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Guess who got found guilty on all counts of ethics violations?

This comes as very little surprise to, well, anyone, I expect. The real question is how this is going to reflect on Palin, I should think.

Man. Exciting year to be an Alaskan. (Last night at rehearsal my Alaskan-ness was brought up while I was trying to defend myself against an accusation of witchcraft, which led, predictably, to "Do you know Sarah Palin?" and "Can you see Russia from your house?" But it also led to "So you've seen the aurora borealis, right?" which was much more pleasant to brag about.)

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*snickers* Okay, so. On being accused of witchcraft.

One of the primary motifs of our production of The Mill on the Floss -- which I'm assistant 'turging -- is the witch, and the drowning of the witch. Last night, when the head 'turg finally got back in town and came to rehearsal, he led an exercise that started with "Someone in this room is a witch. We're going to go around, and everyone's going to say their name and then say why they're not a witch. Take notes on who you think is a witch."

So we did -- eight cast members, director, AD, SM, ASM, sound designer, and both 'turgs, all justifying why they're not witches. ("I'm a Jew, I can't be a witch." "I'm sick, and my legs are cold, and I think magic could fix both of those." "Well, I'm a redhead, but that's just too obvious.")

The majority voted on the senior who contemplatively listed off facts like "Well, I teach yoga . . . I have a twin sister . . . I'm not religious . . . I ride a motorcycle, I really like the full moon . . . oh, I can make bird noises really well. *demonstrates* What else . . . I just shaved for the first time in a year. So . . . yeah. And I'm not a witch."

Only one person accused me of witchcraft, and that was the SM who pointed out that I'm from Alaska.

So that was our experience. The more interesting part -- especially for anyone out there who might ever have the opportunity to teach an anthropology class or similar -- is what the head 'turg said about classrooms where this exercise has been done. Invariably, the people chosen as witches by the class are the people sitting in the T of the front row and along the central aisle. He says that this is because the social norm is to sit in the back or the middle and chill. I think it's also because the front row and the aisles are more visible. True-true related, though, I suppose -- it's not the social norm to be where the professor can easily see you. (We played our game in a circle, so it didn't work out quite the same, but it was fun anyway.)

So. There you have it: my foray into witchcraft. Or not.

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Things I Need to Read by Thursday:

1. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Albee (Directing II)
2. The rest of The Bell Jar, Plath (Feminist Lit)

. . . Just take a second and look at that combination. OH BOY OH BOY. *facepalm*

Things I Need to Read by Friday:

1. More of Middlemarch, Eliot (Interpretive Practices) (I'm already hopelessly behind on this book.)

Things I Need to Do Before Friday:

1. Online exercises (Spanish)

Things I Need to Do Tomorrow:

1. Copies for Jay; scanning for Doc
2. Find brainy specs (HALLOWEEN EEEE)
3. Memorize "Keeping Things Whole", Strand (Speech)

. . . Whoof. Schooling.