I voted, and then danced down the street just like this. It is the weekend, so we will sing; this video was found by Parlancheq, who leads us to further fascinating images of Bolivian carnaval. In honor of Bolivia, a brilliant country, we will also listen to the Kjarkas on Imillitay: Muyuspa muyuspa imillitay korik’entijinay … More Carnaval boliviano
The Louisiana Democratic primary is tomorrow, Febuary 9. I will be voting for Barack Obama. I am voting for Obama because because of the two candidates left, I believe he has the best shot at defeating the GOP. It is important to beat the GOP for many reasons, but a reason quite as good as … More Barack Obama
I was not going to do the teaching meme but two posts, one from Lumpenprofessoriat and one from WOC PhD, have moved me to speak. Lumpenprofessoriat addresses the question of “love.” I note that many professors say they are suffering for love (of their fields, or of teaching), and they seem to believe this is … More Why I Teach
I have begun reading Dambudzo Marechera’s The Black Insider, a type of novel. My alter ego promised the Paper Chaser to read Thus Spake Zarathustra in 2008, and told A Room of Our Own she would read Bleak House. By reading these three books, I am sure one can learn a great deal. Also on … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Marechera, and Big Plans!
Yesterday at sunset someone knocked on my door and it was a man selling shrimp he had caught out in the Gulf that morning for $3.25 a pound. I bought twelve pounds for $39, which if it really is twelve pounds is a decent deal. The bags had a lot of water in them, though, … More Mardi Gras
On January 10 Moody’s, in concert with the other main bond-rating firm, Standard and Poor’s, gave the United States its top AAA credit rating. The terrorist blackmail threat came in the form of a demand by Moody’s that the US government “reform” Social Security and Medicare: “In the very long term, the rating could come … More Word to Obama
These are my sentiments, exactly. And when I write academically I often feel engulfed by other peoples’ papers, piled on all sides and high above my head. This is a rich feeling for a beginning, if you are interested in what you are working on. It is a discouraging one if you are not. I … More Escritura
Yesterday was Candlemas and I could hear the air grow warm and thick and fill with twangling sounds, as it does when the ice melts and we turn toward spring. I was tempted to write a short poem about it but I believe this is beyond my current powers. I have been thinking of hiring … More I Might Really Go to Law School!
Reflecting back over the past, the problem with my functioning within a different [N. Ed.: or in my vocabulary, alien] culture has been specifically: trying to use a lot of mental power to treat what I consider to be peripheral issues seriously, whilst treating the very serious issues in my mind as if they were … More A Good Description of Reeducation
I am having an excellent semester despite certain problems I can see brewing in one class. Part of the reason for this semester’s excellence, however, is that I am again teaching Spanish literature, which works like a charm. By Spanish literature I mean the great, unknown literature of Spain, a country in southern Europe. This … More Spanish Literature II
coldhearted scientist وداد 