...as a guy I dated in college used to say, "a lukewarm dose of hell." (Be sure to pronounce it "HAY-ul.") When I finish the one I've been working on today that's due tomorrow morning, I'll have three down, three to go -- that's two 24-hour ones and one 2-hour done, and two 24-hour ones and one 2-hour left to do. Keep in mind, too, that I've had to juggle this with teaching, a heavy grading load, and two other projects with looming deadlines. :(

I'm still hitting the almond butter jar, by the way, and even eating raw, unsalted almonds from the little store at school. Are almonds nature's Paxil?

Others have posted great 1970s photographs of family, and I of course have to add mine. I wish I had more family photos here in Minnesota, but they're all at my parents' house. Here's one I do have, though -- my mom sometime in the 60s or 70s. I don't know anything about the context:

• Had lunch at a Thai restaurant with Laurie today, the same one where I bit into a spring roll only to find a shiny new screw. I'm glad I gave them another chance.
• Got two care packages today: One was from my friend Andrea, of "Remember: It's not all gumbo," and consisted of some University of Alabama t-shirts and shorts and a CD she made for me. The other was from Mike and contained a necklace made at a summer camp out of twine and two beads. He says it provides "guaranteed good luck." :-)
• Discovered love of almond butter. I've been wanting to try it for a little while now so bought some when I went to the grocery store today. I could probably eat the whole jar inside of an hour, but I demonstrated the proper restraint and only had a spoonful.

Strangest news story I've read in a while...



Believing in Hell Has Its Benefits:

Economists searching for reasons why some nations are richer than others have found that those with a wide belief in hell are less corrupt and more prosperous, according to a report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Can you imagine, being at a meeting at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and saying, "Hey, everyone, I've got a great idea for a study..." The story is quite close to what one finds in The Onion, which, incidentally, has some good stories today. I'm going to save the latter of the two for possible use in this fall's first-year composition class. I've found that using an extended example of a "Baby! I've changed! Pleeease take me back!! Remember the time we [...] It could be like that again!" argument is a great and fun way to introduce the rhetorical appeals -- but you have to ham it up. :)

Five to go. In order to combat this awful feeling I have (cold, clammy hands, shaking, gagging, feeling like there are bugs all over me), I've composed this Cheer up! playlist.

1. Big Tymers - Still Fly (Dirty) (5:36)
2. DMX - Party Up (4:30)
3. vanessa carlton - thousand miles (interlude), a (3:56)
4. Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life (3:39)
5. Various Artists - Walking on Sunshine - Katrina And The Waves (4:00)
6. Escape Club - Wild wild west.mp3 (5:43)
7. Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock - Joy and Pain (3:46)
8. Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (3:37)
9. Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize.mp3
10. Erasure - Take A Chance On Me (3:45)
11. Sheena Easton/Prince - You Got The Look (3:45)
12. Dire Straits - Walk Of Life (3:08)
13. Eve And Gwen Stefani - Let Me Blow Your Mind (3:49)
14. Fishbone - Party at Ground Zero (6:28)
15. ZZ Top - I'm Bad, I'm Nationwide (4:46)
16. Mighty Mighty Bosstones - Dogs and Chaplains (3:02)
17. Men Without Hats - Safety Dance (2:45)
18. Ramones - 2. 53rd and 3rd (2:16)
19. Kool And The Gang - Fresh (4:27)
20. Go Go's - Head Over Heels (3:36)
21. Kool and The Gang - Celebration (4:59)

Terribly major-label for the most part, I realize, but it's chicken soup for the ears.

Edited to add: Don't even think about giving me static for including "A Thousand Miles" on the list. I love that song, and it's especially good for twirling around until you get a good dizzy feeling -- kind of like "I Wanna Be Sedated."

I'm waking up every day with heart-pounding anxiety. Not even morning dancing is helping, but now I'm listening to Annie Lennox's cover of "Whiter Shade of Pale," and it's calming me down a little.

Prelims start tomorrow at 8 a.m.

It's going to be okay, right? At this point I'm trying to focus on my upcoming tour of Indiana. On the morning of 16 August, I'm emailing in my last exam and driving off to Bloomington. I'll also be stopping in Lafayette for a day or two and hope to see at least three friends while there.

Memos to Ourselves is an audioblog open to anyone who wants to contribute. So far I'm, uh, underwhelmed by the creativity of the contributors (hear, for example, this post), but I'll keep checking back; an open audioblog is a pretty cool idea. Oh, and I'm wondering how this woman is doing now. Via Feministe.

I love surprising my friends with little, unexpected things that they'll find touching, that will make them happy. The Chicklettes, for example, loved the photographs I sent to my old friend Charges. Yesterday I found another such surprise--a letter from one of my good friends who has two children, the older of whom is six, or will be six soon. She wrote the letter on March 25, 1998, when she was pregnant with the older child. She was filled with joy, talking about how much she loved it when the baby kicked and moved, the changes in her body, buying maternity clothes for the first time, picking out names, wondering if it would be a boy or girl but being sure it was a boy (she was right). I immediately made a photocopy of the letter to zip off into the mail to her. Knowing her, she'll sniffle a bit when she reads it :), and hopefully she'll read it to her son one day. I can't wait for her to get it.

Coinopvideogames.com has a good collection of old video game sounds.

Diana Krall is playing here August 11, and I can't believe I'm about to once again shell out the cash for that ticket, but the show is well worth it.