January 2004 Archives

Having the ability to look at life or art or circumstances in more than one way is the gateway to "learning something new everyday." In order to have this ability, it is necessary for one to have an open mind. This is sometimes something with which I struggle. Although I do not like to admit it, once I believe in something or see something from one point of view, it is very difficult for me to see something from another point of view. However, recently (thanks to my Media Aesthetics course), I have realized that, by having an open mind, I can enable myself to truly learn something new everyday. For example, throughout my college career, I have been enrolled in courses in which my professors used a powerpoint presentation every single day. When required to do a presentation in front of my peers, I also made use of Microsoft Powerpoint in order to present my information. I felt that using such a visual aid was a valuable tool to add multimedia zing to the classroom. Last week, I gave a Chaucer presentation to my Media Aesthetics class. Originally, I wanted to do a powerpoint presentation. However, after I was advised against it by Dr. Jerz, I read "Powerpoint is Evil." When I first read this article, I completely disagreed. However, once I thought about it more, it began to make sense. I'm not saying that powerpoint can never be useful, but it is more appropriate for "corporate sales pitches" (in the words of Dr. Jerz) instead of Chaucer presentations. Nevertheless, having an open mind when viewing art is also a way to learn something new. After I read Pygmalion, I was asked to look at several paintings that depicted this story. When I looked at the first painting, I thought to myself, "Big deal. Pygmalion is getting the idea to make his own statue that will portray the perfect woman." Although this is one thing that is going on in the painting, there is so much more. After discussing it further with my peers, I realized a lot more about the painting itself, such as Pygmalion actually being in the same room as the women statues, whereas the human women are set apart from him as if laughing at him. This not only proved to me that I should always keep an open mind, but also that art can show so much more to a person when they look at it more than once and actually try to grasp the meaning of the all the aesthetics in the art itself. In conclusion, having an open mind is something that does not come naturally. Although I should not even admit this, when I first found out about weblogs, I thought it was strictly for computer nerds. However, after listening to an introductory presentation, I realized how neat and easy they really are. So although something may be intimidating and seem to be out of one's element, it is extremely important to have an open mind. Yes, sometimes it is something that you may have to force yourself to do, but in the long run, it will be very beneficial. Thanks to what I have learned recently, the way I look at things and the way I think has been drastically changed...in a good way.

It turns out that this site comes up third in a Google search for "Seton Hill University".

Have you "egosurfed" lately? Type your own name into Google and see what comes up.

Ok. For those of you who are in Intro to Lit, am I alone in saying that today's class was absolutely amazing! I loved every minute of it and I hope you all did too. I have posted in my blog more about today's events and all that happened in class as far as I can remember. So take a look and let me know what your reactions to the class were!

Tiff

Whatever you do, don't go see Mona Lisa Smile. A few of my friends convinced me to go a few days ago, and it was horrible. Not just the regular type of horrible, like all the Charlie Sheen movies, but a horrible in a class by itself. I expected this movie to be a waste of my time, but I had at least hoped that my eight bucks would buy more than just watching Julia Roberts bitch for two hours.
" Boo-hoo, the school doesn't like the way i teach." Suck it up or get fired, like real teachers have to do. No one cares about your "new and radical" way of teaching. Conform dammit.
About halfway through the movie, when the conflict between the horrible lead...er...Julia Roberts, and the school management came up, I actually started to hope that it was the begginings of a plot. My hopes were quickly dashed though, when all that happened next was Roberts "falling in love" with another idiotic teacher that slept with his students. Ah well, we can't all be pedophiles.
About 20 minutes into the movie my pancreas exploded in a desperate attempt to get me out of the theatre, but my so called friends still wouldn't let me leave. I have to give the director some credit though...the plot actually tried to make an appearance once or twice, but Roberts apparently couldn't stand being out of the spotlight, and quickly bitch-slapped it back into submission.
The best part of this movie was the end, when my friend smacked me upside the head and told me to wake the hell up, it was time to go home. I think the movie must have been a secret attempt by the feminists to brainwash America. I mean, why else would it have been so mind numbingly boring and relentless. This movie was the theatrical equivalent of smashing your head repeatedly into a brick wall, only with less style and worse acting.

Fifty Word Fiction
Carrie McMillan told me one afternoon about a homework she had just set for her Year 9 English class: They had to write a piece of fiction in fifty words. I said it was impossible but dashed off to try my hand at it anyway. Fifteen minutes later I had my first fifty word fiction written, and a day after that I stuck up this website. Well, that's the fun of the Web, isn't it? Think it, make it, do it.

Alistair Fitchett

Bear with me in this blog, to some I may sound like I’m coming out of left field but here me out and see what you think.

“The Canterbury Tales” gets mixed reviews from us nowadays. To those in college and high school that title makes them groan in agony. There are a few of the younger generation who are enthusiastic about “The Canterbury Tales” and what they hold. Scholars and historians on the other hand have this huge interest in this text. The format, the language, the plots, the structure, and historical references make some positively tingle. But I’ll bet many haven’t concluded what I have about “The Canterbury Tales.” I may be going out on a limb here…I see “The Canterbury Tales” (TCTS) as the predecessor of what we today call “TV Series.” (Pause for laughter and groans)
Chaucer’s TCTS has chapters were a traveler tells a story for the contest for who has the best story. It also has intros or intermissions were the travelers interact with each other. Think about if you divide each section of chapters up; you have what we call an “episode.” Now TCTS was made into one large book or “Series”, but can also be found in small excerpts or sections (“Episodes” or “Seasons”). Chaucer could have been the pioneer of sitcoms, cartoons, and dramas for televisions. Nobody before him had thought to make something big, elaborate, and discussion provoking. At its time TCTS was a huge hit and everyone talked about whom could get there hands on it. That hype has slightly slackened today, but it has “stood the test of time” as we call it. This makes it a classic as it already is in literature.
You could compare TCTS to a number of different shows and programs, but I’m going to stick with “Cowboy Bebop” (fan of) and “Star Trek” (not a fan of). “Cowboy Bebop” (CB) was a huge ground breaking anime series. Its intertwining and unique plots for each episode resemble (but are not similar to) the original TCTS story plots. Both CB’s and TCTS’s plots per chapter or episode ranged in genres. Some were tragedy, comedy, life lessons, and just pain bizarre sometimes. Chaucer was the first to think of genera hopping in an elaborate book and CB was the first anime series to genera jump each episode. CB is an international hit just like TCTS was and still is. Also both writers managed to create thought provoking and unusual characters that played on satire.
With “Star Trek” (ST) and TCTS’s comparison we see “the test of time” and fandom (yeah I know I created a world, it means having a huge fan following ok LOL). ST’s release marked a huge change in our society’s culture. People got a glimpse at the possibility of what color TV could do and new door in TV series had been opened. Today ST has a huge following and still puts out continuing series. This is similar to the many rewrites and translations that the TCTS has gone through. TCTS has never been, to the best of my knowledge, put together into its original structure. We have it mixed up and there are arguments for what goes where and why. I have heard fans argue over the order and structure of different ST shows many times (a few of my friends are Trek fans) and discuss the order in which the episodes or chapters were presented. Plus ST still has conventions and large forum discussions (both on and offline) today much like TCTS are discussed in conferences or lectures.
I know the similarities are a bit of a stretch at points, but like said bear with me. Keep an open mind about this because it’s not so far fetched now is it? And I bet you all have come up with tons of series that have links to the TCTS. Now I could go on and on, but I think I’m going to stop here and research my theory some more to see if I can make it more then an idea. Man the things you come up with at one in the morning. ;)

(this entry was orginaly posted on my blog, but I felt it would get more attention here)

Posted for Kristin Lippincott

I have 2 cats that I need to get rid of….one is 6 years old, and the other a little over a year.

They are both well-mannered and actually pretty lazy. I have had them both since they were 6 weeks old, and they are very healthy. I am moving and can not keep them. To avoid taking them to the Humane Society, I am trying to find a good home for them. I am willing to separate them if necessary.

If you, or anyone you know, can help me out PLEASE have them contact me! Thanks a ton in advance!!!

Kristen Lippencott

Admissions Counselor

Seton Hill University

Seton Hill Drive

Greensburg, PA 15601

Phone: 724-838-7832

Fax: 724-830-1294

lippencott@setonhill.edu

Ok. So for those of you who know me this will not come as a shock that I am writing this entry. I was looking at the Lord of the Rings site this morning only to discover that the Oscar nominations had come out and that my favorite book/movie has recieved 11 nominations!!!!! The best part about it is that it was finally nominated for Best Picture. Hopefully this will be the year for the cast and crew to finally get the recognition they deserve. Just a side note: I was flipping threw the channels on TV last night and I heard one critic say that if LOTR doesn't win for Best Picture the LA Riots are going to look like preschool compared to the riots over this, and I have to say that I agree!

Another note. Recently the movie recieved four Golden Globe awards, including Best Motion Picture-Drama. Hopefully the Oscar people will follow the lead.

Other nominations for the Oscars were:

Master and Comander: The Far Side of the World - 9 nominations
Cold Mountain - 7 nominations
Mystic River and Seabiscuit - 6 nominations
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl - 5 nominations

For more information go to Oscars.com

Tiffany

Sifting through many tabloids, internet sites, and different magazine clippings, you come across alot of the same material. I've recently been looking at racial and adoption topics. IS IT WRONG to bring a child of different culture/race into an American family? Better yet, is it harmful to bring that child into a single parented family? <--- CHECK THIS OUT and notice the great points about single parenting.

Hi Everyone!

The Setonian proofreading session scheduled for tonight at 8:30pm is cancelled. Stay inside and stay warm:)

If only time could stand still. Life would be worth so much more. These are just random thoughts that I have been experiencing in the past couple of hours. Due to stress with reading and getting my work done, these questions pry at my brain.
I have a couple assignments for a seminar in thinking and writing and about three to do for this American Lit. class, which I have been doing, but it seems like it is taking forever. If only time would slow down and be on my side right now, life would be much less stressful.
I'm sure everyone has heard the phrase that "time will heal your pain." Life has many ways of challenging us, and I think that time is the biggest challenge of them all. There is always a limit, or a deadline to reach, which always relates back to time. We live our lives through deadlines and limitations, so we need time to carry us through.

The major art form for literature has for centuries been the book. In ancient times, written language was displayed on scrolls of papyrus, a type of paper made from the papyrus plant. It wasn't until the Medieval Era that books became a popular way of displaying literature. Once books became popular, they stayed popular, surviving and changing throughout the centuries as technology expanded and tastes changed. Today's books, for instance, are vastly different from the books of the Medieval Age. In this presentation, I'll look at how books are designed and bound, both in the modern day and in the Medieval Era.

Design

Medieval books were written on vellum or parchment. Both are specially treated animal skins that were stretched taut and trimmed into the proper shape. Here is an example of a modern recreation of vellum. The vellum was ruled, sometimes with colored inks, so that the text would be level and straight.The text itself was written by hand with a quill, or a feather from a goose or a swan. The quill's nib, or the sharpened point, created the shape of the text. This often varied, depending on the shape and angle of the nib.

This is vastly different from modern day printing. Modern books are printed using a mechanical press onto paper made from pulped wood. The paper is cut mechanically.

Illumination and Illustration

Illumination is a technique used in Medieval illustrations. Medieval books were generally filled with illustrations in the margins and the body of the text. These illustrations were often illuminated by using silver and gold leaf. The background of these illustrations is usually solid gold or silver leaf, while the foreground and content of the illustrations were made of pigments mixed with egg whites to form a kind of tempera paint.

Modern books often aren't illustrated. Children's books and some young adult books are illustrated, usually with photo-printed paper or reproductions of paintings. Some books have dividers on chapter pages, usually a small graphic that doesn't take up much of the page. For the most part, modern books remain unillustrated, with the exception of cover art. Modern books pride themselves on their cover art, which is usually bright and eye-catching to attract a buyer. I'll go into this again in Binding.

Binding

In Medieval binding, the parchment were folded and nested into sections called "gatherings". These were sewn together with leather thongs and then attatched to wooden boards that formed the front and back covers of the book. The covers were then covered with dyed fabric or leather, and decorated with metalwork on the corners of the covers and on the center of the front cover.

Modern binding is a bit different. The printed pages are trimmed and folded, and then attatched to an adhesive spine, which may be sewn to add further support. The spine is attatched to the cover, which is geither made of board or cardstock, depending on whether the book is a hard or paper back. If the binding is a hardback, the cover comes with a dustjacket, that contains the cover art and spine art, along with a short summary on one flap and a brief introduction to the author on the other flap. The back cover also contains art and information. On a paperback book, the cover art and summary are printed straight onto the cardstock and covered with a laminate to make it long lasting.

Archiving

Medieval books were archived only in the houses or manors of the very wealthy or in the monasteries where they were created. In monasteries, books were kept in Scriptoriums, where they could be copied by hand and distributed to other churches or patrons.

Modern books are archived in libraries, such as the Library of Congress in the United States, or smaller libraries that spend many years expanding their collections. These books are often on public display and can be borrowed for reading from a public library. Some libraries do not lend their books to the public, but do allow the public to view them.

Here is a more in-depth look at the creation of a Medieval text.

Here are some examples of modern bindings and cover art.

The Seattle Times: Nation & World: Underachievers' parents deny honor students

The school honor roll, a time-honored system for rewarding "A" students, has become an apparent source of embarrassment for some underachievers.
As a result, all Nashville schools have stopped posting honor rolls, and some are considering a ban on hanging good work in the hallways — at the advice of school lawyers.
After a few parents complained their children might be ridiculed for not making the list, school-system lawyers warned that state privacy laws forbid releasing academic information, good or bad, without permission.
Some schools since have put a stop to academic pep rallies. Others think they may have to cancel spelling bees. And schools across the state may follow Nashville's lead.

Hey everyone! A group of students on campus is heading for a Spring Break trip to Kentucky to help out Habitat for Humanity. In an effort to fund raise we will be have an Chinese Auction in the Maura Solairium all week long. Stop by and help out!

Tickets are:

3 for $1 or
20 for $5

Thanks in advance!

Tiffany Brattina

Wow! I used to be the only one posting my poetry and now I have a ton of friends in on it with me! I love the fact that I can now read what others write. Here are a few bloggers sharing my passion:

Sue Myers
Amanda Cochran
Stephan Puff

Hope you enjoy their poetry as much as I do!

Tiffany

Since my Media Aesthetics students have been reading and blogging about vision and blindness, I though I'd share this journal I found last year...

The other day, a student sent me an e-mail that included the plea, "I am scared to death of your class... Give me something known. I don't know how to read something and figure out the unknown conflicts. I believe what someone tells me. I don't take hints. If someone wants me to know something they need to tell me. I am not good at reading between the lines." After I recieved permission to quote from that e-mail, I wrote a lengthy blog entry on my site, where SHU math professor Josh Sasmor suggested that I read The Irascible Professor-commentary of the day 01-20-04. No surprises?, an excerpt from which runs as follows:

I think college tests should include surprise questions... I think many, maybe even the majority, of classroom test questions should be of the "no surprises" variety. The professor must tell the students very clearly what definitions, theories, and ideas are important. And the students must memorize that material and demonstrate that they have done so by answering simple, straightforward questions.

But the best performing students, the students who have understood the material deeply, the students who merit A's and '’s, should also be able to use the course material to answer some "new" questions. That's what the world outside the classroom will demand of them. The college instructor should, of course, give students ample practice at applying the material. What I am arguing is that the professor should not provide examples of every possible type of question; he or she should not give tests that ask students only to memorize each of the possible types of question along with the answer for each type.

If the instructor tells students that they will have to answer some surprise questions on tests and if the instructor explains why, the students might well accept that the instructor has their long-term best interests in mind.

My students have probably heard me remind them that, in the real world, they will encounter complex, messy problems that don't come with study guides, and their reactions to those problems won't be compared to an answer printed in the back of a book. Even the students who complained about the pressure I put on them towards the end of "Practice of Journalism" did recognize that I was trying to simulate the way journalism is practiced in the real world. For the most part, I've been very happy with the way Seton Hill students approach their education.

Students in EL 150 had a brief assignment in which they were asked to look at two different versions of a breaking news story -- one of which was very biased, the other was more balanced. The biased story included a sensationalized headline that claimed a girl was murdered by religious extremists performing an exorcism, but the latest word is that police are now ruling out an exorcism.

See: Police: Exorcism was not involved

(Update, 23 Jan: We've got 6 people signed up to proofread the first issue of the Setonian; thanks to all of you. That's enough for this issue. There are 3 more times during the semester, though one of them overlaps with a break -- so if you won't be around, be sure to sign up for one of the other days.)

Each student in EL 150 will volunteer 3 hours helping to copyedit/proofread an issue of The Setonian. It comes out four times a semester, and I'd like to see you spread out over all four issues. At a newspaper, deadlines are extremely important; if a reporter turns in an assignment late, the editors are rushed, the copy-editors are rushed, the layout people are rushed, etc. The schedule and other specific details follow... sign up here if you want to work on the first isse. The Setonian office is on the 3rd floor of Maura (right above the president's office).

Yahoo! News - Study: Sleep Essential for Creativity

For the first time, scientists say they have proved what creative minds have known all along: that our sleeping brains continue working on problems that baffle us during the day, and that the right answer may come more easily after eight hours of rest. .... Scientists at the University of Luebeck found that volunteers taking a simple math test were three times more likely than sleep-deprived participants to figure out a hidden rule for converting the numbers into the right answer if they had eight hours of sleep. The findings appear in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature.

Alright, fair warning with my "essay" here... The assignment didn't really apply to me, it seemed. It said to compare what we had to look up to understand the text, however, I didn't need to look anything up. Basically, I read them and read what Jerz had online, but it was little help to me and explained very little. Luckily, I knew already what was going on...
That said, I must also point out that this essay is a tad... disorganized. I'm not used to working with such a small word limit, thus, I had to cut back all I wanted to say. Sorry if this isn't suitable, I shall post a longer version of it just for my own use later. Without further delay, here is my silly, disorganized "essay". Ta.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair, by Fitzgerald and A Jury Of Her Peers, by Glaspell both portray the development and death of an early representation of an individual. By this, I mean, the replacement of their entire personality, mostly against their will. These changes may occur due to personal “growth” or due to an addition to the family (such was the case of Mrs. Wright in A Jury Of Her Peers).
Early on in childhood, a person must make choices that dictate who they become later on in life. For example, Bernice (Bernice Bobs Her Hair) stuck with mainly modest and dated material to develop her own personality; however, Marjorie—Bernice’s cousin— struck out on her own to make a new appearance for herself and for women as a whole. This conflict is what drove Bernice to mirror Marjorie, thus changing who she was and abolishing who she used to be.
Mrs. Wright (A Jury Of Her Peers), once a fiery spirit who loved singing and life above all else, changed who she was by marrying into an abusive relationship, thus her old self was tossed aside, leaving her new empty shell in its place. All choices effect who we are to become. That said, one must comment that our own personal choices aren’t the only things that change who we are destined to be. Time plays a major role in dictating how we are to live our lives and what rights are offered to us.
In the short story A Jury Of Her Peers, the main characters—the women—weren’t offered the same rights or respect that the men shared. This was dealt with and tolerated, only because of the time difference. In the short story Bernice Bobs Her Hair, the social differences between men and women were less vast, but still not equal. Thus, the choices available to those women affected how they developed.

Allison Whitcomb's peanut butter cookie won the 4th Canevin/Lowe-5th Canevin Bake-Off this evening. She blew away the competition with 63 percent of the vote. :)

Congratulations are in order! Yippee, Allison!

Well, "The Yellow Wallpaper" was not one of my favorites stories that I have read so far, but it wasn't that bad. I found that Jane contradicted herself sometimes and the story sometimes dragged on. In the end it was worth reading.

While reading, "The Yellow Wallpaper" I think that John and Jane had lived a very comfortable life before Jane got pregnant and had a baby. And that is where I think Jane went crazy. I changed my opinion everytime that I re-read the story. I believe that Jane went through post-partum depression and John kept her in that room and it drove her insane. She wanted to leave that room and work and see her baby and he simply said no. John took away her freedom to choose and she chose to follow him. I don't think that John realized he was hurting her but he unfortunately did.

Blogging for EL 150: Introduction to Literary Study:

• Amy Blake
  
• Tiffany Brattina
  
• Gina Burgese
  
• Amanda Cochran
  
• Paul Crossman
  
• Michael Diezmos
  
• Johanna Dreyfuss
  
• Tina Dunham
  
• Diana Geleskie
  
• Nicole Giannilli
  
• CarlaRae Jackson
  
• Karissa Kilgore
  
• Hui Lin
  
• Tammy Moon
  
• Sue Myers
  
• Stephan Puff
  
• Jason Pugh
  
• Stefanie Robb
  
• Lori Rupert
  
• Sherry Spataro
  
• Leslie Stevens
  

Instructor: Dennis G. Jerz

Blogging for EL 267: American Literature, 1915-Present:

• Kristin Barrett
  
• Renee Belville
  
• Chelsie Betz
  
• Shawn Brisbane
  
• Meghan Buck
  
• Brian Dawson
  
• Lara Ericson
  
• Emily Evans
  
• Stephen Fazzi
  
• Linda Fisher
  
• Anthony Gigliotti
  
• Patrick Hepner
  
• Amanda Hoffer
  
• Heidi Herholz
  
• CarlaRae Jackson
  
• Meghan Kite
  
• Donald Kuhns
  
• Lorie Lawrence
  
• Gregg Martin
  
• Theodore Martin
  
• Ryan McCandless
  
• Adrianne Scarsella
  
• Teresa Swartz
  
• Dustin Terhorst
  
• Carol Tinsley
  
• Jamie Tommarello
  
• Rebecca Villano
  
• Melissa Whiteman
  

Instructor: Dennis G. Jerz

EL 309: Media Aesthetics

• Rachel Crump
• Keith Gray
• John Haddad
• Rachel Howard
• Ed Lohr
• Brendan Meany
• Jamee Rice
• Allison Whitcomb
• Julie Young

Instructor: Dennis G. Jerz

Students in "Practice of Journalism" and "Writing for the Internet" blogged here as a class during Fall, 2003. I've removed their names from the blogroll in order to make room for current classes, but I thought I'd keep their names posted here to remind us of the communties that we formed. Thanks to all of you for helping to make my first semester at SHU so memorable and rewarding. Keep blogging!

What did you have for dinner tonight? Mabye a big heaping plate of censorship? Because If Julie's presentation wasn't censoring us in itself, it was undeniably condoning it. We still have the right to write what we want...but if we don't follow certain guidlines then our blog isn't "good?" What a pity, because in that case, my blog really must suck.
I would also like to pose this question to everyone: Has any progress ever been made without offending someone? Every new idea or action offends the group of people who don't believe in it. "Don't be offensive to people or groups?" You may as well not write, speak, express yourself, or be seen in public, because there's a good chance that something you say, do, or even wear will offend someone. Wars have been fought by people who were offended because of Catholic ideas and ideals, but this is still a Catholic Institution, and a damn good one at that. I'm not trying to single anyone out here: That's how it is with every religion, and every time someone has a new idea, though mabye not on such a grand scale. And yet we shouldn't write in our blog because it might offend someone. I'm offended by the guidlines Miss Young has set to "get the most out of your academic weblog." But that's life...suck it up.

Globalization is great. I can sample foods from cultures all around the world, right in my local mall. This article from The Christian Science Monitor argues that globalization means America is forcing its values on the outside world. We exporting democracy, equality for women, and gospel of capitalist economics... what could be wrong with that?

In 2,000 years, will the world remember Disney or Plato? | csmonitor.com

If it took two millenniums for Plato's "Republic" to reach North America, the latest hit from Justin Timberlake can be found in Greek (and Japanese) stores within days. Sometimes, US ideals get transmitted - such as individual rights, freedom of speech, and respect for women - and local cultures are enriched. At other times, materialism or worse becomes the message and local traditions get crushed.

If you're tired of looking at the same old wallpaper on your computer's desktop, have I got a website for you. www.webshots.com This site offers thousands of terrific photos for you to download in just seconds ~ as many as five per day at absolutely no charge. Just some of the categories you can choose from include: 3DArt, Animals, Cats and Dogs, Fine Art, Flowers and Gardens, Holidays, Military, Nature Scenes, Ocean Life, People, Space, Specialty, Sports, Transportation, Travel, Top Downloads, and Highest Rated. There are loads of photos within each one of these categories, so be prepared to become addicted! I know I am! Once you've accessed the website, just follow the instructions for becoming a member ~ you will need to come up with a user name as well as a password. You even have the option of choosing to receive weekly e-mails containing new photos added to the webshots "gallery." In addition to using these terrific pictures as wallpaper, don't forget ~ they make great screensavers, too. Good luck and have fun while adding some, I mean alot, of color to your life! As a new blogger, now all I have to do is figure out how to add some color to my boring black and white entries. Any help will gladly be accepted!

I'm currently taking PY 225, or Infant, Child and Adolescent Developement. One of the things we have to do for this class in work for an hour a week down at the CDC and shadow one of the children, then write a case study on that child. I have found my child. We met when I stuck my tongue out at him and he did the same to me. Yes... it was beautiful. ^_^

I've been thinking about "Media Aesthetics", mostly stemming from the fact that I've been watching the extras on the extended "Lord of the Rings" DVD. It's interesting, the kind of care and work that's put into the design of the entire movie. I loved the way they utilised natural forms in all of the elf sets. And that each of the specific cultures had a specific and different design, so that all you had to do was look at a building/cloak/dress/weapon and you would know it came from a specific culture. In the same way, I've been looking at other things. For instance, my blog.

For some reason, it strangely resembles my livejournal (which I won't be giving out, ladies and gents. Too many secrets, don't ya know?). So, my own style is symple, but... pretty? Dunno. Too much to think about at the moment.

The whole concept of aesthetics is relatively new to me. I just go by what "Feels right" when I'm designing something. If it clicks for me, then I go with it. If not, I chuck it. The whole idea that there's philosophy behind it rather boggled my mind. It'll take a few more classes for me to work that into my rants.

Odd. I seem to have acquired an Brittish accent in this blog. Huh. Isn't that interesting?

As some of you may have noticed, I steadfastly refused to blog even one word for the entire duration of christmas break. (Or "winter break," in case I accidently offended you.) But anyway, the point is that even under intense pressure from certain unamed parties *cough* Tiffany*cough*, I somehow managed to keep myself busy enough to abstain from blogging for a whole month. Ha, I win.
Oh wait...I'm back in another class with the admirable Dr. Dennis G. Jerz, and the bloggings about to begin again even as I speak. Ah well...let the good times roll i suppose.

Half of the students in my "Media Aesthetics" seminar had blogged before, but most are new to MoveableType. Here's the class roster... say hello to a newbie today!

• Rachel Crump
• Keith Gray
• John Haddad
• Rachel Howard
• Brendan Meany
• Jamee Rice
• Allison Whitcomb

And welcome back,

• Ed Lohr
• Julie Young

Click the above picture to go to the main page. You'll never have to look out your window again.

I'm currently giving a presentation on academic weblogs -- a handy how-to guide, if you will. Luckily, you've all provided me with some great examples of do's and don'ts! :) It's for my excellent class taught by Dr. Jerz!

Summary of Findings: Cable and Internet Loom Large in Fragmented Political News Universe

Television news remains dominant, but there has been further erosion in the audience for broadcast TV news. The Internet, a relatively minor source for campaign news in 2000, is now on par with such traditional outlets as public television broadcasts, Sunday morning news programs and the weekly news magazines. And young people, by far the hardest to reach segment of the political news audience, are abandoning mainstream sources of election news and increasingly citing alternative outlets, including comedy shows such as the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live, as their source for election news.

My So-Called Blog

Back in the 1980's, when I attended high school, reading someone's diary would have been the ultimate intrusion. But communication was rudimentary back then. There were no cellphones, or answering machines; there was no ''texting,'' no MP3's or JPEG's, no digital cameras or file-sharing software; there was no World Wide Web -- none of the private-ish, public-ish, superimmediate forums kids today take for granted. If this new technology has provided a million ways to stay in touch, it has also acted as both an amplifier and a distortion device for human intimacy. The new forms of communication are madly contradictory: anonymous, but traceable; instantaneous, then saved forever (unless deleted in a snit). In such an unstable environment, it's no wonder that distinctions between healthy candor and ''too much information'' are in flux and that so many find themselves helplessly confessing, as if a generation were given a massive technological truth serum.

In an article posted by the Washington Post it appears that the competition for the memorial site on Ground Zero has come to a close. The design chosen was only one of more than 5,000 at the beginning of the competition. As with all things there is a good reaction and bad reaction. I can't honestly say how I feel on the subject because I didn't see the other 5,000 or so entries into the competition, but I can say that I feel that the memorial site should be made for the families of the vicitims of Sept. 11.

The families of the victims seem to have a real problem with the design that was chosen. I guess what I am trying to say is that if the families aren't happy, I'm not happy. I'm sure that the design chosen was an excellent design, but isn't there any way that the families can get what they want while the contractors can still have their basic design. Isn't there any way that they could incorporate the significant pieces of Sept 11 into the design of the site? Well that's all I have to say, but what about you?

Tiffany

Wil Wheaton is the former child star who played "Wesley Crusher" on Star Trek: The Next Generation. From the late 80s on, his character was derieded and despised on the Internet, but Wheaton is now using a weblog to sell his memoirs, promote the comedy shows he writes for, and (belive it or not) sell a book based on his blog postings. He blogs about the movies he watches, computer games he plays, and the time he spends with his wife and stepkids.

One of his recent posts lambasts The Media for a conspiracy to make computer game fans look bad. A young reporter sent Wheaton a comment, which, in the great tradition of bloggers who encourage opposing views, Wheaton added to his original rant. Here's an exerpt.

WIL WHEATON DOT NET: fun fun fun in the fluffy chair

Please don't think I'm suggesting that you stop criticizing media content. I think readers and watchers should be examining what they read and what they see. People's criticisms give me things to think about and help me do my job better. I'm only a twentysomething journalist, so maybe I'm just idealistic and naive about my profession. But I also know that this job is hard, and that little in journalism is black and white except paper and ink. And that I get tired of doing the best I can day after day to make my paper a good one, only to discover people think journalists are nothing but uncaring, profit-driven drones.

As I look back on the "Practice of Journalism" course I taught last semester, I think that in my zeal to get my students to think critically about what they read, and to keep them from being bored (incidentally, I enjoyed Mike Arnzen's blog entry "Fear of Boredom"), I may have focused too much on negative examples. Reading this comment made me think; I hope it does the same for you.

I realize most of my students are on a tight budget. I've set up pages so that students who need to purchase books for my classes can conveniently check Amazon.com for inexpensive used copies. I usually spend the first few weeks teaching from handouts or e-reserve texts, in case the books you order take too long to arrive.

Dennis G. Jerz -- Teaching (Seton Hill University)

• STW (no new books)
• EL 150: Introduction to Literary
  Study
  
• EL 267: American Literature
  1915-Present
  
• EL 309: Advanced Study in Literature
  -- Media Aesthetics