Diner 1, Mad Political Scientist 0

On Friday in the diner it was announced that spring cleaning was to take place, and Beth helped me put all my books in boxes, which I ungracefully heaved above the carrels. Does Connectictut have fault lines? Upon doing this, I realized that I had written contents labels on the box lids, rather than on the sides, where I would be able to read them and they would serve a purpose. The joke about Ivy League PhD students kinda writes itself in this instance. So on Monday I'll be standing on the newly cleaned desk, pulling the lids of the boxes to try and figure out which ones I need to ungracefully heave down in order to finish the dissertation chapter I am supposedly writing.

On an unrelated note, who is headed to Chicago in a week and a half for Midwest?

Bizarre

I just ran across an article on a well-known Russia blog that is worth sharing with you all. Actually, it's not so much the article as the title:

"Like Two Lesbians Banging Themselves Against a Fence, Liberal Parties Fail to Get Invited into the Russian Home"

Huh. How 'bout that?

The whole article is here, but it's really not necessary to read it since the title is the best part. The basic idea is that Russia's leading liberal party has made some questionable PR decisions in adopting pop culture strategies that don't exactly resonate with the Russian public. Like lesbians banging themselves against a fence, I suppose...

I have news

Some happenings from New Haven... I've landed the American Bar Foundation Dissertation Fellowship. This is like a law and politics fellowship, but the important part is that it funds me for an entire year, and.... and this is the really big news... I am to move to Chicago in August. CHICAGO.... A real city.

The bad news is if I take this (I'm waiting on other fellowships so I may have some options), I will be leaving before many of you get back, but luckily, APSA and Midwest are in Chicago so opportunities to see you are plentiful. Also the fellowship comes with an independent travel fund so I can get back to Yale about 5 times over the academic year.

And don't worry, I will find some way to keep the Abbey and Steve Holiday Bash and Ski Weekend traditions alive even from life on Lake Michigan!!

Steve