Author Archives: jbj

. . . in the new Achewood.  “The Ghost of Freefallin’ Personal Standards Yet to Come” — love it. Chris Onstad is a genius. I wonder if this strip would work as part of my mini-collection of Dickensian stuff (cigarette … Continue reading →

In 1857, Hans Christian Andersen was invited to stay at Gad’s Hill for 2 weeks with Dickens and his family.  He stayed five.  Apparently, Andersen never had a grandmother teach him that “fish and guests stink after 3 days.”   Dickensian … Continue reading →

This morning, the most e-mailed story on NYTimes.com is Sara Reistad-Long’s “Older Brain May Really Be a Wiser Brain,” which argues that so-called “senior moments” are not a sign of deterioration, but rather the marker of a mature brain’s command … Continue reading →

Anyone who’s been to downtown New Britain knows that it needs development badly. (And replacing Famous Dave’s with a Denny’s isn’t a step in the right direction.)  But today’s report in the Herald is a little worrisome: But there were … Continue reading →

I think everyone who’s ever seen Friends will agree that Ross Geller’s academic career is depicted with scrupulous accuracy. His career path from adjunct instructor, to keynote speaker at prestigious conferences, to tenure at NYU (without ever spending time on … Continue reading →

It’s no penis pump, but this “Victorian-age video phone” is still pretty cool: As the first splinters of sunlight spread their warmth upon the South Bank of the River Thames this morning, it became clear that after more than a … Continue reading →

[I had written this for our campus listserv, but a configuration problem rejected it. Then, I thought better of it, and decided that it would make a better blog post. The context is the semi-annual complaining about student writing that … Continue reading →

For the boy’s birthdays, we provide in the goody bags mix cds of his favorite songs.  Here’s the playlist for today’s party: 1. The Hold Steady, “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” 2. Everclear, “Speed Racer” 3. Beefy, “I’m … Continue reading →

From one spring when I was teaching Atalanta in Calydon, two mock-Mother’s Day cards with loving sentiments from Swinburne: Card 1 Card 2 There’s some chance this is recycled from a previous year, but I think I purged that post … Continue reading →

From this morning’s InsideHigherEd.com: The college social scene is the setting or context for much of the unwanted sexual contact that happens on campuses, as a new report by researchers at the University of New Hampshire, exploring the experiences of … Continue reading →