Sweet Justice

As I was driving home late last night, a car pulled out in front of me from a stop sign. I had to slow down significantly to avoid hitting it; I even tried to beep my horn, but I didn't find it/press it hard enough in time. That's when I noticed that the car behind the errant one at the stop sign was a cop. Sure enough, as soon as I'd passed and the cop had pulled out, the lights went on and the deviant got pulled over. How's that for instant gratification?

It's Funny Because It's True

Because It's a Muuuuu-sical*

This is my dream life.


*A dollar to anyone who know where that's from.

It's Official

Actually, two things are official. 1. The right person has agreed to chair my dissertation. 2. Guitar Hero does rock. 2A. My students probably won't have a quiz tomorrow because I was up until 12:30 playing Guitar Hero rather than writing their quiz.

Influenza.

I've been especially sick of late. Fever, sore sore sore throat, aching body--basically all I had the energy to do was lay in bed and keep my eyes open. So, I watched a lot of tv and movies from Friday morning to Sunday night. (Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go to Good Friday or Easter services.)

Two episodes of 24 Season 2
Eastern Promises
Everything is Illuminated
Four episodes of Battlestar Galactica season 3
August Rush
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (plus special features)
Three episodes of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer season 1
and lots of TLC and FoodTV.

I suppose I should have been doing more reading and grading, but I just couldn't concentrate or care that much. Now that I'm on the mend, I need to quickly get ready for the week, which includes a very important meeting with the individual I hope will be my dissertation chair in which I hope to say "This. This is what I'm doing my dissertation on."

And We're Back

While it seems a bit cavalier to not address the shooting, my experience then and coming back, it's just something I don't think I can articulate here, so while I missed most of the Oscars because of the memorial service, I choose to discuss my movie watching of late.

I did manage to watch all of the films up for Best Picture, not too much else besides, and after careful consideration, I've come to the conclusion that I preferred There Will Be Blood to No Country For Old Men. And the internet, in terms of the IMDB top 250 list, agrees with me! TWBB is number #30 compared to NCFOM's #41 placement.

In honor of my preference, and the fact that this makes me giggle upon every re-reading, I give you a list (technically a link to a list) from McSweeney's of "Other Things There Will Be, In Addition to Blood."

I don't have any words yet.

Results In

In case you missed the scream around 3:30 yesterday afternoon, I received The Letter with my exam results, and I passed both! I'm rather excited and a little nervous because now I really have to start work on the dissertation.

Aftermath and Heath Ledger

Sorry for the long break. I've kind of taken the first couple of weeks of the new semester as the break I didn't have. I'm reading a couple of books for fun; I'm watching tv and movies; I'm going to the gym. All the things I didn't have time for while studying for exams, which I'll hopefully know the results of next week.

Whenever I'm not posting, I still narrate events of my everyday life in my head as if in a blog post, or determine my opinions and reactions to things per something I can write. The mental post I've worked on the most is one about Heath Ledger. I was sad to hear that he died; I was surprised. His was an unexpected death to be sure; there are a lot of people in young Hollywood whose death I would have been less shocked by.

My question, now that we have a complete body of work--well somewhat complete, who hasn't been eagerly anticipating The Dark Knight for over a year now, and felt bittersweet watching the trailer for I'm Not There--how will we determine his impression, his legacy as an actor?

I've thought a great deal about how he compares to River Phoenix as a clear talent, who seemed still on the way up, who would do incredible things in the future, but died suddenly. Now, we can only evaluate them on what they did do, not on what they had the potential to do. At first, I was questioning if Ledger could be compared to Phoenix, but now I wonder if Phoenix can be compared to Ledger. I haven't seen the complete oeuvre of either actor and am probably more familiar with Ledger's works, so I know that I am perhaps not entirely unbiased. Of course, by naming Ledger as the more significant actor, than I have to reach higher for comparisons. Is James Dean a stretch too far?

And the Countdown is On.

In exactly nineteen hours and twenty-one minutes, I will be done with my exams!!!

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Steadily Creeping

On January 7th and 9th, I will be taking my field exams--no exaggeration--the most important academic tests I will ever take in my life. And I only have 17 days left to study. Some of the material I feel confident with--the film, the fiction--but the poetry, that my friends is going to take a miracle.

So, forgive my lack of interesting posts this semester, and should anything else be posted between now and mid-January; know that it's merely a study break diversion; and try not to judge me too harshly.

Although, taking my cue from Em, I've tested my blog readability and been anointed "College: post-graduate*," so I guess my slippage hasn't yet occurred.

*Edit: After linking to this cite, I rechecked and was promoted to "Genius." Seems suspect.

Little Things

1. I just finished writing the last paper I ever have to write for a class. Wow.

2. After literally years of looking for a quote I'd feel comfortable representing me as my standard email signature, should I ever decide to include one, I came across two from in a single book (Jacob's Room, Virginia Woolf, 1922). Because I don't know if I'm that person (who has email signature quotes), I offer them here:

"But real flowers can never be dispensed with. If they could, human life would be a different affair altogether."

"It is the same with books. What do we seek through millions of pages?"

A Bag

My mother and my sister-in-law are both crafty ladies; I like to think of myself as rather crafty; I like to quilt, knit, crochet, scrapbook, make cards, etc. However, I haven't done much in that vein in awhile, being that most of the time I'm studying (or feeling guilty about not studying). Over Thanksgiving, my sister-in-law was making Christmas cards, and she and my mom were working on a quilt they are making for a cousin who recently got married. The combination of jealousy that I wasn't projecting, plus a brief excursion to a quilt store where I fell in love with some fabric, ended up in a few hours diversion in which I made a purse, bag, thing.

Look at those birds. I couldn't leave it in the store. It's not highly crafted; there are exposed seams on the inside, but I don't particularly care. And, there is a lining and specially designed pockets to hold my essentials with room for a book, stack of student papers, and a water bottle.

My ipod and two pens.

My cell phone and keys.

I'm pleased and only slightly distraught. Rather then satiating my crafty gene, it just made me realize how much I miss it!

Talk Nerdy to Me

At a recent conference, I met a fellow grad student who made an insightful point: gamers make excellent boyfriends for grad students. She suggested that they are inclined to spend large chunks of time playing, perfect for getting work done; if he wants to spend time with you, you can just encourage him to finish his level, and you're guaranteed another couple hours to yourself; and all of your preoccupation with school can be guilt-free!

Much of the tv that I've watched of late has been G4, and I've become rather enamored of Attack of the Show and one of its hosts, Kevin Pereira. The guy is rather cute, especially funny, and has serious geek cred--what's not to love? The other new tv in my life is The Big Bang Theory, and I will admit that I am deeply in love with Sheldon, the uber-geek with a PhD in physics. Seeing as he's just a character though, it may be harder to imagine actually meeting him (or someone of his ilk).

So, I'm sold on the theory; I'm ready. But now the question is, how do I find a real one?

Blerg

I'm sick. I have some sort of sore throat issue that refuses to become a real cold--my nose isn't especially runny, and my infrequent coughing is not "productive." I felt so awful on Monday that I canceled my classes, a first for me. But, I was giving a presentation in my class, so I still attended and did my thing, which went as well as can be expected, I guess. Because I was going to be on campus (and because I canceled classes), I went to the health center. I haven't been to the doctor in like eight years, so I was a bit scared, but it turned out okay. She said it was probably just a virus, not strep, so I guess that's good. I so rarely get sick that I don't know how to deal with myself. I can't concentrate on anything, so I feel negligent (of my studies and classes). Sigh, I just want to feel better.

Dog!

So if you're local, you've heard about the tragic pet hoarding situation that was recently discovered. If not, a woman had over 300 living cats and dogs in her house and 200 dead ones. While they were not abused per say, they were not fully taken care of. Since their rescue, they've been taking care of by the TAILS Humane society in DeKalb.

Today was the first day that the animals were available for adoption. I didn't go (studying for exams) with my mom and brother, but they said there were a lot of people there. Ultimately, Nathan ended up choosing this one.


And he seems like he's going to be a good friend.


***UPDATE: His name is Gibson.

Finally

It's been a long time coming, but I finally saw Across the Universe, and I loved it! Now I'm willing to admit when my personal entertainment and aesthetic desires trump my critical eye*, but I don't think this is the case. Yes, I went into the film wanting to like it, but after Eden's disappointment, I was on my guard.

Since I had the soundtrack, I knew which songs were going to be used, but it was still a delight to see how they were used: US Army posters singing "I want you; I want you so bad;" a girl forlornly singing to her oblivious crush "I want to hold your hand." In addition to the new and interesting levels the film brought to the songs, the visuals were stunning with their unique juxtapositions (e.g. the near-opening sea waves crashing over and through newspapers and video clips of war and race riots). Not having any first-hand experience with the 60s, this is a fairly inexpert opinion, but the film really seemed to capture a wide multitude of experiences and emotions that were jostled together in that time. I can't wait to own it, look at some of the scenes in-depth and then write about it!

I'm sure people will make various levels and depths of comparison to our current war, but ultimately the film was hopeful and uplifting, not so much anti-war as pro-peace and love, which I quite liked.



*I probably should be ashamed of my deep-seeded love of Hudson Hawk, but I'm not.

For Tomorrow...

...clean bathroom for company...30min
...grade 21 student papers at 15 min apiece...315 min
...read the final 227 pages of Tono-Bungay (Wells 1909) at 2min a page...454 min
...eating, bathroom breaks, necessary mental breaks...120 min
total time: 15 hours, 19 minutes.

It's already 12:18, and I've spent 4 minutes composing this blog. I question my will power to resist Ugly Betty, 30 Rock, and The Office tonight.

So, if I am riding on Train A, representing the minimal amount of work I have to do today, and Train B represents tomorrow speeding towards me at a rate of 60min/hr, how long before collision? Will I have time to jump off? If I do, will I injure my academic avatar? Will I pass my January exams?

*Note: If work is shown, partial credit may be available.

Academia

This past weekend I attended the Midwest Popular Culture Association conference in Kansas City. It was fun. For the whole weekend, I was able to walk around talking to interesting, thinking people about ideas and pop culture. There I felt like a functioning member of the academic community. Grad student and faculty mostly blend together, and since this was my fourth year there, I was comfortable in my skin. My panel was canceled because the two other presenters had deaths in their families, and my paper was moved to another panel that didn't fit as well. Most of the audience wanted to talk about comic books, rather than globalization issues and Bollywood musicals. Oh, well. I did have one woman come up to me afterwards and tell me that she was probably going to teach Bride and Prejudice as a result of my paper, which I found flattering. I ever so slightly affected academia! Huzzah!

In a more depressing turn, I was reading an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education about the dwindling numbers of conservatives in faculty. It claimed that the majority of faculty are not far-leftists though, that moderates are the growing number. Not surprising to me was the report that the smallest percentage of conservatives in humanities departments in PhD granting institutions. I would probably consider myself a moderate conservative, but definitely on the right side of the center line, and I often feel as though I cannot voice my views and values in my academic community.

The article provides an interesting reason that might be underlying my fears: the [lack of a] job market. I quote at length:

"Mr. Menand's impression is that dissertation topics in English have changed little since 1990. "Placement and tenure anxiety doesn't exactly encourage iconoclasm," he said. The last great period of ferment in literary theory, he argued, came in the 1970s and early 1980s, at a time when people commonly earned degrees within five years and easily found jobs. With lower personal risks and sacrifices, he suggested, young scholars could afford to offend their elders and to shake up their disciplines.

Today, by contrast, humanities students are sacrificing a decade of their lives with no guarantee of a job at the end of the line. "Who would venture on such a career who did not share, or believe that he or she shared, most of the views of those institutions and gatekeepers?" Mr. Menand asked."

Indeed the professors and the university are the 'gatekeepers' to both my future and my past. If I was to offend (read: present a conservative viewpoint on an issue) those in power (read: my professors, some other graduate students, the department secretaries), I could easily become persona non gratis, which can effect my opportunities, which effects my CV, which effects my viability and connections on the job market, for which is what I've spent the last five year of my life preparing. It's a sad thought knowing that the University, so often encouraging of rebelling against the Man, has got me over a barrel.