Chapter 4...

I'm starting the first draft of chapter 4 today. I have a feeling this one is going to be the hardest one to write. Ugh...

Fighting For Freedom

Perhaps there is some truth to the pugilist reputation help by the Irish. Up until independence the Irish were a mainstay in the British Army, and even afterward kept fighting amongst themselves for a long time. One of the more obscure Irish military operations, at least beyond the borders of Eire, is the Irish participation in the Spanish Civil War. About 250 Irish men from both sides of the partition line volunteered to join the 15th International Brigade and support the Republican fight against General Franco and the Spanish fascists. Today the Belfast Telegraph reports that the last surviving Irish volunteer died in London. (Another 700 Blueshirts, Ireland's Fascist group, went to fight for Franco, but upon arriving in Spain realized they didn't agree with France when they were order to fight the Basques. Recognizing the similarities between the Basques and the Irish, the Blueshirts refused to fight and Franco sent them back to Ireland.)

Staunch advocates of the rights of small nations (Spain wasn't necessarily small in area, but was definitely a weak player in the international scene) and all to familiar with an unwanted and oppressive government, in many ways it's unsurprising that Irish men joined in this fight. Even the participation of the Irish Blueshirts demonstrates the inability of the Irish to escape their colonial past, regardless of political ideology. Irish balladeer Christy Moore immortalized the Irish volunteers in the song "Viva La Quinte Brigada," the lyrics of which were largely culled from a memoir written by one of the leaders of the Irish contingent.

The Last Professor

A colleague of mine posted this and I figured I'd put it up here. It's a commentary on the state of the humanities in higher education, especially in relation to the shifts occurring in that arena. Namely, the rise of for-profit universities and the marginalization of full-time professors. What's really sad is that the idea that the humanities are only suitable for wealthy men of leisure seems to persist in the modern world. Too many people, organizations, businesses, etc. only look at the short-term, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of people, and fail to understand the benefit of having a well-rounded education. For the business world, this may mean a steeper learning curve initially, but I would be amazed if the long-term outcome didn't see an advantage toward folks from the humanities. The world needs people who are capable of thinking on their own just as much as it needs people who "do."

New DTB album

Another brief note: The Derek Trucks Band released their new album Already Free today. Of course I picked up a copy, and yes, they're my favorite band (next to the Dead), but this thing is friggin' awesome. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. The band as two nights scheduled for Park West in April, which I'm looking forward to seeing. Money spent on DTB tickets is ALWAYS money well spent.

Rocky Mountain High

This past weekend I had the pleasure of going to Colorado to see my family out there. It's no small secret that when I finish my degree I want to move to Colorado and this trip only added fuel to that fire. The attraction of family (for both Katie and I) is strong, but I also like the climate there and the proximity to outdoors activities (both summer and winter) and the frequency of musical acts I like playing in and around the Denver area.

I flew in on Thursday evening and my cousin Peter picked me up at the airport. On our way to his house we stopped and picked up the skis I had reserved for the following day. We stopped at a liquor store that had an awesome selection of microbrews from all over the western united states. I settled on the Obsidian Stoute and Moose Drool brown ale. Both were delicious. After Peter's rec league basketball game (in which he provided the bulk of his team's scoring and was perfect from the line) we went to his neighbor's house (with beer in tow) to watch the BCS Championship game, which had been Tivo'd. I was disappointed that Florida won, but oh well.

Friday was spent skiing. We headed out to Loveland and spent almost an entire day out on the slopes. There was a lot of good powder and for the hack skier like myself, it was a pleasant and enjoyable day. I'm by no means a extreme skier, and at one point we got lost in an avalanche area. That took a while to get out of, and was quite strenuous work, but that just means the beer break afterwards was warranted.

Saturday we went up to Fort Collins to see my Grandma and my Aunt. For a frail old lady, my Grandma sure has an iron tight grip. After visiting with Grandma for about 30-45 minutes, we went over to my Aunt's house for lunch. After lunch we headed over to the New Belgium Brewery to try to get a tour, but once we got there all the day's tours had ended. We settled for the brief self-guided tour and the free samples. Not only was the beer good (this is the place that makes Fat Tire) but they brew house is really cool, and they give you a fair amount of each beer to try. Once we finished there we hurried back to Denver since we had tickets for the University of Denver/Michigan Tech hockey game. The game was really entertaining. It was tied 1-1 going into the third period, which was really the best one. The game got really fast and physical in the third, and DU came out on top 3-1. After the game we went to a karaoke bar and hung out. My cousin Adam was encouraging me to do a tune and I finally relented. I was one of the last folks to go at the end of the evening and did Paul Simon's "Late In The Evening," which seemed to go over well. After returning to Peter's house and raiding the cookie dough, we called it a night.

Following a whirlwind Saturday, a restful Sunday was a welcome respite. We went to Church in the morning (my first time in years), the grocery store, and then watched football for the rest of the afternoon (a nice little Sunday indeed). In the evening my cousin Adrienne brought her kids over to Peter's so I'd get a chance to see them before I left the following morning. I helped Abby with her homework and spent some time reveling in the wonder of youth with both her and her brother Garrett. A couple of good kids there.

We woke up Monday morning to a mild blizzard, but luckily my plane wasn't delayed. Of course that same evening, we got pretty much the same weather in Chicago. Apparently it was inescapable. All-in-all, it was a whirlwind weekend, but it was a great opportunity to see my cousins, whose company I really enjoy, and for the state of Colorado to further endear itself to me.

Cynicism explained

One of the most annoying things for a doctoral candidate is when people ask you what you do for a living. What ensues in an inevitable explanation of school, course work, dissertation, and idealized employment goals. Most people assume that PhDs want to teach. That's funny, because that is exactly what most PhDs want to do. What is difficult is explaining to people how hard it is to get any kind of academic job. That's not to say that it can't be done, but there are a number of limiting factors both within and beyond the control of any single individual. One of the most patronizing things is when, after explaining in layman's terms the difficulty of the job market, folks still say, "oh but you'll be fine." Just because I have enthusiasm for my work doesn't guarantee me a job. I hate to say it. So with all this pessisimism and cynicism in mind, this does a good job of explaining how dire the situation is and what some of the underlying factors are that contribute to the problem, but are beyond the control of the average PhD. Like most PhDs I hope to be one of the 30 or so percent of folks that lands a full-time tenure track job, and when my time comes I'll try my damnedest to get one, but at the same time, it's impossible to ignore the current status of the job market and higher education.

Movies

Katie and I went to see three movies this week. With the Golden Globes rapidly approaching Katie wants to see as many of the nominated movies as she can to better predict the winners in each category. This is an annual undertaking. I don't really get into the whole awards thing, but it is an excuse to see some really good films (Ever since the Emmy's snubbed The Wire, I have no faith in any award shows anymore). In the past week we saw The Reader, Slumdog Millionaire, and Doubt.

The Reader was a very interesting story with an underlying message about having secrets, keeping them to yourself, and the effect that can have on one's life. The basic plot is of a young man who has an affair with an older woman as a teenager, and later he finds out that she was an SS Guard during the Second World War. The story itself was intriguing and the acting was really good. I don't think it will win Best Picture, but I can understand why it was nominated.

Slumdog Millionaire was my favorite of the three movies we've seen. It's about a poor Indian boy who goes on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and wins a large amount of money. The story-telling is great as it cuts back and forth between the past and the present, showing how the events of the boy's life lead him to know the answers on the show. There's a romantic arc to the story as well, and the actors do a very good job, especially the kids who play the youth versions of the characters. There's even a Bollywood song and dance routine during the credits. This film has a good chance of being a sleeper winner for Best Film. I wouldn't be disappointed if this one won.

Doubt was a superbly acted film. Both Philip Seymour Hoffman and Meryl Streep are nominated for their acting in this movie (no shocker there - two of the top actors in the biz today). I found the story itself to be a bit dull. It's intentionally ambiguous and nothing is clear by the end of the film, but that's the whole point. I wouldn't be surprised if either nominee won an award for this film.

Out of these three, I would recommend Slumdog Millionaire the most. See all of them if you have the time, but definitely check out Slumdog.