Hey, That’s Supposed To Be A Quill…

Entirely too busy grading to write anything of substance. But… one of my students’ papers reminds me of this older post (don’t ask how–I wouldn’t tell you anyway).

A slight change, from quill pen to tattoo needle, and reader Sheree has a fine looking cuttlefish all her own! A picture may be worth a thousand words, but I’m speechless.

Gorgeous. Click to embiggen.

If I ever got a tattoo, it would (duh) clearly be my Cuttlefish With Quill. But that won’t happen while I share a bed with Cuttlespouse.

Virginia Is For… Bigots

He’s a former Navy Pilot
So you know he’s got the stuff
He has prosecuted homicides
That ought to be enough
He’s a commonwealth attorney
Who has shown he’s really tough—
What’s the reason he was voted down today?

Though the governor supported his
Appointment to the job
There’s a group of House Republicans
(Well, “group” pronounced as “mob”)
Who were following their leader
(That’s Prince William’s “Sideshow Bob”)
Who decided he’s unfit because he’s gay. [Read more…]

Headline Muse, 5/11

The judge down in Florida found
She was guilty, and thus he was bound;
He must put her away…
And so women, today,
Learned a lesson—you must stand your ground.

Headline: Florida woman sentenced to 20 years in controversial warning shot case

So… shoot unarmed black teen while “standing your ground”? Released, only arrested after public outcry. Shoot warning shot while being black and female? 20 years, with state law giving the judge no discretion.

Like the ludicrous three-strikes laws, the lesson here is clear; no warning shots.

The law favors a clean kill.

The Bible As Projective Test

The Bible says to love your brother,
Respect your father and your mother,
Do what’s right for one another…
The good we’re meant to do

It says whom you may keep as slaves,
To stone the child who misbehaves,
And wicked is the man who shaves…
It’s evil, through and through

And everyone who simply looks
At what it bans and what it brooks
Will find they’re reading different books
And not a simple whole

Sometimes I think the path is best
To treat it as a Rorschach Test—
Inside, you find your views confessed
A mirror to your soul [Read more…]

Barometer Students

Do you have them? They don’t show up every semester, so consider yourself fortunate if you get one, and powerball-level lucky to get two or more in a class. These are the students whose faces are an honest reflection of how well you have explained something. If you are less than clear, an eyebrow might go up, or a head might tilt just a bit. Another student might be nodding in agreement, but frankly, always nods in agreement, even if you are presenting the old, wrong, out-of-date view you are about to demolish.

But the barometer student is skeptical. Listens. Processes. Understands. And (most helpful to you) it’s written on her or his face.

Just spoke with one of three such students this semester (lucky me!), who I would have sworn was lukewarm about this class. I could not have been more wrong (I blame cultural differences; this student was from overseas). Once again, I am a happy Cuttlefish. And a sad Cuttlefish, because this particular barometer (indeed, two out of three of this semester’s barometers) is graduating, and the odds are we will never meet again.

I suppose by this time in my career I should be accustomed to never seeing people again after becoming invested in their lives. Maybe I am, and the sadness is not strange, but simply an appropriate reaction to the situation. “Accustomed” does not mean “immune”.