October 19

Maybe I should have named this newsletter “Procrastination Diaries”.

Oct 19, 2024

1979

If I could do it all over again, I would not raise my hand so quickly in 6^th grade science class. I would have read the question carefully, noticed that 60 minutes of studying is the same amount of time as ten minutes day for six straight days, listened to the other students’ responses (which I am sure I did NOT) and then raised my hand. And I would say:

“ Which is better depends on several factors. On the one hand, one sixty minute session permits one to delve into the subject in depth, an approach superior for literature, history, and philosophy. Material that must be memorized, in contrast, benefits from regular study sessions. If the subject matter is intellectually stultifying, short study session and the use of clever mnemonics are more appropriate.”

..and then sit down, while Mrs. Olton gazed at me with admiration.

Comment 2023

I can picture Mrs. Olton even six decades later; she never looked at any of us that way. I think she hated teaching and hated us.

2003

Sitting in the truly dismal Amtrak station in Hartford. The original station, a lovely old building, has been colonized by shoppes and eateries, all of them closed on Sunday mornings. It is chilly and rainy - the walk from the hotel was not very long, but way too uncomfortable for an uncaffeinated me.

This year’s American Studies Association meeting was, as usual, miserable blend of epiphany and identity crisis. There was the usual assortment of sessions where I was surrounded by people speaking in tongues. (A kind of academic Pentecostal experience.) There was a leftist teach-in masquerading as a conference session.

On the plus side: some good music at the president’s talk.

Later, on the train, I wrote this: