A new semester has started. I get two days off per week now, which isn't really two days off, just two days when I don't teach. The two classes I'm teaching are cumulatively about as labor intensive as last semester's (upper level Latin and a lecture class that I'm designing from scratch), so the extra day's are a delight. I had a stomach ache the Sunday before classes, so worried was I about the...

Since I returned from El Conferenzio, I've been busy working on my syllabi. My upper level Latin course is about ready (and looks pretty tough, I think), while I need one more day on my civ syllabus before I pitch it to K. She's usually a great evaluator of course and individual class ideas. I almost ran it by her tonight but I need to sort out a couple more things tomorrow. At the moment, it's got...

Winter break is now all but over, and I've had an eventful one. Weeks back home plus illness plus job conference plus a visit to Sammy and Jill and family. I had a great time with Sam & Jill & family. One of the great things about talking to Sam is that he's not in academia, so I can share all my insights and fascinations with the field without feeling queer about it. If I ever figure out the job...

Haven't posted on the visit back home for one major reason: I couldn't think of anything to say. It's kind of like reporting on something where most everyone was there who would care about it, and those who weren't there would miss out on the magic of it even if I did tell about it. For those who care: Friday Day - spent eating at a Tibetan restaurant and shopping for books. Friday Night - spent at...

December started out miserably, though I started a new trilogy, then became mired in three start-and-stops before zipping through two lighter books near the end of the month. The Prince of Shadow by Curt Benjamin A decent bit of fantasy set in an Asian world. Sort of a mix of Simon Brown's Keys of Power and Daniel Abraham. It was enjoyable, and its writing quality was in between the two of them...

Yeah, blues. Ends of semesters, as I recall, used to be periods of joy and dance. When each sixth of a snowflake led crystally to the next in a non-stop circle of school-free freedom. Unlike a Sunday or a Saturday, where school-work crouched, minatory, a grim metaphor atop the grain-elevator sized monolith-like day that not coincidentally started with the same three letters. Nay, holiday break was...

One of the things that makes reading Glenn Greenwald so rewarding is that he's not an ideologue. He's got views, and he's cynical, and he's always questioning the way that people in power are presented - even people he's voted for. Among most bloggers, this makes him relatively unique, and when the wind blows against certain things the Democrats do, Glenn leads the way, always at least hours and sometimes...

Today was spent mostly giving exams to Greek students and grading final papers. I actually (beyond what I was expecting) graded 10 of the 14 papers I've received (one student has an illness extension). Just five more to go. The three students who took the final today were all great students, and all three are off to foreign lands next semester. I'm going to miss them and I told at least one of them...

Went to the dentist for the first time in over 8 years yesterday. It's been so long they had to hold a consultation with me before they would agree to clean my teeth. Well, things turned out pretty good. First, no cavities (though Mr. X-ray may find some trickier to find ones), and second, no gum disease. There was a new dental hygienist working there, and she was very grateful that my teeth weren't...

Far be it from me to steal your attention away from the 2008 Douchie Awards , but my man Glenn Greenwald is again onto some crazy nonsense . To wit: The bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee report issued on Thursday -- which documents that "former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior U.S. officials share much of the blame for detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq,...