Whom does it benefit to say writing is hard? asks Dame Eleanor Hull. I am not sure but I can hazard that it mystifies writing and discourages people from trying. I, for my part, caught writing difficulty from Reeducation, according to which writing ease was a sign of poor health. Not wishing to suffer the … More A Writing Match
The other practical reason I oppose going on about how work is suffering is that it makes for such an unprofessional atmosphere. Graduate students do it, secretaries do it, and instructors do it. Pink collars do it and ladies do it. “Oh, it is so hard.” “We aren’t getting any younger.” “How are you today, … More Et pour en finir…
I keep writing posts on why I dislike teaching foreign languages and then eliminating them, since one of my chairs, my dean and several other such people know where this blog is. However, here is one more issue: the kindergarten aspect of it. Portuguese Composition is a senior level course with graduate students in it … More Kindergarten
5:58 AM and I am still waiting for rosy-fingered Eos to step across the fields. Despite chairing a committee whose charge is to prove to legislators and the public at large that we are working, my personal concern is not that at all since there is no room for doubt. I am informed that our … More Displaced
In addition to the rumor that I make all my own clothes there is a rumor that I never work out at all, a rumor that I work out a lot, and a rumor that I watch what I eat. I have denied all of these rumors but now, having seen what passes for dinner … More De la Food
Monday’s 14 hour day killed me and this was counterproductive. I do not recommend working above 12 hours and really, 11 is the better maximum. You have to keep a good pace, always keep some energy in reserve, never use all the power you have. Axé.
The reason I think they are buffoons is that they assume women are mentally retarded and hysterical, so they speak to us as though we were. I never understand this quickly enough. I tend to think they are speaking in this manner because they are low IQ and not very grown up. By the time … More On Men Who Know I Think They Are Buffoons
Where I used to work there is permanent class war because professors put professional standards above personal convenience and instructors do the opposite. You cannot have a program in that way, especially when the instructors are the more powerful group and have the most backing. Teaching goal of professors: produce good majors and graduate students. … More On Class War
Sometimes rumors about me get back to me. A current one is that I make all my own clothes. I must be doing so, it is said, because you cannot buy those clothes in local stores and the colors are too right and the fit too good for them to have been store bought at … More On Clothes
Jonathan Mayhew I have news for you: contra everything else I have ever said, writing is not fun or easy. It may be for thee and me — or is in my case, when I take the time to do any or have the peace of mind one needs to think the long thoughts one … More For Whom the Writing is Hard
coldhearted scientist وداد 