The New Semester

The new semester starts today. I have been here all spring and summer, but it still feels like a renewal. You know when you are tired beyond all things and then POOF, after a shower or a 15-minute nap you are relieved?

That is the feeling that the 4 true days of absolutely nothing to do (no grades to enter, no syllabi to copy, no theological reading to outline) has had on me. I am renewed, refreshed and revived. I am ready to hit this semester with both fists!

It may be a little jarring for my English 132 students tomorrow, but I am going in honest and straight-forward. It usually sends them "runningk for zee hillz" but we'll see.

So to all of those newly green freshmen, smart-ass sophomores, and beyond...happy fall semester. NOW GET TO WORK! I AM WATCHING YOU!

I'M BACK

I am taking a semester hiatus of online teaching. That means that I will again be blogging. I know that I am basically talking to my students of English 131 (and a couple of others). However, I am excited to be back posting my interesting finds.

I'll be altering my focus a bit as I have gotten less political in the recent months (for my personal mental health). So here's a little funny...

Buried Under Papers

So as I sit here in the basement buried under papers. I have about 120 student essays ranging from four to 14 pages. Usually this process takes about 20 minutes or so per paper. So, don't expect to hear from me in a while.

Can We Trust Him?

With such a bad decision being made about his toupee, can we really trust Obama's new Office of Management and Budget (OMB) with running our executive branch's business offices? I am not saying that Peter Orszag, current director of the Congressional Budget Office, does know what he is doing. I simply question his critical thinking skills.
Lose the wig and let it fly naturally, brother. Our government needs people who could care less about appearance and care more about getting it cleaned up. Hell, being a baldy gives you a naturally propensity for cleaning...so own it!

I'm Back...

After a bit of a break from blogging, I am happy to say that my schedule is now freer to allow me to write more. As many of you know, I am usually busiest towards the end of the semester and just now have I been able to get caught up on grading and planning. I still have a lot to do, but it is getting under control.

Tonight I head to dodgeball practice. As the coach and adviser it will be most difficult to tap into someplace competitive (other than academic competitiveness). I have to keep these guys motivated and going!

A friendly proposition

I was just thinking that the next time my old high school buddies get together we should do something constructive...literally! We spent this weekend destroying a few things and then being constructive (at least by quickly raking the host's yard). I suggest that we propose weekend projects and then choose one place to travel/complete a project. We could paint a room, landscape, etc. The host could provide food and the equipment and then the travelers could help, hang out, and eat.

Just a thought...

Vegetarians Brain Shrinkage

In another fabulous study, scientists have shown that vegetarians are more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than normal omnivores. Vitamin B12 (or a lack of this vitamin) is the cause of brain shrinkage in vegetarians and vegans (along with elderly, pregnant women and people who live strictly on Twinkies). Read more HERE.

I always was very smarmy with my veggie-swilling friends in college. They chastised me daily for my love of all things once mobile and breathing grilled, fried and broiled. I heard rant after rant about the healthy benefits of such a life style. Now, I know that there are benefits, but everything in moderation my friend. We have high schoolers drowning themselves in the "gotta Hydrate" frenzy, people eating so much soy that it gets bad for them and eventually the egg will surely be bad for us again, or is it bad now and it will be good for us again? Does anyone know about eggs? Am I supposed to eat them? Will I die if I do? Will I die if I don't? Damn science!

I always told my vegetarian friends in college that they were stupidly arguing with me...now I have scientific proof.

I am a Doctoral Student

Well, I had my cadre of interviews today. I spoke with the dean of graduate studies, my mentor and a few others. I have been "officially recommended for enrollment" in the program!!!

I will be studying, through the great works of western civilization, the relationship between God and Man. I hope to investigate how the western relationship between these two beings has molded modern American religious landscapes. I will get to go to weird churches, get to read great books and explore BIG ideas!

I should be getting my official enrollment packet soon and I will start my studies as soon as 2009 is here. The only thing now is to save a little coin to purchase the $1000 book set Great Books of the Western World.

So hooray for me! Hooray for reading! Hooray for school!

What a long strange trip...(it will be)

With such a kitschy title, this is obviously sophomoric...how apropos that this particular entry is about my upcoming trip to Ohi-A. During the first week of October I will be joining both family and friends for a rootin'-tootin' good time. High School Football games, pumpkin farms, cows and county fairs will fill a three day schedule.

Friday is the - wait for it - high school homecoming football game. Should be a hefty dose of mulletude kickin' in the ol' 43155. Probably "chaw" in the urinals too! If only I hadn't cut my horseshoe mustache.


Saturday is a fun-filled day (no sarcasm intended) with my seester and my nephew. My parents might tag along, but we are all off to a pumpkin farm to get the little one into some trouble. Yea childhood! This kid is cool! He is my number one bud!


Sunday is the Fairfield County Fair Preview Day. My buddy John, a PR rep from a small liberal arts college in central Ohio, is accompanying me to this lovely day (as well as doing the Friday football fun with me). It should be full of cows, chickens, 4-H projects, funnel cakes and little 4-inch mirrors enscrawled with Motley Crue and Poison album covers.

I will surely come home with a cane from the cane toss, a yard stick from the farm bureau and some salt water taffy. Oh yea, and probably some animal feces in my shoe treads.


I will surely be reporting about this weekend later in the fall.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Ohio University deserves its respect. After decades of jokes and fans only going to the games for the halftime show (that was me!), the Ohio University Bobcat football team gave "No.3" THE Ohio State Buckeyes a RUN FOR THEIR MONEY!!! And they did this with a second-string quarterback (that that OSU).


According to an article in the New York Times, THE Ohio State University wide receiver Brian Hartline said, "O.U. should have won the game. I don’t know how we came out with it.” And I must agree! I have never been so riveted to a football game (and I was listening on the radio! I am not a sports fan and usually could care less so this is a big feat).

The article goes onto say that "Ohio’s inspired play quieted the fans as well as the Buckeyes." Again, I agree.

SO GO FREAKIN' BOBCATS! Get a little respect for some hard work and dumb luck. It goes to show that you can never underestimate the underdog!


UPDATE!!! The Bobcats helped knock old THE Ohio State University from No. 3 in the Coaches and AP Poll to No. 5 on Sunday! Way to go Green and White! Read more HERE.

The Program is Approved!!!

I got word from HFCC's human resources department this morning that my Doctoral program at Harrison Middleton is officially approved! Yes, after an application process, a few interviews and a little bit of "razzle dazzle" I should be on my way to getting that Doctor of Arts in Humanities.

This is perfect as I have never been one for traditional education. Harrison Middleton will be a one-on-one tutored doctorate degree. I cannot wait to delve deep into the great works and further study the relationship of God and man. I will be knee deep in dead white guys before the end of the school year.

If you aren't aware of the great works, see the list HERE.

Yes, I will be one of those crusty old bespeckled guys who talks about other old crusty guys that no one has read. Ain't life grand?!?

A Day's Outting

So I am trying to kick the cigarette habit and have found myself very angry and anxious as of late - surprise, surprise.

Anyway, V & I went to the Michigan State Fair today. As a veteran of many a fair, I was less than impressed. I have been to county fairs and (of course) the Ohio State Fair. I have won blue ribbons for cooking, etc. and have even taken 1st overall in some (well many) fair competitions. My sister served as a Fair Queen. Needless to say, the Hazlett's are seasoned fair goers.


Fairfield County Fair Grounds

The Michigan State Fair tried, but seemed to fall short. The fairgrounds are in a portion of Detroit that is wrought with burned-out, abandoned houses. The parking lot looked like something out of Mad Max. Now, the Ohio State Fair isn't in the best section of town, but the atmosphere and exhibits are much, much more interesting. Hell, we have a cow, calf and farmer carved out of butter (see below):



The best thing about the fair was the cotton candy (some of the best I have had in my life). On the way home, V & I took the long way down Seven Mile through Detroit. V hadn't seen that section of town and being that I had been all around our fair city back in '02, I wanted to show her.

We were able to secure a bean pie from the Nation of Islam. At a traffic light a cadre of bow-tied men were walking car to car hocking the bean pies as a "school fund raiser." Even though we were glared at when asked, we thought, "What the hell?" From what I had previously heard, the little navy bean pies were tasty. Well, those people were correct!

We bought two (more so because I didn't have change for a $20 and was afraid to ask - the guy didn't look like a change-giving man - at least to whitey) and now have one in the basement freezer for any Ohioans who wander this way and want an authentic taste of Detroit (since the 1930's).


The Bean Pie

Change of Heart (and mind)

Well...

I have dropped my University of Michigan-Dearborn classes and relinquished my student aid. Needless to say, I will NOT be a student at UofM-D. Instead I have decided to pursue a Doctor of Arts (D.A.) degree in humanities in the great works of Western Civilization.

I will get to delve into everything from Aristotle and Kant to Marx and Machiavelli. I get one on one instruction & tutoring, self-guided curriculum design, and I get to establish the questions to be answered. It is OLD SCHOOL education in the most medieval of senses. I cannot wait!

Party Pictures

HERE THEY ARE!!!
The pictures from Moustache Fandango 2008!

All the boys
(L-R:Me, JohnnyD, JasonD, J.James and J.Blo)

This is me looking like the people I used to work with on the horse ranch.

John with his glorious Franz Josef

Jason looking like a 70's porn star...this 'stache went over really well in Ann Arbor

Jeff couldn't grow a 'stache, so we had some theatrical facial hair for him;
but trust me, he has sported this look before...

Jason D's creepy swashbuckling Cpt. Morgan 'stache. I think he looks like the Unabomber

Jeffchephous pulling off the Sam Elliot look

This Zappa-esque picture of J.James is simply awesome!


*All photos courtesy of JasonD

Moustache Fandango Update

Well, I shaved the beast today and trimmed the facial hedges...and I must say - IT IS BITCHIN'. I got some crazy looks in Target today and was met with open mouths and snarls as I smiled and greeted the old ladies.

Pics will be posted on Saturday as there will be a pictorial report from the Fandango. We may even have a contestant "phoning in" their entry via email...Oh the anticipation. So, stay tuned facial-hair-philiacs...more to come soon!

Almost 30...10 Days until Youth is Officially OVER

On May 12th I will be 30. I am not as nervous about this "milestone" as others around me. I have seen those fear, deny and detest their coming thirtieth birthday. I am welcoming it. I just recently got tenure at HFCC, I have started a new Religious Studies program, I am starting another master's degree at U of M and I have a lovely home and family. However, there is one thing missing....it is growing in now, but I am going to reign in the big 3-0 with a bitchin' 'stache.

Hopefully, in 10 days I look as cool as this guy...

XM-Sirius Merger

After much bulls**t foot-dragging, the American government has finally moved to approve the Sirius-XM radio merger. It has taken 400+ days to decide on this merger and it is well welcomed. Imagine, Bob Dylan and Howard Stern cavorting with Martha Stewart and Oprah...it's on it's way baby. The details aren't 100% clear, but it seems this merger might actually result in a lowering of monthly subscription costs.

Read more HERE.

I am wondering, however, if this had anything to do with Howard Stern's prodding of Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA). Senator Specter was on Stern's program last week and vowed to look into the merger and promised a decision before the end of the month. Just this morning Stern was commenting how the end of the month would soon be upon us. Oh, the wheels of government have finally moved in a logical direction.

I Was So Much Older Then...

Every time I do it, I regret it. No longer am I made of rubber and can easily bounce back into place quite so easily. Yes, it is true...I am getting old. I had a fabulous weekend with my "boys" in Columbus, Ohio. We laughed, we reminisced, we drank, we smoked and we ultimately paid for it. I woke up Sunday morning feeling like

1) I had been dragged behind a train

2) I had been beaten by a group of bikers

3) I was trying to act much younger than I am

Everyone seemed to be getting healthier. Most of us have stopped smoking, started eating right and overall improving out lots in life. However, there remains an unspoken melancholy regarding the loss of some of the ignorance of youth. This is all a good thing...getting smarter, getting healthier, getting "right" with ourselves.

Needless to say I am better now. I am starting to get a little bounce in my step and can actually form a sound from my foggy, abused throat. Of course, the bounce could be from the coffee and thus fleeting in its longevity. Either way, there will always be a place for gluttony, drunkeness and overall childish behavior. However, I have to remember moderation. Many would say this "moderation" would keep me from such extremes; but if you believe in moderation, you need to take "moderation" even in moderation. Therefore, cut loose sometimes, let go and be wild...but remember, piety and self-flagellation are just around the corner.

My Biographical Writing on the Web

Phil Roman Biography

Kia Corthron Biography

Oni Lampley Biography

P.Diddy (aka Puff Daddy) Biography
(scroll down to "Sean Combs" article from Black Biography