Writing wroundup


Today was our Spring Thesis Conference -- about 70 students defending their theses in twenty-minute presentations -- followed by the graduation banquet. It's the longest day of the year for me. I moderated nine theses and hugged 86 graduates and heard three addresses and ate my umpteenth portion of Aramark chicken cordon bleu. 11 hours later, I'm finally home, the kids are already in bed, and I'm steeling myself to get up and get to three 2-hour graduation ceremonies tomorrow.

So I'm copping out and link-blogging. Don't judge me too harshly.

I wrote the Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World entry in this "Failed Attempts to Start Film Franchises" Inventory (occasioning some reader dissatisfaction by its placement among the Doctor Detroits and Wing Commanders of the list).

My beat in "Ask the A.V. Club" has become music identification and history, and my mastery of the genre was proven once again by my discovery of the "ubiquitous, campy pizzicato music" reader Kyle asked about. The commenters went off on a tangent when one of them thought he had a different campy pizzicato piece in mind and others peppered him with suggestions about what it might be. Turns out it was the one I found in the first place. I win!

This week I delve into the origin of peppy choral arrangements of radio call letters. Makes a nice companion piece with Noel's discussion of "literate" music in the same column. Last month I recalled the short-lived Nick at Nite series On the Television (prompting the posting of YouTubes!), And I wrote about Platinum Blue, the computer that predicts hit songs, as chronicled by Malcolm Gladwell in a digression in his article on computerized Hollywood script doctoring, "The Formula." I may have already linked to them and I'm too lazy to check -- but I bet you didn't click yet! Click, damn you!

You know, the more I write about this kind of stuff in the blog and not about the word that rhymes with Hermit of Mink Hollow, the less Noel will link to me in his A.V. Club blog entries. He's not going to link to a post about A.V. Club links. I'll think of some better and more linkable topics during the four and a half hours I'll be spending sitting on a platform in ceremonial regalia tomorrow. Note to self: Put a Moleskine notebook in your pocket tomorrow morning. And a pen. Note to self prime: Wear something with pockets.

Posted: Fri - May 4, 2007 at 09:07 PM         |

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