Astronomy, hoorah!
I actually find myself excited to go to astronomy class at SMU tonight. Not that working all day only to then sit in a classroom for three hours is particularly relaxing, but I find myself looking forward to it more and more as the weeks pass. And really, its all because of the professor. It’s amazing the difference a good prof can make, its been so long, I think I had forgotten. The subject matter is obviously interesting enough on its own, but he’s just one big hilarious nerd. And I love a good nerd.
I knew I was in good company when he started the first class in Klingon. And the delightful nerdiness does not stop there. He makes great pop culture references, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, bad space movies, MASH… it never ceases to amaze me. And learning that Galileo was apparently a “right nasty bastard” by re-enacting himself telling people off in live theater so that everyone could feel the other person’s embarassment too. Now that's interesting. Of course his battles with the Catholic church helped his bastardly status as well in those times. And learning that Brahe was an alcoholic who died from sitting at the table so long that his bladder ruptured. Now that’s learning about science!
What’s even better than his hilarity, is the fact that 90% of the class totally does NOT get his sense of humour. I think that myself, and another guy who actually responded to his Klingon are the only two people in the class that either think he’s funny, or comprehends his nutty references. And cheesy… bad cheesy jokes like the following…
“The restaurant on the moon didn’t fail because of the bad food, it was the lack of atmosphere”
“Ptolemy, where the P is silent, as it is in swimming” (I still laugh at this one as I type it out)
And really, he says these things, and you can almost here the crickets there’s such silence, until myself and Klingon guy laugh. But I appreciate the nerdiness, being a big nerd myself.
I knew I was in good company when he started the first class in Klingon. And the delightful nerdiness does not stop there. He makes great pop culture references, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, bad space movies, MASH… it never ceases to amaze me. And learning that Galileo was apparently a “right nasty bastard” by re-enacting himself telling people off in live theater so that everyone could feel the other person’s embarassment too. Now that's interesting. Of course his battles with the Catholic church helped his bastardly status as well in those times. And learning that Brahe was an alcoholic who died from sitting at the table so long that his bladder ruptured. Now that’s learning about science!
What’s even better than his hilarity, is the fact that 90% of the class totally does NOT get his sense of humour. I think that myself, and another guy who actually responded to his Klingon are the only two people in the class that either think he’s funny, or comprehends his nutty references. And cheesy… bad cheesy jokes like the following…
“The restaurant on the moon didn’t fail because of the bad food, it was the lack of atmosphere”
“Ptolemy, where the P is silent, as it is in swimming” (I still laugh at this one as I type it out)
And really, he says these things, and you can almost here the crickets there’s such silence, until myself and Klingon guy laugh. But I appreciate the nerdiness, being a big nerd myself.