The chill sets in

We've had a couple of days now where the temperature sat in the single figures, so we're entering unknown weather territory from here. Still enough sunlight to make the days enjoyable, there's some colour in the foliage, and the air smells sweet like high up in the mountains. I find I have to struggle into four layers of clothes whenever I leave the house, so I'm hibernating most of this weekend instead of brunching with the Fellows or attending the John Cazale movie night at Wallace House.

One movie I did watch with a group of Fellows was Hotel Rwanda on Thursday night (after separate lectures from Floyd Abrams (Judy Miller's lawyer) and the fabulous historian-collector-library director John Dann. An emotional experience to share with our new friend Thomas, the Fellow from Rwanda. His story doesn't have a Hollywood ending, and the wounds are still raw. Thomas lost his five-year-old daughter and his father in the massacres. He was also one of those protected by Paul Rusesabagina in the Hotel Mille Collines, as depicted in Hotel Rwanda. Watching the film with Thomas was devastating - he had to leave the room during the action and afterwards we felt impotent, unable to offer him any comfort and reluctant to question him about events for fear of upsetting him more. Some of us dissolved into tears. Walking home, Gerard and I were disgusted to admit we are more distressed by the tragedy once we know somebody affected. How disgraceful we are.

Thomas' story, in his own words, at One of the hunted (halfway down the page). He has also been written about far more eloquently than moi by Julia, another spouse-of-a-Fellow-blogger, at Life in a Northern Town.

Rusesabagina is coming to the University on Tuesday to receive a medal and to meet the Fellows.

What have we been eating? We tried out blueberry pancakes this morning - with Michigan blueberries and maple syrup. Of course, our professor doesn't own a frypan, so that was fun.

There was a nice read in today's Times magazine from Michael Lewis about genteel New Orleans and how her eccentrics continued after Katrina. I have to say the Times is an enjoyable read, particularly for excellent narrative writing, but I'm increasingly turning to radio (NPR) for the best news coverage and magazine-style programs. TV? Forget it. How I miss BBC World and even Sky News. CNN always has talkshows on it, and Fox News is only good for chuckles.