Two busy weeks

Last week was UTD’s spring break, a week earlier than most schools, and instead of using the seven days off to cram in lots of extra tutoring and catch up on all the reading and paper-writing I’m so behind in doing, we skipped out of town to go to a “conference” (for me) in Las …

Tying the knot

Tying the Knot is a documentary film that takes a critical look at the debate over gay marriage in America. It’s both provocative and moving, and something I’m considering showing to my students — writing students and otherwise. I just finished watching it — minutes ago, really — and can heartily recommend it. Bravo. I …

controversy

I get a lot more traffic on my blog these days, heaven knows why, so I’m hoping to spark a good discussion here… something we haven’t had in a while. Two people are in a relationship. Like many others, the guy spends a portion of his time alone looking at online porn. It’s never a …

Quantifying it

I’m quite sure it’s hard for most of you, who don’t see me regularly, to understand the extent to which I’ve become consumed and transformed by my academic experiences these last 18 months. So let me try to explain via an example: Hearing the news today that Sage Publications is offering unlimited access to its …

Hybrids are a menace to society

A friend at school told me the other day that the hybrid Prius is under fire for being too quiet, that people want Toyota to manufacture artificial road noise so people can hear it coming. My initial reaction was laughter motivated by disbelief. Then disbelief turned to disgust, when Charlie on “Two and a Half …

McKinney cheerleaders are mean girls

This story is one of several in the Dallas area lately that just unnerve me. Scandal: Cheerleaders Run Amok in Texas Boozing, bikinis and bullying: how the scandalous behavior of five high-school cheerleaders rocked a bedroom community near Dallas. By Gretel C. Kovach and Arian Campo-FloresNewsweek Jan. 2, 2007 – The pictures posted on MySpace.com …

My life, in Access

It’s not that I do or do not love Microsoft Access, but I can say for sure right now that I wish I were doing something else…. which is probably why I’m blogging, right? 🙂 I’m in the campus library trying to get motivated to code data for my Midwest paper, an important thing to …

“Her Minor Thing”

I stopped by Blockbuster today to take back our horribly overdue copy of “The Illusionist” — brilliant! fabulous! — and picked up one of those obviously independent chick flick movies that dot the bottom two shelves. It’s called “Her Minor Thing,” and it was delightful. I don’t mean to suggest this is groundbreaking filmmaking or …

what has happened?

I’m starting to believe the unthinkable has happened. Either I am being invaded by bookshelf gremlins, or I have lost an important piece of my personal library. In the last month, I have gone hunting for four separate books, each I would consider absolutely vital to my collection, and each time I have been completely …