I'm supposed to be on the final 1% of getting ready to move. Kate to New Hampshire, me to New Hampshire then back down here until the end of the semester.
Then I find Blotchmen.
Everybody, and by everybody I mean every single one of you even vaguely-geeky students of literature out there, go read it.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Rexroth by Unicorn
This is just a really nice-looking book of poetry. It's the trade edition of Kenneth Rexroth's Sky Sea Birds Trees Earth House Beasts Flowers, published by Unicorn Press (founded and run by my friend Al Brilliant). The photos aren't spectacular, but you should look up Al if you're ever in Greensboro (you can find him as the owner of the Community Book Shop) to get your own copy.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
How to Use Irony, and Lots of It, in a Title
From blognigger.com: "Dyslexic Negro Cryptographer Lightly Etches Code Into McCain Volunteer's Face While She Remains Perfectly Still"...
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In unrelated news, my dissertation proposal has moved one step closer to approval.
In related-to-that news, the dissertation itself is progressing nicely.
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In news that is somehow related to something, head over to The Splinter Generation, where my poem "The garbage man will make it all all right" is one of the pieces representing my fractured 15-35 year old demographic.
The poem is dedicated to Nandra Perry. She popped into my office today to say that since the poem appeared in The Texas Observer, she's been getting contacted by people she hasn't heard from in years. Ironic poetry, bringing people together in totally random ways :-)
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In unrelated news, my dissertation proposal has moved one step closer to approval.
In related-to-that news, the dissertation itself is progressing nicely.
---
In news that is somehow related to something, head over to The Splinter Generation, where my poem "The garbage man will make it all all right" is one of the pieces representing my fractured 15-35 year old demographic.
The poem is dedicated to Nandra Perry. She popped into my office today to say that since the poem appeared in The Texas Observer, she's been getting contacted by people she hasn't heard from in years. Ironic poetry, bringing people together in totally random ways :-)
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Smart Games, Dumb/Smart Gamers, Dumb Politics
Smart Games:
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Smart Game, Smart/Dumb Gamers
In case you don't pick up on it, the gamers writing comments to the effect that this is not censorship are the smart ones.
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Dumb Politics
I try to not weigh in on politics on this blog. I have various reasons, not least of which is my position as an instructor. For better or worse, I help my students to define/redefine/develop their own political position, even when I stringently disagree with those positions. I get a certain amount of enjoyment from reaching the end of a semester and getting student feedback that says my politics were evident, then seeing very different politics named by different people.
This particular moment is getting to me, however. It's the William Ayers issue, specifically the Right's attempt to connect Obama to Ayers. Now, my problem isn't even the mudslinging aspect of this game. I've read editorials and political pamphlets going back to the founding of the country, and if you think this kind of shit hasn't been around since Washington's reelection, you're kidding yourself. Actually, they were even meaner back then.
No, my problem is the ideological and military implications of casting Ayers as a terrorist. If that's the case, it means that even though he's now a professor, hasn't bombed anything in years, and lives a fairly quiet (if still politically active) life, he's still a terrorist. Which in turn means that terrorists can't change. Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. Which means the only thing we can do is kill them. We can't reeducate them, can't win their hearts and minds, can't convince them they were wrong or even misguided. At best we can turn their attention to someone they hate more than us. But more likely, we'll just have to fight until one or the other is dead.
That position is neither Right nor Left. It's just scary.
Real world definition of "mature": Showing the mental, emotional, or physical characteristics associated with a fully developed person; involving serious thought.
Videogame definition of "mature":
Shits, tits and gibs.
What is adult? According to ratings boards and hand-wringing politicians, the only qualifications necessary are a bucket of blood, a stream of foul profanity and a parade of naughty lady parts. Ironically, the very things that are included to win over immature teenage boys.
The following games, however, define adult in a different way. They tackle challenging themes, explore intellectual ideas and deal with complex characters in complicated relationships. They add shades of grey to an otherwise black-and-white form of entertainment.
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Smart Game, Smart/Dumb Gamers
Yesterday we received an email in tips from Nsider on behalf of True-Gaming.net that was sent to Media Molecule and Sony regarding the Qu'ran passages in LittleBigPlanet's music that resulted in the worldwide recall of the title just a week before release. the email explains the passages and goes on to request that they be removed from the title.
In case you don't pick up on it, the gamers writing comments to the effect that this is not censorship are the smart ones.
---
Dumb Politics
I try to not weigh in on politics on this blog. I have various reasons, not least of which is my position as an instructor. For better or worse, I help my students to define/redefine/develop their own political position, even when I stringently disagree with those positions. I get a certain amount of enjoyment from reaching the end of a semester and getting student feedback that says my politics were evident, then seeing very different politics named by different people.
This particular moment is getting to me, however. It's the William Ayers issue, specifically the Right's attempt to connect Obama to Ayers. Now, my problem isn't even the mudslinging aspect of this game. I've read editorials and political pamphlets going back to the founding of the country, and if you think this kind of shit hasn't been around since Washington's reelection, you're kidding yourself. Actually, they were even meaner back then.
No, my problem is the ideological and military implications of casting Ayers as a terrorist. If that's the case, it means that even though he's now a professor, hasn't bombed anything in years, and lives a fairly quiet (if still politically active) life, he's still a terrorist. Which in turn means that terrorists can't change. Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. Which means the only thing we can do is kill them. We can't reeducate them, can't win their hearts and minds, can't convince them they were wrong or even misguided. At best we can turn their attention to someone they hate more than us. But more likely, we'll just have to fight until one or the other is dead.
That position is neither Right nor Left. It's just scary.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Mic Check Presents: Stephen Sargent
Yes, at last, I give you video of Steve. Take heart, dear readers, for this is not just video of Steve's last performance at Mic Check, but 25 minutes of Steve's last performance at Mic Check. I had to let the video render overnight; that's how much Steve you're getting.
It's all in one file and may take a bit to buffer. This is partly because I'm pressed for time lately, and breaking the video out into six or seven segments would have increased my workload by, well, six- or seven-fold. It's also because Steve, like most features, does a little banter and explanation between poems, and I figured that I should leave that in, this being his last performance and all.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!
It's all in one file and may take a bit to buffer. This is partly because I'm pressed for time lately, and breaking the video out into six or seven segments would have increased my workload by, well, six- or seven-fold. It's also because Steve, like most features, does a little banter and explanation between poems, and I figured that I should leave that in, this being his last performance and all.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy!
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Dreams vs. TV: Which Says More About Me?
My dream last night (not incidentally, this is one of the most "normal" and least-frightening dreams I've ever had):
I'm teaching an Intro to Composition course in an auditorium-style room. Maybe a hundred students but still plenty of empty chairs. It's the first day of class, so I go through the syllabus, do a few theatrical flourishes to get them interested in sticking out the semester, and everything works. Students cheering and clapping. Then I look around and see a number of faculty from the English Department in the crowd. They're scowling. I realize that I haven't mixed the acid and water yet - there are 5 gallon jugs of hydrochloric acid and similar jugs of water over on the side of the room. So I'm standing there with a jug in each hand (apparently I was Superman in this dream) but am unable to remember whether you add the acid to the water or vice versa. This goes on for several very uncomfortable minutes, and then I wake up.
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Five favorite TV shows:
1. Looney Tunes*
2. Monty Python's Flying Circus
3. Deadwood
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer**
5. Battlestar Galactica (new version)***
*If Looney Tunes doesn't count as a show, per se, shift everything up and add Gilmore Girls in the number five spot.
**Can I squeak Angel into this same space?
***I reserve the right to change this based on what happens in the last half of the last season.
I'm teaching an Intro to Composition course in an auditorium-style room. Maybe a hundred students but still plenty of empty chairs. It's the first day of class, so I go through the syllabus, do a few theatrical flourishes to get them interested in sticking out the semester, and everything works. Students cheering and clapping. Then I look around and see a number of faculty from the English Department in the crowd. They're scowling. I realize that I haven't mixed the acid and water yet - there are 5 gallon jugs of hydrochloric acid and similar jugs of water over on the side of the room. So I'm standing there with a jug in each hand (apparently I was Superman in this dream) but am unable to remember whether you add the acid to the water or vice versa. This goes on for several very uncomfortable minutes, and then I wake up.
---
Five favorite TV shows:
1. Looney Tunes*
2. Monty Python's Flying Circus
3. Deadwood
4. Buffy the Vampire Slayer**
5. Battlestar Galactica (new version)***
*If Looney Tunes doesn't count as a show, per se, shift everything up and add Gilmore Girls in the number five spot.
**Can I squeak Angel into this same space?
***I reserve the right to change this based on what happens in the last half of the last season.
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