Weekend Collage

First of all, is anyone else having Blogger issues? I’m getting a delay between my typing and the letters showing up on the screen, and it’s so annoying that I am composing in Word instead and pasting over when I’m done. Is this happening to anyone else?

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I had bought these totally geeky-cool sunglasses at the start of biking season – ones that fit over my regular glasses, so I don't have to swap glasses when getting on the bike or the scooter. They really streamline getting on and off the bike. I wore them home from the Crest on Wednesday evening, and when I went to put them on Thursday, one lens was missing. I have no idea where it went, and can't find it in the house. I think polterguys took it, and it’s a bummer, man.

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After a quick but delicious chana masala dinner at home, Otis and I transported carless Johnbai up to the Oak Tree so we could meet Stella and all experience the banality that was Fantastic Four 2. Dingo was right (and let us know about it when she met us for afters): the movie was awful. But we had expected it, so the shock was not as great. Jessica Alba had transformed into some hideous Barbie-monster, but the rest of the flick was stunning in its mediocrity: acting, effects, everything. As a matter of fact, even writing about it is boring.

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Here's a deliberately messy flash game. It's poetry. It's art. Try it.

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Kudos to A-Wo and Kay-Kay: they were not as optimistic as I was about sidewalk space on the Solstice Parade route and showed up early; it was only through their offices that we got a good spot staked out. Stella and Sairey carpooled with us, and the group grew to include Sachet & her buddy, Dingo and New York Alex, Sylvio and his bro, and Kris-10 and Rye-N, so we needed the space, too. The parade seemed a little low-energy compared to last year: it was fine, but there was less music and political street drama than last year’s parade. There was no dearth of naked bikers and bared boobies, but some élan or brio was missing, and the delays seemed especially long. Maybe we were just tired.

Some of us walked after the parade to Wallingford for lunch and happened to meet up with JagGirl and Dvd lunching at Ma’s with a pal. There's always time for some tasty Thai.

The parade was exhausting. How can sitting and watching other people walk make you tired? Afternoon naps were the order of the day.

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Last evening, we went over to Cal and Merry’s to join them and their pal Canuck for the premiere Big Time Screening ™. We saw Duma, a sweet movie about a boy and his cheetah cub. It was full of good will and struggle and triumph and all that (as well as a motorcycle with a sidecar!), and we had a great time watching from the big seats in the little theater, and having some great conversation afterwards as well.

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We rode the scooter home in the rain last night. Chilly!

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I think this is my favorite political cartoon evar:

I got into teaching for all the free time

So, yesterday, I started working at about nine or so (ay em) and wrapped it up at about nine or so (pee-em). It wasn't quite as formidable as it sounds; I did take lunch, dinner, and a walk to the grocery store, so I was actually only mining the salt for about nine hours. Otis was doing something all that time; I don't know exactly what, but the house looks awfully clean and sparkly.

And today: well, like the weather, the work forecast seems to be pretty much the same as it was yesterday.

This what I get for taking Friday off, I suppose.

At least I'm not trying to sell a house or anything.

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Here's a last goodbye to Vicky Lynn Hogan, the 21st century Wal-Mart version of Norma Jeane Mortenson. Her story had the tragedy but not the talent; more bathos but no pathos.

A thought or two from a thoughtful day or two

Wednesday was a challenging teaching day, not so much because the teaching was a challenge, but because so many of my students have been experiencing personal challenges this quarter, and lately they all seem to be manifesting more acutely. So, classrooms great; conferences dicey.

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Yesterday evening, Otis and I had a great time at the C.E. Putnam reading at Hugo House. We were joined by all the Putnam kith and kin in the area code, as well as Soapy, smack dab on yet another cusp. Dingo, Johnbai, and O begged off, but were with us in spirit.

C.E. (that would be Otis's bro) was reading from his latest book, Frolic:



Here's an excerpt from the book, the beginning of "Go-Go Poem #71"

The boss let me borrow
his soft inside her kiss.
My cheek: Porsche 944

The rest of the evening after the reading was anticlimactic.

You can find out more about C.E. or order the book at his website, P.I.S.O.R. Industries.

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Today's teaching went pretty well. The students were pretty much on task, and I think I did some stuff that worked. You can't ask for more than that. I had some quality time with Stella between classes, as well as a nice phone call from Dingo, making up for her missing the prior evening's festivities.

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I received a been-too-long email from my great and good friend Liam in the city of big shoulders. I (will have) replied, telling him to read this. How self-referential, eh?

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When I got home from Bothell, Otis had both made a super-yummy pot of lentil soup and rearranged the living room, to wit:



In return for all this cheery goodness, I sprang for some peach lambic to go with dinner, as well as a movie for tonight (Stick It!). Yay!

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Coming soon: Stella got her groove on - secret photos from the dim past!

The best part of waking up...

...is not the Folger's in my cup, although even instant coffee tastes better when you put half-and-half in it. (We were out of tea that didn't have flowers in it.)

It was cold and crisp when I threw let the cat out this morning, so I imagine we are going to have another clear and sunny day today. I'm liking this kind of winter, I tell you.

We managed to get out into the sun for just a little bit yesterday, since it's still busy times around here. Since Otis doesn't want to say anything to jinx it, I'll do a little crowing for her: this has been her busiest week for massage since opening her doors last May. If she could maintain this level of activity all the time, life might not be all skittles and beer, but it would certainly be cakes and ale, anyway. Of course, she's still trying to fit a massive grading project for the school district in, too, so she's actually too busy right now. I managed to hack down half (by absolute paper count, at least) my stack of responding yesterday (so I should have time for some job application work today). We went out for just a bit, for a bite and business in Wallingford.

I had a chance to batch it last night, as Otis went and spent a long evening with her mom. It was fun to have the whole house to myself for a little while, and it reminded me of my time in grad school in Cheney, only with five times the floor space. I took advantage of this freedom to, uh, work. And do laundry. And talk to Stella and Dingo on the phone. And like that. What a wild man, eh?

"Work?!?"

The bete noire of Maynard G. Krebs has been dogging me this week. By all rights, I should be working now, but I need a little time to chill. I'm still catching up from snow delays, and several students handed in papers late as well, which throws my schedule off. Having two never-taught-before sections has added to the workload, too. Ah, well. I guess pouring concrete is hard work; this is just annoying.

I guess it was sort-of a break

I just realized that what I guess was a good thing has happened: these snowless snow days lately managed to provide me with a little bit of an extra winter break. I had been complaining that it felt like I went back to work too soon; these slow days have provided me with a change to sleep in, skip a commute, re-charge, and catch up. I have a little bit to do today, but I feel much better about diving into the week than I might have otherwise. yeah, the quarter has gotten a little scruffed up and I'll have to juggle some early assignments, but overall the good outweighs the bad.

On top of that, the cold-but-clear weather has been a welcome change from the usual winter gray in this part of the world. Not bad at all.

Yesterday, Otis spent a good chunk of this break time up in Everett at a baby shower for her sister in law. We got the kid some onesies and put these images on them:



Pretty cool, huh? Can you guess which ones Otis picked and which ones I picked?

I spent much of the day working but a good potion of it playing, too. A little more of each today and then back to the word mines tomorrow.

Looong day

I started teaching at 9:00 am and stopped at 9:30 pm. Even though it wasn't continuous, I have nothing to say about today, so here's another story of interspecies amity that I cribbed from the intarweb.



(PS: It was just hailing really hard here)

There are two three many sides to every story

On the one hand, Mondays are short days for me: I only teach two hours, and only at NSCC. That's pretty cool, since it lets me ease into the week, rather than running straight into a buzz saw the way I did last quarter.

On the other hand, what that means is I have a bunch of "free" time on Mondays, which must be filled with productive work or I start the week in the hole, which is why I have been grading and prepping pretty solid since lunchtime, and still have some to do.

On the third hand, as it were, I did take a break to go out with Otis for some yummy Chef Liao pan-Asian goodness tonight.

On the fourth paw, how could anyone complain about anything after seeing the boatload of undenilable cuteness that is this photoset?

Television is bad for your mental health

Apparently, Otis saw part of an Oprah today that was concerned with how much bacteria there is in the average kitchen sink and how many dust mites live in the average bed and so forth. So now she is on her knees in the hallway, vacuuming the stairway carpet, after having cleaned the bedroom, kitchen, and hall closet already.

More weirdness: Dingo offers up this new year's gift from China: fluorescent green pigs.

Pic: I found a 3-D Bummerman. Johnbai, he's all yours.



Today: More teaching. I guess this trend will continue for another ten weeks or so.

I want a dymaxion, too

This super-streamlined version of Bucky Fuller three-wheeled car comes courtesy of the Arthur Radeaugh exhibit at the Palace of Culture virtual museum.

Here's a link to a short movie showing the actual prototype, and here's another, both from a PBS special.

The perfect transport if the weather is too rough for my personal blimp.

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Classes started up again today. Once again, I am teaching overloaded: five classes at three campus. Tuesday is mega-day this quarter: morning at NSCC, afternoon at CCC, and evening at AUS. On the good side, three of my five classes should have only about a dozen students, so my reading and assessing load should be lighter. And so it goes.

Bits and bobs to begin the year

New Year's Eve:
Otis and I passed a quiet evening at home, watching the original miniseries of the Battlestar Galactica reboot before participating in the traditional countdown. Ever since Yojimbo lent us season two, Otis has been hot on this show. Go figure.

Two observations from the night: Dick Clark is frakking amazing; you can't tell veggie pigs-in-a-blanket from the meat kind. Mmmmm.


Click the pic for home movie silliness.
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I SO want one of these:

The Personal Blimp

Check out this article or the company site.

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New Widget:
Your results:
You are Wonder Woman

You are a beautiful princess
with great strength of character.

Wonder Woman 80% Spider-Man 75% Supergirl 70% The Flash 60% Iron Man 60% Superman 60% Green Lantern 55% Robin 45% Catwoman 45% Hulk 40% Batman 25%

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Test


Nice to know I'm wonderful. Check yourself out.

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We have apparently run out of sports:

Competitive plastic-cup-stacking.

Apparently, it's big. I have no idea what to think. Here's the association and an equipment dealer.

It's Apple Day Morning!

Best wishes to everyone for warm and wonderful holiday celebrations!

There's pippins and cheese to come!
--The Merry Wives of Windsor

New day, same as the old day

I am happy to report that I got just as much done on Saturday as I did on Friday!

Instead of a matinee, Otis and I went over to Johnbai and O's to watch Hustle and Flow with Dingo, E-rik, and Silvio. A warm house, yummy treats, and good conversation attended the viewing; J & O get props for making the most of their smallish place.

A a nod to the season, here's a panel from a recent comic. You can imagine your own context:

Happy solstice!

We have made it to the darkest point of the season and we can now start steaming through the roiling seas of winter to the clear dawn of springtime!

Or something like that.

Hey, I'm finished grading/assessing! All sold, all done. I have a little bit of prep left, but it's really the fun bits, so no worries.

The socializing continued yesterday, even as I was glued to the computer to finish my work. Johnbai came over to do some bidness with Otis, and we threw lunch in free-gratis. Now I have to get ready to leave to go get Stella at the airport, and I might even get in a quick cuppa with Farmer Scott before I have to have a working dinner with some colleagues from Antioch.