I mean, first, Jaguar and Land Rover are sold to we colonists, angering many a Brit, no doubt.
But, now this? “Ford sells Jaguar, Land Rover to India’s Tata.”
I mean, the Queen must be pissed — almost as much as when Canada threatened to leave the Commonwealth. Oh, wait, that was Kids in the Hall (how is Kids in the Hall not really on YouTube?).
Yesterday before noon, we heard some beeping, like a semi backing up. Rick looked outside and saw smoke. At first, I thought it was someone burning leaves, but then I put two and two together that someone’s house was on fire, nearby. Turns out, it was very nearby (see the Google map I created) — from just out on the street, we could see between our neighbors’ houses a house with smoke billowing out the attic vent. We already heard police and fire approaching, so we didn’t run to help. It turns out that our neighbor had been in his garage, heard cries for help, and ran and got one child out. The mother of the child got out with some burns; her two other children did not. For news coverage, see here.
It was an odd rest of the day — continuing really through today. We saw the medivac helicopter hovering and then land at the nearby park. We saw people come up our street and then turn around when they found the street closed at the end; it remained closed through the night. There were lights on from investigators and TV crews. I don’t think it was until today though, when we got confirmation of the two deaths, that it hit. It is odd having such tragedy so close and so far (we didn’t know them at all). I am already paranoid about fire and burglary, and I hope this doesn’t make me want to just stay in the house forever. Truly sad though, and an odd way to start the week.
Good article on the recurrent fascination on all things Jane, as well as an overview of recent Jane books.
Before Ocean’s 13 we saw the preview for Becoming Jane. Based on lies, but I’ll probably still see it.
Why does everything get better after I leave?
OK, that may not be true–we’ll test it this week in Washington.
Pics upon return!
In an evening that will go down in history, Dave, Mike, and I talked endlessly about crap that happened at Ursinus regarding hate speech. In the simplest of re-enactments of said discussion, Dave was a proponent of a quasi-slippery slope argument (you can’t punish people for what they think, plus does it really matter? Also, re: speech, who cares what people say?), while Mike and I argued that hate speech could lead to hate-induced actions, and at the very least creates a hostile environment. I was far too close to this, with students feeling threatened and such, and wasn’t coherent, in many ways.
I’ve thought about that night a lot, and thought about both sides of the hate thought/speech issue, especially of late, what with what I mention below, but also with what the House passed today (with Barney calling out the votes) and what Bush has promised he’ll veto.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Andrew Sullivan provides a tidy description of the two sides to this issue. I have to say that, when push comes to shove, I’m in the second coherent camp. I recognize the argument about free speech, a particularly relevant concern on a college campus dedicated to engaging with issues in an arena where all opinions can be expressed and then rationally engaged with. I also recognize that it is indeed impossible to see inside the souls of men, and that therefore hate crimes legislation is imperfect at best, Big Brother-like at worst. However, on count one, I don’t see how an eighteen-year-old can engage in thoughtful discourse after his friend’s door had names scrawled on it. And, I would hope that most hate crimes are judged by hard evidence–that is, what a person says or does that evinces hatred–and not guesses at inclination.
I don’t know. It’s not perfect, but I’m still convinced that language has power, good and evil 
An aside: tonight’s Ugly Betty featured a plot where all of the secretaries (or, as Betty kept reminding people, “administrative professionals”) celebrated their day at “The Middle Ages,” a “Medieval Times” knock-off. As the fabulous Marc and Amanda enter the place, so too does the evil straight guy Nick (assistant to trans Alexis, of course). Nick says loudly, “this place is so gay”; without missing a beat, Marc says, “it so isn’t.” It’s another example of how this show is so smart about anti-gay behavior and words–defusing them with wit and support from others. Unfortunately, life isn’t scripted by fun writers and doesn’t have happy endings all the time.
I dunno.
Really, beyond belated–nay, almost reprehensible.
Rick’s birthday was yesterday, so happy birthday to him. Really, it was more of a birthday weekend, as we met the Dause brood in Delaware for a nice lunch; Sunday, we went to Washington Square and took advantage of Center City Restaurant Week (3 entrees for $30; I would give the place a B/B+–good food (I had a great chicken dish and a good butternut squash soup), but nothing overly spectacular) and a decent room. I think I’d like to go back during the summer to take advantage of the extensive outdoor seating area); and, last night, we saw Children of Men. OK, not exactly Rick’s choice, but it was still going out! I think it was good…not great, like I was expecting, but good. There were a few really wonderful moments, and I loved the look of the film (some really amazing, extended one-take scenes), but there were a few too many anvil moments. I dunno. Right afterwards, I wasn’t on fire about it, but now I’m starting to like it more.
Anyway. Happy birthday dear!
Finally back home, back at school, and back online. It was a nice feeling really, not being emailed and chained to the internets. But, it’s also nice to be back. I had hoped today to make it into my new office, but things are behind (I have but a desk and bookcase, and there’s no phone or internet in the building yet), so I’m chilling in the library working on my syllabus and sundry other things.
Anyway, I’m back…and there will be many posts about my travels in the past week.
That was just to drive Sam up a wall.
However, here’s the result:
“You have a Midland accent” is just another way of saying “you don’t have an accent.” You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
What American accent do you have?
Your Result: The Midland
Boston
The Northeast
The West
The Inland North
Philadelphia
North Central
The South
What American accent do you have?
Take More Quizzes
Next was Boston; thankfully Philly was far away.
