I got an email today about ordering a new edition of the comp textbook. If your students buy texts every semester, then you're pretty much stuck ordering whatever edition is available, and that means as soon as a new one's available, that's that. It's in the interest of publishers to put out new editions fairly frequently, so that students don't just buy used copies. I'm sure there are some fields where a new edition every two or three years is really important, but first year comp doesn't seem to be one of them.
But, with our rental system, we can order an edition, and use it for several years. Students pay a set fee to rent however many books they need for the semester (though some are purchase texts, depending on what's available and the professor's choices, and such).
Still, when a new edition comes out, the publisher wants us to change. One way to push this is to make it impossible to get desk copies of the older edition. And that's what's happened here. Someone is teaching this edition for the first time, and thus needs a new desk copy. And that means to keep confusion from being overwhelming with two different editions of the "same" comp text, the publisher is pushing the bookstore to switch over. So the bookstore is pushing the department folks, and they're sending out the email.
And here my laziness becomes apparent. I don't want to use a new edition because I have really good notes written up for the edition we've been using, and using a new edition means I have to revise the whole class to take it into account, and the write a whole new set of notes. See, I'm lazy. Except the difference is that I can quickly review notes and pull out a quiz for a chapter before class, while if I have to read a chapter, it takes significantly longer. And if I'm going to use a text more than once (as is usual for comp texts), or if it's an important text for me, I try to take really good reading notes so I can use them again.
For example, for the second day of my comp class (the first day for which they've had a reading assignment, and thus expect a quiz), I give a reading quiz. My quizzes are open notes, closed book, so students who take good notes have an easy time. And then after a few minutes, I stop them and ask them how many feel confident about their quiz. Most don't, so I tell them I won't collect it, and then I hand out a copy of my notes for the chapter, which are six pages long (for the current edition). That's a wake up call for the students, whose notes usually consist of a few lines, because they haven't been really taught about notetaking. Then we talk about how to take notes, and tricks of the trade (like putting page numbers, bibliographic info, a date, using arrows and boxes to mark important stuff, etc.).
Taking really good notes on a reading for the first time probably triples the time it takes to prep that first time. And then cuts the time at least in half thereafter. So it's worth it, but I don't want to do it this coming semester. I'm especially reticent because we're teaching a new common text AND we're being treated to a combination of furloughs (aka pay cut) and increased class sizes. Talk about a disincentive to add work.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Brainstorming Class
I met with a colleague today to brainstorm a course outline for a new course for the department. The idea is that lots of people would be able to teach the course, but we (as a department) really want to accomplish fairly specific goals with it.
I had a bit of trepidation about it, but it went really well. We kept the outline really open as far as texts, and fairly specific as far as assignments to help students learn what we want them to learn. I think we did a really good job giving the course time to teach the skills and then have the students do them, rather than expecting them to learn well by doing some assignment on their own.
My colleague was really great to work with; she had good critiques of some of my ideas, and good ideas of her own. We were able to incorporate the things the department folks had asked us to bring in pretty darned well.
The outline feels coherent and flexible, and I can imagine different colleagues using it successfully with their own take on the flexibility.
I had a bit of trepidation about it, but it went really well. We kept the outline really open as far as texts, and fairly specific as far as assignments to help students learn what we want them to learn. I think we did a really good job giving the course time to teach the skills and then have the students do them, rather than expecting them to learn well by doing some assignment on their own.
My colleague was really great to work with; she had good critiques of some of my ideas, and good ideas of her own. We were able to incorporate the things the department folks had asked us to bring in pretty darned well.
The outline feels coherent and flexible, and I can imagine different colleagues using it successfully with their own take on the flexibility.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Bardiac's Yellowstone Adventure, Postlude - The Books
I'm one of those people who loves to have a book on CD/tape going when I have a long drive; the longer the drive, the more I appreciate the entertainment. And this drive was going to be long, so I took a number of books out of the library.
Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer - good reader, and mostly a really nicely done story, though the ending felt a little rushed or just not quite finished. Have you folks noticed how often in Kingsolver's fiction some woman gets kids without doing the whole pregnancy/birthing thing? This book made me notice that, though it's a primary premise in The Bean Trees as well. Have I mentioned that I only recently (re-listening to The Bean Trees) realized they're Wisteria? Yep, I'm that slow.
Anyway, I liked the twisted plot, though it took me a bit to follow it. I find plot twisting harder to follow when I listen to a text than when I read it physically. I think my visual memory helps me get stuff when I read.
Toni Morrison - Jazz - good reader, but a little hard to follow at times while driving. Still, Morrison's prose is so good, just chewy and flowing in the right places. This book left me wanting nothing.
And then, because the selection in the adult section seemed a tad slim, I went down to the kids' section. I didn't read much kid lit when I was a kid, so I have a lot of catching up to do, and they're publishing lots more all the time.
Kate DiCamillo - Because of Winn-Dixie - really excellent reader. Good story, just magical enough but also simple. I would have loved this as a kid. (A dog and its girl! What could be better?)
Lemony Snicket - The Bad Beginning and The Reptile Room - Tim Curry is an incredible reader, but the coughing thing got irritating. I love the attention to language and wordplay, and the humor. This is a smart series, and I'm definitely going to try to listen to the next ones as well. There are female characters, and while the characterizations are a bit clunky at times, they actually have brains and participate in the action. Yay!
Jenny Nimmo - Midnight for Charlie Bone and Charlie Bone and the Time Twister - well read, and the plotting is okay, but big foreshadowing. It's like you just want to say, "that's your Dad, Mr. Pilgrim" but of course you can't anymore than you could warn John Wayne that he was riding into an ambush. On the other hand, I like that plot components will carry over from one story to the next (I expect). I'll maybe listen to the next book or so, but compared to the language fun of Lemony Snicket, this is more plot stuffs.
I think the start of this series made me think a lot of the Harry Potter series (I'm not sure which came first). Very special boy who has lost his dad vs very special boy who has lost his parents but really focuses only on his dad. Very special boy goes to British boarding school, amongst others, some of whom are also very special, while regular folks muddle on alongside. Female characters are pretty minimal, and not nearly as important as male characters.
Of course, Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie has an absent mom.
Absent parents have been a staple of kids' lit since forever, but I really got thinking about it because of the importance of it in these texts. It's not like "the parents are absent, let's have an adventure because no responsible adults are preventing it," but more like "the parents are absent and we're going to have an adventure and try to make a connection back to the absent parents somehow because parents are really, really important." And, yes, they are. But somehow that plot device started feeling more contrived to me than in, say, Dickens.
In the Harry Potter and Charlie Bone series, there's also this fantasy world of magic, which just isn't part of the Unfortunate Events series, or of Dickens. I guess I go back and forth on liking the magicalness. Let's face it, the world could do with magic, but, alas, if there's real magic, it seems to be missing where it's most needed in this world.
I'm also really tired of boys' stories. Winn-Dixie was good, but not nearly as full as the series of boys' stories out there.
But, I'm wondering, are boys reading more these days, or are these boys' stories being read mostly by little girls who are learning their "proper place" as adjuncts to male stories?
Are there good series with female protagonists who actually do stuff?
So, that's the adventure for the summer. Back to regularly scheduled early modern stuffs soon!
Barbara Kingsolver - Prodigal Summer - good reader, and mostly a really nicely done story, though the ending felt a little rushed or just not quite finished. Have you folks noticed how often in Kingsolver's fiction some woman gets kids without doing the whole pregnancy/birthing thing? This book made me notice that, though it's a primary premise in The Bean Trees as well. Have I mentioned that I only recently (re-listening to The Bean Trees) realized they're Wisteria? Yep, I'm that slow.
Anyway, I liked the twisted plot, though it took me a bit to follow it. I find plot twisting harder to follow when I listen to a text than when I read it physically. I think my visual memory helps me get stuff when I read.
Toni Morrison - Jazz - good reader, but a little hard to follow at times while driving. Still, Morrison's prose is so good, just chewy and flowing in the right places. This book left me wanting nothing.
And then, because the selection in the adult section seemed a tad slim, I went down to the kids' section. I didn't read much kid lit when I was a kid, so I have a lot of catching up to do, and they're publishing lots more all the time.
Kate DiCamillo - Because of Winn-Dixie - really excellent reader. Good story, just magical enough but also simple. I would have loved this as a kid. (A dog and its girl! What could be better?)
Lemony Snicket - The Bad Beginning and The Reptile Room - Tim Curry is an incredible reader, but the coughing thing got irritating. I love the attention to language and wordplay, and the humor. This is a smart series, and I'm definitely going to try to listen to the next ones as well. There are female characters, and while the characterizations are a bit clunky at times, they actually have brains and participate in the action. Yay!
Jenny Nimmo - Midnight for Charlie Bone and Charlie Bone and the Time Twister - well read, and the plotting is okay, but big foreshadowing. It's like you just want to say, "that's your Dad, Mr. Pilgrim" but of course you can't anymore than you could warn John Wayne that he was riding into an ambush. On the other hand, I like that plot components will carry over from one story to the next (I expect). I'll maybe listen to the next book or so, but compared to the language fun of Lemony Snicket, this is more plot stuffs.
I think the start of this series made me think a lot of the Harry Potter series (I'm not sure which came first). Very special boy who has lost his dad vs very special boy who has lost his parents but really focuses only on his dad. Very special boy goes to British boarding school, amongst others, some of whom are also very special, while regular folks muddle on alongside. Female characters are pretty minimal, and not nearly as important as male characters.
Of course, Opal in Because of Winn-Dixie has an absent mom.
Absent parents have been a staple of kids' lit since forever, but I really got thinking about it because of the importance of it in these texts. It's not like "the parents are absent, let's have an adventure because no responsible adults are preventing it," but more like "the parents are absent and we're going to have an adventure and try to make a connection back to the absent parents somehow because parents are really, really important." And, yes, they are. But somehow that plot device started feeling more contrived to me than in, say, Dickens.
In the Harry Potter and Charlie Bone series, there's also this fantasy world of magic, which just isn't part of the Unfortunate Events series, or of Dickens. I guess I go back and forth on liking the magicalness. Let's face it, the world could do with magic, but, alas, if there's real magic, it seems to be missing where it's most needed in this world.
I'm also really tired of boys' stories. Winn-Dixie was good, but not nearly as full as the series of boys' stories out there.
But, I'm wondering, are boys reading more these days, or are these boys' stories being read mostly by little girls who are learning their "proper place" as adjuncts to male stories?
Are there good series with female protagonists who actually do stuff?
So, that's the adventure for the summer. Back to regularly scheduled early modern stuffs soon!
Friday, June 12, 2009
Bardiac's Yellowstone Adventure, part 4
After leaving Yellowstone, I headed out towards Cody, WY. I'd heard there's a great Buffalo Bill museum there. What I didn't know was that there was also a small mountain range, and it was fairly socked over with fog, so it took me a whole lot longer to get to Cody than I'd planned, so I was too late for a museum. But it was about 6pm, and was going to be light until about 9pm, so I decided to go on to Sheridan. And what I also didn't realize was that the Bighorn range was between me and Sheridan, and was also pretty socked in with fog.
Before I hit the fog, though, I saw a couple of moose, looking like they were working on a set of antlers.
I hate driving in a heavy fog. I'm reasonably decent at it, because I'm willing to drive really slowly, but it's stressful.
Happily, the next day was a tad rainy, but I seem to have escaped the fog and found my way to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. They've marked where the soldiers died with white markers; Custer's is specially marked. And they've recently added markers for the Native American warriors who fell, too. It's really sad to realize how willing people were to die to take over the territories of Native Americans. And yet, I'm guilty of not wanting to move back to whichever parts of Europe my ancestors came over from. Still, the battlefield is overwhelmingly sad with all the markers around.
They've also added the most beautiful Native American memorial with a theme of Peace through Unity. It's this sort of mound thing, but hollow, so you can walk on the path in, and there are listed the names of Native Americans who died in the battles in the area. It's very moving. And above, the mound is this incredible sculpture that looks almost like stained glass against the background.
Here's a series of closeups moving from right to left, from the front of the line of horses to the last. I should have gone back to my car to get the non-telephoto lens so I could take the whole group in a single shot with the sky behind it. Alas, I didn't.
Still, these shots give you some idea of how beautiful the sculpture is. I was struck by the final figures, where you can see a woman reaching up to the man on the horse, maybe handing him something?
The museum down below talks about the women who were camped nearby, and who were attacked by the cavalry soldiers. It's one of the few mentions of women (except for Custer's wife, who donated a bunch of his stuff, some of which is displayed at the museum, too) at the battlefield site.
Before I left, I drove up the road a bit, and saw some birds. Yes, you knew it would have to end with some birds, didn't you? These are my very first Sharp-tailed Grouse. I've never seen grouse of any sort before, so I was pretty excited. There were a bunch of them, but I only noticed one at first, and then it took me a while to notice the others.
Next up, a few thoughts on the books I listened to while driving.
Before I hit the fog, though, I saw a couple of moose, looking like they were working on a set of antlers.I hate driving in a heavy fog. I'm reasonably decent at it, because I'm willing to drive really slowly, but it's stressful.
Happily, the next day was a tad rainy, but I seem to have escaped the fog and found my way to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. They've marked where the soldiers died with white markers; Custer's is specially marked. And they've recently added markers for the Native American warriors who fell, too. It's really sad to realize how willing people were to die to take over the territories of Native Americans. And yet, I'm guilty of not wanting to move back to whichever parts of Europe my ancestors came over from. Still, the battlefield is overwhelmingly sad with all the markers around.
They've also added the most beautiful Native American memorial with a theme of Peace through Unity. It's this sort of mound thing, but hollow, so you can walk on the path in, and there are listed the names of Native Americans who died in the battles in the area. It's very moving. And above, the mound is this incredible sculpture that looks almost like stained glass against the background.
Here's a series of closeups moving from right to left, from the front of the line of horses to the last. I should have gone back to my car to get the non-telephoto lens so I could take the whole group in a single shot with the sky behind it. Alas, I didn't.
Still, these shots give you some idea of how beautiful the sculpture is. I was struck by the final figures, where you can see a woman reaching up to the man on the horse, maybe handing him something? 
The museum down below talks about the women who were camped nearby, and who were attacked by the cavalry soldiers. It's one of the few mentions of women (except for Custer's wife, who donated a bunch of his stuff, some of which is displayed at the museum, too) at the battlefield site.
Before I left, I drove up the road a bit, and saw some birds. Yes, you knew it would have to end with some birds, didn't you? These are my very first Sharp-tailed Grouse. I've never seen grouse of any sort before, so I was pretty excited. There were a bunch of them, but I only noticed one at first, and then it took me a while to notice the others.Next up, a few thoughts on the books I listened to while driving.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Bardiac's Yellowstone Adventure, part 3
After five days of biking, we ended up back in Bozeman. A couple of us went out to dinner, and I made plans to start back for home. But I was in no real hurry, so I decided to take an extra day and drive back through Yellowstone, specifically through the Lamar Valley area, then out through Cody, a visit to the Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument (I've been to Rushmore and the South Dakota badlands, but not Little Bighorn).
The Lamar Valley was worth the visit, for sure. Here's some of what I saw.
This bison pair was sauntering up the road, and I took the picture out my car window, being very glad that I was IN my car and not on a bike. You really get a sense of how huge bison are when they walk by so closely. And this is a female with calf. The males are way bigger.
For this one, you'll have to right click to embiggen, and look at the grey dot in the center. I stopped on the side of the road, and then some other folks stopped near me. I saw a coyote. They apparently saw a wolf. And they seemed very excited about it, too. The thing is, I really wanted to see a wolf, and thought for the first instant that it was. Then I got my binoculars on it, and saw the ears. But still, I've longed since reading Farley Mowat to see a wolf. And yet, I've only ever seen three coyotes, including this one, and they're absolutely wonderful in their own way, so I was still celebrating seeing the coyote. Being able to get a picture made it all the more special, somehow. (See The Daily Coyote for GREAT coyote pictures!)
It was across a field, and stopped to look our way for an instant before trotting on.
For those who live on the coasts, Pelicans aren't that hard to see these days, I suppose. But when I was a kid, we were excited to see them. I gather their populations have recovered a fair bit, but it's still a treat to see them this far inland. This one was having lunch; while I watched, s/he snagged something. Yum!
As you drive through Yellowstone, sometimes you'll see a whole crowd of cars stopped, so you can see that folks are looking at something. Then you stop and add to the crowd to see what there is to see. The funny thing is that there was a small cluster of folks with high powered telescopic looking setups on tripods looking out to the left, and about 50 feet to the right of them was this bighorn sheep, wandering slowly towards them. They were, I gather, looking at a Mountain Bluebird (which I only saw when it flew). I saw several Mountain Bluebirds on the trip, usually while I was slowly biking along, close enough to get a really good look, but not able to get out a camera and get a picture. Still, it's really thrilling to see the MBs AND a bighorn!
At another crowded area, I got to see my first badger ever. When I was an undergrad and took a mammology course, our lab had a variety of skulls and such that we were supposed to learn to identify for exams. We had a badger skull and a wolverine skull. While a skilled biologist could tell the difference by looking at teeth and structures, I could tell because the wolverine skull had a big bullet hole through it. No wonder my zoology career left something to be desired.
There was a badger den/hole, with baby badgers around, but I couldn't get a clear picture of them, alas. Here's my best try, though. You might find it helpful to right click, and look just to the right of what looks like a clump of dirt. The clump is the den area, and to the right are a couple of badger kids.
You'll definitely need to right click on this, and then look at the tiny black dot in the center. There, there, is the star of my Yellowstone visit, a wolf. You can tell quickly that the coyote is a coyote when you see the wolf; the coyote is all ears and fluff in comparison, and slim and svelte, while the wolf is totally different. This one was way across the valley, but with binoculars, I could see it fairly well. That sight totally made my trip. It was wonderful before, but the wolf was just great!
You can just imagine this little guy saying "what's this water stuff?" can't you? He's all fluffy and cute. And not far away, Mom's trying to get a bite to eat and wishing she could hire a babysitter so she could get a moment of peace without wondering where the kid is wandering off to.
And here's Mom, looking a bit scruffy. A lot of the big herbivores looked pretty scruffy, so I'm guessing there's spring molting of winter coats going on. I wouldn't want to be between her and the calf, though, because she's absolutely HUGE. In height, she makes the bison look modest.
That ends the pictures from the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. That entrance to Yellowstone is pretty tiny feeling compared to the others I saw. I left Yellowstone at about 3pm. But the adventure continues tomorrow!
The Lamar Valley was worth the visit, for sure. Here's some of what I saw.This bison pair was sauntering up the road, and I took the picture out my car window, being very glad that I was IN my car and not on a bike. You really get a sense of how huge bison are when they walk by so closely. And this is a female with calf. The males are way bigger.
For this one, you'll have to right click to embiggen, and look at the grey dot in the center. I stopped on the side of the road, and then some other folks stopped near me. I saw a coyote. They apparently saw a wolf. And they seemed very excited about it, too. The thing is, I really wanted to see a wolf, and thought for the first instant that it was. Then I got my binoculars on it, and saw the ears. But still, I've longed since reading Farley Mowat to see a wolf. And yet, I've only ever seen three coyotes, including this one, and they're absolutely wonderful in their own way, so I was still celebrating seeing the coyote. Being able to get a picture made it all the more special, somehow. (See The Daily Coyote for GREAT coyote pictures!)It was across a field, and stopped to look our way for an instant before trotting on.
For those who live on the coasts, Pelicans aren't that hard to see these days, I suppose. But when I was a kid, we were excited to see them. I gather their populations have recovered a fair bit, but it's still a treat to see them this far inland. This one was having lunch; while I watched, s/he snagged something. Yum!
As you drive through Yellowstone, sometimes you'll see a whole crowd of cars stopped, so you can see that folks are looking at something. Then you stop and add to the crowd to see what there is to see. The funny thing is that there was a small cluster of folks with high powered telescopic looking setups on tripods looking out to the left, and about 50 feet to the right of them was this bighorn sheep, wandering slowly towards them. They were, I gather, looking at a Mountain Bluebird (which I only saw when it flew). I saw several Mountain Bluebirds on the trip, usually while I was slowly biking along, close enough to get a really good look, but not able to get out a camera and get a picture. Still, it's really thrilling to see the MBs AND a bighorn!
At another crowded area, I got to see my first badger ever. When I was an undergrad and took a mammology course, our lab had a variety of skulls and such that we were supposed to learn to identify for exams. We had a badger skull and a wolverine skull. While a skilled biologist could tell the difference by looking at teeth and structures, I could tell because the wolverine skull had a big bullet hole through it. No wonder my zoology career left something to be desired.
There was a badger den/hole, with baby badgers around, but I couldn't get a clear picture of them, alas. Here's my best try, though. You might find it helpful to right click, and look just to the right of what looks like a clump of dirt. The clump is the den area, and to the right are a couple of badger kids.
You'll definitely need to right click on this, and then look at the tiny black dot in the center. There, there, is the star of my Yellowstone visit, a wolf. You can tell quickly that the coyote is a coyote when you see the wolf; the coyote is all ears and fluff in comparison, and slim and svelte, while the wolf is totally different. This one was way across the valley, but with binoculars, I could see it fairly well. That sight totally made my trip. It was wonderful before, but the wolf was just great!
You can just imagine this little guy saying "what's this water stuff?" can't you? He's all fluffy and cute. And not far away, Mom's trying to get a bite to eat and wishing she could hire a babysitter so she could get a moment of peace without wondering where the kid is wandering off to.
And here's Mom, looking a bit scruffy. A lot of the big herbivores looked pretty scruffy, so I'm guessing there's spring molting of winter coats going on. I wouldn't want to be between her and the calf, though, because she's absolutely HUGE. In height, she makes the bison look modest.That ends the pictures from the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone. That entrance to Yellowstone is pretty tiny feeling compared to the others I saw. I left Yellowstone at about 3pm. But the adventure continues tomorrow!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Bardiac's Yellowstone Adventure, part 2
My bike tour started in Bozeman, so I headed there the day before, and the Roaringgrrl came to meet me! It was great to meet her and her pal, J. And she came up before taking off on her own cross-country trip (even longer than mine!). They also took me to lunch at a great restaurant.
Then the biking started. You've read about that. It was great, despite some rain. But we didn't see as many critters as I'd hoped. Here's some we did see:
That's a couple of elk. They seem a whole lot bigger when they're not behind a fence up here in the Northwoods being ranched!
I saw a few elk, but no others nearly so close as these.
I also saw a number of bison, some fairly close up. You'd think I'd have taken a dozen pictures, right? The thing is, on a bike, the first thing on my mind when I see a bison on the road is to get out of its way. Our guides told us that getting on the far side of a car was a good idea, so that's what I did instead of taking pictures. (This is a picture I took later, NOT on my bike.) The good news is that I didn't get stomped by any of the bison I saw.
Mostly, I didn't see a lot of wildlife while I was biking. I saw trees, and the road, and lots of scenery. I had a small camera with me, but my binoculars and big camera were in the van (I pulled them out for the elk, though). The small camera was fine for basic pictures, though.
At our final hotel, a bit outside the park (Chico Hot Springs)did give me an opportunity for one wildlife close-up. This is a Cliff Swallow hanging out on a nest. I wasn't nearly as worried about this guy stomping me :)
And finally, on the last day of riding, we saw an Osprey nest right close to the road, complete with an Osprey who took off and flew around while we hung out on the other side of the road watching. So this is a picture I took with my smaller camera.
As you can see, it's a lot less telescopic than with my bigger camera, but if you right click to embiggen, you can still see that there's a bird there.
So that's the bike trip wildlife. Tomorrow, I'll show you some of the pics I took driving around through the Lamar Valley.
Then the biking started. You've read about that. It was great, despite some rain. But we didn't see as many critters as I'd hoped. Here's some we did see:
That's a couple of elk. They seem a whole lot bigger when they're not behind a fence up here in the Northwoods being ranched!I saw a few elk, but no others nearly so close as these.
I also saw a number of bison, some fairly close up. You'd think I'd have taken a dozen pictures, right? The thing is, on a bike, the first thing on my mind when I see a bison on the road is to get out of its way. Our guides told us that getting on the far side of a car was a good idea, so that's what I did instead of taking pictures. (This is a picture I took later, NOT on my bike.) The good news is that I didn't get stomped by any of the bison I saw.Mostly, I didn't see a lot of wildlife while I was biking. I saw trees, and the road, and lots of scenery. I had a small camera with me, but my binoculars and big camera were in the van (I pulled them out for the elk, though). The small camera was fine for basic pictures, though.
At our final hotel, a bit outside the park (Chico Hot Springs)did give me an opportunity for one wildlife close-up. This is a Cliff Swallow hanging out on a nest. I wasn't nearly as worried about this guy stomping me :)And finally, on the last day of riding, we saw an Osprey nest right close to the road, complete with an Osprey who took off and flew around while we hung out on the other side of the road watching. So this is a picture I took with my smaller camera.
As you can see, it's a lot less telescopic than with my bigger camera, but if you right click to embiggen, you can still see that there's a bird there.So that's the bike trip wildlife. Tomorrow, I'll show you some of the pics I took driving around through the Lamar Valley.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Bardiac's Yellowstone Adventure, Prelude
Before I went to Yellowstone, I stayed with a friend in Montana for a few days. She took me out to the First People's Buffalo Jump State Park, a sort of mini-butte area where Native Americans from different tribes could hunt bison by "pushing" them off a smallish cliff.
In an effort to help myself get used to the altitude (about two thirds that of Yellowstone), I took a little walk up the park, and my friend went to pick up one of her sons and then picked me up at the top.
Along the path, which was nicely tended, there are these information placard things. You can see one a bit in the distance in this picture, right here. See it?
As I was walking up, maybe thirty feet away, I saw something move under one of the placards. Now, I try to be at least minimally aware of movement around me, especially in an area where there might be snakes, especially rattlesnakes, because I sure don't want to step on one or put my hand up next to one. It's not like they'll be out hunting me; I'm way too big to be prey for anything but a big constrictor-type snake, and they aren't around Montana so far as I know. But still, I try to be aware. So I walked closer, determined to give it a nice wide berth (there was plenty of room to walk safely away on the trail).
And then I realized, the movement was a head, and a head WAY too big to be any rattlesnake that would be there, and besides, a rattlesnake would be sunning, and not hanging out in the shade, right?
That's no rattlesnake! That's a baby Pronghorn Antelope, doing it's Obi-Wan "You don't see me; this is not the prey you want" thing, lying very still, barely moving its head to watch me as I walk along.
I skirted around, as far away as I could while staying on the trail.
I'd seen an adult-looking Pronghorn as I started out, but there was no adult in sight, and I sure didn't want to scare this little guy if I could help it. (These are taken with my zoom lens, so they look closer than they really are.)
How's that for a fantastic encounter?
My friend also took me out to Benton Lake Wildlife Refuge, where we drove around slowly, trying to avoid being prey for ravenous mosquitos while looking at lots and lots of amazing birds. I did my best to engage my friend in my nefarious plot to take over the world with people looking at birds and playing bikes. (But I didn't take any pictures because the mosquitoes were just too thick and unpleasant, and I'm a total whuss.)
We saw, among other things, Northern Shovelers, Wilson's Phalarope, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Hooded Merganser, Common Tern, Marbled Godwit, and Killdeer. I really got a chance to see more Phalarope and Godwits than I ever have, which helped me gain a little confidence in identifying them.
Finally, I biked a little along the Missouri River, on the wonderful River's Edge Trail. It was a short ride (15m), but gave me a little more confidence about riding at a higher altitude.
All in all, a fine prelude!
In an effort to help myself get used to the altitude (about two thirds that of Yellowstone), I took a little walk up the park, and my friend went to pick up one of her sons and then picked me up at the top.
Along the path, which was nicely tended, there are these information placard things. You can see one a bit in the distance in this picture, right here. See it?
As I was walking up, maybe thirty feet away, I saw something move under one of the placards. Now, I try to be at least minimally aware of movement around me, especially in an area where there might be snakes, especially rattlesnakes, because I sure don't want to step on one or put my hand up next to one. It's not like they'll be out hunting me; I'm way too big to be prey for anything but a big constrictor-type snake, and they aren't around Montana so far as I know. But still, I try to be aware. So I walked closer, determined to give it a nice wide berth (there was plenty of room to walk safely away on the trail).And then I realized, the movement was a head, and a head WAY too big to be any rattlesnake that would be there, and besides, a rattlesnake would be sunning, and not hanging out in the shade, right?
That's no rattlesnake! That's a baby Pronghorn Antelope, doing it's Obi-Wan "You don't see me; this is not the prey you want" thing, lying very still, barely moving its head to watch me as I walk along.I skirted around, as far away as I could while staying on the trail.
I'd seen an adult-looking Pronghorn as I started out, but there was no adult in sight, and I sure didn't want to scare this little guy if I could help it. (These are taken with my zoom lens, so they look closer than they really are.)How's that for a fantastic encounter?
My friend also took me out to Benton Lake Wildlife Refuge, where we drove around slowly, trying to avoid being prey for ravenous mosquitos while looking at lots and lots of amazing birds. I did my best to engage my friend in my nefarious plot to take over the world with people looking at birds and playing bikes. (But I didn't take any pictures because the mosquitoes were just too thick and unpleasant, and I'm a total whuss.)
We saw, among other things, Northern Shovelers, Wilson's Phalarope, Cinnamon Teal, Ruddy Duck, Hooded Merganser, Common Tern, Marbled Godwit, and Killdeer. I really got a chance to see more Phalarope and Godwits than I ever have, which helped me gain a little confidence in identifying them.
Finally, I biked a little along the Missouri River, on the wonderful River's Edge Trail. It was a short ride (15m), but gave me a little more confidence about riding at a higher altitude.
All in all, a fine prelude!
Monday, June 08, 2009
Bardiac's Yellowstone Adventure, part 1
Yes, this is me, riding my bike, up a hill, very, very slowly. And, yes, the road is wet, and I'm in my rain gear, including a shower cap on my helmet, given to me by another very kind and encouraging rider with lots more experience. And yes, my feet are totally wet and cold.And yes, I had the best time ever.
I was, by far, the slowest rider on the trip, but it was okay. The guides were fantastic and encouraging, and after the hardest climb, two of the other riders were at the gathering point cheering me up the hill.
How high was the hill, you ask?
This is the first crossing we made of the continental divide that day. The second is higher.We climbed 3000+ feet that day, over 17 miles, and dropped 2000+ feet over another 17. It was my hardest day riding, but I was so happy I actually made it!
Critter pics soon!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Off
I packed up (mostly) yesterday, and took care of errands.
I spent way too long in the library looking for books on CD to play in the car. The library has about a dozen such Alphabet murder mysteries, and as many Cat murder mysteries. I know a lot of people love murder mysteries and thrillers, but I'm not one of them. Except for the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, which I find amusing in all sorts of ways.
They have shelves of books about spirituality, but they don't appeal to me, either.
And relatively few novels I find interesting. I settled on a Barbara Kingsolver, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (by someone I can't remember, and it's in the car), the beginning two books of two separate kidlit series (Lemony Snicket and something else).
And now I'm off.
Take care; I'll see you on the flip side.
I spent way too long in the library looking for books on CD to play in the car. The library has about a dozen such Alphabet murder mysteries, and as many Cat murder mysteries. I know a lot of people love murder mysteries and thrillers, but I'm not one of them. Except for the #1 Ladies Detective Agency, which I find amusing in all sorts of ways.
They have shelves of books about spirituality, but they don't appeal to me, either.
And relatively few novels I find interesting. I settled on a Barbara Kingsolver, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter (by someone I can't remember, and it's in the car), the beginning two books of two separate kidlit series (Lemony Snicket and something else).
And now I'm off.
Take care; I'll see you on the flip side.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Jitters
I wasn't able to get a new tire today, but my bike is cleaned and lubed, and waiting in the wagon for a ride to the bike shop in the morning. I hope they have the tires I need. (I'm only guessing that they keep extra tires around.)
This evening, I decided to throw my bike a 4000 mile party of sorts. I baked some cookies to take to the folks at the bike shop, and also will freeze some to take on my road trip. Hey, they're oatmeal raisin! They're practically health food!
I've really got the jitters about the trip, not about driving, because I've driven across the west a few times, and my car's in decent shape, and the roads are generally good this time of year. No, I'm worried about the biking.
I'm worried that I will just be so much slower than everyone else that I'll be a problem for the guides. I'm a pretty slow rider, especially if there are uphill slopes involved.
I'm also worried that I won't be able to ride the distances.
And finally, I'm worried that I won't be able to ride the distances five days in a row.
This is as close as I've ever come to doing something fairly athletic.
I keep telling myself that the guides are in the business of taking care of folks on biking tours, and that they'll handle my minimal skills/abilities with grace and kindness. That's how it has been when I've gone on rafting trips, and guides have taught me rafting basics and such. They're always really good at making people feel good about their learning and helping people have fun.
I keep telling myself that if it takes three or four hours to ride 35 miles, that's probably okay.
And still I have the jitters. I should have gone out riding in the rain a bit, to prepare. I should have ridden more.
I tend to get nervous just before things, and then once I get started, I have a really good time and I settle in and things work out. So I keep telling myself that it will work out and things will be fine.
I'm either going to have the vacation of a lifetime, or not. But for now, I have the jitters.
This evening, I decided to throw my bike a 4000 mile party of sorts. I baked some cookies to take to the folks at the bike shop, and also will freeze some to take on my road trip. Hey, they're oatmeal raisin! They're practically health food!
I've really got the jitters about the trip, not about driving, because I've driven across the west a few times, and my car's in decent shape, and the roads are generally good this time of year. No, I'm worried about the biking.
I'm worried that I will just be so much slower than everyone else that I'll be a problem for the guides. I'm a pretty slow rider, especially if there are uphill slopes involved.
I'm also worried that I won't be able to ride the distances.
And finally, I'm worried that I won't be able to ride the distances five days in a row.
This is as close as I've ever come to doing something fairly athletic.
I keep telling myself that the guides are in the business of taking care of folks on biking tours, and that they'll handle my minimal skills/abilities with grace and kindness. That's how it has been when I've gone on rafting trips, and guides have taught me rafting basics and such. They're always really good at making people feel good about their learning and helping people have fun.
I keep telling myself that if it takes three or four hours to ride 35 miles, that's probably okay.
And still I have the jitters. I should have gone out riding in the rain a bit, to prepare. I should have ridden more.
I tend to get nervous just before things, and then once I get started, I have a really good time and I settle in and things work out. So I keep telling myself that it will work out and things will be fine.
I'm either going to have the vacation of a lifetime, or not. But for now, I have the jitters.
Baby Needs New Shoes
I cleaned up my bike this morning, in hopes that the bike shop I like will be open and have my tire in stock. And then I took a picture of the rear tire part that looks like a flat waiting to happen.
I have to admit, it's very cool seeing a bit of how the tire is constructed, with all this cloth of some sort. The tires look like they have some rubber stuff still, so they're maybe not as close to a flat as I thought last night, but I still don't think I'd feel very confident riding around on them.
My thanks to Brian for the Sheldon Brown suggestion. As always, it's good to learn more about bikes!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Luck of the Stupid
I went out to dinner tonight with a couple friends. Along the way, we were talking about biking, since I'd gone for a 51 mile ride today. We had a really good pizza, out in the middle of a nearby country, in a barn.
When they dropped me off, Z asked to see my bike, so I got it out of the car to show her.
What's that on the tire? A bald spot, about an inch long, most of the width of the tread, on the back tire. And look, a smaller balding spot on the front tire, but to the side more.
So did I mention that I took a 51 mile ride today? And not a single problem. And then there's a bald spot tonight, when the bike is safely in the garage resting with the other bike. There's a bald spot today, when I have tomorrow (or Tuesday if the shops are closed tomorrow) to get new tires put on before I leave on my long trip on Wednesday morning. Yes, that long trip, the one where I bike for 5 days in Yellowstone.
Sometimes, I live a charmed life. It's like I'm in a Buster Keaton movie with the wall falling around me, and I'm blithely standing just where the window opening comes down.
I have about 4000 miles on these tires, which seems pretty much in line with what bike tires get (from what I've read).
I'm thinking I'll give the bike a nice bath and lube tomorrow morning, then if I can get new tires, I'll take a short ride.
When they dropped me off, Z asked to see my bike, so I got it out of the car to show her.
What's that on the tire? A bald spot, about an inch long, most of the width of the tread, on the back tire. And look, a smaller balding spot on the front tire, but to the side more.
So did I mention that I took a 51 mile ride today? And not a single problem. And then there's a bald spot tonight, when the bike is safely in the garage resting with the other bike. There's a bald spot today, when I have tomorrow (or Tuesday if the shops are closed tomorrow) to get new tires put on before I leave on my long trip on Wednesday morning. Yes, that long trip, the one where I bike for 5 days in Yellowstone.
Sometimes, I live a charmed life. It's like I'm in a Buster Keaton movie with the wall falling around me, and I'm blithely standing just where the window opening comes down.
I have about 4000 miles on these tires, which seems pretty much in line with what bike tires get (from what I've read).
I'm thinking I'll give the bike a nice bath and lube tomorrow morning, then if I can get new tires, I'll take a short ride.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Brainstorming on Death
Wow, you guys rock!
I love the idea of starting with Pearl, but it would have to be in translation. And a medievel drama is also a GREAT idea!
And the Morte Arthur! YAY! And the Art of Death works! You guys rock my world!
Here's what the brainstorming currently looks like:
--Intro - Starting into Early Modern Death
--Morte Arthur (selection)
--Everyman
--Religion and death: Catholicism and Protestantism, ghosts
-Fox's Book of Martyrs: Gardner and what's his name.
-Greenblatt on ghosts, maybe a guest on reformation stuffs
-Book of Common Prayer/Catholic Liturgy in translation
Sermons, Donne and Andrews? Others?
Donne's Holy Sonnets, some Herbert
Sir Thomas More?
Anne Locke, sonnets?
other psalm translations?
Bunyan? (I haven't read this in YEARS! but it would go with Everyman, if I did)
--Death and dying in the common way- Cressy, Neill
Artes Moriendi--Jeremy Taylor, The Rules and Exercises of Holy Dying, would be a late (1651) example.
Childbirth death (Bradstreet, some others: ideas?)
Children's deaths (Jonson, etc)
Wills and testaments
From the biography of Lady Elizabeth Cary (the part on Falkland's death)
Herrick and Marvell (carpe diem stuffs, mower)
Kubler Ross on grieving? other theory? (Not Freud?)
--Domestic violence and death
Arden? (good for broadsheets!)
Dolan
--Murder and Mayhem
Art representing battles?
Revenge Tragedy (Spanish Tragedy or Revenger's Tragedy)
Spenser on Ireland?
Scaffold speeches?
--Suicide
MacDonald and Murphy, Sleepless Souls
TEXT?
Lucrece? or another text representing pre-Christian suicide? (Lear)
Hamlet or another text that thinks about the possibility of suicide post Christianity (not too much Shakespeare would be good!)
--Funerary monuments, epitaphs, eulogies
Belsey
Poet's Corner, Shakespeare's gravesite, others?
From the diary of Lady Anne Clifford (the part on dragging her dead Mom around the country)
Donne's famous shroud pic, others?
--Charles I
Descriptions, etc
Milton's explanation
Oroonoko?
I really like the way that starting with Arthur and ending with Charles sort of rounds things out.
I'd love some help nailing down some more specifics, and also theories on death, grieving, suicide, murder... Maybe some Foucault on punishment?
I'm also thinking about some assignments. I'm thinking about a short assignment that asks students to either go to a cemetary and look at how monuments, etc work, how things are laid out, how families are put together, and so forth, OR, to look at a religious practice (preferably their own) and see how it understands death and helps the survivors through.
Here's what the original write up I had to do last fall (for scheduling stuffs) looked (so I have to try to do enough of that to make sense to the folks who signed up):
This seminar will explore early modern English experiences of and responses to death in a variety of genres, including poetry, drama, narrative, biography, graphic images, and funerary monuments. We'll read sections of David Cressy's Birth, Marriage and Death as well as texts on suicide, murder (including domestic violence), and legal issues.
Students will be required to present on a critical or historical article related to the course, to write a short essay on one of the texts, to find and present on a related early modern text not on the syllabus (through EEBO), and to write a substantial research paper on a topic related to the course.
I love the idea of starting with Pearl, but it would have to be in translation. And a medievel drama is also a GREAT idea!
And the Morte Arthur! YAY! And the Art of Death works! You guys rock my world!
Here's what the brainstorming currently looks like:
--Intro - Starting into Early Modern Death
--Morte Arthur (selection)
--Everyman
--Religion and death: Catholicism and Protestantism, ghosts
-Fox's Book of Martyrs: Gardner and what's his name.
-Greenblatt on ghosts, maybe a guest on reformation stuffs
-Book of Common Prayer/Catholic Liturgy in translation
Sermons, Donne and Andrews? Others?
Donne's Holy Sonnets, some Herbert
Sir Thomas More?
Anne Locke, sonnets?
other psalm translations?
Bunyan? (I haven't read this in YEARS! but it would go with Everyman, if I did)
--Death and dying in the common way- Cressy, Neill
Artes Moriendi--Jeremy Taylor, The Rules and Exercises of Holy Dying, would be a late (1651) example.
Childbirth death (Bradstreet, some others: ideas?)
Children's deaths (Jonson, etc)
Wills and testaments
From the biography of Lady Elizabeth Cary (the part on Falkland's death)
Herrick and Marvell (carpe diem stuffs, mower)
Kubler Ross on grieving? other theory? (Not Freud?)
--Domestic violence and death
Arden? (good for broadsheets!)
Dolan
--Murder and Mayhem
Art representing battles?
Revenge Tragedy (Spanish Tragedy or Revenger's Tragedy)
Spenser on Ireland?
Scaffold speeches?
--Suicide
MacDonald and Murphy, Sleepless Souls
TEXT?
Lucrece? or another text representing pre-Christian suicide? (Lear)
Hamlet or another text that thinks about the possibility of suicide post Christianity (not too much Shakespeare would be good!)
--Funerary monuments, epitaphs, eulogies
Belsey
Poet's Corner, Shakespeare's gravesite, others?
From the diary of Lady Anne Clifford (the part on dragging her dead Mom around the country)
Donne's famous shroud pic, others?
--Charles I
Descriptions, etc
Milton's explanation
Oroonoko?
I really like the way that starting with Arthur and ending with Charles sort of rounds things out.
I'd love some help nailing down some more specifics, and also theories on death, grieving, suicide, murder... Maybe some Foucault on punishment?
I'm also thinking about some assignments. I'm thinking about a short assignment that asks students to either go to a cemetary and look at how monuments, etc work, how things are laid out, how families are put together, and so forth, OR, to look at a religious practice (preferably their own) and see how it understands death and helps the survivors through.
Here's what the original write up I had to do last fall (for scheduling stuffs) looked (so I have to try to do enough of that to make sense to the folks who signed up):
This seminar will explore early modern English experiences of and responses to death in a variety of genres, including poetry, drama, narrative, biography, graphic images, and funerary monuments. We'll read sections of David Cressy's Birth, Marriage and Death as well as texts on suicide, murder (including domestic violence), and legal issues.
Students will be required to present on a critical or historical article related to the course, to write a short essay on one of the texts, to find and present on a related early modern text not on the syllabus (through EEBO), and to write a substantial research paper on a topic related to the course.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
It Sounded Good at the Time
Last fall, as my senior seminar was finishing, I had a short chat about what senior seminar I might offer this fall. I was thinking of a seminar on Marlowe, and mentioned that.
But the students really liked the idea of doing something more thematic, and when one of them mentioned a seminar on death (in early modern England, if I'm teaching it), they all jumped on that bandwagon. And it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Now, it's seeming less wonderful. I have some ideas, really.
But before I share those, I'd like to open up the comments and see if folks have texts they'd teach for sure?
I'm thinking of texts broadly. I'm game to look at art, maps, etc. I'm willing to take early modern from 1475-1660 or so. (I really don't want to get too far into the restoration, though.) I'm also looking to search and find stuff rather than order an anthology and just go from there. And I'm thinking of primary and secondary stuff.
So here's the challenge: what would you teach and why?
But the students really liked the idea of doing something more thematic, and when one of them mentioned a seminar on death (in early modern England, if I'm teaching it), they all jumped on that bandwagon. And it seemed like a good idea at the time.
Now, it's seeming less wonderful. I have some ideas, really.
But before I share those, I'd like to open up the comments and see if folks have texts they'd teach for sure?
I'm thinking of texts broadly. I'm game to look at art, maps, etc. I'm willing to take early modern from 1475-1660 or so. (I really don't want to get too far into the restoration, though.) I'm also looking to search and find stuff rather than order an anthology and just go from there. And I'm thinking of primary and secondary stuff.
So here's the challenge: what would you teach and why?
Monday, May 18, 2009
Done and Overdone
I took a couple days and went on a short visit. It's amazing how quickly being in another household, one with totally different concerns and activities, can take my mind of certain frustrations and concerns. It was especially good to be away a bit after the service on Friday.
But then I came back.
I got my first grade complaint of the semester. The student is complaining about an A-. S/he agrees that it's a fair numerical grade, but wants me to change it anyway.
I just want to say, an A- is NOT going to keep you out of law school or whatever. It's not. Either it will be the lowest grade in your college career, in which case, your grades will rock, or it won't be the lowest grade in your college career. And even so, your gpa may rock.
I don't get impatient with a request for an explanation. It's important for students to understand how grades are figured, and this one was politely worded. I sent back a note showing my numbers and math, and suggesting that the student check my math.
But I do get impatient with the next step, the "please, please change my grade" part. And yes, I recognize that the student is probably worried about law school or whatever, and that a single grade can seem like a huge thing.
But the grade is fairly figured and what the student earned.
I'm worried about the bike trip. I haven't been on my bike in several days, and the weather is looking terrible. I was lazy today, partly because I'm just lazy, but partly because the winds were bad (supposedly gusting to 30mph). I get really tired of wind.
But then I came back.
I got my first grade complaint of the semester. The student is complaining about an A-. S/he agrees that it's a fair numerical grade, but wants me to change it anyway.
I just want to say, an A- is NOT going to keep you out of law school or whatever. It's not. Either it will be the lowest grade in your college career, in which case, your grades will rock, or it won't be the lowest grade in your college career. And even so, your gpa may rock.
I don't get impatient with a request for an explanation. It's important for students to understand how grades are figured, and this one was politely worded. I sent back a note showing my numbers and math, and suggesting that the student check my math.
But I do get impatient with the next step, the "please, please change my grade" part. And yes, I recognize that the student is probably worried about law school or whatever, and that a single grade can seem like a huge thing.
But the grade is fairly figured and what the student earned.
I'm worried about the bike trip. I haven't been on my bike in several days, and the weather is looking terrible. I was lazy today, partly because I'm just lazy, but partly because the winds were bad (supposedly gusting to 30mph). I get really tired of wind.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Translation Exercise
What the birds are really singing:
Cowbird song:
I left my egg,
In another’s nest,
‘Cuz I don’t care
To raise the chick.
There is no stupid child care!
No hassles with the kid!
I left it there, for them to feed.
What a deed!
Oriole song:
I’m too sexy for this orange, too sexy for this orange,
So sexy it hurts!
I’m too sexy for this deck, too sexy for that tree,
You wish you were me!
Cowbird song:
I left my egg,
In another’s nest,
‘Cuz I don’t care
To raise the chick.
There is no stupid child care!
No hassles with the kid!
I left it there, for them to feed.
What a deed!
Oriole song:
I’m too sexy for this orange, too sexy for this orange,
So sexy it hurts!
I’m too sexy for this deck, too sexy for that tree,
You wish you were me!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Excitement!
I set a new, personal bike speed record today. 40.1 mph down a steep hill.
It occurs to me that things could be very ugly if I fell at that speed, still, it's pretty fun.
But going up the hill was a whole heck of a lot slower.
Look at this! It's a pair or Orchard Orioles. (Well, I'm pretty sure. You can see how much darker this male is than the Baltimore Oriole pictures I posted before, and how much yellower the female is.) Sorry they aren't better pics. These two didn't stick around when I tried to move to the other side of the house to get a closer shot (without the screen in between.) I'm pretty sure it's not just a trick of the light, because a Baltimore Oriole flew in a moment later, and looked bright orange instead of dark like this one. I hope these two will come back again.
Things are pretty exciting in the yard since I started putting out the orange halves.
I've also got a female cardinal hanging about on occasion.
It occurs to me that things could be very ugly if I fell at that speed, still, it's pretty fun.
But going up the hill was a whole heck of a lot slower.
Look at this! It's a pair or Orchard Orioles. (Well, I'm pretty sure. You can see how much darker this male is than the Baltimore Oriole pictures I posted before, and how much yellower the female is.) Sorry they aren't better pics. These two didn't stick around when I tried to move to the other side of the house to get a closer shot (without the screen in between.) I'm pretty sure it's not just a trick of the light, because a Baltimore Oriole flew in a moment later, and looked bright orange instead of dark like this one. I hope these two will come back again.Things are pretty exciting in the yard since I started putting out the orange halves.
I've also got a female cardinal hanging about on occasion.
Grading Jail
I took my car in for an oil change yesterday.
You know how when there's something wrong but it's just so stupid you haven't mentioned it before (for YEARS) and it's embarrassing to mention, and besides, you're not sure you can afford to get it fixed, and it doesn't really keep the car from working, so it's not a big deal?
Yeah, for several years, my driver's side window has had just enough of an air leak to make an irritating noise at anything over 17 mph. This past winter, my friend noticed it while we were driving to go skiing. And other people have noticed it. I've noticed it, of course, and when it gets irritating enough, I jamb the fingers of my left hand up into the place where the window and rubber meet near the top of the window and stop the noise until my fingers start to hurt more than the noise is irritating.
But since I'm heading out to Montana before long, I decided to ask about getting it fixed, with an asterisk about how if it were a lot of money, I'd rather just keep jambing my fingers there. The very nice car repair manager just wrote it down, like it was nothing, like I hadn't been too embarrassed to ask about the stupid thing for about five years, like I wasn't red with embarrassment.
And then I sat in the waiting room and graded. I graded through an older woman who's taking a trip to Kansas soon, and I graded through a retired NWU librarian. And every time the very nice car repair manager walked through the area, I looked up hopefully.
And then another woman came in, and turned up the TV, flipped open her magazine, and started talking on her phone, loudly, so she could be heard over Dr. Phil. So I graded through her, and finally the very nice car repair manager came and gave me the nod, and told me my car was ready, and they'd fixed the window, an easy adjustment of something called a "gusset."
Meanwhile, though, in a miracle of grading, I'd finished most of the stack I'd brought (which had already been partially graded).
So I came home, and there, on the deck was a bird I'd never seen before, a biggish, tawny bird with a long, pointy beak and a longish, sort of squared off tail, and a really speckled breast, brown on off-white. It was taking its turn on the suet feeder, and came back a couple times, long enough for me to be pretty sure it's a Brown Thrasher, but not long enough to take a picture. (I know, every birder in the eastern US is wondering why this is my first Brown Thrasher, but that's just the barest hint of what a minimaly-skilled birder I am.)
And while I'm looking at the Thrasher, on and off, I'm also noticing the cluster of small, goldfinch-sized birds hanging onto the thistle feeder. I'm pretty sure I've seen these before, and that they're female goldfinches, but I had the book open anyway, so I looked, and no, they're way darker than the female goldfinches, and their breasts are strongly striped. Fortunately, on the same page as the goldfinch in my Petersons, are a couple of Pine Siskin pictures, so I'm pretty sure that's what they were. And I'm pretty sure they've been around before, but this is the first time I've identified them.
The Brown-headed Cowbirds are back, too, as are the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
I'm beginning to think it's spring, and if I get busy today, I may make it out of grading jail for the weekend!
You know how when there's something wrong but it's just so stupid you haven't mentioned it before (for YEARS) and it's embarrassing to mention, and besides, you're not sure you can afford to get it fixed, and it doesn't really keep the car from working, so it's not a big deal?
Yeah, for several years, my driver's side window has had just enough of an air leak to make an irritating noise at anything over 17 mph. This past winter, my friend noticed it while we were driving to go skiing. And other people have noticed it. I've noticed it, of course, and when it gets irritating enough, I jamb the fingers of my left hand up into the place where the window and rubber meet near the top of the window and stop the noise until my fingers start to hurt more than the noise is irritating.
But since I'm heading out to Montana before long, I decided to ask about getting it fixed, with an asterisk about how if it were a lot of money, I'd rather just keep jambing my fingers there. The very nice car repair manager just wrote it down, like it was nothing, like I hadn't been too embarrassed to ask about the stupid thing for about five years, like I wasn't red with embarrassment.
And then I sat in the waiting room and graded. I graded through an older woman who's taking a trip to Kansas soon, and I graded through a retired NWU librarian. And every time the very nice car repair manager walked through the area, I looked up hopefully.
And then another woman came in, and turned up the TV, flipped open her magazine, and started talking on her phone, loudly, so she could be heard over Dr. Phil. So I graded through her, and finally the very nice car repair manager came and gave me the nod, and told me my car was ready, and they'd fixed the window, an easy adjustment of something called a "gusset."
Meanwhile, though, in a miracle of grading, I'd finished most of the stack I'd brought (which had already been partially graded).
So I came home, and there, on the deck was a bird I'd never seen before, a biggish, tawny bird with a long, pointy beak and a longish, sort of squared off tail, and a really speckled breast, brown on off-white. It was taking its turn on the suet feeder, and came back a couple times, long enough for me to be pretty sure it's a Brown Thrasher, but not long enough to take a picture. (I know, every birder in the eastern US is wondering why this is my first Brown Thrasher, but that's just the barest hint of what a minimaly-skilled birder I am.)
And while I'm looking at the Thrasher, on and off, I'm also noticing the cluster of small, goldfinch-sized birds hanging onto the thistle feeder. I'm pretty sure I've seen these before, and that they're female goldfinches, but I had the book open anyway, so I looked, and no, they're way darker than the female goldfinches, and their breasts are strongly striped. Fortunately, on the same page as the goldfinch in my Petersons, are a couple of Pine Siskin pictures, so I'm pretty sure that's what they were. And I'm pretty sure they've been around before, but this is the first time I've identified them.
The Brown-headed Cowbirds are back, too, as are the Rose-breasted Grosbeaks.
I'm beginning to think it's spring, and if I get busy today, I may make it out of grading jail for the weekend!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Birds on my Deck
I was so excited because I saw the female oriole, or A female oriole, at any rate, on my feeder thingy. She's lovely, and way more orangy than I would have expected from the picture in my book.And as I was finishing taking a couple pictures of her (finished because she flew off), I saw another bird, a tiny, very blue bird. And through my mind ran "damn, that is one really blue bird." And then a long pause, before, "but not a Bluebird!" Not that Bluebirds aren't wonderful and loverly, but they don't come to the deck (probably because I don't put worms out for them). They're around, and there's a bluebird house down in the "prairie restoration area," but this was way more intensely blue.
So I took a picture (glad that I still had my camera in hand) through the screened window. I took a couple before I moved around for a better view, but it flew off (because my having a better view means they can see me, and I'm probably scary).
I'm pretty sure it's an Indigo Bunting. And if I had a life list, I'd be adding a new bird, because it's the first I've seen that I know of. It's been a good year for new birds in my yard!And dang, can I just say that the picture does not do the intensity of the blue justice, not at all! (But you can see one of the soon to be color pots, when I get around to planting!)
I've also been seeing a Red-winged Blackbird pair on the deck; they seem to be down in the valley below the house mostly, but come up to check on the snacking possibilities.
It's all food all the time here at Chez Bardiac!
Monday, May 11, 2009
Finals Fiascos
It's finals time! Here's a final for blog readers:
1) You are giving a final at 8am on the first day of finals. The final is in two parts, with one part (on bright pink paper) being an open notes/open book essay and the other being closed notes/book short answers (on green paper). During the final, which of the following will happen?
(a) A student will use notes while writing the green part of the exam.
(b) A student will come in half-way through the exam, complaining loudly.
(c) Two students won't bring blue books.
(d) (a) and (c).
(e) (b) and (c).
(f) All of the above.
I've barely slept because I can't help thinking (and not just because I'm in grading jail). When my Dad died, I was sad, really sad. But somehow it didn't seem like the world had changed.
When a colleague died a couple years ago now, I was sad, but it didn't seem like the world had changed.
When my cousin's daughter died, I was sad, but it didn't seem like the world had changed.
But lately, I suddenly realized that more and more people I know and love will die, more all the time, and many younger than I can imagine. I'm feeling rather maudlin about this, though I know it was true even though I hadn't figured it out before. And yes, I probably should have figured this out some years ago, but I guess I'm slow that way.
I think it's time for another mid-life crisis. (I have had two mid-life crises so far; the first I bought a leather jacket and went for a parachute jump. The second I bought my bike. I'm guessing this one is going to involve some trees for my yard or something, but I'm open to ideas!)
Sometimes, my own idiocy is apparent to me in startling ways, though I'm sure most everyone else sees it all the time and wonders how it is I can manage to feed myself regularly and do the laundry.
1) You are giving a final at 8am on the first day of finals. The final is in two parts, with one part (on bright pink paper) being an open notes/open book essay and the other being closed notes/book short answers (on green paper). During the final, which of the following will happen?
(a) A student will use notes while writing the green part of the exam.
(b) A student will come in half-way through the exam, complaining loudly.
(c) Two students won't bring blue books.
(d) (a) and (c).
(e) (b) and (c).
(f) All of the above.
I've barely slept because I can't help thinking (and not just because I'm in grading jail). When my Dad died, I was sad, really sad. But somehow it didn't seem like the world had changed.
When a colleague died a couple years ago now, I was sad, but it didn't seem like the world had changed.
When my cousin's daughter died, I was sad, but it didn't seem like the world had changed.
But lately, I suddenly realized that more and more people I know and love will die, more all the time, and many younger than I can imagine. I'm feeling rather maudlin about this, though I know it was true even though I hadn't figured it out before. And yes, I probably should have figured this out some years ago, but I guess I'm slow that way.
I think it's time for another mid-life crisis. (I have had two mid-life crises so far; the first I bought a leather jacket and went for a parachute jump. The second I bought my bike. I'm guessing this one is going to involve some trees for my yard or something, but I'm open to ideas!)
Sometimes, my own idiocy is apparent to me in startling ways, though I'm sure most everyone else sees it all the time and wonders how it is I can manage to feed myself regularly and do the laundry.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Another Sunday at the Office
My world was hit by another departmental loss this past week. It was one of those things that happen sometimes, so rarely that it seems impossible, and so bad that it seems more than impossible. Once again, the universe proves how very fragile we all are.
Those of us less close are muddling along. We've offered to grade; food is being shared. And I'm reminded once again how very wonderful my colleagues are.
And I'm trying to get grading done. I've done a fair bit, and written the final exam for tomorrow. But if I can just buckle down, I'll be in good shape by tomorrow to finish up by my last final on Thursday.
Those of us less close are muddling along. We've offered to grade; food is being shared. And I'm reminded once again how very wonderful my colleagues are.
And I'm trying to get grading done. I've done a fair bit, and written the final exam for tomorrow. But if I can just buckle down, I'll be in good shape by tomorrow to finish up by my last final on Thursday.
Friday, May 08, 2009
Which Poem?
A special poem!
Happy last day of classes, folks. (And if you're already done, shush! And if you're not, my condolences.)
Edit: Here's Billy Collins reading "The Lanyard"
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Oriole
Once, I saw an oriole stop by my yard for a bit. It flew off, and I didn't see another that whole season. But I did realize that they might be around, so I looked into getting an oriole feeder. Finally, I just put a nail through a small piece of wood and then some picture hanger things, and used those to tie it to the deck railing, with the nail sticking up. Then I cut an orange, and smacked it onto the nail. And waited.Yesterday, I saw my first oriole of the season. And today, someone's having quite the brunch out there. I'm thinking where there's one, there's likely a mate, but I haven't seen a bird the right size with female markings yet.
All this brings up one of my basic difficulties with taking pictures. It's really hard to get a picture where you can see the oriole's black eye in his black feathered face. I keep ending up with either washed out looking colors where I can see the eye, or good oranges where I can't see the eye, depending on the camera setting. It WOULD be helpful if I could take a picture at a different angle, perhaps with darker background behind, but I'm guessing the oriole's cooperation would be involved.
As it is, I poke my camera around the screen in the bedroom window, so everything is through a window. That isn't really bothersome when I look through, but when I take pictures that way, I notice the dirtiness of the window, and double reflection stuff and all.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Education
One of the great rewards of teaching first year writing courses is that sometimes students really do demonstrate that they've learned something. It may not be that I've taught them whatever, but somehow they've learned something.
I ask my students to ask a real question for their research papers. But even so, most have a sense of what they think the answer is. I can tell that they've really learned something when towards the end of writing their paper they come talk to me about how to revise because they've totally changed their answer.
It warms my cold, icy heart, it does!
I ask my students to ask a real question for their research papers. But even so, most have a sense of what they think the answer is. I can tell that they've really learned something when towards the end of writing their paper they come talk to me about how to revise because they've totally changed their answer.
It warms my cold, icy heart, it does!
Out with the In Crowd
I was at a meeting yesterday wherein the Slogan Committee explained that they'd worked really hard and deserved for their slogan to be accepted. It wasn't.
But as the discussion went on, I began to wonder why this committee was the Slogan Committee. Later, in another meeting, I learned a little more about the committee because there was discussion about appointments for the coming year.
So this morning, walking in from the parking lot, I asked one of my colleagues who'd been at the Slogan meeting what s/he knew about the committee. Nothing, it turns out.
It's like there's this whole world of special appointed folks who all know each other and all know what's with what, and who's who, but they don't realize that most of us (using only my colleague from the parking lot and I as a sample) don't have the same easy familiarity.
I don't think my lack of knowledge comes from a lack of interest. I've served on this big committee, and on sub-committees for four years now.
Unfortunately, the slogan committee was made up of people appointed for their skills in one arena, and that arena is far from writing or communication. So when they talked about how hard they'd worked, they sounded like a student who comes to you after getting a C on a revision and says that s/he made all the corrections you told him/her to, and why didn't they get an A? They looked at all your comments and made corrections!
Like that student, they tinkered with individual words rather than re-vising in terms of seeing the problem anew or rethinking. They couldn't put aside the slogan they'd formed through hard work to think about how poorly it worked. It was like the famous saying that a camel is a horse made by committee.
And that, writ large, pretty much says a lot about how NWU works: there's a committee, and it gets set in its ways and ideas, and can't revise, and its members get replaced only by people who've shown they fit in so well that they won't ask embarrassing questions.
But as the discussion went on, I began to wonder why this committee was the Slogan Committee. Later, in another meeting, I learned a little more about the committee because there was discussion about appointments for the coming year.
So this morning, walking in from the parking lot, I asked one of my colleagues who'd been at the Slogan meeting what s/he knew about the committee. Nothing, it turns out.
It's like there's this whole world of special appointed folks who all know each other and all know what's with what, and who's who, but they don't realize that most of us (using only my colleague from the parking lot and I as a sample) don't have the same easy familiarity.
I don't think my lack of knowledge comes from a lack of interest. I've served on this big committee, and on sub-committees for four years now.
Unfortunately, the slogan committee was made up of people appointed for their skills in one arena, and that arena is far from writing or communication. So when they talked about how hard they'd worked, they sounded like a student who comes to you after getting a C on a revision and says that s/he made all the corrections you told him/her to, and why didn't they get an A? They looked at all your comments and made corrections!
Like that student, they tinkered with individual words rather than re-vising in terms of seeing the problem anew or rethinking. They couldn't put aside the slogan they'd formed through hard work to think about how poorly it worked. It was like the famous saying that a camel is a horse made by committee.
And that, writ large, pretty much says a lot about how NWU works: there's a committee, and it gets set in its ways and ideas, and can't revise, and its members get replaced only by people who've shown they fit in so well that they won't ask embarrassing questions.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
Reflection at the End of the Semester
During the beginning weeks of my writing course, we read a couple works on liberal education at the beginning of the semester, listen to a talk by the dean, and the students write an essay about liberal education.
For the past several weeks, my students have been working on their research papers. So yesterday, I gave them a quiz: I asked them to write a paragraph about how their work on the research paper has contributed to their liberal education.
And you know what, they wrote good paragraphs. They dug out their notes and copies of the essays and referred to what we'd discussed earlier in the semester. Then most of them gave very specific examples of something they'd applied in working on their research paper, and talked about that in terms of their education. That is, they're pretty much all able to talk about some text in terms of their own experience in a specific way. Yay students!
For the past several weeks, my students have been working on their research papers. So yesterday, I gave them a quiz: I asked them to write a paragraph about how their work on the research paper has contributed to their liberal education.
And you know what, they wrote good paragraphs. They dug out their notes and copies of the essays and referred to what we'd discussed earlier in the semester. Then most of them gave very specific examples of something they'd applied in working on their research paper, and talked about that in terms of their education. That is, they're pretty much all able to talk about some text in terms of their own experience in a specific way. Yay students!
Monday, May 04, 2009
Somewhat Sanguine
One of my colleagues gave me some flowers today in sympathy for my being on the Super Painful Committee next year. Sometimes I really like my colleagues for being decent humans.
I went out for a ride today, planning to go about 20 miles, but about halfway back, I saw a friend, the partner of a colleague, so I turned around and rode with him. He rides a recumbent, which means a slower pace, and that was fine with me. The conversation was good, and the miles passed.
I'm feeling a bit more confident today. I went 30 miles, slower because of riding with my friend, but it felt good, and my legs are tired but in a good way.
When I was sitting around this evening, the Red Cross folks called to let me know that I can donate blood again this week.
I'd forgotten to ask before, but I asked while we were talking on the phone, and the blood donation person said I've given 37 times. That's 37 times through the Red Cross, though I donated for some of years through a blood bank when I was young. (Do those even exist now? The idea was that you could donate through a blood bank and then if you ever needed blood, you'd pay a processing fee that was less than if you hadn't donated. But I was lucky enough not to need blood, and now I've moved far away. I don't think that's at all how the Red Cross works.)
The blood donation person was understanding when I said I didn't want to make an appointment because I'm training for a bike ride and want to donate on a rainy day.
I went out for a ride today, planning to go about 20 miles, but about halfway back, I saw a friend, the partner of a colleague, so I turned around and rode with him. He rides a recumbent, which means a slower pace, and that was fine with me. The conversation was good, and the miles passed.
I'm feeling a bit more confident today. I went 30 miles, slower because of riding with my friend, but it felt good, and my legs are tired but in a good way.
When I was sitting around this evening, the Red Cross folks called to let me know that I can donate blood again this week.
I'd forgotten to ask before, but I asked while we were talking on the phone, and the blood donation person said I've given 37 times. That's 37 times through the Red Cross, though I donated for some of years through a blood bank when I was young. (Do those even exist now? The idea was that you could donate through a blood bank and then if you ever needed blood, you'd pay a processing fee that was less than if you hadn't donated. But I was lucky enough not to need blood, and now I've moved far away. I don't think that's at all how the Red Cross works.)
The blood donation person was understanding when I said I didn't want to make an appointment because I'm training for a bike ride and want to donate on a rainy day.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Legs
I rode my bike 32 miles today. I went up the mile hill (not steep, but pretty long) and made it up, and then just rode. My legs are still attached, but they really wish they weren't. They'll be sad tomorrow.
My trip to Yellowstone is in less than a month, and I'm worried. If a 32 mile ride (mostly flat) totally wipes my legs, how am I going to do a week of minimum 35 mile days where there are hills and stuff? And the long day of 75 miles? I've ridden 75 miles ONCE in my life. ONCE. And it wasn't pretty.
I keep trying to tell myself that if I can't make it somewhere the sag wagon will pick me up, but where's the fun in that? And I really, really don't want to be the person who holds everyone else up and is a pain in the rear.
I'm trying to reassure myself that if I can do 45 miles next weekend, and 55 the weekend after, things will work out. But that's a bit unrealistic, to add 20% or more a week for several weeks.
I hate being whiny.
My trip to Yellowstone is in less than a month, and I'm worried. If a 32 mile ride (mostly flat) totally wipes my legs, how am I going to do a week of minimum 35 mile days where there are hills and stuff? And the long day of 75 miles? I've ridden 75 miles ONCE in my life. ONCE. And it wasn't pretty.
I keep trying to tell myself that if I can't make it somewhere the sag wagon will pick me up, but where's the fun in that? And I really, really don't want to be the person who holds everyone else up and is a pain in the rear.
I'm trying to reassure myself that if I can do 45 miles next weekend, and 55 the weekend after, things will work out. But that's a bit unrealistic, to add 20% or more a week for several weeks.
I hate being whiny.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Bummed
I've decided not to run for re-election to a big committee thing, which means I also won't be on the other two related committees I'm on this year.
I'll still be on a departmental (small job) committee, and probably as chair next year.
So, I put in to run for a college committee, figuring the college committee and the small job committee would be about right.
Then I got guilted into running for a departmental (big task) committee. Okay, still, I won't also be on a search, so I'll survive.
Until yesterday, when the Super Painful Committee chair came by my office. She said one of our colleagues has refused to serve his/her rotation on the SPC, and that I'm in line.
WTF! This colleague just came off of sabbatical, and is too tired to do his/her rotation? And that's that? S/he just gets a pass?
And I'm the one nailed to fill in.
And after my bike ride, I was feeling good until I got home to find the handyman in my garage. He was there to check the oil and stuff on the lawn mower and to sharpen the blades. But then he'd realized that the garage door doesn't work, so he'd started farting around with that.
Yeah, because when he changed the spring, he put on one that was the wrong size and stretched, and now the proper one is on order at the garage door company.
Why couldn't he call to check with me BEFORE coming? AND before screwing up the door further?
The world would be a lot less frustrating if people would do their jobs and do them well, wouldn't it.
There are neither enough expletives nor enough chocolate to make the next year good.
To add insult to injury: Brach's changed the recipe of their malted milk balls. The chocolate's suddenly waxy and nasty, and the malt tastes like bad Whoppers malt. They used to be good, and now they're not, and I'm sad.
I'll still be on a departmental (small job) committee, and probably as chair next year.
So, I put in to run for a college committee, figuring the college committee and the small job committee would be about right.
Then I got guilted into running for a departmental (big task) committee. Okay, still, I won't also be on a search, so I'll survive.
Until yesterday, when the Super Painful Committee chair came by my office. She said one of our colleagues has refused to serve his/her rotation on the SPC, and that I'm in line.
WTF! This colleague just came off of sabbatical, and is too tired to do his/her rotation? And that's that? S/he just gets a pass?
And I'm the one nailed to fill in.
And after my bike ride, I was feeling good until I got home to find the handyman in my garage. He was there to check the oil and stuff on the lawn mower and to sharpen the blades. But then he'd realized that the garage door doesn't work, so he'd started farting around with that.
Yeah, because when he changed the spring, he put on one that was the wrong size and stretched, and now the proper one is on order at the garage door company.
Why couldn't he call to check with me BEFORE coming? AND before screwing up the door further?
The world would be a lot less frustrating if people would do their jobs and do them well, wouldn't it.
There are neither enough expletives nor enough chocolate to make the next year good.
To add insult to injury: Brach's changed the recipe of their malted milk balls. The chocolate's suddenly waxy and nasty, and the malt tastes like bad Whoppers malt. They used to be good, and now they're not, and I'm sad.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Mission
We're facing another accreditation thing soon, so there's been lots of preparatory stuff happening.
One of the things that happened at some point is that someone went around campus and asked people to talk about the NWU mission statement, and no one could. That statement was adopted at a time in the past when mission statements were supposed to say pretty much everything about a place, and tended to be a paragraph long.
Now, of course, the fashion is for short, pithy statements.
I don't tend to think highly of mission statements. Like gnomic statements (hi Classics Guy!), they're short and pithy and pretty much that's their value. Or they're long and no one can actually remember them. Now, recognize that you're reading the words of someone who has trouble saying the pledge of allegiance, long before I get to the under god part, because I think we should pledge to the constitution rather than the flag.
But, if I had my druthers, our mission would be "End patriarchy."
But you know that would scare the dickens out of lots of people, right? Or maybe I could go with "Play bikes and read!"
So what would your scary mission statement be?
One of the things that happened at some point is that someone went around campus and asked people to talk about the NWU mission statement, and no one could. That statement was adopted at a time in the past when mission statements were supposed to say pretty much everything about a place, and tended to be a paragraph long.
Now, of course, the fashion is for short, pithy statements.
I don't tend to think highly of mission statements. Like gnomic statements (hi Classics Guy!), they're short and pithy and pretty much that's their value. Or they're long and no one can actually remember them. Now, recognize that you're reading the words of someone who has trouble saying the pledge of allegiance, long before I get to the under god part, because I think we should pledge to the constitution rather than the flag.
But, if I had my druthers, our mission would be "End patriarchy."
But you know that would scare the dickens out of lots of people, right? Or maybe I could go with "Play bikes and read!"
So what would your scary mission statement be?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Either Or
I'm reading the description of Chaunticleer and Pertelote from the NPT at our poetry reading thing in a short bit. I've decided to do a participatory, interactive reading, and ask half the audience to make a "cockadoodledoo" sound whenever I say Chaunticleer's name, and the other half to make a clucking sound when I say Pertelote's name.
This will either make everyone laugh a lot, or get me disinvited to future poetry readings.
This will either make everyone laugh a lot, or get me disinvited to future poetry readings.
Feel the Ice!
Shockingly, I went to a meeting today that was actually useful.
It was a meeting for our special first year program, where we had a short information session (not as useful) and then time to chat with my mentors about what to do next fall (very useful). I'm looking forward to working with these students in the coming semester.
Virgil and the guidance gang from downunder are feeling the chill, eh?
It was a meeting for our special first year program, where we had a short information session (not as useful) and then time to chat with my mentors about what to do next fall (very useful). I'm looking forward to working with these students in the coming semester.
Virgil and the guidance gang from downunder are feeling the chill, eh?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Listening
I've been listening to presentations a lot of late. I have an accent (don't we all?), so maybe what I'm hearing is mostly an accent difference (people here know I'm not from here, but can't necessarily tell where I am from). But it feels more than that.
For example, several of my students have talked about the baccalaureate degree, except they pronounce it the "bachelorette" degree. It's like I'm watching the old Dating Game show, and we've got bachelorette number one, two, and three all behind the curtain. Yes, you too can get a bachelorette degree and a date all with just four years of moderately hard work! (I'm getting creepy Jim Lange flashbacks!)
By one of those linguistic connections where people extend a rule to other uses, my students have mentioned that for some careers, you need a doctorette degree.
I think what makes my ears perk up is the feminization of the terms, though students aren't acting like they're aware of that. I think they just don't have much experience hearing the words.
For example, several of my students have talked about the baccalaureate degree, except they pronounce it the "bachelorette" degree. It's like I'm watching the old Dating Game show, and we've got bachelorette number one, two, and three all behind the curtain. Yes, you too can get a bachelorette degree and a date all with just four years of moderately hard work! (I'm getting creepy Jim Lange flashbacks!)
By one of those linguistic connections where people extend a rule to other uses, my students have mentioned that for some careers, you need a doctorette degree.
I think what makes my ears perk up is the feminization of the terms, though students aren't acting like they're aware of that. I think they just don't have much experience hearing the words.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Earning my Paycheck
I've been meeting with several students today about revising papers. One of them came in last week, and today brought in a revision.
It was one of those essays where I take a look, and right from the beginning, the essay, the thesis, everything says "I know how to do this!"
I'd like to take full credit, but I think the student was just really ready to get things and put them together with a little bit of help. I was only the little bit of help at the right time, and now this student has this great skill that s/he can use in all sorts of situations.
It almost makes the whole getting out of bed on a rainy, nasty morning worth it!
It was one of those essays where I take a look, and right from the beginning, the essay, the thesis, everything says "I know how to do this!"
I'd like to take full credit, but I think the student was just really ready to get things and put them together with a little bit of help. I was only the little bit of help at the right time, and now this student has this great skill that s/he can use in all sorts of situations.
It almost makes the whole getting out of bed on a rainy, nasty morning worth it!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
More Spring!
The crocus are done, and now it's daffodil time! What gets me is that I feel like I put in a ton of bulbs, but when spring comes around, there aren't that many coming up yet. I obviously need to put in more bulbs!The forsythia flowers are still going strong (despite a storm I thought might knock all the blooms off), and lots of other plants are coming up. I can see the sedum coming back, the salvia, the Siberian iris. The dogwoods look like they're getting ready to bloom.
The magic of the tamarack continues; the needles are getting a little longer, and the little pink areas (which I think are the "flowers" which become cones) are getting bigger, too.I'm way behind in being ready for my bike trip, and I'm whussy enough that I don't much ride in the rain, and it's been raining, so I haven't ridden for a couple days. My longest ride so far is about 25 miles, and I have about a month to get to 65 miles (the longest day on the trip) and a week of 30+ miles a day. Did I mention there's hills there? And it's a higher altitude than here (by about 6 thousand feet).
I read somewhere that Grizzly Bears can run about 35 mph. My top biking speed ever, so far as I know, is 39.9 mph, going down a steep hill. I was scared enough that I couldn't pedal even a little to put the bike computer up to 40. So, I'm guessing if I meet a Grizzly, I'd better hope I'm far away and it's busy.
If not, I'm planning my epitaph: Bardiac: Exit, pursued by a bear. (Okay, you saw that coming, right?)
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Questions, Please
I have questions I'd like help with.
First, we have a small MA program here. I'm wondering if anyone knows a good book for folks entering a grad program to give them a real sense of what's expected in terms of revision, independent reading, and so forth.
Second, it's been an age since I read much Spenser's FQ, and I'm thinking of rereading (over the summer) to teach some. But, my old Roche edition is in pieces. Can anyone suggest a good edition these days? (I could just borrow the department's Hamilton, but it's been a long time, and surely there's a really good edition available now?)
Thanks, all!
First, we have a small MA program here. I'm wondering if anyone knows a good book for folks entering a grad program to give them a real sense of what's expected in terms of revision, independent reading, and so forth.
Second, it's been an age since I read much Spenser's FQ, and I'm thinking of rereading (over the summer) to teach some. But, my old Roche edition is in pieces. Can anyone suggest a good edition these days? (I could just borrow the department's Hamilton, but it's been a long time, and surely there's a really good edition available now?)
Thanks, all!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Committed to Committees
We have 29 tenure-line faculty in our department. These are the folks for whom service is one of the requirements of the contract. (Our adjuncts sometimes generously do service, but it can't be part of their contract and thus they can't be evaluated on their service. We have some other folks who aren't tenure track but do have service in their contracts.)
With our current committee structures, we have 64 positions in different committees that are supposed to be filled by tenure-line faculty. The chair, and two other faculty members in the 29 count have re-appointments that mean they sit on some committees by appointment, and so don't sit on other committees.
So, that's 26 bodies to fill 64 committee slots. (We have a couple other folks who are partially re-assigned to the big marble hallways of administration, but I'll include them in this count.)
We've totally done this to ourselves. And yes, we approved a new committee in the past year, one with five slots. A few years ago, we approved a different new committee with five slots.
Note: the slots don't include search committees or college/university committees.
With our current committee structures, we have 64 positions in different committees that are supposed to be filled by tenure-line faculty. The chair, and two other faculty members in the 29 count have re-appointments that mean they sit on some committees by appointment, and so don't sit on other committees.
So, that's 26 bodies to fill 64 committee slots. (We have a couple other folks who are partially re-assigned to the big marble hallways of administration, but I'll include them in this count.)
We've totally done this to ourselves. And yes, we approved a new committee in the past year, one with five slots. A few years ago, we approved a different new committee with five slots.
Note: the slots don't include search committees or college/university committees.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Complicated
You've all read or heard some variant of the story about George Bernard Shaw at a dinner where he asked a woman sitting nearby if she'd sleep with him for a million pounds. She says yes, and then he asks if she'd sleep with him for ten shillings, and she says no, and asks if he thinks she's a prostitute. And he answers that they've already established that, now they're just haggling over the price.
ROTC is entering NWU.
We have this big priority that says we're all about inclusivity and diversity; it's supposed to be the underpinning of everything we do.
But when I ask about why we're letting ROTC come to campus (we already have students participating through another nearby campus), we're told it's about money. The program will bring us money that the students otherwise pay to the other campus. And because of the Solomon Amendment, if we reject ROTC, we'd lose access to all sorts of federal funding. (Link to the Supreme Court decision upholding the right of the government to withhold funding from law schools that refuse to allow recruiting by the US military, despite that "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" violates their principles of free expression and freedom of association.)
So basically, we've already determined that we're willing to sell out our basic principles. Now we're just haggling over the price. And right now, the price is pretty damned low when the principle is about discriminating against glbt folks.
Yeah, it's complicated, as one of my colleagues says. No one wants to endanger funding for anything, especially these days. I completely understand that, and I, too, am afraid of losing funding.
I hate cowardice, my own included.
ROTC is entering NWU.
We have this big priority that says we're all about inclusivity and diversity; it's supposed to be the underpinning of everything we do.
But when I ask about why we're letting ROTC come to campus (we already have students participating through another nearby campus), we're told it's about money. The program will bring us money that the students otherwise pay to the other campus. And because of the Solomon Amendment, if we reject ROTC, we'd lose access to all sorts of federal funding. (Link to the Supreme Court decision upholding the right of the government to withhold funding from law schools that refuse to allow recruiting by the US military, despite that "Don't Ask/Don't Tell" violates their principles of free expression and freedom of association.)
So basically, we've already determined that we're willing to sell out our basic principles. Now we're just haggling over the price. And right now, the price is pretty damned low when the principle is about discriminating against glbt folks.
Yeah, it's complicated, as one of my colleagues says. No one wants to endanger funding for anything, especially these days. I completely understand that, and I, too, am afraid of losing funding.
I hate cowardice, my own included.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Jerk
That would be me. Gah. I insulted someone without realizing, and now that I realize it, I don't quite know how to bring it up to apologize. I think I need to straight up apologize.
***
And then I had a student come in to office hours who smells strongly of tobacco. I didn't say anything (because despite tenure, I retain vestigal social skills).
Then in class, the lit mentioned something about cigarettes in a rather negative way.
And I couldn't help wondering if the tobacco student felt pointed out in a negative way.
I didn't choose the lit with that in mind (the cigarette thing is one line among many, noticable), and I don't tend to think about how tobacco users smell when I'm writing up a syllabus. And maybe other people don't notice tobacco smell as much as I do. (And then, of course, more than one student in the class smokes. I just noticed the one because of sharing a small space.)
(I really wish students wouldn't smoke, not only for their health, but mostly, utterly selfishly, because talking up close to a smoker tends to make me nauseated.)
***
And then I had a student come in to office hours who smells strongly of tobacco. I didn't say anything (because despite tenure, I retain vestigal social skills).
Then in class, the lit mentioned something about cigarettes in a rather negative way.
And I couldn't help wondering if the tobacco student felt pointed out in a negative way.
I didn't choose the lit with that in mind (the cigarette thing is one line among many, noticable), and I don't tend to think about how tobacco users smell when I'm writing up a syllabus. And maybe other people don't notice tobacco smell as much as I do. (And then, of course, more than one student in the class smokes. I just noticed the one because of sharing a small space.)
(I really wish students wouldn't smoke, not only for their health, but mostly, utterly selfishly, because talking up close to a smoker tends to make me nauseated.)
Reverse Deja Vu
You know how in movies, you'll see a character do something, and then things will fade, and the same character, 20 years later, greying, walk a little less bouncy, is doing the exact same thing?
As I walked across the parking lot to the office building this morning, I had that feeling that I could blink and 20 years would have gone by, and I'd still be walking across the parking lot heading to work. It wasn't a good or bad feeling, just a feeling that time is fleeting.
On one hand, I try to do good, meaningful work, so I hope it's worth the time. And the state pays me, which means I can eat, afford shelter and so forth.
On the other hand, I've never been in a life situation without some major change for more than about 5 years. My current situation is longer than any has ever been before for me. I'm in the same house, at the same job/school now for 5 and 9 years, respectively.
But things should change drastically. We're hoping to build a couple new buildings on campus (yes, funds have been set aside for two, our first in about 25 years), and that will change the landscape of my life, hopefully in good ways.
And in 20 years, I probably won't have the same car; heck, I may not have a car. If I do, it probably won't be much like what I drive now. I doubt the parking lots are going to look the same, though my office might. (It's a good thing it got painted in colors I like!)
As I walked across the parking lot to the office building this morning, I had that feeling that I could blink and 20 years would have gone by, and I'd still be walking across the parking lot heading to work. It wasn't a good or bad feeling, just a feeling that time is fleeting.
On one hand, I try to do good, meaningful work, so I hope it's worth the time. And the state pays me, which means I can eat, afford shelter and so forth.
On the other hand, I've never been in a life situation without some major change for more than about 5 years. My current situation is longer than any has ever been before for me. I'm in the same house, at the same job/school now for 5 and 9 years, respectively.
But things should change drastically. We're hoping to build a couple new buildings on campus (yes, funds have been set aside for two, our first in about 25 years), and that will change the landscape of my life, hopefully in good ways.
And in 20 years, I probably won't have the same car; heck, I may not have a car. If I do, it probably won't be much like what I drive now. I doubt the parking lots are going to look the same, though my office might. (It's a good thing it got painted in colors I like!)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
It Might Be Spring
If the forsythia have any say in the matter!I took a ride with a friend yesterday, out a country road I hadn't really been on much except with the Wednesday women's group I ride with once there's decent weather. It was just about perfection. The road's along a lake for a while, with the usual mix of old lake cottages and starter mansions, with a lining of trees. There weren't too many hills, though there's a road we're going to aim to get up by the end of the season that leads to one of the ski areas I went to this past winter. (To be honest, my friend climbs way better than I do, and could have made it up there now. But I need some miles and smaller climbs first.)
Friday, April 17, 2009
Eagle and Hummingbird
As promised, here's a picture of the piece of art I got in DC. It's signed on the back by G. Matilpi. There seems to be a George Matilpi who does carvings on the Pacific coast of Canada. (Mr. Matilpi, if you see this, thank you for creating a beautiful piece of art. It's beautiful, and I cherish it.)
It's labeled "Eagle" and "Hummingbird" in different places (on the back). I see the eagle in the main figure, facing left, and then in the "chest" area, a hummingbird facing right. The colors are really good, warm and rich.
I'm thinking of putting it in my bedroom. Or of rearranging some art in the house and putting it in the living room. I love being able to look at beautiful art.
Authoritative Citation
One of my students listed "God" as an author in her bibliography. At least she didn't put it as a personal interview, eh?
The weekend can't come quickly enough.
The weekend can't come quickly enough.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Breaking News: T.S. Eliot was Wrong
Evidence of Eliot's error:
Yesterday, for the first time since Sunday, I got home early enough to take a walk around and enjoy the yard. In the two days since Sunday, the yard has started the green up thing.
The crocuses have been bringing me hope since March, but now you can see the daffodils (I think) starting up, too. Weirdly, a couple crocus bulbs seem to have been upended, so I stuck them back in. I should water them to give them at least a bit of a chance.
I missed seeing these last spring, and had forgotten how many different colors I'd put in (mixed bulb bag). Now I want to put in a lot more, because a little patch here and there isn't enough! In my yard fantasy, I have something blooming all season long. But in reality, I have a tendency to plant a lot of early blooming stuff because I'm so desperate for spring.
Two summers ago, I planted a couple forsythia at the side of the house where there was nothing really interesting. It's not a side of the house that's easy to see from anywhere except the neighbor's yard, pretty much (or my own), but still, I wanted something there. But last spring, of course, I wasn't here, so I've never seen these bloom. They'd probably look more promising in front of a dark backdrop, and without cages, but a good many of my plants live in cages because otherwise the rabbits kill them with alacrity. (And even so, the deer trim the tops.)
But best of all are the Tamaracks! They have these lovely soft green needles all summer, but then the needles turn bright yellow in fall and drop. All winter, they look like Charlie Brown's Christmas special.
And then in April, they start to bud, and little bits of green start to show, the needles beginning to grow. And tiny bits of pink here, too. I think those are the parts that will become the little cones.
I put the Tamaracks in the first summer I moved here, along with a couple of pine trees (in different places). The pines have probably doubled in size, but the Tamaracks seem to be growing very slowly.
All this, and it's mid-April and spring has come bringing joy to the Northwoods!
QED.
(Photographing plants up close, I really need to think about getting a lens for doing such things, so that I can get more of the picture in focus.)
Yesterday, for the first time since Sunday, I got home early enough to take a walk around and enjoy the yard. In the two days since Sunday, the yard has started the green up thing.The crocuses have been bringing me hope since March, but now you can see the daffodils (I think) starting up, too. Weirdly, a couple crocus bulbs seem to have been upended, so I stuck them back in. I should water them to give them at least a bit of a chance.
I missed seeing these last spring, and had forgotten how many different colors I'd put in (mixed bulb bag). Now I want to put in a lot more, because a little patch here and there isn't enough! In my yard fantasy, I have something blooming all season long. But in reality, I have a tendency to plant a lot of early blooming stuff because I'm so desperate for spring.
Two summers ago, I planted a couple forsythia at the side of the house where there was nothing really interesting. It's not a side of the house that's easy to see from anywhere except the neighbor's yard, pretty much (or my own), but still, I wanted something there. But last spring, of course, I wasn't here, so I've never seen these bloom. They'd probably look more promising in front of a dark backdrop, and without cages, but a good many of my plants live in cages because otherwise the rabbits kill them with alacrity. (And even so, the deer trim the tops.)
But best of all are the Tamaracks! They have these lovely soft green needles all summer, but then the needles turn bright yellow in fall and drop. All winter, they look like Charlie Brown's Christmas special.And then in April, they start to bud, and little bits of green start to show, the needles beginning to grow. And tiny bits of pink here, too. I think those are the parts that will become the little cones.
I put the Tamaracks in the first summer I moved here, along with a couple of pine trees (in different places). The pines have probably doubled in size, but the Tamaracks seem to be growing very slowly.
All this, and it's mid-April and spring has come bringing joy to the Northwoods!
QED.
(Photographing plants up close, I really need to think about getting a lens for doing such things, so that I can get more of the picture in focus.)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Ego
I'm catching up on email. Among the gems, one of my colleagues on a committee has just noted that having [a little life experience] in [a specific academic field], s/he could teach introductory classes in that field.
So, really, I, having eaten for many years, could teach introductory nutrition.
And my friend over in economics likes to read novels, so she could teach intro to lit classes.
What fun!
Except I think this committee colleague was serious.
So, really, I, having eaten for many years, could teach introductory nutrition.
And my friend over in economics likes to read novels, so she could teach intro to lit classes.
What fun!
Except I think this committee colleague was serious.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Poetry, Please!
There's a poetry reading thing, not of our own poetry, but of bits of famous or other poetry, and I've been asked to read some Middle English poetry. We are asked to read up to maybe 40 lines. (Shorter is better!)
So, I need suggestions, please!
If you were asked to read UP TO 40 lines of Middle English verse, what would you read?
***
Okay, folks, I obviously wasn't clear. I'm wondering exactly which 40 lines.
So far, I'm thinking of the description of Chaunticleer and Pertolet from the NPT, or maybe a description of spring; there's a nice one in the Parliament of Fowles. I also thought about the entry in Gawain, or part of the ax swinging part.
I enjoy the sexy stuff plenty, but I don't want to read some leering, sexist stuff as most people's sole experience with Middle English literature. Nor, to be honest, do I have a lot of interest in reading something overtly Christian in a way that sounds pious. (I did consider a bit of the annunciation stuff from the N-Town plays, because it blows me away that the fate of the world waits on Mary.) Nor, do I have time to contextualize a fart joke about Christianity.
I know that limits things.
I know this reveals the depths of my fakery about medieval stuff, but I don't actually own an ME edition of Piers Plowman. And I also must admit that I never really got into it.
I'm also not sure I can pull off Gawain well, since what poor ME I do have tends to have been learned via Chaucer stuff. So I don't think I get the dialect at all, really. And I don't want to make more of a fool of myself than necessary in front of colleagues (the regular folks might not know the difference, but a few colleagues will).
So, I need suggestions, please!
If you were asked to read UP TO 40 lines of Middle English verse, what would you read?
***
Okay, folks, I obviously wasn't clear. I'm wondering exactly which 40 lines.
So far, I'm thinking of the description of Chaunticleer and Pertolet from the NPT, or maybe a description of spring; there's a nice one in the Parliament of Fowles. I also thought about the entry in Gawain, or part of the ax swinging part.
I enjoy the sexy stuff plenty, but I don't want to read some leering, sexist stuff as most people's sole experience with Middle English literature. Nor, to be honest, do I have a lot of interest in reading something overtly Christian in a way that sounds pious. (I did consider a bit of the annunciation stuff from the N-Town plays, because it blows me away that the fate of the world waits on Mary.) Nor, do I have time to contextualize a fart joke about Christianity.
I know that limits things.
I know this reveals the depths of my fakery about medieval stuff, but I don't actually own an ME edition of Piers Plowman. And I also must admit that I never really got into it.
I'm also not sure I can pull off Gawain well, since what poor ME I do have tends to have been learned via Chaucer stuff. So I don't think I get the dialect at all, really. And I don't want to make more of a fool of myself than necessary in front of colleagues (the regular folks might not know the difference, but a few colleagues will).
SAA Report
I saw a couple really smart, interesting papers, from just the folks you'd expect. I saw a couple disappointing papers, too, alas.
I saw and visited with friends, and got good news and bad news from and about them. Still, it was great to see the folks I saw.
I visited shortly with my mentor, who is as wonderful, which is a lot.
I met a couple bloggers, which was fun.
I enjoyed my workshop session and got some really good ideas!
And mostly, I went to a few museums and ate really good food.
First off, the reception was at the National Building Museum, and it was beautiful, but I didn't go back because I didn't have time. The food at the reception was yummy, as is always the case with SAA. Let's face it, we eat well.
My first purely fun visit was to the National Gallery of Art. There's something really fun when you walk into a gallery and think, hey, I recognize that face. And then you wonder where you recognize the face from. So, you look, and sure enough it's Cardinal Bembo, whose portrait by Titian is part of lots of editions of Castiglione.
I walked a bit further and found this familiar face, but again, wasn't sure who it was without looking. It's Devereux!
Even I managed to recognize David's Napoleon as Napoleon.
I really like going to a museum for a short visit, choosing a couple paintings to sit with and look at, and then being done. I don't have the mental stamina to look at painting after painting for hours. But, I really enjoy the shorter visit I did, and I did go make a point to see Raphael's and Van Gogh's works. Van Gogh especially, I love the three-dimensionality when I see one of his works in person, but I just don't much get the effect in prints.
So, thanks to Fretful Porpentine (who doesn't seem especially fretful in person, nor does she have nasty quills so far as I could tell), Susan, and Horace for the suggestion!
My next purely fun visit was to the National Museum of American History, which I must admit was a disappointment. First, it was crowded, and I was too impatient (and time-limited) to stand in line for a couple of the exhibits, primarily the Lincoln exhibit. But I liked the "this old house" exhibit, though these seem pretty common these days. And, like almost everything, the focus seemed to be on east coast history, and most especially, east coast history of white northern European folks, with a couple of token Jews in the mix. American Indians have been disappeared, as have almost all African Americans. The history of the west coast doesn't much seem to exist; there are no Russian fur traders or Spanish conquistadors, no French loggers.
I get that it's lots of fun to see Hollywood artifacts, but I really didn't feel like my desire to understand things better was met much at all. One little bit was interesting, an exhibit on the Scurlock photography studio, a studio which focused on photographing African Americans in and around DC. I got to think about the specialty of photographing folks with darker skin, which was something the exhibit talked about in explaining the success of the studio relative to others, and to think about the long history of African Americans in the DC area, especially earlier in the 20th century. So that was well worth seeing.
Horace had also recommended the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and so after my frustrations with the supposed American History museum, that's where I headed. I gather that it's a contested museum, but I'm not well-enough up on things to understand the contestation. I did enjoy it, especially that it took "American" broadly enough to include peoples of the Americas rather than peoples who happen to live where the United States now controls territory. I really liked seeing the story of contact told more broadly. And I like that they had curators from different indigenous groups telling the story of their own group, and that the museum recognized these curators and showed who they were. That seems important, and would be interesting for all museums, wouldn't it? I mean, wouldn't it be interesting to learn something about the curator of the National Gallery French collection?
That said, I also found some of the exhibits overwhelming; like just a bunch of pieces of gold work on the wall without contextualization that I needed to really undestand it. For example, I saw a piece that looked a lot like an Aztec alligator a friend of mine has done work on, and knowing how much she's worked on the context for that piece, I really wanted to get that from the museum. But instead, it was just a "hey, lots o' gold" sort of display. The same thing goes for the display of human figures.
I also found a small piece of art there, which I could both afford and liked. I'll try to add a picture soon!
So there you are. I went, I stimulated the economy, I saw a few left-over cherry blossoms. I enjoyed walking in the city. I usually really enjoy walking in cities, way more than I tend to enjoy walking in fields or trails. I'm partly ashamed to admit that, but there I am. I like the energy of city walking, I guess.
I saw and visited with friends, and got good news and bad news from and about them. Still, it was great to see the folks I saw.
I visited shortly with my mentor, who is as wonderful, which is a lot.
I met a couple bloggers, which was fun.
I enjoyed my workshop session and got some really good ideas!
And mostly, I went to a few museums and ate really good food.
First off, the reception was at the National Building Museum, and it was beautiful, but I didn't go back because I didn't have time. The food at the reception was yummy, as is always the case with SAA. Let's face it, we eat well.
My first purely fun visit was to the National Gallery of Art. There's something really fun when you walk into a gallery and think, hey, I recognize that face. And then you wonder where you recognize the face from. So, you look, and sure enough it's Cardinal Bembo, whose portrait by Titian is part of lots of editions of Castiglione.
I walked a bit further and found this familiar face, but again, wasn't sure who it was without looking. It's Devereux!
Even I managed to recognize David's Napoleon as Napoleon.
I really like going to a museum for a short visit, choosing a couple paintings to sit with and look at, and then being done. I don't have the mental stamina to look at painting after painting for hours. But, I really enjoy the shorter visit I did, and I did go make a point to see Raphael's and Van Gogh's works. Van Gogh especially, I love the three-dimensionality when I see one of his works in person, but I just don't much get the effect in prints.
So, thanks to Fretful Porpentine (who doesn't seem especially fretful in person, nor does she have nasty quills so far as I could tell), Susan, and Horace for the suggestion!
My next purely fun visit was to the National Museum of American History, which I must admit was a disappointment. First, it was crowded, and I was too impatient (and time-limited) to stand in line for a couple of the exhibits, primarily the Lincoln exhibit. But I liked the "this old house" exhibit, though these seem pretty common these days. And, like almost everything, the focus seemed to be on east coast history, and most especially, east coast history of white northern European folks, with a couple of token Jews in the mix. American Indians have been disappeared, as have almost all African Americans. The history of the west coast doesn't much seem to exist; there are no Russian fur traders or Spanish conquistadors, no French loggers.
I get that it's lots of fun to see Hollywood artifacts, but I really didn't feel like my desire to understand things better was met much at all. One little bit was interesting, an exhibit on the Scurlock photography studio, a studio which focused on photographing African Americans in and around DC. I got to think about the specialty of photographing folks with darker skin, which was something the exhibit talked about in explaining the success of the studio relative to others, and to think about the long history of African Americans in the DC area, especially earlier in the 20th century. So that was well worth seeing.
Horace had also recommended the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, and so after my frustrations with the supposed American History museum, that's where I headed. I gather that it's a contested museum, but I'm not well-enough up on things to understand the contestation. I did enjoy it, especially that it took "American" broadly enough to include peoples of the Americas rather than peoples who happen to live where the United States now controls territory. I really liked seeing the story of contact told more broadly. And I like that they had curators from different indigenous groups telling the story of their own group, and that the museum recognized these curators and showed who they were. That seems important, and would be interesting for all museums, wouldn't it? I mean, wouldn't it be interesting to learn something about the curator of the National Gallery French collection?
That said, I also found some of the exhibits overwhelming; like just a bunch of pieces of gold work on the wall without contextualization that I needed to really undestand it. For example, I saw a piece that looked a lot like an Aztec alligator a friend of mine has done work on, and knowing how much she's worked on the context for that piece, I really wanted to get that from the museum. But instead, it was just a "hey, lots o' gold" sort of display. The same thing goes for the display of human figures.
I also found a small piece of art there, which I could both afford and liked. I'll try to add a picture soon!
So there you are. I went, I stimulated the economy, I saw a few left-over cherry blossoms. I enjoyed walking in the city. I usually really enjoy walking in cities, way more than I tend to enjoy walking in fields or trails. I'm partly ashamed to admit that, but there I am. I like the energy of city walking, I guess.
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
I'm a Goof
So, I'm packing for the conference; I have two urges in packing.
Urge the first: I'm going away! I need all the supplies I can bring (bcp, contact lens solution, clothes, tampons, etc)!
Urge the second: a towel and a toothbrush, and I'm good to go.
Neither of these is quite appropriate for a conference. I don't need a towel, for example, because the hotel will have those. But I need more than a toothbrush.
***
Thanks for all the travel suggestions! I appreciate the help.
Urge the first: I'm going away! I need all the supplies I can bring (bcp, contact lens solution, clothes, tampons, etc)!
Urge the second: a towel and a toothbrush, and I'm good to go.
Neither of these is quite appropriate for a conference. I don't need a towel, for example, because the hotel will have those. But I need more than a toothbrush.
***
Thanks for all the travel suggestions! I appreciate the help.
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