There’s something about the grayness of November, combined with the grading of student papers, that causes university teachers go just a little bit insane at this time of year—often with hilarious results. Witness this excerpt from Alex Golub’s “Sample Job Letter”:
While some would balk at the task of attempting to shove even the slightest bit of erudition into a gargantuan classroom full of massive hordes of unwashed, half-asleep freshman, my own experience teaching at [my school] has more than prepared me for this daunting task. Indeed, I have found the experiences fills me with a pleasure which, although it leaves me feeling all dirty inside, I feel compelled to experience again and again. Whether it is demonstrating the location of China on a map, clarifying the non-existence of Dragons, or explaining that the intricacies of TÌang poetry are more than Îthat ching-chong ching-chong talkÌ, my experience teaching has made me realize how vital statues of dead Chinese people dressed in the clothing of extinct ethnic groups are to the course of human history.
Read the whole thing. It’s delightful.
I splurged on two albums this week on the iTunes music store. The first was Sarah McLachlan’s Afterglow, and the other was eastmountainsouth’s self-titled album. (I really wish there was a way to link directly into the iTunes store from a web page. Is there? Anybody know?) (Thanks, Jay!)
Both were recommended to me by Simon Phipps, and his advice was right on. I was fairly certain I’d like Afterglow, but the eastmountainsouth music really caught me by surprise. I described it to my husband as “Cowboy Junkies meet Sarah McLachlan,” but after hearing it he corrected me, saying it was more like “Cowboy Junkies meet Natalie Merchant.”
Either way, we like it, a lot.
We also both really liked the eastmountainsouth web site; there are four streamable songs on there, and a nice scrolling montage of photos of the band. I’m not usually a big fan of web sites in constant motion, but this one really works.
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