--from today's lecture on Julius Caesar.

"Brutus:  My answer is, not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more."

--

Caesar < Rome

I was in a foul mood today, partly because while I was driving around in my little village, I paused at the stop sign to check if the big SUV would roll through its stop sign, or the pedestrians on the side would float right past as through I wasn't there, and while I was looking around, the lady on the sidewalk wanting to cross started to SHRIEK at me. "GO! GO!!!!!!" She virtually shrieked me around the corner and into another crosswalk where some other pedestrians were trying to cross and they were clearly very worried and upset. I was so angry that I got an adrenaline rush and had a quick visualization of how long it would take to park the car, race back, and pound some sense and manners into her.  That is extremely rare for me to get that angry, and of course, I did not do it, but it took all afternoon and a heavy bout of exercise at the gym to calm me down.

Not sure why this upset me so much, maybe because I try so hard to drive carefully in the town I live in, and it's full of college students, and it's a pedestrian town. So on Friday at lunchtime, there will be lots of people floating across the street, at the crosswalks, or maybe in the middle, they don't care or notice, and there will be parents driving assault vehicles and high school kids racing around, and maybe even kids. And seniors--lots of them. And lots of bicyclists. I *like* the fact that I live in a walking town in Southern California, which is pretty darned rare, but the price is that you have to drive very defensively. I've seen a little old guy driving a golf cart get hit--and killed--by a lady in a truck who had the right of way, but so what? He was just as dead. People with short fuses have no business walking OR driving around there. It takes patience, or there will be accidents.

I'm glad I didn't try to play Traffic Cop With Fists, though. Maybe I will write a note to City Hall. They put up some better signage when that poor man was killed and I hope my letter had something to do with it.

ANYWAY, I have been extremely busy and tired, and I slumped down and started watching Rachel Maddow, and she played this clip and I could not stop laughing. As a special bonus, it's got Stephen Fry in it. It's his nature show, "Last Chance To See," and here he's documenting a rare flightless parrot.

OK, I don't watch a lot of TV, and the stuff I do watch, I watch again and again. There are only a handful of channels I watch--basically, if it isn't MSNBC, Comedy Central, or PBS, I have to look up the channel number. (I used to watch TCM a lot, too. I don't know what happened to that.)

And since I'm mostly a public television and public radio type person, seeing the same ad over and over and over burns a little track in my brain. So what the heck, I thought I would share the misery.

( Ads under the cut-- )

I'm getting there with catching up on the comments.  School started yesterday, and I'm not quite ready.  I have to get it all done by Sunday because Monday is one of my "furlough" days and I can't post anything to Blackboard or even answer email.  This is a big deal when you have one class that is entirely online and you had to move a bazillion files because the school changed its servers.  Plus yesterday and Wednesday were entirely eaten up by an unnecessary bureaucratic nightmare that I might write about when I stop spooking at sudden noises.  But I am down to a few legacies AND I am catching up on the BRRL!

 To Stacie, and also to Jamie and Dicreasy, whose birthdays I shamefully missed because I dithered about worrying that I had no time to shoot a proper card.  Happy birthday to all of you!  

The next update is about half written.  It's going to be very long but it's full of nice kiddie pictures so I hope no one minds.  I'd hoped to be finished before school started, and I'm close.  

The first day is tomorrow.  It's going to be weird and tomorrow I may tell you why.  Classes start on Thursday.  But I'm happy that I finished my syllabi, and that was a pain because I had to adjust them all to reflect the furloughs.

I have been a busy bee.

Did anyone see Dr. Horrible on the Emmys?  It was fun!

 Oh, dear, I feel so embarrassed to admit that the previously-mentioned super sekrit project has nothing to do with the Sims.  It's actually a crochet project and it is super-sekrit because if it comes out nicely, it will be a Christmas present for my mother.  She doesn't read LJ but you can't be too careful.  It's nearly done.  The first one is for me because these things are always a trial run and the second one is always better than the first.  

AUGH, already enmired in school!  I have to write a fellowship application and I guess I could have done it earlier, and should have, and it's not going to be as good as it could.  It's warming over a research project I did a while ago before I go sidelined by other stuff.  Still, if I complete this, I will have done pretty much all the academic work I promised myself would get done this summer, and you can't say fairer than that.  Not so much the projects around the house, but you can't have everything.

I also have to move alllll my web stuff onto a new server, tart up my syllabi, making allowances for the furlough stuff, write up a presentation on Much Ado About Nothing that I am giving on Friday, and begin work on my paper for the Blackfriars.  Plus, of course, laundry.  If comments are late, this is why.

I also bought a new hand mixer and tried it out with my chocolate angel food cake recipe and it works like a dream.  I was wondering what kept going wrong and basically, you can't expect a twenty year old mixer to work very well, so the meringue wasn't lofting the way it should.  The difference with the new one is like night and day.

Seriously. I don't care what you think of the President and his policies, you do not scream "YOU LIE!" while he's talking at a flippin' Joint Session of Congress.




You gotta love the expression on Nancy Pelosi's face, though.  Look at that jaw drop, and Biden's head shake and "that is so, so not right."  As someone said on another site: you know you're in trouble when *Joe Biden* is embarrassed by something you said.

Without getting overtly partisan about this, I think it's connected to what I said earlier about screaming "Nazi!" and bringing guns to rallies. When you make a practice of outrageous behavior, you're going to carry it into inappropriate places.  You can't act like a yobbo everywhere else and then stuff the milk back in the jar.

There ARE appropriate ways to show disapproval during and after a Joint Session of Congress speech, which is really, really formal. (Clue:  look at how they're all dressed.) Typically, they are:

1) non-verbal grumbling
2) pointedly sitting down and not applauding
3) not shaking hands.  Political pundits LOVE watching who shook whose hand--it's a favorite after the day sport.  

Inappropriate ways of showing disapproval:

1) carrying protest signs
2) texting during the speech --obviously, blatantly
3) and oh, yes, screaming "You Lie!"  

They might as well have slouched in wearing backwards baseball caps.  

I've noticed in general that people have trouble with distinguishing appropriate clothing and behavior in different places.  When I teach writing, I often have students asking about "style."  Usually I tell them there's not one "style,"  and explain that you wear different clothing in different places.  You don't wear a tux to the beach and you don't wear swim clothes to. . . what?  Here is where I am running into trouble.  People now wear the same clothing everywhere, along with the same kind of manners, and it is always the lowest common denominator.  I enjoy dressing up on occasion, and I'm sometimes given the hairy eye by people who clearly think I'm overdressed.  I always think "whatever, dude, I'm not the one who chose to wear ripped-out jeans to the opera."  

I'm not a super-fancy person:  I wear sweats to the grocery store all the time and don't care what people think.  But I don't wear them everywhere.  I don't wear jeans when I teach.  I'll wear denim in a halfway formal dress, but not jeans.  I will wear them in office hours, along with a reasonably tidy shirt and sweater.

So whaddya think?  Is this a symptom of general rudeness in our culture?  

It is about 100 degrees where I live, and big chunks of Southern California is burning.  It's not so great for my asthma, though it's not nearly so bad as it is near the fires, where the air quality has actually been listed as Hazardous.  Marina, if you are ok, please let us know, ok?  I've been trying to restrict exercise, but I will have to get back to it because they say this fire might go on for two weeks.  

Last week I was at the grocery store and noticed a man in uniform behind me.  I asked "police or fire?"  and he said "fire,"  and I saw the LA County Fire Dept. badge.  I gave him a thumbs-up and said "I really, really appreciate everything you do."  I'm so happy I said that now.  I would never have the courage that these men and women do and I'm so grateful for them. 

I'm also worried sick about the big cats at the Shambala Preserve.  These are all lions and tigers and panthers, mainly who have been abandoned by stupid pet owners, or who were abused.  There are over 70 of them, and it's nearly impossible to evacuate them.  (Get 70 lions out on a two lane mountain road?  Um, no?)  So the staff has dug in.  They do a fire drill every six weeks, and they have a big fire break and a 22,000 gallon water tank and a lake and water hoses, and I hope to heaven it's enough.  I love every kind of cat, as you probably have figured by now, and I have a special kind of anger for people who decide that oh, hey, it would be cool to own a tiger, and then get rid of it.  

I'm trying not to think about it, because I'll be really sad if things go badly, but I can't.  And of course I'm worried about the people, too, though I do wonder why anyone would think they could "ride out" a Southern California wildfire by sitting in a hot tub.  Regular animals are being sheltered at the Pasadena Humane Society.  I just sent them a donation.

Also, anyone who feels like saying something like "well, it's their *fault* for living in a fire zone" :  I give you the back of my hand.  People like that have NO CONCEPTION of how big these fires get.  You don't have to be a millionaire living in a fancy home in a brushy canyon.  You could be some ordinary family living in a regular suburb.  I don't have a lot of patience with people who talk a lot of stuff about how the victims probably should have been living somewhere else.  When bad stuff happens, you pitch in and donate to the Red Cross, and send messages of support.  You save your criticism for later.

ETA:  GREAT.  Yosemite is on fire, too, and my parents are supposed to go there on vacation on Wednesday.  I'll call them tomorrow and check in with them.  I doubt they'd be in any specific danger, but my Dad has asthma too and a lot of crud in the air would not be good for him.

ETA 2:  My parents are going to Yellowstone, not Yosemite, duh.  And whew.

Via the fine folks at Sparklefield:

Wuthering Heights reprinted with *Twiight* style cover.  Twifans express disappointment.

Actual quote:  The novel might be flying off the shelves, but readers posting reviews on Waterstone's website weren't entirely impressed by Brontë's writing. Giving it just one star, Hayley Mears wrote that "I was really disappointed when reading this book, it's made to believe to be one of the greatest love stories ever told and I found only five pages out of the whole book about there love and the rest filled with bitterness and pain and other peoples stories".

This is really too bad.  Personally, I think Meyer's understanding of Great English literature is kind of reductionist.  Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Heights, and Merchant of Venice are all about the love stories for her.  That's a pet peeve of mine, especially with books like Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre:  yes, they are love stories, and they are ALSO about other stuff.  Jane Eyre in particular gets big points from me when she has to decide if she is going to stay with Edward Rochester, because she knows he will do something desperate, and she should save him from himself, and after all he's the only one who cares for her:  "Who cares for you?"  and she responds to herself:  "I care for myself."  I can never think of that moment without a huge mental BOO-YAH.  

Incidentally, I was on another site where someone suggested that people who liked Twilight had never read anything else, and I shot back that that was definitely, demonstrably, not true.  It ain't my cup of cougar squeezins but that doesn't mean that no literate, intelligent people like it.  I think some of the argument that people make fun of it because it's a romance novel with a mostly feminine audience has some merit.  

I did a tiny bit of playing yesterday.  Not a lot.  Having work sitting around makes me feel guilty.  But I'm nearly done with drafting my theater business essay.  Now I need to add in the actual footnotes, which is a PITA and why so few people want to be theater historians.  Also, a super-sekrit crocheting project is nearly done! 

I finished my Harry Potter/Twilight werewolf paper and I'm just waiting to see the new movie in case there's something to add, but basically, it's done! No, there are no spoilers for *Half-Blood Prince* in this, mostly because I haven't seen it, but also because I'm very careful about stuff like that. No, this was in the NEWS:





Repeat after me: you can't make stuff like this up.  I'm laughing except for the bit of me that is creeped out by the Dolores Umbridge vibe.

 I'm working on the next update, but it's like pulling teeth.  I'm not sure why.  Every slide is sheer misery.  I think the format may be throwing me off.  I know that sounds odd, but it's true.  The captions don't seem any dumber than the old ones were, but then I look at them and think "DUMB."  I finally decided that dumb or not, I'm finishing and it goes up anyway.

I'm probably just cranky because of the stuff at school.  I don't think I'm going to say any more about it right now.  Let's just put it that I will probably be a lot poorer in the fall--a LOT poorer--and that to add insult to injury, I'm being asked to vote to allow them to do it.  I'm trying not to think about it right now, figuring that I'm pretty resourceful and that I've been poor before and can cut back on stuff, and that I have two lovely cats and what more does a girl need, anyway?  

I picked up the car.  They finished with it and a lot of it was covered by my powertrain warranty.  I would say "it could be worse," only I don't want it to GET worse, thanks very much.  

I wonder if anyone has ever written a horror novel set at a university?

Also, just read *Good Omens,* and it's as good as everyone says it is.

I've finally been playing a bit. I don't even want to think about how many papers I have to grade on this lovely Memorial Day weekend. It came out to about 15 a day, only today I went out shopping instead and bought some new clothes. I suppose they were impulse buys, and I do have to be careful about those, when I have been so good.

But I got an absolutely adorable hat, and a nice black dress and a white dress and a hair accessory from Anthropologie, which frankly I thought was too young for me. I figured I would look all hideous and bulgy but I don't. It's probably because the clothes *look* all floaty and unstructured, which looks like heck if you have any body at all, but they really aren't. They're all lined and well constructed. AND the dresses show off my knees. So between that and some stuff I got from J Peterman, I have some great stuff, if only I had somewhere to wear it.

Dinadan and Penelope gave me their first child. Well, children. Twins. BOYS. Twin boys. It's a good thing I like Dinadan, because between that and his Six Grandchildren LTW he is in my black books. They have two cats, but of course the cats can't have kittens and let the house get all full: there's only room for one more baby as it is. If the worst comes to the worst, I can let Jack and Sophia move out to their own little house, which is what I was thinking of doing anyhow. (Notice how I'm pretending that I'm not all excited to have twin boys named Gawaine and Parsifal?)

Speaking of Sim children, Nausicaa aged up and I am thrilled.
( Nausicaa. . .  )

Finally, some pictures from my garden:
( Two Paradises were in one, to dwell in Paradise alone -- )Have a nice weekend, everybody!

PB

 I was hoping to read some stories again and do some comments, but now it looks as though the Exchange is honked up.  Everything seems to point to the main page.  Has anyone else noticed that?

While I haven't been exercising much, if at all, I've been really, really diligent.  I finished up some reports I was supposed to do, and prepped and Xeroxed my midterms, and cleaned up the online component of my courses, and submitted an abstract for a paper, and a few other things.  I'm worried about some stuff and working hard makes me worry less.  

Swine flu seems to have reached LA County.  The school right around the block from me has been closed because a student and the student's family has come down sick after a trip to Mexico.  They're getting tested, and while they figure out if it's swine flu or not, the school is closed.  I would rather not have a swine flu problem at my school right now, as midterms are coming up (see above.)

Tomorrow I finish teaching *Love's Labors Lost* and go on with *All's Well that Ends Well.*  A lot of people don't know those particular Shakespeare plays, but I have to admit that I love both of them.  I especially love *All's Well.*  A poor physician's daughter, Helena, is madly in love with a Count Bertram, the boy she grew up with, and she knows she has no chance.  But she has a prescription she inherited from her father, and the King is desperately sick, so she goes to Paris and cures him.  The King offers her a choice of the hand in marriage of any man she wants, and she picks Bertram.  Ta-da!  Happy ending!. . . 

. . . except he doesn't want to marry her, she tries to let him off the hook, but the King orders him to.  He deserts her and runs off to Italy to the war, challenging her to present him with his ring and his child, only he's never going to take the ring off or sleep with her.  . . .

. . .so what does she do now?  And can this possibly End Well?

I have to admit I love Helena.  I admire her because she has brains and gumption and drive, and I feel sorry for her because she is in love with a pretty jerk and because she thinks she can earn him: "Who ever strove/ To show her merit, that did miss her love?"  If you think about it, this is exactly the same situation in about 99.9% of fairy tales--get rid of the dragon, do the noble deed, and you get half of the kingdom and the princess' hand in marriage.  Only it's always a guy doing the noble deeds, and the princess never objects.  In fact, there's never even a suggestion that she MIGHT object.  No one cares what she thinks at all.  

It's only when the genders are reversed that people have a problem with it.  "How dare she force him into marriage!  She's too aggressive!  Too crafty!  Too manipulative!"  This play only became popular recently--they may not even have performed it in Shakespeare's time, believe it or not.  The 18th and the 19th century just couldn't handle the idea of a reasonably virtuous young lady who can hold her end up in a conversation about virginity and some crude passes, instead of freaking out and running away.  It's only now that the sexual politics have become acceptable or even interesting.  

Bit of a digression, I know, but if you get a chance to see either of these plays, grab it and go.

. . . OK, Exchange.  You can go back up now.

Haiku2 for profbutters
the constant pillow fighting is boring but it doesn't look too nice
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