Friday Varia and Quick Hits

Part of the fun of the “Northern Plains Lifestyle” is trying to get comfortable with the weather. A week or so ago, I would say that we’re headed toward summer, but now I feel like it’s still springtime in the Red River Valley. I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll take temperatures in the 50s and sunny days over wintertime. 

Yesterday was my last day of classes for this academic year and the calm before the final wave of grading. This means that I’ll start on my summer reading list in earnest, take care of a bit of backlog in emails, and do some Digital Press work. I should also have time for a spin on the ole push-bike and to enjoy the Fighting’ Phils at Atlanta, the Sixers continue to coast toward the end of their season, the F1 party is in Spain, and the NASCARlers are at the Lady in Black. The big show, of course, is Saturday night when Canelo Alvarez fights Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO Super Middle Weight Championship of the World. The rest of the card looks pretty boring, but any time Canelo fights, it’s a kind of must-see TV.

Hope your weekend will be as relaxed as mine and that you find something that intrigues you in my little list of quick hits and varia:

• Some Buzz about the Acropolis Renovations.

• From Cuzco to Constantinople.

• New Studies in Late Antiquity.

• Pull Tab Archaeology Mother Load.

• More DAPL.

• Do you live in a political bubble?

• Watch Typology.

• More Moore.

• Conversation Pits.

• Backstories: A Kitchen Table Talk Cookbook.

• It is Bandcamp Friday!

• What I’m reading: Paul Youngquist, A Pure Solar World: Sun Ra and the Birth of Afrofuturism. Texas 2016.

• What I’m listening to: Art Ensemble of Chicago,Tutankhamun. (1969) 

• What I’m listening to (Part 2): Philip Cohran and the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, On the Beach (1968).