Dan Punday
@dan-punday
Professor of English at Mississippi State University. I've published on narrative theory, contemporary US (mostly) literature, and computing. Currently working on infrastructure as a narrative issue. Also sometimes makes pottery.
In Virginia Beach for a family vacation, and googled to see if we could find music for after dinner. Just someone playing covers or such while we had a drink. Discovered Wilco is playing two blocks away tonight. We must have rescued a Genie or something.
Inspired by our American lit discussion of Gertrude Stein, one of my students got a "tender button" tattoo.
I ran a conference right before Covid. Trying to cut down on waste, our only give-away was stickers. As you can imagine, we had a lot left over. I’ve made it a project to put these up in every dive bar we visit. By now every bar in Nashville and New Orleans has a Narrative sticker in the bathroom.
Used that image for a narrative conference I hosted in New Orleans. It's such a beautiful and evocative image.
So gratifying when you get an orchid to re-bloom. Plus, I threw that pot!
Teaching in a classroom without a chalkboard/whiteboard in the front of the room, only on the side. Gonna be a weird semester.
Not in my skill set, but I so need someone to do one of these with the metal presentations at the end of Star Wars. Start here, it's perfectly set up:
A nice thing about Mississippi is that you can put plants in the ground so early in the spring--usually in March--so my habit has been to start seeds for things like tomatoes on January 1st under a grow light. Always fun to see them germinate and grow over these (relatively) cold months.
Got new grow lights this year for starting tomatoes and peppers over the winter. Can't help but feel, based on the logo, that they have growing something else in mind.
Been praising my Am Lit survey students all semester. But here's an answer on the final from a guy who presented as super bro-y guy. But what a lovely closing paragraph on *Sing Unburied Sing*; so thoughtful. I think I did my work with this class.
Grad students came into the last class eager to rank the novels in the infrastructure and lit seminar. Decided to do it publicly, with lots of on-the-fly audience feedback. Severance takes the gold, Tropic of Orange the silver, How to Live Saftely in a Science Fictional Universe the bronze
Had grad students over to make pottery Christmas ornaments. Just opened the kiln and everything came out great.
Wrapping up the American lit survey. A few weeks ago I asked student jokingly after push back, do you want to teach class? Today she said, yes, she'll teach the class. It's the last day on Ward's *Sing Unburied Sing*. Did amazing. Turns out, her grandfather worked at Parchman. Geez, what a context.
For my birthday last month, I asked my wife for a ridiculous blazer, and my wife knocked it out of the park. Wore it tonight, and got complements at the restaurant and concert we attended. Am I brave enough to wear it to teach?
So enjoying this grad seminar on (recent) literature and infrastructure. Easiest teaching job in the world. Though there are only 6 students, class basically involves me coming in and saying, "so what did you think?" and the students cook for 3 hours. My main job is putting things on the whiteboard.
On the "ripoff degrees" thing, I'm reminded of this data I presented when I interviewed to be dept head at Mississippi State: the difference between humanities earnings and business earnings is trivial over a career. All that matters is finding a way to graduate. Just help people find their niche.
On the one hand: yay, here's the new Pynchon novel! On the other hand, I guess I put it in my Amazon cart twice and now have two copies. I'll find someone in the department who wants a free copy. My wife: well, you're contributing financially to helping poor Pynchon to finally retire from writing.
Here's the flyer; the syllabus itself isn't anything special: just more or less one novel a week, with a couple of days spent on academic publishing and periodization.
Obviously, I didn't marry my wife because she had an original Mac, but it didn't hurt. But talk about being a geek princess, referencing the computer by its RAM size.
Update. gaillardia, great coneflower, and lavender popped up right away. Yucca, butterfly bush, and others are dragging their feet.
I've been checking quotes and details for this new book project before I send it out. Getting so close: I have this many things still to verify before I call it done.
Teaching this grad seminar on infrastructure in recent (mostly) US lit, and my students are killing it. Next up, Egan's *The Candy House*.
Thinking back on a conference I ran right before covid. It had, in my modest opinion, the best program book design ever. The cover was map-themed & the size approximated a folded map. Inside, each session took up exactly two facing pages, so you could see everything going on without flipping pages.
The whole, "we're living in a simulation" thing never made any sense to me. But I have to admit that the furniture/layout of this AirB&B in Memphis does look like a video game. Waiting for an NPC to wander down the hallway.
I've gotten into the habit of starting perennials from seed in the early fall, since they take so long to grow. Keep them on the porch until the weather turns cold, then put them under a grow light in December. I'll start annuals like tomatoes in January under the light.
You all. I have assembled a cheeseboard so attractive that I might now officially be an influencer. Don’t know who the university will get to teach my classes.