links for 2009-02-08

"Meanwhile, back at the classroom, the lecture is drawing to a close. Just as the bell rings, the lecturer, if he's a really smooth operator, comes to the end of a sentence, a paragraph, a nice neat unit. He lays down his last piece of chalk — he knows exactly how many pieces the lecture will take — picks up his precious lecture notes, and goes out. The students, tired but happy, rise up and follow after him. Their heads are empty, but their notebooks are full. Their necks are a little tired; it's been like a sort of vertical tennis match: board, notebook, board, notebook. But other than that, everything is all right. Any student will tell you, "I never had any trouble with the course until the first examination." There hasn't been a chance to ask any questions, but that's all right; they haven't any questions to ask, anyhow. They've been so busy writing hey haven't had time to think about what was being said; it ran in their ears and out their pencils."

"There’s no right way to eat an oyster. Take your tiny fork and sort of move the oyster around in its liquid-filled half shell to make sure it’s detached. Then put down your fork, pick up the shell, and slurp down the oyster from the wide end—it’s more aerodynamic that way. Chew the fish one or twice before you swallow it. It’s an urban legend that you are supposed to let it slide down your throat without biting into it. Think of an oyster like a grape: if you don’t chew the grape, you won’t get the full flavor."