wot i have been up to

i went to a poetryslam. that was faaaaabulous. it really is a whole new art form. it's not performance poetry - much edgier. there is an emphasis on rhyme and assonance, and use of body language and hand gestures and, you know, voice volume and that sort of thing. and some damn good outfits. there were political poems and love poems and break-up poems and mother-blaming poems and losing-my-virginity poems. i liked the guy in the kilt and skull-print vest who performed about sectarian violence in ireland.

study continues fascinating. a lot of work though. i had one of those 'there's a whole lot of people here smarter than me' moments, so i am frantically reading and re-reading in order to be able to participate and not feel dumb. it's great to have classes where i can learn so much from the other students though, and what we're studying is fascinating. francis (the renaissance tutor) had us discussing the methodology, aims, telos and assumptions of the various articles we read, which was the first time i've done that in a classroom setting.

my students have their first assignment due in next week, which is causing them all much anxiety. i'm a little worried about the marking - apparently it is when the happy communal tute setting can turn nasty - but we get a lot of institutional support re. how to mark, so it should be fine. tutes are still fun. we start maus next. i have plans.

also reading lots of great stuff in my "spare" time, like "whales on stilts" (hilar), an adult novel by tove janson of moomin fame, roy miki's poetry and coupland's "city of glass", which you all must read in order to understand vancouver. also it is hilar.

i have made it into the pool twice now, which makes it gtg 2 v. pool 16 million. but still! i do enjoy swimming.

and now back to our regularly scheduled programming: