Well done and thanks for the anniversary reminder. Looking forward to pulling out that tape from the shelf.

CAO, at 7:50 am EDT on June 27, 2008

Entertaining ... But Not Significant

Kevin Costner’s batting average is really weird ... not unlike that of Tom Cruise. He has starred in some really spectacular movies, but, alas, he has also participated in some real clunkers.

But to the point. Professor Tuten’s statement of belief pales in significance to Crash Davis’s. Tuten’s statement is ... well, cute. Crash’s statement is profound; to wit ...

“Well, I believe in the soul ... the cock ... the pussy ... the small of a woman’s back ... the hangin’ curveball ... high fiber ... good scotch ... that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent overrated crap ... I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a Constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. Goodnight.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBfdl6hNZ9k

So I’m recommending that you zip down to your local Blockbuster – or wherever you get your DVDs — and have a baseball film festival (at home of course) this weekend. And be sure to start with those great Kevin Costner flicks, “Bull Durham” :and “Field of Dreams,” add Costner’s “For Love of the Game” ... and you can skip that overblown Robert Redford flick, “The Natural.” If you’ve got time, include “A League of their Own” and “The Sandlot.” That should take your mind off this interminable, and remarkably boring presidential election nonsense.

Frizbane Manley, at 9:05 am EDT on June 27, 2008

You had to ruin it, Fritz...

It’s a tribute.

And a nice one. To use Nuke’s words, it’s “cute.”

Everyone who would read this essay knows the quote.

Unncessarily self-indulgent response, Fritz.

(James, I LOVED the essay...almost as much as I love the original. Actually had to buy a DVD to replace the worn-out VHS film. Happy summer baseball.)

An Annie wannabe, at 9:40 am EDT on June 27, 2008

“Boring?” I can’t let this remark go by!

Interminable, yes. Boring, no, when it comes to this year’s presidential campaigns. Finally, as a nation,n we are articulating the deep divides of race, gender, and age. Granted, the most of the pundits are nit-picking bores, but this is the most exciting election of at least the last 50 years.

Political Junkie, at 9:45 am EDT on June 27, 2008

Essay hits the sweet spot

Great essay. As one who also loves “Bull Durham” with a passion, I thought you used the elements from the movie well.

You could also have talked about the conversation on the mound. You can watch it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lptsSTTWLVQ

Nuke is worried about his dad watching, others are worried about relationship problems, an impending marriage, etc. The coach is taken aback by the gathering on the mound that has stopped play, and sends his assistant out to inquire about what is going on. This happens for us, as well, when students are distracted from their learning by a mix of important and secondary issues in their lives: sick family members, dating issues, money problems, roommate strife, etc. Sometimes we have to reach out beyond our roles as teachers to inquire about what is keeping them from being successful in the classroom. I would never offer counseling, but I have listened and made referrals to services on campus and in the community.

Thanks again for your essay. The best movies always offer us something to take away.

lesboprof, at 10:30 am EDT on June 27, 2008

Pundits and the Debates

Frizbane,I agree that this election, which should be the most exciting in a long time, is boring because of the punditocracy. The same tow heads that didn’t ask the hard questions before the illegal invasion of Iraq also pre-selected the “major” candidates and saw to it that the others were marginalized. Rather, they saw to it that a mass audience would not be too much exposed to any alternative analysis of what’s going on in a country that went from 13 billionaires in 1985 to over a thousand billionaires right now. Yes, this statistic was given on a major network the other day. But it was made to sound like this growing group of billionaires got their gains by hard work, always moving on to the next “challenge.” What some of the marginalized candidates could provide is more details about the precise nature of that “hard work.”

Yes, see George Carlin on baseball and football.

James W. Gettys, at 1:15 pm EDT on June 27, 2008

Bull Durham

I loved the movie but I thought it had more to do with the research side of being a professor than the teaching.

Academic research is often a very lonely job. Writing a serious paper or book is the most intellectually challenging thing we do. It generally takes a lot longer than we could ever imagine, it is filled with setbacks, it is often frustrating and when we have finally finished it, there are painfully few people who can appreciate the point of it.

There is a competitive element to all this. We hope that our work will be recognized by our peers, particularly those at institutions that are considered higher in the academic pecking order. We hope that it may lead to more grant support, a better than average merit increase, possibly a load reduction, and perhaps an offer of a job at a more highly ranked university with higher pay, fewer courses to teach and more pressure to perform.

A lot of people give up research within a few years of their thesis. Some give it up after tenure, others wait until they become full professors. Then there are the Crash Davis’s who keep going, hoping that their essays, theorems or musical composition will be a breakthrough.

I think it is the Crash Davis in us that makes the job worthwhile. Whether it is in the teaching or the research or program development, it is the basic belief that what we do is important that makes the job fulfilling. It is the belief that the fundamental theorem of calculus matters that makes teaching for me a rewarding experience.

For me education is an end in itself. Learning is frustrating and difficult but in the end it is still very fulfilling and that is what makes it fun. For all of the frustrations of the life of minor league baseball, it is in some ways the purest form of the game. You have to love the game to play it at that level.

Jonathan Cohen, Professor of mathematics at DePaul University, at 8:00 am EDT on July 1, 2008