I hate not being able to blog about this in more detail
In the meantime, a story from MacLean’s, which is sort of like a Canadian Newsweek.
Strike Hits Chronicle
Here’s the latest. It’s a little too American — this isn’t about McGill’s relationship to the Bush administration or gated communities (sorry Marc, you’ll have to be more creative with your metaphors) but rather the politics of labor within Quebec and Canada and McGill’s place in it — but it’s getting covered nonetheless.
More when I return next week.
TA Strike
The TA strike started on the day I left for Europe and has gotten complicated, as these things do. I haven’t posted anything since as chair I also speak for the department and so I am being extra careful. In the meantime, you can read about it here.
Sssshhhh! Scholar at Work!
Sorry for the quiet. I’ve been using every extra moment to get four talks together for Europe. Why I agreed to give four different talks in six dates is beyond me. Oh wait, I figured fear of public embarrassment would motivate me to make progress on that difficult chapter in my book. And it worked. But between that and all the other normal stuff, things have been quiet here. There is the possibility of a TA strike, about which I’ll comment if it comes to pass.
I’ll be in Europe 8-28 April (relevant dates and locations are on sterneworks.org homepage). The laptop is coming with, so you never know.
The Phonautograph Gets Its 15 Minutes. . .
. . .and I ride its coattails, or help it, or something. The story is now making it’s way around AP. I talked to an LA Times reporter yesterday and have a few quotes in their story, which also has a picture of the device. The quotes are of mixed quality and the guy appears to think that McGill is in a place called “West Montreal” (if he knew about Montreal politics, I’d call it a Freudian slip, but I bet he just misread my mailing address).
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UPDATE. I just read the Wikipedia entry on Montreal West (which may or may not be the “West Montreal” of the story) and it’s pretty funny.
Canada Day is the largest community event of the year in Montreal West. Residents organize a parade route that mainly runs down the main street of Westminster and ends at Strathern Park. Floats represented in the parade include organizations and clubs located in town, as well as some created personally by residents.
In some years, there have been water fights between sidelined residents and members of the parade (mainly the swimming pool float). Water fights during these years have seen water balloons and super soaker water guns, as well as the odd hose drawn from a house. Organizers have tried to minimize these activities in recent years so as not to detract from the parade itself, with varying success.
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2nd UPDATE: BBC Newsreader Finds Phonautograph Recording Hysterical
Green’s hysterical outburst started after a studio member remarked that the 1860 recording of a woman singing the French song Clair de Lune sounded like a “bee buzzing in a bottle”.
1860 Audio Recording
Researchers Play Tune Recorded Before Edison
UPDATE (Saturday): It’s now making it’s way around AP. I talked to an LA Times reporter yesterday and have a few quotes in their story, though they are of mixed quality and the guy appears to think that McGill is in West Montreal (a loaded error if there ever was one).