Civility, anyone?

I would argue that this video is a microcosm of all that is wrong with the Tea Party...a sad but unmistakable downward trend in politics.

A hopeful timeline...

An age old struggle...

This is a very moving interview. I never followed Christopher Hitchens' career that closely but was aware of his controversial views. His interview here with The Atlantic regarding his struggle with cancer is stark and moving. It is certainly thought-provoking.

Two takes on Wikileaks' latest endeavor...

I tend to take the view that "the need to know" outweighs other factors introduced by Foust in the PBS video. I guess a bright side of the story is that the government isn't necessarily acting Bush-like by "publicly" going after Assange (If he was a US citizen, of course, he would already be at some new Gitmo. Sad.). Of course, that doesn't mean that they are not going after him privately. Ultimately, we really need to know what our government is doing in these countries, regardless of how painful it is. Perhaps if it becomes so unbearably painful, we will think twice before jumping into manufactured situations like Iraq.

Shirley Sherrod: the FULL video

Isn't the simple lesson of all of this is that you should always check your sources carefully?

Almost to the beginning....

So the time is coming around quite quickly now---just over a month from now that I start (or, in some ways, continue) my PhD journey. I've mapped out the schedule I hope to follow for the next few years (just like I did in my undergraduate and masters studies) but, of course, things probably won't work out that way as the timetable is quite ambitious and I don't know if my soon-to-be assigned adviser will go for it.

When I first started graduate school back in 2006, my adviser told me that graduate school was a lot different than undergraduate school, mainly more rigorous and independent and I subsequently found this to be true but it was not an insurmountable barrier. I've been reading the same thing about doctoral study as well. What I've learned is hardly surprising---that each person is unique and that each has to find what works right for him or her. It has not been easy for sure---especially for an older student like me---but I feel that, in my case, just taking it a little bit at a time rather than in totality has helped quite a bit. I hope this approach continues to work. I really do.

Why...why...why does this still happen?

I've been trying to figure it out. I wish someone would enlighten me.

Always flying...

I'm working on my fall schedule today and thinking about the Chronicle posting (listed below) that I read a couple of weeks ago about how some doctoral students become so comfortable at their institutions that they don't want to leave---even when it's apparent that it's time to leave. I guess there are undergraduates who are like that too. I certainly can remember a few during my undergraduate years who had been in school for eons (six, seven, eight years with no sign of finishing---come to think of it, the team mascot was 30 before officials is finally made him leave...hahahaha!). Personally, I was always in a hurry for whatever reason. Just always hurrying to the next step like time is running out---not stopping to enjoy the journey, I suppose. I still do it now...it's just part of my nature, I suppose. I rationalize now by thinking that it's because I'm in my 40s and don't have the time like I did in my 20s. I guess part of that could be right but then I felt the same during my late teens and early 20s too. Come to think of it, I was in a hurry to finish grade school, high school, college, my first job....

When new Phds Won't Leave

I direct our grad program-- humanities, decent enough school and (here's the kicker) one of those places people really like to live. The problem? Increasingly, our PhDs are refusing to leave. This year, we had two who were...more

Now, what were YOU thinking...

Is this even a thinking question? Imagine a working-class person mouthing off to their boss---it wouldn't be long before they’re starving.

Forget about good corporate citizenship...

This practice is incredibly selfish and short-sighted and I can't believe some companies are engaging in such practices. It is also incredibly ignorant and has not basis in reality which is the fact that individuals looking for jobs---whether unemployed or not---have a variety of outlooks and one cannot just assume that just because someone is currently employed they'll be a happy camper at your place of employment. After all, if the person is so happy, why are they looking for a new position anyway. Idiots!!!

I think all companies that engage in this kind of despicable practice should be called out and boycotted, if necessary. This is ridiculous and outrageous. To make it worse, the worms hide behind recruiting firms by letting those operations do the dirty work.


BUFORD, GA -- If you ask any job seeker, they'll tell you. Finding a job in this economy can be really difficult.

If you're unemployed, don't even bother applying. That's a message some job seekers are seeing as they look for their next paycheck.

It's not the kind of message Peter May expected to see on a job listing. But when he visited the Web site for "The People Place", an Orlando-based recruiter, there it was, in all caps, bold type: "No unemployed candidates will be considered at all."...more

WTH...some "train tracks"?

For all of those who suffer or will suffer from mid-life crises, this is what happens when you marry a 20-something-year-old dimwit. Take note!!!




Shannon Price says that Gary Coleman wanted to be cremated.

Her plans for his ashes?

"To spread some of them around some train tracks because trains were his hobby and he loved that very much," Price, 24, tells Entertainment Tonight...more

Dear Helen...You did a good job.

Thank you for always asking the tough questions, never being afraid to ruffle those conformist feathers, and, most of all, for not being a hypocrite.

Below find one of the few voices in the wilderness...

Helen Thomas’ statements were about policy, not people, and for that, we should not have lost her. To liken what Helen has said to racist rants inviting African-Americans to return to Africa is disingenuous at best, and more directly, a twisted misinterpretation designed only to silence opposing views to Israeli expansionism...more

It's just so hard but I try to persevere....lol

I was making out my schedule today for the Fall semester (2010) and it seems that, unlike a lot of institutions, mine REALLY does expect that doctoral students will get out on time---like 5 years and preferably 4. For me, it is going to be difficult, but I'm aiming for four.

Sigh...why do they always have to be from down South?

How not to get a PhD...

I was reading an article the other day about how to get a PhD and I thought that it perfectly encapsulates the fears of all of us who look to get a degree after this long and perilous journey. The article is from a book entitled How to Get a PhD by Estelle Phillips and Derek Pugh. Their seven dizzying ways of how not to get a PhD?

1. not wanting a PhD
2. overestimating what is required
3. underestimating what is required
4. having a supervisor who does not know what is required
5. losing contact with your supervisor
6. not having a 'thesis' (i.e. position, argument) to maintain
7. taking a new job before completing

In other words, just about every quandry and pitfall that can befall one during a graduate career. Ah, the stress...maybe I should just stop right now.