No, We Own It

as most of you know, a. and i moved to clinton, ny in july, 2005 because a. received a job at hamilton college. unbekownst to us, we bought a house previously owned by a beloved english professor at hamilton. He sold the house in 2002 when he moved into a retirement community.

when we tell people in clinton where we live, most automatically say, "oh, in fred's old house." indeed, our house is known as fred's house, because this esteemed academic lived there for many years. this doesn't bother us in the least. what does bother us is this: after establishing that we live in fred's house, the question that invariably follows is: "are you renting"?

renting? excuse me?

why do people always assume a. and i rent instead of own our home? the house we live in is not the kind of house that people rent. it's never been rental property; it's clearly a home that has always been owned. so, why are we always asked this question? do people think that a gay couple can't own a home? two women can't own a home? do we look like we are fresh out of graduate school, and are simply too young to be home owners? last time i looked in the mirror, i saw a 41 year old woman staring back at me - not a 30 year old. what the fuck? i find this question so annoying, and offensive that i want to scream and claw the questioner's eyes out.

so, i have resolved to respond thusly to the following question:

where do you live in clinton?

we live in fred's old house, and no, we don't rent, we own it.

Crazy Academics

Why are academics so fucked up?

I have been in institutions of higher education for almost twenty years now, as a student, teacher and administrator and I have met the most anti-social, eccentric, socio-pathic, ego-maniacal people imaginable. I don't think all professions contain such characters. Do they?

A few months ago, A. and I were talking about this phenomena, and we made a list of the top 5, crazy- as- fuck academics we have encountered over the years. Rest assured it was not easy to limit the list to 5. I wish I could provide that list here, but since this is on the web, I'd better not. One of them could exact revenge, which would, of course, be done in some shady, underhanded, creative and oh so lethal manner.

This has been weighing on my mind over the past couple of days. You see, I have been dealing with one of the craziest academics I have ever encountered. The extent of this person's craziness is almost beyond belief. Really. While I have met a lot of lunatics in the academy, this person is at the top of the list, and seriously needs to be institutionalized. But this academic has tenure, so there you go. We will all have to suffer this person indefinitely.

oy vey.

joyce

Notes on a ClusterFuck

saw the acclaimed film *notes on a scandal* this week, and left the theatre with a whoah, what the hell was that all about? what a psychological clusterfuck of a film.

i won't re-hash the plot or really talk about the details of the film here. that info is widely available elsewhere. suffice it to say that this is a movie about obsessions, and moral failings.

what i liked about the film:

the performances. as most everyone has noted, this is an acting tour de force, with judi dench and cate blanchett sparring on screen in a vigorous, superb manner. judi dench is astounding as the frumpy loner, barbara. the twinkle in her eyes speak volumes, and she has created one of the most despicable ( very humanly so) screen characters in recent memory. cate blanchett is great too, but her character, sheba, isn't as nuanced or dynamic as dench's barbara.

the commentary on obsession. each of the characters is motivated by obsession. barbara is obsessed with sheba, sheba is obsessed with her young, student lover, and sheba's husband is obsessed with their seemingly perfect, bourgeois life. the movie reveals that all obsession, regardless of degree, leads one down dangerous paths, with, more often than not, dangerous outcomes.

the commentary on morality. this film notes that all people are flawed, and bad decisions, and obsessions lead one to committ bad deeds. barbara's flaws are most obvious, and the extent of them are slowly revealed in the film. sheba and her husband are the most interesting because, on the surface, they appear to have a picture perfect life. they are educated, do-good liberals who work as educators and have an adopted son with down's syndrome. their moral failings are not so apparant. as the film progresses we learn that sheba, a public school teacher, begins an affair with one of her 15 year old students. this morally questionable act leads her right into jail. her husband, we are led to believe, was once obsessed with sheba. he was her college professor who began dating her when she was only 20. thus, his character is shown to also be morally questionable.

the only weakness in the film was the plot. the "friendship" between the two women is hastily developed, as is the combustion between them at the end. the first three quarters of the film were well-paced and then the ending seems a bit too abrupt. but i'm being picky. it's not a bad film at all.

one question i have is about dench's character, barbara. is this woman the tired old lesbian trope? you know the type, the frumpy, evil, repressed lesbian who is out of possess, control and corrupt a younger woman in her midst? is barbara's sexuality that important to the film? she is repressed in every conceivable way, and doesn't seem to recognize that she is obsessed with younger women. one review (in the New Yorker, I think)suggests that dench's performance, and the multi-dimensional nature of this character prevent one from reading her as a stereotype. hmmm. don't know. i'm still thinking about that one.

go see it. if nothing else, for the acting clinic put on by dench and blanchett.

jb

R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith

I'm saddened by Anna Nicole's death, and I'm not ashamed, although I feel the need to justify my sadness for this American pop culture personality. I was shocked to learn yesterday that she had died, despite her reported drug use, and the depression she descended into after losing her son 5 months ago. So much is wrapped up in this tabloid icon: celebrity, drugs, poverty, sex, beauty, money etc. It was hard not to be taken with her.

Here are my reasons for liking Anna Nicole Smith:

1. She was fucking beautiful, albeit in that artificial, Playboy bunny kind of way. She was physically flawless even when she was fat. And while the Marylin Monroe comparisons are swirling around, I will state for the record that Anna Nicole Smith was even more beautiful than Marylin Monroe. Physical beauty was why she was famous. Sure, Anna Nicole wasn't especially bright but she was blessed with this incredible physical perfection and what else can someone born so beautiful do with their life but sell this beauty?

2. I loved the fact that she blatantly married a geriatric billionaire, and then had the audacity to fight for his money. And win. A gold digger? Hell yes, but who was the real victim here - a rich old man with a fondness for playboy bunnies, or a white trash beauty queen just trying to get ahead in life? He wanted her beauty, was willing to pay millions for it, and she gave it to him in exchange for those millions. More power to her, I say.

3. Loved, loved, loved her essential white trash-ness. Anna Nicole Smith was woman born to a poor family in Texas, and never knew who her father was. She was a teenage mother working at the Chicken Shack, when she got discovered for her beauty and ended up in Playboy, winning the bunny of the year in 1993. Even after she was famous she never lost that white trash essence. She just became white trash with money. And like some people who come from impoverished backgrounds, she had a big heart.

4. She liked to have a good time. Sure, this may have killed her, but she was a party girl and I always admired her desire to live life as one big party.

R.I.P. Anna Nicole Smith

R.I.P. Molly Ivins

Today is a very sad day. I'm a bit hung over with grief after hearing the news that Molly Ivins died yesterday of breast cancer. A great loss for the political world and society in general. I loved her wit, and the funny, unpretentious language she used to lambast conservatives. As most of us know, it was Ivins who came up with the "Shrub" nickname for George W. She fought for justice, and her mind and presence will be greatly missed.

I wanted to include an email sent by my friend, Jeff, who provided an excerpt of one of Molly's Books. Enjoy, and Goodbye Molly Ivins. R.I.P.

Here is Jeff's email:

I'm sure most of you have heard or read it by now, but Molly Ivins
died this evening. I was looking through some of her books this
evening (yeah, I've got all of 'em--in hardcover), and this just
seemed exactly right:

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you
forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be
outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that
freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and
celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who
come after how much fun it was."

Nothin' But Good Times Ahead, pp. 254-5

I think that's exactly what she'd have said tonight. What a loss for us all.
j