Tom is Away

grading, reading, sleeping, hopefully in that order

whatever I’m doing, you better believe it’s extremely important.

Applying for something called a Breadlof Fellowship. I hope it results in actual bread.

readign, writing, falling asleep on the couch.
you know how i do.

getting work done.

If you’re an Eagles fan, and you think the reason the Eagles haven’t won the Super Bowl is because the ownership is too cheap…

well, don’t even talk to me.

In class tomorrow, I’m making my students do some impromptu debates about fairly trivial topics like Pepsi vs. Coke, McDonald’s vs. Burger King (Wendy’s excluded, because it’s the clear winner), Atlantic Ocean vs. Pacific, cats vs. dogs, Family Guy vs Simpsons, and so on. The idea is that they can be creative, have some fun, and still work on persuasive speaking on topics on which they should have some broad knowledge base. I have a bunch of topic ideas from when I did this last semester, but not all were terribly successful. So let me know if you have any suggestions, please…

seems like as good a time as any to eat breakfast. Marshmallow Treasures, here I come.

It’s funny how something as small as a $10 ticket for parking on the wrong side of the road can ruin your whole day.

"The rewards of being a Philadelphia sports fan simply do not match the pain and suffering. For every 1980, there are five years of total despair. For every Jim Thome, there are five J.D. Drews. If a sports psychologist were to study this ratio of reward vs. pain, it’s a pretty safe bet that his advice would be to find another hobby…
But onward we march, in search of a real parade. Being a Philadelphia sports fan is a tradition handed down from generation to generation, like a mutant gene. After 21 years without a single major sports championship, we still fill just about every seat for just about every game. We still hope." — Angelo Cataldi

hey, east coast folk, don’t feel too bad about your weather. We’re expecting about a half inch of snow here too.

Why wait? Join McAllister Nation today.

Grading papers gives me so much Away Message material. From the same assignment as the other guy, comparing/contrasting two different figures in the sports worl and their views on American Fan Culture. Here it is, unedited:

"American History has always prided it’s top athletes, and as such, they are treated much better than the average person. These financial conditions for sports players will likely never change, and as sports stars continue to earn higher salaries, huge incomes will never decrease. On the other hand, sports will always continue to be an outlet for it’s loving fans. It is crazy many more factors of drama contribute to professional sports than just the end product of the game. TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS TOUCHDOWN VIKINGS!! The broadcaster is hardly heard over the loud cheer of the devoted fans."

I’m so sick of hearing about Maurice Clarett.

back to grading papers. I had been slamming my head against a wall, but it seemed too easy.

The House of Edgar Shotts & Dykehead Pipe Band — one of my former professions

A quote from a sutdent paper, in which he was comparing/contrasting the fan culture of the Yankees versus the Cubs, its causes and effects, and so on:

"Violence has incorporated its way into Yankee culture like the polio virus."

Two good places to waste your time:
The World According to TMC
and
Tom is Away

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self portrait

Be sure to check out the newest extension of my website: The World According to TMC, a growing collection of essays, articles, rants, and possibly some shorter stories. First major article: My 13 point plan for the Eagles’ offseason.
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