As we wind up our fall campaign to cut the clutter, let’s return to a simpler time. It’s 1906, Edward VII sits on the English throne, and a new book…

The fear that your brother will be or is gay.

Roger suffers from homobrophobia because his brother Brian is very effeminate.

(via Salon): another idea whose time has come. Rumor has it that it smells like rhosa’s clove cigarettes. I can hardly wait for Eau de TAMU (which probably smells like Old Sarge or Reveille on a Texas July day).

An idea whose time has come. (Josh and Christopher, I think this is a worthy successor to the NCA “Repetition” panel. . . . Perhaps “Dance that Theorist”?)

The deadline is fast approaching, but this looks like a good deal:

a special workshop opportunity at next summer’s RSA Institute: a Career Retreat for Associate Professors. The Career Retreat for Associate Professors is an initiative of the Gender Task Force of the RSA to reach out to associate professors seeking to complete a scholarly project and achieve promotion to full professor.

At the Career Retreat, each participant will have the opportunity to work
with a senior member of the RSA who will has agreed to serve as a career
coach to:

read more

Kristol, like Elsa Murano, President of Texas A&M, “pals around with torturers”: “One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning–and should at least be vociferously praising–everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution.

read more

when eating food so good that you let out an involuntary moan, usually the first bite; also as an adjective - flavorgasmic

I ate this unbelievable steak yesterday. I swear when I ate the first bite I had a total flavorgasm

The Spoken Web is an attempt to provide Web-like functions for those without access to computers.

A word long since vanished from the vocabularies of English speakers, Tripudiate can mean to trample on an opponent in triumph.

Ephebicide is a new word, created by George Monbiot in the Guardian newspaper.

On the official course evaluation form at my school, students tick a box that indicates whether the course involved group work. I get to tick off a separate box, in which I indicate whether I think group work is important for the course, but seeing that box there semester after semester naturally makes me think of more ways to do group work.

read more

Pants that are worn in anticipation of eating a huge meal (i.e. Thanksgiving dinner). These pants usually boast an elastic waist, to allow some give for that third helping of sweet potato pie.

The girls and I are going to a buffet for dinner, so I’m wearing my Thanksgiving pants.

Josiah Ober, Democracy and Knowledge: Innovation and Learning in Classical Athens (Princeton UP 2008). Description: When does democracy work well, and why? Is democracy the best form of government? These questions are of supreme importance today as the United States seeks to promote its democratic values abroad. Democracy and Knowledge is the first book to look to ancient Athens to explain how and why directly democratic government by the people produces wealth, power, and security.

read more

I’m sure many Blogora readers are following the Mumbai situation closely and wondering how one might have hope for discussion, discourse, rhetoric…

I am distrubed by Marty Peretz’s rant about “the reasonable Islam”:

read more

I’ve had time to digest some of the research that emerged from my first vague topic. I think that I may be going with more of an argument than an informative paper. However, this will largely depend on whether I find the historical information to back up the assertion in my head. I am planning [...]

Sooner or later it will show up in your mailbox, printed on Santa stationery neatly folded into an origami bell: the first family newsletter of the season.

Whether you respond with…

The day after Thanksgiving, when stores decide to open at the asscrack of dawn to start Christmas sales. Most people fall for this ploy and wake up at 4am to fight other mothers for cheap presents.

Guy1: Hey, are you going to do black friday?

Guy2: Fuck no, man, do I want to get trampled by a crowd of people trying to buy a cheap Xbox?

I’ve just finished about 1000 pages of research on Bacon for my paper. Now it’s time for the tough task of synthesizing what I’ve read. A working bibliography of the works is included at the bottom. Citations in the post are MLA 6.

Ciceronianism in Renaissance England
“English Ciceronians enjoin a complicated alliance not merely [...]

e-text of Bacon’s Advancement of Learning
All citations in this post are referred to by Bacon’s numbering to avoid confusion between editions of the text.
I read Advancement of Learning for my comps reading and I was a bit confused about how the text really played into the rhetorical tradition. I know that Bacon says a lot [...]

A bad hunter. Someone who survives by consuming not food, but the stuff that food eats.

The vegetarian was forced to subsist on slower prey, such as the broccoli and carrot.

According to John Morse, president of Merriam-Webster, bailout has been looked up so often in his company’s online dictionary that it was the obvious choice for the 2008 Word of…

A merged holiday including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, coined under Bill Maher’s "New Rules."

Thankshallowistmas - now you only have to gather with your batshit family once a year.

Organizing our youth for a witch-hunt….

“In The US State Department announced plans on Monday to promote online youth groups as a new and powerful way to fight crime, political oppression and terrorism.”

Thanks to John McKenzie for passing this one along.

Be sure to have your tissues nearby before watching this one.

In case you haven’t been paying attention:

Total U.S. military fatalities in Iraq since March 2003: 4204

Total Coalition fatalities in Iraq since then: 4518

Iraqi civilian fatalities since the invasion: Exact count unknown, perhaps 1.4 million or more

Total U.S. military fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001: 629
Total NATO fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001: 1014

Afghanistan civilian fatalities since 2002: Exact count unknown, tens of thousands

From Intercollegiate Studies Institute, an online quiz to test your knowledge about American government (some of the economics questions are irritating, but overall it’s a good test). See if you can beat the average (I only missed one).

Miriam laughing maniacally from the living room. I ask, “What are you laughing at?” She says, “Oprah just said, ‘If you’re not going to love your vulva, who will?’” –Seems there was a discussion of poor genital self-image. . . .

1. “Exacting intellects traditionally mistrust colored paint. ‘The most beautiful colors,’ Aristotle observed in his Poetics,’laid on at random, give less pleasure than a black-and-white drawing.’ Kant dismissed color outright as an element of a painting’s ‘charm,’ recognizing drawing alone as ‘the proper object of the pure judgment of taste.’ Color is meretricious, narcotic, manipulative, deceitful. The thinking viewer–if we are to believe the philosophers–is secretly dreaming of a white canvas.” –Christopher S.

read more

The act of mass texting a generic message to members of the opposite sex in hopes that a guaranteed hookup for the night will be established. It often involves a very nonspecific message such as "What are you up to tonight?" or "Want to meet up later?" The key feature is the lack of personalization so that the same message can be sent to as many people as possible. This can also be applied to other contact means such as myspace, facebook or email.

Last night I went booty grazing and had to choose between 3 different hoes.

I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my flight from San Diego back to Austin. I have been anxious to post on the Blogora (hotel internet was pricey, but the airport here is free!!) to share my own impressions of our alternate nca conference, and find out what others thought.

read more

In a recent article inspired by Vizzini’s comical misuse of the word inconceivable in The Princess Bride, we examined two frequently misunderstood words–literally and fulsome. Another movie comedy from the…

YIDDISH SUMMER!
The Steiner Yiddish Summer Program

INTERNSHIPS: June 14-July 24, 2009
at the National Yiddish Book Center
Amherst, MA

Live and learn Yiddish for six weeks in the lively Five College
area:Intensive beginning and intermediate Yiddish-language classes.
Studies in Yiddish Culture and Eastern European History.

Hands-on professional experience with the Book Center’s staff.
Research opportunities.
Field trips, workshops, performances, and more.

Full-time undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to

read more

Only eating Vegatables because you can’t afford to buy meat.

He used to be an Economic Vegetarian but then he got a better job and can afford to buy steak.

Alright, so I’m back to the drawing board with the topic I want to consider for my paper. I’ve decided that I don’t want to look at Bacon’s metaphors. So, now I’m thinking of something with Bacon’s Idols of the Mind. So, here goes the brainstorm.
There are four idols of the mind:

Idols of the Tribe
Idols [...]

More antics by the Hitler Youth at Texas A&M. Faculty advisor resigns. Bush enabler President Elsa Murano’s office gives less than full support to the academic freedom of four professors who signed a petition for Bill Ayers. Murano’s spokesman’s email is: jason.cook@tamu.edu should anyone wish to point out to him that we don’t need his warnings.

Big of them. (Is The Onion writing Osservatore Romano’s copy these days?)

happy? not tv.

tv? unhappy.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/20/health/research/20happy.html

The boss of your boss.

It was annoying to have to submit a TPS report to my boss and my grandboss. It’s enough to make a dude blazy.

Why should a triangular patch of hair at the forehead be called a Widow’s peak?

A Black swan event is one that is both unpredicted and unpredictable.

The rather rare word Chatoyant refers to a bright lustre or gleam.

I was just asked to read proposals/papers for the upcoming Alta, Utah, Argumentation conference in August 2009. Are we going to have a “boycott Utah” issue with the conference? (I would be opposed to such, but I’m open to arguments.)

A person who embellishes their sexcapades to sound cooler.

Guy 1: "Did Tommy tell you about his all-nighter with that hot chick from the bar last night?"

Guy 2: "Yeah right dude, he’s such a pornocchio. She told me nothing happened."

Is anybody else having fun with the new gmail themes? I am really impressed with some of them, especially the retro “Terminal.” On a related note, is anyone using the gmail video or voice chat? How does it compare to Skype?

Of Exactitude in Science

read more

Until recently, when middle and high school English teachers would ask me to recommend a good book for teaching grammar, I’d direct them to Constance Weaver’s Teaching Grammar in…

A vampire that drinks animal blood, and resists human blood.

The Cullens from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight are vegetarian vampires.

John Judis, the last Old Social Democrat at the New Republic, does a great job of explaining the problems with the world financial system. Meanwhile, my flight to NCA was canceled 2 hours before it was scheduled to leave, and I also discovered that paying my American Express card down to zero last month led them to cut my credit limit as well. Anyone else having this happen?

Greetings. We are conducting a preliminary online survey aimed at assessing the role of open source software in the scholarly and pedagogical practices of the Rhetoric & Composition and English Studies community. As a scholar and teacher of Rhetoric & Composition and/or of English Studies, you are being invited to participate in this survey. Please take a few moments to respond to this very brief ten-question survey on the subject at the link provided below.

read more

Attempting to just have a couple drinks in the spirit of simply pre-gaming, but instead getting completely shitfaced before even leaving for the bars.

"Oh man, we all went to Rob’s house to just hang out and have a couple beers but Mark was pre-wasted before we even called for a cab."

And the first issue is out! Jim “Aughneigh” is the first President of F*NCA, too.

As I continue to grit my teeth about getting ready for NCA, the news comes from graduate students that *four* tenure-track rhetoric searches in Comm have been suspended within the last few weeks, due to hiring freezes at their institutions. The University of Nevada system has appealed for the equivalent of a federal bailout. Other economic news from academe you readers know about? Here’s a pretty good article from the Boston Globe on what a depression might look like now.

read more

Scott Rettberg posted this link on FB to a cool net art piece by Michael Takeo Magruder about Obama’s election night speech.

Our thanks to the readers, bloggers, marketers, and (on occasion) inmates who pass along news about innovations in the English language. Here are a few of the items that…

Deriving far too much satisfaction from glibly berating another with sarcasm.

"Oh, thanks a lot for drinking my last beer! No, it’s my fault… if I wanted it for myself, I shouldn’t have put it in the fridge!"

"Dude, don’t have a sargasm."

A lovely meditation on justice, fortitude, and women, among other things. A belated mazel tov. . . .

The energy required to write a text.

Forget it, I don’t have the thumb strength to text him. Guess I’ll just call.

Your good company and attempts at influencing bad behavior reminded me how much I like you.

Meredith Bagley, Deanna Matthews and I finished a final program for the UNconvention at the Embassy Suites during NCA. The program may be found at

https://webspace.utexas.edu/clouddl/UNconvention%20last%20best%20final%2…

Please circulate widely to all of your division and caucus lists and to friends and colleagues.

We still need volunteers to make 100 copies (front to back, stapled) and
bring them to Hennessy’s Gaslamp Thursday night for distribution. Party details:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=34810643182&ref=mf

Newly co-published by Furtherfield and The Hyperliterature Exchange: an appreciation of David Daniels, the great shape-poet, who died in May 2008.

“Daniels is one of those figures who straddles the divide between digital and pre-digital art and literature… His art is about liberation, uninhibited outpouring, spontaneity and fun.”

To read the whole article, go to http://www.hyperex.co.uk/reviewdaniels.php .

read more

I just found a link to Between, an interesting-sounding game published by Esquire. Here’s the snip:

read more

In his autobiography, British novelist William Somerset Maugham attributed his success to an ability to accept his inadequacies as a writer. Once he had done that, Maugham said, he…

When an audience grows weary of clapping, either at a ceremony or musical performance.

"That graduation ceremony was so long, I got clapathetic!"

"I was clapping at the beginning of the song, but I quit when I got clapathy."

(for Dana Cloud, in thanks for that conversation on Barry Brummett’s porch):

Marianne Moore’s

“Nevertheless”

you’ve seen a strawberry
that’s had a struggle; yet
was, where the fragments met,

a hedgehog or a star-
fish for the multitude
of seeds. What better food

than apple seeds - the fruit
within the fruit - locked in
like counter-curved twin

hazelnuts? Frost that kills
the little rubber-plant -
leaves of kok-sagyyz-stalks, can’t

harm the roots; they still grow
in frozen ground. Once where
there was a prickley-pear -

leaf clinging to a barbed wire,

read more

” . . . and conceive the better state as one in which people could be different without fear.” –Minima Moralia

Boards of Canada’s “Dayvan Cowboy”

Acronym. Stands for "If you know what I mean". Mainly used in instant messaging conversations. Can also be used in conjunction with "AITYD" (and I think you do).

"I could really go for a tossed salad for lunch."

"Oh, I’ve got a salad for you to toss, IYKWIM…AITYD."

Review of Damp Squid: The English language laid bare, by Jeremy Butterfield.

A potential new fuel, dubbed Mycodiesel, has been found, of all places, in a Patagonian fungus.

A extremely rare word, Agelastic is enjoying a mini-burst of popularity.

(noun) The side of a body where a gigantic purse or messenger bag is carried, and an awkward barrier preventing others from walking comfortably alongside is often created.

I would hold your hand, baby, but I don’t want to get on your bagside.

President-elect Obama will hire the first Chief Technology Officer of the United States, and ObamaCTO.org asks people to suggest what the priorities of that CTO should be. Clearly, these are just suggestions, and the CTO will not be checking with “the crowd” before making decisions. But it’s nice to see the incoming administration asking for input.

read more

Some of the most popular pages at About Grammar & Composition concern the figures of speech–described by Henry Peacham in 1577 as words “made new by Art, and removed from…

The codename of legendary Secret Service Agent, James Bond

And please double ough seven, try not to destroy this one car.

what a great favor his writers have done us….

The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Chronicle Review
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v55/i08/08a03501.htm
From the issue dated October 17, 2008

Is Campus Activism Dead — or Just Misguided?
A President Wonders Where the Campus Radicals Are Now

By GRAHAM SPANIER

read more

I continue to wonder what a continuation of the Obama “movement” will look like. This Slate story asks whether Obama can continue the participatory ethic of his campaign when he moves into the White House:

read more

A woman who is beard or disquise for a gay man that has not come out.

Tad doesn’t want his boss to know that he is gay, so Julie is totally being his walk-in closet.

I’m afraid that the season of dubious annual honors is again upon us, and blogs will soon be clogged with top-ten lists of the best and worst of the year–movies,…

The "echo effect" is when a slogan or jingle get’s into everyday talk. Advertisers love to get people to incorporate slogans into regular conversation.

Echo effect examples: Wendy’s “Where’s the beef?” or Miller Beer’s “I love you man!” Nike’s "Just do it!" These brand slogan reverberated in pop culture and infiltrated our everyday conversations.

Today’s New York Times features a story and photos about vets and their “battle buddies.”

from The Cure at Troy, by Seamus Heaney:

Human beings suffer,
they torture one another,
they get hurt and get hard.
No poem or play or song
can fully right a wrong
inflicted or endured.

The innocent in gaols
beat on their bars together.
A hunger-striker’s father
stands in the graveyard dumb.
The police widow in veils
faints at the funeral home.

History says, Don’t hope
on this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
the longed for tidal wave
of justice can rise up,
and hope and history rhyme.

So hope for a great sea-change
on the far side of revenge.

read more

James Wood, a very fine literary critic, analyzes the eloquence of Obama’s victory speech. (Snarky aside to Jim B: Judith Butler wouldn’t know what eloquence was if it came up and bit her.)