i really haven't been making fun of stupid people.

all semester. i really haven't. this is because in general, the stupid people aren't writing anything mock-worthy; i've been pitying them or beating my head against the wall instead of making fun of them.

every so often, though, one of my smart kids does something precious. here's an example:

"Stops followed by grooved fricatives have been resegmented into affricates. This makes sense because it adds to the uniformity of the conical structure of the language."

conical. honest. this, i'll point out, was handed in in the ninth week of the semester. and this is a kid who has some issues with spelling -- but this is, i think obviously, not a spelling issue. i'm finding myself chuckling like a parent who's trying not to let the kid see the laughter.

(the word she was after was canonical. the canonical structure of syllables or words in a language is the form such syllables or words tend to take -- in this case, we're talking things like CVCCVC, where C is a consonant and V is a vowel.)

at the movies

so ( i went )

to see master and commander.

i can't get over the dichotomy that is russell crowe. much like daniel day-lewis, he bugs the living crap out of me and is yet unreasonably good at his job. (in contrast to daniel day-lewis, of course, russell crowe manages to do this without actually trying to convince himself that he's someone or something he's not. he recognizes, as far as i've been able to tell, that his job is to pretend -- unlike all these Method actors who drive me so bananas.) this was a good role for him; less of the Great Big Hero like in gladiator or a beautiful mind, and more of the By The Way, He's The Crux Of The Film like in the insider (and, i could argue if i wanted to, the quick and the dead). i like his subtler work, god help me.

i adore paul bettany. that's about all i have to say about that.

the rest of the cast, and in fact the entire film (except the couple of bits where i looked away), pleased me very much. particularly that first lieutenant, or whatever his rank was, the pretty one with the scar on his cheek. very nice. :-) this is another thumbs-up in favor of the movie.