April 2011
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I’m doing that go-through-your-stuff-so-you-have-less-to-move thing, and I came across my acceptance letter to Pitt. And, regardless of anything that’s happened in the last three years, it still made me smile, still filled me with optimism of the future and the solid joy of achieving a goal.
If I were to go back to that moment, knowing how it all goes down, I’d still do it. I...
March 2011
Bill James, Solid Fool's Gold: Why can we... →
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Not a whole lot different from real life
[If you are genuinely concerned about Sweet Valley Confidential spoilers, stop reading right now. The only way to truly talk about this book is with details, details, details. Monica Hesse does a fine enough job of legitimately reviewing the book for The Washington Post, but I’m not here for legitimacy. Not that kind anyway.]
It’s been a big week for books in my life, and...
“I’ve worked desperately to cultivate a remote and heartless persona for...”
– Dr. O’Hara, Nurse Jackie (absolutely a top-five current TV character)
“Kyra leans close in the dark and hisses, ‘Does this song actually have a...”
– Suzanne Rivecca, Death Is Not an Option (excerpt via NPR)
Sweet Valley Confidential in my mailbox!
In Defense of the Multi-Camera Sitcom | Splitsider →
Literary haunts: Virginia's London walks -... →
“I learned that my job was not to assume that students already knew what I was...”
– Lorraine Berry, “No, female professors aren’t ruining college”
This one goes out to all the freshman comp instructors I hear bitching about how their students don’t write at a collegiate level. Guess whose job that is?
Play Nice: The rise—and fall?—of the mean sitcom. →
Indeed, the truly cynical sitcoms of more recent memory might have been a reaction to the glut of family shows that flourished in the ’80s, force-feeding viewers wisdom from the likes of Nell Carter and Charlotte Rae. Fox’s Married with Children, which premiered in 1987, turned family dysfunction into a sort of contact sport. Seinfeld debuted three years later with a proud absence of...
‘My So-Called Life’ Characters: Where Are They... →
Angela majored in English, minored in women’s studies, and joined the Society of Beat Poetry along with Lindsey.
Angela and I have found similar paths, apparently. (Except I loathe beat poetry.)
Happy Virginia Woolf’s deathday. Hope your day goes better than hers did seventy years ago.
“So why had we singled out homosexuality as a litmus test for True Christianity...”
–
Murray Richmond, “I preached against homosexuality, but I was wrong”
“First of all, twenty-first-century American culture makes it more difficult to...”
– Professor X, “Should I feel guilty for failing my students?”
Brand Anna →
The editor of Vogue has always occupied the most powerful seat in the world of American fashion. But Anna Wintour’s web of influential friends and allies has helped turn her into a global brand that transcends fashion.
Susan Werner on World Cafe →
I suppose you could give this a listen.
TV 101: Where Have All the Theme Songs Gone? →
As some of you might know, I have a wild love of TV theme songs, dating back at least to my middle school years. (I don’t know this for a fact, but I’m willing to bet that I was the only student at Washington Irving Middle School circa 1995-1997 who owned TV theme song CDs.)
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Unfamiliar Fishes in my mailbox!
Watchbeingblog:
Courage for the Challenge of Life
by Krista Tippett, host
On my fortieth birthday, nearly ten years ago, this radio program was much more a possibility than a reality, and I was in despair. I was encountering skepticism at every turn; nothing was working out.
I was about to give up — certain that this adventure, however passionately I had believed in it, was coming to an end. But...
“I’m fascinated by idealists, and part of that is that the idealists have caused...”
– -Sarah Vowell [AV Club interview, March 22, 2011] (via slightlynicepear)
You know, this is basically the crux of my argument against Baby Boomers. Sarah Vowell, we just have so much in common.
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Sarah Vowell, Sarah Vowell, the Internet is full of Sarah Vowell.
http://www.avclub.com/articles/sarah-vowell%2C53450/
http://www.themillions.com/2011/03/aloha-imperialism-sarah-vowells-unfamiliar-fishes.html
(Amazon shipping status of the cause of so much Internet Vowell: Allentown)
Boxcar Children’ Prequel Planned for 2012 →
I might actually be into this. The only Boxcar book I truly loved was the first one (foraging, living in a boxcar — much appeal). After their rich grandpa shows up, who gives a shit?
Pittsburgh friends! I’m reading Tuesday night (9:00) at PHI. We’ll be talking Care Bears and school shootings. If that’s not enough for you, there’s cheap beer and cheap pizza. If that’s still not enough, I don’t want you there anyway. (See you then!)
Condemned to Joy by Pascal Bruckner - City Journal →
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Lou: Did I ever tell you the reason I hired you? A little run, a tiny little run in your stocking on your knee. You kept trying to cover it up. A little run.
Mary: And you noticed that?
Lou: It’s hard not to notice something with two hands, a pocketbook, and a leg over it. I thought to myself, “What kind of girl is this who is so afraid of a thing like that?” You think that was a bad reason to hire you?
Mary: It was kind of sweet.
Lou: It was damn sweet. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. There are plenty of times in life when you do the competent, responsible thing, but every once in a while we need to be damn sweet. If you’re lucky, you’ll never have to regret it.
“I made a conscious decision that I was never going to talk that academic...”
– Roseanne Barr
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Six years ago, a boy told me, “I’m gonna learn you to shoot shit.” That day has arrived, though it’s Rick who has foolishly taken on the task.
Lesson #907 - College Majors, Part II (Bracket... →
Are You Sports Management or Communications?: An... →
Communications is the second most popular basketball major, with 72 players studying it. Although communications and its variations are extremely popular, only four students are majoring in journalism. This is all the evidence you need to confirm that basketball players are not stupid.
246 pages of revision? Done. Persistent vegetative state? Forthcoming.
Prime Suspect, Second Row Center →
As I considered eliminating one story after another, however, I confirmed what I had sensed would be the case: Every story on the syllabus had some degree of relevance to this crime and to these students. Each story seemed crucial for students to read and for me to teach. Even if I revised the syllabus, the textbook’s table of contents listed comparable stories. In fact, the course came to...
Dad: What are you up to?
Me: I'm supposed to be writing, so ask me about how clean my microwave is.
Dad: So you have a cleanly written microwave?
What $5,000 Buys You →
Literary Citizenship By Cathy Day →
Lately, I’ve started thinking that maybe the reason I teach creative writing isn’t just to create writers, but also to create a populace that cares about reading. There are many ways to lead a literary life, and I try to show my students simple ways that they can practice what I call “literary citizenship.” I wish more aspiring writers would contribute to, not just expect things from, that world...
TeenNick goes retro with '90s programming →
Well, guys, it’s time to stop being a graduate student and get a real paycheck cause I need cable again.
The New York Times' sloppy, slanted child rape... →
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Pitt graduate fiction students honor a professor... →
Absolute shout-outs from Bill O’Driscoll to my beloved Katie Coyle, Travis Straub, Steve Gillies, Julie Draper, and Beth Steidle. How awesome are they?
(This is the moment that starts a literary revolution. Someday, a historian will point to this article and say, Here. It all started here.)
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Literary Late Bloomers: Great Authors Who Took A... →
oliveryeh:
Sorry, but I must post material like this because it strengthens my resolve. 99 is a big number.
Something to keep the anxiety at bay when everyone on Slate is younger than you are.
ewilcox replied to your quote:Everyone wonders where creative people get their…
My fiance thinks that Roseanne is like Jesus. Seriously, he made me watch about three entire seasons in various re-runs last year.
You’re marrying well, Elizabeth Wilcox.
