How mean can I be?

Tomorrow is the first day of the term. The day when I'll be going over expectations, assignments, and requirements with my classes.

It is also April Fool's Day. There is huge potential for me to be extremely mean. Any suggestions?

The Final Four

Four number 1 seeds. Historic? Yes. Interesting? Not really.

I hate to say it, but I'm almost rooting for a UCLA/UNC final so I can see Love face off against Hansbrough.

I don't get it (aka I'm old)

I recently rented Hairspray. I like the original Ricki Lake version, and I saw the Broadway version a couple of years ago, so I was intrigued to see how it would translate to film.

It was ok. But I had one major problem. This guy?



Neither cute enough, nor talented enough, to play Link. Compare him to Michael St. Gerard, who played Link in the 1988 version. Dude looked like Elvis. Seriously.

So I eventually looked up this "Zac Efron" character, and came to realize he's the star of Disney's High School Musical franchise, and therefore the hottest thing to hit 12 year olds since, well, the Coreys. I don't get it. Which means...

I'm old.

Arrrrr!!!

When discussing the diversity (or lack thereof) of the student body at my new job, my girls reminded me that I have not just a Native American, but also a Pirate-American in my class rosters.

This raised some eyebrows, and so I had to explain (with the help of K-Lyn, who has also encountered this phenomenon) the pirate community in the PNW. Which led to this priceless exchange:

Quinn: "When is Talk like a Pirate Day?"
K-Lyn: "That one sneaks up on me."

Thanks to all my homegirls, who made Saturday night rock! And kept me out until 2am.

The Sweet Sixteen

Ok, so I've resigned myself to the fact that Duke isn't in it. (Yeah, quite frankly, I'm not surprised.) But who's gonna walk away with the whole thing? In my infinite knowledge, I give you the Sweet Sixteen:

North Carolina. Yeah, they're good. If I didn't hate Hansbrough so much, I'd be ok with that.

Washington State. Go Pacific Northwest Bias! My Husky friends will hurt me for this, but I'd love to see them knock off UNC. (Not that it's actually going to happen....)

Louisville. Yeah, I guess they're good.

Tennessee. Gotta love Coach Pearl. I really like these guys, and I have them going to the final four, so go Vols! (Rob will be happy, Miss M. will be miserable.)

Kansas. Go turkeys! (that's what my daughter calls the Jayhawk.) I'm not actually cheering for them, but I admit the likelihood of them advancing.

Villanova. Well, I guess they DO deserve to be there! I was wrong.

Wisconsin. Shut up. You're eminently beatable. I really hope it happens.

Davidson: Hells, yes! I'd have a crush on Stephen Curry if it didn't make me feel like an old perv. Spouse is less bothered by age difference with his little crush on Stephen's Mom. Stephen's mom has got it going on.

Memphis. My overall pick to win it all.
Not going with my heart, but with my head on this one.

MSU. Not a fan of Izzo.

Stanford. I'd love to see these guys do well.

Texas. Hook'em Horns! I can cheer for these guys. One small problem: they're playing Stanford, where I almost went to school, and where I have some almost-PNW bias. Can't both of these teams win?

UCLA. K-Love is for real. Now that the Ducks and Singler are out, Oregon represent!

WKU. Knocking off UCLA? I don't see it happening. But then, I've been wrong before (many, many, many times.)

Xavier. Go!!!!

West Virginia. Sure, why not? I'd be happy with either of these teams advancing.

My brackets are, shall we say, flat busted. So I rejoice in the fact that some higher seeds (especially Davidson, even though I had them losing in the first round) are shaking things up.

The skirt (pre-blocking, so still a little lumpy)

It's finished!

This Week's To-Do List

1. Grade finals.
2. Calculate and report grades.
3. Edits to encyclopedia articles.
4. Plan out History of Everything Part III course.
5. Watch a shitload of basketball. in progress... what a day!!!

Blogging takes a backseat. More later.

A Belated Honoring of President Washington

Reviewing for the final, we discussed the various splits between the political parties in the eraly part of US History. I posed the question, "How could George Washington get away with having advisors like Jefferson and Hamilton from all over the political spectrum?"

Says Student J, "'Cause he's George Frickin' Washington, that's how."

I'm wondering how many times I'm going to get references to George F. Washington on the final.

Career Goals

Friday was a teacher in-service day, so DQ and WB's school was closed. I still had to work, and Spouse is off cavorting with the boys this weekend, so I called up the grandparents to take the kids for a few hours. It's always fun to spend a day with the grandparents, since they dedicate their time so fully to entertaining (and perhaps spoiling) the kids. DQ notes this especially.

"Mommy, I want to be retired so that I can go to movies and go bowling anytime I want."

How Well Do You Know Your World?

This Geography Quiz is super-addictive. I got to level 10... I'm betting SH can beat me!
Try it for yourselves.

Sidewalk Drawings

Julian Beever does a little bit more advanced work than my kids with their sidewalk chalk.



Check out his stuff. It's phenomenal.

The Wild Boy Contemplates his Genitals

While Daddy was giving WB a bath last night:

WB: "Daddy, my peanut won't go down."
Spouse: "What?"
WB: "See? My peanut is up and I want it to go down." (grabs penis to demonstrate)
Spouse: "Don't think about it, and it will go down."
WB, incredulously: "What?" Pokes at it a little.
Spouse: "You need to stop paying attention to it and it will go down."

Side comment: yeah, good luck with that.

I would say it, but why reinvent the wheel?

WKW over at Shakesville says pretty much my thoughts on the matter:

Brett Favre: One seriously hot guy retires from the NFL