I celebrated getting through the past 5 weeks — one of the busiest times I’ve seen in many years — by seeing Avatar with my buddy Keith, who was here to give his own paper at the PAC conference. Herewith, my feelings about the film:
Well, the truth behind the word hobbit, anyway. Tomorrow morning I’ll be giving a brief talk at the College of Charleston about the medieval origins of Tolkien’s most famous (supposed) coinage. Mine is the last paper in a set of three about Tolkien, the first session in the annual meeting …
There are many things I find wondrous about having a child, but today I was thinking about the amusing and enlightening fact that my three-year-old takes my questions seriously. I am somewhat accustomed to people taking my questions seriously in general, of course — I am, after all, a teacher …
Every now and then one of my classes — for mysterious reasons — will turn to a discussion of, well, Life, the Universe, and Everything. Usually this involves me giving an impromptu lecture on quantum physics and/or how very bitty we are in comparison to the Universe. In honor of …