AND THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION IS........

Despite advice to the contrary, I finished the article. For too long have I collaborated in my own oppression. Rise up! Rise up! The tyranny of student opinion and desire has been temporarily vanquished at Zenith.

Good outcomes include:

1) Article sent, done, finissima;
2) A reputation for being the on-time Radical secured on the staff of a literary journal in Philadelphia;
3) Not sitting around weeping because "I can't seem to ever *finish* anything" (imagine this said with a moan and a little sob);
4) Students appeared not to notice or care that their papers were not returned.

Bad outcomes:

1) I still have papers to grade and they have to be returned in less than 24 hours;
2) My reputation as the on-time Professor Radical continues to wobble and/or decline.

But here's the post-script: while grading last night I became incensed at not being able to view the Rutgers-Marquette women's Big East tournament semi-final, and so I have purchased an entirely new package of channels so that the non-stop grading that will continue during the first and final two weeks of March Madness need never be done without a basketball game on!