Another Book Review

This one, for a lesser journal outside my field, but the book is not only in my field, but in an area I need to know more about. It's only the summer right? When I'm supposed to be polishing up the book manuscript for shopping around? And editing another collection? No problem.

Sigh. I'm just a girl who cain't say no...

How Worried Should I Be?

So, you know how I'm taking 11 undergrads to London? In 10 days?

Should I be worried that my passport hasn't arrived?

Even though I did the forms, like, 9 weeks ago?

Uggh. Just what I need.

[ETA: The student who submitted hers on the same day just got hers yesterday. I suspect this should make me relieved, that mine is coming any day, but for some reason it makes me more nervous--that homeland security has flagged me for, you know, being a liberal or something].

Happy, Very Happy, then Tired

I've never been actually diagnosed with Seasonal Affective Disorder, but even in elementary and middle school, my grades took a predictable slump in the third quarter. And I am usually a pretty high energy guy, but in February, which was brutal, here as everywhere, I was not high energy. I was high anxiety.

One day, when it became clear that I was going to have to cancel class because of the snow day, I just cried. On the fantastic weekend a couple of weeks ago, during which i got to see theatre, and many of my very favorite people in the world, and eat a good meal, the whole thing was almost completely ruined by an anxiety attack brought on by a freak snowstorm.

The point is, after its first two weeks, winter is my arch-enemy (it used to be this guy Tom from high school, but I haven't seen him in 12 years).

Today though, the forecast was 70 degrees and sunny. I saw the forecast, and immediately went to the closet to break out the spring wardrobe: my khaki silk suit and a lovely swimming-pool colored oxford. Even though I overslept, I was happy walking out the door, first cup of coffee in hand. I swear to god every person I saw commented on my clothes. For every easter-egg remark, there were two compliments. Frankly, I am simply trying to will spring into existence.

I then got to teach two good sections where I introduced one of my favorite novels, and then tried to keep a very excited group of students going to London from busting out of their skins.

And then, all the caffeine wore off, and the thrill of a beautiful, sunny, warm spring day finally hit. I am tired, but soon, very soon, it will be Spring. For real.

A Note to our Daycare

Dear [Otherwise Great Pre-School],
I (Horace) was reading through the March newsletter this morning, and first, we both want to thank you all for producing such a thing--it's so great to know what our children are doing with you all, and to be able to work with them on concepts as they are learning them with you.

That said, something caught our eyes in this issue that troubled us some. We noticed that [Awesome Reading Teacher] is developing a unit on logos, we assume to begin to teach the rudimentaries of symbolic logic. As an English professor and a writer, respectively, we appreciate deeply this lesson and the developmental steps being fostered.

But we have to wonder whether using logos are the best way to teach symbols. We just think that our children are already bombarded enough by messages that turn them into consumers well before they are able to process the decisions that go into becoming part of the marketplace.

We, and many other parents, try to limit our children's access to commercials on tv, and when possible, limit the degree to which their clothes and toys make them walking advertisements. Certainly, their school should be among the last places to expose them to rampant consumerism.

Now, we wouldn't dream of asking [Awesome Reading Teacher] to scrap this unit at this late hour--hard work has surely gone into creating it, and making it useful to our children. But we might ask that repeating the unit in the future be reconsidered very carefully.

Finally, we did notice that one of the examples of logos mentioned in the newsletter was for McDonald's. This is the one place we'd really like to object on an immediate basis. We have a hard enough time convincing our kids that McDonald's and other fast food places are NOT where we want them to eat. [Great Pre-School] does such a great job at offering healthy nutrition in both practice and concept that we'd really hate to see it undermined when there are so many other ways to teach the very valuable lesson that is your objective.

Sincerely,
Horace and Willow

1929-2007

French philosopher Jean Baudrillard dies

The Associated Press

March 6, 2007 [] PARIS: Jean Baudrillard, a French philosopher and
social theorist known for his provocative commentaries on
consumerism, excess and what he said was the disappearance of
reality, died Tuesday, his publishing house said. He was 77.

Baudrillard died at his home in Paris after a long illness, said
Michel Delorme, of the Galilee publishing house.

The two men had worked together since 1977, when "Oublier Foucault"
(Forget Foucault) was published, one of about 30 books by
Baudrillard, Delorme said by telephone.

Among his last published books was "Cool Memories V," in 2005.

Baudrillard, a sociologist by training, is perhaps best known for his
concepts of "hyperreality" and "simulation."

On Reader's Reports, Book Reviews and Other Low Yield Tasks

A couple of weeks ago, I was asked by a Big Journal in my field to review an essay on a very contemporary, very interesting playwright on whom virtually nothing has yet been written. I happened to be teaching a play by this playwright the next week, the first time I'd ever taught the playwright. I had been recommended to the journal by my advisor, who was too busy.

The essay was for a special issue, and so it needed to be turned around quickly, with very specific and direct feedback for revision, if applicable. I did it, and the editor seemed very happy with my response. In fact, he asked me to review a forthcoming book on the playwright, which I also agreed to do.

Here's the thing. I know the profession relies on this sort of work from academics, and quite frankly, I'm at a stage in my career where I feel flattered to even be asked.

But I am unclear on precisely how to value this work, and when I might want to say no: book reviews count for very little on my annual reviews, and reviewing essays for even less. There's no remuneration, and the value in getting my name out there seems minimal. So, internets, how do you feel about this sort of work? How do you value it? How do you make decisions about when to accept these tasks, and when it's time to take a pass?

Where I've Been

In a word, around...

Actually, it's pretty obvious that cursory glance over my archives reveal that I'mn a pretty streaky blogger, and a pretty streaky blog reader, too. I'll go three or four days in a row, and then nothing for a week. So in the meantime, I'll tell you some of the things I've been doing:

• Willow set up a great weekend with some grad school friends, complete with hotel room in DC, gift certificate for a fancy dinner, and tickets to see Crave by Sarah Kane, a play that might be deeply depressing, but I'm not always sure how to make heads or tails of. Still, we were able to get our old dinner group back together again, all 7 of us, now with one new spouse (absent, sadly), four new kids, and another on the way. Strangely, it wasn't all that much louder than before...
• We were due to drive back on Sunday, but DC got some snow, and I developed an ulcer from the prospect of driving the highways out of DC and over Appalachians in that weather. Sooooo, extra night in the metro area, including a soul satifying trip to Trader Joe's!
• When we got back, I was waaay behind with work to do (quizzes to grade, midterms to design, an essay to revise (still to be done), another to review for a big journal in my field, and a bunch of small stuff (rec letters, etc.) to complete. As of this moment, I am almost caught up.
• Tonight was the inaugural gathering of a group I am now organizing of newish faculty with kids--we had 7 faculty members, a couple of spouses, and a bunch of kids from not yet walking to school age, clamoring around a local cafe which had devoted the etire time slot to us. Seems like a success, and a nice new social opportunity for some of us who have felt isolated in the past.
• Tomorrow, the new chair unveils his vision for the department. Should be very interesting.
  
• Then, visitors, midterm grading, essay revisions, and more visitors. March sure is coming in like a lion!