Miscellany

If I go through my entire graduate school career without a research assistantship or a fellowship, is that going to look bad when I go on the market? I've never applied for either one, the reason being that I enjoy teaching, and I don't think I'd be happy if I weren't teaching. In fact, I've been teaching year-round for two years now, and I'd like to continue doing so if possible.

I'm the number one hit for "world's biggest head" and for intentional cuckold relationship. Excellent.

How'd I miss this? On Wealth Bondage, I found this thread on W Ketchup, the practical alternative for those who wouldn't dream of supporting Kerry. At first I thought the actual selling of this stuff was a joke in the key of napalm.net, but I put in phony information, and it prompted me for a credit card number. It looks like this could be for real, but wait, there's more! For dessert, if you don't like that cold, creamy liberal goodness, you can now opt for Star Spangled Ice Cream...but that has to be a joke--four quarts of the ice cream will set you back $76.00.

...Thomas Benton asks. I miss IA; she'd get a great discussion started on this topic. Benton asks us to review this taxonomy of cult tactics and see if it sounds familiar.

Behavior control: "major time commitment required for indoctrination sessions and group rituals"; "need to ask permission for major decisions"; "need to report thoughts, feelings, and activities to superiors."



Information control: "access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged (keep members so busy they don't have time to think)" and "extensive use of cult-generated information (newsletters, magazines, journals, audio tapes, videotapes, etc.)."



Thought control: "need to internalize the group's doctrine as 'Truth' (black and white thinking; good vs. evil; us vs. them, inside vs. outside)" and "no critical questions about leader, doctrine, or policy seen as legitimate."



Emotional control: "excessive use of guilt (identity guilt: not living up to your potential; social guilt; historical guilt)"; "phobia indoctrination (irrational fears of ever leaving the group or even questioning the leader's authority; cannot visualize a positive, fulfilled future without being in the group; shunning of leave takers; never a legitimate reason to leave"; and "from the group's perspective, people who leave are 'weak,' 'undisciplined.'"

'Fraid so.
Edited to add: Like Dennis, I'm having a pretty good experience. Some days this taxonomy does indeed strike me as familiar (especially the guilt part), but on the whole, I like grad school, and I think Jeff makes some good points about the article.

Comic Cats via Burningbird.

Via Lauren and Rana, the Analogia, facial-recognition software that compares your face to the ones in their A-list database. I got:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Read them all...they're beautiful. I've been reading flea for years now on the now-defunct Ms. boards, and this trilogy is like everything she writes: smart, heartfelt, and never without humor.

Every time I get my new issue of BUST in the mail, I end up finding things I want, but don't really need, like this t-shirt and especially this other one. I also found books I want and will put on my Amazon wish list but won't buy until after I finish my prelims. Non-prelim-related reading material is strictly off-limits for the next ten weeks. I have to read Aristotle and Denzin & Lincoln and such, but I'd rather read:

• The Technology of Orgasm: "Hysteria," the Vibrator, and Women's Sexual Satisfaction by Rachel Maines (hey, it's from the Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology Series! Maybe I can put that one on my prelims reading list. ;))
• Without a Net : The Female Experience of Growing Up Working Class edited by Michelle Tea
• Swerve: Reckless Observations of a Postmodern Girl by Aisha Tyler
• The Fire This Time : Young Activists and the New Feminism edited by Vivien Labaton and Dawn Lundy Martin