Notes before takeoff

• Tomorrow I head north to the great city of Chicago -- the city with the big shoulders, that toddlin' town -- for the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion. It will be an easier trip than the Denmark jaunt of a couple of weeks ago, of course. But I told my students that they shouldn't envy me. Almost as soon as I check into my hotel, there's a 5 pm - 10 pm meeting. Then on Friday, a 9 am - 5 pm meeting. Then -- the real killer -- the Saturday morning 7 am meeting. It's not going to be a restful jaunt. But I hope to break away long enough to see my Chicago colleagues for dinner or a drink. Don't worry, guys, I'll be in touch.
  
• I finally got away from the office long enough to get a haircut this afternoon. The stylist plucked something from the back of my head and held it up to show me. It was a gray hair, but not just a gray hair -- a crinkled, curly gray hair. In other words, a terrifying glimpse of the near future, when my thick, slightly wavy, easy-to-manage strawberry blond coif turns into a colorless mass of kinks.
• Following an intriguing recommendation from Boing Boing, I bought ABC3D (only $11.97 with free Amazon Prime two-day shipping when I ordered!), the stunning and elegant alphabetical pop-up book by Marion Bataille. Check it out -- my favorites are the U and Z.