Micro Blogs

There's a genre in Latin American literature (probably other literatures too, but I can't be bothered with them) called the micro-cuento. They're very short stories, sometimes just a sentence, that wander between poetry and narrative.

I assume that they're difficult to write, I'm sure I couldn't without it coming out like the product of an unholy union of a haiku and a limerick.

So I thought I could micro-blog, though probably (hopefully) not for the same reasons artists write micro-cuentos. The prospect of writing a longer blog makes me tired, it's significantly easier just to provide pasty gems that stop shortly before (or after) the idea runs out.

Yerba Mate

Yerba Mate is an herbal tea from Argentina (and Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay...). It tastes a bit like burnt alfalfa and is terribly addictive. I've credited it with getting me through my dissertation and probably through parts of the tenure track, it's been a part of my life for over 15 years.

At any rate, I hate feeling like I'm dependent on anything, so I decided to give it up. It's been about 30 hours now. I have a lot more compassion for people who try to stop certain habits. Yesterday was full of headaches, today is full of brain clouds.

Maybe if I had a volcano handy?

Post Semester Crash

At the end of each semester I fall apart. The stress and scotch tape that keeps me together dissolves into a puddle once the teaching adrenaline substrate is removed. Time is spent watching TV and in full-on fiaca.

It's a bit of a ritual now.

On watching one's children grow up

I went to my daughters' piano recital the other day. Our beginner played that piece by Handel that's now more associated with grandfather clocks than with the composer of the Messiah and did wonderfully well as a first time performer. Our oldest played a couple of pieces beautifully and I was struck by the experience of watching my child do something better than I can. Around about adolescence, one's children begin to develop talents that go beyond what their parents can do, and it is awe-inspiring to see them grown into accomplished, dedicated individuals.

A new feature for Microsoft Word

This may seem a bit hypocritical, given some of the other sentences I've inflicted on this blog, but here goes:

I'd like to propose a new feature for Microsoft Word (or for any word processing program). Whenever a sentence goes beyond four lines, the program will electrify the keyboard, administering a punitive shock to the offending (and offensive) wordsmith. This could be part of an academic writing mode as I don't mind lengthy sentences in creative writing, but if I have to read another article where the dependent clauses swarm, I'll..., well, I'll figure out a way to electrify keyboards.

Legend of the Seeker

Have you ever found a show that you like in spite of it (and your) self? Have I ever not?
At any rate, Legend of the Seeker is one like that. The dialogue often stumbles around until falling face first onto the floor, but I like it anyway. The acting is generally good, there's a nice forbidden love story going on, and people try to do what's right. With swords.

The love story is what hooks me, just like it did with Farscape. I like watching the episodes for those little morsel moments in which the main characters get all googly-eyed. While these types of narratives can be dangerous (love fantasies can make reality bleak and lead to bad decisions made in the hope of living those fantasies), I'm more interested in the kinds of narratives that tell a story of love being difficult, of having to overcome serious obstacles, of continuing in the face of those obstacles and not giving up. Those types of narratives are important, and realistic, even when there are swords and spells and googly eyes.

Writing in the library

As I'm fairly certain that no one reads/has ever read this blog, I'm beginning to conceive of it as a book tucked away in an obscure hexagonal shelf, differing only by a letter or two from the book next to it.
I should clarify that I don't think that Borges anticipated the internet, only that he provided a series of images that are easily re-tasked when thinking about blogs and the like.

So, how does "Re-tasking Borges: Illusions of Technological Prophecy in (a couple of academic books I'm reviewing)" sound?

And continuing with my re-tasking of The Library of Babel, does each new post extend the same book or create a new one?