Goog for you, Mark! My good news is that I have a light exam schedule. We never know what we'll be asked to do in June until the end of May. Apart from correcting 90 exam papers (which was scheduled), I only have four days of oral exams. I'm off for a pub crawl now with my colleagues. And what fantastic weather we're having!

Duncan

Thanks Ann, Mark, John, Andrew. : )

Ann, I of course don't mind that you've downloaded it.

Extra Special Good News
 

After four stressful days in hospital, my younger daughter finally underwent a Caesarean this morning, and...

IT'S A BOY!!!!!! He was 10lbs 12oz, (:eek:) which rather explains the need for the C Section.

I'm relieved that all is well for my daughter and her husband as this is their first baby, and I'm feeling very emotional (blubbering even as I write this!), ...but I'm ecstatic, naturally, and going to visit them all soon. :D

Jayne

Congratulations Jayne, that's wonderful news!!

Cheers,
John

Congrats, Jayne!

Yes, Jayne - treat yourself to a well-deserved blubber and have a little read of John's "Boy Baby" poem, soon to be pruned from Met. (I must confess when I saw it first on D&A I thought it was a response to the news that, from the sidelines, we've all been waiting for.)

I'm raising a glass (of Australian Shiraz) to the babe and wishing all good things for the new parents.

And, just for you, I'll break the habit of lifetime - wait for it - :)

Congratulations, Jayne!

Susan

Wonderful news, Jayne. That's a big boy! With almost eleven pounds to work with, your daughter could have made twins.

Splendid news, indeed. Congratulations, Jayne!

Congratulations, Jayne!

Is quite prodigious news this. Congratulations, Jayne! Bright blessings to you and yours.

Erik


P.S. .That John’s Baby Boy poem be becoming is fast become an understatement.

10 pounds, 12 ounces--whoa! Respect!

And extra special good news, indeed.

Hello John, Shaun, Annie, Susan, Bob, Mike, Max, Erik and Julie,

Thank you all so much for your warm congratulations.

Bob, yes - on your twins comment, there's a lady in the bed opposite my daughter, whose baby boy is very nearly half the weight, so Nina could have had two for the price [or weight] of one! ;)

Annie, thank you for pushing the boat out with a smiley. Much appreciated, dear friend! :):):):)

Jayne

Many congratulations, Jayne.
Our first grandchild, a boy, was born in February, on Valentine's Day.
I expected him to be hyperactive, as was his father as a child, and would have considered it poetic justice. However, he's turning out to be cheerful and quiet.

Thank you, David.

This baby is the first for my younger daughter, but is my 7th grandchild (three boys and four girls). He, too, right from the off, appears to be very placid. At nearly 11lbs, he already seems like a three-month-old!

Every generation is new and improved
 

And they seem to know that, early on.
Congratulations Jane.
My first born son (now 45) was 10 lb 3 oz, and his mother actually thought she was dead....when she awoke in recovery after sixteen hours of labor.
All the best to You and Yours,
Stephen

Many congratulations Granny Osborn! And blessings to the magnificent 7. Woah, that's a big baby...

I'm so happy for you, Jayne. I never knew the thrill of maternal feelings till I became an old lady. My only children (besides dear cat Emily) are my books. This new review of an old book (well, not that old, only four years old) made me kvell like a mother who thought her child would never amount to much but is suddenly loved by a stranger. It isn't the TLS, but there's love, love, love.

What a wonderful review, Mary. 'So, so sexy and so, so smart!' Who could ask for more? And she's spot on about Girlie Calendar. :)

Thank you Stephen, Mark and Mary.

And yes, Mary, Mark is right about your ''baby''! ;)

My daughter had just one night in hospital following the Caesarean and the birth of her whopper baby boy, but is adjusting to her new life at home, with some help, advice and very little interference from me.

Now I'm going to move over for the next piece of Good News from someone else.

(Final words on it: Thanks for all the good wishes, dear friends.)

Jayne

Aaron N: "I read some of my poetry on Tuesday and, for the first time in my life, I don't want to die immediately upon hearing my recorded voice."


The Hemmingway Cafe Summer Poetry Series sounds like a very cool venue.

Your voice comes across really well! I cringe at what I would sound like. The poetry, too, is impressive. The imagery pops!

I think the key to reading poetry aloud in front of an audience (as opposed to reading aloud alone in a room, which is also important) is for the poet to carefully craft a brief introduction to each poem and give some insight into the poem’s intent. It helps the audience. It’s no longer a poem on a page. It’s performance art.

Great work, Aaron.

Thanks, Jim! I give credit to my decision to memorize my poems, rather than read them off of paper—I felt more comfortable with them (plus I could hide any tremors in my hands).

Aaron, yes memorization is key!

Aaron N: "I read some of my poetry on Tuesday and, for the first time in my life, I don't want to die immediately upon hearing my recorded voice."

As if some puppet’s, our own voice plays back
(the pitch is canned, the base a hollowed crack)
most blush. Not so the Narcissist-in-Chief:
His love for his voice is the hearers’ grief
in parallel. The world hears yours as fine,
who overlove their own as asinine.
d

Speaking of voices, I am excited to be helping to co-ordinate the San Diego hub of this multi-location project:

Big Sing California--a free, statewide choir concert on Saturday, July 21, 2-3:30pm

The six main hubs are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, and Riverside, plus a bunch of smaller hubs. The San Diego location will be especially fun because Comic-Con International will be happening here that weekend, too. Costumes welcome!

[Edited to add: Check out "Bring Me Little Water, Silvy" if your day could use a blast of joy.]

I've just got back home from my first ever visit to The Magic Circle in London (it's great, but nowhere near as impressive as The Magic Castle in Los Angeles), for the Stage Magician of The Year 2018 competition.

The President of the magicians' club I belong to was one of the seven entrants and, although he didn't win, all of the acts were fantastic to watch and it was a ''magical'' night out with my husband and a group of friends.

Jayne

Today I looked after my 4-week old grandson while my daughter did some errands in town. She's now driving again after her C-Section, which has made life easier.

It's the first time the baby has been left with anyone, and he was as good as gold... Was that a smile he gave me? OK, it was probably just wind, but I'm choosing to believe it was a smile of contentment as he looked up at me.

Don't worry, I promise I shan't be doing the doting grandmother thing again... just this once, if I may crave your indulgence!

Who else has something happy to tell us all? (Preferably not Accomplished Members stuff; there's a separate board for that kind of good news, but it's uplifting just to hear little snippets of things that have made people feel cheerful.)

Jayne

https://twitter.com/dodo/status/1012003372835074048

Animals getting their first taste of freedom. Quite beautiful. A bit of the life they were meant to have by their Creator.

After a very dispiriting year on the academic philosophy job market, today, at the eleventh hour, I was offered a post-doctoral position at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Great news indeed Aaron! Nova Scotia rolls off the tongue and is a serene, beautiful place to boot.

Congrats, Aaron.

Halifax, huh? I hear it's beautiful.

The city itself is just a city, though right on the coast which is nice. But get out a little ways and it's just breathtakingly gorgeous: a mix of exposed rock and tundra-like vegetation (tundra is my favorite biome).

Amazing, Aaron! I am excited for you; that sounds wonderful.

There's an academic philosophy job market?

Seriously, congrats!

Lol, there isn’t much of one.

Seven jobs in my specialty last year (in the US).

Thanks Andrew, Jim, Erik, Julie.

Congratulations, Aaron!
Nova Scotia could be a good place for writing as well.

Cheers,
John

Congratulations from me too, Aaron. I'm on the other coast, but I can still welcome you to the Great White North.

By the way, our greatest poet, E.J. Pratt, was originally from the maritimes before he went to study and teach at the University of Toronto.

My congratulations, too, Aaron!

Your specialty is philosophy of science, right? From pictures, Nova Scotia looks very pretty. I've wanted for years to take a summer or early fall trip up there. One day...

Way to go, Aaron! I'll be starting my dissertation next year, so I'm about three years away from a very similar process (in the English camp - early modern literature, specifically), and I already know how bleak the process is and how fraught the market has become. Dalhousie is definitely a great university, and you should enjoy the year (or more) in Canada!

We are just back from 2 weeks in Scotland, 3 days in Edinburgh and the rest of the time with my sister-in-law & her husband, who now live in the Highlands (village of Bettyhill, to be exact). We loved everything about the place, from Ben Loyal to sticky toffee pudding (which we would call chocolate cake with caramel sauce). And I was delighted to find some of the Lewis chessmen in the Scottish National Museum.