(snuggles little dog named Video Retriever, talks in cute little voice) "Yes! You're supposed to be kind and please rewind!"

Yipes, I'd forgotten that. What a mess that all was.

I was so used to The Nashville Network. Then one day it was The National Network…whatever the hell that meant. And then it became Spike, with that original logo that looked like the branding on a feminine hygiene product.

Trigger warning: Roy Rogers' horse.

Yep. People who don't understand how academia works like to take potshots at what we do, without realizing there's a purpose behind it if you bother to look closer - and there's also enforcement within the system to make sure we don't get silly or stray too far.

I remember watching Loveline back in the day and noticing how uncomfortable Carolla would get when trans issues came up, to the point of squirming and making a face about it. Part of me wondered if it was hamming it up for the audience, but there seemed something too genuine about it.

I love the misheard version that turns it into "Time I had some Tylenol."

And under Jeff Sessions' new sentencing guidelines, he never will.

Yep. I have also found that 98% of students will be pragmatic about such things, and can deal with it a lot better than the cheap stereotypes about college students would lead one to believe.

His recent turn on Match Game was kind of uncomfortable. It was half "oh, Adam's doing his grumpy-grump schtick" and half "wow, he really doesn't seem like he wants to be there."

Many years ago my husband was refueling his truck. A kid on the other side of the pump, probably in his late teens, was refueling his truck while smoking a cigarette. My husband told him hey, didn't you see the no smoking sign? Kid shot back in that smug-ignorant way that there ain't no way a cigarette can set off gas…

I've been through LGBTQ ally training and similar training for victims of sexual assault, and my office is a "safe space" for those who need to discuss that in the company of someone who will not judge and who is able to recommend help. It's areas within the campus, not the whole damn campus itself.

I warn all my students in the syllabus that there may be times we have to discuss sensitive or potentially upsetting material, but we have to do it because of the nature of the course - and if they think they'll have an issue, they are welcome to talk to me about it. If it's of a serious enough nature, I'll consider…

The caricature that's emerged of "safe spaces" is not unlike how on a slow news day at the start of a new semester there'll be these big headlines like "Hartsfield-Jackson University is teaching a course about [insert pop culture sensation of the moment]!" or something like that. And the way the story is presented…

"Show me where on this doll the safe space touched you."

In the syllabus to every course I teach there's language stating I expect every student in the class to treat one another with respect. I also step in if I feel somebody's getting picked on. There's nothing "politically correct" about making sure everybody feels welcome in the room, and welcome to participate. The…

One of the frustrations of working in higher education has been watching the mindset of so many folks become "a college degree will help you get a job!" Which, that mindset turns us into a four-year tech school. A liberal arts education is supposed to be about training your mind to ask the right questions in life,…

Stuff I'm happy about:
* Passed my biennial flight physical with flying colors (ha ha!)
* Both cats have had their annual check-ups and are doing well. Older cat, who has a heart murmur, had his heart ultrasound done yesterday and, in the words of the doctor, his condition is "incredibly stable."
* Work on the projects…

"Willllburrr! NOOOOOO!"

Indulging Sunday in one of my favorite days, with Formula 1 at Monaco early in the morning, the Indy 500 at midday (go Fernando Alonso! go JPM! go Scott Dixon! go Tony Kanaan and Pippa Mann!), and the NA$CAR Charlotte race that evening. Not to mention this is the weekend when TCM puts together a really great lineup of…