Collie's Bestiary – Page 10 – Exploring and reframing cultural mythologies

Thoughts on V. Shiva’s “Staying Alive”

Posted onWednesday 29 October 2014

I’m reading Vandana Shiva’s Staying Alive: Women, Ecology, & Development for an on-line class on Ecofeminism which I’m TAing. The following are two comments made on the class forum at different times. While reading both the book and the forum comments, I was reminded of a study I read about many years ago (which means…

Literarily denuded! :)

Posted onThursday 23 October 2014

So I’m thinking about books and research, as I’m driving back home from turning in yet another handful of library books, several of which were brought to me via the courtesy of Interlibrary Loan — a true lifesaver for me, in regards to getting some of the less well-known works which I’m reading for either…

“Toward A Queer Ecofeminism” by Greta Gaard

Posted onWednesday 24 September 2014

The following is a quick review of an article read for the Ecofeminism class in which I am a TA — yay! I’d like to figure out how to TA more… though apparently you cannot TA for a class you haven’t actually taken. Considering the changeover in classes occurring in my program in the past…

Dancing! | Education | Random | Spirituality | Writing

Clearing the decks to write

Posted onFriday 19 September 2014

Finally had a bit of a breakthrough on my dissertation proposal — hallelujah! Working now on getting a dissertation committee Chair, and figuring out all the astonishing amounts of paperwork that must be filed as well. Gah! The Chair is harder than it sounds — this person must be a professor at my school and…

Random | Year of 50 new things

I have great friends. ;)

Posted onMonday 8 September 2014Sunday 7 September 2014

My friends are a delight — which is a huge relief when I’m cranky due to being ill or tired! I’m very lucky they all still put up with me. ;) One dear on-line friend of many years accepted my recent google+ contact request, then sent me a message: “You literally just gave me the…

Random

Grumpy mutterings

Posted onSunday 7 September 2014

I hate being sick. Hatehatehate it with the fiery passion of coughing exhaustion coupled with the urge to rasp out: “just kill me now!” I really despise having no energy to even get out of bed… and I loathe having that groggy-foggy-headed case of the stupids. Memory check says: yes, I am smarter than this,…

The unexamined dissertation: not worth writing?

Posted onMonday 2 June 2014

As some who read my blog may know already, I’m currently struggling with the process of writing my dissertation proposal. Despite writing being one of the things I do best and most easily, and for various reasons that aren’t important right now, I’ve had some nervous procrastination issues with writing this proposal. Thus my adviser…

Sweet & sour emotions

Posted onFriday 2 May 2014

Being a student on a very tight budget, I am particularly fond of restaurants with cards that give you a free meal after a certain amount of purchases. My local Armadillo Willy’s is very good about this, and I treated myself to a free lunch there today. As I finished ordering, a song I knew…

A Paean to the Librarian

Posted onFriday 25 April 2014

My dissertation proposal research continues apace – sometimes stutteringly slowly, other times with a swiftness and surety which reassures me that I’m on the right path and doing the right thing. I need those moments, believe me! This is one of those moments. I’ve just gotten off the phone with the CIIS librarian who’s also…

Poisoning history

Posted onTuesday 25 March 2014Friday 11 July 2014

There’s an odd and disturbing trend I’ve noticed recently in my preferred form of brain candy; e.g.: smart female protagonists within the genre of urban fantasy. From what I can tell, when the author wishes to demonstrate via emotional shorthand just how repugnant a villainous group is, or needs to hastily add a bit of…