"And I'm a goddamn fool, but then again so are you."
1. Partly cloudy out there, and that beats yesterday. It looks like today will be warm, before - once again - the temperature drops out from under us. Currently, it's 75˚F, and the projected high is 82˚F.
2. Day before yesterday, Kathryn and I went to a matinée (Remember when those were cheap?) screening of George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, and I'm pretty sure that the reason I didn't do an LJ entry yesterday is because I'm tired of being the only person on earth who's seen this film and didn't enjoy it. Well, actually, my reaction is far more complicated than that. How about, I'm tired of being the only person on earth who's seen the film and doesn't think it's brilliant. I avoided reviews (I always do), and when we returned home from the theater I was genuinely stunned that it's been so positively received by pretty much every major film reviewer. Anyway, I've said a lot on Facebook and Twitter ("One lesson we learn from Mad Max: Fury Road is that the climax comes at the end for a reason," etc.), and, for now, I'm not getting into it here. I'd like to see the film a second time (Remember when seeing a film twice was prohibitively expensive?) to give it a second chance, but I'm pretty sure there are other films far more deserving of the precious little money I can afford to spend of movie tickets.
3. Going through old papers, notebooks, etc. for the John Hay Library has dredged up a very unpleasant and entirely unresolved ghost, one so upsetting that it's adding considerably to my insomnia. And a question I have not yet been able to answer, even after seven years: What does one do when she discovers that portions of her unpublished research have been published by a former colleague, based clearly, in part, on notes that she shared with said colleague - lines are "quoted" verbatim - without permission, with no credit given, nothing. My work is credited to others. My conclusion is claimed as theirs. Without even a mention in the acknowledgements of the paper. Yes, I have written records. I have my notes. I have old email. Everything's dated. But I have no idea what, if anything, I should do. Accusing a scientist (and actually two) of plagiarism is nothing to be done lightly. Reputations are at stake, theirs and mine. And I have no institutional affiliation. At this point, there are even some who would not consider me a "bona fide" paleontologist. I sit here and stew. I feel fucking sick about it. It's almost inconceivable to me that any scientist would do such a thing, much less do such a thing to a person whom they once considered a friend and colleague.
I've said nothing for a long, long time.
4. Geoffrey's coming over this evening, and I only managed about three hours sleep last night.
5. If you haven't seen the Spierig Brothers' Predestination (2014), based on Heinlein's "All You Zombies," you really, really need to do so. A very cool film.
6. Please have a look at the current eBay auctions. Thank you.
TTFN,
Aunt Beast
2. Day before yesterday, Kathryn and I went to a matinée (Remember when those were cheap?) screening of George Miller's Mad Max: Fury Road, and I'm pretty sure that the reason I didn't do an LJ entry yesterday is because I'm tired of being the only person on earth who's seen this film and didn't enjoy it. Well, actually, my reaction is far more complicated than that. How about, I'm tired of being the only person on earth who's seen the film and doesn't think it's brilliant. I avoided reviews (I always do), and when we returned home from the theater I was genuinely stunned that it's been so positively received by pretty much every major film reviewer. Anyway, I've said a lot on Facebook and Twitter ("One lesson we learn from Mad Max: Fury Road is that the climax comes at the end for a reason," etc.), and, for now, I'm not getting into it here. I'd like to see the film a second time (Remember when seeing a film twice was prohibitively expensive?) to give it a second chance, but I'm pretty sure there are other films far more deserving of the precious little money I can afford to spend of movie tickets.
3. Going through old papers, notebooks, etc. for the John Hay Library has dredged up a very unpleasant and entirely unresolved ghost, one so upsetting that it's adding considerably to my insomnia. And a question I have not yet been able to answer, even after seven years: What does one do when she discovers that portions of her unpublished research have been published by a former colleague, based clearly, in part, on notes that she shared with said colleague - lines are "quoted" verbatim - without permission, with no credit given, nothing. My work is credited to others. My conclusion is claimed as theirs. Without even a mention in the acknowledgements of the paper. Yes, I have written records. I have my notes. I have old email. Everything's dated. But I have no idea what, if anything, I should do. Accusing a scientist (and actually two) of plagiarism is nothing to be done lightly. Reputations are at stake, theirs and mine. And I have no institutional affiliation. At this point, there are even some who would not consider me a "bona fide" paleontologist. I sit here and stew. I feel fucking sick about it. It's almost inconceivable to me that any scientist would do such a thing, much less do such a thing to a person whom they once considered a friend and colleague.
I've said nothing for a long, long time.
4. Geoffrey's coming over this evening, and I only managed about three hours sleep last night.
5. If you haven't seen the Spierig Brothers' Predestination (2014), based on Heinlein's "All You Zombies," you really, really need to do so. A very cool film.
6. Please have a look at the current eBay auctions. Thank you.
TTFN,
Aunt Beast