Get past me

Spent the weekend either talking to friends or reading. I actually managed to read 2 essays of Hannah Arendt, 5 essays of Rosseau, looked through a book my friend wrote, browsed through another for possible review, read 2 books of Aristotle's Physics and actually begun reading a book on conservative Christian theology. I even caught a play (a bit marred by an audience with a fixation of the scatological-perhaps a sign of the repressed?). I did everything except.....work on my dissertation...uh oh. Oh well, I promise to spend today (though I would attend a party in the evening) and tomorrow (a National Day public holiday, not celebrating so would most probably be at home) working on my dissertation. Somehow, I don't feel all that patriotic, knowing that the day that we are celebrating is just another long list of nationalist propaganda and revised historiography.

Looking at this left me with bad taste in my mouth (and mind) . These girls are either so clueless that they have no idea that they are a fodder for burlesque and carnivalesque camp, or they are just desperate enough to do anything for a few seconds of fame and money (if they win). So much for ERA. It seems that a number of them come from the Bible belt part of the USA (go figure. I wonder what would Iran think of their women start taking part in competitions like these). It seems that Stuff has now come to Malaysia. Why is it that only magazines like these ever come to Malaysia? Is it because they think that Malaysians love magazines like these? Or that they have money to branch out to a small country like Malaysia? Or that they are desperate to increase their sale? With so many gadget, sex and lifestyle magazine around, I wonder how would they survive? Or do men never tire of cheap titillation?

Anyway, for something inspiring, I found this blog when looking in my email.
To all Malaysians, enjoy your public holiday. Remember to make it a meaningful one.

To the rest who might not have a holiday, well you will get your turn. (:

Christian Education

Having all these debates and things going on, as shown by the links below, really makes one rethink the aim of education. As a start, I will post some links on religious education in the US, which usually means bible colleges and Christian centric home-schooling. You will find it interesting to note that there is no unanimous voice in how it should be done, but that it should be done.

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0421-09.htm
http://www.google.com.my/search?q=cache:688CqK4CKNsJ:www.pepperdine.edu/provost/Library/Benne-Athens%2520and%2520Jerusalem.pdf+engagement+between+bible+colleges+and+secular+education&hl=en
http://www.homeschooldigest.com/ERodd.htm

It is late and I am tired so I will discourse more another day. Goodnight.

The right to Protest?

I wonder what would happen if someone protests at the UMNO General Assembly. Definitely would not be a pretty picture.

http://www.rncprotestrights.org/rights-bust.html
http://www.villagevoice.com/blogs/kamenetz/

Ealy morning blog

I thought that it would be good, for a change, to start my morning, from home, by making a blog entry.

The good news is, all the journals to whom I have submitted my academic writing have acknowledged receipt of my articles (which is a far cry from what used to be two years ago). I had to resend a number of the articles after not haven't heard back from some of the publications I sent to (despite having received the acknowledgement 2 years to 8 months ago) even after emailing them and giving them a wide space of time to reply. At least one of the other articles were rejected on first attempt and had been revised further (problem with my style, apparently. Damn, I need to learn how to write academic papers properly) so I am sending it in again. There is another article which I have decided to send to a literary as opposed to a scholarly journal, as I felt that it is more of a critical essay than a scholarlyly one (despite having written it for class).

Anyway, if any gets rejected, I think I will just post it on my website as sample of my student work (heh) and to share with you guys, in case any readers here ever have to research any of the topics. At least 2 of my essays are now on two different literary websites and from what I gather, widely read (or at least looked at). I am always glad to know that there are people out there who are interested in my work.

The end of summer is approaching, so that would mean that all those erstwhile academics who have put me on hold while they jetset around the world would finally respond to me. I sometimes wish I have more time and money to do that (not that I haven't been doing that, just that I aint doing that as often as I wish). My travelling here and there explains why I have little savings, that despite working 3 jobs at one point :P. Ok, only one of it paid well (that being my regular job, the others are just freelance).

I finally got my copy of Paris Review, after having to wait for customs to approve it. It is one thick, paperbound, quarto size pack, with loads of poems! And of course some critical essays. I am keeping that at work so that I could read a bit a day. I was supposed to be doing some work yesterday (when I got back after dinner) but as I was down with a bad cold but with no inclination to sleep yet, I decided to look at some blogs and newspaper articles at random. I am not yet back to my old self, but am feeling much better this morning than yesterday night, when I had dinner with a friend and his friends. They are an interesting bunch, except that I wasn't feeling perky.

Anyway, while looking around for websites on modernism, I came across this site that I would like to log here for my own reference and for you to click on :P

Cheers!

psychosis

Working on Plath can sometimes push me into a state of melancholia.

Here is an article that might be of interest to you guys. It is on Evolutionary Psychology .

I am now looking around for more works and articles that have ever been written on Plath. If anyone of you out there reading this knows someone who is or is a Plath scholar, please email me. I would like to pow-wow with you. (:

Health conscious

I have been particularly health conscious, going for health checks for every little sign and symptom that might be a probable diagnosis to a disease. Such meticulous attention has less to do with hypochondria but more to do with the awareness that I am not getting any younger and the world at large is getting unhealthy, due to unnatural and natural courses (from the frenetic modern day lifestyle to mutations of viruses). Hence, when I pricked myself with a needle while sewing yesterday, I decided to go see the doctor and get vaccination againt possible Tetanus. Sure enough, the doctor gave me a dose of the adsorbed tetanus toxoid. For those of you who are not in the know (I wasn't until yesterday), there was a shortage of vaccines due to the discontinuation of its production by one of the pharmacological companies. However, the problem of supply has been resolved, and those who have not had an anti-tetanus injection in years might want to think about getting a booster shot. Find out more about the drugs at
http://www.ashp.org/shortage/tetanus-update.cfm

To look at research done on the impact of postvaccination antibody anti tetanus response, you can go to this article online at
http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/full/67/11/5951

Going for regular medical examination (at least once a year) is good for your soul. At least it serves as warnings and reminders when you misbehave.

Religion and politics

When religion and politics are merged, does it mean that the underclass(the non-patricians) will suffer from over-zealous, bigoted, narrow minds who think that they have been called to decide what is good or bad for them?

Check it here
Girl got executed for "Sharp Tongue"
To the women:Sleep with the Mullah if you want your rights

I used to naively think that religion can make you a better person. Yeah right. It just allows the unpopular, short, and ugly kid fo exact his or her revenge, in the name of God/Allah/Yah-Weh.

I supposed the reason the People of the Book get so much bad press is because there are more of us to screw around with the other people (both of the Book and not of the Book).

Friday Night in August

Here am I, sitting before a computer on a night when Sylvia Plath would be looking for dates (if she wasn't staying in like me). Yes, I am obssessed with the subject of my study. But it is a healthy obssession, and hopefully would give birth to a new book.

I often wonder, and still do, why do I do what I do. Why do I sit in a table, with three other people that I barely know, and watch them talk, and hear their uncomfortable silences, as they try to make conversation with each other, under my unmoving gaze. Perhaps it is to derive comfort in the company of strangers? Or to discover a different world that I have never inhabited. Why do I crack my head so hard, working on a book (which will begin life as a dissertation), when I could just hav fulfilled minimal requirements and get my Degree. But then, is that the reason why I embarked on that course of study? What is the use of a paper qualification in Literature if one does not have an enriching experience to accompany it?

I would like to share an article by feminist, Katha Politt, that I have googled up. I first read her when one of her opinion essays was published in New Yorker, talking about how she would webstalk her ex-lover by googling and searching online for what tenuous connection there was to him. Strange for a feminist to do that, you say? Well, feminist or no feminist, sometimes the heart and emotions get the better of us. I have been guilty of googling up people, from former lovers to former lovers of lovers. Friends and acquaintances have also been web-checked (or webstalked) by me. So, what can I say ? :P

I have bought another New Yorker (Aug 2 issues, they come late over here in Malaysia) and a collection of short stories by Italo Calvino. It seems that I would forgo all the girly stuff, namely clothes, shoes, bags and make-up just to save up money for books and more books. I wouldn't even buy anything beyond the printed material when I travel abroad to Europe, though I make the exceptions when I go to places like Thailand and Indonesia. As a colleague says, my sense of fashion is often disastrous (due to the fact that I don't really have enough clothes to match for all 5 days of work and so I end up with mismatched items. I tend to have more casuals (Read T-Shirts, pants and shorts) than work or party wear (which can be counted with my toes and fingers, though they look like more when I mix and match with more casual shifts). I only have one unbroken bag (bought at some cheap sale in my hometown up north), 6 pairs of shoes (including two pairs of heels, one an old fashion black strappy pair I got from a sale in London) and a pair of sandals. I do like manicures and pedicures ( I treat myself to them once a month or once in two months, and not always doing both simultaneously), hair treatments for problematic hair and scalp(which I now decide to do myself to save) and even facials when my skin looks stressed up (and this is because I actually have a full-time job for a change). I guess I can save myself from having to do the latter two if I just bloody move out of the city, which is what I would do, once my current contract ends (I need to save money then). It is the cause of my skin and hair problems, and the fact that I live in a hole without a kitchen precludes me from ever being able to cook, hence creating dietary problems as well.

I suppose I should stop here instead of boring you with the more frivolous aspects of my life. Back to New Yorker...

Some technology links

I don't have a lot to say at this point, except that many of the people I know and friends will be flying abroad to further their studies between this month and next. I wish them well and I will miss seeing them around here. I look forward to the day when I could also spread my wings and fly.

On a different note, I would like to share some interesting tehcnologically-related links that I have found via emails and from my compulsive surfing habits.

DNA Programming - Will this trump Moore's Law which says that the number of transistors in the integrated circuits will double annually.

Handheld viruses
http://www.informit.com/articles/printerfriendly.asp?p=327990
http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=327994

Currently reading the Communist Manifesto and will be reading Julie Kristeva.

Another week has passed

The reason why I haven't been posting for the whole of last week was because I had to mediate between preparing and attending a big conference in Malaysia for three days, and getting chores done, which includes clearing up my room. After a day long event which includes getting up at 6:15-6:30 every morning to travel 60 km down south and back, I am usually too tired to attempt anything useful. The process of sorting out my room included recycling paper, recycling bottles, and recycling some last year's issues of Malaysia's Edition of Marie Claire. I profess to reading women's magazines (well, usually only Marie Claire) to gauge the current conditions of popular culture in this country. While it titillates the eyes with its visuals, its featured products and stories both corny and serious, it is a good way to find out about current trends and the effects of magazine reading. While I would like to stave away every magazine I have for research purpose in the near future, I know that it would take up space, that despite the fact that I have not bought a lifestyle magazine in months (excepting free copies of a men's magazines that I used to get as a writer for them). Hence, I gave at least three copies away and would bring the rest back to my hometown for storage.

Btw, people, when you ever throw anything into recycling of donation bins, please read the labels on top. In one donation bin somewhere in the south of Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, a number of people have thrown in old shoes where they are supposed to be throwing in reading materials. Plus a moron or two who threw in their rubbish. Blooming idiots.

Btw, if you are interested to know what conference I have been attending the past week, you can check it out here. Much work is needed to refine and revise the paper that I have presented. I think they will post the papers online later.

I would like to report that my dissertation research is making progress. Now, if only there are more hours in a day.