Monday, April 28, 2008

teacher man mailbag 2

I'm teaching 2 sections of Advanced Comp. and a section of English 11 Lit.--the former handed in papers on Friday, and the latter will hand in papers tomorrow. I have a lot of grading to do. Therefore, sit back and enjoy another installment of the teacher man mailbag.

"i am pretty sure that i am the coolest person you know. i go to movies and bars all the time. and i think that you like me. and your son screamed UNCLE JOE the entire time that i was on the phone with mom this morning. which was REALLY cool." (Joe, "cool")
I think we're defining "cool" differently. In my opinion, "cool" has a negative connotation because it refers to the detestable subset of people who actively aspire to be cool. I do not like them. Anyone who knows Joe, however, knows that he makes no effort to be cool. And I think that's cool.

"You had me at randy "macho man" savage...Didn't you once see Jimmy Stewart walking his dog? That should rank like right up at the top..." (Kelly, "top 10 celebrity encounters")
First of all, "You had me at Randy "Macho Man" Savage" is a wonderful sentence, and one you won't find anywhere else on the web, I promise you. And second, I never saw Jimmy Stewart walking his dog. How do rumors like this get started? I suppose that's what I get for being in the public eye. Now I know how Lindsay Lohan feels.

"1. I agree with Stacy about the Qdoba/Chipotle hierarchy. 2. And also, that is hilarious about your keys and the basket of napkins. 3. 8. "He thinks that Hillary is probably the more qualified Democratic candidate right now, but he is going to vote for Obama. He's not sure why." Word up, CK. 4. It's quite awesome that you went to see Mr. Klosterman. I feel like if we could get him on a stage with, say, Sarah Vowell, Richard Russo, and Nick Hornby, my life would be complete." (Claire, "sex, drugs, & qdoba")
Lots of good stuff here. First, you are correct. The Authentic Mexican Grill Hierarchy goes like this: 1) Chipotle, 2) Panchero's, 3) Qdoba. (Still, I would rather eat at Qdoba that almost anywhere else.) Second, in an interesting coincidence, I once threw away my wallet after eating at the Chipotle in Crystal Lake because I put it in a bag and forgot about it. Third, since this post, I have also seen Sarah Vowell on stage (doing a reading in Elgin). Jealous?

"ok... i know i am a little late here. i read your blog about once a month and i have actually never left a comment before. i do however, have to take issue with the fact that you left out what had to be the coolest part of the day: coming to see me at MASH and meeting my students. i mean... come on." (Bryn, "act prep prep")
Thanks for ratting us out. If I get fired for this, I'm sleeping on your couch.

"I haven't looked at any of those clips, but I'm guessing I'm going to have the same reaction as the person who shares my DNA. I love the Cliff Clavin on Jeopardy episode of Cheers, though. Good times. (PS - My Jeopardy questions would all be totally nerdy. Or, about The Office. I rock at Office Jeopardy, right Alex?.)" (Stacy, "top 10 youtube clips")
First of all, my wife and I almost had a knock-down-drag-out the other day because she didn't know Cliff's response to the Final Jeopardy clue in this episode. The clue was: Archibald Leach, Bernard Schwartz, and Lucille LeSueur. And as you all know (right?), Cliff's response was, "Who are three people who have never been in my kitchen?" Classic. Now for the real question: What is my Jeopardy! dream board? Well, I've thought about it quite a lot, and here's what I've decided (keep in mind that the Jeopardy! people try to diversify the board, and so have I): Country Music of the 1990's, Baseball, 20th-Century American Literature, Grammar, Rhyme Time, and Simple Math. With the exception of the first one, these have all been actual Jeopardy! categories. I would own any of you with this board.

"I think Joe is my favorite Baker, too." (Sara, "the incomparable joe baker")
Yup--that's my wife. This reminds me of the episode of Everybody Loves Raymond when Ray wants Robert to ask Debra if they can go golfing because she likes him better. I am, however, disappointed on Charlie's behalf. I'm sure he's at least a close #2.

At least I'm all caught up now. Tomorrow you're going to get the anti-students say the darndest things. And that's what we call a "teaser."

Later gators.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joe and Charlie tie for #1 in my list of favorite Bakers! (Even over those who married into the family. Sorry, Sara).

Are you sure you'd "own" me on Twentieth Century American Literature? I bet it'd be a close fight.

The Ben Show said...

Wait, hold the phone. You're telling me you never saw Jimmy Stewart walking his dog while you were on a bus tour in California? Who on EARTH am I confusing you with? You are the same dude who I helped break into his future wife's apartment so he could pop the question, right?

Claire said...

My friend was on Jeopardy last year, and her categories included "The Spleen" and "The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library." I have BEEN to the Herbert Hoover library and still couldn't answer any of those questions. She was totally set up.

And was Sarah Vowell fabulous? When I saw her in Chicago she talked about The West Wing, which made my head explode with awesome.

I think I've never been to Panchero's. Huh. But when you guys come visit me, I'll be able to take full advantage of my tour of the Mexican restaurants of LA, because it has been extensive.

And Nobody's Fool was on this weekend and I thought of you. Oh, Russo, why aren't you our BFF yet?