June 13, 2008: Brit Lit Triumph; Going Up to 11

I'm quite pleased to report that English 264, British Literature I, will be MINE-ALL-MINE for fall, 2008, at Clark College. I last taught this course 2 or 3 years ago and was miffed that others (they are known as "colleagues") got their filthy thumbs on it after I had done quite a lot to lay the groundwork. I didn't expect, of course, that I'd be able to corner it forever, but I'd have liked to give it another go. Now an unexpected rupture in scheduling has rendered the course teacherless, and, therefore, available to me. Hurrah!

It appears that the old timey group I play with--the Marion Street Ramblers--are going to play at an old folks home in Portland, Sunday afternoon, June 22, 2008. I do not remember the name of the place, but I have heard our name is on their marquee! This will mark our public debut. We're putting our set list together now, and so far it looks like this: Angeline the Baker, Red Wing, Will the Circle Be Unbroken, Goodnight Irene, In the Pines, Pig in a Pen, Whiskey Before Breakfast, Kiss Me Mother, The Cuckoo, and What Do Y'Do with a Drunken Sailor? We may add more, but our performance shouldn't be more than an hour. Good fun.



And here's a fascinating article on the Stratford Man from Slate:



http://www.slate.com/id/2193477/




And here's another fascinating pic of the Ian man. Although he goes up to 11, I'd say judging from the grimace and the reddish hue (he'll go magenta, you know) he's about a 3.

Adios,

JBF