Musical Interlude

Catching up with my old New Yorker issues, I came across this article by Sasha Frere-Jones on Kate Bush.  (Sorry, it's behind the paywall, but the link includes a nice abstract.)  It's nice to see this great artist receive some renewed interest, and I don't really disagree with anything Frere-Jones says.  However, for me, the best part of the album "Hounds of Love" is the second side, a suite of songs titled "The Ninth Wave," including the spooky "Under Ice," and the transcendant "Hello Earth" (the latter featuring the eerie Georgian folk song "Tsintskaro").  After listening to that for the first time back in the 80's, I became convinced that Bush was using direct connection to the unconscious mind to make unexplainable and amazing music.

Way to Go, Lethbridge!

Wow.  Just, wow.

Enough Already!

How many times are they going to "officially open" CCIS?  It's a beautiful building (though I'm not sure I would enjoy working in its fishbowl environment). However, I grow tired of reading about all the wonderful collaborations that can happen now that we have put scientists in close proximity to each other.  One wonders how anyone managed to put together a collaboration before this edifice was erected.

Does the Cost of Pursuing Postsecondary Education Influence Choice of Majors?

Maclean's On Campus has a short blurb on the problems associated with rising tuition in Canada.  It includes the following quote:

"...higher tuition payments tend to mean higher debt loads upon graduation and debt loads put pressure on graduates to take jobs that pay and pay right away. Nothing wrong with that, except that there might be other things recent university graduates might do that could be more socially valuable than joining the corporate rat race."

Do you think this is really the case?

The Next Premier

In Alberta, it's a foregone conclusion that the Conservative Party will control the government.  With Ed Stelmach stepping down and a 6-way leadership race, we have a number of possibilities.  Polling indicates that Gary Mar is the frontrunner, trailed by Alison Redford, Doug Horner and Ted Morton.  Conventional wisdom says a Calgary-based politician should win this time (i.e., Mar, Redford, Morton, or Rick Orman), though I am surprised that Horner is not doing better on the basis of his prominent role in the Stelmach government.  Myself, I wish Peter Lougheed was were still in the mix--there's a guy who always seemed to be able to think strategically.  Anyway, the purpose of this post is to troll for comments:  who do you think is the candidate that is most likely to be supportive of the U of A and advanced education in general?

John Harvard Wept

Bit of a kerfuffle at Jeremy's place that started with a commenter complaining about the budget cuts in Arts.  Remember the quote attributed to robber baron Jay Gould:  "I can hire one half of the working class to kill the other half."  Don't forget who is/are imposing the budget cuts, and whose mismanagement and inflated salaries made them "necessary."

Fraud Investigation at York

Here's an intriguing report on MacLean's On Campus about a fraud investigation going on at York resulting from a forensic accounting investigation.  No details have been provided regarding what unit(s) was/were involved.