In response to “Why has Macbeth ‘almost forgot the taste of fear’?” one student wrote that the witches’ prophesies made Macbeth believe he was “invisible.”
Now that’s a convertible
The famous Citroen commercial. Apparently, Citroen got Justin Timberlake’s choreographer involved.
Needless to say, if anyone’s got a few thousand dollars but no idea what to get me for Christmas…
Why legalization is a bad thing
Today’s essay gem:
If marijuana were legalized, students “would defiantly have a hard time learning.”
So there.
Yeeha!
According to a student essay I was marking yesterday, “a whooping 50%” of Americans support the pro-choice option.
TGIFF
So I took Friday off to be at home with the boys, both of whom had a Ped day. We decided to take advantage of the fact that I was home, and Dr. T arranged for the gas company, GazMet, to send a guy to clean the furnace. Our house is heated by radiators, with the water heated by a natural gas furnace. Our hot water is also gas-heated.
GazMet said the guy would be there anytime between 7 a.m. and noon – but assured Dr. T that the guy wouldn’t actually show up at the ungodly hour of 7 a.m.
Can you see it coming?
7 a.m. – GazMet service guy shows up to clean the furnace.
8* a.m. – Dr. T gets into my car, leaving me the other, child-seat-equipped car, and drives off to work.
8:02 – Dr. T drives over a nail.
8:10 – Dr. T comes home, having left the car in the Canadian Tire parking lot, figuring he’ll work from home for the morning and get the car sorted out midday.
8:30 – GazMet service guy presents us with a bill for about $145, for parts and labour, then tells us that the chimney is blocked, so he has turned off the gas. He tells us that GazMet won’t turn the gas back on until we’ve had a liner installed in the chimney. What he won’t tell us, on the other hand, is who to call to get a chimney liner installed on short notice.
*All times approximate
The Power of Positive Blogging
I [heart] Bruce and Vicki Small.
A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that a colleague had given me a Super 8 video camera. Bruce commented that my new camera was not such a great gift, given the cost of film, the hassle of set-up, and the nightmare of editing, especially compared to digital. I said “Yes, yes, all true – but I don’t have a digital video camera, and I’m not likely to have one handed to me anytime soon.”
So Bruce sent me his VHS camcorder.
Now, while I suspect this is all just a concerted effort to get me to make a public admission that not all Republicans are pure evil, I have to say I am overwhelmed, touched, and generally, well, overwhelmed, again.
Did I mention that the package included a telephoto lens, a wide-angle lens, the battery charger and the little, blinding light that sits on top? (Also, a small, dead Arizonan spider tucked away in the clock battery compartment, but I figure that’s probably a present for Heidi, not me:)
So, thank you, thank you, thank you. We will think of you every time we use the camera!
The Perfect Elizabeth
by Libby Schmais
I picked this up on a whim because the title intrigued me and the book was on sale at Chapters for about $5. The jacket blurb starts with “This modern-day Sense and Sensibility is a witty story about two sisters: Liza, a would-be poet who spends miserable days as a legal secretary; and Bette a graduate student writing her dissertation on Toast in the English Novel.”
Naturally, I figured this was the perfect book for me.
It turns out the only perfect thing about this book is the second word of the title. Granted, I finished the book in two sessions, but only because it pissed me off so much that I couldn’t sleep, so I kept reading.
Things that are tickin’ me off this morning
1. The traditional semesterial bruhaha regarding which teachers are returning next semester, who gets to teach what, and whose name appears in the registration package;
2. The continuing saga of the video cable – still no part, still no screen;
3. I don’t care how light and fluffy it is, it’s still #^%$* snow.
Just because it’s everywhere anyway…
And apparently it’s true that Canada’s immigration site has received record numbers of visitors in the wake of Tuesday’s election – and for those would-be Canucks who can’t wait the required six months, there’s a helpful site to speed up the process.
OK, here’s the plan:
We build a wall.
Now that we know without a doubt how things are, we need to be proactive.
So, c’mon Canada – let’s all meet at the border and have a Wall Raising. I bet we could get materials and funding from the US, who would no doubt be happy to help delineate exactly where we begin and they end. After all, border control is a big issue. What if a cow inadvertently meandered across the currently invisible border into Montana?
Think of the advantages*:
– Jim Carey and Celine Dion would be permanently on the other side of the wall.
– There would be loads of jobs created in wall building, wall maintenance, and graffiti removal.
– Graffiti!
– Bush League and other prominent targets safely on other side of the wall, thus reducing possible shrapnel-related injuries.
– No more brain drain (except of those smart enough to get over the wall).
updated suggestions from Vinny:
-easy practice for tennis players
-Meryl Streep can try to bring her children across another wall in another movie
-brick stocks will shoot through the roof
-if we build it high enough, we won’t be able to see their humvee2 vehicles
-can finally develop a semi-charming national accent.
*Suggestions for other advantages are welcome, invited, and will be posted in updates.