Week Twenty-One: January 18th

Probably a bit of a mystery to those unfamiliar with Superman 2, The General Zod is a thirtieth anniversary tribute not to the movie, but the man behind the evil genius. The hirsute look--brilliantly sported by cult film legend Terence Stamp, who may not possess the ability to play a character that is not hilariously amazing--featured far more gray than I am able to muster at this point in life. Plus, though my Zod is hardly the same as his, consider this a "reboot," to use the parlance so favored in all film franchises seeking new audiences nowadays.

Though Zod was the arch-nemesis and mastermind behind Superman's apparent destruction in this film, I found it ironic that while searching for photos of his beard, I discovered that Terence Stamp played the role of Superman's father on Smallville. (Oh, and in case you missed that--yes, I do actually research some of my beards. Hey, I never claimed I was anything but a nerd!)

This beard was greeted with great acclaim by my students, though it may have been more due to my reappearance as something more than the shell of myself that showed up at school for two days last week. The middle stripe, in particular, caught their eye, forcing me to battle many sets of hands seeking to tug at the longer hairs dangling from the bottom of my chin. Though it is common for me to talk to them about not touching each other, it is pretty rare that I have to use the words, "Please stop stroking my face," with any members of my class (who usually look upon me as a member of an alien race rather than an actual person.) Look, Mommy, a dancing clown teaches our class.

Or something like that. Fortunately for me, and for them, I possess little of Zod's imperious nature. That, and my lack of ambition for world domination might just make me a serviceable teacher.