News and Updates

1. There are times when you just have to wonder what sins have been committed to create the timeline we’re in, though it has to be said that many of them are not secret, or at least not anymore. We in the US are governed by a criminal syndicate protecting a ring of child rapists that is actively trying to burn the planet down in order to avoid accountability, loot the place bare, and die with more toys than the rest of us. That much is pretty clear, as is the ceaseless braying of their minions, cronies, lackeys, enablers, and slaves. But the vast majority of people in this world just want to get through their days with as little trouble and as much comfort as they can, preferably with something good to eat and a harmless way to amuse themselves for a while, and sometimes the gap between these two groups of people is just dizzying.

2. I think for today I am just going to focus on my little corner of the world, because you can’t live in the middle of the maelstrom 100% of the time without going mad. I’m sure I’ll get back to it soon. Fuck those bastards and everyone who supports them.

3. It’s the middle of the semester and everything is crashing down. Assignments are due, exams are scheduled, and students are nearly as bewildered and stressed as we are. I have far too many tasks to think about and not nearly enough focus to worry about them. It’s been a time.

4. Last week Kim and I went to the new Indian restaurant in town with our friend George and had an absolutely marvelous dinner. Every kind of restaurant has that one dish that you use to rate it, and for me with Indian restaurants it’s chicken biryani and it was really, really good. They’re a little slammed right now – I don’t think the owners anticipated the demand for Indian food here in Our Little Town, and to be honest neither did I – but definitely worth the wait. Plus we ran into several friends while we were there – Angelica stopped by our table, and we found Camrin and Jacob as well. A good time was definitely had.

5. Lauren came down to visit on Friday, mostly because she wanted to snag a suitcase for her upcoming trip to see Shai, and it was lovely to see her, as you would imagine. She invited Isabella and Lily as well and I made General Tso Chicken and we all sat at the table for a very long time just hanging out together. In a world full of troubles, it is a nice thing to have an evening full of good food and good company. And we had two in a row!

6. Oliver’s professor still hasn’t graded the project he turned in on January 9 and I kind of want to know how it turned out. I don’t know how professors to that. I get mad at myself if it takes me more than a week to grade an assignment.

7. I finally finished my second book of the year, a mark that I used to hit somewhere around January 10 over the past fifteen years or so, but these are not times conducive to doing much reading, at least not for me. It was a very good book, though, and I’ll post my review of it next January assuming we are all still here to post and read blogs. There have been times this week when I was genuinely not sure about that, given Convicted Felon Donald J. Trump’s illegal war of aggression in Iran – I find that teaching an entire course on the atomic bomb does give you a different perspective on international crises from most people – but who knows. Perhaps I’ll get to write that post after all. We’ll see.

8. Someone stole an hour of my life last night that I won’t get back until November. Daylight Savings Time is a conspiracy against all that is proper and just, and it needs to stop. Try explaining the concept to a cat.

9. I’m trying to find some projects to immerse myself in to keep the rest of the world at bay for a while, and the siren call of genealogy is getting louder. So far I’ve contented myself with trying to organize the stuff I already have in a way that I might actually be able to find specific things when I look for them, but I suspect that at some point I’ll go digging again. It’s an interesting hobby that harms nobody, with the possible exception of myself.

10. It was 70F (21C) today. This weekend it is going to snow. Welcome to March in Wisconsin.