THIS. A thread: My last full semester of my English BA, 3 non-English majors students took one of my senior-level classes as an elective. W/in a week, 2 had dropped it bc it was too hard. The last stuck it out. He was smart: premed. But OH HE STRUGGLED. 1/
this is an interesting question and my theory is it’s a similar reason to why people think STEM is hard and humanities are easy—and the reason they are wrong
math is, as someone points out, deterministic. if you establish your starting assumptions, there will be a right answer
…implied rather than stated with bright neon flashing signs. He was used to memorizing science stuff & spitting it back out, not analyzing, thinking critically, looking from various POVs, arguing a subjective position with evidence, 3/
…learning to communicate complex arguments and ideas in written form, etc. etc. etc. Stuff you do ALL THE TIME in an English program. That’s a shorty list of SO MANY of the skills you get in such a program—skills that are desperately needed in the world today. 4/
His graded papers had so much feedback that they looked like the prof had opened a vein on them. He couldn’t grasp that there wasn’t a single right answer when analyzing literature. He couldn’t understand much of what we read bc even plot elements are sometimes 2/
This is all a step removed from the Chat GPT issue, in the OG post, but it’s important and people don’t get it. Oh, English is SUCH A cotton candy major. SO EASY. FLUFF. What are you gonna do with your degree? Ask people if they want fries with their burgers?” 5/
Just finished listening to the audio book of Hoax, read by the author,
@brianstelter
. Mind-blowing. If my media diet were entirely Fox, I'd be radicalized too. A must-read/listen.
Trusting science is NOT the same thing as trusting in the “arm of the flesh.” Had a science prof say “If science & scripture conflict, you’re reading at least 1 wrong bc they have the same author.” Recall that we have several scientists in the highest levels of Church leadership.
Once more: When Ford pardoned Nixon, he ticked off the country. Everyone knew Nixon would’ve been indicted. That pardon is the only reason current events are unprecedented, not bc former leaders are above the law. 🤦🏼♀️
@chrislhayes
As I noted at the site we'll call "HoagieHeap"
1. Everyone, including Nixon, thought it was likely that he would be prosecuted
2. The Watergate Special Prosecutor drafted memos on it (see below)
3. Ford's pardon text *explicitly* notes that Nixon was liable to be prosecuted.
My ballot is ready! One thing I appreciate about mail-in/drop-off ballots is that it gives me more time to see who & what I need to research. I’m a better, more-informed voter with them. And yes, I voted for
@EvanMcMullin
.
#utpol
@jennmckay007
Pfizer. A bit achy w/ low fever after the first dose. Not much of anything after the second. No big deal, and WORTH IT because I can now cuddle my granddaughter.
@socialistdogmom
Wow. Can’t help but think how 3 of his kids were born after the UVA march. Same partner? So many Qs. I hope sunglasses and redbeard are found. Odd that no one has stepped forward to ID them. Hope this nudges someone to do so.
@emmusic
@mel_leilani
What I heard: Women, take a step back so you can see your value & not compare yourselves w/ others. Men, come on; stop putting dumb things ahead of your wife already. She’s more important than your hobbies. Act like it.
@andrejpwalker
@pdykhuis
Bachelor’s degree here—one that used library TODAY. Avid readers wd go broke if not 4 them. 3 of my kids are adults. THEY ALL USE LIBRARIES.
I’m of the generation of women who 1st learned the YW Values. Hank is younger than I am, so his female peers learned & recited them weekly. Turns out he needed to learn abt Choice & Accountability more than we did. I dearly hope
@BYU
takes action to protect the vulnerable.
For any friends who've pushed back on me when I've said Tim Ballard & OUR should NOT get our support: TOLD YA SO. How often does the Church speak out publicly about a specific member? I can't think of another time in recent history. This is a big, big deal.
Spent the last hour of the
#SPARE
audiobook bawling my eyes out. One of many takeaways: A real man, husband, & father, has his family as first priority. Charles handed his son & son's family to the wolves, knowingly putting their lives in danger.
#PrinceHarry
is a man.
“The safety of my family is my priority and that is the main reason that we left. Unfortunately, the circumstances back there hasn't changed. In fact, it's only got worse. I feel safe here. My family feels safe here. I’m happy. My family’s happy” – Prince Harry
While dress shopping with the 17YO, she made what is arguably the most Utahn of comments: Her realization once after trying to describe her favorite color as sort of soft pink and sunset-like: “My favorite color is fry sauce.”
Going to get personal here. I don't usually go into my faith or scripture. But after hearing this little speech from
@SenMikeLee
today, I have to speak out. This will be long. 1/
I wonder how many members fully grasp the literary and linguistic awesomeness of Elder Holland. A good portion of his talk had a deeper layer if you knew the allusions.
#GeneralConference
#EnglishMajorsUnite
@jet_set
Just about everything I made early in our marriage wasn’t cooked enough, according to him. Took me years to realize that his mom burned everything, & that’s what he was used to. 🤦🏼♀️
As promised: my new hoodie, which I get to wear as a reward for turning in my manuscript! It features my favorite Finnish swear. (Sorry, Mom.😇) From
@SoVeryFinnish
💙🇫🇮😎
@elenahirstcall
@rachelsteenblik
I’m so grateful for the work of Church historian Jenny Reeder. Wish the membership were encouraged to read At the Pulpit—it’s all historical women’s sermons, but few know it’s in the Gospel Library.
@rachelsteenblik
If it’s any consolation, you spelled Evelyn correctly. That weird A may be a sign they’ll spell their son’s name Alleiffher or some other crazy way.
I’m so tired of those who have left my faith going off in patronizing ways about how they’re so woke and if the rest of us haven’t left, we’re stupid cultist sheep. You do you. Let me do me.
All right, folks. Last chance for any announcements! Anyone else feel like you’ve been watching the final credits of a Marvel movie, waiting for the bonus scene, & it’s not coming?
#GeneralConference
I cannot grasp how many fellow Latter-day Saints can’t see that Trump is a modern King Noah. He’s everything we despise & have been warned against. /17
Talked to my parents briefly today. Mentioned the holidays (historically a big deal for our family) & wondered if we can do anything this yr—gather with masks, no food, etc. Dad: “If we don’t do anything, we’ll survive.” After a pause, I realized he meant that literally.
@maklelan
Seeing the
@VICE
piece on the heels of Romney's retirement announcement, I had the very same thought. BC even w/ the Church disavowing TB, the MAGA crowd could very easily vote him into the Senate. Too many UT members are more GOP than LDS.
So? You could’ve tested negative 1 hr later too. Tests can’t tell if you’re newly infected. Takes 5+ days after exposure. THIS IS WHY WE WEAR MASKS AND SOCIAL DISTANCE. (For a guy who went to law school, he’s lacking some smarts.)
Actual thing said to me by a loved one after overhearing me talk abt the ADHD med shortage & how it's affected one of my kids: "*NAME* has ADHD? But she's so SMART!" Aside from the insult to ME & my two other ADHD kids, it was a glaring example of stereotypes that need to die.
This whole thread. The medical side of abortion is so complicated that legislating it fairly is impossible. Most cases are already tragic and brutal. Restrictive laws only make it worse. They don't save babies.
16. So, why am I telling you this?
Because when people fight to end "abortion," they are talking about this too. When you hear about "late-term abortions," THIS is what is usually happening.
Today has been a harsh reminder: sometimes depression wins & the work doesn’t happen. Trying to be kind to myself. I’m not a failure. I’ve been here, & it’ll end. Tomorrow, hopefully, the light will return & I’ll be able to do the work.
The good news: my kid loves her AP calc teacher. The bad news: she described an analogy he made using Superman, drawing on the board, wherein Clark changes in a BOX THINGY. Phone booth, child, PHONE BOOTH. Must fill this gap in her cultural education by showing her the 1978 film.
🧠A vaccine against Alzheimer’s disease could be on the horizon after scientists carried out successful trials in animals.
Researchers were able to reverse memory loss in mice and are keen to move quickly to human trials
Thread 🧵👇
@RosemaryCard
Also the idea of not talking about a mother to protect her FROM her children. Just try to keep a mother away from her kids who need her, even if they’re talking smack about her. Good luck keeping a celestial mama bear away from her children.
Bunch of teens in the basement watching 10 Things I Hate About You (bc my kid insisted on it, bc I’ve raised her well). Bianca just punched out Joey @ prom. The guys all cheered. I hereby have hope for the future generation.
Now that my daughter has personally shared the news with close relatives, I can finally say it here: in June, I’m going to be a grandma! (Cue constant baby-item knitting for the next six months!) ❤️😍❤️
This is why I was so glad that
@NBCNews
cut away from DT mid-speech and did an immediate fact check. Imagine if they & all the other outlets had done that consistently for the last 4 years.
Everyone is desensitized to it, but we really should be scandalized by what the president just did. It was dangerous, irresponsible, and terrible for the country. Also completely in character.
EXCELLENT advice here!
I’d add one more: save any docs you’ll be sending as .doc files, not the default .docx because Kindles can read only .doc. Sure, an agent can opened & re-save, but you’ll save them that step.
I've sent about a billion queries. I've been agented. I've gotten full requests and some really lovely rejections. I might not be able to help you with being published, but I can make your query life easier.
Here's a thread:
GUYS. I’m completely freaking out. Learned that my favorite woman leader in the Church loves The Girl in Gray! Called it “brilliant work.” Unbeknownst to me, my mom sent her a copy. Mom just called to read me the note, which arrived today. 😍 (If you know me, you’ll know who.)
@_Kristine_A
My fear too. The author of the Vice piece thinks that bc the Church publicly denounced him that he can't win. But alas, if the pandemic taught me anything, it's the way too many UT MAGA members are far more GOP than LDS. They can totally vote him in.
@MichaelSkolnik
As a white person, it took me a second. The fact that I don’t have to live my life in this kind of fear, and that POC got it right away, says volumes about how far we have to go & how screwed up the country is.
The professor was Jae Ballif, who made sure to teach a section of Physical Science 100, usually taught by grad students, each semester so he’d have contact w/ more than science majors. Easily one of the best teachers I’ve ever had. AND one of the most Christlike men.
Tip: If you’ve been married for a number of years that’s in the single digits, don’t bother doling out marriage advice, and REALLY don’t publicly promote yourself as marriage expert unless you’re a trained therapist. You don’t know what you don’t know. Just. Don’t. 🙄
I have permission to share some pics. I mean, I don’t know that people should be allowed to be so good looking, but I’ll happily claim half her DNA as mine. (I know, THAT HAIR! Plus, I love that she loves her freckles & doesn’t cover them up.)
I have seen my daughter's engagement pictures, and holy crap, wow. They're a ridiculously gorgeous couple, & the photographer did them justice. Just wow.
America first is bad for Americans. It makes us bad global citizens. It makes Trump nearsighted and selfish. As both as a constituent of
@SenMikeLee
& a member of
@Ch_JesusChrist
Lee's words today disgust & infuriate me. /21
Once again
@_megconley
nails it.
Once again I am grateful for
@SenatorRomney
.
And, alas, once again, I’m disturbed by
@SenMikeLee
& wish he really did stand for family values. “Mike Lee and Marco Rubio Are Not Pro-Life”
The most objective observer, the most ardent Trumper, can see is the exact opposite: DT absolutely seeks power. Everything he does is for honor and praise. And while Trumpers believe otherwise, I’m certain that he cares nothing for the freedom & welfare of his country. 9/
@_ElizabethMay
@wordwiselit
@MaryRobinette
And just because he hasn’t seen it doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Mary was sharing her experience—one she’s had often—and he declared it that it simply doesn’t happen bc he doesn’t see it. I’ve never seen an armed robbery, and I go on city streets a lot, so they must not happen.
@ambernoelle
I have a very short friend who taught herself to tailor. She literally takes apart clothes from the store and remakes them so they’ll fit her height & shape—not only waist & hips but also where the knees hit, etc. It’s amazing.
Listened to
#Chernobyl
podcast in the car today. Husband was fascinated. Next thing I listened to at home:
#Scriptnotes
Hub walks in & hears
@clmazin
’s voice. “Wait. How did he go from death by radiation to Star Wars?” 🤣 Now we’re watching the miniseries. (SO GOOD.)
#hbonow
Today’s writing advice is to MEN writing women POVs.
Men, here’s the thing: we women don’t think about our breasts nearly as often as you think we do. Or as much as you do, apparently. Don’t put a tight feeling as “under her breasts.” It’s in her CHEST. 1/
Trump's the exact *opposite* of Captain Moroni in every single way—a man who literally went to battle to defend families and children, while Trump’s ripping families apart… and dodged the draft when he had the chance to serve in the military. /18
@Emily_R_King
@rachelsteenblik
I was glad I had experience & clothes that helped make it less obvious. I had more confidence by
#4
. But what if I hadn’t? Should I have stayed home & not worship to protect the men? Freaking duh, no. 😡
Spent two hours diving deep into threads by
@Nick_Carmody
Not the first time, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Go follow him and read his threads. Fascinating and terrifying and enlightening.
Last night’s attacks on peaceful protesters near the White House demanding justice for George Floyd were appalling. Trump acted more like a wannabe authoritarian than Commander in Chief. Here’s some of the things I’ve been working on today to hold this administration accountable:
GUYS! Masks are now mandatory at church mtgs in Utah! Email from our stake presidency included this: "All have a right to feel safe as they worship in person." AMEN.
@TG22110
Happened to me in July! Excitedly wigged out in our family group chat. None of my (all adult) kids had an idea who he is. Not Duckie, not the guy from 2 1/2 Men. I failed them as a parent.
I have hereby finished a big revision on a novella & have sent it to my final readers. I'd say, "Hear me roar," but I'm too tired for that. So, tiny woot?
#amwriting
@DemocracyDodged
Fortunately, no. When it all began, we had a bishop whose family members in the house who were especially at risk. He took it seriously. We have a new bishopric now, & they're a little more lax, but the last one largely set the model. So grateful.
@nkostelic
My only haircut was done by my teen. She follows Brad Mondo, so it’s all good. This is messy bun hair after sleeping on it. (I also haven’t eaten inside a restaurant since early March. Takeout, however, has become my patronus.
I think this is really interesting.
This chart shows the 7-day rolling average of new cases in Salt Lake County (red) and rest of the state (gray). The mask mandate went into effect June 25.
#utpol
His son, Noah (no relation to the ark), was a bad dude. In a few yrs the people went from good to evil—bc of ONE craptastic leader. When King Noah got the throne, this is what he did, among other things: build spacious buildings covered in gold. Who does that sound like? /11
King Noah’s destructive leadership led to bad priests (the next level down in his government and leaders of the church then). Here’s what happened: /12
@waltermasterson
Why anyone thinks he was just an innocent teddy bear is beyond me. Highly unusual to have the FBI show up—twice—in Provo, UT, but he shouldn’t have been surprised.
@poetickate
This kind of thing is a big reason I encouraged my kids to text me during seminary—corrected a lot of crazy stuff quickly when they could reach me to ask if something was BS. Every time they asked, their guts were right: utter BS.
@Emily_R_King
@rachelsteenblik
*Rage.* When my youngest was born, I taught Primary (no co-teacher back then) & husband wasn’t active. Sac mtg was the only chance in the block to feed the baby, but I couldn’t leave 3 littles in a pew (7, 5, & 3). Nursed in the chapel out of necessity. 1/
Utah has (many) political issues, but it also has the only Republican governor to push back on the refugee ban & welcome more refugees. And that’s no small thing.
Tonight, thanks to vaccinations, husband & I got to have dinner with my parents at their place, where I heard my 84YO father, for the first time in my life, use the word “butt.” It was glorious. (I also got to hug my parents. Yay, vaccines!)