Tag: research

A History of Modern Burma by Michael W. Charney

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I read A History of Modern Burma as part of the research for my current fiction project, and as histories go, I’m happy with what I learned as well as the perspective I gained from the text. Charney is clear, thoughtful, and quite balanced: he tries to at least make clear the kinds of thinking and motivation that underlied the military rulers of Burma in ages past and present, differentiating between them and their policies, as well at working to show what effect those policies had on the common people of Burma. Another point of strong interest is the role …

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Back to the…

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Well, I can’t actually say it’s “back to the grind,” because, just like with different coffees, each semester is unique. I realize I haven’t posted in ages, and getting back into that habit will be particularly tough given how busy I’m going to be this semester. Not that my classload is particularly onerous: I have only one class focused on writing, and another class which will involve written homework with any regularity. The other two courses are more related to speaking and presenting and so on. This is a change of pace for me, since I prefer the content-related courses …

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No Respect, I Tell Ya

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So I’m researching (actually, flipping through a book and giggling at, though also trying to find good examples of) old hipster slang — that is, white hipster slang — and what, pray tell, did I find? Goon from Saskatoon: An idiot, a square. No respect, I tell ya. We get no respect. Then again, it’s kind of true, and was probably even more true in the 1930s. Another one I got a kick out of was Hot pillow joint, which is, of course, a hotel that rents out rooms by the hour. Just the kind of thing I can actually …

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