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UD is...
"Salty." (Scott McLemee)
"Unvarnished." (Phi Beta Cons)
"Splendidly splenetic." (Culture Industry)
"Except for University Diaries, most academic blogs are tedious."
(Rate Your Students)
"I think of Soltan as the Maureen Dowd of the blogosphere,
except that Maureen Dowd is kind of a wrecking ball of a writer,
and Soltan isn't. For the life of me, I can't figure out her
politics, but she's pretty fabulous, so who gives a damn?"
(Tenured Radical)

Sunday, October 09, 2005

NOUS BLOGGEURES…

are fond of comparing the speed of blogging to the speed of the mainstream media, and here’s an example just for UD.

UD has in the last three weeks generated so many satires about Benjamin Ladner that she’s got galloping satire fatigue.

This morning, the Washington Post produced its first Ladner satire. Here are a couple of excerpts, in which a columnist describes a dream he had a few nights ago (thanks, Lee, for the tip):


"I'm so glad all of you could make it," said President Ladner as the other dinner guests wandered in and found their seats at the table. "We are gathered here to celebrate my ability to throw a 13-course dinner party and get my boss to pay for it. But before we do, a toast: To the groves of academe -- long may money grow on their trees."


…President Ladner motioned to the butler and said, "James, uncork another bottle of Chateau d'Etudiant Appauvri [note to UD readers: That'd be "Chateau of the Impoverished Student."]

"Oooh," said Mrs. Ladner, clapping her hands together expectantly. "The panda course."

The Ladners' butler cleared his throat and read from a handwritten index card: "Ahem. Our next course is what chef calls 'Panda Three Ways': Peppercorn Encrusted Panda, Panda Paw & Drawn Butter and General Tso's Panda. Bon appétit!"