The Professor's Tale

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!! Things may not be perfect, but there is a lot to be thankful for this year.
Love, C

I have finally embraced the inevitable and signed up on facebook. So friend me, people, and make it worth my while!

or anyone else who watched Firefly. Is the woman who plays the spokesalien for this new series V the same one who was the companion on Firefly? I would not have recognized her w/o all that hair, but her voice is familiar, and I have been wracking my brain trying to nail it down. BTW--I am completely obsessed with her new haircut!!

Don't test your stamina now. Eat well, get plenty of rest and treat yourself right.

Hello everyone--

Thought some of you might be interested in this, or know someone who might be. If so, feel free to respond directly to Amy Stackhouse (the deadline has been extended to March 6), or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask me.

CALL FOR PAPERS

The inaugural Conference on Intellectual Property (CIP) will be held on June 12-13th 2009 at Iona College in New Rochelle, NY, and will include keynote addresses by Laura M. Quilter, M.L.S., J.D. and painter Joy Garnett.

Whether it be the submission of student papers to plagiarism-detecting websites, the marketing of a movie that chronicles the challenges of a windshield wiper inventor, or the latest debates over the application of nonobvious intention, issues involving intellectual property in the academic, economic, legal, and technological fields challenge the very notion of ownership: what we own, how we own, and who may claim ownership. The purpose of this conference is to explore intellectual property, in a cross-disciplinary context, as both a concept and a reality relating to the professional fields whose concerns intersect in understanding its essence and implications.

We invite papers and panels dealing with any and all aspects of intellectual property, from the origins of eighteenth-century literary property debates to the viability and ethics of plagiarism and plagiarism detection, from the economic impact of patents to the technological advances that may make intellectual property obsolete. We especially encourage papers/panels that embrace a multidisciplinary or interdisciplinary approach.

CIP papers and/or abstracts will be included in a conference proceedings, and selected essays may be published in a proposed collection for a peer-reviewed press.

Papers/Panel abstracts should be submitted by February 5th, 2009 to Dr. Amy Stackhouse at astackhouse@iona.edu or Dr. Dean Defino at ddefino@iona.edu. We look forward to a fruitful and collegial experience. For more information, please see the conference website at www.iona.edu/cip.


Keynote Speakers:

Laura Quilter is an attorney and researcher in technology and information law and policy. Laura's research and practice particularly focuses on the rights of information users, including consumers, libraries, creators, and scientists, and she regularly speaks and writes on these matters. She earned her law degree from Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley, in 2003, and her library science degree from the University of Kentucky in 1993. http://lquilter.net/professional/briefbio.html
http://lquilter.net/index.php

Painter Joy Garnett appropriates news and documentary photographs from newspapers, internet and other media, and re-invents them as paintings. Her work mines the tensions between the open-ended narratives of art, and ubiquitous media representations of real-life events. Ms. Garnett's work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world, including the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC, the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., and the Witte Zaal in Ghent, Belgium, and reproduced in numerous publications, from Harper's to Cabinet magazine. In 2004, she was awarded a grant by the Anonymous Was a Woman foundation, and she currently serves as Arts Editor for Cultural Politics, a refereed journal published by Berg in Oxford, UK.
http://www.firstpulseprojects.com/joy.html

Sounds like 2009 is shaping up to be a good one!

I've only seen 72 (and I've never even heard of a lot of these. I'm not sure it proves I have a life, but does suggest a limited knowledge of pop culture...)

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list. Copy this list, go to your own livejournal account, paste this. Then, put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and post. Have fun.


(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
() Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
() Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
() Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x)Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total:7

(x) The Princess Bride
() Anchorman
() Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
() Saw
() Saw II
() White Noise
() White Oleander
() Anger Management
() 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 10

() Scream
() Scream 2
() Scream 3
() Scary Movie
() Scary Movie 2
() Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
() American Pie
() American Pie 2
() American Wedding
() American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 10

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
() Resident Evil 1
() Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
() Little Black Book
(x) The Village
() Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 16

() Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
() The Grinch
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
() Butterfly Effect
() 13 Going on 30
() I, Robot
() Robots
Total so far: 16

() Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact (I think, anyway)
() KingPin
() Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
() Meet the Fockers
() Eight Crazy Nights
() Joe Dirt
() KING KONG
Total so far: 18

() A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
() The Lizzie McGuire Movie
() Passport to Paris
() Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
() Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far:20

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic (i think, again)
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
(x) Hellboy
() Secret Window
() I Am Sam
() The Whole Nine Yards
() The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 23

() The Day After Tomorrow
(x) Child's Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
() Gothika
() Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
() Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
() The Grudge 2
() The Mask
() Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 26

() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
() Lucky Number Slevin
() Ocean's Eleven
(x) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
() Bourne Supremecy
() Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog
() Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
() Curious George
Total so far: 28

(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
() A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
() Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
() Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 32

() Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
() She's All That
() Calendar Girls
() Sideways
() Mars Attacks
() Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
(XXX) Big Trouble in Little China (love--so far my favorite one!)
(x) The Terminator
() The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far:38

(x) X-Men
() X-2
() X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
() Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
() Freaky Friday
() Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
() Shrek 2
Total so far:45

() Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street (who hasn't?!)
() Old School
() The Notebook
() K-Pax
() Krippendorf's Tribe
() A Walk to Remember
() Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
() The 40-year-old Virgin
Total so far: 46

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 52

() Baseketball
() Hostel
() Waiting for Guffman
() House of 1000 Corpses
() Devils Rejects
() Elf
() Highlander
() Mothman Prophecies
() American History X
() Three
Total so Far: 52

() The Jacket
() Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
() Night Watch
() Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
() Shaun Of the Dead
() Willard
Total so far: 54

() High Tension
() Club Dread
(x) Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
() Orgazmo
() Phantasm
( Waterworld
Total so far:58

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
() Wolf Creek
() Kingdom of Heaven
() the Hills Have Eyes
() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
() The Last House on the Left
() Re-Animator
() Army of Darkness
Total so far: 60

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 66

(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix Reloaded
(x) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
() Evil Dead
() Evil Dead 2
() Team America: World Police
(X) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(X) Hannibal
Total so far: 72
Now Add them up and...

Okay, 72--good to know I have a life...

Well, the subject line pretty much covers it :-)

Brain eating is not just for the undead anymore, as suggested by this quote from an inmate featured on some prison show I was watching during my travels this summer. I wrote it down just for you guys (you now who you are...)

"You don't eat brains out of someone's body if you're sane."

I'll let you guess how he killed his father.

Has anybody seen Fringe? I DVR'd it and just watched it on this yucky, rainy night, and I'm kinda loving it. It definitely has echoes of Alias first season but with an X-Files sensibility, so it appeals to my sense of series-watching nostalgia big time. While I became a Lost fan, I didn't like it at first, and I started to lose patience with it by the end of last season. This may be my new favorite show (except of course for Burn Notice, which is just my guilty pleasure). Just curious if anyone else has seen it and what you think.

Well, the ladies' temperance society has survived its trip to Vegas. I did enjoy myself, but had some mixed feelings about the place. If anything bothered me, it was just the sheer excess of it all. I couldn't help but wonder what else we could do with all the money flowing through on any given night, at any single casino, or where all the plastic bottles and drink cups were going to end up when people were done with them. We do have some fucked up priorities as a society. But I managed to have fun in spite of these misgivings, and tried to leave as small a footprint as I was able to in doing so. So here's the rundown:

Sunday: arrived, and it was rainy. WTF?! I thought this was the desert. But it kept everything at a cool 80 degrees, which was good. We stayed at Caesars Palace, which is convenient in terms of location (right in the middle of the strip) but is really too sprawling and ostentatious for my tastes. After checking in, we got in a cab and headed to the Stratosphere, which is the last hotel at the north end of the strip. The cab driver kept telling us how awful and crime-ridden Vegas is (all the two-strike criminals from LA have migrated, apparently) and the "short-cut" he took made me believe it! The place itself is somewhat rundown, and not in the greatest neighborhood (the strip is 4 miles long and changes dramatically along the way)--no notable shops, and they have a vampire review as one of their shows (for some of you, this might be a selling point!). But they have a spinning restaurant/observation deck at the top of their tower, which is why we went. The view is dramatic, the food decent (my kobe burger didn't thrill me). After returning to our hotel, we looked around a bit, and then took a "nap" before dinner. Never made it to dinner--my sister and I slept right through it! So my first impressions weren't great.

Monday: I got up early and walked part of the strip. It looks better in the sun, but is also hotter in the sun. Rain has its advantages. Then mom, sis and I had breakfast in the 24hr hotel cafe and headed for the Hoover Dam. This is impressive on many levels. First, you can walk along the top of the dam itself and look down the sheer face of it, either to the Colorado River or the expanse of Lake Mead--breathtaking! I had one foot in Nevada and one in Arizona! But then you think about that fact that this thing you are standing on makes Las Vegas possible, and it is even more impressive. I also like the way the dam is treated as an historical site, and the people (and one dog) who died in its construction are recognized with a beautiful art deco memorial. Totally worth the trip. Back in Vegas, we decided to have lunch at Mandalay Bay, which might be my favorite aesthetically (lush and exotic) and in terms of the variety of its restaurants, but it is located all the way at the south end of the strip, so not too convenient. And it's pricey. But it's the only casino I won at, so that was good. After a nap and a shower, we headed back out on the strip and went to the Venetian, which I would not recommend--bad layout, pretentious, and smelled strongly of cleaning solution. We were going to have dinner there, but the restaurant was super-expensive and had nothing my sister (who is a fussy eater) could eat, so we just left and headed to the Bellagio, which is supposedly modeled on Lake Como. This is a very grand, very beautiful hotel/casino with a mall full of very expensive stores. We ended up eating at Todd English's Olives, which was probably my favorite meal of the trip--fig and prosciutto flatbread followed by chestnut ravioli--and watched the famous Bellagio dancing fountains from the window.

Oops--didn't realize what time it was. I'm off to an appointment. More later...

I'm requesting the address of mortalwombat so that coquette_not can come and play with makeup tonight!

I had expected to come on line this morning to find an account of the triumph of Dr. Frolick, but as it's only 9am, I'm guessing she was too busy yesterday reveling in her victory and is still sleeping it off, as befits a doctor of philosophy. I look forward to learning how it all went down, but for now, let me just say CONGRATULATIONS on a long awaited and well deserved accomplishment--Brava!!!

"as much as i try to be an easygoing, stretch your wings and fly type...i just can't stop trying to burst people into flames with my mind"

Okay, so the subject heading says it all, but it's worth repeating--have a great birthday today!

Someone recently aksed me what the current going rate for a tutor is and I said I didn't know. But then I remembered that I know someone who might know. Any thoughts on this?

Just wanted to take this opportunity while I've got a few minutes to myself to wish all of you the happiest of holidays! Travel safe, enjoy your family and friends, and take a moment to appreciate the gifts that really matter.

Much love,
C

The things you learn on planes. Apparently, you need to pay to bring a pet on a plane, UNLESS it's a service animal, in which case it flies free; you need a doctor's note to verify that a pet is a service animal. You can imagine the abuses of this system. Yesterday, on my flight down to Florida, there was a woman flying with her "service dog," a cute little Maltese in a cute little carrying case. Her doctor's note was from her gynecologist. I shudder to think what service the dog might provide, but I am reminded of lizzy's dad's Chinese harem dogs...