How cold has it been this spring of 2013 in Iowa City? Well, this is how Dept. of Classics Chair, Dr. John Finamore, gets to work in the Jefferson Building in the morning.
AT-AT snow walker on the Ped Mall in Iowa City, March 18, 2013.
Filed under: humor, iowa city, University of Iowa | Tagged: AT-AT, cold, iowa city, Jefferson Building, John Finamore, Pedestrian Mall, snow walker, star wars | Leave a Comment »
Mac got to experience his his first presidential rally today (September 7, 2012) when President Barack Obama visited the University of Iowa. Roslyn made him an “I heart Michelle” onesie and he was waving at everyone he saw on the Pentacrest, as well as during lunch at Iowa City’s famous Hamburg Inn (a political tradition in Iowa City).
He had a great time!
Mommy has her ticket and we’re ready to see the President
Ros and Mac get ready to see the President
Mommy made Mac an “I Heart Michelle” onesie for the occasion.
Vice President Joe Biden speaks at the University of Iowa on September 7, 2012
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Iowa on September 7, 2012
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Iowa on September 7, 2012
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Iowa on September 7, 2012
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Iowa on September 7, 2012
President Barack Obama speaks at the University of Iowa on September 7, 2012
Filed under: iowa, iowa city, politics | Tagged: barack obama, campaign, hamburg inn, iowa city, pentacrest, president, rally, university, visit | 5 Comments »
No matter how old I get, it’s always fun to play on the swings.
Here I am with MacLaren on a gorgeous spring day in April 2012 in Iowa City.
Afterward, I’ll ask him his opinion on Greek funerary inscriptions. Then I’ll remember he’s only a child with no professional training, thank him for his precious, yet untrained opinion, kiss him on the forehead, tell him I love him, give him a big hug, and then begin a more academically credible process. I’ll start by aggregating existing research into a literary history, and then do some research of my own, then test it in segments on the blogs and message boards, attend some lectures, write a draft of a research paper, present it at ASOR or SBL, get feedback (some positive, some negative) from credible, professionally trained colleagues, re-write the paper, then submit it to a refereed journal, receive back the peer-reviews, further edit the paper incorporating the suggestions from my blind reviewers, re-submit my paper to the journal, celebrate its acceptance, but then prepare rebuttals for the inevitable scholarly critiques and responses that will follow, write another paper supplementing the published article following the same process above, incorporate the now multiple articles and additional research into chapters of a monograph, secure an interested academic publisher, send of drafts to reviewers, receive back the reviews and further edit the volume, then send the completed volume to the contracted publisher for publication. Then, I’ll inquire about a book review session at SBL, ASOR, or some other professional academy annual meeting, making sure to invite both those who agree and disagree with my theory, and then listen to critiques and reviews of my volume. I shall then wait several years to ascertain whether or not my volume proves to have legs and longevity, whether newer research makes my contribution comparatively obsolete, or whether my published conclusions need further reconsideration.
Then again, as the above process is quite difficult, and time consuming, and not all that profitable in the short term, and it likewise provides me no first century apologetic evidence for my modern beliefs, perhaps instead I’ll reconsider and simply accept the judgment of my child regarding the Greek funerary inscriptions.
Filed under: iowa city, robert cargill | Tagged: MacLaren Grey Cargill, methodology, publishing, research, scholarly process, swings | 12 Comments »
The outgoing and newly-elected Chairs speak at the Precinct 16 Republican Iowa Caucus at Lucas School in Iowa City, Jan 3, 2012.
Roslyn and I (and baby Mac) just finished our first Iowa Caucus experience. After participating in the Coffee Bean Caucus at Hamburg Inn this weekend, we did the real thing tonight in Iowa City, home of The University of Iowa Hawkeyes, as well as the Departments of Religious Studies and Classics (where I teach).
As most of you know, we are registered as unaffiliated voters in Iowa (just as we were in California). This means we do not belong to a political party. Because the Democratic and Republican caucuses take place at the same time at different places, you can only attend one. And, you must be registered with the party that is caucusing in order to participate. Luckily, you can register with the party at the door. So, since the Democratic Iowa Caucus is uncontested, Ros and I chose to attend the GOP Iowa Caucus, and registered as Republicans at the door.
(Fear not, we’ll re-register as unaffiliated voters in a couple of weeks and reassert our independent status. But we wanted to attend a contested primary and as moderate independents, either party will work for a night.)
So we went and we participated. And I tweeted the process live. We listened to short, 5-minute speeches from representatives of some of the candidates. And then we voted. And this is the big difference between the GOP and Democratic caucuses: at the GOP caucus, after the 5-minute pitches, you take a secret ballot vote. The votes are then counted and the winners announced. However, at the Democratic caucus, you ‘vote with your feet’: you physically walk to areas for each candidate and are counted. Then, after an initial vote, backers of different candidates walk around and attempt to convince other caucus participants to join them in support of their candidate. This is especially important for candidates with less than 15% of the vote, who cannot receive delegates. But at the GOP caucus, we simply voted and awaited the result.
All of the excitement was too much for MacLaren to handle at Precinct 16 of the GOP Iowa Caucus at Lucas School, Jan 3, 2012.
We were told that Republican Precinct 16 is one of the larger GOP precincts in the People’s Republic of Johnson County, so Precinct 16 may very well be a decent model for the larger GOP Iowa Caucus field.
The announced results were as follows:
Romney: 62
Paul: 48
Santorum: 28
Gingrich: 10
Perry: 10
Huntsman: 2
Bachmann: 2
Undecided: 1
It was simple and I must admit, it was the most fun and most personal experience I’ve ever had as a voter (although MacLaren was completely overwhelmed by the excitement). I like the Iowa Caucus process, and next election we’ll attend the Democratic Caucus to actually ‘vote with our feet’.
Filed under: iowa, iowa city, maclaren cargill, politics, robert cargill, roslyn, University of Iowa | Tagged: Bachmann, coffee bean caucus, Department of Classics, Department of Religious Studies, Gingrich, GOP, Huntsman, Iowa Caucus, MacLaren Grey Cargill, Paul, Perry, Precinct 16, republican, Romney, Santorum, University of Iowa | 4 Comments »
My bag and my Hamburg Inn mug. All I need.
No way. Not possible.
I had pie shakes at Hamburg Inn just this past Saturday (New Year’s Eve) and she was nowhere near the lead. Someone must have sneaked in spilled a bag of Gothic beans from Java House on her jar sometime before the 8 AM siren.
Seriously, how could Michele Bachmann win anything in the People’s Republic?
Filed under: iowa city, politics | Tagged: downtown, fox news, hamburg inn, iowa city, java house, michele bachmann | 6 Comments »
Melissa Minarsich of Iowa City was arrested after she assaulted her boyfriend for not having sex with her.
Here in Iowa City, life is never dull. And by now, everyone knows Iowa City’s reputation as a socially progressive center where common stereotypes, such as traditional gender roles, can be nonexistent or even, on occasion, reversed. In fact, even the rare crime committed in Iowa City can exhibit characteristics that defy traditional stereotypes.
Take for instance a local Iowa City woman, Melissa B. Minarsich, 28, who assaulted her boyfriend because he refused to have sex with her. You read that correctly: She beat him for not having sex with her. It’s like Fresno’s Bizarro World.
At least her explanation to the police following her arrest was refreshingly honest and straightforward:
“All I want is a piece of ass, is that too much to ask for?
Apparently yes, a “piece of ass” is too much to ask for if you assault someone when it is refused.
Filed under: i'm not making this up, iowa city, justice and legal | Tagged: arrest, assault, crime, iowa city, Melissa Minarsich, piece of ass | Leave a Comment »
