1. Xabi Alonso's interview with LFC TV in which he hints he might return to Liverpool at some point. If only...
You can search for the interview online if you like. A preview here.
As someone who owns a Liverpool jersey with his name on it, I'd obviously be delighted if he returned. In reality, I doubt it'll happen-- his family is in Spain and I guess he'll want his kids growing up there. Also, as one of my fellow supporters said when we were discussing this interview: it's like having an ex whom you can't quit--they keep saying they'll reform/return/whatnot and you keep hoping, even though you know they (and you) are better off apart!
2. The discovery of fresh nga (which LilSis told me is called "rambutan" in English--I never knew!) and lychees at my local Safeway. The lychees are especially yummy for weather like this week's: cold, sweet, refreshing. Now, if only they'd stock up on Mongkut (Mangosteen, I think?), my cup of happiness would run over. Heh.
3. Spending much of Sunday re-watching Doctor Who Season Five for "research". This time, it really is for research as I am trying to finish up revising my paper on identity-formation and relating to "aliens".
4. The weather. I hear it's going to be in the upper 90s towards the end of the week but this is perfect weather for my Beach Trip No. 1.
6.6.11
teaching, television, thinking
Spent much of the weekend catching up with the online discussions of my class. It's great to see individual "voices" emerging in the discussions and also to see (with a bit of a gentle nudge at times) that there is a discussion and not just each student going off on their own about what is UP with terrorism.
In between that and watching Ireland beat Macedonia on Saturday, there's been little time for visiting my usual blog haunts. I did manage to start The Game of Thrones books and finish up the Doctor Who series so far. Thoughts on this latter to come, partly as it relates to this article I need to finish up this week. My maneuverings of the academic minefield (yes, I'm full of cliches at 3am on a Monday) will come to an abrupt halt if I keep up this practice of being very slow with my revisions.
I did manage to find a few things yous might find interesting: one, practical tips on writing a book by 22 brilliant authors (its headline, not my editorialisation) is pretty self-explanatory. Pick and choose what you consider useful I guess. There's no mention of the: leave things till the last minute, ask your editor for a few extra days and write day and night model that quite a few people might be keen on.
The latest Theory Talks (in which a well-known political scientist/IR person is interviewed) is with Kenneth Waltz. He's surprisingly non-neorealist (at least in my interpretation) which makes me think perhaps when scholars age, they mellow. Just like regular people.
Ben Goldacre, the Bad Science guy, lists some examples where kids have righted wrongs/questioned commonsense. Well worth a read.
Finally, yet more examples of the won't someone think of poor women/children who are being corrupted by Evil Books. Why don't we hear about people reading crime/depressing books/thrillers being dissatisfied with their real lives? Further examples of our society's lack of belief in the capacity of women (and young adults) to think for themselves.
In between that and watching Ireland beat Macedonia on Saturday, there's been little time for visiting my usual blog haunts. I did manage to start The Game of Thrones books and finish up the Doctor Who series so far. Thoughts on this latter to come, partly as it relates to this article I need to finish up this week. My maneuverings of the academic minefield (yes, I'm full of cliches at 3am on a Monday) will come to an abrupt halt if I keep up this practice of being very slow with my revisions.
I did manage to find a few things yous might find interesting: one, practical tips on writing a book by 22 brilliant authors (its headline, not my editorialisation) is pretty self-explanatory. Pick and choose what you consider useful I guess. There's no mention of the: leave things till the last minute, ask your editor for a few extra days and write day and night model that quite a few people might be keen on.
The latest Theory Talks (in which a well-known political scientist/IR person is interviewed) is with Kenneth Waltz. He's surprisingly non-neorealist (at least in my interpretation) which makes me think perhaps when scholars age, they mellow. Just like regular people.
Ben Goldacre, the Bad Science guy, lists some examples where kids have righted wrongs/questioned commonsense. Well worth a read.
Finally, yet more examples of the won't someone think of poor women/children who are being corrupted by Evil Books. Why don't we hear about people reading crime/depressing books/thrillers being dissatisfied with their real lives? Further examples of our society's lack of belief in the capacity of women (and young adults) to think for themselves.
3.6.11
(Not Quite) the Language of Love
Ah German.
For my German-speaking contingent. H/t newest FA reader.
For my German-speaking contingent. H/t newest FA reader.
2.6.11
Views on terrorism
Looking at polls just as an indicator of the public "pulse", this is interesting:
Most people in the US and Australia think the "war on terrorism" is falling. The poll was conducted after the death of bin Laden. Full story here.
I asked my students this term about what they thought was the major issue facing the US/the world today. A majority of them said, security/terrorism. In comparison, this poll points out,
Asked to identify the most important problem facing Australia, respondents chose from immigration, environment, the Afghan war, terrorism, natural disasters and the economy.
Thirty per cent rated the economy as the number one concern, ahead of immigration.
On the same question, Americans weighed in at 38 per cent for the economy, 16 per cent for health care and 14 per cent for security.
Most people in the US and Australia think the "war on terrorism" is falling. The poll was conducted after the death of bin Laden. Full story here.
I asked my students this term about what they thought was the major issue facing the US/the world today. A majority of them said, security/terrorism. In comparison, this poll points out,
Asked to identify the most important problem facing Australia, respondents chose from immigration, environment, the Afghan war, terrorism, natural disasters and the economy.
Thirty per cent rated the economy as the number one concern, ahead of immigration.
On the same question, Americans weighed in at 38 per cent for the economy, 16 per cent for health care and 14 per cent for security.
On teaching and a question of etiquette
Yes, I was MIA for a bit. Back now. Unfortunately, since I am writing and teaching about the same thing these days, I have little interest in also writing about it. Teaching a class on a topic that I am familiar with is a lot more work surprisingly enough because I seem to get the urge to want my students to read everything, leading to incidents like this:
student: well, it seems you are working with a specific definition of terrorism but you won't tell us what it is.
me: If you read X and Y and also Z W and Q--they are useful in getting us to start thinking about some of the issues I'm trying to raise in the class. Oh, don't forget R because he talks about how this is an ongoing (pre 9/11) concern. By the way, "9/11" was also not really "9/11" at first--read N who writes how events/actions have to be interpreted so they make sense--they don't have meanings on their own. Don't forget C since C examines different interpretations of the same event. For a more conventional understanding, read A B and D...
You get my point. It's a shocker that students still come by for office hours. But, that's not the point of my post today. I am here with a question of etiquette.
Recently, I was walking behind a gentleman and it was clear the seam in his trousers' bottom area (is there a more technical term for this?) had decided the strain was far too much and had fallen apart (torn?). You could clearly see his underpants--bright green--as he was walking. Since I was about to pass him, I could also see that he had a ID tag on so was a government worker (or World Bank/IMF/whatever--something important and not just a lad out to shop for groceries).
Here's my question: do you tell a perfect stranger they've got their arse hanging out? I mean, how do you? This can't be the first time that anyone's come across this problem.
It's damned difficult at the best of circs to start talking to someone (though other people seem to do it to me all the time so let me rephrase--it's damned difficult for me to talk to a stranger).
I thought that I'd like to be told if my underpants were showing (unless this was an underpants visible context) while I was on my way to work. So, I tapped the chap on his shoulder (he had headphones on) and said,
Sorry to bother you and I know this next sentence is going to sound rather awkward but your trousers have split at the back and your underpants are showing.
Upon retrospect, I think the underpants bit was a bit much. The man turned bright (bright!) red and I was rather worried for a mo there but he rallied, mumbled something and walked off rapidly. To change his trousers, I hope.
student: well, it seems you are working with a specific definition of terrorism but you won't tell us what it is.
me: If you read X and Y and also Z W and Q--they are useful in getting us to start thinking about some of the issues I'm trying to raise in the class. Oh, don't forget R because he talks about how this is an ongoing (pre 9/11) concern. By the way, "9/11" was also not really "9/11" at first--read N who writes how events/actions have to be interpreted so they make sense--they don't have meanings on their own. Don't forget C since C examines different interpretations of the same event. For a more conventional understanding, read A B and D...
You get my point. It's a shocker that students still come by for office hours. But, that's not the point of my post today. I am here with a question of etiquette.
Recently, I was walking behind a gentleman and it was clear the seam in his trousers' bottom area (is there a more technical term for this?) had decided the strain was far too much and had fallen apart (torn?). You could clearly see his underpants--bright green--as he was walking. Since I was about to pass him, I could also see that he had a ID tag on so was a government worker (or World Bank/IMF/whatever--something important and not just a lad out to shop for groceries).
Here's my question: do you tell a perfect stranger they've got their arse hanging out? I mean, how do you? This can't be the first time that anyone's come across this problem.
It's damned difficult at the best of circs to start talking to someone (though other people seem to do it to me all the time so let me rephrase--it's damned difficult for me to talk to a stranger).
I thought that I'd like to be told if my underpants were showing (unless this was an underpants visible context) while I was on my way to work. So, I tapped the chap on his shoulder (he had headphones on) and said,
Sorry to bother you and I know this next sentence is going to sound rather awkward but your trousers have split at the back and your underpants are showing.
Upon retrospect, I think the underpants bit was a bit much. The man turned bright (bright!) red and I was rather worried for a mo there but he rallied, mumbled something and walked off rapidly. To change his trousers, I hope.
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