I am just toodling along, preparing for class, continuing to grapple with the job market (I am staving off worry about the tenure-track jobs I haven’t heard back from by applying for a bevy of post-doc and visiting positions), and generally trying to catch up on all the wee life issues I let slide while I was manically working on that full length draft I submitted to my advisor a week ago. Meanwhile, my advisor is a man of superhuman ability and kindness and he has already read the whole monstrously long thing and returned it to me with his notes. So it is time to leap back into the dissertation fray once more.

Meanwhile, since I haven’t finished reading or watching anything of late (although I think I might owe you some reviews from a while back), a few notes on things I have found interesting as I have dipped my toe in the waters of internet goodness after many months away:

Michael Billington (all too briefly) enters into an age-old debate about whether fiction (and specifically the novel) is better than drama. (The battle that emerged in the comments section is also particularly engaging.) Must we rank our pleasures, people??

This is my favorite Carolina moment of recent memory, sent to me by D to cheer me up amidst

my work woes: our star player, Tyler Hansbrough, had leapt acrobatically into our own bench after a loose ball, twisting in midair to fling it back onto the court before it was officially out of bounds. In the process, he managed to sit his enormous form directly on Coach Roy Williams’ lap. The looks on every single face in this shot are so highly characterized that they recall Kabuki makeup. Really, even if you think you aren't interested in basketball, take a look. It is like a Hogarth print (Hogarthian sample - from "The Rake's Progress" - conveniently provided at the right).

Last, but certainly not least: Silhouette Masterpiece Theatre (courtesy of 50 Books). It combines the sensibility of LOLCats with the macabre archness of Edward Gorey. Flock ye to it most speedily!