First Day of School!

[auto-da-fey]

you know all those people who hand out free sample products all over campuses? on the way to my first class--where nobody knew who was elected president in 1968, which means Billy Joel's Red China and Bernie Goetz references are unlikely to connect, alas--I stupidly accepted this Death Adder Venom Energy and Fruit Punch drink without really thinking, and as a result, the students must think I'm either a speed freak or reeeeaaaaally enthused about this big intro course.

also why do I do lame things like talk out loud to myself: "hmm, the lights aren't on. should we turn the lights on? I guess it's not like we're at a goth show--" and that's the point where my internal monologue kicks in: "dude what the fuck are you even saying?" and I just trickle off into mumbling to myself.

[hannah]

Last semester a student asked me, "What happened in the sixties?" I replied, "Woodstock." He wrote that down.

[Ignatius]

I think students generally take any deviation from straightforward, routine professor-behavior as a good sign, and nothing more on the first day. Other than those surreptitiously texting their friends 'lol old guy must b sippin nrg juice hes so jazzed.'

You should run a cold war class so you can play Leningrad, Stormfront's superior history lesson.

[auto-da-fey]

hell, maybe just a seminar on Storm Front, with essays like "Chart the emotional geography of 'Downeaster Alexa.' Just what the fuck is it about Montauk, anyway?"

[Ignatius]

What does it say about BJ that the song he wrote ostensibly to honor his newborn daughter is in fact an account of the plight of the Long Island fisherman? To bring it back to that eighth grade social studies class: we had to give brief presentations on our grandparents' jobs, and I recounted 'Downeaster Alexa' nearly word for word. I was kind of a prick, but the teacher ate it up while my best friend and fellow Billy Joel afficionado nearly came to tears in the back of the room from held-back amazement. I don't remember now whether I ultimately told the truth or not.

[das kranke Tier]

hell, maybe just a seminar on Storm Front, with essays like "Chart the emotional geography of 'Downeaster Alexa.' Just what the fuck is it about Montauk, anyway?"

I will attend your course, sir.  Where do I register?

[G.C.R]

Is there a bragging corner? 91% on the Richard the Third test I took when I had the flu! Its only worth ten or fifteen percent of the over all grade, but yes I OWN DICK THREE

[Ignatius]

Dick 3 himself will be in shortly to contest.

[Greg Nog]

I would like to see Dick 3 doing a rendition of "My Humps".

[davy]

I think students generally take any deviation from straightforward, routine professor-behavior as a good sign, and nothing more on the first day.

This is so, so true.

[silentsigh89]

oh, God. Russian literature is a NIGHTMARE. I am one of two non-native speakers, and the other one spent all summer doing an intensive language program in Russia. I am so far out of my depths. My professor asked me to describe what, in my opinion, were some of the most important themes in Russian literature. It took me about three minutes to figure out the question, on the first hand, and then I realized that I don't know these kinds of nouns off the top of my head and was far too flustered to figure them out. My eventual, stuttered response was:

"Happy? Sad? To love?"

It's going to be a very, very, very long semester.

[Greg Nog]

That's not only a phenomenal story, but I think "Happy?  Sad?  To Love?" should definitely be the title of the next books thread.

[hannah]

I AM THINKING OF EACH DAY TAKING A PHOTOGRAPH OF MY EVER-INCREASING PATCH OF WHITE HAIRS.

[ellaguru]

Prematurely grey chicks are hot.

[diesel_powered]

you know all those people who hand out free sample products all over campuses? on the way to my first class--where nobody knew who was elected president in 1968, which means Billy Joel's Red China and Bernie Goetz references are unlikely to connect, alas--I stupidly accepted this Death Adder Venom Energy and Fruit Punch drink without really thinking, and as a result, the students must think I'm either a speed freak or reeeeaaaaally enthused about this big intro course.

Last semester, the students got really weirded out by the volume of coffee I'd drink during class. Aside from the fact that I needed something to keep my mouth wet, I could really only handle desk crits and the constant whining while speeding a little.

[diesel_powered]

Also, now I have "We Didn't Start The Fire" stuck in my head. Thanks.

[G.C.R]

you know all those people who hand out free sample products all over campuses? on the way to my first class--where nobody knew who was elected president in 1968, which means Billy Joel's Red China and Bernie Goetz references are unlikely to connect, alas--I stupidly accepted this Death Adder Venom Energy and Fruit Punch drink without really thinking, and as a result, the students must think I'm either a speed freak or reeeeaaaaally enthused about this big intro course.

Last semester, the students got really weirded out by the volume of coffee I'd drink during class. Aside from the fact that I needed something to keep my mouth wet, I could really only handle desk crits and the constant whining while speeding a little.

I almost fell over in tutorial yesterday because I had such bad coffee shakes. Also, the only free stuff i got handed this year was a little teeny carry bag, with a teeny tiny book about safe sex, and some condoms in. I wish we got given energy drinks.

[andronicus]

Prematurely grey chicks are hot.

Seconded.

[davy]

Particularly this one:

[Wally]

I'm coming to the end of my third week in the final year of my degree, and right now finding it exceedingly difficult to get excited about what I'm studying. In theory, with two modules around migration, identity and citizenship issues, as well as a dissertation on alternative education this year should be when I'm most up for it, but it's becoming increasingly difficult to balance the amount of time the theory of academic work takes away from the practice of other areas of my life. It'd be incredibly foolish of me to throw the towel in now, but it'd be pretty sad if I continued out of some sense that I should just finish what I started for the sake of it. Instead I'm desperately hoping to hit upon some sort of inspiration or encouragment over the next couple of weeks reading that this is  a valid use of my time and efforts.

[ellaguru]

I'm feeling a little guilty (but mostly good, I guess) about our class debate assignment thingy tonight. I intentionally picked the obviously wrong side of an argument the prof cares about, because that's more fun. But how the debates work in this course is there's a class vote on the issue at the beginning, then the debate, and then a class vote at the end. So the first vote went, much as I expected it would, 16-0 against me). But at that point, ya know, I actually have to play (and by "I" here I really mean "we", but by "we" I mostly mean "I"). And that's the bit I feel a little guilty about, because it turns out that after 5 years of philosophy grad school you can pretty much beat up on any argument (that's what they put Socrates to death for, after all), so these poor first year MI students, who had the truth + public opinion + the support of all the readings and lectures, had to lose a debate they should have won. On the other hand, in terms of an exercise for me, it was kinda fun.

The topic was "We live in a surveillance society". The prof actually has this interesting project they are working on that will allow people to determine whether or not their email is being intercepted by the NSA based on packet routes and intelligence about likely locations of NSA listening posts (unconfirmed by the NSA, of course). So that's what we've been hearing about.

[Good Intentions]

And that's the bit I feel a little guilty about, because it turns out that after 5 years of philosophy grad school you can pretty much beat up on any argument (that's what they put Socrates to death for, after all)

You're not joking. You might be glad to hear that in the antipodes this (Doing philosophy can be very annoying! They killed Socrates for asking questions like this!) is also a taken as a truism.

[Bernard]

Of course, there's a difference between arguing well, or indeed actually putting forth an argument at all, and actually persuading anybody of anything. See also: the internet.

[Good Intentions]

A handy starting position is that any positive claim is false. This includes the claim that all positive claims are false. And Popper gave us another neat trick: if you can't find somethimg wrong with a positive claim, it probably doesn't mean anything.

[Maaik]

Prematurely grey chicks are hot.

Seconded.

Particularly this one: