Author Archives: fustianist

. . . Sydney just learned that he has an interview for a postdoc.  So he’ll be flying to England next week! Erin

In a certain sort of way.  We feel very thrown off in part because Katherine’s returning to her October ways: she has stopped sleeping for more than a couple of hours at a stretch at night–and does not want to … Continue reading →

As Sydney reminded me today, cooking is what we do while looking after Katherine (since work and Katherine don’t mix).  She likes her parents to be up and moving, entertaining her with their motions and stopping frequently to play with … Continue reading →

I’m enjoying the sweet feeling of vindication: new research shows that multitaskers are worse at everything. They can’t focus as well (even when they want to), they can’t think as well, they get less done, … not only that, they’re … Continue reading →

Sometimes I get embarrassed for my students.  Not when they make grammatical mistakes or mangle sentences, but when they overreach.  What do they hope to achieve by name-dropping Freud, Hegel, and the flashiest terms of recent literary theory?  What do … Continue reading →

In the course of this past week we’ve welcomed several new babies to the fold.  On Monday we took food to two families with new ones.  K and I got to spend time cooing over Jared’s and Laura’s new little … Continue reading →

I was just beginning to revel in the idea of producing major dissertation work this spring . . . but then I got asked to teach a seminar for half of the semester.  Sydney, meanwhile, in addition to teaching his … Continue reading →

Bubble Trouble, by Margaret Mahy, has to be one of the best children’s books I’ve ever read.  How could you not love a book with lines like this: “Oh, what calculated catchwork!  Baby bounced into the patchwork, where his grizzles … Continue reading →

Katherine very suddenly and very recently got into food.  She now lunges after our plates and crawls right over if she sees us eating.  I wasn’t terribly impressed with the quantity (2 T?) until today, when she downed two or … Continue reading →

This BBC piece is music to my ears: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4181629.stm. Sydney