Weblog » Archives » October 2006

  • voting

    I've been procrastinating this morning by studying the Sample Ballot and referring to the League of Women Voters, Project Vote Smart, and candidates' websites. Thank heavens for the League of Women Voters.So far:decided…

  • rudeness

    A few days ago, my student F was checking out at Winn-Dixie with another male friend. The cashier asked if they were purchasing together or separately. F replied, "we're together." The cashier and the bag-boy tittered…

  • polly ticks

    I'm being infected with the early-election syndrome. The 2008 poll is more than two years away, and already the urge to back or diss a presidential candidate is barely controllable. So I'll just let this slip:It's cros…

  • Thesis Topic

    One day a fox was tripping through the forest when he happened onto a clearing, where he spied a rabbit busily laboring over a typewriter. Naturally this intrigued the fox, his being unused to seeing rabbits type.…

  • cheese-eating surrender monkeys

    An English Moscow-friend of mine is on the US/ Canada leg of his round-the-world voyage and sends regular missives. Here are excerpts from his latest:let's face it - you don't go to the USA to visit the sights bar a few…

  • Danny Rolling is dead

    Sixteen years ago, I was sitting at the top of the stairs in our house in Logologo playing War with my friend Ryan. We were using Scooby-Doo playing cards; I recall. I also recall that we were discussing, in our nine-y…

  • farewell sweet hurricane season

    To those condescending Yankees who claim that Florida has "no seasons:"I invite you to spend a Florida "non-winter" in my wooden Cracker house with no heat.Asked my neighbor how he made it through last winter. His answe…

  • the real story

    I go into the office to get a printout; one of my colleagues, J, is talking with the L, office manager. J is an outspoken libertarian, skeptic, what have you, terribly smart and interesting person to have around. He's …

  • verbal illustration

    I have a friend who's a good writer, but sometimes I suspect she smokes rocks. A recent missive includes this excerpt:"the faces of my enslaved and oppressed friends danced in my head like sugarplums."

  • recommend and transitivity

    With hardly an exception, Asian speakers of English use recommend in this manner:I recommend you to study chemistry.Do you recommend us to study chemistry?She recommends me studying chemistry.I recommend you should study…

  • fuckin insertion and other language delights

    Things I'm learning about Pulaar (a Senegalese dialect of the Fula language):if you want someone to come, you say arr! yes, that's with two r's.if you want someone to eat, you say nyum! yes, as in nyumnyumnyum.and if s…

  • injun summer

    what was that I was saying about cold? It's hot and rainy again here. Back to wearing short-sleeves.In Amharic, the word for coffee is buna. The title of respect for a bishop is abuna. This, I think, is no coincidenc…

  • Joblessness

    You Belong in New ZealandGood on ya, mateYou're the best looking one of the bunchThough you're often forgotten...You're quite proud of who you areWhat English Speaking Country Are You?You Should Learn FrenchC'est super! …

  • autumn

    The Florida Gators have their first loss of the season, and the weather's turned sour.Mid-October and I can't defer the sad truth any longer: summer is over. I've been wearing long sleeves, both outdoors and in bed, fo…

  • celebrations

    Happy Hangeul Day!one day late, as usual.

  • free art meme *closed*

    *Edit: now closed, but feel free to copy the idea*I'm stealing an idea passed on from toddbert. A friend once did this for me, several years ago in fact. I helped him re-write a story, and he gave me an original pictur…

  • Occam's Razor

    Occam's Razor says that of two adequate solutions, the simplest is thebest. Last week, I handed in a homework solution that was all of threepages long; my shortest yet. This worried me a little-- did I forgetsomething …

  • IT'S GREAT! TO BE! A FLORIDA GATOR!

    This afternoon several of my students joined me to watch the Gator game at the student union. I'm terribly glad the idea struck me to invite them. It was the most fun I've had watching a game in a while-- we met about …

  • gardening update

    the cayenne peppers are spicy!

  • church & state

    Fire of God Ministries files suit against cityBy Jeff AdelsonSpecial to the GuardianA lawsuit filed Sept 26 by a northeast Gainesville church with a primarily homeless congregation alleges the city is engaged in religiou…

  • a question

    I know that the lexicon of many of my readers includes this transitive verb. It's one that I've heard all my life, but its meaning is quite unclear to me. I know that several of you have an answer. Help me out-- provi…

  • from the past

    written January 7, 2005:Dear C,It's Epiphany today, Christ's baptism, the day when all water is holy. I thought about that in the shower, leaving the water running while I lathered up, standing under the spray an extra …

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