Celebrations

Yesterday I attended the Diwali celebration here on campus. It was a lovely ceremony with lights and music (although it's a pity the Interfaith Sanctuary only seems to open up to non-Abrahamic religions when they have a colorful festival to offer). The priest began speaking haltingly, seemingly less than confident with his English, but when he began to chant the prayers, first to Ganesha, then to Lakshmi, his tone changed to be ringing and confident through the 108 names of Lakshmi. We all lit our candles from the ceremonial lamp (representing the enlightenment of knowledge) and afterward we had beautiful music from Veena Chandra who played sitar while her son played tabla. Some volunteers applied mehndi (henna designs) to eager participants (yes, I got some decoration).



And of course, Saturday night was the big Markofest at Aloha Alcohula. Much fun catching up with the CT crowd -- even the elusive Bilokur. We arrived early and got to spend a pleasant afternoon with Miss Wendy. We showered the birthday boy with a bunch of Peter Cook dvds and a cd (copies of the massive treasure trove courtesy of Our Man in Britain), so we have one more member for the World Domination League.

Thursday of course is Giant Turkey Day (as celebrated in Japan) and we'll be off to Robert's, where we'll no doubt be asked, "Who wants cake?"

Mini-reviews

Belatedly, I offer a few reviews of recent indulgences:

Slade in Flame: We borrowed this from the Boojums after Halloween mostly because we read the back of the DVD and were intrigued. I will admit up front that my primary image of Slade comes from the "Slade in Residence" vignettes on The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer, which mostly involve sitcom-like misunderstandings and a lot of Cup-o-Soup. The packaging of the DVD makes the point that while they might have been expected to make a sort of Beatles-esque romp, Slade chose to make a gritty film that shows the darker side of the music biz. And it works -- this was an impressive effort, which captured both the fun and the grind of the climb to the top. Tom Conti, in perhaps his first major film role, plays the slick artist rep who milks the group for all it's worth while the fad lasts. From small town thugs to the modestly talented folks dropped along the way, the film offers a snapshot of the old story with a few new notes. We were really impressed, and even watched the long interview with Noddy that comesas an extra. It hasn't quite put Vic & Bob out of my head, but it was good.



Antigone: We attended a one man performance of Antigone at the Steamer No. 10 Theater right on the edge of the Saint Rose campus. Bertrand Fay plays all the parts with the aid of wooden masks on poles. He modulates his voice for the different parts, so when two characters are conversing you can easily tell them apart. There was a great sense of ritual to the whole performance (turning the masks forward and back as they spoke or departed) which seemed ideal for the material. Unfortunately, Gene and I were both lulled into occasional somnambulance by the sing-song delivery and the tiring week. Worse, the house lights were not low enough, so it probably apprent to the performer that we snoozed. Oh well.

Literally Speaking: Last Saturday we did a lot better at the short story reading sponsored by Lterally Speaking at the Chapel and Cultural Center at Rensselaer. It's a great idea -- short stories read by actors which circumvents the problem of authors who are not the best readers of their own materials. While I like to think I'm one writer who is a pretty good reader (teacher training helps there) it would be wonderful to hear what a talented actor could do with any one of my stories. The two actors were excellent -- one of them had just been called that morning, so he was really working cold. Unfortuntately, there won't be another reading until spring. Waah!

The series is supported by two groups, Theater Voices (who provide the actors) and the Hudson Valley Writers Guild. We went to the biannual meeting of HVWG on Wednesday at Professor Java's Coffee Sanctuary (hmm, that's the second 'sanctuary' I know of in the capital region -- which suggests a kind of hunkered down mentality...). The coffee house is terrific -- Gene was really impressed by the fine coffee aromas. The group seems useful and friendly and I think we'll both be joining. Yay.

All right, that's a lot for now -- off to the Aloha Alcohula tonight, so it's time to pack our jimjams and get on the road soon.

Overwhelmed by Stress on a Friday Afternoon

The best medicine: a little whimsy from the divine Edward Lear.




There was a Young Lady whose bonnet
Came untied when the birds sat upon it;
But she said, "I don't care!
All the birds in the air
Are welcome to sit on my bonnet!"



There was an Old Man of Whitehaven,
Who danced a quadrille with a raven;
But they said, "It's absurd
To encourage this bird!"
So they smashed that Old Man of Whitehaven.



There was a Professor of English,
Whose cat had a long-standing fond wish;
To pen its life story,
And win lasting glory,
And never again eat from a dish.

Rejoicing in Insects

I think I have finally come to an understanding of my students that somewhat fits (appropriately enough) with our reading this semester: Alice in Wonderland. Like Alice, they resist the chaos and madness I try to impose upon them. Like Wonderland, I keep throwing them off balance. They feel like the rules they have learned are not working the way they ought to do, but they persist in looking for the "right" answers. While I continue to insist that the texts are multivalent, slippery and full of problems, and that answers are only the beginning of new questions.



The students in the Early Women and Writing class (AKA the class that started out disastrous and has steadily improved) had a wonderful set of responses to writing their own "pilgrimages" based on format of the perambulations of Margery Kempe. They were moving, thoughtful and creative. In fact, I've expanded the topic to be one of their choices for a more formal paper.

They may not be rejoicing in insects yet, but maybe they have begun to look more carefully at their assumptions and dig a little bit deeper. Or perhaps, like the Mad Hatter, I'm just a little loopy.

Ooooooh, Moomins!

It was wonderful to come home today to a nice surprise -- the hardcover edition of Drawn and Quarterly's first volume of Moomin Comics. I had the prepublication galley, which is a softcover, but this is really gorgeous! And I'm not just saying that because they quote me in the press release (as the voice of Finlandia Weekly) saying nice things about the book.



I love it -- in fact, I not only wrote a handful of reviews for it, I will also be writing an essay for a collection on Tove Jansson and a conference that will be held at Oxford in March. The hardcover edition has lovely cream color pages and a nubbly feel to the cover. The beauty of the drawings is enhanced by D&Q's attention to detail. They really think about the book as an entire work of art. I can't imagine anyone doing a better job with these terrific stories and Jansson's singular style.

Buy it! You'll be glad you did.

For the Discriminating Bee Enthusiast

At last the highly prized periodical (once available only to a select few who knew the secret handshake and where the bodies were buried) has become available to the general public through the grace and largesse of St. Ephesus and of its proprietor, Stanley Ribble. Yes, the Bubwith and Rawcliffe Submariner now lies exposed to the baleful eye of a jaded populace for their edification and general sobriety. All who cheer the restoration and preservation of safe, clean water may now rejoice. Those opposed, say neigh.



Lovely ladies of the roses, you have been vindicated.

Prize Winning!

Whoo hoo -- thanks to alert Horror list member Todd Mason, I just found out that the Joshi/Dziemianowicz collection I'm in just won the International Horror Guild award for Non-Fiction! Hurrah! Read the whole story at Ansible. I would say buy the book, but perhaps the better exhortation would be to get your library to order it.

Little Lifts on a Rainy Day

It's amazing the big effect of a small good thing (about the size of a hazelnut, if you asked Julian of Norwich). As the days get darker and my students get more tired, it's harder to find energizing moments. So it was nice to see the new webpages of my friend Diane Saarinen and find that she credits me with inspiring her to write about her Finnish heritage. Thanks, Diane!

And then I got a note out of the blue from a colleague who happens to have been one of the judges for a recent competition where she read (unbeknownst to her at the time) one of my stories. When she found out, she wrote me a very kind and complimentary email. Yay -- gives you that warm snuggly feeling that Cute Overload does.



I'm certainly not complaining about rainy days. Bring on the cool weather! But drizzly times are best for hot chocolate and quiet contemplation. Yet there's so much work to be done. The long mad dash toward the end of the semester only gets shorter and shorter (and faster and faster). I'm still trying to find my feet at St. Rose -- my students are so quiet! I know I'm not alone -- everyone seems to have the same story. But it only makes me more determined to get them talking somehow.

Vote Today!

As the Joey Zone is fond of saying, "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." If you don't work for change, you have no right to disparage the way things are. Vote!

Then complain all you want.



I'll just be glad not to hear the names Gillibrand and Sweeney on a daily basis. But New York does not have a corner on the market for vitriol. If we had Comedy Central, we'd be watching the Daily Show/Colbert Report live tonight, but alas, we have scaled back to bare bones cable+modem. Instead, I'll be preparing for teaching Wednesday (as usual).

Off to vote in a few minutes --

More Fun in the New World

Thanks to our reliance on treeware (specifically the Times-Union) we found out about a couple of exciting groups in the Capital region:

Right in Albany is the Federation of Ideas, a loose collective that defines itself as "a 'neighborhood' community and arts group" who run various events like the University of Ideas, "a non-boring lecture and presentation series that varies monthly between surrealist parlor game club to presentations on urban permaculture to missing women of Mexico. Speakers get to hold an audience captive for 20 minutes and lead them through participatory thought-sharing. "

Across the river in Troy is The Sanctuary for Independent Media, a group with a more overtly political agenda, actively engaging people in the construction of non-corporate media. This community center "provides screening, production and performance facilities, training in media production and a meeting space for artists, activists and independent media makers of all kinds." There's even an election night comedy party sponsored by The Hudson Mohawk Independent Media Center. Their focus is on involving everyone in the media, and they offer workshops to build skills -- everything from using digital cameras to building your own website.

Why does it take so long to find out about the exciting things going on in the area? As if there were a shortage of things to keep us occupied...

Gene's Bad Poetry

By popular acclaim, Wombat's World is pleased to present the very bad poetry of the beret-wearin' Dr. K (AKA Gene):

Dutch Mastery

The flint lighters of our souls
illuminate the stygian darkness
in the Prestige Spanish Cedar Walk-In Humidor of this worldly existence

Our souls ignite the toasted, creamy tobacco of our love
having first prepared ourselves
with the Rubber Coated Double Blade Cutter of our courtship

Nothing can clear the Romeo y Julieta Belicoso-scented haze of our love
not even the petty Prometheus Habana Crystal Ashtrays of occasional arguments
or the Ionic Zone IZ-270 electrostatic air purifier of jealousy

Nothing, that is, until the Sav-A-Cigar snuffer of death itself readies us
for a perfect 65-to-70% humidity of everlasting bliss

====

Composed Upon an Overcast Autumn Morn, When I am Filled with Ideas, Hope, and Zest, And All the World's Possibilities are Laid Before Me, Awaiting the Transforming Touch of My Lyric Lexicon

This...
...
The only...
...
When I am unsure...
...
I think I'll just

Review: The Mystery of Irma Vep

We dropped by the Curtain Call Theater to see their presentation of The Mystery of Irma Vep by the late Charles Ludlam. As expected, it was a good chuckle with a few guffaws. All the parts are played by the two actors, Aaron Holbritter and Kris Anderson -- which becomes part of the humor, with characters alluding to the necessary absence of other characters. It's a wild tale of vampires, werewolves, mummies and other gothic trappings, like a mix of Rebecca, Laura, and a little Wuthering Heights. The script is full of bad puns, salacious hints and wild turns. The two actors made the most of their widely disparate body types, Holbritter in particular showing great zeal for the transformation between the rough Nicodemus and the delicate flower, Lady Enid. The appreciative audience really fueled the energy -- the first row in particular howling with laughter, so much so that Jane the Housekeeper (Anderson) threw a sprig of "wolfsbane" to the woman who was laughing so hard in the first row. Before this, the shrieks of laughter had their effect on bringing on a fit of corpsing that never quite left the second half of the play. Which was all right -- the second half being where the script turned more Martin & Lewis than gothic, despite its setting in an Egyptian crypt.

During the interval we went downstairs to the cafe. While we were able to resist the decadent looking desserts (oh that cake looked good!) we did indulge in coffee and hot chocolate while looking through the art exhibit. For a small place, the Curtain Call Theater has a lot packed inside. We'll be back.

The program also had an ad for the Saratoga Springs theater company, Home Made Theater which will be doing a version of Alice in Wonderland, which I need to mention to my students, as well as Wit and I Hate Hamlet. More fun coming in regional theater!

Bad Poetry & Good Pictures

Last night the College held its Frighteningly Bad Poetry Reading. Gene got into it big time, not only producing a couple of minor masterpieces of crap poetry, but dressing as the quintessential beatnik/Frenchie poet, with stripey shirt and my Canterbury beret. The students (a few faculty members!) got into the spirit of things with bad costumes, bad poetry (some reaching back into juvenalia, others composing doggerel during dull meetings) and spectacularly bad performances. topics ranged from necrophilia (a prize winner) to toast (the latter perhaps the best performance, but that wasn't up for awards this time). A good time was had by all, much guffaws and titters.

I'm sure, if you ask nicely, Gene will share his odes with the world. In fact, I'll offer to print them here.



Which reminds me that Gene got our Halloween pictures up and I forgot to link to them here. You've probably seen the other pictures already, but if you're not tired of the same costumes yet, here's ours.

Feliz Dia de los Muertos

Get out your sugar skulls and marigolds -- it's that time again! I don't know where our sugar skull mold is, so I guess we won't have any today. It's good to have a day to remember those we miss. My folks sent a number of articles from their local paper that explained the holiday for folks new to it. Not surprisingly, there are big celebrations in Las Cruces.



I think I was first introduced to the celebration in a Ray Bradbury short story, "The Next in Line," from The October Country, one of those linchpins of my life (along with Alice in Wonderland, Shrieks at Midnight and the Mary Poppins books). Living in Tejas for the last few years, we were more easily steeped in the celebrations. There seems much to value in this attitude toward death. No one really wants to think about its inevitability, but the silence more common in our culture seems to fuel our grief rather than relieve it.

Tonight our college will feature a bad poetry reading to celebrate the day -- what could be more appropriate?

Happy Halloween!

It's so lovely to be back in the Northeast for Halloween -- hearing the leaves crunch under your feet, seeing the smoky colors of fall, feeling the crisp cold in the air. Why not read a little passage from Ray Bradbury's The October Country?



With luck, most folks got their Halloween cards even though we were a bit remiss on getting them into the post on time. If so, great -- if not, we'll do better next year!

Spooky Snaps

Nah -- we didn't get our pictures up yet, but the Boojums did, and you can see them here. The Queen got hers up as well and you can see them here. When we'll get ours up is anyone's guess -- we're spending an evening with Slade and cold medicine.

And yes, despite my illness, there is another episode of the serial!

Home Again

We're back, I'm sick -- but it was worth it. Pictures tomorrow. Stopped by at Robert's on the way back and he gave us a lovely roast beef dinner and a wonderful apple tart. Mmmmm.

For those of you with money riding on the contest: yes, of course, Johnny 10X (who is the canvas of the Queen of Everything) did win. Wow. Bet he's still peeling the fur off...

Boojum Bound

Off soon to drive through the apparently pouring-all-day rain to Connecticut to join the gang for the annual Boojum bash. Have to make sure we have all the bits of our costumes with us, jimjams and all (hey, camera might be a nice idea, too). I am trying to believe that the sniffling I am experiencing is just allergies, but I think we'll swing by the pharmacy on the way out of town. Let's hope that not too much red comes out in the shower this morning -- but I still need to scrub off a little more red along the scalp line. I forgot what a pain dying hair is -- of course usually I bleached it lighter, which doesn't leave traces behind.



Enjoy the spooky day!

Lookee here!

Stage two of the costume complete! The color is not the best on that PDA snap (i.e. eyes should be blue, eh?), but the hair is now a pleasing candy apple red. Ignore the bags under the eyes...

Honorable Mention

A nice way of saying "You Lose!" Next reading night for Literally Speaking will not feature my story "Eating the Dream," but at least it gets a mention.

Ah well -- better than nothing at all. Pity they couldn't spell my name correctly.

Several hours and burned fingers later (hey, glue guns are hot) I think my headpiece is done. We'll see. After letting it sit a while, I may decide to add flourishes.

Halloween Approaches!

Time to furiously work on those costumes -- time is getting shorter. Have to get the glue gun out today. First, though I have to run out to the stores because we need a new color ink cartridge, the sure sign that production of our Halloween cards has begun! Oh, well -- more in the mail today, assuming all goes well. I have to make sure I get all my reading and course prep done before the weekend so I can enjoy the big Boojum Halloween party with a clear conscience. And let's hope Gene's feeling better by then, too. A cold has laid him low for the last few days, which he finds very inconvenient.



For your amusement -- here's a blast from the past, courtesy of Howard (again, yeah -- the blackmail payment is on its way). It's my first attempt at a Norma Desmond costume (recycled a few years later with greater success, but without my [later] wedding shoes -- and hey! aren't those the gloves from Carla's wedding?). It was sometime in the eighties, somewhere at USC...

Heat Alleged

Things were in turmoil around here (i.e. my office on campus) yesterday but the end result was meant to be heat. As it's been in the forties lately, it would be a welcome thing to most folks in the building. Well, the first floor that is -- the other floors have heat! But no sign of it at present. Bethany and I tried to turn up the thermostat but no heat has resulted yet, but a lot more drilling and pounding has ensued.



Looking forward to the Boojum's Halloween party Saturday. Joey sends this link to vintage costumes. Still haven't quite finished my costume, but the materials are gathered and I have tried to simplify some aspects. Still need to get out the glue gun, but thanks to Gene, at least I know where it is now.

It Begins!

Well, the new idea I have been preparing for at last begins -- a serial novel which you can read here on my newly launched second blog (is this the sign of the new virtual wealth? "oh yes, our second blog is just for tooling around town...").

The plan is that new installments will come out once a week (barring unforseen events, travel, or monster grading sessions). The novel in progress does not yet have a title -- I am considering running a contest to choose the title from suggestions. I may be employing a Google Adsense advertisement to support the project, too. At present I'm just playing with the possibilities so nothing is set in stone.

That goes for the story, too.

I have a notion where it will go, but I don't have set ideas about how it will get there. Initially, the idea I sketched out during a panel at Albacon was much more formal. After I let the idea percolate for a time, I decided against pursuing that course for something with much less pressure. Nonetheless, I hope it will prove engaging. I guess you all wil be the judge of that. So mosey on over to the new blog and see what you think. It may not rival the popularity of Dickens' Little Nell, but one must try new things!

Elvis has left the Diner

And later this morning, Yvonne will be leaving Albany. Her talk went well last night, although she was fighting a bad cold. We had a pretty good turnout for a Friday night, Fridays in general at St. Rose "looking like a ghost town." She played a little on her flute which is modeled on the early flutes, which were wooden not metal.



It sounds lovely too -- warmer than a modern flute but with much the same tone. A good number of my students were there (and my dean and department chair -- eek!) as well as some folks from outside the college, which was nice. Hildegard still remains a magnetic personality. The apparent non-students were the ones who asked most of the questions -- my students were too shy, it seems.

Afterward we went out for a late bite at the Gateway Diner. Albany is the land of diners and bowling alleys, so I feel like we have moved to Lebowski-Land. Of course our first eye-catching sight as we walked into the diner was the guy in the back, at a table of about a dozen guys, who looked like an Elvis impersonator. Or if he wasn't he should look into the possibility, because it would be a shame to waste that rug and sideburns.

In case you are wondering which Lebowski character I am:

According to the "Which Big Lebowski character are you?" quiz:

Why don't you check it out? Or we cut off your Johnson!

Goin' to the UK

Hurrah! I got word to day that I have been accepted for a conference on Tove Jansson at Oxford University *and* the book collection that it will spawn. Hurrah! Best of all, I am writing on the comics collection from Drawn and Quarterly which I recently reviewed for New World Finn.



Plus, it looks like there is the possibility of attending a meeting on behalf of the College at Regent's College in January (6-10) as well as the late May short course I'll be teaching if I get enough students to sign up for it. Of course, everyone who knows me knows this is just an elaborate excuse to go book shopping on Charing Cross Road and to see friends. Well, and to convey that sense of fun to a new generation of American tourist/students. I have a few other plans for the trip that will be unveiled later...

Those who have known me for far too long may recall that my first trip to England came via a study abroad program between Michigan State University and -- wait for it! -- Regent's College. The dorm I stayed in is now a private home, but it remains right next door to the big mosque on the Outer Circle of Regent's Park. And that park (with its secret garden) remains one of my favorite places to be -- Regent's Park may not have as high a profile as the other London parks, but my sentimental attachment to it is strong.

Hildegard of Bingen

My friend Yvonne Kendall is arriving this afternoon from Houston. I was lucky enough to get her as a speaker here at St. Rose to talk on Hildegard of Bingen, the twelfth century mystic. My students in my Women & Early Writing course have been reading her and examining the illustrations of her visions.



Her work is fascinating and she's a bit of a rebel for her time, claiming authority to speak about visions of divinity, although "a poor little womanly creature" without the "proper" training. She saw divinity as the green force of life, "viriditas," which valued the earth in sharp contrast to many of her contemporaries. Healing, too, was a great interest for her. Hildegard wrote on the healing properties of both plants and gems, and of course her music expressed both her spirituality and the healing qualities of the human voice. A woman far ahead of her times!

Thanks, Howard

Oh, sure -- pick on me. My friend Howard from Las Vegas (a man of various talents) sent me an email noticing a correspondence heretofore unmentioned (as it should be). I see no comparison between the two pictures!

Yet Another Scam!

Beware of phone callers from 800-963-6230!

They will announce themselves as calling from "American Financial" and that your requested credit account has been approved. When I got the call, I asked "what credit account?" and was told that my name had been forwarded by a credit card company that had denied me an account. Yeah, right. I clearly stated that I did not want their "credit account," the woman said "That's all you have to say." When I pumped her for further information, she hung up.

I called the 800 number listed by my cell phone and got a guy who then mocked me as I tried to ask questions. So I told him I was calling the police and hung up.

Well I doubt the police will do anything, but I can enter a complaint at Consumer Action and at the FTC.

More Rocks!

Tiit Kao, fellow member of the Kantele Players Group and kannel player, knowing my interest in rock paintings, sent along a link to me for the Peterborough Petroglyphs in Ontario.



Clearly, I am going to have to make a pilgrimage north! Particularly with all the suggested links to Scandinavian/Siberian cultures. There is always so much more going on in "primitive" art than we credit. Last night we were watching another episode of How Art Made the World where the effects of that attitude were clearly revealed, resulting in the misreading of cave paintings for years. Surely they were fakes, the thinking went, because "primitive" people could not draw with such sophistication.

Yeah, and the Middle Ages were the "Dark Ages" and people knew nothing before the twentieth-century. Cue rolling eyes. There have always been curious and talented people who tried to creatively connect to the world they wanted to understand. Too often we dismiss what we do not understand.

Beckett at Bard

We drove down to Annandale-on-Hudson (where, as Robert pointed out to us Monday, "the pump don't work 'cause the vandals took the handle") to where the big Gehry looms out at the edge of the woods for the Gare St. Lazare production of a Triple Bill of Beckett shorts.

Of course one of the first things Gene noticed was the big poster for the Charles Burns designed version of the Nut Cracker for the Mark Morris Dance group:



He was more than willing to take the poster off their hands -- as I was wiling to do with the giant Beckett Centenary poster (think how good it would look outside my office!). After sighs of longing, and at the appointed time, we trooped down to the intimate theater to find our seats. The space, dark and small, gave the impression of throwing those of us in the small audience together for warmth or comfort agaisnt the high reaching ceiling of the theater. The stage was bare but for a wooden bench, all that was needed for the first monologue, "Enough." For "A Piece of Monologue" this was changed to a lamp and the suggestion of a bed, then a set of steps for the final "Texts for Nothing" selections.

Beckett's characters are hesitant to speak, yet bursting with a story to tell -- Ally Ni Chiarain who performed "Enough" captures this beautifully, appearing haunted and almost frightened, needing to speak yet afraid -- of criticism? or being misunderstood? of revealing too much? Yet like most of Beckett's characters, the story that consumes her is so personal and so intimate that she does not tell us the details that would make her pain plain, so we much listen very carefully, put together conflicting clues and never quite feel certain that we know what has happened -- yet we're riveted to her halting confession. At times the silence was so profound as we waited for her next word that you could hear stomachs rumble and gurgle. How often do we experience that kind of silence with a group of strangers?

If "A Piece of Monologue" worked less well, it was because Conor Lovett conveyed the sing-song and looping dialogue too hypnotically. Vocalized beautifully, but the droning old man, awash in a persistent memory, soothes the brain into drowsing too easily. Beckett plays with language and silence, sometimes to extremes.

A transformed Lovett reappeared after the break fo the continuous presentation of the "Texts." It's a less difficult row to hoe -- the Texts are humorous (as well as jarring, hesitant, loony and sometimes frightened). The audience responded with relief to the cameraderie of humor, and tensed up even more with the pregnant silences. At the end their applause warmly rewarded him for the spellbinding trip.

How must it feel to have that power over an audience, to play them like an instrument -- I think part of the reason I have gone back to writing plays is that I long for that immediate connection. While it's fun to play with the long narrative of a novel, there's nothing quite like the alchemy of the stage. To see your words live -- and live in unexpected ways as actors play with them, take the for a walk over new ground -- is an amazing thrill. I remember talking to Clive Barker once and he remarked that he was glad not to be a playwright anymore because the pain when that magic failed was too much to bear. But sometimes the distant pleasure of knowing someone out there somewhere is reading your work, just doesn't compare to laughter you created -- or gasps, or tears, or just anticipatory silence.

And why Beckett? I don't know for sure. He's been hanging over my shoulder for some time now with a lesson or two for me. Maybe it dates to seeing Bill Irwin perform some Beckett at MLA a few years back; maybe to my dog-eared copy of Waiting for Godot still sitting in storage in CT (soon to be liberated). I can't really say for sure -- but there's something I need to know that I do not yet know.

Reason 84,373,958 Why the Internet is So Good

Not only can you find the Aurora Borealis (yes, localized in your kitchen at this time of day and year, and in any part of the globe), but you can also investigate old televisions shows that your mind retains vestigially in the darker parts of memory (not to mention the ability to annotate everything you write with words and pictures, video and sound...).

Example? you might ask. Well, somehow last night I churned up a memory of The Kids from C.A.P.E.R., a very bad Saturday morning kids show from the late seventies that my girlfriends Chris and Carla and I watched with some fondness. Naturally enough, we had to then surf the net to see what we could find and within minutes we were listening to their hit single and refreshing our knowledge of the theme song. A pinch of the Goodies, a touch of the Monkees [thanks, Gene, for correcting my spelling!] and tiny hint of the Marx Brothers: Forgot about the secret word!



Is this a good thing? Should bad seventies (or any other decade) shows live on in a kind of zombiefied ethereal amber? Is the internet really replacing my brain? I don't know -- perhaps I can Google the answer...

Well, we are off Becketting today (very different from Bunburying) thanks to Robert. Will report back later.

Finland Pictures -- Part 2

Thanks to Gene, the second batch of pictures is up! He encountered one problem with Flikr -- we've hit the limit of freebie space. What I'm going to do is get these up on my site with tags soon. In the mean time, you can still access raw photos at this alternative site.

Finnish Connections

I received a wonderful email from Marja-Leena Rathje, who told me that she blogged on my trip to Finland, too, and put up one of my pictures which she had enhanced to bring out the image of the rock painting at Astuvansalmi. How lovely! It really looks good with the colors sharpened. With luck, I will have the rest of the photos up very soon, thanks to Gene.

Isn't it amazing how these connections form? One comment in the right ear, one post with the right key words and new friendships form, new inspirations begin. Thanks, Marja-Leena!

Images

One of my students today in class turned over her copy of W. S. Merwin's translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with evident distaste. I thought perhaps she just didn't like the reading, I assumed, but then when her seat mate pointed to the cover and said "It's on the back, too!" I realised she was responding to the Chipp Kidd design:



She found it eerily creepy. I guess I have discounted it because I have in mind the medieval manuscript image. It actually looks better in the web version than on the book jacket -- it looks too fuzzy on the book.

Ironic, because the book is all about image: the vision of the Green Knight when he arrives amid the Yuletide revels; the image of perfection that Gawain's shield represents, a pentangle on one side and Mary on the other; the picture of the perfect chivalrous knight that Gawain finds burdensome when he's face to face with an avid reader of romances and doesn't feel up to the role; and the picture of heroism that Gawain measures himself against -- and finds he is lacking.

I usually can't be bothered with Arthuriana -- it's the one part of medieval literature I really can't abide (perhaps because it's so popular? after all, ask anyone what they know about the Middle Ages and they will quickly come to Arthur), but I really enjoy SGGK. Perhaps it's the deliberately archaic form the poet chooses -- he even alliterates in good old Anglo-Saxon style. Perhaps because it pokes holes in the absurd ideals of chivalry, ideas that probably never existed in reality at all. Perhaps it's because the characters seem aware of all those pressures and still make mistakes -- but the poet, rather than harshly judging them, treats their failures with compassion and good humor. It's an attitude some modern Christians could well imitate, in contrast to the public face of their religion at present, which is all about judgment and accusation.

All too often people look at the Middle Ages as "Dark Ages" of ignorance and superstition -- when all you have to do is read some of the texts to find a world much like our own.

My Brother-in-law went to Long Beach --

-- and all I got was this link to his pictures from the trip (where he presented a video installation at Soundwalk 2006). You can also check out his musical projects. I have lots of talented friends, like Short Punks in Love and film director David Schmidt. I'm a pretty lucky gal!

From Albacon to Albacore

Okay, I lie -- we didn't actually have albacore, but we did have sushi with Robert yesterday near Bard when we went out for lunch. We got to stroll through the swanky campus: the Italian gardens, which overlook the Hudson, had lovely plants and a bunch of Monarch butterflies. We gazed in wonder at the Frank Gehry-designed Performance Center, which is hosting a bunch of Beckett. And then we went off to Woodstock to shop -- I even got some plants for my office. The beautiful fall day was too good to last, but we enjoyed it while it did.

The last day of Albacon went well, despite the usual fatigue that sets in by the last day of a con. There was the guy demonstrating the violet ray, which was both amusing and interesting. Some audience participation resulted in sparks and not a few hasty movements away from the glass. I went to the writer's workshop panel with hopes of coming away with some thoughts for my next creative writing course and I did -- including the idea of using the net and perhaps Blackboard to keep students networking after the course is over.

Another busy week begins -- with one less day. The good news -- my proposed three week intensive course at the end of spring semester has been approved! Now I just have to get students to sign up for it, but I think a good number of them will want to take advantage of one week of intensive reading, then two weeks in...

ENGLAND!

Albacon Day 2: From Basketball to 'Beauty Queens'

I can't believe I forgot to blog about the creepiest thing we encountered: Friday night, after marvelling at the basketball coach gathering on the other side of the floor, we were leaning over the balcony looking at the pool are below. There was a woman and three children in descending ages. The youngest was perfoming to music from a boom box. We finally realized that she was prancing around like a stripper beause she was practicing for a pageant. Ew -- it was disconcerting to see this little child shimmying along.

We had no idea -- Saturday we competed all day with the blasting thump of music from the pageant next door. Parades of little Jon-Benets ran in and out of the ballroom adjacent to ours, either in spangly costumes and garish makeup or in gigantic plastic curlers. It was really icky and really loud.

I went to a panel on "going beyond medievalism" in fantasy, but was quickly irked by one panelist who characterized history as being divided by the sudden leap to reason in the 18th century -- a ridiculous notion that overlooks the employment of the scientific methods by many in the Middle Ages from Albertus Magnus onward (not to mention the continued popularlity of rather irrational ideas even today). It was as ill-informed as the other panelist calling the Middle Ages the "Dark Ages" -- a notion as offensive as it is misguided. But then this was the same panelist who referred to animism as "primitive" (because it was different from her beliefs?). Neither of them seemed to recognize that the chief problem has been 2nd hand Tolkien: I may not like Tolkien's style, but he knew his stuff. Too many people have only read Tolkien and his imitators, and know (and apparently care) nothing about the time they are supposedly portraying. Fortunately, there was one panelist who countered this misguided opinion with a little common sense: Melissa Scott. I saw her on a couple of panels and was impressed with her thoughtfulness. I'll have to check out her books.

Another, more amusing thing to check out: look at the cover illo on this book, then imagine this woman sitting at a panel, stroking her pen with two fingers from the top down repeatedly. Hmmm -- sometimes a pen is your best friend.

There was a panel on the best and worst sf films, which predictably devolved into a lively debate with completey partisan defenses. That was amusing. There was a panel on the state of comics, which predictably seldom got beyond the "comics=superheroes" equation. That was not so amusing.

Back today for more...and by the way:

SOCK IT TO 'EM, TIGERS!

Cons and Conferences

This week had both: first on Wednesday my colleague Kim Middleton and I went to a conference on Visual and Information Literacy in Massachusetts. Among the speakers was Henry Jenkins, who had some very thought-provoking things to say and some terrific exempla at his program's site, New Media Literacies. I have been inspired to try to incorporate more on these topics into my courses. Students are passive consumers of media -- they need to be more critical, but it's our job to give them the tools.

Then last night we went to the first night of Albacon, the local sf/f con. Among the highlights -- the ice cream social! Hood ice cream, all kinds of toppings and hot fudge sauce. I went to a panel on incorporating characters outside the mainstream, and later joined Gene at a panel on Kubrick's 2001 which proved full of diverse opinions.

We had a little time before things got rolling to walk around downtown and see a few sights, including of course the Egg:

New Web Designs

The initial stages are complete: I have new web pages up for my home and academic sites (links at the right). I'd love to hear feedback on the new looks while I'm continuing to work on the underlying pages. After all, it's no good having a shiny exterior if the interior is still rusty!

And this is all thanks to Open Source Web Design and the artists who share their hard work!

Welcome, October!

My favorite month of the year begins and I am so far behind! I have yet to make the Hallween card, but I have started on the costume. Due to the busyness of starting a new job, I thought I would skimp on the costume this year. However, after seeing old friends last week, I have been inspired -- or is it only competetive? Whatever the impetus, I have a better idea than the one I was planning to use, so we'll see how it turns out.



Appropriately enough for our entry into October Country, it is a cool and rainy day. Perfect for grading papers which is what I ought ot be doing, rather than daydreaming about Halloween. Which reminds me -- I need to scan in the picture from my folks of three little kids in their scary Halloween costumes quite a few years ago...

A Wonderful Resource

Faced with the project of making a new academic website for myself, I sighed thinking of my paltry skills. But I finally thought, "Hey, I bet the web can help me." Sure enough, just like Open Office (the free equivalent of Microsoft Office), there is Open Source Web Design, a free site for web templates.

Some are quite lovely and most are easy to use (and can be easily edited with Notepad). Check out my new academic site (still under construction). In a short while, you'll see the fabulous new look for my professional website -- it's going to be quite striking!

Well, after an expensive visit to get the NY inspection sticker, we're going to be heading off for cocktails with the president (of the college). That should be awkward and formal!

New Improved Finnish Pictures

Thanks to Gene, the first batch of pictures is up on Flickr. No labels yet, but maybe in between grading papers I can get some done. This group is mostly the trip to the Astuvansalmi rock paintings across Saimaa lake. Later will be the Helsinki pictures.

Enjoy!

Finland Pictures

I finally got the pictures from my trip to Finland uploaded, but you'll find that they're still in raw format and without labels. I hope to remedy that soon, but the beginning of the semester is still crazy and I have a lot of things to keep me busy (including updates of my personal webpages and installing the new academic webpages). But if you want to take a tour, by all means do so -- and feel free to ask questions about the pictures. Most of them will be clear enough: the pictures start in central Helsinki, where I had an hour or so before taking the train to Mikkeli. Next are pictures from the boat trip to Astuvansalmi's rock paintings, then back in Helsinki.

Enjoy!

Be Careful What You Wish For...

...because it might come true. I was pleased to receive an acceptance to Kalamazoo last week. For those who don't know, that's the unlikely location of the International Congress on Medieval Studies, the most prestigious conference in my field (in this country, anyway). Knock wood, I have always been accepted for a panel to date. Best of all, I know Wendy is going this year! I look forward to hanging out with my fave gal pal, being Edina to her Patsy.

But that wasn't all I submitted: yesterday I received notice that I will be giving a paper at the Pseudo Society panel.

My ambitious side says, "Yay!" This is quite a coup. My more rational side says "What were you thinking?!" This is the big deal on Saturday (prior to the dance anyway). The big auditorium in Fetzer is usually packed to standing room only. Great possibilities for major crash-n-burn. Ay yi yi.

Suddenly my paper doesn't seem all that funny. The good thing is I have several months to polish it--and polish it, I will.

Back Home

A lovely day with much fun and conversation; and a fine weekend, too, with more of the same. Wendy outdid herself again -- food by the truckloads and yes, leftovers to take home (mmmm, bring on the kugel!). Good to see friends and have a lot of laughs, to be back "home" as much as any place is for us travellers.

Of course, it will take days to digest all the food we ate this weekend...

Rosh Hashanah Ragin' Kegger & Toga Party

The name is misleading -- we don't actually wear togas. But it's an excuse to celebrate the New Year with Miss Wendy and a few other folks, some of whom may be surprised to see us :-) We'll see how the new car runs, although I drove it out last night and all seemed fine (knock wood!).

Our White Knight

We got a "new" car -- of course it's actually pretty old: a 1992 Honda Accord DX, five speed. Nice to have a stick shift again. It looks like this:



Best of all, it shouldn't be as likely to burst into flames as our mechanic warned the Subaru might. Oh, well -- it did get us here. Maybe we can sell it (the money would be nice), but it's more likely we'll donate it for a tax credit. We can advertise it as rust free, so maybe some DIY folks would be interested in dealing with the "massive oil leak."

Of course the problem is dealing with the DMV again. We have bettered Gene's record -- three trips to get his driver's license. Four trips, so far; let's see if we finally get it on the fifth visit. The last problem? The way Gene's name appears on the insurance card is slightly different from how it appears on his NY driver's license -- largely because they insisted there was not enough room for his name so there's just an "E" on it. No doubt that he was the same person. It simply doesn't fit exactly the form. Talk about anal-retentive rule enforcement. The problem is each time they tell us something new. When this issue was brought up to the supervisor, she said "why are you asking me?" Hmmm, maybe because you're the SUPERVISOR?

We will sally forth once more -- maybe today, maybe tomorrow, whenever we can stomach it. But then, everybody hates the DMV. To paraphrase Stephen Colbert, worst bureaucracy or the most evil bureaucracy?

Dress Like a Pirate!

Cheryl wins "Best Pirate Wench" -- Go, Black Ethel!

Talk Like a Pirate!

Arrr, mateys! Once again International Talk Like a Pirate Day has rolled around and all land-lubbers are encouraged to dig deep and find their inner scalawag. Buckle yer swash or be walkin' the plank, ye dogs! So heed the words of Pirate Bob and sail the BB-Sea. Avast!

Shopping Kismet

We had to get a few useful things yesterday, which somehow (inevitably) led to finding useless things as well. Target has some absolute WONDERFUL Halloween things. Their new emphasis on slick design has again led to snappy looks that make Halloween stuff fun, including a kind of Dia de los Muertos influence that made me buy a plate (a plate!) and made me contemplate buying other things. They don't entirely get over the cutesyness that has destroyed my desire to buy Halloween stuff in the last couple years, but it goes a long way toward restoring my faith in spooky products. Very cool, also -- Universal Monsters-inspired pants and shorts in the men's department.

We decided to dawdle just a little longer by swinging past T.J. Maxx to check out their Halloween holdings. After a lot of picking, we found a couple of interesting items and headed to check out. I turned around and the woman getting in line behind us had a Hello Kitty (adult sized!) folding chair. "Where did you find that!?" In the children's section, folded up, she said. Now, we had seen a good deal of Sanrio in the middle of the store, but mostly just bags. Here was something useful! We bulletted out of there and I grabebd the chair lying under a clothes rack, hoping to find more. It was apparently the last one. The other woman who had immediately charged to the back looked very disappointed. We also found a folding storage box, whoo hoo. Both, of course, for much less than their Sanrio stickers indicated as the original price. well, that stop was worth it!

Two bits of good news: the every fabulous and funny Lee Martindale has given a wonderful blurb for the print edition of Con-Eire, the play we debuted at Trinoc-con this year. She's so sweet! A nice blurb like that will no doubt encourage folks to pick up the book.

Also, Gerry Henkel tells me that my piece on traveling in search of ancient Finland will wind up on the cover of New World Finn. Wow! That's great. It probably helps that I had a bunch of pictures to go with the narrative. Yes, which reminds me I still haven't posted them. This week -- I hope!

All right -- I have a date with Hrotsvit right now.

Coming to a Landfill Near You

The NYTimes has a much forwarded story about the next "revolution" in tea drinking in their story "Tea's Got a Brand New Bag" (with inadvertent mental connections to the always scatalogical Derek and Clive's "Bo Duddley," a vicious skewering of clueless white critics 'interpreting' soul music). The new bag, in Lipton's case, is nylon. This "gossamer mesh" has a hidden agenda: a plan to stick around for 30 to 40 years. That's about how long it takes nylon to biodegrade. Lipton, the future landfills thank you.

If you have a question about the use of nylon bags by Lipton, you should let them know. Perhaps before their big launch of the product on October 4 in New York...

Reason #4298 to Love the Internet

Thanks to Ebay, I finally secured a copy of the long out of print animated feature "Grendel, Grendel, Grendel" which is based on John Gardner's novel and stars the voice of Peter Ustinov. Who knew there was a soundtrack, too? I had heard of the film but never saw it until last night. It's odd -- adapting Gardner's novel, itself adapting the story of Beowulf. There's a cuteness in the animation itself which seems out of place in the story of the monster, but much of Gardner's narrative is there, although the eating of humans is downplayed and displaced more to his mother than to Grendel himself. One of the fun things is that Hrothgar and his men all have Northern accents, but Beowulf when he shows up has a very posh and polished voice and a matching attitude. It would be difficult to convey Garnder's creepy automaton who speaks in Grendel's head, so this is an interesting take. I regret that the very last line is left out (a line which proved so effective in Julie Taymor's production). I'm glad I finally have this and I can use it next time I teach the novel -- or maybe even before...

Icons of Horror and the Supernatural

I received an email from Joshi today saying that he had the page proofs of the book and it looked "fabulous" even without the cover art yet. Supposedly we get copies as well as our work-for-hire paychecks, so I can't wait. Hopefully it will not take as long to get as the last Greenwood project -- I made sure to give them my current address right away. This is the "Sorcerer" piece that I wrote back in April or May, in the midst of all the craziness of teaching, traveling and getting ready to move, so I didn't feel all that good about it. With luck it has been sandpapered a little by Joshi and the folks at Greenwood.

My Pirate Name

Well, I have a better one, but this is one of those fun quiz thingees. Thanks for the link go to the Joey Zone! Don't forget, as my PDA reminded me today, next Tuesday is National Talk Like a Pirate Day!

My pirate name is:

Iron Anne Read

A pirate's life isn't easy; it takes a tough person. That's okay with you, though, since you a tough person. Even through many pirates have a reputation for not being the brightest souls on earth, you defy the sterotypes. You've got taste and education. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

Up Against the Wall!

From editor Phil:

Issue # 2 of UP AGAINST THE WALL is now live.

Featuring:

* SENTIMENTAL AIRLINES With his eponymous solo album, Psychedelic Furs front man Richard Butler has made one of the best CDs of the year. Philip Nutman talks to the painter/songwriter/singer and ‘80s icon and reviews this must-have record.

* VERB Daren Wang wants to change the way you think about literary magazines. He tells Al Kaufman how.

* DAN BERN IS TAKING A DEEP BREATH. After an exhausting campaign against GW Bush, the musician is taking it slow and remembering to breathe, as he explains to Al Kaufman.

*UATW’S DISC(S) OF THE MONTH: DR. WHO

Guest critic and renowned Whovian Shawn Carter explains why BBC America’s DVD set of the Christopher Eccelston season of the venerable British TV series is something you really should watch – especially if you saw the edited, commercial-interrupted broadcasts on the Sci-Fi Channel earlier this year.

* UATW’S MOVIE OF THE MONTH: LASSIE

Yes, Lassie, as in the legendary Collie. Run, don’t walk, to your nearest cinema (that’s if the film’s playing in your town) to catch one of the year’s most delightful family films, a treat for children of all ages in this day of clichéd computer animation. And don’t forget the Kleenex. Woof! Philip Nutman wipes his eyes...

Plus MUSIC: Arctic Monkeys, Goldfrapp, Mott The Hoople and Kris Kristofferson.

DVDs: THE MANSON FAMILY, TRILIOGY OF TERROR, THE LOSERS, WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS and the women in prison flicks BARE BEHIND BARS and AMAZON JAIL. Meanwhile Justin Griffin gets all warm and fuzzy with MVD’s PORNSTAR PETS.

And a whole lot more...

The Good, The Bad and the...Bland

We went in search of Mexican food last night. We knew there was not going to be a Tony's up here, but surely we will be able to find something good.

We're still looking: last night we tried Jose Malone's in Troy. It sounded potentially fun -- it's Mexican, it's Irish! Well, the pub next to it was jumping, but Jose's was just about empty. Maybe it was the $2 pints next door. Or perhaps not.

The first sign of dubious results was the lack of chips and salsa. There were chips, but you had to order them. Hmmm -- a Mexican restaurant that doesn't give you chips? Worse, when they came they were out of a bag -- or at least tasted like it. And the pico de gallo was fairly bland albeit fresh. Our entrees were disappointing -- fairly bland too, and my "stew" (I was expecting something like carne guisado) was a chunky tomato soup with a few hunks of meat in it. Eh.

So we're still looking for a good Mexican restaurant -- there are some to try in Albany, so more research will be done.

I forgot about a funny thing that happened in my Women & Spirituality class this week: while we were discussing the story of Isis & Osiris, a large spindly insect made its way across the floor and disconcerted a number of the students. We, of course, wasted valuable time discussing whether it was a centipede.

This morning one of my (apparently brilliant) students sent this link to a Wikipedia article on the centipede form of Osiris, saying "I can't help but wonder if Osiris was peeved about being called 'weak' during our class discussion. Perhaps he made a showing to defend his honor?"

It wouldn't be the first time...

Dilemmas

I had an essay accepted for a collection to be published by McFarland, but now they want me to sign a contract giving "ownership" to the editor. Am I wrong to balk at this? Especially considering that the essay is part of a future project; yes, I know I have so many future projects that I may never get to them all, but I'd like to have the choice! Do they just assume all academics are so desperate for publication that they'll sign anything? I am eager for publication, of course, but I'm not too keen to give up ownership of the words I write. Work for hire is one thing -- I know I have no rights to the encyclopedia pieces I have written. The editor tells me she will give me permission to use the material, but it is irksome to ask for permission to use my own writing.

Well, I shall have to think about this.

I'm in my office with much to do to get all my records in order for my classes. Things get easier once the gradebook gets set up. Besides, I have my new fountain set up to soothe me. Oh, and I should show you my office and the building it is in:




My office windows face the front on the ground level. It's quite lovely -- but not very accessible. Perhaps they will be adapting the back door to make it so. It's just so nice being in a house rather than walled in a little enclosure like an anchoress!

Marione Thompson-Helland

I was sad to hear that Marione died today. She had been ailing for some time, but we all had hopes that she would pull through her current ailments and hold on a bit longer, but her daughter brought us the sad news this morning. Marione was the editor of The Beltane Papers. She brought many voices together for the magazine and inspired women all over the world. I was lucky enough to have a piece in the latest issue and to be part of the on-line community built around it. It is hard to think of her being gone, but the strength of her work shows in the women who had already stepped into the void caused by Marione's illness. Her life was a gift to so many, and her work will continue in the hands of those she touched with her words, her publication and her shining example.

BBQ

Today we had a fabulous day -- bbq, croquet and so forth. Elena's the hostess extraordinaire, so we had no hope but to enjoy ourselves. It is simply not possible. Fortunately, the weather gave us a break and we were able to play croquet despite the water (yes, some balls turned up a fine spray of water as they rolled, but it was no more than expected) and of course, there was Marko's crevasse, full of water, but we won't dwell on that...

But anyway...

Elena was ready for all the fun folk, so we feasted widely on all sorts of treats and every one was stuffed as they staggered toward croquet or pool. It will be days before we recover...

From the Vampire Bed & Breakfast

We arrived yesterday just about lunch time (always a good thing when you are about to be cushioned in the hospitable embrace of the Steier household --- mmmm, kielbasa patties!) and just ahead of the rain, which never quite showed up. I guess it had other folks to see. Elena had many cool things to show us that she is or has been working on -- and she managed to explain layers in Photoshop to us novices in minutes, a topic which has eluded my grasp of the workings of the software. Of course the other big difference in using Photoshop is that Elena has talent!

We sipped margaritas and watched a few films and then collapsed into bed. Now it's time for breakfast and this afternoon, the big BBQ!

Bad Ideas = Bad Ideas

According to A. O. Scott's review, I was pretty much right in my assumptions about Neil LaBute's remake of the classic film The Wickerman:

"A movie like this can survive an absurd premise but not incompetent execution. And Mr. LaBute, never much of an artist with the camera, proves almost comically inept as a horror-movie technician. He can’t even manage an effective false scare, or sustain suspense for more than a beat or two. Nor does the crude, sloppy look of the film turn into cheesy, campy excess. It’s neither haunting nor amusing; just boring.

"So why does it exist? After a while, as you wait for the bee ladies to stop messing with the poor cop’s head and just tell him what’s what, your mind may wander off in search of interpretation. Do the beehives — a symbol associated with the Mormon Church and the state of Utah — have something to do with Mr. LaBute’s religious background? Did the residents of the island get kicked out of M. Night Shyamalan’s village? Nothing so interesting: just another example of Mr. LaBute’s batty, slightly hysterical misogyny, overlaid with some mumbo jumbo about ancient goddess religions that makes “The Da Vinci Code” look scholarly even as “The Wicker Man” reverses that film’s mushy pseudofeminism. .."

I'm shocked, shocked to find misogyny in a LaBute film!

A Bit of Fry & Dracula

The always delightful Stephen Fry reads a monologue from his Cambridge days in this video from YouTube (where would we be without YouTube, the home of many a wonderful Peter Cook clip?). A must for Dracula fans as well as fans of British comedy.

Odd Music

Gene forwarded this link to me: Odd Music. Those of you who love the output of the folks at Experimental Music who made Gravichords, Whirlies and Pyrophones, you'll love this site which has a wonderful gallery of fantastic instruments as beautiful as they are strange.

The Perils of Research

I read with some amusement the story on the great Betjeman scandal of late. The New York Times has better pictures, but the Guardian actually spells out the offending phrase from the fake letter. I suppose the advantage of being a medievalist is that the authors are long dead and often anonymous, but the other scholars aren't!

I have to go turn off the radio now because NPR is talking to Pat Buchanan as if he were 'somebody' and not just a racist hate-monger. Yesterday, as I was driving home from campus, the NPR business show had a story on Wikia and the commentator referred to "chin rubbing academics" which annoyed me to no end. I still marvel at the anti-intellectualism of this country. We're supposed to be so concerned about education in this nation, but the truth is that there's a common tendency to disparage people with "too much" education.

And I do not rub my chin!

I Know Movie Stars

And chances are, if you're reading this blog, you do too: check out the New London Day's story on the film about the Reducers, "America's Best Unsigned Band."

Why? Well, the Reducers rock. And better yet, the absolutely fabulous Queen of Everything and Marko "Punk Rock" Fontaine are both in the film. Whoo hoo. Go see stars!

And if you enjoyed Beowulf...

...why not read the "sequel"?

Listening to Mission of Burma sing "Nancy Reagan's Head" (thanks, Michael) and reading a review of Dylan interviews (thanks, Gene) before I get out of here and go home. Day one done without too much horror -- and a good bit of fun.

First Day of Classes

Argh -- first day, many worries, lots of nerves. It helps that they're working on the roof of the house where my office is. But my photocopies are made and my Powerpoint lecture for the medieval class is ready. I still worry, though Gene is right, it will no doubt be fine. Robert, of course, has advised that I have the students stand on their desks and rip pages out of their books. Har har.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Jade Warrior

Alert film-making pal, David Schmidt, noticed something odd about the film Jade Warrior. Sure, it looks like another stylish martial arts film, but look closer --

it's Finnish?!

Yep! According to the website it combines kung fu with the Kalevala, ancient China and modern Finland. Wow! I will definitely have to keep an eye out for this film.

Orienting Myself

Actually, I suppose, not so much orienting myself as allowing other people to orient me to my new campus at The College of St. Rose. I have an ID now (which I know is genuine because the watermark on the ID says "genuine") and a parking pass, as well as an office which I have begun to unpack -- but certainly have not finished, in large part because (yes, everyone, all together now) there are not enough bookshelves.

The offices are neat because they're in houses that have been converted to office space, leading to unusual factors like having two closets in my office. They would serve better in our house (which has only one closet!) but, oh well. They will shortly become book storage spaces. I have windows that look out onto our verandah and Western Avenue. I'll have to take the PDA tomorrow and take a couple of pictures.

Writing across the curriculum tomorrow and dinner with some old UConn friends who also live here now; Thursday is President's day, then an Arts & Humanties reception and then out for drinks with some of the other junior faculty in our department. Somehow I will finish my syllabuses and another writing project due this week...

Although I hate to have this long vacation end, I'm kind of eager to start the semester and see what my students will be like. It's nerve-wracking (I can't find one of the texts I planned to start the semester teaching) but it's also a new adventure I expect will be a lot of fun. Fingers crossed!

No Common Snarks

The Boojums visited us yesterday, and far from "softly and suddenly vanishing away," we had a very lovely visit, despite the rain which put the kibosh on our planned croquet game. They were laden with lovely stuff as usual, including an offering of brats which much pleased the gods of gastronomie.

Mmmmm...brats.

It's great being back in the Northeast again, close to folks we missed a lot while we were living on the third coast (not that we don't miss our friends down there now -- and hope we can persuade them to visit us!). It's wonderful being in weather we can live with -- I think our windows have been open since we got here. Even rain is welcome -- although not without problems. A box of books in the shed got wet and several books damaged. Argh. But I got to move a few things into my office, despite the fact that we found on Thursday that my key did not work. Bit by bit. New faculty orientation and various other meetings this week, including a chance to finally meet some students. Nervous, but excited -- it will be an action-packed week!

Pierrot Lunaire et les DVDs Fennique

I turned on the tv briefly to see what the Arts channel was playing -- in our tiny portion allotted, it is possible to find silent film productions of the Ring cycle or Howard Keel singing on old kinescope telecasts. I saw a couple of minutes of a fascinating video of a work I did not know.

Don't you just love the internet? In seconds I had found out (from the lines "moonbeam for a rudder, waterlily for a boat" that the work was Schoenburg's "Pierrot Lunaire" which one can hear in its entirety on-line, and that the video with Christine Schaefer is available for purchase. Wow.

Last night we watched the rather impressionistic video I bought in Finland that has beautiful natural shots of the countryside accompanied by cello and kantele. It's quite lovely, if a little soporific in th evening. But it also has two short documentaries on the kantele, so it was well worth the price (after all, it was a markdown at Sokos!). The night before we watched all the Aki Kaurismaki shorts on Total Balalaika Show which I bought in the duty free shop.

Ever the bargain hunter!

Finland Recap

Far too much to cover in a single post, so I'll just offer some highlights here in no particular order. Suffice to say that the airline issues were needlessly draconian (sealed duty free purchases not allowed!?), the expenses considerable -- and worth it all.

Laura led me to the Gallen-Kallela Museum that had once upon a time been his house -- and what a house! and a lovely walk to get there through a park in the northern part of Helsinki. I made the most of my 48 hour Helsinki card by visiting as many museums as I could. In addition to Gallen-Kallela's house, I visited the Atheneum, where many more of his paintings were on display, including the Aino triptych; the National Museum where there is a wonderful wing all about the pre-history of Finland and a great gift shop; the Cygnaeus Gallery, high on a hill near the southern tip of the city where you can see Suomenlinna, the island fortress in the gulf as well as many ships on their way to ports far and near; the Botanical Gardens where (yes) I saw the ivy among other wonderful plants and trees; and of course, Kiasma the museum of contemporary art, featured in the lovely Times story just before I left.

Of course my Helsinki card gave me free rides on all the public transportation too, so I could roam the city in search of these places and general sightseeing as well. Laura was my intrepid guide to much -- I would never have found my way to the Gallen-Kallela house without her, and we had so much fun shopping and walking around the city. And what lovely meals too, at the Strindberg cafe or that lovely Italian restaurant where we had a late lunch with Arla.

Friday night's dinner was amazing, out on an island in the gulf with Laura, Arla, Risto, Jyri and Anna -- I had this delicious reindeer and mushroom soup and then a tasty entree of salmon with more mushrooms. We strolled back through the city where the streets were bustling because the days are still long. We decided to have a drink on the terrace at the top of the Sokos builing (ten floors up, one of the higher buildings in Helsinki) as the sun was setting and the red moon was rising. Perfect!

Saturday was my shopping day, to buy the things I had to bring back (in addition to the books and cards that I had already bought). I went to UFF and to the Academic Bookstore and naturally, to the tori, where I bought the reindeer skin Robert wanted (and lugged it around all day!). I went back to the Moomin store, but reined in my spending after stopping by Digelius. By the end of the day I was tired but feeling like I had wrung every bit of fun out of my trip.

Yes, Lordi was everywhere!

And the nice surprise -- flew back on one of the Moomin airplanes!

When I stop being so lazy, I'll get my 260+ photos uploaded to share. But tomorrow I'm supposed to be able to move into my new office at St. Rose, so we'll see when I can get to it. Gene has already burned them onto a CD for me, so I should just upload them, but it would be helpful to give them meaningful labels first...

Hyvää Paivää!

Terve from Helsinki!

There is just too much to tell you and show you all, but I can't get the pictures from my camera online yet, so you'll just have to wait. In short: the boat trip to the rock paintings was WONDERFUL! and the sights of Helsinki are many -- there was even a native American band in the Esplande yesterday, there are Lordi fans and goths everywhere. Anya's cousin Laura has already been a great tour guide -- we're off to the Gallen-Kallela museum this afternoon with her daughter Arla, too. Wow! I haven't spent all my money at the Moomin shop or the Academic Bookstore, but I will feel the bite by the time this trip is done. And we thought UK prices were high! But what great public transportation and what a clean city, and bustling with tourists from just about everywhere. I have heard and seen Japanese, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, English, Americans...Helsinki is a top tourist destination it seems, despite the costs. And there are ways to live cheaply (i.e. fill up on the great hotel breakfast which includes everything from cereal and eggs to meatballs, smörgåsor (sandwiches), yummy fruit flavored yoghurt, and Lipton tea that actually tastes like real tea!

I'm writing this at the Tourist Information Centre -- there are several terminals here and not much of anybody using them (only one other person at the moment). But I didn't come to Finland to do email, so I'm going to be on my way to the National Museum where I can see more of Ancient Suomi to fulfill my quest (and justify my Finlandia Foundation grant!). This trip has already given me so many new ideas -- new inspirations!

Näkemiin!

Suomi Bound!

Off to Poughkeepsie for leg one of the long journey that will find me in Finland by tomorrow morning. Trying to make sure I have everything -- tickets, money, passport... I packed an extra bag for all the things I hope to bring back (thanks to Cassie for tips on where to shop for cheap!).

And no, Robert, I will not be bringing back a block of soapstone.

A Taxing History

The Guardian has a story today about the digitizing of the Domesday Book. This was the tax record of EVERYTHING ("not an ox or cow or swine" was missed) in Britain, so the Norman king could fill his coffers with the proper taxes. The aim, of course, was to have sufficient funds to go to war. Surprise. Plus ça la change, plus ça la même chose.

Touching Ancient Finland

Sunday I leave for Finland. Sometimes I just have to say it out loud! Actually, I frequently say it out loud because I still can't believe it. I have been working on a cycle of stories for a few years now that grew out of my readings in Finnish mythology, but I knew I had to see, smell and taste ancient Finland before I could feel they were complete. So I wrote up a grant application to that effect and -- surprise! -- The Finlandia Foundation gave me the money to make this dream real.

It will be interesting just getting there -- Metro North from Poughkeepsie, MTA to Queens, Air Train to the airport; let's hope it's not Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Particularly because when I get to Helsinki, I have to take a bus from the airport to the train station and then a train to Mikkeli. This where I'll get to see the rock paintings. I'm so excited!

After Mikkeli, I'll get to spend a few days in Helsinki where there are of course many things to do: museums to see, botanical gardens, UFF stores, the big Academic Bookstore, and of course, Moomins!

Only a week! It will go by so fast...

NYT Review of a new book on Tiptree

Janet Maslin's review of new book on James Tiptree Jr. highights the troubled life rather than the seismic influence Sheldon/Tiptree had on perceptions of gender and writing, but is typical of "high lit" dismissal of "genre" writing. The book sounds good, if a bit humorless.

The Noughties

Hands down winner for the best title of this decade -- from a Guardian story on the 50 year anniversary of the National Youth Theatre (good piece, too). The Noughties -- an appropriate title for a time of corruption, evil and swaggering bullies.

Saratoga without the Horses

We escaped the heat a little yesterday by heading up to Saratoga to see our friends Dan, Krista and Kaitlin. In an unprecedented move, the track had shut down because of the heat, so there was less traffic in town due to the lack of (what locals call) "track trash." It seems inevitable that a town dependent upon a particular industry has an ambivalent attitude toward that industry.

Our friends live in my dream house, dammit: A big old sprawling farm house with an orchard and a paddock. They're in the process of restoring it (when Dan's not attempting to saw off his fingers) and it's looking very good. We relaxed for a while as Kaitlin proudly showed off her Nintendog, then headed over to Mamma Mia's to meet Krista who, ironically, works down here in Troy. MMMmmMamma Mia! I have left overs. And a visit to Saratoga wouldn't be compete without a stop by Humpty Dumpty's for dip tops.

Thanks, Dan, for the mentioning the Albany Eye.

Still hot today -- it supposed to cool down, but there's not much sign of it yet. I need to go do some laundry, so I will have some clean clothes to take to Finland, but it's hard to get motivated in this humidity...

[This post brought to you courtesy of "Recover post" -- argh!]

I Love the Internet

Reason 293,835,768: Skidoo (not the snowmobile!).

New York: Land of Red Tape

Okay, so we can't get our insurance cleared until we produce our marriage license. Do we have one? No. We had to fill out the form and mail it to Mansfield with a copy of our driver's licenses. And driver's licenses! Can you believe all the requirements needed just to get a driver's license?! Of course, Texas driver's licenses do not show the date issued, so we had to fill out another form on-line (at least it was on-line -- imagine having to do this all through the post) and PAY to have a driver's report sent to us that will confirm the date issued (supposedly). And then bring our passports and Social Security cards and a wad of money...

I wish we had national driver's licenses; or would that get too Orwellian? In smaller countries they have national licenses.

Well, despite the prevailing "opinions" about global warming, it's uncharacteristically hot today, so I think we will go to the mall and await the arrival of our various forms and certificates.

Outside Gene's Window

They wait...

Beowulf v. Baywatch?

Here's a silly piece from the L. A. Times finding connections between the Anglo-Saxon poem and the cheesy swimsuit series. Interesting note -- both Baywatch star David Hasselhof and holier-than-thou Xtian plunderer Mel Gibson have been charged with drunkeness this week.

My favorite part of the article:

"Beowulf": Grendel has been likened to a troll.
"Baywatch": In thickness and density, Hasselhoff's hair is certainly troll-like.

This is all in service of talking about the Icelandic film Beowulf & Grendel, which I still haven't been able to see. Maybe before it disappears...