears like an old favorite shirt: it's not for going out, but comfy, oh yes. Driving by Homewood & Samford & the (much improved) Brookwood Mall, W and I are struck with all kinds of good memories. She claims I started driving like we were in Buffy (her old '85 Accord) again, but I dispute that. I was just driving like a regular ol' 34-year-old English professor. Samford is a lot different now, much more built up & developed. It's been 11 years since we finally left; doesn't really seem possible.

Anyway, it's the same and very different all at once. Pretty much like one would expect.

To Birmingham

We leave in a while. The yard: unmowed. The flowers: will be infested with Japanese Beetles. The cats: boarded at the vet. Gas: will be expensive. Piers: taking some books. No plans, now.

I've got a pain on my head

Where my dermatologist cut off a chunk, and then sewed up the wound. The Little Boy spotted the bandage in the first millisecond after I walked in the door, and of course wanted to know how I'd hurt myself on my forehead.

&%@*# skin cancer.

On the upside, we've been puttering in the yard & garden today. Which means more dreaded sun exposure, now that I think about it.

&%@*# skin cancer.

Oh, this is sobering.

A scary diagnosis ("moribund") and a scary call for change ("adopt the methods of the sciences") in my profession. I've got some thinking to do about all this, and by the way, the MLA has its head in the sand. Not that I'm surprised.

Mother's Day

Here's a brief film clip in tribute. There's only one person who can make either of the boys this happy. And it ain't Piers.

Jack Wilton's ordeal

Still not fully better. Helpdesk Man says he repaired it and it seems to be working better (it failed again yesterday after I posted that it was better), but he needs me to use it some to see if it acts up again. I'm at home, though, so I don't know that I'll get to it today.

The cherry: the three-year faculty computer rotation is now the four-year faculty computer rotation, so I'm not getting a new MacBook this summer like I thought. Blame the budget crisis, I guess. I just hope Jack doesn't have something terminal, like UNIX. haha.

Adventures With Students, Vol. 18

It's time to review some comments from evaluations! Here are the highlights:

• A laugh every class period is nice
• Passion and Enthusiasm in your lectures were amazing. You could make something boring exciting and look good while doing it. . . He is so willing to sit down and help without making you feel dumb for asking. Plus, he can totally pull of green pants!
• Penshurst BORING! (required)
• You're [sic] enthusiasm is contagious. The fact that you love what you are teaching almost forces us to like it.
• He does not talk down to his students; he is very easy going and eccentric in a good way.
• How can I not love a class that referenced The Princess Bride or Monty Python nearly every week? Not to mention the zombies.
• Group projects blow.
• I didn't really like this course [Utopian thought] at all. I find it foolish to study something that can't exist . . . It is foolish to divide an English class into groups. It's not like writing is a team sport. (I know who wrote this one)
  
• I didn't care for Plato . . . but seriously . . . who does?
• Dr. Hill was very funny. I would have laughed at his jokes if the class wasn't so early [8:00].

Jack's Back

sooooo, looks like I complained a bit too soon. They got it fixed in a jiffy. Huzzah for Helpdesk!

After the lights go out

For some reason, it has been extra hard to see this group of students move on and away for the summer. Even though I'll be seeing some of my favorites again in the fall. Oops, am I supposed to have favorites?

Jack Wilton, hospitalized

My faithful PowerBook, Jack Wilton, had to go into the computer hospital today. He'd been hacking for a week or so, and based on some research I did, I'm pretty sure it's an infection somewhere in his RAM.

So I took him in, and explained what I'd been doing to the guy at the helpdesk. Ruh-roh. Picture it: behind Sir Help Desk, two guys are playing GranTurismo on a shiny black PS3. In the corner a woman is playing WoW. Sir Helpdesk has Counterstrike on the XBox 360 behind *him.* And does he listen to a word I say? No. He asks for my contact information, and hands me a little printout. "It might be a while. They might have to buy a part."

Tech Support and bike stores: abandon hope of being treated like you know anything, all ye who enter.

And I'm without my computer! Is it sad that I feel naked without it?

Adventures with Students, Vol. 17

So here at the end of the term, you get the odd tribute or funny comment from one of your students. In a self evaluation from one of my composition students:

Dr Hill quote of the year: 'So help me, if you read those damn slides to me, I will crucify you.'

Glad to make an impression.

We got flowers

Planted Azaleas last year. Happy to announce that they're doing pretty well:

Adventures with Students, Vol. 16

I know that I talk a much tougher game than I actually follow through with. I know I'm a softie, giving students the benefit of the doubt more than I perhaps should. At this stage in my career, it's perhaps a good thing that I'm not completely jaded. Perhaps.

That said, when a student in an upper-level english class gives me two blankety-blank pages for a term paper, I begin to get a little frustrated. So, to vent (and in homage to the FARK):

In which Piers breaks his blog embargo

. . . but what does he have to say??

hmmm.

In lieu of insight, I present recent pictures of the boys:

Life with Two, Vol. 2

Little Boy yesterday morning before I go off to work: "I don't want you to go to work."

Little Boy yesterday afternoon at around 3:30, calling me on the phone: "when are you coming home?"

thanks a lot, kid. way to encourage the old man.

from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

On stoic moral philosophy:

The virtuous life is free of all passions, which are intrinsically disturbing and harmful to the soul, but includes appropriate emotive responses conditioned by rational understanding and the fulfillment of all one's personal, social, professional, and civic responsibilities. The Stoics believed that the person who has achieved perfect consistency in the operation of his rational faculties, the "wise man," is extremely rare, yet serves as a prescriptive ideal for all. The Stoics believed that progress toward this noble goal is both possible and vitally urgent.

sometimes you find yourself off the map,

and that's when you have to walk without comfort, without rest, with only conscience or honor to guide.

The legend grows

Those two jump shots Hansbrough made in the closing minutes of that game on Saturday. Wow.

Wild hope springs up, then perishes as quickly

Got the new cambridge university press catalog last week. I open it up, and lo! A new edition of George Herbert's English Poems! Eureka! Gotta have it!

And look! Even better--a new, fully annotated edition of the Martin Marprelate Tracts! Wow, what a haul. The two poles of my research interests, both represented in brand new scholarly editions! What wonderful additions to my library!

except that each book is 150 bloody dollars. Well, hell. I can't even justify having our library here at school, with its limited resources, buy these two.

$150!!! Curses!

Life with Two, Vol. 1

I don't think there's any need to interpret these.

Go look at the pictures.

What happens when we get pictures of animals up close and personal.

link.

Here Comes Car'lina, lina

we hail from NCU
we got the team to win it
we got the spirit in it
we wear the colors white & blue

so it's fight, fight, fight for carolina
like davie did in days of old
as we rally 'round the bell
cheer that tar heel team like hell
for the glory of NCU!

Signs of Spring

from the backyard:

Got a new camera

With about 500 different settings on it. A Canon Powershot A570 or something. Which means that my photos will be 3% better!

Yes, it's a slow day for news.

Astrophil & Stella #27

Because I oft in darke abstracted guise
Seeme most alone in greatest company,
With dearth of words, or answers quite awrie,
To them that would make speech of speech arise;
They deeme, and of their doome the runour flies,
That poison foul of bubbling pride doth lie
So in my swelling breast, that only I
Fawne on my selfe, and others do despise.
Yet pride I thinke doth not my soule possesse
(Which looks too oft in his vnflatt'ring glasse):
But one worse fault, ambition, I confesse,
That makes me oft my best friends ouerpasse,
Vnseene, vnheard, while thought to highest place
Bends all his powers, euen vnto Stellaes grace.

From today's Inbox

the best swapshop request ever:

Subject: [Swapshop] iso companion animal for my donkey

I am looking for a mini donkey or a goat to keep my donkey (gelded jack) company. He is lonely after losing his horse friend who had to be put down. Prefer female.

Hugo Project, Vol. 9

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein--Hugo winner for 1967

Our weekend in the hospital allowed me to read the increasingly exciting final 2/3 of the novel.

I've decided that Heinlein is really good at dialogue, and that he usually has one older cranky guru character whose job it is to lay out (often in pseudo-humorous fashion) the libertarian messages at the heart of his novels. This one is really, really good. I especially enjoyed the Russian-English pidgin that he uses for the narrator's voice. It works.

It's polemical science fiction, for sure--but one sees in reading his work how far from being mere fluff, well-written sci-fi can be a vehicle for compelling ideas.

This one's a classic, for sure. TANSTAAFL!

More Baby Pictures

if you're interested.

My only regret is that I didn't pick this up 10 years ago

For the first time since November, I took my bike out on the roads. Covered about 17-1/2 miles; the weather was wonderful. The money I've spent on bike and assorted 'gear' has proven a fantastic investment. There's nothing like being outside.

Day 6 Report

• Hair update: probably closer to strawberry blonde than red-red. Check out the mohawk!
  
• All the plumbing is working. In contrast to the big trouble we had with JD and his eating, we've had a remarkably easy time with AC. He learned to "latch on" really well, and W is experiencing no pain.
• JD gets a bit nervous when AC lodges his complaints. This morning he folded his arms and said, "hmph! I don't like it when people cry!"
• We got JD a little "brag book" and put some pictures in it; he took it to his preschool yesterday and proudly showed off.
• Simon is curious about all the goings on. Sidney is pretending that nothing's different.
• Got 5 hours of sleep last night; I think W got considerably less than that, but she's pretty good about catching naps when she can.
• At mealtimes, JD wants to have AC on the floor in his bouncy seat right next to this chair, and he's very attentive to details like turning the switch on & off.
• This morning, JD was only going to be satisfied with some "special time with mommy," so Piers stayed in the bedroom with AC for just a little while.

OK, I have to post this one itsy bitsy thing

GreenFacial, originally uploaded by ZekeSmith.

posterized. To channel Inigo Montoya, "humiliations galore!"

(for extra fun, check out the faces in the crowd)

We Brought Home a Redhead

Mommy and the New Little Boy (Andrew Christopher Hill, born 7th of March) are sleeping on the couch. The first Little Boy is tearing around the house with Honey--thank goodness she's here!

Still working on pictures, but for now, here are a few:

.mac picture page

More to come.

It's soooo true

Grad School.

from one of my new favorite blogs: Stuff White People Like.

Right Before the Baby

just a few pictures of kitties, mommy, little boy:

Horace Says . . .

You know how people lose their way in the woods-
one goes wandering off to the left, another to the right;
both are equally wrong, though each has strayed in a different
direction. So you may rest assured that if you're to be counted
mad the fellow who laughs at you is no saner himself.
He too has straw in his hair.

Book II, Satire 3, 48-53

Steady as she goes, part 2

Well, the emotional struggle I detailed below has calmed, and I now find myself in a good position--because it seemed like a challenge. And in response to that challenge, I find that I'm working and teaching with a new passion--reading more, speaking with more self-assurance, even doing paperwork with more alacrity. So. We'll try to keep up the momentum, yes?

Steady as she goes

Today is the day for angry students. I'm not sure what I did to merit the hostility I received from more than one quarter today, but it has happened. I'll admit that I'm extra sensitive to these kinds of reactions--I (fairly or not) see myself as a person whose position here is justified in large part because of my good relationships with students. And when I start getting the evil eye from a student or two that I thought I was on good terms with? It's unnerving.

No thanks, I'll pass

From today's email inbox:

As part of the Civil Rights Conference, the Counseling Center is sponsoring an activity called "Caps of Distinction." This interactive workshop provides an opportunity for students to experience what it would be like to have a different identity and enhances empathy for others. It provides valuable preparation for participating in a multicultural workforce and functioning within a diverse campus community.

Unfortunately, we have had very little response to this activity. We are suggesting that professors offer extra credit for this experience and/or bring a class to the workshop, which will be held Tuesday at 11 am in the University Center. The workshop will last for one hour. Certificates of Attendance will be available.

Please contact us by NOON on MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25th to let us know if you are planning to have students attend. We need a minimum of 15 students for this to be a worthwhile exercise, so we will cancel if an insufficient number of students are signed up. It would be a shame for our students to miss the opportunity to learn about others who are different than they are - this is crucial knowldge in today's world. Please CALL the Counseling Center (7720) on Monday morning to let us know if you wish to have students participate.

Thank you.

[emphasis mine] At least this kind of thing is still voluntary at my institution. If it fails this year, however, I can foresee a change in policy.

This is the coolest thing I've seen in a long time

bookshelf/staircase.

Probably says a lot about me.

It is Strange

to be two weeks away from an event that will change our lives so completely. I stood with The Little Boy in the bathroom as he was "brushing" his teeth (mostly sucking the toothpaste off the brush, argh) the other night and realized that our cozy little family was about to change dramatically. It's a good thing, but it's irrevocable--and I think perhaps knowing that makes me want to look back and treasure what's been.

Juvenal says...

Still, if you must have something to pray for . . .
. . .then ask
For a sound mind in a sound body, a valiant heart
Without fear of death, that reckons longevity
The least among Nature's gifts, that's strong to endure
All kinds of toil, that's untainted by lust and anger,
That prefers the sorrows and labours of Hercules to all
Sardanapalus' downy cushions and women and junketings.
What I've shown you, you can find by yourself: there's one
Path, and one only, to a life of peace--through virtue.
Fortune has no divinity, could we but see it: it's we,
We ourselves, who make her a goddess, and set her in the heavens.

(Satire X, lines 354-366; trans. Peter Green 1967)

It isn't often that a player at a school like this gets national notice

. . . which probably makes it sweeter for Lester Hudson, a guard for the UTM Skyhawks. I've seen him play in a couple of games. Yes, he's good.

I'm going to study these just as a refresher

Rules for Handling Your New Baby.

This is the kind of email I like to see

"Due to low enrollment, the Listening Skills, Delegation Skills, Teambuilding, and Giving & Receiving Feedback training sessions have been cancelled."

Translation: folks correctly saw these "training sessions" as enormous wastes of time, so we've admitted the obvious.

This blog needs pictures

and since we're three weeks away, I give you the obligatory older sibling and mommy tummy pictures:

Hugo Project, Vol. 8

Clifford Simak, Way Station. Hugo winner for 1964.

A cold-war novel unsurprisingly concerned with the possibility of nuclear war--plot features a Civil War veteran who has been chosen to run a galactic "way station" by which various alien species travel through our arm of the Milky Way. Thus, it's a novel of 'first contact' even as it deploys the familiar "are we humans civilized enough to join the rest of the galaxy" motif.

Life with a Little Boy, Vol. 7

Overheard in my house tonight, both in quick succession:

Get your hands out of your behind

Get your nose out of the toilet

Is there a Person Behind Here Somewhere?

I have decided that February is where each spring semester goes to die. Is there a good reason for it? Not that I can determine. But it seems that every February, about a month into the spring semester, I turn into the Troll Under the Bridge. Moaning Myrtle (or the Whomping Willow). Puddleglum. The thing to do, of course, is ride it out and not let it 'get' to me. If only it were that easy.

The Little Boy had a hard weekend--seemed that he couldn't settle down, couldn't stop whining, couldn't resist tearing his books and throwing his toys. Yesterday was hard too. I came home from work and wrestled with him, which seemed to really help. We recognize that part of what's going on is that mommy can't play like she used to, and that's hard. I have to step in and help.

Haven't been on the bike since right before the tornado sirens last week. I do love getting to ride, even if I don't move an inch. It's fun how we can turn on the DVD, watch Looney Tunes or Sesame Street, Old School, and that helps the miles fly by. Usually I go for 10-12 miles at a time. But should I drag it out today? Yes. Will I?

On the docket for this week: Roman and English satire, Astrophil and Stella, Shakespeare sonnets, Utopia, the Faerie Queene. I wish I could tell you the last time I sat down and did any true "academic" work in the sense of research & writing. I also have to go to this all-day meeting on Friday. I know it's a worthy thing to do, and I know I asked for it--but when I read the theme "Good Educational Practice Emphasizes Time on Task" I had flashbacks to ed-school classes back in college. What the blankety-blank does that mean anyway?

See? The troll under the bridge. Bah.

Here's an email that I don't even need to read to know that it's going into the trash

Subject: [campus-l] Expand Your Students' Awareness

Two for a laugh

First, from a website hawking this book, this gem. Note especially the last line here:

Having argued that democracy has failed humanity, the authors go even further and demonstrate that this failure can easily lead to authoritarianism without our even noticing. Even more provocatively, they assert that there is merit in preparing for this eventuality if we want to survive climate change. They are not suggesting that existing authoritarian regimes are more successful in mitigating greenhouse emissions, for to be successful economically they have adopted the market system with alacrity. Nevertheless, the authors conclude that an authoritarian form of government is necessary, but this will be governance by experts and not by those who seek power.

How comforting. I can rest knowing that the "experts" are in charge.

Second, from an email inviting me to submit an abstract to an upcoming conference on George Herbert:

Having sent out more general announcements, we are writing specifically to you as a prominent scholar in the field in order to invite your particular participation as a panel member or a panel chair. We would be pleased to receive from you a proposal either for a 15-20 minute conference paper, or for a full 3-person panel.
We are familiar with and confident in the quality of your work, and your paper would be in the first tier of those to be considered for the published proceedings of the conference—the presses of both the University of Delaware and of Baylor University have expressed interest.

How come nobody told me I'm all of a sudden a prominent scholar? And when did this happen? I could have used this in my performance assessment meeting the other day!

This brings back memories.

Lego Timeline

My brother and I had that spaceship!

Job Evaluation Done

looks like they won't fire me this year!

Two things we learned last night

1. Cats do not like being confined in the hall bathroom with three people for over half an hour.
2. Little Boys react to tension and stress by crashing around the house, shrieking, and generally carrying on. Barking at them to be quiet is generally unhelpful.
   

From the hall bathroom

. . . it's tornado day in Martin, TN. You just know that when it's 70 degrees in early February, bad weather is in store.

6:00 Update: Dinner of pb&j while we wait for the siren to go off again.

8:00 Update: We turned off the TV after listening to the new weatherman get *ahem* aroused by the "supercells" and "reflectivity" and "wind vectors" for about an hour. Folks in Jackson (an hour south of here) got slammed. We've had nothing really dangerous pass through our part of Weakley Co.

9:00 Update: Union University in Jackson has been pretty much wiped out. No fatalities as far as they can tell (Dr. Dockery, the university president, is on the TV right now).

The Last Word on that Super Bowl

Which we enjoyed tremendously, and not just because of that fantastic 3rd down sack-escape-heave-helmet-catch in the waning moments of the game. I told folks who asked that I'd rather the Giants win, because I don't cotton to cheaters or poor sports. I think TMQ, a column I read religiously, sums it up best:

This column has been harsh this season on Belichick, New England management and NFL officialdom. That's not a reflection of my feelings about the Patriots, who are terrific -- it's a reflection of my feelings about cheating. Integrity matters. Neither football nor any other competitive sport will long stay popular or important if spectators cannot be sure whether what they are seeing is real competition or some rigged junk like the erstwhile World Wrestling Federation. We need food and shelter; we don't need sports; we will only care about sports if we know the competition is authentic, fair, and based on high standards of integrity and sportsmanship.

When it comes to the Seven Deadly Sins . . .

. . . is there really any question? Since they don't have 'grumpiness,' it must be . . .

Which of the Seven Deadly Sins Are You?

Wrath -- You have a lot of anger in yourself. Go see a therapist.
Take this quiz!








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I'm into biking and all,

so naturally this caught my eye:

HS student builds all-wood bicycle.

sweet.

(ignore obligatory snark in comments section)

This Blog Needs Pictures

So, I give you two pictures involving Life with a Little Boy:

First, a boy and his kitty, watching Sesame Street:


Second, well, what can I say? Note the many details:

If you remember the infamous "Balikbayan Box"

then you'll love this.

Here's a meeting theme to make your heart race

I offhandedly volunteered last term for service on this year's "Teaching Scholars Institute," a cooperative effort between UTM, MSU, and WKU focusing on a yearly meeting. Well, I just received the preparation materials, and here's what we'll be spending the day discussing:

"Good practice in undergraduate education emphasizes time on task."

Now you just know I'm looking forward to spending a whole Friday on that!

The Induction to the Mirror for Magistrates

Hawthorn had lost his motley livery,
The naked twigs were shivering all for cold;
And dropping down the tears abundantly,
Each thing (methought) with weeping eye me told
The cruel season, bidding me withhold
Myself within, for I was gotten out
Into the fields, whereas I walked about.

(stanza 3)

a good set of lines for a rainy day in late January

"Fishing for Purpose"

I used to read Erin O'Connor's blog faithfully, until she shut it down. Here, she has some interesting stuff to say about why the humanities matter and why certain recent arguments (by a very prominent "English" professor) don't hold much water.

Hugo Project, #7

The Diamond Age, by Neal Stephenson. Winner of the 1996 Hugo.

I'm a big fan of Stephenson's work. It's dense, challenging, and written with a subtle humor that sometimes takes me completely off guard. This one is set in Shanghai and deals mostly with nanotechnology and the use of fairy tales. No Enoch Root in this one, as best as I can tell.

Piers Wonders

why there is an AAUW (American Association of University Women) flyer posted in the men's restroom on the second floor.

Academic Freedom, my arse

of course, an ag school in NW Tennessee is more or less insulated from this kind of stuff, but as a professor who is becoming known for chasing rabbits and (a little) sardonic humor, this scares the s*** out of me.

Preschool update

Some of you may remember our angst a few months ago about The Little Boy's experiences at the day care. Well, we muddled through last semester with him going as little as possible. W did find him a slot at the day-care center run by the university, and yesterday was his first day.

What an amazing difference!

He went in with nary a whimper, evidently had a great day (even took a nap!), and came home singing and laughing. W's joy and relief are wondrous to behold.

I visited when we picked him up yesterday afternoon. It's a nice facility, well-run, attractive, and--important for him--quiet and orderly. Wow!

If you care about free expression

then this should be on your current reading/watching list.

From Lileks's Bleat page:

When the government calls you in to ask what was in your mind when you published something, here’s how you respond.

With apologies to those who find this kind of thing tiresome.

Adventures with Students, Vol. 15

I saw it happen yesterday about ten minutes into my opening of my upper-level 16th century lit class. One student totally checked out. It was a subtle shift in body language, but when I got back in my office I commented to W: "I've got one that will drop either today or tomorrow."

Sure enough: today, 1:49 pm--Drop or Withdrawal Notification

I called it!a

MacBook Air

despite the cheezy name,

WANT

This has the potential of becoming my Major Soapbox

a plan for students & staff to be compelled to sign a code of behavior at Bergen Community College. Bravo to those faculty willing to defy the BCC administration.

This is an important weekend

because it's the NFL divisional playoffs weekend, our last full helping of football before September comes back around. Snow on the ground at Lambeau for the Packers-Seahawks game. Awesome.

You say you want to look like a Bond villain?

well, Brooks Brothers has your look.

Thinking about the way language makes me think

What would happen if I were to take a break from the typical kinds of language I use to describe challenges--struggle, difficulty, painful--and instead force myself (for instance, when I write in my daily journal every morning) to write about challenge or pushing myself or even bring it on?

I recognize that inasmuch as I thought last term was difficult, the main difficulty was in the way I was thinking and reacting, not so much the actual events. In retrospect, I could have saved myself a lot of heartache by being less concerned with the way it all didn't 'feel' exactly right.

So now I'm on my way to being a Pollyanna, right?

3rd Quarter in the BCS Bowl

and it looks like OSU is in dee-eee-eeep trouble. Not saying they'll lose, but their meltdown on LSU's first possession of the half can't inspire confidence.

Life with a Little Boy, v. 6

Here is a list of characters we have been instructed to impersonate over this past week:

Curious George
The Man in the Yellow Hat
Blue (from Blue's Clues)
Magenta (ditto)
"Lightming" McQueen (from Cars)
Sally (from Cars)
'Mater (from Cars)

and he's consistent--no breaking of character!

ACC Basketball

it's going to be the death of me yet

Hugo Project #6

Ringworld, by Larry Niven (1970 Hugo winner)

Unlike the previous items in this project, this is true "hard" science fiction. Interesting aliens too!

It's also a trip reading this book and playing Halo at the same time. The senses of scale are different, naturally, but--ringworlds are ringworlds.

Life with a little boy, v.5

This week, while Piers is not at work, The Little Boy and I have been working on important boy skills:

1. swordfighting with balloon swords
2. kung-fu
3. air guitar