Crisis Very Nearly Not Averted

So, I'm house-sitting this weekend for a professor who is out of town, and I got stuck in a very teeny bathroom this afternoon. After five or so minutes of vigorous turning, locking and unlocking (I hadn't originally locked it--I am the only person here), I figured the only solution was to MacGyver my way out by removing the door handle using a pair of scissors (found on a cursory inspection of the under the sink contents) on the screws.

As I was happily unscrewing away, I thought myself terribly clever, and while there was a moments pause about letting the outside half of the handle drop to the ground it seemed like the only way to get at the middle chamber. Which, promptly, did not open. Huh.

After being only partially successfully in my attempt to remove the hinges from the door, I was stymied and began to think of the ramifications of spending the next day in there.

• Through the handle hole I could see the dog and one of the cats and knew the mess would be disgusting (I've been on constant vigil and have already had to clean up multiple animal voids--these are needy pets).
• I'd miss both of the classes I was supposed to teach--the irresponsibility of just not showing up seemed unbearable.
• Once I'd missed classes, people might start looking for me (certainly not before), but my parents didn't know the address of where I was staying, and I wouldn't be able to answer any phone calls.
• I tried to picture the conversation I would have with my professor and her husband through the door when they returned home the next afternoon. I was already embarrassed, although I'm not certain how I could have avoided the issue...letting the outside half of the handle drop seemed like a foolish idea now.

After 15 or so minutes ruminating on these issues and trying to work out what object lesson God might be trying to communicate to me, I re-evaluated my materials at hand. Fortunately, the handle was apparently a replacement and the old one had been left in the new one's box along with some spare parts. I was eventually able to use part of the old one to turn the stuck bit and was free! I don't think I'll be replacing the handle, nor closing anymore doors in the house.

Lesson learned, never go to the bathroom without your cell?

All That is Right About Pop Culture

My brother directed me to this gem of a comic, and I am compelled to share with you:

Crime and Punishment.
The comic.
Starring.
Batman.

Could it get any cooler?

The conversation that follows the comic via is also quite interesting. I don't think it's a secret that I value pop culture as worthy of academic study. It's important to read and know originals, the canon, but I also think it's important to teach students to critically analyze and engage with the texts that are commonplace in their worlds. That's why I teach both Dracula and the graphic novel adaptation Renfield: A Tale of Madness and the triumvirate Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones's Diary, and Bride and Prejudice.

Adaptations are not meant to replace the original but to be a critical response to and another expression of the a priori text. I appreciate the blog author's assurance to those irate individuals who seem concerned by the very existence of such a mash-up, "Relax, the original’s right there on the shelf, unharmed."

Too bad I learned about this too late to research up on it and present something at the Midwest Popular Culture Conference I'm going to later this fall. Ah well, I haven't finished writing my presentation on Bride and Prejudice, so I suppose it's better to be working with a familiar text and genre if you're composing last minute-ish.

Revamp

I'm changing my study plan, I just don't feel like I'm getting through material quick enough. So, I'm going to abandon my previous chronological order reading plan, and just read at will. Plus, I'm going to start reading poetry and plays along with my fiction so that way I can have a little more sense of accomplishment, because I should be able to read at least a play on the days that I don't have time to do a lot of reading. Also for instance, when I don't really feel like reading D. H. Lawrence's Women in Love, I can turn to David Lodge's Thinks and I'm still being productive.

To that end, I went to the library to stock up on some quicker reads (unfortunately, I don't have the money to buy all these books). The strangest thing though--would you think that founding father of the Theatre of the Absurd, Samuel Beckett would have his play Waiting For Godot located in the teen section? Me, neither.

New Music Tuesday

Two days ago, I had the song "Loud" by Matt Nathanson stuck in my head, prompting me to root through many mix cd's looking for the one that Elaine and I made entitled "Cry With these Songs" where I knew it was track eight. After successfully finding it and then listening to it on repeat for most of yesterday, I was excited/possessively angry/intrigued to see that this week's free itunes song is by Matt Nathanson!

Go Away, Summer, Leave Already.

I had a not-so-great day yesterday: I didn't sleep well; I had tiring dreams (where you dream about doing all the mundane work of the next day, but when you wake up you have to do it all again); I didn't want to teach; I felt stressed about exams; I found out Across the Universe was not coming to my town, but you know what made it especially awful? The weather.

It has been bright, sunny, and warm--upper 80s--for almost a week, and it's supposed to be like that all weekend. Is it too much to ask that autumn be a little more autumn-like? All I want is to be able to do is make soup while wearing jeans, sneakers, and a sweater--is that so much to ask?

Watch Your Language

I'm having my class do a blog, and I'm having them do an activity reading and looking at a variety of blogs. In the course of looking for examples for them, I ran across the blog Overheard in Chicago, which is a compilation of the crazy things people heard around the city. Some favorites:

Girl: "So she called and wanted to know why you were so pissy."Guy: "Did you tell her why?"Girl: "I don't know why."Guy: "Good. Great. Now you know why I'm in such a bad mood."Girl: "Because I don't know why you're in a bad mood."Guy: "Do you see the circle of anger you create?"- [overheard at] Loyola

College Girl: "That's the girl who added me on Facebook, but won't say hi to me in real life." - Columbia College Elevator

Truly a cautionary lesson to us all about public conversations...

Across the Universe

So, I can't wait until I've seen it (opening this weekend) to mention it. I love-loved Titus, Julie Taymor's fantastic and fantastical adaptation of Shakespeare. Across the Universe appears to be in the same visually sumptuous vein, while working with adaptation and re-appropriation of texts in an original story a la Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge. And we all know, that was one of the best movies ever made. (Seriously, no exaggerations, I would at least place that in the top 100 movies ever.)

In preparation for the felicitous occasion, and thanks to Best Buy's low-low prices, I purchased the deluxe edition of the soundtrack, which increased my excitement level. I'm grateful that I'm not one of those individuals bogged down by issues of 'fidelity' that can find no joy in re-imagining of a prior text. I find this collection of Beatles songs delightful (favorites of the moment "Happiness is a Warm Gun" and "Blackbird"), and I highly anticipate seeing them woven into a colorful narrative.

Can I Get an Amen?

Jon Stewart is going to host the Oscars! He has been my favorite host since Billy Crystal, and I'm glad to have him back. I was thinking about backing off of my annal party because the Oscars weren't especially fun last year, but this gives me pause.

HP in 7

One of the things I did this summer was teach at the Bonding Over Books Harry Potter Conference in Philadelphia and one of the classes I helped work on was a teen film workshop. In the course of two days, these eight students (with the help of me and two others, but really the kids did almost all of the non-technical work and even that they gave artistic input) put together a film that condenses the first six books into seven minutes. I think given the time and the no-budgetness of it all the results are pretty good.