Professor J's Place

I wish big love for all of my dear friends.

When I was returning to school, I took a Biology course just to get my science requirement out of the way. Little did I know that I would fall in love with life itself. Understanding the process of photosynthesis was like decoding a high modernist poem. It was complex and simple and glorious. And then I took Geology. It wasn't just the nature of breathing things that was amazing--it was the rocks themselves. It was life itself. "We are all connected," says Neil deGrasse Tyson, "To each other, biologically; to the earth, chemically; to the rest of the universe, atomically." Yesterday, a friend of mine found out that her brother had died. I do not know about god or the afterlife or anything of the sort. But I know that life is a miracle. I know that energy does not end. I know that we "are the stuff of stars." And I thank these good men for reminding me.

Most of the time the female is insecure about herself and thinks having sex with the most popular guy in school will make her feel better about herself and will not make her feel like a social leopard. --I cannot make this stuff up.

hey prof j here my essay

Today is the day we celebrate Bess the wonder dog's first birthday. Here she is with her penguin. Tonight we will watch The First Wives Club and eat brownies with cream cheese. Well, Bess, Dinah, and Alice will have Beggin' Strips; Wren and I will have brownies.

I love the beginning of the Fall semester! This time of year has always felt like the New Year to me. This is the time of new beginnings, of clean slates, of promises and resolutions. As I was looking for some ideas for new ways of approaching comp I, I ran across this video I've seen before. It is, of course, outdated already, but it is good for an idea or two. I am up for any ideas about how to make Composition I relevant in my student's lives. Suggestions?

Well, while I was playing with my music tonight while saying goodbye to hopes for a friendship with someone I care about, and I came across three versions that I love of a song that I love. So I was thinking. . . what is your favorite version? Here we have Boots of Spanish Leather sung by Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Nanci Griffith. It is hard not to love the original. Dylan's voice is so evocative. Joan Baez did this song on a wonderful album of Dylan covers. I adore Baez, and while her voice is so much more refined than Dylan's, I think she understands him. Finally, there is my lovely Nanci Griffith. What can I say about Nanci? Vote early and vote often! I'd love to hear what you think.

This week over on my facebook page, I've decided to post a new poem every day. When I teach poetry, I always talk about how much we love rhythm and meter when we are children. How poems and songs shape our lives. And about how the way we teach poetry can kill that love. As much as I believe that riff--as much as I know how my childish, nay child-like heart responds to doggerel, I know that my love of poetry goes deeper than that. Poetry is the art of surprise. Like the cactus flower that seems to grow out of the pure rock in the photo above, a poem can offer a surprising flash of life, of beauty, of truth, in just a simple collection of precise words. Today's poem, Reckless , by Mary Oliver, is a great example of what I mean. I am not going to repost the entire poem here, but allow me to share a verse that set me on fire. Just yesterday I watched an ant crossing a path, through the tumbled pine needles she toiled. And I thought: she will n...

I don't know why Michael's death moves me so. Perhaps because we are the same age. Perhaps because I grew up watching him grow up. Whatever. He was a brilliant and talented and somehow damaged man, and I am sorry that he is gone.

I love you Mom. Miss you.

Undercover Kitty @ Yahoo! Video

Working in a soup kitchen, donating to the poor, or servicing our nation's armed forces are all examples of different ways to impact our nation.

My friend Toby just told me the name of the goddess in my header. So, of course, I went to read about her. She is Kuan Yin, Avalokiteshvara , the goddess of compassion and healing. I had taken the photograph because I thought she was beautiful and because she brought me a sense of comfort--as many beautiful images do--and now I find that she is a healer. I will have much more to write about this at a later time, but I did want to share the story of this little god with you.

I was feeling blue after meeting with a student this morning. "Sally* dear, when there are no words in the essay written by you, it is called plagiarism." But then this got sent around. I want to take this class. I would especially enjoy week one, "Reading is Stoopid," because reading essays is stoopid. But it beats digging ditches for a living (as my friend Pat likes to say).

If you're expecting insightful posts, you're out of luck!

Tanith, Susan, and I went for a walk today. I took seventy-one pictures, but I'm only going to share a few--for now. The smell of cedar was overpowering. Not only were there many cedar trees in the park, but the park workers were spreading fresh cedar mulch over all of the paths. The moth on these flowers would not open her wings--no matter how much I begged. More sweet little flowers. And here's a little guy who is fertilizing all those sweet little flowers.

Bess has been having the time of her life lately. Tanith and Wren have been visiting, and, while she loves them both, Tanith is Bess' BFF. Indeed, I am going to have to double check to make sure Bess is in the yard when Tanith drives off for Big Bend and points beyond. I wouldn't put it past either one of them to pull a fast one on me.

My mother died in February of 2004. I got a full time job at my alma mater shortly after that, and I know how much she would have enjoyed being a part of that transition. One day, I was walking on campus and I came across a beautiful sight at one of the streams. I thought, "Oh, Mom would love this. I have to come back with my camera and take a picture so she can see it." I knew right away how crazy that sounded. Indeed, I refrained from going back with a camera (something I'll always regret). But that was the beginning of a thought pattern that has become familiar to me. And shortly after that, I began to take pictures for Mamma. This is actually a picture I took for her while she was alive. She loved West Texas and Big Bend national park in particular, and I knew this scene would thrill her. I guess I've been doing this all of my life--taking pictures of things that make me think of her--documenting my journeys for her. Mamma always wanted to travel in the Southwest-...

I heart Vermont . And this time it WASN'T "activist judges;" it was the legislature! Yea Vermont!

Okay. I love the photo I have for my new header--it's a statue on the grounds of the McNay Art Institute. Unfortunately, it's a lie. I am not feeling at all spiritual and centered these days. Let's just think of it as a positive affirmation, shall we? I am calm. I am centered. I am in touch with my divine nature. Please send chocolate.

Today was Family Day at my favorite museum! Believe me, there was a great deal of beautiful art. We didn't see it all, but we left with our minds and our hearts full. But I'm not going to post any art because. . . In addition to the art, there was fun! And there was the making of art! And then, of course, there was the obligatory posing. And then we were off to Susan's reception. But I'll have to post about that another time; it's late, and I have to be at work early. Night, night!

I took this photo last Saturday at Enchanted Rock, but it fits my mood today. This Christmas I bought a nice camera for myself--I decided I really wanted to explore the artistic side of my nature, and I thought a camera was a good place to start. I've really enjoyed playing with it.

I heart Iowa .

Years ago, when I worked at a long term care facility for the mentally ill, I had a patient who had severe bipolar disorder. Lorraine was sometimes severely depressed--sitting in a dark room peeling the paint off the wall--sometimes violently paranoid--restrained in a chair or a bed with locked leather restraints--and sometimes thoroughly delightful. I loved Lorraine. There was a time in Lorraine's cycle when she was just entering mania, when she was funny and sweet and sharp. I would get off the elevator at 11pm, and Lorraine would be sitting in the nurses station with her nightgown hitched up like a short skirt, her long legs crossed at the knee, and a cigarette dangling from her fingers like a wild, liquored up Lauren Bacall. "There she is!" She'd shout, "My little girl! My little darling!" And then an aside in a lower voice, "She's queer for dogs, you know." I am, you know. I know it seems silly to non-dog lovers, but dogs fill a primal ...

The topic for the month is growth. I think it's an appropriate one for me, so I think I'm going to try NaBloPoMo this month. My friends Tanith and Wren are visiting. It has been lots of fun--we've been eating a great deal and doing all of the fun tourist activities. Our visit to the missions and the riverwalk are in the slide viewer on your left (should you want to see our lovely missions). Sunday, Tanith and I went to Enchanted Rock state natural area. If you enlarge this photo you will see some dots on the top of the rock. That's people. Anyway, Sunday was absolutely gorgeous. Tanith went on ahead because my knees were sore and I didn't feel up to climbing the rock. So I stayed on the lower trails and took lots of photos. It was really good for me to be outside and in the fresh air. I am most whole when I am walking in the woods or by a river or on a big rock. The only thing that would have made the day better is my binoculars. I find that the camera does not ...

Jennifer over at Motherscribe has been doing an interview series. Here 's her interview of me. Thanks, Jennifer for asking such good questions. I've enjoyed reading all of the responses.

The pursuit of losing weight to achieve the ideal body image can be detrimental to death.

I know this seems an odd video for Valentine's day, but hear me out. I was driving along the other day and listening to this song on my ipod. And I was thinking about my friends--the women who are on the other side of a phone or an email--the women who make it possible for me to reach out and touch faith. I'm really lucky, I think, although most of my dearest friends live a long distance from me. And so, today, I am going to introduce my blog friends to my BFF's. I think the BFF I've known the longest (and someone who is familiar to many of you) is Michelle (aka Sojourner). Michelle and I have known each other since 1982, I think. 1981? While she lives in frigid Omaha, and it's been more than ten years since I've seen her, she and I still talk and instant message fairly frequently. This friend has the distinct honor of being the only friend I have who is actually shorter than me. The next BFF disappeared from my life for a couple of years, but she recently email...

Biggest Loser is one of my not so guilty pleasures. When it first came out, I couldn't imagine why fat people would allow themselves to be humiliated on television for a few measly bucks. And then I started watching. Seriously. It has nothing to do with the money. These people are transforming their lives! Indeed, as I was telling Susan last night, I wish I could watch this show every night because it inspires me so. But that's not what I want to write about. The beautiful woman pictured above is named Joelle. She had a lot of trouble on the show. She wasn't always sure she wanted to be there. She didn't really connect with any of the other participants; she rarely--if ever--gave it her all. At first it was a little irritating. After all, she had a wonderful opportunity and she was blowing it! But then I started to watch her face and her body as other people were chastising her. I saw her when her weight loss was low. I saw her when she swore she was pushing herself, ...

Soon I will be posting a thoughtful post about self sabotage. At least that's what I'm thinking about today. . . But in the meantime, please enjoy this lovely video:

Dinah and Bess playing dinosaur (a favorite game).

Hello, my darlings! First, I want to thank all of you for your sweet messages of concern and interest in my absence. It has been an eventful month! As most (all?) of you know, I moved out of Susan's house at the beginning of November. When people would ask me why, I had several answers, but it took me awhile to know why, myself. I think I needed to get away to realize that Susan was not my problem. My problem was me. Within a week of leaving I had stopped some of my most self destructive behavior and I started some big work on me. In the mean time, Susan and I started talking. And talking. I realized that if I wanted to learn how to love someone, it might be a good idea to work with the person I already loved. And, though I don't want to speak for her, I think Susan decided that life with me was better than life without me. So, we are together again, and I'm very happy. We are still living in our separate houses, and that may be the way it works for us. It's working now...