Author Archives: Robert

Alice Munro wins Nobel Prize for Literature

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Robert

Here is the story on BBC. This was a surprising award; with the possible exception of Isaac Bashevis Singer, this is the first time someone who writes primarily short stories has won the Nobel Prize for literature. Even Singer is … Continue reading →

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A belated hello to my students for the new semester

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Robert

Hello to all my students, It’s the beginning of another really big semester, and I’m late starting, as usual. I’m teaching fewer classes than usual this semester, working on a rather large project, but for the classes I am teaching, … Continue reading →

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The remains of the semester

Posted on July 11, 2013 by Robert

Another semester is over, with grades in and a summer of writing to look forward to. To my students, congratulations to the many who passed, condolences to the few who didn’t, and remember: tomorrow is another day!

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Another (*&%&*^%R* Earthquake!

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Robert

A 6.3 earthquake this afternoon. Supposedly only 5.0 in Puli, but one of the strongest and longest I’ve felt in a long time. Bookshelves down again, *&^%&!@$#!! This time both at home and in my office AGAIN, the second time … Continue reading →

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Ironic twist

Posted on May 31, 2013 by Robert

Literary irony in a Chinese context Continue reading →

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Push comes to shove

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Robert

Have finally thrown up my hands and begun to prepare my home desktop computer for Windows 7, and like all donkeys I’m doing it because of the carrot and the stick. The stick is the fact that our school’s computers, … Continue reading →

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Fun with Google translate

Posted on May 15, 2013 by Robert

entertaining machine translation Continue reading →

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Congratulations to Lydia!

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Robert

My MA student Lydia Lin successfully completed her thesis defense on Friday (4/26); good job! Now to get those revisions in.

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UTF-8 and utf8: Another piece of the puzzle

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Robert

A case where UTF-8 and utf8 in perl made an important difference. Continue reading →

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Han Suyin (1916?-2012)

Posted on January 19, 2013 by Robert

One notice that I missed earlier this year was the death of Han Suyin (Han Suyin Dies; Wrote Sweeping Fiction. The New York Times 5 Nov. 2012). The Times writer notes some of the criticism directed at Han, but closes … Continue reading →

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