Time to Kill

“I got all the time that I need to kill

What’s that time?  It’s time to get ill.”

    “Time to Get Ill,” Beastie Boys

Jonathyne Briggs, missing from lunch, was home sick, so he put YouTube videos on Facebook of such songs as Led Zeppelin’s “Sick Again,” “Mudhoney’s “Touch me I’m Sick,” “Matthew Sweet’s “Sick of Myself,” “Scarlet” by Lush, and the Beastie’s “Time To Get Ill.”  One line goes, “But I’m chiller with the Miller, cold coolin’ at the bar.”  Dave has been home with the flu, the last one in his family to catch it.

Archives volunteer David Mergl has started an autobiography and promised to show it to me once it is completed.  Perhaps at that point I’ll interview him and flesh out intimate details.

Grinnell’s Jack Taylor scored a record 138 points in a 179-104 victory over Faith Baptist Bible.  Grinnell grad Chris Kern was not all that surprised, given Coach David Arseneault’s hurry-up offense.  He recalled a game where Grinnell scored 150 points and lost.  Nine years ago the team averaged over 126 points a game.  Of more interest to me, IU preserved its number one ranking with an overtime win against Georgetown despite blowing a double digit lead in the final minutes.

Phil emailed photos of Anthony in uniform with a drawing by Toni in the background as well as awards, including two EMMYs, Phil has won for documentaries above the fireplace.  Barely visible in the bookcase is “City of the Century.”  Phil won four tickets to the Thanksgiving Lions game; a limo will take him, Miranda, Anthony, and Tori to and from the game.

In the latest “Boardwalk Empire” episode Gyp Rosetti sadistically killed another poor sap who rubbed him the wrong way.  The corpse of Nucky enforcer Owen Sleater arrived at his home in a crate, causing Margaret to become hysterical.  He had gotten her pregnant and planned to run off with her, so it wasn’t entirely surprising that he was written out of the series.  Still, like Jimmy in season two, he was one of the most interesting characters.

Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., resigned after being treated for months at Mayo Clinic for bipolar disorder.  Strange that he waited until after the election – must have had an ulterior motive.  Last year his wife revealed that he had cheated on her, and he has been the target of an investigation by the House Ethics Committee

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is practicing shuttle diplomacy in an effort to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas forces in Gaza.  The Israelis are threatening to invade.

Dennis Kucinich appeared on NP, feisty as ever. Defeated by Marcy Kaptur after his tenth district in Ohio was carved up during redistricting, he was one of the last of the ultra liberals, who has been highly critical of America’s interventionist foreign policy.  He’ll be missed.

Perhaps inspired by the honking of birds overhead, Anne Balay posted these Robert Penn Warren lines: “Long ago, in Kentucky, I, a boy, stood by a dirt road, in first dark, and heard the great geese hoot northward.  I could not see them, there being no moon and the stars sparse.  I heard them.  I do not know what was happening in my heart.”  One thing I loved about the house on Maple Place was the migrating birds seeming to hoot at me as they flew overhead.  I don’t miss the deer, raccoons, and occasional coyote crossing our driveway.  Sam Barnett spotted a coyote on 93^rd Street in Crown Point.

My alma mater, Maryland, joined the Big Ten, along with Rutgers, bringing the conference’s total to 14 teams.  It is estimated that Maryland will gain millions more revenue a year due to TV contracts.  The Big Ten Network wants to be able to be in homes nationwide, and experts are predicting that before long there will be four or five super-conferences of 16 teams each.

An adjunct faculty is offering a second semester course entitled “The meaning of Life in Philosophy, Film, and Literature.”  It would be fun to see the syllabus and the names of the movies that the teacher will show.

Testing out a groin muscle that I pulled the week before, Tuesday I bowled two practice games with Dick Maloney, who has been on the DL since opening night.  I rolled a 168 and 138 despite picking up two 5-10 splits in the second game.  The next night I bowled 24 pins above average, and we won the third game despite the opponent’s anchor, Jeff Palin, rolling a 279.