Christmas in less than two weeks? That can't be right?!?

Wow. The academic semester is winding down, schools go into final exams next week. If you talk to or email Heidi over the next few days, be sure to ask her how much work she has to finish before the break. :-)

So, New Englanders aren't big fans of cold temps (anything below 10 degrees F freaks 'em out), but getting a foot of snow in about 8 hours really doesn't phase them -- par for the course, as the saying goes. Still some digging out to do before the next major snow dump starts tomorrow. We might even get our snowshoes out before heading back to MN for the holidays!

- JBC

Turn on the radio in the morning...

Good news: The colleges are starting two hours late today due to inclement weather -- snow and freezing rain.

Bad news: I didn't discover the late start until I arrived at work and found that I was the only one in the building. Oops...

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We got our Christmas tree yesterday! Bought it from a nice fella who grows a bunch of trees in his backyard, wears a lot of camouflage, and has three beat-up pickups in the driveway, one featuring a "Dog is my Co-Pilot" bumper sticker. Customers drive right onto his lawn, then go wandering in search of the perfect tree while a couple of wise-looking hunting dogs patiently follow. When you've picked your winner, he comes running with a chainsaw, chops it down, and sends you on your way...

- Jay

The past two weeks...

Generally, not much happens in my day that could be considered excitement--lots of reading, lots of writing, lots of grading, but not much else. However, the past two weeks have included several events more noteworthy than usual:

1. Bomb scare at UMass. The whole campus was shut down for the morning so the course I teach was canceled. Thank goodness I stayed up late the night before to finish my lecture! Turns out to have been a class project that got into the wrong hands. Don't ask...

2. Visit from Tony. Good times.

3. General student strike at UMass, meaning that students and faculty will stage a walk-out for two days. Issues include no contract for graduate student employees (me!), high fees, and lack of diversity funding.

4. I worked it out so that I could take a little time off from homework to watch the Packers-Vikings play this afternoon, since I hadn't watched a game yet this year. Apparently the Vikings suck so much that Fox doesn't even want to show them anymore, as the network switched to a different game right after the start of the second half. Choice words were yelled at the TV.

5. Ummm, I guess I don't really have a #5. Jay and I did get groceries this morning (our poor fridge practically had tumbleweeds blowing through it) so we'll call that exciting and make it an even 5.

Can't wait to see what the next two weeks have in store!

-hbc

+7 Charisma

Good times were had by all as the honorable Mr. “Llama” Smith, esq. managed a brief overnight trek out to the wilds of Western Mass during his recent trip to Boston.

We saw a few of the sights of our corner of the valley, caught part of the Pats/Colts game on TV, enjoyed tooling around in the rental Jeep Liberty, made the required visit to Pizza Paradiso, and even had time for a quick breakfast at the Bookmill before sending back on the Mass Pike towards Boston.

To use parlance that we know Tony will appreciate: wOOt!

- jbc

Scenes from South Deerfield, part 4

It's been awhile since we posted pics of the neighborhood, so here's a few shots of New England in fall...


Took this shot from our backyard last weekend after a brief storm had just come through. The "hill" in to the right side in the background is Big Sugarloaf, and Mt. Sugarloaf is just out of the frame to the right.
Some views from the top of Mt. Sugarloaf. This is looking south - Connecticut River is in the foreground, Mt. Holyoke range in the distance approx. 10-15 miles.
A few shots looking more south-easterly, across the river towards a town named Sunderland.

Looking nearly due east from Mt. Sugarloaf. Mt. Toby in the background -- supposed to have great hiking trails; we haven't checked it out yet, but it's on our to-do list.

More late night games?

Yes, it appears that we have become Red Sox fans. The Twinkies will still be first in our hearts, but it's hard to resist the spirit of Red Sox Nation. And with Chad and Laurie in Colorado (when did they get a baseball team?) the series should be even more interesting. Will any games be snowed out? Tell us what you think!

How is analysis of Marxist theory like a Marx brothers movie?

As I was reading for my social theory course one of the passages reminded me of the famous contract scene from "A Night at the Opera". You be the judge...

Dialogue from "A Night at the Opera":

Driftwood: Now pay particular attention to this first clause because it's most important. It says the, uh, "The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part." How do you like that? That's pretty neat, eh?
Fiorello: No, it's no good.
Driftwood: What's the matter with it?
Fiorello: I don't know. Let's hear it again.
Driftwood: It says the, uh, "The party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the party of the first part."
Fiorello: (pausing) That sounds a little better this time.
Driftwood: Well, it grows on ya. Would you like to hear it once more?
Fiorello: Uh, just the first part.
Driftwood: What do you mean? The party of the first part?
Fiorello: No, the first part of the party of the first part.
Driftwood: All right. It says the, uh, "The first part of the party of the first part shall be known in this contract as the first part of the party of the first part shall be known in this contract" - look, why should we quarrel about a thing like this? We'll take it right out, eh?
Fiorello: Yeah, it's a too long, anyhow. (They both tear off the tops of their contracts.) Now, what do we got left?

Text from my theory reading:
"However, the reader will not have failed to note one thing. We have discussed the reproduction of the means of production--but not the reproduction of the productive forces. We have therefore ignored the reproduction of what distinguishes the productive forces from the means of production, i.e. the reproduction of labor power." If you really want the citation (and it's good reading, I tell ya) let me know.

Maybe I'll just put the two together and let the party of the first part discuss the reproduction of the conditions of production. It's not like it could get any more confusing than it already is...

Where are the pretty leaves?

We've been patiently waiting for the famously glorious New England fall colors to "pop", but things have been rather muted so far -- lots of green still on the trees -- perhaps because we haven't yet had a first frost. Still planning to bring the camera out on some of the local trails to grab a few shots.

Thanks to all who participated in the "Is it seafood?" poll. The end result, 5 to 5, didn't bring the sought-after closure to this dilemma, but maybe that's okay...

Until next time,

- JBC

Mountain Day

Today is Mountain Day at Smith College – woo hoo! The college’s president selects a nice fall day, traditionally in late September or early October, and cancels all classes and academic events so that students can go out and enjoy the weather. The actual day is a surprise, so there was much speculation on campus that it was going to be last week.

Some residence houses have trips planned to pick apples at local orchards, and others go hiking, canoeing or just out for picnic lunches. Staff do not get the day off, although campus offices are closed. A good, low-key day to catch up on things!

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Heidi and I went to Bub’s BBQ with Boone, Sarah and Rose last night. Out of curiosity I tried the Gator Tail, which turned out not to be the best decision – it was sort of like really tough chicken. This led to a lively discussion about whether I was breaking our plan of ‘no meat, but okay to eat fish and seafood’. The gator tail was listed under Seafood on Bub’s menu, which was good enough for me, but the rest of the dinner party was unconvinced.

Which leads to the audience participation part of our post: please give us your opinion on this weighty matter using the poll to the right of the screen.

- JBC

Sprucing things up

Okay, apparently the "old" template coding I used for the Blapp Report was too 2006 for Blogger, so I had the glorious privilege of rebuilding things tonight.

Alas, the Blapp Report will look a bit different, and different is good, ya? It'll still be us on the other end of this world wide interweb thingy.

- jbc

What the ?!?!

Sorry -- it appears that the formatting of this page has become all gunked up. Will look into it. In the meantime, please excuse our mess...

- jbc

The wrong getaway car

The lead story in yesterday's Greenfield Recorder newspaper. Just so silly that it had to be shared:


GREENFIELD -- An Osgood Street man with a long record of fighting with police had an unpleasant shock -- in fact, several -- Tuesday night.

The first was when Douglas James Aprile, 40, attempted to evade police officers trying to arrest him for disorderly conduct by jumping into the back of a car parked in downtown Greenfield.

To his surprise, he found himself in the back of a car containing two narcotics detectives, Kevin Rowell and Lee Laster.

''He got into the vehicle and said 'Get out of here, the cops are chasing me!' said Greenfield Police Sgt. Ralph Odom later.

''And then he looked at Rowell and said 'Hey, you are a cop!'''

According to Odom, Aprile immediately tried to escape from the vehicle, but was stopped by Laster.

Fun in the Commonwealth!

We had to make the most of what's left of summer, so we headed back to the coast with Mr. Nelson. One day in Rockport to play by the ocean (and eat AMAZING seafood) and one day in Boston. The weather was great, so we were able to walk all of the Freedom Trail in Boston. We took advantage of the subway, too, and managed to avoid getting lost. Best part of the trip? Finding Leinie's on tap at a bar in the North End of Boston. Oddly enough, we found Leinie's a few days earlier at a store in Northampton--we think it's Jeff, so we're encouraging him to come back and visit often!

A few pictures from our adventures:


Jay and Jeff feasted on lobster, which they named Helmut and Garcia.


Jay mourns the loss of tasty Garcia.


The view while we ate dinner. Jeff and Heidi disagree on the location of a really cool object on the horizon.


Fenway!

Recovering from The Bear Who Lumbers

Was awesome to host his majesty, Sir Jeffness, CEO and president of the Nelsonic Party. Trips to emergency rooms were minimal. If any laws were broken, we did not get caught, so they don't count against us.

More detailed updates, and perhaps a few pics, to come soon.

- The Royal We



P.S. Jeff, this one's for you:

Salem & Rockport

It took us nearly a year, but we (finally!) made it to the Atlantic coast last weekend, starting with a visit to Salem, MA, about 45 minutes northeast of Boston. Salem's claims to fame include the infamous witch trials of 1692 and Nathanial Hawthorne. One of the oldest cemetaries in the country is located here, and next to it is this monument to the 19 individuals who were hung in the aftermath of the witch trials. Each bench has the name of one of the accused and date of death carved into it.

Salem was once a major shipping port. The National Maritime Historical Service offers several tours along the wharf, including visiting this replica of an old sailing ship moored in the harbor.
No explanation required.


After spending the day in Salem we drove another 45 minutes to Rockport, an old fishing village and resort community on the tip of Cape Anne.


View of Rockport's harbor, looking east into the Atlantic.

(Left) Rockport's small "downtown" along the harbor features several blocks of small artists' galleries, shops, and restaurants. (Below) Stacks of lobster traps.

(Left) Sea kayaks along the boardwalk.

Digging in the dirt

Earlier this week Boone and I made a semi-surprise visit to Heidi and the gang at the archaeology field school going on in Old Deerfield, on the grounds of the Barnard Tavern.

We learned that the most annoying thing visitors can can ask during a dig is "Find anything yet?" Therefore, we asked this question multiple times during our short visit.

There are several pits being excavated as part of this dig. The pit on the right has been nicknamed The Stargate because 17th and 18th century artifacts have been unexpectedly found above more recent items.
(Here's a real Stargate.)


(Left) Boone shares his excitement at his discovery of the Barnard Tavern's front door.

(Right) Heidi and Boone were very impressed with this bulletin board.

(Right) However, in an ugly incident for all involved, Jay and Boone did not see eye to eye on the bulletin board. The two were soon escorted from the dig site.


- jbc

Tanglewood

Summer in New England. Randy Moss is a Patriot (and is on his best behavior so far in training camp, since he needs the Pats more than they need him), Manny Fernandez is a Bruin, and KG is a Celtic (to be playing alongside Ray Allen & Paul Pierce). Huh?

This past Sunday we made our first visit to Tanglewood, the famous summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, located in Lenox, a small town about an hour west of us in the Berkshires. The grounds are massive, and include a main "Shed" for large orchestra and jazz concerts.
Surrounding the open hall is a huge lawn where other concertgoers can bring picnic lunches, lawn chairs, and perhaps a bottle of wine, and ice cream carts are on the grounds as well. There are other smaller concert facilities, cafes, and gift shops on site too.

We spent the afternoon rocking out to the music of Mozart.

Trip pics!

Some pics of people, places, and things seen during our recent trip, presented in no particular order. There's plenty more photos - this is just a starter.

On the road again.

Apologies to all: Team Blapp has neglected the Blapp Report in recent weeks because we’ve been on a whirlwind breakneck chaos-filled barnstorming tour of the upper Midwest. Whew!

We’ll be back online more regularly very soon, but for now, here are some deep thoughts inspired by our travels.

1. Whitney Houston had it right: children are our future, so teach them well and let them lead the way.

2. The Scandia Bake Shop in Minneapolis makes the best glazed cinnamon twist pastries ever.

3. Sichuan Takin is NOT a meal – it’s a mammal related to a cow, native to mountain regions of east Asia. You can see one at the Red River Zoo in Fargo.

4. An alarming percentage of cars seen driving south through Minnesota on I-94 between June 28 and June 30 had Manitoba license plates. These may be the pre-invasion scouts… We suggest you start brushing up on French and the metric system now. Wolverines!

Cheers,

- jbc

Bookstore confidential

One of the coolest things about small town western New England is the prevalence of used bookstores – they are everywhere. Every town seems to have one, usually housed in an old farmhouse, church building, or other historical structure.

This past weekend we ventured to the out-of-the-way village of Montague, MA to check out a place called The Bookmill (tag line: “Books you don’t need in a place you can’t find”). It’s a very cool, picturesque used bookstore, accompanied by a roomy café and a restaurant, built in a mid-1800’s grist mill on the edge of the Sawmill River. We didn’t bring a camera, but I found a few pictures online and am posting them here to give you a sense of the place.

The book selection is reasonable and well laid out, but there’s something about the place/location (or maybe subliminal messages piped through the sound system) that encourages one to spend an afternoon browsing, wandering the grounds, watching the falls, and having coffee or perhaps a glass of wine or ale. If you want to write the next great American novel but have had trouble getting started, the café might be optimal place to shake off that writer’s block…

- jbc

Our new neighbors

We have a large pond in our backyard and we've been getting to know some of the residents. The largest inhabitants are two critters we eventually identified as muskrats. The first time we saw one we were standing on the bridge watching it swim towards us. I pointed to it, which startled it, and it quickly flipped over, making a large splash. Jay and I screeched and jumped towards each other--if there had been a chair on the dock we would have jumped up on it. We kept watching for it to come back, leaning forward on our toes in case it decided to leap out of the water and come at us like a Monty Python rabbit, but we didn't see it again that day. After diligently watching for a few weeks, we finally got a picture of one of them--we have named them Dwight and Angela, but can't yet tell them apart.



After getting a picture of Dwight (or Angela) we spotted a few frogs--the croaking keeps us up at night, but as you can see from the picture of Jay below, the pond is a peaceful little place, so we don't mind.