October 29, 2008

Fall semester in Madison, Wisconsin... still beautiful enough to lie around on Bascom Mall.

DSC09582

(It's the spring semester you have to watch out for around here.)

74 comments:

Smilin' Jack said...

Yeah, fall semester is followed immediately by spring semester on the university calendar, glossing over the grim truth.

Ann Althouse said...

Well, we don't have classes for most of December and January, so that does take a lot of the edge off it. And February is a short month. Plus, there's spring break....

ricpic said...

The mild air, the mild light, a balm;
The greensward, the mild town, a calm:
Whatever the trouble, whatever the storm,
This too abides, our guarantor against harm.

Trooper York said...

That's why they should cut the salaries of teachers. They don't work hard enough. Then tuition won't be so much money. It's a win-win.

MadisonMan said...

Memorial Library looks very architecturally blah in that image, especially in comparison to the beautiful State Historical Society building and the Capitol.

kjbe said...

But, it's cold outside!

bill said...

That's why they should cut the salaries of teachers. They don't work hard enough. Then tuition won't be so much money. It's a win-win.

Instead of cutting their salaries, give them more work. Look at all that open land! Let's till it and plant sustainable crops to feed the students. Then everyone -- students, professors, administrators -- gets to do time on the farm.

chuck b. said...

It's lovely!

Ann Althouse said...

There is much hard work to be done during the break, such as writing and grading exams. The regular semester, teaching, is the most fun part of the job. You catch up on everything during break. It's not as if we goof off! We teachers are always working.

vbspurs said...

OT Announcement:

I'll be live-blogging the "Baracomercial", with a pre-launch thread at 7:30 PM. It's intended to be a more conservative-friendly area.

I'd like to invite everyone here who fits that description, including Ann herself should she wish to join us.

Sundries Will Live-Blog Barack Obama's Infomercial"

Cheers,
Victoria

MadisonMan said...

Victoria, I assume you pay for ad space.

vbspurs said...

MM, I just bought a Kindle book last night using Ann's link. I've bought 160 books in the past.

Is that good enough for you?

bill said...

It's always the intellectuals that look to avoid the work done by the common man.

Victoria, I assume you pay for ad space.

we all share the same space.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Victoria, I assume you pay for ad space.

My redistributor cometh.

vbspurs said...

My redistributor cometh.

*shiver*

;)

MadisonMan said...

I give you a straight line and you go all umbrage.

Lem, the check is in the mail.

vbspurs said...

I give you a straight line and you go all umbrage.

I don't believe you when you are saying that was just joshing, MM. I know you too well.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Lem, the check is in the mail.

I got my voter ID card in the mail on Monday but a little rain got in there and smeared it a bit.

Where is ACORN when you need them?

Trooper York said...

"It's not as if we goof off! We teachers are always working."

Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha...Jeez..ha,ha,ha...I think I just bust a gut..ha,ha,ha,ha....and I got big freakin'gut..ha,ha,ha,ha.

Seriously.

MadisonMan said...

There are plenty of Acorns in my neighborhood. It's very nutty.

I notice there are no signs at all for Tammy Baldwin, but I've seen a couple for her opponent, Mr. Theron, for whom I'm voting. If Theron wins, the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the east side of Madison will be something to behold.

ricpic said...

Where I grew up teachers all had vacation homes in upstate New York or Vermont or Maine where they spent three months preparing for next years' work.

Trooper York said...

Where I grew up teachers all had vacation homes in upstate New York or Vermont or Maine where they spent three months having cocktails and laying around in hammocks and being lazy.

MadisonMan said...

Where I grew up some of the teachers worked very hard year 'round. Some teachers seemed to coast. Some worked in fits and spurts.

It turns out that lots of people are like that.

ricpic said...

How sarcastic does a guy have to be for the goy to take him sarcastically?

Trooper York said...

What a goy can’t kvetch. If Mort wasn’t gay shlafen he would say you were ferdrayt Zeyde. Zie ga zink bubbala.

MadisonMan said...

Is there an english to yiddish babelfish somewhere? I can't find it.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

What's it matter if the truth is that their favoring breeze has the stink of nickel whiskey on its breath, and their sea is a growler of lager and ale, and their ships are long since looted and scuttled and sunk on the bottom? To hell with the truth! As the history of the world proves, the truth has no bearing on anything. It's irrelevant and immaterial, as the lawyers say. The lie of a pipe dream is what gives life to the whole misbegotten mad lot of us, drunk or sober.

Iceman Cometh.

dannyboy said...

That's why they should cut the salaries of teachers. They don't work hard enough.

Amen brother. I work harder pouring a pint than some pointy head professor. Lazy arse tinkers the lot of em.

Well except maybe for Professor Dumbledore. That man earns his coin.

Trooper York said...

Thornton Melon: Boy, what a great-looking place. When I used to dream about going to college, this is the way I always pictured it.
Jason Melon: Wait a minute. When did you dream about going to college?
Thornton Melon: When I used to fall asleep in high school.
(Back to School, 1986)

bleeper said...

Teachers whine a lot. They should work harder. They cannot be fired. Their product cannot be objectively measured. They are overpaid. They are usually communists. They do a great disservice to this country. They will reap higher taxes and, if the tape the LA Tims will not release is correct, the destruction of Israel, which, if I don't miss my mark, most of them would favor anyway.

Ann Althouse said...

Trooper, do you realize that Rodney Dangerfield stood in the exact spot in the photograph when the movie "Back to School" was made? I watched the filming from my office window, which overlooks that spot.

Trooper York said...

I thought it might have heard that it had been filmed there but I wasn't sure.

I do know that they based Dr. Turner on you.

bleeper said...

Rodney - now there was a man who earned his living. And any movie that has Rodney and Sam Kinison in it has to be great. Deduct some points for allowing Sally Kellerman in there.

Teachers should be plowing the campus, and not just the coeds. They need to understand how much labor is required to keep them in their ivory tower.

dannyboy said...

Trooper, do you realize that Rodney Dangerfield stood in the exact spot in the photograph when the movie "Back to School" was made? I watched the filming from my office window, which overlooks that spot.

That's why you professors are overpaid. Watching movies when you should have been grading papers or doing something educational. I bet you were sipping one of those wussy lattes with your feet on the desk.

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

Bunch of commies.

MadisonMan said...

It disturbs me in Back to School that the dive meet is always called a swim meet. And the plot is thin.

But Rodney is so good in it, the Wisconsin scenery is so nice to look at and it has Oingo Boingo as a bonus. (And really, who didn't dream of having a dorm room like Thorton's?)

Not a movie to own, but it's a good view once every two/tree years, eh, if you get it from the library.

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

The last time I jerked off was 4 days ago.

That is a long time.

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

There is a name for giving someone a blowjob while they are shitting.

Does anyone know the appropriate name for it?

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

Never mind I just found it.

It is called a blumpkin.

that's a cute name.

Bob said...

That is a lovely campus. I fear how it will look in the future though. If McCain wins the Election I fear rioting with Ann swept up with the angry mob. If Obama wins, the rioting will occur sometime around April of next year when the Professor class finds out that they are all wealthy.

ricpic said...

Titus-Disease: bawling someone out on another thread for an over the top vulgarity and then posting what he just posted at 3:49 on this thread.

Could also be called Other-Directed-Inner-Directed-Dissonance-Disease

rhhardin said...

Leaf and dog bearing tennis ball.

Trooper York said...

"Never mind I just found it.

It is called a blumpkin."

I thought that was the guy form the last of the Mohicans.

No wonder he was hanging around with his faithful Indian companion instead of banging the Colonels daughter under the waterfall. Who knew?

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

Think twice before you call someone a "country bumpkin"

Beth said...

Plus, there's spring break....

And don't forget Mardi Gras.

Oh, that's right. Just another cold Tuesday for y'all.

So sad.

Beth said...

That's why they should cut the salaries of teachers.

Oh, Trooper. If only.

But I am a lowly instructor. I work summers, and I teach an extra evening course each semester. I don't make enough to have a luxurious summer off, writing and research and hanging around coffee shops reading Proust. This year, I even missed out on the few week breaks between spring and summer, and summer and fall, because I'm also doing some administrative work and stuff just had to get done. The cherry on top? Because we had a hurricane in early September, our chancellor canceled Fall Break.

I'm not whining (okay, I am, especially about losing Fall Break), but I hope I'm opening your eyes to the reality of what it's like for the less glamorous cogs in the wheel of higher education.

It was a wonderful fall day down South as well. I enjoyed it from my window as I flogged out a grant proposal for new computers in our writing classrooms. Sexy!

Zachary Sire said...

Is anyone live blogging Barry's commercial?! Come on!

I am not. But you should still see this.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Is anyone live blogging Barry's commercial?! Come on!

It would be nice if the professor could find some time out of busy schedule.

Trooper York said...

Now, now Beth I am sure it is not as bad as all that. Look at all the fringe benefits you get as a "cool" professor. I mean you get the really good pot and get to molest the students.

Us poor accountants, not so much.

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

I don't work very much and I make a lot of money.

I feel bad about that sometimes.

I also have an ass you could bounce quarter off of.

Thank you.

Beth said...

Trooper, how'd you know I'm one of the cool ones? I never spilled those beans.

Trooper York said...

Seriously? The hot lesbian english lit instructor with the kung fu grip.

What's cooler than that?

Trooper York said...

You are just lucky I am not in your creative writing class.

I bet I could make you blush.

It's.....Mrs. Hornblower ! said...

BREAKING: Rasmussen to release a Poll tomorrow stating that most Americans now trust McCain MORE on the economy !!!!

But, I want to discuss Khalidi.

Mrs. Topsy Canning said...

Well, if you have to put out an Infomercial....doesn't that usually mean you haven't made the sale yet ?

Looks like Althouse will have to eat crow...

She can always say she changed her mind on the way to the voting booth, like with Carter.

bleeper said...

Clearly, we will have to wait until after the election to find out how rabidly anti-semitic Barry Hussein Obama is. But that's ok, he will have a mandate to allow the destruction of Israel, and most liberals will not even complain about such a turn of events. C'est la vie, mais non?

blake said...

Looks beautiful.

Meanwhile, I'm still running the air conditioner every third day or so.

Roberto said...

Boy...this is what I call: "Give it up time."

Obama does an hour on TV...and Althouse is discussing...lying around "Bascom Mall??"

Gosh...is that cool or what...Dude?

Duh.

Roberto said...

bleeper...why not read before you speak?


You sound like a fucking moron.

dannyboy said...

Obama does an hour on TV...and Althouse is discussing...lying around "Bascom Mall??"

I just got back from the pub after watching the game. Did he say anything more about how much of a tax cut I'm getting?

I need to know cause I kinda got carried away and ran up a helluva tab. I'm going to need the cash.

dannyboy said...

Just as an FYI, I got carried away cause I had to drink excessively to get through the game. How the fook does anyone watch baseball? After the third inning I started bleeding from my ears. I've seen more excitement at a chess match. And these guys call themselves athletes? Half of them look like 250lbs of chewed bubblegum.

Roberto said...

dannyboy said..."I'm going to need the cash."

First you should consider getting a job.

Roberto said...

danny dolt says: "How the fook does anyone watch baseball? After the third inning I started bleeding from my ears."

Geeeee, not as exciting as...soccer?


Duh.

dannyboy said...

dannyboy said..."I'm going to need the cash."

First you should consider getting a job.


Oh I have a job mate. It's just it isn't paying quite so much. I mean with the economy and what not.

danny dolt says: Geeeee, not as exciting as...soccer?

Oy, what's with the attitude mate? Soccer or football as it's properly known is damn right exciting. Lots of running up and down the field, slides and tackles. None of this sitting on your haunches and scratchin your twigs and berries waitin for the tons of fun at the plate to hit the ball.

You need to lighten up mate. Doesn't sound like you have enough fibre in your diet.

josil said...

takes me back 50 years...but i wouldn't want to repeat it.

Roberto said...

The McCain Family Newsletter proudly endorses Barack Obama for president

Roberto said...

dannyboy- you talk a good game..."mate," but try reading some Bruen and get back to me.

dannyboy said...

dannyboy- you talk a good game..."mate," but try reading some Bruen and get back to me.

I had to look up this Bruen guy. So he writes crime novels. What precisely is reading this stuff this supposed to do for me? It supposed to connect us on some special level? Just being up front, I'm not that kind of guy. Not that there's anything wrong with it.

Ok well actually there is but lets leave it at that. I still think you need more fibre.

Roberto said...

dannyboy said..."I had to look up this Bruen guy."

The fact that you had to "look up this Bruen guy" tells me you're full of shit and no more Irish than myself.

Read more...talk less.

TitusSheilaTakeABow said...

I make over 250k and will not get a tax cut from Obama. I am still voting for him.

Same with many of my friends.

When is someone going to write the book What's the Matter With NYC?

Beth said...

You are just lucky I am not in your creative writing class.

I bet I could make you blush.


You manage that here, Trooper. It's just as well, though; the rest of the students would call you teacher's pet and you'd never live it down.

dannyboy said...

The fact that you had to "look up this Bruen guy" tells me you're full of shit and no more Irish than myself.

Well that's probably because I never claimed I was Irish.

Read more...talk less.

You know you might consider taking that advice yourself. I am of Scottish heritage although a full fledged American born and raised. I thought it was still ok to celebrate one's heritage. I'd have thought my profile and the Scottish flag for my icon would have made that clear. Maybe you need special assistance.

But what is your malfunction anyway? Did I unknowingly bang your sister or accidently run over your dog? For God's sake relax. You really don't have to an asshole all the time.

KCFleming said...

Actually, dannyboy, he does.

It's his raison d'être. Without assholery, he dries up like a raisin in the sun; or festers like a sore- and then runs.

Trooper York said...

"You manage that here, Trooper. It's just as well, though; the rest of the students would call you teacher's pet and you'd never live it down."

I don't mind being called the teacher's pet, because I like to pet the teacher.