Why is it every time there’s a new Osama tape I think of Hari Seldon? Well, except for the “accurate predictions about the future” bit…

At some level, it’s a shame that I don’t have more stuff on Southern machine politics in my southern politics seminar. Memphis’ latter-day Crumps, the Fords, remain masters of the art form, which is well-typified in the current dispute over Ophelia Ford’s apparently fraudulent election to replace brother John (whose own shenanigans were a Signifying Nothing staple from back when Signifying Nothing was a pathetic little website called MemphisWatch nearly a decade ago).

Anyway, a Ford chum sitting on the U.S. district court has now decided to grant (Ophelia) Ford’s request for a restraining order stopping the state legislature from refusing to seat her, pending a hearing next week, thereby vitiating the hopes of anyone wanting this mess resolved any time soon.

See Bob Krumm, Mike Hollihan, and Adam Groves for all the commentary and details you can shake a stick at. (þ: Instapundit)

From an email I received today in response to an application:

Thank you for your letter indicating your interest in the political science position at [Redacted Institution]. The search committee appreciates your willingness to be considered as a candidate and, as our work proceeds, we will keep you informed about the status of the search. [emphasis added]

I didn’t realize I was doing them some sort of favor by applying.

Incidentally, the effect was somewhat spoiled by two identical versions of the form letter being pasted into the email, but what can you do? It could be worse: a couple of weeks ago, I got a rejection letter with someone else’s name on it…

Fresh on the heels of the Mungowitz comes the return of Battlestar Galactica head honco Ron Moore to blogging. As they say, Woot!

The Mungowitz provides a potentially reliable and valid one-question quiz that classifies professors on the basis of ideology.

I actively encourage a Duke clone of these dweebs to waste a hundred bucks getting evidence of my (alleged) promulgation of radical left-wing views in class. Frankly, I’m sure some of my students would be happy to have the beer/pr0n money.

þ: Michelle Dion.

This may become an ongoing series…

• Doing the same lecture two days in a row is a bit (ok, highly) disconcerting the first time you’ve ever done it.
• Seminars are much less painful when you don’t do all of the talking.
• It will be hard for Duke University Transit to find a blue canvas bag you think you left on one of their busses when it has been sitting in your living room the whole day.

At the ripe old age of 30, I’m still learning new things; to wit:

• My car will not start if I don’t have the transmission in park.
• It is embarrassing when the AAA guy makes this discovery after you’ve been sitting in a parking lot for 45 minutes.
• Parking in the Campus Drive lot is impossible at 11 a.m.
• Trying to wet erase a purple marker from a whiteboard is not a good idea if you want your hand to stay flesh-colored.

Yes, I will celebrate, even if the Pats did get jobbed.

For the life of me, I can’t figure out why I agreed to do a phone interview for a job (that, to be perfectly honest, isn't exactly at the top of my rank-ordering of preferences based on admittedly incomplete information) late on a Friday afternoon after two classes.

Of course, the idea sounded like a better idea at the time I booked the interview slot (which I think was sometime in early December), when I didn’t think I needed to spend the afternoon tracking down a half-dozen books for my Southern politics seminar.

It stands to reason that the day I decide to go looking for all of my Southern politics book chapters and articles is the day I can’t find them anywhere—my office, my apartment, my car, nowhere.

This is, in one word, annoying.

Update: It turns out they were in my apartment, completely differently organized from how I remembered them being—I'd forgotten I'd separated them out by topic into separate manila folders last Spring.

It may just be the unseasonably warm weather, but the classroom I taught in today was somehow heated to around 80 degrees. That was a rather unpleasant experience, one I hope will not be repeated tomorrow.

On the other hand, there may be an upside to the heatwave.

Daniel in comments at EDSBS:

Bush’s announcement tomorrow is a lose-lose proposition for USC. If Bush declares for the draft, they lose Bush, of course. Should he announce he is staying, it would demonstrate that someone could spend three years in school at USC and still be the dumbest guy in the country.

Of course, with LenDale White’s draft declaration today, if Bush stayed he would at least have a chance to move up to be indisputably his team’s best rusher…

Seeing your students covered in blue paint: meh.
Teaching late enough in the day that I don’t have to worry about students skipping: ok.
Getting a break from student emails: nice.
Dick Vitale’s microphone not working for the first few minutes: priceless.

Former Miami offensive coordinator Dan Werner is now OC for the Ole Miss Rebels, with fellow ex-Miamian Art Kehoe likely to follow as the new offensive line coach in Oxford. The Rebels will also have Robert Lane back in the backfield, likely back at quarterback (even though Lane’s performance at fullback was one of the few bright spots on offense in the latter half of the season).

þ: Fanblogs and EDSBS.

Just when you thought Marcus Vick couldn’t sink to any further lows, he manages to plumb new depths of idiocy by allegedly pulling a piece during an argument with some high school kids in Virginia. Between Virginia Tech and Miami (aka “The U,” whose football lineups are often confused with the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List), one wonders if the schools’ administrations thought “ACC” stood for “All-Criminals Conference” when they ditched the Big Least.

And in a semi-major journal, no less… now I have do the actual revision and resubmission, alas.

Murphy’s Law dictates, of course, that this notice would come the day I’ve sent out four more applications with “under review at (journal X)” next to the paper on my vita.

Trapper of the Unofficial Battlestar Galactica Blog shares his thoughts about the new BSG episode that aired Friday night (while I was, alas, stuck watching college basketball in my hotel room after stuffing myself beyond all reason at Maggiano’s in Buckhead for want of the Sci-Fi Channel). Last night, after having seen it on TiVo delay myself, I was struck by how much more compelling it was than its Sci-Fi Friday companions. And I was also cursing Ron Moore for making me wait until this Friday to see it all resolved!

ABC/ESPN’s use of the Skycam to show the quarterback walking to the sideline after calling a timeout. At least Fox and CBS seem not to be doing it today.

Before my panel Saturday, I had a nice breakfast (at IHOP, no less) with personable fellow political scientist/blogger Michelle Dion, who receives only minor demerits for being a Tar Heel.

I’m safely back in Durham after a rather dull and uneventful drive yesterday afternoon/evening. Now I’m watching the Giants suck horribly on Fox.

Marcus Vick, younger brother of Atlanta Falcons QB Michael “Ron Mexico” Vick, has been kicked off the Virginia Tech football team after his latest transgressions: an unprovoked on-field spiking of Louisville defensive end Elvis Dumervil in the Gator Bowl, and being ticketed for speeding and driving on a revoked license in Virginia. ESPN.com columnist Ivan Maisel has more.

þ: EDSBS.

I’ve decided to head home Saturday afternoon once my panel wraps up at 12:45; after spending three weeks on the road, I’m ready to get back to Durham and a TiVo full of shows to catch up on while I finish up preparations for the semester—editing syllabi, futzing around in Blackboard, and putting together slides for 138 while I can still find my notes from last semester. And meandering back to Rock Bottom Brewery tomorrow night in the cold isn’t worth blowing $200 on the room, even if the waitstaff is cute.

Let me echo Bryan’s appreciation for the invite to a small get-together at the Rock Botton Brewery in Buckhead with some Atlanta-area bloggers last night. In addition to Bryan, I met the “masked bandito” Rusty Shackleford, Zonker, the Grouchy Old Cripple, and Key Monroe. Double thanks to Zonker for the ride back to the Intercontinental.

PVRblog and MegaZone have the scoop on the upcoming HDTV-capable TiVo, which will include over-the-air and cable HDTV tuners. Although no retail price has been announced, I probably should start saving my pennies now.