Month: February 2018

On The Transmigration of My Soul

Posted on by filmscore80

By Michael W. Harris

Fun fact, I have also lived in five area codes along with three time zones.

It is strange to me, when I think about too much, that I am one move away from living in all four continental US time zones. This strikes me as odd because I am, at my very core, a person who loathes to move. And even more so, when I was younger, I considered myself to be someone who was going to probably die not far from where they lived most of their life (i.e. – Kansas City, Missouri). Or at the very least, be within driving distance. So, when I stop and really consider that it has been over a decade since I last had a Missouri address, have now called three different states in three different time zones home, and, if I am being honest, feel a strong urge to eventually move to the fourth (preferably Washington or Oregon), it seems like there is a disconnect between who I am now and who I think I am…or at least who I used to be. Continue reading “On The Transmigration of My Soul” →

The Everyday Carry -OR- The Makings of the Man Purse

Posted on by filmscore80

I have been doing more airline travel in recent years and my desire to NOT pay bag fees has caused me to reevaluate my luggage and packing styles. This led me to utilize a large backpack style suitcase and shoulder bag which allows me to carry on all my necessary items, even for a 1 ½ weeklong trip to both New York and England last year. But that trip also coincided with a bout of on-going backpain (lessened by physical therapy in the months since), and my obsessive need to get my daily miles led to some rather severe bouts of pain as I walked for miles and miles through airport terminals in my quest to reach five-plus miles a day.

So it was that I reevaluated what I carry with me in my everyday bag to work and elsewhere. I took a long look at what I considered the essentials that I always need or would most likely need during an average workday. This is not a new concept as the internet is full of pages and videos devoted to the idea of “prepping” with survivalist and gearheads alike talking about what I was only vaguely aware of beforehand: the Everyday Carry, or EDC. Continue reading “The Everyday Carry -OR- The Makings of the Man Purse” →

Four Years Gone: Looking Backwards and Forwards

Posted on by filmscore80

By Michael W. Harris

The “fishbowl” at my old library at The University of Colorado Boulder.

Almost two years ago I wrote a post entitled “On Rage Quits and Academia” that was part of a trend of “quit lit” about academics leaving academia. The reasons for their exit and taking to the internet to talk about it varied, but for many of them it was because of the exploitation of the working underclass of higher education commonly called adjuncts.

I was an adjunct, it is certainly why I left, and that was the experience I wrote about in that post. However, now that it has been almost four years since I left the adjunct life, and three years since I finished sending off the last of my applications to library schools, I would like to reflect upon what I didn’t really talk about before: why libraries are the right place for me. Continue reading “Four Years Gone: Looking Backwards and Forwards” →

Humans Form Communities: Patriotism and Nationalism in the Long September

Posted on by filmscore80
Marvel has been repeating this formula for event books for way too long now.

I was recently reminded of Green Day’s 2004 album American Idiot, its reflection on post-9/11 America, and the presidency of George W. Bush. I had already been ruminating on the meaning of patriotism vs. nationalism—how they are often conflated but are actually quite different, at least in my mind—but in thinking about and re-listening to Green Day’s album, I was reminded of my personal interpretation of my favorite song on the album: “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Continue reading “Humans Form Communities: Patriotism and Nationalism in the Long September” →