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  • ODDS and ENDS: Adjunct Professor Strike, Christmas Trees, and What’s the Deal?

    (I say what I say…)

    There is a brewing movement underway being led by adjunct faculty and students. Hell Gate ran this story yesterday about students at the New School, here in New York City, joining the faculty strike, which has been going on for 23 days. If you didn’t know, University of California academic workers, have also been on strike. For far too long, adjunct professors, basically part-time teaching staff, and academic workers, who are teaching assistants, tutors, graduate student researchers and postdoctoral scholars, have been doing more and more of the actually teaching at universities. Across the country, full-time and tenured positions at universities have been shrinking, while at the same time administrative positions have been growing. I don’t think anyone will find it surprising that administrator salaries have been growing, while faculty pay has remained flat for years. A reckoning is coming. For the past forty years, American universities have become little corporations – making money and growing endowments comes first, and education is second. And to accomplish that, administrators have to keep their labor costs low. It has gone on for too long, and now faculties are pushing back. I see strikes like these growing and continuing in the coming years.

    Tomorrow, our Christmas Tree arrives. We ordered one, it’s fake, which was designed to fit specifically in small apartments. The base diameter is like 23” and it’s 6’ tall, so it’s a think pole of a tree. I can admit that that since we put up decorates after Thanksgiving, it really hasn’t felt like Christmas in the apartment, and that’s not really surprising. The Tree does tie the whole thing together.

    So, what’s the deal with all the views on my post: Short Story Review: “The Face in the Mirror” by Mohsin Hamid? When I originally posted it, I received 11 views which, for my humble little blog, was rather respectable. In the last two weeks, the same post has received 42 views, which is an outlier for me. So, what’s going on? If people are enjoying what I wrote, then that’s cool, but being that this blog is, well, little, then I find it odd when people notice it. Or is this just a bunch of bots screwing with me?

    (INSERT JOKE ABOUT LIKING THIS BLOG.)

  • Wold Cup Dispatch(UPDATE): The Quarterfinals, Day 1

    After a couple of days off, we are back with the first round of the Quarterfinals! It’s a pretty exciting group of teams. You got six former champions, one finalist at the last Cup, and a Cinderella. You have players at the twilight of their careers with one last chance for Cup glory, cementing their status in the Pantheon of legends. You have long standing rivalries, historical conflicts, and one team representing an entire continent and region.

    Drama! Drama! Drama!

    And I do really despise that I’m enjoying this Cup, which is being presented by a corrupt organization, in an authoritarian nation. I feel the evil Caesars of history are asking me, “Are you not entertained?!?”

    Yes, but love is love, and women’s rights are human rights. And I do hope the 2026 Cup puts Rainbow flags on every thing!

    As for the matches, I don’t think Croatia can stop Brazil, who is dancing their way to the semifinals. Netherland v Argentina is a pretty even match up, but I’m going with team Messi on this one. Morocco v Portugal is going to be the heartbreaker match. I love the underdog, but with the way Portugal played last match, I don’t see them losing. And that gets to the match I am really looking forward to: England v France. This one is like a heavyweight fight; two teams slugging it out! Both have superstar goal scorers and deep benches. What I would hate to see is it go to penalties, because France will win. Ung…. C’mon England!

    Alright, let’s have some fun today!

    UPDATE: so… I got that whole “dancing their way to the semifinals” thing with Brazil totally wrong.

    (And, if I may ask; have you enjoyed my nonprofessional perspective and slightly humorous post? If the answer is yes, or an ironic “meh” then feel free to give the blog a like. So, you know, whatever…)

  • Stupid Cold

    I used to not mind being sick, such as having a cold. When I was in school, and starting my professional career, a cold gave me a forced opportunity to take time off to relax and recover. I never felt guilty for taking a sick day, and tried not to make the people who worked for me feel bad for making their health a priority. I’m sure a have a few ex-employees that would disagree agree, but there are always outliers.

    Yet the cold I have been dealing with for the past two weeks has really pissed me off. It won’t go away. It acts like it’s gone, I start thinking life is back to normal, and then it comes back, worse each time.

    And I’m not the only one sick in our home. We all got it; first the kid, then wife, and now me. We have gone through all the stages of this illness, and we have now landed on the cranky bitchy stage. We’re trying to be cool with each other, but the edginess pops out.

    What I want is for us to be healthy for the Holidays. The good news is that it’s not Covid or the flu; just a stupid cold. There is still so much we have to do for Christmas, and I feel like I’m falling further and farther behind.

    Damn, I hate being sick.

  • Short Story Review: “ODE TO LOKI, OR AN ABSURD GLORIFICATION OF EXISTENTIAL LONELINESS” by Gabriela Denise Frank

    (The non-fiction short story, “ODE TO LOKI, OR AN ABSURD GLORIFICATION OF EXISTENTIAL LONELINESS” by Gabriela Denise Frank appeared in Rejection Letters on December 7th, 2022.)

    (I do SPOIL it.)

    I stated that one of my new favorite lit mags is Rejections Letters, which I subscribe to, and I got an email this morning which featured this non-fiction short story; “ODE TO LOKI, OR AN ABSURD GLORIFICATION OF EXISTENTIAL LONELINESS” by Gabriela Denise Frank. And I think you caught that this is not a fiction short story, and I will get into that in a second.

    This is a confession/love letter to the fictional Loki character from the Marvel Cinematic Universe as played by the very talented and charming Tom Hiddleston. This is a piece that is full of references, play on words, allusion to Marvel movies and television shows, and even Hiddleston’s real life. I am sure a few went by me, but the language used makes this work feel like a funhouse of tumbling discovery. I wasn’t sure where this piece was going, but I was being entertained, and felt like I was uncovering someone’s obsession that had remained internal, only now being shared to the external world.

    I enjoyed how this expressed a very creative encapsulation of a person’s obsession. But when I went back and read the piece for a second time, I saw the trajectory of the work; the inevitable path that it took. How one starts infatuated, desiring one that might not be right, overlooking their faults, then an action occurs which changes feelings, the consummation of those feelings only to know the truth – that one cannot deny who they truly are – leaving one in a cold detached place. It was a melancholy arc; though as I said inevitable but not predicable.

    And then we are left with the label of this being a non-fiction story. Did the author have a relationship with Hiddleston? Possible but unlikely. Is this a depiction of the authors infatuation/obsession with the Loki character and Hiddleston? Very possible. But I was left churning over this “non-fiction” label for this piece. I went back to the title, or the second half of it, “…AN ABSURD GLORIFICATION OF EXISTENTIAL LONELINESS.” I feel like that could be used to describe that last two COVID years. Is this piece a confession of the author’s obsession over Loki which was used, or needed, to survive their loneliness? I don’t know. Maybe I’m projection my COVID loneliness on this piece. Oh, that would be dark, wouldn’t it? I am sure there was a reason it was labeled this way, and I don’t want to know the answer; I want to ponder, and wonder about it.

    (Hey! Thanks for making down here. If I may say, you have very good taste in blogs. Now, if you would want to return the favor of appreciation for this fine free writing, please take a moment to hit the “like” button. Thanks again for stopping by.)

  • World Cup Dispatch(UPDATE): Today’s Matches 12/6/ 22

    I still feel bad for Korea. Man, Brazil is out to punish anyone who gets in their way.

    Anyway, today’s matches… Morocco v Spain, and Portugal v Switzerland. So, I’m still feeling pretty sick, and my wife is now under the weather as well, so I haven’t had any time to read up on these games. All I got is gut feeling so here we go…

    I’m going with Spain, as they have looked solid when I watched them in the group stage, and since my uncle lived in Madrid, I feel a connection, and uhh… there you go.

    Portugal v Switzerland should be really exciting, but I’m going to go with Portugal on this one. Not a fan of Ronaldo, but like Messi, this could be his last Cup, and as such, I see him digging deep to win.

    Which sets up The Battle for the Iberian!

    Best of luck, everyone.

    UPDATE: I feel good that Morocco won that match! I like it when the underdogs prevail! And that Morocco squad looked like the most confident group of players I’ve ever seen handling Penalties. They weren’t cocky, just confident like they knew they would win. That was awesome!

    (I have a blog and if you read this far you hate it too much. Be a pal, and give it a like. It will help me get over my cold.)