One of my favourite Loony Tunes scenes is a rare speaking part for Wile E. Coyote. He is in some kind of hut that reads “Explosives: Keep Out”, filling up carrots with explosive liquid in a plan to finally “get” Bugs Bunny, who is meanwhile using a tractor to pull said hut (which is inexplicably …
Author Archives: Jonathan Sterne
12 Jan 2024 Cancer Crawl: radical monopolies and end of life; semi-independent
This week was supposed to be my “back to work” week and while I did a little email and sent out a couple letters, I did not get very far into my own work. I did successfully go into Radcliffe two days, but Friday was the coughing fit I describe below–which started in the Uber …
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9 Jan Cancer Crawl: old cancer books ][, or Cancer Blog meets Cancer Journals
Although I regularly assign Audre Lorde’s “Breast Cancer: Power vs Prosthesis” in my disability course, I don’t know that I’d ever sat down and read her Cancer Journals straight through. Having now done so I’m not sure that’s how it was intended. The book consists of three essays, and some of the examples that stuck …
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4 Jan 2025 Cancer Crawl: flareup strategies
Happy new year! I have boring resolutions: keep taking my cancer drugs (hardly counts–I am a compliant patient) and keep doing PT and related exercises in an effort to regain strength and endurance. (Also don’t need much motivation here.) My 2024 in review is absurd and not worth recounting here–you can look back to older …
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29 Dec 2024 Cancer Crawl: shake it like you mean it, or not chillaxed
A request before we get into the weeds with this post: I would be very curious to know from other chronically ill friends how you prepare for a debilitating “flare up” or “episode” when you are on your own. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot from years of watching Carrie deal with blood sugar …
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27 Dec Cancer Crawl: old cancer books: Susan Sontag Illness as Metaphor
“So what are you doing to distract yourself and stimulate your mind?” asked a friend on a recent Zoom call. My reply was “well, I’m rereading some classic cancer books.” Feel free to judge my mental health harshly, but it’s working for me. I’ve finished Audre Lorde’s Cancer Journals and Susan Sontag’s Illness as Metaphor. …
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26 Dec 2024 Cancer Crawl: Smol Mets; a few achievements to note
Last Friday and this Monday we had hour-long calls about my brain mets. Friday we spoke with my Montreal oncologist, and Monday with a radiation oncologist at Mass General. The plan for now is to do nothing and see what the next scan shows. If things are stable, we wait for the next scan, and …
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