I have often wondered where I got my inability to understand the unspoken expectations of authority. For a while I figured there was some kind of cognitive gap right in the part of the brain that might do that; it feels almost like a mechanical failure. Of course it’s almost certainly the fault of radical […]
Archive for the ‘Future’ category
Old
My parents are only in their early 70s…not so old, right? Two weeks of vacation with parent 1 and then parent 2 brought me face to face with the brutal reality of our immortality. Actually, I don’t think it’s the immortality that worries me. It’s the aging. Mother has always been a challenge. Apparently, as […]
Yea or Nay?
1. Fingertoe shoes: Orthopedically sensational invention that cool people wear? Or fashion disaster? 2. X-Men: Moving allegory for discrimination in our nation’s history? Or goofy comic-book franchise? 3. Anthony Weiner: Resign? Or stay? 4. Lance Armstrong: Doper? Or unfairly maligned champion? 5. Edible gift for Father’s Day? Or… a tie?:
On female power
I just graded about twenty exams in a row from students who, when asked an essay question about masculine desires and feminine gender performance in American women authors of the 17th-19th centuries, responded with sentence after sentence about how this or that character shows “female power.” And I’m going to barf if I ever see […]
Apocalypse mom
As you may be aware, the end is nigh. When? May 21, 2011. Why? Something to do with Jesus explained here. A colleague takes her kids to an elementary school where one mom has told her son the world will end a week on Saturday. My friend is dying to ask if she’s enrolled him […]
It’s time to hate on NYC!
Last fall, when everyone was posting this (admittedly horribly true) Onion article, I was pretty irritated about it. I still live here, damn it. And it happened to come at a time when it seemed like everyone I know was leaving me to go do something else with their lives. (Looking at you, Dave.) Just […]
Knitting a muffler
I should have cleaned my bathroom this week. I should have answered work email, gone to the gym, attended a choral boosters meeting at the high school, brought my dog to get her nails trimmed or finished the last of my thank you notes from Christmas. Instead I spent most of my limited free time […]
Not to be reproduced: New Year’s open thread
Rene Magritte, La Reproduction Interdit / Not to be Reproduced (1937) On January 1, 2011, I was lucky enough to wake up in the home of dear friends, with whom I had joyfully celebrated the night before (at a party complete with bicoastal buddies, disco dancing, and a “gorgeous gateau”). As we eased into the […]
I’m late! I’m late!
No one who reads here wakes up before 9 anyway, right? Right. I am constantly behind the ball. Or–not “behind” the ball so much as “right at” the ball. I’ve taken on more classes than I’ve ever had before, while writing my thesis and applying for jobs. I probably spend as much of my time […]
Nude at the airport
Pop quiz: 1. At the airport, would you rather be … (a) felt up by a TSA agent? Or … (b) have your naked self be put on view via an airport scanner? 2. Do you think these types of security measures are: (a) over the top (b) too lax (c) about right 3. If […]
