Accommodatingly

Remembering Andy Roberts. Stop by, take a look, say something yourself if you knew him or admired his work, and wish he were still around.

Newly-discovered poetry by Sappho. (Via Andrew.)

Our Story Corps experience was even more moving than I expected: I got all choked up inside and remained that way at least until sundown. If they come to your town, do interview someone for Story Corps, or ask somebody to interview you.

In today’s Huff Post I tell a WNBA story.

If you have your own blog, go over and take MIT’s weblog survey.

The Star Tribune has a piece about StoryCorps, which will be in the Twin Cities starting tomorrow until July 10. I am going to interview Steve on Friday, mostly about our impending parenthood.

What is StoryCorps? Well, you should click on either of the links above, but this is it in a nutshell:

We’ve modeled StoryCorps�in spirit and in scope�after the Works Progress Administration (WPA) of the 1930s, through which oral-history interviews with everyday Americans across the country were recorded. These recordings remain the single most important collection of American voices gathered to date. We hope that StoryCorps will build and expand on that work, becoming a WPA for the 21st Century.

To us, StoryCorps celebrates our shared humanity and collective identity. It captures and defines the stories that bond us. We’ve found that the process of interviewing a friend, neighbor, or family member can have a profound impact on both the interviewer and interviewee. We’ve seen people change, friendships grow, families walk away feeling closer, understanding each other better. Listening, after all, is an act of love.

If you are interested in participating, you can check here to see if a mobile booth will be nearby, or go to Grand Central to the StoryBooth there.

I heard about StoryCorps through my friend Chris, who interviewed his dad (a short snippet of which can be heard if you go here and scroll to the bottom to find Michael Crowe).

via Republic of Heaven

What fiction did you read as a teen/young adult that you have re-read as an adult (or would like to)? What pieces of fiction meant something to you? Put up your list, and pass it on to 2-3 people.

1. By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Read many times as a youngster, although my favorite was always Little House in the Big Woods (I loved the part where they went to a Christmas party and they put hot baked potatoes in their pockets to keep their hands warm). Re-read it on a weekend group trip with Steve’s college friends to a shoreline cabin in Maine. ALL of the women on the trip re-read it, as a matter of fact. All of the Little House books were so gentle and pure of heart, and the TV show was little short of an addiction. I identified very strongly with Laura, being a second kid and, I thought, a little different from everyone else.

2. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I must have read this book at least twenty times as a kid. I despise all movie versions, however, especially the Shirley Temple one, because none capture the quiet nobility of the book. Dear little Sarah Crewe and her struggles with the wicked Miss Minchin, and all Sarah did to help her friend Becky through the hard, long days and cold nights (pretending their attic room was the Bastille, naming and befriending the rats), was so inspirational to me. I wish I was more like her.

3. The Monster at the End of This Book starring lovable, furry old Grover (okay, more of a kids book, but it’s great, and I did read and re-read it as a teen to my niece, and will re and re-read it to my own kids as well).

4. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. I was very moved by this story of a young girl displaced and distrusted when I first read it at age 10. The story still holds up for adult reading, but it is a bit heavy-handed.

5. The Stranger by Albert Camus. Boy did I think I was the shit whenever I sat on the steps of school with this book in my hand. I’m no longer nearly as nihilistic, nor as pretentious, but the book is still undeniably great.

Who should I now tag? I think I’ll pick John and an easy target in Steve (my accommodatingly and life co-conspirator).

Saddam waxes nostalgic about the Reagan era.

A package arrived from one of my high school pals containing a t-shirt commemorating the reunion (just for a picnic, not a tour or recording or anything) of the Cruddy Ears, a band consisting of five guys I totally adored in high school and beyond. They played a show in my garage for my 18th birthday, which is now longer ago than I care to think about.

Ahhh, memories….

Is the real cause the shift away from tenure-track hires? One economist has evidence.

(Via the apparent inventor of Friday catblogging.)

I think about Batman in today’s Huffington Post.