The Boston in Me

The horrible events at this year’s Boston Marathon have put me in a melancholy mood, and I turned to MetaFilter to make better sense of the senseless tragedy. After reading the thousand-or-so comments that came before, I said (in...

Posted by mistersquid on April 15, 2013 10:05 PM

Arab Spring Arrives Late in Israel

Source: Israelis march for lower living costsSource: 250,000 Protest Cost of Living in Israel “We know that we cannot achieve everything,” Itzik Shmuly, the chairman of the National Union of Students, acknowledged from the podium in Tel Aviv. “But...

Posted by mistersquid on August 8, 2011 7:37 AM

Wanna Grab Lunch?

Joel Spolsky»no relation« recently wrote up some of his thoughts about lunching with coworkers. Where and with whom we eat lunch is a much bigger deal than most people care to admit. Obviously, psychologists will tell us, obviously it...

Posted by mistersquid on May 3, 2011 1:13 PM

Coda de Cinco

I loved celebrating Cinco de Mayo when before leaving California for the University of Virginia in Fall 1993. Because I was unaware of the historical significance of the holiday, Cinco de Mayo was a low-pressure excuse to have a...

Posted by mistersquid on May 6, 2010 7:43 AM

Looking for a Job in California in Early 2010: An Anecdote

In July 2009, I notified my chair that I would not be returning to my job as a professor of literature. My departure was abrupt and left the department in the lurch. For that I am sorry. I am...

Posted by mistersquid on January 27, 2010 7:51 AM

I’ve Deactivated My Facebook Account

I haven’t felt this way in maybe ten years, this panicked need to just get the fuck out. But I felt it about Facebook. I’m an introvert, and I think the barrier to communicating person-to-person(s) should be fairly high,...

Posted by mistersquid on November 12, 2009 9:19 PM

Who I Thought I Was

This morning I dreamt I was going to a workshop about the use of technology in academic research. I was with people who reminded me of my colleagues and coworkers in the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia....

Posted by mistersquid on June 22, 2009 7:30 PM

Q: Coincidence?

Devolution Explained A: I think not! Looking for non-fat organic milk produced by free-range cows and freshly-bunched and twist-tied cilantro, I discovered imprinted on the side of a carton of “Virgin Lemonade” a likeness of one of Jocko Homo’s...

Posted by mistersquid on July 23, 2008 2:43 PM

Humans vs. Zombies at Ohio University

I recently gave a presentation on zombies to Professor Tom Scanlan's UC 190 course, which is designed to introduce 1st-year English majors to the research areas and creative projects of Ohio University English Faculty.1 A former student of mine who...

Posted by mistersquid on October 11, 2007 4:22 PM

Drugged Up Zombie Laborers

A video essay about the drug Burundanga reminds me of the (much more authoritative) work Wade Davis did regarding "Ethonobiology of the Haitian Zombie" (subtitle) in Passage of Darkness.1 Zombification in Haiti involves the use of a powerful neurotoxin that...

Posted by mistersquid on August 27, 2007 8:36 AM

Notes toward an interruption

My lawn needs mowing. I have this notion that after the next heavy rain, water will pool in the middle of my lawn and a family of beavers will make a dam in the middle. They will gather sticks from...

Posted by mistersquid on July 28, 2007 10:44 AM

Ecto 2 is Dangerously Buggy

I have been a licensed user of Ecto weblogging software since 31 March 2006.1I’m posting this entry because the developer of Ecto, Adriaan Tijsseling, has chosen to censor me on his developer’s blog.2If after posting a blog entry (with or...

Posted by mistersquid on January 31, 2007 11:13 AM