My mother always wanted me to be a Doctor

And Hey! I am!

Yep, I defended my dissertation last week. It went well -- my strategy of scheduling the defense at the unlikely hour of 7:30 am prevented hecklers and kept my committee groggy enough to let me slip through with only minor scrapes.

So, I was able to check that off my to-do list. A few more revisions to the diss, and its good to go. If I can figure out how to get the durn thing formatted in the Uni's style template, that will be a win as well.

On the not-so-good news front, I did not land a job this go-round. I have a couple of irons in the fire that might pan out, but basically I am looking at scraping together some work until the next season of applications rolls around. That has been pretty tough to get my head around, especially since I just passed the major milestone of the defense. I would have liked to have had a few more days to savor that victory before turning my mind to the difficult days ahead -- but no Uni job means no insurance, and that's something that I can't allow to happen.

On the fitness front, its been a tough week as well -- I always have trouble with that when my mind is not at ease with my future. For example, I had a fabulous 21 mile run the day before the defense -- I ran easy, felt good, didn't hurt too bad after. Sunday I had a crushing day, tried to run 10 miles hard (+/- 7:00 minute miles) and went: 6:56 / 7:45 / 7:30 / 7:15 / 8:45 / 7:08 and then quit and walked it in. I think I'm fit enough -- my body certainly was capable of getting back down to near the goal pace -- but I couldn't keep my head in the game. I tried to make it into a workout about being gutsy -- thats what miles 3/4 & 6 were about, but in the end I just couldn't keep picking my feet up and putting them down. 3 weeks until the marathon; I'm not going to let one bad day ruin my confidence -- I did run 10x 800m @ 3:30 on Thursday last week, right dead on pace for a 3:30 marathon -- but I have to get it back together before too much longer.

To that end I went down to the Library of Congress today. I love the LOC, the magical way books appear on a conveyor belt from out of the bowels of the building. The Jefferson Reading Room is really splendid; a good place to be. I am digging in to the book manuscript, beginning to map out some territory for chapters, looking over the field, as it were. I found a Fred Astaire dance book that contained sheet music and Labanotation for 12 pieces of choreography; Two books by Arthur Murray -- one of his 1924 "study dancing by mail" books and a 1936 hardback from after he had hit it big, and had a studio in NYC. Paul Whiteman, the white jazz bandleader, wrote the intro, in which we learn a little about Arthur's past -- he won a waltz competition, took a class at Castle House, and became a teacher there, then went with a baroness to teach in Asheville, NC, where the patrons were charged $50 an hour for lessons, and he was paid $5. He stayed on for three years teaching (after the anonymous baroness left -- something for me to research, there) before going to Atlanta to business school. Where he hit on the teaching dance-by-mail thing, and the rest is history.

It was also a chance to sit down and chat with one of my peers in the department with whom I don't get enough face time -- we were in different buildings doing research but got together for lunch -- that was awesome!

Also looked at a book by Skippy Blair, the legendary California dance teacher, published a book in '78 about her system of dancing, which would be easier to read without her PENCHANT for ALL CAPS.

The thing I was reminded of is how tiring that kind of research is -- I know I have a finite time with the material, so I'm skimming and trying to get a sense of what is and isn't important, taking notes, looking for stuff that I might use and trying to weed out stuff that isn't appropriate. Mentally taxing. I'll probably be down at the LOC a lot this next couple of months, kicking through GV1751 -- thats right, baby. I have my own call #.

Dissertation to Committee? Check.

Hello faithful readers and welcome to another edition of the Rundown! Apologies for the delay, and heck, I even ran a 10 mile race and didn't bother to tell you about it (73:25, 26th of 111, 6 of 16 in my AG). Why? Well, I had a good reason, I think. I was finishing my dissertation.

Which was a good thing. Ok, yes -- I have found four things I would have changed or added in the last 48 hours, but nothing major. Cleaning up the office after the final push, I found a couple of file folders of material I had meant to get back to but never did. Meh.

The Diss came in at a mere 250 pages, which I am told is not all that short for the humanities nowadays. I know some of the work of my peers is in that same ballpark. But, length aside, is it any good?

Some of it is. Some of it, if I may say so myself, is dead sexy. Much of it is not, but I subscribe to the belief that the dead sexy bits are set up by the grinding away at the data that just isn't all that interesting. There are one or two bits that I am especially proud of, and a couple of sections that I think aren't all that strong. I don't think anything is flat out bad, but then I wouldn't, would I? :)

Maybe the best thing (aside from just being done) is that there are four or more ideas that I want to pursue further that arise from the diss. That's a good sign, I think, that I don't just want to shelve it and move on to something else. I mean, I AM going to shelve it and move on to something else -- I have a book manuscript for a different project due in November, so that's the next thing that has to get going -- but nonetheless I am excited to start looking with fresh eyes at the material.

If you're interested in reading it, drop me a line -- I go to defend in two weeks, and then I am sure I will have some re-writes, but a major chapter in my life is coming to an end here. Next up =-= get a job! (Hi mom!)

Not in Nebraska

As the title says, I'm not in Nebraska. I was supposed to be- -but circumstances dictated that I cancel my plans to participate in a fundraiser for the Lincoln Community Playhouse, where, in 1987, I was in a production of A Chorus Line. Blame Facebook for putting all of us in touch with each other, well, really blame some diligent organizing by one of my favoritest people evar. I had printed out my boarding pass and was all ready to pack my bags when I got the news.

The article I have in train with a major peer-reviewed journal needed another edit. This being my first publication evar ("evar"is a self-consciously ironic way of spelling ever, and indicates a bit of self-mockery when I use it, mom), and given that I am in the final stages of my dissertation, and I am workshopping another article for submission, I just couldn't get on the plane.

The good news is the article is going to be kick-ass, I think. The copy-editor has made some brilliant suggestions for strengthening it, and I'll let y'all know when it hits newsstands. The bad news is I've had an unhealthy amount of caffeine this weekend. And not enough sleep.

I still managed to get in a swim yesterday and the long run today -- 16 miles, 66 minutes out, 62 minutes back. Probably not the best way to break in new running shoes, but that pink bloodstain over my left big toe is just so CUTE! I can't wait for B to get back from Delaware so I can do my second run later today. Bleargh!

Anyway, I wanted to throw something up here, before I get back to kickin the dissertation. More news as events warrant!

Happy Hollandaise!

The Hollandaise were good to the Purplestaters this year -- despite (because of?) an almost total lack of preparation on our part. I mean, for reals -- no tree, presents purchased on the 22nd, no plan for the weekend? How can that work out? Well, my dad decided he wanted to come visit last minute, and the in-laws hosted a feast, and we all got to hang out and have fun. I even watched a good 30 minutes of NFL football, which I think is about right for any given 12 month period.

Big ticket items for the fam was the suite of equipment required to play Lego Rock Band. This is a guitar hero spinoff, with, yes, Lego figures as the performers. We've never owned any of this stuff before, just envying other's cool guitars and rapidly descending bars of color, but now we rock out. Well worth the expense, and as soon as we get a drum kit all three of us can play together which will, I expect, be even more fun.

Me, I gots me a new bike -- new to me, anyway. B found an ad on a forum for a gently used Quintana Roo 2003 Caliente in my size, and after some negotiation I went ahead and got it. Going this route saved me $700 over a brand new bike, which I promptly put towards a wheel with a power tap. "Why ride with power?" I hear some of you asking -- hi mom! -- well, its all about getting accurate measurements of effort. In training last year, I was working to ride ~20 mph over the distance -- which, while a laudable goal, is tough to train for, on account of the differences in terrain and any-given-day conditions on the road. Its far more useful to train to crank out 200/220/240 watts for 5 hours at a time, so that on race day you can do that, at which point your finishing time is dependent upon the terrain. If you have trained properly, you have a better idea of what you are able to do, and focus on that rather than on the clock. You may recall, faithful reader, how I nearly blew up on the bike at IMMoo --- here's hoping that this training tool is going to prevent that.

I've signed up for the DC marathon in March, again, and hope to crush my 3:52:00 time this year -- 3:30:00 is my goal again, and if all goes well in the next 12 weeks of training, I'll aim to go somewhere south of that. My 1/2 marathon in November suggests that this kind of time is well within my reach, if I can keep to the training schedule. Which, barring the hellish snowstorms of two weeks ago, has been pretty consistent.

The dissertation is approaching completion. 33 pages into chapter 5, I hope to finish that by tomorrow and then start working on the intro/conclusion. Defense is set for February 22, if I can manage to get through all the hoops on time. On the job front, lots of applications out, no nibbles as yet. Too soon to worry about that, though -- Feb 1 is my "panic" date. I wonder if I can still get a job teaching ballroom with a PhD? (Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!)

Finding the Seam

This was a productive week. Although I did not run as much as I would have liked, I did get a lot of writing done, and the quality of said writing seems to be pretty darn high. As an added bonus, I think I have found my smoking gun.



As you, faithful reader, know, I contend that the Waltz became the sine qua non of ballroom dancing at/around the turn of the century, in response to the increased popularity of African American dance and musical forms. When I look at the popular ballroom dances of today, mostly what I see is a variation of the Waltz - yes, even in the latin categories. Or, more correctly, I see that these dances have all been through a filter that makes them look more like Waltz than anything else.



This week, while tracking down some more information on Allan Dodworth, a dancing master in NYC in the 19th century, I came across a mention of an organization, the American Society of Professors of Dance. They organized in the 1870s, and incorporated in New York in 1883. Every year, they held an annual meeting, and every year the NYTimes or the Washington Post managed to print something about their agenda. Some years more, some less, but from 1883 - 1918, I have been able to track the broad strokes of this association.



In 1922 they re-appear as the American Society of Teachers of Dance (A move to be more like the British teacher's group, the Imperial STD? Likely.), but 1922 is really beyond the scope of my study. It is telling, however, that the organization has such continuity, particularly in light of their principles. They were formed in reaction to the dwindling popularity of set dances -- quadrilles, lancers, germans, what you probably think of as "folk dancing" if you think of it at all, which, exepting when you read this blog, you probably dont -- in favor of "round" dances, like the Waltz, two-step, polka, etc; what you know today, broadly speaking, as ballroom dances. Partners go around the room together, in a counterclockwise direction, yada yada yada. The problem for the dance teachers is that round dances like these are WAY easier to learn and perform, they require far less by way of skill and dedication to master -- you can learn them from a friend, and have fun doing them. What to do? They are going to be out of a job if things keep moving in that direction. . . This is the 1880s. They aim at Standardization of performance as a way of job security -- making everyone everywhere dance in the same way. Sound familiar? Well, maybe not to you, but ask a ballroom dancer that you know if they could go anywhere and dance with anyone, and odds are they would say yes -- dancing is that standardized today. Common knowledge, really. Please, don't bother me with such trivial distractions!



Anyway. By 1900, the ASPD have far worse problems than the popularity of the Waltz or two-step. No one dances the waltz anymore, they are all into this crazy new fad, Ragtime. Long story short (too late!) they go to war against it, ban the music from their halls, and try to get people to dance properly. And the model they hold up, the standard to which everyone they instruct must aspire? You guessed it -- the Waltz. Boo-yah. Knocked out 15 pages this week on these folks, and there's more to come. That's chapter two nearly in the bag, and with luck I'll bring it in only 2 weeks behind my anticipated schedule.



On a sadder note, I got my first rejection letter today. Ok, yes, thank you Landru, its not my first rejection letter EVAR. But for the current job hunt, we can scratch the Jesuits of Scranton off our list of prospective employers.



Ran 10.12 miles today, 92 minutes. Rock Creek Park is really quite loverly!

A Long Week

First things first:

Ran 3.4 miles in 25 mins on Tuesday, on the treadmill with B. Started at 8:00/mi, and held that for 15 mins, then upped it to 7:30 for 8 mins, then ran the last 90 seconds at 6:39. So that was good -- I haven't tried to run that fast for that kind of distance before, and while I was puffing by the end, I wasn't completely shot.

Yesterday B and I met at the track behind my house at dusk, and ran about 4 miles, doing interval work -- warm up for 2400, something he calls "curves and straightaways" for 800, then 4x600 -- my times were 1:47, 2:05, 2:02, and 2:07 -- with ~50 seconds rest (I was hate hate hating life after 1 and 3, when I was kicking it hard at the end), and cool down for 1600. Short of it is, I am getting fast enough to run with B outside, for 25 mins or so, which was a problem last year when training.

Today, ran an easy 25 mins on 8.30; 3.2 mi. Plan was to do a long run tomorrow, but I forgot that J has the day of from school, so may have to figure something else out there.

B and I were talking about Bloody-mindedness; I accuse him of it regularly, he says "you shoulda seen me when." What I kind of mean is that he knows what pace he has been able to hold in the past, and he Will Hold That Pace, regardless of the price he pays later. I mean, he's been out of training for 3 months, he shouldn't be able to run that fast -- but not only can he, he makes it look easy - because he KNOWS that he can. I am still figuring out what kind of pace I can hold, over what distance. When I've been running for 20 years like B, perhaps I will have that same kind of intuition.

In Other News. This last weekend was a local diplomacy tournament, which I helped run. It was a well run event, with 50+ individual players who travelled from all over America (and one Canadian). Because of some earlier drama (which I will spare you) the first place prize was not awarded; I was at the center of that drama, and all I will say for the record is that sometimes doing the right thing feels really good.

At the event were several of the best people I know - people I really treasure and cherish in my life -- and the only downside to that is that several of them don't get along with each other. The event ended badly when two people went at it hammer and tongs; although most people had gone home allready, it was pretty embarrassing. For the moment I am keeping the situation at arms length and hoping that tempers will cool, good sense prevail - but despite some early rallies it looks like the stock of that option is going into the tank.

In Still Other News, I am working on a paper about the Castles for a conference, and, while looking through some images I scanned while doing research at the Billy Rose collection of the NYPL, I found the perfect one for my topic. So --I hope to have that knocked out today, and with some finesse, it should find itself into my dissertation as well.

Dancing and Dissertating

So, had the big sit down with the Advisor yesterday about the draft of chapter one. Good news -- its not bad! Bad news -- it still needs a lot of work I guess I can live with that, as the work that IS there seems to be on the right track. I tend to hack out sections of a larger piece, then try to fit those sections together in a sensible manner. Accordingly, most of the feedback was that I needed clarity in transitions and more definition in the overall arc of the chapter. I can do that.

Ran 20 mins with B on the treadmills last night; very affirming. It turns out that when he takes three months off, and I keep training through, that a twenty minute run affects him more than me. Ha! I also am running faster, longer, than I was six months ago. So, woot.

Then, B and I went dancing. He has been taking dance lessons, from me and others, for several years now, in West Coast Swing. There's a nice tuesday night dance locally, so he proposed that the four of us (M, J, + he and I) go out -- but M had a bisy day, and after her belly dancing class (with which she is most pleased), she didn't have the energy. At the dance, I met an old friend (she knew me back when I was in undergrad, way back when) and that was good. B was frustrated that he has forgotten more than he ever learned, and I was frustrated because no one dances as well as my wife -- well, not with me, anyway. :) Its just so much more work dancing with someone who you haven't worked with for years! Joking, kinda -- I did have a good time. B is actually a much better dancer than he was back in the BA, though he doesn't necessarily see it, since he feels like he only has a limited (and much diminised) vocabulary. But he's in his body more, hearing the music better, and paying good attention to his partners. So, good on him!

More than anything else, I was struck by the heirarchy of dancers present -- this group is dominated by about 5 women, with whom only select individuals could dance. Watching the room stratify itself by perceived skill level is something I like to note -- it happens most everywhere. Here, it as distance from the stage -- the better you thought you were, the closer to the DJ and the raised stage you were.

Nothing really profound today.