Me, [yat maan], and other stuff.

The only bad part about becoming an artist is that now I have to use my real name.

Why is that bad?

Because I enjoy writing without fear of recrimination.

I don't want to have to say that I think a person has some unfortunately un-reflective ideas.

I want to be able to say that person is a f@#$in' idiot.

Contrary to my vocabulary and/or photos, would you believe I was an assistant professor at a university in Hong Kong?

Me either.

I remember when I was in graduate school, when I met people and they asked me what I did, I told them I was a PhD candidate.

They'd laugh and say "That's funny, but what do you reallydo?"

I assume it was my wardrobe and/or my vocabulary that led them to this revelation.

Whereas some people (like my employers, probably) would assert that professors neither dress nor talk as I do, I would counter that because I am a professor, and because I do those things, professors in fact dodo them.

I said doo doo...

See?

I kind of miss my (very shaky) anonymity. Because theoretically (remember, I'm an intellectual who lives in an ivory tower and knows nothing of the real world...) someone could see my blog and get their nose bent out of shape and complain to my boss or Apple Daily and I'd be in trouble for talking about something the way I felt like talking about it.

So much for freedom of expression.

My visit counter is approaching 10,000. Even as someone who gets listened to for a living, I am surprised. But I enjoy venting my spleen and I hope it entertains others.

I'm originally from New England. We are an irascible bunch. As I said before, watching The Departed made me homesick. People really DO talk like that in New England, and it made me laugh out loud a lot.

So when I write, uh, opinionatedposts that have no sugar-coating, please believe me when I say that I don't intend to offend people. That is not why I do it.

I do it because I hope I am not the only one who thinks as I do, so I write it and hope for recognition by like-minded people, thus alleviating my frequent suspicion that there is something seriously wrong with me.

Speaking of which, I can also say that if people are offended, too bad. If I spent my day cataloging the things that offend me, I'd never get any work done.

Oddly, part of my work iscataloging things that offend me.

Like The Forbidden Kingdom; I have to start on that article next week.

It's called 'critical research,' and I admit that it is a lot of fun indulging the crass portion of my nature, since it is so much bigger than all the other parts put together. Imagine giving crankiness free rein and trying your best to be as mean as you can with something or someone that annoys you.

I once told someone that rather than try to give up the more vituperative aspects of my personality, I went to graduate school and honed them to a fine edge. Then I got a job suing them.

I like to think that my totally-not-sunny personality can at least be used for something positive, like calling bullsh*t when I see it.

A great vocabulary and a sh*tty attitude. I criticize, therefore I am: "Let me explain why [subject] sucks..."

It's good work if you can get it.

Like my mother used to tell me, "If there was a job descrīption for 'professional @sshole, you'd be rich." I'm not rich, but I'm not poor either. And I'm goodat my job.

So whenever I get my research published, and if/when my research wins awards (which it has), it lets me know that it's not just me that sees these issues.

It lets me feel like I'm doing something useful, and it feels really good to know that I can vent my spleen all over something that annoys me and be rewarded for it.

I can be a terribly mean person and I have the social instincts of a wounded hyena. But I try to use it in positive ways.

As the trailer for Descent 3 once said,

Crush your enemies, set them on fire, and watch them... suffer.