sometimes I amaze myself

Kind of like the stoner kid whom I tutor in Latin, except when I amaze myself, it is occasionally for good reason. For example:

Kudzita (9:56:04 PM): maybe I've just been stupid in trying to point out someone else's stupidity!
Kudzita (9:56:09 PM): what am I doing with my life?!
Kudzita (9:56:16 PM): oh wait, academia. that's all right then

On the other hand, maybe that isn't the finely-crafted gem of wit I thought it was. In fact, maybe I've been typing up McKeown's commentary on Amores 3.9 for too long and it has melted my brain. Maybe!

why diligence isn't worth it

I'm kind of wishing I hadn't been so good about getting up early this morning. See, I set my alarm for seven so I'd have time to shower and get to the library with enough time to do Tibullus 1.1 before class at 9:55 - such a good little grad student I am. But when I got here, I found an email from The McKeown saying he wasn't feeling well and class was cancelled, so essentially? I could've spent all day sleeping like I did yesterday.
On the other hand, by time my alarm went off I was more or less ready to get up anyway, since poor li'l hungover me spent most of yesterday sleeping and hence didn't sleep well last night even with the help of my magical sleeping pills. Meh, I say.

But anyway. Since I already started the day with the notion of "it'll be good to get work done," I might as well finish that dratted poem, do a bit more work, then head up to Van Hise for Sallust at 1:20.

Such an exciting life I lead, huh?

"Writing"

A man who keeps a diary, pays
Due toll to many tedious days;
But life becomes eventful--then
His busy hand forgets the pen.
Most books, indeed, are records less
Of fulness than of emptiness.

-William Allingham

And on that note, back to seeing how much of the Theocritus I can get done before class at 11.

property wrangling

Man, I swear I need to plant a NC state flag in front of the door to the Greek and Latin reading room in the library, because I am really tired of people randomly coming in there to do Lord knows what. Those of y'all who knew me in my undergrad and redheaded stepchild post-bacc days will remember that I had a certain amount of possessiveness in my nature when it came to the common room, and damn it, same goes here! The only people in the RR should be me, Simon and Alex since they have seniority, or the few visiting professors who come in there to work sometimes. I will stretch the rules to include that history grad who's been in there, because he is a) quiet and b) uncaring whether the rest of us are quiet, but seriously? All the little hoi polloi undergrads need to stay the fuck out. :P

And yes, that was petulant. I'm a little annoyed today...there was a departmental meeting wherein we were all expecting to find out who were were hiring, so we all went in with our fingers crossed for Beneker, but it turns out the damn meeting was just to tell us not to change the background on the computer in the Pillinger. Meh, I say.

So as not to be entirely negative, I leave you with a link to the genius that is Troy in Fifteen Minutes. I love that girl, I really do. Great things come out of Alabama, as I'm sure a former TA of mine will attest.

basketball addendum

Whew. I'm glad we pulled that one off; it's been far too long since we've beaten Wake. Plus they really kind of suck this year, and I don't like losing to embarassing opponents like UVA.

Side note: I was mildly amused by the fact that Silvia Montiglio's book was reviewed on BMCR by Isabelle Torrance, considering that Montiglio's one of my professors. (Also considering that she's dating one of my professors from my slack freshman days back at UF. Small damn field.) I doubt I will ever be able to see Isabelle Torrance's name without being reminded of Cecil Wooten's five-minute mini-ode to how much he loved her shoes from when she came to UNC. I firmly believe that every Classics department should have a Cecil...it would make the world a better place. Or at least a more entertaining one.

basketball angst

I would seriously kill for a bar up here that shows something besides football and hockey. Really. I cannot adequately express how much I hate having to keep up with my Heels via GameChannel...for one thing, it's not as satisfying screaming at a computer monitor.

Come on, guys, let's please not lose to Wake.

milquetoast is a great word

Ecphrasis and Song in Theocritus 1 is not one of the most annoying articles ever, mainly for two reasons. First, it is milquetoast, and second, the position of most annoying article ever is safe in the clutches of Amy Richlin's 'Reading Ovid's Rapes'.
Seriously, the only reason I'm working on this damn article presentation and not translating is that I'd have to finish the Victoria Berenices were I to translate, and I'm not sure I have the strength to read about mousetraps again. Yarrr, I say.

So apparently the Iranian confectioner's union has decided to rename Danishes "Roses of the Prophet Mohammad". Possibly the best quote I have ever seen about this: "I just want the sweet pastries. I have nothing to do with the name." Simon was the one to give me the link - his main comment was on how sad it was that Iran had a confectioner's union.

Suddenly I want some French fries. Seriously, y'all.

indeed, indeed

Jennylain: men = stupid.
Jennylain: redneck men = extra stupid.
Kudzita: yes
Kudzita: I'd say that more or less sums up western civilization

it's aliiiiive

In the fine tradition of academics everywhere, I will shamelessly plagiarize my first post from my sugar mama's livejournal, because God knows Courtney is more entertaining than I will ever be.

Matt Amaticisms of the day:

1) The setting: outside his office, ten feet away from a classroom containing Rosenmeyer and about 20 undergrads.
Matt Amati: Hey, check it out! I'm doing a prelim on BONERS!!!

2) The setting: a few minutes later, describing the appearance of one of the leading scholars of boners in classical literature.
Matt Amati: He's got, like, an extended pompadour that goes up several inches and then cascades down his back. You know, the Academullet.

And now, a question that classicists everywhere should be giving more attention: was VD in fact born when Apollo and Venus had really bad sex?

That'd be a great MA thesis topic right there, y'all.