Classic Style

  Nothing quite like the aroma of freshly ironed cotton!   W ell, the course pages are all set and go live for students as of midnight tonight!  I have spent the final day of the 18-month long summer vacation at home alone seeing to a few final things, answering some email, running the Miele around three floors of the house, and preparing for my first day on campus since mid-March 2020.  It has been a joy!   I've already chosen a linen suit, pressed a light blue cotton shirt with spread collar, laid out an Italian silk tie, leather dress shoes, socks, etc., and fired up the iron a second time to press a number of handkerchiefs and a few light blue oxford cloth cotton masks from Kamakura.  I cannot tell you how eager I am to get back to a somewhat more normal existence Monday through Friday albeit still from a distance.   While my university has about 60% of its fall courses face to face again, many of us are nevertheless still teaching hybrid or fully online.  Once again, I have go

  Bascom Hall at my alma mater, the University of Wisconsin-Madison .   I t's almost the start of the fall semester, and the work updating my online course pages is just about finished.  In my planned weekly communications to students -- guidelines really -- I include a header with the following information to help them do well (or at least better) in their coursework:   Success in the Course = Proactive Engagement + Self-Awareness + Attention to Detail + Collaboration + Timely and Frequent Communication with Your Student Learning Team + Careful Planning + Organization + Problem-solving + Time Management + Consistency + Ownership + On-time Submission of Assignments and Projects.   It strikes me that these sorts of personal habits might also have broader application to success in life off campus and following graduation. -- Heinz-Ulrich   

  Bad Dad wearing a cotton twill shirt (tucked in), khaki shorts, old worn leather dock-siders, and a cloth surcingle ribbon belt. The Young Master enjoys a devil's food doughnut and glass of milk following our return home.  Time for some new shirts before school starts in a few weeks since he has really outgrown his 5th Grade attire by this point in the summer.  The Boy turns 12 at the end of October. T he Young Master accompanied yours truly, aka 'Bad Dad', for a few errands in town following breakfast this morning.  He pushed the cart nicely, helped me pick out what we needed, and assisted with checkout before we headed back to the car for the trip home. Notably, we were actually complimented on our appearance by the greeter just inside the big box supermarket as we entered.  Always nice to hear, and kind of her, but I didn't think we were all that dressed up.  I suppose, relative to many other shoppers she sees each day, we looked like we had just emerged from a UFO

The sort of items I basically live in when at home from May through September each year until things cool down enough for corduroy jeans and rugby tops. W ithout going crazy, or busting the ol' bank account, it is entirely possible to put together a versatile casual summer wardrobe that will both keep you comfortable AND looking a bit more pulled together than the sad average in 2021.  As my parents used to point out when my sister and I were children and brought home the occasional 'C' on a quarterly report card card from school, "Average is nothing to be excited about.  You can do better than that."  Sharing that sentiment will, no doubt, rile up some readers, but ol' Mom and Dad had a point. Indeed, we can do better than average, even with our casual summer attire.  After all, you only need a few pairs of shorts and a few shirts to mix and match in various combinations that will keep you looking decent without having to put a whole lot of thought into it wh