Il fait frais!

It is now that day in September upon which the heat leaves, ending five months of Hell. I have been outdoors. Outdoors! It will be a dry eighty for an entire month, and might get to the low seventies or high sixties at night. I might get a slight tan. Axé.

Gabo

It appears that the eternal foodstuffs of artistic achievement are “discipline, fortitude, ambition and self-belief.” These were not allowed in Re/Education, and that explains my problems with it. It has been an entire weekend of rather boring work, frustrating in part because all of it must be done rather superficially, uninterestingly. I was tired and … More Gabo

Le Temps

I work all the time now, basically, but I have so many different things to do that working all the time just keeps me ahead of some really basic things. I am quite fast, and I am only slow insofar as since academic work is a space of abuse for me it is sometimes hard … More Le Temps

Le Travail

I now do nothing but work, and I still need to step it up further. I understand at last those people who say they do not care where they live or how they dress because all they do is work. I am not convinced the lack of recreation will be good for work on a … More Le Travail

Le vendredi

It is Friday, and yes, I am wearing white. It being the weekend, I am deciding what to sing. All afternoon I have listened to WWOZ, 90.7 on your FM dial or http://www.wwoz.org to listen on the Net. It was very helpful. If I were doing this work for the sake of a check upon … More Le vendredi

Very Interesting

“You have emphasized reading and writing, so I am comfortable with the kind of test you want to give, which will involve reading and writing. However, you have not emphasized matching or filling in blanks, so I am concerned I may not actually be learning.” That is a quasi parody, but … the statement was … More Very Interesting

Mais, pourquoi?

If you are foreign and it is the birthday of your father, who lives several time zones away, you may ceremoniously excuse yourself from a meeting early to call him. Then everyone knows that you are a virtuous son and a person with important calls to make. If you are native or perhaps a foreigner … More Mais, pourquoi?

Labor Day I

What I wrote several months ago: I really like my research projects but I am chronically impeded in them by my unhappiness as a professor. As a professor I have tended to have jobs and lived in places that were not only professionally unsatisfying but also psychically unsafe for me. Repressing my flight instinct is always … More Labor Day I