In a paper morass, but here’s a quick announcement:

It’s finals week at school, all my work/exams is due/takes place in the last two days, and I, of course, have done a less than masterful job of spacing out my work, so I won’t have any really substantial posts until Sunday, in all probability.  I really appreciate all the apologist recommendations you’ve offered, and I’ll be looking at them/responding to you after I finish up the term.  In the meantime, three brief announcements:

1. I can’t complain too much because one of the papers I get to write is about Sweeney Todd!  I’m really excited about this one, which has ended up being largely about the appropriate way to live (or die) in an intrinsically immoral world.  Is madness the only moral choice or is it a cowardly retreat?  The only guaranteed wrong answer is the cheerful nihilism of Mrs. Lovett.
2. Google Chrome is running an excellent holiday promotion called “Chrome for a Cause.”  For every tab you open in Google’s Chrome browser, Google will donate to your choice of one of five charities.  I’m donating to Doctors without Borders, and I’ve opened enough tabs for 5 vaccinations today alone!If you don’t use Chrome, download it here, and give it a try for the week.  It’s delightfully fast and unobtrusive.
3. Finally, in case you need a reminder about how excellent Sweeney Todd is, the following song (taped at a concert version with Patti LuPone and Neil Patrick Harris) features heavily in my essay: