I felt it was time for a change. The retro styling of the "Scribe" template was starting to get me down, and I'm getting ready for a new year, so I've renovated to one of my favourite colour combinations (the eerie pale green you sometimes see on the horizon at dusk set against stormy grey clouds). I don't remember the name of this town, but I snapped this photograph somewhere between Vicenza and Marostica on our Italian cycling holiday in September. Joel had stopped to sketch the view, and Paul took out his mighty weight of a camera, and I just snapped this and went back to day-dreaming.
The times are about to change, a little, too. My leave is about to come to an end, and I'm about to take over as head of the English program (it's not even called a department any more). I'll have many more administrative chores to do, less teaching, no extra money, and almost no authority, from what I can see. I've been sent the (very short) list of staff email addresses, and after New Year will have to become dreadfully firm and authoritative (though see above, about not having any authority).
I certainly haven't finished all the things I thought I'd do over my leave (setting aside the fact that half of it was meant to be holidays), but I've done quite a few of them, and have pushed various projects along a fair way. I'll post about them soon.
There's still a little cleaning up to be done to the template, here, and some additions to the blogroll, etc. but I have spent long enough on this today, and must turn to some other tasks. Feedback welcome...
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
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17 comments:
Oh, purty! Beautiful colour choices to go with that misty medieval-looking skyline.
This is a test comment. Apparently some folk are finding it hard to get through. Don't know why. But it seems to have been happening with the old template, too. Grr.
I've just tried a little housekeeping on the template, to try and sort out the comments problem. Hope it works now...
Great blog as for me. It would be great to read something more concerning that theme. Thanx for sharing that information.
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TOO easy to get through now, apparently.
WV: wormo. How true.
It sounds like you are about to be very busy...congratulations if appropriate (it seems appropriate from here) on taking over as head of English, though I have to say it doesn't sound like a lot of fun!
I love this green on real walls. On my screen there's so much of it that either the pixels or my eyes are playing tricks, and bits of it go a sort of peachy colour while I'm not looking directly at them. So I'd guess it's my eyes! And indeed now that I have shrunk the window a bit, it all looks quite nice. The picture, of course, is beautiful.
It's pretty... and the colours are soothing... and it makes me sad that the Melbourne Uni English Department is now small and not even a department.
I'm leaving 123 123's comment up there because Kerryn's reply is so quick and funny. I do hope Jeffrey will be able to post a comment, soon: I really don't know why some folk can and others suddenly can't.
Well, Meredith, I have to try to not sound like a troglodyte. The department was still pretty big, but had lots of shared appointments with creative writing and cultural studies, and had put a lot of effort and energy into building programmes in publishing, and in media. When we became a school, merging with art history and arts management and cinema and the shrinking school of creative arts, all the different programmes kind of got disaggregated, so English and Drama is now small. The school (culture and communication) has been a great success, in many ways, but I do think that in all the changes at Melbourne the English programme has lost a little of its identity. That's going to be one of my tasks for next year, to re-build the programme a little. Mind you, we've just lost our Old English person and the Renaissance person has moved into full-time administration, so we are somewhat short-staffed.
I am thinking (aloud, obviously) about starting a new blog for the programme...
The new interface looks great, deliciously cool.
It's a wonderful idea to start a new blog for the English program.
I like the new look - very summery. The photo is beautiful, too. One day soon I would like to visit your library there in Melbourne. I've been borrowing books through the system here (I'm at an NZ uni), and you seem to have a great collection of medieval material.
Ooh, Bavardess, that sounds fun. Make sure you time your visit to include the first Monday of the month, so you can come to our Medieval Round Table and meet a bunch of lovely Melbourne medievalists... Actually, some parts of our collection are a bit patchy, but there is also the State Library, which has a complementary and wonderful collection of C19 material, if that's what you need.
Actually, Bavardess, let me know if you'd like to offer us a paper, if you are coming to Melbourne.
Look! I'm commenting! It works!
I love the new look of the blog. The picture is beautiful in a dreamy way, and the light green of le rayon vert (as the French call it) is perfect. My kids are semi-obsessed with that flash of light at sunset so it is nice to see it here.
Oh good: you made it! Thanks for persevering...
Le rayon vert, eh? That's what they should call it when it comes as paint (see David's comment, above).
Yes, I chose this picture partly for its colours and layers, and partly because I like the ease with which the buildings and the trees borrow shapes from each other and partly because it reminds me of a time of perfect happiness.
I have it on the desktop of my computer screen, too, where it is framed by a very similar green on the walls of my study at home. Pictures and colours for slower breathing.
Thanks for your kind offer, Stephanie. I will definitely let you know when I'm heading your way. Your Medieval Round Table sounds like a lot of fun!
Wonderful colour so restful and thoughtful - I am sure the 'English program' will be in great hands under your inspirational leadership
Let's see if this works: I commented the other day just to say that I like the new look. Very restful.
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