Here’s a summary of a number of things that, had I more time, I would blog in full. Perhaps more details to come later. Alternately, dear reader, you could let me know which items you would like to hear more about, allowing me to focus on topics of interest to this blog’s audience:

• The Kansas City Star reports that “Funding cuts lead campuses to weigh future of 48 degree programs”. Wow. Luckily, UMKC English is not one of them, but obviously there are lean times here in Missouri, and I feel for my colleagues.
• Last night I finally went to the Rime Buddhist Center for a meditation workshop and the first of several classes on “The Basics of Buddhism.” Many people were there. I’m looking forward to future classes.
• I brought home my used Fender amp last night, plugged in my new guitar and played for a little while. It sounds really, really good. The amp is much better quality than I had originally imagined I would be buying, and I still stayed within my budget. The guitar is just wonderful, and I’ve learned that it comes with a lifetime (!) warranty. Rummaging around for a strap to use with the guitar, I found one in the case of the beautiful banjo – whose fretboard features a mother-of-pearl inlay of a leafy vine growing up the neck (hopefully, pix online later) – my uncle Jack left me when he died. In 1983, he told me, “If anything ever happens to me, I want you to have this banjo.” Sure, whatever you say, Uncle Jack. Thanks. Within a few months, he was dead from cancer, not having told me that he was terminally ill. I think the strap goes great with the guitar.
• At this afternoon’s department meeting, I’m proposing a new course to add to the English Department curriculum. It’s already passed the undergraduate and graduate committee approval process. I’ll post a description later if it’s adopted. Or maybe even if it’s not.
• I still want to post a longer response to Kari’s question regarding Adam Fox versus Harold Love.
• I need a new title for my book to reflect the fact that I’ve added the element of manuscript practice to the already present elements of orality and print.
• I accepted three excellent sounding papers to the ASECS panel I’ll be chairing. I’m waiting to hear back from two of them.
• Went to go see Rick Springfield last weekend. That’s right: Rick Springfield.

That’s enough for now, though more is bouncing around in my head. Time to get my day started in earnest.

Via Slashdot: A discussion of tools for writing. Would you use vi?

For the second time in my life, I am the owner of a nice Fender electric guitar. From 1984 to about 1989, I owned a cream-colored Stratocaster that looked something roughly like this. Alas, it was stolen.

Today, I found the guitar I’ve been looking for, an American-made sunburst Telecaster that looks something like the one I posted earlier. When I have time and inclination, I’ll post some pix.

Both Kathleen and Matt wrote about buying their MP3 players recently, and I’ve been thinking about how these experiences compare to buying a musical instrument, particularly an electric one. It feels like a much more personal experience, for lack of a better phrase, to me. An iPod is an iPod is an iPod, but different guitars, even manufactured from the same parts, can sound different than each other, so it’s important to plug it in at the store and give it a test run. Also, the way it feels in your hands is important. There are variations in the ways that necks are sized and shaped, although such things are reportedly standardized. The kind of wood from which a guitar is made (poplar, maple, ash) makes a big difference in feel and sound. Heavier woods resonate more and allow the sound made by the strings to sustain longer. Furthermore, a Stratocaster’s body is contoured to fit the human body: it’s scooped a little bit at the back to make room for your torso when you lean over it, and in the front it slopes gently to fit the angle of your strumming/picking hand. A Telecaster does not have this kind of shape, however, but it’s still very nice.

I consciously chose this guitar because I am no longer interested in learning to play notes a million miles an hour like I did when I was a fan of heavy metal. To me, Stratocasters are more associated with (male) virtuoso guitarists who love the spotlight and long for their opportunity to solo. I don’t want to be that kind of musician. I’m more interested in texture and tone, now, and my favorite bands have shifted significantly.

There’s a new book out entitled Trading Up: The New American Luxury, by Michael J. Silverstein and Neil Fiske, that argues that many brands of goods “are successful because they appeal not just to the material needs of consumers but to their emotional desires” (quote from 9/22/03 New Yorker). So when you opt for a boutique hair-care product instead of one from the grocery store, you are “trading up.” This accurately describes the way guitars are marketed.

I bought a mid-range priced guitar that explicitly says “Made in U.S.A.” on the head. Fender has a wide range of guitars to suit a variety of pocketbooks, but they make a big deal out of the differences between these guitars, not all of which are “Made in U.S.A.”:

• Artist
• American Special
• American Vintage
• American Deluxe
• American
• Classic
• Deluxe
• Highway 1
• Special Editions
• Standard
• Squier

Note: these are not different models of guitars; these are different product lines, all made by Fender. I haven’t investigated each of these lines, but almost all of them feature a Stratocaster and a Telecaster. The prices range from under $200 to well over $1,000. Now, Fender could just make one Stratocaster and one Telecaster and make clear any technical differences between them. Apple certainly does this with iPods: does it go with a Mac or a PC? how big is the hard drive? Easy to answer questions. The language used to describe the different product lines above, however, is the language of the poet, not the engineer. Guitars produce sounds that are “spankin'”, “bell-like”, “punchy”, “crisp”, “warm”, “full”, “sharp”, “biting,” or “shimmering.” It’s a synesthetic orgy of ad copy.

At the store today I plugged several guitars into the same amp to hear the differences in sound. Frankly, whatever differences there might have been were inaudible to me. I did want to stick to the line that said “Made in U.S.A.” Go figure. I guess I wanted to trade up.

Hmm. This could get interesting. Bernadette Fort is stepping down as editor of the pre-eminent journal in my field, Eighteenth-Century Studies, and a new editor is being sought. The page announcing the change says that “[m]embers are strongly encouraged to send to the Search Committee their comments on the direction they would like to see Eighteenth-Century Studies take in the future.” That’s a mighty big question, given that the field is so broad. Have to think about this one.

Really, how hard should it be to find such a thing? I went shopping with a friend this weekend, and all we found were stupid, heavy metal, ’80s holdovers. This town loves its hard rock.

But then I spent more time poring over the phone book, looking for vintage-friendly stores, and I did find a few places with websites that informed me they were likely to have the kind of instrument I’m looking for.

The problem is that the more you learn about this kind of thing, the less likely you are to be happy with what you end up buying. Fender has made Telecasters for a number of decades, now. Some are considered more desirable than others. Some are made in America, some in Mexico, some in Japan. Some have this kind of wood for the body and some have that kind. There are different kinds of pickups and different woods for the necks. All of these things, “they” say, have an effect upon the quality of the sound.

I just want to tell “them”: “Look, I had this dream, which I’ve chosen to interpret as a message to buy a guitar and amp, and now I’d like a sunburst Telecaster like the one pictured over there to the left. You see, I’d like an instrument where the wood from which it’s made is visible through the finish. Yes, I know it’s an electrical device that produces processed sounds, but call me a romantic: I want to see the wood. I’m not looking to make an investment. I don’t want to obsess over this and make the purchase more important than the creative process it’s meant to faciliate. Just show my your selection of Telecasters, please.”

Sure, they’re right over here.

“Thank you.”

Now what kind of amp are you looking for?

“!!!”