Wednesday randomness

Jack Lessenberry has written a compelling op-ed on the mayor's text message scandal, a call for his resignation:

What few seem to realize is that this is not about sex.
Kwame Kilpatrick, for all I care, could have carnal knowledge of an Allis-Chalmers combine, if he paid for it. He could have had all the little girly-girls service him that he wanted. And if he paid for the rooms and broke no laws and did it on his own time, it might be disgusting or morally wrong, but it's not the public's
business.
Abraham Lincoln once, on being told that Ulysses Grant was a drunk, asked what kind of whiskey he drank so that he could send a case to his less successful generals. No, this isn't about sex.
That's the giggle factor. What it is about is lying under oath, committing a felony and destroying people's careers and wasting millions of a poor city's money to cover his own personal mess up.
You cannot get around that. You cannot survive that, if the rule of law makes any sense.

Amen to that. As Detroit cut curbside garbage pick-up and other "non-essential services," shut down firehouses, and watched the Big Three exit stage left, Kilpatrick settled a whistleblower case for $9 million of the city's money so that the cops suing the city wouldn't testify and reveal his affair with his chief of staff. His family already knew about the affair, according to his own statement, which means his children watched him on the news as he lied under oath. His chief has already resigned, he's the subject of a criminal inquiry into his alleged perjury, but his aides snickered (!) when asked if the mayor would consider stepping down. He'll speak tonight at his church and the whole metropolitan area will watch. Most of us will be sad.

...Speaking of sad, how fast did this ugliness turn uglier? By now, the composition studies community has finished buzzing about The Chronicle's latest ill-informed "analysis" of the teaching of writing. One of the paper's columnists listed titles of papers given at our national conference and used those titles as evidence of the discipline's lack of "legitimacy." How dare they engage with the social context of language use instead of sticking to "basic writing" (a disciplinary term the author doesn't understand) and expect to be taken seriously?

At first, the online responses echoed the responses in the composition studies blogosphere and on comp studies professional listservs. Later responses, though, seem to suggest that somebody rallied the troops and shifted the tide of opinion: writing courses don't teach students to write or think, nobody on campus respects writing teachers, writing courses indoctrinate, blah, blah, blah. Should have known the conversation would go nowhere.

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Listening to: The Go: Whatcha Doin' (1999); Detroit talk radio
Reading: The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold; Doing Emotion: Rhetoric, Writing, Teaching by Laura Micciche; a boatload of short stories by my English 323 students
Watching: The "Lost" recap show; Mayor Kilpatrick's address (not this second, obviously, but I think both are on tonight)
Awaiting: The new episode of "Lost," of course.

ivy league

So I'm watching "The Good Shepherd," the Matt Damon thriller about the early history of the C.I.A. and the film's version of life in the ivy league (circa 1939) fascinates me. Rich boys, foppish one minute, full of swagger and a macho awareness of their cultural capital the next. The film highlights these kids reading a lot of modernist poetry, putting on productions of HMS Pinafore, singing tunes in four-part harmony. Did life at Harvard and Yale really look like this seventy years ago?

Does ivy league life look like this now? Pop culture representations seem to construct this version of the ivies. The Harvard class reunion from "Good Will Hunting," where cliques seem to congregate around the barbershop quartets the respective alums belonged to. The ivy-league-educated staffers on "The West Wing," who all obsess over Gilbert and Sullivan.

Anybody out there have any first-hand accounts of whether life at the ivies consists of the future senators and Simpsons writers singing a capella and talking about Pirates of Penzance? Or is this just the impression Aaron Sorkin and Matt Damon WANT us to have?

fiction watch

Last night I finished Diary of a Bad Year, J.M. Coetzee's latest novel, and found myself looking beyond some of the self-indulgence that turned me off initially. Coetzee tells the story of a reclusive and somewhat lecherous old writer (a novelist and retired academic) who hires a young woman named Anya to type his latest manuscript, a collection of hyper-erudite musings on, well, the world. Senor C, Coetzee's how-autobiographical-is-he? protagonist, tackles everything from the war in Iraq to Bach's unmatched genius. Any given page of the novel is divided into three sections: a snippet of Senor C's manuscript, the writer's first-person narration of the "story," and finally Anya's version of events. Senor C is a little bit Humbert Humbert, a little bit Coetzee (obviously), and a little bit of the professor who taught the first Brit Lit survey you took as an undegraduate, which presents intriguing possibilities. But the three narrative threads--the novel's hokey conceit--keep the narrative from exploring all of these possibilities. It's probably cliche to suggest a later novel from an iconic writer reads like a draft, but that's exactly the impression I had, particularly in the early chapters.

But Coetzee redeems the story in its second half, when he allows a plot to materialize. Anya's lover, an eager young businessman named Alan, hatches a plot to rip off Senor C. Alan brings some humor. I especially liked Alan's defense of his scheme; he feels Senor C's fortunes are wasting away in low-interest accounts, which Alan finds sinful. I haven't given away anything significant and I'd recommend the novel, even with its flaws, as a somewhat interesting, self-aware critique of academic critique. One of the central ironies involves Senor C's focus on the macro-dangers of global capitalism while remaining clueless about the micro-danger of the capitalist who lives in his building.

what doesn't kill me...

The voices of Kipatrick's detractors grow louder and louder. See, for instance, the letters-to-the-editor in Detroit's two papers, the News and Free Press. Mostly opposition. Calls to resign. Calls for prosecution. A few from the city. Many more from the suburbs.

The irony is that this vocal opposition makes prosecution LESS likely. Will prosecutors bring perjury charges? Depends in large part on whether they think a conviction is likely. If (and it's a big IF) the text messages are real and if they were obtained legally, then perjury seems very easy to establish. But it comes down to likelihood of conviction. Will a jury in the city convict the mayor, as suburbanites call loudly for that conviction?

The racial divide. The city-suburb divide. The grandest of Detroit's narratives. Kilpatrick, like Coleman Young, successfully uses negative criticism from the suburbs to bolster support. Echoes of Clinton. Republicans calling for Clinton's removal from office ended up looking petty, personal, and conspiratorial.

some quick observations of press coverage

The scandal is ubiquitous. Hallway conversations. Dinner conversations. And, of course, the media. Local NPR affiliates, of course, feign restraint. Commercial media makes no pretenses about its obsession. Some quick notes:

• Reporters get "meta" very quickly, covering not only the story, but the fact that they are covering the story. A radio host this a.m. says with certainty that this is the biggest story in Detroit since the Malice Green story fifteen years ago.
• The search for a cool name. One columnist posits "blackberry gate" as a good choice.
• Race, race, and more race. Kilpatrick's "hip hop mayor" nickname is brought out. White pundits talk about how "they" voted for him and "they" deserve" him. Of course this emphasis on race (the racist tropes of the media, etc.) allows Kilpatrick (who cares not about how the media sees him--that's a losing battle) to frame the whole scandal as another personal attack on him, the hometown hero.
• Media outlets try to distinguish themselves. Again, NPR in particular sees itself above the fray. But even the popular press points to supposedly seamier outlets. The Free Press headlines a sidebar "Blogs gorge on mayoral message scandal." Ah, so BLOGS are gorging themselves. Unlike the commercial press?
• Alliteration. Tawdry texting tales.

texts, lies, and videotape

So, yet another scandal for Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. He has survived allegations of wild parties at the mayoral mansion, keeping an expensive entourage, killing strippers, taking spa trips with cronies on the city's dime, on and on.

Now, the biggie. Local press obtained 14,000 text messages that allegedly prove Kilpatrick and his chief of staff purjured themselves. Two cops had sued the city, claiming they were dismissed for threatening to whistle-blow in an investigation of Kilpatrick's security detail--an investigation that would have exposed an affair between Kilpatrick and his chief.

Under oath, Kilpatrick swore unequivocally that he never had an affair with the chief and that he did not fire the cops. The 14,000 text messages include some pretty clear indications of an affair ("I want another night...at the Residence Inn! You made me feel so good that night") and that Mayor and chief made the decision to fire the cops.

Naturally, the press goes wild. The whole city drips with the gory details. Obviously, the sex sells, and this story--which is about consensual but adulterous workplace sex and the lies under oath that followed--breaks a decade, almost to the day, of the publication of the first Monica Lewinksy stories.

But the technology angle is as flashy as the sex. There's a record, somewhere, of every key stroke we make. News reports review the ins and outs of the Freedom of Information Act provisions that gave the press access to these text messages (made from a city-owned device). One of the investigative reporters highlights the sidebar pieces the paper's "tech guy" will surely do during the scandal's fallout. A caller to talk radio this morning says he works for a major cell phone provider and that homeland security mandates they back-up their customers' every text message, every call, every photograph, every voicemail and maintain tapes for the feds to access on demand.

Remarkably, on the same day Detroiters learn of a story about thousands and thousands of six-year-old text messages resurfacing in their entirety, the White House reports that its tech people have not been able to access archives of White House emails from December 03 and January 04, the period when weapons inspectors concluded the absence of WMDs in Iraq. Go figure. Oh, and preservation of west wing emails is required under the Presidential Records Act. Alas, no sex in that particular scandal, so the story will probably receive little attention before disappearing like those emails.

great new blog

Well, new to me anyway. Thanks to Motor City Rocks for the link to a blog affiliated with It Came From Detroit, a great indie documentary about the rock scene in the city, circa turn of the milennium. Looks like outtakes from the ICFD film itself, as well as videos from the bands featured therein. Good stuff. Already they have footage from SSM, Soledad Brothers, and other acts that are well worth checking out. Hope the folks over there continue to maintain and update the site. I also hope they release the film on DVD. As far as I know, it's not yet available. They may be shopping for a distributor, since as far as I know it's only been shown at a couple festivals and the Detroit Film Theatre down at the D.I.A. (where I saw it).

why my e-mail inbox runneth over

• nominations for various CCCC positions...keep 'em coming folks
  
• ideas from my fellow Peace & Justice Committee members for the "Elections 2008" series we're planning at our church
• unsigned messages--my secret pet peeve--from students (my car broke down, what did I miss yesterday?, when did I sign up to workshop my story?) whose email addresses (worldofwarcraftdude1990@freeemailservice.com) don't exactly give away their identities

equal time?

Don't let anybody tell you I never say anything nice about the presidential candidates from the right side of the aisle...

That Huckabee fellow knows a little something about good Detroit music. Veteran rock critic Susan Whitall points out the old boy's apparent affinity for the Funk Brothers. Right on.

the middle of the MLK weekend

I do a pretty good job staying mindful of what a friggin' awesome job I have. And this term, thanks in part to my pre-tenure course release, I find myself able to concentrate on 1) my two groups of students and the interesting things they are writing and 2) the civic engagement teacher-research I'm doing. Oh yeah, and that tenure portfolio too.

And yet, like many others who refuse to be workaholics, I love weekends when I can break away even from work that brings much, much pleasure. Friday night, after a particularly long meeting, I managed to work out before leaving campus. Nicole and I ate at a new burger place here in Berkley (mediocre food) and then caught a late showing of Juno, which was as funny and beautiful as the accolades indicate. Maybe moreso. I loved this film. Saturday morning we drove down to Sylvania, OH., and saw my nephew Tony perform at a high school speech competition, doing a one-man noir version of Juluis Ceasar (sample humor: "gimme a Martinus, barkeep" "you mean Martini?" "if I wanted two, I'd tell you").

After a little house-cleaning back home, I made a simple tomato sauce with lots of garlic, basil, and red pepper flakes; some whole wheat pasta; and faux meatballs with eggplant (frozen from my dad's garden), Italian breadcrumbs, and much parmesan cheese. Nothing is as relaxing as cooking. My friend Jason came over for dinner and we talked about seminary memories for hours. Today went to mass, then out to lunch with the crew from church.

I'm going to relent and do a little paper grading this afternoon and evening (and also start Coetzee's new book "Diary of a Bad Year" fresh from the library shelves), because tomorrow is Martin Luther King Service Day on campus. Nicole and I will join a group of students at one of the soup kitchens downtown for a morning of work, followed by an afternoon program on MLK back at school. Nice chance for faculty-student interaction. Then to my sister Anna's to hang with my parents who are coming for a quick visit.

Schoolwork? It'll be there on Tuesday morning.

getting my ya-ya's out

The Rolling Stones will release a live album in two months, presumably because at this point they only have about two dozen live records in their catalogue. Not to mention umpteen "hits" compilations that slice and dice their career every which way (the London years, the Decca years, 40 Licks, the Mick Taylor years, 64-71, 77-83, our uneven Reagan-Thatcher years, Hits We Wrote While Shooting Up in Barbados). Not to mention vast networks of bootlegs. Not to mention youtube footage of that trainwreck at the Super Bowl in Detroit a few years back.

Out of fairness, their forthcoming platter is the soundtrack to a Martin Scorsese concert film--don't get me started on their many concert docs from the disturbing Altamont footage to this cheesy "imax experience" I saw when I was like 19--which very well might rock, a la The Last Waltz.

But can the new record possibly be anywhere near as good as this? Those shows from the year of my birth were amazing and the "Happy Birthday Nicky" discs capture freewheeling, drunken abandon. It's hard to imagine a time when the Stones didn't feel obliged to play "Satisfaction" every night. You get Mick Taylor. You get a setlist heavy on Exile on Main Street tracks. You get the bluesier second night, where they trot out "Love In Vain." Tight.

vote

Berkley, Michigan. 7:30 this morning.


No signs outside. No campaigners in sight. No lines. No stickers for voters. The polls had been opened for thirty minutes and I was the seventh voter.


NPR reports that pollsters expect less than a twenty percent turn-out today in Michigan. The four inches of snow on the ground should keep that number lower even than expected.


A sitting president with record-low approval ratings. A mortgage crisis in the state. Auto industry in shambles. A wartime election, with candidates promising everything from "immediate" withdrawl to one-hundred years of occupation and many points in between. Age of oldest Supreme Court justice: 87.


Less than twenty percent?

do you--DO!--feel like I do?

The Detroit Free Press conducted a strange poll in anticipation of tomorrow state primary, asking primary voters how they would "feel" if candidate x were to win the presidency come November. Not surprisingly, Hillary Clinton elicited some of the strongest responses.

Nearly four out of five people, 79%, who plan to vote in Tuesday's Republican primary said they would feel "not so good" or "terrible" if Clinton is elected.

Clinton evoked a similarly strong response from Democratic voters, with 36% saying they would feel "pretty good," and 32% saying they would feel "ecstatic," if she is elected.

Unlike many, I kind of like Hillary Clinton on a personal level. I just think she has a deplorable record in the senate and fine it fairly bizarre that any progressives would back a candidate who twice voted for the Patriot Act. Though not one of the choices in the poll, I'd feel "better" if she were elected in November and perhaps "worried," given that Clinton's stance on issues has been so strongly shaped by popular opinion.

I worry that this poll represents another instance of the media's intense focus on likeability and the disproportionate and sexist attention given to H.C.'s "do you like her?" factor. The problem, for me, with this focus is that it deflects attention from that senate record. Not unlike how the focus on our current president's verbal foils and anti-intellectual stance distracts from his frightening ideas.

questions

• Why has every orange I've bought this winter been so lousy?
• Why has nobody seemed to question the age discimination of Homeland Security's new REAL ID act, which mandates new rules for driver's licenses issued to those born after Dec. 1, 1964? The ACLU is rightly critiquing the sharing of personal information that's going to happen now, but where's the resistance to the age issue? What, nobody over 44 is a terrorist or con artist?
• Where did my free time go?
• Why is the deadline for WPA grants on Monday?
• Why is my over-enrolled creative writing class in the smallest room on campus?

from the morning workout

Been doing an hour on the cardio machines every morning this week. Must keep up this habit. This a.m. on the i-pod:

• One Way Ticket-Aretha Franklin (Spirit in the Dark)
• I'm Not There-The Band (Basement Tapes)
• D.T. Shadows-Fleshtones (Beautiful Light)
• Far Gone and Out-Jesus and Mary Chain
• Lord Anthony-Belle & Sebastian (Dear Catastrophe Waitress)
• Pam Berry-The Shins (Wincing the Night Away)
• Life in Prison-The Byrds (Sweethearts of the Rodeo)
• Heart of the City-Jay Z (Blueprint)
• Since You're Gone-The Cars (Greatest Hits)
• Bomb the Twist-The 5678s
• You Still Believe in Me-The Beach Boys (Pet Sounds)
• Damaged Goods-Gang of Four (Entertainment)
• Galang-M.I.A.
• Not Dark Yet-Bob Dylan (Time Out of Mind)
• Country Feedback-R.E.M. (In Time)
• Lonesome You Lonesome Me-Boogieman Smash (Crowned 7")
• Ain't To Be Played With-Big Maybelle (Complete Okeh Sessions)
• Zealots-Fugees (The Score)
• Kingdom Come-Jay Z (Kingdom Come)
• Rock Me Baby-Etta James

Lyric that most resonated as I thought about tenure process came from Jay-Z: "I don't want much/f*** I drive a nice car/some nice cooked food/some nice clean drawers."

MT on Michigan primaries

This week's editorial in the Metro Times suggests voting for Kucinich in the Michigan primary is the only option for folks on the left. Because the Michigan Democratic party violated the national party's charter by moving the primary up to January 15, the Obama and Edwards campaigns both pulled out. So Clinton's a virtual lock. As further punishment for the charter violation, Michigan delegates don't get a vote at the national convention. All this means translates into the major candidates from the party 1) ignoring Michigan until August, and 2) having no pressing reason to address the state's reeling economy or the collapse of the Big 3 until, you guessed it, August.

The editorial frames a Kucinich vote as a do-no-harm vote: send a message to the party--without any of the guilt of voting for a candidate who allegedly isn't viable. The piece reads:

The way News Hits sees it, this is a perfect opportunity for progressives in Michigan to make a statement without taking any risk. And the way to do that is to vote for Kucinich.

He — not Clinton — is the one who opposed our disastrous invasion of Iraq from the outset. Clinton can claim she was conned by the Bush administration's deceptions, but Kucinich was exposed to the same smoke and saw through it.

Kucinich — not Clinton — is the one calling for immediate troop withdrawal. And he's the one seeking the impeachment of George Bush and Dick Cheney, demanding that they be held accountable for the damage they've done to this country and its Constitution.

Kucinich — not Clinton — is the one proposing a single-payer, government-run health care system similar to those in place in every other industrialized nation.

And the piece doesn't even get very far into Clinton's senate record: supporting the Patriot Act, supporting the Patriot Act's renewal (when it was starting to lose popularity), getting involved with non-issue garbage like hearings on video games. Go Dennis!

discipline

Right now I'm reviewing two separate articles for two separate journals and both articles take lots of risks with form, tone, and diction. Both pieces are quite interesting and original, in part because of the risks. And yet I find myself slipping into "policing" mode in my responses--urging the respective writers to re-think *some* of the flourishes that distract. Okay, finding that balance is key when playing with narrative/voice/and such, but I'm trying to resist pushing the 'discipline.' The last thing I want to do is shut down that element of play.

campaigning

Another great post from Carrie Brownstein, NPR blogger extraordinaire. Brownstein offers her meandering take on campaign music, outlining how politicians can strip not only edge but also point-of-view from music by co-opting songs for campaign appearances. She refers of course to Bill Clinton's effective use of "Don't Stop" and the bi-partisan ubiquity of U2, and then gets to this interesting piece:

Yet what do we expect from Presidential candidates? I mean, above everything else, do they have to have good taste in music? No, it's certainly not a requirement. In fact, maybe the less the candidates get nearer to our own tastes, the better. How strange, for instance, if Spoon's "The Way We Get By" was the soundtrack to Hillary Clinton's stump speech. And the further the candidates' beliefs get from our own, the less we want to know that they might actually share our cultural tastes. Like if "The Greatest" by Catpower accompanied Mitt Romney wherever he went.

Well, frankly, I woud kind of like a president to share my affinity for, say, The Dirtbombs. I wouldn't use pop culture sensibility to decide what candidate to support (at least consciously), but I'd find if awfully reassuring. Michael Stipe and Natalie Merchant performing duets at Bill Clinton's inauguration fifteen years ago felt as hopeful as hearing the Clintons talk about universal health care (so much for that one).

Brownstein also asks what tunes we think the candidates SHOULD use. Here are my picks:
Barack Obama = "Gut Feeling" by Devo
Dennis Kucinich = "Underdog" by The Dirtbombs or "One Man Revolution" by Nightwatchman
Hillary Clinton = "Only" by Nine Inch Nails or "Means to an End" by Joy Division
John Edwards = "Here Comes Your Man" by The Pixies or "Sue Me" from Guys and Dolls
Bill Richardson = "Second Best" by Dolly Parton (perfect for a vp hopeful)

Hyatt this morning

who wants another week of break?

Me, that's who.

Starting to get those tasks checked off my list, and here it is the Friday before classes resume. I'm putting finishing touches on the syllabi, which makes me eager to get into the classroom, but oh the things I could do with another wide-open week. "Stop Your Sobbing" by The Pretenders just popped up on itunes. No joke.

Exciting to see Obama take Iowa. I hadn't watched a long stretch of CNN in a long time, but I watched and listened last night after his win as he mostly went through his stump speech:

At this defining moment, we cannot wait any longer for universal health care. We cannot wait to fix our schools. We cannot wait for good jobs, and living wages, and pensions we can count on. We cannot wait to halt global warming, and we cannot wait to end this war in Iraq.

All the pundits contrasted Obama's pathos with the more reserved and platform-oriented content of Huckabee's post-caucus victory address. I was starting to doze, so I can't remember which pundit compared Obama's message--curb partisan bitterness and affect changes for common good--with what she saw as the gist of Hillary Clinton's sad, post-Iowa speech: I should be president. Spot-on observation, I thought. Speaking of H/C's appearance at the podium, boy did Bill Clinton ever look sad about the loss.

tenure, part two

Day two of working on the tenure portfolio. Some observations:

• The university-wide format does not always allow for easy articulation of the work of humanists. I can see how some of the categories that represent the work of scientists can cause anxiety. I have nothing to put under patents, licensures, synergistic activities (the example given in the tenure guidelines literature: "developed a methodology for modeling and analysis of system robustness"... err, I haven't done that), or technical reviews. Does that make me look weak? Conversely, I find myself relegating some work--writing entries for encyclopedias, chairing the 4Cs nominating committee--to "other" sections.
• One requirement in the teaching section involves creating a table showing enrollment in all of your classes. When you teach writing classes with low caps, your record looks lightweight next to, say, a psychologist who teaches big lecture courses. Further, involvement in interdisciplinary programs like first-year seminars, women's studies, honors, and the m.a. in liberal studies further lowers your "numbers."
• Stuff you did before you got to your current institution doesn't matter very much. I'm sure this varies school-to-school, but around here, it's all about what you've done while on faculty at UMD, particularly in research and publication. I get the rationale: show that you can be a good academic in your present climate; your publications "brand" your present institution (Professor X is on faculty at university Y). Seems to me, though, that *ongoing* contributions also matter, especially for faculty hired at the advanced assistant level.

tenure

Today I've started assembling my tenure portfolio. The process strikes me as less cumbersome than many make it out to be. Make copies of publications. Write some reflective pieces that discuss how said publications connect. Write a bit about what you think you've contributed to your field. Gather all the syllabi and a sample of assignment sheets you've used over the years. Synthesize student evaluations.

Okay, there IS a good amount of paperwork involved. And a part of me thinks that right now I *could* be working on an article or getting ready to teach next week. Overall, though, it's kind of nice to look back at professional accomplishments and to take some time to recognize connections and even, gasp!, coherence among things I've written, courses I've taught, and projects I've worked on.

I've sometimes heard comments like "I couldn't do anything that year, I was going up for tenure," or "Don't sign on for any committee work while you're putting together your tenure dossier." Not sure I fully understand those comments. I certainly see how the red tape gets irritating and I definitely relate to the ever-present anxiety, but so far it's been kind of enjoyable.

Similarly, a big discussion went down on WPA-L last week about how writing a dissertation is allegedly a painful, alienating thing. And I've known some people who did have a bad experience for various reasons. Happily, though, a few folks suggested that they were NOT "bothered" by the process of dissertating. Refreshing to hear a few people speak positively. I see the tenure portfolio in the same light as the dissertation and wonder why there is so much dissatisfaction.

tasty

Like so many others, the new year, for me, brings a healthier eating resolution. More exercising and less coffee drinking, too. Stressed about the upcoming tenure process? Drink a pot of coffee. Feeling down? Eat (a lot of) something. Must stop doing that.

Luckily I made limoncello pasta LAST week. Oh, is this ever delicious. My brother has taken to making limoncello, the Italian "digestivo" typically made from lemon zest and sugar and grain alcohol (he uses vodka instead), and gave us a bottle for Christmas. Here's what I did. While boiling a pound of bowties, I mixed in a big bowl equal parts limoncello and cream (about 1/2 cup of each), a couple tablespoons of butter, a pinch of kosher salt and a couple pinches of dried parsley. After pasta cooked, I drained, tossed in bowl with other ingredients, and added a bunch of parmesan cheese (a couple cups). Excellent stuff.

Not going to be eating more for a good while though. Happy 2008, ya'll.