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
Schedule today: 8 AM Remove Vitter posters from building and environs 9 AM Grade, prepare, plan 10AM Teach 11 AM Teach 12 N Teach 1 PM Eat Lunch and Write This Post 1:30 PM Grade, prepare 2 PM Teach 3:30 PM Meeting 4 PM Meeting 5 PM Meeting 6 PM Walk 7 PM Eat Dinner … More Now Working!
Are we working yet? No. It is 8:59 AM and where is Professor Zero, then? She is in the office, but she has only just made it here. Office hours start at 8:00 but upon arriving on her part of campus Professor Zero, who did not leave the building until 8:45 PM last night, saw … More Extra Credit
We are not working tonight but went instead to a Cajun jam. Now I am looking for music with which to sufficiently impress Tenth Medieval. This is about as psychedelic and as far into the groove as anyone could hope anything might ever be or get. Axé.
In case the legislature thinks you are not working and needs to know what lazy professors do all day long, let me tell you about my flexibly scheduled day so far. This is after working 6-1 and 2-9 yesterday, 14 total hours with a one hour lunch break on which I both ate and went … More Flexible
The aria’s meaning, the ears, the soul, swiftly depositing, The strange tears down the cheeks coursing, The colloquy there, the trio, each uttering, The undertone, the savage old mother incessantly crying, To the boy’s soul’s questions sullenly timing, some drown’d secret hissing, To the outsetting bard of love. Demon or bird! (said the boy’s soul,) … More Out of the cradle…
For Portuguese next semester or next time, another thing we could do is study the history of Brazilian song. That would be enough content to keep me interested, and enough short reading and audio to help the students develop their language. Teaching foreign languages is terribly tedious but it is not true that the answer … More On Preparing Class
Among Christians, the code employed to express strong disapproval is, “Why would you…?” As in, “Why would you want to discuss an ugly thing like slavery in a class at a university?” So my student gave a presentation on the Brazilian narco-slums and police repression and simultaneous collaboration or even leadership in the narco-gangs, which … More On Christians
In case anyone needs my help to prove we are working, I have been up since five. I graded for Spanish and updated websites from six to ten this morning, after which I taught various Spanish courses for three hours. Then I ate lunch, wickedly spending $8, and went to the bookstore to finally buy … More Midday Report
I cannot believe it. It seems that my university, in what I hear is the ninth most conservative city in the United States, has an official drag show. It takes place in the Student Union, and it has been going on for three years. In my undergraduate days this kind of thing was, if not … More Brave New World
