West of the Moon

Archive for November, 2007

Autumn in Berkeley.

Autumn in Berkeley. Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi

Tags: autumn, berkeley, photos, picture-a-day, trees

a quick correction.

There’s a particular misconception about the Strange Horizons fiction department that I’ve seen kicking around in a few different places, and I just want to get one clear definitive statement out into the dialogue: we do not have any intentional editorial practices that favor female authors. Look, we know the numbers as well as our [...]

Tags: feminism, strange horizons

doing a job.

If you’ve missed the recent, er, “bright gumdrop unicorns” academic-blog fuss-up, you’re a luckier person than me. That said, I’m going to drag you into it. Short version: sometimes academics with tenure-track positions apply for other tenure-track positions. Some academics, presumably ones with tenured positions, think that these people are selfish and immature gits. The [...]

Tags: academic craziness, job market, teaching

Flowers on the back fence.

Trumpet flower. Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi

Tags: flowers, photos, picture-a-day

Outside Tolman Hall.

Outside Tolman Hall. Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi

Tags: berkeley, photos, picture-a-day

absorbing the status quo.

Yesterday evening, at the gym, I was changing back into my clothes when I noticed a five- or six-year-old girl staring at me. My locker is in the downstairs kids-allowed locker room, as opposed to the upstairs grownups-only one, so having kids around is pretty normal. The staring part, I’ll admit, was a first, but [...]

Tags: body image, feminism, teaching

Midway Airport

Midway Airport Originally uploaded by Susan Groppi. The flight attendant’s announcement was, as one might expect, our first sign of trouble. “Sorry for the interruption, folks, but we’ve got a passenger who isn’t quite feeling one hundred percent, and we’re looking for any medical personnel that might be on this flight. An M.D. is preferable, [...]

Tags: airplanes, photos, picture-a-day