Tuesday, September 13, 2005

And it Seems to Me, You Lived Your Life, Like a Candle in the Butt

Its been a long week, busy with lots of stuff to do and the like. That was extraordinarily descriptive I got ya. Maybe a little more detail would be reasonable.

School is in full swing, my class is going well and though it through my writing off track for a couple days, I have recovered at this point. I will, in the very near future be getting my first real doses of response and commentary on the 100 or so pages I have written in these 4 odd months, so hopefully my hopes and dreams will not be completely crushed. I have also almost fully completed the essay I've proposed on the subject of CSI: NY. The students I have are all remarkably engaged and have gotten some great ideas articulated. I'm really excited about the prospect of discussion with people who entered the class out of a genuine interest in the its subject matter, or at least the idea of literature in general, as opposed to a segment of the general college population which is forced into discussing something which has at best a marginal high-school like relevance. I also am crazy about the idea of reading and grading real papers and doing it on the basis of argument quality instead of logistical crap. We will finish our first book this week and move up the ladder including some theory in the next set. While I may never be confident in my job/economic prospects, I can say witha good amount of confidence that I am a pretty solid teacher.

Debate is also in full swing. We had the first meeting with all the novices yesterday and will leave for Kings College 9 days from now. I'm actually somewhat excited about the prospects for this season, I'm not completely sold on the activity in all its forms yet, but actively coaching again at least reminds me of the things I was originally obsessive about way back in the day and at least on and off during my coaching career. I've got a quality aff mostly written, though it doesnt appear anyone wants to run it, and I'm sure I'll have some quality neg arguments as the year unfolds. Debate was very different when I had the China topic before, but it at least gives me some perspective. I would imagine that competitive impulses will kick in the first time one of my teams gets an outround panel and as fantasy football this weekend reminded me, competition can add a good bit of cayenne to even the most bland weekend in Wilkes-Barre (which, despite all ya-lls fucking overinsistance, is prounced Wilkes-BAR).

Football too, as just mentioned, is back underway. My random Buffalo people team dominated, with Payton Manning and the Colts D coming up strong and I won by about 35 points. The more important league was tragic, as I appeared to be coming back, but succumbed at the last moment to the vicious combo of Warrick Dunn and Alge Crumpler. I got a ridiculous performance by the Bills Defense but an afternoon of serious pain inflicted on the Packers meant that Brett produced only 2 points and indeed, I fell 73 to 75. The Packers game could get a rant of its own, but I will spare all of us the tragedy. Suffice to say that while my pre-season thoughts tended to the 8-8 or 7-9 area, missing the playoffs to what I had expected to be at least a decent Viqueens squad. While after watching a truly pitiful performance against the Lions to open the season and acknowledging the devestating loss of Javon Walker I am prepared to guess something closer to 5-11 or 6-10, I'm not at all confident that Daunte is ready to make a run at the NFC North. I havent really been in "no chance for the Pack" mode for a while, so it might take me a couple weeks to fully adjust, I promise I'll be cool.

TV is also back and I can't explain to you how radical a development that is. We've gotten the premiere of The OC last week and some quality Fox programs, including Prison Break which is so far fascinating and additionally has the great privilege of featuring Marti Noxon. I'm not gonna say that its "this season's Lost" two episodes in, but it has similar qualities. Further TV reviews are on indefinate hold, at least until BB6 winds down and Survivor kicks off with 2 big surprises in the form of returning important castaways. We're back to the time of year where the DVR can really get backed up, so we've got to do some preventative maintenance.

Anyway, I will try to say hey more often this week. Nonethless, Hippo, the neat-freak of a kitten that she is, really wants me to clear the dinner dishes, so I should obey her persistant meows.

Peace,

MB-K

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