I say this lightheartedly.

Every semester has one…that day when you couldn’t quite schedule classes such that not much time has to be spent on campus.  Last semester was much worse, I admit, when I had the night class that almost derailed my career Wednesdays from 5:30 pm -9:30 pm (I preferred to call it an evening of “enhanced interrogation techniques” ) and then had to teach on Thursday morning from 8:30 am -12:30 pm, usually on about 2 hours of sleep after managing to unwind/recover.  This semester isn’t nearly as bad, as I am on some kind of medical leave from teaching, and only have to be at the campus for the full day today for my own classes.  I don’t know why I avoid the place like the plague so much – perhaps because the institution that once was built as a North American base for critical social research is now so corporatized that Academic Freedom Square has been renamed – a dedication to some rich corporate guy whose name I cannot think of right now – and it is nearly impossible to find a water fountain that has not been turned off so that students are forced to buy Dasani water.  Indeed, Coca-Cola has invested much into this University where undergrads are taught to despise globalization and corporatism, at least in my sociology/anthropology department.  Something does not compute.  I work from home.

A long-winded way of saying I have no time to post anything new today, so I’ll leave you with a couple of my favourite new psychopharmacological drug commercials.  I don’t know if I’m losing my hearing, perhaps – could be a side-effect of Effexor, almost anything could be – but for the life of me, I cannot hear the mention of any “benefits” of taking these drugs, but only the “possible” side-effects.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.  Here they are:

Abilify – a dopamine and serotonin BLOCKER recommended for those on antidepressants (serotonin and/or dopamine REUPTAKE INHIBITORS, ie. INCREASERS).  Yes, folks, they are selling us drugs and their antidote.

Cymbalta – essentially a rerelease of Effexor, but a different isomer of the molecule, giving drug companies the opportunity to rename, repatent, and reap the profits!

That’s all for now, must run to pick up my pills and take the train and bus up to the campus.  Like I said, tell me if you heard any benefits there…I really should be telling my doc if I’m losing my hearing – I’m sure there’s a pill for that too!