Dr. Beth Rohlman

Oh yay, I got a “personalised” email response from Jim Ryan today. By which I mean my name was inserted after “Dear” in the form letter.

Which is…still more response than I’ve gotten to the many letters I’ve sent to administrators at mu current university.

I’ve heard the CPS is considering moving online to avoid crossing the picket lines. But that’s the only association I’ve heard anything about.

I keep seeing these awesome bright coloured ones that are available in the US, but CanadaStrong still has a pretty limited supply of colours. I haven’t seen the cool patterned ones in a long time.

Yeah, it’s so depressing that this starts earlier every year.
I might bring extra masks for the colleagues from Europe who may not be prepared for this kind of smoke.

My campus became the first Canadian site of militarized police response to the student protestors last night. I’m recirculating this very important letter in my grief. Mostly because I can’t sign it a second time.

Dheepa Sundaram, PhD (she/her) @themodsisyphus.bsky.social

Hi friends!

We are asking religion/religious studies and adjacent fields to call on our guilds, colleagues, and institutions to

- protect students
- denounce antisemitism
- & above all, condemn genocide

Please consider signing and/or sharing if you can.

Thank you!

forms.gle/Udtt5nL7Kj9A...

Scholars of Religion Against Genocide and the Weaponization of Antisemitism

We, scholars and educators of Religion, Religious Studies, and adjacent fields, write to express our support and solidarity with students, faculty, and staff peacefully protesting the Israeli governme...

docs.google.com

09 May

My PhD is from UVa, and I’m faculty at UCalgary. Really pondering what it means to have such close affiliations with two of the most cruelly ironic photos of the student protests today.

I thought my my akma mater would have the worst ironic photographic image from these student protests. But my employer said, “hold my beer.”

“Disrupt Something.” Just not like that.

It seems my employer waited all of 90 minutes bring in cops in response to the student encampment. We’re one of the last major universities in the country to do this—they had so much time to craft a better response! 🤦

Police called to University of Calgary after protesters set up camp

University of Calgary notified Calgary police around 6:30 a.m. that several protesters had set up tents on the south lawn of MacEwen Hall.

calgaryherald.com

Excellent!

Would you like international participants? Or is the goal to stay focused on US academia?

The UVA student encampment was reportedly quite near the chapel. So one grim bit of gallows humour, for me, is imagining how many weddings were disrupted by those state troopers, in a Saturday in May.

The campus chapel—in the shadow of the rotunda and across from the library formerly known as Alderman—is so old that it has no plumbing. So brides and bridesmaids would come to use the library washrooms. At least 3 weddings every Saturday, April through October.

When I worked circulation at what is now Edgar Shannon Library, we’d see 3 sets of bridesmaid dresses come to use the library bathroom every Saturday during wedding season. I’m mildly amused at the thought of some outraged bride suing the university because police in riot gear crashed her wedding.

For live reporting of what’s happening at UVA, follow @socialistdogmom and @cavalierdaily, both here and in the hellsite.

The text of my letter, in case anyone would like to use it as a template. This is an easy way to support UVA students even if you live far from C’Ville presently.

Pro-tip: don’t out yourself as someone who always felt like an outsider at UVA by using “campus” instead of “grounds” like I did.

I case any folks affiliated with @UVA follow me here, the student protestors are asking for our help. I emailed everyone in this list, plus Dean Acampara & President Ryan.

I know people who’ve used similar on flights, and they give them rave reviews, honestly.

Excellent! Dagmar did ask if it would be encroaching on our family time if she planned a group trip to the Angkor exhibit. I said not at all! D is pretty chill being surrounded by academics at this point, lol.

Side note: Declan’s coming with me. He’ll spend the conference time exploring the city on his own cia train mostly. But we’re also planning mom/son trips to Build a Bear & Lego at WEM and to the Angkor exhibit at RAM. Hit me up if you’d like to join us!

😂😂😂

Awww! Thank you!
I’m thinking I should message Dagmar a heads up so she doesn’t feel awkward.
And I’m bringing the filter so I can maybe unmask while I present. I know a lot of older colleagues are coming who may have hearing issues, so I’m thinking a lot about accommodating them.

Agreed!

BTW, if you have any insight into how completely bizarre I’ll seem when I’m masking and carrying a personal HEPA filter at the conference later this month, hit me up. I’m steeling myself for some unpleasant social interactions….

Infectious disease. Someone I followed as part of the disabled/covid cautious community. Immediate unfollow—this is not solidarity!

Just saw a Canadian professor tweet publicly that they no longer support the encampment because they got too many emails from student organizers. Claims it’s harassment to receive hundreds of emails in a single day (ha!) and therefore refuses to speak out against genocide.
SMH🤦

Since I became a Fluevog collector, I’ve been happy to find there are active groups for reselling or trading even the most beat up Vogs. Highly recommend!

For other adult shoes, I repair, donate to thrift stores, or throw out depending on condition.

This is horrifying.

And because the amazing @drDavidKeegan has liked this on the other site (so honoured) I’ll try to be as brave as my kid and add:

Yes, this friend is Queer.
And if you think this teen’s mental health crisis isn’t a direct result of the Alberta government’s policies, you’re delusional.

I’ve loved every minute of my 13.75 years as a parent (yes, even the way too many scary emergency visits to the children’s hospital). But these moments where my almost adult kid does the right thing all on his own *and* sees a positive outcome? Pure gold. 💛💜💛

My kid basically lived an after school special today: a friend needed help, kid told an adult, adult believed him and got help, friend was really happy to have help. So proud and happy I could burst. 😭

Be careful out there today, folks! 🪴🪴🪴

youtu.be/E0MklanXNTY?...

Little Shop of Horrors 03 Da Doo.mpg

youtu.be

I experienced this during an eclipse in 1995, and it was stunning. I have sooo many pictures of shadows from that eclipse.

I’ve seen one person say they’ll get the recording link, but it wasn’t someone associated with the talk. So I’m unsure. If I see a link anywhere, I’ll post it here.

“I want people to empathise, not gawk.”

—Ed Yong

@edyong209.bsky.social

I’m attending Ed Yong’s lecture about Long COVID at SFU remotely. Less than 30 minutes in, and I’m in tears. It’s amazing to see a science journalist who actually sees us.

Though the 1940s homes here are nearly gone and were quickly approaching the point where my 1987 home will be the oldest on my block. Because Calgary’s gonna Calgary.

So I guess it won’t be an issue in the near future.🥹

I’ve definitely heard of that, especially in Sunnyside where the foundations are older and disturbing the spill around it can really wreck havoc on the neighbor Jong houses. Fortunately I haven’t seen much of that in West Hillhurst. I think even the “old” hones here aren’t quite old enough.

It’s far enough away that it definitely won’t. But it’s just a distinctive feeling I never experienced before living in Calgary.

The closest I’d come was ice quakes from the lakes in Madison, which can feel very scary in a tall university building. This is subtler but somehow more disconcerting.

This is beautiful, and every discipline should do this accounting of their histories.

Every discipline should do this.
youtu.be/Xy-ZBDpBA4w?...

The Sociologist's Wife

The Sociologist's Wife tells the story of three women. All were married to eminent British sociologists at a time when the discipline was evolving and emergi...

youtu.be

One of the last remaining 1940s bungalows on my street is being demolished this week, and I’m starting to think that feeling your house shake from excavator work marks the true arrival of spring in Calgary.

Everyone talks about how hard parenting teenagers is. But they’re seriously undervaluing the awesomeness of having a kid who will forego an Easter basket hunt in favour of scoring the good chocolate & Squishmallows half off at Shoppers on Easter Monday.

Everyone talks about how hard parenting teenagers are. But they’re seriously undervaluing the awesomeness of having a kid who will forego an Easter basket hunt in favour of scoring the good chocolate & Squishmallows half off at Shoppers on Easter Monday.

It’s 6:15 on Easter Saturday and we just got our last Christmas tree* put away. Packing up the main tree/front room decor took exactly the length of one play through of Cowboy Carter. So we’re pretty much winning at life.

*We packed up the other 3 trees on Palm Sunday 😂

The function is very different on social media (scolding/shame) than in in person conversation (softening/excuse).

But I’ve also experienced what you’re describing when friends in India have died—like it’s more acceptable to be blunt immediately. Which can feel like a relief, honestly.

This is a fascinating question. I, an American Catholic from German/Flemish immigrant families, grew up attending wakes where the phrase was always was used as a qualifier.
“I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, BUT….”
The best gossip came out a funerals, truly.

Ditto to cyclists who run down pedestrians in the crosswalk as they blow through stop signs. Or run down pedestrians on pathways. Or any running down of pedestrians, really.

CHOAM Nomsky 💭 @thielman.bsky.social

If you ride your bike on a public sidewalk going the same direction and speed as the traffic four feet to your left I think you should have to spend a week wearing a Bugs Bunny-style ball and chain made out of your crushed bicycle

22 March

Ditto to cyclists who run down pedestrians in the crosswalk as they blow through stop signs. Or run down pedestrians on pathways. Or any running down of pedestrians, really.