In just over a week's time my magnum opus, 'A Reflexive and Value-Added Analysis of the Life History of Trotskyist Activists' will be handed in. I won't say it's been an easy beast to write - but by far the hardest part has been overcoming a sense of directionless and keeping motivated. Occasional bouts of writer's block didn't help any either.
But all that's in the past. At this very moment I am half way through the final draft. Approximately 45,000 words lie behind me. A similar amount are still waiting revision. In addition I have to re-do the introduction and conclusion, put together my appendices, join it altogether in one giant document and then print the jocker. The final act is more traumatic than it sounds. The powers that be want THREE copies.
As there's still a bit of a distance to go, I imagine blogging's going to be very light this week. Which is a shame as there's plenty I want to talk about. I quite fancied saying a few things about Stoke BNP quaking in their boots because Assed Baig, the president of Staffs Uni Student's Union, in a little-read article linked to a site listing addresses of local fash. According to local gauleiter, Michael Coleman, the home addresses of political opponents should be sacrosanct. Perhaps he should try telling that to BNP'ers all too happy to supply Redwatch with addresses and phone numbers of socialists and trade unionists.
There's also been a very interesting debate on a couple of blogs about the relationship of socialism to feminism. Harpy and Dave have got the goods. I would have weighed in with some reflections on this debate in the classic Beyond the Fragments. I still might when all is done and dusted.
Well, I leave you with a slice of music from 1999. IMHO this is probably the best dance track ever. If you have an aversion to trance, turn away now.
7 comments:
Use a good, fast laser printer. If you haven't got one (who has?) beg or borrow the use of one at the university.
I printed my thesis on my home inkjet, which averaged about 40 seconds per page. 40 seconds per page is fine if you're printing five or ten pages, but if you're planning on going through a couple of reams of paper it really starts to add up. In the end I did it overnight - while drinking malt whisky, listening to Gavin Bryars *very very quietly* (you don't know how quiet your house is at 2 a.m. until you try putting music on) and playing Ico on the PS2. Towards the morning I allowed myself to go to sleep on the sofa, but only for half an hour at a time - any longer than that and the printer would sit idle waiting for paper. A memorable night. (And I finished Ico.)
Six months later I had to resubmit. I found a good, fast laser printer at the Uni.
Good luck with it all Phil, sounds like a book in the making....
Amazed your ink jet printer didn't conk out.... mine would, well mines 'dies' after 3 pages!
Oh, and 'Beyond the Fragments' what a damn fine book!!
phil
what a great tune. thats up there with cafe del mar / energy 52 in my book
paul
coventry
Cheers for the advice, Phil. I've got a printer in my office that should do the trick. Just got to make sure I have enough ink and paper first.
Louise, it'll probably two books! And myriad papers too. The thesis, though ostensibly about Trots, is actually about constructing analytical models that can provide 'unified' accounts of radicalisation and commitment processes. What I hope to do book-wise is separate the two - one being more theoretical and the other being a straightforward case study of Trots. We'll have to see ...
And yes Paul, it is an amazing tune. If you or other comrades despair of the state of music in the 00s I'm using Twitter to cut through the crap to produce my top 100 of the 00s. All of it is electronic, so emo's and Muse fans will have to get their jollies elsewhere.
Funny how the Nazis can't take their own medicine, the twats.
Have you lot not heard of the paperless office!
' 'A Reflexive and Value-Added Analysis of the Life History of Trotskyist Activists'
That title's a wind up . . . right?
Congrats on finishing the thesis, btw.
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