"The choice to leave academia does not have to mean life as a barista."

"So why are humanities Ph.D.s outside academia so invisible? One reason is that within academic departments there is a culture of stigmatizing doctoral candidates who take non-academic posts, making them less inclined to stick around and contribute to debates about the future of the field."

A professor told me if my dissertation were dull, then I would work at an insurance company.

How much snow must fall before school districts cancel classes?

A regional map.

Chicago is an exceptional pocket. Maybe it's because the city is accustomed to lake-effect snow. Or maybe it's the school district. Or maybe Chicagoans are "flinty."

UPDATE: Updated links and edits added.

A Review ...

... of Jonas Mekas's new website.

"Nachthexen"

During World War II, the Germans called the Soviet Union's female fighter pilots "night witches:"

They often operated in stealth mode, idling their engines as they neared their targets and then gliding their way to their bomb release points. As a result, their planes made little more than soft "whooshing" noises as they flew by.

Those noises reminded the Germans, apparently, of the sound of a witch's broomstick. So the Nazis began calling the female fighter pilots Nachthexen: "night witches." They were loathed. And they were feared. Any German pilot who downed a "witch" was automatically awarded an Iron Cross.

Are you thinking about becoming a History professor?

"Being married helps professors get ahead, but only if they're male."