I have a feeling that at the conference in Houston I won’t be going to any talks, meeting any people, or exploring the city. Instead, I will be snoring in my hotel room for 3 days straight.
No, that’s not true. I will be so anxious about Klara that I will try to distract myself with bouts of feverish activity.
Clarissa's Blog 
Relax, Klara will do just fine for three days without her mother. She does have a father, after all…
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The grandparents will be here, too.
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“grandparents will be here”
Does that reassure you or add to your separation anxiety? Or some of both?
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The grandparents are taking care of my sister’s babies right now, so they are well-prepared. Grandma looks exactly like me, so I’m hoping Klara won’t notice the difference.
Happiness for her is sitting between Mommy and Daddy and having us both coo at her at the same time. 😃
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I’ve been to Houston and there’s not much to explore…. it’s a typical “no there there” place.
If you’re going on the job market then you’ll need to learn to network and this is a great opportunity for that.
If you don’t have business cards yet then get some and get some practical tips on how to schmooze.
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I will either schmooze or snooze. 🤗
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And OMG another Trump scandal!
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I keep saying that what has to appear is a tape where he engages in zoophilia or at least necrophilia. That will be real fun.
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If you’re feeling anxious about socializing maybe readers can offer tips.
Here’s my first unsolicited bit of advice: Look for qualities that people don’t have and then compliment them on just that feature.
Por ejemplo: You see someone who looks like they dressed by wandering into a second hand store with their eyes slosed, grabbing some stuff and then putting it all on in random order and hang the consequences: “I couldn’t help noticing your wonderful personal style! I’m so jealous, how do you do it?”
Or: You notice one speaker is really super nervous and/or disorganized: “Wow, you were so in control! What do you do to prepare?”
You’ll get some disclaimers but most people will be glad to expound on just how they do it (giving valuable advice on what not to do) and this can lead naturally to other topics.
You have to be able to sound sincere (if you sound sarcastic it will not work ) but if you can manage it it works well in making acquaintances.
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Nah! Dreidel here — as a veteran conference goer, allow me to add my own unsolicited but definitely time-proven advice:
Why waste time complimenting losers, when you can tell winners ( at least potential winners) how wonderful they are, and gain their gratitude (and perhaps other favors)??? Here’s great advice that worked like a charm thirty years ago. when I looked dapper enough in my military uniform — which I always wore to civilian conferences, whether the conference organizers liked it or not — to look like a successful “other” to clearly downtrodden civilian attendees.
(A gender reversal may be necessary here, but here’s how it worked for me):
Sit down next to an attractive, anxious-looking and obviously alone young woman, and start by asking her generic questions ( where’s she from, what’s her job, what about her family back home, etc.), then proceed to what her goals are and what she hopes to learn from to conference. If she’s alone at the conference far from home, suggest the two of you have dinner together to discuss what you’ve both learned. If she’s part of a group from Wherever U., get yourself invited, and focus your attention on her doing the entire event.
SAY “GOODNIGHT” AT THE END OF THE DAY — you aren’t looking for sex in this situation! — but meet her in at least one conference the next day to keeping ball rolling. The second night, attend some entertaining nightlife in Houston with her; believe me, you’ll both enjoy it.
Unless she makes a move on you, treat her like a lady and a professional every step of the way. You’re there is make professional contacts, not to waste time with extraneous sex.
At the end of the conference, exchange personal information (e-mail, text address, snail-mail info), and promise to stay in touch — and after the conference, do so as long as such correspondence is useful.
(NOTE; This advice was written for approaching opposite-sex conference members thirty years ago. But under today’s circumstances, it would probably work equally well for girl-on-girl socializing. Feel free to adapt the recommendations as you see fit!)
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The young woman in question will have to be the president of Harvard for me to go to all this trouble. :-))) And even then, I wouldn’t seek extraneous sex with her. :-)))
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This is so true! People are completely unaware.
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OT: Bob Dylan Awarded Nobel Prize
LONDON — The singer and songwriter Bob Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday for “having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition,” in the words of the Swedish Academy.
He is the first American to win since the novelist Toni Morrison, in 1993. The announcement, in Stockholm, came as something of a surprise. Although Mr. Dylan, 75, has been mentioned often as having an outside shot at the prize, his work does not fit into the literary canons of novels, poetry and short stories that the prize has traditionally recognized.
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Are you serious?
The world is going to the dogs.
Does anybody remember the old Dylan controversy here on the blog back in its early years?
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I actually like his music, but this news is bumming me out.
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I realize that no art gets created in a vacuum but he flat out stole so many of his songs. I also think nobel prize winning literature is/should be deeper than this.
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“I also think nobel prize winning literature is/should be deeper than this.”
Exactly.
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Music is fine but there are such amazing writers who write actual literature all over the world and they don’t get honored like this. The committee felt that it was time to give the prize to an American but since there isn’t anybody writing anything of any value, they chose Dylan. It’s pathetic.
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I was just…confused.
Song lyrics are not like poetry, even though both may or may not rhyme. Did they run out of people to recognize this year?
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Yes, I think so. They wanted to give the award to an American and there isn’t anybody. American literature is not producing anything of interest.
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On Dylan as Nobel laureate, not the weirdest choice ever (Dario Fo, anyone) but more on reputation and cultural influence than literary merit per se.
I’m not totally freaked out by the idea of a songwriter winning but I can think of a half-dozen or so who think would be more deserving (starting with Joni Mitchell) if they wanted to go down that path.
I primarily think this is an award meant to make European middle aged male music critics feel better about themselves…
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