I just received my invitation to participate in the 4th Annual “Professors Unplugged.” While it sounds to me like it’s an evening of professors who have gone off the deep end, it’s also actually a talent show hosted by the College of First Year Studies – a forum for faculty to “showcase their talents that are not usually seen by students.” The email suggests “singing, poetry or short story reading, dancing, and the like.”
If I sign up, I promise to tell you what I choose to showcase. In the meantime, what’s your hidden talent?
scatterplot 
Maybe I should showcase the mad Mario Kart skillz I acquired here at scatterplot.
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These kinds of things always terrify me — I stay as far away as possible. I don’t think I have any hidden talents. I’m not saying I work all the time or don’t have a non-professorial side. But I don’t see how I can turn an interest in trashy books or addictions to freecell and crossword puzzles into a stage performance.
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I find the idea that students would enjoy watching a professor read their poetry or short stories untenable.
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I’m really very good at ruining otherwise enjoyable social events. I should sign up for this.
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Slightly OT, but a few years ago, when I was juggling several administrative roles, my kid un-invited me from career day. His reasoning was that an audience of 1st graders wouldn’t be interested in hearing about how I “get stuck in meetings all day.” Considering the competition — one of the class fathers was a real live fire chief, another a paleontologist, and another a coach of one of the university’s better sports teams — I had to agree.
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from 1:25 to 1:40
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I know it isn’t really relevant, but GOODNESS GRACIOUS that’s a baby Jake Gyllenhaal.
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I thought I’d post a video update featuring my very talented colleague, Gene Halton (Be sure you’ve got your sunglasses on before you click on that second link).
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Thanks for sharing the link, Jessica. I think if they do a similar event next year, they should invite graduate students to attend. It’s good to know that faculty have lives outside of the office, because that means we can (and should and will once we become faculty) have one too.
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