Category Archives: Uncategorized

A few not-quite random things: Apparently the local paper’s closing.  It wasn’t a very good paper recently, but still — that’s a blow. Here’s a short video (via A.) featuring the boy’s elementary school & it’s use of continuous data-driven … Continue reading →

I haven’t taught composition in a couple of years, less from aversion than from natural patterns (if you get reassigned time, you usually buy out comp; likewise, if you teach in an interdisciplinary program, it usually replaces comp).  In the … Continue reading →

It’d been a couple of months since I actually finished a poetry review for Bookslut, but, happily, one made it in time for this month’s issue.  The book is Matthew Zapruder’s 2nd collection, The Pajamaist: Matthew Zapruder’s self-assessment here is, … Continue reading →

Near the beginning of Middlemarch, the dried-up quasi-intellectual Edward Casaubon and the preposterously glib Mr. Brooke (“human reason may carry you a little too far –over the hedge, in fact.  It carried me a good way at one time; but … Continue reading →

Today brought some welcome news: Alex Jarvis, one of my students, had a program in “digital humanities” approved by the special studies committee on campus, which means it’s officially his major. The program draws on classes in computer science (human-computer … Continue reading →

Last week, Brian Croxall asked Dave Parry the following: why do you like blogs for teaching better than wikis As far as I can tell, Dave’s answer isn’t recorded.  But, since I’m up late anyway prepping for a workshop on … Continue reading →

I notice on Amazon.com that Gregory Tague’s collection, The Origins of English Literary Modernism (Academica) is now out. The collection has several interesting essays on turn-of-the-20thC English literature; it also has my essay, “The Middlebrow Prophet: Reading the Future of … Continue reading →

Last week, the Tomorrow’s Professor listserv circulated a chapter by Jeffrey Buller explaining how to handle, as a dean, one-on-one meetings with faculty.  I am not a dean (though the son of a provost), but this advice seems useful for … Continue reading →

This morning at breakfast we were talking about college & saving.  A pointed out that if the 5-yr-old went to a CSU school, we could set him up pretty well for afterwards.  He said that he’d probably like to use … Continue reading →

It is, I think, a rule of the internets that if you do something well and openly, that someone will sue you.  In this case, it’s the makers of Endnote suing Zotero for having the temerity to help users access … Continue reading →