Early tomorrow morning, Andrew and I will fly home for Christmas. We will remain in Minneapolis until late afternoon on January 2, when we will return to Boston (for my final semester).
My exams concluded on Monday, and I have been enjoying downtime.
Andrew and I considered attending Boston Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” last night or tonight, as we had not bothered to see the local production either of the previous two years and as this year is our final chance to catch the production.
We decided, upon reflection, to give the production a pass.
We had attended Texas Ballet Theatre’s production of “The Nutcracker” last year in Dallas, and we were not necessarily in the mood to see the ballet again so soon after last year’s experience. Further, we were informed that the local production was not in good shape this year, a victim of limited rehearsal time, and that we would not be missing anything special.
Andrew told me that sometime in the next few years we shall go to New York over the holidays in order for me to experience the classic Balanchine production at New York City Ballet, which Andrew insists is the best “Nutcracker” on the planet. I am perfectly content with that.
I look forward to the holidays.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
A White-Trash Psycho At Work
Iowa Men’s Basketball coach Fran McCaffery, photographed in reprehensible action during the Iowa/Iowa State game in Iowa City on 10 December 2010.
Any reasonable sports fan would vomit if the head coach of his favorite team carried on like this—and such sports fan would not long remain a fan.
Having witnessed McCaffery’s antics, I now fully understand why tiny Grinnell College in nearby Grinnell, Iowa, has a larger endowment than the endowment of the University Of Iowa.
I have a question for Sally Mason, President of the University Of Iowa, as well as Gary Barta, Athletic Director of the University Of Iowa:
What do you think outsiders think of your university when you hire persons such as Fran McCaffery?
Any reasonable sports fan would vomit if the head coach of his favorite team carried on like this—and such sports fan would not long remain a fan.
Having witnessed McCaffery’s antics, I now fully understand why tiny Grinnell College in nearby Grinnell, Iowa, has a larger endowment than the endowment of the University Of Iowa.
I have a question for Sally Mason, President of the University Of Iowa, as well as Gary Barta, Athletic Director of the University Of Iowa:
What do you think outsiders think of your university when you hire persons such as Fran McCaffery?
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Keeping Our Holidays Straight
Our Thanksgiving in Dallas was uneventful.
Andrew and I did nothing and went nowhere—we did not leave my aunt and uncle’s house the entire weekend—and neither did anyone else, except my mother, my aunt and my sister went out to explore some weekend holiday sales early Friday morning.
Last year we spent Thanksgiving Weekend in Dallas, too. At least last year we all went out, once, to attend a performance at Dallas’s new opera house. We attended a performance by the local ballet company of “The Nutcracker”, and we did so primarily in order to experience the new opera house.
The only thing playing in Dallas last weekend was the very same production of “The Nutcracker”, and none of us wanted to see the production a second time.
Had we been ambitious, we might have gone out to visit the Dallas Museum Of Art, which is not supposed to be very good—or, better yet, gone to Fort Worth to visit the Kimbell Art Museum, which indeed is a very, very good museum.
We were not ambitious, however, and we stayed in, watching football games and eating.
We had turkey and ham for Thanksgiving dinner, with two kinds of stuffing. We had mashed potatoes, candied yams, peas, a vegetable casserole and two kinds of cranberry salad. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie, cranberry-nut pie, cheesecake (my sister loves my aunt’s cheesecake) and brownies (my brother loves my aunt’s brownies).
The foods from Thanksgiving continued to feed us through Saturday’s lunch, but on Saturday night my aunt prepared her special pepper steak. Andrew liked the pepper steak no end. In fact, Andrew liked it so much that my aunt prepared it again for Sunday’s lunch—and no one complained.
Our trip to Dallas provided us with a warm, mellow, carefree holiday—and it was the last thing on the cards for Andrew and me until my exams (which begin in ten days) are over.
Andrew and I did something silly today: we went out and bought a Christmas tree.
Last year, we did not get a Christmas tree, although we had done so the previous year.
Last year, we had a much longer Christmas holiday at our disposal, sixteen days in all, with several pre-Christmas days in Minnesota, and we had decided last year that no Christmas tree in Boston was necessary.
This year, however, is very much like two years ago, when our calendars allowed only a short holiday of just over a week. Because Andrew and I must remain in Boston until the morning of the 23rd this year, we decided this morning to buy a tree and get a head start on celebrating the season.
We decorated the tree this afternoon—and afterward we made a few Christmas cookies, which seemed the appropriate thing to do. We made a nut cookie that required a cookie press, date-nut cookies involving two layers of pastry, and Linzer cookies, which also involve two layers of pastry. The latter, to be precise, are not Christmas cookies, but we think of them as festive.
The cookies actually turned out. We ate a few this afternoon, with eggnog, and we will have more tonight.
We are in the midst of preparing a major dinner: lobster bisque; baked tomatoes stuffed with seasonings, fresh vegetables and rice; and seasoned pork loin, potato pancakes, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and hot, homemade applesauce.
Between the fresh evergreen tree and the fresh applesauce, the apartment is filled with a wonderful array of smells. The Christmas tree lights are blinking, and Easter music is playing in the background (Beethoven’s “Christ On The Mount Of Olives”).
I believe we are having trouble keeping our holidays straight!
Andrew and I did nothing and went nowhere—we did not leave my aunt and uncle’s house the entire weekend—and neither did anyone else, except my mother, my aunt and my sister went out to explore some weekend holiday sales early Friday morning.
Last year we spent Thanksgiving Weekend in Dallas, too. At least last year we all went out, once, to attend a performance at Dallas’s new opera house. We attended a performance by the local ballet company of “The Nutcracker”, and we did so primarily in order to experience the new opera house.
The only thing playing in Dallas last weekend was the very same production of “The Nutcracker”, and none of us wanted to see the production a second time.
Had we been ambitious, we might have gone out to visit the Dallas Museum Of Art, which is not supposed to be very good—or, better yet, gone to Fort Worth to visit the Kimbell Art Museum, which indeed is a very, very good museum.
We were not ambitious, however, and we stayed in, watching football games and eating.
We had turkey and ham for Thanksgiving dinner, with two kinds of stuffing. We had mashed potatoes, candied yams, peas, a vegetable casserole and two kinds of cranberry salad. For dessert, we had pumpkin pie, cranberry-nut pie, cheesecake (my sister loves my aunt’s cheesecake) and brownies (my brother loves my aunt’s brownies).
The foods from Thanksgiving continued to feed us through Saturday’s lunch, but on Saturday night my aunt prepared her special pepper steak. Andrew liked the pepper steak no end. In fact, Andrew liked it so much that my aunt prepared it again for Sunday’s lunch—and no one complained.
Our trip to Dallas provided us with a warm, mellow, carefree holiday—and it was the last thing on the cards for Andrew and me until my exams (which begin in ten days) are over.
Andrew and I did something silly today: we went out and bought a Christmas tree.
Last year, we did not get a Christmas tree, although we had done so the previous year.
Last year, we had a much longer Christmas holiday at our disposal, sixteen days in all, with several pre-Christmas days in Minnesota, and we had decided last year that no Christmas tree in Boston was necessary.
This year, however, is very much like two years ago, when our calendars allowed only a short holiday of just over a week. Because Andrew and I must remain in Boston until the morning of the 23rd this year, we decided this morning to buy a tree and get a head start on celebrating the season.
We decorated the tree this afternoon—and afterward we made a few Christmas cookies, which seemed the appropriate thing to do. We made a nut cookie that required a cookie press, date-nut cookies involving two layers of pastry, and Linzer cookies, which also involve two layers of pastry. The latter, to be precise, are not Christmas cookies, but we think of them as festive.
The cookies actually turned out. We ate a few this afternoon, with eggnog, and we will have more tonight.
We are in the midst of preparing a major dinner: lobster bisque; baked tomatoes stuffed with seasonings, fresh vegetables and rice; and seasoned pork loin, potato pancakes, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash and hot, homemade applesauce.
Between the fresh evergreen tree and the fresh applesauce, the apartment is filled with a wonderful array of smells. The Christmas tree lights are blinking, and Easter music is playing in the background (Beethoven’s “Christ On The Mount Of Olives”).
I believe we are having trouble keeping our holidays straight!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Hillbilly Hawkeyes
We have been watching college football much of this weekend—hardly an unusual activity in Texas—and doing little else.
On Thanksgiving Day, we watched Texas play Texas A&M.
On Friday, we watched Southern Methodist (my brother’s school) defeat Eastern Carolina in overtime. We also watched the Auburn/Alabama thriller and finished things up with the Boise State/Nevada game (which also went into overtime).
This afternoon we watched the Penn State/Michigan State game as well as kept tabs on the Iowa/Minnesota game.
Tonight we are watching Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State, for my family by far the most important game of the weekend. We are also monitoring Wake Forest’s game against Vanderbilt (my sister’s school, even though she is entirely indifferent on the subject of Vanderbilt’s football fortunes).
We telephoned Andrew’s family to hear about the Minnesota/Iowa game, which Minnesota won in a major upset. Andrew’s father and Alec and Alex had attended the game.
They reported that Hillbilly Hawkeye fans that had made the trip north to Minneapolis were complaining, bitterly, about the cold—as well as complaining about the fact that alcohol is not served in Minnesota’s stadium.
Andrew’s father said that he did not understand the latter complaint, since two-thirds of the Hillbilly Hawkeye fans were already soused when they arrived at the stadium and were hardly in need of another drink.
Unlike two years ago, when Iowa last played Minnesota in Minneapolis, no Hillbilly Hawkeye fans were arrested in stadium washrooms and charged with indecency and public lewdness (there having been so many witnesses two years ago, those charged had been forced to plead guilty).
Iowa certainly has the dumbest fans in the world of sports. Andrew and I are monitoring the meltdown over today’s Iowa loss on HawkeyeNation.com, and enjoying the spectacle.
One commenter wrote:
It’s hard not to put a lot of the owness [of the loss] on the players this week.
Andrew and I are laughing ourselves silly.
Even better: another idiot commenter, in an attempt to criticize the intelligence of yet a third idiot commenter that had started a thread entitled, “We Suck”, wrote:
Real Intelligent. [sarcasm intended]
Need to create a filter from ones brain there fingers before they type.
What a waist of space.
Andrew and I are in hysterics, rolling on the floor.
Perhaps it’s time to review the University Of Iowa’s various accreditations?
On Thanksgiving Day, we watched Texas play Texas A&M.
On Friday, we watched Southern Methodist (my brother’s school) defeat Eastern Carolina in overtime. We also watched the Auburn/Alabama thriller and finished things up with the Boise State/Nevada game (which also went into overtime).
This afternoon we watched the Penn State/Michigan State game as well as kept tabs on the Iowa/Minnesota game.
Tonight we are watching Oklahoma versus Oklahoma State, for my family by far the most important game of the weekend. We are also monitoring Wake Forest’s game against Vanderbilt (my sister’s school, even though she is entirely indifferent on the subject of Vanderbilt’s football fortunes).
We telephoned Andrew’s family to hear about the Minnesota/Iowa game, which Minnesota won in a major upset. Andrew’s father and Alec and Alex had attended the game.
They reported that Hillbilly Hawkeye fans that had made the trip north to Minneapolis were complaining, bitterly, about the cold—as well as complaining about the fact that alcohol is not served in Minnesota’s stadium.
Andrew’s father said that he did not understand the latter complaint, since two-thirds of the Hillbilly Hawkeye fans were already soused when they arrived at the stadium and were hardly in need of another drink.
Unlike two years ago, when Iowa last played Minnesota in Minneapolis, no Hillbilly Hawkeye fans were arrested in stadium washrooms and charged with indecency and public lewdness (there having been so many witnesses two years ago, those charged had been forced to plead guilty).
Iowa certainly has the dumbest fans in the world of sports. Andrew and I are monitoring the meltdown over today’s Iowa loss on HawkeyeNation.com, and enjoying the spectacle.
One commenter wrote:
It’s hard not to put a lot of the owness [of the loss] on the players this week.
Andrew and I are laughing ourselves silly.
Even better: another idiot commenter, in an attempt to criticize the intelligence of yet a third idiot commenter that had started a thread entitled, “We Suck”, wrote:
Real Intelligent. [sarcasm intended]
Need to create a filter from ones brain there fingers before they type.
What a waist of space.
Andrew and I are in hysterics, rolling on the floor.
Perhaps it’s time to review the University Of Iowa’s various accreditations?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thanksgiving
Tomorrow afternoon, Andrew and I shall fly to Dallas, where my family will gather for Thanksgiving Weekend at the home of my aunt and uncle.
We shall be back Sunday night.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Now That You Mention It . . .
Is it me or does [Iowa Men’s Basketball] Coach Fran McCaffery kinda sorta look like a child molestor?
Discuss.
A comment posted at 10:02 p.m. EST on 16 November 2010 in the basketball forum at HawkeyeNation.com by some wag—a grammar-challenged wag that does not know how to spell “molester”—going by the screen name ohnochrishansen.
Andrew and I are falling on the floor laughing.
My mother said the very same thing when she saw a television news-clip of McCaffery several months ago!
Discuss.
A comment posted at 10:02 p.m. EST on 16 November 2010 in the basketball forum at HawkeyeNation.com by some wag—a grammar-challenged wag that does not know how to spell “molester”—going by the screen name ohnochrishansen.
Andrew and I are falling on the floor laughing.
My mother said the very same thing when she saw a television news-clip of McCaffery several months ago!
Friday, November 5, 2010
Where Were You, Peggy, In 2008?
On Wednesday, the President gave a news conference to share his thoughts.
Viewers would have found it disappointing if there had been any viewers. The president is speaking, in effect, to an empty room.
From my notes five minutes in: "This wet blanket, this occupier of the least interesting corner of the faculty lounge, this joy-free zone, this inert gas." By the end I was certain he will never produce a successful stimulus because he is a human depression.
Actually I thought the worst thing you can say about a president: that he won't even make a good former president.
Peggy Noonan, writing in this morning’s Wall Street Journal
Viewers would have found it disappointing if there had been any viewers. The president is speaking, in effect, to an empty room.
From my notes five minutes in: "This wet blanket, this occupier of the least interesting corner of the faculty lounge, this joy-free zone, this inert gas." By the end I was certain he will never produce a successful stimulus because he is a human depression.
Actually I thought the worst thing you can say about a president: that he won't even make a good former president.
Peggy Noonan, writing in this morning’s Wall Street Journal
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Best Post-Election Joke
You only have to look at the results in the now ineluctably doomed state of California to realize that turkeys are still very much capable of voting for Thanksgiving.
James Delingpole, writing this morning in London’s Telegraph
James Delingpole, writing this morning in London’s Telegraph
