Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Academics’

Mile-high ditty

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , , , , on August 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

Sing the following to the tune of John Cougar Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane.”

Little ditty about Beth and Sophia
Two American chicks livin’ it up for just a week.
Beth is gonna be a new media star.
Sophia had plenty of fun without a car.

Right. So I’m not a songwriter. What I am, apparently, is an academic who finds enjoyment in conferences where people present research that might be boring to 95 percent of the population.

I was in Denver this week for the annual Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications conference. I was just here in April for the AWP conference. This time, though, I didn’t have access to a car, so I walked or took the fantastic Denver public transportation, which allowed me to really get to know the city. It is, for the most part, clean and beautiful, with street performers on every corner. (Although, Eddie would point out that there is plenty of “bummery.”)

"Mile-high City" as seen from Room 2122 of the Sheraton.

What made this trip even better was the presence of my friend Sophia. While I was enjoying an endless parade of panel discussions and presentations about new media, old media, social media, technology and pedagogy, Sophia was taking bike rides around the city, visiting museums, and browsing boutiques in Boulder.

One thing we decided to do together was the Denver Microbrew Tour. We were running late and were starving, so we grabbed sandwiches to go from The Lobby, the restaurant across the street from the tour’s first stop, Great Divide. At strategic pauses during the tour portion at the Great Divide, Sophia and I took gobble breaks. Not pretty, but we didn’t want to get hammered on the tour.

Sophia is holding the bag of to-go containers in her right hand.

We finally finished our meal at the next stop on the tour: Breckenridge Brewery, across, ironically, from Coors Field (home of the Colorado Rockies).

Up next: Wynkoop Brewing Company, home of a beer brewed with Anaheim chiles and smoked Ancho peppers. The beer is called Patty’s Chile Beer.

Or is it?

They should change that sign. The beer is made with “chile” peppers.

The last stop on the tour was Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery, which put us back on 16th Street where we caught the free MallRide back to base camp.

After a short nap, we headed out again. This time, our destination was Mizuna, the restaurant that Anthony Bourdain said was the only reason to go to Colorado. I practically had to take out a second mortgage, but it was worth it: Best. Meal. Ever. Fat and happy, we headed “home” in a cab.

The next day, Sophia headed home and I headed downstairs for another day of conferencing.

Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of Mizuna is gone.
Oh yeah, life goes on
Long after the thrill of the conference is gone. Now rock on.

Read Full Post »

Depression hurts, but you don’t have to

Posted in Grammar, etc., Random, tagged , , , on June 23, 2010| 10 Comments »

Most colleges offer students the opportunity to give feedback on their classes and/or professors. The university for which I work releases the evaluations, which consist of a statistical section and a comments section, roughly two weeks after the end of the quarter.

I await the comments section with excitement laced with crippling fear. People like to be liked, and professors are people too. There is always a comment that makes me so happy I want call my boss and read it to him over the phone.

And then there is the other kind.

There’s always one student who hates my guts, or hates something about the class that I may or may not be able to change. And that negative comment lingers in my mind like the last drunk guest at a house party.

I learn from all the comments, even the ones that make me reach for the Cymbalta. I appreciate the constructive criticism, because I want my classes to be interesting, useful and fun. And I want to keep my job.

Spring quarter’s Cloud Nine comment was this one from a graduate student in the Promotional Writing class:

The case studies & examples of things that are currently happening partnered with student presentations were an excellent tool to utilize.

To the disinterested reader, this may seem like a positive, if pedestrian, comment. But to readers of this blog, this is a sentence that reveals a deliberate attempt to yank my chain (in a good way) by combining four of my pet peeves: ampersands and the words “currently,” “partnered” and “utilize.” Well done!

Spring quarter’s Cymbalta comment was this one from an undergraduate student in the Writing for the Web class:

I really wish she would explain her assignments.

Such an innocuous comment. I could accept it, except that I posted an assignment sheet for every assignment, and each sheet detailed everything I expected and how I would grade the assignment. And I went over each assignment sheet in class. Twice.

Of course, the evaluations are anonymous. I have my suspicions as to who wrote the comment, but I can’t be sure. I practically beg students to talk to me if they have problems in the class or want clarification. I wish the writer of the comment could have elaborated on what, exactly, was lacking because, in my (drunk-littered) mind, I’ve done everything I could possibly do.

Sigh.

Cymbalta, anyone?

Read Full Post »

Commencing

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , , on May 30, 2010| 1 Comment »

I know there are some professors who see attending graduation as a chore. I like it, though, because it is exciting to commemorate years of hard work. There are so many success stories — stories of people overcoming great challenges to earn a degree.

Take James Graham, for example. It took this man about 15 years to earn a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film and television.

James earns his B.F.A.

He works full time for SCAD and could only take classes here and there. Every so often, he’d have to reapply because it was taking so long. And that would mean he would have to take different classes because he was now bound by a new course catalog.

And I felt such pride to see so many of “my” writing students walk across the stage: Andrea, Rachel, Daniel, Tiffany, Elizabeth, Elyse, Holly, Jacque, Sarah, Maggie, Ashley, Victoria and Travis.  (Note to them: Now we can be Facebook friends!)

After the ceremony, we held a surprise graduation party for James at Patrick’s house, where Uncle Eggy tried to light everyone on fire. See Uncle Alex guard the children.

Pyromaniac

Fortunately, there was a hose handy.

James enjoys the show

Except for minor smoke inhalation, there was no damage.

It was a good day. Congratulations to all graduates!

Read Full Post »

Stop and sniff

Posted in Random, tagged , , , on May 12, 2010| 3 Comments »

I need a vacation. I’m perpetually wearing a pinched look and I never have time to do what’s on my “to do” list. The hamster on the wheel in my mind wants a potty break.

Two more weeks until the end of the quarter. Dozens of papers and projects to grade. Thesis projects to evaluate. And so much more. Then I can breathe again, and enjoy a day of reading some trashy novel on the beach.

Until that time, I will remember that this too shall pass. Today, I made myself stop and savor the smell of the jasmine growing across the street from Arnold Hall, and thought how sad it was that I had to force myself to take note of the natural world. It took 30 seconds, but I felt better for hours.

I will take a cue from Dominic, who notices everything. “Mama,” he said.”The chickens are starting to have tails.” I hadn’t noticed.

Now I will.

Read Full Post »

Rocky Mountain high

Posted in Random, tagged , , , , on April 10, 2010| 3 Comments »

This was SCAD’s first year at the AWP conference, and it was a success. Dr. Lough (my department chair) and I talked to dozens of people about the SCAD program — many of whom did not even know we offered writing as a major. And we tried to ignore the rampant pretentiousness inherent in writing conferences (especially one filled with academics).

We even managed to fit in some sightseeing. He took me to Boulder, which is where he grew up. Here he is in his natural habitat:

Dr. James Lough, Boulder, Colorado

And here are the Flatirons (photo taken around the corner from his old house).

Flatirons, Boulder, Colorado

In Boulder, he showed me the house they used for the exterior of “Mork & Mindy.”

"Mork & Mindy" house

And — from whimsy to the grisly — the house where little JonBenét Ramsey was murdered.

Ramsey house

Today, a tour of Denver, complete with this gem:

"Non Hippy Bus," driver's side

The sign in the window in the photo below says “Non Hippy Bus.” For real.

"Non Hippy Bus," passenger's side

All of this was lovely, but I’m ready to go home. Here is what I missed:

Gideon and Dominic

Read Full Post »

Add homonym

Posted in Grammar, etc., tagged , , , , on April 2, 2010| 4 Comments »

I just read a newsletter that featured the word “complementary” (an accompaniment) when the writer really meant “complimentary” (free or offering praise). Many people have a problem with those words, and other homonyms. So let me explain.

Homonym: umbrella category for words that sound the same or are spelled the same.

Fuzzy Wuzzy (Wuz a Bear)Homograph: words that are spelled the same and sometimes sound the same, but have different meanings

Examples: bear (to carry)/bear (Fuzzy Wuzzy)  and wind (air)/wind (crank)

Homophone: words that sound the same, may be spelled the same, but have different meanings

Examples: they’re/their/there and you’re/your and bear/bear from above. Bear/bear is a homophone and a homograph.

Easy way to remember:

HOMO (same) + PHONE (sound) and HOMO (same) + GRAPH (writing)

OK, now it might get confusing. Also under the homonym umbrella are heteronym and heterograph.

Heteronym: words that are spelled the same, but have different pronunciations and meanings. Notice this is the same definition as “homograph.” “Heteronym” is a subset of “homograph,” which is a subset of “homonym.” Heteronyms are always pronounced differently.

Example: wind (air)/wind (crank) — this is both a homograph and a heteronym

Heterograph: pronounced the same, but spelled differently. Notice this is the same definition as “homophone.””Heterograph” is a subset of “homophone,” which is a subset of “homonym.” Heterographs always have different spellings and meanings.

Example: you (gentle reader)/ewe (lady sheep) and bare (nekkid)/bear (aforementioned Fuzzy).

Luckily, there is no such thing as a heterophone to confuse the matter any further.

Here’s a Venn diagram of the above for you visual folks.

Venn diagram by Will Heltsley

The only problem is that the diagram makes it look like homonyms are only words that are both homophones and homographs. Homonyms are really the whole shebang.

And that’s different from “ad hominem,” which is a logical fallacy that is an argument against a person.

Sigh.

Read Full Post »

Otherwise known as armor

Posted in Random, tagged , , on March 22, 2010| 2 Comments »

I present Dominic’s latest essay. Please ignore the pronoun mangling. He’s learning.

Read Full Post »

Can’t we all just get along?: The Batman and Robin version

Posted in Random, tagged , , , on March 20, 2010| 4 Comments »

Dominic may look like Eddie, but he is totally my son on the inside. He asks a billion questions, likes to talk, gets obsessed with an idea and can’t let it rest, etc.

He is also a budding writer.

One of his favorite lessons at school is to tell a story to his teacher, who writes it down, then he illustrates the story.

It is a Montessori school, so his stories have a very polite angle. One could even say “anticlimactic.” See for yourself:

These are very different from the soap operas I wrote in high school (Kelly, you’ll remember those), but I love that he is a storyteller too.

Read Full Post »

My eyes! My eyes!

Posted in Grammar, etc., tagged , , , , on February 2, 2010| 5 Comments »

I must thank Jacque, a student in the SCAD writing department, for providing the subject of tonight’s blog post. She reports that the image below was on the desktop of the college’s computers.

Ordinarily, I’d ask you to avert your eyes at such hideousness, but not tonight. Tonight I want you to look. Focus on it in all of its glory. And then let’s talk about it.

WHAT is going on here? Do people in these departments not know that there are people at SCAD who can help them write and design marketing materials? Is Montgomery Hal any relation to Shallow Hal? How many fonts are represented overall? And the colors! The colors! GAH!

Please make it stop.

Read Full Post »

Academic rock star

Posted in Grammar, etc., tagged , , on January 28, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I kept it together tonight. I did not throw my panties on the stage, or engage in any other unseemly fan behavior. I was, however, awestruck, and rendered speechless.

Stanley Fish spoke at SCAD.

The topic of his lecture was “How to Write a Sentence.” If you read his New York Times columns here (Part I) and here (Part II), you’ll get the gist of the lecture. Bottom line: Form is more important than content. People can express ideas and be creative only within the confines of syntax, and they must know syntax.

Now discuss among yourselves. I feel faint.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »