A Cinematic Dream, 80 Years Old

I was a 19-year-year-old hick from South Dakota who loved movies like "Vanishing Point" and "Evel Knievel" when I was introduced to "Un Chien Andalou" at a David Bowie concert at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt in 1976.  It blew my mind, opening up a whole new film experience for me.  Check out this brief introduction from A. O. Scott at The New York Times.

Water Street Meets Water Avenue

Photo by Patrick M. Callahan, PMC Moving Photo

Pat Callahan has been busy taking great photos of a bad situation in Pierre and Ft. Pierre.  Check out the photos on Facebook here.  

Bicycle Madness

I enjoy riding my bicycle, whether it's to get to work or shopping, or whether I'm out for a ride to get some air and exercise.  I'm pretty content these days to keep both wheels on the road, not leaping over curbs, gaps in the sidewalk, or my friend Mark Huebner when we were in middle school.  Then a bike was a serious matter, an extension of ourselves, and often our sole means of transportation that we could control without parental intervention.

So, these guys that soar in the air and do flips galore, releasing the bike and flying through the air, they just don't quite make sense to me, but you've got to admire their grit.

More Big Muddy than Anyone Wants

Aerial view of Fort Pierre homes from Capital Journal on Vimeo.  The Might Mo has put the kabosh on croquet games on the lawn at most of the homes between Ft. Pierre and the Oahe Dam.  Things look very wet in Ft. Pierre and Pierre.

My Bogus Lexus

Okay, so I've been shopping for a convertible (again), and a Lexus appeared on the Keloland Automall that seemed too good to be true.  How could some calamity benefit me and give me a ride I would almost be ashamed to be seen in?  $5500 bucks!  I checked NADA and KBB and it listed for about $18 grand.  Whoop! I wrote to the owner, almost panting.  "She" wrote back:

Hello there,

The car is still for sale.. Thanks for being interested in buying my 2002 Lexus SC 430. It is in a good condition, no scratches, no damages, never been implicated in any accidents, no problems at the engine, runs very well. It has an 8-Cylinder STRONG 4.3 L  engine, 76,000 miles, clear title in my name, a perfect car. The last price is not negotiable, $5,500.00 firm. YOU WILL NOT FIND ANOTHER LEXUS  with only 76K MILES FOR THIS PRICE! The only thing because I am selling it, because I divorced with my husband and after the divorce I own this car, now as a woman with two little girls I don`t need it...

I can provide vin# to check on your own. Just let me know if you are still interested.
Here are some more pics... http://imageshack.us/g/718/kgrhqeoki8e2cmsis6ubnyr.jpg/

Thank you very much,
Darlene Riggs 

Look at those photos!  What a ride!  But no phone number.  Hmm.  I wrote again, indicating I was a willing buyer, ignoring the hints--grammatical mistakes, emphatic caps, etc.

"She" replies:

Hi again,
Here is the VIN#: JTHFN48Y120015251. The car is located and registered in Great Neck, NY (I just moved here in Great Neck after divorce), we will use eBay Vehicle Purchase Protection, so we can both be protected and insured.. I just need your full name and full address so eBay can send you the invoice in which you'll see how to make this transaction. I supposed to ship the car to another buyer, then he told me that he found another vehicle so is no longer interested. He already paid the shipping charges, the shipping is paid. I will send the car with all the papers (vehicle registration, warranty papers, transfer papers etc) I am just waiting your full name and address to complete the shipping papers and start the delivery process. I have advertised the car in different locations just to increase my chance to sell it faster because I need the money to pay something asap.
If you are really interested don't forget to send me your full details for shipping reservation!

Thank you very much,

Darlene 

Oh, so it's NOT in Storm Lake, Iowa.  Okay, now all the wind is out of my sails, and it's clear it's a scam Scam SCAM!  Rats.  Oh, well.  So I went out to Lake Herman Auto and drove the Mercedes SLK convertible out there.  It helped a little.

A City with Class

The city of Grand Rapids set out to prove that they're not the dying city that some were describing, and in the process they created a lively look at their city and the commitment to it that their residents have.  5000 people participated in this "lip-dub" of Don McLean's "American Pie," all nine minutes of it.  Check it out.  Thanks, Christina, for the link!

House is Listed

The house is now listed on the MLS.  Check it out here; you're welcome to ask to see it!

Are We Done Yet? 621 North Washington

Okay, so since January JH, the wife, and I have been working on a house that we're hoping to make a little $$.  And save an historic house, built in 1899.  It's a dandy, and it's now got a "for sale" sign out in front.  Check it out, and tell me how great it looks.  Tell the wife too, and tell your friends, especially the ones looking for a cool, friendly, historical house with some pizazz.  Check out the photos, and I'll put the link up to the listing when I have it.

621northwashington

The Adventure Begins with a Raft

My brother and I, as we grew up on the Missouri River, were always dreaming and scheming about jumping on a raft and heading out for the territories.  Not having a raft created some difficulties there.

These four boys, spotted this afternoon preparing to disappear down the stream, reminded me of my own time on the river.  They got the rafts safely in the stream, then realized they were sitting on the ground.  I told them to be safe.  It looked like fun.

A Rapturous Sunset

The wife and I are still here, it seems, but the sunset through our living room window is heavenly enough for me today.  Rapture comes in many forms.

Dogs in Madison

A recent dog attack in Madison has led to some increased attention on dog regulations and requirements.  As a person who spends time out on the road and about town on foot or bike, I've noticed that many people do not adhere to the requirement that dogs be on a leash or be fenced in.  Many mornings I'm confronted with a barking dog running out onto the street where I'm jogging.  I see people walking their dog and having it make a pit-stop, leaving a surprise souvenir for the yard owner.  I hear dogs whose owners apparently don't recognize how annoying their constantly barking dog is.  I see dogs chained in the yard with no visible water or food.  I don't think the new regulations will address all these things, but maybe it will help people recognize that owning a dog requires more than bringing it home and feeding it.

Billygoats in the Yard? Voters say, "Yes!"

Okay, so 18 people voted on the goats-in-the-yard issue.  In an overwhelming response, 83% chose to support goats in our yard.  I was tempted to shift the language of the question to ask whether voters would want goats in their yard, but I didn't.  I'm sure that everyone would clamor for our goat(s) to visit once we got it/them.  Now, the results are not a binding vote, but rather an opinion poll, right? And, though the voters responded favorably to the issue, they didn't approve a budget for said goat(s?).  A quick search of the local goat-outlet shows some availability recently, but without an approved budged, it's only window-shopping there.  It's the Duin Exotic Animal Farm down in Iowa, where, instead of a goat or five, I could get some chickens, ducks, geese, rabbits, horses, or turkeys.  No raccoons or squirrels.  We've got a strong supply of rabbits, thanks.  Now maybe if there were a rabbit-hunting goat, we'd be in business.

A Recycling Love Story

JB pointed me to this video.  I liked it!

A Love Story… In Milk from Catsnake on Vimeo.

A Funeral Season

It seems like we've lost a share of people over the last few weeks.  Two friends have lost their mothers, another his wife, another his brother.  Their pain is shared by those who know them, friends who feel the tug of their loss, the falling away from the living.  It's a sense in keeping with my belief that we live in a kind of social fabric, woven together like threads in a greater cloth that is growing and wearing out as though it were a living skin, shedding and adding constantly as people come and go into our lives.  Some might say it's easier if the ties are thin, the threads few.  We would hurt less often.  But it seems to me that this flurry of losses is a reminder that we're blessed with many friends, much family, many ties.  With so rich a fabric, it's no wonder our losses come.  So do our additions.  Thank you, friends, for sharing with us.

Spring Arrives to our Busy Weekend

As the semester closes out and some of us seek to finish grading to turn in final grades, the activities seem to pile up, starting with the AAUW progressive dinner, with appetizers out by the golf course, dinner at our place, and dessert at a third place.  Cleaning up and getting the house ready after being neglected over the spring as I've been working on a third house was a challenge.  Now today is graduation day for those students, then the annual Kentucky Derby party out on the lake, then a retirement ranch party out in the country.  Tomorrow?  Mother's day!  I don't know what the schedule is for that yet.  Whew!

Meanwhile, lots of other things wait for my attention, most importantly finishing up the cool old house so we can put it on the market.

Why Paper (Sometimes) Rocks

While my students were diligently working away at their final exams, on paper, thank you very much, I tried to get on the D2L server where all their other electronic submissions are was greeted by the message here.  Little did my students know that they were in the clear while others were facing trouble as they tried to create and submit files for their final exams.  

Grass Powered Mowing

The wife is forever advocating that we get some sort of additional creature to cuddle with on the interior of our house and another creature to take care of the mowing (and provide hair for yarn, I suspect).  On both counts, my resistance is durable, but I was intrigued tonight to see an article on the NYTimes describing how some small farmers are putting away the tractor (and its fuel requirements) and putting the stick to the ox.  The oxen do require fuel, but is fairly abundant.  The wife likes the idea of a goat.  Do you like the idea of a goat in our yard?  Hmm.

Blowing the Stripes Right Off the Road

Yesterday we were out west of town when I noticed that the wind had blown so hard over the past few days that even the stripes on highway 34 were peeling up and blowing away.  Now how about that?

Mr. Ryan on the Drill Team, Purdue

I loved seeing my friend and colleague Terry Ryan in this reunion demonstration of the drill teams that drilled the competition to win national championships for Purdue from 1952-57 and in '59 and '60, led those last two years by Mr. Ryan himself.  He's here in row 3, front.

On Easter, Digging Up Flowers, etc.

A patch of flowers near the farm. 

We spent much of the day out at the in-laws' farm, enjoying an Easter feast and relishing the sunny day we had finally been granted.  The wife wanted to gather some flowers, so we headed to a spot where she knew some early blooms would be, and we even dug some up, since about all they're blooming for here is the side-delivery rake that waits for the summer harvest of alfalfa or grass.  Now we have a little patch of these blooms (what are they?) in our own back yard.

Let me know if you have a name for them.  For now, I'm calling them lily on the mountain, my own concoction.  Better to have the right name.

People I Know at ARTCRANK MSP 2011

ARTCRANK MSP 2011 from ARTCRANK™ on Vimeo.

Daughter April notes that she and her man Chester and her brother David are caught in this video for Artcrank MSP 2011 (at 0:32). It's a biking show and happening in the Twin Cities, the top biking spot in the states. Cool!

Norton Brings a Man to Tears

You gotta love a video that includes motorcycles, thievery, a blizzard, and a happy dad in tears.

Life on the River John

North Section of the River John

The James River gets all the news when the spring thaw sets in and the rain comes down and swells the banks, inundating houses, covering fields, threatening livestock and generally wreaking havoc.  But what about his older brother, the River John?  Not a word.  But still, the same thing happens on the north part of the country I live in, where runoff from the highlands north of our home come raging down through the trees along the border, then gathering in ponds in the back yard.  So I've had to construct a vast canal system to channel the flood waters around the garage and down the driveway.  Luckily, our budget allowed for the investment in dike construction, leaf-accumulation monitoring, and gutter management.  

The Best Coffee in Seattle, Hand-Delivered

Tully's Coffee, Fresh from Seatlle

Our representative MB recently returned from Seattle, having researched and purchased the best coffee available. She's certainly to be trusted, a student of pharmaceutics at South Dakota State University, who knows a lot about the medicinal application of things like caffeine.   I think she may have had a good time otherwise, and there seems to have been a conference of some sort, but her primary mission, seeking and sampling the best the rainy city has to offer, has been accomplished.  And she brought some home for us!

The winner?  It's Tully's Coffee, their Full City roast, which they describe as smooth, spicy, and sweet.  Having checked out their website, I see they also have a Madison Blend.  Now isn't that curious?

It's great coffee! Thank you, Megan!  

Knit Me a Heart, Honey

Sarah Illenberger, Andreas Achmann's
Knitted Organ

The wife has been busy with knitting lately, making lots of cool things for other people, for me, and for herself, but she hasn't knit any organs, yet.


This image is courtesy of the efforts at Living Mediations: Biology, Technology and Art, a project by HASTAC, the Humanities, Art, and Science Advanced Collaboratory.  


See their forum on this and other forms of combining and exploring relationships among the various disciplines.  

48-Hour Gut Check

Just learned about a phenomenal opportunity to submit myself to a couple days of torture--riding across South Dakota on Lonesome Highway 212, through some of the most isolated parts of the US of A.  On a bicycle!  Just think, I'd pass through Belle Fourche, Fruitdale, Nisland, Newell, Mud Butte, Faith, Red Elm, Dupree, Lantry, Eagle Butte, Parade, Ridgeview, LaPlant, the Missouri River Bridge, Forest City, Gettysburg, Seneca, Faulkton, Redfield, Frankfort, Doland, Clark, Henry, Watertown, Krantzburg, and Dawson.  All those miles (412 of them) and only go past one Wal-Mart, in Watertown.

The fun starts August 12, high noon, unless you're doing the "Hell and Back" version (824 miles), going both ways, which starts August 10.  If you've traveled this road, you know what a zen-like state you'll be in when you arrive in Minnesota.

It's the Gut Check 212.  Check your gut!  Starts here and ends here.  The record is 20 hours and 48 minutes, ridden by Bruce Martens in 2010.  Way to go, Bruce!  Just short of 20 miles per hour.  Yikes.

Good Deeds Are 1. Their Own Reward 2. Rewarded With Pie

We kept that IOU on the fridge for months, but somehow it all paid off, as a late night driver arrived with a specially made chocolate pie.  The pieces may look large, yes, but when the pie is fresh, it's wise to move quickly just to show the depth of your gratitude.  Our gratitude is deep.

Funny, we've still got the IOU.  We'll keep you updated!

More Snow

The little shoots of rhubarb that were giving their green thumbs-up to the warm weather that we had last week are now feeling a little frosty.  The 50's are gone, and the 30's are back, even the 20's.  Yikes.  Meanwhile, the melting snow and new rain and snow are forming a small lake in my garage and back yard.  Blah.  My little bag of kitty litter for cleaning up oil spills is now trying to suck up a backyard pond.

At least we have it better than Sisseton, where they're dealing with 10 inches of new snow, wet, heavy, and full of moisture for these water-soaked folks.

Japan

There's no stepping away from the disaster in Japan, from the earthquake, to the tsunami, to the threat of nuclear disaster.  This video illustrates the power of the wave of water in one small community.  There's plenty more to see, but the mix of flooding and observers watching their homes get swept away is moving.  How we move forward to help is the next question.  A good first step?  The Red Cross.

Spelling Bee--Sending Ryder Heitz to Washington

"Amarillo" (with two L's) got Ryder Heitz, a seventh-grader from Newell Middle School, an all-expense-paid trip to Washington, DC, for the Annual Scripps National Spelling Bee on June 1 and 2.  She also had to spell 31 other words correctly, as the contest lasted 32 rounds.

The state contest took place at Dakota State University in Madison, SD, sponsored by the Madison Daily Leader.  

The word "extravaganza" took out local winner, sixth-grader Lexis Sherron, at round 31 after going toe-to-toe with Ryder for round after round.  Lillie Dennis of Patrick Henry Middle School in Sioux Falls took home 3rd place after stumbling on "incorruptible," and Riley O'Neil got 4th when he misspelled "dungaree."

Pronouncer was yours truly, with judges Stacey Berry, Deana Hueners-Nelson, and Donna Hazelwood.  Jay Niedert was the host, and the whole event was organized by Marcia Schoeberl for the Madison Daily Leader.

Go Ryder!  The big event is only 82 days away!

Snow. There. I Said It.

I am getting somewhat weary of the snow. It's snowing again today, after snowing last night and the day before.  Blah.  It's covered up some of the messes that the last thaw made, but all those messes will have to appear again before it's all over.  I'm hoping to see some progress in the coming week.  Go Snow!  Come on, Spring!

Among My (Edible) Souvenirs

Awesome apple pie from Al's Oasis

I haven't been to Al's Oasis out in Oacoma (Chamberlain, sort of), for quite a while, but I'm enjoying a pie from there, thanks to our intrepid snow-traveler who spends time with us each month during the school year.  Thanks, DW!

Josh Ritter Video

Saw a reference to Josh Ritter and thought I'd check it out.  Here's a cool stop-motion video featuring his song, "Long Shadows."  Video by James Holland.


Long Shadows from James Holland on Vimeo.

Pine Ridge is Now a Wet Bummerville

I'm sorry to see the trouble they're having out in Pine Ridge.  We've all had a lot of snow and when the warm weather comes around, we've got unfinished business.

A Tall Cold Drink of Water. Very Tall. Very Cold.

Howard Water Tower

There's a very cold tiger beneath all that ice on the Howard water tower.  Apparently a leak has let the water flow out and the cold took care of the rest.  Who wants to be on that crane?  Anyone?  When it warms up later this week, watch out below.

More photos here:  http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=181947971870

Google Art Project--Look Closely!

Here's a little take on Google Art Project, another ambitious and beautiful work from Google that allows viewers to look at famous works of art in museums around the world.  The zoom feature is something special, since it enables a look at the works that brings all those brush strokes to life.

Vince's Trophy Back in Titletown

The wife and I enjoyed the big game yesterday with some friends out at the Moose house, where we ate too much and watched just enough football to see the Packers put away the Steelers 31-25.  We enjoyed too the high-rent commercial spots that featured some cute animals (and insects) and some downright steamy scenes.

There were two that caught me off guard.  One was this Groupon ad that tried to wrench humor out of a difficult situation in Tibet.  What?  Tibetans in danger of losing their culture?  Let's eat!

The other was this ad for the Mini that asks viewers to "cram it in the boot" of the little car.  Is that a super-long sandwich he's sliding in?  Why is our contestant so uncomfortable with the question?

These two made my list of the tackiest ads.

Pickup, Snowdrift, and a Friendly Farmer

So, a friend calls, and our hero goes out on a rescue mission.  It's been cold, and it's been snowy, and the wind has been doing its typical thing in these parts, turning the snow into snowdrifts that function like concrete road barricades.  Our hero jumps in his Ford pickup, confidently heading to his friend's house, confidently navigating north, into the wind, on a day when the temperature reads -15. Confident, because he's got FOUR WHEEL DRIVE and MUD GRIP TIRES.  Almost the same as snow-grip tires, right?  Almost.  He's got HOT COFFEE!  Well, our hero turns off the Firecracker road and sees that someone has already driven down this road.  Yesterday.  BW.  Before the concrete-producing wind.  He can see the tops of fence-posts.  He can see the remnants of a plowing from days gone by.  And he can see snow.  Lots.  His confidence fades, but he takes another sip of hot coffee and hits the gas.  Then he hits the brakes and waits, thinking.  He steps outside and trudges through the snow, most of it somewhere between his boot-tops and his knees.  The wind blows much of his coffee-induced, four-wheel-drive confidence away.

Our hero's father always claimed that people with four wheel drives got stuck more often than people without.

Our hero decides his pickup can handle the snow.  He drives in.  Stops.  Backs out.  Looks over one daunting drift.  Shovels some of it away.  Drives through the drift, into more drift.  He stops, one wheel dangerously tempting the ditch.  He feels a kind of sinking that hot coffee cannot buoy, a kind of wind-whipped flag beginning to tatter and pop, so that someone seeing the tattered flag might wonder, "Why would anyone leave a raggedy flag like that up?"  Our hero musters a hint of confidence again, shovels some snow away, peers beneath the FOUR WHEEL DRIVE pickup to see he's clear of the snow.  He's clear.

He backs up, away from the tempting ditch, back through the daunting drift, following his tracks, except his tracks don't go into the ditch, where he now finds himself.  He's got a cell phone, so he calls for a tow.  Todd's Towing.  Quick answer. He'll be right out.

Then, his friend calls.  Farmer on the way.  Soon, over the hill, the smoke and vapor of a tractor appears, then the tractor itself, its bucket down, scraping a path through concrete barriers that fail to daunt.  Our hero calls back Todd, who says he'll wait to see whether the tow is necessary.  The tractor passes by.  Then returns, backing up, then a friendly farmer emerges from the cab, a log chain in hand.

"On a rescue mission?"
"I was."

Our hero hears how the farmer is clearing the road for his wife.

"She's got a swimming lesson at Lake Campbell."
"She's a tough old bird," our hero retorts.

The pickup comes out nicely.

Our hero calls Todd, calls the friend, calls the wife.  His coffee has cooled.  He arrives home safely.  He is confident there is hot coffee at home.

TCM Time Again

I've crossed the finish line in a lot of marathons, 26.2 miles at a time, gradually moving back into the pack where things are crowded, where people look a lot like people I see every day at work, in class, at the grocery store.  They're not, like I once thought of myself, the go-getters, the demons, the dedicated souls who jump at the sound of their alarm clocks going off at 5 am and spring from their beds and are soon out the door, music in their ears, the dreams of a good finish driving them forward.  I'm back in the pack now, with the people in costumes, people with love handles, people who months ago decided they'd like to try one marathon to tick it off their bucket list.  Who knows why I'm doing it now, throwing down the gauntlet once again like I did today, forking over the entry fee for the Twin Cities Marathon, whose registration opened today and will soon fill.  Yes, 11,500  of us will pony up the cash, while only a few elite sprites will jockey in the lead pack, gliding through Minneapolis and St. Paul, grinding it out until they reach the Summit hill and ease down into the finish chute just short of the capitol building.  They'll finish in two hours and change, while many of us are chugging along through miles 16, 17, 18, hoping not to crash, eating our Gu and high-fiving the enthusiastic children lining the streets, hoping to glimpse those who love us enough to make signs and rise early to cheer us on.  October 2, 2011.

Dynamic Video Footage of a Kidnapping?

You have to feel for this poor soul attacked in the forest in this clever, moving video.
December from 328 Stories on Vimeo.

Food Fairies at Work Again

Egg Bake and Banana Muffins!

It's always a great thing when food arrives unbidden, like a pizza delivery guy who shows up with a steaming pepperoni you didn't order and don't have to pay for.  Okay, that's never happened to me--no free delivered pizza.  But food--good food--no, great food!--sometimes arrives at our house at unexpected moments.  It happened yesterday, thanks to our friends the B's, who knew we were hard at work all day on a house.  They've done it before, and, knowing these good people, I've got faith that someday, when we don't expect it, they'll do it again.

I hope they don't mind that we had the egg-bake and muffins not only for breakfast this morning, but also for supper last night.  Yum!  Thank you, B's!

Engaged with the White House

The State of the Union Address last night was interesting not only for what Obama said in the speech itself (broadcast at Whitehouse.gov), but also for the many ways in which a viewer could engage with the discussion.  From participating in the Twitter feed at #SOTU to presenting a question and answer session immediately after on Facebook and again on Youtube today, this White House is making use of New Media, that's for sure.  It blogs, it tweets, it chats, it streams live, it posts photos and podcasts, and it engages the "viewer" in many ways other than just sending out signals.  Yeah, White House!

Horseshoe Seven--Your Site for the State of the Union Address

Yes, the state of the union address was here.  It's gone now.

JOIN THE LIVE CHAT

VISIT WHITEHOUSE.GOV

Jack LaLanne Kicks the Sandy Bucket

Like many kids, I saw the ads in the comic books I was so fond of, those promises that my 98 pound skinny butt could be transformed into a wedge-shaped body of muscle and confidence.  But now, the man  the skimpy leopard shorts has company in that big gymnasium in the sky.  Jack LaLanne is there with Mr. Atlas now, a new man again, his young body living on in the memories of any kid who might have sent away his paper-route money for the book that might transform him, if only in his dreams.

Lazy Teenage Superhero Movie

Clever film made for about three hundred bucks by some enterprising young people. It features several heroes with super powers that they're reluctant to use for good.  "Crime doesn't take a vacation, but they do."  Check it out!

Snowpeople Need Rest Too

My sister sent me this photo of a couple of snow people relaxing in the sun.  It must be nice to take a load off and doze on the deck in the back yard.  Looks like they could use some improvement in their color.

Hitting the Slopes and Hiding from Spiders in 1959

Okay, so it's not "On the Waterfront" or "Gone with the Wind."  But it's fun to see Terry Peak circa 1959, the site, along with Deadwood, of the 1959 film "Beast from Haunted Cave." If you've only got time for the opening scenes, you'll get to see the upper lift (I think) from about that time.

California Dreamin' to that Canterbury Beat

Check out this cool video of a version of the Mamas and the Papas hit song "California Dreamin'" by a group of history teachers in Hawaii.  The perk?  It's not a love song to California, but rather a musical introduction to Geoffery Chaucer's classic work, The Canterbury Tales.  They've done more.  Check out historyteacher's channel on YouTube.

Ice and Sundown

Sundown, January 13, 2011

The wife likes to take photographs, and she continues to experiment with how her digital camera works, but I like this one that has the blurry blots of water on the window, the glowing remnants of the day, and a long icicle that suggests the work the afternoon sun has done.

Another Semester Begins

We begin this semester much like others that come before, but every student is new, every class a fresh mix of students, their goals even now forming in their minds like the first sketches of the future building they will live in.

Moving Snow

The past few days have left us with an additional healthy dose of snow and it's necessary to encourage it to move to less cumbersome locations.  Thank you, Ariens.  You start every time, first pull (even though you've got an electric starter), and you run until I'm done.

Snow Sleds Live Again

Left, 1983 John Deere Sportfire.  Right, 1984 Yamaha SRV540.  

These two old snowmobiles, after resting on the shores of Lake Madison for a dozen years or so, have had the magic touch, and are both back among the active.  I was surprised most by the 1983 John Deere Sportfire, which, once it had a clean carb and new fluid lines, was ready to rumble.  The other, a 1984 Yamaha SRV540, was a little more trouble, and it's still not showing its full potential, but it works.   A little tuning should bring it round.  I get a kick out of bringing the dead back to life.

Huckleberry Finn Gets a Whitewashing

First edition cover

So, you've read Mark Twain's Huckleberry Finn and struggled to reconcile your discomfort with the use of the word "nigger" (219 times) with your sense that it's the word that would have been used by the narrator, an uneducated young man steeped in the language of racist southerners in the 1840's, when the novel is set.  Reading that text and grappling with that word is like a rite of passage.  But it's not comfortable.  Neither is Twain's use of the word "injun," or "savage."
So, in steps NewSouth Books, providing readers with a "nigger" and "injun"-free text, replacing all the instances of the n-word with the word "slave."  And "injun" with Indian.  Safe?  Yes.  But Twain knew what he was doing. Sure, you can make the replacement so readers no longer have to overcome this use of words that Twain knew was offensive.  But offering up a volume that avoids the word entirely? It makes it impossible to understand Twain's view that Huck--through whom every instance of the word appears--has "a sound heart and a deformed conscience."
One of the characters in Huckleberry Finn who uses the word emphatically is Huck's father, Pap.  Note how the two passages below differ, keeping in mind that this racist man is on a rampage, railing drunkenly on why a black man should be considered property:

  "Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free nigger there from Ohio -- a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane -- the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a p'fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain't the wust. They said he could vote when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was 'lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that nigger vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote agin. Them's the very words I said; they all heard me; and the country may rot for all me -- I'll never vote agin as long as I live. And to see the cool way of that nigger -- why, he wouldn't a give me the road if I hadn't shoved him out o' the way. I says to the people, why ain't this nigger put up at auction and sold? -- that's what I want to know. And what do you reckon they said? Why, they said he couldn't be sold till he'd been in the State six months, and he hadn't been there that long yet. There, now -- that's a specimen. They call that a govment that can't sell a free nigger till he's been in the State six months. Here's a govment that calls itself a govment, and lets on to be a govment, and thinks it is a govment, and yet's got to set stock-still for six whole months before it can take a hold of a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free nigger, and -- "

And here's the expurgated version.  Would Pap NOT use the term we now find so offensive?  I don't think so:

  "Oh, yes, this is a wonderful govment, wonderful. Why, looky here. There was a free slave there from Ohio -- a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain't a man in that town that's got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane -- the awfulest old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a p'fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain't the wust. They said he could vote when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It was 'lection day, and I was just about to go and vote myself if I warn't too drunk to get there; but when they told me there was a State in this country where they'd let that slave vote, I drawed out. I says I'll never vote agin. Them's the very words I said; they all heard me; and the country may rot for all me -- I'll never vote agin as long as I live. And to see the cool way of that slave -- why, he wouldn't a give me the road if I hadn't shoved him out o' the way. I says to the people, why ain't this slave put up at auction and sold? -- that's what I want to know. And what do you reckon they said? Why, they said he couldn't be sold till he'd been in the State six months, and he hadn't been there that long yet. There, now -- that's a specimen. They call that a govment that can't sell a free slave till he's been in the State six months. Here's a govment that calls itself a govment, and lets on to be a govment, and thinks it is a govment, and yet's got to set stock-still for six whole months before it can take a hold of a prowling, thieving, infernal, white-shirted free slave, and -- " 

Yes, the book is in the public domain, and you can add Zombie Jim to Huck's adventure or the Undead to Tom's.  But don't pretend it's the same book.  Easier to teach?  Yes, and so is Curious George.

    

Coining a Weekly Aphorischtick

Colleague Dan Weinstein and his friend Mark Peters are collaborating on a comic project, with Peters coining the aphorism and Weinstein providing the artwork, the results of which this week are shown here.  Check out their weekly offerings at Aphorishtick.

New DSU Commercial!

5 Years In A Row Commercial from Dakota State on Vimeo.

Visual Poem: "The God of Our Farm Had Blades," by Todd Boss

Here's a great visualization of a poem by Todd Boss.  Animation by Tom Jacobsen, music by Jesse Marks.  Produced by Motionpoems--be sure to check out their site for more great animations like this one.

How to Wrap a Cat

The wife has been wanting a kitty, and perhaps there was some expectation at Christmas, but who knows how to package a kitten?  Not all cats are as wrapping-friendly as this one.

December Blizzard Timelapse

This is a cool time-lapse photo video by Michael Black on the blizzard up in the northeast.  Note how the clock keeps getting buried, then uncovered again by a dutiful photographer.
December 2010 Blizzard Timelapse from Michael Black on Vimeo.

Christmas Fog

Christmas Night 2010

Christmas has come and gone, retreating into the fog.  Here's a photo of our driveway and big pine tree after the fog has deposited its frost and moved on.  A good day, with friends and family.

Top Ten Reasons for Running in the Cold

The Twin Cities in Motion people like running, but they don't like the cold (sounds like a Silly Willy statement, doesn't it?).  They asked, on Facebook, for the statements that help motivate cold weather runners get out and onto the road.  Their list?  Here it is, with the contributors:

TEN:  Running tights hide your farmer's tan and skinny legs. Cassi Dermody

NINE:  Because you don't need to "ice down" sore muscles after a run! Gysler Castelino

EIGHT: Anything beats a treadmill. Ben Neeser

SEVEN: For the fun of having people ask, in sheer disbelief, "You're running...OUTSIDE?!" Sabrina Marthaler Hoppe

SIX: Because sometimes it's better not to be able to feel your toes. Shannon Hart

FIVE: Nature's bling: icicle eyelashes! Kelly Hanneman

FOUR: Because it gives people who shovel their sidewalks a reason to do so. Bryan Corbett

THREE: Because no matter who you are, someone falling down is always funny. Seth Schroeder

TWO: No mosquitoes! Heather Priolo

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON TO KEEP RUNNING THROUGH A MINNESOTA WINTER IS...Because fat, pale and slow looks horrible in shorts and a singlet in Spring! George A. Fulp

Big Red Ball Tonight! (No, not a big commie dance-party).

Moon photo:  NPR and Karim Jaafar/AFP/Getty Images.

NPR notes that we've got a treat in store tonight--a lunar eclipse that will render the moon a "big red ball."  It will be visible throughout North America, which means, if we can glimpse the sky tonight, we'll get a look.  NOAA says no:  

Tonight: A slight chance of snow before 9pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. South wind 7 to 16 mph becoming west northwest. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

But maybe we'll have a red tinge to the cloud cover.  In any case, maybe it's worth a little lost sleep.

Emotional "Spell Check" and other Curious Inventions

Suppose you get that bone-headed email from an angry student who's unhappy with the result of their decision to skip studying, go party, and sleep through the final.  Perhaps written with a lingering hangover.  You might be tempted to fire back with force, venting your irritation with the students' apparent sense of entitlement.  You know you can't send that ranting email!  So, here's a remedy, a gentle reminder, much like spell check, that watches for tone in your email messages in Outlook.  It's ToneCheck, one of the concepts featured in the NYTimes Magazine's review of some of the most interesting ideas from 2010.  The list includes such things as the "bra mask" and a guitar that stays in tune.

New Tool for Book Fiends

Google's got a new tool for free use by scholars or anyone with an interest in searching through thousands of books from 1800 to 2000 for words and phrases of interest to them.  The image here is my comparison of the words "memory" and "imagination" over those 200 years.  Note the rise of memory!  It's worth noting that interest rises in an item as it appears that it is fading from use or the culture.  Goodbye, memory!  

Free Data Recovery Software

The guys at CNET are touting a free software package, iCare Data Recovery Software 4.0, that offers a robust data recovery package for all types of data storage devices.  Here's what their own statement is:

iCare Data Recovery Software is dedicated in hard disk data recovery like hard disk failure, formatted hard drive, MBR (Mast Boot Record) corrupted, bad boot sector, drive inaccessible, partition unreadable, partition deleted, software operation failure like Partition Magic caused data loss, Ghost failure, virus attacked, etc.

And here's what CNET says about the deal:

While most users never think about data-recovery software until they need it--like, say, after a corrupted hard drive has cost them years' worth of family photos--we know you'll want to make like the Boy Scouts and be prepared with this freebie.

 But move on it.  The software, usually priced at $69.95, is only free until December 25.

 

Student Blog with Multimedia Essays

A Website with Student Video Essays

My students in Composition II at Dakota State University have finished up their multimedia essays and are watching the creations and preparing for writing about them tomorrow morning.  Check them out and feel free to offer praise.  The site is here:  http://compdsu.blogspot.com/

Snow Stalagmites

Snow Stalagmites

Some fine openings in the porch roof allowed for some unusual snow formations on the floor.

Cleaning Up Afterwards

Cleaning up Center Street

Loader/Blower does its work

 The boys from the city get the job done, blowing the snow out of the city.  Thanks, guys!

One more small flurry

Me and My Birthday Suit

Look at the curves on those rear quarter-panels! 

Before I could walk, I cruised with my parents and my older brother and sister up into Wyoming--Hyattville, specifically--to meet my Great-Grandma, Winnie Hollywood, the lady that raised my dad and his sister.  There's a lot fewer creases in the skin in those days, before I had reached my first birthday, while now each year adds a few more bulges in some places, wrinkles in others.

Better Day--It Only FEELS Like 21 Below

The sun comes up after our snowstorm

Northwest wind at 16, temp at zero.  That's better than yesterday, when things were much worse.  The wife and I did get out and about just a little--some grocery shopping, some lunch at El Vaquero, and mailing a package.  I went out again myself for another shopping spree (groceries only), and a stop at my mom's, but that was plenty for a very wintery day, and  I was glad to come home, stoke the fire, and settle back in for work on some Christmas gifts and school.

First Winter Storm

Winter arrives in full.

Our first big winter storm has arrived, bringing wind right now at 35mph, with gusts of 43mph, temperatures of 8 degrees, combining for a wind chill of -17 degrees.  Our graduation ceremonies at Dakota State University, scheduled for 10:30 today, have been postponed to 1:00 tomorrow, and for good reason.  It's a good day to stay home and watch the weather.  If I do go out, good thing I have my new hat!

Bow to the Hat Master

My sailor-knit hat, courtesy of the wife.

The wife has taken knitting by storm, producing all sorts of clothing and other fabric items from long bits of string.  Here you see my new knitted sailor's hat, lovingly made by the wife's own hands.

Here Comes Shanghai, Much of China to Follow

The news this morning from China would serve as a wake-up call if enough people aren't groggy enough from checking the new Facebook layout to see what that third-grade pal had for breakfast.  These Shanghainese kids are staking their claim to be the best-educated students in the world, according to a test, the Program for International Student Assessment, that was first administered there this year, following its use in countries across the world.  An article on the NYTimes describes how these 15 year old students topped the list in reading, math, and science scores by a significant margin.  Response from American officials was clear:  

“We have to see this as a wake-up call,” Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said in an interview on Monday.

“I know skeptics will want to argue with the results, but we consider them to be accurate and reliable, and we have to see them as a challenge to get better,” he added. “The United States came in 23rd or 24th in most subjects. We can quibble, or we can face the brutal truth that we’re being out-educated.”

 What next?  More cuts in education for South Dakotans and other states throughout the country.

A Die-Cut Book--Tree of Codes

So here's an interesting idea: Take a book, the paper kind, that someone else has written, and then cut away words from the pages of that book to leave another story, your own story. That's the concept behind Jonathan Safran Foer's book, Tree of Codes, which uses the novel The Street of Crocodiles, by Bruno Schultz.  Here's a video of Foer talking about, and showing, his creation. Double-click for full screen.  

So I Was a Coffin

My students are working on multimedia presentations of an essay they're writing.  My email brought me a message from Poets and Writers Magazine, and this video, not of an essay but a poem, is a powerful reminder of what the combination of effective words and telling images can do. Double-click for full screen.  

A Snowman Bigger than a House!

That's one big snowman!

Yesterday as the wife and I cruised in to work, she exclaimed, "Wow, look at that snowman!  It's bigger than that house!"  Because I was keeping my eyes on the road, I had missed it. "Where?" I asked, beginning to gawk where she was pointing. I didn't see this monster snowman, amazed that someone had managed to scrape together enough snow for even a LITTLE guy, since we have only the barest of snowfall.  I couldn't imagine how someone could have built a snowman that high.  Heavy equipment in the back yard?  As close as it was to my class time, I had to drive around the block to see it.  "Where?" I asked again.  When she pointed, I saw she was referring to a some big metal hoops with lights on them.  "That's not a snowman," I pouted.  She was right, of course, sort of; it was a big metal light-encrusted representation of a snowman, bigger than the house.  It looks much better at night, when it's all lit up, as here.

Getting into the (Electronic) Christmas Spirit

It's about that time when a person has to drive around in the evening a bit to see just what sort of extreme craziness some folks have about decorating their yards, houses, and selves for the Christmas season.  Here, so far, is the winner of Madison's most extreme home make over, complete with audio soundtrack.  Yes, we tuned in and watched from our auto, even as Madison's law enforcement cruised by, keeping the impulse to riot in check.  

Finishing Hard--Cross Country Style

My cross country coach used to tell us a key to doing well in races was "finishing hard."  I remind my students of that in the closing weeks of each semester, encouraging them to do their best work, to put the polish on assignments and keep steady pressure on to shine.  It makes a difference.
I was reminded of that by a story this morning in The New York Times, heralding a young woman, Holland Reynolds, who crawled across the finish line after collapsing five yards from the tape.  She wasn't in first, but her team needed her to finish in order to win the championship.  She did.  See the race and the finish here.