More fragments of April

Another month feebly chronicled. The epistle demanded my full attention.

I did send it in, last Thursday. That night, the Chairman of the Board replied that he would forward it to his fellow Trustees. His tone was friendly. He thought I was my uncle (a rather well-known figure at the College). I told him I was glad my letter would be read.

For some days afterward, I worried whether I’d chosen the proper font, but then I decided that I had.

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What with the springtime, the lawn is longer. It’s grown especially long over the spot where, last fall, we buried the mouse.

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One more day to finish this year’s book-reading. I’ve given up. (Next year, I’ll do better.) Lately, I’ve been reading essays about political libertarianism and conservatism. Here are belief-systems which depend on the most incredible historic claims. How to make these systems plausible? This challenge frightens off all but the boldest thinkers. I understand now why so many lifelong atheists study religion sympathetically, and why some of them convert.

A strange syllabus

One of my IU tutees brought in this syllabus.

Course title:  

• Typography I.

Objectives: 

• To develop an understanding of color theory, color relationships, and color terminology. [Uh, what.]
• To develop hand and eye skills and technique for mixing and applying paint.

Texts and Materials: 

• Color: A Workshop Approach by David Hornung.

Assignments: 

• Various exercises on color theory and relationships.
• Interpret an image using different color harmony schemes. [WTF.] 

Term Paper: 

• Write a 10 page paper on a graphic designer/type designer of your choice. [Finally. No more of this “color” nonsense.]

[Etc., etc.]

I looked up “typography” in the dictionary and on Wikipedia to make sure I wasn’t going insane.

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Last week I was able to stay home in the mornings and work on my epistle, “Toleration at Bethel College.” About 50% of it is written. It’s time to crank up the speed. The trustees will vote on April 23.

April fragments

Alack/alas, only two entries for the month of March.

Also, I’m behind on my reading. My goal each year is to finish twenty-four books from May to April; this year, despite a rapid start, I’m stuck at twelve. As in most years, I’ll resort to reading Young Adult novels and a few very short, weightier works, e.g., A Psychological Study of Typography by Sir Cyril Ludowic Burt (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1959; xix + 57 pp) (requested from a storehouse at IU Bloomington).

That book helped me to decide that Plantin is my favorite font. I’ll use Plantin in my letter to the trustees of Bethel College.

That letter is now a tome.

My spring break at IUSB was two weeks ago. My spring break at the high school will begin on Friday.