Seven Things I Like in '07 (in no particular order)

1. Going Postal—Rage, Murder, and Rebellion: From Regan's Workplaces to Clinton's Columbine and Beyond by Mark Ames
I bought this fascinating book at Waldenbooks when I was returning some Christmas booty. How lucky was I to find this? Quite. I was initially caught by the back cover blurb which asserted, "Presenting many fascinating and unexpected cases in detail, Ames shows us the true nature of these [workplace and school campus] massacres—doomed, gory, and sometimes even inadvertently comic, and grossly misunderstood, much like slave rebellions were viewed in their time." Since I'm concerned with the depiction of work, workplaces, and the economy of late eighteenth and early to mid nineteenth century, I interested with his discussion of slavery. Believe me, this was a quick read, and, I must say that Ames' argument is compelling. He asserts that corporate culture creates slaves of its workers; he refers to historian Kenneth Stampp's articulation of six tactics for slaveholders to create slaves:

1. Strict discipline to develop "unconditional submission"
2. Develop a sense of personal inferiority
3. Development of raw fear
4. Establish notion that the master's interests are the same as the slave's
5. Make slave accept master's standards of conduct as his own
6. Develop "habit of perfect dependence"

Further, Ames argues that the difficulty with "profiling" potential workplace or school shooters exists because the failing doesn't lie with the shooter him/herself but with the environment in which these shooters worked. Instead, he says that the workplace culture must be profiled; those in which fear, degredation, and anger rule will yield shooters. What's more, often, coworkers often identify with and forgive the shooters themselves.

One reason that I connected so fully with this book is because I worked in just such a workplace. While we didn't have an instance of (fatal) workplace violence, there was yelling, screaming, bad language, poor wages, retribution taken for taking time off, impromtu firings, and a whole host of other problems. Reading this book, I came to understand more fully how my experience fit into a larger societal corporate culture. Additionally, I was comforted by Ames assertion that workers who are beat down by these jobs often feel personally responsible for the treatment they receive and have a difficult time talking about their experiences because people outside of the workplace have a hard time understanding. For anyone interested in corporate culture or violence at work and in schools, I totally recommend this read.

2. Staple Gun
I wanted to make a scratching post for my cat, but I ended up making a wee ottoman. I also re-upholstered that chair of my grandma's. In pink velvet. Staple guns...frickin'...rock! I am a fabric-manipulating god.

3. George O'Malley
So, yeah, a lot of Grey's Anatomy viewing over here. I mean...I'm caught up. I watched the whole first season before Christmas and bought the second season after Christmas. After finishing that season, I caught up on season three using the ABC website. I'm giving a shout-out to the George O'Malley character here because of a few different episodes. In "Where the Boys Are" (Season Three), Burke tells George that his expectations are too high. Ostensibly, he's referring to O'Malley's relationship with and expectations for Callie Torres (but, of course, being Grey's Anatomy, he's also referring to George seeing the hand tremor that he's been trying to hide). Also, I like O'Malley's relationship with his family, and I think I often exhibit the same kinds of flaws and frustrations that he feels. Good writing, Shonda Rhimes!

4. Walking
Since I went to New York, I've been trying to keep up my walking. There's not a lot of call for "practical" walking here since most everything is within driving distance. Even so, I'm thinking of going back to walking or biking to campus on the days that I teach.

5. Mike Doty
As I'm working on my chapter, I'm listening to some of Mike Doty's solo work including Skittish and Haughty Melodic. While these aren't 2007 albums, I'm returning to some partially-forgotten roots here. Doty is the former frontman of Soul Coughing, a band I first saw when I was in undergrad. They opened for They Might Be Giants, and I've been a fan ever since. Doty has the rare ability to be soul-rending and clever. I usually don't respond to soul-rending (please see Matthews, Dave: hate him), but Doty persuades me. Bonus points: his "Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well" was featured in a GA episode.

I feel
as if I am looking at the world
from the bottom of a well
I feel
as if I am looking at the world
from the bottom of a well
Lonely
and the only way to beat it is to bat it down
and the only way to beat it is to bat it down
and the only way to beat it is to bat it down
Lonely
and the only way to beat it is to bat it down
and the only way to beat it is to bat it down
and the only way to beat it is to bat it down

6. Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling
I tend to study at a lot of coffee shops, and this means I use a few too many coffee cups. If I have a "resolution" this year, it is to use the travel cup I bought and only use occasionally. This will save on my contribution of paper or plastic cups and straws.

7. My Academic Work
Yea me! I am on a freaking roll!