NOTE to Burr Leonard: I am not Jamarcus Russell.
Cicero would have been a fantastic blogger. 
I love bleading his letters.
I am a Classicist by trade and a student by second nature. That’s right – by second nature. I was perfectly fine with myself until I went to Japan, where no one knew or cared who I was. It is there that I truly felt the adrenalin from learning fast while teaching. After about four years in Japan, I came to the United States, went to UC Berkeley for my Ph.D. and graduated in 2000. Have been teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area ever since.
In addition to being a Classicist, I am also an avid Raiders fan. My favorite Raiders blog is www.silverandblackpride.com. Even if you are not a Raiders aficionado, you should check them out – the quality is high and the exchanges dynamic. 
There are about 579 posts about the guy on the right, and most if not all of them are hilarious. Salute to Saint, Jake, Sons, Patriotguy in his two incarnations, JaggerJaw, Brhynno, Ozraider, Rusty23 and everyone else on the SBP – you people are doing an invaluable service to the team.
Speaking of football-related subjects, I am in awe of my next-door neighbor, a Hall-of-Famer. Bob Brown is his name, and I call him Mr. Brown. He played for the Raiders at the end of his illustrious career. There is a post about him on the SBP blogsite. An impeccable gentleman, Mr. Brown is.
My current fitness obsession is The Bar Method. Check out Burr Leonard’s Exercise blog at http://blog.barmethod.com/. I have Burr’s two CDs and do the workouts at home. At one point I plan to sign up for classes too – the studio is comfortably close to the Embarcadero Bart station in San Francisco. The effect on my abs and lower back is astonishing, and my genetically weak knees do not bother me anymore. I am working now on isolating my trapezoid, which is an extremely tricky muscle that wants to be involved with every arm motion I do.
One of the hardest things I’ve done in my life is unlearning how to move. I’ve done it twice. One summer, when I was a tween, I grew 10 inches and it was humiliating to be the tallest girl in class. I started slouching to make myself look shorter, and completely ditched the ballet stance I’d learned as a child. It took a lot of effort, but I did it – neck and hips painfully twisted and forward, a glorious achievement, although I still looked too tall for my taste. Well, fast-forward, and several years ago I became almost paralyzed – apparently loading all the wrong muscles. No wonder my trapezoid rebels…
Same about your study of languages. If you don’t approach it the right way, one or more of your mental muscles is bound to rebel.
Rali
irruptor
sscottrise
sphendonetes
noontide
irkab
fusilazo
pheidippides1896
mikestew
vichelangelo
the1daughter
Nice work, Rali, and thanks for the kind words about our time on the site. It offers a great service to us, in return.
I, too, am an aficionado of yoga and pilates, as you know, and have gotten the itch to rejoin a martial arts class of late. I’ll keep you posted. I’m interested in the new workouts, and “the Bar Method.” We’ll have much to talk about our first Raider game we can attend together this season!
My one question: Will Russell’s departure have the nation at a loss for words?
Ha! not possible!
Anatomy and physiology are infinitely fascinating, and we cannot know enough about these bodies we spend our lives in.
Thank you, dear Brian – aka Brhynno! Long live the Raiders!
Hey Brian, the martial arts muse is making its rounds – I too am getting the urge. What style interests you lately? As for the home-games, Sept. 19th against the lambs and Oct. 3 vs. Texans would be good one’s for you to come up early and stay with us … bring your handmade board and we’ll surf O.B. before the game! Then, Oct. 10 is our 1st division game v. StD, perhaps, we’ll suck it up and head down for it … depending on Classical demands, of course.
See you on the other significant blog.
Here’s a link to a good skiing blog, especially for bump skiers.
Where is the link?