Velma, I don't know you, but when I heard your news I thought of this piece in the NYT. Since I know you have just ever so much time to read, I'll snip the bit I want to share:
“I don’t love you anymore. I’m not sure I ever did.â€
His words came at me like a speeding fist, like a sucker punch, yet somehow in that moment I was able to duck. And once I recovered and composed myself, I managed to say, “I don’t buy it.†Because I didn’t.
Maybe this will be helpful and maybe it won't, but it's the best I've got and figured I should share.
Caroline,
That is great news! How totally inspiring.
I feel you on bounding off into the weeds. I finished my MA on anime, cyborg theory, and fandom studies this year, and one thing that saved me was a prof telling me that since I had already published out of the thesis, I was doing well. (Granted, it was a Master's, and not a Ph.D.) But that helped me realize that I was merely contributing something to a larger conversation, not making a definitive statement. It's not your job to start a zeitgeist; your job is to present your research in a meaningful way that makes the larger picture easier to understand. Anything that does not serve that goal must be cut out; your committee might ask about it during the defense but you'll be able to discuss what you cut and why.
Smarter cancer screening isn't a bad idea. As noted in the post (written by a breast cancer specialist) that Albatross linked, effective and efficient cancer diagnosis is not a one-size-fits-all process. Yes, early mammograms are good, and they can catch cancers before they can metastasize, but they remain imperfect. Mammography is simply the best non-surgical diagnostic tool we have at the moment; other technologies will supplant it eventually. A family member's disease was caught by galactogram; her standard mammograms were clear, but her doctor was persistent. I'm grateful for both his refusal to be complacent, and his willingness to use new tech to get the answer.
Speaking of new medical tech, I have a a new story out about that very thing. (Related to breasts, too, oddly enough, but breastfeeding, not breast cancer.)
Re: the thesis tips, I sincerely wish I had had these while I was writing mine. Damn. You guys rock. There should be a "how to finish projects" thread/page, to collate all this wisdom.
More and more, I think Dickens could have just as easily been discussing a writer's work:
"Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!"
Abi, I've had to deal with a lot of the same shocked sentiments since coming to Canada -- from both sides. Americans want to know why I would consider staying, and after years steeped in bizarre identity politics, so do Canadians. (After Obama's election, an American friend asked if I would be returning. My reply was, "I already have what he's promised you.") And you're right, the "technical" philosophy doesn't end at the border; during one of the summer wars I heard chatter that the rules about returning to Canada shouldn't apply to dual citizens who spend the majority of their time in, say, Lebanon. Aside from the prejudice that philosophy indicates, the problem is that it undermines the law and the whole system of immigration as a whole. Citizenship is citizenship is citizenship. The end. If you think it should look differently, then codify it into law. Until then, limit the Baskin-Robbins approach to ice cream.
@Caroline,
Thank you! I am just about to get myself some tea. Then a final check, then the printers'!
My table of contents is finished! I'm taking this baby to the print shop, tomorrow!
By "tomorrow," I hasten to add, I mean: "later today."
@Sarah: In the short term, visualize your breathing. As you push the air from your lungs, close your eyes and imagine that you are exhaling something toxic, like cigarette smoke or car exhaust. As you pull fresh air in, imagine that it is perfectly clean and healthy, like forest air constantly scrubbed by ancient trees. Try to pull as much of the clean air in as you can as slowly as you can, and push the foul air out as completely as you can, with the strength of your diaphragm muscle. You are inhaling serenity, and exhaling panic. Do this five times. Then turn your head slowly in the four cardinal directions to stretch your neck. Repeat as necessary.
I am in the midst of editing my thesis, and have employed this little brain hack any number of times in the past week. (I have also renamed the MLA "Modern Lucifer's Attempts".) I also have sore throat, and have been chugging green tea and miso soup like a freshman pledge.
In happier news, someone made me these buttons based on one of my tweets.
I just have to say that the ad which appeared in the right-hand bar on this entry was for a book called The Puppy Bomb, and read like this:
You know all about sex?
You know all about murder?
You know all about male-bonding?
Oh, Google. Your ability to make this situation even funnier is vast and infinite.
Also, I really want to know what's bonding those males together. Super glue? Tree sap? Cling film? The possibilities are endless.
@Joel: I have a friend in Canada who wants the squid. How much do you want for it?
Abi, what a beautiful quilt, and beautiful essay. Thank you for sharing your process and meditations with us.
Of course parents can be made to care about this. How many nude infant/toddler photos of their children have they scanned, tagged, and posted to family members on Facebook, in lieu of a family album? Do they really want to grant teachers and administrators the ability to look at those photos? Do teachers want to admit to having looked at those photos? Would their clicking then be actionable, as in the case of "sexting" photos verified by a teacher earlier this year? Could examining a student's profile be an instant ticket to child porn charges? Would they really risk it?
The solution here isn't to hide the information, it's to poison it.
This will open up new opportunities for mechanical Turkdom among high school students. Picture, if you will, students from affluent, busybody schools paying impoverished youngsters in distant nations to keep their blog profiles "clean." Naturally, the girls camping a hot guy's profile would fall for a lonely somebody thousands of miles away who's supplying the real information. And then there would be ever so many romantic misunderstandings. See? No reason to worry. I've turned this from a horrific invasion of privacy to a transnational adolescent rom-com in no time flat!
...Seriously, though, this is total BS. And I agree with Jim that if teachers or administrators are in any way pervy, this opens the door to serious abuses. I fully expect incidents of blackmail to rise: "Join the football team, or I'll tell your parents about those party photos," etc.
Unbiennium, not to be confused with Bennihillium (whose electrons are so excited that they chase one another about to the tune of "Yakety Sax") actually sits next to Jacbennium on the table (which is notoriously tight-shelled and hardly ever yields any electrons whatsoever).
By Krauthammer's logic, my Canadian government has no reason to reimburse obstetricians for providing pre-natal counseling regarding folic acid requirements or dietary restrictions. Because really, if universal healthcare is about bringing costs down, why not just nip the problem in the bud? Babies don't pay taxes. In fact, they're a tax deduction! And in this economy, we just can't have that! Golly, my government must just be totally confused about how this universal healthcare thing really works -- I mean, they act like they're actually concerned with the health of the mother and her child, and not just bringing down the bottom line! I'd better phone my MP!
Boys and their Shinigami
The border between the world of the dead and the world of the living has never seemed more porous. We speak to experts past and present about their experiences crossing that ultimate border.
*Ichigo Kurosaki
*Light Yagami
*Duo Maxwell
*Yusuke Urameshi
*Belldandy
Belldandy-sama acted as moderator, and did her best to maintain decorum and civility among all participants. She did, however, evince a small crush on Yagami-san.
Yagami-san was, of course, his usual charming self, despite his seeming obsession with both a small bag of potato chips to his left and a large bowl of apples to his right. The apples disappeared slowly during the panel, although I cannot recall who ate them or when, nor did I see cores in the nearest rubbish bin.
Mr. Maxwell seemed to be asleep for some of the panel, having confessed early on to not knowing quite why he'd been asked to attend. His shinigami, he explained, was both "a lot bigger" and "a lot cooler" than his fellow participants'. (Kurosaki-san immediately stood, knocking over a chair, and demanded that that last remark be withdrawn, on pain of death. The fight was broken up by a slender boy in tight black shorts and a green tank top. No one knew who he was; there was some confusion about his name)
Kurosaki-san and Urameshi-san had quite a bit to agree about, mostly having to do with the temperamental, bossy nature of their shinigami. Midway through the panel, their mobile phones rang simultaneously, and they looked very downcast and apologetic, then mildly panicked. The world of the dead has apparently pioneered 5G networking.
On the whole it was quite a good panel, although marked by frequent interruption. It was very late at night, however, and I was very tired -- at one point I could almost swear I saw a plush lion toy talking.
While I missed Making Lumiere (I got there just as it was shutting down, and had to dash upstairs for a prior commitment), I did attend the Tor party and had a great time. Thanks so much. I had a fantastic con, and I'm grateful to everyone in attendance (even if I didn't get to meet you!) who helped make it that way.
Thanks for the rec for Camellia Sinensis!
I've posted my schedule at my own site -- basically if you're into anime or manga, I'm there, and I get to ask my fellow workshop members questions about their history together on Friday night. Considering that some have known each other since I was in middle school, it should be interesting. I may open by asking everyone for a Judith Merril impression.
| Year | Number of comments posted |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 69 |
| 2008 | 10 |
Total: 79 comments. View all these comments on a single page.
The most recent 20 comments posted to Making Light by Madeline :
Show all comments by Madeline .