I'm slightly aroused...

And now I'm following both of you, so... oh, yeah, I'm nobody!*

*This statement is not meant to pity guilty you into following me

Well, I don't feel obligated to tip. Examples, in the town I go to school, there are a lot of little restaurants that don't have you order before you sit and then somebody comes a gives you your food after you sit, and that's it. In those cases I don't tip. I also don't tip in every service situation. When I do tip, usually at restaurants, I tip according to my level of service.

Having said that, anytime I go to Europe or South America, I appreciate the effect that tipping can have on the quality of service at restaurants. And, it's not even like a 'spoiled american' who confuses service with subservience. I'm talking about just outright negligent, incompetent, unprofessional, and rude service seems to be the norm. Well, at least in the countries I have visited.

the 'Chatter' link at the top of the page is a good way to find some conversation to jump into when you're looking for a fix.

Nicely put.

I do say, I like the cut of your jib!

Oh come on! I was an Obama supporter as well, but seriously, we need to stop making excuses. He seemed like he might be different, but he turned out like so many politicians who promise you the moon and then just show you their naked ass.

I'm not sure if teaching is performance in general, but it totally is to me. Within the structure of the curriculum and the lesson plan, one of the most enjoyable aspects of teaching is working the room, finding ways to deliver the content in meaningful manner, connecting with your students, ensuring that everybody is on the same level, etc... If that's not performance, then...

I see at lot of kids doing this at my school, usually hippies. But, the other day, I saw this dude walk barefoot into a public bathroom in one of the busiest buildings on campus... I just don't get that.

Interesting, I didn't know that it was published as a novel. Yeah, I'm actually about to start my PhD in Luso-Afro-Brazilian Lit in the fall and hopefully successfully defending my MA thesis in, oh god, 5 days! :)

Interesting, I didn't know that short story by Saramago had been translated to English. Good stuff.

I think TED is fascinating, but I don't think it's a replacement for a college education. I can't really speak about the other two because I have only heard of them, I don't have any first hand experience.

I hear what you're saying, I think it would be great, but I'm just not convinced we are quite there yet.

Thanks for the links, I'll have to look it to them over summer break.

Interesting... I've lived in NYC and didn't think it merited the negative reputation ascribed to it. And, if my move goes through, it will be to southern Massachusetts, so since it won't be a huge urban center it will be different. No avoiding the weather and, according to google street view, the very different natural and architectural landscape (I live in metro Atlanta now).

But, the academic benefits are worth it, even if I turn out not to fall in love with the area!

|the true form of the university has quietly vanished and reappeared elsewhere, I guess this would be it.

Curious, where do you think it has 'reappeared'?

Please elaborate. There's a good chance I'll be moving to MA for school. What should I know?

True!

The higher they rise...

Somewhere in an office a bunch of suits are sitting around an oblong table 'brainstorming' the possibility of an Extreme Golf exhibition tour...

I don't know about health, but surely we can get carriage insurance. Let's say... collision?

So, what happens if a woman has a miscarriage?

I"ve been giving Feedly a try, and so far I like it. It's fairly similar to Reader and it's free. I tried Newsblur, but the free account will only allow you to follow 12 feeds.

Double posting to add this little gem I ran into earlier:

"“At each moment, we are made up of lines which are variable at each instant, which may be combined in different ways, packets of lines, longitudes and latitudes, tropics and meridians, etc. There are no mono-fluxes. The analysis of the unconscious should be a geog- raphy rather than history.”

- Gilles Deleuze

In your eyes I saw myself, reflected, bent. You and I in that moment, in some city I was only visiting, together and yet years and years apart, I alone in your arms and you alone in mine.

There's so much that I like in your verses, but these that I'm quoting have enraptured me! Thank you, and thank you lil for bringing this to my attention. I've been so buried in my own readings and writing that I would have definitely missed it.

I haven't read this yet, so my question might be redundant, if so forgive me. But, this is riffing on Douglas Adams, right?

Wow, really?!?! That's exciting! Allow me to gift it to you? If you trust me enough to pm me your address I will make sure a copy arrives at your door soon. I absolutely love his writing, and I love sharing the things that I love!

Your poem is beautiful. In a very oblique way it makes me feel as though I'm about to again embark onto Murikami's Hardboiled Wonderland at the End of the World. But, yeah, when we have no more frontiers to push, we have nowhere to really go but inwards. Or to outer space, I guess...