Monthly Archives: September 2009

The Given Tree

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Earlier this summer, I noticed that our huge, old red oak had once again begun a serious decline from oak wilt after we had it strongly trimmed four years ago. Then this week, one of those guys who goes through … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life | 2 Comments

A Facepalm Moment

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Timothy Burke

There’s a lot of discussion going around gaming sites about Stardock CEO Brad Wardell announcing that his company would boycott UPS because UPS was pulling its ads from Fox. Wardell’s backtracking since the story began to circulate is the kind … Continue reading →

Posted in Consumerism, Advertising, Commodities, Games and Gaming, Information Technology and Information Literacy | Comments Off

Organic Waste Disposal For Rent

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Vis-a-vis the “pigs as organic garbage disposal in Cairo” story, I’m starting to see a whole new side to our deranged basset hound. My wife pointed out we could practically keep a blog on the things the dog has eaten … Continue reading →

Posted in Domestic Life | 7 Comments

Simplicity vs. Sustainability

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Last week, I was at an event where there was some talk about Swarthmore trying to embrace sustainability and simplicity to a greater degree. Afterwards, I was trying to parse out why those two words provoke really different gut-level reactions … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Consumerism, Advertising, Commodities, Domestic Life, Swarthmore | 5 Comments

The Microhistorical Unknown

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Timothy Burke

In some forthcoming work, I’ve argued that historians tend to overinterpret or misread silences in archival records, seeing instrumental or intentional erasures of knowledge instead of the incidental accidents or the peculiar character of modern archival culture. I suggest that … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia, Production of History | 5 Comments

Coming Soon!

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Sorry, busy week last week and then I’ve had a cold for three days that’s left my head feeling pretty much stuffed with cotton. I have a bunch of entries being finished up: watch this space!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Pricing the Priceless Class

Posted on September 11, 2009 by Timothy Burke

One of the hardest things about managing budgetary contraction in colleges and universities will be the differing ways that academics talk about what they value in a curriculum. We believe that the cost of curricular programs and institutional projects has … Continue reading →

Posted in Academia | 2 Comments

Clip-Clopping Across the Bridge

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Timothy Burke

A while back, I suggested that it was time for everyone to cool it a bit on linking to the craziest, least thought-through, most over-the-top writing coming from the margins of cultural conservatism. My point was that during the previous … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics | 13 Comments

District 9

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Timothy Burke

Watching District 9, I could feel my mind splitting into different tracks of internal dialogue and reaction. The first track was simply taking pleasure in the film’s deft mixture of intelligence and high-octane action in a science-fiction idiom. Even potentially … Continue reading →

Posted in Africa, Popular Culture | 13 Comments