Professor J's Place

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 It is, of course, outdated already, but it is good for an idea or two.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.