erin go bragh!

happy st. patrick's day, everybody!

though i only have a little bit of irish heritage -- represent, murphys and flynns! -- i'm also a domer, and i fell in love with st. patty's day during college, green beer, jigs, shamrocks, and all. hope you're all wearing green so you don't get pinched today! :)

and before i head back to my st. patty's festivities, here's a link to my favorite news story of the day so far: in honor of chicago, the first lady has had the white house fountains dyed green!

another long day

lesson planning? check. we're going to keep pushing on cultural studies questions tomorrow, and things should hopefully work out okay. so now i've given myself the rest of the evening to chill on the couch, eat potato chips, and watch 30 rock on tv and old episodes of rich girls on youtube. ah, relaxation. if i could just forget that i have all those papers to grade tomorrow, i'd be totally zen.

after my weekly liz lemon fix, i'm switching over to pbs for the video of last night's stevie wonder extravaganza at the white house. can't wait to see the prom king and queen of dc there! ;) (and it just started -- and he's kicking off with "sir duke"! my favorite!)

austen fans, check it out -- the first preview art panels from the new marvel pride and prejudice comic books! i've already got mine ordered, and i can't wait until they come in the mail!

still working on the editing project for that forgotten regency novella that i've rediscovered. i really think this could be an amazing edition if it all takes off -- i've got plans for the introduction, the annotations, and even the appendix material, with primary sources, contemporary reviews, and more. i'm not sure that i'll have the clout yet to convince a press like broadview to publish my stuff, but i think they'd really benefit from something like this text for college students -- it's short enough to be read quickly, but it's got so many dimensions that it could be interpreted in lots and lots of different ways.

tomorrow: teaching, laundry, grading, more grading, possibly drinks later. and hopefully a hell of a lot of sleep!

frank, the first dog

ah, ash wednesday, one of the most morbid and yet strangely comforting days of the religious year. there's something so ritualistic and nostalgic about bundling up to go to mass on a february night and having the priest smear ashes on your forehead. i went to a new parish tonight and really liked it. the songs they chose were great, and the place was packed. but i have to admit that i washed my ashes off when i got home ... if i don't, i always forget about them and then end up with ashy smears all over my house. i'll just have to remember that "to dust i shall return" without the visual cue.

the obamas have chosen their dog breed! our new first puppy is going to be a portuguese water hound, and apparently the first lady is upset that the girls want to name him frank. i disagree -- i love old man names for pets, and frank the first dog sounds just delightful to me!

also, the obamas hosted a special event in honor of stevie wonder tonight, and i love the first lady's hair! picspam here at the lovely obama_daily. video is here at the always awesome ontd_political. president obama deserved a little stevie-wonder fun time after that amazing congressional address last night. health care and education ... hell yes!

so sad to hear about the unexpected death of david cameron's son, ivan. i have always admired the way he and his wife have devoted themselves to making life better not only for ivan but also for all other disabled children in britain, working to pass initiatives to promote scientific research and raising awareness by speaking about their son and allowing him to be photographed with the family. prayers and condolences to the whole family; little ivan is now pain free in a better place, and i'm sure it's comforting that they have that lovely thought to cling to in their grief.

and now, i'm off for bed. what a long day!