Every once in a while I spy on my grandfather’s family. They were the lords of Wye House in Easton, Maryland, est. 1659. This was where Frederick Douglass grew up, back when he was just Fred Baily. He describes my ancestors in his Narrative. Wye House was known for its hospitality, having housed among many … More Frederick Douglass
Everyone in the writing group is getting more done than I am and seems to have a more stable life than I, and is probably putting more rational time into work as well. I know how it feels to have a slightly better situation and I am half envious but mostly ashamed that we are … More Planctus on my twisted ego
That turns out to be one of the types of shoe I am allowed to wear. There is this too, more elegant in person than in the photograph. I tried it on in the store and then ordered it online for $46. I could not get a ticket for Lincoln, although I tried, and New … More Et voilà
I have to go, I am late, but these are the things I want to discuss: – Astrology for academic job seekers. I am not joking. Location matters a great deal, for instance, although not in the ways people claim. There is a great deal else you can learn from your chart about what to … More Being and Place
I always wanted to, always liked the people who had two. Here is a program that may be of interest to you or yours, taught in beautiful places. Astrid Fellner from the University of the Saarland in Saarbrücken, Germany announces that as part of an International Graduate School on “Diversity: Mediating Difference in Transcultural Space” … More Let’s do another Ph.D!
In December or January I may go here. It is a long drive but it is still a modest proposal monetarily, and a major adventure. If the weather turned terrible, I could take refuge in the eccentric towns of Terlingua and Marathon. I would hike in the daytime and write, and read or talk to … More Clear western light
The atmosphere in Jorge Isaacs’ novel María is truly right wing. We know he was a conservative, and that the novel is set on a plantation, but I had not read it since spending some time every week for several years chatting with some well-heeled conservative Christians and beginning to understand the gestalt of their … More María
I have to start participating in Thanksgiving now as opposed to fantasize about things I should not buy tomorrow but look at this person and her dress. I should stop giving companies free advertising but I did not know about KD dancewear and it appears to be good. I am having to redesign myself since … More New Look
The theory of this weblog is to remake oneself from the ground up and on that theory I am looking at job ads. Here, oddly, is one for which I am qualified, based on what I have become. I would reboot entirely, in a different key, and the current book project would work very well … More Du travail
This is apparently the first 35 mm film ever shot, going by cable car to the Ferry Building four days before the earthquake. I love cities. Axé.
