Now the drums and charangos begin playing and someone shouts ¡adentro! just before the flutes come in with the melody. I am dreaming of summer on the altiplano and beginning to sing the huayno, “Mujer andina, te vengo a contar / mis penas y mis dolores.” I wrote some time ago: “In this novel the … More ¡Adentro!
There is another primary tomorrow. I want a President who would do something about this: The New York Times lectured Haiti on April 18 that “Haiti, its agriculture industry in shambles, needs to better feed itself.” Unfortunately, the article did not talk at all about one of the main causes of the shortages – the … More On Defeating McCain
If you are Louisiana faculty and you have not received the following e-mail (from ALFS and AAUP), please read it now and then act. I am sending one e-mail to one member of the House Education Committee each day, until I have e-mailed them all. I strongly suggest everyone else do the same. The e-mail: … More HB 179 – Louisiana
Here we can read FDR’s first inaugural address, delivered March 4, 1933, and hear him take the oath of office. All current candidates, and especially the Democratic ones, ought to study this text very closely. Richard Parker’s piece on FDR is very much worth reading at the present juncture in our national history. I would … More Franklin Delano Roosevelt
It is the weekend, so we will sing! The best musics are cante jondo and blues. In blues this weekend, Stephen Bess leads us to an amazing rendition of Soon One Morning. I, meanwhile, have discovered a toreá por bulerías that has real duende. It is for Servetus and Meia Oito, although it is not … More Soon One Morning, Toreá por Bulerías
One of the things I now do to protect my sanity is spend time at a ceramics studio. I cannot really afford this, but it is essential to mental health and I think cheaper than some more traditional but less interesting alternatives. This ceramics studio is run by a couple who are not really experts, … More What Rough Beast
Should I add these paragraphs to any of my self-descriptions, or are they too frivolous? “Professor Zero teaches at Vichy State University, an R-2 institution in Louisiana. Her departments and programs include, but are not limited to Spanish and Portuguese, Comparative Literature, and Latin American Studies. She has resigned her affiliation with Women’s Studies because … More Should I…?
This is the real Professor Zero. The coup has been defeated, and I am back! First we will read Alice Walker on Barack Obama, H/T Anxious Black Woman. then we will read an important post on “marriage strengthening” as a solution to economic devastation by Elle PhD. Now we will sing: Minha terra tem palmeiras, … More Reading for Pleasure Wednesday: Gonçalves Dias’ Song of Exile
Professor Zero’s hearing has ended. Barring any untoward or unforeseen events, she should be released from the Castle tomorrow. She is really, really tired of discussing Reeducation, and bored. She is not even angry any more. She is channelling Michel de Montaigne to remind us that the savage world may be more civilized than ours, … More Standing By
When I was in Reeducation I made a new friend who could not understand why I was depressed. “Why?” he would ask. “You have a lovely job, a lovely house in a nice city, interesting activities, insight, and a positive attitude. Why are you depressed?” “Because I have self hatred,” I would answer. That was … More On Getting the Right Answer
coldhearted scientist وداد 