Jen

@cassiciacum

Making Texas higher education great again. Classics/late antiquity/early Christianity. Sports ball fan.

3.449 Folgt7.256 Follower18.743 Posts

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Jen@cassiciacum· Jun 1

Very excited to take off for two weeks in Rome and Ravenna in the morning! My first time back since June 2014. My father was slowly dying from Lewy Body Dementia and Parkinson’s; my own health cratered; Covid; no vacations at all as I tried to reboot my research career.

An open suitcase packed with clothes, a book, toiletries, apple and oranges, shoes.

Jen@cassiciacum· Feb 14

My new t shirt arrived.

A female torso wearing a black t shirt with white lettering that reads Sinister Minnesotans.

Jen@cassiciacum· Feb 12

Reorganizing the College of Liberal Arts at UT Austin. Announced today by the president.,

Based on this review, we are beginning the process to combine seven academic departments into two new academic departments.
The Department of European and Eurasian Studies will be a single department created from:
Department of French and Italian
Department of Germanic Studies
Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies
The Department of Social and Cultural Analysis will be a single department created from:
Department of African and African Diaspora Studies
Department of American Studies
Department of Mexican American and Latina/Latino Studies
Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Jen@cassiciacum· Jan 25

Austin TX this morning.

A light snow covering a front walkway and stairs.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jan 20

Utter insanity.

Greenland: President Trump ratcheted up his feud with European leaders on Tuesday, firing off a series of mocking social media posts that reinforced his designs on Greenland, as he risked damaging the long trans-Atlantic diplomatic alignment beyond repair. Read more ›

Tariffs: Mr. Trump threatened to impose 200 percent tariffs on French wine if President Emmanuel Macron refused an invitation to join his board to oversee the cease-fire in Gaza. Critics of Mr. Trump’s “Board of Peace” say it could undermine the United Nations. A French official denounced the threat as a form of “blackmail.” Read more ›

Supreme Court: The Supreme Court could release rulings today, including a highly anticipated decision on Mr. Trump’s tariffs.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jan 14

Where’s all the handwringing about presidential behavior? Imagine Obama doing this and how the media would have reacted.

Trump Makes Obscene Gesture at Heckler in Ford Factory Tour

A White House spokesman said the president “gave an appropriate and unambiguous response.”

Jen@cassiciacum· Jan 14

There was a package in my department mailbox. It was a black acid washed t shirt (size L so a dress for me). With this uplifting version of Rome’s founding (read the alt text).

Romulus and Remus—born of royal lineage and divine heritage. Abandoned at birth, saved by the River god, and nurtured by a she-wolf, they were raised by humble shepherds. Their destiny blazed with divine fire and mortal ambition. Yet ambition turned to tragedy when Romulus, in a moment of fury, slew his brother Remus.

From that fratricide, Rome was born—its military, its government, its spirit—all rooted in the fierce will of one man. Crowned by the people and favored by the gods, Romulus became the first king of what would become a mighty empire.

This is the kind of raw, mythic history that fuels Grecorom.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jan 13

Back to work. New campus art.

A miniature UT Tower covered in glitter and lights. About 20 feet tall.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jan 11

Beautiful sunrise this morning. I’m going to miss these mountains. Back to ATX for spring semester.

Mountains with a fiery round sun rising over the edge of them. Dark treetops in the foreground.

Jen@cassiciacum· Dec 27

Happy Snow Day and Caturday!!

Dark, leafless tree branches covered with a layer of white snow. A thick blanket of white snow on the ground. The sky is cloudy and overcast.

A torby cat loafing on a tan blanket with a decorated Christmas tree in the background.

A red and white brick fireplace with two red, white and green stockings hanging. Two other stockings are on the ground. A black cat is curled up in a scratch board near the stockings.

Jen@cassiciacum· Dec 23

A funny thing for a child of immigrants to say…

NY Times headline that reads: Stephen Miller cites children of immigrants as problem. In the article, Miller apparently argues that these children create generations-long problems.

Jen@cassiciacum· Dec 22

Got up early for my 7 am PT appointment…that is tomorrow. On the upside: no crowds while I did last minute errands. And a beautiful sunrise.

Pinkish golden wisps of clouds in a light blue sky.

Golden yellow clouds over mountains in the shadows. Snow dusts the peaks of the mountains.

Pinkish golden wispy clouds covering a light blue sky.

Jen@cassiciacum· Nov 2

Cats very invested in the game.

A black cat and orange and white cat sacked out on a bed with an iPad showing Game 7 of World Series.

Jen@cassiciacum· Oct 31

I had PT today. The nerve issues that led to spine surgery in August are mostly better except in the pointer and index fingers of my right hand. It seems to be a weakness of a specific muscle involved with bending the wrist backwards (and typing). PT did some “nerve scraping” today:

An inside forearm with several very large, reddish brown bruises.

Jen@cassiciacum· Sep 19

Orange and white cat stretched downward on a huge pillow covered with a spotted leopard towel.

Jen@cassiciacum· Aug 30

Happy Caturday.

Ginger cat loaf on a dark wood table while a human preps tomatoes for canning.

Jen@cassiciacum· Aug 16

Caturday! Monster helping with research today.

A ginger and white dat sleeping on his side with books and notebooks near his head.

Jen@cassiciacum· Aug 10

Cats at rest.

Ginger and white tabby cat asleep on a large pillow with a blue and white pillowcase.

Long haired black cat in a nest of workout gear.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 30

This is hilarious.

Dr. Prasad did not want to be a distraction to the great work of the FDA in the Trump administration and has decided to return to California and spend more time with his family,” Health and Human Services Department spokesperson Andrew Nixon told STAT. “We thank him for his service and the many important reforms he was able to achieve in his time at FDA.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 29

The Oversight Project also didn’t provide an interview to Inside Higher Ed. In an email, Howell wrote, “UNC is a public school which has a long track record of discrimination. Syllabi are public records and belong to the public. We intend to let the public know what is being taught at a public school. That’s not intimidation, it’s good governance and transparency. If a professor is too much of a wimp to let me read his syllabus then he’s in the wrong business.”

When asked to provide a list of donors to the Oversight Project, Howell responded, “And no of course I’m not sending you a list of donors but please do send donors to our website.”

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 27

My mom’s town has a huge three day party, complete with parade, rides, and carnival stuff as well as a huge fireworks display on the last night. This is the view from her backyard.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 20

Reading this. Great so far.

A book with cover, the cover is a beach scene but all the images out of focus. The book title is Culpability by Bruce Holsinger.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 15

I am feeling prepared for my spinal fusion surgery on Wednesday (c5-7)! Or at least for the recovery phase.

A very high stack of recently published books on a range of topics.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 4

Ok.

A very handsome large, fluffy void cat with a turquoise tag and one eye lying on concrete against a white brick wall.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jul 1

lol. I just did Lolo’s alt text first and forgot to mention that he was dashing!

Dashing black cat with two bright yellow eyes, fur glistening in the sun, lying on grey concrete. His tail ends with a poof of fluff because a groomer thought it was cute.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jun 30

Cats supervising my mom while she gardens.

Black cat sitting behind a green bush with yellow flowers. Cement in the background.

Handsome Ginger cat with eyes closed loafing in the dirt with green grass to the side and a lavender bush behind.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jun 28

My office currently.

A desk with tall stacks of papers and books. A laptop on the desk and a large Amazon box is in the desk chair.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jun 27

I know I should not be surprised by the rhetoric in the second paragraph of the screenshot but I am.

The University of Virginia’s president, James E. Ryan, has told the board overseeing the school that he will resign in the face of demands by the Trump administration that he step aside to help resolve a Justice Department inquiry into the school’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, according to three people briefed on the matter.

For the leader of one of the nation’s most prominent public universities to take such an extraordinary step demonstrates President Trump’s success in harnessing the investigative powers of the federal government to accomplish his administration’s policy goals.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jun 23

Also had two of these. Remarkably, my arm no longer hurts….

Mary I glass with a cranberry red martini.

Jen@cassiciacum· Jun 23

Not pretty but quite good.