Minimalism, or an embarassment of riches?

Just as I'm ready to embark on the Nanowrimo challenge, I come across this: the six word novel. Some of my favorite authors are listed, and I'm surprised by how many of the novels envision the end of the world or humanity. Since I like sf, I've always liked those kinds of stories, but they seem unusually common even for a group of genre fiction writers.

Daylight Savings

I've always wondered what people who work the graveyard shift think of daylight savings. In the fall, they have to work an extra hour that night, right? I wonder if they get overtime? (I assume they would, but my copy of the Alberta Labour code doesn't specifically address it). I would hope they'd get overtime! I hated working graveyards enough as it was, but to think you might have to do an extra hour at regular pay is just too much!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

Next time you see me post about booking a flight to go somewhere else, remind me never to book an evening flight back, okay? Man! was I tired Tuesday night! Getting on a plane at 6 pm EST then spending the next seven hours on a plane/in an airport was brutal. Everytime I think my body's getting better at travelling, I realize I'm just deluding myself!

Seeing friends was good... very good... but I also ate waaay too much good food!

Finally nailing down a response from one of my readers was also good. And bad. But mostly good. I sure do hope I don't have to show up in person at his office door to get him to read stuff everytime though, 'cause that will get very expensive! But threatening to appear in person did the trick, and I got some really good feedback. He challenged me to add a dimension to the dissertation that I didn't have there. It will make the dissertation better (if I can pull it off, of course) and provide me with some really good experience in integrating thematic and philosophical themes within one extended scholarly endeavour. So it was good feedback.

The downside is that it requires a huge course of reading to pull it off. HUGE. In an area I've never concertedly studied before. Which means I need to take probably three or four months to read through it all and formulate a response to my reader's comments. Like I said, it will improve the dissertation, but, right now, it feels a bit overwhelming. So, it's off to the library to find what I need.

Why do I feel a bit like Frodo, contemplating Mount Doom?

You just can't go back

They say you can't go home again, and my experience moving back to Canada would confirm that. It's not quite the same as it was before you left... because you're not the same person, obviously, but it does surprise me how many people expect things to be the same. Moving back, I remember locations, routes, what places have good coffee, what streets to avoid, and such, but my interaction with those spaces is different than it was before I left.

Actually, I found myself when we first got back thinking about the more distant past, about 20 years ago when I first arrived in the city, rather than my life just before I left it 4 years ago. I'm not sure why, but I can only assume that the re-arrival two months ago triggered a lot of memories of that first arrival.

And now I'm finding that coming back to Boston, even only two months after leaving, feels very different. I suppose most of it has to do with not having a routine to follow, or the knowledge that I'm just visiting, but even it and the school feel like different places. I also realize that my half of any conversation will feel different than the other half. As I'm talking, I'm thinking about how weird it feels to be back, but at the same time, with some people who I never did talk to on a weekly basis, I realize that for them, nothing may feel different. What seems huge to me - that I'm no longer living here - is irrelevant for them. And that's a very strange feeling.

So I guess I'm figuring out that not only you can't go home again, but you also can't go away again, without it being different.

There are types of violence I guess

Just opened the wrapper on a DVD that bears the warning:

R for Strong Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and for Language

So how is Sci-Fi Action and Violence different from regular violence? Is it the potential unreality that is offensive? Transporters are subversive while subways aren't? Laser guns more violent than machine guns? Spaceship chase scenes more horrifying than the General Lee flying through the air? What?

Even the irrelevant can be relevant

I've been reading an interesting - and blessedly short - book about Star Trek and humanism that I picked up a couple of weeks ago. As far as academic press books go, it has all the things I think a good academic book should have. A (fairly) clear topic, a clearly outlined agenda, a handful of excellent insights that have me nodding and wondering why I didn't think of that, and the ability to generate a few questions that have driven me to further investigate the ideas presented.

Having said that, I've also been encouraged by reading Drones, Clones and Alpha Babes: Retrofitting Star Trek's Humanism, Post 9/11. Yes, I realize it's one of those many books that have emerged in the last five years that are trying to capitalize on the events of Sept. 11th, and since the book actually has fairly little to say on the subject, the title would certainly be just as descriptive without those final words. But what I've been encouraged by is the author's insertion of herself into the text.

I've been struggling a bit over the last few years with the idea of calling myself a Brit lit specialist, since, well, I'm not British and have never lived in Britain. I've been feeling like I'm not qualified to discuss British literature - particularly from a cultural studies perspective - without having lived there. But then I read Diana Relke's book, and in it, she makes it clear that she is a Canadian writing about an American cultural phenomena... and an American political climate. Her writing appears more academic for this reason. By looking at a cultural phenomena from the outside (but not so far outside that there's no resonance of understanding for her as the author), she has a kind of distance that allows a more objective point of view. As a reader, there doesn't seem to be an agenda, just a critical analysis, and it makes for a stronger argument I think.

So, I feel encouraged by her example that my own work is not without merit and my distance from contemporary culture in Britain might provide me with an advantage I might not have if I were immersed in the middle of it.

I think her summary in the Afterword of the book best sums up her approach to the subject as a Canadian studying an American pop cultural phenomenon:

In short, we make a fetish of any event that permits us to avoid the truth that no two nations on Earth are as alike as Canada and the United States. Like the Borg and Federation, like Shinzon and Picard, we are mirrors for each other - and what we have recently seen in that mirror is a squadron of Israeli Defense Force bombers at a Canadian military base practising how to drop Israel's newly-purchased American bunker-busters in the impending war against Iran. So we're already implicated. But that mirror also makes Canadians much more likely than other nationals to appreciate the nuances of the American imagination.

I like the idea that viewing another culture from the outside might act as a mirror for our own culture. It certainly lends itself to one of the central premises of my dissertation - that the human-species-wide implications of genetic biotechnologies represented in fiction may find expression in different ways across cultures, in part because of those cultures' histories of community inclusion and exclusion and how that has shaped their definitions and attitudes toward citizens and others.

So while the subject of the book is only peripherally related to the work I am doing, it has modelled for me a way of writing that is very attractive. Time well spent, I would say.

Perhaps a touch of narcissism isn't bad

Usually after I publish a blog post I go to "view blog" just to see what it looks like. I've been trying not to do so lately because it feels narcissistic, but OH LOOK! Blogger didn't publish the post it said it had published last weekend!

Guess I'm just *have* to keep checking up on them!

It's all about not embarassing myself

I didn't embarass myself on the Gorilla Run. But I came close. I woke up that morning with a stomach ache, which really didn't go away before the race, so my stomach was aching something fierce during the whole run.

At least that was the only problem. I woke up that morning out of a dream in which I had a stomach ache, which was a bit disturbing since I woke up with a stomach ache as well. But at least the rest of my dream didn't come true. I also dreamt that I couldn't find anything in the morning. I also couldn't dress myself. I kept running back into the house to get things. I also kept realizing that I'd forgotten to put on pieces of clothing, like a long sleeved shirt under my T-shirt or socks. As a result, in my dream, we didn't get out of the house till 10:10, which means we totally missed the 8 am race!

At least we got there on time. And I'm glad I ran with my sister. She was a great motivation, and everytime I wanted to slow down or even stop because my stomach was bothering me, she'd say really positive things like "we're almost there" and spur me on to keep going. She was great! and I wouldn't have done near as well if I hadn't had her pushing (or more accurately, pulling) me along. But I didn't embarass myself by dropping out or walking, so overall, I'm pleased with my performance.

Congratulations!... too bad we didn't plan this too well...

Congratulations to middle daughter for running a great 4k race today and qualifying for the Provincials! Yeah!

Too bad they take place the weekend the two of us have already booked tickets for Boston and she won't be able to go...

Fun with words

After a full day of reading extremely dry material that left me scratching my head, I decided I needed some amusement. I found it when I ran across this website that converts webpages into various "dialects"... here's my last post, converted to jive:

Dursday, Octoba' 05, 2006

De mo'e doodads change da damn mo'e dey stay de same

Lookin' back, ah' see dat dree years ago on dis day, I wuz preoccupied wid mah' (in)ability t'get around.

Last year, ah' wuz bloggin' about mah' baaaad homeys.

Today, homeys and movin' around is also on mah' mind. I'm missin' homeys dat I've left behind some lot today. Slap mah fro! I'm not sho' man whut it be about today dat's generatin' dis feelin', but ah' am missin' dem. WORD! As much as wo'kin' fum crib be convenient and all, it probably won't help t'dispel de feelin' dat I'm disconnected fum de wo'ld. I'm lookin' fo'ward t'a trip back in de next few weeks as some way uh reconnectin', if only tempo'arily. Slap mah fro!

On some brighta' note, I'm pleased wid mah' last run. 'S coo', bro. Last week ah' finally gots'ta de point where ah' dun didn't feel sho't uh bread durin' de whole run. 'S coo', bro... which ah' can only assume be related t'a real slow acclimatizashun t'de higha' eleveashun here. It wuz real baaaad t'finish some (sho't) run widout feelin' likes ah' wuz gaspin' fo' air de whole time. And yesterday, ah' finally broke da damn 4 km barria' dat ah' seemed t'be stymied by fo' de last several monds. ah' know it's not much - some uh my eyeballers run MUCH farda' dan dat - but fo' me it's some bustdrough. Lop some boogie. And at least now ah' won't embarass mah'self wid some poo' puh'fo'mance at next weekend's Go'illa Run.

Now I'm gonna go convert some other webpages and see what comes out!

The more things change the more they stay the same

Looking back, I see that three years ago on this day, I was preoccupied with my (in)ability to get around.

Last year, I was blogging about my good friends.

Today, friends and moving around are also on my mind. I'm missing friends that I've left behind a lot today. I'm not sure what it is about today that's generating this feeling, but I am missing them. As much as working from home is convenient and all, it probably won't help to dispel the feeling that I'm disconnected from the world. I'm looking forward to a trip back in the next few weeks as a way of reconnecting, if only temporarily.

On a brighter note, I'm pleased with my last run. Last week I finally got to the point where I didn't feel short of breath during the whole run... which I can only assume is related to a really slow acclimatization to the higher eleveation here. It was really good to finish a (short) run without feeling like I was gasping for air the whole time. And yesterday, I finally broke the 4 km barrier that I seemed to be stymied by for the last several months. I know it's not much - some of my readers run MUCH farther than that - but for me it's a breakthrough. And at least now I won't embarass myself with a poor performance at next weekend's Gorilla Run.

Beyond Murphy's law

My school drives me nuts! If something can go wrong, it will. And it has. I am tearing my hair out at the redundancies, the miscommunication, the lack of communication and the inefficiencies of its bureaucratic systems.

It's even worse long distance. I've been kicked off the library system twice, finally having to elicit the help of a local person to get access to its resources again (in fact, I've taken to checking it every week, whether I need access or not, just to make sure they haven't kicked me off again).

I've had to submit my change of address to five different offices - one of them twice - in order to make sure I get all the communications I'm supposed to be getting.

Emails to another office have repeatedly been ignored, forcing me to call to do my business with them.

And my payment for my tuition? Sent to the wrong account! Then it took almost two weeks for them to figure out what went wrong.

Even some of my colleagues are surprised at the number of things that go wrong in MY interactions with the institution. They don't seem to have nearly as many problems and I find myself wondering what it is about my account that brings out the bugs in every system.

I take consolation in the fact that because I'm not physically there, at least they can't frustrate me by rescinding my access to the gym like they repeatedly did when I was on location. If all this isn't incentive to finish the dissertation quickly so I no longer have to deal with this particular bureaucracy, I don't know what is!

Miscellany

Even though there's plenty going on, it feels like there's not much to say.

I signed an employment contract this morning, so I guess I'm officially employed, though I'll have a better idea about what's involved and when I'll get started on Thursday after our first meeting. I'm a little nervous about the job because I've never done something like this before, but I'm also excited because it sounds real interesting. Only time will tell whether this is a good move or not, I suppose.

I also heard about a potential adjunct position in spring, which would be nice because then I'd be back in the classroom, which I've been missing a bit.

Yesterday I had a weird sense of deja vu when I returned to the university library to pick up some materials. It wasn't so much entering the library that did it but the sense of falling back into a routine. In the library tower, when you come out of the elevators onto the floor where the literature and related texts are, you have the choice of four directions to take. The eerie part was that I turned without thinking in the very direction I needed to go to find what I was looking for. It was like my body remembered where to look, even if my conscious mind didn't. It was a little weird.

And I got invited to a new book club, which I'm looking forward to, 'cause I've been missing my old one - mostly the people in it - a lot since I left.

Other than that, everything else is just humdrum usual stuff. Bored you? Yes, I know. I apologize. I'll try to do something exciting this week. But I can't promise anything.