There’s a moment in grad school at Berkeley I often remember with great fondness. It was the first of many such recollections, and they do say we always remember our first. The moment happened after a performance of Aristophanes’ The Frogs. The performers were British university students who presented the work in Greek, sans subtitlesContinue reading “A Spontaneous Moment to Remember”
Tag Archives: PhD
Notes About Dreams
In a recent blog post I mentioned finding old notes about various things that might become future blog posts. Well, the future is now! Four of the notes begin: “Dream:” and have some mention of what happened in some dream I had years ago. Often when I take notes, such brief phrases are enough toContinue reading “Notes About Dreams”
Questions Only
What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain. Over the years, the questions that made me uncomfortable have changed. I guess that corresponds to my level of maturity and leads me to where we are now. First, speaking generally of questions, I always like to come back to the Bernard Pivot questions usedContinue reading “Questions Only”
Wuxtry! Wuxtry! Read All About it!
You get some great, amazingly fantastic news. What’s the first thing you do? In the old days of kids hawking newspapers on street corners, they’d yell, “Extra, extra, read all about it!” to announce that special edition of the paper containing what CNN labels every story, “Breaking News.” (I maintain it’s not really breaking newsContinue reading “Wuxtry! Wuxtry! Read All About it!”
Goooooooaaaaalllllls!
How do you plan your goals? How do I plan my goals? This is an interesting question. I see this planning akin to the objectives of a character in a play, with both short and long term goals. And I think they arise and I work toward them in different ways. Once I thought: I’dContinue reading “Goooooooaaaaalllllls!”
You Name It!
If you could have something named after you, what would it be? Sometimes I think naming things after people is a little strange. I get that it’s a way of remembering people, usually donors, but sometimes it seems to get out of hand. For example, sitting in the front pew of the Immaculate Misconception ofContinue reading “You Name It!”
Education IS Important
What’s something most people don’t understand? Free and public education seems to not only be taken for granted lately, but is also under attack. In our social media/misinformation-filled world, people seem to have forgotten how important education is. Occasionally I’ll get a friend request on Facebook. When I look at their profile, I see theyContinue reading “Education IS Important”
Confidence? Umm…
How would you rate your confidence level? I have a PhD from UC Berkeley. I’ve presented at national and international conferences. I’ve taught for 31 years. So anyone would think my confidence level would be high. But in another blog post I mentioned the 10 year old boy who hides inside me and undermines thatContinue reading “Confidence? Umm…”
Independent-Thinking Scholar
At conferences, I would sometimes see the title, “Independent Scholar” and, in my snobby way, I would think, “Well, that person can’t find a real job.” Of course, maybe they chose that route. The title of this blog post suggest a scholar who thinks independently of what he or she has been taught. In myContinue reading “Independent-Thinking Scholar”
Podcasts 51 and 52 Part 2
In my previous blog entry I talked about podcast episodes number 51 and 52. Here is a postscript to one aspect of that story. In episode 51 I talked a bit about the comprehensive exams. For those, we were placed in a room for four days, three hours each day, and were expected to writeContinue reading “Podcasts 51 and 52 Part 2”
MUSOFYR 