Any chance it could be due at 10?

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...

Joe - sorry to pester you again! A reward is headed your way.

Rachel - you were exactly right about how to handle #4. To you I dedicate my last Girl Scout thin mint.

Words Written: come on, come on, just a few more hours...
Lessons Graded: zero, and they're not happy
Books on Floor: twenty (getting flustered)

five questions answered

John at CatholicPackerFan interviewed me for the "Five Question Interview" meme. (Lots of memes circulating these days.)

Lemming:
1. You are a Hoosier blogger, what is your favorite Indiana landmark or place? Why?

Landmark: probably the Soldiers' and Sailors' Memorial in downtown Indianapolis.
Place: I really enjoy visiting downtown Nashville, particularly in the fall.

2. Respond to the age old historical agrument: 'Does the time in history make or break the person/leader, or does the person/leader make or break the times in history?'

Yes.

Some people are very good at handling crisis and would be good leaders in any situation. Franklin Roosevelt is an easy example of this.

Other people learn when the times or the crisis are thrust upon them; I think these folks often have terrific support from their families in making this transition. Though I don't agree with all that he has done, I think the current president is an excellent example of someone who, when presented with a crisis, has learned to consult with others to cope with the times; had he been president in another era, say the mess of the 1850s, I don't know if he would have dealt as well.

The 1840s and 1850s were not easy times to be president.

3. You enjoy an interest in history, what are your 5 favorite historical books or texts?

You asked for "favorite" rather than best, so here they are:

A MidWife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based Upon Her Diary, 1785-1812 by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich - so you think the lives of ordinary people boring? Think again!
Masquerade: The Life and Times of Deborah Sampson, Continental Soldier by Alfred Young - an extraordinary woman in her own right, made mroe so by the time in which she lived
Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball - Ball is from a Southern family, and traces his ancestors back to plantation days. he then traces slave families owned by his and determines that at least some of them are cousins of his.
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris - it's massive and thick, but well written and loads of fun
Nerd alert! Notable American Women eds. James, James and Boyer - this is a four volume collection of short biographies of, as the title suggests, interesting American women. Some of them are women you've heard of, some are relatively obscure. This is great reading in the same way that an encyclopedia can be great reading; you start by looking up on item and end up reading about a dozen others. I'm also partial to this set because it's very much of its time. The first three volumes drew upon lists composed in the 1960s when our ideas and ideals about women were shifting, and the choices and writing reflect these shifts. Probably some people find this annoying, but the obvious shifts throughout endear the books to me that much more.

4. What are your 5 favorite novels or fictional works?

I reread Pride and Prejudice at least twice a year, so I suppose that makes it my favorite novel. Each time I take away something new.

I don't really have favorite books so much as favorite authors. I'm very fond of the Narnia books and the Harry Potter series. They're adventure stories, with plenty to teach me about bravery in the face of adversity and the many different kinds of love. Ellis Peters' Brother Cadfael mysteries are terrific, as are the works of Robertson Davies. I first had to read his Fifth Business for high school English and liked it so much that I read the rest of the trilogy right away.

5. You are a dog owner, how did you come to own your dog?

Sam is a shelter adoptee and thus a recycled dog. When I walked into the "dog area" there were twenty or thirty dogs, all of them barking and yapping with excitement. Sam simply stood there, looking at me carefully. When I walked up to his pen, Sam wagged his tail and looked happy to see me, but still didn't jump or cause a commotion. I think I adopted him and he me in that moment, before we'd even taken a walk together.

All right, there's mine. We need to complete the Indiana bloggers cycle on this one. Greg and "Rob this means you. Contact Hugh or me for questions - not John, he's already had his turn. Any and all other takers welcome!

Words Written: working as fast as I can
Lessons Graded: five
Books on Floor: three

four days and counting

It has come to my attention that for a second week in a row, this blog recieved no visits between 4:00 AM and 4:59 AM. I am delighted to learn that all of you, whatever your time zones, are asleep, working, or otherwise occupied constructively at that hour.

Sent my advisor (may he live forever) the first two pages of Chapter One - the one that's due in less than three days. His reply includes the phrase "syntactical nightmare" but does conclude with the phrase "good luck" and his confidence.

ulp!

Words Written: not enough
Lessons Graded: seventeen
Books on Floor: five

"Won't Give In" (c/o the Finn Bros)

#4 hates Chapter Two. "It's better than Chaper One" which is a classic example of damning with faint praise.

So I've spent the day revising while annoyed which has, much as I hate to say it, resulted in trimming out lots of dross and fluff.

Words Written: five hundred and ninety-six
Lessons Graded: four
Books on Floor: five
Books thrown across the room: seven

yet another meme

Drew says that you can't count states if you're only driven through them. Sorry, Drew, but the two days spent driving across Nebraska means that it counts, even if I visited zero tourist locations or historic landmarks during that time. (Wait, I take it back; there was a buffalo sculpture made out of recycled barbed wire at one of the rest areas.)

bold the states you've been to, underline the states you've lived in and italicize the state you're in now...

Alabama / Alaska / Arizona / Arkansas / California / Colorado / Connecticut / Delaware / Florida / Georgia / Hawaii / Idaho / Illinois / Indiana / Iowa / Kansas / Kentucky / Louisiana / Maine / Maryland / Massachusetts / Michigan / Minnesota / Mississippi / Missouri / Montana / Nebraska / Nevada / New Hampshire / New Jersey / New Mexico / New York / North Carolina / North Dakota / Ohio / Oklahoma / Oregon / Pennsylvania / Rhode Island / South Carolina / South Dakota / Tennessee / Texas / Utah / Vermont / Virginia / Washington / West Virginia / Wisconsin / Wyoming / Washington D.C /

Go HERE to have a form generate the HTML for you.

Words Written: one hundred and four
Lessons Graded: zero
Books on Floor: floor covered in paper so it's hard to tell

in threes?

I dreamed last night about my upcoming lunch with #3. We were eating lunch at the zoo, in front of the koalas. (Note: the local zoo is terrific, but has no koalas.)

#3 kept asking detailed questions about the influence of Eric Idle in my fourth chapter (which exists only in my head and has nothing to do with Mr. Idle.) I've had this dream before, though the koalas are new.

When working on my senior honors thesis, I had a reoccuring dream about green monsters jumping around a classroom. During qualifying exams, I frequently dreamed about Mamie Eisenhower. Of the three, I suppose having lunch at the zoo is probably the least alarming.

Words Written: zero in the computer, lots of random jotting on scraps of paper
Lessons Graded: twelve
Books on Floor: nine (really, I'm trying to write!)

ten things meme

(catches blogging ball thrown by Greg)

"Ten (OK, Eight) Things I've Done That You Probably Haven't Done"

1) Named a dog after an opera star
2) Read the entire primary documents collection for the Shaker village of North Union, Ohio.
3) Survived an entire Indiana summer without air conditioning
4) Spent more than $50 on photocopies at once, all in dimes
5) Fed milk to baby gerbils with an eyedropper
6) Graded an exam completed in eyeliner pencil (the student ran out of pens)
7) My first legal drink was purchased for me by a priest
8) Written a research paper for which I had to read a hundred or so romance novels

Well, that's eight, at least.

(throws ball back into play)

Words Written: zero (sigh)
Lessons Graded: twenty
Books on Floor: seven

theme of the month

February is Black History Month. March is Woman's History Month. I didn't do any special posts on Black History nor will I blog specially about Women's History this month because I am of the obnoxious opinion that both topics are something we should think about every day, not just 28 (29) or 31 days out of the year.

What's really exciting about this obnoxious opinion of mine is that it's now possible. Students who land in my classes may not know how to use the apostrophe correctly, but nearly all of them are at least generally familiar with some important men and women of all colors. I know that this wasn't true 10-15 years ago.

It's my job to broaden what students know. Many have at least heard of Sojouner Truth and her work on the lecture circuit. Few know that she was born a slave in New York, successfully sued to recover a son who had been sold illegally, and lived for a time as the cook for a religious community with some unusual ideas and practices. This means that she's great as an example of several critical trends, movements and changes of teh period, as well as being a woman worthy of attention.

OK, OK, so I did sort of combine the two themes for today's post, but Truth is someone I'd post about in May or Ocrtober, just because she was very cool.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero - not good
Books on Floor: one

on a more serious note

Staughton Lynd has an editorial essay up at History News Network titled Should a Soldier Who Changes His Mind About War Have a Right to Status as a Conscientious Objector? article

(Italics in this post are long quotations from the article.)

He notes that conscientious objection comes in two official forms, though I suspect there are varients of both. One objector is someone who is drafted and refuses to serve because of their religious training and belief. Conscientious objection thus defined is tailored to the subculture of certain small--and thus politically unimportant--Protestant groups: Quakers, Amish, Mennonites, members of the Church of the Brethren, Hutterites. (Viewers of Matewan will remember the tale of Hutterite objectors to World War I who were chained to the bars of their cells at Fort Leavenworth, where two of them died.) Many Jehovah's Witnesses also practice conscientious objection.

I think this is the group most of us think of when the phrase comes up. I'm a little uneasy with "belief" - shouldn't it be possible to be anagnostic or aethist and still believe that violence and war are wrong?

The harder group to define for civilians and certainly for military are the folks who have already served in a combat situation and refuse a direct order. Conscientious objectors in a voluntary military are self-evidently something different. If they come to object to war in any form, it will be on the basis of their firsthand experience in a particular war in which they have been asked to take part. If my commanding officer orders me to shoot, I am supposed to shoot, except that I am also supposed to keep certain basic ethics in mind. What to do when the CO's orders contradict my perception of a situation?

My own struggle comes with the soldiers who joined the National Guard to pay for college and are now upset about serving overseas. I sympathize with the difficulty of putting your life and career on hold for a year (or more) and the challenges posed. As the war continues, employers struggle to keep jobs open for the soldiers' return while still getting done that which must be done at home. At the same time, I don't understand how anyone could sign up for the National Guard, particularly after 9/11, and not expect to see duty overseas. The word "patriotic" gets over-used a lot these days, but I would argue that having volunteered for the army, it is your patriotic duty to serve.

I greatly admire those who serve and have the courage to keep to their convictions, whether spending their spare time teaching orphans to play chess or blowing the whistle; I'm just not sure that either one is getting full due.

Lynd's piece is thought-provoking and if you have a moment, I'd urge you all to read it. Disclaimer: yes, he has a left-wing bias. We're all biased in one way or another. It's called being human.

Words Written: five hundred and six
Lessons Graded: ten
Books on Floor: five

spelling

Latest oddness - the most frequent spelling error in today's pile was not the confusion between it's (it is) and its (ownership) but confusing "loose" and "lose." This one has me baffled.

Words Written: passed the 3000 mark yesterday!!!
Lessons Graded: oh, fifteen or so, not many
Books on Floor: one

it's happening!

I am a lean, mean writing kind of lemming today - hurrah! PROGRESS I tell you!

It's only 2:35, too.

Sam has gone outside twenty-six times today. I've counted.

Words Written: one thousand seven hundred and twenty-six
Lessons Graded: ZERO!!!
Books on Floor: Eighteen

another RIP

How did I miss this? I've just learned that John Raitt, who had one of the sexiest voices ever, died on February 20.

Raitt introduced the role of Billy Bigelow in Carousel, and brought (in my opinion) deliciously naughty passion to the filmed version of The Pajama Game.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: five

a-cen-tuate the positive

An e-mail from #3 arrived last night. Am I free to meet for lunch in a few weeks to discuss the chapters? Alas, #3 used the verb "meet" rather than "buy you" - grad students learn early on to watch for such minor details. (laughter)

My advisor moved the presentation deadline up about ten days. Granted that I work best under pressure, but this leaves very little room for error. The 'flu is clearly going around now, and staying up late to write is probably not going to give me much of an immunity. (lemming's thoughts wander to the 1918-1919 epidemic)

No! Wait! Must think positive - even viruses must have some compassion. Perhaps I could persuade the 'flu to pick up the tab for lunch, too.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: fifteen
Books on Floor: fourteen

tests of cerebral fitness

It snowed last night and is still snowing. This is typical of Indiana winter; just when a proper layer of mud has formed over everything, winter sends us a last gasp. Sam's disgust is palpable.

I fell off the writing bandwagon, though I have taken lots of notes and put post-its on various useful pages. I even found a few bits for Chapter Two. Grading awaits - after all, I'm still a working girl. (That's Professor W.G!)

A shout of encouragement and a box of Tagalongs to Rob at Chesterley who begins phase two of his doctoral qualifying exams tomorrow. Remember, they don't have to be perfect, you just need to pass.

Note to self: the same can be said of dissertations.

(Tagalongs are the Girl Scout cookies with the chocolate outside and the peanut butter inside)

Words Written: zero (groan)
Lessons Graded: forty
Books on Floor: twelve

push the moment to its crisis

By now, regular readers of this blog know to expect that a day or two of progress and elation is always followed by a day or two of terror and disorganization. So it is today. (sighs) Appologies for another day of moping; you're welcome to ignore me today.

My advisor is really pushing me on this improved version of Chapter One - I've had three unsolicited e-mails from him in the last twenty-four hours, all pushing for tightening and clarifying of prose and concept.

I know that this is to my benefit. Like Michelle's work with her trainer at the gym, I need someone to kick me. The deadline is looming, and he wants me to beat it. (Heck, so do I.)

The presentation worries me not a bit. Even if I get hammered with a series of vindictive or cruel questions (no one is crueler to an academic than another academic who doesn't know what they're talking about but thinks that they do) - it's the writing. I've been working from inside my topic for so long that it's difficult to remember that most people know next to nothing about it at all.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero
Books on Floor: fourteen

librarians are awesome

and kind and sexy and thoughtful and devastatingly attractive and wise and insightful.

One archivist discovered that a collection of documents cited as the "Fred Smith" collection is actually the "Fred Smythe" collection. Joe has explained to me the best method of flinging my unworthy self upon the mercy of librarians so as to get more information on the elusive Ralph. Yet another says that I don't need to visit Hartford at all, but should head straight for Newport, Rhode Island. As Newport has better clam chowder than Hartford, this may be the best news of all.

(lemming falls at the feet of librarians and all MLS grads, offers sake and eternal gratitude)

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: fourteen
Books on floor: two more

kipping on its back

For a few years now, I've ordered nearly all of my books on line. My local bookstore is, shall we say, lacking in academic press titles (hardly a surprise) and when instant availability could be coupled with free and rapid shipping, what wasn't to love?

The shipping is still free, but I notice that "rapid" has evaporated. Of my last three orders, all took at least three weeks to arrive, on items said to be in stock, with a 24 hour turn-around. One order, placed at the end of January, is scheduled to arrive on March 7. Since all of these books are in print, I could have treked to my local tiny mega-store and ordered the tiles... and, I've just learned, waited ten days, plus the two or three days needed for the store to call me, plus a few days for me to find time to get out there.

If this is a plot by the on-line poeple to get me to pay for shipping, or by the mini mega-store to persuade me to shop in person, it's not working.

I've put the brace back on and am forging ahead, but there's still a long way to go toward getting this chapter into anything resembling something I'll let the outside world even skim. It's tempting to add the category "number of books on the floor" to the end of the day's posts.

Words Written: one thousand, four hundred and two (does my name count?)
Lessons Graded: twelve - they're not happy

Books on floor: nine

hard at work, for once

I don't want to write any more today. I don't need speech recognition software, I need brain wave recognition software. If I just hooked a few electrodes up to my head and let the thoughts flow into the chapter, that would be so much simpler.

Except for the passing thoughts about Alan Rickman; those I'd have to edit out.

Words Written: one thousand, eight hundred and twelve
Lessons Graded: three

I can take a hint

My advisor (may he live forever) sent me an e-mail last night. (I had the audacity to turn off the computer and curl up with a good book. By now I should know better.) He'd like to know if I "would be interested" in presenting the new! and improved! version of chapter one in a small group setting a month from now.

Uh-huh. It's not "would I like" it's more like "I know that you work best to a deadline and you need one right now, so I'm giving it to you, wrapped up with a bow."

Got it.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twenty-seven

Fra Angelico

Fra Angelico was known in his lifetime (the 1400s) not only as a gifted artist, particualrly in frescoes, but venerated as "Blessed" during his lifetime. Despite this, F..A. was not officially recognized as a saint until 1984, when John Paul II skipped the usual beautification process to declare him a saint and the patron of artists.

There's a moral to this story - possibly more than one.

Words Written: four hundred and six
Lessons Graded: twenty-one

things can only get better

Acording to this History News Network article about a recent survey on George Washington,

Only 46 percent of the 800 adult Americans surveyed could identify him as the general who led the Continental Army to victory in the Revolutionary War. When asked who they thought was America's greatest president, only 6 percent named George Washington, ranking him seventh among all presidents. Younger Americans are far less likely to know basic facts and legends about Washington and his era. Of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29, only 57 percent knew the tale of Washington and the cherry tree (compared to 91 percent of respondents over 50).Just 45 percent of younger respondents identified Martha Washington as our nation's first First Lady.

(lemming weeps, then picks up grading pen again)

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: forty-nine

pining for the fiords

Yesterday the temps hit 66. 66 fer crying out loud, in February. In INDIANA!!! The dog walkers all went round our route in t-shirts and pretended that snow wasn't in last night's forecast.

Well, maybe it did snow, but it's still plenty warm today. This is the kind of weather that makes me miss the days when I commuted on foot, whether on a college campus or through city streets. Everything smells good and some of the braver flowers are coming alive again.

Um, Joe? tell me again that my alma mater is horrible and gray in February? Today seems a perfect day to cross campus while si[ping a diet coke.

Alas, I am indoors, paying pennace for my grading sins. I did e-mail some archivists for assistance at tracking down Ralph and his pals.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: there is nothing like an in-box! nothing in the world...

it's not pining...

The Dante's Inferno Test has sent you to Purgatory!
Take the Dante's Divine Comedy Inferno Test

I'm a graduate student, hence already familiar with Purgatory...

Thanks to Editor B for the link.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: the natives are restless

gratitude

(extends an electronic bouquet to the readers)

I like the version of Valentine's Day that we learn (hopefully) in grade school: that this is not just a day for flowers and chocolates and a special someone, but for shared affection and friendship. Thanks to all of you for reading, commenting and generally helping my progress along.

I'll even share my chocolate.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

shoes and ships and sealing wax

I've been very naughty - I spent the weekend reading for fun and ignored my e-mail and in-box full of lessons. Three books later - one biography, one novel [thanks, eileen!] and one historic crime examination) and I feel far more human. E-mail can wait until tomorrow.

Words Written: ZERO!!!
Lessons Graded: ZERO!!!! Hurrah!! huzzah!

many waters cannot quench...

In case you've not heard elsewhere, the Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker-Bowles are getting married in April. They will have a civil ceremony at Windsor Castle, followed by a time of prayer, led by the Archbishop of Canturbury. When Charles becomes king, she will be known as "Princess Consort" rather than as Queen.

Plenty has already been said and I'm sure will be said about the couple, their romantic history and the marriage. What I find particularly interesting is the role being played by the Church of England in all of this. The Anglican communion is already grappling with the issue of homosexuality among the clergy. The previous Archbishop of Canturbury made it clear that he opposed this union, stating that a divorced person could not legitimately remarry until the death of the other spouse. He (and many others) argued that while Jesus called us to love and forgive, he also forbade taking more than one spouse, and that divorce and remarriage was exactly that.

Given his willingness to officiate at a prayer ceremony following the marriage, it is clear that the present Archbishop does not oppose the union as strongly, but is still unwilling to give the official sanction. (Note: Diana, Princess of Wales is dead, but Andrew Parker-Bowles is still alive.) It is my understanding that he is opposed to homosexual clergy, whether celibate or not. This is certainly not a dull time to be a part of the Anglican communion.

I've already seen eight different lists of possible candidates to replace Pope John Paul II. Inevitably, such lists include speculations as to how the Roman Catholic church mght change under a new pope. One list quietly pointed out that Americans are a single-digit percentage of the world's Catholics. The next pontiff, said the author, would probably not have significant ties to America, as the sexual abuse lawsuits and perception of moral laxity do not impress. Truly not a dull time to be a Roman Catholic, either.

On the fourth Sunday of Advent, the preacher asked all of us to set aside our differences for a moment. He observed that each of us knows the arguments of those with whom we disagree. Yes, these differences are important, and we should work with them and through them. Yet as we do this, he asked us to pray for mutual understanding, mutual forgiveness, mutual compassion and mutual patience. Christ called us to love each other, meaning everyone. He loved the sinners as much as he loved the disciples. I deeply hope and believe that all of these challenges can be met, if we remember to bring that love with us.

Words Written: took lots of notes
Lessons Graded: six

correction

The title should read On the Banks of Plum Creek. In my vocabulary-induced confusion, I switched the wording around with By the Shores of Silver Lake.

Bad teacher. Points will be deducted.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: I'm hitting burn-out and need some time off...

what's in a word?

All right, vocabulary experts: can anyone help me with the difference between a creek and a stream? The dictionary had something about creeks being connected to swamps but streams could also be creeks.

By the Banks of Plum Creek, for example - what is it that makes Plum Creek a creeek and not a stream?

Words Written: none, nada, zip. Fell asleep instead
Lessons Graded: not enough

bah! humbug!

Sam and I thoroughly enjoyed yesterday's walk. We're having a typical Indiana mid-winter thaw these days, warm enough for just a light-jacket, yet with enough of a chilly edge to the air that February never goes far from my thoughts. The muddy ground sticks to Sam's paws, only to come off on the one stubborn patch of ice that clings to the front walk.

The precocious neighbor child spotted the two of us and ran over to scratch Sam's ears. She loves dogs, and thinks that I am cool (me?) because I can recite a few of Shel Silverstein's poems. "So, Lemming, are you excited about tonight's game?"

I am not cool. I only knew about Super Bowl Sunday happening yesterday and the names of the two teams involved because I read blogs. Luckily I have gleaned enough information (one of the first processes you master in graduate school) from said reading that I could respond, "why yes! Go Pats!" She sighed. "Do you really think so?"

By now Sam was a furry mass of canine delight, rubbing his head against her hands.

The truth: I think televised football is one of the dullest things on the planet. To borrow George Will's line, football is violence punctuated by committee meetings. Watching the game in person is much more interesting. Without commentators and random lines drawn all over the field, I can simply sit back and enjoy the game. If I want to watch my team's cheerleaders challenge the other team's cheerleaders to a push-up contest, instead of focusing upon the second down, I can. (Yes, I do know what a second down is, thank you very much. I heard the snickers.) The scoreboard is much more intersting in person, and I love all of the noise.

Super Bowl parties are great fun because there's always plenty of good food and plenty of laughter at the commercials. On only one occasion did I ever attend a party at which people watched the game all the way through.

This is not what I said to the precocious neighbor child, who has but to ask and Sam would reveal the location of his Swiss bank account. "Well, you see, many years ago my church youth group had a Super Bowl Party. I've forgotten the name of the other team, but the Patriots lost by a lot. Since the Red Sox won this year, I'd like to see New England win, too."

Preccocious one furrows her forehead. "Lemming, is Boston in New England?"

Words Written: zero (more freelance work)
Lessons Graded: thirty-six

results

Yes, I went. Yes, it was an amazing talk. Yes, the party was terrific. Alas, #3 and #4 were not in attendence, so I was unable to casually ask what they thought of Chapter Two.

I had about ten minutes with the scholar, during which I managed to blurt out a detailed yet brief summary of Chapter Two, the problems with Ralph, and my latest productive writing. Scholar asked a question or two, admired my argument (!!) then asked if I'd tried contacting a particular archive.

Why, no, I hadn't. (I'd thought of asking my advisor [may he live forever] if he had any ideas how to approach the archive, but thought I'd wait to get a reply to my last two messages before sending a third.)

Well, then, I should e-mail Name of Actual Person, mention that said scholar sent me, and ask about Ralph and his friends. Scholar hoped I would keep in touch about how the search went. Woo-hoo!

Words Written: two hundred and six
Lessons Graded: twenty-one (early in the AM so as to attend the festivities)

of groundhogs

Much as I love changing seasons, winter is the one that wears thin after a while. That having been said, February 2 seems a bit early to expect spring.

I do think it very funny that the Super Bowl is late this year and Ash Wednesday is early.

For a great piece about Important State of the Union Addresses of the past, History News Network's latest article is terrific. It even has pictures!

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: forty-nine, plus three cheaters

pizza toppings

A flier for a national pizza chain arrived in today's mail. They produce tasty pizzas, but hardly gourmet product. Yet (conjunction) the topping list doesn't say "mushrooms" but "baby portabella mushrooms."

I'm trying to juggle my schedule to attend a talk by a visiting historian. I am more excited about attending this talk and the accompanying party than, well, my grandmother probably was when Frank Sinatra came to town. I suppose swooning in the historian's arms would probably be more unusual than baby portabella mushrooms, but it would make me memorable at least.

If I feel really brave, I might even ask to have my badly battered, much marked-up copy of his latest book autographed.

Words Written: four hundred and six - a really promising tangent!
Lessons Graded: forty-one (groan!)

the mist before my eyes

I've thought of a perfectly good reason why my advisor (may his good health continue) hasn't answered either of my messages. As it does not involve his ill health or demise, I'll relax for a little on that score.

I'm trying to go back to the train wreck of Chapter One, now that I have the really great idea from my former student, at least until I hear from someone. Reading about what I'm going to add is proving easy, but looking at the dratted thing and seeing how far I have to go is more difficult.

Just to clarify: I'm not wild about having Ms Rice as our Sec of State. Her refusal to answer questions about the weapons of mass destruction, and anger when this was pointed out, worry me. Though she's qualified, I could wish for someone with a bit more experience. (I could also wish for the snow to melt and the temp to reach 75.) Her appointment sends a strong message to Europe, as do her scheduled visits abroad; I'm not sure that this is the message we should be sending.

I do have more faith in Rice's intellect and capability than in some other folks presently in government, and am pleased to see women in positions of authority. (Ruth Bader Ginsburg swore her in, also nice.) I don't have the energy to be angry for four more years, so I am trying very hard to look (and work) for the positives.

Evan Bayh for president? Hmmm. Maybe. I think he was on Kerry's short list for V-P, which woudl have been interesting. It would be nice to show the country that not all Indiana Senators are like Dan Quayle. (I can hear the Indiana bloggers call out "Lugar!" Good point, but I doubt that your average Iowa blogger knows Lugar's home state.)

Words Written:
Lessons Graded:

Lemming's Lament(s)

Progress of the Lemming, now speeding rapidly off the cliff - zero.

I've hit a massive brick wall with Chapter Three, thanks to Ralph and a few of his peers.

#3 and #4 have yet to send a smoke signal my way.

I've sent two e-mails to my advisor (may he live forever) in the last week and he has responded to neither. (This is comparable to me going without caffeine for a week: unheard of.)

The editor is now obsessed with convincing me that sentences can begin with conjunctions, and likes to send me further examples of its correctness.

I realize that there are plenty of people in the world with much larger problems than mine at the moment, so I'll shush. Wallowing in self-pity will solve none of this.

On a very different note, I am surprised and intrigued to learn that Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) was one of the 13 to vote against making Rice Sec. of State. I expected no votes from, say, Kennedy and Boxer, but 13 nays interests me greatly. NPR said that this is the largest number of nays for this post, second only to a 1925 vote that I know nothing about, but probably should.

It's hardly surprising that I like seeing an intellegent and educated woman in such an important position, though I am saddened to note that she achieved all of this by not having a family. (Yes, it's possible that she didn't want one, I know, I know.)

(Scurries off to read more about it.)

Words Written: zero (sigh)
Lessons Graded: thirty-one It never ends...

this is the wattle, the symbol of our land...

Happy Australia Day everyone!

On this day in 1788, the first ship full of convicts arrived in Australia, near present-day Sydney.

It is not the feast Day of St. Francis Xavier, patron of Australia. It is the feast day of Titus, who is invoked againist free thinking. Who says the Vatican doesn't have a sense of humor?

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twenty-nine

I don't like those numbers. I need to stop chasing after Ralph and work on something else.

clouds of qualm

Today's mail included:

1) my credit card bill. The rate has been raised again.

2) an offer from the same credit card company to get a new card at a lower rate of interest

3) an offer from another company for a credit card at an even lower rate of interest

I realize that credit card companies need to attract new customers, and that a low rate attracts more folks than does the chance for a card with angels or dogs on it. I understand that the credit card folks assume that I won't notice the rate change.

It's still silly.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: thirty-six

Bing! Bang! Alakazam!

One of the constantly surprising and wonderful parts of teaching, now that I've been at it for, er, well, since Clinton's first term anyway, are the occasional students who stay in touch after the class is over. Usually contact is limited to an occasional out-of-the-blue postcard sent from Gettysburg or Seneca Falls. I love these postcards, and have a small stache of them - they prove to me, during the dark tea times of the soul, that I've managed to make something about American history come to life in a powerful way.

Every now and then, I'll stumble into something more constant. One student (now a history teacher) shares my taste in novels, so we swap reading suggestions. Another comes through Indiana once a year and insists on taking me out for drinks and dinner.

One student, the only one to whom I have ever suggested graduate work, asked to read Chapter Two. He called to chat yesterday, raising some great questions and even throwing my suggestions to him back at me. Conversation then turned to Chapter One. "Oh," said I, "it's a mess. The ideas are there, but badly organized. It needs some serious revision before I'd let you see it."

"Really? Oh. Well, I'd love to see it when you can. Based on what you've said in Chapter Two, I assume that you explain Historical Event X and Historical Trend Y and their connection to your topic. I just read a great book about Y and saw a documentary on X, and they sound very interesting."

My advisor (may he live forever) agreed with me that Chapter One was a promising train wreck and should be ignored for a while and allowed to percolate, as neither of us had a clue how to fix it. Did explaining Event X and Trend Y and their connections ever occur to us? Nope.

Said former student has just secured a place in the acknowledgments.

The cold that arrived on the 13th of January is still with me. No, I didn't use the pills, syrup and batteries to make methamphetamine, though that might have been a more effective use.

Words Written: none, but I'm pretty psyched to tackle #1 again!
Lessons Graded: twenty-nine

bothered and bewildered

Let the dog out. Let the dog in. Let the dog out. Let the dog in. Let the dog out. Let the dog in.

Maybe this is why the diss is taking so long.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: thirty, with another dozen to go

Everybody's Got the Right to be Happy

I like to throw goofy extra credit questions on my exams. Usually they will draw on something I've said in class that students probably didn't write down, but was just goofy enough that it might have clung to their brains. For example, President Polk once had gall bladder surgery without anesthesia. Just for variety, I might add a university question, such as the name of the Dean of Students or that year's commencement speaker. My favorite question thus far? "The 'W' in George W. Bushis name is short for --?"

Few very students know the answer, but I do get some hilarious guesses.

Ralph (his real name) is proving very elusive as a research topic

Words Written: lots of books thrown around the room
Lessons Graded: fifteen

will work for coffee

Thanks for the writing support everyone. I feel much better. My (edited) prose will still appear with lots of dependent clauses, but I have the satisfaction of being right. That and $1.50 will buy me a cup of coffee. When the editor is done, I will be able to afford several cups of coffee, so everything is linked in the end.

I'm very fond of my mailman. No, no, I'm not fond of him in that way. (He does have a very nice smile.) After all, this is the person who shows up at my door with my boxes from Amazon. Anticipating what #3 and #4 might say, I placed a big book order a few weeks ago that Amazon had to split up. Those boxes, combined with some late Christmas gifts, meant that the mailman dropped a box off at my door every day for six days in a row. I happened to be at the mailbox when he showed up today. "I'm sorry Mizz Lemming, no books today, but you do have four book catalogs."

Happiness is...

Speaking of happiness, it's been bitterly cold for the last few days. Sam sprints outside three times a day to take care of business, then runs back in as quickly as possible. Yet at walk time, he is convinced 1) that we're going and 2) it won't be cold. I love my dog. I will walk him in the rain, and in the dark, and on a train. I will not walk him when the wind chill means that the temps are below freezing. After three days of this, he's taken to sulking.
Words Written: Ralph? who on earth names their child Ralph?
Lessons Graded: fifteen

conjunction junction

Being as my blog-readers are a smart and savvy group, probably more than capable of identifying a clause, I'll share my latest grammar struggle with you.

Is it correct to begin a sentence with a conjunction?

Based upon repeated viewings of the Schoolhouse Rock song "Conjunction Junction" I've always felt that since conjunctions join two parts of a sentence, they needed to be in the middle someplace. My advisor (may he live forever) does not allow his students to start a sentence with a conjunction, though his definition is far more eloquent than the one I just gave.

However, I've just been informed by an editor that this is an out-dated rule, one rarely followed today. Is this true? Am I out-of-date?

Words Written: did another big sheet of paper for the wall
Lessons Graded: twelve

Dreams

Neil took his first class from me about a year ago. From the first sentence of his first quiz, he impressed me with his very interesting and original ideas and his utter inability to express most of them clearly. With a lot of digging and jotting notes to myself on scratch paper, I could work out his meaning, and it was always fresh and new, but buried under mounds of errors in syntax, punctuation, grammar and spelling.

I'm not trained in the teaching of basic grammar skills. I'm still not sure how to define "clause" or "participle." I did present Neil with an extra copy of the Chicago Manual of Style and tried to explain that we don't write the way we speak and that sometimes the best proof-reading happens when an essay is read out loud. I circled and crossed out mistakes, and tried to rewrite sentences. I crossed my fingers.

(Here Sam rolls his eyes and thumps his tail in weary understanding... He's probably heard more of my prose than anyone has or can ever read. I digress.)

One class was not enough. Neil signed up for a second and a third. ("I'm going to get a minor in Professor Lemming!") Slowly but slowly, his prose has gotten better and the terrific ideas have really begun to shine through. He's gained in confidence as well, learning that his instincts are good and his family's many road trips to historic sites can inform his writing, actively and passively. (I am convinced that his folks must own a camper, as Neil has family snapshots from all over the country.) The writing is still a struggle, particularly homophones. He has mastered the correct use of it's and its, which delights me no end.

The department gave Neil an extension for his latest class, so that he could attend a family funeral. His final exam crossed my desk today. He managed to fill a blue book (all pages and the back cover) with his usual brilliance, without a single error in spelling or grammar. Thrilled to bits, I dropped him an e-mail with the results.

Naturally his delighted reply included three misused their/theres and a plural subject with a singular verb. I don't care. HE DID IT!!! This means that someday, somehow, he will do it again.

The popular slogan, at least in Indiana, is to make MLK day "A Day On, Not a Day Off." Instead of sleeeping in and shopping at the mall, MLK calls us to do something positive and productive for others with our time. Neil has earned a day off - but only one. Tomorrow, I expect him to be on. After all, this semester means class #4, and I expect him to do it again.

Words Written: (hits head againist heavy object)
Lessons Graded: one

digging out

On Thursday most of the neighborhood was underwater. I awoke this morning to the sound of a snowblower.

The weather has been pleasantly warm for winter - mittens only needed for the evening walk with Sam, and I've no idea where my hats might be at the moment. Now it's bitterly cold, and supposed to grow even colder.

To top it all off, the Jets lost yesterday, yet IU won in double overtime!

Nothing can compare to the constancy of an Indiana winter.

Words Written: writing a book review
Lessons Graded: twelve

Chicken Soup Needed

It is raining today, for the umpteenth day in a row. Everything is flooding, and one neighbor has despaired of having a backyard and now jokes about waterskiing.

I confess! I confess! I am a failed criminal. Probably thanks to all of the wet days, I woke up this morning with a dreadful cold. Of course I am out of cold meds. As I'm on my way out the door, my neighbor with the lake asked if I would mind purchasing some cold pills and cough syrup. No problem.

Some of you may already have guessed what happened next. With three boxes of cold pills, a bottle of cough syrup and a package of batteries in hand, I had some of the elements needed to make methamphetamine. Far from taking pity on a sneezing graduate student with work to do, I was a person of suspicion. The clerk asked me some pointed questions and explained that I would have to put back two of the cold pills.

On a more serious note, I'd like to thank everyone who has given blood in the last six weeks. Another neighbor, the kind of neighbor who only seems to exist in fiction as she's so nice, is in her third day in the hospital and getting frequent blood transfusions. As the advertisement says, you're saving a life while sitting at work. Thank you.

Words Written: free-lance project done!
Lessons Graded: twenty-two

groceries

I seem to have passed into an intermediate stage of adulthhood in that I don't get carded when purchasing alcohol, but cashiers instead ask for my date of birth. I'm always tempted to give another birthday and see if I can talk them into it - am I five years older than my actual age? Ten?

The week's grocery purchases included a bottle of red wine, and the cashier threw me a curve ball by asking for my age instead of my birthday. I honestly couldn't remember for a moment, which she thought very funny.

There's no word yet from #3 and #4. I'm starting to wonder what would happen if I sent them Chapter 3 before getting comments on Chapter 2. This is pie in the sky, really, as the chapter is still very much in its infancy.

Words Written: more free-lance work done
Lessons Graded: sixteen

St. Vitalis

No, I hadn't heard of him until today. (I'm praying my way through the saints, can you tell?) Sez in my guidebook that in the year 500, St. V. left his private meditations and traveled to Alexandria to convert prostitutes. Every night he would purchase the services of a lady, and then pray with her until dawn rather than, er, sample her wares. Eventually his frequent visits to brothels attracted public notice and St. V. was killed - you can probably fill in the details.

There are many kinds of courage, and I hope that I have some of them, but I don't know that I could do as he (and plenty of more recent folks) did.

Words Written: lots, but none on the diss (freelance project)
Lessons Graded: thirty-one

more music confessions

There's music that is great (Wagnerian opera) and then there's music that is fun (Gilbert & Sullivan Opperettas.) Though the greatness factor to G & S can and probably is debated by folks who actually know something about music history and technique, I must say that I'm far more likely to hum "I Am A Pirate King" than any of Wagner's leit motifs.

Though certainly not great, an awful lot of early 1980s pop is fun. I ran lots of errands today and heard "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves no less than five times. I would not claim greatness for this song, and it's several steps below even G & S on their worst days ( The Grand Duke anyone? Bueler?) but everytime that it popped on, I found myself happily singing along.

Yes, the woman whose computer is obsessed with Liza M. dares to make such assertions. It is it is a glorious thing to be a lemming (Hurrah for Professor Lemming!)

Words Written: kept 95% of what I did this weekend, and added another 678
Lessons Graded: does no one know how to use the apostrophe?!

amusing

Scott (aged 8): Mizz Lemming, I have to do a report for school, and my mother says you know all about American History. Can you help me?

Lemming: Sure, no problem. (Utters silent prayer that this question not be about battles of the Pacific during WW II)

Scott: Well, I need to know about Paul Revere.

Lemming (much relieved): Well, midnight ride, courier to Congress, etc. etc. and fathered twenty children.

Scott's Mother: Hmmm. Explains why he had to take a second job.

Words Written: five hundred and six
Lessons Graded: going to need more coffee

better mood

Just when I'm prepared to be comfortably cold and miserable, Don at Hands in the Dirt composes an entry that makes the maudlin and mundane elements of cold and wet days beautiful. Wow.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: the coffee is brewing...

at least it's not a migraine

I had a headache for most of yesterday, and today isn't much better. I can't remember a semester ever beginning this badly, and that includes junior high school. This makes me feel quite sorry for the dean.

The book that I guarentee #3 and #4 will tell me to read still hasn't come out in paperback. The cheapest I can find it is $45 on Amazon. I've checked it out of the library twice, and it gets recalled from me right away. This probably isn't helping my headache any.

One of my favorite bloggers suffers from migraines. He's learned how to handle them over the years, and manages to write about them in a way that conveys the experience without sounding as though he's whining. (He probably doesn't mind a little sympathy, though!) At least I know the cause of my misery and can take some pain-killers for it.

Lesse here... St. Dymphna is patron saint of headaches and insanity. Yup, sounds about right.


Words Written: one hundred and six
Lessons Graded: the first big stack must be started tonight.

Epiphany

Attention students: Yes, X is a stupid policy. I did not make this policy. Yes, I still must abide by this policy, stupid as it is. I like being employed. If I bend the rules even once, the dean will find out and that will be the end of my employment. If you want the rules bent, go ask the dean, who, by the way, makes far more money and has a nicer office.

Whew! Thanks for letting me get that off my chest.

Sam is most unhappy about the continued rain (though it did change to snow for a bit today.) I've tried to explain about Sri Lanka, but he seems disinterested. (Maybe this is because Sam knows about it already, as he does listen to NPR with me.) He just wants to go outside without getting wet.

Not surprisingly, today is the Feast Day of Balthazar, Caspar and Melchior (the three kings of Orient etc.) In one of those "well, that doe smake a lot of sense" moments, they are the patron saints of travelers. I thank them for getting me safely home from the flooded library parking lot.

I've had a really terrific idea for Chapter Three - one too big for the sheets of paper on the wall, which means that it is time to start writing again. Wish me luck and/or light a candle for me, please.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twenty

soon it's gonna rain

I had my first tsunami-related nightmare last night. Today it's raining - the hard, cold downpour that even I cannot pretend is November rain. This is "January in Indiana" rain. The streams are choked, lower parts of the roads are starting to flood, and everyone is going a little stir-crazy. Even the librarians were making bad jokes about hamster juggling and making sushi out of hermit crabs for story time.

My undergrad advisor once asked if I had any ambition to be a dean. After three days of sending students to talk to my dean, I can say, in all honesty, NO!

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

Comments from #2 arrive!

Having worked Chapter Two as much as we could, the advisor (may his health and prosperity flourish) announced that it was time to send it round to the others. Quite frankly, this is good and bad - good that he thinks it ready, and bad in that, well, it means not one but three more sets of comments.

Professor #2 is essentially happy wth Chapter Two, but does have some excellent if rather challenging suggestions. I think #2 may have come up with the solution to an organizational complication that really had me at a loss.

My advisor (may he live forever) is, as I've said before, a terrific giver of comments. My #2 is as well, but reads for very different things than my advisor. This is hardly surprising, since their specific expertise is in different fields. #2 trusts my style and revisions, and instead focuses upon the overall narrative and ways in which the larger pieces of the diss fit together. Indeed. I think #2 probably has a better sense of this at the moment than I do.

The use or abuse of the semi-colon matters not a bit to #2, and I could fudge the proper format of a footnote and be forgiven. Then again, #2 may trust in the advisor (may he live forever) to take care of this.

Now to await #3 and #4. Their comments will include, I predict, lists of at least twenty more books that I need to read. It is unlikely that any of them will be Dave Barry Does Japan, but I can always dream.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: fifteen

(need to reverse those numbers again...)

the semester begins

Though warm for January (57 F) there's a steady and strong rain falling. At the very least, it feels like November outside.

The term has begun, as of 8 AM. Naturally by the time I checked my e-mail at 1 PM, I already had dozens of messages, more than one of which wanted to know why I hadn't answered the message sent at 8:30. Naturally I can answer none of these messages, as all are the sort of questions which should be sent to the dean or the department administrator. (laughter)

Several students have looked ahead on the syllabus (good) and noted the book review. To my delight, some were given history books as Christmas presents and would like to read them for class. Of course, this will also necessitate that I read these books, and you can just imagine what a hardship it will be for me to read more history books.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

Happy New Year!

(yawns) I've marked the new year by getting a lot of sleep, between 10 and 13 hours a night, with the occasional nap for good measure. Now that I'm properly rested, of course, the semester is about to begin.

With my six month blogging anniversary approaching, not to mention the clean slate of a new year, I'm trying to live up to the title of this blog and MAKE PROGRESS.

Maybe tomorrow.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

all right, all right

As per John's request that his Indiana blog pals contribute, here's my Death Meme. (Greg! You're next!)

Three names you go by:
Lemming
Professor Lemming
Your Imperial Highness (RIP, Sir Fred)

Three screennames you have:
Three wha?

Three things you like about yourself:
I have an excellent memory.
I’m a good, if long-winded, storyteller.
I’m compassionate.

Three parts of your heritage:
Illiterate and outspoken peasants.

Three things that scare you:
Snakes
Large crowds
Cruelty, particularly toward children

Three of your everyday essentials:
Warm socks
Caffeine
Laughter

Three things you are wearing right now:
Warm socks (red)
Arm splint
Contact lenses

Three things you want to try in the next twelve months:
Eating more vegetables
Reading more fiction
Getting more sleep

I must be getting older if these are the first three activities that come to mind... Obviously I'd like to get the diss done, too.

Three things you want in a relationship (love is a given):
Intelligence (must read books, too!)
Humor
Strong religious belief

Patience would also be a big plus, as would a love of music!

Three things you just can't do:
Remember street names
Navigate I-465
Geometry (hmm… any connection between these 3, do you think?)

Three things you want to do really badly right now:
Eat a big breakfast – mushrooms, eggs, toast, jam, sausage and bacon, hash browns, you get the idea – prepared by someone else.
Find out what Sam is dreaming about – his tail is wagging, he’s half-barking, but he’s sound asleep.
Knock off ten pages of my next chapter.

Three careers you're considering:
Interpreter at a living museum such as Old Sturbridge Village
Eccentric millionaire – is anyone hiring?
I don’t think I’m fit for any profession other than what I do right now…

Three places you want to go on vacation:
(I’m assuming that this means “places I’ve never been but would very much like to visit.”)
Wales
Northern Scotland
the Oregon Trail

Three kids names:
Tamsyn
Phillippa
Theophilus

Not that I would ever actually saddle a child with one of these, but I do think they sound and look fantastic.

Three things you want to do before you die:
Read more books
Tell the ones I love how much I love them
Receive Last Rites


Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

the scale of the devastation

Others CPF and TRP in particular) have blogged powerfully about the devastation left in the wake of the 9.0 earthquake.

I'm staggered by the scale of the loss of life. 30, 000 is about the size of a state university. 50, 000 is (I think) the enrollment of OSU, one of the largest in the country. The last I'd heard, the tally stood at something like 67, 000 dead, which is larger than the population of some state capitals.

This string of analogies isn't perfect - the devastation is spread across several countries - but still over-whelming.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: six

sad news

You've probably heard this news already, but Jerry Orbach, star of stage, screen and television, has died at age sixty-nine, due to prostate cancer.

I've logged a great many hours watching this man perform, and written countless papers (even graded a few) while listening to him sing. Though Dick Wolf seems to pretty much dominate the few hours of A & E not already given to Bill Curtis, we did need another Law & Order, if only so that I could spend more time with Jerry-Lennie.

RIP, Mr. Orbach. Sixty-nine seems far too young for us to lose you.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

four calling birds

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend, short though it was. Best wishes to all who are still digging out from under the snow, and a shout out to Washington for finally having recounted the ballots often enough to have new governor.

On Christmas Eve, I read a long newpaper article about the "new old-fashioned" tradition among many Jewish families to go out to a Chinese restaurant for Christmas. This sounds like an excellent tradition; I'd choose hot & sour soup over turkey any day. Maybe if the turkey were stir-fried in a spicy garlic sauce, that does sound like a nice alternative...

I'm trying very hard to relax during my vacation. Several family members gave me movies (all of them English) or mysteries (all of them set near the Atlantic Ocean) for Christmas. I tried to watch a really interesting film yesterday afternoon, and instead ended up taking a four hour nap. I notice that while some families do exchange Scotch or nice wine for Christmas, no one ever gifts sleeping pills.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: two

to all, and to all

Merry Christmas to all.

Wishing you and yours warmth, love, and safe travel over this weekend.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

Hurrah!!

now it's time to say good-bye

Cue the Cambridge Singers and open the Handel score to the appropriate page. Ready?

"Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"

I am done. Done done done, do you hear?

Harken unto me as I shout from the rooftop (er, backyard patio) and sing to me ye angels (or yapping dog next door.) Final grade are IN and I am DONE.

Well, OK, there's that freelance work that was due three weeks ago, and the honest to gosh professional book review that's due in two weeks. That's different. Way way different. Done!

Where's Mariah when I need her?Heck, I'd settle for Liza M.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: DONE DONE DONE!!!!

first snowstorm of the year

There's inches and inches of snow on the ground. I-465 is (or so says the radio) awash in accidents. Yet the school buses are running and I've already seen two dog walkers. Go Hoosiers!

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: eleven left!

challenge, joy and sorrow

My Friday afternoon addiction is the "week in review" quiz put up on-line by The Week Magazine. Each Friday a ten question quiz appears, and I get to find out just how conversant I am with current events. The current offering is a slightly longer Year In Review quiz and great fun... also reminds me that I really should keep up with the news!

The publication date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been announced: July 16, 2005. To say that I'm REALLY excited would be an understatement. I've been a fan of the series since the first book quietly appeared (apparated!) in bookstores - back when Scholastic thought it would be a small-seller book and didn't bother with any publicity. (gales of laughter) Anyway, don't expect a post from me on the 15th or 16th, except perhaps "Oh, this is fantastic!" and a yawn or six.

Occasionally students will ask me how I would prefer to be addressed. (Professor Lemming) If the student is above a certain age - say 60 - and seems to have a sense of fun, I'll add the joke, "but I've always liked the sound of 'Your Royal Highness.'" Fred (68 years young) took me up on it - all of his e-mails began with the phrase "Your Imperial Highness" and he signed the messages "your humble servant Sir Frederick of Hoosier." Naturally he was an A student and just as funny in class. An e-mail came this morning from Fred's daughter, to say that he had died unexpectedly this weekend. RIP, Sir Fred.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: more stragglers than anticpiated

Hand Over the Ben & Jerry's RIGHT NOW

OK, I take it back. I love almost all Christmas Carols, hymns and satirical pieces, but I do not like "Grown-up Christmas List" at all. This morning I heard versions of this song performed by Amy Grant, Barbra Streisand and a duet that sounded like Pebo Bryson and Vanessa Williams, and all of them were ghastly. I understand the song's purpose and premise, but it's still awful.

I've been grading non-stop last night this morning, and can now look at the pile in terms of "what is left to do" rather than "what I have done" which is a terrific feeling. After I turn in my final grades on12/22, I get some time off, for which I am deeply grateful.

I say "non-stop" - Sam has decided that he needs to go outside about once every seventy minutes, Once he gets outside, Sam quickly realizes that it is REALLY COLD today and decides that he'd like to come back inside and warm up - naturally warming up is best done by lying down at my feet, which makes me cold all over again. An hour later he forgets this whole experience, and spends ten minutes telling me that he REALLY REALLY wants to go outside. I've even tried remonstrating with him - "Sam, for a dog who is at least 50% border collie, you're being awfully dim today." No go - it's imperative that he go outside, then foolish that he did so.

Maybe that's where he's hidden my Christmas presents.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twenty-six left to go (the stragglers are still handing things in)

Oh yes - an F for plagarizing turns out of be a zero after all. (grin)

good timing to be late

I was late getting out the door to church this morning. The weather forecast last night called for "scattered snowstorns, with no more than a half inch acumulating on the ground." They neglected to mention the 30 m.p.h. winds that blew said half inch of snow all over the roads and through the air. This added still more time onto the drive and my lateness.

All was not lost! Today is the fourth and last Sunday of Advent, so the processional hymn was "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" and we sang (of course) all of the verses. I slipped in at the back door halfway through the last one. Whew!

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: do you think the dean would notice if I didn't hand in final grades?

confession

I hesitate to admit this - but perhaps it will help others who need support...

ever since Indianapolis lost its 80s station, I have been bereft... until November, when the Christmas music season began. I love Christmas music - all of it. Be it "O Holy Night" or "I Want a Hippopotamus For Christmas" it doesn't matter, I love it. The closer we get to Christmas, the more likely I am to hear Springsteen warble "Santa Claus is Coming' to Town" five times a day and the happier I am.

Now, I love Bing singing "White Christmas" as much as the next shopper, and yearn to hear Judy's version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on the radio again. Yet today I realized a sad truth about my musical enjoyment - and alas for my liberal arts aducation - I want nothing more right now than to hear Mariah Carey. How did this happen? All that I ask from any of the FOUR available stations is thay they play Mariah (or one of her knocks offs) singing the oldie classics... I hide my head in shame.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: forty and counting

Yes, Joe, I did tell a plagarist that F meant zero and she filed a formal complaint that her F should mean 59...
I'll keep you posted.

a moment of culture

Despite living in Central Indiana for - er, too long - I've never visited the Eiteljorg Museum. In the interests of keeping my mood positive (tends to mean that I use a slightly more reasonable grading policy) I took the morning off to tour the Lewis & Clark exhibit.

The Eiteljorg is an art museum, so rather than seeing artifacts of the expedition, they have a terrific display of paintings done by a contemporary artist who spent several months driving, hiking and boating their path, and then painting what he saw. Thus some paintings were of woods, valleys and rivers, while others were of the St. Louis Arch, modern day bridges, etc. It was really neat, and just the right length - took me about forty minutes to walk through, reading all of the cards. Eiteljorg specializes in Native American art, so they had lots of information on both sides of the story. They also included lots of quotations from the expedition journals, early 19th century observations and the artists comments. I should have gone sooner, and am excited to visit when the next exhibit goes up.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: There are sixty waiting for me. (sigh)

Food of Choice

Dear Readers,

A query for all of you, however many that may be this week. If on a road trip, seeking lunch, what would be your ideal restaurant choice? Distance is not an object - all choices will be available, there's no problem with lines or making turns againist multiple lanes of traffic.

I am quite fond of Rallys, and noticed today that they have a sign up announcing that they are the official burger (presumably that means burger-makers) of the Indy Colts. The sign does not claim that the players or trainers or refs actually eat Rallyburgers or Big Bufords, but I tend to think too much about such things anyway.

Yours in a Starbucks-driven caffeine haze,
lemming

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: I love teaching - it's the grading that becomes a grind

language

I've been buried under grading while trying to rest my elbow and hand. This means a lot of time in a splint that makes it hard to type or do anything else, but at least can be hidden under a sweater.

Though most of the time Dave Barry's writing is simply designed to make readers chuckle, every now and then he'll write something or make a point that reminds you he really does have a degree in English and a Pulitzer Prize. One of his introductions notes that as a "trained humor writer" he spends some of his time thinking about which words are funnier than other words. I'm not sure that "weasel" is as funny as he thinks it is, but concede that it is funnier than "hamster".

Today's sermon primarily examined John the Baptist and his place in Matthew's gospel. John being the kind of man he was, a certain amount of violent imagery was included. I noticed that most of the time we the congregation simply listened, but that every time the word "smite" or "smiting" came up, we all laughed, every time. I'd never thought of "smite" as funny word before.

One of my current favorite students (sssh!) is a sixty-something pastor. I'm not exactly sure why he's in my class, as he's never spoken a word, and I don't think he has an e-mail account. I'm partial to him not simply because his essays are clear and thoughtful (and have none of the extraneous prose and parenthesis that are so often found in my own work) but because his use of langauge is so different from the others in the class. Much of his vocabulary clearly comes from his time spent with the Bible (yes, he has used the word "smite") and some may also be explained by generational difference, but his homework is great reading.

Speaking of which (I hope!) the chapter is in the mail to #2, #3 and #4.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: since my last post? (laughs) Quite a lot.

I see dead people

Actually, the funny thing is that I don't really have a clear picture of what the people I live with so intimately really looked like. Sometimes I know that they were tall or old or "stronger than they look" but rarely does my generally over-active imagination try to come up with a visual portrait. I do have maps to suggest neighbors and my own suspicions about their emotions, but I'm usually pretty detached from my subjects as people.

I say "usually" because lately that hasn't been true. The sheer and stark reality of these big pieces of paper on my wall representing real people, people who lived, laughed, loved and died, only to be forgotten until I metaphorically dug them up and started writing about them, really hit me hard this week. The chapter is in really great shape right now, and I've sent it off to #2, #3 and #4. In all honesty, I'm suddenly more worried about what my subjects would say than what my readers will comment.

Family resemblence is something we hear about all the time, particularly during holiday celebrations - you look just like your sister, you and your mother both love hot mustard, etc. I have blue eyes, a recessive genetic trait, so it's safe to assume that most of my ancestors either had blue eyes or were married to other folks with blue eyes. Do I look anything like my great-great-great-great-great grandmothers? (I know the name of one of my great great great grandmothers, but that's as far back as I can go.) If I could time travel back to 1066, to pick a date at random, would I recognize my ancestors right away?

Words Written: one thousand, five hundred and ninety seven
Lessons Graded: fourteen

forgotten and remembered

It's surprisingly warm today for December, even by Indiana Standards. Greg's weather link said 62 degrees last time I checked. Driving rain accompanied the warm weather, along with a fierce wind - except when driving the northern chunk of I-65, I usually forget that the flatness of Indiana is actually prairie. Not today!

Today is the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. A few years ago, a Japanese student dropped by my office on this day. He pretended to have a question about the class, but really wanted to discuss what I thought of the attack, sixty years later, and of the Japanese people. He was surprised to find no mention of the anniversary in the paper or on the news that morning.

WW II was a huge turning point for my grandfather, aka the Pickle Monster. Thanks to the navy, he saw the world, and it changed his life (hence mine, too) for the better. I explained this to the Japanese student, who grinned, the first time I'd seen this all semester. "Mine, too - well, my great-grandfather."

Words Written: eight hundred and sixty three
Lessons Graded: twenty-two

Christmas Time is here, by golly

CatholicPackerFan has set up his tree for the year. I'm partial to blue spruce Christmas trees, but they seem to run $80-$100, at which point I begin to understand the urge to invest in a fake tree. The lights and various glowing displays are starting to go up in my neighborhood. I'm a big fan of lights to line the house, and maybe a small creche (pretend I put an accent on the "e") but the massive glowing sculptures seem to dominate. One house has a glowing bicycle, complete with moving rider. Sam has taken to growling at the flourescent snowmen.

My aunt the English teacher not only approved of my chapter's commas, but said the words every writer longs to hear: I couldn't put it down!

Words Written: that's next
Lessons Graded: thirty-six

so this is Christmas?

Remember this summer when you couldn't so much as walk into a gas station without stumbling over a massive pile of Bill Clinton memoirs?

There's not a single copy to be had at my local bookstore.

Words Written: nine hundred and three
Lessons Graded: nineteen

poets and the gridiron

I hesitate to blog about poetry for much the same reason that hesitate to blog about sports: I don't know a great deal about either, and know that I have readers who know lots about both. I know enough to enjoy them, though I'd have to give poetry the edge over hockey.

A month or so ago, Mme Q challenged her readers to post a poem, any poem, preferably one we knew well. This was very thought provoking for me, as it led me to realize that while I've memorized lots of lines from poems, there are very few that I can recite in their entirety - and for me, at least, poetry just HAS to be read out loud.

Probably every teenaged girl of a certain intellectual bent goes through a Sylva Plath phase; certainly I did. A few years ago someone wrote a piece for the New Yorker which pointed this out and claimed that her poetry loses most of its power if read after the age of thirty or so. I confess that I don't pull out my complete Sylvia Plath as often as I do my T.S. Eliot, but I still find her lines and verses very, well, powerful in their images.

"I made a fire; being tired
Of the white fists of old
Letters and their death rattle
When I came too close to the wastebasket.
What did they know that I didn't?"

Morning Edition played an interview with Frieda Hughes, Plath's daughter, this morning. A complete edition of the Ariel poems is being issued, including twelve poems that Ted Hughes edited out when they were first published. Hughes Interview Hughes seems to have wonderful sense of peace about having a mother whom the world associates with angst and suicide.

Oh, and CFP -- I think IU should pick a football coach and keep him (are there are female football coaches) around for twenty years. If more effort were put into attracting fans through making the experience fun, more fans would attend, but as all efforts are now concentrated on bringing as much money as possible from the out-of-town spectators...

Words Written: four hundred and six, plus a lot of commas fixed
Lessons Graded: thirty-one

hmmm...

What do you suppose Charles Lindbergh thought about during his Atlantic crossing? I mean, apart from the obvious "wow!" and "gee, I hope I get home in one piece" and "this is history in the making" he had hours and hours alone in the plane to just think about, well, stuff.

Words Written: two hundred and twenty six
Lessons Graded: twenty-six (tidy, no?)

Happiness is a warm puppy

Sam is back.

I can't tell you how wonderful it is to write those words. He stayed at the kennel an extra day to get a thorough grooming, so now his coat is soft and even smells good. It's been wet, so Sam hasn't had a chance to go outside and roll in teh leaves to ruin this effect - though part lab, Sam cannot stand the rain.

Thanks to having spent five days playing with other dogs, Sam is very tired - too tired even to supervise my writing and suggest that I take a break. He's fast asleep under the table, his nose buried in his tail. It's amazing to me how much company and companionship can come from someone who doesn't speak, except to defend me from the neighbors.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: seven

back to base camp

Hi everyone! (waves) My Thanksgiving was delicious and I had a fantastic time with my family. Nothing worth blogging about, really, except to be really thankful that I can say that and mean it when it is not true for so many others. Oddly enough, the younger generation (10-15 years old) have decided that I am "way cool" something I was not when I was 10-15 years old. They all wanted to sit next to me and talk about their lives. Wow.

I passed around a copy of my latest chapter to various relatives, partly for any advice they might have (my commas always need help) and partly to show them that I really have been doing something with my life, other than memorizing information about presidential assassins. The fifteen year old actually read half of it (wow!) and posed good questions about research and drawing hypothetical conclusions.

My advisor's comments (may he and his good will endure forever) include the words "clear" and "thorough." He even went so far as to use the word "interesting" which delights me no end.

Now to the grindstone - must grade papers and do a few more revisions. For benefit of any readers (it seems I have twenty of you!) not familiar with the diss process I should explain that in addition to my advisor (whose goodness and graciousness shall reach eternally) I have readers #2, #3 and #4. I will probably end up with a #5, and have my eye on someone, but that's down the pike. #2 likes me a lot. #3 and #4 are nice people, but know me less well and must be impressed. My hope is to have them impressed by Christmas.

"Go softly on!"

Words Written: too busy dancing
Lessons Graded: sixteen

are we there yet?

Terrific - the first snow of the year is scheduled to fall just as a record number of Americans head to the roads and the air for the holidays. I don't care if St. Christopher is mythical and scorned by Englightenment thinkers - today is a day for a 24 foot giant to keep us all safe. I know that lemmings are best known for jumping off cliffs en masse, but since that's also mythical, perhaps the two will work together in everyone's favor.

After seven hours of grading, I'm stiff, but not in pain. With any luck, this means that beloved Doc's first remedy is working.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: let's see, twenty, forty, sixty -- er, let's not go there

Good news and Bad news

Well, the hand news is good and bad. It is good that I do not have carpal tunnel. It is bad trhat I have some sort of nerve damage, possibly requiring the services of a specialist and definitely requiring that I spend less time at the keyboard. (My beloved Doc realizes that these are both complications for me.) I hope to rest the hand over the holidays, though this means that I will be unable to defend my title as "Adult with the Lowest Score" in the annual bowling tourny.

More good/bad news: a student contacted me with a policy question. I replied, "gee, um, I don't know, but I think it's covered in the student handbook." The good news is that said question is answered very explicitly. Student mentioned this when he contacted the appropriate administrator. Bad news: the administrator is furious that I would give a student advice on a non-academic topic and complained to my chair that my actions were "out of line." I am utterly serious when I say that this will probably come up when I ask for teaching recs.

In all of this talk about the NBA, why isn't anyone talking about the two South Carolina football teams (Clemson and, er, another one) that also had a big riot this weekend? (Source: beloved Doc.)

My advisor (may his good health and spirits continue) sez my chapter is "much improved" and "good."

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero - but am about to stay up VERY late...

hint taken

I'm booked in to see the doctor (love my doctor) tomorrow afternoon.

Thanks again to all. I haven't been pain free for days and expect the worst.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twelve (yes, I know, bad idea)

things that are cold

One of the advantages to living in central Indiana is that we get winters, but they're generally pretty mild. Snow and ice hit, usually right around Christmas, but then things warm up (usually) and it all melts. Living here also means that winter comes later and spring comes earlier. It's now cold enough for sweaters, and I'll wear gloves when I walk Sam in the mornings, but I haven't yet needed a winter jacket.

On the one hand, this is terrific. On the other hand, I'm trying to put myself into the minds of people who by now were snowed in and all but frozen, gathered around the fireplace, and that's tricky to do with my window open.

My hands are acting up again - does anyone else have this problem? My right hand is bitterly cold (probably poor circulation) and my left hand is fine.

Words Written: one more big sheet
Lessons Graded: four

Very nice

I mailed some packages this morning. The lady at the P.O. asked if I needed anything else.
"Yes, please, some stamps. Could I have "and before I'd said a word she handed over two sheets of Lewis & Clark. "I saved the L&C stamps for you - they're the last ones we have, and I know you like them."

Aw! Thank you, U.S. Postal Service!

OK, yes, I obsess about my stamp choices. Before L&C it was the Ogden Nash stamps. I'm tired of birds and flags. Yes, I do also buy the breast cancer stamps.

Words Written: two big sheets of paper
Lessons Graded: thirty

writing

Each of my chapters starts life on little scraps of paper. Eventually the really big concepts make it onto big pieces of paper and get posted on the wall above my desk. Sometimes the little scraps get tacked up somewhere, other times they are torn into lots of little pieces. While theraputic, it's also risky, as I tend to knock over my wastebasket quite often. When I have enough big pieces of paper, I start to write.

The hardest part of this is the initial transfer onto big pieces of paper. I try to find clever ways to distract myself - I'll watch a movie, for example - but it's always nerve wracking. I know that I will rely on these sheets of paper and stare at them for hours on end, and I'll always woried that I will get a critical date wrong. I also need to leave enough room for the little pieces of paper yet to emerge from the dark corners of my brain. Did I mention that I have really lousy handwriting? (It's improved due to the need to use blackboards and leave legible comments, but that's not saying much.)

Since the advisor (may his good health and spirits remain constant, particularly when he is writing his comments on my chapter) won't be getting back to me any time soon, this is a good time to do the big pieces for the next chapter. I've done one, and started a second. Gulp! Thank goodness for Simon Schama's "History of Britain" miniseries.

Words Written: working on the big pieces of paper
Lessons Graded: twenty-eight

Gertrude the Great

Today is the feast day of Gertrude the Great. No, she's not one I'd ever heard of until this moment (she's patron of the West Indies, so not someone I've needed to call upon by name just yet.)

Gertrude was born in Saxony in the 1350s, and placed in a convent at the age of five. She never again left the convent. (The world is a very different place than it was 700 years ago...)

At the age of twenty-six, Christ appeared to her in a vision and told her to stop studying so hard. On the one hand, this admonition could be taken as "you are a woman so you don't need to study" but I prefer to take it as "slow down and be still!" Pretty good advice in the 1370s or 2004.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twelve

P.S. Thanks for all of the kind replies to my Saturday post.

the beat goes on...

I've blogged before about my computer's obsession with Liza Minnelli tunes. In the past month I've experimented with her (yes, my computer has a gender) preferences by adding lots of new artists and songs to see what happened to the "random" selections. I didn't notice much change.

Drawing upon my experience as a liberal arts major, I then decided to further investigate Minnelli's musical career. I found another half dozen songs which are either very interesting performance-wise or excellent choices for singing under my breath while writing. The computer was delighted, and now at least I listen to a wider variety of Liza M tunes. Yet Liza now has competition! The Finn Brothers, quiet figures on itunes for many months, have suddenly emerged as second only to Liza in frequency of randomly selected play. I've no idea what this connection might suggest (did the Pet Shop Boys ever produce a Crowded House album?) but I'm very amused.

The advisor (may he live forever) got my chapter in today's mail. (crosses fingers) I'm tackling some minor changes while I wait.

Words Written: three hundred and six
Lessons Graded: nineteen

oh come on!

The dust jacket. The student copied the text of the dust jacket and submitted it as a book review.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: too depressing - are they all like this? am I this awful?

the morass of the mall

It is difficult enough to pick out and try on a pair of blue jeans, but even more difficult when "Frosty the Snowman" is playing in the mall, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" is playing inside the store and the sales clerk is whistling "Jingle Bells." As an act of musical rebellion, I whistled "We Gather Together To Ask the Lord's Blessing" the only Thanksgiving song I know.

Lots of people complain (and blog) about the early arrival of Christmas promotions, yet every year it happens. I conclude that it happens because it is an effective sales technique. I wonder what would happen if a new technique was attempted. It was a mistake to mention this to the clerk who rang up my purchase.

Speaking of which, I again understand that if you are selling an impulse purchase product from one of the little booths, you need to pester folks into being impulsive. If I have already told you "no" twice and am walking away from you, chasing after me is probably not an effective sales tactic and does not suggest positive things about your morals or your values. It is even less effective if you use a foreign accent in accosting me, and then reassume a Kentucky drawl when chatting with the person in the booth next to you.

I understand the desire to purchase calendars with pictures of Yorkies or ferrets. In this pattern, swimsuit models and Star Trek ships also make sense. I suppose I have to lump Paris Hilton calendars in with this category, though I wish I didn't. I was not prepared for the "Ronnie Reagan pin-ups" calendar next to Ms Hilton. Reagan with Gorbachev, sure, or taking the oath of office - well, OK, maybe it's just me who would prefer that kind of Reagan calendar.

A gold star to the Santa on duty for giving out candy canes to the seniors doing laps around the mall when his handlers weren't looking.

Chapter should be in the hands of my advisor (may his good health continue) any minute now.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: eighteen

Martha Washington

In 1793, war broke out between France and England. Thomas Jefferson, then the Sec. of State, urged President Washington to enter the conflict on the side of France. Alexander Hamilton, Sec. of the Teasury, disagreed. Martha Washington was asked what she thought of the situation. She replied that as Hamilton had seen combat and Jefferson had not, she wasn't surprised.

A nod of my head and a thank-you to thsoe who serve and to those at home who love them.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: fifteen

a brief rant

Not one but three book reviews in a row cribbed from Amazon.

How stupid do they think I am? The one I caught this morning has already e-mailed me to announce that he wrote the Amazon review, so it's not plagarism. Obviously he doesn't realize that such things can be checked.

Words Written:
Lessons Graded: twelve, not counting the three

up on the roof

One neighbor is on top of his roof. Another is on the roof of his garage. A third is on the roof of her camper.

I am staying down here, on the ground floor.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: twenty-one

N is for...

(yawn) So nice to spend my writing time taking a nap.

I haven't touched my e-mail account for 36 hours, which must be some sort of record for me.

Too much fun, too much relaxation - I could get used to this. Pass the hot cocoa.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: three

it's in the mail!

Only a week behind schedule, the chapter wends now toward the desk of my advisor (may he live forever) and further comment. I did some really painful cuts this morning - ideas that i really liked, but had little to do with the material at hand - and naturally was struck by inspiration about twenty minutes before the mailman's arrival. I think I pounded out 500 words in that time. I'm starting to memorize page numbers in my references, which is always a good sign.

Yes, Joe, I am taking very good care of the 117 year old book. I tend to drop books, but this one is treated with more TLC than a full coffee cup near my keyboard.

There's nothing like knowing a repair technician will be crawling around the baseboard this afternoon to get me feeling enthusiastic about running the vacuum cleaner. Do excuse me.

Words Written: more than I'd expected
Lessons Graded: two

awed in the pew

A truly amazing sermon this morning on the Beautitudes, which included the words "Peacemakers do not demonize." Christ calls us to make peace, to love and live in harmony. If Christians are busy pinning labels on each other and vilifying opinions which differ from their own, we are not "leading a life worthy of our calling."

Wow. That may be the best prayer I've yet heard for the next four years, of not for the rest of our lives. Amen.

Words Written: a bushel and a peck - chapter in Monday's mail
Lessons Graded: ten

I fought the beltway...

and the beltway won. I-465 4, Lemming 0.

You would think that on my fourth trip to the same location in two months, I would be able to keep east/west and north/south straight. I repeat, it's useless to tell me that "all I need is Meredian Street" if I haven't a clue where it is.

I wish that Indy had an AM radio program that tells passers-by the history of various names. "Northeastern Ave" isn't hard to figure out, but probably not everyopne knows that "Fort Harrison" is named after President Benjamin Harrison. Then there are names like "Lick Creek." I'm reasonably sure that it was named after a salt lick, but curious to know how the name survived into 2004.

Speaking of President Harrison, I now have on my desk a book that was published in 1887, the year before he was nominated. This book is one hundred and seventeen years old - and it's on my desk! The library let me take it home! The pages are lovely and thick, and the font is downright beautiful.

Words Written: thirty (cleaning up footnotes)
Lessons Graded: twelve

go softly on

Possibly the best cure for the post-election blues: the phone line mysteriously gives out. Five minutes after I posted yesterday, the phone line quit. This meant no Internet and no chatting with fellow Kenyonites in pride and sadness. Turning off the TV and radio (apart from ATC last night) did even more to improve my mood. I still don't understand how a majority of Americans could see gay marriage as a bigger concern than the war in Iraq, but I don't think it's something I am going to understand.

So I read and wrote and tried to think through revisions. The family next door wondered aloud about the birth of the Electoral College and deemed it "cool" that I knew all about it. This did even more to improve my mood. I'm not often described as "cool" for any reason, let alone my ability to blither on about Alexander Hamilton.

Today I will pilgrimage to the library. There I will pay homage to generations of librarians, as the articles I need to copy were published in 1897 and 1899. It's kind of cool that these journals are still in the stacks. For old time's sake, I might even have a cup of the swill that the library cafeteria pretends is coffee.

Words Written: five hundred and three
Lessons Graded: zero

eating with a spoon

The sun came up this morning. I brewed an adequate cup of coffee. The comfy sweater turned up under a pile of books (a really big pile of books) and I know what I need to write about today so that I can mail the chapter in tomorrow.

I'm trying to look for the positive. I conclude that a Republican House, Senate, President and Judiciary will mean that there are no excuses. Things will either improve or burn themselves out. A lot of people will suffer in the process. I'll pray that we escape another 9/11.

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: fifteen

vote early, vote often

I voted this morning, and feel a whole lot better. I can't remember the last time I voted in a polling station with pen and paper - sometime in the early 1990s, I think. The poll people were very happy to have a paper trail, but I missed the "something out of a science fiction movie" button pushing. The lines were short, but steady. Turn-out is the best in memory.

The most interesting race around here, in my biased opinion, is the one for school board. The "People Who Walk Their Dogs in the Rain" focus group held wildly diverse opinions on this topic. I tend to vote for anyone who thinks the arts need more funding, but there's support here for the football candidate, too. All of us liked the smaller class size candidate, and a few thought that this candidate was the best-looking. The sleeper issue , brought up at the "meet the candidates forum" but not covered in the paper or in their fliers, was Creationism. At least one of the candidates wants evolution removed and Genesis brought back in. (Nothing was said about dinosaurs.)

Words Written: zero
Lessons Graded: zero

Red Sox won, Redskins lost...

I can't decide if I should purchase Ben & Jerry's for tomorrow night (assumes I watch the results coming in) or a bottle of really good wine (assumes that I spend the evening with Jon Stewart.)

Election Night 1992: the dining hall served brocoli at supper. Most of my table went back for thirds. Went back to my room, blocked out and drafted a paper on Paradise Lost. Spent two hours at a fantastic "watch the results party" which included a keg of Corona in the bathroom. Raised a toast to the results, and had the first four pages of the paper written before bed at 1:30 AM.

Election Night 2000: I proctered an exam. Most of my students assured me that they had voted. One or two had even voted absentee for Florida. At 4 AM I reconciled myself to the fact that "staying awake until the bitter end" was probably not a possibility.

Here's wishing all of us a good night's sleep tomorrow.

Words Written: six hundred and ninety-eight (ouch!)
Lessons Graded: three (the complaints have started)