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Wednesday, January 08, 2014

Jumble!

Goodbye, Christmas season--
Mary Bullington ornaments,
Market Gallery, Roanoke
Thanks to Patrick Kurp

for a lovely post about The Foliate Head. I've often read posts in his literature blog, Anecdotal Evidence, and am especially pleased (and surprised) to appear there.

Podcasts

I'm a little fuzzy on whether people like the podcasts (see prior post if you missed it) or not--probably won't do more without some generous dollops of encouragement. Although they did receive some facebook shares and comments, they were dwarfed by other things! They're a bit of trouble--which is fine if they're worth it to people, but I'm still not really sure if they are.

Update for curious friends

I feared my last messages for a while would be from Istanbul, but the missing traveler has surfaced briefly: "left Bishkek immediately to beat some bad weather that was coming in." He stopped for gas in the last town with a paved road and found, to his surprise, an internet café. So that's the last I'll hear from my husband until he returns from adventures in the Himalayas. It's going to be cold and snowy out there in the wilds. Ibex and snow leopards and yurts...

Just checked and it has warmed up to 12F in both Bishkek and Cooperstown on this sunny afternoon. But I'm staying inside until wrestling boy calls for a ride! Hope Michael has on his furry "Teddy Bear" long-johns...

Goodbye to all that-- 

D. G. Myers:  My experience is a prelude to what will be happening, sooner rather than later, to many of my colleagues. Humanities course enrollments are down to seven percent of full-time student hours, but humanities professors make up forty-five percent of the faculty. The imbalance cannot last. PhD programs go on awarding PhD’s to young men and women who will never find an academic job at a living wage. (A nearby university—a university with a solid ranking from U.S. News and World Report—pays adjuncts $1,500 per course. Just to toe the poverty line a young professor with a husband and a child would have to teach thirteen courses a year.) If only as retribution for the decades-long exploitation of part-time adjuncts and graduate assistants, nine of every ten PhD programs in English should be closed down—immediately. Meanwhile, the senior faculty fiddles away its time teaching precious specialties. --from http://dgmyers.blogspot.com/2014/01/academe-quits-me.html

The idea that academe has shaken off David Myers breaks my heart into little pieces. So wrong.

5 comments:

  1. RE: Humanities-- Sadly the case. And years ago, I turned down teaching grad students in a Comp Lit program for just this reason.
    RE: Michael, I'm surprised about the Internet Cafe, but glad to hear that he at least could contact you.
    Hope he stays warm and safe as can be!

    ReplyDelete
  2. FYI
    http://acommonplacefromeastrod.blogspot.com/2014/01/taking-look-at-academias-decisions-at.html
    R/ RT

    ReplyDelete
  3. R. T.,

    Are you back? Shall go see--

    Robbi,

    Yes, I found all that sad but accurate.

    I was so surprised! He evidently left the airport immediately because of bad weather, and then there was no chance to email. Then a teeny internet spot in the wilds!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Back? Yes. The motive was overwhelming. When I read about David, my blood began to boil. And the timing for him is bad. So very bad.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree. It's heartbreaking that he should not be renewed at this juncture.

    ReplyDelete

Alas, I must once again remind large numbers of Chinese salesmen and other worldwide peddlers that if they fall into the Gulf of Spam, they will be eaten by roaming Balrogs. The rest of you, lovers of grace, poetry, and horses (nod to Yeats--you do not have to be fond of horses), feel free to leave fascinating missives and curious arguments.