A semester of Dr. Conner (Europe in the 19th Century): On the 1990s: There was more war in Bill Clintons bedroom than on the world stage. On Portugal and Spain: I dont bear the same grudge against Portugal as I do against Spain. My pockets were picked in Spain, not in Portugal. On entropy: Ive come to the conclusion that everything I own is breaking down and coming apart. My books are, anyway. The body cant be far behind. On Prussian nobility: Junkers--not to be confused with cars driving around Hillsdale County. On Catalonia: Anyone who wants to break away from Spain has my support. Commenting on a books description of the revolutions of 1848: The combination of grievances made an explosive cocktail--which you can find at no fraternity party... On Schwarzenberg Square, Vienna: I celebrated my 60th birthday in Schwarzenberg square all by myself at a McDonalds, so Ill always have a fond memory of it. On technology: Im a peaceful Luddite. I dont set out to destroy technology. I just complain about it and badmouth it whenever I can. On the industrial revolution: Why would textiles be the origin of the industrial revolution? Because most days, except at the wildest fraternity parties, we need clothes. On capitalism: Whats wrong with capitalism? Wow, Im surprised that the walls arent crumbling with me asking that question in this place. After a lecture on communism: Now you can go to Ann Arbor and pretend to believe like they do. On Napoleon III: Talk about a reverse Midas touch. By the 1860s, everything Napoleon III touched turned to brown rather than gold. Ill leave it to you to determine the significance of that color choice. On the Seven Weeks War: There was only one major battle in the Seven Weeks War. It goes by two names just to confuse you. On expecting graded papers: Someone has already had the impertinence to ask about the Germinale papers...I know where they [the papers] are. On Alaska: The nicest thing the Russians have ever done for us. On the 7 assassination attempts on Tsar Alexander II: So, thats Russia. On German food: I ate German food yesterday, so the German words are just pouring out of me. On the Third French Republic: A Republic in which 3/4ths of the legislators are monarchists. Only in France, folks, could something like this happen. On Mexican standoffs: So this is a Mexican standoff. If thats a politically incorrect statement, I apologize. On Church hierarchies: Is the Catholic Church accountable to democratic values? No! The Presbyterian Church is and look at the mess its in. On waiting to ascend to the throne: What do you do while youre waiting? You eat, you drink, and you make merry with women who arent your wife. In polite society theyre called mistresses. On a digression: I didnt intend to go there. It just sort of happened. On the King of Englands horse (sort of): ...yes, but more importantly the Kings horse lost! Had to be put down! Sorry, just seeing if anyone out there is listening. On short people: Nicholas, by contrast, was a wimp. He was short...not to say short people are all wimps. They can be terriers, get at you and never let go. On Lenins strategy for revolution: And thats why all the disappointed Marxists in Ann Arbor look back to 1917 and rue the day that Lenin monkeyed with the historical forces. On his opposition to the gold standard: I like spending worthless currency. It makes me feel less guilty. If I go out to dinner and someone thanks me for picking up the tab, I say Dont worry about it. In 2-3 years, its not gonna be worth anything. On Polish revolutions: How many Polish revolts have we talked about in this course? Two. But dont think for a minute that the Poles wouldnt have revolted every other Saturday if they were strong enough. On Thanksgiving Break: Try not to do any work. On a long sentence by Barbara Tuchman in The Proud Tower: Its a beautiful sentence. I probably wouldve marked it all up and gave her an 85 and said her sentences were too long. On the curious political construction of Austria-Hungary: Im seeing puzzled looks. Thats great! Im accomplishing my mission. On Hams beer: If the litterbugs are going to leave beer cans around, they should at least leave premium beers. Hams? I didnt even know that was still made. On the class chatter caused by the previous comment: It was a mistake mentioning beer this later in the semester. On the class failure to answer his questions: Good grief. Im suddenly thinking about retiring. On Albania: The Albanians just celebrated their centennial last year--if theres enough wealth in that country to even celebrate a centennial. On fraternities (and alliances): Fraternities are always held hostage to the behavior/conduct of their least responsible member. On Libya: Thats one of the reasons I think Libya is so messed up today: It was an Italian colony. On everything: Exactly so.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 00:52:05 +0000
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