…what has been going on. There is a certain kind of bad situation I can usually only tell I have because of how I feel from it, not what I see. You have to believe your senses. And I, if I am flashing back as I have kept doing intermittently for about three weeks, am … More Now I see
Colleague, by telephone: You must help me, as I am terrified. I am painted into a corner, it is not easy to move from here and I cannot afford to move soon. I need to make tenure, really need it. Yet conditions are such that one cannot work to it. And I have found I … More Pelo Telefone, sung by Bahiano (1916)
Colleague: Only you did not lie to me or misrepresent anything at my interview. Z: None of us lied, or intended to misrepresent anything. It is only that I know what it is like where you are from, and also where you studied, and I am not from here either, although I have been here … More Coda on advice and its sources II
I keep insisting, and I am sure I am right, that you in fact learned how to do academic work if you have a degree from anything like a reputable institution, and that you got it from the program itself. Where else do you get advice? This is the submerged question, since much of the … More Coda on advice and its sources I
The right to desire to aspire to feel inspired is a human right I am surely the first to articulate, but that I have not invented since it is eternal. These are the main pieces of academic advice I have received: – Do not think you will get a job – Obey to get tenure – … More Coda on the right to desire to aspire to feel inspired
Pace the dolce far niente and Paul Lafargue (who, as I have just learned, was born in wealth on a coffee plantation in Santiago de Cuba) we will ask the question: do you think anyone has the right to desire or to aspire to inspiring work? Or, should people simply be grateful for “the opportunity to … More And another public opinion poll
Z: Did you enjoy Madison? Person from Houston: Yes, but it was really hard. Z: How so? Is it really as cutthroat as one sometimes hears? Person from Houston: No. It was that I had to learn how not to defer to men. You are not expected to do that there, and doing it does … More Another dialogue, another fact
Person: This is like being in Mexico in the 1820s. Z (laughs): Perhaps it is really about 1830 (if this is Mexico). There has been a post-Independence civil struggle. Only the winning leaders were not killed. Of the peons and civilians, I am the only one left standing, although I am wounded. All the other … More A dialogue, and one fact
This went medium well. I am glad I was as prepared as I was, down to the last drop. What I want to say is that as I train myself to be as obsequious as is considered meet, I train myself out of the authority to finish any writing project, too. I first noticed this … More Event, part 1
My accomplishments for today include seeing that I must move myself from the space of conquered person to the space of equal. The first step up was prisoner of war, as opposed to conquered person. Then I thought, what about free soldier from the other side. Then I thought I might go the whole way, … More Review session
coldhearted scientist وداد 