Dissertation liberation

Just got permission to abandon my earlier dissertation plan of tedious things about Sanskrit grammar. Out with word boundaries, padas and angas in Panini's grammar (right but repulsive), and in with tantric buddhism (wrong but romantic). So I get to do some Pali, and look incomprehendingly at pretty things in Tibetan and Chinese, and work in some theory, and generally have a bit more fun.

I'm sooo excited. I'm going to read lots of crazy things, and learn to fly, and smite my enemies, and attain full and final liberation in a simple twelve-step program.

Off to make some index cards...

Not quite a party

You're all invited to a gathering on Saturday at my house, in celebration of the coming of second night of the new moon, the passing of 317th day of the year, the first birthday of the Iraqi ministry of the environment, my abandonment of Sanskrit grammar, and any more ridiculous excuse for a party you can come up with in the next three days. Or, for those in the reality-based community, the officially sanctioned reason is that we were going to have a two-month-overdue housewarming party, but were too disorganised to sort out anything big. So this is my mini-replacement and you are the chosen few. A few mundane details:

WHEN: this Saturday, any time from 7.30

WHO: you, and whatever friends/partners you want to bring

WHERE: 24 Priory Road, which is near the Cam, just behind the end of Midsummer Common. There's a map at http://tinyurl.com/6tpqz

BRING: drinks would be good: bonus points if it's something other than wine. Snacky food if you want something to engulf (I'm not cooking). And whatever fun things you want to inflict on us all (many, many bonus points for anyone who does turn up with fun things)

A higher procrastination

The amount of time I can waste on LJ is miniscule compared to the amount I can waste getting angry and self-righteous about Iraq. But I'm quite proud of how this week's procrastination turned out, especially given that it's something almost nobody else is paying any attention to.
Read my rant (or in Word format)

[the legal bit turns out to be wrong in detail, but broadly correct in impact. I'm too lazy to update it tonight]