I think you're smart, you sweet thing

Right. It feels like it should be Thursday (my Thursday being most people's Friday - it's a little confusing at first, but you get used to it).

So, I got up this morning a little later then usual and headed off to Booth for my 8:30 class. I gave the class last Thursday as a work class (ie, don't come to class) on the condition that they have a rough draft of an essay ready for today's class. And how many shiny little essays were on my desk this morning? Seven. From a class of twenty seven. Now, I'm a little rusty at the ol' maths, but that's not good.

Of course this completely screwed up my plans for the class. I was going to have them read and evaluate each other's papers; three papers per person. So people had to work in groups of two, sometimes three. They could only get through 2 papers because the paper had to be passed between two people. And to think, I was worried that, due to the way I designed the course, I was going to have too many "A"s; that's not much a concern any more.

And it's hard to hold a candle in the cold November rain

Had an instructive and stimulating conversation with my advisor. George is unquestionably one of the most intelligent and well-read individuals I know. Just sitting and talking with him makes me want to read more. If my thesis is worth anything when it's all said and done, it will be due in large part to his insightful comments and questions.

The time's rapidly coming up for Rachel's staff Christmas party, which I really do look forward to each year. Last year we tried something new with great success, a murder mystery dinnner; we're all given parts to play and come dressed up. This year I get to be a lounge singer, which is, I think, a step up from the Nazi character I played last year. At least this year, if we use a photo from this as our Christmas card, we won't have to ask the nice guy at Blacks if he can "crop out the swastika."

Proposal Time

I've been working on this silly PhD proposal for the past few hours and I'm quite sure that my brain has exploded and will be, at any second, running out of my ear. So, best to set it aside for a little bit and take a nice relaxing blog-break.

I've found myself rather enamored with the writing of this Neil Gaiman guy of a few posts ago. Someone I know told me to check out Neverwhere; I did. Then I checked out (literally, from the Library) American Gods, Stardust and a couple of slightly disturbing (in a really cool way) Sandman collections. Again, if you like smart fantasy and you DON'T know Gaiman's stuff: pull yourself from under that rock and start reading!

Oh, I decided to show Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes in my 20th Century British Literature class. Now the film is a favourite of mine and, after last year's Casablanca debacle, I was a little hesitant about showing a personal favourite that I would have to defend against a group of jaded and superficial Ashton Kutchon fans. For some reason I chanced it and was blown away by the response. They laughed (in the right places), gasped and jumped; they even cheered at the end of the film. It was almost enough to restore my faith.


I am plagued by the fact that Leonard Cohen is starting to look like my late grandmother. I expect him to knit me some mittens.

Happy Hallowe'en, Kiddies

Tis the time for ghosts and goblins to roam the earth and accost people for candy. Here at the university the only people who seem to be in the Hallowe'en spirit are a couple of people who work Administration, unless slovenly lacker guy and slutty girls are real honest-to-goodness costumes. To be honest, there's just something creepy about a handful of 45 plus-ers dressing up as princesses and witches.

This weekend Rachel and I went to see "The Apple Seed girl" at Femfest. It's a great play by my brother-in-law's girlfriend, Kerri. Saturday was the last night, but there was some talk of workshopping it... so if it ever plays near you, see it. While I think I'd need to see it again to catch some of the more symbolic elements, I loved the awkward, flirty conversation of themain character and her neighbour. Kerri seems to write shy, uncomfortable boy-girl dialogue as well as anyone else. Oh, and the main character grows a tree. And horticulture? Always good.

old videos

I'll admit it: I'm becoming addicting to MuchMoreRetro. There's something nostaglic about watching music videos form the 80s; it harkens back to a simpler, more innocent time. While today's videos have budgets comparible to the GNP of many developed countries, more celebrities than a P Diddy birthday, and narratives that have nothing to do with the lyrics, music videos from yesteryear were reassuring forumalic. When you watch one of these videos you can take comfort. You know that the terrorists won't win, that there still is goodness out there, that all will be right with the world.

I have been, as a side project of watching these videos, compiling a list of essential motiffs, themes and images in these videos. and I would like to share them with you.

Things 80's Videos MUST* have:

1) Hair! Lots of hair. Whether you're waking me up before you go go, or blaming it on the rain, you're going to need lots of style, hair-sprayed hair.

2) Shots, often black and white, of people on the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell's invention certainly changed the way we communicate with each other, but it also changed music videos! What better way to visually represent isolation and heartache than a girl on the phone?

3) Shots of the band performing. No matter what else is going on the video, we need lots of shots of the band playing their instruments and singing their song. Sometimes, there might even be elaborate dance sequences. Cross your fingers.

4) Cars. Like the telephone, another important invention is heavily featured in early music videos: the horseless carriage. What better way to express alienation, angst and mobility then with shots of the Go-Gos driving around Los Angeles? There are many videos that use the lead-singer-driving-and-singing plot... derived from the Greeks, I believe.

5) Neon. Nuff said.

*this list is by no means comprehensive. The author fully realizes that there might be many other things needed to make an 80s video.

Neverwhere? Right here

Right. So a friend of mine suggested that I check out this book Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman (which I did, literally, from the library up the street). "You'll love it," she said. So, I dutifully went and got it. I'm a sucker... well, for books anyway.

I started reading it on the walk home. On the inside cover (at this is true of the hardcover) there's a deailed map of the London Underground. "Cool," I think. "I recognize some of these stations."

I had to go out for a little bit, so I couldn't continue reading until later that afternoon. And when I was able to sit down and continue reading I found myself liking it more and more. It's an interesting story: guy moves to London, he finds an injured girl, there are some weird dudes who talk kind of funny. And as I'm reading, I'm thinking to myself, "Hey, this is pretty good." And as I'm thinking this, I look up and realize it's almost midnight! I've been reading for hours and have completely lost track of time. Now I like books, and would consider myself an "avid" reader, but I've never been a lose-track-of-time reader. The story is so interesting, the characters so well drawn, that it's hard not to be absorbed with the narrative.

So, when I woke up this morning all I wanted to do was come down stairs, pour myself a cup of coffee and finish the book. I had it less than 24 hours and it was done. There are very few books that have sucked me in so completely.

I highly recommend this book.

One of those days...

Ever just google your name to check what other people with the same moniker as you have are doing with their lives? What a great way to feel utterly pointless.

There's a Master Michael Boyce who teaches about a thousand different martial arts... I'll bet he's cool. There's just something very cool about a guy who can dislocate your shoulder in the blink of an eye.

There's Admiral Sir Michael Boyce, part of her Majesty's Navy. Guy's in charge of a bunch of boats: how cool is that? Bet he's got all kinds of those shiny little medals. And don't even get me started on the "Sir" thing. What's a guy gotta do to get knighted anyway?

And then there's me. Yes, I do pop up on google, but without all the knighted, ass-kicking coolness. I show up a few times on RatemyProfessor. Apparently someone thinks I'm "hot." Must be the corduory pants I sometimes wear when I teach.

Actually that reminds me: I got some student evaluations from a course I taught last year. Most of them were positive (though there was the constantly frustrating too-much-group-work/not-enough-group-work comments). I am, it seems, amusing. The predominant response was "Mr. Boyce/Michael is very funny." One of the comments in particular threw me for a bit of loop though: "Can we have one class were we don't talk about sex?" Either this student only came to a couple of the racier classes, or I talk about sex a lot more then I'm aware. Of course, I can alwasy shift the blame to the poems. "I don't talk about sex; John Donne talks about sex. Dirty man. I just talk about Donne." This is, of course, a modifed version of the argument I used to use on my mother whenever we were watching a movie that had a lot of swearing or sex: "Hey, I didn't write the movie."

Of course after reading that comment and feeling all self-concious, what do I do? Go into the classroom and start talking about sex.

Cracking!

So, last night Rachel and I decided to set forth into the world and head over to one of the local movie theatres to see Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit. Now, I've been a fan of the plasticine duo for quite some time now, so expectations were high. And a theatre packed of screaming, crying chidlren put a serious cramp into those expectations. However, once the lights dimmed, and all the thirty thousand previews were over, and the film begin, all was well. The plot was a little fanciful, but the wit, humour and imagination of Nick Park was still apparent. There's something almost magical about watching a film where the audience is so caught up in the story that they cheer and applaud when the film ends.

In other news, we got new MTS cable. As part of the package, we got 9 "bundles" of extra channels. There's something profoundly civilized about being able to watch "The A Team" 4 times a day.

Grrrr....

When did I turn into Ben Stein from Ferris Buller's Day Off?

"Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?"

Man, some days class is like pulling teeth!

I forgot my travel mug this morning and, with it, the sweet, sweet caffine-y goodness held within. I've been cruising around looking all day for things with some form of caffine to ingest: a cup of cheap-ass coffee, a watery fountain Diet Pepsi. I'm supposed to see a play with my wife tonight. If I don't get some stimulant in me soon, when the lights in the theatre go out, so will I.

I have to meet Rachel in an hour and a half... What am I going to do for that much time? This computer is seriously solitare-free.

Thanksgiving was fine. Guess I really turned on the world with that last post. The literary THOUSANDS of emails I received... oh, wait, those were for cheap medication and herbal Viagara. Nevermind.

Maybe it's the 12 cups of coffee...

I'm having a Linus moment; you know, one of those "what's the real spirit o' the holidays" things. You see, it's Thanksgiving up here in the Great White North (and in this part of the North it actually is white today). Now we don't have the cultural (and emotional) baggage that the Americans have about this holiday: no Purtians with those amusing belt buckles, no maize, no Indians we later screwed out of everything. Oh we screwed the Indians, all right; we just tended to be a little more subtle about it, is all. Were I an American, I would have real problems with Thanksgiving.

But I'm a Canadian and I rather like the holiday. And what's not to like? Turkey: good! Stuffing: good! Pumpkin pie: GOOD!!!! Food aside though, what's Thanksgiving all about?

"Giving thanks, Mike. You moron. It's right there in the name of the holiday," you're probably thinking to yourself.

And yes, you're right. It is. But do we do it?

So, who are you thankful for? Do they know it? I tend not to assign homework here, but I challange you to let the people who matter most to you know that you're thnakful for them.

Maybe we could start a thing, with signs and T-shirts.... All right, on second thought that sounds like too much trouble. Let's stick to the telling thing. We'll accessorize later, if we need to.

"I need a fix, 'cause I'm going down"

So, my Serenity high didn't last too long. Don't get me wrong, it was good while it lasted, but real life came and kicked me in the gut once again. Monday was the usual humdrum, no-fun at the UM Press. Tuesday was school. Still can't get a handle on my students, even ones I've had before. This one girl I'm pretty sure HATES me came up after class and asked me to edit her paper. I suppose that doesn't prelude hate. But the fire alarm went off during class so that was nice: huddled around the front door, hoping there really was a fire 'cause maybe then we could warm up.

It snowed all day here in Winnipeg. Driving was a pain, slippery roads will be the death of me. Where did the summer go?

Just got back from seeing Serenity. What a movie! Admittedly I was a little nervous when I encountered fans dressed up. But there was a comradorary at the theatre that you hardly ever see these days. People started singing the Firefly theme song during the commerials; we laughed, we cringed, we gasped. And in the end, applauded. It just seemed like the thing to do.


Kaylee, you made it!!!!

I think that there's enough context (and backstory) given so that if you didn't see any episodes of Firefly you'd still be able to figure out what was going on: River's a psychic and a fugitive, Mal's grumpy, Reavers are crazy cannibals dudes.

Serenity!

(singing off key) Seren, seren, seren, seren, serrrRREEENNNNITTTTTYYYYYY!

At 7:05 this evening, I'll have a huge smile on my face.

I think that was almost a job offer...

So, I met with the president of one of the colleges where I teach - very nice man, well manicured hands. He wanted to meet (with) me to, firstly, get to know me, and secondly, to tell me about the plans for the future of the college. In a nut shell, the direction of the college, expanding into Liberal Arts, appears to point to more teaching for Mike!

In other things: Veronica Mars, my dear, what adventures did you get up to last night? Why don't I get UPN?

Whole body aches....

Went away for the weekend with a bunch of friends. Played football, wall climbed and pushed my poor body past any reasonable limit. I'm sore in so many places. The wall climb was the biggest disappoint for me: last year (at a different place) I ruled the wall. This year I tried a medium hard wall; when I was about 1/3, maybe 1/2 way up, I couldn't find any grips that would let me continue climbing. So I hung there, mostly by my arms, trying to figure out what to do. I decided to descend and try another, easier wall. I couldn't even start climbing. None of the grips seemed right; my arms were killing me from hanging on the previous wall. It was pathetic.

Right...

So, I'm bored.

I've done the dishes, packed for the weekend, and now I'm putzing around on here. In a brazen attempt to entertain myself (while my wife watches ER) I decided to try to update this little blog with some fancy new template. I figure if you can't give 'em substance, at least try to wow them with aesthetics.

Why would you shoot a man in Reno just to watch him die? Surely there are better ways to spend an afternoon.

So, school's back in to full swing and I'm... well, flummoxed. Am I getting through to my students? Am I making sense? Is my fly down? I don't expect people to be as naturally excited by Old English Poetry or Joseph Conrad as I am, but sometimes I think that short of setting off firecrackers and throwing a parade, I'll never get their attention. The solution? Tell embarrassing personal stories, obviously. Today I related how I wrote a letter to a high school friend that said "Did I ever tell you I love you?" I meant it sarcastically. Apparently I was so naive that I actually thought that the intended sarcasm would be apparent in writing. It wasn't, and for the rest of high school this girl thought I was in love with her. Nothing major ever came out of it, other than a few awkward moments; never did have the heart to tell her. Can't remember how that fit into a conversation about Heart of Darkness. Probably didn't. I likely just wanted to tell humiliating stories about myself. Wait 'til my other class starts love poetry, and the pessimism really flies...

All weekend I intended to post something here, but, to be frank, I was just too tired. With the stress of the comprehensive exam over nearly everytime I sat down to read or watch television I fell alseep. Hard to post stuff when you're sleeping. And, if I'm honest with myself, I don't really have much to post here anyway.

I'm going away this weekend, which I'm really looking forward to. It's a retreat with a bunch of people I really love and care about (and haven't been able to spend much time with lately).

I'm marginally interested in the fall television season. New episodes of House are always welcome. There's promise in the Fox show, Bones (though seeing David Boreanaz in the daylight will take some getting used to). Of course the only show I'm really excited about is one I don't know when it'll air here in Canada: Veronica Mars. The more I think about it, the more I love that show. Can't imagine where the show's going (the major plot that ran through the first season was resolved), but I'm ready for whatever they throw at me/us.

Well, my lunch break's nearly over, so I'll sign off.

WHOO HOOO!!!!

School's starting, the University of Manitoba keeps screwing up my pay, but all I can think about is: I'M FINISHED MY LAST COMPREHENSIVE EXAM!!!! Sweet.

The comp (the reason for the blog silence of the past few weeks - and you all thought it was just that I didn't like you anymore) was a crazy amount of work, but it's over. Now, on to the dissertation. Forward ho!

Big thanks to all those who were thinking about me. You rule.

And to those that didn't: you suck. I hope your eyes fall out. Just kidding.