I’ve decided to start a new site under my own name, something more professional, a place where I can write about my more “intellectual” interests, rather than my personal dramas. I want to use the new site to build my profile as a writer and academic. There is only so much time I can devote to writing each day, however, and my first priority will be working on my books and writing articles and other pieces that will further my career (and perhaps provide some sort of income). Still, I love blogging and will make time for it.

You can visit my new site by clicking here. It looks similar to this site at the moment. I must admit to feeling exposed by “putting myself out there.” At the same time, it’s nice to be myself and not write from behind a pseudonym.

When I started Anglofille 6.5 years ago, I would have never guessed that it would last this long. At the time, I had sold most of my belongings and moved from Boston to London to begin my Ph.D. and a new life. I wasn’t sure how things would turn out, but I risked everything for an adventure and the opportunity to create a new path through life. It was a leap of faith. There were many difficulties along the way, many of which I chronicled here, but I have no regrets. It was the best decision I ever made. Now I’m entering a new phase of my life and it’s the right time to let go of Anglofille, though I will miss her.

I want to thank everyone for reading this blog over the years. My interactions with my readers have enriched my life. When I felt alone, you made me feel less lonely. You offered encouragement when I wanted to give up. Thank you for that. I hope that you’ll join me at my new site.

I know I probably shouldn’t like Chris Lilley as much as I do, but I can’t help it. I’ve been watching Summer Heights High. It originally ran in 2007, but it’s new to me. I can’t stop laughing. [And right about now, I need all the laughs I can get.]

Following Chris Lilley on Twitter means I get links to gems like this:

Two of my favorite writers died this week. The Italian writer Antonio Tabucchi died on Sunday. And the American poet, essayist and feminist Adrienne Rich died today. Both of these writers meant a great deal to me as I wrote my PhD and I’m feeling incredibly saddened by their deaths.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned Antonio Tabucchi’s novel “Pereira Declares” on this blog before. [The title is often translated in different ways.] I’ve read this novel at least 4 times, each time in the hopes that I could deconstruct it and figure out how it works — a feat I never achieved. “Pereira Declares” is a wisp of a novel, around 130 pages long, but it packs tremendous power. It’s one of my top 5 favorite novels, and it’s my favorite novel about an individual’s political coming-to-consciousness. My novel is about a woman’s consciousness-raising, which is one of the reasons Tabucchi’s book means so much to me. He was a brave writer who was not afraid to mix politics and fiction, something that is all-too-rare in the Anglo-American literary sphere. His words are a gift, for which I’ll always be grateful.

Adrienne Rich (seen above) is primarily known as a poet, but as I was working on my PhD, I began to read her essays, particularly her collections “On Lies, Secrets and Silence” and “Blood, Bread and Poetry.” As I read her essays, along with those by Virginia Woolf and Audre Lorde, I found my voice. Not my fiction-writer’s voice, but my essay-writer’s voice. She provided a model for writing essays about feminism and I admired how she was able to combine being a poet and an activist. She also put into words many aspects of the writing process that I had been unable to articulate, giving a voice to what I had only felt. She was passionate and fierce and angry and I love that. I have not read all of her essays (and what I have read was in library copies that I couldn’t mark up), so I am excited to fully immerse myself in her prose now that I have more time. I’ll also revisit her poetry, which I haven’t read in depth since I was an undergrad, when I was lucky enough to hear her read and have her sign my copy of “Diving Into the Wreck.” [You can listen to her read some of her poetry here.] One of my plans post-PhD is to write a collection of feminist essays, part of which will be adapted from my dissertation. Adrienne Rich is one of those writers who helped show me the way.

Today, a young man named Liam Stacey was jailed for 56 days because of offensive comments he posted on Twitter. Let me repeat that: He was jailed for 56 days for offensive speech. This isn’t Saudi Arabia or China I’m talking about, but the UK. For those who don’t know about this case, a couple weeks ago a black football player named Fabrice Muamba had a heart attack and collapsed on the field in the middle of a game. Most people where shocked and saddened by what they saw happen to Muamba on live TV, but Liam Stacey (who claims he was drunk) decided to post some racist comments. Here’s some background on the case from the BBC and the Guardian. You won’t see Stacey’s tweets printed in the media, but here they are on YouTube.

Clearly, Stacey’s comments were vile and disgusting. There is no doubt about that. But does he deserve to be put in jail because of them?  Yes, according to the judge in the case:

District judge John Charles told Stacey: “It was racist abuse via a social networking site instigated as a result of a vile and abhorrent comment about a young footballer who was fighting for his life. At that moment, not just the footballer’s family, not just the footballing world but the whole world were literally praying for his life. Your comments aggravated this situation.

“I have no choice but to impose an immediate custodial sentence to reflect the public outrage at what you have done. “You committed this offence while you were drunk and it is clear you immediately regretted it. But you must learn how to handle your alcohol better.”

Take out the reference to social networking and this could have been written in the 1800s.

Just to put this in context, in the UK, people who commit physical assault are often given suspended sentences. Rapists? Most of them are never tried. Having worked in a student hall of residence for two years, I know first-hand how lenient the police can be, at least in London. We called the police on more than one occasion about instances of serious vandalism and theft, yet the police didn’t even bother to show up. I also know two people who were mugged and the police wouldn’t send anyone to help them. Compared to the USA, the British justice system is lenient beyond belief.  This makes Stacey’s sentence for mere words all the more shocking.

In the UK, you can be jailed for “inciting racial hatred,” which is what happened to Stacey. We’re not talking about inciting racial violence, but hatred, which is wide open to varying interpretations. The upshot of this law is that people can be imprisoned for offensive speech. Similar laws exist in many European countries, many of which also ban Holocaust denial (which I also think is wrong).

I’m not sure if other groups are covered by this “incitement to hatred’ law. Are gays and lesbians covered? What about women? Can we expect to see Christian or Muslim religious leaders hauled off to jail in handcuffs for inciting gender hatred, which is common in the Abrahamic faiths? Can we expect to see pornographers jailed for inciting hatred of women? Welcome to the slippery slope, which is the obvious result of laws that outlaw speech. However, the UK avoids this by being highly selective and unfair in the application of this law. From my point of view, it mostly exists for grandstanding, which this case illustrates perfectly. Racism is rife amongst football fans and football players, who racially abuse each other on the field.  But now that Liam Stacey is in jail, everyone can pat themselves on the back for how morally superior they are.

In the USA, Liam Stacey would have never been tried and imprisoned for what he wrote on Twitter.  There is a constitutional right to free speech, which includes vile and disgusting speech. I am perfectly willing to tolerate someone like Liam Stacey because I cherish my own right to free speech and I don’t want it threatened. To appreciate the value of free speech, one need only look at Iran or China.

I’ve been told by British friends that there is no right to free speech in the UK. British people I know are surprisingly unbothered by people being imprisoned for speech. In my Twitter feed, where people spend all day being outraged over the most minor issues, there is nothing but silence regarding the imprisonment of Liam Stacey for offensive tweets. From this American’s point of view, this is not only shocking, but impossible to understand. This morning when I read the news of Stacey’s 56-day prison sentence for tweeting, I wondered for a moment if I were reading a dystopian novel.

And the chocolate pecan pie I made this afternoon from the Tupelo Honey Cafe cookbook (I love this cookbook – highly recommended):

8:47: Another year of film ends. I hope you’ve enjoyed the live blog. Thanks to SpliceGirl for her help. Now I think I’ll go read a book…

8:37: The Artist should have its Oscar revoked because of this boring-ass acceptance speech.

8:36: SpliceGirl: “Weinstein is a fiend! He wins everything! He has a marketing machine bigger and better than any other!”

8:35: The Artist wins. What a surprise. Why does this bore me? I have no interest in seeing this film.

8:32: Of the nine Best Picture nominees, I’ve seen four: The Tree of Life, The Help, Moneyball and Midnight in Paris. Of these four, I think that Moneyball is the best film. SpliceGirl and I both think that The Artist will win. She thinks that Hugo should win. Here we go…

8:31: Strange to see a real actress win for a change. Go Meryl.

8:30: Viola, don’t be sad. You did a great job as Vincent D’Onofrio’s nemesis in that one episode of L&O: Criminal Intent. And also in The Help.

8:29: Whoa. Meryl Streep wins her 90th Oscar. I really thought Viola would win.

8:26: Best Actress. Bring it on.

8:24: Colin Firth. Snoooozzzzzzzzzzzzze.

8:20: Dujardin thanks his wife, now SpliceGirl says he’s losing his allure.

8:18: SpliceGirl is happy that Dujardin won. I’ve never seen him in anything, so I have no opinion.

8:17: GO AWAY NATALIE PORTMAN. STOP TALKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

8:14: Natalie Portman is so full of herself!  Announce the winner already.

8:13: Best Actor…here we go…

8:10: SpliceGirl thinks the dead person montage was the classiest one in decades. Thank goodness people weren’t clapping for the most popular dead person. That’s always so tacky.

7:54: SpliceGirl: “Scorsese always gets shafted. The man is a visionary!!!!”

7:52: Here we go with Best Director. The director of The Artist takes it. SpliceGirl predicted that, but wanted Scorsese.

7:50: Michael Douglas. SpliceGirl calls him “the human lizard.”

7:47: Final acting awards coming up. In the women’s category, I’ve only seen Viola Davis’s performance in The Help.  She and Meryl Streep are the frontrunners. I think both of them deserve it. In the men’s category, I think Brad Pitt should win. Yes, I surprise myself, but he’s in a lot of movies I like and I think he’s a good actor and deserves it for Moneyball. But apparently it’s going to be Clooney or Dujardin. We shall see soon…

7:43: Docu about Pakistani women just won. Cool!  [Called "Saving Faces."]

7:37: The Academy voters are 77% male. 94% white. Average age 62.

7:33: Did the Academy actually watch Midnight in Paris? Dan Brown writes better than that.

7:31: Maybe Woody didn’t show up because it’s illegal to marry your step-daughter in the state of California?

7:30: Woody Allen wins for Midnight in Paris…one of the worst movies I’ve seen. Woody didn’t even show up. Loser.

7:29: Best Original Screenplay…not Woody Allen, please no…!  …drum roll….

7:27: The Descendants writers won…the guys are mocking Angelina’s sad f— me pose from a few moments ago. Ha ha!

7:26: Best Adapted Screenplay. Finally…the writers!

7:25: Angelina gives the finger to Jennifer Aniston. Wow, that is not classy at all.

7:24: Angelina Jolie. Queen of Hollywood and the reincarnation of Jesus Christ.

7:19: Will Arnett in a commercial!  ”I’ve made a huge mistake…”

7:16: Will Ferrel with cymbals. Odd.

7:13: SpliceGirl: “Ugh, Owen Wilson, I tried to kill myself, I’m not a heroin addict who accidentally OD’d”

7:12: Ooh, I like Penelope Cruz’s dress!

7:09: I had to take a break…Tylenol desperately needed. I wonder what Angelina is on? Something stronger than Tylenol, it looks like.

7:05: I bet Whitney H. gets a lot of applause.

7:05: SpliceGirl: Who will tastelessly get the loudest applause during In Memoriam?  I vote Liz Taylor!

7:03: SpliceGirl: “Angelina looks like she’s about to drop dead”

7:02: He’ll always be Captain Von T to us…Go Chris!

7:01: Christopher Plummer won!

6:59: SpliceGirl wants it on record that Kenneth Branagh is a pig for cheating on Emma all those years ago. We hope he doesn’t win.

6:58: Best Supporting Actor. We’re all predicting Christopher Plummer will win…drum roll…

6:56: Hugo wins for Best Visual Effects. I’m glad Harry Potter lost.

6:53: Ben Stiller looks like a tiny little troll next to Emma Stone.

6:52: Melissa McCarthy…yay!

6:48: SpliceGirl: “Rango was not very good.”

6:47: SpliceGirl accurately predicts that Rango takes Best Animated Feature Film. I’ve never heard of it!

6:45: Chris Rock…ha ha ha! Trashing Hollywood prima donnas.

6:43: SpliceGirl outraged at Best Docu win. I missed what it was. Yes, I agree with SpliceGirl, the winners seem like gross frat boys. Get off the stage, hosers!

6:40: Gwyneth Paltrow, my least favorite actress. But Robert Downey, Jr. is with her, so that makes it less bad. And he was mocking Tim Tebow. So, yay.

6:35: Cirque du Soleil performance…time to go downstairs to get some salted chocolate carmel ice cream. [Acrobats ain't really my thing.]

6:34: MISS PIGGY!!!!!!!!!!  Love!

6:28: Hugo wins something else sound-related. SpliceGirl: “yay!!!  i’m so happy hugo is getting some love, i thought it was going to get shut out”

6:27: Hugo for sound editing. SpliceGirl: “hugo is taking all the technical awards…love it!”

6:24: Girl with Dragon Tattoo for the win. SpliceGirl thinks that David Fincher’s editors are amazing. [But that acceptance speech was pretty pathetic.]

6:23: Best Film Editing! SpliceGirl’s field.

6:19: LOLZ. ‘Wizard of Oz’ focus group skit. Priceless. Featuring Christopher Guest and his usual group of actors. SpliceGirl is screaming right now.

6:15: Too bad for Octavia Spencer. Her career is doomed now.

6:14: Octavia practically hyperventilating. I would too if I were standing next to Christian Bale.

6:12: Octavia Spencer wins for Best Supporting Actress. No surprise there.

6:11: I hope Melissa McCarthy wins for Best Supporting Actress, but I don’t think she will….tense moment…

6:10: Christian Bale! And he’s speaking in his real accent. <swoon>

6:09 SpliceGirl thinks that they cut to Steven Spielberg during Iranian filmmaker’s acceptance speech on purpose, which was “tasteless.”

6:07: The Axis of Evil for the win! Iran takes Best Foreign Film.

6:06: Sandra Bullock presenting Best Foreign Film. SpliceGirl loves Sandra.

6:04: Me, SpliceGirl and William think we saw J.Lo’s nipple when she was presenting. Accident or on purpose?

6:02: Commercial break. Gee, live blogging isn’t easy!

5:58: The Iron Lady wins for best make-up. SpliceGirl thinks this is very well deserved.

5:54: Cameron Diaz. ACK!!!!!!!!!!

5:51: Too bad I missed Sasha Baron Cohen as “the Dictator” dumping ashes on Ryan Seacrest.

5:46: Hugo won another award! I haven’t seen Hugo yet, but I really want to see it. I can’t wait.

5:45: My co-commenter here is my sister SpliceGirl, film industry insider. And unlike me, she’s seen all the nominated films.

5:44: SpliceGirl: Yay, Hugo won already!!!!  [for cinematography...]

5:42: My co-commenter SpliceGirl would like to acknowledge that Jean DuJardin is “hawt.”

5:38: I like Viola Davis’s green dress… [Oh, come on! I get a few dress comments...]

5:37: James Earl Jones. YAY!

5:35: I missed the red carpet — I was eating dinner, which is much more important than watching a lot of overpaid prima donnas prance around for the cameras. [I should probably mention now that my Oscar comments will be cynical and bitchy.]

5:30: Glad to see Billy Crystal hosting. He hosted it when I was a kid and he was the best. Classic.

Mark your calendars!  I’m going to ‘live blog’ the Oscars on Sunday night. I’ve never ‘live blogged’ anything, so I don’t know how this will turn out, but what the heck. It’ll be a fun challenge and it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble. It’s been at least 6 years since I’ve watched the Oscars, since they don’t really show them in the U.K. (or at least not that I ever saw), so this will be a fun experience. I’ve assembled a crackerjack team of commentators and I hope others will join in via the comments.  However, I know that many (most?) of my readers live in Europe and will probably be asleep. Oh well. You can still read the comments the next day, unless they are so embarrassing I decide to delete them.

The fun starts at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.  That’s…8:00 p.m. in Toronto and NYC; 1:00 a.m. in London; 2:00 a.m. in Paris and Berlin; 10:00 a.m. in Tokyo; and noon in Sydney. Set your alarm clocks now!

Well, it finally happened. I submitted my Ph.D. dissertation! 160,000 words of blood, sweat and tears. The Ph.D. nightmare is nearly over. Now I’m just waiting to hear when my defense will be.

I didn’t intend to disappear from the blog for nearly a month, but I’ve just been in a frenzy. I am so tired and burned out right now that it’s difficult to feel exhilarated. It’s such a strange feeling not to have this hanging over my head for the first time in 4.5 years. I’m not sure what my life is going to be like now. As those of you who read this blog know, I thought I would have submitted my Ph.D. ages ago. I finished the novel last March, but the revisions took nearly a year. And my academic work was extremely complex and difficult. That portion of the thesis alone is 150 pages — and I cut 25,000 words out of it! I am extremely proud of my work and I know once I recover from this grueling process, I’m going to feel happy, but right now I just want to sleep.

There is some good news regarding the novel. I queried a major New York literary agent and she responded within 20 minutes and asked to read my novel. I agreed to give her an exclusive for one month, so I can’t send it to anyone else during this time. While I don’t think it’s likely she’ll accept me as a client for a variety of reasons, I feel really good about this. Now I know that I have a well-written query letter and that my idea stands out. Regardless of what happens with this particular agent, it’s a hopeful sign. And it’s exciting to be entering this new stage of the process.

At least 900 people will apply for these post-docs (this is the norm). Statistically I have no chance of getting it, but someone has to get it, right? Just like someone has to win the lotto and someone has to be eaten by sharks and someone has to be taken hostage by Somali pirates. You never know if you don’t try! [That's what everyone keeps telling me.] So in a nutshell, I have no chance of getting this, but I’ll spend a whole day working on it anyway. This is not good for morale. What is also not good for morale:

I just realized that all my documents are formatted to A4 paper size, which is what is used in the UK. So I had to change the paper size to US letter size and now my CV has gone haywire and is now 4 pages instead of 3 (not good).

And then I was looking over my writing sample just now, which is 25 pages from my dissertation. I chose an excerpt from my chapter on Fight Club, because that is my strongest writing. Once I was finished editing it and formatting it, I realized that the excerpt contains the word “dildo” 3 times and the phrase “F-ck Martha Stewart” and lots of other f-words because, you know, this is Fight Club. You can’t quote from Fight Club without that kind of language appearing. And now I just don’t have time to put together another writing sample, because I just don’t have time and I’m tired, so I’m stuck sending this potty-mouthed excerpt to the Ivy League.

You stay classy, Anglofille.