I Went to See Slavoj Zizek Talk Tonight

Or, “Skate Philosophy”. This is a subtle joke. Or maybe not so subtle now that I have highlighted it.

I went to see Zizek speak at the RSA tonight.

Filed under: miscellaneous

Liveblogging Die Hard 4.0 and a lecture on the American Revolution

This guy is talking about the oppressive nature of the media. A truck controlled by some people with computers crashes into Bruce Willis and the guy. They change the traffic lights. Does this mean he is right? Are we supposed to distrust the media now? What kind of ideology is it advocating? What image of America does it represent?

Filed under: miscellaneous

Back to School

So the 2009/10 academic year starts in a few weeks.

I am excited about this.

I have been discussing lecturing with the convenor of a course I take a seminar on. I have been thinking about ways to make my seminars more engaging. I am conscious of the danger of trying too hard to make seminars “fun”. I want to push my students. I will have first-year undergraduates again this year. When I think about the potential there is to shape how they approach literature I get a bit overwhelmed.

I want to make my seminars more like htmlgiant. I enjoy the type of “literary experience” htmlgiant is concerned with. It is both serious and light-hearted. I want to use Power Quotes. I want to make my students think about publishing and economic issues that effect creative production. I want to make them think about “literature” by analogy to help them see why literature is great. I want to get them involved in online discussion of literature. I want them to use the internet. I want them to go to readings and things like Literary Death Match and Book Club Boutique. (Do I want them to go to the same ones as me? I’m not sure.)

I am worried about my financial situation next year. I need to get a part-time job. I am investigating the possibility of tutoring young kids one-on-one.

I am currently writing a response paper on bespoke tailoring in South London. This is for a graduate conference at Goldsmiths next week. The proper academic term starts in three weeks. This conference feels like a pre-season friendly. I have done a lot of research for my response paper. I am creating a response-argument concerning male-male relations in the bespoke trade.

Filed under: conferences, miscellaneous

Dear Diary, OK Max is a total STUD! I let him sniff my tail.

I think my summer has been spent well. I had a teaching bursary this (academic) year. I did not have to work. I focused on writing. I wrote a few papers. I wanted to have drafts of all four chapters of my thesis. I have drafts of three chapters of my thesis. I may have time to write a draft of the fourth in September. August feels like ‘the end of summer’. I am moving house soon. I have to get a part-time job soon. I am starting to consider what I have achieved. I have printed out everything I have for my thesis. I am going to read it over the next week. I am not going to write anything. I know there is a lot to improve.

Here are some dates that I have to try and remember. This is probably not interesting for anyone else.

Filed under: miscellaneous

Richard vs Rick

Richard Ford was born in 1944. In 1998 Richard Ford was 54. Rick Moody was born in 1961. In 1998 Rick Moody was 37. Richard Ford received his BA from Michigan State University. Rick Moody received his BA from Brown University. Richard Ford got his MFA in creative writing at the University of California, Irvine. Rick Moody received an MFA from Columbia University. Richard Ford is best known for his novel The Sportswriter. The Sportswriter was published in 1986. Rick Moody is best known for his novel The Ice Storm. The Ice Storm was published in 1992. Richard Ford edited The Granta Book of the American Short Story in 1992. The Granta Book of the American Short Story was reprinted in 1998.

Filed under: miscellaneous