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.

Situation Wanted

Slightly used science professor available:  good funding; commercialization experience; strong H-index; many former HQP in prominent position in industry and academe.  Will consider any reasonable offer as long as it is located in a province not run by irresponsible loudmouth buffoons.

A Vanishing Breed

Here's a very sobering piece in The Atlantic about the dwindling percentage of tenured/tenure-track faculty at colleges and universities.

Song of the Week: Know Your Enemy

Rage Against the Machine was(is) an unstoppable force, an early purveyor of rap-metal, mixing ferocious, politically conscious lyrics by vocalist Zack de la Rocha with the contagious guitar riffs of Tom Morello.  While all of their albums were great, the stunning eponymous debut from 1992 is still my favorite.

Of the many great songs, I want to single out one:  "Know Your Enemy."  A hard rocking revolutionary anthem, its message is relevant to our current predicament.  Whether we want an enemy or not, we have one, and we need to wake up to that fact.  This government sees advanced education as something they can readily attack and cripple with no adverse consequences.  Are they right, or will they be made to pay a steep price for their perfidy?

Here's the song: