Speeding Portuguese priest prompts complaint to Pope | Oddly Enough | Reuters

Speeding Portuguese priest prompts complaint to Pope | Oddly Enough | Reuters

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Of course, African swallows are non-migratory

England has been under a cold snap the past few days. Spring gave summer and autumn a turn and went straight into winter. There were snow flurries over the weekend and I don't remember it being any colder than this at all over winter. And then, this morning, on the way to campus, I found a coconut in Mercia Hyde Park. I stopped and contemplated how it got there, continued on to campus, then turned around and went back to get the coconut. I decided that no one would believe me if I told them I found a coconut in Mercia Hyde Park, no matter how clearly I explained the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow. So now I have proof. I think I will add it to the shrine of kitschy religious paraphernalia we keep in the Le Patourel Room, which has been temporarily removed due to the periodic review of the IMS.

Ambrose & Kira

As some of you know, Kat and I have recently adopted inherited two cats, named Ambrose and Kira. Ambrose, the one with black fur, is named after the fourth-century bishop of Milan. He's very friendly and playful. Kira, the grey and brown and white tabby, is not as outgoing, but just as sweet. She's named after the female gelfling from The Dark Crystal. So, without further ado, click on the photo below to see a small photo album with pictures of the cats.

Cats

At World's End

The History of the World according to Undergraduates

I've been sitting on several ideas for blog posts for a long time. Trying to write chapter one of my thesis, among many other things, has kept me from writing them. I am currently at work in the Health Sciences Library. Due to the fact that Easter Break has begun, it is very quiet here. So, I thought it might be time to compose one of those blog entries I've been meaning to do.

Last term I taught a history course that was a general survey of European History from the end of the Roman Empire to the present day. I didn't give lectures, I just lead seminars, which is where the students are broken into smaller groups and they talk about certain topics in depth. I marked their essays and graded their exams. Some of these made me proud, as they demonstrated that the students were paying attention and getting something out of the course. Most of them were mediocre, and a few made me cringe. For their final exams, I wrote down the cringe-worthy ones and share them with you now. Here is the history of the world, according to undergraduates.

Many barbarian tribes joined the Roman Empire due to the benefits they could
receive...King Theodoric received a Roman spin doctor for his cooperation.

Wherever Latin Christendom expanded to, it brought with it Christianity.

The early Roman emperors were considered to be gods on earth.

One of the earliest known multi-nation empires was the first Persian Empire,
which began in the sixth century BC. This empire even included many areas
within Britain.

Modernity must be seen as the final stage in the process of Modernisation, the
stage reached after the varying processes of modernisation have completed and
begun to work together. Modernity is a time, not a definition.

What makes such an essay [defining the characteristics of modernity] hard to
right [sic] is the fact that we are in the process of leaving or are still in
the modern era.

The crusades were steeped with a notion of expanding Christendom into its
spiritual heartland and in turn encompassing the East under a new 'Roman' sense
of identity.

The year 1500 is often seen as a transition to modernity, displaying
characteristics such as improved economic administration and social structure.

The adoption of Christianity would also lead to the Reformation dividing
Catholics and Protestants.

The following four statements are from the same exam.

As Voltaire argued, the Roman Empire was not "Holy, nor Roman, nor an
Empire".

Ferdinand and Isabella sent Columbus as a missionary but his hunt for gold and
wealth in the New World turned the native people into an inferior
race.

The Renaissance beginning around 1200 became the start of a move away
from religion, papacy, and absolute rule.

The British Empire and its success have changed the course of history to the
extent that it may be the reason I am sitting here today.

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock and Roll | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Unreleased Jimmy Page Guitar Riff To Be Retrieved From Secret Vault To Save Rock and Roll | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

House Hunting

Kat and I were informed this week that our landlord intends to sell our house. So we are now in search for a new place to live. This is a bit of a shock and very disappointing to us. We really like our house and we don't want to move. It is large enough for us, and is conveniently located near campus, several good shops and the Hyde Park Picture House. To say that having to find a new place and move all our stuff is an inconvenience would be a massive understatement. Kat and I are both swamped with work, and don't know where we'll find the time to look for somewhere new. Thus we come to the purpose of this post. I'm putting out an appeal to any of you who read this blog to let me know about any potential places for us to live. Our contract is through August of this year, so we need something available in September. We are looking for somewhere in Hyde Park (Leeds), close to campus, two bedroom (or spacious one bedroom), double-glazed windows, furnished, for under 600 pounds per month. Please tell me if you know about anything that meets these criteria.

Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery

This past Tuesday, 27 February, Kat and I went down to Birmingham to meet a friend of ours from New Orleans, Sandra, who is visiting England with her boyfriend. Birmingham was the place easiest for us to meet, and we decided to go to the Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery. Kat has been waiting for a reason to go because it holds an impressive collection of pre-Raphaelite artwork. We spent the afternoon there gazing upon works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones as well as Egyptian, Greek and Roman artefacts. It's a very nice museum. My favourite objects were the giant statue of Buddha, which looks to me like he is standing in a superhero pose, and Rossetti's Proserpine. I took some photos of Kat in front of Proserpine because I think she looks more than a little like Jane Morris, who modeled for the painting. You can judge for yourself by clicking on the photos below, where you can also see a photo of a statue of Lucifer that welcomes everyone to the museum.

BirminghamMAG