A FAR better answer would've been...

...it's not about the subject of the classes as much as the pedagogy involved, a pedagogy that should lead the student to an understanding of the investigative nature of all knowledge and the impossibility of knowing anything in a vacuum, as somehow unconnected to the larger world around us.

Doh.   

Not to complain about my being overlooked again this year...

...and I don't necessarily think I'm sexier than Bradley Cooper (although I'm not exactly sure who he is), BUT among People Magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" "contenders" pictured in the on-line Hartford Courant piece is Alec Baldwin.

Now, c'mon, maybe in 1988, when Mr. Baldwin managed to show up naked in every movie in which he had a role (Working Girl, Married to the Mob...), maybe THEN he was a contender.  But have you seen him recently?

 
Let me just put it this way, his aging hasn't gone as well as it did for Paul Newman -- who, for my money (even in his present condition), is probably still sexier than three quarters of this list AND me.

Dad Loves His Work (18 Nov 2011 edition)

8:25-9:15 AM
More discussion of Antigone in Eng 110 ( Freshman Comp) in preparation for a performance at CCSU the class will attend on 30 Nov

9:25-10:15 AM
Introduction to the perfect tenses (active and passive) in Lat 111 (Elementary Latin I) together with some translation of a reading adapted from Pliny the Younger's description of the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius

10:50-11:40 AM
Finishing up of Hannah Webster Foster's The Coquette in Eng 340 (Early Am Lit) and a whole bunch of poetry recitations by students, completing the assignment on the very last day

Noon-1:15 PM
Various Department Evaluation Committee duties (for English and Theatre)

1:30-5:15 PM
Bridge on the River Kwai reception/screening/lecture (N.B., Alec Guinness can convey more in the simple act of walking than most actors can in a lifetime!)

5:30-8:30 PM
Stealing Rembrandts lecture by Anthony Amore / reception for Friends of CCSU Burritt Library

My Covington Latin School brick has been laid, I see...

...and I can't wait to see all the new contruction in person, BUT doesn't a name with dates -- set with any kind of permanence -- give off the air of someone dead?

(photo: Jamie Lancaster)

I'm not, by the way.

So, is it just me, or are the Republican candidates for the Presidency...

...appearing on-stage together as often as a punk band in 1977?

At this rate, why don't they all just get a bus and
barnstorm across the country?

Older daughter's op-ed on the recent storm (to be published in tomorrow's Hartford Courant)...

...can be found on-line here!

Joe Paterno, please call John Wesley Harding...

...he has a brand new song that's perfect for...er...how shall we say, your "situation."

I wasn't there.

I didn't see.

You'd be wasting precious time on me.

I didn't know.

It wasn't me.

Can I help with your inquiry?

You can bring me in for questioning,

But let me be quite clear:

I wasn't there;

I didn't see;

I didn't know;

It wasn't me;

I didn't cheat;

I didn't lie;

I have a perfect alibi...

John Wesley Harding, "The Harding Defense"

(bonus track from The Sound of His Own Voice)

"Yesterday, it was my birthday..."

...
I hung one more year on the line
I should be depressed
My life's a mess
But I'm having a good time.

... 
I don't believe what I read in the paper
They're just out to capture my dime
I ain't worrying
I ain't scurrying
I'm having a good time..."

Paul Simon, "Have a Good Time,"  
Still Crazy After All These Years (1975)




Okay, this isn't me really at all, but it is the day after my birthday.

My birthday horoscopes from the Hartford Courant (or, "Erratic Uranus is in my 6th House"!)

For Today, 7 November 2011: "Getting what you want seems really important today. You might even feel as if you'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. But before you make any major moves or burn any bridges, stop and consider whether it's really worth it. Deep down, you prize close, harmonious connections with other people. If you fight for something, you have a good chance of winning. But what will you lose in the process?"

(Keywords: hubris, pride; Mood: hungry)

For the next year:

 

Scorpio Overview 2011

 

Erratic Uranus stirs up restlessness with daily routines, and instability in your work life. Take charge and initiate creative changes.

Transformational Pluto, your ruling planet, continues plowing through your 3rd House of Thinking. A Solar Eclipse in this sector on January 4th alerts you to an old perception that could be holding you back from achieving an important goal. That same day, generous Jupiter and electric Uranus meet up in your 5th House of Self-Expression. A surprising insight or turn of events helps you break free from old inhibitions and get in touch with your spontaneity. This is the grand finale of Uranus's seven-year journey through this house, shaking up your love life and inspiring you to experiment with new creative avenues. Lucky Jupiter moves through your 6th House of Work and Health from January 22nd to June 4th. Seize this opportunity to improve your diet and self-care habits. A vigorous new exercise program could be ideal for recharging your vitality. Revolutionary Uranus joins Jupiter in this arena on March 11th, helping you break free from old patterns. Exploring unconventional approaches to health and healing could be beneficial. Erratic Uranus in your 6th House, for the next seven years, stirs up restlessness with daily routines, and instability in your work life. Best to take charge and initiate creative changes rather than waiting for external forces to disrupt the status quo. But be aware that taskmaster Saturn continues to journey through your 12th House of Endings. In October 2012, Saturn will shift into your sign, signaling a dramatic rebirth. In the meantime, focus on completing long-term projects rather than trying to launch major new beginnings.

Scorpio Love and Romance 2011

Lucky Jupiter enters your 7th House of Partnership on June 4th, offering opportunities to attract a mate or strengthen a relationship.

Chaotic Uranus exits your 5th House of Romance on March 11th, ending a seven-year period of instability in your love life. You may have experimented with dating different kinds of people, or tried new approaches to relating. The rollercoaster ride is coming to an end, although there's more unusual activity moving in. Dreamy Neptune visits this sector from April 4th to August 4th -- a preview of a fourteen-year journey that will start next February. Romance can be magical, but also confusing. You could be more prone to illusion or fantasy when it comes to love. On June 1st, a New Moon Solar Eclipse strikes your 8th House of Intimacy [OUCH], a potentially powerful time for a new beginning in partnership. Generous Jupiter moves into sensible Taurus and your 7th House of Partnership on June 4th, until June 2012. If you're single, this influence opens excellent opportunities for attracting a mate. If you're already in partnership, this is an ideal time to strengthen and stabilize your connection. Traveling together, or finding other ways to expand and grow as a couple is key. Jupiter harmonizes with potent Pluto on July 7th and October 28th, increasing your magnetism and ability to connect. On December 10th, a Lunar Eclipse lands in your 8th House of Intimacy, and an emerging relationship could come to fruition. But this might also signal an ending, or a time to clarify your priorities. Although you have a tendency to prefer being mysterious, open communication is key.

Scorpio Career and Money 2011

Two dramatic Eclipses shake up your 2nd House of Resources. Look for a new way to utilize your skills and talents to increase your income.

If you've been thinking about changing jobs, you've got a great opportunity to make a shift. Lucky Jupiter moves through your 6th House of Work from January 22nd to June 4th. Jupiter made a brief visit to this arena from June 6th to September 9th last year, and a possibility that opened up then could now come into reality. This can also be a good time to add new skills to your resume, or improve current ones. Adding an element of unpredictability, on March 11th surprising Uranus explodes into this sector, for the next seven years. If you can go with the flow, this could be an exciting time when you experience more independence, creativity and flexibility in your work life. Trying to hold onto the status quo is likely to backfire. Better to embrace change and take the lead to initiate a new direction that you're passionate about. Boldness, innovation and originality are rewarded. Two dramatic Eclipses shake up your 2nd House of Resources. The first is a Full Moon Lunar Eclipse on June 15th, which might alert you to a pattern of over-spending and the need to tighten your budget. At the New Moon Solar Eclipse on November 25th, you have the opportunity to hit the reset button in finances. The Eclipse harmonizes with inventive Uranus, suggesting that creativity and flexibility are key to making a positive change. You might see a new way to utilize your skills and talents to increase your income.

Older daughter's entry in the Norton Anthology Student Recitation Contest

Anne Bradstreet's "Upon the Burning of Our House"

Yea, Puritan American literature!

Blog post #801 goes to a verse from a song from John Wesley Harding's latest album...

...The Sound of His Own Voice, entitled "The Examiners." 

The song is a poem by John Whitworth set to music by Mr. Harding (a.k.a. Wesley Stace).

They can parse a Latin sentence; they’re as learned as Plotinus,
They’re as sharp as Ockham’s razor, as subtle as Aquinas,
They define us and refine us with their beta-query-minus,
They’re the wall-constructing Emperors of undiscovered Chinas,
They confine us, then malign us, in the end they undermine us,
They are there, they are there
They are there, the examiners are there

If I were a leaf that survived the late-October snowstorm...

...which included the severing and crashing to the ground of large, large, limbs from even larger trees, I'm thinking that, having lived through that, I'm not falling off my tree for a long, long time.

Leaf collection?

Forget about it!

(Written on the floor of the second floor of the New Britain Public Library, where we've gone to get warm and charge our various electronica on this fourth day of no power.)