A big middle finger to all of the Ars*nal fans out there who have been yapping since the Man Ure win while remaining completely oblivious to their team’s very obvious flaws. Getting spanked by City 3-0? Your captain suspended for the game for his outburst? Hilarious. Ten points off the title race at this stage means they’re dead and buried—they would need to win almost all of their remaining 24 games in order to do it. For the last five years the champions have only dropped 20-odd points over the course of the season, and the Arse has already dropped 19. To put it another way, they’re just as close to relegation as they are to the title. If their fans have any sense (and most don’t) they would stop barking about the league and look to the domestic cups and the Champions League. Please, shut up now.
Spurs’ win lifts them from the drop-zone and it’s not out of the realm of possibility for them to push for a UEFA Cup spot, though I still don’t think it’s very likely. They’re only four points Everton and Pompey, the other teams you’d expect to be wrestling for those spots, and I’d have to imagine that Hull’s position will slip as the season takes its toll; although newly-promoted Ipswich managed to end in fifth back in 2001, so it’s not impossible. Unlikely though.
I’ve been listening to Haruki Murakami’s Kafka On the Shore over the past week and I’m really enjoying it. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman ran hot and cold for me and I wasn’t sure what a Murakami novel would be like, but I’m finding that’s it really quite good and I’m getting into the rhythm of his writing. I requested the audio books for The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (novel) and The Elephant Vanishes (short stories) from the library.
Happily, it looks like I finally have nailed down an academic plan for the next year. Next semester I plan on taking Professional Writing Pedagogy and Grant Writing, then next fall I’ll take one literature class an probably an independent study for Professional Writing. Then next spring I’ll take my preliminary exams with a main category of Global Postmodern Fiction (who knew?) focusing on all things that are not realism. My two minor areas will be Native American Literature and the final one will somehow link hypertext literature with textuality and other visual narratives.
This allows me to apply to teach all kinds of stuff. Right now I’m asking for Intro to Creative Writing and Intro to Business Writing along with two lit courses I would design myself: one designated as Fantasy Literature where I’d teach magical realism, surrealism, and slipstream texts, and another designated as Science Fiction where I’d focus on dystopian worlds.
I get four annual course assignments (two per semester) and realistically I’ll probably teach at least two sections of comp (if not three) and then get a creative writing or professional writing course. Still, I won’t get lit classes unless I ask for them, and I’ve got my fingers crossed as I’d be able include the work of some of my friends, using Kelly Link, Jeff Ford and Mary Rickert in the slipstream class, and Paolo Bacigalupi in the dystopia course. How cool would that be?
Even though the job market sucks with the economy in the tank, the earliest I could graduate would be May 2011, and it seems more likely that I’d be out in 2012 as a fifth-year Ph.D, which seems like plenty of time for things to turn around. Better yet, I’m really excited about these areas of study and from everything I’ve heard, they’ll help make me very marketable. Once I finish courses, the focus switches to presenting at conferences and publishing, both academically and creatively, and that’s a shift I’m very eager to make.
Current Mood: Good | 
Currently Listening To – Bob Dylan – “I’m Not There”
4 Comments
The table is so tight, I think Tottenham could legitimately challenge for a UEFA Cup spot–assuming that they don’t nod off in April and May like they did last year. And I think it’s more likely that they climb the table than Hull maintain their place (much less Fulham and Boro).
Thoughts on potential Donovan to Bayern Munich? Mine are mostly snarky, but Bayern certainly could use another striker.
My prediction is that Donovan flops. Germany is a tough place for Americans since the players, even teammates, tend to be jerks (I remember both Eric Wynalda and Tony Sanneh saying this) and Americans are seen as weak, so the opposition tends to give them more little love whacks, and more often. And Bayern Munich is a notorious gossipy team that the media scrutinizes like no other.
All of this suits Landy Cakes not at all. Skill-wise I’m sure he’s fine, but I think at the core he’s a prima donna who wants to be a big fish in a tiny pond. My bet is that he’ll get a few games, play fine, won’t get any attention, will play poorer, will be roundly criticized, will be benched, will sulk for a period of time, and will return to MLS saying it wasn’t him but rather the Bundesliga that was problem.
Other than (1) uncertainty about gas prices, (2) uncertainty about the economy and (3) uncertainty about how shitty Winter 08-09 is going to be, it sounds like things are a lot more upbeat than they were a couple of months ago. Yay, Trent!
I think a diverse range of courses taught is a good thing. Too many TAs I see teach the same thing semester after semester, and I don’t think it sets them up well for arguing that some university or college should actually HIRE them for teaching in the future. (grin)
Dr. Phil
Well, we’re in the same boat for 1, 2, and 3. We got our first winter weather this weekend, so you be careful on your drive too.
The stats about English PhDs getting good jobs straight out of school aren’t encouraging, but then again I suspect many are only studying what they want to study as a matter of principle, as though they took the big risk of going back to school in an over-crowded discipline and owe it to “stay true” to themselves and put their time and effort into a small area that they truly love. That, and there are always lots of people looking to hide from the real world in grad school so they’re trying to steer clear of anything that looks like work.
For me, I’m getting increasingly annoyed with comments about academia not being in the “real world.” It’s very real in the sense that universities are big businesses that have certain needs and they require people to fill those needs, and as an employee you tend to get further by taking jobs that others don’t and doing great work rather than cultivating pet projects. I don’t see this as “selling out” because I think you’re fooling yourself if you think grad school is a place to go to fulfill your dreams.