It's Raining in Boston...

Did you catch my thinly veiled reference to a nearly-ancient Counting Crows song that only three people like? Yeah, you did. You know why you did? 'Cause you're one of those three people who read this thing. As Clay might say, It's because you're 'amazeballs.'

So here's the thing, folks. I'm about to do something that no one has done yet (to my knowledge), and that is the attempted organization of the first-ever interdisciplinary conference on Lady Gaga. Since I've announced the possibility, I've received overwhelming support from my (albeit limited) academic community in Boston. I'm not going to attempt to justify this right now. Frankly, I'm sick of doing it. If you can't see the creative and subversive ways Lady Gaga is changing the discourse on popular culture in this country, then I don't need to try to convince you. As some popular icon whose-name-I-don't-remember might say: "you're either in or out, what's it gonna be?"

Also, I've been challenged to turn 'disco-stick' into an accepted academic phrase. I don't think I even need to. Isn't this all that Freud and Lacan are really talking about, this phallus as metaphor for the popular psyche? Isn't this what Deleuze is railing against? Isn't the disco-stick of popular culture really the reigning paternal, hegemonic, normative impulse of our society? Isn't it ironic that Lady Gaga wants to ride on it? There. I've done it. It's history...and I know that there's another series of academic jokes there that I don't have time for.

Really, this mad rant is all about my thesis-time blues. I've been staring the beautiful visage of post-humanism in the face, and it's got like...two eyes and three noses now. That's how long I've worked on this this weekend. It's time to take a break.

I'm going to EVOO tonight for restaurant week. I promise to post faster than I did before about this place so you can make your decision about a reservation. You are taking advantage of restaurant week, right? Like I told you to? Good. I'm going to take a moment, breathe, and then head back out into the Apocalyptic rainstorm outside with a smile on my face...

I'm building an Ark. Only the people I like are going to be able to get on it.