Jackson's Favorites

Jackson's favorite book is "Where's That Duck" by Dan Crisp.

More amazingly he really likes The Arcade Fire. I think that is his favorite band. He dances everytime I play them on the stereo. One year's old and already into some supercool stuff.

Here's a short video clip of random Jackson time.

Another Edition of...Overheard in Class

Overheard in class (an A.P. class no less)

My students are convinced that Tony Romo is the best of QB time despite not winning a single playoff game. They think he's better than Montana, Unitas, Favre, Marino...

and I said..."What about Terry Bradshaw?"

They said "who...the announcer?"

"Yes, the Steeler who has four superbowl rings."

And an A.P. student, in all seriousness, asked..."What did Terry Bradshaw steal?"

Bode's Back!

Good to see Bode Miller back on top of the skiing world. He's won two downhill races in a row and defended last year's victory at Wengen, Switzerland this past Saturday. Very rare for a skier to win the same course two years in a row. With this week's victory Miller ties Phil Mahre's record of 27 world cup victories by an American. He should blow by that record being that he's only 30 years old and skiing better than ever. Too bad most Americans only know him for his failure to medal at Torino. He's one of the greatest American athletes in the world who is doing unprecedented things on the World Cup Circuit. Back in the U.S.A. people are more interested in Tony Romo's Mexican vacation with Jessica Simpson.

The 2007 Reading List

Well here's the list of books I made it through in 2007. The number (19) may not be impressive to some voracious readers...but I think it's pretty amazing considering 2007 saw the wondrous arrival of my son and I didn't have much time to read. It's quite an eclectic list with a lot more U.S. History and economics than usual for me. It was a good year of reading material.

• The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin
• Black Swan Green by David Mitchell
• Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
• Banker to the Poor (Microlending and the battle against world poverty) by Muhammad Yunus
• One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• Tristessa by Jack Kerouac
• A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking
• Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Collapse by Jared Diamond
• Dining with the Devil by Os Guiness
• 1776 by David McCullough
• Satori in Paris by Jack Kerouac
• Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick
• Candide by Voltaire
• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• The Hot Kid by Elmore Leonard
• The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
• Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl