Atlanta

Returned late Sunday night from Atlanta, where I attended the National Women's Studies Association conference and presented on an Octavia Butler panel with Karma. It was my first time at NWSA, and it made me think of MLA -- tons of people, panels on every subject imaginable, and not much of a sense of unity. According to the professor with whom I took Intro to Women's Studies in spring 1996, and whom I got to see for the first time since then, literature is pretty marginalized at NWSA. Nevertheless, our panel was a great success, and I worked out with Angela Davis at the Sheraton's fitness center one morning. The best part, of course, was hanging out with Karma. We enjoyed some tasty food, went to the Margaret Mitchell Home and the World of Coca-Cola, and attended a Second City show called "Peach Drop, Stop, and Roll" that poked fun at local politics and culture. I think Davis needs a show like this.

Strut and the monkey plan their escape

I get some lovin' from the polar bear
at the World of Coca-Cola

The Margaret Mitchell home -- exterior and painting of Scarlett O'Hara from the Gone with the Wind exhibit with Karma in the background. This painting was created for and used in the film; it was in Rhett Butler's bedroom. Until recently, it hung in the Margaret Mitchell Elementary School in Atlanta!

Random food photos

Here is a pot of Brunswick stew from a few weeks ago and the apple pie I made yesterday for Eric's birthday. We couldn't get local apples for the pie, but I hope it is tasty anyway. Apparently there aren't orchards in Oklahoma. I thought for sure we could find some Arkansas apples, but no dice. The stew is a recipe I made up after having it for the first time while traveling in Virginia. I had never heard of Brunswick stew until then -- traditionally, it was made with squirrel or possum, but most cooks today use chicken. I made a quick chicken broth with chicken thighs and then shred them and add them to the stew, which also includes corn, lima beans, potatoes, crushed tomatoes, and secret seasonings.Here is a salad I ordered at a hotel restaurant in Atlanta, which was served with a gravy boat full of dressing. There was more dressing than actual salad. Whose idea was this?

The importance of being... grenadine?

My lower-division students are reading The Importance of Being Earnest, and I have resorted to giving reading quizzes because so many students just aren't following along. The quizzes have helped, but I don't know whether to laugh or cry at some of the misspellings on them. According to one student, Jack Worthing proposes marriage to Grenadine. Does he have a tequila sunrise while he's at it? Other memorable ones: Dr. Chasuble identified as "Chaunsbor" and "Chaeau" and Algernon's name spelled "Allergon." Isn't that a prescription medication for seasonal allergies?

I have some Beavis-and-Butthead types in my afternoon section -- thanks to them, I need to add a "no chewing tobacco" policy to my syllabus -- who cheekily asked today, when we were discussing the tableau at the end of the play, if tableau is a verb. (You might have to mispronounce it with a Southern accent to appreciate this.)

But there are only three weeks of classes left, which makes me feel the way this picture at Lake Tenkiller looks. Whee! My first semester was hardly bad, but it did seem like an awful long time after seven years with the ten-week quarter system. Even better, winter break will last a month instead of ten days.

Halloween

I wore my Davis Senior High cheerleader uniform -- purchased for $4 from the SPCA thrift store last spring -- to hand out candy to trick-or-treaters. Did not really get the local Halloween protocol, which consists of parents driving their kids around to houses distributing candy, but it made more sense when I remembered that there aren't any sidewalks in town. But then again, I grew up in a town about the same size, and we just walked from house to house.

For the party at Brian and Bridget's, Eric and I went as Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski. I had a foreclosure notice for Belle Reve in my reticule, and he carried a bowling ball and a deck of cards. We won the Best Costume prize, which was something that looked like an Academy Award with a skeleton on it.

Philadelphia

Reading Terminal Market

Godzilla-sized apple dumplings made by Amish people

Chandelier at the Academy of Music, where I saw the Pennsylvania Ballet

Spent this past weekend at the SSAWW conference in Philadelphia. It was great to attend an academic affair at which women writers were the focal point rather than an add-on, and it was so nice to see familiar faces including Julie, Maura, Samaine, and Erin. I had a fantastic dinner with Melanie J. on Thursday night, saw an amazing performance by the Pennsylvania Ballet, and met a grad student at Temple who also does work on Gilman. It was so nice to be in a city, where there is a higher percentage of people like me. It felt like a return to civilization. But then I had to go home.

Fayettevizzle

E and I went to Fayetteville, Arkansas a few weeks ago. It's about an hour away. The weather was overcast and chilly, but we had fun checking out the U of Arkansas campus -- Bill Clinton was once on the faculty -- as well as downtown and the Confederate cemetery. We also had some great beer and a tasty lunch at the Hog Haus Brewery, which is owned and operated by two women. The UA mascot is the razorback hog, hence Hog Haus.

Youse guys

Our quest for New York-style pizza brought us to Broken Arrow, where we met Larry, the owner of Uncle Vinny's Pizzeria. Yankees memorabilia and Frank Sinatra on the jukebox were good signs, but even better was talking to Larry, who is -- like me -- a native of Connecticut. Those outside our small state tend not to know that there is, in fact, a Connecticut-style pizza; it's similar to NY-style with spicier sauce, and it's got to be baked (preferably blistered) in a brick oven. When I lived in New Haven, I went to Modern Apizza on State about once a week. Anyway, Larry was a character. He asked, "What brought youse guys out here?" I haven't heard anyone say youse guys since I left the Northeast. It was a favorite of the football coach (e.g. "What happened to that play? Youse guys suck!") Uncle Vinny's was no Modern A, but it was pretty darn good for Oklahoma, where people seem to like their pizzas doughy and cheesy (the antithesis of NY style). Here is a picture of our pie. Larry gave us a cannoli on the house.