It's a Mystery

I just have no idea why university tuition keeps going up faster than inflation.

Frackers Cheating on Royalties

Gosh, I'm glad nothing like this is happening here in Alberta.

Movie Friday: Stories We Tell

I've been a big fan of Sarah Polley since I saw her in Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter, a film that currently holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 100%.  Her directorial debut was the brilliant Away from Her, based on the Alice Munroe short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain.  I also have utter respect for her commitment to political causes, and her rejection of the traditional Hollywood existence in favour of remaining based in Canada.

This year, she released a fascinating documentary called Stories We Tell.  The film concerns the mystery of her real parentage.  I don't want to go into too much detail--it's better to watch the movie and let the story evolve organically.  It's extremely well done (currently 95% at Rotten Tomatoes), and I recommend it without reservation.

Here's the trailer:

Why Do You Make Me Hurt You?

My original idea for the title of this post was "Stop Hitting Yourself," the classic refrain of the bully on the school bus or the playground.  This was meant to symbolize the way the provincial government is treating the university.  But then I realized that the nature of the relationship is much more insidious and abusive.  In essence, a domestic violence situation seems like the best metaphor for the current situation between UofA and the Redford government.  Consider the following features, taken from this informative page:

There are many signs of an abusive relationship.  The most telling sign is fear of your partner.  If you feel like you have to walk on eggshells around your partner–constantly watching what you say and do in order to avoid a blow-up–chance are your relationship is unhealthy and abusive.  Other signs that you may be in an abusive relationship include a partner who belittles you or tries to control you, and feelings of self-loathing, helplessness, and desperation.

...

Remember, an abuser's goal is to control you, and he or she will frequently use money to do so.  Economic or financial abuse includes:

•Rigidly controlling your finances

•Restricting you to an allowance

 •Withholding money or credit cards

•Making you account for every penny you spend

•Withholding basic necessities

One of the most important issues in abusive relationships is how the abused partner gets out of it.  This is what I have been thinking about lately.  The UofA can't very well move away from Alberta.  But those of us who do not want to be party to such dysfunction certainly have options, and would be foolish not to explore them.

Song of the Week: He's Misstra Know-It-All

This song of the week is dedicated to a certain Minister.  Stevie Wonder's He's Misstra Know-It-All appears on the truly awesome 1973 album, Innervisions.  Wikipedia says:

"The song is essentially a long description of a know-it-all confidence trickster character who is a "man with a plan," who has a slick answer to all his critics and who has "a counterfeit dollar in his hand."  It has been suggested that the song's subject was US President Richard Nixon..."

Here's the studio version on YouTube.  (Sorry, couldn't find any good quality live performances.)

Food for Thought

Paula Simons explains the underlying motivations of Lukaszuk and the Redford government with this new "financial consultant" nonsense.  It's all about taking away the autonomy of a formerly independent institution.  This crew even makes Klein look good, never mind Stelmach.

Look to Your Left; Now Look to Your Right

There's a famous urban legend about Harvard Law School that the 1-L's were told on the first day to look to their left and right, because one of them would not be there by the end of the year.  The tweet below from Andy Holt suggests a new variation on this for our faculty:  "Look to your left; now look to your right.  At least one of you will be at another institution next year, thanks to the government of Alberta."

But that's OK, it's only the best people who will be leaving.  Everyone else will still be here to help achieve the "Top 20 by 2020" goal.

Arts to Cut Programs?

Expect more of this over the next few months.

Movie Friday: Before Midnight

I saw several interesting films this summer, but the first one to highlight should be Richard Linklater's Before Midnight.  This is the third (and last?) film in the series that includes Before Sunrise and Before Sunset.  All three concern the principal characters Jesse (a somewhat callow and annoying American writer) and Celine (a high-strung Frenchwoman working for an NGO).  The first has them meeting-cute as 20-somethings on a train and spontaneously deciding to spend the night wandering around Vienna.  The second occurs nine years later, when Jesse has had success as a writer (mining his actual experience with Celine for many of the details) and is visiting Paris for a reading.  Married with a young kid, he nonetheless realizes that it is Celine with whom he should be spending his life, and by the end of that film it is clear that this is exactly what he is going to do, regardless of the consequences.

Before Midnight takes up the story after another nine year gap, and now they are together with young twin daughters of their own.  In the space of one afternoon and evening, we see them slide from playful bantering and harmless bickering to an intense and bitter argument about the sacrifices and compromises they have made for each other (or are apparently contemplating asking for).  This is painful to watch and listen to, but it is utterly real.  Moreover, because you have invested so much into these two characters, it is absorbing even when you are squirming with discomfort.  Although things are left uncertain, I predict that these two will not be able to stay apart:  they absolutely need each other as foils for their various dramas, and inspirations for their accomplishments.  But their togetherness will be punctuated with many trenchant discussions, some of them intensely painful.

I'm not sure how to summarize what Linklater accomplished with these three films, but they are truly a singular accomplishment, with fantastic writing and direction, and amazingly honest performances from the two leads.  And all the while, wrestling with deep ideas and highly personal dilemmas.  I recommend all three without reservation, but I think perhaps the third may be the best of all.

Here is the trailer:

Do the Arts Subsidize STEM Disciplines?

As a member of the Science faculty, I found this post on Crooked Timber to be very interesting and illuminating.  Admittedly, it concerns the British academic system, whose funding model is not identical to ours, but the underlying principles (esp. cost to deliver various subjects vs more or less uniform tuitions and fees) still apply.

Where University Costs Come From

Here's an interesting preliminary (and very incomplete) coverage of rising costs (and tuition) at a series of US universities.

The Return of Song of the Week: Ode to Billie Joe

I saw Roseanne Cash at the Folk Fest this weekend, and one of the high points was her performance of the 1967 Bobbie Gentry classic Ode to Billie Joe.  Written as a southern Gothic story, set to a simple blues song structure, this song was amazingly popular when released, and even inspired a not-so-good movie starring Robby Benson.

Anyway, here is a live version of Bobbie Gentry on the old Smothers Brothers show:

And here is Roseanne Cash with husband John Leventhal:

Compare and Contrast (continued)

First drew this comparison in March, when both NSF and NSERC had vacancies in their Directorships.

Now NSF appoints a noted astrophysicist, former president of Purdue University, and current Chairwoman of the Smithsonian as its new Director.  Meanwhile, NSERC's Presidency remains open, with an embarrassing notice of vacancy posted online.  For the time being, it seems that Canada's main natural sciences funding agency is being run by an executive team whose scientific credentials are, to be charitable, rather modest.  I really despair for the future of this country's science.