U.S. TV 'culture' fails to penetrate darkest Streatham.

[sensaes]

Not that we're insular over here, or anything.

SY (on 'phone, trying to make sense of an e-mail I sent on Friday): "Jay Leno. He's the one who looks like a bad Mob tailor run to fat, right? So who the f*ck is Conan O'Brien?"

Exactly.

Other highlights:

General agreement that if Leno seriously wants people to pronounce his name "Len-oh" he

Comments

[perpetua_redux]

You have Graham Norton.

On a pretty unrelated note, have you seen a good blog/social media site for the classroom? I want my students to have a spot, but Blackboard is so clunky. I'm collecting opinions.

[sensaes]

We don't want Graham Norton. I can only assume he's still got a sackful of Polaroids showing BBC top brass in compromising positions. Little else can explain his constant contract renewals.

Right, you probably saw my attempt to be diplomatic, and not exclusively promote one particular service over another on the relevant AA post. I almost feel duty-bound to mention the Micro$oft tie-up (http://www.microsoft.com/uk/Education/higher-education/default.aspx), if only because so much local input's gone into it over here. However, I will plug ClassTools (http://classtools.net) because - whatever you go for - their stuff is free, funky, and works with most platforms. Unfortunately, my own comprehensive/collaborative survey of the field is now almost three years out of date, and it's surprising how needs have changed and become more sophisticated across disciplines in that time.

You don't LIKE fart jokes?

[perpetua_redux]

Yes, I saw your comment, and thanks! I'll check them both.