I stole this from A Train who apparently stole from someone who stole it from someone. You have to love the internet. Anyway,I thought it was interesting, and I am kind of dry on posts right now so here you are.

List some of your favourite words: Hootice, distraught, fuck (basic as a sledgehammer but always effective and versatile), shite, however, whilst, cool (I think cool might be my second favorite word)

What’s your favourite maxim or proverb? "Discretion is the better part of valor." I know that this means that avoiding a dangerous or unpleasant situation is sometimes the most sensible thing to do, but it also means the quality of being discreet when discussing problematic or dangerous situations. To me, it means keep your fucking mouth shut when talking about touchy situations.

What’s your favourite quotation? "The average man who does not know what to do with his life wants another one which will last forever." -- Anatole France. Enough said.

What’s your favourite first line of a novel? Favorite: In a town in the village of La Mancha, whose name I do not care to recall..." I really like Don Quixote but I have to be honest: that is the only first line I can recite without looking up, and I don't have my books handy. My favorite first line is actually from Blood Meridian and is something like "See the kid, thin and pale"

Give an example of a piece of description that’s really pleased you in your reading lately: ""Nobody has to read anyone anymore. There's more to the canon than is dreamt of in your philosophy, bub. These days, you find the people you want to study from each period. You work up some questions in advance. Get them approved. Then you write answers on your preparation."

"Wait. You what? There's no List? The Comps are no longer comprehensive?"

"A lot more comprehensive than your white-guy, Good Housekeeping thing."

"You mean to tell me that you can get a Ph.D. in literature without every having read the great works?"

... "My God, I'm dealing with a complete throwback. You're not even reactionary! Whose definition of great? Hopkins ain't gonna cut it anymore. You're buying into the exact aestheticism that privilege and power want to sell you." -- Galatea 2.2 by Richard Powers (139?).

"Wait. You what? There's no List? The Comps are no longer comprehensive?" I love that line, and I think it is because I am a Doctorial Student. That is such a good book!

Which five writers do you particularly admire for their use of language? Richard Powers, Phlip Roth, Cormac McCarthy ( I absolutely adore his style because I think it plays into the Stayerite in me!) Bernard Malamud, and William Shakespeare.

And are there writers whose style you really dislike? Faulkner. I know he is the great American master and I am supposed to blow my lode and all when his name is mentioned but I do not find two page long sentences appealing, and he is often overwrought with bad word choice, and rambling structure.

Well I made it to scenic West Lafayette, IN. I am now officially a PhD student in Rhetoric and Composition at Purdue University. That picture is of Hovde Hall here on campus. I think it is the administration building. All I know is, that is where I go when I have trouble with my difference check, not financial aid mind you, with the all important difference check.

The campus really is as pretty as it looks. I think I will upload some pictures here next week of the towns of West Lafayette, and Lafayette that the fiancee and I took whilst out and about. The town is beautiful. It has a great river running through it called the Wabash, however, it is so polluted that they have signs that says do not touch the water. The signs literally say do not wade, swim, or touch the river, and a kid died about twenty miles down the river after bridge jumping. The jump did not kill him, but the sepsis did. YEAH...

Things seem much different now. I always said during my masters that I was going to get a PhD and become a professor, but now it is all really real. I am now locked in, and thinking about publishing, teaching, etc that will help me prepare for my career. It no longer seems like a diversion but a serious career choice. All this adultness is really depressing at times, and really uplifting at times. I feel like I have a career and direction in my life, but I also fill boxed in at times. I guess it is all part of growing up but I really could do without the growing pains.

I think I am going to start updating the blog again about two times a week. Trying to post something everyday is far too time consuming right now, and it burns me out on blogging. I think I will be a more productive blogger if I try to pace myself.