On Shopping

I basically hate shopping, except occasionally. Often I like shopping in Georgetown, particularly when it's sunny, and particularly at Anthropologie, which makes me feel like if I were rich, I would also dress interestingly. Diana, I am working up my shopping tolerance, it is now about an hour. You should come--Georgetown has some fun stores, and I'll try not to fuss.

Teaching Evals

Receiving evaluations from my students was very helpful--they made me realize I am often not very clear at all, and that I need to give more feedback on their papers. They gave cute descriptions of me: Amish, poetic, cheerful, etc.

The best description, though, is one I don't especially think I deserve (in addition to being not exactly relevant):

Well-dressed.

Notes from Bro. OP

"I thought of you and your three white leopards under the juniper tree today as we celebrated Ash Wednesday. I trust that you are not "fed to satiety," since it is a fast day, but nonetheless not dissembled, proffering deeds to oblivion either."

From T.S. Eliot's "Ash-Wednesday," quite possibly my favorite poem:

Where shall the word be found, where will the word
Resound? Not here, there is not enough silence

Poems!

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
`My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

I read this with my two sections--once in conjunction with Hobbes, and once in conjunction with Locke. It worked a little better when the children had more freshly been thinking about Hobbes. In regard to Hobbes, the kids suggested that the poem is anti-Hobbesian insofar as you may return to a natural state after absolutist rule--that the poem shows us that material goods don't matter, finally, and that the relentless pursuit of power leads to nothing. They also note that the subjects of the sovereign are gone together with his works. Although they did point out that Hobbes would agree with Shelley here in seeing pride as a poor motivation. In regard to Locke, the kids saw the poem as anti-absolutism--Locke might read this poem and suggest that a limited government would've helped.

On Elbow Patches

I've never met an elbow patch I didn't like. That's true, actually. I suppose that that it is possible for an elbow patch to be ugly, but it's hard for me to imagine how. Possibly hot pink on a purple sweater. Nope, I'm pretty sure I'd like it/wear it.

I like them on sweaters and on blazers. I picked out an elbow patch blazer some months ago. When Diana saw it, she looked really surprised: "Oh, those aren't ugly! Those are cool elbow patches!" I beg to differ--all elbow patches are cool elbow patches.

Oh my alma mater.

From Ilana:

Besides surviving, the highlight of my day was when I found this written at the top of my physics test: "74/75 (you should major in physics)"

After getting an 88 on my Scarlet Letter test, this sounded like a good idea.

Everyone Knows What an Old Man Hat Looks Like (And How Wonderful They Are)

"Your blog gets really boring when Graham is here. And could you post about me more?" --Frankincense

"Yeah, it always make me feel really important when you post about me." --Percy

"Well, and plus, the posts are just more interesting when they're about me." --Frankincense


Note: All quotations on this blog are approximate, due to my obscenely short memory.

On Knit Ties

There is nothing wrong with even orange knit ties. And boy, I love the one with the little duck on it...

On Washing Cars

I love washing my car. It always feels like a challenge to me--you have to go through all the steps (or as many as possible, preferably all the way through the rinse) without running out of time and quarters. Plus, it makes me feel like a strong woman.

Anyway, so the weather's been fine, so I've been meaning to wash my car since Saturday. I finally got to it this afternoon. Unfortunately, I was wearing my new white corduroys. Plus, the soap on this one reminds me of the strawberry toothpaste (with the fun electric toothbrush!) at the dentist's--it came out pink! So now there is both dirt and pink soap on the bottom of my corduroys. Alas.

On Cardigans

So lately I've become aware of my very deep affection for the cardigan. I'm fairly sure this is closely attached to my affection for old men, but I think it's quite nice on young men, as well, during their move toward cute old man-ness.

The old man at the symphony last week with a cardigan and a bow tie and a blazer was unparalleled, additionally because he kept falling asleep.



















Coming next: knit ties....

Metropolis

When Percy invited me over to watch a 1927 silent science fiction film set in 2025, I'm not going to lie--my hopes were not so high. But actually, I thought this film was fabulous--it not only kept my attention, but provided plenty of opportunity for me to less-than-typically annoyingly interrupt the film with comments.

"The mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart!" The message of the film is overt and often repeated. But the themes are interesting: There are significant religious themes, not only against erotic dancing as provoking the masses, but also the workers gathering in the catacombs to hear of a coming mediator (who, when he arrives, is nearly killed). And references to the tower of Babel and the whore of Babylon. There are Hawthornesque themes of the danger of divorcing thought from emotion. The relationship of the worker to his work is also treated in the film. The dangers of technology are another important theme, particularly in regard to the scientific attempt to create life. And, of course, there's love.

On the Pope

I asked Myrrh for recommendations on loving the Pope more some time ago and she suggested that I look at some of his pastoral writings on the Vatican website.

She also writes: "You could look at pictures of him being cute. That might help. Like these:"

Cold beer on a Friday night
A pair of jeans that fit just right
And the radio up

(well, sans the cold beer)

This is for all you girls about twenty-five
In a little apartment, just trying to get by
Living on, on dreams and spaghetti-o's
Wondering where your life is gonna go

(I know, I know, Myrrh--we need not live on spaghetti-o's, but, alas, we sometimes do anyway;)

Why I Cannot Watch the Superbowl

The Superbowl goes in the category of things I'm annoyed with because all of my friends are engaged with an event I have no interest in. Also in that category is Lost.

I can't watch the Superbowl this year because I can neither cheer for the Steelers (Williamsport is slightly to the east of the center of Pennsylvania, which means that we [with the exception of Pittsburgh basketball] cheer for Philadelphia sports), nor can I cheer against a Pennsylvania team.

Serendipity and the Internet

three animals of man--This is just crying out for a feminist (the bad kind) answer. So I will just have to separate from my normal, man-loving self and give one: Men are certainly a combination of animals. First, men are certainly peacocks--they love showing off their (admittedly very lovely) feathers. Second, men are puppies who delight in being petted and shown affection. Third, men are probably lions or bucks or tarantulas or something like that--they want to be the main man and win, in whatever particular form that desire to win takes (I say this with the full realization that I, too, am very competitive, at least in some things).

are lipstick stains on a cigarette sexy?--Alas, one would think so, but Sayers in Busman's Honeymoon notes with approval that Harriet Vane is too sensible to leave them on her cigarettes. On the other hand, they are a distinctively feminine part of smoking. And so I'm torn.

coffee cup--This is largely a matter of personal preference: some odd people like very small cups for their coffee, while others like large ones (I prefer my large clear glass mug).

how much leoperds is there in the word.com--About half a dozen.