Greg Laden has posted a video that is wonderfully representative of life in rural Minnesota. If you can grok this short movie, you will have come a long way towards comprehending Minnesota.
It’s the end of our semester, and there’s another transition here: one of our colleagues, Dave Hoppe, is retiring, to our regret but to his happy progress. We all got together for a retirement dinner yesterday, so here’s the happy crew, the entire UMM biology discipline.
We hope Dave can still drag himself away from his lakefront home to say hello to us all now and then!
I’ve been neglecting my prayers today — I’ve got all this writing to get done, and I chose to actually sit before my keyboard and move my hands and think with my brain, rather than calling upon the Lord to do my work for me. I’ve actually gotten a fair amount done.
Now comes the part where one might expect some heavenly reward for one’s pious industry, but I don’t believe in that, either. I’m going to have to do something myself … so here I come, Iron Man! We have a late night premiere showing of a first run movie in Morris, so of course I have to go.
It looks like a darned good action movie, too. Popcorn and some good clean late night fun sound like a better event than some po-faced piety at a local church, don’t you think?
We have some local scoundrels, who also tend to be entangled in the right-wing Christianist nonsense. One of the notorious kook/thieves in these parts was Robert Beale, a multi-millionaire tax evader who has just been convicted. The story features arcane, desperate legalisms this wacko used to avoid paying taxes — did you know that if you live outside the District of Columbia and U.S. Islands, you are a non-resident alien, according to the Constitution, according to Beale?
This dishonest, greedy sleaze deserves one thing from us: our prayers. On this National Day of Prayer, pray ferociously for Robert Beale.
There’s a rumor that it’s late April, and this is supposed to be Spring … but I just looked out my window and it looks like we’re having a blizzard right now.
It’s not April, it’s Minnesota!
B asked me the other day to mention his dad’s blog sometime, so of course I will do so. Observe the Banana. It’s part of the tapestry here in little ol’ Morris.
Aries: Look. The reason for your headaches is all the head-butting you do. Switch it up a little, and next time life throws one of those little annoyances your way, trying biting or kicking instead.
Monday, 12 May, 2:30pm. This is your chance.
The Residence Hall Association on my campus is having a fundraiser to send some members to a national conference, so they’ll be selling pies … to throw at faculty. I’ll be standing there for that half-hour, so students and anyone else who wants revenge can join in.
I expect a long, long line now. I’ll be very disappointed if I don’t have a horde prepared to be mean to me. And do note that this will be especially messy: the beard, you know. You won’t be getting your money’s worth with those clean-shaven professors.
Gemini: Avoid reading anything about Cyril Burt. There’s a strong possibility you might vanish.
No, don’t google that name.
I’m warning you.
Dang, too late, you’ve just become a statistical anomaly.
I mentioned some of the good stuff in Morris this weekend, and some are imminent: at 3:00, it’s Vincent Price in Theatre of Blood at the Morris Theatre; then at 8:00, it’s the Auditorium of Creationist Blather, as Angus Menuge argues with me about whether neuroscience leaves room for god (answer: no. Hey, that was quick!). You Twin Cities residents can still make the movie if you leave right now — we’re about 3 hours away.
Or you could rent the video and watch it at home, and apparently the debate will be recorded, so you’ll be able to watch it on the interwebs later on.
Let’s see…gentle rain showers, warming temperatures, a few flowers beginning to bloom? No, this is our latest weather prediction:
A winter storm warning remains in effect from 1 pm this afternoon to 7 am cdt Saturday.
Heavy snowfall is expected across central through southwest areas of minnesota beginning this afternoon and lasting through friday. The precipitation is expected to begin as a period of rain and snow…but a quick transition to all snow is expected across west central minnesota this afternoon. Visibility will be reduced to less than a quarter mile at times in heavy snow and several inches of snow may accumulate over a short period of time. In addition to the snowfall accumulations…there will be very strong northeast winds with speeds of 25 to 35 mph with higher gusts. This will cause considerable blowing and drifting of snow and further reduced visibility in open areas Thursday night and Friday. This will make travel especially hazardous if not impossible at times. snow intensity will decrease Friday but additional accumulation is expected.
The highest snowfall amounts are expected to occur in a swath from Canby to Redwood Falls northeast to Alexandria to Cambridge where accumulations of 12 to 15 inches… with isolated higher amounts…are expected by late Friday night.
I think I’ll be spending a few quiet days at home.
