From Round to Square (and back)

For The Emperor's Teacher, scroll down (↓) to "Topics." It's the management book that will rock the world (and break the vase, as you will see). Click or paste the following link for a recent profile of the project: http://magazine.beloit.edu/?story_id=240813&issue_id=240610

A new post appears every day at 12:05* (CDT). There's more, though. Take a look at the right-hand side of the page for over four years of material (2,000 posts and growing) from Seinfeld and country music to every single day of the Chinese lunar calendar...translated. Look here ↓ and explore a little. It will take you all the way down the page...from round to square (and back again).
*Occasionally I will leave a long post up for thirty-six hours, and post a shorter entry at noon the next day.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Goofus and Gallant History and Ethnography—Resource Center

Welcome to the Resource Center for the Round and Square series "Goofus and Gallant Teach History and Ethnography." As early as 1936, and almost every week since 1948, Goofus and Gallant have shown "how to act" in American society. I am not sure that the lessons conveyed are always those that Highlights Magazine for Children sought to convey. Moreover, the historically changing boys say a great deal about history (and change). That, of course, has everything to do with ethnography.

Goofus and Gallant Teach History and Ethnography—Introduction 
This is where you start if you want an overview and explanation of the series.

Goofus and Gallant (1)—Dishes, Checkers, and Li'l Bros
Is Goofus really that "out there" in a society that rewards all sort of male jerks?

Goofus and Gallant  (2)—xxx
xxx

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Celebrity Commentary—Resource Center

[a] Commentary RF
Welcome to the Resource Center for the Round and Square series "Celebrity Commentary." Basically, a "famous" figure speaks (fictional) lines that may or may not reflect the opinions of the Round and Square editorial board. 

It's a "celebrity" a month (they have thirty day contracts, with no renewals.)

Celebrity Commentary—Introduction
This is where you begin if your reaction is WTF?...and you don't mean "World Tennis Federation."

Channeling Liam—January 2013 [first posted in April 2014]
Cultural Theory               Split Infinitives             xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
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French Bulldog Puppy—February 2013 [first posted in May 2014]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx

xxx—xxx [xxx]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
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xxx—xxx [xxx]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
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xxx—xxx [xxx]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
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xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx

xxx—xxx [xxx]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
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xxx—xxx [xxx]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
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xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx

xxx—xxx [xxx]
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
xxx                                    xxx                                xxx                              xxx                              xxx
 
 

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Cultural and Intellectual History Tweets—Resource Center

[a] Tweet-n-More RF
Welcome to the Resource Center for the Round and Square series "Cultural and Intellectual History Tweets" About once a week I will write a little 140-character message about cultural and intellectual history. Just to make it a little different, I'll follow that with a haiku and a recipe. You have to see it to believe.

Cultural and Intellectual History Tweets—Introduction 
This is where you start if you want an overview and explanation of the series.

Cultural and Intellectual History Tweets (1)—Asia-Pacific Mythology
A swirling water-world of thought (and practice).

Cultural and Intellectual History Tweets (2)—Book of Burial
Put 'em where they need to be.

Cultural and Intellectual History Tweets (3)—xxx
xxx

Monday, January 17, 2011

Theory Cartoons—Resource Center

[a] To The Analytical Rescue RF
Welcome to the Resource Center for the Round and Square series "Theory Cartoons." About once a week we will take a look at a cartoon that is particularly loaded with analytical potential. It should come as no surprise that sources will include The New Yorker, Doonsebury, Dilbert, and, of course, The Far Side.

Theory Cartoons—Introduction 
This is where you start if you want an explanation of the series.

Theory Cartoons (1)—Culinary Contestation
Food, travel, and

Theory Cartoons (2)—Social Following
Hint: It's like glue...for people.

Theory Cartoons (3)—xxx
xxx

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Wonder Wines—Resource Center

[a] Wonder Rows RF
Welcome to the Resource Center for the Round and Square series "Wonder Wines." This is the place to go to find any post in the series, and you can always navigate back to this page if you get "lost" among the hundreds of posts on Round and Square.

Wonder Wines—Introduction 
This is where you start if you want an overview of the series.

Wonder Wines (1)—Taking Haut-Médoc to School
We start with Bordeaux, as we must.

Wonder Wines (2)—Shoe Opener
Forget the corkscrew? Get the Hush Puppies.

Wonder Wines (3)—xxx
xxx

Saturday, January 15, 2011

Kanji Mastery—Resource Center

Welcome to the Kanji Mastery Resource Center. Here, you will find links to all posts, including several other series that are relevant to the topic. The place to begin is with the introduction. After that, feel free to sample the various "radicals" of the written language. Over time, this series will include more than 200 "radicals," and the little studied "phonetics" that make the whole process of learning kanji easier.

Kanji Mastery—Introduction
Begin here. This post lays out a wide-range of challenges facing those who begin Japanese as a second language. 

Kanji Steps to Mastery—Introduction
This linked series gives practical advice for the learning process.

Kanji Mastery—Radical 41 (寸 Inch) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 46 (山 Mountain) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 48 (工 Work) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 77 ( Stop) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 93 (牛 Ox) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 94 (犬 Dog) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 99 (甘 Sweet) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 112 (石 Stone) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 116 ( Cave) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 128 (耳 Ear) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 134 (臼 Mortar) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 137 (舟 Boat) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 139 (色 Color) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 148 (角 Horn) 

Kanji Mastery—Radical 198 (鹿 Deer)





 

Friday, January 14, 2011

Newsprint Nonpareil—Resource Center

[a] Newsprint Nonpareil RF
Welcome to the Newsprint Nonpareil (aka "Above the Fold") Resource Center. We will look at newspapers in this series, and we will get our hands dirty (at least in a virtual sense. This Resource Center will point you to all of the posts in the series. With the exception of the introduction, these are RSQ "short pieces."

Newsprint Nonpareil—Introduction
This is where you start.


Newsprint Nonpareil—Eisbärbabys
Baby mammals and spring. A perfect combination.

Newsprint Nonpareil—How Far Does Russia Go?
What will Russia Do?

Newsprint Nonpareil—Springtime Reading
Warm weather and reading go together.

Newsprint Nonpareil—The Price of Love
How much does love cost?

Newsprint Nonpareil—Today's Man
A frog like no other.

Newsprint Nonpareil—My Company Loves Me...Not
Affection is not corporate, people (discuss). Well, actually, it sort of is (in a fashion).


Thursday, January 13, 2011

Ponder College—Resource Center

[a] Ponder Trails...to you RF
Welcome to the Resource Center for the Round and Square series "Ponder College." The series explains itself in the form of fictional posts about this beacon of higher education (and a peculiarly American form of it). The introduction is absolutely the place to start...unless you want to dive right in and just "listen to" what happened at Ponder College each week (everything after the introduction—which is nonfiction—is fictional. 

The posts with numbers (those that don't have numbers attached to them) are fictional. I am saying it clearly here. It is not meant to be that way in the actual (fictional) posts. They are meant to be a world that makes sense (like Lake Wobegon, Yoknapatawpha County, or Narnia). Any resemblance to these places (or living persons) is unintended.
[b] Pondering RF

Ponder College—Introduction 
This is where you start if you want a nonfiction explanation of the series.

Ponder College (1)—Pre-Midterm Lull
Students are nearing the midpoint of the semester, and some are wondering whether there should even be "semesters" at all.

Ponder College (2)—Study Abroad
The books hit the fan.

Ponder College (3)—Midterm Exams
It's time for midterm exams. Some students are asking why we even need midterms.

Ponder College (4)—Spring Break
Everyone is off...to study.

Ponder College (5)—Back to the Ol' Grind
It's baaack. Work. We'll discuss this.

Ponder College (6)—Senior Thesis
Every senior writes one at Ponder College. This has been transforming lives (and frustrating the young) for sixty years now. Seniors are ambivalent; graduates swear by it.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Hurtin', Leavin, and Longin'—Resource Center

The Round and Square series "Hurtin', Leavin', and Longin' (in Comparative Perspective: Country Music and East Asian Poetry) is a labor of academic love. It investigates pockets of country music and East Asian poetic convention in ways that go beyond, say, country radio or academic sinology. 

The place to begin is with the introduction to the series. This lays out not only the major themes of the series, but also a story about how this particular grouping of studies came to be. Click below for the introduction:



From there, we have several dozen individual posts that span very well-known songs to quite obscure ones. Feel free to explore. If you ever have a hard time "navigating" the posts, just come back to this "Resource Center" page and you'll be back on-track.

[1]
[2]
[3]
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[5]
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[7]
[8]
[9]
[10] 
[11]
[12]
[13]
[14]
[15]
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[18]
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[20]
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[28]
[29]
[30] 
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
[35]
[36]
[37]
[38]
[39]
[40] Culture and Memory (Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton)

[41] Rose Garden
[42] Fightin' Words (You Ain't Woman Enough...)
[43] Don't Cheat in Our Hometown
[44] Tell Me My Lying Eyes Are Wrong
[45] Kentucky Bluebird
[46] Good Ole Boys
[47] Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down
[48] Harper Valley PTA
[49] It Would Be You
[50] 12-12-84

[51] The Show Hank Never Gave
[52] The Possum (and old Hank)
[53]
[54]
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[58]
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[60]

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

China's Lunar Calendar—Resource Center

For the 2014 Calendar, click here (updated through today's date). To find any date after February 4, 2013 (your birthday, graduation day, or the like), first click on the year, and then find the date on that year's calendar.

Please note that the it is not currently possible to post dates in advance of the present (this is both a matter of software and intellectual labor). In the future, my goal is to have "glimpses" of the calendar available for at least a year in advance. This feature will not be available until at least late-2014.

2014 Dates (up to today's date)

2013 Dates


January 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
     31              01                   02                  03               04               05               06
     07              08                   09                  10               11               12               13
     14              15                   16                  17               18               19               20
     21              22                   23                  24               25               26               27
     28              29                   30                  31               01               02               03  

February 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
    28               29                   30                  31               01               02               03 
    04               05                   06                  07               08               09               10
    11               12                   13                  14               15               16               17
    18               19                   20                  21               22               23               24
    25               26                   27                  28               01               02               03

March 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
    25               26                   27                  28               01               02               03
    04               05                   06                  07               08               09               10
    11               12                   13                  14               15               16               17
    18               19                   20                  21               22               23               24
    25               26                   27                  28               29               30               31

April 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
    01               02                   03                  04                05              06               07 
    08               09                   10                  11                12              13               14
    15               16                   17                  18                19              20               21
    22               23                   24                  25                26              27               28
    29               30                   01                  02                03              04               05

May 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
    29               30                   01                  02               03               04               05
    06               07                   08                  09               10               11               12
    13               14                   15                  16               17               18               19     
    20               21                   22                  23               25                27              26
    27               28                   29                  30               31                01              02

June 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
    27               28                  29                   30               31               01               02
    03               04                  05                   06               07               08               09
    10               11                  12                   13               14               15               16
    17               18                  19                   20               21               22               23
    24               25                  26                   27               28               29               30

July 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
     01              02                   03                  04               05              06               07
     08              09                   10                  11               12              13               14
     15              16                   17                  18               19              20               21
     22              23                   24                  25               26              27               28
     29              30                   31                  01               02              03               04

August 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
     29               30                   31                 01                02             03               04
     05               06                   07                 08                09             10               11
     12               13                   14                 15                16             17               18
     19               20                   21                 22                23             24               25
     26               27                   28                 29                30             31               01

September 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
    26               27                   28                  29               30               31               01
    02               03                   04                  05               06               07               08
    09               10                   11                  12               13               14               15
    16               17                   18                  19               20               21               22
    23               24                   25                  26               27               28               29
    30               01                   02                  03               04               05               06

October 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       30               01               02               03               04               05               06
       07               08               09               10               11               12               13
       14               15               16               17               18               19               20
       21               22               23               24               25               26               27
       28               29               30               31               01               02               03

November 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       28               29               30               31               01               02               03 
       04               05               06               07               08               09               10
       11               12               13               14               15               16               17
       18               19               20               21               22               23               24
       25               26               27               28               29               30               01

December 2013
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       25               26               27               28               29               30               01
       02               03               04               05               06               07               08
       09               10               11               12               13               14               15
       16               17               18               19               20               21               22
       23               24               25               26               27               28               29
       30               31               01               02               03               04               05

January 2014
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       30               31               01               02               03               04              05
       06               07               08               09               10               11              12
       13               14               15               16               17               18              19
       20               21               22               23               24               25              26 
       27               28               29               30               31               01              02

February 2014
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       27               28               29               30               31               01              02
       03               04               05               06               07               08              09
       10               11               12               13               14               15              16
       17               18               19               20               21               22              23
       24               25               26               27               28               01              02

March 2014
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       27               28               29               30               31               01              02
       03               04               05               06               07               08              09
       10               11               12               13               14               15              16
       17               18               19               20               21               22              23
       24               25               26               27               28               29              30
       31               01               02               03               04               05              06

April 2014
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat            Sun 
       31               01               02               03               04               05              06
       07               08               09               10               11               12              13
       14               15               16               17               18               19              20
       21               22               23               24               25               26              27
       28               29               30               01               02               03              04

May 2014
      Mon            Tue            Wed            Thu             Fri              Sat             Sun 
       28               29               30               01               02               03               04
       05               06               07               08               09               10               11
       12               13               14               15               16               17               18
       19               20               21               22               23               24               25
       26               27               28               29               30               31               01

June 2014
      Mon             Tue             Wed            Thu            Fri            Sat             Sun 
       25                26                27               28              29             30                01
       02                03                04               05              06             07                08
       09                10                11               12              13             14                15
       16                17                18               19              20             21                22
       23                24                25               26              27             28                29
       30                01                02               03              04             05                06
xxx