state of the union

“Our success in this war is measured by the things that did not happen. We cannot know the full extent of the attacks that we and our allies have prevented…”
This might be the statement that makes me the angriest. How does he continue to skate by without accountability? But then to cheer myself up, [...]

baby hens!

we finally got baby chicks. they’re barred plymouth rocks (barred is the color. it’s looks like herringbone when they get a little older). the barred rocks lay about 200 eggs a year, are very friendly and curious, and are so pretty. we got them when they were 3 days old. the picture in andy’s hand [...]

saints championship game: a scam

who does a girl have to sleep with to get refs to give fair calls? as if new orleans hasn’t had its share of injustices, the refs in the Saints game today are clearly being bought off. 2 turnovers in the first quarter? i think not.
*update*
i’m not going to blame this on the snow/weather and [...]

golden globes censorship?

I can’t be the only one who noticed that as soon as Bill Nighy (who won for his role in Gideon’s Daughter) started to allude to the War in Iraq, he was told to “wrap it up.” Of course, the disgusting and quite boring acceptance speech by Sasha Varon Cohen was allowed…
I’d like to know [...]

smoking ban and milky water

a couple of thoughts on the environmental situation in my neck of the woods.
on january 1st a smoking ban just went into effect for all of louisiana. smoking is now banned in all restaurants and some bars (those with a particular food/liquor license).  one thing that has really struck me since then is the smell. [...]

ecotexts class

i’m very excited about teaching an ecotexts class this spring. it’s a “literary themes” class at the 2000 level. i’m putting together the website for it right now and i’m also trying to put finishing touches on the syllabus. i decided to change the format of the class a little bit than what i [...]

google trends

can i just say how much i love google trends?
i’ve been playing with it all break. Some of my favorite bits of data?

solar panel versus wind turbine
britney spears versus iraq
vegetarian versus vegan versus mad cow

thoughts on the job market

I’m always amazed when friends and colleagues in academia tell me about their experiences on the job market. This year’s stories include typical things like

being called for an interview with 5 days notice (it seems to be commonly expected now that a person on the job market will book a flight and hotel for MLA [...]

“from the kitchen to the congress”

Nancy Pelosi thanked her grandchildren and children today as she was given the gavel as the first woman speaker of the house (yay!) for giving her the courage to go “from the kitchen to the congress.”
Although I was thrilled by most of what she said yesterday, in terms of women, equality, and the future of [...]

it’s a new year and…

here are a holiday break’s worth of thoughts…
I had to watch the new TV show “identity” just to see if it was as horrible as I thought it would be. Yes. It is. I thought, surely they won’t just blatantly stereotype identities? Yes. They do. Beyond racial, gender, and class stereotypes though, it just boxes [...]