Two observations

1) There are a remarkable number of cars that careen in to people’s houses around here. Often these accidents are occurring in 20-25 mph zones. As Leia would say, “Whyyyyy?”

2) The Phillies won the World Series! Pigs are now cleared for take-off on runway #5. No, seriously, I think this calls for a celebratory dinner, perhaps in Philly sometime, preferably with plenty of Philly friends. Phreinds? You get the idea…..

The Language Log has a great entry, entitled, Phinally!

Read Full Post »

A stunning use of readability formulae

I’m still laughing: who would have thought to thresh Lionel Ritchie’s “Three Times a Lady” through Flesch-Kincaid and the SMOG index?

This paper would!

And who would have thought that Ritchie’s song would score “better” than ABBA’s “Dancing Queen”?

The only bad thing is that I shouldn’t be drinking alcohol before teaching an evening class. Drat.

Read Full Post »

A few fewer watchmen

From the NY Times, just now:

New Jersey, a petri dish of corruption, will have to make do with 40 percent fewer reporters at The Star-Ledger, one of the few remaining cops on the beat. The Los Angeles Times, which toils under Hollywood’s nose, has one movie reviewer left on staff. And dozens of communities served by Gannett will have fewer reporters and editors overseeing the deeds and misdeeds of local government and businesses.

Oy.  For the full article, go here.

Read Full Post »

I’m grading..

And yet I’ve probably had a better day than the poor fellow who reviews perfumes for the NY Times.  What’s he been sniffing?  Danielle Steel, apparently, and it’s just as bad as you suspected:

Review of Danielle Steel Perfume

Pardon me while I go back to marveling at what students think will impress me.

Read Full Post »

More workmen in the attic

Sounds above:

{Thud}

{Crunch}

{Assorted rolling noises}

{Thud}

“…I have NO idea what that is….”

Eventually, two of the workmen come downstairs, coughing. Are any of them wearing dust protection?  Of course not.  Personally, I prefer to keep my inhalation of fiberglass to a minimum, but I’m not in charge of their choices.

Read Full Post »

Sorting things out

The image on the right is not compositted.

It’s a view Gold Medal Park, out the south windows of the “Endless Bridge” off the back of the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis.  The window frames are deep, and lined with polished metal, so a picture out those windows gives you a strip of “real” surrounded on several sides with distorted, flipped images of the areas above, below and to the side of that central “real” piece.

It’s also a great representation of how it feels to come back from a conference to a string up upcoming home repairs, student papers, mid-term work, a wedding to attend, an another conference later in the month:  where am I looking?  What’s the priority action? Is our economy on the fast track to creatively re-enact Argentina in the 80’s?

• The R&S students need to be told about their mid-term task; they need to find their informants ASAP
• The CME students need to be reminded that the syllabus says “Post to Blackboard each week”
• Find the insulation estimate
• Pray the HVAC contractor doesn’t call during lecture
• Get food for dinner
• Worry about the people who have followed jobs and spouses in to financial quagmires
• Remember the roses are still blooming, and the chrysanthemums are beautiful

Read Full Post »

Back from the Midwest

Yeah, you betcha I had a great time — Minnesota is a lovely state, the conference I was attending is always a pleasure, and the weather was quite lovely until this morning, when it was cold and drizzly, and I had to drag my suitcase through the rain to the metro stop, because roads were blocked for the annual Marathon.

As I waited and dripped in the plexiglass station shelter, prying the chocolate frosted donut out of the styrofoam cereal dish [Originally it had seemed a good idea to put it in frosting-side-down, so the frosting wouldn’t stick to the napkins on top of the bowl], it occured to me that the runners were probably going to be much, much, MUCH more inconvenienced than I was.

Useful link: Dale Sullivan’s blog of his time at Arhus University, in Denmark.  This is where the conference will be next August.  So we have months of scheming ahead to figure out how to fund such an adventure.

I’ll have more about the trip tomorrow.  Right now, I will lie in my own sweet bed tonight….

Music:  Eleanor McEvoy [sp?] and the Indigo Girls [which I have to confess is how I know where the Mississippi starts…]

Read Full Post »