11.29.07 Lecture

2.27 Troxel enters, I was able to grab a picture of him. It was pretty sweet.
2.28 Moving around the blackboards in order to reveal the white screen behind them, we're getting prepped.
2.29 My cohort's pen is low on ink, he may not take successful notes, or he might be distracted by drawing cartoons.
2.30 Not started yet, lets go Trox! Lights dim, here it goes! A picture of Brett Favre appears on the screen and with spinning text effect of "Beat Dallas" popping up all over the screen. Troxel looks at the screen, scratches quizzically behind his ear and remarks "I don't know how that got there." In this clever move he successfully broke the heart of and tore down the confidence of any Cowboys fans. Now, he'll win them back with an academic discussion of wisdom literature.
2.32 Today we have a sweater that I really wish I would have checked out the color of before the lights dimmed. Its darkish. Looks pretty warm, I'd even go as far as to say "toasty." Between the collared shirt, the sweater, and a cool beard Troxel is probably ready for just about anything winter will throw at him.
2.33 Don't want to dwell on the outfit, but it seems certain that Troxel's button-up shirt exists to compliment his slide backgrounds, the match is spot-on.
2.34 Wisdom literature is not there to help you download pirated music. Just buy "Now 26" and all the top hits are there for you, kids.
2.35 After spending two of the last three hours of my life discussing Mormonism, I can't help but wonder if Troxel will throw in a reference to Lamanites or Nephimites. Probably not.
2.37 Really solid crowd, especially for a Thursday lecture, they look fairly attentive. Not one of the three laptop screen I can view from my location is on Facebook. Well done.
2.40 We've been tipped off that Jon Wylie might be watching the game tonight. If he in fact watches it at the location we've been told he will literally be only ten (10!) feet from my apartment.
2.42 Not only does a twisty-curvy fly-in effect reveal Job 39:1-3, but this section of Job 39 also happens to be my favorite passage of all time to pull out of context and quote at inappropriate times. The key is that it be out of context.
2.43 The two set-aside windows on the screen are each a nice pastel, one a lavender, the other a blueish-violet. They are nicely accented by the yellow background. This is more beautiful than any bouquet or arrangement of flowers ever created.
2.45 Slight mix-up by Trox as the Powerpoint was slow to react. For a moment, he and Powerpoint were out a sink and the world began to spin off its axis, and the planets went out of orbit, but now we're back.
2.47 Oh no, update on the laptops in front of me. One guy is downloading TV shows it appears and someone else is checking the weather, but honestly that might have been some sort of volcanic forecast, or it looked like it to me.
2.50 Two rows in front of me someone is wearing a Cowboy's hat. OK, so I'm partisan towards the Vikings (aka the Minnesota Adrian Petersons) but even I know that being a Cowboy's fan is just unacceptable. Where's the geographic tie, if this guys not from Texas, he better have a very good explanation. I promised that Troxel would win all the Cowboy's fans over, I'll keep you updated.
2.52 Troxel is throwing about the word "shrift" which apparently is German. Someone near me asks, "Where does he come up with this stuff?" I know where, it comes from the fact that German is just one of 11 languages the Trox has mastered.
2.53 We have yellow highlights, two Hebrew words with an equals sign in between them, and maroon text.
2.54 Troxel refers to a text about men swinging from ropes in buckets. All that I can think about is that this must be some sort of game found on Legends of the Hidden Temple. I love that show.
2.57 Oh dear, one of the people I'm keeping track of in front of me is back on his crazy volcano website, while someone else is one AIM, with three windows up.
2.59 Searching Wikipedia in an attempt to find out if Legends of the Hidden Temple ever did any sort of Hebrew Bible themed episodes has revealed that someone has mapped out all of the various temple layouts used during the show's run. Check it out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends_of_the_hidden_temple
3.01 Imagine the possibilities of a Ancient Near East episode of Legends (David's slingshot, Hezekiah's book of the law, Abram's foreskin)
3.04 Not sure if I just crossed a line.
3.05 Troxel just described the book of Proverbs as having an "international flavor," as a ethnocentric American when I hear international flavor I assume that means spicy. Proverbs 22:17-23:14 is clearly spicy.
3.06 Troxel . . . just . . . I'm not sure what to do. Um. Wow, he thought the Powerpoint was at the wrong point, so he used the reverse feature to go back 5 slides/animations then he realizes he was at the wrong place on his manuscript and returns back to his original location. Good recovery.
3.08 Troxel refers to his collegeue Michael Fox, if you're wondering, no not Michael J. Fox. No.
3.10 Troxel introduces the next section by saying "I'd like here to compare this to the comedy of Jerry Seinfeld." Troxel is like Seinfeld in many ways friendly demeanor, groundbreaking comedy, cool beard.
3.12 We will be paralleling modern proverbs to ancient Proverbs.
3.13 Troxel suggests he has somehow learned the lesson that talking too much can get you in trouble. I doubt, in fact one of my greatest wishes is that Troxel would next stop speaking, maybe I can borrow audio recordings from someone who tapes lecture just so I can hear him at home. Like background music.
3.15 Breakthrough! Legends did an episode entitle The Golden Cup of Belshazzar! Who was Belshazzar? A Prince of Babylon!!! That's Ancient Near East Baby! Ill trow a picture up of the great Prince, note the Hebrew text.
3.18 This is an impressive background slide, we have here. two bracketed yellow highlight sets of texts, with a red arrow connecting them.
3.19 Freud would love the first few chapters of Proverbs according to Troxel.
3.20 Unlike the lectures of our dear Professor, sometimes Proverbs is not clear.
3.24 The Cowboy's fan two rows up is very attentive, you know why? Because Troxel won him back over, as predicted.
3.25 If you've ever wondered what Troxel might look like riding a unicorn. I know a guy who draws pictures of that type of thing. Just ask to see them.
3.26 Wowee!! This might be one of the best slides Trox has ever crafted. There are at least 11 white set-aside boxes, circled words, red words, Hebrew words, quotes . . . . its just goes on and on.
3.27 Trox again references Michael Fox, who is still not Michael J. Fox. Also, this Michael Fox does not like to be disturbed. Don't do it. You'll get a death glare.
3.29 OH! We have a hand in the air! A Question!! Trox doesn't see it! Oh man, I thought we were going to see some off the cuff reaction.
3.33 For the first time I've seen today Troxel is using significant hand gestures.
3.34 Troxel just mentioned the beloved Wylie, stating the line "Then a woman comes toward him, decked out like a prostitute, wily of heart-Not like your TA" Comedy is defined in that work right there Trox. You define comedy. I'm thrilled, I wish lecture would never end.
3.36 The volcanoes guy is now on a message board, probably a message board about volcanoes, which from my two one-credit online geology classes I've taken I do know to be pretty interesting. P.S. Go check out the Geology building sometime, they have dinosaurs there (but they are made of plaster).
3.40 Dwelt, not dwelled.
3.42 Its been a compelling day of wisdom literature, Hebrew words, and Kirk Fogg, I'm fighting the temptation to wrap up early, come on Trox, make the last three minutes count!
3.43 I ask and he delivers! Trox leans forward adds emphasis to his words puts out a flat hand and makes a chopping motion three times towards the podium to drive this last point home.
3.44 He leaves us begging for more stating "But remember Proverb literature is not the only kind of wisdom literature" Oh yes.
See you Tuesday.

Lecture 11.27.07

2.24 The Stage is set. No sight of The Trox yet, but the anticipation in this room is ridiculous. We're back, turkeyed up, and ready for some Biblical scholarship.
2.26 Where is he? An unconfirmed source has told us that Troxel was not "burning the midnight oil" despite a late night email, but rather was in San Diego, preparing a talk on Isaiah in the Septuagint.
2.27 He enters. A (potentially new) blue winter jacket is being sported with his grey/black backpack, complete with umbrella in water bottle holder. He's sporting a very wintery "homesy" feeling cookies n' cream colored sweater with a wonderful zig zaggy design in the middle. It is wonderfully complemented by some grey khakis.
2.29 Projector on. He has a traditional "blue wave" macintosh desktop background up. My guess is that he ditched his traditional photo backgrounds for a more classic, professional look at the Biblical Scholarship party in California.
2.31 Lecture begins. Today we begin the third and final section (tear) of the Hebrew Bible: "THe Writings" Troxel refers to them as "a popery" of writings
2.33 Startin' with "The Psalms." which comes from the Greek word "Psalmoi" I think that is a lot more fun to say than "Psalms." Maybe I'll begin using this term more often. Kind of like how I use "grey" instead of "gray." Take that contemporary American English norms!
2.35 Troxel is outlining the characteristics of Hebrew Poetry. While the lecture material is nothing short of stellar, the colors are leaving something to be desired. Plain white background with dark blue text. But...Whoa! It matches his sweater so nicely! He planned this! He had to have! It's like he's a chameleon up there! He moves a little, in sync with the slide show, one with the projector. It has finally happened. Ron Troxel has become so in sync with Powerpoint that he has become an actual part of the slide show.
2.38 Troxel says "virtual absence" and for some reason it makes me think of robots. Robot Troxel would be awesome.
2.39 The characteristic of "Rhyme" has been X-ed out. It's looks like an episode of "THe Jamie Kennedy eXperience." You've been X-ed Rhyme, You've been X-ed.
2.40 To demonstrate cadence, Trox demonstrates with "dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah" So rythmic.
2.41 Trox realizes that the lower blackboard is up slightly to high, so that part of his powerpoint is obstructed by it. He turns around while saying "Whoops. I'll fix that. and lowers the blackboard. How humble! By saying "whoops" he implies fault on his part, while it was clearly the blackboard's fault.
2.43 The T Man is breaking down Parallelism in Hebrew Poetry. Synthetic parallelism is being singled out right now, with a red circle around it. Based on what happened to "rhyme" when red last appeared, I wouldn't want to be synthetic parallelism right now.
2.44 Oh boy, parallelism has been labeled as "inaccurate" (in red). How has red become the bearer of bad news?
2.45 Man, the guy's really on his a-game today. When you look into his eyes you can tell that he means it. He could convince me that possums could talk right about now.
2.46 Possums would be terrifying if they could actually talk.
Troxel is name dropping like nuts. Maybe these are people that were at the Biblical scholarship party with him.
2.47 More red is appearing as we delve into the concept of "seconding", but I think red has resumed its role of highlighter rather than phrase-hitman.
2.49 "Is this clear?"
2.50 Here's a picture of Kanye West and Evel Knievil. It made me laugh.
2,51 The term "narrativity" has just been dropped. Twice. This is groundbreaking.
2.53 The background shifts to a more yellowy shade, casting an incandescent like glow over the classroom as Troxel begins his riveting narrative on "Psalms outside the Psalms"
2.57 An old friend appears on the screen as Troxel begins to incorporate yellow shaded boxes to highlight certain parts of the text. I feel like I'm at home.
2.58 The "cube" transition effect is used, reminding us that a third dimension exists. It's so easy to get caught up in Troxel's magical two dimensional presentations. Thanks for reminding us of the third, Trox.
2.59 Sometime between 2.53 and now we've shifted back to the straight up white background. Correction: While I felt it was a white background, Marc has informed me that there is indeed a "slightly marbled" texture in the background. Upon second look, I can confirm this. Also: while the projector may simply be slightly off, the text seems to have a slight "shadow" effect to it. You have to really concentrate to notice it, and when I concentrate on the text enough, I get a little dizzy.
3.02 My stomach and I seriously regret having a cup of black coffee with no food this morning.
3.03 Pinwheel effect into a yellow background-ed title slide for "lamentations" The contrast text color of choice seems to be a maroon, which complements the light yellow color splendidly.
3.05 There is a girl wearing a yellow sweatshirt in the second row that appears to be dead.
3.06 Forty nine minutes of battery remaining. Stupid battery. I need to send it in. Oh well, it should carry to the end of lecture.
3.07 OKay, we're back to the 2.53 yellow shade of background. I'm fairly certain that this is a textured yellow and white "cloud" pattern- but the lighting in the room is slightly to bright to truly discern what the understated background is. But still; it's the little touches like this that make Troxelectures so magical.
3.10 As Trox talks about an August 9th holiday, he slips and says August tenth- it's like he was thinking of my birthday! Does he know my birthday!? I bet he gives fantastic presents; like a Strong's concordance.
3.11 Coherence and flare is shown as he sticks to the "pinwheel" effect is used to transition to the title slide for "Esther" Interesting note of actual relevance: Esther is one of two books in the Hebrew Bible where God is not mentioned. The other? Song of Songs.
3.13 "The Story" appears, and Trox promises he will outline this story for us. I move to the front of my seat, waiting for him to pull out a large tome and rocking chair. It's hard to sit indian-style in these seats.
3.14 We're rocking some green italics here. He's also saying some horribly sexist things about men being the masters of there own houses and virgins being brought for evaluation. There's lots of sarcasm in his voice, but it's more fun to pretend he's serious.
3.15 Trox tells us to "tuck (a fact) in the back of your minds." until we come back to the subject later.
3.16 I'm very warm. I remove my scarf and roll up my sleeves. Surrounding students might mistake my sleeve rolling for intensity in doing actual work. Suckers.
3.18 We're entering "Act Two." This is a long story. Troxel uses the term "ridiculous proportions." I think that's a new one.
3.19 We're coming up on the power lecture barrier. A normal lecture would be finished in one minute, but we still have twenty five to go. Heads begin to nod...
3.20 It's like he sensed the barrier and broke it with some banter "...Those who are writing the blog aren't going to be particularly impressed with this as...(mic cuts out, begins talking loudly without amplification)... I'm going to pause to change my batteries, but...(mic turns back on, returns lav pack to his belt)..." I disagree. It was smooth, humorous, and suave. Instead of his typical seamless transaction, he brings attention to his debonairness with some casual banter.
3.23 While analyzing the past transaction, Troxel has dropped humorous terms such as "enjoying cocktails..." and "death schmeth." I think they're more funny out of context.
3.24 I did notice that when Trox mentioned the blog, many students looked at me. to maintain my secrecy, I may begin wearing a ski mask to class. It would be terrifying if I did that. I think I would cry if someone sat down next to me in lecture wearing a ski mask.
3.26 Trox calls Mordecai a jerk and Haman whiny.
3.27 The guys is just on fire. On fire. You can tell how much he loves this book. I feel like I'm in the story. He's blending in narrative, humor, puns, direct quotations; it's incredible. You just have to see it. All that's missing is character voices.
3.28 He's nearing "character voices" intensity, as his inflection is really getting into this story.
3.29 There's talk of costumes and noise makers.
3.30 He's about to tread Queen Esther's address. We're on the edge of our seats. He loves this. We love this. I wish I could live in this moment forever. The passion! The emotion! The narration! I'm going to say it: we've transcended Biblical scholarship. We're in something I like to call Biblical FUNarship.
3.32 Wow. I feel like I should clap. Give a standing ovation. And we're about to go into the final scene.
3.34 Story completed, conflict resolved, heart rate beginning to slow. Palms are still a bit sweaty. The term "cocktail hour" is displayed on the screen, humorously describing a scene from the story as he summarizes what we've just been over.
3.35 Man, around 3.18-3.19 I thought the lecture was dragging a bit. Then all of a sudden BAM battery change BAM blog reference BAM intense narrative. Time flies when you're analyzing Biblical texts with the Trox.
3.37 Still summarizing the narrative, energy has dropped a little bit in the room, but look at what I'm comparing it to. Despite stumbling over a word here or there, Troxel is still very much in the zone.
3.39 In case you were worried because of lack of mention, John Wylie is in the back of the room at his normal seat. He's okay, people.
3.41 In a rare moment, Troxel looks down at his lecture notes, possibly reading from them, for a duration of nearly ten seconds. Pace and inflection are not altered. If visual confirmation was not made, I would not have known or believed it myself.
3.43 We're racing to sum up Esther in the next two minutes.
3.45 I'm concluding now as my battery life is waning. What a day. He was on his A Game. All I could do is sit in awe, aware that I am in the presence of a living legend.

11.15.07 Lecture

2.26 I arrive and have noted that the Troxasaurus is certainly aware of his audience as his desktop background has changed once again, he informs the audience that the background is a picture of his 15 year old son performing a solo in Grease. Yes, the Troxel family has a wide variety of talents, can the Professor sing?
2.29 Reports have come through that Troxel just pulled a pen from within his shirt collar. He defies the laws of physics, I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Troxel just created that pen by fiat.
2.30 Leture begins and Troxel has already referenced the blog saying "I'm not sure if everyone is just assuming they'll get their class notes off the blof or if its just the cold weather." And now that I notice looking around the room there is a significantly smaller crowd than usual. This disappoints and saddens me as I am wquite confident we are in for a treat.
2.32 Troxel is clearly in his highest academic mode as he prepares for the Society of Biblical Literature conference next week. He is dressed in a deep red sweater with a collared shirt underneath. Some have witnessed his appearance before the class began as "pensive", I think he was actually just getting "in the zone" because he's got some Bibilical analysis smackdown that he's prepping to lay out. (See picture and decide for yourself)
2.34 In other news, Troxel was given a shout out in my last discussion as Professor Cohen stated African American exhorters in the early 19th century did not have "Ron Troxel to lay out biblical scholarship"
2.35 Further, an undisclosed source that has spoken with the Trox tells us that he described the blog to him/her as "witty", "very quick", and creative.
2.36 The wizard himself just used the phrase "hunky-dory." And I'm sure he knew I would comment on that. Its a great word.
2.37 An examination of Troxel's look reveals a distinct "Christmas-y" feel. If only we could adorn him with ornaments and lights and put a star on his head. That would be the best outfit ever. That's a little creepy.
2.40 I am somewhat confused about how to proceed from here. The blogger is experiencing some internal angst. Troxel's awareness of this site was at first a source of great joy, but now the pressure is on. To continue our U2 metaphor I feel that we have successfully signed with our major label, but I'm not sure if we have a Joshua Tree in us, I think the best I have to offer might be a Zooropa or Pop, and we all know that's okay, but not great. We'll see what the future holds.
2.42 Malachi is the subject of today's lecture by the way for those of you who stayed home and are relying on this for notes. How about this we might have a tie to Hosea with a discussion of the Israelites infidelity, but no troxel doesn't go there, he decides to take the high road and stick with arguments that actually make sense.
2.44 We have a pretty standard set-up, passages on the screen, red text to set aside the words of note, we've seen a few transitions, but nothing too flashy. Its a subtle tone, its a calming tone. Troxel's voice is like a warm ocean breeze, its sound washed over us allowing us to feel peace and calm of mind.
2.46 Wake up, beach goers! Something radical is going to occur according to Troxel. my theory an attack by the Assyrians, it seems to be a recurring theme.
2.47 Now moving onto the book of Joel, which transition at is with a fly-in effect. This is fitting as the book is "rather dramatic".
2.48 I'm disappointed to learn we are given no significant biographical information about Joel, so lets make some up for him. Joel was born into a chaotic environment where he never knew who his realy parents were. Soon after birth, he was captured by an invasion of locust who carried him off to a far away land and there he was raised by a warthog and meercat. The two raised him and changed his view of the world towards a hedonistic view of life based on gluttony and sloth. However, Joel overcame and became a champion prizefighter. He won some fights. Later he took on the first name "Billy" and warned americans of the risk of having a "heart attack -ack -ack -ack -ack" while defending himself against the claim of "starting the fire".
2.54 We are asked if this is clear. i think nothing could be more clear, espeicially now that there are a couple dozen Hebrew characters of the screen.
2.55 A Wkipedia search for prominent extra-biblical Joels is shockingly disappointing. The best I can do for you is Joel Pryzbilla, who proved that simply for being 7 foot 2 you deserve $50 million even if he have no offensive ability, and Joel Osteen, who is simply one of the creepiest men on the face of the earth.
3.00 For all you Religious Studies majors out there, I have a special announcement that is being made here, for the first time. That's right this is the world premiere of this announcement. Sometime next semester we will be having a part for Religious Studies Majors and Troxel is going to be there. One suggested plan is that we'll all prepare PowerPoint presentations that Troxel will then judge and deem one the winner. Get excited. More details to follow. We need to get Tom DuBois to come to the party, wow, I'm now imagining blogging his class, for any of you who have taken a class with him you know what I'm talking about, it would be absolutely fantastic.
3.02 I don't understand Troxel's line of reasoning. He states that the saying "the White House said . . . " does not mean the building literally spoke, he is crushing all my visions and dreams about the functioning of our federal government.
3.04 Troxel is challenging the general arguments about Joel's message, he feels that some of these arguments are "tenuous". You show em!
3.05 I apoligize for barely referencing Trox today. I'll be more careful from now on. Here we go. Troxel is drawing a parellel to music . . . oh he referenced pitches and keys rather than his favorite Top 40 hits.
3.07 Something is developing nearby, it appears to be a comic starring Ron Troxel. I'll tell you more as soon as i know.
3.08 We are moving at light speed, done with Joel and onto Jonah, which has three features. Five bucks says the next exam has a possible question reading "What are three unique features of the book of Jonah?"
3.09 OK, the comic has cicled around its entitled "Wiley and the Trox". Its about biblical scholarship and facial hair. Its kind of clever, maybe we'll post it. I'm not quite sure of it origins, but I have a guess based on the handwriting.
3.11 Speaking of Wiley. He always sits in the back now. I have a theory that he does so purely so we cannot blog about his every movement. By the way, this was probably a good move on his part because we would be watching and it would get real creepy.
3.13 We just finished the three distinct features of Jonah, I hope you took notes.
3.14 Troxel says the sentence "Things happen is a certain chronological order", but I can't give it justice with blog, the intonation and the inflection he put on each syllabal is fantastic. I'll attempt to describe it, but just know any description falls short. As the words came from his mouth I could have sworn an angel was speaking, the beuaty of the words fluttered out of his mouth and dove into our ears their true and beloved home. When I heard the words I felt a feeling of fulfillment and pure joy. An effervescent of overflow of contentedness. That's how good that sentence was.
3.16 Troxel misspeaks when saying "covered himself in sackcloth" and says "covered himself with Axe", this makes me think of my friend Dave's roommate who would "Axe up" before going out and make his presence known from about 40 feet away.
3.17 Troxel just said "megalapolis." Being one to never doubt the veracity of a word of Troxel, i presume a megalopolis is kinda like a megapolis but awesomer.
3.19 I sudden feeling of overwhelming worry covers me as I realize that while the other blogger, who should be taking notes, is doing anything put.
3.20 Troxel has been a big fan of the 30 degree angled stamp effect lately, in this case he has "stamped" the words "Persian Practice" upon the passage. The authority of this "stamping" motion is fantastic.
3.23 We are trying to classify the genre of Jonah (which is fairly anti-climactic as we read an article about this exact subject the 2nd week of class) and Troxel refers to allegory and the parable's "kissing cousin". Also, he just came through with my Hosea reference, only about 40 minutes late.
3.25 Prediction: Troxel throws something into the crowd before the end of lecture. Lets see.
3.28 Troxel says he'd like to compare Jonah to Archie Bunker! And even better he made a fantastic joke that I laughed really loud at, he stated, "Archie Bunker was on a show that was popular when I was in college, just before the Civil War." Hilarious.
3.29 Point being is that this story is one filled with irony. Jonah you're so fickle!
3.34 Troxel breaks out on of my favorite phrases of all time "comeuppance" Are you serious!? I think he's ending lecture right now! NO PROFESSOR!!! NO PROFESSOR. BUT BUT BUT we have 11 more minutes!!! How could you you do this! And now we have to go for almost two weeks without you . . .tears fill the eyes. I will overcome
3.35 Now I must establish the last point, he wished us a Happy Thanksgiving by having an animated turkey hop out on a slide with the words "Happy Thanksgiving." Pretty spectacular.
3.37 One last point, by way of correction we had previously stated that the blog does not show up when searched on Google. it now does, so big news. In fact its the number 1 result.

Lecture 11.13.07

2.24 I enter. The Trox is already up front, adorned in a cranberry shirt with two pens in his left breast pocket.
2.25 Projector on. What is going on!? His background has changed, now displaying what appears to be a number from a high school production of "Grease." My initial reaction is that his son was in a production of the show. Marc thinks he's toying with us now that he is aware of the blog. Will we be seeing multiple desktops just to provoke comment? I think not, but we will certainly see.
2.29 He's talking about us! I think I'm going to have a seizure! There is no way to describe the joy I am feeling now. I will spend the next couple of minutes trying to sum up the pure ecstasy of the past minute. He began lecture by stating something to the effect of "I'm sure that many of you have participated in sports or plays and have felt that the positive encouragement of your peers pushes you to your best... I have recently had my eyes opened by something to this effect as I have learned that someone in this class has been live blogging my lectures. This has really pushed me to bring my 'A Game' to class. [he begins his POwerpoint show. Multiple clipart graphics begin dropping into the page as words begin falling, spinning, dancing the wonderful dance of the powerpoint. It's like a symphony is unfolding before our eyes. The class is laughing, applauding, wetting ourselves. But he's not done yet. As the title slide begins to unveil it's glory behind him, Troxel begins to describe his attire: "I would call this a cranberry shirt (note: I did not edit my 2.24 post, but I, in fact, accurately guessed the hue of his shirt the first time), khaki pants (he puts his left leg up onto the table), with some (he details his shoes here, but I was laughing to hard to make out the description). The class applauds him for his relaxed demeanor in the face of what appears to be someone clearly stalking him online. Bravo, good sir, bravo.
2.38 He has been lecturing about Isaiah chapters 56-66 for the past eight minutes or so, but I'm pretty sure everyone has reliving the first few...WHA???
2.39 "Let's see what the blog has to say about my lecture today..." ( I frantically post my bloggings thus far) It takes a few seconds an d a couple of "refreshes" for the new post to appear. Then he begins reading the post out loud. HE is directly referring to Marc. The man is on fire. As he reads "I think I'm going to have a seizure..." He picks up a large red phone from under the podium. Did he plant that there? DId he know this was going to happen? I've said it before, I've said it again. THe man is a wizard. I swear, he just pushed a button and our blog popped up. It's like he hot-keyed it. He reads on to confirm that yes, in fact, his son was in a production of Grease. I was right. He continues on "...whoever Marc is, he is an extremely creative person." Jonathan speaks up from the back "I know who Marc is, Dr. Troxel." Trox: "Give him an A Jonathan."
2.45 I hesitate to continue to write about the blog itself, but as The majority of this post has been about it, I might as well continue. Marc is not a poster who chooses to write about himself in the third person every other lecture. Rather, there are two authors of this blog. I prefer to be a silent partner. (SEE PICTURE) I don't know how (stellar "cube" transition in the powerpoint) Marc will deal with this pressure. I don't even know how I'll deal with it. We're like U2 when Island signed them in 1980 and all of a sudden we're not this cute little band winning talent shows in Ireland, we're on an international stage.
2.49 HOw did Troxel find us? An unconfirmed source stated that Troxel had said "sometimes it pays to google your own name..." However, a quick google search does not yield this blog as a result. Perhaps he Google blog searched it? Or more likely, we have a rat. Wiley, I'm looking at you.
2.51 Let me try to pull my head out of the clouds and get back to lecture.
2.52 Map of the Near Middle East. There's some yellow circles that were clearly inserted by Troxel. Nice touch, T Daddy. I immediately regret calling him that.
2.54 Both Marc and I are still shaking with excitement.
2.55 Haggai and Zechariah. As the title slide transitions what is either a slide transition sound effect or a cell phone goes off. I'm almost certain that it's a cell phone, but there's room for hoping, isn't there?
2.56 Dave Vandenlangenberg (who is wearing glasses today!) would like to apologize for sleeping in lecture everyday. And I'd like to apologize for posting evidence of this on the internet. (I'm not actually sorry) He's eating what appears to be an energy bar now, so he'll stay awake. He's also looking at fanny packs on Amazon.
2.57 apparently Haggai was "practical", whereas Zechariah was more of a "visionary" Who do you think would be more fun to have at a party? Haggai wouldn't do anything weird or anything, he'd probably just kind of chill out. Zechariah would probally be more fun and zany, but he'd weird everyone out when he starts talking about fire consuming the Earth and what not. Call me a prude, but I'm going to go with Haggai.
2.59 A yellow ribbon appears above the text proclaiming that Zechariah is "apocalyptic literature". It's pretty.
3.04 Shocking! Haggai and Zechariah both exhibit eschiologal delay! I try to take a humorous picture exhibiting my "silent partner" commentary, it takes three takes and I feel like an idiot.
3.05 Today we've been working with mainly italicized red contrast text.
3.06 Dave is still awake.
3.07 The term "gettin' props" was just used. Subsequently, Troxel gets some props in our "relatability" tallies.
3.09 We have an animated Davidic line goin' down on the screen. Simple, but quite effective. He's really been digging the squared brackets [ ] today. I like them too.
3.10 Zedekiah replaces Jehoiachim in the Davidic line. So much for legitimate rulers of Judah.
3.12 Zerubbel saves the day because of something about a signet ring!
3.12 It looks like TA Steve hurt his leg. He has crutches with him. I hope he's okay.
3.13 Troxel begins to explain what a "signet ring" is. I'm expecting a picture to be coming up any second now... There it is. The Seal of Baruch. He makes an inside joke about the Hebrew language. Dave gets it (He's still awake!). Nobody else does.
3.15 He's really on fire with his slide transitions today. I think the one he just used was "flip." It's like were watching a magical slide show.
3.17 Nate Sweet had promised me in advance that he would be asking a question and "showing some sass" in class today. We'll have to see if he delivers this promise.
3.18 "Is this all clear?... I know I'll be written up on this, but is this all clear?" He even knows what we comment on about him! He is truly a scholar in every regard.
3.19 One question (not by Nate Sweet). It is cleared up rather quickly.
3.21 Language of "the branch" from Zech 3 is being looked into. I thoroughly look forward to this scholarly endeavor.
3.23 It took me two minutes to determine how to spell "thoroughly." With Spell Check.
3.25 USes the adjective "tantalizing" for at least the second time today. I feel like that's a lot, proportionally. "Blinds" transition.
3.26 A stunning "pinwheel" transition into a picture of a oil lamp. "Flip" transition into a picture of a multiple-spouted lamp. What transitions! Bravo! Encore!
3.27 The words of Haggai 4.2 are superimposed over the image of the multiple spouted lamp. Truly stunning effect.
3.29 His Mic seems to be altering volume as it sees fit today. It could be something as simple as differing volumes as he faces his head in different directions, but I think there's something more going on here. Clearly an attempt of another competing Biblical scholar to sabotage the beautiful work of art that is the Troxel lecture. You're going to have to work harder than that, foolish scholars!
3.31 Is it really already 3.31?! My how time flies when you're analyzing post exilic texts!
3.32 "Well, the question becomes..." What a classic Troxillian catch phrase.
3.33 I zone out for a couple of seconds and when I come to the large bolded word "Darius" stands alone on the screen. I have no idea what is going on right now.
3.34 Directly references Kevin Costner in Field of dreams when summarizing Eschatological delay. with "if you rebuild it, they will come."
3.36 Summing up Zechariah 9-14 with a very light, airy sky blue background.
3.37 The phrase "hairy mantle" is funny. I have no desire whatsoever to dig into what it actually means.
3.39 "But remember the words of Micah!" Troxel exclaims as he analyzes why Collins is wrong in every possible way. Also, in his righteous fervor, he uses the term "Hucksters."
3.40 Yes! One of my favorite graphic of all appears on the screen: the scroll with all of the prophetic books listed on it. You've been missed, scroll. You've been missed.
3.41 "...And next time we're going to be looking at the book of Malachi..." Troxel teases us with
3.42 More teasing as he exposes us to Malachi 1.1; We're on the edges of our seats! There's no way anyone's missing this Malachi lecture!
3.43 This is really quite the slide. We're still building off of the scroll graphic slide, but multiple text boxes have popped up. There's writing everywhere.
3.44 "Any questions on..." ( a hand pops up before he can even finish the question) Question (not Nate Sweet's, he's all talk) is handled well and the asker looks satisfied.
3.45 Another question. It is "intriguing" and Troxel says he will have to think about it. "Well, enough; I shall see you on Thursday."

What a lecture! I can't believe that we have achieved recognition. This maybe the single greatest moment of my life. How can we go anywhere but down from here? It's reassuring to know that we don't have to. We only need to hold tight to The Trox and let him take us up, up up.

11.9.07 The Most Amazing E-mail Ever Received

I received the following at 11:05 AM Central Standard Time, by all indications this is real. Enjoy:

Marc,

I must admit, I've never see anything like your blog on Intro to Bib Lit.
It's one of the most creative and humorous productions I've come across in
quite a while! Needless to say, having read a few of the pages, I will be
much more self-conscious about what I'm wearing and what transitions I build
into my PowerPoints.

Incidentally, you weren't the only one disappointed by the lecture last
Monday evening. But no, I didn't fall asleep.

Have a good weekend!

Dr. Troxel

11.1.07 The Belated Edition

2.25 Troxel enters the room and today is dressed in a shirt, that upon much debate, will be described as lilac in tone. It has a calming effect on me. I could probably look into it for hours and feel my self and soul sink into the depths of bliss.
2.27 In other news, the in-action goalie shot of his son remains as his desktop background, still pretty sweet. He opened a program that isn’t Powerpoint! We wonder what in the world it may be, does T-rox have something up his sleeve?
2.31 Sorry for the late update. We are off and running. Already seeing nice usage of keyhole, blinds, and upward sliding transitions. Obviously this is a lecture that Troxel has perfected over time.
2.32 Habakkuk is the topic for today. A new exam is drawing near (which Troxel erroneously referred to as the “first exam”) and today we will have limited blogging as the battery is running out. 37 minutes and counting (frowny face).
2.33 Josiah, Johoham, Jehoiakim are working for Johovah in Judah. Alliteration! How can Troxel not be grinning with joy. I’m sure on the inside he is.
2.34 Back to Troxel’s shirt. As usual the top button is undone (does he ever where a tie?), long sleeved, a nice fit.
2.36 Because we care about you our devoted reader, we have taken every action possible to save battery power. Dimmed the screen, turned off internet etc, and I’m pleased to tell you that we still have 34 minutes of battery remaining . . . slightly ahead of schedule.
2.38 Though the animations have been a little flashy, the texts and backgrounds fail to visually captivate me.
2.39 Big stumble. Troxel calls it “The Book of Ezekiel” rather than Habakkuk. Part of me, not believing he can verbally falter, wants to believe his every misstep is carefully calculated so that we, mere mortals, can identify with him, increasing his credibility.
2.42 Really reaching out to the modern audience today. Calling a summary “like a Cliff notes”, calling a Biblical reference “like a billboard”. He brings the words to life, I could almost walk out and dance with them.
2.43 We have two verses on the screen with a small gap in the middle of them! What will he fill it in with? What color will the text be? My guess it will be three words and red text.
2.44 The wicked will get their comeuppance.
2.45 I nailed the color. Red text pops in a fills the gap. But its better than I ever could have imagined. A true master of his craft, he moves a punctuation mark and takes seven letters onto an already existing word, turning faith into “faithfulness”. Further, [in brackets] Troxel adds the Hebrew text as well. Well done sir, well done. Much respect, I applaud in my heart.
2.46 Why do we never write in the form of a lament anymore. Declaration: I will record the next five minutes of this blog in the form of a lament.
2.47 Alas, scholars of the Academy of the hill of Bascom, rouse yourselves, awake understand the words of the great lilac encaped man. Be aware of his knowledge, do not forsake his Powerpoint presentation.
2.49 How long, how long can this go on? Rise up, rise up, for in the past your days were filled with John Collins and even McKenzie, but today you turn away from knowledge and trust instead your own eyes.
2.50 Alas, great teacher, he who can bestow knowledge, I cry out to you, Teacher please enlighten your subjects. Show us the way of Tupac and the Notorious Mr. B.I.G. Inspire!
2.51 OK, that’s enough of that, I now know why no one writes in the form of laments: because they suck.
2.52 Trox just said comeuppance again. Spectacular.
2.53 A great opportunity to pull out the Ipod right here as Troxel speaks of Psalms (songs?) of questionable authorship. The moment has passed, I think we will not be hearing anything from his library. Our collective heart breaks.
2.54 Comeuppance count number 3. Whoa! Whoa! “Any questions on the book of Nahum? [sic]” Silly Troxel laughs at himself as a student points out that we are in Habakkuk. Now Ron, there’s a line between making our self-esteem rise and abusing it. Keep it in line. Can I call you Ron? Lets say no.
2.56 Pressing on into Jeremiah. My money says Troxel will avoid the temptation to make a Three Dog Night reference.
2.58 Troxel says people walked around town and say Jeremiah only the respond “Here comes old magor missabib again.” All of us who are fluent in ancient Hebrew colloquialisms share a hearty laugh.
2.59 Troxel breaks out the word “whacko”, also “rabble-rouser”, which is one of the most underused words in modern America.
3.01 Added to descriptions of Jeremiah are “social misfit” and “borderline traitor” Hmmm, a treasonous rabble-rousing whacko social misft sounds like an anti-Troxel.
3.03 16 minutes of battery remains. But it has been bouncing around a lot.
3.06 Quote: “So Jeremiah cuts quite a pathetic figure.” Ouch, that’s a rough label. Whoa, battery now claims to be at only 7 minutes. Tears begin to well up.
3.08 The word Septuagint is delightful. New words to add to daily use: comeuppance, rabble-rouser, Septuagint. You can even use them all in one sentence. i.e. “According to the Septuagint, all those rabble-rousers in Moab will get their comeuppance.” Or “Troxel told us all about the Septuagint, but some rabble-rouser wasn’t paying attention so he get his comeuppance in the form of Troxel’s fist to his face.”
3.`11 nearing the end here bettery life ending ahhh

At that point the computer shut off and I was forced to take regular notes.

11.5.07: Special Evening Lecture

This is the live blog of a guest speaker, Professor Greenspoon of Creighton University. Things are a bit chronologically out of order on the blog. We'll get caught up soon. Enjoy this special presentation.

7.27 Just arrived and this is ridiculous. Its standing room only to hear a lecture about the history of Biblical scholarship. My theory is most people are here only because Troxel called this guy “a personal friend”. One of my greatest goals in life is to get as physically close to anyone Troxel considers a friend. Maybe I can get a handshake after the show.
7.29 The potential for song and dance is high. I see Prof. Greenspoon (great name) and he’s a prankster, he just compared this presentation to “Hannah Montana”. I don’t know if this knowledge of pre-adolescent TV makes him cool or creepy.
7:30 Troxel comes down and announces we will do something unorthodox by all sitting up in the front on the floor, which won’t be too odd because “Prof. Greenspoon is used to his student’s falling all over him.” Weird Troxel. Weird.
7.31 People still streaming in, we are nowhere near starting and its for sure going to be a violation of the fire code. But if we do all get trampled, what a way to go. Death by Biblical scholarship.
7.32 Troxel is wearing a (according to Jon Tong) “grayish maybe” suit. He looks nice, he looks excited. He is now giving an intro. Very nice, very respectful, excellent diction, not able to use any Powerpoint, yet still gets by. This man’s skills cannot be contained.
7.33 We are now being given an extensive history of Greenspoon’s works and positions.
7.34 Greenspoon is a pretty big deal, he’s a “vigorous and vital” figure in Biblical scholarship.
7.36 Greenspoon comes up and is given a nice ovation. He is a portly figure with a nice bald look. He reuses the Hannah Montana joke I heard him give to the TAs, gets a hearty laugh. Also, he describes himself as quite addicted to alliteration.
7.37 Now we are being shown a series of comic strips. He knows how to control an audience.
7.39 I’m not sure if I trust him, his accent makes me think he might be trying to sell me a used car. Whoa, sudden shift to scholarship, abrupt but it works.
7.40 He appears to be using the exact same background that Troxel takes advantage of, but without the colored texts, subset boxes, or impressive animations.
7.42 A Powerpoint faux paus as the lower left corner is obscured by the box of options that comes up when you right click.
7.45 Greenspoon gets a laugh.
7.47 Yes, Wylie we’re watching you, you look engaged. We won’t distract.
7.48 The documentary hypothesis is being discussed, more laughs from the crowd, they are eating this stuff up. Feeling a need to actually pay attention so my apologies if the blogging becomes uninteresting.
7.52 A McCarthyism reference and he leaves off by saying “but that’s another story”. Our collective thoughts cry out, “Please tell us”, but no we’ve moved on to Harvard, if I was a TV pundit I would make some comment about Harvard being a stronghold of Communist thought. Thankfully, I’m not.
7.54 Zinger! Sarcastic reference that scholars are never boring. He’s just a little bit feisty. Loving it, I imagine a dinner party with him and Troxel, if I could just sit in the corner and observe, oh the excitement that would be.
7.57 He’s a miniature Barry Alvarez. That’s what he is. This is uncanny, I can’t believe I didn’t realize until now.
7.58 Back to comic strips, he apologizes for only being able to find one strip relating to the Dead Sea Scrolls.
7.59 “A sober, serious, sound, scholar.” This mini-Barry doesn’t mess around about his love for alliteration.
8.03 A shout out to the TAs from the podium, he gives a tip don’t get between your students and the blackboard. No he doesn’t mean it literally, but I wish he did.
8.04 A picture of Krusty the Klown appears on the screen, I really have no idea why, we’ve moved on.
8.06 Little Barry is bold he accepted the task of writing an entire encyclopedia article on the LXX in just three weeks.
8.07 Legs are getting a little sore from sitting on the floor perhaps we could be led in some half-time stretches by T-rox.
8.09 We are onto comic again. The accent is getting better and better. He says: “I would doubt your vowacity [veraticy]”
8.11 One comic too many and the joke falls flat and Greenspoon knows he made a serious error. He must be kicking himself inside. However, the crowd continues to gaze deeply at him. I’m no expert but I would bet most of the ladies in the room are seriously crushing right now. Just a guess.
8.15 This man has a serious love for “Frank and Ernest”. We’ve seen at least 10 strips of it.
8.16 Many other people in the room have laptops out, I seriously doubt any of them are also live-blogging however.
8.18 I said I’d stop looking towards Wylie but I can’t resist. Greenspoon makes a medieval monacticism joke and Wylie can barely control his laughter, he draws looks from people around him, after several minutes he is able to calm himself.
8.19 Three more Frank and Ernest. I thought that this was just a little attention grabber, but no, he intends to use comic strips at every juncture possible. There are a surprisingly large number of comics about ancient scribes.
8.24 Were moving at a frantic pace here, but still finding more comics between every slide. The man is a gold mine of pure comic genius.
8.26 A BLOG COMIC!!!! A BLOG COMIC!!!! If he only knew.
8.29 Wow! Greenspoon wrote an article on “The Septuagint in Popular Culture.” We need to find this as it is likely the most amazing thing ever written.
8.33 YES! We’ve moved on from comics to the Weekly World News. And Greenspoon tells us that he writes a monthly humor column for a scholarly journal. Also, something worth looking up.
8.37 This man is amazing. He would be a fantastic fun uncle. He could have his own variety show. The depths of talent have just barely been scratched. Hooray for mixed metaphors.
8.38 He closes out by showing us a comic strip that featured him as the star! Well done sir. Well done. We move into a time of Q and A.
Conclude: Well I guess in reality, I can sum it up by saying “What just happened?” Though it was a whimsical ride through comics and the Bible (maybe), I’m not sure if much actual information was presented. We have an unconfirmed report that Troxel fell asleep, I won’t see it until someone provides me video evidence.

Lecture 11.6.07

2.31 A bit of a late start. Still struggling to recover from the incoherence of last night's lecture. Enough about that. Let's talk about The Trox. He's wearing a neutral green long sleeve dress shirt and khakis. He's looking very relaxed.
Lecture begins. Talking about Ezekiel
2.32 A phenomenal Powerpoint transition. I believe it was "cube". It made me believe that the overhead screen was actually in three dimensions for a few seconds.
2.34 We're analyzing a table that looks curiously familiar to myself from "Prophets of the Bible." Dave Vandenlangenberg confirms that though it is live, we are watching a repeat. Dave has an existential crisis as he asks why he is here.
2.35 Trox says "Dire warnings of destruction" and it makes me smile and feel warm on the inside for some inexplainable reason.
2.36 We're going into specific dates that these historical events happened in. I bet Trox just guessed on them. For my money, a Troxel guess is as good as what any archaeological information can discover.
2.37 I'm unsure if this guy across the aisle is chewing gum or repeating everything that Troxel says. It's freaking me out.
2.38 I think he's just an inappropriately active chewer. I'm done with being freaked out and am now just angry with him
2.39 A large list of "Oracles against foreign nations" appears to drift up from the bottom of the screen. I have to be honest: for as dry as some of these tables are, the man knows how to work with them. A list of verses and their corresponding dates of occurrence may not seem "fun" to everyone. But with a few powerpoint transitions, a relatable tone, and a firm grasp on the material, Troxel is able to hold attention without resorting to comics strips.
2.42 The list disappears for a moment and -psych!- it reenters. Our hearts give a silent cheer of gratitude that we should be worthy to view it twice.
2.44 Someone leaves the classroom quickly through the back side door. They are pitiful.
2.45 We're talking "Fiery-cloud vehicle" it appears that John Wiley's wish of "Wheel in the Sky" by Journey being played as this is introduced will not be granted.
2.46 Troxel suggests in jest that Ezekiel may have had "too much pizza and beer the night before" to provoke this vision
2.47 It seems that the contrast text color of choice will be red for this slide. Is this because of it's relation to fire? Or just random chance? I have the feeling that he is so in control of this powerpoint that no detail, slide transitions or contrast text color relations would escape his knowledge.
2.49 For some reason "I've got a feeling" by The Beatles has begun to play in my head. Also, Troxel says "loins" a couple of times.
2.51 Some freaking sweet picture of a fricking thing with wings all sweet up in the sky. Seriously. This thing is fricking sweet.
2.54 A graph, or chart, image? Of the conception of the world as a "three layer cake" Dome above Earth, Earth, and Subterranean Waters.
2.55 "Before we go there, I want to return to those creatures themselves..." I wish that could be my cellphone ringtone. He promises that there is an image coming up. I am on the edge of my seat, struggling to maintain bladder control.
2.56 Slides from the Ancient Near East sweetness rating from 1-10 in parenthesis:
1- From Persian period. Two divine figures with horse hooves holding up sky god (4)
2- Neo-Babylonian diety with four faces. this one might give me nightmares. Troxel references Philadelphia Cream Cheese for some reason. (5)
2.58 Only two slides. I'm a bit disapointed. I was really building it up there so that by the fourth image my descriptions would be vivid and the sweetness level would be at a 10. It just goes to show that Troxel's ways are not our ways.
3.00 Troxel teases Wylie by mentioning songs that reference "wheels within wheels" Buts up an image of a wheel. This one gets a sweetness rating of negative four. Because it's a wheel.
3.01 After Googleing the names of those sitting close to me, I stumble upon this I think the most disturbing thing is that someone thought it was appropriate to present their resume in an online flash video hosted by, as far I can tell, a demonic zombie-teddy bear. It was probably Jeremy.
3.04 The "Sleeping Dave" pictures are almost obligatory by now (see picture)
3.10 The mic goes out. It take him about a half second to recognise it, then he compensate, without further pause, by speaking louder. As he is speaking he, with the speed and agility of a puma, replaces the battery in roughly four seconds. HE continues talking, again with the aide of microphone (not that he needs it.) Amazing execution. Possibly his best. Stunning. Just stunning. He sets the bar so high for other professors. No awkward "Is my Mic out?" no "wait just one second" Just first class lecturing. I am honored and privileged to have witnessed that.
3.11 Just when we were taking the third dimension for granted, "Cube" effect again. Amazing.
3.12 Dave wakes up and puts his arm around me.
3.13 We're going to the gold background that he has been favoring as of late.
3.15 I accidently knock over my tea bottle (lid is on) People look at me with little grins. The guy across the aisle gives me a nod that almost literally says "You da man, Broseph." Yes, morons. Beer is the only beverage sold in glass bottles. I must have knocked over the beer that I brought to my Biblical Studies lecture. You caught me and you know it. You clever devils, you.
3.19 Contrast color appears to have shifted to blue, this can not be confirmed with certainty, however, as there is still some red text on the screen.
3.24 Troxel brings up the view that Cyrus' mention in Isaiah may have been a gloss. After he says "Cyrus is a gloss..." I hold back on my urge to yell "You're a gloss."
3.25 Summin' his points up. Are we don-- nope. "But this raises a question..."
3.26 "Any Questions...Everything clear." No. Yes.
3.27 Forty Five minutes in and my eyelids begin to get heavy. Must. Continue. Blogging. Must Expose Troxel to the World. Must Not Sleep.
3.28 Troxel cites "phraseology" Dave skeptically repeats the word in a comical fashion, but spell checker is telling me that it's legitimate. He should have known better than to question Trox's word useage. I personally don't care what the dictionary says. What Troxel says is.
3.33 A new transition! Words can't describe it! It's as if the next slide was on the back of the previous one and the slide simply flipped to expose it's other side... I can't do it justice. You had to see it to believe it.
3.34 A map titled "The Former Things/ New Things" Since I have only been listening enough to take note of Troxel's behaviors, I have no idea what this map is actually of. There are arrows. And dates.
3.36 Map disappears. apparently the map had something to do with Isaiah 42.9
3.37 Man, it's nice to listen to a coherent, comic free lecture. Trox abandons the gold background to settle on a plain white slide. Red is back as the text contrast color.
3.38 "The language...(slide changes) Whoa. I don't have language first, I have this (gestures to slide) first." A map that apparently caught him off guard. HIs composure, of course is only lost for less than a second. It's as if he feigned surprise to try to convince us that he's only human.
3.40 Enthusiastically whispers "Forget about it!"
3.41 Marc giggles. It almost makes me giggle too. That would have been bad new bears. Marc understands and gives me a grateful tap on the knee as if to say "thank you for fighting to avert that disaster, friend."
3.42 Somehow, we are still talking about The Former Things and New Things. I think.
3.43 For the first time, I begin t question why we are doing this. No! Stay the Course. Fight hard. Giving up is not an option. I am not a quitter!
3.44 Summing up his themes. Wishes us well on studying and gives us a couple of reminders.
3.45 Wraps up with "Good look on the test" [sic]
Man it was nice to hear a lecture without any freaking comics.