The View From Kalamazoo

WANTED: One ark. Used OK.

My 2-year-old has begun learning the alphabet. He’s got A down. And thanks to many, many verbal spelling quizzes (during which he repeats the word I say, and every letter his sister spells. it’s like having an echo), he’s likely to know the whole 1st grade spelling compliment before he’s 3. Hehe haha.

MFA made it back to the gym yesterday. This was a mistake, but first: I skipped a month, and was hardly good about water or nutrition, but still only went up less than 2 lbs. Is it bad news that I gained, or good news that, despite my skipping breakfast and all of the bad-habit crap I used to do, I managed to keep it all within a modicum of control?

Now, the mistake part: I awoke with a sinus headache. Not any sinus headache, but one bad enough that I was queast from the pain. So I take my meds, eat bland-but-coating for the tum, and sally forth. I only made it 20 minutes into a half-hour workout before I stopped because my head was ready to explode all over the nice, new equipment. Did it get better once I quit exacerbating things? No, oh no. I eventually gave up and went home early to lay down in a darkened room and wish for death.

And I was greeted this morning by another, albeit less severe. (as well as a 7-year-old acting more like a 2-year-old than her brother, but I digress..) So no gym this morning – I don’t dare. I’ll sit here at my desk, trying to be vaguely prosuctive and hugging my ibuprofen bottle like a teddy bear. It’s gotta be the recent rains = mold. I’d want my mommy, except I know better – she’d probably be worse for it than the gym was. Oh well…

Oh, and the stars properly aligned, the earth began to move between the moon and the sun…and the Sox won. Well, there ya go.

So yesterday I mentioned the blog conference over at 11D. After taking some time to read through everything I can say I’m even more sorry now than I was yesterday that I missed it. Many hearty ‘thank you!’s to her for doing it. Here are Our Moderator’s final words of the week, and a follow-up on the format – I hope she is merely the first of many short, directed blog conferences (particularly for discussing topics relating to, or bridging off of, those covered earlier in the month, but only because those are the topics I’m particularly interested in conversing about).

I’d consider trying it, but I’ve heard comments by those readers who aren’t thrilled with this system/having to sign up for an account (not like I will stalk you, send you unwanted holiday greetings, or sell information…but whatever) and problems therein that I hesitate. Rather than being a blog’ho like That Man I Married (who has, what, 6??!!?) I like the idea of directed, specific flurries of topical conversation within my otherwise non-topic-specific space.

If you have an opinion, please offer it – heck, send me email if posting here is making you threee shades of crazy: elisabeth dot carnell at wmich dot edu

Emma will be getting Buffy for her 8th birthday. I am a real, true sucker. (and yes, for all you purists, she is sure to take it out of the package and play with it. writhe! weep!)

She’ll go well with the talking Care Bear from Santa, yes? (sick, sick, sick)

Digital Medievalist has posted a couple of links that some out there might find of use (or, at least, pretty):

Late Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts – Books of Hours 1400-1530 guide (The Institute for the Study of Illuminated Manuscripts in Denmark)

The BL’s Illuminating the Renaissance site – a selection of images from some of the finest Flemish manuscripts in the British Library w/time line.

and

I missed this while I was so very busy earlier this month that I wasn’t keeping up with reading anything (Darn): Work/Family blog conference over at 11D.

Note:
I am finally getting around to adding some fine folks who are linking to me to the list on the left. I’ve also been mentioned in some fine, fine company here. An honor, although I am uncertain how deserved. I guess I should work harder to post things more interesting than mere blather. There are many things out and about I should like to comment on…but have not.

And speaking of blather, here’s today’s dose:
I admit it, I skipped the lecture Friday. Instead, I wandered north toward the Newberry stopping for lunch (Marshall Fields food court – busy even well after ‘lunch hour’, but the fish and chips were worth it. At least the fish were – fries are fries are fries. They did offer malt vinegar – much to my relief. I was terribly nervous for a moment when I realized it wasn’t out with the rest of the condiments.

I wandered across the street into Nordstrom Rack (since we’re heading into that time of year, and on top of my two I will have a new nephew to buy for) and picked up a couple of small stocking items for the wee ones…aaand an $88 silk blouse for myself for a mere $26 and change. Score! The weather was too lovely to spend an afternoon inside after already spending the morning inside, frankly. The exhibit was small but very nicely done, for all who will be visiting Chicago in the near future. I visited my favorite parts of the museum, followed my wandering companions into the gift shop (and found my mother a TraditionalWinterHoliday gift) and spent quality time with the Chagall window. My propensity for motion sickness and the charter bus did not get along. Thank goodness I always carry Adams Clove chewing gum. I should have had some candied ginger root, too. Uuuggh.

No decs up yet, of course – I’d love to come back in a month and see the windows, plus I didn’t stop at the amazing carmel corn shop across from Niketown nor eat at the Berghof (which is not easy to do, depending on my company. If Bri tags along we’ll go no where near sauerkraut, mark my words!)

A few things, then links:
I have come to grips with the fact that over the past 8 months or so my son’s gorgeous eyes, slowly growing a darker and grayer blue, have finally changed to green like Emma’s and mine. *sigh*

The really weird weather this past spring, plus an equally odd fall, has resulted in a crappy apple crop this year – so my tradition of apple picking with Emma will not happen. I need to redeem myself and get a really amazing pumpkin to carve…Maybe I’ll get two, carve them like our presidential candidates and see which one the students smash first! (If I do I’ll post pics – they’re both such punkin’heads anyway…it’s too, too fitting)

On to the interesting stuff:
El Greco art discovered in Spain.

Iron age horse burial unearthed.

Dateline Croatia
An historian commenting about..history? What a novel idea!

Not medieval, but just interesting enough to include:
Is fraud rampant in U.S. history?

LONDON, England (CNN) — A devil-worshipping sailor in the Royal Navy has become the first registered Satanist in the British Armed Forces.

Kiln’s ‘ancestorÂ’ found in Greece.

The cave of Lot’s seduction and the monastery it inspired. [thanks to Mirabilis.ca for the link]

Off to Chicago tomorrow to check this exhibition out. A good portion of the group on the charter bus (I am “in charge”) will also take in this lecture. I am tempted to skip the lecture and just wander north from the Art Institute to the Newberry at my leisure. [note to self: wear walking shoes!] A lecture I don’t want to miss, however, is this one next month.

At Cross Purposes: What the experiences of todayÂ’s doctoral students reveal about doctoral education (A survey initiated by the Pew Charitable Trusts)

Read it (it’s not really terribly long), but for the sake of brevity here, these are their findings:

“What we learned may not be entirely surprising because our findings confirm many of the concerns that have been raised in the last 10 years. However, our data provide detailed, confirmatory evidence of particular tension points.

We found that:

• The training doctoral students receive is not what they want, nor does it prepare them for the jobs they take.
• Many students do not clearly understand what doctoral study entails, how the process works and how to navigate it effectively.”

Niiiice. Maybe I am lucky, after all…although that advice to never borrow money to go to grad school? I didn’t follow it (for my M.A.) and am up to not only my eyeballs in debt, but the eyeballs of people sigificantly taller. And my decision to not borrow any more evah (and no means to do this on my infinite personal wealth, haha) is why I’m in Kalamazoo instead of Lexington right now.

Tell me, seriously – is it really, really, this hopeless? Is it just a great racket? The presence of children can be used to deny tenure, ignore a job or graduate program applicant…

How Babies Alter Careers for Academics

The Mommy Candidate

Singing the Grad School Baby Blues

Easing the Grad School Baby Blues

FWIW I think offering advice to women to, instead of having children too soon after landing a job (and before tenure), have the little critters in graduate school is poor advice, indeed. At least the woman with a full-time position worrying about tenure has some chance at getting it – the graduate student written off as too distracted by family responsibilities to ever be taken seriously who quits a masters or doctoral program mid-stream in frustration (or who makes it through the former only to be denied that magic key to the door of the latter) will never even be in the position to stuggle for tenure. In other words, at least those other mothers have a chance in hell, even if it’s only slightly more than that of a snowball…I’d love to be in the position of that snowball, personally.

No, I don’t think I have to worry about the glass ceiling or the missing rungs at the top of the ladders scaling the Ivory Tower…clearly I won’t even get far enough for the shadows of these to even begin to creep in my direction. I didn’t realize the moment my womb was first in use that I had permanently tied myself to the ground – able to make it up the lowest rungs of the ladder…close enough to see the rungs that lead farther up…but still prevented from taking that next step. Might someone have mentioned it sooner?

Waiting on an Ebay auction to pay way too much for a costume – Emma insisted that she be Glinda. My sewing machine is currently out of order so a sucker I be. The good news is it’s likely to be a tad large so we can wear the darn thing again. The hidden value in undersized children – they can wear the same clothes for flipping ever.

My days have been more of the same. Last two weeks: bad about the gym; have had to take time off for sick children; endlessly behind on every project I intended to start and finish both at home and at work.
Becoming resigned to my fate. All hope lost. Danger, Will Robinson! Danger!

Ceramics class still darn enjoyable: beating on clay twice a week = cheap therepy. Another Raku firing last night. Finished a covered cassarole (coil build) and an f-ing enormous vase (slab build) last night despite my kill-me-now sinus headache. [I love this time of year] Waiting on a pot I slip-decorated to appear on the shelves of the kiln room – curious to see how bright the 2% cobalt really is. The celedon I’ll throw over it will calm it down a bit. Zippety. I’ll go in and work while Em’s in class Saturday – if the cassarole hasn’t been fired I may muck about with the slip with that one, too. Probably iron – I’ll use whatever % happens to be mixed at the time. More slab building next week, then on to the wheel. Woo Hoo! It’s been a good decade-and-a-half since I’ve thrown, but I imagine it’ll all come back. Like riding a bicycle, all that malarkey. I’ve only done two outside projects so far (and one pretty small – only like 120 units or so) so I can use the majority of my 4500 kiln units on wheel thrown pieces. I have considered goofing with a slab build teapot, however. My hands have been miserable dry – I can’t wait for the added joy of cold weather and chapping. (Oh well – maybe I’ll get a romantic tub of Eucerin for Sweetest Day and I’ll carry it everywhere like I do my inhaler. Oh, the sexiness of me.)

My Palm IIIi finally kicked the bucket and I have adopted Bri‘s old Pocket PC – but how the hell to get the data from my last sync to the “new” one…there’s the rub. (and, yea, what hope may come?) What a screaming nightmare – and I dont even want to discuss the meetings and appointments I’ve been late (or darn near) for because my little electronic brain went cold and dark.