Feedback Request

Fearless readers:

I spent much of the weekend working on my "Program of Research" essay that's included in every academic job application packet. It's not uncommon for an academic application packet to exceed 100 pages--it's a total pain to pull these things together. A Program of Research essay basically details research interests and emphasizes areas of expertise. Anyway, I totally reworked my essay and this is the end result. Keeping in mind that I'm writing for an academic audience, any comments regarding organization, flow, clarity, and the like are welcome.

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Statement of Research

Throughout my academic sojourn I have always self-identified as a rhetorical scholar committed to understanding the ways in which communication, both discursive and non-discursive, is employed as a means of constructing, negotiating, and transforming ourselves, others, and the world around us. Implicated in the inclusion of both discursive and non-discursive communication is not only the critical analysis of historical speeches, essays, pamphlets, and newspaper articles, but also such artifacts as film, television, radio, live theater, magazines, fashion, music, art, architecture, and dance. Of particular interest for my research program are sites of rhetorical resistance. Acts of rhetorical resistance, practices that challenge hegemonic cultural norms and social conventions, offer an opportunity to examine how communicators engage in the constitution of self, other, power, authority, and place. My program of research focuses attention on three specific areas of rhetorical resistance: the day-to-day performance of self and other, the practice of alternative spiritualities, and the consumption of popular culture.

Working within the complex cultural milieu of hegemonic traditions, beliefs, attitudes, ideas, institutions, and behavioral conventions, interacting selves negotiate a host of discordant and concordant understandings. Grounded in social knowledge and interpretive understandings, active rhetorical agents accomplish and perform the articulation of varied perspectives, the negotiation of ever-changing meanings, and the co-constitution of malleable subject positions. Drawing on the likes of Lenore Langsdorf, Michael McGee, and Calvin Schrag, I examine the dynamic confluence of individual and collective subjectivities and the shift from rhetoric-as-being-in-the-world to rhetoric-as-becoming. In my dissertation, Performative rhetoric and the reclamation of the subcultural self, I argue Schrag’s vision of the rhetorically performed self provides a more accurate means by which to investigate the co-creation of the subcultural self, hegemonic cultural other, and resistant ideologies of spectacular subcultures (goth, punk, raver, skater, etc). A manuscript based on my basic dissertation argument is currently under revision for the journal, Popular Communication.

A second vector of my research examines the rhetoric of alternative spiritualities as a potential source of social change and civil disobedience. To what extent might rhetorical strategies based in earth-based spirituality, Buddhism, Taoism, New Ageism, and the like, provide new ways of conceptualizing and addressing issues of social justice, peace, and political action? My essay, “Rhetorical visions: Narratives of transformation,” draws on the collected writings of Starhawk--ecofeminist, activist, and witch--and advances storytelling as a means by which to enact cultural change. Examining an anti-globalization essay by Starhawk and a campaign speech by John Edwards, I explicate the efficacy of rhetorical visions as a source of social transformation and political action.

A third trajectory of my research centers on the intersection of rhetoric, popular culture, and everyday practices of the self. When examined critically, what does an artifact--film, television program, advertisement, fashion trend, etc.--reveal about cultural attitudes, beliefs, and values? Does an artifact perpetuate or challenge a cultural myth, dominant discourse, or institutional ideology? Additionally, to what extent do active human agents use popular culture as a means of navigating everyday life? My current work-in-progress, “Rhetoric as becoming: Living the way of the jedi,” examines the relationship between the cultural myths of Star Wars and the rise of a real-life Jedi spirituality. Discursive exchanges, posted to an internet message board, provide an opportunity to elucidate how cultural myths, subjectivities, and emergent ideologies converge, resulting in the rhetorical co-creation of a coherent spiritual path.

The nature of my research, the exploration of the interplay between rhetorics of resistance and subjectivity, necessitates an interest in ethnography. In order to fully understand the negotiation of individual and collective subjectivities, I frequently conduct long-term observations of a group (goths, spiritual practitioners, or Star Wars fans, for instance) and the individual members of the group. Positioning myself as an active-member-researcher or complete-member-researcher, I gather a broad range of data (informal conversations, nonverbal interactions, informal/formal interviews, material culture, message board posts, public emails, etc.) and examine salient texts for implicated subject positions, related ideologies, indicators of dominance and inequality, and resistance to structures of dominance and inequality.

Researching acts of resistance in relation to the performance of self and other, the practice of alternative spiritualities, and the consumption of popular culture provides almost limitless opportunities for future research. That said, I believe my on-going program of research reveals two, interrelated directions: 1) the investigation of the rhetorical performance of the everyday self as a source of resistance to hegemonic cultural norms; and 2) the exploration of non-violent rhetorical methods of cultural transformation. My continued critical analysis of everyday subjectivity may yield a dynamic portrait of human interaction as meaning-making event and active site of the rhetorical negotiation of self, other, and cultural ideologies. Additionally, I hope my research concerning the transformative potential of non-violent, spiritually-based rhetorics offers new ways of understanding, approaching, and resolving individual disagreements, political conflicts, and social injustices. Together, these two foci address the driving question behind my work: To what degree are we, as speaking and acting agents, capable of co-creating the cultures and communities in which we wish to live?
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Anyone make it to the end?

Bring on the Feast!

Appetizer On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest), how attractive do you think you are?

7.0. STK and I had this discussion a couple nights ago, oddly enough. I originally gave myself an 8--STK suggested I was a little full of myself.

Soup What local restaurant would you recommend to a visitor to your town or city?

The Watercourse. Best vegetarian food in the city.

Salad What's a lesson you had to learn the hard way?

All my problems are of my own making. I spent years blaming everyone else for the things that went haywire in my life. I finally figured out that I was the common denominator. What a revelation.

Main Course Name something in your life that you feel you can depend on 100%.

STK.

Dessert If you could see the front page of a newspaper from September 24, 2104, what would you imagine the headline might be?

Republicans and Democrats Fail to Address Important Campaign Issues.*

*Last night, I spent an hour listening to a radio interview with Ralph Nader. He spent the entire freaking hour speaking about issues AND took cold calls from the audience.

Today's Required Reading

A handful of interesting essays I encountered during my morning coffee and read ression. Take a look:

The Beauty of Leaves
American Indian or Native American?
Life on Mars?
Cthulhu for President
We Call it Mabon

Among the Living

Yes, I'm alive. In the midst of trying to finish the dissertation (30 pages to go, I think), look for tenure track teaching prospects, teaching, and grading (the papers have started to roll in), I haven't had anything too exciting to report.

A couple popular culture items worth mentioning:

Justice League Unlimited recently featured an eisode in which the Green Lantern Corp made an appearance. Kyle Rayner, my favorite Green Lantern, actually had a couple speaking lines!

STK and I saw Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. If you like the serials of the 30s and 40s (Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, etc), you'll enjoy the film. Don't expect anything deep or profound--this one is all style and little substance.

Feasting

Appetizer: How are you today?

Tired & disheartened, but okay. I'm tired of writing & disheartened by some feedback I received. I took a risk and went with something out of the ordinary--I shouldn't have. Now I'm re-writing the piece in the traditional format ::grumbles:: Note to self: challenge the system when you have a full time position and tenure. Duh.

Soup: Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.

Teen Titans. Monk. Smallville.

Salad: What's the scariest weather situation you've experienced?

Growing up in Iowa, I experienced numerous close calls with tornadoes. In my teens, a bolt of lightning struck a tree about 20 yards from where I was standing. I could feel a buzz of electricity move through my body. A very odd feeling, to be sure.

Main Course: If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?

The United Kingdom.

Dessert: What do you usually wear to sleep?

Boxer briefs. Hanes or Fruit of the Loom, thanks.

Thanks to Friday's Feast for providing yet another moment of blogging fun.

Temporary Suffering

All the faults of our mind – our selfishness, ignorance, anger, attachment, guilt, and other disturbing thoughts – are temporary, not permanent and everlasting. And since the cause of our suffering – our disturbing thoughts and obscurations – is temporary, our suffering is also temporary.

-Lama Zopa Rinpoche, "Ultimate Healing:

Spam from Me to Me

Okay, if your sensibilities are offended by the content of naughty spam, you should probably skip this post.

I just received an interesting piece of spam. Here's the content:

--
Make her curnm over and over all weekend long
Super V\AGRA Will Keep you up ALL weekend long!
- Do what you know she will love!
- Be king of the bedroom
- Save $$$ from online pharmaces
- NO PRE/SCRIP/TION REQ/UIRED!
---

When I checked out the originating address, I discovered the email was from me! Is there something I need to tell myself? Has STK been talking to me about my bedroom prowess, or apparent lack thereof, and I don't know about it? Why am I last the person to know these things? The agony.

The Heteroglossic Moment

A fragment from today's disserting:

In the midst of this maelstrom of multiplicities, the co-authored self and other emerge. Facing one another in the dialogic encounter, the space of communicative praxis, speaking and acting subjects orient themselves for and toward the other. Grounded in their social knowledge and interpretive understandings, active rhetorical agents accomplish and perform the articulation of varied perspectives, the negotiation of ever-changing meanings, and the co-constitution of malleable subject positions. For Schrag (1986), this intentional and overt accomplishing with the other through discourse and action is an "indelible feature of the creation and preservation of meaning . . ." and implicative of communicative rhetoric (p. 180).

As Schrag (1992) argues in The resources of rationality: A response to the postmodern challenge Bakhtin’s concept of heteroglossia proves useful in understanding the creation and preservation of meaning in the encounter of self and other. Bakhtin’s notion of heteroglossia, always situated within the dialogic interaction, refers to the moment of convergence between conflicting discourses and social meanings. Describing this moment Bakhtin (1981) explains, "At any given moment of its evolution, language is stratified not only into linguistic dialects in the strict sense of the word . . . , but also . . . into languages that socio-ideological: languages of social groups, 'professional' and 'generic' languages, languages of generations and so forth” (p. 272). Central to the multiple voices and ideologies always at work in the realm of heteroglossia are the "centripetal and centrifugal functions and forces of discourse . . ." (Schrag, 1992, p. 84). Bakhtin describes centripetal and centrifugal forces as the dialogic interplay of the "processes of centralization and decentralization, of unification and disunification . . ." (Bakhtin, 1981, p. 272). Building on Bakhtin, Schrag (1992) characterizes centripetal forces as harmonizing, unifying, and homogenizing tensions of discursive and non-discursive interplay; centrifugal forces, on the other hand, are the discordant, inconsistent, and heterogenous elements at play in the heteroglossic moment. The vigorous interplay of centripetal and centrifugal tensions gives rise to a living, active, and dynamic portrait of human interaction as meaning-making event and site of the rhetorical negotiation of self, other, and cultural ideologies.

Bakhtin, M. M. (1981). The dialogic imagination (C. Emerson & M. Holquist, Trans). Austin, TX: University of Texas Press.

Schrag, C. O. (1992). The resources of rationality: A response to the postmodern challenge. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Senseless

FALLUJA, Iraq (Reuters) - U.S. forces launched air strikes on the Iraqi town of Falluja Monday, killing at least seven Iraqis, including women and children, a doctor said.

Iyad Mohamed of Falluja Hospital said 10 other Iraqis had been injured in the strikes on different parts of the town, just west of Baghdad.

Witnesses saw black columns of smoke rising over Falluja and said hundreds of families had begun leaving the town, which is under the control of insurgents fighting U.S. forces and the American-backed interim Iraqi government.

U.S. forces used loudspeakers to call on the people of the Falluja to cooperate with them and "expel terrorists from the center of the city."

Just so we don't forget, the U.S. "liberators" continue to kill innocents. What a senseless war.

Format Repair Attempted . . . And Failed. Screw IE!

I spent some time trying to fix the bizarre format problem that Tiffany reported several months back. Alas, I can't find the problem. Even when I reinstall the original template without any of my modifications, the blog still doesn't display properly in IE. ::shrugs:: So, I'm just going to leave it alone. If you want to see my blog in all its proper glory, switch to Firefox.

Problem solved.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer What movie soundtracks do you own?

Star Wars: Episodes I, II, IV, V, VI, Star Wars: The Ultimate Edition, Braveheart, Star Trek: First Contact, Josie and the Pussycats, Flash Gordon.

Soup How much cash do you usually carry with you?

less than $5.00. The only time I carry cash is when I go clubbing or to a rock show.

Salad Are you more comfortable around men or women? Why?

Women, without question. I can't stand the sexist behavior of many men ("Did you see her tits?" -- a real quote from a VERY educated former friend). Appreciating someone's beauty is one thing, objectifying them is another. I also don't like the excessively competitive and aggressive behavior displayed by many men. Don't slug me in the arm. Ever. Friends don't hit one another. I don't care about your salary, the speed of your car, or the size of your penis. I suspect there's some correlation between sportscars and penis size but I'll leave that research for my colleagues in gender studies. I don't want to talk about the Broncos, how you got nematodes out of your lawn, or the cool new dirt-resistant ultra gloss paint you discovered at Home Depot. I also don't care about the difference between a v6 or v8 (that's a tomato drink, right?), the advantages of 350 hp or 250 hp, or the differences between the 1963 & 1964 Mustang. I'd rather talk about feelings, fashion, and skin care products. Ultimately, the reason I'm probably more comfortable around women is that I tend to be more effeminate than most men.

Main Course What is the most mischievous thing you remember doing as a child?

I colored a rubber band black and secured the trigger of the kitchen sink sprayer thing in the "on" position. When my mother tried to use the sink, the sprayer gave her a shower. hehe.

There was also the time I fired a roman candle at a police car, tried to burn an "86" in the high school lawn with gasoline, and rifled a rock through a very large plate glass window at a mall. Rather than miscievous, I consider those things criminal, destructive, and more than a little stupid. What was I thinking?

Dessert Who is the funniest member of your family?

Me, of course.

Bananarama

One of my colleagues made the following comment as we entered the room in which our sexual harassment seminar was held.

A: [digging through her backpack and extracting a piece of fruit] Do you think it's inappropriate to eat a banana during a sexual harassment seminar?
Me: No comment.

I Survived the Haunted Office And All I Got Was This Crappy Blog Entry

Well, I finally did it. I finally spent the night in the haunted office. As I had a sexual harassment seminar on late Wednesday afternoon and had to be back at school by 7:30 AM this morning, I decided to stay at school (I commute 1.25 hours to work--thankfully, I usually teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays).* I worked on my dissertation through much of the evening, and finally crashed on my office floor around 1 AM. Not a single spectre haunted my sleep. Maybe next time.

*I'm also fortunate in that my office is down the hall from the Department of Dance locker rooms. As such, I have access to a fully functional shower.

365 Days Later

One year ago tomorrow, Kathleen and I exchanged wedding vows. Hard to believe how fast a year has elapsed. Unbelieveable. To celebrate our one year anniversary, we packed our bags and headed to the Gold Lake Mountain Resort and Spa for eighteen luxurious hours. We arrived on Friday night around 5 PM, checked into our cabin, and began our overnight adventure with dinner. While I opted for a appetizer/entree/dessert combination of portabello mushroom tips, summer vegetables & lemon couscous, and lemon/strawberry shortbread, Kathleen went with the corn chowder, Altantic salmon, and chocolate mousse. Everything was delicious. Immediately following dinner, we donned our Gold Lake Spa robes* and headed for an hour long couple's massage. Is there anything better than a massage? I don't think so. Our muscles jelloed from the massage, we stumbled through the dark to the lakeside hot pools. With stars twinkling overhead, we basked in the warmth of the water until our eyes ached from tiredness. Waking at 8 AM Saturday, we breakfasted on fruit & nut bread, mellon, coffee, and a variety of juices. Our bodies rejuvenated and our spirits content, we made the 1.5 hour drive back home.

Believe it or not, the high point of the weekend wasn't the trip to the mountains. The most wonderful part of the weekend, and we both commented on this, was the understanding that we've both found a life partner, an honest-to-goodness person with whom we're comfortable spending the rest of our lives. Kathleen and I share some commonalities when it comes to relationships: our pasts are littered with some spectacular wreckage. And we both admit that much of the wreckage was of our own making. As a result of unresolved issues and poor choices, we found ourselves in some rather dysfuntional partnerships. We like to think of those experiences as life lessons--we had to learn some things before finding a healthy relationship. So here we are, in our mid thirties, finally on the road of relationship happiness. In case anyone is wondering, we're just as happy today as the day we married. The honeymoon continues.

*Someone wrote "Long Live the Robes!" in the spa's guestbook. To that we say, "Huzzah!"

Friday's Feast

Appetizer. If someone gave you 3 new goldfish today, what would you name them?

Zod. Ursula. Non.

Soup. What's the worst movie you've seen this year so far?

In a theater: Van Helsing. What a mess. Still, it was a silly diversion on a late summer evening.

Television: Raptor Island. Complete rubbish. Not a single redeeming quality.

Salad. If given the chance and you could pick the person, would you want to switch lives with someone on earth for one whole day?

Thich Nhat Hanh

Main Course. What's your favorite season? Name 2 things you love about it.

Fall. I love the smell and the colors. And Halloween.

Dessert. What is something you frequently buy that you don't really need?

Comic books.

Brough to you by Friday's Feast

Code Pink!

I love this group.

Activists Disrupt Convention

Brought to you by Code Pink: Women for Peace.

Holy Bat-Therapy!

In a recent episode of Justice League Unlimited, Batman admitted he could use some therapy. He confessed:

"I'm a rich guy with issues. A lot of issues."

Step One is admitting you have a problem, Bats. There's hope for you yet! A few sessions with Doc Samson will fix you right up. Wait, wrong universe. Who's the resident therapist for the DC metahuman set?

For the record, I think Doc Samson's long hair look is far superior. Now THIS looks like a cool superhero.

A Challenge Met . . . Kind Of

A couple weeks ago, Mike and Curtis put together their dream bands. Unfortunately, I'm horrible at the names of guitarists, bassists, and drummers. To be honest, I really don't know who's good and who isn't. I just know when I like the sound of a band, particularly the vocals. ::shrugs:: So, rather than trying to blow smoke I'm going to adjust the musical challenge. Rather than a band, I'm going to put together my dream team of female vocalists. I don't really want to see any of these women work together, they're just some my personal favorites.

Toni Halliday--Curve
Aimee Echo--theStart
Kim Shattuck--The Muffs
Elisabeth Elmore--the Reputation
Anna Waronker
Brode Dalle--The Distillers
Karin Peris--Innocence Mission
Diana Krall
Emily Haines--Metric
Nina Persson--The Cardigans
Gwen Stefani--No Doubt
Kay Hanley

Oddly enough, I think Gene introduced me to at least five of the women listed.* He's got my musical preferences pegged. If you have any female-fronted punk, pop punk, or indie rock suggestions, send them my way.

*Gene's somethingoutofnothing blog is still on hiatus. Here's to an eventual return. I miss reading your blog, Gene.

The Femme Fatale

Yesterday and today have been productive in terms of writing. Although I didn't make my have-dissertation-done-by-startup-of-school deadline, I'm making good progress. And my writing is good, I think. Presently, I'm writing about the way in which subculturalists co-constitute a collective identity. I just finished a rhetorical analysis of goth fetish wear. Here's a bit of the section.

The femme fatale, the embodied convergence of sexuality, aggressiveness, and restraint, leans against the bar in a seductive pose. While black, straight-cut bangs frame her facial features, two ratted pigtails sprout from the top of her head, fall halfway to her shoulders, and create a visual illusion of a raven’s outstretched wings. Her bangs, an obvious nod to 1950s pinup and bondage model Bettie Page, coupled with youthful pigtails, suggest a playful sexuality. Enhancing the notion of youth is her porcelain doll makeup: her darkly outlined eyes and lips contrast an unnaturally pale foundation. A purple vinyl corset, black vinyl cheerleading skirt, and fishnet stockings leave much of her body exposed and little to the imagination. This stylistic collision of fetish gear, lingerie, and youthful dress hints at the possibility of violating a cultural taboo: a sexual tryst with Lolita. While elements of the femme fatale’s dress exhibit a playful and taboo sexuality, other elements suggest suitors should approach with caution. With a spiked dog collar at her throat, a spiked bracelet around her wrist, and knee high boots on her feet, the femme fatal is embodied aggressiveness and more than capable of taking care of herself. Her corset, which sports small spikes from cleavage to waist, simultaneously contributes to a take charge appearance and molds her body into the desirable hour glass shape. The corset’s complex array of buckles and laces also implies a degree of restraint and control; the femme fatale’s sexuality and aggressiveness is barely kept in check.

Which Literature Classic?

J.R.R. Tolkien: Lord of the Rings. You are
entertaining and imaginative, creating whole
new worlds around yourself. Well loved, you
have a whole league of imitators, none of which
is quite as profound as you are. Stories and
songs give a spark of joy in the middle of your
eternal battle with the forces of evil.


Which literature classic are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

Friday's Feast, A Day Late

Mike reminded me to partake of Friday's Feast.

Appetizer. What is a word that your family uses that would not be considered common?

Recently, "tendonitis" has become a frequently used word in our household. We're both dealing with the excerise-induced ailment. I finally pinpointed my hip problem, btw. I've injured the Tensor Fasciae Latae muscle. Just about everything I've read says I'm going to have to lay off the exercising for a week. Right. Like that's gonna happen.

Soup. What theme of calendar do you have on your wall this year?

I don't have a wall calendar in my office this year. I usually have a Star Wars calendar. Not sure why I didn't get one this year.

Salad. Name 3 people you speak with on a daily basis. Kathleen. Charlie at the recreation center. A random stranger. When not at school, which is only on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I really don't interact with many people.

Main Course. If you could put a new tattoo on someone you know - who would it be, what would the tattoo be of, and where would you put it on them?

Kathleen. Since I've known her, she's been talking about getting a goddess tattoo on her back. Rather than having her arms stretched above her head, however, Kathleen wants the goddess' arms spread wide. The tattoo would be situated so that the spreading arms, which slowly transform into tree branches or vines along their length, would span Kathleen's shoulder blades.

Dessert. What is the last beverage you drank out of a glass bottle? Unsweetened cherry juice.

Quiet Body, Quiet Mind

Master your senses,
What you taste and smell,
What you see, what you hear.

In all things be a master
Of what you do and say and think.
Be free.

Are you quiet?
Quiet your body.
Quiet your mind.

By your own efforts
Waken yourself, watch yourself,
And live joyfully.

Follow the truth of the way.
Reflect upon it.
Make it your own.
Live it.
It will always sustain you.

-from the Dhammapada

From "Teachings of the Buddha," edited by Jack Kornfield, 1993. Reprinted by arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Boston, www.shambhala.com.

Deadlines

After several months of being unable to connect, my dissertation advisor and I finally sat down and talked shop over lunch. We opted for our regular lunch locale, the Jerusalem Restaurant. The Jerusalem Restaurant, located about 100 yards from my advisor's office, has some of the best Middle Eastern food on the planet. Over the course of a leisurely lunch, we talked about the Denver Nuggets, silent meditation, the communication ethics project on which he's working, and my dissertation. Toward the end of lunch, he looked me in the eye and started the following conversation.

Adv: So, when are thinking you'll be ready for your oral defense?
Me: Well, what do you think is realistic?
Adv: I think it would good for you defend before attending the NCA conference. The convention is the 2nd week of November . . . you'd need to defend around Halloween. Fitting for you topic, don't you think? ::chuckles at own joke::
Me: I'd love to be finished by then.
Adv: That means I need a complete draft in about a month.
Me: Hmmm . . . I'm guessing I have about 50 pages or so left to write. That's a little less than two pages a day. I think I can do that.
Adv: Good. It's time for you to finish up and move on to new work.

What does all this mean? It's crunch time. Finishing by the end of September would be ideal--teaching gets increasingly hectic as the semester progresses and that means less time to write, unfortunately.

When I got home from lunch, I tried to lay down and take my customary 30 min power nap. Instead of a good power nap, I had my recurring dream about struggling with an unknown foe. This is one of those dreams I unpacked several months ago. The struggle, particularly with the unknown foe, represents my fear of an uncertain future. The end of the dissertation process couldn't be seen, I didn't know if I'd have a teaching contract for the 2004-05 school year, etc. The dream from this afternoon had a bit of a twist from its usual form--I could see my attacker. He was a big fellow wearing a suit of power armor (too many years reading comic books, eh?). My guess is that the deadlines brought the end of the Ph.D. process into sharper focus--my dream followed suit. Now I'm struggling with a tangible foe, one that can be seen and confronted: time.

What?

I have absolutely NO idea what this means, but Mike posted the test on his blog and I thought I'd give it a shot. Hope this means more to you than to me (which is nothing, nada, zip, zilch).


Which OS are You?


You know, FreeBSD sounds kind of like an STD. Yikes!

Human Capacities

A good motivation is what is needed: compassion without dogmatism, without complicated philosophy; just understanding that others are human brothers and sisters and respecting their human rights and dignities. That we humans can help each other is one of our unique human capacities.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Foor for Thought

As I haven't posted anything for a couple of days, I thought I'd better take a minute and get something out into the blogosphere. Thankfully, I ran across Friday's Feast a few days ago. A regular feature perhaps? Anyway, today's feast:

Appetizer: What does the color pink make you think of?

Blossom of the PowerPuff Girls

Soup: Name something you have lost but later found.

My silver, wire-framed sunglasses. I couldn't find them for several months, but STK discovered them under the seat of my car. I looked there a dozan times!

Salad: In 3 words, describe this past week.

Studious. Hectic. Aggravating.

Main Course: What are you obsessed with?

Green Lantern. Star Wars. Each sentence of my dissertation (Wednesday night: 1.5 hours to write 9 sentences. Damn good sentences, in retrospect, but I've got to speed it up.)

Dessert: What kind of perfume or cologne do you like to wear?

Fahrenheit. Bulgari. Lolita Lempicka.

Prep Time

With the start of school one week away, I sat down today and pulled together various syllabi. Believe it or not, I think I'm about ready to go. I need to make a phone call tomorrow and make sure e-reserve readings are in place sometime in the next week or two. As I'm using the same readings as last semester, that shouldn't be much trouble for the library staff. Here's a list of the classes I'm teaching along with a basic description of the course.

SPCC 100: Communication and Popular Culture
Course Objectives: This course traces the evolution of popular culture studies in the twentieth century. Through a decade by decade analysis of pop culture artifacts, as well as the approaches taken by popular culture researchers and critics, we will examine how dominant societal discourses, cultural myths, individual identities, and institutional ideologies are reified and subverted.

The goals of this class are to: 1. introduce students to a theoretical vocabulary for analyzing how people use popular culture; 2. examine the tension between popular culture’s powerful impact on our culture versus people’s ability to use the media actively in their everyday lives; 3. explore how popular culture in the post-World War II United States, particularly in regard to representations of gender, race, sexual orientation, and class, has both reinforced and shaped our history and culture; 4. encourage students to view themselves as critical consumers and users of popular culture.

SP 310: Interpersonal Communication Skills
This class is designed to help you become more aware of the processes, nuances, and skills of interpersonal communication. The basic philosophy of the course is that you should be able to make reasoned and responsible choices in your interpersonal relationships. In order to make these choices, you must know what is functional and dysfunctional in relationships and possess a repertoire of skills to select from to perform the alternatives you choose. In addition, knowing who you are, including your strengths and weaknesses, and having a positive, realistic self concept is essential to successful interpersonal relationships. As such, course objectives include the following: 1) to increase your understanding of interpersonal communication processes in relationships, 2) to increase your understanding of your own strengths and weaknesses in interpersonal communication, and 3) to develop your skills in interpersonal communication.

SP 317: Women and Communication
The issue on which this class focuses is the relationship between women and communication. The course is designed to explore three general areas: conceptual foundations in the study of gender, gendered communication in practice, and communication in women's culture. Each area is designed to give students an understanding of the ways in which language functions to create or prohibit identities, the ways in which communication is used differently and similarly between genders, and the ways in which some communication styles and practices may be unique to women. The course also is designed to assist students in appreciating and understanding communication not only as it relates to white, heterosexual women, but also as it relates to lesbian women and women of color.

How's that for a variety of classes?

Wolverine as Galactus's New Herald!

Herbie reported if first.

I heard this at the Chi-con that not only will there be 4 She-wolverines in the all- new -all- wolverine new avengers, but that the surfer wolverine is being developed! Yep that's right a wolverine will be Galactus's new herald! This "cosmic" wolverine will be coated in adamantium and will cruise the spaceways in some kind of cosmic suv /big rig looking for planets for Galactus and then he'll slice 'em in half for Galactus to munch on. The new cosmic wolverine will be kind of like Galactus's planetary oyster shucker. he could also hang out with that guy PIp the space troll. the first mini-series to spin out of this great all- new -all -wolverine- New Avenger comically cosmical comic book!Come on Marvel put the fun back in comics! Anyway, so what kind of powers do we want the she wolverines to have besides being able to lick their owm forehead that is? I can't wait for this comic it will just be loaded with backhair!Hopefully, this all-new-all-wolverine New avengers series will last as long as The Heroes Reborn! Classic stuff there!

This guy is on a roll.

Waiting for Neverland

Just found out that I missed an opportunity to particpate in a last second screening of J.M. BARRIE'S NEVERLAND followed by a Q&A with the director. The Denver Film Society sent out an email yesterday afternoon and you had to respond within an hour to attend. Unfortunately, I check the email address I use for DFS mail once a day. Damn. Here's a description of the film:

NEVERLAND, a tale of magic and fantasy inspired by the life of James Barrie, the real-life author of the children’s classic Peter Pan. Set in London in 1904, the film is a fictional account of Barrie’s creative journey to bring Peter Pan to life, from his first inspiration for the story up until the play’s premiere at the Duke of York’s Theatre - a night that will change not only Barrie’s own life, but the lives of everyone close to him. David Magee’s screenplay is based on the play "The Man Who Was Peter Pan" written by Allan Knee. The film stars Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet , Julie Christie, Radha Mitchell and Dustin Hoffman.

I would have really liked to see that film. Guess I'll have to wait for the general release with everyone else.

More on the All Woverine Avengers!

This Herbie poster just cracks me up.

Herbie: I really think that with the appearance of the all new all wolverine avengers that there must be at least one or two females in the group. I think it is possible to change the gender via cloning of wolverine and that way we could have She-Wolverine(s). One could be an ex-olympic wrestler becoming She-Wolverine via doping and maybe one could be an ex-trucker or hooker that way we could have some real life drama like the ultimshmoos. We could have a hairy naked sweaty She-Wolverine to go along with the male version of the HNS wolverine! maybe one of the Wolverine clones could be a hermaphrodite that way we could have He-She Wolverine too! I love this New Avengers! Wait till the Action figures come out!

ElCoyote: X-23, modified clone-child of Wolverine with 2 claws on each hand. Appeared on that X-Men:Evolution cartoon, now being integrated into the X-Universe

Herbie: Nope! Never heard of no X-23. However, what about a wolverine baby too in the all new all wolverine avengers? He could have eight-arms and wear an admantium diaper. He would also always have a stoogie in his mouth and wear a bowler. Rumor has it that he could be the love child of Nick Fury and one of the She-Wolverines! Now that's action!

The New Avengers: All Wolverine, All the Time!

Herbie posts his thoughts about the New Avengers on Alvaro's Comic Book Message Boards:

I think The New Avengers should just be Wolverine. The government or a secret organization could make clones of him with different powers and it would be awesome. He could also have special cigars that he could carry like in bandolier and each cigar would have special abilities once lit or smoked like time travel, super growth or shrinkage, super intellect, atomic farts whatever the writer bendix can think of. Each Wolverine dude would have a different uniform like the yellow one from back when he fought Hulk or the orangie-brown one or just the black leather like from the movies and of copurse there'd have to be a naked one too. All hairy and sweaty. H'd be the one that gets killed all the time. One wolverine avenger could carry a shield and one could shoot adamantium webs from his claws, one could have a big hammer probably the naked guy and one could carry a bow and arrow and be part cyborg and then you could have on that lives underwater and is blind and also mystical. I think it would be cool to have some she-wolverines too! I don't know what kind of powers they'd have but I'm sure bendick could think of something cool for them. Now that's the New Aengers everyone could live with!

That's a classic!

Earth's Mightiest Whozits? The Green Whatdidyoucallhim?!

I'm an unabashed comic book geek. On the last Wednesday of every month, I drive across town to an independently owned comic book store and empty my pull file.* Years ago, I read every book published by Marvel. And I mean every book. These days, I'm a little more picky in my comic book reading. Without sitting down and counting every title, I probably have 20 comics on my present pull file list. When I get my comics home, I sit down at the dining room table and organize them in the order they'll be read. I start with the comics about which I'm most excited and move down in decreasing order. I like all the comics I buy, but I enjoy some more than others. These days, the pile goes something like this:

Green Lantern
Iron Man
Astonishing X-men
The Avengers
Teen Titan
The Outsiders
Star Wars: Republic
Justice League
Justice Society
Star Wars: Empire

For the last several months, I've been hearing internet rumblings about significant changes for at least two of favorites: The Avengers and Green Lantern. Both comics have always been at the top of my monthly pile for the better part of ten years. As one might imagine, I'm not thrilled to hear the changes are real. If you read comics and don't want to be spoiled, don't read any further.

Let's start with The Avengers. Since the 1960s, The Avengers have always been recognized as THE super team of Marvel Comics. With Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor as the big three, joined by 2nd tier characters as Wasp, Antman/Yellowjacket/Goliath/Dr. Pym, Hawkeye, The Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, Vision, Hercules, The Black Knight, She-Hulk, Wonder Man, The Falcon, Gilgamesh and a host of others, the team lineup has remained fairly consistent for the better part of 40 years. There have been some deviations, of course, but the core of the team has remained fairly stable. Last Friday, Marvel unveiled a new line-up for The Avengers: Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-man, Spider-woman, Wolverine, and The Sentry. What?! Captain American and Iron Man aside, the remaining characters AREN'T AVENGERS. The Spider characters work best as loners and always have. That's part of who they are as characters. I don't even know this Sentry character. He apparently appeared in some off-beat mini series several years back. Such an obscure character isn't Avenger material. And do I even need to rant about Wolverine?! Not only will he be an Avenger, but he'll also remain active in a million X-books. Aaarrrggghhhh! Where's Hawkeye, Hercules, or She-Hulk? Where's the Vision, Crystal, or the Black Knight? This New Avengers team (yes, that's what they're calling it) isn't Earth's Mightiest Heroes. I don't know what they are, but I'm giving serious consideration to dropping The Avengers as a monthly comic. Changing the dynamics isn't the solution to low sales--hiring proficient writers is the solution to low sales. Good writers=good stories=increased sales.

What's up with the Green Lantern? DC is bringing back Hal Jordan, the Silver Age Green Lantern. For the last decade, Kyle Rayner has been the wielder of the last remaining Oan power ring . . . and I've loved every minute of it. From what little is known, Hal Jordan will become the focus of the main Green Lantern comic, John Stewart will remain the JLA Green Lantern, and nobody knows what's going to happen to Kyle. If he doesn't get his own book or join one of the team books, I'll be extremely miffed with the DC powers-that-be. So much for my all-time favorite comic book character, eh?


*A pull file is just like a subscription except the comic book store pulls the comics off the rack and saves them for you behind the counter. For comic book purists, this keep the comics from getting damaged in the mail ala regular subscription.

The Moon Card

You are the Moon card. Entering the Moon we enter
the intuitive and psychic realms. This is the
stuff dreams are made on. And like dreams the
imagery we find here may inspire us or torment
us. Understanding the moon requires looking
within. Our own bodily rhythms are echoed in
this luminary that circles the earth every
month and reflects the sun in its progress.
Listening to those rhythms may produce visions
and lead you towards insight. The Moon is a
force that has legends attached to it. It
carries with it both romance and insanity.
Moonlight reveals itself as an illusion and it
is only those willing to work with the force of
dreams that are able to withstand this
reflective light. Image from: Stevee Postman.
http://www.stevee.com/


Which Tarot Card Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Cool quiz. One of the best I've encounterd.

Practice

When we come into contact with the other person, our thoughts and actions should express our mind of compassion, even if that person says and does things that are not easy to accept. We practice in this way until we see clearly that our love is not contingent upon the other person being lovable.

--Thich Nhat Hanh

The Insensitive Cheney's

Senator Kerry recently stated he could fight a "more sensitive war on terror" than the Bush administration. Lynne Cheney, spouse of VP Dick "Go-Fuck-Yourself" Cheney (no, I will never let that little gaff slide into oblivion), responded with comments of her own.

"With all due respect to the senator, it just sounded so foolish," she said. "I can't imagine that al Qaeda will be impressed by sensitivity."

al Qaeda might not be impressed, but the innocent civilians who keep finding their homes destroyed and loved ones killed might be mightily impressed by a bit of sensitivity on the part of the US military.

Lack of Motivation

I can't seem to get into writing mode, today. I had to get up early this morning and run a bunch of errands. Of course, I'm now in the habit of staying up late and couldn't sleep when I tried to retire around 1:30 AM. So, I layed in bed and acted like I was asleep. At least my body was resting, right? I got up, picked up heartworm meds at the vet, stopped at school to deal with continuous enrollment status, picked up a couple pounds of my favorite Kaladi Bros coffees (pound each of Puravida & Trieste blends . . . mmmmmm), snagged The Muffs new album (also found the Cardigans latest in a used bin), and made it home around noon with the intention of writing all afternoon. AHAHAHAHAHA!

Rather than writing, I spent the afternoon napping (quick power nap--I can't do long naps for some reason), cleaning the office (okay, shifting piles of books around would be more accurate), web surfing, and blogging (obviously). I'm leaving to work out in about 10 minutes so the afternoon hasn't been a total wash. Looks like I'll have to do some writing tonight. Yippee!

No Happiness In Anger

Even in the case of individuals, there is no possibility to feel happiness through anger. If in a difficult situation one becomes disturbed internally, overwhelmed by mental discomfort, then external things will not help at all. However, if despite external difficulties or problems, internally one’s attitude is of love, warmth, and kindheartedness, then problems can be faced and accepted.

— His Holiness the Dalai Lama

This is a tough one for me. Although I'm light years beyond where I once was, I still experience a great deal of anger. I get angry at the fact that war is still considered a viable conflict resolution technique. I get angry when I see and hear people deny significant social injustices. I get angry when someone cuts me off in traffic. And what is the end result of that anger? Nothing. I used to think that anger could be harnessed, focused, and directed toward positive ends. The older I get and the more I think about it, however, I find I believe that less and less.

A wise friend of mine once suggested that the only way to ever move beyond anger was to recognize the emotion and then let if flow right through you. This is similar to a technique taught in conjuction with some styles of meditation. Every time you have a thought during meditation, you acknowledge the thought (comment mentally: Thinking")and let it evaporate. When I'm particularly distracted during meditation, I visualize my thoughts disappearing like whisps of smoke. The same things can be done with anger, supposedly. So, the next time I get angry I'm going to acknowledge my mental state ("I'm angry") and let the emotion drift away into the ether. This should lead my thinking closer to the internal attitude described by the Dalai Lama.

Nag, Nag, Nag.

I'm sitting here with ibuprofen coursing through my veins, new Asics on my feet, and a bag of frozen peas down my pants. No, I haven't developed a bizarre sexual fetish involving anti-inflammatory meds, running shoes, and frozen vegetables. I wish. Instead, I've added a nagging, and very painful, hip injury to my never ending list of running-induced aches and pains. After adding several new stretches and strengthening exercises to my daily routine, all of which will remain, I broke down and bought a new pair of shoes. I don't think my shoes are the root of the problem, but a new pair certainly won't hurt. I also bought a new pair of inserts to go in my shoes (I buy my running shoes .5-1.0 size bigger than normal to accomodate foot swelling and inserts). The hip problem has been around for several weeks and has finally reached the point where it's affecting my running. Normally, the muscles loosen up after a mile or so. The last three days, that hasn't been the case. So, intense rehab is the order of the week. Lots of ibuprofen, ice, and light exercise.

The weekend wasn't completely filled with hip pain. While running errands a couple days ago, STK and I stumbled across a treasure chest of cool toys. The following items made it home with us:

Obi-wan Kenobi Unleashed
RingWraith on Horseback
Teen Titans 3.5" Figures*

*I was going to wait to buy these. STK decided I needed to make sure I grabbed all the figures when I had the chance. End result: I now have all six of the figures pictured on the linked site.

Music Quiz: Songs A-Z

Mike came up with a bit of a twist on the music quiz. This time, the goal is to generate a list of songs beginning with each letter of the alphabet. The only limitation, as per Mike's instructions: you cannot use more than one song from any artist.

Curtis completed the task in short order. Unlike Curtis, this one took me quite a while. In fact, I got so frustrated at one point that I almost quit. Almost. Here's the deal: when it comes to music, I rarely pay attention to song titles. When I hear something playing, I can identify the album and usually the track #, but I'll be damned if I can remember the title.

Here's my list.

A) Atomic-Blondie
B) Blackbird-The Beatles
C) Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft-Klaatu
D) Death to the Post-Rock Elite-Glitter Mini 9
E) Everywhere I Go-The Muffs
F) Feed the Tree-Belly
G) Gorgeous-The Start
H) Halloween-Siouxsie and the Banshees
I) I Wish You Well-Josie and the Pussycats (& Anna Waronker)
J) Johnny Feelgood-Liz Phair
K) Killer Queen-Queen
L) Lavender-Fifty Foot Wave
M) Moment of Weakness-Bif Naked
N) New-No Doubt
O) Oh Bondage Up Yours-X-Ray Spex
P) Peace Of Mind-Boston
Q) Queer-Garbage
R) Rebel Yell-Billy Idol
S) Songbird-Fleetwood Mac
T) Tonight-Sixpence None the Richer
U) Untiedundone-The Creatures
V) Volcano Girls-Veruca Salt
W) When I’m Thinking About You-The Sundays
X) Xanadu-Olivia Netwon John (I was a kid. Sue me.)
Y) You’re No Rock and Roll Fun-Sleater-Kinney
Z) Zirconium Gun-Visqueen

Okay, I had to go back to my childhood for Xanadu. Either that or I was going to put X-Files Theme or X-jet (an obscure track from the X-men Soundtrack). Yes, I really did like Olivia Newton John--she was my first celebrity crush.

::sings to self::

Hopelessly devoted to yooouuuuuu . . .

Yesworld

While writing today, I had Classic Yes playing in the background. I'm not sure why, but it's not often that I revisit the music that comprised the soundtrack of my high school years. Truth be told, I'd forgotten how much I love Yes. Fantastic music. You gotta love a rock and roll band that composes songs with three movements. Anyway, while taking a break from writing I surfed around for a Yes website and discovered:

Yesworld.

Finally, I can take a look at all those bizarre lyrics. Click on "sitemap" to access the entire site. It's quite extensive.

Memory of the Day: Jay and I attended the 90125 show at the CU Event Center in 1984 (or 1985--I can't remember which). We smoked cigarettes and some kind of cheap cigars (Swisher Sweets or Dutch Master). If we had beer, and I'm sure we did, I don't remember what kind. Strohs? I do remember drinking room temp Strohs that was hidden beneath Jay's bed, but I think I might be blurring our adventures. Anyway, the concert was most excellent and I became a Yes follower from that day forward.

Teen Titans: Pizza Humor

Pizza humor from the Teen Titans TV program.

Cyborg: I want a double-pepperoni.
Raven: I don't eat meat.
Cyborg: There's no meat in pepperoni.

Cyborg: Man, how could you deny me the all meat experience pizza?
Beast Boy: Dude, I've been most of those animals!

Starfire: I think we should order a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting.
RobIin: Uh, Starfire? Not everything is a pizza topping.

Religion vs Spirituality

I believe there is an important distinction to be made between religion and spirituality. Religion I take to be concerned with belief in the claims to salvation of one faith tradition or another--an aspect of which is acceptance of some form of meta-physical or philosophical reality, including perhaps an idea of heaven or hell. Connected with this are religious teachings or dogma, ritual, prayers and so on. Spirituality I take to be concerned with those qualities of the human spirit--such as love and compassion, patience, tolerance, forgiveness, contentment, a sense of responsibility, a sense of harmony, which bring happiness to both self and others.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama

He'll Save Every One of Us!

Looks like one of my favorite heroes, Flash Gordon, is about to get a makeover. I have mixed emotions about this. I'm not sure anyone can improve on the 1980 version.

Forget it, Ming! Dale's with me!

Facing Your Fears

Facing your fears is probably a good thing; but if you're going to face them, you should probably try to be smart about it.

--Stephen R. Donaldson

Multiplex Personae

Posts may be rather sparse for the next couple weeks. With the Fall semester quickly approaching, I'm under a bit of pressure to meet my self-imposed deadline of completing a draft of all six dissertation chapters by the end of summer. With a bit of luck, I should have Chapter Five, the mother of all chapters, finished by early next week. I've finished 10 pages of what I'm thinking will be a 50 page chapter. Here's a bit from the introduction to Chapter Five: If it Walks Like a Goth and Talks Like a Goth . . .

The simultaneous identification with, and differentiation from, "being GOTH" is the focal point of my dissertation project. Given that Devon and Trent’s messages appear on a goth email list, I position them as subjects "within the human drama of discourse and social practices" (Schrag, 1986, p. 138). By responding to other email list participants, by inserting their thoughts into an ongoing conversation regarding goth subjectivity, both involve themselves in the rhetorical negotiation of the subcultural self. Likewise, Devon and Trent also suggest there is more to the subcultural self than a collective subjectivity. Neither Devon or Trent, it would seem, are content with just "being Goth." Instead, their messages suggest a desire to be recognized as complex subcultural selves. Schrag describes this public performance of individual and collective subjectivities, to this constitution of the Self, as "a portrait of the subject as an ensemble of multiplex personae . . ." (p. 148). Situated as the author (or artist, if I continue Schrag’s metaphor) of her own life story, an individual negotiates, manages, and performs her multiplex personae through discourse and action. Informed by cultural attitudes, beliefs, and institutions, the Self and Other co-author a complex, richly textured narrative consisting of protagonists, antagonists, supporting characters, and plot complications.

Clear Vision

World peace through inner peace, not
through weapons. So ultimately we
should have one clear vision: to
demilitarize the world.

The Dalai Lama

Music Quiz: Bands A-Z

I found this exercise on a music message board. For each letter of the alphabet, list one band or artist you enjoy.

One band for each letter of the alphabet:

A) Amazombies
B) Blondie
C) Curve
D) Distillers
E) Epoxies
F) Fifty Foot Wave
G) Glitter Mini 9
H) Hemi Cuda
I) Innocence Mission
J) Joydrop
K) Krall, Diana
L) Letters to Cleo
M) Metric
N) No Doubt
O) One Man Army
P) Portishead
Q) Queen
R) The Reputation
S) Sahara Hotnights
T) Tsunami Bomb
U) UNC Lab Band #1
V) The Vexers
W) Wendy Woo
X) X-Ray Specs
Y) Yes
Z) Zuba

Bush Campaign Unveils New Slogan

Bush/Cheney: Go Fuck Yourself.

Has a nice ring doesn't it? In case anyone has forgotten, remember The President's famous words: "This is an impressive crowd. The haves and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite. I call you my base."

Karma is Real

This has to be one of the most bizarre things I've seen from the blogging community. Some guy confesses to an extramarital affair, his wife posts a response, and then she claims the situation reminded her that unfaithful husband is a good catch. What? Did I read that properly? Anyway, I love the response from Darvon:

Are you fargin' wacked out of your *mind?* This hog is a "catch?" No, no, no: you and the other woman were playing hot potato and you lost. If I were you I would abandon him on her doorstep like people do flaming bags of shit on Halloween.

Flamin' bags of shit is right. In my mind, and I'm probably considered a bit old fashioned with this way of thinking, being unfaithful to your partner is the most heinous of acts. If you're that displeased with your relationship, have the courage to end it before moving on. I also believe the "I never meant for it to happen" excuse is a lame attempt at denying personal culpability. Of course you intended it to happen. You're not a marionette, acting at the whim of some cosmic puppeteer. If you kiss someone other than your partner, you made an active decision to do so. Ditto for flirty emails, glances, and the like. Philandering is a cold, calculating act that lacks any sense of compassion for your partner.

Remember this: karma is real.

Book Snob

Snagged this quiz from Tiffany.


You speak eloquently and have seemingly read every
book ever published. You are a fountain of
endless (sometimes useless) knowledge, and
never fail to impress at a party.
What people love: You can answer almost any
question people ask, and have thus been
nicknamed Jeeves.
What people hate: You constantly correct their
grammar and insult their paperbacks.


What Kind of Elitist Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

This & That

A mixed bag kind of post.

• STK is attending an Education Leadership Conference through Friday. I'm back to my normal sleeping pattern of staying up until 3 AM and sleeping until 9 AM.
• Yesterday afternoon, I ran 5 miles in 40 minutes. Not bad for someone approaching middle age.
• Disserting is still the name of the game. After banging my head against an organizational wall for the last week or so, I finally had a break through. Rather than sitting at my computer, staring at the screen, and reworking my outline for the 100th time, I turned to a tried and true method: I revisited what I consider examplar works of rhetorical theory and criticism. I turned to Hyde's (2001) Call of conscience and Vivian's (2004) Being made strange, reviewed their organizational strategies, and figured out a resolution to my dilemna.
• I'm attending the Sahara Hotnights / The Hives show tonight. Should be great pop punk fun.
• Giving serious consideration to applying for tenure track positions at Villanova, The University of Memphis, and the University of Texas at Austin.
  
• Must have Clone Wars Animated Obi-wan Kenobi Maquette.

Format Snafu?

I received an email today about a possible format problem with my blog. IE isn't displaying the site properly. From what I can tell, the right column (links, previous posts, etc) now appears below all the text of the blog proper. I'm not sure what's going on. The site appears fine when using Opera and Firefox but definitely has some issues with IE. Alas, I don't have the time to figure out the cause of the problem. When I get a few hours of free time, I'll read through Blogger's tech help pages and see if anyone else is having the same problem. So, if you want to view my blog without any format glitches, use something other than IE.

Anyone else having problems viewing the blog?

Monday's Required Reading

Sociology and the American High Schooler
Picking on Ralph Nader*
Protesters "Caged" at DNC
Educate All Children
Amish in the City: Quality Reality Television?**

*This is the best defense of the Nader campaign I've read, at leat in terms of general arguments. The bottom line is that the US has a multi-party system, despite what the Republicans and Democrats would have the voting public believe. Both the Republicans and the Democrats need to keep out of Nader's campaign and stick to their own affairs. Bash Nader all you want, but stop the other campaign shenanigans. Quit trying to undermine the efforts of Nader supporters. That's not campaigning, that's bullying.

**This show is getting surprising reviews. I'll probably check it out on Wednesday.

Episode III: Revenge of the Sith

It's official. The folks at Lucasfilm revealed the name of the final Star Wars prequel and I think it's a perfect choice. Yoda, Obi-wan, Mace Windu and the rest of the Jedi will face the Revenge of the Sith. The title choice should elicit a smile from Star Wars history buffs. Return of the Jedi, the third film of the classic trilogy, was originally titled Revenge of the Jedi. At the last minute, Lucas decided that "revenge" wasn't an appropriate action for a Jedi Knight. In fact, there were a few Revenge of the Jedi movie posters printed back in 1983. I suspect the early versions are something of a collector's item.

Check out the cool Revenge of the Sith t-shirt. Yes, I'll be ordering one ASAP. I'm such a Star Wars geek.

May the Force be with you!

Picture Test

A couple days back I mentioned that I recently painted a dresser. As I'm trying to figure out how to do the picture thing on my blog, I thought I'd post a picture of the new Green Lantern dresser.



Let me know if you have problems seeing the image.

Knowing

The more you experience,
The less you know.
The sage wanders without knowing,
Looks without seeing,
Accomplishes without acting.

The Tao Te Ching

Real Scoop

Thankfully, we have a superb news media keeping us informed on issues that matter.

Jenna Bush Tongues Reporters
Mary-Kate Olsen To Return Home!
Jackson Fathers Quadruplets?

Excellent choices for front page stories. ::rolls eyes::

Cracked Pots

I received the following via email. Thanks for sending it my way, Jay.

A water bearer in China had two large pots, each hung on the ends of a pole, which he carried across his neck. One pot had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion water.

At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full. For two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and a half pots full of water to his house.

Of course, the perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments, for which it was made. But the poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection, and miserable that it was able to accomplish only half what it had been made to do.

After 2 years of what it perceived to be a bitter failure, it spoke to the water bearer one day by the stream, "I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way back to your house."

The bearer said to the pot, "Did you notice that there were flowers only on your side of the path, but not on the other pot's side? That's because I have always known about your flaw, and I planted flower seeds on your side of the path. Every day while we walk back, you've watered them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table.

Without being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house"

Moral...

Each of us has our own unique flaws. We are all cracked pots. But the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so interesting and rewarding. You've just got to take each person for what they are, and look for the good in them.

Without our little faults, foibles, and quirks, the world would be a boring place. As STK reminded me with a laugh yesterday, I have a number of quirks (cracks). I like my water glass filled to within 1/8" of the rim; if it's not filled to that point, I add water. I'm addicted to Wasabi peas (organic and dye free). I experience withdrawals when I stop eating ice cream on a daily basis (I'm in the middle of another attempt). Who am I trying to kid? If there's something to which a person can be addicted, I'm probably addicted to it (or have been). When writing academically, I can't just "get those ideas out on paper." I agonize over every. single. sentence. The result is that I've become an incredibly slow writer. The upside is that I have very little technical editing, if any, at the end of the process. I am not a morning person. Anyone who talks to me before I've had my first 1/2 pot of coffee is a brave soul. Yet another quirk is my obsession with Green Lantern and Star Wars. I recently repainted on old dresser green so that it would match my framed Green Lantern posters. Two days ago, I bought the Clone Wars Animated Series action figure of Anakin Skywalker.

Superman vs Wolverine

Any comic book fan who's spent more than fiften minutes on the internet has come to dread the infamous "vs" threads. A versus thread is usually started, and populated, by thirteen year old fanboys who constantly try and make the case for one character defeating another. For instance, Gene once sent me a link to a Superman vs Batman message board thread that was fourteen pages long and still growing. My favorite "vs" thread coincided with the release of the JLA/Avengers crossover event. The Justice League of America, published by DC Comics, met the Avengers, published by Marvel Comics, and, do to a misunderstanding (of course), came to blows. Although the two preeminent superhero teams eventually resolved their differences, made nice, and saved the universe from a superintergalacticcrossdimensional villain, several long awaited battles occured. Batman fought Captain America, Hawkeye traded shots with Green Arrow, and Superman tested his mettle against Thor. No battle caused greater controversy than Superman defeating Thor. When Superman caught mjoliner in one hand and smacked Thor around with the other, Thor fans cried "foul." How could Superman, an alien from Krypton, defeat Thor, the son of Odin and God of Thunder? The resulting "vs" threads went on for months. I'm sure there's still a thread debating the issue..

It would seem that a real life vs match may be on the horizon. Brian Singer, the director of X-men and X-men 2, has agreed to direct the initial installment of a revitalized Superman film franchise (let's face it, Superman III and Superman IV sucked). Superman's attempts to lure Singer (McG, the director of Charlie's Angels 2 was attached to the project before Singer) have angered none other than Wolverine. As the following letter from Wolverine attests, he's pissed and ready to rumble, bub.

Superman vs Wolverine

I wonder if adamantium could pierce Superman's skin? *Snikt*

Friday Night Art Spectacular

Friday night was evening of film and visual art. We started the evening by catching a screening of The Clay Bird. The following blurb is the description offered by the Denver Film Society.

THE CLAY BIRD - originally MATIR MOINA - is set against the turbulent 1960s leading up to Bangladesh’s independence from Pakistan: A powerful story of a rural family torn apart by religion and war. A shy young boy is sent by his father, an orthodox Muslim, to Islamic school (madrasa).

As political divisions mount in the country, so do tensions between moderates and extremists within the madrasa, mirroring the divide between the stubborn father and his increasingly independent wife. The film touches on religious tolerance, cultural diversity and the complexity of Islam, unfolding from a child's perspective, within elegant imagery and Bengali musical traditions.

Directed by Tareque Masud. Written by Catherine Masud and Tareque Masud. In Bangla and Bengali with English subtitles. Distributed by Milestone.

THE CLAY BIRD was the first Bangladesh film to compete in the Academy Awards.

After the film, we proceeded to Pirate: A Contemporary Art Oasis for an art opening. Peter Illig, one of STK's work colleagues, put together a sizeable display of his recent work.

I feel so cultured.

Intimidation

Found this quiz on a Denver Nuggets forum I frequent.  Do your best!
 
If you were going up for an offensive rebound, what would be more intimidating:
 
A) A small puppy
B) A Pop Tart
C) Skita
D) A Mr. Potato Head
 
It was a close race, but Mr. Potato barely edged the pop tart and the puppy. Skita? He's the answer you put in there as the throw away.

Smells Like a Goth

I'm working diligently on my outline for Chapter 5: The Reclamation of the Subcultural Self. Nifty chapter title, eh? The basic gist of the chapter focuses on the way in which subculturalists simultaneously negotiate collective and individual subjectivities. In other words, how does someone articulate both group membership and individual identity. The way in which people walk the precarious line of being a member of a group, while still being different enough to be an individual, absolutely fascinates me. Anyway, I've been pouring over hundreds of email messages and message board posts that I've collected over the past five years. I found the following exchange particularly amusing.

Poster 1: If it looks like a goth, thinks like a goth, talks like a goth, smells like a goth, and acts like a goth, it must be a goth.

Poster 2: I really hope we're not going to go in to a long debate about what Goth smells like. ;P I am getting some very unpleasant memories bubbling back up... people who dance all night in clubs, swathed in ass-sweaty vinyl, smoking and drinking constantly never really smell too good by the end of it.

Poster 2 is right--there's definitely a distinct smell that permeates a club toward the end of the evening. I'm struck with the urge to laugh and gag at the same time.

WWJB


There were more anti-Bush protesters in Duluth, Minn., Bush's second stop. Scores of them lined the streets as he breezed through, and opposition to the Iraq war was a common theme. One demonstrator held a sign that read, "Who would Jesus bomb?"

Beautiful.

Ten Stories You Should Know About

Thanks to media coverage of the war in Iraq, most of us have missed out on some significant world stores. According to the UN, the list includes such crises as child soldiers, the African AIDS epidemic, and overfishing.

Free Expression . . . Unless Your Expression Criticizes Me

Need more proof that President Curious George and his administration seek to stifle your freedoms? Read on:

WHEN President Bush made his speech Sunday at the state Capitol, he proclaimed: "On this Fourth of July, we confirm our love of freedom, the freedom for people to speak their minds, the freedom for people to worship as they so choose. Free thought, free expression, that’s what we believe."

But a Texas couple who tried to speak their minds were hauled away in handcuffs.

Jeff and Nicole Rank, reportedly from Corpus Christi, attended the Statehouse event wearing T-shirts saying “Love America, Hate Bush.”

Charleston police dragged them off on trespassing charges. Sgt. R.E. Parsons said they refused to leave a no-trespassing zone.

Capitol police director Jay Smithers told Wheeling newspapers the couple had tickets for the assembly, and wore jackets to hide their protest shirts as they passed through a security checkpoint, then exposed their shirts. “We asked them to go out to the designated protest area but they refused,” he said. “They told our people they would not leave and sat down on their hands. We didn’t have any choice.”

Yes, police had a choice. They could have let the couple express their anti-Bush feelings, just as others in the crowd were expressing pro-Bush feelings. The Bush supporters weren’t dragged away in handcuffs.

Theoretically, the Independence Day event was a public, patriotic ceremony open to all people of all political views. But it had the flavor of a Republican campaign rally. Many in the Statehouse crowd wore Bush emblems and chanted “four more years.” Party agents passed out Bush buttons and waved voter registration sheets. The couple criticizing Bush stood out as a glaring exception to the GOP mood.

The Ranks had come to West Virginia because the wife was doing environmental work for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, On Tuesday, Jeff Rank told some Charlestonians that FEMA had fired her. On Wednesday, a FEMA official said only that Nicole Rank had been “sent home.”

What does that mean? Was she sent back to Texas for wearing a shirt denouncing the president? Has her government job been terminated? The FEMA official wouldn’t say, and we couldn’t locate the Ranks in Texas to ask them.

News of this incident is trickling around America. Out in Washington state, the Tri-City Herald printed a sarcastic editorial titled: “Let freedom ring — somewhere else.”

“On a day the nation celebrates its freedom, Bush handlers and Charleston police apparently decided to make an exception for Bush’s event on the state Capitol grounds,” the paper said. It added that Americans have a right of free speech — “Except in Charleston. Except on the Fourth of July. And except for Bush critics.”

The right to criticize the government is the most precious freedom spelled out in the First Amendment of America’s Bill of Rights. When police manhandle a couple for rebuking the president, but do nothing to others praising the president, a basic element of U.S. democracy has been injured.

wvgazette.com

For those who want access to almost any newspaper or magazine on the web and don't want to register, check out Bugmenot.com. I discovered the site recently and love it. Beware, some of the logins and passwords are a bit crude. I think I just accessed the NYTimes as "Asshat1"

Dirty Politics

The upcoming Presidential election has the potential to turn into a total farce, at least for those who would like to see a clean campaign featuring a number of candidates. As I've ranted before, both the Republicans and the Democrats oppose viable third party candidates. The claim is that viable third party candidates have the potential to draw crucial votes away from one candidate or another. In the last election we heard about the Nader's role as a spoiler. We're heard the same thing repeatedly about this election. Nader's stealing votes from Kerry! The end is near! The Republicans believe this to be true as do the Democrats.

Both the Republican National Committee and the Democratic National Committee disgust me. Rather than allowing a third party candidate to gain access to the election through her or his own efforts, the RNC and DNC are mucking up the works. The Republicans are trying to "help" Nader get on the ballot (help my ass), further raising the ire of anti-Nader libers. Supporters of Kerry are using unscrupulous measures in an attempt to keep Nader off the ballot altogether. Last weekend, someone asked me why I thought 3rd parties have such a difficult time in the United States. I answered with something like the following.

When morally bankrupt political organizations (the Republicans and Democrats), funded by millions, if not billions, of dollars of contributions from corporations and affluent individuals (corporations and individuals who expect legislative favors, tax breaks, and access to important people within the Administration), control virtually ALL the political resources and assets of a country, third parties will find it very difficult to make real advances. Both organizations, locked in what they see as a one-on-one battle for the hearts and minds of the U.S. American electorate, will do everything possible to exclude anyone who might garner a few votes. Third party candidates will be excluded from debates, given limited access to the media, and denied ballot access.

What a country.

About My Brain!


What Color is Your Brain?
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Not sure why I keep encountering these things . . . or why I keep taking and posting them.

Children Interned & Abused by U.S. Military?

According to This Modern World, Iraqi children have been abused by the U.S. military. Read the article carefully. Why is this being reported around the globe and NOT in the U.S.? Our media has failed us miserably. The move to war should have been questioned, relentlessly, by the media. Once the war started, the actions of our military should have been under the media's magnifying glass and should continue to be so. Instead, we had "embed" reporters zipping around Iraq along with the troops. I hope everyone realizes that reports from embed reporters had to be authorized by a commanding officer. It seems to me that the U.S. media no longer performs a "watchdog" function for the citizenry. Today's media is all about spectacle and entertainment.

This and That

Despite having few plans for the holiday weekend, the 4th turned out to be busy, busy, busy. Here's a quick account of the hecticness.

Friday. Friday morning marked Kathleen's return from Bulgaria. She brought me an incredible gift: a WWII era, German u-boat compass. I've looked all over the internet for an image but can't find one. Using the marking from the compass, I've been able to determine that the piece belonged to a sailor of U-boat 124.

Friday evening, we attended Raena and Scott's elegant wedding at the Inverness Golf Club. Raena and Scott are colleagues from school. As such, several of my professors from my MA studies attended. It may be months before I recover from seeing several of my former professors dance to "Celebrate." Kathleen and I bailed before the DJ unleashed "The Chicken Dance" song. ::shudders::

Saturday. Kathleen engaged in some serious jet lag recovery while I worked on the dissertation. Saturday evening, we packed up the dogs and headed north to 'rents. Mike was in town visiting his family, so we made the 60 minute journey. Mike and I have been much better about staying in contact the last few months. We usually talk three of four times a year. Lately, we've been talking a couple times a month. Still, it was good to see him in person. He loaded me down with more distracting reading material, of course. That's probably a good thing. Without some prodding from those around me, I frequently retreat into the realm of academic theory.

Sunday. We didn't stop moving the entire day. We got up at 9:00 and met Margie and Dan for an 11 AM brunch. Margie and Dan married last summer (see The Lovers' Knot post from last summer). Margie, another friend from my graduate school adventures, is working on her Ph.D. at the University of Iowa. Although Margie and I see each other a couple times a year at various academic conventions, it's nice to meet outside of that setting.

After brunch, we raced back down I-25 to Jenn's birthday gathering. Jenn's parents--Jenn is one of Kathleen's teaching colleagues--had a couple dozen people over to celebrate. Good food, good drink, good conversation. At one point in the evening the talk turned to politics. Jenn's roommate said, "Anyone who votes for Nader is voting for Bush. What a bunch of idiots." You can imagine how well that went over with me. The next half hour consisted of various people around the table firing challenges my way. I defended everything from Nader's candidacy to the multi-party system. I was amazed by how many people at the table, all educated individuals, hadn't given any thought to the benefits of encouraging a re-invigoration of multiple parties. Jenn's dad, a Dane by birth, looked at me and said, "When I came to this country, I was stunned that everyone fell in line with the Democrats and Republicans. In Denmark, we have three of four viable parties presenting different platforms. It makes for messy politics but I think the end result is superior." Exactly.

Late Sunday evening, we joined Mary, Charles, Sheila, and Gavin for an evening of Goth dancing. We finally collapsed in our beds around 2 AM.

Monday. I put the finishing touches on Chapter Four and we attended Farenheit 9/11. Kathleen came out of the film absolutely infuriated. I think it's safe to say the two of us are like-minded in our crusade against the current administration.

Tuesday. I handed over Chapter Four to Kristin, my dissertation buddy. She returned Chapter Two with her comments/suggestions. Overall, she thinks my work is top-notch. Let's hope my advisor agrees when I plop my entire dissertation in his lap.

Wednesday. Saw the film What the &^%$ do we Know? Go see this film right now! Combining documentary, computer animation, and character driven narrative, the film explores the application of quantum physics to human consciousness. Sounds pretty heady, right? It is. That said, the movie manages to explain quantum physics in way that's accessible to those less learned in the ways of science. The basic idea of the film is that we, as active human agents, have far more control over our reality and our lives than we could ever imagine. The film argues that cultural paradigms, the basic ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and values that we hold to be true, restrict our ability to control our own lives. Given that our lives consist of a virtually infinite number of possibilities, paradigms restrict the number of possibilities we view as reasonable. Anyway, a very enjoyable and thought-provoking film.

And that should get us up to date. Hope everyone enjoyed the 4th. It's back to the dissertation grind for me!

Letterman's Top Ten List: Top Ten George W. Bush Complaints About Fahrenheit 9/11

10. That actor who played the President was totally unconvincing

9. It oversimplified the way I stole the election

8. Too many of them fancy college-boy words

7. If Michael Moore had waited a few months, he could have included the part where I get him deported

6. Didn't have one of them hilarious monkeys who smoke cigarettes and gives people the finger

5. Of all Michael Moore's accusations, only 97% are true

4. Not sure - - I passed out after a piece of popcorn lodged in my windpipe

3. Where the hell was Spider-man?

2. Couldn't hear most of the movie over Cheney's foul mouth

1. I thought this was supposed to be about dodgeball

You are Choleric. Confident, strong willed, and
self-sufficient, you make a strong leader and
delegator. You are the type of person that gets
things done, and motivates others to do the
same. Though generally optimistic, you can be
driven by anger or revenge, and are at times
referred to as both unemotional or cruel.
Cholerics make excellent teachers, athletes,
and military professionals.


Which of the Humours are you?
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Yikes. I've heard all the above from a variety of sources.

Travelogue

I received word this morning from Kathleen. She's slowly making her way home from Bulgaria. Yesterday, she flew from Sofia to Heathrow. She had this to report about her stay in the UK:

I'm in London waiting for our flight. Boy! Did we stay in a shit hole last night and it cost $200. That's how much it cost for six days in Sofia. Toilet wouldn't flush and overflowed all over the room, we had no TV, and the food and drinks were just a ripoff. The trains into the city are on strike so we couldn't go. Not what I expected for London.

Sometime today she'll make the flight from London to NYC; tomorrow morning she makes the flight from NYC to Denver. That's a whole lot a flying going on.

As for me, much disserting. With a bit of luck, I'll have Chapter Four finished by the end of the holiday weekend. I need to wrap this chapter up quickly. Chapter Five, the data analysis chapter, will prove extremely time consuming. I'll need at least a month.

Humane World

Such human qualities as morality, compassion, decency, wisdom and so forth have been the foundations of all civilizations. These qualities must be cultivated and sustained through systematic moral education in a conductive social environment, so that a more humane world may emerge.

-His Holiness the Dalai Lama