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!

i love the oscars!

i love oscar sunday ... i almost always give myself the entire day to be lazy, sit around on my couch, and watch great old movies before switching over to the red carpet coverage on e! and then the ceremony itself. so excited for hugh. i loved him when he hosted the tonys, and i imagine he's going to be awesome hosting the oscars. i'm intrigued by all this secrecy around the special guests and presenters, too ... dare i hope for some classic hollywood stars? and to make tonight even more special, i'm indulging with a little chinese takeout, too ... yum!

okay, so here are my picks for the major awards:
best picture - slumdog millionaire
best director - stephen daldry, the reader
best actor - mickey rourke
best actress - meryl streep
best supporting actor - heath ledger (rip)
best supporting actress - amy adams

in other news, there's a giveaway over at historical-fiction.com right now for all my fellow austen groupies. they're giving away a copy of the annotated pride and prejudice and a book called lost in austen that apparently doesn't have anything to do with amanda price. you just have to comment with your favorite austen character -- i punted for miss elinor, of course!

more after the oscars -- for the obligatory thumbs up/thumbs down on the fashion choices, natch!

i'll bet mr. wickham loves the "poking" function

taking a break from grading piles of student essays to link to this hilarious little gem: "austenbook" by deedee of much-ado.net.

i can't decide what my favorite parts are! probably "fitzwilliam darcy tagged elizabeth bennet in his note my character requires this to be written and read" and "lydia bennet and kitty bennet joined the group 1,000,000 strong against the officers leaving meryton!"

i can't wait to use this as a teaching tool next time i teach pride and prejudice to my freshmen!

jane austen's still got it

austenblog posted a link to a great article about why, two centuries later, jane austen is still a relevant writer to be taught in the classroom. the writer, kay mcspadden, shares some great anecdotes about what it's like to teach jane and how today's students still can relate to her characters' lives and loves. i really like this bit:

this hard girl, this smart girl, this girl whose choices have whittled her future into a small, lonely path, this girl who longs for romance but has found motherhood instead – well, my heart breaks for her even as she invites me to tease her out of her bad mood another day.

i look at the other students like andrea in the class – girls and boys who appear more mature than they are – and I'm glad that jane austen is able to speak to them, too.

here's a link to the article. whether you teach jane in the classroom like i do, or are simply a modern-day fan of her work, it's a great read.