The Writer's Life 3/9 - Professor vs. Producer

The merger of government and academia sometimes produces wonderful results in medical research. Too often money is thrown at the absurd. Case in point, as outlined in an editorial in today's NY Post: The National Science Foundation spent $412,930 on a scientific paper on the relationship between gender and glaciers, 10,000-plus words, 40 bucks per, of gobbledygook from a professor whose name or university I will not cite. The study urges scientists to take a “feminist political ecology and feminist postcolonial” approach when studying melting ice caps and climate change. Here's an excerpt: “The feminist glaciology framework generates robust analysis of gender, power and epistemologies in dynamic social-ecological systems, thereby leading to more just and equitable science and human-ice interactions.” I hope this was a hoax, a ruse, satire. Given the title of Ph.D theses I've seen through the years, it's probably true. Here's a list of recent theses titles, which I got at schlossstein.net. Numbers 5, 6, 7 and 9 actually seem promising:
1) What Dolphins Want: Animal Intentionality and Tool Use.
2) Playing Stupid: On Sexualized and Gendered Manifestations of Stupidity in Philosophy and Visual Culture. 
3 Influence of Peer and Authority Communicators on Degree of Attitude Change as a Function of Cognitive Complexity. 
4) Perceptions of Canadian Meeting Professionals of Environmentally Responsible Hotel Practices. 
5) What is the History of Celebrity Gossip, and What does it Say about the State of Celebrity Today? 
6) Skip Rope or Skip a Meal: A Theory-Driven Examination of Factors Contributing to Caloric Restriction and Exercise. 
7) Can People Live on Dumps?
8) Ba Ba Bling: Personal Ornament and its Role in Social Cohesiveness in the Late Iron Age in France. 
9) Supermen and Modernism in Mid-Century.
10) Effect of Tachyon Destabilization on the Warp Core. 

RIP George Martin, 90, aka The Fifth Beatle. He was the Fab Four's producer and mentor. He had 30 number one singles and 16 number one albums in the UK, plus 23 number one singles and 19 number one albums in North America. Here's a list of his non-Beatles successes:
"You're Driving Me Crazy", The Temperance Seven (25 May 1961, #1)
"My Kind of Girl," Matt Monro (31 July 1961, #5)
"My Boomerang Won't Come Back", Charlie Drake (5 October 1961, #14)
"Sun Arise," Rolf Harris (25 October 1962, #3)
"Little Children," Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (19 March 1964, #1)
"Bad to Me," Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (22 August 1963, #1)
"Hello Little Girl," The Fourmost (30 August 1963, #9)
"Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying," Gerry & the Pacemakers (4 July 1964, #4)
"You're My World," Cilla Black (1 August 1964, #1)
"How Do You Do It?," Gerry & the Pacemakers (11 April 1963, #1)
"Can't Buy Me Love", Ella Fitzgerald (1 May 1964, #34)
"Walk Away," Matt Monro (4 September 1964, #4)
"I Like It," Gerry & the Pacemakers (7 November 1964, #1)
"I'll Be There," Gerry & the Pacemakers (30 January 1965, #14)
"Ferry Cross the Mersey," Gerry & the Pacemakers (20 March 1965, #6)
"Goldfinger," Shirley Bassey (27 March 1965, #8)
"You'll Never Walk Alone," Gerry & the Pacemakers (3 July 1965, #48)
"Trains and Boats and Planes," Billy J. Kramer with the Dakotas (31 July 1965, #47)
"Alfie," Cilla Black (10 September 1966,#UK6 #95)
"Girl on a Swing," Gerry & the Pacemakers (22 October 1966, #28)
"Live and Let Die," Paul McCartney & Wings (1 June 1973, UK#9 US#2)
"Tin Man," America (9 November 1974, #4)
"Lonely People," America (8 March 1975, #5)
"Sister Golden Hair," America (14 June 1975, #1)
"Oh! Darling," Robin Gibb (7 October 1978, #15)
"The Night Owls", Little River Band (1981, US #6)
"Ebony and Ivory" Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder (29 March 1982 US #1)
"Say, Say, Say" Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson (10 December 1983, #1)
"No More Lonely Nights", Paul McCartney (8 December 1984, #6)
"Morning Desire", Kenny Rogers (10 July 1985, #1)
"The Man I Love", Kate Bush & Larry Adler (18 July 1994, #27)
"Candle in the Wind 1997", Elton John (11 October 1997, #1)
"Pure" 2003, Hayley Westenra (#1 UK classical charts, No. 8 UK pop charts)
Well done, sir. Thank you.

The floating book shop was sidelined today, as I accompanied a friend to a dental appointment. Can't wait to get back in action tomorrow.

Vic's Short Works: http://tinyurl.com/jy55pzc

Vic's 5th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/okxkwh5Vic's 4th novel: tinyurl.com/bszwlxh

Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3

Vic's Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
Vic's Short Story Collection: http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tiny.cc/0iHLb Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kx3d3uf
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tinyurl.com/l84h63j

Website: http://vicfortezzaauthor.my-free.website/