lollardfish

If Hobo Cat comes by today, I am putting him in a crate and taking him to a vet. And then one of y'all had better find a home for him, damnitall! (I have high hopes for Skylarker's friend).

I am considering naming him Hector. Unless, he's a girl or something.

Fight Club is a romantic comedy. Just watch the trailer. Requires quicktime.

In seventh and eighth grade, my English teacher was Mrs. Venable. She had a list of mistakes called the "Death List," and if you made any of them in your assignment you got, at best, a 59 (an F). In honor of me using effect instead of affect in a syllabus draft, I have decided to re-institute the Death List for all non-formal writing assignments for my students (things graded pass/fail. If they make the mistake, it's fail).

All of them are things that spellcheckers do not catch, and that I see CONSTANTLY in student writing. They must be things that remain valid in modern usage (i.e. First person singular and plural /future/ should be "shall" instead of "will." But that ship has sailed. Similarly, quote is a verb and quotation is a noun, but, quote is now also a noun, damnit!)

I am looking for death list submissions. Here are mine so far (will be updated as I develop them).

On the list:

Your/You're
Their/There/They're
It's/Its
Affect/Effect
Principle/Principal
Ensure/Insure
Who's/Whose
Wear/Where
Led/Lead
Lose/Loose
To/Too

The girl just brought me a salad with tangy dressing and duck bacon bits. I am a lucky medievalist. That's all.

When I go interview at Willamette, I need to teach a 1 hour class. I'm going to do it on the Black Death, but first I want to play a game with the students. I call it, "If you were alive back then, would you be dead!" Better title suggestions gladly accepted.

I ask all the students to stand up, then I ask them questions about their lives, and tell them if they are dead or alive had they lived in the Middle Ages and make them sit down. This time it'll be for 1300, when actually nascent medical developments had improved certain things, like midwifery, to some extent. I try to end up with a few women and a few men left at the end, so I can kill some of the women in childbirth and some of the men in battle, and then tell the remaining ones that they could live to be 90!

It's unscientific. It's not based in hard medieval population data. It's an icebreaker. I need more questions though, and so I turn to you.

I ask:

1 - Who had a very serious childhood illness, so serious you've been told about it by your folks? Mumps, measles, bad chickenpox, etc. I kill about 25% off, but not too many. A nice chunk of people though.
2 - Who has broken a leg or an arm? I kill a few off from infection.
3 - Who has had appendicitis? I kill myself off (age 12! Oh, the humanity!)
4 - Who's been in a serious accident (car, bike, whatever)?
5 - Who has had a bad case of the flu lately?

I'd like a few more questions. Any advice?

We have a gorgeous, friendly, white-and-orange adult cat sitting outside our house. He/She is a little dirty. He/she is quite friendly, and we suspect someone dumped it.

We can't take another cat.

But ... maybe one of you can? He/she is still outside, but it's heartbreaking.

Update: I think it's a male cat, but haven't checked. This is clearly a human-friendly cat, who recognizes the sound of food rattling in a plastic bowl, and is eager for a) human contact b) food c) a warm house. We have provided "a" and "b", and will see about taking him to a no-kill shelter eventually. Unless someone is looking for a cat. We've seen him around the last few days, which is why we think this is a dumped cat, not a lost cat. Sigh.

For those wearied by the debate on Constantine's efficacy:

HISTORY'S MOST LOPSIDED TRADES, AS RENEGOTIATED BY OAKLAND A'S GENERAL MANAGER BILLY BEANE.

First annual monthly prize for the Band Name of the Week goes to ....


'Sleight of Ham'

A Benefit for Miss Rachel. Make your plans now please.