2007-09-28 - 3:22 p.m.

...random thoughts for a friday...

TGIF

I am so freakin' glad that I made it to Friday.

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TOO MUCH OF A GOULD THING...

So...after listening to two solid weeks of Gould-fests and the 2,000th recording of Glen Gould playing Bach or Wagner on CBC radio....let me guess...Glen Gould is Canadian?

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STAMMTISCH

I started my very own Stammtisch. "Stammtisch" literally translates as "tree trunk table" - but in this context means the special table in a pub where the same people meet on a regular basis. People normally say hello by wrapping their knuckles on the table and saying, "Mahlzeit Zusammen" "Gruess Gott" "Gruess Euch" or "Moin." The actual phrase (and the subsequent beer order) varies depending on your location in the country of Germany, but it is rarely stated with enthusiasm, I have noted.

Anyway, my Stammtisch is a meeting of people from the teaching workshop this summer. We will meet at a coffee shop instead of a pub. And next week I'll have to teach them the knuckle wrapping thing.

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ONLY IN A CO-ED LITERARY FRATERNITY

Yes, I belong to a co-ed literary fraternity. And this week the listserv discussion has centered on GRAMMAR. I love it. Heated exchanges over sentence diagramming, gender usage in various languages, the role of dative, and the use of conditional vs. subjunctive moods. I'll highlight my two favorite moments:

- Is it really RIGHT for Gwen Stefani to pervert Topol's grammatically correct "If I were rich man" into a faster, rough-edged version with "If I was a rich girl?"

- And if we call Ms. Stefani on this... then really shouldn't we be raking Stephen Stills across the coals for not saying: "If you can't beeee...with the one you love.....love the one with whom you ARE!!!"

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With all that said...Up since 5am preparing a lecture. I'm really tired. K and I will probably drive to the border and whip around the flagpole this weekend to finalize our permanent residence status. I've neglected to report the grand finale of f***ups with our status - interestingly they don't even phase me anymore. I just EXPECT all embassies to do inane things.

But please, DO stay tuned for a follow up report on the CLOCK.