It's too darn hot. Too. Darn. Hot. Welcome to the annual heat wave. Our house gets up to about 30 degrees in the afternoons. Much ice is consumed. You can tell that I'm feeling the heat because (get ready for this) I turned off the computer.

I slept in the relatively cool basement last night, which was a relief. Earlier this morning, I biked over to the co-op car to retrieve an item we had left inside, and that was pleasant. You might think that a cold shower would then be in order, but those of you who have stayed at our house know that the temperature control in our shower is stuck on hot. That's the ultimate insult on a day like today. Fortunately, I had a brainwave -- I packed up a change of clothes and came to campus for a shower in the sports facility. As cold as I wanted it (which, I need hardly tell you, was pretty damn cold). Now I'm sitting in my air conditioned office. Where I shall remain until late August. Could somebody bring me a sandwich once in a while?

There are few things in this world more sublime than Tori Amos's stirring cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit. But Paul Anka's version of the same song has to come pretty close. Yes, Paul Anka. He has a new album called Rock Swings that covers a number of songs. The strangest is possibly Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, but the whole album begins at such a high level of strangeness that it's hard to judge.

Heck, I could even put the Tori Amos and Paul Anka CDs side by side in my CD rack if it weren't for that pesky Laurie Anderson. Anyone know if she has done a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit?