Post Academic

Below are a few nuggets that might be very tangentially pertinent to our interests in academia and jobs, but they are centrally relevant to my websurfing.  Send us your favorite stories too!

* Admiral Ackbar, a different kind of rebel: My favorite story in a long time is the effort to make Admiral Ackbar from Star Wars the Ole Miss mascot, replacing southern relic Colonel Reb.  It took me a minute to figure it out, but, you know, Ackbar is one of the leaders of the Rebels.  Get it?  Speaking of which, I’m thinking Thomas H. Benton’s meme-starting assertion that, “Graduate school in the humanities is a trap,” must’ve been inspired by Ackbar.

* Celebrities get schooled: We all know celebrities go to college — it’s where, you know, Natalie Portman gained double consciousness.  But movie stars getting graduate degrees?  Who knew Ashley Judd was getting a MA at the Kennedy School of Government?  (I guess Huffington Post does, since they’re running one of their photo polls about celebs in school.)

* Rock stars get real jobs too (kinda): Spin (yes, it still exists) has a pretty interesting “where-are-they-now?” story about obscure and not-so-obscure rockers who left the life and biz for alternative careers.  Seeing as many of my favorite acts of the 1990s are probably defunct and in this position, this article was right down my alley.  Highlights: Justine Frischmann of Elastica, abstract painter married to a UC Davis prof!  Tanya Donnelly of Belly and Throwing Muses, pro doula!  The print version also has an interesting piece on Lemonheads‘ alumni, which include a number of folks with advanced degrees.