The Good Soldier

I have my hands full with a difficult book. Ford writes exquisitely, but the constant metaphoric and simile elements make it a hard going on following the plot. Right now, the Ashburnhams just met the Dowells. The action shifts from 1904 to 1915 almost constantly, so one has to be concerned with the technique that Ford employs and this leaves little space for actual enjoyment of the rhythm and other nuances of language. I only read about 50 pages last night, but I wasn't feeling well after a tough day so I went to bed.

The administration at the school just approved a course I designed for next year. The course is "Popular Culture and Media Studies," and it is promising to make waves all around. The course will concentrate on viewing and listening to popular films, television programs, songs, etc., with a constant awareness of the intended message and audience in mind. This is all critical thinking. I just wrote an outline of what the 18 week semester would look like; now I have to design it day by day. Lots of work for this coming summer!