The View From Kalamazoo

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.

Surgeons were carrying out complicated skull operations in medieval times, the remains of a body found at an archaeological dig show.

Bulgarian Archaeologists said Monday they finally unearthed the largest so far tomb from the civilisation of the Thracians, tribes that populated the Balkans since the Bronze Age till the early Middle Ages.

A Genghis Khan mausoleum has been discovered in the central areas of Mongolia by a joint Japanese-Mongolian archeological expedition, the press here reported on Tuesday.

Arab scholar ‘cracked Rosetta code’ 800 years before the West [thanks to Mirabilis.ca for the link]

British Library’s medieval crime-buster

International Congress on Medieval Studies organizer materials are due tomorrow, guys and dolls, to-mor-row. Our fax machine is currently sounding a bit distressed at the sheer number of incoming pages. “She can’na take anymore, Cap’tn!”

Otherwise, nothing of interest here.

No significant changes with The Situation. Cork’s about to pop, however, this is just killing me. Bugger this, I say, bugger this. I’ve come to terms with the reality that this is a lose-lose issue, an everyone-will-be-unhappy-with-my-decision-no-matter-what issue, the big ol’ bird from the powers that be to moi.

Very Pregnant Sister made the trek north with truck for a brief visit. Hadn’t seen in months, so the kids enjoyed the visit (particularly with their ohmygodactive lab/aussie mix) complete with requisite Grandparent Spoiling. A good portion of the interior of my house is now in TN – which is a lovely thing. Changing table, play pen, swing, high chair, etc. (and etc., and etc.) are no longer cluttering my living space, and grateful for that am I. I’m through sorting, and have transferred, all male baby clothing through size 3-6m…next round is 6-9m. Have misplaced location of baby jumping contraption, so that will have to travel via box with some clothing shipment. Am busily going through outgrown things of both genders for charity and have already filled three file boxes. Will diligently clean out my ‘outgrown’ (outlost? outshrunk?) stuff, too, as my closet overfloweth with crap I can’t wear. Must get butt in gear to Ebay some of the Divine Miss Em’s stuff and some of my rather nicer items – cash in is never a bad thing at my house…and will support the fantastic growth habits of Young Master Colin (as keeping the kid in shoes is a full-time job – the nice thing about Em is that she was small, and grew not so much at a time. The bad thing about it is that I’m unprepared for Mr. Average Height and Weight’s normal growth spurts).

Oh, this is of interest: decision to repeat 1st grade a dramatic success – Em is getting 10/10 on spelling tests and reading nearly-grade-appropriate material. OMFG. I wasn’t sure I’d see it, after the struggle of last year, wasn’t sure at all… Med switch at the end of the summer most helpful, it’s like night and day. My nightmares about ‘Would you like fries with that?” can be replaced by sugarplums…*whew*

Jerusalem priests brawl over opening of Holy Sepulcher door

[from Mirabilis.ca]:Beer found to be as healthy as wine, and
A coffee a day as health elixir?

These recent developments, and my joy that Dark chocolate is healthy chocolate, leave me more excited about ‘health food’ than ever.

The New York Times today reported the passing of Professor Norman Cantor: Norman F. Cantor, 74, a Noted Medievalist, Is Dead

And in the Kalamazoo Gazette today…regarding the passing of a wonderful scholar, wonderful person…an individual to whom the field is in great, great debt: Otto Grundler. I can’t possibly express my sadness…we’ve been in a flurry for days, now, which has been somewhat distracting. My sadness will only increase.

Addendum: More, much nicer, here. And more to come, a fuller piece, in the Gazette I understand.