Some men find this time of year a good excuse to look at women in swimsuits (or less, as we've recently seen in the always-strange SI Swimsuit Issue).
Me, I'm a thoroughly reconstructed Twenty-first Century male.
Me, I prefer looking at women in swimsuits J. Lileks style. If you're familiar with his stuff, you'll know that though these are young women in swimsuits, it's not exactly SI Swimsuit Issue material.
On another note, the Little Boy actually got into the community swimming pool this week. Had a big time.
6.30.2006
6.29.2006
Reading the Bible
I intermittently read Slate. Not as much as I used to; about a year ago I decided I was tired of websnark (locus classicus: see any of Nick Denton's blogs), and since many of Slate's offerings are middle- to highbrow snark, I've decided I have enough of a tendency to pessimism and depression without the html-rendered help.
But it's in my Bloglines queue, so every once in a while I stumble on an interesting article. I enjoy the items on Slate that teach me something, or remain in "whimsical" territory. This seems like an interesting and instructive project: the writer plans to read through the Bible as more or less an "ignoramus," as he calls himself, and he'll write about what he sees there.
That got me thinking about my acquaintance with the Bible. After all, as a lifelong (if discontent) Baptist, I fall squarely into that oft-maligned "Evangelical Christian" group that according to many folks wants to take over the government of the United States and enact laws predicted by Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale. Thank goodness she set out a roadmap for the takeover!
Anyway, it struck me that Mr. Plotz's project is truly sola scriptura in the sense that I often describe Reformation Theology to my students. Scripture only. A cornerstone of Protestant thought and practice. I'm pretty sure, based on my reading and on conversations with friends, that the Catholic Church views Scripture as authoritative, along with various elements of Church practice and teaching. Yet don't Protestants, even those of us on the "radical right," do the same thing? I can't think of anyone who doesn't now read the Bible in the light of what he/she has been taught by (take your pick): John Stott, C. S. Lewis, Rick Warren, Oswald Chambers, Lifeway Christian Resources (motto: Biblical Solutions for Life! See IBM for business 'solutions,' Cisco Systems for networking 'solutions,' Lifeway for Bible 'solutions.'), Bart Ehrman, Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, or their pastor.
Just thoughts, really--but does anyone come to the Bible with a blank slate? I don't see how. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how Mr. Plotz fares once he gets to Leviticus.
UPDATE: Upon rereading the above, look who's being snarky now! See? I don't need the help.
But it's in my Bloglines queue, so every once in a while I stumble on an interesting article. I enjoy the items on Slate that teach me something, or remain in "whimsical" territory. This seems like an interesting and instructive project: the writer plans to read through the Bible as more or less an "ignoramus," as he calls himself, and he'll write about what he sees there.
That got me thinking about my acquaintance with the Bible. After all, as a lifelong (if discontent) Baptist, I fall squarely into that oft-maligned "Evangelical Christian" group that according to many folks wants to take over the government of the United States and enact laws predicted by Margaret Atwood's novel The Handmaid's Tale. Thank goodness she set out a roadmap for the takeover!
Anyway, it struck me that Mr. Plotz's project is truly sola scriptura in the sense that I often describe Reformation Theology to my students. Scripture only. A cornerstone of Protestant thought and practice. I'm pretty sure, based on my reading and on conversations with friends, that the Catholic Church views Scripture as authoritative, along with various elements of Church practice and teaching. Yet don't Protestants, even those of us on the "radical right," do the same thing? I can't think of anyone who doesn't now read the Bible in the light of what he/she has been taught by (take your pick): John Stott, C. S. Lewis, Rick Warren, Oswald Chambers, Lifeway Christian Resources (motto: Biblical Solutions for Life! See IBM for business 'solutions,' Cisco Systems for networking 'solutions,' Lifeway for Bible 'solutions.'), Bart Ehrman, Joyce Meyers, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, or their pastor.
Just thoughts, really--but does anyone come to the Bible with a blank slate? I don't see how. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how Mr. Plotz fares once he gets to Leviticus.
UPDATE: Upon rereading the above, look who's being snarky now! See? I don't need the help.
6.28.2006
One Year at Hawks Road
We moved in a year ago yesterday. Here's what we've learned about homeownership and about Northwest Tennessee so far:
- House- and yardwork never really ceases; you just learn to ignore some things. Or you hire folks (but not on an assistant professor's salary, you don't!)
- In honor of Mike and Nancy Skrivan: you could always use about 10% more than you're making. And the house would eat it all even then.
- Little boys love big back yards--enough space for them to run around, pick up sticks and pine cones, that sort of thing.
- Kin is the primary social grouping around here; one associates with one's family (extended, of course) first and foremost, and then with those folks who've been going to school and church with you for your whole life.
- It is possible to have monster crayfish living in your front yard.
- Good neighbors are nice to have, as long as you don't mind them dropping by unannounced and/or knowing most of what you're up to.
- There's no anonymity in a town this size.
- As if one needed a reminder to mind one's manners: I always see my students working at the Sonic, the Dairy Queen, the library, Michael's Steak House, the grocery store, etc.
- My wife is noted around town for being the one "running with that stroller."
Gee thanks, part 2
I've been thinking more about the salary regime here, and I've got a couple of things to add.
First, I find it interesting that whereas faculty have been singled out for this 1%-1% scheme, administrators and staff are getting a flat 2% increase. Neither is stellar, of course, but I notice that it singles out faculty for "special treatment" (in the East German sense). If the "additional" 1% is truly intended to signify "merit" performance, shouldn't it actually be above and beyond a flat 'raise' that amounts to a cost of living increase? Perhaps faculty do less work than the other groups at the university, is that it? If you want to use this as a measure for retaining good faculty members, then shouldn't it be an actual, you know, reward?
And this brings up another point--I'm not sure how this helps the university system retain faculty. It would seem that the way to retain faculty, particularly the younger folks at the lower ends of the pay scale, would be to make the job attractive and rewarding. I'd class this primarily under the idea of faculty development--i.e., providing opportunities for meaningful teaching and research work, providing facilities and support services, providing library space and substantial research collections. Adding one percent to bring "merit" faculty up to the level of administrators and staff seems, well, insulting, as if Those In Charge wish to get credit for providing a cost of living increase without actually doing it.
Budget crunches, I can understand. Even though our "education" lottery has always been pitched as a panacea, they happen. But this policy is a matter of choice, was opposed by the faculty senate (in a self-interested vein, no doubt), and as far as I can see makes "merit" a punitive category in the sense that one needs to attain this category in one's evaluations just to match what the bosses and the groundskeepers and the clerical staff are deservedly receiving.
Okay, rant over.
First, I find it interesting that whereas faculty have been singled out for this 1%-1% scheme, administrators and staff are getting a flat 2% increase. Neither is stellar, of course, but I notice that it singles out faculty for "special treatment" (in the East German sense). If the "additional" 1% is truly intended to signify "merit" performance, shouldn't it actually be above and beyond a flat 'raise' that amounts to a cost of living increase? Perhaps faculty do less work than the other groups at the university, is that it? If you want to use this as a measure for retaining good faculty members, then shouldn't it be an actual, you know, reward?
And this brings up another point--I'm not sure how this helps the university system retain faculty. It would seem that the way to retain faculty, particularly the younger folks at the lower ends of the pay scale, would be to make the job attractive and rewarding. I'd class this primarily under the idea of faculty development--i.e., providing opportunities for meaningful teaching and research work, providing facilities and support services, providing library space and substantial research collections. Adding one percent to bring "merit" faculty up to the level of administrators and staff seems, well, insulting, as if Those In Charge wish to get credit for providing a cost of living increase without actually doing it.
Budget crunches, I can understand. Even though our "education" lottery has always been pitched as a panacea, they happen. But this policy is a matter of choice, was opposed by the faculty senate (in a self-interested vein, no doubt), and as far as I can see makes "merit" a punitive category in the sense that one needs to attain this category in one's evaluations just to match what the bosses and the groundskeepers and the clerical staff are deservedly receiving.
Okay, rant over.
6.27.2006
Gee, thanks.
The official announcement came today that all faculty members are in line for a 1% raise, with an additional 1% for those in the "merit" pool. Well, how about that. Kind friends, do the math based on your own pay: what kind of raise is 1%? Going to be enjoying filet mignon on that extra money, eh?
The president of this state university system says that this new merit-based pay scheme will help us retain faculty members by rewarding those who do well (apparently by shortchanging those who somehow fail to make the "merit" category). I don't know who he's been talking to. What this essentially does is put young faculty in the position of looking for ways out. The suits in Nashville and Knoxville may be patting themselves on the back for providing raises, but around here it reads like a kick in the shins and a middle finger salute to boot.
Understand: I'm thankful to have the job here, and I am perfectly happy in my work, and I'm not looking to get rich quick or otherwise. But in a year where our state budget is in surplus, and in a state with a so-called "education lottery" (a crock for another day), this is the best we can do?
I bite my thumb at you, sir!
The president of this state university system says that this new merit-based pay scheme will help us retain faculty members by rewarding those who do well (apparently by shortchanging those who somehow fail to make the "merit" category). I don't know who he's been talking to. What this essentially does is put young faculty in the position of looking for ways out. The suits in Nashville and Knoxville may be patting themselves on the back for providing raises, but around here it reads like a kick in the shins and a middle finger salute to boot.
Understand: I'm thankful to have the job here, and I am perfectly happy in my work, and I'm not looking to get rich quick or otherwise. But in a year where our state budget is in surplus, and in a state with a so-called "education lottery" (a crock for another day), this is the best we can do?
I bite my thumb at you, sir!
6.26.2006
Not to be left out. . .
Question: What happened to the baby? There's not a trace of him left. We're not sure we're ready for a little boy who poses for pictures.
6.21.2006
Male-Female ratio hits 4:1
We added another member to the household today. His mommy was taken in by a colleague back in January, and turns out she was 'expecting' . . . he was born on Good Friday, and they had to take her in for an emergency C-section. We're still working on a name.
Behold!
Behold!
Note that he is trying very hard to strike an appropriately cat-like pose.
Grey, with black stripes, white socks, a white tip on his tail, and a white mask & belly. Not sure whether or not the belly is undeservedly white. We've noticed that he tends to 'prance' when he runs. But he's fast!
Sidney actually welcomed him in with interest, albeit a little bit nervously. The nose-touching went well. . .
But Sidney still has to show the newcomer who's boss. . . a few bats to the head seem to be in order. The little one is absolutely unafraid.
The Little Boy is thrilled.
We're thinking of names. . . please let us know if you have any ideas.
I'll bet that more pictures are forthcoming.
6.20.2006
Mercury Mistake
Got a phone call from my brother just a few minutes ago. Turns out they were sitting on the side of I-65 in Franklin, TN--their car had just quit on them. It's a Mercury Mystique, which they jokingly call the "Mercury Mistake," and it's an apt nickname. Not a good time for the car--an absolute lemon, like its Ford counterpart--to break down, though at least we managed to get them to McKenzie, unpacked, and true owners of the house.
Hard to be helpless in this situation, though. Thankfully, we know Certain Persons in Nashville who were able to offer a little assistance. They have saved our bacon too many times to count.
Hard to be helpless in this situation, though. Thankfully, we know Certain Persons in Nashville who were able to offer a little assistance. They have saved our bacon too many times to count.
How I sweated out 10 pounds
Spent the weekend in Birmingham helping my brother move out of one house, then drove with him to our neck of the woods, then unloaded the truck this morning . . . so my brother is 80% moved into his new house in McKenzie TN. We'll be finishing the move-in the first week of July.
And let me say, it's hot out there.
And let me say, it's hot out there.
6.13.2006
Oh, I'm sorry...you were thinking of getting work done!?
This has been an interesting week up at the U. I went in on Monday, and was soon met at my office/dorm door by several men wanting to move all my furniture, books, etc. back to the humanities building, our true department offices. I managed to get stuff ready for them to go, then went over myself to see what the situation was. Well, these things never go smoothly (those of you familiar with UNC--imagine what would happen if they needed to totally renovate Greenlaw--okay, stop laughing!).
When I went in this morning, I checked the old dorm room. . . good, no books in there, no desk in there. I went over and checked my temporary office in the humanities building. Hmm. No books in here, either. There is a desk, and I can steal a chair from down the hall. . . thank goodness for wi-fi. . .
See, the complication is that I'm taking the office of a colleague who is leaving at the end of June to take a position at Gonzaga (advantage: his current office doesn't look out onto our smoker's porch). But he's teaching this summer. So I get to move twice: once to this temporary office, once into my long-term office. But! he needs it right now, so I need to let him have the space. But! on paper, that's my office now. But! it's not really my office, because I don't have keys to it, nor do I have any belongings in it. But! despite my marking the book boxes with the number of my temporary office, they are . . . in his office.
I'm not going to even try to go in there tomorrow.
When I went in this morning, I checked the old dorm room. . . good, no books in there, no desk in there. I went over and checked my temporary office in the humanities building. Hmm. No books in here, either. There is a desk, and I can steal a chair from down the hall. . . thank goodness for wi-fi. . .
See, the complication is that I'm taking the office of a colleague who is leaving at the end of June to take a position at Gonzaga (advantage: his current office doesn't look out onto our smoker's porch). But he's teaching this summer. So I get to move twice: once to this temporary office, once into my long-term office. But! he needs it right now, so I need to let him have the space. But! on paper, that's my office now. But! it's not really my office, because I don't have keys to it, nor do I have any belongings in it. But! despite my marking the book boxes with the number of my temporary office, they are . . . in his office.
I'm not going to even try to go in there tomorrow.
6.12.2006
Coming to a newsstand near you!
I returned proofs to "Prose Studies" today, so it looks like my very first article will appear in the August issue (28: 2), pp. 210-220. I know everyone's been wanting to run out and learn about preaching rhetoric in sixteenth century England, so here's your chance!
Pinoy na pinoy
Things to note in this article from the Philippines:
- the names (and nicknames--"Kuya Chito")
- what is "high end air soft gaming equipment"?
- if the guy was such a loser, how come he had such prominent friends?
6.11.2006
What we found in the flower garden
Our predecessor in this house, Ms. M, was evidently quite the flower gardener. At least, compared to us, since we have basically zero knowledge. Here are some pictures. I know, flower pictures are the amateur photographer's greatest cliche, but oh well. Note the "friend" in one of the pictures.
Life with a Toddler, Vol. 6
New items in the ever-growing vocabulary:
- "corn plants" (sounds more like 'corn pants')
- "whiskers"
- "I see you"
- "I got you"
- "where did he go?"
- "hi kitty" (this one usually to a fleeing cat)
- "I did it"
- "Johna's house" ("Johna" is his name for himself)
- "I tooted" (see vol. 5, below)
6.09.2006
Life with a Toddler, Volume 5
1. Any surface in the house, including its fuzzy and grownup inhabitants, is a good place to drive your toy car.
2. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but the folks who do Elmo know what they're about. We don't go a day without the request "watch Elmo?"
3. We're getting adventurous. . . just yesterday, he was diving headfirst off the couch onto the floor. We had to encourage the "foot-first" approach.
4. We're also into kissing. The other day, he had Mommy kiss all of the stuffed animals after he'd kissed them. This morning, he was taking the zebra from Noah's Ark and having it kiss all its four-footed cousins: lion, alligator, giraffe, panda, hippo.
5. We're beginning to need the phrase "excuse me," if you know what I mean.
2. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but the folks who do Elmo know what they're about. We don't go a day without the request "watch Elmo?"
3. We're getting adventurous. . . just yesterday, he was diving headfirst off the couch onto the floor. We had to encourage the "foot-first" approach.
4. We're also into kissing. The other day, he had Mommy kiss all of the stuffed animals after he'd kissed them. This morning, he was taking the zebra from Noah's Ark and having it kiss all its four-footed cousins: lion, alligator, giraffe, panda, hippo.
5. We're beginning to need the phrase "excuse me," if you know what I mean.
6.07.2006
What I'm reading
Summer's the time when we all pledge to catch up on that stack of books that we've been meaning to read--things we picked up when we had a bit of extra cash. Well, this month I'm indulging in an interesting juxtaposition:
First of all, I'm plugging a major gap in my education by finally reading all the way though The Iliad. I know, I should have read this years ago, but let's face it--Homer is a daunting task. I am really enjoying Fagles's translation.
First of all, I'm plugging a major gap in my education by finally reading all the way though The Iliad. I know, I should have read this years ago, but let's face it--Homer is a daunting task. I am really enjoying Fagles's translation.
My second undertaking is to read though the collected fictions of Borges. I'll admit, this is a total indulgence for me. I certainly think his fiction is important from a literary standpoint, but honestly the main reason to read him is pleasure.
The most interesting juxtaposition between these two is in scale; Homer deals in masses of men, violence, anguish and bloodshed on a daunting scale. Borges, on the other hand, is elegant and almost algebraic in his approach. At any rate, these two will keep me occupied for a while; between the two, there must be at least 1500 pages.
UPDATE: Hector dies. Hope I didn't ruin it for anybody!
UPDATE: Hector dies. Hope I didn't ruin it for anybody!
6.05.2006
Congratulations
. . . to my good friend MB, AKA "The Other Woman," who has had her book manuscript accepted by Palgrave . . . wonderful news, even if it does mean she'll have tons of work on top of the teaching she's doing at NCSU. Just got off the phone with her, and she sounds as cheerful as ever. Miss her pretty terribly, to be honest.
6.01.2006
Here's something we can all agree on
I'm not much of an NPR-nik anymore; I never really forgave WUNC for going to the all-talk format, and I get enough of the faux-intellectual preening at the places I work, so why would I choose to listen to it on the radio as well?
A question for another day, so never mind that for right now. I did, however, just find a meditation on something near and dear to my heart: link.
We're hosting a good NC-style pig-pickin' this October, in case you want to mark your calendar.
Ah, yes . . . if you've been wondering where I've been, let's just say I was on JD duty and out of town. I'm back at work now, so I'll post here regularly in an attempt to avoid work. I think we can expect more pictures up here during the next few weeks. We'll see!
A question for another day, so never mind that for right now. I did, however, just find a meditation on something near and dear to my heart: link.
We're hosting a good NC-style pig-pickin' this October, in case you want to mark your calendar.
Ah, yes . . . if you've been wondering where I've been, let's just say I was on JD duty and out of town. I'm back at work now, so I'll post here regularly in an attempt to avoid work. I think we can expect more pictures up here during the next few weeks. We'll see!
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