Blogs

A little late, but here they are. I wanted to make this year's easily attainable:

* Stop using deprecated HTML tags

* Start using one of those mesh laundry bags when washing delicate clothing

* Start using Post-Its for my reading notes. I've usually written in the margin and on a separate sheet of paper, but I've been wanting to try using Post-Its as that's the way smart people read.

My old college buddy Charges has done a quite handy compare'n'contrast of Jenna Jameson and Jenna Bush.

Chris Rock is hosting the Oscars! And my favorite comic of all, Wanda Sykes, is one of the writers!

I'm trying to get out of the habit of doing quizzes, but I simply couldn't resist this one:

I haven't encountered one of those yet, but I'm still only a Footpad, and just now I was killed by a gnome lord. Oh well, RIP Clancy the Rogue.

I wonder if Sam has played any NetHack...

You've all read the stories -- 14 January, 17 January, 18 January, 19 January (and another 19 January, Chronicle subscribers only) -- and responses by P.Z. Myers, Prof. B, Michael Bérubé, and others (including hundreds of people at Slashdot). I have nothing to add except the following observation, which others might have made already, but not to my knowledge: Isn't it interesting to consider BioDeterminismGate along with this story and this one?

Ack just saying.

Last Saturday nights, some friends and I got together at Bryant-Lake Bowl in trendy uptown Minneapolis. I'd been to the place a couple of times before; it's a combination bar/restaurant/bowling alley/theater, and most of the plays and shows in the small venue are experimental, Fringe Festival-style performances. I once saw a performance of Mark Ehling's brilliant The Bath of Surprise and Other Failed Lectures, and as the actors delivered their monologues, I heard bowling balls thunder down the lanes and knock down pins. I'm curious about two that are coming up: Point Break LIVE! and Eat! A Karen Carpenter Buffet.

Of the two, Point Break LIVE! is the less expensive and more interesting-sounding:

Pinwheel Theatre presents the Midwest Premiere of the 100% pure
adrenaline, live theatrical adaptation of the 1991 Extreme-Sports
blockbuster, Point Break. The film has no less than 5 back-breaking action
sequences, and the play promises no less--including the 2 skydiving
battles. Come thrill to this one-of-a-kind theatrical experience that
features a new, unrehearsed Keanu Reeves pulled at random from the
audience just moments prior to each action-packed show!

I don't know if they'd pick a woman, but if so, I'd love to do it. Eat! might be fun, too; I'll admit to both liking Karen Carpenter and being curious about how far this show pushes the boundaries of decorum.

Equal parts musical revue, variety hour, and loving accolade to our
favorite 70's songbird, Karen Carpenter, this smash hit from the 2004
Minnesota Fringe Festival returns to the Bryant Lake Bowl in January! Join
Karen as she serves up your favorite songs, welcomes special guests, does
a cooking segment and invites you to sing along!

I think I might have found a day and time for my dissertation prospectus defense that works for everyone: 28 January at 3:00. Actually, it's not exactly a defense, more like a chance for everyone on my committee to get together and discuss my project. My understanding is that most of the feedback given during these meetings is intended to help narrow the scope of the project to something the student can actually do in ~1.5 years, or two years if you want to count last semester, during which I took a writing practicum in the Women's Studies department and workshopped draft after draft of my prospectus.

Does anyone have any advice for me? Committee members have already told me I'll need to do a ten-minute presentation at the beginning and talk through the prospectus, and my wonderful professor from the writing practicum suggested doing an intellectual genealogy of the project, prefacing the talk by explaining why I'm interested in doing a feminist rhetorical analysis of political discourse on weblogs, my personal interest in the project. I think, too, that right after the meeting I'll run to my office and type up their spoken comments while they're fresh in my mind. And I'm going to bring snacks. And try not to get discouraged by the criticism. Anything else? It would help a lot.

Five things I fear I might do if I were a ten-foot-tall monster with metal claws, laser beam eyes, and razor-sharp fangs

Five stories the mainstream media missed last year