Happy Halloween!

 No trick or treat in Ontario this year, but hope you enjoy this:

If you can't see this on email, try the link to the blog https://chunskiundergrad.blogspot.com/2020/10/happy-halloween.html

Going with the flow

This is reading week for me, so last weekend I took a short trip to Toronto to say the boys.  In many ways, it was a rather weird experience, but I'm glad I made the trip and that I am close enough to do so.

Other than somewhat thinner traffic on the highway, the drive was uneventful.  Hwy 401 is just this long stretch of road that borders on monotony, with Formula 1 wanna-bees going at breakneck speed just because they could.  In case you're wondering, I no longer drive at excessive speeds.  These days I hardly ever go above 75 (~125 km), so most of the time I stayed on the slow lane.  Yup.  Kid you not.

There was this surreal feeling, you know, as I drove down the highway.  Passing places I'd been.  Brought back memories and stuff.  Made me wonder if things will ever get back to "normal" again.

It's been a while since I'd been to Toronto.  Come to think of it, it's been something like 9-10 months?  The last time I went was before this Covid shit storm.  And that seems like eons ago.  No indoor dining.  The hotel didn't even offer room service.  No valet parking.  I asked the front desk person what the occupancy rate was, and he told me that for the weekend, they were having maybe 7-8%.  Holy crap.  That's below breakeven. Even those who remained on the job must be wondering when that might end...

Had some fun patio dining experience while there (yeah, patio dining was allowed, but no indoor).  Was it fucking cold.  I don't know how these patios will manage when winter actually comes.  Seriously, even in Toronto, winter temps can get way below freezing.  No outdoor heater is going to keep the cold out.  And worse, think Ottawa when winter temps dip to -25 or lower, how the hell will they (or the diners) survive?  

Well, I had a nice break from my Ottawa routine, so that was good.  But now back in Ottawa, I have to actual "read" during reading week, for as I told you, I have a week from hell coming up.  That should be fun.

In Ontario, we are now experiencing the second wave, and new cases are averaging something like 800-900 a day.  That's alarming, especially when you consider that a couple months back, we were having as low as 100 a day.  But then putting it in perspective, I realize that 800 or so is what Maryland experiences these days, only that MD's population is only 1/3 that of Ontario's.  So that means the infection rate per capita is three times worse.  And Maryland is one of the states that are doing relatively well.

I read the other day that Green Bay, my old haunt, is averaging 230 new cases a year.  Green Bay, my friends, has a population of under 100,000.  You do the math.  I have a dear good friend who still lives and works there.  And his college has him teaching classes in person.  WTF.  

Well, to all you readers out there (I mean, the three of you or something), please stay safe and be cheerful.  Things could always be worse.  One day at a time, my friends.  One day at a time.

Wonderful News!

This is going to be fun!

I have to have my 20+ year old root canal and bridge repaired!  First they have to remove the old bridge on a Monday.  Then, on that Wednesday, I have a 3-hour mid term.  On Thursday morning, they will do the root canal.  That evening, I have a 6-11 five hour mid term!  I am going to stock up on pain killers and shit.  I think I will come out of it as House, MD.

This will all take place in a couple of weeks.  In lieu of flowers, please send monetary donations to Chunski Foundation.  Cash in unmarked small bills is preferred.

UOttawa Support Staff on Strike

Some 1,300 support staff at UOttawa are now officially on strike.  These are administrative folks, like advising staff, lab assistants, counselling people, etc.  Their functions are vital to the operations of the university, especially one as large as UOttawa.  Apparently the union had been negotiating with administration for 19 months!  Sticking point?  The university wanted to cut back on the staff's medical benefits.  The union balked, of course, especially in the current Covid environment.  Doesn't seem like there will be a compromise any time soon.

As you know, I support unions.  I think strength in numbers is the only way the underprivileged can hope to have fair bargains with those in charge.  Having said that, the university is offering the staff the maximum pay increase allowed by provincial law -- how does 1% sound?  On that, the university's hands are tied.  Just think though, for someone making, say 100 a year, a 1% raise can buy a pretty nice night on the town.  For a typical staff, a 1% raise is probably worth, well, maybe a Big Mac dinner.  Personally, I am always of the opinion that those at the top should sacrifice more to help those at the bottom, if nothing more than to build morale.  If the administration folks who are all making six figures will take no pay raise, maybe that money would more than offset the cut in medical benefits for the staff.  See that happening?

Not in a million years.

It's the same shit everywhere.  I still remember the time at Etown..  anyway, no point bringing up ancient history.

Gramsci was right.  Those below have to shore up their resources to counter the hegemony from the elites.

See, I am actually quite pleased, in general, with how UOttawa is run.  I think they run a fair ship.  They've had their criticisms etc., but from my vantage point, the university could be in much worse hands (just think, any of the Etown administration you know).  But at this time of the pandemic, with so much economic uncertainty, those running the school should show some leadership and not take away from those at the bottom.  If anything, they should cut their own benefits so those below don't have to.  That, to me, is what real leadership is about.  And on that, I'd like to share with you a brief story about this guy... Horrocks.

Horrocks was a British general, pretty senior corps commander. His headquarters was a tank.  He ate the same rations his troops ate.  He was always on the battlefield with his troops, suffering the same shit as they were.  Indeed, he was shot multiple times, including one right through the chest by an aircraft cannon.  And survived and went back to the front.  How could his troops not go that extra mile for a commander like that?

A lot of these university and college administrators have so much to learn about leadership.  Sad to say, really good university and college administrators are so rare.  Seven years at St. Norbert, and fourteen at Etown.  I have not seen a single good one.  Sigh.  As Walter Cronkite used to say, "that's not news, but that, too, is reality."

UOttawa Prof used N-word in class. Hell broke loose.

 It was revealed today that some time this semester, a prof at UOttawa used the N-word in class.  A firestorm ensued in social media, and it was reported in the student newspaper, picked up by TV news, and got into mass media.  It prompted the president of the university to come out and make a statement.  Three hundred professors at the university signed a petition in support of the prof.  This then created even more uproar.  And the prof in question has been suspended, pending further investigation.

Is your blood boiling over the prof's use of the n-word?  She claimed (I think it's a she) that she didn't think the word in question would be offensive.  My immediate reaction was, WTF, she is living in the 21st century?

But as you know, it is a good idea to fact-check before getting too worked up, right?

Apparently it was some humanities class, in which she was talking about how words can become resignified, as in its usage and meaning takes on new nuances as society changes.  Something like that.  The lecture was on "the major theories in feminist, gender and sexuality studies, what queer theory is" etc etc.  She was giving the example of how word "queer" has been resignified, from what used to be a derogatory term to become appropriated by the affected community and used in a resignified context, as a marker of identity.  Then she gave other examples, such as cripple, which has given rise to Crips theory.  And she asked the class if they thought the n-word might follow this path.  Now, she didn't say n-word, but she said the n-word itself.  But really, context is everything, no?

I think if she had used the term to refer to someone, and not to talk about it in terms of language and identity development, that would be offensive.  But from what I can gather, this is really a shit storm because of what?  Get a grip, people.

You can't just take things out of context and blow it all out of proportions.  But hey, I've been married 36 years.  I know exactly how that is.

***********************

And so, in a related context,  this whole mess has prompted my Greek Mythology prof to issue a statement, saying that the next class will touch of homosexuality in Greek myths.  And that people who might be offended should just not attend the session between 8-9.  WTF.  You want to learn about Greek Myths but only the parts that you want to hear?

Similarly, my Constitutional Law prof did a preemptive apology when he was about to discuss the Indian Act, saying that sorry, he knew the term offends, but that's the official name of the Act and so on and so on.  Fuck, are we dealing with 5 year olds?  As they say, if you can't handle the heat, get out of the kitchen.

All I can say is, I'm glad I no longer teach.  This world has become too fucking ridiculous.

A couple of random thoughts

I know, it's been quite a while since my last post.  Yup, I've been busy, but probably it's more because I just wasn't in the right mood to post anything.  Besides, my life has been pretty much SSDD everyday.  And now with Ontario hit by the second wave, and a lot of things are back on lockdown, it's just like a recurring nightmare, if you know what I mean (ha, the Neil Diamond song keeps playing in my head now).

Anyhow, I do have a couple of things to share.  One is more of a rant.  The other more of an ongoing unresolved (yet) issue.

At the university level, there are few things that are concrete black and white, right and wrong.  Yeah, I guess a balance sheet must balance, there's one correct answer to for the NPV (if you know all the data), and an adjusted R-square means exactly this and so on.  But for things like the humanities, that's really not so much the case.  At least in my humble opinion.

I am taking this 3rd year course in history.  The prof seems a personable, friendly kind of guy.  That's actually why despite the crazy amount of work, I stay in the course.  Well, it's history, yeah?  History is subject to interpretation, and there are various perspectives on almost anywhere historical.  For example, was Alexander great?  Who started the cold war?  Was FDR a good president?  Was Napoleon a great general, etc etc.  You know what I am saying.

Well, this prof is of a particular school of thought regarding the subject in question.  And it seems that whenever someone posts comments that are not consistent with that school of thought, the prof always jumps in and basically corrects the person.  That's tunnel vision, in my opinion.  In less polite terms, that's bullshit.  It's not as though there is only one single perspective on the subject that is universally accepted.  As long as a student can find support for her/his position, how can you say she/he was wrong!  That really turned me off.  To the point where I have actually given up on the course.  I don't even care if I get a good grade on it anymore, as long as I don't get a sucky grade.

Am I too picky?  Do you think I'm too staunch on the issue?  I think not.  But I would love to hear your views.  Seriously.

And the other thing, the ongoing unresolved issue.  As you know, I've been toying with whether I should pursue a graduate degree after this one, or continue on with yet another undergrad degree.  Both options have their pros and cons, and I won't bore you again with the details here.  Lately I am leaning towards the MA again.  Why?  Yes, it's less variety, because an MA is well, more focused.  It would be an MA in sociology, by the way.  What really got me very tempted is how the coordinator of the program responds to my emails.  I mean, holy shit, the man is so nice.  He is a prof at the school, and is the coordinator of the MA program.  Every email I sent to him, he replied within a day, sometimes hours.  And the responses were always personalized (not just name, but how he answered the questions).  And so very friendly and encouraging.  I just feel so welcomed, you know?  You may find this weird, that the overriding reason for me is how nice and decent the coordinator is.  But I have this thing about dealing with people.  I don't like assholes.  I mean, I seriously don't like them.  To the point where if I consider X an asshole, I want nothing to do with X, and will not hesitate to let X know what I think of her/him.  Those of you who know me well can no doubt come up with some people who would be an X in my mind.

So right now I am leaning towards the MA.  Yeah, yeah, this seems to go back and forth for me.  I guess I like both options, that's why.  Talk about Buridan's ass.  But I think I will do the MA.  I will likely send in my app later this month or early next.  There's really not much to do other than to fill in the forms, I guess.  Hmm, on that note, I should check what else they want.  Maybe some kind of statement of intent.  Well, those things I wing in five minutes.  No worries.

Will keep you posted!  Meanwhile, stay safe, stay healthy, and stay sane!