Just back from Chicago, and the CCCC. It's much better than the MLA conference, because the people aren't as pretentious. I didn't hear the standard, "I know this obscure theorist" discussions that I'm so familiar with from MLA. Amanda says that the bulk of composition professors in the U.S. are middle-aged white women. If this conference was true to the demographic, she's right on the money. My paper went well, I think, with great questions fronm the audience, and another really good presenter. Unfortunately, David Elias was unable to make the trip, so I read his paper, too.
Chicago is a great city. We got to see the Art Institute, where Amanda finally saw my favorite works there, Cornell's boxes. Then we were off to the Adler Planetarium, where our trip was far too short. We saw a show there, but as soon as it was over, the Planetarium closed. So my trip to the gift shop was off, which was a real bummer. Amanda scored quite a bit of stuff in the Art Institute gift shop, but I held myself in abeyance until the Adler because I was looking for some cool new posters. Oh well, such is life. We did, however, get into a great impromptu discussion with two barflies who worked at Tower Records. One turned around when I commented on the American edit of "Brown Eyed Girl" that he had just played on the jukebox, and the other came to "save" us from the first and engaged in a rousing defense of Bukowski's work. I told him he was preaching to the choir on that score.
Now it's back to the grind, the week after Spring Break, and school resumes again. It turns out that this may be my last semester here. Amanda got very good vibes from the interviews she had in South Carolina, and I can make more money adjuncting there than I can as an Associate Professor here. Just what I thought. We'll see. First she has to get an offer from one of those places, then I'd have to chuck it all in here. Believe me, it won't be the money that holds me here.
24 March 2002
10 March 2002
Avoiding grading (profblog)
When you're as deep into grading avoidance as I am right now, anything sounds good, even downloading india.arie mp3s and listening to bootleg Tenacious D stuff. I've been at it for a while today, while a stack of papers stares at me from the dining room (that's right, they can stare through walls, and you can feel the resentment in them as it bores into your back).
If it weren't for grading, this would be a great job. I think every prof, somewhere in every semester, reaches the end of the rope, and gets into grading avoidance. Usually that happens toward the end of the 15 weeks, so you can just push on through and get done, despite the pain of reading yet one more set of bad papers. However, this semester I've got it bad. It's not even spring break yet, and I'm already burnt. I'll get them back to the students tomorrow, but between now and then will be about ten hours of pain. It's stuff like this that makes me envy the people at R1 institutions, with 2/2 teachings contracts. Of course, I'd have to put out a national article every year, something slightly less onerous than grading, but then again, who am I kidding? I'd never even make the first cut for a position like that.
I think one of the reasons why I am so out of grading is this job search. Amanda has a series of interviews over spring break (all in South Carolina, a place I could really enjoy), and we've been talking about what to do if she gets an offer there. I think she'l really like it, and I don't want to do the typical academic couple thing of being apart for a year, so I think I might take a year's leave from EKU next year and look into positions in SC. Amanda thinks that I'd be better off in a high school, where I won't have to do all this non-compensated stuff like web design and committee work and CCSA and tech writing. Maybe there's something to that, but I've only got the seed in my mind so far -- I'll need to think about it for a while before I make a decision.
If it weren't for grading, this would be a great job. I think every prof, somewhere in every semester, reaches the end of the rope, and gets into grading avoidance. Usually that happens toward the end of the 15 weeks, so you can just push on through and get done, despite the pain of reading yet one more set of bad papers. However, this semester I've got it bad. It's not even spring break yet, and I'm already burnt. I'll get them back to the students tomorrow, but between now and then will be about ten hours of pain. It's stuff like this that makes me envy the people at R1 institutions, with 2/2 teachings contracts. Of course, I'd have to put out a national article every year, something slightly less onerous than grading, but then again, who am I kidding? I'd never even make the first cut for a position like that.
I think one of the reasons why I am so out of grading is this job search. Amanda has a series of interviews over spring break (all in South Carolina, a place I could really enjoy), and we've been talking about what to do if she gets an offer there. I think she'l really like it, and I don't want to do the typical academic couple thing of being apart for a year, so I think I might take a year's leave from EKU next year and look into positions in SC. Amanda thinks that I'd be better off in a high school, where I won't have to do all this non-compensated stuff like web design and committee work and CCSA and tech writing. Maybe there's something to that, but I've only got the seed in my mind so far -- I'll need to think about it for a while before I make a decision.
26 February 2002
Ars Bachelorum (profblog)
Amanda is leaving town for a couple days and I'll be baching it. I think there's an art to it; not something you might get a degree in, but something that you need to excel in to survive. When I first came to Kentucky, I didn't really have the chops to be a bachelor. My life was like the blood in the water that sharks smell. And those sharks were the non-traditional students, those with three kids and an abusive husband that they were leaving behind by coming to school to create a better life. I must have been set up and scammed a dozen times that first year, singly and in tandem, with kids on hip and with kids at home, with kids in class and with kids in the office. These blandishments weren't difficult to turn down; I don't think I'm mature enough to take care of myself, let alone a ready-made family.
So now being the bachelor is easy, with the help of Manly Tips for Bachelor Living and Buck Bangalore.
I'll be spending most of the weekend doing work for the Governor's Scholars Program, so I'll be too busy to enjoy being alone for a while. I've got two stacks of papers to grade and some other academic work, too, so even when I'm home, I'll be swamped. I've still got a set of reviews to get out, because I spent last weekend doing EKU's Quick Recall tournament all day Saturday, then attended a Sunday morning meeting for GSP, then cooked for Sigma Tau Delta and the Association of English majors on Sunday afternoon and evening. I was pretty busy.
So now being the bachelor is easy, with the help of Manly Tips for Bachelor Living and Buck Bangalore.
I'll be spending most of the weekend doing work for the Governor's Scholars Program, so I'll be too busy to enjoy being alone for a while. I've got two stacks of papers to grade and some other academic work, too, so even when I'm home, I'll be swamped. I've still got a set of reviews to get out, because I spent last weekend doing EKU's Quick Recall tournament all day Saturday, then attended a Sunday morning meeting for GSP, then cooked for Sigma Tau Delta and the Association of English majors on Sunday afternoon and evening. I was pretty busy.
18 February 2002
Non-mainstream media (profblog)
I've been spending a lot of time online lately looking for alternative news sources. I've found some good ones like Alternet and Yellow Times, but there are some really bad sites out there, too.
This article about unions just blew my mind. Using this tragedy to push the standard pro-big-business-screw-everyone-who-isn't-white-because-all-those-people-choose-to-be-poor is beneath even the Republicans. When Reagan took office in 80, the first thing he did was smash the Air Traffic Controllers union. The first thing I did was go out and have a PATCO hat made, just like the ones I saw them wearing on television. It was a miserable, dirty, underhanded thing for him to do, and now, 22 years later, his little buddy's little buddy is doing the same. Besides violating the policy of checks and balances that our government is founded upon, and besides ignoring the results of an independent study, this move is a typical Ashcroftian/Orwellian technique that will allow the ascendancy to remain so at the expense of the rest of us.
I usually get incoherent when I talk about politics, believing as I do that we have a moral responsibility to our neighbors (something the Christian Right, huge backers of the Republicans, doesn't seem to understand, despite all their talk about faith-based initiatives). The Republicans define "neighbor" as, "anyone who looks like me." Fine and dandy if you're a white middle-class bigot, but you're screwed if you're not.
My grandmother put it best many years ago. "Joseph," she said, "I'll tell you the difference between Democrats and Republicans." I listened attentively, because she was a great politico. "Republicans will steal from you." I nodded as if I understood. "And Democrats will steal from you, too." I looked a little puzzled. "But the Democrats, they'll give you a little back." It was her turn to nod.
This article about unions just blew my mind. Using this tragedy to push the standard pro-big-business-screw-everyone-who-isn't-white-because-all-those-people-choose-to-be-poor is beneath even the Republicans. When Reagan took office in 80, the first thing he did was smash the Air Traffic Controllers union. The first thing I did was go out and have a PATCO hat made, just like the ones I saw them wearing on television. It was a miserable, dirty, underhanded thing for him to do, and now, 22 years later, his little buddy's little buddy is doing the same. Besides violating the policy of checks and balances that our government is founded upon, and besides ignoring the results of an independent study, this move is a typical Ashcroftian/Orwellian technique that will allow the ascendancy to remain so at the expense of the rest of us.
I usually get incoherent when I talk about politics, believing as I do that we have a moral responsibility to our neighbors (something the Christian Right, huge backers of the Republicans, doesn't seem to understand, despite all their talk about faith-based initiatives). The Republicans define "neighbor" as, "anyone who looks like me." Fine and dandy if you're a white middle-class bigot, but you're screwed if you're not.
My grandmother put it best many years ago. "Joseph," she said, "I'll tell you the difference between Democrats and Republicans." I listened attentively, because she was a great politico. "Republicans will steal from you." I nodded as if I understood. "And Democrats will steal from you, too." I looked a little puzzled. "But the Democrats, they'll give you a little back." It was her turn to nod.
09 February 2002
The marriage thing (profblog)
Today I'll write about marriage, because this morning my wife read this blog for the first time and commented that I spend too much time talking about money. I acknowledged that I do so, but offered in my defense the fact that I even admitted as much here. She wasn't impressed. So I did a quick little web tour on marriages, and came up with a couple interesting things. To begin, almost every site about marriage talks wants to sell you something, be it advice or a device, that will keep your marriage happy. Yes, I think the web is the first place I'd look if Amanda and I were on the rocks. Who better than an anonymous figure with a bad site designer and a paypal account to help me out with the most important thing in my life?
A Relationship Quiz About Marriage
While the site is selling a seminar that will make you "divorceproof," the quiz is interesting. Actually, it's mostly pretty frightening, but I'm not one to stay with the national trends too long.
Marriagebuilders.com
I think it's interesting that this site claims it is "the #1 infidelity support site on the internet. Why? Because we have more experience helping couples successfully recover from infidelity than anyone else. And our information and support forum are free." Yikes. I guess it's a pronouncement on the state of marriage today. It's disappointing.
About.com on Marriage
There appears to be a good deal of information here, but the banner ad above it is for a private investigator, one who will help you find out if your spouse is cheating on you. Great. Let me just peruse the top ten ways to sustain my life-long commitment, while I sneak a little peekaloo to see if she's stepping out behind my back. Isn't one of those top ten ways trust?
More Quizzes from the Couple Place
Hey, at least these are fun. They take the sting out of the statistics that say you might as well flip a coin on your wedding day to determine if you'll stay together.
A Relationship Quiz About Marriage
While the site is selling a seminar that will make you "divorceproof," the quiz is interesting. Actually, it's mostly pretty frightening, but I'm not one to stay with the national trends too long.
Marriagebuilders.com
I think it's interesting that this site claims it is "the #1 infidelity support site on the internet. Why? Because we have more experience helping couples successfully recover from infidelity than anyone else. And our information and support forum are free." Yikes. I guess it's a pronouncement on the state of marriage today. It's disappointing.
About.com on Marriage
There appears to be a good deal of information here, but the banner ad above it is for a private investigator, one who will help you find out if your spouse is cheating on you. Great. Let me just peruse the top ten ways to sustain my life-long commitment, while I sneak a little peekaloo to see if she's stepping out behind my back. Isn't one of those top ten ways trust?
More Quizzes from the Couple Place
Hey, at least these are fun. They take the sting out of the statistics that say you might as well flip a coin on your wedding day to determine if you'll stay together.
03 February 2002
Super Bowl Sunday (profblog)
Yeah, like this is the only blog to use that opener today. Actually, I probably won't watch the game because I'm two sets of reviews and two stacks of papers behind. I've spent the day checking out a great site, Alternet. Here's what they say they do: "At AlterNet.org, we are doing something about information overload and corporate media irresponsibility. Our website is designed to serve as your 'online helper,' leading individuals, policy professionals and journalists alike to sources for information and insight. There is a word for this role. It is an 'infomediary.'" It looks like a great site, with nice links and provocative stuff.
So I was thinking this morning about EKU and money (like you could get away with a post that didn't dwell on this), and realized that, with the English Department's new commitment to hire people at market value, they're doing a good thing for themselves politically. They're creating a ghetto of disgruntlement, settled between the senior faculty, who come the closest to being satisfied with their salaries (is anyone, anywhere, really satisfied with what they make?), and the newest of the junior faculty, who will actully be making more money than us, pulling down what the market says they should be making. Bracketing us on both sides, we're far easier to ignore, or just wring hands and exclaim, "we'd really like to do something, but there's nothing we can do." I've got some great plans, all budgeted out, but nobody is asking.
I spent yesterday interviewing candidates for Governor's Scholars in Louisville. I got sick on the way home, and had to pull over at a damn rest stop to puke. It's the same old same old, a bad headache, then nausea, then feeling like I've got the flu for about 15 minutes, then tossing, then feeling better except for the headache. This has been pretty regular for a while now; maybe it's migraines or something like that. Hell, if I actually trusted my doctor I'd see her, but I think I need a new primary care physician.
So I was thinking this morning about EKU and money (like you could get away with a post that didn't dwell on this), and realized that, with the English Department's new commitment to hire people at market value, they're doing a good thing for themselves politically. They're creating a ghetto of disgruntlement, settled between the senior faculty, who come the closest to being satisfied with their salaries (is anyone, anywhere, really satisfied with what they make?), and the newest of the junior faculty, who will actully be making more money than us, pulling down what the market says they should be making. Bracketing us on both sides, we're far easier to ignore, or just wring hands and exclaim, "we'd really like to do something, but there's nothing we can do." I've got some great plans, all budgeted out, but nobody is asking.
I spent yesterday interviewing candidates for Governor's Scholars in Louisville. I got sick on the way home, and had to pull over at a damn rest stop to puke. It's the same old same old, a bad headache, then nausea, then feeling like I've got the flu for about 15 minutes, then tossing, then feeling better except for the headache. This has been pretty regular for a while now; maybe it's migraines or something like that. Hell, if I actually trusted my doctor I'd see her, but I think I need a new primary care physician.
31 January 2002
Swapping music files (profblog)
I guess the only reason I stay online many nights is to download music files. Tonight is no different, as a dozen or so creep their way through the ether to my collection and I play games, read news, and in general avoid all my work (I've got two sets of papers to grade, plus two sets of music reviews due). I know that there's a battle raging about this, with people saying "information seeks to be free" and others saying "I need my gouge." I guess I actually side with the people who need their gouge, but I down stuff anyway. I think that there is such a thing as copyright, and people should be given just compensation for their work. However (and maybe this is easier to see with warez rather than music), I just don't want to give money to the evil empire, be it Microsoft or Virgin Records. So I'll continue to swap files (although I down much more than I up), but I won't feel good about it until I think, "I can burn yet another cd of my faves." In fact, the only thing I find onerous is the slow down times on this dialup. So let's get this straight (bless me father, for I have sinned): I know it's wrong to download these files, but the good of not paying for them outweighs the bad of any moral qualms I have about the project. I'd like to think I'm more enlightened than that, but I'm not. Of course, the ramifications of getting caught are severe, but I'm willing to take that risk. I'm a two-bit copyright thief; there are much bigger pirates than me.
I'm also advising a research panel in exo-, paleo-, and astrobiology. Consequently, I've been spending a lot of time on sites like Sky and Telescope, Astronomy.com, and Space.com. They're good compendiums of info about all things out there. While I'm at it, I might just learn about the wonderful scope that Amanda bought me a few years back. I'm still looking for star parties in the area, but there seems to be nothing.
I'm also advising a research panel in exo-, paleo-, and astrobiology. Consequently, I've been spending a lot of time on sites like Sky and Telescope, Astronomy.com, and Space.com. They're good compendiums of info about all things out there. While I'm at it, I might just learn about the wonderful scope that Amanda bought me a few years back. I'm still looking for star parties in the area, but there seems to be nothing.
27 January 2002
The Steelers game (profblog)
Right now we're in the beginning of the fourth quarter of the AFC playoff game, and New England just lost a challenge. The Steelers are still down, but this could be a good close one at the end. It's different, being here in Kentucky when the Steelers are playing. I work with one person from Pittsburgh, and she's having a grand time this season. To be honest, I haven't caught any game except the one my brother took me to when I was in the Burgh. Nevertheless, I can say that I'm a serious fan. I never lost faith in Kordell, even durin gthe past two years. I guess I never lose faith in any of the Burgh teams, even when I know they'll lose.
The semester proceeds apace. The comp classes are OK, and the poetry class is going well. Our Allyn and Bacon sales rep is moving into the technical side of the business, so I'm hoping for better responses from their tech people, especially with their web stuff that I use in the comp classes. I am in the process of completing my Report of Professional Activity and Development (RPAD), which the University uses to determine merit pay. Of course, there will probably be no merit pay both this year and the next, and if there it is will be 1% or so. Typical EKU; minimal stuff being done to retain faculty. I know I'm just the tip of the faculty exodus iceberg. So I'm doing this RPAD, where I'll spend a few hours detailing my activities instead of actually doing something productive. Let's see, if I get the maximum merit possible, and there's actually merit money this year, I might see an extra five bucks in every paycheck for this work. Yeah, that's incentive, EKU style.
The semester proceeds apace. The comp classes are OK, and the poetry class is going well. Our Allyn and Bacon sales rep is moving into the technical side of the business, so I'm hoping for better responses from their tech people, especially with their web stuff that I use in the comp classes. I am in the process of completing my Report of Professional Activity and Development (RPAD), which the University uses to determine merit pay. Of course, there will probably be no merit pay both this year and the next, and if there it is will be 1% or so. Typical EKU; minimal stuff being done to retain faculty. I know I'm just the tip of the faculty exodus iceberg. So I'm doing this RPAD, where I'll spend a few hours detailing my activities instead of actually doing something productive. Let's see, if I get the maximum merit possible, and there's actually merit money this year, I might see an extra five bucks in every paycheck for this work. Yeah, that's incentive, EKU style.
22 January 2002
Love that poetry (profblog)
So this modern poetry class is going swimmingly. Today we did Dickinson, which was OK. I'm not a big Emily fan (I think there are two kinds of poetry lovers int he world, Emily lovers and Walt Lovers. I'm a Walt lover.), but I enjoyed the poems nevertheless. Thursday is Hopkins, whom I can do in my sleep. Something about the Jesuit training makes him easy for me.
Anyhow, I'm still waiting to hear from schools, although I am preparing more applications. The Chronicle online has been berry berry good to me. Lunch with the Provost on Friday was heartening, but he said what I thought he would; there's no cash available, and even if there were, fixing the broken salary structure here is not a one-year project. Many people will be looking at continuing years of salaries under their market value. The Provost let me know that he wishes I would stay, but he certainly understand the need to improve myself professionally. One thing he did suggest was an administrative internship for a year. This would give me a chance to see if I could do that kind of work. I think workign with the Governor's Scholars Program this summer will also provide me with such an opportunity.
The office is finally through its flux. The couch is gone, as is a metal bookcase. In their place is a beautfil, huge, wood bookcase that now takes up almost a whole wall. It's great to get more of my books organized. Now I just need to get myself a two-seater couch for the office and things will be perfect. I had to rearrange all the posters and stuff, because of the wall space I lost, but it's all done now and looks very spiffy.
Anyhow, I'm still waiting to hear from schools, although I am preparing more applications. The Chronicle online has been berry berry good to me. Lunch with the Provost on Friday was heartening, but he said what I thought he would; there's no cash available, and even if there were, fixing the broken salary structure here is not a one-year project. Many people will be looking at continuing years of salaries under their market value. The Provost let me know that he wishes I would stay, but he certainly understand the need to improve myself professionally. One thing he did suggest was an administrative internship for a year. This would give me a chance to see if I could do that kind of work. I think workign with the Governor's Scholars Program this summer will also provide me with such an opportunity.
The office is finally through its flux. The couch is gone, as is a metal bookcase. In their place is a beautfil, huge, wood bookcase that now takes up almost a whole wall. It's great to get more of my books organized. Now I just need to get myself a two-seater couch for the office and things will be perfect. I had to rearrange all the posters and stuff, because of the wall space I lost, but it's all done now and looks very spiffy.
15 January 2002
The semester starts (profblog)
OK, it's now two days down in the new semester, and I've met each class once. The comp classes will be the usual grind, with students already trying to get over on the course. Won't happen. The modern poetry course looks great, although I did a quick poll of the class and found out that the most favored poet that we are covering this semester is Plath. Don't get me wrong; if you're going for the confessional school she's the best. But somehow she influences the forests of drivel that these teenage shoegazers call poetry, and I can never forgive her for that. Some lonely sentimental overly romantic goth reads Plath, and figures that if he or she just gushes out feelings on the page, fills it with rancor or bitterness or self-pity, that it's poetry. Wrong.
I've spent most of my time on campus today setting up other people's computers for networked printing. One colleague asked me if I was getting release time to do this. I just laughed and told her to talk to the chair. Right, like I'd get release time. Hell, I asked three times this semester for release time that was coming to me and didn't get it. Oh well, I'll bank it. If I'm here next year, I'll take it. If not, consider it a donation for the cause.
One new site to look at: The Voice of the Shuttle has been redone, and it now looks as good as it works. It used to have a kind of homespun charm, but now it appears super-efficient and still has the best humanities links out there.
I've spent most of my time on campus today setting up other people's computers for networked printing. One colleague asked me if I was getting release time to do this. I just laughed and told her to talk to the chair. Right, like I'd get release time. Hell, I asked three times this semester for release time that was coming to me and didn't get it. Oh well, I'll bank it. If I'm here next year, I'll take it. If not, consider it a donation for the cause.
One new site to look at: The Voice of the Shuttle has been redone, and it now looks as good as it works. It used to have a kind of homespun charm, but now it appears super-efficient and still has the best humanities links out there.
11 January 2002
Frankfort (profblog)
Did the Posters at the Capitol thing yesterday. What a joke. We set up and stood around for hours, and the governor didn't have time to see any of the work (he only took the time for two group photos, which of course made it look like he was an integral part of the whole thing -- politics at its finest). The only time the legislators walked by was when everyone was supposed to be listening to Gordon Davies, the god of higher ed in the commonwealth, give a speech. So of course no one was around to explain any of their work to the representatives, except my students and I, who were waiting to get their pictures taken with the University's new president. In the end, as the topper on the day, she never showed for the photo, so the students didn't get their pictures taken with her. Great.
One of the students and I went to see the general assembly in action, and it was a typical legislative day. After getting started an hour late, we listened to some high school girl sing "God Bless America," then heard about 5 minutes of reporting from the clerk, then the speaker suspended the rules and held a meeting in his office. This meeting was only supposed to last 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, we left. Of course, the assembly never reconvened for the rest of the day. Their schedule was to be there until 6, then take an hour, then hear the governor's "state of the commonwealth" speech at 7. Instead, they knocked off at 3:30, having done absolutely nothing for the day. The student was amazed that, even when the clerk was reading his reports, nobody was paying any attention. There were private discussions, photos, and general self-serving behavior throughout the room. EKU's new president was scheduled to speak, but she was mightily dissed, as all she could do was pose at the damn speaker's podium for pictures.
Two things you should never see being made -- sausages and laws.
And guess what these guys (and they are predominantly guys, and they are overwhelmingly white) make? Much more than they deserve, working 90 days every two years.
One of the students and I went to see the general assembly in action, and it was a typical legislative day. After getting started an hour late, we listened to some high school girl sing "God Bless America," then heard about 5 minutes of reporting from the clerk, then the speaker suspended the rules and held a meeting in his office. This meeting was only supposed to last 10 minutes. After 15 minutes, we left. Of course, the assembly never reconvened for the rest of the day. Their schedule was to be there until 6, then take an hour, then hear the governor's "state of the commonwealth" speech at 7. Instead, they knocked off at 3:30, having done absolutely nothing for the day. The student was amazed that, even when the clerk was reading his reports, nobody was paying any attention. There were private discussions, photos, and general self-serving behavior throughout the room. EKU's new president was scheduled to speak, but she was mightily dissed, as all she could do was pose at the damn speaker's podium for pictures.
Two things you should never see being made -- sausages and laws.
And guess what these guys (and they are predominantly guys, and they are overwhelmingly white) make? Much more than they deserve, working 90 days every two years.
08 January 2002
I did it (profblog)
Well, I finally wrote to the Provost, to tell him of my seeking a new position. I told him that I knew that he couldn't afford, either economically or politically, to match what I would be offered anywhere else. He understood that, thanked me, and wants to meet to talk about my professional future. Will he tell me that money is coming, to just hang on a while longer? I'm not sure. I know that EKU had 50k to spend on faculty adjustments this year, and I got less than 700 of it. I'm looking at positions that will raise me over 10k, so I know that Mike can't come up with that kind of scratch. As I've said before, it's been 5 years and a promotion, and I still can't make what the average college grad makes. Pitiful. And pitiful me for staying here for so long, watching bad move after bad move, hoping against hope for something different.
Anyway, the semester starts next week. I've got two comps and one modern poetry. The comps will be onerous, but what can you do? Hopefully I'll be gone for a god deal of the semester, doing on-campus interviews. I know that I'm going to at least three conferences, and at one of those I'll accept an award for innovation and excellence in teaching. That should certainly help in the job search.
So here's my new favorite site: fark.com. This place compiles the news, all the strange stuff that slips between the cracks. It's as informative as slashdot, but doesn't take itself or the news so seriously. Check it out.
Anyway, the semester starts next week. I've got two comps and one modern poetry. The comps will be onerous, but what can you do? Hopefully I'll be gone for a god deal of the semester, doing on-campus interviews. I know that I'm going to at least three conferences, and at one of those I'll accept an award for innovation and excellence in teaching. That should certainly help in the job search.
So here's my new favorite site: fark.com. This place compiles the news, all the strange stuff that slips between the cracks. It's as informative as slashdot, but doesn't take itself or the news so seriously. Check it out.
04 January 2002
Surgery -- drugs (profblog)
It looks like my surgery went well. I'm able to get around without crutches (although I'll probably need them if I go out of the house), there's not too much bleeding at the site, and the drugs they gave me are pretty good. Not vike good or OC good, but good nonetheless.
I'm looking at a weekend of watching DVDs and reading and getting online for as long as my leg can stand the dependent position. The area is looking at 3 to 6 inches or more on Sunday. I love the runs on bread and milk, as if nothing but gruel will do when you're snowed in. I imagine that Krogers will be jammed tomorrow, with everyone loading up just in case we can't get to the store for, ohmygod, three days.
I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday and that Poster thing in Frankfort on Wednesday, so I'm hopin gthe snow will go away soon. Off to more drugs and TV and lounging. It's a tough life.
I'm looking at a weekend of watching DVDs and reading and getting online for as long as my leg can stand the dependent position. The area is looking at 3 to 6 inches or more on Sunday. I love the runs on bread and milk, as if nothing but gruel will do when you're snowed in. I imagine that Krogers will be jammed tomorrow, with everyone loading up just in case we can't get to the store for, ohmygod, three days.
I've got an appointment with the surgeon on Tuesday and that Poster thing in Frankfort on Wednesday, so I'm hopin gthe snow will go away soon. Off to more drugs and TV and lounging. It's a tough life.
31 December 2001
New Year's Eve (profblog)
Well, it's the end of the year, time for everyone to assess, make resolutions, talk about how their lives have changed and how 9.11 has made them a better person, and get sappy and melancholy over lost opportunities. Me, I'm no different, but I'll spare you the self-pity or martyr pie.
New Orleans went very well. It looks like I'll get an on-campus interview at a place that looks much better than I originally thought it would. This time next year I could be on the beach. I got to spend a lot of time with Steve and his clan, and the J-man and his clan. We hit the Audubon Zoo (taking the St. Charles Trolley right past where I used to live) and the Aquarium. We also hit the River Walk and the French Market. I enjoyed it all, even if the walking was a bit much for my soon-to-be-opped knee. The food was great. Steve's sister Sally has been in the city for about 6 years now, so we were able to hit some great local spots out of the Quarter or the Market District. It was nice to be with someone in the know. Steve's parents were also there, and we made a great large group.
I stayed in the hotel that was built on the spot where the book A Conferederacy of Dunces starts. Since it's one of the funniest things I've ever read (and one of my faves), I really appreciated the statue of Ignatius Reilly they had on the sidewalk on Canal Street and the shop window they had featuring his pyloric valve. Excellent -- a good tribute that was witty in its own right. However, the hotel (the Chateau Sonesta) was outrageous. I can't believe that people would pay $475 per night for nothing more than a large boxy room with a small television and carpet that was wet. I got it for $130 per night, and it was way too much even at that price. However, I was right in the Quarter, on Canal, two blocks from Bourbon, and pretty centrally located. I also hit a used book store a few blocks away for a couple more books of poetry, which go nicely with my coup of about 5 Harry Crews novels for 3 bucks each in Pittsburgh. Man, people don't know what they're doing.
New Orleans went very well. It looks like I'll get an on-campus interview at a place that looks much better than I originally thought it would. This time next year I could be on the beach. I got to spend a lot of time with Steve and his clan, and the J-man and his clan. We hit the Audubon Zoo (taking the St. Charles Trolley right past where I used to live) and the Aquarium. We also hit the River Walk and the French Market. I enjoyed it all, even if the walking was a bit much for my soon-to-be-opped knee. The food was great. Steve's sister Sally has been in the city for about 6 years now, so we were able to hit some great local spots out of the Quarter or the Market District. It was nice to be with someone in the know. Steve's parents were also there, and we made a great large group.
I stayed in the hotel that was built on the spot where the book A Conferederacy of Dunces starts. Since it's one of the funniest things I've ever read (and one of my faves), I really appreciated the statue of Ignatius Reilly they had on the sidewalk on Canal Street and the shop window they had featuring his pyloric valve. Excellent -- a good tribute that was witty in its own right. However, the hotel (the Chateau Sonesta) was outrageous. I can't believe that people would pay $475 per night for nothing more than a large boxy room with a small television and carpet that was wet. I got it for $130 per night, and it was way too much even at that price. However, I was right in the Quarter, on Canal, two blocks from Bourbon, and pretty centrally located. I also hit a used book store a few blocks away for a couple more books of poetry, which go nicely with my coup of about 5 Harry Crews novels for 3 bucks each in Pittsburgh. Man, people don't know what they're doing.
27 December 2001
For Corey (profblog)
OK, It's been a long time since I've updated this blog, but here goes. Right now I should be on a plane for New Orleans, where I'm interviewing for positions at other institutions. I should be, but am instead at home, doing this, because Northwest Airlines cancelled the flight and could only get me out later today. Seven hours later today. This is, of course, after I was at the airport at 5 am, even before their damn ticket counter was open. And get this -- even though I haven't even been anywhere -- they lost my damn luggage. Now how the hell can you do that?
I figure that I'm still "in play" at 16 other schools. Of course, all those won't pan out, but I think I can get at least four or five interviews. We'll see. I'm also trying to circumvent the whole offer-counteroffer process by writing directly to the Provost, telling him that I need to make more money. EKU has actually come though for me, though. They're boosting my salary by a whopping $671 dollars per year. This puts me at close to 78% of what a comparable associate professor would make at our benchmark institutions. And for this, of course, I'm grateful, because the EKU way is to look out for me. They talk about their commitment to faculty retention, but they've got nothing but an insult to show for it.
Actually, the EKU way seems to be to do everything for the cheapest possible price. Well, they can't get me that way any longer. I'll keep on doing this, looking for work at another place, until either EKU comes up with the cash or I end up somewhere else. I have the feeling that EKU will not offer me anything different than what they already have, so I'll probably be posting here from somewhere else come September.
Hey, tomorrow is my birthday. I am officially old. I've been unofficially old for years, but this one cements it.
I figure that I'm still "in play" at 16 other schools. Of course, all those won't pan out, but I think I can get at least four or five interviews. We'll see. I'm also trying to circumvent the whole offer-counteroffer process by writing directly to the Provost, telling him that I need to make more money. EKU has actually come though for me, though. They're boosting my salary by a whopping $671 dollars per year. This puts me at close to 78% of what a comparable associate professor would make at our benchmark institutions. And for this, of course, I'm grateful, because the EKU way is to look out for me. They talk about their commitment to faculty retention, but they've got nothing but an insult to show for it.
Actually, the EKU way seems to be to do everything for the cheapest possible price. Well, they can't get me that way any longer. I'll keep on doing this, looking for work at another place, until either EKU comes up with the cash or I end up somewhere else. I have the feeling that EKU will not offer me anything different than what they already have, so I'll probably be posting here from somewhere else come September.
Hey, tomorrow is my birthday. I am officially old. I've been unofficially old for years, but this one cements it.
07 November 2001
The grind goes on (profblog)
Just in case you haven't heard this story yet from me: I awoke two nights ago to my wife standing on the bed screaming hystetically that there was a man behind the door to the attic. Talk about scaring the piss out of me. Next thing I remember I'm in front of that door with a bat in my hands and she's screaming at 911 on the phone. The cops show up, go over the house completely, and of course there's nobody up there. But we need to sleep with the lights on anyway, or rather, she needs to sleep with the lights on, because now I'm so pumped with adrenaline that I can't sleep for the rest of the night.
Honestly, I have never been so scared in my life as I was at that moment. Even now, just recalling that image to mind, I get goosebumps and start to sweat profusely. I think I'm still scared by it all, still startled by strange noises and movements. Damn.
Amanda's family believes that I should be armed -- that a gun would take care of all of this. I doubt it -- I know I'd still be spooked by every little noise and would probably end up shooting the damn dog.
Honestly, I have never been so scared in my life as I was at that moment. Even now, just recalling that image to mind, I get goosebumps and start to sweat profusely. I think I'm still scared by it all, still startled by strange noises and movements. Damn.
Amanda's family believes that I should be armed -- that a gun would take care of all of this. I doubt it -- I know I'd still be spooked by every little noise and would probably end up shooting the damn dog.
01 November 2001
Chicago bound (profblog)
I'm off to the windy city in a couple hours, leaving at 4:00 am for a panel that will present later today, at about 2:00 pm. By that time I'm sure that we won't even be checked in to the hotel (the last time at the Plamer House, we spent four hours in the lobby). Of course, the last time I was at the Palmer House was the first time Amanda and I took one another seriously. Weird.
Later today, of course, I'll be exhausted and non-functioning (I think I may have SERIOUSLY reinjured my left knee -- it feels like there's a pound of meniscus in the joint again. Maybe I can shake it out (that's incredibly optimistic), or maybe I can avoid any long walks (I've got to lead a tour of the Chicago Art Institute on Friday -- we'll see how that goes).
It'll be good to get away for a couple days. I need the break from EKU, because my tech writing classes have been driving me nuts. I've had to do so much serious mothering, and the products have been god, but not great. It was different when I did these online, because there was no room for mothering or extending deadlines or basically cleaning up code after everything was supposedly done. Now, f-t-f, it's a whole new world.
Don't get me wrong; they're great classes, with good students who are trying hard. But they're lacing a certain rigor, and that may be because we're seeing one another and they know they can get over. Oh well, live and learn.
Later today, of course, I'll be exhausted and non-functioning (I think I may have SERIOUSLY reinjured my left knee -- it feels like there's a pound of meniscus in the joint again. Maybe I can shake it out (that's incredibly optimistic), or maybe I can avoid any long walks (I've got to lead a tour of the Chicago Art Institute on Friday -- we'll see how that goes).
It'll be good to get away for a couple days. I need the break from EKU, because my tech writing classes have been driving me nuts. I've had to do so much serious mothering, and the products have been god, but not great. It was different when I did these online, because there was no room for mothering or extending deadlines or basically cleaning up code after everything was supposedly done. Now, f-t-f, it's a whole new world.
Don't get me wrong; they're great classes, with good students who are trying hard. But they're lacing a certain rigor, and that may be because we're seeing one another and they know they can get over. Oh well, live and learn.
28 October 2001
Amanda's birthday (profblog)
Sometimes I think I'm just damn lucky to have met a woman like this, one who is willing to put up with my 40-year-old bullshit and my 11-year-old intelligence. At other times I think other things, but I'm trying to get a handle on that, and not take this woman for granted. In celebration of her 24 years, we're off to brunch then the mall, where she'll participate in that great consumer venture called "buying clothes for work." She's doing great at her job, and it looks like Scott County will want her full-time after her practicum and internship are finished. That would be OK with me, if she can hack the commute, and if we stay in KY.
Speaking of that, I was at the office until midnight last night (yes, on a Saturday night) getting the envelopes right for 20 job applications. That's not a lot, but they're all in places where Amanda would like to live, so we'll see what happens. My letters of recommendation are on their way, and I'm hoping for at least one offer, just to get a counteroffer from EKU. But the Dean did say that I shouldn't bluff on this, so I'm not. If I get an offer somewhere else and nothing from here, I'm gone, to sunnier climes and lighter teaching loads, and at least 10% more money. Sweet.
Speaking of that, I was at the office until midnight last night (yes, on a Saturday night) getting the envelopes right for 20 job applications. That's not a lot, but they're all in places where Amanda would like to live, so we'll see what happens. My letters of recommendation are on their way, and I'm hoping for at least one offer, just to get a counteroffer from EKU. But the Dean did say that I shouldn't bluff on this, so I'm not. If I get an offer somewhere else and nothing from here, I'm gone, to sunnier climes and lighter teaching loads, and at least 10% more money. Sweet.
25 October 2001
Governor's Scholars (profblog)
So it looks like I'll be the Campus Director for the Governor's Scholars Program at EKU this summer. The job is interesting, the challenge is great, the money is sweet, and maybe I can carve out some time to spend with the students. It'll be nice to be with the best students in Kentucky.
There are some downsides to this, one being that I'll have to live in a dorm on campus for seven weeks. Should be interesting.
On the classes front, my tech writing classes have finished their sites. Here they are:
EKU Science Learning Resource Center
Business Communications Primer
This is good work. It's not brilliant, but it's nice.
OK, off to a rehearsal dinner tonight, then a wedding tomorrow.
There are some downsides to this, one being that I'll have to live in a dorm on campus for seven weeks. Should be interesting.
On the classes front, my tech writing classes have finished their sites. Here they are:
EKU Science Learning Resource Center
Business Communications Primer
This is good work. It's not brilliant, but it's nice.
OK, off to a rehearsal dinner tonight, then a wedding tomorrow.
22 October 2001
Crash and burn (profblog)
That's what happend to the old handmade computer I was working on. I turned it on on Friday and it smelled like gunpowder. Turns out, according to Wendell the god, that the power supply fried all the drives. They were in such bad shape that Wendell wanted to save them for their neat effects. He thinks it might be the electricity in the house. He brought over an oscilloscope tonight and we spent a couple hours checking te lines. I'll be calling the electrician tomorrow. And getting a UPS. And making sure I back shit up,
Now the black beast is gone, replaced by a Sony VAIO that I paid way too much for. But I was dealing with a wife who lost most of her thesis, in CompUSA at 9:00 on Saturday night. I knew I was getting gouged, but I had to do it. 1.5k for a 1.7 gig with 128 of the new 800mhz RDRAM, cdrw, dvd, 80 gig hd, 32 megs on an nvidia Geforce 2 card, firewire, and all the other standard crap. This one better last for a while.
Wendell thinks he may be able to salvage some data from the old disk, but I'm not holding my breath. Of course, if anyone can do it, it's him. He's been more than very good to us. In the meantime, we're retyping a lot of stuff, and I'm redownloading plenty. Oh well.
Now the black beast is gone, replaced by a Sony VAIO that I paid way too much for. But I was dealing with a wife who lost most of her thesis, in CompUSA at 9:00 on Saturday night. I knew I was getting gouged, but I had to do it. 1.5k for a 1.7 gig with 128 of the new 800mhz RDRAM, cdrw, dvd, 80 gig hd, 32 megs on an nvidia Geforce 2 card, firewire, and all the other standard crap. This one better last for a while.
Wendell thinks he may be able to salvage some data from the old disk, but I'm not holding my breath. Of course, if anyone can do it, it's him. He's been more than very good to us. In the meantime, we're retyping a lot of stuff, and I'm redownloading plenty. Oh well.
18 October 2001
When classes go wrong (profblog)
No, it's not as bad as when animals go crazy, or milk goes sour, or anything that would make a good reality-tv special, but this is a nasty thing. Today, for instance, teaching my intro to tech writing class, it just blew up in front of me. The leader of the group doing group work didn't show up; her minions knew very little about the project. She knows barely more, but enough to screw up the template they were working from so badly that I had no idea what she was up to. After an intervention by the University's web administrator, I finally just packed it in and told them that they just had to get me their files in .txt format and that I would do the rest.
Crash. Burn. Die on the way to the hospital.
My normal classes, where I just do my schtick, don't go bad like this. It's only the ones that are project-based that have this potential. Of course, when they work they're great. But this time, this one certainly is in a slow-motion explosion.
The job hunt has come around now -- the MLA list is finally in the department, and I'll make copies of it tomorrow. I've got my letters of recommendation lined up, some decent places to apply to, and perhaps a chance to do the same job for a living wage somewhere else.
OK, off to download more mp3s (I'm thinking of Mellencamp -- doing the whole thing if I can get the damn cd burner to roll).
Crash. Burn. Die on the way to the hospital.
My normal classes, where I just do my schtick, don't go bad like this. It's only the ones that are project-based that have this potential. Of course, when they work they're great. But this time, this one certainly is in a slow-motion explosion.
The job hunt has come around now -- the MLA list is finally in the department, and I'll make copies of it tomorrow. I've got my letters of recommendation lined up, some decent places to apply to, and perhaps a chance to do the same job for a living wage somewhere else.
OK, off to download more mp3s (I'm thinking of Mellencamp -- doing the whole thing if I can get the damn cd burner to roll).
11 October 2001
ThinkGeek and Nashville (profblog)
I'm headed for Nashville tomorrow for a meeting of the board of trustees of The Cooperative Center for Study Abroad. Two fun-filled days meeting about currency exchange rates, international investments, and course proposals. Actualy, I kind of like it, but I'm amazed that everyone there is SO into international travel. I mean, this is life for many people. I like it, and I love to teach overseas, butI've got other things to do, too. Right now I'm putting up five international courses from EKU this year, so I'm working pretty hard on cordinating things and getting flyers done, stuff like that.
The first things I've smiled at in a long time are two shirts: ThinkGeek :: No, I will not fix your computer and ThinkGeek :: STFU Tshirt. I could use both of these. Amanda says I should wear the first one to work every day. Maybe.
One last thing -- Promotion and Tenure applications are due on Monday. I know what I'm doing Sunday.
The first things I've smiled at in a long time are two shirts: ThinkGeek :: No, I will not fix your computer and ThinkGeek :: STFU Tshirt. I could use both of these. Amanda says I should wear the first one to work every day. Maybe.
One last thing -- Promotion and Tenure applications are due on Monday. I know what I'm doing Sunday.
06 October 2001
Wendell's got a girlfriend (profblog)
So after seeing "Serendipity," an OK flick, with my lovely bride, we headed to Hastings to get her a "greeting gift" for a friend that she's having lunch with tomorrow. She picked up a 20 buck copy of The Lord of the Rings, and I got myself Ben Folds' newest, Rockin the Suburbs. While we were in there, we saw one of my favorite students, Wendell Wilson, with his roomie Sam and some woman who may or may not have been his girlfriend. I was very excited.
I think I spend too much time worrying about the lives of my students. Will Wendell get a girlfriend? Does Keri understand this? Is Corinne tired all the time because of something bad at home? Is Byron dating? I am constantly wondering, worrying about students, partly in a paternalistic way and partly out of curiosity. I want to spare them the mistakes I've made, and want a view into their lives. I guess it's harder growing up now, or so I'm told, but I really think the fundamental issues are still the same. Am I a decent person? What will or won't I do? Can I make a life for myself like this? Who's more important, me or my friends?
Yeah yeah, it's almost 2:30 and time to go to bed -- no more worries for tonight, just a wife and a dog and two cats and life again in the morning.
I think I spend too much time worrying about the lives of my students. Will Wendell get a girlfriend? Does Keri understand this? Is Corinne tired all the time because of something bad at home? Is Byron dating? I am constantly wondering, worrying about students, partly in a paternalistic way and partly out of curiosity. I want to spare them the mistakes I've made, and want a view into their lives. I guess it's harder growing up now, or so I'm told, but I really think the fundamental issues are still the same. Am I a decent person? What will or won't I do? Can I make a life for myself like this? Who's more important, me or my friends?
Yeah yeah, it's almost 2:30 and time to go to bed -- no more worries for tonight, just a wife and a dog and two cats and life again in the morning.
04 October 2001
Writing with nothing to say (profblog)
I guess this is what separates the real "need to write" writers from the rest of us who do this when we have to, or when we have something to say. Rigth now, I've got nothing to say, but i'm making that the issue for a little riff, which is so pomo I just want to puke about it. I feel like I've been slimed by Seinfeld, the king of irony. A quick google search reveals that "nothing to say" is a pet phrase of songwriting hacks who turn to the internet to see their tab (kind of like the people who turn to blogs to see their writing, no?). If that search didn't give me diabetes, I'm safe to start mainlining straight sugar now.
The debate last night went fine. I took the role of the raving anarchist, and it was fun. One debater, the chair of philosophy, asked the other, a government prof, where I was getting my sources, at www.anarchistsrus.com? It was a great dig, and so true -- most of my work on this was done on the web. Of course, the first question we got was how to address these issues so lightly in the face of the 9/11 attacks. We all dropped the masks and spoke, eloquently, I think, about the nature of government. We all cautioned against the knee-jerk violent response and the runaway power mongering going on now. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither."
I'm still deep into grading avoidance on this set of comp papers. I'll get them done by Tuesday, but midterm grades are due ont he system tomorrow. typical, to require the grades a week in advance of when they're needed, so that we can't give an accurate assessment of a student's progress. But hey, this is supposed to retain students. Of course, no one is really interested in retainign faculty, which is why I'll be somewhere else by this time next year.
The debate last night went fine. I took the role of the raving anarchist, and it was fun. One debater, the chair of philosophy, asked the other, a government prof, where I was getting my sources, at www.anarchistsrus.com? It was a great dig, and so true -- most of my work on this was done on the web. Of course, the first question we got was how to address these issues so lightly in the face of the 9/11 attacks. We all dropped the masks and spoke, eloquently, I think, about the nature of government. We all cautioned against the knee-jerk violent response and the runaway power mongering going on now. Remember what Benjamin Franklin said: "Those who would sacrifice liberty for safety deserve neither."
I'm still deep into grading avoidance on this set of comp papers. I'll get them done by Tuesday, but midterm grades are due ont he system tomorrow. typical, to require the grades a week in advance of when they're needed, so that we can't give an accurate assessment of a student's progress. But hey, this is supposed to retain students. Of course, no one is really interested in retainign faculty, which is why I'll be somewhere else by this time next year.
30 September 2001
Avoiding work (profblog)
It's an easy thing to do, this avoiding work. With the web, and the novels I need to get through, it's very easy not to write or grade. In fact, I'm skipping both of those even as I write now. I have a debate to do on the nature of government this Wednesday night. I need to distribute my opening remarks by tomorrow morning to the other participants. I'm deep into avoiding that right now. I've also got two stacks of papers that need grading by Tuesday -- maybe I'll get one of them done by then. I also have to do a midterm exam for my online class and put it up by Wednesday.
To this mix add the fact that Amanda has been out of town all weekend and that I spent yesterday coaching the Academic Team at a tournament. Yeah, I guess I'll be working late tonight.
So I'm reading Naipaul's A Bend in the River. I need to do so because it's one of the works chosen to test the masters students on this year. Once again, I feel like Jim Dixon in Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, because I've not read something I should have. His description in that book of the ultimate English professor game, "Humiliation," is brilliant. A group of "literary" people gather, and one person calls out a title of a book that she has not read. She scores one point for every person in the group who HAS read that work. That's it; it's very simple. However, the psychology behind it is brilliant. Obviously, you will score the most points with "classics," works that you think everyone else has read. So you need to profess your ignorance of some of the stalwarts of Western literature. In short, to win you must humiliate yourself. Of course, with my lack of desire to read Melville, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, or any other 19th-century overdrawn crap, I guess I can usually clean up on that game.
anyway, here are some links you might like:
Overcoming Procrastination
The UIUC Counseling Center has this nice little page explaining why we do this and what we can do to stop. I think I'll read it tomorrow.
V. S. Naipaul: An Overview
George Landow, one of the gods of lit on the web, has done this site as part of his poco work.
Kingsley Amis
A nice primer for the man and his son (Martin), by Books and Writers, a site I've trusted for a while now.
To this mix add the fact that Amanda has been out of town all weekend and that I spent yesterday coaching the Academic Team at a tournament. Yeah, I guess I'll be working late tonight.
So I'm reading Naipaul's A Bend in the River. I need to do so because it's one of the works chosen to test the masters students on this year. Once again, I feel like Jim Dixon in Kingsley Amis' Lucky Jim, because I've not read something I should have. His description in that book of the ultimate English professor game, "Humiliation," is brilliant. A group of "literary" people gather, and one person calls out a title of a book that she has not read. She scores one point for every person in the group who HAS read that work. That's it; it's very simple. However, the psychology behind it is brilliant. Obviously, you will score the most points with "classics," works that you think everyone else has read. So you need to profess your ignorance of some of the stalwarts of Western literature. In short, to win you must humiliate yourself. Of course, with my lack of desire to read Melville, Dickens, Eliot, Hardy, or any other 19th-century overdrawn crap, I guess I can usually clean up on that game.
anyway, here are some links you might like:
Overcoming Procrastination
The UIUC Counseling Center has this nice little page explaining why we do this and what we can do to stop. I think I'll read it tomorrow.
V. S. Naipaul: An Overview
George Landow, one of the gods of lit on the web, has done this site as part of his poco work.
Kingsley Amis
A nice primer for the man and his son (Martin), by Books and Writers, a site I've trusted for a while now.
26 September 2001
Applying for jobs (profblog)
I think I whine quite a bit about money. At least, that's what people tell me. It's galling, however, to know that it will be another two years before I make what the average college graduate makes in these United States. By that time I'll have had six years in here, been promoted and tenured, and still not be making what the average BA will be making (of course, by then their average salary will be higher, so I probably won't be making it then, either).
There are places that actually pay a livable wage to those who teach. I'll be applying at places like Cal State Sacramento, Murray State here in Kentucky, The College of Charleston, among others, this year.
I was so frustrated that I wrote to ms. mentor, who writes a column for The Chronicle of Higher Education. She answered me in today's column. Yes, it's a nasty little business, full of deceit and trickery and the willingness to disupt your life so that you can live decently.
Kentucky's new state program is called Education Pays. Given the data they've collected, they seem to be right. Education does pay, just not for educators.
There are places that actually pay a livable wage to those who teach. I'll be applying at places like Cal State Sacramento, Murray State here in Kentucky, The College of Charleston, among others, this year.
I was so frustrated that I wrote to ms. mentor, who writes a column for The Chronicle of Higher Education. She answered me in today's column. Yes, it's a nasty little business, full of deceit and trickery and the willingness to disupt your life so that you can live decently.
Kentucky's new state program is called Education Pays. Given the data they've collected, they seem to be right. Education does pay, just not for educators.
20 September 2001
Hell of a speechwriter (profblog)
The boy is a doofus, who always looks too damn smug, who doesn't have two brain cells to rub together, even when it's his day to use the family gray matter (Jeb gets in on MWF, W gets it TR, but all weekend, because, after all, he's the prez). But he's got a hell of a speechwriter, and he knows how to deliver a line. He hit all the spots he needed to hit, emphasizing tolerance twice (twice daily might be what we need).
Now what? I'd like to think that we're out of harm's way, but I can't convince myself of that. Instead, I think we're in for more attacks, not necessarily from the air. We've been hit in the solar plexus of the military-industrial complex, and at the nerve center of international finance. I think entertainment is up next; these are the cultural artifacts that the Great Satan exports, and the things we're hated for.
Duck and cover, kids, we're in for a long fight.
Now what? I'd like to think that we're out of harm's way, but I can't convince myself of that. Instead, I think we're in for more attacks, not necessarily from the air. We've been hit in the solar plexus of the military-industrial complex, and at the nerve center of international finance. I think entertainment is up next; these are the cultural artifacts that the Great Satan exports, and the things we're hated for.
Duck and cover, kids, we're in for a long fight.
18 September 2001
Like Bookends (profblog)
I heard from some old friends this week. Doug Rice I've mentioned before. He's the guy that's going to hook me up in Sacramento. Actually, he's the guy who speaks highly of the place and makes me want to go there. But I also heard this week from Kathryn Rummel, a friend from UNC who's now at California Polytechnic State U, in San Luis Obispo. It's gorgeous out there. She's got a great job, but I feel a bit sorry for her, out there by herself. Oh, I know she's got plenty of friends out there and she's not only respected but liked in her department, but it still must be tough, a Kentucky girl out there on the left coast.
Kathryn and I never knew each other well at UNC. We were chatting aquaintances, people who would pass in the halls and say a few polite meaningless words (I am sure that I was wearing the motley, not her). and then I came here, minutes from her parents' place in Lexington, and she went there, thousands of miles away from here. We stayed in touch by email, and I can remember communicating with her on a level that went far beyond what our friendship warranted, because it was so easy to be honest and hurt and lost and confused and lonely when it was only me and the computer. There was no need to get defensive, no need to rationalize, no need to raise my hackles over some unintended slight, no need to do anything except imagine her and Sukie, her dog, in a great many-windowed apartment near the beach, walking in the sand every day. And so I did.
Lately we had slipped out of touch. It was probably my fault, although I don't know why. I still think of her often, and how different her life must be. It will be nice if I can maintain this opened door. I'm not good at a distance (it's why I think ultimately distance ed will fail -- it will take two to six percent of our students, and that's it -- faculty are better face-to-face), but maybe I can try harder.
Kathryn and I never knew each other well at UNC. We were chatting aquaintances, people who would pass in the halls and say a few polite meaningless words (I am sure that I was wearing the motley, not her). and then I came here, minutes from her parents' place in Lexington, and she went there, thousands of miles away from here. We stayed in touch by email, and I can remember communicating with her on a level that went far beyond what our friendship warranted, because it was so easy to be honest and hurt and lost and confused and lonely when it was only me and the computer. There was no need to get defensive, no need to rationalize, no need to raise my hackles over some unintended slight, no need to do anything except imagine her and Sukie, her dog, in a great many-windowed apartment near the beach, walking in the sand every day. And so I did.
Lately we had slipped out of touch. It was probably my fault, although I don't know why. I still think of her often, and how different her life must be. It will be nice if I can maintain this opened door. I'm not good at a distance (it's why I think ultimately distance ed will fail -- it will take two to six percent of our students, and that's it -- faculty are better face-to-face), but maybe I can try harder.
13 September 2001
Exhausted (profblog)
It's been a hell of a week. I know, nothing like what people in NY are experiencing (buona fortuna, Tom Cultice and all my friends at Mannes College of Music, the Jesuits at Xavier, and all the help and hearts of Bailey House), but still tiring for me.
Tomorrow I go to spend the day teaching an appropriate topic, Workplace Violence. Needless to say, I've got my case study lined up. I do this a few times a semester, for NAILM and for EKU's Community and Workforce Education. I got to be good at this when I worked at UNC Hospitals and had to develop policies dealing with this issue. I ended up doing this schtick at plenty of places.
There's more to do and more to grade, so I'm off.
Tomorrow I go to spend the day teaching an appropriate topic, Workplace Violence. Needless to say, I've got my case study lined up. I do this a few times a semester, for NAILM and for EKU's Community and Workforce Education. I got to be good at this when I worked at UNC Hospitals and had to develop policies dealing with this issue. I ended up doing this schtick at plenty of places.
There's more to do and more to grade, so I'm off.
11 September 2001
Avoiding grading (profblog)
Is there a better grading avoidance device than a terrorist attack? It's just minutes after the World Trade Towers and Pentagon bombings and I've got almost 30 comp papers to grade. I'd rather watch the news sites crash than grade. Hell, I'd rather do anything than grade (well, almost anything).
How about these links:
Terrorism -- Intelligence Threats Assessments
This is a link site to all the docs needed to become an expert on terrorism.
The Anarchist Cookbook and The Terrorist Handbook
They're both here at this weirdpier site.
The Pentagon
Makes you all warm and fuzzy for the arms merchants.
How Does It Feel?
This may be what the rest of the world is saying to the U.S. right now.
How about these links:
Terrorism -- Intelligence Threats Assessments
This is a link site to all the docs needed to become an expert on terrorism.
The Anarchist Cookbook and The Terrorist Handbook
They're both here at this weirdpier site.
The Pentagon
Makes you all warm and fuzzy for the arms merchants.
How Does It Feel?
This may be what the rest of the world is saying to the U.S. right now.
09 September 2001
Feeling puny (profblog)
I made a great blogging mistake today -- I looked at other blogs. Man, I thought I was hip, I thought I was up on the design, I thought because I tweaked the html in this template that I was hot shit. Well, I learned just how puny I am this afternoon. There are some awesome sites out there, with witty, interesting people writing incredible stuff. I saw a lot of sites, and they all looked better, linked better, and created something more interesting than this.
So maybe I've got it all wrong. I read some articles that suggested that blogs should be annotated lists of sites. Well then why the hell am I writing this prose? Where are my pix? How about my unusual and thought-provoking links? The details of the fascinating and envy-provoking life I live? The fun city I live in and my drunken wanderings through it?
Man, I got nothing.
And to top it all off, I graded my online class for most of the day and spent the rest of the time trying to copy a cd with a new miniCDRW that hangs at 2:37 of every cd. Now I've got some nice new coasters, and one data cd that I did manage to burn.
Anyhow, you want links, here are some links. They're not trendy, they're not particularly cool, they're just there to make you think:
Path to Peace
History of Northern Ireland peace process and ongoing negotiations from ireland.com. Just plain sad.
Company
The U.S. Jesuits put out this mag. Show me someone doing work as important.
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
You think life is tough for you? Check this out.
Jimmie Spheeris: A Memorial Gallery
This guy was awesome; I've got some of his vinyl, and he still rocks.
So maybe I've got it all wrong. I read some articles that suggested that blogs should be annotated lists of sites. Well then why the hell am I writing this prose? Where are my pix? How about my unusual and thought-provoking links? The details of the fascinating and envy-provoking life I live? The fun city I live in and my drunken wanderings through it?
Man, I got nothing.
And to top it all off, I graded my online class for most of the day and spent the rest of the time trying to copy a cd with a new miniCDRW that hangs at 2:37 of every cd. Now I've got some nice new coasters, and one data cd that I did manage to burn.
Anyhow, you want links, here are some links. They're not trendy, they're not particularly cool, they're just there to make you think:
Path to Peace
History of Northern Ireland peace process and ongoing negotiations from ireland.com. Just plain sad.
Company
The U.S. Jesuits put out this mag. Show me someone doing work as important.
Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA)
You think life is tough for you? Check this out.
Jimmie Spheeris: A Memorial Gallery
This guy was awesome; I've got some of his vinyl, and he still rocks.
08 September 2001
Grading on Saturdays (profblog)
This has got to be the worst thing about being a teacher. Grading is bad enough: reading papers where I know I'm spending more time on them than the author did, noting and correcting the same gradeschool-level mistakes over and over again, writing comment after comment in the recognition that, for many students, the transfer of knowledge from one assignment to another is a dicey proposition. And to do this all on Saturday? Miserable.
I got into this dodge because I told myself that I was sacrificing money for time, that I was never going to make any decent cash, but that I would have more time for the rest of my life (let me tell you about what professors of English get paid -- in my fifth year, after being promoted early to Associate Professor, I still can't make what starting English ass't profs makes at our benchmark institutions -- I'm still at least one year away from 40K). Well, it just doesn't work that way. This semester I've cut way down on my work time, which means that I'm putting in 40 hours of work instead of my usual 60. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing but debt and the recognition that next year, people will be hired in above me (or above someone in the department, a truly despicable thing). It's no wonder I'm looking for a new position.
I ran into (well, it was an electronic "ran into") someone I went to grad school at Duquesne with. He's at Cal State at Sacramento, where I'll be applying. Doug Rice does work that I don't understand, and I understand and appreciate lit for a living. But hey, he's in the Acker vein, and he's pissed off Senators Helms and Ashcroft, so he must be doing something right. I think about him in that big Teaching Assistant office at Duquesne, holding court, being loud, and generally tossing out offhand comments that could rule your life if you thought about them (they did for me). And I think of those straightlaced, buttoned-down, incredibly Catholic people we shared an office with, and I just laugh. Do a google search on Doug Rice and read a few of the reviews of Blood of Mugwump and A Good Cuntboy Is Hard To Find. It may not show you where literature is going, but it will open your eyes to the possibilities.
Doug, it was good to rediscover you after so many years. I trust you are well and still ranting. I'm happy your voice is recognized and celebrated.
I got into this dodge because I told myself that I was sacrificing money for time, that I was never going to make any decent cash, but that I would have more time for the rest of my life (let me tell you about what professors of English get paid -- in my fifth year, after being promoted early to Associate Professor, I still can't make what starting English ass't profs makes at our benchmark institutions -- I'm still at least one year away from 40K). Well, it just doesn't work that way. This semester I've cut way down on my work time, which means that I'm putting in 40 hours of work instead of my usual 60. And what do I have to show for it? Nothing but debt and the recognition that next year, people will be hired in above me (or above someone in the department, a truly despicable thing). It's no wonder I'm looking for a new position.
I ran into (well, it was an electronic "ran into") someone I went to grad school at Duquesne with. He's at Cal State at Sacramento, where I'll be applying. Doug Rice does work that I don't understand, and I understand and appreciate lit for a living. But hey, he's in the Acker vein, and he's pissed off Senators Helms and Ashcroft, so he must be doing something right. I think about him in that big Teaching Assistant office at Duquesne, holding court, being loud, and generally tossing out offhand comments that could rule your life if you thought about them (they did for me). And I think of those straightlaced, buttoned-down, incredibly Catholic people we shared an office with, and I just laugh. Do a google search on Doug Rice and read a few of the reviews of Blood of Mugwump and A Good Cuntboy Is Hard To Find. It may not show you where literature is going, but it will open your eyes to the possibilities.
Doug, it was good to rediscover you after so many years. I trust you are well and still ranting. I'm happy your voice is recognized and celebrated.
07 September 2001
Weighty Things? (profblog)
Are these things really supposed to be weighty? I mean, I guess I just don't understand the audience here. Am I writing with a bunch of shoegazers who will only read these things as testaments to their melancholia? Am I writing with technogeeks whose acronymic language is even more filled with nonsense than my own? Am I writing with Salinger wannabes who details the minutiae of their angst-ridden lives? I'm not sure. And I guess the fact that I mentioned these three groups demonstrates that I must possess a bit of each of them myself. Oh well.
Anyhow, today I saw those teacher evals on collegeclub. They were exactly what I expected. No, there weren't any about me, but those about the people I knew were accurate, as far as I can tell. Of course, those who post such reviews usually have an ax to grind, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.
I need to spend more time looking up info on the Ardoyne school protests. I was on ireland.com the other day reading about it and got sick thinking about the bombing of children -- this must be how people of good conscience felt during the 60s when people were bombing churches in the South. But I also got homesick for the place -- I know I've only been there a few times, but it's a much better, much friendlier, much more intelligent place than I've been living in here. Today they announced that the protest wasn't violent yesterday: "There was a peaceful but noisy protest outside Holy Cross yesterday as around 100 Catholic schoolgirls and their parents walked to the main school gates. Around 200 Protestant residents blew whistles, sounded air horns and banged bin lids as they passed. The chairman of the school's board of governors, Father Aidan Troy, said he was relieved. "We can live with whistles. They are better than pipe bombs," he said."
So what is it? Such a violent place, where pipebombs are diplomatic tools and keeping track of the splinter groups that wish to continue the violence could be a full-time job. And then there's the ROI, where you can be a world away from the violence and think you'll never see it again. Yeats had it right, it's filled with a terrible beauty, which calls to me and repulses me at the same time.
Anyhow, today I saw those teacher evals on collegeclub. They were exactly what I expected. No, there weren't any about me, but those about the people I knew were accurate, as far as I can tell. Of course, those who post such reviews usually have an ax to grind, so everything should be taken with a grain of salt.
I need to spend more time looking up info on the Ardoyne school protests. I was on ireland.com the other day reading about it and got sick thinking about the bombing of children -- this must be how people of good conscience felt during the 60s when people were bombing churches in the South. But I also got homesick for the place -- I know I've only been there a few times, but it's a much better, much friendlier, much more intelligent place than I've been living in here. Today they announced that the protest wasn't violent yesterday: "There was a peaceful but noisy protest outside Holy Cross yesterday as around 100 Catholic schoolgirls and their parents walked to the main school gates. Around 200 Protestant residents blew whistles, sounded air horns and banged bin lids as they passed. The chairman of the school's board of governors, Father Aidan Troy, said he was relieved. "We can live with whistles. They are better than pipe bombs," he said."
So what is it? Such a violent place, where pipebombs are diplomatic tools and keeping track of the splinter groups that wish to continue the violence could be a full-time job. And then there's the ROI, where you can be a world away from the violence and think you'll never see it again. Yeats had it right, it's filled with a terrible beauty, which calls to me and repulses me at the same time.
06 September 2001
Rhythm (profblog)
I guess the trick for blogging, as for any other writing, is rhythm. So now, even when I don't feel like it, I'll write a bit as I recover from reading student responses to questions I posed on Wordsworth and Coleridge. My students this semester are an interesting lot. My advanced tech writing class is small, with good students, willing to work hard and put int he time to learn something. My beginning tech writing class is a bit more scattered. There are some excellent people there, and some who are dreading learning with me, because I require more work that the other tech writing classes do. The comp class is finally getting into the swing of things; like most intro writing classes, they're a bit shy, always trying to get over and get out of work, but, when pressed, will step up, for the most part.
I'm trying to see if my classes are rated in CollegeClub.com, but there's something wrong with the javascript, so I really can't tell. There was an article in the Eastern Progress, the school newspaper, about sites where students grade their profs. To be honest, I welcome such a thing. I'd like to see us be held as accountable as we hold our students. I know that there are many ways that we can influence student evaluations of us (I've personally witnessed such things as bringing cookies in on the day evaluations are completed, telling students what to write on their evaluations, and even ripping up any bad evals). We need to remember that we owe something not just to out colleagues, but to our students as well. We owe them quality teaching and respect for their endeavors. I know plenty of people who have one or the other of these, and I know a rare few, the best professors I can recall, who have both.
I'm trying to see if my classes are rated in CollegeClub.com, but there's something wrong with the javascript, so I really can't tell. There was an article in the Eastern Progress, the school newspaper, about sites where students grade their profs. To be honest, I welcome such a thing. I'd like to see us be held as accountable as we hold our students. I know that there are many ways that we can influence student evaluations of us (I've personally witnessed such things as bringing cookies in on the day evaluations are completed, telling students what to write on their evaluations, and even ripping up any bad evals). We need to remember that we owe something not just to out colleagues, but to our students as well. We owe them quality teaching and respect for their endeavors. I know plenty of people who have one or the other of these, and I know a rare few, the best professors I can recall, who have both.
05 September 2001
Why blog? (profblog)
Because I teach this stuff, and I'm still trying to figure out how to write, or what I do when I write.
Because maybe I can see myself get better as I do it.
Because, as I've told many, I don't have a creative bone in my body (my use of this turn of phrase should prove my point), so maybe I can hone something creative here, or at least peer over the fence.
Because it's another form I may need to know.
Because there's just me and the screen.
Because the cats and dog are asleep and my wife isn't home yet.
Because maybe I can see myself get better as I do it.
Because, as I've told many, I don't have a creative bone in my body (my use of this turn of phrase should prove my point), so maybe I can hone something creative here, or at least peer over the fence.
Because it's another form I may need to know.
Because there's just me and the screen.
Because the cats and dog are asleep and my wife isn't home yet.
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