…roaming the streets of Oxford, England without a leash.

Although this post will be about a few things that irritate me while working in the BL, I do want to emphasize that being here is a 99% positive experience. But can’t people keep it down?

• To “Mr. Clicky,” who keeps pressing the mouse button to move down the long web page he’s reading … click … click … click … click click click click click click clickclickclick … Dude, notice that thing in the middle of the mouse? It’s called a scroll wheel. Look into it.
• To “Mr. Smacky,” who randomly smacks his lips while reading his Derrida…*smack*…(long silence)…*smack*…Need a drink of water? The fountains are right over there.
• To the two-fingered typists who apparently feel that they must really! hit! those! keys! as they type–take it easy. Your keyboard will last longer.
• To the chronic coughers, ask Mr. Smacky where the water fountains are or buy some cough drops in the cafe.
• To the woman who has somehow managed to make turning pages a very loud activity…take it easy. The books will last longer.
• To the people whose computers keep announcing their every “save,” “open,” “restore,” and “error” with a different cartoonish sound…it’s called a mute button. Look into it.
• And to the 99% of you who do conduct your research quietly…it’s a pleasure to be in the room with you.

“Zombie does get cranky sometimes.”

You can add me to your IM clients (AOL/MSN, anyway) as ghwchats. I’m not using the old accounts anymore.

[See also ghwpix and ghwlinks. Sensing a theme?]

Can someone clarify for me the type of irony involved in an actor having to apologize for his real-life violent behavior while on a press tour to promote a movie celebrating a man’s redemption through beating the crap out of people?

• Timothy Burke on markets and the public sphere.
• PowerProf and the Little Professor on academic summers.
• Jon Pareles slags Coldplay. (NYT)
• “Dr. [John Q. ] Walker is developing technology that enables him to break down the sounds of an old recording, digitize them and reproduce them on a Disklavier, an up-to-the-minute player piano that can record and replay performances by means of a CD in a slot above the keyboard.”
  (NYT)
• Rockin’ the Torah (via NYT).
• Deborah Friedell on concordances. (NYT)