http://hugoschwyzer.net Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:07:28 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en I can't begin to say how much I genuinely enjoyed filling out our census form this week, and writing down my daughter's name. Her first census; my wife's fourth, my fifth. Since my Colombian-born mother-in-law lives with us, she was included as well. It is her fourth ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/18/every-damn-box-filling-out-the-census/ I've been a fan of Ana Castillo's since I first read her riveting works in college. This one makes me smile, and for reasons I can't fathom yet, reminds me of something from Robert Louis Stevenson. El Chicle Mi'jo and I were laughing ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/18/thursday-short-poem-castillos-el-chicle/ Richard Jeffrey Newman (whose poetry I recommend to all) has been blogging at Alas for a while now, and last week offered this piece on student-professor sexual relationships. It's not much of Newman and a lot of extended excerpts from this a Tony Judt post at the New York ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/17/not-putting-the-skeleton-back-in-the-closet-a-quick-note-and-some-links-on-professor-student-sexual-relationships/ One of the things about blogging for a few years is that one regularly has the opportunity to reflect upon -- and revise -- old posts. Mind you, I don't dip into my archives and surreptitiously rewrite old pieces. Rather, I sometimes find that the passage of time ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/16/i-worry-for-both-of-them-that-they-arent-tempted-some-thoughts-on-dorms-gender-and-the-myth-that-proximity-creates-desire/ I reprinted this 2009 post recently: "We have used our power to dominate and our weakness to manipulate": more on the egalitarian vision, and the fundamental sinfulness of traditional gender structures. (No, not quite the longest post title ever.) A reader named Catherine writes: I was raised in a very conservative ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/15/grieving-the-liberation-a-note-on-faith-gender-roles-and-the-loss-of-certainties/ I recently received a copy of If the Church Were Christian: Rediscovering the Values of Jesus. Written by Philip Gulley, a former Catholic turned Quaker minister, If the Church were Christian is a brief, highly readable, and impassioned call for a a rethinking of our faith along progressive lines. We ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/11/time-to-grow-up-a-review-of-philip-gulleys-if-the-church-were-christian/ I wouldn't normally pick a poem published in last week's New Yorker for the Thursday Short Poem, but this W.S. Merwin piece is too good not to move to the front of the line. It is not an easy poem in any sense of the word. Read it aloud. ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/11/thursday-short-poem-merwins-message/ Another email, from Mallory. She writes: I was married at 27 to my college sweetheart. This man checked all of the boxes dreamed of on the surface - doctor, boy scout-esque from a nice family - all of the family, etc. were thrilled when we were married. However, ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/10/rebounds-and-transition-figures-doing-it-right-after-a-divorce/ I'm thinking once again about the "myth of male weakness" this morning. Jonah Goldberg has a piece this morning with the whoppingly patronizing title "Where Feminists Get it Right." (Don't get excited, folks. Hell remains unfrozen.) Jonah concludes his piece, which largely focuses on the now-familiar yet ever-depressing ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/09/divided-you-fall-the-myth-of-male-weakness-and-young-womens-internalized-misogyny/ In the fall of 2008, I reported this flattering and embarrassing news. But oh, how the mighty have fallen! I learned today from a Facebook friend that Ratemyprofessors has released its 2009-2010 lists of the top profs in the country. Where I was was ranked first in 2008, I've ... http://hugoschwyzer.net/2010/03/06/pasadena-city-college-home-of-the-hot/