Living Peace

As I went through my regular news and blog routine this morning, I noticed that I haven't been posting much content to my own blog. Yeah, I've been posting goofy toy pictures, Friday Feasts, and the like, but I haven't been doing much in the way of narratives, life updates, or personal opinions/thoughts on matters of the day. After a little self-reflection, I've come to the conclusion that I'm encountering something similar to the doldrums (a windless area of the oceans near the equator).

After a period of "action" that stretched from September to early this month, I've entered an extended period of living calm. Rather than fretting about dissertation chapters, a job, grading, the pending move (scheduled for late July), the arrival of a new member of our family, and other usual sources of stress and anxiety, I find myself in a place of inner peace and quiet. With the dissertation and job search complete, I don't have the usual March/April WTF-Am-I-Going-To-Do-About-A-Job? crisis rattling around my brain. Being a short-timer at my present teaching position, the grading doesn't seem so daunting--I just need to get it done. We've figured out the basics of the move and it all appears doable (ask me about this in late June). The closer we get to the TLO's arrival, the more I know I'm ready.

Without the usual levels of anxiety and stress, I'm living one breath at a time and enjoying every moment. STK and I have been catching up on DVDs: Clone Wars Animated and Hellboy last weekend--Love Actually and Ray are on tap. I've also been doing a lot of reading. I finished a couple Star Wars novels last week and started the Labyrinth of Evil, the book that leads up to the opening scrawl of Revenge of the Sith. One Breath at a Time, a book that applies Buddhist principles to AA's 12 Steps, has also consumed a fair segment of my time. I even found myself inspired to meditate a couple nights back--that hasn't happened in at least a couple of months.

Peace. Calm. Contentment. I'm rather enjoying the doldrums.

Feast Common Denominator

Appetizer - What is the worst movie you've ever seen?

I've seen an awful lot of horrible movies. A couple off the top of my head: AvP, Some Kind of Wonderful, and Raptor Island.

Soup - Name something that reminds you of your childhood.

Star Wars.

Salad - If you had to live in a large city, which one would you want it to be?

New York City or San Francisco.

Main Course - What's a "big word" you like to use to impress people?

Obfuscate (or any derivative thereof: obfuscation, obfuscating). Concommitantly appears in my writing from time to time. Epistemological, hermeneutical, phenomenological, and ontological are also words I use to impress.

Dessert - Describe your hairstyle.

Neo-Buddhist monk.

Corrupting My Youth

With The Little One's arrival approximately 2.5 months away, I've started the process of gathering some interesting toys. I realize that he won't really be able to start enjoying them until he's been on the planet for a couple years or so, but I figure I might as well start the geekification process as early as possible. Behold the 1st purely geek purchases from loving parents to their child.

Gigan lives!


Nyarlathotep, the Creeping Chaos!

Clone Wars, Vol II

::slight wave of hand:: This is the cartoon series you're looking for.

Clone Wars!

Clone Wars coolness resumes tonight and continues through the end of the week. Check out Cartoon Network at 8 PM MST. Each new episode is 12 minutes.

The Eloquence of the New Thunderbolts

Reading through Thunderbolts #6, I came across a conversation that had me chuckling. The Thunderbolts are in the middle of a massive battle with the agents of HYDRA and the Atlantean terrorist group known as Fathom Five when the following conversation occurs.

Blizzard: There are too many of them!
Radioactive Man: They are only fodder.
Speed Demon: But they taste like chicken!

What? Taste like chicken? That's so goofy it's funny. Have I mentioned how much I'm digging the new Thunderbolts comic?

Sunday's Required Reading

Adorno as Antidote.
Thus, those who assume that Adorno was politically conservative because he didn’t like American mass culture don’t look closely enough at why he didn’t like it—they miss the deep ideological interconnectedness he traced between subjectivity, consumption, production, the conditions of possibility for empathy and, with this, political agency.

No-Wave Music .
"When any group of people pursue artistic freedom for its own sake without thought of reward or backslapping is when people and a place in time become vital, as pat and cheesed-out as the phrase 'true artistic freedom' is. I like it 'cause it seems true, and I am so fake."

Picasso the Poet.
orange blossom jasmine
cabinet perfumed with
pine scent little sugar
cube stuck sentry-like on
point of bayonet drawn
from his gaze and
bleeding honey from his
fingers on the dove's
wings burning at lake
bottom in the skillet of
his eyes shows up
exactly at the happy hour
with its flower needle pin
prick poised to touch the
sea's snout blue bull
wingèd incandescent
spread out at the ocean's
rim

13 things that don't make sense.
1 The placebo effect
2 The horizon problem
3 Ultra-energetic cosmic rays
4 Belfast homeopathy results
5 Dark matter
6 Viking's methane
7 Tetraneutrons
8 The Pioneer anomaly
9 Dark energy
10 The Kuiper cliff
11 The Wow signal
12 Not-so-constant constants
13 Cold fusion

Women Without a Clue.
True diversity is not about getting the right mix of partisanship, or gender, or race. It's about good journalism. A newspaper staffed by different kinds of people with different life experiences can offer a vastly richer and more complex perspective on the world. So until we as consumers demand diversity in substance rather than in bylines, we'll have to content ourselves with the Susan Estrichs of this world.

A Day in the Life

Despite sleeping in later than usual (9:15, I think), I still accomplished a great deal today. The highlights follow!

Graded papers. Classes resume on Tuesday and I still have a stack of Self-Concept papers to grade. I made it through six or seven this morning. While all of them had various weaknesses, they also had significant strengths and proved an enjoyable read. 25 papers to finish by Monday evening. No sweat.

Surfed Ebay. I'm bound and determined to track down several of the plush Godzilla toys. Specifically, I'm looking for a Godzilla, Gigan, Hedorah, and King Ghidorah. I'm watching several auctions and should be able to find a decent deal for the first three. King Ghidorah, on the other hand, appears to be a rather rare toy and commands a higher price. Still, if I could find one for around the $30 mark I'd probably bite. Is $30 too much to pay for something that will probably wind up drenched in infant slobber?

Anti-War Rally. As this is the 2nd anniversary of the Iraq invasion, rallies were held around the U.S. Being the peacenik that I am, I thought it only proper that I lend my voice to those opposing the war and the current administration. All the local television stations were in attendance. If each station ran a segment about the protest, the anti-war message was heard by tens of thousands of people across the state. Not a bad day's work. In honor of the protest, I broke out my new "Blue State University: We Put the Liberal in Liberal Arts" t-shirt (thanks, Mike!).

Workout. I managed to squeeze in a 1.5 hour workout. I stretched for 30 minutes, lifted weights for 30 minutes, and did cardio for 30 minutes. Tomorrow, I think I'll go for a 4 mile run and call it a day. My body needs a little rest.

Dinner with STK's Folks. STK's parents have been out of town and wanted to take me out to dinner for a belated birthday/Ph.D. dinner. Who was I to say no? We had a great meal at The Jerusalem, one of my favorite eateries, and ended the night at a wonderful little cafe for coffee and pastries. The cafe is one of a handful that serves locally roasted DazBog coffee, one of my favorites. Dazbog is one of three brands I keep in my private coffee reserve (the other brands are Peaberry and Kaladi Bros). I should also mention the In-laws scored bonus points by presenting me with a birthday gift of Aveda Clove shampoo and conditioner.

Battlestar Galactica. As STK and I were at the Nuggets vs Clippers game during Science Fiction Friday, we sat down and watched the latest episode of BG late tonight. Let me rephrase that: I sat down to watch BG and STK fell asleep on the couch. This show never ceases to amaze me. One week the show focuses on a military strike, the next week centers on personal relationships, and the next week foregrounds political elections. Wildly disparate in focus, all three episodes are absolutely riveting. That just goes to show that good writers can make ANY topic engaging. There's no question in my mind that BG is presently the best programming on the air.

***GEEK ALERT***

On Saturday, March 26, the Science Fiction Channel airs Alien Apocalypse, an original movie starring none other than Bruce Campbell! Now that's must see TV. I saw a preview tonight and it looks like classic Cambell. Here's the Sci-Fi blurb:

Dr. Ivan Hood (Bruce Campbell) and his team of astronauts return from their latest mission, only to find that Earth has been conquered and enslaved by aliens. Now Hood and fellow-scientist Kelly (Renée O'Connor, Gabrielle on Xena: Warrior Princess) must free humanity from its alien masters.

Wonder Whedon, er, Woman

Since discovering Buffy the Vampire Slayer way back when, I've been an avid fan of anything with which Joss Whedon is associated. Buffy, Angel, Firefly, and The Astonishing X-men are all top notch geek fare. I think Whedon is particularly good at creating strong female characters. For whatever reason, he gets it. Although rumors have floated around the web for months, there's finally confirmation that Whedon will direct a Wonder Woman feature film. Don't blow it, Joss. Just to be on the safe side, read the following article. If you follow this guy's advice, you can't miss.

A Letter To Joss Whedon

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Awaken to Your Own Nature

Love your true Self,
Which is naturally happy
And peaceful and bright!

Awaken to your own nature,
And all delusion melts like a dream.

-Ashtavakra Gita 18:1

Reading Rainbow

I've always been a voracious reader. As far back as elementary school, I've always had one novel or another sitting on my bedstand. In recent years, however, my reading evolved and became not only a source of pleasure, but also a professional requirement. These days, I usually have three different books going at once. One book is a novel, one is academic non-fiction, and another is my workout book that I read on the days I use the eliptical machine. Here's what I'm reading presently.

Novel. I just finished The Cestus Deception and started Jedi Trial. These are Clone Wars novels that occur between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith. I'm gearing up for the final installment of the SW franchise!

Academic. I'm a couple chapters into Norms of Rhetorical Culture and it's not all that engaging. Farrell is making the claim that "Aristotle offers the first, and perhaps only, philosophical justification for what rhetoric must be if it is to be a fully realized, artistically significant human practice" (p. 62). He continues, "I will attempt to show how rhetoric moves from being an ethically significant form of activity to a practice: an activity with internal standards of excellence that, if achieved, yield conduct that is ethical" (p. 62). If I can't slog my way through the next chapter, I'll probably pick up Civility: Manners, Morals, and the Etiquette of Democracy.

Workout. While clearning out some of the boxes stored in my office closet, I stumbled across a long lost copy of Where's Harry: Steve Stone Remembers His Years with Harry Caray. I think I've had the damn thing since it was published but never got around to reading it. What a fun read! Reading the various anecdotes takes me back to the burgeoning years of my Cubs fanaticism. I really miss Harry.

Voltron Versus the Robofeast!

Appetizer - Where do you go when you want to relax?

For a very long run. Something about the the deep breathing and the rhythmic pounding of feet puts me into an almost meditative state.

Soup - Tell about something that made you laugh this week.

At dinner on Friday night, T & J told a great story about one of their first dates. The punchline was, "How much is the soup?"

Salad - What is your favorite texture?

Puppy fluff.

Main Course - If you were to publish your autobiography, what would the first sentence be?

It was a dark and stormy night . . .

or

Had I known the physical trauma of birth would wind up the least painful of the awakenings experienced in my lifetime, I probably would have had second thoughts about entering the world.

Dessert - Do you celebrate St. Patrick's Day? If so, how?

I used to drink copious amounts of Harp Lager and Guinness Stout. These days, I usually don a Green Lantern t-shirt and call it good.

Open Season on Professors: How I Became a Ward Churchill Supporter

For several weeks now, the Ward Churchill constroversy has simmered in Colorado. Churchill, a professor in the University of Colorado's Ethnic Studies department, wrote a controversial piece the day after 9/11 that described workers in the World Trade Center as "little Eichmanns." His basic argument is that U.S. American workers, particularly those employed by transnational corporations, tacitly support the exploitation of native peoples around the world. In refusing to acknowledge or address these abuses, employees become as responsible as the parent company for the harms inflicted on less priveleged people. As a result of their participation in a system that promotes the abuses of others, the employees of a company become legitimate targets of terrorist attack. Although Churchill uses langage far more inflammatory and engages in hyperbole bordering on dishonesty, I understand his basic premise and even partially agree. When people work for a group or company engaging in unethical practices and don't speak out, they are also responsible for the harms perpetrated. Where Churchill and I differ, however, is the notion of people being legitimate targets of retribution. Violence, for any reason, is never an answer.*

From everything I've heard and read about Churchill, he's a real creep. He berates people he encounters, he bullies other academics, he manufactures evidence to support his claims, and supports the use of violence as a form of political resistance. Ward Churchill and I would probably not get along in any capacity. If that's the case, why would I support him?

University's around the nation have tenure laws in place, laws to protect University professors from having their research politically squashed. Tenure is not an ironclad protection from being fired--there are processes built into tenure that allow a University to review and revoke a professor's academic standing. It's a long process, for good reason, but it can be done. In the case of Ward Churchill, opponents weren't content to let the process play out. Instead, a number of politicos decided it was their place to jump in and demand the firing of Ward Churchill. Governor Owens (a Republican), Dan Caplis (a local conservative talk show host), Bill O'Reilly, and groups like The Claremont Institute (a conservative think tank), decided to jump into the fray. In doing so, they politicized the debate regarding Ward Churchill. From what I understand, CU's tenure policy states very clearly that a professor is protected from losing her or his position as a result of political pressure.

Two days ago, news surface that the University and Churchill had agreed on a buyout, a solution that would seem to solve the problem without putting the school in jeopardy of a retaliatory lawsuit. Churchill leaves the University and the University gets rid of a shady academic character. Now the politicos are leaning on the Regents to withdraw the buyout offer--only a firing will do!

For me, the controversy doesn't even concern Ward Churchill anymore. Instead, this has become a debate over whether conservative politicians will be given the power to go after professors with whom they disagree. This is an extremely dangerous precedent to set. Given the general attitude of conservatives regarding such "liberal" academic topics as women's studies, ethnic studies, queer theory, Marxist theory, and critical studies, acquiesence by the University endangers all of us who teach these topics.

*Noam Chomsky makes a far more compelling, and well-supported, assessment of why countries and people around the world oppose a U.S. presence in Hegemony or Survival.

The New Ultimate Avengers!

From a comic message board I frequent:

...now that New Avengers is such a success Marvel will disassemble the Ultimates and create "The New Ultimates". The new team will be twice as powerful and great in the Ultimate Universe, the New Ultimates lineup will consist of: 1.Ultimate Spiderman 2.Ultimate Wolverine
ITS GONNA BE GREAT!!

AHAHAHAHAHA! Too funny. And you know, the Powers-That-Be at Marvel may be stupid enough to do something like this.

No More Training Do You Require

Despite a grueling two hour defense during which two committee members gave me a good, old-fashioned academic drubbing, I passed my oral exams with "No Revisions." What that means is that my dissertation is accepted, as written, and will be submitted to Graduate Studies sometime next week. I'll spend a day next week reading through the thing one more time for typos, punctuation errors, and the like. After a very long journey, I'm finally a doctor.

While I'm thrilled the process is finally finished (or is that PhinisheD?), the defense experience reminded me that I'm not as smart as I like to think. There will always be someone smarter than me, someone from whom I can learn. Looking back, that may be the most important lesson of the graduate experience: the learning always continues.

Mr. Plumber

Accomplished over the weekend:

One bath/shower faucet fixed.
150 papers graded.
Shaun of the Dead watched (hysterical--must see).
Kill Bill vol. 2 watched (enjoyed this way more than vol. 1).
Dissertation advisor consulted.
Defense presentation prepared.
Errands runned.

I have a big week looming.

Tuesday: Work by day, theStart at Boulder Theater by night.
Wednesday: Dissertation defense. Post-defense celebration/lunch (hopefully).
Thursday: Work.
Friday: Spring break begins! 37th birthday dinner at Soleil.
Saturday: Dinner with friends at Racines.

Much celebrating and eating out to be done this week. Time to increase the workout a bit.

Wicked Witch of the Feast

Appetizer - Who is the one person you email more often than anyone else?

My dissertation writing partner. We email comments back and forth several times a week. Those emails should be tapering off, though. Assuming I have some revisions, I should wrap up the entire dissertation process over the course of the next couple weeks. She should wrap up by the end of the current quarter.

Soup - So far, which year of your life has been the most enjoyable?

I'm thinking the upcoming year is going to be more than spectacular: new child, new job, new home.

Salad - Name someone with whom you have lost touch but would like to reunite.

I can think of three off the top of my head: Steve, Tommy, and Tracy. I could probably get in touch with Steve and Tommy within a matter of minutes. Tracy would probably be more difficult to track down.

Main Course - What was the tastiest meal you had this past week?

Spinach salad. Organic wheat spaghetti. Quorn meatballs. Breyers Light Samoa Girl Scout Cookie ice cream (delicious! STK rates it as "the best ice cream ever!")

Dessert - Using the letters in your favorite color, write three words that describe your personality.

Gregarious. Erudite. Nonstandard.

It's All the Buzz!

For a network that features some damn good television, The SciFi Channel puts out some horrendous movies. I give you, Mansquito!

Where's that 50 gallon drum of deet when you need it?

Showing Love

If you are showing love to your fellow human being, you are showing love to your God.

--The Dalai Lama

All We Need is White Picket Fence

During our arctic sojourn to SMT, STK and I took a look at several homes owned by SMC. The school leases the homes to incoming faculty for up to two years at ridiculously low cost. Since we're new to the area and we're not really sure exactly where we want to live in the booming metropolis of SMT, we decided to take adventage of SMC's transitional housing. After looking at three different residences, we decided on this one:



The commute from our front door to my office is five minutes. On foot. In the snow. Sure beats the hell out of the 1.25 hour commute I presently make by car.

STK already has numerous interior design modifications in mind. In fact, she already made me check with the school about repainting (the interior is presently hospital white) a couple of the rooms.

Required Reading.

Motherhood Chic. We've been talking about popular culture representations of the U.S. American family at school. The hipness of motherhood is a new angle.

Coffee 101. Why didn't they offer this class when I was in school? Seriously, though, I'll have to give some thought to creating a class similar to the ones discussed in the article. Historically, coffee houses and salons have been a place of intellectual exchange and community building. Communication and the Coffee House anyone?

The Clash: Lennon & McCartney Redux? Were The Clash really a punk band? This author doesn't think so.

Remembering Hunter S. Thompson. Thompson never did much for me. Years ago, I tried to make it through Fear and Loathing and couldn't do it. More interesting, I think, is to try and understand why so many people were enamored with him. Thoughts?

Set Your Cathode Rays to Stun(ning). Some reflections on Sci-Fi's most excellent night of television. Since I teach with the guy, I thought I'd give him some props.