coldhearted scientist وداد

La otra noticia: Pilipino slaves in Lousiana today

19/12/2012

The case was brought on behalf of guestworkers who say they were lured to teach in Louisiana public schools only to be forced into exploitive contracts by labor contractors. The lawsuit accuses officials of two labor contractors – Universal Placement International, based in Los Angeles, and its sister organization, Manila-based PARS International Placement Agency – … More La otra noticia: Pilipino slaves in Lousiana today

Civilization and barbarism

19/12/2012

Here is a marvelous film on civilization and barbarism with which I may start the culture course in the spring, even though it does not involve Spain. Meanwhile, in news of current barbarism, consider: The contrast here is not only between the civility of the children and the cruelty of the shooter, but between what … More Civilization and barbarism

El apocalipsis según Google

19/12/2012

I am rushing to get all my posts out before Friday, when the world will end. As a Mayan I must point out that the idea of the end of the world is really Aztec. Still, I have set the goal of getting all my posts on certain topics out by Friday, as I will … More El apocalipsis según Google

The problem with the classes is money

19/12/2012

Assistant professors in my college start at $44K, with no contributions made to Social Security. Those who started in 2008 or later have never had raises. This is to teach a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses, 3/3, with 30% of time dedicated to research and the expectation of a book and articles for … More The problem with the classes is money

Was this the inspiration for Mallarmé’s sonnet in -x?

18/12/2012

Look at it. Arnaud Daniel, and there is a translation. Pus Raimons e Truc Malecx chapten n’Enan e sos decx, e ieu serai vielhs e senecx ans que m’acort in aital precx don puesca venir tan grans pecx: al cornar l’agra mestiers becx ab que traisses del corn lo grecx; e pueis pogra leu venir … More Was this the inspiration for Mallarmé’s sonnet in -x?

On literature, dolça metzina

18/12/2012

I have taken today, which was a beautiful day, off and dedicated it to doing very little beyond reading blogs. Clarissa’s department is being turned from Foreign Languages and Literatures to World Languages and Cultures. Why do you think people are so anti-literary? I, too, dislike it but I have an advantage over some people … More On literature, dolça metzina

On French

18/12/2012

While I resent the way the French treat the Spanish at my university; while I deny that French Louisiana is all Acadian and that Louisiana is all French; and while I, a skull on a stela at Copán, do not love France in the way I might if I were an upper class postcolonial criollo; … More On French

Ahora que es primavera

18/12/2012

I now see why I have had these Moustaki song fragments floating through my head all semester: when I was my exchange student’s age I also lived in France, and it was Moustaki songs that floated out of the cafés in the Rue Mouffetard. This song is about the Mediterranean spring and García Lorca would … More Ahora que es primavera

Vivienda

17/12/2012

Speaking of places to live, here is an interesting one, on an interesting site. Observe all the apartments, in the list of links at the left. Depending on which tab you have chosen at the top, you will have different links at the left; some pages offer many interesting links to apartments and lofts in … More Vivienda

Sé que hay una persona

17/12/2012

…who keeps talking about how she let the generation above her down by being who she was and wanting the things she wanted, and who tries daily to explain to herself how she got to this life she has now, which she chose not expecting it to be as it is, and where she is … More Sé que hay una persona

Writing in Memory of Paulo Freire